146 THE HIMALAYAN IBEX. 



and the chin is adorned with a profuse black beard. The hair is rather coarse and brittle, 

 and in winter there is a thick down or under-fleece called ' pashm,' which, however, is also 

 possessed by most of the animals inhabiting the higher Himalayas. 



This 'pashm,' and not the true hair, is the celebrated 'shawl-wool' of Thibet, of which 

 the Kashmir shawls are made. 



The horns are scimitar shaped, much knotted, and tapering ; they are more massive than 

 those of any other species : the largest pair of which I have authentic information were 

 fifty-four inches long, and, if I recollect right, upwards of thirteen inches in circumference. 



Female Ibex are about a third smaller than the males, with shorter hair of more uniform 

 color, and their horns about a foot long. 



The Ibex inhabits the upper portions of the hills where it is found, rarely descending 

 to the limits of the forest, but preferring open and precipitous ground. Even during the 

 winter Ibex do not, as a rule, descend very low, but resort to places where, from the steep- 

 ness of the hill-side, the snow does not lie in any quantity. 



Here they may be detained for weeks by a heavy fall, picking a scanty subsistence 

 from the scattered tufts of withered herbage that here and there crop out of the crevices of 

 the rock. At this season males and females herd together, but as the snow melts and the 

 time for the birth of the young approaches, the old males forsake the females altogether, 

 and, as the summer advances, retire to the most inaccessible mountains, frequently sleeping 

 during the day above the limits of vegetation, and descending great distances to feed in the 

 mornings and evenings. The best time to shoot Ibex is when the young grass is just begin- 

 ning to sprout along the margin of the snow in May and June : after the hardships and 

 frequent long fasts of winter they feed greedily on the fresh young shoots, and in secluded 

 spots may even be found lying down on the grassy slopes during the day. 



Most ridiculous stories have been told and repeated about the Ibex ; such as their alleged 

 habit of jumping down precipices and alighting on their horns, or hanging by them in 

 dangerous places until they can make good their footing ; while the popular belief appears 

 to be that they pass their whole time far above the limits of eternal snow, perched upon needle- 

 like pinnacles of ice, quite regardless of such considerations as rest or pasturage. Their 

 powers of traversing precipitous and dangerous ground are quite sufficiently wonderful, 

 without needless exaggeration. 



Although an excessively wary animal, the Ibex is usually found on such broken ground, 

 that if due care be taken, it is not very difficult to obtain a shot. The grand rule, as in all 

 other hill-stalking, is to keep well above the herd, whose vigilance is chiefly directed beneath 

 them. In places where they have been much disturbed, one or two of the herd usually 

 keep a sharp look-out while the rest are feeding, and on the slightest suspicion of danger 

 the sentries utter a loud whistle, which is a signal for a general rush to the nearest rocks. 

 Should the sportsman succeed in obtaining a shot before he is observed by the Ibex, he may 

 often have time to fire several shots before they are out of range, as they appear to be 

 completely stupefied and confused by the sudden noise, the cause of which they are unable 

 to account for if they neither see nor smell their enemy. 



