THE OORIAL. 1 59 



went on in the direction which we thought most likely, and after a time I saw the head and 

 shoulders of a ram showing over a bush about a hundred and sixty yards off. He was gazing 

 at us, so I had to fire at once, thinking it was the wounded one. He at once made off at a 

 great pace, and, as I thought, untouched, and I then saw that he was one of a fresh herd. I 

 afterwards discovered that I had broken his foreleg. 



Having lamed myself badly, I was unable to go out the next day, so I sent my Shikari 

 with dogs to try and recover the wounded Oorial : they saw them both, but were unable to 

 get near them ; the first one was eventually caught by a woodcutter. 



Finding the Oorial very scarce about here, and my time being limited, after two or three 

 days' unsuccessful hunting, I went across to another part of the range, and encamped at a 

 village called Thati, not far from Kotal Khund. The first morning I only saw three or 

 four small ones, but in the afternoon I was more fortunate. Having ascended the range of 

 low red hills behind the village, I carefully reconnoitred the various ridges below me, and 

 soon made out two lots of Oorial. The herd which seemed to offer the best chance of a 

 stalk were lying at the extremity of a sort of promontory with precipitous sides of bare red 

 earth. Having made a long detour I went along this ridge, and on arriving at the end I saw 

 the Oorial rush across the ravine and up the opposite slope. One ram was conspicuous 

 among the others from his large horns and shaggy grizzled beard, and at him I fired. My 

 second bullet from a io-bore rifle struck him behind the shoulder blade and went out at his 

 chest, but in spite of this he climbed the high cliff opposite, descended, crossed the next 

 ravine, and had gone fully a quarter of a mile before I could come up with him ! He proved 

 to be a good specimen with horns twenty -six inches long. His portrait is the one here given. 



On the following day I succeeded in getting within a hundred yards of another herd, but 

 had only time to fire a snap-shot before they turned a corner; the bullet, however, took 

 effect, breaking the thigh of the largest ram ; he bled profusely, but it took me a long time 

 to bag him, as I had to track him for fully two miles over rocky ground and ravines, before 

 I could come up with him and give him the finishing bullet. 



My stay in the Salt Range being limited, I did not shoot any more Oorial during this 

 expedition, although I certainly had one or two fair chances. 



Happening to be at the small military station of Talagong in March 1875, I determined 

 to have a try for the Oorial which I had heard were numerous in the neighbourhood. I 

 had not much time to spare, but I found that I had sufficient leisure to give me two clear 

 days' shooting. I therefore sent a small tent and one or two servants to a village in the 

 heart of the best country, and starting rather late one forenoon, rode slowly up the sandy 

 bed of a river, above one of the branches of which my camp was to be pitched. 



At this dry season only an occasional shallow pool remained to mark what frequently 

 became, during the rainy months, a roaring torrent. On either side rose steep banks about 

 a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet in height : in some places these were precipitous 

 scarps ; in others they were so broken and irregular that there was no difficulty in ascend- 

 ing them ; while every here and there, the watercourse was joined by smaller ravines which 

 brought the drainage of the surrounding country to swell the volume of the main stream. 



