THE BURRELL. 1 67 



reached it. If I shot him where he was, he would fall into the river below and be lost for ever, 

 but my Shikari asked me to shoot him " to see the fun." 



I was about to put the poor brute out of pain, when he turned round, and by a desperate 

 scramble reached a small cave into which he went, only showing his head occasionally. I was 

 about a hundred yards off, and fired four shots at his head when it appeared ; after the fourth 

 shot it appeared no more. It was getting late, so nothing more was to be done that evening, 

 but my Shikari said he thought that he and the other men would be able to get the Burrell 

 next morning with the aid of ropes. 



Early next morning a solitary Burrell appeared on the flat, but on reaching the place I 

 found that it was only a female. The men had accompanied me with ropes, and now pro- 

 ceeded to attempt the recovery of last night's Burrell. Walking along a narrow ledge from 

 which the loose stones rattled down to the river at every step, they reached a spot immediate- 

 ly above the cave. Sitting down on the ledge, and digging their heels into the shale, they let 

 one of their number down the perpendicular rock to the mouth of the cave, a distance of 

 about fifteen feet. He reached the cave in safety, and announced that the Burrell was lying 

 dead. I had expected the men to bring up the head only, but to my astonishment I saw the 

 rope attached to the Burrell, and the heavy animal hauled up to the ledge, from whence he 

 was transferred to a wider and safer place, skinned, and cut up. I found that all my bullets 

 fired at him when in the cave had struck him, the last one having entered his eye. He had 

 just shed his winter coat, and his summer coat was still very Short, causing him to appear 

 unusually dark coloured. 



On my return from Thibet I hunted for a few days in the hills above Malan, on the 

 Indian side of the passes. Instead of the bright clear air of the northern or Thibetan slopes 

 the climate was damp and foggy ; so much so, indeed, as to seriously interfere with sport. It 

 was a long march to my first encamping ground, and it was late in the afternoon before my 

 tent was pitched, where some birch trees and rhododendron bushes furnished an ample supply 

 of fuel. In the evening, a flock of Burrell made their appearance on the top of a hill opposite 

 my camp, and remained quietly feeding until dark. 



Early next morning, the Burrell were again visible in the same place, and I lost no time 

 in starting in pursuit. A long steep climb brought me to the summit of the ridge on which 

 they were feeding, and I had little difficulty in stalking to within easy range. The morning 

 was a bright one, the clouds not having yet rolled up from the valleys into which they slowly 

 sink at night, and the rising sun, shining right in my face, rendered it extremely difficult to 

 take aim. At length, however, I managed to cover the shoulder of the largest male, as he 

 was feeding unsuspiciously on the verge of a rocky precipice, and dropped him on the spot. 

 My second barrel was less successful, the bullet merely breaking the hindleg of another 

 Burrell, which succeeded in effecting its escape into most difficult ground, where I could not 

 follow it. 



Being determined to be early on the ground the next day, and the hill which I intended 

 to hunt being at a considerable distance, I made an early dinner, and gave orders that I was 

 to be awoke an hour or two before day-light. I soon sunk into the slumber which comes sq 



