Si 
NARRATIVE. 
throughout the summer months, as in England, and a 
little snow usually falls before Christmas ; but very 
heavy rain or snow seems to be confined chiefly to 
the mountains which surround the valley, and there 
is much more rain, according to my experience, in 
all the smaller valleys than about Srinagar itself. 
Although Kashmir and the hills around it appear to 
be very favourable to animal life, yet there is a 
wonderful scarcity of animals, either large or small, 
which it is difficult entirely to account for. Bears 
and Bara-singa (the Kashmir stag) were more plentiful 
a few years ago, but are rapidl}^ being destroyed. In 
September and October, during the rutting season, 
stags are still to be obtained in considerable numbers. 
I have occasionally seen the Monal pheasant, Lophopho- 
rus impeyanus ; but I never saw a hare, and do not 
think there are any in Kashmir. One may walk for 
days through the forest without seeing anything but 
a few small birds. 
The chief attraction for sportsmen is the Ibex, 
which is always found close to the snow, and chiefly 
on the hills to the north of Kashmir. It was 
never easy to get, but now it is so scarce that, 
after three months of hard work, a bag of two or three 
Ibex with fair horns is considered very good sport. 
There is probably no shooting which gives so much 
exercise and sport, with such a small destruction of 
game. A sportsman who wants Ibex must confine 
himself entirely to them, for a shot fired at smaller 
game is very likely to frighten the animals of which 
he is in search. He has to climb day after day, from 
sunrise till dark, over the most break-neck ground, 
which is almost impracticable without grass shoes — 
