MY FIRST IBEX. 
119 
before had seen from forty to fifty ibex and had shot five. 
We did not see one, so bivouacked under a tree for breakfast 
and waited till it was time to vi^atch for sambur, meanwhile 
I amused myself drawing ibex and deer on the barkless trunk 
of an old tree. Nothing appearing and being a very long 
distance from home, we proceeded by the side of a splendid 
forest stretching the whole extent of a long valley, and con- 
tinuing down to the low country ; in crossing a little branch 
shola, a large sambur jumped up in front of the shikarie who 
got frantically excited, and on his pointing out to me the stag 
standing broadside on, not above fifty yards off, I took what 
I thought was a very cool pot, but somehow or other 
managed to send the ball just over his back. I was awfully 
disgusted at the miss, particularly as a little farther on a 
jungle cock flew up into a tree and I knocked him over with 
a ball through his body. A few minutes afterwards I saw 
a hind standing breast on looking at me about eighty yards 
off ; I could only see her neck and half her chest, but being 
determined if possible to retrieve my former wretched shot I 
took a steady aim, put a ball in the centre of the lower part 
of her neck, and another from the second barrel into the 
back of her neck as she dashed away, and 1 found her stone 
dead a short way in the jungle. 
On the 6th we were out soon after eight a.m., to stalk 
the ground on the right of the road to Sispara, in hopes of find- 
ing ibex ; we had some splendid views of the jungle, hills and 
precipices on our right, and halted for breakfast at ten, without 
having seen a single animal. The ibex hill we intended 
searching was covered with mist so we started for another 
hill on our left. Brine was rather seedy, preferring to remain 
quiet, so I went up alone and soon came on plenty of marks 
