128 
IBEX SHOOTING. 
I trudged home "koosh," leaving the men to skin the ibex 
and bring in what meat they wanted. 
One or two more extracts from my journal and I think 
t shall have satd enough about ibex shooting. But the 
sport is so exciting, and at the same time, being carried on 
amongst the highest mountains, and amidst such magnificent 
scenery, so exhilarating, that I may be pardoned for dwelling 
so much upon it. 
I was out very early one morning, when I came sud- 
denly upon a doe ibex and a half grown kid ; not wishing 
to disturb them, I crept back to Francis and we agreed to 
look just beyond them and see if there was a buck. As I 
craned over the rock I saw a large brown buck looking at 
me about sixty yards off, his hind quarters hidden by a 
rock ; I fired, heard the tell, ran on and saw the herd, 
consisting of a dozen or more, galloping down the side oi 
the slope about a hundred and forty yards away; after 
going a short distance they stood bewildered, when I again 
fired and hit a doe ; as I was following her, out bolted the 
brown buck from a hollow ; he ran about two hundred yards 
and then sat down on his haunches, presently sinking on his 
side; there were two small bucks on the rocks above him, 
and the old fellow, after looking at them for some time, 
to my astonishment jumped up, disappeared behind some 
rocks, and was out of sight by the time I had got up 
to where he had been lying. I followed the wounded doe 
until her tracks disappeared over a most frightful precipice, 
which was quite impossible to descend, so I had to give her 
up. I hate leaving a wounded animal, but there was no help 
for it. As 1 returned up the hill I thought to myself> "Well, 
this is neat, I shall lose them both, but not without another 
