THE CAUCASUS 
the bodies were never found no doubt remains as to how they met their 
deaths. The hunter in pursuit of game is never likely to run risks of this 
sort, but it must be remembered that there is a good deal of difficult 
ground to be negotiated when after ibex, more especially in the western 
half of the range. 
If overtaken by darkness on the way back to camp it is much wiser to 
sleep out under a rock than to run the risk of missing one’s footing on 
bad ground; and when very tired it is easier to go uphill than down, and 
there is less chance of spraining an ankle. 
I remember once, after a long day in pursuit of the Capra caucasica, 
that the light failed us on the way home, and I had to spend the night on 
a ledge, where I tied myself on with the aid of my belt and boot -laces, 
for fear that I might go to sleep and fall off. My precautions caused no 
little amusement to my hunter, Popoff, who thought the position suf- 
ficiently uncomfortable to preclude any chance of sleep. On these occasions 
what an age it seems till dawn! 
If one contemplates trying distant ground, with a probability of having 
to sleep away from the main camp, it is best to take a small tente d’abri 
and a sleeping bag, provided there is a spare man to carry it, though the 
extra man is not always available. In any case enough food should always 
be taken in a haversack for an emergency, as it often happens that game 
is sighted too late in the day for a shot, and by spending the night on the 
spot an easy chance may be got at dawn. On the south-eastern end of 
the range the snow mostly disappears in the late summer, except in a 
few of the ravines, so that there is often a scarcity of water in consequence, 
and a water bottle as well as an emergency ration of food should be taken; 
a rubber cup is also a useful thing. 
When there is a supply of fresh meat, the usual method of cooking it, 
and the most appetizing, is by making what the Russians call shish - 
liksy that is to say, lumps of meat with alternate pieces of fat, toasted 
on a stick. This method has the further advantage of doing away with the 
necessity of a cooking pot. But as the fresh meat one gets on a shooting 
trip is usually very tough, it is a sound thing to take a mincing machine, 
which can be procured in Batoum or any large town. 
I doubt if it is worth while taking a shot gun to the Caucasus, as one 
seldom has the weapon handy if a bird is encountered on the march. 
The snow partridge, though fairly numerous on ibex ground, will probably 
have to be left alone, for fear of disturbing nobler game. 
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