GHFT OF
HORACE W. CARPENTER

.

HIND U-KOH

;'

HINDU-KOH:

WANDEKINGS AND WILD SPOET ON AND
BEYOND THE HIMALAYAS

BY

MAJOE-GENEEAL DONALD MACINTYKE, V.C.

LATE PRINCE OF WALES* OWN GOORKHAS
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS

EDINBURGH AND LONDON

MDCCCLXXXIX

All Rights reserved

TO
HIS KOYAL HIGHNESS

THE PEINCE OP WALES,

HONORARY COLONEL OF THE AUTHOR'S LATE REGIMENT,

THE PATRON OF ALL MANLY SPORTS, AND A

TRUE DISCIPLE OF ST HUBERT,

THIS BOOK IS,

BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION,

MOST HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY

DEDICATED.

PREFACE.

THE subject of Himalayan travel and sport is now so
old a story, that an attempt to create further interest
in it is an almost hopeless undertaking, especially for
one who has been more accustomed to handling the
mountain-staff than the pen. But, old though it be, the
field it embraces is so vast, that it may still afford
scope for variety even should it lack originality ; and
such the author would fain trust may be the case in
this instance. The following pages, however, are in
nowise embellished with a vein of romance, which,
whilst perhaps rendering a narrative of this kind more
attractive to the general reader, is apt to give a fanci-
ful and overdrawn picture of the reality. Nor has
their writer any pretension to being either an erudite
traveller, or a mighty hunter to whom hairbreadth
escapes and thrilling adventures have been common
occurrences. Consequently he is well aware that he

Vlll PREFACE.

is somewhat rashly launching his frail craft, so to
speak, on the ruthless waves of criticism* with a very
great risk of its foundering. But he trusts that the
friends at whose suggestion he has ventured to put
these simple reminiscences into print, and his brother
sportsmen — more particularly the younger ones, for
whom they are in a great measure intended — may find
something to divert them in this humble endeavour
of an old member of the fraternity to portray a few
scenes and incidents gathered from his bonafide notes
of wanderings and wild sport among the fells and
forests of the Himalaya mountains, and on the bare
rolling uplands beyond them.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGE

An old muzzle - loader — Hindu - Koh — Himalayan scenery and
sport — Hunting etiquette — Juvenile wild sports — Wild sheep
and gazelles — Start for the mountains — Simla — Deodar cedar
forests — Rhododendron trees — The snowy range in prospect —
Mountain roads — Crossing a"jula" — Mussoorie — Dehra Boon
— An interview with some of its wild denizens — Hurdwar —
The holy fair there, and one of its consequences — The Terai
— Nynee Tal— Arrive at Shore, .... 1

CHAPTER II.

Outpost of Shore — The Thakil— Himalayan woodcocks— Wood-
snipe — Woodcock carrying its young — Chuckor partridges — A
haunted house — What happened in it — Hunting superstitions
— "The rains" — Leeches — Himalayan black bear — A bear-
hunt — Bear-shooting in the oak-trees — A she-bear punishes
her cub — The sloth-bear — Its savage pranks — Hungry jackals
— Bear killed with small-shot — A she-bear to the rescue —
Villagers mauled by bears — Result of a practical joke — A
cunning old Bruin — Village beehives — Tiger-charms — A tiger
tale — Fables about Bruin — Where to hit him, . . .11

CHAPTER III.

The mahseer — Monster fish taken with the rod — The mahseer
compared with the salmon — Salmonidae never found in India
— A fishing-river in the Himalayas — The Surjoo valley — Its
wild denizens — The jurrow — Barking-deer — The Goorkha

CONTENTS.

" kookerie " — Tempting Providence — A damp couch — Jurrow-
hunting under difficulties — A heavy fish lost — The way we
inveigled the wily mahseer — Jungle fare — Dense morning
mists — A forenoon's sport in the Surjoo — Best months and
best flies for mahseer-fishing in the Himalayan rivers — Fishing
theories — The kalabans — Collecting catechu, . . .28

CHAPTER IV.

Delightful climate— Start for Dhuj— "Baloo Mar," the village
Nimrod — The gooral, or " Himalayan chamois " — Albino
gooral — A strange coincidence — Up Dhuj — Sunrise over the
snowy range — Game in sight — "Buck fever" and its usual
result — Kill a buck — Kalleege pheasants — Camp-fire yarns —
Wild pigs — The cheer pheasant — Singular effect of morning
mist — Securing a troublesome specimen — A bold intruder- —
The koklass pheasant and the pewra partridge — A chance
shot in the dim moonlight — Baloo ! — Almost too close to be
pleasant — The surrow — A drive for jurrow — Village curs —
Wild dogs — A cruel lesson, . . . . .41

CHAPTER V.

A "dirty" way of killing jurrow — An artificial salt-lick — Old
Jeetoo — Watch for a leopard — We try a ruse — An airy night's
lodging — An exciting moment — Bad luck — Jeetoo tries to
propitiate the mountain spirit— A splendid stag — Tracking —
Shooting at night — A sight for night-work — A carrion-eating
tiger — We watch for him — A man-eater leopard — A hunt after
a feline demon, . . . . . . .57

CHAPTER VI.

Start for the higher ranges — The Chipla mountain — The tahr —
Its flesh and bones used as medicine — An enormous wild cat
— " Peepsa " flies — Agriculture and agriculturists on the higher
ranges — Wild men of the woods — Their manners and customs
— An Adam and Eve of the period — My first day's sport on
the Chipla — A picturesque bivouac — Exorcising an evil spirit —
A long and weary climb — Beautiful rhododendrons — Horned
argus-pheasant— We try a stalk for pork— An uncomfortable
bed, and the way we improved it — Moonal pheasants — Bad
ground — An awkward climb — Two dangerous experiments —

CONTENTS. XI

Primitive tobacco-pipes — Light and shade'effects on the moun-
tains— The great bearded vulture — The musk-deer and its
scent-bag — A snowstorm — The valley of the Kallee or Sarda, 71

CHAPTER VII.

On the Chipla — Its general features — Right and left at tahr and
gooral — Dangerous footing — Kurbeer has a narrow escape —
A welcome haven — Annual burning of the dry grass on the
mountains — Grand scenery of the upper ranges — A herd of
old buck tahr — Difficulties of a down-hill stalk — A tremen-
dous drop — Wounded tahr lost in the mist — Bad weather
— Snow - partridges — An awkward bit — Sensations on bad
ground — A chance lost — Moonal pheasant shooting — Salt-
licks— The hill marten — Tartar nomads — Mountain belles —
Kurbeer's flirtation — A terrific tornado — Difference between
sport and slaughter — Best season for tahr-shooting, . . 91

CHAPTER VIII.

The Goorkhas as soldiers and shikarees — Their services during
the Indian mutiny — A big drink — Goorkhas versus timber —
The Bhaber — Shooting therein — Jungle fires — The Taroos —
An inquisitive leopard — He pays the penalty — A riding-camel
— Jungle -fowl — Strange behaviour of a leopard — Malarious
swamps— Florikens— The neelghai— Ravine deer— Black buck
— Enormous bands of antelope — The hunting-leopard — Method
of using it — The ounce — The clouded leopard — Leopard chas-
ing a wild cat, . . . . . . .109

CHAPTER IX.

Start for Cashmere — Best season for ibex-hunting — The beautiful
Jhelum — A reason for her caprices — Ancient ruins — First
glimpse of the Vale — Srinuggur — Cashmere shikarees — Origin
of the shawl pattern — Islamabad — Ramzan Meer — The true
shikaree and the impostor — A narrow escape — Nouboog Nye
—The Mergun pass — "Puttees" and "poolas" — Marmots —
Result of two men hunting over the same ground — Wurdwan
—Two bears, right and left — The Himalayan brown bear —
Making "poolas" — Stormy weather — A wild night — Sheep
destroyed by bears — Cashmere ponies — Curious custom con-
cerning them — Reckless riding — An ugly customer in an
awkward position — Heavy snowfall — Avalanches — Marroo —

Xll CONTENTS.

An earthquake — A patriarchal old buck — Anguish — The
Himalayan ibex — Kamzan's idea of ibex alighting on their
horns — A frugal repast, . . . . . .120

CHAPTER X.

The Furriabadee glen — Hot spring — Watching ibex — Disturbing
a family party — Bear cubs ; too young to shoot, but too old
to be caught — Benighted on the hill — Forest fell and flood —
Snow -slopes — A long and difficult stalk — Counting one's
chickens before they are hatched — The impostor ruins our
chance — " Vanity and vexation of spirit " — " Dook " — A herd
of splendid ibex — Old Ramzan's way of steadying my nerves
— His grievous disappointment — Luck at last — More big bucks
— Satisfaction all round — Roughing it — A night in a Wurd-
wan chalet — F-sharps — Choar nag — Wild scenery — Black-
bear shooting in the mulberry groves — Old Mirza ; surgeon
and barber — A hummam in Srinuggur — A strange presenti-
ment sadly fulfilled — Fishing in the Jhelum — Prohibited in
certain places — The reason why — Dolce far niente — Shawl
weavers — Kurbeer's sad end — Sic transit gloria mundi, . 143

CHAPTER XI.

Dehra Doon — Fossil remains in the Sewalik hills — Variety of
game — Spear-grass — A day after small game — "Kelpie" and
" Brownie " — A sportsman's lullaby — An El Dorado of wild
sport — Camp in the Eastern Doon — Self-denial — Elephant
sagacity — A plucky mahout — A queer adventure with a croco-
dile— Pythons — The way we hunted them — Hog -deer — The
"cheetal" or spotted deer — Irregularity in shedding their
horns — Four-horned antelopes — The swamp deer, . .164

CHAPTER XII.

A morning's mahseer-fishing— The Raiewalla pool— A good take
— Queer bait — A fishing incident — The "goonch" — The
"soulee" — An unpleasant companion at a pool — Poaching
for fish — "Null" jungle — Natives treed by a tigress — Cane-
brakes — Danger of a timid elephant — A vicious "muckna"
— Bogged in a "fussand" — Moula Buksh displays his evil
disposition — A terrible game at football — The Kumaon
elephant-khedda— A ride after wild elephants— Taming the

CONTENTS. Xlll

recent captures — An elephant gladiator — Bringing in a
prisoner— Wild bees — The result of disturbing them— We
beat a retreat — A contumacious tiger — A general scrimmage
— The jungle on fire — An unexpected meeting with a cattle-
lifter — A lesson in the noble art of self-defence, . .186

CHAPTER XIII.

The surrow — Gopee Chund hill — Native folk-lore concerning it
— Enormous landslip — The disastrous landslip at Nynee Tal
— A hillside in motion — A lucky shot — Extraordinary spec-
tacle— Another lucky shot — An old and valued friend — The
spirits of the mountain — A Paharee legend — A shockingly
bad shot — Driving out a surrow — A beautiful scene — Wild
animals recovering from bad wounds — A mended bone —
Driving a "khud" — The surrow are circumvented,* . . 206

CHAPTER XIV.

Fascinations and charms of a hunter's life — Summer in the plains
of India — The Pir Punchal range — A native gentleman —
Kazima — Two real shikarees — The markhor — A markhor in
durbar — How Hatha cleverly circumvented a " rind " — The
luck that follows the first shot — Glorious panorama of moun-
tain scenery — A serious accident and an awkward predicament
— Hatha's surgery — Native hospitality — A " drive " under
difficulties — The Bonyar valley — An incident which might
have proved disastrous — Dangerous slopes, . . . 220

CHAPTER XV.

Difficulty of finding great old markhor — A morning call at Bruin's
quarters — " Not at home " — Up among the pines — Birch-bark
and some of its uses — Cold tea — A herd of markhor — A wild
tableau — An awkward position for a shot — Gamoo implores
the assistance of Allah and the Prophet — A shadow of doubt —
All's well — Jerking the meat — Blackbirds — Snow-bridges —
Just in time for a shot — A bitter drop in the cup of happiness
— Gamoo and Hatha search for a talisman — The bezoar —
Troublesome ticks — Edible fungi — A rickety bridge — An
interesting family party — Bruin remonstrates — Our luck
deserts us— Grief— A random shot and its consequences— An
unexpected apparition — A close shave — We try a glissade — A
startling sight— Kazima's first testimonial, . . .233

XIV CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVI.

Stag-shooting in Cashmere compared with deer-stalking in Scot-
land—The "running" season— A mountain "dandy"— The
Lolab valley— We look up Bruin among the plum-trees— A
shot in the dusk— On the scent— The " awaz ke wakt "—The
" bara singha " — Tapping for flying squirrels — Watching for a
stag — A love-song — A royal hart — Human vultures — A miss
in the dark — An inquisitive hind — Splendid view of "the
Vale" — Our reveries are disturbed — Wild music — Ramzan's
strategy — A rather mean advantage — Remorse — A challenge
and a reply — Recklessness of stags during the rutting season —
An artifice for attracting them — With what success we tried it —
A native practitioner — Forced to submit to his tender mercies, 253

CHAPTER XVII.

An unexpected meeting with a stranger in the land — Noisy stags
— How the villagers catch a burglar — A serenade — Cold quar-
ters— Tracking in the snow — The short twilight fails us — We
lose our wounded stag — A hunting maxim — The forest monarch
— A charmed life — Doubtful satisfaction — Lost trophies are
always the finest — An exciting but rather " shady " way of
doing business — A night vigil — Depressing influences — Super-
stitious credulity — Devil take the hindmost — the Goojur's black
stag — An invasion of rats and mice — How we circumvented the
black stag — A grand set of horns — Foul play — Cashmere
method of driving a gorge — The Vale under a different aspect
— Making a virtue of necessity — Across the Pir Punchal — Why
" hangul " have decreased in numbers, .... 275

CHAPTER XVIII.

Start for Ladak— The beautiful Sind valley— The Zozzi la (pass)
— Sudden change of scenery — Dras — Bright colouring of the
mountains — Tibetan polo — Buddhist chortans — Lama monks
and their monastery — Sacred music — The shappoo — Tibetan
irrigation — The capital of Ladak — Burning sun and variations
of temperature — Join a brother sportsman — Buddhist manes —
Cross the Chang la— The Himalayan and Tibetan perpetual-
snow lines — Tanksee — Our guide Changter — Cheap mutton —
Tartar character— Alabaster cliffs— View of the Pangong tso
(lake)— Clearness of Tibetan atmosphere— Across the Marsemik
la — "Chung" and "grim"— Oves Ammon in sight — Chang-

CONTENTS. XV

chenmo — A treacherous ford — The Kugrang glen — The kiang
—Antelopes— A bewildered buck— Completely " pumped "-
The "tsos," or Tibetan antelope — Unpleasant effects of rarefied
air — The native's idea concerning them — Striking scenery —
The dong, or wild yak — Tibetan fox — Stalking a dong — Yak
beef — A snowy night and a cheerless morning — Boortze the
chief fuel of Tibet — A Tartar breakfast — Hair-cutting with a
knife — Tibetan hares — Trout-like fish — We celebrate our meet-
ing with Captain Basevi — A rare menu — Basevi's sad fate, . 294

CHAPTER XIX.

The Ovis Ammon — The Pangong lake — A joyless solitude —
Loneliness — Lukkur's escapade — The cause of it — A long and
lucky shot— The lord of the flock is left behind— Black wolf-
Tibetan marmot — Limit of vegetation in Tibet — Oves Ammon
ground — Two big rams sighted — A contretemps — How I blessed
the author of it — More big rams — Their extreme wariness —
Two hours' patience — Half-baked in the sun— A stormy morn-
ing— More beauties in sight — A long and trying stalk — The
obstacles encountered in it — What could have scared the flock ?
—We come up with it again — A drive is attempted — Its result
— Misplaced confidence — Black wild dogs, . . . 327

CHAPTER XX.

Ferrying the Indus — Mountains of jasper — Hanle and its mon-
astery — A Lama abbot — The " goa " and its haunts — Ab-
normal rainfall — Its effect on Tibetan game — "Goa" — Two
bucks descried — Result of forgetting to load — The Chinese
border — An interview with the borderers — Their behaviour —
A curious incident — A lucky right-and-left — Great variety of
wild-flowers — Meet a brother sportsman — Packs of sand-grouse
— The Tso Morari — Its characteristics — Wild geese — A solitary
disciple of St Hubert — Twelve degrees of frost in August — The
Tso Kar or Salt Lake — Its fresh-water neighbour — Wild-fowl —
A blanket city — Brood of snow-pheasants — A snowy waste —
Valley of the Parang — The Parang la — Across it in a snow-
storm — Endurance of the yak — A ludicrous picture — The
summit at last — Nature's awful works — A surgical operation —
The napoo or burrell — Two killed — Immense glaciers — Spiti
bipeds and quadrupeds — Kulu scenery — Rustic beauties —
Return to civilisation — An old but interesting newspaper —
Kangra valley — The end of a long journey, . . . 345

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXI.

Prepare to revisit trans-Himalayan regions — Sirkandadevi — A
good omen — Tehree and its Rajah — Extraordinary display of
fireflies — Srinuggur, Gurhwal — A pest of scorpions — Mahamur-
ree, or the great disease — Villages deserted owing to its ravages
— Perilous endeavours of the late Dr F. Pearson to arrest its pro-
gress— A characteristic episode — Puddoo — The Bh5tias — Kill a
30-lb. mahseer in the Pindar — An evening's fishing in the
Nandakni — Village of Joshimutt — A Hindu Pope — "Sanga"
bridges — Road thronged with pilgrims — Shrine of Vishnu at
Badrinath — Its wild surroundings — The Raol, or high priest —
Curious natural bridge — Sacred waterfall — A night's experi-
ences at 18,000 feet of elevation — We watch for tahr — A covey
of chuckor in the way — Moonlight and sunset effects on the
snow — The peak of Nandadevi — A bear in the corn — Up the
valley of the Doulee — Cascade of Bingareebeyl — A legend of it
— An " enchanted " glen — Bad ground — Our coolies object to
proceed — Puddoo's persuasive powers — A precarious position —
An unpleasant night in an eerie situation — A mysterious old
tahr — A sanctuary for game — Musk-deer — A grand surprise —
Superb snow-scene — Doonagiri purbat — Old tahr bucks — Their
eccentric gambols — The evil genius of the glen dogs our foot-
steps— Up among the clouds — A short cut not always the
quickest — Surprise a musk-deer in the mist — Overtaken by
darkness — A rather perilous descent — Welcome assistance, . 374

CHAPTER XXII.

Doonagiri village — A Himalayan glacier — Burrell-ground — Kill
two rams — Female porters — Fine old deodar-trees — Bhotia
villages of Kosa and Malari — Burglarious bears — Solitude and
desolation — Bhotias, male and female — Gooseberry and currant
bushes — Rock-slips — Providential escapes from them — Niti
village — Strange collection of old shoes — Tibetan envoy — The
"jooboo" — From Niti to Goting — Summer avalanches — Old
birch-trees — Snow-pheasants — Bad walking — A day's sport at
Goting — An awkward bridge — Alpine rose — A grand old ram
— A mistake — A snow-leopard shares our spoils — Wild defile —
The Niti pass— View of Hundes from its summit— A note-
worthy watershed — Sketching under difficulties — A terribly
cold camp — A deputation from the Jongpen — Our Hoonya
escort, ........ 403

CONTENTS. XV11

CHAPTER XXIII.

Impressions of Hundes — Wary old rams — Kiangs in the way — The
Jongpen's messengers return — Signing a contract — Hoonya
sheep-shearing — An Ovis Ammon with bronchitis — Grey wolves
— Dongpu — A Tartar hamlet — Large troops of kiang — Their
manoeuvres — The Sutlej — The Lai Daka — Venison for camp —
How we caught a dish of fish — A study in entomology — Em-
barras des richesses — The Dukka hills — Misfortunes will happen
— They never come single — A cruelly cold morning in June —
Large flock of big rams — In the nick of time — A most enjoy-
able smoke — After a wounded ram — Intruders on the scene —
Just too late — A bewildered flock — A tantalising opportunity
— A tiresome trudge — Welcome rest, .... 427

CHAPTER XXIV.

Sudden change of temperature — An unexpected event — A brother
sportsman turns up — " It never rains but it pours " — We try
a little fish-poaching — A welcome post-bag — Burrell again —
Waiting for a rani to rise — " Hdbet " — A nursery of wild sheep
— A long chase — A lucky fluke — An aged ram — Our Hoonya
escort departs — Bed of fossils — Tibetan douane — Afternoon tea
— The way it was made — Dice-throwing — A token of goodwill
from the Jongpen — Tibetan method of curing butter — A try-
ing job — Recross Niti pass — Bhotia whisky — Puddoo imbibes
rather freely — A bit of advice — A change for the better — Pud-
doo & Co. celebrate their return home — A transformation-scene
in the theatre of nature — A reverie — Ramnee — Farewell to the
grand old Himalayas, ...... 444

CHAPTER XXV.

Containing a few hints concerning kit, camp - equipage, &c., for a
Himalayan hunting-trip, which, to the young hand, may be
useful, . . . . . . . .459

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

VIEW PROM THE NITI PASS, TIBETAN SIDE, . Frontispiece

DEHRA BOON AND SEWALIK HILLS, ..... 7

CROSSING A "JULA," ....... 10

"ON SENTRY" IN A MACHAN, 23

VILLAGE BEEHIVE, 27

THE MAHSEER, ........ 29

VILLAGE SHIKAREE, WITH MATCHLOCK AND REST — PROVINCE

OF KUMAON, 42

HEAD OF "GOORAL," OR HIMALAYAN CHAMOIS, ... 43

SHOOTING-TENT, 56

" TO SAVE HIMSELF FROM FALLING, KURBEER WAS OBLIGED TO

LET GO," 85

TIBETAN "CHUCKMUCK" FOR STRIKING A LIGHT, . . .104

HOOKERIE, OR GOORKHA KNIFE, 119

A PAIR OF POOLAS, ..... .132

CASHMERE " KANGREE," OR FIRE-BASKET, . . . .136

"ON THE WATCH," ........ 144

THE GONDOLA OF CASHMERE, ... . 161

IN THE DOON JUNGLES, . . . . . . .171

XX ILLUSTRATIONS.

WILD BEES' NEST, . . . . . . . .201

VILLAGE, GURHWAL MOUNTAINS, . . . . .219

TYPES OF MARKHOR HORNS, 223

MARKHOR (FIR PUNCHAL), ...... 224

A GLISSADE, 250

RUINS OF THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN " MARTUND," . . 268

HIMALAYAN AND NORTHERN INDIAN GAME, . . .292
YAK, 314

TIBETAN (HAND) PRAYER-WHEEL, 326

LAMA MONASTERY AT HANLE, ...... 347

TSO MORARI LAKE, 15,000 FEET ABOVE SEA-LEVEL, . . 357

TEMPLE OF BADRINATH, 380

A "SANGA," OR WOODEN BRIDGE, ..... 404

"AS HE STOOD THERE MOTIONLESS AS A STATUE," . . 422

TIBETAN WOODEN CUP AND TOBACCO-PIPE, .... 443

TIBETAN GAME, 452

TARTAR TENT, . ...... 458

HORNS OF GOEN (SWAMP DEER) KILLED IN THE OUDE TERAI, 464

H I N D U - K 0

CHAPTEE I.

AN OLD MUZZLE-LOADER — HINDU-KOH— HIMALAYAN SCENERY AND SPORT
— HUNTING ETIQUETTE — JUVENILE WILD SPORTS — WILD SHEEP AND
GAZELLES — START FOR THE MOUNTAINS — SIMLA — DEODAR CEDAR
FORESTS — RHODODENDRON TREES — THE SNOWY RANGE IN PROSPECT
— MOUNTAIN ROADS — CROSSING A " JULA " — MUSSOORIE — DEHRA
DOON — AN INTERVIEW WITH SOME OF ITS WILD DENIZENS — KURD-
WAR — THE HOLY FAIR THERE, AND ONE OF ITS CONSEQUENCES —
THE TERAI — NYNEE TAL — ARRIVE AT SHORE.

THE bygone performances of an old "muzzle-loader" may
perhaps be considered rather obsolete by the young sportsman
of the present with his double "express." But as human
nature always has been, and, I opine, ever will be much the
same, the pleasure of studying the habits of wild animals
in their native haunts, the excitement of the stalk, and the
charming influence of grand and beautiful scenery, must be
little altered now from what they were years ago, when first
I tried my " prentice hand " with the rifle among the highest
mountains in the world.

Before proceeding to narrate these old-fashioned perform-
ances, let me account for the heading I have given this book,
as to some it may appear far-fetched. So many works had
already been produced on this same subject, with a " Hima-

A

2 HIMALAYAN SCENERY AND SPORT.

layan " cognomen, that I was at a loss to find a new name
for such an oft-told tale. To quote Solomon, " There is no
new thing under the sun," so I selected as a title an old and
but little-known designation for the Himalayas — " Hindu-
Koh " ; and an ancient name would, I thought, suit well
with a somewhat threadbare topic. Moreover, as every
high peak of this mountain-chain is to Hindoos an object of
more or less veneration, this term,1 which signifies " Hindoo
mountain," is, I think, quite as apposite, though perhaps not
so pretty as Himaldya — derived, it is said, from two Sanskrit
words, kima and ayala, " abode of snow."

It is now generally accepted as a well-established fact, that
these great northern bulwarks of Hindustan, and their vicin-
ity, contain hunting-grounds which may be classed among the
best that are known. For grandeur of scenery, the Himalayas
stand unrivalled. Dame Nature has, indeed, been more lavish
of her charms here than in any other part of the universe.
That these are not exaggerated assertions, the many interest-
ing records that have already been written on the well-worn
though inexhaustible subjects of Himalayan travel and sport
bear ample testimony, and render the following humble at-
tempt to describe some of my own unscientific wanderings
and experiences quite unnecessary for this purpose.

When out after large game on the mountains, the sports-
man is, as a rule, constrained to content himself with his own
society and that of his native guides, if he has any idea of
being successful. Moreover, from the very nature of the
ground, it would be next to impossible for two men to hunt
together over the same tract of country, without materially
interfering and spoiling each other's sport ; indeed, it is con-
sidered a point of etiquette among Himalayan sportsmen to
avoid intruding on ground on which anybody else has already

1 Koli being the Persian for " mountain," this name probably originated with
the more western Asiatics. The range was known to ancient European geo-
graphers as Emodos and Imaus.

JUVENILE WILD SPORTS. 3

begun to work. Hence it follows that however much a man
may refrain from egotism in the narration of Himalayan sport,
he must either keep his experiences to himself, or describe
the performances of that objectionable Ego. A sportsman in
the mountains is wonderfully fortunate if he can so arrange
his beats as to bivouac at night on neutral ground with a
chum, with whom he may discuss a pipe at the camp-fire after
dinner, compare notes of the day's doings, and separate again
in the morning, " each to gang his ain gait " ; but to attempt
to work in couples is ruination to sport, and only vexation of
spirit. Nor need one ever feel lonely amidst the grand and
the beautiful. Fair Nature is always charming companion-
ship, and —

" Oh ! she is fairest in her features wild,
Where nothing polished dares pollute her path."

Long ere I was old enough to handle a gun, an innate love
of the pursuit of the ferce natures found vent in trapping birds
by the numerous means devised in the youthful mind, and in
rambling in quest of their eggs ; rat-hunting at the dismant-
ling of a corn-stack, the wild excitement of which, I then
thought, nothing could surpass ; and suchlike ways of indulg-
ing juvenile sporting instincts. I doubt whether the keen
delight felt on killing my first game-bird — a woodcock — has
in all my shooting experiences been equalled. To my good
fortune in having been a Goorkha, so to speak, during the
whole of my service in India, is due the fact of my having
had such opportunities of fostering this taste for wandering
and wild sport as seldom fall to the lot of the sojourner in
the far East. For the Goorkha battalions are generally
quartered either in or near the Himalayas ; and the Nepalese
mountaineers, of whom they are composed, are second to no
other shikarees, not to say soldiers, in the world.

The first three years of my service were passed at Peshawur,
which, though an excellent school for a soldier lad, from the
practical lessons taught in the frequent expeditions that took

4 WILD SHEEP AND GAZELLES.

the field from it against the turbulent hill-tribes on the
frontier, afforded little scope for sporting proclivities beyond
good snipe-shooting and quail when in season, or an occa-
sional chance of hawking the Oubara (small bustard), &c., in
which sport the richer natives of the Peshawur valley often
indulge.

Towards the end of 1853 we marched for Eawul Pindi, in
the Punjab, a much better field for sport, owing to its proxi-
mity to the foot of the Himalayas — its neighbourhood being
then well stocked with game — and the excellent mahseer-
fishing which was to be had within reachable distance.

I was out after Oorial,1 the wild sheep of the Punjab (Ovis
cycloceros), and gazelles, here termed " ravine deer " (Gazella
Bennettii), among the comparatively low but somewhat rugged
hills, and the deep ravines in the western part of the Eawul
Pindi district, when I was recalled from my leave and
ordered to proceed with a recruiting-party to an outpost on
the Nepal frontier, in the mountain province of Kumaon.
I was sorry to have to forsake the game little wild sheep
among which I was getting good sport. It was then the end
of March, and I had two months of hot travel before me, as
there were in those days no railways in Upper India. But
the long journey was of little account, with a cool climate
and such a fine country for game in prospect at its
termination.

Marching through the plains of India during the hot
season is by no means pleasant. I therefore resolved to
avoid the heat, the dust, and their concomitant evils as much
as possible, by diverging from the regular route and travelling
for a part of the way through the outer Himalayan ranges.
With this intent I made direct for Simla — that Indian Capua
which, with its salubrious climate and social attractions, is,

1 The Oorial is the almost exact counterpart of the Moufflon of Southern
Europe. It is found plentifully distributed over the Salt-range in the
Punjab, and among the lower ranges of Afghanistan.

THE SURVEY RANGE IN PROSPECT. 5

like its ancient prototype, much favoured by the magnates of
our Indian empire, who are wont to luxuriate there during
a great part of the year. Thence, about ten days' stiff march-
ing brought us to that other popular, but less ostentatious,
mountain resort — Mussoorie. The scenery and climate on
this portion of the journey were a truly delightful change
after the dreary monotony and thick sultry atmosphere of
" the plains." The clear bracing air of the mountains and
the refreshing fragrance of pine woods instilled new life into
one. Now our path would wind for miles through forests of
noble deodar cedars, or of grand old oaks and rhododendrons,
their gnarled and crooked branches all bedecked with lichen
and orchids, or ragged with trailing beards of grey moss ; and
the rhododendrons (which here are not merely shrubs, but
large forest-trees), although past the season of their flowering
prime, were still gorgeous with a wealth of crimson blossoms.
Now it lay along some bright green valley, beside a clear brawl-
ing brook dancing in the sunshine over its pebbly bed, and
flanked on either side by wooded heights or steep grassy slopes.
Sometimes, where it traversed a rocky eminence or an open
hillside, a superb panorama of the distant range of perpetual
snow would be disclosed to view, — the long irregular chain of
grand frozen peaks and ridges rising sharply on the clear sky-
line, and stretching away right and left, their pale summits
gradually becoming more indistinct as they sank towards the
far horizon. The mists of early morning often lay in level
white banks along the bottom of the deep intervening valleys.
As the rising sun grew more powerful, the vapour would
slowly lift, and, taking the form of fantastic-shaped cumuli,
envelop the snowy crests in its heavy white folds, leaving
in the profound hollows a soft blue haze which was fitfully
darkened by the broad shadows of transitory clouds hovering
above.

But mountain-roads have their drawbacks as well as their
delights. And of this fact one is reminded by having to

JULA."

climb some heart-breaking hill, before reaching the top of
which the weary climber loses much of his admiration of the
scenery as well as a good deal of breath, and frequent stop-
pages are made, nominally on account of the former, but really
in behalf of the latter, vulgarly termed " bellows to mend."
Moreover, when the traveller least expects it, some of those
beautiful masses of white cloud he has admired so much as
they rested like huge piles of cotton- wool along the mountain-
tops, have gradually crept up unnoticed until warned of their
approach by distant rumblings and mutterings of thunder,
when suddenly the storm-cloud bursts over him, and discharg-
ing its humid contents, drenches him to the skin. But even
the storm has its wild charm should the wayfarer be fortu-
nate enough to find some friendly rock at hand, from under
shelter of which he can view its approach, and listen to the
thunder rolling and reverberating among the surrounding
crags and precipices — for a tempest in such mountains is
truly a grand sight.

The greater part of a day was spent in crossing a deep,
rapid river by a rope bridge, or "jula" as it is called. A
stout rope is stretched from side to side, generally between
two convenient rocks. Each man or bundle of baggage is
placed on a short plank of wood, like the seat of a swing,
which is attached to the main rope by a crooked bit of stick,
forming a kind of running-block. The load, animate or in-
animate, is sent sliding along down the rope as far as its
weight will take it, and then hauled up to the opposite side
by a guy-rope attached to the running-block. Although
there was little or no danger, I was glad to find myself on
terra firma again after being swung over, the more so as
I had just seen the load of baggage that preceded me left
dangling in mid-air above the roaring torrent, until the guy-
rope, which had parted company with the block, was replaced
by an acrobatic individual who clambered out on the main
rope to repair damages. There is another kind of jula, made

DEHRA DOON. 7

of ropes formed of twigs, twisted and bound tightly together,
which, though more elaborate in its construction, requires
more nerve to cross. For the crosser has to perform a sort
of dance on the slack-rope, with nothing to prevent his fall-
ing from it into the water but two smaller ropes for his hands
to clutch on either side.

The crow of the black partridge (francolin) was frequently
heard by the wayside, and pheasants of various kinds were
said to be pretty numerous. But even had there been
leisure for shooting, it was the nesting season.

Before descending from Mussoorie to the Dehra Boon,
through which a portion of our route lay, the view of this
beautiful valley, as we looked down on it from the heights
abruptly rising 5000 or 6000 thousand feet above it, was
singularly imposing. Some fifty miles long by about twelve
miles broad, and over 2000 feet high, this forest-clad valley
or " Boon " lies along the base of the mountains, its wide-
spreading jungles interspersed here and there with open
tracts of long grass, irregular patches of reclaimed land, and
intersected by broad beds of shingle and sand, where the
tortuous streams flowing along them shone afar in the sun-
light like bright threads of silver. On the east and west it
is bounded by the rivers Ganges and Jumna respectively,
where they first issue from the vast mountain-gorges through
which they roll^ down from their sources among the eternal
snow ; on the south, by the low but very rugged and wooded
belt of the Sewalik hills separating it from the plains beyond,
which fade gradually away in the distant heat-haze that
blurs the horizon.

Our way next led through these dense woods, in which, one
morning, I chanced to have a rather exciting interview with
some of their wild denizens. Having heard pea-fowl calling
hard by, I had left the road in quest of them, followed by a
little Goorkha carrying my rifle. As we were skirting along
a large patch of very tall reeds (called null or nurkul), a rust-

8 A RECKLESS PROCEEDING.

ling noise, evidently made by the movement of some large
animal, was heard therein. Our doubts as to what it could
be were soon dispelled by finding the fresh droppings and
tracks, or "mullen," as the latter are there called, of wild
elephants, as well as by sundry snorts and rumbling sounds
which were now and again heard. Loading my gun with
bullets, and exchanging it with the Goorkha for the rifle,
we stole cautiously through the reeds towards the spot
whence the sound proceeded, and had not to go far ere I
discovered the head and big flapping ears of an elephant a
short distance from me. Suddenly detecting our presence,
the animal cocked forward its ears, whisked round in an in-
stant, and went crashing away through the reeds, followed by
two well-grown calves, of which I just caught a glimpse as
they disappeared. In my excitement I let drive at the old
one's stern, which foolish example was followed by my com-
panion. She merely gave a shrieking trumpet and continued
her flight. Had I then been more experienced in such
matters, I should have known the danger and folly, not to
mention the cruelty, of so reckless a proceeding ; and had it
chanced to have been a male, he might have made our position
rather hot.

Thinking we had seen the last of the elephants, we had
cleared out of the reeds, and had been skirting along them
for some distance, when again we heard a tremendous crash-
ing amongst them. Each moment it grew louder as it rapidly
drew nearer. Either the injured elephant, or one of her
mates that we had not seen, was evidently making straight
for us, with the intention, we imagined, of resenting our rash
and random shots. The business now seemed about to as-
sume a more serious aspect, for we were in the open, and not
a tree of any size was near round which we might have
dodged the animal ; but the plucky little Goorkha stood firm
as a rock as he quietly whispered, " Look out, Sahib ! we'll
give it her in the head when it comes in sight." However,

THE HURDWAR FAIR. 9

perhaps fortunately, no head appeared, for just as we expected
the elephant to be down upon us, with a loud snort it sud-
denly stopped short, and nothing more did we see or hear of
it but the rustling of the reeds as it made off.

After three days' travel through the Doon, we quitted the
hill-tracts for the open plains, where we crossed the Ganges
at Hurdwar. The great holy fair at this place of Hindoo
sanctity, where countless thousands of pilgrims annually con-
gregate to purify themselves in the sacred river, was recently
over, and the vast crowds had dispersed, carrying with them,
far and wide, that terrible pest, cholera, which, as usual, had
broken out amongst this sweltering mass of humanity in, a
fearfully virulent form. I firmly believe that those dreadful
epidemics which sometimes almost devastate whole districts
of Hindustan and its neighbouring countries, emanate prin-
cipally from this source.

After ten days' weary travel through a fiery atmosphere,
resembling the colour of pea-soup, myriads of flies, and with
disease rampant around, we hailed with intense relief and joy
our first sight of the outer hills of Kumaon, as they loomed
through the murky haze. Our last day's march, before re-
entering the mountains, was across the Terai. This belt of
dense forest and swamp extends, as is well known, for hun-
dreds of miles along the base of the Himalayas, varying in
breadth. From June till November its climate is deadly.
During the rest of the year it is comparatively healthy, when
game of many sorts and sizes, from a jack-snipe to a wild
elephant, may be found there, not to speak of the mahseer-
fishing in its rivers. There is always, however, a feeling of
restraint when boxed up in a howdah, as well as a certain
amount of dependence upon the elephant that carries you
and the mahout who drives it, which, in my humble opinion,
detract much from the enjoyment of this style of sport ; and
from the close heat of the atmosphere and the thickness of
the jungle, it can hardly be either pleasurably or properly

10

NYNEE TAL.

achieved in the Terai on foot. For my part, give me moun-
tain work, with its freedom of action, glorious scenery, and
fresh bracing air, and with one's own wits and limbs only to
depend upon in pursuit of game.

After a rest at the mountain sanitarium of Nynee Tal,
with its deep clear Tal, or lake, lying embosomed among its
beautiful surroundings of steep wooded slopes and moss-grown
crags, a few days more through the mountains brought us to
our recruiting-station, and, I may add, my first hunting-ground
in the Himalayas, after a long hot journey to it of about 750
miles.

Crossing a "

11

CHAPTEE II.

OUTPOST OF SHORE— THE THAKIL— HIMALAYAN WOODCOCKS— WOOD-SNIPE
— WOODCOCK CARRYING ITS YOUNG — CHUCKOR PARTRIDGES — A
HAUNTED HOUSE — WHAT HAPPENED IN IT — HUNTING SUPERSTI-
TIONS— "THE RAINS" — LEECHES — HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR — A

BEAR-HUNT — BEAR-SHOOTING IN THE OAK-TREES — A SHE-BEAR
PUNISHES HER CUB — THE SLOTH-BEAR — ITS SAVAGE PRANKS-
HUNGRY JACKALS — BEAR KILLED WITH SMALL-SHOT — A SHE-BEAR
TO THE RESCUE — VILLAGERS MAULED BY BEARS — RESULT OF A
PRACTICAL JOKE — A CUNNING OLD BRUIN — VILLAGE BEEHIVES —
TIGER-CHARMS — A TIGER TALE — FABLES ABOUT BRUIN — WHERE
TO HIT HIM.

THE outpost of Shore, or Pithoragarh, as it is officially termed,
at which I had arrived, is situated in a pretty, basin-shaped,
green valley, about eight miles in circumference, at an alti-
tude of somewhat over 5000 feet. The valley is encircled by
high hills, except where a wide gap to the north-east discloses
a beautiful glimpse of the snowy range. The post consists of a
small British-built fort, and a stockade perched on an adjacent
eminence ; a few native shops ; the huts for the detachment
quartered there ; and three dwelling-houses for the officers.
The only benefit, probably, ever derived from the fort was by
the individual who took the contract for building it, as it is
completely commanded from higher ground, and there ap-
peared to be no efficient arrangement for the supply of water.
As for the stockade, I could never discover what was its
builder's intention, even from the oldest inhabitant.

Black bears and other large game were plentiful at that

12 HIMALAYAN WOODCOCKS.

time on the neighbouring heights, and hill-tigers and leop-
ards were not uncommon. One grand hill, immediately
south of the valley, and rising about 3000 feet above its
level, was especially famous for game — the Thakil by name,
so called after a singular kind of palm-tree that grows on
it, and seemingly peculiar to that hill, as I observed it on
none of the neighbouring ones. Its bare straight stem, topped
with a bunch of feathery, fan-shaped fronds, has a rather
anomalous effect, shooting up singly, to a height of 30 or 40
feet, here and there among gnarled old oaks, rhododendrons,
and conifers, at an elevation of between 6000 and 8000 feet
above sea-level, and more especially in winter, when the hill
is covered with snow.

On the low ground feathered game was fairly abundant,
and a few hares, which were much larger than those of the
plains of India. In the depth of winter, woodcocks (here
called sim-kokra — meaning rill or spring fowl) were to be
found. Of the latter, I once in about a month bagged thirty-
seven in this valley and a neighbouring one, eighteen being
shot in one week. But such exceptional good luck was during,
and subsequent to, an unusually severe snowstorm, which had
driven so many woodcock down from the higher ranges, where
they bred regularly. Most of them, however, were shot in
the other valley, which was always more or less favoured
by them in winter. I compared stuffed specimens of these
woodcocks with their European relative, and found them ex-
actly similar in plumage, and apparently so in size. On the
same occasion I shot several wood-snipe, which at first, on
being flushed, are apt to be mistaken for woodcocks, as they
rise in much the same manner, and, like the woodcock, carry
their bills hanging downwards when on the wing. I once
had ocular proof that the woodcock lifts its young from the
ground. I was hunting on the Cashmere mountains at the
time, when, on flushing a cock, I noticed that its flight was
retarded by something it evidently was carrying. As it

A HAUNTED HOUSE. 13

lighted, after flying a short distance, I followed it up. This
time, when it rose, it flew off unencumbered. On examining
the spot from whence it had last risen, I found its half -fledged
offspring on the ground, where it had been left by the parent
bird. The "chuckor" (very like the red-legged partridge)
also afforded good sport on the broken bushy slopes around
the Shore valley.

On the evening of my arrival I had been dining with the
officer commanding the outpost, who was then the solitary
European resident at the place, — and any of his contempo-
raries in the Bengal Presidency who may chance to read this,
will wot how well and amusingly I was entertained by my
host, poor Frank Grossman, who has long since joined the
" majority." When bidding me " good-night," he laughingly
expressed a hope that I might not be disturbed in the house
where I had taken up my quarters, as it was reputed to be
haunted. There certainly was a deserted, dismal look about
the place, which was anything but inviting. Long rank grass
and weeds grew in great profusion around it, and the walls,
which in many parts were falling to decay, were green with
damp and moss. Within a few yards of the house there stood
an old dilapidated tomb, which, report said, had been dese-
crated by some ruffians who had exhumed the corpse interred
long ago beneath it, in search of plunder. There were many
other queer stories concerning the locality, one of them being
of a quondam occupant of the house having, in a fit of " D.T.,"
committed suicide there ; possibly the individual buried under
the ruined monument. Altogether, from its lonely situation,
the supernatural tales concerning it, its general woe-begone
appearance, which was augmented by some funereal-looking
pine- trees that grew hard by, and the fact of the natives being
loath to visit it after nightfall, it might indeed have been con-
sidered a ghostly sort of place.

Not being of a superstitious turn of mind, I thought little
more about the reputation of my abode; and, being rather

14 AN EERIE EXPERIENCE.

tired after my day's journey, was not long in turning into bed,
and was soon soundly slumbering. I must have been asleep
some time, when I was awakened by a hand, as it were, touch-
ing my foot. The room was dark as Erebus, and I had no
matches at hand wherewith to strike a light. Nor was there
anybody within hail to bring one, for I was alone in the
house, all the servants having left it for their own quarters,
which, as is usual in India, were outside ; so there was nothing
for it but to lie still and try to collect my somewhat confused
ideas. My first thought was of the last words of my host at
dinner regarding the reputation of the house ; my next was
that perhaps he might be playing a joke, for it was well
known how dearly he loved one. Meantime I could feel
fingers, as I imagined, moving slowly and stealthily up my
leg and on to my body. I must confess I now underwent
that most unpleasant flesh-creeping sensation which most
persons at some time or another have experienced. And
when the seeming fingers at last reached my head, and I felt
them stirring my hair, which by this time was assuming an
upright position, I could bear it no longer. Throwing off the
clothes, I sprang from the bed, but only to hear a rustle on
the floor matting as my nocturnal visitor pattered off in the
dark. Little more sleep did I get that night, for the un-
earthly noises which went on through the house were enough
to have awakened the seven sleepers of Ephesus. The place
was haunted, and no mistake, in one way at any rate; but
after that night never a ghost did I hear or see there — nothing
but the rats, with which it was prodigiously infested, rampag-
ing about it ; and to these, after a time, I got quite accus-
tomed. Next morning at breakfast we had a good laugh over
my mysterious experience ; but whether ghost or rat was my
visitor that night, I have never to this day been able to
determine.

The natives of the Himalayas, like all mountain races, are
very superstitious, and particularly so about hunting. If a

LEECHES. 15

man is a successful shikaree, his luck is attributed to his
practising some magic charm. They also have an idea that
the wild animals are sometimes protected from harm by the
deity of the mountain, for every prominent hill or accessible
peak, where the people of the country are of the Hindoo
persuasion, has its rudely-built little temple, or cairn of
stones, dedicated to the particular "deota," as they call it,
which is supposed to preside there.

Having sent off my men to their recruiting beats along the
Nepal frontier, there was little to be done in the way of
military duty until their return, which might not be perhaps
for months. Neither was there much to do in the shikar line
before September ; for the rainy season had now fairly set in,
and its heavy showers were almost incessant. Moreover, the
steamy heat not only made hill work unpleasant and toilsome,
but also unhealthy, and caused rank vegetation to spring up
with astonishing rapidity, rendering it almost impossible to
find game. Leeches, too, at that season are very abundant in
the Kumaon hills. These little wretches will penetrate to
one's feet and ankles through almost anything. On taking
off tightly -laced boots after a walk, even along beaten paths,
I generally found that one or two had managed to reach my
skin. Besides, it was what ought to be the close season for
game, although, I regret to say, in India this is not always
considered. In September, however, black bears might be
expected to come down from the neighbouring wooded hills
into the valley, there to make their nightly raids on the Indian
corn and other crops which would then be ripening.

The Himalayan black bear, called bdloo or reech by the
natives, is common everywhere on the middle and lower
ranges. Why it is termed Ursus Tibetanus in natural history
I never could quite comprehend, as it is distinctly a forest-
loving beast, and most unlikely to be found on the bare table-
lands of Tibet, where it is never heard of.

It was early in the month of September when one morning

16 A BE AH- HUNT.

news was brought in of a bear that had been committing
depredations in some corn-fields a few miles off. There
happened at the time to be several sportsmen at Shore, all
eager for shooting of any kind ; so we at once proceeded to
beat up Bruin's quarters.

On reaching a deep, broad ravine filled with thick brush-
wood, to which the raider had retired to digest his morning
meal, the various guns were quietly posted in the most likely
places on each side, and at one extremity of the cover, whilst
across the other end were ranged a number of villagers who,
on all being ready, were to commence beating through it.

At last the appointed signal is given, and is immediately
followed by a hideous chorus of yells, whoops, and whistles, as
the beaters dash into the covert like a pack of fox-hounds.
But there is little doubt that this ostentatious display of zeal
results more from the idea that the greater row each man
makes the less chance will there be of the bear's coming near
him, than from eagerness in its pursuit. Presently a loud
" wugh," " wugh," is heard above* the clamour, and conflicting
exclamations of " Kubberdar ! " (look out), " There he goes ! "
" Here he comes ! " are heard from the beaters in every direc-
tion ; so that, at first, it is difficult to form any idea as to
where the brute really is.

" Crack " at length goes a rifle, and a responding " yeeough "
from Bruin sounds as though something more than the report
had caused it. Other shots follow, accompanied by cries of
" lugga ! " " lugga ! " (he's hit), " maro ! " " maro ! " (shoot),
uttered by the villagers in their half -frightened excitement.
Gradually the rumpus approaches my station near the ex-
tremity of the jungle, where each moment I expect the animal
to bolt. But he breaks away on the opposite side of the
ravine, and fully a hundred yards off. I take a snap-shot at
his great black carcass as he gallops clumsily along between
the bushes, its effect being to elicit another grunt and make
him roll over. This may perhaps result only from fright,

BEAR-SHOOTING IN THE OAK-TREES. 17

as, on recovering himself, he appears to go faster than ever.
Having thus far run the gauntlet of the guns, he takes his
way down the rocky bed of the stream, along the bottom of
the ravine, which becomes narrower and more free from
bushes.

The business now gets pretty exciting, and not altogether
free from the danger of stray bullets, as we all go scrambling
along over the rough, uneven ground on either side, firing
shots whenever an opportunity offers, but seemingly with little
effect. At last I manage to get a fair chance at the brute's
broad back, about twenty yards off, as he attempts to climb
the opposite bank, when a bullet between the shoulders brings
him rolling down into the water. At the same moment my
foot slips into a deep hole hidden by long grass, and down I
go, giving my knee such a painful wrench that I take little
more heed of the bear. Even had he been able to show fight
I was almost hors de combat. But this shot had finished him,
which was some little compensation for being laid up for
many days after.

In localities where oak-forests abound, perhaps the pleasant-
est if not the best time for shooting these bears is in the
month of December, when they wax fat on acorns, which
are then ripe. They generally commence feeding about sun-
set, when they climb up the oak-trees and gorge themselves
with acorns all night, often not betaking themselves to their
lairs — which are generally either caves or thickets near their
feeding-ground — until some time after sunrise. Their where-
abouts is easily discovered from the broken branches showing
distinctly against the dark foliage of the trees, the back of the
leaf of the Himalayan oak being white. At the commence-
ment of the acorn season their attention is so much engaged
with their feast that usually they are easily approached. But
on suddenly finding themselves " treed," their astonishment is
sometimes ludicrous to behold.

Early one morning I was strolling along a ridge command-

B

18 BRUIN TREED.

ing a view of a wide deep hollow, filled with oaks and thick
underwood, keeping a sharp look-out for sign of Bruin, and
occasionally stopping to listen for the snap of a branch.
Suddenly the wished-for sound was heard away down in the
hollow. After a careful study of the trees, a patch of black
was detected among the leafy branches near the top of a very
high one. Having carefully noted the spot, I stole quietly
through the heavy jungle towards it — Kurbeer Goorung, my
Goorkha henchman and shikaree, following closely with my
second gun. Every now and then we stopped to listen and
to examine the trees, but nothing could we either see or hear.
We were beginning to think the beast must have winded us
and decamped, for Bruin's olfactory powers are exceedingly
acute, when we were rather startled at hearing a sort of hum-
ming moaning sound close to us. Kurbeer, in a whisper,
suggested that it might possibly be a tiger, for we had ob-
served the fresh tracks of one in the vicinity. Instinctively
we both placed our backs against the trunk of the nearest
tree, and anxiously peered around into the thick dark jungle.
We had been standing thus but a few seconds when some-
thing wet came dropping on to my head. On looking upward,
there, in the very tree we were under, was the object of our

search —

" In shape o' beast ;
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large,"—

like a spread-eagle among the branches, gazing wistfully down
at us, and looking the most absurd picture of astonishment
and concern at being thus disturbed at his breakfast. We
were not long in standing from under that tree. A shot from
each of us, for the lad was too excited to withhold his fire,
brought the brute straight down, with a thud, to the ground,
where, after one or two whining grunts, he succumbed to his
fate.

A bear, when up a tree, even if only slightly wounded,
never attempts to clamber down. It invariably flops straight

UNCONDIGN PUNISHMENT. 19

on to the ground from any height whatsoever. I once saw a
bear I had shot at roll over and over like a ball down an
almost perpendicular declivity for several hundred feet, and
seemingly without much inconvenience from its tumble, as it
was nowhere to be found at the bottom.

When two or more bears are found together, on one of
them being wounded it will sometimes show its resentment by
savagely attacking one of its companions. In illustration of
this, I may relate an amusing little episode, as told to me
by that well-known old Indian sportsman, Colonel E. Smyth.

"My friend Mr Beckett once stalked a large she-bear
feeding in some open ground with a half-grown cub at its
side. He could not get a shot at a vital place, and so instead
of waiting, as he ought to have done, he fired and hit the
animal in the hind-quarters. He might just as well have hit
her with a lady's riding- whip. The animal turned round to
see what was the matter, and seeing nothing but her own
cub feeding quietly by her side, came to the conclusion, I
suppose, that the cub had bitten her in the hind-quarters, for
she at once rushed at the cub to punish it for its presump-
tion, and the two rolled over and over and disappeared in the
jungle. My friend was too much amused at the incident to
get another shot."

The black bear of the Himalayas is not so pugnaciously
inclined as its concoloured relative the sloth-bear (Ursus
labiatus), which inhabits the hilly districts and jungles of
" the plains " of India, the Nilgherries in Madras, and other
high ranges of hills. The latter animal is a cantankerous
brute that will often attack on the slightest provocation, and
sometimes seemingly out of mere " cussedness." Whereas
the former generally tries to escape if possible, even when
wounded, and seldom shows fight except as a last resource, or
in defence of its cubs. Colonel Smyth told me of many ad-
ventures he had had with bears. I may give one of his
experiences in his own words.

20 SAVED BY A HAT.

" I was out with a friend after bears in the jungles near
Burdwan in Bengal. We had formed a long line with some
thirty or forty beaters about five yards apart from each other,
and were walking quietly along, when I heard the grunting
and a kind of scuffling noise of bears in front of my part
of the line. I thought that two bears were on foot in front
of us, and, frightened at the noise we made, were beating a
retreat ; so I rushed on ahead of the line by myself with one
rifle, and presently I caught a glimpse of a bear running
away in front of me. The jungle was very thick, and I only
saw him for an instant. He disappeared, and I went on by
myself, and presently heard a great noise in front, and in a
moment three bears appeared, all running towards me, about
ten yards off. I had just time to aim and fire my remaining
barrels at the front one, and then turned and ran as hard as
I could, with all three bears after me. I ran for 100 or 150
yards, but found I did not increase my distance from them,
so I caught hold of a little tree and swung myself round, and
went off in another direction at right angles. In swinging
round, my hat (a large sola-topee or pith hat) fell off, which I
expect saved me from getting a terrible mauling, and perhaps
my life. After running another 100 yards, I found I was
not pursued, and I soon reached my friend with the coolies,
and the man who was carrying my other (loaded) rifle. We
then went to the spot where I had swung myself round the
tree, and I found my hat smashed to pieces. The bears, not
able to catch me, were satisfied with the hat ! I found a blood
track, which showed I had hit one of them as he charged
me. We followed the tracks for some distance, but event-
ually lost them. The very day before this, in the same jungle,
I had wounded a large bear which I was following up, when I
came suddenly and unexpectedly upon him. ' He saw me at
the same moment, and came down upon me like a thunderbolt.
I had just time to aim at him and fire. My bullet struck
him in the head, and he rolled over dead within two yards of

BEAR KILLED WITH SMALL-SHOT. 21

me. If I had missed him, or only slightly wounded him, he
would have been in the midst of ten or twelve poor coolies
who were huddled together within a few yards of me, in
great fear and trembling. This was a very large bear, and
unfortunately the skin was spoiled. I had pegged it out in
front of my tent ; and all night long I was kept awake by
the howling of jackals around my tent. In the morning I
found the skin had been almost entirely eaten by them."

Colonel Smyth also favours me with a remarkable instance
of his having killed a full-grown Himalayan black bear with
small -shot. I give his own account of it.

" Once, while out after pheasants, I met a bear, and had
just time to ram down a bullet, my only one, over the shot,
and take a snap-shot as the animal was disappearing. The
bear was wounded, but not badly; and I traced him down
the hill for a mile or so, very circumspectly as may be im-
agined, for I had only a shot-gun loaded with No. 6 shot.
After some time I lost all traces of him, and was about to re-
turn to my tent when I saw a kind of cave amongst the rocks.
On going up to it to reconnoitre, my friend Bruin came out
with a rush and a roar, when I fired my two barrels of shot
into his face, at a distance of five yards, which caused him to
drop back into the cave. I then bolted behind a rock to re-
load, and coming to the mouth of the cave I heard him in-
side ; but as he would not come out, I got a long stick, which
my guide, who was the only man with me, poked into the cave.
This brought him out again, and two more shots in the face
finished him. It proved to be a full-grown she-bear with cubs."

I have killed and wounded many a bear, but can only re-
member one instance, and that rather a mild one, to record
of my having been regularly charged by a black Himalayan
Bruin.

One evening I had discovered a she-bear and her half-
grown cub up an oak-tree growing just below the brow of a
steep hillside. But the old one had already detected me

2-2 A SHE-BEAR TO THE RESCUE.

below, so, leaving her offspring to take care of itself, she
quickly cleared out of the tree, and, before I could get a shot
at her, had disappeared over the brow. The youngster, not
being quite so knowing, took longer in getting down, and so
gave me a chance of putting a bullet through his hide, which
made him "tune his pipes" pretty loudly, and sent him
scampering away down the hill. The cub's cries of distress
soon brought its mother back over the brow to the rescue,
when she came tearing down the steep slope straight for me,
grunting out her wrath in a most savage manner. I waited
until she was within fifteen yards or so, and then gave her the
contents of the second barrel. This at once doubled her up,
her impetus causing her to tumble heels over head close past
me. After rolling some way down the hill, she recovered
her legs, struggled on a short distance, and then fell to rise
no more. I never found out what became of the bereaved
cub, but in all probability it did not long survive its dam, as
it was hard hit.

Villagers are not unfrequently seen with their faces fear-
fully disfigured from wounds inflicted by bears' claws. But
this is easily accounted for, as, when they discover an old
thief devouring their crops, they usually surround and attack
him with sticks, stones, or any offensive weapons they can
lay their hands on. The irritated and affrighted brute, in his
endeavour to escape, charges wildly through the yelling mob,
and the first man he meets in his headlong course sometimes
pays the penalty by being blinded, scalped, or severely mauled
about the head ; for a bear, when attacking a human being,
almost invariably goes for the face, whereas a tiger or leopard
usually seizes a limb first, which is a remarkable and well-
known fact.

On moonlight nights a shot may sometimes be got by
watching places where the bears come to feed on the crops
from a machdn. This construction is a small platform of
sticks, either raised on poles at a safe height from the ground,

RESULT OF A PRACTICAL JOKE.

23

or on the branches of some convenient tree, where the villager
is wont to sit on sentry with his matchlock, or as often to
fall asleep at night, by way of protecting his crops from the
ravages of wild animals. But the chances are so doubtful
that " the game is not worth the candle." One of the many
tales told by my native followers round our camp-fire, was of
a villager who paid dearly for playing a practical joke in
personifying a bear. Enveloping himself in his black blanket,
and imitating the noise of a bear, this man one night entered
a corn - field with the
playful idea of testing
the courage of the ten-
ant of the machan. The
watcher promptly let
drive with his match-
lock, and inflicted a
wound from which the
practical joker died.

It is a marvel how a
cunning old Bruin will
sometimes contrive to
hide his big black car-
cass in a tree, so well as
to avoid detection. Of
this I had a fair example when I camped out and spent
Christmas-day with my shikarees among the ferae naturce
in the woods, there being no compatriot with whom to
pass that festive time then within sixty miles of the out-
post. Kurbeer and I had been trying to circumvent two
jurrow deer, which, having got wind of us, made off. As they
were trotting away past an oak-tree, I chanced to notice that
some of its branches were violently shaken. Being just the
end of the acorn season, we conjectured this phenomenon was
traceable to a bear up the tree, so we stole quietly towards it
in order to have a closer inspection. I had almost passed the

" On sentry" in a Machan.

24 A CUNNING OLD BRUIN.

tree, having taken, as I thought, a quite careful enough sur-
vey of it to be able to discern a large black object like a bear,
when a low whistle from Kurbeer, who was following a few
paces behind, caused me to stop, and, on looking round, I saw
him pointing towards the middle of the tree. We moved
closer under it, and there, behind a thick part of the stem and
some closely interwoven branches, I discovered a patch of
black hair of the cunning beast, which evidently thought
itself well concealed. With a view to turning its flank, I
moved to the right and left of the tree, which was unassail-
able from its far side, where it overhung a deep drop. But
from nowhere could I get a better sight of the brute, which
kept quite still during all my manoeuvres. I therefore decided
on risking a shot at its only vulnerable point, hoping to make
its resting-place so hot as to induce it to drop from the tree,
and then get a chance at it en route. I fired, and down came
Bruin in a monstrous hurry. There was no occasion for a
second shot, as the black patch was the neck of what turned
out to be a large she-bear that had managed to hide her body
so cleverly.

Never having tasted bear -meat, I suggested to my cook
that he might add a morsel of it to my frugal Christmas
dinner. But the horror and disgust depicted on his face at
the bare idea was such a caution that I refrained from press-
ing the matter, so it never appeared at table. Although these
bears are usually clean feeders, their food chiefly consisting
of grain, fruit, roots, and suchlike, they are decidedly carni-
vorous. They will sometimes destroy sheep and goats, and
will greedily devour carrion. Honey is perhaps their favourite
food, and to obtain this they are sometimes so bold as to rob
the village beehives, which are formed of short bits of tree-
trunks, hollowed out, closed at the ends, and slung under the
wooden eaves of the houses. Small blame to them for being
so fond of it, for the Kumaon honey is the purest and has
the whitest and thinnest comb I have ever seen.

A TIGER TALE. 25

Bear's flesh is never, so far as I know, eaten in India, ex-
cept by the Doms (a very low caste of hill Hindoos — in ancient
times the slave class), although tiger's flesh is often used as a
charm. One of the wonderful properties the natives believe
it to possess is that of its making their children grow up
brave if they partake of it in their youth. The whiskers, too,
are regarded as so potent for working evil with, that if they,
and also the claws, are not carefully looked after, you are
sure to find the former either singed off or plucked out and
the latter extracted surreptitiously by your camp-followers.
The following anecdote, related to me by an old Central India
sportsman, is a curious instance of superstition respecting
tiger's flesh.

A dead tiger had been brought into camp, and all the native
followers, except one, seemed anxious to secure some of the
flesh. The exception was an old shikaree of the wild tribe of
Gonds. On being questioned as to why he did not wish to take
his share, he replied, with an expression of disgust, that he
never ate tiger's flesh, but would enter into no explanation
as to why or wherefore. After a little persuasion, however,
and the promise of a glass of grog, the old man at length
agreed to join the party at the camp-tire after dinner and
relate his story, which, being freely interpreted, was much
as follows : " My grandfather and grandmother were once en-
camped on the outskirts of a jungle, near a great city, when
one day they saw issuing from the city gate a grand hunting-
party, riding on elephants with silver howdahs and gorgeous
trappings, and escorted by armed retainers mounted on splen-
didly caparisoned horses. My grandmother, being struck with
envy, exclaimed, ' Why should we Gonds, whose forefathers
were the lords of this land, now be reduced to such poverty
and live in the jungles, whilst this upstart race enjoys such
wealth and luxury ? I will change myself into a tiger and
watch the city gate, and carry off every rich man I meet
until I have amassed wealth enough to enable us to resume

26 FABLES ABOUT BRUIN.

our former position, and then return and show you where I
have buried my riches.' That night the old woman arose from
beside my grandfather and went into the jungles, and as she
has never since been heard of, she must still be amassing
riches in the form of a tiger ; therefore, if I eat the flesh of
one, I may be devouring a bit of my grandmother."

Most probably the old woman did enter the form of a tiger
that night, but as its supper. Anyway the old Gond did not
seem to mind killing his grandmother, though he objected to
eating her, for he said he liked slaying tigers, because the
more of them he destroyed, the better chance there would
be of one of them being his ancestress, who might then assume
her original form, and return with her riches.

Fables innumerable about bears are common among the
pahdrees (hill-men), and they are often amusing from their
utter absurdity. The occasional abduction of women from
the villages by bears is firmly believed in, as is also their
being able to use a branch of a tree held between their paws
as an offensive weapon, and suchlike nonsense.

Before concluding this matter-of-fact dissertation on black
bear shooting, I would venture to offer the young hand a hint
which may save him the loss of many a wounded bear ; for
Bruin's vitality is such, that unless he is struck in the proper
place, the amount of lead he can carry away is astonishing.
A bear, after being skinned and decapitated, looks very like
a corpulent man with short muscular limbs, and its vitals lie
in much the same region, with regard to its shoulders, as
those of a human being. It is flat -chested, and its fore-
quarters are straight and placed far forward, so it is necessary
to plant your bullet a good span behind the shoulder, and
pretty high up. This, of course, only applies when there is
time for a deliberate aim and a good position for taking it
from. These can generally be got if the animal is not ap-
proached from windward, for Bruin is as dull with his visual
organ as he is sharp with his olfactory one. I have lost many

WHERE TO HIT HIM. 27

a bear by shooting at its shoulder, but seldom or never since
I learnt from experience where the most vital spot lay — pro-
vided I was able to plant a bullet there.

Shooting black bears, though sometimes rather exciting, is,
to my mind, the least interesting of any Himalayan sport ;
for the beasts are not often found in the open, and therefore
seldom afford the pleasure of a stalk. And when you have
secured your bear, its skin is of little value as a trophy, as
the hair is coarse and wiry. But in killing a bear you have
the satisfaction of knowing that you are doing the villagers
a service, not only by ridding them of the greatest enemy to
their crops, but in providing them with bear's grease, which
they consider a most efficacious emollient for rheumatism.

Village beehive.

28

CHAPTEE III.

THE MAHSEER — MONSTER FISH TAKEN WITH THE ROD — THE MAHSEER
COMPARED WITH THE SALMON — SALMONID^ NEVER FOUND IN INDIA
— A FISHING - RIVER IN THE HIMALAYAS — THE SURJOO VALLEY —
ITS WILD DENIZENS — THE JURROW — BARKING-DEER — THE GOORKHA
"KOOKERIE" — TEMPTING PROVIDENCE — A DAMP COUCH— JURROW-
HUNTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES — A HEAVY FISH LOST— THE WAY WE
INVEIGLED THE WILY MAHSEER — JUNGLE FARE — DENSE MORNING
MISTS — A FORENOON'S SPORT IN THE SURJOO — BEST MONTHS AND
BEST FLIES FOR MAHSEER-FISHING IN THE HIMALAYAN RIVERS —

FISHING THEORIES— THE KALABANS— COLLECTING CATECHU.

THOSE who have fished both for salmon and mahseer will
doubtless agree with me in thinking that they are nearly on
a par as far as sport is concerned. In its habits the mahseer
much resembles the salmon, except that it never migrates to
the sea, but in appearance it is very different. The mahseer
(Barlus Tor) of Himalayan rivers, which is said to belong to
the carp family, is a beautiful fish both in form and colour,
but in flavour it does not approach the salmon. Yet its firm
white flesh is by no means to be despised for the table. On
the back its hue is a dark olive-green, shaded off, on the sides
of a well-conditioned fish, into a golden orange, which merges
into pale pink and silvery white below. It has rather large
toothless jaws lined with a very tough membrane, so it re-
quires to be struck pretty hard to be properly hooked. When
I say struck, I mean that after the fish has hooked itself, as
it will do by its own weight, a good pull, without a jerk, is
necessary to drive home the barb into its leathern jaws.

MONSTER FISH. 29

Owing to this toughness of mouth, a mahseer when fixed is
seldom lost unless it breaks the tackle. This a big fish often
will do in its first plunge, when it sometimes has a way of
lashing its tail over the line. That crisis being safely over,
if your tackle is trustworthy, landing your fish is usually
only a matter of time and patience. Its strong teeth are set
far back in its gullet, and the stoutest tackle has a poor
chance if it gorges your lure beyond them. It cannot be
easily clipped, as its large round scales are so hard that the
sharpest gaff will glance off them. When running a mahseer
after it has been fairly hooked, I have never known it leap
from the water, and I think it rarely does so, but its long and
rapid rushes quite equal if they do not surpass those of any

The Mahseer.

salmon of a similar size. As regards its weight, I am well
within the mark when I state that the mahseer reaches
nearly, if not quite, 100 Ib. The largest mahseer I ever
heard of as having been taken with a trolling bait, was 93
Ib. ; and with fly, one that turned the scale at 62 Ib.1 But
such monsters as these are very seldom landed with the rod.

My reason for drawing comparisons between the salmon
and the mahseer is chiefly because the latter is sometimes
termed the " salmon of Indian rivers." It might just as well

1 The 93-pounder was killed by Mr H. Vansittart, C.S., in one of the rivers
of the Dehra Doon ; the 62-pounder in the Pooneh river in the Punjab, by
the late General Sir Herbert Macpherson, who was as keen a sportsman as he
was a good and gallant soldier.

30 A HIMALAYAN FISHING-RIVER.

be called a cod, for in truth it more resembles one, barring its
scales, both in appearance and in flesh. It does not even
belong to the same family, for I may safely assert, on good
authority,1 that no fish of the Salmonidse tribe exists in any
of the Indian or even more northern waters south of the
river Oxus, although there are fish very much resembling
trout taken in Indian streams. But let us now try and catch
our inahseer.

Towards the end of September I started with a brother

sportsman and keen fisherman, Lieutenant F , who has

since become one of my truest and dearest friends, to try our
luck in the Surjoo, a fine fishing-river within easy reach of
Shore. There was also a possibility of getting a shot at
sambur, here called "jurrow" — the big deer termed Eusa
Aristotelis in natural history — which were plentiful in the
heavy jungle that covered the steep hillsides flanking the
river. It was rather doubtful whether the water would be
in good fishing order so soon after the periodical rainy
season, then barely over, and during which the Himalayan
streams are in a perpetual state of muddy spate. The long,
rank vegetation, too, would still be so luxuriant there as to
make our chance of being able to see even a big beast like
a jurrow in it most uncertain. But we were so weary of
the monotony of indoor life that we resolved to take our
chance, either of sport or fever, whichever it might be, the
latter being most probable at that season in these low-lying
jungles.

After a hot tramp of about twelve miles, ending in an
abrupt and rough descent of several thousand feet, we reached
the Surjoo about noon. It looked a perfect fishing - river.
Here it surged and foamed among rocks and huge boulders,
there it widened into swirling expanses of deep water, form-
ing a succession of the most splendid streams and pools a
fisherman could desire to behold. From its shores of sand,
The late Dr Oldham, Superintendent of the. Geological Survey of India.

THE SURJOO VALLEY. 31

gravel, or rock on either side, rose steep lofty acclivities
clothed with dense jungle. This gradually changed its
tropical character to that of the more temperate and higher
altitudes, as it spread far up the mountain-sides to where they
became more craggy and steep. Here the fir, the oak, and
the rhododendron took the place of the Kyer (thorny mimosa),
the bright-green Sal tree, and the luxuriant tropical under-
growth that flourishes below. The tiger and leopard found
a safe harbour in the lower jungles, but from their being able
so easily to slink away unobserved in the long grass and
dense underwood, they were very seldom met with ; although
the deep -toned voice of the former, or the succession of
hoarse grating sounds — like the sawing of wood — made by
the latter, might often be heard through the still night air.
There also the jurrow-deer sought refuge from the fierce
noonday heat, among tangled masses of the gigantic creeper
called " maloo " or " maljoon," beneath the impenetrable
shelter of which it delights to ruminate. The crags and
precipices above were the haunt of the "gooral," or Himalayan
chamois as it is sometimes called.

After an alfresco repast, for which our appetites had been
sharply whetted by a refreshing dip in the river, we prepared
our tackle under the grateful shade of the trees, before pro-
ceeding to business later in the day, for the sun's rays in this
low-lying valley were overpowering.

Towards evening, when the heat became less intense, we
commenced proceedings in a splendid pool where the Surjoo
forms a junction with another fine stream. But our hopes of
success that evening were small, for the water was too big,
and in colour too " drumlie," as they would have said north
of the Tweed, and "the fush wadna force." We, however,
plied it most perseveringly with every kind of fish-lure we
possessed, until darkness brought our fruitless efforts, for that
day, to a close.

On our return we found that one of the Goorkhas we had

32 THE JURROW.

with us had been more successful on the hillside than we
were on the river. He had taken one of our rifles and had
managed to bring down a good jurrow. This fine large deer
is identical with the " maha " of the Terai, and the " sambur "
of other parts of India, It affects heavy forest or its im-
mediate vicinity, and is widely distributed over Hindustan
from the higher ranges, close to the perpetual snows, to Cape
Comorin. The colour and texture of its pile, which nature
has adapted for the various climates of the localities where
this animal is found, differ considerably. The prevailing hue
of the stags is, however, a dark slaty brown, the throat and
neck being covered with long wiry hair. The colour of the
hind is of a lighter brown shade, and she has less of the
long hair, resembling a mane, on her neck. The jurrow of the
higher Himalayas has a darker and thicker coat, and it is also
provided with a close undergrowth of very soft pile, called
pushum, which in winter is common to all the quadrupeds
of those high, cold regions, even to the dogs and horses.
Having shot all the so-called three varieties, I am certain
that, in point of appearance, this is the only difference be-
tween them, and in habits they are the same. Though not
unlike the British red-deer in shape, the jurrow is very much
larger. But it seldom or never has more than three regular
points on each horn, though occasionally it may have one or
two extra snags. I possess a pair of jurrow horns which
measure forty-two inches in length, with an average girth of
beam of eight inches, and a span of a yard inside the bend.
But such a jurrow head as this never fell to my rifle, and
seldom, I imagine, to that of any one else. The eyepits in
this deer are always large, and become much more open and
protuberant when the animal is in an excited state.

The little barking-deer (Cervulus aureus), also termed rib-
faced deer, from the peculiar formation of the frontal bone,
and called " kakur " by the hill-men, was common in these
forests. It is found in most Indian jungles, and, like the

BARKING-DEER. 33

jurrow, from the higher ranges downwards. In Madras it
is known as the "jungle sheep," and I believe it is identical
with the muntjac of the more eastern parts of Asia. It is
rather smaller than a roe -deer, and bright red like that
animal in its summer coat. Its head is curiously shaped,
that of the buck being surmounted with two continuations
of the V-shaped ribbed bone of its forehead, about two inches
long and covered with skin and hair. From these grow the
horns, which in a full-grown buck are three or four inches
in length, curved inwards at the top, and with one short prong
just above the burr, projecting to the front and slightly up-
wards. Although I have seen numbers of this curious little
deer at all seasons, and killed many of them myself with
horns of divers lengths, from a little sprout above the burr
to their fully developed size, strange to say, I have never
found them in velvet, From this I am inclined to think
they do not shed their horns regularly like other horn-
bearing Cervidse (excepting the " cheetal " or spotted deer —
Axis maculatus — which drops its horns very irregularly, as
I shall hereafter endeavour to show), even if they do so at
all. But upon this point I cannot speak with certainty. The
upper jaw of the buck is provided with a pair of sharp canine
teeth, which sometimes project quite half an inch over the
lower lips. For what use they are intended is uncertain. An
old shikaree, whose veracity I had no reason to doubt, told
me that he had once come upon two bucks fighting ; one of
them was soon left disabled on the ground, when he observed
it had a deep cut in its back, evidently made by the tooth
of its opponent, but whether purposely or accidentally he
could not tell. This pretty little animal is most frequently
found in thick cover interspersed with patches of cultivation.
In the latter it may often be found feeding very early in the
morning or late in the evening, but generally so close to the
cover that in the grey dawn or twilight it is often not detected
until the white of its stern is seen bobbing away into the

c

34 THE GOORKHA " KOOKERIE."

bushes, from whence its short sharp bark comes at intervals,
as if deriding its pursuer for not having kept a better look-
out. When hurrying off, it sometimes makes a succession
of clicking sounds, but whether with the teeth or hoofs I
have never been able to ascertain. The doe is similar to
the buck, with the exception of the continuations of the
frontal bone, the horns, and long teeth.

These short imperfect descriptions of animals are merely
intended as rough sketches to enable such as may be unac-
quainted with Himalayan fauna to form some sort of idea
of their general appearance and habits, and not as attempts
to delineate them scientifically. Their theoretic nomenclature
is, however, given, not by way of seeming erudite — for what
little knowledge of zoology I may have is more practical
than scientific — but in order that more exhaustive accounts
by those who are more scientifically conversant with the sub-
ject, may be readily referred to elsewhere, if required, and
also because the names given by natives to the same animal
so often vary in different localities.

We had foolishly brought no tent with us, having intended
to get our men to extemporise some sort of shelter of boughs
and grass cut with their " kookeries," — those useful national
weapons which the Goorkhas invariably carry, and use as
much for domestic as for fighting purposes. But we had
not even that to protect us from the heavy night dew, as on
our return from fishing we found that almost all the men
were away up the hill fetching the dead jurrow, and it was
too late when they returned to commence it. We, however,
indulged in a stiff jorum of hot whisky-toddy before we
retired to rest, as a precaution against the damp malarious
night air. When I say retired, I mean that we merely
rolled ourselves up in our blankets, and, in order to avoid
the heavy drippings that fell like rain from the trees, lay
down on an open patch of soft dry sand, in which, by the

TEMPTING PROVIDENCE. 35

way, we had noticed during the day the fresh footprints of
a tiger. But —

" Inspiring bold John Barleycorn,
What dangers thou canst make us scorn !
Wi' tippenny, we fear nae evil ;
Wi' usquabae we'll face the devil ! "

Consequently we thought little of tigers, malaria, or anything
else, and were soon wrapt in profound slumber.

On awaking in the morning, we found ourselves enveloped
in a cold damp fog, through which we could scarcely see
twenty yards, and with our outer coverings and even our hair
saturated with moisture. Being down in this hot humid
valley at all in September, about the worst time of year
for malaria, was tempting Providence, as I learnt from sub-
sequent experience. But we were young and thoughtless,
caring little for any risk so long as there was a chance of
sport.

Having shaken ourselves up, we performed our ablutions
in the river, which ran within a few paces of our sandy couch.
After a cup of tea and a biscuit, we started each to our re-
spective work ; my companion electing to try his luck at the
river, whilst I, wishing him " a tight line," took the hill after
deer. Owing to the thickness of the undergrowth and the
dense mist, there was very little chance of seeing game, al-
though the fresh tracks of jurrow were numerous. And when
the mist was dispelled by the rising sun, the sweltering heat
was so oppressive as to make climbing about the steep jungly
hillsides, in such close steamy atmosphere, next thing to im-
possible, not to mention the attacks of myriads of biting
insects. On returning I found my hungry chum clamour-
ing for a late breakfast, and much disgusted at having lost a
very heavy fish after he had run it for about half an hour.

In the cool of the evening we were both at the water again.
After trying flies and trolling baits all to no purpose, we were

36 JUNGLE FARE.

at last reduced to the more prosaic method of bottom-fishing
with a lump of dough kneaded together with wool to make it
adhesive. To this, at the suggestion of an old Goorkha whom
we had brought with us, a great authority on mahseer-fishing,
was added some turmeric and garlic. These pungent ingre-
dients, he said, made the bait more attractive. With this
odoriferous compound, I managed to inveigle two nice
mahseer of seven and eight pounds. My companion also
killed a fine fish in the same sorry way, which was better
than nothing.

That evening we fared sumptuously on venison-soup, fish
fresh from the river, savoury though perhaps slightly tough
jurrow steaks, followed by hot whisky-toddy and a pipe, to
both of which latter we doubtless partly owed our immunity
from the effects of malaria. We turned in on the old spot,
having this time taken the precaution to have a "lean-to"
constructed to shelter us, and were soon lulled to sleep by the
roar of the river close by.

We shouldered our rods again as the dawn was trying to
struggle through the dense mist. For in the morning, during
the autumn and winter months, a heavy bank of white vapour
almost invariably lies along the bottom of every deep, narrow
Himalayan valley where any considerable stream flows, until
dispelled by the sun's rays. The water looked more promising,
so our spirits as well as our chances of sport began to rise
with the lifting fog, which at first was a decided damper to
both. It requires but little reference to my old shooting
journal to call to mind all the details regarding the killing of
my first really fine mahseer.

" Take a rest for a little while, and try again when the sun
gets higher." Thus suggested old Chundreea — a native of
the valley, and fisherman by profession, who usually attended
me by the river-side — as I was getting rather impatient with
my bad luck, and my back was beginning to ache from chas-
tising the water with flies, and spinning line baits the whole

RUNNING A MAHSEER. 37

morning without having moved a fish. Following the first
part of his advice, I reeled up, sat down on a rock, and pon-
dered as to whether it would be worth while acting on the
last part of it. After I had consoled myself with a pipe,
and Chundreea had adjusted a fresh chilwa?- I again waded
into the river, and loosening a good handful of line, dropped
the bait as far across the swirling pool as possible. I have
him at last ! Hardly has the chilwa commenced spinning in
the water when I feel a heavy pull, which is immediately
followed by a splash and a boiling swirl. Bob goes the point
of the rod, and " whir-r-r " out runs the tightened line, almost
smoking in the rings as it flies from off the reel, which is
whizzing and humming with an impatient, irregular cadence,
as if angrily remonstrating against the rough treatment it is
forced to undergo. Those few moments of thrilling excite-
ment repay me in full for all my enduring patience. But it
suddenly strikes me that I am between the two rivers, and
only a short distance above their junction, beyond which I
shall be unable to follow the fish ; and I am fully aware that
if he once reaches the heavy and broken flood of the com-
bined streams, there will be but little chance of my ever
landing him. Consequently I am rather nervous and anxious
about his intentions, and feel considerably relieved in mind
when he suddenly stops. After remaining almost stationary
for a while, jerking and tugging away at the hook until each
moment I expect to part company with him, he commences
boring up-stream, and then takes to sulking in the deep
water, where, for a long time, he feels like a log on the
straining line, which is vibrating like a harp-string against
the strong current.

All that can now be done is to get Chundreea to pitch
stones in his vicinity. This soon has the effect of inducing
the fish to alter his tactics, and the reel resumes its remon-
strances as he recommences careering away in such a frantic

1 A beautiful silver-scaled little fish — the minnow of Indian waters.

38 SAFELY LANDED.

manner that I again begin to experience those qualms of fear
and hope which, mingled with intense excitement, make the
sport of angling so fascinating to its votaries. My tackle,
however, is stout and trustworthy, and this enables me to
take a hard and steady pull on him, in order, if possible, to
keep him above the junction; so much so that Chundreea, who
is anxiously watching the tussle from the shore, seeing the
heavy strain on the bending green-heart, begins shouting, " Let
him run, Sahib, let him run, or he'll break the rod ! " But
under existing circumstances I well know that such a proceed-
ing will be as likely to prove fatal as holding him too taut.
After several more mad rushes and plunges for freedom, his
cantrips become somewhat subdued, and ere long he begins
to show signs of submission. As I gradually reel him in, I
can, for the first time, catch an occasional glimpse of his form
looming largely through the water, and the sun glints now
and again on his golden scales as he rolls helplessly about.
At length I am able to tow him towards a good landing-place,
where, after his making some of those last desperate wriggling
efforts to get free, during which a fish is so apt to be lost
after all, Chundreea bestrides him, and carefully lifting the
struggling, shining beauty by the gills from the shallow
water, proudly carries him ashore, and throws him kicking
among the stones on the bank.

My scaly prize was at once weighed, and found to be 26 Ib.
This restored my flagging hopes, and I was soon fixed into
another fish, which took out the line with such a swish and
fought so hard, that at first I thought it equalled the first one
in weight, and not until it had been on some time did I dis-
cover that it was little more than half as big. But not even
another rug did I get that day. There is nothing like
patience for fishing, and nothing like fishing for trying it.

Next day the river rose again from the effects of heavy rain
higher up, and somewhat resembled the colour of potato-
soup. We found, too, that it was not the best time for the

FISHING THEORIES. 39

Surjoo valley, as the warm and steamy atmosphere, biting
flies, &c., made sport there, at that season, more toilsome than
pleasant. The months of March and April are, I think, the
best for mahseer-fishing, as the climate is then more pleasant
and healthy in these low valleys than during September and
October — the best autumn months — and the fish in the moun-
tain streams more readily take the fly, and are in better con-
dition in spring. It is said that on the days which succeed
moonlight nights, mahseer are not so readily taken as they
are after moonless ones ; and strange to say, they are generally
more easily moved on bright sunny days than on dark cloudy
ones. The flies that seem to suit their taste as well as any,
are bright and gaudy ones that show well in the water, like
the " Jock Scott " or the Dee " Gordon," of various sizes up to
at least 2J inches for big fish, and perhaps one with black
wings tipped with white, and black hackle and body ribbed
with silver, for a complete change. But, like salmon, they
will take almost anything when they are in the humour, and
will look at nothing when they are not. I have not implicit
faith in fishing theories respecting either salmon or mahseer,
for I have often killed both fish under circumstances which
are ordinarily considered most adverse. For instance, in
Canada one evening I was fishing when it had grown so dark
that only by the bright flashes of lightning could I see where
my line was ; yet I fairly hooked and landed a salmon of 9
Ib. whilst the thunder was rattling around like great guns. I
should like very much to know why the salmon of the western
rivers of North America are so difficult to kill with the fly,
whereas in the eastern rivers they take it so freely. One
thing, however, is quite as important in mahseer-fishing as in
fishing for salmon — namely, the size of flies to suit the state of
the water ; but when the angler has constantly to be changing
his fly, depend upon it there is something wrong — and that
generally lies more with the humour of the fish than with
the fly.

40 COLLECTING CATECHU.

Another kind of fish common in the Himalayan rivers is
that called by the natives "kalabans," dirty mud -coloured
creatures which are found in immense shoals. On looking
down from a height into the Surjoo, I have seen a shoal of
them which must have numbered thousands, lying along
the bottom in a dark motionless mass. Their flesh is soft,
muddy-tasted, and full of bones, and they never afford sport
for the angler. The natives, however, net them in large
numbers ; indeed the chief occupation of the natives of this
low jungly valley seemed to be either fishing or extracting
kuttai (catechu) from the Kyer (mimosa) tree. They chop
the dark-coloured heart of the tree into small chips ; of these
they make a decoction, which, after being well boiled down, is
allowed to set until it becomes a congealed mass. This is cut
into blocks about four or five inches square, something re-
sembling solid chunks of cold, pink-coloured custard-pudding,
in which shape it is exported for sale.

41

CHAPTER IV.

DELIGHTFUL CLIMATE — START FOR DHUJ — " BALOO MAR," THE VILLAGE
NIMROD— THE GOORAL, OR " HIMALAYAN CHAMOIS "—ALBINO GOORAL
— A STRANGE COINCIDENCE — UP DHUJ — SUNRISE OVER THE SNOWY
RANGE — GAME IN SIGHT — " BUCK FEVER " AND ITS USUAL RESULT —
KILL A BUCK — KALLEEGE PHEASANTS — CAMP-FIRE YARNS — WILD
PIGS — THE CHEER PHEASANT — SINGULAR . EFFECT OF MORNING MIST
—SECURING A TROUBLESOME SPECIMEN— A BOLD INTRUDER — THE
KOKLASS PHEASANT AND THE PEWRA PARTRIDGE — A CHANCE SHOT
IN THE DIM MOONLIGHT — BALOO ! — ALMOST TOO CLOSE TO BE
PLEASANT — THE SURROW — A DRIVE FOR JURROW — VILLAGE CURS —
WILD DOGS — A CRUEL LESSON.

NOWHERE can a finer or a more invigorating climate be found
than at an altitude of between 6000 and 8000 feet in the
Himalayas, during the three months that succeed the clearing
up of the rainy season — about the end of September. The
wild animals, too, are then in their best condition both for fur
and flesh. The males would of course be better for food a
month or so earlier ; but as the natives highly prize venison
at any time, it is never wasted ; and the trophies, which the
sportsman values more than the meat, are none the worse for
the delay.

The November mornings were crisp and frosty, and the
days bright and clear, when I set out on a short hunting-trip
of quite a different character to the one just described. My
small retinue consisted of Kurbeer and another Goorkha lad
carrying the guns, a cook, and four or five " coolies " (native
baggage-porters), laden with a little tent, bedding, and the

42

THE VILLAGE NIMROD.

few requisites for a short sojourn in the wilds. We reached
our destination — a hamlet near the foot of the hill we in-
tended hunting over — in time to get everything " fixed up "
before dark.

On making inquiries about a guide for the ground, the
village Nimrod — a comical-looking little man attired in an
old black blanket, with a bit of rope round his waist support-
ing a small " koolharee " (wood-axe) — presented himself, and
made his salaam. This bare-legged individual rejoiced in the

name of " Baloo Mar,"
literally meaning " Bear-
killer," which sobriquet had
been given him, I was told,
by some former employer.
Not that he had earned it
from the fact of his hav-
ing performed any daring
feats in the destruction of
Bruin, but from his having
the reputation of making
himself scarce at the first
symptom of any dangerous
intention on the part of
the said animal, How-
ever, as he was reported
to know the country and

the haunts and habits of its game pretty well, I employed
him, and found that in this respect at any rate he did not
belie his calling, besides being a cheery, amusing little man.

The Himalayan native shikaree is, as a rule, a perfect
cragsman, an excellent stalker, and an adept in woodcraft
generally. His power of vision, too, is marvellously acute ;
and his capability for quickly detecting game, either in thick
cover or far off in the open, is sometimes astonishing. If he
errs, it is in his endeavouring to get so close to game that,

Village Shikaree, -with matchlock and rest.
Province of Kumaon.

THE GOORAL. 43

unless you are capable, as he is himself with his bare legs
and feet, of moving as noiselessly as a cat, it usually precludes
anything but a snap-shot; and should the ground be pre-
cipitous and broken, sometimes not even that before a beast,
on being alarmed, can get instantly out of sight, and is often
out of range ere it reappears, if it does so at all. For wild
animals, when they suddenly detect danger very close to
them, are so terrified that they make off like an arrow;
whereas, if it is farther from them, they will often stand
and gaze in doubt, giving ample time for a steady aim, or
stop to look back after going a short distance.

After dinner, and a pipe beside the camp-fire, I turned in
pretty early, as the " bear-slayer "
had informed me that if we ex-
pected to see " gooral " we must
be up near the summit of Dhuj
teeba (hill) about sunrise. Be-
fore proceeding further in search
of the Nemorhcedus gored of
natural history, a slight sketch
of this " Himalayan chamois," as
it is sometimes called, may not
be out of place. The ordinary Head °f " Gooral" °r Himalayan

, . , , £ . ,, IT- chamois.

height of a full-grown buck is

about 28 inches at the shoulder. The colour of its short
rough coat is usually a uniform greyish brown, with a white
patch on the throat. Its legs are sturdy and goat-like,
and of a darker brown than the body. Both sexes carry
short black horns, those of the full-grown buck being some-
times 7 inches or so long, annulated from the base to about
half their length, and slightly curved backwards. The doe
is similar to the buck in appearance, except as regards her
horns, which are thinner, smoother, and shorter. I once saw
the skin of a pure albino gooral which was shot in the
Kumaon hills. The natives who lived near its haunt had a

44 STRANGE COINCIDENCE.

superstitious idea that the killing of this animal would be
attended with bad luck to the slayer. And, strange to say,
the experienced and well-known sportsman who shot it, on
the same day met' with a serious gun accident. This curious
coincidence is no camp-fire yarn, for the sportsman was an
old and intimate friend, and I saw him shortly after the
accident happened. The gooral is found all over the Hima-
layan ranges, from the higher to the lower and outer ones, but
seldom below an altitude of 3000 feet, and always on craggy
and precipitous ground, which may or may not be more or
less clad with forest.

As the terms lower or outer, middle, and higher or upper, are
so frequently used in these pages to distinguish the various
mountain-ranges of the great Himalayan chain, when de-
scribing the haunts of game, I may mention that the first
apply to those rising directly from the plains or from the
Terai, the second to those more in the interior of the moun-
tains, and the third to the spurs of the snowy range and the
precipitous, either open or forest-clad, slopes immediately
below it. The " snowy range " needs no definition. But to
revert to our pursuit of the game little gooral.

I had seemingly been but a very short time asleep when
my slumbers were rudely disturbed, and I was informed that
Baloo Mar was waiting to accompany me up the hill. After
the usual cup of tea and a biscuit, we were soon climbing
the steep ascent, where our way led up through forest of oak
and rhododendron, or over open grassy slopes which were
white and crisp with frost. As we neared the summit, just
before sunrise, I could not resist the temptation, or perhaps,
from having "bellows to mend," I should call it the in-
clination, to sit down and cast a look over the succession of
mountain-ridges and deep trough-like valleys stretching away
far and wide between us and the mighty frozen barriers of
the snowy range. Some of the highest pinnacles had already
begun to flush up with that exquisitely beautiful but utterly

SUNRISE. 45

indescribable tint of delicate rose assumed by snowy summits
when touched by the first gleam of morning. Gradually the
ruddy glow spread from peak to peak, and grew brighter and
more yellow, until the whole jagged line became suffused
with golden light as the sun rose over it in dazzling glory
and threw its slanting beams across the profound misty
depths of the intervening hollows.

The bear-slayer being of a decidedly practical turn of mind,
and also blessed with a first-rate pair of " bellows," did not
seem to appreciate these charms of nature, but kept remind-
ing me that we should be too late for our game if we did not
hurry up. As we resumed our ascent, we soon became aware
of the presence of a gooral, by a succession of short, sharp,
sneezing sort of sounds which we heard above. The animal
had been watching us whilst I had been viewing the scenery.
We caught only a glimpse of it ere it vanished among the
wooded crags. A gooral, when alarmed, almost invariably
emits this sound, which is something like that made by pro-
nouncing the word "tschick." If in doubt as to what the
danger may be, it will often perch itself on some prominent
point, and remain there for a considerable time with its head
turned to the suspected quarter, hissing out its note of alarm
at short intervals. But when once fairly satisfied of its
danger, you may bid good-bye to it. I do not think the
sense of smell is so acute in the gooral, nor in any Himalayan
animals of the wild-goat family, as it is in those of the deer
tribe : this is, however, in a great measure compensated for
by keen powers of sight and hearing.

But we have now reached the crest, and here we call a
short halt for breath before examining the open precipitous
ground on the south side of the mountain, where the shikaree
says we shall be pretty sure to find our game. We are soon
on the move again. As we near the brink of the declivity,
Baloo Mar creeps stealthily forward and cautiously looks
over it. By the careful manner in which he slowly with-

46 BUCK FEVER.

draws his head, and the self-satisfied look he turns towards
me, I can tell he has sighted something. Crawling quickly
up alongside him, on peering over I have the satisfaction of
seeing four gooral browsing unconcernedly on a grassy slope
among some broken masses of rock directly below us. Being
a tyro at mountain shooting, I am suddenly seized with a
severe attack of what, in the backwoods of America, I have
heard termed " buck fever " ; so without taking time to judge
the distance, or to allow my fast-throbbing pulses to subside,
I raise the rifle and let drive at the nearest animal. The
result is, of course, what might be expected under such cir-
cumstances — a clean miss of an easy shot. The gooral,
however, from the fact, I suppose, of their not having been
recently disturbed, are only startled, and stand gazing about
them as if undecided as to what course they should pursue.
This serves only to augment my complaint, causing me to
fire the second barrel almost at random, when the animals,
being no longer in doubt, make off. The bear-slayer's look of
satisfaction now gives place to one of bitter disappointment
and ill-concealed contempt for my performance, and on his
face I can plainly read that which, if he could only have
given vent to his thoughts, in modern English might have
been, " Well, you are a duffer ! " But there is still another
chance, for one of the beasts, a fine buck, not even yet seem-
ing quite satisfied of his danger, bounds up on to the point of
a projecting crag, where he stands balancing himself on all
four feet planted close together, sneezing out his warning
note. Drawing back under cover, I recharge my old muzzle-
loader as quickly as my trembling hands will permit, whilst
the shikaree remains impatiently watching our game. On
again looking over, I find the buck has moved up nearer us,
and is now within fifty yards. This time I take a more care-
ful aim, and on the smoke clearing away, I have the delight
of seeing the gooral rolling down the precipitous hillside,
until stopped by some rocks below.

KALLEEGE PHEASANTS. 4*7

Baloo Mar was not long in reaching the dead buck and
bringing him up. He now proposed that, as it was getting
late in the morning for the animals to be out feeding, we
should return by a different way to the one we had come up,
and on which there might yet be a chance of finding more
game. After lightening it of its paunch, he shouldered our
prize, and, notwithstanding his load, set off as fast as the
rough ground would admit of, stopping now and again to rest,
and to take a look round about for any sign of game. We
had not gone very far before we started another gooral from
where it lay reposing among the crags, after its morning feed.
A whistle caused it to stop, as a startled beast often will do for
a few seconds, to listen and look back on hearing any sudden
and unusual sound behind it. Off it went again, but this time
hard hit, and, as is the wont of animals of the wild-goat kind
when wounded, took to some very bad ground, where it lay
down. We did not attempt to follow it, for my guide wisely
remarked that if we disturbed it again then, we might never
get it ; whereas if we let it alone, he would return to look for
it in the afternoon, by which time it might be less inclined to
move, when there would be more certainty of securing it.
We therefore took a bee-line for camp down through the
thick forest of oak and rhododendron that usually covers the
northern slopes of the middle and outer ranges.

The evening was devoted to beating up some patches of
cover in the vicinity of the terraced fields J near our camp,
where I bagged a brace of Kalleege pheasants. The Kalleege
is common in most parts of the Himalayas. The cock is
black, with grey hackles and crest, and the hen brown. As
several varieties of this bird can be seen in the Zoological
Society's Gardens in London, it is needless to describe it more
fully.

1 In the Himalayas the villagers always cultivate their crops in small fields
arranged in flat terraces, one below another, in such a manner as to allow of
their being irrigated from some neighbouring stream.

48 CAMP-FIRE YARNS.

The men who had gone after the wounded gooral returned
with it at dark. They had had considerable trouble in secur-
ing it in the difficult ground where it had betaken itself to.
As the night was bitterly cold and logs were plentiful, we lit
a huge camp-fire. This was always done whenever wood was
procurable. And many a pleasant hour have I passed beside
it before turning in for the night, smoking my pipe, and
listening to the marvellous tales and adventures related by
the mountaineers, some of which were as amusing as they
were incredible. One I remember, as having been told by
Kurbeer, will serve as a fair example. From his account it
appeared that a comrade of his had fired at and wounded a
huge wild boar, when it at once turned and came at him. To
avoid the enraged brute he dropped his gun and climbed up
the nearest tree. But the boar rushed at the stem, making a
deep cut in it with one of his tusks, and passed on. Again
it returned to the charge, cutting the opposite side of the
stem in like manner. The man now finding the tree begin to
totter, descended from it, and, unperceived by the boar, got
up another. On came the brute once more, and down came
the empty tree. What became of this "mighty boar," I regret
to say I never heard, for an outburst of the laughter I could
no longer suppress brought this wonderful yarn to a prema-
ture close.

Next day we tried other ground, on which I made a clean
miss at a gooral and lost one wounded. We came upon a
sounder of wild pigs, but did not manage to circumvent
them. The " bunneyl," as the hill-men call it, is frequently
met with in these mountains, where " pig-sticking " being im-
practicable, it may be considered fair game for the rifle, and
native shikarees think a solitary old hill-boar quite as ugly
a customer to deal with as a tiger. The only game bagged
was a " cheer " pheasant, a handsome bird something resemb-
ling our own hen-pheasant, but lighter in plumage and larger.
It is generally found on the higher hill-tops of the middle

THE CHEER PHEASANT. 49

and outer ranges, among wooded crags. Although cheer are
never very plentiful, they are, as a rule, easily shot when
found, but they sometimes lie very close among long grass or
bushes. On coming by chance across a brood of cheer, when
after larger game that I did not care to disturb by firing, I
have even flung stones at them as they sat among the rocks,
before they flew. But they are not always so easy to find
when wanted, as I know from the time and trouble it once
cost me to secure a single good specimen, which I was very
anxious to shoot for a collection of Himalayan game-birds I
was trying to make before I left Shore.

There was a craggy hill-top a few miles off, known as the
Drill-peak — so named, it was said, from an eccentric com-
mandant of the outpost having been in the habit of punishing
his defaulters by sending them, in heavy marching order, to
the summit and back, whilst he watched their ascent, with a
telescope, from his quarters. This hill was reputed to be an
almost certain find for these pheasants about dawn ; so one
morning I turned out several hours before daylight, and
started with Kurbeer for its summit. On reaching our ground,
just as morning broke, sure enough we heard the cheer calling
loudly, and seemingly quite close below us. But after search-
ing for them among the long grass for hours, we had to return
without having seen a feather. Next morning we repeated
the experiment, with the same result. I was, however, amply
repaid for my trouble by a most singular and beautiful sight.
As the grey morning dawned, there appeared, stretching away
below us, a perfectly level and unbroken expanse of mist—
except where some craggy hill-top, like a rocky islet, pro-
truded— completely hiding everything beneath it, until it
was, seemingly, terminated by the irregular line of peaks and
ridges of the snowy range, which, in the dim uncertain light,
had the appearance of a rugged frozen coast abruptly rising
from the ocean. This extraordinary spectacle was of short
duration, and was succeeded by another almost as strange,

D

50 SECURING A TROUBLESOME SPECIMEN.

when the sun, after gilding the higher peaks, rose over the
sea of mist, which began to heave and toss itself into huge
billows, as it were, until it gradually wreathed itself about the
hill we were on, and enveloped us in its cold damp folds.

As I was sure the " cheer " must be somewhere on the hill,
I was determined not to be beaten by them ; so the third morn-
ing I took two or three men with me to mark the birds from
below, in case they flew downwards before it was light enough
for us to see them from above, as I thought they must have
done on the previous mornings. I had in some way mis-
taken the hour, and reached the ground much too early;
consequently we had to wait there shivering with cold until
daybreak. As the first streak of light appeared, the cheer
began their whistling call as usual, and still our search for
them was fruitless. When it grew light enough to communi-
cate with the markers, we learnt from them that the whole
brood had flown from the top of the hill, and had lighted in
some broken bushy ground below. We had beaten all over
this, and I was just about to give up the pursuit as hopeless,
when one of the men flung a stone into some bushes where we
had marked down a black partridge, and out flew a cock-cheer.
The sly old rascal gave me a long shot, but a single pellet in
the head at last secured me my troublesome specimen. A
good dog, had I then possessed one, would have probably done
in an hour what I took so long to accomplish without one. I
may here, by way of parenthesis, remark that dogs kept in
these mountains very frequently end in becoming food for a
leopard. I have known a leopard so bold as to take a dog
actually from the doorstep of a room in which his master was
dining, and the table attendant passing constantly to and
from the kitchen outside through the doorway. This hap-
pened at the travellers' bungalow at Kamgarh, in Kumaon.

Another bird of the pheasant tribe is the "koklass." It is to
be found in almost every oak-forest, where its loud crow may
often be heard in the early morning. The handsome plumage

A CHANCE SHOT. 51

of the cock is grey and dark-brown. The female is some-
thing like our own grey hen, and, I should judge, about equal
in weight. On the same kind of ground, the mournful whistle
of the wood-partridge comes at times from the dense thickets
and bushy dingles it affects. The " pewra," as the natives call
it, is a game-looking bird, of a general dusky olive hue, from
which it gets the name of " olive partridge," as it is sometimes
termed.

Having made such a long deviation after one cock-pheasant,
let us return once more to our hunt after better game.

On the third morning, the bear-slayer having mistaken the
star by the rising of which he determined the time for our
start in the dark, aroused me much earlier than was necessary.
Being thoroughly awakened, I turned out, stirred up the log-
fire, and made the best of it until it was time to set out. We
had got about half-way up Dhuj, when there was a sudden
stampede of heavy animals near us in the forest. At first
we could see nothing in the deep gloom under the dense dark
foliage of the oak-trees — for the morning had not as yet
dawned, and there was only the pale dim light of a waning
moon. " Hist ! there's a mirrig,"1 whispered Baloo Mar, as the
form of a jurrow loomed indistinctly on the crest of an open
knoll close above us ; but whether a stag or a hind we were
unable to make out, owing to the background of dark trees
beyond it. Although I could not discern the sights on the
rifle, I chanced a shot without them, and heard the unmistak-
able sound that a bullet makes when it tells on flesh. The
rest of the herd went thundering away through the wood
where it was too dense and dark to see them, although they
must have been within fifty yards of us. It was useless to
look for the wounded beast before daylight ; so we continued
our ascent. We had reached the top of the hill, and had
been examining the precipitous craggy slopes on the south

1 Mirrig is a term applied by the natives to any large game-animal except
bears, tigers, and suchlike.

52 AT CLOSE QUARTERS WITH BRUIN.

side for gooral, when one of my companions suddenly crouched
down, and, pointing with his finger, in an excited whisper
ejaculated the word baloo! On looking in the direction indi-
cated, there, sure enough, was a big black bear clambering
about among the rocks and grass about a quarter of a mile off.
He had evidently come out of the forest on the north side,
and as he was not far below the crest of the ridge we were on,
if he remained there only for a short time, I saw he could be
easily stalked for a near shot. We therefore retired quietly
into the wood, and made our way round through it as fast as
the broken nature of the ground would allow of. After some
rough scrambling and climbing, we reached the spot we had
marked on the ridge, where we judged we should find our
friend Bruin pretty close below us. I had crawled on to a
ledge of rock to look over, when I almost met the brute as he
was scrambling up the rocks en route for the wood, fortunately
without his seeming to observe me. I tried to cock the rifle,
but the hammers refused to move. Kurbeer and Baloo Mai-
were endeavouring to make themselves as small as possible
behind me, and the brave slayer of bears, seeming neither to
like such close proximity to Bruin nor to understand my
delay in firing, kept urging me, in a trembling stage-whisper,
to shoot. Meanwhile the bear had reached the crest, and
was moving along within a few paces, just below us, beside
the ledge of rock we were on, — and still, strange to say, with-
out detecting us, or the consequences might have been un-
pleasant; for we were now between him and the precipice,
and a tussle with Bruin under existing circumstances would
have been decidedly in his favour. At this juncture it sud-
denly struck me that in my flurry I had forgotten to re-
move those worse than useless old appendages, the so-called
" safety "-bolts, from the hammers. I had only just time to
withdraw them, and to give the brute a slanting shot behind
the shoulder, before he disappeared, with a grunt, down among
the trees on the back slope of the hill. " Ne lugga " (not hit),

VILLAGE CURS. 53

exclaimed Baloo Mar, jumping up most pluckily, now that all
possible chance of danger was over. Kurbeer and I, however,
thought otherwise ; so after reloading, we commenced tracking,
and soon found the long grass bespattered with blood, which
increased in quantity until we found the bear, a large male,
lying stone-dead about three hundred yards down the hill.
But the bear-slayer was determined to make sure that there
was no possibility of doing harm left in the animal ; for he
flung several stones at its carcass, and also took the precau-
tion to repeatedly prod at it with his long stick, at arm's-
length, the while heaping a variety of abusive epithets on the
defunct beast, before venturing to go nearer it.

After covering the dead bear with boughs and long grass
to hide it from the eagles and vultures, we made for the spot
where I had wounded the jurrow. But after tracking it for a
long distance, we eventually lost all sign of it in the thick
forest to which it had betaken itself. The afternoon was
spent in skinning the bear, and removing and boiling down
the grease, of which the beast had a pretty thick layer on its
broad back.

The early part of next day was devoted to the gooral. The
only one I shot at fell down a considerable distance among
the crags, so I sent Kurbeer after it. On his return with it,
he told me that whilst below he had seen a surrow. As I
shall have more to say about this curious animal hereafter, I
shall now merely describe its appearance as being something
between a donkey and a big billy-goat, with short black horns.
We returned rather early, as I intended to organise a drive
for the jurrow, which I felt sure was lying wounded some-
where in the wood into which we had tracked it.

We beat up for volunteers in the neighbourhood, and soon
had enough of willing hands for our purpose. The village
dogs of all sorts and sizes were also, at Baloo Mar's advice,
put into requisition. Some of these mongrel curs, queer as
they looked, were quite up to the business on hand, for the

54 WILD DOGS.

villagers often use them for hunting down jurrow, especially
during winter, after severe snowstorms, when these heavy
deer, from being unable to travel fast in the deep snow, are
easily driven down to the foot of some deep gorge, and there
mobbed by their pursuers, who despatch them wholesale, regard-
less of sex or size, with axes, sticks, and stones, in default
of better weapons. Although the hill villager never loses an
opportunity of killing jurrow in defence of his crops as well
as for food, they have an equally inveterate foe, in common
with most Himalayan game-animals, in the wild dog, Cuon
rutilans of natural history. The " bhowsa," as it is here called,
usually hunts in smaller or larger companies, and will follow
its prey with most deadly pertinacity and cunning manoeuvr-
ing, until the whole pack closes round its devoted quarry, of
which it makes short work. Even the striped king of the
forest is said to dread the presence of the bhowsa on his
domain. Should the hunter find that a pack of wild dogs
has been sharing the sport in the same locality with him, he
may as well strike his tent and make for other ground. But
we shall now see what the more domestic members of the
canine family can do in the same line of business.

Having mustered our small army of bipeds and quadrupeds,
we started for the wood, which soon rang with shouts and
whistles as the line beat through it. On getting about half-
way down, it was evident, from the increased uproar of the
beaters and the barking of the dogs near the centre of the
wood, that something was afoot there. On reaching the spot,
we found the wounded deer lying in a pool of water in the
steep rocky bed of a stream, with the curs baying around it.
The defenceless creature, a big milk-hind, was unable to rise,
for, in addition to a smashed leg from the bullet, she had
broken another among the slippery wet rocks, in her endeav-
ours to escape from the dogs. I was stricken with remorse
at seeing the poor animal lying helplessly there, with her
large mild eyes turned reproachfully, as it were, on her per-

A CRUEL LESSON. 55

secutors. It was a cruel lesson to me, and never to be for-
gotten, and one from which much might be learnt in the
cause of humanity. By this I do not mean that even here,
where the predatory animals keep them down quite fast
enough, hinds should never be shot — and good yeld hinds
killed in proper season are not the worst of venison, — but I
allude to the wanton, indiscriminate destruction of game at
all seasons — an unsportsmanlike practice which, I regret to
say, is by no means uncommon in a country where there are
no strict laws in force to prevent it, and one which has ruined
sport in many easily accessible and much-frequented places,
where game was formerly abundant. With the smaller ani-
mals, such as gooral and kakur, it is not always easy to dis-
cern the gender to which they belong ; but with jurrow and
suchlike large game this can seldom be mistaken.

After the deer had been put out of its misery, I left the
men to bring it down, and straightway returned to camp in a
mood that was more thoughtful than elated, although I must
confess to a pardonable amount of satisfaction at having
found the wounded hind. There was a good deal of wrang-
ling about the distribution of the spoil. But all was amicably
arranged by my two Goorkhas, who divided it with their
kookeries into small equal portions, and distributed it fairly
as far as it would go.

Before returning to Shore I had another successful day at
gooral, killing one of two animals I shot at right and left.

Gooral-stalking in the precipitous and broken ground on the
middle ranges is, perhaps, the pleasantest, though not the
grandest kind of mountain sport. The amount of stiff climb-
ing it entails is quite enough to give it zest without making
it excessively laborious. The sportsman can generally return
to his tent to rest during the heat of the day, whilst the gooral
are doing likewise, hidden away among the shady recesses of
the rocks, and he can always get back at night to a comfort-
able bed. Moreover, in a good locality, one seldom has to

56

GENUINE SPORT.

score the toilsome blank days that are not uncommon on the
upper ranges, and are frequent, I may say, beyond them, on
the bleak dreary uplands of Tibet. After the experience of
hunting every sort of Himalayan game, my own predilection
for this kind of shooting may be deduced from the fact of my
finding sixty gooral recorded in my Himalayan game-register,
as having been fairly stalked and shot with the rifle, which,
with the numbers I lost and missed, represent many a day's
genuine sport after these game little animals.

Shooting-tent.

57

CHAPTEK V.1

A " DIRTY " WAY OP KILLING JURROW — AN ARTIFICIAL SALT-LICK — OLD
JEETOO — WATCH FOR A LEOPARD — WE TRY A RUSE — AN AIRY NIGHT'S
LODGING — AN EXCITING MOMENT — BAD LUCK — JEETOO TRIES TO PRO-
PITIATE THE MOUNTAIN SPIRIT — A SPLENDID STAG — TRACKING —
SHOOTING AT NIGHT — A SIGHT FOR NIGHT-WORK — A CARRION-EAT-
ING TIGER — WE WATCH FOR HIM — A MAN-EATER LEOPARD — A HUNT
AFTER A FELINE DEMON.

BEFOEE relating my own experience of it, I shall endeavour
to describe one of the methods of killing jurrow, which is
often resorted to by Himalayan native shikarees at the season
these deer make their nightly raids on patches of young corn
which may be situated near their haunts. The hunter first
finds out a " run " or track by which jurrow are in the habit
of making their way through the forest to their feeding-
ground or elsewhere. This is easily discovered, as it is usu-
ally well defined, from the animals so often taking the same
one. He then selects an open spot, on a ridge if possible,
over which the " run " leads. Here he digs a small shallow
hole a few inches wide, and in it moistens the loose earth by
a natural action. He sometimes throws some salt on the
wet earth, but he generally considers this an unnecessary bit
of extravagance. The deer, in passing, are attracted by the
odour, and, like most animals, being partial to anything of a

1 The first part of this chapter, as also portions of chapters ix., x., xiv., xv.,
xvi., xvii., were contributed by the author, years ago, to the ' Oriental Sporting
Magazine,' published at Calcutta.

58 ARTIFICIAL SALT-LICK.

saline nature, finding this on their path, generally stop and
partake of it.

This operation is repeated at intervals by the shikaree, un-
til in a few days a hole sometimes a foot or so deep is eaten
down by the deer. Each time he visits the Jcar (salt), as he
terms it, he obliterates the footprints around the hole, so that
he is generally able to ascertain about the number and the
size of the animals from the tracks and their appearance.

Having in this manner discovered that a large stag has
become a regular nightly visitor, he proceeds to prepare an
ambush within a few yards of this artificial salt-lick, taking
care, as far as possible, not to make it in the direction of the
prevailing wind. He generally digs a hole in the ground, or
in a bank should there be one conveniently near, and over
the entrance makes a careful covering of grass-sods or earth,
leaving only a small aperture to look and shoot through. By
this arrangement the deer have not the means of so easily
winding him as when merely hidden behind a screen of
bushes or of cut boughs ; and also, if there is no moonlight,
an animal's body can be seen in dark relief above him against
the sky. The result is what may be expected. As the native
shikaree seldom wastes a charge of his precious ammunition,
the lord of the herd, or at any rate the largest hind, generally
bites the dust.

I have tried this artifice, but without much success, for,
although I heard the deer come quite close enough to the
fear to prove the efficacy of the plan, they generally managed
to get wind of me in some manner which prevented my get-
ting a shot. And it requires such an amount of patience,
and sometimes endurance on a bitter cold night, that the
doubtful result hardly repays one for the trouble, not to
mention its being rather a dirty way of doing business. On
one occasion, however, I had the luck to get a chance at
one of the finest jurrow I ever had the pleasure of putting
trigger on.

A TRUSTY OLD SHIKAREE. 50

An old Goorkha, a shikaree whom I was in the constant
habit of employing, was the first to initiate me in the mys-
teries of preparing one of these artificial salt-licks for deer.
Old Jeetoo was about the best shikaree I ever came across.
He was one of those men who talk little and do much, and
had such a quiet business-like way of doing things withal.
He was like a steady old hound, for his voice was seldom
heard without good reason, and from being somewhat deaf,
he seemed to anticipate one's intentions from one's looks.

One day I was surprised to see his long grave visage and
gaunt figure at the door, for he seldom left the vicinity of his
home except for shikar. He had come to inform me that, if I
cared to sit up for it, he could almost ensure my getting a shot
at a large stag with horns " like trees," as he described them,
that came and ate the kar every night, not far from his vil-
lage. The few traps necessary were soon packed up, and,
after a tramp of about twelve miles, we reached a little ham-
let, on the hill above which the kar was situated.

On arrival, just before sunset, I heard that a leopard had
the day before killed a cow within a few hundred yards of
the place. As one of the villagers had rigged up a kind of
ambush in the fork of a tree near the remains of the carcass,
with the intention of sitting there for a shot, I promised him
a dougeur for his chance of a shot, and at once proceeded to
take up my post, to which I was followed by several men
from the village. Against this latter proceeding I remon-
strated, but Jeetoo set my mind at rest by informing me for
what purpose they accompanied us. He said that as soon as
we were ensconced in our ambush, they would set up a shout-
ing as if with the intention of scaring any animal away from
the carcass. This row they would continue to keep up until
they got back to the village. The leopard, which was prob-
ably lying pretty near, hearing the noisy ones depart, and
their clamour become fainter as it grew more distant, and
thinking from this that all was now safe, would most prob-

60 WE TRY A RUSE.

ably return to its prey all the sooner, and more especially as
it was beginning to get dusk. I at first laughed at the idea,
but Jeetoo assured me that he had often been successful on
former occasions when he had tried this ruse with tigers as
well as with leopards, and I have several times since found
it answer myself.

On arriving at the carcass we found that there was little of
it left, save a few bones which the vultures had picked nearly
clean ; and I began to think that there was very little chance
of our feline friend taking the trouble to come for so poor
a supper. But as Jeetoo seemed confident that the beast
would come — and he was seldom wrong in his conjectures
regarding game — I determined to wait there, at any rate
until dark. So, having mounted the tree, we dismissed our
followers, who departed exerting their lungs to the fullest
extent.

The bones were at the foot of a rock in a small wooded
ravine on a steep hillside, and our position in a tree which
grew a little below was almost on a level with them, and
about twelve yards distant.

We had been watching for barely a quarter of an hour,
and every minute darkness was growing apace, when I heard
a slight rustle among the dead leaves, and felt Jeetoo gently
pressing my arm. In a few more seconds I saw the leopard
slink noiselessly up below our tree and look stealthily around.
I might have fired at him then, but I waited until he reached
the bones, making sure that I should get a more certain shot.
On finding so little to eat, he commenced glowering about as
if at a loss to know what had become of his leavings. Care-
fully I now began raising the rifle, but in doing so it touched
an unlucky twig that chanced to be in the way. Slight as
the noise was, it caused the leopard to start and look upward ;
and before I could close the stock to my shoulder, with one
bound he reached the top of the rock above him and was out
of sight. I sent a random shot after the brute, but never saw

NIGHT IN A MACHAN. 61

a sign of him again. I had " counted my chickens before
they were hatched." My delay in shooting had lost me my
chance. This little incident with the leopard, which may
have served to illustrate one of the many hunting stratagems
used in these mountains, has caused me almost to forget the
&&r-eating stag we had come out to look for.

After making an unsuccessful search for any traces of the
leopard, I started on the following afternoon with Jeetoo for
the place where he had reported the stag was to be found,
which was situated a short distance above the outskirts of
an extensive oak-forest that spread itself over the northern
slope of an adjacent hill. Our way led up over some broken
ground, where I shot at and wounded a gooral which I lost.

We reached the Jcar a little after sunset. As the spot was
unfavourable for firing from the ground, Jeetoo had con-
structed a machan in a tree about twenty yards from the
tovhole. From the fresh marks around this it was evident
the stag had paid it a visit the night before, and as there
would be a bright moon, I thought matters looked very
promising.

We had soon arranged our blankets in the machan, and
had settled ourselves there pretty comfortably — in fact so
much so on my part, that after watching for several hours
I fell fast asleep. Such was not the case, however, with my
trusty old companion, who had evidently been keeping his
eyes, and his ears also, notwithstanding their deafness, wide
open, for I was awakened by his giving me a gentle shake.
How long I had slept I had no idea, but when I awoke the
moon had risen high, and threw her broad, tranquil light
over the forest sloping away down below, and into the deep,
misty valleys that lay one beyond another like mighty
trenches between us and the distant rampart of perpetual
snow, rising dim and irregular along the horizon. The night
was bitterly cold, and so calm and still that one might have
heard the fall of a leaf. I could hear my heart beating as I

62 EXCITING MOMENTS.

lay there, hardly daring to draw breath lest it might disturb
the silence. No one but a sportsman can appreciate the
feelings of a moment like this.

Suddenly a loud sound broke the profound stillness, and
was so startling from its unexpected proximity that it almost
brought my beating heart to my mouth. It was the short
alarm-note1 of the stag, and was followed by several im-
patient stamps of his hoof. These signs were unpropitious,
and, I feared, indicative of his having either winded or heard
us. However, I lay there motionless, straining my eyes in
the direction of the kar, in momentary expectation of his
emerging from behind one of the patches of tall brushwood
which grew close around. The loud, short bellow was re-
peated at intervals, accompanied by stamping, which grew
more and more distant, and at length ceased entirely. There
was no longer any doubt about it, — the beast had detected us,
and there was now little hope of seeing him that night, or in
all probability for several to come.

At the first streak of dawn we clambered down from our
airy lodging, benumbed and stiff from cold, and exceedingly
mortified. But there was no help for it, so we took our way
regretfully down the hill, hoping for better luck next time.
I must say the sunrise over the snowy range, glorious as it
was, had not the same charms for me that morning as it
would have had under more cheerful circumstances. This,
however, was not the last of the stag.

Thinking it unlikely that he would return to the kar for
at least two or three nights, I shifted my quarters with the
intention of, in the meantime, hunting gooral on some ground
where I had often been successful. The locality was exceed-
ingly wild, and the hillsides very precipitous and difficult to
work over. And from the fact of there being no human
habitation within miles, and village shikarees considering it

i A totally different sound from his prolonged bellow during the rutting
season.

BAD LUCK. 63

too far to visit often, gooral usually abounded. We hunted
there, however, for several days with little success. It seemed
as if bad luck were to attend this trip throughout, notwith-
standing the small offerings of copper coins, &c., old Jeetoo
had thought it necessary to make, for propitiating the spirit
of the mountain, at one of the rudely-built little Hindoo
temples that are so common on the higher peaks of the
middle ranges. My thoughts were constantly reverting to
the big stag, so we packed up and started to revisit his haunt,
and the same evening saw my little tent pitched near some
huts situated a mile or two below the place where we had
watched the Jcar.

Next morning we were up with the dawn, and, after a stiff
pull, reached the upper edge of the forest, a short distance
above which the kar-hole was situated. Our intention was
to inspect this, in order to ascertain whether the stag had
resumed his nightly visits. Thinking it was now much too
late in the morning to expect him to be there, we took no
care in approaching the kar, when suddenly, from behind
the bushes close by it, out walked a lordly stag, followed by
a hind, and presented himself to our astonished gaze at little
over a hundred yards, neither of the animals, apparently,
having as yet seen or heard us. Another second and the
sight of my rifle was on the stag's shoulder, the report being-
followed by a " thud," and before the echoes of the shot had
died away in the forest below, he had subsided in the long
grass, leaving only his splendid horns and the tips of his ears
above it. Thinking him secured, I commenced deliberately
reloading the rifle, being at that moment in as happy a frame
of mind as a mortal can ever hope for in this world. But
alas ! I was doomed to bitter disappointment.

Perhaps it was the slight rattle of the ramrod in reloading
that attracted his attention, for his horns began to sway to
and fro, and almost immediately he jumped up and went off
at a lumbering gallop. I had just finished recapping, so,

64 TRACKING.

taking a hasty aim, let drive, and in my hurry, with sorrow
be it told, clean missed the great animal ; but, being very
sick, he soon pulled up in a small strip of wood that ex-
tended for a short distance down the hill.

I now took Jeetoo's advice, contrary to my own opinion,
with respect to taking up a position whilst he proceeded to
drive out the wounded deer. My idea was to post myself at
the lower end of the bit of wood, thinking that, as the stag
was badly wounded, he would most probably take down hill.
But Jeetoo persisted that he would take upwards, so I gave
in to his superior knowledge of woodcraft, in which he was
seldom at fault; consequently I had the mortification of
seeing the stag leave the cover almost at the spot I had
intended posting myself. He made straight for the thick
forest below, in which he disappeared from our sight. We
followed at once on his tracks, feeling quite confident that,
as he was so hard hit, we should soon overtake him. We
came up with him several times, and got so close as to hear
him crashing away through the bushes, but, owing to the
dense cover, without getting even a glimpse of him. Here
we had made another mistake, in following him up too soon
instead of allowing him time enough to lie down, when in
all probability he would have given an easy chance for a shot.

For the greater part of three days did we slowly and per-
severingly follow him, often finding clots of gore where he
had stopped to rest. Jeetoo's tracking powers were truly
astonishing. Sometimes, after losing all traces of the slot for
hours, where it had led over rocky ground, my sinking hopes
would be revived by his drawing my attention to an almost
invisible speck of dry blood on a twig or a blade of long grass
against which the animal had brushed in passing. The stag,
however, baffled all his skill, and we were at length most
reluctantly obliged to abandon the pursuit, where the tracks
were irretrievably lost among a number of those of other deer,
with which they had got confused.

NIGHT-SHOOTING. 6 5

Many a cold night-watch did old Jeetoo and I have to-
gether for game, although they were not often attended with
success, as such work is very uncertain.1 Something is, at
any rate, occasionally added by night-shooting to one's know-
ledge of the habits oiferce naturae. For instance, I was under
the impression that a tiger in its wild state always killed its
food and never touched dead meat, until one of our nocturnal
experiences proved that it will greedily devour even carrion.

There had been a dreadful murrain among the cattle
throughout the district, and Jeetoo amongst others had lost
many of his beasts. As they died he merely dragged their
carcasses from his gote (cowshed) to a neighbouring jungly
ravine, and there left them to rot, and, from fear of infection,
without even stripping them of their hides. One day he came
and reported that a tiger had been at them for several nights.
At first I thought he might have been mistaken, and that
the nocturnal visitor must be a bear. But he so positively
insisted that it was a tiger, that I at once resolved to go and
judge for myself.

On reaching the village, we forthwith proceeded to inspect
the place where the dead cattle had been devoured, and there
found the fresh unmistakable footprints of a large tiger. Jee-
too had already removed all the carcasses, except one, to some
distance, in order that there might, for obvious reasons, be
more certainty of getting a shot. As it was growing late in
the evening there was no time to be lost. We hauled the

1 For night work I have found the following a good method of aligning the
sights on an animal. Stretch a broad bit of white tape along the rib of the
barrels between the back and the fore sights, binding it at either end on the
rib with a bit of thin twine whipped tightly round the barrels. Commence
aiming with the tape well in sight, and with the muzzle end of it rather above
your object. Then gradually depress the muzzle on to the point you wish to
hit, at the same time lowering the eye until the tape is hidden from view by
the back sight, on the required alignement, when at once press the trigger.
By this means you can tell if the back and the fore sights are correctly
aligned, whereas you are uncertain of this if, as is customary, the fore sight
only is rendered visible by having a bit of white cotton, or any other dodge,
fastened on to it.

66 A CARRION-EATING TIGER.

carcass to a likely spot for our purpose, and tied it tightly to
a stake driven into the ground, so that it could not be dragged
away without giving time for a shot. Some green branches
were cut and stuck upright to form a screen about fifteen or
twenty paces from the carcass, and on slightly higher ground
than where it lay. All being ready, Jeetoo and I took up our
position in our ambush about dusk, hoping that the tiger
might put in an appearance before it grew too dark to be able
to see him, as unfortunately there was no moon. We waited
there until I could no longer see either my rifle-barrels or the
dead cow in the pitchy gloom of the ravine, but not a sound
broke the deep stillness except the intermittent "chunk,
chunk" of the night-jar, so we quietly left our ambush.
Shortly after returning to the village, we heard at intervals
the deep-throated " aowoongh " of the tiger on his way down
from a neighbouring forest -clad hill to his supper. How
wild and eerie it sounded in the silence of night ! This was
another new experience, for I had always thought that a
tiger stole warily towards its prey. But in this case, the
prey being dead, it perhaps thought such precaution un-
necessary.

As it would have been as rash as it was useless to attempt
to go after a hungry tiger in the dark, we waited until morn-
ing dawned, when we cautiously approached the carcass in
hopes of finding the animal still at work on it. To our great
surprise we found it had not been touched, though we dis-
covered the brute's tracks close to it. We followed them for
some distance, until we came upon another dead cow partially
eaten, which the tiger had very recently left, as was evident
from the freshness of his big pug-marks round about it. This
was annoying, as Jeetoo had unfortunately overlooked this
carcass, which lay concealed among the dense brushwood
when he had removed the others.

As the shades of evening began to gather around, we
fastened the two dead cattle together and once more took up

MAN-EATER LEOPARDS. 67

our post. Whilst we silently watched there in the gloaming,
the hollow moaning voice of the tiger was now and again
heard on the hill above. Gradually the sullen sound drew
nearer and nearer as the brute came prowling down, until it
seemed to be quite close to us, when it ceased and was heard
no more. It had now grown so dusky that we were only just
able to discern the outline of the carcasses, as, with bated
breath, we crouched behind our ambush, listening for the
slightest sound, and straining our eyes as we tried to pierce
the deepening gloom. My heart beat faster and faster each
time the light evening zephyrs stirred the loose leaves of some
bush in our vicinity, until the feeling of anxious suspense be-
came almost intolerable. "We remained listening there, as if
spell-bound, for some time after it had grown pitch-dark,
expecting each moment to hear the crunching of the bones.
At length my trusty old companion, in a whisper, suggested
that it might be prudent for us to retire as noiselessly as pos-
sible from the ravine, lest the tiger should chance to prefer
live to dead meat for his supper. Next morning we were
again much astonished at finding our bait untouched. The
wary brute must have got wind of us in some manner when
he had approached so near, for no sign was either seen or
heard of him about the dead cattle after that night.

Man-eater tigers are not uncommon in the Himalayas, but
one seldom hears of man-eating leopards, although they are
common enough in Central India. A hill leopard, when it
does take to that sort of thing, is generally a very devil
at it. A brute of this kind infested the Shore valley during
part of the time I was there. It had killed some seven
or eight people, and was so crafty that it baffled all
attempts to destroy it. In one instance it was bold
enough to carry off a little girl from the hut in which she
was sleeping. Her people were so anxious to avenge her
death and to rid themselves of this pest, that they came to
the outpost and reported their having actually left the par-

68 AFTER A FELINE DEMON.

tially eaten corpse at the spot where the leopard had dragged
it to, in the hope of the brute's destruction by a shot on its
return to its victim. I was absent from Shore at the time, but
a sportsman who happened to be there went and watched
over the body, to which, as was the custom of this cruel and
cunning brute, it never returned. Man-eating tigers and
leopards are often pale and dingy in colour, and mangy in
appearance. This, however, is not due, as is commonly sup-
posed, to their diet of human flesh, but to age. These pests
are usually old and more or less infirm animals, which, find-
ing human victims easier to obtain than more active and
wary ones in the shape of deer or cattle, consequently take
to habitually preying upon them.

On one occasion, during my sojourn in Kumaon, I had an
exciting hunt after a perfect feline demon. I was on a visit
at Almora, the capital town of the province, when a report
was brought in that a leopard had temporarily established
itself in some terraced rice-fields near a village about half a
mile off. It had that morning given a forcible proof of
its unwelcome presence there by maliciously attacking a
woman who was at work in a field close below the village.
Two or three sporting members of the small European com-
munity of the place were soon on the scene of action, and,
having collected a number of willing men from the village,
at once commenced beating up the enemy's quarters. We
had not proceeded far when several hoarse grunts, followed
by the piercing screams of a woman, apprised us of the brute's
whereabouts. It was standing on the edge of one of the ter-
raced rice-fields, lashing its tail from side to side and looking
back defiantly towards us, and in the field immediately below
lay the victim it had just seized and left. The beast was
rather far out for the borrowed smooth-bore I was armed
with, and fearing lest I might injure the woman I aimed
rather high. At any rate the shot had the effect of scaring
the leopard away from her vicinity, for it at once decamped.

A COOL HAND. 69

On reaching the poor woman, we found her lying there with
her head and back all lacerated and bleeding, and speechless
with fright and pain. Having arranged for her being carried
to the village, we at once proceeded with the beat, all of us
vowing vengeance against the brute for this its second cruel
performance of the day.

After beating, as we imagined, most thoroughly through
the rice-fields, we reached a bushy ravine, in which we all,
with one exception, thought the brute must have concealed
itself. The exception was a tea-planter who had joined the
party. He was one of the best mountain-hunters, and about
as cool a hand as I ever met, and quite a character in his
way. Originally in the army, his predilection for wild sport
had been the cause of his leaving it and taking to tea-planting
and shooting in the hills. He now expressed his opinion that
the leopard was still lurking somewhere in the rice-fields, and
his intention of taking his chance alone of finding it there
whilst we beat through the ravine. We had just begun
driving it when I heard him shouting to us. Supposing he
had seen the leopard and was calling us back, I at once ran
up towards where he was standing with the butt of his rifle on
the ground. To my astonishment and concern, on reaching
him I saw that he was profusely bleeding from a wound on his
face, and that his coat was all torn and bloody. With his
characteristic coolness he quietly remarked, " He's boned me " ;
but from the expression and pallor of his face, I could see he
was more injured than he cared to allow. It appeared that
after our leaving him he had but just commenced wandering
about in search of the leopard, when it suddenly sprang on
him from behind, making its teeth meet in the upper part of
his arm, and driving one of its claws into his face within an
inch of his eye, and before he had time to use his rifle, even
had he been able to do so, the beast had bounded away and
was out of sight in a moment.

After bandaging up the tea-planter's wounds and arranging

70 AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK.

for getting him conveyed home, we renewed our search for
the leopard. Although we beat about until evening, all our
endeavours to find it were fruitless, nor was it again heard of
in the vicinity. The hero of this hunt was not long in re-
covering from his wounds, of which, if he be still living, he
bears the scars on his face and arm to this day. With his
usual erratic disposition, he soon gave up tea-planting, and
wandered away elsewhere in search of adventure and wild
sport. The last time I met the " Bhagee," by which sobriquet
he was well known, he was with an expedition against the
hill-tribes on the north-west frontier, where, as an amateur,
he had been " shooting plumb centre," as he termed it, at the
enemy with his six-shooter. The injuries to the poor woman
were, fortunately, more ugly than dangerous.

This has truly been a chapter of unsuccessful performances.
But as I am writing simple facts, they must be taken as they
actually occurred. Indeed, in making these extracts from my
old shooting-journal, kept regularly for upwards of thirty
years, I have endeavoured to select such incidents as may
tend to depict shady as well as sunny sketches of Himalayan
hunting in their true lights. And although it is certainly
more satisfactory to bag one's game, wild sport is, perhaps,
none the less exciting to its true votaries because it does not
always end in a kill.

71

CHAPTEK VI.

START FOR THE HIGHER RANGES — THE CHIPLA MOUNTAIN — THE TAHR
— ITS FLESH AND BONES USED AS MEDICINE — AN ENORMOUS WILD
CAT—" PEEPSA " FLIES—AGRICULTURE AND AGRICULTURISTS ON THE
HIGHER RANGES— WILD MEN OF THE WOODS — THEIR MANNERS AND
CUSTOMS— AN ADAM AND EVE OF THE PERIOD — MY FIRST DAY'S
SPORT ON THE CHIPLA — A PICTURESQUE BIVOUAC — EXORCISING AN
EVIL SPIRIT — A LONG AND WEARY CLIMB — BEAUTIFUL RHODODEN-
DRONS— HORNED ARGUS-PHEASANT — WE TRY A STALK FOR PORK —
AN UNCOMFORTABLE BED, AND THE WAY WE IMPROVED IT — MOONAL
PHEASANTS— BAD GROUND— AN AWKWARD CLIMB— TWO DANGEROUS
EXPERIMENTS — PRIMITIVE TOBACCO - PIPES — LIGHT AND SHADE
EFFECTS ON THE MOUNTAINS — THE GREAT BEARDED VULTURE —
THE MUSK-DEER AND ITS SCENT-BAG — A SNOWSTORM — THE VALLEY
OF THE KALLEE OR SARDA.

HITHERTO my Himalayan experiences had been confined to
the middle and lower ranges, and I had regarded those aerial
piles and peaks of eternal snow as a sort of distant dream-
land, which I hoped some day to find a substantial reality ;
and for those who are not cragsmen born, so to speak, it
may perhaps be as well to get accustomed and inured to
mountain climbing where it is comparatively easy and safe,
before attempting to hunt among the dizzy heights and dan-
gerous snow-slopes of the higher Himalayas.

It was the beginning of April when I purposed visiting the
Chipla mountain, a gigantic rocky buttress, as it were, of the
great frozen wall it seemed to support, and a favourite haunt
of the " tahr." This member of the wild-goat family — Hemi-
tragus jemlaicus of natural history — is plentifully distributed

72 THE TAHR.

over the precipitous rocky slopes just below the snow-line,
and is occasionally found on some of the higher parts of the
middle ranges, where, however, it appears not to attain the
same size as it does in the higher regions below the snowy
range. I have never seen a more truly wild-looking animal
in the Himalayas than an old buck tahr, with his long frill-
like mane and shaggy coat of dark greyish-brown, short
sturdy legs, and almost black face. His horns are from
twelve to fourteen inches long, and about nine inches in
circumference at the base, broad and flat, with their rough
anterior edges rising in a line with the forehead till they
abruptly curve backward to a very fine point. When seen
from the front, they somewhat resemble a high coronet. An
old buck stands over three feet at the shoulder. The doe,
called " tehrny," is smaller, lighter in colour, and less shaggy,
with horns of the same shape, but much smaller than those
of the buck. The great old bucks herd separately during the
summer until October, generally betaking themselves to the
wildest and most unapproachable places. Their colour is
often so dark as, at a distance, almost to look black, more
especially in the autumn. The flesh of the tahr, or " jharrel,"
as it is sometimes called, is considered by the hill-men to be
great medicine for fever and rheumatism; and shikarees
often dry the flesh and sell it, and even the bones, in places
where fresh tahr meat is not procurable.

As it would be difficult to procure even the bare necessaries
of life in the wild, thinly populated part of the mountains I
was about to visit, my commissariat arrangements, &c., were
this time made on a rather more extensive scale, and our
party consisted of some nine or ten men all told, including
Kurbeer. In two days we reached the village of Askote, the
residence of a native potentate styling himself a " Eajwar " ;
and the third morning brought us to the Goree, a fine rapid
river, which was then in a muddy state of flood from the
melting of the snow-fields about its source. The only note-

PEEPSA FLIES. 73

worthy incident that had hitherto occurred on our way, was
the destruction of an enormous wild cat of a light sandy-
grey colour, measuring 46 inches from tip to tip.

Thus far our road had been fairly good for a mountain
bridle-path 5 or 6 feet wide. But after crossing the Goree,
where it was bridged by a few tree-stems thrown over it at a
narrow place between two rocks, we left the road and struck
up the left bank of the river by a mere track. In some places
our path lay close to the water's edge, in others it overhung
the stream, and sometimes at such a height as, at first, to
make looking down at it, surging impetuously along, rather
unpleasant. That evening we sheltered, coolies and all, under
a huge beetling rock, from which retreat we had to eject, with
the help of smoke, myriads of small black, biting flies, here
called " peepsas " or " moras," very like the " black-fly " of the
Canadian woods, and just as troublesome. Their bite leaves,
under the skin, a small blood-spot, which is very irritable.

Our way now led up beside a torrent that leapt from rock
to rock as it tore furiously down a very steep gorge. After
several hours spent in fording and refording this ice-cold
stream where its sides were precipitous and impassable, and
in assisting each other in clambering up difficult places, we
exchanged this rocky defile for a stiff but less laborious pull
up a steep wooded slope of the Chipla.

At length we reached an open space on the mountain-side,
where the sloping ground was cultivated in small stony fields
arranged in terraces. In these the inhabitants of the few
log- built huts that were scattered here and there over this
plateau, raised their scanty crops of " phapur " (buckwheat),
and other sorts of coarse grain of the millet kind called
" mundooa " and " chooa," just sufficient for their own wants.
The " chooa," which much resembles the cockscomb of Eng-
lish cottage gardens, at one stage of its growth assumes a
deep crimson colour, sometimes varied with bright yellow,
and the small patches of it that are dispersed over the hill-

74 WILD MEN OF THE WOODS.

sides have a brilliant and curious effect among their rugged
surroundings of grey rocks and stones. The bread made from
all these grains is black, coarse, and bitter to the taste.
These people, however, seemed to thrive well on their frugal
fare, as they all looked robust and hearty, and were of a finer
build than the inhabitants of the lower and middle ranges.
But they are evidently of opinion that water is only intended
for drinking, most of them being literally coated with grimy
dirt. And as for their clothing, I doubt whether it is ever
removed, unless it be at the prompting of the parasites that
infest it.

There are some curious specimens of humanity to be found
dwelling among the forests about the Chipla, called " Eazees,"
compared with whom the villagers are quite tiivilised. As
they are few in number, and hardly ever visit the villages, I
much regretted not having had an opportunity of becoming
personally acquainted with them. The villagers described
these " junglee admi " (wild men of the woods), as they termed
them to me, as being almost on a par with the beasts of the
wilds they inhabit, subsisting chiefly on what they can secure
with their bows and arrows, and by snaring. I at first sus-
pected their existence to be a myth, until I afterwards learnt
on good authority that it was a fact. My old friend Colonel
Fisher, senior Assistant Commissioner of Kumaon, gave me
the following short account of these interesting barbarians.
"They were the original indigenous inhabitants of the
country about there, but the persecutions to which they
were subjected by the Kumaon Eajas, and especially by their
neighbours the Goorkhas, were so cruel, that they abandoned
their hamlets and retired into the wildest and least inhabited
parts of the country, and lived on wild roots, fruits, and fish,
and game, and lost all recollection even of their language.
They had a language of their own, but it is quite extinct
now ; in fact, I was told by the Eajwar of Askote, they them-
selves have entirely disappeared from Kumaon, though there

AN ADAM AND EVE OF THE PERIOD. 75

may be a few yet on the banks of the Sarda in our territory,
or the thick jungles on the Nepal side of the river. The last
time I saw a man and woman of the tribe was at Askote in
1866, and they were caught for my special benefit. We gave
them a few rupees, but they seemed to value them as much
as apes ! They would eat anything given to them ; and both
the man and the woman wore long hair down the back, and
used leaves stitched together for clothing." From this, the
condition of these remnants of an almost lost race appears to
have been still much the same as, we may suppose, was that
of Adam and Eve after the fall.

As we were pitching our little camp on the plateau, we
were interviewed by several of the tenants of the log huts,
who willingly offered to give us every assistance in the way
of sport. Tahr they reported as abundant higher up on the
mountain, and a few black bears and plenty of kakur
(barking deer) in the forest close above the plateau.

Long before the sun had topped the snowy crests of the
towering heights eastward of the plateau, we were afoot in
the forest above, and were not long in coming across one of
its ursine denizens. I gave him the contents of both barrels
as he shambled away through the bushes. He went off hard
hit with the second shot, to which he loudly responded. We
tracked him for some distance by his blood, but eventually
had to give up the pursuit, as we wished to be back in time
to move up to the tahr ground that day. I had also snap-
shots at two kakur, one of which got away badly wounded
in the thick cover. Whilst forcing our way through some
tangled bushes as we were returning to camp, a twig I had
pressed back with my hand flew back and struck me in the
open eye, causing the most acute pain, and quite blinding me
for the time of that eye. Being the right eye, this little
accident proved highly detrimental to rifle - shooting for
several days.

About noon we commenced our ascent to the haunts of the

HAUNTS OF THE TAHR.

tahr. For a mile or two our way led through forest, and
over ground that was rough and uneven owing to huge frag-
ments of rock that had been detached by some bygone con-
vulsion of nature from the heights above, and which now lay
jammed together where they had here found a resting-place
below. Such travelling was tiresome for our laden men,
though they made nothing of the difficulty. At length we
emerged on to a rocky ridge which ran up the left side of a
vast amphitheatre. From the naked crags and snow-streaked
summits that almost encircled it, deep rifts, gullies, and
broad landslips of stones and dtbris ran down its precipitous
sides, until they terminated in a wilderness of partially
wooded, rocky ravines far away below. Some idea of the
proportions of this huge natural amphitheatre may be formed
when I say that as we clambered along we might have been
compared to ants creeping over the ruined walls of the Col-
osseum at Rome. Here and there amidst this chaos were
steep, verdant slopes on which several small herds of tahr
were quietly browsing or reposing, looking in the distance
like little brown dots. Altogether it was a wonderfully wild
scene to gaze upon, though I had only one eye for viewing it,
the injured one being bandaged up for the time.

As we picked our way along the ridge, I was much amused
with the behaviour of a big sturdy inhabitant of the plateau,
who, notwithstanding his load, which was not a light one, was
skipping nimbly about from rock to rock in his anxious
endeavours to point out the tahr. Fortunately the animals
were so far distant below us, that there was little chance of
their observing his excited movements. On examining the
animals with the telescope, I could discern no great old black
fellows among them, only tehrny or young bucks. Some of
the latter, however, showed fair heads.

We soon reached a spot on the ridge where the afore-
mentioned stalwart individual, who had constituted himself our
guide, had informed me that we should find a sort of cave, under

A PICTURESQUE BIVOUAC, 77

a big overhanging rock, capable of affording shelter for us all-
It was rather an awkward place to get at, from its being
situated just below the crest of the ridge, in such a way as to
render it necessary to clamber down, one by one, on to this
covered shelf of rock, below which was an .almost sheer drop
of at least a hundred feet, terminating with a very steep slope
of incalculable distance towards depths unseen from above.

Taking with us our burly but agile guide, Kurbeer and I
lost no time in making a start after the tahr we had seen
below. Difficult as the ground looked from above, we found
it fairly easy, although toilsome to work over. As it was
very favourable for stalking, I had not much difficulty in
getting several easy shots. But no sooner did I uncover my
right eye to take aim, than its sudden exposure caused both
eyes to water, blurring the sights of the rifle and everything
beyond them, which of course made my shooting rather
erratic. It was almost dark when we got back to our cave,
and, much to the regret of its occupants — who had been look-
ing forward to a hearty supper of tahr meat — empty-handed.
Notwithstanding the general disappointment, the place looked
cheerful enough, and highly picturesque withal, as the fires
blazed and crackled away, shedding a warm ruddy glow on
the black, smoke-stained rock beetling above, and throwing
up the wild figures of the mountain men, either in dark re-
lief or in high light, as they moved to and fro, or squatted
before their little fires, cooking their evening meal. After
dinner and a pipe, my blankets were spread on the softest
spot I could find on our stony floor. Fortunately I am not a
somnambulist, or, from the position of my couch, my arnbula-
tion might have taken me down over the rocks below at a
pace I never could have dreamt of.

Next morning my eye was still so bad that it would have
been wiser to have given it a rest than to have gone out
merely to disturb the game as I did, by firing several random
shots. One herd which towards evening we saw, must have

78 EXORCISING AN EVIL SPIRIT.

numbered about five-and-twenty animals. All of them, how-
ever, were tehrny or very young males. Being alarmed, they
had huddled up together and stood in a cluster some 200
yards below. Half blind as I was, I thought I could hardly
miss such a big mark. On the bullet striking, with a smack,
on a stone in their midst, it was a pretty and curious sight
to see the manner in which the herd instantly split into two
bands, which galloped off. each in an opposite direction. I
should never have fired such an indiscriminate shot, and at
such inferior specimens, had I not become desperate at having
as yet got no venison for our camp, after losing so many easy
chances of procuring it. Of course the natives ascribed my
want of success to the protection from harm afforded to the
game there by the deity of the mountain. I discovered one
fellow who had accompanied me from Shore, smoking my
rifle with some burning stuff that he informed me was a
charm with which he was endeavouring to exorcise the evil
spirit he thought must have possessed it — for, he added, he
never had known it behave so badly when he had been out
with me on former shikar trips. The following morning,
however, my eye being considerably better, such ideas were
dispelled from their minds by my shooting a fine buck tahr,
and also a gooral. The tahr was one of a herd of seven ; but
owing to the broken nature of the ground, it was not until
after we had stalked quite close up to and shot him, that we
caught sight of his companions as they scurried helter-skelter
away among the rocks. My satisfaction at being, at last,
able to kill some game on this ground, was added to by the
opportunity it afforded of providing my friends of the plateau
with some venison in return for their civility.

The game here had been so much disturbed by my wild
firing, that I now thought it advisable to try fresh ground.
About noon the loads were all packed and hauled up from
the rocky alcove. The laden men descended along the ridge
until they reached the lower extremity, as it were, of the

THE RHODODENDRON AT HOME. 79

amphitheatre, where the torrent that drained it rushed and
tumbled down its rock -bound channel towards the narrow
gorge we had, a few days before, ascended with so much
difficulty from the river Goree to the plateau. Kurbeer and
I took a more circuitous route down through the crags on the
chance of finding game, but were unsuccessful. In the even-
ing we found the camp pitched beside some huts near the
stream, across which, and rising abruptly almost from the
water's edge, was a very steep and rugged hill-face we in-
tended scaling on the morrow.

In the early morning we crossed the stream and com-
menced the long and arduous ascent, which must have been
some 5000 feet at least, and not a drop of water was
there to be found on the way up. It was past mid-day ere
we all had reached the top. The heat of the sun's rays, as
they beat on us through the clear air of those high regions,
had been intense during our toilsome climb. I was nearly
dead beat when I threw myself down in the shade of the
rhododendron bushes that grew in great profusion along the
ridge, and my mouth was as dry as a limekiln from thirst.
But the glorious view from the ridge was a more than
adequate reward for the trouble of getting up there. And
the rhododendrons ! which were all in full bloom — never have
I seen anything to approach the colouring and quantity of
their gorgeous blossoms. Here, almost at the limit of vege-
tation, they grow in the form of large shrubs — not as forest-
trees, like those of the middle and lower ranges — and their
bloom is larger, fuller, and of more delicate and varied hues.
Some were white as snow, others of a salmon-red, whilst the
tints of many ranged from the faintest blush of pink to the
deepest rose. The bunches of blossom were very round, with
the flowers on each bunch packed closely together. To see
the rhododendron blooming in perfection of form and colour,
one must visit the higher Himalayan ranges where nature
alone has nurtured it.

80 A REFRESHING DRAUGHT.

After a short rest we trudged on refreshed and invigorated
by the cooling breeze on the ridge. The rest of our day's
work was comparatively easy, being more or less through
forest and down hill. And how we did enjoy an ice-cold
draught at the first sparkling stream we came to ! As a rule,
however, it is a mistake to drink water when out on the hill,
for the more you indulge in it the more you seem to want,
and you soon get inured to doing without it. It was late in
the afternoon when we reached our destination — a hamlet
situated below the ground we intended hunting over. Whilst
dinner was being prepared, I arranged with the village Mm-
rod for his services as guide, and after quickly disposing of
my frugal repast, at once turned in — for sitting up to promote
its digestion was quite unnecessary after such a hard day's
mountain work.

The fleecy cloudlets that flecked the deep-blue sky were
just becoming tinged with gold as I stepped out of my little
tent into the bracing morning air. All traces of yesterday's
fatigue were gone, and much to my joy, the sight of the in-
jured eye was almost as clear as ever. At the shikaree's sug-
gestion we left most of the impedimenta at the village, only
taking with us a man to carry our blankets and food sufficient
for the few days we intended passing on the hill. In con-
sequence of these little arrangements having to be made, the
sun had risen over the eastern snow-peaks before we had
started.

"Look, there's a gooral!" exclaimed one of my companions in
a hurried whisper, as he crouched down and pointed to where
a buck was perched among some rocks high above us, basking
in the rays of the morning sun. As his gaze was not directed
downwards, he had evidently not observed us. The ground
was favourable, so we had little difficulty in circumventing
him, when a bullet sent him scrambling helplessly among
the rocks. The shikaree was not long in securing him, and
after slinging him over the few things he already had on his

HORNED ARGUS-PHEASANT. 81

back, again took the lead upwards. Before we had gone
much higher, three or four more gooral sped away up the
crags. I took a snap-shot at one of them, which I missed.
As we were going through a small birch coppice we flushed
a pair of large beautiful birds here called "loongees," and
generally known as the horned argus-pheasant. Its habitat
is always on the higher ranges, where its wild peculiar call —
a kind of mewing sound — may sometimes be heard issuing
from thickets in the pine- forests and birch woods near the
snow-line. Being a very shy bird, it is seldom or never met
with in the open. Its general colour on the back is a gamely
marked greyish -brown. The neck, breast, and shoulders of
the cock-bird are blood-red, and from its black head rise a
pair of red feathery ears or horns. The whole body, from the
neck downwards, is profusely covered with small white spots
rimmed with black. In another variety of the same bird, the
cock has a black neck, and breast spotted with white instead
of the blood -red colour, and over its throat hangs a broad
sky-blue wattle, from under which depends a bunch of bright,
glossy-red, beard-like hackles. Its long thin horns are fleshy,
and devoid of feathers. The hen, of both varieties, is uni-
formly brownish-grey, dotted over with white, and minus the
colour and appendages about the neck and throat of the
cock-bird.

About noon we reached a small kind of cavity among
some steep rocks, where the shikaree proposed we should
temporarily establish ourselves. After skinning and break-
ing up the gooral, I took a careful search over all the ground
in view with the spying-glass. There was a small herd of
young buck tahr far away above, near the sky-line ; but the
steep intervening ground was so open, that there was no
chance of getting near them from below, and it was too late
in the afternoon to attempt to approach them from the ridge
above, even had it been possible to reach it; we therefore
proceeded to try our luck elsewhere. Two moving objects

F

84 BAD GROUND.

easy matter, as it proved to be much larger than we expected.
After a good deal of work we managed to loosen it, when,
with the help of wooden levers cut for the purpose by Kur-
beer with his kookerie, we launched it over the mountain-side,
down which it went hurtling and crashing, smashing, and
carrying away everything that impeded its headlong course,
until it disappeared from our sight in a deep dark gorge far
below, where, as it dashed against rock and tree, an occasional
sullen boom was heard, the sounds and their echoes growing
fainter and more faint until they were no longer audible.

After the rain had ceased it was too late to go up after
tahr, so we tried for gooral lower down, returning at dark
only to score in my note-book " a blank day."

At daylight next morning we sent down our spare man
with the blankets, &c., giving him instructions to have the
traps we had left at the village taken by a lower route to our
next camping-place. At the same time Kurbeer, the shikaree,
and myself started with the intention of hunting over the
heights above, and joining the camp in the evening. Much
of the ground we had to get over was decidedly bad. On
some of the steep slopes we traversed the grass was, at this
season, so dry and slippery as to make the foothold very pre-
carious, and they, as often as not, terminated abruptly on the
brink of a sheer precipice. I must say I was rather staggered
at the look of one very awkward place we came to, which
there was no means of avoiding. As seen from below, it
appeared to me to be a nearly perpendicular craggy precipice
of at least fifteen hundred feet high. But our guide said
it was quite practicable, and as it had to be scaled, there was
no use looking at it — for the more one looks the less one likes
such a place, — we therefore commenced the ascent. It was
not so difficult, however, as it at first appeared, except in a few
places where one or other of my companions had sometimes to
place a hand from below on the nearly vertical face of some
smooth rock for a step ; there were juniper bushes, too, here

"TO SAVE HIMSELF FROM FALLING, KURBEER WAS OBLIGED
TO LET GO."

DANGEROUS EXPERIMENTS. 85

and there by which we could hold on. On nearing the top, it
was decidedly unpleasant to look back, and I was very glad
when we reached it. I was then but a neophyte in moun-
taineering on the upper Himalayan ranges, or I should prob-
ably have thought little of such a climb.

" Kustoora ! " suddenly ejaculated Kurbeer, just as we topped
the ascent. A musk-deer had jumped up close to us, and was
standing at gaze on the ridge. All breathless as I was, I fired,
and felt sure the animal was hit, although it made off. We
soon discovered it standing on a little ledge of rock below the
brow of the ridge. I could easily have finished it with another
shot, but if it fell from the ledge there was nothing to prevent
its going to the bottom of the rocky steep below it, by a much
quicker route than the one we had taken in coming up. As
it looked very sick, Kurbeer volunteered to clamber down and
try to secure it. The danger of such a proceeding did not strike
me until I nearly had cause to repent having allowed him to
attempt it. Climbing cautiously below the ledge, he seized
the little creature by one of its hind legs. In its struggles
to free itself it toppled off the ledge, the lad still holding on
to it with one hand, whilst with the other he gripped the
ledge above him. At last, in order to save himself from
falling, Kurbeer was obliged to let go, when the animal went
whirling down among the crags. Had he lost his balance or
his footing in the struggle ... I don't like recalling the
feelings of those few anxious moments to my memory.

Bather would I describe my sensations during a somewhat
similar episode, when, from being the principal actor myself,
they were less poignant than when beholding another in
imminent jeopardy without the possibility of helping him,
and for which I felt myself to blame. I had wounded a
gooral, and it had betaken itself to a steep bare slope, off
which the dry grass had been recently burnt, where it lay
down in a dying state on a shelving slab of rock. Not wish-
ing to disturb the ground by unnecessarily firing another shot,

Sb PEIMITIVE TOBACCO-PIPES.

I proceeded to secure the animal if possible by creeping up
behind it, and laying hold of one of its hind legs, which I
could see was hanging helplessly over the edge of the rock.
No sooner did the animal feel itself seized than it kicked
itself off the rock with the other hind leg, and fell struggling
on to the steep slope below it. I still held on to its legs as
we both went sliding head-foremost down the slope. But
finding the pace was getting too fast to be pleasant, I let go.
Fortunately I soon managed to stop myself by turning flat on
my face, and stretching out my arms and legs like a spread-
eagle, just as I was unconsciously nearing the brink of a nearly
perpendicular drop. Over this the gooral went headlong in
company with my cap, which had fallen from my head in the
struggle. It was afterwards recovered with the gooral, which
was found dead at the bottom. I felt truly thankful at hav-
ing escaped with nothing worse than my knuckles well barked
and my clothes a bit torn by the sharp stones on the slope.
But we must now try to recover our musk-deer.

The shikaree at once set off down the hill to look for it.
And judging from the time we had taken in coming up, I
concluded he would be a good while getting down and return-
ing with it on his back ; so I sat down and lit my pipe, Kur-
beer doing likewise with one he had made by twisting a green
leaf into a conical shape, which he filled with my cavendish,
and smoked through his clasped hands by way of mouth-
piece. The hill-men are decidedly ingenious in some of their
extempore contrivances for smoking tobacco. The most prim-
itive I have seen was a small hole made horizontally under
the surface of the ground and left open at the extremities.
At one end was placed the tobacco, whilst at the other each
man in turn knelt down and inhaled two or three long-drawn
whiffs of smoke into his lungs.

Waiting so long on the ridge was by no means irksome to
me, for I was glad of the rest it afforded. Moreover, when
situated on such an elevated spot, commanding so extensive

THE. BEARDED VULTURE. 8*7

an area of grand mountain scenery, one need never tire of
watching the ever- vary ing effects of light and shade as some
passing cloud floats .lazily across the deep-blue firmament,
temporarily darkening and seemingly altering the rugged
features of the mountains beneath it. Sometimes a great
bearded vulture (the Lammergeyer of Europe) would come
slowly soaring round the wall-like face of a cliff, rising high
away to our left, and, with outstretched wings, sweep past so
close to us that we could hear the rustle of his pinions. We
almost fancied we could see his inquisitive eye regarding our
prostrate forms with a hungry, sinister expression, as we lay
motionless on the ridge. There was interesting enjoyment,
too, in observing, through the spy-glass, the movements of
a distant herd of tahr, and charms for the ear in the faint
murmur of rushing water far away in the depths of the
valley below, and the wild whistling of moonals among the
crags.

However, after waiting there for nearly two hours, we began
to grow anxious lest some mishap might have befallen the
shikaree. Mist, too, had been gradually gathering around the
mountain-tops, the sky became rapidly overcast with dark
driving clouds of a leaden hue, and the keen cold wind that
accompanied them seemed to indicate an approaching snow-
storm. At last/to our relief, the shikaree reappeared, and over
his back was slung the musk-deer. Its skin was much torn
and its bones were all broken from having been dashed from
rock to rock in its fall.

The musk-deer (Moschus moschiferus of natural history), or
kustoora, as it is here called, is a very delicately formed little
creature, both in body and limb. It stands, at most, two feet
at the shoulder, which is slightly lower than the croup. Its'
hind-legs are very long, and are thus well adapted for the
agile bounds it is so capable of making amongst the rocks,
and have the appearance of being „ bent under its body, as
though always ready for a spring. The ears are roundish,

88 THE MUSK-DEER.

erect, and set closely together. In colour it is a dark greyish-
brown, which deepens on the quarters, and is slightly mottled
on the sides with spots of a pale brown. Its pelage is thick,
springy, and brittle, each hair having a crimped appearance
about half-way along from its root. The hoofs are small and
pointed, and the upper or false hoofs peculiarly long. The
habit of this little animal of returning to the same spot to de-
posit its droppings, is curious ; they are frequently met with
in heaps, which must have taken months to accumulate.
Some of these heaps are highly scented with musk, while
others are quite inodorous, which leads one to suppose that
each heap has been made by the same individual. This deer
carries no horns ; but the upper jaw of the male is provided
with a pair of canine teeth, which grow to a length of quite
two inches, if not more. As the buck only has these teeth,
it is hard to say for what use they are intended, unless it be
for fighting ; but their rather loose setting in the jaw, and
their fragile make, are against this theory. The does are so
similar to the bucks in size and colour, that at a short distance
it is almost impossible to distinguish any difference between
them; consequently many of the former are destroyed un-
necessarily. The musk is found in the male only, in a small
bag under the skin, close to the prepuce. When fresh, the
secretion is soft and moist, and of a brownish colour. Its
smell is then rather offensive ; but when it hardens and dries,
the well-known odour of musk becomes so powerful as to be
almost permanently transmitted to anything with which it
comes in contact. On being taken from the dead animal, it is
at once tied up tightly in a bit of the hairy skin that covers
the gland, and is then called a " musk-pod." The musk-deer
inhabits the high cold regions below the snow-line, where it
generally affects thick rocky cover ; but it is not unfrequently
met with among bare crags, and occasionally about the highest
tops of the middle ranges. The natives say it can travel over
even worse ground than the tahr. Its cry of alarm is a kind

SNARING THE " KUSTOORA. 89

of hiss. As musk is the principal ingredient used throughout
the civilised world in the manufacture of most perfumes, a good
musk-pod sells for sixteen rupees, or more. These little ani-
mals are therefore more sought after than any other game by
the natives, who capture them mostly by snaring, in the fol-
lowing manner : A low fence is made of boughs, &c., along the
ridge of a hill, sometimes a mile or more in length. At inter-
vals of 100 or 150 yards are gaps. The musk-deer, crossing
the ridge from one valley to another, come across this fence,
and to save themselves the trouble of jumping over it, walk
alongside until, seeing a little gap, they try to go through it.
But in each gap a noose of strong string is placed on the
ground, and tied to a stout sapling, bent downwards. The
noose is so arranged that, when the deer tread inside it, the
sapling is loosed and flies back, leaving the noose tied tightly
round the animal's leg. The people visit these fences every
two or three days, and secure the deer thus caught, and repair
the fences and nooses, which are often carried away or de-
stroyed by larger game.

The musk-deer I had shot was unfortunately a doe. Al-
though not so good as a specimen, it was better for the pot
than a buck, the flesh of which is apt to be tainted with the
flavour of musk.

Snow now began falling in feathery flakes as we struck
down into the dark forest of tall and straight black-looking
conifers that almost invariably clothe the northern expos-
ures of the higher ranges on the south side of the great snowy
chain. Here the ground was thickly covered with old snow,
in which the tracks of jurrow were numerous ; but as the day
was now growing old, and we had still a long way to go, there
was no time to search for the animals that made them. It
was tiresome work plodding through the snow, which in many
places was knee-deep, until, lower down, we got clear of it.
As we descended, the falling snow changed to sleet, and
eventually to heavy rain. Although the rest of the way was

90 THE SAKDA VALLEY.

comparatively easy travelling, darkness was setting in ere we
reached our camp.

We had now descended again to the continuation of the
beaten track used by the Tartar traders, which up here fol-
lows the course of the Kallee (or the Sarda, as it is also called)
for a considerable distance farther up the deep tortuous valley
through which that big impetuous river flows, forming the
boundary-line between British and Nepalese territory.

Starting at daybreak, we followed the regular mountain-road
for a few miles, until we reached a small village, built on a
slope, near the foot of a spur of the Chipla, abutting on the
Kallee. Here I breakfasted, made arrangements for replen-
ishing our stock of supplies, and engaged fresh local guides
and coolies for carrying the traps, preparatory to once more
encountering the difficulties of the craggy heights of the
Chipla, after tahr.

Farther up the valley of the Kallee, on the open grassy
slopes just below the perpetual snow-line, are good grounds
for "burrell" (Ovis nahura). But I shall leave these wild
sheep and their haunts alone for the present, as we are now
after wild goats.

91

CHAPTER VII.

ON THE CHIPLA — ITS GENERAL FEATURES — RIGHT AND LEFT AT TAHR
AND GOORAL — DANGEROUS FOOTING— KURBEER HAS A NARROW ES-
CAPE— A WELCOME HAVEN — ANNUAL BURNING OF THE DRY GRASS
ON THE MOUNTAINS — GRAND SCENERY OF THE UPPER RANGES — A
HERD OF OLD BUCK TAHR— DIFFICULTIES OF A DOWN-HILL STALK

— A TREMENDOUS DROP — WOUNDED TAHR LOST IN THE MIST — BAD
WEATHER — SNOW-PARTRIDGES — AN AWKWARD BIT — SENSATIONS ON
BAD GROUND — A CHANCE LOST — MOONAL PHEASANT SHOOTING —
SALT-LICKS — THE HILL MARTEN — TARTAR NOMADS — MOUNTAIN BELLES
— KURBEER'S FLIRTATION — A TERRIFIC TORNADO — DIFFERENCE BE-
TWEEN SPORT AND SLAUGHTER — BEST SEASON FOR TAHR-SHOOTING.

ALTHOUGH the Chipla, as seen from a distance, appears to be
a huge solid spur abutting from the snowy wall behind it, on
a nearer acquaintance it is found to have, as may already
have been inferred, mighty spurs of its own, with noble
rocky amphitheatres and stupendous V-shaped valleys lying
between them. As you ascend these steep-sloping valleys
they gradually grow narrower, and their sides become more
precipitous until they reach the snow-fields on the heights
towering above them.

Up one of these steep spurs our way now led. To the left,
as we ascended, its southern face fell away abruptly, either
in a succession of irregular drops, like huge steps, or in rocky
rifts and gullies. As we mounted higher, these features
were exaggerated until they became broad and terribly steep
inclines, appalling precipices, and almost vertical rocky
gorges, terminating in landslips of rubble and debris running

92 DANGEROUS FOOTING.

far away down into the contracted depths of the valley be-
low. To the right, the northern exposure was rough and
rocky, and, as usual, clad with primeval forest.

We went ahead of the coolies up a kind of goat-track for
a mile or two, when our village shikaree suggested that we
might take a turn over the steep broken ground on our left,
and look for gooral, which, he said, were likely to be found
there. We had not to search long before one was started.

"Shoot quick! or he'll be away out of sight down the
rocks," excitedly whispered the shikaree, as the animal he
had suddenly detected, after going a short distance, stood for
a few moments to gaze back at us. Although hurried snap-
shots in mountain hunting are, as a rule, a mistake — for it is
better to let an animal go free on the chance of getting
another and better opportunity, than to risk missing and dis-
turbing the ground by firing an unsteady shot — yet this one
luckily told. The gooral which fell to it was fortunately
stopped by some projecting rocks ere he had rolled down
very far, which saved us much trouble in fetching him.

Eain, which for some time had been threatening, now
began to fall. This made the steep slopes slippery and dan-
gerous; we therefore thought it prudent to get back on to
the ridge, where we soon overtook the coolies toiling up the
winding track with their loads. Leaving the dead gooral in
their charge, we again went ahead.

We were now nearing ground where, at any moment, we
might chance upon tahr. For the wild animals in these high
regions are very irregular in their feeding-times, and may be
seen out browsing at all hours of the day, and more particu-
larly in wet or cloudy weather, when there is no need for
them to lie up for shelter from the heat of the noonday sun.

Some distance higher up on the spur we came to a kind of
promontory that sloped down from it, and extended for some
distance along the side of a rocky hollow scooped out of the
steep mountain-side. In order to examine the precipitous

TAHR IN SIGHT. 93

depths of the hollow, into which we could not see from above,
we crept cautiously down behind the promontory. As the
shikaree, who was in front, slowly raised his head to look
over, he suddenly drew back and whispered " tahr." On the
opposite face of the hollow, and slightly below us, not only
were there five or six tahr on a narrow and steeply sloping
terrace of short green grass that ran obliquely downwards
across it, but there was also a small herd of gooral browsing
unconcernedly not far from them, and both were within
range for a longish shot. Singling out the tahr that looked
the best, I waited until he was in a good position for taking
him. As the report of the rifle rang out, his companions
instantly made off, and scaling the impassable-looking rocks
above them with the most marvellous agility, disappeared
over the ridge on the opposite side of the hollow, without
stopping to give a second chance. The one I had shot at
seemed so badly hit, as he went hobbling away after them,
that, feeling sure of eventually getting him, I at once turned
my attention to the gooral. They looked very much per-
plexed, but did not move off until I had emptied my second
barrel at one of them as he stood hissing out his note of
alarm.

" He's hit too ! " exclaimed the shikaree with great glee, as
the animal contrived with difficulty to follow the rest of the
herd over the ridge, some distance lower down than where
the tahr had crossed it. Scrambling down the side of the
promontory, we almost ran along the sloping terrace the
animals had been on. In cold blood I should most probably
have hesitated to cross it at all, for the incline was so sharp
that a slip would have been fatal, and it was not until we
were on it that I could see the profound depth of the abyss
below.

The shikaree now climbed after the tahr, whilst Kurbeer
and I took up the track of the wounded gooral. The ground,
which would at any time have been bad, was now rendered

94 NARROW ESCAPE.

frightfully dangerous by being very wet and slippery from
the rain which was still falling. We had missed the track of
the gooral, and I was carefully going along the brink of a
craggy precipice, to which I thought the wounded animal
might have betaken himself, with my gun ready to finish
him with a buckshot cartridge, should I catch sight of him
among the rocky ledges below. Kurbeer was some distance
higher up, on a very steep incline of short grass rising im-
mediately above me, searching for the lost track. Suddenly
I heard a scuffling sound above. Looking upwards, to my
horror I saw that the lad had lost his footing on the slippery
wet earth, and was rolling and sliding down the slope, clutch-
ing frantically at the short grass with his free hand, for, not-
withstanding his danger, he still kept hold of my rifle he was
carrying with the other. At once I saw that his only chance
lay in my being able to arrest his progress before he reached
the brink of the precipice. I had scarce time to deposit the
gun safely on the steep ground, in order to have both hands
free, ere he was down within a few yards of me. For-
tunately I happened to be almost directly below him, so I
set my teeth, dug my feet as firmly as possible into the wet
earth, and, holding my breath, stood ready to try and stop
him, for I knew his life depended on my being able to do so.
Another roll and he would have been over. Making a des-
perate clutch at him, I luckily got firm hold of his loose
clothes, thereby checking his descent sufficiently to enable
him to recover his footing, otherwise his weight and impetus
must have taken us down together. All this, of course, hap-
pened in very much less time than I have taken to tell it ;
and my mingled feelings of horror and thankfulness at this
narrow escape were such as to be not easily forgotten.

We now called a short halt to recover the tone of our
nerves, which had naturally been rather shaken by what
had occurred. But as any one who hunts properly over
such mountains as these is often more or less exposed to

A WELCOME HAVEN. 95

dangers of this kind, it is best to keep the mind as much
as possible from dwelling on them. We therefore were not
long in resuming our search for the wounded gooral, and we
shortly after came up with him where he had lain down,
when I secured him with a shot-cartridge.

The shikaree soon rejoined us after having tracked the
tahr into ground where it was impossible for him to follow
farther. It was now getting late in the day, and we had still
some very difficult ground to get over, so, the gooral being
shouldered by the shikaree, we made the best of our way
to the place where he had directed the coolies to make for.
This was, as hitherto, a kind of open cave formed by the big
rocks that overhung it. We reached this welcome haven just
before dark, weary and wet through. The coolies had arrived
some time before us, and there was a savoury odour arising
from the cooking quarter, which was most grateful to us, tired
and hungry as we were.

In the Himalayas, at this time of year, the atmosphere is
often dim with a bluish gauzy haze, which gives the moun-
tains, and especially the more distant ones, a beautifully soft
and dreamy appearance. This effect is probably due to the
air being permeated with thin smoke, caused by the old dry
grass on the mountain-slopes being, at this season, so much
fired by the villagers, in order that the young green blades
afterwards springing up on the burnt ground may the sooner
afford fresh pasturage for their herds. I have seen the same
effect produced by the smoke from the forest-fires in the
Eocky Mountains and the backwoods of Canada during " the
fall," when a sudden change of wind will dispel it in an hour
or two, and make the atmosphere as clear as ever.

This morning, however, when we made our early start, the
air, from the rain of the previous day, was wonderfully bright
and transparent, and every outline and feature of even the
most distant ranges in sight stood out strikingly distinct
and clear. And here I may remark that in these upper

96 THE PERPETUAL SNOWS.

ranges, from being so close below the perpetual snows, you
seldom get the same expansive panorama of the great frozen
chain, even from a coign of vantage, as you have of it at a
greater distance, when viewed from the middle ranges. But
when you do get a glimpse of a colossal white mass towering
above the black pine-forest and grey storm-swept crags, or
through the rocky vista of some narrow gorge, or, best of all,
an uninterrupted view from an open mountain summit, the
prospect is far more imposing. In fact, a sensation something
akin to dread is inspired on suddenly beholding the startling
propinquity and overwhelming magnitude of so sublimely
grand a spectacle as up here is often most unexpectedly
presented to the wondering gaze. But let us resume our
business on hand.

We had not gone much over half a mile from our cave
when we descried some dark objects moving among the
rocks away clown below.

" They are bucks for certain, as they look so black," so say
Kurbeer and the shikaree, as I proceed to adjust the telescope,
using my iron-shod staff as a rest for it ; and bucks they prove
to be. Three or four only are visible, but others may be
hidden by the rocks. If they remain where they are, we,
can pretty easily approach them unseen, though it will be
more difficult to do so unheard. For when stalking animals
from above on precipitous ground, be it ever so favourable as
regards cover, there always remains the probability of detach-
ing loose stones, and of making more noise in clambering
downwards than upwards.

As my two companions, with bare feet, generally precede
me in our down-hill stalk, they contrive to cleverly " field "
the stones set in motion by my heavy nailed boots, and some-
times place a hand or a shoulder against a smooth rock, or
drive the point of an alpenstock into the ground for a foot-
step below me, until at last we manage to get within easy
range. The shot is a downward one ; so aiming low, I let the

A TREMENDOUS DROP. 97

best-looking buck have it. Off they all start, but the one shot
at soon separates from the herd, and makes for the brink of a
declivity just below. As he nears it he stumbles and totters,
struggles to the edge, and toppling over it, disappears from
our sight. Meantime the rest have stopped to look back,
giving me a chance at another fellow with the second barrel,
ere they take their final departure.

On our reaching the spot where the tahr had gone over, we
find beyond a sheer drop of fully a thousand feet. As we
crane our necks forward to look down, we can see what we
suppose is the dead animal lying among a confused mass of
broken rock and boulders beside the torrent at the narrow
bottom of the valley, but from the colour being so similar to
that of its surroundings, the aid of the telescope is necessary
to make certain. There lies our tahr, but how to fetch him
is now the question. As reaching him is impossible, unless
by making a long round which would occupy many hours,
we finally decide on leaving him for the present where he is,
and straightway proceed to follow up the other buck I had
shot at, and soon find plenty of blood on his track.

In the excitement of our stalk we had failed to notice that
a scudding rack was fast overspreading the cloudless sky of
the early morning. A heavy veil of mist, too, was now trail-
ing itself up the valley, and rain soon began to fall. The
traces of the wounded tahr were rapidly becoming obliterated
by the fast-falling drops, and as the track lay over very bad
ground, our experience of the day before made us rather chary
of following farther in the wet, so we gave up the pursuit.
The mist also had become so dense that we could hardly see
a dozen yards around us, making it difficult even for our
guide to find his way back to the cave, towards which we
now turned our steps.

On the morrow the early morning again broke bright and
clear, so our shikaree proposed that we should bivouac, for
the night, higher up on the hill, where, after pointing out the

G

9 8 SNOW-PARTRIDGES.

dead tahr to the men who were to fetch it, he was to rejoin
us in the evening. As the way was rough and steep for laden
men, and we might up there in some places find the snow
lying deep, he recommended our taking only our blankets
and ready-cooked food with us. It was late in the morning
when Kurbeer and I started with one or two of the men who
knew the way, to our quarters for the night. We had not
proceeded far when one of those sudden changes, so common
in the mountains, came over the smiling face of nature. The
hitherto sunny sky became obscured with clouds, and our
inveterate enemy the rain was soon falling heavily on us.
We toiled upward, nevertheless, until we reached our destina-
tion, another cavity among the rocks. Here we made a big
fire, for which we fortunately found plenty of wood at hand.
At this we dried our wet clothes and blankets, and made
ourselves as comfortable as we could under the circumstances
for the night. The shikaree turned up before dark, and re-
ported that the tahr had been recovered, but that one of its
horns had been broken off at the root in its fall, and was
nowhere to be found. This was a pity, but we were lucky
in having got the animal at all, for the shikaree said the place
above where it had fallen was such a tremendous " pakhan "
(precipice) that it was as much as they could do to reach where
it lay and get back with its spoils.

As soon as there was light enough to see our way, we were
out next morning. The ground in this vicinity was covered
with fresh marks of musk-deer, and the air was often redolent
with the perfume from their droppings, although we failed to
get a glimpse of the animals themselves. We flushed several
coveys of snow-partridges, here called " zingooria," a bird
something resembling a ptarmigan in summer plumage, and
like it, in winter, I was told, becoming pure white. At this
season it appeared, on the wing, to be a brownish-grey patched
with white. Far away up the face of a bare acclivity near
the head of the glen, we espied a herd of tahr. The inter-

AN AWKWARD BIT. 99

vening ground was for the most part extremely steep, but
being craggy and broken, there was a fair chance, we thought,
of our being able to get at them, so we resolved to make the
attempt. We had got over more than half of the difficult
stalk when the animals suddenly became restless, and soon
moved hurriedly off over the ridge above. Possibly they had
got a taint of us on the wind, which in the steep valleys and
gorges among high mountains usually blows upward during
the day, and downward during the night ; but more probably
they were warned of impending danger by their guardian
angels, the moonals, several of which were whistling away as
they sighted us from their commanding positions around.
Their wild notes just then sounded anything but melodious,
and our remarks respecting them were, I fear, rather un-
complimentary.

Having gone up so far, we thought we might as well con-
tinue our ascent to the ridge above, and prospect the country
beyond it for game — as, being above the timber line, the
northern exposure would at that elevation be as bare of
forest as a southern one usually is at any height. Before
we could reach the ridge, however, it was necessary to traverse
an exceedingly awkward place. It was a very smooth slope
at a fearfully sharp angle. Not the smallest excrescence was
there on it for foothold. The ground was covered with a thin
layer of fresh-fallen snow, just enough to make the footing
slippery and treacherous. Below it the rocks fell away so
precipitously that the consequences of a false step would have
been too dreadful to contemplate. There were only some
fifty yards of danger, but my nerves underwent a considerable
amount of wear and tear before we got over them. Be it
remembered, this was my first essay at hunting on the upper
ranges. Hitherto I had thought something of my experiences
on the gooral grounds of the middle ranges, until they were
totally eclipsed by those of the vast heights of these upper
regions ; and such a place as we had now to negotiate might

100 SENSATIONS ON BAD GROUND.

certainly have been considered, to say the least of it, un-
pleasant, even by the boldest and most experienced of
cragsmen.

It is on these dangerous slopes where that trusty com-
panion of the mountain hunter, the iron-shod pole, affords
such invaluable assistance, both as a support and for digging
notches for foothold in the hard ground or frozen snow. It
will be found more serviceable for the latter purpose if,
instead of the usual iron point, it is shod with a light
triangularly-shaped spud, having its lower edge about an
inch and a half broad. It is almost needless to suggest that
one of the party should always be provided with an axe of
some sort, and the common little " koolharree " (wood-hatchet)
which almost every hill villager, when out on the mountain,
carries in his girdle — usually a coil of rope to be used in case
of need — answers all hunting requirements, as well as the
best of ice-axes. The sensation termed " giddiness " I have
never, in the literal acceptation of the word, experienced when
on dangerous ground ; but I freely confess having felt what
is vulgarly called " funk." Perhaps, in this case, the terms
are synonymous. From constant practice, however, in moun-
tain-climbing, one grows more confident in his feet, and more
callous in his nerves. But I have dwelt so long on the
danger of the mountain-slope, and the ideas suggested by it,
that, at this rate, we shall never reach the ridge.

At last we arrived at the crest, and found, as we expected,
that the northern slopes were, at this height, almost free of
wood, except some scattered birches, rhododendron bushes,
and broad patches of juniper ; but the ground was in many
places covered with snow-fields. Soon, however, our view of
it became obscured by blinding snow-flakes that now began
whirling about us, so we struck down the ridge, which trended
towards our old quarters. There was still a chance of start-
ing a musk-deer from among the birch and rhododendron
bushes, for their fresh tracks were numerous, but these were

A CHANCE LOST. 101

soon obliterated by the falling snow, and not an animal did
we see.

Floundering down through the deep snow-beds was tire-
some enough, but as descending the spur was much quicker
and less laborious work than ascending it, we reached our
cave much sooner than I expected. On arrival we found
most of its occupants in a complete state of prostration, and
suffering severely from the effects of having partaken too
freely of tahr-meat. The sky had cleared again, it was still
early in the afternoon, and being my last day on the hill,
after refreshing the inner man we once more set out.

We had made for the ground below, in the direction of the
place where we had lost the first tahr I had shot at in this
vicinity. Kurbeer was following me, carrying my rifle, when
suddenly I heard him hurriedly whisper, " There he goes ! and
he's surely the tahr you wounded, for he's lame," as a big
buck jumped up from behind some rocks close to us, and
rattled off. Had I had the rifle in my hand I could have got
an easy running shot ; and when I did lay hold of it, I waited,
thinking the beast would be certain to stand and gaze back.
But he had no intention of stopping, so I lost my chance.
Nota bene — always have your rifle in your own hands on
likely ground when you can, for many an easy chance is thus
lost by letting it be carried for you. We did not follow far,
for even had the tahr been our wounded one, there was now
no blood on his track. On our way back we saw a herd in
the distance, but the shadows were already deepening around,
rendering a long stalk impracticable.

At daybreak next morning, whilst the loads were being
packed preparatory to our descent to the village, I took a
stroll in search of moonals. These pheasants may often be
found, early in the morning, on steep open glades among forest,
scraping up the earth, probably in search of insects. By
stealing up under cover below them, a rocketing shot may be
got overhead, as they invariably fly downwards. In this

;102 :*\*J SALT-LICKS.

manner I bagged a brace of birds, and missed several others ;
and then, as it began to rain, we made direct for the village,
without attempting to hunt on our way down.

We now commenced retracing our steps homewards. For
several days our route lay along the valley of the Kallee.
The roaring river surging along between steep forest-clad or
rocky acclivities made the scenery wild and grand, but one's
appreciation of its charms was considerably marred by the
concentrated heat at that season in this low-lying narrow
valley, and by the inclemency of the weather. A halt was
made at a place said to be famous for jurrow and kakur. I
saw many of the former deer, but all were hornless, the stags
having just shed their antlers ; I only shot a young male to
provide meat for the coolies. I also killed a kakur, which
was not found until the following morning, when, from the
nature of the tracks in its vicinity, it was evident that a
sounder of wild pigs had, unfortunately for us, discovered it
first, and had made rather a mess, in every sense of the word,
of its carcass. Had I then known that near this place there
was a famous salt-lick close to the river, I might, had I cared
to take advantage of it, have spared myself the trouble of
perspiring over the baked hillsides of these low warm regions
in quest of game.

These salt-licks, or kar as they are termed by the
natives, which may be described as places where the ground
is strongly impregnated with some sort of saline or alkaline
matter, are here and there met with all over the mountains.
In such spots large cavities may often be seen where the
earth has been scooped out of the hillside by the animals
partaking of the kar. In wild unfrequented parts where
game abounds, I am told that animals can at times be actually
slaughtered by watching these licks. An acceptable addition
was sometimes made to our fare by Kalleege pheasants, which
were plentiful along this route; although shooting them at
that time of year was hardly fair. They generally, however,

TARTAR NOMADS. 103

took good care not to let me kill many of them, even had 1
wished it. Close to the road I shot a hill-marten (Martes
flavigida), called " chitrola " by the hill-men. Its pretty skin
is dark glossy brown on the back, head, and legs, and
yellowish below. In length it is somewhat over two feet,
including the tail, which is rather long and almost black. It
was eating a dead bird, and even after being shot, it still
retained its grip on a wing it had in its mouth.

We struck the route by which we had travelled upwards
at the wooden bridge where we had crossed the river Goree.
Here, as I had brought my rod with me, I tried with a
minnow for mahseer, but the water was far too big and dirty
to be in fishing order. I might just as well have wetted my
line in a soapy wash-tub.

One day we came across an encampment of Tibetan Lamas 1
in their black blanket-tents. They were returning to their
homes in " Hundes," as that part of Tibet lying beyond the
mountain-passes of the Gurhwal and Kumaon provinces is
called. A wild, queer-looking lot these Tartars were, with
their flat, ugly, but good-humoured countenances, small eyes,
pig-tails, and peculiar dress. The latter generally consisted
of a loose garment of coarse woollen stuff of a dirty purplish
hue, confined at the waist by a girdle of cloth or a belt. In
this was stuck a tobacco-pipe, about 8 or 10 inches long,
with a very small brass bowl, and mouthpiece of the same
material. Depending from it was also a " chuckmuck." This
useful appendage — which, together with the pipe, and a wool-
spindle, these people are never without — is a steel attached
to a small leathern pocket containing a flint and tinder. It
is often ornamented with red cloth covered with open work
of silver or brass, and fastened to the girdle by a leather
thong or metal chain. The rest of their apparel consisted of
long woollen boots, fastened below the knee, and soled with

1 The sacerdotal class of Tibetan Buddhists are called Lamas, many of whom
are engaged as much in their temporal as in their monastic pursuits.

104 SHEEP AS BEASTS OF BURDEN.

raw hide ; and a small cap either of felt or woollen cloth,
sometimes with fur-lined lappets for covering the ears. Some
of these people were rather profusely adorned with rude
ornaments, principally consisting of silver amulets, strings of
large coral or other beads, and large lumps of rough amber
and turquoise, either real or sham, worn round the neck.

The occupation of both sexes appeared to be spinning wool
with their spindles, which, whether sitting or strolling, they
kept perpetually twirling, even when tending their large
droves of sheep and goats. These animals they use as beasts

Tibetan " Chuckmuck" for striking a light.

of burden, each carrying down from Tibet its little load of
borax or salt in a small pair of bags, and returning with them
refilled with rice or other grain. The heavier articles are
carried on stout ponies, or on yaks — the bovine cattle of
Tibet.

The women had very much the same dress and general
appearance as the men, excepting a long narrow flap of cloth,
extending from the top of the head down the back to below
the waist, and ornamented with bits of amber, turquoise, coral,
and cowry shells. They were strongly built like the men,
but, as a rule, not a whit less plain in feature. The excep-

MOUNTAIN BELLES. 105

tions were two or three sturdy young girls, whose rosy cheeks
and merry expressions gave their faces a pleasing look, which
in a great measure compensated for their lack of real beauty.

In respect of the latter, the Tibetan lasses differ from their
fairer but more frail sisters of the middle and lower Himalayas,
many of whom are remarkable for their comeliness both of face
and figure. The pretty style of costume worn by the Kumaon
and Gurhwal hill- women at their " melas " (fairs) and other
extraordinary and festive doings, adds much to their appear-
ance. On such occasions they may be seen to the best advan-
tage, decked out in their tight-fitting, bright-coloured bodices,
and full flowing skirts, and loosely enveloped in a long piece
of coarse printed muslin, part of which is wound round the
waist and skirt, and the rest thrown gracefully over the
neatly braided hair. Even when labouring in the fields,
where they do as much as, if not more than the men, their
dirty and work-stained appearance fails to detract from the
rustic grace and beauty of some of these mountain damsels.
It is rather strange that in the lower and middle ranges of
the Kumaon district alone they should so much excel —
though perhaps it may only be in appearance — the other sex,
who are, in my opinion, physically as well as morally the
worst specimens of humanity I have ever seen in the
Himalayas. This is not surprising in a province where poly-
andrism is, I believe, rife amongst the inhabitants, and
where leprosy and goitre are by no means uncommon. But
I have still a word or two to say about our Tartar friends.

In mentioning their flocks, their canine guardians should
not be forgotten. Two or three of the fine large dogs, known
as Tibetan mastiffs, invariably follow the camp of these
nomads. They are most excellent watch-dogs, and never
seem to rest during the night, when, much to the annoyance
of the weary traveller who may chance to encamp near, their
deep-toned bark is incessantly heard. As some of these dogs
are both bold and savage, a man or even a beast of prey

106 KURBEER'S FLIRTATION.

would be rash in approaching a Tartar camp after dark ; and,
when protected by the strong iron-spiked collar they usually
wear, they are quite fit to cope even with a marauding
leopard.

Whilst resting and smoking my pipe beside a stream near
this Tartar encampment, I was much entertained by watching
a little by-play between Kurbeer and an old dame sitting
there with a buxom, rosy-cheeked girl, who, I presumed, was
her daughter, spinning wool. It was a fair example of the
light-hearted character of these simple-minded people, which
their droll honest faces do not belie, and of how they could
enter into and appreciate a little fun.

As the women seemed familiar with the Goorkhali lan-
guage, Kurbeer and they were able to converse freely to-
gether. From what I could gather of their conversation, and
was afterwards told by Kurbeer, it appeared that the old lady,
after satisfying her feminine curiosity as to whence we had
come and whither we were going, among other things asked
him if he was married. On learning he was single, she jocu-
larly began recommending her daughter to his notice, telling
him of all her domestic accomplishments and the advantages
to be derived by taking her for a wife. At hearing all this
the lassie in question at first looked rather coy, and would
only occasionally take a sly sidelong glance at Kurbeer, who,
having much the same Mongolian type of feature as herself,
she probably thought a good enough looking lad in his way.
However, on his addressing himself to her, she seemed noth-
ing loath to reply, and they were soon on pretty easy terms,
asking each other's names, ages, and suchlike questions.
However this little flirtation might have ended, I was sorry
to be obliged to interrupt it by proceeding on our way, for
we had still far to go, and distant thunder and gathering
clouds testified that a storm was brewing.

We reached the hamlet where we intended to camp, only
just in time to seek shelter from one of those tremendous

A TERRIFIC TORNADO. 10 7

thunderstorms, accompanied by big hailstones and a hurri-
cane of wind, which are not uncommon at this season in these
mountains. The most terrific storm of this description I ever
experienced came on suddenly one afternoon, when I was out
after gooral on one of the middle ranges. Its approach was
heralded by a sullen and gradually increasing roar, until it
broke on the place where my village guide and I sat cowering
behind a rock to avoid its fury. The hail fell like bullets, and
the torrents of rain that succeeded it seemed to pour down in
sheets. The fierce gusts of wind were so strong, that had we
not been in some degree sheltered, I verily believe we might
have been blown down the steep hillside we were on. Vivid
flashes of lightning came in such rapid succession as to be
almost a continual blaze, and were accompanied by one in-
cessant rising and falling roll of deafening thunder. The
latter, together with the howling of the wind through the
trees, the creaking of bending boughs, the hissing of falling
hail, and the roaring of water rushing down the steep gullies —
all combined to create a truly appalling din, such as none but
those who have witnessed a storm of the kind can conceive.
Next morning I came across numbers of large pine-trees that
had been uprooted and felled, whilst others were snapped in
two, like dry twigs, by this furious tornado, which lasted only
some twenty minutes, and yet within an hour or so after it,
the face of the heavens was as calm and serene as it had been
before it.

One more day's tramp brought this hunting-trip to an end.
It had certainly been an enjoyable one, notwithstanding the
inclemency of the weather and the comparative smallness of
the bag. But to the true lover of wild sport, who is always
an ardent admirer of nature as well, the mere slaying of his
game is certainly not what conduces most to his delight in his
work. For my own part, a feeling of regret has always been
mingled with my exultation, at seeing a beautiful animal I
have brought down lying lifeless before me, however incon-

108 BEST SEASON FOR TAHR.

sistent it may seem. Nevertheless, it is very satisfactory to
make a good bag. When I say a good bag, I mean one of
fine, and if possible, of varied specimens, and riot made up,
merely for the sake of competition, of inferior animals, such
as a man of true sporting instincts would feel ashamed
to shoot at, unless he required meat for his camp. I
have less sympathy with those who shoot only for the bag,
than with the downright old poacher; not the murderous,
skulking cadger of the present, who nets and snares for the
game-dealer, but a man of the bygone Highland stamp, who
stalked a fat stag or shot a brace of grouse quite as much for
the keen excitement of the sport as for providing venison for
his family and his friends.

Spring is certainly not the best time of year for tahr-
shooting. The proper months are October and November,
when the old bucks have their shaggy hair much darker and
longer, and the toil in searching for them is lessened by their
being at that season lower down on the mountains, and asso-
ciated with the does. The weather, too, is then sure to be
settled and fine, which, of course, adds so much to the pleasure
of hunting. In fact, " the fall " is the best season for sport of
almost every kind in the Himalayas, as it is elsewhere.

109

CHAPTER VIII.

THE GOORKHA8 AS SOLDIERS AND SHIKAREES — THEIR SERVICES DURING
THE INDIAN MUTINY— A BIG DRINK— GOORKH AS VERSUS TIMBER—
THE BHABER — SHOOTING THEREIN — JUNGLE FIRES — THE TAROOS
— AX INQUISITIVE LEOPARD — HE PAYS THE PENALTY — A RIDING-
CAMEL — JUNGLE - FOWL — STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF A LEOPARD —
MALARIOUS SWAMPS — FLORIKENS — THE NEELGHAI — RAVINE DEER
— BLACK BUCK — ENORMOUS BANDS OF ANTELOPE — THE HUNTING-
LEOPARD — METHOD OF USING IT — THE OUNCE — THE CLOUDED LEOP-
ARD— LEOPARD CHASING A WILD CAT.

A FEW words respecting the men who form a very small but
most valuable item of the army of the British empire, and
with whom it was my good fortune to serve for thirty years,
may not be out of place in these pages. As light infantry
soldiers the Goorkhas are second to none, and as shikarees
they are unequalled. Indeed their aptitude for the former
capacity is probably in a great measure due to their excel-
lence in the latter, for a good stalker must necessarily be a
good skirmisher.

On our return to the outpost I found that some of my
recruiting men had returned, bringing with them a lot of
wild-looking, sturdy lads, with round flat faces, small eyes,
bare feet, and hair hanging down to their shoulders. This is
the " Goorkhali," or Goorkha, as he is called in the service,
pure and simple — the rough diamond as found on the moun-
tains of Nepal. When he has passed through the hands of
the barber, the tailor, and the drill-sergeant, after having

110 THE GOORKHAS IN 1857.

been cut, polished, and well set up by these regimental func-
tionaries respectively, he is turned out a smart little gem, so
to speak, of a soldier, with a sparkle of unpresuming swagger
about him, which is quite in keeping with his brave, inde-
pendent spirit.

The men generally enlisted for the Goorkha battalions are
those inhabiting certain mountain provinces of the Nepal ter-
ritory, a few only corning from the valley of Nepal proper,
which is chiefly peopled by the Newars, a race which was
originally conquered by the Goorkhas, and who are more of
a mercantile than a military class. The " Goorung " and
" Mugger " classes are those from which the best soldiers are
drawn. The Goorkhas show their Tartar origin distinctly in
their features, and they are almost invariably strong and stout-
limbed, but as a rule short. An idea of their stature may be
formed when I say that the average height of the battalion I
first joined was somewhere about 5 ft. 2 in. But their hearts
are as large as their frames are short and tough. Indeed,
their pluck and faithfulness to their " salt " have now become
proverbial. For example, I may mention their behaviour
during the Indian mutiny in 1857, when the Goorkha regi-
ments were among the comparatively few of the Bengal army
that were to be depended on. In that memorable year the
Sirmoor Eifle Battalion (now Prince of Wales' Own Goorkhas),
under the command of Major (now General Sir Charles) Eeid,
was the first regiment, British or native, to take the field,
and the first to pull a trigger against the mutineers. And at
the siege of Delhi it formed a permanent portion of the main
picket on the " Eidge " in front of the camp, where it was
under the fire — morning, noon, and night — of nearly all the
enemy's heavy guns for three months and eight days. During
this period it assisted in repulsing twenty-six different attacks
upon the Eidge, besides taking part in two assaults on the
enemy's position, and had 327 men killed and wounded out
of 490 of all ranks that first took the field, as shown by the

"LINE BOYS." Ill

regimental records. It was, indeed, a proud moment for the
Sirmoor Rifles when the Prince of Wales, during his Royal
Highness's visit to Delhi in 1875, addressed a few kind words
to them as they stood on the very ground the battalion had oc-
cupied during the siege. And had it not been for the stanch-
ness of the 66th (now 1st) Goorkhas, the European residents
at most of the stations in Rohilcund would, in all probability,
have met with the same sad fate as those at Cawnpore.

As the Goorkhas are encouraged to bring their families
with them from Nepal, many of them look upon their regi-
ments as their homes ; and their sons, who, as they grow up,
are, if physically fit, always enlisted, know no other. These
lads, who are called " line boys," are often among the smart-
est-looking and sometimes the best men in their battalions.
Even when children, almost as soon as they have found the
use of their legs, they may constantly be seen inarching about
in squads, with sticks for rifles, the band being represented
by one or two of the urchins, who have picked up some popu-
lar English tunes, strutting in front, and singing them at the
top of their voices.

The men join eagerly in all athletic sports and games.
Putting the stone is one of their national amusements, and in
this many of them excel. They are undoubtedly the best of
shikarees, numbers of them spending all their spare time in
hunting and fishing, of which they are passionately fond. On
one occasion I remember an old Goorkha commissioned officer
of sporting tastes entering his hack at some sky races, and
finding his own Goorkha jockey, who surprised the spectators
by cleverly winning his race.

I used to get up capital games at football with my recruits
at Shore. As some of these wild lads were rather hot-tem-
pered, their scrimmages were occasionally attended with slight
ebullitions of warm feeling. I once saw a lad with the head
of an opponent " in chancery," punching away unmercifully at
it with his clenched fist.

112 CATCHING A TARTAR.

The Goorkha, although he enjoys his tot of grog, seldom
commits himself by exceeding when on duty, but on festive
occasions he may at times indulge rather freely. The amount
of liquor some of their hard heads can stand, without being
"overcome," is astonishing. In this respect, however, they
are beaten hollow by the Bhotias — the half-breed (Himala-
yan-Tibetan) inhabitants of the high villages situated imme-
diately below the snowy ranges of the mountain provinces of
Kumaon and Gurhwal. I was told of a Goorkha having
backed himself for a wager to drink against one of these half-
bred Tartars — a trader at the Bagesur fair in Kumaon, where
numbers of Bhotias and Tibetans annually assemble to barter
their commodities. As far as quantity was concerned, the
result was about a tie ; but the Bhotia walked unsteadily off
as the winner of the stakes, — which were the price of the
liquor consumed, — apparently not much the worse for this big
drink, from the effects of which the Goorkha never recovered.
He had " caught a Tartar," and no mistake. On the winner
being afterwards had up before the court that investigated
the matter, and fined for the part he had taken in it, his
defence was rather characteristic of the astuteness of the
Bhotia trader. He said he considered himself to be the
injured party, for it was hard enough on him to have lost his
stakes, without being punished besides, as, the loser having
died, he, the winner, had had to pay for the liquor.

With my long experience of the characteristics and merits
of the Goorkhas, and the interest I consequently and naturally
take in their welfare, I think I may presume to say that,
with an army which must necessarily be composed chiefly of
mercenaries, it behoves the Indian Government to make the
Goorkha battalions as attractive as possible to such trusty
and valuable soldiers. And one way at any rate, and an easy
one, would be encouraging the men in their innate love for
wild sport as much as possible, by allowing them free access
to the Government forests, of course only during the proper

GOORKHAS VERSUS TIMBER. 113

season for hunting game. This would not merely add to their
contentment, but from the fact of their being accustomed to
using their own wits and weapons, and shifting for themselves
when out in the jungles, it would also conduce to their intelli-
gence and efficiency on active service. In the Dehra Doon,
the Goorkhas have, for sixty or seventy years, been in the
habit of wandering as they pleased in its forests, where they
could always pick up a deer as a help for feeding their
families, which, as I have said, they are encouraged to bring
with them from Nepal. Now, I am told this hunting privi-
lege has been virtually denied them by the forest department.
The consequence of this arbitrary measure — which I know
has been, to say the least of it, much deplored by the Goorkhas
quartered there — will probably be an increase in the difficulty
there always, more or less, has been in recruiting the already
limited Goorkha ranks, not to mention the many evils that may
accrue from the men being deprived of such healthy exercise
and instructive amusement in their leisure hours. And, after
all, what is the value of some sticks of timber, even though
barefooted shikarees could possibly injure them, which I very
much doubt, if they are to be conserved at the expense of los-
ing the services even of ever so few of such excellent soldiers ?
Why, a single company of Goorkhas is, in time of need, worth
more to the State than all the trees in the Dehra Doon forests.

As the Goorkhali is of very independent character, and is
well paid and made much of in the army of his own country,
he will naturally become averse to either entering or remain-
ing in a foreign one if his tastes and usages are not equally
well considered therein.

Trusting I may be excused for having made this digression
in favour of the gallant little men who were my companions
in arms and in wild sports for so many years, I will now
resume my original subject.

Towards the end of October I left Shore with my recruits to
rejoin regimental headquarters in the Punjab. It was with

H

114 THE "BHABER."

much regret that I bade adieu to a country where I had
passed such happy days among its forests and fells, for I then
had no idea that I should eventually revisit it and enjoy a
repetition of its wild sports.1

On arriving at the foot of the mountains, a week's halt had
to be made, until the camp equipage for our march through
the plains should arrive from the nearest arsenal. This delay
I did not at all regret, as, through the kindness of my good
friend the Commissioner of the district, I had obtained the use
of an elephant, and thus had an opportunity, for the first
time, of enjoying a little sport in the " Bhaber," as the vast
forests of the Terai are here called. But at that season, from
the undergrowth being so thick and high, game is much more
difficult to find than late in the spring, after the long rank
grass and tall reed-jungle has all been burnt down, except
where patches of it, from being too green to ignite, have
escaped the ravages of the conflagration.

It is in such isolated bits of cover, which are often wet and
swampy, that tigers and other game may then be found, and
more easily beaten out by a line of elephants.

This wild tract of forest and swamp, however, looked far
more beautiful than had it been a blackened waste, as I have
since seen it, after being devastated by the jungle fires,
kindled by the Taroos and others, to clear the ground for the
young grass to spring up and afford fresh pasture for the large
herds of cattle that graze there. Wild and impressive as
these sylvan solitudes are, there is a monotony about them
that, after a time, palls in a manner that mountain scenery
never does.

The human denizens of the Kumaon Terai are, as a rule, an
emaciated, wretched-looking set of beings, from the effects of
malaria. And, strange as it may seem, if these creatures are
deported from a climate which to most people is deadly, to a
cooler, and, to others than themselves, a more salubrious one

1 When I had the good fortune to be appointed to raise an "extra Goorkha
Regiment " (now 4th Goorkhas) there, after the Indian Mutiny in 1857.

AN INQUISITIVE LEOPARD. 115

in the mountains, they generally sicken and die. These
Taroos, as they are called, from their knowledge of the
ground and the haunts and habits of tigers and other game,
are most useful to the sportsman hunting in these heavy
jungles.

By dint of much ploughing with the elephant through this
sea of long grass and dense jungle, I managed to slay some
deer and wild pig ; and shooting the latter there, where pig-
sticking is impracticable, I did not consider poaching. I also
bagged a fine leopard rather unexpectedly, in this wise : One
evening I was on my way back to camp, jogging along a forest-
road on the elephant, and was in the act of lighting my pipe,
when I saw the animal creep stealthily across the road some
distance ahead, and before I could dispose of the pipe and
take up the rifle, disappear into the jungle. I naturally
thought this was all I should see of him, and so resumed my
pipe, when suddenly the elephant came to a dead stop. On
looking over the howdah rail to ascertain the cause from the
mahout, without a word he pointed to a patch of grass a few
yards off the road. On following the direction of his hand, I
could just see a small patch of spotted skin, but was unable
to determine what part of the beast's body it covered. Losing
no time, I banged straight at it, and at once had the satisfac-
tion of knowing, from the savage growls of the brute, and his
writhings among the grass, that I had inflicted a mortal
wound. The elephant was driven close up to where he lay
snarling at us, but quite incapable of doing anything else,
when another bullet finished him. His curiosity had been
fatal to him, for he had evidently stopped in the grass by the
roadside to look at us as we passed.

As we jogged on campwards through the dusky forest, I
once more lit my pipe, and this time finished it with a zest
that was considerably added to by the satisfaction of knowing
that I had the beast, which had twice interrupted my smoke,
dangling behind the howdah.

116 MISTAKEN IDENTITY.

I had purchased a riding-camel, as being very useful for
antelope and other shooting along our line of march through
the plains. Having returned one evening rather early from
the jungles, I had mounted this animal with a view to testing
its paces as well as my own power of adapting myself to
them, for it was my first essay at camel-riding. I took my
gun with me on the chance of getting a shot at jungle-fowl,
as these game little wild bantams of Upper India are not only
exactly like domestic ones in their appearance, but they also
have a habit in common of scraping among horse litter on
roads, or wherever they can find it.1 I was returning in the
gloaming towards camp, when I noticed the indistinct form
of an animal, which, in the dim uncertain light, I took to be
a deer, lying in the middle of a small open glade not far from
the road. Telling the driver, who sat in front of me, to make
the camel kneel down, I dismounted, and taking my gun,
which was loaded with wire-cartridges, had soon crept along
under cover of some bushes, until I imagined I must be pretty
close to the animal, when I cautiously raised my head to
reconnoitre. To my astonishment I found I was within
twenty paces of a fine leopard, He was looking towards me,
and whisking his tail from side to side. As I thought that a
charge of shot would hardly do for a leopard, I slowly with-
drew my head, and stealing back as quickly and quietly as
possible to the camel, drew one of the cartridges and replaced
it with a bullet. Although the brute must have been watch-
ing us all the time, strange to say he never moved until I had
crawled up near him as before. I had cocked the gun and
was slowly raising it, when, ere I had time to take aim, with
a grunt and a bound he disappeared in the thick jungle close
behind him. Jumping up, I ran after him ; but it was useless,
for I could see nothing in the impenetrable gloom of the

1 This jungle-cock differs from that found in the more southern parts of
India, which is of a general greyish colour, with the white-spotted hackles so
valuable to the fly-dresser.

THE TEEAI. 11*7

forest. As I remounted the camel, and bumped away on it
back to camp, deep were my regrets at not having chanced a
shot with the cartridge.

Along the outskirts of the forest, and between it and the
cultivated plains, lies an extensive open tract of long grass and
swamp. Here, besides other large and small game, florikens
may be found in considerable numbers. But as that part of
the Terai is, during the fall of the year, generally considered
the worst for malaria (called " awul " by the natives), we made
a long day's inarch across this deadly belt and encamped
beyond it ; consequently, I was unable then to have a chance
at these beautiful game-birds.

As my purpose in these pages is to confine myself to remi-
niscences of the pursuit of Himalayan game, I merely touch
incidentally on the wild sports of other parts of India, con-
cerning which, my experiences having been limited, I do not
pretend to be an authority. With respect, therefore, to the
shooting I had along our line of march, suffice it to say I got
fair sport at antelopes, "neelghai," and sometimes gazelles, or
" chinkara " as they are called, besides at many varieties of
wild- fowl, snipe, and other small game.

The neelghai (Portax pictus), or "blue-bull," as the male
is termed from his slaty-grey colour, and short, stout, bovine-
like horns, gives but poor sport, except perhaps when he is
ridden after and speared ; for although he is a big clumsy
brute, he is fleet enough to keep a horse going pretty fast to
overtake him, sometimes even when wounded.

The little "chinkara" (Gazella Bennettii) — which, from being
generally found among broken ground and ravines, is com-
monly called " ravine deer " — affords excellent stalking, though
it seems almost a pity to shoot such graceful little creatures.
They are so delicate in form, and their colour — a brownish
fawn — so much resembles the ground they usually frequent,
that they look more like little phantoms than realities as they
sometimes suddenly appear and skim away before you, and

118 HUNTING-LEOPARDS.

often as quickly vanish in a ravine as though they had sunk
into the earth. A good buck's head makes a pretty trophy.
I have shot these gazelles in the Punjab, with horns close on
fourteen inches long; and, I believe, they rarely attain a
greater length.

The dark glossy coat with pure white trimmings, long
spiral horns, and elegant carriage of the male Indian antelope
(Antilope lezoartica), or " black buck," as he is usually termed,
makes him certainly the most beautiful of all Indian animals,
though perhaps he may be the most common — for these ante-
lopes in some parts congregate at times in large bands, when
they may be counted by thousands together. But they are
usually met with in small herds, and often an old black
fellow is found alone.

By native potentates they are sometimes hunted with the
" cheetah," or hunting-leopard. The cheetah is conveyed to
the ground to be hunted over on a common native bullock-
cart, to which he is fastened by a strap round his loins, his
eyes being blindfolded with a kind of hood. The cart is
driven up as near as possible to a herd of antelopes. Should
the cheetah get restless on the cart, a lump of cheese or some
such stuff, with which his keeper is provided, is given the
beast to lick. On nearing the herd the strap is unbuckled,
his head turned towards his quarry, and the hood slipped off
his eyes, when away he goes. Should he fail in seizing an
animal after a few rapid bounds, he lies down and sulks,
making no attempt to follow it. If he has been successful,
his keeper bleeds the deer, catching the blood in a ladle.
Whilst the cheetah is occupied in lapping up the blood from
the ladle, the hood is slipped over his eyes and he is replaced
on the cart.

The hunting-leopard (Felis jubata) is quite distinct from the
common leopard (Felis pardus), or panther, as it is as often
called, and by the hill-men " cheetooa." The former animal
is more slightly made, lighter in colour, and its markings are

THE OUNCE AND CLOUDED LEOPARDS. 119

black spots — not rings, as they are on the skin of the latter —
and its claws are not so retractile as those of the panther. I
have never heard of its being found in the Himalayas. The
snow-leopard or ounce (Felis undo), which is only found on
the higher ranges near the snow, differs from both the above
in having paler, softer, and longer pile, with its black mark-
ings less distinctly defined. Another kind — the clouded
leopard (Felis diardi) — a very beautiful animal, which is, I
believe, found only on the more eastern Himalayan ranges, is
about similar in size to the common leopard. Its black mark-
ings are more blotchy and irregular, and the ground colour of
its skin is darker and of a more greyish hue.

It may here be worth mentioning that I once, in the moun-
tains, came suddenly upon a leopard in full chase after a
large sandy-coloured wild cat. A feline animal hunting one
of its own species I considered rather singular. Possibly its
intentions were more amorous than deadly.

Kookerie, or Goorkha knife.

120

CHAPTER IX.

START FOR CASHMERE — BEST SEASON FOR IBEX-HUNTING — THE BEAUTI-
FUL JHELUM — A REASON FOR HER CAPRICES — ANCIENT RUINS —
FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE VALE — SRINUGGUR — CASHMERE SHIKAREES
— ORIGIN OF THE SHAWL PATTERN — ISLAMABAD — RAMZAN MEER —
THE TRUE SHIKAREE AND THE IMPOSTOR — A NARROW ESCAPE —
NOUBOOG NYE — THE MERGUN PASS — " PUTTEES " AND " POOLAS " —
MARMOTS — RESULT OF TWO MEN HUNTING OVER THE SAME GROUND
— WURDWAN — TWO BEARS, RIGHT AND LEFT — THE HIMALAYAN BROWN
BEAR — MAKING " POOLAS " — STORMY WEATHER — A WILD NIGHT —
SHEEP DESTROYED BY BEARS — CASHMERE PONIES — CURIOUS CUSTOM

CONCERNING THEM — RECKLESS RIDING AN UGLY CUSTOMER IN AN

AWKWARD POSITION — HEAVY SNOWFALL — AVALANCHES — MARROO —
AN EARTHQUAKE — A PATRIARCHAL OLD BUCK — ANGUISH — THE
HIMALAYAN IBEX — RAMZAN'S IDEA OF IBEX ALIGHTING ON THEIR
HORNS — A FRUGAL REPAST.

" WHO has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere ? " Soon it
may almost be said, Who has not seen it? for it is now
becoming a regular resort of the tourist.

My first visit to the " happy valley " was during the reign
of the Maharajah G-holab Sing, to whom it had but recently
been disposed of by the Indian Government, and it had then
been only a few years " open to the public."

All arrangements in the way of travelling equipment, &c.,
for our trip having been completed, I started from Eawul
Pindi in April, with a young brother-officer who, like myself,
was an ardent lover of wild sport. My left arm had but a
short time been freed from the bondage necessitated by a
broken collar-bone, which I, however, hoped would be quite

THE BEAUTIFUL JHELUM. 121

fit again ere I commenced rough mountain-climbing. There
was little to interest us along the first part of our route, so we
got over it as quickly as possible, our object being to reach
our shooting-ground in the beginning of May, which is gene-
rally considered the best spring month for ibex-hunting.
Earlier in the year, and particularly if it be a late one as
regards snow, this sport is attended with considerable risk
from the constant falling of avalanches ; and the mountain-
passes leading into the best ibex country are then difficult to
cross, and sometimes not practicable before May. Later in
the season, when the mountains are more free of snow, the
ibex are higher up and more scattered on them, and conse-
quently more difficult to find.

Every traveller by the Murree route to Cashmere must be as
much struck as we were with the romantic beauty of that part
of it between Uri and Baramoola, where, for the last eighteen
miles or so before reaching the valley, the path winds through
shady woods of deodar cedars, horse-chestnuts, and other
grand forest - trees, or thickets of hawthorn and wild -rose
bushes, where steep sloping acclivities and craggy pine-clad
heights flank it on the right, whilst on the left the river Jhelum
rushes by with a deafening roar, which resounds among the
mountains rising lofty, and often snow-capped, on either side
of the contracted and winding valley through which that
splendid river here flows. The tremendous volume of water
tears and surges along, in some places taking the form of a
raging cataract, in others churning itself into broad sheets of
seething foam. The Cashmerees have it that the beautiful
Jhelum gives vent to these mad caprices by way of showing
her wrath at being forced to quit their lovely valley, through
which she flows so tranquilly. And should the wayfarer
have an archaeological bent, he can here find, half hidden
among trees, and much overgrown by their gnarled old roots,
some curious ruins — so ancient as to be of doubtful origin —
to interest him as he rests by the roadside.

122 FIRST GLIMPSE OF "THE VALE."

Nor can any one with an eye for the beautiful look un-
moved on the charming scene that suddenly presents itself as
he reaches the brow of the hill, whence the road slopes gently
down to the pretty village of Baramoola.1 How changed is the
river Jhelum — now looking smooth and bright as burnished
metal — where, as it winds tortuously over the green expanse
lying below, it resembles a huge silver serpent issuing from
the Woolar lake lying dark and blue along the base of the
distant snow-crested mountains, among which square-topped
Haramook towers like a hoary old giant above his smaller
dependants. And the numerous hamlets that are dotted over
the verdant plain, what pleasing features of the landscape
they present, as they lie embowered among groves of walnut
and poplar trees, and grand old chenars (oriental plane),
which latter, with their pale grey trunks, and summer foliage
of brilliant green, constitute one of the principal ornaments of
the Cashmere valley.

Before us, at last, lay the far-famed " Vale of Cashmere."
There was music in the very name, which to our youthful
minds conveyed ideas of the " nightingale's hymn," " love-
lighted eyes," and everything enchanting. And, truly, no-
where could a spot have been more aptly chosen for a poetic
romance than the scene of " the feast of roses." There is,
however, a dark side to the picture of this lovely vale, for the
fearful epidemics, famines, fires, and earthquakes with which,
during my own recollection, it has so often been visited, and
in some instances partially devastated, tend to show that it is
not always a " valley of bliss." But I am wasting time in
thus descanting on the charms and woes of a country that is
now so well known.

We did not give ourselves up very long to romantic ideas
about the vale, as our thoughts were just then centred more
in the ibex on its neighbouring mountains — so, having hired
two of the picturesque-looking boats of the country at Bara-

1 Since then earthquakes have, I am told, made sad havoc with this place.

CASHMERE SHIKAEEES. 123

moola, we at once started up the river, and reached Srinuggur
next evening. At this quaint old wooden metropolis we made
a short stay to complete a few final arrangements, and to
engage shikarees before proceeding to Wurdwan — a wild, re-
mote district eastward of the valley. The "Wurdwan moun-
tains, which are now so well known to sportsmen, were
generally considered the best ground for ibex. Early in the
spring, whilst the winter snows still lay low down, ibex
might, at the time I write of, have been found on the hills
rising immediately above, and north of the Cashmere valley ;
but the old bucks receded with the melting snows to higher
and more distant solitudes.

With regard to engaging shikarees at the capital, subsequent
experience taught me what a mistake I had made in doing so,
as those worthy of the name seldom come there to seek em-
ployment, but remain at their homes, which are generally
near the hunting-grounds, until sent for. But as the country
and its language were then new to us, we were obliged to at
once engage men as guides and interpreters.

And now a word regarding Cashmere shikarees in general,
for I have no doubt most of them are no better at present
than they were then. With few exceptions, even the best of
them are an avaricious grasping set of men who are never
contented, — in fact, the more you give them the more they
want. But the arch-scoundrels are the fellows that pester
the new arrival at Srinuggur with numerous testimonials they
may have received from tourists or others who have managed
to slay a few black bears under their guidance, which animals
any ordinary villager might have shown them where to find.
These pseudo-shikarees are usually "made up" in sporting
costume, wearing puttees (woollen bandages) round their legs,
poolas (straw sandals) on their feet, and belts covered with
leathern pouches, hunting - knives, &c., round their waists.
They are, or were, as a rule, the most unmitigated impostors
in Cashmere, generally giving themselves all sorts of fine airs,

124 ORIGIN OF THE SHAWL PATTERN.

and expecting the most exorbitant wages, besides food and
presents of cash. In addition to this, they frequently use
their employer's name for obtaining anything they require
from the villagers, for which they usually forget to pay. The
real good men, of whom there are comparatively few, are only
to be got by making arrangements with them beforehand,
either by messenger or letter. As such men are, of course, in
great request, obtaining their services is not always easy.
Should the sportsman, however, fail to get a well-known good
shikaree, it is better for him to proceed to his ground without
one of any sort, and trust to picking up a non-professional
hand at some village in its vicinity, than to engage one of
the aforesaid impostors, who, in any case, would get what
guidance and information he wanted from a villager, whilst
he, the impostor, pocketed the profits. Although these re-
marks may not be very entertaining, they may be useful to a
sportsman visiting Cashmere for the first time.

Of course we were soon surrounded by these rascals want-
ing sendee, and as at that time we knew no better, engaged
two. My companion was more lucky in his choice than I
was in mine, as his man turned out to be a great acquisition ;
the one I engaged proved the very reverse. Again taking to
our boats, we continued our course up the river to Islamabad.

For some distance above Srinuggur the windings of the
Jhelum are so tortuous as to form a succession of pear-shaped
loops, so to speak, of water. There is a legend in Cashmere
that the idea of the loop-like pattern, so common in Cashmere
shawls, was originally suggested by the appearance of the river
thus winding through the valley, as viewed from the top of an
eminence near the city, on which stands the ancient temple
called Takht-i-Suliman (Solomon's throne).

Islamabad we reached next day, and after inspecting its
tanks, teeming with sacred fish, and collecting men to carry
our traps, at once went on to the village of Shangus, about
eight miles distant. At this place we purchased a supply of

RAMZAN MEER, SHIKAREE. 125

rice for our followers, as we were told that food for them would
not be procurable in Wurdwan. Here also I was lucky enough
to secure the services of a well-known shikaree. This man's
demeanour was totally different from that of the sham one I
had had the misfortune to already engage. Eamzan Meer was
a grave, taciturn, little old fellow, very much addicted to snuff,
and was not, at first sight, either in appearance or costume,
the sort of person one would have taken for the first-rate hun-
ter he really was. He was dressed in the loose wide-sleeved
garment of light woollen cloth commonly worn by Cash-
nierees, which reached almost to his feet. His waist was girt
with a white kummerland (sash), without so much as the knife,
invariably carried by Mohammedans, visible, and his head
was loosely wrapped round with a huge white and very clean
turban. But there was something about his eyes which spoke
volumes. The Srinuggur man was, on the contrary, a noisy
hulking fellow, got up in the conventional impostor style, with
belt bristling with sporting appurtenances, and who was con-
tinually boasting of his exploits with his former employer, and
what he now intended to perform with his present one. Nor
was Eamzan, though a good man and true in many respects,
quite " straight " where his own interests were concerned, for I
learnt from a brother sportsman I afterwards met in Wurdwan,
that he (Eamzan) had a prior engagement with him, by letter ;
but thinking, I suppose, that " a bird in hand is worth two in
the bush," he had taken service with me. I owe it in gratitude
to this true sportsman (an officer then belonging to the 27th
Foot), to record that, on my hearing the facts of the case, and
offering to give the man up, he generously refused to deprive
me of his valuable services. And here, as a sample of the
dangers which sometimes attend mountain hunting, I may
also chronicle a narrow escape that this same sportsman told
me of his having made shortly before I met him. He and his
men were after a herd of ibex, and had but just crossed a steep
gully, when a tremendous avalanche of rocks and stones thun-

124 ORIGIN OF THE SHAWL PATTERN.

and expecting the most exorbitant wages, besides food and
presents of cash. In addition to this, they frequently use
their employer's name for obtaining anything they require
from the villagers, for which they usually forget to pay. The
real good men, of whom there are comparatively few, are only
to be got by making arrangements with them beforehand,
either by messenger or letter. As such men are, of course, in
great request, obtaining their services is not always easy.
Should the sportsman, however, fail to get a well-known good
shikaree, it is better for him to proceed to his ground without
one of any sort, and trust to picking up a non-professional
hand at some village in its vicinity, than to engage one of
the aforesaid impostors, who, in any case, would get what
guidance and information he wanted from a villager, whilst
he, the impostor, pocketed the profits. Although these re-
marks may not be very entertaining, they may be useful to a
sportsman visiting Cashmere for the first time.

Of course we were soon surrounded by these rascals want-
ing service, and as at that time we knew no better, engaged
two. My companion was more lucky in his choice than I
was in mine, as his man turned out to be a great acquisition ;
the one I engaged proved the very reverse. Again taking to
our boats, we continued our course up the river to Islamabad.

For some distance above Srinuggur the windings of the
Jhelum are so tortuous as to form a succession of pear-shaped
loops, so to speak, of water. There is a legend in Cashmere
that the idea of the loop-like pattern, so common in Cashmere
shawls, was originally suggested by the appearance of the river
thus winding through the valley, as viewed from the top of an
eminence near the city, on which stands the ancient temple
called Takht-i-Suliman (Solomon's throne).

Islamabad we reached next day, and after inspecting its
tanks, teeming with sacred fish, and collecting men to carry
our traps, at once went on to the village of Shangus, about
eight miles distant. At this place we purchased a supply of

RAMZAN MEER, SHIKAREE. 125

rice for our followers, as we were told that food for them would
not be procurable in AVurdwan. Here also I was lucky enough
to secure the services of a well-known shikaree. This man's
demeanour was totally different from that of the sham one I
had had the misfortune to already engage. Eamzan Meer was
a grave, taciturn, little old fellow, very much addicted to snuff,
and was not, at first sight, either in appearance or costume,
the sort of person one would have taken for the first-rate hun-
ter he really was. He was dressed in the loose wide-sleeved
garment of light woollen cloth commonly worn by Cash-
merees, which reached almost to his feet. His waist was girt
with a white kummerland (sash), without so much as the knife,
invariably carried by Mohammedans, visible, and his head
was loosely wrapped round with a huge white and very clean
turban. But there was something about his eyes which spoke
volumes. The Srinuggur man was, on the contrary, a noisy
hulking fellow, got up in the conventional impostor style, with
belt bristling with sporting appurtenances, and who was con-
tinually boasting of his exploits with his former employer, and
what he now intended to perform with his present one. Nor
was Eamzan, though a good man and true in many respects,
quite " straight " where his own interests were concerned, for I
learnt from a brother sportsman I afterwards met in Wurdwan,
that he (Eamzan) had a prior engagement with him, by letter ;
but thinking, I suppose, that " a bird in hand is worth two in
the bush," he had taken service with me. I owe it in gratitude
to this true sportsman (an officer then belonging to the 27th
Foot), to record that, on my hearing the facts of the case, and
offering to give the man up, he generously refused to deprive
me of his valuable services. And here, as a sample of the
dangers which sometimes attend mountain hunting, I may
also chronicle a narrow escape that this same sportsman told
me of his having made shortly before I met him. He and his
men were after a herd of ibex, and had but just crossed a steep
gully, when a tremendous avalanche of rocks and stones thun-

126 NOUBOOG NYE.

dered down it. Not many yards ahead was another gully
they would have to cross, but ere they had recovered from
their astonishment, to their dismay a similar avalanche rattled
down it also. Most probably both had been the result of a
landslip far above, which had, in some providential manner,
been diverted to either side of them in its descent, or they
must have been swept down by it.

Our next day's tramp was, at first, across a low range cov-
ered with wood, and then up the valley of Nouboog, to a little
hamlet consisting of a few log-built huts, much resembling
the ruder kind of Swiss chalets. The scenery of this long
narrow " strath," as it would have been called in Scotland, or
" nye," as it is here termed, is surpassingly lovely. Flanked
on either side by high hills, on which broad tracts of deodar
cedars and tall sombre-hued pines alternate with rocky steeps
or green sloping glades, it extends up towards the Mergun
pass into Wurdwan. Mulberry - trees, weeping and pollard
willows,1 overhang the clear brawling stream that meanders
through it, between banks of velvet-like turf. Here and there
along the base of the mountains, picturesque groups of log-
built houses lie nestling among groves of grand old walnut
and chenar trees. Early in summer an additional charm is
lent to the beauty of this glen by the ground being carpeted
with both red and white clover, and by the wild indigo plant,
which grows there in great profusion, being in flower, its
purple blossom looking, at a distance, like luxuriant blooming
heather.

As we wended our way upward the prospect each moment
grew more charming. Over the dark pine-forest and green
birch woods rose the bald grey crags and snow-covered crests
of the range we were about to cross before entering Wurdwan,
their rugged features all softened by a delicate blue haze.

1 Willow-trees, which grow abundantly in the Cashmere valley, are generally
cut down into pollards, the young shoots being stored and used as winter fodder
for cattle.

AFTER BROWN BEARS. 127

The lovely scenery of Nouboog Nye is the more indelibly
impressed on my memory from my having, in after years,
passed many a happy day hunting the " hangul " (Cashmere
stag) in its forests, which were then, whatever they may be
now, a favourite resort of this noble animal during the
autumn and winter months.

Shortly after starting next morning, as we neared the head
of the Nye our surroundings assumed' a much wilder char-
acter, and the path became more and more steep. The latter
now led close beside the stream, which up here took the form
of a rushing torrent as it dashed over rocks and fallen pine-
trunks that lay in and across it in the wildest confusion.
After pitching our little tents on a small grassy flat a short
distance below the pass, there being still several hours of
daylight left, we took our rifles and sallied forth, each in a
different direction, with our shikarees, on the chance of get-
ting a shot at a deer or a brown bear, either of which animals
Eamzan said might here be met with.

Judging from the fresh tracks, hangul must have been
pretty numerous, although we saw none. And even had we
found a stag, he would most probably have been hornless, as
these deer have generally shed their horns by the end of
April. As for brown bears, I had ocular proof of their being
plentiful there, for I saw five. First we espied three to-
gether, but they had unfortunately got our wind, and were in
full retreat. Just as it was getting dark we saw two others
eating the green grass on an open space at the bottom of a
gully flanked with birches. By the time we got near them,
the light was so bad that I was unable to see the fore-sight
of the rifle, but the loud response made by one of them to my
shot, showed that it had told. The beast, however, made off
with its companion, and it was too dark to follow it up.

As the snow on the pass would be easier for our laden men
to travel over when hard frozen in the early morning, we
were off again at the first break of dawn. The ascent to the

128 MARMOTS.

pass, though short and comparatively easy, was nevertheless
pretty steep and rough. Silver birches now took the place of
conifers, and still higher, tangled masses of juniper bushes
spread themselves widely over the open hillsides, which were
craggy, broken, and here and there covered with patches of
snow. On the pass, which is 12,000 feet high, where our
track was almost level for some distance, the snow still lay
very deep, and we often sank up to the knees in it. Several
times we had to wade through a half -frozen stream, from
the cold of which our legs were tolerably well protected by
the puttees that were bound round them ; but our feet, on
which we wore only poolas over our stockings, suffered
terribly. Fortunately the sky was overcast with clouds, for,
on the higher ranges, if the eyes are not protected with a col-
oured veil or goggles, the sun's glare off the snow frequently
causes temporary blindness, which sometimes lasts for several
days.

We saw numbers of marmots, here called " drin," among
the loose fragments of rock that had slipped from the flank-
ing heights, and were piled together in confused heaps, off
which the snow had partially melted. The creatures, on ob-
serving us, would sit up on their hind-legs and utter their
shrill, chirping cry, like a loud dog-whistle blown sharp and
short, which sounded quite eerie as it broke the frozen still-
ness around. They frequently let us approach within small-
shot distance, but if not shot quite dead, they instantly dived
down among the interstices of the rocks, from which it was
impossible to get them out. These marmots are considerably
larger than the Alpine ones. Their general colour is yellow-
ish below, and reddish-brown intermixed with black above.

After crossing the pass, a little episode occurred which
shows the folly of two men attempting to hunt over the same
ground. As it was still early in the day, Eamzan suggested
that we might take a turn down over some steep craggy
ground below our route, where he said we might at this early

WURDWAN. 129

season chance to find ibex. My companion and I therefore
proceeded, as we thought, in quite different directions in
search of them. Having discovered a small herd, Kamzan
and I were attempting to stalk it, when, on peering down-
wards over a rock, to our surprise we saw that my chum and
his shikaree were doing likewise. They were directly below,
and between us and the ibex, which now, becoming alarmed,
moved off without either of us getting a shot.

After a long and steep descent, where we had, in some
places, to keep a sharp look-out for detached rocks and stones
rolling down from the heights above, in the evening we
reached the village of Unshin, in Wurdwan. Here we learnt
that four sportsmen had already crossed the pass, and had
taken up their hunting localities, with which we were in
honour bound not to interfere. As three of them had gone
up the main valley northwards, and only one had gone down
it, we decided to proceed in the latter direction.

The following day, after proceeding about six miles down
the valley, I struck up a steep narrow glen to the left, whilst
my companion went straight on with the intention of hunting
over the mountains above Marroo Wurdwan further eastward.
A rough walk of several miles up the glen brought us to the
spot where Kamzan proposed pitching our camp for the night.
Next day was Sunday, and never can a day of rest be more
appreciated than when hunting among such mountains as
these.

On Monday morning, as we were proceeding up the glen
by the side of the torrent that tumbled impetuously down it,
Eamzan, pointing upwards, quietly remarked in a casual sort
of way, " There are bears up yonder." He evidently consid-
ered bears — which were in those days so very numerous among
these Cashmere mountains — to be almost beneath our notice
when we were after ibex. There they were, however, two of
them, feeding on a green grassy slope some distance above,
and I had no idea of letting them off without a shot if I could

I

130 EIGHT AND LEFT AT BEARS.

help it, and more especially as I had not up to that time
killed a brown bear, or, as it is sometimes called, a snow-bear.
Taking care to keep well to leeward, we easily got up to
within a few yards of them ; for although these bears, like
all their tribe, have a marvellously acute sense of smell, their
eyesight is comparatively defective — so much so, that when
occupied feeding, one might almost approach them behind the
cover of their own hairy bodies, if not to windward of them.
The first shot was planted well behind the shoulder of the
nearest beast, which went trundling head over heels clown
the hillside, until it fell into the torrent below, where we
afterwards found it in a deep pool. Before the other fellow
had recovered from his astonishment, the contents of my
second barrel were into him. With a loud grunt he started
off downwards, but before he had gone very far we could see
that his race was nearly run, for he showed certain symptoms
of approaching dissolution. I was the more satisfied at hav-
ing shot these two beasts right and left, because, even if a
lucky fluke, as it probably was, it impressed old Earnzan with
the idea at the time, however erroneous it might afterwards
prove, that his endeavour to show me ibex might not be quite
fruitless, and he, consequently, would be more likely to take
pains to find them.

The Himalayan brown bear ( Urms isabellinus) or " Kooneea
Harpat," as it is called in Cashmere, usually inhabits the
cold regions of the higher ranges near the snow. But being
omnivorous like the black bear (here called " Seeah Harpat "),
it is often found as low down as the Cashmere valley, which
is only 5000 ft., where it grows fat on fruit and grain, and
even carrion, for which latter it has a great predilection, when
it can find it. I once shot a big brown bear in the Cashmere
valley while the beast was in the act of devouring the putrid
remains of a dead cow. In spring, after waking up from its
winter snooze, it carries little or no fat, its food then chiefly
consisting of green grass, which may often be seen regularly

STORMY WEATHER. 131

cropped down by bears as if cattle had been grazing on it.
The colour of this bear is usually a yellowish or isabelline
brown. In some cases the shade is very much darker than
in others, and the long soft pile often has a silvery tinge on
its extremities, but its colour and length vary very much
with the seasons of the year. In the month of May the
skin is in splendid order, but later on in the summer it is not
worth the trouble of taking off. Although these bears often
attain a large size, some of them measuring as much as 7
feet in length, and standing well over 3 feet at the shoulder,
they are not as a rule very pugnacious, although a cantan-
kerous customer may sometimes be met with. It is always
unadvisable, however, to shoot at any kind of bear that may
be directly above one on a hillside, for the first impulse of a
bear on being hit is to rush or roll straight down-hill, and
whether the beast means mischief or not, it is apt, in its
flight, to claw anything it may come across. Bears used to
be so common in the Cashmere mountains, and might be got
with so little trouble, that, when after ibex or suchlike game,
the sportsman seldom laid himself out much to shoot them.

We skinned the bear that had succumbed on the hill, and
then descended to the stream. With some difficulty the
other beast was extricated from his bath, and after a like
operation had been performed on his wet coat, we went on to
the place where we next intended to camp farther up the
glen.

The night came on stormy and boisterous, and next morn-
ing the surrounding heights were so coated with fresh-fallen
snow as to make stalking almost impracticable. About noon,
by which time the heat of the sun had melted most of it off,
we went out, and soon sighted a herd of eight or nine ibex,
but none of them were large old bucks. We tried an unsuc-
cessful stalk over some abominably steep snow-beds, where
it would have been difficult to travel without straw sandals,
which give wonderfully firm footing on steep rocky ground

132

A WILD NIGHT UNDER CANVAS.

or hard sloping snow. These sandals, or poolas, as they are
called, are made of thin rope of twisted rice-straw, and when
that is not procurable, of grass, or twisted strips of thin wet
bark. As they only stand at most one day's hard walking, a
great many pairs are worn out, but the Cashmerees can make
a pair in an hour or so.

For the next day or two the rain, snow, and thunderstorms
were so incessant, and the mist clung so constantly to the
mountain-sides, that hunting was impossible. One night the
lightning flashed so continuously, and was so instantaneously

followed by deafen-
ing peals of thunder,
that I sometimes felt
half inclined to get
up and remove my
guns from where
they usually lay
under my camp-bed ;
and the sleet and
hailstones that pelt-
ed on my little tent
seemed almost as
though they would
be driven through
the canvas by the force of the keen cold blast that came
howling down the glen. We made an attempt next morn-
ing to go up after ibex, but were soon beaten back by a
blinding snowstorm. I wounded a bear that had wandered
close to our camp, but lost him. To add to our troubles,
I found that our stock of rice was getting exhausted, and a
man I had sent down to fetch more from Marroo, the nearest
place where it was procurable, had returned without it.

A consultation was now held, when it was agreed that we
should make for Marroo, by a way known to Eamzan over
the heights at the head of the glen we were in, hunting en

A pair of Poolas.

EECKLESS RIDING. 133

route, and after having there replenished our stock of pro-
visions, return to our ground. We accordingly moved the
camp on somewhat nearer this pass, intending to cross it
next morning.

I fired several shots at a bear we came across on the way.
Although the poor brute went off leaving the snow crimsoned
with blood, he baffled our efforts to overtake him. We saw
several others that we did not manage to circumvent. By
this it will be seen how numerous brown bears at that time
were ; and before these hunting-grounds became so accessible
to sportsmen, they had been much more so, and were then, I
was told, the bane of the shepherds, amongst whose flocks
they constantly committed depredations. Sometimes they
even attacked ponies, large numbers of which are driven up
from the Cashmere valley during the summer for the grazing
on the higher mountain-slopes, which, on all high ranges, are
often much less precipitous than the intermediate ones.

I once witnessed a rather curious proceeding with respect
to these ponies at the time they were up on these grazing-alps.
It was here the custom to administer, once or twice during
the grazing season, a large dose of salt to each pony. As
most of the animals, owing to their long freedom from all
restraint, were next thing to wild, catching them was no
easy matter. To accomplish this, some of the more tractable
and most sure-footed beasts were mounted by men, who were
each provided with a lasso. This they used very expertly,
and their excitement was worked up to the highest degree by
the sport. Eeal sport it was and 110 mistake, and somewhat
dangerous withal, as the riders heedlessly rode their animals
barebacked over such break-neck slopes after the semi-wild
ones. On a pony being lassoed, it was at once thrown, and
after about half a pound of salt had been crammed down its
throat, it was again set at liberty. The reckless riding of
these men over such a country, without coming to utter grief,
was truly miraculous. I must say I had not such confidence

134 IN AN AWKWARD POSITION.

in my own horsemanship as to make me wish to join the
sport, exciting as it appeared.

The wretched weather had shown no signs of improvement,
until towards evening it began to clear up ; so, whilst our
camp was being pitched, I started out for a stroll up the
bottom of the glen in hopes of getting a shot at an old Bruin.
We had not to go far ere we espied three in company, but
they managed to wind us before we could get within half a
mile of them. Soon, however, we find another — a monster
that looks like an ox as he grazes on a small grassy flat beside
the stream that runs down the glen. He is in a good place
for a stalk, and this time the wind is right. Under cover of
some detached blocks of stone strewn here and there about
the ground in his vicinity, we easily approach him within
twenty yards or so. The first shot, which is aimed, as I
imagine, well behind the shoulder, strikes, probably, too low,
for it only sends him off with a loud angry wugli. The second,
catching him in rear, has merely the effect of accelerating
his flight and making him grunt again. Away he shambles
across the stream, and then takes straight up a steep-sloping
snow-field, dyeing it with blood, until presently he begins to
show decided signs of distress. Without waiting to reload, as
I should have done, Eamzan and I start in pursuit with the
other rifle he is carrying. Under cover of a depression in
the snow -bed, running up parallel to his course, we soon
overhaul him, when I ply him with a third bullet. Loss of
blood now begins to tell, for this time he only makes a whin-
ing remonstrance, and after moving on a few paces again
pulls up. The contents of the remaining barrel elicit another
testy reply, as he slowly turns round and stands glowering
about him in a manner that seems to bode mischief. Luckily
for us, he has as yet neither seen nor got wind of us as we
crouch low behind the snow-bank. The business now begins
to get awkward, for we are very close to the brute, and below
him ; both rifles are empty, and I have stupidly left the am

AN UGLY CUSTOMER. 135

munition with the other shikaree, who has considered it pru-
dent to remain below, and with whom we dare not com-
municate lest the bear may detect us — and judging from the
surly glances he casts around, he is quite prepared to make
himself exceedingly disagreeable should he catch sight of us.
Ramzan, in a smothered whisper, suggests that as the beast
looks " bobbery," as he expresses it, we should make ourselves
as small as possible behind our cover, and thus await the
issue of events. Like pancakes we, therefore, continue to lie
flat, merely raising our eyes carefully now and again for a
peep, until at length, as his strength fails him, he begins
sliding slowly down the slippery incline. Immediately he
reaches our level, up we jump, and with a view to getting
well above him, take to our scrapers upward, for we can see
he is now too far gone to charge up-hill after us, though he
makes abortive attempts to do so. We can now shout to the
man below to bring up the ammunition by a circuitous route,
so as to avoid the bear, which is still quite capable of doing
damage down-hill, and on its arrival a quietus is administered
to this tough and ugly customer — a huge male, and, I think,
the biggest brown bear of the many I saw in these mountains,
and I am certain I never killed a larger. We left the de-
funct brute as he lay, sprawling on the snow, it being now
too late that evening to perform his obsequies.

So much snow had fallen overnight, and was still falling,
on the heights above, that crossing the pass next day was out
of the question; so, by way of employment, I accompanied
the men who went to skin Bruin. We had hardly set out,
when on came the snow again heavier than ever. Nearly
two inches must have fallen ere we returned from our task,
during which we nearly perished with cold.

All day, and all that night, snow fell almost incessantly.
By morning it lay so deep that my little tent was half-buried
in it, and could scarcely support its weight. My native fol-
lowers had contrived to make themselves pretty snug by con-

136

MARROO.

structing little huts of bent birch-boughs covered over with
birch-bark, and were doubtless warmer and more comfortable
than I was in my tent. Cashmerees generally manage to
keep themselves warm in the coldest weather with their
kangrees (small earthenware bowls covered with basket-work),

which they fill with red-
hot ashes, and, when
either sitting or lying,
place under the long
sack-like gowns, which
are invariably worn by
both sexes in Cashmere.
There was now barely
sufficient food for two
days left, and I was be-

Cashmere " Kangree" or fire-basket.

ginning to think that, if the snowstorm continued, we should
have to pay another cold visit to the dead bear — this time
for meat. Under such circumstances there was nothing to
be done but to retrace our steps down the glen, and make
for Marroo by the lower route, for Eamzan said it would now
be as useless as dangerous to attempt the upper one. Indeed,
from the ominous rumbling sounds which were occasionally
heard in that direction, we could tell that avalanches were
falling there ; so we struck the camp, and commenced plod-
ding down through the snow.

Although we started at daylight, and the distance was not
very great, we did not reach the foot of the glen until evening.
What a wearisome trudge it was, too, with the cold sleet
beating pitilessly down on us as we floundered through the
deep soft snow ! The shikarees and myself had enough to do
in helping the coolies along with their loads, until lower
down we got clear of it. Shortly before reaching our camp-
ing-place, we came across a fine brown bear, which I managed
to slay with one bullet. This was some compensation for the
hard day's work.

A PATRIARCHAL OLD BUCK. 137

Next day we reached Marroo, a cultivated little valley con-
taining several villages, and surrounded by lofty, precipitous
mountains, our way to it having led down beside the rapid
broken stream which flows through the grand main valley of
Wurdwan, and forms the principal affluent of one of the five
great rivers of the Punjab, the Chenab.

Having found fairly comfortable quarters in the open
wooden balcony of a house at Marroo, I determined to remain
there until the weather became more settled. After a day or
two it began to show signs of improvement, when Eamzan
suggested our making a short move to a place farther down
the valley, on the heights above which, he said, we should be
pretty certain to find ibex at that season. Whilst fixing up
our camp there under some fine old trees, we were apprised,
by the sudden rustling of the leaves overhead, the oscillation
of the ground under foot, and a mysterious rumbling sound,
that we were experiencing a sharp shock of an earthquake.

By dawn next morning we were breasting the hill, and after
a stiff and steady climb reached the ibex haunts about noon.

" Look ! there are khel up yonder, just below the snow ! "
said Eamzan, as his keen, practised eye soon sighted a herd
of some six or seven ibex far away above us ; and with the
spy -glass we could see that amongst them was one patriarchal
old buck. They were all taking a siesta on a rocky ridge that
ran down from the bare crags and snow-fields on the upper
part of the range.

" The bundobuM (arrangement) will be very difficult, for
there is no way of getting above them," remarked Kamzan,
as he proceeded to gird up his loins with the skirt of his
long woollen gown, whilst he carefully scanned the inter-
vening ground. A sudden change had come over his usual
listless air. His hitherto impassive countenance brightened
.up with intelligence and excitement at the prospect of cir-
cumventing an animal he considered worthy of a difficult
stalk, or Imndobust as he termed it, and he now became as

138 ANGUISH.

active and wary as a wild cat, whilst we cautiously ap-
proached our game.

By means of his clever bundobust, then — for stalking ibex
from below is always a difficult business — we at length got
within what I imagined to be sixty yards or so of the big
buck, as he lay on a small projecting ledge of ground almost
directly above us, with his head and shoulders showing over
it, his splendid knotted horns sweeping grandly backward
against the sky. He seemed so close and so large that I
thought it unnecessary to raise any sight. Cautiously placing
my cap on the top of a rock as a rest for the rifle, I aimed
point-blank at his chest, fully expecting to see him, the next
moment, roll lifeless from his perch. But, to my amazement
and concern, he jumped up and disappeared like magic, before
I had time to think of giving him the contents of the second
barrel. When we next sighted him, he was well out of range,
though I chanced another shot at him as he now took his
way slowly but steadily up the mountain-side.

My anguish at that moment is impossible to describe.
An almost irresistible inclination to fling the empty rifle
after him suddenly seized me, as I helplessly gazed at his
retreating form. To make matters worse, my companions
would keep repeating, " Oho ! what a pity ! he was such a
big khel ! " accompanied by that well-known but indescribable
sound made with the tongue and teeth, indicative of disap-
pointment, thereby aggravating me to such a degree that I
fear I must have used very hard language towards them.

Still clinging to the faint hope that the ibex might perhaps
show symptoms of being wounded, as he had separated from
the herd, we continued to watch him as he traversed a broad
snow-field, on which, in the distance, he looked like a fly on
a whitewashed wall, until he at length disappeared over the
crest of the range, where it was to us inaccessible. My atten-
tion had been so much engrossed by the big buck that I
failed to observe what had become of his smaller companions.

THE HIMALAYAN IBEX. 139

With a heavy heart I now climbed up to inspect the place
where the ibex had been lying, when the distance to it was
found to be much greater than it had at first appeared. The
bullet had struck just under the spot from which the animal
had risen, and, after perforating the ground he was resting
on, had in all probability entered his stomach. This perhaps
accounted for his starting off in such a hurry, and separating
himself from the herd, such being very unusual with ibex
that have not been much disturbed, if un wounded. I had
misjudged the distance, owing to my having, at that time,
but a vague idea of the size of a full-grown buck ibex. Such
a misfortune as this would not, however, be likely to occur
with the flat trajectory rifles of the present day.

The full-grown buck ibex of the Himalayas (Capra sibirica),
or khel, as it is called in the mountains of Cashmere, and
more eastward on the Himalayas " skin," stands about 3 feet
6 inches at the shoulder, and is very stoutly built. Its general
appearance, haunts, and habits are much the same as those of
the Alpine " bouquetin," or " steinbok," but it attains a much
larger size of both body and horn. The colour of the ibex is
not easily described, as, like that of most wild animals, it alters
considerably at different seasons of the year, and some bucks
are very much darker than others. In the spring it is a very
dirty white, shaded off on the shoulders and flanks into a
brownish grey, which merges into brown on the legs. A
brown line runs along the back, ending in a very dark-brown
short tail. The head and neck are reddish brown, and a
nearly black beard, about 6 inches long, depends from the chin.
Late in the season the dirty white becomes more decidedly
brown. Under the rough outer coat grows a soft kind of
down known as " pushum," which, like that of the domestic
goat of these mountains, is used in the manufacture of the
finest of Cashmere fabrics called " pushmeena," of which the
shawls are made.

The general appearance of the magnificent curved and

140 HABITS OF IBEX.

knotted horns of the ibex are well known. But they are
often misrepresented in drawings of the animal as sweeping
high over the back, instead of merely curving over the shoul-
ders as they in reality do. The doe is much smaller than the
full-grown buck, and her colour a light reddish brown. She
carries thin stumps of horns, which seldom grow longer than
a foot, whereas those of the buck sometimes reach a length of
50 inches or even more, and a girth of quite 10 inches at the
base. A crease round the horn denotes its yearly growth, not
the knobs on its anterior surface, as is often supposed.

From what I have seen and heard of ibex, their sense of
smell is not nearly so acute as their sight. But they seldom
apprehend danger from above, so it is best to approach them,
if possible, from that direction. During the spring and early
summer, they may be seen feeding at almost any time of day,
on the green patches of herbage, among the higher crags and
snow-fields, only taking a siesta for a few hours at a time. In
the dead of winter they are found much lower on the moun-
tain-sides.

Provided they do not see the hunter, they are not always
scared away by firing, probably from their being so accustomed
to hearing the noise of falling rocks and avalanches. And
sometimes they get so bewildered by the echoes of a shot, that
they give time for several easy chances before making up their
minds to be off. If one of them, however, catches only a
glimpse of anything suspicious, a warning whistle at once
sends off the whole herd, although they often depart very
leisurely even after being shot at.

Ibex sometimes congregate in large numbers, but they are
usually found in flocks of from six or seven to twenty or so,
the older bucks often herding separately, except during the rut-
ting season. Despite the quantities that are shot, killed by
avalanches, and by those terrible foes to all Himalayan game,
wild dogs, there appears to be little decrease in their numbers
on the more sequestered hunting-grounds ; for they are very

VARIETIES OF IBEX. 141

prolific, each doe having as a rule a pair of kids every summer.
The villagers sometimes train their dogs to hunt them down,
when the ibex become so stupefied with terror that they are
then easily approached and shot.

I asked old Eamzan if the popular legend about ibex leap-
ing down from great heights and alighting on their horns was
current in those mountains, and was much struck with the
intelligence of his reply. He said that ibex, when hard
pressed, would sometimes jump down almost incredible dis-
tances, and on their fore-feet touching the ground, their horns,
from their great weight, were thrown forward, causing them
to appear as if the animals had intentionally alighted on them.
This, he thought, might perhaps have given rise to the idea.

Although ibex are so numerous, finding old bucks is often
very chance work. Sometimes the sportsman may have to
toil away for many days, or even weeks, without getting a
shot at them. But if he is in luck, he may knock over four
or five fine old fellows in as many days. The Himalayan ibex
is tolerably plentiful in certain localities as far east as the
province of Spiti, but is not found eastward of the river
Sutlej.

Another variety of ibex (Capra caucasica), which I have
never seen, inhabits some of the mountains of Western India,
in Scind, but I am told it is very similar to the ibex of
Western Asia, the horns of which are slighter and less closely
knotted than those of the Himalayan kind ; and the so-called
ibex of the Neilgherry hills in Madras (Hemitragus hylocrius)
appears to be totally different from both the above, with short
horns more resembling those of the tahr.

But to return to the pursuit of the animal. The day
after our disappointment with the big buck was devoted to
hunting over another spur of the range, but nothing was seen
except a couple of does. We had tasted no venison since
entering Wurdwan, so I resolved to try for one of them to
supply meat for camp use. As the stalk was rather long and

142 A FRUGAL EEPAST.

difficult, the trouble it cost us to get a shot was hardly repaid
by the flesh, which at that season is dry and tough. In fact,
my instincts for the time being were like those of the man
who, as the story goes, whilst stealing up to some wild-duck,
regretfully remarked to his companion in the stalk, "By
Jove ! we've got no lemons," — more gastronomic than sporting.
Our work, however, had so sharpened my appetite that no
sauce was, in this case, necessary for assisting it. So we
skinned and cut up the ibex where it had fallen, made a fire
of dry jumper sticks, and cooked some strips of the liver on
the embers. This frugal repast was done ample justice to,
despite its having no seasoning but the wood-ashes that stuck
to the frizzled meat.

On our return to our quarters at Marroo next day, we
found that all the supplies collected for me had, during our
absence, been appropriated by a man who was catering for the
similar requirements of some other sportsman in Wurdwan.
So we had to wait until more could be procured before pro-
ceeding to pastures new.

143

CHAPTER X.

THE FURRIABADEE GLEN — HOT SPRING — WATCHING IBEX — DISTURBING
A FAMILY PARTY— BEAR CUBS ; TOO YOUNG TO SHOOT, BUT TOO OLD
TO BE CAUGHT — BENIGHTED ON THE HILL — FOREST FELL AND FLOOD
— SNOW-SLOPES— A LONG AND DIFFICULT STALK — COUNTING ONE'S
CHICKENS BEFORE THEY ARE HATCHED — THE IMPOSTOR RUINS OUR
CHANCE — " VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIRIT " — " DOOK " — A HERD
OF SPLENDID IBEX— OLD RAMZAN'S WAY OF STEADYING MY NERVES
— HIS GRIEVOUS DISAPPOINTMENT — LUCK AT LAST — MORE BIG BUCKS
— SATISFACTION ALL ROUND — ROUGHING IT — A NIGHT IN A WURD-
WAN CHALET — F-SHARPS — CHOAR NAG — WILD SCENERY — BLACK-
BEAR SHOOTING IN THE MULBERRY GROVES — OLD MIRZA ; SURGEON
AND BARBER — A HUMMAM IN SRINUGGER — A STRANGE PRESENTI-
MENT SADLY FULFILLED — FISHING IN THE JHELUM — PROHIBITED IN
CERTAIN PLACES— THE REASON WHY—" DOLCE FAR NIENTE "—SHAWL

WEAVERS — KURBEER'S SAD END — "sic TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI."

THE mountains on both sides of the Furriabadee river, and
around its sources, were at that time considered about the
best of ibex grounds, and probably they are so still, for there
are sanctuaries among them to which the ibex can betake
themselves, and where no human foot can follow.

The Furriabadee, which drains the snow-fields and numer-
ous glaciers about its sources in Sooroo, joins the Wurdwan
river at Marroo, whence we now directed our steps up its
magnificently wild valley. After proceeding about seven
miles, we pitched our camp beside a fine hot spring, in which
I enjoyed the luxury of a warm bath. From the semi-
civilised evidences about this wild romantic spot, I judged it
must have been considered a sort of Leukerbad by the good

144 ON THE WATCH.

people of Marroo; for over the stone tank of steaming
warm water, there was a construction of neatly-squared logs,
with an upper half-open storey, where the invalid bather
could rest after the bath, and enjoy the grand prospect and
salubrious mountain air without feeling the cold. In fact,
Eamzan informed me that such was the intention.

Although not an invalid, the refreshing effect of a warm
bath certainly made me feel more fit to climb the steep hill-
side next morning. After a long ascent, however, I was not
sorry to sit down and search the ground with the spying-
glass, when we soon discovered a herd of ibex about a mile
off, and far above us. None of the animals were very big
old bucks, but as some of them carried fairly good horns, we
arranged for a stalk. By the time we neared the place where
we had first sighted them, they had moved off into very pre-
cipitous ground, where they were masters of the situation,
and were soon lost to view. As it was impossible to follow
them, on account of a wide intervening chasm, we concealed
ourselves among the rocks, and there waited for several
hours, until they reappeared and commenced to feed.

As we lay there, hoping that they would shift their ground
to where it might be more practicable for a stalk, it was in-
teresting to watch them through the glass. Some were feed-
ing leisurely on the patches of herbage among the rocks,
whilst others lay resting their horns on the ground, or amused
themselves by having a playful tilt. But I observed that
there was always a sentinel, generally a doe, on the watch for
danger. As the sun was getting low, and we were far from
camp, I was at last most reluctantly obliged to shut up the
telescope and leave them to their gambols.

Whilst descending we discovered two brown bears feeding
on the opposite side of a deep wide gully. They were a con-
siderable way off, but I longed to hear the " crack " of my
rifle again, so, at the risk of getting benighted, we proceeded
to look them up. They were on an open slope, but by dint

' ' ' , ' ' ' - .

',,• : ; ; ',' , >,-

•"' » • • •••„• ••»•".

* . ' • • •• •

ON THE WATCH."

A FAMILY PARTY. 145

of constantly tossing up bits of dry grass to try the wind,
which, as is usual among mountains, was very shifty, we
managed with some difficulty to keep to leeward of them.
On reaching the place where they had at first been seen, there
was only one now visible. To him I contrived to creep close
up, as his attention was engaged in sniffing about and turning
over the stones with his paws in search of insects, when a
single bullet, planted well behind the shoulder, sufficed.
After a few whining grunts and vain efforts to turn round
and bite at his wound, he rolled over to rise no more.

Leaving one of the men to skin him, Eamzan and I now
proceeded to search for his companion, which we concluded
must be somewhere near, as she had not been seen to make
off. We soon discovered her some distance farther down, and
apparently quite undisturbed by the shot that had deprived
her of her mate, for she was busily engaged grubbing after
roots ; and working on either side of her were a pair of cubs,
which we had not before observed. As they were on very
bare ground, and as we had this time the nasal and visual
organs of three animals instead of one to take into account,
it was impossible to get nearer than a hundred yards. At
first I felt somewhat loath to disturb this interesting family
party, which I continued to watch for some time, until its
members began to show signs of uneasiness in their minds
by every now and then sitting up on their haunches and
suspiciously turning their noses towards us. As I considered
the youngsters quite big enough to take care of themselves, I
aimed deliberately at the old lady and let drive ; she rolled
a short distance down the hill, and, after a few struggles and
grunts, expired.

The two cubs at first merely stood up on their hind legs
and gazed about them with much apparent astonishment.
But on seeing their mother lying motionless below, they at
once ran down to her, when their behaviour was such that
I felt quite sorry I had shot her. The anxiety they plainly

K

146 BENIGHTED ON THE HILL.

evinced, as they ran grunting and sniffing about their
defunct parent, was quite touching to behold. Even on
observing us as we approached they seemed very unwilling
to leave her. When they at last made up their mind to do
so, they merely retired into an adjacent patch of wood, where
they continued their whining lamentations, occasionally ven-
turing out a few yards to stand upright and watch us as we
ruthlessly stripped their dam of her hairy coat, and did not
take their final departure until we gave chase, thinking we
might capture them. Although they were too small to shoot,
they were quite knowing enough not to allow themselves to
be caught.

By the time we had finished skinning the bears, the short
twilight had deepened almost into darkness. As we had still
far to go, we got benighted on the hill, and had some difficulty
in finding our way down to a small hamlet. Here we pro-
cured torches made of bits of resinous pine-wood, and, with
their light, soon reached our camp about a mile farther on,
after having been on the hill for sixteen hours.

As I knew that my shooting chum and another sportsman
also were hunting somewhere higher up the valley, we could
not proceed much farther in that direction without trespass-
ing on their beats. After a consultation with Eamzan, he
recommended our moving only a few miles farther on to a
place where there were two or three log-huts, the highest
habitations in the glen, and then striking off on to the range
above them, where he thought we should be pretty sure to
find big bucks. Leaving the tents where they stood, some
blankets and other necessaries for passing a few days on the
hill were rolled up, and the same evening we reached the
huts. A fine brown bear, which we came upon shortly after
leaving the hot spring, was summarily disposed of.

Accompanied by a guide from the huts, next morning we
were far up the mountain-side ere the sun topped the multi-
form crests rising along the ridge of eternal snow and lighted

A GRAND PROSPECT. 147

up such a sublimely grand prospect of fell, forest, and flood
as could hardly be surpassed. Immediately on either side of
the foaming torrent that roared sullenly below and filled the
valley with a sullen resonance, the mountains rose in rugged
precipices, rocky amphitheatres, and abrupt spurs towards
the huge naked crags and shining snow-piles that stood out
in awful magnificence and with surprising distinctness
against the deep blue morning sky; two mighty twin-like
peaks, Noon and Koon, shooting up among their less lofty
neighbours to a height of over 23,000 feet above sea-level.
Glaciers lay in the hollows between some of the higher spurs,
whilst broad fields of glistening snow filled the head of the
main valley. Farther down it the steep mountain-sides were,
above, bright with green birch-woods, below, dark with vast
tracts of sombre -hued pine -forest, which here and there
seemed as if rent from top to bottom, where long lines of up-
rooted and broken pine-trunks, masses of earth-soiled snow
and cUlris, marked the course of avalanches that had recently
swept down from the towering heights into the blue depths
beneath. Not even among the finest scenery of the Alps
have I ever seen anything to surpass this view in beauty, or
to equal it in grandeur.

The traveller who visits merely the sanitaria on the outer
ranges, or even the Cashmere valley itself, beautiful as it is,
can have no conception of the magnificent scenery of the
higher ranges in close proximity to the perpetual snows. In
fact, speaking comparatively, excepting a distant view of it,
he can hardly have seen true Himalayan scenery at all.

Early in May the Furriabadee river can usually be crossed
on natural bridges of hard snow. Later in the season these
give way, when the torrent has to be bridged at some narrow
place by throwing a few tree-stems across it.

But whilst I have been admiring the prospect, Kamzan has
made good use of the glass, and has espied a herd of ibex far
away among the crags above. After planning our stalk we

148 SNOW-SLOPES.

commence working towards them, but the ground we have to
get over is in many places so difficult that we are several
hours in approaching them. We are constantly employed in
cutting steps in the hard slippery snow, where we are often
obliged to cross steep fields of it, and on which the result of
a slip might be unpleasantly doubtful. After a time, how-
ever, one gets accustomed to such places. Moreover, they
often at first appear worse than they really are, for if the
crust is hard and the notches well cut, a fair cragsman, with
a little care, is almost as safe as though he were walking
along "the shady side of Pall Mall," if his nerves would only
allow him to believe so. But there are certain conditions of
these snow-slopes when crossing them becomes ticklish work.
I have never heard of the rope being used by sportsmen in the
Himalayas, as game is not usually found above the limit of
vegetation, unless driven to seek safety in higher and less
accessible regions ; therefore, being tied to your companions
need seldom be resorted to as an absolute necessity in Hima-
layan hunting.

At last we get to within 150 yards or so of the place where
the ibex are now reposing in a little come. But the best
bucks are hidden from view, and we cannot get nearer with-
out being detected. After waiting patiently there for an
hour or more, and calculating with much satisfaction upon
the certainty of, sooner or later, getting an easy chance, we
are much surprised at hearing one of the beasts sound its
alarm- whistle ; for we are well hidden from them, and the
wind is right. But we soon discover that the animal's keen
vision has been attracted by something below, which it is in-
tently watching, and after a few minutes we have the mor-
tification of seeing the whole herd slowly walking away up
the hill. Both rifles are emptied, and apparently without
effect, for the animals still continue steadily to ascend with-
out increasing their pace, until they disappear over the crags
some distance above.

VANITY AND VEXATION OF SPIEIT. 149

On turning our attention towards the cause of their dis-
quietude, we descry a small white speck moving up the hill-
side, far away below. To our intense disgust, the spy-glass
shows it to be the big white turban of the impostor, who had
been left behind to clean and stretch the skin l of the bear I
had shot the day before. The useless idiot was now follow-
ing us straight up the hill, without the slightest attempt at
concealment. If he could only have heard the Cashmerian
" Billingsgate " applied to himself and his kindred by my two
companions, they would not have felt flattered, and I did not
bless him myself.

We now climb up to the place where the ibex disappeared,
and are astonished to find one of them lying wounded among
the rocks just beyond it, but on seeing us it instantly jumps
up and makes off. I let drive a flurried shot after it, and miss.
Whilst following this animal we find blood on the tracks of a
second, and as they are larger than those of the first, we
follow them up until the declining sun warns us not to risk
being again overtaken by darkness so high up on the hill.
We therefore descend to a small cave where Eamzan had
proposed we should pass the night.

The greater part of next day was occupied in tracking the
wounded animals, but they had betaken themselves to such
bad ground that at length it became impossible to follow
them any farther.

For nearly a month had I been perspiring over these heart-
breaking hills, and I was now beginning to think that such
profitless toil was only vanity and vexation of spirit, and that
these infernal ibex were merely a delusive wile of some mock-
ing demon of the mountains who was amusing himself at my

i The simplest way to temporarily cure a bear's skin is to peg it out on the
ground and cover it with white wood-ashes from your camp-fire. These
should repeatedly be rubbed into the skin with a rough stone. The paws,
lips, and roots of the ears should have a little salt rubbed into them, and the
cartilage of the ears should be skinned as far up as possible, otherwise the
hair is apt to fall off.

150 GRAND OLD BUCKS.

expense. So disheartened had I become from persistent ill-
luck and bad shooting, that it needed a good deal of persua-
sion on Eamzan's part to induce me to continue our pursuit
of the beasts ; for fatigue, disappointment, and bad weather
combined, were beginning to tell on my powers of endurance
and patience. " Try just a few more days, and our luck may
change," said the old man. Indeed he appeared so anxious
to cheer me up that it seemed almost as though he had some
presentiment of coming good fortune.

Again we were toiling up the steep acclivities of the range
which is known by the very appropriate name of " Dook "
(trouble or pain). We had hardly been gone an hour when a
herd of large old bucks was suddenly descried in compara-
tively easy ground for a stalk. In a second we were all prone
on the earth ; but there was a troubled look about Eamzan's
face as he lay beside me anxiously watching the animals, and
my spirits sank to zero when he whispered, " They've seen
us." The glass was at once brought to bear on them, for they
were a considerable distance above us. There were six, all of
them carrying splendid sweeping horns, and to my inexpres-
sible delight I discovered that, for once, the old man was
wrong, as, after a short time, one of the beasts lay down, and
his example was soon followed by his companions. Inch by
inch we cautiously wormed our prostrate bodies backwards
until we reached the edge of a gully, in which we were hidden
from view of the herd, when Eamzan relieved his feelings of
doubt by taking a huge pinch of snuff.

By following the long and steep windings of the gully, we
at length got within easy range of the animals. My sagacious
old companion, after carefully reconnoitring their position,
then sat down, and with a most self-satisfied air again applied
himself to his snuff-box, at the same time suggesting that, as
the ibex would be pretty safe not to move for some time, I
should wait for my nerves to get steady, and until I recovered
the breath I had lost during our scrambling stalk. He then

HIT OR MISSED ? 151

produced an apple from the capacious pocket of his long
woollen garment and gave me it to eat, a practice common
with him on such occasions.

How quickly my heart throbbed, nevertheless, as I cauti-
ously peered from behind a rock at those six beauties, whose
horns all looked so equally large that I was at a loss to choose
which to shoot at. As the nearest offered the best chance, I
levelled at his chest, which was towards me. The report of
the rifle was instantly followed by a tremendous clatter as the
six animals sprang to their feet and galloped away, apparently
scathless, barely giving me time to take aim with the second
barrel, which was emptied at one of them just as they were
disappearing over a ridge.

I was speechless with vexation. No language, however
strong and expressive, could at that moment have relieved
my harrowed feelings. Even my Cashmeree companions
seemed this time to respect my silent woe, for they gave vent
to none of their usual confounded ejaculations either of dis-
appointment or condolence. But the looks of contemptuous
pity for my performance they cast towards me were just as
hard to bear, making me feel half inclined to "loose off" both
barrels — fortunately they were empty — at them, and then
fling myself, rifle and all, headlong among the rocks below.
I was very much younger and less experienced in human
nature then than I am now. Poor innocent men ! I should
have known that they were only deeply lamenting the loss of
the meat, and not pretending to commiserate my misfortunes.

When my frenzied state of mind became calm enough for
me to think and act like a rational being, I came to the
conclusion, judging from the tremendous pace at which the
animals had made off, that either my chum or the sportsman
in the Zaj nye ground, on the other side of this range, must
have had something to say to them before me, and that,
after all, matters might perhaps not be so bad as they seemed.
Whilst I was impatiently reloading, Kamzan, who had run

152 RAMZAN'S DISAPPOINTMENT.

forward over the ridge to mark the herd, now reappeared on
it, and, to my infinite relief and joy, shouted back that one
of the ibex had dropped just beyond it. But, on getting up
to him, I was again rather taken aback by the rueful expres-
sion of his countenance.

" Why, what's the matter ? " said I. " It's all gone wrong,"
replied he, with a rapid succession of his exasperating inter-
jections of disappointment. "What's all gone wrong?" I
asked, with much anxiety and a little irritation, wondering
what could possibly have happened now. " The khel, he's all
spoilt," he testily answered. Not knowing what on earth to
expect from all this, I proceeded, in a state of bewildered
suspense, to where the buck had dropped. There the beast
lay, stone dead, jammed between two rocks, and a bullet-
hole in his chest testified to his being the first animal I had
shot at. " Look ! " said Eamzan, almost weeping, " he's quite
dead, and all that meat is lost." What had happened began
now to dawn on my perplexed mind. The ibex had expired
before the old man had had time to bleed him. Consequently,
according to his idea, the flesh was useless, for, of course, no
good Mohammedan could eat of an animal which had not had
its throat operated on by a follower of the Prophet with all
customary form before the pulses ceased to beat, and Eamzan
Meer was an extra-devout old Moslem.

My recovered energies were at once devoted to following
up the second animal I had shot at, as, from the fact of our
only observing four of the six bucks taking their way over the
snow-fields far away above, we concluded that he too must
have been hit, and so sorely as to be unable to keep up with
the rest. But, unfortunately, we could find no traces of him
to guide us, so we returned to flay the dead one.

A pleasing reaction now came over my feelings, and I
really think that this was one of the proudest moments of
my life, as I sat there smoking my pipe and admiring the
massive and perfect horns. At last I had attained the object

MORE BIG BUCKS. 153

of my ambition and toil, and what I at that time coveted
above everything.

After stripping the ibex of his head and skin, I reluctantly
had to leave most of the meat for the bears and eagles — as
the Cashmerees would not eat of an animal that had not had
the " hullal " duly performed on it — and descended to a small
sheltered plateau where we intended to bivouac for the night.

Towards evening, as we sat preparing the head, a man I
had sent up to watch what remained of the dead ibex — in
case of a bear getting a sniff of the meat — came tearing down
the hill, gesticulating as he ran, and, on nearing us, breath-
lessly ejaculating " Khel ! khel ! " When his excitement be-
came more subdued, we learnt from him that he had seen a
large herd of ibex on the hillside above, and only about half
a mile off. Sharp is the word. The covers are at once
slipped off the rifles, and we are not long in reaching the
place whence the animals had been sighted, when, sure
enough, there they are, about sixteen in number, and two of
them grand bucks; but the ground is bad for approaching
them. As they are feeding towards us, we wait patiently
there until, at length, a keen cold wind most opportunely
begins to blow towards us, driving them all down for shelter
into an intervening corrie, and bringing them within a longish
range of our position. During all this time Eamzan, in half-
suppressed pious expressions, keeps incessantly imploring the
assistance of the Prophet. But now one of the does, becom-
ing suspicious of danger, gives her warning note. There is
no use in waiting longer, as the whole herd at once begins
moving slowly off; so I single out the finer of the two big
bucks, which in a few seconds falls rolling and struggling
down the hillside. " Shabash ! " (bravo) exclaims Eamzan.
" Now for the other big one." A bullet speeds after him, but
from want of "straight powder" he gets off uninjured. The
men are determined this time not to lose their spoils, for they
reach the fallen buck almost before the echoes of the last shot

154 SATISFACTION ALL ROUND.

cease rolling and reverberating among the crags and preci-
pices, when they bleed him with all due form. Leaving two
men who had followed us to break up the ibex, Eamzan and
I descend to our bivouac, from whence we send them a flam-
ing pine torch to light them down after finishing their work,
for by this time it has grown almost dark.

It was with a light heart and a keen appetite I that even-
ing despatched my frugal meal of broiled ibex -meat and
" chuppaties " (thin cakes made of flour and water). After a
" nightcap " of hot whisky-toddy and a few puffs of tobacco
beside the fire, notwithstanding very tough venison, and a
hard couch under no roof but the starlit sky, I was soon
ibex-hunting in dreamland.

We were astir next morning before the stars had ceased to
twinkle in the cold grey dawn. Leaving directions for hav-
ing our limited amount of impedimenta taken down direct to
the hot spring, I started with the two shikarees, intending to
work over the hill above and rejoin our camp in the evening.
What a miraculous effect a little luck in hunting has on both
body and mind ! How different were my feelings this morn-
ing as we climbed the craggy acclivities of Book. There was
now not a thought of its toils or troubles ; in fact, to per-
petrate a vile pun, it was no longer "dook" to me, and on
reaching our camp after a long day's hard work without
having seen a hoof of any kind, I felt as crisp as possible.
How delicious and refreshing was a draught of "lussee"
(butter-milk), and how I revelled in the warm water of the
spring, for truly I was in need of a good scrubbing. Ample
justice, also, was done to a more civilised repast than any I
had partaken of for some time, and to which I had brought
down an acceptable addition in the shape of wild rhubarb,
and several other esculents that grow on these mountains.

After ridding myself of the pesterings of the impostor, who
was perpetually demanding " backsheesh " for his worse than
useless services — by discharging him — we retraced our steps

A NIGHT IN A WURDWAN CHALET. 155

to Marroo. From thence I proceeded with Eamzan, and a
couple of men carrying a few absolute necessities, up the
south side of the Wurdwan river to a place called Passer, the
heights above which were then considered to be a sure find
for ibex. As we purposed to spend only a day or two there,
the tents and heavier things were sent on to Unshin by the
regular route on the north side, by which we had come down.
In those days I used very often to " rough it " when there
was no occasion for so doing, as was the case in this instance.
Since then I have learnt that to court inconvenience at any
time, when it can be avoided, is a grand mistake. In moun-
tain-hunting, however, it may often be absolutely necessary
to dispense for days together with many of one's comforts.
Towards evening, on reaching Passer — a place represented by
one log-built house picturesquely situated on an eminence
near the river — it began to rain heavily. As it threatened to
be a wild night we took shelter in this chalet, the kindly
people to whom it belonged having done their best to clean
up a small room in it for my accommodation. Never shall I
forget the utter misery of that night. Oh, the rapacity of
the myriads of fleas that infested the house ! At daybreak
I arose with my whole body covered with a rash as it were
from their bites, and with my bones all sore from tossing and
tumbling about on the hard uneven boards of the floor, as I
vainly endeavoured to sleep. How deep and long were the —
well, for brevity's sake I shall call them regrets, I gave vent
to during that terrible night at my folly in not bringing my
tent, which in this case I might easily have done. All next
day the rain continued to pour, and the mountains were com-
pletely enshrouded in mist. To make matters worse, there
was nothing for it but to choose between spending the night
out in the rain, or again submitting to the torments of passing
it among the F-sharps inside : of the two evils I chose the latter.
Besides this, we had almost come to our " last split-pea," so
we straightway took the route to Unshin. A tiresome tramp

156 A MOUNTAIN-TARN.

it was too in the rain, along slippery slopes, and through
long wet grass and brushwood.

After a day's rest we recrossed the Mergun pass. The
snow had almost entirely disappeared from its summit, which
was now clothed with short green turf, thickly besprinkled
with buttercups, their bright colour presenting a strange and
pleasing contrast to the savage aspect of the bare grey rocks
and partially snow-clad heights on either side.

From the top of the pass I made a dttour over the moun-
tains, on the chance of finding a brown bear, as well as for
the purpose of visiting some curious tarns. The largest of
them, called Choar-nag, must be nearly a mile in circumfer-
ence, and from the look of its dark, sullen water, in which its
stern surroundings were reflected as in a mirror, I judged it
must be very deep. These mountain -tarns — or "nags" as
they are there termed — which are sometimes met with on the
Himalayas at very great heights, are regarded by the hill-men
with a certain amount of superstition, and usually there are
supernatural tales current concerning them. The Cashmerees
believe them to be the haunts of evil genii in the shape of
huge " nags " (snakes), which were at one time worshipped in
Cashmere. Early in the season, whilst the winter snow still
reaches almost to the margin of the evil-looking water, the
aspect of this wild mountain-basin is indeed eerie and lone-
some enough for fancy to people it with any number of hob-
goblins. And certainly, when contemplating the desolate
grandeur of such a spot, begirt as it is with a wilderness of
naked crags and stupendous snowy piles, which rear their
pale, spectral-looking crests solemnly aloft against the dull
blue-black sky peculiar to high altitudes, a vague sense of
mysterious awe steals over the beholder as he gazes on the
dreary waste around. The dead impressive silence, too, that
usually pervades these frozen solitudes is only emphasised
by being ever and anon broken by those intermittent blasts
of howling wind which are wont to come sweeping over them,

BEAR-SHOOTING IN THE MULBERRY GROVES. 157

and gradually die away among the distant recesses of the
mountains with a mournful sighing monody, which seems to
the wrought-up imagination almost as though it proceeded
from some sad invisible spirit lamenting over the utter deso-
lation of its abode. But to return to the material denizens
of these wilds.

The shaggy coat of another brown Bruin was added to my
peltries. A long shot was also chanced at a friend that was
with him. The bullet struck high, but it must have aston-
ished his weak nerves, for the brute, much to our astonish-
ment, gave a loud grunt of fear, and trundled itself heels
over head several yards down the hill before continuing its
flight.

On reaching our first camping-place in " the Vale," I was
told that black bears were numerous in the vicinity, they
having come down into the mulberry groves to feast on the
fruit, which was then — the month of June — in full season.
Although this kind of sport is rather tame after mountain
work, it is by no means to be despised. I therefore, deter-
mined to devote a day or two to looking up Bruin in his
feeding-grounds. The first morning I failed to get a shot,
although I was very close to one fellow, where he had en-
sconced himself among a lot of thick bushes, which effectually
covered his retreat as he bolted. Next time we went out I
had better luck, when I secured the only bear we saw, after
putting several bullets through his black hide. The same
evening we found another munching away quite at his ease
in a mulberry-tree, when a ball sent into his back as he stood
up stretching out his paws to gather the fruit, brought him
down with a loud " yeeough " from the tree, at the foot of
which we found him dead, his mouth full of mulberries, poor
beast ! A leopard was also seen at dusk by Eamzan as it
slunk away through the bushes quite close to us.

After two or three days at this kind of work, I bade Eam-
zan good-bye for the present at his home, and made straight

158 A HUMMAM IN SRINUGGUR.

for Srinuggur, intending shortly to return to Wurdwan, as I
concluded that a few of the sportsmen who had hitherto
occupied some of the best hunting localities there would then,
perhaps, have vacated them, thereby giving us a more un-
limited choice of ground.

One of my first excursions on arrival was with a view to
getting thoroughly cleansed at a hummam, kept by a queer
character then well known in Srinuggur, as barber to the
European visitors, and dentist, chiropodist, and general prac-
titioner as well, among the citizens. As may be supposed,
old Mirza's establishment was not fitted up with that luxu-
rious elegance one finds in Jermyn Street. Indeed, on first
entering the hot dusky hole of a place, which reeked with
the vapour of stale warm water, it required only a slight
stretch of imagination to fancy one's self in some dungeon of
old, and that Mirza and his assistant — as they stood there in
the dim steaming atmosphere, stripped naked, save a dirty
rag round their loins, their swarthy skins streaming with
perspiration — were the executioners ready to seize their vic-
tim for torture. To further this idea, they both pounced
upon me, laid me flat along the hot flagstones of the floor,
and commenced what seemed to be vigorous attempts at dis-
locating my joints and flaying me, accompanying their exer-
tions with sundry grunts and startling exclamations that
sounded quite fiendish as they rang through the stone- vaulted
chamber. The only intermission in their labours was when
old Mirza, whose ideas were inclined to be socialistic, would
sometimes, by way of taking a short rest, begin breathlessly
abusing the ruling authorities in rather unparliamentary
language. After thus giving vent to his political opinions,
he would resume the peeling process with renewed energy.
Thus far I quietly submitted to their operations ; but when
the principal torturer, with a demoniacal grin, proposed im-
mersing me in a dirty stone cistern full of scalding -hot
greasy -looking water, I objected to further proceedings. After

FISHING IN THE JHELUM. 159

drying and dressing myself with the utmost expedition, I
made my exit into fresh air with the least possible delay,
vowing never again to try a hummam in Cashmere.

My companion returned from the mountains a few days
after me, bringing with him, amongst other trophies, one of
the most massive and altogether perfect pair of ibex horns I
have ever seen. They were upwards of 4 feet long, with a
wide and regular sweep, and their tips uninjured. Poor lad !
he was not long permitted to enjoy their possession, for a
short time after he fell a victim to that fearful scourge of In-
dia— cholera. He was a true sportsman and an excellent rifle
shot ; and his shikaree told me he had never been out with a
more daring or surer-footed European cragsman. One of his
last wishes on his deathbed was that his hunting trophies
might be sent home to his father. Strange to say, he had a
fixed presentiment, to which he often gave expression, that he
should never see Almora, where our regiment had been ordered
to shortly before he died ; and sad to say, this was fulfilled.

Very fair fishing was to be had in the valley at certain
seasons in some parts of the Jhelum, both for mahseer and
silvery black - speckled fish, in appearance like trout, but
wanting the second rayless dorsal-fin of the Salmonidae. The
former fish were comparatively small of their kind, those
killed being seldom over 10 Ib. or so. The latter were some-
times taken up to 8 Ib. or more. The minnow was usually
most successful for mahseer. The other fish took the fly
pretty freely, and the fly that seemed as good as any was
made simply with a bunch of white -cotton thread carded out
and tied 011 to a naked hook. But the deadliest bait was a
ripe mulberry, when the fruit was in season. The boatmen
were rather clever at spearing small fish in shoal water from
the bows of their boats.

Formerly, fishing was permitted anywhere in the river, but
latterly it was prohibited between certain bridges in the city,
for, as was alleged, the following ridiculous reason : —

160 HOOKING THE " MAHARAJAH."

The story went that, after the death of the Maharajah
Gholab Sing, his soul was believed to have transmigrated into
a certain very big mahseer in one of the sacred fish-tanks
near Islamabad, where, with many smaller companions, this
holy fish was well fed and cared for by the attendant
Brahmin priests. One day a hungry sportsman, on his
return from the mountains, pitched his tent near this tank,
and seeing the fine fat fish it contained, straightway proceeded
to avail himself of the chance thus offered of so easily pro-
viding himself a savoury meal. To the horror and consterna-
tion of the priests, he hooked the " Maharajah," and soon had
him cooking for his supper. This catastrophe caused a tre-
mendous rumpus, which resulted, I believe, in the author of
it being ordered to quit the valley. Subsequently the spirit
of the defunct old ruler was supposed to have returned to the
capital, and to have been re-embodied in another big fish,
whose haunt in the river was said to be somewhere opposite
the palace, between two of the old wooden bridges; and so
it came about that fishing in that bit of the water was
proscribed.

The metropolis of Cashmere,1 with its picturesque canal
communications, quaint old bridges, gondola-style of boating,
and bad smells, often reminded me of Venice. Eeclining
under the straw-mat awning of your Cashmerian gondola, or
" shikaree " boat, as this water-cab of the country is called,
whilst being paddled over the limpid glassy water of the
beautiful Dhal lake, through the singara2 plants, and past
the large flat leaves and gorgeous red flowers of the lotus, or
among the floating gardens ;3 lunching alfresco on the Isle of

1 Ozaka in Japan, with its canals and wooden houses, boats and bridges,
struck me as bearing a greater resemblance to Srinuggur in Cashmere than
any other place I have seen. They differ, however, in respect of the former
being remarkably clean, whilst the latter is filthily dirty. Indeed, I may say
in many ways Japan resembled Cashmere.

2 The water-nut, much used for food by the poor class of Cashmerees.

3 These floating gardens, so called, are considerable sized beds of earth, with

SHAWL-WEAVERS. 161

Chenars, or beside fountains and miniature cascades at the
Shalimar or Nishat gardens, and returning in the bright moon-
light, your boatmen keeping time with their paddles to some
wild Cashmere lay; or visiting the shawl-merchants' shops
and sipping spiced tea whilst inspecting their beautiful wares,

The Gondola, of Cashmere.

—were all very delightful by way of rest after hard mountain
work. And here I may remark, with respect to the shawl
fabrics, that if some of their fair wearers could behold the
half-starved emaciated creatures who weave them, they would
not rest so lightly on their shoulders. I noticed that many of
these poor artisans had a permanent squint, acquired, I was
told, from being kept so constantly employed at their primi-
tive hand-looms on this fine work.

Charming as the dolce far niente style of life in this be-
witching valley was for a time, I returned ere long to the
ibex and bears among the mountains. As I have probably
said more than enough about ibex-hunting, I shall not tire
the reader with a repetition of it, but commence another
chapter of wild sport in quite a different locality.

their foundations of matted reeds and grass so constructed as to be quite dis-
connected with the bottom of the lake. In order to prevent their being drifted
away, they are attached to long poles driven into the bed of the lake where it
is rather shallow. They are used chiefly for the growth of melon, cucumber,
and suchlike plants.

L

162 KURBEER'S SAD END.

Before turning to it, however, I have a sorrowful episode to
relate respecting my little Goorkha shikaree Kurbeer, who
has on one or two occasions figured rather prominently in the
preceding pages of this book. He had unfortunately been
prevented from accompanying me to Cashmere, and of his sad
fate I had heard during my sojourn there. It appeared that
when out hunting with a comrade he had accidentally shot
him dead. From the evidence of a little lad who was out
with them, it was concluded that, either in a fit of remorse or
from fear of what he thought might be the consequences to
himself, he had committed suicide. His body was never
found, only a spaniel I had given him, his empty gun, and
his kookerie beside a rapid mountain-torrent, where the little
lad said he had left him after the accident, whilst he ran to
the nearest village for assistance. It was therefore supposed
either that, after having shot himself, his body must have
fallen into the torrent — which was in flood at the time —
and been swept away, or that he had deserted. The latter
seemed improbable from the fact of his dog having been
found, and the little lad having heard the report of a gun
at the place he had left Kurbeer beside the corpse of his
comrade. There was a sad mystery about the whole affair
that was never cleared up. Any way, I had to lament the
loss of one of the stanchest and best shikarees that ever ac-
companied me on a hillside.

I was up on the Kajuag range, north of the river Jhelum,
below Baramoola, hunting that magnificent wild goat the
markhor, when a messenger arrived bearing an order to re-
join my regiment. Many military officers who were that
year in the valley had thus to hurry away from it before the
expiration of their leave, to join a field force proceeding on
service against some of the hill tribes on the North- West
Frontier. Of a merry circle of seven, five of whom belonged
to my own regiment, who dined together one evening on our
route to rejoin, poor Trotter of the Artillery — a fellow-cadet

sic TRANSIT GLORIA! 163

with me at Addiscombe — was drowned the very next day
when rashly attempting to swim across the Jhelum; four
went to their long homes during the Indian Mutiny of the
following year ; my valued friend, and at that time brother
officer, John Tytler, fell a victim to the cold and hardships of
the Afghan war, in which the brigade he commanded did such
good service ; and I am the only member of that party now
left. Sic transit gloria mundi !
Let us turn to something less sad.

164

CHAPTEK XL

DEHRA BOON — FOSSIL REMAINS IN THE SEWALIK HILLS — VARIETY OF
GAME— SPEAR -GRASS— A DAY AFTER SMALL GAME— " KELPIE " AND

"BROWNIE" — A SPORTSMAN'S LULLABY — AN EL DORADO OF WILD
SPORT — CAMP IN THE EASTERN DOON — SELF-DENIAL — ELEPHANT
SAGACITY — A PLUCKY MAHOUT — A QUEER ADVENTURE WITH A CROCO-
DILE— PYTHONS — THE WAY WE HUNTED THEM — HOG-DEER — THE
"CHEETAL"OR SPOTTED DEER — IRREGULARITY IN SHEDDING THEIR
HORNS — FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES — THE SWAMP DEER.

THE position and general features of the beautiful valley of
Dehra Doon1 have been mentioned in a foregoing chapter.
As it lies within the Sewalik hills, which may be classed
among the outer ranges, the sport to be had in its wild tracts
of forest and swamp may, I think, be called Himalayan.

When I first knew the Doon, game of many sorts and
sizes was abundant, from a button quail to a wild elephant,
or from a minnow to a mahseer of a hundred pounds. From
time out of mind it must have been a favourite haunt of
wild animals, for many fossil remains of huge antediluvian
creatures — the mastodon, for example — have been found in
the Sewalik range, which bounds the valley on its south side.

From the beginning of June until the end of October the
heavy jungles and swamps of the Doon, like those of the Terai,
are deadly, but for the rest of the year they are comparatively
free from malaria.

During the many years I passed at intervals in these

1 I cannot bring myself to spell it Dim, according to the new-fangled
method ; it deprives the name of half its old romance.

VARIETY OF GAME. 165

" happy hunting - grounds," my shikar experiences were so
numerous and varied that I shall endeavour to describe one
or two only of those best suited to give a general idea of the
wild sport of this locality.

The quantity of small game was formerly far greater than
it was even within my own recollection, more particularly
in the western part of the valley, where the ground in some
places was pretty clear of forest, and where tracts of long
grass, intersected by streams, were interspersed with patches
of cultivation, sedgy marshes, and bush jungle, in which kind
of ground the black partridge delights. Here were also to be
found hares, pea-fowl, jungle-fowl, wild-fowl, grey partridges,
plovers, several kinds of snipe and quails, and sometimes a
floriken, a few sand-grouse, and occasionally a woodcock, &c.

When beating for small game, a sounder of wild pigs, or a
deer, was not unfrequently driven from among the long grass
and bushes, and I have known of a leopard, and even the
striped king of the forest, having been disturbed in like
manner. But as regards the two latter, such instances were
rare, as feline animals, although numerous in the adjacent
jungles, seldom ventured during the daytime into the open.
Just before nightfall, however, they often prowled out after
the village cattle. I remember, one evening when skirting
along the margin of the forest after any game that might
chance to turn up, coming unexpectedly upon a tiger as it
was coolly taking its way down a wood-carting track towards
the open country. This animal, when he saw our elephants
slowly advancing within eighty yards, merely stopped short
and slowly retraced his steps. The shot which I lost no time
in letting go, was replied to by the deep guttural grunt which
a tiger almost invariably gives vent to when a bullet tells on
him. Wheeling suddenly round, he struck a heavy blow
with his paw at a tree that stood in his way, and forthwith
charged straight down on the line. Grunting forth his wrath,
he dashed open-mouthed right in among the elephants, when

166 WATCH FOR A LEOPARD.

a lucky bullet from one of the other guns caught him in the
head and stopped his further progress instanter. The first
shot was found to have gone clean through him, close behind
the shoulders. This serves to show what a tiger is capable
of doing after being mortally wounded. On another occasion,
in broad daylight, I shot a leopard in a jungly ravine, within
a few hundred yards of my house, where it had killed one
of my servant's goats. In this case I left the dead goat,
from which the domestics had but just scared the leopard
away, as a bait, and tried the shouting artifice I have al-
ready described in chap. v. The shouters had hardly left me
watching there a quarter of an hour ere the leopard returned
to its prey. My first barrel, by some mischance, missed fire.
The brute, on hearing the click of the hammer, turned his
head towards my little screen formed of green boughs, as he
stood with his fore-paws on the goat, within a dozen yards
of the muzzle of my rifle. His wicked green eyes seemed to
meet mine through the loophole in my ambush, whilst, with-
out raising my cheek from the stock, I noiselessly cocked the
other hammer and again pressed the trigger. A few gurgling
grunts were his reply to the shot. On the smoke clearing
off he was nowhere visible ; but after reloading, I followed on
his blood-tracks, and soon found him lying stone-dead at the
bottom of the ravine.

Both the black bears — the Himalayan and the sloth bear
— were occasionally met with in the valley, feeding on the
fruit of the prickly "byer" (a kind of buckthorn) bushes
when in season.

The prettiest sport of the Doon was the stalking in the
Sewaliks. But the spear-grass that grows most abundantly
there, as also on the lower ranges, is, when long and dry, dread-
fully troublesome. The sharp barbed points of the thin hard
seeds, from which it derives its name, catch in your clothes,
and work themselves by myriads through them, and even
down into your boots, until they reach your skin, which they

GAME IN THE SEWALIKS. 167

often penetrate. In this comparatively low but rugged and
forest-clad range of hills, the jurrow (called mdha in the
Doon), the spotted deer (called cheetal), and the kakur, or
barking-deer, were plentiful; and up about the jagged and
precipitous sandstone summits of the range, gooral might
always be found. Tigers and leopards, too, were numerous,
though not often seen, and wild elephants were not uncommon.
Shooting the latter, however, has now been prohibited by the
Government, except in the case of a dangerous " rogue " ; and
very wisely, or Elephas Indicus might soon have become as
extinct as Dinotherium giganteum.

But for many years pot-hunters, by indiscriminate slaughter
at all seasons, have been doing their worst to exterminate the
game in the Doon, and have so far succeeded fairly well in
their nefarious work — for good small-game shooting, at any
rate, is now a thing of the past.

I shall first try to recount the proceedings of a day after
small game that I find recorded in my old shooting-journal.
It will serve as a fair sample of many similar days' sport in
the Doon.

It was on one of those fine sharp mornings which are the
rule in this beautiful valley during the cold season, that a
party of three guns, consisting of a travelling visitor to the
place — vulgarly called a " Globe-trotter " — the ^sculapius of
my regiment, and myself, after an early breakfast, lit our
" baccies " and mounted our little equine quadrupeds, known in
India as " tats." An hour's ride between thick clumps of tall
feathery - foliaged bamboos — like gigantic ostrich-plumes —
that sometimes flanked the road, or through umbrageous
groves of grand old mango-trees, brought us to our ground,
where a small crowd of beaters, gun-carriers, dogs, &c., had
already preceded us. Our line being formed, we forthwith
commenced business by beating up a few grassy fields and
scattered patches of bushes, from which a hare, one or two
grey partridges, and a few stray quails were transferred to the

168 A DAY AFTER SMALL GAME.

game-bag. I call them stray quails, because the common grey
quail, being a migratory bird, is not found in any numbers
except during a few weeks in the spring and autumn,
although varieties called the rain-quail and bush-quail are
met with at other times, the former only during the rainy
season, the latter at any time, in bush jungle.

After quitting the fields, we beat through a sedgy swamp,
where some long-bills, including several little jack-snipe, are
picked up, whilst others twist away unscathed by our erratic
shots. Our quota of snipe is added to by one or two of the
painted variety, which rise from the longer reedy grass more
like a big butterfly than a game-bird. On nearing a bushy
corner of the "jheel" (marsh), the welcome cry, "Mark wood-
cock," comes from .ZEsculapius on the right of the line ; and
we have the satisfaction of seeing this much-prized bird alight
in a thicket some distance ahead, where it is again flushed
and falls to the gun of the " G. T."

Our beat now leads through long grass, beside a clear
pebbly stream called the Sooswa, that derives its name from
its abounding with water-cresses, broad luxuriant patches of
which might be seen extending along its bed, sometimes for
fifty yards or more in length. We have not proceeded far
when " whir-r whir-r " go a brace of black partridge (fran-
colin), as they rise high over the grass and make away with
the dashing straightforward flight which is their wont.
" Bang, bang " on the right goes our medical adviser, before
whose unerring barrels they are brought down in capital
form, for he is as good a hand with his sporting implements
as he is known to be with those of his craft.

A fair number of black partridges are accounted for ere we
reach a more jungly part of our beat, when the cheery crow-
ing of jungle-fowl and the musical cry of an old peacock
advise us that we are likely to add variety to our bag. Pres-
ently there is a " yap yap " from the dogs, followed by such
a clucking and general disturbance among the little cocks and

PEA-FOWL AND JUNGLE-FOWL. 169

hens, as some flutter up into the trees, whilst others, older
and more wary, either scurry off through the bushes, or wing
their rapid flight as they betake themselves to a safer locality,
that it seems just as if we are in the vicinity of a poultry-
yard. One or two of the less crafty ones are rather shame-
lessly potted on their perches, whence they fall almost into the
jaws of the dogs that are barking at them below, by which
diversion their attention has been distracted from us their
more dangerous foes, as we approach them under cover of the
bushes. The unusual row disturbs from its noonday repose
a cheetal (spotted deer), to which our physician administers a
dose of leaden pills, but at such a distance as to have little
effect.

Our musical friend the peacock having betrayed his where-
abouts by again raising his melodious voice — a practice usual
with pea-fowl on hearing a shot in their vicinity, though
they are otherwise uncommonly knowing — the old fellow is
soon ejected by the dogs from his retreat among a tangled
mass of elephantine creeper, where he has ensconced himself
in the vain hope of concealment, and from which he ex-
tricates his splendid long train with considerable difficulty
and much flapping of wings, thereby giving an easy chance to
one of the party.

Now came a very agreeable and welcome part of the day's
proceedings, when we called a halt in a shady nook beside
the stream, where it formed itself into a deep swirling pool.
From this, had we come provided with a trout-rod, we might
easily have added a dish of broiled fish to the cold collation
that was being spread before us. Having done ample justice
to the comestibles, and beverages cooled in the stream, after
the usual pipe we prepared to make a fresh attack on the
feathered denizens of the jungle. Although the quantity of
ammunition expended was perhaps greater after lunch than
before it, the amount of the bag, I fear, was, as it often is
under similar circumstances, in the opposite ratio.

170 OTTERS.

Towards evening my place in the line led me along a bank
overhanging the stream, when I suddenly heard an unearthly
skirling noise at the water's edge below me. On looking over,
I found it proceeded from two young otters fighting over a
fish. They were so taken up with their quarrel that they did
not notice me until I had jumped down and collared one of
them, like a ferret, round the neck. The other at once took
to the water ; but this being quite shallow for some distance,
after depositing my gun, I was able to give chase, and suc-
ceeded in heading the little beast before it reached the stream,
and driving it back on to the shore, where I soon got hold of
it, like its companion, with the other hand. The difficulty
now was how to get rid of the struggling little wretches
without either being bitten by them or letting them escape ;
for although they were not much bigger than ferrets, they
were exceedingly strong, and their jaws were well provided
with sharp teeth. The only thing we could devise for carry-
ing them was a kind of bag made of one of the beater's
turbans. Into this they were dropped, and slung over a
man's back ; and judging from the noises that issued from
the bag, they seemed still to be carrying on their feud even
there. After beating back to where we had left our ponies,
we cantered home, well satisfied with our varied bag and our
pleasant day's sport.

It was some time ere the little otters could be prevailed
upon to eat, and all endeavours to conciliate them were at
first repulsed with vicious looks, peculiar humming noises,
and attempts to bite. But hunger at last had its effect, and
eventually they became tame enough to play about the house,
although they would never permit themselves to be freely
handled. They soon learnt to know their names, and would
come to me when whistled to. At breakfast they were always
beside my chair, and would sit up and beg like dogs, keeping
up an incessant whistling noise until they got something to
eat. Although I took every measure for their comfort by

IN THE DOON JUNGLES.

171

having a water-tank for them, and providing them daily with
fish, poor " Kelpie," the female, like most pets, came to an
untimely end. She was seized with some affection of the
loins, and died. " Brownie," the dog, also had an attack of
the same kind, from which he recovered ; but he grew so ill-
tempered after his bereavement that I was obliged to part
with him.

At that time I possessed another pet, in the shape of a
tame pea-fowl, which always showed a strange animosity
towards the otters. If it ever caught sight of them outside
the house, it at once went straight for them, when they
promptly beat a hasty retreat indoors. But let us hie to
the wilder parts of the valley.

Although hunting on elephants in the forests and swamps
of Dehra Doon or the Terai cannot, in my humble opinion,
be compared with following your game on foot in the moun-

/;/ the Doon jungles.

tains, it still possesses its own charms. First, there is the
variety, and often the quantity, of game, large and small, met

172 AN EL DORADO OF WILD SPORT.

with in a day's shooting. When I say quantity, I do not,
however, suppose that any one calling himself a sportsman
would wantonly shoot at every hornless animal that gets up
before his elephant. Then there is the free gipsy sort of life
you lead — pitching your camp, which is provided with every
comfort, at will in some beautiful forest-glade, where there is
nothing to remind you of the more stern realities of life ;
where not a human habitation is to be seen, save perhaps,
here and there, a grass-built shed, tenanted by herdsmen
tending their cattle pasturing in the forest. And when the
log-fire has burnt low, and the camp is all hushed in repose,
what lullabies to the sportsman are the wild sounds that now
and again break the solemn silence of night, as the echoes are
aroused in the neighbouring woods by the " belling " of a
startled deer, the deep-mouthed voice of some prowling tiger,
or the distant trumpeting of wild elephants, which the tame
ones at their pickets acknowledge by a low rumbling noise !
How profound is your sleep under canvas, until awakened at
the first flush of dawn by the shrill crow of the jungle-cock
and the call of the pea-fowl ! — when, after a comfortable
breakfast, the elephants are brought up, their howdahs
fastened on and furnished with all the necessary appur-
tenances, " baccies " are lit, and you are off for the jungles
again.

Then comes the picnic lunch, which may occasionally be
graced by the presence of some of the gentle sex who have
been induced to trust themselves on elephant-back to see the
sport. Baskets are unpacked, their contents displayed in the
cool shade under the wide-spreading branches of some grand
old banyan-tree, and the laugh and joke go merrily round.

Last, and perhaps not the least of the charms of this
quondam El Dorado of wild sport, is the beautiful combina-
tion of undulating forest, winding stream, and adjacent moun-
tain scenery. Moreover, the rivers afford the votary of the
gentle craft ample scope for the successful use of his rod.

CAMP IN THE EASTERN DOON. 173

But alas ! in the Dehra Doon at any rate, such halcyon days
are, I fear, numbered; for its jungles are being slowly but
steadily cleared, and with them their wild denizens must as
surely decrease. Indeed it is by no means improbable that
ere very long the whistle of the " iron horse " may replace the
" bell " of the deer arid the " trumpet " of the wild elephant —
sounds which of yore were wont to be heard in sylvan soli-
tudes which are now replaced by extensive clearings for the
cultivation of tea.

It was about the middle of March 1860, when Colonel
(now General Sir Charles) Eeid, commanding my regiment,
invited me to join his shooting-camp in the eastern part of
the Dehra Doon. He had " padded " two fine tigers during
the few days he had been out before I joined him. This was
unusually good luck for the Doon jungles, where, although
tigers are pretty numerous, they are difficult to find when
beating for them with a line of elephants, from their being
so easily able to slink away unperceived in the almost im-
penetrable thickets and swampy cane-brakes with which the
eastern Doon abounds. If, however, intelligence can be got
of a tiger's having just killed a buffalo or bullock, and the
carcass reached before the " choomars " (leather tanners), who
are always on the look-out for such events, have discovered
it and stripped it of its hide and flesh, the chances of finding
the animal at or near the " kill " are then pretty certain.

A delightful ride of about fifteen miles, chiefly through
forest, brought me to an open spot where the jungle had been
cleared, a few grass-huts erected, and the ground cultivated.
Here I found the Colonel's camp pitched, and fortunately
reached it just in time to escape a thorough drenching, as
shortly after my arrival a terrific thunderstorm burst over-
head, accompanied by high wind, which levelled one of the
tents in no time.

When we mounted our elephants next morning the atmos-
phere was clear and cool, and our jungle surroundings looked

174 SELF-DENIAL.

beautifully bright and green after the storm. In front of the
camp, over the irregular line of tree-tops, rose the precipitous
slopes and buttresses of the outer-range Himalayas, some
three or four miles distant. Rearward, in like manner, the
low serrated ridge of the wooded Sewaliks cut the deep-blue
sky-line. We beat over some excellent-looking ground, but
returned in the evening with empty pads — having agreed to
fire at no other game whilst there was a chance of finding a
striped jacket.

For the two following days we roamed through jungle
and swamp without success, as far as tigers were concerned,
although deer, wild pigs, and feathered game were plentiful
enough. Sometimes a porcupine would hustle away among
the long grass, from under the very trunk of one of our
elephants, the sudden rustle of its quills causing the huge
beast to shriek and shy as much as, if not more than, if it had
trodden on a tiger's tail. The amount of self-denial I had
to exercise in refraining from pressing the trigger was often
very considerable, as my rifle was brought to bear on the
shoulder of some fine cheetal stag, whilst he stood to gaze
for a few moments at the elephants steadily forcing their
way through the tangled jungle, when his sleek dappled
coat and long tapering antlers would slowly disappear in the
thick cover, as though the animal knew he had nothing to fear.

The manoeuvres of an elephant whilst slowly forging its
way through heavy jungle are quite an interesting study.
The control its mahout (driver) has over the huge but docile
animal is truly marvellous, as he verbally directs it here to
tear down a tough obstructive creeper, or a projecting bough,
with its trunk, there to fell with its forehead a good-sized
tree that may impede its course in the line, or to break away
some precipitous bank of a nullah (water-course) with its
fore-feet, to form a path for descending into it, and then, after
the same fashion, to clamber up the opposite side. And if
its driver should chance to drop his gujibag (iron goad) among

A PLUCKY MAHOUT. 175

the long grass, with what confiding sagacity does the animal
grope about for it and lift it up to him with its trunk ! In
tiger-shooting, however steady an elephant may naturally
be, its behaviour very much depends on the conduct of its
mahout. I may mention a remarkable instance of cool pluck
on the part of a mahout, which occurred during a tiger-beat
in the Dehra Boon. Amongst some elephants attached to
my regiment, as transport for our ammunition on field service,
was a very fast and steady one which had had the honour
of carrying the Prince of Wales when tiger-shooting in the
Kumaon Terai. The mahout who drove Alice, as she was
named, always wore in his girdle a hunting-knife, which he
showed with much pride as having been bestowed on him by
his Eoyal Highness. One day, during a scrimmage with a
tiger, this knife dropped from the man's girdle. " Oh, my
knife ! my knife !" he exclaimed, and instantly slipped down
off his elephant's neck on to the ground to recover it, at the
imminent risk of being boned by the tiger.

On the third day we visited the scene of the death of one
of the Colonel's tigers, in hopes of further success, as the
place was considered one of the best finds in the Doon ; but
this time we drew it blank. It was a long narrow swamp
filled with flag-grass (called " putteyr "), which grew nearly as
high as the elephants' pads, and almost surrounded with tree-
jungle, — altogether about as perfect a bit of ground for hold-
ing a tiger as could be desired.

On one occasion when beating through this swamp, we had
a funny adventure with a crocodile,1 which afforded us some
sport, such as it was, and considerable merriment. The
creature was lying among the flags, apparently taking a
snooze, for it either paid no attention to or did not observe
the approaching elephants, so I resolved to wake it up with a
charge of buckshot on its cranium. On receiving the shot, it
for the moment seemed stunned, but soon managed to wriggle

1 The crocodile of India is usually but erroneously called an alligator.

176 QUEER ADVENTURE WITH A CROCODILE.

its body into the soft mud among the roots of the flags, leav-
ing only its tail visible, when a bright idea suggested itself to
one of the Goorkhas who were with us. Thinking the animal
was dead, or nearly so, he proposed that he should fasten a
rope to its tail, and then make one of the elephants haul it
out. He accordingly proceeded to carry out his plan, which
was more easily conceived than executed, for on his at-
tempting to slip a noose over the tail, the creature gave it a
violent and an unexpected wag, which somewhat disconcerted
his arrangements and startled him considerably. At length,
however, after repeated failures, which elicited many jocular
remarks from his comrades, he succeeded in making fast the
noose. Having tied the other end of the rope to one of the
elephant's pads, we gave the word to pull, when away went
the elephant, dragging after it the saurian, which now, hav-
ing seemingly recovered its wits, was struggling frantically,
and making abortive attempts to turn round and seize the
rope between the well-armed jaws it kept snapping together
with a loud noise. The creature was hauled on to an open
spot, and finished with a bullet through the head. It was
one of the "muggur" or broad - snouted kind (Crocodilus
palustris), and measured 7 or 8 feet long.

Pythons of very large size were sometimes met with in
these jungles, and I have myself shot several, one of which
measured over 21 feet in length, and in girth about 2 feet.
For the benefit of such as are fond of the marvellous, I shall
venture to here recapitulate the strange circumstances at-
tending the slaying of this huge reptile, as contributed by me
years ago to the ' Oriental Sporting Magazine/ But those
who, from their inexperience of wild-jungle life, are always
inclined to be sceptical regarding " travellers' tales," had better
skip the rest of this chapter, for I warn them that the un-
varnished facts it contains will almost require the powers of
deglutition of the creature in question to swallow. Never-
theless they occurred exactly as follows.

A PYTHON HUNT. 177

I was out in camp in the Eastern Doon with a party of
my regiment employed in cutting grass for barrack-thatching,
when one day I chanced to notice that one of the men at
work had adorned his head with a curious-looking turban.
A closer inspection showed it to be a portion of a huge
python's semi-transparent cast-off skin, which the lad, a
light-hearted Goorkha, had thus donned, much to the amuse-
ment of an admiring circle of his broad-faced companions,
who were regarding him with looks beaming with fun. On
questioning him as to where he got it, he told me he had
picked it up when out shooting in the neighbouring forest,
and that he had seen, close to the place where he had found
it, what must have been the snake that had shed it, as the
creature lay basking near the entrance to a big hole, into
which it had disappeared at his approach. As he said he
thought he could remember the spot, I proposed that he
should proceed there forthwith.

For a long way my sturdy little guide trudged silently
ahead through the forest, until at length he appeared to be
drawing up to something, after the manner of a pointer on an
uncertain scent, as he " gingerly " (excuse the slang, as being
the most expressive term for the movement) advanced each
bare foot through the long dry grass. Presently he motioned
to me to stand still whilst he proceeded cautiously to climb a
small tree, in order to get a better view of the ground in front
of him. After a careful survey, he beckoned me to advance.
Just as I reached the tree, a dark-brown object, which I
recognised at once as a big snake, glided across a bare patch
of ground about fifteen or twenty yards in front. In a few
seconds the reptile was helplessly writhing and twisting in its
death-throes, with a bullet through the thickest part of its body.

I now considered that I had secured the original wearer of
the cast-off skin, and that the business was at an end. But
the Goorkha positively asserted that this snake was not the
one he had seen before, which he declared was nearly twice

M

178 AN ABODE OF SNAKES.

as large, and of a much brighter colour. This python was
13 feet long and about a foot and a half in girth, with dark-
brown and black markings.

We now went to examine the hole, which was close by,
and for which the snake must have been making when I
stopped him. It had evidently been originally the den of
porcupines, though now used as the temporary abode of
snakes. Of its being the latter there was no doubt, for on
looking into it we could see a bit of the tail-end of a second
snake, which doubtless was the one the Goorkha had at first
seen. We resolved not to meddle with it then, as we thought
it would be pretty sure to be found basking in the sun some
other day. We dragged the other to the nearest forest path
and suspended it over a branch, where it could be easily seen
by the men sent with an elephant to fetch it. Its body
showed slight muscular action when brought to camp in the
evening some six hours after being shot.

Business prevented my visiting the python's haunt next
day. On the following morning, however, I went there with
three Goorkhas who volunteered to accompany me. Cau-
tiously we stole up to the place in hopes of finding the snake
out sunning itself. But it was nowhere visible, so we pro-
ceeded to inspect the hole, and there found the creature's tail
in almost exactly the same position as before. As no one
seemed inclined to handle the tail, we poked at it with a
stick, when it was merely shrunk a little farther into the
hole. A fire was lit at the entrance and the smoke fanned
into the hole, without the slightest apparent effect on the
snake. Finding all our endeavours to rouse it fail, I sent one
of the Goorkhas back to camp to fetch some tools with which
to try and dig it out, and also an elephant for carrying the
creature if we succeeded in our attempt to unearth it.

Meanwhile the other two men and I set to work by turns
to enlarge the mouth of the hole with sticks, cut and sharp-
ened to a point by the Goorkhas with their kookeries. From

OUR NERVES ARE ELECTRIFIED. 179

the ground being very hard, and the sticks having constantly
to be resharpened, our progress was rather slow. After dig-
ging and scraping away for a long time, we had enlarged the
mouth of the hole enough to admit sufficient light to enable
us, by stooping and peering into the gloom of the interior, to
see some of the reptile's huge coils, which looked as thick as,
if not thicker than, a man's thigh. It was an enormous
python, and we were surprised to find that it did not as yet
evince the slightest signs of resenting our intrusion, although
the creature must have been quite conscious of it ; for we
fancied we saw its eyes regarding us, as it lay with its great
flat head resting on one of its coils.

Supposing the snake to be in a half-torpid state, we deter-
mined to try and draw it. We all three, therefore, proceeded
— somewhat nervously I must own — to lay hold of its tail.
To this familiarity it showed its objection by a decided in-
clination to wag its caudal extremity, which had such an
electrical effect on our nerves that we dropped it like a hot
potato, and — what shall I call it ? — retired. It must have
been very sleepy indeed, for immediately on its tail being
released it desisted from moving it. This restored confidence,
and again and again did we renew our futile attempts to haul
it out. We had yet to learn the mighty muscular power of
the creature, which had now withdrawn some of its coils
farther back into the den, thereby giving them additional
purchase. We had, however, so far succeeded, that several
feet of its length were now exposed to view.

A shot would in all probability have induced it to re-
linquish its hold. But had I fired at random into the hole,
I must have torn and disfigured its beautiful new coat (it was
evidently the original owner of the cast-off one), which I
wished if possible to secure uninjured as a specimen ; and a
wound near the tail might not have altogether disabled it. I
therefore refrained from shooting until a more favourable
opportunity should offer.

180 A TUG OF WAR.

We continued to dig and scrape with our sticks and hands
at the hole^our operations being sometimes interrupted by
the startling presence of the creature's head, which it occa-
sionally poked towards the entrance; and from the lively
manner in which it kept darting out its little forked tongue,
it seemed to be gradually awakening to a sense of its impend-
ing danger. It still, strange to say, allowed the few feet of
its tail we had managed to expose to lie outside the hole — a
fact for which I cannot account, except by supposing the
snake to have been too sluggish to withdraw it.

At last the elephant and tools arrived, when a bright idea
struck us, — we might draw it out with the elephant ! Suffici-
ent rope for the purpose was loosened from the elephant's pad.
This rope, which was made of cotton, and about the thickness
of a man's thumb, was hitched round the snake's tail, and its
remaining length brought up again to the pad and fastened
there, thus doubling its strength.

Now came the tug of war ! A sudden jerk might have torn
the skin ; the mahout was therefore warned to put on the
strain gradually. Little did we know what a tough and
an obstinate customer we had to deal with. Tighter and
tighter grew the ropes, when "crack" went one of them.
Still the strain was increased, until again " crack " — the other
had snapped also, leaving the snake in statu quo.

We were now at our wits' end as to how we should proceed
to dislodge the creature without injuring its skin by shooting
into the hole. After a short consultation and an inspection
of the surrounding ground, we came to the conclusion that
before resorting to this last resource there still remained one
chance.

Situated on the other side of the den, and pretty close to it,
was the abrupt extremity of a small ravine. By counter-
mining from this we might be able to attack the place in rear.
We accordingly turned-to once more at our excavating oper-
ations, which were now more rapid and easy from our having

THE STRICKEN PYTHON. 181

proper tools to work with. Our perseverance was rewarded
by finding that we had luckily hit off the right direction from
the ravine, and we had soon succeeded in boring a hole large
enough to be able to stir up the creature with a long stick.
The snake, finding itself assailed both in front and rear, and
that its stronghold was becoming too hot for it, now began to
show symptoms of an inclination to quit it. I therefore,
-with one of the Goorkhas, took up a position that commanded
the front door of the den, leaving the other two to watch the
back.

The business was now becoming decidedly exciting. My
jolly little companions were getting quite wild with delight,
and were carrying on a hurried altercation, in their own
peculiar dialect, as to which way the creature intended
making its exit.

" He's coming out on this side," shouts one of them from
the ravine. " He's not going out on your side, for here's his
head coming our way," argues the lad beside me. " Why !
we can see his head here" comes the reply from the others,
half frantic with excitement. " Then there must be two of
them," exclaimed my fellow, jumping up in a transport of
glee at the idea.

Such, indeed, proved to be the case. There was undoubtedly
a second monster in the den, and almost as large a one as the
first. As the snake on our side now thrust out its head
several feet, and was swaying it to and fro as if it meditated
bolting (not my carcass, by any means, but its own) from its
lair, I retreated a few paces and planted a charge of buck-
shot in it, about two feet behind the head. This at once
doubled it up, literally, without much damaging its coat.

The scrimmage in the den, a portion of the interior of which
we could now see tolerably plainly, was tremendous, as the
huge coils of the stricken python, in its death-struggles,
became entangled, as it were, with those of its living com-
panion. The latter, however, showed a decided disinclination

182 INDIAN PYTHONS.

to quit its dwelling, where it remained screwing itself about,
seemingly in a great state of alarm, and seeking safety from
danger, like the " ostrich of the sandy desert," by attempting
to hide its head. After just securing such a fine specimen of
the serpent family, killing this apparently harmless member
of it also would have been wanton butchery.

When the violent contortions of the dying monster had
somewhat subsided, we hauled it out and hoisted it on to the
elephant, not, however, without some trouble from its enor-
mous weight, and the excessive slipperiness of its smooth
skin. We left the remaining python in undisputed possession
of its now lonely abode, from which it still seemed loath to
depart. A Goorkha, when out with his gun a day or two
after, came across it in the jungle not far from its old haunt,
and being unaware of my merciful intentions towards the
creature, shot it and brought it to me as a grand trophy.

I have already given the dimensions of the large one as it
lay unstretched. It was beautifully and brightly marked
with yellow and black. It is now a cleverly executed speci-
men of taxidermy by the late H. Ward of Vere Street, and
forms a prominent if not a very elegant addition to my small
collection of shikar trophies.

My own experience of Indian pythons is, that they are
not the fierce, bone-crushing creatures they are commonly
thought to be, at any rate with regard to human beings.
Indeed, from what information I have been able to gather
concerning them, they appear to be quite harmless; their
prey chiefly consisting of birds, hares, fawns, and " suchlike
small deer." But I never have come across them during the
hot season, when they may possibly be more lively. In
winter they always seemed to be timid, and usually sluggish,
on being disturbed. This may account for our being able to
play such pranks with them as we did with impunity.

From this diversion let us hark back to the putteyr swamp.
This time when beating through it we saw neither tiger nor

THE CHEETAL AND THE PARAH. 183

reptile ; nothing but some hog-deer (Axis porcinus), called
" parah " or " dhoter " by the natives — an animal about the
size of a roe-deer, and not unlike it in its grey winter coat.
The buck carries pretty horns, averaging about 14 inches
long, with two short upper tines on each horn, and one brow
antler, also short and pointing upwards. This deer usually
frequents open tracts of long grass and marshy ground, and is
very plentiful in the Terai and Dehra Doon. It affords capital
shooting from elephant-back, after the jungle conflagrations
in spring, when it can be beaten out into the open from the
unburnt patches of long grass. As the shots are almost in-
variably running ones, it requires sharp and pretty shooting
with the rifle to hit such a small mark.

The spotted deer (Axis maculatus), or cheetal, is very com-
mon in the same localities — in fact in almost all Indian
forests, from the base of the Himalayas to the sea-coast. It
affects thick cover in the forests, or tracts of long grass in
their immediate vicinity. In height it stands about 3 feet at
the shoulder. Its colour somewhat resembles that of the
fallow-deer, but the white spots are more clearly defined, and
on a darker ground. The ordinary length of its fully de-
veloped horns is about 30 inches. They have a very graceful
sweep, with three regular tines on each horn, and sometimes
an extra snag or two beside the brow antlers. The longest
pair I ever got were 37 inches before I peeled off the velvet
with which they were covered, and as the tips were quite
soft, they would probably have grown another inch. The
span was 30 inches, and 4 inches the circumference of beam
clear of velvet. They seldom, I think, grow much longer
than this, although sometimes slightly thicker. Spotted deer
appear to have no regular time for shedding their horns. I
have noted in my shooting -journal having killed them in
January with horns fully developed, but in velvet. I also
find one as having been shot with horns in exactly the same
state in April ; and I shot one on 26th February — a date, be

184 THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE AND

it observed, about midway between the above two — carrying
long and perfectly clear horns with well-polished white tips.
Another killed in August had horns which, from their worn
and smooth appearance, were quite ready to be shed. Of two
stags I killed, right and left, in the month of March, one had
long clear horns with well-worn points, whilst those of the other
were in velvet and only half -grown. I could mention many
other instances tending to show the strange irregularity with
which this deer doffs its antlers. In the months of March
and April, however, I found the horns generally best de-
veloped. The cheetal stag is termed by the natives a
"jhank," as are likewise the males carrying horns of all
the deer tribe.

The little four-horned antelope (Tetraceros quadricornis), or
" chousinghia " as it is called, is met with in much the same
sort of country, but rather sparsely, and usually singly or in
pairs. It is rather lighter in colour than the hog-deer, and
about the same size, but it seldom or never frequents marshy
ground. It is frequently found among bush jungle or near
the outskirts of forests. The front horns seldom grow longer
than an inch, and are more often mere nobs. The hinder
ones are about 3 or 4 inches long, and sometimes even more.
They are quite smooth, except a ring or two at the base, and
very slightly curved forward.

The'swamp deer (Rucervus Dauvancellii), called " goen " by
the natives, which is plentiful in the open grassy swamps of
some parts of the Terai, is said to be occasionally met with
in the Dehra Doon ; but much as I have hunted there, I
have never seen it in that locality. It is nearly the same
size as the jurrow, but paler in colour. It carries fine horns,
branching well forward, with many points along the upper
part of the beam, but only one brow antler on each horn.
In shape and paleness of colour the horns somewhat re-
semble those of the Virginian and the black-tailed deer of

SWAMP DEER. 185

North America, but the goen's horns grow considerably longer.
This deer is never found on the mountains, and seldom in
thick forests, although generally on its outskirts. A sketch
of an exceptionally fine pair of horns of a swamp deer killed
in the Oude Terai will be found at the end of the last
chapter.

186

CHAPTEE XII.

A MORNING'S MAHSEER-FISHING— THE RAIEWALLA POOL— A GOOD TAKE-
QUEER BAIT — A FISHING INCIDENT — THE "GOONCH" — THE "SOULEE"

— AN UNPLEASANT COMPANION AT A POOL— POACHING FOR FISH —
"NULL "JUNGLE — NATIVES TREED BY A TIGRESS — CANE-BRAKES —
DANGER OF A TIMID ELEPHANT — A VICIOUS "MUCKNA" — BOGGED IN
A "FUSSAND" — MOULA BUKSH DISPLAYS HIS EVIL DISPOSITION — A
TERRIBLE GAME AT FOOTBALL — THE KUMAON ELEPHANT-KHEDDA — A

RIDE AFTER WILD ELEPHANTS— TAMING THE RECENT CAPTURES— AN
ELEPHANT GLADIATOR — BRINGING IN A PRISONER — WILD BEES — THE
RESULT OF DISTURBING THEM — WE BEAT A RETREAT — A CONTUMA-
CIOUS TIGER — A GENERAL SCRIMMAGE — THE JUNGLE ON FIRE — AN
UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH A CATTLE-LIFTER — A LESSON IN THE
NOBLE ART OF SELF-DEFENCE.

THE elephants having been fairly hard -worked during the
past week, we gave them a day's rest. As our camp happened
to be pitched not far from the junction of one of the forest
streams with the Ganges, a place famous for mahseer, I got
ready my tackle, with a view to trying a cast there in the
early morning.

Leaving the Colonel and another sportsman who had joined
us taking it well out of their blankets, I set out for the river
as soon as it was light enough to find the way to it. The
water was in good order, and the fish were rising well : not
merely jumping and hogging their backs out of water, when —
with mahseer — you may just as well reel up and go home,
but with the boiling swirl that means business more than
play. Consequently I was soon fixed into a good fish, and

THE RAIEWALLA POOL. 187

before it was time to return for breakfast I had landed three
more.

Mahseer of enormous weight are often taken in the rivers
of the Dehra Boon and the Terai with trolling baits — phantom
minnows about 6 inches long, or even larger, being used for
big fish. Every Indian fisherman either knows or has heard,
of the Eaiewalla pool in the Doon, so famous for the monster
mahseer that are killed in it when the water gets into right
order after a heavy flood. But to fish it properly you must
use either a portable boat of some kind, or what is perhaps
better, and can generally be procured from the native fisher-
men— a semai, which is a contrivance composed of three or four
big inflated skins, with a common native charpai (bed-frame)
fastened over them. On this you sit, with a man to paddle
you about. It need hardly be said that you must land to kill
your fish. Most excellent sport is also to be had in the
streams of the Doon with the fly, although the fish killed
with it are not, as a rule, so heavy. In proof of this I may
mention that on one occasion towards the end of October,
Major (the late General Sir Herbert) Macpherson of my
regiment and myself killed, in two and a half days' fishing at
the junction of the Ason stream with the Jumna, 221 Ib.
weight of mahseer, averaging 6 Ib. or 7 Ib., the largest being
20 Ib. Had we been working with the minnow instead
of fly only, we might in all probability have doubled this
amount and have killed much larger fish. The fly we were
using was a bright one, like the " Jock Scott," about If inches
long. I generally found this style of fly, of different sizes,
was successful with mahseer; but every disciple of Izaak
Walton has his own theories about the " gentle craft," and may
probably find a totally different one answer quite as well.
And after all, if the fish are in a regular fly-taking humour, I
am inclined to think that almost any combination of feathers
and tinsel will suit the taste of a salmon or a mahseer. A
well-known Doon fisherman of bygone days used to declare

188 THE GOONCH AND SOULEE.

he had sometimes fished for mahseer with a whole parrot ! I
must say, however, he was as celebrated for his exploits with
the "bow" as with the rod. But, joking apart, I hesitate to
describe some of the contrivances in the shape of flies I have
known used with success for the huge fish in the Dehra Boon
rivers, lest it should provoke a smile from the incredulous.

A propos of these big mahseer, a fisherman acquaintance of
mine used to relate an amusing little anecdote of his angling
experiences in the Boon. On one occasion he was out with
a companion who was but a novice, and not quite such an
enthusiast in the craft as himself. Observing his friend had
got into difficulties with a monstrous big fish he had been for
some time holding on to in a pool below, he proceeded to offer
him his advice and assistance. Just as he reached him, how-
ever, the monster parted company with the line, when the
novice, being unaware of the presence of any one so near him,
was overheard to exclaim with a sigh of relief, " Thank good-
ness he's gone ! "

A coarse shark-like fish called a " goonch " is occasionally
caught when spinning for mahseer. A monster of this kind
was landed from one of the Doon rivers by that keen all-
round sportsman Mr Hercules Eoss, B.C.S. (of rifle-shooting
fame), which scaled considerably over 100 Ib. Another
member of the finny tribe which is sometimes taken in these
waters is the " soulee," a smooth-skinned, dark olive-coloured
fish, having a broad bull-head, and a fin extending round its
caudal extremity, like a conger-eel — in fact it somewhat
resembles an enormously thick and very short one. Unlike
the mahseer, which loves a rocky or gravelly bottom, the
soulee affects deep sandy holes. I do not remember ever
having taken one with the fly, though I have frequently
killed them, up to 8 or 10 Ib., with trolling baits ; and I
do not think they often exceed this weight. The soulee
always takes your bait near the bottom, and in its first rush
frequently leaps once or more from the water, after which it

UNWELCOME COMPANIONS AT A POOL. 189

gives in. It is, however, better on the table than on the rod,
being richer flavoured and less bony than the mahseer. A
good basket of small mahseer, and a trout-like fish called by the
natives "golabee," which is as lively and strong as any real trout
of equal weight, can often be caught with fly in the smaller
streams of the Doon. I have taken dozens of both kinds com-
bined in a clay, averaging generally nearly half a pound, with
an occasional fish (mahseer) of several pounds thrown in.

I have already drawn comparisons between salmon and
mahseer fishing, which may have served to show that, as far
as sport is concerned, they are about equal. But there are
episodes attending the latter which occasionally make it
more exciting — some might call it unpleasant — than the
former. I know an instance of a tiger walking out of a
jungle beside the river, coolly taking a drink at the pool and
a look at the man who was fishing it, much to his astonish-
ment, and doubtless consternation, and then, to his great
relief, as quietly retiring. And once when I was fishing in
one of the forest streams in the Eastern Doon, my two little
dogs, which were hunting about after jungle-fowl, disturbed
a tiger in a thicket not very far behind me. But such occur-
rences were rare.

Good as the fishing in the Doon streams is, it would be
even better were it not for the wholesale system of poaching
carried on by native fishermen to supply the markets of
Dehra Doon and the sanitarium of Mussoorie in the hills
close above it. The modus operandi which is most destruc-
tive, is placing a small-meshed net across the tail of some
shallowish pool in any of the smaller streams where the fish
run up from the large rivers to spawn, and then driving the
fish with sticks and stones from a long way up-stream down
into the pool thus netted. On the drivers reaching the head
of this, a weir is made across it to divert the stream. The
result is that the fish in the pool so drained remain stranded,
the larger ones only being collected, while the small fry are

190

left to rot in the sun. And as these poachers never take the
trouble to break up the dam, a great stretch of water below it
is ruined for fishing until the rainy season commences, when
nature comes to the rescue with her flood of water, which
soon levels all obstructions. The spots chosen for this nefari-
ous proceeding are, of course, those which admit of a pool
being easily drained by diverting the course of the stream,

The following day we made an early start, our intention
being to ford the Ganges and beat up some swampy cane-
brakes on the farther side of it. As we moved leisurely on
the elephants towards the ford, which was a mile or so
distant, I diverged into a " null " jungle, along the edge of
which we were skirting, in the hope of getting a shot at some
jungle-fowl I heard crowing there. " Null " or " nurkul "
is a long reed-like grass, common in the Terai and Doon
jungles. It is generally a sure harbour for game of all sorts
and sizes. I have frequently seen these reeds growing so
tall that, when standing in the howdah, I was unable to
reach their tops with my gun held up at arm's-length. Even
an elephant looks comparatively small in a null jungle.

Well, my elephant had not got far into the null when I heard
a deep angry growl, which was immediately followed by the
shouting of men, evidently in a state of alarm. Pushing on to
the place from whence the sounds came, I found two natives
" treed," and hullooing away at the top of their voices. They
said they were collecting wild honey, when they had suddenly
come on a tigress and two cubs, and had at once climbed up
the nearest tree. This information was not easily elicited
from them, for they seemed to be as much frightened at the
sudden appearance of the elephant as of the tigress.

I lost no time in getting back to inform the rest of the
party, when we commenced a regular and careful beat round
about the place where the tigress had been seen. But not-
withstanding some of the elephants showing the usual and
unmistakable signs of a tiger's proximity — in acknowledging

CANE-BRAKES. 191

the scent by smartly tapping the ground with their trunks,
from which they at the same time emitted a peculiar metallic
sound — and the noisy commotion among the jungle-fowl, and
a troop of monkeys that were chattering and gibbering away
as they swung themselves from branch to branch in the trees,
which also betokened the presence of Madam Stripes in the
vicinity, we failed to find her. The jungle was so thick and
tangled that our progress was necessarily very slow, which
delay she had evidently taken advantage of to slink away.

All hope of finding the tigress being at an end, we pro-
ceeded to cross the Ganges where it was fordable by the
elephants, and commenced beating up the cane-brakes, or
" bent jungles " as they are commonly called. The canes in
these brakes have a remarkably beautiful appearance, grow-
ing in widespread tangled masses, or trailing in graceful
festoons from the trees, their glossy dark-green fronds re-
sembling drooping plumes of feathers. But of all bad ground
for a line of elephants to get over, commend me to a bent
jungle as being the worst. The canes are so closely inter-
woven, and so covered with strong hooked thorns, and the
places they grow in are so soft and swampy, that it is some-
times quite impossible for an elephant ^to force its way
through them. For dislodging tigers from such spots, a kind
of firework called anar, which makes a deal of noise and
smoke, is used. But even this often fails to drive them fairly
out of these sanctuaries, in which they are very fond of lying
up during the intense heat of the day.

It has been said that of the risks run in tiger -shooting
from elephants, the danger from the tiger itself is the smallest.
This is a matter of opinion. But there is no doubt about there
being other dangers quite as great attending this sport — that
from a timid elephant being about the worst ; for if an
animal of this kind gets thoroughly terrified and bolts among
tree jungle, the consequences are likely to be disastrous. I
once had my howdah and one of my guns smashed to bits by

192 BOGGED IN A " FUSS AND."

a runaway brute of this sort. Fortunately I was not in the
howdah at the time.

A source of constant danger with us on this trip was a
vicious "mukna" (tuskless male) elephant. The brute had
already killed two men, and nobody but his mahout dared
approach him. Whenever any of us had occasion to dismount
from our elephants, the first question was always as to the
whereabouts in the line of Moula Buksh, as our dangerous
friend was named.

Getting badly bogged in a " fussand," as the natives call a
quaking morass, ranks about next in order. And an incident
that occurred in this day's beat will serve to show what it
means.

We had been beating slowly and with difficulty through
the patches of bent jungle, and plying the more inaccessible
spots with andrs, without having seen a sign of a striped
jacket, when, on reaching a more than usually swampy place,
Golab Soondrie (Anglicd, Beautiful Kose), the steady old
elephant I was on, showed a decided disinclination to enter-
ing it. Not wishing to leave my place in the line, I made
the mahout urge her forward, and she had not taken more
than a few steps when she was floundering about up to her
middle in thick black mud and water. The old lady finding
she had got fairly into it, continued to struggle bravely on
towards some firmer-looking ground a short distance in front.
But ere reaching this her body was almost entirely submerged
in the foul inky fluid, in which she rolled about like a dis-
masted ship in a heavy sea. It was impossible to leave the
howdah on account of the depth of water ; and in such cases,
even when the ground is stable enough to admit of dismount-
ing, it has to be done with caution : for an elephant, 011
finding itself in a fix of this kind, is said to be apt to lay hold
with its trunk of anything within reach, without respect even
to persons, to place under its feet for support. And the usual
method adopted, when everything else fails, for extricating an

AN AWKWARD PLIGHT. 193

elephant from a fussand (swamp or quicksand), is to throw
branches of trees, bundles of grass, &c., within its reach. These
the sagacious beast forces down with its trunk under its feet,
until the footing thus made becomes tolerably firm.

At length, by dint of great perseverance and exertion on
the part of Golab Soondrie, she reached the edge of this
abominable quagmire, and having managed to get her fore-
feet up on to some firmer-looking ground, was with difficulty
dragging out her hind-quarters, when to my consternation
the rotten bank gave way under her weight. Back she slid
into the horrible slough almost perpendicularly — so much so
that the guns lying in their sloping positions alongside me
in the howdah fell back on to my outstretched arms, as I
clutched the side-rails for support, and I for the moment
feared she was going to roll completely over. Matters now
looked serious ; for the "kawas" (back partition) of the howdah
was quite under water, and the black muddy fluid reached
half-way up to my knees in the fore-part of it. The mahout
was obliged to quit his seat on the neck of the elephant, and
little else was to be seen of the animal save the top of her
head and her trunk. Still the fine old creature continued to
make the most prodigious efforts, until at last, thanks to her
being a small and an active elephant, she managed to scramble
out. Before we overtook the rest of the party — who, from
the thickness of the jungle, had not seen our mishap — they
had almost reached the tents, which were near at hand, when
the dirty plight we presented after our mud-larking adven-
ture afforded much merriment at our expense.

Finding there was no fresh "kubber" (intelligence) of tigers
in this vicinity, we next day had a beat for game in general,
of which the pads showed a fair amount, when, towards even-
ing, we reforded the river on the elephants. As we were
passing some grass-sheds on our way to camp, Moula Buksh
displayed his evil disposition by chevying a wretched pony,
which was heavily handicapped in the chase by being

N

194 A TERRIBLE GAME AT FOOTBALL.

hobbled. All the forcible persuasions of the mahout with
his iron-hooked goad failed to stop him as he went straight
for the pony. Just as his uplifted trunk was over his in-
tended victim's back, the mahout, as a last resource, dropped
his outspread turban down over the brute's eyes, and so saved
the pony from being kicked to a jelly ; for an enraged ele-
phant generally vents its spleen on anything it considers
obnoxious and can get hold of, by making a shuttlecock of
it between its fore and hind feet. I once saw a Goorkha,
who was out with us, have a wonderfully narrow escape from
being thus kicked to death. A cheetal had with difficulty
been padded on a timid unsteady elephant, which suddenly
getting frightened at the dead animal's horns, which were
dangling over the pad, touching her hind-quarters, began
violently shaking her huge body with a view to getting rid
of the objectionable load. This she succeeded in doing, as
well as of the Goorkha, who was also on the pad. Before the
man could regain his legs the elephant was on him, and play-
ing football with his body. Fortunately the mahout soon
managed to control the brute, though not before the man was
left lying apparently lifeless. We were horror-struck, think-
ing the poor fellow was dead. Although he was terribly
shaken and bruised, and the breath knocked completely out
of him, strange to say not a bone was broken, nor was he
otherwise very seriously damaged.

Although this visit to the eastern side of the Ganges was
not attended with any unusual success, on a former one to
the same locality, through the kindness of Major Baugh,
who was then superintendent of the Government Elephant
" Khedda " (Catching Establishment) in the Kumaon Terai,
and whose camp we came across, our shooting-party enjoyed
an exciting day's sport, the like of which it has seldom been
my good fortune to witness. I may here transcribe my ac-
count of it, written long ago for the ' Oriental Sporting
Magazine.'

A RIDE AFTER WILD ELEPHANTS. 195

There are several methods resorted to for capturing wild
elephants in different parts of India. These have been so
ably described by those who are much more conversant with
such experiences than I am, that I shall therefore only premise
my attempt to recount the incidents of an elephant-hunt wit-
nessed by myself, by mentioning that the way the animals
were usually captured in the Kumaon Terai was by driving
them up from the level forest into some narrow mountain-
gorge, or sote as it is there called, the ridges on either side of
which having been previously lined with men provided with
firearms and blank ammunition, in order to prevent the ele-
phants making their escape on either flank.

On the wild herd being driven into this kind of cul de sac
— an operation which was not achieved without considerable
tact and manoeuvring — the entrance was guarded by some of
the largest and strongest male elephants being posted across
it ; whilst other animals carrying the " phandetes " (noosers)
were ridden in among the herd, and the process of noosing
and tying commenced. This was very cleverly executed by
men trained to the work, assisted by the great sagacity of the
tame elephants. Before it could be effected, however, it was
occasionally necessary to subdue some mighty lord of the
herd by pitting a domesticated giant against him, when a
terrific combat sometimes ensued between these elephantine
gladiators, which usually resulted in the discomfiture and
eventual capture of the wild animal.

Intelligence of the proximity of a herd of wild elephants
having just been brought in to the superintendent by his
scouts, he at once prepared to go after it, and invited our
party to join in the sport.

The necessary arrangements having been quickly made and
orders given, each of us mounted an elephant, and seated
himself on a very small pad that had been substituted for
the usual large-sized one, as being less likely to get displaced
when moving quickly through tree jungle. A rifle or gun

196 RECONNOITRING THE HERD.

was carried across the knees, but only to be used for defence
in the event of a charge being made by a wild elephant.

As the Khedda camp was on the west bank of the Ganges,
and the herd was reported to be on the opposite side, we at
once proceeded to cross the river by the nearest ford. A
truly fine sight it was to see some thirty elephants steadily
ploughing their way through the water, which was run-
ning almost up to the pads, as the animals leant their huge
bodies against the stream to resist the force of the rapid
current.

All having got across the river, the first thing necessary
before starting in pursuit was to carefully reconnoitre the
exact position of the herd. This was done on foot by a few
of the party, when it was ascertained that the animals were
feeding among some thick clumps of bamboos, which were
situated on so seemingly impracticable a position for ele-
phants to reach, that it was difficult to conceive how such
huge beasts ever got there ; but it is almost incredible what
steep and difficult places elephants can travel over. As the
ground was found to be unsuitable for attempting to capture
the animals by driving them up into a sote, Major Baugh's
intention was, in this instance, merely to endeavour to drive
them towards a more likely locality for circumventing them.
At the same time, it was just possible that one or more of
them might be noosed in the chase ; at all events, he expected
an exciting run.

The reconnoitring party having remounted their elephants,
we all advanced slowly, and as silently as possible, towards
the herd, which, apparently not as yet being much alarmed
at the approach of the tame elephants, moved leisurely down
through the jungle on the steep declivities towards the level
forest below. Our progress was at first rather slow, our
elephants using the greatest caution, whilst descending, in
placing one foot firmly before venturing to move another.
However, we at length reached more level ground, where we

IN VIEW. 197

soon overhauled the wild herd, and a most exciting chase now
commenced.

Immediately on viewing the animals, as some seven or
eight of various sizes broke away about twenty yards in front
from among some tall " nurkul " reeds, the phandetes shot
ahead, balancing themselves, half standing, half kneeling, on
their little pads, with nooses held ready to cast should they
succeed in getting their elephants, which were being hustled
along at a most astonishing pace for such unwieldy animals,
alongside the wild ones. The latter, now becoming alarmed,
began to increase their speed, though not even now to its full
extent, from there being amongst them one or two calves
whose retreat their mothers were anxiously endeavouring to
cover, sometimes shuffling along half sideways as they tried
to look back at their pursuers, who were gradually drawing
nearer and nearer.

The wild excitement of the pursuit now reached its highest
pitch. Our elephants, in addition to being driven half frantic
from being urged along by the mahouts freely using their iron
goads, and by their assistant " char khattas " (forage-cutters),
who, as they clung on behind the little pads with one hand,
with the other pummelled the poor animals most unmercifully
in rear with short, heavy wooden clubs studded with a few
iron spikes, had also become imbued with the general
excitement, and had got their blood fairly up as they dashed
ahead regardless of every obstacle.

Onward we go, and still onward, scrambling over prostrate
trunks of trees, through dense underwood, thorny brakes,
and tangled creepers, which snap like pack-threads before
our elephants. Now we are bowling along across an open
grassy glade, or rattling over the loose boulders in the dry
bed of a water-course. Again we charge headlong into the
forest, which resounds with the crashing of boughs and diy
nurkul reeds — the shrill trumpeting and snorting of the
elephants being mingled with the sharp ejaculations of en-

198 THE FIRST FALL.

couragement or abuse of their beasts from the mahouts, as
they vie with each other in their endeavours to keep the wild
herd in view. We have plenty to do in perpetually ducking
our heads and bending our bodies to avoid projecting branches.

There goes the first fall! An excited Goorkha is swept
clean off the pad of an elephant near me by a tough creeper
catching him across the middle, sending him sprawling among
the bushes. There is no stopping to pick him up, but I glance
back and see him on his legs again, he fortunately having
fallen on a soft place. Now we are rolling and floundering
through a quaking bog, from the black tenacious mud of
which the elephants slowly and with difficulty drag their feet
with a succession of squelchy sucking sounds. This causes
a temporary check, and gives the fallen Goorkha time to
scramble up on to his elephant, an acrobatic feat he accom-
plishes with the assistance of the animal's tail. But we are
soon clear of the swamp, and still on and on we tear helter-
skelter. How we, who are unaccustomed to such work, con-
trive to stick on to our small pads, and also to balance a gun
across our knees, seems perfectly miraculous ; but one does
things in hot blood that one never dreams of being able to
do in cold.

At last a nooser has managed to lay his elephant alongside
the hindermost wild one. She appears only to see the ele-
phant and not its rider, who, with ready noose, eagerly awaits
a favourable opportunity for casting it ; consequently she is
unaware of her real danger until she feels the rope on her
head. But now, with a shrill trumpet, she shoots swiftly on,
slipping away from under the noose with a lift of her trunk
and a toss of her head. Still her maternal solicitude causes
her again to check her speed, for her offspring is beside her,
and the phandete is once more up with her, and makes an-
other unsuccessful attempt to noose her.

But the pace has been too severe to last, and some of our
elephants are showing decided symptoms that such is the

RESULT OF THE CHASE. 199

case, by beginning to tail off. As they come straggling back
in groups from the chase, their excited riders have each some
wonderful tale of their prowess during the scrimmage to
relate, which they do with much gesticulation and true
oriental volubility.

Although Golab Soondrie, the elephant I rode, from for-
merly having been used in the elephant-catching line, was
well acquainted with the business on hand, she could not
keep pace with the noosers' elephants, which were of course
in a high state of training and condition for such work, from
constant practice. I was therefore unable to be in quite at
the finish, which resulted in the capture of one of the calves
only — its mother, after baffling all attempts to noose her,
having at length left it to its fate. The poor little creature,
which was scarcely bigger than a pony, was set at liberty, as
it was considered too young to be weaned from its mother.

The original intention of driving the herd towards a more
practicable locality for their capture having been effectually
carried out, we recrossed the Ganges as the shades of evening
were closing around ; and this glorious day's sport was wound
up by a champagne dinner given by the Khedda superin-
tendent, over whose hospitable board the exciting incidents
of the hunt were recounted and discussed.

The piteous cries of the little calf in search of its dam, as
they were borne across the river on the night breeze, and the
frequent low rumbling noises made by the still excited tame
elephants at their pickets, were the last sounds I heard ere I
fell asleep.

Next morning Major Baugh took us round his Khedda.
One or two of the more recent captures were bound fast by
their legs to trees, where they rocked themselves impatiently
to and fro, resisting all the blandishments of their attendants.
By way of accustoming them to the human presence and voice,
they were periodically stroked and brushed down with long
green boughs, the men performing this office the while singing

200 BRINGING IN A PRISONER.

songs and talking to them. One magnificent tusker named
Scott attracted much of our attention. Although now the
principal gladiator of the Khedda, he had not been very long
in captivity, and still retained the proud free gait and high
carriage of head of his wild state. Major Baugh told us his
behaviour before tigers was splendidly steady, and that on
one occasion when a tiger had attempted to charge him, he
had actually lifted the brute with his trunk and sent it
spinning up for yards through the air.

The sagacity, and even enjoyment, which the domesticated
elephants evince in assisting at the capture of their wild
brethren is truly remarkable, and the more so as many of
the tame ones may themselves have been roaming free in the
forest only a few months before. For example, it is cus-
tomary, on a wild elephant being captured, to conduct it
along to camp, or to lead it from one camping-ground to
another, attached by strong ropes to a Khedda elephant on
each side of it. These two warders hustle and jostle their
prisoner along, and should he show signs of becoming obstre-
perous, belabour him with iron chains, which they carry with
their trunks for this purpose. The captive, however, gene-
rally submits rather peaceably to his fate, and soon becomes
quite tractable to the will of his two custodians.

In Burmah I have watched elephants in the timber-yards
at Maulmain working with almost human intelligence.
There they may be seen drawing huge logs about the yards ;
unhooking the dragging-chains with their trunks ; lifting the
logs on to the piles of timber, and then adjusting them
squarely there ; or launching them into the river with their
feet, to be floated away.

But to revert to our present doings on the banks of the
Ganges. The day after recrossing the river we were again
beating up the quarters of the tigress and cubs, when sud-
denly there was a cry of " Mukkee aya " (the bees have come).
Those who have never hunted in the Boon or Terai forests

DISTURBING A BEES NEST.

201

can hardly imagine the startling effect this simple exclama-
tion sometimes has on a line of elephants. And perhaps this
will be best understood by relating what occurred in our case
on hearing it.

In breaking through the underwood somebody had in-
advertently disturbed
a swarm of bees, which
in these jungles sus-
pend their combs from
a branch, and often
so low down that, if
the nest is hidden by
foliage, an elephant is
very apt to run foul
of it. This had in
all probability hap-
pened in the present
instance, for the in-
furiated insects at-
tacked both man and beast with such determined pertina-
city, that the result was a case of sauve qui pent, causing the
total disorganisation of the whole beat. Tigress and cubs
were at once forgotten as the line scattered hither and thither
in futile attempts to escape from the bees, which followed
some of the elephants in clouds, plying their stings so
viciously as to even leave many of them sticking in the
leather that covered the iron rails of the howdahs. Strange
to say, these bees, when thus disturbed, seem to devote their
attention chiefly to certain elephants, and these they will
follow for miles, only attacking the rest of the line occasion-
ally and in small detachments. In this case the principal
object of their animosity was the Colonel's elephant, which,
though steady enough before a tiger, was quite unable to
withstand this combined attack of little enemies. With a shriek
of pain, she set off, tail on end, until pulled up by a tangled

Wild bees nest.

202 A CONTUMACIOUS TIGER.

thicket of the huge " maljoon " creeper, into which she charged
headlong, in the vain hope of eluding her persecutors.

Being on the extreme left of the line, with the help of a
blanket and plenty of smoke, created by the Goorkha behind
me in the howdah burning bits of rag torn from his turban,
we managed almost to defy the more mild assaults made on
our elephant.

On getting clear of the heavy jungle in which the bees had
been disturbed, some sort of order was re-established, although
many of them pertinaciously stuck to us, and we did not get
entirely rid of the angry swarm for a long time. Notwith-
standing each of us being provided with a blanket, which is
usually kept ready for wrapping about one's head in an
emergency of this sort, there was a visible change in the
features of some of the party when we came to compare notes
after our disorderly retreat.

But the excitement of this day's beat was not to end with
the departure of the bees, for we had hardly got quit of them
when a sound was heard, and not very far off either, that
caused us all to prick up our ears. It was the deep guttural
growl of a tiger, which, judging from the angry tone of its
voice, was in a contumacious humour.

On we all push in line towards the spot from whence the
sound had proceeded. Before reaching it, an unexpected
obstacle occurs in the shape of a deep narrow nullah, with
precipitous banks, and almost hidden by the long grass grow-
ing on both sides of it. Whilst I am pondering in my mind
as to what could have induced the tiger to betray its where-
abouts in this unusual manner, Golab Soondrie has been
making a path for herself by breaking down the steep bank
with her feet, and her fore-quarters are now in the nullah, the
top of her head being about level with the opposite bank,
when, with a succession of furious hoarse grunts, a big striped
object conies rushing through the grass towards us. I only
catch a glimpse of the charging brute, and cannot shoot, as

A GENERAL SCRIMMAGE. 203

the elephant, from being so much taken by surprise at this
sudden and unprovoked attack, wheels sharply round with a
jerk that is almost enough to send me out of the howdah.
Quick as thought, Golab Soondrie has her fore-legs up the
bank again, and our position becomes rather critical, for her
hind-quarters are now in the nullah, and the howdah is on
a level with the charging tiger. On comes the beast with a
spring from the bank, just missing the back rail of the howdah,
and falling with a splash into the shallow water in the nullah.
The Goorkha in the kawas behind me scrambles over into my
part of the howdah, to the side-rail of which the mahout is
already clinging, he having jumped up from the elephant's
neck at the first sign of danger. Altogether there is such
a general scrimmage, and my hands are so fully employed in
holding on to the howdah-rails, that it is impossible to handle
a rifle ere the baffled tiger has slunk off and disappeared along
the bottom of the nullah.

The bold behaviour of this animal was, under the circum-
stances, decidedly unusual; for an unwounded tiger, when
disturbed, generally tries to steal off, if possible, unobserved,
and seldom attacks a human being unless provoked. Even
man-eaters, of which the proportion is fortunately very small,
resort to the most cunning and sneaking methods for securing
their victims. A female with cubs, however, is often an
exception to this rule, and such our friend might have been,
though in this instance we failed to find her offspring.

Meanwhile there had been some excitement in another part
of the line, for as soon as I had time to look about me, I saw
that the other elephants had got across the nullah, and were
going ahead full speed, evidently with some object in view.
The sound of a shot, followed by a " whoof," soon proved that
such was the case. On overtaking the line, I found that a
second tiger had been seen, at which the Colonel had got a
snap-shot, but the beast had given them the slip in some
heavy " null " (nurkul reed) jungle.

204 THE JUNGLE ON FIRE.

By this time it was getting dusk. In addition to this, one of
the men, either accidentally or with the idea of trying to drive
out the tigers, had foolishly set alight the long dry nurkul,
and the fire, which now began roaring and crackling as the
flames shot high in the air, was beginning to spread with
such rapidity that, for the second time during the day, we
had to beat a hasty retreat.

As we were a considerable distance from camp, we had a
long and toilsome ride on the elephants, as they jogged slowly
and wearily in single file through the dark jungle, which was
ever and anon dimly lighted up by the red glow reflected on
the clouds of smoke that overhung the fire raging fitfully
behind us. The distance, however, would have been thought
little of had there been a dead tiger on one of the pads.

We beat round about for the tigers next morning, and came
upon one of them, but, owing to the thickness of the jungle,
failed to get a shot. Being our last day out — after all chance,
as we thought, of again finding the tigers was over — a general
battue was commenced. It was just about sundown when,
having badly wounded a fine stag cheetal, I left the line to
follow him up ; but failing to find him, I was jogging quickly
and carelessly along, endeavouring to overtake the line. So
little idea had I of seeing game of any sort on the ground
which the other elephants had just passed over, that I had
laid down my rifle in the howdah, and was not even on the
look-out, when, by the merest chance, my eye fell upon an
object the sight of which made my heart leap. A magnifi-
cent tiger was just on the point of disappearing behind some
bushes about fifty yards in front of me. How the beast
escaped being observed by the rest of the line was most
strange, as the ground in the direction from whence it seemed
to have come had been recently burnt, and was almost as bare
as a billiard-table. Snatching up the rifle on the impulse of
the moment, I foolishly let drive after the beast through the
bushes, instead of first following it up. But, alas ! there was

A LESSON IN THE "NOBLE ART." 205

no responsive grunt to denote that the bullet had told ; and
although I at once gave chase, the tiger had vanished in the
same magical sort of way it had at first appeared.

This incident may have served to show how necessary it is
to be always on the look-out when in the jungle for any-
thing that may turn up, as a chance is often got when least
expected.

I was all the more disappointed at having lost such an
opportunity when, on reaching camp, some herdsmen told
us that this tiger had for a long time haunted the locality
where I had seen it, and had killed an incredible number of
their cattle. A cattle-lifter of this sort generally prefers
taking common cows and bullocks to buffaloes, as a herd
of the latter is always ready to resent an attack on one of its
community by a tiger, which often comes off second best. A
friend of mine, when out shooting in these jungles, came
across a Goojur herdsman instructing his buffaloes in the
noble art of self-defence. He had ensconced himself up a
tree, and was dangling among the herd below him an old
tiger skin attached to a rope, which the enraged animals
were fiercely attacking.

Thus ended a short hunting -trip in the Dehra Doon.
Although not so successful a one as regards the actual
slaying of tigers as others I might have told of, it is per-
haps better calculated to afford a fair idea of the general
sport that was then to be had in that locality, and also to
show what chance work it is finding these cunning and wary
brutes in such heavy jungles, unless certain intelligence of
their whereabouts near a fresh " kill " has first been obtained.
Moreover, my experiences of tiger-shooting are comparatively
few, and in thrilling adventure they fall so far short of those
which have oftentimes been graphically recounted by more
practised hands at this noble sport, that any further nar-
ration of them would only be superfluous in a book which is
more intended for describing mountain work.

206

CHAPTER XIII.

THE SURROW — GOPEE CHUND HILL — NATIVE FOLK-LORE CONCERNING IT
— ENORMOUS LANDSLIP — THE DISASTROUS LANDSLIP AT NYNEE TAL —
A HILLSIDE IN MOTION — A LUCKY SHOT — EXTRAORDINARY SPECTACLE
— ANOTHER LUCKY SHOT — AN OLD AND VALUED FRIEND — THE SPIRITS
OF THE MOUNTAIN — A PAHAREE LEGEND — A SHOCKINGLY BAD SHOT —
DRIVING OUT A SURROW — A BEAUTIFUL SCENE — WILD ANIMALS RE-
COVERING FROM BAD WOUNDS — A MENDED BONE — DRIVING A " KHUD "
— THE SURROW ARE CIRCUMVENTED.

ON the outer ranges and spurs of the Himalayas rising
abruptly from the Dehra Boon, the " surrow " (JVemorhcedus
liibalina), which is nowhere very common, was not un-
frequently met with. This curious animal, which, like the
gooral of the Himalayas and the chamois of Europe, is one of
the links between the antelope and wild goat, might almost be
supposed to have a strain of the donkey as well, for it has a
decidedly asinine appearance, particularly about the head.
It stands about 3 feet at the shoulder, which is an inch or
two higher than the croup ; and its build is so sturdy as
almost to make its form look ungainly and its gait clumsy.
The neck is thick, short, and black, and is surmounted with
a bristling mane of coarse black hair extending back over the
withers, which, with its almost black head and large mule-like
ears, grey muzzle, short black horns, and dark fiery eyes, give
this beast a fierce look which its character does not belie. Its
general colour is a very dark kind of roan-grey, intermixed
with black ; black dorsal stripe, and tail which is very short ;

THE SURROW. 207

flanks and fore-quarters reddish-brown, creamy-white from
above the knees and hocks downwards ; horns black, round,
slightly curved, sharply pointed, sloping well backward, and
roughly annulated for two-thirds of their length, which is
ordinarily about 9 or 10 inches, with a circumference at the
base of 5 or 6 inches ; ears about 8 inches long ; distinct but
not very large eyepits, from which, I remember in one at any
rate of the specimens I shot, a whitish - looking discharge
rather freely exuded. The surrow is pretty generally, though
sparsely, distributed over the whole length of the Himalayan
ranges, and from the higher to the outer ones. Its favourite
haunts are the wildest of craggy, precipitous, wooded gorges
where dense " ringal " (a kind of long, thin, reed-like bamboo)
jungle abounds, in the deep gloomy recesses of which it
usually lies up during the day, seldom venturing abroad
except in the very early morning and late in the evening to
feed, and then usually only a short distance from its seques-
tered retreat. For it is of very shy habit, although its dis-
position is so bold that it is always ready to show fight when
wounded, or even in defence of its wounded mate, with which,
as well as with their offspring, sometimes it is found in company,
though generally a solitary animal. Of its courage the fol-
lowing I know to be an authentic instance. A female surrow
had been shot by a sportsman, when, on his native follower
approaching to secure it, a male companion rushed out from
the dense cover hard by, and going for the man, sent him
rolling down-hill with a butt from its horns, making good its
retreat ere the astonished shooter had time to remonstrate
with his rifle. The doe is very similar in size and appear-
ance to the buck, with horns of almost the same length and
thickness. Its cry of alarm resembles a kind of sharp shriek,
which, like the gooral, it emits at short and regular intervals.
When suddenly surprised it sometimes shows a strange
amount of stupidity. I have known it stand stock-still at
gaze, even after being shot at, if missed. But once started it

208 GOPEE CHUND HILL.

rushes off headlong regardless of every obstacle in the shape
of rough precipitous ground, seldom stopping to look back.
Its ordure, like that of the musk-deer, is generally found
deposited together in large heaps. In the Kumaon district,
and also, I believe, in Nepal, it is called " tahr " or " thar " ;
the tahr proper being there called "jharrel." On the more
eastern Himalayas a red -coloured variety of the surrow
occurs, but even more sparsely, I am told, than its darker-
skinned relative of the more western ranges.

In one of my many shikar trips among the mountains adja-
cent to Dehra Boon, I was exceptionally fortunate in coming
across several of these rather uncommon nondescript animals.
On this short excursion I started with a brother officer who,
although not a sportsman, was an ardent admirer of nature.
Our objective point was a singularly shaped craggy hill,
called Gopee Chund teeba (hill), which formed a prominent
feature of the outer ranges where it was situated.

Amongst the native folk-lore of this locality were many
wild legends concerning this hill. It was said to have derived
its name from a rajah of bygone days, who, with his boon
companions of his court, used to carry on their revels and
midnight orgies in his palatial halls, which were supposed to
have once stood on the site of the bare grey crags and high
cliffs formed by landslips, where the eagle now has its eyrie
and the gooral roams free. But Eajah Gopee Chund having
suddenly been stricken with remorse for his past vices and
follies, resolved to become a jogee (religious devotee) for the
rest of his days. On his turning jogee it appeared that he
must in some mysterious manner have acquired supernatural
powers, as prior to setting out on his lifelong pilgrimage he
converted his castle and all its belongings into the rugged
grey rocks that now form the hill.

When hunting over this ground, my shikaree, a native of a
neighbouring village, was wont to entertain me with many
a wild tale, and to point out objects of, to him, superstitious

BIG LANDSLIPS. 209

interest. Here he would draw my attention to a great chair-
like rock, on which he said the rajah used to sit and hold his
court; there, to some curious beetling crags, once the site of the
royal stables, but now where gooral and other game had
scraped out large cavities below the rocks, in partaking of
the Jcar (salt) with which the earth there was strongly im-
pregnated. Then he would relate how his grandfather had,
sometimes during the dead of night, heard the neighing of
horses, the baying of dogs, and the sounds of revelry borne
down on the wind towards his village from the crags above,
which my informant firmly believed were still haunted by the
ghosts of the departed ; and how, but a year or two before,
the inhabitants of his village had been terror-stricken one
night by a fearful noise caused by the falling of an enormous
landslip, the roar of which sounded, he said, as if the whole
hill were tumbling and going to bury them beneath it.

These big landslips are very common in the Himalayas,
more especially during the rainy season, at times when the
saturation of the mountains with moisture is excessive. The
terrible landslip which occurred at the Himalayan sanitarium
of Nynee Tal in 1880, when so many of our fellow-country-
men and an unknown number of natives were in a few
moments hurled into eternity by the fall of a whole hillside
into the lake there, is a matter of history. My wife, who was
at the time residing in a house within only a quarter of a
mile of the edge of the slip, has told me many a harrowing
tale of this awful catastrophe. I may also mention a very
extraordinary but less disastrous kind of landslip, of which
the following is a description, as related to me by Colonel E.
Smyth, who was for many years superintendent of the educa-
tional department of Kumaon and Gurhwal.1

1 The late Pundit Nain Sing, the celebrated Asiatic explorer, who was
awarded one of the Royal medals by the Royal Geographical Society for his
valuable services, was originally one of Colonel Smyth's native schoolmasters,
and was sent by him to Colonel Montgomerie of the Trigonometrical Survey of
India, for employment as an explorer

0

210 A HILLSIDE IN MOTION.

" A very curious landslip occurred some thirty years ago,
about a mile from Tapoobun, and between that place and
Eenee (in Gurhwal). The road to Malari goes up the left
bank of the Dhoulee river, and about a mile from Tapoobun
crosses a little stream which descends from the mountains on
the right. Both banks of this stream were covered with thick
forest at the time I first traversed this road. The year after,
I came this way again, and found the whole valley of this
little stream was on the move downwards, moving very slowly,
perhaps not more than a few inches a-day. The trees were
all crooked ; some had fallen entirely — some one way, some
another. The whole extent of ground thus on the move was
perhaps, at its broadest part, near the Dhoulee river, about
half a mile, gradually narrowing upwards. The road of course
had gone, and we had to climb upwards for about 1200 feet
of elevation, over perhaps one and a half miles of ground,
until we reached the highest point of the slip, and we de-
scended on the other side, along the edge of the slip, until we
reached the road. Six years afterwards I again passed this
spot : the landslip had stopped, but the trees were all up-
rooted and lying about, and the road had been re-made and
carried over the rough ground left by the landslip."

By the natives it was supposed that the game on Gopee
Chund hill bore charmed lives. Indeed I had almost reason
for fancying that such was the case, for, plentiful as game was
there, never before, when going over it, had I been able to
shoot a single head. This time, however, I succeeded in
breaking the spell by making two such wonderful shots, or
flukes, and under circumstances so peculiar, that it seemed as
though the spirit of the quondam rajah had transferred the
favour hitherto conferred on the wild denizens of the hill
to me.

We had reached the spot where we intended to encamp,
which was a small saddle-like flat connecting Gopee Chund
with another hill, and commanding a view of a mighty preci-

A THRILLING SPECTACLE. 211

pice that extended almost from summit to base of the former
in almost a sheer wall of nearly 1000 feet high — the scene of
the recent landslip. We were resting among some rocks
awaiting the arrival of the men who were following us up the
steep track with our traps, when I chanced to notice two
brown objects moving among the crags above the precipice.
They were so high above us, and in the distance looked so
small, that we at first thought they were monkeys, as also did
some of our sharp-eyed hill-men, who had just arrived and
were depositing their loads ; but on bringing the spy -glass to
bear on them, it showed they were gooral, so I lost no time in
trying to circumvent them. Leaving my companion seated
on the rocks below, from whence he could command a view of
the whole proceedings, I commenced working upwards along
the edge of the precipice, where the ground was favourable for
the stalk, until I got within what I judged to be well over 200
yards of the animals. Nearer than this I could in no way
approach them without their detecting me ; so there was
nothing left but to chance a long shot, with little hope of
hitting such a small mark at so -great an angle upward.
They were now standing motionless, apparently watching the
men moving about below ; and their colour so much resembled
the ground they were on, that I again had recourse to the glass
to enable me, before shooting, to clearly distinguish their out-
lines from those of the rocks among which they stood. Steady-
ing my elbows on a convenient slab of stone, I took a careful
and deliberate aim at the larger of the two and let drive. It
staggered for a few moments, and then, toppling over, fell on
to a narrow ledge about 50 feet below it in the precipice, close
above the brink of which it had been standing. Off this it
shot down through space. I watched it almost with a thrill
of awe, as it went whirling through the air, until the latter
part of its descent was hid from my view by the crags
that projected over the profound depth below. So fascinated
was I by this extraordinary, I may almost call it appalling

212 A LUCKY SHOT.

spectacle, that at first I forgot to notice what had become of
the other gooral. I now observed it climbing away over the
steep rocks, so I chanced the contents of the second barrel at
it. The bullet must have shaved, if it did not strike it, for it
seemed to crouch down for a few seconds before finally dis-
appearing.

I now got back to where I had left my companion
below. He had been able to see the falling gooral for the
whole length of its tremendous descent, during which, he
said, it had only touched the rocks twice. I afterwards
ascertained, with my mountain aneroid, that the drop was
almost a sheer 1000 feet.

As we sat there watching our little tents being pitched, the
noise made by the men who had gone down to fetch the fallen
gooral disturbed another that had been reposing in some
secluded niche beside the big precipice. Across the face of
this the sure-footed creature took its way along an almost
imperceptible ledge, which could only have been a few inches
wide. When about half-way over it stopped, with its head
craned forward to gaze down at the men, who had just reached
the dead beast below.

I signalled to the men who were pitching the tents a short
distance below where my companion and I were seated, to
bring me up my rifle (which I had left there), with the idea
of taking a sky shot at the beast, but without a notion of
being able to hit it ; for, although nearly on a level with us,
it was fully 300 yards off. Sighting for that distance, I lay
down and took my shot. Judge of our astonishment, then, at
seeing the animal fall from the ledge and drop clear 500 feet,
down almost beside where, on a steep sloping chaos of loose
rocks and dtbris that had originally slipped from the precipice
above, the first gooral lay, and nearly on to the heads of the men
who were preparing to shoulder it. The mangled remains of
the two goorals were soon brought up, when we were surprised
to find them much less smashed and torn than might have

PAHAREE FABLE. 213

been expected, owing probably to their having fallen so clear
of rocks.

The rifle that served me so well on this occasion, as well
as on many another — although seldom, if ever, with such
astonishing results — is still in my possession: a '450 bore,
double, muzzle -loading Whitworth; and never was bullet
thrown from a more trusty weapon. The dear old-fashioned
thing, there it stands in the rack before me now as I write,
and there it shall remain as a. memento, nothing more, of
many a happy day passed with it among the fells and forests
of the grand old Himalayas.

In the evening I climbed up to the spot where the com-
panion of the first gooral I had killed had disappeared,
but found nothing on its tracks to show that it had been
wounded.

After turning in at night, when all else was silent and
still, we heard eerie sounds and a weird-like rustling of wings,
as if the restless spirits of the haunted mountain were flitting
through the air. But I soon discovered they proceeded from
several nightjars that were flying to and fro close over the
camp, having probably been attracted by the moonshine on
the white tents. In the uncertain light, I at first took them
for woodcocks, which, among the higher ranges, sometimes
come hovering over the camp-fires after nightfall.

Speaking of the nightjar, or goatsucker, reminds me of a
little fable the " paharees " (hill people) have about a small
bird of the nightjar kind, which is very rarely seen, although
its " too too " melancholy pair of notes may be heard at short
regular intervals all night long among the oak and rhododen-
dron trees. The legend runs that once upon a time the wild
birds had a "mela" (fair) of their own, to which they all
repaired. But this plainly attired little fellow, thinking his
plumage was not grand enough for the occasion, begged a
bright-coloured feather from each of his more gaily dressed
companions and went to the fair bedecked with those bor-

214 STALK A SURROW.

rowed plumes. When the fair was over the lenders demanded
back their feathers, but their wearer, being much pleased with
himself, objected to returning them. Upon this, the lenders
snatched for their feathers, and in the scuffle the poor bor-
rower was stripped, not only of them, but of most of his own
as well. So this modest little bird has ever since been left
lamenting its fate, and striving to hide its nakedness, which,
they say, accounts for its mournful notes and its being so
seldom seen. Often as I have endeavoured to catch a glimpse
of this shy wee bird, by trying to follow it up when it com-
menced its piping notes at dusk, strange to say I always
failed to discover it.

The commencement of our trip had been decidedly au-
spicious, and during the three following days I got some
pretty shooting at the gooral in this neighbourhood, killing
three more. One of them, however, which I wounded late in
the evening, had been much torn by the eagles and vultures
before what little they had left of it was eventually found by
a goat-herd, whose attention had probably been attracted to
it by the birds gyrating and swooping above it.

On the fourth day we shifted our tents a few miles, to a
ridge that overlooked the Doon stretching away like a big
green map far below. Early in the morning, whilst search-
ing for game with my shikaree along a circuitous route
towards our new camp, I noticed, away on the sky-line, the
dark form of an animal which the glass showed to be a
surrow. We waited until it moved out of sight beyond the
steep-sloping ridge on which it had been standing, and then
made the best of our way there. We were clambering round
the rocky shoulder of the ridge, when I caught sight of the
animal a short distance below me, but having got wind of us
in some manner, it rattled away down the rocks, and before
I could cover it with the rifle, was out of sight in a deep
wooded " khud " l immediately beneath.

1 "Khud," or "klialla," is the native term for a steep-sided, V-shaped

A SHOCKING MISS. 215

As I stood on a projecting crag, disappointedly gazing
down in the direction the surrow had gone, the head and
shoulders of another suddenly emerged from behind a rock
not twenty yards below me. I was considerably out of
breath from climbing, and the space I had almost to balance
myself on was so limited and so directly over the animal,
that I missed it, or at any rate made a shockingly bad shot.
It must, however, have touched the beast somewhere, for I
was close enough to hear it give a low kind of grunt, as it
dashed off, like a rocket, downwards after its companion.
We followed a short way on its bloodless trail, and then
feeling much mortified at my muffish performance, made
straight for our new camp, which had been pitched on the
ridge running along the opposite side of the wide khud, in
the dark silent depths of which the surrow had taken refuge.

After a late breakfast, as I sat deliberating as to whether it
would be worth while turning out all our men to search the
gorge below, on the faint chance of finding the surrow lying
wounded there, one of them came running to tell me he had
seen a surrow moving among the rocks and bushes far down
on the opposite face of the khud. On taking a look through
the glass there, I saw the beast, and, strange to say, not very
far from where our two friends of the morning had been lost
sight of. We watched it until it moved behind some bushes,
and as it did not reappear, we concluded it must have lain
down there ; so I at once arranged for attempting a drive, the
ground being rather unfavourable for a stalk. Sending some
men round behind the ridge above the bit of cover the surrow
had entered, I proceeded to take up a position commanding
as much of the steep broken ground below it as possible,
thinking that the animal would be certain to make for the
dense ringals at the bottom of the gorge. At last one of the
men appeared on the ridge, and pointing significantly towards

gorge, as "pakhan" is for a precipice, "khanta" for crags, and "pahar" or
" teeba " for a mountain or hill.

216 BEAUTIFUL SCENE.

the bushes, soon drove the animal out by flinging down a
stone. But the cunning brute must have detected me below,
for instead of coming downwards, as I had every reason to
expect, it took a slant upwards, and never stopped until it
disappeared over the sky-line far away at the head of the
glen ; so I had once more to return dejectedly to the tents.

That evening one of the men reported his having seen, in
the gloaming, a surrow moving among the oak-trees near the
head of the glen, when fetching water for camp from a spring
there, — probably the animal we had driven from its usual
haunt returning to rejoin its companion. For surrow seem
to be very domestic in their habits, with respect to their
family ties; but as their homes are rather extensive and
difficult of access, an interview with them is by no means
easy to obtain.

Next day being Sunday, we gave ourselves and the surrow
a rest. As we reclined on the grass near our tents, enjoying
the cool evening breeze and looking down on the forest-
clad Doon 4000 feet below, the prospect was singularly
beautiful. The sun was sinking, like a fiery red ball, in the
haze that dimmed the distant plain stretching away beyond
the low irregular line of the Sewalik hills ; whilst behind us,
over the tree-tops, rose the pale full moon like a huge silver
globe. Again the surrow was seen just before dark by our
men who were fetching water, so I determined to organise a
regular beat through the gorge on the morrow.

Early next morning I worked over some old landslips east-
ward of our camp, the long steep slopes of which, where not
too rocky and precipitous, were now clothed with spear-grass
and brushwood, interspersed here and there with oak and
cheer trees.1 On one of my previous visits to this locality I
had killed a fine surrow there; this time, however, I saw

1 The cheer-tree (Pinus longifolid) much resembles the Scotch fir, but with
longer and paler-green spines. It is the commonest kind of pine that grows
on the lower and middle ranges.

DRIVING A KHUD. 217

only one or two gooral and a barking-deer. I may here give
an instance, which came under my observation, of how wild
animals may recover from bad wounds. On one occasion
when hunting on this ground, I shot at a gooral — one of a
herd of five or six — which went off with its fore-leg so
smashed that I even found bits of bone on its track. The
following year I was shooting there again at the same season
— November — when I saw what was doubtless the identical
herd on almost exactly the same spot, and shot one out of it.
This animal was found to have a stiff knee-joint, the leg
having evidently been broken by a bullet, but the bones had
reunited in a long indurated lump ; and I have little doubt
but that it was the same gooral I had wounded there just a
year before. I have the bone thus mended by nature now in
my possession.

In the forenoon all our forces were marshalled, and
most of them placed under command of old Hookmee,
the local shikaree, to be disposed in the manner he thought
best for driving the gorge below. Strict injunctions were
given that no other noise was to be made than an occa-
sional tap with a stick on a tree stem, except by the scouts
posted on points of vantage to watch the gorge as the beaters
moved down it, and to signal by voice any movements of our
game they might detect therein. This precaution regarding
noise is always necessary when driving deer in cover, as the
beaters usually make such an infernal row, and the game
gets so bewildered by their echoing voices, that a beast is just
as likely to break back as to rush madly forward in its terror,
instead of moving on leisurely, as it otherwise would be pretty
certain to do.

Whilst Hookmee is proceeding with his small army of
beaters towards the head of the glen, I start off to take up a
position far down it, on a sort of promontory, overlooking as
much as possible the main gorge on the left, as well as a
smaller lateral one on the right, running into the main one

218 THE SURROW ARE CIRCUMVENTED.

just below me, and tip which offshoot Hookmee says the
surrow may possibly take.

As I sit there expectant among the rocks, being half baked
by the hot March sun,. I can hear the beaters as they come
slowly down through the ringals and trees in the khud, but
only the sound of their tapping-sticks, for old Hookmee has
got them well in hand. Presently a voice comes from high up
on the opposite side of the glen. It proceeds from one of the
scouts stationed there, calling my attention to two surrow he
can see passing along the rocky face below me on the left ;
but the ground is so steep there, that to me they are invisible.
Again he shouts that they have turned up the smaller gorge
to the right, and I have not long to wait before a rustle
among the dry fallen leaves apprises me that something is
coming up it. But the beast keeps so well concealed in the
thick cover, that it passes on without giving a chance for a
shot. It is followed almost immediately by its companion,
which suddenly detecting me, turns sharply round, and, under
cover of the brushwood, makes for the opposite ridge of the
ravine. More fortunately for me than for the surrow, it has
to traverse an open bit of steep ground before it can reach
the ridge ; but a bullet from the Whitworth catching it in
rear, turns it back. It stands for a few seconds as if be-
wildered, when another bullet causes it to totter back down
towards the cover at the bottom of the ravine. A movement
among the bushes below me now attracts my attention, and
almost directly I catch sight of the first surrow, which, prob-
ably missing its mate, has returned in search of him, and is
now standing broadside on, in a small open space among the
brushwood, within fifty yards. The contents of my second
weapon, a miniature '360 express, sent into its shoulder, floor
it at once in its tracks.

I now devote my attention to the other surrow, which I
find is so sick as to be incapable of moving away. I have
hardly settled it with the " pea-shooter," when again I hear

SHELLING A PRECIPICE.

219

shouts from a marker. He has seen yet another surrow,
which, he says, has crossed the foot of the lateral gorge, and
is now moving beyond it along the precipitous face on my
side of the main one. I at once send several of the beaters,
who have just joined me, round to try and intercept the
animal, but the ground there is too steep and difficult for
them to travel over. All they can do is to shell the place
with big stones, so I am not surprised that he gives us the
slip. Nor am I much disappointed either, being quite satisfied
with the two animals secured.

One of the dead beasts had a half-healed bullet-hole in its
ear, and was most probably 'the first surrow I had seen and
shot at a few days before, not very far from where it had now
fallen. Both were good specimens — a buck and a doe — and
carried almost equally long horns.

As nearly all our manoeuvres had taken place within sight
of the camp, my companion on this trip had once more an
opportunity of watching them almost from his tent. This
was a very satisfactory termination to our pleasant week's
holiday.

r'r

Village, Gnrhwal Mountains.

220

CHAPTER XIV.

FASCINATIONS AND CHARMS OF A HUNTER'S LIFE — SUMMER IN THE
PLAINS OF INDIA — THE PIR PUNCHAL RANGE — A NATIVE GENTLEMAN
— KAZIMA— TWO REAL SHIKAREES— THE MARKHOR— A MARKHOR IN
DURBAR — HOW HATHA CLEVERLY CIRCUMVENTED A "RIND" — THE
LUCK THAT FOLLOWS THE FIRST SHOT — GLORIOUS PANORAMA OF
MOUNTAIN SCENERY— A SERIOUS ACCIDENT AND AN AWKWARD PRE-
DICAMENT— HATHA'S SURGERY — NATIVE HOSPITALITY — A " DRIVE "

UNDER DIFFICULTIES — THE BONYAR VALLEY — AN INCIDENT WHICH
MIGHT HAVE PROVED DISASTROUS — DANGEROUS SLOPES.

DESPITE its hardships and vicissitudes, the greater experience
one has of a wild mountain life, the more does the passion
for it increase. The craving for its roving freedom, in the
temperament of some people, becomes such as at length to
amount almost to a disease — as is known to be the case with
Swiss mountaineers — when deprived of it. There is certainly
nothing that tends more to invigorate both mind and body
than the opportunities -for studying the beautiful works of
nature, the immunity from worldly worries, and the healthy
exercise afforded by wild mountain sport. I have also ob-
served that there is a kind of affinity between real sportsmen
which attracts them towards each other, for among no other
class of men does more good-fellowship exist. And I can
affirm, from my own experience, that many a true and lasting
friendship has commenced on a shikar trip.

Towards the middle of a very hot summer in the Punjab, I
started for the Himalayas on two months' leave. From con-

THE PIR PUNCHAL. 221

stant confinement indoors — where the sojourner in the plains
of India during the hot season is constrained to shut himself
up all day in a darkened room to avoid the intense heat and
glare — I had been getting into that unhappy frame of mind
which makes life almost a burden, and from want of suf-
ficient light and fresh air, my face was rapidly assuming the
blanched appearance presented by the inside of a tied-up
cabbage. After this dreary monotonous sort of existence, it
can easily be imagined with what keen delight I looked for-
ward to being once more free to roam among the pine-forests
and snowy regions of the Cashmere mountains.

My intention this time was to hunt markhor on the western
end of the Pir Punchal range, above the sources of the Bonyar
river. I chose this locality because I knew it had not been
much hunted over for several seasons, although it had not
as great a reputation for big markhor as other places I had
visited.

If one wishes to have good sport in a foreign land, the first
and most important thing to be done is to endeavour as much
as possible to ingratiate one's self with the people of the
country in the vicinity of one's hunting-ground. Acting upon
this principle, which I have always put into practice, I pro-
ceeded to pay my respects to a nawab (native gentleman) who
was the proprietor of part of the land I wished to shoot over.
His residence was some six miles from Uri, on the Murree
route to Cashmere, but he happened to be at Uri the day I
reached that place. Shortly after my arrival, an individual
of very imposing mien, and extensively arrayed in the sport-
ing style of costume usually affected by the impostor class
of Cashmere shikaree, swaggered up in the most confident
manner and offered his services. On being informed that
they were not required, he turned on his heel and stalked
proudly away. He, however, continued to prowl about in
the vicinity, and in the afternoon, just before I started, again
presented himself, when, by way of getting rid of him, I

KAZIMA.

pointed to one of the heaviest loads, and told him that if he
chose he might carry it, which offer he treated, as I expected,
with silent contempt, and disappeared. The next time I saw
my friend, he had divested himself of most of his fine
garments, and his fine airs also, and was toiling up a hill
with the identical heavy load on his back. Finding I was
not to be taken in, I fancy he had thought better of it.
Though I have called him an impostor with regard to his
capabilities as a shikaree, he was anything but one in his
proper capacity as a weight-carrier ; for, to do him justice, he
afterwards turned out to be one of the most willing and hard-
working men I employed, and whenever there was anything
to be done that required more than ordinary strength and
activity, Kazima was always to the front.

From Uri I was accompanied by the Nawab, who beguiled
the time passed on our way with accounts of the kind of
sport I was likely to get, and also with some of his own
hunting experiences — for both he and his younger brother
were men of sporting proclivities — and on our arrival at his
village after dark, nothing could exceed his hospitality and
attention to all my wants.

The following day was devoted to purchasing a stock of
supplies for my men and making a few final preparations for
our mountain work. The Nawab provided me with his two
best shikarees — Gamoo and Hatha. The former was a very
intelligent little man, with a bright good-humoured counte-
nance ; the latter, who acted under Gamoo's orders, was an
active, willing fellow.

Before proceeding further, it may be as well to give a
slight description of the noble animal we were about to seek.
The markhor (Capita megaceros), or, in English, snake-eater, so
called from his being supposed by the hill-men to be what his
name implies,1 is without doubt the finest animal of the wild-

1 It may not be generally known that goats are ordinarily addicted to
snake-eating, — so say the Highland herdsmen, at any rate.

THE MARKHOR.

223

goat tribe. There are several known localities in the northern
Himalayas and in the mountains on the north-west frontier
where it is met with, besides the comparatively unknown ones
more northward, and in each of those known it differs slightly,
principally in the shape of the horns. The horns of the
variety found on the Pir Punchal and Kajnag ranges, west
of the Cashmere valley, have three or four spiral curls in the
shape of a cork-screw, and sometimes grow to an extra-
ordinary length. I measured one that was 63 inches follow-

Asior and Northern
Cashtnere ranges.

Pir Punchal and
Kajnag ranges.

Suliemani range.
Types of Markhor Horns,

ing the twist, and considerably over a yard straight. But
this was an exceptionally fine specimen, and only a single
horn, which was purchased at a village. The markhor found
on the more northern mountains of the Cashmere territory
are in colour and size much the same as those of the Pir
Punchal, but their horns have fewer turns, although they grow
equally long, and, as a rule, more massive. Markhor are
there sometimes found on the same ground with ibex. In
the Dehrajat country, west of the Indus, the markhor are

224 DIFFERENT TYPES OF MARKHOR.

somewhat smaller, with horns shorter, straighter, and screw-
ing more sharply, like a twisted ribbon. Those found on the
hills north and east of the Peshawar valley appear to carry
horns of a size and twist something midway between the Pir
Punchal and the Dehrajat varieties, judging from the only
two specimens I saw from that locality.

A full-grown buck of the Pir Punchal stands about
44 inches at the shoulder. Like most other wild animals,
the appearance of its coat varies with the seasons. During
the spring and early summer the colour of its shaggy body
and of its face is a dirty yellowish white. Towards winter
it becomes more of a brownish grey. The legs are brown.
From the throat and all down the chest flows a dark -brown
beard or mane, sometimes so long as almost to sweep the
ground, which, with its huge, V-shaped spiral horns, gives
this animal a truly majestic appearance. The average length
of really good horns ought to be nearly, if not quite a yard,
measured without the twist, but they occasionally exceed
this considerably. The circumference at the base is some-
times almost a foot. The doe, which is called "bukree,"
simply meaning she-goat, is not more than half the size of
the full-grown buck. She is of a uniform light-brownish
dun, and carries small spiral horns which seldom attain a
length of more than 15 inches. The young bucks, called
" rind," are not easily distinguished in a herd from the does,
with which they are generally found in company. The old
hoary bucks only are termed markhor, and like the ibex and
the tahr, they generally herd separately from the does during
summer. The females do not, I think, usually have more
than one kid, as I saw many of them with their young, but
never with twins.

Markhor seem generally to prefer steep, stony landslips,
precipitous grassy slopes, and rocky acclivities clad more or
less with pine and birch, to the more open ground near the
upper snow-fields and glaciers ; consequently their pursuit is

MARKHOR (PIR PUNCHAL).

A MARKHOR AT COURT. 225

sometimes attended with even more difficulty and danger
than that of ibex — for the earth in such places is often so fri-
able, loose, and rotten, and the short dry grass is so smooth
and slippery, as to make the footing there most treacherous.
Even in the depth of winter the old bucks seldom quit their
fastnesses, where they are said then to subsist chiefly on
pine-shoots.

The following extract from a memorandum by the late
Colonel T. G. Montgomerie, E.E., on the progress of the
Trigonometrical Survey of Cashmere, will give a good idea
of the imposing appearance of the markhor : " Among the
minor results of the expedition l was a great influx of presents
to the Maharajah from all the chiefs between Gilgit and
Kafiristan. Perhaps the most valuable in the eyes of the
Curator of the Asiatic Society's Museum, would have been a
splendid live male specimen of the markhor, the greatest prize
of Himalayan sportsmen. This animal was introduced into
the full durbar, guided by four men with guy ropes. It was
really a handsome animal, of a light fawn colour, with a
capital pair of horns, and a fine long beard. The top of the
rnarkhor's head was, perhaps, 5^ feet from the ground, the
horns towering up above all the men in attendance. The
keepers of this animal evidently held him in the highest
respect, though he had been a captive for at least two months.
This markhor was a present from the chiefs of Kholi, Palus,
on the Indus."

Trusting that my imperfect description of the " king of
wild goats," as Gamoo called him, may have given some
idea of his appearance and habits, we will now start for
his wild domain.

Gamoo's intention was first to make straight for a remote
and lonely tract of the mountains, where he thought the big
old bucks were pretty sure to be found at that season — June
— and which it would take us at least three days to reach.

1 Maharajah Gholab Sing's expedition against Gilgit in 1860.
P

226 A LONG SHOT.

After packing off the meri carrying the loads, with directions
to pitch our little camp at a suitable spot, known to Gamoo,
some distance down the other side of a lofty range that rose
about a mile or two behind the village, I started at an early
hour under the guidance of the shikarees. Although at that
time of year great old markhor were not likely to be met
with so low down, a chance might be got at a rind, a musk-
deer, or a bear.

After several hours' hard climbing along rough stony beds
of water-courses, up slopes of loose cUbris, and through steep
pine-forests, we at length neared the upper part of the range.
As we continued to ascend, the ground became more rugged
and precipitous. Broad patches of melting snow, in many
places very deep, still lay on the mountain-side, often forming
a treacherous covering over gullies hidden by it, or to slippery
branches of birch bushes that lay pressed down by its weight
along the steep ground beneath, and on which our feet were
continually either slipping or sliding.

Gamoo's sharp eyes were not long in discovering a single
rind, as it lay taking its noonday repose at the root of a soli-
tary pine-tree that clung to a small ledge of a precipice we
were examining. It was a long shot, as there was no possible
means of getting nearer, and the spot where the animal lay
was almost directly below us. Consequently, on the smoke
clearing off, I was not much surprised at seeing that the beast
had disappeared ; but whether it was hit or not, I could not tell.
We continued watching there for some time, until at length
the rind was again viewed climbing an opposite ascent, and
apparently going pretty strong though not very fast, ere it
disappeared in a patch of birchwood.

After a short consultation, Hatha was directed to make the
best of his way, under cover if possible, round to the farther
side of the bit of wood ; for we now concluded that as the
beast did not quit it, he must be wounded, and have lain
down. Meanwhile Gamoo and I clambered up to a spot

HATHA CIRCUMVENTS A RIND. 227

known to him, where, if the animal chanced to take upward,
it would most likely, from the precipitous nature of the
ground, pass pretty close to us.

Patiently we lay there for nearly an hour, anxiously watch-
ing the bit of cover, until I began to think that Hatha must
have mistaken the spot. At last the rind quitted the wood
without any apparent cause, until we saw Hatha, who had
cleverly managed to circumvent the place without being seen,
emerge from it shortly after. The rind continued to gallop
across the steep hillside until he was lost to our sight among
the crags far below. I gave a glance of mute disappointment
towards Gamoo, who replied to it only by a sign to lie still.
Presently there was a rattle of loose stones, detached directly
below us, and almost immediately after I had the satisfaction of
seeing our quarry, which now showed no signs of being wound-
ed, springing nimbly up from rock to rock as he approached
our place of concealment. Waiting until he was almost on
a level with and about 50 yards from where we lay, I let
drive, sending a bullet through his shoulders as he cantered
past. After a wild spring and a vain tottering effort to gain
the crest of a ridge close above him, beyond which he would
have been safe, the poor struggling beast fell back and rolled
down the steep declivity, disappearing from our sight in the
abyss below. The next I saw of him was his skin and head,
and as much of the meat as Hatha could conveniently carry,
with which, after a considerable time, he made his appear-
ance.

Although this animal was of little value save for food,
securing it was so far satisfactory that it gave me confidence ;
for I have a firm belief, absurd as it may seem, in the
luck that follows killing the first beast I fire at on a shooting-
trip. At any rate, it gives the shikarees an idea that the
trouble they may take to find game will not be fruitless, for
first impressions always go a great way.

As it was getting late in the day, and the camping-place

A GLORIOUS PANORAMA.

was still a considerable distance off, we continued our ascent,
and soon reached the summit of the range.

What a glorious panorama now presented itself as I sat
down on the ridge to enjoy this magnificent prospect of moun-
tain piled behind mountain, stretching away as far as the eye
could reach ! The day was one of those when, from the sky
being overcast, the light was of that dull subdued kind, which
gave to the more distant ranges an intense dark- blue tint,
causing them to appear more solemn in their grandeur, and
the valleys lying between them more profound in their depth,
than had they been lighted up by the glare of a bright noon-
day sun. And the heavy pall of cloud that rested on some of
the higher mountains threw a gloomy shade over their snow-
clad sides immediately beneath, giving one a vague and an
exaggerated idea of the height of their hidden crests.
. A thin blue line of smoke curling lazily up from a shel-
tered spot among the pine-trees far below, showed us that the
men with the loads had reached the place where it was
intended we should pass the night. I was not, however,
destined to reach it without the occurrence of a rather serious
accident, which nearly brought my shooting-trip to a prema-
ture end.

The chilling wind that blew over the ridge, off the snow,
reminded me, as I sat admiring the view, that it was not
advisable to remain inactive. We therefore commenced
descending towards the camp. The declivity, although very
steep, would not have been difficult to traverse had not the
ground been covered with a layer of half-melted slushy
snow, which made the footing slippery and uncertain. I was
walking rather carelessly, and happened to place one of my
feet, on which I was wearing straw poolas?- on a smooth birch

1 Hob-nailed boots I found safer, on the steep 'slippery slopes of dry grass so
common in markhor ground, than poolas, which on these dangerous slopes
become very dry, and consequently are apt to slide; so it is as well to be pro-
vided with both.

AN AWKWARD PREDICAMENT. 229

branch that lay hidden beneath the snow, when my legs
seemed suddenly to fly from under me, and away I went
slithering down the steep slope. Fortunately, I did not go
very far ; but when I picked myself up, which I did with
the assistance of my two men, who ran down after me, I felt
uncommonly sore all over, and there was a painful, parti-
ally numbed sensation about my left shoulder and arm that
made me feel rather faint. On recovering from the shock,
I soon became aware, from the position of my arm and my
inability to move it, of the disagreeable fact that I had put
my shoulder out.

Here was an awkward predicament to be in. I was sitting
on a hillside, as steep as a house-roof, with a dislocated
shoulder, and no surgical aid within at least four days' jour-
ney. Bad as matters seemed, I could not but be amused at
the ludicrous picture of helpless concern presented by my
two companions, more particularly by old Garnoo, who could
do nothing but call on the name of the Prophet for help.
Hatha was the first to regain his wits, he having acquired,
more fortunately for me than for him, some knowledge of an
accident of the kind by a similar one having formerly hap-
pened to himself ; and from its occasional recurrence, which
is, I now know by experience, often the case with disloca-
tions, he had become rather expert in its treatment. Being
fully alive to the necessity for immediate action, I directed
the men to haul away at my arm, which they did for some
time, with no better result than to make me feel very faint.
This treatment having failed, with some difficulty I stood up
on the steep slope, whilst Hatha made a lever of my arm,
with Gamoo's shoulder under it for a fulcrum. My own
weight on one side and a steady pull at the arm on the other,
had the desired effect, for I could again move the limb ; and
on examination, Hatha, with a grin of satisfaction, pronounced
it to be all right.

At the camping-place 1 found the Nawab and his brother,

230 THE BONYAR VALLEY.

who were carrying out the rites of hospitality to their fullest
extent, by escorting me as far as the confines of their pro-
perty. Their apparent concern, on hearing of my mishap,
was almost as great as that of the shikarees, and many were
the remedies suggested, which were about as useless as they
were well meant.

I had considerable difficulty in getting out of my upper gar-
ments that night, and still more in getting into them again next
morning ; but as the Nawabs were bent on showing me a drive
for game, I was determined to try and go out, even although
I might be unable to use a gun, rather than disappoint them.
Fortunately, the place where Gamoo, as the Nawab's head
gamekeeper, planted me, was not far distant ; so I sat down at
the root of a pine-tree, there to await the advent of anything
that might turn up. The only animal that put in an appear-
ance was a half-grown black bear, at which I was able to
"loose off" by supporting the rifle against the trunk of the
tree beside me. I almost think I must have hit the beast, for
with a loud "yeeough" it staggered back and disappeared
down the hill. The Nawab and his brother, who were with
the beaters, had seen two musk-deer, but nothing was bagged.
My hospitable friends took their departure next morning, and
I proceeded on my way ; but I was forced to take matters
pretty easily for a day or two, from my shoulder being stiff
and painful to move.

We had now descended into the Bonyar valley, towards the
head of which we turned our steps. At a cluster of huts
through which we passed, the highest inhabited place in the
glen, Gamoo picked up another assistant in a queer old image
of a man named Sultana. His looks, however, belied his
worth, for he turned out an excellent guide, and was thoroughly
well acquainted with the haunts and habits of the wild deni-
zens of his native mountains.

A great part of our way was exceedingly steep, and would
have proved fatiguing in a hot June sun, had it not been for

A DANGEROUS CROSSING. 231

the romantic beauty of the scenery through which it led.
Such grand forests of pine, and birch woods of gnarled old
trees ; such green glades of brackens and velvety turf sloping
sharply down to the bed of the foaming torrent that surged
angrily past, as it dashed against masses of rock and huge
boulders which impeded its headlong course ; such exquisite
glimpses of blue mountains and snowy peaks towering above
all ; and at the end of our walk, such a surpassing lovely spot
on which to pitch our camp ; — such an exquisite combination,
in fact, of nature's wildest charms, as to make one feel as
though he could be content to spend the rest of his days there.
But the weather was fine, and a good "square meal" had
been discussed en route. Had it been otherwise, as is very
frequently the case in such places, one might have viewed
things through a duller pair of spectacles.

The men pointed out a spot among the crags on an opposite
hill-face where, a year or two before, one of the Nawab's
shikarees had been killed by a fall when in pursuit of that
most dangerous, though perhaps most fascinating of all Hima-
layan sports — markhor-hunting. Indeed on this very evening
a little episode occurred which, lightly as we thought of it at
the time, might have been attended with serious results. We
had taken a turn upward to look for a bear, when our progress
was arrested by a very steep narrow gully. This we man-
aged to cross by means of a sharp-sloping bed of old hard
snow that spanned it higher up. When we reached the same
spot on our return, a large portion of the identical snow-bank
we had trodden on had fallen in, leaving a dark yawning hole.
Our weight in crossing had loosened the snow.

A few miles more up the glen brought us to our first hunt-
ing-ground. During our short stay here I shot a young buck,
one of a herd of five that we found feeding on a very steep
and bare slope of short slippery grass. Down this declivity
the stricken animal went tumbling and sliding at a most
fearful rate, until it was lost to sight a thousand feet or

232 WE TRY OTHER GROUND.

so below. Difficult and dangerous as already was the walk-
ing over such a smooth sloping surface, it was rendered even
worse by heavy rain which had fallen during the night.
Two black bears and a brown one had shown themselves
at long distances, and also some rinds and does ; but as
there were no fresh marks of large bucks, we determined to
try other ground.

233

CHAPTER XY.

DIFFICULTY OF FINDING GREAT OLD MARKHOR— A MORNING CALL AT
BRUIN'S QUARTERS — " NOT AT HOME " — UP AMONG THE PINES — BIRCH-
BARK AND SOME OF ITS USES — COLD TEA — A HERD OF MARKHOR —
A WILD TABLEAU — AN AWKWARD POSITION FOR A SHOT — GAMOO
IMPLORES THE ASSISTANCE OF ALLAH AND THE PROPHET — A SHADOW
OF DOUBT — ALL'S WELL — JERKING THE MEAT — BLACKBIRDS — SNOW-
BRIDGES—JUST IN TIME FOR A SHOT— A BITTER DROP IN THE CUP
OF HAPPINESS — GAMOO AND HATHA SEARCH FOR A TALISMAN — THE
BEZOAR — TROUBLESOME TICKS — EDIBLE FUNGI — A RICKETY BRIDGE —
AN INTERESTING FAMILY PARTY — BRUIN REMONSTRATES — OUR LUCK
DESERTS US — GRIEF — A RANDOM SHOT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES — AN
UNEXPECTED APPARITION — A CLOSE SHAVE — WE TRY A GLISSADE — A
STARTLING SIGHT — KAZIMA's FIRST TESTIMONIAL.

GREAT old markhor are always difficult to find, owing
chiefly to their usually affecting such inaccessible places, and
generally where the precipitous ground is tolerably well
clothed with pines and birches. Gamoo now proposed that
we should bivouac high up among the pine-trees on a neigh-
bouring spur, on the farther side of which he was confident
we should find some old fellows. Accordingly, in the early
morning the little tents were struck, and directions left to
have them pitched wherever sufficient space could be found
beside the torrent at the bottom of the deep narrow valley
we had to cross, whilst the shikarees and I went on to the
new ground, taking with us two or three men to carry our
food and blankets.
After a long and tiresome descent, succeeded by a tedious,

234 UP AMONG THE PINES.

hard climb, much of it being up a landslip, where the steep
stony ground was so unstable as to make the foothold bad,
we reached our destination late in the afternoon. On our
way we knocked at the door of the residence of a bear in
a hollow pine-trunk, our attention having been attracted to it
by the fresh marks of claws on the bark, where the occupant
had clambered up to the entrance-hole. Mr Bruin was, how-
ever, either " not at home," or too lazy to pay any attention
to our summons.

The evening was spent in making ourselves as snug as
possible for the night. It was dreadfully cold up here, the
ground being partially covered with patches of snow. A lot
of dry pine-logs were collected in a heap, and as the shades of
night gathered in, a huge bonfire was cheerily crackling and
blazing away, dispelling the surrounding darkness, as the
ruddy glow was reflected on the nearer pine stems and
branches, or penetrated into the gloomy recesses of the forest.
A tin-can of soup was soon heating over the fire, and thick
cakes were placed under the hot ashes to bake, first having
been wrapped up in several layers of fresh birch-bark,1 which
gives them a nice flavour and prevents their being burnt. In
this manner the evening meal was not long in being prepared,
and discussed with a relish seldom experienced except under
such circumstances. The fragrant weed was lit, and a lump
of snow put into the kettle to boil, and a glass of " hot with "
mixed, ere turning in on a soft couch formed of pine-branches
so arranged that only the tender sprouts remain uppermost.

I may here remark that although a glass of hot grog is very
grateful and comforting to the Himalayan sportsman after he
has done his day's work, he will, I think, find cold tea far
better than spirits and water, both for quenching his thirst
and working upon during the day.

1 Birch-bark is a staple commodity of commerce in Cashmere, where its thin
under-layers almost entirely take the place of paper with the shopkeepers for
wrapping up the purchases of their customers, besides for the many other
useful purposes to which it is applied.

HERD OF MARKHOR. 235

By daybreak we were on the move towards the wooded
steeps and precipices above. After an unsuccessful morning's
work, I took the spy-glass to have a final search over the
ground before descending to our bivouac for breakfast.

There they are ! I have them at last, a herd of eleven in
all ; and though they are so far off that we cannot distinctly
make out the length of their horns, we can tell, from the
white colour and size of their bodies, that the three foremost
fellows are old markhor. They are slowly moving up to higher
regions after their morning meal, and Gamoo says they will
be pretty sure to descend in the afternoon towards the same
feeding-ground. Under these circumstances it is useless
attempting to approach them at present : we therefore con-
tinue to watch them until they are hidden from our-.sight, and
then descend to our bivouac, intending, after breakfast, to
make the best of our way to the spot where they were last
seen, there to await their return.

Our meal is soon despatched, and we are off again. Our
progress, however, is slow, for the ground is very difficult, and
much time is taken up in digging footsteps across bad places.
We take little heed of a buck tahr (here called "jagla"), l
though lie might be easily stalked were we not in pursuit of
other game, which a shot might disturb; and after several
hours of climbing and scrambling along, we at length reach
our goal.

Dense masses of murky cloud and rolling mist have been
for some time gathering about the crags above us, and distant
rumblings of thunder herald an approaching storm. The
rain, which soon begins to fall pretty smartly, combined with
a cutting cold wind, almost benumbs my limbs — for, in my
anxiety to be after the markhor, I have forgotten my usual
precaution of bringing a blanket with me. Patiently we
sit there huddled together, our teeth chattering and bodies

1 On the Pir Punchal the tahr is frequently found on the same ground as
the markhor.

236 A WILD TABLEAU.

shivering with cold, and I am just about to suggest the pro-
priety of returning to a spot where we intended passing the
night, when the rattle of a falling stone, detached somewhere
far up in the mist, falls faintly upon our ears.

" They're coming down now," whispers Gamoo, followed by
a suggestion that we should get more under cover of the ridge
of the spur on which we have posted ourselves. Anxiously
we crouch there, straining our ears to catch the slightest
sound ; but nothing more is heard save the soft patter of fall-
ing drops, the echoing claps of thunder, and the sough of the
wind among the swaying pine-branches, until I begin to think
the falling stone must have been loosened by the rain. But
listen ! — again the rattle of loose stones, and this time much
nearer. Oh for a break in the dense mist that is scudding
past, to give us a sight of the markhor, which, there is now no
doubt, are on their way down to where they fed in the morn-
ing ! At last fortune seems to be going to favour us. for the
rain ceases, and the pall of cloud is gradually lifting, as rock
and tree above begin to loom indistinctly through the flying
vapour.

" Look ! " again whispers Gamoo, his voice trembling with
excitement, as he points in the direction of several tall pine-
trees on a ridge some distance from and considerably higher
than the spur that conceals us. About a couple of hundred
yards beyond two of their massive stems — which form, as it
were, a kind of huge rustic framing — such a truly wild tableau
as seldom is witnessed becomes gradually disclosed to view.
The undefined form of a stately markhor is emerging like a
spectre from the mist, slowly wending his way downward.
He is immediately followed by another, and yet another, equal
in size to himself, whilst a string of smaller animals bring up
the rear. As the leader reaches a broad ledge jutting out
under a dark beetling crag, he wheels suddenly round and
butts at one of his big followers, which, with lowered head, is
ready to receive him. After a tilt or two, the leading buck

A DANGEROUS BIT. 237

advances to the brink of the ledge, where he gazes proudly
about him for a short time, and then lies down with a listless
confident air, as if quite satisfied with the security of his
exalted position. How noble he looks, as he reclines there
with his grand head towards us, his massive horns standing
out in relief against the dark background of overhanging rock !
I can almost count the hairs of his flowing beard as I watch
him through the glass. The remainder of the herd have all
trooped down behind him, and form an almost supernatural-
looking group of wild beings, which seems to dissolve gradu-
ally away as the veil of mist again steals up and conceals
them from our entranced gaze.

How to stalk them is now the question. The only place
from which there is a chance of getting a fair shot is the
ridge above, where the big pine-trees are, as the nature of
the ground is such that the animals will be pretty certain to
move down on the other side of it, and so out of our sight.
There is only a short distance across to it, but should the
mist clear off before we can reach it, we shall be in full view
of the herd ; and the slope is so frightfully precipitous, that it
makes one almost shudder to contemplate what the conse-
quences of a false step on the wet slippery ground might be.
However, there is no time to think much about it, for the
mist may lift again at any moment, when our chance of
reaching the ridge unobserved will be gone ; so, screwing up
my nerves, I determine to risk anything rather than lose
such an opportunity.

Slowly and carefully we plant the sides of our feet in the
small nicks scraped out of the face of the hard, almost per-
pendicular slope, with the iron spuds on our long sticks, and
luckily reach the ridge just in time, for we can hear the
animals on the move again though we cannot see them.
Sticking the points of my toes into the ground, I cautiously
slip the long barrel of my single Henry rifle over the ridge,
whilst Hatha lays hold of the loose part of my nether gar-

A SHADOW OF DOUBT.

rnents, for so precarious is the footing that even the recoil of
the rifle may cause a slip. Once more the mist clears off and
discloses the whole herd, now coming straight down towards
us. As Gamoo crouches beside me, ready to hand me my
second rifle, a double (not the Whitworth then, or it should
have had the post of honour), I can hear him praying to
Allah and the Prophet for help, and cautioning me not to fire
in a hurry, alternately. The leading buck is within fifty yards
and broadside on, when Gamoo whispers, "Now, take a
good aim."

Can I have missed the beast ? — for he still holds steadily
on without a sign of being hit. But another big fellow has
reached the same spot. Quickly Gamoo hands me the other
rifle, and ere the animal has time to recover from his astonish-
ment, a bullet smashes through his shoulders, his fore-legs slip
from under him, and he rolls headlong down the gully in our
front and disappears. The third big buck now takes his
place, for there is only one way by which they can pass us,
and I am just about to fire when Gamoo directs my attention
towards the first, which has pulled up, and offers a fair chance.
Supposing him untouched, I empty the remaining barrel at
him. He moves on a short way, stops again, totters for a few
seconds, and falls struggling down into a cleft between a
steep face of rock and a sloping bank of hard snow just below
him. Both rifles being now empty, the remaining big buck
gets off scot-free, and vanishes with his smaller companions
long ere I can reload.

Numerous and loud are the expressions of delight indulged
in by the shikarees at our good luck. But a shadow of doubt
arises in their minds as to whether they will be able to reach
the beasts in time to bleed them before life is extinct, as,
being good Mohammedans, without this ceremony being duly
performed the meat will be useless to them. Hatha and
Sultana at once start, off down the gully to look after the
second buck, whilst Gamoo and I with some difficulty

A WASTED SHOT. 239

clamber after the first. We find him still alive, but he has
fallen so far into the cleft that we have considerable trouble
in getting at him to give him the coup de grdce.

On examining the carcass, I found that my first shot must
have inflicted a mortal wound. Had I known this I might
in all probability have killed the third big fellow with the
bullet I had wasted in firing a second shot at the first ; for
unless some large bone is broken, markhor, like ibex, when
shot at, and even if mortally wounded, very often move off
without increasing their pace from a walk. However, I had
little cause to grumble at my luck.

It was too late to get the dead markhor out of the snow-
cleft that evening ; we therefore followed the other men down
the gully to where they had found the other buck in time to
bleed him. We had only to give his carcass a shove to start
it rolling down several hundred feet, until it reached a long
narrow incline of hard snow that covered the bed of a torrent
which could be heard murmuring beneath. We were able to
drag the beast easily down the slippery snow-bed for a long
distance, fortunately in the direction we wished to go.

Leaving the men to skin and break up the markhor, I made
the best of my way along a steep pine-clad hillside to the spot
where we intended to bivouac for the night, the position of
which I discovered by continually shouting and whistling on
my fingers — a most useful accomplishment under such cir-
cumstances— until I was at length answered by the men who
were there. It was dark when I reached it, so I at once sent
off a couple of men with pine torches to assist the shikarees,
who arrived some hours later with as much as they could
carry of the spoils.

Koklass pheasants were crowing and the horned argus
uttering its peculiar mewing cry when I awoke in the morn-
ing. Sending off a man with strict injunctions to mark the
whereabouts of one of the latter beautiful birds, a good spe-
cimen of which I particularly wished to obtain, I hastily

240 JERKING THE MEAT.

emerged from under my warm blankets, and performed my
morning toilet, which consisted chiefly in donning my boots.
The fellow soon returned, and after leading me a stiff pull up
through the forest, pointed out one of the former birds, at
which piece of stupidity my temper was considerably ruffled.

In the forenoon we shouldered our limited kit, and made
for the camp, which was not very far off. I had directed
some men to go and prospect the ground towards the head of
the glen in which the tents were pitched. They now, much
to my disappointment, reported it as being entirely blocked
up with snow, and the torrent quite impassable ; but being
fully alive to the lazy and mendacious propensities of the
Cashmeree, I was resolved to go and have a look myself. It
was necessary, however, to remain where we were for a day,
as the greater part of one markhor had still to be fetched,
and the whole of the other was still lying in the snow-cleft
where it had fallen. This delay afforded an opportunity for
a general washing-up of dirty clothes. What a luxury it was
to have a bath, and to turn in again on my camp-bed and
be lulled to sleep by the resounding din of the torrent, that
hurried down impetuously within a few feet of the tent !
And as morning dawned, how pleasing to hear the black-
birds (just like our old friends at home), which were numer-
ous here, mingling their notes with the rushing sound of the
water. As there was an icy blast coming down the glen, and
it began to rain heavily, and most of the men were away
after the venison, I thought I could do nothing better than
take another turn in my warm bed until a pretty late hour.

On the arrival of the meat, my Goorkha servant Kirpa
at once proceeded to cut quantities of it into long strips,
with a view to jerking it for future consumption; and ere
long, yards and yards of it were hanging in festoons from
frames of sticks, constructed over smoky fires lighted all
around.

A terrific thunderstorm, accompanied by hail and rain,

SNOW-BRIDGES. 241

prevented our moving early next day, and after the storm
was over the mountains were so enveloped in mist that
stalking was impossible. During our stay here Kazima
brought me a fine pair of markhor horns he had picked up
somewhere near. He was much perplexed at my not caring
to possess such a trophy, merely because I had not shot their
wearer, and said he should keep them himself, to dispose of
to some other person who might not be so particular as to
how they had been obtained.

When the weather had cleared enough to allow of a move
up the glen, I found, as I expected, that it was by no means
so impracticable as the men had reported. For the first mile
or so it certainly was very difficult travelling ; but the huge
piles of hard snow which blocked the contracted and pre-
cipitous gorge up which our way led, were rather an advan-
tage than otherwise, enabling us to cross and recross the
torrent by natural bridges formed of them. Higher upy
however, the valley became more open, and was pretty
free of snow. A more likely country for sport there could
not have been, and it did not belie its looks; for we soon
found the fresh tracks, as big as though they had been made
by heifers, of a herd which must have fed there that very
morning. Matters looked so promising that I sent back a
man with directions to have the tents brought on ; for we had
only taken with us kit sufficient for passing a night or two-
under the best kind of protection from the weather we could
find.

We were not long in selecting a snug spot for spending the
night under some splendid pine-trees, which were almost
impervious to rain. Here we sheltered from a heavy shower,,
which lasted several hours. Towards evening it cleared up •
so I started with Gamoo and Hatha, intending to prospect
the ground on either side of a steep, craggy, and partially
pine-clad ridge, that ran up towards the snowy heights far
above.

242 A RACE FOR A SHOT.

First we sighted two rinds, which were not worth the risk
of disturbing the ground by firing at, even could we have
stalked them successfully, or had cared to do so. Three or
four fairly large bucks were also made out among the crags
on an opposite hill-face, but they were evidently not the big
fellows that were " wanted " ; and a deep precipitous-sided
valley that lay between us and them, with a roaring linn at
the bottom of it, precluded any possibility of our getting near
them that evening. We therefore began descending the ridge
we had come up, in the hope of finding them again at some
future time.

Hardly have we gone a couple of hundred yards when,
hark ! something has detached a stone up on the steep hill-
side to our left, and we have barely time to crouch down
among the rocks on the ridge ere a hoary old buck, with a
huge pair of cork-screws on his head, shows himself for a
second or two, as he crosses a bare spot among a lot of birch
bushes some three hundred yards distant. Five or six others
of equal size follow closely in his wake. These must certainly
be the beasts whose heifer-like tracks we saw below, and they
are evidently on their way down to feed.

The ridge is so craggy and steep that it will take all we
can do to clamber down and intercept them before they get
near our bivouac, where they must certainly detect the men
left there, for the beasts are making straight downwards in
that direction.

Off we start under cover of the ridge as fast as the ground
will allow of, passing the rifles from hand to hand down the
more precipitous spots, and every now and then peering over
at the markhor, upon which we do not appear to gain an
inch, but if anything lose distance. Presently we reach a bit
of more practicable ground, where we are able to travel faster,
and when we again reconnoitre the animals, we find we have
succeeded in getting a little ahead of them. There is no time
to lose, however — for, as far as I can judge from the direction

JUST IN TIME. 243

they are taking, -they will pass us at about 130 yards, and if
we let this chance slip they are lost.

I have scarcely got into position for a shot before they are
abreast of us ; but the birch bushes are so thickly scattered
over the steep hillside, that we only catch occasional glimpses
of the animals as they move amongst them. Taking advan-
tage of a convenient bit of rock for a rest, I let drive at the
first buck that shows himself. He fortunately happens to be
a beauty. To my intense concern, he only acknowledges the
shot by a spasmodic movement of his short tail, as he turns
round and slowly retraces his steps up through the brush-
wood. Quickly exchanging the empty single rifle for the
double, another bullet speeds after a grand fellow, as he
appears traversing a small opening between the bushes.
This time a decided wince follows the shot in addition to
the shake of the tail; but he moves steadily upward with
the rest, until they file slowly over a bare bit of ground, all
of them now in view, but almost out of range. In despair I
give them a parting salute with the remaining barrel before
they become hidden, one by one, from our sight.

A feeling of helpless disappointment seems to pervade us all
as we sit mutely there gazing up to where the animals have
disappeared. So disgusted am I with my performance that I
hardly care to reload the guns. At length Gamoo breaks the
silence by expressing a decided opinion that, from the fact of
their "wagging their tails," as he put it, on receiving the
shots, one buck is hit, if not both. Whilst he is speaking, a
clattering noise is suddenly heard far up in the direction the
beasts have taken, and to our great joy we soon see it is
caused by one of them coming toppling and rolling down
until it lodges among the bushes below. After intently lis-
tening for some time, in hopes of another following suit, we
jump up in great glee, and proceed to examine our prize.

I certainly ought to have been satisfied with my success
in securing such a magnificent trophy, for the horns were

244 SEARCH FOR A TALISMAN.

almost a yard in length, measured straight without the twist,
and were nearly a foot in girth at the base; but there is
invariably one bitter drop in one's cup of happiness. We
now discovered that my first two shots, both of which turned
out to be deadly, had unluckily been at the same animal,
which I had mistaken for a different one when I fired the
second time as he moved up with the others among the birch
bushes. We sighted a black bear in the distance as we were
descending to our shelter. It was much too late to go after
him ; and what cared I for a bear then, compared with the
noble animal I had just shot !

Besides the superstition respecting the snake-eating pro-
pensity of the markhor, there is another entertained regard-
ing a small, smooth, dark-green stone1 which is sometimes
found among the entrails of very old bucks. My attention
was drawn to this when, before starting for the hill in the
early morning, the shikarees made straight for the spot
where they had, the night before, carefully deposited the
gralloch of the markhor. They rather unwillingly informed
me, with the utmost gravity, that they were going to search
for the said stone, which, amongst other properties they be-
lieved it possessed, was that of its being an infallible anti-
dote to the poison of snake-bite if applied to the wound.
Whether they found this talisman or not I failed to dis-
cover— and in all probability, had they done so, they would
have kept it " dark," from fear of my depriving them of it.

As we proceeded upward we started a musk-deer, at which
I was very nearly " letting loose," and glad I was that she
escaped, for on getting up to the bed from which she had
risen, we found her suckling offspring lying on it. After
following far on the tracks of our friends of the previous

1 Bezoar, a calculous concretion sometimes found in the stomach of certain
animals of the goat tribe. The term comes from a Persian word meaning
antidote, which this substance was absurdly supposed to be, and is still by
Orientals, to the fatal effects of poison.

CONSTRUCTING A BRIDGE. 245

evening, seeing nothing but a few does with kids at foot,
we returned to camp, which had been brought up during
the day.

Ticks were numerous and troublesome up here, as they
usually are at that season in such places, where the winter
snow has but recently melted off the old withered grass.
When out on the hill, we constantly had to stop and un-
fasten our nether garments in order to get at tender spots
where the little flat wretches had buried their heads so
deeply as to require a painful tug to extract them. A
much more agreeable production of the ground in a similar
state, at the same season, is the " goochee," a growth of the
mushroom kind, which is often found springing up in a
conical shape through the snow-flattened dead grass, like
a dirty bit of sponge. The natives string these fungi to-
gether and dry them, but they are much better when eaten
fresh, seasoned with pepper and salt, and fried or stewed.

To enable us to reach the ground where we had, the first
evening, seen bucks on the opposite side of the deep rapid
torrent, over which, up here, we could find no convenient
blocks or beds of hard snow for crossing on, the following
morning was devoted to constructing a bridge of thin tree-
stems, cut down and thrown across between two suitable
rocks. It was rather a rickety concern, and slippery as
well, from being wetted by spray dashing over it.

We were not successful in finding the bucks again, though
their traces were fresh and numerous, a male musk-deer
being the only thing brought to bag. Once we unexpectedly
found ourselves within about eighty yards of four or five
markhor does, each with the smallest of little kids at foot.
As they were quite unconscious of our presence so near them,
an opportunity was afforded me of watching their gambols for
some time. Any one who could have spoilt such an interest-
ing family party must have been dead indeed not only to all
sportsmanlike feelings, but also to those of humanity.

246 BRUIN REMONSTRATES.

I did not, however, feel so kindly disposed towards a big
brown bear whose repose we rather abruptly disturbed. The
brute turned round and looked at us so saucily that I could
not resist the temptation to put a bullet through his shaggy
hide, even at the risk of disturbing markhor. And the loud
angry language he made use of on being struck, as it echoed
and re-echoed through the rocky glen we were in, was, I am
sure, quite enough to strike terror into any other denizens the
place might have contained. So certain did I feel of his being
done for, that I did not think it necessary to add to the
rumpus he was making by firing another shot, as with much
difficulty he struggled up towards the top of a rise just above
him. Over this he nevertheless contrived to scramble, and
although we followed on his blood-tracks for a long distance,
we failed to come up with him. Bruin is an uncommonly
hard customer to deal with when not struck in the right place,
and that place I evidently had missed.

It now seemed as though the good luck we had hitherto
enjoyed were about to desert us, for the last day we spent on
this ground was fraught with " grief."

Early in the day, as we were clambering across a break-
neck place, I was startled at hearing a sharp exclamation, as
if caused by pain, from Hatha, who was following at a short
distance behind. In climbing along the rugged face of the
steep slope we were traversing, he had in some way managed
to wrench his shoulder, which, being weak from former dis-
locations, had now slipped out again. As he objected to the
rough treatment adopted in my case, there was nothing for it
but to sling up his arm with a turban and return to camp. The
poor fellow bore the pain he must have suffered during our
long and rough trudge most pluckily. On reaching the tents,
my cook, in whose surgical skill he placed more confidence
than in mine, at once took him in hand, and, aided by the
patient's own directions, soon replaced the dislocated joint.

Some men who had gone off in the early morning to search

A CRAWL OVER THE SNOW. 247

for the wounded bear had returned without having found a
trace of it.

As the day was still young, I proposed to Gamoo that we
should take a turn in an adjacent birch wood, on the chance
of finding a musk-deer or a bear. Hatha, who seemed quite
hurt at the idea of being left behind on account of his mishap,
insisted on accompanying us. Thinking there would be little
or no chance of seeing markhor in the direction we were
going, I took with me only the short double rifle, as being
more handy than the long Henry in the event of getting a
snap-shot at anything in the wood.

After beating through the wood, we emerged on to a gently
sloping bed of hard snow, about a hundred yards broad, that
extended far up between steep, rugged, and partially pine-clad
acclivities, until it terminated among a wilderness of bald
grey rocks and huge snow-capped crags that towered aloft at
its head. Although the sun had sunk behind the high sky-
line of the mountains, it was still early to turn our steps
campwards ; so I suggested a stroll up this long stretch of
snow, in the hope of meeting with some old bruin out for
his evening promenade.

We sauntered carelessly along for some time, taking an
occasional glance up towards the wooded slopes and crags
on either side, when, with a suppressed exclamation, down
crouches Gamoo on the snow, and in a second Hatha,
Sultana, and myself are prostrate beside him. Not a syl-
lable is spoken as we crawl on all-fours over the snow-bed,
until we get close under the steep hillside rising from its
margin, when Gamoo points in the direction of the grey rocks
ahead, and whispers " Markhor ! "

As the rocks are a long way off, I am unable at first to
make out what Gamoo's keen sight has detected ; but at
length my eye rests upon a motionless V, which, even far
away as it is, looks gigantic. I am afraid, however, from the
jabbering whispers and doubtful glances that are exchanged be-

248 A HASTY SHOT.

tween my companions, that they are rather perturbed in mind
as to the issue of the business. On the spy-glass being put into
requisition, it shows me that their anticipations are likely to be
verified, for I distinctly see that the beast is gazing straight
in our direction ; but it also shows two others, quite as large
as himself, that are browsing unconcernedly in his vicinity.

We lie silently watching him for what seems to my im-
patient imagination an endless time, as he remains standing
there as still as the rocks around him. At length he turns
slowly about and is lost to view ; but he soon reappears
walking leisurely across the snow-bed, his companions follow-
ing at short intervals, until they all are hidden behind a high
projecting crag. Our only chance — and a poor one it is — lies
in our being able to reach that crag in time for a long shot
as they ascend the hillside beyond it ; for although their
movements appear slow, they are evidently on the alert, and
in all probability will not stop again until they reach some
distant sanctuary.

Up we jump, and set off at our best pace along the snowy
incline. It looks easy enough to travel over, but we get
dreadfully " pumped," for the more rarefied air at this height
— at least 12,000 feet — soon begins to tell on our wind. At
last, panting and almost broken-hearted, we reach the crag.
There is no time to wait for breath, as two of the markhor
that are still in sight are just about to move over a brow
nearly two hundred yards above us. Oh that I had the long
Henry with me now ! for I have not much faith in the short
double rifle at such a distance. With my chest heaving, and
my pulses throbbing as if ready to burst, I thrust my alpen-
stock into the snow to form a rest — for my arm is still weak
— and taking a hasty aim, fire, and of course miss.

Alas ! for that useless random shot, which I shall never
cease to regret, although I have often since profited by the
lesson it taught me.

Hardly has it left the barrel when there is a tremendous

AN UNEXPECTED APPARITION. 249

clatter close above us, as the third markhor, which we im-
agined had preceded his companions over the brow, starts
wildly up from where he has been standing unnoticed in the
deep shade of the crag behind which we have approached.
So utterly astounded am I at this unexpected apparition, that
I actually miss the monster at about eighty yards distant, as,
with his splendid horns thrown backward, he springs nimbly
up from rock to rock until he vanishes with a bound over a
ridge rising just above the crag.

Here was a nice mess I had made from firing that long
random shot ; and how often are good chances thus stupidly
lost ! But " there is no use crying over spilt milk," so we
climbed up to examine the spot where the buck was when I
shot at him. He must have had a very close shave, for there
lay a lock of his long beard, which had evidently been cut off
by the bullet. We followed him over the ridge and down
into another deep valley, where his tracks led across a steep
snow-bed, on which, had he been wounded, we could not
have failed to find traces of blood, however small ; besides,
it was now getting late, and we were a considerable distance
from camp, so with much reluctance and regret we gave him
up as lost.

Gamoo, lively under any circumstances, now proposed a
glissade down the snow-bed, as our way home led in that
direction. So we had soon almost forgotten, for the time, our
disappointment as we all went sliding, and I being less
expert at it, as often rolling, down the steep slope, much to
the amusement of my companions, who shouted with laughter,
in which I heartily joined. The shock to my nerves, once
experienced on beholding this easy and rapid method of
descending a steep snow-field, I shall never forget. I was
hunting ibex at the time on the mountains north of the Sind
river in Cashmere. One day, when shifting our ground, we
had to traverse a long sloping arete of snow, the crest of
which was so sharp and hard that we had at times to cut

250

A STARTLING SIGHT.

steps for considerable distances. Smooth snow - fields ex-
tended down on either side for fully a thousand feet, and
sometimes at an angle of considerably less than than 45°.
After a long and tiresome descent, my shikarees and I sat
down to rest ourselves, and to wait for our laden followers,

A Glissade.

who, as we watched them coming slowly along the ridge,
looked in the distance like small black dots moving on the
sky-line of snow. A sudden exclamation of horror escaped
me, which rather startled my companions, as I saw the lead-
ing man come tumbling, as I thought, down what seemed,
from where we sat, to be an almost perpendicular wall of
snow. My horror was mingled with astonishment at seeing
another and then another man follow the first, until all had
slid down to where the snow was less steep below, from
whence they leisurely continued their descent, when it at
once struck me what a mistake I had made in my unpleasant
surmises.

KAZIMA'S FIRST TESTIMONIAL. 251

We moved next day to another locality, but fortune's
favours had departed with those three big bucks. Such
extraordinary luck in seeing, in so short a time, so many
large markhor, which are usually very difficult to find, could
not possibly last ; and during the several days we continued
to hunt for them, not another pair of good horns did we see.

It was with much regret that, at the termination of this
short but satisfactory trip, I bade adieu to the shikarees and
others that had served me so well on the mountains, and
amongst them Kazima, who had turned out such a good
fellow, and had made himself so generally useful. He had
now entirely dropped his grand airs, and on being discharged
had not even conceit enough left in him to ask for a testi-
monial as to his sporting qualifications. A short time after,
when encamped in the Cashmere valley, I observed coming
along the path which passed my tent a stalwart, sportingly
got up individual, with a pair of markhor horns hanging
from the mountain-pole he carried over his shoulder. As he
drew near I was delighted to find it was my friend Kazima,
and the horns were the identical ones he had picked up when
with me on the Pir. As he had not as yet succeeded in
" sticking " any one with them, he bore them as an emblem
of his would-be calling. The pleasure of meeting seemed
mutual, for on recognising me he ran forward as if about to
embrace me, and pulling out a scrap of paper, exclaimed,
" See what I've got since I left your service ! " Taking the
paper, I read : " The bearer of this, Kazima, has shown me
a number of bears, and I can highly recommend him as a
capital shikaree," — to which was appended the signature of
the fortunate man with whom our friend had been shooting
bears among the groves of wild fruit-trees in the vale.
When I had finished reading, he covered his face with his
hands and laughed immoderately. It was the first shikar
testimonial he had ever got. He informed me he was then
on his way to Baramoola to try and pick up another sahib

252 AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.

of the same sort as his last employer. I wished him good
luck as he went on his way rejoicing.

Several years after, I chanced to meet him again in
Srinuggur, looking a mightier swell than ever. He was
then in service as a shikaree, and begged me not to divulge
his antecedents in that line. His gratitude was freely ex-
pressed when I told the good fellow there was little chance
of my so doing, and all the less since, for aught I knew, he
might now have become quite a proficient in the art of
venery.

253

CHAPTEK XVI.

STAG - SHOOTING IN CASHMERE COMPARED WITH DEER - STALKING IN
SCOTLAND — THE "RUNNING3' SEASON — A MOUNTAIN "DANDY"—
THE LOLAB VALLEY — WE LOOK UP BRUIN AMONG THE PLUM-TREES
—A SHOT IN THE DUSK— ON THE SCENT— THE " AWAZ KE WAKT " —
THE " BARA SINGHA " — TAPPING FOR FLYING SQUIRRELS — WATCHING

FOR A STAG A LOVE -SONG — A ROYAL HART — HUMAN VULTURES —

A MISS IN THE DARK— AN INQUISITIVE HIND— SPLENDID VIEW OF

"THE VALE" — OUR REVERIES ARE DISTURBED — WILD MUSIC — RAM-
ZAN'S STRATEGY — A RATHER MEAN ADVANTAGE — REMORSE — A CHAL-
LENGE AND A REPLY — RECKLESSNESS OF STAGS DURING THE RUTTING
SEASON — AN ARTIFICE FOR ATTRACTING THEM — WITH WHAT SUCCESS
WE TRIED IT — A NATIVE PRACTITIONER — FORCED TO SUBMIT TO HIS
TENDER MERCIES.

SHOULD the following account of the pursuit of the " hangul,"
or Cashmere stag, chance to meet the eye of any one who,
like Leech's " Mr Briggs," has been " made free " of a Scottish
deer-forest, he may contend that stag-shooting in Cashmere
is inferior to deer-stalking in the Highlands. Well, in point
of numbers he is perhaps right. But he must take into con-
sideration that a forest in the Himalayas is very different
from a forest in the Grampians. The former is a true forest
in every sense of the word, where the deer are at all seasons
liable to be disturbed by beasts of prey as well as by hunters,
and where, in its vast wooded depths, they are often very
difficult to find ; whereas the latter, as is well known, is
nowadays usually one only in name, so far as trees are
concerned, where the cervine denizens, from being tended,

254 THE POETRY OF WILD SPORT.

as it may almost be called, for the greater part of the year,
and sometimes even fenced in, like domestic cattle, to pre-
vent them from straying, are consequently more numerous
and less really wild, though during the stalking season they
become just as crafty as their confreres of Cashmere. But
to the keen sportsman and lover of nature the pursuit of
the noble Cashmere stag in wilds where its protection from
constant danger depends entirely on its own instinct, the
grand and varied character of the mountains, the perfection
of climate, the superiority of the trophies,1 and, last but
not least, there being no " march " beyond which the stalker
cannot follow his quarry, are all charms which more than
compensate for want of numbers, and make hangul-shooting
in Cashmere the poetry of Himalayan, or, I may venture to
say, of any other mountain hunting.

Far be it from me, however, even to hint that Highland
deer-stalking — in wild and rugged tracts of country that are
suitable for no other purpose — is not right royal sport. In
fact, the Highland stag, from the open nature of the ground
he usually frequents, requires more skill in stalking than
does the Cashmere hangul. Still, there is not the same
romantic charm about the pursuit of game that has been
preserved, as there is when you know it is in every way
wild; and in this I feel sure all real sportsmen, both at
home and abroad, will agree with me. Indeed, for my own
part, I much prefer circumventing a few wary old black-
cocks in a day's walk over a bit of wild ground, to standing
at the hottest corner of a preserve, even were I an adept at
pulling down the rocketers, which I am not ; for much rifle-
shooting is not conducive to improving one's form at such
sharp practice as that. But tastes differ.

1 Few deer, if any, except the wapiti of North America, carry finer horns
than the hangul, and hunting the "elk" (as it is termed) in the Rockies, I
found to be, during the "running" season, very similar to hangul-shooting
in the Himalayas ; but the ground is much steeper in the latter mountains
than in the former.

THE "RUNNING" SEASON. 255

In the autumn of 1866, our regimental JEsculapius, after
carefully attending me through a severe bout of illness,
succeeded in persuading the ruling military powers that my
return to the sunny plains of India from sick-leave to " the
hills north of Dehra " — as the mightiest of mountain-ranges
was then styled in official parlance — would be unadvisable
before the end of November. Thus an opportunity was afford-
ed me of hunting the Cashmere stag at the best season for
finding him — the month of October and early in November.

Here I can quite imagine the fortunate holder of a Scottish
deer-forest exclaiming — " Shoot stags so late in the season !
What a poacher ! " But I would crave his patience whilst I
further explain to him that I once hunted indefatigably after
hangul from about the middle of August until towards the
end of September, over what was considered to be excellent
ground, but, owing to the denseness of the undergrowth,
without so much as seeing a single stag, even in velvet ; and
the constant rain and mists at that season were very detri-
mental to this kind of work. A circumstance over which I
had no control — namely, the termination of my leave — obliged
me then to quit Cashmere, just as the deer were beginning
to rut, which is the only time that there is any certainty
of finding stags, except when the winter snow drives them
down almost into the valleys. During the rutting season
they betray their whereabouts in the dense tracts of forest
they affect, by their intermittent roarings1 — strangely wild
sounds which, when once heard echoing through those grand
pine- woods, continue to haunt the ear for many a day. At
that season, too, the gallantry of the stags in escorting the
hinds from out the thick forest on to the open green slopes
and glades, where they are wont to feed morning and even-
ing, and their inclination, at that season, for a roll in their

1 Whistling is the term applied to much the same noise made by the
wapiti stag of North America ; but something between a prolonged roar
and a whistle perhaps gives a better idea of the sound.

256 THE LOLAB VALLEY.

soiling-pools, which are well known to the hunter, often cost
them their lives. Moreover, the weather and climate there
in October and November is simply perfection.

Although convalescent, I was forced, from inability to
make proper use of my legs, to submit to the indignity, as I
considered it, of being helped along by a dandy1 for the
greater part of the journey through the mountains between
the sanitarium of Murree and Cashmere. My tottering steps
were therefore at first turned towards that lovely locality,
Lolab, in the " Kamraj " or western end of the Cashmere vale,
there to recruit strength before undertaking mountain work,
by quietly looking up Bruin among the wild plum-trees, which
were at that season loaded with ripe fruit.

The beginning of September found my little tents, and also
those of a companion who joined me at the Cashmere metro-
polis, pitched in a grove of splendid old walnut-trees close to
the picturesque hamlet of Sogam. It would be difficult to
find a more pleasant spot for a convalescent to rest in, than
amidst the pastoral scenery of the beautiful little valley of
Lolab. There was a calm dreamy repose about its broad
green glades, its clear purling brooks, it shady groves of grand
old deciduous-foliaged trees, and its gently sloping woodlands
of pine, that could not fail to act as a soothing charm for
restoring health and strength.

A garrulous old fossil of a villager volunteered to show
Bruin's favourite feeding-grounds in the vicinity. The even-
ing we — I mean the fossil and myself, for my companion did
not shoot — first paid them a visit, my rifle was loaded with
hardened, hollow, "450 bullets, filled with detonating powder.
I mention this trivial circumstance because the mistake made

i For those who have never seen a dandy of this kind, I may explain that
it consists of a sort of canvas hammock slung from a pole. You sit sideways
on the hammock, with a strap supporting your back, whilst two mountaineers,
bearing the pole on their shoulders, carry you merrily (supposing you are not
a Daniel Lambert) along. A dandy can always be extemporised, in an
emergency, with a blanket, a bit of rope, and a stick cut by the wayside.

BRUIN AMONG THE PLUM-TREES. 257

in using, in a small-bore rifle, such uncertain jimcracks
against large game, will, I think, be demonstrated hereafter, —
not, however, in any sensational account (I mention this at
once, lest such might be anticipated) of an encounter with a
savage wild beast.

An opportunity for testing the powers of these missiles
soon presented itself in the shape of a big black bear, in
whose hairy carcass I planted one of them as he shuffled
past me among the bushes. His behaviour on being fired
at was not such as is customary with Bruin on being hurt,
for he went off without deigning to make the slightest reply
to the shot. There was no doubt, however, about his having
been hit, and sorely too, for he was broadside on, and cer-
tainly not more than twenty-five yards distant. As we
could find no blood on his trail, and my old guide said we
were certain to see other bears, our stroll among the plum-
trees was continued. We had not gone far when we came
upon what must have been a party of two, if not more, judg-
ing from the way in which we heard the fruit branches being
broken. An occasional glimpse showed them to be black
bears, but owing to the denseness of the thicket they were
in, none of them offered a fair chance for a satisfactory
experiment with the shell before they got wind of us and
decamped. Another bear was also heard moving among the
bushes close by us on our way back to the tents, just before
nightfall — probably a brown one, for brown bears, from not
being such good climbers as black ones, are often found feed-
ing on fallen fruit, or what they can reach from the ground.

Next evening, on visiting the same locality, nothing was
met with until dusk. We were skirting along a tangled
thicket on our return to camp, when we became aware, from
the sounds which issued from it, that a bear was taking his
supper there. Owing to the uncertain light and the thick-
ness of the underwood, from nowhere could we catch a sight
of the brute. We therefore concealed ourselves among the

R

258 A SHOT IN THE DUSK.

bushes in a dark corner of the thicket, with the intention of
there patiently watching, in the hope that the bear might
show himself on open ground if he chanced to shift his
quarters. By this plan, too, I thought we should be better
able to see him against the light outside. The success of our
stratagem seemed doubtful, but we could lose nothing by
giving it a trial.

For some time the sounds of cracking branches and rustling
leaves were continued at intervals, as each moment the waning
light became fainter, until at length I could scarcely discern
the sights on the rifle. The fossil, not seeming to care much
about such close proximity to Bruin in the gathering dark-
ness, was just suggesting the propriety of a stealthy retreat,
when we detected the object of his solicitude shambling to-
wards us along the outskirts of the thicket. In the dusky
gloaming the huge brute loomed even larger than he really
was, when he suddenly pulled up within some fifteen yards
of us, as if to listen, thereby adding considerably to the dis-
quietude of the crouching fossil, who, in smothered whispers,
began saying his prayers, interlarding them with ejaculatory
suggestions to me to shoot. The brute was so close that
he could hardly be missed, even in so bad a light. On re-
ceiving the shot he fell flat in his tracks, gave two or three
convulsive sobs, and expired. The satisfaction of the fossil
was very great as he now proceeded to relieve his pent-up
feelings by calling the defunct animal every shocking bad
name he could think of, in a manner that was highly enter-
taining.

We left the bear, a very large brown one, as he lay, until
next morning, when my companion, who was a medico, made
a post-mortem of the carcass with a view to ascertaining the
effect of the shell. The results, in this instance, chanced to
be so thoroughly effective as to give me a misplaced confi-
dence in the infallibility of its destructive powers. The
beast's vitals had been literally blown to pieces.

ON THE SCENT. 259

The accidental discovery of the bear I had first shot at
was the only incident worth mentioning that occurred during
the remainder of our sojourn in Lolab. When I was out one
evening for a quiet stroll, my olfactory organ was suddenly
assailed by a most abominable stench, which seemed to be
wafted from the direction of the locality where I had fired
at and lost the black bear. It was too late to trace its origin
that evening, but thinking it might very probably have been
caused by the putrid carcass of the bear, my companion the
medico and I took our walk next morning in that same direc-
tion with the intention of prosecuting the search. On reach-
ing the place not the slightest taint of the odour could we
detect. Either the night air had dispelled it, or the wind
had changed. However, on the chance of again picking up
the scent, we proceeded to make a cast by crossing over a
low wooded spur, towards the other side of which the bear's
trail had led after I had shot at him. Still not a vestige of a
dead bear or its scent was there to be found, so we turned our
steps campwards.

Scarcely had we gone a furlong when the medico, who was
leading, suddenly pulled up. " There it is, and no mistake ! "
exclaimed he, as we both freely indulged an inclination to
expectorate, which is common to most people on inhaling a
foul effluvium ; we therefore at once harked back. Away
we went, scrambling through the thick covert as we followed
up the hot scent, sometimes catching a stronger or a fainter
whiff as we quartered the ground. At length it grew so
burning that we could easily hold it by simply crossing and
recrossing the wind, until finally we ran straight in on the
object of our search. There was our bear, lying on the broad
of its back, stark and stiff, and not very far from where we
had tracked it to after I had shot at it. But it was in such
an advanced stage of decomposition that we were obliged to
leave it, with merely the satisfaction of knowing that the
shell had proved fatal.

260 THE "AWAZ KE WAKT."

Before parting with the old fossil, I, strange to say, casually
discovered, during our nightly palavers at the camp-fire, that
he was the father of my old friend Kazima. The fond parent
never tired of proudly describing his son — who, he said, was
now in service as a shikaree — as being as mighty a hunter
as he was a fine-looking fellow. But to turn to the pursuit
of the hangul.

The time when the stags commence their roarings — the
" awaz ke wakt," as the Cashmerees call it — from about the
20th of September till the beginning of November, was now
at hand ; yet, notwithstanding my sanguine anticipations of
sport, it was with a pang of regret that I bade adieu to
beautiful Lolab, where time had passed so pleasantly, and
also to my fellow-traveller, whose cheerful companionship
had added so much to the enjoyment of my sojourn there.

At the capital I found old Eamzan awaiting my arrival.
He looked more snuffy than ever, but was otherwise little
altered by an increase of several years to his already ad-
vanced age. He proposed that we should try the forests on
the hills above Nouboog Nye — which beautiful valley I have
attempted to describe in a preceding chapter — although the
general idea at that time was, that stags had become very
scarce there. This, however, turned out to be one of the
popular fallacies respecting the great decrease of all Hima-
layan large game. When I say this, I do not include the
game in the more easily accessible localities, such as the
Dehra Dooii forests and parts of the Terai, where, from the
indiscriminate slaughter of milk-hinds and calves, which are
so often butchered from howdahs by those who call it sport,
the decrease of game is a sad truth : I mean the animals on
the higher and less accessible ranges. The real fact at that
time was, that in the Nouboog forests, owing to the late
grazing of the sheep there, the stags did not descend from
their summer haunts on the higher mountains so early as
was their wont in many other places — in fact, not before

THE CASHMERE STAG. 261

the time of year when the majority of sportsmen were, in
those days, obliged to quit Cashmere. I therefore resolved
to abide by the old man's decision, and had no reason after-
wards to repent having done so.

The Cashmere stag (Cervus Wallichii), or hangul, as he is
named in his own country, requires but little description,
further than that he is merely an exaggerated red-deer stag.
The horns of this noble animal are larger than those of any
other Himalayan deer, except perhaps the " shou " or Sikim
stag (Cervus affinis), which is found in some of the south-
eastern parts of the Himalayan range; but I have never
seen him. In weight I should say, at a rough guess, the
hangul must be from 25 to 30 stone clean. Like the ibex
and other large game of the higher Himalayas, he is pro-
vided during winter with an undercoat of the very fine and
soft pile known as "pushum." I have seen a set of horns
with seventeen well - defined points ; but the usual number
on a well -developed pair is from ten to twelve, those with
ten often being more massive than those having a greater
number. The three upper tines, or royals, are not so closely
set together at their base, or " cupped," as it is commonly
termed, as those of red-deer, and the beam is usually more
curved. The hind is called "minnyemer" by the Cash-
merees, the word "mooee" being applied by them to these
deer collectively. This animal is customarily talked of as
the "barasingha" (twelve - horned), which designation, as
also " burrasingha " (large -horned), is given promiscuously
by Europeans as well as by natives to all varieties of large-
horned deer in India, but never by natives when they speak
of them among themselves, only when describing them to
foreigners. From this I conclude that the misnomer was
originally coined by those who were unacquainted with their
true local appellation, and thence adopted by shikarees and
others for the large -horned Indian deer in general, though
for none in particular. I have even heard the jurrow or

262 TAPPING FOR FLYING SQUIRRELS.

sambur, which carries only six regular points, called a bara-
singha. But we will now proceed to the resort of this splen-
did brute, where I hope we may become better acquainted
with him.

Our headquarters were at first established near the ham-
let of Nouboog. It was rather early for the ground in that
neighbourhood, very few stags having, up to that time, found
their way down from their summer quarters on the higher
ranges — for the lower woods were still full of tormenting
flies, and the shepherds with their flocks had not as yet left
the open pasturages above the forests. Other sportsmen, too,
were at present in possession of the best shooting localities
farther up the glen. The distant bellow of a stag was occa-
sionally heard towards evening on some neighbouring hill.
But on our reaching the spot where we hoped to have found
the animal that had spoken, his voice would tell us that he
had travelled far away to some other part of the dark forest.
On such occasions Kamzan was wont to give vent to his dis-
appointment by heaping abusive epithets on the innocent
animal and its relatives, and expectorating towards it.

A certain amount of shikar was, however, afforded by
"tapping" for flying squirrels, which usually have their
domiciles high up in hollow old pine - trunks. The plan
adopted was to scrape or tap with the end of an alpenstock
at the bottom of any tree-stem in which there happened to
be a hole aloft. The inmate, if there chanced to be one,
generally answered this summons by poking out its head,
when a charge of shot had, in most cases, the effect of
making it kick itself out of the hole and bringing it to the
ground. There were two varieties : the fur of one was a
rich brown on the back, intermixed with grey and black
hairs, and yellowish fawn beneath ; that of the other was a
general grey, like the colour of a rabbit skin. These animals
are met with throughout the Himalayas, at elevations between
6000 and 9000 feet.

RECONNOITRING THE GROUND. 263

On one of the shooting-grounds farther up the "nye"
(glen) being vacated by its occupant, we left our depot of
supplies at Nouboog, and at once took his place — for we learnt
that he had been but a short time there, and had not much
disturbed the deer.

Our first ramble in the forest was made more with the
view of reconnoitring the ground than that of shooting.
Although no deer were seen, it was satisfactory to find that
their tracks were both numerous and fresh. Next morning,
after a long ascent, we found an open grassy hill -top, on
which we expected to find deer out feeding, covered with
sheep. Twice, however, I let off my rifle — once at a musk-
deer (here termed " roos "), which was cleanly missed, and
again, as we were descending in the evening, when I took a
pot-shot at a splendid horned argus-pheasant of the black-
breasted kind (here called "rungraol"), which flew away
from its perch on a rock, minus a bunch of its beautiful
plumage.

In order to avoid the trouble and delay entailed by the
long climb each morning before reaching our ground, arrange-
ments were made for sleeping out for a few nights high up
in the forest, and that evening we found a snug resting-place
under shelter of a big pine-tree in a deep sequestered gorge.
The "roaring" of stags was now pretty often heard, but
only in the thickest parts of the dense forest, where it was
almost impossible to get even a glimpse of the animals that
spoke. Nothing was seen except two brown bears, which
were left unmolested, from fear of disturbing the deer, until
the third day.

It was our intention, on the evening of that day, to return
to our camp, with a view to again changing our ground. In
the afternoon, during our descent, we found ourselves on a
broad and gently sloping spur, on one side of which was a
steep-sloping, fern-covered glade — on the other a dense pine
wood. Here we found the tracks as fresh as they were

264 WATCHING FOR A STAG.

numerous, and the beds in the long grass and brackens looked
as though the deer had but recently risen from them. As
we had, earlier in the day, heard a stag bellowing far down
in the neighbouring forest, we determined to watch the glade
from among the long brackens on the outskirts of the cover,
in hopes of his taking an airing there in the evening.

The tall black pines were casting their long -pointed sha-
dows over the glade as the sun sank slowly behind them.
Still and silent we sat there, keeping vigilant watch, and
intently listening for the note of a stag. At last comes the
wild and welcome music floating faintly up through the
forest. Louder and more harsh grows each repetition of the
strain as it draws nearer and nearer, until there is no doubt
of its being the animal's intention to visit the glade. Pres-
ently a hind comes tripping warily from out the wood. She
is almost immediately followed by several others, until at
last forth stalks a mighty stag wearing a splendid crown of
horn. The hinds soon begin listlessly cropping the grass.
They are jealously waited upon by their lord, who, with
swelling throat and bristling neck, continues to bellow forth,
at intervals, his love-song to his harem, his appetite being
apparently much affected by his amours. Although com-
paratively close, he is much too far from our present position
to risk a shot at him whilst there is a possibility of getting
nearer. How my heart throbs between hope of a chance and
fear lest I may lose it, as we worm ourselves along through
the brackens towards the wood, and, on gaining it, creep
stealthily on among the bushes towards our noble quarry !
There are some who may say that an old sportsman should
never get excited. To put it plainly, this is what is vulgarly
called "gammon," or more politely, contrary to human
nature. When the pulses cease to quicken' at the prospect
of bringing down a grand beast, slaying him in cold blood
can no longer be called sport. The keener the sportsman the
more intense his excitement, although experience may have

A ROYAL HART. 265

taught him to keep it under control. But this is no time for
moralising.

At last we get within easy range of the stag, now standing
forth alone, snuffing the tainted air as though he had some
inkling of danger. But little he recks of its being so near
him as he stands there, his royal head held proudly erect,
looking quite the "monarch of all he surveys." The bead-
sight is on his broad shoulder ; yet so fearful am I of missing
him, large and near though he is, that I hesitate for some
time before pressing the trigger. Off goes the shot at last, but,
to my intense surprise and concern, without the slightest
apparent effect on the stag. For a few seconds he stands
stock-still, and then with a bound starts down the steep
declivity in front of him. Oh, the agony of that moment !
Fortunately for me, however, he has taken the open instead
of the wooded side of the spur, thereby giving another
chance as he rushes headlong down the hill. By great good
luck, the second shot catches him high up in the hind-leg ;
but he still holds on, with the broken limb dangling loosely
about, and disappears among the thick brushwood below.
The track where his wide-splayed hoofs have ploughed up
the ground in his rapid descent is easily followed, and we
soon overtake him near the bottom of a steep rocky water-
course, where he has lain down. He makes an effort to rise
on our approach, but a shot effectually stops his farther pro-
gress; and after a considerable amount of dodging to avoid
his swaying horns and kicking hoofs, we at last succeed in
giving him the coup de grdce with all due ceremony.

He was indeed a royal hart in every sense, with wide-
spanning horns which measured six and a half inches round
the thinnest part of the beam, and such brow, bay, and tray
antlers as few stags can show. Yet I hardly deserved to get
him, for we found that although the first shot had struck
him just behind the shoulder, it was so low down that there
was barely an inch to spare. We should certainly have seen

266 HUMAN VULTURES.

the last of him had he not chosen the open instead of the
wooded side of the spur for his line of retreat, thereby giving
me a chance of spoiling his haunch as I did.

It was too late to make arrangements for carrying away
the spoils that evening ; so leaving our two spare men to keep
up a bonfire for scaring off the bears, which would be certain
to sniff the venison, Eamzan and I started for the camp.
Night overtook us in the dark forest whilst we had still
some way to travel, but our signals of distress were soon
answered by our men below, who brought up pine-torches to
light us down the hill.

Next day the villagers, who seemed to have scented the
meat from afar, flocked to our camp from all directions, like
so many vultures.

As the stags were reported to be now pretty constantly
heard on the heights above Nouboog, we returned to our old
quarters in that direction. During the next two or three
days, although stags were frequently heard, nothing with
horns was seen, until early one morning the spy-glass was
brought to bear upon a solitary fellow carrying a splendid
royal head, and roaring like a bull as he quickly ascended a
steep open hill-face before disappearing over the ridge above
it. After a hastily despatched meal we started to look up his
domain, our blankets and supper being taken with us, as we
purposed spending the night on the hill.

A stag, which we thought might perhaps be our friend of
the morning, again " tuned his pipes " in the evening, as he
moved up through the forest towards the open ridge above it.
At length he made his appearance, but only when it had
grown so dark that we were unable to recognise the shape of
his horns as he stood bellowing there within what, in day-
light, would have been easy range. As we saw nothing more
of the beast after my random shot at him in the dim uncer-
tain light, I scored what I might only have expected — a miss !
Several distant stags began roaring in different directions as

AN INQUISITIVE HIND. 267

we sadly took our way to where we intended passing the night
under shelter of a pine-tree ; so I consoled myself with the
knowledge that, like the fishes in the sea, there were still as
good deer in the forest as ever came out of it.

Feeling pretty certain that in the morning we should find
one of these noisy fellows out on some open hill-top in our
neighbourhood, we were afoot very early. A milk-hind with
a well-grown calf, and what looked like a yeld hind, were
just retiring into the forest at one end of a glade as we entered
it at the other. I had no intention of molesting them, had
not the yeld hussey been so inquisitive as to turn back into
the open, where she stood gazing at us within little more than
a hundred yards. I felt sorry to do it ; but as the stags had
been silent all the morning, and she offered such a tempting
opportunity of securing some good venison, I let drive. She
disappeared into the wood then, but a juicy portion of her
reappeared at dinner-time. After our morning meal we went
out again and followed up, for some distance, the track of the
stag I had shot at on the previous evening, but finding no
blood on it confirmed my idea that I had correctly scored a
miss. The prospect of sport on this ground seemed so good
that we determined to remain where we were for a day or two
longer.

That afternoon we tried the hill-tops that overlook the
Cashmere valley. Towards evening we took up a position be-
hind a green knowe, whence we could watch a tolerable extent
of open ground, and listen for deer in the forest which bor-
dered it. It had also the advantage of commanding an exten-
sive view of " the vale," lying some 2000 feet below. Even
my native companions seemed impressed with the exquisite
loveliness of the prospect ; for the Cashmeree, although small-
minded in many ways, still has in his soul a spice of romantic
admiration for his beautiful fatherland. At the foot of the
range we were on lay the dreary, treeless plateau, where, in
the centre, stands the massive old ruin of the Temple of the

268

MAETUND.

Sun — " Martund " l — lonely and grand ; whilst far beyond it,
and all smiling in the mellow evening sunlight, stretched the
broad green vale away towards the distant mountains rising blue

Ruins of the Temple of the Sun — " Martund"

and snow-capped on either side, its tortuous streams winding
along like shimmering threads of gold until lost in the gauzy
haze. ..." Grrd-5-o-o-a-oo-ooa," nasally, with variations and
cadenza ad libitum, goes a stag in the forest behind us, rudely
interrupting our reveries. He is not very far off either,
and Eamzan says there is just a chance of the animal's
coming to have an evening roll in a small muddy pool, or
" trag " as it is here called, that he (Eamzan) knows of in the
vicinity.

We soon reach the pool, which is situated near the border
of an undulating grassy glade immediately above the forest
where the stag was heard. At the edge of an opposite
wood, and about a hundred yards from the pool, Eamzan

1 This noble old structure — by the natives called "Pandoo lurrie" (Pandoo
house) — is, I believe — like the ancient ruins I have mentioned as situated be-
tween Uri and Baramoola, which, on a larger scale, it somewhat resembles —
of doubtful origin. From the symbolical figures it contains it is, however,
pretty certain that it was at one period dedicated to the worship of the Hindu
triad — Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. A noteworthy feature of its architecture is
the keystone of the arches, which is formed of a solid T-shaped black, such as
I have endeavoured to depict in my little sketch of this ruin.

BAMZAN'S STRATEGY. 269

selects a spot for an ambush, which merely consists of a few
green branches stuck into the ground ; but our view of the
pool is quite obstructed by some rising ground on our side of
it. This flaw in the position cannot, however, be avoided,
owing to the direction of the wind ; and Kamzan, from former
experience, confidently predicts that the hangul, if he should
visit the trag, will, after quitting it, be pretty certain to show
himself on the said rising ground. The old man seems so
satisfied of his conjecture proving right, that he goes so far as
to divest his head of its big white turban — a precaution which
he seldom thinks necessary in close country unless he really
means business.

The bellowing, although now much nearer, is only heard at
long intervals, until at last such a time elapses without its
being repeated that my hopes of a chance are fast subsiding.
But listen ! a low sort of groaning sound comes from the
direction of the pool. Again we hear it, this time in short
subdued grunts, and there is no longer any doubt about its
proceeding from the stag as he wallows in the mud, although
we cannot see him owing to the rising ground that intervenes.
My companion, as he sits silently by, exhorts my patience
by intelligent glances, as I anxiously await the issue of the
business. "We have not long to wait, however, before a pair
of broad-spreading horns with ten beautiful tines rise gradu-
ally over the grass, until at length their owner, all soiled with
wet mud and quite unconscious of danger, stands in full view
before us. A few seconds more and he is stretched on the
grass, kicking furiously in his death-throes.

Dropping the beast on the spot was indeed a bit of rare
luck, and was accounted for by a splinter of the shell, which
struck him rather high behind the shoulder, injuring his
spine. I only give my good old shikaree his just due when
I say that getting a shot at this beast was entirely owing to
the thorough knowledge of his calling he possessed. I have
sometimes met sportsmen in India who affect to scorn the

270 A TWINGE OF REMORSE.

assistance and advice of a native stalker. But in doing so
I think they are mistaken ; for with their limited know-
ledge of the ground it stands to reason that they cannot work
it with the same advantage as the native shikaree who has
known all its features and peculiarities since his youth. I
have known others who imagine they can walk down the
paharee in his native mountains. With his oriental polite-
ness he may flatter them into such a belief ; but given any
distance from five miles to a hundred over a rough mountain-
ous country, with a good reward for the hill- villager at the
end of it, and then see who will win the race — the bare-footed,
agile mountaineer, or his white competitor, however athletic,
in his boots ? — the paharee, and even a very ordinary one, " I
guess." Few shikarees are, however, of much use to an
experienced hand except in their native neighbourhood.

My satisfaction, as I stood admiring the grand proportions
of the fallen stag, was slightly mingled with remorse when
I thought of the rather mean advantage we had taken of the
unsuspecting animal in our method of circumventing him.
The beam of his horns was only 5J inches in girth, but
this was compensated for by a span of 33 inches within
the bend. We bled and gralloched him then and there ; but
as darkness was fast setting in, we left two men to guard him
at night from those hirsute thieves the bears.

During the night I was awakened by the hoarse bellowing
of a stag in the direction of a " trag " on an open spot within
a quarter of a mile of where I lay. This time it must have
been more of a challenge than a serenade, for it soon called
forth a loud response in the echoing wood from a rival forest
king, who seemed to draw nearer the challenger until their
voices suddenly ceased. From this I divined that the rivals
were fighting it out on the grassy arena beside the pool.
Darkness, however, prevented my interference with their
quarrel.

Early next morning one of the watchers came and reported

RECKLESSNESS OF RUTTING STAGS. 271

that during the night another hangul had actually come and
rolled in the mud beside the pond, within about twenty yards
of which the dead one was lying. This sounded rather im-
probable ; but, as I intended hunting again in that direction,
I resolved to go and examine the place myself. There, sure
enough, was the fresh impression where a second stag had
rolled in the wet mud and had left some of his hair sticking
to it. Of one thing there was no doubt — both the watchers
must have fallen asleep and let their fire go out, although
they stoutly denied having done so.

These ponds or "trags" are used by the herdsmen for
watering their cattle when up grazing on the hill-tops. They
are always favourite resorts of the stags for soiling themselves
in during the rutting season, when the animals become very
restless, and often so reckless that when following a stag in
thick forest you may sometimes even attract him towards
you by breaking a dry twig, the slight noise of which the
stupid beast, in his love-sick imagination, supposes may be
caused by a hind.

Shortly after leaving the pond, a hangul raised his voice in
a thick pine-wood below us; so we determined to try and
follow him up there, for it was too late in the morning to
expect him to show himself outside it. As the roaring was
not continued, we adopted the following plan: after care-
fully testing the wind in the usual manner, by tossing up
scraps of dry grass, Eamzan and I moved stealthily towards
the place where the bellowing was last heard ; whilst the
other two men of our party made a wide circuit below to
search for tracks, should the deer have moved downwards.
Each time we stopped to listen, the twig-breaking trick was
tried, but with no effect. On reaching the supposed position
of the deer, not a trace of any sort could we find to direct us,
when " too whoo," " too whoo-oo," comes the hoot of an owl
from among the dense dark pines some distance lower down.
This time, however, it proceeds from no bird of ill-omen, for

272 FOLLOWING THE TRAIL.

in it we recognise a preconcerted signal from the men below
for calling us down to them. It is at once answered by a
like sound, made by blowing between the hands clasped to-
gether in a certain way, and is repeated at intervals until we
find our scouts. They have ascertained by the tracks that
the stag has moved downwards in company with several
hinds. Keeping well on the alert for any movement in the
brushwood, we follow cautiously on the broad trail. Suddenly
a stampede is heard, and we get a momentary glimpse
through the trees of one or two of the brown hides vanishing
into a dell a short way ahead. As the animals have become
alarmed, our only plan now is to run forward to the place
where they disappeared, on the chance of getting a snap-shot
ere they get too far beyond it. Fortune is so far kind, for on
our reaching the desired spot, all breathless from running, I
catch sight of one of them — a stag, and a good one too —
through a vista in the trees, as he stands looking back within
easy range below me. The hanging smoke prevents my see-
ing the effect of the shot, but the sound of the striking bullet
seems to denote meat. " He's down ! " breathlessly exclaims
Eamzan, as he feels for his knife. But this remark is suc-
ceeded by a much less exultant one. " No, he's up and away
again ! Oho ! tzh ! tzh ! tzh ! " — usual interjections of disap-
pointment made with the tongue and teeth. No venison,
however, do we find on going to look for it, although my old
companion positively declares to having seen the animal on
the ground, toes up, after the shot. All attempts at follow-
ing the tracks for any distance are frustrated by numerous
fresh and large ones here leading in all directions, and there
is no blood to guide us. So I turn my steps campwards
lamenting, followed by Kamzan and the other Cashmerees
" tzh ! tzh ! tzhing " in the most aggravating manner all
the way.

Again the villagers flocked up from below to our bivouac,
where they gorged themselves and wrangled over the distribu-

A NATIVE PRACTITIONER. 273

tion of the meat until late in the afternoon, when we packed
up and started for the tents below.

As we were descending in the gloaming, some hinds, fol-
lowed by a stag with longish prongs, moved past us across a
glade. Several rounds of ammunition were expended, only
one apparently with effect, and that probably slight. Any-
way, we failed to find the beast when we returned next
morning to search for him. My spleen at losing him, which
was considerably augmented by my having bad toothache,
was vented on an unfortunate flying squirrel, whose abode in
a dead pine-tree we chanced to come across as we were re-
turning, and out of which we " scraped " him.

The camp was again shifted to a fresh locality farther up
the glen. The fine weather we had hitherto enjoyed was now
exchanged for wet and cold, which so increased my toothache
that I could get no rest. Eamzan suggested that he should
fetch a barber of his acquaintance, who, he said, had fre-
quently operated on him under similar circumstances. This
village practitioner was accordingly called in and consulted.
Smiling blandly, he produced a barbarous implement about a
foot long, and not unlike a very rusty old pair of carpenter's
pincers, with a hook at the end of one of its handles to prevent
the operator's hand from slipping. Even the sight of this
terrible instrument failed to have the usual temporary effect
of allaying the distracting pain ; so I was forced to place my
jawbone at the mercy of the hair-dresser, who, with the most
cold-blooded indifference for my feelings, began deliberately
washing his diabolical-looking forceps in a stream directly in
front of my tent door, thereby hinting that he was quite ready
to operate forthwith. After putting me to a protracted
amount of torture, during which old Eamzan was praying
audibly and devoutly behind me as he insisted on holding my
head, the operator at length, to my infinite relief, both of
body and mind, succeeded in extracting the proper tooth
without fracturing my jaw. This, however, was not the end

s

274 ROUGH TREATMENT.

of it. The excited dentist straightway dashed pincers, tooth
and all, to the ground, and, energetically aided by Bamzan,
frantically set to shampooing and " thrawing " my head to such
a degree as to almost threaten my neck with dislocation, each
of them accompanying their combined exertions with " Yah
Peer ! Yah Eussool ! " and suchlike hurriedly repeated pious
expressions, until I at last managed to free myself from their
tender mercies. A fee of a few " chilkees " (Cashmere silver
coins worth about a shilling) sent the barber-surgeon home
rejoicing.

275

CHAPTER XVII.

AN UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH A STRANGER IN THE LAND— NOISY STAGS
— HOW THE VILLAGERS CATCH A BURGLAR — A SERENADE — COLD
QUARTERS — TRACKING IN THE SNOW — THE SHORT TWILIGHT FAILS
US — WE LOSE OUR WOUNDED STAG — A HUNTING MAXIM — THE FOREST
MONARCH — A CHARMED LIFE — DOUBTFUL SATISFACTION — LOST
TROPHIES ARE ALWAYS THE FINEST — AN EXCITING BUT RATHER
" SHADY " WAY OF DOING BUSINESS — A NIGHT VIGIL — DEPRESSING
INFLUENCES — SUPERSTITIOUS CREDULITY — DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST
— THE GOOJUR'S BLACK STAG — AN INVASION OF RATS AND MICE — HOW
WE CIRCUMVENTED THE BLACK STAG — A GRAND SET OF HORNS — FOUL
PLAY — CASHMERE METHOD OF DRIVING A GORGE — THE VALE UNDER
A DIFFERENT ASPECT— MAKING A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY— ACROSS THE
PIR PUNCHAL — WHY " HANGUL " HAVE DECREASED IN NUMBERS.

ALL Nature's charms looked more bright and beautiful when
the clouds cleared away after two or three days of almost
incessant rain, and we again took the hill. In the afternoon,
after a long ascent from the camp, we sat down to rest among
the brackens on a steep spur, and just outside a dense pine
forest that clothed its northern slope. Several stags were
bellowing away in a thickly wooded gorge far below. As we
sat there consulting as to how we should try to circumvent
one of them, a shaggy-looking animal suddenly bounced out
from the wood on to the open ridge, some 150 yards higher
up than where we were sitting, and after a few bounds down-
wards, again vanished into the wood. We were all quite
nonplussed as to what it could have been, for it certainly
was not a deer, and it had neither the gait nor the colour

276 NOISY STAGS.

of a bear. Whilst we were discussing the matter, a rustle
was heard in the wood behind us. On looking round, to our
utter amazement there we saw the long black visage of a
tahr — not a surrow (termed " ramoo " in Cashmere), which is
sometimes in the more eastern Himalayas called tahr or
"thar," but a veritable tahr. He was standing among the
brushwood within twenty yards, and returning our gaze with
apparently equal astonishment to our own. Snatching up
the rifle, I blazed straight at him, letting him have the second
barrel as he rushed away through the bushes. Being sorely
wounded, he was soon overtaken, when another bullet finished
him. He was a fine, dark, shaggy buck with good horns, and
about the last animal we might have expected to see on such
ground, where his appearance was most unaccountable, for
there were no tahr haunts within at least thirty miles of it.
Eamzan told me that he remembered only once before having
seen a " kras," as he called him, on the Nouboog hills. This
one was evidently a stranger in the land, and might perhaps
have been chased from his own rocky fastnesses by wild dogs.
It was the rutting season, however, and love is sometimes the
cause of strange freaks.

Leaving the two spare men to skin and cut up the tahr,
Eamzan and I tried to find one of the noisy stags which still
continued their roaring, notwithstanding the firing. To one
of them we got very close, but failed to get a chance at him
owing to the thickness of the cover he was in. We hunted
here for another day or two without firing a shot. Although
the deer were plentiful, the woods were too dense for working
them in. The villagers told us that bears had commenced
their burglaries at night among the walnut groves in the
neighbourhood ; but the moon was then too young to afford
light enough for looking them up. On dark nights, when the
villagers detect an old thief committing depredations on their
walnuts, they sometimes quickly surround the tree he is in,
and lighting a big fire under it, set up a tremendous shouting,

A WILD SERENADE. 277

with drum accompaniment, thereby keeping poor Bruin
a prisoner until it becomes light enough in the morning to
make him pay the penalty of his misdemeanours. We heard
them thus "treeing" a bear before daybreak one morning,
but the performance was too far away for me to go and
witness it.

The last of the sheep had been driven down from the
higher pasturages on the hills towards the head of the
Nouboog glen, and the shooting-grounds in that direction
had all been vacated by their former occupants. Thither,
therefore, we now turned our steps. Our little camp was
pitched in a sheltered nook on the border of an extensive,
undulating, grassy plateau surrounded with dense pine woods.
As the place was about 10,000 feet high, the cold at night
was quite keen enough to make a huge fire of pine-logs and
a glass of " hot with " very enjoyable. In the morning I had
to break the ice in my metal wash-basin, and the grass was
all glittering with a thick coating of hoar-frost as we left the
camp. That day we prospected the open hill-tops away up
towards the Wurdwan range. Fresh evidences of deer were
numerous, though we neither saw nor heard anything except
some fine coveys of chuckor partridges. After nightfall a
stag on an adjacent wooded eminence serenaded me with his
stirring music whilst I sat in my tent at dinner. Another,
or perhaps the same one, disturbed me at night as he
awakened the multiplying echoes in the surrounding forest
by roaring within what seemed, in the still frosty air, to be
only a few hundred yards off my tent — almost tempting me
to rise from my warm blankets and look after him. He had
evidently come to visit one of the several trags on the plateau
where we had noticed many fresh marks in the mud. The
moonlight, however, was not as yet sufficiently bright for
chancing a shot there at night ; but all this augured well for
sport in the neighbourhood.

The following afternoon, when we were far up on the hill,

2*78 COLD QUARTERS.

ragged fragments of mist began to circle and toss wildly
about the mountain-tops, and snow-flakes soon commenced
drifting thickly and rapidly past us; so we sheltered under
the lee of some blocks of rock in a little birch coppice. How
we shivered with cold as the bleak chilling blast whistled
drearily through the birches and whirled away their withered
leaves before it ! For several hours we sat dolefully there,
crouching over a little spark of fire, for we dared not light a
bigger one lest the smoke should alarm the deer. I had not
even the solace of my pipe, which I had stupidly forgotten to
bring with me ; so I had recourse to Eamzan's snuff-box as a
substitute for a smoke. It was still snowing, and the lessen-
ing light warned us that it was time to be moving downwards,
when just then our drooping spirits were raised by the
welcome voice of a stag on an opposite hillside. The fire,
to which we had been gradually adding fuel as we grew
colder, was instantly doused. Exercise and excitement, how-
ever, soon warmed us up, and by the time we neared the
place where the stag had last been heard, it had almost ceased
snowing. But the dusk was fast closing in, and had it not
been for the fresh-fallen snow, on which we could distinctly
pick up the stag's slot, we should soon have lost the track.
Moreover, the beast was evidently now travelling pretty fast
and roaring very seldom.

We had tracked through a dark strip of pine-wood, and
were about to emerge on to an open undulating bit of grass
beyond it, when we caught sight of the stag standing there
some distance ahead. I was very anxious to " loose " at him,
for the light was fast fading ; but as he had again resumed
his roaring at pretty regular intervals, Eamzan suggested that
we should try to get closer. Quickly we made a circuit
through some cover, and contrived to come up with the
animal as he stood for a few moments within some eighty
yards, slightly below us, and broadside on. But, alas ! the
short Indian twilight had now failed us, and I could no longer

THE CONVENTIONAL "THUD." 279

see the fore-sight of the rifle, for, unfortunately, it was not
silvered, as the near end of the sporting fore-sight should
always be; so I took the best aim I could at the shadowy
form of the stag without it. The bullet told on him some-
where with a smart " thwack," — a term, I think, better suited
to the sound than the conventional " thud," which as often
denotes mud as meat. The deer gave a sudden spring,
turned short round, and plunging down the hill, disappeared
in a deep wooded gorge. To follow him in the dark would
have been worse than useless ; we therefore made the best of
a long trudge back to camp. Fortunately the clouds had
broken, so we had some glimpses of moonlight to help us
through the gloomy pine woods.

At peep of dawn we were off again, and spent several
hours in trying to follow up the stag of the previous even-
ing, as we felt certain he was hard hit. There was no
blood on his track; but this might have been accounted
for by the closing up of the small orifice made by a 450
bullet, or by the shell hitting high in the animal's body,
and bursting up without penetrating right through it.
Bamzan, who was rather conservative in his ideas, had
already suggested that the new-fangled " nasala ke golee "
(medicine-bullet), as he termed my vaunted shell, might
not be very certain in its effect, and I was beginning to
think he was right.

The deer's track had been missed, and I was sitting down
consoling myself with a smoke when a stag began bellowing
on the brow of an opposite hill. I could see with the tele-
scope that he carried at least a royal number of tines, as I
watched him moving quickly down over a steep open slope,
until he disappeared in the thick wood below it. Whilst
still spying about with the glass, its field lighted on two
more stags which were browsing among some bushes far
away below. One of them carried good horns, but not to be
compared with the royal set that had just disappeared. My

280 A HUNTING MAXIM.

sage old adviser was away, casting about in the forest for the
lost track, or I should not have had to confess that in a
foolish fit of impatience I recklessly let drive a long random
shot. It was not only useless, but it lost me any chance I
might have had at the royal, which, but for my egregious
folly, I might possibly have got. There is nothing like con-
fessing one's mistakes, and they sometimes afford useful les-
sons. To abstain from firing random shots is a maxim which,
if followed, will gain the sportsman many a trophy, and will
save the humane shooter, and oftentimes his quarry, from
many a sore pang.

The cold at night had become so bitter up here that the
camp was moved to a warmer locality below. The stags,
too, had apparently gone lower down, for they were now less
often heard high up. We resolved, however, to take another
turn over the higher ground before descending in the even-
ing to our new quarters. Our breakfasts had been discussed,
and we were all lounging lazily on a wooded spur when Eam-
zan, who was always on the alert, said he thought he heard
a hangul calling far away up on the hill above. So long a
time elapsed without a repetition of the sound, that I thought
he must have been mistaken. " Hark ! there he is again," says
the old man, as this time the wild cadence, mellowed by dis-
tance, comes distinctly over the hill behind us. As the
ground above is pretty open, the chances of a stalk are in
our favour, so we at once commence working upwards. After
a long and stiff pull we reach a ridge overlooking a deep sort
of corrie full of dense brushwood, from whence the bellowing
now comes repeatedly in hoarse volumes. After intently lis-
tening for some time, Eamzan gives his opinion that, judging
from the approaching sound and the direction of the wind, the
beast will very likely cross the open hill-face below us. No
sooner has he given vent to his prediction than another lusty
roar comes from almost directly below, and the long, white-
tipped, upper tines of the stag appear moving among the

THE FOREST MONARCH. 281

brushwood in the hollow. Onward they slowly come, until
the mightiest stag we have yet seen is leisurely walking across
an open slope below us, and within eighty yards. There is
not much time for a steady aim, as in a few seconds he will
again be out of sight. Feeling certain that the shoulder of
a brute the size of an ox can hardly be missed at so short
a range, I confidently let drive at him. He seems to half-
stumble on faster for a few steps, and then resuming his
original pace, slowly disappears behind some high bushes.

" Come this way, quick ! " says Eamzan, starting off at a
run ; " he'll cross the ridge lower down, as he's making for the
wood behind it." There is no stopping to recharge the empty
barrel of my muzzle-loader, for we have only just time to
run down the ridge and head the animal before the white
tips of his horns are again in sight. How I gloat on those
massive, wide-spreading beams and twelve long tines as they
draw nearer and nearer ! I fancy I can see those antlers
now, as I write, swaying to and fro, as the seemingly wounded
stag labours slowly up the hillside, until he is actually within
fifty yards of where we are crouching low among the tall ferns.
As I put up the rifle nothing is to be seen before its sights
but a broad brown shoulder, and from the fact of there being
only space for at least a mile beyond the deer, the loud smack
made by the shell cannot possibly have told on anything but
him. On receiving the shot he stops short, turns his head
slowly towards us, and after standing for a few seconds
steadfastly gazing at us, continues his course at a canter
towards the ridge, and crossing it just below us, disappears
into the wood beyond it, exactly as my crafty old companion
had foretold.

" There's not such another hangul in all these forests," says
Ramzan hurriedly, as he impatiently assists me to reload.
" He's badly wounded, so we're sure to come up with him in
the wood." Never before have I seen the old man so excited,
and I feel quite confident myself that the stag is mine. But,

282 LOST TROPHIES ALWAYS THE FINEST.

alas ! we are both mistaken this time. Although we follow
the track until evening, never again do we set eyes on that
monarch of the forest after his clearing the ridge.

It was some time ere I could realise the sad fact that I had
lost this splendid brute. I now came to the conclusion either
that the hardened detonating shell must have burst to pieces
in the thick muscles of the shoulder without penetrating
farther, or that the whole thing was an optical delusion. At
any rate that stag must have borne a charmed life, for, as he
stood looking at us after the rifle was empty — wae's me ! it
was only an old muzzle-loader — my gun, loaded with honest
leaden bullets, was within arm's reach. But its carrier, who
I had no idea was crouching quite close behind me, in his
excitement had forgotten to hand it to me.

My frame of mind, as I plodded wearily down through the
dark pine woods, was decidedly grumpy. For the best part
of two days did we perseveringly search for the wounded
stag, with only the doubtful satisfaction of finding here and
there a few drops of blood on the trail. Fancy is often apt
to picture the trophies one loses as the finest, but those mag-
nificent lost antlers haunt my memory to the present day.

The moon being now near its full, Eamzan proposed that
we should try watching beside one of the trags that was most
resorted to by the stags. We therefore shifted our quarters
back to the vicinity of the pool where, several nights before,
I had imagined the tournament had taken place. Although
this night-watching, for stags is rather a " shady " way of
doing business, there is certainly a wild charm about it on
a calm moonlight night, as the sportsman — or poacher, as he
may perhaps be considered — lies in wait, expectant for his
quarry, beside some quiet pool, his senses all quickening at
the slightest rustle of a leaf in the hushed forest.

The shadows of evening were deepening in the woods when
we spread our blankets behind some bushes under the tall
sombre pine-trees near the trag we intended watching. As

A NIGHT VIGIL. 283

night advanced, the occasional eerie hoot of a great horned
owl, or the flit of a flying squirrel among the overhanging
branches, where he nibbled the pine-cones, only made the
stillness more impressive. Our surroundings, too, became more
weird-looking as the rising moon shed a dim ghastly light on
the gnarled and crooked stems of the silver birch-trees stand-
ing here and there like white spectres in the gloomy cloisters
of the pine-forest that begirt the pool. Sometimes our flag-
ging hopes would be raised as the far-off bellowing of a stag
was intermittently borne towards us on the night breeze
that gently rocked the pine-tops, but only again to sink with
the sound as it gradually died away in the distance. This
was all very romantic and exciting, until towards morning I
grew so sleepy that I could no longer keep my eyes or ears
open. And when, at grey frosty dawn, we returned, chilled
and disappointed, from our night vigils, all my ideas of their
romance had evaporated.

That evening about dusk I wounded a stag, which, though
not a very fine specimen, would have been a welcome addition
to our larder — which the villagers had nearly emptied — had
we not lost him in the gathering darkness. We moved next
day back to the locality where, amongst the numerous fresh
tracks, we had lost those of the big wounded stag, our goods
and chattels being sent round by an easier route. In the
afternoon it was snowing thickly, when we heard the bellow-
ing of a stag — evidently a traveller — on a hillside below us,
and caught a glimpse of the restless, wandering beast — and a
good one he was — as he quickly traversed some open ground.
We ran round, and tried in vain to head him before he dis-
appeared in some heavy forest where following him was
hopeless. It was nightfall when we reached our camp,
which had been pitched beside the dilapidated ruins of a
shieling, long ago deserted by the herdsmen, and under some
tall black-looking cypress-trees at the bottom of a silent forest-
clad glen, where sunshine could have been but little known,

284 SUPERSTITIOUS CREDULITY.

and solitude was now absolute. The monotonous babble and
plash of the brooklet which flowed past ; the hooting of owls
echoing dismally around ; the dirge-like sough of the cold
night wind as it rose and fell among the dark aisles of the
pine-forest ; and the snow-clad heights looming stark and
wan above in the pale moonlight, — all served to augment the
idea of its being about as lonesome and elfin-looking a spot as
such a combination of depressing influences could make it.
At any rate, this seemed to be the opinion of my Goorkha
servant, who being, like most mountaineers, of a superstitious
turn of mind, next morning told me he had been all night
dreaming of hobgoblins coming down the glen to seize him.
He had most probably been partaking of a heavy supper of
venison, and listening to the wonderful legends told by
the Cashmerees as they sat round the camp-fire about the
wild haunted tarns of Choar Nag, which lie among the high
mountains at the head of this gloomy glen. Poor Kirpa ! A
few years later he was accidentally shot dead by a comrade,
with whom he was out hunting in the Dehra Doon forests. . . .
Whilst alluding to the superstitious tendency of the hill-
men, I may mention a little practical joke I was told of as
having been played on his shikarees by a sportsman when
ibex-hunting in days gone by on the Wurdwan mountains.
At that time the trigonometrical survey of Cashmere had
only been commenced, and the unsophisticated villagers
then regarded the scientific operations as a sort of " Mumbo
Jumbo " proceeding, which was quite beyond their compre-
hension. One day this sportsman, whilst resting beside a
cairn of stones that had been erected on a hill-top to mark a
survey station, began questioning his shikarees as to their
ideas concerning it. One of them replied that all he knew
about it was, that he had once ascended this very hill with
a Sahib (gentleman), who had set up a wonderful kind of
" durbeen " (telescope), through which he had looked in all
directions. He had also made a great number of figures on a

THE GOOJUR'S BLACK STAG. 285

bit of paper, and had then ordered these stones to be piled up.
But what surprised him most was, that the Sahib before de-
scending the hill had torn up the paper he had written so
much upon into small pieces, which he threw on the ground.
In fact he (the shikaree) considered the whole thing was
some sort of " jadoo " (magic). The sportsman, thinking this
a grand opportunity for practising upon the superstitious
credulity of his companions, suddenly sprang to his feet, and
with feigned terror exclaimed — "He strewed those bits of
paper on this spot, did he ? — then we had better be off ! " And
away he ran down the hill, his terrified companions coming
helter-skelter after him, as if Old Nick were behind them.

"We hunted hereabouts unsuccessfully for two days, my
only chance being at an old black bear, into which I one
evening put a bullet, as he stood up on his hind-legs eating
berries off a bush. He dropped quantities of blood, but as his
trail led up through thick cover, arid darkness was growing
apace, we did not think it either prudent or worth our while
to follow him far. The fresh -fallen snow, which now lay
several inches deep on the open slopes above the forest, had
evidently driven the deer lower down; so we left our cold
gloomy quarter for the warmer and more cheerful one where
I had shot my first hangul, and for which I had a lingering
fancy. If the reader is not already quite tired of following
me so often through the forest after stags, perhaps he will
accompany me, just once more, in pursuit of one of the
grandest of them all.

As we were setting up our camp, an old goojur (herds-
man), who was grazing his beasts in the neighbouring woods,
volunteered us the information that a very black -looking
and big -horned hangul, which for several years had been
known to visit this locality late in the rutting season, had,
during the last few days, been several times seen about the
head of the wooded glen in which he was then herding his
cattle. As it was still early in the day, we decided upon at

286 AN INVASION OF EATS AND MICE.

once proceeding in quest of this famous beast. We had gone
about a mile up a burn that flowed through the glen, when
we heard a bellow in the wood above us ; we therefore sat
down and listened. Soon it was repeated, this time lower
down in the wood and nearer, as though the stag were about
to cross the glen higher up ; so we quietly moved on. We
had not gone far when I caught sight of a hind a short way
ahead. She was crossing the burn, and, from her nervous
behaviour, it was evident she had got wind of us. Just
then I felt a tug at my coat from the man following behind
me, who directed my attention to the head and shoulder of
a good stag which was standing, within easy range, among
the trees ; but before I could cover him with the rifle he was
gone. He was a light- coloured stag, and certainly not the
beast we wanted to find.

My tent had been pitched close to a corn-stack, in con-
sequence of which I was kept awake almost the whole night
by an invasion of rats and mice, that seemed to be amusing
themselves by running races over my bed. Next day our
search for the black fellow was again unsuccessful, the only
thing seen or heard being a stag with short horns, which we
"jumped" in the dusky twilight, and I missed.

The following morning we tried the ground where I had
killed the first stag, as the one we were now hunting for
was supposed to have his present haunt in the dense wood
below it. Towards evening we sat down among the tall
brackens to watch the edge of the wood from the old spot.
After waiting for an hour or more, we were almost startled
by a loud bellow, which was soon repeated quite close to us
in the wood. Presently a small beast with short prongs
emerged from the cover on to the open side of the ridge,
where he at once commenced feeding. But I felt quite
certain that this was not the animal that had just bellowed
so loudly, and as he kept looking back towards the wood, I
was equally confident he was not alone. As he fed gradually

THE BLACK STAG IS FOUND. 287

up towards where we were lying prone among the brackens,
Kamzan, who, excellent shikaree though he was, seemed to
prefer a good chance of securing fat venison to the more un-
certain one of securing a fine head but rank meat, insisted
that this was the animal we had heard, although he must
have known as well as I did that it was not. " Shoot, or
he'll be off," whispered he impatiently, as the animal was
drawing nearer and nearer — when lo ! a stag, looking as
dark as a "peat-hag," and carrying a huge pile of antlers,
emerges slowly and hesitatingly from the wood. How my
heart thumps against my ribs as the much -coveted black
stag — for I have now not a doubt about its being the identi-
cal animal — stands before us within a hundred yards ! There
is no time to wait for my sudden excitement to abate, as the
small beast has fed up very close to us, and the light evening
wind is capricious. With trembling hands I slowly lift the
rifle over the brackens, but it wabbles so much, as I try
to cover the big fellow's shoulder, that I have to lower it.
Again it is raised, and, holding my breath, I press the trigger.
Off dashes the small beast down the hill ; but the big one,
although hard hit, merely gives a start, trots forward a few
steps, and again stops, his grand horns thrown proudly back,
as he quickly jerks his uplifted head round from side to side,
as if at a loss as to what course he should pursue.

" Ne lugga ! " (missed him), whispers Kamzan, testily fol-
lowed by a rapid succession of his exasperating interjections
of disappointment. But he is wrong again. Before the stag
has time to make up his mind, another bullet — of good solid
lead this time — smashes his shoulder. Still, strange to say,
he scarcely moves. Gradually, however, his startled demean-
our becomes more listless, and his proud head begins slowly
to droop. But he is too far out to make sure of finishing
him with a shot from the smooth-bore, which would most
probably only send him back into the thick forest, where,
although so badly wounded, we might as likely as not lose

288 A GRAND SET OF HORNS.

him ; so I contrive to reload the rifle, fortunately without his
detecting me. Once more it is raised : this time the bullet,
passing through him, breaks the other shoulder, and brings
him down on his chest. As we stand up and move towards
him, the terrified brute, in his endeavours to escape, actually
shoves himself along with his hind-legs down the steep grassy
declivity before him. At the bottom of this we find him
lying, panting and glaring wildly at us, as if quite prepared
to make use of his ponderous horns, which he tosses in such
a menacing manner as to make the orthodox rites rather
difficult to perform.

Although not so fine a stag as the lost beauty, inasmuch as
he had only ten points, yet the dimensions of his grand mas-
sive horns are, I think, worth recording. Length, nearly 42
inches ; girth at the thinnest part of the beam, between the bez
(or bay) antler and median tine, 7 J inches ; girth round the
burr, 10 J inches; round the bez antler, three or four inches
from the beam, 5 J inches, and brow antlers nearly as thick ;
span inside the beams, 33 inches. All the points were perfect.
Although he carried such massive horns, he was not a very
heavy-bodied stag ; and Eamzan told me that these compara-
tively small dark-coloured hangiil generally had the heaviest
horns, and were the most noisy and pugnacious, or " bobbery,"
as he expressed it. His pile was in beautiful order, but the
poor beast had rubbed all the hair off his chest, and had even
excoriated a good deal of the skin, in his frantic efforts to
escape down the hill. But his carcass looked as if he had not
made a good square meal of grass for a long time, which was
only natural at that season. No doubt the younger of the two
stags would have been more appreciated by my Cashmeree
companions.

It was now past sundown, so we merely took out the
gralloch, and left watchers to perform a night wake beside the
defunct, for bears were about. Next day, when the head was
brought in, the old goojur of course declared we had got the

FOUL PLAY. 289

right beast. But whether we had or had not, I felt supremely
happy at having secured so majestic a trophy, and I hope I
made the goojur feel equally so. A drop of gall, however,
fell into my cup of delight, when next morning I was informed
that my splendid prize had been mutilated during the night
by a cat. On inspecting the head, I found that one of the
ears had been taken off, not by a cat's teeth, but by a clean
cut of a knife. I at once suspected foul play, and that it was
just a spiteful trick perpetrated by one of my followers from
a mean spirit of revenge. I had on several occasions found
fault with the suspected culprit — who, I regret to say, was
Eamzan's son — for the avarice he always displayed at the dis-
tribution of the venison. This time he had made away with
it bodily, intending, as I was told, to barter it with the
villagers for grain. On learning this I directed that both the
culprit and the meat should be at once produced, when I
rated the former well, and distributed the latter fairly among
all hands. Next morning the ear was off the stag's head. I
felt so convinced that the mischief had been done by this
man — who was well aware how particular I was regarding the
careful preservation of the heads — in revenge for the meat
row, that I discharged him forthwith, — the justice of which
sentence, I was glad to find, his father fully acknowledged.

From this place we returned to Nouboog. On reaching it
we found that the dried-up grass on the heights about it had
just been set fire to, which ruined all chance of further sport
there. I had my suspicions as to who had raised this con-
flagration. At night the effect produced by the burning was
truly grand, as the fire crept slowly on in long irregular lines,
some of them many hundred yards in length. Here it shot
up high in quivering tongues of flame as it ignited some dead
old resinous pine-trunk and licked along its withered branches,
casting a lurid glow on the murky clouds of smoke that
hovered above. There, like streams of molten lava, it crept
down the mountain -side, or flickered and smouldered in

T

290 FOREST FIRES.

isolated spots on the dark devasted expanse where the raging
element had already spent its fury and passed on. One would
suppose that such fires ought to utterly destroy every tree in
a forest ; but here, strange to say, comparatively little damage
is done to the timber.

In Indian forests, after the trees have attained a certain
size, they seem, as a rule, to become almost fireproof ; for
notwithstanding the annual burning of dry grass and brush-
wood on the mountain-sides, you seldom or never see those
tracts of charred and withered timber-skeletons so constantly
met with in the American backwoods. I therefore very much
doubt whether burning the undergrowth is here so pre-
judicial as is generally supposed. In the forests of " sal "
and other hardwood trees of the Terai and Dehra Doon, the
ravages of white ants, especially where the undergrowth is
left unburnt, are, I am sure, more injurious to well-grown trees
than is the slight scorching of their outer bark by fire. More-
over, the fire to a great extent arrests the progress of destruc-
tion by the ants, and the clearance of useless scrub-jungle
by burning gives freedom for the better development of the
more matured timber. The exclusion of the natives, too, from
the forests, in which, since the time when nature first planted
the trees there, they have had the privilege of grazing their
herds, has caused an amount of discontent, not to say distress,
with which the doubtful advantage of such a proceeding is
hardly commensurate. To this may be added the increase of
malaria caused by the rank vegetation being left to rot on the
ground from year to year. By all means protect the saplings up
to a certain age ; but would it not be better, after the timber
has reached a fair size, that the villagers should be permitted
to burn the undergrowth in order to provide fresh young
fodder for grazing their herds on as heretofore ? The manure
from the ashes and cattle ordure, and the clearance of the
undergrowth, would tend to improve the trees, which would
then be tall and strong enough to resist the ravages of the
fire, though not those of the white ants, which would be

GAME-DRIVING IN CASHMERE. 291

decreased by it. In order to justify my idea, let me remark
that I can remember the time when, notwithstanding the
annual conflagrations and the grazing of cattle in the forests,
the hardwood timber of Dehra Doon was of as fine a size and
quality as it is ever likely to be again with any amount of
conserving. I know of one instance in Scotland where a tree
was actually improved by being scorched. It was an apple-
tree, raised from Canadian seed, in a clergyman's garden in
Forfarshire. For years after it had attained a considerable
size, it never showed a sign of bearing fruit, until a pile of dry
weeds and garden refuse lying below it having been casually
set fire to, scorched it so much that the owner thought it was
dead. The following year, to his surprise, it again burst into
leaf, and for the first time yielded a heavy crop of splendid
fruit. However, the foregoing remarks are intended more as
suggestions than dogmatic assertions, for time alone can prove
their validity or their futility.

As the stags had now almost ceased their bellowing in the
forests, and were consequently very difficult to find, I took to
driving some of the densely wooded gorges for bears and
musk-deer ; and driving is, in my humble opinion, not to be
compared with what our American cousins call " still-hunting "
in close country, or to stalking your game on more open
ground. The Cashmerees generally drive a gorge upwards,
the ridges on each side being guarded by men posted as stops
at short intervals along them, whilst at first, only a few beaters
advance slowly and quietly from below, giving an occasional
tap with their sticks against a tree. The line is augmented
by the flankers as it reaches their respective posts, until all
hands arrive at the head of the gorge, along which the guns
are posted under suitable cover. During the few times this
plan was tried, a good many hinds and calves were driven out,
but only one good stag was seen, and that broke back through
the beaters. Several black bears and musk-deer were also
beaten out : one of the former I shot. As I was unable to
secure another horned beast to furnish a new ear for the

292 MAKING A VIRTUE OF NECESSITY.

mutilated head, I was reluctantly forced to sacrifice a good
hind for this purpose, as well as to provide venison for our
camp larder.

By this time I was getting near the end of the tether of my
leave, and was in daily expectation of the Cashmere Govern-
ment authorities sending me notice to quit. Indeed, I won-
dered they had not done so already, for all visitors were in
those days expected to be out of Cashmere by the 15th of
October, and it was now November. Had I not taken the
precaution to keep on good terms with the head-men of the
villages by making small pecuniary gifts and sending them
haunches of venison, they doubtless would, long ere this, have
taken steps to rid themselves of my presence among them,
by informing against me. Instead of this I had no difficulty
in collecting as many willing beaters as I required. More-
over, they were always marshalled by a great hulking fellow
who, on my first arrival at Nouboog, with my full approbation
when I had duly inquired into the case, administered condign
punishment to one of my Hindustani servants for having
abused him.

On my return to " the vale," how changed in its aspect had
it become during the short period since I had left it ! A
dense smoky haze from the burning grass on the surround-
ing mountains rendered them quite invisible. The bright
greensward was now all withered and dry from the effects
of frost, which made the ground so hard as almost to ring
under one's tread ; and the few remnants of foliage that still
clung to the grand old chenar trees were sear and brown.
In fact, "the vale of Cashmere" was, at that season, quite
destitute of its romantic beauty. At the first place I en-
camped in the valley, I was met by a posse of Government
officials. I well knew for what purpose they had been
sent. But their leader, who was a polite-mannered indi-
vidual, on learning that I was about to leave Cashmere,
pretended to make a virtue of necessity by saying he had
come to inquire if he could do anything to assist me.

1. Tahr head and skin.

2. Cashmere Stag.

3. Ibex.

4. Markhor (Pir Punchal).

5. Burrell.

6. Surrow.

7. Oorial.

8. Indian Gazelle.

9. Gooral.

10. Cheetal.

11. Black Bear (Himalayan).

12. Brown Bear.

13. Black buck Antelope.

14. Musk-deer.

15. Barking-deer.

16. Jurrow.

17. Neelghau horns.

1 8. Hog-deer.

19. Four-horned Antelope.

20. Tiger.

21. Gooral skin.

22. Musk-deer skin.

23. Surrow skin.

24. Black Bear skin.

25. Tiger skin.

26. Leopard skin.

27. Brown Bear skin.

28. Burrell skin.

HIMALAYAN AND NORTHERN INDIAN GAME.

OVER THE PIR PUNCHAL. 293

When my trusty friend Eamzan took leave of me for the
last time, I think the regret was mutual, for tears filled the old
man's eyes as I bade him good-bye. There never lived a better
shikaree or cragsman in Cashmere than old Eamzan Mir.

My return to the Punjab was over the Pir Punchal pass
and through the Poonch hills. This route is lovely almost
throughout, but perhaps the most strikingly beautiful part
of it lies between the villages of Poshiana and Barumgulla,
a distance of about eight miles, on the south side of the
pass. There the path leads along the bottom of a wild
tortuous defile, which is so narrow and rocky that the rapid
torrent that courses down it has to be constantly crossed
and recrossed by innumerable little temporary bridges formed
of rough tree-stems. At every turn a perfect study for an
artist presents itself. Not even in Canada during the " fall "
did I ever see anything that surpassed the harmoniously
blended masses of colouring which were here presented by
the gorgeous autumnal-tinted deciduous foliage, the dark ever-
green pines, and the moss and lichen covered crags on the
precipitous flanking heights. Here and there small cascades
splashed and tumbled over the rocks, and, picturesquely
situated close to Barumgulla, there is a really fine one,
with a considerable volume of water and a fall of at least
a hundred feet. But I am forgetting that this is now be-
coming a well-beaten track of tourists.

Such as I have attempted to describe was hangul-shooting
at that time in Cashmere. Since then, I am told, the late
Maharajah Eunbeer Sing took to profusely decorating his
palatial halls with stags' horns. The traffic in them, too, has
of late years become much more extensive. And formerly,
when the slaughter of a bovine animal was considered a capi-
tal offence in Cashmere, hangul skins were used for making
the accoutrements of the soldiers, and this may be the case
even now. At all events, the deer have decreased in numbers,
and the sportsman may have to go farther afield to find them.

294

CHAPTER XVIII.

START FOR LADAK — THE BEAUTIFUL SIND VALLEY — THE ZOZZI LA (PASS)
— SUDDEN CHANGE OF SCENERY— DRAS— BRIGHT COLOURING OF THE
MOUNTAINS — TIBETAN POLO — BUDDHIST CHORTANS — LAMA MONKS
AND THEIR MONASTERY — SACRED MUSIC — THE SHAPPOO — TIBETAN
IRRIGATION — THE CAPITAL OF LADAK — BURNING SUN AND VARIA-
TIONS OF TEMPERATURE— JOIN A BROTHER SPORTSMAN— BUDDHIST
MANES — CROSS THE CHANG LA — THE HIMALAYAN AND TIBETAN
PERPETUAL-SNOW LINES — TANKSEE — OUR GUIDE CHANGTER — CHEAP
MUTTON — TARTAR CHARACTER — ALABASTER CLIFFS — VIEW OF THE
PANGONG TSO (LAKE) — CLEARNESS OF TIBETAN ATMOSPHERE — ACROSS
THE MARSEMIK LA — "CHUNG" AND "GRIM" — OVES AMMON IN SIGHT —
CHANGCHENMO — A TREACHEROUS FORD — THE KUGRANG GLEN — THE
KIANG — ANTELOPES — A BEWILDERED BUCK — COMPLETELY " PUMPED "
— THE "TSOS," OR TIBETAN ANTELOPE— UNPLEASANT EFFECTS OF
RAREFIED AIR — THE NATIVE'S IDEA CONCERNING THEM — STRIKING
SCENERY — THE DONG, OR WILD YAK — TIBETAN FOX — STALKING A

DONG — YAK BEEF — A SNOWY NIGHT AND A CHEERLESS MORNING

BOORTZIS THE CHIEF FUEL OF TIBET — A TARTAR BREAKFAST — HAIR-
CUTTING WITH A KNIFE — TIBETAN HARES — TROUT-LIKE FISH — WE
CELEBRATE OUR MEETING WITH CAPTAIN BASEVI — A RARE MENU
— BASEVl'S SAD FATE.

THE following endeavour to recount some hunting experiences
in Tibet will by no means represent what may be termed a
competition-bag of game, which, in these days of competition
in everything, seems, sad to say, often to be thought almost
the main object in shooting. Nevertheless, I trust it may
afford the reader some idea of what the writer considered real
wild sport in a very strange land.

On a first visit to the dreary inhospitable region north and

THE BEAUTIFUL SIND VALLEY. 295

east of Leh, the capital of Ladak, where, strange to say, very
few of the scanty nomadic population seem to care much
about hunting, the difficulty of obtaining reliable information
respecting the haunts and habits of its wild fauna often makes
game appear rather scarce there. Moreover, even had my
companion on this trip and I found plenty to shoot at, we
had no intention of turning sport and pleasure into cruelty
and toil by striving to outdo our neighbours in our butcher's
bill, regardless of the quality of the meat. The tyro, in his
irrepressible excitement, may be forgiven for shooting at any-
thing or everything ; but he who persists in deliberately so
doing, unless it be when food is absolutely necessary for his
camp-followers, is no longer deserving of the name of sports-
man. But let that pass as a well-meant, though perhaps
rather caustic, digression in the interests of sport.

Once more I would invite the reader to accompany me to that
" valley of bliss " — Cashmere. This time, however, we shall
merely pass through its quaint old capital, and at once proceed
up the beautiful Sind valley, with its coppices of hazel .and
hawthorn, its tangled thickets of honeysuckle and wild rose,
and its picturesque log-built hamlets nestling snugly at the
foot of the mountains amidst groves of walnut, apple, and
mulberry trees, and grand old chenars. Much as we may
wish to linger in such a romantic locality, we must not do so
this time, for it is past the middle of May, and we are bound
direct for a very different style of country — the remote, deso-
late wilds of Changchenmo — and a long tramp is before us ere
we reach those haunts of the dong (wild yak) and the tsos
(Tibetan antelope).

Passing through the unrivalled scenery of the higher reaches
of the Sind river, whose verdant slopes, wooded steeps, and
rugged precipices rise on either side of the rushing, roaring
water, we find ourselves, after four days out from Srinuggur,
at Sonamurg (golden meadow). Here the grassy undulating
uplands are encircled with dark forests of pine, woods of silver

296 ACROSS THE ZOZZI LA.

birch, and grey snow-capped crags, and the clear bracing air
is redolent with the perfume of innumerable wild flowers.

A long and laborious climb of an hour and a half up a
very steep and savagely wild gorge filled with deep snow,
takes us to the summit of the Zozzi la1 (pass), 11,300 feet
high, and flanked by glaciers and towering white peaks.
Here the track leads for miles over almost continuous snow-
fields, and for some part of the way beside a deep extensive
tarn, which, when frozen over and concealed by the winter
snow, is, we are told, the scene of many a fatal disaster from
the treacherous crust falling in. Farther on, where the ground
becomes more free from snow, we are often saluted by the
chirping whistle of a marmot, sitting erect on some green
knoll, ere he dives into his burrow at our approach.

What a sudden and marvellous change takes place in the
aspect of the scenery as we descend gradually to the district
of Dras, with its high sterile hills of the generally rounded
form, and strangely bright and varied colouring, so char-
acteristic of Tibetan landscapes ! After crossing a narrow
wooden bridge, where a few years later a British traveller,
Mr Cowie, lost his life by falling into the wild torrent below
it, when rashly attempting to ride over it, we encamp beside
an old fort garrisoned by a small detachment of Cashmere
soldiers.

At Lotsum we find a well-kept polo-ground, with a sub-
stantial covered stand for spectators, from whence the gentle
sex of the land, we are informed, are wont to view the game
of shuggrun as it is here called, which has from time imme-
morial been as popular here as it has lately become elsewhere.
The palm of victory awarded by the fair dames is usually a
good fat skeep.

Past Shargol, where we observe evidences of Buddhism in
a quaint Lama hermitage, built into the perpendicular face

1 "La" is the Tibetan term for a pass over a range of mountains, as
"ghat" is the .Himalayan.

A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 297

of a cliff rising above the village. Here are also to be seen
several oblong-shaped constructions like huge tombs, called
chortans, on which the most uncouth and horrid - visaged
deities or demons are depicted in the brightest of hues,
vermilion predominating. They are intended, we are told, to
mark the burial-places of sainted Buddhists.

At Moolbek we pitch our camp at an elevation of only
4000 feet, below an isolated eminence picturesquely sur-
mounted by a gompa or Buddhist monastery. Over the Na-
mika la and Fotu la, both more than 13,000 feet, but with
easy gradients and not a vestige of snow, to Lamayuru. At
this place the Lama monks, in full canonicals, turn out on
the flat roof of their monastery and salute us with discordant
music, performed on a variety of barbarous instruments, con-
sisting chiefly of long brazen horns, gongs, and drums.

In the cool of the evening — for a Tibetan sun is scorching
— we climb up to visit the monastery, which is perched high
on a spur rising immediately above the village. The Bud-
dhist monks show a considerable amount of taste in selecting
sites for their gompas, which are often built on some pictur-
esque eminence. At the entrance we are met and ushered
into the principal sanctum by a venerable Lama, who, we
suppose, holds the position of abbot among the brotherhood.
Here a most indescribable scene presents itself. About a score
of Lamas, with shaven heads and attired in loose woollen
robes of a dirty purple hue, are at their devotions. They
sit in two rows facing each other. Some are blowing and
thumping away on the afore-mentioned instruments, whilst
others perform a monotonous chant in the profoundest of
bass voices, as they tell the beads of their rosaries. Around
are idols of every size, shape, and colour ; rotating cylindrical
prayer- wheels, from the size of beer-barrels downwards ; and
an endless variety of other articles used by the Buddhists in
the performance of their religious rites. The walls are deco-
rated with banners, confused hieroglyphics, and innumerable

298 THE SHAPPOO.

grotesque representations of figures, evidently belonging to
the Chinese school of art. Two rows of rudely carved, massive
wooden pillars, which support the dark smoke-stained roof,
form the principal architectural features of the place.

It takes some time to become accustomed to the " dim re-
ligious light " from a number of brass oil-burners, and from
a few little apertures near the roof, before we are able to dis-
cern all the wonderful paraphernalia contained in this monastic
chapel. As a peculiar odour of joss - stick, or something
answering the purpose of incense, combined with the smell
of burnt oil and that perfume which usually emanates from
unwashed humanity, pervades the close atmosphere of this
ill-ventilated apartment, we are not sorry to be out of it and
again breathing fresh air.

On the mountains in the neighbourhood of this place, a
kind of wild sheep called shappoo or shalmar (Ovis vignei) is
plentiful. As it is said to be almost identical with the oorial
(Ovis cycloceros) of the Punjab, we do not care then to waste
our time and tissue in its pursuit on such arid uninviting
mountains as it here affects. There is, however, a slight
difference between the shappoo and the oorial, the horns of
the former being rather thicker and less circular in their
curve, and the hair of the face and on the throat much darker
than that of the latter. Yet it seems strange that animals so
nearly similar should occur at such different altitudes and in
such different climates, the one not usually above two or three
thousand feet, and the other seldom below ten thousand.
But let us resume our route.

Next morning a descent for some eight miles through the
narrowest and wildest of defiles, where the path in many
places overhangs the deep torrent rushing past below, and
sometimes consists only of a few rough planks supported on
poles driven into crevices in perpendicular faces of rock,
brings us to the river Indus. After crossing the river by a
wooden bridge, we encamp a few miles farther on in a small

LEH, LADAK. 299

orchard of apricot-trees, where charming little double roses,
of the most brilliant saffron-yellow, are blooming luxuriantly.
This little oasis, like the few others we have passed here and
there on our way, has been reclaimed from the surrounding
parched wilderness by being irrigated with water carried for
many miles in a small duct, cut along the bare mountain -side
from some distant stream or spring.

After a weary tramp of twenty days from Cashmere, we
reach the town of Leh. Its most prominent features are
a fortified palace, so called, from the top of which we get
a good view of the place and its environs ; and a rather
imposing bazaar, where furs, precious stones, and other
commercial products of Eastern Turkestan freely change
hands. In its immediate vicinity are a few poplar-groves
and fruit - orchards, their vivid green contrasting rather
strangely with the surrounding sterile plateau, which extends
for miles towards the equally arid mountains that enclose it.
Eegarding this town, little more need be said here than that
there, at an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet, the sun burns
with an intensity that is truly surprising, the thermometer
in summer often reaching 140 degrees or more in its rays ;
whilst the temperature in the shade is quite cold, and at night
often freezing. The patient reader who may have accom-
panied me so far, had now better go no farther unless he is
prepared to traverse some pretty high and rough country ere
he reaches Changchenmo, which has little to recommend it
beyond its being a favourite haunt of the wild yak and other
Tibetan game.

Thus far I had had the pleasure of travelling from Cashmere
with an old friend and schoolmate — Captain Basevi, E.E.,
—who was proceeding to carry out certain scientific obser-
vations on the highly elevated table-lands, which are among
the principal geographical features of this part of Tibet, and
were peculiarly suitable for his purpose.1 But from Leh our

1 These operations, Avhich were intended, I believe, for determining the

300 BUDDHIST MANES.

routes and avocations unfortunately lay in different direc-
tions.

Here I met a brother sportsman, Major M., who was bound
for Changchenmo ; and as it is as pleasant as advisable to have
a companion in remote uninhabited regions, we joined camps.
We were rather disappointed, however, on hearing that two
other members of the fraternity had already preceded us
there; for in Changchenmo the wild yaks usually frequent
certain localities, from which they are soon scared away if
disturbed.

At Leh we engaged the services of an individual named
Kurreem, a half-bred Tartar, who had, I believed, been con-
verted to the Mohammedan persuasion. He willingly agreed
to act as interpreter in the language of the country and make
himself generally useful, on a salary of four rupees a-month
and his food. The advent of a packet of letters and news-
papers by the Maharajah's post to Leh was a matter of much
rejoicing; but the pleasure it afforded was considerably
damped by the tidings it brought of the death of my old
Goorkha servant Kirpa, who had been accidentally shot by
a comrade with whom he was out hunting.

After two days' rest we made a fresh start. For two
marches our route lay along the right (north) bank of the
Indus. We passed several of those curious oblong-shaped
cairns which are so often seen by the wayside in Tibet,
called manes. They are formed of small slabs of rough stone
piled loosely one upon the other, and vary in length from a

force of gravity under different conditions of the earth's crust, had been pro-
posed by the Eoyal Society. They were carried out by means of pendulums
swung at various geodetic stations in India, and for this work Captain Basevi
had been selected. His investigations had necessarily to be conducted under
circumstances which would have been most trying to any constitution, and
doubtless were partly the cause of his death. The valuable services to science,
and the mental and physical labours undergone by him in this arduous under-
taking, were recorded by Colonel J. T. Walker, R.E., Superintendent of the
Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, as a tribute to his memory, in a letter
to the ' Times,' under date 19th September 1871.

THE CHANG LA. 301

few yards to sometimes several hundred. Each flat stone
has inscribed on it the words, " Om mani padmi horn " —
meaning, 0 God! the jewel in the lotus. We passed one
of these erections, which was some five or six hundred
paces long, and every stone of it had, I was told, this
short prayer engraved on it. All Tibetan Buddhists con-
stantly repeat these words when twirling their little hand
prayer-cylinders, which contain a scroll inscribed with the
same mystical sentence, and each revolution is supposed to
represent a repetition of it. The Tibetans always pass these
manes, or roadside shrines, on the right, whichever direction
they may be travelling, — thereby, I suppose, ensuring their
going round them should they -return by the same route;
circumambulation, as well as rotatory motion, being among
the ritual forms of the Tibetan Buddhist religion.

Across the Indus, opposite to where our path quitted its
valley at Khurroo, is the great Buddhist monastery of Hemis,
hidden away in a sequestered gorge. It is said to contain
several hundred Lamas. We now turned northwards up a
narrow glen leading to the Chang la (pass), and encamped at
Chimray, where there is another fine monastery perched high
on a hill.

The pass, although over 18,000 feet high, is easy to cross,
but we suffered somewhat from the rarefied air. Besides the
usual shortness of breath and the feeling of extra weight
and lassitude, more especially about the legs, in me it pro-
duced headache and nausea, which I did not get rid of until
the following day, when we descended to Tanksee. The south
side of the pass was quite devoid of snow ; the gently sloping
north side, however, was considerably patched with it, and
the cold at night was intense. And here I may remark,
that although the perpetual-snow line on the western side of
the main Himalayan chain is somewhere about 16,000 feet,
eastward on the ranges rising from the Tibetan uplands it is
nearly, if not quite, 20,000 feet. This difference may pos-

302 TARTAR CHARACTER.

sibly be owing to the extreme dryness of the atmosphere on
the Tibetan side.

Tanksee, a considerable-sized village, being the last place
on our route where men, yaks (the domestic bovine cattle of
Tibet) for carrying our baggage, and food were procurable,
we made arrangements accordingly. Here I secured the ser-
vices of a Tartar named Changter as guide, a pastoral inhabit-
ant of the Pangong district, who was well acquainted with
the haunts of the game there and in Changchenmo, and who
had the advantage of possessing a very slight knowledge of
the Hindustani language. He was accompanied by his son,
a little lad named Norgie, who attached himself to my com-
panion, the Major, in the capacity of gillie — and an uncom-
monly sharp one he made, notwithstanding his youth. Here
I hired a pony — the Major was too proud to ride — by way
of saving myself as much unnecessary toil as possible ; and
a few small sheep were purchased for our commissariat de-
partment, at one rupee (eighteenpence) per head.

The first evening after leaving Tanksee, by way of amuse-
ment as well as of making ourselves acquainted with our
Tartar followers, we gathered them together around the camp-
fire of sun-dried yak's dung — the only fuel procurable — col-
lected in the vicinity, and got them to sing, dance, and per-
form on a musical instrument like a long, wooden penny
whistle, from which they contrived to produce wonderfully
dulcet tones. Great was their delight on the Major's passing
round a snuff-box, and loud and boisterous their mirth at
seeing one another sneeze.

How different are these independent manly fellows, with their
good-humoured sociable ways, and droll merry faces, which are
always ready with a broad grin, from their more sophisticated
neighbours of Hindustan, with their austere castes and preju-
dices ! And how infinitely superior to them, morally and
physically, are these wild children of nature, who are, fortu-
nately for them, not as yet corrupted by the vices and evils

THE PANGONG TSO. 303

consequent on a state of semi-civilisation ! Strange it is that
in a land whose bleak sterile appearance is calculated, one
would suppose, to depress the spirits, such a cheery race of
people is to be found. It seems as though their light hearts
were given them by a kind Providence as some compensation
for the dreariness of their country. But let us hie onward.

We noticed many pairs of the ruddy sheldrake, commonly
known in India as the Brahminee duck — evidently up here
to nest — where our way for several miles led beside a sluggish
stream flowing tortuously between banks of bright green turf,
which was quite a treat to behold in this desert land, where
green is conspicuous by its absence.

On the second morning we reached the western end of the
Pangong tso (lake), when, on emerging from a long glen
flanked on the one side by steep stony slopes, on the other by
beetling cliffs of a yellowish hue,1 such a wonderful prospect
suddenly presented itself as to amply repay any one for the
long toilsome journey which has to be undergone to behold it.

Beneath a cloudless sky, the deep sapphire blue of which
was rendered extraordinarily intense in the rippling waves
that reflected it, lay this salt-water lake, at an elevation of
14,000 feet, stretching away for about thirty miles of its
visible length, its width being about five or six. From its
shores of pale-yellow sand, on either side rose barren heights
— some of them streaked and capped with perpetual snow —
whose brilliant yet harmoniously blended colouring of every
tint except green baffles all description. Here and there a
pure white glacier lay between the ridges that stretched down
towards the water, and sometimes jutted into it in fantastic-
shaped promontories and bluffs, their successive receding out-
lines growing more faint, until hardly distinguishable against

1 These tall cliffs were entirely formed of a rather friable kind of alabaster
or gypsum, as we found from the snow-white blocks of it, recently detached
from above, that had rolled down below, the yellow colour on the surface
being caused by the action of the weather.

304 TIBETAN ATMOSPHERE.

the purplish-blue of the snow-crested mountains that bounded
our view of the lake, where it takes a leftward turn for some
twelve more miles.

The strangely wild beauty of this scene was enhanced by
the extreme clearness of the air, which in Tibet renders sur-
rounding objects, and their black clear-cut shadows, almost
startlingly distinct, and distances most deceptive. A natural
consequence of so transparent an atmosphere is, that the sun's
rays strike through it with the most astonishing power. In-
deed, from the moment the sun appears over the horizon it
commences pitching into your face, and especially your poor
nose ; and even although these may be shaded from its direct
beams, the radiation from the dry stony ground is so great as
to make some sort of covering for the face very desirable.
And oh ! the merciless, marrow-searching wind that hardly
ever ceases blowing on these bare Tibetan steppes, except
for a few hours in the morning, and not always even then.
How it, combined with hard frost every night, parches and
cracks the sun -scorched skin on your face and lips, until
speaking becomes painful, to laugh is a torture, and to wash
is almost impossible. Day after day the skin peels off your
face and hands. There is no escape from this evil in Tibet ;
it is the great drawback to a trip there. I generally wore a
kind of mask made of thin cloth, extending down just over
the nose, with apertures for the eyes, and always kept my face
well smeared with a salve composed of bear's grease and sper-
maceti, which acted like basting to roast-meat, inasmuch as
it prevented the skin from being quite frizzled up. A large
carriage-umbrella, which can so easily be carried by one of
your attendants, will be found most useful for setting up, to
rest and have your " bite " under, on those arid shingly up-
lands, where a spot of shade is so seldom to be found. How
often I wished I had brought one with me ! Yet, with all its
inconveniences, the light dry air of Tibet is singularly exhil-
arating, and notwithstanding the sudden and extreme varia-

RAREFIED AIR. 305

tions of temperature, highly salubrious. But at this rate we
shall be a long time reaching Changchenmo.

A family-shot at a flock of rock-pigeons — a paler-col-
oured bird than the common blue rock, and slightly marked
with white — and a wild goose of the bar-headed variety 1
killed in some marshy ground beside a stream running into
the lake, furnished a welcome addition to our larder. The
goose, however, was rather dearly bought at the price of a
heavy fall among the stones, owing to the clumsy Tartar
saddle turning as I dismounted to shoot. I felt the effects
in the small of my back for more than a week after.

We camped at Lookoong, two miles north of the lake — a
hamlet consisting of a few wretched little hovels, with about
half an acre of irrigated cultivation attached. This was the
last sign of any human habitation we should meet with until
our return from the inhospitable region we were about to
visit. From here two days more took us over the Marsemik
la into Changchenmo. The ascent to this pass is so very
gradual and easy, and there was so little snow lying even on
its gentle northern slope when we crossed, that it was difficult
to believe we were 18,600 feet above the sea-level ; but almost
all of us, our Tartars included, suffered more or less from
headache, and my nose bled slightly.

The best remedy for the unpleasant effects caused by rare-
fied air I found to be cold strong tea ; spirits only increased
them. The Tartars, however, drink quantities of chung, the
weak spirit of the country, distilled from a kind of barley
called grim, which, they say, answers the same purpose. It
has a sweetish and not altogether unpleasant taste. In the
more northern Himalayas, eating raw onions is said by the
natives to mitigate these disagreeable sensations.

As we sat discussing our breakfast a mile or two below the
top of the pass, previous to crossing it, — and here I may offer
a bit of advice : never cross a high pass on an empty stomach,
—we descried a flock of seven Oves Amman (the magnificent

u

306 CHANGCHENMO.

wild sheep of Tibet) on a sloping hillside far below us. The
glass showed they were all rams, and two of them carried fine
horns. But they were moving quickly, and the ground they
were on was, at any rate, much too bare and open for a stalk ;
besides, we had a long tramp before us to our next halting-place,
which we did not reach until evening.

The following day we camped beside the Changchenmo
river — a tributary of the Shyok — which flows over its wide
shingly bed between bare, brown, stony slopes, surmounted
with precipitous heights of the reddish and ochreous hues
often so conspicuous in the colouring of the mountains in this
strange land. Hereabout, growing on the sand-hills beside
the river, we were surprised and delighted to find plenty of
fuel in the shape of a kind of tamarisk called oomboo, which
was so dry and inflammable that we had only to put a match
to a big bush for the strong wind to at once set it ablaze and
keep it smouldering away for hours, always taking care it was
to leeward of our tents.

We now learnt from two Tartars left in charge of supplies
belonging to the sportsmen ahead of us, that their masters
were, as we expected, in possession of the best hunting locali-
ties. After a conference with Changter, he suggested that we
should proceed up another long glen north of Changchenmo,
named Kugrang, which he said was usually a pretty sure find
for wild yaks. The Tartars had informed us that one of the
sportsmen was hunting somewhere about the head of this
glen ; but as Changter said it was more than twenty miles
in length, and that there were one or two long lateral branches
leading out of it, we considered that our each occupying one
of these would not be poaching. The Major accordingly
decided on taking up his quarters in one of them, whilst I did
the same in another.

In order to reach our ground, it was necessary to cross the
Changchenmo river. Fording this treacherous stream is
always more or less unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous ;

THE KIANG. 307

for during the summer it can only be crossed at certain
places, and at these only during the space of a few hours
in the morning, after which a dirty turbulent flood of melted
snow suddenly comes rushing down, and, spreading itself over
the wide bed of shifting sand and gravel, renders it quite im-
passable.

As we pursued our way up the Kugrang glen we saw several
small troops of kiang (Equus hemionus), the wild horse of
Tibet, whose shy behaviour showed us that human intentions
had not always been so harmless towards them as ours were.
The kiang can hardly be called handsome, on account of its
rather ungainly head, hog mane, and almost rat tail, which it
always tucks in when it gallops ; but it shows many good
points. It stands about Galloway height, and its general
colour on the body and head is a reddish dun, with a dark
dorsal stripe. Its belly and legs are a creamy- white, as also
is its nose. It is considered by some to be a wild ass. Its
ears, however, are not large like those of a donkey, nor does
it bray like one, its whinny being quite that of a horse.

We saw also two buck antelopes, which I attempted to
stalk, but failed to get nearer than 200 yards before they
decamped. Scanty as vegetation was everywhere, we found
more of it here, strange to say, though at a considerably
higher elevation, than in the main valley of Changchenmo,
which accounted for game being more plentiful in this
locality.

The Major now went on with his men to establish his
hunting-quarters in an offshoot to the left, whilst I, accom-
panied by Changter, Kurreem, and a man leading my pony,
turned up one northward to the right, our baggage -yaks
following leisurely behind us. This offshoot of the Kugrang,
Changter called Chang Loong Koongma. It runs up parallel
to, and eight or ten miles west of, Chang Loong Yokma, lead-
ing to the desert plain of Lingzitang, averaging over 17,000
feet, across which vast elevated waste lies the route to

308 TIBETAN ANTELOPES.

Yarkand. We had proceeded two or three miles when
Changter detected some moving objects on a gently sloping
plateau far away up the glen. The glass was soon brought
to bear on them, when they proved to be a herd of seven
antelopes, and two kiangs that were grazing near them.
After watching for some time, we were glad to see the horses
move off, leaving us a better chance of a stalk at the ante-
lopes, amongst which I could discover several good bucks.
As there was little chance of their noticing us at so great
a distance, we moved cautiously on until we gained the
cover of a high sloping bank, rising beside the stream that
flowed down the glen. Here we left the pony, giving in-
structions to the man in charge of him to have the tents
pitched, on their arrival, in a sheltered nook, whilst Changter,
Kurreem, and I went on to try and circumvent the antelopes.
We had proceeded some distance along the stony bed of
the stream, under cover of the steep sloping bank beside it,
when we were suddenly brought to a stand-still by seeing
a buck antelope moving in front of us down towards the
stream, and a second soon followed. They were still a con-
siderable way off, and, fortunately, did not detect us before
we had crouched as close as possible under cover of the bank.
Waiting until they were hidden behind some rising ground,
we again moved cautiously forward. At length we reached
the spot where they had disappeared, but, to our dismay, they
were nowhere visible beyond it. Thinking they might have
gone back again on to the higher ground, we crept up the
steep bank and peered over it, when a single doe, that
happened to be close by on the plateau above, catching sight
of us, went away at speed. Still there was no sign of the
bucks ; and as the wind, which had hitherto favoured us, had
now veered round, we made sure that they too had got in-
telligence of us and departed. As we lay there, uncertain
as to what our next move should be, I noticed that old
Changter's countenance brightened up, and his wandering

PUMPED. 309

eyes suddenly became fixed. Turning his head slowly
towards me, he drew my attention to some animals near the
mouth of a small gorge some 400 yards off, and whispered
"Man" (Ovis Ammori).

For the moment the antelopes were forgotten as the spy-
glass was directed on the nobler animals, but those in sight
turned out to be ewes ; and as Changter assured me that at
this season there was little chance of finding old rams and
ewes in the s,ame flock, my disappointment was considerable,
though I would fain have believed him to be wrong in this
instance. He was right, however, as was proved when the
beasts got our wind, and the herd, which consisted only of
three ewes, sped away up the gorge and disappeared.

As the sun was still pretty high, we decided upon moving
a little farther up the glen on the chance of again finding the
antelopes. We were descending the sloping bank with the
intention of getting back into the stream-bed, when we heard
a clatter amongst the loose stones. To our astonishment we
beheld a fine buck antelope coming galloping towards us
along the slope, and apparently so bewildered by something
that had scared him that he failed to observe us until he got
within fifty yards, when, suddenly detecting us, he wheeled
sharp round. I had only time to snatch my rifle from
Changter and take a snap-shot, before the animal disappeared
over the brow of the rise above us. Although he showed no
signs of being hurt, I thought from the sound that the bullet
had struck him. Quite forgetting the great height we were
at — well over 1*7,000 feet — I ran back quickly up the slope,
and on reaching the top saw the buck standing within twenty
yards, his drooping head showing how sorely he was wounded ;
but I was quite incapable of using my rifle. There I was
obliged to lie down, gasping for breath, with my heart beating
as if it were ready to burst, whilst the buck moved slowly off,
gradually increasing his pace until he was lost to view in a
neighbouring ravine. My two men, who had wisely taken

310 THE TSOS.

it more quietly, reached the top of the brae just in time to
see the buck before he disappeared, much to their disappoint-
ment, which I think was equalled by their astonishment at
finding me lying panting on the ground without making any
attempt to stop him.

It was some time before I recovered breath enough to
follow the buck, which both the men said I had missed ; but
as I was now quite sure he was hit, and badly too, I pro-
ceeded towards the ravine at a much more moderate pace.
As we neared it, I lay down, and gradually worming myself
along for some distance over the sharp loose stones, slowly
raised my head. There, as I had half expected, lay the buck
about a hundred yards off in the ravine. Before I could get
my elbows well planted on the ground and the rifle levelled,
he was up and making off again, when, to the great delight of
old Changter, who had crawled up beside me, the report of
the rifle was followed by the buck throwing back his horns,
tottering forward a few yards, and falling struggling on his
side.

Whilst the men were skinning and cutting him up, there
was ample time to note his general appearance; and as he
was a good average specimen of a buck tsos, a short descrip-
tion of the Tibetan antelope (Kemas Hodgsonii) may perhaps
interest those who have never seen this animal. He measures
from thirty-two inches to thirty-four inches at the shoulder ;
thick and soft, almost woolly pile, of a very pale-yellowish
grey on the body, merging into white below the chest, inside
the legs, and on the stern ; dark-brown marks down the front
of the legs, on the fore ones extending up to the shoulder ;
an almost black patch on the face from between the eyes
downwards ; muzzle very thick and coarse, with an odd kind
of puffy protuberance beside each nostril — possibly a pro-
vision of nature for assisting respiration at the very high
altitude this animal affects; another curious glandular pro-
tuberance in each groin; tail about four inches long and

UNPLEASANT SENSATION. 311

tipped with white ; horns black and lyrate, two feet long, set
very erect and far forward on the forehead, and about a foot
apart at the tips, slightly curved forward, closely knotted in
front for two-thirds of their length from the base, and smooth
behind. The does, or what I took to be does, for I never shot
at them, appeared to be very similar in colour to the bucks,
but hornless, and without the black patch on the face. I
saw several herds of seemingly hornless antelopes whilst in
this glen, and regretted not having shot a specimen, which
I might easily have done, as I afterwards heard that it was
then a moot point whether the does were quite hornless, or
carried short thin horns like the female gazelle of India
(Gazella Bennettii). But as these antelopes have now so
often been shot by sportsmen in Tibet, this question has
doubtless been settled. A unicorn animal is said to be found
farther northward on these desert steppes, but I believe its
existence to be as fabulous as that of the equine creature
represented to the youthful imagination as fighting with the
lion for the crown. An antelope minus one of its horns may
possibly have given rise to the idea. It is also said that the
camel is found in a wild state farther north, within the terri-
tory of Khoten. These antelopes usually frequent localities
where the ground is more or less level or undulating, and are
never found much below 15,000 feet, though they often ascend
the sloping faces of the mountains to much greater heights,
and particularly after being scared. Like all Tibetan game,
their powers of sight and scent are extremely acute. Their
flesh is tender and juicy.

During the first night or two up here, and especially
towards morning, I experienced the uncomfortable sensation
of being unable to sufficiently inflate the lungs, which may
be described as a constant inclination to heave a deep-drawn
sigh. This was not to be surprised at, considering our camp
was at an elevation of 17,000 feet, calculated with a boiling-
point thermometer I had brought with me. It gradually

312 EFFECTS OF RAREFIED AIR.

wore off, however, as I became more accustomed to passing
the night in such intensely cold and rarefied air.

Whilst in this high valley, I, strange to say, never suffered
in the slightest degree from the nausea and headache I ex-
perienced on the open and tolerably level summits of the
Chang la and Marsemik, even when at as great altitudes.
Here I felt nothing more than shortness of breath when
ascending ever so gentle a rise, and a weight about the legs,
as if gravity were exercising an undue amount of influence
on them. On the upper ranges of the Himalayas, the natives
attribute the more unpleasant sensations to the exhalations
from certain poisonous plants1 growing at great heights per-
meating the air ; and my shikarees, when telling me about
shooting localities close under the snowy range, would de-
scribe some of them as being bad for bhik (poison), whilst
others which were as high, or higher, they said, were free
from it. Although this idea is generally ridiculed by
Europeans, it is so universally entertained throughout the
Himalayas by the hill-men, as to make one almost think
there must be some foundation for it. I certainly have seen
the deadly aconite flourishing luxuriantly on the higher
ranges, where the tall spike -like heads of its intense blue
blossom have a very striking and beautiful effect, shooting
up, as they often do, from some moist green spot, thickly
besprinkled with buttercups, amidst grey rocks and snow- beds.

At great heights I have always felt the effects of rarefied air
more on table-lands, or where the surroundings were com-
paratively level or undulating, than at similar elevations
where they were very steep, either upward or downward — and
I believe my experience in this respect is not singular. More-
over, it is remarkable that at Leh, which is under 12,000 feet,
but situated on an extensive open plateau, even the Tartars

XA Californian shrub, commonly called "poison-oak," is said by the
natives to have a noxious effect on those who inhale the air in its close
vicinity.

STRIKING SCENERY. 313

themselves are said to complain of shortness in breathing and
headache. From this it would seem either that height is not
the sole cause of, at any rate, the latter sensation, or the rarity
of the air must vary considerably at equal altitudes, under
different conditions. These ideas, which have been suggested
to me not only by my own experiences, but also by those of
other Himalayan travellers with whom I have talked on the
subject, may perhaps be considered rather wild, so let us now
turn from this long theoretical digression to something more
>ractical.

Next morning we went up the glen in search of dong.
There was a desolate grandeur about the mountains flanking
it that was very striking, though perhaps not so charming to
the eye as the forest-clad ranges of the Himalayas. The high
arid hills to the right were rounded in form and of a general
reddish yellow, like the colour of a half-burnt brick ; whereas
on the left they reared aloft in grey precipices, or in steep
acclivities covered with large loose stones and shingle towards
broad beds of snow, or serrated ridges of rock frowning grimly
above. In some of the rifts and gullies running down into the
glen lay beds of n4v6, terminating in abrupt broken declivities
of pure white ice. Altogether it was a savage scene of utter
loneliness, which language would fail to describe. And the
silence ! — during the lulls between the howling blasts of wind,
the deep depressing silence that reigned over this desert waste
was truly appalling. In most places one is accustomed to the
buzz of insects, the rustle of leaves, or the "busy hum,"
though perhaps only as an almost imperceptible murmur.
Even at dead of night the air is nearly always stirred by
sound of some kind, however lightly it may affect the sense
of hearing. Here, the stillness is as of a sepulchre — all Nature
seems dead !

But I am forgetting that as so comparatively few of my
readers can have seen the wild yak of Tibet (Pcephayus grun-
niens), the majority of them may wish to know what the crea-

314 THE WILD YAK,

ture is like. Imagine, then, a clumsy bovine animal,1 standing
from 16 to 18 hands at the shoulder, which is considerably
higher than the croup, with a rough coat of a general rusty
black inclining to greyish on the withers ; a large, stooping
head, slightly grey on the face and about the muzzle, and set on

Yak,

a rather lean neck ; curly grizzled hair all over the forehead,
almost concealing the eyes ; thick round horns from 2 to
3 feet long, and about 18 inches in girth, growing outwards,
curving to the front, and turning upwards near their points ;
an enormous bushy black tail, extending below the hocks ; a
thick fringe of long, matted, black hair hanging from the
shoulders, sides, and flanks, and reaching about half-way
down the short sturdy limbs, — and you have some sort of idea
of a bull dong as he is here called. The cows have much the

1 Dimensions of a wild bull yak shot by Colonel E. Smyth : circumference
of horn at base, 18 inches ; length of ditto, 36 inches. Space between the
eyes, 16 inches ; between the horns to tip of nose, 29^ inches ; between horns
to root of tail, 8 feet 5 inches ; length of tail, 37 inches. Height, 18 hands,
or 6 feet (as far as it was possible to take it of a dead animal). Circumference
of fore-foot, 21 f inches ; ditto hind-foot, 19 inches. Girth round belly, 9 feet
8 inches ; ditto round shoulder, 10 feet 1 inch ; ditto round neck at thinnest
part, 4 feet 2 inches. This animal (or else one shot at the same time, a little
smaller) is now in the Leeds museum, very well stuffed and set up.

TIBETAN FOX. 315

same general appearance, but are considerably smaller and
less shaggy, and carry thinner and shorter horns than the
bulls. Wild yaks generally congregate in herds, which may
contain any number up to considerably over a hundred, but
they are sometimes found singly. Their habitat is never
lower than 14,000 feet.

Towards the head of the glen there were marks of these
wild beeves that had been there some time before, but they
had evidently shifted their ground. Doe antelopes — or what
I supposed were does, for they all appeared hornless — were
pretty numerous ; but not a good buck did we see until we
reached the almost level snowless summit of a very high pass —
though it did not appear so from the great height we were
already at — which terminated the glen. Here a fine fellow
suddenly showed himself, and offered such a tempting shot
that I could not resist the temptation to let drive at him,
even at the risk of disturbing any dong that might have been
in the vicinity. Of doing this there was, however, little fear,
as the wind sweeping over the pass was quite enough to pre-
vent a shot being heard at any distance.

The buck moved on slowly a short way, and then lay
down. Giving him a wide berth for the present, with the
intention of looking him up on our way back, when we should
have a better chance of securing him, we went a consider-
able distance down the other side of the range, to a prominent
spot which commanded an extensive view of the savage
mountainous wilderness beyond. Even Changter, who had
been exploring this wild country since his youth, said he
knew little about the remote region across this pass. Every
visible atom of ground which was only here and there patched
with snow was carefully scrutinised through the spy-glass.
Still there were no dong to be seen — only a couple of wild
horses quietly grazing on an isolated green spot beside a little
stream, more than a mile off and far below us ; and a fine fox
with a light sandy-coloured coat and a white-tipped brush.

316 THE SADDLE ON YAK'S BACK.

He jumped up quite close to us, and turning round within
an easy stone's - throw, stood gazing at us for some time
as if with much wonder at our presence in this high soli-
tude.

It was now late in the afternoon, and we were at least
eight miles from our camp, so we returned to try and pick up
the wounded buck. As I did not wish again to risk dis-
turbing the ground by shooting at him unless absolutely
necessary, he gave us a long chase before we caught him:
fortunately he kept pretty straight down the glen.

I had not made a halt since leaving Leh ; so, by way of
taking a -much -needed rest, the next day was devoted to
dressing the antelope heads and working up some little
sketches I had made.

On the following morning we started early to again try
our luck after the wild yaks. This time I took the pony, to
ride wherever the ground permitted ; and I would advise any
one who hunts in Tibet not to be too proud to do likewise,
for the work that must necessarily be done on foot, when
actually following game, will be found quite severe enough
up here, where your legs always feel as if weighted with
lead, without any extra and unnecessary toil when it can be
avoided. In the inhabited districts of this part of Tibet a
pony can generally be hired, which, as it seldom wants any
food but what it can pick up for itself, will be much better
suited for the work required of it than an animal brought
with one ; or a tame yak can be ridden with much comfort,
and its paces are smooth and easy. But to proceed.

We had not gone far when five buck tsos were descried
far away up on a sloping hillside ; but I had determined to
devote this day entirely to searching for dong, so we did
not attempt a stalk.

Feeling much disappointed at again not finding any dong
in the glen, I sat myself down about a mile below the pass,
whilst I sent on a Tartar to prospect the country beyond it.

A DONG IN VIEW. • 317

Nearly two hours went by without the reappearance of our
scout. I had eaten my luncheon and emptied my bottle of
cold tea. The sun was far too powerful to allow of my taking
a nap to pass the time, and there was hardly a square inch of
shade anywhere near to protect us from its almost vertical
rays. Another hour passed, and my patience was getting ex-
hausted, when Changter and Kurreem, who had been for some
time lying dozing near me, suddenly lifted their heads, and
said they thought they heard a shout in the direction of the
pass. Hark to it again ! There is no doubt about it now, as
this time it is borne faintly towards us on the wind that
comes sweeping down from the pass in true Tibetan style ;
and with the telescope I can distinctly see the Tartar signal-
ling to us to come up. As the ascent is very gentle and easy,
we are not long in reaching him, when, to our great delight,
he reports having seen a single dong on the little green oasis
where we had noticed the kiangs grazing two days before.

Half running down the gradual and snowless slope on the
other side of the pass, we soon reach our old look-out spot,
from whence we can see our quarry, looking like a little black
dot in the distance away below us ; but we shall have to try
all we know to circumvent the beast, for the ground is most
unfavourable for a stalk. Our only chance rests in being able
to reach the bottom of a deep wide valley between us and the
dong, by scrambling down a steep stony gully which is in full
view of the animal. If we can only manage to get down this
unobserved and the wind favours us, the rest of the stalk
appears to be comparatively easy.

Slipping the covers on the rifles to prevent the sun glinting
on the barrels, and trusting to the great distance keeping our
movements unnoticed, Changter and I commence the descent,
leaving Kurreem to stop the man leading the pony, who has
lagged some way behind us. Fortune is so far kind that we
reach the bottom of the valley unperceived ; but a serious
obstacle here presents itself in the shape of a rapid swollen

318 STALKING A DONG.

torrent of dirty melted snow. Up this we find we must
make our way until we can discover a fordable place. Care-
fully watching the dong's movements, with our bodies bent
nearly double, we move forward a few paces whilst it feeds
with its head from us, crouching down motionless as the
stones beside us whenever the animal turns towards us. Thus
we slowly proceed for several hundred paces, until we gain the
cover of a high bank on the far side of the stream. To my
great relief, we can now walk upright until we reach a ford-
able-looking place some distance farther on. After wading
pretty deep through the ice-cold, rapid-running water, we
have to double back down beside it until we arrive at the
foot of a narrow ravine, some distance up and to the left of
which lies the little green flat on which we hope to find the
dong. As we slowly proceed up the ravine, treading carefully
to avoid rattling the stones, old Changter in a whisper cau-
tions me to take time, and not to fire until I can get a shot
at the animal's right side, which, he says, is more deadly than
the left in a dong. He little knows the penetrating power of
a hardened Whitworth bullet.

At last we reach a point which we judge to be about level
with the animal. Here we stop to. recover our breath, which
has been pretty well pumped out of us by our recent exertions.
Stealthily we crawl up the sloping side of the ravine, over the
most abominably sharp stones, and on cautiously peering over
the top, discover the yak within a hundred yards, now lying
with its head turned from us. A slight rattle made among
the loose stones whilst trying to plant rny elbows steadily for
the shot, at once attracts the beast's attention. Springing to
its feet with the most wonderful alacrity for such a big brute,
it stands broadside on, with its head turned towards us. Be-
fore it has time to think of making off, the sharp report of the
Whitworth rifle rings out, and I can see the dust knocked up
by the bullet ricochetting on the gravelly slope rising beyond
the animal. Away the beast goes up the slope at a gallop.

STARLIGHT AT HIGH ALTITUDES. 319

I must by some mischance have shot over it. The contents
of the other barrel are sent after it, but it still holds on. This
time I feel certain I have missed, and my heart sinks within
me. But there is yet a chance, for the beast breaks into a
trot, and then into a walk, which becomes slower and slower,
until at last it pulls up and turns its drooping head to look
back. Taking the other rifle from Changter's ready hands,
and quickly adjusting the sight for 200 yards, which in such
rarefied air does for a much greater distance, I fire again.
" Shabash ! " (bravo), exclaims the old fellow, jumping up
excitedly, as the dong totters for a few seconds, and then fall-
ing heavily on its side, lies kicking in its death-struggle.

On examining the carcass, we found that the first bullet had
passed clean through behind the shoulder, and had afterwards
knocked up the dust on the slope. The second had missed
entirely, and the last had struck within a few inches of the
first, but, taking a more forward direction, had actually per-
forated the heart, as was found on taking it out — a lucky
shot!

It was rather disappointing to find that the animal was a
female, for the head's sake ; but I tried to console myself with
the idea that cow-beef was preferable to bull-beef, and was
certainly better than none at all, — and her fine bushy tail wTas,
at any rate, a trophy worth having.

As the sun was now getting low, we could do little more
that day than gralloch the dead beast. Whilst performing
this operation, another dong suddenly emerged from a gorge
below us ; but catching our wind at once, it went off at a
rattling pace, and was soon lost to view. It was dusk by the
time we had recrossed the pass. Fortunately there was a
splendid bright moon to light us down the glen, as the rapid
stream flowing through it had to be crossed and recrossed
several times at certain places, and fording it in the dark
might have been a difficult, if not a dangerous undertaking.
There is little risk, however, of getting belated in Tibet if the

320 YAK BEEF.

sky is cloudless, as the starlight alone, at such a high altitude,
is broad enough to admit of surrounding objects being seen
with unusual distinctness, and cloudy nights are exceptional.
We were so late in getting back that our Tartars left in
camp, fearing some mishap had befallen us, had started in
search of us.

After sending off a couple of the baggage-yaks early next
morning to carry in the beef, I went after the five bucks we
had seen the day before on our way up the glen. We found
them still on the same ground, but they were now on the
alert, having winded us on our way up the hill ; so our
attempt to stalk them was fruitless. Later on in the day, we
descried in the distance several black objects which we at
first took to be dong ; but, much to our disappointment, the
glass showed them to be some of our baggage-yaks that had
wandered miles away, on their own hook, in search of food.

Great was the rejoicing in camp that evening when the
yaks returned laden with the meat ; and a juicy beef -steak
was a most acceptable addition to my own dinner — for, with
the exception of there being little fat on it, the flesh of the
dong is much the same as any other beef.

As Changter seemed to think there was now small hope
of our finding dong in this glen, which, although usually con-
sidered one of their favourite haunts, they had this year
apparently almost entirely forsaken, and the only other likely
places for them in Changchenino were occupied, and would
probably be so for some time, I decided on retracing my steps
to the Pangong country, where Oves Ammon were said to be
more numerous. By staying on here I might have killed
many antelopes, and, by dint of excessive hard work, combined
with much patience and luck, I might eventually have found
a few dong on the ground beyond the pass ; but my object was
variety, not quantity, of Tibetan game. Moreover, I was par-^
ticularly anxious to see as much as possible of other parts of
this most remarkable land during my short sojourn in it. I

MISFORTUNES NEVER COME SINGLE. 321

therefore thought it waste of my limited time to remain
longer in Changchenmo.

I had communicated my intentions by a messenger to the
Major, and he agreed still to accompany me ; so next day I
rejoined him where he had moved his camp to the foot of
the glen I was in. He had killed a fine buck antelope, but
unfortunately some wild dogs had been sharing the sport on
the same ground with him. It was rather late in the morn-
ing when we reforded the Changchenmo river, consequently
one of the baggage-yaks had a mishap in the rapid water
with its load, and my bedding, my shot-cartridges, and other
things it was carrying got thoroughly wet. In the evening we
were driven nearly distracted by myriads of almost invisible
little sand-flies ; and to add to our troubles, a pot of capital
soup made of a hare I had shot, which we had been watching
the preparation of with hungry eyes, was accidentally upset.

We had heard so much about the intense cold of this high
region, that we were rather surprised at having hitherto
suffered almost more from the scorching sun, although the
wind was always cutting cold, and there was keen frost every
night. We were not, however, to quit it without a taste of
what the climate sometimes could be, even in the month of
July. Next evening, after a long day's march, varied by grill-
ing-hot sunshine and bitter-cold showers of sleet, we camped
about six miles short of the top of the Marsemik, intending to
cross it in the early morning. Towards dark, clouds began to
gather ominously about the mountain-tops, and when we turned
in at night snow was falling ; but there was no appearance of
it lying anywhere in the vicinity, except inside some small
covered recesses of a kind of refuge built rudely of loose
stones and earth. In these the drift-snow, from being en-
tirely screened from the sun, lay in hard dirt-covered heaps,
having probably been deposited there in winter.

In the morning I was awakened by an unusual sound of
thumping and pulling at my tent. It turned out to be my

x

322 A CHEERLESS MORNING.

servant trying to effect an entrance through the fresh-fallen
snow that had drifted up thickly about it, and on looking
out, to my astonishment I saw nothing but one white waste
of snow that had fallen nearly a foot deep during the night.
The hillsides were shrouded in mist, and snow was still
falling, — altogether about as cold and dreary a prospect as
one could behold. Our poor yaks presented a most pitiful
appearance as they stood helplessly chewing the cud of de-
spondence, being entirely dependent for food — for they will
not eat grain — on the small amount of vegetation which was
now buried in snow. Even a pair of big ravens that croaked
lugubriously about the camp, on the look-out for stray scraps
of meat, looked more than usually sad, as they sat there with
their sable plumes all ruffled from the cold.

Crossing the pass that day was completely out of the ques-
tion, both on account of the thick mist and the snow that our
men reported to be knee-deep on the track a short distance
higher up. Fortunately for us, a quantity of loortze1 had
been collected here in readiness for Captain Basevi and his
party, who were coming into Changchenmo, or we should
have been wellnigh frozen.

The Major had pitched his little tent inside the stone en-
closure of the refuge, where, although better protected than
mine, it still was half buried in snow. Instead of turning
out in the cold as I had done, he had more wisely kept under
his blankets, where he snugly snoozed until breakfast-time.
By way of trying to keep warm, I went into one of the stone-
built recesses, where several of our Tartars were crouching
round a small grass-root fire, and was considerably edified
by watching them cooking and despatching their morning
repast.

1 Boortze is a kind of plant not unlike an exaggerated bunch of Alpine
Edelweiss, with large, thick, dry roots. It grows in tufts, sparsely scattered
over the stony ground, and is found almost everywhere where vegetation
exists at all in Tibet, and is the principal, and often the only, fuel procur-
able.

A TARTAR BREAKFAST. 323

To begin with, a very dirty copper vessel was put on the
fire and filled with some green weed like nettles, barley-flour,
and water. Whilst one of the men stirred this pottage round
and round with a wooden ladle, another produced some raw
meat — a bit of the dong I had shot. This he proceeded to
tear up into small strips and throw them on the fire, every
now and then popping a raw lump into his mouth and masti-
cating it with the greatest apparent gusto. Even the bits
on the fire were quickly disposed of after being merely
singed. As soon as the pottage was considered ready, it
was ladled out into little wooden cups, like the whisky
" quaighs " of the Highlands, minus the handles, which each
man produced from inside the breast of his dirty woollen
coat, and gulped up from them with a prodigious amount
of noise. After being replenished again and again until
the pot was emptied, the cups were carefully licked clean,
and redeposited in the place whence they had been taken.
Another course of flesh was about to be partaken of, after
the manner of the first, but a regard for my own appetite for
breakfast prevented my waiting to see it discussed. These
hardy Tartars are quite independent of any other dishes
beyond their little wooden bowls. In these they mix their
" suttoo " (meal made from barley) with a little water and
salt, and make an expeditious repast of it whenever they
feel hungry. Indeed this kind of uncooked porridge seems
to be their staple food.

In the forenoon the sun broke forth, and some idea of its
power up here may be formed when I say that by evening
the ground about our camp was nearly free from snow, and
next morning we were able to proceed without inconvenience
over the almost bare earth, which was frozen as hard as iron.
This time I felt no uncomfortable sensations from the rarefied
air on the pass, nor did I again suffer from them on this trip,
even when at considerably higher elevations, beyond the usual
feeling of extra weight and lassitude about the legs, and the

324 TIBETAN HARES.

inclination — indeed I may call it the necessity — for con-
stantly drawing a deep inspiration to fill the lungs, which I
have already mentioned. I made a wide dttour among the
undulating heights on the south side of the pass, where we
had seen the seven Oves Amman, rams previous to our first
crossing it. We found two flocks, one of nine ewes and the
other of six ewes, with five lambs at foot, which, of course,
were left unmolested.

At Lookoong we stopped for two days to await the arrival
of Captain Basevi there, on his way to prosecute his pen-
dulum observations on the highly elevated table -lands in
Changchenmo. We took advantage of the halt to have a
general wash-up of our dirty clothes in the stream that
flowed past the tents, as also did old Changter to improve
his personal appearance. For this purpose he came and
borrowed one of the butcher -knives I used for skinning
animals, to cut his hair with. Being curious to see the
result of the process of hair -cutting with a knife, I was
selfish enough not to suggest to him the use of a large pair
of scissors I possessed. Some hours after, when he again
turned up, his head, except where grew his pigtail and a few
straggling locks beside it that had escaped the ravages of
the knife, resembled the half-shaved back of a hedgehog,
as likewise did his son Norgie's, upon which he had also
operated.

Our men had caught a lot of excellent little trout-like fish
in the stream beside which we were camped, by driving them
under the banks and there "tickling" them. The largest
were about 8 inches long, dark brown above, golden below,
and had irregular black patch-like spots on their sides. We
had also shot one or two fine hares, which are plentiful in
many parts of Tibet. They weigh about 6 lb., and are not
unlike the blue hare of the Highlands of Scotland in their
habits and appearance, but a great deal more wild, and much
lighter in colour. With these luxuries, a bit of antelope-

A RARE MENU. 325

meat, and some wild-yak beef which were still to the fore
and in good order (as meat keeps for any time in Tibet),
some dried apricots from Skardo,1 purchased at Leh, and a
solitary tin of preserved oysters I had by some chance
brought with me, we resolved to prepare a grand entertain-
ment to celebrate our re-meeting with Captain Basevi. I
here give our menu, to show what may occasionally be ac-
complished in the way of cuisine even in these desert wilds,
with the help of the cooking -pot and the broiler invented
by Captain Warren, E.N., which I would recommend as an
essential part of a Tibetan sportsman's kit.

MENU.

Tibetan hare-soup.

Broiled Tibetan trout.

Beef-steak of wild yak and oyster sauce.

Broiled fowl

(subscribed by our guest}
and wild yak's tongue.

Green peas
(canned, subscribed by our guest}.

Curry of Tibetan antelope, and rice.

Skardo apricots, stewed, with yak's-milk sauce.

Cheese. Preserved butter.

Soda cakes.
Whisky-toddy.

Altogether a rare repast, such as even that world-known
restaurant, Les Trois Freres de Provence, in the Palais
Eoyal, would have found it rather difficult to provide — even
without the disadvantage of having the kitchen-roof fall iu
during its preparation, as happened in this case, when the
servants' little tent, in which our feast was being cooked,
was blown down by a hurricane of wind and rain.

1 The chief town of Baltistan or Little Tibet.

326 BASEVl's SAD FATE.

Here we parted from Captain Basevi — he proceeding on
his way in search of scientific lore, we on ours in pursuit of
the/ms naturce. How little did the dear good fellow think,
as, in excellent health and spirits, he cheerily bade us " Good-
bye," that we were the last of his fellow-countrymen whose
hands he would ever grasp ! Sad indeed was his fate. In
that inhospitable region to which his labours in the cause of
science had led him, with not a friend near, and far, far
beyond the reach of any aid save that of his native attend-
ants, he was suddenly taken ill, and, after a few brief hours
of suffering, parsed away within eight days of his parting
from us. He now lies at rest in the Christian cemetery in
beautiful Cashmere, to which his remains were conveyed
from Tanksee, where .they had at first been interred.

Tibetan (hand) Prayer-wheel.

327

CHAPTEE XIX.

THE OVIS AMMON— THE PANGONG LAKE— A JOYLESS SOLITUDE — LONELI-
NESS— LUKKUR'S ESCAPADE — THE CAUSE OF IT — A LONG AND LUCKY

SHOT — THE LORD OP THE FLOCK IS LEFT BEHIND — BLACK WOLF —
TIBETAN MARMOT— LIMIT OF VEGETATION IN TIBET— OVIS AMMON
GROUND — TWO BIG RAMS SIGHTED — A CONTRETEMPS — HOW I
BLESSED THE AUTHOR OF IT — MORE BIG RAMS — THEIR EXTREME
WARINESS — TWO HOURS* PATIENCE — HALF-BAKED IN THE SUN— A

STORMY MORNING MORE BEAUTIES IN SIGHT — A LONG AND TRYING

STALK— THE OBSTACLES ENCOUNTERED IN IT— WHAT COULD HAVE
SCARED THE FLOCK ? — WE COME UP WITH IT AGAIN — A DRIVE IS AT-
TEMPTED— ITS RESULT — MISPLACED CONFIDENCE — BLACK WILD DOGS.

IN hunting the Ovis Ammon, or Nian as in Tibet it is called,
the sportsman must expect to undergo a great deal of fatigue
and frequent disappointment, and to have his patience and
endurance tried pretty severely ; but should he have the luck
to secure even one really fine specimen, he may think him-
self well rewarded for all his trouble. One may wander for
days and days over known good localities without seeing
large rams ; and when they are found, their " cuteness " is
in proportion to their size, for even then they may have to
be followed for many a mile, and, as likely as not, without
getting a shot at them after all. An old ram Ovis Ammon is
certainly the most wary and restless game-animal that exists —
even the crafty Highland stag is a fool compared with him ;
and the ground he frequents is usually so open and bare as
often to make approaching him there next thing to impos-
sible. The ever-blowing wind, too, which is so shifty among
these undulating uplands and ravines, frequently baffles, the

328 THE OVIS AMMON.

best of stalkers ; but all this only makes the pleasure of
success the greater.

A full-grown Ovis Ammon (or Ovis Argali) stands about
twelve hands. The general colour of its pile — which is short,
soft, and close — is a kind of light brownish-grey, growing
much darker about the withers and fore-quarters, and slightly
so along the centre of the back. In autumn it becomes
darker all over, and more glossy. Under the chest and belly
it is much lighter— almost white, in fact. The legs, which
are rather lanky and comparatively slight for a sheep, are
also nearly white, with brown marks down their front. The
stern and haunches are a pale yellowish-white. In old rams
the hair in front of the shoulders is much longer than else-
where, and stands out in a sort of greyish-white ruff. The
muzzle is whitish and fine. Of tail there is hardly a vestige.
The massive, deeply-creased horns are well arched upwards
and backwards, their points curling round to the front beside
the cheeks like cart-wheels. In weight the horns are not
exceeded by those of any other known animal of the sheep
tribe except the Ovis Poli, which inhabits the Pamir steppes
and other more northern parts of Turkestan. The horns of
the Ovis Poli are, however, not so thick, though they are
very much longer, and have more curl and a much wider
spread. About 40 inches long and 17 or 18 inches in cir-
cumference at the base, may be considered a fair average size
for a good Ovis Ammon ram's horns, though they often grow
bigger ; but in almost all large specimens the tips are broken,
which takes several inches off what the horns would be in
length if perfect. A head of about this size weighs quite
40 lb., yet it does not look disproportionately large, nor does
the animal appear to be at all inconvenienced by its ponderous
horns. The ewes are considerably smaller than the rams,
and rather lighter in colour. They carry comparatively short
and thin curved horns, and have no white ruff. Strange to
say, they are much less wary than the old rams, which is

THE "BLUE KIBBON" OF HIMALAYAN SPORT. 329

rather unusual with the females of the majority of gregarious
wild animals. They drop one lamb yearly in spring. Al-
though Oves Ammon usually affect open and more or less
undulating ground, they often ascend the sloping mountain-
sides to very great heights ; but they are not much addicted
to nor adapted for climbing, like the other kinds of Hima-
layan wild sheep. In this respect the Ovis Ammon differs
from the animal nearest approaching it in appearance — the
" big-horn " of the Eocky Mountains (Ovis montana), which is
a good climber. During the rutting season the rams are
much given to fighting, and their whereabouts may sometimes
be discovered by the clashing together of their horns, which,
when the air happens to be still, can be heard at a great
distance, though the animals may be hidden from view. The
Ovis Ammon is strictly a Tibetan animal, but, as it sometimes
frequents the more gentle slopes on the eastern side of the
Himalayas, it may be included among the game of those
mountains.

This magnificent wild sheep, owing to the remoteness of its
haunts and the difficulty in circumventing it when you get
there, not to mention the grandness of its trophies when
secured, is perhaps more prized than any other Himalayan
game. In fact, the man who fairly stalks and kills his big
ram Ovis Ammon, may consider he has gained the " Blue
Bibbon," so to speak, of Himalayan sport.

My friend Colonel E. Smyth told me he had once the
wonderfully good luck to secure two of these grand trophies
with one shot. On this occasion he had crossed the Lipu pass
from the Byans district of Kumaon to the large village of
Tuklakar in the Hundes territory of Tibet. He had much
difficulty in persuading the authorities there to allow him to
go for sixteen days to hunt Hodgsonian antelopes in the
country eastward of the Mansorawar lake ; for these Chinese
Tartars are very jealous of foreign intrusion, well knowing
that where the thin end of the wedge once enters, the thick

330 THE PANGONG LAKE.

end will soon follow. To reach his ground from Tuklakar he
had to cross the Yurla Mandrata range, at a height of 20,000
feet. One day he had sent his men back to camp with some
game he had shot, and whilst alone he discovered four big
rams feeding among some rocks, and stalked them success-
fully. Their heads only were visible as they stood for a
moment to look at him. He aimed at what appeared to him
to be the largest ram, and rolled it over dead. The other
three ran off, but one of them almost immediately fell dead
also. The bullet had gone through the head of one of them
and into the neck of the other. He cut the bullet out of the
neck afterwards. Four large male antelopes also fell to his
rifle during his short visit to this remote region. Several
herds of wild yaks were seen in the same neighbourhood,
principally cows ; but as Colonel Smyth had in former years
shot as many wild yaks as he wanted, he devoted himself
more to the Hodgsonian antelopes, of which up to that time
he had not killed a specimen.

Although I am a poor authority compared with others who
have described the pursuit of these gigantic wild sheep, my
success moreover, on this occasion, being small as regards
trophies, yet I venture to hope that my humble quota of
experience may assist in giving some idea of the real wild
sport attending it.

On the 10th of July we left Lookoong for Chooshul, a
fair-sized Tartar hamlet near some borax-mines, about eight
miles southward of the Pangong tso, along the side of which
the greater part of our three days' journey to it lay. Not a
living thing was there to be seen, nor was there a sound to
break the dead silence around this watery waste save the
monotonous plash of the wavelets breaking along the sandy
shore. From the unmistakable evidences about its margin,
the water of this lake must be steadily receding ; and Changter
informed me that a long low rock which appears above water
near its northern end was, within his recollection, quite in-

TIBETAN SPORTING DOGS. 331

visible, and that each year it is gradually becoming more
exposed. The water, although clear as crystal, is quite un-
drinkable, from having an intensely salt and bitter taste.

I had been told of a good locality for finding the big rams
on the Chinese frontier eastward of Chooshul; but as the
same ground had also been recommended to the Major, I
relinquished my intention of hunting it at present in his
favour. After replenishing our supply of flour and changing
our baggage-yaks at the hamlet, the Major proceeded to work
the undulating hills in the vicinity of the Pangoor tso, a more
elevated but much smaller salt lake than the Pangong, some
ten miles east of Chooshul. As I was feeling rather " out of
sorts," I delayed my start in a more southerly direction for
a few days. Changter recommended my taking two or three
dogs and their owner with me from here, as being useful for
hunting napoo (Ovis nahura) — the burrel or blue wild sheep
of the Himalayas — which he said we might also find on the
ground he recommended my hunting over for Oves Ammon.
They were ugly, half-starved-looking curs, but doubtless were
well up to the work for which they were intended — being
trained to hunt down their quarry as the ibex dogs are in the
Cashmere mountains. It turned out, however, that I nearly had
cause to repent having taken them, as will presently be seen.

After three days' rest I was fit enough to set out again,
under Changter's guidance ; so the baggage -animals were
collected and packed. As yaks are sometimes apt to make
free use of their horns, especially towards strangers, loading
them is not always an easy job. The Tartars usually collect
them in a ring, with their heads turned inwards, and their
horns tied together until all are laden, when they are again
set free and driven on their way.

Our route led over a low pass, or what looked a low one
from the open level ground around Chooshul, which was
already about 14,000 feet, but the ascent to it was . pretty
steep. On reaching the summit, a lonesome picture of flood

332 A JOYLESS SOLITUDE.

and fell appeared stretching away beyond. About a mile
from and considerably below us lay the Mirpa tso, an irregu-
lar-shaped sheet of dark, sullen-looking water, some four or
five miles in circumference. Eising almost from its margin
on every side were brown-coloured, rounded, and sterile hills,
with nothing to break the dreary monotony of their appear-
ance save a few patches of snow that lay near the top of some
of their long stony slopes, and in one or two of the deeper
hollows of the gullies that ran down between them. The
scanty tufts of herbage that existed on the sides of this huge
natural water-basin, as it were, were rendered almost invisible
by distance, except in a few low and more level spots, where
the moisture, derived either from springs or from trickling
streamlets, had given the scraps of turf there a most vivid
green, which was quite a relief for the eye to rest on.

After a short time spent in contemplating this joyless soli-
tude, we descended to the shore of the lake. Not a breath of
the usual wind was then stirring to ruffle its placid surface,
which resembled a sheet of polished steel. The dull grey light
of a cloudy day, and the solemn silence that reigned supreme,
combined with the bleak and dismal aspect of the surrounding
hills, were such as to induce a feeling of utter loneliness
which was almost irksome. The men with me stretched
themselves out on the dry white sand that bordered the lake,
and were soon fast asleep. Even the pony seemed to feel the
depressing influence of the profound stillness, as he stood
listlessly there with drooping head and closed eyes. The only
signs of life or motion to be seen were exhibited by the dogs
as they tugged and gnawed at some dry bits of skin that
partially covered the sun-bleached bones of a dead animal
that lay close to the water's edge. If from this inadequate
sketch the reader can picture it to himself, such was the
ground in which I hoped to find the objects of my present
search.

I was not sorry when my meditations, which under the

A BOOTLESS SEARCH. 333

circumstances were not of the liveliest order, were inter-
rupted by the sound of footfalls, and on looking round, I saw
my cook approaching with the men who carried the kiltas 1
containing breakfast. After appeasing my appetite, which
had not been so much affected as my spirits, we skirted along
the shore of the lake, and camped at its southern end.

For the two following days we wandered high and low over
these desolate hills, which I found to be a great deal steeper
than they had at first looked. Carefully did I scan every
hillside, glen, and corrie through the telescope, without a
living thing appearing in its field except kiangs, or an
occasional marmot as it sat basking near the entrance to its
burrow. Not even a fresh mark of an Ovis did we see to
encourage us. The animals had evidently shifted their
ground, so we resolved to follow their example.

With this intent, next morning, leaving instructions for the
traps to be brought on some distance behind us, in case of
our meeting with game, we were on the move shortly after
dawn. We had crossed a high ridge, and were descending a
gentle slope beyond it, when one of the dogs, which, being
little more than a puppy, his owner did not think it necessary
to tie up, suddenly showed signs of more knowledge of his
calling than he had been given credit for. This young beast,
that answered to the name of Lukkur — or rather ought to
have done, so — was now drawing ahead, apparently on the
scent of something, and neither the persuasions nor the
threats of his master had any power to stop him. We had
not proceeded many yards when, on the face of a low spur
that had hitherto been hidden from our sight, we descried the
cause of Master Lukkur's movements. A flock of seven male
Oves were standing huddled together, evidently watching the
dog, which had disappeared in a hollow lying between them
and us ; and almost immediately the sound of his bark was
followed by the herd scampering wildly over the crest of the

1 Baskets made for carrying loads on the back.

334 LUKKTJR'S ESCAPADE.

spur. My feelings at that moment can easily be imagined.
My anger and vexation were so great, that I could with diffi-
culty refrain from shooting the confounded young beast as he
came trotting back after the mischief he had done. There
was, however, one chance left, though a very poor one. For-
tunately the dog had not followed the animals far, and their
attention had been so much taken up with his movements,
that they in all probability had not observed ours. We
therefore resolved to follow them, on the chance of again find-
ing them.

By the greatest good luck we overtook them about a mile
beyond where they had disappeared. Although some of them
had begun to feed, they were still in a restless state ; so the
only thing to be done was to patiently watch them as they
kept slowly moving up the hillside. At last one of them lay
down, and the rest soon followed his example. Crawling
backwards until we were well under cover, we again got on
our feet, and as the wind was favourable, we resolved to
try and get above them. To effect this was by no means
easy, as the face of the hill we had to climb was awfully
steep, and composed of nothing but loose sharp fragments of
rock, that afforded most uncertain footing, and frequent stop-
pages were necessary to take breath.

On reaching what we considered a sufficient height to be
well above the place where the flock was lying, after a few
minutes' rest we had to resume the stooping and crawling
process for some distance. But notwithstanding all our
caution, the wily animals detected us in some manner, for
the next sight I got of them was at about 200 yards, as they
were galloping away up the sloping hillside. Sighting for
that distance, and making for a lump of rock a few yards in
front, that offered a good rest, I placed my cap under the rifle
and waited until they stopped, as I expected they would do
before going far, to look back. Taking a full bead on the one
I thought had the largest horns, I let drive. Away they

A LONG AND LUCKY SHOT. 335

went in a cluster over the rise above them, leaving the lord
of the flock half dragging his hind-quarters after him as he
in vain tried to overtake the rest. I gave them a parting
salute with the other barrel as they topped the rise, which
compliment they failed to acknowledge. This was a lucky
chance and no mistake, as the distance must have been quite
250 yards. The poor brute dragged himself on his haunches
for fully a quarter of a mile down the other side of the hill
before his strength failed him, and on our approach raised
himself on his forelegs and menaced us with his horns. Al-
though he was a full-grown ram, measuring about twelve
hands, his horns did not turn out to be so large as they had
looked at a distance.

By the time we got back over the hill, the baggage-yaks
had arrived at the place where we had left the pony and dogs
below. As the country about looked promising, and there
was water at hand, I decided to camp here for a day or two.
Good as it seemed, and although we worked hard over it, as
well as a more distant beat, to reach which we crossed a
rocky ridge that must have been considerably above 19,000
feet, our success was no better here than on our last ground.
We saw only four Oves, which the spy-glass spared me the
trouble of going after, by showing them to be either ewes
or very young males. How many a weary and useless mile
does a good telescope thus save ! "We also came across a black
wolf, but he was too far out for a shot, and his long slinging
trot soon took him out of sight. The only thing I emptied my
rifle at was a marmot, as it sat up whistling away, near the
mouth of its burrow, not far from my tent. It was somewhat
smaller than the Himalayan variety, and of a uniform yellow-
ish-grey colour, and appeared to be identical with the Alpine
marmot. The Tartars consider marmots excellent eating, and
probably they are so, though I could never bring myself to
try them. When we happened to encamp near their burrows,
of which there are generally a number together, like the

336 LIMIT OF VEGETATION IN TIBET.

prairie-dog "cities" in America, our men would sometimes
secure them by smoking them out of their holes, and killing
them with sticks and stones. To cook them they were first
singed bodily in the fire to remove the hair, and then cut up
and boiled, skin and all.

The Major and I had arranged to meet at a place called
Numa, on the Indus, where it is fordable or ferry able, accord-
ing to the season, as we should there have to cross it on our
way to the Hanle country, where we intended to try our luck
after the goa (Tibetan gazelle). As my camp was at an ele-
vation of over 17,000 feet, calculated by boiling-point thermo-
meter, and was fearfully cold and windy, I was not sorry to
turn my steps downwards in the direction of Numa, which we
reached in two days.

Hearing no news of the Major at that place, by way of
keeping myself employed until his arrival, I moved up the
Indus valley to a locality where I was told we might find some
napoo. I met him, however, at the place where I intended
camping for the night. He had seen a good many big Oves
Ammon on the ground he had been over, but unfortunately
had killed none, so we decided to go there and hunt it for a
few days longer, as he said there was plenty of room for two
guns. He accordingly returned next morning to his old
ground, whilst I devoted a day to a search for napoo ; but
finding no fresh signs of them, I moved on and camped within
a few miles of him. There I engaged the services of one of
the occupants of some black yak's-hair tents that were pitched
close to mine — a Tartar herdsman who was well acquainted
with the ground in the vicinity.

In order to get to leeward of our first day's beat, as the
wind was blowing upward — which it almost invariably does
up here during the day, and downward at night — we began
the morning by toiling up to the extreme limit of the scanty
tufts of vegetation, which limit, in Tibet, is about 17,000 feet
— more or less. Above were steep bare acclivities of loose

A CONTRETEMPS. 337

rock, stones, and rubble, terminating in sharp grey crags,
shooting up into the dark-blue firmament, whilst a broad tract
of arid undulating hill and dale, scantily clothed with herb-
age, consisting of sparsely scattered bunches of boortze grass,
sloped away for miles below.

Here I sat down to recruit exhausted nature by having my
breakfast, and, after finishing it, was lazily reclining to pro-
mote its digestion, when my eye chanced to light on two
moving objects on a bare distant slope. Drawing Changter's
attention to them, he at once pronounced them to be " nian."
On the spying-glass being brought to bear on them, they
proved to be two fine rams ; but they were in such an exposed
situation that it would be utterly impossible to approach them
unless they shifted their ground. Presently they began to
quicken their movements downwards. This was exactly what
was wanted, so we at once began a careful movement in order
to get above them, and to leeward, if possible. We had gone
but a hundred yards, and were descending the side of a shal-
low gully, when a brute of a kiang that was grazing farther
up in it, and which we had, unfortunately, failed to notice,
got wind of us. With his big ugly nose tossed high in the
air, he galloped down the gully and away over the ground
lying between us and our quarry. The glass was again put
into requisition, to observe the effect of this contretemps. At
first the rams stood and gazed, until I began to think that,
after all, it was not of much consequence ; but my experience
of the ever wary and extremely suspicious nature of the Ovis
Ammon was at that time very limited. Without much ap-
parent concern they retreated slowly up the hill, until they
disappeared over its brow.

How I blessed that kiang! I had a decided aversion to
shooting these wild horses, as an utterly unsportsman-like
thing to do, but I then felt as if I could have either slain or
maimed that particular brute, not only without the slightest
compunction, but with the utmost satisfaction.

Y

THE GUARDIAN OF THE FLOCK.

The only thing now to be done was to try and follow up the
rams, as, to us, they did not appear to have been much alarmed.
We had scarcely gone half a mile when Changter descried an-
other flock of five more. They were a long way off and con-
siderably above us, but they had already detected us, as they
lay on the watch among the grey stones, from which, by
reason of the way nature so often assimilates the colour of
wild animals to that of their surroundings, they were hardly
distinguishable until they rose and began moving restlessly
about. There was one old fellow with a mighty pair of horns,
evidently the guardian of the flock — and an uncommonly sharp
one too, for' I could see, with the glass, that his head was
turned continually towards us. The other four, two of which
also carried very fine horns, seemed to intrust their safety in
a great measure to the extreme watchfulness of their big
leader. I had got into the thick of them this time at any
rate, but the ground was so open and undulating as to render
a stalk there almost impossible.

For at least two hours did we lie on the bare stony ground,
being half baked by the blazing sun, for we dared not move
until the animals put some cover, in the shape of a hill-top,
between us and them. When they at last did so, it took us
at least another hour of hard work to reach the place where
they had disappeared, and, after all, on getting there, nothing
was to be seen of them in the wide valley beyond but their
tracks. We, however, again made out our two first friends of
the morning. But they were much too far off to follow
that evening, so we left them undisturbed, in hope of being
able to find them next day.

Find them again we did, but under such circumstances that
I would rather have dispensed with their presence at the time,
as will afterwards be shown. From the foot of the valley in
which we had last seen the tracks of the five rams the even-
ing before, I took a careful search with the telescope over all
the ground within sight, and at length made out several rams

A LONG AND TRYING STALK. 339

reposing on an open slope near the head of it. We were
rather puzzled as to our mode of procedure, for the morning
was still boisterous after a stormy night of rain, and the wind
was blowing in fitful gusts that veered constantly to different
points of the compass. There was good cover for a stalk, at
any rate for as far as we could see, along the boulder-strewn
bed of a shallow stream running down from the direction in
which the rams were lying, so I resolved to take advantage
of it as much as possible and afterwards be guided by circum-
stances. Against this scheme Changter strongly protested, his
idea being that we should make a wide circuit behind a spur
to our left, in order to get above the animals. But I was
obstinate ; perhaps, too, a little lazy at the idea of a repeti-
tion of the long wearisome grind upward of the previous
morning, and foolishly refused to take his sage advice sug-
gested by long experience of the extremely shy and wary
habits of the Ovis Ammon. Besides, I should myself have
remembered that all mountain animals are more watchful of
the ground below than of that above them.

The difficulties he had foretold commenced before we had
gone half a mile, when we were detected by a flock of ewes
that were feeding on a slope to our right. As they were at
a considerable distance, we contrived to pass by without dis-
turbing them more than to cause them to slowly move higher
up the slope. After a long and tedious scramble among loose
stones and boulders, we at length got within a few hundred
yards of the point we first of all wanted to reach, when the
Tartar herdsman that accompanied us — who, at any rate, pos-
sessed a very sharp pair of eyes — descried a large flock of
rams moving down in our direction along a slope at the head
of the valley. They were at least a mile off, and were, I sup-
posed, the same I had made out with the glass from below,
although there were now many more than I had at first seen.
To avail ourselves of the cover of a big block of stone close
at hand was the work of a few seconds. From this we could,

340 A RESTLESS FLOCK.

at our leisure, watch the animals as they fed downwards.
There were eleven, and most of them carried very fine horns.
I almost thought I could recognise in the largest the wide-
awake leader of yesterday's flock. Presently they all lay
down, and as most game-animals are more vigilant when at
rest than when feeding, we could do nothing with them in
their present commanding position. Ten minutes had scarce-
ly elapsed when they were again on their feet, with all their
heads turned towards us. Although still at such a distance,
they had evidently got some inkling of our presence, probably
by means of the shifty wind. Led by the big and proportion-
ately knowing one, they betook themselves to a higher but
more approachable position on the slope, and after fidgeting
about for a long time, again settled themselves to rest.

Now, I thought, was the time to try and circumvent them
by means of a long ravine that ran up within what I judged
to be shooting distance of where they lay. If we could only
manage to reach the foot of this unobserved, by worming
ourselves along for a considerable distance among the big
boulders in the bed of the stream, which was up here nearly
dry, our greatest difficulty would be overcome. But just as
I was about to move forward, Changter called my attention
to another ram that had suddenly shown himself on an ad-
jacent eminence, well out of shooting range, to our left, and
at once pronounced him to be one of our two big friends of
yesterday. At that moment we wished them somewhere
else, as the one in sight completely commanded the place
where we were lying, not daring to move a muscle, lest he
should detect us, and by his startled movements scare away
the flock that lay above in full view of him. What was still
more provoking, after a careful survey of the country in
every direction, the beast lay down, leaving only his head
and massive horns visible on the sky-line, in the most tan-
talising manner. This aspect of affairs was very exciting, no
doubt, but under existing circumstances rather embarrassing,

A DISAPPOINTMENT. 341

for as long as he remained there we dared not budge an inch.
How bitterly I now repented not having taken my old com-
panion's advice, for had I done so we should most probably
have been above our friend, and perhaps have got a chance at
him or his companion. At length, to my great relief, he
again rose, looked uneasily about him, and moved out of
sight.

We now lost no time in pursuing our tactics with regard to
the flock, which had not altered its position. Keeping an eye
in the direction where the single ram had disappeared, we
crept slowly along venire a terre amongst the shingle and
boulders until we reached the ravine, apparently unobserved
by the animals, which continued to lie as still and almost as
indistinct as the stones beside them. After ascending the
ravine until we imagined we were about level with the ani-
mals, we turned to the left up its sloping side, near the top
of which I sat down to recover breath before taking the shot
I now felt pretty sure I was about to get. To my dismay, on
peering over, nothing was to be seen but the grey stones on
the spot where the flock had been lying, nor was there an
animal anywhere near it ; but away in the distance an Ovis
was just disappearing over the crest of a distant spur. He
was immediately followed by six others, their horns looking
larger than ever, as through the spy -glass I could see each
ram in succession top the ridge and for a moment stand out
in relief on the sky-line. There was no accounting for their
quick and sudden retreat, as the wind had seemed favourable
during the latter part of our stalk — unless they had taken
alarm at the suspicious movements of the ram we had seen
below, or perhaps at the rather unusual sound in these
regions of one or two loud claps of thunder that had pealed
among the crags above them. It was just possible, too, they
might have been watching us when crawling among the
boulders ; for wild animals, if you are at a considerable dis-
tance from them, and not to windward, will sometimes stand

342 IN PURSUIT OF THE FLOCK.

at gaze whilst you are in sight, but directly you attempt to
conceal yourself they at once take flight. I have often got a
chance at beasts after they had detected me, by leaving a man
for them to watch, whilst I stalked round under cover within
shot of them.

Whatever had been the cause, in this case the rams had
gone ; but the sight of those magnificent horns on the sky-
line had made me so keen to try and secure a pair, that, not-
withstanding its being rather late in the afternoon, I at once
continued the pursuit. On reaching the ridge over which the
animals had gone, to my inexpressible delight there they
were, not half a mile beyond it. Nine of them that were in
sight were lying on the slope of a spur that diverged almost
at a right angle from farther up the ridge we were on. Some
lay resting their ponderous horns on the ground, whilst others
kept strict watch over the open undulating country that
stretched far away below. As I surveyed them through the
telescope, I might have counted the creases on their horns,
so distinctly could I see them; and my excitement was
raised to the highest pitch, as I thought that at last I was
about to reap the reward of all my patience and trouble.

A stalk would have entailed so wide a circuit that we feared
lest darkness should overtake us before completing it, even
were such a plan feasible, which was very doubtful ; but as
both the nature of the ground and the direction of the wind
answered admirably for a drive, I proceeded to try the ex-
periment with every hope of success, and, this time, with
Changter's approbation.

The herdsman was directed to move as quickly as possible
up behind the cover of the ridge we were on, and then down
the far side of the spur, on the near side of which the ani-
mals were lying. Strict injunctions were given him to be
careful not to show himself until he had got well beyond
them, when he was to move across and let them get his wind.
Whilst this manoeuvre was being carried out, Changter and I

A DRIVE IS ATTEMPTED. 343

took up a position where we were well concealed among some
lumps of stone, within twenty yards of which we felt pretty
confident the flock would pass, provided our directions were
properly attended to; for, immediately above us, the spur
grew very steep, and was composed of a perfect chaos of
sharp broken rocks, over which the Oves Ammon would not
be likely to climb when there was an easier way before them,
and I did not expect they would take downwards when fright-
ened. Besides this, we were evidently on their regular " run,"
as we could see by the numerous tracks.

Nearly half an hour had elapsed, and my heart was begin-
ning to thump almost audibly between hope and fear, when
the animals suddenly sprang to their feet and were all on the
alert. But, instead of their looking to windward, as I ex-
pected, their gaze was directed straight up the spur, and ere
a minute had passed they were galloping away into China,
literally, for they had been lying on the very verge of Chinese
territory. The cause of their flight soon became apparent.
To our intense mortification, there, on the spur, and on our
side of the spot where the flock had been lying, stood the
figure of the herdsman. This was much worse than Lukkur's
escapade, as I felt certain, from the terrified manner in which
the animals had made off — this time from a man and not
from a dog — that there was little chance of our ever setting
eyes on them again ; and the shades of evening, which were
beginning to close, would, in any case, have prevented our
following them farther that day.

One so seldom gets a chance at old rams, that it was hard
indeed to have lost such a rare opportunity as this, and all
owing to utter carelessness arising from the apathy regarding
wild sport, and ignorance of everything connected with it,
common to most Tibetans. Feeling half-wild with anger and
vexation, I thought it best not to face the delinquent just
then, so we let him follow us to camp by himself. As if to
add to my anguish, whilst dejectedly plodding down the hill,

344 BLACK WILD DOGS.

we saw what we felt sure were the two big rams that had
been the primary cause of our disappointment, disappearing
in the dusk. I suppose my bad luck had made me grow
callous to further excitement that day, for I merely joined
with Changter in giving them a parting malediction as they
galloped away at their best pace, seemingly in the same
direction the others had taken. Although I felt I had lost
my chance, on this ground at any rate, I spent some time in
a fruitless search among the hills in the vicinity of the Pan-
goor tso, which I had seen lying away to the north of where
the Oves Ammon had fled from, and towards which they
seemed to have gone.

The reader's patience will, I fear, have been as much tried
as mine was by this long and unsuccessful pursuit. But the
majority of Tibetan sportsmen will, I think, agree with me
when I say that its result was only what is very frequently
the case when stalking this most wary animal; and, as an
old shikaree once sagely remarked to me by way of consola-
tion on my missing my shot, " If we always killed our game,
there would soon be little left to shoot at."

On rejoining the Major, I found that his previous luck in
finding Oves Ammon must have been transferred to me, as he
had seen nothing but a small flock of napoo and a pack of
wild dogs. Amongst the latter he had observed two which
he described as looking quite black, with red or tan marks
about the head, and similar in size to the others, which were
of the usual red colour. I afterwards heard of black dogs
having also been seen by a sportsman in Changchenmo.
They could hardly have been mistaken for the Tibetan black
wolf, which is a much larger animal, and decidedly greyish
about the muzzle, and was not likely to be hunting in com-
pany with a pack of wild dogs.

345

CHAPTER XX.

FERRYING THE INDUS — MOUNTAINS OF JASPER — HANLE" AND ITS MON-
ASTERY— A LAMA ABBOT — THE " GOA " AND ITS HAUNTS — ABNORMAL
RAINFALL — ITS EFFECT ON TIBETAN GAME — " GOA " — TWO BUCKS
DESCRIED— RESULT OF FORGETTING TO LOAD— THE CHINESE BORDER
— AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BORDERERS — THEIR BEHAVIOUR — A CURI-
OUS INCIDENT — A LUCKY RIGHT-AND-LEFT — GREAT VARIETY OF WILD-
FLOWERS — MEET A BROTHER SPORTSMAN — PACKS OF SAND-GROUSE —
THE TSO MORARI — ITS CHARACTERISTICS — WILD GEESE — A SOLITARY
DISCIPLE OF ST HUBERT— TWELVE DEGREES OF FROST IN AUGUST —
THE TSO KAR OR SALT LAKE — ITS FRESH-WATER NEIGHBOUR — WILD-
FOWL—A BLANKET CITY — BROOD OF SNOW-PHEASANTS — A SNOWY
WASTE — VALLEY OF THE PARANG — THE PARANG LA — ACROSS IT IN
A SNOWSTORM — ENDURANCE OF THE YAK — A LUDICROUS PICTURE
— THE SUMMIT AT LAST — NATURE'S AWFUL WORKS — A SURGICAL
OPERATION — THE NAPOO OR BURRELL — TWO KILLED — IMMENSE
GLACIERS — SPITI BIPEDS AND QUADRUPEDS — KULU SCENERY — RUSTIC
BEAUTIES — RETURN TO CIVILISATION — AN OLD BUT INTERESTING
NEWSPAPER — KANGRA VALLEY — THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY.

SOUTH of the Indus, in the wild, almost uninhabited districts
of Hanle and Eookshu, there are good localities for Oves
Ammon; but as Changter refused to budge an inch farther
than the river, and we were unable to get any one else who
was able or willing to show us where to find them, we re-
solved to make direct for the village of Hanle", there to engage
a guide who had been recommended to the Major. Thence,
after hunting up the goa, or Tibetan gazelle, in the country
beyond it, we proposed returning with our new guide to again
try our luck at the big sheep.

Getting our traps ferried over the Indus at Numa was

346 MOUNTAINS OF JASPER.

rather a tedious business, which was accomplished by their
being placed, a few at a time, on little rafts made of a rough
framework of thin sticks tied over about a dozen small in-
flated goat-skins. Each raft was towed into the stream as far
as possible, and then paddled across the deeper rapid water
by a couple of sturdy Tartars in the costume of their most
ancient forefather, minus the fig-leaves. After a considerable
amount of splashing and exertion, the latter chiefly of the
lungs, the raft reached the opposite shore several hundred
yards lower down stream than the starting-point.

We had already seen some bright colouring on these
Tibetan mountains, but nothing to compare with what we
beheld along our desolate route between Numa and Hanle.
There some of the high rocky eminences looked actually
blood-red in the reflected light of the setting sun. As the
ground we traversed was in some places literally paved with
fragments, large and small, of a kind of red jasper, which had
evidently been detached from the heights above, we naturally
concluded, from the colour of the latter, that they too were
entirely formed of the same valuable material which here
seemed so common. Among these red fragments I observed
others of a dull black hue, which when broken presented a
shining metallic surface. They were so extraordinarily heavy,
that I concluded they must have contained either quicksilver
or lead. How often I wished I could have wielded the geolo-
gist's hammer to some purpose up here in such a rich field for
its use.

The hamlet of Hanle*, which we reached in three days, is
the chief and almost the only inhabited place in the exten-
sive district of the same name. Although so prominently
marked in maps, it consists merely of some miserable- looking
stone hovels situated at the foot of an isolated eminence sur-
mounted by a big gompa. On our arrival we were received
by the Lama Superior or Abbot of the monastery. This
divine, who also acted as " Goba " or head-man of the pro-

HANLE.

347

vince, was attired in his sacerdotal robes of purple cloth, and
wore a profusion of ornaments and silver amulets about his
person, — a costume that contrasted rather oddly with a capital
pair of English shooting-boots with which he was shod. He
presented us with some rice and a little sugar, both rather
rare commodities in Tibet. In return we begged his accept
ance of a canister of gunpowder, with which he seemed highly
delighted. A similar interchange of civilities with some
other traveller in these wilds might account for his possession
of the boots.

•v

Lama Monastery at HanU.

The hamlet presented a rather animated scene, as most of
the inhabitants, male and female, were bustling about pack-
ing their goods and chattels on yaks, preparatory to a sojourn
in their black blanket-tents in the wilderness, whither they
were about to proceed to graze their flocks on the nutritious
but scanty herbage.

To the south and east of Hanle", stretching away for some
twenty-five miles to the confines of the Chinese dominions,
lies a desolate expanse of rolling uplands and ravines with an
exceedingly limited amount of vegetation scattered over them.
These stony downs, as they may be termed, the altitude of

348 THE GOA OE TIBETAN GAZELLE.

which ranges between 15,000 and 17,000 or more feet, are a
favourite haunt of the goa.

Standing from 22 to 24 inches in height, on most delicately
formed limbs, the goa, or Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticau-
data), is perhaps one of the most graceful little creatures that
exists. Its general colour is a pale brownish fawn ; the head
is light fawn, but in old bucks the hair on the forehead and
about the roots of the horns is white. On the stern is a pure-
white disc bordered distinctly with a yellowish-brown mark.
The tail is dark brown, and very short. The horns, which in
a full-grown buck are 11 or 12 inches long, are more curved
than those of the Indian gazelle ; they are closely annulated
to within about 2 inches of their tips, where they turn slightly
upwards, and sometimes inwards, and from being planted
rather forward, and springing well upward in their curve,
they give the beautifully formed little head a most jaunty
appearance. The doe almost exactly resembles the buck,
except that she carries no horns. In this respect she dif-
fers from the female Indian gazelle, which has small horns.
I do not think the goa's sense of smell is quite so acute as
that of other Tibetan game-animals, but this is compensated
for by its wonderfully keen sight. The nature and height of
the ground it frequents I have already described.

We were very glad to quit Hanle, the immediate vicinity
of which was next thing to a marsh, from the quantity of rain
that had fallen during the preceding month, and was infested
with hungry gnats. The periodical rains, which had been
abnormally heavy all over India, seemed this year, contrary
to custom, to have found their way across the Himalayas into
Tibet. As regards the wild animals, too, this season was
considered by sportsmen, and by Tibetans who were at all
acquainted with the habits of game, to have been an excep-
tional one. Vegetation was, comparatively speaking, so un-
usually plentiful, consequent on the quantity of rain, that in
many places the animals had deserted their regular feeding-

" GOA ! " 349

grounds for others in which, this year, they found food equally
abundant. This was more particularly the case with the wild
yaks in Changchenmo, where they had almost forsaken their
wonted resorts, and had appeared in great numbers more
eastward, where in general they were much more scarce.
This fact we afterwards learnt from the man who had been
hunting near us in Kugrang. He, like ourselves, had seen
hardly any dong, whereas his companion, who had been in
another and, under ordinary circumstances, a more unlikely
locality for finding them, had killed seven or eight, and with-
out having to search far from his tent.

On the day we left Hanle, as we were trudging along in
advance of our baggage-yaks, we got our first sight of a buck
goa as he beat a hasty retreat over some distant rising ground.

The following morning we were both afoot very early, each
taking a separate line of country ; whilst our traps were to
follow direct to our next camping-place, in the vicinity of
which the Major's guide said there was a chance of finding
Oves Ammon.

Phoebus was just waking up as I topped the brow of a rise
and carefully looked over, when I noticed that the light of
his countenance was shed on two small objects that stood on
the face of an opposite slope. They did not look much like
stones, though they were just as motionless. Pointing them
out to a Tartar who was following me, he merely ejaculated
" Goa ! " and instantly squatted. On taking a spy at them
through the glass, they turned out to be two fine bucks ; but
the sharp-eyed little creatures, notwithstanding the distance
we were from them, had already detected our heads — for
they could have seen nothing more — and were gazing straight
towards us. Presently one of them went bounding and skip-
ping away up the slope, sometimes turning round for a few
seconds to look back, until he at length disappeared over its
brow. His companion continued to gaze; but as we kept
perfectly still, he at last appeared to think that he must have

350 RESULT OF FORGETTING TO LOAD.

been mistaken in his suspicions, for he quietly turned round
and began feeding. In a short time, however, he became
restless, and after wistfully looking about him, as if he had
suddenly missed his companion, trotted off in the direction
he had gone, hardly stopping until his form appeared on the
sky-line at the top of the slope, and after a good look around
him, he too moved out of sight.

Up we jumped and followed at our best pace, which, in the
thin air of an altitude of well over 16,000 feet, could not be
very fast, although the ascent was quite gentle. On nearing
the brow I made for some large stones, from behind the cover
of which to view the ground beyond, and at the first glance
had the satisfaction of seeing both the bucks feeding within
130 yards of where I lay. Singling out what I thought the
better of the two, I luckily dropped him in his tracks. The
other sped off for a short distance and then pulled up. If I
hit him with the second barrel, as, from the sound, I thought
I had, it must have been too far back in the body, for he
galloped off and was lost to view in a dip of the ground.
Exchanging the empty Whitworth rifle for another, a breech-
loader, I followed after the buck, and found him standing at
the bottom of the hollow ; but before I could get my aim he
bounded off, though only to a short distance, when he again
stood and offered a fair broadside chance. I pressed the
trigger — click ! a bad cartridge, thought I, and cocked the
other hammer ; click ! again, and away trotted the goa. I
opened the breech and found nothing but daylight in the
barrels : dolt that I was, I had forgotten to put in the car-
tridges.

As the buck had taken a direction exactly opposite to the
one I wished to go, and my Tartar guide said it was a long
way to our next camping-place, I abandoned further pursuit,
as, even if wounded, the animal might have led me a long
and a hungry chase, for I had stupidly neglected to take any
provender with me that morning. We therefore returned

TARTAR HOSPITALITY. 351

to pick up the buck I had killed, and the Tartar having
shouldered him, we made the best of our way in the direction
our yaks had gone, overtaking them in time for a late break-
fast, to which I felt quite ready to do ample justice.

In the afternoon, before we could get the tents pitched, we
were overtaken by a tremendous storm of thunder and hail.
The Major had not turned up, but fortunately he had found
shelter by paying a call on some Tartar ladies from Hanle
at their temporary country residence in a black yak's-hair
tent, where his urbanity towards these fair dames had also
obtained him hospitable entertainment, in the shape of a
draught of butter-milk.

After working over this ground from morning to night for
two days, seeing only the ubiquitous kiang, a few female goa
with their young at foot, and a fine pair of horns attached to
the sun-dried remains of a ram which had probably died of
starvation in winter, we shifted camp towards the source of
the Hanl£ river, near the Chinese border. Several more goa
were seen on our way there ; but all being " hummel," I re-
frained from shooting at them lest the firing should disturb
better game, though I would fain have had some more venison
in camp, our Tartars' appetites being voracious.

As this locality was considered a sure find for goa, the
Major and I started very early next morning in quest of them.
He took the right and I the left of a fairly wide valley, to-
wards the head of which there was a pass leading over from
the Hanle province, which is under the rule of the Maharajah
of Cashmere, into the Chinese-Tibetan territory of Chumurti,
we having previously arranged that the first of us to reach
the summit of the pass, some seven or eight miles distant,
should await the other's arrival there.

The scenery of the upper part of this valley was perhaps of
a grander character than any we had as yet seen in Tibet.
This was owing to the mountains on both sides looking more
rugged, precipitous, and snow-clad than usual, and from there

352 A CHINESE OUTPOST.

being at the head of this wild glen a confluence of two fine
glaciers, from the base of which the Hanle stream issued, and
thence flowed in a broken, tortuous torrent, between banks of
bright green turf, down through the otherwise almost ver-
dureless valley. Our pass, however, led over a depression at
the top of a high stony acclivity on the left of the glen, where
the steep mountain-slopes on either side approached each
other more closely, five or six miles short of the glaciers.

Among some broken raviny ground in the valley I found a
herd of several goa, and farther on a solitary doe. The for-
mer made off without giving me a chance ; the latter, although
offering an easy shot, I did not molest, for which she after-
wards served me a good turn in a rather singular manner.

On nearing the top of the pass I observed several men sit-
ting behind the shelter of a big stone. These, my Tartar
companions (one of whom was our interpreter Kurreem) in-
formed me, were " Cheen log " (Chinese people), who were
keeping watch and ward there, having probably heard that
two Europeans were encamped in the vicinity. As we ap-
proached, they retired out of sight; but on arriving at the
summit, one of them suddenly reappeared and squatted him-
self on the ground some distance from us. On getting up to
him, a rather animated conversation was commenced between
him and my men, who informed me that he was remonstra-
ting against our proceeding any farther. On it being ex-
plained to him that we had no intention of invading his
country, he seemed satisfied; but on my moving forward a
short distance down the gently sloping Chinese side of the
pass, in order to obtain a better view of the country beyond
it, I fancy his suspicions were aroused, for, although he of-
fered no further remonstrance, he proceeded to tell us, with a
view to intimidation I suppose, that some more men would
soon be up to join him.

I now sat down to wait until the Major should arrive. A
quarter of an hour had scarcely elapsed when the clatter of

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE BORDERERS. 353

horses' hoofs, and the jingle of the little bells that are always
attached to the Tibetan bridles, were heard coming up the
pass, and presently three or four Tartars, mounted on capital
ponies (for which Chumurti is famed), hove in sight. One of
them, a rather well-dressed corpulent individual, turned out
to be the head functionary of the Chumurti province. They
galloped by without at first observing us as we sat amongst
the rocks and stones ; but on suddenly catching sight of us,
the stout party, seemingly in a high state of excitement,
wheeled round his pony and rode straight towards us, shout-
ing and waving his arm in the air, as if he were leading on
his army of Tartars, who had not as yet arrived in sight.
Very soon, however, parties of two or three men at a time
began to appear in the most marvellous manner, as though
they had suddenly arisen out of the ground, like " Clan-
Alpine's warriors true," until a small crowd, numbering about
forty or fifty, had collected around us. Where they had all
come from so quickly it was impossible to conjecture, for the
top of the pass was as desolate-looking a spot as a height of,
I should say, nearly 18,000 feet could make it. A dirtier or
more ill-favoured lot than the generality of them were, I
never set eyes on. Had they carried any other weapons than
their wool-spindles, and had I not been aware that the resist-
ance offered by these borderers to European travellers or
sportsmen attempting to cross the Eubicon of the Chinese
Empire in Tibet was usually more of a passive than a forcible
kind, I should have felt considerable relief of mind at being
reinforced by the Major and his men, who, having crossed
the stream below the pass, soon appeared on the scene of
action. I took the precaution, nevertheless, to keep my rifles
within reach, in case of any attempt being made to appropri-
ate them.

Whilst the Major and I sat there making futile attempts at
polite conversation with the stout potentate, who of course
could not understand a word we were saying, his myrmidons

z

354 DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR.

were gesticulating and clamouring away in an excited manner,
quite as unintelligible to us, with one exception, which was a
kind of pantomime of the act of binding the hands behind the
back. All this, we afterwards learnt, was inveighing against
the Hanle men for taking us up to the pass, and threatening
to bind the Major's guide, whom they considered the arch-
offender, hand and foot, and drown him, as they put it, for
doing so. Their having suggested this mode of disposing of
him struck me as being scarcely compatible with the means,
considering that, as far as we could see, there was not water
enough to drown a flea in nearer than the river far down
below. When we arose to depart they all collected around
their portly leader, and, as we retired, followed us for a short
distance, still vociferating loudly, and finally they saluted us
with a parting derisive jeer, evidently under the impression
that they had frustrated an attempt on our part to enter their
country. At hearing this, such was the Major's ire, that he
was for turning back to forcibly resent what he considered an
insult, and I had some difficulty in persuading him that,
under the circumstances, discretion was the better part of
yalour.

On our way back to camp, I thought I would again look
up the place where I had in the morning seen the solitary
doe, as she did not then seem to be at all scared. This time
I was determined not to lose another chance if she gave me
one, as our supply of animal food was done, and bucks were
scarce. I had not much difficulty in finding her again ; but
now she seemed to have some suspicion of my deadly intent,
for on each occasion that I tried to steal a march on her
among the broken ground, she would move off just out of
range. This sort of thing had happened for the third or
fourth time, and I had just topped a rise over which she had
gone, when, instead of seeing the doe, up sprang two fine
bucks from a hollow in front. As I felt pretty sure that
before going far they would stop to look back, I instantly lay

A CURIOUS INCIDENT. 355

down, got my elbows well planted on the ground, and the
rifle levelled for a steady shot. Sure enough, they pulled up at
about a hundred yards. There was little to choose between
them, so I took the one that offered the better mark, and
dropped him on the spot. The other trotted on some twenty
yards, and then turned to look back for his companion. I
had only his chest to aim at, but fortune again favoured me,
for he too went down, never to rise again. Great was the
astonishment of my Tartar companions when, on coming up,
instead of finding, as they expected, that I had shot the doe,
or perhaps missed her, I showed them a dead buck, and still
greater was it on my pointing out a second lying within
twenty yards of him ; for their surprise was so great at seeing
even one dead buck, that they had never thought of looking
for another. But where was the doe ? She had vanished,
and her having thus been fortuitously the means of my
finding two such beautiful bucks, after my forbearance to-
wards her in the morning, was really a curious coincidence ;
for had I shot at her then, I should never have got them.
The Tartars soon shouldered the game, and we bent our steps
towards camp rejoicing. Both pairs of horns were just over
a foot long.

The Major got back soon after me. He had found no goa,
but had seen two black wolves, which unfortunately he was
unable to get a shot at. They must have been two I had
made out with the telescope from my side of the valley in
the morning, when my attention had been attracted towards
them by their dismal howling. During our absence it ap-
peared that the camp had been invaded by some of our
mounted friends from the pass, at whose unexpected advent,
our Indian domestics informed us, the Hanle" yak-drivers
seemed much exercised in their minds.

We now returned to HanM by a different route to the one
we had travelled from it. On our way we made a Sunday
halt, which our men devoted to marmot-hunting. A few goa

356 TOO LATE TO MEND.

were seen, but nothing was bagged except some hares. It
had been our intention to hunt up the big sheep on the
ground north of Hanle*; but man proposes, and the Ovis
Ammon very often disposes, at any rate of itself. We now
learnt that this ground had just been hunted over by the two
Changchenmo sportsmen unsuccessfully, owing to the Oves
having this season left it. When too late we had discovered
the mistake we had made in not persevering longer in our
pursuit of the splendid rams we had seen north of the Indus.
Only remaining one night at Hanle, we thence took a
westerly direction, and after traversing a long level stretch of
dreary country, which appeared quite destitute of any sort of
animal, and almost so of vegetable life, we camped late in the
afternoon on a patch of greensward in a wild gorge east of
the Lanak la, which rises between the Hanle and Eookshu
districts. Next day we crossed the pass, which is somewhere
about 17,000 feet high ; but, as is so often the case with Tibe-
tan passes, the gradient was easy. Some distance down on its
western side, among the broken stony slopes, hares were
numerous, but generally so wild as to afford better rifle-prac-
tice than sport for a shot-gun. Here we found perfect par-
terres of sweetly-scented, pale-blue flowers, with which our
Tartars at once proceeded to deck their caps, after the manner
of the Swiss mountaineers with the Alpine roses. Notwith-
standing the sterile aspect of the country, the variety of
beautiful wild flowers growing in many Tibetan localities
would delight the heart of a botanist. On a little isolated
patch of green beside the Pangong lake, where we stopped
one morning to breakfast by a spring, the ground was covered
with a plant having flowers like a small pink geranium. In
the sterile wilds of Changchenmo, on damp spots, at an alti-
tude of quite 17,000 feet, I sometimes found whole beds of a
kind of polyanthus, with delicate pink flowers, and usually,
strange to say, in places where there was scarcely a blade of
any other vegetation to be seen. Another curious fact I

AN OASIS IN THE DESERT. 35*7

noticed was, that almost every weed growing on these high
wastes had a highly aromatic perfume.

Another day's journey brought us to a spot called Ooti, a
few level acres of bright-green turf moistened by the snow-
drainage from the neighbouring heights, and thickly besprin-
kled with flowers, principally of a yellow hue. These poor
little Tibetan flowerets have so few places to flourish in, that
when they do find a favourable spot they seem to take every
advantage of it. Here we found the tents of one of the
Changchemno sportsmen pitched. Their owner returned to
them late in the evening, bringing with him a fine buck goa
which he had killed on the bare undulating wilderness in the
neighbourhood of this little oasis. We clubbed dinners, and
sat up till a late hour comparing notes and recounting our
respective experiences. He, too, had had little luck with the
Oves Ammon and wild yaks ; but his companion had been
most fortunate in finding the latter, as I have already men-
tioned.

The following morning, as we traversed the desert tract west-
ward towards the Tso Morari, we saw one or two packs of a
large kind of pinnated sand-grouse, which, I was told, frequent
these bare uplands in considerable numbers at this time of year.
They were about the size of the large migratory sand-grouse
found on the plains of India in winter, but their plumage
more resembled the smaller pinnated variety. I found them
very wild, and only got one long shot, which fortunately
brought down a bird.

That evening we pitched our camp in a sheltered nook
near the southern end of the Tso Morari, which is 15,000 feet
above sea-level, and almost, if not quite, the highest of known
lakes in the world. Although much smaller than the Pan-
gong tso, being only about 15 miles long by 5 or 6 broad, it
has even a grander appearance, from the more precipitous
nature of some of the adjacent mountains. It has the same
strangely intense blue colour so characteristic of all Tibetan

358 THE TSO MORARI.

lakes when rippled by wind, and as its water is not salt, there
is a certain amount of verdure here and there along its mar-
gin, and beside the streams that flow into it, which gives a
pleasing variety to its otherwise barren scenery. The sur-
rounding mountainous country is desolate to a degree, there
not being a human habitation within a radius of at least 40
miles of it, except the miserable little hamlet of Karzok, with
its small monastery situated on its western shore. The water,
to me, seemed perfectly good, although rather flat, so to speak,
to the taste ; but the Tartars have an objection to drinking
it. Although there is a large amount of drainage into the
lake, there is no visible outlet from it. This is a remarkable
fact ; and evaporation alone, one would suppose, could hardly
account for the disappearance of the constant and abundant
supply of water from the great quantity of melted snow
draining into it off the neighbouring mountains.

On our way to Karzok along the shore of the lake, we got
numerous shots at wild geese of the bar-headed kind, and
as they had young goslings with them, I concluded they
bred in the vicinity. Fortunately the strong wind was blow-
ing shorewards, as most of them dropped on the water and
we had no dog to retrieve them. The old birds were dread-
fully tough, and even our Warren's cooking-pot failed to
extract much flavour from them when made into soup ; but
the goslings were much more palatable.

Whilst at Karzok, we were surprised, late one evening, by
the advent of a solitary sportsman who had just come over
the Parang la into Tibet, with the intention, late in the season
as it was, of hunting in Changchenmo. He seemed to have
suffered pretty severely from the combined effects of cold,
wind, and sun on the pass, as his face was in rather a sorry
plight, being something like a raw beefsteak, and the deep
cracks on his lips and nose were profusely patched with bits
of sticking-plaster. The account he gave us of some hunting-
ground for napoo, on the south side of the Parang la, was so

A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING. 359

seducing as to cause us to alter our intended return-route
over the Baralacha pass into Lahoul, for that across the
Parang la, and thence through Spiti. In course of conversa-
tion he told us that we should get lots of " fees " at some of
the halting-places on the south side of the Parang la. Not
wishing to expose our ignorance as to the sort of game, or
whatever else " fees " might be, nor to seem impolite by sug-
gesting that he could possibly mean anything in the pecuniary
line, we made mental note of the information, and adroitly
changed the subject. It afterwards struck us that he had
meant the vegetable pea, which we were rejoiced to find
growing in abundance about the villages where we happened
to camp in Spiti. His poor lips were so cracked and sore
that he had substituted an / for a p, as being less painful to
pronounce. We gave him what information we could, and
after exchanging a few creature-comforts and good wishes,
saw him off on his way next morning.

There now only remained about a fortnight before we should
have to commence retracing our steps across the Himalayas.
This I resolved to devote to a final search for Oves Ammon in
the vicinity of the Tso Kar, better known as the Salt Lake,
three or four days' journey to the north-west of Karzok.

Leaving the Major at Karzok, where he preferred to remain
shooting wild geese and trying his luck on the ground about
the Tso Morari, the second evening found my camp pitched
on the east side of the Kazura la, at an elevation of about
17,500 feet, calculated by boiling. In the grey of the follow-
ing morning I was very loath to turn out into a temperature
of twelve degrees below freezing (and this in the month of
August), although my sleep had not been either of the soundest
or most comfortable kind, from my being unable to respirate
freely in a recumbent position at such a height. The cold,
too, was dreadful, as the wind blew through the thin canvas
of the little tent, which I had exchanged for my own blanket-
lined one with my two Indian domestics, who felt the severity

360 A WEARY TRUDGE.

of the climate much more than I did. I must confess, however,
that this was not done out of pure philanthropy : there was a
certain amount of selfishness in it, as one's own comfort on a
trip of this kind so much depends on keeping one's servants
in health and good-humour.

A skull and massive pair of ram's horns lying bleaching
in the sun showed us we were once more among the haunts
of the big sheep. About two hours' slow walking — for I was
now afoot again, having sent back the pony from the Indus
with Changter — took us to the top of the pass, on the farther
side of which the Karzok men had told us we should find an
encampment of Rookshu people, where a guide for the locality
could be procured. On and on we trudged over the bare hard
ground, under the glaring sun, and against the everlasting
cutting wind, for hour after hour, not meeting with a sign
of life except a few marmots, and the cheerless relics of a
Tartar camp in the shape of smoke-blackened stones and
dilapidated " pullas," 1 — all was silent solitude.

Towards the afternoon we topped another rise, from whence
we got a fine view of the Tso Kar lying far away below. Situ-
ated in the middle of an extensive barren valley, surrounded
by arid brown hills, the Tso Kar is, I think, the least interest-
ing, as far as appearance goes, of any of the larger lakes of
this part of Tibet ; and to increase its dreary aspect, the shore,
for some distance from its crooked margin, is covered with a
white saline efflorescence, from which a most abominable glare
is reflected. It is curious that, in the same valley, and only
about a mile or so from this salt lake, there is a smaller sheet
of fresh water, bordered to a certain extent with green turf,
presenting a remarkable contrast to its salt neighbour. On

1 A "pulla" is a low wall built of loose stones, which the Tibetans build
round the bottom of their tents, or more frequently in the open, as a pro-
tection from the wind ; for these hardy nomads seem to care little for any
shelter except from the cruel biting blast. We always piled large stones, of
which there was never any lack, round our little tents, if only to keep them
from being almost blown away.

A BLANKET CITY. 361

the fresh-water lake numbers of wild-fowl congregate, afford-
ing some sport for a shot-gun. The mountains in the vicinity
hold both Oves Ammon and napoo, and the valley, I believe, a
few goa, if one has the luck to find them there.

After a gentle descent for some distance, a strange scene
suddenly presented itself. Instead of a small encampment,
as I had expected to find, there appeared a perfect city of
black blanket-tents, pitched on either side of a rivulet that
flowed through a long, narrow, comparatively low-lying valley,
the bottom of which was carpeted with bright greensward.
There must have been considerably over a hundred tents. It
seemed as though the whole nomadic population of Eookshu
were collected on this meadow-like spot. Vast herds of sheep,
goats, and yaks were scattered over the neighbouring heights,
where the wild yodling kind of hulloo of the Tartar herdsmen
and the barking of their dogs was heard on every side.

This did not look much like a locality near which to find
such wary game as Oves Ammon, and I could not but feel
that I had been regularly humbugged by the Karzok men.
Of one fact I was now more than ever convinced, that as a
rule, to which there may be occasional exceptions, the sports-
man, in this part of Tibet at any rate, must undergo the
vexations and disappointments of a first season's personal ex-
perience in that country to ensure success on a second visit.

Unpropitious as matters looked, I was nevertheless deter-
mined to give the ground a trial ; but after several days of
severe work, during which I must have sometimes been con-
siderably over 19,000 feet, I saw nothing but a flock of napoo,
a few Oves Ammon ewes with lambs, and one or two young
males, at which latter I did not attempt to shoot lest I should
disturb better ones. Kiangs were numerous as usual, but of
course were never molested. The Tartars, however, being hip-
pophagous, did not seem at all to appreciate my thus abstain-
ing from horse-butchery. One evening I came suddenly on
a brood of snow-pheasants, large game-looking birds of a

362 INTENSE COLD.

general light-grey colour, with a whitish head and breast.1
They were at first unwilling to rise, but made such good use
of their legs that I had to put my best foot foremost for some
distance to overtake them before I could get a shot. At such
a height this exertion, slight as it was, so completely pumped
the breath out of me that I was only just able to loose off both
barrels into the " brown " of the covey as it rose. I had not
another yard left in me to secure the runners ; but my Tartar
attendants, who had wisely followed more leisurely, gathered
the old hen and three well-grown chicks. The old one proved
rather dry and tough, even after many days' keeping ; but the
chicks were as tender and well-flavoured birds as I ever tasted.
It was now time to return to Karzok, as I had promised to
meet the Major there on a certain date. The cold, too, at the
great heights I had camped during the last few days, had be-
come unpleasantly intense, owing to frequent snowstorms and
to the sun having been obscured by clouds. There was, how-
ever, no lack of sunshine on the day I started for Karzok by
a short cut across the mountains, where the ground was com-
pletely covered with new-fallen snow, off which the glare was
almost intolerable. For several miles our way led gently
upward through a narrow glen, which wound along between
rolling rounded hills. The crisp snow, that at first merely
crunched under our feet, became deeper and more laborious to
trudge through as we gradually ascended. Not a vestige of
any living thing was visible in this white solitude, save here
and there a tailless kind of rat,2 that, scared at our approach,

1 This bird, although generally termed a pheasant, is really a partridge,
sometimes called the " gigantic chuckor." There are two kinds, that found
on the southern slopes of the Himalayas being a good deal smaller than the
Tibetan variety. They are found only at very high elevations, far above the
limit of forest.

2 Colonel E. Smyth, an excellent authority on Himalayan fauna, considers
this little animal, which is about the size of an ordinary rat, and of a dirty
white or light fawn colour, to be a kind of rabbit. He says they are inquisi-
tive little creatures, and by no means addicted to shyness, as the following
experience of his concerning them will show : —

A SNOWY WASTE. 363

would dart away over the snow, and, with a shrill eerie
chirp, suddenly vanish ; and one little bird, something like a
robin, that followed us for a long way, flitting and hopping
from stone to stone in the ice-bound brook beside us, as if
courting our companionship. So profound and deathlike was
the solemn hush that brooded over mother earth as she lay
wrapped in her snowy shroud, that one was almost startled
at the slight rustling noise caused by the slipping of melted
snow from off some neighbouring rock ; for, in the still frozen
air of that high silent region, fancy almost led one to imagine
the sound resembled the mysterious whisperings of invisible
beings whose sanctuary we were invading. Even on emerg-
ing from this dismal glen upon more open ground, nothing
met the weary aching eye but a vast lone wilderness of white
undulating hills, and, more distant, domes and pyramids of
snow. At last we reached the culminating point, and began
to descend, when it was quite a relief to look down on a bit
of dark-blue water of the Tso Morari, some 2000 feet below
us, cold and cheerless though it appeared as it lay amidst
mountains which were now draped in virgin snow almost to
its margin.

The Major's luck with the rifle had been no better than
mine. To tell the truth, we were both getting a little tired
of toiling after game day after day from morning to night
over these desolate regions to so little purpose; so next
morning we were not sorry to retrace our steps along the
shore of the lake, en route for the verdant and forest-clad
slopes of the Himalayas. One or two more geese were
bagged ; but they had now become very wary from having

" I was once resting myself on a cairn at the top of the Niti pass. Every-
where around the ground was covered with snow, except on this cairn. One
or two of these little things soon appeared from among the stones ; and as I
sat perfectly still to watch them, they came up to me and began nibbling at
my boots."

The Niti pass, I may remark, is nearly 17,000 feet high, and well above the
limit of any visible sort of vegetation.

364 VALLEY OF THE PARANG.

been potted at so freely, and generally kept well away from
the shore. On a marshy bit of ground, or what I once heard
an old gamekeeper describe as a " stanky sort o' place," near
the end of the lake, I killed two specimens of the ruff. An-
other British bird that we frequently saw up here was the
common magpie ; also that cosmopolitan bird, the hoopoe.

Next morning we forded the Parang, a turbid broken flood
of melted snow, which, as is usual with these capricious snow-
fed torrents of Tibet, was only passable at an early hour. For
three days we trudged up the valley of the Parang, a seem-
ingly endless narrow glen, totally destitute of vegetation, and
closely hemmed in by steep stony landslips and precipices of
a brownish -yellow hue, rising stark and gaunt one above
another to a stupendous height, like gigantic stair-steps, save
where the V-shaped cleft of some lateral gorge disclosed the
broken termination of a glacier, or a towering white mountain-
summit.

The Parang la, with its glaciers and perpetual snow, is quite
in keeping with the wild approaches to it on either side. It
is perhaps as savagely grand as any of the passes that are
ordinarily used as highways for crossing the "divide" or
backbone, as it were, of the Himalayan range into Tibet, as
well as being one of the highest and most arduous to traverse.
And certainly, from my experience of it in September, when
its difficulties are supposed to be at their minimum, I can
quite imagine it to be the latter. Its height is about 18,600
feet, and it is seldom, if ever, open before June, and generally
becomes again impracticable to cross about the beginning of
October. On our arrival at Leh in June, we found several
Indian servants of some travellers who had just come over
this pass, laid up there in a pitiable plight from frost-bite ;
one of them had lost many of his toes, and his companions
were little better off.

The evening previous to our crossing, we camped a short
distance below the foot of the glacier that extends down

THE PARANG LA. 365

almost from the summit of the pass for some four or five
miles on its northern side. Snow began to fall thickly just
before dark, and continued to do so, more or less, during the
night. In the morning the weather at first looked rather
promising, but the tents were frozen as stiff as boards, and
were so incrusted with hard snow that we had to delay our
departure until the sun, of which we only got an occasional
glimpse, should thaw them a little. After our breakfast,
which we managed to cook over a smoky little fire made of
the few remaining scraps of wet fuel which, with considerable
difficulty, we had coaxed into burning, we loaded the yaks
and started just as it again began snowing more thickly than
ever. The limited supply of fuel we had brought up with us
was done, and the poor yaks had already been fasting for two
days or more ; besides this there was some fear, if the snow-
storm continued, that the pass might become permanently
closed for the winter: we therefore determined, under any
circumstances, to make an effort and push over it at once
into Spiti.

For more than six weary hours did we toil up against the
almost blinding snow and piercing wind that chilled us to
the very marrow, although the distance to the summit was
only six or seven miles. It was truly wonderful to see the
way in which the yaks struggled through the deep snow, and
scrambled over places which were often difficult, and some-
times dangerous to traverse. Nothing could have exceeded
the powers of endurance evinced by these animals, which
were game to the backbone and as sure-footed as goats. One
of them, notwithstanding, lost its footing on a steep slope of
n6v&, and went rolling and sliding down until it was fortu-
nately stopped by a friendly rock, otherwise it must have
disappeared for ever under the glacier, and with it my dear
old Whitworth rifle, which, among other things, it was carrying.
On regaining its feet the creature merely shook itself, and on
being disentangled from its load soon clambered up again.

366 A TOURMENTE.

For the last three miles of the ascent our way was over
the glacier, where we waded and floundered through the soft
fresh-fallen snow, with an occasional dive into it up to the
middle, as we followed in the steps of our Tartar leader, who,
in order to avoid hidden crevasses, cautiously sounded the
way with his long mountain-pole. Here we experienced a
regular tourmente, for, besides the falling flakes, the dry
drifting snow was whirled up into our eyes and nostrils by
the freezing blast, causing a suffocating sensation which was
most trying, and the cold was so intense that my beard, from
my breath on it, became a mass of ice, and was frozen hard
to my coat.1 Whilst on the glacier all the marks we had to
indicate the right track were the giant outlines of the white
eminences rearing up on either side, and these only occa-
sionally loomed dimly through the driving snow. Never
shall I forget the ludicrous picture of utter misery presented
by my Hindustani cook as he sat resting himself on a bank
of snow, his head closely enveloped in a black blanket, and
his beard covered with icicles. Blank despair was depicted
on his face as he gazed ruefully, through a pair of green
goggles, on the bewildering scene around him. Eight glad
were we all to at last reach the top, where we sat down for a
short time to rest our weary limbs and to admire the grand
landscape before us ; for the snowstorm had passed over, and
the blue mountains of Spiti were gradually becoming dis-
closed to view through the broken masses of cloud and mist
that came rolling up from below.

But our day's work was not to end here, for the descent on
the Spiti side of the pass was so steep and rough, that even

1 With reference to what I have already said concerning the effects pro-
duced by rarefied air under different conditions, I may here mention that
when crossing this high pass, which is approached from the south by a very
steep ascent, and is flanked on both sides by high eminences, neither my
companion nor myself felt any of the more disagreeable sensations, such as
headache and nausea, even under such circumstances as might have been ex-
pected to induce them.

NATURE'S AWFUL WORKS. 367

after we got clear of the snow the track was almost worse
than if covered with it. As the Major remarked, "it was
macadamised with a vengeance." Such a howling wilderness
of sharp pinnacles of rock, and bare, rugged, perpendicular
cliffs, piled tier upon tier to an appalling height, as flanked
the stupendous canon down which our route lay, I never be-
held.1 Some of the lofty fantastic-shaped summits bore a
striking resemblance to ruins of gigantic towers and turrets.
As the last rays of the sun, sinking behind the mountain-
tops, shed a parting gleam of golden radiance on these aerial
castles, rock-spires, and snow-crowned peaks, leaving the pro-
found depths of the abyss beneath wrapped in gloomy shade,
the effect was truly magnificent; — scenery altogether so
sublimely wild, so awe-inspiring, and on so vast a scale as to
be quite beyond description, and almost beyond conception.
Dame Nature must indeed have been in a terrible mood when
she fashioned such awful works.

When darkness compelled us to call a halt, we were still
several miles short of the usual camping-place ; and as there
was not a blade of grass in the vicinity, the poor yaks had to
fast another night. Fortunately we found sufficient fuel for
cooking purposes.

A short but very stiff walk on the following morning
up through another wild gorge, brought us to our next
camping-ground, on the heights above which was the locality
for napoo, recommended by the sportsman we had met at
Karzok. Some of our Tartars were half-blind from the effects
of the previous day's snow on the pass, notwithstanding their
having improvised kind of goggles of wisps of black hair
pulled from their yaks' tails, and tied loosely over their eyes,

1 The Grand Canon of the Yellowstone, in Wyoming, with its fantastic fea-
tures and profound depth, is the nearest approach to it in appearance I know,
though the American canon falls far short of it in magnitude and savage mag-
nificence of surroundings. And doubtless there are many other such gorges
in the higher Himalayas that quite equal, if they do not surpass, this one in
savage grandeur.

368 A SURGICAL OPERATION.

none of them having brought the woven yak's-hair spectacles
they often use on such occasions with them. I found one
man sitting by the wayside endeavouring to extract blood
from his nostrils with the point of his knife, at which surgical
operation he implored me to assist him, at the same time
handing me the knife. A good punch on his proboscis would,
I thought, have been much less dangerous, and just as effectual,
as regarded relief to his eyes. Our Indian servants had not
suffered so much, owing to their having been provided with
green goggles. There was plenty of grass here for the famished
yaks — and how they did pitch into it ! Never have I seen
animals making such good use of their time and teeth. But,
to use a much hackneyed, but in this case a rather appropri-
ate phrase, revenons a nos moutons.

Although the wild sheep here called napoo are numerous in
many parts of Tibet, I have hitherto made but little mention
of them, as I seldom hunted expressly for them, owing to my
time having been fully occupied in searching for other game
not found on the south side of the Himalayan chain, speci-
mens of which I was then more anxious to secure. Stalking
burrell, as these animals are called in the Himalayas, is really
splendid sport on ground where they are fairly plentiful.

A full-grown male napoo or burrell (Ovis nahura) stands
about 33 inches at the shoulder usually, but its size seems
to vary in different localities. The thick arching horns,
which spread laterally and curve downwards, and slightly
backwards near their points, occasionally attain a length of 30
inches, or even more, and are about a foot in girth. The
beautiful skin, with its thick elastic pile, is of a bluish-grey,
bordered with distinct jet-black and pure- white markings.
In winter it is handsomest, when the colour becomes more
decidedly slate-blue. The ewes are rather smaller than the
rams, and their horns are much thinner and shorter, their
colour paler, and the black and white bordering less distinctly
defined. They usually produce two lambs in spring. To-

THE NAPOO OR BURRELL. 369

wards autumn burrell often assemble in very large flocks, but
in spring and summer they are generally found in much
smaller batches, sometimes only two or three together, the
large rams, as a rule, herding separately. The flesh of a young
male or ewe is, in autumn, as fat, tender, and better flavoured
than domestic mutton. Although the favourite haunts of the
burrell are open and comparatively gentle slopes of short
grass just under the snow-line, these sheep are quite as sure-
footed and agile as the wild-goat tribe on precipitous rocky
ground, which is never very far distant from the slopes where
they feed, and to this they usually resort when scared. They
have the most acute sense of smell, so it is always necessary
to take this into account before arranging a stalk. If burrell
have sighted you, it is generally useless to follow them.
They at once commence moving off, slowly and deliberately
at first, feeding as they walk, leading on an inexperienced
sportsman for miles, until they have fooled him sufficiently,
when they gallop away, and seldom stop before they are lost
to view among the eternal snows and glaciers. When dis-
turbed the burrell gives a shrill double whistle, which alarms
every other animal within sound of it ; and you will seldom,
if ever, get a shot after hearing it. Early in summer the
best of burrell-shooting can be got on the upper ranges of the
mountain provinces of Kumaon and Gurhwal, without having
to cross the passes into Tibet for it.

As the ground for napoo in this vicinity was so limited
as only to admit of one of us shooting over it, and a few days'
journey farther on there was a similar bit of country for
ibex, the Major and I arranged that I should have a turn
at the napoo, and he at the ibex, which he was more anxious
to get.

Having bundled up a few requisites for a night's absence
from our camp, I started upwards about noon next day, and
after a long and stiff pull of several hours, reached a huge
sort of corrie where my Spiti guides expected we should find

2 A

370 A HIGH VILLAGE.

our game. On our way we passed through the village of
Kiwar, situated at an elevation of 13,400 feet. Although at
such a high altitude, it is a fairly large, well-to-do village,
and several kinds of grain are raised there (chiefly buckwheat
and barley) entirely by irrigation, for the climate of Spiti is
extremely dry and almost rainless. As the village lies on
the south side of the mountains, it is tolerably warm.

After a careful scrutiny of the ground with the glass, I
discerned a flock of about fifteen napoo nearly a mile off. As
none of them appeared to be old rams, and we were not very
far from where we intended to pass the night, I remained
watching them, in the hope that bigger fellows might show
themselves as evening drew on. However, as no others put
in an appearance, and the sun was getting low, I commenced
a stalk after those in sight, with a view to supplying our
empty camp-larder with good venison. "We got within easy
range of them rather unexpectedly, as they had fed quickly
down towards us whilst hidden from view during our stalk,
when the excited behaviour of my two men, on suddenly see-
ing the beasts so near us, was very ludicrous. Whilst one of
them snatched my cap off, the other seized me under the arms
and tried to lift my head over the top of some rocks, behind
the cover of which we had been stealing towards the animals,
he being under the impression that I could not see them.
After shaking one fellow off at the risk of the burrell detect-
ing us, and recovering my cap from the other, I was able to
shoot, and took down two right and left with the old Whit-
worth, much to the delight of my excited companions. After
securing the beasts, and dragging them to a convenient spot
for leaving them until next morning, we made the best of our
way to the place we intended passing the night, under the lee
of a rock. The cold was bitter lying out at night, as there
was keen frost and a high wind.

We were afoot early next morning over fresh ground, and
soon descried a lar^e flock with two fine rams in it. But our

IMMENSE GLACIERS. 371

attempts to approach them were fruitless, as they were in a
very open position, and proved too crafty for us. Nothing
more was seen except a brood of snow-pheasants which we
flushed on our way down to the tents.

A few days' travelling brought us to the ibex ground, where
the Major had an unsuccessful hunt, whilst I took a good rest
in camp.

Any attempt of mine to describe the glacier scenery of the
Spiti and Lahoul mountains, through which our way led for
several days, would be quite inadequate to convey the slight-
est idea of its wild grandeur. Suffice it to say that the longest
of Alpine glaciers, the Aletsch, which is some twenty miles in
length, cannot be compared in size with many of those in the
Himalayas, the largest of which are found in the Karakorum
range, far to the north-west of Cashmere and Ladak. Colonel
Godwin-Austen, the greatest authority on Himalayan glaciers,
gives the length of the Biafo glacier as 64 miles of continuous
ice ; the Baltoro as 35 miles, up to K 2 (now named Mount
Godwin - Austen), the second - highest known peak in the
world : but this glacier took him some 55 miles of walking,
and then he had not reached the watershed. One morning
we traversed the lower part of the Shigri glacier in Spiti, but
it was there so covered over with dirt and stones, that, until
we had repeatedly probed it with our iron-shod sticks, it was
difficult to believe we were walking for miles over solid ice.

The ponies bred in Spiti are much more celebrated for their
comeliness 'than are its human inhabitants, more especially
the womankind. And justly so, if I may judge from the
personal appearance of a batch of sturdy-limbed females who
one day, after depositing the heavy loads they had carried
on their backs for ten miles or more, treated us to a terpsi-
chorean performance, accompanied by their unmelodious
voices. They are, however, as cheery and almost as unsophis-
ticated a set of people as the Tibetans. Here, where the
inhabitants are Buddhists, even the clerical members of

3*72 KULU BELLES.

the community are not too proud to earn a trifle by carrying
your baggage, and after depositing their loads, these holy
Lamas may be seen receiving the obeisances of the villagers,
and distributing blessings with outstretched hands.

After quitting the snow and ice on the top of the Hampta
pass between the districts of Spiti and Kulu, how changed
was the aspect of the mountains on its southern side, from
the barren dreary solitudes amongst which we had been roam-
ing during the past four months ! With what keen delight
did we hail the first glimpse of the green slopes, birch-woods,
and pine-clad hills of Kulu — a country as famed for the
romantic beauty of its scenery as for its bonny lasses ! Of
these latter, we met two very pretty specimens as we were
descending the track from the pass. One of them in parti-
cular was a perfect model of rustic beauty, as, with her long
glossy tresses falling dishevelled about her shoulders, and the
olive complexion of her face all flushed from climbing up the
hill, she stopped to take breath, her large brown eyes wide
open with half-startled amazement at thus unexpectedly
meeting with two such wild-looking figures as the Major and
I presented, with our red sun-cracked faces and old travel-
worn clothes. Most of these Kulu belles endeavour to
heighten their natural charms by wearing, in addition to their
own hair, a long thick plait of black worsted coiled round a
little cap of some bright colour jauntily set on the crown of
the head. They are very fond of adorning themselves with
flowers, with which we noticed most of the women we met
had tastefully decked their chignons. The men also had
generally a flower or two stuck in their caps or behind their
ears.

On reaching Sultanpore, the chief town of Kulu, we put up
in a house and procured some fresh vegetables — luxuries we
had not indulged in for months, the afore-mentioned " fees "
in Spiti excepted. A newspaper many weeks old, that had
been left there by some former occupant, was greedily pounced

THE END OF A LONG JOURNEY. 373

upon. From it I learned that my regiment was to form part
of a force about to proceed on active service. There was no
time to lose ; so we hurried through the beautiful Kangra
valley, with its numerous tea-plantations, to Dhurrumsala,
the nearest military station. Here I bade good-bye to the
Major, who was bound for the Punjab.

Irrespective of the ground worked over in hunting, we had
covered, during this my first trip beyond the Himalayas, a
good 1300 miles of regular mountain travel, about a thousand
of which were in Tibet, at an elevation, on an average, of
nearly 15,000 feet — almost as high as the top of Mont Blanc,
though not quite so snowy. But my pleasure in looking back
to these wanderings is mingled with sorrow, when I think that
my boon companion throughout them has since then gone on
another long journey, and this "time to the " happy hunting-
grounds " whence there is no returning.

374

CHAPTEK XXL

PREPARE TO REVISIT TRANS-HIMALAYAN REGIONS— SIRKANDADEVI— A
GOOD OMEN — TEHREE AND ITS RAJAH — EXTRAORDINARY DISPLAY
OF FIREFLIES — SRINUGGUR, GURHWAL — A PEST OF SCORPIONS —
MAHAMURREE, OR THE GREAT DISEASE— VILLAGES DESERTED OWING

TO ITS RAVAGES — PERILOUS ENDEAVOURS OF THE LATE DR F.
PEARSON TO ARREST ITS PROGRESS — A CHARACTERISTIC EPISODE —
PUDDOO — THE BHOTIAS — KILL A 30-LB. MAHSEER IN THE PINDAR
— AN EVENING'S FISHING IN THE NANDAKNI — VILLAGE OF JOSHIMUTT
— A HINDU POPE — "SANGA" BRIDGES — ROAD THRONGED WITH PIL-
GRIMS— SHRINE OF VISHNU AT BADRINATH — ITS WILD SURROUND-
INGS— THE RAOL, OR HIGH PRIEST — CURIOUS NATURAL BRIDGE —
SACRED WATERFALL — A NIGHT'S EXPERIENCES AT 18,000 FEET OF
ELEVATION — WE WATCH FOR TAHR — A COVEY OF CHUCKOR IN THE
WAY — MOONLIGHT AND SUNSET EFFECTS ON THE SNOW — THE PEAK
OF NANDADEVI— A BEAR IN THE CORN — UP THE VALLEY OF THE

DOULEE — CASCADE OF BINGAREEBEYL — A LEGEND OF IT — AN
"ENCHANTED" GLEN — BAD GROUND — OUR COOLIES OBJECT TO PRO-
CEED— PUDDOO'S PERSUASIVE POWERS — A PRECARIOUS POSITION —
AN UNPLEASANT NIGHT IN AN EERIE SITUATION — A MYSTERIOUS
OLD TAHR — A SANCTUARY FOR GAME — MUSK-DEER — A GRAND SUR-
PRISE— SUPERB SNOW -SCENE — DOONAGIRI PURBAT — OLD TAHR
BUCKS — THEIR ECCENTRIC GAMBOLS — THE EVIL GENIUS OF THE
GLEN DOGS OUR FOOTSTEPS — UP AMONG THE CLOUDS — A SHORT
CUT NOT ALWAYS THE QUICKEST — SURPRISE A MUSK-DEER IN THE
MIST — OVERTAKEN BY DARKNESS — A RATHER PERILOUS DESCENT —
WELCOME ASSISTANCE.

IT might naturally be supposed that, after the experiences
of one visit to trans-Himalayan regions, nobody would be in
a hurry to return to those cold and desolate steppes. It is
not so, however, with such as are imbued with a taste for
wandering among Nature's wild and wonderful works. What-

SIRKANDADEVI. 375

ever trials and difficulties they may have undergone are soon
forgotten in their ardent longing for fresh adventure or sport.
Even the dangers to which the mountain-hunter is so often
exposed have a sort of alluring fascination about them. I
have no doubt many a Himalayan sportsman, when traversing
some terribly awkward bit, where a slip might launch him
into eternity, will, like myself, have inwardly declared he
would never again be enticed into such a position, but only
the very next day to find himself perhaps in a worse one.

Whether I am right or not in these surmises, I, at any
rate, found myself ere long preparing for another trip to the
wild land beyond the Himalayas. I shall not, however, ask
the reader to follow our old trail there, but offer to conduct
him in quite a different direction — -towards Nari-Khorsum,
better known as Hundes (pronounced Hoondace), the Chinese-
Tibetan territory situated across the high mountain-passes of
the provinces of Gurhwal and Kumaon.

On the 20th of April I set out from Dehra Doon, and as
I did not expect the Mti ghat (pass), which I intended to
cross into Hundes, would be practicable before the beginning
of June, there would be plenty of time for a turn over the
Himalayan haunts of the burrell, to which I alluded when
describing this wild sheep, known as napoo in Tibet.

Here I need say little about the middle Himalayan ranges
through which I travelled for about a fortnight. On Sirkanda-
devi — a grand hill rising 10,000 feet — on the route between
the sanitarium of Mussoorie and Tehree, the chief town of
(foreign) Gurhwal, I killed a buck gooral close to the rude
little temple built on its summit. Being my first shot on
this trip, I regarded its success as a good omen.

At Tehree, five days out, I paid my respects to the rajah,
Pertab Sing, who had been kind enough to send some of his
officials to assist me in obtaining supplies, &c., whilst passing
through his State. On the evening of my arrival there he
sent his gold and silver sticks-in-waiting to usher me into

3*76 A PEST OF SCORPIONS.

his august presence. He seemed an intelligent youth, and
fond of sport. Three days more took me beyond the confines
of his territory, to Srinuggur, the capital of British Gurhwal.

One evening, when encamped in a low warm valley be-
tween these two places, I witnessed a most extraordinary
display of fireflies. A corn-field just below where my tent
was pitched looked literally alive with them, as they glanced
to and fro in myriads, like a waving sheet of fire over the
tops of the corn.1 The straggling town of Srinuggur, situated
in the low-lying valley of the Alaknanda — a tributary of the
sacred river Ganges — although showing evidences of former
importance in its numerous old ruins, seems now only
famous for intense heat and scorpions. In this neighbour-
hood the latter are said to be such a pest as in some
instances even to interfere with the tilling of the stony
soil; in one particular locality so much so that it had to
be abandoned by the barefooted natives, according to whose
account every stone there hid a scorpion. The only one I
chanced to see in those parts had got rolled up in one
of the loads of baggage, and stung the man who was
carrying it.

For several days on from here the villages along our route
looked desolate and forlorn, their inhabitants having tem-
porarily deserted them to escape the ravages of a disease
called by the natives " mahamurree " or " gola," 2 which was
then rife in this part of the district. In its symptoms this
dreadful malady much resembles the plague of Western Asia,
and it is quite as deadly. It is endemic in the provinces
of Gurhwal and Kumaon, and sometimes takes a virulent
epidemic form. It is supposed to originate from the exces-
sively dirty mode of living of the villagers, who usually have

1 There are usually spring and autumn harvests in India, the former chiefly
of wheat, the latter of rice, &c.

2 "Mahamurree," being interpreted, means the great sickness; "gola"
means ball, probably so called from the glandular swellings which are among
the symptoms of this malignant disease.

THE PLAGUE IN GURHWAL. 377

their cattle housed on their ground-floors, which they never
think of cleaning out. On a village being attacked by this
plague, the terror-stricken inhabitants at once flee to the
jungles, leaving the unfortunate victims to their fate.
Strange to say, it is generally preceded by the rats being
found dead about the village it attacks. But the villagers
are often so apathetic as not to accept this warning until
too late ; consequently the infection is carried with them to
the jungles, where cold and exposure only aggravate the
disease, and they die there like rotten sheep, for those
attacked seldom recover.

All honour is due to the memory of the late Dr F. Pearson
for his voluntary and perilous labours in attempting to dis-
cover the cause and stay the progress of this fell disease.
Many an anecdote of his dreadful experiences have I heard
from himself. He and his coadjutor, Dr Francis, had them-
selves often to remove the decomposing bodies from the
deserted houses for their post-mwtem examinations, as noth-
ing would induce the terrified natives to touch them. One
little episode was very characteristic of the people they had
to deal with. At a place where Dr Pearson had been rigor-
ously carrying out his sanitary measures — by burning houses
that contained putrid corpses, having the cattle removed from
the villages, whitewashing, and suchlike — the inhabitants sent
a petition to the commissioner of the province, imploring him
to take away the doctor sahib, as they said they would rather
have the mahamurree amongst them than him with all his
worry. These Gurhwal villagers usually grow, close about
their houses, a quantity of hemp, which they weave into cloth
during the winter months. The combined odours of this tall
rank plant and the village ordure are sometimes truly abom-
inable. No wonder the villages are hotbeds of disease. This
horrible pestilence seems to confine itself entirely to the
natives of the country. Even the pilgrims who yearly pass
through this province by thousands, on their way to and

378 BHOTIAS AND THEIR WAYS.

from the Hindoo shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath, are
seldom, if ever, infected with it.

At one of our halting-places I met a dear old friend and
quondam companion on many a shikar trip — Colonel Fisher,
the assistant commissioner of the province, who was out on
his circuit. At his camp I found Puddoo, a Bhotia of Niti,
my shikaree and guide on a former visit to the upper ranges
of Gurhwal, who had come down to meet me.

The Bhotias1 of Kumaon and Gurhwal are a half -Tibetan,
half-Himalayan people, inhabiting the highest villages on the
upper ranges of those provinces. They are more pastoral
than agricultural in their habits, and their manners and
customs are more Tartar than Hindoo, although they profess
to be of the latter persuasion. They occupy their villages
for a few months only during the summer, migrating to
the middle ranges in winter, during which they lead a
nomadic life. While the passes into Tibet are open (from
about the middle of June until the end of October) they are
constantly on the move, crossing and recrossing them with
their sheep, goats, and other beasts of burden, all and sundry
laden with grain, ghee (clarified butter), English manufactured
goods — chiefly broadcloth, which they barter with the Tibetans
for borax, salt, and wool ; trading in Tibet being almost en-
tirely done by barter, money seldom changing hands. During
winter they carry their commodities from their camps on the
middle ranges down to the large towns and fairs in the
plains. Their religion is decidedly peculiar. They are
Hindoos in name, but are not recognised as such by the strict
Hindoos of the lower country, who will not intermarry with
them. While in Tibet they throw off Hindooism and become
Buddhists.

1 "Bhot" is the term applied by the lower countrymen in general to the
snowy ranges. The Bhotias themselves, when they talk of Bhot, invariably
mean what the lower hill-men call Hundes — the district of Tibet beyond the
Gurhwal and Kumaon mountain-passes.

A HINDOO POPE. 379

At Kurrunpryag, the junction of the Pindar river with
the Alaknanda, I tried for a mahseer unsuccessfully, although
the last time I had been there on my way to " the snows," I
had not been fishing a quarter of an hour before I was hard
and fast in a 30-pounder, which ran me for nearly an hour
ere I landed him, and I afterwards lost another the same
evening that must have been nearly as big. A day further
on, however, at Nandpryag, where the Nandakni flows into
the Alaknanda, I had good sport during the few hours I
fished there in the evening, killing three nice fish with spoon-
bait, the largest weighing 12 Ib. In one of the pools here
I saw a monster mahseer. He really looked as long as
myself as he lay motionless as a log in the deep water, but
nothing would tempt him. As the fish were evidently taking
well, I would fain have remained here for a day or two had
not the heat beside the river been so terrible and the flies
a perfect pest.

In three more days I reached the village of Joshimutt, the
winter residence of the Eaol or high priest of the Temple of
Badrinath, a sort of Hindoo Pope who gives absolution to
thousands of "jatrees," as the pilgrims are here called, who
flock there yearly from every part of Hindustan. As the
temple was only about eighteen miles distant up towards the
glacier sources of the Alaknanda and I had time to spare, I
thought some of it might be spent to advantage in visiting this
Ultima Thule of Hindoo sanctity.

The road leading to it was not of the best. After a very
steep descent to where the river Doulee (which here joins the
Alaknanda) is crossed by a " sanga " bridge,1 the path leads

1 A sanga bridge has its piers constructed of long beams or logs projecting
from both banks over the stream in layers slanting upwards, each layer sup-
porting the next above it — which projects beyond it — on transverse logs ; the
uppermost layers, therefore, being the longest. The space left over the
stream, between the outer ends of the uppermost layer on each pier, is spanned
by stout planks or poles for crossing on. The inner or shore ends of the pier-
beams are firmly embedded among heavy lumps of rock or boulders.

380 THE PILGRIMAGE TO BADRINATH.

up the Alaknanda for a mile or so to where it also is spanned
by another sanga. Thence it proceeds along the western
side of the latter river. There were flights of rudely built
steps to ascend and descend on the steep acclivities, often
nearly overhanging the river rushing and chafing along its
rocky bed below. In such places the narrow track some-
times became quite choked with the unceasing stream of
pilgrims, which in the distance resembled a string of ants
creeping tortuously to and fro on the face of a wall. There

Temple of Badrinath.

were lame and blind, decrepit and infirm, old and young, even
to the babe in arms; Hindoo nobles; "jogees" (religious
mendicants), with matted locks and orange-coloured sheets,1
or with their nude bodies looking hideous from the white
ashes with which they were smeared over from head to foot,
and sometimes doing penance by holding an arm straight
upward until it had become permanently stiffened in that

1 This orange-coloured garment represents the winding-sheet in which the
bodies of defunct Hindoos are cremated, and indicates, I suppose, that its
wearer is dead to the pomps and vanities of the world.

A SHRINE OF VISHNU. 381

position, and the nails of the tightly clenched fingers had
actually grown through the hand and protruded at its back :
all of them jostling or being jostled along the narrow path.
A few of the more aged or sick were being carried in baskets
on the backs of men, sometimes of women. Occasionally
a man might be seen measuring his length flat on the ground,
then rising and remeasuring it, thus progressing by a regular
succession of these prostrations throughout his whole journey,
perhaps for hundreds of miles, to the shrine. How some of the
wretched creatures contrived to get over such rough ground
was truly astonishing. When performing their religious
observances on this arduous mountain-pilgrimage, they seem
utterly reckless of all hardship and danger. Many are
drowned at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Doulee, a
sacred spot (as every junction of large rivers is by Hindoos
considered), where they all think it an imperative duty to
bathe off a smooth slab of rock jutting out into the deep
rapid current of the combined streams. By way of propitia-
tion, some even cast themselves voluntarily into the river.
Fifteen had that year been swept away by an avalanche. A
poor old man I accosted on the way, carrying a little child in
his arms, burst into tears as he told me his sad tale. The
child's mother had slipped on a snow-slope on the way
between the two mountain-shrines of Kedarnath and Bad-
rinath, its father in attempting to rescue her had also lost
his footing, when both had fallen together and disappeared
for ever in a torrent far below, and he, its grandfather, was
left to return home with the infant alone. One poor wretch
had managed to crawl as far as the shrine, and had lain down
and died, from sheer exhaustion, on its very threshold, the day
I arrived there.

The temple is situated in a wild glen begirt with towering
snowy heights, but the summits of some of the higher peaks
are invisible from it. Although its sublime surroundings are
such fit emblems of the majesty of the Almighty, the temple

382 THE KAOL OR HIGH PRIEST.

itself, which is built on the rocks overhanging the river, is
small and unimposing, being an adjunct only to the general
sanctity of the whole locality as a chief source of " Holy
Mother Ganges," and so by Hindoos devoted to the homage
of the Supreme Deity. In its immediate vicinity some rest-
houses for the pilgrims, the residences of the officiating Brah-
min priests, and a few shops, chiefly occupied by vendors of
sweetmeats, are clustered together. The shrine is dedicated
to Vishnu, the divinity of the Hindoo triad who, according to
Brahman theology, represents the beneficence of the one Eter-
nal and Omnipotent Being, as Brahma and Siva personate the
wisdom and power. Large quantities of rice are daily cooked
within the precincts of the temple by the priests, nominally as
an offering to the Deity, but really more for feeding the poorer
class of pilgrims who come to do "puja" (worship) there,
charity and hospitality being among the chief attributes of
the Hindoo religion. The expense of this is defrayed from
the offerings made at the shrine, those of the wealthier pil-
grims being often very considerable both in money and jewels ;
and by the Eaol himself, who is the recipient of the rents of
certain villages and lands with which the temple is endowed.
This divine, who holds such a high ecclesiastical position
among Hindoos, is, I believe, always inducted, as Eaol or
chief priest at Badrinath, from a certain family in which this
office is hereditary, residing somewhere in the uttermost parts
of the south of Hindustan.

On the evening of my arrival the Eaol showed his hospi-
tality by sending me a liberal present of sweetmeats. Next
morning I started to visit Bussoodara, a consecrated waterfall
some five miles farther up the glen, and about 2000 feet
higher than the site of the temple, paying a visit en route to
the high priest. His holiness, contrary to what I should
have expected, had nothing of the ascetic either in his appear-
ance or demeanour. I found him a pleasant, intelligent man
of the world, and his spiritual calling had seemingly not

CURIOUS ROCK -BRIDGE. 383

caused him to neglect his temporal interests, as his chief topic
of conversation was concerning his worldly possessions. As
I had nothing more suitable to offer, at Puddoo's suggestion
I presented him with a canister of gunpowder, which he was
pleased to accept on account of his son, who, he said, was a
great shikaree. He evidently considered me in the light of a
pilgrim, as on taking my leave he wound a new white turban
about my head, and promised to show me the temple on my
return from Bussoodara.

On the way to the waterfall, under Puddoo's guidance, we
passed through the Bhotia village of Man a, at an elevation of
about 12,000 feet. It was empty and desolate, none of its
inhabitants having as yet returned to it for the summer. The
only living thing I saw there was a chuckor partridge we
flushed in its main alley. To reach the fall we crossed a
curious natural bridge formed of a gigantic block of stone
that had fallen athwart the stream. A truly wild spot it
looked, as the glen here suddenly grows very narrow, its
rugged sides rising abruptly from the river, and the heavy
volume of snow-water rushes down in a roaring cataract
through a dark narrow cleft under the overlying rock-bridge.
The " dara," or cascade, is situated up a lateral gorge, and
near the confluence of three fine glaciers. It much resembles
the Staubbach in Switzerland, as the water, which is precipi-
tated from a height of several hundred feet, is blown into
dust-like spray before reaching the rocks below.

On my return the Eaol fulfilled his promise of showing
me the interior of the temple. The entrance is approached
by a steep flight of steps. There are three doors, the outer
one of wood, the second of silver, and the inner one of gold —
at least so I was informed. I was not, however, permitted to
enter beyond the silver one, and therefore had only an indis-
tinct view of the symbolical figure of Vishnu in the gloom of
the innermost part of the temple. By the glimmer of a torch
which the Eaol was good enough to have lighted, I could just

384 SACRED HOT SPRING.

discern that the image was profusely adorned with gold and
jewels. One of the gems on its forehead, a large diamond, to
which my attention was particularly directed, could distinctly
be seen sparkling in the torchlight. Although for five or
six months in the year the temple has no other guardian than
the deep snow under which it then lies buried, such is the
religious — some might call it superstitious — veneration with
which it is regarded by the natives, that no attempt is ever
made to plunder it. I doubt very much whether any such
" heathenish " (?) and " idolatrous " (?) feelings would influence
the mind of the enterprising burglar of our own enlightened
land. From the shrine I was taken to see the sacred hot
spring which issues from the rocks below the temple. The
steaming warm water is collected in a large roofed tank,
where the pilgrims perform the ablutions which are supposed
to purge them of their iniquities, though I had ocular proof
that this ceremony is not always infallible as regards their
dirt.

Next morning, after a refreshing tub in hot water brought
from the spring, I started to return to Joshimutt, much edified
by what I had seen of the so-called " heathen " pilgrim at
Badrinath.

There is a shorter way of reaching Niti village from Bad-
rinath than that round by Joshimutt, by proceeding up a
lateral gorge to the left called Beeundyar, about six miles
below the temple. It is a difficult route, over a very high
pass, and was at that season quite impracticable. The only
European who, to my knowledge, had up to that time ever
traversed it, was my old friend Colonel E. Smyth, one of the
boldest cragsmen and most experienced mountain-hunters that
ever climbed the Himalayas. I give his own graphic and
interesting account of his experiences on that occasion: —

" On the 30th October 1862 I had just come from Hundes
to Gumsali, and as I had to go to Badrinath and Mana, and
as the weather was fine though very cold, I sent off my ser-

THE GUMSALI GLACIER. 385

vants and baggage to Joshimutt, and merely took two loads
with me — one bedding and clothes, the other a basket contain-
ing a few cooking-pots and eatables for five days — and with
seven or eight Bhootiahs, picked men, started to cross this
pass. My two loads were divided equally among the men.
I could only find one man in Gumsali who had ever been
across this pass to Badrinath (' Beea,' pudhan of Gumsali).
I took him as a guide.

" I started about noon of 30th October : the Bhootiahs were,
of course, all drunk, as they always are on starting on any
expedition. "We went about ten miles up the Gumsali valley,
and bivouacked in the open at an elevation of 14,000 feet. The
night was clear, and my thermometer next morning showed
about twelve degrees of frost. There was no firewood procur-
able beyond this place, so we took on a small supply, enough
for breakfast, intending to cross the pass and encamp about
3000 feet down on the other side. Three miles up the valley
took us to the foot of the Gumsali glacier. We then went
three or four miles over the surface of the glacier to where it
is joined by another from the right, and we breakfasted on a
moraine between the two. There is a large lake two or three
miles from this spot, up the glacier to the right, which I had
not time to go and see, as it lay entirely off my road. By all
accounts it must be about half a mile in length. After break-
fast we went about eight miles farther over the glacier, when
we came within sight of the top of the pass about two miles
above us.

" Up to this point there had been no difficulty. The ascent
had been easy, though here and there there had been a little
hindrance in the masses of rock and stones that lay piled on
the glacier. From this point, however, to the top of the
glacier, was very steep and very much crevassed. We had to
cut footsteps with axes nearly the whole way. This delayed
us very much, and it was nearly sunset when we reached the
top. Here our guide was at fault. He had only crossed the

2 B

386 A NIGHT AT 18,000 FEET.

pass once before, and that was many years ago, and in the
month of July, when the state of the snow was very different
to what it was now. He took us too much to the right, and
we were brought up by a frightful precipice. We spent half
an hour or so trying to find a way down, but night coming on,
we had to remain here without firewood, water, or food. My
thermometer at this time was at 12°. It must have gone
down to zero during the night. We could not find room to
lie down. I was comfortable enough myself. I put on all
my spare clothes, and wrapped myself up in a postheen,1 put
on my Canadian fur boots, leggings, &c., and gave up my
blankets to the Bhootiahs. I had a small flask of rum and
some cold meat and biscuits. The meat was frozen hard. I
did not feel the cold, and should have slept well but for the
anxiety I felt for the men with rne, who all suffered very
much. The cold affected them in different ways. Some had
a violent headache, others were sick all night. The night
was beautiful and quite cloudless, and the moon nearly at the
full. We looked straight down upon a regular sea of ice
3000 feet below us, at the foot of the precipice on the top of
which we were perched. There seemed to be nothing but
glacier as far as we could see, and the moonlight gave this
mer de glace the appearance of being perfectly level. We
were probably at an elevation of 18,000 feet, within 200 or
300 feet of the top of the pass, and on one side of us was that
peculiar-looking flat-topped mountain ' Goree Purbut,' so dis-
tinctly visible from Almora, Paori, and the plains. The top
of this mountain could not have been more than three miles
from us. We had to remain squatted here until 10 A.M.,
when the sun made its appearance from behind * Goree Pur-
but.' The cold was so intense that we could not touch the
rocks with our hands. If the guide had not lost his way we
should have met with no difficulty.

" We now used our own judgment. We saw where we had

1 A long kind of leathern cloak lined with fur, made in Afghanistan.

OLD TAKE- BUCKS. 387

to go, and we commenced climbing down this precipice. In
several places we had to let one another down by ropes, and
we did not reach the foot of the precipice until 2 or 3 P.M.
Here we found a little firewood, enough to cook our breakfast.
We then went about four miles farther down the glacier and
bivouacked among some rocks at the side. Next morning we
went about four miles farther down to where the river issues
from the glacier, and we then left the river to our left and
ascended the Poonch range. This range we crossed at an
elevation of 15,000 feet, descended about 1000 feet the other
side, and bivouacked in the open. To-day's inarch was about
twelve miles. Next morning we descended in about eight
miles to Amlagarh, where we joined the Joshimutt-Badrinath
road, and in the evening went up six miles to Badrinath.
From Niti to Badrinath by this route is about fifty miles ;
by Joshimutt route about sixty-five miles. Two of the Bhoo-
tiahs with me arrived at Badrinath with frost-bitten feet, and
I had to leave them at the Joshimutt dispensary, but they
recovered in about a month."

But let us now proceed to our shikar-ground.

Some nine miles up the valley of the Doulee from Joshi-
mutt, we crossed the river by a narrow wooden bridge below
the village of Tapoobun, and ascended the opposite heights,
with a view to having a day or two among the tahr. After
a long and stiff climb we reached our ground towards even-
ing, and having selected a spot for our camp, proceeded to
watch some steep green slopes, to which Puddoo expected
the tahr would be likely to descend, from the craggy verdure-
less heights above, for their evening feed. We had not long
to wait before we descried a herd of tehrny (female tahr) on
their way down. They descended so rapidly that in the dis-
tance they looked like a lot of yellowish-brown balls hopping
and rolling down over the crags, until all but two, that re-
mained behind on the rocks, were hidden from view in an
intervening grassy hollow. Presently four shaggy old bucks

388 CHUCKOR IN THE WAY.

followed them, performing the most eccentric gambols in their
descent. These were soon joined by three other old fellows
coming from a different direction. At last there were none
left in sight but the two tehriiy, which still kept their posi-
tions like sentinels on the rocks above. We waited patiently
for them to move down, until it grew so late that, at the risk
of their detecting us, we commenced crawling cautiously on
towards the hollow. We had almost reached a spot which
commanded it, when up got a chuckor partridge in front of
us. This was bad enough, but it was much worse when, a
little farther on, the rest of the covey rose with a whirr ! and
flew right over the hollow. On carefully raising my head to
reconnoitre, I could see at a glance that the tahr had taken
alarm and were on the alert. One old buck stood within
easy range, gazing straight towards me ; but before I could
cover him, he was galloping away with the rest of the herd
down the hollow. I let drive at a big black fellow that was
leading, and thought I had hit him, though he still continued
his course. We followed up at once, and soon came on our
friend as he lay, looking very sick, behind a rock. Another
shot sent him off again into some precipitous ground, where
we could see him standing rather groggily on a ledge ; but it
had now grown too dark to follow him farther that evening.
Fortunately there was a bright moon to light us back to our
camp, which was about two miles off, and some of the footing
was not of the best.

That night I witnessed from our camp a remarkably beauti-
ful moonlight effect. As the moon sank towards the irregular
ridge of the summit of Trisool,1 rising 22,300 feet high, away
across the misty depths of the Doulee valley far below, the
immense snow -fields that lay along its upper slopes glistened

1 So called by the natives from its irregular summit being supposed to
resemble a "trisool" or trident, which is by Hindoos regarded as symbolical
of their divine triad — Brahma, the creator ; Vishnu, the preserver ; Siva, the
destroyer.

A MAGNIFICENT EFFECT. 389

like broad sheets of burnished silver in the sheen of the
moonbeams that played on them, causing the shadowy forms
of the adjacent snow-peaks to loom all the more dim and
unearthly in their pallid solemnity.

Early next morning we went to look after our wounded
tahr. We found him lying dead at the foot of the precipice
where he had fallen, evidently from the very ledge on which
we had last seen him standing. A shaggy, black old buck
he was too, with horns nearly 14 inches long.

Although I saw many more tehrny and young bucks, I
had no further sport among the great old tahr during the
remainder of the short time I was up here. There were,
however, ample and continual sources of delight in the ever-
changing views of the grand frozen peaks in the neighbour-
hood, as seen from these heights. One charming prospect I
especially remember. As the last rays of the setting sun,
shooting out from under a cloud-bank of violet, crimson, and
gold, shed a ruddy glow on the snowy slopes of Trisool, and
the half-naked crest (over 25,600 feet high) of Nandadevi
— the wall-like shoulders of which mighty mountain are so
nearly vertical as in some places to leave the pale-coloured
rock quite bare of snow — the effect was truly magnificent.

On the evening I returned to Tapoobun, some villagers
came running to tell me that a bear was in a corn-field close
by. On reaching the place, sure enough there I could in-
distinctly see a black object among the corn. But thinking,
from its being so close to the village, it might possibly be a
human being enveloped in a black blanket, I refrained from
shooting until the brute hustled off, when I missed my
chance at him in the dusky twilight. Good black- partridge
shooting might have been got about here, had the birds been
in proper season, judging from the number of cocks that
were crowing in the vicinity.

Above this the Doulee valley grows much narrower, and
its flanking heights more lofty and precipitous — so much so

390 VALLEY OF THE DOULEE.

that, although up here you are in the midst of vast snowy
mountains, the higher white peaks and ridges are only now
and then visible from the bottom of the valley, either through
lateral gaps or when they seem to terminate the glen you are
in. The river, too, now becomes more impetuous, as it leaps
furiously down among huge masses of rock in a succession
of roaring cataracts. Altogether the scenery here begins to
assume a more savagely grand character. Soon after crossing
the Eeni bridge over the Eishi gunga (river) — a wild torrent
fed by the snow-fields and glaciers around Nandadevi — where
it flows into the Doulee, the eye is at once attracted by a
remarkable cascade on the north side of the latter river. The
water pours down from a tremendous height, in a narrow
white stream, over a perfectly smooth and nearly perpen-
dicular face of dark rock. It has only one break in its long
descent, where it falls into a deep receding cavity evidently
hollowed out by the constant action of the water behind a
ledge on the cliff; thence it leaps forth and continues its
precipitate course in an unbroken line for many hundred
feet. When in flood, this waterfall, which is called Bin-
gareebeyl, has a singularly fine effect. As we trudged along,
Puddoo beguiled the time with a wonderful legend about
this place, which was, as near as I can translate it, to the
following effect: —

" In the village of Lata, on the opposite side of the Doulee
to Bingareebeyl, there once lived a big strong fellow named
Deena. From his constant bullying and overbearing ways,
he had made himself so thoroughly objectionable to his
fellow-villagers that they at last resolved to dispose of him.
The difficulty, however, was as to how they should accom-
plish this, for they all dreaded him ; besides which, they did
not wish it to appear as though they had actually committed
murder, until one day the long-wished-for opportunity pre-
sented itself.

" Some men who had been hunting among the crags above

LEGEND OF BINGAREEBEYL. 391

the cascade returned to the village with a story of their
having killed a big tahr, which they were unable to bring
back owing to its having fallen down Bingareebeyl and
lodged on the ledge there. On hearing this. Deena, who
was as plucky as he was powerful, and prided himself on
being a daring climber, volunteered, as was expected, to
recover the tahr by clambering down to the ledge on a rope.
Having succeeded in reaching the tahr, he cut off its legs,
which were each hauled up by his companions above. But
instead of letting the rope down again, they shouted to
Deena that he might keep the carcass as food for himself,
and straightway departed, leaving him to his fate.

" As he sat there pondering hopelessly over his desperate
position, a big 'gooroor' (lammergeyer), attracted by the
remains of the tahr, came soaring past, when a happy idea
struck Deena as to how he might possibly effect his escape.
Unwinding the girdle of rope the paharrees usually wear, he
tied himself with it to the carcass, under which he contrived
to conceal himself. As he expected, the gooroors soon came
circling round, and as each one alighted on the carcass he
stealthily seized its legs and secured them in nooses, made
with bits of unravelled rope he had attached to the ribs,
until he had thus caught a sufficient number of the birds
for his purpose. He then gave a loud shout, which had the
effect of making the affrighted gooroors simultaneously flap
their wings and lift him, with the carcass, from the ledge, the
result being to deposit him safely on terra firma below. On
the unexpected and seemingly supernatural reappearance of
their enemy among them, the astonished and terrified villagers
fled, leaving him in sole occupation of Lata, though not before
he had taken his revenge. They eventually, however, came
to terms with him ; but he made the place hotter than ever
for them on their return to it."

As I happened to breakfast by the wayside near Lata, on
my broaching this subject to some of the villagers who

392 AN ENCHANTED GLEN.

brought me milk, they entertained me with a corroboration
of Puddoo's version of the tale, and positively declared "it
was all quite true."

Our next halt was at Seraitota, so called from some " serai "
(cypress) trees growing in the vicinity. We camped at the
foot of a wild gorge, which, on a former visit to these parts,
I had explored with Puddoo, who, well as he knew these
mountains, had never previous to that time been more than
a mile or two up it. As our expedition was not altogether
uneventful, I shall here make a digression, and endeavour
to briefly relate our experiences.

At first Puddoo had tried to dissuade me from going up
this glen by telling me it was held in bad repute by the
villagers, who believed it to be the haunt of an evil spirit,
and that the tahr there bore charmed lives. The real truth,
I suspect, was, that being my first expedition with him, he
was doubtful as to what my capabilities might be at moun-
tain work, and therefore wished to avoid the responsibility
of having taken me to a place where the ground was reported
to be excessively bad, in the event of any accident occur-
ring. However, on returning to Seraitota, after hunting with
him farther up the Doulee valley, he made no more objec-
tions to our visiting this " enchanted glen." l

At the hamlet of Tolma, hard by, we secured the services
of the "padan" (head-man), a queer old character named
Ganna, and also of two or three stout fellows to assist the
lower-range coolies I had brought with me thus far, who
were quite unaccustomed to carrying loads over such ground
as they would have to encounter up here. For some distance
we had no difficulty in getting along, up beside the torrent,
until the gorge took the form of an acute-angled V, where the

1 This wild canon is, I think, one of those alluded to by Mr Graham in a
graphic account, read at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in June
1884, of his attempt to reach the summits of the Doonagiri and Nandadevi
peaks. Even he, an experienced Alpine climber, remarks, " It is impos-
sible to exaggerate the difficulties of traversing these cations."

BAD GROUND. 393

rocks rose so abruptly from the water that we were obliged
to take a higher route along the steep hill-face. Each mo-
ment the ground became more frightful, until at last it
seemed as though further progress were next thing to im-
possible. Ganna now took the lead as we essayed to cross a
terribly steep incline at a height of several hundred feet
above the raging rock-bound torrent, where the short slip-
pery grass that partially covered the almost vertical slope
served only to make the footing more precarious. There
was no way of turning this place, unless perhaps by making
a very long round above. For about 150 yards there was
often absolutely nothing between this world and the next
but the breadth of less than half a footsole, chipped with
the iron-shod point of an alpenstock, out of the hard ground,
in such places as there happened to be no protruding scraps
of rock which might afford better footing. As Puddoo re-
marked, " For ourselves it was hazardous enough, but for the
laden men it would be positively dangerous."

On our reaching more practicable ground we waited for the
coolies to come up, as my two companions seemed to have
misgivings about the lower-range men being able to proceed
any farther with their loads. As we expected, when they
got to the bad bit they stopped, and called out to us that
they objected to crossing it. But Puddoo shouted jeeringly
back, taunting them with being no mountain-men, and telling
them that if they were afraid to come on they had better go
home and fetch their women to help them, and suchlike
banter, until they at last agreed to break up their loads and
bring the things over a few at a time. I was much relieved
in mind when they all arrived safely at the only possible place
we could find near at hand to bivouac on — for camping was
out of the question — which they never would have reached
with their loads, had it not been for Puddoo's persuasive
powers, and the assistance of the Tolma men who were with
them. The spot we had selected was a narrow sloping shelf

394 A SOLITARY OLD BUCK.

above the rocky linn, where, by dint of clearing off big stones
and scraping away earth, we managed to get just sufficient
space for sticking up my little tent, after a fashion, against the
face of a high beetling crag, my followers finding the best
shelter they could in holes and crannies among the rocks.

In the afternoon, as I sat scanning the steep ground across
the torrent, I could see several young bucks and some tehrny
on the crags. At last I detected a solitary old tahr almost
hidden among some birch bushes growing on a sloping ledge,
where he was browsing on the young leaves. In the distance
his shaggy coat looked quite black as I caught occasional
glimpses of him through the spy -glass. After planning our
stalk, I started with Puddoo and Ganna to try and circum-
vent him. With considerable difficulty we clambered down
to the torrent, where it was spanned by a bed of hard snow,
and thence climbed up through a steep wood of tall black
pines until we were nearly level with the tahr. He was still
browsing among the birch bushes, at what I judged to be
about 150 yards distant across a precipitous rocky gully.
After recovering my wind I rested the rifle against a pine-
tree, took a steady aim, and let drive. "He's hit!" exclaimed
Puddoo, as the beast seemed to shoot headlong into the gully
and out of sight. I was congratulating myself on having, as
I thought, secured so fine a specimen, when Puddoo excitedly
whispered, " Look ! there he is again," as, to my great sur-
prise, the tahr suddenly reappeared on our side of the gully.
As he stopped short to listen and look about him among some
fallen pine-trunks within easy range directly below us, I again
took a careful shot over a prostrate tree, which offered a con-
venient rest. " You've surely got him this time ! " said Pud-
doo, as the animal seemed to fall over backwards among the
fallen trees. After reloading the rifle, we moved down in con-
fident expectation of finding him lying dead ; but nothing was
there but the marks ploughed up by his hoofs, where he had
evidently galloped headlong down hill. We followed the

A PRECARIOUS POSITION. 395

track as far as we could do so without risking being benighted
on our return over such awful ground, but not a drop of
blood was there to be seen on it.

"We had recrossed the torrent on our way back, and had
reached a narrow and almost perpendicular cleft between a
smooth wall of rock and a hard bank of old snow : a very
awkward place, which, from being scarcely wider than a man's
body, it required considerable exertion both of arms and legs
to ascend. Puddoo went first, and reached the top. I fol-
lowed next, and had elbowed myself half-way up, when, in
endeavouring to clutch at a niche above me, I in some man-
ner wrenched my weak shoulder, and instantly felt I had dis-
located it. Calling out for assistance, I fortunately managed
to support myself with the one arm and my knees until Ganna
reached me from below, and Puddoo, who had divested him-
self of his shoes, had climbed down from above to extricate
me from my unpleasant and somewhat critical position. On
reaching a spot where there was space enough to lie down,
with Puddoo's assistance the joint was soon replaced — for,
since my first accident of a similar nature on the Pir Pun-
chal, the experience of several repetitions of it had taught
me how to act in such an emergency, and consequently I
thought little of it. My companions gravely shook their
heads, and I overheard them making sundry mysterious
allusions to the evil reputation of the glen. A wild and
eerie-looking spot this certainly was, with its frowning preci-
pices, beetling crags, and tall black pines. As the shades of
night closed down on our gloomy surroundings, the big owls
began their dismal hootings from the dark echoing pine -wood
across the torrent, as if deriding our futile attempt on the
charmed life of that black old tahr.

During the night I was suddenly startled from a restless
and rather feverish sleep — the natural consequence of my
little mishap — by the sound of an avalanche of rocks and
stones that came rattling down a steep gully some twenty

396 COOKERY UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

yards from where I lay. This was followed by the occasional
fall of a loose pebble on the canvas of my tent, suggesting
to my disturbed imagination the idea of impending danger
from above, which kept me wakeful until morning. It was
therefore not surprising, taking all things into consideration,
that next day my nervous system was slightly upset, and that
I was quite unfit for mountain work. My cook regarding me,
I suppose, in the light of an invalid, had considerately pre-
pared a surprise for me in the shape of some delicious jelly,
all duly moulded and flavoured, which he had made from tahr
meat. How he had contrived to produce such a delicacy in
the little rocky hole he had selected for his kitchen, was a
marvel of culinary skill. But the expedients resorted to on
a pinch by your Indian Francatelli, and the celerity with
which he can in an emergency prepare you an excellent
meal, are always marvellous.

Towards dusk Puddoo, in a state of excitement which was
quite unusual to his ordinarily rather phlegmatic tempera-
ment, came hurrying to tell me he had just seen what he felt
sure was the tahr I had shot at the evening before, moving
among the birch bushes on the same ledge we had at first
descried him. Getting out the telescope, there, sure enough, I
could see a big black tahr just disappearing behind the bushes.
As he did not again show himself before dark, Puddoo thought
he would be unlikely to move far away during the night. That
it could be our old friend, I, however, considered highly im-
probable— though Puddoo positively declared he could recog-
nise in it the same uncanny beast, which had now returned
to its favourite haunt to feed there on the birch-sprouts.

Next morning, as soon as it was light enough to see the
opposite crags, all eyes were turned towards them — for every
one of my followers, even to the cook, seemed to have become
imbued with an excited sort of interest in that mysterious
old tahr ; but not a sign of him could we see. Except for
being unable to freely use my left arm, I was now tolerably

A MYSTERIOUS BEAT. 397

fit again. I therefore proposed visiting some ground farther
up the glen, which Ganna reported as being a pretty sure find
for old bucks. We were just about to start, when it struck
me that I had better take one more look through the glass
towards the birch bushes on the ledge. This time I noticed
through an interstice among the branches a dark patch which
I had hitherto not observed. After steadily watching it for
some time I imagined I saw it move. At last all doubt was
dispelled by the branches above it being shaken to and fro.
Directing Puddoo's attention to it, I handed him the tele-
scope. After a long look through it he suddenly ejaculated,
" It's that again ! " using an expressive but unmention-
able term of native abuse towards the animal.

Our proposed arrangement for the day was now upset, for
even if this were not the big tahr I had shot at, it was his
exact counterpart ; at any rate it was unlikely that a finer
would be found elsewhere. This time the whole day was be-
fore us, so we resolved to try a stalk from a different direc-
tion. Owing to the precipitous nature of the ground, it would
necessarily be a very much longer and more difficult busi-
ness, but would, we thought, bring us much nearer our game.
After about two hours' climbing, imagine our disappointment
on finding that the animal's position was quite hidden below
the spot which, from the other side of the glen, we had sup-
posed would command it within easy range ; and we could
discover no other means of approaching it, from this side at
any rate, without our being seen by the tahr. The only plan
we could now devise was to send Ganna to try and steal
round beyond the place from above, on the chance that, by
flinging down a stone, he might frighten the animal back
towards us. But the crafty beast must have decamped in
some other direction than ours, for not a sign did we ever see
or hear of him. If an evil genius presided over this glen, I
now began myself almost to think that it must have been
embodied, for the time being, in that black old buck. For

398 GRAND SNOW-SCENE.

not only did he seem to bear a charmed life himself, but he
had effectually succeeded in inveigling us away from other
animals we might have found elsewhere. How heartily did
I join with my companions in anathematising the brute, as,
with only one of my arms to trust to for support, I wearily
scrambled back by even a more breakneck, though a much
less circuitous, route than the one by which we had come out.
Soon after daybreak next morning we were making the best
of a bad way up the side of the glen. We scrambled along
for about a mile and a half, and then struck up a lateral gorge,
where our work soon became comparatively easy and the
ground more open. Here we found many fresh tracks of big
tahr, and altogether the place looked a perfect sanctuary for
game. We started several musk-deer, for which the nature
of the ground was particularly well suited, there being many
strips and patches of birch and rhododendron bushes alter-
nating with rocky gullies. I killed one of the little animals
which offered an irresistibly tempting chance, a rather unwise
proceeding where there was every probability of the shot dis-
turbing the game we were more especially in quest of. Thence
we ascended a long steep gully, flanked with rhododendron
bushes and birches, in order to prospect the ground on the
farther side of a high ridge, from which the gully ran down.
On reaching the crest of the ridge, the superb prospect that
suddenly burst in sight was in itself a more than adequate
compensation for all the difficulty and trouble undergone to
obtain it. Anything more weirdly grand in the shape of a
snow-scene it would have been difficult to find. There, facing
us, immediately across a wide treeless abyss, stood the pale
spectral form of Doonagiri "purbat" (high mountain), its
gigantic proportions abruptly rising in vast cliffs and slopes
of solid ice and snow until they culminated in a glistening white
peak over 23,000 feet high. Although I had become habitu-
ated, I may say, to grand mountain-scenery, the effect pro-
duced on me by the startling revelation of this mighty frozen

DOONAGIRI PEAK. 399

pile, and my unexpected proximity to it, was such, that at
first it inspired an almost overpowering sensation of mingled
wonder and awe, until the shrinking eye gradually became
more accustomed to its dazzling magnificence. What an in-
significant atom of mortality I felt as I silently contemplated
this stupendous immutable work of nature ! If any Alpine
traveller can imagine himself brought suddenly face to face
with the Jungfrau, as viewed from the Mengern Alp, but
considerably exaggerated, and with a towering cone of snow
piled above it, he may perhaps be able to form some idea
of what was before me, and of my feelings whilst I stood
regarding it. As the morning wore on, huge masses of snow,
detached by the sun's heat, began thundering down with a
dull booming sound like salvoes of distant artillery.

Several noonday hours were passed on the ridge resting
and watching for game. Towards the afternoon, as we sat
under the rhododendrons, where we had been sheltering from
a shower of hail, we descried two tahr far up among the
craggy ground across the wide hollow we had last ascended
from, and almost directly above where I had killed the musk-
deer. Three more soon put in an appearance still higher up,
and all were fine old fellows. They took some time to make
up their minds to descend towards the greener slopes lower
down, my shot at the musk-deer having probably made them
suspicious of danger below. Once started, however, they lost
no time on their way, as they rattled down with the succes-
sion of playful skips and bounds by which these wild goats
are often wont to seemingly show their glee at the prospect of
their evening meal. It was very interesting to observe them
through the glass, with their long shaggy hair tossing wildly
about in the wind, as they reared up and butted at each other
in their gambols, sometimes appearing as though they were
knocked headlong, or had even fallen backwards, down from
crag to crag. How little did they know they were being
watched with deadly intent! At length they all settled

400 THE EVIL GENIUS OF THE GLEN.

quietly down to feed, upon which we at once proceeded to
gird up our loins for the business before us. Two men we
had brought with us for carrying game were left as markers
on the ridge, with directions not to leave it unless the tahr
should move off before we could get within range of them.
As we left the ridge I turned a parting look towards Doona-
giri, where the bluish- grey shadows were now growing longer
and deeper, and the declining sun was beginning to tinge the
western slopes of the mighty frozen pile with a beautiful
golden light.

The long narrow gully we had ascended to the ridge was
unfortunately in full view of the tahr, and there was 110 other
way of getting down, but we trusted to being able to descend
it unobserved by keeping as much as possible under cover
of the rhododendrons on either side. An hour's work from
the ridge brought us within what we judged must be pretty
close under where we had last seen the tahr from below, and
as our markers had not left the ridge, we knew the animals
had not moved away. But the evil genius of the glen, in the
shape of ill-luck, seemed still to dog our footsteps. To our
dismay a dense cloud of mist now came whirling round from
below and soon hid everything above. The wind, too, which
had hitherto been right, suddenly shifted and blew straight
up towards the tahr. In vain was all our patient waiting
until the mist cleared off, for when it temporarily did so, we
saw that our markers had quitted their post, from which we
knew that our game was up and gone. They afterwards told
us that the tahr were all lying within 150 yards, directly
above us, at the time we became enveloped in the mist.

As it was now getting late, our guide proposed that, instead
of our returning by the long round below, we should take a
shorter way he knew of over the mountain above. Now
short cuts are not invariably the easiest or the quickest,
and more especially when they have to be made through the
clouds. It was all very well for Ganna with his habitually

UP AMONG THE CLOUDS. 401

naked feet and toes as prehensile as a monkey's, and for
Puddoo, who could without inconvenience go barefooted
when he chose ; but, for myself with my boots, had I known
what I was being let in for, I think that, considering all
things, my weak shoulder included, I should have chosen the
longer route. We continued our steep ascent until we reached
what appeared, through the clouds that enveloped our more
distant surroundings,* to be a ridge of huge rugged rocks,
from whence a dark narrow chasm descended abruptly into
infinite misty space below. Black wall-like crags rose on
both sides of a narrow strip of hard snow, shooting downward
at an angle of something less than 45 degrees. Down this
gloomy forbidding-looking abyss our way now led. We
commenced the descent by lowering ourselves over an almost
perpendicular face of rock for some twenty feet on to the
sloping slippery snow-bed, down which we went slowly and
carefully, having often to notch the hard snow for foothold.
Thus we proceeded over alternate snow and bare rock, with
the same clouded emptiness still below us, until we must
have descended at least 1000 feet, when the monotony of
our precarious and seemingly endless undertaking was varied
by a musk-deer starting up close to us. As he stood to look
back within twenty-five paces, his dim shadowy form looming
large and spectre-like through the mist, I got hold of the
rifle from Puddoo, who was carrying it, and rolled him over ;
but as he contrived to struggle away for a short distance
down the rocks, we had some trouble in securing him. This
caused considerable delay ; consequently, by the time Ganna
had shouldered him, the already waning light had almost
failed us. Down and still down we scrambled through the
murky mist, until at length it grew so dark as to make it
next thing to impossible to move a step without danger of
missing our footing. Matters were now getting rather serious,
for our guide, in reply to my repeated and anxious inquiries
as to how far we had yet to descend, had rather unwillingly

2c

402 WELCOME ASSISTANCE.

informed me that there was still some " mooskhil " (difficulty)
below us. Moveover, I had casually discovered that we
were in the very gully down which the avalanche of rocks
and stones had fallen two nights before. I was just beginning
to realise the disagreeable probability of our having to pass a
cold gruesome night in an upright position on some narrow
ledge of rock, when, to my infinite relief of mind, I heard
voices below, which were joyously replied to, and ere long the
welcome glimmer of a light appeared dimly struggling up
through the fog. Our two markers, who were Tolma men,
after picking up the musk-deer I had killed in the morning,
had returned to our bivouac by the lower route, and knowing
the difficulties of the upper one, which they thought it prob-
able Ganna, to save time, would take up the gully, had, on its
growing dark, started to meet us, accompanied by my Goorkha
servant carrying a lantern. Another half-hour of very tick-
lish work took us down to the tent, after a direct descent of
several thousand feet, a great part of which might, under the
circumstances, have fairly been termed rather perilous.

My time being then limited, I was reluctantly obliged next
day to quit this excellent though to me unlucky bit of tahr-
ground, by the same difficult way we had got at it. But let
us now resume our present trip, and in another chapter try
a turn at the burrell for a change.

403

CHAPTEE XXII.

DOONAGIRI VILLAGE — A HIMALAYAN GLACIER — BURRELL - GROUND —
KILL TWO RAMS— FEMALE PORTERS— FINE OLD DEODAR - TREES —
BHOTIA VILLAGES OF KOSA AND MALARI — BURGLARIOUS BEARS —
SOLITUDE AND DESOLATION — BHOTIAS, MALE AND FEMALE — GOOSE-
BERRY AND CURRANT BUSHES — ROCK-SLIPS — PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPES
FROM THEM — NITI VILLAGE — STRANGE COLLECTION OF OLD SHOES —
TIBETAN ENVOY — THE " JOOBOO " — FROM NITI TO GOTING — SUMMER
AVALANCHES — OLD BIRCH-TREES — SNOW-PHEASANTS — BAD WALKING
— A DAY'S SPORT AT GOTING — AN AWKWARD BRIDGE — ALPINE ROSE —
A GRAND OLD RAM — A MISTAKE — A SNOW-LEOPARD SHARES OUR
SPOILS— WILD DEFILE— THE NITI PASS— VIEW OF HUND^S FROM ITS
SUMMIT — A NOTEWORTHY WATERSHED — SKETCHING UNDER DIFFI-
CULTIES—A TERRIBLY COLD CAMP— A DEPUTATION FROM THE JONG-
PEN — OUR HOONYA ESCORT.

BELOW the northern slopes of Doonagiri purbat, in the
middle of an immense kind of corrie several miles broad, lies
a Bhotia hamlet bearing the same name as the mountain, at
an elevation of nearly 12,000 feet. The broken grassy slopes
about the foot of a big glacier which runs down the east side of
the purbat and discharges itself into this huge natural amphi-
theatre, are, early in the season, a favourite resort of burrell,
before the villagers take their flocks up there for the summer
pasturage. Thither, therefore, I now resolved to direct my
steps.

Crossing the Doulee by a rude wooden bridge, we proceeded
for several miles along its opposite bank, where the rocks
sometimes rose so directly from the river as to necessitate
their being passed on rough loose planks or poles supported

404

EOCK-PIGEONS.

on stakes driven into crevices below them. Blue pigeons,
which were plentiful among the overhanging rocks, afforded
some pretty shooting on the way, and were acceptable for the

A " Sanga" or wooden bridge.

pot. In consideration of their being the latter, I was not too
proud to take a family-shot at them on the ground, if I had
a chance. On one of these occasions I " shot at the pigeon
and hit the crow," not figuratively but actually, when I
unwittingly sacrificed a red-billed specimen of the jackdaw
tribe (Cornish chough) which had the misfortune to be feed-
ing in the line of fire. Kecrossing the Doulee next morning
by another very rustic, and in this instance rather rickety
bridge, we struck up a narrow and deep glen, as romantic
and wild as forest and crag could make it, passing the pic-
turesquely-built little wooden chalet of Ewing about a mile
from its foot. After ascending 4000 odd feet from the river,
in a distance of only five or six miles, we reached the afore-
mentioned wide and elevated mountain-basin, and camped
close beside the hamlet, to which the Bhotia inhabitants had
only just returned from their winter sojourn below. The
village padan was most attentive and obliging, and willing

THE DOONAGIRI GLACIER. 405

to give us all the assistance and information we required
regarding game. Up here we were almost above the limit of
forest, except for a few birch-trees and rhododendron bushes,
which latter were all abloom with pure white and pale lilac
blossoms.

As we left the hamlet next morning and took our way up
towards the glacier, the snowy heights above were just being
tipped with a pale rosy reflection, though the dawning light
was still dim and grey below. The crisp frosty air was pinch-
ing cold, but an hour's sharp walking warmed us up. On
reaching the foot of the glacier, we stopped to take a careful
survey of the neighbouring slopes. There were three small
flocks of burrell visible, but the spy-glass showed that they
contained no old rams ; so we let them be, and went on upward
along the lateral moraine of the glacier in search of some-
thing better. Nothing more, however, being discovered, I
got on to the glacier and proceeded up over it, more from
curiosity regarding it than with any idea of finding game
farther up. The ice was grey and very dirty, with few cre-
vasses, and the surface, though lumpy, irregular, and thickly
strewn with large stones, was quite easy to traverse.

I have before mentioned the enormous size of Himalayan
glaciers. They do not, however, often present in their lower
formation the broken, split-up, and white appearance of
Alpine ones. For this you must here ascend to a very
high altitude, where the ice and n6v6 are as pure as in the
Alps. There are very few glaciers in the Himalayas which
descend lower than 11,000 feet. The temperature at that
elevation is said to be much the same as that of 3000 feet in
the Alps. Owing to the heat and melting power of the sun,
the lower part of a glacier is here much more covered with
stones and dirt than in more northern latitudes. Here you
may walk for miles over the lower part of a glacier and not
see any ice. Nor do you notice the beautiful azure blue so
much in the depths of holes and fissures of Himalayan gla-

406 THE ICE-FALL IN THE HIMALAYAS.

ciers ; in their lower parts not at all. As the ice-fall in these
mountains is much higher and more difficult of access than
in the Alps, the ordinary traveller, who here usually sees
only the lower and more level portions of glaciers, is apt to
imagine them to be totally devoid of the beautiful colouring
of Alpine ones. There is just a possibility that, if it is less
vivid here, this may be due to the fact of Himalayan glaciers
lying at much higher elevations, where the air is thinner, and
the refraction of light consequently less : but the probability
of such being the case I leave for scientists to determine.
The following account of a trip over a high and difficult pass
between Pindree and Murtolee, in Kumaon, by Colonel E.
Smyth (to whom I am indebted for several interesting and
graphic accounts of his mountain adventures, which he has
kindly permitted me to insert in these pages), gives an excel-
lent idea of the higher regions of a Himalayan glacier : —

" This pass had only been crossed twice within the memory
of man — once about fifty years ago by Mr Traill, and in 1855
or 1856 by one of the Schlagintweits. I crossed it at the end
of September 1861. I sent my baggage and servants round to
Milum and Murtolee by the regular road, and merely took one
load of bedding and clothes with me, and accompanied a friend
as far as Pindree. Next morning my friend went with me,
and we breakfasted on the glacier and then parted. He
agreed to remain at Pindree until he could be certain that I
had crossed safely. I took eight or nine Danpore villagers
with me. My guide was old Earn Sing, so well known to all
travellers to Pindree. He was one of the finest-made hill-men
I ever knew, and though more than sixty, I found he had
more pluck and endurance than all the rest. He had crossed
this pass on the two occasions I have mentioned.

" My road lay up the right bank of the glacier for seven or
eight miles, and I bivouacked in a cave at an elevation of
15,000 feet, overlooking the Pindree glacier. In this seven or
eight miles, I had to cross two or three small side-glaciers.

UP AMONG THE ICE. 407

On this occasion I had left Almora in the middle of September,
about the worst season of the year for travelling, and my road
to Pindree lay up the valley of the Surjoo, a particularly hot
and unhealthy valley ; and all this had not been a very good
preparation for crossing a very high and difficult pass. We
had had a great deal of rain on the way up, and the leeches
had been very troublesome. I lay awake all this night with a
very bad toothache, and in the morning felt anything but fit
for a hard day's work. All these Danpoorees, on the contrary,
seemed as gay as larks, and were playing each other practical
jokes. We breakfasted before daybreak, and ascended the
hillside about 2000 feet, when we reached the top of a range
and descended 200 or 300 feet on to a glacier, which we never
left for the rest of the day. Our way lay over this glacier for
about five miles. The slope was very gentle, and there was
no difficulty whatever in this part of our journey, beyond
meeting, now and then, broad crevasses ; but we managed
to turn them all. We then reached the crest of the pass (at
an elevation of about 18,000 feet), which is a depression in the
ridge that connects Nundadevi (25,700 feet) with Nunda-
kote (24,000 feet). Up to this the sun had been very bright,
and the glare so painful that I had not been able to look
about me. For the last five miles I had seen nothing but
snow and glacier, both singularly pure and free from cttbris
and rocks, and the glacier broken up into chasms and pinnacles
of pure ice of most fantastic shape, and of colours varying
from deep blue to deep green, according to the light thrown on
them.

" On arrival at the crest of the pass, I found before me a
descent of about 2000 feet, over snow much too steep to de-
scend. At first we thought of tying ourselves together and
sliding down. This we should have done if it had not been for
some broad ugly-looking crevasses down below, that appeared
open-mouthed ready to receive us. I sent men to the right
and left to see if there were any better place to commence the

408 HIMALAYAN GUIDES.

descent from, but they returned unsuccessful. It was now
about 2 P.M., the clouds had come up, and it began to snow and
hail. The wind at the same time arose, and the snow was fly-
ing about up our noses and into our eyes, ears, &c. These
coolies who had been so lively but a few hours before began to
give in ; some lay down to go to sleep. There was a ledge of
rocks that seemed to run up from below to within a quarter of
a mile of where we were. Earn Sing and another man took
the two axes and commenced to cut steps towards these rocks
along this steep slope of snow. I employed myself in keeping
these wretched coolies from going to sleep until Earn Sing and
his companion had proceeded about 100 yards. I then made
them all get up and follow. We kept along the same level,
and the slope was so steep that while standing upright our
left hands were buried in the snow as we proceeded. It took
us two hours to go over this quarter of a mile. A false step
would have sent any one of us 2000 feet down the snow, pro-
bably into a crevasse below. My left hand soon became quite
benumbed from cold, and I did not quite recover from its
effects for several months. We reached the ledge of rocks
safely, and climbed down to the glacier below, and then went
four or five miles over the glacier to an empty kurruck (or
shieling) below. Next morning seven or eight miles took me
to Murtolee. Tradition says that this pass used to be in com-
mon use ages ago, but has been blocked up by glacier.

" Two or three of my Danpoorees were snow-blind for a day
or two after this trip."

People in India have not yet taken to attempting ascents of
the highest mountains. Of late years the few members of the
Alpine Club who have come to the Himalayas for that pur-
pose, have found the native shikarees and guides, who are un-
equalled as cragsmen, to be quite useless as ice-men. The fact
is, they seldom have any occasion to cross glaciers. Very few
of the passes usually traversed lead over them, and in the pur-
suit of game glaciers are avoided, as no game is found near their

BURRELL GROUND. 409

higher regions. Another reason why these " paharees " are so
helpless on ice is, that they are so badly shod. Boots are un-
known among them, and many of them only wear shoes
on festive occasions. Moreover, every high snow-peak is re-
garded by these mountaineers, who are mostly Hindoos, with
superstitious awe, as the abode of one or other of their deities,
whom they fear to offend. Himalayan guides will doubtless
improve at ice work ere long, if their services are in demand
for that purpose. The Cashmere mountaineers, who are chiefly
Mahomedans, and who have their lower extremities protected
by sandals and bandages, are much more at home on steep
snow-slopes and ice.

After going up one of the Doonagiri glaciers — for there are
two which unite — a considerable distance, I got such a racking
headache, probably from the combined effects of the intense
heat of the sun on the glacier and the cutting wind that came
sweeping over it, that I was forced to return. The evening
was spent watching, with the spy-glass, the movements of two
or three small lots of burrell that were feeding on a rugged,
partially grass-clad slope away across a deep and wide treeless
hollow, down which ran the broken torrent that drained
the glacier. As there were several good-looking heads in one
of the flocks, I resolved to be after them on the morrow.

Not caring to ford the deep rapid snow-stream the first
thing in the morning, we took a longer way to cross it dry-
footed, up over the bottom of the glacier ; consequently we
were a considerable time reaching our ground, close as it
appeared in a direct line. At the early hour we had set out,
it was too dark to take a look with the glass across the
hollow, but on nearing the place where, the evening before, I
had last seen the burrell, we descried a flock with rams in it
away down below. Whilst attempting to approach these,
another lot we had not noticed above, and which evidently
contained the bigger-horned fellows we wanted to find, got
intelligence of us and betook themselves far up the slope,

410 TWO RAMS KILLED.

until they apparently thought they were well out of danger,
as after a time they all lay down. A misty drizzling shower
of rain now began to fall, which, as the footing was easy and
the ground somewhat open, rather favoured our movements
than otherwise ; consequently we had little difficulty in reach-
ing a spot within eighty yards or so of where we had seen the
animals lie down. On reconnoitring them from behind a
rock, I saw they had risen and were slowly moving off, as if
they had just got wind of us. There was no time to lose, so
I let the biggest fellow have it, when down he went, rolling-
over and over among the rocks. The rest sped on, but as
the ground they had to get over was rough and steep, I
was able to get a chance at another ram before they all dis-
appeared in succession round a sort of ledge overhanging a
deep drop.

As we could see that the first ram was safely disposed of,
we followed up as quickly as possible in order to mark the
flock, for both Puddoo and I thought the second shot had also
told. We had got round the ledge and were making our way
over the crags beyond it, when Puddoo, who was tracking
ahead, stopped short, and gazing downward, remarked, "There's
no need to go farther, for look there ! " The steep rocks below
were smeared with blood, from which, and other unmistak-
able signs, it was evident that the wounded ram had toppled
over and slid down them, though, from the drop beneath being
so abrupt, we were unable to see how far he had gone. We
now turned back and got down to where the first ram had
fallen. He was a good beast, with thick horns about two feet
long. After cutting off his head and cleaning him, we hid his
carcass with stones from the soaring carrion-feeders, and then
proceeded round below to look for the other animal. We
found him lying quite dead, and considerably smashed by his
tremendous fall among the rocks. Luckily his head, which
was nearly as good as that of the first I had shot, was little
injured. Well satisfied with our forenoon's sport, we made

FEMALE PORTERS. 411

straight for camp, which, by fording the stream, we reached
in a much shorter time than we had taken in coming out.

It was now the end of May, and as the Niti ghat was
several days' journey from here, I concluded it would be prac-
ticable for crossing by the time we got there. We therefore
struck our camp next day. Six buxom Bhotia lasses assisted
in carrying our traps down as far as Ewing, where we camped
that evening. At first they were timid and shy, but soon
became more confident and communicative as they trudged
merrily along with their loads, laughing and joking as they
went. From here we easily reached the village of Malari in
a day. The wild beauty of the Doulee valley below Malari
is much added to by grand deodar cedars and cypress-trees
(Cupressus torulosa), which are scattered over the lofty over-
hanging crags. You see great old trees, some of them many
feet in diameter,1 clinging by their gnarled roots to narrow
ledges or clefts on the faces of almost vertical precipices, and
you wonder how on earth they can stand and flourish there
as they do, with nothing apparently but the naked rock to
sustain them. On the opposite (north) side of the river, situ-
ated at the entrance of a narrow gap, through the vista of
which you can see a fine glacier rising white and broken, the
village of Kosa stands perched among the rocks, having, with
its projecting eaves and weather-stained timbers, all the pic-
turesque look of a Swiss chalet. Up this gorge towards the
glacier is good ground for tahr. In fact all the lateral gorges
of the Doulee valley are, in their upper regions, the resorts of
either tahr or burrell; but in some of them the difficult
nature of the ground is such that I do not think I overrate it
when I affirm that unless one is tolerably free from the feel-
ing of apprehension commonly termed " giddiness," hunting

1 These two beautiful trees, which are the pride and ornament of the Hima-
layas, grow to a height of considerably over 200 feet, and in girth are
frequently met with 38 to 40 feet, at 4 or 5 feet from the ground. The timber
of both is excellent.

412 VILLAGE OF MALARI.

there is always more or less attended with risk. Indeed a
great many of the native mountaineers themselves lose their
lives in the pursuit of tahr.

The village of Malari, consisting of about eighty houses, is
situated, almost overhanging the river, in an open kind of
basin, where the tolerably level ground is, in the summer
months, taken every advantage of by the inhabitants for the
cultivation of buckwheat (here called " phaper ") and barley.
The Bhotias having just reoccupied the place, it presented a
much more cheerful aspect than it did on a former visit I had
made to it earlier in the spring, when it was all silent and
deserted, with the wooden roofs here and there torn up, where
the bears had during the winter effected a burglarious
entrance after the stores of grain. I found the burrell at
that time low down on the slopes in the immediate neighbour-
hood, and shot a ram there. The track upward to Niti had,
in many places where it almost overhangs the river, been
carried clean away by avalanches, or was blocked by huge
pine-trees, rocks and debris lying over it, that had been swept
down by them. In short, all above this was at that season
solitude and desolation. Now the road had been cleared and
repaired by the Bhotias, with parties of whom, male and
female, moving up with their goods and herds by easy stages
to the higher villages, we found it thronged. The men wore
long, light, drab-coloured woollen tunics, and continuations of
the same material. The women were more gaily attired in
coloured skirts and bodices, with a brown blanket tastefully
and ingeniously wrapped about their upper persons so as to
leave the arms free. A white cotton cloth was thrown over
the head, drawn tight above the brows, fastened back behind
the ears, and allowed to hang loosely down the back. Most of
them sported jewellery in the shape of ear-rings, nose-rings,
and necklaces. The men were stout and sturdy, and some of
the young girls, with their olive complexions and ruddy cheeks,
were pleasing and bright-looking, if not actually pretty.

ROCK-SLIPS. 413

This is the only place in the Himalayas where I noticed the
real old British gooseberry. Here it grows wild, as well as
the currant, which is common in many parts, both black and
red. On my return here from Hundes, the gooseberries
were well formed, although scarcely large enough at the time
for a tart. They never ripen sufficiently to eat raw. Ex-
cellent wild rhubarb, too, is often to be found on the southern
slopes of all the higher ranges, where it commences shooting
up from its roots just after the winter snow melts off the
ground. It is called " dolu " by the Bhotias, and is the same
as the Turkey rhubarb. Another kind called "taturee" is
found on the northern slopes of the Himalayas and all over
Tibet, in a cold dry climate.

After passing the Bhotia hamlets of Bumpa and Gumsali,
the path enters a narrow gorge, where the scenery for about a
mile is magnificently wild. The raging river is flanked on
each side by bare black cliffs and crags rising from the water
to a stupendous height. Colonel E. Smyth, whose experience
of this country extended over many years, and whose moun-
taineering exploits are so often quoted in these pages, tells
me that in 1859 he found the road at this spot quite impass-
able. In fact, for a quarter of a mile he said it was quite,
obliterated. A landslip had commenced the year before from
the overhanging heights. Every two or three minutes, day
and night, great stones came thundering down. This state
of things went on without intermission for about two years,
when it stopped quite suddenly. The road was then remade,
and has never since been interrupted. In his many wander-
ings among the higher ranges, Colonel Smyth had two very
narrow escapes from these rock-slips, of which the following
are the short but thrilling narratives he has kindly favoured
me with : —

" Twenty -two years ago I was very fond of exploring, and
I determined to cross from Ealum, in the Johar valley of
Kumaon, into the Darma valley, by a pass which had long

414 A TERRIBLE VALLEY.

been disused. The people in Ealum endeavoured to dissuade
me. They told me it was three long days' journey over
glaciers and snow-peaks, that no one then alive had traversed
it, that the difficulties were insuperable, &c., &c. Natives are
very much inclined to talk in this way when they don't want
you to go to some place you wish to see, so I was determined
to go. However, in this instance I found they spoke the
truth. The first day's journey lay mostly over glaciers, but
there was no great difficulty, except that at the end of the
day's journey I had to pitch my tent in the middle of a large
glacier, on a great stone, at an elevation of 15,000 feet.

"Our next day's journey lay for about three hours over
this glacier to the foot of the range we had to cross. The top
of the range was concealed in a thick black cloud, and it was
several hours before we discovered the cairn which had been
built on the top of the pass ages ago. The top of the pass
was nearly 19,000 feet above the sea. We descended the
other side about 3000 feet, when we were brought up by a
deep broad valley which descended from the snowy mountains
on our left. Long before we reached the edge of this valley,
our attention had been attracted to constant loud reports like
cannon, which we soon discovered the cause of. The valley
was about half a mile broad, and the sides and bottom of it
were worn and polished quite smooth by constant avalanches
of rocks and stones which have been falling for years and
years from the mountains above. Night was coming on, and
it was absolutely necessary for us to cross this somehow.
Behind us was nothing but snow and glacier, in front of us
this terrible valley, and rocks and stones falling in every
direction while we were holding a consultation on the edge of
it. To retreat would have been death from cold and starvation
to some of my men ; so we determined to run the gauntlet.

" There was a large overhanging rock in the centre of the
valley, which looked as if it would afford shelter to two or
three people, not more, from falling stones ; so I despatched

PROVIDENTIAL ESCAPE. 415

two men first, with directions to make their way as fast as
possible to this shelter, take breath there for five minutes,
and then run across to the other side. It was about a quarter
of a mile to this shelter, and we all sat down and watched this
forlorn hope with breathless suspense. They had gone about
half-way when I saw a huge rock bounding down towards
them. It seemed to strike one of them and then bound away
again into the abyss below, and the man rolled over. But
immediately he got up again, to our intense relief, and both of
them reached the other side in safety. Presently afterwards
the whole valley was alive with rocks and stones, and the
noise was deafening. When this had nearly subsided, I started
with two other men in the same way. There were many hair-
breadth escapes from rocks, some of which whizzed close past
us. I was struck on the arm by a small stone, but not much
hurt. The rest of our party came over in twos and threes
without accident, and I was never more thankful in my life
than when the last man arrived safe on the other side. By
dark we reached a place where were a few bushes and some
running water, where we could encamp comfortably at an
elevation of about 16,000 feet. Next morning we descended
to Siboo, the highest village in Darma (13,000 feet) without
difficulty.

" I was told that this landslip had been going on for thirty
years or more. It may stop suddenly some day, like the
smaller one between the villages of Gumsali and Mti, and
the road may. be opened again."

The other escape was equally providential : —
" It is now thirty-six years ago that I paid my first visit to
Milum, and crossed the Oontadhura pass from Milum into
Tibet. My first carnp was Shelong, seven or eight miles
from Milum. On arrival there I saw three ram Ovis burrell
feeding on the hill 1500 feet above. These were the first
burrell I had ever seen, and the stalk was successful. I
rolled over the largest one with the first shot. The ground

416 NITI VILLAGE.

was very steep and difficult, composed of crumbling slate.
The burrell rolled some 300 feet down a kind of water-
course, and we followed, and after a good deal of clamber-
ing, we reached the place where the burrell lay. My two
men were beginning to gralloch him, and I had placed my
two guns on the ground close to me and was standing by
admiring the beast, when I heard a deafening noise up above,
and looking up I saw the ravine we had just descended full
of stones and rocks which were thundering down towards us.
There was no time to avoid them ; in an instant they were
whizzing past us in every direction. I just remember that I
was looking at one huge rock coming towards us, which I
thought perhaps I might be able to avoid, when I heard a
deafening noise close to me ; another rock which I had not
seen had fallen upon the stocks of my two guns, smashing
them to pieces. The guns flew up into the air six or seven
feet with the force of the blow, and one of the barrels
exploded. I did not distinguish the noise of the explosion,
and only knew it afterwards by finding the end of the gun-
cover (which I had put on, as it was snowing at the time)
all burnt. The force of the blow was such that the barrels
of both guns were quite bent. The rock had only struck the
stocks, so that the barrels were not flattened, or even dented.
All four nipples were broken off flush with the barrel. The
stocks were in splinters : one hammer of one of the guns was
broken into three pieces. I picked up most of the pieces
afterwards, until my men hurried me away, as another land-
slip was so likely to follow. Most providentially none of us
were struck."

Beyond the gorge above Gumsali the valley widens into an
open ' space, where on a sloping spur lies the village of Mti,
the highest in the valley, at an elevation of nearly 12,000
feet. A mile or so before reaching the village, a track
branches off to the right, leading over the Chor Hoti pass.
Although a shorter route into Hundes, it is considerably

TIBETAN ENVOY. 417

higher than that over the Niti pass, and therefore not prac-
ticable as early in summer. The heights above the village,
where not too steep for anything to grow on, are thickly clad
with a kind of gorse, which, when covered with its pale golden
bloom, gives them quite a gorgeous appearance. A curious
thing that attracted my attention here was an extraordinary
collection of old cast-off shoes that were strewn over a flat
space immediately below the village, There must have been
several hundred, all looking black and shrivelled up from hav-
ing probably lain buried there under the snows of many a
winter.

Here I learnt that the pass had been declared open by the
Tibetan vakeel (envoy), who, with his small retinue, had
arrived at Niti village after crossing it. The Mti pass,
which is only 16,600 feet, is often practicable earlier than
this, but then at the risk of falling avalanches and other
dangers, and only for pedestrians, the snow being too deep,
and on steep slopes too unstable, for baggage - animals to
travel over. The Hoonyas,1 moreover, object to its being
crossed, even by the Bhdtias, before sending their vakeel
over to Niti to arrange matters of business with them
respecting the pass, which here separates the British and
Tibetan dominions. The " boss " of the party, a fine-looking
Tartar, paid me a visit at my tent. As he was to leave Niti
on his return homewards next day, I sent a polite message by
him to the " Jongpen," or governor of the district beyond the
pass, requesting his permission to hunt there. But few of the
Bhotias having as yet returned to the village, I was delayed
here a day or two whilst " jooboos " 2 for carriage, and supplies
for our sojourn in Hundes, where nothing of the kind could be
procured, were being fetched from the Bhotia encampments
lower down.

1 The Tibetan inhabitants of Hundes are called Hoonyas.

2 The " jooboo " is a cross between the yak and the ordinary horned cattle of
the Himalayas.

2D

418 THE TRACK BEYOND NITI.

All arrangements being completed, I started on 6th June
with fifteen laden jooboos, and eight Bhotias to look after
them. This may seem rather heavy marching-order for a
sportsman's requirements ; but having to carry with us an
extra tent for the Bhotia followers, a month's food for about
a dozen people, and the baggage-animals having, moreover,
to be lightly laden for getting over the snow-beds, which
would still be lying deep along portions of our route, will
account for it. The summit of the pass is about 25 miles
from Niti village, beyond which the mountains, except for a
few birch-trees, become bare and desolate. The first day we
proceeded up the valley of the Doulee — here called the Niti
— to a spot called G-oting. Soon after leaving the village
the way leads for some eight miles, in a succession of tire-
some ups and downs where it crosses deep precipitous
gullies, along a bare stony hill-face with so sharp a slope
that you cannot see the river, although you can hear it roar-
ing sullenly down its narrow rocky channel some 2000 feet,
on an average, below. The track, which had not as yet been
repaired by the Bhotias, was narrow and broken, and in many
parts had been carried clear away by slips of earth and snow,
and broad beds of snow still lay hard, smooth, and terribly
steep in some of the gullies we crossed. In such places we
had ourselves to make it passable for the jooboos, with tools
we carried with us for the purpose. As we went along we
could sometimes see the summer avalanches — which are
quite different from the more destructive ones of the early
spring — coming tumbling down the rocky gullies on the
steep mountain-face across the river ; the streams of falling
snow appearing in the distance to descend quite slowly,
though they were really thundering down at a fearful rate.
At one point we reached an elevation of nearly 15,000 feet,
just before descending to Goting, which is about 13,000 feet.
These altitudes I ascertained by my mountain aneroid, which
I had had corrected at the headquarters of the great Trigono-

MY ANEROID AT FAULT. 419

metrical Survey of India, at Dehra Doon, before starting.
Few aneroids, however, if any, are to be much depended on
above 15,000 feet at most. Up to that height I found mine
wonderfully accurate at altitudes marked on the Survey
maps. Above this it played all kinds of jinks, making the
summit of the Niti pass, for instance, which is well under
17,000 feet, to be over 20,000 feet ; but on again descending
below 15,000 feet it resumed its normal good behaviour.

The camping-place of Goting is a small flat of green turf,
almost surrounded with abrupt scarps of earth overhanging
the river. A solitary clump of birch - trees growing on a
slope hard by afforded a plentiful supply of fuel for our camp-
fire. Some of these gaunt old specimens, with their gnarled
and crooked limbs, must have weathered the storms of cen-
turies. One or two grey old giants I measured in this neigh-
bourhood were nearly 15 feet in girth. These were the last
trees we saw beyond Niti. Before the snow melts off the
neighbouring heights, the slopes about Goting are good for
several days' burr ell-shooting, and there, on a former visit, I
got the biggest horned ram of the kind I ever killed. As he
afforded me a capital day's sport, I shall here devote a page
or two to his memory.

As I had no intention of crossing the pass that season, I
reached Niti much earlier in the year. The village then
looked tristful and forlorn in its emptiness. The snow still
lay in broad patches on the heights close above it, and the
burrell were all low down. As we left the village for Goting
in the grey of early morning, the only living sound that broke
the still frosty air was the wild whistling call of the " heoon-
wal " (snow-pheasants), as they sat on bare knolls among the
gorse bushes, their long-drawn mournful notes according well
with the lonesome scene around. They did not seem very
shy, but as they were generally in pairs I refrained from
going after them. The track to Goting was often, for long
distances, quite buried in snow. In some places where it

420 AN AWKWARD BRIDGE.

had just melted off, and the hard steep ground was glazed
over with a slippery coating of ice, which had at times to be
chipped for foothold, a glance down towards the hidden depth
far below sent a cold creepy thrill through the nerves that
was anything but pleasant.

A few miles below Goting we descried across the valley a
flock of twelve burrell, and with the glass I could distinguish
two grand old rams in it. They were on a small sloping patch
of green grass above the precipitous rocks rising directly from
the river, having evidently descended to feed there from the
heights above, the upper regions of which were covered with
snow, and the steep declivities below, where it had only recently
melted off, were, for a long way down, still quite destitute of
verdure. There was no means of crossing the river nearer
than Goting, where Puddoo said we should find a natural
bridge of snow. It was too late, however, when we reached
there to go after the burrell that day ; but as nothing was
likely to disturb them, and there was then no food for them
above, we should have every chance of finding them still
on or near the same ground in the morning. As we were
pitching the camp, one of the men who had gone to fetch
water came and told me he had seen some burrell feeding
farther down our side of the river ; so Puddoo and I at once
started to look after them. There was one good ram in the
flock, which was a small one ; but our attempt at a stalk was
a failure, as the wary creatures got wind of us and made off.

Early next morning we clambered down the steep scarp of
frost-rotted earth to the natural bridge which was formed of
hard old snow jammed up between huge fragments of rock
that had fallen from above, almost across the river, where it
rushed through a narrow chasm. It was an awkward place
to cross, and after getting over, there was an abominably
steep bit to be surmounted, where the ground was smooth
and friable, before we could proceed down the valley, along
the rocks that overhung the river raging along its narrow

WATCHING FOR BURRELL. 421

bed. Thence we got on pretty easily for a mile or two, keep-
ing a sharp look-out upward before crossing each steep gully
we came to, lest an avalanche of snow, or loose rocks and
stones, which at any moment might be expected, should come
down upon us. At last we neared the place where, from the
opposite side, we had seen the flock of burrell. We had just
rounded a corner, when a lot of ewes, which started up from
a ravine just beyond it, went scampering away, and almost
immediately after we saw the flock containing the two big
rams also moving quickly upward from the very place where
we had at first sighted it, having evidently taken alarm at
the flight of the ewes. This was very annoying ; but as the
second flock had not actually seen us, there was still a chance
of getting a crack at the rams before evening. Up and still
up the beasts continued slowly to ascend, until, after watch-
ing them for an hour or more, we finally lost sight of them
among the snow-fields above. As they would be pretty sure
to descend again in the evening to their feeding-ground, we
moved upward for some distance towards a commanding spot
from whence we could more easily watch their movements.
We were skirting a small coppice of birch and rhododendron
bushes, when a fine little buck musk-deer jumped up close to
us. As he stopped to look back I sent a bullet through him,
but had to follow up and give him a second shot before secur-
ing him. After relieving him of his musk-bag (which ought
always to be done at once), and hiding him from the birds of
prey, we continued our ascent to the spot where we intended
to wait for the burrell.

Here I discussed my breakfast, and then commenced a
careful search with the telescope for our friends above. At
length I made them out, reposing on some bare rocks among
the snow-fields ; and with the glass I could discern the arch-
ing horns of one of the big fellows, standing out in relief
against a snow-bed, as he lay on a slab of stone below it.
For hours we waited there, every now and then taking a look

422 A GRAND OLD RAM.

through the spy-glass at the burrell, lest we should lose sight
of them if they moved, until, as the afternoon wore on, they
rose. At first they came downward very slowly ; but hunger,
I suppose, soon made them quicken their movements, till they
got below the snow-fields, when they stopped from time to
time to nibble the dry withered leaves of the dwarf rhodo-
dendron plants,1 the only vegetation apparently up there.
After making pretty sure of their intentions, we commenced
a stalk up to meet them, for it was now drawing towards
evening, and we were a considerable distance from our camp.
It was a long and steep climb, and all the more difficult from
our having sometimes to scramble round, over awkward bits,
in order to keep out of view of the animals.

At length we reached a point where some big rocks pro-
jected over the side of a wide gully, into which we knew the
burrell must have descended, though they were now hidden
from our sight Puddoo, who had climbed on to the rocks to
reconnoitre, at once beckoned me to come up beside him.
On slowly raising my head to look over, I beheld, within 150
yards, and almost on a level with us, a big ram standing on
an isolated crag above a deep drop. What a beauty he looked
as he stood there motionless as a statue, gazing intently down-
ward ! But I had little time for admiring him, as his com-
panions were moving on. Owing to the ram's position, and
the shape of the rocks we were on, it so happened that shoot-
ing from the right shoulder was difficult. I, however, man-
aged to screw myself round into an awkward attitude, and
taking as steady an aim as, under such circumstances, I was
able, fired my shot The ram tottered for a second, and then
fell headlong down some 150 feet. The rest of the flock at
once huddled together and commenced retracing their steps
slowly upwards, but after going a short distance they stood

1 The bloom of these little shrubs is here a pale yellow ; in other respects
they are exactly similar to the Alpen rosen. I was told that the red-flowered
kind also grows here, though I never saw it myself.

AS HE STOOD THERE MOTIONLESS AS A STATUE.

A SNOW-LEOPARD SHARES OUR SPOILS. 423

again, with all their heads turned towards us. Singling out
the other big fellow, I sent the contents of the second barrel
at him, and saw him, as I imagined, go tumbling down after
his companion. " Quick ! " whispered Puddoo, " now take the
other big one," as he handed me my spare rifle. To my sur-
prise, I now saw the big fellow I had just shot at continuing
his ascent with the rest of the flock. But, alas ! I had missed
my chance, as the other rifle was only a little '360 bore, for an
accurate shot with which the ram was now too far out. The
second bullet had gone just over the big fellow's shoulder, and
had brought down a ewe that had been standing immediately
above and behind him. Had it struck an inch or two lower,
it would in all probability have killed them both.

It was disappointing to have thus killed the wrong animal
by mistake, but on getting down to the beasts I had shot, it
was consoling to find that the ram had perfect horns, 27
inches long. As it was now getting late, there was no time
to gralloch them, so we merely cut slits in their paunches
to let out the foul gas, and taking off the big fellow's head,
made the best of our way back to camp, which we reached just
before dark.

Next day the men sent to fetch the dead burrell found an
" ounce," or as it is more commonly called, a snow-leopard, at
work on them. If the stupids had only had sense enough to
leave one of the carcasses as a bait, the beast would certainly
have returned to it, and in all probability I should have got
a shot at a rather rare animal I was most anxious to kill.
During that visit to Goting I had two more days on other
good beats ; but as I have said quite enough about burrell-
hunting for the present, we will now resume our journey
towards Hundes.

A few miles above Goting the valley suddenly contracts
into a deep and narrow defile. Just before entering it, I
shot a ram out of a flock of burrell that unexpectedly showed
themselves above some high rocks overhanging the track.

424 THE NITI PASS.

The animals had evidently come down to a salt-lick there is
here close by the wayside. The beast I had killed had most
conveniently fallen down on to the track, where we left him
for the men following with the jooboos to pick up. Through-
out the defile, which is several miles long, the river was then
covered over with a hard bed of snow, which made our pro-
gress there much easier than on our return, after the snow-
bed had disappeared, when the baggage -animals had to
scramble along the rocky steeps rising abruptly from the
river. We had some trouble, however, in circumventing one
or two awkward places where the snow had already fallen in
and left yawning holes disclosing the dark gurgling water tear-
ing along below. We stopped for that day at the head of the
defile, where the stony ground was clear of snow, and the
cold blast that blew down the gorge as if through a funnel
raised the dust in clouds and made it difficult to keep our
tents standing. Beyond this, for the ten or twelve miles
before reaching the summit of the pass, there is no difficulty
to speak of, and the scenery is grand though somewhat dreary
and monotonous. Across the river, on the south side, several
flocks of burrell containing some good rams were seen on the
steep slopes. We camped just below the short but pretty
stiff final ascent to the top of the ghat, in order to get over it
in the early morning before the snow became softened by the
heat of the sun.

Starting very early, the crest was reached soon after sun-
rise. The view you get from it of Hundes is more striking
than beautiful. In the glaring picture before you there is an
absence of what a painter would call chiaro-oscuro ; not in its
literal sense by any means, for there is certainly no want of
light and shade, but in the harmonious blending of these
effects, which is, I think, the technical acceptation of the
term. The aerial perspective, too, looks almost unnatural in
its clearness. That mighty object of Hindoo veneration, the
Kailas peak, rising 22,000 odd feet, about a hundred miles

SKETCHING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 425

away eastward, close above the great holy lake of Mansora-
war — which latter, though invisible from the pass, I knew to
be quite that distance as the crow flies — did not seem more
than half as far off. In vain do you here look for the
beautiful sunrise or sunset effects of more dense and humid
atmospheres, for the sun shines through the thin air of these
high Tibetan regions with the same garish-white glare when
on the horizon as when on the meridian. Perhaps I might have
viewed the prospect before me in a different light under more
agreeable circumstances, but the high wind that blew the
dry drifting snow off the neighbouring mountain-tops in long
pennon-like clouds chilled one to the very marrow, and I had
a dreadful headache to boot.

The watershed here deserves notice. Speaking figuratively,
if, when standing beside the cairn on the pass, you throw a
snowball towards the west, it melts into a tributary of the
Ganges, and so into the Bay of Bengal. If you fling another
towards the east, it will melt into the Sutlej — here flowing
almost northward beyond the pass — be carried back by that
river westward through the Himalayan chain, and so find its
way eventually down the Indus into the Arabian Sea.

After getting half -frozen whilst attempting to make a
hurried sketch, with my fingers so benumbed that I could
scarcely hold the pencil, it was almost a relief to be plodding
on again knee-deep through the snow, down towards where
we camped for the night, four or five miles farther on, after
a descent, for the most part over deep snow, of some 2000
feet.

The cold here at night was terrible. All the wraps I
possessed failed to keep out the piercing wind, so we waited
until the rising sun warmed us up before we set out next day.
We only went four or five miles, chiefly along the stony bed of
the Sakchu — a stream of snow-water, which had to be forded
several times — to a spot where there was some grazing for the
poor jooboos, which had been fasting for two days. Here we

426 A DEPUTATION FROM THE JONG PEN.

were interviewed by a deputation of Hoonyas, sent by the
Jongpen from his residence at Dapa, about twenty miles off, to
arrange about the period he was to permit us to remain in
Tibetan territory. At first these emissaries would hear of
nothing more than eight days ; but after a good deal of per-
suasion from Puddoo, and their hearts had been softened by
a bottle of whisky, they eventually agreed to fifteen, beyond
which they said it was impossible to extend the permission
without the sanction of the Jongpen. To this functionary I
therefore sent by them a present of a revolver, accompanied
by a request that, as I had come so far to hunt there, he would
do me the favour to extend the privilege to a month. Before
taking their departure, however, they asked me to sign an
agreement to the effect that I would not attempt to cross the
river Sutlej, and that I should return over the pass by the
appointed time, pending a reference to the Jongpen. They
also left two queer-looking old fellows of their number behind
them, to see that we did not trespass beyond the prescribed
limits. They were quite open to a little trade, and sold me
a large thick woollen rug called a " chookta," which, after
drowning its inhabitants by soaking it for several hours in the
stream, made a most comfortable and requisite addition to
my wraps at night.

A sudden snowstorm delayed our departure until rather late
next morning, when we started in the direction of a good
locality for OvesAmmon, known as Tazang, with our escort of
Hoonya cavalry, mounted on yaks as their chargers, following
at some distance behind us.

427

CHAPTER XXIII.

IMPRESSIONS OF HUNDE"S — WARY OLD RAMS — KIANGS IN THE WAY — THE
JONGPEN'S MESSENGERS RETURN — SIGNING A CONTRACT — HOONYA
SHEEP-SHEARING — AN OVIS AMMON WITH BRONCHITIS — GREY WOLVES
— DONGPU — A TARTAR HAMLET — LARGE TROOPS OF KIANG — THEIR
MANOEUVRES— THE SUTLEJ — THE LAL DAKA — VENISON FOR CAMP — HOW
WE CAUGHT A DISH OF FISH — A STUDY IN ENTOMOLOGY — EMBARRAS

DES RICHESSES—TH-E DUKKA HILLS— MISFORTUNES WILL HAPPEN—-
THEY NEVER COME SINGLE — A CRUELLY COLD MORNING IN JUNE —
LARGE FLOCK OF BIG RAMS — IN THE NICK OF TIME — A MOST ENJOY-
ABLE SMOKE — AFTER A WOUNDED RAM — INTRUDERS ON THE SCENE
— JUST TOO LATE — A BEWILDERED FLOCK — A TANTALISING OPPOR-
TUNITY— A TIRESOME TRUDGE — WELCOME REST.

WE were now well out on the undulating uplands of Hundes,
and traversing ground where we might expect to find the big
wild sheep. A strange weird-looking land, to all appearance
a desert, stretching far and wide before us towards distant
ranges of barren undulating mountains, tinted with every
shade of red, yellow, purple, and blue, rising tier beyond tier,
and culminating in snow-clad ridges and peaks — all their
features looking marvellously distinct through the clear rare
atmosphere. Broad table-lands, averaging about 15,000 feet
above the sea-level, bare, brown, and monotonous, sloping
gradually down from the foot of the great snowy chain of the
Himalayas behind us, and intersected by huge ravines, grow-
ing deeper and wider as they all trend northwards towards
the river Sutlej, here called the Satroodra, flowing (from east
to west), hidden among their mighty labyrinths, far away
below us. The solemn waste here and there diversified by

428 IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

low arid hills of a brick-red hue. In the dark sapphire-blue
firmament, a blazing sun shedding a cheerless dazzling glare
on all around us. Not a sound but the wailing of the wind
to break the dead depressing silence, save perhaps the hoarse
croak of a solitary big raven, or the snorting of a troop of
kiang, as the startled animals stand for a few seconds to
gaze inquiringly at the intruders on their wild domain, ere
they wheel simultaneously about and gallop madly away over
the rolling wind-swept slopes of shingle and sun-baked earth,
leaving a drifting cloud of dust to mark their track.

Here, in small flocks, few and far between, roams the pon-
derous-horned Ovis, ever watchful and wary, suspecting danger
in each gust of the icy blast that comes fitfully sweeping over
this bleak howling wilderness. A wolf may occasionally be
detected slinking stealthily off. Sometimes a shy hare starts
from the cover of a scrubby tussock of the stunted herbage
that is sparsely scattered over the stony soil ; or a grey mar-
mot may be seen sitting erect on some sandy knoll, disturb-
ing nature's silent repose with its shrill chirping whistle ere
it vanishes into its burrow hard by. Even the Tartar ham-
lets, which very rarely occur in these dreary inhospitable
wilds, have a dilapidated, decayed, and forlorn look about
them that is quite in keeping with their desolate dream-like
surroundings. Such were my general impressions of the
country we were now in.

As we were trudging along some distance ahead of the
jooboos, a small flock of ewe Oves Ammon was descried in the
distance. Kiangs were feeding here and there among the
few bunchy tufts of herbage on the stony plain. We also
saw a fine reddish-coloured fox. Our camp was pitched in
the best shelter from the wind we could find in a ravine,
where some strips of greensward along the banks of a small
stream afforded food for the jooboos, but there was no fuel
except the thick roots of the " debsing " grass. The boortze
of more northern Tibetan regions is here called " debsing."

SIGNING A CONTRACT. 429

Here we decided to remain for a day or two, to hunt in
the vicinity. We found one flock of five splendid old rams,
and made several attempts to get at them ; but the ground
they were on was so flat and bare, and the beasts were so
wary, that it was impossible to get within measurable dis-
tance of them : we might just as well have tried to stalk the
moon. The innumerable kiangs too, here grazing about in
every direction, were a great nuisance, their startled move-
ments being always calculated to put the Oves on the alert.
For even when you may think you are quite safe from detec-
tion by an Oms Amman as regards sight and scent, no animal
has a keener perception of danger from any suspicious sign
or movement on the part of other living beings within
range of his vision, however far distant from him they
may be.

Whilst camped here the messengers from Dapa again
turned up, bringing with them a present from the Jongpen
of some yaks' tails, and an answer to the effect that twenty-
one days was the utmost time he could possibly allow me,
owing, he said, to pressure put on him in such matters from
Lhasa. So the contract was signed, sealed, and delivered,
and I was of course in honour bound to abide by it. This
limited period precluded any chance I might have had of
getting a shot at the wild yaks (here called " bunchowr "),
which, though very numerous on the other (north) side of
the Sutlej, are only sometimes to be met with on this side,
and generally so far eastward from here that I should not
have time to reach their haunts.1 I might have adopted
the arbitrary plan of refusing to sign any agreement, but the
passive resistance to all my further proceedings in the country
which might probably have been the only consequence of my
doing so, would have been quite as detrimental to my chances

1 Tibetan antelopes — here called "tso" — and "goa," Tibetan gazelles, are
also to be found in Hundes, but only, I believe, well northward of the Sutlej,
or farther eastward beyond the Mansorawar lake.

430 HOONYAS AND THEIR FLOCKS.

of sport there as a more active and forcible one. I therefore
determined to make the best use of the time allowed.

Next morning the cattle were packed and sent off to a spot
where there was feeding for them a few miles from here, in
the direction of the Sutlej, whilst Puddoo and I made a cir-
cuit over the table-land and through the ravines more east-
ward. We made out a flock of Oves miles away, up towards
the Himalayan slopes ; but as, even with the aid of the spy-
glass, we were doubtful whether they were ewes or young
males with small horns, and they were also in a direction
opposite to the one we wished to take, we paid them no fur-
ther attention. Towards the afternoon we found two burrell
rams, which we stalked without much difficulty, and one
of them was killed. I noticed on this occasion, and many
others, on these high undulating uplands, that a shot had a
peculiarly dull and flat sound, which was probably due to
atmospheric influence. There was none of the usual ring or
reverberation in the thin air of this high region. Nor was
there an echo to the report of a gun even under conditions of
ground where it might ordinarily have been expected. Had
it not been for the usual recoil, I might have supposed that
the rifle was loaded with an insufficient charge of powder.
On our way back we came across a Hoonya encampment, the
occupants of which were busily engaged sheep - shearing.
They were using a knife in place of shears for removing the
fleeces, which I noticed were very fine and long.

Herds, consisting sometimes of thousands of sheep, goats,
and yaks, may be seen about a Hoonya camp, all of them as
wild as deer, and it is interesting to observe the way in which
they are tended. The sheep and goats are picketed at night
in troops, exactly like the horses of a cavalry regiment. Two
long ropes are stretched along the ground and made fast
about a yard apart, with nooses on each rope about two feet
apart. In the evening the sheep and goats are collected, and
surrounded by the men, women, and children in a circle, who

AN OVIS WITH BRONCHITIS. 431

all continue singing, which appears to have the effect of quiet-
ing the animals. This circle is gradually contracted around
the ropes, and in a marvellously short space of time all the
animals' heads are tied in these nooses, heads inwards, facing
each other. The women then go round with pails, singing all
the time, and milk them. Eight or ten women follow each
other, each operating on every sheep and goat, but not spend-
ing more than a quarter of a minute over each. Sheep and
goats are tied up indiscriminately, and the milk is of course
mixed.

From here we next day took a beat northward, over the
same description of ground, and soon discovered two good
Oves Ammon rams. Although they were not much more than
half a mile from us, we had to make a round of what appeared
to me several miles, to try and approach them — and all on
account of there being only some fifty yards of the interven-
ing ground to cross exposed to their watchful eyes, which
difficulty it was impossible otherwise to circumvent. And
after all our trouble, the animals seemed to have spirited
themselves away, for not a trace of them could we find on
the hard gravelly ground to indicate what direction they
had taken. It was now noon, and we had brought no food
with us, having that morning intended to return early to
camp ; but the two rams had upset this arrangement, so we
sent back our spare man to fetch something to eat, and con-
tinued our search for them. We had not gone far when we
espied a solitary ram, carrying fairly good horns. After
moving restlessly about for some time, he lay down on an
exposed eminence, where there was no possible way of ap-
proaching him nearer than about 400 yards. We therefore
lay down and waited, in the hope that he might move on to
more suitable ground for a stalk. He seemed to be suffering
from an attack of bronchitis, for, as I watched him through
the glass, I distinctly saw that he was constantly coughing.
After we had lain there about two hours, exposed to the hard

432 A TARTAR HAMLET.

wind and baking sun, waiting for the beast to rise, hunger
began to assert itself, which caused us to grow impatient.
We therefore decided to try and shorten the intervening dis-
tance by creeping towards him in the open, under the delu-
sion that his seeming indisposition would perhaps make him
reluctant to bestir himself. Strange to say, he allowed us to
get well within 300 yards before he rose, which unusual negli-
gence on the part of an Ovis Ammon we could only attribute
to his ailment. He moved off very slowly, so I hastened his
departure with a bullet ; and as on examining the place where
I had shot at him we found a good-sized tuft of his hair on
the ground, I must have shaved him pretty closely. We now
made for the spot where Puddoo had arranged for the provin-
der to be brought to, and after appeasing our hunger, pro-
ceeded to try fresh ground. No game was found on it, how-
ever, which was not surprising, as we detected poachers there
in the shape of two grey wolves (here called " chanko "), one
of which I sent limping away with a broken hind -leg. By
the time we got back to camp in the evening, I felt as if I
had done perhaps a little more than enough work since early
morning.

Our camp was moved next day to Dongpu, the first inhab-
ited place we had met with since leaving the village of Niti.
A Tartar hamlet and small gompa (monastery) — the latter
coloured red — perched along the crest of a pale-yellowish
low ridge, of which the crumbling half -dilapidated houses
seemed to form a part. A rapid turbid stream of melted
snow (the Sakchu) wound along below it, and some terraced
fields in the vicinity looked so arid and stony that it was
difficult to conceive how anything could ever grow there.
The village looked utterly dreary and forsaken, — a few de-
crepit old men and wizened hags being its sole inhabitants,
the rest being absent in their camps, grazing their flocks in
the wilderness around. Altogether, the place and its sur-
roundings looked so dreamy and unreal in the quivering re-

LARGE TROOPS OF KIANG. 433

fleeted heat and dazzling white glare of noon, that it seemed
almost as though it belonged to some other and less beautiful
world.

From here we worked over ground where Puddoo had made
certain of finding Oves Ammon, but unfortunately we found it
occupied by flocks of Oves Tartar and goats instead. Out on
a big plateau we saw two unusually large troops of kiang —
one of some fifty, and the other of about thirty animals.
The serried cavalcades would trot up towards us, and sud-
denly halt within 150 yards or so, and after standing there
snorting and gazing wistfully at us for a few moments, wheel
about, as if by word of command, and careering round in a
wide circle, return again and again to perform the same
manoauvre, ere galloping away for good and disappearing
over some neighbouring rise.

Next day being Sunday, we were glad of a much-needed
rest, not only for our weary limbs, but for relief to my face
and hands, which were almost raw from the combined
effects of biting wind and scorching sun. When that abom-
inable blast happened not to be blowing, which was seldom,
the climate at this place was simply perfect in the shade,
although the cold at night was bitter as usual. Watching the
proceedings of a colony of grey marmots (here called " pheea "),
not far from my tent, was quite an interesting pastime.

From Dongpu we had a long and weary tramp among the
broken ground and deep ravines lying between it and the
Sutlej. The one satisfaction I derived from going there was
a good view of that river from the heights immediately above
it — here a rapid flood of muddy snow-water, rolling along
a desolate and verdureless valley between stony undulating
hills. Almost directly below us I could see, spanning the
stream, a wooden bridge, which only made me more fully
realise the disappointing fact of my being debarred from so
easily visiting the country beyond it, where bunchowr (wild
yak) and other Tibetan game were said to abound. The wild

2E

434 THE LAL DAK A.

camel, too, is found on some of the wide plateaux beyond the
Kuen Lun range, farther north — though, even could one reach
its haunts, it is not the kind of animal a sportsman would
care to pull trigger on.

This was an utterly blank day. Not a living thing, either
biped or quadruped, was to be seen. As we toiled slowly and
wearily over those boundless shingly slopes and high table-
lands, breathless from their rarefied air, and buffeted by the
ever-blowing blast, how often did I ask myself whether the
game was really worth all the time and trouble entailed by its
pursuit, until, late in the evening, we got back to camp, tired
out and dejected. Even the stolid but usually good-tempered
Puddoo showed evident symptoms of ill-humour at our fruit-
less work.

Some distance to the eastward of Dongpu lies a low range
of rounded hills, known as the Lai Daka (red hills), so called
from the brick-red colour pervading them. These hills are
generally considered to be a favourite resort of Oves Ammon.
The range is pretty extensive, but there is only one spot there
nearer than the Shipchillum stream, at its eastern extremity,
where water is to be found. Thither we now decided to pro-
ceed. Several hares, and some coveys of the Hodgsonian par-
tridge, were put up on the way. As we neared our camping-
place, on turning a corner in a winding ravine we came sud-
denly on four ewe Oves, one of which I shot to provide meat.
The little stream that ran past the tents was full of diminutive
dark-coloured fish, which were easily caught by dragging the
water with a sheet, and proved excellent for eating. Hares were
numerous in this vicinity, though, strange to say, very wild,
but I did not care to disturb the ground by shooting at them.
The first morning we tried the western part of the range,
but saw no fresh sign of large rams. Nothing could we find
there except three ewes — probably the same lot I had shot
one out of the day before : we therefore proceeded more east-
ward. About noon we made out four big-horned fellows

AN ENTOMOLOGICAL STUDY. 435

about two miles off. Whilst working towards these we
descried another flock of seven, and most of them good rams
too, not far from the first lot. As usual, they were in an open
and unapproachable position. Both lots, however, appeared
to be feeding up towards the brow of a rise above them ; so,
after getting as near as we could, which was still over a mile
from them, we lay down to watch their movements, in the
hope that they would soon put the brow of the hill between
them and us. As we lay motionless there, getting half roasted
by the blazing sun, I was much entertained by a curious
little entomological study that chanced to come under my
observation. I noticed innumerable small grey grasshoppers —
I should call them crickets, as there was very little grass for
them to hop on — which showed a strange amount of curiosity
respecting our persons. They came creeping towards us over
the stones from all sides, even crawling and hopping over
us, and paying particular attention to the oil on the guns,
the flavour of which seemed to be very attractive to them.
They were so fearless as even to greedily devour the ends of
atoms of dry grass softened between my teeth and held close
to their mouths.

As soon as the last of the rams had disappeared over the brow,
we made for it as fast as we were able, in order to get there,
if possible, before they were out of range beyond it ; but on
reaching it, not a vestige of the animals was to be seen.
Soon, however, we descried two fine rams in another direc-
tion, and whilst deliberating as to the best way of approaching
them, six more came over a rise on to the same ground. It
was truly a case of embarras des richesses this time, for the
relative positions of the two lots were such that it was im-
possible to stalk one without our being detected by the other.
As it was now growing late, and we were at least six miles
from our camp, we reluctantly had to abandon further pursuit
that evening, in the hope of finding the animals in the same
vicinity next day.

436 THE DUKKA HILLS.

As all the game appeared to be more eastward on the Lai
Daka, the following morning our camp was shifted to a
locality about seven miles off called Dukka, where there was
grass for the jooboos, and a stream of water, among some low
rounded hills near the foot of the Himalayan slopes. These
hills also were considered a favourite resort of Oves Ammon,
and our camp there would be within reach for a long beat
over the eastern end of the Lai Daka range, which was
separated from them by a level expanse some six miles wide.
After packing off the jooboos, I started with Puddoo and a
spare man to look after our friends of the previous evening.
They were still near where we had last seen them, the two
rams having apparently joined company with the flock of six.
We contrived to get within 150 yards of them, but the shot
was so downward that I had only the width of their backs to
aim at. The first bullet went clean over a big fellow, upon
which they all started off, but, after going a few yards, stood
to look about them. Again my shot went high and missed,
and this time they departed for good. We watched the re-
treating animals with silent disappointment until they were
out of sight ; but as such things will happen, there was no
use grieving over my misfortune, so I sat down and consoled
myself with my breakfast and a pipe, hoping for better luck
next time. I had probably forgotten to allow for the flight
of a bullet being less acted upon by the rarefied air at such
an altitude, and so had used too high a sight.

After resting for a short while, we moved on eastward
along the range, and had not gone far when Puddoo, who had
been searching about with the telescope, discovered a mag-
nificent old ram, lying alone, within half a mile of us ; and,
for a wonder, the ground was most favourable for circumvent-
ing him. When Puddoo got really excited over a stalk, he
had a habit of slowly lifting the corners of his long woollen
coat-tails and carefully tucking them one by one into his belt.
By the time he had tucked all four corners up, we had got

CATCHING AN OVIS ASLEEP. 437

within 100 yards of the ram as he lay close to the edge of a
small projecting slope below us, stretched out at full length
on his side, with his back towards us, and his ponderous horns
resting on the ground. For once I had caught an Ovis Ammon
napping ! A slight noise, unfortunately made in some manner,
betrayed our presence, and caused the animal to suddenly lift
his head and look about him. Fearing lest he might spring
to his feet and disappear over the edge of the slope before I
should have time to get my aim on him, I foolishly, and
against Puddoo's advice, fired without waiting, as I certainly
ought to have done, until he rose. Starting to his feet, he
stood for a second broadside on ; but as I was covering his
shoulder for a second shot, he turned sharp round and dashed
off downwards, just as I pressed the trigger, and was out of
sight in an instant. Eheu milii! I had missed him clean
with both barrels ! Words cannot express my feelings as I
watched him going away after he reappeared. Puddoo, how-
ever, expressed his sentiments at the time pretty freely in
his native dialect ; and could I have understood what he was
saying, I might doubtless have heard some rather uncompli-
mentary remarks respecting my duffer-like performance. We
followed the animal's tracks for a long way, on the slight
chance of the first bullet having hit him with a ricochet, as
we noticed it had knocked up the dust on our side of him,
but not a drop of blood could we find ; so we sorrowfully
turned our steps campwards. How I imprecated the cutting
wind as we trudged wearily over the six long miles of flat
ground between the Lai Daka and our camp. As we skirted
along the base of the Dukka hills, we saw another big flock
of Oves Ammon away up on the sloping heights to our left ;
but we were both of us too done up and down-hearted to
think of going after them that evening, even had there been
time.

So hard was the frost here at night in the month of June,
that the stream close to our camp, which we had forded nearly

438 ALMOST FROZEN.

knee-deep the evening before, was until mid-day quite dry.
Nothing was for the time left of it but a hollow crust of ice,
below which the water had ceased to flow. Having to depend
on this stream for water, we had, whilst here, to collect a
sufficient supply overnight to last until it began to flow again
next day at noon. It can therefore be imagined what bitter
cold work it was starting forth in the dawn to look after the
animals we had seen on the neighbouring hills the evening
before. About eight o'clock Puddoo spied out with the glass
a flock of five Oms, but none of them were big rams. Whilst
he was watching them through the telescope, I chanced to
notice a large group of animals, which I took to be kiangs,
suddenly appear away up on the sky-line of a rounded
eminence nearly a mile off. Drawing Puddoo's attention
to them, he turned the glass in their direction and instantly
pronounced them to be "nian" (Oves Ammon). There were
eleven in sight, and all of them were rams carrying fine
horns. Presently they lay down on the very brow of the
hill, where we could distinctly see their splendid heads
in relief against the sky. As they completely overlooked
our position, and were quite unapproachable from any other
quarter, even could we have dared to move, there was nothing
for it but to wait patiently there until they again rose and
shifted their ground. The wind had now sprung up, which,
combined with the keen frost, made the cold during the hour
or more we had to lie there like stones, about as cruel as
I have ever felt. My hands and feet got so benumbed that
I began to think, if we remained there inactive much longer,
they would be frozen. At last the animals rose, and after
pottering restlessly about for some time, retired quickly
beyond the brow towards the same direction they had come
from.

On this occasion I fully appreciated the advantage of
having a man with me who knew every feature of the ground
as well as the habits of its wild denizens. Puddoo at once

IN THE NICK OF TIME. 439

concludes that the animals will be likely to make for a wide
ravine, where there is more or less grazing for them, some
distance beyond and to the left of the brow they so hastily
quitted, and that by our quickly making a circuit below, we
may possibly be able to reach the foot of it in time to
intercept them. Off we start as fast as we can shuffle along,
for running is next thing to impossible in such trying
atmosphere. In less than an hour we have almost reached
the foot of the ravine. As we cautiously approach it round
the shoulder of a spur, I can judge by the unwonted haste
with which Puddoo not only lifts his coat-tails, but this time
winds them tightly round his waist, that his excitement is
unusually intense. On gaining the cover of some rocks,
which he says will command the lower part of the ravine
where he hopes to find the flock, we slowly raise our heads
to reconnoitre. We are just in the nick of time, as five or six
of the animals, which are evidently still on the move, have
reached the foot of the ravine, and one or two have com-
menced ascending an opposite slope at, as near as I can
hastily judge, about 180 yards off. Quickly adjusting the
sight, I let drive at a grand fellow as he stands for a second
or two at the bottom of the slope ; but from being rather
shaky after our hurried stalk, I hit him in the haunch instead
of the shoulder. Off they all speed, but again stop a short
way up on the slope to look back, giving me ample time for
a shot at another good beast, which rolls over to rise no more.
Away they start again at a gallop, with the exception of a
big old ram — not the wounded one — that lags slowly behind.
I have now only my miniature '360-bore Eigby rifle left to
use, and although many a black buck and cheetal stag, and
once even a full-grown stag jurrow, have fallen to it, I hardly
expect it to do for a big Ovis Ammon at quite 200 yards : but
luck is on my side this time. The little expanding bullet
chances to hit, and so hard that the old ram merely moves on
a few faltering steps and once more stands stock-still. Mean-

440 A MISFORTUNE.

while the rest of the flock have reached the top of the rise,
and after standing clustered there for a few moments as if
irresolute about their further movements, they finally dis-
appear beyond it, with the first fellow I had shot at limping
after them. Eeloading the Whitworth as quickly as possible,
I give the laggard I had wounded with the little bullet
another shot, which at first I am not sure has struck him, but
after tottering for a few seconds he falls over on his side
dead.

Had the Whitworth rifle been a breechloader I should
probably have accounted for at least one more of the animals,
for, as they stood on the brow, they were not more than 250
yards off, and an Ovis Ammon is a good-sized mark to shoot at
though he is sometimes so easily missed. Now the sporting
reader will at once ask, " Why hadn't you a breechloader ? "
Well, it was my misfortune, not my fault, that I had not, for
a new Express rifle I had ordered especially for this trip was
then lying useless at Dehra Doon, owing to the transmitting
agents carelessly neglecting to forward it in time to take
with me. However, I had little reason to repine in this
instance, as two splendid old rams were down, and a third
had gone off* so badly wounded that I had great hopes of
eventually securing him as well.

On moving across to the brow, which commanded an unin-
terrupted view of the wide flat between these hills and the
Lai Daka, we could easily trace the course the animals were
steering, and with the telescope I could distinguish the
wounded one, now limping along ahead of the flock. At
length we saw him lie down, whilst his companions slowly
continued their course towards the Lai Daka. By this time
it was getting late in the forenoon, so we had our breakfast,
keeping an eye on the wounded ram whilst we were quickly
disposing of it. The spare man was now despatched to camp to
fetch jooboos for carrying the spoils, and also for my pipe,
which I had purposely left behind under the impression that my

AFTER A WOUNDED RAM. 441

egregious misses of the previous day might possibly have been
due to my indulging too freely in tobacco. After watching
the wounded ram for a long time, it being impossible to
approach him where he lay, we at length saw him rise
and hobble onward, stopping now and again, until he reached
the Lai Daka, where with the glass I could see he once more
lay down on an open slope. It had now grown too late to
follow him that afternoon, so we proceeded to gralloch the
dead beasts. On the arrival of the jooboos, I sat down and
thoroughly enjoyed a smoke whilst they were being packed
with the spoils. On our return to camp, a dram of whisky
was served out to all hands for celebrating this red-letter day
among the big sheep. I weighed one of the rams with a
portable machine I had brought with me — a Yankee " notion,"
which was " calculated " to weigh correctly up to 360 Ib. The
figures were as follows : Weight, " clean," 350 Ib. odd, or about
18 stone. Of this, the head alone (as cut off for stuffing) was
upwards of 50 Ib., and perhaps 2 stone might be added for
the gralloch, making a total of, say, 20 stone. Not a bad
weight for a sheep ! The horns were good average specimens
of their kind. The larger pair would have measured quite
3£ feet round the curve had not the tips been slightly broken.
The other pair were a few inches shorter, but equally thick
(18 inches) and their tips uninjured.

The following day we were not long in again finding the
wounded ram, on a slope of the Lai Daka above the Ship-
chillum stream, and with the spy-glass I could distinctly
see his blood-stained haunch. He was slowly moving up-
wards, but ere long he lay down on an exposed ridge high up on
the range, from whence he evidently kept a sharp look-out on
all sides, as we noticed that his head was being continually
turned suspiciously about. It was necessary to use the ut-
most caution in approaching him, for any wounded wild animal
is always hard to get near when not quite disabled, let alone an
Ovis Ammon. After making a round of quite two miles, we

442 INTRUDERS ON THE SCENE.

had almost reached a spot which we had judged to be within
200 yards of him, when, suddenly taking alarm, he sprang to
his feet. From the alacrity with which he at once sped
upward and disappeared over the top of the range, it was
evident that, although his haunch was badly wounded, no
bone was broken ; and having detected us on his track, he
would most likely go a very long distance without stopping,
as a wounded beast on being alarmed often will do. At any
rate, this was the last we ever saw of him, though possibly he
fell to the rifle of another sportsman, who, when hunting on
this ground shortly after us, killed a big ram there which had
a recently-made wound in its haunch.

On our way out in the early morning, several lots of small-
horned rams and ewes had been seen, and during our
stalk after the wounded animal, we had noticed five rams
move over the top of the range. We had also descried in the
distance what we thought to be the eight remaining rams of the
flock I had thinned the day before ; but as they would now,
most probably, be well on the alert, we turned our attention
to the five fresh ones, three of which carried grand horns.
We came upon them where they had stopped to graze in a
ravine on the north side of the range, and we had just reached
a spot from which, in another minute, I should have got
an easy chance within 150 yards, when three other rams
suddenly appeared, coming over the rise on the far side of the
ravine, and instantly catching sight of us, turned tail and
made off. Before I could get ready to shoot at the rams
in the ravine, they also, taking alarm at the flight of the three
intruders, started off at a gallop, and put a good 300 yards
between us and them before they pulled up on the crest of
a sloping spur, beyond another ravine running down on
our right into the one they had just quitted. The first shot,
sent at the big lord of the flock, knocked up the dust several
yards short of him. From not having seen us, and being far
out, the animals seemed only startled, so I had time for

WELCOME REST. 443

another chance. Again the bullet fell short, but this time
so close to the big fellow's feet that it must have sent up
the gravelly ground against him. The beasts now got so
bewildered that, instead of at once disappearing behind the
spur, as might ordinarily have been expected, they galloped
straight up along it, and again stood broadside on within
200 yards, and level with us across the ravine to our right,
in the most tantalising manner. Oh for a good breechloader
then, for I had only the " pea-shooter " left to depend on \
Whether the big fellow carried away the contents of the
latter I never found out, for though his tracks were followed
far beyond the spur, nothing more of either him or his
companions did we ever see again. There were eight or nine
long miles to trudge over before getting back to camp, and I
could have wished no fitter penalty for the delinquents
who had so disappointed me about my Express rifle, than
to have had them grinding breathlessly alongside me that
afternoon, with the cold cutting wind blowing right in
their teeth, and the glaring sun scorching the skin off their
faces and cracked lips.

Next day was Sunday, and never did I more welcome
a rest.

Tibetan -wooden Cup and Tobacco-pipe.

444

CHAPTER XXIV.

SUDDEN CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE — AN UNEXPECTED EVENT — A BROTHER
SPORTSMAN TURNS UP — " IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS " — WE TRY A
LITTLE FISH-POACHING — A WELCOME POST-BAG — BURRELL AGAIN —
WAITING FOR A RAM TO RISE — " HABET " — A NURSERY OF WILD SHEEP
— A LONG CHASE — A LUCKY FLUKE — AN AGED RAM — OUR HOONYA
ESCORT DEPARTS — BED OF FOSSILS — TIBETAN DOUANE — AFTERNOON
TEA — THE WAY IT WAS MADE — DICE-THROWING — A TOKEN OF GOOD-
WILL FROM THE JONGPEN — TIBETAN METHOD OF CURING BUTTER —
A TRYING JOB — RECROSS NITI PASS — BHOTIA WHISKY — PUDDOO IMBIBES
RATHER FREELY — A BIT OF ADVICE — A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER —
PUDDOO AND CO. CELEBRATE THEIR RETURN HOME — A TRANSFORMA-
TION-SCENE IN THE THEATRE OF NATURE — A REVERIE — RAMNEE —
FAREWELL TO THE GRAND OLD HIMALAYAS.

THE time was now drawing nigh when, according to my con-
tract with the Jongpen, I should have to quit Tibetan terri-
tory ; and the Niti pass, over which I intended to return, was
three or four days' journey from here. These few days I
resolved to devote to hunting burrell, which Puddoo said
were fairly plentiful in certain localities where there was
some scanty vegetation,1 below the snow-line, on the Hima-
layan northern slopes, along the foot of which our way led to-
wards the pass. There would also be a chance left of finding
Oves Ammon as well, though the ground was not considered
so good for old rams as that which we had been over.

Our camp now presented the appearance of a " flesher's "

1 The limit of vegetation in these trans- Himalayan regions is at an altitude
of about 17,000 feet.

SUDDEN CHANGE OF TEMPERATURE. 445

shop, every available tent-rope being hung with long strips of
raw meat drying in the sun. Cooking, too, was going on at a
great rate, there being an unusual amount of fuel about here
suitable for the purpose in the shape of a scrubby bush called
dama. Indeed the table-lands lying between here and the
Lai Daka were more scattered over with a scrubby sort of
vegetation than any other locality I had visited in Hundes.
Towards evening the sky, which had been cloudless since the
slight snowstorm we had experienced at Tazang, became over-
cast, and a shower of rain fell, which raised the temperature
in a most sudden and remarkable manner — so much so that I
could dispense with many of my warm wraps at night. Just
after I had turned in to bed, a messenger arrived with a note
— a surprising event in these inhospitable wilds. The epistle
was from a son of the late Mr F. Wilson (of Himalayan
hunting celebrity), intimating that he had just come over the
Chor Hoti pass, and that his baggage-animals being unable to
get as far as my camp that night, he (in a true sportsman-like
spirit) had therefore sent on a messenger to ask me the direc-
tion of my beat next day, in order that he might not interfere
by hunting over it. In reply, I told him I was leaving this
ground next morning, but hoped to see him at breakfast
before I started. Another note, however, arrived in his stead,
telling me that as the Tibetans had allowed him only seven
days in their territory, he was making the most of his short
time in hunting, and so was unable to come. My time would
in all probability have been equally limited had it not been
for the revolver I had presented to the Jongpen of Dapa, and
the whisky with which I had propitiated his messengers.

As we intended hunting over the ground along our daily
stages towards the pass, they were necessarily made rather
short. The first day no game was seen, but a shot heard on
the ground we had left told of Wilson having found some-
thing there. Our camp was reached just in time to escape a
tremendous storm of hail, accompanied by much thunder and

446 AN ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP.

lightning. From here we despatched two men with some
jooboos to Niti for a fresh stock of supplies, our present one
being rather low. Late in the evening I received another
note, this time from a sportsman camped in the neighbour-
hood, with whom, it turned out, I was acquainted. As I had
not talked a word of my native language for more than six
weeks, except to my dog Ranger, I was very glad that an
opportunity was thus offered of meeting with a brother
sportsman, and an acquaintance to boot. For the wanderer
in these dreary Tibetan solitudes is apt to get tired of his
own society alone, and after a long spell of it, begins to fully
realise the fact of his being naturally as gregarious in his
habits as the wild animals he hunts there. Your native
followers are capital fellows in their way; but, from the
difference of their ideas and their mode of life, they cannot be
your boon companions. You are in the same relative position
to them as a burrell would be among a herd of tahr. No ;
Nature never intended that white men and black should
amalgamate a whit more than the burrell and the tahr, when
she gave them each a skin of a different colour, whatever
may be argued to the contrary. I therefore decided to remain
here for a day, and asked my compatriot over to breakfast
next morning. He had just come over the Niti pass, and
had so far found no big rams ; but as he was accompanied
by an excellent Bhotia shikaree, and was en route for the
Lai Daka, his work was still before him. After hearing
from him how the busy world had been wagging during the
past two months, and giving him in return all the infor-
mation I thought might be useful, of this quiet and remote
corner of it, not forgetting to describe the whereabouts of the
big wounded ram, I wished him good luck as he continued
his way towards the Dukka hills.

In the evening I took a murderous advantage of a large
flock of blue Tibetan pigeons that came and settled to feed
near the camp. A raking pot-shot on the ground, followed

TIBETAN FISH. 44*7

up with the second barrel as they rose, floored a baker's
dozen of them, which, with eight I had secured the previous
evening in the same ignoble manner, kept me in pigeon-pies
for a week or more. The adage, " it never rains but it pours,"
was exemplified when again I was aroused from my slumbers
by a messenger with yet another note. This one had been
sent by an officer of the great Trigonometrical Survey of
India, who with his party had arrived at our last camping-
place, after crossing the Untadhura pass from the province
of Kumaon. He was on his way, he told me, to fix his
survey stations on the highest points of the Lai Daka, with
a view to making observations from them of more distant,
and, to Europeans, almost unknown regions beyond the Sut-
lej. His letter contained a message respecting his progress
thus far, which he asked me to convey to his chief — Colonel
J. T. Walker, RE., at Dehra Doon. I congratulated myself
on having finished my hunting operations on the Lai Daka
before he and his party commenced their scientific ones,
which, valuable as they most assuredly would be to geo-
graphical interests, were not likely to be conducive to those
of sport.

Next day we sent our camp on a few miles, whilst Puddoo
and I took a beat over the broken slopes above, which turned
out blank. In the evening, however, we did some successful
fish-poaching — at which my Goorkha servant proved an adept
— in a stream that ran past the camp, by constructing a dam
to divert the course of the water above a shallow pool, the
result being about a dozen fish left high and dry. They
averaged five or six inches in length, and were coarse-headed,
and to all appearance scaleless, of a greyish colour above,
silvery below, and profusely covered with dark-grey spots.
Some of the streams in Tibet contain a prodigious number
of fish, and all, I believe, are good eating. Many of the
streams lose themselves in the sand, and appear again at
intervals, sometimes only in little pools of clear water.

448 A WELCOME POST-BAG.

These pools often teem with little fish about the size of
small minnows. The glacier streams that flow from the
north side of the Himalayan range, though perfectly clear
until noon, are in the afternoon far more muddy and thick
than those that flow from the south side. The fish in these
northward-flowing streams ascend the clear little brooks that
run into them, often in shoals, when quantities of them can
sometimes easily be captured up to a pound or more in
weight.

Here we found some Mti Bhotias encamped, and amongst
them one of Puddoo's brothers. From him we learnt that
the Niti padan, who was travelling by another route, had
brought up a lot of letters and newspapers for me ; so I at
once despatched a messenger to overhaul him, the arrival of
a post-bag being as welcome and exciting an event as it was
an unusual one in this remote region.

The ground now became more tiresome to traverse ; the
sides of the deep ravines we had to cross in our next day's
work along the base of the Himalayan slopes being very
abrupt, and the earth of which they were composed rotten
and friable from constant frosts. The elevation, too, being
considerably higher than that of the table-lands below, we
consequently had " bellows to mend " pretty often, owing to
the constant succession of ups and downs. Away up on the
steep slopes above where we intended to camp, we made out
with the telescope a flock of some twenty Oves Ammon, but all
of them were ewes and lambs. Five or six burrell rams were
also descried lower down, and to these we at once devoted our
energies. We had managed to get round well above them, as
we thought, when Puddoo, who was leading, suddenly caught
sight of a single ram that was still slightly above us, at what
looked to be well over 200 yards off. By great good luck he did
not detect us from the commanding position he occupied,
before we had made ourselves as flat as possible behind a
hummock. As a burrell is not so big a mark as an Ovis

WAITING FOR A EAM TO RISE. 449

Ammon, and there was such a gale of wind blowing as to
make accurate shooting almost impossible, I refrained from
attempting to take him at so great a disadvantage, hoping
that we might eventually get nearer, until presently he lay
down where he was. The sun had now sunk behind the
snowy Himalayan summits, and still the burrell did not
move. At long-last he rose, and as it had grown too late
for us to wait until he thought proper to shift his ground, I
decided to risk a long shot. He was standing broadside on,
with the upper half of his body showing against the sky, and
the strong wind was blowing from directly behind him ; so
taking as steady an aim as rude Boreas would permit, I let
drive at his haunch, trusting that the deflected bullet might
catch him somewhere about the shoulder. " Habet ! " Away
he goes with that reckless headlong speed which an animal,
when struck in the region of the heart, so often puts forth
for a short distance ere he falls lifeless ; and almost imme-
diately we lose sight of him behind a neighbouring brow.
As I had distinctly heard the unmistakable "tell" of the
bullet, we at once followed up, and soon found him lying
stone-dead, about 150 yards beyond where he had disap-
peared, with the bullet-hole just behind his shoulder. His
head, which was a fairly good one, was cut off, and leaving
his carcass to be fetched next morning, we were soon " mak-
ing tracks " towards camp. On our way down we disturbed
a large flock of burrell, our attention having first been drawn
towards them by the clatter of stones and shingle dislodged,
in their rapid flight, on the steep hill-face they were ascend-
ing. As far as we could see in the dusky light, they were
ewes and little lambs. "We were evidently in a nursery of
both Oves Ammon and burrell in this locality, for we had seen
no small lambs of either kind elsewhere.

Previous to our descent we had noticed that the compan-
ions of the ram I had killed, which turned out to be seven
in number, had, after their first scare from the shot, resumed

2F

450 MISJUDGING DISTANCE.

their composure and recommenced feeding considerably higher
up among the slopes, owing probably to their not having
actually seen us. We therefore decided to remain here a
day, with a view to again attempting to circumvent them ;
besides, the dead beast had to be fetched down.

By reason of the manner in which nature so often assimi-
lates the colour of wild animals to their surroundings, it is
sometimes difficult to detect them at a distance with the
naked eye, unless they are in motion; and the burrell exhibits
a marked instance of this. With the aid of the telescope,
however, we soon discovered the rams again next morning,
though they had shifted their ground to where it entailed a
long circuit above to approach them. At length we arrived
within 180 yards or so of their position, which was as near
as we could possibly manage to get. It was not only a long
shot, but also a nasty downward one, for which your sight
elevation is always most difficult to judge correctly, even when
you have not got rarefied air to take into account as well ;
consequently the first bullet went clean over the big ram I
fired at. The report of the rifle, from being so far above
them, I suppose, had luckily only the effect of startling the
animals without putting them to flight. My first shot had
given me a clue to the proper sighting, so the second was
aimed about a yard short of the same fellow's stern as he
stood end on with his head from me. Away they all scam-
pered this time, but we could see that the one I had shot at,
which had taken a separate line of his own, carried his off
hind-leg dangling loosely about, though he still held on until
we lost sight of him behind a ridge. We followed as quickly
as possible to a commanding spot on the ridge, whence he
was again viewed, now moving more slowly over a high tract
of bare undulating ground, sloping gently up towards the
snow-fields above, for which he was evidently steering. We
watched him with the glass as he continued to hobble on,
sometimes standing for a few moments to rest, until we be-

A LUCKY FLUKE. 451

gan to despair of his ever lying down, as we hoped he would
do. So I had my breakfast, and by the time it was finished
the burrell must have been about two miles off. He now,
however, began to show signs of a more permanent stoppage,
for all above him was a steep bed of snow, which he evidently
did not care to ascend with a broken leg, for he altered his
course and moved slowly out of sight in a neighbouring ravine.
After watching for some time without seeing the beast
emerge from the ravine, we concluded he must have at last
lain down there, so we set off as fast as the lead-like weight
of our " stumps " and the power of our " bellows " at such an
altitude would admit of, until at length we neared the ravine.
Cautiously we stole towards it, as if treading on eggs ; but on
peering into it, not a sign of our burrell could we see. Think-
ing he must have gone down the ravine, we moved carefully
onward with a view to searching for his tracks, and had not
proceeded many yards when we heard a clatter behind us.
To our surprise we saw that the beast had jumped up from
where he had been lying hidden behind the cover of a rock
just below where we had at first looked over into the shallow
ravine. As he made off upward, along its wide and gently
sloping bed, I lay down and got my elbows well planted for
the steady pot-shot I each moment expected he would offer if
he chanced to stop, as I did not care to risk missing him with
a snap running one, which might have scared him away for
good. At last he pulled up and turned broadside on to look
back. I hesitate to mention the distance that I judged lay
between us and him ; suffice it to say, I thought it necessary
to raise the sight that was marked 300 yards. Everything,
however, was in my favour except the distance. The day
was less windy than usual, the ground was fairly level, and
my position was as steady as if I had been aiming at a target.
Nevertheless I was as much astonished as delighted at seeing
the ram fall flat on his side without even a struggle. On
examining him we had some difficulty in finding the mark

452 AN AGED RAM.

of the bullet that had floored him, until at last we discovered
it in his neck, close behind the ears, which accounted for his
having dropped so stone-dead. It was a lucky fluke. His
horns were very prettily arched and 25 inches long. We
were now a long way from camp, and as we proposed striking
our tents early on the morrow, it was necessary to have the
burrell fetched down that day ; so we merely covered him up
with stones as a protection from the wolves and birds, and
after planting a stick with a handkerchief attached to attract
attention towards the cairn, descended as quickly as possible.
On our way down we descried in the distance a large flock
of Oves Ammon, ewes and lambs, which we took to be the same
we had seen on the previous evening.

Between this camp and the next, the slopes above the
Tazang table-lands were worked over, but nothing better was
seen than some ewe Oves Ammon and a flock of young males,
which soon showed us the white of their sterns as they went
scouring away in the distance. It was here that my friend
Colonel E. Smyth many years before shot the largest ram
Ovis Ammon of the many he has killed. It was lying on open
exposed ground, but to his surprise he managed easily to
approach it within 100 yards, and rolled it over with his first
shot. He found it to be a ram of the largest size, with im-
mense horns, but very old and toothless, and nothing but
skin and bone. It was so thin that even the Hoonyas, who
will eat kiang, dog, fox, or any animal they can find, would
have nothing to say to it. Colonel Smyth said he considered
himself very fortunate in having secured such a fine speci-
men, as he thought the animal could not possibly have lived
through the winter.

A very troublesome mile or so had to be traversed before
reaching our camp, through a deep abrupt-scarped ravine
filled with huge detached blocks of rock and masses of hard
old snow, over which we had to clamber. Our jooboos had
been brought round by a lower and easier route. The Tartar

\\*\

^ I i I s 1 i I § a

-" '- -• - ~- " '• \ I -

£ jMl - - f f -

- '- '= r = « A * « x5

AFTERNOON TEA WITH THE TARTARS. 453

escort here bade me farewell, and took their way homeward
mounted on their bovine chargers, trusting to my good be-
haviour during the remainder of my short sojourn in their
territory. They departed rejoicing greatly in a " bucksheesh "
with which I presented them ; and being Lamas, let us hope
they gave their little prayer-wheels an extra twirl on my
behalf, as a parting benediction.

The following morning broke with rain, which was still
drizzling when we packed up and started about noon. It
had been our intention to cross the pass that day, but it
was now too late to attempt to get farther than its foot. In
a bed of black-looking soil we passed on our way I found
numerous fossils — ammonites and belemnites — which my
Bhotia companions called " shalgram " stones. About a mile
short of the spot where we proposed passing the night we
took shelter from the rain, until the jooboos came up, in a
blanket -tent — the douane of the pass. Two of its five or
six occupants were squatted on the ground throwing dice,
whilst the rest were lolling lazily about, either dozing or
smoking their little brass -bowled pipes. The manners of
these Tartar excisemen were bluff and independent, but quite
civil. On our entering the tent, a small wooden cup was
ladled full of tea from a dirty metal pot on the fire, and
offered to each of us in turn. The tea l was made, as is the
custom in Tibet, with butter and salt. It was greasy un-
inviting stuff, but I swallowed a cup of it in good-fellowship.
This rite of Tibetan hospitality being over, the play was
resumed. The ostensible stakes were pebbles, though they
doubtless represented something more valuable. The dice
were cast from the little wooden cups of the players, each
time with a short exclamation like " put." Although I
watched the game intently for some time, I failed to follow
the intricate score. On rising to leave the tent I was

1 The Tibetans import their tea from China in the form of solid lumps
known as "brick-tea."

454 BHOTIA WHISKY.

presented with a token of goodwill from the Jongpen, in the
shape of some more yaks' tails, and two round lumps of
butter sewn up in raw sheep's-hide as tight and hard as a
cricket-ball. Puddoo told me that yak-milk butter thus
prepared keeps good for a very long time in the dry cold
climate of Tibet, and that these balls were probably more
than a year old. Whatever was their age, the butter they
contained was tolerably palatable.

The rain had now become sleet, and the icy wind blowing
down off the snow-fields had increased to a gale, which made
pitching the tents, with our hands benumbed with cold, a
rather trying job. As the scant amount of grass-root fuel
we could collect was wet, and refused to emit anything but
smoke, I served out grog all round to my shivering com-
panions, and after a hastily despatched meal, turned in under
my blankets to try and keep warm. In the morning there
were two inches of snow on the tents, it was still snowing,
and the pass was enveloped in mist. About eleven o'clock
the sun shone forth again, so we commenced the ascent.
The jooboos had a rough time of it ploughing up through
the fresh-fallen snow, which was also most trying to our
eyes. On the summit of the pass we met the men and
jooboos returning from Niti with the supplies. A leathern
flask of native spirit they had brought with them was pro-
duced and freely imbibed from by my Bhotia followers, who
had not had a big drink for a month. The liquor was weak
mawkish-tasted stuff like bad whisky. It was potent enough,
however, to make Puddoo very drunk, so I left him to the
tender mercies of his companions. When he turned up
towards evening at the tents, he had got sufficiently sober
to look sheepish and ashamed of himself. And here I may
offer a bit of advice: never touch spirits on a cold high
pass, where their effects are as rapid as they are disagree-
able, and your head often aches badly enough there without
them.

A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 455

The road between the pass and Niti had been repaired by
the Bhotias. Even in the narrow defile above Goting, where
the snow-bed had now disappeared and the track lay over
the steep stony scarps rising from the river, the jooboos had
not much difficulty in getting along, although in some places,
on landslips, it was like walking over loose broken bricks.
And below Goting, where the steep snow-slopes had been so
troublesome, you might almost have cantered a pony. About
Mti, too, what a change had come over the scene ! The
village was busy with life, and the neighbouring heights,
which only about a month before had been cold, bare, and
desolate, were now cheerful with the yodling of herdsmen
tending their flocks on the green slopes, and tuneful with
the cuckoo's notes in the leafy birch-brakes.

As Puddoo and Co. had been celebrating their return
home by a drunken debauch overnight, I had considerable
difficulty in getting the jooboos collected and loaded to start
at a late hour next morning. At Malari women took the
place of the jooboos as baggage-carriers, the village being
almost destitute of men, most of whom had gone off with
their droves of laden sheep and goats to Hundes to trade
with the Hoonyas. Here I bade farewell to my worthy
friend Puddoo and his Bhotia companions, who were all
about to set out again for Hundes on business of their
own.

At Tapoobun I left the low hot route by which I had
travelled up, and returned over the middle ranges by a
higher and more beautiful one. An ascent of about 5000
feet from the river, partly through a forest of large hazel
trees — not bushes — brought us to a small green flat near the
ridge of a spur of Trisool, where wild-flowers and wild-
strawberries vied with each other in their abundance.

During the day the clouds had been dull and lowering,
veiling the mountain -tops deeply in mist, but towards
evening they began to lift and disperse, and never in my

456 A TRANSFOKMATION-SCENE.

wanderings over many parts of the globe have I seen
anything to equal the marvellously grand and expansive
panorama which the rising curtain of sun-illumined, rose-
tinted vapour gradually disclosed to view. It was indeed
a splendid final transformation-scene, so to speak, in this
vast theatre of nature I was leaving, and will ever remain
deeply engraved on my memory. Eastward, to the right,
over a rugged foreground of huge fragments of grey rock,
and the irregular line of pointed plumes of the dark-green
pines shooting up, tall and straight, from the mountain-side
below, rose the noble snow-cone of Doonagiri in bold relief
against an intensely blue firmament ; whilst the more distant
crest of Kamet (25,400 feet) reared itself among a medley
of frozen peaks, glaciers, and vast untrodden snow -fields
lying in dreamy magnificence away northward. Nearer, and
more westward, across the profound hazy depth of the in-
tervening valley of the Doulee, mighty phalanxes of rock-
panoplied giants, mantled in violet, purple, and blue, and
helmeted with eternal snow, stood resplendent in the golden
glory of sunset, keeping watch, as it were, around the sacred
precincts of the Badrinath shrine lying latent in one of the
deep dark gorges below them.

When contemplating the sublime grandeur of those majestic
snow-crowned peaks, standing there as they have done for
unknown time, and, for aught we know, as they will do for
countless ages, unchanged in their wan solemnity, it seemed
to me that nowhere could a place in which to hold com-
munion with the great Creator of the universe have been
more fitly chosen than there, among His own mighty and
wonderful works. What is the basilica of St Peter at Eome,
with its vast and perfect proportions and gorgeous interior ;
or the Duomo at Milan, with its forest of elaborately wrought
pinnacles ; or the mosque of Sta Sophia at Istamboul, with its
precious marbles, jasper, and porphyry, its huge cupola and
graceful minarets ; or our own St Paul's Cathedral, with its

REVERIES. 457

more solemn style of architecture ; or any other grand fane
fashioned by human art, — when compared with the awful
magnitude and natural beauty of the creations around this
hallowed spot ? For hallowed it may certainly be termed,
as every place which is dedicated by any creed whatsoever
to the service of the one Supreme Being whom all acknow-
ledge ought to be. Yet, sad to say, there are some — let us
hope they are few — who ignore the sanctity of a Hindoo
place of pilgrimage, and who preach nothing but damnation
for the lame, the blind, and the poor infirm old devotee who,
to show his faith in the tenets of a religion in which he has
been brought up to believe, and to whom they have been
rendered venerable by the observances of ages,1 trudges his
weary way from the uttermost parts of Hindustan, often
barefooted and enduring the most cruel hardships, all in
the earnest hope of being able to wash away his sins in the,
to him, holy hot-spring at Badrinath. Surely this faithful,
though in many respects misguided, pilgrim may, through
the infinite mercy of the Almighty, hope for salvation as
much as the uncharitable individual, calling himself a
Christian, who presumes to condemn him as a "heathen."
Does such an one ever think, when fulfilling his mission to
make converts to a better religion, that many professing it
have but the form and little of the real unselfish religious
feeling which is so fully manifested by many a poor Hindoo ?
Some such thoughts as these filled my mind whilst I sat
enraptured with the glorious scene before me. Not a sound
was there to disturb my reverie but the wild call of the
moonal pheasant echoing among the neighbouring crags, as I
watched the cold grey shade creeping slowly on, gradually
darkening each successive sunlit mountain tier, until it stole
over the highest peaks of eternal snow, leaving them weird-
looking and unearthly in their stern frozen dignity, their

1 The Vedas — the sacred books of the Hindoos— are said to have been
written more than 1000 B.C.

458 RAMNEE.

pallid lineaments each moment growing more dim in the
deepening gloom.

The chilly night wind that came whispering through the
pine-trees, wafting an alluring odour from the culinary de-
partment, and a voice at my elbow murmuring "Khana
tyar " (dinner is ready), soon recalled me from the ideal to
the real ; and I was very hungry.

In two days from here I reached Eamnee — a charming
locality as regards scenery and climate, and a capital centre
for sport, there being excellent ground for jurrow, gooral, and
other middle-range game, in its almost immediate vicinity,
and both burrell and tahr were plentiful on the higher ranges
within a few days' reach of it. But the rainy season had now
set in, and the horns of the jurrow stags were still in velvet ;
so I proceeded on my way, and in about ten more days had
rejoined my regiment.

This was my last expedition to the higher regions of those
grand old mountains, whose memories are so dear to me,
and which, alas, I shall never see again !

Tartar tent.

459

CHAPTER XXV.

CONTAINING A FEW HINTS CONCERNING KIT, CAMP-EQUIPAGE, ETC., FOR
A HIMALAYAN HUNTING-TRIP, WHICH, TO THE YOUNG HAND, MAY
BE USEFUL.

BEFORE taking leave of the kind reader, I would crave his
patience for a moment or two longer whilst I add a few con-
cluding remarks, some of which may be of use to the inex-
perienced, whereas others I should perhaps call apologies for
my shortcomings.

To those who are not disciples of St Hubert, should they
have cared to open such a volume, the fact of its being
almost entirely devoted to subjects connected with wild sport
will, I fear, have made it dull and unavoidably egotistical ;
and the brief descriptions of animals will, I daresay, have
been as uninteresting as they are imperfect. These latter are
mere notes of my own observations. They are given more
for the benefit of those who, being unacquainted with the
Himalayan ferce naturae, may naturally, when reading of their
pursuit, wish to know something about their general appear-
ance l and habits, than with the idea of adding anything to
natural history beyond that which is well known.

The tyro, I venture to hope, may not have found this book
altogether uninteresting, and some of the hints it contains
may possibly be of some service to him.

1 The two groups of heads, from photographs by Mr R. Milne of Aboyne,
have been given with the same intention.

460 RESPECTING KIT, ETC.

To any old Himalayan sportsman who may have perused
it, most of its contents will doubtless have proved stale.
Still, I trust that it will have served to while away a few
leisure hours by recalling to his mind some of the scenes
and incidents of his own experiences.

To such as consider competition in scoring a big bag more
than the beauties of nature, combined with real wild sport,
my sentiments have perhaps been rather freely expressed.
But in giving vent to them I feel sure I only echo the voice
of the majority ; for it behoves every one who has the
interests of sport truly at heart, to strive as far as possible
to discourage cruel, useless, and indiscriminate destruction of
game at all seasons in a country where there are no strictly
enforced laws for its protection.

One object at any rate will have been attained, if the
unvarnished sketches of wild Himalayan life and sport I
have endeavoured to portray may, in conjunction with other
works on the same subject, offer an incitement for young
hands going to India to spend some of their spare time there
profitably for both mind and body, in visiting these grand
and inexhaustible hunting-grounds. But those who hope to
be successful in Himalayan sport must be prepared to under-
go a good deal of trouble, toil, and frequent disappointment,
and to have a fair stock of those cardinal virtues in all manly
sports — namely, patience, endurance, and perseverance. For
no one ought to start with the idea that game will always be
found wherever it is sought after, be the ground ever so good.

By the inexperienced in rough mountain work, it may
perhaps be expected that I should offer a few suggestions re-
specting the kit which ought to be taken on a hunting-trip to
the Himalayas. Well, to those I say, take nothing from your
own country beyond the requirements of an ordinary traveller,
except your battery, — a double 500-bore Express rifle, and a
12 -bore gun,1 will, I think, be ample ; its ammunition ; a good

1 A Lancaster's c ' Colindian " would perhaps be the best.

SHIKAR TENT. 461

telescope with large field; and, if you be disciples of the
immortal Izaak, your fishing-tackle. To these may be added
a couple of pairs of strong shooting-boots well shod with
square-headed nails, and a few pairs of very thick double-
heeled and double-toed worsted stockings. Tents and all
other requisites, even to a Warren's cooking-pot, can easily
be procured in India, and most of them will be more suitable
for the purpose they are intended than the things you may
spare yourselves the trouble of carrying so far with you.

The tent I have always used, and which, I think, will be
found comfortable and portable, as well as suitable for pitch-
ing on a limited space, is of the following description.
Material, the common cotton cloth of India called " dosootee "
— as being light and easily dried — lined with coarse white
(as being more cheerful than the ordinary black) native
blanket. Width of tent, 9J feet; length from pole to pole,
7J- feet; height 6J feet, with small hanging walls at the
sides 9 inches deep. Four short ropes of thin but strong
cord, for making fast to pegs on each side ; and a stay-rope
for each upright pole, of the same material. The ridge and
upright poles to be of thin strong male bamboo. Front end
of tent to open from top to bottom, but made so as to overlap
well when closed either with strings or leather buttons. Back
end to open in like manner, but made to lace up, with a flap
to button over the lacing in order to keep out the wind. By
this means the tent can be thrown wide open at both ends
for a free current of air during hot weather. In order to
resist the wear and tear of stones, which in Tibet are often
piled round the bottom of the tent, it should be edged all
round with coarse thick tape called "newar," four inches
wide. Such a kind of little tent, or " shuldarree " as in India
it is called, can be carried by one man, and the poles used as
walking-staves by the coolies. A second tent of a similar
description will be required for your servants. In the
Himalayas, tent-pegs can generally be cut near at hand ; but

462 PORTAGE OF HEADS.

for Tibet, where wood is not procurable, about two dozen
light iron ones will be necessary, and made so that when not
in use they can be chained together and secured with a pad-
lock, otherwise they are apt to stick to "light-fingered" hands
like needles to a magnet.

The best kind of camp-bed is that made like the native's
common "charpai" (bedstead, literally meaning four legs),
constructed so that the side and end poles can be removed
from the holes made for them in the legs. A piece of strong
" durrie " (coarse Indian canvas) is laced tightly to one of the
end and one of the side poles, the other two having first
been passed through loops made to receive them by doubling
over the canvas, thereby saving time and trouble in lacing.
The great advantage of such a bed is its simplicity, as, if a
pole is broken, it can easily be replaced with a stick from the
nearest wood ; besides its convenience of transport.

Tor whatever else in the way of travelling equipments the
sportsman may deem necessary, I may refer him to ' Galton's
Art of Travel ' and ' Hints to Travellers,' published by the
Eoyal Geographical Society. But the less he takes with him,
beyond what is absolutely required, the better, more especially
on the higher ranges, where carriage for his traps and his
trophies is often difficult to obtain.

The following will be found a good way of dealing with
large-horned heads, as rendering them more portable. When
skinning a head, which should be cut off as near the trunk as
possible without disfiguring the rest of the skin, commence
by slitting up the skin on the top of the neck towards the
nape, almost as far as the space between the burrs. From
thence cut a short lateral slit to the base of each horn. Then
peel off the skin bodily from the neck and head, severing the
cartilages of the ears from the head as they are reached.
After the skull has been thoroughly cleaned, and the lower
jaw removed from it, saw it in two down the centre. "When
required to be set up, the divided skull is refastened together

MAPS AND MEANS FOR TRAVEL AND SPORT. 463

and the lower jaw replaced. The skin of the head should be
well rubbed, more especially about the roots of the ears and
the lips, with salt and wood-ashes, or arsenical soap, then
partially dried in the sun and packed separately. Thus
there is no chance of the hair being rubbed off in transport.
Moreover, the unsightly mark of a join on the gullet is ob-
viated when the head is eventually stuffed. I may further
suggest that when your shikarees, should they be Mahome-
dans, perform the "hullal," they should be strictly warned
not to bleed the animal close behind the jaws, as is invariably
their custom, thereby disfiguring the throat ; but to do so far
back, where the head is to be severed from the trunk, as a bit
of the neck adds so much to the appearance of a specimen
when set up.

It has been suggested to me that a sketch-map should be
attached to this book. But with such excellent topographical
and route maps as are published at the office of the Surveyor-
General of India, at Calcutta, to refer to, anything ]ess per-
fect would be worse than superfluous. And with the land-
marks, together with the habitats of different game given
throughout these pages, the sportsman can have little diffi-
culty in finding his way to many of the best hunting-grounds.

The means of communication with India are now so rapid
and easy, that a trip to the Himalayas is nothing to any one
accustomed to travel. The very name of India, which carries
with it, and truly to a certain extent, the idea of heat, sick-
ness, and discomfort, deters many from going there, except,
perhaps, for a few winter months, when some of its grandest
attractions are lost to the sportsman or tourist, owing to the
higher Himalayan ranges being then almost impracticable
from snow. But it must be borne in mind that a " gentleman
at large " in India differs vastly, in his position there, from a
servant of Government. The latter has, of course, to put up
with whatever inconveniences may fall to his lot, and is
dependent for his shikar expeditions on the limited periods of

464 MAPS AND MEANS FOR TRAVEL AND SPORT.

leave he may be able to obtain, and these at times of year
which are not always the best either for travel or sport;
whereas the former, who is tied neither to time nor to place,
can suit his taste as to season and climate, and indulge his
sporting or wandering proclivities to his heart's content,
amidst romantic scenery which rivals, if it does not surpass,
that of any other part of the known world.

Horns of Go en (swamp deer], killed in the Oude Terai.

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