Ibex shooting on the Himalayas

Preface

ALTHOUGH I had served in India for ten years in a native regiment, many of the officers of which had had experience of hill shooting, and some of them of ibex shooting in Cashmere, I had found it impossible to gather any idea of the general principles on which an ibex expedition should be conducted, and this partly because sportsmen are as a rule better narrators of incidents than exponents of theories, and partly because they seem to be incapable of grasping the extent of the questioner's ignorance of the conditions which determine the nature of the sport in question ; moreover, the training of a young soldier makes him diffident about monopolizing the time of his seniors.

My experience in this matter is a common viii PREFACE

one, hence it frequently occurs that the inexperienced find themselves on the wild snowfields of Gashmere in a state of ignorance, which puts them at the mercy of the shikari. They are forced to follow his advice blindly, and chafe unreasonably at the constant halts and wearisome checks which, if their raison d'etre be not understood, are most exasperating to the keen ; they are inexpressibly trying, even if one is lucky enough to have a good and reliable shikari, but reduce the man to despair who has reason to doubt his guide's ability or good faith.

In this case the way is far from smooth. The shikari presumes at first on his master's ignorance, and after a bit the master, who has lost confidence without gaining knowledge, issues orders and interferes generally, in a manner which is fatal to success.

It is undeniable that the necessary information may be quickly acquired on the spot by a man who is familiar with the

PREFACE ix

metaphorical speech of the oriental, and can converse fluently in Hindustani. I lay stress on the word " fluently," for though all shikaris speak Hindustani it is not their mother tongue, and they use it but clumsily. A mere smattering of the lingo, therefore, is not always sufficient to enable the hearer to grasp the full significance of their words.

Hampered as the young sportsman generally is by comparative ignorance both of the native and of his speech, a general knowledge of the habits of the ibex and of the principles on which he is pursued are absolutely essential to the success of the expedition.

This, moreover, in great measure depends on the morale of the whole shooting staff, and on their loyalty and keenness. Knowledge of the points to which shikaris and their assistants attach importance is vital. These men are right good fellows and keen sportsmen, but their health is their capital, and they will not risk it for x PREFACE

an egotist who forgets that they are human, with bodies and feelings like his own.

It is with the idea of suggesting these first principles, and of preparing the debutant for the chivalrous, manly, but childlike character of his assistants that I have ventured to record my first experiences.

I have not dealt with such matters as maps, routes, arms, and the like, as information on such points becomes rapidly antiquated and is best obtained at the time. I will only remark that with the exception of the rifle, telescope and ammunition, the necessary equipment is best acquired in Srinagar itself. The best shikaris can only be got by means of a letter of introduction, and it is wisest to leave the choice of ground to them.

The points I wish to emphasize are : first, the absolute necessity for some general knowledge of the habits and mode of life of the ibex ; and secondly, of the character of the shikari.

The hill-man is a most charming fellow

PREFACE xi

if taken properly. He is delightful to work with, keen, devoted to his business, hardy and faithful, but he must be handled judiciously. If a man is not prepared to take his fair share of the necessary hardships, and, above all, to be absolutely just and kind withal, he will probably return from Cashmere to swell the numbers of those who think that ibex shooting is an overrated sport.

I have been unable to obtain pictures of the actual valleys which were the scenes of this expedition. The illustrative photographs I have used represent, however, precisely similar adjacent country, and were taken by the Sikkim Boundary Commission. The right to use them was bought from Messrs. Spooner, 379, Strand, London.

NEVILLE TAYLOR.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. PRELIMINARIES i

II. MY FIRST IBEX .... 19

Chapter I

I HAD been given one year's leave, and had made up my mind to spend five months of it shooting in the Himalayas, and the rest in England.

As the dates between which it fell were the 7th of February, 1895, an<^ ^e 7tn °f February, 1896, I determined to go first to Cashmere, and then to England.

The land of the ibex lies to the north of

the ranges which bound the Cashmere valley

proper on the north ; the passes leading into

it are usually closed by snow till the middle

B of April, before which, consequently, ibex are not to be got. February and March, however, are the very best months in the whole year for " Barasingha " or Cashmere stags, and for them I accordingly " went," in order to fill up time till April.

It was a terribly hard winter, a severe frost reigned night and day, and the countryside was several feet under snow, which, even as late as the middle of March, showed no signs of melting. The whole land lay enshrouded in a frosty mist, which completely hid the surrounding hills from view. Now and again only did the sun manage to force his way through, while snowstorms of three days' duration were no unfrequent occurrences.

I was uncommonly lucky, however, and managed to get five stags, of which four were real beauties.

Gradually time wore on ; and we began to be nervous as to whether some other fellow might not come up soon for ibex, in which case I might not be able to get the " nullah," or valley, which I wanted.

The " leave season " in India is from the 1 5th of April to the i5th of October; but generally a few men manage to get away by the ist of April ; consequently we determined that nothing would induce us to remain on the wrong side of the passes after the 3ist of March.

My " shikari" (or stalker) pointed out that I must not be disappointed if we did not get much sport for the first month, for, he said, the season was a full two months later than usual on account of the severity of the winter. And he added, that when the pass was crossed there would still be two difficulties to encounter. The first being that the hills would be under snow, and consequently there would be no green grass to tempt the ibex down from the crags, where alone there would be grass of any kind, not very palatable stuff certainly, but still food of sorts, growing in the niches of the rocks, where the cliffs were too steep for the snow to lie ; to get at our quarry, therefore, would mean hard climbing. And the second, that as the season got warmer all the snow on the steeper places would avalanche, and come down into the valley below ; this stage was as a rule over, he said, before people crossed the pass ; but this year he feared we should have the benefit of the whole of it. We must, therefore, not be surprised if we were constantly unable to proceed with our stalk. "It will happen, sahib," he said, "and it is just as well that you should know what to expect. After a month or so, all the spare stuff will have come down, and the green grass will have sprung up ; then instead of having to climb up to the ibex, they will come down to us ; and as the snow will have melted a good deal, we shall then be able to get about the hills without difficulty, and shall have an easy time of it, to make up for the first month, which will be hard and dangerous work, and no mistake ; and we must not be silly or foolhardy."

The 3ist of March, therefore, saw us in a village a few miles from the foot of the pass we were to cross on the morrow. We spent the day in much talking, there being distinct differences of opinion as to the possibility of getting over. The winter had been a very severe one, as I have already said, and the snow in the Cashmere valley even was three feet deep ; while where we were, it was some ten feet everywhere, and twenty to thirty feet in the many drifts. But owing to the intense cold its surface had become so firm that the men from the north of the pass had hardened their hearts, and in spite of danger had crossed into the Cashmere valley to get a few luxuries for their great festival day, the Eed ; and here they were now collected at the foot of the pass, trying to make up their minds to go back, and yet not liking to be the first to prove it " open " again ; I say " again," because a snowstorm had been raging for the last three days, and, though the weather had cleared, the newly-fallen snow was in the avalanching stage, and the road consequently dangerous.

Eventually, about midday, while the final result of this consultation was still doubtful, a messenger from my shikari's village arrived, breathless and weary, with the news that a telegram had just arrived from Srinagar, giving warning that " another sahib had started for the Wardwan." Now the Wardwan was my district ; and the only pass into it the " Mergen," near the foot of which we were encamped. If this "other man" and I got over together, we should have a race of 150 miles or so for the best nullah ; while if I and my party crossed first, he could hardly hope to catch us up, and would not attempt it, we presumed ; and the worry of a protracted race wrould be avoided.

This settled the question, and an hour more saw us in motion, our object being to reach the very foot of the pass, some six miles off, before sunset, in order to lighten the next day's work, which we foresaw would be long and tiring.

At five in the evening we arrived at our last bit of shelter ; great deodars, with their black leaves and stems standing out in bold relief against the white snow. The valley we had been marching up for the last five miles was dense with them, but now they stopped and ran obliquely up the hill on both sides, leaving us face to face with a steep mountain of snow, its top shrouded in a frosty mist. A keen wind blew like a draught down the valley, sighing, whistling and rattling ; the black deodars threw their arms wildly overhead, and seemed to warn us against the attempt to cross the forbidding range in front ; while the river, flowing under our feet through its continuous tunnel of snow, kept up an ominous bass accompaniment to the wind's high-pitched treble. Something uncanny and eerie weighted my heart, and those of my hillmen ; but the thought of " that fellow " behind spurred our courage ; and we determined to get over, come snow, come devil.

In an hour the whole scene had changed : the sky was clear, and the kindly little stars were smiling down upon us from a frosty sky, while the moon seemed to promise her light for the ascent, which she fixed at two a.m.

The wind had fallen, and on all sides fires had sprung up, round which could be seen the swarthy faces of the hillmen, as they cooked their modest meals, cracking many a merry jest, while their honest, weather-beaten faces beamed in the light of the huge fires ; and with the joyous prospect of being back in their homes, amongst their wives and children, for the Eed, their Christmas.

Later on the " hookah," or pipe, was passed round, and we had a " sing-song," which sounded very monotonous to me, as I could detect no difference in any of the tunes ; but we had some grand choruses (if volume be anything), delivered from the brawny chests of some thirty hillmen. The evening broke up with much laughter at a Hindustani song to which I treated them, with topical verses to suit the occasion.

We then repaired to our several fires, which were many, and on a most generous scale, for wood there was in plenty ; none of your English fires with split logs, cut up into lengths, but regular bonfires, with the trunk of a fallen tree for a back, and whole trees dragged up, branches and all, their butts crossing one another over a heap of red embers. Presently the trees forming the " back " of the blaze caught fire and glowed with a red heat, brightening to almost white, as the night breeze fanned the crackling embers. Such was the sight that I remember, as, wrapped up in my blankets I lay down to sleep, with my feet towards my own special fire, stretched on a luxurious couch of fine fir branches, which, broken off the trees, formed a green but perfectly dry layer between me and the snow below.

At two a.m. my " bearer," or body servant, io IBEX SHOOTING

awoke me to a couple of boiled eggs, thick bread and butter, a blue iron teapot, a blue iron teacup with white enamel lining, and an iron milk-jug to match.

It was a lovely night, cold and frosty, with a young moon, and a light night breeze ; five minutes later the plate and teapot were empty, my faithful briar was alight, and I was into my second pair of knickerbockers (I had slept in my clothes) and a thick cardigan waistcoat, for there is always a bitter, icy wind on the top of a pass. Everyone else was ready, and within a quarter of an hour of being called we were all in full swing up the hill.

For some three hours we plodded steadily up the hard snow, now and then having to cut ourselves footholds in the steeper places.

Presently the light of the coming day dawned faintly as the moon sank behind the hills ; the wind, growing sharper as we neared the top of the pass, seemed fairly to cut through our clothes, while a fine scud blew in our faces from off the crisp surface

PRELIMINARIES n

of the snow, and we suffered many a twinge from the icicles which by now weighed down our moustaches. Half an hour later we were on the top of the pass, and the day had declared itself. In front of us lay the flat plain crowning the pass, from which it takes its name of " Mergen," or plain. One mile more and we had crossed it, and there remained nothing to do but to drop into the valley below.

My shikari, who was in front of me, stopped on the brow of the descent, and I shall never forget the keen animation of his face, as, with an expression something between that of a thoroughbred horse just starting for a race, and of a bloodhound let loose on a track, pointing to the sea of mountain crests towering before us, he exclaimed, " The kingdom of the ibex ! "

Even had my legs not so urgently demanded a rest, I should still have stopped involuntarily to survey the land that now lay before me.

It was seven a.m. on a cold, frosty winter's morning, we were on the top of a pass covered with perhaps twenty feet of snow ; on either side, high peaks also deep in virgin snow ; in front, two ridges running down and away between them, walled in by their stupendous sides, the narrow valley through which lay our path ; and beyond this the mountains proper. What we had come over was, it is true, some 13,000 feet high, but it was a mole-hill compared to the masses we saw in front, rising tier after tier, one behind the other, with their craggy toppling heads virgin white, with great black shadows, silhouetted against the cold glow of the now rising winter's sun.

As I looked towards our road, I saw and grasped what these men, born and bred in the hills, had been afraid of, and I understood it better and better as we steeply climbed down into what seemed a grave. The bottom of the valley we were about to traverse was but some twenty yards wide, and on both sides the snow-clad hills rose to heaven. There was no good objecting now, but it was evident that the risk being run was great ; no one spoke, all our eyes were fastened on the white masses of the overhanging hill-side as we plodded through the softening snow, which hung about our feet like clogs, and precluded all idea of haste, even should haste be necessary to life. Occasionally the whole column would stop simultaneously and turn towards a distant spot where an ominous growl and track of smoke marked the long course of an avalanche somewhere up one of the adjacent valleys. The huge masses of snow on both sides of us looked as if they might at any moment slip and engulf us all, and no hope of escape.

It was the ist of April, and the words " April fool ! April fool ! " kept ringing in my ears, as I remembered how the pluck of ignorance had made me laugh yesterday at the fears of my far wiser hillmen.

However, the worst part of the road was traversed in an hour or so, and we emerged into a wider, and consequently i4 IBEX SHOOTING

less dangerous, part of the valley, where we could rest a while, and breathe again without fear of avalanches.

Avalanches ! why my idea of an avalanche had been a certain amount of soft snow rumbling down a hill in a cloud of snow-dust ; not what I had just seen, namely, the whole side of a hill suddenly coming away with a roar like thunder, at the pace of an express train, the mass tearing away everything that came in its way. What were rocks and trees to a thing like that? Just dust before the broom ! This huge, irresistible mass would come down perhaps 3,000 feet and foam into the lowest valley, leaving there a huge heap of debris a quarter of a mile long, and filling up the valley to a height of perhaps forty feet ; a heap of snow, rocks, trees, huge blocks of frozen snow, and snowballs as big as a small house ; the wind of the avalanche meantime would set off perhaps twenty more on a smaller scale on both sides of its course.

After an hour's rest, and breakfast, we continued on a similar course, but through a wider and safer valley ; but it was laborious work, for the snow was getting softer and softer under the influence of a fierce sun ; and we were sinking in well above our knees at every step.

At about noon we had another halt for food and a smoke ; and while resting we surveyed the hill opposite through the telescope and glasses, and saw, about two miles off, what we made out to be a very fine ibex, which we determined to leave till next day, and we pursued our way. The character of the country gradually altered as we got lower ; the hill-sides were first scattered with a few odd trees, looking lonely and neglected as they stood in sheltered nooks among the snow ; then they were dotted here and there with clumps of leafless birch and dark deodars ; and, finally, striped with long patches of trees, lying like shadows in the shelter of some cliff, or crowning some less exposed ridge. The day had now warmed up a good deal, and the sun had got a fair view into our valley, so that though I had long since divested myself of my second pair of knickers and my cardigan, and had donned my blue glare-spectacles (as had also the coolies), I was fairly dripping with the exertion and warmth, and was beginning to ask pretty frequently " How much further ? " " One kos more " was the invariable answer, which put me in mind of the " mile and a bittock," so familiar to those who know bonnie Scotland, and which means anything between one and ten miles.

However, we did at length emerge from our side-valley into the main one, and saw the village of Wardwan on the far side of a small hill river, which we waded. Phew ! how cold the water was ! and how we held our breath as it came up above our ankles, knees, and finally reached our belts ; water which an hour ago had been snow, and which apparently had to keep constantly on the jump to prevent itself from becoming ice.

Ten minutes later, however, we were in a hut, with a roaring fire and a pleasant feeling that now our troubles were over, and our fun about to begin. Then prayers were offered that snow might prevent, and avalanches engulf all who should come after us, until such time as we had got the big chap we had seen on our way.

An hour later we saw our coolies arriving, singing as they crossed the stream in threes and fours, with linked arms, for fear of being washed away ; and soon they were with us. Honest fellows ! with little clothes and stout legs, they had carried forty pounds each over a pass r 3,000 feet high, and along some twenty miles of deep snow, which, fit though I was, had fairly tired me ; and here they were, wanting only a word of praise, and two days' wages, to render them as jolly as sandboys. All volunteered to let me know when the " other sahib " should arrive at the pass ; and this apparently was not all talk, for my shikari was quite satisfied to wait, and try for my big ibex, until c i8 IBEX SHOOTING

they should bring him news of " that other fellow's " arrival. Then I should be away with the wings of the wind, causing an aching heart and despairing to my rival, who had doubtless hoped to surprise me, and start the race for the best nullah on even terms.

It was now six o'clock in the evening, and, having changed my clothes and had some tea, I had an hour's sleep while my bearer improvised a hasty meal consisting of cocoa, six boiled eggs, bread and butter and honey in the comb, which is good enough, if it does not form the menu for more than six days a week. Then a smoke with the shikari, and hey for my " downy/' which consisted of blankets, spread on the floor, a couch as good as a feather-bed to a man who does not remember lying down.

IBEX.

Chapter II

A CLEAR idea of the ibex and his ways is necessary to the proper understanding of my account of my first day after ibex.

The ibex is a goat, standing about as high as a donkey, and very massively built, with horns which sweep up and back in one regular graceful curve. A good horn should be over 35 inches long, and 10 to 1 1 inches in circumference at the base. He lives to a great age, sometimes it is said reaching fifty years. The beasts themselves vary a good deal in colour ; the biggest are generally piebald, that is, have a black head and neck, a beard ten inches long, black at the base and whitish at the ends, a light yellowish body, with black stomach and legs, and a black stripe down 19 the back. They are very shy, and live as high up in the snow as they can ; generally coming down at about three in the afternoon to graze below the snow level. Here they spend the night, and having had another good meal in the early morning, they retire at about nine o'clock to some beetling crag, whence they have a perfect view of the steep slopes below, and from whence they again descend at about three in the afternoon, having spent the day in sleep, and in a careful survey of the ground they intend to graze on. They depend chiefly on their eyesight for safety, but have also a very keen sense of smell, and it must not be imagined that they are deaf. They have one weak point, however, they do not anticipate danger from above. Having spent the whole day on the highest point necessary to safety, they seem to dismiss the thought of danger from above : this is the sportsman's greatest hope. Their activity is something wonderful ; they will gallop over places a man cannot cross at all ; so that when you get a good head, you may be justly proud of your trophy.

The ibex generally live in herds of ten or twenty, but old males often live alone, or with only one female, but occasionally herds of thirty are seen. The females are a light yellow colour all over, looking very like sheep, and have short straight horns ; they are quicker and cleverer than the ordinary male, though I think a really old male is the cutest of all. Our party consisted of myself, the head shikari, a second shikari, and a coolie to carry a blanket for each, and a little food ; the former in case of long waits in the snow, and the latter for our lunch. We all wore the same kit, namely, a " karki " puggree, Norfolk jacket, flannel shirt, no waistcoat, very loose knickerbockers, putties, cloth socks made with two divisions for the toes, one big one to contain four toes and a smaller one for the big toe. This form of sock is a sine qua non, because " grass shoes " are worn. The grass shoe is simply a pad, about the size of the sole of the foot, plaited out of straw rope, of about the size of an ordinary pencil, with a long loop at the toe, and a sort of rope railing, as it were, running all round it ; and besides this there is a long grass rope, with which the shoe is bound on to the foot. To adjust the shoe, you place your foot on the pad, and turn the toe loop up between your big toe and the others, in fact, through the slit in your sock. The long rope is then passed from the toe on one side, through the loop, round the railing, and then back through the toe loop and railing on the other side ; across and across the instep about five times, getting nearer the ankle each time, and finishing up with two turns round it, while the railing running round behind the heel prevents the foot from sliding off behind. When put on, you find yourself with a soft pad of matting under your foot, perhaps half an inch thick, and with all your toes over the end of the shoe, and ready to grip with ; in them you can keep your footing on anything, as the rough grass plait gets a wonderful grip of stones, snow, rocks, dry grass, and what not. In boots you have no chance except with spikes ; and these are very bad on rocky ground, and make a noise, while with grass shoes you can move quite silently. A grass shoe lasts generally one day, but often not half if the ground is stony.

The other essential to hill climbing is what may be called the climber's third leg, namely, the " stick." It is some six feet in length, of a tough hill ash, straight and tapering, from one and a half inch in dia meter at the handle to three-quarters of an inch at the point, which is protected by an iron ferrule, hammered out at the end to a flat head about two inches long and one and a half inch in width, which comes in useful when, as constantly occurs, a foothold must be cut in the ice, or in steep grass slopes, whenever, in short, it is not necessary to cut deeper steps with the small hatchet which is also invariably taken.

Imagine us, therefore, about to start for the day. First goes Lassoo, a veteran of forty-five years, who has been at the game since he was a boy of fifteen. A tall spare man is he, broad-chested and strong-limbed, looked up to by all for his honesty, and obeyed implicitly by all as a past master of his craft : see him armed with his faithful stick (which has seen the death of many a veteran ibex, to judge by the marks on its haft), with a small pair of binoculars for the actual stalk, and his telescope, in the use of which he is extraordinarily proficient.