ABSTRACT
I DID not go up to the hill again for some time, and my next day was only noteworthy for the number-fifteen-of chamois which I saw. The dog rather spoilt matters, being very disobedient. I admit a dog is a doubtful advantage on these occasions, but still he is company. This day he first winded and moved one herd (six) over the cliff jutting out above the Mushroom Rock; and when I commenced to go round this on a grass ledge, he picked up another fresh scent, and though I hurried on, it was only to see (as I thought) some of the same herd in full flight the other side. I imagined them to have crossed the oliff whilst I was coming round it. I oontinued to move along the base of the oliff towards the scene of my first suooess; and presently a doe and kid oame down and passed within fifty yards of me. Of course I would not fire. A furlong further on I lay down behind a beech bush, and presently I saw twelve ohamois galloping along a gallery in the faoe of the rook, hundreds of feet above me. They crossed the top of the snowfield, and
by another gallery reached the Zeleni Pas, and disappeared round it. Not long after I heard some animal panting and rattling the shale behind, and, thinking only of the dog, I whistled. To my disgust a buck dashed past, never pausing till out of shot. I then ate my lunch; and not till nearly an hour later did the dog come back to me, proving that he had followed the herd along those dizzy heights. After reading him a lecture, I considered the position. In spite of bad wind I decided to follow the herd, and found a place where, with a stiffish climb, I could get up the hill. The Zeleni Pas is certainly the best place in the neighbourhood for an approach from above, but on this occasion, when I reached its outer corner, it seemed hopeless, for there was a strong wind dead behind me. Securing the dog, I kept on close to the base of the cliff, and presently saw a chamois. Luckily there is a flaw of wind here, which blows down between this peak and the main cliff. This served me well, and I crept to a large rock, from whence I had a good view. There they all were, but too far for a shot. They were mostly small beasts and does, but there was one fair herd buck. I lay and watched them for a long time. Certainly they are the most timorous of animals. They were feeding on a shaly slope, and every time one dislodged a stone they all started; nor did they begin to feed again till
they had reconnoitred in every direction. One large beast, probably the old vorgeiss, was very suspicious, and on one occasion stared at me for several minutes. As it happened, she just caught me with the glass up, and there I had to keep it till my arm ached. At last she looked away, and I ducked behind the rock. Finally she came a few yards neal·er, the others following. I waited another half-hour till the buck was within fair range, and dropped him.
