I was captain, but we had no guns. There "What was the best catch you ever made?" 66 slitting a man's nose and other things. I was in prison thirteen months, while the governor was trying to get a case against me. He found a person without a nose, but the man would not give evidence against me. He said he did not know how it had been slit, but he supposed he had been born so. This was because I had sent a large sum." "Ah!" said the station-master, "in this country the man who is rich is innocent like one pigeon." "At last Mr. P. got me out." He paused for a minute, and then finished his story with a sigh, in the same words as he had begun. "It was all folly, but I should never have gone to the mountains but for that woman.' The gentleman mentioned was connected with the Ottoman Railway. Bouba had made himself extremely useful to this company, and its engineers, in making their extension, owed much to his influence. In fact, he is cavass to the chief engineer now, and a highly respected character. No one would hesitate to trust him with a hundred pounds or any other sum, and a more suitable chaperon for young ladies could not be found. That is the story as he told it to us; and as others confirmed it, I have no doubt it is in the main true. There does not appear to be any brig andage in that part of the country now, though the agha of the village assured us with undoubting faith that there was a brigand about, whom no bullet could penetrate. This story had a foundation in fact, as we afterwards discovered, but it is too commonplace to be worthy of narration. There are undoubtedly epidemics of brigandage by which certain districts in Asia Minor are scourged from time to time, especially within reach of the scum of the large cities. He grinned at this, and after thinking a bit said: "We once stopped the Imperial Post and got 7,000l. Then they sent a large number of soldiers after us. There was another band of brigands — eleven of them. We helped one another, but did not generally act together; but this time we all combined. The soldiers came up, but we were behind rocks. We killed twenty-five of them, and not one of us was touched. We afterwards killed seven more." For having won this victory he evidently considered that he had deserved well of his country. 'But," I said, "they But to return to the goats. Given a surely couldn't have tried very hard to get broken cliff, scarcely any part of which hold of you!' "Well, perhaps not al- was more than an hour's walk from our ways. I used to send money to the big camp-for they inhabited only the steep officials, but the sergeants and people like side of the mountain-it will be thought that I did not care for. When we ran that the task of securing an adequate short of cartridges for the Martinis, I sent number of specimens was an easy one; 50%. to a colonel in the army whom I knew, but, as my Pyrenean hunter, in whose and he sent me a quantity of army car company I have cut to pieces many pairs tridges. When the government found they of boots, put it, after two or three days' could not catch us, they offered a free par- experience, "Le coquin est rusé comme don to all who would come in, and I gave le diable!" The excellent eyes and ears myself up and was pardoned. I afterwards with which the creature is endowed would helped to hunt down the other brigands. not, however, have saved him from our Two of my companions were killed at this scientific approaches if he had not been time; others died and some are still alive. assisted by surrounding conditions. Not After this another governor was appointed, only are these rocks cut up into innumerand because I would not give him money able clefts and ravines, but they are covhe put me in prison and charged me withered by a thin forest of stone pines, noble trees of a pale green color, not mean and disbranched like those of Italy, but driving great wedges of root into the rocks and spreading like Scotch firs into lofty and massive trees of varied outline. Between them a shorter and denser growth of cypress and deciduous barberry, now dying off in scarlet and orange. This covert, though not quite continuous, made hiding very easy for the ibex. Nor was this all. The rock is a kind of pudding-stone, and the round, embedded pebbles constantly work out and lie in unstable banks, wherever the angle of solid rock admits of it. The least touch, and down they clatter, starting others. During the last fortnight, the drought and heat were excessive. This not only drove the animals to the innermost recesses for coolness, but made the stones more resonant; and the air being dead still, the least noise travelled far. Even the fallen oak-leaves were so crisp and dry that they crackled like parchment. Like all animals that live in good covert, these goats have great confidence in its protection, and we saw them more often near the foot of the cliff, within hearing of the drovers on the highway, than at a higher elevation. watchtower, and, after a note or two of alarm and warning- a kind of cough which might spell the letters b-u-r-r-up rapidly repeated calmly lie down and await events. Woe betide the hunter who, lulled into hope, then attempted a scientific stalk, for his labor would be surely wasted. I remember once to have nearly circumvented a buck chamois who thus flouted me. He saw the tops of our caps against a patch of snow before we saw him, and bounded away, but stood three hundred yards off whistling. Then he lay down, still whistling and watching. The fatal thing would have been to withdraw. It was necessary to give him something to look at. Leaving my hunter where he was, with instructions to keep his cap gently moving, I drew back with infinite precaution; then, making a detour, got within easy distance of my friend, still lying there and whistling, crept into a beautiful position, and missed him clean! But to return to our goats. The only method of hunting them practised by the inhabitants is to drive them to certain posts occupied by the guns; but though we were not above trying this and every method, and did stoop to conquer in this The best which I secured I killed within way when we got tired of the other, it is easy shouting distance of the railway. not interesting, and the more crafty indiBut this confidence is accompanied by ex-viduals, especially the old rams, will not ceeding watchfulness, and their natural be driven. We preferred stalking, and alertness is indefinitely increased by the did so with great perseverance, and, for constant harrying of the natives. The the reasons given above, with singularly bands, consisting of from four to ten, almost always, according to our observation, posted a sentinel, and more than one promising stalk was spoilt by this inconvenient precaution, the sentinel posted above having been previously invisible to us. On one occasion one of my companions observed that they had established a very complete system of reliefs. Each member of the band took its turn on a commanding rock for about ten minutes by the watch, standing immovable while the others fed below. At the end of the time he would go down, and another instantly mounted to the coign of vantage and took his place; but the most remarkable part of it was that the turns seemed to be taken in order of seniority, beginning with the kids, followed by the ewes and young rams-the oldest patriarch, who had by that time finished his meal, being last of all; but he shirked his duties, for he distinctly took a post-prandial nap. Another trick of theirs which I twice observed old solitaire males to be guilty of, was, if they saw, or thought they saw, anything suspicious, to mount a prominent little resultat least at first. The best chance was during the two hours following sunrise, and a similar period before sunset. We had therefore to be astir early, and the camp-fire shone red before we returned. The telescopes were in continual use during the day, though, as is the case in all timbered countries, I found a powerful opera-glass often more effective for spying corries where it was all-important not to show over the skyline. Notwithstanding the facilities for hiding, our industry with the glasses was rewarded by finding the animals almost daily, but the conditions above described generally defeated the stalk. That is to say, when we reached the spot the goats had moved, and even a slight change of position on such ground made "picking them up again before we were ourselves "spotted by the quarry exceedingly chancy work. In the end I thought that what the American still-hunters call "sitting on a log' - in other words, lying perdu in a likely place-probably the most effective means; but for that I had not the patience. Almost the best chance I had came in waiting I looked round and found we had returned to almost the identical spot of my first stalk. At that moment I heard stones rolling below, and looking over the edge saw my beast of the morning rolling over and over, quite dead. It was scarcely a score of yards from where I had lost sight of him. He appeared to have been dead some time, and it was the most ex the identical spot at the fortunate moment when his body rolled down, as we should never have seen him except for the movement of the stones calling our attention. my way the first evening. We saw a small herd feeding near the base of the cliff, with some good bucks in it, and got down to the rocks above them in the last twenty minutes of daylight. Arrived within shooting distance, we could see a female and two kids feeding among the trees nearly perpendicularly below us, and were peering down the openings to try and make out the bucks, when sud-traordinary chance which led us back to denly one of the kids showed signs of uneasiness. Perhaps it was the cry of some partridge; more probably the little beast was sharper of eye than I gave him credit for, and the setting sun was shining full upon us. Then they began to move off, and for a moment I saw the bucks, distinguishable by their size and darker color. I had my bead on one of them, but the shot was long and the light in my eyes. Surely, I said to myself, they won't believe that youngster. Hoping they would stop, and that I should better my position, I withheld my fire. They did stop about three hundred yards off and fed again, but when we arrived they had disappeared, and, the light fading, we gave them up. That was a fair sample of our experience. I did not get another chance for a week. The beaters now began another drive the reverse way, and across the ground where we were. We lay low and let the men pass us, which of course they did without seeing us, then got on to a prominent rock to see what would happen - in fact," stayed back for the rabbits." As I expected, the ibex kept coming back. It was curious to see them sneaking out of groves close to which a man had just passed. They knew perfectly well what was up. First came three within shot of me, but they were all small; then a female and a little one; then two goodish bucks with others, very low down. These last we were fortunately able to keep in view, and saw them lie down. Day after day we basked, and sometimes gasped, in the heat, climbed and tumbled on the loose stones and toiled We got down and found a good place with the glass, the sweet, sun-distilled for a shot, whence I could see the biggest. smell of the pines in our nostrils. IIt was a longish shot, but I was very should be sorry to make the reader as weary as, to tell the honest truth, we became of Maimun Dagh, and I will confine my narrative to a single day, the most fortunate which I had. I had heard that some of the railway officials were going to have a drive, so 1 went up early and posted myself at a high elevation where I could command a good deal of the cliff. There I spied a band of four, comprising two small bucks. They were quite quiet, and lay down in a good place, and I got quickly within fifty yards of one of the bucks. He went off with the rest at the shot, and Celestin, who followed what he thought was the track, could find no trace of blood, and declared | that I had missed. As the shot was a perfectly easy one I could not think of any excuse to account for it. In a very depressed condition we climbed up to another high point and stayed there some hours watching. At last we saw two ibex coming away from the drive, and climbed down quickly on the chance of cutting them off; and now a wonderful piece of luck, the only one that fell to my lot on this trip, happened. While sitting and steady. However, off we went like lightning, and Celestin again declared I had missed, neither could we find any blood. I could not see how many went away when they crossed the next ridge, but I noticed that they were a long time arriving there, as though something had delayed them. To this circumstance I attached impor tance, as wild animals always stop and look back if one of their number is missing; so we followed on their line. There was a little hollow behind some rocks below me which I thought worth climbing down to explore. As I peered into it my beast sprang away through the trees. could only see a pair of legs, but of course I knew he must be badly wounded. Then we found where the poor beast had stood and stamped the ground-another sign of a wounded animal. A few yards further there were spots of blood, and thenceforward we followed the track with extreme care. At last I saw him lying behind a bush. He sprang away again, but I was able to give him a disabling shot as he ran. I These ibex are of a light brown color, the males being rather darker than the was no time to change it, as they were just moving, but, hastily cocking the rifle, I tried the same cartridge again. That time it went, but wide of the mark-a miss, but excusable under the circumstances. They went up to F., who se cured them both -a capital right and left. These were the best two we got, and I fear I was envious. The ibex were not the only animals that inhabited this mountain. On one occasion, a large, yellowish creature sprang away and stood gazing at us. If I had not been slow and clumsy, he ought to have been stopped, but the form was dim among the trees, and hard to identify. Subse quently, Celestin got a glimpse of it through the glass, and pronounced it to be a leopard. I saw it again myself at a long distance, and thought the outline more like that of a hyena; it may have been a lynx. All three of these animals are found in the mountains. A few days later I found some small caves which the tracks showed to be frequented by this big cat, whatever he was. Outside one of these holes was an immense store of bones of camels, bullocks, sheep, dogs, and the shells of tortoises broken open. They must have been dragged one thousand feet up the cliffs, and probably belonged to animals that had died on the caravan route below. females; but the oldest males undergo a but a long one, and intervening trees now complete change in appearance, becoming made it necessary to shoot quickly or not light grey with a clearly defined black at all. The cartridge missed fire. There shoulder-stripe, which gives them a very smart appearance. It is a sight to stir the heart of a hunter to see such a one sunning himself on some tower of rock, and, by way of morning exercise, bending his head to the ground and driving his • sword-like black horns into some bush, of which he "makes hay" in about two minutes. I only once got a chance at one of these grand old "billies," and that I muddied. We had taken refuge from a sharp shower in a cave, or rather shelf on the cliff, protected by a long overhanging rock. The rain drifted in, and Celestin carried my rifle to one end where it was more sheltered. We made a fire at the other end, and were sitting over it, when, with a fixed stare, Omar pointed with his finger over my shoulder. There, about a hundred yards off, was a splendid male ibex such as I have described, with black horns which curved back nearly to his tail. There are not more than two or three like that on the mountain. He was quite unsuspicious, and calmly moving down the mountain, on account of the bad weather I suppose. Risking discovery, I crept to the place where my rifle lay. Two trees grew across that end of the opening, and I could not shoot from there. Back I crawled, and sat down for the shot. He was slowly stalking down the rocks, but still within easy range. I levelled my piece, but at that moment a gust of wind blew the flame and smoke across my line of sight, and I could see nothing. The next instant he was round a rock and gone. I nearly turned sick with desperation. Of course we followed and tried to find him again an all but hopeless task in the complications of this hill. In the course of the search we got wet through, and in trying to dry my coat over the fire Celestin burnt the back of itmeeting one, as it happened; but I would give twenty coats to have got that beast. Hearing of a distant mountain said to contain ibex, which had the further advan tage of being clear of forest in its upper part, and being by this time tired of Maimun Dagh, we struck our camp and journeyed thither. At the foot of this range was a charming village, with a copious stream, which sprang full-bodied from the living rock and worked numerous small mills, the splashing of which, and - my best "go-to-the greenery of the walnut-trees, were refreshing after our arid experiences. Every village has its guest-house, and this one was comfortable, and the agha or headman hospitable. Indeed, that virtue, according to our experience, is universal among the Turks in the country districts. When any distinguished or very holy people are received as guests in the villages of the Turkomans, who must not be confounded with the Turks, I was credibly informed that the hospitality of these people extends to lengths which are surprising to our ideas of the inviolability of the harem. The agha's friends were not less pleased than he to see the foreigners eat. That was not the only piece of bad luck which I had far from it. Once in a drive I was posted on the edge of a ravine; there were eddies of wind about this gorge, and in the middle of the drive a puff in my back warned me that, if I stayed where I was, I might spoil sport. I therefore withdrew to a less exposed post a hundred yards behind. I had scarcely settled there, when two capital males came and stood within fifty yards of my first position. It was still a possible shot, res Ε The host likes not only to entertain the stranger, but to show off the latest lion to his friends. These Turks are themselves very abstemious, and our appetites seemed to astonish them. "Heaven be praised! the Effendi wants more meat! What an appetite!" they said. Bouba's customary evening greeting, May your food sit heavy on you, my lords! was another sign of this friendly interest, and not the brutal curse which it sounds like. 66 the Yuruks are responsible for the terrible destruction of the forests by fire. This is not accidental, but done of set purpose to improve the grazing. From some of our camps we could every night see two or three of these fires raging. According to our hosts, no stranger had ever hunted on that mountain. They assured us there were plenty of Kayeek on it. Some Yuruks whom we met the next morning bringing wood down the mounA word here may not be out of place tain said the same, but when I showed about the various races which inhabit this them a picture of the ibex, I saw that they land. Turks, Turkomans, Circassians, looked doubtfully at it. The fact is, the Yuruks, differ in their customs and modes term Kayeek is used vaguely, and is genof life; each race, generally speaking, liv-erally applied to the largest horned animal ing in villages apart from the others. The in the district. We were assured that Turks, according to our experience, ex- there was plenty of water on the mounhibited a more sincere and dignified, if tain, but it took us four hours of stiff less ostentatious, hospitality, and a more walking up a rough path to find the first rigid observance of the Mussulman code sign of it. When reached, it proved to be of religion, than their neighbors. Of the a tiny mud pool no bigger than a soup. Circassians not much need be said. They plate, from which the faintest trickle oozed are thinly scattered about this part of the away, losing itself in slime. Alongside country. Those we saw were a particu- lay a disused trough formed of a hollowed larly sinister-looking lot, with none of their trunk, dry and cracked. It was unpromworld-famed beauty. Nevertheless, their ising, but this camp was so beautiful that daughters are in demand, and, whatever it was worth an effort to make it habitathe law, they habitually sell them. Our ble. By clearing out the little pool and friend the station-master said he had had puddling the trough with mud, we at a commission to buy as many as he could length got a tiny trickle of clear water, at 157. a head, and within a few days a enough for drinking, though not for washgirl of sixteen had been offered for twenty ing. If we had gone farther, we should medjids; 5%. does not seem dear, but per- have found plenty of water, but not so haps she had a temper. Even the Turks favorable a camp. It was at an elevation of accept a very substantial present from about five thousand feet, and at the upper their would-be sons-in-law, and the credit edge of a gorge or canyon, fifteen hunof a man with six daughters is always dred feet deep, which cuts the mountain in good. The Yuruks, who are the moun- two. The position overlooks an extensive taineers and shepherds of this country, range of hills covered with stone pines, the are said to steal their wives, but this must finest trunks we had yet seen. Out of this be a risky process. They are nomadic, forest rose, on either side of the gorge, and their black goat's hair tents are con- lofty white peaks of limestone. spicuous; but the climate compels them to spend the worst months within four walls. Their flocks are protected by a large breed of white dogs, whose threatening attacks are rather alarming to a stranger; but I always found a stout stick a sufficient passport. They are sturdy folk, but their manners are rough. Thus, on leaving a Yuruk village, F. received a somewhat curt demand for his English saddle. As a contrast to this I may mention the polite request of the Turkish sheriff just mentioned, when we bade him farewell, that a barrel of wine of the country which we were leaving behind should be emptied to the last drop on the group. The Yuruk agha would have scorned this self-denial, and would have made it the excuse for a drinking bout. I am afraid Having settled the water, we began collecting wood, and while so engaged a shout from one of my companions called me to look at a fresh track he had found. There was no mistake about it. It was that of a red deer, but twice as large as any red stag's slot which I had ever seen. This was indeed a find upon which we had not reckoned, for few travellers have had the luck even to see the big red stag of Asia Minor. But duty before pleasure. I had come here for ibex, and must first ascertain if there were any on the mountain. That afternoon was devoted to a very careful search of the upper part of the mountain, and from the complete absence of tracts, a fact corroborated by a careful spy of an extensive area, we soon came to |