Breakfast at dawn, and made an early start up the Wadi in an easterly direction. The valley forks at about three miles, the south fork leading to Medisa, the north leads into the Munfia mountains, and eventually curls south-east to the Kohila water. The wind was north, so we started up the latter ravine. After clambering over the rocks for two miles we picked up some fresh spoor, which took us down a branch ravine leading south-east. We soon started a beast, but it ran down a precipice, down wind, where we could not follow, so we had to give it up, and pursue our way again up the main ravine. We came to a large rock with water at the foot, so we had a good drink without exhausting our water-bottles. It was now about 11.30 A.M., so we climbed over the rock and kept on north-east up the ravine, which here became full of green plants and rushes, with, in one place, quite a jungle of rushes, tamarisks, moringa, &c. I also found a shrub just like our whitethorn, but the leaf seemed a little different.[16] I am bringing a slip of it home, besides lots of seeds which are found here.[17] We now came to a place where the gorge forked, and saw fresh spoor leading up the northern arm. The wind would have been wrong for following it, so we went on up the eastern arm, meaning eventually to curl round and gain the wind by striking into the first gorge, where we expected the ibex was, higher up. This we succeeded in doing, after a weary climb of over an hour, and eventually came upon two beasts. They, as usual, were hidden amongst the rocks, and saw us first. However, we were right for the wind, and the dogs soon got on the scent of one of them; the other made off down wind, and escaped. The dogs were now gaining on their beast, and, after a while, brought it to bay on the side of a steep mountain. We hurried on, and, after a long bit of climbing without boots, eventually found ourselves at the top of a precipice, with the ibex at bay beyond, 150 yards off, on the side of the next mountain. It was impossible to get any closer; and, as the ibex was standing tail towards me, I did not know exactly how to aim. The head was just visible over her back, so I resolved to have a shot at that. Though much out of breath, I took as careful an aim as possible, and fired. She (it afterwards proved to be a “she”) dropped like a stone; and I was congratulating myself on having made a good shot, when I saw her stagger to her legs again, and stand in exactly the same position as before. I had another shot at the back of her head, but saw the bullet hit a stone just past her cheek. This made her turn slightly, so I took advantage of a chance behind the shoulder, and bowled her over, this time stone dead. We found my first shot had gone an inch too high, cutting off one of the horns at the base, as clean as if done with a knife. This had stunned her for a moment. The third shot entered the top of the shoulder, and, passing through the lungs, had come out at the neck at the other side.
EASTERN SPUR OF JEBEL KITTAR.
WADI KITTAR.
LOOKING NORTH.
KITTAR WATERFALL.
After we had taken off the skin and fed the dogs on titbits from the inside, the two Arabs proceeded to collect a large heap of firewood, and presently came to me for a match; as they, thinking an Englishman was never without his match box, had carelessly left their tinder boxes at home! Their jaws dropped several holes when I explained that I had none, and blank despair was written on their faces. However, by means of the sun, the object glass of my telescope, and a handful of dry pounded ibex droppings, we soon, much to their wonder and delight, had a blazing fire going, large enough to roast an ox. I waited to see what would happen next, wondering what they wanted the fire for. Presently they went to the dead ibex, and collected from its inside various nasty portions which they put into the fire, and mixed up with the embers. After three minutes or so they dug out the half-cooked offal, and proceeded to devour it, after first bringing me a piece of stuff like a cinder which I declined with thanks in my best Arabic. In five minutes their meal was over, and we started off home, arriving at dusk after a hard day.
