+-------------------+----+----+------+--_Big Game Shooting, volume 2 (of 2)

| | to | |at |at |dorsal |dorsal |chest |

| | of | |der | | | | |Girth|

+-------------------+----+----+------+------+-------+-------+----+-----+

| GAVÆUS GAURUS |

| |ins.|ins.| ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. |ins.|ins. |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale }|114½| 34½| 73½ | 63 | 40 | 4½ | .. | .. |A

| (‘Mammalia’) }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” |104½| 37¾| 69 | .. | 29½ | .. |104 | 48½ |B

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |C

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |D

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sanderson }| .. | .. | 72 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |E

| (‘Thirteen Years}| | | | | | | | |

| among Wild }| | | | | | | | |

| Beasts’) }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. D. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |F

| Goldingham, }| | | | | | | | |

| Bethnal Green }| | | | | | | | |

| Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. T. W. H. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |G

| Greenfield }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |H

| Saunders }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |I

| | | | | | | | | |

|Bombay Nat. Hist. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |J

| Soc. Proc. }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. D. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |K

| Goldingham, }| | | | | | | | |

| Bethnal Green }| | | | | | | | |

| Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Madras Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |L

| | | | | | | | | |

|Shot by General Cox| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |M

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |N

| | | | | | | | | |

|Lieut.-Col. Sandys | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |O

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |P

| Saunders }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir E. G. Loder, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |Q

| Bart. }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |R

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |S

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. D. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |T

| Inverarity }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|General Hardwicke,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |U

| British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. B. H. Hodgson,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |V

| Brit. Mus. }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. O. Shaw | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |W

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Greenaway | .. | .. | 65 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |X

| | | | | | | | | |

|The Writer | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |Y

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |Z

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |a

| | | | | | | | | |

|Forsyth | .. | .. | 71 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |b

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | 69 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |c

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |d

| | | | | | | | | |

|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |e

| good head }| | | | | | | | |

+-------------------+----+----+------+------+-------+-------+----+-----+

+-------+-------+----+------+------+------+------+------+--------------+

|to |fore- | | of |of |at |tip |span | |

+-------+-------+----+------+------+------+------+------+--------------+

| GAVÆUS GAURUS |

| ins. | ins. |ins.| ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

A| 25¾ | 15½ | 10½| .. | 19½ | 25 | .. | .. |{Quoting Sir |

| | | | | | | | |{Walter Elliot|

| | | | | | | | | |

B| 24 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 27¼ | .. | .. |{Quoting Mr. |

| | | | | | | | |{Blyth |

| | | | | | | | | |

C| .. | .. | .. | .. | 17 | 22½ | 83 | 38½ | ? Outside |

| | | | | | | | | |

D| .. | .. | .. | .. | 19 | 19 | 74 | 33 | ? ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

E| .. | .. | .. | .. | 19 | 19 | 74 | 33 | ? ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

F| .. | .. | .. | 33¾ | 17¼ | 24 | .. | .. |{Rowland Ward,|

| | | | | | | | |{‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

G| .. | .. | .. | 33½ | 18½ | 25 | .. | 33¼ | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

H| .. | 13 | .. | 32 | 17¼ | 33½ | 79½ | 46 | Outside |

| | | | | | | | | |

I| .. | .. | .. | 31⅞ | 17⅛ | 21⅜ | .. | 32½ |{Rowland Ward,|

| | | | | | | | |{‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

J| .. | .. | .. | 31½ | 18 | 29 | .. | 43 | Outside ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

K| .. | .. | .. | 31¼ | 16⅜ | 12⅝ | .. | 27½ | ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

L| .. | .. | .. |{ L: }| 20 | 36¼ | 70¾ | 44 |{? Outside. |

| | | |{ 30¾}| | | | |{‘Smoothbore’s|

| | | |{ R: }| | | | |{Letter to the|

| | | |{ 25½}| | | | |{“Asian”’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

M| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 4 |? ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

N| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 46 |? ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

O| .. | .. | .. | 30½ | 16½ | 13½ | .. | 33¼ |{Rowland Ward,|

| | | | | | | | |{‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

P| .. | .. | .. | 30⅛ | 17⅞ | 33⅜ | .. | 40¼ |Outside ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

Q| .. | .. | .. | 29⅞ | 18¼ | 30 | .. | 34 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

R| .. | .. | .. | 29¾ | 18⅝ | 25¼ | .. | 30⅜ | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

S| .. | .. | .. | 29⅝ | 18½ | 16¼ | .. | 26½ | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

T| .. | .. | .. | 29½ | 18 | .. | .. | 33 |Outside ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

U| .. | .. | .. | 29¼ | 12⅞ | .. | .. | 18 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

V| .. | .. | .. | 29⅛ | 16⅝ | 20⅜ | .. | 29¼ | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

W| .. | .. | .. | 29 | 22 | .. | .. | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

X| .. | .. | .. | 29 | 22 | .. | .. | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

Y| .. | .. | .. | 27 |19⁹⁄₁₀|19⁴⁄₁₀|69⁹⁄₁₀| .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

Z| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 69 | 36 |{? Outside. |

| | | | | | | | |{‘Large Game |

| | | | | | | | |{Shooting’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

a| .. | .. | .. | .. | 17 | .. | 66½ | .. | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

b| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Highlands of|

| | | | | | | | |{Central |

| | | | | | | | |{India’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

c| .. | .. | .. | .. | 17 | .. | .. | 37½ |? Outside ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

d| .. | .. | .. | 25½ | 15½ | .. | .. | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

e| .. | .. | .. | 27 | 18 | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

+-------+-------+----+------+------+------+------+------+--------------+

In Assam, Chittagong and Burmah the natives own large numbers of

domesticated animals called ‘mithun’ or ‘gayal,’ which are very similar

to bison in appearance, but are without the characteristic frontal

ridge, and are said to have a small dewlap. Sterndale distinguishes

these under the name of _Gavæus frontalis_, and quotes Dr. F. Buchanan

Hamilton and Professor Garrod’s account from Mr. Macrae to the effect

that the natives recruit their tame herds by catching and taming

wild animals. But both Sanderson and Kinloch, who have hunted in the

districts where the tame gayal are numerous for the express purpose of

bagging a wild one, declare that such an animal does not exist, that

the wild animals in those parts are the same as bison anywhere else,

and that the peculiarities of the tame ones are due to domestication

and inter-breeding with domestic cattle.

As regards measurements of heads, the same disappointing practice

prevails with bison as with buffalo, viz.: measuring from tip to tip of

the horns across the forehead, in addition to which (with bison) heads

are frequently estimated only as regards the width of splay between the

horns, without any reference to their length and girth. This latter

measurement is the more misleading, as a deformed head with unnatural

lateral sweep is more valued than one with long massive horns which

grow closer together. The fairest measurement is length and girth at

base of horn only.

XIX. BURMESE WILD OX (_Gavæus sondaicus_)

_Native names: ‘Tsoing,’ Burmah; ‘Banteng,’ Java; (Sterndale). Habitat:

Burmah, the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Blyth says it

is domesticated in the Island of Bali._

This animal resembles the gaur in many respects, having the distinctive

white stockings, but has no frontal or dorsal ridge. Its horns are

more like those of the gayal, but it has not the dewlap of the latter,

and it appears to be a much smaller and lighter built animal than

either gaur or gayal.

The old bull is black with white stockings and a white patch on each

buttock, the cows and young bulls being bright chestnut. There is a

stuffed specimen in the British Museum which shows the difference very

plainly. The only measurements the writer has been able to obtain are

those of the horns.

_Measurements_

+--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------------------+

| |of |of |at |span | |

+--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------------------+

| | | | | | |

| GAVÆUS SONDAICUS |

| | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. | |

|British Museum| 24¾ | 12¼ | 15¾ | 24¼ |{From Java, Rowland |

| | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | |{Measurements’ |

| | | | | | |

|Mr. H. B. Low,| 21⅜ | 12¼ | 13⅛ | 19¼ |From Borneo ” |

| | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr | 21 | 12 | .. | .. | ” |

| | | | | | |

|Mr. H. B. Low,| 20⅝ | 12¼ | 18⅛ | 22⅛ |{ ” Rowland |

|British Museum| | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | |{Measurements’ |

| | | | | | |

|British Museum| 20 | 12 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | |

|Mr. H. B. Low,| 19¼ | 11¼ | 10⅛ | 15¾ |{From Borneo, Rowland|

|British Museum| | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | |{Measurements’ |

| | | | | | |

| ” | 18¼ | 10⅞ | 14½ | 18⅝ | ” |

| | | | | | |

| ” | 18 | 12¼ | 13⅜ | 16⅝ | ” |

+--------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------------------+

XX. YAK (_Poephagus grunniens_)

_Native names_: ‘_Donkh,_’ _‘Dhong_,’ _Ladak_; ‘_Bunchowr_,’ _Hindi_

Wild yak are said to be plentiful throughout Thibet, but at present

the Tartars watch their frontier so jealously that it is almost

impossible for Europeans to cross with any chance of obtaining sport;

particularly as the sportsman’s own Tartar attendants would be the

first to endeavour to frustrate any ambitious schemes of exploration.

It must be remembered that, not only would they be held responsible by

the Leh authorities if anything happened to an Englishman, but, living

on the frontier themselves, they naturally like to be on good terms

with their neighbours. The valley of Chang Chenmo, north of the Pangong

Lake, and the ground between the Niti Pass and the Sutlej, are the only

two easily accessible places where yak may be met with. Beyond Chang

Chenmo there is said to be good ground on the Karakash, but to cross

the Linzinthung plains would require special arrangements, and ponies

would have to be taken instead of the ordinary tame yaks on account of

the scarcity of grass. An old wild bull yak is a magnificent beast; he

is nearly jet black, with a little grey about the muzzle and forehead.

Though fifteen hands in height, his legs are short and sturdy. The long

shaggy hair which droops from his body reaches down to his knees, and

sometimes almost to the ground; and his huge swab of a tail rather adds

to than detracts from his beauty. The white tails which are brought for

sale are those of tame yaks; a wild bull’s tail is such an unwieldy

mass of hair that it is not at all the sort of thing to have flipping

round one’s head on a hot evening. Tame yaks have often a good deal of

white about them. Wild yaks with white patches have occasionally been

shot, but only cows as far as the writer can learn; wild bulls appear

always to be black. The Tartars say that these mottled wild yaks are

hybrids between the tame bulls, which are turned out to graze on the

hills in the summer, and wild cows.

Captain Duff contributes the following interesting account of a

successful stalk after yak:

I was out one day after a couple of Thibetan antelope, and not

being able to get near them, was looking about to see if there

was any game farther up the nullah. Right away up the head of the

valley we saw a large herd of dhong, about twenty or more, with a

lot of young ones, and even at that distance we could distinguish

one much bigger than the rest. The next day, a heavy fall of snow

prevented my going out; but on the third day, I started to try

for them. It was a long walk to get anywhere near the herd, and

of course, just as I was beginning to go a bit carefully, and

take advantage of cover, I put up three very fair _Oves Ammon_,

but the dhong did not seem to notice them, and the wind all

through was in my favour. A bit farther on I came across one of

those beastly kyang, which would keep running on in front of me

till I could get across the river at the bottom of the valley.

When I got up to where I expected to find the dhong, I found

they had moved a good bit higher up the nullah, and I could not

possibly get nearer than some three hundred yards from them.

Leaving my gun-carrier and a Tartar behind with strict orders not

to stir till I fired, I tried to crawl on with my shikari, but

had to return before getting any distance, the dhong meanwhile

feeding farther away and going up the hillside, thus making the

stalk more and more difficult. I had seen no signs of my big

friend, and began to think I had been mistaken; but there was a

fair-sized bull with the herd. I now had to retrace my way for

some distance, and get down to the river again, so as to creep up

under cover of the bank till I got a hill between the dhong and

myself. On reaching this hill, I found I could not possibly get

within shot, and could do nothing but hide behind a large stone

and wait.

I suppose I must have waited at least a couple of hours, when

there was a bit of a commotion among the herd, the babies all

running to the big ones, and I heard a funny noise which I could

not account for. In a few minutes I saw the big bull appear from

round the side of the hill, walk leisurely towards the herd, and

lie down. Just then three chankos came past me, and I came to the

conclusion that they had occasioned the scare, had been driven

off by the big bull, and had made the noise I heard.

I waited for another good half-hour, and had almost made up my

mind to crawl towards the bull in the hope that he would mistake

me for one of the chankos coming back, and so give me a shot,

when up he got, but only to walk a few yards, and then go down

again and roll.

After a bit of this sort of play he got up again, and taking no

notice of the rest of the herd, began walking towards me.

There was a little stream at the foot of the hill I was on, and

the bull was walking quietly down the opposite bank, coming

on slowly, looking like a young elephant with his hair nearly

touching the ground on each side of him.

I waited and waited for him, till he got almost past me, and

within about sixty or seventy yards, and then he stopped, looking

down the nullah, and broadside on to me. I tried to get steady

on him and fired; but he stood still, and my shikari said I had

missed. The ground beyond him was softish, and I began to be

afraid I had, and had not seen the bullet strike, so I fired

again, and the bull dropped in his tracks. I found my first shot

had hit him in the neck, and must have paralysed him, as he

could not move his forelegs, though he could kick with his hind

ones. My second shot was a wild one, and had only broken a hind

fetlock. The rest of the herd ran in all directions at the shot,

and then getting together, made for the top of the valley. As

soon as I saw that the big bull could not get away, I started

after them, and managed to get two more bulls.

The big bull was really a very fine beast, his forehead covered

with curly grey hair. He measured just over 15 hands 1¼ in. as he

lay. I put a stick as upright as I could against his withers, and

measured to his heel.

_Measurements_

+--------------------+---------+--------+----+--------+-----+---------+

+--------------------+---------+--------+----+--------+-----+---------+

| | BOS GRUNNIENS |

| | ins. | ins. |ins.| ins. | ins.| ins. |

|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |A

| British Museum }| | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Col. E Smyth, }| 72 | 130½ | 37 | 121 | 112 | 50 |B

| Leeds Museum }| | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Major FitzHerbert, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |C

|Cambridge Museum }| | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |D

| British Museum }| | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Hon. W. Rothschild | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |E

| | | | | | | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |F

| | | | | | | |

|Mr. H. C. V. Hunter | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |G

| | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |H

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |I

| ” (quotes one) | 70 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |J

| ” | 64 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |K

| ” | 64 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |L

| | | | | | | |

|Sir R. Harvey, Bart.| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |M

| | | | | | | |

|Capt. Duff | 61½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |N

| | | | | | | |

|Col. Kinloch | 60 }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |O

| | or }| | | | | |

| | more }| | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Jerdon’s ‘Mammalia’ | 66 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |P

| | | | | | | |

|Major FitzHerbert | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |Q

| | | | | | | |

|Average of good head| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |R

+--------------------+---------+--------+----+--------+-----+---------+

+-------+-----+------+------+---------------------------------+

+-------+-----+------+------+---------------------------------+

| BOS GRUNNIENS |

| ins. | ins.| ins. | ins. | |

A| 38¼ | 17 | 19 | 31½ |Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’|

| | | | | |

B| 36 | 18 | .. | .. |Gen. Macintyre, ‘Hindu Koh’ |

| | | | | |

C| 35 | 15 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | |

D| 34⅞ | 15 | 16 | 27¾ |Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’|

| | | | | |

E| 34 | 12 | 20½ | .. | ” ” ” |

| | | | | |

F| 32⅜ | 13⅜ | 16½ | 26⅜ | ” ” ” |

| | | | | |

G| 32 | 13⅞ | 15¼ | 22¼ | ” ” ” |

| | | | | |

H| 31½ | .. | .. | .. |{ ‘Sportsman’s |

I| 31 | .. | .. | .. |{ Guide |

J| .. | .. | .. | .. |{ to |

K| .. | .. | .. | .. |{ Ladak, |

L| .. | .. | .. | .. |{ &c.’ |

| | | | | |

M| 30¾ | 13½ | 10½ | .. |Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’|

| | | | | |

N| | | | | |

| | | | | |

O| about |about| .. | .. |‘Large Game Shooting’ |

| 36 | 14 | | | |

| | | | | |

P| 30 | 15 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | |

Q| 21 | 8 | .. | .. |(A cow) |

| | | | | |

R| 27 | 12 | .. | .. | |

+-------+-----+------+------+---------------------------------+

In 1866 another sportsman managed to evade the Tartars, and crossing

the Sutlej beyond Niti, found a herd of eighty yak, out of which he

shot a bull and three cows, one of the latter being piebald.

There is a quaint story from Nepal, that, during the war between the

Nepalese and the Thibetans, Jung Bahadur, finding his army very short

of food, referred the case to the chief priests in Khatmandu, who

decided that yak were deer, and not cattle at all, as their tails

were different, and so might safely be killed and eaten by the pious

Nepalese.

XXI. BUFFALO (_Bubalus arni_)

_Native names generally: ‘Ban Bhains,’ ‘Arná’ the male, ‘Arni’ the

female; in Bengal, ‘Mains’_

The buffalo is found in Nepal, and extends eastward through Assam to

Burmah. It is plentiful in the Sunderbuns, in the Central Provinces,

and in Ceylon, but is not found, according to Sanderson, in Southern

India. Forsyth gives 80° as the extreme western limit of buffaloes in

Central India, and says that they are not found north of the Nerbudda

river.

The wild buffalo only differs from the tame one in being slightly

larger and more uniform in colour (tame ones are of many shades, and

have often a good deal of white about them, in fact albinos are not

uncommon), and in having regular white stockings, which the tame ones

may or may not have. The horns are more symmetrical and larger. In the

high grass jungles of the Terai and Assam, buffaloes are generally shot

off elephants, and Kinloch notices ‘the strong sweet bovine scent’

emitted by a herd. In the Sunderbuns and parts of Lower Bengal they are

occasionally shot out of boats when the country is flooded. The sport

is described as magnificent, but requires a fever-proof constitution.

In the Central Provinces, however, the ground is more open; there

buffaloes can be stalked on foot, and Captain Forsyth gives an account

of a sparkling episode when shooting buffaloes from horseback.

When pursuing them on foot, the best time for sport is in April

and May, when a good deal of the grass has been burnt and water is

comparatively scarce. The best way of finding the animals is to look

for fresh tracks near pools of water, and follow them up. The plan

recommended for bison, of sending the trackers on ahead, should be

adopted if possible.

Captain Lamb gives the following interesting account of a stalk:

I started up the river bed and found fresh tracks. After

following the track for a good way we came on a single bull

feeding on a grassy plain about half a mile in width, studded

with a few trees. Leaving all the men behind, I crept up on my

stomach to within about forty yards of him, and got behind a

small pollard tree without the bull being aware of my presence.

I fired at his shoulder with the 12-bore, and he fell over

kicking on his back. Just as I was going to give him another

shot, a second and larger bull rushed out from the long grass

and attacked number one, who was still kicking on the ground. He

gave him a tremendous punishing, bowling him over whenever he

attempted to rise. I was so astonished at the whole thing, that I

simply stood and watched. After a little while, number two seemed

to think there was something wrong, and stopped to look round;

whereupon, I took the opportunity of giving him a shot, which

laid him on his back like his fellow. Both bulls then got up

and went into the long grass. I followed number one, going very

cautiously, as I was not quite sure of number two’s whereabouts.

I came up with number one, who was still on his legs, knocked

him over again and finished him with a shot behind the ear. I

then went after number two and killed him without any difficulty.

The fight had been quite knocked out of him.

Buffaloes appear to charge much more readily when hunted with a line of

elephants or from boats than when stalked on foot. In the first case

at all events the buffalo is generally roused from his midday sleep,

and attacked at close quarters, when his temper is ruffled, while when

stalked on foot he gets such a severe wound when feeding (probably

without seeing his enemy) that the fight is knocked out of him to start

with. Still fatal instances have occurred, notably in the case of Mr.

Chatterton, of the police, who was killed by a buffalo in 1886.

[Illustration: ‘He gave him a tremendous punishing’]

_Measurements_

+-----------+---------+-----+---------+----------+------+--------------+

| | |Tail| | |shoul-| |of | | | +----+

| | | | | |der | |horn | | | |Sex |

| +----+----+-----+--+------+----+-----+------+----+----+----+

| | Remarks |

+-----------+----------------------------------------------------------+

| BUBALUS ARNI |

| |ins.|ins.| ins.|ins.|ins.|ins.|ins. | ins. |ins.|ins.| |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 78 | 17 | .. | .. | .. |Bull|

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | |(?) |

| | Pair of horns without skull |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 77⅜| 17⅞ | .. | .. | .. |Bull|

| | (Single horn) Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |R65½| 20¼ | 146¾ | 98 | .. | ” |

| | | | | | |L68¼| | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Colonel J. |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 65¾| 20¼ | .. | .. | .. | ” |

|Mathie, |} | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |} Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 58⅝| 12⅜ | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | |(?) |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mrs. |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 58½| 13¼ | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

|Hannaford |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 58½| 12¾ | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | |(?) |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Bethnal |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 58¼| 18 | .. | 42¼| .. |Bull|

|Green |} | | | | | | | | | | |

|Museum |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 58¼| 13 | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. D. |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 57 | .. | .. | .. | .. |Bull|

|Inverarity |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. Eyre |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 56 | 15½ | .. | 55½| 58 | ” |

|Coote |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr|}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 55½| 18½ | 124 | .. | .. | ” |

|Saunders |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Hume |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 54½| 18⅛ | .. | 38¼| 48⅞| ” |

|Collection,|} | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |} ” ” ” |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53⅞| 12 | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

|Hume |} | | | | | | | | | |(?) |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Baron de |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53¼| 21 | .. | 26⅞| .. |Bull|

|Nolde |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Hume |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53¼| 12⅛ | .. | .. | .. | ” |

|Collection,|} | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |} ” ” ” |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. B. H. |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53⅛| 12½ | .. | .. | .. | ” |

|Hodgson, |} ” ” ” |

|British |} | | | | | | | | | | |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53 | 12⅛ | .. | .. | .. | ” |

|Museum |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Hume |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 52¾| 18¼ | .. | 30½| 44⅛|Bull|

|Collection,|} ” ” ” |

|British |} | | | | | | | | | | |

|Museum |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|British |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 52 | 16¾ | .. | .. | .. | ” |

|Museum |} ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Colonel |}115| 47 | 99 | 20 | 60 | .. | .. | 99 | .. | .. | ” |

|Kinloch |} ‘Large Game Shooting’ |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 122 | .. | .. |Cow |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 151 | .. | .. |Bull|

| | Quoted ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{over}| .. | .. |Cow |

| | | | | | | | |{156 }| | | |

| | Quoted ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s|}123| .. | .. | .. | 76 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|‘Mammalia’ |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Captain |}.. | .. | .. | .. | 64 | 48 | .. | .. | .. | .. |Bull|

|Lamb |} | | | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

|Average of |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 18 | .. | .. | .. |Bull|

|good head |}.. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 50 | 12 | .. | .. | .. |Cow |

+-----------+----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+------+----+----+----+

Kinloch gives an account of a bull charging elephants both before

and after being wounded. When they have thoroughly made up their

minds to fight, buffaloes will, as a rule, carry out their plans most

resolutely; but wild ones, though in a less degree, have the same

kind of slow-wittedness that is so remarkable in tame buffaloes.

If a European rides past a herd of tame buffaloes in some rather

out-of-the-way district where Europeans are scarce, some of the herd

are sure to begin pondering on the advisability of charging him, but

before they can make up their minds, the object of their attentions has

got beyond reach and they give up the problem. The average size of a

good bull’s horns is about 40 ins. in length by 16 ins. in girth, or

about 8 ft., measuring from the tip of one horn round the curve across

the forehead and up the other horn. It is somewhat unfortunate that

sportsmen should have selected this style of measurement, as it gives a

poor idea of the comparative size of horns.

Forsyth and Kinloch both agree that a front shot is rarely successful

against buffaloes, owing to the angle at which their heads are carried

and the enormous thickness of their chests. Forsyth recommends hardened

bullets, as he found two ounce bullets of soft lead propelled by eight

drachms of powder flattened on their shoulders, pulverising the bone

but not penetrating to the vital parts. Williamson describes shooting

buffaloes out of boats in flood-time, and says that the point to aim at

in this sport is to get the beast into such deep water that he cannot

lower his head to use his horns.

As for using dogs for buffalo, Forsyth’s experience with a wounded

bull was not a happy one; he writes: ‘The dogs were now loosed, and

bayed round him till he began to chase them all round the field; but as

soon as our heads appeared over the fringe of grass, he left them and

charged down at ourselves.’ In spite of one of the dogs pinning him by

the nose, the bull made good his charge, knocking Forsyth’s rifle out

of his hand and upsetting his companion.

XXII. SAMBUR (_Rusa Aristotelis_)

_Generally, ‘Sambur’ or ‘Maha’; in Gurwhal, ‘Jerow’ or ‘Barasingh’_

The sambur is found throughout the lower slopes of the Himalayas

from the eastern bank of the Sutlej river (Kinloch points out that

the Sutlej seems to be its boundary), and extends all over India and

Ceylon to the south, and through Assam and Burmah as far as the Malay

Peninsula to the south-east, wherever there are forest-clad hills.

It does not ascend to any great elevation, being rarely found above

an altitude of 5,000 or 6,000 ft. It seems to delight in heat, not,

indeed, of the sun, as it is as careful of its complexion as a gooral,

but of hot stony hills and stifling ravines covered with thick forest.

Sambur appear to require very little water, drinking, according to

Sterndale, only every third day--a fact which the writer’s experience

entirely confirms.

The general colour of the stag is dark sepia, the chin and inside of

limbs yellowish-white, and an orange-yellow patch on the buttocks.

The dirty yellow patch on the chin is sometimes very striking, and

looks as if the stag had the skin of a pale orange in his mouth. The

tail is large, the hair being coarse and very dark brown; and on the

neck there is a shaggy coarse ruff. The ears are large and coarse,

rounded in shape, nearly black, and almost hairless. Sterndale calls

the sambur a noble creature, but compared with the Cashmere stag, red

deer, or wapiti, he looks an ugly, coarse, underbred brute. The horns

are massive, with a long brow antler and a bifurcated top, and in

good specimens are about 40 ins. in length; longer horns are obtained

occasionally, but not often. As the sambur is almost entirely nocturnal

in its habits, it is most commonly shot in drives, and in many places

it is almost impossible to obtain sambur otherwise; but where it can

be managed, stalking is, of course, far better fun. The sportsman

should be on his ground just before daylight, and work slowly through

the forest at the edge of the feeding grounds, taking the bottom of

the hill if there are crops on the plain below, or, failing these, the

edges of the open glades in the forest. Presently, if there are any

sambur about, he will hear their trumpet-like call, and, creeping on,

see two or three dark forms moving among the trees. In the grey of the

morning it is often very hard to distinguish a stag from a hind, and

the writer has on several occasions had to wait after viewing the herd

till there was light enough to pick his stag. Even in broad daylight

it is difficult to judge the size of a stag’s horns as he stands

motionless in the deep gloom of the forest, and what little can be

seen of them makes them look three times their real size--the beam is

so massive and the tines so long. The stag, too, is such a big beast,

standing nearly a hand taller than a barasingh, that if seen in the

open he looks as big as an Irish elk.

If the sportsman fails to intercept any stags on their return from

their feeding grounds by working along the base of the hill, he should

next ascend the hill and try the cup-like basins which are so often

found near the summits. Sambur are very fond of these spots, but a

first-rate local shikari is necessary to show the way to them, as

there is often no sign of the existence of such places from the foot

of the hill, the trees appearing to grow taller in them on purpose to

hide them from observation from below. The approach to them is often

up a heartbreaking boulder-strewn slope, which apparently continues

to the summit. Up this the sportsman toils, thinking his shikari must

have lost his way, when suddenly he comes upon a dark cool glen, and

in it there is pretty sure to be a herd. The above applies chiefly to

the isolated hills which rise out of the plains in Central India; in

ranges like the Sewaliks the best plan is to walk along the top of

a ridge, examining the ravines below, and in the grass on the crest

of these ridges will often be found places where sambur have been

lying down under the trees, the form being carefully chosen so that

the shade of the tree will be over it during the hottest part of the

day. Many pleasant little incidents may occur during an early morning

stroll in the Sewaliks; kakur, gooral, and chital afford tempting

shots if the sportsman likes to vary his bag, and an occasional bear,

leopard, or tiger may be met with. One sportsman met a tiger almost

face to face just as he gained the crest of a ridge. The man only had

a light single-barrel rifle, so he wisely refrained from attack under

the circumstances, and, the tiger being a well-behaved deer-stalking

beast, the two passed the time of day and parted. Wild elephants,

too, are not uncommon in certain parts, so that altogether there is

always a chance of finding amusement. What fun there must have been

in the Sewaliks in the days of the Ganesa mammoth and the four-horned

moose-like sivatherium! Their remains in the British Museum make one’s

mouth water to think of them.

Among the larger ranges of hills in Southern India, the best way

of hunting is to send men in pairs before daybreak to well-chosen

positions to watch the forest, the sportsman with one attendant taking

a line of his own, and working on or watching his particular beat till

the sun is beginning to get powerful and the animals have lain down

for the day; then he should himself go round the different groups of

watchers and collect their reports. It is important that the sportsman

should go round himself and not depute the work to his shikari, as

a stag or a bear may often have been marked down to an inch by the

watchers and may be stalked forthwith, whilst if a drive be decided

upon the sportsman has an opportunity of studying the ground and

settling all the details with his head shikari on the spot. Having

gone round his sentries and withdrawn the men, he should then return

to camp for breakfast, order beaters for any drives he has decided on,

and about 11 A.M., when the sun is really hot and the animals marked

down are likely to be disinclined to move, and so enable the beaters

and guns to get into position, he should begin operations. All driving

should be done in the heat of the day, when the animals are lying down;

trying to drive when beasts are naturally on the move generally results

in the game leaving the beat before the men are in their places.

Another great point to attend to in driving is for the sportsman, if

possible, to get up into a tree. It may sound ridiculous for a man to

climb up a tree in a sambur drive, but he is far more likely to get

an easy shot in this position, as the deer will neither see nor wind

him, he commands more ground, and he runs no risk of heading back the

wary old hind which often leads the herd; the chances being that if he

is rightly posted the herd will come right under his tree. Another

advantage is that, his fire being plunging, he can shoot all round

without danger to the beaters. If two or three guns are out, it is

more than ever necessary to try to post them well up off the ground.

Having settled himself in his tree, the sportsman should send his

gun-carrier to some tree or rock at least a hundred yards behind him,

so that the course taken by a wounded animal can be observed. Tracking

in jungle is often very difficult work, and a sharp gun-carrier posted

well to the rear will often save a lot of trouble. In some parts of

the Himalayas native shikaris declare that they often shoot sambur by

selecting a likely path and improvising a salt-lick, after the fashion

of Laplanders when they want to catch their tame reindeer. General

Macintyre describes the formation of a ‘kar’ and his adventures in

watching one; he calls it a dirty way of killing ‘jurrow.’

Though sambur occasionally throw out abnormal tines, they usually carry

only three antlers on each horn--a long brow antler and two on top.

The horns are generally shed about the end of March, and are free from

velvet about the beginning of November. Major Ward’s remarks about

shooting small stags are well worth quoting:

Remember that sambur are not prolific; they seldom have more

than one fawn, and that it is four years before the young stag

assumes his complete shape of horn, and that he has still three

or four years to live before he can have a pair of antlers worth

preserving. He has quite sufficient chances against his attaining

an age of seven or eight years, without having to run the risk of

being shot down by the rifle bullet whilst still in his immature

state.

Shooting hinds is quite unpardonable, the venison being not worth

eating.

XXIII. HOGDEER (_Axis porcinus_)

_Native name: generally ‘Para’_

Kinloch aptly describes this deer as the rabbit of Indian battues. It

is a long-bodied rather heavily built beast on short legs with horns

like a small sambur, the brow antlers coming straight up from the burr

at an acute angle without the handsome curve of those of the spotted

deer. The stags are reddish brown, their hair coarse and thick, their

tails rather long and exactly of the sambur type, their ears round,

not pointed like a spotted deer. When galloping through the grass the

hogdeer carries its head low, its horns laid back on the neck, and its

rump high. It is found throughout the high grass swamps at the foot

of the Himalayas and on the islands and banks of the big rivers. High

grass and plenty of water are its chief requisites. It expends through

Assam to Burmah, and is also found in Ceylon.

[Illustration: Hogdeer shooting]

It is usually shot when beating the large tracts of grass in the Doon

and Terai with a line of elephants, and affords pretty snap shooting

from a howdah when better game is not expected. The does will squat

in the grass till the elephants almost kick them up, but the way to

get the best stags is to go well ahead of the line on a flank, or,

if possible, post yourself on foot so as to command a nullah leading

from one patch of grass to another, or the dry sandy channel separating

two islands. This, however, is a matter of some risk, as, if hogdeer

are plentiful, the firing from the line becomes fast and furious, and

unless you are on an elephant the guns in the line cannot see where you

are. Shooting from a howdah is an art which requires practice, and many

a good rifle-shot on foot finds himself missing hideously when he first

tries shooting off an elephant. A very sound rule is, never to put your

head down on the stock, but keep it well up, look hard at the beast’s

shoulder and see as much of its body as possible over the muzzle of

the rifle: the range is generally short and nearly all misses go high.

Shooting hogdeer from elephant has been likened, with some confusion of

ideas, to shooting rabbits from a pitching collier in a gale of wind in

the Bay of Biscay.

Hogdeer are often put up when pigsticking in grass, and give capital

runs.

Major FitzHerbert had a quaint bit of sport in 1874. He slipped a brace

of dogs at a stag and rode after them; in his own words:

The stag made for the river, and as the ground got more and more

open the bitch caught sight of him, made a rush and soon got up

to him; she laid hold and pulled him over, but as the dog would

not help her, the stag shook her off and went away again. When

she came up to him again, he stood at bay with head down and

bristles raised like a miniature red deer of Landseer’s, but

broke away when I came up. Once he charged the bitch and knocked

her over: he stood at bay two or three times, but I never could

get a spear into him for fear of hurting the dogs; at last one

time as he was breaking bay I came up, and he charged me with

such force as to break one of his horns clean off against the

spear; however, I stuck him in the spine and rolled him over.

The fawns are always spotted. The stags seem very irregular in shedding

their horns, and deformed heads are not uncommon.

XXIV. SPOTTED DEER (_Axis maculatus_)

_Native names: ‘Chital,’ ‘Chitra’; the Stag ‘Jhank’_

About the beauty of the skin of this beast, the writer heard a story

of a man who was taking such particular pains to preserve the hide of

a stag he had shot that his companion asked him what he wanted it for,

adding, ‘It’s only a chital.’ ‘Yes,’ returned the other, ‘it may be

only a chital on the banks of the Nerbudda, but I am going to send it

home, and it will be a leopard at Northampton.’

The horns are of the rusine type, but the brow antler has a more

graceful forward curve than in the sambur, and the anterior terminal

point is always longer than the posterior. Small false points are also

frequently thrown out at the base of the brow antler.

Chital are often shot off elephants, but the sport is not to be

compared to stalking them; and as chital always seem to select the

loveliest scenery in the forest for their abode, a morning or evening

stroll after them is most enjoyable, or, if the heat is too great

to render a long walk pleasant, a shot may often be obtained in the

evening by watching a glade where the young grass is springing up after

a forest fire. There must, however, be water in the vicinity, as chital

are rarely found at any great distance from it.

The peculiar call of the chital can be heard for a long distance, and

is a common hunting signal among many jungle tribes. If a chital is

heard repeatedly calling in one spot, it is generally a danger signal,

and means that a tiger or panther is on foot.

Unlike hogdeer, chital often go in large herds, each herd being owned

by one big stag, though there may be many smaller stags in it.

The horns are shed annually but very irregularly, stags without horns,

in the velvet, and with matured horns, being often met with in the

same day. This is attributable to the deer breeding all the year

round instead of having a definite rutting season, the shedding of

horns varying with the age of the stag. This is more noticeable in the

forests along the foot of the Himalayas than in Central India, where,

though still irregular, the bulk of the stags have their horns ripe in

January and shed them about July.

Jerdon was of opinion that there were two species of spotted deer, the

smaller of the two being found in Southern India; but Sterndale quotes

McMaster to the effect that the spotted deer found in Orissa are more

than usually large. As far as the writer has been able to judge, the

stags in Central India have finer heads than those in the Doon and

Terai.

When stalking in forest the sportsman should bear in mind that if he

comes suddenly on game his best chance of avoiding detection is to

stand motionless. If he attempts to crouch the movement will draw

attention at once, whereas if he stands still, and his clothes are of

the right colour, he may very likely be mistaken for the stump of a

tree.

XXV. SWAMP DEER (_Rucervus Duvaucelli_)

_Native names: ‘Gōn,’ ‘Gond,’ ‘Barasingha,’ ‘Maha’; in Central India,

‘Goen’ or ‘Goenjak’ (male); ‘Gaoni’ (female) (Sterndale)_

This deer avoids heavy forest and is nearly always found in the swamps

and open grassy plains near rivers. Colonel Erskine, the Commissioner

of Kumaon, writes of it:

I have shot numbers of these deer, but all in the swampy Terai

country in the north of Oudh bordering on Nepal, and in that part

of the Pilibhit district on the same frontier. I have never heard

of it much to the west of the Pilibhit district. I should think

Haldwani, at the foot of the Naini Tal hill, was well beyond the

western limit of the tracts which it frequents; it is found in

the swamps and high grass on the edges of the swamps and rivers,

and on the islands in the rivers, along the forest country at

the foot of the Himalayas, from the places I have mentioned,

eastwards as far as Assam and Bhotan, and along the Barhamputra

river down to the Sunderbands of Bengal. It is also known in the

Central Provinces near Mundla and along the tributaries of the

Nerbudda.

Kinloch says that it used to be found on the islands in the Indus, but

is now almost extinct there. By all accounts it seems to prefer the

neighbourhood of Sál forest.

[Illustration: Rucervus Duvaucelli]

The antlers of the swamp deer are peculiar. The beam is rather slender,

the brow antler very long, there is no median tine, and at the top

the head becomes almost palmated. The full-grown stag carries three

antlers on the top, two of which (the outside antlers generally) are

bifurcated equally, as if the antler had been split and bent outwards;

each horn having thus six points, including the brow antler. Colonel

Erskine says that he has never seen a head with more than fourteen

tines, but Jerdon speaks of seventeen. In Schomburgk’s deer (an allied

form found in Siam), all three prongs on the top are bifurcated. The

difference between the two varieties is very noticeable in the British

Museum, where the horns are placed side by side. Sterndale says that

in Schomburgk’s deer the très and royal tines are equal, whilst in the

swamp deer the très tine is longer than the royal.

[Illustration: Rucervus Schomburgkii]

In the high grass of the Terai and Assam, swamp deer are generally

shot off elephants, but in some parts of Central India the ground is

open enough to permit of their being stalked. Forsyth gives a capital

account of the sport he enjoyed while hunting them in the Sál forests

of Central India. Swamp deer are gregarious, and Jerdon quotes from an

article in ‘The Indian Sporting Review’ a case of three large herds

being seen on one plain. The general colour of the beast is a light

yellowish red, paler in the winter than in the summer; the under parts

and below the tail are white. The hinds are lighter coloured than the

stags, and the fawns are spotted. The stags appear to shed their horns

about March or April, as, Forsyth says, they lose the velvet at the

close of the rainy season; he also says that they shed their horns more

regularly than the _Rusinæ_. The following quotation from his charming

book gives an excellent account of their habits:

This animal has been called in North-Eastern India the ‘swamp

deer,’ but here (Central India) he is not observed to be

particularly partial to swampy ground. These deer graze in

the mornings and evenings in the open valley, chiefly along

the smaller streams, and by springs where the grass is green,

and rest during the day about the skirts of the Sál forest. A

favourite midday resort is in the shade of the clumps of Sál

dotted about the open plain, at some distance from the heavy

forest. They are not nearly so nocturnal in habits as the sámbar,

being often found out grazing late in the forenoon, and again

early in the afternoon; and I do not think they wander about all

night like the sámbar. Their midday rest is usually of a few

hours only, but during that time they conceal themselves in the

grass much after the manner of the sámbar. I have never heard of

their visiting cultivated tracts like the latter; nor can I learn

that their apparent adherence to the Sál forest is due to their

employing any part of that tree as food.

XXVI. BROW-ANTLERED OR ELD’S DEER (_Rucervus_ vel _Panolia Eldii_)

_Native names_: ‘_Thamin_,’ ‘_Sungrai_’

This variety of swamp deer is found chiefly in Burmah, but extends from

Munipur to the Malay Peninsula. Its habits are, as above noted, the

same as those of the swamp deer, but it is rather differently coloured,

being, according to Sterndale, ‘of a light rufous brown with a few

faint indications of white spots, the under parts and insides of the

ears nearly white, the tail short and black above. It is said to become

darker in winter instead of lighter, as in the swamp deer.’

The horns, however, are very unlike the swamp deer’s. The brow antler

and beam, instead of forming an angle, are in one continuous curve,

like the section of a circle, the burr being small and hardly seen.

In rear of the top of the beam there is a short snag, which Sterndale

calls the royal tine, and on the front of the top of the beam, which is

rather flattened, instead of regular tines like those on a swamp deer’s

head, there is a collection of what look like false points. In a head

in the British Museum the left horn has thirteen of these little snags

and the right fourteen.

[Illustration: Panolia Eldii]

In Upper Burmah, Eld’s deer are scarce, and the only way to obtain

them is to drive for them with beaters. In Lower Burmah they are

occasionally shot by lamplight, much in the same manner as that

described in Colonel Rice’s book; the performance is said to be very

interesting. The party (which usually consists of a lamp-bearer, a

man with an arrangement of jingling bells and rings on a stick, the

sportsman and his gun-carriers) having assembled after dark, a fire is

lit, and a kind of incantation gone through, everyone but the speaker

being forbidden to utter a word. When the incantation is over, each

member of the party passes through the smoke of the fire in turn, the

guns are handed through it also, the lamp is then lit, and the party

starts, using the lamp, an earthenware pot with a hole in its side,

as a search light, while the man with the frame of bells keeps up an

incessant jingling. On a deer being discovered, the light is at once

turned full on its eyes and kept steadily there, the jingling kept

going, with the result that the deer is so dazed that it will often

allow the party to go close up to it before the sportsman fires. Both

Eld’s deer and sambur may be shot in this way, and the writer has been

told that hares, and occasionally deer, will allow themselves to be

approached till they can be speared or knocked on the head with sticks.

This, of course, is not a very high class of sport, but in many of the

coast districts stalking in the jungles is almost impossible.

_Measurements_

+-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+

|Authority | at |length| as | of |of |above |above| of | of |

| |der | | | |antler|antler| | |mid- |

| | | | | | | | | |way |

| +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+

| | Remarks |

+-----------+-----------------------------------------------------------+

| | RUSA ARISTOTELIS |

| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins.| ins.|ins. |

|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 46½ | .. | 6⅜ | .. | .. | .. |

| Hume }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Dr. }| .. | .. | .. | 45⅛ | .. | 6⅝ | .. | .. | .. |

| Falconer,}| ” ” ” |

| British }| | | | | | | | | |

| Museum }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|‘The }| .. | .. | .. | 45, | .. | .. | .. | 11 | 7½ |

| Field,’ }| | | | 44 | | | | | |

| Dec. 22, }| Weight of horns, without skull, 20 lbs. |

| 1866 }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sir J. }| .. | .. | .. | 45 | .. | 7⅜ | .. | .. | .. |

| Morris, }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| K.C.S.I.}| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Maj.-Gen. }| .. | .. | .. | 45 | .. | 7¼ | .. | .. | .. |

| A. Ellis,}| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| C.S.I. }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s|} .. | .. | .. | 45, | 18¼ | .. | 9 | .. | 7¼ |

| ‘Mammalia’|} | | | 43 | | | | | |

| | Has an abnormal snag 9 ins. long on right horn |

| | below the très tine |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s|} 56 |72 to | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| ‘Mammalia’|} | 78 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 44½ | .. | 7 | .. | .. | .. |

|Museum }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Col. W. J.}| .. | .. | .. | 44⅛ | .. | 7⅞ | .. | .. | .. |

|Morris }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | 53 | .. | .. | 44 | .. | 9 | .. | .. | .. |

| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. D. }| .. | .. | .. | 44 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Inverarity}| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|The Earl }| .. | .. | .. |{R 35}|{R 14½|} 7½ | .. | .. | .. |

|of Ducie }| | | |{L 33}|{L 13 |} | | | |

| | A peculiar head with abnormal snags at the back of each |

| | beam. Terminal points: R. 11, L. 12½. Abnormal snags: |

| | R. 9¼, L. 13. Girth of snags: R. 5½, L. 7½. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|The }| .. | .. | 717 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Maharahjah}| | | | | | | | | |

|of Kooch }| | | | | | | | | |

|Behar, }| | | | | | | | | |

|Letter to }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|C.A.S.W., }| 44 | .. | 561 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|‘The }| | | | | | | | | |

|Field,’ }| | | | | | | | | |

|Oct. 25, }| | | | | | | | | |

|1890 }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sir S. }| 54 | .. |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Baker, }| | | 600 | | | | | | |

|‘Wild }| | | | | | | | | |

|Beasts and}| | | | | | | | | |

|their }| | | | | | | | | |

|Ways’ }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Average of}| .. | .. | .. | 38 | .. | 7 | .. | .. | .. |

|good head }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| AXIS PORCINUS |

|Major Ward}| .. | .. | .. | 21 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|quotes }| ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |

|a head }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 19¼ | .. | 3⅛ | .. | .. | .. |

| Hume }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. }| .. | .. | .. | 19⅛ | .. | 3¼ | .. | .. | .. |

|Brooke }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. H. C. }| .. | .. | .. | 19⅛ | .. | 3⅜ | .. | .. | .. |

|V. Hunter }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Major |} 27 | 48 | 96 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|FitzHerbert|} | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | 96 | 16¾ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | 25¾ | .. | 98 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | 25½ | 51 | 93 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | 25 | 52½ | 96 | 12 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Major }| 28 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Greenaway }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | 24½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s|}27 to|50 to | .. |15 to | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|‘Mammalia’ |} 28 | 52 | | 16 | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Average of}| .. | .. | .. | 16 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|good head }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| AXIS MACULATUS |

|Forsyth, }| .. | .. | .. | 38 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|‘Highlands}| | | | | | | | | |

|of Central}| | | | | | | | | |

|India’ }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 37½ | .. | 4½ | .. | .. | .. |

|Hume }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 37⅜ | .. | 4 | .. | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. }| .. | .. | .. | 37¼ | .. | 4¼ | .. | .. | .. |

|Brooke }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Gen. }| .. | .. | .. | 37 | .. | 4 | .. | .. | .. |

|Macintyre }| ‘Hindu Koh’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. W. C. }| .. | .. | .. | 36¾ | .. | 4⅜ | .. | .. | .. |

|Oswell }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. C. H. }| .. | .. | .. | 36½ | .. | 4½ | .. | .. | .. |

|Seeley }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 36 | .. | 4¼ | .. | .. | .. |

|Museum }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Capt. V. }| .. | .. | .. | 36 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Couper }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Major |} 35¾ | 70¼ | .. | 32½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|FitzHerbert|} | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| ” (a hind)| 28 | 58 | 86 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Major }| 37 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|Greenaway }| | | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s|36 to |54 to | .. Average .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

|‘Mammalia’ | 38 | 60 | | 30 | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

|Average of}| .. | .. | .. | 30 | .. | 4 | .. | .. | .. |

|good head }| | | | | | | | | |

+-----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+-----+-----+

+-------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+---------+

|Authority | at |length| as | of |of |above |above| |

| | | | | | | | | |

| +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+---------+

| | Remarks |

+-------------+---------------------------------------------------------+

| | RUCERVUS DUVAUCELLI |

| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins. | ins. | ins.| |

|Major C. S. }| .. | .. | .. | 41 | 5½ | .. | .. | 6×6 |

|Cumberland }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 39¼ | 5 | .. | .. | 5×6 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | 37⅜ | 5¼ | .. | .. | 7×6 |

|Loder, Bart.}| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Erskine |about | .. | .. | 37 | 7 | 14 | .. | 7×7 |

| | 45 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 36½ | 5 | .. | .. | .. |

| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. B. }| .. | .. | .. | 36 | 5 | .. | .. | 6×5 |

|Hodgson }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | 35⅜ | 4⅞ | .. | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. H. C. V.}| .. | .. | .. | 35¼ | 5¾ | .. | .. | 7×6 |

|Hunter }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major C. S. }| .. | .. | .. | 34¾ | 5⅝ | .. | .. | 5×5 |

| Cumberland }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 34 | 5½ | .. | .. | 5×5 |

|Museum }| Head No. 694 A. |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major C. S. }| .. | .. | .. | 33½ | 4¾ | .. | .. | 5×5 |

| Cumberland }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 33⅛ | 5½ | .. | .. | 5×5 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Rowland Ward | .. | .. |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | 560 | | | | | |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Forsyth | .. | .. | .. | 33½ | .. | .. | .. | 6×6 |

| | ‘Highlands of Central India’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major }| 49 | 82 | .. | 30 | .. | 10⅜ | .. | .. |

|FitzHerbert }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 47 | 81 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s }|44 to | .. | .. |about | .. | .. | .. |12 to 14 |

| ‘Mammalia’ }| 46 | | | 36 | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 30 | 5 | .. | .. | 6×6 |

|good head }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| RUCERVUS SCHOMBURGKII |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 30⅛ | 5 | .. | .. | 10×10 |

|Museum }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 29⅞ | 5⅛ | .. | .. | 9×8 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 29¾ | 4¾ | .. | .. | 10×11 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 28¾ | 5½ | .. | .. | 8×8 |

| | Head No. 1463 A. |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | 28½ | 5¼ | .. | .. | 11×9 |

| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 27⅞ | 5⅜ | .. | .. | 9×8 |

|Museum }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 27¾ | 4⅜ | .. | .. | 7×8 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| PANOLIA ELDII |

|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | 39⅝ | 5 | .. | .. | 20 |

|Loder, Bart.}| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 38⅞ | 6¼ | .. | .. | 16×19 |

|Museum }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | 37½ | 5⅜ | .. | .. | 5×5 |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Rowland Ward | .. | .. | .. | 37 | 6⅛ | 10½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 36⅛ | 5½ | .. | .. | 4×3 |

|Hume }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British }| .. | .. | .. | 35¾ | 5⅜ | .. | .. | 4×5 |

|Museum }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 34⅞ | 5½ | .. | .. | 6×6 |

|Collection, }| | | | | | | | |

|British }| ” ” ” |

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 34⅝ | 6⅛ | .. | .. | 5×6 |

|Hume }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hon. W. }| .. | .. | .. | 34⅛ | 5 | .. | .. | 6×6 |

|Rothschild }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | 34 | 5⅞ | .. | .. | 10×10 |

|Saunders }| ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

+-------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+---------+

The horns of Eld’s deer are very difficult to measure in the ordinary

way, owing to the extreme smallness of the burr, the back of the beam

in good specimens touching the skull, and because the brow antler does

not form an angle with the beam, but is simply a prolongation of the

curve of the horn.

XXVII. THE CASHMERE STAG (_Cervus cashmirianus_)--STERNDALE, KINLOCH.

(_Cervus Wallichii_)--JERDON, WARD

_Cashmere: Hangal, Barasingh_

This is the stag _par excellence_ of India. A sambur has a fine

head and so has a swamp deer, but neither approaches in beauty to a

barasingh. A good stag’s head is one of the trophies of the Himalayas,

but unfortunately it is getting scarcer year by year. Sheep and cattle

affect this deer but little, as they keep more or less to the open

downs and glades; but the yearly increasing herds of buffaloes that

come up from the plains to graze in Cashmere during the summer, at

the very time that the stags are growing their horns, are the real

mischief-makers. Buffaloes delight in plunging through dense forest,

and they and their attendants will clear the deer out of any valley.

Unfortunately for the sportsman, buffaloes pay for their feeding

in taxes and produce, while deer do not. The best step as regards

preservation that the Cashmere authorities have taken as yet is the

creation of a Royal Preserve between the Sindh and Liddur rivers, and

if they would only exclude buffaloes from this tract entirely it would

form a real sanctuary, which would immensely improve the shooting

all round. At present, by allowing buffaloes to graze on it, they are

depriving it of half its value.

In spite of all drawbacks stags are still to be got, but in no

quantity. Two good heads in a month’s shooting are as many as any

sportsman can reasonably hope to get, and if one of those measures 40

ins., whether with ten or twelve tines, he is to be congratulated.

The general impression about barasingh seems to be that a full-grown

stag always has twelve points, but this the writer believes to be

entirely erroneous. I have hunted over some of the best ground in

Cashmere on different occasions, and am of opinion that the number

of points usually found in full-grown heads depends entirely upon

the locality. The stags which do not leave the Cashmere Valley, i.e.

harbour on the hills overlooking it, and those that live to the

south-east, often run to twelve and sometimes more points; while the

stags which harbour across the Kishengunga rarely run to more than

ten points. These stags appear to develop ten points very early; the

poorest head the writer ever shot was a 10-pointer. I shot a young stag

with only six points once, under circumstances that gave no opportunity

of previously judging its head, and it had far longer and better

horns than the above-mentioned 10-pointer. Crummle and antelope heads

are also rare. I once shot a very heavy old stag with a most curious

antelope head, the horns having not a tine on them, and being twisted

more like a markhor’s than a stag’s. The old fellow was absolute king

of the valley, too, and not another stag dared answer his challenge.

It was very puzzling at the time. While stalking another stag which

had called once among some thick bushes but would not show, the old

antelope head appeared far up the hill, sauntering leisurely down, and

challenging as he came. Every deer within hearing seemed to hide from

him at once. There was a small 6-point stag with a hind cowering behind

some bushes about two hundred yards to my right, while the deer that he

had originally started after were keeping hidden somewhere to his left,

and the old chieftain was coming straight towards him, singing his

war-song. Over and over again were the glasses laid on him, but nothing

could be made out. The body was that of a royal, but the horns were

short, with no antlers visible. Apparently he was a bad three-year-old.

What did it mean? If he were a big royal the respect shown him by the

other stags was intelligible enough; but why should they be afraid of

a beast like that? Fairly puzzled, I crept back to look for the stag I

had originally come down after, which there was every reason to believe

was a 10-pointer. Not a sign of him could be seen, but while pottering

about in some long grass a pair of straight horns suddenly appeared

within forty yards of me. Confound this brocket! he has walked on top

of me; perhaps he may just miss me! No! he comes straight on and looks

me in the face. Now the brute will drive everything away, so here

goes--and he drops in his tracks. A brocket? Not a bit of it; twenty

years old if he’s a day, and his quaint old head is the pick of the bag.

The general colour of barasingh is much the same as that of red deer,

but is rather greyer, and the white patch on the rump appears a little

larger. Sterndale says it has a white circle round the eyes, but the

writer has never seen anything more distinct of this kind than a ring

slightly paler than the rest of the head.

The horns resemble those of the red deer, with the notable exception

that with barasingh the bez antler appears to be the fighting one, and

is always longer and bigger than the brow antler, while with red deer

the reverse is the case. Sir Victor Brooke says its call is just like

that of a wapiti, and quite different from that of a red stag. ‘In the

former it is a loud squeal, ending in a more guttural tone; in the

latter it is a distinct roar, resembling that of a panther.’ According

to the writer’s experience, the full call is seldom heard till the

rutting season is at its height. When the stags first begin roaring the

call is comparatively short. Ward’s remarks on the subject are well

worth quoting: ‘The noise a stag _can_ make when “roaring” is much

louder than would be imagined, and can be heard at a great distance;

but very often, when the animal is lying down, he only utters a

prolonged moaning sound, which is very deceptive, and unless frequently

repeated, it is difficult to find out the exact direction to follow.’

In the winter nearly all the barasingh are congregated in the Cashmere

Valley, but though the smaller stags come down and are pretty easily

found, the big ones will not leave the high ground, where it is

impossible to follow them (unless they are driven down by an early fall

of snow), until the young grass begins to grow in March, which is the

best month to get heads, though of course the deer are then in poor

condition. Ward writes about winter shooting:

If it could be done, the plan would be not to decide to enter the

valley (i.e. Cashmere) until information of a really heavy fall

in December or early in January had been obtained. The late falls

of snow do not drive the deer down. The hazel buds are swelling,

and they can graze on them; the sap is rising in various bushes

and trees, and the deer can eat the smaller twigs, but an early

fall forces the animals into the valleys.… In the spring, when

the snow is melting, is, to my idea, far the best time, and I

would sooner have from February 20 to March 20 after the stags

than all the rest of the year. They are then down on the young

green grass, and are busily devouring the crocuses.

By the end of March all the big stags and most of the smaller ones

have shed their horns, and the deer collect into large herds and begin

moving off to their summer quarters, those in the western corner of the

valley going to the banks of the Kishengunga river. The herds which

strike the river at its nearest point below Gurais cross it, and retire

to the range of hills on the southern border of Astor. Only a very few

stags cross this range, the bulk of the deer remaining on the Cashmere

side. The deer on the northern and eastern sides of the valley retire

to the slopes of Haramook and the high ground south of the range which

separates Cashmere from Dras and Sooroo, but do not appear to cross

it. The farther east one goes from Srinugger the less the deer appear

to migrate, merely retiring to the heads of the valleys. The altitude

of the birch copses just above the limit of the pines is what they

seek, and this they can find close at hand on the north and east of

the valley, but they have to travel some distance to it on the west.

About September 1 the horns should be nearly free from velvet, and as

a delicious wild black currant ripens at the same time, the shikaris

associate the two. Up to September 20 the old stags are either alone or

accompanied by a youngster who acts as fag, and they are not easy to

find; in fact, as a rule, shikaris declare that it is useless trying to

find them. But when the sportsman knows, from seeing tracks, that there

are big stags on the ground, and the heads of the valleys (not the

calling grounds) are the places to look for them, then, by carefully

watching some glen where tracks have been seen, particularly just about

8 A.M. when the sun is getting hot, a stag may often be discovered

as he rises from where he had lain down shortly after sunrise. He is

about to move to a more sheltered spot to spend the day--and it is _so_

satisfactory to have a stag or two to one’s credit before they begin

to call. Unfortunately it is not always possible. Some of the best

valleys during the calling season do not hold stags before that season

begins, as the deer move on to them just then, and very often leave

immediately afterwards. Good local information is absolutely necessary,

and a shikari who does not know every soiling pool, every deer-path, or

likely copse for a stag to lie up in is useless.

[Illustration: ‘A SNAP-SHOT IN THE FOREST’]

The calling season generally begins about September 20, and varies

according to the weather, and also according to the moon. Fine hot

weather and a full moon about the 20th mean that every stag in the

place will be calling freely. Wet cold weather and no moon mean the

reverse, the weather having more effect than the moon. The idea of the

stage of the moon having any effect may be considered fanciful, but if

it is taken into consideration that the stags usually begin calling at

night and almost invariably fight their battles for supremacy then,

it follows that the light of the moon is a decided advantage. A good

set-to between two old barasingh stags would be a grand sight. The

writer once came across a battle-field, but too late to witness the

fight, and the way the turf was ploughed up bore testimony to the

severity of the struggle. The rutting season appears to be initiated by

the hinds; at least I have observed that the short bark of the hinds

is usually heard some days before the roar of the stags, and have seen

a stag come best pace out of the forest in answer to a hind’s call in

the early morning, before a stag’s challenge had been heard on the

ground. It is most amusing to watch a young stag calling, the way he

swaggers before his lady-love, tearing up the turf with feet and horns

as if nothing could drive him from her, till his challenge is answered

by a deeper note, when the youngster curls up at once, flees for his

life to the thickest scrub he can find half a mile away and cowers

among the bushes, while his mate in the most matter-of-fact way at once

attaches herself to his lordly rival, who comes swaggering easily along

the hillside with the sunbeams glancing from the burnished points of

his glorious antlers. A small calling stag should never be disturbed,

as he almost invariably draws out a better beast. Great care, too,

should be taken not to frighten away unattached hinds anywhere near a

calling ground. If left alone they will sooner or later be joined by

stags, though occasionally hinds will run from a stag just as if they

had scented a man. The writer on one occasion was watching a hind and

calf feeding, when they suddenly galloped off, and presently an old

stag came trotting down the hill grunting his displeasure and following

their scent like a hound, till, coming within range, he paid the

penalty. Probably owing to the scarcity of hinds, even the best stags

appear never to be able to collect more than two or three, not counting

calves, which seem always to run with their dams for a year.

Old writers talk of stags calling all day long. This may have been so

years ago; now-a-days they rarely call after 9 A.M., and do not begin

again before 3 P.M. at the earliest. I once heard a grand chorus in

the early morning. Five different stags were calling at the same time,

but as they seemed to be more or less afraid of one another and kept

perpetually on the move, I never got a chance at one of them.

To be successful with stags during the calling season, the sportsman

should be on his ground as soon as it is light. The stags are moving

about all night, and soon after sunrise they retire into the forest,

where, unless they keep on calling, it is almost impossible to find

them. This, of course, refers to the open ground at the top of the

hills. Ward prefers the lower ground in the pine forest, from 8,000

to 9,000 ft. above the sea level, as he says the stags there seem to

settle down into certain spots and remain there for days together. The

writer’s own experience is that the upper ground is best when the stags

first begin calling, as they all seem to collect there, and that later

on, about October 1, when there has often been a slight snowfall on

the top of the hills, and the frost at night is beginning to tell, the

stags should be followed down into the forest. But as different valleys

vary so much, according to whether the deer remain in them during the

winter or are merely passing through, no general rule applies to all.

Hunting the upper ground as long as the stags are on it is undoubtedly

far pleasanter than creeping about in the forest down below, and in

the gloom of the pines the chances are very much against the stalker.

Stags may occasionally be shot by waiting for them at some favourite

soiling or drinking pool, and it is by no means a bad thing to try

if the pool is in thick forest and some distance from other water.

The most likely time to see anything is about 4 P.M., when the deer

begin to draw out. Waiting over salt-licks and water at night is an

abomination, like all other night shooting. As a rule, you do more

harm than good by disturbing the ground, and if you do get a shot and

hit (no certain matter even in the brightest moonlight), unless the

stag is dropped on the spot you run a very great risk of losing him.

Barasingh are very tough beasts, and an ill-placed bullet is not much

use. It is very difficult to know what to do when (as often happens)

the stags will not call till just before dark. If this happens among

the pine forests, any attempt at night shooting is almost sure to end

in failure; and even on the high open ground the chances are so much

against the sportsman that it should only be tried if every other plan

fails. Patient tracking and watching over likely glades for a stag to

draw out on are far more effective in bringing eventual success. The

two main points to be remembered during a stalk are, first, to try and

get a clear chance at about sixty yards, and not creep up too close to

the stag before firing; secondly, to avoid going straight downhill on

to a stag. A stone dislodged, a pheasant or musk deer disturbed, will

be sure to start him off. On the other hand, if the stalker is moving

down sixty or seventy yards to one side, any slight contretemps does

not necessarily spoil his chance of a shot. Every native shikari, if

conducting a stalk, will try to land his master between the beast’s

horns if possible. As soon as he sees a stag, he will begin to try to

point him out, with the result that before his master can get his wind

and take any aim to speak of, the beast is at full gallop down the

hill. The second point never enters into a native’s calculations at

all. Ward says that natives can imitate the call, and draw stags, but

systematic calling as practised in the Tyrol is practically unknown in

Cashmere, and a proficient in the art would undoubtedly have success.

The point to aim at in calling is to pitch your note a little weaker

than the answering stag, so as to give him confidence in accepting the

challenge.

[Illustration: A stalk in the open]

The stags generally cease calling towards the end of October (Ward says

20th), and after that there is little chance of getting sport till the

snow drives them down, or, failing an early fall, till the spring.

Major Ward says a well-shaped 10-point head of 40 ins. should not be

despised, but the majority of heads shot, according to the writer’s

experience, do not average more than 37 ins.; 40 ins. and over being

exceptional heads.

XXVIII. THE SIKKIM STAG (_Cervus affinis_ vel _Wallichi_)

_Native name: ‘Shou.’ Habitat: Eastern Himalayas; Thibet, in the

Choombi Valley, on the Sikkim side of Thibet (Sterndale)_

None of the heads of this variety in the British Museum have more than

ten points. Their colour, according to Jerdon, is a fine clear grey

in winter, with a moderately large disc; pale rufous in summer, quite

different from the rich mouse colour of the barasingh. Hodgson’s

description of the horns is most accurate, the flatness of the brow

antlers is very marked, ‘pedicles elevate; burrs rather small;

two basal antlers, nearly straight, so forward in direction as to

overshadow the face to the end of the nasal; larger than the royal

antlers; median or royal antlers directed forwards and upwards; beam

with a terminal fork, the prongs radiating laterally and equally, the

inner one longest and thinnest.’ There is an enormous head in the

British Museum, the two brow antlers of which bend downwards on each

side. As in the case of the barasingh, the second brow antler, or bez,

is always longer than the first.

As regards the allied maral stag of Persia and Turkestan, Major

Cumberland, in his letters published by ‘Land and Water,’ 1891, writes

that the Turkestan name for the stag is ‘bōghè,’ the hind being called

‘maral.’ This deer resembles the red stag, in that the brow antler is

longer than the bez, and the crown is more of the wapiti type.

Another variety, with horns also of the wapiti type, _Cervus

Eustephanus_, was discovered by Mr. W. Blanford in the Thian Shan

mountains. He describes this variety as also having the brow antler

longer than the bez.

XXIX. MUSK DEER (_Moschus moschiferus_)

_Generally ‘Kastura’; Garwhal and Kumaon, ‘Bena,’ ‘Masaknaba’;

Cashmere, ‘Roos,’ ‘Rous’_

This little deer is found all over the hills above an altitude of 7,000

or 8,000 ft., except in Ladak, though it is said to be plentiful in

Thibet, beyond the frontier of Nepal.

Cover of some sort, bushes or timber, seems necessary for it, and the

want of this is probably the reason it does not extend to Ladak. Except

that district, every shooting ground of the right elevation seems to

hold musk deer; and as, particularly in the autumn, they are excellent

eating, a chance with a light rifle is well worth taking advantage of,

unless in too close proximity to better game. The musk deer has no

horns, but the male has two delicate curved tushes, growing down from

the upper jaw, which are often over three inches in length outside

the gums; these tushes being the only distinguishing mark between the

sexes, it is very hard to tell them apart at a distance.

_Measurements_

+-----------------+------+------+----+-----+------+------+------+------+

| | at |nose | | of | as | of |above |beam |

| | der |of | | | | |antler| |

+-----------------+------+------+----+-----+------+------+------+------+

| | CERVUS CASHMIRIANUS |

| | ins. | ins. |ins.|ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins. | ins. |

|Dr. Leith Adams | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | .. | .. |A

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | .. | .. |.. | .. | .. | 47 | 7¾ | .. |B

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | 49½ | .. | .. | .. | 400 | .. | .. | .. |C

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir E. G. Loder, | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 47 | 6¾ | .. |D

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 46 | 8 | .. |E

| | | | | | | | | |

|‘Oriental }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 46 | .. | 7 |F

| Sporting }| | | | | | | | |

| Magazine,’ 1870}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 45⅝ | 6 | .. |G

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 45⅞ | 8 | .. |H

|British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hon. C. Ellis | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43⅞ | 5⅞ | .. |I

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43⅜ | 6½ | .. |J

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43¼ | 6½ | .. |K

| British Museum}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Dr. Falconer, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43 | 5⅞ | .. |L

| Brit. Mus. }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. M. Kennard | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43 | 5⅞ | .. |M

| | | | | | | | | |

|Gen. Macintyre | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 42 | .. | 7¼ |N

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 42 | 5⅞ | .. |O

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Greenaway | 52 | 81 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |P

| | | | | | | | | |

|The Writer | 47 | 85 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |Q

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 36¾ | .. | .. |R

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 35½ | 5½ | .. |S

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale, }|48 to |84 to | 5 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |T

| ‘Mammalia’ }| 52 | 90 | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 37 | 6 | .. |U

| good head }| | | | | | | | |

| | CERVUS AFFINIS |

|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 55¾ | 6½ | .. |V

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 55¼ | 8½ | 7¼ |W

| | | | | | | | | |

|Lord Northbrook | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 55 | 9⅛ | .. |X

| | | | | | | | | |

|Dr. Campbell, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 54⅜ | 6⅝ | .. |Y

|British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Dr. Jerdon }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 54 | .. | .. |Z

|quotes a head }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. B. H. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53¾ | 6⅞ | .. |a

|Hodgson, }| | | | | | | | |

|British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53¼ | 6⅞ | .. |b

|British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Tanner | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 53 | 9 | .. |c

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 52¼ | 10¼ | 6½ |d

| | | | | | | | | |

|Rowland Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 52 | 8 | .. |e

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |f

| | 60 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale, }|54 to |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |g

| ‘Mammalia’ }| 60 | 96 | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | CERVUS MARAL | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48⅝ | 6⅛ | .. |h

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 46½ | 8 | 7½ |i

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. E. Buxton | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 43½ | .. | .. |j

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 40¼ | 5½ | .. |k

|British Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 35⅛ | 5½ | .. |l

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Cumberland | 55 | .. | .. | 57½ | .. | .. | .. | .. |m

| | | | | | | | | |

| | CERVUS EUSTEPHANUS | |

|Mr. Blanford, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 51 |10⁹⁄₁₀| .. |n

|‘Scientific }| | | | | | | | |

|Results, Second }| | | | | | | | |

|Yarkand Mission’}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | RED DEER FROM TYROL, &c. |

|Lord }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 68 | .. | .. |o

|Powerscourt, }| | | | | | | | |

|‘Pro. Zoo. Soc.,}| | | | | | | | |

|1862’ }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Howard | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49¾ | .. | 7½ |p

| | | | | | | | | |

|H.R.H. Duke of }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48½ | .. | 6 |q

| Edinburgh }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Lord A. Hay, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48⅛ | .. | 7¼ |r

| British Museum}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|St. George }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 47⅝ | .. | 5½ |s

| Littledale }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Howard | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 47¼ | .. | 7½ |t

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 47⅛ | .. | 7¼ |u

| | | | | | | | | |

|St. George }| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 47 | .. | 7⅛ |v

| Littledale }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Howard | .. | .. | .. | .. | 596 | .. | .. | .. |w

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 564 | .. | .. | .. |x

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 544 | .. | .. | .. |y

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 544 | .. | .. | .. |z

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 540 | .. | .. | .. |1

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 540 | .. | .. | .. |2

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 516 | .. | .. | .. |3

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 508 | .. | .. | .. |4

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 500 | .. | .. | .. |5

+-----------------+------+------+----+-----+------+------+------+------+

_Measurements (continued)_

+----------+------+------+------+-----+-------+---------+--------------+

| brow |bez |bez |median|at |spread | | |

+----+ | | | | | |Inside| | |

+----+-----+------+------+------+-----+----+------+-----+--------------+

| CERVUS CASHMIRIANUS |

|ins.|ins. | ins. | ins. | ins. |ins. |ins.| ins. |ins. | |

A| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{Sterndale, |

| | | | | | | | | |{‘Mammalia’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

B| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 29 | 56 | .. | 13 |{‘Sportsman’s |

| | | | | | | | | |{Guide’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

C| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

D| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 21¾ | .. | 36⅜ | 5×5 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

E| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 32 | 50 | .. | 12 |{‘Sportsman’s |

| | | | | | | | | |{Guide’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

F| 10 | 18 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

G| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 25¾ | .. | 36 | 8×8 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

H| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 35 | .. | 41 | 6×6 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

I| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 15⅞ | .. | 32 | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

J| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 25⅜ | .. | 36½ | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

K| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 18⅛ | .. | 34½ | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

L| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6¼ | .. | 27¾ | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

M| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 26⅛ | .. | 37⅞ | 6×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

N| 10½| .. | .. | 5½ | .. | .. | .. | 33 | 10 |‘Hindu Koh’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

O| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 29⅜ | .. | 33½ | 6×5 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

P| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

Q| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 10 |{Showing |

| | | | | | | | | |{normal |

R| 8 | 11¼ | 14½ | .. | .. | 25 | 35 | .. | 10 |{difference |

| | | | | | | | | |{between brow |

S| 8 | 10½ | 15½ | .. | .. | .. | 35 | .. | 10 |{& bez antlers|

| | | | | | | | | | |

T| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

U| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6×6 | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| CERVUS AFFINIS |

V| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 17¼ | .. | 40⅜ | 7×6 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

W| 11 | 14 | 19¼ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 5×5 | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

X| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6×7 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

Y| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 21⅝ | .. | 37¼ | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

Z| .. | .. | 12 | .. | 8 | .. | 47 | .. | .. |{Sterndale, |

| | | | | | | | | |{‘Mammalia’ |

| | | | | | | | | | |

a| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 26⅛ | .. | 44 | 5×5 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

b| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 30 | .. | 45¾ | 4×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

c| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 40 | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

d| 10⅛| 12 | 13 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

e| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

f| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

g| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

| CERVUS MARAL |

h| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 38¼ | .. | 40⅞ | 6×5 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

i| 11¼| 15½ | 14½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 5×5 | |

| | | | | | | | | | |

j| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 38½| .. | 14 {|‘Nineteenth |

| | | | | | | | | {|Century,’ 1891|

| | | | | | | | | | |

k| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 23¾ | .. | 31¾ | 5×5 |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

l| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 19¾ | .. | 26 | 5×5 | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | | |

m| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 10 |{‘Land & |

| | | | | | | | | |{Water,’ 1891 |

| CERVUS EUSTEPHANUS |

n| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{Girth above |

| | | | | | | | | |{burr 10½ ins.|

| | | | | | | | | | |

| RED DEER FROM TYROL, &c. | |

o| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 65 | .. | 44 |{From |

| | | | | | | | | |{Carpathians? |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

p| 11¼| 18¼ | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49¾| .. | 14 |{Vienna |

| | | | | | | | | |{Exhibition |

| | | | | | | | | | |

q| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 30 | 41½| .. | 5×6 |{(Crimea) |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

r| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 12 |{Single horn, |

| | | | | | | | | |{Asia Minor, |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

s| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 38 | .. | .. | 6×5 |{Caucasus, |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

t| 10¾| 15 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 50 | .. | 16 |{Vienna |

| | | | | | | | | |{Exhibition |

| | | | | | | | | | |

u| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 34 | .. | 41⅛ | 8×9 |{Germany, |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

v| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 36 | .. | 37¾ | 6×7 |{Caucasus, |

| | | | | | | | | |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | | |

w| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. {|Weight of best|

| | | | | | | | | {|stags killed |

| | | | | | | | | {|in last 8 or |

| | | | | | | | | {|10 years, from|

| | | | | | | | | {|Perechinko |

| | | | | | | | | | |

x| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Munkacs |

| | | | | | | | | | |

y| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Pomerania |

| | | | | | | | | | |

z| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Bukowina |

| | | | | | | | | | |

1| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Munkacs |

| | | | | | | | | | |

2| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Sieben Bergen

| | | | | | | | | | |

3| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” East Prussia|

| | | | | | | | | | |

4| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Lower Austria

| | | | | | | | | | |

5| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |” Slavonia |

+----+-----+------+------+------+-----+----+------+-----+--------------+

The hair of the musk deer seems always loose, and comes out readily. A

musk deer just grazed by a bullet (by no means an uncommon occurrence

with so small a beast) seems to vanish in a cloud of hair. The male

has an abdominal gland containing more or less musk according to the

season, it being fullest during the rutting season in the winter; this

pod is valuable (a good one is worth Rs. 5 in the jungle), and leads to

the musk deer being so mercilessly snared and hunted by natives that

in many districts they are almost extinct. Pine martens, wild dogs,

leopards, eagles, all seem to prey upon the unhappy musk deer, and if

it were not that they breed far more rapidly than other deer (according

to Hodgson being able to procreate before they are a year old), they

would have no chance of existence at all.

When a musk deer has been killed the pod should be cut off in the

presence of the sportsman, and hung up in his tent to dry; if the

shikari is allowed to meddle with it, he will probably extract the

musk, and fill up the pod with rubbish. Another very common trick is

for the shikari to present his master with the buck’s scrotum, and keep

the pod for himself.

Musk deer are generally found alone or in pairs, and as they keep a

great deal to their particular bit of ground, if one has been seen and

not fired at the sportsman may nearly always rely upon finding it again

near the same place. When startled this deer gives a low hiss, and as

it seldom runs far without stopping to gaze, it generally affords an

easy shot. Musk deer are occasionally a nuisance on barasingh ground,

and the writer once lost a shot by putting up one of them just as he

was getting up to a stag which was calling in the forest.

_Measurements._--Sterndale gives length about 36 ins., height about 22

ins. Major Ward, height about 22 ins., weight from 25 lbs. to 30 lbs.

Colonel Kinloch says it does not stand more than 20 ins., Jerdon 22 or

23 ins.

In Garwhal and Kumaon musk deer appear to be bigger and heavier than in

Cashmere.

XXX. BARKING, OR RIB-FACED DEER

(_Cervulus Aureus_, vel _Muntjac_)

_‘Kakur,’ generally throughout the Himalayas; ‘Ratwa,’ in Nepal and

neighbouring states; ‘Jungli Bukra,’ in Central Provinces; ‘Muntjac,’

Sundanese_

This deerlet is found pretty generally throughout India, Burmah, Ceylon

and the Malay Peninsula, wherever there are fairly high hills covered

with forest. Thick cover and plenty of water seem essential to it.

Kakur are not gregarious; they are generally found in pairs, each pair

seeming to keep pretty much to its own particular ravine or patch of

jungle. They will often live close to villages, and feed on the crops

at the edge of the jungle; they rarely venture far into the open, and

invariably live close to water. Their general colour is a bright golden

bay, with the lower parts white; the tail is rather long, and as the

deer when galloping carries his head low and cocks his tail up, he

forcibly reminds one of an old buck rabbit. The buck has horns about

five inches long, set on bony pedicles about three inches high, which

are covered with longish hair. In good specimens there is a small brow

antler of about one inch in length, and the tips of the horns should be

curved back enough to permit of the head being suspended from a cord

by the hooks. The V-shaped creases on the face, from which it derives

its name of rib-faced, are dark brown, and there is a dark line up the

front of each pedicle. The horns appear to be shed annually. The buck

has a pair of sharp stout tushes in the upper jaw, of which he can

make very good use. Ward laments the loss of a valuable terrier which

was killed by a wounded buck, so that it is advisable to be careful in

handling one. The kakur has a peculiar resonant call, like the hoarse

bark of a dog, which can be heard for a long distance; and as the buck

frequently keeps on barking for some time, it will often betray its

locality to the sportsman--its locality certainly, but not much else.

The stalk is enlivened with song till just the critical moment, when

a glimpse of the performer would be so desirable; then usually comes

a dead silence--possibly the buck is waiting for the applause you so

ungraciously withhold--no sign of the songster, look as you will there

is nothing to be seen but bushes and stems of trees! Suddenly out of

emptiness appears a flash of red surmounted with a brilliant white

scut, and a derisive bark, in answer to your snap-shot, proclaims your

defeat. Moreover, it behoves one to be wary when stalking a barking

kakur; he may very possibly be barking at a panther, or even in some

localities at a tiger, and it is as well to be careful that you do

not entertain--not quite an angel unawares. Jungle warnings, such as

monkeys swearing and the alarm notes of peafowl and deer, should never

be lightly disregarded.

Occasionally kakur make a curious clicking noise, probably, as Kinloch

suggests, with the tongue, which is very long. The writer has watched a

kakur walking quietly down a sandy river-bed, clicking all the way at

intervals; here certainly the hoofs could not have made the noise in

sand. That buck was shot, and as the writer saw another single kakur

several times afterwards not far from the same spot, it has struck him

that the clicking noise might possibly be a low call from one of a pair

to its mate.

In Garwhal the natives occasionally call kakur, using a split ringal

cane, and making a call very similar to that used in the Tyrol for roe

deer; but the writer’s experience of this class of sport is that one

may sit and pipe for a long time before anything comes. Having the

covers driven is also poor fun if there is only one gun, as the deer

will rarely come right, almost always breaking back; and by far the

pleasantest and best way of getting kakur is by strolling through the

forest in the early morning and evening when, if there are any about,

the sportsman is pretty sure to see or hear them.

_Measurements_

+---------------+------+-------+----+------+------+-----+------+

| | at | head | | as | of | of | of |

+---------------+------+-------+----+------+------+-----+------+

| | Remarks |

+---------------+----------------------------------------------+

| CERVULUS AUREUS |

| | ins. | ins. |ins.| lbs. | ins. |ins. | ins. |

| | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8 | .. |

| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |

| | | | | | | | |

| ” | 27 | .. | .. | 40 | 7½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

| ” | 26 | .. | .. | 37 | 7½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

|Capt. H. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | .. | 6½ | 3 | .. |

| | | | | | | | |

|Mr. B. H. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 6½ | 2⅝ | .. |

|Hodgson, }| | | | | | | |

|British Museum}| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6½ | 3 | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6⅛ | .. | 1½ |

| | | | | | | | |

|The Writer | .. | .. | .. | .. | 6 | .. | 1 |

| | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward | 27 | .. | .. | 44 | 6 | .. | .. |

| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |

| | | | | | | | |

| ” | 26 | .. | .. | 42 | 5½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

| ” | 26 | .. | .. | 37 | 5½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

| ” | 23 | .. | .. | 32 | .. | .. | .. |

| | A doe ” ” ” |

| | | | | | | | |

|Major }| 20 | 34 | 4½| 32 | .. | .. | .. |

|FitzHerbert }| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|Col. Kinloch |about | .. | .. | .. |about | .. | .. |

| | 18 | | | | 5 | | |

| | ‘Large Game Shooting’ |

| | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale’s }|26 to | about | 7 | .. | 2 to | .. | .. |

|‘Mammalia’ }| 28 | 40 | | | 5 | | |

| | | | | | | | |

|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 5 | .. | 1 |

|good head }| | | | | | | |

+---------------+------+-------+----+------+------+-----+------+

XXXI. THE LARGE WILD SHEEP OF INDIA

(_Oves Poli, Ammon, &c._)

In Central and Northern Asia there were at one time no fewer than

eight recognised varieties of giant wild sheep, viz. _O. Poli_, _O.

Karelini_, _O. Heinsi_, _O. nigrimontana_, _O. Ammon_, _O. Hodgsonii_,

_O. Brookei_, _O. nivicola_.

Mr. W. T. Blanford, however, after inspecting a magnificent collection

of heads, made by Hon. C. Ellis, which exhibit every gradation of curve

between the two extreme types, declared in his paper to the Zoological

Society in 1884 that he considered _O. Poli_ and _O. Karelini_ to be

practically the same species, and the formidable list may be further

reduced from a sportsman’s view by massing the varieties into three

broad types, viz:

1. _O. Poli_ with its little known varieties, _O. Heinsi_, and _O.

nigrimontana_; for though these appear to differ somewhat in size (_O.

nigrimontana_ being a comparatively small animal), their horns are of

the same wide-spreading type.

2. _O. Ammon_, _O. Hodgsonii_ and _O. Brookei_; the difference between

the first two is very trifling, and _O. Brookei_ is considered by some

authorities to be possibly a hybrid between _O. Hodgsonii_ and _O.

Vignei_ (Shapoo).

3. _O. nivicola_, which more nearly resembles _O. montana_ (the Bighorn

of the Rocky Mountains).

The first type is found, according to M. Severtzoff, only in Turkestan,

from the Pamir through the Thian Shan range as far eastwards as Tengri

Khan; its varieties being located as follows: _O. Heinsi_ in the

Tockmack district west of Tengri Khan; _O. nigrimontana_ in Karatan,

near Samarcand.

The second type is not found in Turkestan. Its range is the Altai from

Tengri Khan as far eastward as the sea of Baikal, and then southwards

by the sources of the Hoang-ho and Yang-se-kiang rivers down to Ladak

and the southern frontier of Thibet.

The third type is found in Kamtchatka.

[Illustration: No. 1, extreme type, Ovis Poli]

[Illustration: No. 2, intermediate type]

[Illustration: No. 3, extreme type, Ovis Karelini]

In colour all these sheep are much the same; generally a rather rich

greyish brown fading to greyish white towards the tail and belly,

with, in the ram, a greyish white ruff on the neck. This is the chief

distinguishing mark of a ram _Ovis Ammon_ at a distance, the ewe

having a brown neck; in fact, the ram looks as if his thoughtful

spouse had insisted on his wearing a white comforter for fear of

catching cold. The horns of the ram, large as they are, are of such a

pale colour as to be hardly distinguishable in certain lights at long

distances. The _Ovis Poli_ appears to have little or no ruff, but has a

dark line down the back, which the _Ovis Ammon_ has not, and has also a

more clearly defined white anal disc.

[Illustration: Ovis Ammon]

[Illustration: Ovis Nivicola]

_Measurements_

+--------------+------+------+----------+----------+-----+--------------+

| |at |nose | +------+ at +-----+ | |

| |der |of | |of | |bet- | | |

+--------------+------+------+---+------+----+-----+-----+--------------+

| | OVIS AMMON |

| | ins. | ins. |lbs.|ins. |ins.|ins. |ins. | |

|Proc. Zoo. }| 43 | .. | .. | 49 | 18½| 32 | 12 |From Siberia? |

| Soc., 1875 }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 46 | .. | .. | 48½ | 19 | 31 | | ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum| .. | .. | .. | 48 | 18¾| .. | .. |{Specimen, No.|

| | | | | | | | |{45-4-21-9. |

| | | | | | | | |{From Siberia |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. O. Shaw | .. | | | 47 | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 46½ | 19¾| 20 | .. |{Rowland Ward,|

| | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 45½ | 17½| 24 | 14 |{ Proc. Zoo. |

| | | | | | | | |{ Soc., 1875 |

| | | | | | | | | |

|H.R.H. Duke }| .. | .. | .. | 45½ | 16½|about| .. |{Rowland |

| of Teck }| | | | | | 17 | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

|Major Ward }| | | | | | | | |

|(‘Sportsman’s}| 46 | .. |250 | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

|Guide to }| to | |to | | | | | |

|Ladak and }| 48 | |280 | | | | | |

|Cashmere’) }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | | .. | .. | 45 | 20 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Proc. Zoo. }| 44½ | .. | | 45 | 19½| .. | .. | |

| Soc., 1875 }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Howard }| .. | .. | .. | 44 | 18 | .. | .. | |

| Brooke }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. H. C. V. }| .. | .. | .. | 43½ | 16⅝|loose| .. |{Rowland |

| Hunter }| | | | | |horns| |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum| .. | .. | .. | 43 | 16¾| .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major }| .. | .. | .. | 42½ | 17 | .. | | |

| Greenaway }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 42½ | 16½| 19 | .. |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 42½ | 16 |about| .. | ” ” |

|Collection, }| | | | | | 18 | | |

|British }| | | | | | | | |

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Rowland Ward | .. | .. | .. | 42½ | 16 | 18 | | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | 42½?| 15¼| .. | .. | ” ” |

| Saunders }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|H. R. H. Duke}| .. | .. | .. | 42⅝ | 16¼| 20 | .. | ” ” |

|of Edinburgh }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 42⅛ | 16¾| 14¼ | .. | ” ” |

|Collection, }| | | | | | | | |

|British }| | | | | | | | |

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 42⅛ | 16½| 18 | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Capt. }| .. | .. | .. | 42 | 18 | .. | .. | |

| Ballantyne }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 42 | 17⅜| 17½ | 15 |{Proc. Zoo. |

| | | | | | | | |{Soc., 1875 |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 42 | 16¾|about| .. |{Rowland |

|Collection, }| | | | | | 17¼ | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

|British }| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum| .. | .. | .. | 42 | 14 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hon. Walter }| .. | .. | .. | 41⅞ | 16 | .. | .. |{Rowland |

| Rothschild }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum| .. | .. | .. | 41½ | 16¾| .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 41¼ | 17½| 16 | .. |{Rowland |

| | | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Ward }| .. | .. | .. | 41 | 18½| .. | .. | |

|(‘Sportsman’s}| | | | | | | | |

|Guide to }| | | | | | | | |

|Ladak, &c.’) }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|The Writer | 44 | .. | .. | 41 | 17 | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|St. George }| .. | .. | .. | 40½?| 14½|about| |{Rowland |

| Littledale }| | | | | | 26¼ | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

| (British }| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

| Museum) }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hon. C. Ellis | .. | .. | .. | 40⅜ | 17⅝| 20⅜ | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 40¼ | 17¼| 20 | .. | ” ” |

|Collection, }| | | | | | | | |

|British }| | | | | | | | |

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. Kinloch }| 48 | .. | .. | 40 | 17 | .. | .. | |

|(‘Large Game }| to | | | | | | | |

|Shooting’) }| 49 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 40 | 16¾| 19½ | .. |{Rowland |

|Collection, }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |

|British }| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|

|Museum }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 40 | 16 | 18½ | .. | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major }| 45 | 76 |212 | 36 | 15½| .. | .. |{Weighed in |

| Greenaway }| | | | | | | |{pieces. |

| | | | | | | | |{Estimated 240|

| | | | | | | | |{lbs. as shot |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Gen. }| .. | .. |350 |about| 18 | .. | .. |{Cleaned, |

|Macintyre }| | | | 40 | | | |{including |

|(‘Hindu Koh’)}| | | | | | | |{head |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale | 40 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | to | | | | | | | |

| | 48 | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. K. }| 48 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

|Mackenzie }| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 49 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Jerdon }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 24 | .. | .. | |

| quoting }| | | | | | | | |

| Colonel }| | | | | | | | |

| Markham }| | | | | | | | |

+--------------+------+------+----+-----+----+-----+-----+--------------+

_Measurements (continued)_

+--------------+--------+------+----+------+-----+-------+-----+-----+

| |at |nose | |of |at |between| |of |

| | |of | | | | | | |

| +--------+------+----+------+-----+-------+-----+-----+

| | Remarks |

+--------------+-----------------------------------------------------+

| OVIS POLI |

| | ins. | ins. |ins.| ins. |ins. | ins. |ins. |ins. |

|Gen. Lord }| .. | .. | .. | 75 | 16 | 54½ | .. | .. |

| Roberts }| ‘Smoothbore,’ letter to the ‘Asian,’ |

| | November 13, 1891 |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 75 | 14 | 48 | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

|Col. Tanner | .. | .. | .. | 73 | 15 | 48 | .. | .. |

| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale, |} .. | .. | .. | 73 | 14 | 48 | .. | .. |

| ‘Mammalia’ |} (Possibly the same head) |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. L. Flower | .. | .. | .. | 68½ | 15 | 35¾ | .. | .. |

| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. R. Pole |} .. | .. | .. | 68 | 17 | 43 | .. | .. |

| Carew |} ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Indian Museum,|} .. | .. | .. | 68 | 16 | 52 | .. | .. |

|the ‘Asian,’ |} ” ” |

|November 13, |} | | | | | | | |

|1891 |} | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. R. Pole |} .. | .. | .. | 67 | 16½ | 42 | .. | .. |

| Carew |} ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sterndale, |} .. | .. | .. | 67 | 16 | 53 | .. | .. |

| ‘Mammalia’ |} ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir E. G. |} .. | .. | .. | 66⅞ | 15⅝ | 46 | .. | .. |

| Loder, Bart.|} Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 66⅞ | 13⅞ | .. | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hume |} .. | .. | .. | 66 | 15¼ | 44 | .. | .. |

| Collection, |} | | | | | | | |

| British |} ” ” |

| Museum |} | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 65⅞ | 16 | 48 | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Col. T. E. |} .. | .. | .. | 65½ | 16 | 53 | .. | .. |

| Gordon, |} ” ” |

| Brit. Mus. |} | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Mr. A. O. Hume| .. | .. | .. | 65⅜ | 16¼ | .. | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Capt. Blane | .. | .. | .. | 65 | 16½ | 49½ | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|St. George |} .. | .. | .. | 65 | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| Littledale |} ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Rowland Ward | .. | .. | .. | 65 | .. | .. | .. | .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Hon. C. Ellis,|} .. | .. | .. | 58 | .. | 51 | .. | .. |

| quoted Proc.|} | | | | | | | |

| Zoo. Soc., |} | | | | | | | |

| 1884 |} | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 58 | 15½ | 50½ | .. | .. |

| | No. 1.--Extreme type (_O. Poli_) |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 57½ | .. | 47 | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 62 | .. | 47½ | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 63½ | .. | 48 | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 61½ | .. | 46½ | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 59½ | .. | 43¾ | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 61 | .. | 43 | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 55 | 17 | 37 | .. | .. |

| | No. 2.--Intermediate type |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 60½ | | 39½ | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 63½ | 16 | 39 | .. | .. |

| | No. 3.--Extreme type (_O. Karelini_) |

| | | | | | | | | |

|M. Severtzoff | 46 | 79 | .. | 57 | .. | 42 | 14 | .. |

| | Proc. Zoo. Soc., 1875 |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 42.6 | 71 | .. | 44 | .. | 32 | 13.3| .. |

| | ” ” (_O. Karelini_) |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Major Biddulph| 41 | 67 | 3½| 48 | 14 | .. | 11 | 49½ |

| | Yarkand Mission |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | OVIS HEINSI |

|M. Severtzoff | .. | .. | .. | 33.2 | .. | 31.4 | 11.4| .. |

| | Proc. Zoo. Soc., 1875 |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | OVIS NIGRIMONTANA |

|M. Severtzoff | 34 | 57 | .. | 38 | .. | 29.6 | 10.8| .. |

| | ” ” |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | OVIS NIVICOLA |

|Dr. }| 40 | 66 | .. | 38 | 13½ | 26 | 9¾ | 54 |

|Guillemard, }| | | | | | | | |

|‘The }| | | | | | | | |

|Cruise of }| | | | | | | | |

|the Marchesa’}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 41 | 65 | .. | 35½ | 14 | 26½ | 10¾ | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 39 | 67 | .. | 35 | 13¼ | 25½ | .. | 55 |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 39½ | 64 | .. | 35 | 13¾ | 21 | 10½ | 54 |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | 37 | 64 | .. | 34¾ | 14½ | 25 | 10½ | 55 |

| | | | | | | | | |

|British Museum| .. | .. | .. | 34½ | 11⅞ | 17¾ | .. | .. |

| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|M. Severtzoff | 37 | .. | .. | 33 | 12¾ | .. | .. | .. |

| | Proc. Zoo. Soc., 1875 |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | 32¾ | 13½ | 23 | .. | .. |

|Loder, Bart. }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |

| | | | | | | | | |

|Dr. }| .. | .. | .. | 32½ | 13¾ | 22½ | .. | .. |

|Guillemard, }| | | | | | | | |

|‘The }| | | | | | | | |

|Cruise of }| | | | | | | | |

|the Marchesa’}| | | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | | | |

| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 32¼ | 14 | 21 | .. | .. |

| | | | | | | | | |

| | OVIS BROOKEI |

|Sterndale’s }| .. | .. | .. | 33½ | 13⅜ | .. | 11 | .. |

|‘Mammalia’ }| | | | | | | | |

+--------------+--------+------+----+------+-----+-------+-----+-----+

Old rams of the _Ovis Ammon_ are by no means easy to bring to bag. The

bare open downs they live on afford little or no cover for a stalk;

the wind in Ladak, piercingly cold as it is, seems to take a delight

in blowing from all points of the compass in turn, especially if there

are any clouds about; the rams themselves are particularly wary and

keen-scented, and the least suspicion of danger will set them marching

steadily across country for miles without stopping. In the summer,

like most hill animals, the old rams leave the ewes and young ones and

form small flocks by themselves, selecting favourite valleys to which

they repair year after year, and being rarely found on the same ground

as the ewes at that season, i.e. after the middle of June. I have,

however, seen a flock of five rams and ten ewes together as late as

June 11 and secured a big ram out of it. Ward’s remarks about hunting

_Ovis Ammon_ are worth quoting:

Stalking in Ladak is very often a matter of time. Many of us

will march for a month to get on to _Ovis Ammon_ ground, and yet

will not consent to wait a few days after the game is sighted.

Naturally, in a country where the hills are devoid of cover,

the game is often seen on spots where it is useless trying to

approach it; but, if watched for a few hours, it is almost

certain to graze its way into a more favourable position. Avoid

going after game on gusty and cloudy days, and exercise patience,

remembering that you have probably marched some hundreds of miles

to obtain a few shots, and one or two days’ more or less work can

make but little difference.

Even supposing the sportsman to have everything in his favour, wind,

cover, and the rest, there are pretty sure to be some kyang about, and

these once disturbed, good-bye to the oves. The writer had once been

watching two fine old rams from early morning till 2 P.M. before the

wind would let him attempt the stalk; he had got within a quarter of

a mile of the rams with absolutely nothing to do but walk straight on

up to them, when suddenly a brute of a kyang jumped up from behind a

rock where he had been lying hid, galloped straight up the valley past

the oves, found seven devils worse than himself, brought them all back

to show them the quaint manners of an infuriated man with a gun, and

concluded the entertainment by galloping round and round him out of

shot. The oves naturally took the hint, and not caring for an asinine

circus, simply marched off to the next county.

Large bags of ram oves are consequently seldom made. Mr. O. Shaw got

nine in 1877, including one of 47 ins.; the rest of the bag was, one

bull yak, eight or ten burrel, one of 27 ins., eleven Thibetan antelope

and one shapoo; this was an exceptional bag by an exceptionally hard

working sportsman.

The native names for _O. Poli_ are ‘Rass,’ ‘Roosh,’ ‘Goolga’ (the

male), and for _O. Ammon_ ‘Nyan.’

XXXII. BURREL (_Ovis Nahura_ vel _Burhel_)

_Native names: ‘Baral,’ ‘Barut’; in Ladak ‘Napo’ the male, ‘Namoo’ the

female; Zanskar, ‘Snapo,’ ‘Snamoo’; on the Sutlej ‘Wa’_

Sterndale appears to have fallen into a curious mistake about this

sheep. He says: ‘The name _Ovis Nahura_ is not a felicitous one, as it

was given under a mistake by Hodgson, the nahoor being quite another

animal. I think Blyth’s name of _Ovis Burhel_ should be adopted.’ On

reference, however, to Blyth’s account in the ‘Proceedings Zoo. Soc.

1840,’ it will be found that he calls the animal generally known as

burrel the ‘nahoor,’ and says of _Ovis Burhel_, ‘It is smaller and more

robust than the nahoor, with shorter ears and very dark horns, having

no white about it; and general colour dark and rich chestnut brown,

with the ordinary black markings upon face, chest, and front of limbs

very distinct.’ The specimen came from the Boorendo Pass, but as no

more specimens have been obtained from that locality or elsewhere, it

appears to be quite possible that Blyth was misled by a native-cured

skin. Discoloration by curing is common.

The burrel has a very extended range, reaching from Ladak on the west

(it apparently does not extend into Baltistan) to East Thibet, as

Père David found it in Moupin. Its southern limit is the line of the

Himalayas; it extends up north to the Kuenluen ranges, and was obtained

by Prejevalski on the Altyn-Tagh. It seems to require an altitude of at

least 10,000 ft., and many of the shooting grounds are quite 17,000

ft. above the sea-level.

Its general colour is a light slaty grey. The ram has black marks on

the chest, side, and legs, and these are the points to look for in a

distant flock to distinguish the sex; the ram’s horns being of a very

pale colour, are often hardly distinguishable.

The old rams in the summer generally live apart from the ewes, and on

some grounds, notably about Chumatung on the Indus, the rams seem to

take themselves off to separate valleys; usually they keep to another

part of the same valley, and occasionally intermix.

Burrel are quite the hardest animals to see on a hillside unless they

are moving; their colour so exactly matches the blue shale of Ladak,

that when they are lying down a flock may be easily overlooked by even

a careful man with glasses. Being pretty plentiful where they are found

at all, and as a rule, where not much shot at, fairly easy to approach,

a visitor to Ladak, if he works at all, must indeed have been behind

the door when the luck was served out if he cannot get a few burrel

heads. Ordinarily they are found on fairly broken ground, and usually

not very far away from rocky cliffs of some sort; they are capital

climbers, no sheep better, and a wounded ram is by no means an easy

beast to recover. If a burrel had only the horns of an ibex he would be

the most charming beast to hunt in the whole of the Himalayas. An old

ibex when he is shot stinks appallingly, and is practically uneatable.

A burrel on the other hand, no matter how old a ram he may be, is

always excellent; his head, pretty trophy as it is, is his weak point.

The writer has seen burrel and ibex on the same ground, though never

actually feeding together; a friend in 1866 saw burrel and ther feeding

together between Joshimath and the Niti Pass, and General Macintyre

also notices this on the same ground.

As with ibex, several shots can generally be obtained at a flock of

burrel before they get out of range, provided the stalker keeps hidden;

but he should take pains to stop his cripples, if he does not want

a stiffish task set him afterwards in recovering them. Major Ward

recommends using Baltistan dogs, and if procurable, good dogs no doubt

would be invaluable; but the mere fact of having dogs out, unless

they are exceptionally good and led by a native of more than ordinary

intelligence, generally so multiplies the chances against a successful

stalk that one is better without them. English dogs, he says, are

useless among rocks and cannot stand the rarefied air.

+-------------------+----+----+------+------+-------+-------+----------+