good rams in the morning, but could not attempt to close with them till
the afternoon on account of four kyang who persistently kept in the
way. At last the kyang fed away, and after a longish détour the burrel,
who were lying down, were approached by my sliding down the hillside
on my back. Having got within fifty yards of one whose horns were just
visible, the expedient of shuffling among the loose stones with the
hand was tried to get him to stand up, but this only brought the tips
of an ear in sight by the base of the horn. Another shuffle and the ram
stood up, but only showed about a couple of inches of the top of his
shoulder. Foolishly firing at this instead of at his neck, the shot
missed, the whole flock bolted at once, and a running shot with the
left barrel also missed. Reloading at once, the chase was carried on
down the hillside, and the burrel were again found, standing looking
at their pursuer about a hundred and fifty yards off. Picking out the
biggest ram, a shot from the shoulder rolled him over, but a snap-shot
at the hind-quarters of another disappearing down the hill missed.
Another run of about three hundred yards afforded another chance, as
when within one hundred and eighty yards of the flock it again halted,
and a second ram fell to the shot. The rest went about three hundred
yards and stood again. I still followed, and at two hundred and fifty
yards broke the forearm of a third ram close to the body. By this time
rest was the first necessity, but after a short pause the wounded ram
was followed up and bagged with another shot. The first was ten years
old, horns 25½ ins. by 14 ins. thick; second eight years, 23 ins. by 12
ins.; third eight years, 22 ins. by 10½ ins. Bad shooting but good fun.
Amongst other varieties of burrel are the Barbary burrel (_Ammotragus
Tragelaphus_), of which there is a skeleton in the British Museum which
stands 33½ ins. at the shoulder, and a pair of horns measuring 26
ins. in length by 11 ins. in girth; also the Caucasian burrel (_Capra
Pallasi_), of which there is a specimen in the same museum, whose horns
are 29 ins. long by 12 ins. in girth; but the animal looks more like a
goat than a sheep, having a rudimentary beard, and the horns are more
like those of _Capra pyrenaica_ than _Ovis Nahura_.
XXXIII. SHAPOO (_Ovis Vignei_)
_Native names: ‘Shapoo’ the male, ‘Shamoo’ the female; in Astor,
‘Oorin’_
Shapoo and oorin, though by some naturalists classed as separate
varieties, may practically be considered identical; the writer has
hunted both, and is unable to distinguish any difference in appearance
or habits. The annual winter migration of oorin to the Boonji Plain is
probably attributable to the snowfall in Astor being heavier than that
of Ladak.
The only other difference (giving the result of individual experience)
is that oorin are not nearly so restless as shapoo, being pretty
regular in their feeding hours, and lying down throughout the heat of
the day. Shapoo, on the other hand, are perpetually on the fidget. In
colour they appear identical, generally a pale reddish grey fading
into white below. The profuse black beard of the _Ovis cycloceros_ is
entirely absent, the shapoo in his winter coat having only a short
stubbly brown beard, and in summer a dark line on the throat. The
different points of _Ovis Vignei_ and _Ovis Cycloceros_ are briefly as
follows, according to Mr. Sclater (‘Pro. Zoo. Soc.’ 1860):
_Ovis Vignei_ _Ovis cycloceros_
Horn rather compressed laterally. Much compressed laterally.
Rounded posteriorly. Much compressed posteriorly.
Curving outward and backward. Curving outward and inward.
Points divergent. Points convergent.
General colour, brownish grey. General colour, rufous brown,
with blotch on flanks, and
lateral line blackish.
Beard short, of stiffish brown hairs. Beard profuse, reaching to
knees, black intermixed with
white hairs.
The two varieties are much of the same size, but are entirely different
in colour and habits. The horns of the shapoo are generally more
massive than those of _Ovis cycloceros_, but the horns of both so
vary in type and so closely resemble those of _Ovis Gmelini_ from
Asia Minor, that it is almost impossible, except for a highly trained
scientific eye, to decide from this point alone to which of the three
varieties a specimen belongs. Shapoo seem only to be found in the
valley of the Indus, from a few miles above Leh down to the junction
of the Astor river. How far below that they extend the inhabitants
of Chilas only know, and they are not famed for hospitality or for
communicating their knowledge. There appears to be a gap in the
continuity of the species about Shigar and Rondu, which separates the
shapoo from the oorin. The writer has never heard of shapoo being
obtained there, and it would be interesting to know how far below Leh
they are found. Shapoo seem to be very fond of wild thyme, which almost
invariably grows plentifully on the ground they frequent. The venison
is inferior to that of either _Ovis Ammon_ or burrel.
The ram shapoo is a very game-looking beast, and the horns, standing
well out from his head, show off to great advantage; but there is
not an animal in the whole of the Himalayas so vexatious to hunt.
Markhor are bad enough in all conscience, but even markhor are less
heartbreaking to deal with than shapoo.
The writer once met a real typical shapoo, a true son of Belial. The
beast started out of a ravine, galloped as hard as he could lay legs
to the ground for four hundred yards, and then calmly lay down to
think. After about a quarter of an hour he rose, strolled leisurely
over a ridge, and then cantered off to some rocks about three-quarters
of a mile away, where he lay down again. This necessitated a climb to
the top of the hill, whence, wind and cover being perfect, the stalk
would be easy enough. He remained there just long enough to enable the
pursuer to begin the easy part of the stalk, when up he got, cantered
gracefully back across the valley, and lay down on the opposite hill,
in another very tempting position. This move entailed a détour, so as
to cross the valley out of sight, and another climb up the far hill;
half an hour was spent in reaching the desired spot: but though from
there a magnificent view could be had of all the country round, there
was not a sign of the shapoo, and the ground was too dry to show his
tracks. Verily, shapoo are only shot when they give themselves away.
Shapoo are very tough beasts. The writer once regularly raked a ram
galloping straight from him at thirty yards; the bullet, from a .500
Express, caught him on the rump, and the base of it was afterwards cut
out in front of the liver; yet the ram ran some two hundred and fifty
yards, stopped for about a minute to look round, and then started off
again at a gallop, but after going a hundred yards fell over dead. The
writer remembers no other instance of an animal stopping to gaze in its
death gallop.
XXXIV. OORIAL (_Ovis cycloceros_)
_Generally ‘Oorial,’ ‘Kuch,’ in the Suleiman range_
This sheep is found in the Salt range near Jhelum, and wherever there
are any suitable hills on both banks of the Indus from about Peshawur
down to Beloochistan, where it is replaced by the next variety, _Ovis
Blanfordi_. The ram has a long ruff of grizzled black hair which,
flowing from his throat and chest down to his knees, emulates the grand
beard of a markhor; this beard drops off in the summer, but begins
growing again in August, and is at its full length during the rutting
season late in September, which is about the best time for procuring
good heads.
_Measurements_
+-------------------+------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+
| |Height|Length,| |Length|Girth|Splay |
| Authority |at |nose |Weight |of |at |bet- |
| |shoul-|to tip | |horns |base |ween |
| |der |of tail| | | |tips |
+-------------------+------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+
| | Remarks |
+-------------------+------------------------------------------+
| OVIS NAHURA |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins.| ins. |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. B. H. Hodgson,}| .. | .. | .. | 32 | .. | .. |
| ‘Proc. Zoo. }| | | | | | |
| Soc., 1840’ }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 30⅞ | 12¼ | 21⅞ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 30 | 12¼ | 22½ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|H.R.H. Duke of }| .. | .. | .. | 29½ | 11⅝ | 25½ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| Edinburgh }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 29 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | 28 | 11 | 20¼ |
| British Museum }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Captain G. Campbell| .. | .. | .. | 27¾ | 10¼ | 10 |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. St. George }| .. | .. | .. | 27¼ | 11 | 21¼ |
| Littledale, 1877}| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 27 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 150 | .. | .. | .. |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 119 | .. | .. | .. |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. O. Shaw | .. | .. | .. | 27 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Hindu-Koh’ |
|Gen. Macintyre | .. | .. | .. | 27 | .. | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | .. | .. | .. | 26½ | 12½ | .. |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 26½ | 10 | .. |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 97 | .. | .. | .. |
| | | |cleaned| | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 26¼ | 11⅞ | 23 |
| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Hon. W. Rothschild | .. | .. | .. | 26¼ | 12 | 21¼ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. Loder, }| .. | .. | .. | 26¼ | 10¾ | 22 |
| Bart. }| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | 26⅛ | 12⅜ | 25 |
| British Museum }| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland Ward | .. | .. | .. | 26 | 12 | 20½ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | 25½ | .. | .. |
| | ‘Large Game Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | |
|The Writer, June }| .. | .. | .. | 25½ | 14 | .. |
| 24, 1875 }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” | 34 | .. | .. | 21 | 11 | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Sterndale, }| {30} | {54} | .. | {24} |{12} | .. |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| {to} | {to} | | {to} |{to} | |
| | {36} | {60} | | {30} |{13} | |
| | | | | | | |
|Average (according}| 33 | 52 | 130 | 22 | 11 | .. |
| to Major Ward) }| | | | | | |
| seems fair }| ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
| OVIS VIGNEI |
|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | 38⅝ | 12¼ | 11¼ |
| Saunders }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 37½ | 10¼ | 11 |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 36⅜ | 9⅛ |about |
| | | | | | | 17 |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 36¼ | 11¼ | .. |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 36¼ | 11¾ | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Dr. J. Aitchison, }| .. | .. | .. | 35½ | 10½ | 16 |
| British Museum }| Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. J. Carr }| .. | .. | .. | 34 | 10 | .. |
| Saunders }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 34 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 33⅝ | 9⅛ | .. |
| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. Loder, }| .. | .. | .. | 33⅛ | 11½ | 10⅝ |
| Bart. }| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 33 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | 36 | 53 | 65 | .. | .. | .. |
| | | |cleaned| | | |
| | | | | | | |
| ” | 36 | 52 | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|The Writer | 38 | .. | .. | 22 | 10½ | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Captain H. Brooke | 38 | .. | .. | 28 | 12 | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 26 | 10 | .. |
| good head }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| OVIS CYCLOCEROS |
|R. A. Mess, Attock | .. | .. | .. | 38½ | .. | .. |
| | Sterndale, ‘Mammalia,’ Appendix C |
| | | | | | | |
|Captain W. Cotton,}| .. | .. | .. | 35½ | .. | .. |
| F.Z.S. }| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 32½ | 10 | 11½ |
| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | 31¾ | 9¼ | 5¼ |
| British Museum }| ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 31¼ | 8½ | 16 |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | 31 | 10¼ | .. |
| | ‘Large Game Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | |
| ” |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| | 36 | | | | | |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 30⅞ | 9⅞ | 20⅛ |
| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | 30 | 10½ | 10 |
| British Museum }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 30 | 9⅜ | 11¼ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
|Major FitzHerbert | 36 | .. | .. | 30 | 9½ | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 30 | 6 | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | 34 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| | | | | | | |
|Sterndale, }|about |about | .. | 29½ | 10 | .. |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| 36 | 60 | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 30 | 9½ | .. |
| good head }| | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| OVIS BLANFORDI |
|Hume Collection, }| .. | .. | .. | 36½ | 9⅝ |single|
| British Museum }| | | | | |horn |
| | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 31⅝ | 9⅜ | 13¾ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | |
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 23⅝ | 9½ | 17¾ |
| | ” ” ” ” |
+-------------------+------+-------+-------+------+-----+------+
Oorial, like stags, seem to affect particular spots at that season, and
certain hills which at other times of the year hold nothing but ewes
and young ones will just then invariably have big rams on them. Oorial
ground has hitherto been practically restricted to the Salt range, and
a 30-in. ram there is now a rarity. The country on the right bank of
the Indus is being yearly made more accessible, however, and there are
large tracts of good oorial ground in that direction that are as yet
practically unshot. Oorial shooting, however, is by no means a summer
amusement, and there is little to be gained then except dysentery from
bad water and sunstroke by hunting the deep stifling ravines and almost
red-hot stony hills. In the cooler months it is most enjoyable. As a
rule one gets a fair number of chances, the ground being so broken
that stalking is by no means difficult. An old ram oorial is a fine
game-looking animal, and though not to be compared to burrel, is still
very fair eating. The best way of hunting them is by walking along the
tops of the ridges and carefully examining the ground below; as there
are often a good many bushes on the hillside, oorial are not always
very easy to see, especially if they are lying down, so the pace should
be slow. The natives of the salt range are generally expert trackers,
and as a wounded oorial is by no means an easy beast to recover,
their skill is doubly appreciable when following up a good ram with
a broken leg. The way they will carry the trail through the marks of
a flock of sheep or along stony nullahs and hillsides with perhaps
only an occasional spot of blood to help them, is quite charming after
the bungling attempts at the art one generally sees displayed by the
natives of the Himalayas.
As oorial are perpetually seeing shepherds and other natives they do
not become alarmed at the sight of man at a distance; but as they are
a good deal driven about, especially by the cultivators whose crops at
the foot of the hills they feed on at night, no liberties can be taken
during the stalk, and the sides of the ravines being often excessively
steep, good noiseless stalking shoes are requisite.
XXXV. OVIS BLANFORDI
This variety is found in Khelat, and a few specimens have been procured
near Quetta. Its horns are described as being longer and more slender
than those of _O. cycloceros_ or _O. Vignei_, and as having a second
twist outwards at the ends. It has a white beard, unlike either shapoo
or oorial.
XXXVI. MARKHOR (_Capra megaceros_ vel _Falconeri_)
_Native names: Cashmere, ‘Markhor’; Ladak, ‘Rache’; Aster, ‘Boom’_
Whether this king among goats deserves his name of ‘snake-eater’ or not
is hardly likely to be settled. Shikaris all believe that markhor do
eat snakes, some going as far as to say that they suck the snakes out
of their holes, and swallow them like macaroni; and Colonel Kinloch
supports the theory.
But though some hundreds of markhor have been shot by Europeans, the
fact has hitherto not been proved; and the writer ventures in all
humility to suggest that the tale is derived from some old legend, and
refers, in spite of the Persian name which may have become corrupted,
to the long snake-like horns.
Be this as it may, an old markhor swaggering along a ledge on a
precipitous hillside, with his long black beard and white mane floating
down to his knees, showing off every inch of his beautiful horns--as no
beast knows better how to do, except perhaps a really big stag in the
rutting season--is one of the most glorious sights in the Himalayas.
[Illustration: The Astor markhor]
The beast looks such a gentleman with his lean head and small ears,
his powerful back and quarters, and his dignified carriage. Alas! it
is all looks! His smell is something fearful, and manners he has none.
Ibex and burrel can be trusted, when they are lying down after their
morning feed, at all events not to move far; but markhor, no. You may
watch a flock feeding till late in the morning, and they will lie
down comfortably, apparently for the day; you begin your stalk with
everything in your favour; suddenly there is a clatter of stones and a
cloud of dust, you peep over a spur, and see the whole flock galloping
wildly down the hill. After going half a mile, they probably pull up,
begin feeding again, and again stretch themselves out on the ground as
if nothing had happened. This little manœuvre probably necessitates
your climbing painfully back to the top of the ridge, and starting
your stalk afresh, the intervening ground being impracticable. Once
more you try, leaving a man on the top of the hill to watch and signal
what the beasts do. You stalk carefully on; the watcher makes no
sign; you creep on the last hundred yards, to the exact spot you wish
to reach, and there is nothing. You search the ground as far as you
can get, and there are only a few footprints leading over impassable
ground; you climb back again, probably the only way you can go, vowing
vengeance on the watcher, and he tells you that the markhor lay quiet
till you were beginning your last crawl in--every second he expected to
hear the shot: suddenly they jumped up and disappeared, and owing to
the steepness of the ground he could not tell which way they had gone.
This sort of thing will happen over and over again, particularly in
Astor.
Perseverance combined with good management always brings luck in the
end, but big bags of really fine markhor are not to be expected;
one fair chance for each fortnight on the shooting ground is a good
allowance.
It is always a pretty sight seeing markhor move down to their feeding
ground in the evening from the crags above where they have been lying
during the afternoon. Full gallop they come, sending the stones
whizzing in front of them, over the most breakneck ground as if it
were a level plain; rearing up on their hind legs and butting at
one another, a venerable old fifty-incher probably playing with his
great-grandson, a young spark of only twenty; the whole lot of them
thoroughly enjoying the frolic. Ibex will play, and prettily too, but
no beast appears so thoroughly to enter into the fun of a good skylark
as a markhor. The master buck of the flock, however, seems to keep
the youngsters in pretty good order. The writer was much amused once,
watching a flock coming down a particularly difficult cliff. The best
buck led the way, the flock following in single file soberly enough,
the ground apparently was not safe even for a markhor to frolic on;
turning a corner, the old fellow came to a wall of rock that, after
careful inspection, he did not think good enough to descend, and he
turned back to take another route. Just as he made up his mind, one of
the smaller bucks in rear evidently chaffed him. The old fellow went
for him at once, drove him right up to the edge of the cliff with his
horns, as nearly as possible pushed him over, and then, with an air of
great importance, led the flock round his own way.
[Illustration: 1. Cashmere
2. Astor
3. Trans-Indus
4. Afghanistan
Varieties of markhor]
Hitherto most writers have divided markhor into only two varieties,
viz. the spiral and straight horned; but the type of horn obtained
in Astor is so different from that in Cashmere, and again that in
Afghanistan from that in the lower Trans-Indus ranges, that any
sportsman can distinguish them at a glance.
The writer has consequently adhered to Colonel Kinloch’s theory, that
there are four distinct varieties of this goat, classifying the two
spiral types under the name of _Megaceros_, and the two straight-horned
types under that of _Jerdoni_. In the British Museum the name
_Falconeri_ is applied to all four.
The first variety of _Capra megaceros_ is that found in Cashmere on
the Pir Punjal and Kajnag ranges; its horns make occasionally three
complete spirals, whereas the horns of the second or Astor variety
rarely have more than one; and as the horns are measured along the
curve, it follows that a 40-in. horn from Astor is far bigger than one
of the same length from Cashmere. The Astor markhor is also a larger
animal than the Cashmere one, often measuring a couple of inches higher
at the shoulder.
As regards habits, the Cashmere markhor is a thoroughly forest-loving
beast. He will come out to eat the young grass on the upper slopes of
the hill, but his real home is among precipitous cliffs in the middle
of forest, and well worth watching those cliffs are when the sun first
comes out after heavy rain. If there are any markhor about, they are
pretty sure to appear and sun themselves.
The Astor variety, on the contrary, live almost entirely in the open,
only taking to the strips of forest when driven there by the gadflies
in the summer. In the winter they come down to the cliffs overhanging
the main streams, working up about May, till they join the ibex, who
never seem to leave the higher ground. In June both ibex and markhor
may be seen feeding together. The writer saw a combined flock of nearly
one hundred beasts, male and female, in the amphitheatre at the head
of the Dashkat or Datchnar valley. Stalk them? Of course we tried, in
spite of the long odds against one with a flock of that size. There
was a ravine leading up towards them, which we reached all right by
crawling on hands and knees through some thick low scrub; then we crept
up the ravine till it died away into open ground and found ourselves
planted within three hundred yards of the head of the flock, some
dozen buck markhor and ibex. There we lay for nearly an hour and a
half hoping they would feed towards us, and a capital opportunity we
had of comparing the relative size of the beasts; the markhor with
his superior height and length making the ibex look quite cobby in
comparison. Of course an old buck markhor must needs feed ahead of
the rest, well out of shot, get our wind, and lead the whole lot at a
gallop back to the rocks on the far side of the basin. There the ibex
stayed, but the markhor went clean away over the crest of the hill.
In the evening, while we were watching the ibex in the vain hope
they would come down again, behold on the very line the markhor had
left by in the morning three male ibex and another flock of markhor
appeared descending into the basin. As the markhor were coming down
at a good pace we started to cut them off. On came the markhor, which
we recognised as a flock we had been hunting all the previous week
on another part of the ground. A stiff climb took us near where we
had last seen them, and creeping on the shikari who was in front came
almost face to face with one, upon which the alarm call began to sound
furiously. A run forward only brought the writer within sight of a pair
of horns moving off about eighty yards away, but while pushing on to
get a shot, suddenly the buck that had convinced us as to the identity
of the flock by his upright horns, came into full view broadside on
at fifty yards. He rolled over stone-dead to the shot, and as he was
lying doubled up with his head underneath him a gun-carrier was sent
down to him, while I ran on fast to try for another shot. The rest of
the flock, however, had vanished, and as the chase was abandoned a
noise was heard: looking round, the spectacle presented itself of the
beautiful 50-in. markhor (such was the first impression; in reality
it was not quite forty) slipping from the clumsy Cashmeree’s hands,
rolling down the slope over one precipice, then over another, and
lodging by the greatest luck just on the top of a third; the horns were
sadly scarred and chipped, but were fortunately not broken. Many heads
of both markhor and ibex get utterly spoilt in Astor by the animals
falling over cliffs when shot.
As regards _Capra Jerdoni_, the straight-horned markhor, the first
variety, with a perfectly straight axis to the horn, is found all
over the low ranges that run parallel to the right bank of the Indus
below Attock; it used to be found in fair numbers near Sheikh Budin,
a small station near Dera Ismail Khan, and in the hills, or rather
the steep ravines, in the plateau behind Dera Ghazi Khan. The country
beyond these places belongs to more or less inhospitable tribes and,
for the present at all events, is practically closed against the
sportsman. Near Quetta markhor are reported to be obtainable, and in
Beluchistan there should be a chance of getting _Capra ægagrus_ and
_Ovis Blanfordi_ as well as _Capra Jerdoni_. Hunting straight-horned
markhor is scarcely a summer amusement, as the heat is terrific on the
low hills, and drinkable water is extremely scarce.
The second variety is found in Afghanistan, another practically closed
shooting ground. It appears to be a link between the straight horn and
the spiral, more generally approaching the spiral in size of body and
general appearance. As the Astor variety probably extends some distance
to the west of Gilgit, and this second variety is found in Northern
Afghanistan, it seems possible that its corkscrew bend may be more
pronounced towards its eastern limit and less so as it extends to the
south-west. The illustration on p. 312 gives the four marked types.
Kinloch notes that markhor horns twist the reverse way to those of
domestic goats; and the writer, after looking at many hundreds of tame
goats in India for the express purpose of studying their horns, and
after inspecting the heads in the British Museum and other collections,
is able to confirm the fact that the horns of all wild animals that
twist at all do so outwards, while those of tame animals appear
invariably to twist inwards.
_Measurements_
+------------+------+----+-----+------+-----+------+----+--------------+
| |Height|Weight |St |Girth|No. of|Span| |
| Authority |at |as |Horns| ra |at |spi |at | Remarks |
| |shoul-|shot|round| ig |base | ra |tips| |
| |der | |curve| ht | | ls | | |
+------------+------+----+-----+------+-----+------+----+--------------+
| CAPRA MEGACEROS |
| No. 1. _Cashmere_ |
| | ins. |lbs.|ins. | ins. |ins. | |ins.| |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. Cuppage| .. | .. | 63 | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | 59 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 56 | .. | .. | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major }| .. | .. | 55½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
|FitzHerbert}| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | 42 | .. | 53 | .. | 9½ | 2½ | 26 |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 48½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch| 44 | .. | 47½ | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | 47 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. }| .. | .. | 45 | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
|Brooke }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | 43 | .. | 11 | 2½ | 31 |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch| .. | .. | 41 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 40 | .. | .. | .. | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | 40 | .. | 11 | .. | .. | |
|good head }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| _Not classified_ |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | ..A| 54½ | .. | 10½ | .. | 26½|{Rowland |
| Hume }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. }| .. | ..A| 54 | .. | 10⅝ | .. | 33¾| ” ” ” |
| Kennard }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. }| .. | ..B| 53¼ | 42½ | 11½ | .. | 52 | ” ” ” |
| Brooke }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. R. Ward | .. | ..B| 53½ | .. | .. | .. | 37½| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | ..A| 53 | 24¼ | 9¼ | .. | 30¼| ” ” ” |
| Hume }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. }| .. | ..B| 52¾ | 39¾ | 12⅛ | .. | 33¾| ” ” ” |
| Kennard }| | | | | | | | |
| A, probably Cashmere; B, Astor. |
| | | | | | | | | |
| No. 2. _Astor_ |
|Major Ward | 41 |240 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| ” | .. | .. | 63 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{Guide |
| ” | .. | .. | 61 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{to |
| ” | .. | .. | 53 | .. | 11 | .. | 45 |{Ladak, |
| ” | .. | .. | 52 | .. | 12½ | .. | 43 |{&c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. }| .. | .. | 49 | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
|Brooke }| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | 48 | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|The Writer | .. | .. | 39¼ | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | 38 | .. | 14 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | 40 | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
|good head }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| CAPRA JERDONI |
| No. 1. _Trans-Indus_ |
|H.R.H. }| .. | .. | .. | 38½ | 10½ | .. | 23⅞|{Rowland |
| Duke of }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Edinburgh}| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 36 | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | 47⅞ | 33 | 9¼ | .. | 19¾|{Rowland |
| Loder, }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 32¼ | 9¾ | .. | 28 | ” ” ” |
| Hume }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch| .. | .. | .. | 32 | .. | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. }| .. | .. | 45¼ | 30¾ | 8¾ | .. | 21½|{Rowland |
| Brooke }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | 30½ | 10¾ | .. | .. |Skull No. 120 |
| Museum }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. }| .. | .. | .. | 29 | .. | .. | .. | |
|Brooke }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | 39 | 27⅛ | 8⅜ | .. | 21½|{Rowland |
| Loder, }| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. G. }| .. | .. | .. | 25½ | .. | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| Landseer,}| | | | | | | | |
| ‘The }| | | | | | | | |
| Field,’ }| | | | | | | | |
| 1873 }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | 25⅜ | 8⅜ | .. | 21½| ” ” ” |
| Hume }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 24 | 10 | .. | .. | |
|good head }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| No. 2. _Afghanistan_ |
|Major }| .. | .. | 48 | 38 | 13 | .. | 27 | |
|FitzHerbert}| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | 40 | 32½ | 12 | .. | .. |Skull No. 121 |
| Museum }| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 35 | .. | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | 40 | 30 | 12 | .. | .. | |
|good head }| | | | | | | | |
+------------+------+----+-----+------+-----+------+----+--------------+
XXXVII. IBEX (_Capra sibirica_)
_Cashmere, ‘Kale’; Ladak, ‘Skeen’; Pangi and Lahoul, ‘Tangrol’_
[Illustration: In his summer coat]
Ibex vary very much in colour according to age, locality and the
season. In their winter coats the old bucks, though looking almost
white at a distance, and showing up conspicuously among the brown young
bucks and females, are really very patchy looking at close quarters,
the head and part of the neck being a sepia brown, the middle of the
body generally yellowish white with a dark stripe on the back, and
the quarters again brown, with legs of dark sepia. In the summer they
are sepia-coloured all over, the head and neck often darker than the
body--in fact, an old buck looks sometimes almost black at a distance;
the beard is thick and very dark brown.
Ibex are to be found pretty nearly everywhere in the higher ranges of
hills from Gilgit to Spiti, though they do not appear to cross the
Sutlej to the eastward of Spiti. To name a particular valley would
be only misleading. Favourite districts soon get shot out as regards
good heads, and the only trustworthy information to work on is that of
the year previous. If you get a good nullah, there is no sport in the
Himalayas more charming. Parts of the ground no doubt will test your
nerve as a cragsman, but it does not entail the perpetual climbing of
markhor and ther ground, and in April, May and June a fair number of
good chances may be relied upon. As Ward says, ‘Patience and steady
shooting are what are necessary; a man does not require to be a
first-rate walker or a really brilliant shot during that season; but he
does require to be enduring, and not too eager about getting up at once
to his game.’ Of course, if the sportsman blazes away at indifferent
heads he will not get the big ones; but if he sees a good head one day
and cannot get it, if he does not disturb the beast, he will see him
again next day somewhere near the same place, and sooner or later be
able to close accounts with him; ten heads, all over thirty inches,
which would probably include two or three over forty inches, would be a
far better bag for two months’ work than twenty heads in the same time,
including a lot of rubbishy little things about twenty-five inches.
If you wish thoroughly to enjoy your stalk, and the ground is not too
difficult, insist upon going first and making your shikari carry your
rifle behind you. He will probably object, but be firm, and listen
to none of his plausible arguments; carry out your own stalk without
asking his advice, simply telling him what you mean to do. When you
are within two hundred yards of where you expect to get your shot,
make him lie down, take the rifle from him and go on alone. Warn him
beforehand that if he moves till you tell him, you’ll fine him. When
you reach your place, get your wind before you look over; you will see
perhaps fifteen or twenty ibex in front of you; don’t be in a hurry;
make sure that you have really selected the best head for your first
shot, and take pains to get it home. When you fire, the smoke will hang
in your eyes, and you will dimly see the flock scatter. Keep your head
now--don’t show yourself; and if you are in about the right place, a
little above, but nearly on a level with the flock, and about eighty
yards off, not closer, you will probably see the flock walking up the
hillside, occasionally turning round to gaze at the 40-incher lying
dead below them. With cartridges handy, and steady shooting, you should
add the next two or three best heads to your score. You have no shikari
at your elbow nudging you, and whispering advice just as you are going
to fire, starting off the flock by showing himself immediately after
your first shot, and finally, when you have got all the heads you care
for out of the flock, imploring you to shoot a worthless little brute
for the coolies to eat. Call him up when you have finished, and let
him cut the throats of the slain to make them lawful eating, low down
the neck, so as not to spoil the skin for stuffing, and if he objects,
tell him he may do without meat. One of the greatest mistakes that all
shikaries make in stalking is trying to get too close to the game. It
stands to reason, in a country infested by leopards or ounces, that if
a beast catches sight of the top of one’s head within five and twenty
yards, he will bolt at once, whereas at eighty yards distance he feels
at all events safe from a sudden rush, and will stop to gaze.
After the end of June it is practically waste of time trying for ibex.
There is grass everywhere, and to escape the gadflies and be out of the
way of the flocks of sheep and goats that are driven up into many of
the best nullahs in summer, the ibex retire to the highest peaks in the
neighbourhood, and rarely descend to ground where there is any chance
of getting near them.
XXXVIII.--THE IBEX OF PERSIA AND SINDH (_Capra ægagrus_)
_Native names: ‘Pasang,’ male; ‘Boz,’ female; generally Boz Pasang in
Persia (Blanford); Kayeek in Asia Minor (Danford)_
This ibex extends from the Taurus mountains in Asia Minor, through the
Caucasus range and Persia, to Afghanistan, Beluchistan and Sindh.
It is a smaller animal than the Himalayan ibex, and does not ascend to
the same altitude, preferring, according to Mr. Danford, elevations of
2,000 to 5,000 ft., while 8,000 ft. is about the lowest limit of the
Himalayan variety. In Beluchistan and Afghanistan these ibex and _O.
Blanfordi_ are found on the same ground, just as _Capra Jerdoni_ and
_Ovis cycloceros_ are in the Suleiman range; and this peculiar trait
of preferring hot low hills is, in the writer’s estimation, the great
point of difference between _Capra ægagrus_, _Capra Jerdoni_ and _Ovis
cycloceros_ on the one side, and _Capra sibirica_, _Capra megaceros_
and _Ovis Vignei_ on the other.
The general colour of the buck _Capra ægagrus_ is brown with a dark
line down the back, and a black beard, but the last is not so profuse
as in _Capra sibirica_. The females are lighter in colour, and have
small horns. The horns are quite different from those of any other
species of ibex; instead of having a flat front and being thinner
behind than in front, as most other ibex horns are, these horns have
the edge in front, a scimitar-like ridge running up the front of the
horn, wavy but unbroken for about one-third above the head, and then
represented by knobs which spring up at some distance apart for about
another third, when the ridge appears again, but rapidly dies away
towards the point. The sides of the horn too are smooth, the outer side
rounded and the inner flat, the knobs not running down the sides as in
other ibex.
In Persia and Afghanistan these ibex are generally shot in drives. The
members of the Afghan Boundary Commission had a great day with them.
In the Sinaitic Peninsula they are replaced by _Capra sinaitica_ vel
_nubiana_, which extends through Egypt. Few people looking at the hills
that run down to Suez harbour would imagine that they hold ibex, but
such is the case nevertheless. The horns of this type are more like
_Capra sibirica_, being quite as long, but thinner and more curved.
[Illustration:
Capra sibirica Capra ægagrus
Capra sinaitica]
The European ibex, _Capra Ibex_ of the Tyrol, has also horns like
_Capra sibirica_, and nearly as thick, but shorter. His beard, however,
is only rudimentary.
The Spanish ibex, _Capra pyrenaica_, on the other hand, has a peculiar
upward twist at the end of the horn that makes it look almost like a
markhor. This type is described elsewhere.
[Illustration: ‘WITH CARTRIDGES HANDY AND STEADY SHOOTING’]
_Measurements_
+------------+------+-------+----+------+------+------+---------------+
| Authority |Height|Length,|Tail|Weight|Length|Girth | Remarks |
| |at |head | |as |of |of | |
| |shoul-|and | |shot |horns |horns | |
| |der |body | | | | | |
+------------+------+-------+----+------+------+------+---------------+
| CAPRA SIBIRICA |
| | ins. | ins. |ins.| lbs. | ins. | ins. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch|about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | 40 | | | | | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 54 | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |{‘Sportsman’s |
|Major Ward | 38 | 54 | 8 | 188 | .. | .. |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 208 | .. | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 32 | .. | .. | 104 | .. | .. | ” ” |
| (a female) | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 52 | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. }| | | | | | |{Rowland Ward, |
|Kennard }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 51½ | .. |{‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Blyth, }| | | | | | | |
|‘Proc. Zoo.}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 51¼ | 10½ | ” ” |
|Soc.,’ 1840}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 51 | 9⅛ | ” ” |
|Brooke }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |{‘Sportsman’s |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | 51 | .. |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 50 | 11 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 50 | 10 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. J. }| | | | | | |{Rowland Ward, |
|Brickley }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 50 | 9 |{‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. .}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 49¾ | 10⅜ | ” ” |
|Loder, Bart}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. }| | | | | | | |
|Kennard, }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 49½ | 10⅛ | ” ” |
|1887 }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |{‘Sportsman’s |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49 | 11 |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| | | | | | |{Rowland Ward, |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 48½ | 9⅝ |{‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |{‘Sportsman’s |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 12 |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 10 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 10 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 48 | 10 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| | | | | | |{Rowland Ward, |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 47⅞ | 9⅛ |{‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 47½ | 10¼ | ” ” |
|Ward }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. C. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 47 | 11¾ | ” ” |
|Hagenback }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 47 | 10½ | ” ” |
|Kennard }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Manners}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 47 | 10 | ” ” |
|Smith }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major }| 37½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
|Greenaway }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major }| 31 | 50 | 4 | .. | .. | .. | (A female) |
|FitzHerbert}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale, }|about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
|‘Mammalia’ }| 44 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| Average}| | | | | | | |
| of good}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 40 | 10 | |
| head }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| CAPRA ÆGAGRUS |
|Col. F. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 53 | .. |{Rowland |
| Marston }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 52⅜ | 7⅞ | ” ” |
| Hume }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 48½ | 8½ |{(Skull |
| Museum }| | | | | | |{No. 652 |
| | | | | | | |{Ost. Cat.) |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Danford | 33½ | 65½ |incl| .. | 47½ | 9¾ |{Sterndale’s |
| | | |uded| | | |{ ‘Mammalia’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 45¼ | 9½ |{Rowland |
| Townley }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Parker }| | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 44½ | 8⅞ | ” ” |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 44½ | 8⅝ | ” ” |
|Collection,}| | | | | | | |
|British }| | | | | | | |
|Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. J. Carr}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 43½ | 9 | |
| Saunders }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 43⅜ | 8⅝ |{Rowland |
| Hume }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 43 | 9 | ” ” |
| Loder, }| | | | | | | |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 43 | 9 | ” ” |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| CAPRA IBEX (Tyrol) |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 43¾,| 10½ | |
| Museum }| | | | | 41¼ | | |
| (skull No.}| | | | | | | |
| 650a Ost. }| | | | | | | |
| Cat.), a }| | | | | | | |
| doubtful }| | | | | | | |
| specimen }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 31¾ | 9⅛ |{Rowland |
| Loder, }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Bart. }| | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Senckenberg}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 30¼ | 9 |{(Cord, |
| Museum }| | | | | | |{base to tip, |
| | | | | | | |{21¾ inches) |
| | | | | | | | |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 27½ | 8¼ | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Senckenberg}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 24 | 9 |{(Cord, |
| Museum }| | | | | | |{base to tip, |
| | | | | | | |{16½ inches) |
| | | | | | | | |
| CAPRA SINAITICA VEL NUBIANA |
|British }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 51¼ | 7¼ |{(Skull No. |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |{651 Ost. Cat.)|
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | 46 | 8 | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. }| .. | .. | .. | .. | 42¼ | 9¼ |{Rowland |
| Bartelott}| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. W. H.}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 41¾ | 7⅝ | ” ” |
| Besant }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| CAPRA WALI |
|Senckenberg}| .. | .. | .. | .. | 24 | 9¾ |{(Cord, |
| Museum }| | | | | | |{base to tip, |
| | | | | | | |{17 inches) |
+------------+------+-------+----+------+------+------+---------------+
Mr. Sclater gives two other varieties of ibex, _Capra caucasica_
and _Capra Wali_. The Senckenberg Museum of Frankfort is believed
to possess the only known specimens of this last type. Of it Dr. F.
Richters, in charge of the Museum, says: ‘The horns of _Capra Wali_
differ from those of _Capra sibirica_ in the following points: the
outer surface in _Capra Wali_ is curved (smooth?), while in _Capra
sibirica_ it is corrugated. The under side of _Capra Wali_ is sharper
than in _Capra sibirica_. The inner side of _Capra Wali_ has between
every two knobs (on the top of the horn) five or six grooves, which
correspond with a similar number of notches of equal depth on the under
side. _C. sibirica_, on the other hand, has a fairly smooth inner
surface, and on the under side has under every two knobs (on the top of
the horn) a deep notch, and between every two deep notches a shallower
one. The tip of _C. sibirica_ is more curved than that of _C. Wali_.
The horn of our specimen of wali has eight knobs on it, that of _C.
sibirica_ (horns 36¼ ins. in length, girth at base 9½ ins., cord from
base to tip 22 ins.) 17 knobs.’ The specimen came from Abyssinia, and
its photograph shows the peculiar knob at the base of the horn on the
forehead, its absence of beard, and its small size in comparison to _C.
sibirica_, which is photographed with it.
XXXIX. THER (_Capra jemlaica_)
_Gurwhal, ‘Ther,’ female ‘Theri,’ ‘Tahr,’ or ‘Jhula,’ female ‘Tharni’;
Chamba and Pangi, ‘Kart’; Cashmere, ‘Jagla’; Khistwar, ‘Kras’; Nepal,
‘Jharál’_
Ther are found at high elevations, where the forest line begins to give
way to the snow throughout the southern slopes of the Himalayas, from
Cashmere to Bhutan. Its north-west limit appears to be where the Jhelum
river separates the Kajnag from the Pir Punjal ranges; though fairly
common in the latter, it is apparently unknown in the Kajnag, nor is
it found in the ranges to the north of the Cashmere valley; from the
Pir Punjal it extends south-eastwards through Kishtwar and Chamba, then
leaving Lahoul and Spiti to the north on to the upper waters of the
Jumna, Ganges, and Aleknanda rivers, and so by Nepal to Bhutan, being
most plentiful perhaps in Chamba and Gurwhal.
[Illustration: A dream of ther shooting]
An old buck ther is a fine beast in his winter coat; his head is long
and lean, the face being nearly black; the ears are small; a long,
light-coloured mane sweeps down from his neck, chest and shoulders,
reaching below his knees and showing up well against his dark brown
back and quarters, his long shaggy coat half hiding his short sturdy
legs. The horns are his weak point, and the ground he frequents entails
such a lot of climbing and hard work that one is always inclined to
think, ‘If I must risk my neck, I would sooner do it after a 50-inch
markhor than a 15-inch ther.’
Still, ther shooting is very enjoyable in the spring (in the autumn,
when the beasts are in their summer coats, they are hardly better worth
killing than bears at the same season), and a few days ther shooting,
if it can be indulged in before proceeding after markhor or ibex, is
the best possible tonic for one’s nerves. The ground--rocky slopes
covered thinly with pines and bushes--always looks more dangerous than
it really is. The rock is sound limestone, and does not give way under
one’s foot; there is nearly always a friendly bush to hang to, and the
very blades of grass are tough. The writer does not go quite so far as
to confirm the statement of a merry sportsman--that he and two shikaris
all hung on to one blade of grass while crossing a difficult bit;
but it is wonderful how much weight that grass will support if only
subjected to a steady strain.
There is also generally a variety of game to be shot from the same
camp--gooral, kakur, black and brown bears, musk deer, markhor in
the Pir Punjal, and burrel may often, according to the district, be
combined with ther shooting; besides, there is always the 100 to 1
chance of a serow or leopard, and the writer even once came across a
tiger within a walk of ther ground. It had killed a buffalo out of a
herd close by, and actually walked through the camp one night, passing
within a few feet of the tents.
Though ther are often found in large flocks, the big bucks are
generally alone, and these solitary old males are particularly crafty
and by no means easy beasts to come to terms with. Colonel Kinloch
writes unkindly of the ther in respect of his high flavour; all wild
goats smell, and whether it be markhor, ibex or ther, the stink of
the last beast bagged always seems more appalling than any that one
has experienced before, and is only surpassed by the next one. The
‘bouquet’ of ther and markhor, however, appears to fade after the head
has been stuffed, but the scent of the ibex will cling to it still. The
writer has some stuffed ibex heads that were obtained six years ago,
and their aroma on damp days, though pleasing as a reminiscence of past
sport, is hardly suited to the house.
Female ther are smaller than the males, have no mane, insignificant
horns, and vary a good deal in colour, some being reddish-brown, others
a yellowish-drab. They and the bucks in their summer coats have a
conspicuous mark on the back, where the hair of what is the mane in the
buck parts from the hair on the back. This is particularly noticeable
when looking down on the beast from above.
XL. NEILGHERRY IBEX (_Hemitragus hylocrius_)
_Native Names: ‘Warra-adu,’ ‘Warri-atu’; Tamil (Sterndale)
‘Kárd-ardoo’; Canarese (Sanderson)_
This wild goat is found in the Neilgherry range, and most of the higher
hills in the south of India. It is not found in Mysore nor in Ceylon.
The old buck is of a dark sepia colour, with a light, grizzled saddle
mark, lower parts paler brown, legs and face dark, and a short stiff
mane on the neck and withers; the young bucks and females being lighter
in colour. The horns much resemble those of the ther, _Hemitragus
jemlaicus_, except that they are more ringed and sheeplike, and do
not taper so rapidly. There is much the same difference between them
on a small scale as between the horns of _Capra sibirica_ and _Capra
ægagrus_, the Neilgherry goat taking after the former and the ther the
latter. The two beasts are much about the same size, and have, taking
into consideration the different types of forest, much the same habits.
In Madras the Neilgherry ibex, being the sole representative of the
goat family, has an amount of importance attached to his pursuit which
his Himalayan cousin does not enjoy, being crushed by the superior
attractions of his mighty relatives the ibex and markhor. They are to
be sought for in the same way, watching from above the grassy slopes
among the cliffs at an elevation of 5,000 or 6,000 ft., and require the
same careful stalking.
XLI. GOORAL (_Nemorhædus Goral_)
_Generally, ‘Gooral’ or ‘Ban bakri’; Chumba, ‘Pij’; Cashmere, ‘Nain,’
‘Norn’_
This is quite the most sporting of the minor beasts of the chase. It
is pretty generally distributed along the whole of the lower slopes of
the Himalayas from the Indus river to the Kachin hills in Burmah; horns
of both gooral and serow were found by the Phunkan column in 1889. In
Cashmere they are scarce, a few only being found in the Kajnag and Pir
Punjal ranges, but from Kishtwar to the south-east they are pretty
plentiful, especially in Chumba, Gurwhal, the Sewalik range, and the
valleys of the Ganges, Jumna, and Tonse rivers. They seem indifferent
to heat, and abound among the hot precipitous cliffs formed by the
big rivers cutting their way through the hills, the Tonse seeming to
suit their requirements admirably. Wherever a landslip has occurred,
wherever there is a steep rocky slope covered with long grass and
occasional bushes and pines, there gooral are sure to be found. Higher
up the hills, up to about 8,000 ft. above the sea level, they are
often seen on the short turf at the tops of the ridges or in the pine
forests, but rocks they must have close to, and the more precipitous
the cliff the more likely it is to hold them.
Wary as gooral are, they will often live close to villages, and do not
mind the presence of flocks with their attendant shepherds, or hillmen
cutting wood and grass near their haunts. They seem to trust to the
steep broken ground they frequent for protection. Gooral, as a rule,
are fairly easy animals to get a shot at, but they present by no means
a large target, and are very tenacious of life; a wounded one will
often tax the best nerves to follow. Gooral seem to become particularly
attached to certain localities, and will stand a good deal of bullying
and firing at before they leave the ground for good, and as they are to
be found within easy reach from many of the hill-stations, they afford
pretty shooting to sportsmen who are debarred from hunting better game.
Few men go out of their way to hunt gooral, but it is very good fun all
the same, and first-class practice both in climbing and shooting.
Buck gooral are generally found alone or with one other companion; if
four or five are seen together, they are almost invariably does and
young ones. It is nearly impossible to distinguish the sexes at any
distance, one rarely gets a fair view of the beast to begin with; the
horns are well nigh invisible, except against the skyline, and even
if seen are hardly any guide, as both sexes carry them, the buck’s
horns being only longer and thicker; and it requires the experience of
a Tyrolese keeper, accustomed to chamois, to judge the sex from the
shape of a beast half hidden in long grass or bushes. Native shikaris
certainly never know.
Walking along a ridge or a hillside you hear a sharp hiss: up jumps a
brown beast some fifty yards off, gallops twenty yards, and stands for
a second to gaze; you fire, and it rolls down the hill; you climb down
congratulating yourself--a clean kill!--a single beast--surely a real
good head this time--but when you reach it, too often it is another
luckless nanny. In chamois the buck is more heavily built than the doe,
is darker in colour, and has a ruff of long black-brown hair along the
back, but it takes years of practice to tell an old doe from a buck,
especially in winter.
The general colour of gooral is a rich brownish-yellow tipped with
sepia, and there is a conspicuous white patch on the throat which is
more recognisable in the buck than in the doe, and is really, if it can
be seen, the best guide in distinguishing the sexes. General Macintyre
mentions an albino gooral.
Though gooral seem fond of heat, they do not like being out in the sun,
and this fact is a decided convenience to the sportsmen, the shady side
of the hill being both pleasanter and more profitable to work over.
Gooral may occasionally be driven, but far the pleasantest and most
sportsmanlike way of hunting them is to walk slowly along the top of
a ridge, carefully examining every ravine and patch of likely ground.
Where gooral are at all plentiful it is almost impossible to take
too much pains. The beasts often lie down under overhanging boulders
and turn up suddenly in the most unexpected fashion on ground where
you thought you had examined every inch, and as surely as you become
careless so surely will you hear a hiss and see a beast dash down the
hill at whom you might have got an easy shot had you not relaxed your
attention.
The comparative measurements of European chamois are given by Colonel
Howard as follows:
Good bucks weigh from 45 lbs. to 60 lbs. broken up. Extraordinary ones
reach 70 lbs. and over.
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
|Length of horn|Perpendicular|Girth|Splay|
| | measurement | | |
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
| ins. | ins. | ins.| ins.|
| 11¼ | 7¾ | 3½ | 6½ |
| 10⅜ | .. | 3½ | 4 |
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
These two heads are exceptionally fine; the two next heads are good,
but not extraordinary.
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
|Length of horn|Perpendicular|Girth|Splay|
| | measurement | | |
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
| ins. | ins. | ins.| ins.|
| 9¼ | .. | 3¼ | 6¼ |
| 9¼ | 6½ | 3½ | 4 |
+--------------+-------------+-----+-----+
There are two more varieties of gooral in the British Museum: the
long-tailed gooral from China, which is about the same size as an
Indian gooral, but rather more yellow in colour. It has a tail of long
brown hair reaching to its hocks, that of the one in the British Museum
measuring 17 ins. to the tips of the hair. The Japanese gooral is a
delightful beast, and exactly what one would expect from such a quaint
country. Its coat is like that of a Langour monkey, long, soft, grey
hair, tipped with brown; it has a white ruff on its throat and cheeks,
a brown face, and rather rounded brown ears--altogether it looks like a
goat-monkey. The horns are the same shape as those of the Indian gooral.
XLII. SEROW (_Nemorhædus bubalinus_)
_Gurwhal, ‘Serow’; Sutlej Valley, ‘Imu’; Cashmere, ‘Ramoo,’ ‘Halj,’
‘Salabhir’; Chamba, ‘Goa,’ ‘Jhangal’_
The serow is a heavily built, awkward looking animal, intensely ugly,
suggesting a cross between a donkey and a cow, with a wild-looking
bristly black mane, large coarse ears, horns like those of a gooral,
only bigger; its general colour is black on the back and head, the
muzzle being dirty white; the sides, forearms and thighs are of bright
red clay colour, the under parts and legs being white; when seen first,
it looks all red and black, and its wild uncanny appearance accords
well with the gloomy tangled precipitous ravines it frequents.
It is found thinly scattered along the whole of the southern slopes of
the Himalayas, from Cashmere down past Sikkim, to the Burmo-Chinese
frontier, but apparently does not cross the snow-line, probably on
account of absence of forest on the northern side. Precipitous rocks
and their accompanying caves it likes, but forest it must have, and
the thicker and more tangled the better. A gloomy damp ravine below
a waterfall, the sides mere walls of rock and the bed choked with
rank vegetation, is the place where its tracks are oftenest found.
The beast itself is rarely seen. It appears to live generally alone;
a female with a three-quarter-grown young one may be found together,
but rarely two full-grown beasts. Major Greenaway saw three serow in
one day, in the Sindh Valley in 1871, two of them together, and one
alone, and got shots at all of them, but only bagged one. But this was
exceptional luck. Most men who have shot for some years in the hills,
have seen one or two serow, but rarely more, and getting a shot at one
is generally looked upon as a lucky fluke. Besides being scarce, serow
are uncommonly wary, and are said by natives to travel for miles if
disturbed.
[Illustration: The serow gallops down hill]
Colonel Kinloch is one of the very few people who have laid themselves
out to hunt serow, and his experiences are scarcely encouraging, though
Ward says that in the winter months serow can be found with comparative
ease in the Sindh Valley, in Cashmere. The serow seems, like sambur, to
be nocturnal in its habits, and its discordant scream is often to be
heard after dark in Gurwhal, where it is comparatively plentiful.
The serow’s chief accomplishment is the way that he can gallop down a
steep hill, and as he invariably takes that course when disturbed, he
can be easily driven, provided the ground is well known. All writers
agree that a wounded one will charge. Kinloch mentions having heard of
an unwounded male charging when its mate was shot, and Ward gives a
graphic account of an adventure he had with one. Mr. O. Shaw shot a
serow with a white mane in Cashmere. There are two more varieties of
this capricorn described in Sterndale’s ‘Natural History of India.’ The
first is the Arakanese capricorn, found in Arakan, Pegu, the Malayan
Peninsula, and Sumatra.
This is a brown beast with a yellow bay throat, black forelegs,
and bay hind ones. The description is rather vague, and Blyth’s
note--‘This species varies much in colour from red to black, and the
black sometimes with a white nape, or the hairs of the nape may be
white at the base only’--does not explain matters very clearly to an
unscientific reader. The second variety is the Thibetan capricorn,
discovered by Abbé David, in Eastern Thibet.
This differs from the Indian serow by the uniform blackish brown of the
upper parts, tending to ferruginous on the thighs, and the red colour
in place of the grey on the lower parts of the legs.
XLIII. TAKIN (_Budorcas taxicolor_)
_Native name: ‘Takin,’ ‘Takhon’_
This curious animal, which is found just outside British limits in the
Mishmi and Akha hills, north of Assam, and in Eastern Thibet, is a kind
of large serow; but its horns, instead of being sharp upright spikes
like those of the serow and gooral, are more of the bovine type, being
rounded, smooth, and with the distinctive wrinkles and longitudinal
marks of genus Nemorhædus faintly defined. Their peculiar twist is best
explained by the accompanying sketch.
An article in Sterndale’s ‘Mammalia of India,’ signed ‘J. C.,’ thus
describes the animal:
The takin is a large, heavily built ruminant, about 3 ft. 6 ins.
high at the shoulder, and 6 ft. in total length. The external
peculiarities of the animal are: first, peculiar angularly curved
horns in both sexes; second, the enormously arched chevron;
third, the very great development of the spurious hoofs, which
are obtusely conical, and about 1½ in. in length in a small
specimen.
Old bulls appear to become of an uniform brownish black at times,
but the colour doubtless depends on the season, as each hair has
the basal two-thirds yellow, and its apical third black, and the
young its hair brown with a dark tint.
The animal would appear to range from about 8,000 ft. to the
Alpine region, which is stated to be its habitat.
[Illustration: Budorcas taxicolor]
As this animal has been found by the Abbé David in Chinese Thibet,
future explorations to the north of Burmah should furnish skeletons and
details about its habits for the advancement of science.
There are two skulls in the British Museum in which the prominent
chevron is particularly noticeable; and there are also several stuffed
specimens.
XLIV. THIBETAN ANTELOPE (_Pantholops Hodgsonii_--STERNDALE, KINLOCH);
(_Kemas Hodgsonii_--WARD)
_Cashmeree shikaris know it as ‘Heran.’ The Ladak name is ‘Chiru,’ or
‘Choos’_
This rather curious antelope is pretty plentiful in the Changchmeno
Valley, the only easily accessible place for European sportsmen where
it is found. A few are said to have been shot in the neighbourhood of
the Mansarovárá Lake, near the North-Western frontier of Nepal, and
they are also to be met with all over the lofty plateau which has to be
crossed on the way to Yarkand. It appears, however, never to have been
found in the district beyond the Niti Pass as far as Europeans have
been able to penetrate, nor did Colonel Kinloch apparently meet with it
when he crossed the frontier in the direction of Gártope.
_Measurements_
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
|Authority |Height|Total |Weight|Length|Girth| Sex | Remarks |
| |at |length|as |of |at | | |
| |shoul-| |shot |horn |base | | |
| |der | | | | | | |
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
| CAPRA JEMLAICA |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. |ins. | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. |14⅛ |8⅞ | .. |{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | 200 | 14 | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Gwynne }| .. | .. | .. |13⅞ | 9 | .. |{Rowland |
| Griffiths }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|The Writer, }| .. | .. | .. |13⅞ | .. | .. | |
| 1884 }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. |13¾ | 9 | .. |{Rowland |
| Collection, }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| British }| | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. |13¾ |8⅜ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. |13⅝ | 8 | .. | ” ” |
| Collection, }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. |13½ |8⅞ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland }| .. | .. | .. |13½ |8½ | .. | ” ” |
| Ward }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. {|about |} .. | .. | .. | ” ” |
| | | {| 200 |} | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hon. W. }| .. | .. | .. |13⅜ |9⅛ | .. | ” ” |
| Rothschild }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. |13¼ |9½ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. |13¼ |8⅞ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. |13¼ |8¼ | .. | ” ” |
| Loder, }| | | | | | | |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. J. Carr | .. | .. | .. |13⅛ |8⅞ | .. | ” ” |
| Saunders | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway| 41 | 52 | .. |12½ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | 36½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s }| 36 |{about|} .. | 12 | .. | .. | |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| to |{ 54 |} | to | | | |
| | 40 | | | 14 | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | about| 10 | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | 15 | to | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | 11 | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average good }| .. | .. | .. | 12 | 9 | .. | |
| head }| | | | | | | |
| HEMITRAGUS HYLOCRIUS |
|Gen. McMaster | .. | .. | .. | 17 |9¾ | .. |{Sterndale’s |
| | | | | | | |{‘Mammalia’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. |16¾ |8⅞ | .. |{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. St. George}| .. | .. | .. |16½ | .. | .. | ” ” |
| Littledale }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Gen. McMaster | .. | .. | .. | 16 | .. | .. |{Sterndale’s |
| | | | | | | |{‘Mammalia’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. |15½ |8⅝ | .. |{Rowland |
| Loder, }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| Bart. }| | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. Kennard | .. | .. | .. |15¾ |8¾ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. St. George}| .. | .. | .. |15¾ |8¼ | .. | ” ” |
| Littledale, }| | | | | | | |
| 1875 }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. M. Kennard | .. | .. | .. |15⅛ |8⅝ | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. St. George}| .. | .. | .. |15⅛ |8⅝ | .. | ” ” |
| Littledale, }| | | | | | | |
| 1871 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s }| 41 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| to | | | | | | |
| | 42 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average of | .. | .. | .. | 12 | 8 | .. | |
| good head | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| NEMORHÆDUS GORAL |
|Major Ward | 28 | .. | 58 | 8½ | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 28 | .. | 63 | 8 | .. | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 7⅝ |3¾ | .. |{Rowland |
| Collection, }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| British }| | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | 28 | .. | 59 | 7½ | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 26 | .. | .. | 7½ | .. | .. | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. J. A. }| .. | .. | .. | 7 |3¾ | .. |{Rowland |
| Orr Ewing }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. J. M. }| .. | .. | .. | 7 |3½ | .. | ” ” |
| Nicolls }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch |about | .. | .. |up to | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | 26 | | | 8 | | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s }| 28 | about| .. |6 to 9| .. | .. | |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| to | 48 | | | | | |
| | 30 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway| 26½ | .. | .. | .. | .. |Female| |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average good }| .. | .. | .. | 6 | .. | .. | |
| head }| | | | | | | |
| NEMORHÆDUS BUBALINUS |
|Major Ward | 37 | .. | 190 | 12 | .. | Male |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hon. C. Ellis | .. | .. | .. |10½ |5⅜ | .. |{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | 10 |5½ | Male | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | 38 | .. | 190 | 10 | .. | ” |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 33 | .. | 120 | 10 | .. |Female| ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 9⅞ |5⅝ | .. |{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. R. }| .. | .. | .. | 9¾ |5⅛ | .. | ” |
| Lydekker }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway| .. | .. | .. | 9½ | .. | Male | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 7⅛ | .. |Female| |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major }| 42 | 71 | .. | 9¼ |5½ | Male | |
| FitzHerbert }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|The Writer | 40 | .. | .. | 8 | 5 |Female| |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s }|about | 60 |about | 9 | .. | .. | |
| ‘Mammalia’ }| 36 | to | 200 | to | | | |
| | | 66 | | 14 | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ARAKANESE CAPRICORN |
|British Museum,| .. | .. | .. | 8¼ |5½ | .. | |
|sex unknown, | | | | | | | |
|not full grown (the horns are of the ordinary serow type) |
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
|Authority |Height|Total |Weight|Length|Girth| Span | Remarks |
| |at |length|as |of |at | at | |
| |shoul-| |shot |horn |base | tips | |
| |der | | | | | | |
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
| BUDORCAS TAXICOLOR |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. |ins. | ins. | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | 22⅜ | 10⅝ | 14¾ |{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 20⅞ | 11⅜ | 11⅞ | ” ” |
| Collection, }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 20¾ | 11⅞ | 12½ | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume }| .. | .. | .. | 20¾ | 9⅝ | 13⅜ | ” ” |
| Collection, }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. B. H. }| .. | .. | .. | 20½ | 10⅞ | 12⅜ | ” ” |
| Hodgson, }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. }| .. | .. | .. | 19⅜ | 11 | 15 | ” ” |
| Loder, }| | | | | | | |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | 18 | 10¼ | 8 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 16⅛ | 8¾ | 10¾ | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. B. H. }| .. | .. | .. | 15¼ | 9⅜ | 5¾ | ” ” |
| Hodgson, }| | | | | | | |
| British }| | | | | | | |
| Museum }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Lieut.-Col. }| .. | .. | .. | 14⅜ | 8¾ | 8⅞ | ” ” |
| Graham }| | | | | | | |
+---------------+------+------+------+------+-----+------+--------------+
The bucks vary a good deal in colour; some of them are a beautiful
golden red, some a light fawn, and others a dirty yellowish white. The
colour of the hair seems always to fade after the skin is removed.
As a rule the skins are useless in the summer as the antelope are
changing their coats; the legs and face are dark brown, and the muzzle,
instead of being neat and deer-like, is broad and puffy. The horns are
peculiar, having a considerable bend forward at the tips, as if they
were pliable, and the buck was standing with his back to a gale of wind.
They have two greatly developed inguinal glands, the tubes of which
run right up into the body, and the Tartars are said to believe that
the antelope inflate these with air at will, to enable them to gallop
faster. A curious point about this antelope is that though he can
gallop, and very fast, he generally seems to prefer moving at a sharp
trot.
As they are wary and require careful stalking, and as they often lie up
for the day in holes, which they have a curious habit of scratching for
themselves on the hillsides just deep enough to conceal the whole of
their bodies and necks when lying down, leaving the eyes just peeping
over the top, the best time to hunt them is when they are feeding in
the morning and evening. They are rather soft animals, and succumb to
wounds that most deer would travel miles with; the writer once broke
the foreleg of a buck who after going about half a mile lay down
with his nose on the ground, and let himself be caught. There was a
pretty free fight for a bit when he was laid hold of, his sharp horns
necessitating a certain amount of caution; a judicious wrench towards
his wounded side, however, at length upset him, and a knife-thrust
finished him. A Tartar shikari, who was standing by, absolutely refused
to lend any assistance during the struggle, contenting himself with
applauding the combatants and seeing fair play. The does are smaller
than the bucks, are of a light brown colour, and have no horns.
Unlike other antelope, the bucks separate from the does in the summer,
and walk about in herds together. They are much worried by the grubs
of some fly, which seems to annoy them chiefly when lying down during
the heat of the day, for it is a common thing to see one of a herd get
up, go for a constitutional gallop--they always gallop then--return
to the herd and lie down again with the others. They do not seem to
be troubled so much when moving about feeding. The venison in July is
excellent.
XLV. THE SAIGA ANTELOPE (_Saiga tartarica_)
This extraordinary animal, which hails from Central Asia, is said to
be a relative of the Thibetan antelope, on account of the peculiar
formation of the nose. In the stuffed specimens in the British Museum
there is little or no resemblance between the two; the Thibetan
antelope having there, as in its natural state, a broad puffy muzzle,
while the saiga antelope has, at all events in the Museum, in addition
to a very high chevron, an absurd-looking elongated snout like a tapir,
projecting far beyond its lower lip. The hair is thick and long,
particularly on the cheeks, where it almost resembles a wild boar. The
ears are small and rounded in shape, utterly unlike any deer’s ears.
The general colour is almost white (probably a very pale yellow in
nature), and there is a dark stripe down the quarters and tail. The
horns are annulated and of a very pale colour, the stuffed specimen
having twelve rings; and though of the gazelle type, with a backward
sweep, rising up again at the tips, they have also two curious outward
bends, one near the base of the horn, and another near the tip, though
the tips eventually incline inwards. A skeleton in the Museum measured
58 ins. in length along the spinal cord, and stood 31¾ ins. at the
shoulder. The stuffed specimen stands 30 ins. at the shoulder. Three
pairs of horns measured 13¾ ins., 13½ ins. and 13 ins.
[Illustration: Saiga tartarica]
Sterndale remarks that the inflated nostrils ‘are so much lengthened
as to necessitate the animal’s walking backwards when it feeds.’ The
fortunate sportsman who comes across this rare variety should therefore
remember to post himself astern of a herd should he wish it to feed
up to him--though he may possibly find that nature has provided the
animal with means of twitching its nose out of the way to obviate so
uncomfortable a method of grazing.
_Gazella gutturosa_
This is another little known variety. It is found in Mongolia, and is
the one Ward refers to as the ‘hwang yang, or yellow goat.’ There is
a stuffed specimen in the British Museum, which stands 31 ins. at the
shoulder, is of a pale yellowish white, with coarse hairs, and has
horns 10½ ins. in length, of the regular gazelle type in shape and
ribbing, much resembling those of the _Gazella picticaudata_.
_Gazella subgutturosa_
is a much smaller beast than the last. It is found in Persia,[24]
and extends to Yarkand, where a specimen was shot by Major Biddulph
when with the Yarkand Mission, between Maral Bashi and Kashgar. It is
called by the natives ‘djêrân,’ or ‘jairan.’ Its general colour is
pale red, with dark facial marks, a dark band along the side where the
white of the belly joins the red of the back, and above it a curious
pale streak. The buck has long, annulated, lyrate horns, with the tips
inclining inwards. It measures 27½ ins. in height, and the horns of a
specimen quoted in the ‘Scientific Results, Second Yarkand Mission,’
measured 14 ins. in length by 5 ins. in girth. There is a coloured
plate of one in the same publication.
Major Cumberland, in his journal published by ‘Land and Water,’
mentions hawking these gazelles with trained eagles. He says that the
doe is not much bigger than _Gazella Bennetti_, with short stumpy horns.
XLVI. THE THIBETAN GAZELLE (_Gazella picticaudata_, _Procapra
picticaudata_--WARD)
_Thibetan ‘Goa’_
This lovely little animal is of a creamy fawn colour in its winter
coat. It has a white anal disc of longish hair, and a black tail about
four inches long, which, like the Indian gazelle, it keeps perpetually
wagging. The summer coat is slaty grey. The horns are like those of the
Indian gazelle, but are longer, of finer grain, and have a far bolder
sweep backwards before turning up at the tips. The female has no horns.
It frequents the high plateaux along the Chinese frontier, in Eastern
Ladak, in the neighbourhood of the Tsomoriri Lake, but apparently does
not extend north of the Indus, as far as Ladak is concerned, its limits
in Chinese Thibet being at present unknown.
_Measurements_
+-----------------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+--------------+
| |Height|Total |Weight|Length|Girth|Span| |
| Authority | at |length| as | of | at |tip | Remarks |
| |shoul-| | shot |horns | base|to | |
| | der | | | | |tip | |
+-----------------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+--------------+
| PANTHOLOPS HODGSONII |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins.|ins.| |
| | | | | | | | |
|Colonel Kinloch }| .. | .. | .. | 28½ | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| quotes a head }| | | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 27⅞ | 5⅞ | 13⅛|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir R. Harvey, }| .. | .. | .. | 27⅞ | 5½ | 11¼| ” ” ” |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 27⅛ | 5½ | 15⅛| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | 36 | .. | 85 | 26½ | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hon. C. Ellis | .. | .. | .. | 26⅜ | 5⅞ | 13⅝|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|The Writer | .. | .. | .. | 26 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. G. Campbell| .. | .. | .. | 25½ | 5½ | 12½|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | 25⅜ | 5⅜ | 12½| ” ” ” |
| British Museum}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 25¼ | 5¾ | 12¾| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | 37 | .. | 85 | 24 | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | 37 | .. | 90 | 24 | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|The Writer | 35 | .. | .. | 20½ | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| |
| Major Ward puts the average length of a full-grown |
| buck’s horns at 22 ins., which seems about right. |
| |
| SAIGA TARTARICA |
|Hon. W. | .. | .. | .. | 14⅜ | 5¼ | 3½|{Rowland |
| Rothschild | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. Loder,}| .. | .. | .. | 13¾ | 5 | .. | ” ” ” |
| Bart. }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 13¾ | 4⅜ | 3½| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | 13¾ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 13½ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hon. W. | .. | .. | .. | 13⅛ | 5⅜ | 4⅜|{Rowland |
| Rothschild | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| GAZELLA GUTTUROSA |
|Sir E. G. Loder,}| .. | .. | .. | 13⅛ | 4⅝ | 6¼|{Rowland |
| Bart. }| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. St. George }| .. | .. | .. | 12¾ | 4⅜ | 3⅜| ” ” ” |
| Littledale }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 12¼ | 4⅜ | 4¾| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. R. Beech | .. | .. | .. | 11½ | 4⅞ | 3 | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland Ward |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ” ” ” |
| | 30 | | | | | | |
| GAZELLA SUBGUTTUROSA |
|Scientific }| 27½ | .. | .. | 14 | 5 | .. | |
| Results, Second}| | | | | | | |
| Yarkand Mission}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland Ward |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Horn |
| | 26 | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Dr. O. Finsch, }| .. | .. | .. | 13¾ | 4½ | 6 | ” ” |
| British Museum}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | 13⅜ | 4¾ | 5½| ” ” |
| British Museum}| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 13 | 4½ | 5 | ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 12¾ | 4¾ | 4⅜| ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 12⅝ | 4¾ | 5¼| ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 11¾ | 5 | 5⅛| ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
| GAZELLA PICTICAUDATA |
|Major Greenaway | .. | .. | 37 | 13½ | .. | .. | |
| | | cleaned| | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection,}| .. | .. | .. | 13½ | 3⅝ | 5¼|{Rowland |
| British Museum}| | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. H. C. V. | .. | .. | .. | 13⅛ | 4 | 3⅝| ” ” ” |
| Hunter | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 13 | 3¾ | 3½| ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Colonel Kinloch |about | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | 24 | | | | | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | 23½ | 41 | 47 | 13 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” (a doe)| 23 | 38½ | 40 | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Captain K. }| .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| Mackenzie }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. | |
| good head }| | | | | | | |
+-----------------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+--------------+
Goa do not appear to lie down much in the middle of the day, and in May
and June, at all events, are constantly on the move. They appear to
resort to particular spots for dropping their dung, and little heaps of
it may be noticed wherever goa are at all plentiful.
As they are generally found on the grass flats that fringe the streams,
or on some almost level plateau, stalking them is by no means easy,
though they are not generally very shy, will occasionally allow
considerable liberties to be taken in approaching them, and will stop
to look after a fallen companion. The Tartars say that they can be
stalked down wind, but they say this also of the Thibetan antelope, and
Major Ward’s advice on this point is sound: ‘Believe it, reader, if you
like, but do not try it often.’
XLVII. INDIAN ANTELOPE (_Antilope Bezoartica_)
_Generally ‘Heran,’ or ‘Mirug,’ from the Sanscrit ‘Mirga’_
This is the well-known black buck, which is found all over India
at intervals from the extreme south to as far north as the Jhelum,
following the southern bank of that river till (joined by the Chenab,
Ravi and Sutlej) it flows into the Indus, which then becomes the
black buck’s northern boundary. Essentially a plains-loving animal,
it avoids hills and heavy forest, but is often found in the long
grass which covers the islands and banks of many of the large rivers.
Though considerable tracts of apparently suitable country do not
seem to hold a single herd, special districts where antelope are
always to be found seem to crop up unexpectedly all over India. In
the North-West Provinces, and along the borders of the Bikanir Desert
between Rajpootana and the Punjab, it appears to be more generally
plentiful than in the rest of India, and the horns in these districts
grow longer. Sanderson says, in ‘Thirteen Years among the Wild Beasts
of India,’ that an 18-in. horn is a decided rarity in Mysore, whilst
in the Bikanir Desert they are frequently obtained 24 ins., and
occasionally 27 ins. or more, in length.
A black buck in his best coat is a very handsome animal, but is too
well known to require description.
The buck usually changes his coat after the rutting season, which is in
the spring, the season varying slightly according to locality. During
the hot months he is generally more or less brown, regaining the black
coat after the rainy season. Many full-grown bucks with good heads do
not seem to turn black at all, but the master buck of a herd is almost
invariably black at the proper season.
[Illustration: Tame decoys]
Major FitzHerbert (a very careful observer of the habits of wild
animals) is of opinion that it is usually the master buck of the herd
who turns brown in the hot weather; he is then used up, and often
leaves the herd to the possession of a younger buck, who has remained
black.
The herds, though more frequently consisting of ten or a dozen animals,
are occasionally of immense size--indeed thousands are mentioned by
some authorities. Antelope in herds are, as a rule, fairly easy to get
within shot of; but a solitary old black buck takes precious good care
of himself, and as there is rarely cover enough to stalk him without
being seen, these wary old gentlemen generally escape. The natives have
many methods of hunting antelope. Pursuing them with trained chitas has
been so often described that any detailed account of it is unnecessary.
It is interesting to see once, the chita’s speed being so amazing,
but considered as sport it is poor fun. Black buck are occasionally
snared by sending tame bucks among them with nooses attached to their
horns. The wild buck attacks the intruder, and gets caught by the horn.
This plan is also adopted for snaring ravine deer, but not often, as
the gazelle is said to be harder to train than the black buck. The
commonest way of snaring antelope is by covering about an acre of
ground thickly with nooses and driving a herd over it. Trained bullocks
are often used by native shikaris to enable them to get within the
close range they love for a shot; and the writer has seen the following
curious method practised in Central India. A trained buck and doe are
taken out, each having a light cord about ten yards long attached to
it, and the pair are led by an attendant, a light screen about three
feet square made of grass and leaves with a small hole in the centre
being carried by the shikari, and the whole party moves under cover of
a third man on horseback to within about three hundred yards of a herd
of antelope. The screen is then planted on a spot commanding a good
view; the men on foot crouch behind it, and the horseman rides slowly
off to a flank. The tame deer are then let out to the full extent of
their lines on one side of the screen, and begin playing round one
another. The master buck of the herd, seeing an impertinent intruder on
his ground, trots out at once to do battle for the doe, but the screen
puzzles him, so before coming close he generally circles round to try
and see behind it. As he moves the screen is shifted round, the men
scrambling round on hands and knees behind it, and if there are two
Englishmen bursting with suppressed laughter in addition to the two
natives, all scuffling round as the screen moves and trying to keep
their legs out of sight, the business is most comical.
Directly the wild buck stops, the screen and the men behind it must
remain motionless. Having failed to discover what is behind the screen,
the buck, though he is still suspicious, probably because he caught
sight of a clumsy English leg, feels that he must try to capture that
enticing doe, but decides on having a look from the other side of the
screen first, so back he gallops to the other flank, and the scrambling
process is repeated. Gradually he comes within range, the rifle is
poked through the hole in the screen and he gets his quietus; after
this the tame deer are given a handful of corn, and the party sets
out to look for another herd. The tame buck employed in this manœuvre
should be a brown one, as if an old powerful-looking black one is used
the wild buck will often decline the contest.
In some districts the antelope are so wild that sportsmen have to
approach them under cover of bullock-carts, and occasionally dress up
as natives to get within range. The antelope are accustomed to see
carts and natives, and will generally allow them to pass within about a
hundred and fifty yards, while the sight of a European will start them
off at once; but in most places in Central and Northern India these
accessories are not needed. The pleasantest way of shooting is to ride
a quiet horse, which will do for stalking if the antelope are wild or
for riding down a wounded buck, taking a few coolies with you to carry
game, luncheon, guns and cartridges.
A shot-gun enables one to vary the bag pleasantly with small game,
without interfering with the chance of getting antelope. If the
sportsman is fond of coursing, greyhounds may be taken, the Rampore
breed suiting the country best; but after many trials the writer has
become unwillingly convinced that dogs do more harm than good. If there
are any crops about they soon get unsighted, get on to fresh deer, and
disturb the whole country.
On the other hand, if the sportsman has dogs he can often enjoy
a course after a fox or a hare to vary the entertainment, and a
good course with a wounded buck is a very pretty sight. The usual
proceeding is as follows: The sportsman rides till a herd is sighted;
he approaches them as far as he thinks safe, probably within about six
hundred yards; he then dismounts, and if he is going to use his horse
for stalking, goes on with the horse and groom, leaving the coolies and
dogs behind, with orders to follow him slowly, keeping as far back as
possible without losing sight of him. If the antelope are feeding or
moving slowly, the sportsman directs his course so as to cross their
path about a hundred yards ahead of them. If the creatures are lying
down or stationary, he must try to pass within a hundred yards of the
flank which is to the leeward of the herd, walking on the far side
of his horse, which is led by the groom on the same side. If he has
no horse with him, he should hold his rifle so that the sun does not
shine on the barrels. If two sportsmen are working together (a most
killing plan with crafty men who play into one another’s hands), they
should each take a flank and go rather wider than they would if hunting
single-handed, so as to keep the herd between them. As long as that can
be managed one or other of the guns is sure to get a chance at the best
buck. The sportsman should show himself to the herd a long way off,
and walk slowly, without any attempt at concealment; he must remember
never to walk straight at them, but always as if he were going to pass
them at about a hundred yards; if he finds he is lying too far out of
his course, he should edge quietly towards them without turning, and he
should never stop until he means to fire. He should never look direct
at the herd; quiet side glances will give him all the information he
requires.
When he has approached to within two hundred yards, if the herd is
lying down some of the does will get up; but the sportsman can go on
safely till the buck he wants begins to stir. The old fellow will rise
leisurely, stretch himself, and then turn to gaze. This is the time
for the shot, and if it can be taken without sitting down or kneeling
it is far more likely to be an easy one. An excellent rest[25] for
firing standing can be made with a light bamboo having an iron crutch
covered with leather on the top to hold the rifle barrels. The crutch
should be the exact height of the top of the sportsman’s shoulder, and
is held, when firing, with the left hand at arm’s length. The bottom
of the stick should be shod, to prevent it wearing away when used as
a walking-stick. The advantages of using this rest are particularly
noticeable when shooting among low bushes, which so often interfere
with a shot when sitting or kneeling.
Frequently, just before the sportsman can get a fair chance at the
buck he wants, the herd begins to move off; two or three does commence
bucking high in the air, and to a novice it would appear that the
whole herd are on the point of galloping away. This, however, by no
means follows. The master buck often takes very little notice of their
pranks, and follows slowly after them, in which case the does calm
down, and though still continuing to move, will lead on slowly. The
sportsman should follow them quietly, still keeping on their flanks,
and heading so as to cut them off, if possible; sooner or later he will
get a chance if he sticks to them quietly, though if he has followed
them for some distance he will probably only get a running shot. Each
herd has its own district as a rule, and sooner than be forced far over
its boundary, it will turn and gallop back past the sportsman, often
within fifty yards. This is even more noticeable with ravine deer,
whose herd districts appear to be smaller than those of antelope, and
who generally require a lot of following up and bullying before they
give a chance. A good buck with a herd of either antelope or of ravine
deer need never be given up as hopeless as long as it can be followed.
In following a wounded buck the main point is just to keep it in sight
without pressing it until it lies down, when it should be left for
about half an hour before being restalked. If it is intended to ride,
or course the buck, the attendants should be signalled up at once, as
the half-hour’s rest will spoil the run, but the sportsman should be
careful that the dogs are not slipped till the buck is well clear of
the herd. The best way is for the sportsman to have the dogs brought up
to him, then ride ahead, the slipper running after him with the dogs in
leash till the buck begins to gallop; then have the dogs slipped and
ride the buck, halloaing on the dogs till they are fairly laid on. If
he has no dogs he will be able to get within three hundred yards of the
buck before the latter really starts, and then he must send him along;
after about half a mile he will find that he can get within twenty
yards, but no nearer. A few hundred yards farther the buck will begin
to falter and then suddenly throw himself down, and the sportsman can
either spear him or dismount and knife him--the buck has run himself
out. With Express rifles, unless a buck is hit in the leg, he will
give no run at all; with a body wound he can’t gallop any distance,
though he may give trouble if pursued on foot. The bucking bounds which
antelope make are very peculiar (no wounded animal ever bucks). The
distance covered may be only a few feet, the animal jumping apparently
to get a good view, but when the deer are galloping, the distance
covered in a bound, apparently made without effort, is extraordinary.
Major FitzHerbert paced three successive bounds of a doe on softish
sand; two measured eight yards and the third seven yards.
A buck slightly wounded in the leg will occasionally give a grand run.
In 1875 Major FitzHerbert shot a buck through the hock without breaking
the bone. Mounted on a fast Arab, he rode this buck for a mile and
a half without being able to get up to him, as the buck led over a
succession of gram fields where he was able to keep along the narrow
headlands while the horse had to plough through the clods. Finding that
he was, if anything, losing ground, the rider pulled up, and the buck
stopped and lay down in a patch of grass. The attendants then came up
with a couple of deerhounds, which were slipped at the buck with a good
start, but could not run into him till he had gone another mile and a
quarter, and only then caught the buck when he dislocated his wounded
hock.
In 1876 the same sportsman had another brilliant gallop on the same
horse after a buck wounded in the fleshy part of the thigh. A brace of
dogs were slipped, but got away on to other deer early in the run, and
the buck was ridden till he dropped and was despatched with a knife.
This run was measured about five miles on the map from point to point,
and must have been seven or eight miles as the buck went. Cases have
been reported of unwounded black buck being run down by dogs in the
Bombay Presidency, but in Northern India, though the writer knows of
two instances of unwounded does being successfully coursed (one of
these at all events was not in young, as it was examined by a medical
officer to decide a bet), the bucks could always gallop away from the
dogs.
The biggest bag of black buck the writer knows of was sixty-four bucks
in 1883, by two guns in five days and a half. Of these, ten bucks,
whose horns were all over 22 in. in length, were shot by one of the
sportsmen in a morning’s work. The biggest mixed bag by one gun in a
day was two nylghai, five ravine deer, and three black buck in 1875.
Black buck in their wild state are very pugnacious, and when two bucks
are fighting they may often be approached without difficulty. I once
walked up to within eighty yards of two who were desperately hard at
it; sat down and watched the fight till they stood with their horns
locked, and then shot the blacker buck of the pair through the lungs.
He threw up his head and bolted, pursued by his antagonist, a brown
buck with good horns, who seemed to have had rather the best of the
battle while it lasted. They ran about one hundred yards, the brown
buck driving and horning the other till the latter dropped dead; then,
after making two or three attacks on the prostrate body, the brown buck
began to swagger round it, head and tail in the air, as proud as could
be. By this time I had again got well within range, and as the brown
buck now apparently saw me for the first time (not having taking any
notice of the shot), I dropped him with another bullet so that he fell
over the carcase of his late rival.
Writing of the height that antelope can jump, Williamson mentions a
black buck leading a herd over a net which was propped up on poles 13
ft. long, and which must have been at least 11 ft. high.
XLVIII. THE NYLGHAO (_Portax pictus_)
_Native names: ‘Nilghao,’ ‘Lilghao’; in the Punjab, ‘Roz’_
This animal is found pretty nearly all over the plains of India. Jerdon
says it is not known in the extreme south of India, but Sanderson
mentions it as occurring in the Madras Presidency on the borders of
Mysore. According to my own experience, it is most plentiful in Central
India, though it is common enough in the North-West Provinces.
An old male, usually called a blue bull, is a large beast with a lean
head, surmounted by short cow-like horns, but with a curious rib along
the base of the horn in front; the neck is long and carried high; the
withers are high, and give him a horse-like appearance, but he falls
away towards the hind-quarters; the tail is like a cow’s, with a tuft
at the end, but only reaches to the hocks. His general colour is a dark
iron grey; the chin, lips, and inside of the ears are white; the ears
are rather large and cow-like; there is a white spot on each cheek, a
large white patch on the throat, below which hangs a tuft of long black
hair; the chest and stomach are white, there are white rings on the
fetlocks, and he has a thin upright black mane.
The female is fawn-coloured, and is without horns.
Scrub jungle, composed of ‘babul’ trees, ‘dhak’ and ‘beyr’ bushes, is
the ground on which to look for nylghai, and if there is a patch of
sugar cane adjoining such a jungle, it is an almost certain find. The
natives often enclose these patches of cane with grass fences nearly
six feet high, but nylghai will always jump them.
As a rule, natives object more or less strongly to nylghai being shot,
regarding them as cattle; and as they afford poor sport with the rifle,
most men spare them after having obtained a few specimens, especially
if the ground is not rideable; but where they can be ridden it is
quite another matter. A wounded bull will give a grand run, and even
an unwounded one can be ridden down if well pressed at first. This is
rather a difficult matter for a single horseman, but parties of three
or four have frequently done it. Kinloch mentions an instance of its
having been done single-handed, and gives some stirring accounts of his
own adventures after nylghai. Cows, he says, it is almost impossible to
catch, the only chance being with heavy old bulls.
Blue bulls have frequently been tamed and trained to carry loads.
Sterndale mentions one he used to ride, but they are as a rule
dangerous in captivity. The writer owned one who would let him sit on
his back when lying down, but he would always charge any pony that came
near him, dropping suddenly on his knees to use his horns. He used to
break loose, and hunt the native gardeners up trees, whilst he enjoyed
the produce. As the bull would not consent to be led, he had to be
left behind when the writer’s battalion left the station, and his last
exploit was to hunt the portly native landlord of the house round and
round the premises when he came to look at his property.
The hide is very thick, especially on the shoulders, and is much prized
by the boatmen on all the rivers for making up into the inflated skins
they use.
Sterndale remarks: ‘He sometimes even devours such quantities of the
intensely acrid berries of the aoula (_Phyllanthus emblica_) that his
flesh becomes saturated with the bitter elements of the fruit. This is
most noticeable in soup, less so in a steak, which is at times not bad.’
The writer has never had the luck to taste any part of a blue bull that
was worth eating except the tongue.
XLIX. INDIAN GAZELLE (_Gazella Bennetti_)
_Commonly called Ravine Deer; native name generally ‘Chikara’_
The gazelle is found in suitable localities pretty nearly all over
India, with the exception of Lower Bengal, the Western Ghauts, and
the Malabar coast. Wherever there is sandy ground, low stony hills,
or the network of ravines which fringes the banks of so many Indian
streams near their sources, or where they cut their way through low
hills, ravine deer are likely to be found. They avoid heavy forest or
swamp covered with high grass, nor do they usually frequent closely
cultivated ground unless there is scrub, jungle, or a ravine near to
which they can retire when disturbed.
They are fidgetty, restless little animals, and, like the Thibetan
gazelles, are incessantly twitching their tails. Even where not
much hunted they are generally pretty wild, but as they do not as a
rule go far when disturbed, the sportsman can usually get a shot by
perseveringly following up a herd. A steady shooting horse is of great
assistance in stalking them, and on the edge of the Bikanir Desert,
where they are very plentiful, the easiest way of approaching them is
under cover of a riding camel. As black buck and ravine deer are often
found on the same ground, the same tactics in the stalk are applicable
to either. The stick-rest recommended for black buck shooting is of the
greatest assistance when shooting ravine deer among bushes. The bucks
are often seen alone, and herds rarely consist of more than a dozen
animals. The does have thin horns, and occasionally, in bad light or
jungle, pay the penalty of being mistaken for bucks.
Ravine deer shooting with a light rifle is very good fun. Straight
shooting is necessary for so small a mark, and as a rule the day’s
amusement can be varied by shots at black buck or small game. Colonel
Howard, in 1883, got one ravine buck, one bustard, two peafowl, one
sand-grouse, one duck, in a day, all shot with a rifle.
A ravine buck with a broken leg will give a good run to dogs if found
in the open, but as a rule the ground these deer frequent is too broken
for coursing.
An unwounded doe was run down by three dogs belonging to officers of
the Rifle Brigade in 1876, but on another occasion the writer saw a
fawn run clean away from a good dog. Kinloch describes how the officers
of the Guides used to hunt ravine deer with dogs and falcons.
L. THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE (_Tetraceros quadricornis_)
_Native names: generally ‘Charsingha,’ ‘Choka,’ ‘Doda’; in Chota Nagpur
‘Cháorang’ (Kinloch)_
Four-horned antelopes are found thinly scattered all over India, but,
according to Sterndale, not in Ceylon or Burmah. They are met with in
Rajputana, but the writer has never heard of them in the Punjab.
They generally live alone or in pairs, and frequent bamboo jungle, or
the long grass and bushes near forests.
Their colouring varies a good deal, but it is generally a
reddish-brown, paler below the forelegs, and fetlocks dark; the latter
being ringed with pale marks. The female is hornless. The male has two
pairs of short, smooth black horns, the front pair, which is shorter
than the other pair, growing almost above the eyes, while the rear pair
rises just in front of the ears. The front pair are often mere knobs,
and good specimen heads, with the four horns complete, are not easy
to get; in fact, this antelope is such a small animal and sticks so
persistently to cover, that the majority of those that are killed are
bagged by lucky snap-shots. Sterndale quotes a letter in the ‘Asian,’
signed ‘Bheel,’ in which the writer remarks: ‘It is found in the thick
jungles at the foot of the hills. It selects some secluded spot,
which it does not desert when disturbed, returning invariably to its
hiding-place when the coast is clear.’ This peculiarity might well be
taken advantage of by any sportsman desirous of obtaining a specimen;
on a four-horn being put up, his hiding-place might be noted, the
attendants sent on a few hundred yards, and the sportsman remain behind
to intercept the animal on its return. The writer has never tried this
plan, but only offers the suggestion for what it is worth.
_Measurements_
+----------------+------+------+-------+------+-----+----+--------------+
| |Height| |Weight |Length|Girth|Span| |
|Authority |at |Total | as | of | of |tip | Remarks |
| |shoul-|length| shot |horns |horns|to | |
| |der | | | | |tip | |
+----------------+------+------+-------+------+-----+----+--------------+
| ANTILOPE BEZOARTICA |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. |ins. |ins. |ins.| |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 28¼ | 5 | 17¾|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. Rowland Ward| .. | .. |Average| .. | .. | .. | ” |
| | | | 85 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale | 32 | 35 | .. | 28 | .. | .. |{‘Triangle’ in|
| | | | | | | |{‘The Asian’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | 27¾ | .. | .. |{‘Sportsman’s |
| | | | | | | |{Guide to |
| | | | | | | |{Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | 27 | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 27 | .. | .. | ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 27 | 5 | 19½|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Captain Brooke | .. | .. | .. | 26¾ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | 26¾ | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 26⅜ | 5 | 17⅞|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch | .. | .. | .. | 26 | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| | | | | | | |{Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Gordon Cumming | .. | .. | .. | 26 | .. | .. |{‘Wild Men and|
| | | | | | | |{Wild Beasts’ |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 26 | .. | .. |(An albino) |
| | | | | | | | |
|Captn. Hervey | .. | .. | .. | 25¾ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 25⅝ | 4¾ | 20¾|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Martin | .. | .. | .. | 25½ | .. | 15 | ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sir J. Morris, | .. | .. | .. | 25⅛ | 5⅛ | 21¾| ” |
| K.C.S.I.| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Hume Collection,| .. | .. | .. | 25⅜ | 5½ | 14½| ” |
| British Museum| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | .. | 25 | 4⅞ | 19 | ” |
| | | | | | | | |
|Colonel Howard | .. | .. | .. | 25 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Capt. H. Petre | .. | .. | .. | 25 | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Gordon Cumming | .. | .. | .. | 25 | .. | .. |{‘Wild Men and|
| | | | | | | |{Wild Beasts’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | 33 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|‘Spherical,’ }| .. | .. | 83.4 | .. | .. | .. |{Average |
|‘Oriental }| | | | | | |{weight of |
|Sporting }| | | | | | |{bucks in |
|Magazine,’ 1870}| | | | | | |{Allahabad |
| | | | | | | |{district |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” ” | .. | .. | 70.8 | .. | .. | .. |{Average |
| | | | | | | |{weight of |
| | | | | | | |{bucks in |
| | | | | | | |{Bundara |
| | | | | | | |{district |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 20 | .. | .. | |
| good head }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | PORTAX PICTUS |
|Major }| 51 | .. | .. | 9½ | .. | .. | |
| FitzHerbert }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|British Museum | .. | .. | .. | 9¼ | 6¾ | 4⅞|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch {|about}| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |{‘Large Game |
| {| 56 }| | | | | |{ Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | |
|Mr. A. O. Hume | .. | .. | .. | 8⅞ | 6⅝ | 3½|{Rowland |
| | | | | | | |{Ward, ‘Horn |
| | | | | | | |{Measurements’|
| | | | | | | | |
|The Writer | .. | .. | .. | 8¾ | 7 | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | 8¾ | 7⅛ | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s }|{ 52 }|{ 96} | .. |{ 8 }| .. | .. | |
| ‘Mammalia’ }|{ to }|{ to} | |{ to }| | | |
| |{ 58 }|{106} | |{ 10 }| | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major }| 53 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| FitzHerbert }| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Major Greenaway | 55 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 53 | .. | .. | 7½ | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
| ” | 50 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | |
| | | | | | | | |
|Average of }| .. | .. | .. | 8 | .. | .. | |
| good head }| | | | | | | |
+----------------+------+------+-------+------+-----+----+--------------+
+------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+
| |Height| |Weight|Length|Length|Length|Girth|Span|
|Authority |at |Total | as |rear |front | of | of |tip |
| |shoul-|length|shot |horns |horns |horns |horns|to |
| |der | | | | | | |tip |
| +------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+
| | Remarks |
+------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+
| | GAZELLA BENNETTI |
| | ins. | ins. | lbs. | ins. | ins. | ins. |ins. |ins.|
|Capt. Brooke| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 14¼ | .. | .. |
| | Both shot the same evening near Ferozepore |
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 14 | .. | .. |
| | ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major Ward | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 14 | .. | .. |
| | ‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir V. } | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 13¾ | 4½ | 7 |
|Brooke } | Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major |} .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 13½ | .. | .. |
|FitzHerbert |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. Kinloch| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 13¼ | .. | .. |
| | ‘Large Game Shooting’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Major |} .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 13 | .. | .. |
|FitzHerbert |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s |} 26 | 42 | .. | .. | .. | 12 | .. | .. |
| ‘Mammalia’|} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|‘Spherical,’|} .. | .. | 39½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}
|‘Oriental |} | | | | | | | |}
|Sporting |} | | | | | | | |}
|Magazine,’ |} | | | | | | | |}
|1870 |} | | | | | | | |}
| | | | | | | | | |}
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 38 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}Bucks
| | | | | | | | | |}
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 36 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}
| | | | | | | | | |}
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 33 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}
| | | | | | | | | |
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 30 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}
| | | | | | | | | |}
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 28½ | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}Does
| | | | | | | | | |}
| ” ” ” | .. | .. | 24 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |}
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of |} .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 12 | .. | .. |
| good head |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| TETRACEROS QUADRICORNUS |
|British |} .. | .. | .. | 4½ | 2⅜ | .. | .. | .. |
| Museum |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. G. |} .. | .. | .. | 4⅜ | 2½ | .. | .. | .. |
|Loder, Bart.|} Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’ |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Col. J. |} .. | .. | .. | 4 | 2½ | .. | .. | .. |
| Evans |} | | | | | | | |
| (British |} | ” ” ” |
| Museum) |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir R. |} .. | .. | .. | 3⅝ | 1¾ | .. | .. | .. |
| Harvey, |} | ” ” ” |
| Bart. |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|H.R.H. Duke |} .. | .. | .. | 3½ | 2 | .. | .. | .. |
|of Edinburgh|} | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sir E. |} .. | .. | .. | 3¼ | 1⅞ | .. | .. | .. |
| Durand, |} | | | | | | | |
| Bart. |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|British |} .. | .. | .. | 3⅛ | ½ | .. | .. | .. |
| Museum |} | ” ” ” |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Sterndale’s |} 24 | 40 | .. {| about| about|} .. | .. | .. |
| ‘Mammalia’|} to | to | {| 5 | 1½ |} | | |
| | 26 | 42 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Average of |} .. | .. | .. | 3 | 1½ | .. | .. | .. |
| good head |} | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| MEMINNA INDICA |
|The Writer | 11 |21½ |about | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| | | | 10 | | | | | |
| |Other measurements of this buck for stuffing: Height|
| |at croup, 11¼; length of neck, 2¼; girth of neck, |
| |7⁸⁄₁₀; girth behind shoulder, 13½; girth middle of |
| |body, 16⁷⁄₂₀; girth in front of stifle, 13½; forearm|
| |at elbow, 3⁶⁄₁₀; thigh close to body, 6⁴⁄₁₀ ins. |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Jerdon | 10 | 22 | 5 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| | to | to | to | | | | | |
| | 12 | 23 | 6 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
|Professor |} 8 | 18 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
|Garrod, |} | | | | | | | |
|‘Cassells’ |} | | | | | | | |
|Nat. Hist.’ |} | | | | | | | |
+------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+----+
The four-horn has the stilted action peculiar to _deerlets_, walking on
the tips of its toes. Sterndale remarks that it is higher at the croup
than the withers, and runs with its neck stuck out in a poky sort of
way, making short leaps.
LI. THE MOUSE DEER (_Meminna indica_)
_Native names: ‘Pisora,’ ‘Pisai’_
Habitat, the large forests of India; but it is not known, according to
Jerdon, in the countries eastward of the Bay of Bengal. It is common in
the bamboo forests of the Central Provinces (Sterndale). The writer has
never heard of it in Northern India, nor has he even seen it in Central
India; in the Western Ghauts it is common enough.
In colour it is an olive dun, with lines of pale yellow spots along
the sides; the lower parts are white; the ears small and rounded; the
legs fine and delicate, being scarcely thicker than an ordinary pencil;
the tail is short. The male has delicate little tushes pendant from
the upper jaw, like the Barking deer; the scrotum is hairless, and
instead of being between the legs is behind them, like the ordinary
little Indian ground squirrel, which it very much resembles in colour
and markings. It is commonly found in bamboo jungle, and the writer got
a good specimen in the Western Ghauts. Sterndale writes of some tame
mouse deer which he had: ‘They trip about most daintily on the tips of
their toes, and look as if a puff of wind would blow them away. They
are said to rut in June and July, and bring forth two young about the
end of the rainy season.’
LII. KYANG (_Equus hemionus_)
_Thibet ‘Kyang’_
The kyang was doubtless originally intended by Providence to fulfil
some good purpose, but having turned out a failure was located in
Thibet, where it was probably considered it would not be much in the
way; or else it was designed to take the place of the insect life on
the lower ranges and act as a blister on the temper of the sportsman.
The shapoo, limb of the devil as it is, has some good points in its
favour--e.g. a graceful carriage, fine horns, and it is a desirable
acquisition to the bag. The kyang has nothing to recommend or excuse
it. It is an ugly, donkeyfied, fiddle-headed brute, with straight
shoulders. In colour it is a mealy bay with a dark-brown hog mane,
dorsal stripe and tail. Its head and ears are coarse and large, and
its screeching bray is as unpleasant as its general appearance. Being
absolutely worthless to shoot, it is always trading on that fact, and
on the utterly false pretence that it is deeply interested in the
actions and habits of human beings, particularly Europeans, is for
ever thrusting itself into society where it is not welcome, thereby
spoiling the sportsman’s chance of a quiet interview with the animal
of his choice. The one trait in its character that might be reckoned
as a palliation by an unduly benevolent commentator is that it appears
not to be selfish. As soon as it thinks it has got a sportsman’s temper
well under way, it will scour the country round for all its friends
and relations, and assemble them to enjoy together the interesting
spectacle of an angry man armed with a rifle that he dare not discharge
for fear of alarming something worth firing at. Hints and persuasion
are thrown away, and nothing but a declaration of war has the smallest
effect on kyang. A skilful diplomat may occasionally gain a temporary
advantage by misleading kyang as to his intended route--getting the
kyang, for instance, to believe that he wants to cross a particular
pass, and then, by taking advantage of cover, escaping up a side
ravine; but as a rule the sportsman has only the choice of two
alternatives: either to take the first opportunity of hiding and
remaining hidden till the disturbance is over, or else going to some
other part of the ground.
_Measurements._
+---------------+-------------------+---------------+
| Authority |Height at shoulder | |
+---------------+-------------------+---------------+
|Col. Kinloch | About 14 hands | |
| | | |
|Sterndale | 12 to 14 hands | |
| | | |
|Major Greenaway|5 year old female, |5½ inches below|
| | 12½ hands | the knee |
| | | |
| ” | male, 13 hands | |
| | | |
|The Writer |old male, 13½ hands| |
+---------------+-------------------+---------------+
LIII. THE WILD ASS (_Equus onager_)
_Native names: ‘Ghor khur,’ Hindi; ‘Ghour,’ ‘Kherdecht,’ Persian;
‘Koulan,’ Kirghiz (Sterndale)._
The wild ass is common in Persia and extends through Beluchistan and
Sind to the Bikaneer Desert and Kutch, its southern limit according to
Jerdon being Deesa, and its eastern 75° E. longitude. It is closely
allied to, if not identical with, the wild ass of Assyria, _Equus
hemippus_.
As south of the Indus the wild ass is by no means common, and is very
shy and difficult to stalk in the open desert, comparatively few have
been shot by Europeans. Sterndale, quoting Major Tytler, says that on
the Bikaneer Desert the natives organise a hunt once a year to catch
the foals for sale to native princes, and that a full-grown one has
more than once been run down fairly and speared. The Beluchis also ride
down and catch the foals, and shoot the full-grown ones for food, the
ground there being favourable for stalking. A gallop after a wild ass
should be exciting, but few sportsmen, the writer imagines, would care
to shoot more than one specimen of a beast whose sole trophies are the
hoofs.
Sterndale says they stand eleven or twelve hands at the shoulder, which
is considerably smaller than the kyang.
[Illustration: Ovis Poli]