ANTELOPE SHOOTING IN IMONGOLIA. 41 



back. When a herd is sighted one jumps off and worms his way 

 over the ground till he reaches a satisfactory position. Meanwhile 

 the others have ridden round and attempt to drive the buck towards 

 the man with the gun. This method can only be practised in hilly 

 country, as the antelope are much too sharp-sighted to be deceived 

 in this way on the flat open plain. 



The European with his high-power long-range repeating rifle has a 

 much better chance of shooting antelope than the Mongol with his 

 primitive weapon, but even he will find it extremely hard to estimate 

 ranges, for IMongolia, above all countries, is a land of great distances. 

 Hills that appear ten minutes walk away will not be reached in an 

 hour, and the range of a buck that one puts down as being not more 

 than two hundred yards will turn out to be nearer six hundred. It is 

 only when one gets into hilly country that one finds this wary game 

 at all easy to secure, and even then one must either be a remarkably 

 good shot, or else have had some experience of the quarry and Mon- 

 golian distances. 



One thing is certain, he who attempts to go after antelope with- 

 out being well mounted and having one or two equally well mounted 

 attendants, will be foolish indeed. It is always best to get hold of 

 a Mongol hunter, for they are certainly fine shikarees, and, if their 

 advice is followed, will bring one right up to within easy range of the 

 buck. 



My own experience of the IMongolian antelope was gathered during 

 three different collecting trips, one in the Ordos Desert, another in 

 North Shansi and the third in IMongolia north of Kalgap. On the 

 first trip I was unsuccessful in my attempt to shoot an antelope, 

 though it was not the fault of the Mongol who accompanied me. He 

 brought me up to within fifty yards of a herd of thirty or forty nice 

 buck, but it was my own wretched marksmanship that prevented my 

 securing a trophy. I shall never forget dodging from hillock to hillock, 

 now creeping flat upon the sand, now running with body bent low 

 behind the cover of some bushes, and finally chmbing stealthily up 

 the last ridge and lying at the top to regain my breath ere I fired. 

 The buck were quite unconscious of our presence, till the nearest one 

 suddenly looked up and spotted me. With a peculiar sneezing noise 

 it made off. The rest of the herd sprang to attention, every head 

 pointed in my direction. In my anxiety to get a standing shot I fired 

 wildly and missed, while the antelope broke in every direction at the 

 report of my rifle. We tried again and aigain, but never got another 

 chance like that. 



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