A MORNING'S STALK AFTER BLACK BUCK 163 



are never found, save on the outskirts, in the big forests. 

 They hve in herds of varying size usually consisting of an 

 old buck and several smaller ones, and a number of does 

 and youngsters. 



They are wonderfully lightly and gracefully made, and 

 possessed of considerable speed 

 and of jumping powers which 

 have to be seen to be credited. 

 When alarmed the whole herd 

 will go off at speed across the 

 country in a series of marvellous 

 leaps and bounds and rapidly run 

 out of sight ; for their colouring 

 harmonizes so well with the 

 country they live in that it is no 

 easy matter to make them out 

 when several hundred yards away. 



In fact as I had discovered when 

 making my first acquaintance with 

 these dainty animals the shikari 

 has to learn to pick them up 

 out of their surroundings, an art 

 which requires some practice and 

 patience. 



When not much shot at buck are approached compara- 

 tively easily, and the acquisition of any number of " head " 

 is not a difficult matter. Things are different, however, in 

 those parts of India where the little animals are constantly 

 pursued by sportsmen. The herds then become very wary 

 and difficult to approach. 



Sportsmen often make use of the country bullock cart to 

 reach a herd in such cases. Living as they do in the culti- 

 vated lands, the antelope pay no attention to the villager 

 engaged in his occupation in the fields or to the country 

 bullock carts slowly making their way along the main road 

 or village feeder roads, or along the fair weather roads 

 across the fields in the cold and hot weather months. 



Consequently by having a country cart driven across the 

 fields, which are not separated by hedges as in England, 

 but merely by a small ridge known as a " bund " or by 

 small boundary stones, and keeping under cover on the far 

 edge of the cart a sportsman can often approach a herd well 

 within range and thus secure an easy shot. I did not much 



