SPORT IN WESTERN CHINA 163 



The Black Deer, " Hei Lu-tsze," is the Szechuan Sambar 

 {Cervus unicolor dejeani).^ I believe I am correct in stating 

 that this animal is known only from its horns, no skull or skin 

 having yet been received by Western scientists. The horns 

 of this Sambar can be seen in any large medicine shop in Chung- 

 king, Sui Fu, and other cities, and are said to come from 

 Yunnan. But this is only partly correct. This Sambar occurs 

 west of Tachienlu around Litang, and northward at least 

 as far as the high mountains west of Lifan Ting. Unlike the 

 type, this race frequents cold regions, and is in all probability 

 a distinct species. Captain M'Neill saw, west of Tachienlu, 

 a hind and one calf. He describes the hind as looking very 

 black, so much so that in thick scrub for a moment he mistook 

 it for a bear. This Sambar is undoubtedly rare in these 

 regions, but it is remarkable that a race should be found so 

 far north. 



WAPITI (red deer) 



This is the " Hung Lu-tsze " (Red Deer) of the Chinese, 

 the " Ghwar " of the Thibetans around Tachienlu, and is 

 perhaps the commonest of the three species found in these 

 regions. It ranges from the Yunnan border northward to 

 south-western Kansu and possibly beyond. The local chief 

 of Chiala, residing at Tachienlu, keeps several in captivity at 

 his summer palace (so-called) a few miles outside the town. 

 These animals are about the size of a large donkey, and the 

 stags carry fine horns, as witness the illustration (p. 164). The 

 winter coat is light grey, and the summer coat rufous-brown, 

 with a hght rump-patch. There is no record of any foreign 

 sportsman having shot this Wapiti, and its identity is uncertain. 

 Possibly it is a local race of the Thian shan Wapiti (C. son- 

 garicus). Captain M'Neill, when shooting west of Tachienlu, 

 saw a few hinds but no stag, and suggests it may be the Asiatic 

 Wapiti (C. asiaticus). In 1904, in open forested country three 



^ Named after Pere Dejean, a Roman Catholic priest formerly stationed 

 at Tachienlu. He first arrived in that neighbourhood about 1870, and never 

 left it, dying there in 1906. He trained natives to collect Butterflies, Moths, 

 etc., and he sent to Paris very large collections. In many ways the late 

 Pere Dejean was a remarkable man, kindly, courteous, and noble in character. 

 It is most fitting that this fine Sambar commemorate his name. 



