464 MAMMALIA OF INDIA. 
Benares, in Eastern Behar, the Santal Pergunnahs, Chotia Nagpur, 
Birbhum, &c., Chhatisgurh, the Mahanadi valley, Orissa, Bastar, and 
the east coast, generally north of the river Krishna. He says it is met 
with in the Narbada valley, but I have also found it common on the 
plateaux of the Satpura range. 
DeEscrIPTION.—“ Fawn brown above, darker where it joins the white 
of the sides and buttocks ; chin, breast, lower parts and buttocks behind 
white ; tail, knee-tufts and fetlocks behind black ; a dark brown spot on 
the nose, and a dark line from the eyes to the mouth, bordered by a light 
one above” (/erdon). 
Size.—Length, 34 feet; height, 26 inches at shoulder, 28 inches at 
croup. 
The horns run from to to 14 inches in the male, but, in fact, few 
exceed a foot. The longest of six pairs in my collection measure 
12 inches, and the head is looked upon as a fine one. I agree with 
Jerdon that there must be some mistake about 18-inch horns recorded 
from the Punjab. 
This pretty little creature, miscalled “ ravine-deer,” is familiar to most 
shikaris. How it got called a der it is difficult to say, except on the 
principle of ‘rats and mice, and such small deer.” The Madras term 
of “‘goat-antelope” is more appropriate. I remember once, when out 
on field service with the late Dr. Jerdon during the Indian Mutiny, a 
few chikara crossed our line of march. A young and somewhat 
bumptious ensign, who knew not of the fame of the doctor as a 
naturalist, called out: “There are some deer, there are some deer.” 
«Those are not deer,” quietly remarked Jerdon. “Oh, I say,” exclaimed 
the boy, thinking he had got a rise out of the doctor; ‘“ Jerdon says 
those are not deer!” ‘No more they are, young man—no more they 
are; much more of the goat—much more of the goat.” 
This gazelle frequents broken ground, with sandy nullahs bordered by 
scrub jungle, and is most common in dry climates. It is unknown, I 
believe, in Bengal and, according to Jerdon, on the Malabar coast, but 
is, I think, found almost everywhere else in India. It abounds in the 
Central provinces, and I have found it in parts of the Punjab, and it is 
common throughout the North-west. It is a wary, restless little beast, 
and requires good shooting, for it does not afford much of a mark. 
When disturbed they keep constantly shifting, not going far, but hover- 
ing about in a most tantalising way. Natives it cares little for, unless it 
be a shikari with a gun, of which it seems to have intuitive perception ; 
but the ordinary cultivator, with his load of wood and grass, may 
approach within easy shot ; therefore it is not a bad plan, when there is 
no available cover, to get one of these men to walk alongside of you, 
whilst, with a horse-cloth or blanket over you, you make yourself look as 
like your guide as youccan. A horse or bullock is also a great help. I 
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