278 ANTILOPIN^. 



buck and doe with a young fawn, the whole party took to flight, but the 

 fawn being very young, the old ones endeavoured to make it lie down. 

 Finding, however, that it persisted in running after them, the buck turned 

 round and repeatedly knocked it over in a cotton-field until it lay still, 

 when they ran off, endeavouring to attract my attention. Young fawns 

 are frequently found concealed and left quite by themselves." 



When a herd goes away on the approach of danger, if any of the does 

 are lingering behind, the buck comes up and drives them oif after the 

 others, acting as whipper-in, and never allowing one to drop behind. 

 Bucks may often be seen fighting, and are then so intently engaged, their 

 heads often locked together by the horns, that they may be approached 

 very close before the common danger causes them to separate. Bucks 

 with broken horns are often met with, caused by fights ; and I have heard 

 of bucks being sometimes caught in this way, some nooses being attached 

 to the horns of a tame one. I have twice seen a wounded antelope pur- 

 sued by greyhounds drop suddenly into a small ravine, and lie close to 

 the ground, allowing the. dogs to pass over it without noticing, and 

 hurry forward. This antelope, and indeed all the Indian species, have 

 the habit of always dropping their dung in the same spot. 



Buck-shooting is one of the favourite sports of India, and gives fine 

 opportunities for testing the skill of the sportsman. Where they are very 

 abundant and the ground is favourable, shots can generally be had with a 

 little trouble in stalking, at from 100 to 150 yards, and sometimes closer ; 

 but in very open ground, shooting must be practised at from 200 to 300 

 yards. During the heat of the day antelopes usually lie down to rest and 

 chew the cud, and a single one may then often be stalked successfully ; 

 but if there is a herd, one of the females is always on the alert. 



A wounded antelope gives occasionally an excellent course with grey- 

 hounds, and I have known one with a broken fore-leg get away from 

 half-bred dogs in the middle of the day when the sun was rather powerful. 

 Spearing a wounded buck off horseback is rather exciting work, and 

 I have known one, also with a broken leg, give a run of three miles 

 before he was overhauled, and that on tolerably good ground. Grey- 

 hounds are very keen after a wounded antelope, and occasionally get 

 savage and fight over it when pulled down, seeming to take pleasure 

 in sniffing and biting at the groin-pits. 



Very rarely, good greyhounds have pulled down this antelope un- 

 wounded on ordinary ground ; but there are at least three localities whei*e 



