117 



I caii corroborate the statement, page 265 of Jerdon, that the 

 venison of this deer is excellent, and all the more so when the 

 absence of fat he mentions is made up for by mutton fat being 

 wrapped round the joint to be roasted. 



Hodgson, as quoted at page 265 of Jerdon, gives an excellent idea 

 of the way in which this active little deer, which is to all intents 

 the " roe" of India, gets through web-like labyrinths of brushwood, 

 or thorn, or a net-work of knotted creepers and grass, when he 

 writes as follows : " It has no powers of sustained speed and 

 " extensive leap, but is unmatched for flexibility and power of 

 creeping through tangled underwood. It has indeed a weasel-like 

 " flexibility of spine and limbs enabling them to wend on without 

 " kneeling, even when there is little more than six inches of per- 

 " pendicular passage room, thus escaping their great enemy the 

 " wild dog." 



Jerdon's other remarks regarding the habits of this pretty little 

 deer are so well corroborated by my friend HAWKEYE, that for 

 the reasons mentioned at page 91 of these notes, I shall not hesitate 

 to enrich my book with his description. HAWKEYE writes thus 

 in the South of India Observer of the 24th of September 1868. 



THE JUNGLE SHEEP. 



" In wandering over these beautifully wooded mountains in search 

 " of game, the sportsman, if new to India, is startled at times by hear- 

 " ing, in the deep glens or hanging sholahs, a hoarse discordant 

 " roar, repeated at times rapidly, at others at intervals, now near, 

 " now distant, sometimes deep and harsh, like that of some ferocious 

 " wild beast, at others shrill and more like the bark of a wild dog ; 

 " this is the voice of the Jungle Sheep or Muntjac, a beautiful and 

 " graceful specimen of the deer tribe, frequently met with on these 

 " hills, and in the forests and jungles of the plains below. It is 

 " surprising to hear so loud and threatening a sound from so gentle 

 " and timid an animal as the little Kakur, or barking deer as it is 

 " also designated. It has been observed, before going to couch, to 

 " roar in its peculiar manner, for a long time* for what purpose is 

 "not known, perhaps to intimidate its enemies. At a distance it 



* Colonel Douglaa Hamilton tells me that he remarked this on one occasion. 

 VAGRANT. 



