WILL THE OORIAL BECOME EXTINCT? 167 



storm suddenly frozen hard, and coloured red, it would give 

 a slight idea of its appearance. We encamped on the edge 

 of the table-land. About four miles off is a ridge of low 

 hills, and the terrain between is cut up into long narrow 

 ravines, the tops on a level with us, and the precipitous 

 sides, some hundred feet deep, looking as if they had been 

 slashed with a razor out of the solid ground. You have to 

 climb in and out of twenty or thirty of these canons to 

 reach the hills. 



There are a fair number of oorial about, but dreadfuls- 

 wild ; they have been so much shot at, that the sight of 

 a man, even miles away, sends them galloping off. Every 

 little village has one or two men with guns, who shoot 

 does, fawns, and everything else they get a chance at. 

 Their favourite time is the hot weather, when water becomes 

 scarce. They then sit up all night over the little pools not 

 yet dried up, and wait for the oorial to come and drink. 

 Sometimes they slaughter ten or twelve does at a sitting. 



Unless the does are protected, and a close time enforced, 

 the oorial must inevitably soon become a rare beast, 

 although they are well able to protect themselves against 

 any but these poaching methods, for no animal is so shy 

 and wary. The does guard their lord and master with 

 positively painful loyalty, and, regardless of danger, post 

 themselves around on every exposed side. Naturally they 

 are the first victims of the pot-hunter. With fair shooting 



