108 THE BUSTARD. 



were quietly feeding in a ploughed field. We rode as if to pass them, 

 and, when within about one hundred yards of them, I slipped out 

 of my saddle, and crouched low. My wife rode on leading my pony, 

 while I covered a couple of birds that stood close together. Slowly 

 advancing I kept my rifle sight on the birds, and just as they spread 

 their wings to fly, fired and brought one down. It was a beautiful bird 

 weighing a little over 18^ Ibs. 



The following day we tried the same experiment several times 

 without success. The ponies were too fresh and restive, and would not 

 allow me to dismount without capering about, so that the birds took 

 alarm each time. Two days later I secured another 18 pounder and 

 then two others weighing 17 Ibs. and 14 Ibs. respectively. 



A bit of stalking that gave me particular satisfaction at the time 

 and still does as I call it to mind was brought off on the Tai-yuan Fu 

 plain. Two of us were out after hares, and as we drove through the 

 sage brush a flock of bustards was seen coming in the opposite direction. 

 The birds flew past us,- and settled about a quarter, of a mile away on a 

 sandy flat near the river. My servant was with me carrying my rifle, 

 so I decided to attempt a shot. 1 was able to make about a hundred 

 yards on foot owing to a slight depression in the ground, but from there 

 on I was forced to creep on my hands and knees through the under 

 brush, which was, by the way, far from thick. It was tiring work, 

 but at last I reached the spot, from which I had hoped to take my shot. 

 The bustards had, however, flown another hundred yards up the river 

 so I was forced to continue on hands and knees still further. A bare 

 field in front of me made it necessary to make a rather long detour in 

 order to escape observation, but at last 1 got within range, and could 

 just see one bird between the bushes ahead of me. After a few mo- 

 ments rest 1 took a long and careful aim, bringing down my bird with 

 a shot right through the body. 



Once again while out ofter geese on the iSi-an Fu plain in Shensi I 

 came upon a couple of bustards. I was alone, and there was absolutely 

 no cover, so hobbling my pony, I advanced upon the birds. They 

 walked away from me, but did not attempt to fly and at last I was 

 within sixty yards of the larger, when I managed to shoot it through 

 the body. It rose into the air, and flew some three hundred yards, 

 before it came heavily to the ground, and lay dead. 



It will thus be seen that with bustards, as with most other game, 

 one can not work entirely by rule, but must depend upon the circum- 

 stances of each case and one's own judgment to decide how to proceed. 



The Chinese distinguish two kinds of bustards in North China. One 

 is a large bird weighing anything from fifteen to twenty pounds. It is 



