160 STALKS ABROAD 



man. Whether he escaped the lady and the tiger 

 I never heard, but it looked unlikely. 



However, to return to the subject of blackbuck ! 

 On being alarmed they make a series of short 

 springs, and when fairly under weigh get in some 

 astonishing leaps. 



I shot the leading buck in a large herd near 

 Delhi, and the doe following jumped straight up 

 into the air to a height of nine or ten feet, and 

 came down almost on top of him. 



They carry their heads low when going hard, 

 the curious marking of the neck giving them a 

 somewhat contorted appearance. My observations 

 were limited and I could never make out whether 

 the bucks always led or the does, when a herd 

 was in flight. They are hard fighters and endeavour 

 when so engaged to get their horns locked. At such 

 times it is not difficult to get up close to them. 



In spite of the hurried exit of the herd, Burton 

 was dimly to be descried indulging in some wonder- 

 ful contortions. He seemed to be crawling on pins 

 and needles. As we watched he came to a sudden 

 resolution, squirmed, bravely sat down and almost 

 immediately fired. I stood up on the tonga and 

 a buck came tearing into view. He was some way 

 off, but a great red patch showed clearly on his 

 side, and before going fifty yards he crashed down 

 in a cloud of dust. He had a very nice head, but 

 not so good as Robert's. 



Then the escort formed up, and I took a photo- 



