2 4 o BIG GAME SHOOTING 



having got what we wanted in the way of heads, we 

 decided to make tracks for Yarkand, from there to 

 work eastward along the Tarim or Yarkand river, 

 where I hoped to get a stag, Cervus yarkandiensis. 

 It is usually called maral by Europeans, but the 

 word simply means hind in Turki or Persian. The 

 stag is called bhoghe. 



We had a rough and cold time of it before we 

 reached Yarkand, but as we only lost two ponies on 

 the road, we were fairly lucky. After a brief sojourn 

 in Yarkand, my friend, who had accompanied me, 

 and I separated to beat different ground. I followed 

 the river down to Aksu without seeing anything of 

 special interest, though I succeeded in getting a good 

 specimen of the gazelle of Turkestan. On leaving 

 Aksu I proceeded eastwards down the Tarim river. 

 I camped at a village on the bank about 1 5 miles from 

 there. Here I engaged a hunter, who told me we 

 should find a stag anywhere in the jungle which 

 fringes the river. He brought with him a fine 

 specimen of the Imperial Eagle, which is used in this 

 country for hawking purposes. I had heard of the 

 performance of these birds and was delighted to have 

 an opportunity of seeing a flight. Gazelle, foxes, 

 hares, and pheasants, all of which are found in this 

 region, are pursued in this way. 



The next day I left my caravan on the trail and 

 went off with my hunter, who had his eagle on a 

 crutch on the saddle. We were both mounted. We 

 had not proceeded far through the open jungle before 

 we sighted a small lot of gazelles. The moment my 



