DEER 281 



in number, at right angles to the axis of the head, 

 looking directly front. 



I got a very nice stag of these deer in course 

 of the expedition previously referred to after the 

 Ovis poll. These are difficult to find, living as 

 they do in the swamps and grass jungle on the 

 river banks. Fortunately, here and there little 

 knolls are scattered about in those jungles, from 

 which you may overlook a fair lot of ground, with 

 glasses, in the early morning, when beasts are on the 

 move. In this way I made out one day a nice- 

 looking stag with two or three hinds, and having 

 taken my bearings as to his position, descended from 

 my perch. It was rather chancy work, for the jungle 

 was pretty thick, and I could not expect to get a 

 sight of him until quite close. By good luck, how- 

 ever, I crawled straight up to where the deer were, 

 and got a stern shot at the stag as he went off at 

 about 50 yards distance. I caught him fair under 

 the tail with my .500 Express, and it is needless to 

 say he did not go far. 



From the number of deer-paths to be seen on 

 these river flats you would imagine that they were 

 plentiful ; it was several days, however, and I had 

 travelled a good many miles down the Tarim river, 

 before I got a chance at another. I came across the 

 pugs of a tiger occasionally in the snow, which lay 

 about two or three inches deep, but although I 

 worked pretty hard to catch one up I never succeeded. 

 I was very keen to get one of these winter tigers, as 

 they have beautiful fur at that time of the year, but 



