AN ENTOMOLOGICAL STUDY. 



them ; so, after getting as near as we could, which was still 

 over a mile from them, we lay down to watch their move- 

 ments, in the hope that they would soon put the brow of 

 the hill between them and us. As we lay motionless there, 

 getting half roasted by the blazing sun, I was much enter- 

 tained by a curious little entomological study that chanced 

 to come under my observation. I noticed innumerable 

 small grey grasshoppers I should call them crickets, as 

 there was very little grass for them to hop on which 

 showed a strange amount of curiosity respecting our 

 persons. They came creeping towards us over the stones 

 from all sides, even crawling and hopping over us, and 

 paying particular attention to the oil on the guns, the 

 flavour of which seemed to be very attractive to them. 

 They were so fearless as even to greedily devour the ends 

 of atoms of dry grass softened between my teeth and held 

 close to their mouths. 



As soon as the last of the rams had disappeared over the 

 brow, we made for it as fast as we were able, in order to get 

 there, if possible, before they were out of range beyond it ; 

 but on reaching it, not a vestige of the animals was to be 

 seen. Soon, however, we descried two fine rams in another 

 direction, and whilst deliberating as to the best way of 

 approaching them, six more came over a rise on to the same 

 ground. It was truly a case of embarras des richesses this 

 time, for the relative positions of the two lots were such 

 that it was impossible to stalk one without our being 

 detected by the other. As it was now growing late, and 

 we were at least six miles from our camp, we reluctantly 

 had to abandon further pursuit that evening, in the hope of 

 finding the animals in the same vicinity next day. 



As all the game appeared to be more eastward on the 

 Lai Daka, the following morning our camp was shifted to a 

 locality about seven miles off called Dukka, where there was 

 grass for the jooboos, and a stream of water, among some low 

 rounded hills near the foot of the Himalayan slopes. These 



