Ibex and Sambur. 255 



fell, and the stag still had enough life left to con- 

 tinue its assault ; however I caught it a blow on the 

 nose with the full force of my right foot armed with 

 a shooting boot, and in a moment after I seized it 

 by the antlers, when there was a brief struggle, for 

 the poor wretch was dying fast, being shot through 

 the lungs, so I had no great difficulty in throwing it 

 on its side and cutting its throat. This was a lesson 

 not to be forgotten, so I never again approached a 

 stag in so careless a manner. The horns, though still 

 in velvet, were perfectly formed, and when their 

 envelope peeled off, very handsome. In the dooars, 

 at the foot of the Himalya or Bhootan range, these deer 

 are literally in thousands. After the stag has shed his 

 horns, which takes place in October and November, 

 he retires to some remote locality and keeps in hiding 

 till they are fully matured. Their growth is very 

 rapid, for they will have acquired their full size in 

 three or four months, but the velvet is not shed till 

 towards the end of May or early in June. Gracefully 

 formed, they are smaller than the sambur, but larger 

 than the thamine or brow-antlered deer. Marshy 

 localities are their haunts that is, they feed on aquatic 

 plants, standing often in water up to their bellies, 

 but always retire to perfectly dry land to rest. In 

 the rutting season, combats between the stags are 

 frequent, and occasionally one or both antagonists 

 are killed or die of their wounds. As well as sambur 

 they are affected by disease or murrain, and I have 

 seen not only these deer, but buffaloes, lying dead by 

 the dozen. When that occurs tigers and vultures, as 

 well as jackals, " have a high old time " and feed to 

 repletion. 



