126 WITH BOAT AND GUN IN THE YANGTZE VALLEY. 



in warm snug hollows and coming out to feed on the plains morning and evening. They 

 are fond of water and when startled or wounded often escape by swimming or taking refuge 

 in a reed-covered lagoon. They cross over to the islands in the river, some of which teem 

 with them in winter ; on some of the larger islands, such as Wade Island, they probably 

 remain throughout the year. The does drop their fawns in May and are very prolific, 

 having four, and sometimes as many as six, at a birth. In the " Shanghai country," as we 

 call the Yangtze delta they used to be plentiful, but increased cultivation and constant 

 persecution have done much to thin their numbers ; and in places such as the Tamen plain, 

 near Kashing, where 10 years ago one could see scores, they are now quite a rarity. They 

 are seldom found at an elevation of more than a few hundred feet. 



Another small deer occasionally met with is the crying muntjac (Cervulus lacrymans), 

 but whoever is fortunate enough to add one to his bag may certainly mark the day with a 

 red star in his diary. 



It is not rare and has a wide range in China, but it is a hill-loving animal ; and as 

 most of our shooting is done on the flat few of us get a chance at it. In the Ningpo hills it 

 abounds and parties shooting on the outlying spurs near Hangchow or Bingjow may come 

 across them. Last year two waifs strayed right away as far as Kashing where they were 

 shot. Up the Yangtze they are thinly distributed, and one or two may be occasionally met 

 with in districts where they have never been noticed before. I have known them killed 

 near Kiukiang in this way, but they are certainly very scarce there and can hardly be called 

 residents. 



The common muntjac of India {Cervulus muntjac) is a very near relation and is 

 often known as the rib-faced deer. The muntjacs are peculiar in having short horns 5 or 6 

 inches long growing out of bony pedicles which protrude several inches from the top of the 

 skull in line with the face. The coat is very glossy, and the colour of our species is rich 

 chestnut above, very red on the tail, and belly white; two black lines down the face, whence 

 the Indian name. It lives among thick cover and bamboo copses on the hills, and may be 

 found at an elevation of 2,000 or 3,000 feet — possibly more if there be plenty of cover. 



Three other muntjacs are found in the Chekiang hills. Reeve's muntjac {Cervulus 

 reevesi), a smaller and paler species ; the hairy-fronted muntjac {Cervulus crinifretis), rather 

 larger with a deep brown body, yellow brown head and a large tuft on the crown which 

 conceals two very small horns. Of this only two specimens are known. Finally, Michie's 

 muntjac {Elaphodus michianus), of a deep brown colour all over, except white belly, white 

 tips to the ears and pale line over the eye ; this species also has a large tuft concealing very 

 small horns. 



These three descriptions, however, will practically be never met with by the ordinary 

 sportsman ; they live high up in the hills and a special expedition involving considerable 

 overland travelling is necessary to get near them. 



An antlered deer of red-deer type, described by Swinhoe as Kopsch's deer {Cervus 

 kopschi), is found in the Yangtze valley and is fairly abundant on the hill ranges lying south 

 of the river between the Poyang Lake and Wuhu. It never leaves the hills and is seldom 

 met with by Europeans. An organized trip would be necessary if one wished to visit its 

 haunts, and even then the issue would be very doubtful. The hills it frequents are very steep 

 and thickly covered with dense brushwood, through which it is difficult to force a way, and 



