2o8 THE ATA-DZEREN ; 



but the Mongols in Tsaidam, who are perfectly well 

 acquainted with the orongo, deny entirely the exist- 

 ence there of a one-horned antelope, though admitting 

 that it might be found in South-western Tibet. Had 

 we gone farther we should probably have heard that 

 it was only to be found in India, and so on till we 

 arrived at the one-horned rhinoceros ! 



Another antelope native to Northern Tibet, and 

 called by the Mongols ata-dzeren, i.e. little antelope 

 [Antiiope picticauda), is remarkable for its diminu- 

 tive size. The male is three feet four inches long- 

 (including the bend of the neck), two feet four inches 

 high, and only weighs thirty-six pounds ; the horns 

 are long and slightly curved, with the points turned 

 backwards, and numerous small notches in front. 

 The prevailing colour is a dusky grey, the rump and 

 belly white, bordered behind and on the flanks by 

 a narrow yellow stripe. We saw this animal near 

 the head waters of the Tatung-gol, and apparently 

 the same species on ascending the high lands of 

 Kan-su in the uneven plain beyond the border 

 range.' 



Like the orongo it frequents elevated plains, pre- 

 ferring, however, the valleys in the mountains where 

 water is abundant. Yet its habits are very different 

 from the orongos, and it is without exception the 

 most graceful and the swiftest of the antelopes of 

 Mongolia and Northern Tibet. It generally moves 

 in small herds of five or seven (seldom as many as 

 twenty), though solitary males are often seen. It 



' These are never found in Koko-nor and Tsaidam. 



