194 DEER. 



flies, and were consequently full of decaying organic 

 matter, but after an hour the tracks led away from home, 

 so we gave it up. 



On the way home we started a herd of cheetul, headed 

 by a stag, which dashed away, but halted again a few 

 hundred yards off, croaking vigorously. Detaching my 

 Koorumber shikari to distract their attention, I got to 

 within ninety yards of the stag ; he was end on to me, and 

 the light was bad, but a lucky shot with the Express hit 

 him in the haunch (the " usual place ! "), this paralysed 

 him, and running up I finished him with another shot. 

 The remainder of the herd would hardly leave their fallen 

 leader, and kept within twenty yards of him until I ran 

 forward. It soon became pitch dark, the jungle was very 

 thorny, and although not more than three miles from the 

 bungalow, we took two hours to get back. The skin of 

 the spotted deer is very handsome, rather larger than the 

 fallow deer and glossier, and more richly coloured, the 

 white spots showing better against the rich brown hide ; 

 the horns are not palmated, and I have never seen them 

 with more than six points. The rib-faced, barking, or 

 muntjac deer,* also known as the jungle sheep, prefers 

 hilly ground covered with thick jungle, at not less than 

 1500 feet elevation; they are numerous on all southern 

 Indian hills, being found in thick brushwood and dense 

 sholahs up to 7500 feet elevation. 



They do not exceed twenty inches in height, and are of 

 .a light red colour. For so small an animal they bark 

 very loudly, much louder than the cheetul, when alarmed, 

 making the jungles resound by day or night. The male is 

 provided with two short, sharp tusks in the upper jaw. If 

 broadside on, a gun loaded with 'No. 3 shot will kill them 



* C. muntjac. 



