238 THE TSOS. 



il 



his pace until he was lost to view in a neighbouring ravine. I 

 My two men, who had wisely taken it more quietly, reached i 

 the top of the brae just in time to see the buck before he ! 

 disappeared, much to their disappointment, which I think { 

 was equalled by their astonishment at finding me lying j 

 panting on the ground without making any attempt to stop i 

 him. i 



It was some time before I recovered breath enough to .' 

 follow the buck, which both the men said I had missed ; 

 but as I was now quite sure he was hit, and badly too, I j 

 proceeded towards the ravine at a much more moderate pace. 

 As we neared it, I lay down, and gradually worming myself 

 along for some distance over the sharp loose stones, slowly 

 raised my head. There, as I had half expected, lay the 

 buck about a hundred yards off in the ravine. Before I 

 could get my elbows well planted on the ground and the 

 rifle levelled, he was up and making off again, when, to the 

 great delight of old Changter, who had crawled up beside 

 me, the report of the rifle was followed by the buck throw- 

 ing back his horns, tottering forward a few yards, and fall- 

 ing struggling on his side. 



Whilst the men were skinning and cutting him up, there 

 was ample time to note his general appearance ; and as he 

 was a good average specimen of a buck tsos, a short descrip- 

 tion of the Tibetan antelope {Kemas Hodgsonii) may perhaps 

 interest those who have never seen this animal. He measures 

 from thirty-two inches to thirty-four inches at the shoulder ; 

 thick and soft, almost woolly pile, of a very pale -yellowish 

 grey on the body, merging into white below the chest, in- 

 side the legs, and on the stern ; dark-brown marks down 

 the front of the legs, on the fore ones extending up to the 

 shoulder; an almost black patch on the face from between 

 the eyes downwards ; muzzle very thick and coarse, with an 

 odd kind of puffy protuberance beside each nostril — possibly 

 a provision of nature for assisting respiration at the very 

 high altitude this animal affects ; another curious glandular 



