80 CHINKAEAH, BUSTARD, AND COOLUN. 



partial to. I gave away many of the feathers, and should not be surprised 

 to hear they have helped to kill the wily salmon also ; my fishing has been 

 after the smaller fry, so I never tried the larger sizes, and, alas, I fear 

 not one remains now. 



Altogether, I shot some fifteen chinkarah there, the smallest about 

 lOiu., the best about 13in. I saw nothing better than I shot, but was once 

 sold, and bagged a female with a pair of horns quite abnormally long, 

 though thin ; they quite deceived me when examining a small herd with 

 the binoculars. I think they measured nearly 9m., but they were so thin 

 that they looked a good 12in. 



A year later I had been moved to a bad shooting district, the oorial I 

 have told of being the only game near, with an odd chiukarah at the foot 

 of the same hills. I left the latter alone. On one occasion I was out in 

 the district on duty, shot plenty of very fishy ducks (some eleven varieties) 

 with the gun, but only saw one wary chinkarah, who quite declined 

 to let me get nearer than 400 yards. One day, coining back to camp from 

 work, I spotted a large flock of coolun (cranes), amongst some thin 

 young corn, so changed ponies and rode back with the well-beloved 

 450 to look for them. It was getting dusk when I found them, 

 looking like grey ghosts stalking about the wheat. I dismounted and 

 circled round till they began to get nervous, when I dropped on the 

 knee, put up the sight for 200 yards, and covered one ; another was 

 stalking across a little way behind him, so I waited until they were in line, 

 and pressed the trigger. At the flash and report the pony gave such a jump 

 I was nearly capsized, for I had never fired in such close proximity before. 

 Having quieted down, I was allowed to advance ; one coolun was dead, 

 the other flopping along some twenty yards behind, but he dropped and 

 lay motionless before I got up. Yes, the two dropped to the one bullet, 

 and neither was damaged in the least, shot through the points of the 

 wings the first, and a little further back the second. The next thing was 

 how to get them to camp ; the pony would not allow them near, but a 

 bandage over the eyes, a strap round the four legs of the birds, and they 

 were soon over the saddle-bow, their heads hanging down nigh the pony's 

 fof.e-feet. When I removed the bandage there was much nervousness, 

 and I was denied a mount. I did not hurry the matter, but led on 

 towards camp, and presently was allowed to mount, eventually riding in 

 triumphant with rifle and game. Having removed the tail-covert feathers, 

 so ornamental for some fair one's hat, the birds were cooked and eaten 

 before many days had elapsed. I wonder where the other members of 

 that merry party now are ; one I have in my mind's eye, for I saw his 

 name in print lately, the others are gone but not forgotten. 



