A FINE STAG. 153 



was too late to moralise, and the practical part 

 had to be seen to, so, shouldering my rifle, I went 

 back to breakfast ; after which, getting a couple 

 of ponies, we returned to where the stag lay. I 

 had brought out my tape, so measured him there 

 and then: height 55 inches, girth 57^ inches, 

 elbow to sole of hoof 34 inches, length of back 

 from withers to base of tail 45 inches. The 

 antlers were an even pair of ten points, but not so 

 heavy or so long as those of a good barasingh of 

 Kashmir. The hair I thought a good deal longer 

 and more abundant than the red deer of Europe. 

 The shades were also of a more neutral tint 

 brown on the back, running into grey down the 

 sides, but darker again on the belly, which was 

 thickly covered with hair. 



In the course of my wanderings looking for 

 another shot, I came across a beaten track through 

 the grass, and heard it was made by the Russian 

 expedition under Colonel Peintrow, which we had 

 found encamped near Ak Masjid. 



On a grass plain near the river a herd of hinds 

 got up and galloped across me. My shikari was 

 very anxious I should shoot one, but having such 

 a lot of venison in camp, I let them be. 



The cold in the mornings now became every 



