THE THIBETAN GAZELLE. 1 03 



I crossed the plain, and saw them on the slopes at the other side, and after a detour 

 found myself on the hill-side straight above them. I watched them for some time as they 

 fed along the foot of the hill : at last they approached a deep but narrow ravine, which ran 

 down the hill ; I entered this, which afforded me capital cover, and on reaching the plain and 

 looking over the bank, I saw the Goa quietly feeding within about a hundred yards. Rest- 

 ing my rifle on the bank, I fired very steadily at the best buck, but to my surprise missed 

 with both barrels, owing to over-estimating the distance. Dropping behind the bank, I 

 reloaded, and on again looking over was astonished to see the Goa still feeding in the same 

 place. I was more successful this time, wounding one with the first barrel and killing another 

 with the second. Even now the Goa did not move far, and I had time to fire two more 

 bullets, which, however, missed. Meanwhile I had sent a man to bring my dog, and on his 

 arrival I slipped him at the Goa, but the wounded one seemed to recover completely, and 

 it soon distanced the greyhound. The one I had killed had a very beautiful pair of horns. 



The next Goa I shot were on the hills to the south of Hanle, towards Chumurti : here 

 they were very plentiful, but the ground was not particularly well adapted for stalking. On 

 one occasion after in vain trying to stalk some, three of them allowed me to walk up to within 

 one hundred and fifty yards of them in the open. I dropped the first buck stone dead, and 

 on the others standing to gaze about eighty yards farther on, I killed another. 



I found that Goa generally stopped to look after a fallen companion; and on the 10th 

 of July, I again bagged two buck, right and left, at two hundred and thirty yards. 



In 1869, after a long tedious march from the Sutlej valley through Spiti, across the 

 Parung-la. and Lanak-la, I, at last, reached the Gonpa, or Monastery, of Hanle on the 1st of 

 July, and pitched camp on the beautiful expanse of turf through which the Hanle stream 

 meanders. 



The grassy plain is a mere oasis, and from its margin rise gently sloping barren hills, 

 whose undulations stretch to the far distant horizon. 



My previous visit had shown me that these hills were the resort of Nyan and Goa, and 

 although I heard that they had already been shot over about a fortnight previously, I looked 

 forward to good sport. 



The day after my arrival I did not go very far from camp, and only saw a few female 

 Nyan and Burrell, at which I would not fire. The following morning I determined to do a 

 long day's work, so starting early, I crossed the wide grassy plain, and struck into the low hills 

 in an easterly direction ; my object being to reach a well-remembered spot about nine miles 

 off, where, on the occasion of my last visit, I had found a rill of water issuing from a steep hill- 

 side. This spring was the only water to be found within a radius of three or four miles, and 

 accordingly many Goa, Kyang, and other animals came here to drink. 



I had walked about three miles, and was following one of the slightly worn tracks which 

 traverse these barren hills in every direction, and whose existence may be accounted for by 

 the fact that there is no traffic, no heavy rain, no falling leaf to obliterate a footmark ; no- 

 thing indeed except the slow action of time ; and where consequently the passing of two or 

 three animals in the course of a week will, in a few months, wear a clearly defined path ; when 



