THE THIBETAN ANTELOPE. 107 



When seen in profile, the forward inclination of the horns has a curious effect, the two 

 appearing like a single horn ; which has given rise to the belief that the Thibetan Antelope 

 is the Tchirou or Unicorn Antelope mentioned by the Abbe - Hue. Mr. Wilson, however, was 

 inclined to believe in the existence of a real Unicorn, and when I have made enquiries from 

 the Tartars in some of the more remote parts of Thibet which I have visited, I have almost 

 always been informed that such an animal existed ; so I think it is still possible that the long 

 supposed fabulous supporter of the Royal Arms may be discovered to be a reality. 



The female of this Antelope has no horns. 



The Thibetan Antelope has two greatly developed inguinal glands, the tubes of which 

 run right up into the body. The Tartars say that the Antelope inflate these with air, and 

 are thereby enabled to run with greater swiftness ! 



Although living in such remote and sequestered regions, the Thibetan Antelope is wary in 

 its habits. In the mornings and evenings it frequents the grassy margins of glacial streams, 

 which frequently flow between steep banks, which have been gradually scarped by the floods 

 of centuries, and which are now remote from the ordinary water's edge. 



These ravines have for the most part been cut through gently sloping valleys ; and on 

 ascending their steep sides, slightly undulating plains will be found to stretch away, until they 

 merge in the easy slopes of the rounded hills which bound the valley. 



To these plains the Antelope betake themselves during the day, and there they excavate 

 hollows deep enough to conceal their bodies, from which, themselves unperceived, they can 

 detect any threatening danger at a great distance. 



In addition to the concealment afforded by their ' shelter pits,' they have an additional 

 safeguard against surprise in the constant mirage which prevails on these stony wastes during 

 the bright hours of the day. This mirage not only distorts all visible objects in an extra- 

 ordinary manner, but, like rippling water, refracts the rays of light to such a degree as to 

 render objects altogether invisible at very short distances. It is, of course, worst near the 

 surface of the ground, but in very hot days it attains a level of several feet ; and I well 

 remember, on one occasion, observing the slender horns of an Antelope gliding past me within 

 three hundred yards, apparently borne on the surface of a glassy stream, in which the 

 wearer of the horns was submerged, and completely hidden from view! 



When Antelope are feeding on the grassy flats by the streams is the time when they may 

 be easily approached ; and then a knowledge of the ground, and of the habits of the animal, 

 renders success in stalking them tolerably certain. 



The first time I visited Chung Chenmo was in 186 1. I was much pressed for time, and 

 being accompanied by two friends, I did not shoot very much — in fact, I looked upon this 

 year's expedition as merely a sort of reconnaissance — I only shot one small buck, and 

 wounded but lost a fine one. 



Neither on this trip, nor on any subsequent one, did I ever see a doe Antelope in the 

 Chung Chenmo valley ; and I met with but few in the nullahs to the north. 



In 1862, I again visited Chung Chenmo, accompanied by my friend H. We left 

 S'rinugger on the 6th of June, and, after experiencing some difficulty in crossing two snow 



