134 Note on the Chiru Antelope. [March, 



sons would come forward, I had no doubt the result cf the ordeal 

 wo aid be favourable to the witches, as I should be present at it to see 

 fair play. On the next morning, the villagers avowed that none of 

 them would undergo the ordeal, and that consequently the accusation 

 was unfounded : they returned all their property to the accused, re-instat- 

 ed them in their houses, paid a small fine for having brought forward 

 the charge without sufficient grounds, and gave a written acquittal, 

 which I signed, to the supposed witches. Thus the matter was settled 

 satisfactorily to all parties, except the old rascals who originated it and 

 were obliged to return their ill -acquired spoil. I thought the persons 

 who were accused would of course agree with me as to the absurdity of 

 believing in witchcraft. I was however mistaken, as even they expressed 

 their firm conviction of its existence with others, though themselves in- 

 nocent. The ordeal on such occasions is as follows : The accuser and 

 accused are bound separately, hands and feet, together, so as not to have 

 the power of moving either ; they are placed on the inner edges of two 

 canoes, which are placed a foot separate ; after some formalities, prayers, 

 &c, are gone through, the canoes are suddenly pulled from under them ; 

 if the accused be really a witch, she floats, and the accuser sinks : the 

 case is reversed should the accusation be false. One end of the rope 

 with which the hands and feet are bound, is sufficiently long to allow 

 of its being held by a person in the boat, in readiness to pull up the 

 party that sinks. 



The route from Tummoo to Manipur has already been reported 

 on by Lieut. Pemberton ; it is only therefore necessary to observe, that 

 since he travelled it, villages have been established at most of the 

 places on the line of road, for the purpose of facilitating the communi- 

 cation. 



V. — Note on the Chiru Antelope. By B. H. Hodgson, Esq. 

 [Read at the meeting of the 20th instant.] 

 Having recently received a fine female specimen of the Chiru Ante- 

 lope of Tibet, besides two more very complete spoils of the male of the 

 species, 1 conceive I cannot do better than throw into the form of a 

 synoptical character (to avoid prolixity) all the leading and distinctive 

 marks of this most rare and singular animal. 

 Genus Antilope. 

 Subgenus Gazella, H. Smith. 

 Species, G. Hodgsonii, Abel. 

 The Chiru of North-East Tibet. 

 Gregarious on open plains. 



