278 ANTIL0PIN4:. 



buck and doe with a young fawn, the whole party took to flight, but the fawn 

 being very young, the old ones endeavoured to make it lie down. Find- 

 ing however that it persisted in running after them, the buck turned round 

 and repeatedly knocked it over in a cotton field until it lay still, when 

 they ran off endeavoring to attract my attention. Young fawns are 

 frequently found concealed and left quite by themselves." 



When a herd goes away on the approach of danger, if any of the 

 does are lingering behind, the buck comes up and drives them off after the 

 others, acting as whipper-in, and never allowing one to drop behind. 

 Bucks may often be seen fighting, and are then so intently engaged, their 

 heads often locked together by the horns, that they may be approached 

 very close before the common danger causes them to separate. Bucks 

 with broken horns are often met with caused by fights ; and I have heard of 

 bucks being sometimes caught in this way, some nooses being attached to 

 the horns of a tame one. I have twice seen a wounded antelope pursued by 

 greyhounds drop suddenly into a small ravine, and lie close to the ground, 

 allowing the dogs to pass over it without noticing, and hurry forward. 

 This antelope, and indeed all the Indian species, have the habit of 

 always dropping their dung in the same spot. 



Buck-shooting is one of the favorite sports of India, and gives fine 

 opportunities for testing the skill of the sportsman. Where they are very 

 abundant and the ground is favorable, shots can generally be had with a 

 little trouble in stalking, at from 100 to 150 yards, and sometimes closer; 

 but, in very open ground, shooting must be practised at from 200 to 300 

 yards. During the heat of the day antelope usually lie down to rest and 

 and chew the cud, and a single one may then often be stalked successfully, 

 but if there is a herd, one of the females is always on the alert. 



A wounded antelope gives occasionally an excellent course with grey- 

 hounds, and I have known one with a broken fore-leg get away from 

 half-bred dogs in the middle of the day when the sun was rather powerful. 

 Spearing a wounded buck off horseback is rather exciting work, and I 

 have known one, also with a broken leg, give a run of three miles before 

 be was overhauled, and that on tolerably good ground. Greyhounds are 

 very keen after a wounded antelope, and occasionally get savage and fight 

 over it when pulled down, seeming to take pleasure in sniffing and biting 

 at the groin-pits. 



Very rarely good greyhounds have pulled down this antelope unwounded, 

 on ordinary ground ; but there are at least three localities where this coursing 



