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certain distances apart. These holes at first excite mistrust, so the animals are left 
alone for some weeks to get used to them. The hunters then repair to their allotted 
stations, and conceal themselves in the pits, while others make a wide circuit to windward 
and drive the herd towards the ambush. No gun is fired till they are within a distance 
of fifty paces or even less. The drivers must know their business and be thoroughly 
familiar with the habits of the animal, otherwise their labour will be lost. They must 
never gallop suddenly up to the herd—because if they do the antelopes almost always 
escape. The usual plan is to make a circuit round the herd, slowly narrowing the circle 
with repeated halts, or else to ride on one flank at a foot’s pace, gradually edging the 
herd towards the ambush. 
“Towards the end of summer the dzerens are very fat, and are eagerly hunted by the 
Mongols for the sake of their delicate flesh, and also for their skins, which are made 
into winter clothing. The nomads, however, rarely wear the skins themselves, but sell 
them to Russian merchants at Urga and Kiakhta. Dzerens are also snared in traps 
made in the shape of a shoe of tough grass. When caught by the leg in one of 
these the animal lames itself in its struggles to get free, and becomes unable to 
move.” 
Besides the Russian explorers already mentioned, the only traveller, so far 
as we are aware, that has met with Przewalski’s Gazelle in its native wilds 
is the well-known explorer Mr. St. George Littledale, F.R.G.S., who brought 
home a skin and skull of this species from his adventurous journey across 
Central Asia in 1893, and presented them to the British Museum. In the 
narrative of Mr. Littledale’s expedition, which is contained in the third 
volume of the ‘ Geographical Journal’ (p. 465), will be found an allusion to 
this Antelope as observed by him near the Lake Koko Nor. The north shore 
of this lake, first seen by Mr. Littledale on the 5rd of August, 1893, was flat 
and swampy, and there were many of these antelopes feeding on it in company 
with Wild Asses (Equus kiang). In some MS. notes with which Mr. Littledale 
has kindly favoured us on this subject it is stated that he first saw examples 
of this Gazelle south of the Nan-Shan mountains in about lat. 38° 30’ N. 
and long. 96° 30’ K. On that occasion, he says, they were high up above 
the party, and nearly all males, but, as Mr. Littledale was then expecting 
an attack from the Tanguts, he did not like to leave the caravan to 
try after them. As the valley of the Buhain-Gol (the river which flows 
into Lake Koko Nor) was descended, the old males became scarcer, and 
round the lake, where he procured the specimen now in the British 
Museum, there were large bands of females accompanied by young males. 
Besides Mr. Littledale’s specimens already mentioned, the British Museum 
VOL. III. M 
