THE STORY OF THE GAZELLE . 
395 
disappeared—the breadth they covered might have been somewhere about half 
a mile. I stood upon the fore-chest of my wagon for nearly two* hours, lost in 
astonishment at the novel and wonderful scene before me, and had some 
difficulty in convincing myself that it was a reality which I beheld, and not 
the wild and exaggerated picture of a hunter's dream. 
The goa or Thibetan gazelle is distinguished by the white disc around the 
tail, the long winter-coat, short ears and tail, the greatly curved horns and the 
uniform color of the face. The height of the animal is twenty-four inches; 
A HERD OF GAZELLES 
and the largest recorded horns measure fifteen and three-quarter inches in 
length; the number of rings varying from twenty to thirty. This gazelle 
inhabits the Thibetan plateau at elevations of from thirteen thousand to* eight¬ 
een thousand feet, and goes in small parties of from, two or three to- a dozen. 
It is less shy than other species. 
Another of the true gazelles is characterized by the white of the rump 
extending forward in an angle into' the fawn-color of the haunches; both 
sexes having horns, which are frequently longer than in the other groups; the 
animals themselves being also relatively large. 
