^ W? cantered over tlie plain, goa were seen on
all sides, but they were as wild as they could possibly
e. Near Phari and Gyantse, these little animals are
easily approached; for they are daily compelled to
come into close contact with man, and familiarity has
bred contempt, but in the more unfrequented parts
there is no more difficult animal to get near and
consequently the sport they afford is of the highest class.
For two days, and for two days only, we passed
through the Tibetan antelope country, and found them
at this season of the year as easy to approach as
the gazelle were difficult to stalk. Never do
these antelope show any great anxiety to preserve
their lives, but it is seldom that they pay no
attention whatever to man. We had now, however,
stumbled upon them in the rutting season, and they
behaved more like common sheep than wild animals.
Many thousands were passed during these two days,
the does in this instance being four times as numerous
as the bucks. The herds varied in numbers from six
to twenty, and as each lot only acknowledged one
master, it stands to reason that many promising
bucks were left out in the cold. The position of lord
of a herd appears to be an honourable and enviable
one, if one may judge from the number of anxious
suitors ready to take his place; but it is no sinecure,
and the tenure of office must be of short duration,
for no rest does he get day or night. As they were
so ridiculously tame, we watched them for hours at a
time at close quarters. No sooner was milord’s back
turned, than two or three suitors would jauntily
approach from the opposite direction. Round the
master would spring, and with blazing eyes, horns
laid back and a deep-voiced roar, rush upon the most
daring and chase him from the field. Woe.betide
the laggard, for the needle-pointed horns would be
buried deep into the fugitive’s quarters. There was
no play about it, for blood was seen to flow freely
on several occasions. While this chase was going
on, another buck would get amongst the fickle does.
And so the game went on until he was beside himself
with rage. Never a minute’s peace did he get, chasing
this one and then that, fighting the fiercest battles,
receiving wounds and repaying them back with interest.
His married life was not a happy one. Though perpetually
at war, and apparently in the last stage of
exhaustion, the victorious buck was always ready to
meet all new-comers. The plain was covered with
these merry honeymoons, and resounded with the
roars of the angry husbands. In this blind state of
rage, it can be understood how easy they were to shoot;
not only did they not run away when we approached
to within fifty or sixty yards, but looked as if they
would even challenge man to mortal combat.
As to length of horns, these particular antelope
were much of a muchness, all ranging between 24^
and 26 inches. It was not always the master of the
herd who owned the longest horns, rather did he
appear to have won his spurs by his pluck and the
skill displayed in the use of his weapons. One very
fine head of 27 inches was bagged by Bailey (and there
might have been others of equal or even greater
length), but as we could not carry away many trophies,
and the camp only needed a limited supply of meat,
the slaughter was not unduly prolonged.
Having obtained all the antelope required, our
attention was once more turned to the search after ovis
ammon. Between To and Dzing-ra, three herds were
visible from the road, and here Bailey shot one ram
carrying 40-inch horns.