f the stalker; and as they
do not present a very large mark, good shooting is required.

"The best way to hunt them is (having discovered a good hill) to be
on the ground by daylight and work along the face of the hill, keeping
as high up as possible. Every slope should be carefully examined,
and on reaching the edge of each ravine it should be thoroughly
reconnoitred. Being good climbers, the gooral may be found in all
sorts of places--on narrow ledges, on the face of steep precipices,
on gentle slopes of young grass, and among scattered bushes or forest
trees. As little noise as possible should be made; talking should
never be allowed, for nothing frightens game so much. Frequently
after firing a shot or two on a hill-side, other animals may be found
quietly feeding a little further on, whereas if there has been any
shouting or talking the beasts will have been driven away. Shooting
over a hill does not appear to have the effect of frightening gooral
away; when disturbed they seldom go far, and may be found again on
their old ground in the course of a day or two. On detecting the
presence of danger, the gooral generally stands still, and utters
several sharp hisses before moving away."

SIZE.--Height, 28 to 30 inches; length, about 4 feet; horns, from
6 to 9 inches.

* * * * *

I must here include one of the most curious animals in India, a
creature resembling at first sight the African gnu. About a couple
of years ago, a friend of mine, who hails from the "land o' cakes,"
called to ask me about a strange animal he had noticed in the Museum.
"They call it a 'takin,'" said he; "and if I did not think they were
above jokes in such a dry-bone establishment, I should say in the
language of my native country, that it is a 'tak' in,' for it does
not look natural at all." I turned up Hodgson's account of the
creature for him, to prove that it was not a hoax. It was first brought
to notice by the above naturalist about thirty years ago, and he gave
it the name _Budorcas_, from the two Greek words signifying ox and
gazelle.

His account of it appears in the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society,'
vol. xix., 1850. It is again mentioned in the 'P. Z. S.' for 1853,
with a plate (No. xxxvi.), and a further account of it, with several
plates, will be found in Professor Milne-Edwards's 'Recherches sur
les Mammiferes' (pp. 367 to 377).

As my time has been very much occupied lately, I have not been ab