THE OTTAWA NATURALIST 



VOL. XXIII. OTTAWA, JUNE, 1909 No. 3 



THE PRONG-HORN ANTELOPE. 



(Antilocapra americana, Ord.) 



By Professor Edward E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner 



OF Fisheries, Ottawa. 



Like most railway travellers, crossing our vast wastes of 



^irairie in the west, I have found one of the most interesting 



occupations to be that of observing the mammals, birds, etc., 



which from time immemorial have peopled the lonely plain 



bel!v/een Brandon and the foot-hills of the Rockies. It has been 



m .1 lot to make the journey nearly a score of times, but it never 



proves wearisome if one keeps a sharp lookout for living creatures 



on :hese grassy wilds. On my last recent trip Isaw once more 



th"^, usual gophers, prairie hares, hawks, ducks, geese, and sea- 



g..llis in numbers, the beautiful prairie wolf or coyote with bushy 



tail, either wandering deviously like a lost sheep-dog or taking 



a survey from a rising knoll, while the appearance of a badge 



shambling along rewarded my sight. These I had seen before, 



yet in spite of my keen watch for antelopes, I had crossed the 



prairie time after time without seeing those wonderfully interest- 



ir -J animals. On one occasion, however, when travelling from 



Prince Albert to Regina, in the company of His Grace Monsignor 



Pascal, and I was in the act of expressing my disappointment 



at always failing to see any antelope. His Lordship suddenly 



turned to the right as we stood on the rear platform of the car, 



exclaiming, "Why, there is a band of them," and, lo, five or six 



of these lovely creatures proudly pranced along not more than. 



100 yards from the train. With heads aloft and stepping high 



on their nimble feet, they recalled the action of trained ponies 



in a circus. They were going northward as our train sped south, 



so that my near view was brief, but the beautiful animals were 



so near and apparently so fearless that I had ample timeto 



notice their form, colour, and general appearance. Their active 



graceful actions delighted me. Few experiences in the wilds, and 



