1909] The Ottawa Naturalist. 45 



Even on the prairie they are subject to mysterious maladies, due 

 no doubt to improper food, and they have been noticed to be 

 plentiful one year and very scarce the next from this cause. 

 The year 1873 (or 1874) was said to be a scarce year for prong- 

 horns. Owing to their rapid nimble gait they can cover long 

 distances, especially when disturbed. "In fleetness",says Caton, 

 "they exceed all other quadrupeds of our continent." When 

 feeding out in the open, usually standing prominently on some 

 rounded grassy area, they are visible from a long distance; but 

 on the lower fiats, and near coulees, they are less easily detected 

 as their peculiar patched coloration effectually masks them. 

 When watched one sees them feeding for a few moments and 

 then moving on, one or two of the herd constantly raising the 

 head and keeping a lookout. The wolves are their main enemies, 

 apart from the insatiable cruelty of man, and in June when the 

 voung are born, the prong-horns are especially on the alert. 

 Theodore Roosevelt tells of the spectacle described by a western 

 rancher who saw a prong-horn attacked b}- two eagles. It was 

 a brave contest, the animal rearing on his hind legs and striking 

 like a goat with his horns and hoofs. Curiosity is so strong in 

 these animals that it makes them an easy pre)'. When suddenly 

 startled they make several leaps, high from the ground, then 

 stop and stare wildly. They are easily shot theit. Often a band 

 will run a few hundred yards, wheel about and stare vacantlv, 

 and return almost to their starting point. This "circling" habit 

 enables the unscrupulous hunter to slaughter a whole herd, 

 indeed a hunter has been known to shoot a wagon load of them 

 before the remnant of the herd fled away. When once started 

 in full cry they veritably fly, apparently scarcely touching the 

 ground; but they are soon exhausted and a horse has no diffi- 

 culty in keeping up with them if the chase is prolonged. A 

 bright cloth waved on a stick wiU cause a herd to approach a 

 partly hidden hunter. The older larger animals are the most 

 inquisitive, and the hunter can make sure of the finest prong- 

 horns. Curious, nervous, swift in flight, they have the reputa- 

 tion of being pluckv when cornered and make a gallant and 

 dangerous fight. When leisurely trotting along at their leisure, 

 as I saw them from the end of a Pullman car, nothing could be 

 more easy, elegant, and confident. I have only once tasted 

 prong-horn or antelope steak, and I found it juicy, fine-grained 

 and of exceedingly good flavour. 



Why is it that this lovely and scientifically interesting 

 native animal is allowed to be exterminated' Its numbers on 

 our prairie are few compared with the large bands of twenty 

 years ago. Unlike the buffalo, as settlement proceeds, it need 

 not become extinct if protection is afforded and our praine 



