224 



Life-histories of Northern Animals 



These horns are of exceptional size. As Dr. W. T. Horn- 

 aday remarks :" *' Any measuring 1 2 inches may fairly be con- 

 sidered large/' 



The only "freak" type that is often seen is that known 

 as the "droopers." An example is shown in Fig. 98. 

 Such disfigurements are probably the result of accident in 

 early life. But obviously the buck with *'droopers" once will 



always have them, as the 

 fundamental horn cores 

 themselves are abnormal. 



Long ago Darwin con- 

 fessed himself puzzled^* by 

 the form of the Spring-bok's 

 horn, inasmuch as the in- 

 curve of the points appar- 

 ently rendered them useless 

 for attack. It seems as 

 though a simple straight 

 spike would be much more 

 effective. The in-curved 

 point and its half-way snag seem like buttons on the rapier, 

 like efforts to disarm the well-armed knight while leaving 

 him in possession of his weapons. But many observations 

 made on the Antelope in the Washington Zoo Park, while 

 I was painting their portraits, showed me how true it is that not 

 the smallest detail in nature is without distinct purpose, for 

 which it has been carefully adapted through ages of experi- 

 ment. I learned that the prong — so far from being a button 

 on the rapier — is a hilt that protects the bare flesh farther up, 

 as described later (see p. 244). In short, the recurved point 

 enables the buck to strike his adversary in the throat, where 

 the skin is thinnest. 



Fig. 98 — Antelope with drooping horns. 



From photoj^raph in Recreation, June, 1897, by W. H. R., who 

 gut them at Uaramie, Wyomingf, in 1893. 



THE DIS- 

 COGRAPH 



Another remarkable detail of the Antelope's anatomy is 

 the white area on each buttock. This seems at first like the 

 rest of his spots — a mere patch of white coat; but it is found 



''Am. Nat. Hist., 1904, p. 117. '* Descent of Man, Vol. II., p. 239. 



