THE ADDAX ANTELOPE. 



" Cornua erecta rugarumque ambitu contorta et in laeve 

 fastigium exacuta, ut Lyras diceres" — 



Pliny on the Addax ; Hist. Nat. Lib. VL, c. 37. 



The ancients supposed the unknown parts of the 

 world to be aHve with monsters, the cartographers 

 bordering their maps with highly imaginary pictures 

 of these fearful wild fowl. Dog-headed men 

 inhabited the interior of Libya; and the huge roc, 

 half eagle half condor, sailed over the marshes of 

 Madagascar, stooping at all quarry, even man him- 

 self. Some of the monsters were wholly legendary 

 and fictitious, but in others naturalists have recog- 

 nised the distorted likenesses of beasts livino- on the 

 earth to-day. The dog-headed men were probably 

 Egyptian baboons; the roc was perhaps based on 

 the huge ostrich or epyornis, whose fossilized bones 

 have been dug up in the Mare aux Songes. The 

 real animals of Africa known to the ancients are, 

 however, interesting enough ; such forms, for instance, 

 as the leopardus (cheetah) the hippotigris (Grevy's 

 zebra), and the ca?nelopardalis (giraffe). Amongst 

 the real beasts mentioned by Pliny was the beautiful 

 addax antelope — sti'epsiceros quern Africa addacem 

 appellant. 



