242 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YO SEMITE 



Pronghorn Antelope. Antilocapra americana americana Orel 



The American Antelope, or Pronghorn, was, under original conditions, 

 an inhabitant of the plains country at both ends of the Yosemite section. 

 Edward Bosqui in his Memoirs (1904, p. 62) states that in December, 

 1850, he w^ent with a party of freighters from Stockton to Mariposa, and 

 that "as we [he] approached the foothills [near the present town of Snell- 

 ing] game became more plentiful. At times we saw bands of elk, deer, 

 and antelope in such numbers that they actually darkened the plains for 

 miles and looked in the distance like great herds of cattle. ' ' Another early 

 traveler, W. L. Manly (Death Valley in '49) tells of a trip up the Merced 

 River to the crossing of the Stockton-Mariposa road [at Snelling] and 

 of the numbers of antelope which were scattered over the plain at the time. 



In general form the Pronghorn is deer-like. The head of the male 

 is surmounted by a pair of upright flattened blackish horns, each with a 

 single forward-pointing prong ; the females have similar but smaller horns. 

 On the rump is a large patch of long white hairs that can be raised at 

 will, as a 'flag' to attract the attention of others of its kind. The body 

 coloration above is uniform pale sandy brown, wath patches of white on 

 sides of face and chin, and two patches on throat ; the whole under surface 

 of the body is white. In size the antelope about equals a small deer. The 

 height at the shoulder is about 33 inches, the weight of an adult about 

 100 pounds. 



The Pronghorn was an animal of open plains country such as is found 

 widely in the San Joaquin Valley and in the Great Basin. It never 

 occurred far into the foothill districts. Its sustenance was gained from 

 grasses and small plants. For safety it depended upon its running ability, 

 and in escaping from its natural enemies this was sufficient. 



With the coming of the white man, possessed of firearms, the fortunes 

 of the antelope declined. Antelope were shot extensively for food and 

 probably also for sport. Miners coming down from the foothills killed 

 antelope for meat, especially when they could not obtain elk. There was 

 a rapid decrease in the numbers of the animals soon after the country 

 began to fill up with settlers. The antelope, adjusted as a species to small 

 annual toll, did not reproduce at a rate sufficiently rapid to make up the 

 losses inflicted by shooting. Even if these matters had been adjusted, 

 however, it is doubtful whether the antelope could have long persisted 

 in view of the agricultural developments which have taken place over nearly 

 all of their range. 



Mr. G. B. Neighbor, a long-time resident of Snelling, told us in 1915 

 that the last antelope he had known of in the vicinity were seen in 1880, 

 and that they had never been abundant there in his time (since about 1874). 



