Rev. W. Haughton on the Unicorn of the Ancients. 369 



The animal which Mr. Riippcll was told by a native existed 

 in Africa, and which had a long straight horn growing from its 

 forehead (?), was also doubtless a Rhinoceros. 



Under the head of " Unicorns in Asia/' in the ' Asiatic Jour- 

 nal ' (vol. ii. new ser. 1830), a writer revives the opinion of the 

 existence of veritable Unicorns, such as were reported to Major 

 Latter : the animal in question was of the deer kind, having a 

 single horn at the top of the head ; it was known by the name 

 of Seru. The editor of the ' Asiatic Journal' makes the follow- 

 ing wise remark hereupon : — " When we consider that eight 

 years have elapsed since Major Latter's account was given, and 

 that, notwithstanding increased opportunities with Tibet, no fact 

 has since transpired which supplies a confirmation of that ac- 

 count, excepting the obtaining a supposed horn of the supposed 

 Unicorn, we cannot participate in these renewed hopes." 



In vol. ii. p. 250 of the same Journal we read: — "Vertoman 

 gives the following account of two Unicorns in Arabia: — In 

 the other part of the temple of Mecca are parks or places en- 

 closed, where are seen two Unicorns, and these are shown to the 

 people for a wonder; the one of them, which is much higher 

 than the other, is not much unlike a colt of two and a half 

 years old ; in the forehead grows one horn, straight forward, of 

 the length of 3 cubits. The other is much younger, and like a 

 colt one year old. Tire horn of this is of the length of four 

 spans. The beast is of the colour of a horse, of a weasel- colour, 

 with a head like a hart, but no long neck, a thin mane hanging- 

 only on one side. The legs of both are thin and slender, like a 

 fawn or hind ; the hoofs of the four feet are divided in two, 

 much like the feet of a goat ; the outer part of the hind feet is 

 very full of hair. They seemed wild and fierce. They are sent 

 to the Sultan of Mecca from the King of Ethiopia ! " 



There are other reports as to the existence of real Unicorns, 

 such as those of Sparrmann, Lobo, Thenet (who asserted he had 

 hunted Unicorns with the King of Monomotopa), Garcias, and 

 others ; but where a veritable animal is meant by the term, that 

 animal is unquestionably some species of Rhinoceros ; for all 

 attempts to obtain a specimen of a quadruped with a single horn 

 on its forehead have failed, and the accounts of the existence of 

 such animals are very vague, and entirely unsupported by any- 

 thing approximating to satisfactory evidence. 



The one-horned animal of which Ctesias speaks is in all pro- 

 bability the Rhinoceros unicornis, exaggerated accounts of which 

 would perhaps have been given him by the Persians, while his 

 own love of the marvellous added the remainder. From Ctcsias's 

 one single-horned animal, in process of time there came to be at 

 least three Unicorns, namely the opvg, the.6Vo9 ayptos or IvSikc?, 



Ann. # Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol.x. 25 



