68 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



antelopes, however, in fighting amongst themselves 

 snap off one horn, and thus become true unicorns. 

 Moreover, although the horn is represented as 

 growing from the unicorn's head at an angle, this 

 may only have been the native artist's method of 

 representing a typical pose of the animal, and here 

 again we observe a likeness to the roan, for the 

 hippotragine antelopes in fighting draw in the 

 head and lower the horns so that they project 

 forwards. The Tarka unicorn and the roan 

 antelope are probably one and the same animal : 

 and it is surprising that when Sir John discovered 

 the " tackhaitsie " a year or so later, he did not 

 recognise in it the long-sought monoceros of the 

 Caffres. 1 



The mysterious unicorn died hard. Many years 

 after Sir John Barrow's party had safely returned 

 to Capetown, Sir Andrew Smith heard reports of 

 a one-horned animal said to exist somewhere 

 north of the Tropic of Capricorn, and which was 

 said to be very different from any known species 

 of rhinoceros : he also published some remarks 

 communicated to him by the Rev. Mr. Freeman 

 on an extraordinary animal reported in his day to 

 be fairly common in Makooa, where it was known 

 as the Nzoodzoo. The naturalist will see on 



i It appears that the Bushmen near Leetakoo (Kuruman) the very 

 place where Barrow discovered the "tackhaitsie" were in the habit 

 of adorning the walls of caverns with drawings of animals, including 

 unicorns. Gordon Gumming mentions such an improvised art-gallery, 

 situated to the west of the waggon-track between Kuruman and 

 Daniels'-Kuil. 



