A Trip on the Prairie. 181 



poor buckskin. In its whole appearance and structure it 

 is a most singular creature. Unlike all other hollow- 

 horned animals, it sheds it horns annually, exactly as the 

 deer shed their solid antlers ; but the shedding process in 

 the prong-horn occupies but a very few days, so short a 

 a time, indeed, that many hunters stoutly deny that it 

 takes place at all. The hair is of remarkable texture, 

 very long, coarse, and brittle ; in the spring it comes off 

 in handfuls. In strong contrast to the reddish yellow of 

 the other parts of the body, the rump is pure white, and 

 when alarmed or irritated every hair in the white patch 

 bristles up on end, greatly increasing the apparent area of 

 the color. The flesh, unlike that of any other plains animal, 

 is equally good all through the year, In the fall it is 

 hardly so juicy as deer venison, but in the spring, when 

 no other kind of game is worth eating, it is perfectly 

 good ; and at that time of the year, if we have to get 

 fresh meat, we would rather kill antelope than any thing 

 else ; and as the bucks are always to be instantly distin- 

 tinguished from the does by their large horns, we confine 

 ourselves to them, and so work no harm to the species. 



The antelope is a queer-looking rather than a beauti- 

 ful animal. The curious pronged horns, great bulging 

 eyes, and strange bridle-like marks and bands on the face 

 and throat are more striking, but less handsome, than the 

 delicate head and branching antlers of a deer ; and it en- 

 tirely lacks the latter animal's grace of movement. In its 

 form and look, when standing still, it is rather angular 

 and goat-like, and its movements merely have the charm 

 that comes from lightness, speed, and agility. Its gait is 



