A Trip on the Prairie. 



The voice of the antelope is not at all like that of the 

 deer. Insteadiof bleating it utters a quick, harsh noise, a 

 kind of bark ; a little like the sound " kau," sharply and 

 clearly repeated. It can be heard a long distance off; and 

 is usually uttered when the animal is a little startled or 

 surprised by the presence of something it does not under- 

 stand. 



The prong-horn cannot go without water any longer 

 than a deer can, and will go great distances to get it ; for 

 space is nothing to a traveller with such speed and such 

 last. No matter how dry and barren may be the desert in 

 which antelope are found, it may be taken for granted that 

 they are always within reaching distance of some spring or 

 pool of water, and that they visit it once a day. Once or 

 twice I have camped out by some pool, which was the only 

 one for miles around, and in every such case have been 

 surprised at night by the visits of the antelope, who, on 

 finding that their drinking-place was tenanted, would 

 hover round at a short distance, returning again and again 

 and continually uttering the barking "kau, kau," until 

 they became convinced that there was no hope of their 

 getting in, when they would set off at a run for some 

 other place. 



Prong-horn perhaps prefer the rolling prairies of short 

 grass as their home, but seem to do almost equally well on 

 the desolate and monotonous wastes where the sage-brush 

 and prickly pear and a few blades of coarse grass are the 

 only signs of plant life to be seen. In such places, the 

 prong-horn, the sage cock, the rattlesnake, and the horned 

 frog alone are able to make out a livelihood. 



