J94 THE PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE. 



wood ; but are not met with in the continuous wood- 

 ed country. 



" This animal has a graceful form, a slender heedj 

 with large eyes, and long delicate limbs. The horns 

 are black, and rise directly upwards and outwards, 

 without any inclination either forwards or backward, 

 and curve sharply in towards each other at their tips. 

 They are much compressed in a lateral direction, to 

 about half their height, where they give out a thin 

 triangular and bracket-shaped process, which pro- 

 jects directly forwards for more than an inch. The 

 surface of the lower half of the horns is striated, and 

 is rough, with small warts and knobs, two or three 

 of which project from a quarter to half an inch. The 

 situation of these knobs varies in different speci- 

 mens." 



The hair which clothes the body resembles that 

 of the moose or rein-deer in its structure ; it is long, 

 round, tapering from the root to the point, waved, 

 and of a soft and brittle texture ; its interior is white 

 and spongy, like the pith of the rush. When the 

 hair makes its first appearance in summer, it forms 

 a smooth coat, and has the ordinary flexibility and 

 appearance of hair ; but as it lengthens, it acquires 

 the brittle spongy texture at its roots, and, increas- 

 ing at the same time in diameter, it becomes erect, 

 and forms a very close coat. As the spring ap- 

 proaches, the fine and flexible points are rubbed off, 

 particularly on the sides, where the hair appears as 

 if it had been clipped. The mane on the hind head 



