148 



A N T ELOPES. 



get dry and heated, is the turning of the season of the 

 monsoon. See ATMOSPHEHE and MONSOON. 



The GEMSBOK (A. oryx) is another inhabitant of 

 the plains of Southern Africa, but differing con- 

 siderably both in its appearance and its habits from 

 the two species last mentioned. These antelopes live 

 in pairs, or at most in very small herds, and, as is the 

 case \vith most grazing animals which have that 

 habit, they do not migrate much or far, but rather 

 shift from place to place within the same locality. 

 They are not, indeed, so well fitted for long journeys 

 as the springboks and other more elegantly formed 

 antelopes ; but in proportion as they are less fitted 

 for shifting their quarters they are more capable of 

 endurance, being much more robust and stoutly made. 



Their linear dimensions are inferior to those of some 

 of the lighter species, being only about five feet in 

 length, and a little more than three in height at the 

 shoulder ; but their legs are stout, their bodies firm 

 and compact, their horns very formidable, and they 

 are endowed with no inconsiderable share of courage 

 and determination The horns are in the plane of the 

 forehead, nearly straight, inclining very little from 

 each other at the tips, stout and more than two feet 

 in length. In colour they are black, firm in sub- . 

 stance, very slightly annulated, rather blunt at the 

 tips in the male, but sharp in the female. The 

 animal charges with them like spears ; and as it stands 

 firm upon its well-knit limbs, none of the smaller car- 

 nivora can venture to spring upon it with impunity. 

 It keeps clear of those places in which the lion 

 crouches ready to spring, and when he is ranging or 

 prowling it is said to dart in upon him, and cither put 

 him to flight or transfix him with its powerful horns. 

 That is probable, inasmuch as the lion, assailed on the 

 flank, or any way behind, is by no means so formidable 

 as when he can spring, or even when he can strike 

 with the paw. 



Though not so grey as the blissbok, this species is 

 rather handsomely marked. The head is white, with 

 two bands of black extending from the bases of the 

 horns to the eyes, which they encircle ; they are then 

 deflected obliquely backwards and meet under the 

 under jaw, continuing in one black stripe down the 

 middle of the throat to the fore-legs, then it again 

 divides into two, first encircling each fore-leg with a 

 ring of considerable breadth, then passing backward 

 along the flanks and encircling the thighs in a similar 

 manner. The tail also, which is bushy, the greater 

 part of its length is black, and there is a black spot 

 upon the cannons. The body above the black is 

 reddish grey, and below white, as are also the legs 

 with the exceptions that have been mentioned. The 

 hair on the upper part of the shoulders is rough, and 

 from being turned forward it has a good deal of a 

 shaggy appearance. The hunting of this antelope 

 is a matter of considerable danger, because when 

 wounded it is apt to turn upon its enemies with great 

 boldness and effect. It is said to get much fatter 

 towards the close of the season of plenty than the more 

 migrating antelopes, which agrees with the analogy 

 of other animals in other places ; but it is still suffi- 

 ciently fleet and capable of flitting from place to place, 

 to render the possession of a store hump unnecessary. 



The CANNA (A. orcas). This is the largest and 

 heaviest of all the species in Southern Africa ; and as 

 it is not more migratory than the gemsbok, and 

 much more gregarious, it is furnished with certain 

 provisions against the season of scarcity which that 



species is without. Toward the end of the season of 

 plenty it gets very fat, and it has also a sort of hump 

 upon the shonldi rs, which is most prominent vheri 

 the animal is in ihe best condition. 



In countries where the contrast of the season of 

 rain and plemy, and that of drought and want 

 is very great, the hump appears to be an impor- 

 tant organ in the economy of those graying animals, 

 which from structure or habit (the two generally go 

 together) do not migrate. We have striking in- 

 stances of it in the camels, and in many of the ox 

 tribe, and some of the sheep have a substitute in the 

 tail. All these protuberances get large and firm 

 when the animals are in good condition ; with scant}' 

 feeding they become soft and flabby, and before the 

 animal perishes of hunger they disappear. As that 

 provision, in a great measure, disappears in those cli- 

 mates where the pastures are perennial, and appears 

 again,either in the form of a hump or dew lap in t he colder 

 latitudes, no doubt of its purpose is left ; and there is 

 a farther corroboration in those animals which live 

 upon mosses and lichens, and can scrape their food 

 from under the snow, being without any such pro- 

 vision. See HYBEKNATION. 



The canna is not less than eight feet in length ; and 

 it stands fully irve feet high at the shoulder, so that, 

 in as far as is known, it is considerably the largest of 

 the whole genus. Its legs are thick and strong, 

 clumsy as compared with those of many other ante- 

 lopes ; and its hoofs are broader and not so much 

 pointed. The haunches are large and -thick ; the 

 body heavy, the neck much bent down at its articu- 

 lation ; a slight hump behind the shoulders, and a 

 tolerably large goitre on the throat ; the muzzle is 

 more square and ox-like than in most of the ante- 

 lopes ; the horns of the male are very thick and 

 strong, but tapering to the tips, and instead of being 

 annulated, they are wreathed with a spiral projection ; 

 and in the female the horns are more slender, and the 

 spiral is not so conspicuous. In the male they are 

 about two feet in length, and in the female a few 

 inches less. From between the horns, all along the 

 neck and back to the rump, there is a short erect 

 mane, from which the hair, on the upper part to about 

 the middle of the loins, is shaggy, completely hiding 

 the dewlap and goitre of the throat ; and the upper 

 part of it concealing the hump on the shoulders. It 

 is necessary to mention that the hump on this animal 

 differs from that on the camels and humped oxen. 

 The processes of the vertebrae penetrate its sub- 

 stance nearly to the skin, and are of course accom- 

 panied by muscles, so that the deposit which is made 

 in it is simply fat ; and when it is exhausted it does 

 not sink down but shrinks laterally. The head and 

 neck are quite grey.the upper part of the body reddish- 

 fawn, and the under part white ; but the colours, 

 especially that of the upper part, are subject to con- 

 siderable variations. 



Both the disposition and the flesh of this animal 

 correspond with its habits. It is mild, and confiding 

 rather than timid, so that it can be approached much 

 more readily and closely than any of the rest. A 

 few hunters can indeed drive the herd as if- they 

 were domestic animals ; and one regrets that, in the 

 cultivated parts of the country, they have not been 

 tamed rather than extirpated. But, as already no- 

 ticed, the instinct has been to kill every living thing 

 which was native in Southern Africa, and a mean 

 course is now too late. These animals are now to be 



