346 WILD BEASTS AXD THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



white across the withers. The crown of the head is white, also a 

 white ring around the eyes ; the chest is black, but the belly is 

 white throughout. 1 The horns of this species are from about 28 

 to 32 inches in length, and they bend backwards in a peculiarly 

 graceful curve, unlike any other antelope. The coat is rather coarse 

 and long, approaching that of a goat. The coat of all antelopes 

 that frequent marshes and the neighbourhood of water is more or 

 less coarse ; this is very marked in the ellipsiprymna. 



I have before remarked that animals and birds vary in their 

 degrees of shyness and difficulty of approach. The megaceros is 

 easier to stalk than any other antelope that I have met ; and upon 

 one occasion I stopped our vessel and landed, where I saw a number 

 of these animals upon the half-dried marshes. In the course of the 

 afternoon, I bagged five, affording a grand supply for my hungry 

 people. The females of this species are a brown colour, and devoid 

 of horns. I have never seen this antelope inland, but always in 

 the close vicinity of rivers and lakes ; they are generally in large 

 herds, and can only be discovered at the driest season, when the 

 rivers have sunk low, and the marshes, which are inundated during 

 the rainy months, have become exposed and hardened by the sun. 

 It is difficult to estimate the number of animals in a herd, but I 

 have occasionally seen this species in dense masses that would 

 contain a thousand. The pallah (A. leucotis) is another antelope 

 that is found in important herds. This is very common in Central 

 Africa, and affords excellent sport, and good food for the camp. 

 It is a well-known antelope both in South and Central Africa, but 

 I have never met with it north of 10 N. latitude. The horns of 

 the male are prettily shaped, something like the gazelle, but spread- 

 ing. The females have no horns, but they are nearly the same 

 colour as the male, a yellow body with snow-white belly. The size 

 of the pallah is about the same as a fallow-deer. 



The prettiest creature of the jungles is the harnessed antelope 

 (A. scripta). This is never found in herds, but generally in pairs, 

 or three or four together. It is seldom met with in open plains, 

 but it is an inhabitant of the bush, and will lie tolerably close, 

 starting up with a frantic rush when suddenly disturbed. A fine 

 buck will weigh about 90 Ibs. The male is dark-brown, ornamented 

 with snow-white stripes, six or seven of which descend from the 

 back upon either flank and the hind-quarters ; a few white marks 

 are upon the shoulders, and white spots upon the thighs ; a long 

 white line from the shoulder extends in a continuation below the 

 transverse marks upon the flanks, and terminates near the junction 

 1 This is the Kolus Maria of Gray, or M?<jaceros of Hcnglin. 



