THE ANTELOPE 229 



prong-buck and prong-horned antelope, and the 

 ebony-like color of the horns, are characteristic of the 

 animal. His horns differ from those of the deer in 

 construction, as well as in shape and color. They are 

 more like the horns of cattle. Hence the antelope is 

 placed by the naturalists in the family BovidcB or ox 

 family. 



All of the deer shed their horns annually. None of 

 the ox family do, except our antelope, which differs in 

 this regard from all the other antelopes in the world. 

 Audubon says the hunters first discovered that the 

 antelopes shed their horns, but we managed to prove 

 the contrary ; but in this case Judge Caton says the 

 hunters were right and the naturalists wrong. The 

 structure of the deer's horns is bony, that of the ante- 

 lope's is a dermal outgrowth. The deer, it is said, 

 " loses a bony outgrowth — a portion of the skeleton 

 — while the antelope parts with a dermal outgrowth."* 

 The antelope differs from the deer in many other ways, 

 but the sportsman, I am aware, is more interested in 

 the head and horns of the antelope, as he sees them on 

 the plains or later on his wall, than he is in the fact 

 that the horns are a dermal outgrowth. We proceed, 

 therefore, at once to the plains, to ascertain where the 

 quarry may be found and how best to procure it, re- 

 ferring the reader to Mr. GrinncU's capital mono- 

 graph for other matter relating to the natural history 

 and anatomy of this most remarkable animal.f 



• Grinnell, in The Century. 



■f Many sportsmen as well as naturalists insist that the antelope should 

 not be shot at any season, since there is great danger of its extermination. 

 To this I say Amen. 



