APPENDIX 333 



12. Prong-horned Antelope ; Prong-buck. — Antilocapra americana. 



Somewhat smaller than the common deer ; color yellowish brown, 

 marked with white ; lower parts white ; neck white with brown collar. 

 Easily distinguished by the black-pronged horns. 



Range. — Formerly abundant in the open country from the great 

 plains to California. Now found in small bands in a few localities in 

 Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, 

 Idaho, Utah, Oregon, and California. In all of these States, save four, 

 its destruction has been absolutely prohibited or prohibited for long 

 periods. 



Being an open-country animal the antelope is easily seen, and, as 

 I said in a paper on " Field Sports of To-day" {The Century, Octo- 

 ber, 1903), "everyone took a shot at an antelope to see if he could hit 

 it." The result has been that the antelope has been exterminated in 

 many places. 



Mr. Hornaday urges sportsmen to stop shooting it everywhere. In 

 my opinion, its preservation depends upon the establishment of great 

 Western game-preserves, where the shooting should be interesting and 

 valuable, and should be limited to the increase of the year. 



BOOK III 



THE BEAR FAMILY. — URSID^ 



The bear family is placed in the order Carnivora — the f^esh-eaters. 

 The bears are all plantigrade, or flat-footed animals, and are armed 

 with long, non-retractile claws. Most of the bears are unable to climb 

 trees, but the black bear is a good climber. The bears eat a great 

 variety of food, insects, fruits, berries, and mast, as well as flesh. 

 They are fond of fish, and especially fond of honey, and may be said 

 to be omnivorous, or nearly so. 



North America is rich in bears. We have the largest bear in the 

 world— the big brown bear of Alaska ; the fiercest and most formida- 

 ble — grizzly ; the great polar-bear and the black bear. 



13. The Grizzly Bear. — Ursus horribilis. 



A large brown bear having a grizzly appearance from the ends of 

 the hair being tipped with gray ; high at the shoulders ; long curved 

 claws. There are various shades of color in different localities. Gray 

 bears are called silver-tips. A specimen has weighed 1,153 pounds. 

 The average weight is much less — 500 to 600 pounds. 



