MAMMALS. 



645 



its summit. Then rising to my feet, I was myself startled by a shrill snort 

 immediately behind me, and turning about perceived the animals gazing at 

 me in intense astonishment, but eight or ten rods away. They must have 

 followed me for nearly a quarter of a mile, as I crept along in the early 

 dusk." 



The prong-horn is easily tamed, and then shows a great fondness for 

 its master or mistress. Even in the wild state they will herd for weeks 

 with the cattle of the settler ; while the young are utterly lacking in every 



-**%Ut„' *^< 



Fig. 508. — Gnu, or horned horse (Catoblephas gnu). 



CMta/Zj- -<•'•" 



particle of fear of man. They are very playful, gambolling about in the 

 most graceful manner, butting each other and their mother, or playing the 

 same game with some bush or tuft of grass. Were the animals better 

 adapted for a life in confinement, they would form a valuable addition to 

 our live-stock ; but the efforts of Judge Caton, who has tried the experiment 

 of acclimatization of these as well as many other animals, show that they 

 do not live well in captivity. They do not breed, and they are subject to 

 scrofulous and other diseases which usually carry them off in less than 

 a year. 



