THE ELAND. 



215 



back, and is thus enabled to thread the tangled bush without difficulty. 

 Some writers say that the old males will sometimes establish a bachelors' 

 club, and live harmoniously together without admitting any of the op- 

 posite sex into their society. 



The color of the Koodoo is a reddish gray, marked with several 

 white streaks running boldly over the back and down the sides. The 

 females are destitute of horns. 



The Eland, Impoofo, or Canna, is the largest of the South African 

 Antelopes, being equal in dimensions to a very large ox. 



A fine specimen of an adult bull Eland will measure nearly six feet 

 in height at the shoulders, and is more than proportionately ponderous 

 in his build, being heavily burdened with fat as well as with flesh. 

 Owing to this great weight of body, the Eland is not so enduring as 

 the generality of Antelopes, and can usually be ridden down without 

 much trouble. Indeed, the chase of the animal is so simple a matter 

 that the hunters generally contrive to drive it toward their encamp- 

 ment, and will not kill it until it has approached the wagon so closely 

 that they will have but little trouble in conveying its flesh and hide to 

 their wheeled treasure-house. 



The flesh of the Eland is peculiarly excellent ; and, as it possesses 

 the valuable quality of being tender immediately after the animal is 

 killed, it is highly 

 appreciated in the 

 interior of South Af- 

 rica, where usually all 

 the meat is as tough 

 as shoe-leather, and 

 nearly as dry. In 

 some strange manner, 

 the Eland contrives 

 to live for months to- 

 gether without drink- 

 ing, and even when the 

 herbage is so dry that 

 it crumbles into pow- 

 der in the hand, the 

 animal preserves its 

 good condition, and 

 is, moreover, found to 

 contain water in its 

 stomach if opened. For its abstinence from liquids the Eland com- 

 pensates by its ravenous appetite for solid food, and is so large a feeder 

 that the expense of keeping it would be almost too great for any one 

 who endeavored to domesticate it in England with any hope of profit. 



The Eland (Oirm OmrM). 



