236 THE ANTELOPE. 



The last animal, but that most typical of the group, is 

 the Common Antelope, A cervicapra. A native of India, 

 and celebrated for the religious superstition in which it is, 

 held by the natives, being consecrated to some of their 

 deities, and alone permitted to be eaten in some of the 

 religious ceremonies of the Brahmins. It is found abun- 

 dantly over the whole Indian Peninsula, and is extremely 

 graceful and swift. "It is pleasing to see a herd of ante- 

 lopes, consisting perhaps of fifty or sixty does, and led by 

 a fine dark-colored* buck, bounding over a plain. The 

 height and distance taken at each bound, is wonderful ; 

 they often vault at least twelve feet high, and over twenty- 

 five or thirty feet of ground. It is folly to slip greyhounds 

 after Antelopes. Instances have been known of their 

 being run down, but few dogs have survived the ex- 

 ertion." 



" The best method of shooting Antelopes, is to get a 

 pair of very quiet bullocks, and walk between them, under 

 the guidance of a native, who should hold a plough. The 

 antelopes, to whom this sight is perfectly familiar, will, by 

 this device, await with seeming .confidence, and enable 

 the sportsman to approach sufficiently near to get a good 

 shot." 



The young are of a pale fulvous color, which darkens 

 with age to a sepia brown, sometimes to deep black, the 

 centre of the flank becoming darker, and showing a streak, 

 as in some of the gazelles. The lower parts and insides 

 of the legs are white, and the nose, around the orbits and 

 the throat, is often of the same color. The horns are 

 spirally twisted, and are sometimes two feet in length. 



