STORY OF THE ANTELOPE. 331 



shy denizens of the wilderness generally succeeded in getting away before 

 our hunters could get within shooting distance. 



One of the most graceful antelopes is the waterbuck, which our former 

 President hunted near Machakos. Our illustration shows one of these beauti- 

 ful animals lying down in the grass. It is about the size of a two-year-old 

 calf, its eyes are large and brilliant, its horns heavy, curved upwards and 

 about three feet in length. The female is hornless and somewhat smaller, 

 but has a mane around the neck like the male. Its flesh is so coarse that it is 

 unfit to eat, and our American hunters, therefore, killed only the specimens 

 needed for their collection. 



The antelope family has over seventy different varieties scattered all over 

 the world, and we now proceed to make our readers acquainted with some 

 of them and mainly those which the American hunting expedition met with 

 in East Africa. 



No animal in a wild state appeals more strongly to my sympathy than 

 the antelope. I have spent hours watching these timid, harmless, large-eyed 

 creatures, of which there are about seventy different species. The love of 

 the mother doe for her fawn is sO' tender and gentle as to be almost human, 

 and the absolute faith of the little creature in its mother is ideal. 



Although they are so timid and flee at the first approach of danger, there 

 are times when certain species of antelope exhibit a high order of courage. 

 I was once an eye wn'tness to an act of bravery on the part of an antelope, 

 a South African gemsbok, that was equal to that of any animal I know. We 

 were stalking a lion in Cape Colony, when we saw the big beast suddenly 

 crouch in a thicket of wait-a-bit thorns, his gaze intently fixed upon some 

 object at right angles to where we were lying. Looking in the same direc- 

 tion we saw a pair of gemsboks walking unsuspectingly toward the ambush. 

 Just in front of the lion was a huge ant-hill, and toward it came the gems- 

 boks, occasionally twitching their black tails; but that was to rid their flanks 

 of flies and not from any fear of danger. 



As the antelopes drew near the ant-hill, the lion drew back his head until 

 it was nearly concealed under his black, shaggy mane. They could not have 

 possibly seen him where he lay, nor he them, and he now appeared to trust 

 to his ears to inform him of their approach. 



He waited till both were opposite, and broadside toward him, at the 

 distance of less than twenty paces from the hill. Then his tail was seen to 

 vibrate with one or two quick jerks, his head shot suddenly forth, his body 



