ANTELOPES 115 



a useful servant to man, had fate ordained that he should 

 live amid enlightened and intelligent human surroundings . 

 is in danger ot disappearing from off the face of the earth 

 at no very distant date. 



It is true that in several parts of the continent, timely 

 legislation has staved off the evil day, locally and for the 

 time being, but elsewhere, the white hunter with his 

 weapons of precision, and the native with his Dane gun, 

 or Tower musket, are vying with one another to eliminate 

 the species. In fact, the only ultimate chance of survival 

 for the eland seems to lie in domestication, and for this 

 he is exceptionally well fitted. In size and weight the 

 male is the equal of the ox, in intelligence considerably 

 its superior. He is well shaped for traction work, and a 

 few generations of attention and regular feeding would 

 certainly augment still further his bone and muscle. 

 The meat is excellent, equal to the best beef, while the 

 cows give a considerable supply of milk, which domesti- 

 cation might enhance. He is largely independent of 

 water, is immune from the endemic * diseases which 

 afflict cattle in Africa so far as is known the only 

 epidemic to affect him has been rinderpest and, an 

 equally important consideration, he can be taken with 

 perfect impunity into tsetse fly areas. 



The writer has for several years kept some of these 

 animals in a domesticated state. In the morning they 

 go out to graze with the horses, donkeys, and cattle, and 

 return with them at night. If left unattended to roam 

 about the station, they show remarkable intelligence, 

 especially where their own wants are concerned. The 



* An endemic disease is one that is permanently established 

 in one region or locality ; an epidemic is a disease that sweeps 

 across large areas with violence, but is usually of a temporary 

 nature, and after a time disappears entirely from a locality. 



