~ 



ANTILOPID.E. MAMMALIA. ANTILOPID/E. 



1G7 



generally, the limbs being reddish below the knees, the 

 rump white, the tail, which is two feet in length and 

 tapering, being rufous and whitish at the margins; 

 three white spots exist on the cheek, and a pale band 

 passes along the central line of the back, giving off, as 

 it were, at right angles, five or six transversely-disposed 

 whitish bands, directed downwards on either side 

 towards the belly. These mai-kings are not so con- 

 spicuous in the female, which is also of slighter build, 

 destitute of horns, and furnished with four mammse. 

 The Koodoos are gregarious, and, though still found 

 within the colony, are comparatively scarce. They are 

 deservedly admired by travellers who have seen them 

 in the wild state. " Of all the varied and beauteous 

 forms of animal life to be found in the boundless woods 

 and plains of tropical South Africa, the Koodoo is 

 unquestionably the most distinguished for elegance and 

 gracefulness, united with strength." So writes Mr. 

 Andersson, who considers it a perfect picture, and "one 

 of the grandest-looking antelopes in the world." The 

 same ardent sportsman gives us an account of a curious 

 method adopted by the natives for its capture : " The 

 Bushmen have a way of their own of hunting the 

 Koodoo, viz., by running it down, not by speed of foot, 

 but by gradually exhausting it ! When a hunt of this 

 kind is decided on, a number of these people assemble, 

 armed with assegais, &c. Having started the animal, 

 one of the party takes up its "spoor" at a quick pace, 

 the rest following more leisurely. On feeling fatigued 

 the leading man drops behind his comrades, and the 

 next in order takes up the pursuit, and so on, until they 

 secure the prize. Sometimes this is effected in the 

 course of a few hours ; but it happens also that the 

 chase lasts for a whole day, or even longer. All 

 depends on the ground. If stony or rocky, the men 

 have an immense advantage over the animal, which, 

 under such circumstances, soon becomes foot-sore, lies 

 down repeatedly, and after a while is found unable to 

 rise, when it is quickly despatched. The Women and 

 children carry water on these occasions for the hunters, 

 so that, should the animal prove very enduring, his 

 pursuers may not be necessitated to give up the chase 

 for want of that indispensable necessary." The flesh 

 of the Koodoo is highly esteemed, and the hide is con- 

 verted into Various articles of clothing, harness, &c. 



THE ELAND (Boselaphus oreas) is a magnificent 

 animal, the largest of the antelopes, and on many 

 accounts deserving of an extended notice. It is also 

 known by the names of the Cape Elk, Ganna, and 

 Impoofoo the latter term being employed by the 

 Bechuanas and Matabili. The importance of this 

 ruminant will be at once appreciated when it is men- 

 tioned, that not only is its flesh of the most palatable 

 and nutritious character, but experiments have recently 

 established the fact that it will readily breed in this 

 country. When it is added, moreover, that several are 

 now thriving in the parks of English noblemen, and 

 that a single individual weighs from fifteen hundred to 

 two thousand pounds, it will be easily understood that 

 the day cannot be far distant when the Eland shall 

 become permanently domesticated in this country, and 

 supply wholesome food, at least to the table of the 

 wealthy. Not long ago an Eland, bred and fattened in 



England, was slaughtered for the express purpose of 

 testing its epicurean qualities, the result of which was 

 that Royalty, both on this and the other side of the 

 channel, partook of the venison, and pronounced it 

 excellent. Professor Owen extolled its qualities in the 

 columns of the Times, whilst many other distinguished 

 fellows of the Zoological Society testified to the accu- 

 racy of his judgment. In short, every body pronounced 

 a favourable opinion, in terms very similar to those of 

 the gifted author of the " Game and Wild Animals of 

 Southern Africa," who amusingly says : " Both in 

 grain and colour it resembles beef, but is far better 

 tasted and more delicate, possessing a pure game 

 flavour, and exhibiting the most tempting-looking layers 

 of fat and lean ; the surprising quantity of the former 

 ingredient with which it is interlarded, exceeding that of 

 any other game quadruped with which I am acquainted. 

 The venison fairly melts in the mouth ; and as for the 

 brisket, that is absolutely a cut for a monarch 1 With 

 what satisfaction would not King Jamie of hunting 

 memory, have drawn his good blade adown the breast 

 of a plump Eland, to be rewarded with five full inches 

 of ' prime white fat on that ilk,' instead of three, as on 

 the occasion in Greenwich Park, when Nigel assisted 

 his sporting Majesty in the sylvan ceremony? The 

 vast quantity of taUow yielded by the fat bulls, fur- 

 nished us with constant material for manufacturing 

 'dips' in a candle mould with which we were pro- 

 vided ; and during the greater part of our journey it 

 was to the flesh of this goodly beast that we principally 

 looked for our daily rations, both on account of its vast 

 superiority over every other wild flesh, and from the 

 circumstance of its being obtainable in larger quantities 

 with comparatively less labour." Here we must pause 

 to mention the principal characters by which this 

 gigantic antelope is easily distinguished (fig. 59). Aa 

 adult male stands fully six feet high at the shoulder, el- 

 even more ; the length being in some cases upwards of 

 nine feet from the nose to the root of the tail. The 

 horns are nearly straight, massive, conical, furnished 

 with a strongly-developed spiral ridge, which gradually 

 disappears at the upper third, where the ends become 

 attenuated and sharply pointed. In the female the 

 horns are longer, slighter, and less markedly furrowed. 

 The forehead of the male is clothed with a thick bundle 

 of stiff, wiry, brownish hairs ; the tuft being bordered 

 on either side by a band of yellow-orange colour. The 

 ears are comparatively small and the muzzle broad, the 

 neck thick, the dewlap very prominent and fringed with 

 long brown hairs, the legs rather short, the shoulders 

 and hind quarters enormously developed, the fur short 

 and of a rufous-dun or ashy-grey colour generally, the 

 tail being about twenty-six inches long and tufted at 

 the extremity. The female exhibits a bead-like tuft of 

 hair on the under part of the neck, has a more ferru- 

 ginous colour, and is furnished with four teats. Re- 

 specting the habits of this interesting animal, it is well 

 known to frequent only the more open plains of the 

 interior; "rejoicing especially," says Captain Harris, 

 " in low belts of shaded hillocks, and in the isolated 

 groves of Acacia capensis, which, like islands in the 

 ocean, are scattered over many of the stony and gravelly 

 plains of the interior; large herds of them are also 



