308 The Antelope 



culty, although a little later they can run fast and far. When capt- 

 ured they become tame at once and are easily reared on cow's 

 .milk. They are interesting, but rather inconvenient, pets; for they 

 are so much at home about a house as to be rather in the way. At 

 birth, the hair is crimped, almost curly, and they are brownish-gray 

 in color, with very little white upon them, and are chiefly remarkable 

 for the excessive length of their legs, on which they seem to have 

 some difficulty in balancing themselves. Their color soon changes 

 to that of the adults, but is everywhere of a paler cast. 



The cry of the antelope is a bleat, shorter than that of a goat 

 and not so sharp ; but this sound is scarcely ever heard by the hunter. 

 When curious and somewhat suspicious they utter a sharp snort, 

 pitched in a higher key than that of a deer ; and when suddenly 

 frightened, the bucks often communicate the alarm to their compan- 

 ions by a sharp nasal call, best represented by the syllables bock-bock- 

 bock, rapidly repeated. 



After man, the worst enemy of the antelope is the wolf. The 

 gray wolf, no doubt, kills a great many ; but the coyote is the most 

 destructive. The latter captures the young fawns soon after birth, 

 his keen nose enabling him to detect them in their hiding-places. 

 This discovered, he soon makes a meal of the tender morsel, pro- 

 vided the mother be not near by. If she is at hand, and the coyote 

 is alone, she will beat him off. Most of the antelope which the 

 prairie wolves secure, however, are run down. Three or four 

 coyotes will start one, a single wolf pressing it hard and forcing 

 the pace as much as possible, while the others lope along on either 

 side of the line of flight, choosing the easiest ground, and saving 

 themselves as much as possible by taking short cuts, when the chase 

 circles. As soon as the immediate pursuer becomes tired, his place 

 is taken by another which is comparatively fresh; and so the pur- 

 suit is kept up, the wolves relieving each other from time to time, 

 until the poor antelope is overtaken, pulled down, and torn to pieces. 

 Sometimes, however, they escape out of the very jaws of their pur- 

 suers, for I have occasionally killed individuals which had, several 

 days before, been more or less torn about the legs and flanks by the 

 teeth of the savage brutes. The golden eagle kills many wounded 

 antelope and some kids, but is sometimes beaten off by the latter, 

 as shown by an account of a battle witnessed by my friend, Mr. W. 



