THEORY OF THE EARTH. 75 



rhinoceros *, and said to resemble deer and goats 

 in form f ; the Indian ass, having solid hoofs ; 

 and the monoceros, properly so called, whose feet 

 are sometimes compared to those of the lion f, and 

 sometimes to those of the elephant , and which 

 is therefore considered as having divided feet. 

 The one-horned horse || and one-horned bull are 

 doubtless both to be referred to the Indian ass, for 

 even the latter is described as having solid hoofs ^f. 

 I would ask, If these animals exist as distinct spe- 

 cies, should we not at least have their horns in 

 our collections ? And what single horns do we 

 possess, excepting those of the rhinoceros and nar- 

 wal ? 



How is it possible, after this, to refer to rude 

 figures traced by savages upon rocks**? Ignorant 

 of perspective, and wishing to represent a straight 

 horned antelope in profile, they could only give it 

 a single horn, and thus they produced an oryx. 

 The oryxes, too, that are seen on the Egyptian 

 monuments, are probably nothing more than pro- 

 ductions of the stiff style, imposed upon the ar- 



* Oppian, Cyneg. ii. vers. 551. t Plin. viii. 53. 



t Philostorg. iii. 11. | Plin. viii. 21. 



|| Onesicrit, ap. Strab. lib. xv. jiElian, xiii. 42. 

 1T Plin. viii. 31. 

 ** Barrow's Voyage to the Cape, Fr. transl. ii. 178. 



