THE CONIES. 



431 



sun seemed to inconvenience it greatly, for it stopped 

 at every shady bush; but as soon as we would ad- 

 vance about thirty paces ahead, it would wave its 

 little tail, squeal and trot on to join its Horse. Fi- 

 nally we reached the wagons and. then the behavior 

 of the confiding little creature underwent a sudden 

 change. Whether it was due to the presence of the 

 Dogs, which jumped around it barking, or to the un- 

 familiar appearance of the carts, the general aggre- 

 gation of human beings, smells and miscellaneous 

 objects which go to make up a camp, I do not know, 

 but our protege was suddenly transformed into a 

 veritable little devil, furiously charging at Men, Dogs 

 and even cart wheels. We secured it by means of a 

 strap around its neck and shoulders, but it proved 

 very refractory during the operation, jumping into 

 the air, rushing at me and furiously thrusting at my 

 knee with its nose. We fastened it to a cart-wheel, 

 and it began to quiet 

 down, but whenever ap- 

 proached by Man or 

 Dog it relapsed into its 

 former savagery. As I 

 had feared, it took none 

 of the nourishment pre- 

 pared and offered to it 

 by us; milk would prob- 

 ably have proven ac- 

 ceptable, but unfortu- 

 nately we could not get 

 it, as we had no cows. 

 As all attempts to induce 

 it to eat failed, and we 

 could foresee that if we 

 set it free, it would 

 either miserably starve 

 or breathe its last be- 

 tween the teeth of some 

 Lion or Hyaena, I decid- 

 ed to shoot the forlorn 

 creature, which it would 

 have given me so much 

 pleasure to rear." 



In our zoological gar- 

 dens the majority of 

 Rhinoceroses are good- 

 natured and tame, suffer 

 themselves to be petted, 

 driven back and forth, 

 and generally managed 



are the Conies, the smallest and daintiest of all the 

 existing species of Odd-toed animals. 

 Classification and Naturalists have held widely diver- 



Characteristics gent opinions as to the classification 

 of Conies. of these pretty cliff-dwellers. Pallas, 

 because of their habits and outward appearance, 

 classed them as rodents; Oken thought them to be 

 related to the marsupials, or pouched animals; Cuvier 

 placed them in his order of "Many-toed animals." 

 Lately his classification has also been disputed, and 

 Huxley has raised them to the dignity of represent- 

 atives of a distinct order. We regard them as be- 

 longing to the order of the Odd-toed animals, with- 

 out entering into a discussion as to whether our 

 doing so is the correct solution. They constitute 

 only one family. 



The distinctive features of the Conies (Hyracidm') 

 are as follows: the body is of elongated, cylindrical 



THE SQUARE-MOUTHED KHINOCEROS. This species, sometimes called the White or Burchell's 



Rhinoceros, differs from the others in having a square truncated upper lip, and the great length of the front horn. It 

 lives by browsing on grass and is therefore partial to grassy valleys between the tracts of bush. It is only found in 

 Africa south of the Zambesi, and its flesh being of excellent flavor it has been hunted until it is very scarce. No speci- 

 men has been brought alive to America or Europe. {Rhinoceros simus.) 



without offering any resistance, and gradually be- 

 come strongly attached to every keeper who treats 

 them judiciously. There is only one case on record 

 in which a captive Rhinoceros exhibited a vicious 

 disposition, and that was where one of these animals 

 attacked and killed two Men. 



Zbc Conies. 



THIRD FAMILY: Hyracidje. 



At many places in the wild, desolate, mountain re- 

 gions of Africa and western Asia, the arrival of Man 

 induces a great display of activity. Lively animals 

 about the size of Rabbits, which have been basking 

 in the sunshine, are frightened from their stony beds 

 by the unusual invasion, whisk about on the rocks, 

 disappear in the innumerable crevices, and then re- 

 turn to the openings and watch their strange invad- 

 ers with a quaint air of harmless curiosity. These 



form; the head is comparatively large and clumsy, 

 tapering toward the front and much compressed lat- 

 erally; the upper lip is cleft, the top of the nose fine 

 and delicately shaped; the eye small, but prominent, 

 the ear, nearly buried in the fur, is short, broad and 

 round, the neck short and stout, the tail a barely per- 

 ceptible stump; the legs are moderately long and 

 somewhat weak, the delicate feet are rather long, 

 and there are four toes on each of the front pair, and 

 three to each of the hinder feet, the toes being joined 

 together to the last joints by a web of skin, all being 

 provided with flat, hoof-like nails, except the inner- 

 most toes of the hind feet, which are each surmounted 

 by a claw-shaped nail. The naked soles consist of 

 several flexible, callous pads, divided by deep fissures. 

 A copious, soft fur, consisting of one coat only, 

 covers the body and limbs. 



The Cony an Ani- The Conies are mentioned by various 



mat of Ancient writers as well-known animals in days 



Prestige. Q f remotest antiquity. The variety 



inhabiting Syria and Palestine seems to be referred 



