39 2 



QUADRUPEDS. 



The Antelopes (Antelope]. These creatures very much resemble stags 

 in the elegance of their shape and symmetrical proportions. Of a restless 

 and timid disposition, they are exceedingly watchful, of great vivacity, and 

 remarkably swift and agile ; their boundings are inconceivably light and 

 elastic. Their horns, whatever shape they assume, are round and ringed : 

 in some species they are straight, in others curved and spiral. In some the 

 females have no horns, in others they are common to both sexes. They all 



FIG. 433. ANTELOPE. 



possess a most delicate sense of smell ; their eyes are proverbially bright and 

 beaming ; and so fleet are they, that the hunter is often obliged to call in the 

 aid of a falcon, trained for that purpose, to arrest their course, so that even 

 his greyhounds may have a chance of overtaking them. They mostly inhabit 

 torrid regions or the hottest parts of the temperate zone, frequenting cliffs or 

 ledges of rock, or traversing vast untrodden wildernesses. Africa appears to 

 be their great nursery. Many kinds are natives of Asia; but it is remarkable 

 that, notwithstanding the warmth of South America, so well suited to their 

 nature, only a single species of antelope is to be found in any part of the New 

 World.. 



The Goats (Capra) have their horns directed upwards and backwards; 



