THE BRINDLED GNOO. 



6 59 



the most violent manner, dropping on their knees at every shock ; then, quickly wheel- 

 ing about, they kick up their heels, whirl their tails with a fantastic flourish, and scour 

 across the plain, enveloped in a cloud of dust." On account of these extraordinary 

 manoeuvres, the Gnoo is called Wildebeest by the Dutch settlers. 



The faculty of curiosity is largely developed in the Gnoo, which can never resist the 

 temptation of inspecting any strange object, although at the risk of its life. \Yhen a 

 Gnoo first catches sight of any unknown being, he sets off at full speed, as if desirous 

 of getting to the farthest possible distance from the terrifying object. Soon, however, 

 the feeling of curiosity vanquishes the passion of fear, and the animal halts to recon- 

 noitre. He then gallops in a circle round the cause of his dread, halting occasionally, 

 and ever drawing nearer. By taking advantage of this disposition, a hunter has been 

 enabled to attract towards himself a herd of Gnoos which were feeding out of gunshot, 

 merely by tying a red handkerchief to the muzzle of his gun. The inquisitive animals 

 were so fascinated with the fluttering lure, that they actually approached so near as to 



BRINDLED GNOO.Coaaochetes Gorgon. 



charge at the handkerchief, and forced the hunter to consult his own safety by lowering 

 his flag. The same ruse is frequently employed on the prairies of America, when 

 the hunters desire to get a shot at a herd of prong-buck Antelopes. 



Several experiments have been made in order to ascertain whether the Gnoo is 

 capable of domestication. As far as the practicability of such a scheme was concerned, 

 the experiments were perfectly successful, but there is a great drawback in the shape 

 of a dangerous and infectious disease to which the Gnoo is very liable, and which 

 would render it a very undesirable member of the cattle-yard. The animal is frequently 

 infected with one of the (Estridae, or Bot-flies, and suffers from them to such an extent 

 that it ejects them from its nose whenever it snorts, an act which it is very fond of 

 performing. Ordinary cattle have no love for the Gnoo, and on one occasion, when a 

 young Gnoo of only four months old was placed in the yard, the cattle surrounded it 

 and nearly killed it with their horns and hoofs. 



