354 MAMMALIA—ANTELOPE. 
and on the head, back, and outside of the limbs, the hair is darker than on 
any other part; the orbits of the eyes are white, and there is a small patch 
of the same color on each side of the forehead; the tail isshort. The horns, 
which are about sixteen inches long, are black, distinctly annulated almost 
to the top, and have three curves; the drachia, or sides of the lyre, were fre- 
quently made of these horns, as appears from ancient gems. The female 
is destitute of horns, and may also be known by a white stripe on the flanks. 





























The race of antelopes is famous for the concretion known by the name of 
bezoar. This word is supposed to be derived from the Arabic language, 
where it signifies antidote or counter-poison. It isfound in the stomach and 
mtestines of many animals, and brought over principally from the East 
Indies. Like all other animal concretions, it is found to have a kind of 
nucleus, or hard substance within, upon which the external coatings are 
formed; for, upon being sawn through, it seems to have layer over layer, 
as an onion. 
This nucleus is of various kinds; sometimes the buds of a shrub, some- 
times pieces of flint, stones of plums, tamarinds, seeds of cassia, and some- 
times a marcasite. The stone itself varies from the size of an acorn to that 
of a pigeon’s egg; and the larger it is, the more valuable it is reckoned —its 
price increasing like that of a diamond. There was a time when a stone 
of this kind, weighing four ounces, sold in Europe for above two hundred 
pounds; but at present the price is greatly fallen, and they are in very little 
esteem. The bezoar is of various colors, sometimes of a blood color, some- 
times of a pale yellow, and of all the shades between these two. It is 
generally glossy, smooth, and has a fragrant smell, like that of amber- 
gris. It has been given in vertigoes, epilepsies, palpitations of tle heart, 
colic, and jaundice; and in those places where the dearness, ard roi tne 
value of medicines, is consulted, in almost every disorder incident to man. 
In all eases it is perhaps equally efficacious, acting only as an absorbent 
