THE EAR.— THE HORNS. 25 



elephant, and much larger than that of the horse or the ox. 

 Those who examine only the dead subject would most likely 

 be deceived in the largeness of the eye. The eye is black — in- 

 tensely black — so that it is impossible to distinguish the pupil 

 from the iris or its surrounding. No white part is ever visible, 

 unless the eye is turned to one side ; but all that is seen is one 

 uniform brilliant black. But for all this, the expression is soft, 

 gentle, and winning. In this respect, it is the rival of the true 

 antelope gazelle. 



I had one of these in my grounds, which came from Asia, and 

 at the same time several of the Pi-ong Bucks, including a male 

 one year old that was not much larger than the female gazelle, 

 which was fully adult. In size, the eye of the Prong Buck was 

 larger than that of the gazelle, which, however, was consider- 

 ably larger than that of the common deer, more than four times 

 her size. In color and expression, the eyes of the two were as 

 nearly alike as possible — both very black, but, as stated, of a 

 mild, soft, and affectionate expression. 



The eye-winkers are long, coarse, and stiff, more on the upper 

 than the lower eyelid, but not very abundant on either. 



The Ear. 



The ear always stands erect when the animal is standing at 

 ease. When it becomes excited, the ears are projected forward 

 to catch the least sound, which imparts a look of animation to 

 the animal. 



The ear is five inches long, and three inches broad at the 

 widest part, and terminates in a pretty sharp point, and is 

 covered with hair inside and out. 



The Horns. 



As the horns of the American Antelope constitute one of its 

 most remarkable characteristics, and one which strikingly dis- 

 tinguishes it from all other ruminants, it is proper that we 

 should examine them witli considerable care. 



The first allusion which I find to the deciduous character of 

 the horns of this antelope is in the letter-press of Audubon and 

 Bachman,^ where they say, " It was supposed by the hunters of 

 Fort Union that the Prong-horned Antelope dropped its horns ; 

 but as no person had ever shot or killed one without these orna- 

 mental and useful appendages, we managed to prove the contrary 



^ Quadrupeds of America, vol. ii., p. 198. 



