THE CAPE CHAMOIS. 6l 



J 



thin; quite straight in some species, boldly curved in others. They 

 have no lachrymal sinus. 



The Passan or Cape Chamois, Oryx capcnsis, stands about five feet 

 high. The horns, which in the female are thinner and much longer than 

 in the male, exceed a yard in length ; they rise straight from the head in 

 a line with the face ; the lower portion is marked with thirty or forty 

 rings, the upper part is smooth and pointed. The smooth coat consists 

 of short, stiff hair. The neck, back, and sides are yellowish-white, the 

 head, ears, and the legs from the knee are dazzling white. A streak on 

 the brow, a broad patch on the nose, a line running from the eye to the 

 chin are black, while black lines separate the white and yellowish colors 

 on the rest of the body. The mane-like ridge on the neck and the tuft 

 on the tail are black-brown. The Passan is only found in Southern 

 Africa, and is called by the Boers of the Cape, the Gems-bok. In Gor- 

 don Cumming's work on Southern Africa may be found the following 

 notes concerning this animal : 



" The Gems-bok was intended by nature to adorn the parched karroos 

 and arid deserts of South Africa, for which description of country it is 

 admirably adapted. It thrives and attains high condition in barren 

 regions where it might be imagined that a locust could not find subsist- 

 ence ; and burning as is the climate, it is perfectly independent of water, 

 which, from my own observation and the repeated reports both of Boers 

 and aborigines, I am convinced it never by any chance tastes. Its flesh 

 is deservedly esteemed, and ranks next to that of the eland. At certain 

 seasons of the year they carry a great quantity of fat, at which time they 

 can more easily be ridden into. 



Owing to the even nature of the ground which the Gems-bok fre- 

 quents, its shy and suspicious disposition, and the extreme distances from 

 water to which it must be followed, it is never stalked or driven to an 

 ambush like the antelopes, but is hunted on horseback, and ridden down 

 by a long, severe, tail-on-end chase. Of several animals in South Africa 

 which are hunted in this manner, the Gems-bok is by far the swiftest and 

 the most enduring." 



The long horns are terrible weapons, and the Gems-bok wields these 

 natural bayonets in a manner which makes it a match for most of the 

 Carnivora. It has been known to beat off the lion itself. Even when 

 the lion has overcome the Gems-bok, the battle may sometimes be 

 equally claimed by both sides, for in one instance the dead bodies of a 



