386 Great and Small Game of Africa 



native, that this is really the case, and I am inclined to believe that this 

 very persistent legend possesses elements ot truth. It is certain that the 

 gemsbuck is, with its near allies, the sable and roan antelopes, among the 

 pluckiest and fiercest of all the large antelopes. It is also, I think, incon- 

 testable that among Bushmen and other African natives, people living in 

 the haunts of the gemsbuck and likely to be familiar with its habits, the 

 lion has the reputation of being excessively chary of attacking one of these 

 antelopes. The gemsbuck has also often been credited with being the 

 prototype of the unicorn of heraldry. Upon the whole, it is more probable, 

 I am inclined to think, that its near congener, the oryx of North-East 

 Africa {Oryx beisa), or the oryx of Arabia {Oryx beatrix), is the original of 

 that fanciful beast. Certain it is that the figure of the unicorn found 

 upon Persian and Egyptian monuments resembles nothing so much as the 

 oryx with a single horn set forward instead of back. Seen in profile, the 

 long straight horns of this animal appear as one. John of Lancaster, Duke 

 of Bedford, bore as one of the supporters of his coat of arms the figure of 

 an antelope, which could have been intended only for that of an oryx. It 

 has been suggested by antiquaries that the Crusaders first introduced the 

 emblem of the unicorn into this country. Whether they procured their 

 figure of the oryx-unicorn from animals or North Africa or Arabia, or 

 from Egyptian or Persian monuments, is a point that must now, I fear, 

 rest always in doubt. H . A. Bryden. 



The Beisa {Oryx beisa) 



In Somaliland 



Somali Name, Beit or Beida 



This oryx is one of the chief features of Somaliland, and is distributed 

 throughout the country. It is a thick-built, bovine animal, feeding chiefly 

 on grass, and found both in open bush and the plains. It is apparently 



