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 Prong 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 with 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 
1 Quadrupeds of America, vol. ii., p. 198. 
