444 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



been observed to take place in the lilac breast-feathers of the 

 newly-dead Gouldian Finch {Poephila gouldice). If the first 

 two or three Blaauwbok obtained were infirm old bulls, easily 

 dispatched by the uncertain and primitive weapons of the old 

 days, we can reasonably infer that the hide, denuded through age 

 of most of the original hairy covering, would appear conspicu- 

 ously bluish during life, and conspicuously black after post' 

 mortem drying, and thus originate the colour-change legend. 



We can in these latter times form only a general idea of the 

 habits of the Blaauwbok with the slender aid of analogy and our 

 knowledge of allied species. Field notes of the habits of Hippo- 

 tragus leucophceus will, alas ! never be forthcoming, for it was 

 hardly known even to the early colonists, and in those days there 

 was no enthusiastic photographer with telephotic lens and 

 screened camera to obtain sun-picture records for future genera- 

 tions of naturalists to debate over. Nevertheless, as the palae- 

 ontologist reconstructs for us the ancient world till with vivid 

 imagination we see again the rivers of Britain alive with 

 bellowing Hippopotami, or watch the Pterodactyl skimming with 

 extended parachute through the waving groves of pterophj'Uum, 

 so also with the aid of analogical reasoning we may form an idea 

 of the daily life of the Blaauwbok. 



The nearest living allies are the Roan Antelope {H. equimis), 

 a noble beast of sturdy appearance and imposing stature ; and the 

 yet more glorious Sable Antelope {H.niger),jet-h\sLck above, snow- 

 white beneath, its head armed with magnificent horns sweeping 

 backwards in a scimitar-like curve. Le Vaillant compares a 

 Blaauwbok which he saw at a distance to a white Horse ; and, 

 taking everything into consideration, we may reasonably conclude 

 that this vanished Antelope was a beautiful and stately creature, 

 with its handsome blue-grey coat and snowy under surface well set 

 oif by the graceful sweep of the elegant though moderate-sized 

 horns. The blue-grey colour need not have been disadvantageous 

 to it, for travellers have assured us that the boldly coloured Roan 

 and Sable Antelopes, in spite of their great size, are often quite 

 invisible in the broken lights and shadows of thick bush ; and 

 especially at night the neutral greyish tint was well adapted to 

 protect the Blaauwbok, just as our own warships painted grey 

 become practically invisible in the gloom of night. 



