KLIP-SPRINGERS. 9 
anxious expectation of obtaining a shot; but my 
approach being noticed, they bounded off with amaz- 
ing speed across the plain, outstripping the horseman 
and his steed. 
Klaas, my Hottentot, saw a couple of klip-springers 
climbing the summit of the mountain, and taking his 
gun went in pursuit of them. This creature, of which 
I procured a male and female, somewhat resembles 
the chamois of the Alps, and like that animal is con- 
fined entirely to mountainous regions. Its young 
falls an easy prey to eagles and other rapacious birds 
inhabiting the same localities. There is perhaps no 
creature which exhibits a more striking display of 
the Divine Wisdom in its peculiar adaptation to its 
mode and habits of life. The general colour so 
closely resembles that of the rocks among which it is 
found, that unless in motion it will elude the obser- 
vation of the most vigilant sportsman ; and by its sur- 
prising leaps from cliff to cliff, it defies the approach 
of dogs. The hair of its body is from two to three 
inches long, and stands perpendicularly out from the 
skin, forming a natural pad, which serves to pro- 
tect its body from the natural injuries it would 
otherwise sustain when in contact with the project- 
ing rocks. The habitation of this antelope is con- 
fined to mountainous regions and inaccessible crags, 
along the brinks of which it bounds with the 
greatest security and speed. The hoofs, instead of 
being pointed and flat as in other antelopes, are 
