PRONG-HORNED ANTELOPE 
now become lost. With two toes on each foot prong -buck have developed 
surprising swiftness. The only animal that can surpass them in speed is 
the horse with its single -hoofed toe. There have been greyhounds that 
have caught buck antelope in fair chase, but these were very exceptional 
dogs and, possibly, rather slow antelopes. 
The swiftest animal in the world is the blood horse, which can develop 
a speed of thirty -four miles an hour (thirty -six is the record). A prong 
horned antelope can travel at the rate of thirty -two miles an hour, and a 
blesbok and a tsessebe at the same rate; whilst a greyhound reaches thirty 
miles an hour. Opinions differ as to the rate at which the cheetah makes 
its rush upon the black buck, which can travel as fast as any ordinary 
horse; but it is probably something over thirty miles an hour. At any rate 
the speed of the prong -buck is so great that when it has a slight start 
no ordinary horse of the plains can overtake it. It is probable, however, 
that in a long hunt foxhounds could run it down and certainly African 
hunting dogs could do so, as they are the masters of all ruminant game 
in Africa. 
The walk of these antelope is slow and somewhat stiff; their trot, free, 
elegant and graceful. Whilst trotting the head is held high and the mane 
erected especially when “ showing off.” Sometimes on starting to run 
they gallop with the head held up and progress with long stiff -legged 
leaps like the mule deer. But when once they have settled down to travel, 
they carry the head low, rather like African antelopes, such as the springbok 
and the blesbok, and progress with easy machine -like action. Their 
leaping powers are confined to the horizontal, and they are so unaccus- 
tomed to jumping high that a four -foot fence is said to confine them. 
This is somewhat curious, because the springbok, which lives in similar 
situations, can make the most surprising perpendicular jumps. One that 
was confined in Capetown was scared by a dog and jumped right out of 
the enclosure over a fence 11 feet high. 
In old days these antelope were said to be filled with curiosity and, at 
the time of Lewis and Clark, the usual method of luring them within 
shot was for the gunner to conceal himself and wave a handkerchief on a 
stick until the band came within range. Nowadays, however, and even in 
the ’seventies and ’eighties antelope had become much too wary to be taken 
in by such a trick. 
Prong -buck live on the cactus, sage and grass of the dry plains and do 
not seem to relish twigs or leaves of any kind. In confinement, they are 
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