528 
THE GEMS- BOR. 
bound away. It is therefore very difficult to follow the course of a Duyker, as it makes so 
many sharp turns and leaps, that both ‘ spoorer ’ and dogs are frequently baffled. 
“If the course of the buck can be watched, and the place discovered where it lies down 
after its erratic manceuvrings, it can be easily stalked by approaching it from the leeward side. 
One must, however, be a good shot to secure a Duyker with certainty, for the little creature 
is so tenacious of life that it will carry off a large charge of buck-shot without any diffi- 
culty, and the irregular course which 
it then pursues requires great perfec- 
tion and quickness in shooting with a 
single ball. 
“The Duyker is not a very swift 
animal, and almost any ordinary dog can 
pull one down. An old pointer, which 
served me as a dog of all work, fre- 
quently caught and held a Duyker until 
I came to the death.” 
We now arrive at some remarkably 
handsome animals, which are notable, 
not only for their dimensions, but foi 
the size and beauty of their horns. The 
Gems-bok, or Kookaam, is a large 
and powerful member of the Antelope 
tribe, equalling the domestic ass in size, 
and measuring about three feet ten 
inches at the shoulder. The peculiar 
manner in which the hide is decorated 
with boldly contrasted tints, gives it a 
very peculiar aspect. The general hue 
is gray, but along the back, upon the 
hinder quarters, and along the flanks, the 
color is deep black. A black streak also 
crosses the face, and passing under the 
chin, gives it the appearance of wearing 
harness. It has a short, erect mane, and long, sweeping, black tail, and its heavy horns are 
nearly straight from base to tip. 
The long and sharply -pointed horns with which its head is armed, are terrible weapons of 
offence, and can be wielded with marvellous skill. Striking right and left with these natural 
bayonets, the adult Gems-bok is a match for most of the smaller carnivora, and has even been 
known to wage a successful duel with the lordly lion, and fairly to beat off its antagonist. 
Even when the lion has overcome the Gems-bok, the battle may sometimes be equally claimed 
by both sides, for in one instance, the dead bodies of a lion and a Gems-bok were found lying 
on the plain, the horns of the Antelope being driven so firmly into the lion’s body, that they 
could not be extracted by the efforts of a single man. The lion had evidently sprung upon 
the Gems-bok, which had received its foe upon the points of its horns, and had sacrificed its 
own life in destroying that of its adversary. 
In Captain Cumming’ s deservedly popular work on Southern Africa may be found the 
following notes concerning this animal. 
“The Gems-bok was intended by nature to adorn the parched karroos and arid deserts of 
South Af rica., for which description of country it is admirably adapted. It thrives and 
attains high condition in barren regions where it might be imagined that a locust could not 
find subsistence ; and burning as is the climate, it is perfectly independent of water, which, 
from my own observation and the repeated reports both of Boers and aborigines, I am con- 
vinced it never by any chance tastes-. Its flesh is deservedly esteemed, and ranks next to that 
DUYKER-BOK. — Cephalophus mergens. 
