THE HARTEBEEST. 
patch on each side of the haunches, and black markings on the forehead and 
nose. The hair of the face is reversed as high up as the eyes, or even to the 
horns. The horns are long and boldly ringed, diverging from one another 
in the form of a V, with their tips directed backwards at a right angle, 
and the bases curved away behind the plane of the forehead. Their length 
varies in good specimens from 20 to 24 inches. It is one of the fastest ante¬ 
lopes in Africa, and possesses such strength as to render it almost impossible 
for anything under a whole pack of strong and swift hounds to bring it to bay. 
270 THE STORY OF THE ' ANTELOPE. 
The hartebeest of South Africa gets its name from its supposed likeness 
to a stag. 
All these animals differ from wildebeests by their long and pointed heads, 
ending in a narrow muzzle; their ringed horns, the absence of^a mane on 
the neck or throat, and their shorter and less thickly-haired tail. 
The true hartebeest is a South African species, not ranging as far north 
as Matabeleland and Mashonaland. This fine animal stands about four feet 
at the withers; its general color being grayish brown, with a pale yellowish 
