XX 
THE ANTELOPE 
163 
at once displayed to the fullest extent. The females 
of the herd trot off for a few yards, and then 
usually halt to reconnoitre. The bucks separate, 
and all turn round to gaze at the object of 
disturbance. Having made up their minds to go, 
there is no more hesitation, but away and away they 
fly, hardly touching the ground with their swift hoofs, 
but hopping almost vertically in the air, and 
bounding at least 6 feet in perpendicular height at 
each leap, as they follow each other at 50 miles an 
hour across the level plain. I believe that they are 
capable of the extraordinary speed of 60 miles an 
hour, as it is said that the best English greyhound 
cannot overtake them. 
It is difficult to give an opinion without having 
tried the experiment. Although I have frequently 
had the advantage of excellent native dogs for my 
assistance in following wounded buck, I have never 
seen a fair trial with greyhounds. It would be 
difficult to find a locality that would permit the 
greyhound a fair use of its powers, as the dog requires 
not only a level but a smooth surface to exert its 
maximum speed. In India the land is very roughly 
ploughed, and is never harrowed. When the wheat 
is growing, the surface is a mass of large clods the 
size of a mans head; these have been exposed to 
the sun until they have become as hard as sun-burnt 
bricks. The black-buck is at home upon this uneven 
ground, but the greyhound could not use its feet 
with full effect. The greyhounds in the Soudan 
are well known to overtake the gazelle, if they can 
