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is sold to the Arabs and neighbouring Fellahs. Of the skin a kind of parchment is made, and used to cover the small drums with which the Syrians accompany the voice, or some musical instruments.

In full flight, the ariel gazelle lays the horns back almost on the shoulders, and seems to skim over the level plain, almost without touching it. Wild and timid as it is, yet, when taken young, it is readily tamed, and becomes familiar, and quite at ease. Tame gazelles are frequently seen at large in

the courtyards of Syrian houses, where their exquisite beauty and great playfulness render them

favourites.

II. CERVINE ANTELOPES.

These animals approach the deer in character. They have rather a heavy, large body; strong, slender limbs, a long tail, cylindrical at the base, with the hair longer at the end, often forming a compressed ridge. The horns are elongated, and generally of a large size.

THE GEMS-BOC.*

THE height of this animal is about three feet and a half at the shoulders. The horns are about two feet and a half in length. The white face is crossed with two bands of black. The general colour is iron-gray, and this is separated from the white body by a black band. Every part of this animal is valuable. The flesh is good, and may be salted for future use. The hide, like the horns, is useful for several purposes.

THE LEUCORYX.+

It

OUR engraving represents the first Leucoryx born out of Africa. It was born in the Zoological Gardens, and throve in so remarkable a manner, as speedily almost to equal its parents in height. is remarkable for its delicate colouring, its exquisitely curved horns, and its noble carriage. The male was obtained by the late Earl of Derby from the Gambia; the mother came from Nubia; and the species may therefore be taken to inhabit, like many others common to the eastern and western coasts, the whole extent of the Negro zone in Africa. It occurs in the ancient monuments of Egypt, as forming part of the tribute paid by the kings to Ethiopia, and it therefore, in addition to its natural beauty, has a peculiar historic interest, which must be appreciated by all who are familiar with the ancient legends of the body of the Nile.

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These antelopes have a heavy body; strong legs; the hoofs and false hoofs large; the tail very short, flat, and hairy above; the horns conical and recurved.

THE CHAMOIS.

In the elevated districts of the Alps, as well as the Pyrenees, the Chamois dwell in small herds, cropping the herbage of the mountain-sides. This animal is about the size of a large goat; its colour is of a dark chestnut-brown, with the exception of the forehead, the sides of the lower jaw, and the muzzle, which are white. Its horns, rising just above the eyes, are black, smooth, and straight, for two-thirds of their length, when they suddenly curve backwards. Its hoofs are admirably adapted to avail themselves of any little roughness or projection, either of the naked granite or the icy glacier; and its hair is thick, long, and coarse, serving not only as a defence against cold, but as a provision against the bruises to which the chamois is constantly liable.

Schiller describes Werni as saying :

Beasts have reason too

And that we know, we men that hunt the chamois :
They never turn to feed-sagacious creatures!—
Till they have placed a sentinel ahead,
Who pricks his ears whenever we approach,
And gives alarm with clear and piercing pipe."

And this is not merely poetry, but fact. Only let man or beast of prey appear, and he makes a loud, hissing noise, as a warning of danger; the herd now gaze intently, as if to see for themselves if there is really peril, and when of this they are satisfied, they bound from ledge to ledge where the human eye can mark no footing-spring from crag to crag, clearing the crevasse-sweep over the glaciers-even throw themselves down the precipice, and find safety where death would seem to be inevitable.

* Oryx Gazella.

+ Antilope Leucoryx. Pallas.

+ Antilope rupi capra. Pallas.

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Provided with a gun, a bag of provisions, an iron-shod staff to assist in climbing and leaping, an axe to cut steps in the towering parapets of ice, and shoes studded with iron points, the chamoishunter traverses the mountains, and prowls warily for his prey, not only during the day, but the

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night. Wherever the chamois flies he follows, whether it be along narrow ledges of rock, by the brink of yawning abysses, or up the ragged sides of precipices, where a short leap or a wrong step would prove instantly fatal.

Often has he to say

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So, too, she does, in other ways. A hunter, for instance, had been for some days endeavouring to discover the haunt of a chamois, and at length he saw two young ones sporting round their mother, in a niche on the top of a high rock, while she was glancing warily down the valley, to watch for any hostile approach. To avoid being seen, he made a great circuit, and so reached a path which led to the spot. Exactly in front of the niche the rocks descended perpendicularly to an immense depth. At the back was another steep descent; some fragments of rocks formed a kind of bridge between

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the large masses; but these were placed too high to be accessible to the little ones, and could only be available to the mother. Escape, therefore, seemed to be impossible. Yet, no sooner did she catch a glimpse of the hunter, than she sprang on him with all the fury with which maternal love can fire the most timid creatures. As the hunter's hands were necessary to keep himself on the narrow path, he warded off the blows of the chamois as well as he could with his feet, and kept still advancing But now the anguish of the mother increased: she dashed back to her young, coursed round them with wild cries, as if to warn them of danger, and then leaped up before the fragments of rocks, already mentioned, from which the second but most difficult egress from the niche was to be won. Again and again did she descend and make the leap, as if to show the young ones the way; but they were unequal to the task, and the hunter was nearer than before. About to make his last effort, the mother, fixing her hind legs firmly on the rock behind, stretched her body to the utmost length, planted her fore feet on the rock above-thus forming of her back a temporary bridge; in a moment the young passed over it, when the hunter sprang into the niche, making sure of his game; three were off with the speed of the wind, and the bullets he instantly discharged were in vain, leaving him to exclaim

but all

expended

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-My gains to-day will scarce
Repay my break-neck toil."

Another remarkable creature of this sub-division is the Cabrit, o Pronghorn, of whose skull we give an engraving.

ANTELOPES OF THE DESERT.

THESE animals have a broad nose, with the nostrils subvalvular, and lined with bristles within. Dr. J. E. Gray divides them into two groups.

SKULL OF THE CABRIT, OR PRONGHORN.

I. THE EQUINE ANTELOPES.

The neck of these creatures, with its mane, the tail, and the general contour of the body, are those of the horse. Their action and gallop are so much like those of the same animal, that a troop of them scouring the plain at a distance might easily be taken for quaggas, or zebras. The head and horns, however, are those of the buffalo, and the legs resemble those of the stag.

THE GNU.*

THIS animal equals a well-grown ass in size, exceeding four feet in height, and is a native of the wild Karroos of South Africa and the hilly districts, where it roams chiefly in large herds, which migrate according to the seasons. The extent of its

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range in the interior is not known. So far, however, as travellers have penetrated, herds have been met and chased; for its flesh is prized as food both by the natives and the colonists.

The gnus are approached with difficulty, being exceedingly wild.

Antilope Gnu.

On the first alarm away scours

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