CHAPTER LIV.
THE ANTELOPE FAMILY.
In place of the deer, so familiar to us in the study of other countries, we find numerous specimens of the great family of antelopes. Some writers have named as many as twenty varieties.
Among the antelope family the gnu, or horned horse, is perhaps the most curious specimen. In size it is about as large as an ass. In form it has the body, neck, mane, and tail, like those of a horse, while the legs and horns are like those of the antelope.
The gnu is very spirited, and full of gambols. Its sense of smell is acute, and its sight very keen. It may be seen in herds on the plains which border upon the Orange River, where its free and varied movements, full of grace, can but attract the attention and awaken the interest of the observer.
The gazelle is the fleetest of the antelopes of Africa. It is usually quite small. One variety is no larger than a hare. Other varieties are as large as a deer. It is famed for the beauty of its eyes and the grace of its movements.
The eland is another species which abounds in South Africa wherever fertile planes or low hills exist. In the parts of Cape Colony which have been longest settled, however, it has been so hunted that specimens are rarely seen.
Livingstone describes the eland as the most magnificent of the antelopes. It belongs to the variety called bovine antelope, from the fact that it has some of the characteristics of the ox tribe. In spite of these peculiarities of structure, the eland is not only a very beautiful, but a very graceful animal. It is about the size of a horse. It stand fully five feet high at the shoulders, and weighs from seven to nine hundred pounds.
The horns of the eland are almost straight, turning backwards and inwards. They are quite pointed at the ends. They are very strong, and their great strength is increased by the peculiar spiral formation. They remind one vividly of the old-fashioned paper lamp-lighters used when matches were not so common and the large open fireplaces were found in every home.