[50] The numerous engravings of the leucoryx on the sculptures of Egypt clearly indicate that this animal was well known to the nations inhabiting the valley of the Nile. It was chosen as an emblem, but whether as a good or evil symbol is uncertain, though some modern writers seem in favor of the former opinion. The wealthy Egyptians kept a great number of this antelope in a tame state, but it does not appear to have been considered a sacred animal. Indeed, it was indiscriminately sacrificed to the gods, and slaughtered for the table.
[51] It is possible that heralds became acquainted with this animal, or at least with the leucoryx, through the Crusaders. Or perhaps the knowledge was obtained from the Romans, who, according to Martial, had the oryx at their games.
[52] For some curious remarks on the unicorn, see Barrow, vol. ii., p. 269, et seq.
[53] Mr. Lichtenstein, when speaking of the Bushmen dogs, which may be considered identical with those of the Hottentots, thus writes: “These dogs, in their size and form, have a striking resemblance to the black-backed fox of Southern Africa, the jackal, as he is falsely called, canis mesomelas; so that it seems very probable that the one is really a descendant from the other, only that the properties of the animal are, in the course of time, somewhat changed, from its having been tamed and trained by the hand of man.”
[54] Barrow, who wrote about this period, and who gives a remarkable account of the devastations of these insects, probably alludes to this very circumstance when he says,
“The present year is the third of their continuance, and their increase has far exceeded that of a geometrical progression whose ratio is a million. For ten years preceding their present visit the colony had been entirely freed from them. Their last departure was rather singular. All the full-grown insects were driven into the sea by a tempestuous northeast wind, and were afterward cast upon the beach, where, it is said, they formed a bank of three or four feet high, which extended from the mouth of the Bosjeman’s River to that of the Becka, a distance of near fifty English miles; and it is asserted that when this mass became putrid, and the wind was at southeast, the stench was sensibly felt in several parts of Sneuwberg.... The larvæ at the same time were emigrating to the northward. The column of these imperfect insects passed the houses of two of our party, who assured me that it continued moving forward, without any interruption except by night, for more than a month.”
[55] Large species of serpents of the python family are known to inhabit many parts of the African continent. Dr. Smith, in his “Zoology of South Africa,” when speaking of a certain species (python Natalensis) found sparingly in the neighborhood of Natal, thus says:
“It occasionally attains a very large size, and, according to the natives, individuals have been seen whose circumference was equal to that of the body of a stout man: we have ourselves seen a skin which measured twenty-five feet, though a portion of the tail was deficient. It feeds upon quadrupeds, and for some days after swallowing food it remains in a torpid state, and may then be easily destroyed. The South Africans, however, seldom avail themselves of these opportunities of ridding themselves of a reptile they view with horror, as they believe that it has a certain influence over their destinies; and affirm that no person has ever been known to maltreat it without sooner or later paying for his audacity.”
[56] Mr. Freeman, in “A Tour in South Africa,” mentions having heard of one of this kind of reptiles being destroyed that actually exceeded this size nearly three times. “This enormous serpent,” says the reverend gentleman, “was hanging from the bough of a large tree, and was killed only after a desperate struggle. It measured fifty feet in length. This was ascertained by a number of men lying down at full length by its side. It took nine men to reach from the head to the tail, and was of prodigious girth round the body.”
[57] Trimerorhinus rhombeatus.