177 6 . January. the lower lip is white, and there is fome white on the upper lip, on the knees, and on each‘ fide of the fore legs; a white ftripe half an inch long runs forward from the internal angle o f each eye, and thefe ftripes almoft meet together juft above the nofe; upon each of the cheek-bones there are two fmall white fpots; the inner edges of the ears are covered with white hairs, and the upper part of the neck is adorned with a brown mane an inch long. From the tall and flender form of the koedoe, I had conceived it to be a very fwift-footed animal; but I have been affured by two colonifts, that in this refpeit it is not only very moderate, but likewife foon tires; fo that it is more eafily overtaken by the hounds than any other gazel: on the other hand, the males with their long hornsi defend themfelves with great fpirit againft their foe, when he comes to clofe quarters with them. I cannot by any means fup- pofe, that the large horns of the male are the caufe o f its running fo ilowly; for the female, which is free from this burthen, is not looked upon to be fwifter of foot than the male: fo that I cannot conceive the reafon, why nature has denied her the power o f extricating herfelf from danger, both by means of her head and of her feet. On the 29th o f January, being on our way homewards, we came very clofe upon feven or eight koedoes, one of which, not placing any dependence on its legs, fled for refuge into the river, where it got entangled in the weeds and grafs that floated on the furface, and was feized and worried to death by our hounds. Afterwards two o f our Hottentots fwam to it, and cut off feveral ilices from it. I found the fleih much o f the fame nature with that of the bartbeejl, hartbeeß, but the marrow was, at leaft in my opinion, extremely delicious. The koedoe is faid to live more on fhrubs and buihes, than any o f the other gazels I have before mentioned. A fportfman, in whole prefence I was; making mention o f the cartilages of the elk-antilope which refemble tuiks, informed me, that the koedoe had prp- ¿effes exadUy o f the fame kind. Another o f the larger kind of gazel at the Cape, is known by the name of gemfe-bok, or chamois. How improper an appellation this is in many refpedts Dr. F o r s t e r has already taken notice, in his Voyage round the World, Vol. I. page 84. The horns are very well delineated in B u f f o n , Tom. XII. Tab. XXXIII. Fig. 3. and there is a beautiful figure of the whole animal in the Nouv. Defcript. page 56, where the name o f pafan, which had been given it by M. d e B h f f o n , is retained. M. P a l l a s , who, in his Spic. Zool. Fafc. I. pag. 14. hath called it the antilope bezoartica, has thought proper to alter the name in his Fafc. XII. page 16 and 17 , to that o f antilope oryx. Mr. P e n n a n t has defcribed this gazel under the denomination o f Egyptian, vide his Synopfis o f Quadrupeds, page 25; and his Hiß. of Quadrupeds, p. 67. M. H o u t t u y n likewife by his Fig. x. Tab. XXIV. which L in n a l u s refers to for his capra gazella, probably meant the Cape chamois. In all probability, this animal is peculiar to the north-weftern part of the colony; for in the trails of country I travelled through, I neither faw nor heard any thing o f it. At Cape Town, however, the horns are not very fcarce. I have one under my care in the cabinet of the Royal Academy, which is of a blackiih colour, about three feet long, and almoft Vo l . II. F f perfectly
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