Page 38 - Albert's Buck Horn Saloon

mal does not reach full development until its fourteenth year. others are a reddish brown. The canine teeth project in the
The muzzle is large and much lengthened in front, so as to male outside of the mouth, and are curved backwards. These
impart a most unique expression to the countenance. The color tusks sometimes are as much as three inches in length. Both
of the animal is a dark brown, the legs being of a yellow hue. sexes are devoid of horns. The popular as well as scientific name
Its coat, which is composed of coarse, rough and brittle hair, of this deer is derived from the possession of a powerfully
rises into a small mane on the nape of the neck and on the odorous secretion. The musk pouch lies near the navel and communicates
spine. Its spread of antlers is very great; the pace is usually with the air by means of two small openings. Small
a trot; the moose swims with great facility. glands placed in the interior of this pouch secrete the musk.
60.—The big horn or Rocky Mountain wild sheep. This In Siberia the chase of this animal is an important branch of
animal is a curious combination of the body of a deer and industry. The number of musk deer killed in Siberia each year
the head of a sheep. The horns, as the name indicates, are of is 50,000, of which 9,000 are males.
enormous size and make a curve that is more than a complete 65.—Deer goat antelope; is a native of India. The animal
circle. The head and horns often weigh sixty pounds. Its coat is built like a deer, has horns like a goat and belongs to the
is thick, with a short, grayish hair, changing in the fall to dun, antelope tribe, from which it derives its name—deer goat ante-
and the hair becoming more than an inch long and rather wiry. lope.
61.—Montana moose (referred to in No. 59). 66.—The koodoo (Yragelathus kudu) is not much inferior
62—The ibex (Capra ibex) is a stately creature, nearly five to the elk in size, and is of a very imposing appearance. It is
feet in length and three feet in height. The body is compact; widely dispersed over Africa. This truly magnificent creature
the head small but strongly arched at the brow ; the legs pow- is about four feet in height at the shoulders, and its body is
erful; the horns, which are found in both sexes, are large and rather heavily made. The curiously twisted horns are nearly
strong and curved in a semi-circle backward. The rings on the three feet in length. The flesh of the koodoo is remarkably
horns indicate the animal's age. To hunt the ibex successfully good, and the marrow of the principal bones is thought to be
is as hard a matter as hunting the chamois. Should the hunter one of Africa's best luxuries. So fond are natives of this dainty
approach too near the ibex the animal will, as if suddenly that they will break the bones and suck out the marrow
urged by the reckless courage of despair, dash boldly forward without even cooking it in any way whatever. The color of the
at its foe and strike him from the precipitous rock over which koodoo is reddish gray, marked with several white streaks run-
he is forced to pass. The young of this animal are produced in ning boldly over the back and down the sides. The females are
April, and in a few hours after their birth they are strong destitute of horns.
enough to follow their parents. 67.—The water buck shown here is perhaps the most strik-
63.—Filipino water buffalo, beautifully carved by one of ing of the species of this genus. It is a very timid animal,
the natives with a penknife. and when alarmed rushes at once toward the nearest river, into
64.—Musk deer (Moschusmoschiferus) is the only known which it plunges without hesitation and crosses, even when the
species of this animal. It is about the size of the roe deer, but stream is deep, strong and rapid. The horns of this species are
stands lower in the front than in the hind quarters. The color remarkable for their formation, being somewhat lyrate, bent
of this deer is varied; some are dark, some a dirty white, while back and thrown forward of their extremities. The flesh of