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Show 1894.] SIR E. G. LODER ON THE "REEM" ANTELOPE. 475 lots containing both males and females (4, 5, and 2), but did not get a chance of another shot. Pease also saw a few. W e hunted the sand-hills for two more days; on the third clay our negro guide took U3 much farther from camp, running before us with surprising speed and endurance for three and a half hours before we halted and tied up our horses, hi the evening, after walking all day in a hot sun and on soft sand, he showed himself still untired and ready to run at the same pace back again to camp. This remarkable man said that he had lived for seven years in the desert without sleeping in a house or tent, and had hardly tasted water, meat, or bread ; during the whole of that time his food consisted of dates and camel's milk, and he attributed his strength to this diet. The long distance of our camp from the sand-hills where the Beem is found was a great hindrance, as we could not hunt for them at the time they were feeding. By the time we got to the ground they were already lying: down for the day, generally on the top of the sand-ridges, and keeping a watchful look-out. W e saw sever.J small herds each clay, but neither of us ever got another chance of a shot. W e were lucky in having calm weather, as a sand-storm in that country is a very serious matter. The air gets as thick as during a bad London fog and one cannot see even a few yards ahead, making it quite impossible to regain camp, all tracks being blotted out in a few minutes by the wind. Our experience of sand-storms was limited to one day, our last day in the desert, luckily for us well outside the region of the sand-hills, when leaving our caravan behind we rode in 50 kilometres to Biskra in the teeth of a cutting wind filled with dust and sand, an extremely painful experience ; but we were in no danger of losing our way as we were then on the broad track worn by the caravans travelling between Biskra and Touggourt. The Beem is remarkable for its light and uniform coloration, the ordinary Gazelle-markings being hardly noticeable. The long slender hoofs are also very peculiar, reminding one of those of Tragelaphus spekii, which lives in the swamps on the borders of lakes and rivers. It is quite certain that the Beem can never drink, as there is no water in this country at all, except in the comparatively deep wells dug by the natives. The following measurements of the male Beem were taken directly after it was killed:-Height at shoulder 2 ft. 4 in.; girth at brisket 2 ft. 1 in.; length of horns 13 in. It weighed, after being brought into camp (without entrails), 34 lb. These are about the measurements and weight of Gazella dorcas. For comparison I give the measurements of a good male Gazella cuvieri which I killed in the mountains a few weeks after the Beem : Height at shoulder 2 ft. 7 in.; girth at withers 2 ft. 8g in.; weight without entrails 58 lb. As to the distribution of these species, 1 may say that Gazella cuvieri is found entirely in the mountains, never down in the true |