Captain Sir William Cornwallis Harris’ recollection of the discovery of a new antelope 1852.
“Our p a r t y w e r e i n f u l l p u r s u i t o f a w o u nded elephant, when a herd of unusually dark-looking
ante l o p e s a t t r a c t e d o b s e r v a t i o n i n a n a d j acent valley. Reconnoitering them through a pocket
teles c o p e f r o m t h e a c c l i v i t y o n w h i c h w e stood, I once exclaimed that they were perfectly ne w
to s c i e n c e ; a n d h a v i n g a n n o u n c e d m y d e t e rmination of pursuing the, if requisite, to the world’s
en d, I da sh e d d ow n th e s l o p e , f o l l ow e d b y t he d erisio n o f t he Ho t t en t o t s, f o r my un spo rt smanlike a t t e n t i o n t o a n “ u g l y b u c k , ” o n e s p e c i men of which, however, I assured them I would rather
have p o s s e s s e d t h a n a l l t h e e l e p h a n t s i n Africa! In an instant I was in the middle of the herd,
whic h w a s t h e n c r o s s i n g t h e v a l l e y - n i n e chestnut-coloured does leading, and two magnificent
c oal - b l a c k b u c ks - a l l w ith s cime ta r - s h ap e d ho rn s - brin gin g up t he rear.
It w e r e v a i n t o a t t e m p t a d e s c r i p t i o n o f the sensations I experienced, when thus, after three
days o f t o i l s o m e t r a c k i n g , a n d f e v e r i s h a nxiety, unalleviated by an incident that could inspire
the s m a l l e s t h o p e o f u l t i m a t e s u c c e s s , I at length found myself in actual possession of so
brilli a n t a n a ddi t ion to th e r ich e s o f natur al hist o ry.”
W.C Harris. Wild Spo rt s o f So ut hern A f ric a 1852
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