The Sun.
London, England, 1801-09-11 00:00:00

' THE UNICORN.

THE existence or this animal has afforded so
much occasion for conjecture and contrariety of opi-
nion among Natural Historians, that- our Readers
will no-doubt be gratified in knowing what is said
On the subjett by -Mr. BAKR:ovv, a very intelligent
and a very judicious .Traveller, who: seems at all
times likely to be led by-common sense, as well as
a- spirit of - Philosophy, between the extremes of
scepticism and credulity.

" We still continued' our search in the kloofs of
the mountains, 'in the hope of meeting with the
'figure of the Unicorn, the peasantry being equally:
sanguine to convince me of the truth of tbeir asser-
tions, as I was to gratify curiosity. ,We came, at
length, to a very high and concealed kloof, at the
head of which was a deep cave coVered in front by
thick shrubbery. .One of _the party mounted up
the--steepdtiscent, and having made his way through
the close brushwood, he gave us notice, that the
sides of the cavern were covered with'drawings.—
Afteeclearing away the bushes to let in the light,
and examining the numerous drawings, some of
Which were tolerably well executed, and others ca-
ricatures; part of a figure was discovered, that was
certainly intended as the-representation of a beast
with a single horn projeOing from the, forehead.—
The body and legs had been.erased, to give place to
the figure ofan elephant that stood dire4ly before it.
" Nothing could be more mortifying than such
an accident ; but the peasantry, , who could form no
idea of the consequence I -attached to the drawing of
such an-animal, ,seemed to enjoy my chagrin.' On
being told, however, that a thousand, or even five
thousand rix-dollars, would be given to any one who
would f,roduce an original, they stood gaping with
open mouths, and were ready...to enlist for an expe-
dition behind the Rambos-berg, where some of them
were quite certain the hnimal was to be found.—
Imperfed. as the figure was, it was sufficient to
convince me, that the Eosjesmans are in the prac-
tice of including, among their representations of
animals; that of an Unicorn ; and it also offered a
strong.argument for•the existence of a 'living origi-
nal. Among, the several thousand figures of ani-
-, mats that, in the course of the journey, we had met
with, none had the appearance of being monstrous,
none that could be considered as works of the ima.
gination, " creatures of the brain ;" on the con-
,trary, they wag generally as faithful representa-
tions of nature, as the talents of the. artist would
allow. An instance of this appeared in the cavern
we last visited. The back shell of the testudo gro-
Wletrica was lying on the ground ; and the regular
figures with which it is marked, and from which it
takes its name, had been recently, and very accu-
rately,- copied on' the side of a smooth rock. It
vas- thought, indeed, from several circumstances,
that' the savages had slept in the cavern the prece-
ding night.
'The Unicorn, as it is represented in Europe,
is unquestionably a work of fancy ; but it does not
follow from thence, that a quadruped with one
Min; growing out of the middle of the forehead,
should not 'exist. •' The arguments, indeed, that
Might be offered arc Much stronger for its existence
than thc objc6lions Are apinst it. The first idea
of; such an animal seems to have been.taken from
Holy Writ ; and from the description there given,
a: representation of the Unicorn, very illy.* -cori-
eeived, has been assumed as .a supporter to regal
arms. The, animal, to which .the writer of the
Book of Job, who was no mean natural historian,
puts into the mouth of the Almighty a poetical al-
lusiOn, has been supposed; with great plausibility,
to be the one-horned Rhinosceros. " Canst thou
bind the Unicorn with his band in the furrow ? or
will' he harroW. the "vallies-. after thee ? Wilt thou-
trmt him, because his strength is great, or wilt
thou leave thy labour to him Moses also very
probably meant the Rhinosceros, when he mentions
the-Unicorn as having the strength of God. - 'Aris-
rode had a very different idea of the• animal, to
which he gave the name of Unicorn, for he de.
scribes it as a species of wild Ass,. with solidunga.
ions feet.

" The African Rhinosceros having invariably
- two horns, cannot be supposed as the prototype of
the Bosjcsmans' paintings of the Unicorn. Besides,
the former frequently occurs among their' produc-
tions, and is represented as the thick short.legged
figure that it really is, whilst the latter is said by
the peasantry to be uniformly met with as a solid-
ungulous animal resembling the Horse, • with an
elegantly shaped body, marked from the shoulders to
the flank with longitudinal stripes or bands. The
greatest number of such drawings are said to be met
with in the Bambos_berg ; and, as the people who
make them live on the North side of this great chain
of mountains, the original may one day, perhaps,
be also found there.

" This part of Africa is as, yet untrodden
ground, none of the peasantry",having . proceeded
beyond' the mountains. It may be said, perhaps,
that if such an animal existed, and was known to

the natives inhabiting h. part of the Country,. not
very distant from the borders of the Colony, the
faet:yould certainly before this time. have been al-

certained. This, however, does not follow. Very
few or the Colonists have crossed the Orange River,
or have been higher along its banks, than the parr
where we were under thc necessity of turning off
to the Southward ; and the sort of communication

that the peasantry have with the Bosjesmans, is not
that nature to supply much information respea-
in& the'CoUritry they inhabit.. The mouth of the
b - -

Orange River is much nearer to the Cape than the
plains behind the Kafrer mountains ; yet it was but
the other' day, that
_the existence-
,of the Camel°-
•.

pardalis was ascertained near the former place,
thOugh•nii savage nation, .but a civilized-tribe of

....
“
lici i
entots only, intervened.., . Certain' animals, as
*ell as plants,corifirre, themselves to certain dis
tries of
,the same, Country, The .animal above_
mentioned, was never known to have pdssed the
.. . .

. 41' 7This adverb is ,riot used ; and why is the assertion rrlaflej
it is there coneeiveci,asli-beautilul Horse, with a.horn ; .and
it it 56 described; with only the' addition of strip;:s, in the.
very next paragraph, and afterwards from Lobo.- • -

•
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