The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-07-17

A Remarkable Animal, and, OF Course. Chi
cago Has One.


A Remarkable Animal, and, OF Course. Chi
cago Has One.
Lincoln Park has a new curiosity. We re
gard it as the most remarkable specimen o.
animal life in the geological quarter. 1t ID
rackaboar tho gift of Edward G.. Mason, The
! historian. who, at a great expense, has brought
| the rare and strange creature from Egypt anc
| presented it 70 our North Side Park
This curious beast WAS captured ia the wild
| mountainous country about four hundred
I miles above Cairo and short distance back
| from the Nile 1t has somewhat the appear
ance of goat except that its fleece is very
Gully and Of "A Duish-b black color and its neck
Is Of extraordinary length. It's eyes are sur
| prisingly large and beautiful. and its
! small head is surmOunted by two
slender corkscrew horns perhaps four
inches in length. The rackaboar lives alto
gether upon the shelf mountains of its native
district. These mountains are composed as
their name indicates. OF q mighty series OF
rocky shelves or steps of so regular forma-
ton that one might fancy that these same
shelves or steps baC been hewed out by artl,
sans. instead of being simply beauiliui
caprice Of nature. Upon these shelves or steps
does tie rackabOar abide. subssting on the
hardy heritage there Astounding. ana. 10 en-
able 1t 10 move swiftly and securely over TINS
unusual surface, nature has provided the
beast with two short and two longer logs.
thus enabling the rackabOar 20 career at full
speed upon the rocky shelves. The legs upon
the right side Of the beast are from three TO
seven inches longer than those on the left
side, consequently the rackaboar pursues his
way easily gracefully and swiftly. one set of
feet resting on a lower shelf of the mountain
and the other resting on the supeTadlacent
shelf.
When pursued by lions. jackals, hyenas.
or other foes the rackaboar, easily escapes,
for he is exceedingly fleet, and has this
advantage VIZ, that, whereas he Is formed
to run upon q side hill. the others
are are not and SO lie quickly vanishes and
his adyersares. footsOIe and embarrassed. |
desist from the chase. When, as tre- |
quently happens. beasts of prey come face
to face with this harmless creature, the recka-
boar lnstinctyely doubles its long neck back
under its belly thTusts its head up between
its hind lengs and, thus reversed makes good
Its flight in the opposite direction. The only
WAY whereby the rackabOar can be captured
is 10 station bands OF hunters both before and
behind IT, and then the beast may be taken
with lassos.
Bsrnum once had rackaboar in his menag-
erie, but the poor creature soon died of O sur
felt of peanuts and popcorn fed TO him by
children when the keeper was not looking.
This specimen which Mr. Mason has donated
TO Lincoln Park is the second which has been
taken out Of Egypt He is now provided with
quarters near the avlary, and seems TO be
enough on the rough pile of stone
steps hastily constructed for his accommo-
dation.
Mr. Edbrooke, the architect, says that |
rackabOars used TO abound in the Rocky !
mountains when he first went 10 Colorado. but |
the harmless creatures were soon exterminated |
by sportsmen. In Africa the species are |
rapidly becoming extinct BY the writer's of |
antiquity the rackaboar WAS frequently men |
toned. Pliny confounds him with the |
unicorn; Horodotus gives lively description |
Marco Polo declares that be is TO be found IN |
lartary, and Sir John Vaudeville praises his |
flesh as being Full swete for We eatnge and |
ior We removing of ale curst distempers
and mischievous rheums that prey in We
ivre and We reins of name and Goe about 10
filing ye sowle with horrid CONCENTRATIONS.
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