The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1903-12-09
THE OLD CIRCUS GNU.
An Animal Formerly Considered a
Great Curiosity Now Al
most Extinct.

II anyone win take the trouble to look
over the files of the National Intelli-
gencer in the library Of congress, ne
viii and (1s27 or 1929 an advertise
ment of the first circus that ever pitch
ed its tents in Washington In that
advertisement he will notice that
among the special attractions which
the management had to offer was
"gnu. or horned horse" In those days
an elephant or lion was great rari-
ty in this country. fact plainly indi-
Gated in the glowing advertisement OF
WashIngtons first circus, says the Post
of that city.
The white-tailed gnu, known to the
people Of South Africa as the black
wilde-beeste and to American circus
goers as the horned horse is to-day
almost extinct In all the sad history
of the determination of the noble ami
mails. such as the American bison, the
Southern black wolf, the white rhi-
noceros, and the quagga the career Of
the white-tailed gnu is perhaps the
most romantic In the old days of Cor
don Cumming and CORVALLIS Harris
the high veldt of South Africa literally
swarmed with these creatures. They
were curious animals, whom natural
lists classed among the antelopes, with
head and horns reminding one OF those
of a buffalo, a neck, name, barrel
fanks and tail strikingly like those OF
well-buiIt pony, and long antelope
legs. In captivity they we're dangerous
animals, for one could never tell what
moment they would take notion to
commit some wild and crazy prank
while in their native state their horns
were always broken and splintered
with constant sparring among them
selves. AS in the case of the Ameri-
can bison, the Dutch farmers began
killing them off for their skins, so that
by 1875 only small remnant were left
in the Orange Free State. 1t was about
this time that the Brothers B., who
prided themselves upon being the orig
inaI Boer trekkers. determined to pre-
serve this remnant then numbering
less than 200 head The herd was in
closed in four large sections of grass
land. and so well did they succeed
that by the time the Boer war broke
out the herd had increased to 400 Sir
John Millais, the great English paint
err spend several months on these
farms in the 80's, painting the herds
of white-tailed gnu, and English sports
men frequently paid the proprietors
large sums for the right TO shoot an
unusually fine head. There we're also
four smaller herds of these animals,
one belonging to Mr.. G. d. Rudd, OF
Cape Town, numbering about rs head;
another herd of 20 or more in Cape
Colony, nerd of IA at the Amsterdam
ZOO. and a small herd Of II at Leon
ardslee, England Hagenback also had
a few pairs of them. Barnum had an
old male, and Sells Brothers a pair
When the Boer war came on nothing
was heard of these South African gnus
and some months ago a letter was
written to the London Field asking for
! information as to whether or not they
had been spared by the Boer and Brit
| ish armies. In the next issue OF the
Field there appeared a letter from
Capt. =. R. Staveley, of Iverbridge, De-
vonshre, England. who commanded a
troop of cavalry in the war in South
Afr'ca In his letter Capt. Staveley
states that in June and July, 1902. be
spent several DAYS on the farms OF
the Brothers B., who had just returned
| from the war under the new peace ar
rangements. to rebuild their burned
out homesteads. Despite the destruc-
ton of the wire fence enclosing these
farms. none of the herds had left the
place, remaining in their old pasture
I all during the war Capt Staveley
states that the British soldiery had not
molested The animals. out that BoeI
commando. coming into a nearby sta
ton to surrender. had rounded up ant
killed about 20 Of them Some few mac
strayed. and one was found wandering
about on the veldt by an English regi'
mont. the members Of which succeeded
in capturing it and taking it home T.
England on their return. Capt. Stave
lev states that ne rode about over thu
farm with the Brothers b.. saw thu
animals grazing in herds Of 25 or 30
and had quito long talk about then
with their owners.