264 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGOW. 



The poem. 80 lines in length altogether, then goes on to detail 



the animals brought as the ransom, and where obtained. After 



detailing where he got foxes, otters, gulls, and ravens, the tenth 



line reads — 



'* Two wild Oxen from Burren." 



A footnote informs us that Burren was a wild district in Clare, 

 and at the time was regarded as one of the three impassable 

 places in Ireland. Now, wild oxen does not mean wild white 

 cattle.^ On a close examination of the various authorities that 

 have been quoted by writers on the natural history of our white 

 oxen, I find that it has often been taken for granted that a 

 reference to wild bulls, or Bos sylvestris, necessarily implies a 

 white race. The last nine lines of this poem show us that such 

 is not the case : — 



" Two Cats out of the Cave of Cruachain. 



Two Cadhlas (Goats) from Sith Gabhran, 

 Two Pigs of the Pigs of MacLir, 

 A Ram and Ewe both round and red, 

 I brought with me from Aengus. 



I brought with me a Stallion and a Mare, 

 From the beautiful stud of Manannan, 

 A Bull and a white Cow from Druim Cain, 

 Which were presented to myself by Muirn Munchain." 



Here we see that wild oxen does not imply white oxen, and 

 that white cattle were domesticated, being classed among other 

 domestic animals, and considered of very high value. With the 

 white bull and cow the poem ends, and the reciter's greatest 

 achievement is thus recorded, while the speaker draws attention 

 markedly to the fact that these cattle were presented to him by, 

 we suppose, their breeder. Another factor, we think, which 

 points to the white race being kept by our forefathers as a 

 domesticated one, is the number of herds of white cattle that 

 exist, and have existed, under domestication in Norfolk and 

 Suffolk, Yorkshire and Cheshire. All these cattle have been 

 polled, that is, hornless, a characteristic which in itself indicates 



^ Wild oxen probably means feral cattle. Bede, for instance, affirms 

 that in Ireland in his time wild goats were hunted ; yet he goes on to say 

 that the country did not anciently possess any wild goats. 



