WHITE CATTLE: AN INQUIRY INTO THEIR ORIGIN, ETC. 417 



considered to be the true descendants of the wild bulls killed by 

 Spanish knights (Appendix II.). The history of the El Raso del 

 Portillo herd, which furnishes the best bulls for the ring, can be 

 traced back to the fifteenth century. Yast herds of the fierce, 

 wild, or rather feral cattle, from which the animals for the bull- 

 fights are drawn, roam to-day in a semi-wild state in the forest 

 districts of Portugal and the southern part of Spain, south of the 

 Guadalquivir. These animals are generally of a uniform colour — 

 black — but sometimes they have white patches. The ploughing 

 oxen of Spain are also black or dark-coloured, and are horned 

 like our Kyloes. ^ If the bulls hunted in Scotland " were like 

 those in Spain, and from the prevalence of black colouring 

 amongst our native breeds we may fairly assume that such was 

 the case, the white breed can only be regarded as a domesticated 

 curiosity. 



Harrison further writes — " I haue read of wild bores and bulles 

 to haue beene about Blackleie, neere Manchester, whither the 

 said Prince (Henry I.) would now and then resort also for his 

 solace in that behalfe, as also to come by those excellent falcons 

 then bred thereabouts, but now they are gone, especiallie the 

 bulles,^ as I have said alreadie." .... "As for the 

 plowing with Yres [Ures], (which I suppose to be unlikelie), 

 because they are (in mine opinion) untameable and aekes (elks), a 

 thing commonlie vsed in the east countries ; here is no place to 

 speake of it, since we want these kind of beasts." 



A Priar Bartholomew, about 1360, wrote a work entitled 

 De Proj)rietatihus Rerum^ which has appeared in many English 

 editions. He tells us — "Of all kinds of tame beasts, some be found 

 wilde, as a wilde man, a wilde Foxe, wilde horses, wilde Hounds, 

 and wild Swine." It is strange that cattle — bulls or cows — should 



^ The Andalusian breed is either pure black or pure red. These are the 

 colours most abundant in the province of Cadiz : spotted black and white 

 coming next, then spotted red and white. These cattle carry their horns 

 at right angles from the head, and have the ends curved slightly upwards. 



- At the baptism of James VI. [1566-67] in the chapel of Stirling Castle, 

 we are told that the representatives of Queen Elizabeth were entertained 

 with " the hunting of the wild bull " in Stirling Park. 



^ In the time of King Stephen, near Walton on the Naze, wild cattle 

 were found in the forest and hunted, but both cattle and forest were swept 

 away in the time of Henry Ir 



