THE PLANT-EATERS OF NORTH AMERICA. 689 



form of the Cape buffalo, a very ferocious animal, with horns so wide 

 that they nearly cover the forehead ; in India, the ami, whose enor- 

 mous horns are ten feet apart from tip to tip ; in the forests of Lithu- 

 ania and of the Caucasus, the aurochs, an ox related more or less 

 closely to our wild species ; in Tartary, the grunting cow or yak, 

 which is smaller than any of the preceding, and which has a long 

 mane upon the hack, whose tail much resembles that of a horse, 

 and whose grunting is similar to that of a hog. And in North 

 America we find the American buffalo {Bos Americanus, Fig. 9), 





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Fig. 9. The Bison or Buffalo (Bos Americanus). 



the largest quadruped on this continent. This animal once inhab- 

 ited nearly all of North America, except the cold regions of the 

 north ; but it is now confined mainly to the great Western plains, 

 where, notwithstanding the immense havoc made among their num- 

 bers, both by Indians and white men, they still exist in numbers 

 that almost defy computation, in some places covering the plains in 

 every direction as far as the eye can reach. The buffalo is as large as 

 a good-sized domestic ox, and has a large head which is carried close 

 to the ground, a broad forehead, a broad, full chest, a large hump be- 

 tween the shoulders, narrow loins, and rather slender legs. The 

 horns are set far apart, are large at the base, and taper suddenly to a 

 sharp point. The buffalo is covered with a thick coat of hair, that 

 upon the head, neck, and shoulders, being very long and shaggy. 

 The horns and hoofs are black. Perhaps there is no grander sight to 

 be witnessed amon? the larsrer animals than to see one of the immense 

 herds of these animals, when under good headway, sweep by if only 

 the observer has a safe standing-place. 



When the buffalo is moving rapidly, it progresses by an awkward 

 canter or gallop, and it requires a good horse and an expert rider to 

 keep up with it. The hunting of the buffalo is one of the most ex- 

 citing and at times one of the most dangerous sports, if such it may 

 vol. x. 44 



