Wild White Cattle 



charming sheet of water between Aviemore and Inver- 

 ness. By this loch-side may still be seen the remains 

 of ancient Wolf-traps. These are nothing more or less 

 than secluded pits, wherein were fixed some savoury 

 bait. The unwary Wolf, once inside the pit, could not 

 get out, and the hunter then despatched the captive at 

 his leisure. The passing of the Wolf left the W^ild 

 White Cattle of the pastures the sole and only link of 

 the more gigantic land animals between what was and 

 is. Speaking of this species, history asserts: "In 

 Boethius's days wild everywhere," and Sibbald, writing of 

 his times, says : " A wild white breed was found in the 

 Scottish hills." 



Time has passed since then, and to-day only one or 

 two noted herds of White Cattle represent the ancestors 

 of the years that have fled. Chief amongst these herds 

 is that of Chillingham in Northumberland. Confined 

 although these bovines are within a limited area, they 

 still retain some of the traits owned by their wild 

 predecessors. They have the fiery eye, the agile limbs, 

 the restiveness and suspicion, that truly belong to 

 creatures of the wild. Like their ancestors, they hide 

 their calves, and the herd browse only when the sun is 

 sinking in the west. 



As the student peruses the literature of the past he 

 gradually reaches the date when the old order of things 

 verges into the new. The animals recognized as 

 formerly resident in our islands, but which have 



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