
WHITE CATTLE: AN INQUIRY INTO THEIR ORIGIN, ETC. 417 
considered to be the true descendants of the wild bulls killed by 
Spanish knights (Appendix IT.). 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. Vast 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.1 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 Vres [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 Friar Bartholomew, about 1360, wrote a work entitled 
De Proprietatibus 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.” Itis strange that cattle—bulls or cows—should 
1 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. 
2 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. 
3 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 I. 
