352 THE BISONS OF THE CALTCASUS. 



try to g-et aAvav. When its first astonishiiieiit had passed, it sprang 

 up with a bound and began to scamper along the precipices. It 

 would have escaped if its way had not been barred by a large uprooted 

 fir tree. In trying to jump over this obstacle, as it had over others, 

 it miscalculated and fell astride the branches. The man seized it by 

 the hind foot. 



In spite of its vigorous struggles he tied around its body his girdle 

 and his baschlik (a sort of hood worn by the natives which has long- 

 lappets that are wrapped about the neck). 



Curiously enough, after a moment's resistance, the animal followed 

 his cajDtor with docility. It. however, appeared to be out of breath, 

 respired with difficulty, and the hunter feared lest it might die upon 

 his hands. Coming to a keeper's house, he gave it some milk, which 

 it at first refused, but two days afterwards it learned to lick the 

 fingers of those who gave it milk, quite as do the young calves 

 of domestic cattle when they are separated from their mothers. In 

 ten days it was strong enough to continue the journey. It was 

 tethered to a cart and led in this manner for some 10 kilometers, after 

 which the hunters decided to unfasten it, and it followed the cart, 

 running like a dog. for more than 60 kilometers farther. During the 

 journey it was given milk to drink and consumed not less than 16 

 glasses of it per day. 



Arriving at the A'illage of Psebay, it was necessary to wait three 

 months for the messenger for Bielowitza, who was charged with the 

 duty of taking it to that place for breeding purposes. Kept in an 

 inclosure covered with fruit trees, the J^oung bison, wdiich was still 

 fed with warm milk, soon showed himself very fond of the fruits 

 that he found in abundance on the ground, having a marked prefer- 

 ence for the sourest kind of apples. Upon this diet the animal 

 increased considerably in size and strength, so nmch so that he would 

 knock over the cow that nursed him, attacking her in front in a 

 playful manner. The messenger from Bielowitza found, however, 

 that he was considerably inferior in size to the Lithuanian animals 

 of the same age. This was perhaps due not only to the difference 

 in race, but also to the lack of nourishment and to the long journey 

 which he was forced to take but a few days after his birth. 



The quantity of milk yielded by the female bison is not accuratel}' 

 known, but it is thought to be very abundant, for it has been shown 

 at Bielowitza that a young bison raised upon the milk of a domestic 

 cow consumes the milk of four cows. The poor Caucasian prisoner 

 was far from having received as much as this during his early youth. 

 He was affected hj this all his life and remained a delicate, lean ani- 

 mal, of relatively small size. 



During his journey from the Caucasus to Lithuania he was carried 

 in a wagon, accompanied by a milch cow as a nurse and a provision 



