178 NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS. 



the dry climate of Thibet. The bushy tail forms the 

 well-known fly-flapper of the plains of India." 



12. " The musk-ox," says Figuier, " is much smaller 

 than the common ox, and has somewhat the appearance 

 of an enormous sheep. Its forehead is arched, its mouth 

 small, its muzzle completely covered with hair; and its 

 horns, which are very large, are closely united at the base, 

 and bending downward over the sides of its head, sud- 

 denly turn backward and upward at the tips. Its long 

 and abundant coat is of a dark brown color. It exhales a 

 strong odor of musk, which even impregnates its flesh. 



13. " This animal, which is a combination of the ox, 

 sheep, and goat, inhabits North America below the polar 

 circle, and lives in families of from ten to twenty indi- 

 viduals, among which there are seldom more than two or 

 three males. Notwithstanding its apparent heaviness, the 

 musk-ox climbs over the rocks almost as nimbly as a goat ; 

 and its speed across the rocky, rough, barren grounds, its 

 principal habitat, for an animal so clumsy, is truly aston- 

 ishing." 



CHAPTER XXX. 



THE RODEO OF THE LLANOS. 



1. IT is customary in all large cattle-ranches to as- 

 semble from time to time the cattle of certain districts 

 for the purpose of selecting those which require branding 

 and marking, and also to allow the neighboring ranchers 

 to separate from the herds many stray animals belonging 

 to them, which, from the open nature of the plains, it is 

 impossible to keep within the boundaries of their own 

 ranges. This operation can not be accomplished without 



