THE EUROPEAN BISON 777 



piercing wind that chilled us to the very marrow, although the distance to the summit 

 was only six or seven miles. It was truly wonderful to see the way in which the 

 yak struggled through the deep snow, and scrambled over places which were often 

 difficult and sometimes dangerous to traverse. Nothing could have exceeded the 

 powers of endurance evinced by these animals, which were game to the backbone, 

 and as sure footed as goats. One of them, notwithstanding, lost its footing on a 

 steep slope of w/z>/, and went rolling and sliding down until it was fortunately 

 stopped by a friendly rock; otherwise it must have disappeared forever under the 

 glazier. On regaining its feet the creature merely shook itself, and on being disen- 

 tangled from its load soon clambered up again. 



All who have visited a Tibetan monastery, or lamasery, must have been struck 

 with the number of yak tails suspended as streamers from tall poles fixed in the 

 ground before the entrance. The more general use of these appendages throughout 

 the East is, however, in the form of chowris, or fly whisks. For this purpose pure 

 white tails are preferred; and they are frequently mounted with the twisted horn 

 of a black buck as a handle. In China yak tails dyed red are affixed to the roofs 

 of the summer residences as pendants. 



THE EUROPEAN BISON (Bos bonassus) 



The European bison, wisent, or zubr is one of two species representing a dis- 

 tinct and peculiar group of the genus Bos. These animals resemble the yak in 

 their cylindrical horns and the relative shortness of the forehead of the skull, and 

 also in the large number of their ribs, of which there may be fourteen or fifteen 

 pairs. They differ,' however, in having the horns placed more below the plane of 

 the occipital region of the skull, so that in a front view the crest of the occiput 

 itself is seen at the summit of the skull. A further distinctive feature is to be found 

 in the extreme convexity of the forehead of the skull; while the sockets of the eyes 

 are very prominent, and assume a tubular form. Moreover, the premaxillary 

 bones, forming the extremity of the skull, are separated from the very short nasal 

 bones by a much longer interval than in the yak and the gaur; and are thus very 

 widely different from those of the typical oxen, which are prolonged upward to join 

 the elongated nasals. 



Bison are further characterized by the great excess in the height of the withers 

 over the hind-quarters, owing to the great length of the spines of the vertebrae in 

 the fore-part of the trunk, as displayed in the figure of the skeleton on p. 748. This 

 produces a distinct hump on the shoulders, which passes, however, gradually into 

 the line of the back without the sudden descent characterizing the gaur. The great 

 development of the fore-quarters appears to be intensified by the mass of dark-brown 

 hair with which the back of the head, neck, shoulders, and chest are covered, and 

 which extends far down on the fore-limbs. The long hair is likewise continued as 

 a kind of crest along the middle of the back nearly to the root of the tail; the tail it- 

 self being tufted at the end, and reaching some distance below the hocks. The re- 

 mainder of the body is covered with short curly hair of a somewhat lighter tint than 

 that clothing the fore-quarters. In summer the long hair over all the body is shed 



