485 BISON. 



and ability, that great naturalist goes on to state that if Europe 

 possessed a Una, a. Thur of the Poles, different from the Bison or the 

 Aurochs of the Germans, it is only in its remains that this species 

 can be traced. Such remains are found in the skulls of a species of 

 Ox different from the Aurochs, in the superficial beds of certain dis- 

 tricts. This Cuvier was of opinion must have been the true I'rut of 

 the ancients, the original of our domestic Ox, the stock perhaps whence 

 our wild cattle descended. Professor Owen, in his ' British Fossil 

 Mammals,' has fully established the distinction between the Aurochs 

 and the Great FossU Ox, the I'ru* of the ancients, but he has shown 

 that it is impossible that any of our forms of oxen or wild cattle 

 should have been descended from this species which is now extinct. 

 [BoviD.E.] The head given below is figured by Cuvier as of doubtful 

 character, but if compared with the skull of the Aurochs there can be 

 little doubt of its identity. 



BISON. 



4S6 



Skull of supposed Fossil Aurochs, front view. 



Profile of the same. 



The remains of the Aurochs have been found abundantly on the 

 continent of Europe, and been described by Eaujas, Cuvier, and 

 H. von Meyer. Some of these carry the antiquity of this animal as 

 far back as the period of the extinct pachyderms of the newer Pliocene 

 deposits. On comparing these with recent specimens of the Aurochs 

 from the Lithuanian forests, they are found to be generally of larger 

 size, to have longer and somewhat less bent horns, but they present 

 no satisfactory specific distinction. 



That the Aurochs existed formerly in Great Britain is attested 

 from the discovery of remains of the cranium and horn-cores from 

 various newer Tertiary Fresh-Water deposits, especially in the counties 

 of Kent and Essex along the borders of the Thames. In the hall of 

 the Geological Society of London is a cranium with horn-cores, 

 obtained by Mr. Warburton from the Fresh-Water Tertiary deposits 

 of Walton in Essex. A broken skull was also discovered by Mr. H. 

 E. Strickland, in the Fresh-Water Drift at Cropthorne, Worcestershire. 

 Professor Phillips, in his 'Geology of Yorkshire,' records the 

 discovery of the skull with the cores of the horns and the teeth at 

 Beilbecks, in Yorkshire. It was accompanied with the remains of 

 fresh-water Molliwca and of the Mammoth, Rhinoceros, a species of 

 /Vi.i ( a large Horse, a large Deer, Wolf, &c. It is to be regretted 

 that the entire skeleton of the same individual has not hitherto been 

 discovered, in order that a comparison of the number of ribs between 

 this elder Bison, and the European and American Bisons of the present 

 day might be made. 



The European Bison, as found at the present day, has a very broad 

 head and arched forehead. The eyes are large and dark ; the hair on 

 the forehead is long and wavy, and under the chin and breast it forms 

 ;\ kind of beard. In the winter the whole of the neck, hump, and 

 shoulders are covered with a long dusky-brown hair, intermingled 

 with a soft fur. The long hair is cast in the summer and renewed in 

 the winter. The tail is of moderate length, covered with hair, and is 

 terminated in a large tuft. The females are not so large as the males, 

 and have not so much hair on their bodies. 



The districts in which this animal is now found living are compara- 

 tively limited, as it appears to be confined to the forests of Lithuania, 

 Moldavia, Wallachia, and some parts of the Caucasus. These animals 

 have never been domesticated, but herds of them are protected in 

 certain localities in the forest of Bialowieza, in Lithuania, under the 

 direction of the Emperor of Russia. There are twelve herds thus 

 kept, each herd being under the superintendence of one herdsman. 

 The estimated number of all the herds is 800. They feed on grass 

 and brushwood, and the bark of young trees, especially the willow, 

 poplar, ash, and birch. They do not attain their full stature till their 

 sixth year. They are very shy, and can only be approached from the 

 leeward, as their smell is exceedingly acute. When accidentally 

 fallen in with they become furious, and passionately assail the intruder. 

 \Vli.rn taken young they become accustomed to their keeper, but the 

 approach of other persons excites their anger. Two young specimens 

 were presented to the Zoological Society of London by the Emperor 

 of Russia. Although it had been stated that the Aurochs had a 



natural enmity to domestic cattle, and that the young obstinately 

 refused to be suckled by the domestic cow, the calves sent by the 

 Emperor were suckled by a cow in the Regent's Park Gardens, and 

 became very speedily attached to their foster-mother. These creatures 

 unfortunately died a few months after they had been brought to this 

 country. A very fine specimen was presented to the British Museum 

 by the Emperor of Russia, which is now to be seen stuffed in the col- 

 lection. The dimensions of this animal are as follows : 



Length from the nose to the insertion of the tail 

 Height at the withers ..... 

 Height at the riunp ..... 



Length of head 



Length of tail 



Ft. 

 9 

 5 

 4 



In. 



10 

 6 



11 

 8 

 



American Bleon. 



We have seen that the European Bison has fourteen pairs of ribs, 

 while the common Ox has but thirteen. The specific difference of the 

 American Bison is marked by its having fifteen ribs on each side. 

 Thus, in the Bisons, the supplementary ribs spring from the anterior 

 lumbar vertebra;, or rather from vertebrae which are lumbar as far as 

 regards their situation, but dorsal when considered in relation to their 

 functions. The contour of the skull has much in common with that 

 of the European species, but its development, and indeed that of the 

 whole frame, is much inferior in the female. Beneath is represented 

 the skull of a young female American Bison, 



Skull of young female American 

 Bison, front view. 



Profile of the 



same. 



and we shall at once see how tame and weak its chiselling is when 

 compared with that of the old male. 



Skull of old male American liisun, front view. 



Profile of the same. 



The American Bison has many points of similarity with the Aurochs. 

 In both we have the huge head and the lengthened spinal processes 

 of the dorsal vertebrae for the attachment of the brawny muscles that 

 support and wield it. In both we have the conical hump between 

 the shoulders in consequence, and the shaggy mane in all seasons ; 

 and each presents a model of brute force, formed to push and throw 

 down. 



This is the Taurtu Mexicanm of Hernandez, who gives a woodcut 

 of the beast, but not a good one ; the Taureau Sauvage of Hennepin, 

 who also gives a figure of it, not better than that of Hernandez, and 

 probably a copy from it ; the Buffalo of Lawson, Catesby, &c., of the 

 Hudson s Bay traders, and of the Anglo-Americans generally; the 

 Bison of Ray and Pennant ; Bos A mericamts of Gmelin ; American 

 Wild Ox or Bison of Warden ; Peecheek of the Algonquin Indians ; 

 Moostoosh of the Crees ; and Adgiddah of the Chippewayans, according 

 to Sir John Richardson. 



Pennant says, " In America these animals are found in the countries 



