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The south-cut .:!. of tin- m.mnUuu present* ui extensive 

 muni precipice from 20 to 40 feet high. The rugged dopes at it* 

 foot are covered by impenetrable green jungle, and abound with dens 

 formed of fallen block* of rock, the suitable retreat* of tigers, bears, 

 and hyena*. The western dopes are leu nigged, but the soil is 

 parched, and the foresU aeem withered by excess of host The 

 summit of the mountain presents a mixture of open lawns and woods. 

 There were once twenty-fire villages on Myn IVit, but these have been 

 long deserted, on account of the number and ferocity of the beasts of 

 prey. On this mountain however the Qour maintain* his seat. The 

 Indian* assert that even the tiger has no chance in combat with the 

 full-grown Oour, though he may occasionally succeed in carrying off 

 :m unprotected calf. The Wild Buffalo abound* in the plain* below 

 the mountain*, but he so much dreads the Qour, according to the 

 native*, that he rarely attempt* to invade its haunt* ; and the hunting- 

 party only met with three or four uraas on the mountain. The 

 forests which shield the Qour abound however with Hog-Deer, 

 Saumura (Sambiir Deer), and Porcupines." Captain Kogerx, who 

 furnished the above account, hunted the Guur in these wild and 

 romantic retreats, and the animal, it appears, when hit faces his 

 adversary, ready to do battle. A short bellow, imitated best by the 

 *yllablcH ugh-ugh, was the only cry heard from the Qour, and that 

 not until offer it had been wounded. August is the month in which 

 the calf is generally dropped, and the period of gestation is twelve 

 months. The large quantity of milk given by the cow is averred to 

 be occasionally so rich as to cause the calf's death. The first year the 

 native name of the bull-calf i* Purorah ; the cow-calf is called 

 Parceah ; and the full-grown cow Qourin. The Qours herd together 

 in parties varying from ten to twenty ; they browse on the leaves and 

 tender shoots of trees and sbrub, and also graze on the banks of the 

 streams. In the cold weather the mini-forests are their places of con- 

 cealment, and the heate bring them out to feed in the green lawns and 

 valleys. They do not it seem* wallow in swamp and mire like the 

 Buffalo. If the natives are to be credited the Qour will not brook 

 captivity ; even if taken very young the mountain-calf droops and 

 dies. (' Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,' vol. xi) Mr. Hodgson says 

 it is exceedingly difficult to rear the Qour in confinement, although 

 attempts are constantly being made by the Court of NepauL 



General Hard wicke ('Zoological Journal,' vol. iii.) given a figure of a 

 pair of horns of the " Bo Hour, or wild bull of the mountainous district 

 of Kamgurh, and table-land of Sirgoojahs," from which our cut i* taken. 

 The Qour to which they belonged wo* killed, as Qeneral Hardwickc 

 believed, by the same hunting-party described by Captain Rogers, and 

 they were presented to the Qeneral by the principal member of that 

 party, Major Roughsedge. These horns were 15 inches, between 

 the tips. 



u[ Uour ;.' ! I .u ,!n icko. 



/ /.''.. ..<,</, the Banting, or Sumatran Ox. Colour block, distinct 

 Urge pot on rump, and legs white. This is the Boi Simtimi f Sir 

 (Stamford Unifies, Rot leacoprymnia of Quoy and Gaimard, Sot Son- 

 iaicui <( Muller. It is a native of Java, Borneo, and Bali. Thereisa 

 stuffed specimen and skeleton in the British Museum. Vasey in his ' Ox- 

 Tribe,' has given a figure, and observes that it " bears some resemblance 

 to the Qour, but in the skeleton of the Qour the sacrum consists of 5 

 vertebra and the tail of 19, while in the skeleton of the Banting the 

 sacrum consists of but 4 vertebras and the tail of 18." 



The next genus is Biton, of which there ore two species, one 

 European, the other American. [BisoN.] 



Pofphagui. Horns subcylindrical, curved outward on the front of 

 the occipital ridge ; nose hairy, with a narrow bald muffle between the 

 nostrils; hoofs moderately thick, not dilated or expanded on the 

 outer side, square and straight in front; tail moderate, not ii-achin^ 

 to the hocks, and covered with long hair ; teats four, narrowing behind. 

 There is but one species, P. grvnnirnt, the Yak, or Sorlyk. It is 

 block ; the back and tail often white. It is the Dot yrunnient of 

 1. lumens ; f!m Pofpkagiu of Colonel H. Smith. It has also been 

 called the Grunting Ox, the Orunting Bull, Svora-Ooy, and Bubul. 

 There are several varieties, called the Noble Yak, the Plough Yak, the 

 Ghninorik, and Wild Yak. The following notices of the Yak are 

 given in the Catalogue of the British Museum : 



" The Yaks di.-like lite warmth of yiiinnn r, and hide themselves in 



u!e mid water; they swim well ; both sexes grunt like a pig. The 



I with rmgli lil:u'k curled Imir, like a mrlcd haired 



\Vln n of (I, I.I they obtain the l..ng hniron tin- 1....U 



and tail They willingly live uiili the .!.. m.. :i cows, and breed with 

 them. The long whitu hairs of the tail are dyed red to form the 

 tufts of hair on the caps of the Chinese. (Pallas, ' Act Acad. Petrop.' 

 1777, 250.) 



"The Yaks used for the plough are ugly and short-legged, and h..ld 

 their heads very low. The beautiful long silky hair hanging from 

 below the belly is almost if n..t entin-ly wanting in them, no less 

 than the bushy tail, which their avaricious owners cumiinnilr cutoff 

 as an article of trade. They ore guided by the nose. (Hoffineister, 

 Travels in Ceylon,' *c., 441.) 



" The Yak-Ox used in riding is an infinitely handsomer animal. It has 

 a stately hump, a rich silky hanging tail nearly reaching the ground, 

 twisted horns, a noble bearing, and an erect head (p. 441). They are 

 very shy, and kick with their hind feet, turning their head round 

 perpetually, as if about to gore their riders (p. 448). 



" i >nr broad-footed Yak-Ox i* the beast with the thick silky white 

 fringe under the body, and the bushy tail, both of which sweep the 

 ground. .... As the steepness increased, these poor animals 

 began to moan, or rather grunt, in the most melancholy manner, and 

 this unearthly music gradually rose to such a violent rattle, that 

 driven rather by its irksome sound than by the discomfort of ..ur 

 Boddlelesa seat, we dismounted at the end of the first half-hour 

 (p. 443)." 



The Yak, or Chauri Qau, inhabits all the loftiest plateaus of high 

 Asia, between the Altai and the Himalaya, the Belur Tag, and the 

 Peling Mountains, and is found tame as well as wild. It cannot livu 

 on the south side of the Himalaya beyond the immediate vicinity of 

 the snow, where the tribes of Cachars on the juxta-nivean regions of the 

 *ut> Himalayas rear large herds of it, and cross-breed with the 

 common-ox. They rut in winter, mid produce young in autumn. 

 Coccum simple, not sacked, nor banded, four inches long ; ribs 14 

 or 15 pairs; true dorsal ridge confined to the withers; dewlap none. 

 (Hodgson.) 



Orilm. Horns very wide, and touching each other at their base, 

 then applied to the sides of the head, and having the points suddenly 

 turned up ; no naked muzzle, ami no furrow on the upper lip ; 

 chanfrein narrow at the end, very square, resembling that of thu 

 sheep ; ears short ; limbs robust ; tail very short 



0. motdiatut, the Musk Ox. Size of Highland cattle ; horns broad at 

 origin, covering the brow and whole crown of the head, and touching 

 each other throughout from before backwards. As each horn rises from 

 its flatly convex base, it becomes round and tapering, curving directly 

 downwards between the eye and the ear, until it reaches the angle of 

 the mouth, when it turns upwards in the segment of a circle to above 

 the level of the eye ; for half its length it is dull, white, and rough, 

 and beyond smooth and shining ; near the point it becomes black. 



Muk-Cx ( 



Qeneral colour of the hair brown, long, matted, and rather curled 

 on the neck and between the shoulders, where it is rather grizzled, on 

 the back and hips long but lying smoothly ; on the shoulders, sidex, 

 and thighs it is so long as to hang down In-low the mi. Ml.- I thu leg. 

 There is on the centre of the back a mark of a soiled brownish-whit.-. 

 called by Captain I'un-y the saddle. On the throat mid ehcxt the 

 linir i.i very straight and long, and together with the l.n;- hair mi the 



