THE AMERICAN BISON 



(Bison americanus) 



WHETHER we consider its extraordinary appearance, or the tragic 

 contrast of its former excessive abundance and its so very recent and 

 almost complete extermination at the hands of man, the " Buffalo " of 

 schoolboy stories of adventure is one of the most interesting of the 

 wild animals of the Ox tribe. 



In build it is distinct from any of them, being so heavy and 

 shaggy before, with the hind-quarters comparatively weak, and the tail 

 decidedly short, while the head owes its imposing appearance to the 

 heavy crop of hair and beard, the horns being proportionately shorter 

 than in any of the other Oxen. A large bull will stand nearly six feet 

 at the peculiarly high withers ; the cow is of course smaller and not 

 so heavily formed. The young calf is bright red-brown in colour, very 

 different from the dark coats of its parents, and, being straight-backed, 

 with no sign of the heavy mane, would not easily be recognised as a 

 young Bison at all by any one unacquainted with it. 



In summer the Bison sheds its long winter coat, and for some 

 time is almost bare, and presents a most disreputable appearance. 



This animal was formerly one of the characteristic features of the 

 landscape over a large portion of North America, and existed in 

 larger numbers than any other beast of equal size anywhere, ranging 

 from the Great Slave Lake to Mexico. It was, however, in the great 

 plains of the West that it was especially at home, and it is usually 

 spoken of as a prairie animal, although there was also a wood- 

 land race, to which most of the survivors belong. 



Bison are essentially gregarious, and were also to a certain extent 

 migratory, as such large numbers of animals of their size naturally 

 exhausted the pasture in one locality. They were noted for their 

 extreme stupidity and persistency in following any particular course, 

 and in this way many members of a great herd, or even whole herds, 



n. 



