VII 

 THE AMERICAN BISON 



THE American bison, universally known in the United 

 States as the buffalo, is one of the grandest of all the 

 creatures which " divide the hoof and chew the cud." It 

 has a large head, with shortish, rounded horns, and there 



FIG. 44 . 



THE AMERICAN BISON. 



is a sort of hump over the shoulders, due to the height 

 of the withers, which (as in a specimen in the Museum at 

 Washington) may be five feet eight inches high. The 

 hind -quarters, however, are low and comparatively weak. 

 The body, generally, is covered with short, more or less 



M 



