THE WHITE URUS. 71 



lets, without one of them piercing their skulls. When 

 fretted in this manner, they often become furious, and, 

 owing to their great swiftness and prodigious strength, 

 they are then regarded as objects of no ordinary dread. 



The ancient history of this breed is involved in much 

 mystery. From fossil remains, chiefly found in marl-pits, 

 it appears that two species of the ox tribe formerly pre- 

 vailed in Scotland, namely, the Bos taurus and the Bos 

 iirus. Some heads of these, of very large dimensions, are 

 still preserved in the collections of the curious. Professor 

 Fleming, of Aberdeen, says, that he has a skull of the 

 former in his possession, measuring twenty-seven and 

 a half inches in length, nine inches between the horns, and 

 eleven and a half inches across at the orbits. The ac- 

 counts of ancient authors certainly allude to a species of 

 wild cattle very different in their characters and dimen- 

 sions from those of the present day. The favorite haunt 

 of these animals in ancient times, seems to have been the 

 Caledonian Forest. This forest is described by old authors 

 as dividing the Picts from the Scots ; and, being well fur- 

 nished with game, especially with fierce white bulls and 

 kine, it was the place of both their hunting and of their 

 greatest controversies. Some say it took its name from 

 Calder, which signifies a hazel, or common nut-bush. The 

 Roman historians delight much to talk of the furious white 

 bulls which the Forest of Caledonia brought forth. In 

 these early days, they are represented as of large size, 

 and as possessing " crisp and curled manes, like fierce 

 lions." At what period this great forest was destroyed, 

 and the white cattle extirpated, is uncertain. The univer- 

 sal tradition in Clydesdale is, that they have been at Cad- 

 zow from the remotest antiquity ; and the probability is, 

 that they are a part remaining of the establishment of the 

 ancient British and Scottish kings. At present they are 

 objects of great curiosity, both to the inhabitants, and to 

 strangers visiting the place. During the troubles conse- 



