WILD CATTLE. 213 



soon became so wild that even the robbers could 

 not capture them for their own use. After the de- 

 parture of the Dungans the wild animals remained 

 at liberty, and they now chiefly frequent the bushes 

 in the valley of the Hoang-ho, where there is abun- 

 dance of water and good pasturage for them. 



Wild cattle are generally met in small herds of 

 five to fifteen, only the old bulls going single. It is 

 strange how soon they return to all their wild habits 

 notwithstanding their long domestication. The cows 

 lie in the thickets all day, apparently hiding from 

 man, but at twilight they come out to graze. On 

 seeinof- or scentinof a man, bulls and cows take to 

 flight and never stop till they have gone a long way. 

 The wildest and most intractable among them are, 

 of course, the young ones, born and reared in a 

 state of nature. 



The chase of wild cattle is so difificult that during 

 the whole of our stay at Ordos we only shot four 

 bulls. The Mongols never take part in this chase, 

 owing to their fear of entering Ordos, and also be- 

 cause these powerful animals do not feel the wound 

 inflicted by the shot from an old flint-and-steel mus- 

 ket, which usually consists of a piece of cast-iron or a 

 stone covered with lead. By beating the bushes, 

 especially in winter, great numbers of these animals 

 might be slain ; the Mongols reckon their numbers 

 in Ordos to be upwards of 2,000 head. Doubtless 

 these cattle will all be exterminated in the course of 

 time, or recaptured by the same Mongols who are 

 now returning to Ordos. It might be otherwise 



