140 THE STORY OF THE BUFFALO. 



skin of the bull is more valuable than that of the cow, from the mass of woolly 

 hair about the shoulders. 



THE INDIAN BUFFALO. 



' The Indian buffalo has been domesticated and is extensively employed 

 as a beast of burden by the Hindoos. It has also been introduced into several 

 of the adjoining countries. The animal is about the size of a full-grown 

 ox and is harnessed and driven in a manner similar to that our forefathers 

 used with the ox. This species has enormous curved horns, some measuring 

 12 and 14 feet from tip to tip. 



In a wild state the Indian buffalo is only known in the country from which 

 it takes its name, the herds which are found in a wild state in Burma and 

 the Malay Peninsula and adjacent islands being not improbably descended 

 from animals escaped from captivity. 



In India wild buffaloes are found on the plains of the Bramaputra and 

 Ganges, from the eastern end of Assam tO' Tirhut ; they also occur in the "terai" 

 land at the foot of the Himalaya. Domesticated buffaloes are found not oiily 

 over the whole of India and Burma, and the greater part of the Malayan 

 region, but have likewise been introduced intO' Asia Minor, Egypt and Italy. 



The haunts of the wild Indian buffalo are the tall grass- jungles found 

 in many parts of the plains of India, and generally in the neighborhood ol 

 swamps ; but it' may be also found more rarely in the open plains of shorv 

 grass, or among low jungle, and occasionally even" in forest. Those who 

 have never had the opportunity of seeing an Indian grass-jungle cain have but 

 little conception of its height and density, but some idea may be formed ol 

 it from the fact that in such cover, although a herd of buffaloes may be roused 

 within a score of yards, the waving of the grass, and perhaps the glint of h 

 polished horn-tip, is the only ocular evidence of the presence of the animals; 

 the probably nearly noiseless rush might be caused by other animals; and 

 where the horns have not been seen it is only by the strong, sweet bovine 

 scent — similar to but much more powerful than that of cows — that one can 

 be absolutely certain of what is in front of one. In such jungles shooting 

 on foot is out of the question, and the only method of procedure is by beating 

 with a line of elephants. 



In their wild state these buffaloes are always found in herds, which may 

 comprise fifty or more individuals. Tliey feed chiefly on grass, in the evening, 

 at night, and in the morning; and lie down, generally in high grass, not 



