PEESiAN OXEN.] CATTLE, AND THETE YAEIETIES. 



[the gatal. 



in a carriage by two white oxen, whicli had the 

 neck short, and a hurnp between the shoulders, 

 but which were as lively and active as horses. 

 Bishop Heber observes, that the Thakoors, the 

 nobility of the Eajpoots, generally travel in 

 covered waggons drawn by white oxen, the 

 horns of which they gild. Tavernier observes — 

 *' The two oxen which were harnessed to my 

 carriage cost me nearly sis hundred rupees. 

 The reader need not be astonished at this 

 price ; for these are oxen of great strength, and 

 can travel journeys of twelve to fifteen leagues 

 1, day for sixty days, and always on the trot. 

 When they have done half their day's work, 

 they have two or three balls, the size of a 

 penny loaf, of wheaten flour kneaded with 

 butter and coarse sugar ; and, in the evening, 

 their ordinary fare consists of chick-peas bruised 

 and steeped half-an-hour in water." Of the 

 docility, activity, and services of the zebu ox 

 jn India, much more need not be said. Nume- 

 rous travellers, both in the past and present 

 century, have borne the same testimony, and 

 record observations bearing upon the same 



point. 



PERSIAN OXEN. 



Eeceding westward from India to Persia, we 

 gradually lose the zebu race, or at least find it 

 intermingled with thatof another type. Cbardin 

 observes, that the oxen of Persia are like ours, 

 excepting towards the frontiers of India, where 

 they have the hunch on the back. Throughout 

 the whole country, the ox is seldom eaten as 

 food ; it is only reared as a beast of burden or 

 for tillage. Such as are used for burdens are 

 shod with iron, in consequence of the stony 

 mountains over which they have to travel. 

 The shoeing of oxen, where the country is 

 rugged and the roads hard or stony, is also 

 practised in India, as Thevenot relates, but is 

 nofe a general custom. The shoes are light, 

 and two are placed on each foot, as the cloven 

 character of the hoof necessarily requires, so 

 that the natural freedom of each part is not 

 impeded. In Persia, the bull is often made to 

 fight with the lion, and sometimes comes off 

 victorious, though dreadfully lacerated. 



Thus much respecting the distinction between 

 the zebu race of cattle and the ordinary breeds 

 of Europe, and their apparently natural dis- 

 tribution. Whichever race or breed we contem- 

 plate, we shall find it adapted to the service and 

 618 



necessities of man, its value being in proportion. 

 It will readily be admitted, however, that the 

 interest which attaches to the ox does not 

 arise from its intelligence, but from its absolute 

 utility. The pleasure which the mind ex- 

 periences when we gaze on peaceful herds, 

 feeding in tranquil security, is of a complex 

 origin — the result of an association of ideas, 

 more or less remotely connected with the 

 presence of these creatures ; which, from time 

 immemorial, have formed the wealth of man, 

 and which have, therefore, engaged alike the 

 attention of the statesman, the poet, and the 

 philosopher. 



THE GAYAL. 



(Bos GaviBus). Gavaya, Sansc. ; Gavai, or 

 Gayal, Hind. ; Gobaygoru, Beng. ; Gaujangali, 

 Pers. ; Methana, Mountaineers (Cucis, &c.), 

 east of Silhet; Shial, Mountaineers (Cucis), 

 east of Chatgaon ; J'hongnua, Mugs ; Niinee, 

 Burmas ; Gauvera, Ceylon. 



India presents ns with several species of 

 wild oxen, independent of such as belong to 

 the buffalo tribe, some of which are domestica- 

 ted in certain districts, beyond which they are 

 not dispersed; and such is the Gayal. Ac- 

 cording to Mr. Macrae, the gayal is found 

 wild in the range of mountains which form 

 the eastern boundary of the provinces of Arra- 

 can, Chittagong (Chatgaon), Tipura, and 

 Silhet. The Cucis, or Lunetas, a people in- 

 habiting the hills immediately to the eastward 

 of Chatgaon, have herds of them in a domesti- 

 cated state. The animal is called Gabay in 

 the Hindu Sastra ; but, as it would appear, is 

 little known beyond the limits of its native 

 mountains, except to the inhabitants of the 

 provinces above mentioned. We learn from 

 the same author, that the gayal is of a dull 

 heavy appearance, but that its form, like that 

 of the wild buffalo, indicates great strength 

 and activity. Its disposition is gentle; and, 

 in a wild state, on its native hills, it is not 

 considered dangerous, never waiting the ap- 

 proach of man, much less standing and sus- 

 taining his attack. The Cucis hunt the wild 

 animals for the sake of their flesh. The gajal 

 is a tenant of the forest, and prefers the 

 tender shoots and leaves of shrubs to grass. 

 It never wallows in the mud like the buffalo. 

 In a state of domestication among the Ciicis, 

 it does not undergo any labour ; nor is the 



