MUSK OX.] 



CATTLF, AND Tin- Hi VATIIETIES. [DniTisii am no cattle. 



their edges are in contact with each other. 

 From this mass thoy enuTgo, rouiul aiul tapi>r- 

 ing, first biMiding down bctwooii the eye and 

 ear, and then sweeping suddenly upwards. 

 Tlie ears and tail are sliort ; the eyes mode- 

 rate ; the nostrils oblong, and inclined to each 

 other from above downwards. There is no 

 true naked muzzle ; but a very narrow nude 

 line surrounds each nostril, the rest being 

 coveri'il wilh hair. There is no furrow in the 

 upper lip. 



The musk ox is a native of the high lati- 

 tudes of North America, ranging from the 

 sixty-first to the seveuty-fitlh degree of lati- 

 tude. In size it scarcely equals the smallest 

 of the Highland breed of cattle; but appears 

 larger than it really is, from the profusion of 

 long, matted, woolly hair with which it is 

 covered, and which hangs on each side almost 

 to the ground, nearly concealing the limbs to 

 the pasterns. The tail is entirely hidden. 

 Beneath the lower jaw, throat, and chest, the 

 hair flows full, long, and raane-like. The gene- 

 ral colour is dull, grizzled umber brown, darker 

 on the sides and under surface. On the centre 

 of the back is a brownish-white mark or saddle. 

 The districts inhabited by the musk ox, says 

 Dr. Eichardson, are the proper lands of the 

 Esquimaux; and their name for it is Oomiug- 

 mak. It frequents wild and rocky situations, 

 mostly destitute of wood : feeding on grass 

 during one season of the year, and on licliens 

 during the other. AVhen fat, its flesh is 

 tolerable ; but, at certain times, both that of 

 the bulls and cows smell strongly of musk. 

 Though the limbs of the musk ox are short, 

 they are very vigorous, and the animal is fleet 

 and active. Dr. Eichardson mentions one pur- 

 sued on the banks of the Coppermine, which 

 scaled a lofty sand-clifF, so steep, that the 

 party were obliged to descend to their hands 

 and knees, in order to crawl up the acclivity. 



In September, these animals assemble in 

 herds, and are then much harassed by the 

 hunters. The sport, however, is not free from 

 danger, for the bulls are very irascible, and, 

 when wounded, will dart furiously upon tiie 

 hunter, who requires both practice and pre- 

 sence of mind in order to esca[)e. If, how- 

 ever, the hunters remain concealed when 

 they fire upon a herd of musk oxen, the pour 

 animals mistake the noise for thunder, and 



I forming themselves into a Rroup, crowd nearer 



and nearer together as tlu-ir companions full 

 around them ; but should they di!*cover their 

 j enemies by sight, or by their senso of smell, 

 which is very acute, the whole lu-rd ni'ek for 

 safety by instant flit;ht. Their wool in very 

 fine ; and some stockings which were mado 

 ^ from it in France, are said to have been equal 

 [ to those mado from silk. If it could be ob- 

 tained in sufllcient quantity, it might donhtlesj 

 be employed advantageously aa an aniclu for 

 manufacture. 



BRITISH WILD CATTLE 



The wild cattle of this country are kept in 

 their native purity in the park of Lord Tanker- 

 ville, at Chillingham, in Northumberland. A 

 few are also kept in Scotland, in a park of 

 the Duke of Hamilton's, at Chatelherault, ia 

 Lanarkshire ; but the latter have a less certain 

 pedigree. The former nobleman, in a commu- 

 nication to the Society of Arts, gives a very 

 interesting account of their characteristics and 

 habits, and assigns them the palm of being the 

 aboriginal cattle of the island. That the 

 original breed in this country, or at least sorao 

 early breed of cattle, have been very largo in 

 size, is evident from the fossil bones found ia 

 bogs ; yet a smaller kind has been discovered 

 in Cornwall, with a species of horn more re- 

 sembling the cattle of the Duke of Hamilton. 

 Fitzstepheu, who flourished in the twelfth cen- 

 tury, alludes to the wild bull of the woods aa 

 having its haunts in the large forests near 

 London. Guy, Earl of "\Yarwick, whose con- 

 test with the Wild Dun Cow is commemorated 

 by the animal's skull being still preserved ia 

 Warwick Castle, doubtless had an encounter 

 with a monstrous animal of the wild breed. 

 lloUiushed also speaks of Bruce being, in tho 

 fourteenth century, nearly killed by a bull ia 

 the forest of Caledon ; and from his attendant 

 having rescued him, the well-known name 

 of " Tunibull " originated. So recently as tho 

 sixteenth century, it seems, these wild cattle 

 were common in the Callender or Calder 

 woods. Conrad Gesner describes them, ia 

 the quaint legend-language of tlie day, as 

 "white oxen, maned abi)ut the neck like a 

 lion. * * * * This beast is so hateful and 

 feartul of m:inkiud, tliat it will not feed of that 

 grasse, or those hearbes whereof he suvoureth 



G27 



