FAMILY BOVIDvE ; BUFFALO. MUSK-OX. 305 



make it especially useful as a beast of burden in such situations ; 

 for it will pass through morasses, rivers, and torrents, in which 



FIG. 156 INDIAN BUFFALO. 



horses, mules, or oxen would be useless ; dragging large heavily- 

 laden carts, with enormous wheels, whilst itself chest-deep in 

 mud. There are numerous races of Buffaloes in India and else- 

 where, some of them wild, and others domesticated, which 

 differ considerably from the common species ; but it is doubtful 

 whether several of these are anything else than varieties, analo- 

 gous to those widely-different ones which we meet with among 

 domestic Cattle. Of these we may notice the Arnee, remarkable 

 for the large size of its horns, which often measure from four to 

 six feet in length, and ten feet between the tips. The last 

 species of this family, claiming especial notice, is the Musk- Ox ; 

 which is an inhabitant of the coldest regions of North America, 

 and derives its name from possessing strongly the musky odour, 

 which is common to the whole group, and which is particularly 

 noticeable in the European Bison. This animal scarcely equals 

 in size the smallest of the Highland cattle ; but it 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. The form of its horns resembles that which is seen 

 in the Cape Buffalo. Though its limbs are short, it is a fleet 

 and active animal. 



