Oxen.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



163 



a the latter district, indeed, the people continue 

 in a great measure their ancient nomadic habits, 

 makins; use of the services of the ox as a beast of 

 draught or burden : united in immense caravans, 

 they roam over an immense extent of territory, 

 transporting; in tall vehicles of singular construction 

 various articles of produce, provisions, and other 

 thiiig:s to the towns scattered at wide distances 

 about the vast plains of Moldavia. Day by day 

 they move cheerfully on, to the slow and measured 

 sound of the footsteps of their oxen, and are often 

 an entire month without seeing a single human 

 habitation. At the approach of evening the cara- 

 van halts, the numerous waggons are disposed in 

 the form of a square, and the oxen are turned out 

 to graze at large, underthe watchful care of intrepid 

 dogs who accompany the caravan. In the middle 

 of the square a fire is now lighted, at which the 

 conductor prepares his simple repast, and after- 

 wards disposes himself for sleep, sheltered by a 

 warm and heavy coverlid that completely enwraps 

 him. These indefatigable walkers are no less ex- 

 cellent riders: they possess a fine race of horses, 

 which are employed for drawing lighter vehicles, 

 while the heavier waggons are drawn by the slow 

 oxen. There are no high-roads in .Moldavia; the 

 plain is open, and each traveller chooses his own 

 track, and it is often with difficulty that the oxen 

 can drag their way through heavy ground : storms 

 of wind, rain, or snow make the matter worse, so 

 that a passage can only be achieved by great 

 patience, labour, and resolution. The sketch (Fig. 

 709) represents a bullock-caravan of Moldavia 

 wending its weary way over the vast plains of Mol- 

 davia, while lighter vehicles drawn by swift horses 

 are seen in the distance. It is by these caravans 

 that the trade and commerce of Moldavia are carried 

 on, and the town supplied with grain. 



In Switzerland there is an excellent breed of 

 cattle, and in no country are these animals more care- 

 tiilly attended to, or held in greater esteem for their 

 utility, as far as the dairy is concerned. Travellers 

 have frequently noticed their docility and intelli- 

 gence, which they have at the same time not a little 

 exaggerated. It is customary to hang bells round 

 the necks of the cattle, sheep, and goats, in order 

 that if they stray among the hills and mountains 

 the herdsmen may be directed by the sound in his 

 pursuit of them, the slightest tinkle being beard at 

 a great distance in those lofty and still regions. 

 The cows selected to bear the bell become accus- 

 tomed to it from habit, and often, we doul)t not. be- 

 tray signs of uneasiness when deprived of it, but the 

 account given by some writers respecting their 

 feelings borders on the ludicrous. " The cow, 

 whose superior beauty, sagacity, or good conduct 

 seems to calculate her for the leader of the herd, 

 is always on gala days distinguished by the largest 

 and finest toned bell, and the bravest ornamental 

 collar, and so down through all the gradations of 

 good, to the small appendage that marks the indif- 

 ferently good or clever animal, and the total absence 

 of ornament and distinction which points out the 

 self-willed or vicious. If any cow iias been guilty 

 of straying, of unseemly behaviour, breach of dis- 

 cipline, or any vicious trick, the displeasure of the 

 vacher is not testified by tjlows, but by the tem- 

 porary deprivation other bell, and this seldom fails 

 to reduce her to order and prevent a repetition of 

 the offence. It is only necessary to see the cow on 

 a gala day, with her badge of distinction strapped 

 round hei; neck, and then to see her deprived of it 

 for some rea.son or other, to be convinced that this 

 is true. She is now gay, good-humored, and fro- 

 licsome ; then sulky and gloomy." (Latrobe's 'Al- 

 penstock.') 



The pastoral economy of Switzerland, which is 

 common to Savoy and other alpine countries, and the 

 annual progress of the .shepherds and cowherds with 

 their flocks and cattle to and from the mountains, 

 are interesting. The richer proprietors and breeders 

 in the Alps possess tracks of pasturages, and some- 

 times houses, at different heishts. In winter they 

 live at the foot of the mountain in some sheltered 

 valley, but this they quit in the spring, and ascend 

 gradually, as the heat brings out vegetation, on the 

 higher lands. In autumn they descend by the 

 same gradations to the valley. Those who are less 

 rich have a resource in certain common pastures, to I 

 which they send a number of cows proportionate 

 to their means of keeping them during the winter, j 

 Eight days after the cows have been diivcn up to 

 these common pastures, all their owners assemble, 

 and the quantity of milk each cow produces is accu- 

 rately weighed. This operation of weighing is 

 repeated one day in the middle of summer, and 

 again at the end of the season. The milk of all 

 the cows has, in the meanwhile, been put together 

 and made into butter and cheese, and this common 

 product is divided into shares according to the 

 quantity of milk each owner's cows yielded on the 

 days of trial. 



in some parts of Switzerland, and more particu- 



larly in the retired parts of the Forest cantons, the 

 peasants make use of the Alp-horn for the purpose 

 of collecting their herds. This primitive instru- 

 ment is a tube of wood about five feet in length, of 

 very simple construction ; it produces a deep, mel- 

 low, and prolonged note, resounding to a great dis- 

 tance, floating over the upland pastures, and echoing 

 from crag to crag and from rock to rock. On hear- 

 ing the well-known summons, which is regularly 

 given at sunset, the cattle bestir themselves, and 

 wend their way to the chalet, where the peasants are 

 waiting their arrival. The deep note of the Alp- 

 horn hea.rd among the mountains, and multiplied by 

 echoes till the last tone dies away, produces a pleas- 

 ing impression on the traveller, which he long 

 leniembei-s. 



Fig. 710 represents a scene on the banks of the 

 Vial river, South Africa, illustrative of the uses of 

 the ox in that country, where its services as a beast 

 of draught and burden are of the greatest import- 

 ance. Waggons drawn by oxen, often cruelly 

 overtasked, are the ordinary travelling vehicles of 

 South Africa, and are admirably adapted for the 

 country, which is rugged and mountainous, and 

 generally destitute of any other roads than the rude 

 tracks originally struck across the wilderness by 

 the first European adventurers. Each waggon is 

 provided with a canvas tilt, to protect the traveller 

 from sun and rain, and is drawn by a team of six, 

 eight, or even twelve oxen, fastened with wooden 

 frames to a strong central trace, or trek-tow, formed 

 of twisted thongs of bullock"s hide. The driver, who 

 sits in front, has a whip of enormous length, which 

 he often uses with unsparing severity. 



Formerly, indeed, if the account given by Barrow 

 is to be credited, the treatment exercised by the 

 Dutch-African boors to their oxen was brutal in 

 the extreme. The Dutch boors, moreover, made 

 use of very large and clumsy waggons, and de- 

 lighted in transporting tremendous loads at a time. 

 It was a common sight to see six, eiglit, ten, or 

 even a dozen pair of oxen yoked to an enormous 

 vehicle. But even this number was inadequate to 

 such burdens as they bad to draw, and the resist- 

 ance of such roads. The most disgraceful cruelties 

 were used to force these poor creatures on their 

 way. Their drivers cut them with knives, and 

 when, worn out, they laid themselves down, and 

 refused to rise, it was a common practice to light 

 fires under their sides, and so force them to go. 

 One of these brutal boors, whose knife had been 

 often employed on the flesh of his cattle, boasted 

 that he could start his team at full gallop by merely 

 whetting that knife on the side of his waggon. 

 Once as he was exhibiting this experiment, the 

 waggon was overturned, and one of the company, 

 " unfortunately not the proprietor," says Mr. Bai- 

 row, " had his leg broken." 



When the Dutch took possession of the Cape of 

 Good Hope, they found 1 he Hottentots a pastoral 

 people, possessed of flocks and herds ; the oxen 

 were of large size, with the horns long and sweep- 

 ing forwards and upwards, and they were not only 

 trained for riding, but even as guardians of the 

 flocks and cattle, and as instruments of destruction 

 in battle. The Hottentots, says Kolben, who visited 

 them while they yet retained their name and inde- 

 pendence as a nation, "have oxen which they use 

 with success in battle ; they call them Bake-leys : 

 every army is provided with a large troop of these 

 war-oxen, which permit themselves to be governed 

 without trouble, and which their leader lets loose 

 at the appointed moment. The instant they are 

 set free they throw themselves with impetuosity on 

 the opposing army; they strike with their horns, 

 they kick with their heels, they overthrow, they rip 

 up, and trample beneath their feet, with frightful 

 ferocity, all that opposes them ; they plunge with 

 fury into the midst of the ranks, and thus prepare 

 for their masters an easy victory. The manner in 

 which these oxen are trained and disciplined cer- 

 tainly does great honour to the talent of these 

 people." 



Le Vaillant, who was in South Africa in 1781, 

 saw some of these oxen, which were then, as he 

 states, only used by certain tribes of Hottentots; 

 but he gives the same account of their mode of 

 fighting as Kolben, who also describes the Bake- 

 leys as guardians of their flocks. " When out in the 

 pasture-grounds, at the least sign of their conduc- 

 tors, they will hasten to bring back the cattle which 

 are straying at a distance, and keep them herded 

 together ; they rush on strangers with fury, whence 

 they are of great service against the Boschmen, or 

 robbers, who may attempt to plunder the flocks. 

 Each kraal has at least half a dozen of these bake- 

 leys, which are chosen from among the most spirited 

 oxen ; on the death of one, or when one in con- 

 sequence of old age becomes unserviceable, in 

 which case its owner kills it, another ox is selected 

 from the herd to succeed it. The choice is referred 

 to one of the old men of the kraal, who is thought 

 to be most capable of discerning that which will 



most easily receive instruction. They associate 

 this noviciate ox with one of long experience, and 

 they teach him to follow his companion, either by 

 beating or some other method. During the 

 night they are tied together by the horns; and 

 they are also thus kept tied during the greater part 

 of the day, until the learner has become a good 

 guardian of the flock. These guardians know all 

 the inhabitants of the kraal, men, women, and 

 children, and testify the same respect towards them 

 that a dog displays towards all those that live in 

 the house of liis master. There is, therefore, no 

 inhabitant of the kraal who may not with safety 

 approach the flocks; the bake-leys never do them 

 the least injury ; but if a stranger, and particularly 

 a European, should offer to take the same liberty 

 without being accompanied by some Hottentot, he 

 would he in great danger from these guardians of 

 the flock, which usually feed rouncl it, and which 

 would come upon him full gallop. Then, unless he 

 be within hearing of the shepherds, or have fire- 

 arms or good legs, or unless a tree be near in which 

 to climb, he is sure to be killed; it would be useless 

 for him to have recourse to sticks or stones; a 

 bake-ley has no fear for such feeble weapons." 



Sparrman, who visited South Africa in 1775, was 

 one of the last travellers who found the Hottentots 

 in their original stale of pastoral freedom ; he men- 

 tions a woman who was possessed of sixty milch- 

 cows, and that, on the cattle of the kraal being 

 brought home from pasture, the evening was en- 

 livened by singing and dancing. 



The CafTres, Oorannas, and other tribes have oxen 

 in abundance, which are employed as beasts of bur- 

 den. The Corannas are a nomade race, frequently re- 

 moving with their flocks and herds to fresh pasture- 

 land ; and transporting their mats, tents, and 

 utensils strapped on the back of oxen, which also 

 carry ihemselves and their wives and children: 



*' Fast by his wilil resournling river 

 The listless Coran lingers pver ; 

 Still drives his lieifers I'orth to teed. 

 Sooth'ii by tlie gorrah's humming reed ; 

 A rifver still uncheck'd will range. 

 As humour calls or seasons chani,'e, 

 Ilia tent of mals and leathern gear 

 All packed upon the patient steer." 



Prinqle. 



Burchell thus describes the saddle-oxen of South 

 Africa: — "These oxen are generally broken for 

 riding when not more than a year old. The first 

 ceremony is that of piercing the nose to receive the 

 bridle ; lor which purpose they are thrown on their 

 back, and a slit is made through the septum, or cai- 

 tilage between the nostrils, large enough to admit 

 a finger. In this hole is thrust a strong stick 

 stripped of its bark, and having at one end a forked 

 branch to prevent its passing through. To each 

 end of it is fastened a thong of hide, of a length 

 sufficient to reach round tlie neck, and form the 

 reins ; and a sheep-skin, with the wool on, placed 

 across the back, together with another folded 

 up, and bound on with a rein long enough to pass 

 several times round the body, constitutes the sati- 

 dle. To this is sometimes added a pair of stirrups, 

 consisting only of a thong, with a loop at each end, 

 slung across the saddle. Frequently the loops arc 

 distended by a piece of wood, to form an easier rest 

 for the foot. While the animal's nose is still sore, 

 it is mounted and put in training, and in a week or 

 two is generally rendered sufficiently obedient to its 

 rider. The facility and adroitness with which the 

 Hottentots manage the ox have often excited my 

 admiration. It is made to walk, trot, or gallop at 

 the will of ils master, and, beint' longer legged and 

 rather more lightly made than the ox in England, 

 travels with greater ease and expedition, walking 

 three or four miles in an hour, trotting five, and 

 galloping on an emergency seven or eight." 



In other parts of Central Africa the ox is em- 

 ployed in like manner. Major Denham thus gives 

 an account of its use in the central countries wliicli 

 he visited ; — "The beasts of burden," he observes, 

 " are the bullock and the ass. A very fine breed 

 of the latter are found in the Mandara valleys. 

 Strangers and chiefs in the service of the sheikh, or 

 sultan, alone possess camels. The bullock is the 

 bearer of all the grain and other articles to and 

 from the markets. A small saddle of plaited rushes 

 is laid on him, when sacks made of goat-skins, and 

 filled with corn, are lashed on his broad and able 

 back. A leathern thong is passed through 1 he carti- 

 lage of his nose, and serves as a bridle ; while on 

 the top of the load is mounted the owner, his wife, 

 or his slave. Sometimes the daughter or wife of a 

 rich Shouaa will be mgunted on her particular bul- 

 lock, and precede the loaded animals, extravagantly 

 adorned with amber, silver rings, coral, and all 

 sorts of finery; her hair streaming with fat; a 

 black rim of kohal, at least an inch wide, round 

 each of her eyes ; and, I may say, arrayed for con- 

 quest at the crowded market. Carpet or robes are 

 then spread on her clumsy palfrey ; she itiu jambe 

 de <;a, janibe de Ki, and with considerable grace 

 guides her animal by the nose. Notwitlistanding 



