CHAP, i CHILLINGHAM CATTLE. 8 



" Their colour is white, except that some of the bulls appear of 

 a cream colour ; the muzzle is black or brown ; the whole of the inside 

 of the ear, and about one-third of the outside, from the tip downwards, 

 is red or brown, and the horns white with black tips, very fine, and bent 

 upwards. 1 They have no manes, but some of the bulls have a little 

 coarse hair on the neck, about an inch and a half or two inches in length. 

 The weight of the oxen is from thirty-eight to forty-two stones of four- 

 teen pounds ; and that of the cows, from twenty-five to thirty-five 

 stones the four quarters.. The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent 

 flavour. 



" From the nature of their pasture, and the frequent agitation into 

 which they are thrown by the curiosity of strangers, it cannot be ex- 

 pected that they should accumulate much fat ; yet the six-years' old 

 oxen generally become exceedingly good beef. One of them was 

 caught, and became as tame as the domestic ox, and throve as well 

 as any short-horned steer could do. He weighed about sixty-five 

 stones. 



"At the first appearance of any person they set off at a trot, and 

 gradually increasing their speed, gallop to a considerable distance ; they 

 then wheel round, and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a 

 menacing way. On a sudden they make a full stop, at the distance of 

 forty or fifty }*ards, looking shyly at the object of their fear ; but on the 

 least motion being made, they again turn round, and set off with still 

 greater speed. Forming, however, a shorter circle, and returning with 

 a bolder and more threatening aspect, they approach considerably 

 nearer. This they practise several times, shortening their distance, 

 and advancing still nearer until they come within a few yards, when 

 most people think it prudent to leave them. They feed mostly in the 

 night, basking or sleeping during the day. In summer several suc- 

 cessive weeks will pass with scarcely a possibility of seeing them, for 

 at the appearance of anyone, even at the greatest distance, they retire 

 into the wood, or behind some rising ground, and so screen them- 

 selves from view. On the other hand, when in winter coming down 

 for food into the inner parts, they suffer almost anyone to come 

 among them. 



" The mode of destroying them is, perhaps, the only modern relic of 

 the grandeur of ancient hunting. On notice being given that a wild 

 bull will be killed on a certain day, the inhabitants of the neighbour- 

 hood come in great numbers, both horse and foot. The horsemen 

 drive the bull from the rest of the herd until he stands at bay, when a 

 marksman dismounts and shoots him. At some of these huntings 

 twenty or .thirty shots have been fired before he was subdued. On 

 such occasions the bleeding victim grew desperately furious from the 

 smarting of his wounds and the shouts of savage joy that were echoing 

 on every side. From the number of accidents that have occasionally 

 happened this dangerous hunt has been seldom practised of late years 



1 There was, however, a breed of the same cattle at Gisburne Park in Yorkshire, which 

 was hornless. See "The Wild White Cattle of Great Britain," by the Rev. John 

 Storer. 



B 2 



