208 THE OX. 



The EUROPEAN BISON, Bison Europceus, which once 

 abounded in the great forests of Europe, is a fierce and 

 powerful creature. He is the fiusuv of the Greeks, the Bison 

 of the Latins, the Wisent of the Older Germans, the Zubr 

 of the Poles, and the Zub of the Arabians. He for- 

 merly abounded in the Hercynian and Sarmatian forests, 

 and was regarded as the largest of the quadrupeds indige- 

 nous to Europe. But, like many animal species, the great 

 Bison of Europe seems doomed to perish under a condition 

 of countries that is no longer suited to him. He merely 

 lingers in a portion of the vast regions of forest which he 

 once inhabited. He is found in herds in the marshy forest 

 of Bialowieza in Poland, where he is protected by the Go- 

 vernment of Russia. He does not wander beyond the woods 

 where he yet lingers, because it is probable the sustenance 

 which suits him is not to be found in another habitat ; and 

 even in this retreat, he would probably cease to exist, were 

 it not for the care used in supplying him with food during 

 the snows of winter. 



Bisons are still found in considerable herds in the woods 

 of the Caucasus. According to the recent travels of Nord- 

 man, they exist in the greatest numbers from the Kuban to 

 the Psib. In some places they inhabit the mountains in 

 summer ; in others, they are met with in swampy places all 

 the year round. They are killed by the natives, and their 

 horns, formed into drinking cups, are used by the wild chief- 

 tains of the country. A large kind of Bison is likewise found 

 in British India ; but whether it is identical with the Bisons 

 of Western Asia and Europe, or a distinct species, has not 

 been determined. It is termed Gaur by the natives, and by 

 some naturalists Bos gaurus. It has been hitherto found in 

 the thick jungles in the western confines of the provinces of 

 Bengal and Bahar. It is often killed by British sportsmen, 

 but of the young none has yet been captured. The villagers 

 have a superstitious terror of these creatures, and cannot be 

 persuaded to go in search of the calves ; believing that, if 



