HISTORY. 215 



the Wolf. To protect him from the cold, he is enveloped 

 from head to foot in a dense fur, consisting partly of hair and 

 partly of wool. The long hair almost trails to the ground, 

 and underneath is a thick coat of delicate wool, of which fabrics 

 like the finest silk may be formed. He has short muscular 

 limbs and hoofs, like those of the Rein-deer, and he is endowed 

 with great activity, scaling the icy rocks of the country when 

 pursued. He feeds partly on grasses and partly on lichens, 

 and he is usually seen browsing in small herds or bands. 

 His skin emits the strong odour of musk. Though suited, 

 perhaps, to perform the same services as the Rein-deer, he 

 has never been subjected to servitude. He is hunted by the 

 rude Indians for his skin and flesh, which last is hard, lean, 

 and tainted with the flavour of musk. The Esquimaux, Avhose 

 country he inhabits along with the Rein-Deer, cover their 

 heads and faces with his long hair, to defend them from the 

 bites of musquitoes. They eat his flesh, and devour the con- 

 tents of his paunch, which is filled with the lichens and other 

 plants on which he feeds.* 



A like form of the Bison seems to have extended westward 

 into Asia, by Behring's Staits, along the shores of the Icy 

 Ocean. But the osseous remains of this animal alone exist, 

 and naturalists have not determined whether he was identi- 

 cal with the species of America, or distinct from it. His 

 habitat shews that he was, like it, formed to brave the rigour 

 of the coldest climates of the globe. 



Proceeding southward into Central Asia, another species 

 of the Bisontine family appears, with habits which adapt him 

 to the services of man. This creature is the Yak of the Tar- 

 tar nations, the Bos gruniens of modern naturalists, so named 

 on account of the sound of his voice, which, like that of other 

 Bisons, resembles the grunting of the Hog. This animal is 

 found, both in the wild and the domesticated state, extending 

 from the mountains of Thibet, through the vast countries of 



* Richardson, Faun. Bor. Araer. 



