BOS. 



The general or prevailing colour of the 

 buffalo is blackish, except the hair on the 

 top of the forehead, and that at the tip of 

 the tail, which is of a yellowish white; 

 the skin itself is also of a black colour; 

 and from this general cast it is but very 

 seldom observed to vary. As the buffalo 

 in his domesticated state is, in general, 

 larger and stronger than the ox, he is em- 

 ployed with advantage in different kinds 

 of labour. Buffaloes are made to draw 

 heavy loads, and are commonly directed 

 and restrained by means of a ring passed 

 through the nose. Two buffaloes yoked, 

 or rather chained, to a cart, are able to 

 draw as much as four strong horses. As 

 they carry their neck and head low, the 

 whole weight of their body is employed 

 in drawing ; and their mass much surpass- 

 es that of a labouring horse. In its ha- 

 bits the buffalo is much less cleanly than 

 the ox, delighting to wallow in the mud ; 

 and, next to the hog, may be considered 

 as the dirtiest of domesticated quadru- 

 peds. His voice is deeper, more uncouth, 

 and hideous, than that of the bull. The 

 milk of the female buffalo is said, by some 

 authors, to be not so good as that of the 

 cow ; but it is more plentiful, and is used 

 for the purposes of the dairy in the warm- 

 er regions. 



Italy is the country where buffaloes 

 are at present most common, in a domes- 

 ticated state ; being used, as in India, 

 both for the dairy and for draught. The 

 district of the Pontine marshes is the spot 

 which may be considered as their princi- 

 pal station. In India this animal is occa- 

 sionally used for the saddle, as a substi- 

 tute for the horse. 



The buffalo, like other animals of this 

 ffenus, admits of varieties as to size and 

 figure. Of these the most remarkable is 

 the small naked Indian buffalo of Mr. Pen- 

 nant, which is the size of a runt, with a 

 nearly naked body, thinly beset with brist- 

 ly hair ; the rump and thighs quite bare : 

 the first being marked on each side with 

 dusky stripes pointing downwards, the last 

 with two transverse stripes ; the horns 

 compressed sideways, taper, and sharp at 

 the point. It is a native of India. Another 

 variety, still smaller, is said to occur in the 

 mountains of the Celebes, which are full of 

 caverns. This variety is of the size of a mid- 

 dling sheep, and is seen in smallherds, ve- 

 ry wild, and difficult to be taken; and even 

 in confinement are so fierce, that Mr. 

 Pennant records an instance of fourteen 

 stags being destroyed in the space of a 

 single night by one of these animals, which 

 was kf pt in the same paddock. Fie. 4. 

 VOL. II. 



Bos moschatus, or musk oa% having- very 

 longpc-ndt in nair, and horns (in UK- uiafe 

 approximated at the base) bending in- 

 wards and downwards, and outwards at 

 the tips. It is a native of North America, 

 where it appears to be a very local ani- 

 mal, being found first in the tract between 

 Churchill river and that of the Seals, on 

 the west side of Hudson's Bay, and is very 

 numerous between the latitudes of 66 

 and 73 north, which is as far as any tribes 

 of Indians go. This animal is but of small 

 size, being rather lower than the deer, 

 but larger or thicker in body. The hair 

 in the male is of a dusky red colour, ex- 

 tremely fine, and so long as to trail on the 

 ground, and render the animal a seem- 

 ingly shapeless mass, without distinction 

 of head or tail ; the legs are very shorty 

 the shoulders rise into a lump, and the 

 tail is short, being a kind of stump, of a 

 few inches only, with very long hairs. 

 Beneath the hair, on all parts of the ani- 

 mal, is a fine cinereous wool, which is 

 said to be more beautiful than silk when 

 manufactured into stockings and other 

 articles. The horns are closely united at 

 the base, bending inwards and down- 

 wards; but turning outwards towards the 

 tips, which are very sharp ; near the 

 base the horns are two feet in girth, but 

 are only two feet long, when measured 

 along the curvature ; the weight of a 

 pair, separated from the head, is some- 

 times sixty pounds, 



Bos erunniens, or yah, (having, with 

 cyliifdric horns curving outwards, very 

 long pendent hair, and extremely villose, 

 horse-like tail,; is about the size of an 

 English bull, which he resembles in the 

 general figure of the body, head, and 

 legs; it is covered all over with a thick 

 coat of long hair; the head is rather 

 short, crowned with two smooth round 

 horns, which, tapering from the root up- 

 wards, terminate in sharp points ; they 

 are arched inwards, bending towards 

 each other, but near the extremities are 

 a little turned back. 



They are a very valuable property to 

 the tribes of itinerant Tartars, called 

 Duckba, who live in tents, and tend them 

 from place to place : they at the same 

 time afford their herdsmen an easy mode 

 of conveyance, a good covering, and 

 wholesome subsistence. They are never 

 employed in agriculture, but are extrt me- 

 ly useful as beasts of burthen ; for they 

 are strong, sure-footed, and carry a great 

 weight. Tents and ropes are manufac- 

 tured of their hair; and among the hum- 

 bler ranks of herdsmen, caps and jackets 

 H h 



