526 THE AFRICAN BUFFALO. 



knees are usually the longest, and form a sort of whorls ; those 

 on the under lip and about the corners of the mouth form a 

 scanty beard j the head is ponderous j its powerful horns are 

 black, in close contact at their rugged base where they form 

 a solid mass, from which they bend downwards and rather 

 outwards, gradually diminishing to the points which suddenly 

 curve upwards, and their tips are frequently five feet apart ; 

 the eyes are situated very near to the base of the horns, 

 are somewhat sunk in their prominent orbits, and have a 

 fiery appearance ; the ears are a foot long, pendant, generally 

 torn and jagged. Sparrman notices this fact, observing that 

 " their being notched and shrivelled up in divers ways, 

 probably proceeds from the wounds these creatures frequently 

 receive in their battles with each other, from the rents they 

 get in the briars and almost impenetrable thickets through 

 which they pass, and from similar casualties." Burchell also 

 remarked the torn state of the ears, and gives the same expla- 

 nation, adding, that the Hottentots assured him that buffaloes 

 with entire ears are rarely seen. The old bulls are very bare 

 of hairs, especially on the middle of their sides, whence they 

 appear at some distance as if girt with a belt. 



Its fierce and treacherous aspect, greatly heightened by its 

 usual habit of cocking its head on one side, seems to be in 



