THE CHILLINGHAM OX. 533 



sunset. They began by lining the front of a small wood, which 

 seemed quite alive with them, when all of a sudden they made 

 a dash forward altogether in a line, and charging close by him 

 across the plain, they then spread out, and after a little time 

 began feeding. Of their tenacity of life, the following is an 

 instance. An old bull was to be killed, and one of the keepers 

 had proceeded to separate him from the rest of the herd feeding 

 in the outer park. This the bull resented, and having been 

 frustrated in several attempts to join them by the keeper's 

 interposing (the latter doing it incautiously), the bull made 

 a rush at him and got him down 5 he then tossed him three 

 several times, and afterwards knelt down upon him, and broke 

 several of his ribs. There being no other person present but 

 a boy, the only assistance that could be given him was, by 

 letting loose a deer-hound, who immediately attacked the bull, 

 and by biting his heels drew him off the man, and eventually 

 saved his life. The bull, however, never left the keeper, but 

 kept continually watching and returning to him, giving him a 

 toss from time to time. In this state of things, and while the 

 dog, with singular sagacity and courage, was holdjng the bull at 

 bay, a messenger came up to the castle, when all the gentlemen 

 came out with their rifles, and commenced a fire upon the bull, 

 principally by a steady good marksman, from behind a fence 

 at a distance of twenty-five yards 3 but it was not till six or 

 seven balls had actually entered the head of the animal (one 

 of them passing in at the eye), that he at last fell. During 

 the whole time he never flinched nor changed his ground, 

 merely shaking his head as he received the several shots. 



" These animals feed in the night, basking or sleeping during 

 the day. They hide their young. 



" With all the marks of high breeding, they have also some 

 of its defects. They are bad breeders, and are much subject to 

 the rush, a complaint common to animals bred in and in, which 

 is unquestionably the case with these as long as we have any 

 account of them." 



Naturalists and the public will thank his lordship for the 



