198 UNGULATES. 



body, till another animal assumed the post of leader, and was shot down when it 



was about to make a move; the same process being repeated almost without end 



Riding down, surrounding, impounding, or hunting in snow-shoes were, however 



other equally effective methods of destruction. 



In captivity the American bison breeds freely, not only with its 

 Domestication. . . . 



own kind, but also with other species of cattle. In the United States 



a herd has been established by crossing bull bison with domestic cows ; the cow 



bison not producing a hybrid offspring. This hybrid race is perfectly fertile, either 



with itself or when again crossed with domestic cattle ; and it is considered that a 



strain of bison-blood will lead to the cattle in the North-Western States being 



better enabled to withstand the blizzards of those districts. 



Subfossil remains of the American bison are found in various 

 Extinct Bison. 



parts of North America, while in Texas there occur those of the 



extinct broad-fronted bison (B. latifrons), distinguished by its superior size, and its 



stouter and less backwardly-inclined horns. 



The Cape Buffalo (Bos caffer). 



The Cape buffalo is our first representative of a group of oxen distinguished 

 by several well-marked characters. They are all heavily-built animals, with thick 

 and strong limbs, moderately long tails, tufted at the end, short necks, very broad) 

 muzzles, and large ears. The hair covering the body is always thin, and in old 

 age leaves the skin almost entirely naked. The horns, which are generally large* 

 and massive, are more or less distinctly flattened and angulated, at least at the 

 base, where their cross-section is triangular. They are placed on the skull a 

 considerable distance below the plane of the occiput; and their upper border is 

 concave, with the tips curved inwards, the curvature being generally at first 

 outwards and backwards, and then outwards and upwards. In the skull the 

 forehead is more or less markedly concave, and the premaxillary bones reach 

 upwards to join the nasals, as in the typical oxen. The number of ribs is thirteen 

 pairs. 



The Cape, or black African buffalo is the largest and fiercest member of the 

 group found in the continent, from which it takes its name. This species is 

 characterised by its blackish colour, and the great massiveness of the relatively 

 short horns, which are much flattened at the base, where they are expanded, so as 

 to form in old bulls a kind of helmet-like mass, covering the whole of the upper 

 part of the head, and with only a narrow line between them. From this expanded 

 base the curvature of the horns is at first outwards, downwards, and backwards, 

 and then forwards, upwards, and inwards ; their smooth extremities being nearly 

 cylindrical. The skull is characterised by its shortness, and also by the deep 

 concavity of the profile below the horns; the nasal bones being extremely short, 

 and the sockets of the eyes not particularly prominent. The head has a very large 

 and expanded muzzle, and a characteristic hollow below the inner angle of the eye. 

 The enormous flapping ears are thickly fringed on their lower border with hail ; 

 their upper border being sharply truncated before the descent to the pointed 

 extremity. With the exception of the ears and the tip of the tail, the hair is very 





