188 TWO YEARS Ilf THE JUNGLE. 



beautiful mild blue eye. Even my men remarked upon the beauty 

 of his head and face. His measurements were as follows : 



Feet. Inches. 



Height to top of hump 5 10 



Height at shoulders 5 4^ 



Length of head and body , 11 5 



Length of tail 2 7 



Girth 7 lOi 



Extreme width of horns 2 9 



Circumference at base 1 5-} 



Distance between the tips 1 4 



Length on outer curve 2 6^ 



After all, this was not a bison of the very largest size, for the 

 largest bulls are said to measure 6 feet in vertical shoulder 

 height. Somehow, I can never kill an animal so large but that 

 some one else has killed a far larger one. The " Old Shikaree " 

 tells of killing a bison measuring 6 feet 4 inches at the shoulders, 

 and 6 feet 9 inches to the top of the hump ; but it is my opinion 

 the " Old Shikaree's " rule slipped back very frequently when he 

 was measuring game. 



The Indian bison {Bos gaurus) is the largest of all the Bovidoe 

 or hollow-horned ruminants, and is in every way a noble animal. 

 It is much larger than its American congener, the buffalo {Bos 

 Americanus), but, unlike the latter, it has no mane whatever. The 

 hair is short and thin, and upon the hind quarters of old bulls it is 

 so scanty that the skin is almost bare. Its body color is a dark 

 mahogany brown, deepening to black in old bulls ; the forehead and 

 legs below the knees are dirty white, while the inside of the fore- 

 arms, thighs, and ears, both skin and hair, are of a rich ochre yellow. 

 The iris is pale blue, the end of the nose and the lij^s dirty white. 

 The hump of the bison is nearly in the middle of the back, from 

 which the dorsal ridge drops abruptly four or five inches to the loins. 

 The legs are very neat and tapering, and the hoof is small, compact, 

 and deer-like, indicating that the bison is intended for a life upon 

 hard ground and among hills and rocks. The foot-print of the 

 large bull mentioned above, measured only 4 inches long by 3^ 

 wide, a remarkably small foot for so heavy an animal. 



Unless they have been thoroughly alarmed, bison are very un- 

 suspicious, and are easily stalked and shot. They usually go in 

 herds of from ten to thirty individuals, sometimes more, and, when 

 feeding, can be approached within easy gun-shot without much 



