THE GAUR. 517 



for the spoor, when he heard a crash close to him, and before he could move himself, he was 

 sent tlying in the air by the charge of the Buffalo. He fell into some branches and was thus 

 safe, for the Buffalo was not satisfied with this performance, but wished to finish the work 

 which he had so ably begun. After examining the safe position of his victim, he retreated. 



" The Kaffir, who had two or three ribs broken, reached his home with difficulty, and gave 

 up Buffalo-shooting from that day. 



"It appeared that this cunning animal had retraced its steps after retreating, and had 

 then backed into a bush, and waited for the Kaffir to pass. 



"A great sportsman at Natal, named Kirkman, told me that he was shooting Buffaloes 

 when he was across the Sugela river on one occasion, and having wounded a bull, he was giving 

 him his quietus, when the creature sent forth a sort of moan. Now the Buffalo always dies 

 game, and rarely makes any other noise when hard hit. This moan was probably a signal ; and 

 as such it was translated by the herd to which this animal belonged, as they suddenly stopped 

 in their retreat, and came to the rescue. Kirkman dropped his gun and took to some trees, 

 where he was in safety. Fortunate it was for him that timber happened to be near, as the 

 savage herd really meant mischief, and came round his tree in numbers. When they found 

 that he was safe from their rage, they retreated. 



" The vulnerable parts in a Buffalo are behind the shoulder, near the kidneys, or high up on 

 the back. His head is so protected by his horny helmet, that a bullet does not easily find a 

 vulnerable point in the forehead. I once met a Buffalo face to face, in the bush — we were 

 about three yards apart ; I fired at his forehead, aiming between the eyes. I know that my 

 bullet struck true ; the Buffalo fell, but soon jumped up again, and scampered off. This was 

 certainly a fair trial of lead versus horn, and horn had the best of it." 



Another species of Buffalo is the Anoa, an inhabitant of the island of Celebes. This 

 animal was formerly thought to belong rather more to the antelopes than to the oxen, but is 

 now satisfactorily ascertained to be a member of the genus Bubalus. It is a small, but very 

 fierce animal, and is with difficulty made prisoner. Some of these creatures, which were kept 

 in confinement, killed in one night fourteen stags which were placed in the same inclosure. 

 The horns of this animal are quite straight, and are set nearly in a line with the forehead. In 

 length they equal the head, are boldly flattened in front, and are covered throughout their 

 length with successive wrinklings. The Anoa is generally found among the more rocky local- 

 ities of its native island. 



The Banteng, or Javan Ox, possesses something of the homely aspect which belongs 

 to the common domestic cattle. It is, however, a very strong, fleet, and active animal, inhab- 

 iting the wooded valleys of its native land, and living in small herds under the watchful guar- 

 dianship of vigilant sentries. 



This animal is rather variable in color, according to its age and sex, the old bulls being of 

 a blackish-brown color, and the females a reddish-bay. Upon the hinder quarters is always a 

 bold patch of white, the inside of the ears and the lips are of the same hue, and the lower half 

 of the legs is white. It is a tolerably large animal, the height of an adult bull being about five 

 feet six inches at the shoulder. In spite of its constitutional shyness and its dread of man, it 

 is domesticated by the inhabitants of Borneo, and is enqjloyed for many useful purposes. 



Largest of all the existing members of the Ox tribe is the Gaur, or Goitr, an animal 

 which may be easily recognized by the extraordinary elevation of the spinal ridge and the 

 peculiarly white "stockings." The general color of the Gaur is a deep brown, verging here 

 and there upon black, the females being usually paler than their mates. The dimensions of 

 the Gaur are very considerable, a full-grown bull having been known to measure six feet ten 

 inches in height at the shoulders. The great height of the shoulder is partly owing to 

 the structure of the vertebrae, some of which give out projections of sixteen inches in 

 length. 



The Gaur associates in little herds of ten, twenty, or thirty in number, each herd generally 



