THE BONASSUS. . 585 



northern forest about ten miles long by seven broad. No one, except 

 foresters and game-keepers, dwell within its limits. The trees are of 

 enormous age, great height and size ; the whole wood, indeed, looks 

 to-day as it looked thousands of years ago. Here this, the largest of 

 European mammals, lives undisturbed. In 1857, the number of Bisons 

 in Bialowicz was estimated at eighteen hundred and ninety, but in 

 1863 an official count was made which reduced these figures to eight 

 hundred and sixty-four. 



The Bison or Bonassus has, perhaps, diminished in size during the 

 lapse of centuries, but it is still a powerful beast. It stands six feet 

 high, is eleven feet long, and weighs from thirteen hundred to seventeen 

 hundred pounds. The head is large and well-formed, the forehead high 

 and broad, the muzzle broad, the ear short and rounded, the eye rather 

 small than large, the neck very powerful. The body is, in the fore-quar- 

 ters, strongly developed, but slopes to the rump : the tail is thick and 

 short ; the legs powerful but not short, the hoofs are rather long, and 

 the false hoofs small. The horns are placed on the sides of the head, 

 first curve outward, then backward, so that the points are over the roots. 

 A thick, rich covering of long, curly hairs and felt-like wool is spread 

 over the whole body, but lengthens on the back of the head into a mane 

 which falls over the brow, and hangs over the temples, while it forms 

 on the chin a long beard, which extends over the whole throat down to 

 the chest. The usual color is light brown, but the beard is dark brown, 

 and the tuft on the tail is black. The cows are noticeably smaller than 

 the bulls, with weaker horns, and less mane. 



In summer and autumn the Bisons live in the moister parts of the 

 forest of Bialowicz, but in winter choose drier and higher quarters. The 

 old males live solitary, the younger cattle forming herds of fifteen or 

 twenty in summer, and thirty or fifty in the winter. Each herd ranges in 

 its own limits, and returns to the same spot. The Bonassus feeds chiefly 

 in the mornings and evenings; grass, leaves, buds, and bark constitute its 

 nourishment ; they peel the trees as far as they can reach, and bend 

 down the younger ones in order to get at the crown. The movements 

 of the animal are lively enough. They walk quickly, their run is a heavy 

 but effective gallop, during which the head is lowered, and the tail 

 raised. They wade and swim easily. Their disposition varies with 

 their age. The younger ones are good-natured, the older ones irritable 

 and malicious. In general they leave men alone, but the slightest dis- 

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