292 On the Mat-homed Taurine Cattle of S. E. Asia. [No. 3, 



It is as follows : — On discovering a herd of wild Gayals in the jungles, 

 they prepare a numher of halls, of the size of a man's head, com- 

 posed of a particular kind of earth, salt, and cotton ; they then 

 drive their tame Gayals towards the wild ones, when the two soon 

 meet and assimilate into one herd, the males of the one attaching 

 themselves to the females of the other, and vice versa. The Kukis 

 now scatter their balls over such parts of the jungle as they think 

 the herd most likely to pass, and watch its motions. The Gayals, 

 on meeting these halls as they go along, are attracted by their 

 appearance and smell, and begin to lick them with their tongues ; 

 and relishing the taste of the salt, and the particular earth com- 

 posing them, they never quit the place until all the balls are 

 destroyed. The Kukis having observed the Gayals to have once 

 tasted their balls, prepare what they consider a sufficient supply of 

 them to answer the intended purpose, and as the Gayals lick them 

 up they throw down more ; and to prevent their being so readily 

 destroyed, they mix the cotton with the earth and salt. This 

 process generally goes on for three changes of the moon, or for a 

 month and a half; during which time the tame and wild Gayals 

 are always together, licking the decoy balls ; and the Kuki, after 

 the first day or two of their being so, makes his appearance at such 

 a distance as not to alarm the wild ones. By degrees he approaches 

 nearer and nearer, until at length the sight of him has become so 

 familiar that he can advance to stroke his tame Gayals on the back 

 and neck without frightening away the wild ones. He nest extends 

 his hand to them, and caresses them also, at the same time giving 

 them plenty of his decoy balls to lick ; and thus, in the short space 

 of time mentioned, he is able to drive them along with his tame ones 

 to his parrah or village, without the least exertion of force or 

 compulsion ; and so attached do the Gayals become to the parrah, 

 that when the Kukis migrate from one place to another they always 

 find it necessary to set fire to the huts they are about to abandon, 

 lest the Gayals should return to them from the new grounds, were 

 they left standing. Experience has taught the Kuki the necessity 

 of thus destroying his huts." 



In at least some of the hill-ranges bordering the Brahmaputra 

 valley on its left, where Gayals are extensively domesticated by the 



