THE HORNED ANIMALS— OX TRIBE. 



475 



tamed animals, the flesh of which, as we believe, is 

 sufficient to provide the wigwams of the Indians into 

 all eternity." 



Freiherr Max von Thielmann, who hunted in the 

 far west in 1875, recorded even at that date a differ- 

 ent experience. He expressed it in the following 

 ■words: "The bjame for greater part of the extermi- 

 nation of the Buffalo may be laid at the door of the 

 three railroads, which traverse the prairie from the 

 Missouri to the Rocky Mountains. In the begin- 

 ning of this decade (the seventies) successful hunts 

 ■could be arranged between the Union Pacific and the 

 Kansas Pacific roads, and the Atchison, Topeka and 

 Santa Fe road Sent 200,000 skins east during the first 

 year of its existence; but now the Buffalo has per- 



their offspring, until the latter are strong enough to 

 ]om the herd. From this time on the bulls assume 

 the protectorship of the calves, though the latter 

 are wont to follow their mothers faithfully, until 

 they are supplanted by their younger brothers or 

 sisters. 



Physical Features The Bison moves with considerable 

 . "?"' ^Al''"o*®''' agility in spite of its clumsy appear- 

 ist,csoftheB,son. ^rice; notwithstanding the shortness 

 of Its legs It covers considerable distances in a brief 

 time. Its movements are curiously abrupt, and 

 when hurried, the animals describe queer wa:vy lines 

 of motion, produced by uplifting the bulk of the 

 body alternately in front and behind. The Bison 

 swims with the same vigor and endurance which 





THE GAYAL A noble handsome species of Oxen found both wild and domesticated in the mountainous regions of Assam and all the country 



irom eastern Bengal east to B.rmah. The fig-re, *ell sho^n .n the p.ct„re, s-ggests strength, and besides the mass.vc body the biuad furcueaa ana inicK 

 horns are espedaUy noteworthy features of the animal. (.Bos frontalis.) 



manently disappeared from the territory inclosed by 

 these roads, and also from the strips of land skirting 

 the two outermost lines to the north and south, 

 Tvhich are broad enough to require a journey of 

 several days to cross them. A few herds only still 

 cross the tracks on their migrations northward in the 

 spring and southward in the fall of the year." 



During the months of August and September, the 

 herds become excited; they draw more closely to- 

 gether and form a swarming mass. The bulls drive 

 the cows onward, meet and engage in fights, until 

 they in their turn are crowded away by others. The 

 calves, one and not infrequently two, at a birth, make 

 their appearance from March to July, and sometimes 

 as late as August. Wherever it is possible, the cows 

 retreat to a sheltered place, and stay there with 



characterize its movements in general; and it enters 

 the water and crosses wide streams without the 

 slightest hesitancy. The voice is a dull growl, par- 

 taking more of the nature of a deep guttural roar 

 than of the lowing sound made by others of the Ox 

 family. When thousands simultaneously lift their 

 voices, the deep booming sound which results has 

 been likened to distant peals of thunder. 



Among the Bison's perceptive senses those of 

 smell and hearing rank first. In its mental qualities 

 it does not differ from its other relatives. It is little 

 gifted, good-natured and timid, incapable of rapid 

 excitement, but when it is irritated it is apt to forget 

 all considerations which generally influence it, and 

 it will then oppose an enemy with courage. Cap- 

 tive Bisons show, more than wild ones, that their 



