476 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS 



intellects are capable of development. On the other 

 hand, wild specimens by their actions clearly prove 

 that they discriminate between innocuous and harm- 

 ful things. They are not intractable to domestica- 

 tion, readily entering into friendly relations with 

 individuals who treat them kindly; at least they 

 learn to recognize their keeper and to love him to a 

 certain degree. It is true, however, that it takes a 

 long time to overcome their innate shyness and alter 

 their preconceived opinions. 



During the summer the coarse lookmg, but nutri- 

 tious grass of the prairies furnishes the grazing 

 Bisons with ample provision, but in winter they 

 must content themselves with scanty fare. 



The Bison's Life The perils by which a Bison's life is 

 Encompassed witfi surrounded are many and serious. 

 Many Perils. Winter, which is usually severe in 

 the prairie, destroys hundreds of its tribe after first 

 starving and weakening them. Their end is still 

 more sudden in winter when they trust the ice cov- 

 ering the rivers more than they are, by its thickness, 

 warranted to do. Their habit of galloping in col- 

 umn abreast with thousands, one behind another, 

 frequently proves fatal to them in such a case. The 

 ice breaks beneath the enormous weight of the 

 Bisons: the animals in front of the long column fall 

 into the water; they vainly endeavor to get out, 

 being pushed forward and trampled under by the 

 hundreds which crowd after them and thus they 

 miserably perish. Many Bisons are destroyed in a 

 similar way when crossing rivers in summer, intend- 

 ing to land at a spot where quicksand or mud render 

 the ascent of the bank difificult. 

 i/wng fnem/es 0/ The American Bison has as little 



the American lack of living enemies as have others 

 Bison. of its tribe. It is said that the Griz- 



zly Bear enters into combat even with a strong bull, 

 and that the Wolf becomes dangerous at times to 

 the younger Buffaloes. The direst foe, however, is 

 Man, especially the white Man, the devastations of 

 whose hunting rifle assumed serious proportions as 

 early as the third or fourth decade of this century. 

 "In former times," says Moellhausen, writing some- 

 time during the fifties, "when the Buffalo could, in a 

 certain sense, be considered a domestic animal of 

 the Indians, no diminution of the innumerable herds 

 could be noticed; on the contrary, they throve and 

 multiplied on the rich pastures. Then the white 

 people came into that part of the country. The 

 large skins with their rich covering of hair pleased 

 them, the savory Buffalo flesh was to their taste, and 

 both promised them rich gain. The lust for the 

 glittering baubles or the stupefying and intoxicating 

 liquors of the white Man was first kindled in the 

 breast of the red-skinned natives of the prairies, and 

 then a very small price was offered them for the 

 produce of their chase, and the devastation com- 

 menced. Thousands of Buffaloes were slain for the 

 sake of securing their tongues, and more frequently 

 still for their shaggy skins, and in a few years a sur- 

 prising diminution was perceived. The improvident 

 Indian thinks not of the future; he lives only in the 

 present, and its pleasures. He needs no further en- 

 couragement; he will hunt the Buffalo until the last 

 one shall have left its skin in his hands. Surely, the 

 time is not far off, when the enormous herds will 

 live only in the memories of the people, and three 

 hundred thousand Indians will be deprived of their 

 sustenance, and urged by hunger they will, together 

 with millions of Wolves, become the pests of the 

 adjoining civilization." 



Value of the The dried flesh is said to be palata- 

 Carcass of the ble and nourishing; especially that 

 Buffalo. preparation of it which is dried in 

 the sun, minced or pounded and mixed with fat, and 

 known under the name of " pemmican." When used 

 for expeditions on which much nourishment must be 

 compacted in small space it is generally also mixed 

 with raisins and pressed into cakes. The tongue of 

 the Bison is esteemed a great delicacy. The flesh 

 of the cows is richer than that of the bulls and that 

 of the calves is exceedingly tender. Out of the 

 skin the Indians used to make warm articles. of 

 clothing, tents and beds, saddles, belts, etc., and 

 occasionally would cover the frames of their canoes 

 with it. The bones furnished^emwith saddle-trees 

 and scalping knives, with ^bfch they then would 

 deprive their enemies of their scalps. The sinews 

 were made into strings for their bows and thread for 

 sewing; and out of the feet and hoofs they manu- 

 factured a durable glue, boiling the gelatine out of 

 them. The strong hair of the head and neck were 

 twisted into ropes; the tails were made into fly- 

 brushes. The white Man also prizes the Buffalo 

 hides. The leather is excellent, though somewhat 

 porous and coarse in grain, the skin with the hair 

 may be used for all kinds of coverings, and skins 

 without blemish, which commanded a price of from 

 seven to twelve dollars thirty years ago, are now 

 three or four times as high, and soon will entirely 

 disappear from the market. The wool, of which a 

 single fleece may furnish as much as eight pounds, 

 can be usfed as well as Sheep wool and was in some 

 localities utilized for the manufacture of warm and 

 very durable materials. 



The Buffalo Capa- American Bisons have been seen in 

 ble of Trans- European zoological gardens for the 

 plantation. last few decades only. I received a 

 communication from London to the effect that an 

 English lord had introduced several couples from 

 America and bred a herd numbering from fifteen to 

 twenty on his estates in Scotland. After his death, 

 however, they were sold. They propagate normally 

 and easily if given adequate care. The calves born 

 in confinement are most vigorously defended by their 

 mothers against any kind of interference, and grow 

 up as readily as do the offspring of our domestic 

 Cattle. Nevertheless, the American Bisons in the 

 European zoological gardens are also becoming ex- 

 tinct. 



The Oxen proper (£os), to which species our do- 

 mestic Oxen belong, form a group by themselves^ 

 characterized by a long and broad flat forehead, large 

 horns, not very much expanded at their bases, and 

 set on the head in a line with the frontal ridge, and a 

 comparatively thick, short covering of fur; they are 

 also anatomically characterized by thirteen or four- 

 teen rib-bearing vertebrae, six not supporting ribs 

 and four sacral articulations. We will first cast a 

 cursory glance at several Asiatic species living in the 

 wild state. 

 Peculiarities and The Gayal {Bos frontalis), attains a 

 Habits of the total length of twelve feet, about 

 Gayal. thirty-two inches of which are in- 



cluded in the tail; the height at the shoulder is from 

 five feet to five feet four inches. The proportions 

 of its body show the most pleasing symmetry, every 

 part being strong and full, without appearing clumsy; 

 the bull thus produces the impression of the highest 

 vigor and perfect, harmonious beauty and nobility. 

 The horns are very large in diameter, of a conical 

 shape and show a slight curve outward and back- 



