THE YAK. 167 
and thickening of the skin. One of these shields, although ‘still pliable, is 
sufficiently strong to resist an arrow, and will often turn a bullet that does 
not strike it fairly. 
Vast quantities of Bisons are killed annually, whole herds being sometimes 
destroyed by the cunning of their human foes. The hunters, having dis- 
covered a herd of Bisons at no very great distance from one of the precipices 
which abound in the prairie lands, quietly surround the doomed animals, 
and drive them ever nearer and nearer to the precipice. When they have 
come within half a mile or so of the edge, they suddenly dash towards the 
Bisons, shouting, firing, waving hats in the air, and using every means to 
terrify the intended victims. The Bisons are timid creatures, and easily take 
alarm, so that on being startled by the unexpected sights and sounds, they 
dash off, panic-struck, in the only direction left open to them, and which 
leads directly to the precipice. When the leaders arrive at the edge they 
attempt to recoil, but they are so closely pressed upon by those behind them, 
that they are carried forward and forced into the gulf below. Many hundreds 
of Bisons are thus destroyed in the space of a few minutes. 
The Bison is remarkably fond of wallowing in the mud, and when he 
cannot find a mud-hole ready excavated, sets busily to work to make one for 
himself. Choosing some wet and marshy spot, he flings himself down on 
his side, and whirls round and round until he wears away the soil, and forms 
a circular and rather shallow pit, into which the water rapidly drains from 
the surrounding earth. He now redoubles his efforts, and in a very short 
time succeeds in covering himself with a thick coating of mud, which is 
probably of very great service in defending him from the stings of the gnats 
and other noxious insects which swarm in such localities. 
The Bison is a marvellously active animal, and displays powers of running 
and activity which would hardly be anticipated by one who had merely seen 
a stuffed specimen. The body is so loaded with hair that it appears to be of 
greater dimensions than is really the case, and seems out of all proportion to 
the slender legs that appear from under it and seem to bend beneath its 
weight. Yet the Bison is 
an enduring as well as a 
swift animal, and is also re- 
markably sure of foot, going 
at full speed over localities 
where a horse would be soon 
brought to a halt. 
THE YAK, or GRUNTING 
Ox, derives its name from 
its very peculiar voice, which 
sounds much like the grunt 
of a pig. It is a native of 
the mountains of Thibet, 
and according to Hodson, 
it inhabits all the loftiest 
plateaus of High Asia, be- 
tween the Altai and the 
Himalayas. 
The heavy fringes of hair YAK.—(Poephagus grunniens.) 
that decorate the sides of 
the Yak do not make their appearance until the animal has attained three 
month’ of age, the calves being covered with rough curling hair, not unlike 
that of a black Newfoundland dog. The beautiful white bushy tail of the 
Yak is in great request for various ornamental purposes, and forms quite an 
