56 



MAMMALIA. 



[Chap. I. 



a box or basket with one side open is securely strapped 

 on its back. This at nightfall is lighted by flambeaux 

 of wax, and the buffalo bearing it, is driven slowly into 

 the jungle. The huntsmen, with their fowling pieces, 

 keep close under the darkened side, and as it moves 

 slowly onwards, the wild animals, startled by the sound, 

 and bewildered by the light, steal cautiously towards 

 it in stupified fascination. Even the snakes, I am as- 

 sured, will be attracted by this extraordinary object ; and 

 the leopard too falls a victim to curiosity. 



There is a peculiarity in the formation of the buffalo's 

 foot, which, though it must have attracted attention, 

 I have never seen mentioned by naturalists. It is 

 equivalent to the arrangement which distinguishes the 

 foot of the reindeer from that of the stag and the ante- 

 lope. In the latter, the hoofs, being constructed for 

 lightness and flight, are compact and vertical ; but, in 

 the reindeer, the joints of the tarsal bones admit of 

 lateral expansion, and the front hoofs curve upwards, 

 while the two secondary ones behind (which are but 

 slightly developed in the fallow deer and others of the 

 same family) are prolonged vertically till, in certain 

 positions, they are capable of being applied to the 

 ground, thus adding to the circumference and sustain- 

 ing power of the foot. It has been usually suggested 

 as the probable design of this structure, that it is to 

 enable the reindeer to shovel away the snow in order 

 to reach the lichens beneath it ; but I apprehend that 

 another use of it has been overlooked, that of facilitating 

 its movements in search of food by increasing the diffi- 

 culty of its sinking in the snow. 



A formation precisely analogous in the buffalo seems 

 to point to a corresponding design. The ox, whose life 



