484: 
VERTEBEATA. 
THE AUKOCUS. 
young specimens were presented to the Zoological Society of London by the Emperor of Russia. 
The history of their capture, as told in a letter from M. Dimitri to Sir E. Murchison, is interest- 
ing, and is substantially as follows : 
"On the 20th July, 1846, at daybreak, three hundred and eighty huntsmen, armed with guns 
simply charged with powder, placed themselves on the track of a herd of bisons which had been 
discovered during the night. Having penetrated deep into the valley with the utmost precau- 
tion, they suddenly came upon them. The creatures were reposing upon the side of a hill, rumi- 
nating in security, while the young ones were frolicking around their dams, attacking one 
another, and tearing up the earth with their hoofs, making the sand fly in whirls around them. 
One moment they would go to the side of their mother, rub their heads caressingly upon her and 
lick her sides ; at another, they turned round to rejoin their comrades and share their frolics. 
"But at the first sound of the horn the scene changed in the twinkling of an eye; the whole 
troop, as if struck by a magic wand, jumped to their feet, and seemed to concentrate all their 
faculties to see and to hear what was going to take place. The calves pressed timidly against 
their mothers, and when the baying of the hounds was heard, the old bisons ranged themselves in 
the order they are accustomed to take on such occasions. Placing the calves in front, they 
brought up the rear to save them from the pursuit of the dogs. On their arrival at the station 
held by a portion of the huntsmen, they were received by piercing cries and the discharge of their 
guns. Upon this they changed their order of defense ; tlie old bulls threw themselves furiously 
upon the sides of the besieging party, broke their line of attack, and, victorious at this point, con- 
tinued their furious course without stopping to chastise their enemies, who were concealed behind 
the largest trees. The huntsmen had, however, succeeded in separating two calves from the herd. 
One of them, three months old, was taken immediately ; the other, a year older, made great re- 
sistance. Although seized and held by eight men, he threw them over, and succeeded in escap- 
ing. They then set on the dogs. He was soon driven into a swamp, dragged out, tied by the 
legs, and carried to the keeper's lodge. 
"Four other calves, one male and three females, were taken in other parts of the forest. One 
of these females, which was only two or three days old, was at first suckled by a domestic cow, 
which, contrary to the idea of some writers, took immediate care of the young foundling, and 
showed a great affection and tenderness for her forest child. Unhappily, the young creature died 
six days after, suffocated by some throat complaint, which it had when it was taken. 
