THE WILD CATTLE OF TEXAS. 
161 
would soon learn to discriminate between the uneducated and the 
educated practitioners. At the same time, the interests of society 
demand that the latter should be protected by the laws, as well as 
the ordinary medical practitioner; and it is to be hoped that, 
eventually, such protection will be liberally afforded. 
The Wild Cattle of Texas. 
[From the Times.] 
The settlers who have recently opened farms near the sources 
of the San Gabriel and Brushy, find the country well stocked with 
a singular breed of wild cattle. Large droves of these cattle are 
found not only on the San Gabriel, Leona, and other tributaries of 
Little River, but also on the San Saba, the Llano, and many tri- 
butaries of the Upper Colorado, far above the settlements. They 
differ in form, colour, and habits from all the varieties of domestic 
cattle in Texas. They are invariably of a dark brown colour, with 
a slight tinge of dusky yellow on the tip of the nose and the belly. 
Their horns are remarkably large, and stand out straight from the 
head. Although these cattle are generally much larger than the 
domestic cattle, they are more fleet and nimble, and, when pur- 
sued, often outstrip horses that easily outrun the buffalo; they 
seldom venture far out into the prairies, but are generally found in 
or near the forests that skirt the streams in that section. 
Their meat is of an excellent flavour, and is preferred by the 
settlers to the meat of the domestic cattle. It is said that their fat 
is so hard and compact that it will not melt in the hottest days of 
summer, and the candles formed with it are far superior to those 
that are formed with the tallow of other cattle. Some persons 
have supposed that it is possible these cattle are a distinct race 
indigenous to America; and the immense skeletons of a species of 
fossil ox, with straight horns, that are often found in the beds of 
the Baazos and Colorado, would seem to strengthen this opinion. 
But as these cattle are now found only in the vicinity of the old 
missions, it is much more probable that they are the descendants 
of the cattle introduced by the early Spanish adventurers. It is 
said that a species of wild cattle, differing from all the domestic 
breeds of the Eastern continent, is found in the Sandwich Islands; 
but it is well ascertained that this breed is derived from the do- 
mestic cattle that were left on those islands by Vancouver. These 
cattle are so wild that they can only be caught alive by entrapping 
them in disguised pits. The celebrated botanist, Douglas, while 
VOL. XIX. Z 
