THE BRITISH OX. 
413 
gression, and, as he had no horns, he used to strike the cows 
with his large forehead, and thus punish them severely, if any of 
them crossed the boundary. In the mean time he set them a 
good example himself, never once entering upon the forbidden 
bounds, and placing himself before the cows in a threatening at¬ 
titude if they approached it. At length his honesty and vigi¬ 
lance became so obvious, that the boy was employed in weeding, 
and other business, without fear of their misbehaviour in his ab¬ 
sence .’ J —Instinct Displayed , Letter 34. 
Captain Cochrane, in his Travels in Colombia, vol. ii, p. 251, 
places them in another, and not uninteresting point of view : “ I 
was suddenly aroused by a most terrific noise, a mixture of loud 
roarings and deep moans, which had the most appalling effect at 
so late an hour. I immediately went out, attended by the In¬ 
dians, when I found, close to the rancha, a large herd of bullocks 
collected from the surrounding country; they had encompassed 
the spot where a bullock had been killed in the morning, and 
they appeared to be in the greatest state of grief and rage : 
they roared, they moaned, they tore the ground with their feet, 
and bellowed the most hideous chorus that can be imagined; and 
it was with the greatest difficulty they could be driven away by 
men and dogs. Since then I have observed the same scene by 
daylight, and seen large tears rolling down their cheeks. Is it 
instinct merely, or does something nearer to reason tell them, by 
the blood, that one of their companions has been butchered ? I 
certainly never again wish to view so painful a sight : — they 
actually appeared to be reproaching us.” 
If cattle exhibit some of the good qualities of superior animals, 
or even of man himself, they likewise have some of his failings. 
Vanity forms as distinguishing an attribute of the female of this 
species as of some others. The account of the Swiss cows is not 
a little amusing, although perhaps somewhat exaggerated :— 
“ In the Swiss canton of Appensell, pasturage being the chief 
employment of the inhabitants, the breeding of cattle, and the 
subsequent management of the dairy, are carried to the greatest 
perfection. The mountaineer lives with his cows in a perpetual 
exchange of reciprocal acts of kindness; the latter affording al¬ 
most every requisite he needs, and in return they are provided 
