22^ B 
lias attacked, he tramples upon the body, crnfhes it with 
his knees, tears it to pieces, mangles it with his teeth and 
horns, and drips oft' the ikin by licking it with his tongue. 
He, however, leaves the carcafe, and returns upon it le- 
veral times, before mangling it fo entirely. Notwithftand- 
ing his ferocity, the buffalo is there regarded as an objedt 
of the chace : but the hunter who attacks him needs to 
be well mounted; for he often turns upon his purfuer and 
attacks him with impetuofity. It is not eafy to efcape, 
unlefs by riding up tome hill, which the bulk of the buf¬ 
falo, and the (hortnefs of his legs, render him unable to 
afcend with the fame fpecd as a good horfe. Thefe buf¬ 
faloes appear to be of a very hot conftitution : they delight to 
wallow in the mire; and, when heated in hunting, plunge 
eagerly into the firft dream or pool, or piece of water, of 
whatever kind, whether fait or frefli, which they happen 
to approach. Various attempts have been made to tame 
this Ipecies of the wild buffalo, but it does not appear that 
any of them have fticceeded. Thefe are alfo found in the 
interior parts of Guinea ; but are fo fierce and dangerous, 
that the negroes who are in chace of other animals, are 
fearful of fhooting at them. The lion, which can break 
the back of the ftrongeft domeftic oxen at one blow, can¬ 
not kill this fpecies, except by leaping on its back, and 
fuffocating it by fixing its talons about its nofe and mouth. 
The lion often perilhes in the attempt ; but leaves the 
marks of its fury on the nofe of the beaft. They live in 
great herds, even of thoufands, efpecially in the deferts 
of the Cape, and retire during day into the thickelf fo- 
refts. In the ifiand of Sumatra, in the Eaft Indies, the 
buffalo, called by the natives carbozu, is the principal do¬ 
meftic animal. The buffalo of that ifiand feems to poffefs 
forne peculiar charafteriftics, and muff therefore be regard¬ 
ed as a diffindt variety. It has a large heavy body, ftiort 
legs, and large hoofs; its horns turn backwards, but fome- 
times point forwards, and are always in the plane of the 
forehead. The tail is (lender, reaches only to the middle 
joint of the leg, and terminates in a bunch of hair. The 
organ of generation in the male appears as if the extremity 
were cut off. The female goes nine months with calf, 
and fuckles it fix. When crofting a river, (he carries her 
young on her back. The voice of the animal is a weak, 
(harp, cry, very unlike the lowing of oxen. Thefe buf¬ 
faloes, as well as thofe of other countries, delight to wal¬ 
low in the mud, and will fvvim over the broadeft rivers. 
During the inundations, they will dive ten or twelve feet 
deep, to force up with their horns the aquatic plants, and 
eat them fwimming. They difplay great dexterity in 
throwing the water with the horns over their back and 
tides, when there is not fufficient depth to cover them. 
The mud, mixed with the water, forms a cruft on their 
{kins, by which they are preferved from the (tinging of 
infeeds; which, on account of the thicknefs of their hair, 
muff prove very troublefome to them. Of thefe Sumatran 
buffaloes there are two varieties, the white and the black. 
Both are employed in labour ; but the white are feldom 
killed for food. Different reafons have been afligned for 
this exemption : fome of the natives fay, that the white 
are fullered to live uninjured, becaufe they are accounted 
lacred ; others, that the only realon is the inferior quality 
of their flefh. Wild buffaloes are alfo found in the fame 
ifiand. They are confidercd, not as an originally wild 
breed, but as ftray cattle, and are therefore diftinguiftied 
by the name of carbozu gellan. They are gregarious ; and 
it is remarkable, that in herds they are not fo ready to at¬ 
tack the paflenger as when met (ingly. Like the turkey, 
they dilcover an antipathy to red colours. They are as 
fwift in running as an ordinary horfe. When alarmed or 
attacked, they flee for a fliort difrance ; then face about, 
and form into a regular body ; and,_when the caufe of their 
apprehenlions advances nearer, again take to flight: thus 
they alternately retreat and face about till thjy gain fome 
-place of-fecurity. Among the inhabitants of the foreft, 
the tiger is their principal enemy ; but only the females 
and the weaker males fall a prey to his rapacity. 
o s. 
In the Celebes there is an animal of the fize of a mid- 
tiling (heep, which appears to be a variety of the buffalo. 
It is called anoa ; is a gregarious animal ; and is found in 
(mail herds on the mountains of thofe iflands which abound 
in caverns. It is exceedingly difficult to take any of thefe 
creatures; and even in confinement, they are fo remark¬ 
ably fierce as to rip up the bellies of (lags kept in the (ante 
paddock. 
6. The dwarf bull, a fpecies but very imperfedtly known. 
Its form has been deferibed; but with its character we are 
unacquainted. Nay, we fcareely know of what region of 
the earth it is a native. The few particulars of its hiftory 
that are related by natural hiftorians, were originally com¬ 
municated by the French traveller Belon, who faw an in¬ 
dividual of the fpecies at Cairo. Its horns recede in the 
middle; almoft meet at the points; and (land erect. It 
is, in fize, between the roe-buck and the (tag. Its limbs 
are well (liaped, and duly proportioned. Its hair is of a 
tawny brown colour, and glittering. Its legs are fliort ; 
its limbs thick ; and its (boulders a little elevated. The 
end of its tail is adorned with long hairs, twice as coarfe 
as the hairs of a herfe’s tail. Belon relates, that the ani¬ 
mal he faw was brought from Alamie or Azafi, a mari¬ 
time province of Morocco. Mr. Pennant fufpedts that it 
may be a variety of the lant of Leo Africanus. Belon 
thought this the bubalus of the ancients. M. Buffon con¬ 
founds it with the zebu .or (mall Indian ox. 
7. The bos arnee , has long eredted (emilunar horns, flat¬ 
tened and annularly wrinkled, with fmooth, round, ap¬ 
proaching, points. It inhabits India north from Bengal. 
This animal is of vaft (ize, and hitherto nondefeript. A 
pair of the horns are in the pofleffion of Sir Jofeph Banks ; 
and a (keleton of the head, with a pair of the horns, are 
alfo in the Edinburgh college mufeunt. The deferiptiou 
of the living animal, as given by a Britifli officer, who met 
with one in the country above Bengal, is, that it is about 
fourteen feet high, (moll probably eftiinating the diftance 
from the ground to the tip of the horns ;) that it partakes 
of the form of the horfe, bull, and deer ; and is very bold 
and daring. It is called by the native Indians arnee ; is of 
a black colour, fmooth, and without bunch or mane. Mr. 
Pennant mentions this animal in his View of llindooftan. 
BOS (John Baptift du), a celebrated member of tire 
French academy, born at Beauvais in 1670, and finiflied 
his (Indies at the Sorbonne. In 1695, he was made one 
of the committee for foreign affairs, and was afterwards 
charged with fome important traiifadtions in England, 
Germany, Holland, and Italy. At his return to Paris, 
he was handfomely preferred, made an abbe, and c ho fen 
perpetual fecretary of the French academy. He was the 
author of feveral excellent works; the principal of which 
are, 1. Critical Reflections upon Poetry and Painting, 
3 vols. i2mo. 2. The Hiftory of the Four Gordians, 
confirmed and illuftrated by Medals. 3. A Critical Hif¬ 
tory of the eftablifhinent of the French Monarchy among 
the Gauls, 2 vols. _j.to. 4 vols. 121110. He died at Paris on 
the 23d of March, 1742. 
BOS (Lewis Janffen), anefteemed painter, bornatBois- 
le-Duc. Having been carefully inftructed by the artifts of 
his native city, lie applied himfelf entirely to ftudy after 
nature, and rendered himfelf very eminent for the truth 
of his colouring, and the neatnefs of his touch. His fa¬ 
vourite fiibjedts were flowers, and curious plants, which 
he ufually reprefented as grouped, in glades, or vafes of 
cryftal, half filled with water ; and gave them fo lovely 
an appearance, that it feemed fcareely poffible to exprefs 
them witli greater truth or delicacy. It was frequent with 
this mafter to reprefent the drops of dew on the leaves of 
his objeCts, which he executed with uncommon refplen- 
dence ; and embelliftied his fubjedts witli butterflies, bees, 
wafps, and other infects, which Sandrat fays, were fupe- 
rior to any thing of that kind performe 1 by his cotempo- 
rary artifts. He painted portraits with v.’ry great fuccefs; 
and fliewed as much merit in that (tyle as he did in his com- 
pofitions of ffill life. He died in 1507. 
1 
Boa 
