2 
THE OX. 
THE WILD OR WHITE FOREST BREED. 
and Lochquabir, as Ptolome writtis in his first table. In this wod wes sum time quhit bullis, with crisp and curland mane, like 
feirs lionis, and thoucht thay semit meek and tame in the remanent figure of thair bodyis, they wer mair wild than ony uthir 
beistis, and had sichatrent aganis the societe andcumpany of men, that they come nevirin the wodis, nor lesuris quhair thay 
fand ony feit or haind thairof, and moy day is eftir, thay eit nocht of the herbis that wer twichit or handillitt be men. Thir bullis 
wer sa wild, that thay wer nevir tane but slight and crafty laubour, and sa impacient that, eftir thair taking, thay deit for im¬ 
portable doloure. Als sone as ony man invadit thir bullis, thay ruschit with so terrible preis on him, that thay dang him to the 
eird, takand na feir of houndis, scharp lancis, nor uthir maist penitrive wapinnis. “ And thoucht thir bullis wer bred in sindry 
boundis of the Calidon Wod, now, be continewal hunting and lust of insolent men, thay ar distroyit in all partis of Scotland, 
and naneof thaim left bot allanerlie in Cumarnald.” * 
In this their last retreat, they were subjected to persecution:—In a remarkable document written in 1570-71, the wiitei, 
describing the aggressions of the King’s party, complains of the destruction of the Deer in the forest of Cumbernauld, and the 
quhit ky and bullis of the said forrest, to the gry t destructions of polecie, and hinder of the common weill. For that kynd of ky 
and bullis hes bein keipit thir money zeiris in the said forrest, and the like was not mantenit in ony vther partis of the lie of 
Albion.” f 
Thus were the Uri of the Scottish forests driven from the woods which they inhabited, destroyed or made captive. Part, 
indeed, had been preserved in some of the Parks attached to the Religious houses, their flesh being more esteemed than that of 
“ their awin tame bestial.” But with the destruction of the Ancient Establishments, the oxen were dispersed, destroyed, or 
mingled with the common races. In a few places only they seem to have been preserved without intermixture, chiefly in the 
Parks of the Dukes of Queen's beery at Drumlanrig, and of the Dukes of Hamilton, called the Chace of Cadzow. Those at 
Drumlanrig were, many years ago, destroyed by an order of the late Duke of Queensberry : those at the noble park of Hamiltor 
are yet in existence, preserved with care. They have lost the thick mane ascribed to them by the early writers, and the females 
have generally become destitute of horns, but all their other characters showthem indubitably to be thedescendants of theancient 
race. They are of the size of the cattle of the West Highlands : they are of a dun white colour; the muzzle, the inside of the 
ears, the tongue, and the hoofs, are black. They are very wild, and cautious of being approached : when suddenly come upon, 
they scamper off, turn round as if to smell and examine the intruder, and generally gallop in circles, as if meditating an attack. 
They are not, however, vicious, though some of the bulls have manifested the savage and dogged temper of their race. Some 
persons have been pursued to trees. One poor bird-catcher, we are informed by Mr. Patrick, when exercising his trade in the 
forest, was attacked by a savage bull; he had time to save himself by climbing up a tree : he had there an opportunity of ob¬ 
serving the habits of his assailant. The furious creature seemed to quiver with rage, and frequently attacked the tree with his 
head and hoofs. Finding his efforts vain, he left off the attempt, and began to browse at some distance. The prisoner then tried 
to descend, that he might make his escape ; but the watchful brute was at his post in an instant, and the poor man was not re¬ 
lieved until after many hours, on assistance arriving. Another individual was attacked on a summer evening : he was fortunate 
in reaching a tree, but was watched by the implacable brute throughout the whole night, and until late on the following day. 
Those examples are remarkable, showing in the Wild Ox that savage, pertinacious, and implacable temper, which we know some 
others of the Bovine family display in their state of nature. The females conceal their calves amongst thickets or long grass, 
returning to them cautiously twice or thrice in the day to suckle them. The little creatures exhibit the instincts of their race : 
when suddenly approached, they manifest extreme trepidation, throwing their ears close back upon their necks, and squatting 
upon the ground. The only method of killing the older animals is by shooting. When the keepers approach for that purpose, 
the poor creatures seem to be aware of their danger ; they gallop away with speed in a dense mass, preserving, we are informed, 
a profound silence, and keeping close by the coverts and fences : the cows, in the meantime, that have calves, forsake the herd, and 
repair to the places where their young are concealed, in order to defend them. 
The remains of the same remarkable race are to be found in several parks in England, differing only from those described in 
so far as differences ofsituation may be supposed to have affected their characters. Of these, the most remarkable are those kept 
in the ancient park of Chillingham, the property of the Earl of Tanker ville. These appear to have remained the nearest in 
their characters to the original race. The herd at present amounts to about eighty in number, consisting of twenty-five bulls, 
forty cows, and fifteen steers. The eye-lashes and tips of the horns are black, the muzzle is brown, the inside and a portion of 
the external part of the ears are reddish-brown, and all the rest of the animal is white. The bulls have merely the rudiments of 
* History and Chronicles of Scotland, by HECTOR Boece, translated by JOHN BallendeN. 
t Illustrations of Scottish History, preserved from Manuscripts, by Sir John Graham I>alyell. 
