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continue the text below | The magnificent dark brown frontlet and beard of the buffalo, the shaggy
coat of hair upon the neck, hump, and shoulders, terminating at the
knees in a thick mass of luxuriant black locks, to say nothing of the
dense coat of finer fur on the body and hindquarters, give to our
species not only an apparent height equal to that of the gaur, but a
grandeur and nobility of presence which are beyond all comparison
amongst ruminants.
| The slightly larger bulk of the gaur is of little significance in a
comparison of the two species; for if size alone is to turn the scale,
we must admit that a 500-pound lioness, with no mane whatever, is a more
majestic looking animal than a 450-pound lion, with a mane which has
earned him his title of king of beasts.
|
continue the text below | The slightly larger bulk of the gaur is of little significance in a
comparison of the two species; for if size alone is to turn the scale,
we must admit that a 500-pound lioness, with no mane whatever, is a more
majestic looking animal than a 450-pound lion, with a mane which has
earned him his title of king of beasts.
| 2. _Change of form in captivity._--By a combination of unfortunate
circumstances, the American bison is destined to go down to posterity
shorn of the honor which is his due, and appreciated at only half his
worth. |
continue the text below | 2. _Change of form in captivity._--By a combination of unfortunate
circumstances, the American bison is destined to go down to posterity
shorn of the honor which is his due, and appreciated at only half his
worth. | The hunters who slew him were from the very beginning so absorbed
in the scramble for spoils that they had no time to measure or weigh
him, nor even to notice the majesty of his personal appearance on his
native heath.
|
continue the text below | The hunters who slew him were from the very beginning so absorbed
in the scramble for spoils that they had no time to measure or weigh
him, nor even to notice the majesty of his personal appearance on his
native heath.
| In captivity he fails to develop as finely as in his wild state, and
with the loss of his liberty he becomes a tame-looking animal. |
continue the text below | In captivity he fails to develop as finely as in his wild state, and
with the loss of his liberty he becomes a tame-looking animal. | He gets
fat and short-bodied, and the lack of vigorous and constant exercise
prevents the development of bone and muscle which made the prairie
animal what he was.
|
continue the text below | He gets
fat and short-bodied, and the lack of vigorous and constant exercise
prevents the development of bone and muscle which made the prairie
animal what he was.
| From observations made upon buffaloes that have been reared in
captivity, I am firmly convinced that confinement and
semi-domestication are destined to effect striking changes in the form
of _Bison americanus_. |
continue the text below | From observations made upon buffaloes that have been reared in
captivity, I am firmly convinced that confinement and
semi-domestication are destined to effect striking changes in the form
of _Bison americanus_. | While this is to be expected to a certain extent
with most large species, the changes promise to be most conspicuous in
the buffalo. |
continue the text below | While this is to be expected to a certain extent
with most large species, the changes promise to be most conspicuous in
the buffalo. | The most striking change is in the body between the hips
and the shoulders. |
continue the text below | The most striking change is in the body between the hips
and the shoulders. | As before remarked, it becomes astonishingly short
and rotund, and through liberal feeding and total lack of exercise the
muscles of the shoulders and hindquarters, especially the latter, are
but feebly developed.
|
continue the text below | As before remarked, it becomes astonishingly short
and rotund, and through liberal feeding and total lack of exercise the
muscles of the shoulders and hindquarters, especially the latter, are
but feebly developed.
| The most striking example of the change of form in the captive buffalo
is the cow in the Central Park Menagerie, New York. |
continue the text below | The most striking example of the change of form in the captive buffalo
is the cow in the Central Park Menagerie, New York. | Although this animal
is fully adult, and has given birth to three fine calves, she is small,
astonishingly short-bodied, and in comparison with the magnificently
developed cows taken in 1886 by the writer in Montana, she seems almost
like an animal of another species.
|
continue the text below | Although this animal
is fully adult, and has given birth to three fine calves, she is small,
astonishingly short-bodied, and in comparison with the magnificently
developed cows taken in 1886 by the writer in Montana, she seems almost
like an animal of another species.
| Both the live buffaloes in the National Museum collection of living
animals are developing the same shortness of body and lack of muscle,
and when they attain their full growth will but poorly resemble the
splendid proportions of the wild specimens in the Museum mounted group,
each of which has been mounted from a most careful and elaborate series
of post-mortem measurements. |
continue the text below | Both the live buffaloes in the National Museum collection of living
animals are developing the same shortness of body and lack of muscle,
and when they attain their full growth will but poorly resemble the
splendid proportions of the wild specimens in the Museum mounted group,
each of which has been mounted from a most careful and elaborate series
of post-mortem measurements. | It may fairly be considered, however, that
the specimens taken by the Smithsonian expedition were in every way more
perfect representatives of the species than have been usually taken in
times past, for the simple reason that on account of the muscle they had
developed in the numerous chases they had survived, and the total
absence of the fat which once formed such a prominent feature of the
animal, they were of finer form, more active habit, and keener
intelligence than buffaloes possessed when they were so numerous. |
continue the text below | It may fairly be considered, however, that
the specimens taken by the Smithsonian expedition were in every way more
perfect representatives of the species than have been usually taken in
times past, for the simple reason that on account of the muscle they had
developed in the numerous chases they had survived, and the total
absence of the fat which once formed such a prominent feature of the
animal, they were of finer form, more active habit, and keener
intelligence than buffaloes possessed when they were so numerous. | Out of
the millions which once composed the great northern herd, those
represented the survival of the fittest, and their existence at that
time was chiefly due to the keenness of their senses and their splendid
muscular powers in speed and endurance.
|
continue the text below | Out of
the millions which once composed the great northern herd, those
represented the survival of the fittest, and their existence at that
time was chiefly due to the keenness of their senses and their splendid
muscular powers in speed and endurance.
| Under such conditions it is only natural that animals of the highest
class should be developed. |
continue the text below | Under such conditions it is only natural that animals of the highest
class should be developed. | On the other hand, captivity reverses all
these conditions, while yielding an equally abundant food supply.
|
continue the text below | On the other hand, captivity reverses all
these conditions, while yielding an equally abundant food supply.
| In no feature is the change from natural conditions to captivity more
easily noticeable than in the eye. |
continue the text below | In no feature is the change from natural conditions to captivity more
easily noticeable than in the eye. | In the wild buffalo the eye is always
deeply set, well protected by the edge of the bony orbit, and perfect in
form and expression. |
continue the text below | In the wild buffalo the eye is always
deeply set, well protected by the edge of the bony orbit, and perfect in
form and expression. | The lids are firmly drawn around the ball, the
opening is so small that the white portion of the eyeball is entirely
covered, and the whole form and appearance of the organ is as shapely
and as pleasing in expression as the eye of a deer.
|
continue the text below | The lids are firmly drawn around the ball, the
opening is so small that the white portion of the eyeball is entirely
covered, and the whole form and appearance of the organ is as shapely
and as pleasing in expression as the eye of a deer.
| In the captive the various muscles which support and control the eyeball
seem to relax and thicken, and the ball protrudes far beyond its normal
plane, showing a circle of white all around the iris, and bulging out in
a most unnatural way. |
continue the text below | In the captive the various muscles which support and control the eyeball
seem to relax and thicken, and the ball protrudes far beyond its normal
plane, showing a circle of white all around the iris, and bulging out in
a most unnatural way. | I do not mean to assert that this is common in
captive buffaloes generally, but I have observed it to be disagreeably
conspicuous in many.
|
continue the text below | I do not mean to assert that this is common in
captive buffaloes generally, but I have observed it to be disagreeably
conspicuous in many.
| Another change which takes place in the form of the captive buffalo is
an arching of the back in the middle, which has a tendency to make the
hump look lower at the shoulders and visibly alters the outline of the
back. |
continue the text below | Another change which takes place in the form of the captive buffalo is
an arching of the back in the middle, which has a tendency to make the
hump look lower at the shoulders and visibly alters the outline of the
back. | This tendency to "hump up" the back is very noticeable in domestic
cattle and horses during rainy weather. |
continue the text below | This tendency to "hump up" the back is very noticeable in domestic
cattle and horses during rainy weather. | While a buffalo on his native
heath would seldom assume such an attitude of dejection and misery, in
captivity, especially if it be anything like close confinement, it is
often to be observed, and I fear will eventually become a permanent
habit. |
continue the text below | While a buffalo on his native
heath would seldom assume such an attitude of dejection and misery, in
captivity, especially if it be anything like close confinement, it is
often to be observed, and I fear will eventually become a permanent
habit. | Indeed, I think it may be confidently predicted that the time
will come when naturalists who have never seen a wild buffalo will
compare the specimens composing the National Museum group with the
living representatives to be seen in captivity and assert that the
former are exaggerations in both form and size.
|
continue the text below | Indeed, I think it may be confidently predicted that the time
will come when naturalists who have never seen a wild buffalo will
compare the specimens composing the National Museum group with the
living representatives to be seen in captivity and assert that the
former are exaggerations in both form and size.
| 3. _ |
continue the text below | 3. _ | Mounted Specimens in Museums._--Of the "stuffed" specimens to be
found in museums, all that I have ever seen outside of the National
Museum and even those within that institution up to 1886, were "stuffed"
in reality as well as in name. |
continue the text below | Mounted Specimens in Museums._--Of the "stuffed" specimens to be
found in museums, all that I have ever seen outside of the National
Museum and even those within that institution up to 1886, were "stuffed"
in reality as well as in name. | The skins that have been rammed full of
straw or excelsior have lost from 8 to 12 inches in height at the
shoulders, and the high and sharp hump of the male has become a huge,
thick, rounded mass like the hump of a dromedary, and totally unlike the
hump of a bison. |
continue the text below | The skins that have been rammed full of
straw or excelsior have lost from 8 to 12 inches in height at the
shoulders, and the high and sharp hump of the male has become a huge,
thick, rounded mass like the hump of a dromedary, and totally unlike the
hump of a bison. | It is impossible for any taxidermist to stuff a
buffalo-skin with loose materials and produce a specimen which fitly
represents the species. |
continue the text below | It is impossible for any taxidermist to stuff a
buffalo-skin with loose materials and produce a specimen which fitly
represents the species. | The proper height and form of the animal can be
secured and retained only by the construction of a manikin, or statue,
to carry the skin. |
continue the text below | The proper height and form of the animal can be
secured and retained only by the construction of a manikin, or statue,
to carry the skin. | In view of this fact, which surely must be apparent
to even the most casual observer, it is to be earnestly hoped that here
no one in authority will ever consent to mount or have mounted a
valuable skin of a bison in any other way than over a properly
constructed manikin.
|
continue the text below | In view of this fact, which surely must be apparent
to even the most casual observer, it is to be earnestly hoped that here
no one in authority will ever consent to mount or have mounted a
valuable skin of a bison in any other way than over a properly
constructed manikin.
| 4. _ |
continue the text below | 4. _ | The Calf._--The breeding season of the buffalo is from the 1st of
July to the 1st of October. |
continue the text below | The Calf._--The breeding season of the buffalo is from the 1st of
July to the 1st of October. | The young cow does not breed until she is
three years old, and although two calves are sometimes produced at a
birth, one is the usual number. |
continue the text below | The young cow does not breed until she is
three years old, and although two calves are sometimes produced at a
birth, one is the usual number. | The calves are born in April, May, and
June, and sometimes, though rarely, as late as the middle of August. |
continue the text below | The calves are born in April, May, and
June, and sometimes, though rarely, as late as the middle of August. | The
calf follows its mother until it is a year old, or even older. |
continue the text below | The
calf follows its mother until it is a year old, or even older. | In May,
1886, the Smithsonian expedition captured a calf alive, which had been
abandoned by its mother because it could not keep up with her. |
continue the text below | In May,
1886, the Smithsonian expedition captured a calf alive, which had been
abandoned by its mother because it could not keep up with her. | The
little creature was apparently between two and three weeks old, and was
therefore born about May 1. |
continue the text below | The
little creature was apparently between two and three weeks old, and was
therefore born about May 1. | Unlike the young of nearly all other
_Bovidæ_, the buffalo calf during the first months of its existence is
clad with hair of a totally different color from that which covers him
during the remainder of his life. |
continue the text below | Unlike the young of nearly all other
_Bovidæ_, the buffalo calf during the first months of its existence is
clad with hair of a totally different color from that which covers him
during the remainder of his life. | His pelage is a luxuriant growth of
rather long, wavy hair, of a uniform brownish-yellow or "sandy" color
(cinnamon, or yellow ocher, with a shade of Indian yellow) all over the
head, body, and tail, in striking contrast with the darker colors of the
older animals. |
continue the text below | His pelage is a luxuriant growth of
rather long, wavy hair, of a uniform brownish-yellow or "sandy" color
(cinnamon, or yellow ocher, with a shade of Indian yellow) all over the
head, body, and tail, in striking contrast with the darker colors of the
older animals. | On the lower half of the leg it is lighter, shorter, and
straight. |
continue the text below | On the lower half of the leg it is lighter, shorter, and
straight. | On the shoulders and hump the hair is longer than on the
other portions, being 11/2 inches in length, more wavy, and already
arranges itself in the tufts, or small bunches, so characteristic in the
adult animal.
|
continue the text below | On the shoulders and hump the hair is longer than on the
other portions, being 11/2 inches in length, more wavy, and already
arranges itself in the tufts, or small bunches, so characteristic in the
adult animal.
| On the extremity of the muzzle, including the chin, the hair is very
short, straight, and as light in color as the lower portions of the leg.
|
continue the text below | On the extremity of the muzzle, including the chin, the hair is very
short, straight, and as light in color as the lower portions of the leg.
| Starting on the top of the nose, an inch behind the nostrils, and
forming a division between the light yellowish muzzle and the more
reddish hair on the remainder of the head, there is an irregular band of
dark, straight hair, which extends down past the corner of the mouth to
a point just back of the chin, where it unites. |
continue the text below | Starting on the top of the nose, an inch behind the nostrils, and
forming a division between the light yellowish muzzle and the more
reddish hair on the remainder of the head, there is an irregular band of
dark, straight hair, which extends down past the corner of the mouth to
a point just back of the chin, where it unites. | From the chin backward
the dark band increases in breadth and intensity, and continues back
half way to the angle of the jaw. |
continue the text below | From the chin backward
the dark band increases in breadth and intensity, and continues back
half way to the angle of the jaw. | At that point begins a sort of under
mane of wavy, dark-brown hair, nearly 3 inches long, and extends back
along the median line of the throat to a point between the fore legs,
where it abruptly terminates. |
continue the text below | At that point begins a sort of under
mane of wavy, dark-brown hair, nearly 3 inches long, and extends back
along the median line of the throat to a point between the fore legs,
where it abruptly terminates. | From the back of the head another streak
of dark hair extends backward along the top of the neck, over the hump,
and down to the lumbar region, where it fades out entirely. |
continue the text below | From the back of the head another streak
of dark hair extends backward along the top of the neck, over the hump,
and down to the lumbar region, where it fades out entirely. | These two
dark bands are in sharp contrast to the light sandy hair adjoining.
|
continue the text below | These two
dark bands are in sharp contrast to the light sandy hair adjoining.
| The tail is densely haired. |
continue the text below | The tail is densely haired. | The tuft on the end is quite luxuriant, and
shows a center of darker hair. |
continue the text below | The tuft on the end is quite luxuriant, and
shows a center of darker hair. | The hair on the inside of the ear is
dark, but that on the outside is sandy.
|
continue the text below | The hair on the inside of the ear is
dark, but that on the outside is sandy.
| The naked portion of the nose is light Vandyke-brown, with a pinkish
tinge, and the edge of the eyelid the same. |
continue the text below | The naked portion of the nose is light Vandyke-brown, with a pinkish
tinge, and the edge of the eyelid the same. | The iris is dark brown. |
continue the text below | The iris is dark brown. | The
horn at three months is about 1 inch in length, and is a mere little
black stub. |
continue the text below | The
horn at three months is about 1 inch in length, and is a mere little
black stub. | In the male, the hump is clearly defined, but by no means so
high in proportion as in the adult animal. |
continue the text below | In the male, the hump is clearly defined, but by no means so
high in proportion as in the adult animal. | The hump of the calf from
which this description is drawn is of about the same relative angle and
height as that of an adult cow buffalo. |
continue the text below | The hump of the calf from
which this description is drawn is of about the same relative angle and
height as that of an adult cow buffalo. | The specimen itself is well
represented in the accompanying plate.
|
continue the text below | The specimen itself is well
represented in the accompanying plate.
| The measurements of this specimen in the flesh were as follows:
|
continue the text below | The measurements of this specimen in the flesh were as follows:
| +---------------------------------------------------------+
| BISON AMERICANUS. |
continue the text below | +---------------------------------------------------------+
| BISON AMERICANUS. | (Male; four months old.) |
continue the text below | (Male; four months old.) | |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| (_No. 15503, National Museum collection._) |
continue the text below | |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| (_No. 15503, National Museum collection._) | |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| |Feet.|Inches.|
|Height at shoulders | 2 | 8 |
|Length, head and body to insertion of tail | 3 | 101/2 |
|Depth of chest | 1 | 4 |
|Depth of flank | | 10 |
|Girth behind fore leg | 3 | 1/2 |
|From base of horns around end of nose | 1 | 71/2 |
|Length of tail vertebræ | | 7 |
|
continue the text below | |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| |Feet.|Inches.|
|Height at shoulders | 2 | 8 |
|Length, head and body to insertion of tail | 3 | 101/2 |
|Depth of chest | 1 | 4 |
|Depth of flank | | 10 |
|Girth behind fore leg | 3 | 1/2 |
|From base of horns around end of nose | 1 | 71/2 |
|Length of tail vertebræ | | 7 |
| +---------------------------------------------------------+
|
continue the text below | +---------------------------------------------------------+
| The calves begin to shed their coat of red hair about the beginning of
August. |
continue the text below | The calves begin to shed their coat of red hair about the beginning of
August. | The first signs of the change, however, appear about a month
earlier than that, in the darkening of the mane under the throat, and
also on the top of the neck.[26]
|
continue the text below | The first signs of the change, however, appear about a month
earlier than that, in the darkening of the mane under the throat, and
also on the top of the neck.[26]
| [Note 26: Our captive had, in some way, bruised the skin on his
forehead, and in June all the hair came off the top of his head, leaving
it quite bald. |
continue the text below | [Note 26: Our captive had, in some way, bruised the skin on his
forehead, and in June all the hair came off the top of his head, leaving
it quite bald. | We kept the skin well greased with porpoise oil, and by
the middle of July a fine coat of black hair had grown out all over the
surface that had previously been bare.]
|
continue the text below | We kept the skin well greased with porpoise oil, and by
the middle of July a fine coat of black hair had grown out all over the
surface that had previously been bare.]
| By the 1st of August the red hair on the body begins to fall off in
small patches, and the growth of fine, new, dark hair seems to actually
crowd off the old. |
continue the text below | By the 1st of August the red hair on the body begins to fall off in
small patches, and the growth of fine, new, dark hair seems to actually
crowd off the old. | As is the case with the adult animals, the shortest
hair is the first to be shed, but the change of coat takes place in
about half the time that it occupies in the older animals.
|
continue the text below | As is the case with the adult animals, the shortest
hair is the first to be shed, but the change of coat takes place in
about half the time that it occupies in the older animals.
| By the 1st of October the transformation is complete, and not even a
patch of the old red hair remains upon the new suit of brown. |
continue the text below | By the 1st of October the transformation is complete, and not even a
patch of the old red hair remains upon the new suit of brown. | This is
far from being the case with the old bulls and cows, for even up to the
last week in October we found them with an occasional patch of the old
hair still clinging to the new, on the back or shoulders.
|
continue the text below | This is
far from being the case with the old bulls and cows, for even up to the
last week in October we found them with an occasional patch of the old
hair still clinging to the new, on the back or shoulders.
| Like most young animals, the calf of the buffalo is very easily tamed,
especially if taken when only a few weeks old. |
continue the text below | Like most young animals, the calf of the buffalo is very easily tamed,
especially if taken when only a few weeks old. | The one captured in
Montana by the writer, resisted at first as stoutly as it was able, by
butting with its head, but after we had tied its legs together and
carried it to camp, across a horse, it made up its mind to yield
gracefully to the inevitable, and from that moment became perfectly
docile. |
continue the text below | The one captured in
Montana by the writer, resisted at first as stoutly as it was able, by
butting with its head, but after we had tied its legs together and
carried it to camp, across a horse, it made up its mind to yield
gracefully to the inevitable, and from that moment became perfectly
docile. | It very soon learned to drink milk in the most satisfactory
manner, and adapted itself to its new surroundings quite as readily as
any domestic calf would have done. |
continue the text below | It very soon learned to drink milk in the most satisfactory
manner, and adapted itself to its new surroundings quite as readily as
any domestic calf would have done. | Its only cry was a low-pitched,
pig-like grunt through the nose, which was uttered only when hungry or
thirsty.
|
continue the text below | Its only cry was a low-pitched,
pig-like grunt through the nose, which was uttered only when hungry or
thirsty.
| I have been told by old frontiersmen and buffalo-hunters that it used to
be a common practice for a hunter who had captured a young calf to make
it follow him by placing one of his fingers in its mouth, and allowing
the calf to suck at it for a moment. |
continue the text below | I have been told by old frontiersmen and buffalo-hunters that it used to
be a common practice for a hunter who had captured a young calf to make
it follow him by placing one of his fingers in its mouth, and allowing
the calf to suck at it for a moment. | Often a calf has been induced in
this way to follow a horseman for miles, and eventually to join his camp
outfit. |
continue the text below | Often a calf has been induced in
this way to follow a horseman for miles, and eventually to join his camp
outfit. | It is said that the same result has been accomplished with
calves by breathing a few times into their nostrils. |
continue the text below | It is said that the same result has been accomplished with
calves by breathing a few times into their nostrils. | In this connection
Mr. Catlin's observations on the habits of buffalo calves are most
interesting.
|
continue the text below | In this connection
Mr. Catlin's observations on the habits of buffalo calves are most
interesting.
| "In pursuing a large herd of buffaloes at the season when their calves
are but a few weeks old, I have often been exceedingly amused with the
curious maneuvers of these shy little things. |
continue the text below | "In pursuing a large herd of buffaloes at the season when their calves
are but a few weeks old, I have often been exceedingly amused with the
curious maneuvers of these shy little things. | Amidst the thundering
confusion of a throng of several hundreds or several thousands of these
animals, there will be many of the calves that lose sight of their dams;
and being left behind by the throng, and the swift-passing hunters, they
endeavor to secrete themselves, when they are exceedingly put to it on a
level prairie, where naught can be seen but the short grass of 6 or 8
inches in height, save an occasional bunch of wild sage a few inches
higher, to which the poor affrighted things will run, and dropping on
their knees, will push their noses under it and into the grass, where
they will stand for hours, with their eyes shut, imagining themselves
securely hid, whilst they are standing up quite straight upon their hind
feet, and can easily be seen at several miles distance. |
continue the text below | Amidst the thundering
confusion of a throng of several hundreds or several thousands of these
animals, there will be many of the calves that lose sight of their dams;
and being left behind by the throng, and the swift-passing hunters, they
endeavor to secrete themselves, when they are exceedingly put to it on a
level prairie, where naught can be seen but the short grass of 6 or 8
inches in height, save an occasional bunch of wild sage a few inches
higher, to which the poor affrighted things will run, and dropping on
their knees, will push their noses under it and into the grass, where
they will stand for hours, with their eyes shut, imagining themselves
securely hid, whilst they are standing up quite straight upon their hind
feet, and can easily be seen at several miles distance. | It is a familiar
amusement with us, accustomed to these scenes, to retreat back over the
ground where we have just escorted the herd, and approach these little
trembling things, which stubbornly maintain their positions, with
their noses pushed under the grass and their eyes strained upon us, us
we dismount from our horses and are passing around them. |
continue the text below | It is a familiar
amusement with us, accustomed to these scenes, to retreat back over the
ground where we have just escorted the herd, and approach these little
trembling things, which stubbornly maintain their positions, with
their noses pushed under the grass and their eyes strained upon us, us
we dismount from our horses and are passing around them. | From this fixed
position they are sure not to move until hands are laid upon them, and
then for the shins of a novice we can extend our sympathy; or if he can
preserve the skin on his bones from the furious buttings of its head, we
know how to congratulate him on his signal success and good luck.
|
continue the text below | From this fixed
position they are sure not to move until hands are laid upon them, and
then for the shins of a novice we can extend our sympathy; or if he can
preserve the skin on his bones from the furious buttings of its head, we
know how to congratulate him on his signal success and good luck.
| [Illustration: From photograph of group in National Museum. |
continue the text below | [Illustration: From photograph of group in National Museum. | Engraved by
R. H. Carson. |
continue the text below | Engraved by
R. H. Carson. | BUFFALO COW, CALF (FOUR MONTHS OLD), AND YEARLING.
|
continue the text below | BUFFALO COW, CALF (FOUR MONTHS OLD), AND YEARLING.
| Reproduced from the _Cosmopolitan Magazine_, by permission of the
publishers. |
continue the text below | Reproduced from the _Cosmopolitan Magazine_, by permission of the
publishers. | ]
"In these desperate struggles for a moment, the little thing is
conquered, and makes no further resistance. |
continue the text below | ]
"In these desperate struggles for a moment, the little thing is
conquered, and makes no further resistance. | And I have often, in
concurrence with a known custom of the country, held my hands over the
eyes of the calf and breathed a few strong breaths into its nostrils,
after which I have, with my hunting companions, rode several miles into
our encampment with the little prisoner busily following the heels of my
horse the whole way, as closely and as affectionately as its instinct
would attach it to the company of its dam.
|
continue the text below | And I have often, in
concurrence with a known custom of the country, held my hands over the
eyes of the calf and breathed a few strong breaths into its nostrils,
after which I have, with my hunting companions, rode several miles into
our encampment with the little prisoner busily following the heels of my
horse the whole way, as closely and as affectionately as its instinct
would attach it to the company of its dam.
| "This is one of the most extraordinary things that I have met with in
the habits of this wild country, and although I had often heard of it,
and felt unable exactly to believe it, I am now willing to bear
testimony to the fact from the numerous instances which I have witnessed
since I came into the country. |
continue the text below | "This is one of the most extraordinary things that I have met with in
the habits of this wild country, and although I had often heard of it,
and felt unable exactly to believe it, I am now willing to bear
testimony to the fact from the numerous instances which I have witnessed
since I came into the country. | During the time that I resided at this
post [mouth of the Tetón River] in the spring of the year, on my way up
the river, I assisted (in numerous hunts of the buffalo with the fur
company's men) in bringing in, in the above manner, several of these
little prisoners, which sometimes followed for 5 or 6 miles close to our
horse's heels, and even into the fur company's fort, and into the stable
where our horses were led. |
continue the text below | During the time that I resided at this
post [mouth of the Tetón River] in the spring of the year, on my way up
the river, I assisted (in numerous hunts of the buffalo with the fur
company's men) in bringing in, in the above manner, several of these
little prisoners, which sometimes followed for 5 or 6 miles close to our
horse's heels, and even into the fur company's fort, and into the stable
where our horses were led. | In this way, before I left the headwaters of
the Missouri, I think we had collected about a dozen, which Mr. Laidlaw
was successfully raising with the aid of a good milch cow. |
continue the text below | In this way, before I left the headwaters of
the Missouri, I think we had collected about a dozen, which Mr. Laidlaw
was successfully raising with the aid of a good milch cow. | "[27]
|
continue the text below | "[27]
| [Note 27: North American Indians, I, 255.]
|
continue the text below | [Note 27: North American Indians, I, 255.]
| It must be remembered, however, that such cases as the above were
exceptional, even with the very young calves, which alone exhibited the
trait described. |
continue the text below | It must be remembered, however, that such cases as the above were
exceptional, even with the very young calves, which alone exhibited the
trait described. | Such instances occurred only when buffaloes existed in
such countless numbers that man's presence and influence had not
affected the character of the animal in the least. |
continue the text below | Such instances occurred only when buffaloes existed in
such countless numbers that man's presence and influence had not
affected the character of the animal in the least. | No such instances of
innocent stupidity will ever be displayed again, even by the youngest
calf. |
continue the text below | No such instances of
innocent stupidity will ever be displayed again, even by the youngest
calf. | The war of extermination, and the struggle for life and security
have instilled into the calf, even from its birth, a mortal fear of both
men and horses, and the instinct to fly for life. |
continue the text below | The war of extermination, and the struggle for life and security
have instilled into the calf, even from its birth, a mortal fear of both
men and horses, and the instinct to fly for life. | The calf captured by
our party was not able to run, but in the most absurd manner it butted
our horses as soon as they came near enough, and when Private Moran
attempted to lay hold of the little fellow it turned upon him, struck
him in the stomach with its head, and sent him sprawling into the
sage-brush. |
continue the text below | The calf captured by
our party was not able to run, but in the most absurd manner it butted
our horses as soon as they came near enough, and when Private Moran
attempted to lay hold of the little fellow it turned upon him, struck
him in the stomach with its head, and sent him sprawling into the
sage-brush. | If it had only possessed the strength, it would have led us
a lively chase.
|