The National tribune., 1890-01-09

animal of any kind now exists among mankind
| the evidence of this fact has altogether escaped
| the notice of the present writer.
| OF course there are certain traits belonging
| to the bison, concerning which all authorities
are at one. His activity on the rough ground
where he usually lives is implied in his struct-
ure, rs well rs in his mode of existence, and
nobody questions It, Again, like other feral
creatures bisons who have never been hunted
are at first altogether confused by the report
and effects of heavy rifles which, as Sanderson
| and others suppose, they probably mistake for
thunder and lightning. Also. the gauT, hav-
ing very keen scent, lies down, like deer and
other animals similarly endowed, with his
head TO leeward, the act having become in
stinctivc through inherited experience Fur
Their, IN localities where he is hunted, the crea-
ture has learned TO distinguish between
Hindu with MATCHBOX aud an EDglishman
carrying a breech- loader
THE FORMER HE WILL FREQUENTLY AT
TACK,
and habitually disregards, while he flies from
the latter unless rage has obscured his judg-
ment. lt is the same with every day habits
the gaur, I'm common with all fcrsr, conforms
10 the special circumstances of his environment.
Where danger hampers his action in the strug-
gle for existence he is n nocturnal animal;
when the case is otherwise he is not In
southern India the GavRus gaurus has never
been domesticatcd, and therefore retains his
original character rs a wild beast unaltered;
but in the trans Brahmaputra provinces, the
gyal of Assam, Tipperah. and the Chltagong
hills, which, if not identical with the Indian
bison, is undoubtedly nearly allied to il, has
been as much reclaimed as the Toda buffalo
and, therefore, instead of perishing in infancy,
like the southern form, when associated with
man, the animal has become modified in tenn
per, constitution, aud habits. Besides the i'm
Portant bearing OF this fact upon the question
of extinction, there seems TO he the same lia-
blllty 10 epidemic disease among wild as tame
bison. What Is called the dod-roga, great
dlsease,-pleuro pneumonia. most probably
occurs in herds that have never come in contact
with man. Murraiued cattle have indeed in
iected ieral bison In southern India, but kei-
by-roga, what we term the oot-and-moath "
disorder, as well rs cheppay-roga, an affection
OF the shOuder-ioint that causes much NOR
talIty, may be said 10 be endemic i'm certain
localities which the wild species alone nhabit.
No very accurate information exists concern
ing the relationship between the gavmus aud
gayal, or GavRus frontalis. All that can be
certainly said is that IL is very close. In the
Chlltagong hills, however, this bison, or ally of
the bison of India, is not only easily and cx-
iensively domesticated," but according 10 G.
Macioske and other authorities il nterbreeds
with the common Indian cattle. These forms,
with Bos sylhetanus "a hybrid with the zebu).
meet" as DIR. Jerdon says. in this area, and
ii Is his opinion, as well as that of various
naturalists that permanent races, like those
derived from the crossing Of the yak of central
ASIA true bison-with domestic taur:nos
might be produced in the provinces east OF the
Brahmaputra or in southern and central In
dia, under favorable circumstances. In this case
the bison could not disappear though he might,
like the gyal. lose something of his symmetry
OF form and delicacy of limb, and even acquire
a rundimcniary dcwlap. Bat apart from the
preservatiyo influences indicated as possible re-
suits OF the intermixture Of allied species or
closely related varieties, and which, not i'm
probably might be additionally acted upon by
natural selection, 10 the same end the topog-
raphy OF the regions chiefly occupied by the
guar, 60 far to insure its permanence for many
ages. The Sal aud Teak forests OF India proper
are largely
UNDER GOVERNMENTAL SUPERVISION,
and such of their denizcns as for any reason,
1t is desirable 10 preserve, have every oppor-
tunity for increase. Beyond these preserves
throughout the highlands Of the eastern aud
northern frontier into the States beyond the
Brahmapnira. and FAR as Chinese Thibct. the /
gauT, animal SO closely allied rs 10 be
often identified with il, wanders amid vast
solitudes which man viii not invade uuti a dis
tant future. Finally. the assertion that any
animal is incapable Of domestication Is purely
gratuitoas. Ia all instances where il is made
the evidence urged ia support Of the statement
IS palpably insufficient. The ancestral forms
OF all domestic animals We're wild beasts and
how far a wild beast will resist reclamation
depends upon the degree OF its specialization
for the feral state. Nothing is known Of any
principles in natural science which preclude
the possibility OF change. Contrariwise, such
knowledge as we possess points 10 different
conclusion. The period required to effect do
mestication, either partial or complete, must
naturally vary with the completeness Of any
creatures adjustment 10 the circumstances amid
which IL Is placed but this is all that can be
properly said. Given the Elasticity which the
Indian bison, or It's ally, is known 10 possess
and through the action Of altered conditions
OF existence, the tendency 10 variation, aud
the influence Of natural selection, race capa-
BILE Of indefinite increase aud ultimate domcsti-
cation may be anticipated as within the bounds
Of probability.
To forecast the exact physical status Of such
race IS impossible, hut so far as we have any
knowledge Of the subject practically, facts do
not lead to the antici patton that metamorphosis
would result, or that characteristic traits
would be greatly obliterted. What has oc-
Cured Ia the case OF the gyal might hap.
pen IN that Of its southern c0ngener The
former has been subjected to those influences
said 10 be fatal to tie gaur from remote
epoch, and IL is not possible TO say beforehand
that the latter animal would always prove re-
fractory 10 all the influences that could be ex-
erted by its environment.
ITO BE- oOHtfHued.l