The National tribune., 1890-01-09

Sic OF the body, which is bright sepia brown in
earlier life, but becomes nearly black with age.
The same deepening Of color occurs on the
under part OF the trunk, and upon the limbs
Both the white stockings that are characteristic
Of Gav@us gauTus, and yellowish-white mark
inEs 81 the breast aud body, grow darker as the
animal ages. Capt. Forsyth. speaking o! the gaur
inhaJitingthe Mahados hills. mentions change
in tie growth Of the horns. which is also de-
pendent upon time aud which is essentially
this that from youth onward they increase IN
girth al the base, take a more horizontal direc-
ton. aud have their points less incuryed.
Is THE EDIAS BISON,
wherever met with, the legs are sinewy, fine
eleaH-cut aud thoroughbred looking. They
terminate Gin delicatcly-shaped deer-lik
hoofs, the hinder ones being little more than
half The size Of the fore" The gaur's tail,
which Is tuitcd with ncarly-black hair al its
extremity. Is about Two feet 10 inches long, and
the dorsal ridge running backward from the
shoulder. terminates abruptly at about three
and One-half feet distance from its anterior
end. Ia all other dimensions, as well as In
those Of the horns. tie COW is smaller aud
lighter colored than the male bison, besides be-
ing much more timid and less formidable
Creature than he.
Thus Tar there is but little difference Of opin-
Jon among writers upon this subject aud thew
are generally agreed also, Ia regarding the BIZ
son AZ almost exclusively an inhabitant Of
wooded and Wcll-gaicrcd nights. aud as being
more % less rgidiy limited ia It's range by the
distribution Oi the bamboo, upon which il con
stantly browses. But more particularly does
The Literature relating 10 The gaur almost uni
formiy insist upon the fact that, unlike the
buffalo, axis deer aud even the elephant. soil
tuoe and absolute separation from man and his
works constitute the first condition for exist
ence.
II. 4 e.. -.
lty u authors admit the general color Of the
animal 10 be lighter where il is found upon the
outskirts Of grassy plains, than where il rauges
hlllg regions. almost everything else that can
be Eald Of the habits, character, and even the
geological relations Of the gaur is disputed.
Tor example, % is commonly held that the
Asrhaca River forms the northern limit of the
Indian bison; but, On the other hand, perfectly
authentic accounts exist oil their having been
seen and shot 30 the Yiudhya Mountains. and
in those q Choia-AagpUr. Midnapur aud Nepal
as well 10 among the Puchmurree hills and the
highlands along the entire eastern aud north
eastern frontier. Most probably Capt. For
Eyths statement j. true. and the bison 8
iuhaDIis every part 81 India where IL can find
suitable conditions The difficulty is 10 de-
termine what these conditions are. Reasoning
from the aHal0gieg Of natural history, il isinost
improbable that an animal distributed over AN
area 50 extensive and diversified i'm It's physi-
ography a. India, would preserve any strict
uniformity in ts habits u life, and accordingly
We find that all the positive statements Of OBJ
servers in this direction are positively contra
oicted by eyewitness. Thus, Forsyth SAYS
that only sensational writers talk Of the
ferocity Of the bison, but reveals, it is nainful
% say Of 90 charming writer aud so daring
aud accomplished q sportsman, the secret of
this conclusion from insufficient evidence ia a
statement Immediately following, 10 the effect
that be had always found bison 20 be ex-
trerDely umid," and that be himself "had
never been charged" Dawson, who is equally
authoritative, declares that wounded bull,
OF eyen COW, will make what has been, and Is
still 50 often called, deliberate charge, but il
A. only