Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-03-26
AUSTRALIAN BUFFALOES.
Few Of the Inhabitants Know OF Their
q. . &. Existence.


Although I have been over thirty
seven years in Australia, says a writer
in the Brisbane New-Zcalandcr, it was
not until eighteen months ago thGt
was aware that there was 4 breed of
wild buffalocs in these colonies, and
venture to say that not one per cent of
the inhabitants of Queensland, or even
half that number, are aware of the fact
Curiously enough, I have two stimuli
tancous inquiries about thcm-onc from
Prof. Wallace, of Edinburgh, and the
other from q gentleman in Michigan,
U. S. A. 1 laid myself out to make full
inquiries on the subject, and it has oc-
CURED to me that the public will be in
tcrcstcd to know the result. Mr.. B. II.
Purcell, who has seen several of them
in the far north, and was present at the
death of one, gave me minute descrip-
ton of thcEa, which tGllies exactly with
what l learned from other sources. Mr..
e. Palmer, NJ. L. A., informs me that
one of the islands on the northern coast
is fully stocked with them, and isolated
bulls from the herd on the mainland oc-
casionally find their way as far cast as
one of his gulf stations, and that sew
eral have reached Mr.. Hann's Lawn
Hill station. In DR.. Leichhardt's jour
nal of his expedition from Moreton bay
to Port EsSiagton, in 1S44-5, he men
tions that Mr.. Roper and the black
boys, Charley and Brown" ran
down and shot one thirty miles from
Port Essington, and that they were said
to be numerous there, and were called
by the blacks ''anaborro." Lcichhardt
states that they ''arc the offspring of
the stock which had either strayed from
the settlement at Rafilc3 bay or had
been left behind when that establish
mcnt was broken up. They were origi-
nally introduced from. the Malay
islands. 1 was struck with
the remarkable thickness of their
skin (almost an inch), and with
tho solidity of their bones, which con-
tanned little marrow, but that little
was extremely savory." Mr.. Palmer
weighed almost q ton, was extremely
quarters, but tapering off in the hind
quarters.
l next directed my inquiries to the
museum, and here was most fortunate
in getting information from the man
above al others in Queensland most
competent to give it--namcly, Mr.. Spald-
inC, the taXidcrrlist Of the museum,
who spent many months in the center of
their great haunt near Port Darwin.
Fir. Spalding showed me tho head and
horns of ono OF these buffalocs that
made its wcy eastward in the direction
of Charters Towers, and was shot there
some two years ago. The horns arc
most remarkable, being square ct the
butt and four inches thick. They rise
in scrni-circlo but incline backward,
SO that the cnir1als, when they charge,
which they do frriously, have to put their
heads between their forclcgs. The
horns arc extremely coarse, corrugated,
and of q dirty brown color. Mr.. Spald-
ing corro5oratcd the statcmcnts Of
Mcssrs. Palmer and Purcell as to the
bu1faloc3 being very numcrous-in
I1Gnv thol!~c~tlT-Ct Port EssiDgton,
Rcfilcs bay and Mclvillc Land. man
has been engaged for q number of years
shooting them AID making q handsome
income by selling the hides. On account
of the extreme Gllicllnos3 Of hide they re.
GiDt m ordinary cartridge, and heavy
lcadcn bullets have to be used. They
arc whnt arc familiarly known as
"mud' buffalo, having very little hair
on their bodies, which are Of a dirty
rcddi9h-brovn color.
It may not be generally known that
number Of Tinor ponies were intro
duced at Port E3GinJton with the buffa'
locs. These have also increased to u
large herd, and Mr.. Spalding describes
them as exceedingly handsome little
animals.
.... Air of "a, .ol-Esooms.
'}"-crrs f,vcrt'. 81. .nr rnve ., write,