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TH1E

American Bison

LONDON. CHATTO & WINDUS

PICCADILLY

THE

NATURALIST’S LIBRARY.

EDITED BY

SIR WILLIAM JARDINE, BART.,

F.B.S.E., F.L.S., ETC., ETC.

VOL. XXII.

MAMMALIA.

RUMINANTIA Part n.

BY THE EDITOR.

EDINBURGH :

W. H. LIZARS, 3, ST. JAMES’ SQUARE.
LONDON :

HENRY G. BOHN, YORK ST., COVENT GARDEN.

CONTENTS.

Memoir of John Hunter,

• •

PA OF

17

Appendix, .

84

Ruminating Animals,

• •

.93

The Harnessed Antelope.

Tragelaphus scriptus. Plate I.

• <

. 95

The Cambing Ootan.

N'cemorhcedus Sumatrensis. Plate II.

97

The Chamois.

Rupicapra vulgaris. Plate III.

•

101

The Wool-Bearing Antelope.

Aplocerus lanigera. Plate IV.

•

104

The Anoa, .

106

Genus Capra, ....

• •

108

The yEgagrus.

Capra cegagrus. Plate V. Male.-

— VI. Female

and Young.

• •

112

European Ibex.

Capra Ibex. Plate VII.

• •

114

The Jemlah Goat.

Capra Jemlahica. Plate VIII.

•

117

The Jahral.

Capra Jahral.

• •

119

The Goat of Cashmere. Plate IX.

•

. 123

CONTENTS,

PAGE

The Nepaul Goat and the Goat of Upper Egypt.

Plate X. • • • • • • • ^25

Genus Ovis, . • 127

The Musmon of Corsica.

Ovis Musmon. Plate IX. . • . 132

The Bearded Argali.

Ovis tragelaphus. Plate XII. . . • 138

The American Argali, or Rocky Mountain Sheep.

Ovis montana. Plate XIII. . . • 142

The Merino Breed.

Ovis hispanica, . 147

The Iceland Breed, ...... 153

The Leicester Sheep. Plate XIV. . . . 156

The Black-faced Ram. XV . 159

The Persian Sheep. Plate XVI. . . . 164

The Barbary Broad-tailed Sheep. Plate XVII. 168

The Bubalis.

Acrontus bubalis. Plate XVIII. . . 174

The Impoofo.

Baselaphus oreas. Plate XIX. . . . 177

The Koodoo.

Strepsiceros Koodoo. Plate XX. . . . 180

The Neel-Ghau.

Portax picta. Plate XXI . 182

The Gnoo.

Catoblepas Gnu. Plate XXII. . . . 186

The Musk Ox.

Ovibos moschatus. Plate XXIII. . . 189

The Bovine Tribe or Oxen, .... 192

The White Urus, or Hamilton Breed of Wild Cattle.

Taurus Urus. Plate XXIV. . . . 198

South African Cattle, with Caffrarian Family on a

Journey. Plate XXV . 210

The Indian Ox or Zebu.

Taurus Indicus. Plate XXVI. . . . 212

The Bull-Fight of Ganzul, . 218

The Short-Horned Breed. Plate XXVII. . 230

The Kyloe or Highland Cattle. Plate XXVIII. 234

CONTENTS.

PAGE

The African Buffalo.

Bubalus cafer. Plate XXIX. . . . 236

The Arnee Ox, . 24.

Indian or Domestic Buffalo.

Bubalus Bufius . . 24^

The American Bison.

Bos Americanus. Plate XXX. . . . 248

The Shylet Ox.

Bison Sylhetonus. Plate XXXI. . . 253

The Yak.

Bison poephagus. ..... 255

Portrait of John Hunter, . 2

Vignette Title-page. . 3

In all Thirty-three Plates in this Volume .

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER,

The subject of the following memoir, though uni¬
versally ranked among the most illustrious indivi¬
duals whose names adorn the close of the last cen¬
tury, has perhaps been chiefly known by his profi¬
ciency in anatomy and surgery. That he is fully
entitled to the highest celebrity in both these de¬
partments, it is impossible to dispute ; but we may,
at the same time, confidently affirm, that, could his
own voice have been heard, he never would have
consented to rest his fame on any narrower basis
than that afforded by his indefatigable labours, and
his brilliant achievements in the wide field of natu¬
ral science.

It is not difficult to account for the partial notions
often entertained respecting Mr Hunter’s scientific
character. It was as an anatomist he began his
bright career ; and, long before its close, he had ac¬
quired a popularity as a surgeon which had never
before been equalled, and has never since been sui *
passed. The study of anatomy and physiology,

B

18

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

however, only served to conduct his inquiring mind
into the boundless regions of Nature’s wonders, to
the examination of which he devoted himself with
undeviating enthusiasm ; so that every thing that
lived, from man himself, down to the blade on which
he treads, and the insect which it nourishes, became
in its turn the subject of his penetrating scrutiny.
Human speedily led to comparative anatomy, and
this latter merged in the study of all animated na¬
ture. Mr Hunter, however, was not born to an in¬
dependent fortune ; and the entanglements and re¬
sponsibilities of his profession necessarily encroach¬
ed upon his scientific labours. Nevertheless, even
his profession was made subservient to the aspirings
of his genius ; and out of its honourable gains, he
proceeded gradually to rear his own most lasting
monument, in a Museum, which, though known
to the public only in connection with a professional
body (the London Royal College of Surgeons), has
yet realized the splendid design of its founder, by
forming, in no small measure, a concentration of the
natural history of the world.

Another circumstance, which has materially con¬
tributed to stamp Mr Hunter’s celebrity with that
limited and professional character to which we have
alluded, is, that his life has been written only by his
professional brethren, — men who naturally consider¬
ed it their main object to supply that species of in¬
formation which would be most highly valued by
that learned bodv of which Mr Hunter formed so

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

19

distinguished an ornament. One of these biogra¬
phies proceeded from the pen of a near relation, the
late Sir Everard Home; — another is written by an
individual whose chief celebrity appears to have
arisen from his being the opponent, and, to the ex¬
tent of his ability, the persecutor of Mr Hunter; —
the third is the production of a pupil and friend, Dr
Joseph Adams, a name well known in the annals of
medicine. From these sources we have drawn libe¬
rally in the following pages; but, at the same time, we
must be allowed to add, that the life of John Hunter is
still a decided desideratum. In what follows, we have
endeavoured to reduce the merely professional fea¬
tures of his character to their just proportions ; and
we trust that the following sketch will be found by the
naturalist, to be at once interesting and instructive.

We shall only further observe, that the portrait at
the commencement of this volume, is a faithful copy
of Sharp’s celebrated and now scarce engraving of
Sir Joshua Reynolds’ picture. It is recorded, that
when these lineaments of Mr Hunter’s interesting
countenance were shown to Lavater, he observed,
“ That man thinks for himself,’’ — a remark of th«
justness of which the following pages will afford
abundant evidence.

John Hunter was the son of John and Agnes
Hunter of Kilbride (Easter), in the county of La¬
nark. His father was descended from Hunter o»
Hunterston, an old family in Ayrshire, and his mo-

20

MEMOIR OF JCHN HUNTER.

tber was a daughter of Mr Paul, a respectable citi¬
zen of Glasgow, and treasurer of the burgh.

He was born at Long Calderwood, a small estate
belonging to the family, on the 13th-14th February
1728. Sir E. Home states bis birth, by mistake,
on the 1 4 th July . But the parish-register bears the
13th February, and on the 14th of that month, the
Royal College of Surgeons of London celebrates the
anniversary of the birth of this distinguished indivi¬
dual.

John was the youngest of ten children, five of
whom died in infancy. James, the eldest of the
brothers who attained to manhood, was born in 1715.
After prosecuting the legal profession in Edinburgh
for some time, be, in the year 1742, visited his bro¬
ther William, then a teacher of anatomy in London ;
and so much was he captivated by this pursuit, that
he resolved to abandon his profession, and devote
himself to medicine. His success promised to rival
that of either of his brothers ; but his health unfor¬
tunately gave way, and he died of a pulmonary com¬
plaint in the 28th year of his age.

The next brother, William, born in 1718, early
rose to unrivalled distinction as a teacher of anato¬
my in London, attained a professional reputation
which could not be exceeded, and a celebrity second
only to that of his brother John. By unwearied
industry, and at vast expense, he formed the mu¬
seum which immortalizes his name, and which, hv
his liberality, now enriches the University of Glas-

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

21

gow. It was under the fostering care of this elder
brother that John was initiated into those pursuits
in which he soon became the rival of his instructor.

Of the daughters of the family, Janet married
Mr Buchanan of Glasgow, of whom more presently;
and the younger married Dr James Baillie, Profes¬
sor of Divinity in the University of Glasgow, from
whom descended the illustrious Dr Matthew Baillie,
and the not less distinguished Mrs Joanna Baillie.

The subject of this memoir was horn when his
father had nearly reached his 70th year. Hence we
cannot be surprised to learn, that he at no time re¬
ceived the benefit of paternal restraint. At the age
of ten, he lost his father, and was then left under the
sole direction of his mother, who proved too indul¬
gent to her youngest child. At the parish school,
his studies were neglected, and the greater part of
his time was spent in amusements. His early edu¬
cation was thus extremely imperfect; and hence arose
many deficiencies, distinct proofs of which, most
painful to himself, were not wanting in his subse¬
quent history.

When he had attained the age of seventeen, a pe¬
riod at which it was high time to engage in some
regular employment, he went to Glasgow on a visit
to his brother-in-law Mr Buchanan. The object of
this visit has been variously represented. Mr Bu¬
chanan had lately returned from London, to settle in
Glasgow as a cabinet-maker and carpenter. He was a
man possessed of many agreeable qualities, and having

22

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

won the heart of Miss J. Hunter, she, contrary to
the wishes and advice of her relations, consented
to become his wife. The marriage proved unfortu¬
nate. Buchanan got into company, and neglected
his business, which of course became involved. Ac¬
cording to one representation, Mr Hunter removed in
these circumstances to Glasgow, to comfort his sister,
and to assist in extricating her husband’s affairs ; but,
according to another account, his object was to asso¬
ciate himself in the business, and prosecute the trade
It is obvious, however, that these two objects are in
no way incompatible ; and it would be false shame
to throw a veil over the transaction. If probabilities
and local tradition may be depended upon, there ap¬
pears little doubt that John worked at his brother-
in-law’s trade for some time ; but matters do not
seem to have benefited by his interference, and even
tually he returned to Long-Calderwood.

How far John Hunter was chagrined by this
failure, or what influence it may have had on his fu¬
ture character, we have no means of determining.
Up to this period, however, it is apparent, that his
powerful mind had found nothing to arouse its ener¬
gies. The drudgery of grammar, and of a mecha¬
nical trade, had proved alike uncongenial ; and,
though wayward in his temper, and too little school¬
ed by discipline or art, it is not to he doubted that
his active mind was spontaneously exercised in some
manner which tended to strengthen its faculties, and
enabled him to maintain through life an individuality

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

23

of character, and an independency of thought, which
have rarely been surpassed.

Having returned home in the summer of 1748,
and finding nothing there upon which to employ his
energies, John Hunter addressed himself to his bro¬
ther William, requesting permission to visit him in
London, and making an offer, at the same time, to
assist him in his anatomical employments. In an¬
swer to his letter, he received a very kind invitation
from his brother, and immediately joined him.

Mr Hunter arrived in London in the month of
September, about a fortnight before the commence¬
ment of his brother’s course of lectures. Dr Hun¬
ter immediately introduced him into the dissecting-
room, where his first essays were so promising, that
Dr Hunter did not hesitate to pronounce that his
brother would make a good anatomist, and that he
should not want employment. Under the instruc
tions of Dr Hunter, and his assistant Mr Symonds,
he now enjoyed every opportunity of improvement,
all the practical anatomy at this time carried on in
London being confined to this single school.

In the following summer, the celebrated Chesel-
den, at the request of Dr Hunter, permitted John
to attend Chelsea Hospital ; and here he was ini¬
tiated into the first rudiments of surgery.

In the succeeding winter, Mr Hunter was so far
advanced as to become Demonstrator of Anatomy,
assisting and directing the pupils in the dissecting-
rooms, while his brother confined his attention al-

24

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

most entirely to the regular lectures in the class¬
room. The assiduous discharge of the most labo¬
rious duties of this situation, gave him full employ¬
ment during the winter 1749-50.

During the summer, Mr Hunter resumed his at¬
tendance at the hospital at Chelsea; and in 1751,
he became a pupil at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, of
which Mr Pott was then the distinguished ornament.
During the winter months, his more pressing avoca¬
tions must have confined him in a great measure to
his brother’s premises, though he always endeavour¬
ed to he present at the hospital when any thing oc¬
curred of more than ordinary interest.

In 1753, he entered gentleman commoner at St
Margaret’s Hall, Oxford, for what specific object
does not very clearly appear. We do not learn that
he passed any of his time at the University: and
the constant routine of his London employments was
not for a moment interrupted.

In 1754 he became surgeon’s pupil at St George’s
Hospital, where he attended during the summer ;
and two years later, he discharged the duties of
house-surgeon for a period of five months.

In the year 1755, after John had acted as his as¬
sistant for five years, Dr Hunter admitted him into
a partnership in his lectures. A certain portion of
the course was allotted to him, and he was expected
to supply the Doctor’s place, when professional en¬
gagements prevented his personal attendance. This
proved a most irksome task to John. Anatomical

MEMOIR OF JOHN IIUNTER.

25

lectures, to be rendered interesting, must be deli¬
vered extempore — a style of lecturing in which Dr
Hunter had attained the highest possible excellence-,
but, unfortunately few men were less qualified than
John to be placed in competition with his brother,
in this exercise of talent.

Making anatomical preparations were at this time
a new art, and very little understood. Every skil¬
ful preparation, therefore, became an object of ad¬
miration ; and as many of them were required for
the use of the lectures, and Dr Hunter had himself
an enthusiasm for the art, he left no means untried
to infuse into his brother a love for his favourite
pursuit. How well he succeeded, the collection
afterwards made by Mr Hunter will sufficiently
evince.

We thus, at length, find Mr Hunter placed in a
situation which was in every respect adapted to his
talents and his tastes, and where he was surround¬
ed with every advantage calculated to stimulate and
direct the application of his energies.

The late Sir Everard Home remarks, that ana¬
tomy seems to have been a pursuit for which Mr
Hunter’s mind was peculiarly fitted ; and he applied
to it with a perseverance of which there is hardly
any example. He laboured for ten years in this
branch of science, during which period he not only
became acquainted with what was already known,
but made considerable additions to that knowledge.
Some of his discoveries called forth the highest

26

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

commendations of Baron Haiier, then considered the
first physiologist in Europe, and still command ad¬
miration to the present day.

It would be out of place to enter into details of
these anatomical and purely professional investiga¬
tions. They were regularly expounded in the lec¬
tures of Dr William Hunter for a succession of
years, and some of them were published in his Me¬
dical Commentaries. Further information regarding
them may be found in Dr Simmon’s Life of Dr
Hunter, to which we refer those who are interested
in such subjects. The same observation applies to
Mr Hunter’s labours in the department of surgery,
which, though of the highest merit, are of such a
nature as to preclude their being introduced to the
notice of any but the professional reader. As we
have already hinted, however, Mr Hunler’s labours
were not confined to professional investigations. He
soon discovered that human anatomy presented too
narrow a field for his ardent research. Many parts
of the human frame being so complex that their
structure and uses had hitherto baffled inquiry, he
was led to examine similar parts in other animals,
where the structure was more simple, and more
within the reach of observation. Hence he was
conducted not only to comparative anatomy, but to
the whole science of zoology, which thenceforward
became the favourite pursuit of his life. Even at
this early stage of his career, we find him laying the
foundation of that Museum of Comparative Anato-

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

'll

my, the progress of which was altogether unex¬
ampled, and the labours connected with which just¬
ly place his scientific eveh above his professional
reputation.

In this new line of pursuit, Mr Hunter com¬
menced by investigating the structure of the more
common animals, and making preparations of such
parts as appeared, by analogy or otherwise, to throw
light upon the animal economy. It was not his in¬
tention to make dissections of the whole of these
animals, but to institute an inquiry into the various
organizations by which the functions of life are per¬
formed, and thus attain to a knowledge of general
principles. The design was nearly as original as
it was great, for little, if any thing of the kind, had
hitherto been accomplished.

It was at this time Mr Hunter detected the ex¬
istence of lymphatic vessels in birds. He also traced
further than had previously been done, the ramifica¬
tions of the olfactory nerves, and discovered the
course of some of the branches of the fifth pair of
nerves — those nerves, a minute attention to th^
functions of which is even now leading to some of
the most interesting discoveries of modern times.
His observations on the latter of these subjects were
made in the summer of 1754; and in them he had
the assistance of Dr Smith, then a student in Lon¬
don, afterwards Savilian Professor of Geometry, and
Lecturer on Physiology at Oxford. Short notices
regarding their labours were published in 1786, in

28

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

a treatise entitled, “ Observations on certain parts
of the Animal Economy but these notices were
taken from the description prepared by Dr Smith in
1754.

In 1755 or 1756, Mr Hunter made preparations
and drawings of the growth of the chick, in the pro¬
cess of incubation. His extensive series of experi¬
ments and observations connected with this subject
have never, so far as we know, been permitted to see
the light ; but we find him making some use of them
in illustration of another subject, to which he ap¬
plied all the energies of his mind ; and they may be
seen noticed in his well known work “ On the
Blood,” &c.

So eagerly did Mr Hunter at this time attach
himself to the study of comparative anatomy, that
he left no means unemployed to obtain possession of
the rarer kinds of animals, with the view of exa¬
mining into their peculiarities. For this end, he ap¬
plied to those who had the charge of the Royal Me¬
nagerie at the Tower, for the bodies of the animals
that died there ; and he made similar applications to
all those who made a business of collecting and ex¬
hibiting wild beasts to the public. He also pur¬
chased any of the rarer animals which came in his
way ; and these, with such others as were presented
to him by his friends, he entrusted to the showmen,
to keep till they died, the more to encourage them
to assist him in his labours.

After twelve years had been spent in the manner

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

29

which we have described, Mr Hunter, in the very
raklst of hi9 career, suddenly left London. It must
have been some very violent cause which could thus
tear him from his favourite pursuits, and from the
only scene in which they could be advantageously
prosecuted. The cause is by no means a secret ; an<i
in explaining it, while we are required to expose the
inhrmitiesof two distinguished men, and the dissen¬
sions of two near relations, let us not fail to observe,
how that as both were probably more or less to
blame, so both suffered the penalty of their unge¬
nerous conduct, in the embittered feelings which
they earned with them to the grave.

Had William and John Hunter allowed just scope
to their fraternal feelings, they might have added not
only to their common success, but incalculably to their
mutual happiness. Unfortunately, they were both
equally ambitious, and both equally jealous of fame.
Their proximity, and the identity of their pursuits,
thus became a source of dissension ; and the success
of the one was apt to be regarded as an encroach¬
ment by the other.

It has been remarked, that Dr William Hunter
was one of those fortunate men who are placed early
in life exactly in the situation for which Nature and
education designed them. He had a solid under¬
standing, a correct eye, and an innate love of order,
which evinced itself in every part of his conduct, and a
perseverance which could only have been supported
by a genuine love of his occupation, and the success
which crowned his labours. His classical acquire-

30

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER

meats were of a superior order. These, with his
native endowments, gave him a facility of expression,
and a most happy choice of words, joined to a talent
for demonstration never to be exceeded. Whether
from an originally correct ear, a refined taste, or the
early society in which he mingled, his dialect had all
the polish of the southern metropolis, with enough
of the northern accent to strike and yet to please.
His person, though small, was graceful — his cast of
features regular and interesting — his voice musical
— his manners attentive and flattering. In short,
Dr Hunter was a polite scholar, an accomplished
gentleman, a complete anatomist, and probably the
most perfect demonstrator, as well as lecturer, the
world had ever seen.

When his younger brother arrived in London, Dr
Hunter entered upon the delightful task of instruct¬
ing a scholar every way worthy of him — diligent,
orderly, inquisitive, and of quick apprehension — it
could not but add to his gratification that such a
disciple was his near relation ; and we can easily be¬
lieve that their mutual satisfaction remained un¬
broken, so long as the elder might consider every
discovery made under his eye, and in his premises,
as his own property. But the relative position o\
the parties could not always continue to answer this
description. The scholar became the equal, if not
the superior, of his instructor ; and as often as he
ventured to offer a well-founded opinion in contra¬
diction to, or even in anticipation of, his master,
a trial of temper must have ensued — a trial which

MEMOIR OK JOHN HUNTER.

31

the event too clearly shewed the character of the
brothers did not qualify either of them to sustain.

Both the brothers were in the habit of committing
their views to writing, even when they did not in¬
tend to give them an immediate publicity; and thus
in their works, wrhen at length published, we some¬
times find a record of feelings of an early date,
which, though not expressed to each other at the
time, nevertheless operated on their mutual con¬
duct. Thus, Mr John Hunter informs us, that,
after making those investigations on the nerves
of smelling to which we have already alluded, he
immediately had drawings taken, with the view of
presenting the account to the Royal Society ; but
other pursuits interposed. Of these very drawings,
however, we find that engravings were afterwards
made by Dr William Hunter ; and they, and the
preparations themselves, were repeatedly displayed
in his lectures, while he at the same time explained
to the students the inferences to be deduced from
the discovery; — in other words, Dr Hunter appro¬
priated to himself the merits of a physical discovery,
and the physiological views thence derivable, all of
which was properly due to his brother.

This, however, was by no means a solitary in¬
stance ; and the particulars of another may be alluded
to, as clearly exhibiting the nature of the offence,
and the cause of the umbrage. In the month of May
1754, Dr Mackenzie, a friend of Mr Hunter’s, had
been particularly fortunate in procuring an interest'Tg
portion of anatomical structure, and so struck was

32

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

he with its value, that, before touching it, he secured
Mr Hunter’s attendance, and requested him to con¬
duct the examination. This Mr Hunter accordingly
did, in the presence of several individuals, and, with
his usual address, succeeded in unravelling a struc¬
ture, the anatomy of which had not before been un¬
derstood. He immediately made some preparations
illustrative of the facts, returned home in the even¬
ing, and communicated what he had discovered to
Dr Hunter, who at first (says he) “ treated it and
me with good-humoured raillery ; but on going to
Dr Mackenzie’s with me, he was soon convinced of
the fact.” After this, he and Dr Hunter together
took opportunities of re-examining the point, which
was thus made out to the complete satisfaction of
all capable of judging. John’s feeling, in his own
words, was, that he had a just claim to the disco¬
very of the structure, together with the further me¬
rit of showing the purposes of the structure so dis¬
covered. But, notwithstanding this, Dr Hunter in
his lectures never took any notice of his brother’s
share in the investigation, and some years afterwards
published a very splendid and elaborate work, in
which he accurately delineated and minutely de¬
scribed the anatomy and physiology of the parts,
without once mentioning the author, or the mode,
of the discovery.

These two instances may suffice to shew the na¬
ture of that injury which was offered on the one
juie, and the cause of that offence which was felt

MEMOIR OP JOHN HUNTER.

33

on the other. The injustice beyond all question
was great, and was the less excusable, as coining
from one so nearly related, and who was himself al¬
ready basking in the brightest sunshine of popularity
and success. That offence should have been taken
can scarcely excite either surprise or censure. But
still it can never be sufficiently lamented that two
such men should have allowed occurrences of this
nature, which, with a little kindly feeling, might have
been so easily adjusted to their mutual credit, to be¬
come a source of heart-burning and division. We
have not the means of judging how far these and
similar occurrences were attended with personal al¬
tercation; but it is a melancholy fact, that the spark
thus early kindled, occasionally burst into a flame,
during the remaining years of their lives. Not that
they lived in a state of uninterrupted hostility; very
far from it, as we shall have ample occasion to ob¬
serve in the sequel, and as the facts to which we have
just been adverting themselves sufficiently evince.
For, although these painful events occurred whe|
John had been only six years in London, he conti¬
nued in connection with his brother for six years
longer. In fact, John’s labours at this period con¬
tributed so much to his brother s museum, and were
altogether so gratifying to his disposition, that though,
as Sir E. Home remarks, in many respects they di/
not agree, the powerful bond of interest, in conjunc¬
tion, ;t may be hoped, with the remnants of better
lings, long delayed their separation.

0

34

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

It is not to be doubted, that the unfortunate state
of mutual feeling existing between the brothers was
the main cause which induced John, at length, to
determine upon withdrawing from London for a sea¬
son. At the same time, it is not less certain, that the
state of his health, impaired by incessant application,
rendered change of scene, and a suspension of la¬
bour expedient. We find, accordingly, that he was
advised to go abroad ; and Mr Adair, Inspector*
General of Hospitals, having appointed him a sur¬
geon on the staff, he, in the following spring, ac¬
companied the army to Belleisle, leaving Mr Hewson
to assist his brother.

From these facts, we may conclude, that Mr
Hunter's indisposition was not of a very alarming
character, as, had it been dangerous in its nature, he
would probably have sought for milder skies, and, at
all events, would not have encountered the perils
and fatigues incident to active military service. The
change, however, besides effectually breaking up his
connection with his brother, must have no doubt
tended to invigorate his constitution ; while active
service with the army, presented to him the best
possible field in which to familiarize himself with the
countless details of an art which can be practically
learned only by personal experience. Of these ad¬
vantages there is no want of evidence that he assi¬
duously availed himself, both for his own improve¬
ment, and for the advancement of science.

« tko 9Qth of March 1761, a secret expedition

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

35

which had been some time in preparation, set sail
from Spithead, and shaping its course for the coast
of Brittany, reached Belleisle on the 6th of April.
The laud forces under Major-General Hodgson
amounted to about 10,000 men, and the squadron
under the command of Commodore Keppel, consist¬
ed of ten sail of the line, and sixteen frigates, and
smaller vessels. An unsuccessful attempt to effect a
landing was made on the 8th, when the troops were
repulsed with the loss of 500 men, killed, wounded,
and prisoners ; but another and more fortunate at¬
tempt was made on the 22d. As no pains had been
spared to put the island into the best state of de¬
fence, tinder the command of the Chevalier St Croix,
one of the best officers of the French army, it was
not till after much skirmishing, and the capture of
several forts, that it finally surrendered on the 8th
of June. In the interval between the landing and
the capitulation, a reinforcement of 3000 troops, and
five ships of the line arrived, raising the military force
to 13,000 men. It was to this large force that Mr
Hunter was attached in the important rank of Sur¬
geon on the Staff. At the termination of hostilities,
it was found that the British loss amounted to more
than 300 men killed, and upwards of 500 wounded.
Of the French garrison, a still greater number were
left behind in the hospitals ; and by a distinct article
of the capitulation, these were to remain on the
island during the treatment of their wounds. We
have still to add, that the loss sustained from the ene-

36

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

my was but small, compared with that arising from
sickness, the great fatigues of the siege, and the
want of refreshment, bringing much disease along
with them.

In the following year, hostilities commenced with
Spain, and powerful succours were dispatched to
the aid of Portugal. A small garrison being left in
Belleisle, the greater part of the troops were con¬
veyed to the Peninsula, and fresh reinforcements ar¬
rived from Britain, which enabled the army to cope
with their powerful antagonists. The Spaniards,
with 8000 French auxiliaries, invaded Portugal at
three distinct points simultaneously; but, after very
considerable success, and the capture of many towns,
they were repulsed at all points towards the close
of the campaign, so that they had not much to eva¬
cuate at the peace in November of the same year
Mr Hunter continued with the army after termina¬
tion of hostilities, and did not quit it till 1763.

Few situations could have been more honourable
than that filled by Mr Hunter in these campaigns, and
few men were ever better qualified to discharge its
important duties- He brought all his stores of know¬
ledge, and all his acute powers of mind, to bear on the
subject, and hia unequalled industry did not flag when
engaged in his country’s service. The most am pie
proofs of his zeal, and the success attending it, were
subsequently afforded by his career in London — bv
the estimation in which he was ever after held by
the Army — by the prominence which, in his lec

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

37

tures, he gave to Military Surgery — and by his pub¬
lication on Gun-shot Wounds, 8cc. by which he in¬
troduced no inconsiderable improvement into the
art.

But it is more to our purpose to remark, that, in
these years of active service, Mr Hunter still found
time for the prosecution of his favourite study of
natural history. Many allusions to his observations
and experiments made at this period, occur in pa¬
pers which were not written till years afterwards.
Our limits do not permit us to enter on an analysis
of anv of these observations, and still less of the
papers in which they were presented to the public.
But we cannot refrain from inserting one or two spe¬
cimens, which will serve to verify the representa¬
tions we have given of Mr Hunter’s assiduity, and

/

will at the same time exhibit the inventive and ori¬
ginal character of his mind.

In a very elaborate paper of Mr Hunter’s on the
subject of Digestion, the following passage occurs .
“ In making comparative experiments upon the
digestive power, the different animals should be un¬
der similar circumstances. They should be equal in
age, in condition, in health. They should likewise
be of the same temperature; for the different classes
of animals are variously affected by the same degree
of heat. Experiments made upon snakes in the
winter, will differ greatly from those made in the
summer ; while similar experiments made on dogs
will have nearly the same result in both seasons.

38

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

Nor will the powers of the stomach be found always
equal in the same class. Sleeping animals of the
quadruped kind, as hedgehogs, do not digest in the
winter, hut in the summer only; therefore conclu¬
sions drawn from experiments made in the one sea¬
son, are not at all applicable to those made in the
other. Spallanzani observed, that the snake digested
food faster in June, when the heat was at 82°, than
in April when it was only 60°, whence he concludes
that heat assists digestion. But this heat is not the
immediate but the remote cause of the increased
power : heat having produced in the animal greater
necessity for nourishment, and of course greater
powers, gastric juice was therefore secreted faster,
or in greater quantity. When at Belleisle in the
beginning of winter 1761-2, I conveyed worms and
pieces of meat into the stomachs of lizards when
they were going into winter quarters, keeping them
afterwards in a cool place. On examining at diffe¬
rent periods, I always found the substances I had
introduced entire, and without any alteration. Some¬
times they were in the stomach, at other times they
had made some progress down the primes vies: so
that digestion is regulated by the other actions of
the body. Warmth requires action suitable to that
warmth ; the body requires nourishment suitable to
that action, and the stomach being called upon, per¬
forms the office of digestion.”

From another of his papers, not less characteris¬
tic, ami containing some particulars respecting his

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

39

pursuits, we make the following quotations : “ Some
time before I quitted my anatomical pursuits in the
year 1760, 1 had discovered the organ of hearing in
fishes, and had the parts exposed and preserved in
spirits. In some, the canals were filled with co¬
loured injections, which shewed them to great ad¬
vantage, and others were so prepared as to fit them
for dried preparations. Of what 1 then accomplish¬
ed I now present a brief sketch, reserving a moie
complete examination of the subject for a larger
work, on the structure of animals, which I one day
hope” (but never realized) “ to have it in my
power to publish. I had these parts also injected in
other animals, both with wax and metals, which,
when separated from the bone, make elegant casts of
these canals. My researches in that, and in every
part of the animal economy, have been continued
ever since. I am still inclined to consider what is
incommon in the structure of this organ in fishes, as
only a link in the chain of varieties displayed in its
formation in different animals, descending from the
most perfect to the more imperfect in a regular pro¬
gression. The preparations to illustrate these facts
have been ever since shewn in my collection to boib
the curious in this country, and to foreigners. In
shewing what was new, or supposed to be new, the
ear of fishes was always considered by me as one
important article.

“ It varies in different genera of fishes, but in all,
it consists of three curved bones, which unite oae

40

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

with another : this union forms in some only one ca«
nal, as in the cod, salmon, ling, &c., and in others a
tolerably large cavity, as in the ray kind. In the
rack, there is an oblong bag, or blind process, which
is an addition to these canals, and communicates
with them at their union. In the cod, &c. this union
of three tubes stands upon an oval cavity ; and in
the jack there are two : the additional cavities in
these fishes appearing to answer the same purpose
with the cavity observed in the ray, or cartilaginous
fishes.

“ 1 will here mention an experiment, to shew that
sounds affect fishes very much, and is one of their
guards, as it is in other animals. In the year 176<?,
when I was in Portugal, I observed in a nobleman's
garden, near Lisbon, a small fish-pond, full of diffe¬
rent kinds of fish. The bottom was level with the
ground, the pond having been made hv forming a
bank all round, and it had a shrubbery close to it.
Whilst I lay on the bank, observing the fish swim¬
ming about, I desired a gentleman who was with me
to fire a loaded gun from behind the shrubbery.
The reason for desiring him to go behind the shrubs
was, that there might not be the least reflection ot
light. The moment the report was made, the fish
ioemed to be all of one mind, for they vanished in¬
stantaneously, raising a cloud of mud from the bot¬
tom In about five minutes after, they began to re¬
appear, swimming about as before ”

During Mr H»n**r* absent with the army, lb©

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

41

kindly feelings of his brother towards him appeared
to have revived in full vigour, and no opportunity
was omitted of making honourable mention of his
name. It is in reference to this period of their his¬
tory, that Dr Adams has the following passage : —
“ My friend Dr Cogan, who, happily for all those
who share his acquaintance, lives to relate transac¬
tions of more than half a century, informs me, that
in the winter 1762-3, Dr Hunter would frequently
introduce in his lectures — “ In this I am only my
brother’s interpreter; — I am simply the demonstra¬
tor of this discovery — it was my brother’s.” Dr
Cogan adds, the frequency of such expressions na¬
turally inspired all the pupils with admiration of Mr
Hunter’s skill in anatomical researches, and of the
Doctor’s ingenuous conduct. Such facts only heighten,
our regret that any other feelings should have ever
influenced either of the brothers.

In the year 1764, we find Mr Hunter relieved
by the peace from active military duty, and returned
to engage in the arduous occupation of a London
surgeon. From what has just been mentioned, we
shall not be surprised to learn, that he received the
most cordial reception from his brother. In a vo¬
lume of Medical Commentaries published this year,
Dr Hunter introduced three papers of his brother’s
on anatomical subjects, which displayed his ability
whilst acting as his assistant ; and we find that the
Doctor found other opportunities to prove his fa

42

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

vourable regard, and effectually to promote his bro¬
ther’s interests.

Mr Hunter seems to have fixed his residence in
Golden Square, choosing that central situation with
a view, no doubt, to practice. Among the many
eminent professional men with whom he now enter¬
ed into competition, we find the distinguished names
of Hawkins, Bromfield, Sharpe, and Pott, who em¬
braced a large share of family practice, whilst Adair
and Tomkins enjoyed the chief practice derived from
the Army. Mr Hunter, at the same time, engaged
in teaching practical anatomy and operative surgery,
— departments in which he could have had few
equals ; and these courses he continued for several
winters.

At this period of his life, we are informed by one
who knew him well, that he was extremely compa¬
nionable, mixed freely in society, drank his bottle,
told his story, and enjoyed a laugh. But his scien¬
tific pursuits soon absorbed all his time. His pro¬
fessional engagements increased, and he entirely sur¬
rendered himself to his inclination for natural his¬
tory and comparative anatomy.

His plans for the prosecution of this object were
speedily formed, and evinced his characteristic ener¬
gy. Finding that his experiments could not be car¬
ried on advantageously in the midst of a large town,
he purchased, with his hard-earned savings, a piece
of ground, then about two miles from London, be-

MEMOIR OP JOHN HUNTER.

43

yond Brompton, and built upon it a house, well
known by the name of Earl’s Court. This was his
Tusculanum , his favourite summer retreat, where
he spent a large portion of his time, and provided,
at great expense, accommodation for the animals he
collected around him. No person of common cu¬
riosity could pass this original dwelling without ma¬
king inquiry concerning its proprietor; and, on a
nearer survey, a lawn was discovered in the rear,
crowded with birds and beasts, and creeping things,
of the strangest selection in nature.

H is fondness for his pursuits, and his repeated
watchings of the peculiar habits and instincts of
these animals, made many of them familiar with
him. This, however, was not unattended with risk,
and sometimes brought him into situations of dan¬
ger, of which the following instance may he given.
Two leopards which were kept chained in an out¬
house had broken from their confinement, and got
into the yard among some dogs, which they imme¬
diately attacked. The howling produced, alarmed
not only the menagerie, but the whole neighbour¬
hood. Upon running hurriedly into the yard to
see what was the matter, Mr Hunter found one of
the leopards scaling the wall, and about to make
liis escape, while the other was beset by the dogs,
and fully engaged with his opponents. Mr Hun¬
ter immediately seized both, and carried them back
to their den ; but no sooner were they secured, and
time was allowed to reflect upon the risk to which

44

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

he had been exposed, than he nearly fainted from
agitation.

Thus situated, the first few years of Mr Hunter’s
residence at home passed away busily but unobtru¬
sively. While teaching anatomy and surgery, he
was at the same time assiduously carrying on inves¬
tigations by which he expected to extend the know¬
ledge of the former, and to improve the practice of
the latter ; and in the formation of his museum, he
was taking the best possible means of embodying
and illustrating all his researches. He was laying
in a vast stock of knowledge, and arranging it ac¬
cording to a natural order; and it was from these
stores that, at a future period, he supplied those pro¬
ductions of his pen, which surprised almost as much
by their number as their originality. Amongst
many other subjects which at this time occupied his
attention, wre may mention, that he carried on an
extensive set of experiments on young animals, to
ascertain the facts regarding the growth of their bony
structure ; and, by feeding them with madder, which
tinges bone of a red colour in the act of its forma¬
tion, he detected many curious phenomena. He
pushed the inquiry still farther, and, by another set
of experiments, ascertained the effects of injuries
and accidents on hones; the laws according to which
their diseases are induced, and the treatment by
which a restoration to health is to be expected.

In the year 1767, Mr Hunter, while dancing, like
Dr Monro, and several other eminent anatomists, had

MEMO IK OF JOHN HUNTER.

45

the misfortune to break his Tendo- Achilles. This
led him to pay particular attention to broken ten¬
dons, and engaged him in experiments upon dogs,
with the view of elucidating the subject. He did not
in his own case, follow the then prevailing practice,
which required confinement to bed ; but, by means
of raising the heel, bandaging, he. lie was enabled
to wralk about the third dav after the accident.

In February ot Thb» year, ?vlr Hunter was chosen
a Fellow of the Royal Society, an earnest of those
many honours which were subsequently heaped up¬
on him. His desire to avail himself of every means
of improvement led him, at this time, to propose to
Dr George Fordyce, and Mr C’ummiiig, the eminent
mechanic, to adjourn from the meetings of the Royal
Society to some neighbouring coffee-house, and dis¬
cuss such subjects as were connected with science.
This plan was no sooner commenced and known,
than the numbers increased. They were soon joined
by Sir Joseph Ranks, Dr Solander, Dr Maskelyne,
Sir George Shuckhurgh, Sir Harry Englefietd, Sir
Charles Rlagden, Dr Beattie, Mr Rarnsden, James
Watt of Birmingham, and many others. At these
meetings, discoveries and improvements in different
branches of philosophy were the subjects of consi¬
deration : and the works of the members were read
over and criticised, before being given to the pub¬
lic.

Next year. Mr Hunter became a member of the
Royal CoiTge Surgeons; and, almost immediate-

46

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

Iv after, on the death of Mr Gataker, he, through
Ins brother's kind aid, and most powerful influence,
attained the high and envied situation of Surgeon to
St George’s Hospital. In this situation, he was
long pre-eminently popular, the youths of the Hos¬
pital crowding around him, and listening to his re¬
marks with the profoundest attention.

In 1770, Ur William Hunter having removed to
his new and superb premises in Great Windmill
Street, made over the lease of his former mansion
to his brother, and John took up his abode in the
house in Jermyn Street, well situated for practice,
and in all respects commodious.

Like many other hospital-surgeons, Mr Hma.ter
was now in the practice of receiving house-pupils;
whose advantages must have been great, in enjoying
familiar intercourse with a man equally eager in ac¬
quiring and in communicating knowledge. Nor was
the advantage to the teacher merely pecuniary:
many of his experiments, if not conducted, were at
least greatly assisted by men in the vigour of youth
and health, to whom the treasures of natural know¬
ledge were thu* presented under the fairest forms,
aided with all th* charms of novelty. The iFTus-
trious Dr Jenner was one of these fortunate indi¬
viduals, and one who did not fail to take every op¬
portunity of manifesting his gratitude to his
and friend.

The year 1771 tvas signalized by the pubhcHUon
pf Mr Hunter’s treatise “ On the Natural His'Ory

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

47

of the Teeth,” a work which led the way in rapid
succession to many others. This was the only work
he sold to the booksellers, as all his others were
published on his own account, or were introduced
into the miscellaneous collections of the day.

It was in July of this year that Mr Hunter, at
the age of forty-three, united himself in marriage
with Miss Home, eldest daughter of Mr Home,
Surgeon of Burgoyne’s Regiment of Light Horse,
with whom he had served in Portugal. The en¬
gagement had been of several years’ standing; hut
Mr Hunter had not the art of accumulating money,
being given to spend all that he got upon his favou¬
rite pursuits; so that it required a considerable time
before he could sustain the expenses of matrimony.
He was captivated, not only by the lady’s personal
attractions, but also by those mental endowments
which she possessed in a very eminent degree. She
had given much attention to the fine arts, and sub¬
sequently exhibited specimens of poetry, possessed
of more than ordinary merit. By means of these
qualities, united to a sweet natural disposition, she
contributed much to soothe the anxious cares of her
husband’s troubled life.

At this period, Mr Hunter’s private practice, and
his professional character, were rapidly advancing;
but still no small portion of his time was devoted
to his museum, which, as it daily became more ex¬
tensive, was also attended with increased expense.
The whole suite of the best rooms in his house in

48

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

Jerrnyn Street was speedily occupied by it. It was
about this time, that, having received the present of
a stuffed cameleopard, which, from its height, could
not otherwise be placed, he, with true surgical skill,
subjected it to the operation of a temporary ampu¬
tation of the legs, and so accommodated it in the
lobby.

Earl’s Court, though a delightful retirement to
Mr Hunter from the fatigues of his profession, did
in no respect afford a cessation from labour. On
the contrary, his researches were carried on there
with less interruption, and with an unwearied per¬
severance. From this time (1772) till his death, he
made it his custom to sleep at Earl’s Court during
the autumn months, coming to town only during
the hours of business in the forenoon, and returning
to dinner.

It was here he carried on his experiments on di¬
gestion, on exfoliation, on the transplanting of teeth
into the combs of cocks, and all his other investiga¬
tions on the animal economy. Not only the com-
mon bee, hut the wasp, the hornet, and the less
known species of bees, were made subjects of in¬
vestigation. Here also he made his series of pre¬
parations of the external and internal changes of the
silk-worm ; also, as before noticed, a complete series
of the incubation of the egg. Here, too, it was that
he pastured and trained those buffaloes which he
put into harness and trotted through the streets of
London so late as 1792. The growth of vegetable

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

was a.so a favourite subject of inquiry, and one in
which he was at all times engaged in prosecuting
some experiments.

It was his favourite amusement in this retreat t*
walk about among his birds and beasts, attending to
their habits and actions. The fiercer animals were
those to which he was most partial, and he had se¬
veral of the bull kind, from different parts of the
world. Among these was a beautiful small bull
which he had received from the Queen, with which
he used to wrestle in play, and entertain himself
with its exertions in its own defence. In one of
these contests, the bull overpowered him, and got
him down ; and, had not one of the servants acci¬
dentally passed by, and frightened the bull away,
the frolic would probably have cost him his life.

About this time, he was requested by Sir John
Pringle, then President of the Royal Society, to
draw up a paper for the consideration of that learn¬
ed body. This paper led the way to many others ;
and throughout his life, and more especially during
the next ten years, he was unremitting in supplying
the Society with communications. We may state
in a few words, the more immediate occasion of tha\.
to which we have just adverted. Sir John Pringle
having lost a patient, engaged Mr Hunter to exa¬
mine into the cause of death. At the examination,
a portion of the stomach was, to the astonishment
of the by-standers, found so entirely dissolved, as to

D

50

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

nerally awanting. Mr Hunter’s inquiries on the
subject of digestion here came to his aid, and he in¬
formed them that he did not participate in their sur¬
prise — that the appearance was not new to him —
and that it arose from the peculiar properties of the
gastric juice, which, under certain rare and peculiar
circumstances, possessed the power of destroying,
immediately after death, to a greater or less extent,
the very organ which had secreted it. This was not
only an important fact in general pathology which
Mr Hunter had ascertained, and which was pre¬
viously unknown, and subsequently denied, but it
bore, in an important wray, on the subject of death
by poisons, and shortly led to Mr Hunter’s taking
a prominent part, as a witness, in a case of life and
death, to which we shall presently advert.

In the early part of 1773, Mr Hunter was the
subject of a very violent and alarming, though tran¬
sient attack of illness, which came on unexpectedly,
and apparently in consequence of an affair which
acutely affected his mind. It exhibited itself under
the form of an excruciating pain at the pit of the
stomach. So violent was the pain, that he tried
every position to procure ease : he sat down, walked,
laid himself on the carpet, then upon chairs, but
could find no relief. When he was walking about
the room, he cast his eyes on a looking-glass, and
observed his countenance to be pale, his lips white,
having the appearance of a dead man. This alarm¬
ed him, and led him to feel for his pulse ; but he

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

51

found none in either arm. He now thought his
complaint serious, and several physicians were sent
for, his brother, Sir G. Baker, and many others ; but
none could find a pulse. The pain still continued,
and he found himself at times not breathing. Being
afraid that death would soon take place if he did not
breathe, he produced voluntarily the act of breath¬
ing, the sensitive principle, with ail its effects on the
machine, not being in the least affected by the com¬
plaint. In this state he continued for three quarters
of an hour. At length the pain abated, the pulse
returned, though very weak at first, and involun¬
tary breathing was restored. In two hours he was
perfectly recovered, and his health was scarcely im¬
paired during the next three succeeding years.

In 1773, Mr Hunter determined to become a
public lecturer on the theory and principles of sur¬
gery, his reasons for which were usually explained
as often as he began his course. He stated, that he
had so frequently been compelled to hear his opi¬
nions either incorrectly quoted, or delivered as the
discoveries of others, that he found it absolutely
necessary himself to explain them systematically.
At the same time, he dwelt much on the advantages
every man derives from putting his thoughts in writ¬
ing. He compared it to a tradesman taking stock,
without which he neither knows what he has, nor
what he needs. For two years he read his lectures
gratuitously to the pupils of St George’s Hospital,
and in 1775 publicly delivered them in his house

52

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

in Jermyn Street, on the terras of other teachers.
Delivering lectures was always particularly unplea¬
sant to him ; so that his desire of submitting his opi¬
nions to the world, and learning its general estimate
of them, were scarcely sufficient to overcome his
natural dislike to public speaking. He never gave
the first lecture of his course without taking lauda¬
num, to take off the effect of the uneasiness.

His class was not large, and of those who attended
him, the greater part acknowledged the difficulty
they had in comprehending him, which was often
proved by their incapacity of keeping up their atten¬
tion. He seemed quite conscious of the difficulty
he experienced in making himself understood, and
yet appeared delighted when he succeeded, always
waiting at the close of each lecture to answer in¬
quiries, and evincing evident satisfaction when the
questions put were pertinent, and when he perceived
that his answers were satisfactory and intelligible.

He was so diffident of himself, that he trusted
nothing to memory. He wrote his lectures on de¬
tached pieces of paper, and, such was his confusion,
that frequently he found himself incapable of ex¬
plaining his opinions from his notes ; and, after ha¬
ving in vain attempted to recall the transitory ideas,
now no longer floating in his mind, nor obedient to
his will — after having in vain rubbed his face, and
shut his eyes, to invite disobedient recollection, he
would throw the subject by, and take up another.
Although a great part of the contents of his lectures

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

53

were afterwards copied out fair by another hand,
yet, in every fresh course, upon any new opinion
requiring to be stated, scraps of paper were intro¬
duced, and renewed embarrassments were encoun¬
tered in explaining them.

This unusual and extraordinary difficulty was ob¬
served in Mr Hunter, as we have already hinted, at
an early period, and it continued unabated, till the
close of his career. It has given occasion to much
remark, and has been variously accounted for. Some¬
thing no doubt must be charged to the effects of his
early education ; for, as a contemporary observes, “ to
imagine that this undertaking of lecturing was car¬
ried on with equal facility by John Hunter, as it
could have been had he been properly educated,
would be romantic, more especially as nature had
been very sparing to him in the gift of elocution.”

We may further illustrate this peculiarity in Mr
Hunter’s mental constitution, by noticing the ap¬
pearance he made on the celebrated trial of Do-
nellan for the murder of Sir Theodosius Brough¬
ton. A plot, it was alleged, having been laid to
make away with this young Baronet, a draught of
strong laurel-water was administered to him while
'in perfect health, in consequence of which death en¬
sued in a few hours, attended with all the symptoms
of poisoning from that preparation. The Oxford
Professor of Anatomy, with all the faculty in the
neighbourhood, had decided that the deceased had
been poisoned. Mr Hunter’s high celebrity, and

54

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

the paper he had read before the Royal Society, led
to his being brought as a witness, and with respect
to liis appearance, it may be enough to quote the
words of the learned Judge in his able charge to the
Jury: “ For the prisoner you have had one gentle¬
man called, who is likewise of the faculty, and a
very able man. I can hardly say what his opinion
is, for he does not appear to have formed any opi¬
nion at all in the matter. He, at first, said he could
not form an opinion whether the death was, or was
not, occasioned by the poison, because he conceived
it might be ascribed to other causes. I wished very
much to have got a direct answer from Mr Hunter,
if I could, as to what, upon the whole, was now the
result of his attention and application to the subject,
and what was his present opinion ; but he says he
can say nothing decisive.”

This brief notice, however, gives in fact but a
most imperfect idea of Mr Hunter’s embarrassment,
and, as he was himself aware, apparent equivocation
on this important trial. The nature of his evidence
was not only remarked by the Jury and the Court,
but became matter of general observation. It would
almost appear that there was a difficulty of express¬
ing himself, arising not merely from a defect of lan¬
guage, but from a certain degree of inaccuracy and
confusion of thought. As a man of genius, he un¬
questionably thought much and deeply, and that,
too, on very abstruse subjects; but still there wera
not wanting some who maintained that the same

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

55

perplexity and obscurity pervaded many of his views
and the mode by which such persons solved the di£
ficulty, was by alleging that Mr Hunter did not un
derstand himself.

It must be allowed that some of his writings are
far from being perspicuous, whilst others, again, are
clear, and readily understood. In conversation he
expressed himself grammatically and well, and yet
it is certain he never could lecture satisfactorily, and
that he wrote with difficulty, and often incorrectly.
Like some other eminent men of science, he is said
not unfrequently to have obtained in the revision of
his works the aid of friends, and of other literary men,
whose services he could more certainly command ;
and among the latter of these, the famous Smollet
has been named, as one who occasionally lent his
assistance.

In the spring of 1776, Mr Hunter again expe¬
rienced a very severe attack of sickness; — differing
from the former, but still, like it, of a singular cha¬
racter. It originated, as the previous attack had
done, by violent agitation and anxiety of mind, pro¬
duced, in the present instance, by a heavy and unex¬
pected pecuniary loss. In the course of the day he
had taken a short journey in a post-chaise, daring
which he had felt as if he had drank too much. At
night, he had no sooner laid down in bed, than he
felt as if suspended in the air, and soon after, the
Toom appeared to go round ; the quickness of the
motion seemed to increase, and at last was very rapid.

56

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

It continued for some time ; then became slower
and slower, till the whole was at rest. After this, he
slept pretty well, and continued so during the course
fef the next day. On the succeeding day, however,
/he symptoms returned. He could now hardly
move his head from the horizontal position, and was
brought home in his carriage, the motion of which
was most disagreeable. On getting to bed, the gid¬
diness, and the idea of being suspended in the air,
increased, and the least motion of the head upon the
pillow appeared to be so great, that he hardly durst
attempt it. If he moved his head but half round, it
appeared to he moving to some distance with great
velocity. The idea that he had of his own size was
that of being two feet long ; and when he drew up
his foot, or pushed it down, it appeared to him to
be moving a great way. All his sensations, too,
of light and sound, became most painfully acute.
He remained in this state for about ten days, and
was fed as he lay. After this, his ideas of his state
became more natural : the deception concerning
his size was in part corrected, and the feeling of sus¬
pension in the air ceased. For some time the fire
appeared of a deep purple red. When he got so
well as to be able to stand without giddiness, he was
unable to walk without support, for his feelings did
not inform him concerning his centre of gravity, so
that he was unable to balance his body, or prevent
himself from falling.

The real nature and cause of this attack, as o$

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

57

the former, seems to have entirely eluded both his
own ingenuity and the acumen of the faculty ; nor
does it appear that medicine proved of the slightest
benefit. As soon as he was able he went to Bath,
where, however, he staid but a short time, being
very anxious to resume his various employments;
and in a few weeks he got well.

Mr Hunter was now advancing rapidly into pub¬
lic celebrity : he still enjoyed the patronage of his
brother, at this time in the highest credit with the
Royal Family and the high nobility; and in 1776
he had the honour of being appointed Surgeon Ex¬
traordinary to the King ; and, ten years afterwards,
was gazetted as Deputy Surgeon-General to the
Army. Professional success, however, was never
the ultimate aim of his ambition ; and he prosecuted
it with ardour, mainly as affording the necessary
means for the attainment of those scientific objects
on which his soul was centred. The emoluments of
his profession were unremittingly lavished on these
objects, and every moment he could redeem from
his necessary engagements was devoted to his scien¬
tific pursuits. The results of these labours were
most abundant.

In 1773, at the request of Mr Walsh, he dissect¬
ed the Torpedo, and laid an account of the electrica.
organs before the Royal Society.

A young elephant presented to the Queen by Sir
Robert Barker, having died, the body was given to

58

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

Dr William Hunter. This afforded his brother an
opportunity of examining the structure of that ani¬
mal. After this time two other elephants died in the
Queen’s Menagerie, and both of them came under
Mr Hunter’s examination.

In 1774, he published in the Philosophical Trans¬
actions an account of certain receptacles of air in
birds, which communicate with the lungs, and are
lodged both in the soft parts and in the hollow bones
of these animals. He also published this year a
paper on the Gillaroo Trout, commonly called in
Ireland the Gizzard-trout.

In 1775, several animals of that species called the
Gymnotus electricus of Surinam having been brought
alive to this country, excited the greatest curiosity
by their electrical properties. Mr Walsh being de¬
sirous of pursuing his investigations in animal elec¬
tricity, made a number of experiments on the living
animals ; and to give his friend Mr Hunter an op¬
portunity of examining them, he purchased those
that died. An anatomical account of their electrical
organs was drawn up by Mr Hunter, and published
in the Philosophical Transactions. In the same vo¬
lume, there is another paper by him, containing an
account of his experiments on animals and vegetables,
respecting their power of producing heat.

In 1776, he read the first of the Croonian Lec¬
tures delivered by him, choosing Muscular Action
for his subject, and prosecuting it through a series

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

59

of six lectures, which were delivered in as many
years. In these lectures he collected his numerous
observations on Muscles — treated of their powers,
and the effects of the stimuli by which they are af¬
fected — and illustrated these points by comparative
observations upon the moving powers of plants.

The efforts of the Humane Society having drawn
much public attention about this time, in conse¬
quence of the exertions of Dr Cogan and Dr Hawes,
and the institution having at length been recognised
as a royal establishment, Mr Hunter’s abilities were
put in requisition by his friends, and he accordingly
read a long and interesting paper on the subject in
the Royal Society, entitled, “ Proposals for the re¬
covery of persons apparently drowned.”

In 1777, he read a second paper on the heat of
animals and vegetables ; and at this time published
the second part of his treatise on the Teeth. In
1779, he gave a description of the Free-Mavtin in
the Philosophical Transactions ; and in rapid suc¬
cession, an account of an extraordinary Pheasant —
of the Organ of Hearing in Fishes — on a new Ma¬
rine Animal — observations on the Wolf, Jackall,
and Dog — on the Structure and Economy of Whales
— and, finally, as late as 1792, Observations on Bees.
Besides these, other papers appeared in his work on
the Animal Economy, published in 1786. Several
were on natural history. Such, for example, was
his paper on the Secretion in the Crop of Breeding
Pigeons for the nourishment of their young — oa

BO

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

the colour of the Pigmentum nigrum of the eye in
different animals ; whilst others of a more professional
character at the same time appeared, both in the
work last noticed, and also in the Philosophical
Transactions. In 1787 the Royal Society conferred
upon him its Copleyan Medal, probably not more on
account of the intrinsic value of his communications
than on account of his amazing assiduity and success.

It must be evident, that the very multiplicity of
these productions, which it is necessary to enume¬
rate, precludes the possibility of giving any thing
like a detailed account of them. To convey some
impression, however, though most inadequate, of
these labours of Mr Hunter, we shall select one
paper, and, in as few words as possible, give an ac¬
count of it. We take up that on the Structure and
Economy of Whales. After some prefatory remarks
on the extreme rarity of opportunities for prosecut¬
ing the investigation, as they inhabit distant seas,
and cannot be brought to us alive, he remarks, “ I
have availed myself as much as possible of all the
accidental opportunities that have occurred ; and
anxious to get more extensive information, I engaged
a surgeon, at considerable expense, to make a voy¬
age to Greenland, and furnished him with such neces¬
saries as I thought might be requisite for examining
and preserving the most interesting parts, and with
instructions for making general observations; but the
only return I received was a piece of a whale’s skin,
with some small animals sticking to it.” Mr Hun-

MEMOIR OP JOHN HUNTER.

61

ter somehow found opportunities of minutely exa¬
mining the Porpoise, two Grampuses, a Bottle-nosed
Whale, and the Balcena rostrata of Fabricius. The
large Whalebone Whale, the Spermaceti Whale, and
the Narwhal, had also fallen under his inspection.
“ Some of these,” he remarks, “ I have examined
with accuracy, whilst others I have only examined
in part. Having thus acquired a general knowledge
of the whale tribe, I have been enabled to form a
tolerable idea of the whole and a popular epitome
he embodies in the subsequent parts of the communi¬
cation. He comments on their being mammalia,
and yet aquatic animals, on the mode in which
their internal structure is modified to suit their exter¬
nal exigencies, on their shape, general figure, and ap¬
pearance. He then gives a distinct description of
their osseous structure, the tail, the fat, including a
long disquisition on spermaceti, of the skin, their
mode of collecting food, their teeth and whalebone,
the account of which is excellent ; then the whole of
their viscera, the windpipe and blowholes, forming
the best account we have seen ; the brain and the
several organs of sense. The paper is accompanied
with illustrative drawings, and as for many years it
was the best description, so is it much prized even
at the present day.

About this time honours were showered thick
upon Mr Hunter. He was elected Fellow of the
Royal Society of Science at Gottenburgh, and of
the American Philosophical Society, and also of both

62

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

the Royal Society of Medicine, and of the Royal
Academy of Surgery, at Paris.

Mr Hunter continued twelve years in his house
in Jermyn Street, when the lease having expired,
and the house affording very inadequate accommoda¬
tion for his museum, he was necessitated to remove.
After many difficulties and disappointments, he pur¬
chased the lease of a large house in Leicester Square,
and the whole lot of ground extending to Castle
Street, in which there was another house ; and in
the middle space between the two, he erected a
building for his museum, on which he expended
L. 3000.

In this building there was a spacious apartment
fifty-two feet long, by twenty-eight wide, lighted
from the top, and having a gallery all round for ac¬
commodating his preparations. Under this there
were two apartments, one for his class room, and
another afterwards used for weekly meetings of his
medical friends, during the winter. To this build¬
ing the house in Castle Street was entirely subser¬
vient ; its rooms being used for the different branches
of human and comparative anatomy.

His museum continued to enlarge with increasing
rapidity, for which he was in no small degree in¬
debted to the friendship of Sir Joseph Banks, who
not only allowed him to take any of his own speci¬
mens, but procured him every curious animal pro¬
duction in his power, and afterwards divided be¬
twixt him and the British Museum all the specimens

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

63

of the animals he had collected in his voyage round
the World. To his friend the Honourable Sir
Charles Greville, Mr Walsh, and many others, he
was also under particular obligations ; and thus Mr
Hunter lost no opportunity of turning his high cele¬
brity to the best possible advantage. If any thing
of importance happened within the range of Compa¬
rative Anatomy, Mr Hunter was sure to be apprized
of it. If a mummy were to be examined, or a body
to be embalmed ; if any curious structure was dis¬
covered, or if any thing strange in nature attracted
attention, Mr Hunter’s services were applied for,
and were readily granted. Possessing such oppor¬
tunities, and obtaining materials from such varied
sources, standing nearly alone in this branch of
science, no new animal was brought into the coun¬
try which was not shewn him ; very many were given
him ; and of those which were for sale, he commonly
had the refusal. Under these circumstances his
collection made a progress which would otherwise
have been impossible.

It was at this time that Sir Everard Home, then
a young man, and staff1- surgeon just returned from
foreign service, attached himself to the fortunes of
Mr Hunter, and adhered to him with a pertinacity
which increased with their years, and terminated
only with Mr Hunter’s life. Sir Everard was his
brother-in-law. The year after Mr Hunter’s mar¬
riage, Everard became his pupil, continuing with hiur
for six years. For a period of six years thereafter

64

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

he was engaged in service in various parts of the
world, during which time he procured and transmitted
to Mr Hunter many interesting objects of natural
history; and now he returned to afford him still more
immediate aid.

Nor was Mr Home the only individual to whose
active personal aid Mr Hunter was indebted. Among
various other individuals, the names of Mr Bell and
Mr Andre deserve to be particularly mentioned. In
the course of his pursuits Mr Hunter met with many
parts of animals where the natural appearances could
not be preserved ; hence the importance of having
correct drawings of such subjects taken. The ex¬
pense of employing professed artists, the difficulty of
procuring them, and the disadvantage under which
they laboured in being ignorant of the subject they
were to represent, made him desirous of having an
able person in his house entirely for that purpose.
With this view, he, so early as 1775, entered into
an engagement for ten years with Mr Bell, an inge¬
nious young artist, who agreed to live with him,
and devote his whole time to drawing and making
anatomical preparations. Mr Bell soon became a
good practical anatomist, and was thus enabled to
give a striking and accurate delineation of the sub¬
jects presented to his pencil. By his labours, Mr
Hunter’s collection is enriched with many valuable
drawings, and a great variety of curious anatomical
preparations. After working for fourteen years with
Mr Hunter, and obtaining his surgical diploma, Mt

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

65

Bell obtained an appointment as assistant-surgeon,
and went to Sumatra, where he died a year before
his first master and patron.

Mr Andre’s connexion with Mr Hunter began
at a later period, apparently about 1784. He joined
Mr Hunter when already a first-rate anatomist. He
was bred in the school of Watson, and seems to have
made preparations purely from the admiration of the
art. His delight in excellence was such, that he
would not allow any undertaking to leave his hands
with the possibility of its being improved. His
knowledge of natural history, and his modest deport¬
ment, made him a valuable assistant.

It was while enjoying such assistants as these, that
Mr Hunter, in April 1785, removed his collection to
his new museum room in Leicester Square. The
ardour with which this arrangement was made, may
he illustrated by the following anecdote. One day
the late Dr Gartshore finding Mr Hunter very busy
in his museum, exclaimed, “ Ah ! John, you are al¬
ways at work.” “ I am,” replied Mr Hunter, “ and

when I am dead vou will not soon meet with another
*

John Hunter.”

But in the midst of all this occupation and success,
Mr blunter was not without his share of trials and
disappointments ; for his prudence was moderate,
and his feelings were more than ordinarily acute.
He was always a bad economist ; not that he squan¬
dered his hard earned gains in pleasure or ostenta¬
tion, but his passion for natural history was ever apt

E

£6 MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

to carry him into an excess which, however laudable,
in some points of view, was nevertheless attended
with the usual penalties of imprudence, not less than
more vulgar extravagance. We have already seen
that his marriage was delayed for several years on
account of the embarrassed state of his affairs ; and
notwithstanding this sacrifice, Sir E. Home informs
us, seven years afterwards, that his annual expends
ture had always exceeded his income. At a later
period, again, when he purchased the leasehold in
Leicester Square, he was enabled to defray the ex¬
pense only by means of mortgages, and for several
additional years, he used to regret that all he could
collect in fees went to carpenters and bricklayers.
Mr Hunter was not the man who could be exposed
to the annoyances arising from such a state of his
affairs, without feeling it most keenly, and we have
accordingly seen that both his attacks of illness were
connected with his embarrassments. For a consider¬
able time his professional income increased but
slowly. During the first fourteen years after his
settling in London, it did not average L. 1000 a
year, but it subsequently improved greatly, amount¬
ing for several years previous to his death to L. 5000,
and at the time of that event it had reached L.6000.

But there was another source of distress of a still
bitterer kind, arising from a revival of his unfortu¬
nate dissensions with his brother William, a subject
which, though painful, is not without both interest
and instruction. We have seen William’s kindness
to his brother on his first arrival In London ; and

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

67

we have likewise had the pleasing duty of record¬
ing several subsequent instances of affectionate in¬
terest. But we have also had occasion to trace some
symptoms of rivalry and selfish jealousy which seemed
to indicate that the preservation of a certain distance
between the brothers was essential to their mutual
harmony. For years this plau succeeded ; or, at all
events, there was no apparent rupture. In 1780, how¬
ever, there occurred a crisis, the immediate cause of
which is not perhaps very well ascertained. The
most probable account, however, states it thus. Mr
Hunter having on hand some interesting anatomical
investigation, invited his brother William to come and
witness it ; when he, conceiving that the preparation
would prove a very valuable addition to his own
museum, caused it to he conveyed to his premises
in Great Windmill Street, and when subsequently
claimed by John, he refused to return it.

It has been said that a great French anatomist
was wont to express his opinion of his more emi¬
nent professional brethren in these few words :
Grand anatomiste , grand voleur ; and it would ap¬
pear that the apophthegm ought not to be restricted
to one side of the Channel. John Hunter has not
escaped from similar charges any more than his
brother ; not that he has been accused in any in¬
stance of direct pilfering ; hut in regard to scientific
discovery and literary property, it has been frequent¬
ly alleged that he concealed the successful labours of
others, and claimed the results as his own. We

6S

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

have neither space nor inclination to enter into an
investigation of these charges ; but historical honesty
required us to mention that they had been advanced ;
we believe them to be untrue ; and having thus no¬
ticed them, we willingly dismiss the subject.

At the time when the unfortunate accident Ve
have just mentioned occurred, William Hunter was
caressed by fortune, and abounding in wealth ; John,
on the other hand, was poor. In these circum¬
stances, William, who had been the liberal patron of
his brother early and late, may perhaps have thought
that he might be allowed to gratify himself in a trifle,
however unceremonious the mode he took of ob¬
taining it. But this was by no means in accordance
with John’s nature. He would not submit to what
he considered an insult as well as an injustice, and
he determined to resent it. The affair of the ana¬
tomical discovery before alluded to (p. 31), in which
Dr Mackenzie had a part, had now slept for the
best part of twenty years. In an unhappy hour
John determined to revive it, and with that view to
send a full account of the circumstances to the Royal
Society. This was five years after William had
published his splendid work, in which only a gene¬
ral acknowledgment was made to his brother. Mr
Hunter’s communication was accordingly read ; but
at the next meeting Dr Hunter put in his claim to
the discovery in question, and John replied. The
Society manifested its sense of the affair, and its
consideration for the brothers, by publishing none of

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

69

the papers; though they are still preserved in its
Archives.

The breach thus made was too wide to be healed.
William Hunter survived for three years, but it does
not appear that the brothers ever again met on
friendly terms. At his death, Dr Hunter, though
fully aware of his brother’s embarrassments, did not
leave him a single shilling of his splendid fortune ;
nay, he conveyed to a more distant relation, the fa¬
mily property of Long Calderwood, and allowed his
brother no share in the superintendence of his
museum. To the honour of the late Dr Baillie, the
nephew of the brothers, and the residuary legatee,
it ought to be recorded, that he lost no time in con¬
veying the family estate, as well as the lands of Kil¬
bride, to Mr John Hunter.

Dr Hunter s last illness having been protracted
for about ten days, John availed himself of the op¬
portunity to ask permission to visit the dying bed of
his only brother, patron, and instructor, and the re¬
quest was complied with ; but we have it not in our
power to state that there was any mutual explanation
or hearty reconciliation. The survivor felt the part¬
ing scene most severely. The melancholy event oc¬
curred just at the conclusion of his course of lec¬
tures ; and circumstances having led him to allude
to it in the class, an eye-witness informs us that Mr
Hunter seemed to finish, yet to have more to say ;
at length appearing as if he had just recollected
something, he began, — “ Ho ! Gentlemen, one thing

70

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

more : — I need not remind you of - . Yen

all know the loss anatomy has lately sustained/*
He was obliged to pause, and turn his face from his
hearers. At length recovering himself, he stated
that Mr Cruickshank would occupy the place of Dr
Hunter. This, and a few words more, were not
spoken without great emotion, nor with dry eyes.
The scene was so truly pathetic, that a general sym¬
pathy pervaded the whole class ; and every one,
though all had been preparing to leave the place,
stood or sat motionless for several minutes.

The period of Mr Hunter’s removal to his sump¬
tuous premises in Leicester Square, with a few suc¬
ceeding years, may be regarded as the brightest era
of his life. He was then at the height of his sur¬
gical career. His mind and body were both in full
vigour. His hands were capable of performing
whatever was suggested by his mind, and his judg¬
ment was matured by a most ample experience.
At this time he performed many successful opera¬
tions, and his improvements in the art of surgery
were numerous and splendid. (Witness his treat¬
ment of Aneurism, Hydrocele, &c.) He was en¬
gaged in very extensive practice ; was Surgeon to
St George’s Hospital ; delivered a long course of
lectures during the winter ; kept up a S.chool o
Practical Anatomy, while he was all along forward¬
ing his discoveries in Comparative Anatomy and
Natural History, and accumulating in his museum
many splendid proofs of his indefatigable zeal.

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

71

About this period he published his great Practical
Treatise on Surgery ; and it may be mentioned as
one of the peculiarities of his character, that he chose
to have his works printed, published, and sold in his
own premises ; till finding that the plan was unpo¬
pular with the booksellers, he abandoned it.

About the same time, Hawkins had withdrawn
from practice, and Sharp was following his example,
and Mr Hunter was the individual wrho principally
supplied their place. He was highly esteemed by
the rising generation of medical men, who seemed
to quote him, as the schools at one time quoted
Aristotle. And in nearly the same estimation was
he held by those who were not of the profession.
Every thing that John Hunter now did, was consi¬
dered by the public as being done in the best possible
method. MrPottdiedin 1 788, and this again brought
Mr Hunter a vast accession of practice. “ It placed
him,” says a contemporary, “ upon a footing equal,
if not superior, in point of practice to any living
competitor. I think I may affirm that his con¬
sultations were more in fashion than any other sur¬
geon’s, and that his range of practice was more ex¬
tensive.”

In 1789 Mr Hunter was elected Member of the
Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland ; and he row
also obtained the more substantial and lucrative si¬
tuations of Surgeon-General of the Army, and In¬
spector-General of Hospitals. These appointments
gave him patronage as well as consideration, but

72

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER,

brought of course along with them additional occu¬
pation and anxiety.

In 1792 he was elected one of the original Vice-
Presidents of the Veterinary College. As soon
as the nature and object of this institution were
made known to him, he eagerly joined the scheme,
urging the advantages which might be derived from
it, not only as regarded the health of the useful
quadrupeds, but as affording an additional means of
advancing our knowledge both of Physiology and
Pathology. Mr Hunter manifested his seal for the
cause, by allowing all the pupils of the College to
attend his owa lectures without expense.

Two years of the united labours of Mr Hunter,
Sir E. Home, Mr Bell and Mr AnUre, with their
assistants, seem to have been devoted to the ar¬
rangement of the museum in the new hall in Lei¬
cester Square ; and at the end of that period, Mr
Hunter had the proud satisfaction of opening it to
his friends and the public. The proofs of skill and
assiduity displayed in this collection were contem¬
plated by all with mingled admiration and surprise.
It was exhibited twice a-year; in October to medi¬
cal men, and in May to noblemen and gentlemen
who were in town only at that season. This prac¬
tice was continued till his death.

The short account of the museum by Sir E. Home
is so interesting, and so fitted to prove useful to the
naturalist, that we subjoin it in an Appendix. The
collection already contained more than fourteen

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

73

thousand preparations, wet and dry, besides many
fossils and shells.

We have still to add that Mr Hunter’s hospitable
mansion was open once a week for a social enter¬
tainment and conversazione, at which his scientific
friends were always welcome, and where every thing
new in science was introduced and discussed. His
accomplished lady still continued to be the comfort
and ornament of his home ; and he was happy in two
children, of whom he used to say, that if he had
been allowed to bespeak a pair of children, they
should have been those with which Providence had
favoured him. Besides his house in town, he still
retained his propinquum rus, a retreat every way
calculated to soothe and delight, not less than to
improve his leisure hours.

But in the midst of all his prosperity, Mr Hun¬
ter’s health had become essentially impaired. The
attacks of illness to which we have already had oc¬
casion to advert, proved, after a considerable interval,
the precursors of others which finally terminated his
laborious life. The case was considered very pecu¬
liar ; and that inquisitiveness of mind which formed
so conspicuous a trait of his character, was not dor¬
mant in regard to the nature of his own complaints.
He noted the progress of the symptoms, and theo¬
rized upon them with his accustomed ingenuity.
The medical men by whom he was surrounded,
likewise Watched an d invec^nmtorl pvprv turn sntbat

74

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

there are few cases, the history of which has oeen
more fully recorded ; a fact of which we cannot give
a stronger proof, than by stating, that of the bio¬
graphy drawn up by Sir E. Home, more than a third
part is occupied with this subject.

We do not of course enter into medical details,
and only remark generally, that Mr Hunter was a
very healthy man for the first forty years of his life,
and with the exception of the threatening on the
lungs, which was the ostensible cause of his going
abroad, he had no complaint of any consequence du¬
ring that period. After this, followed the attacks of
1 773 and 1 776, which we have formerly described, and
which appeared to leave few if any unpleasant traces
behind them. In 1785, he suffered a third attack,
which was again brought on by anxiety of mind, and
which, though slight at first, became more and more
formidable, and was in truth the first of a series of
painful spasmodic attacks, arising from disease of the
heart, which at last terminated fatally. We avoid
particulars, and only remark that the attacks were
frequently attended with severe pain, and fits of
swooning. Towards the commencement they were
usually brought on by sudden exertion, but ere long
they were induced by the most trifling causes.

Whenever his services were required, Sir E. Home
was ready to act as his close attendant ; his active
assistant, and the general superintendent of his va¬
ried pursuits. Though the attacks gradually be¬
came more frequent, yet their violence did not in-

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

75

crease, but on the contrary considerably abated ; and
as Mr Hunter became more accustomed to their ef¬
fects, less attention was paid to them. It is not to
be supposed that Mr Hunter was permanently laid
aside by this indisposition. Far from it. He bore
up amidst its attacks with great firmness, pursued
his round of duty with wonderful regularity, and
was frequently the life, as he was the centre, of a
numerous circle of admiring friends.

H is disease, however, continued steadily to ad¬
vance, and its reiterated attacks gradually shook his
constitution, and occasionally affected his memory.
The least degree of over-exertion, the excitement of
company, or the slightest perturbation of temper, at
last became sufficient to occasion an attack. As
these increased upon him, Mr Hunter found it ne¬
cessary successively to withdraw himself from his
more laborious avocations, and to confine himself to
a narrower range of duties and engagements ; and
every occasion of excitement was studiously avoid¬
ed, as hazarding an attack of the most perilous na¬
ture.

An incautious neglect, or rather defiance of this
precaution, proved the immediate occasion of his
death. From circumstances which it would be te¬
dious to explain, he had unfortunately differed with
some of his colleagues at St George’s Hospital, with
whom he could not meet without the danger of a
collision. From motives of humanity, however, to
a young man, whom he conceived to be aggrieved

76

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

by certain new regulations of the Hospital, he re¬
solved to attend at the Board, and run the certain
risk of a violent trial of temper. On the morning
of the Board day, he told a baronet who happened
to call upon him, that he was going to the Hospital,
that he was fearful some unpleasant rencontre might
ensue, and if it did, he knew it must be his death.
The event was too literally fulfilled. He went to
the Hospital on the 16th October 1793, in his usual
state of health. Meeting with things which irritated
him, and not being perfectly master of the circum¬
stances, he withheld his sentiments, and in this state
of restraint went into the next room, where, turning
round to Dr Robertson, one of the Physicians of the
Hospital, he gave a deep groan, droptdown, and ex¬
pired.

Mr Hunter was in his 65th year, the same age
as that at which his brother died.

Such was the end of two brothers who had raised
themselves to the highest celebrity by courses nearly
similar, though distinguished by broad and charac¬
teristic marks of difference. In one remarkable
point they both agreed, viz. that each left behind
him a museum justly considered to be of national
importance. Dr William bequeathed his Collection
to the University of Glasgow, and Mr Hunter’s was
eventually purchased by Government. It was en¬
trusted to the care of the Royal College of Surgeons
of London, who celebrate Mr Hunter’s birth day,

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

77

by an annual festival, at which one of its most dis¬
tinguished members pronounces The Hunterian
Oration.

We lament that justice to Mr Hunter’s reputa¬
tion forbids us to close our notice, without making
some observations on a very painful subject, deep¬
ly involving the character of a near relative of Mr
Hunter, who has frequently been named in these
pages, and who long maintained a high and honou¬
rable status in society. We have stated that the
museum was purchased by the British Government
for the public benefit. By his will, Mr Hunter
left Dr M. Baillie and Mr, afterwards Sir Eve-
rard, Home, his executors, with instructions, that if
Government would make offer to purchase the col¬
lection at any thing like a fair valuation, the offer
should be accepted. Accordingly the purchase was
effected for the sum of L. 15,000; and subsequent
grants were voted, one of an additional L. 15,000
in 1806, and another of L. 12,500 in 1810, for a
building for its suitable accommodation.

At the time of Mr Hunter’s death, as we have al¬
ready seen, the Collection contained upwards of
1 4,000 preparations and drawings, and also what
may well be styled a prodigious quantity of manu¬
scripts, the great majority of which related to the
museum, being voluminous notes in Mr Hunter’s
own handwriting, and also the labours of several
amanuenses, who for many years had been in the
habit of writing under his direction. As the pre-

78

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

mises of the College of Surgeons, in which the
museum was eventually deposited, were not ready
for its reception, it was not removed thither till the
year 1800, and many years elapsed before it was
in a state for exhibition. At the first transfer of
the Collection, Sir Everard, who was then also ap¬
pointed principal keeper of the Museum, ordered
the manuscripts to be removed to his private dwell¬
ing, alleging they were not properly arranged, nor
in a fit state for public inspection. No sooner was
the museum suitably accommodated, than it became
an object with the Trustees appointed by Govern¬
ment, to have a descriptive catalogue prepared, the
materials of which were to be found in the ma¬
nuscripts in Sir Everard’s possession. The Trustees
accordingly intimated their desires to Sir Everard,
who for a long while evaded compliance, under a va¬
riety of pretexts, notwithstanding that for years the
Trustees never met without dispatching an additional
and more urgent demand. After having been long
principal keeper, Sir Everard himself became a Trus¬
tee ; but all the efforts of his colleagues, many of
whom were his intimate friends, to procure the ma¬
nuscripts, continued to be wholly abortive, till at last
Sir Everard with his own hand secretly, but most
deliberately, committed nearly the whole of them to
the flames, and reduced them to ashes.

The motives which prompted to this most unworthy
deed are soon told. Besides being the brother-in-law
and pupil of Mr Hunter, to whom in a great degree

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER. 7$

he owed his professional success; besides being se¬
lected by Mr Hunter as executor over that pro¬
perty which bad absorbed bis fortune, and to which,
as the anticipated monument of his posthumous
fame, he had devoted the indefatigable exertions of his
life ; besides being appointed to the honourable of¬
fice of keeper of his relative’s museum, and finally,
one of its Trustees, for the public interest, Sir Eve-
rard, unfortunately for himself, determined at all
risks to become an author . He was long one of
the Vice-Presidents of the Royal Society, and one
of its most unwearied and voluminous contributors,
on subjects connected with Natural History; he was
also a lecturer on Comparative Anatomy, and pub¬
lished, at various times, several splendid volumes on
this most popular and captivating science; and the
materials of these volumes and papers in the Philo¬
sophical Transactions, which astonished Europe,
sometimes by their originality, and still more by
their multiplicity, were clandestinely, and without
acknowledgment, pilfered from Mr Hunter’s ma¬
nuscripts. It is impossible to conceive a more ex¬
traordinary infatuation. His base conduct was sus¬
pected at the time, and the fact of the spoliation, as
well as the desperate resource to which he betook him¬
self in order to destroy the means of his detection,
have been irrefragably established before a Commis¬
sion of Parliament. Thus, Mr Clift, the present
unassuming and devoted keeper of the museum, long
the assistant and friend of Sir Everard, being inter-

80 MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

rogated by the Commission on Medical Education,
answered, “ That all his life he had been employed
by Sir Everard in transcribing portions of Mr Hun¬
ter’s manuscripts, and in copying drawings from his
portfolios, which Sir Everard issued to the public as
his own.” And in 1823, the very week in which
Sir Everard received from the printer the last proof
of his last volume of Comparative Anatomy, when
his career was well nigh run, it is established on his
own testimony, that he proceeded to commit to the
dames that treasury of science and research which
lie had so long plundered.

The irreparable loss which Mr Hunter’s museum
and the public have sustained by this deplorable
transaction, will be judged of by the following quo¬
tation from the evidence of Mr Clift. “ I cannot
give an enumeration of half of the papers which were
burned. Among those described, were nine folio
volumes of Dissections of Animals; 1st, Ruminants;
2d, Animals sine dteco ; 3d, Monkey and its grada¬
tions ; 4th, Lion and its gradations ; 5th, Scalpris
Dentata ; 6th, Anatomy of Birds ; 7th, Of the Tri¬
coilia ; 8th Anatomy of Fishes ; 9th, Anatomy of
Insects; one volume on the Natural History of Ve¬
getables. There were also a great number of fasci¬
culi, among which were the following : Introduction
to Natural History ; numerous Physiological Obser¬
vations ; Comparative Physiology ; Comparison be¬
tween Man and the Monkey ; On Muscular Motion,
being subjects of the Croonian Lectures ; Effects of

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

81

extracting one of the Ovaria upon the number of
voung produced; Experiments on Ewes, connected
with Utero-gestation ; On Monsters ; On the Skele¬
ton ; Dissection of the Tapir; Dissection of the Ar¬
madillo with nine bands; Animals of New Holland ;
Piked Whale, Bottled-nose Whale, Fin-back Whale,
and Porpoise ; Worms in Animals of the Whale
Tribe ; Bell-barnacle ; On the Eel ; Anatomy of the
Holotburia ; Anatomy of the Siren of North Ame¬
rica ; Account of the Unicorn of Hispaniola ; The
Earth-worm ; Progress and Peculiarities of the
Chick ; Description of Rymsdyk’s Drawings of the
Incubation of the Egg ; General Observations on
Insects, the Bee Tribe, Humble Bee, Wasp, Hornet,
and on Beetles; Anatomy of the Silk-worm ; Ana¬
tomy of the Moth ; Red-piped Coral ; On Fossil
Bones, two parts; and numerous professional works.”

Mr Hunter was rather below the middle stature,
well formed for muscular action ; his shoulders
somewhat high, and standing slightly forward. He
was naturally active, and capable of great exertion,
bodily and mental. His features were somewhat
hard, cheeks high, eyes small and light, and the bony
arch prominent. His countenance upon the whole
was open, and though strongly impressed with
thought, was by no means habitually severe, but
softened with tenderness, and sparkled with bril¬
liancy, according to the impression of the moment.
His remains were interred in a vault under St Mar-
tinVin.the.Fields.

F

82

MEMOIR OF JOHN HUNTER.

His temper was very warm and impatient, readily
provoked, and when irritated not easily soothed.
This is Sir Everard Home’s account of it in nis own
words; and Mr Bell, who, from living so long with
him, had equal opportunities of forming a judgment,
entirely concurred in its accuracy. The keenness of
his temper increased towards the latter period of his
life ; and it is evident that much must be attributed
to the want of restraint in his youth, and much to
the nature and severity of his disease.

His disposition was candid, and very free from
reserve. He despised deceit, and perhaps incau¬
tiously avowed his sentiments. His mind was na¬
turally formed for investigation, and he gratified that
tendency even on the most trivial occasions. He
soon tired in mixed company where there was no op¬
portunity for connected conversation ; and this was
more particularly observable during the last ten years
of his life.

Mr Hunter undoubtedly was one of the most in¬
dustrious of men. The manner in which he appro¬
priated his time, before infirmity impaired his exer¬
tions, was as follows : He rose very early in the
morning, and went immediately into his preparation
rooms, where he worked himself, and gave directions
concerning what he would have done during the
course of the day. After breakfast, which was at
eight, he attended to those patients who came to the
house. At eleven, he went abroad, and was em¬
ployed in visiting the hospital and his patients. He

MEMOIR Ob JOHN HUNTED

8k»

ate very sparingly at dinner, and rarely drank more
than a glass of wine, often not that. In the even¬
in'? he was engaged in writing down the observations
he had made during the day ; in preparing his lec¬
tures, or advancing his next forthcoming publication,
lie seldom retired to rest till twelve or one o’clock,
lie was thus seldom more than four hours in bed,
but he usually indulged himself with a siesta for an
hour after dinner.

He was eminently distinguished by his public
spirit. He valued money no farther than as it
enabled him to prosecute and extend his various
and nearly endless researches. Hurried on by the
ambition of benefiting mankind at large, he paid
little attention to his own or his family’s interests :
and whether viewed in a professional light, or as a
man of science, his zeal for his profession on the
one hand, and for Natural History on the other,
richly entitles him to the gratitude of posterity.

84

APPENDIX.

SIR E. HOME’S ACCOUNT OF THE HUNTERI > V
MUSEUM, LONDON.

In this Collection we find an attempt to expose
to view the gradations of nature, from the simplest
state in which life is found to exist, up to the most
perfect and complex of the animal creation— Man
himself.

By the powers of his art, this collector has been
enabled so to expose, preserved in spirits, or in a
dried state, the different parts of animal bodies in¬
tended for similar uses, that the various links of the
chain of perfection are readily followed, and may be
clearly understood.

This collection of animal facts is arranged accord¬
ing to the subjects they are intended to illustrate,
which are placed in the following order : 1st, Parts
constructed for motion ; 2d, Parts essential to ani¬
mals, respecting their own internal economy ; 3d,
Parts superadded for purposes connected with ex¬
ternal objects ; 4th, Parts for the propagation of the
species, and maintenance or support of the young.

The first class exhibits the sap of vegetables and
the blood of animals, from which fluids all the dif-

APPENDIX.

85

ferent parts of the vegetable and animal creation are
formed, supported, and increased.

These fluids being more and more compounded,
as the vegetables and animals become more perfect,
are coagulated, and form a regular series. The sap
of many plants does not coagulate spontaneously,
but is made to undergo this change by adding the
extract of Goulard ; the sap of such plants is consi¬
dered as the most simple. In the onion there is a
spontaneous coagulation. In insects the blood coa¬
gulates, but is without colour; in the amphibia co¬
lour is superadded. The moving powers of animals
from the simple straight muscle, to the most com¬
plicated structure of that organ, with the different
applications of elastic ligaments, form a second series.
The growth of bone, horn, and shell, come next in
order ; and the joints, which admit of free motion,
mish this subject.

The second class begins with those animals of the
hydatid kind, which receive nourishment, like vege¬
tables, from their external surface, having no mouth.
Then follow those which are simply a bag or sto¬
mach, with one opening, as the polypus, having no
organs of generation, as every part of the bag is en¬
dowed with that power. In the leech, the structure
becomes more complex : for although the animal is
composed of a bag with only one opening, the or¬
gans of generation, brain, and nerves, are super-
added, and thence a gradual series is continued to
those animals in which the stomach forms only a

86

APPENDIX.

distinct part of the animal, for the purpose of diges¬
tion. The stomachs themselves are also arranged
in the order of their simplicity. First, the true mem¬
branous digesting stomach ; then those with the ad¬
dition of crops and other bags, to prepare the food
for digestion, as in the ruminating animals ; and
lastly, those with gizzards. Annexed to the sto¬
machs is a very complete and extensive series of
teeth, which are varied according to the kind of food
and stomach.

After the stomachs are the different appearances
of the intestinal canal, which exhibit almost an infi¬
nite variety in the structure of their internal surface,
from which the aliment is absorbed. The quantity
of surface is increased in some by transverse folds, in
some by spiral and longitudinal ones, and in others,
puts on a loculated appearance, as in the whale.

To these are added the glands, connected with
the intestines, as the liver, pancreas, spleen, which
may properly he considered as appendages.

After digestion, follows the system of absorbing
vessels, the simplest being the roots of plants ; after
which are the lymphatic and lacteal vessels of diffe¬
rent animals. These in the human subjects and the
elephant are small, and in the turtle large and more
numerous; hut in the spermaceti whale, where they
are employed for conveying the spermaceti, of a size
infinitely beyond all that is met with in any other
animal. To these are annexed the. thoracic ducts in
different animals

APPENDIX.

87

The natural order in following the course of the
aliment from the stomach as a guide, leads from the
absorbents to the heart, which in the caterpillar is a
simple canal or artery running along the middle of
the back, admitting of undulation of the blood.
From this simple structure it becomes, in different
animals, by small additions, more and more complex,
till it arrives at the degree of perfection which is dis¬
played in the human heart. These are followed by
the different structures of valves in the arteries and
veins, and the coats of these vessels. Then the
lungs are shewn in all their gradations, from the
simple vascular lining of the egg-shell, which serves
as lungs for the chick, to those of the more per¬
fect animals. In one instance, viz. that of the siren,
both gills and lungs are seen in the same animal.
The windpipe and larynx are then shewn, under all
their different forms. The kidneys make the last
part of this subject.

The third class takes up the most simple state of
the brain, which is iu the leech a single nerve with
ramifications. In the snail, the brain forms a circu¬
lar nerve, through the middle of which passes the
oesophagus, from which circle there are branches
going to every part of the skin of the animal. In
the insect, the brain has a more compact form ; is
larger in fish, but still more so in birds, gradually
increasing in size as the animal is endowed w’ith a
greater degree of sagacity, till at last it becomes the
large complex organ found in the elephant, and in

83

APPENDIX.

the human subject. The coverings of the brain, and
the ganglions, and peculiarities of the nerves, are an¬
nexed. The organs of sense are arranged in the or¬
der of their simplicity, beginning with that of touch,
which is only a villous vascular surface, tire villi very
short, where the impression is to be made through a
thin cuticle, or in the human finger ; very long where
the covering is thick, as in the hoof of the horse.
The organ of taste is oidy a modification of the or¬
gan of touch, and therefore nothing in the organiza¬
tion is different; but the varieties in structure adapt¬
ing the tongue for different purposes are numerous.
In many animals it serves the purposes of a hand,
to bring the food to the mouth, as in many shell¬
fish, the ant, bear, woodpecker, and chameleon. Con¬
nected with the tongue are the fauces, which in many
animals have peculiarities. In the electric eel^tl^ey
have a very curious carunculated appearance ; but
they are yet more extraordinary in the camel, which
has an apparatus to moisten the parts, so as to pre¬
vent the painful sensation of thirst, thus adapting it
to the sandy deserts which it is destined to inhabit.
This apparatus consists of a large bag hanging down
several inches in the fauces, and attached to the
palate, which the animal can at pleasure move up

and down, and lubricate the fauces. The organ of

*

smell is variously constructed, and is more compli¬
cated in many animals than in man, as in the lion
and sea-cow. The organ of hearing in fish consists
of three semicircular canals, but is much more com-

APPENDIX.

89

plex in laud animals. The organ of seeing is diffe¬
rent in those animals which are formed to see in
water, and in those which see in air ; it differs again
in those which are to see with little or much light ;
all those peculiarities are illustrated by preparations.
The pigmentum nigrum in some fishes resembles
polished silver ; in ruminating animals, at the bottom
of the eye it has a greenish hue ; in the lion and cat
kind, a portion of the bottom is white, but as a ge¬
neral principle, the colour of the pigmentum is the
same as the rete mucosum of the skin of the animal,
being white in white animals, and black in very dark
ones.

After the brain and senses, are arranged the cellu¬
lar membrane and auimal oils, which are followed by
the external coverings. These are divided into the
different kinds, as hair, feathers, scales, &c., with
the rete mucosum, or that membrane which is inter¬
posed between the true and scarf skin, for the pur¬
pose of giving the peculiar colour. Added to these
are the parts peculiar to different animals for offence
and defence, as spurs, hoofs, horns, stings, and also
electric organs. There follow next such peculiar
structures as occur in certain tribes of animal^ as
the air-bladders in fish, &c.

The fourth class begins with the animals which have
no distinct parts allotted for generation, that power
being diffused over the whole animal. In these the
young grow out of the old, as in the coral and
polypi ; and next in order come the hermaphrodite

90

APPENDIX,

organs both of plants and of animals. The male or¬
pins are then taken up as a distinct subject, first in
plants and then in animals, both at the times in which
they do not breed, and in the breeding season, to
shew their different states. To these are added a
number of parts which answer secondary purposes
in generation, and may be considered as appendages.
The female organs are next exhibited in the maiden
state, in every class of animals, demonstrating the
shape and length of the oviducts, the form of the
uterus, the length of its horns, with the varieties in
their structures, and the instances in which these
horns are entirely wanting, as in some monkeys ; to
which are added other peculiarities of structure.
They are then exemplified in the impregnated state,
beginning with the seeds of vegetables, and those
which have both seeds and young shoots, as the
onion. The eggs of insects follow next, with their
changes, particularly the silk worm. The spawn of
fish are next shewn, first in those which have eggs,
and then in those which have their eggs hatched in
the oviducts, as the dogfish.

The arrangement then proceeds to the formation
and incubation of the egg in the fowl, and the pro¬
cess of fetation in the quadruped, with their pecu¬
liarities, and the different structures and appearances
of the placenta. Added to these are the peculiari¬
ties of the fetus, and the different modes by which
the mother gives nourishment to her young.

Besides the preparations of the parts themselves

APPENDIX.

91

in spirits, in a dried state, or corroded, there is a
considerable number of very valuable drawings of
those subjects which could not well be preserved.

This sketch will give an idea, but a very inade¬
quate one, cf the system which is comprehended in
Mr Hunter's collection. It also includes a very
large series of whole animals in spirits, arranged ac¬
cording to their internal structure, and many of the
most rare specimens of preserved animals in this
country, as the cameleopard, guanaco, hippopotami,
tapir, argus-pheasant, 8tc. &c.

There is also a series of skulls of different animals,
to shew their peculiarities : and skeletons of almost
every known genus of animals. There is a large
collection of shells and insects ; a prodigious number
of calculi of different sorts from the urinary and
gall bladders, the stomach, and intestinal canal.
There are also the most uncommon deviations from
the natural structure, both in man and other ani¬
mals : the most extraordinary specimens of this kind
are a double human skull perfectly formed, the one
upon the top of the other, and*a double uterus, one
portion of which is in the impregnated state. There
is also one of the largest and most select collections
of extraneous fossils that can be seen in this coun¬
try.

-

'

I

*

93

RUMINATING ANIMALS.

Our first Volume devoted to these useful and in¬
teresting animals, was terminated by the description
of a form of great elegance and beauty of colouring ;
and we have chosen to commence the present one
with a series of animals, which begin to leave the
elegant form of the Deer and Antelope, and to
run into the more compact make of the Goats and
Sheep. As we proposed in the commencement, we
still continue the arrangement of Major Smith, as
the best which has been hitherto proposed, and based
upon actual observation in the greater number of in¬
stances. At the same time, we have to acknowledge
the great benefit we have derived from his various
writings upon the different groups of ruminants —
materials which must form the groundwork of every
dissertation on the subject, until our knowledge ar¬
rives at a much higher degree of perfection.

Since our first volume appeared, the new classifi¬
cation of animals by Mr Swainson has been publish¬
ed, where they are attempted to be arranged accord¬
ing to the principles of Mr MacLeay. Major Smith,

94

RUMINATING ANIMALS.

who is here also the groundwork of the portion de¬
voted to the Ruminants, is followed nearly in his ar¬
rangement, with the exception that the Camels are
placed as the ruminating form among the Solipedes,
but of course in either position forming the passage
between the two, and standing between the Ca-
meleopards and the Horse. Mr Swainson makes
the Bovidae or Oxen typical, and names the other
families Antelopes, Stags, Musks, Giraffes.* He
also considers these animals as represented by the
Rasores among birds, a position which has always
appeared to us to be incontestible, hut which is dis¬
puted by Mr MacLeay, who, if we recollect rightly,
considers the Ruminantia and Grallatores or Waders
as representing each other.

The animal we commence with will illustrate the
Tragelaphine group of Major Smith ; and, while it
retains the elegance of the antelopine form, the horns
will be seen to begin to assume an angular and com¬
pressed character ; — on our Plate is represented

• At the conclusion of this volume we have given a table
the arrangement proposed by Mr Swainson.

PL ati; i.

the harnessed anted

Eativ-e of Caifraria.

HE HARNESSED ANTELOPE.

TrageZaphus scriplus, Smith.

PLATE I.

Ant.ilopp scripta. Pallas — Harnessed Antelope. Pennant,
&c — Tragelaphus seriptus. Major Smith. — Guib, femelle,
Fred. Cuv. Hist. Hat. des Mammiferes.

This is an animal of very great beauty, from the
bright fulvous-bay which is the prevailing colour of
the body, being marked or divided by longitudinal
and transverse lines of white, which divide the ground
colour into patches almost like those of the Cameleo-
pard. The male is nearly of the size of the fallow
deer, the horns black, and about seven inches long.
For the accompanying representation, we have used
the figure of Frederic Cuvier, which is a female, and
regret that we have not been able to procure the ob¬
servations of Lichtenstein in the Berlin Magazine.
It appears to have been first noticed by Mr Adan-
son in Senegal, in the county of Podor, about sixty
leagues inland from the sea. Lichtenstein says it in¬
habits Caffraria, but Mr Burc.hell did not meet with
it ; and, as far as we yet know, it is either very rare,
or inhabits only those districts in the interior which

95

THE HARNESSED ANTELOPE.

have hitherto been scarcely penetrated by Euro¬
peans.

The next animal approaches much nearer to the
G oats.

THE CAM BING OOTAN.

97

THE CAMB1NG OOTAN.

Namorhcedus Sumatrensis , Smith.

PLATE II.

Uanibing Ootan, Marsden. — Cambtan, Fred. Cuv. Hist .

Nat. des Marrnniferes.

Specimens of this animal are yet uncommon, and
almost all its later describers have been indebted to
only imperfect materials. Mr Marsden was tbe first
individual who noticed it, and for a long period re¬
mained almost the sole authority for the descriptions.

In 1821, Frederic Cuvier received drawings from
MM. Diard and Duvancel, but without a detailed
description. These were published in his Histoire
Naturelle des Mammiferes, which we have now made
use of.

It is an animal standing from between 2 feet 2 inches
to 2 feet 6 high. The hair on the head and body is
entirely of a deep greyish-black, and is long. The
neck and above the shoulders is covered with near¬
ly white hair, also long, forming a sort of mane,
and a strong contrast with the dark colours of the
body. The suborbital sinus is very large, and se
cretes a yellowish liquid. The Cambing Ootan

G

98

THE CAMBING OOTAN.

habits the wooded mountains of Sumatra, exhibits
much activity, and is very goat-like in its appearance
and habits.

Major Smith refers the Goral of General Hard-
wicke to this division ; — a goat-like antelope inhabit¬
ing the Himalaya range and the mountains of the
Nepaul frontier. The general tint is a grey mouse
colour, but almost white about the lower part of
the neck and throat ; and darker, with the hair
longer, along the upper part of the neck and back,
inclining to ferruginous about the legs. The horns
are simple, nearly connected at the base, and about
four and a half inches long. The height of the ani¬
mal is about two feet. It is considered by the in¬
habitants of Nepaul as the most active of the ante¬
lopes, it is seen in numerous herds, but is rarely
taken, except by stratagem ; if the herd is pursued,
they disperse, and fly to precipices, and places to
which no dogs can follow them.*

In the proceedings of the Zoological Society for
August 1834, there is some information regarding
this group communicated by Mr Hodgson. The
centre of the horns is hollow and porous, and com¬
municates with the frontal sinus, which are, however,
small, while the core of the horns is only subcellu-
lar. The form is suited for heavy climbing or leap¬
ing. As the species of this group, he enumerates,
1. The animal we are now describing: 2. The N.

* General Hardwicke, in Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. xiv.
p. 518,

THE THAR.

Duvancellii, Smith, which he hints may be a variety
of Genera] Hardwicke’s Goral : 3. The Goral, which
he considers extremely goat-like in form, allied to
the antelopes only by its round and ringed horns ;
and, 4. A new species, N. Thar , Hodgson, the
Thar of the Nepalese, closely allied to the Cambing-
ootan, and furnished with a suborbital sinus, which
secretes a viscid humour, as in that animal. It is a
large animal, standing about thirty- eight inches high,
and weighing about 200 lb. The hair is scanty,
harsh, and applied to the skin. The colour of the
animal above, with the entire head and neck is jet-
black, on the flanks mixed with deep clay-red. The
limbs and hams outside, as far down as the great
flexures, clay-red, nearly or wholly commixed ; the
rest of the limbs hoary, or rufescent hoary. Out¬
sides of the ears dark. Chest pale. No stripes
down the legs. Lips and chin dull hoary, and a
stripe of pure hoary running backwards over the
jaws from the gape. Horns, hoofs, and muzzle
black.

It inhabits the precipitous and wooded mountains
of the central region of Nepaul, up and down which
it rushes with fearful rapidity, though it does not
spring or leap well, nor is it speedy. *

The Rupricaprine group, consisting of a single
animal, woll known by name, “ The Chamois,’’ fol-

• Hodgson, Proceedings of the Zool. Soc. August 12.

1834.

THE CHAMOIS.

103

lows this. It has no suborbital sinus, but possesses
the inguinal pores, and the nose of the sheep. In
form it resembles somewhat a slender formed goat,
but is remarkable in the erect form of the horns sud¬
denly bending at the tip to a hook, hy which the
animal might be suspended. It will be illustrated
in the accompanying plate.

J

Jj

cc'

101

THE CHAMOIS.
tiupicapra vuigans.

PLATE III.

Capra rupicapra, Linn _ Chamois, Bnffon, $c. — Fred .

Cuv. Hist. Nat. des Mammiftres .

Tvie general form of the Chamois is that of a
slender formed goat, with less shaggy hair, and
marked by the peculiarly turned horns. It inhabits
the alpine districts of Europe and Asia, holding an
intermediate station between the elevated glaciers
and the wild hut more covered country somewhat
below them, making excursions into both, and ex¬
hibiting amazing agility amidst the precipices of
those fearful regions. Two varieties are mentioned,
the Pyrenean, and those inhabiting the Persian Alps,
the latter smaller, and of a paler colour, with the
horns bending from the base. The general height
of the European animal is two feet three or four
inches, the horns black, round, and hooked backwards
at the tips. The colour of the hair a yellowish or
greyish-brown, with a black streak extending through
the eyes. The Chamois is gregarious, living in
herds of fifteen or twenty ; they rut in October or No-

102

TH^ CHAMOIS.

vember, and produce one or two kids early in the
ensuing spring. They feed on the alpine pastures,
which give a richness and flavour to their flesh,
much esteemed as venison ; and for this purpose,
and the skins, do the hunters ply their often peril¬
ous employment, which carries them to places of the
wildest and most precipitous description, and adds
to the dangers in view, the tenors of an avalanche,
or the giving way of some chasm, concealed, but
slightly covered.

Few ravines, however, walled their sides, will stop
this active animal : it will either scale or leap them.
“ We have seen it,” says Major Smith, “ leaping down
a precipice, sliding first the fore legs down the steep,
while, with the spurious hoofs of the hind feet, it held
the edge of the rock with firmness, till the centre of
gravity was lowered as far as possible, then bound¬
ing forward by a jerk of the body during descent,
turn the croup under, and alight on the hind feet
first, with such apparent ease, that the fore feet dropp¬
ed close to the hinder, and all expression of effort
vanished. These descents we have witnessed more
than twelve feet, and it will not hesitate to leap
down twenty, and even thirty.” *

All the senses of the Chamois are extremely
acute, and these, combined with its great agility, are
the guards and defence from danger with which
Providence has endowed this otherwise defenceless
animal. The sense of smell, it is said, will enable
• Griffith’s Cuvier, iv. 282.

THE CHAMOIS.

103

it to perceive an aggressor at the distance of half a
league. Its voice, when undisturbed, is a kind of
low bleating, but, when alarmed, it is changed into
a shrill blast or whistle, which is known to the herd,
and at once sets them upon the alert.

As at the commencement of these volumes we
proposed following tne arrangement of the Rumi-
nantia by Major Smith, we shall now proceed to his
next forms, though, by later writers of authority and
correct investigation, the species to be noticed has
been placed with the Goats. The Aplocerine group
of the above-mentioned author is represented by

iu-i

THE WOOL-BEARING ANTELOPE.

Aplocerus lanigera.

PLATE IV.

Ovis montana, Ord. — Antilope lanigera, Smith , Trans. Linn.

Soc. xiii. — Aplocerus lanigera, Smith , in Griffith's Cuv.

— Capra Americana, Rocky Mountain Goat, Richardson ,

Fauna Boreali- Americana, pi. 22.

Major Smith considers this animal as approach¬
ing nearest to the ovine form, or that of the sheep.
It has no lachrymal or inguinal sinus, and no
muzzle, while the horns are apparently distinct from
either the goat or sheep, being “ simple, conical, ob¬
scurely annulated, the points bent back.”

The interesting animal typical of this form was
noticed so far back as 1697 by the Spanish mis¬
sionaries, and, since that period, has been described
by Blainville, Lewis and Clark, Ord, Major Smith,
and, lastly, by Dr Richardson, whose trivial name
we have adopted, and to whose description we shall
now have recourse as the latest published.

This animal inhabits the north-west coast of Ame¬
rica, frequenting the lofty peaks of the Rocky Moun¬
tains, and always keeping to a greater elevation than
the sheep of the same regions ; and Dr Richard-

Native nf Amcr-j

THE WOOL-BEARING ANTELOPE.

105

son thinks its range of distribution may be from the
40th to the 64th or 65th degree of latitude. The
size of the animal is about that of an ordinary sheep,
and a resemblance exists to the Merino breed, in
the mode in which the fleece hangs down the sides.
The ears are pointed. The horns are awl-shaped,
sharp, pointed, and nearly erect, having but a slight
curvature and inclination backwards ; they are mark¬
ed at the base with rings, which disappear about
half-way up, and towards the tips they are remark¬
ably even, smooth and polished, their surface through¬
out black and shining. The colour of the fleece is
entirely white : it is composed of long straight hair,
abundant on the shoulders, back, neck, and thighs,
coarser than the wool of sheep, hut finer than that
of goats. The flesh is in little esteem as food. The
Indians make caps and saddles of its skin.* The
fleece, though thought by some to be available in
our finer manufactures, has not yet been made use
of or introduced.

* Ri.hardsou.

106

THE A VO A.

Two other doubtful or little known species are
recorded, A. viazama , Smith, Ovine Antelope, in¬
habiting the rocky forests and mountains of tropical
America; and A. temmamazama , Smith, The Chi-
chiltic, inhabiting the mountains of New Mexico.

The last group among what has been considered
the tribe of Antelopes, depends on the spoils of the
animal only. It is the Anoa of Major Smith, dis¬
tinguished from the preceding animals, by “ the
horns placed on the edge of the frontal crest, on the
same plane with the face, exceedingly robust, a little
depressed, subtriangular, short, straight, wrinkled,
and suddenly terminating in a very sharp point ; the
face straight, no lachrymal or suborbital sinus.”*
The head of this animal, which is all that exists
in our collections (one in the British Museum, an¬
other, before its dispersion, in that of Mr Brooks),
appear to have been brought from the Island of
Ccelebs by Dr Abel. The horns gave the character
above, as made out by Major Smith, and the forehead
was covered with bluish-cinereous hairs, short and
close and feathering beneath the left. eye. The length
from the nose to the base of the horns was nine in-

Major Smith, in Griffith’s Cuvier.

THE AXOA.

107

ches. The horns were ten inches long, and of a dark
grey colour.*

* Mr Pennant placed the Anoa among the Buffaloes,
and Mr Swainson has arranged it as the last of his Bovine
family.

Genus CAPRA.

We have now arrived at those groups of the Ru-
minantia which are of most use to man in a state of
civilization. Among the various forms, and curious
and beautiful animals, which we have just been re¬
viewing, we have seen many of very great import¬
ance to man ; but the animals and their pursuers
have been in nearly an equal state of unsubdued
nature. The large deer of North America are an
important article in the economy of the natives. Such
is also the case with the native tribes of Africa in
regard to the races of Antelopes ; and the Rein-deer
and Camel in their respective countries are indis¬
pensable for the commerce and support of their
owners. The races of Goats, Sheep, and Oxen,
which are now of such importance wherever man
claims for himself the title of civilised, have been
cultivated for his use, and by his care, since the
commencement of the world. Among the first
of mankind, keeping of sheep, and tilling of the
ground, were the most common occupations ; and
that very circumstance of their early domestication,
and the subjection to such varied circumstances, lias
made many changes and modifications of the forms,

GENUS CAPRA.

109

which now renders the original stock of the various
races of the utmost difficulty to determine.

The first of those which comes under our notice,
though not so abundantly kept, formed in the pri¬
meval ages a large portion of the flocks in southern
Europe, and more particularly in Asia and Egypt ;
and figures of goats of a large and strong race, hut
not very nearly approaching to the wild animals from
which they are conjectured to have sprung, have
been handed down upon monuments of an aged date.
They are nowr used for their flesh and skins, and
hair or wool. In this country the former is little
esteemed, though kid forms no despicable repast.
Gloves of a fine kind are made from the skins sub¬
jected to maceration, and the coats of it separated ;
and it is from goat skins that the real morocco leather
is manufactured, being supposed to take the dye
better than those of sheep. The hair or wool of one
variety is well known as the source of the beautiful
Cashmere manufacture.

In common language, the appellation of “ goat”
and “ sheep” is applied to very different looking ani¬
mals. The one, clothed in a fine thick covering,
familiarly known as wool, with the horns, if any,
bending laterally, and generally spirally ; the other,
covered with shaggy hair, a long heard, and the
horns directed with a gradual bend upwards or
backwards. When the different animals are, however,
brought together, this generic distinction is not so
easily perceived, and there is a running into each

110

GENU* OAPRA.

other which has rendered the point of their separa¬
tion disputed hy various naturalists. VVe shall give
the characters, however, placed to each by Major
Smith, and consider, that, for the sake of simplicity,
and ease of arrangement, they are best kept sepa¬
rate, even although Frederic Cuvier, a high autho¬
rity, has said, that a better idea of the characters
will he obtained by a figure than hy a description,
for that they have nothing in reality that can be
expressed by language. It may be premised that
they are distinguished from the true antelopes, “ by
the osseous nucleus of the horns being partially
porous or cellular, communicating with the sinus of
the frontals,” — a structure to which we saw an ap¬
proach in the Cambing ootan of Sumatra. And
Mr Hodgson adds to this, as a “ strong and inva¬
riable distinction, — Males not odorous in the Sheep,
as opposed to the males odorous in the genus Capra
or Goat.” * They inhabit alpine districts, often up¬
on the limits of perpetual snow, are extremely ac¬
tive and sure footed, and climb with the greatest
ease and security. They are at present known to
inhabit Europe, Asia, and Africa — Aplocerus be¬
ing the nearest approach to them in America.

Capra or Goat , Linn. — Horns common to both
sexes, rarely wanting in the females ; in domes¬
ticated races occasionally absent in both, direct¬
ed upwards or depressed backwards, more or less
angular and nodose. No muzzle, lachrymal sinus,
• Proceedings of Zool. Soc. Sept. 9. 1834.

GENUS CAPRA.

Ill

or inguinal pores ; tail short and naked at the base,
chin bearded.” *

Naturalists for a long time were of opinion that
the original stock of our domestic goats was to be
found in the Caucasian Ibex. The discovery, how¬
ever, of another animal inhabiting the same country
and the Asiatic border, more similar in form, has
rendered it more probable that to that animal we
are indebted for our present races, in some cases
mixed with both the Caucasian and Abyssinian Ibex.
The animal alluded to is

* Major Smith

Ill

THE vEGAGRUS.

Capra cegagrus. — Pallas.

PLATE V. Male. — VI. Female and Young.

Capra segagrus, Pallas , Ham. Smith , §c. — L’egagre, Fred.

Cuv. Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes _ Le Passeng ou Bouc

Sauvage, Menagerie du Museum.

The iTgagrus appears first to have been noticed
by Pallas and Gmelin, by whom descriptions were
given, imperfect in the details of its habits. A fi¬
gure, with descriptions, has been given in later days
by the Baron Cuvier, in the Menagerie du Museum,
from individuals captured on the European Alps,
though Frederick Cuvier, in his Mammiferes, seems
to place a doubt on this fact, which it would be im¬
portant to know, as Pallas surmised, that the species
may be found on the European Alps, as well as
the Caucasian and Asiatic ranges.

The male iEgogrus stands higher on its legs than
the largest varieties of our goat, and the body is
more slender. The limbs are strong and thick, and
have not the light appearance of those of the ante¬
lopes or stags. The neck is short and thick, on
account no doubt of the huge horns which it is

THE IE GA G RLT S - Male
Fred.- Cuvier.

Native of European Alps.

PLATE

THE ^EtrA GRUS I't1 :ii ai c S:

Ire cl. Cuvier.

IN active of European. Alps

THE jEGAGRUS.

113

required to support. The head is not much length¬
ened, and the horns always bent backwards, are
larger in proportion than those of any other known
ruminant. The tail is very short, while the lower
jaw is furnished with a lengthened beard. The
head is carried high, the look is fixed, the move¬
ments rapid, and the whole carriage bold and easy.
These are the appearances which at first strike an
observer, but, on a narrower inspection, we per¬
ceive that the horns are of a triangular form, covered
with transverse ridges. There is no lachrymal
sinus. The nostrils are not placed in a naked
muzzle. The face is covered with long and thick
silky but loose hair, extremely soft.

Two specimens were possessed by the Parisian
Menagerie; the one was of a greyish-brown, the other
of a greyish-yellow colour. The last is represented
in Fred. Cuvier’s great work, and has served for our
copy here. They lived for several years, and ex-
nibited the same manners with the domestic goats.

H

114

EUROPEAN IBEX.

i

Capra Ibex — Linn.eus.

FLATE VII.

Ibex of "the Ancients — Capra ibex, Linnaeus. Ham. Smith

m Griffith's Cuvier _ Bouquetin des Pyrenees, Fred. Cuv.

Hist. Nat. des Mammif. — Young Male.

The European Ibex seems at the present time to
be one of those animals which, though a native of a
country where natural history is almost universally
studied, has nearly escaped the detailed notice of
zoologists, who have been more attentive to the
productions of other countries, until the eagerness and
perseverance of the Chamois and Ibex hunters have
nearly extirpated the animal, and now rendered it a
species earnestly sought after by collectors.

The Ibex is now known to inhabit sparingly, the
Pyrenees, the Alps of Switzerland and the Tyrol,
and some of the Spanish mountains. It loves to fre¬
quent the most exalted ranges, near the limits of per¬
petual snow, and seems in its common localities to
ascend even higher than the chamois, which in other

EUROPEAN IBEX.

115

parts of its habits it closely resembles, being extreme¬
ly watchful, and difficult of approach on account of
the delicacy of its senses of hearing and smell. It
is an animal standing from two feet six to two feet
ten inches in height. The colour of its hair, like
that of many of the deer, seems also to undergo a
change with the seasons, being in summer of a red¬
dish-brown, during winter of a greyish-brown, the
inner parts of the legs and the belly being always
whitish. A young animal figured by Fred. Cuvier
is entirely of a greyish-brown, very dark above.
The horns in this species are often very large, they
rise from the crest of the skull and bend gradually
backwards, are flat, and have the anterior surface
ringed, with very strong cross rugged bands. These
ridges are thought to become greater in number with
age, but Major Smith is of opinion that a regular
increase is not always to be depended on.

The Ibex was hunted for its flesh and skin, chiefly
for the latter, and the chase was reckoned more ar¬
duous than even that of the chamois, for, independent
of the difficulty and danger of the pursuit, the ani¬
mals, when driven to extremity, would turn on their
pursuers, and, if unable to pass, would attempt to
butt with their powerful horns, and sometimes suc¬
ceed in driving their adversary over tremendous
precipices. In confinement it has been very seldom
kept, so that little opportunity of observing its disposi¬
tion has been afforded. The specimen above alluded
to as kept in the Parisian Menagerie, was quiet and

116

CAUCASIAN IBEX, &C.

dull, and did not exhibit that appearance of gaiety
and frolicking so conspicuous in the young of both
the goats and sheep. It was brought up by a she-
goat, and though still remaining in company, appear¬
ed to exhibit no sign of attachment towards its foster
mother.

Another Ibex is distinguished under the title of
“ Caucasian Ibex,” Capra Caucasica. It is broader
and shorter than the European species, dark brown
above, white below, and, as its name imports, has
been found on the Caucasian range of mountains.

A third species is introduced by Major Smith,
under the name of the Abyssinian Ibex, a native of
the mountains of Abyssinia and Upper Egypt, and
on the shores of the Red Sea. It is said to stand
higher than either of the foregoing species ; “ is of
a dirty brownish fawn colour, with a short beard,
and lengthened hair under the throat down the breast,
and a darkish line on the anterior part of the legs
and along the back. The horns are superior in
length to those of the European Ibex, forming a half
circle closer on the forehead.” It will stand as the
C. Jaela , Smith.

Another very beautiful goat, which seems entitled
to the rank of a distinct species, i»

117

THE JEMLAH GOAT.

Capra Jemlahica. — Smith.

PLATE VIII.

The Jemlah Goat, Capra Jemlahica, Smith in Griffith's
Cuvier , vol. iv. p. 308, and Synop.

Our authority for this animal is the descrip¬
tion and figure given by Major Smith, from a skin
in the British Museum, and we of course use his
own words in describing it. “ The size of this ani¬
mal appears nearly equal to the ibex. The facial
line is straight, though the prominence of the horns
give the forehead a concave appearance. The eyes
are rather small, the ears short, narrow, and rounded
at the tips. The horns stand obliquely on the fron-
tals, rather high above the orbits, nearly in contact
at the base, extremely depressed, almost flat, four
inches and a quarter in breadth at the root, nine
inches long, inclining outwards, then suddenly taper¬
ing to a point which turns inwards, so as to nearly
meet over the neck. Their colour is pale ashy buff,
the anterior edge marked with seven small protube¬
rances, round, distinct, almost detached, shaped like
drops, being gradually obliterated as they ascend,

118

THE JEMLAH GOAT.

and each marking the commencement of a wrinkle,
which passes round the external flattened surfaces,
in the forms of grooves, resembling the joints of a
lobster, and being about four inches smooth where
they contract to a point. The bones of the head
are exceedingly solid and ponderous, without a void
space on each side of the nasal bones, as in the case
of the Caucasian Ibex and TEgagrus. The hair on
the face and legs is short, mottled with a dark earthy
coloured streak down the cheffron ; that of the neck
and back is very abundant, long and loose, with a
stripe of the same sepia colour down the ridge of the
spine. The tail is very short. On the sides of the
cheeks the hair is exceedingly long and coarse, hav¬
ing, like a lion’s, more on each side of the head, and
feathering vertically also upon the shoulders ; except¬
ing the dark streaks above mentioned, and a darkish
line on the anterior part of the legs, the whole ani¬
mal is of a dirty whitish fawn, with a few locks ot
brown interspersed. It has no true beard, and the
limbs are remarkably robust. It is said to inhabit
the district of Jemlah, between the sources of the
Sargew and Sampoo ; that is the most elevated
range of Central Asia, forming the nucleus between
the western and south-eastern branches of the Hima¬
layan mountains ; it may therefore represent the ibex
in the most lofty regions of the east beyond the
Burrampooter, and extend into China.”*

*

Major Smith in Griffith’s Cuvier.

THE JAHRAL.

119

A fifth species of goat has yet to be noticed, for
which we are indebted to the researches of Mr
Hodgson, who makes his observations from living
specimens kept in his garden. It is

THE JAHRAL.

Capra Jahral — Hodgson.

It is closely allied by the characters of the horns
to the Alpine .^Egagri, and still more to the C. Jem-
lahica of our last plate. It differs from the former
by the less volume of the horns, by their smooth an¬
terior edge, and by the absence of a beard ; from the
jatter, by the horns being much less compressed, not
turned inwards at the point, nor nodose. The adult
male is fifty inches in length from the snout to the
rump, and thirty -three inches high. The head is
finely formed, full of expression, ciad in close short
hair, and without the least vestige of a beard. The
animal is of a compact and powerful make. The
fur is of two sorts, the outer, hair of moderate harsh¬
ness, neither wiry nor brittle, straight and applied to
the skin, but irrigible under excitement, and of un¬
equal length and colour ; the inner, soft and woolly,
as abundant as in the wild sheep, and finer, of one
length and colour. The horns are nine inches long,
inserted obliquely in the crest of the frontals, and
touching at the base, with thin anterior edges, sub-

120

THE JAHRAli.

compressed, subtriangular, and uniformly wrinkled
across, except near the tips, where they are rounded
and smooth, peeled and sharpened towards the points,
and obtusely rounded behind. The colour of the
animal is a saturate brown superficially, but inter¬
nally, heavy blue, and the mane for the most part,
wholly of that hue. Fore arms, lower part of the
horns, and back of the legs rusty, entire fronts of the
limbs, and whole face and cheeks, blackish-brown,
the dark colour on the two last parts divided by a
longitudinal line of pale rufous, and another before
the eye shorter. Lips and chin hairy, with a blackish
patch on either side below the gape ; tip of the tail
and ears blackish, tongue, palate, and naked skin of
the lips and muzzle, black. Iris deep reddish hazel.

The Jahral is found wild in the Kachan region of
Nepaul, in small flocks or solitary. It is bold, capri¬
cious, wanton, eminently scansorial, pugnacious, and
easily tamed and acclimated in foreign parts..*

Having thus noticed what are now esteemed as
the distinct species of the Goat 01 genus Capra exist¬
ing in a state of nature, we shall proceed to survey
one or two of the principal breeds or varieties, some
of which are very different from the animals we have
been now describing, and seem almost to assume a
distinct and continued breed, so that there is much
difficulty in supposing them, as ever derived from any

* Hodgson, Proceedings of Zoological Society, part ii.

p.106.

THE COMMON GOAT.

121

of the wild animals. The common Goat, which is
well known in the north of Scotland, and the most al¬
pine counties of England and Wales, closely resembles
the wild iEgagrus, and in some parts of the High¬
lands has become nearly naturalised, and scarcely to
he approached except by stealth, or procured except
by the assistance of the gun. We recollect once
having a flock of this description pointed out to us
on the precipitous side of Ben Nevis, and of endea¬
vouring to get a shot in vain ; their activity among
the rocks surpassed any thing we could have imagined
from description, and they had passed the rocky val¬
ley long before we had reached the station pointed
out for an ambuscade. The goat is kept on account
of its milk and the flesh of its young, the former be¬
ing often in request as a medicine for persons of weak
constitution or threatened with pulmonary complaints.
They are frequently also kept about stable-yards as
pets, where they become remarkably tame and at¬
tached, throwing off all the shyness and timidity
which they exhibit naturally, and are ever prying
and inquisitive. They are favourites with us ; and
an old he-goat, with full grown horns and an ample
beard, always conveys an idea of something highly
picturesque. A Welsh breed, generally of a white
colour, is remarkable for its long hair and very large
horns, which are sometimes three feet in length. Is
Holland, they are used in very pretty equipages ftx
children, and we have seen two and sometimes four
harnessed to a child’s car, obeying the rein, and ap-

122

THE COMMON GOAT.

parently in complete subjection. As among the
sheep, we have also a breed, white, and without
horns, and here the distinction of the two forms is
very close indeed, and scarcely to be distinguished
except by the hairy fleece and indication of a beard.
Many homed breeds also exist, and specimens with
three and four horns are met with.

One of the most celebrated and important varieties
of the Goat is

"AS HM ERE GOATS.

123

THE GOAT OF CASHMERE.

PLATE IX.

But even this is subject to many varieties, differ¬
ing both in colour and in the quality of the wool, or
rather the fine hair, of which the fleece is composed.

The principal points in the most approved breeds
are large ears, the limbs slender and cleanly formed,
the horns not spirally twisted, and above all, the
fleece being long, straight, silky, and white. A spe¬
cimen in the Edinburgh Museum agrees nearly in
these particulars, and is represented on the accom¬
panying plate, together with one of the varieties of the
same race, which has been figured by Fred. Cuvier in
his great work. The last varies only in the head and
neck being of a very deep black. Besides the true
Cashmere breed, from which originally the celebrated
Cashmere shawls were made, there are several others
which have been employed for the same purposes in
different parts of India ; and there is a Tartar half-
breed, which has been found to survive well in a
colder climate, and which has been introduced with
considerable success into France. The most in re¬
quest, however, are still brought from the kingdom
of Cashmere.

124

THE GOAT OF CASHMERE.

Sixteen thousand looms are there supposed to be
inconstant motion, each giving employment to three
men, and it is calculated that 30,000 shawls are dis¬
posed of annually. The wool of Thibet is thought to
be the best. Twenty-four pounds weight of it sells at
Cashmere, if of the best sort, for twenty rupees, but
an inferior and harsher kind may be procured for
half the money. The wool is spun by women, and
afterwards coloured. When the shawl is made, it is
carried to the custom-house and stamped, and a duty
paid agreeably to its texture and value. The per¬
sons employed sit on a bench at the frame, some¬
times four people at each, but if the shawl is a plain
one, only two. A fine shawl with a pattern all over
it, takes nearly a year in making ; the borders are
worked with wooden needles, having a separate
needle for each colour. There is a headsman who
superintends and distributes the pattern, and the
rough part of the shawl is uppermost while it is ma¬
nufactured.*

Two more grotesque looking goats, which have
been generally placed as varieties of the domestic
breeds, are represented grouped on the next plate,
taken also from the figures of Fred. Cuvier. They
are

• Tour in the Upper Provinces of Hindostan, by A. D.
p. 187. 1823.

PLATE 10.

GOATS OTNEPAUL & UPPER EGYPT.

325

THE Is E PAUL GOAT AND THE GOAT OF
UPPER EGYPT.

PLATE X.

These two animals would almost seem not to be
varieties, but distinct species, though perhaps there
is not so much difference as we see in some of the
races of the dogs; and this is one of those points in
natural history which is extremely difficult to prove,
even with the most extensive menageries and most
favourable situations. The most marked characters
m the black figure, the Nepaul Goat, is its high and
slender figure. The arched form of the nose, occa¬
sioned by the convexity of the nasal bones ; and the
long and pendulous ears generally of a white colour,
or paler than the tint of the body.

The other figure on the plate, the Goat of Upper
Egypt, is generally of a brown colour, standing high,
and somewhat of the form of the Nepaul Goat. The
hair longer and more shaggy, the bones of the nose
very much raised, and the appearance of the chin
and face, with the exhibition of the teeth, putting
one in mind of the pugs among dogs. The ears are
also ample and pendent ; from the neck there is fre¬
quently hanging two fleshy tubercles, an accessory

126

THE NEPAUL GOAT, & C.

which is also sometimes seen in some of the breeds
of sheep. In the female, the udder is always very
pendent, sometimes almost touching the ground.

One of the prettiest breed of Goats is a dwarf va¬
riety, originally from Guinea, but now, according to
Major Smith and Fred. Cuvier, multiplied in South
America. Two of these animals are figured in the
work of the latter naturalist, a male and female, prick-
eared, but bearing very much in other respects a re¬
semblance to the young or females of the common
domestic breed. The horns are short, and bend
backwards. The colour varies to the usual tints of
the domestic races, and the forehead and nasal hones
are rather concave. The height of the male was only
twenty-two inches, that of the female about eighteen.

Genus 0V1S.

From the Goats, so closely allied, we naturally
pass to the generally accepted genus Ovis or Sheep,
and as we proposed, we add Major Smith’s character.

“ Horns common to both sexes, sometimes want¬
ing in il»e females. They are voluminous, more or
less angular, transversely wrinkled, pale coloured,
turned latterly in spiral directions, first towards the
rear, vaginating upon a porous bony axis. The fore¬
head and chaffion arched ; they have no lachrymal
sinus, no muzzle, no inguinal pores, no beard pro¬
perly so called. The females have two mammae ; tail
rather short, ears small, legs slender, hair of two
kinds, one harder and close, the other woolly. In a
domestic state, the wool predominates, the horns vary
or disappear, the ear and tail lengthen, and several
other characters undergo modifications. The genus
is gregarious in the mountains of the four quarters of
the globe.”*

On compariog the above with the characters given
to Capra , the differences will not be found to he
very gTeat, consisting chiefly in the form of the horns

• Major Smith in Gntiith’s Cuvier.

128

GENL& OVIS.

and in the presence of a beard, with sharp-pointed
ears ; and to these might be added the remark of an
able naturalist, that the males of Capra are always
very strongly odorous during the rutting season, while
the reverse is the case with the sheep ; and it is
mentioned in the Iconographia of Bonaparte, as a
characteristic mark, that Ovis or the True Sheep are
always furnished with an interdigital hole, opening
on the anterior part of each foot, and secreting a se¬
baceous substance. This, he remarks, is wanting
not only in Capra but in every other ruminant. They
are timid, defenceless, and of a more dependent cha¬
racter than the Goats.

The Sheep is certainly one of the animals which
was first placed by the Divine Providence under
subjection to man. From the earliest period of the
world’s history it has continued administering to
the wants of almost all nations, and at the present
time, is more extensively used in the human economy
than any other animal. It is even sometimes em¬
ployed in the less usual character of a beast of burden.
Major Skinner relates in his excursions in India an
instance of this fact.

“ I met several merchants, natives of the province
of Bisehur, returning from it, driving a flock of sheep,
bearing loads from thirty- five to forty pounds each.
The burdens were swung in bags over their backs,
without any cords to bind them on, and they moved
un the steep crags with the greatest nimblcnc’ s arm
indifference to the weight. It is very n^e to find a

GENUS OVIS.

129

sheep a beast of burden ; it is not uncommon how¬
ever here. In this case, they were the bearers of
their master’s food, and were natives of the northern
part of the mountains, a larger race than the common
animals of the hills. Thev are used for trade, and
are made to carry grain from a fertile to a less happy
quarter. They travel with surprising quickness, and
are kept together without the least trouble. No
four-footed animals but goats and sheep could be used
for such a purpose in any part of the mountains ; and
the former being too apt to roam, perhaps the latter
are the only ones that could be safely turned to such
account.”*

Mr Wilson also remarks, on the authority of Dr
Gillies, that in some of the districts of South Ame¬
rica, the children use tame sheep as ponies, on which
they ride to school, f

Four or five animals are now ranked as distinct
species of sheep, one of which, at least, we find a
native of each continent. In nearly every case the
wild breeds are subjected, though they retain their
outward characters, while the different cross breeds
and cultivated varieties have been distributed to other
provinces and continents ; and there are few districts

* Skinner’s Excursions in India, 2d edit. vol. ii. p. 73.

*f* Wood was formerly so scarce at Buenos Ayres, and
cattle so plentiful, that sheep were actually driven into the
furnaces of lime kilns, in order to answer the purposes of
fuel. A decree of the king of Spain, prohibiting this bar¬
barous custom, still exists. — History of Fossil Fuel and Coed
Trade of Britain.

I

130

GENUS OYIS.

in the world, if we except the extreme poles, which
have not some breed of this useful animal carefully
watched and tended ; and even in those regions so
remarkable for the want of Ruminantia and all large
animals, they have been introduced, and are becom¬
ing of the utmost importance in the commerce of
the colonies. In a wild state, they are all gregarious,
watchful, defenceless, and extremely timid. They
inhabit mountainous countries, and though possessing
less activity than the goat, climb rocks and precipices
with facility and speed, few hunters being able to
come up with them if once alarmed. Their fleece,
in their wild state, approaches nearer to hair than
wool, or at least the wool is short, and forms the
under covering, and is plentifully mixed with long
and coarser hair. In the Rocky Mountain sheep,
again, the fleece has the character of the hair of the
deer, being strong and crispy, and having the woolly
part of the coat quite concealed, being short but
very thick.

In the frequent mention of the terms wool and
hair, as partly characterizing the Goat and Sheep,
it may be proper to notice their distinction. In a'
very great many animals the fur is composed of two
substances, tbe one long and appearing outwardly,
the other short and thick, and occupying the part
next the skin. The lower covering has received the
name of wool, and the getting rid of the long portion,
or the hairs, is termed the “ improvement of the
fleece.” The under or woolly part possesses a qua-

GENTS OVIS.

13 1

lity decidedly characterizing it, its tendency to Felt ,
produced by its structure, the edges appearing ser¬
rated, and the surface imbricated, when viewed under

a strong magnifying power, while hair is always cy¬
lindrical. An examination of the minute structure
of the coverings of animals is yet much to be de¬
sired, and it will without doubt throw much addi¬
tional light upon their properties.

Although attempts have been made to trace the
6tock of our breeds and varieties, it is a subject which
has never been done to the satisfaction of the writers
themselves, and one on which it will perhaps be
impossible to come to au accurate decision. The
Musmon of Corsica, and the Asiatic Argali, al¬
though there are some discrepancies between the
skeletons of these animals and the domestic races,
have generally been considered as the most probable
origin, the appearance being also nearest to that of
some of the breeds; and as we pursued the same plan
when speaking of the goats, we shall notice these
animals, and one or two of the others, before men¬
tioning some of the principal and best breeds, or more
singular varieties. And first,

13?

THE MUSMON OF CORSICA*

Ovis Musmon.

PLATE XI.

Musmon of Pliny _ Mufflon, Buffon , Cuvier , Fred. Cuvier.

Hist, des Mammif. — Ovis Musmon, Hamilt. Smith — Ca¬
pra Musmon, Ariete Muffione, Bonaparte , Ioonogra
phi a.

This Sheep, now, we may say, so comparatively
little known, inhabits the mountainous wilds of Cor¬
sica and Sardinia, and has there only to contend
against man as its enemy, no large carnivorous ani¬
mal existing which would carry destruction among
its herds ; and it is to this circumstance probably
that these inlands are indebted to the remnants of the
flocks which appear to have formerly existed among
the mountains of Spain, and some neighbouring parts
of the Continent of Europe.

We have chosen to extract the description which
the Prince of Musignano has given in his erudite
and highly finished Iconographia , as one of the
latest, and, as far as we can judge, most authentic.
In 1818, there were living specimens in the Parisian

Vl’E 11.

THE CORSICAN MCSMON

Cuvier.

THE MUSMON OF CORSICA.

133

menagerie, taken when young in Corsica. They
reached the ordinary size of sheep, and bred with the
domestic races. They became completely domesti¬
cated, losing their great timidity ; and the males
would even attack their keeper. They were ex¬
tremely hardy, and required little care, and their
senses of hearing and sight, particularly the former,
were very acute.

By the Prince of Musignano, the Musmon is
placed in the genus or subgenus Capra , on account
of the absence of the interdigital glandular hole : he
has thus described it : “ The head is long, with the
muzzle compressed, the nose is somewhat raised.
There is a trace of a lachrymal sinus : the forehead
is swollen ; the ears moderately large, erect, sharp.
The horns of the males are large and long, triangular,
bending with an arch which constitutes more than
half a circle. Their bases are so extended that they
occupy almost all the forehead, and are separated
only by a small space. They are attenuated almost
uniformly from the base to the tip, which is obtuse ;
and for the whole length they are marked with trans¬
verse wrinkles, and with raised rings.

The chin is without a beard ; the neck is of a mo¬
derate size, with the appearance of a dewlap be¬
neath. The body is large and muscular ; the tail
very short, composed only of twelve vertebrae (where¬
as in the domestic sheep there are nineteen or twen¬
ty), indexed, bare on the under side. The legs are
pretty long, the hoofs short.

134

THE MUSMON OF CORSICA.

The general tint of the body is a yellow, tending
to chestnut or ash colour, deepest on the neck, and
dear on several parts of the back and lumbar re¬
gions. The head is ash- grey : the muzzle more or
less approaching to pure white, which colour occu¬
pies also the region of the eyes, the interior of the
ears, the belly and inside of the thighs, the edges of
the tail, and the extremity of the legs. A band of
ill defined brown stretches along the back to the up¬
per part of the tail. The horns are brown, tending
to ochraceou8. All the fleece owes its tints to the
long hair, which exceeds the woolly part in length.
In the parts more intensely coloured, the hair is of a
deep yellow, black, or black and yellow, in different,
proportions, according to the different parts they
clothe. The curled hair which constitutes the wool
properly so called, is of an ash colour or rusty white.

In winter, all the hair is thicker, more inclining to
chestnut on the coloured parts. The line along the
back is blackish, especially upon the shoulders. In
some specimens, the tints, notwithstanding the sea¬
sons, are all pale or whitish.

The female is constantly distinguished from the
male by the want of horns ; but we have seen indi¬
viduals furnished with them, though only one or two
inches long. The young are generally of a paler

It inhabits the highest peaks and desert places of
the mountains in the various provinces of southern
Spain, in Sardinia and Corsica, European Turkey,

THE Ml’SMON OF CORSICA.

135

in some of the islands of the Archipelago, and in the
isle of Cyprus. The flocks consist sometimes of
a hundred and more, placed under the guidance of
some old and courageous male. In a domestic state,
the young males and females are docile and gentle ;
but the old males become subject to ill-natured fits,
and sometimes assail children, women, and even
men, attempting to bear them down by butting.

Mr Hodgson has lately noticed an animal from
the Nepalese territory, under the title of Ovis Na-
hoor , but which he at the same time acknowledges to
be very closely allied to the Musmon, and most pro¬
bably to be only a variety of it. The adult is about
forty-eight inches in length, and thirty-two high ;
the head coarse and expressionless, and clad with
close short hair ; the chafFron considerably arched.
The fur is of two sorts : the outer hair of a harsh,
brittle, quill-like character, serpentined internally
with salient bows of hair fitting into the resilient
bends of one another ; externally straight, porrect
over the skin, and being abundant, of medial uni¬
form length all over the body: the inner coat soft
and woolly, rather spare. Horns twenty-two inches
along the curve : they diverge greatly, but can scarce¬
ly be said to be spirally turned ; they are uncom¬
pressed, triangular, broadly convexed to the front,
and cultrated to the back ; they are transversely

i 36

THE NEPAUL SHEEP.

wrinkled, except near the tips, which are smooth and
round.

The colour of the animal is a pale slaty-blue, ob¬
scured with earthy-brown, in summer overlaid with
a rufous tint. Head below, and inside of the limbs
and hams, yellowish-white, edge of the buttocks be¬
hind, and of the tail, pure white ; face, parts of the
limbs and chest, blackish ; bands on the flanks the
same, and also the tip of the tail.

It is found in the wild state in the Kachar region
of Nepaul, amid the glaciers of the Himalaya, and
both on the Indian and Thibetian sides of the snowy
crests of that range, and is sufficiently bold and
scandent, but far less pugnacious, capricious and
curious than the Jharal or goat formerly noticed.
The female has the chaffron straight, the horns erect,*
subrecurved, and greatly depressed. The young
want the marks on the limbs and flanks.

It differs from the Musmon by the decided double
flexure of the horns, their presence in the females,
and the want of a tuft beneath the throat. |

* P. 117.

Hodgson, Proceedings of theZoOiOgical Society, Sep¬
tember 9. 1833.

THE ASIATIC ARGALI.

137

The Asiatic Argali is another animal from
which some of the eastern races of sheep may have
sprung. It is a very large and powerful creature,
inhabits the highest mountain- ranges of Asia; Cau¬
casus, and the plains of Siberia, and the flesh is much
esteemed, while in Russia the skins are still used as
articles of dress. They are extremely wild and
watchful, but, when taken, are easily domesticate^.
The males are said sometimes to reach a weight of
2001b., and to stand about three feet high at the
shoulder. The horns are of an immense size, weigh¬
ing 30 lb., and reaching four feet in length. Alto¬
gether it must be a noble animal, approaching the
dimensions of a stag rather than according with our
ideas of the bulk of our sheep. The fur is short,
fulvous-grey in winter, with a ferruginous, buff-co¬
loured streak along the back, and a disk of whitish-
brown on the buttocks. During summer, the tints
of the fur are more rufous. It will stand as the Ovis
ammon of our systems. *

There is also an animal inhabiting the mountains
of northern Africa, in a wild state, which may have
some claim to assistance in producing our present
breeds : it has been considered in the light of a spe¬
cies, and distinct from any of those we have been
noticing. It is

Major Smith.

138

I HE BEARDED ARGALI.

Ovis tragelaphus. — Caius ?

PLATE XII.

Tiagelaphus, Caius ? — Mouflon d’Afrique, Geoffroy , Mem.

de V Institute d'Eyypte _ The Bearded Argali, Hamilton

Smith.

There is an uncertainty in the history of this
animal. The older writers, to whom we have re¬
ferred in the synonyms, on the authority of Major
Smith, state it to be a very large animal, of a dark
colour, maned, and with lengthened hairs on the
dewlap ; but the sheep represented on the accom¬
panying plate, supposed to be a variety, allowing
something for age and exaggeration in the old de-
scribers, was discovered by the naturalists attached
to the Egyptian expedition on the mountains of that
country, and is figured in the great work on Egypt,
one of the most remarkable publications for its
splendour in existence. We have copied the figure,
and it is described in the following terms :

“ Under the general name of Mouflon, are in¬
cluded all kinds of wild sheep ; and the term is like¬
wise used with a more restricted application, to in-

r.t aj.vi.r

THE BEARDED ARGALI

Denon

THE BEAKDED ARGALI.

139

dicate particular species. Thus, we have the Mou-
flon of Corsica, and the Mouflon of America. &c.
The species, of which a figure is annexed, is the
Ruffled Mouflon : and the following exact descrip¬
tion of it has been communicated to us by our
friend M. J. G. St Hilaire, who drew it up from an
individual brought from Egypt by his father, and
preserved in the collection of the Museum of Natural
History in Paris.

“ The Ruffled Mouflon ( Ovis ornata ) is uni¬
formly of a fine reddish-yellow, thus approaching in
its general colour to our own species. The shade,
however, is lighter than in the European animal, be¬
cause the yellow hairs are not intermingled with black
ones, but, on the contrary, they are even white at the
point, a circumstance which gives the hair a dotted
appearance when viewed near at hand. The colour
just mentioned is that of the body, head, and greater
part of the legs ; but the anterior part of the shanks
and the dorsal line are of a brownish tint, and on
the medial line, between the two legs, a black longi¬
tudinal stripe is observable. Lastly, the under side
of the body, as well as the internal and inferior re¬
gions of the legs, are of a white colour, as in our
own species ; always, however, with this difference,
that the white portion of the body is of much less
extent than in the latter. But the most singular
character which this species presents, and which has
procured it the French name of Mouflon a man-
chette8, is the long hairs which garnish the anterior

140

THE BEARDED ARGALI.

parts of its body and legs. Hairs, from six to seven
inches long, spring from the three lower quarters of
the thigh, as far as the shank, on the anterior, pos¬
terior, and external sides, and hang down as far as
the middle of the shank, thus forming a very re¬
markable kind of ornamental appendage. Besides
this, a tuft of long hairs, from two to three or four
inches in length, rises from each side, near the angle
of the jaw ; and a little below this, commences a
band of hairs, running along the medial line, which
is continued to the lower part of the neck, where it is
divided into two branches, which terminate near the
articulation of the tibia with the thigh. A little be¬
fore the place where they bifurcate, these hairs are
from a foot to thirteen inches long ; but towards the
extremity of the neck and shoulder they are much
shorter, not exceeding half a foot. Their colour is
generally the same as that of the body, but those
which are placed near the interior side of the thigh
and shank, are brownish, and a line of the latter
colour is observable on the anterior part of the neck.

“ This animal which is a fifth part larger than
the European species, has the tail about seven inches
long, and terminating in a pencil of hairs. The
horns appear small in proportion to the size of the
body, and, in the specimen preserved in the Mu¬
seum, they are not larger than those of our own
Mouflon, although the individual in question is a
male, and seems full grown. These appendages
present some peculiar characters besides those just

THE BEART.'ED ARGALI.

141

mentioned : they are very different in shape from
those of the common Mouflon, and their base is ra¬
ther quadrangular than triangular ; they have no sa-
.ient angle, especially towards the base, and the ex¬
tremity, which is directed inwards (contrary to what
is observed in the other species) is scarcely r'i.ated,
but forms a true point, in the sense usually attached
to that word. The wrinkles are faintly marked,
unless it be near the head, and the extremity is al¬
most wholly smooth. As in the other species, the
horns approximate very closely on the forehead, and
at one point they are almost contingent : the angle
which they enclose is much less acute than in our
Mouflon, being not more than about 60°. Finally,
they are as broad at the base as in this species ; but
their circumference is more considerable, on account
uf the augmentation of surface resulting from their
quadrangular shape.

“ In some descriptions, this beautiful animal bears
the name of African Mouflon. It is not yet cer¬
tainly determined whether it ought to be referred to
the bearded sheep of Pennant, the description given
by that author being too incomplete to enable us to
speak decisively about its specific identity. MM.
Cuvier and Desmarest, however, have admitted it,
and united these two species, under the name of
Ovis tragelaphus. The Mouflon a manchettes of
M. G. St Hilaire was killed near the city of Cairo ;
but it is uncertain whether that part of Egypt be
the place of its habitual residence ”

142

THE AMERICAN ARGALI, OR ROCKY MOUN¬
TAIN SHEEP.

Ovis montana. — Desmarest.

PLATE XIII.

Big-Horn, Lewis and Clark — The Argali, Cook _ Mouflon

d’Amerique, Desmarest — Ovis montana, Rocky Moun¬
tain Sheep, Richards. Faun. Bor. Americana.

To the numerous travellers who have attempted
to explore the northern parts of America, this ani¬
mal seems to have been reported (and is sometimes
mentioned by themselves), under the denomination
of sheep, goats, and deer; and no description bearing
any stamp of authenticity appears to have been made
public, until the appearance of a paper in America
by Mr Macgillivray, which attracted the attention of
the naturalists of Europe ; and the same specimen
which furnished that description being sent to M.
Geoffroy, a figure appeared in the Annales du Mu¬
seum. During the late journeys of Mr Drummond
and Dr Richardson, many specimens have been both
seen and shot, anci sent to the collections in Britain ;
and the Fauna Boreali- Americana of Dr Richardson
contains the latest and best figure and description,

THE AMERICAN ARGALI.

143

the latter drawn up from recent specimens, and the
notes made in Arctic America. These we now use,
and for our illustration have had recourse to a mag¬
nificent ram which has been lately added to the Edin¬
burgh Museum.*

“ The Rocky Mountain sheep inhabit the lofty chain
of mountains, from whence they derive their name,
from its northern termination in lat. 68° to about
lat. 40°, and most likely still farther south. They
also frequent the elevated and craggy ridges with
which the country between the great mountain range
and the Pacific is intersected; but they do not appear
to have advanced farther to the eastward than the
declivity of the Rocky Mountains, nor are they found
in any of the hilly tracts near to Hudson’s Bay.
They collect in flocks, consisting of from three to
thirty, the young rams and the females herding to¬
gether during the winter and spring, while the old
rams form separate flocks, except during the month
of December, which is their rutting season. The
ewes bring forth in June or July, and then retire
with their lambs to the most inaccessible heights.
Mr Drummond informs me that in the retired parts
of the mountains where the hunters had seldom pe¬
netrated, he found no difficulty in approaching the
Rocky Mountain sheep, which there exhibited the
simplicity of character so remarkable in the domes¬
tic species ; but where they had been often fired at,

* Received from the Colombia River, from Dr Gaird-
ner. — Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal , Jan. 1836.

144

OR ROCKY MOUNTAIN1 SHEEP.

they were exceedingly wild, alarmed their compa¬
nions on the approach of danger by a hissing noise,
and scaled the rocks with a speed and agility which
baffled pursuit. Their favourite feeding-places are
grassy knolls, skirted by craggy rocks, to which
they can retreat when pursued by dogs or wolves.
They are accustomed to pay daily visits to certain
caves in the mountains, that are encrusted with a sa¬
line efflorescence of which they are fond. The horn.:,
of the old rams attain a size so enormous, and curv*>
so much forwards and downwards, that they effec¬
tually prevent the animal from feeding on level ground.
The flesh is quite delicious when in season, far su¬
perior to that of any of the deer which frequent the
same quarter, and even exceeding in flavour the
finest English mutton.” *

In 1818, Professor Jameson presented a skin of
the Rocky Mountain sheep to the Wernerian So¬
ciety of Edinburgh, and recommended an attempt to
be made for its introduction to this country. For
this purpose, a committee was appointed to confer
with the Directors of the Highland Society, and
Mr Thomas Laurie (the eminent land-valuator) was
requested to give in a report regarding the value of
the fleece. We have thought that gentleman’s re¬
marks upon the wool worthy of insertion : — “ The
wool, which forms the chief covering of the skin, is
fully an inch and a half long, and is of the very finest
quality. It is unlike the fleece of the common sheep,
• Fauna Boreali-Americana, i. p. 27k

OR ROCKY MOUNTAIN SHEEP.

145

which contains a variety of different kinds suitable
to the fabrication of articles very dissimilar in their
nature, and requires much care to distribute them in
their proper order. The fleece under consideration
is wholly fine. That on the fore part of the skin
has all the apparent qualities of fine wool. On the
back part it very much resembles cotton. The whole
fleece is much mixed with hairs ; and, on those parts
where the hairs are long and pendant, there is al¬
most no wool.

“ The wool, if separated from the hairs, would,
I think, be adapted for the finest purposes of manu¬
facture. But, in its present state, it could not be so
applied, though many of the hairs would fly off in the
manufacturing processes. It is, however, highly pro¬
bable, that, by a careful selection of breeding stock,
the hairs might, in a great measure, or perhaps entire¬
ly, disappear in the course of a very few generations.
It has always been observed, that where sheep have
been neglected, their wool has been comparatively
coarse ; and wherever they have been properly treat¬
ed, and due advantage taken of the accidental fine!
varieties, the quality of their wool has been propor¬
tionally ameliorated. Indeed, the improvement in
the qualities of the wool has uniformly been marked
as keeping pace with the progress of arts and civili¬
zation. I am therefore of opinion, that the wool of
tne Rocky Mountain sheep would soon become a
great acquisition to the manufacturers of this country,
were the animal which yields it to experience the

K

146

THE MERINO.

judicious treatment of many British flocks ; and there
can be no doubt, that such an experiment would be
well worth trying. Under this impression, 1 cannot
help expressing a wish, that the Society, to whose
consideration these remarks are submitted, would
exert their influence for accomplishing an object
which may prove of national importance.”*

In the specimen which we have figured, the ex¬
ternal coat consists entirely of the hair, which Mr
Laurie alludes to as unfit for purposes of manu¬
facture, forming a dense and deer-like covering, but
at the root of this there is abundance of very close,
fine, but short wool, which would be unattainable
for any purpose, unless the hairs could be got rid of
by the influence of a milder climate, and improve¬
ment or change of the breed.

The specimen in the Edinburgh Museum stands
three feet two inches high at the shoulder, and is in
length about three feet five inches. The general
colour is a pale opaque wood-brown, having a pecu-
.iar dull tint. The lower parts are paler, nearly
white, and the buttocks are marked with the pale
dusk of the deer. The horns are large, about thirty-
one inches long, and fifteen and a half inches in
circumference at the base. Dr Richardson remarks
that the old rams are nearly entirely white in the
spring, occasioned by the rubbing or wearing of the
hair, which is coloured only at the tips. We an?

*Wern. Trans, vol. iii p. 310.

OR OVIS HISPANICA.

147

not aware of this species having been domesticated
in America, or imported alive to Europe, and we
believe that no domestic breeds are at this time
traced to it.

We now come to review some of the more re¬
markable of the domestic races, but if all the varie¬
ties were to he described, much more than the pro¬
per proportion of our space would be occupied, ami
on that account one or two only of these from each
continent will be noticed. It may be premised, that
writers have generally placed all the varieties under
the denomination of Ovis dries, though it is generally
acknowledged that it is from some one of those we
have been now describing that they are derived.
Among the European races with which we shall
commence, by far the most important, as far as re¬
gards the texture of the wool, is the Merino, though,
if we shall look to a combination of advantages, some
of the British breeds will surpass it in value ; while
by crossing, the hardier nature has been transferred,
and the produce of a wool of equal quality, but near¬
ly double in quantity, has been yielded by some of
them. The sheep known by the name of the Rve-
land breed has been most successful in Britain under
this kind of management.

To the Merino breed, Ovis hispanica has been
applied, and, as the name implies, is chiefly culti-

THE MERINO,

vated in Spain. It is distinguished from the Bri¬
tish breeds, by bearing wool on the forehead and
rheeks. The horns are very large and' ponderous,
and convoluted laterally. The wool is fine, long,
«)fr. and twisted, in silky-looking spiral ringlets, and
/laving a large proportion of natural oil, to which the
dust and other impurities adhere, gives a dingy and
unclean appearance to the animal, which conveys
an idea of inferiority, but which is immediately re¬
moved when the unsullied pureness and fineness of the
wool is seen on separating it. The make of the Me¬
rino is not so symmetrical as some of our British
breeds, and there is a loose skin hanging from the
neck, which detracts from its appearance. Many
different breeds exist, but the best is supposed to be
those of Cavagne and Negrote. These are kept
during the winter in particular districts of milder
climate, and are travelled to other districts to be
shorn, and again removed to the most favourable
grazing stations. The Pyrenean races are rather
more hardy, but yield a remarkably fine wool ; they
are cultivated to a great extent, and in a particular
manner, which we find detailed by Mr Young in the
Annals of Agriculture :

“ On the northern ridge, bearing to the west, are
die pastures of the Spanish flocks. This ridge is
not, however, the whole; there are two other moun¬
tains quite in a different situation, and the sheep
travel from one to another as the pasturage is short
or plentiful. I examined the soil of these mountain

OR O VIS HISPANICA.

149

pastures, and found it in general stony ; what in the
west of England would be called a stone-brash , with
some mixture of loam, and in a few places a little
peaty. The plants are many of them untouched by
the sheep ; many ferns, narcissus, violets, & c. ; but
burnet ( Poterium sanguisorba), and the narrow-
leaved plantain [Plant ago lanceolata ), were eaten,
as may be supposed, close. I looked for trefoils,
but found scarcely any. It was very apparent that
Roil and peculiarity of herbage had little to do in ren¬
dering these heights proper for sheep. In the north¬
ern parts of Europe, the tops of mountains half the
height of these (for vve were above snow in duly)
are bogs ; all are so which I have seen in our islands ;
or, at least, the proportion of dry land is very trifling
to that which is extremely wet. Here they are in
general very dry. Now, a great range of dry land,
let the plants be what they may, will in every coun¬
try suit sheep. The flock is brought every night to
one spot, which is situate at the end of the valley on
the river I have mentioned ; and near the port or
passage of Picada, it is a level spot, sheltered from
all winds. The soil is eight or nine inches deep of
old dung, not at all enclosed : from the freedom from
wood all around, it seems to be chosen partly for
safety against wolves and bears. Near it is a very
large stone, or rather rock, fallen from the mountain.
This the shepherds have taken for a shelter, and
have built a hut against it : their beds are sheep¬
skins, and their doors so small that they crawl in. I

150

THE MERINO,

saw no place for fire, but they have it, since they
dress here the flesh of their sheep, and in the night
sometimes keep off the bears by whirling firebrands:
four of them, belonging to the flock mentioned above,
lie here. 1 viewed their flock very carefully, and,
by means of our guide and interpreter, made some
inquiries of the shepherds, which they answered
readily and very civilly. A Spaniard at Venesque,
a city in the Pyrenees, gives 600 livres French (the
livre is 101(1. English) a-year for the pasturage of
this flock of 2000 sheep. In the winter he sends
them into the lower part of Catalonia, a journey of
twelve or thirteen days ; and when the snow is melt¬
ed in the spring, they are conducted back again.
They are the whole year kept in motion, and mov¬
ing from spot to spot, which is owing to the great
range they everywhere have of pasture. They are
always in the open air, never housed or under cover,
and never taste of any food but what they can find
on the hills.

“ Four shepherds, and from four to six large Spa¬
nish dogs, have the care of this flock : the latter are
in France called of the Pyrenees breed ; they are
black and white, of the size of a large wolf, a large
head and neck, armed with collars stuck with iron
spikes. No wolf can stand against them ; but bears
are more potent adversaries ; if a bear can reach a
tree, he is safe ; he rises on his hind legs with his
back to the tree, and sets the dogs at defiance. In
the night the shepherds rely entirely on their dogs ;

OR OVIS HISPANICA.

151

but, on hearing them bark, are ready with fire-arms,
as the dogs rarely bark if a bear is not at hand. 1
was surprised to find that they are fed only with
bread and milk. The head shepherd is paid 120
livres a-year wages, and bread ; the others 80 livres,
and bread ; but they are allowed to keep goats, of
which they have many, which they milk every day.
Their food is milk and bread, except the flesh of
such sheep or lambs as accidents give them. The
head shepherd keeps on the mountain top, or an ele¬
vated spot, from whence he can the better see around,
while the flock browses the declivities. In doing this,
the sheep are exposed to great danger in places that
are stony ; for, by walking among the rocks, and es¬
pecially the goats, they move the stones, which roll¬
ing down the hills, acquire an accelarated force,
enough to knock a man down, and sheep are often
killed by them ; yet we saw how alert they were
to avoid such stones, and cautiously on their guard
against them. I examined the sheep attentively.
They are in general polled, but some have horns,
which, in the rams, turn backwards behind the ears,
and project half a circle forward : the ewes’ horns
turn also behind the ears, but do not project; the
legs white or reddish ; speckled faces, some white,
some reddish ; they would weigh fat, L reckon on an
average, from 15 lb. to 18 lb. a quarter ; some tails
short, some left long. A few black sheep among
them ; some with a very little tuft of wool on their
foreheads. On the whole, they resemble those oc

152

THE MERINO, OR OVIS HISPANICA.

the South Downs ; their legs are as short as those
of that breed, — a point which merits observation, as
they travel so much, and so well. Their shape is
very good ; round ribs, and flat straight backs ; and
would be with us reckoned handsome sheep, all in
goob order and flesh. In order to be still better ac¬
quainted with them, I desired one of the shepherds
to catch a ram for me to feel, and examine the wool,
w^ich I found very thick and good, of the carding
sort, as may be supposed. I took a specimen of it,
and also of a boggit or lamb of last year. In regard
to «he mellow softness under the skin, which, in Mr
E&kewell’s opinion, is a strong indication of a good
breed, with a disposition to fatten, he had it in a
much superior degree to many of our English breeds,
to the full as much so as the South Downs, which are
for that part the best short-woolled sheep which I
know in England. The fleece was on his back, and
weighed, as I guessed, about 8 lb. English ; but the
average, they say, of the flock is from 4 to 5, as I cal¬
culated by reducing the Catalonian pound of 1 2 ounces
to ours of 1 6, and is all sold to the French at 30s. the
pound French. This ram had the wool of the back
part of bis neck tied close, and the upper tuft had a
second knot by way of ornament ; nor do they ever
shear this part of the fleece for that reason ; we saw
several in the flock with this species of decoration ;
they say that this ram would sell in Catalonia for 20
iivres. A circumstance which cannot be too much
tom-mended, and deserves universal imitation, is the

THE ICELAND BREED.

153

extreme docility they accustom them to. When 1
desired the shepherd to catch one of his rams, I
supposed he would do it with his crook, or probably
not be able to do it at all ; but he walked into the
flock, and, singling out a ram and a goat, bid them
follow him, which they did immediately ; and he
talked to them while they were obeying him, hold¬
ing out his hand as if to give them something. By
this method he brought me the ram, which I caught
and held without difficulty.” *

The wool exported from Spain wras lately above
9,700,000 lb., of which a portion comes to Britain.
In 1829 above 30,000,000 lb. of wool was imported,
the greater part of which was from Germany, Spain
bearing but a small proportion, only about two-thirds
more than what we received from our Australian
possessions. In France cross-breeds are cultivated,
demi-Merinos as they are called ; and in Saxony, Bo¬
hemia, and Hungary, they also abound exceedingly.

Among the other breeds of Europe which are not
British, may also be mentioned the Cretan , distin¬
guished by the horns ascending directly upwards,
with a spiral turn ; and in a variety termed the Wal-
lachian, the horns are equally developed, but diverge
nearly at right angles from the head.

But the most remarkable anomaly among the horn-
bearing animals is the Many-horned Iceland breed,
extending very frequently in this country to the
common black-faced breeds of Scotland. Sheep and
* Annals of Agriculture, viii. p. 195.

154

BRITISH BREEDS.

goats are the only animals which exhibit this multi¬
tudinous growth of horns, and in the breed of the
former, which we have now alluded to, the flocks
are almost in a state of unreclaimed nature, and by
far the greater proportion have more than the usual
number of horns ; and it may be here remarked, that
the same circumstance prevails among some of the
Asiatic races. The natural horns rise in their pro¬
per places, the accessory horns usually upon the sides
of the head, and are from one to three in addition.
In other points there is no perceptible variation in
the animal, from the common characters of the breeds
to which it belongs.

Arriving nearer home, let us now look to the
breeds of the British Islands, supposed at the present
time to possess a living stock of about 32,000,000
sheep, yielding, of course, an immense quantity of
wool annually ; and there is no country in the world
where this branch of rural economy has been carried
to so great an extent, or the imported breeds so much
improved in value, byan assiduous attention and care
to procure the best varieties whence to continue the
flock. The improvement has fortunately been at¬
tended with very large profits to the individuals who
have from time to time engaged in it, and thus it is
that we have such variety of constitution adapted
either to the deep and rich soil, and luxuriant pas-

BRITISH BREEDS.

J 55

ture and balmy climate of the south, the sharper
soils and rich grasses of the upland counties, or the
high and alpine herbage of the north, cold in its cli¬
mate and searching in its storms and snows, where
the life of trie snepnerri is no sinecure, hut where
the summer bite, though short, is nourishing and
sweet, and where the heathy mixture imparts a fla¬
vour coveted even by the luxurious of the southern
metropolis. *

In illustration of the British breeds, we have se¬
lected two as opposite as possible, yet each of them
very extensively bred. We shall for this time give
the preference to those of the south, and first notice

* A considerable number of hind-quarters of the best
Scottish mutton is at present exported from Edinburgh to
the London dealers, where the article fetches a high price.

THE LEICESTER SHEEP.

PLATE XIV.

Among all the artificial breeds of animals, a cer¬
tain standard has been generally fixed, which is sup¬
posed to combine the greatest excellences, according
to the purposes for which the animal is employed ;
and it may be here proper to notice what has hitherto
been considered as the most perfect form of the sheep,
and which is equally applicable to every breed, as
the nearer they approach to this standard, so it is
thought they will be most profitable to the owners.

“ The head of the ram,” writes Mr Culley, “should
be fine and small, his face white, nostrils wide and
expanded, his eyes prominent, and rather bold or
daring, ears short and thin, his collar full from his
breast and shoulders, but tapering gradually all the
way to where the neck and head join, which must
be very fine and graceful, being perfectly free from
any coarse leather hanging down ; the shoulders
broad and full, which must at the same time join so
easy to the collar forward, and crops backward, as
to leave not the least hollow in either place; the mut¬
ton upon his arm or fore thigh must come quite to
the knee ; all his legs white and upright, with a clean

.

THE LEICESTER BREED.

157

fine bone, being equally clear from superfluous skin
and coarse hairy wool, from the knee and hough
downwards ; the breast broad and well formed, which
will keep his fore legs at a proper wideness ; his girth
or chest full and deep, and instead of a hollow be¬
hind the shoulders, that part, by some called the
fore flank, should be quite full ; the back and loins
broad, flat, and straight, from which the ribs must
rise with a fine circular arch ; his belly straight, the
tail well set up, quarters long and full, with the
mutton quite down to the hough, which should nei¬
ther stand in nor out; his twist deep and full, which,
with the broad breast, will keep his fore legs open
and square ; the whole body covered with a fine thin
rosy pelt, and that with a fine long bright and soft
wool.” *

The Leicester or Dishley breed is now the most
common, and most extensively reared, over all the
rich and low-lying pasture-land of England. It is
distinguished from the other long-woolled breeds by
“ having fine lively eyes, clean heads without horns,
straight broad flat back, round or barrel-shaped
bodies, fine small bones, thin pelts, and a disposition
„o make fat at an early age, with a superiority in the
fineness of the grain and flavour of the mutton.” f
This is properly what was formerly the Lincolnshire
breed, remarkable for the quantity of wool, but af¬
fording a very coarse and unprofitable mutton. Mr

* Culley, p. 73.

+ Dickson s Practical Agriculture, ii. p. 1135.

158

THE LEICESTER BREED.

Bakewell, by attention to the points already men¬
tioned, attempted to combine quantity and quality
of wool, with excellency of the meat and early
feeding, and effected an improvement in the breed,
which was not only productive to himself, but of
lasting importance to the agriculturist and wool-
grower. The advantages of this breed were so ap¬
parent, that, at the introduction of these sheep,
Mr Bakewell was said to have made (in the year
1789) 1200 guineas by three rams, 2000 of seven,
and 3000 of the remainder of his stock ; a return
unprecedented in the annals of sheep-breeding. They
were capable of being made what may be called
enormously fat at an early age. Mr Culley killed a
three years old wether in October 1787, with more
than seven inches of solid fat on his ribs ; and it was
common for two years old wethers to have four
inches of thickness of fat on the ribs, and from two
to three all down the back. This breed has now ex¬
tended to the south of Scotland, and a few are kept
by almost all the smaller farmers, for the sake of
wool for his family ; and with every cottar who has
the means of keeping a pet , this is the kind which is
selected, both from its abundant fleece, and its quiet,
unstraying manners. In some districts, a valuable
race has sprung fiom a mixture with both the Che¬
viot and black-faced breeds. The latter we now il¬
lustrate by a representation of

BLACK FACED RAM.

I5S

THE BLACK-FACED RAM.

PLATE XV.

The Ancient, or Black -faced Heath-breed, extends
from the north-western parts of Yorkshire to all the
high districts of the Highlands, particularly those of
the western coast. It is by far the most picturesque
looking of our sheep, and, with wild little Kvloe, is
a fitting accompaniment to the landscape of our north¬
ern hills. It is extremely active and hardy, even
somewhat goat-like in its motions and scansorial ha¬
bits ; of a firm, compact make, a piercing and wild¬
looking eye ; the horns in the male very large and
voluminous, more convoluted than even in the Me¬
rino ; the wool long, coarse-like and shaggy ; the
face and legs always black. There are spurious
breeds, which have the face and legs brownish, and
spotted with black ; but, in the words of Dr Walker,
in the true ram “his face and slender legs are black
as jet, without any mixture of white.” The flesh or
mutton is fine grained and well flavoured, but the
wool is coarse, and comparatively unprofitable, which
has of late caused a considerable change of the north¬
ern stock to the Cheviot breed, which are found to be
nearly equally hardy, and to yield a more profitable

160

THE HEBRIDIAN BREED.

fleece. Many attempts have been made to improve
this breed. The Norfolk and Suffolk sheep are sup¬
posed to be derived from them, also the Dorset
breeds.

The Hebridian is also a remarkable breed of Bri¬
tish sheep. It is the smallest animal of its kind, of a
thin lank shape, and with short straight horns. The
face and legs are white, the tail extremely short, and
the wool of various colours ; for, besides black and
white, it is sometimes of a bluish-grey colour, at
other times brown, and sometimes of a deep russet,
and frequently an individual is blotched with two or
three of these different colours. In some of the low
islands, where the pasture answers, the wool of this
small sheep is of the finest kind, and the same with
that of Shetland. In the mountainous islands, the
animal is found of the smallest size, with coarser
wool, and with this very remarkable character, that
it has often four, and sometimes even six, horns. *

In conclusion we shall give Mr Culley’s syn optica,
table of the British breeds, of which he enumerate#
sixteen : —

• Dr Walker’s Economical Hist, of the Hebrides, ii. 59.

SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF BRITISH BREEDS. 161

L

162

THE AFRICAN BREEDS.

We quote the following from McCulloch’s Com
mercial Dictionary, 1825 :

Number of long-woolled sheep in
in 1800, was

Number of short-woolled do.

England and Wales
. . 4,153,308

. 14,854,299

Slaughter of short-woolled sheep

per an-

num,

4,221,748

Carrion of do.

211,087

Slaughter of long-woolled do.

1,180,413

Carrion of do.

59,020

Slaughter of lambs,

1,400,560

Carrion of do.

70,828

19,007,607

7,140,856

Total Number of Sheep and Lambs, 26,148,463

“ In some parts of England there has been an in¬
crease in the number of sheep since 1800, and in
others they have decreased. But we have been as¬
sured by competent judges that upon the whole the
number has not materially varied in the interim.

“ During the last half century a very decided in¬
crease has taken place in the number of sheep in
Scotland, and a very great improvement in the breed,
particularly in the Highlands.

“ In the General Report of Scotland (Vol. iii.
Appen. p. 6.), the number of sheep is estimated at
2,850,000; and allowing for the increase that has
taken place since 1814, we may perhaps estimate the
total number of sheep in that part of the empire at
this moment (1835), at 3,500,000.

THE AFRICAN BREEDS.

163

“ In Ireland, the total number may be estimr^d at
about 2,000,000 ; and on the whole, therefore,
32,000,000 may be assumed as the grand tf^al num¬
ber in Great Britain and Ireland at the present
time.”

Of the African breed of sheep, one of the most
abundant is the Long-legged Sheep ; according to F.
Cuvier, the Ovis Africana and AEthiopica of syste-
matists, but evidently only a peculiar form of the
animal. It is particularly characterized by the great
length of the legs, the pendulous ears, the arch¬
ed forehead, and the fleece, which is short, curled,
and crisp ; upon the neck it assumes the form of a
mane, and on the shoulders often spreads out from
a centre, like hair on the rump of the camel or dro¬
medary. Cuvier’s figure is represented black and
white, and was procured from Faisan. We may
here notice, as somewhat allied, a breed from Per-

164

THE PERSIAN SHEEP,

PLATE XVI.

This seems somewhat allied to these, has the pen¬
dulous ears and arched profile, stands somewhat high,
and has short crisp wool. It now forms part of the
collection in Edinburgh. For several years it was
kept tame in Mr James Wilson’s garden, and we are
indebted to that gentleman for the account of its
life and manners during the period he preserved it.

“ The black-headed sheep which lived with me as
a pet for nearly a year and a half, was, I understand,
one of a small flock (originally from Persia) received
some time before by Sir James Gibson Craig. The
individual in question had been sent to the Edinburgh
Museum as a specimen . It was thin, and in poor
condition ; but being otherwise an interesting crea¬
ture, I begged and obtained its life from Professor
Jameson, on condition that when it died a natural
death, I would return it. I accordingly took it out
to Woodville, where it rejoiced greatly in its first
feed of sweet fresh grass, after a sojourn of some
days in a large lumber room in an old part of the
College now no more. As winter was approaching,
we generally housed it in the stable before night ;

THK fKHSlAS SHEK1'

THE PERSIAN SHEEP.

165

but it was always on the alert at an early hour in
the morning, and anxious to be brought to a little
plot of grass before our cottage windows, where it
seemed to enjoy the vicinity of human beings, and
delighted to be spoken to or fondled by children.
It was extremely mild, gentle, and affectionate in its
disposition, — never attempting to make a butt of, or
otherwise annoy, its friends. It would follow us
about the garden, and, if taken no notice of, would
frequently remind one of its presence by a gentle in¬
sertion of its muzzle into the hand, or even pocket.
This habit probably arose from its being so frequent¬
ly fed throughout the day with bits of bread, biscuit,
apples, &c. Although, of course, not allowed to go
at large in the garden, it often escaped there from its
own little plot of grass, and wandered about, appa¬
rently with a view to satisfy rather its curiosity, or
love of company, than its appetite ; for it seldom
touched any of the plants, except those (of the culi¬
nary kind) to which it had a legal right. It conti¬
nued thin and rather feeble all winter, but as the
weather improved in warmth and brightness, it ob¬
viously increased in health and spirits, and through¬
out the summer season its motions were very free
and graceful, and its attitudes at times expressive of
great boldness. To human creatures, however, es¬
pecially children, it continued to be uniformly gentle
and attached ; but it shewed great spirit in driving
all strange dogs from the door, and I once saw it
greatly astonish a large bull-terrier, by suddenly

166

THE PERSIAN SHEEP.

hounding upon it, and knocking it head-over-heeU.
When in a state of eagerness or excitement, it paced
about more like a deer than a domestic sheep ; that
is, it held its head and neck very erect, and its fore
limbs very straight and firm, lifting its feet high while
walking, and setting them down with force. The
stuffed specimen conveys no notion of the way in
which it stood upon its pins. When a carriage came
to the door, it would stamp with its feet, and utter
a deep tremulous angry bleat, as if to deter the horses
from entering any farther upon its domains.

“ It became again feeble and emaciated about the
middle of the second winter, and died in the stable
during the prevalence of a severe storm of frost and
snow. Though of a picturesque and pleasing aspect,
it was not of a form or countenance to be admired
by the cultivators of our domestic sheep ; its arched
front, and various other characters, partaking strong¬
ly of the acknowledged attributes of our unimproved
breeds. Its death, however, was deeply regretted
by us all.”

It appears to spread itself into many varieties ; the
Morocco breed : the Congo breed, with a very arched
profile, and covered with very loose wool instead of
hair; the ears very pendulous, two wattles beneath
the throat, and the tail very long and slender : the
Guinea breed, and the Angola races, which have a
finer wool, and the profile more nearly approaching
to the form of the sheep of Europe. There is a cu¬
rious variety which Major Smith refers to the Angola

THE ANOOliA BREED.

167

race, and has given a figure under the name of the
Zunu or Goitered breed, “ it has the singular pecu-
larity of a mass of fat rising in the form of a high
collar behind the horns, and resting upon the occiput,
while upon the larynx another mass of fat hangs like
a goitre under the throat.”

But one of the breeds of Africa which has been
perhaps as often noticed as any other, is the large-
tailed or fat-rumped sheep of South Africa. The
races of this variety also extend to other parts of
Africa, and apparently also to Asia. We here re¬
present

i(\£,

THE BARBARY BROAD-TAILED SHEEP.

PLATE XVII.

F rom the great commercial intercourse possessed
by the Cape of Good Hope, we might expect to find
a large proportion of varieties among those animals
which are domestic, and accordingly we find very
various breeds both from Europe and India, and par¬
ticularly some of the Dutch and Flemish breeds ; but
the Broad or Fat-tailed, is now what is termed the
South African or Hottentot breed. It is below the
middle size. The fleece soft and short wool, and the
name is derived from two masses of fat on each side
of the inferior part of the tail, which often reach a
great weight, and are esteemed as a delicacy ; those
sheep which can grow them heaviest and largest be¬
ing picked out and endeavoured to be continued as
a breed, on account of the luxury of this part; a little
carriage with wheels is sometimes attached to bear
up the tail and protect it from rubbing on the
ground. The Ovis steatopyga of southern Tartary,
also belongs to these, but the ears are long and pen¬
dulous, while the broad-tailed breeds of northern and

BARB ARY" UREE1) OP WILD SHEEP.

Cuvier.

THE BARBARY BROAD-TAILED SHEEP. Ifi9

middle Asia have the ears pointing forwards, the pro¬
file much arched, and the horns from three to six in
number.

The 0. sieatopyga or Fat-rumped Sheep of Pallas,
the same we have just alluded to, is reared through¬
out all the temperate regions of Asia, from the fron¬
tiers of Europe to those of China in the vast plains
of Tartary, where the hordes of Kirguize Tartars
lead a wandering life, seeking fresh and fitting pas¬
ture. The body of the animal towards the posteriors
swells gradually with fat ; but the characteristic mark
is the deposition of a solid mass of fat on the rump,
which falls over in the place of a tail, divided into
two hemispheres, which take the form of hips, with a
little button of a tail in the middle, to be felt with the
finger. It sometimes becomes so loose as to incom¬
mode the sheep, and weighs thirty-eight pounds.*

The subject of our plate is from the figure of Fre¬
deric Cuvier, and is the Barbary breed, with the
profile arched, the ears of middling size and pendant;
the fleece of a thick but coarse wool, the horns have
the direction of those of the Moufflon, and the tail,
on each side, is loaded with an accumulation of
fat.

All observers have attributed this accumulation of
fat to the peculiarity of feeding, but there seems no
reason or detail of experiments which can prove any
thing satisfactorily; Fred. Cuvier remarks, that the

Pallas’s History of Russian Sheep.

170

THE ASIATIC BREEDS.

fat of the tail when run, will never assume the so¬
lidity or consistency of the tallow of the other parts
of the body, — arguing from this that there is some¬
thing different in its secretion. Dr Pallas suggests
that it may be the prevalence of wormwood in the
Asiatic pasture, which causes fat on the O. steato-
pyga, and the efflorescence from the salt lakes which
impregnate the pasture.

Among the Asiatic breeds, besides the Fat-ramped
Sheep, which we have noticed, that of the Broad¬
tailed extends very widely, to India, China, and
Russia. One of the most celebrated, however, is the
Astracan breed or Boucharian breed of Pallas, belong¬
ing also to this. It is remarkable for the fine spirally
twisted wool ; and it is from this breed that a great
portion of the lamb skins, so much in request by the
furriers, is procured. The colour of the wool is ge¬
nerally a pleasing mixture of black and white ; and
Fred. Cuvier remarks, that among the broad-tailed
breeds, the wool of the young has a very great ten¬
dency to be united into two small twisted curls,
closely united, but which, soon after birth, are sepa¬
rated ; on this account, the skins of the lambs which
are taken from sheep which have died, are much
more valuable, and those of an entirely black tint are
most sought after.

A small flock of this breed was introduced into
France in 1821, by the Duke de Richelieu, with the
intention of having them extended and brought to
propagate in the country, and endeavour to organize

THE TSCHERKESSIAN SHEEP.

171

a commerce of the lamb skins. The attempt, we be¬
lieve, has not since been heard of. *

The Tscherkessian Sheep of the Russians and
Tartars, mentioned by Pallas, as the Ovis Dolichura,
is also very extensively used for the same purpose.
It is a handsome animal resembling some of the Spa¬
nish and English breeds. The rams are horned, the
wool is coarse in the adult state, and the tail, which
contains twenty vertebrae, is covered with fine long
wool, which trails on the ground, so as to efface the
prints made by the animal’s feet. It is reared in all
the European regions situated on this side of the
river Occa, by the pastoral people of Mount Caucasus.
They are commonly of a white colour. There is
also more art resorted to here in the preparing of the
lamb skins. As soon as the lamb is dropped, it is
sewed up in a sort of coarse linen shirt, so as to keep
up a gentle pressure on the wool, pouring warm
water over it every day to make it soft and sleek,
only letting out the bandage a little from time to
time as the animal increases in size, but still keeping
it tight enough to effect their purpose, which is to
lay the wool in beautiful glossy ringlets, and thereby
produce a delicate species of fur, in great request for
lining clothes and morning gowns ; and the animal
is killed younger or older, according to the specimens

* According to Dr Maculloch, the number of lamb skins
imported in 1831 and 1832 (chiefly from Italy), amounted
to 2,365,635. — Dictionary.

172

JBOVID.E.

of fur intended to be produced. Black is also in the
most esteem.*

The most beautiful Indian breed is said to be from
Mysore, hornless, with pendulous ears, short tail, and
the wool very fine, curled in small meshes, and
twisted like a cork skrew.

Having reviewed the Sheep, Major Smith finds
his way to the Bovine races, by means of a series of
large and powerful animals, uniting in some degree
the features of both, but although hitherto generally
referred to the Antelopes, from the outward ap¬
pearance of their horns, yet, perhaps, their real
structure approaches nearer to the oxen then either
to the Antelopes, or the Sheep and Goats. Mr
Swainson, in his late arrangement, places the Da-
inalis of Smith, as the last of the Goat, which
he includes in his family AiiteJopidce , while he
makes Catoblephas or the Gnu at the commence¬
ment of the Bovidce or the typical form of the Ru¬
minants.

They are all rather large animals. The inter¬
scapular or first vertebrae of the back are gene¬
rally elevated above the rest of the spine ; and
Major Smith has observed a curious structure in
he horns. They are “ placed on or even above
the ridge of the frontals, having within the osse-
* Pallas’s History of Russian Sheep.

DAMAl/IS.

173

ous nucleus or case a considerable cavity, commu¬
nicating (in all the species we have been able to
examine), externally by a sinus, which passes un¬
der the horny substance, nearly opposite the root
of the ear.”* With one exception they inhabit
Africa.

The Damalis , as a genus, or his Acronotine
group, Major Smitn has divided into subgenera, the
first of which will be represented by

Major Smith, iv. p. 345.

THE BUBALIS.

Acrontus bubalis. — Smith.

PLATE XVIII.

This is a large animal, equalling the size of a Stag,
but of heavy proportions, and of comparatively infe¬
rior speed. It is entirely of a yellowish dun colour,
whiter on the lower parts and insides of the legs, and
having the tail black, altogether resembling a cow in
form, and being in reality termed in the native lan¬
guage of the Arabs, wild cow or ox. They inhabit
the north of Africa, live in small troops, and are said
to be easily tamed, a circumstance not, however,
reconcilable with Fred. Cuvier’s specimen, which
served for our present figure, and was a mischievous
animal, while in the Menagerie of Versailles. The
horns are directed backwards, and all those animals
furnished with horns which point in this direction, use
them by placing the forehead parallel to the ground
between the fore legs, and in this position either
wait for the assailant, or rush upon the enemy, and
suddenly raising their head at the moment of contact
with immense force, inflict large and torn wounds
of the most dangerous description.

PLATE 18

L I' KALIS. ■ IStGWGTt ■/, /c

Cuvier _ t ars sc.

THE COLLARED DAMALIS.

.75

In the Dictionnaire Classique, it is mentioned, that
on some antique carving, the peculiarity of the
horns which the Bubalis exhibits, is distinctly marked t
on some ox-like animals represented harnessed to a
chariot ; while in others, supposed to be true oxen,
no such marking of the horns is visible : from hence
it becomes a question whether or not this animal
was not tamed and sometimes used by the ancient
Egyptians as beasts of draught, for in these represen¬
tations such minute descriptions are often most scru¬
pulously attended to.

The Corina is another fine animal belonging to
this group, the Hartbeest of the Cape colonists, but
now, from being much hunted, having become rare
within the bounds of the colony; according to Pen¬
nant, who confounds this with the last, they go in great
herds, a few only being solitary. They gallop with a
heavy pace, yet go swiftly, and drop on their knees
to fight like the white-footed Antelope or Nil-Ghau.*
This is stated on the authority of Sparman, but Ma¬
jor Smith observes that they reside in small flocks of
ten or twelve, in the interior of Caffraria.

The Collared damalis , A. saiurosa , is another
animal but little known, and supposed to inhabit
Africa, is described in the Berlin Transactions. A.
Senegalensis , the Koba, is known almost only by
the skull, and has yet been imperfectly described ;

«

Pennant's Quadrupeds.

176

THE BUBALIS.

and the Sassayby of Mr Daniel, is the last which is
referred to this form, termed A. lunata by Smith,
and described from a specimen procured by Mr
Burchell, which he refers to Daniel’s animal, though
sufficiently accurate notes are wanting of this. Mr
Burchell met with a single specimen in the Boosh-
wana country, a female. The horns were robust,
rising from the summit of the frontal crest at the
base, close together, swelling out a little forwards,
and then backwards. The height of the imperfect
skin was about three feet at the shoulder, two feet
eight inches at the croup. The fur of a deep black¬
ish purple brown, the ears assinine, six inches and a
half long, lined with light hair within and on the
edges. There is a lacrymary sinus. The face is of
a rufous dun colour, and a black streak commences
between the horns, contracting between the eyes,
and again widens near the nostrils.

The next is a very remarkable group or subgenus,
Boselaphus , restricted by Major Smith to two spe¬
cies, and now represented by

PLATE 19

■

• ;■

177

THE IMPOOFO.

Baselaphus oreas _ Smith.

PLATE XIX.

In this animal there is a great resemblance to
some of the oxen. Its large size, its more clumsy
form, its heavy gait, and the large hairy dewlap, all re¬
mind one of them. At present, the Impoofo is found
on the Karoo plains, in company with some of the
larger inhabitants and ostriches of these districts ;
though formerly it was so abundant in the Cape
colony, and so easily managed by a swift horse, that
the hunters would drive it in the direction of their
homes, and bring it down only when they thought it
convenient for their servants to carry it home.*
These animals, Lichtenstein observes, are much
esteemed by the colonists for food. Hunting par¬
ties are often made from some settlement, attended
with all the necessary apparatus, wagons to carry
home the spoil, &c. The meat is cut in pieces on
the spot, salted and packed in the skins, and some
of it is smoked. The great muscle of the thigh

* Major Smith.

M

178

THE BfPoOFO.

smoked is more particularly esteemed ; these are cut out
at their whole length, and from the resemblance they
bear to bullock’s tongues are called Thigh, Tongues.
They are sent as presents or for sale to Cape Town,
and are eaten raw with bread and butter, cut into
very thin slices. The taste of Eland’s flesh, when
eaten fresh, much resembles beef. The skins are
much esteemed for making leather, and the horns are
formed into tobacco pipes.* Thus, they appear to be
a very useful animal, and it must be regretted that
persecution is likely to destroy the species in the
vicinity of civilization.

According to the above quoted author, the Eland
is from seven to eight feet in length, and about four
feet high. They are sometimes found in groups of
twenty or thirty together, but more commonly from
eight to ten, of which there are seldom more than one
or two males, which are fattest, and are always singled
out for destruction. They run swiftly at first, but are
easily wearied and run down, and are said by the
peasants to be more easily taken by man than any
other of the African animals.

Major Smith gives the dimensions larger than those
of Lichtenstein. The weight is often above a hundred

pounds ; the length between eight and nine feet. The
height of a female in the Tower was five feet at the
shoulder; and Mr. Barrow mentions a male six feet
and a half high. The horns are placed on the sum-

* Lichtenstein’s Travels, Engl. Trans, i. i)7.

THE IMPOOFO.

179

mit of the frontal bone, sometimes two feet in length,
and having a spirally twisted appearance. On the
middle of the forehead there is a recurved crest of
bristles, reminding us of what will be seen in the
Gnu, and which passes along the ridge of the neck
The colour of the animal appears of a dirty grey,
a rufous or buff colour being placed on a black hide.
The hoofs resemble those of a Guernsey Cow. The
females exhibit all the separating marks which distin¬
guish the bull and cow, less powerful neck, smaller
horns and dewlap, and altogether a smaller bulk.

The other species which Major Smith has intro¬
duced into this subgenus, he denominates B. Canna ,
an animal comparatively little known, and generally
confounded with the preceding. It is of less size.
The general colour is a dark brownish grey, a white
space between the forelegs. They are met with in
the same districts with the Impoofo, but the herds
never mingle ; and from the colonists they receive the
name of Bastard Eland.

The next subgenus is also an African form, and
is illustrated by

180

THE KOODOO.

Strepsiceros koodoo. — Smith.

PLATE XX.

Antelope strepsiceros of Authors. — Striped Antelope, Pen¬
nant's Quad. i. p. 77 _ The Koodoo, Daniel — Damalis

(Strepsiceros), Smith in Griffith's Cuvier , iv. 357.

This is a large and very beautiful animal, com¬
bining many of the characters of the Sheep, Oxen,
and Antelopes. The male is nearly four feet high,
and about eight feet long, exclusive of the tail. The
general colour is a sort of buff-grey, with a line of
white passing down the spine, crossed by four or five
others from behind the shoulders, and from two to
four across the croup. The forehead is black, and
a white line passes over the orbits ; a ridge of black
hair runs along the crest of the neck, and a similar
one, longer and coarser, hangs from the dewlap. The
horns rise from the crest of the skull, and rise per¬
pendicularly up in large spiral whorla. Mr Pennant
mentions them as three feet nine inches in length.

The Koodoo inhabits the woody parts of Caffraria
and the Karoo Mountains; hut like the other large spe¬
cies, begins to get scarce. They are fleeter than the

PLATE 20.

THE KOODOO.

Daniel.

THE KOODOO.

181

last, but cannot keep up a long run, coming speedily to
bay, and defending themselves with their long horns.

We have now reacneu the lasi form among the
Antelopine animals, and also among those which our
guiding author has placed in a manner by themselves,
combining a variety of characters, but having one in
particular, the shoulders always standing considerably
higher than the croup. The three last groups of this
description were found in Africa. The present ani¬
mal inhabits Northern India; and though exhibiting
the same make, and, as it were, humped form at the
shoulders, is rather a graceful animal ; but it is a cu¬
rious circumstance, and shews their affinity, that by
the native names these animals are not at all grouped
with the antelopes, but invariably bear some designa¬
tion having the meaning of cow or ox, with some ac¬
cessory attached, derived from their colour or other
distinguishing mark. It will be illustrated by

182

THE NEEL-GHAU.*

Poriax picia.

PLATE XXI.

Antelope picta of Authors _ Nyl-Ghau, Phil. Trans, vols.

xliii. and lxi _ The White-footed Antelope, Pennant's

Quad. i. 74. — Neel-Ghau of the Indians. — Portax risia.
Major Smith in Griffith's Cuvier.

This very beautiful and active-looking animal is
found on the jungles bordering the woods of Northern
India, and from all our accounts, seems to increase in
number as we approach the confines of Persia. Our
first accurate information regarding it, is acknow¬
ledged by all to be due to Lord Clive, who intro¬
duced a pair to this country in 1767, which bred
regularly, and were tame and gentle. Another pair
were soon after described in detail by Dr W. Hun¬
ter, the brother of the distinguished anatomist and
naturalist whose memoir precedes the descriptive
portion of this volume.

The specimen which served for the accompanying
-llustration, with a female, forms a part of the Edin-

* Blue or Grey Bull.

PL ATE 21 .

'

. '■

/ 1>

• . •

THE NEEL-GHAU.

1S3

burgh Collection, and is in a very perfect state of
preservation. The colour generally is an agreeable
dark grey ; the colour is composed by two or three
tints on each hair, black, brownish, and white ; and
although at a little distance, the general shade is pro¬
duced, an inspection within a few yards shews as it
were a speckled appearance. The hair is not thick,
and is of a more rigid texture than in many of the
antelopes. The horns are seven or eight inches long,
round, the curve directed forward, and the base in¬
distinctly rigid. The head, legs, and under parts of
the body are of a much darker shade than the body,
in many species nearly approaching to black. There
is rather a strong mane, and the breast or dewlap is
tufted with long pendulous black hairs. The legs
are curiously marked by a transverse white mark in
front, and by a second patch opposite to the accessory
hoofs on the inner side. These are very conspicu¬
ous on the dark legs, and look like the traces or ana¬
logy to the peculiar colouring of some other animals.
The female also, in Edinburgh, is of a pale reddish-
fawn colour, rather less, and without horns. The
young males are said to be of a similar tint.

Mr Bennet mentions, that in captivity it is gentle,
and licked the hands of those who offered it bread,
suffering itself to be played with, not only with¬
out shyness, but with evident pleasure. When
meditating an attack, it falls suddenly on its fore¬
knees, shuffles onward in that posture until it has
advanced to within a few paces of the object of its

184

THE NEEL-GHAU.

irritation, and then darts forward with a powerful
spring, and beats with its head in the most deter¬
mined manner;* and both horse and rider have
been prostrated by a charge of these animals. Dr
Hunter has mentioned an instance of their strength
while butting, which proved fatal to the animal. “ A
poor labouring man, without knowing that the ani¬
mal was near him, and therefore neither meaning to
offend, nor suspecting the danger, came up near to
the outside of the paling of the enclosure, the Nyl-
Ghau, with the quickness of lightning, darted against
the wood-work with such violence, that he broke it
to pieces, and broke off one of his horns close to
the root.”f

In the Philosophical Transactions it is mention¬
ed by Dr Parsons, that the animal never lay up¬
on the side, but always upon its limbs, like the
Camel. There was something particular in his voice,
which imitated the croaking noise of a child’s rattle,
or the croaking of some birds ; and of the pair which
are recorded in the same valuable work as entrusted
to the care of Dr W. Hunter by the Queen, it is
noticed that the male, though reported to be a very
vicious animal, was in reality a most gentle creature,
and seemed pleased with every kind of familiarity,
always licked the hand which either stroked or gave
bread, and never once attempted to use its horns
offensively. It seemed to have much dependence on
its organs of smell, and snuffed keenly or with noise,
* Bennet, Zool. Gardens. -}- Phil. Trans.

THE NEEL-GHAU.

185

whenever any person came within sight; it did so
likewise when any food or drink was brought to it,
and was so easily offended with a smell, or so cau¬
tious, that it would not taste the bread which the
Doctor offered, when his hand had touched oil of
turpentine or spirits.*

The Neel-Ghau is hunted in Persia in the fa¬
vourite manner of pursuing large game in the
east. “ The animals are enclosed with large nets,
which are gradually brought towards each other, till
they encompass only a small space. Into this the
king, omerahs, and hunters enter, and kill them at
pleasure, either with arrows, short pikes, sabres, or
muskets, and sometimes in such quantities, that the
king is enabled to send a portion of them in presents
to all the omerahs.”f

* Philosophical Transactions.

+ Voyages de Franjois Bernier, ii. p. 225.

186

THE GNOO.

Catoblepas Gnu _ Smith,

PLATE XXII.

Antelope Gnu of English Authors _ The Gnoo, Daniel , IU

lust. of the Scenery of Southern Africa _ Catoblepas Gnu,

Smith in Griff. Cuv.

With this very singular animal Major Smith
commences the Bovine race, and he is followed in
a similar manner by Mr Swainson in his family Bo-
vidce. We shall particularly notice the family as we
proceed, after describing the present animal and the
Musk Ox. Mr Smith indicates four species, and
applied the above generic name to them. They in¬
habit the plains of Central and Southern Africa,
abounding on the arid deserts in company with herds
of the zebra and quagga, and flocks of ostriches, and
beyond the bounds of civilization, where some spe¬
cies have not been nearly extirpated, are almost al¬
ways found in company. The aspect of the head is
decidedly bovine, the forehead is ample and flat,
and the horns, which are present in both sexes, are
placed on the fore part of the frontal ridge, flattened
and large, and nearly meeting at the base. They

THE GNOO.

187

then bend forwards and downwards, and then sud¬
denly upwards, are round and nearly smooth. The
muzzle is broad and developed, and Major Smith and
some others have observed a peculiar valve of a tri¬
angular form, which opens and closes at pleasure.
On the brows and on the ridge of the face the hair
is very long and shaggy, and curves forward, and in
the whole aspect there is something fierce and rest¬
less. The neck is furnished above with an ample
rigid mane, and on the lower part of the breast with
a long and hairy dewlap. The general colour is a
yellowish tawny, darkest on the back and legs ; the
tips of the mane, dewlap, and tail whitish. In the
old specimens the white of these parts disappear, and
are nearly black. The young are said to be white,
but the indications which have been received are
vague, as far as the species is described.

The Gnoo is extremely swift and active, and while
not engaged in feeding, is sportive in manner, standing
to gaze at one time, and at the next moment wheel¬
ing and scampering over the plains with immense ra¬
pidity. We had an opportunity many years since of
seeing a specimen of this animal in Wombwell’s Me¬
nagerie, which was quite mild and tractable, and in
appearance, from the disproportionate fineness of the
limbs to the heavy looking body, did not seem to be
capable of the speed which is generally attributed to
it. It is remarkable that the cry of this animal is
somewhat like that of the bellow of a bull.

This species is the smallest and most common of

188

THE GNOO.

the genus, which is now considered to be composed of
four species, the present animal C. taurina, gorgon ,
and Brooksii . The last is only known by a horn which
was in the collection of the celebrated Joshua Brooks,
and which could not be referred to any of the others.
The C. taurina is nearly six feet high at the shoulder.
It has been called Kokoon or Kokong, from an ap¬
pellation of a similar sound in the Booshuana dialect.
The colour is of a dark grey, of a silky appearance,
the tail and mane white. * It is found in the Caflfre
country. The last, the Brindled Gnoo, C. gorgon of
Major Smith, that gentleman observes may be a va¬
riety of the C. taurina. It is intermediate in size
between the two last, and the horns stand bending
outwards, with the points turned towards each other.
The colour of the animal is a dirty sepia dun grey,
with indistinct darker streaks or brindles running
from the back down the sides. Nothing farther was
known of its habitat than that it was from South
Africa. The specimen which furnished the descrip¬
tion is in the museum of the Missionary Society of
London.

Lichtenstein.

PLATE

I

THE MUSK OX.

Edin.E..U. Museum.

189

THE MUSK OX.

Gvilos moschatus. — Blainville.

PLATE XXIII.

Bo? moschatus of Authors _ Musk Ox, Hearne , Pennant .

f£c — Ovibos moschatus, Blainville, Nouveau Dictionnaire.

Th is animal may perhaps have an appropriate sta¬
tion as an intermediate form, connecting this division
with the sheep, which De Blainville has endeavoured
to express in his generic name. The appearance of
the countenance, the long hair, or rather a sort of
wool, ally it with the latter ; while the horns and
other parts of the form bring it nearer to the oxen,
with which, by common consent, its namers, * whe¬
ther scientific or otherwise, have combined it.

The Musk Ox inhabits the barren lands of Ame¬
rica lying to the northward of the 60th degree of la¬
titude, and ranges to Melville Island over the islands
which lie to the north of the American continent.
They frequent country destitute of wood, rocky and
barren, and they feed alternately on grass or lichens.
They assemble in herds of thirty or forty, and are

* The Cree and Copper Indians have names which sig¬
nify “ ugly and little Bison.” — Richardson.

190

THE MUSK OX.

hunted by the Indians and fur-traders for the sake
of their flesh and hides.

The size of the animal, when fully grown, is nearly
equal to a small Highland bullock, rather shorter in
the legs. The horns are very broad, covering the
brow and whole crown of the head, and touching
each other for their whole breadth from before back¬
wards. The head is large and broad. There is no
vestige of a naked muzzle, the end of the nose,
middle part of the upper lip, and a great part of the
lower, being covered with a close coat of short white,
hairs. The remainder of the head anterior to the
horns is covered with very dark umber-brown hair,
long and bushy towards the root of the nose. The
eyes are moderately large. The general colour of
the hair on the body is brown, on the neck and be¬
tween the shoulders long, matted, and somewhat
curled : on the back and hips it is also long, but lies
smoothly, and on the shoulders, sides and thighs, it
is so long as to hang down below the middle of the
legs ; on the centre of the back it has a soiled brown¬
ish colour. The hair on the throat and chest is very
straight and long, and, together with the long hair
on the lower jaw, hangs down like a beard or dew¬
lap. The tail is so short as to be concealed by the
fur of the hips. The cow differs in being of a less
size, having smaller horns, not touching at the base,
and with shorter hair on the chest and throat. *

• Richardson, Faun. Bor. Americana, i. 277.

THE AiUSK OX.

191

The Musk Ox is of a more placid temper than
some of its congeners, but it will attack if wounded,
though not very active ; for an expert Esquimaux
hunter will allow himself to be attacked, and by dex¬
terously avoiding the rush of the animal, is enabled
to inflict various stabs, which in the end prove fatal.
Their sense of smell is exquisite, and they will per¬
ceive and fly from danger by its use before it is other¬
wise perceived.

192

THE BOVINE TRIBE, OR OXEN.

The animals which we have now arrived at, and
with which zoologists have generally concluded the
family of the ruminants, are fully equal to the wool-
bearing tribes in value and utility. The several species
and various races of Oxen, in all countries, are most
important in the economy of the inhabitants. They
are used for labour, and even assist in the wars of
their masters. Their flesh affords a nourishment for
the body, while their skin, hoofs, and horns, are
indispensable for the stronger articles of clothing,
and in the manufacture of many substances in daily
use. In some countries they are so much esteemed,
and their produce of milk and butter, &c. held in
so much value, that they are never slaughtered ex¬
cept on the most extraordinary occasions, and never
used as an article of common or general food. In
other countries they are only used for the purposes
of sacred offerings. In Egypt the bull was long
considered a sacred animal ; and in the mythology
of the Hindus the “ holy cattle” are cared for,
and their molestation punished with the severest pe¬
nalties.

In almost all the countries where oxen are em-
loyed, and this is over a great part of the known

THE BOVINE TRIBE OR OXEN.

193

world, the varieties of the European domesticated
races are almost the only animals which are used,
few of the other species having yet been found ca¬
pable of being domesticated to any extent, or easily
reared in confinement.

Wherever the breeds may have originally arisen,
or from whatever primitive stock they may have
sprung, they have spread far and wide, over the
European continent ; they have reached north and
south Africa, and now exist in innumerable herds. In
the latter countries, they form a most important
source of wealth, and are tended with the utmost
care, their skins regularly dressed, and their horns
twisted and variously ornamented. In North Ame¬
rica, they are more, numerous now than the wild
buffalo ; and in the steppes of the southern conti¬
nent they range in immense droves, almost in a state
of unreclaimed nature.

In tracing the origin of these breeds, so exten¬
sively spread, and affording a boon of such import¬
ance to mankind, there is much difficulty, no records
of introduction or of produce existing; and we are
driven to a comparison of the parts least subject to
variation with corresponding parts of the wild spe¬
cies with which we are acquainted. In the British
collections at this moment, we believe there are not
materials for such a comparison ; hut in the works
of Cuvier we shall find this in a great measure sup¬
plied, and whatever additional information may he
within our reach shall he added. We shall begin

N

194

THE BOVINE TRIBE OR OXEN.

with certainly the most important, and endeavour to
trace the stock of our domestic races of cattle, and
the forms they are supposed to assume in extra Eu¬
ropean countries. These stand in our systems as
the Bos taurus of the older naturalists, the B. tau -
rus domesticus of Linnaeus.

It may be observed in this place, that our author,
whose arrangement we have followed, divides this
group into three subgenera, Bubalus , Bison , and
Ta urns. Mr Swainson, in his Natural System,
makes Bos as pre-eminently typical of the Bovidce.

By most persons it is thought that the domestic
races of our cattle are originally sprung from the
Bos bubalus , the Indian and European Buffalo.
Some, again, treat of them as arising from the Au¬
rochs or wild cattle of Germany and Poland. These,
according to the system of Smith, come into subge¬
nera different from the domestic breeds ; and from
both these suppositions the opinion of the Baron
Cuvier varies, as he is inclined to consider our pre¬
sent cattle identical with a species no longer existing
in a wild state, but which has, by the exertions of
man, as in the instance of the Camel and Drome¬
dary, been for ages entirely subjected to his power.
The remains of this animal has been found in a fos¬
sil state, and it is upon the comparison of these re¬
mains with the skeleton of the Auroch, the Buffalo,
and our domestic races, that the Baron has founded
his opinion.

In examining the skull of any of the breeds of

THE BOVINE TRIBE OR OXEN.

195

our domestic cattle, we shall find the front flat, and
even a little concave ; and in the horned varieties the
horns are attached to the most elevated ridge of the
skull, both of which may be seen in the annexed cut
of the skull of a large horned Italian breed. The.
plane of the occiput forms an acute angle with the
front in the domestic breed, and i? quadrangular.

m the Aurochs, again, the plane of the occiput
forms an obtuse angle with the front, is semicircular,
and the forehead is very markedly convex. The an¬
nexed cut

196

THE BOVINE TRIBE OR OXEN.

wifi shew the convex skull of the Auroch, with the
position of the horns ; while beneath is given that of

the domestic breed. There are other parts of their
form which are also very different. The limbs of the
Auroch are slighter, and more slender, and the num¬
ber of ribs is fourteen, whereas in the domestic breeds
they are only thirteen. The Aurochs belong to the
Bisontine group.

The Buffalo belongs to the Bubaline group, and
differs even more than the Aurochs in form.

Major Smith places the fossil species, under the
title of Bos (taurus) Urus , and considers the wild
cattle of our parks as the white variety. The cut
below exhibits the form of the bead of Cuvier’s fossil

THE BOVINE TRIBE OR OXEN.

197

species ; while the wild breed of Hamilton is re¬
presented on the accompanying Plate.

193

4

THE WHITE URUS, OR HAMILTON BREED OF
WILD CATTLE.

Taurus Urus. — Variety.

PLATE XXIV.

Urus Scoticus, Smith _ Wild Cattle, Pennant , Bewick , fyc.

The White Urus ( Urus Scoticus of Major Smith)
is now only to be seen in one or two enclosures,
which the proprietors are anxious to uphold, and,
from the variety of the breed, not to allow it to be
indiscriminately spread. The most remarkable now
are the parks of Chillingham in Northumberland,
the property of Lord Tankerville, and that of Ha¬
milton Palace in Lanarkshire, where the drawing for
the accompanying illustration was made.

“ This* very ancient and peculiar breed of cattle
has been long kept up with great care by the noble
family of Hamilton, in a chase in the vicinity of their
splendid seat at Hamilton, in the Middle Ward of
the county of Lanark. They are generally believed
to he the remains of the ancient breed of white cattle

* We are indebted to Robert Brown, Esq. Chamberlain
to His Qrace the Duke of Hamilton, for having procured
for us the following interesting account.

TRTJS

THE WHITE URUS.

199

which were found on the island when the Romans
first visited it, and which they represent as then
running wild in the woods. The chase in which they
browse was formerly a park or forest attached to the

Royal castle of Cadzow, where the ancient British

• '

kings of Strathclyde, and subsequently kings of Scot¬
land, used frequently to reside and to hold their courts.
The oaks with which the park is studded over, are
evidently very ancient, and many of them are of enor¬
mous size. Some of these are English oaks, and
are supposed to have been planted by King David,
first Earl of Huntingdon, about the year 1 140. The
chase is altogether of princely dimensions and ap¬
pearance, amounting to upwards of 1300 Scotch
acres. The number of white cattle at present kept
is upwards of sixty. Great care is taken to prevent
the domestic bull from crossing the breed ; and if
accidentally a cross should take place, the young is
destroyed. In their general habits, they resemble
the fallow-deer more than any other domestic ani¬
mal. Having been exposed, without shade or co¬
vering of any sort, to the rigours of our climate
from time immemorial, they are exceedingly hardy ;
and having never been caught or subjected to the
sway of man, they are necessarily peculiarly wild
and untractable. Their affection for their young,
like that of many other animals in a wild or half-
wild state, is excessive. When dropt, they carefully
conceal them among long grass or weeds in some
brushwood or thicket, and approach them cautiously

200

THE WHITE URUS, OR

twice or thrice a-day, for the purpose of supplying

them with the necessary nourishment. On these oc-

*

casions it is not a little dangerous to approach the
place of retreat, the parent cow being seldom at any
great distance, and always attacking any person or
animal approaching it with the utmost resolution and
fury. The young calves, when unexpectedly ap¬
proached, betray great trepidation, by throwing their
ears back close upon their necks, and lying squat
down upon the ground. When hard pressed, they
have been known to run at their keepers in a butting
menacing attitude, in order to force their retreat.
The young are produced at all seasons of the year,
but chiefly in spring. The mode of catching the
calves is to steal upon them whilst slumbering or
sleeping in their retreat when they are a day or two
old, and put a cloth over their mouths, to pre¬
vent them crying, and then carry them off to a place
of safety without the reach of the herd, otherwise
the cry of the calf would attract the dam, and she,
by loud bellowing, would bring the whole flock to
the spot, to attack the keeper in the most furious
manner. These cattle are seldom seen scattering
themselves indiscriminately over the pasture, like
other breeds of cattle, but are generally observed to
feed in a flock. They are very chary of being ap¬
proached by strangers, and seem to have the power
of smelling them at a great distance. When any
one approaches them unexpectedly, they generally
scamper off to a little distance to the leeward, and

HAMILTON' BREED OF WILD CATTLE. 201

then turn round in a body to smell him. In these
gambols they invariably affect circles; and when they
do make an attack — which is seldom the case —
should they miss the object of their aim, they never
return upon it, but run straight forward, without
ever venturing to look back. The only method of
slaughtering these animals is by shooting at them.
When the keepers approach them for this purpose,
they seem perfectly aware of their danger, and al¬
ways gallop away with great speed in a dense mass,
preserving a profound silence, and generally keeping
by the sides of the fields and fences. The cows
which have young, in the mean time, forsake the flock
and repair to the places where their calves are con¬
cealed, where, with flaming eyeballs and palpitating
hearts, they seem resolved to maintain their ground
at all hazards. The shooters always take care to
avoid these retreats. When the object of pursuit is
one of the older bulls of the flock, the shooting of
it is a very hazardous employment. Some of these
have been known to receive as many as eleven bul¬
lets, without one of them piercing their skulls. When
fretted in this manner, they often become furious,
and, owing to their great swiftness and prodigious
strength, they are then regarded as objects of no or¬
dinary dread.

“ The White Urus, or Hamilton breed of wild
cattle, differs in many respects from any other known
breed. As compared with those kept at Chilling-
ham Park, Northumberland, by Lord Tankerville,

202

THE WHITE URUS, OR

they are larger, and more robust in the general form
of their bodies, and their markings are also very dif¬
ferent. In the Tankerville breed, the colour is in¬
variably white, muzzle black, the whole of the in¬
side of the ear, and about one-third of the outside,
from the tip downwards, red. The horns are very
fine, white, with black tips ; and the head and legs
are slender and elegant. In the Hamilton Urus,
the body is dun-white, the inside of the ears, the
muzzle, and the hoofs black, and the fore-part of
the leg, from the knee downwards, mottled with
black. The cows seldom have horns ; their bodies
are thick and short ; their limbs are stouter, and
their heads much rounder than in the Tanker¬
ville breed. The inside or roof of the mouth is
black, or spotted with black. The tongue is black, and
generally tipped with black. It is somewhat larger
in proportion than that of the common cow; and the
high ridge on the upper surface, near to the insertion
of the tongue, is also very prominent. It is observ¬
able that the calves that are off the usual markings
are either entirely black or entirely white, or black
and white, but never red or brown. The beef, like
that of the Tankerville breed, is marbled, and of ex¬
cellent flavour, and the juice is richer, and of a lighter
colour, than in ordinary butcher-meat. The size of
the smaller cows does not exceed fifteen stones tron
weight; but some of the larger sort, especially the bulls,
average from thirty-five to forty-five stones. The
circumstances of their breeding in-and-in , — of be-

HAMILTON BREED OF WILD CATTLE. 203

ing chased so much when any of them are to be
shot, -r— of being so frequently approached and dis¬
turbed by strangers, — and of having been exposed
so long to all the vicissitudes of the seasons, and
constantly browsing the same pasture, — have no
doubt contributed greatly to the deterioration of the
breed, and must have reduced them much in size
and other qualities.

“ The ancient history of this breed is involved in
much mystery. From fossil remains, chiefly found
in marl -pits, it appears that two species of the ox
tribe formerly prevailed in Scotland, namely, the Dos
taurus and the Bos urus. Some heads of these, of
very large dimensions, are still preserved in the col¬
lections of the curious. Professor Fleming of Aber¬
deen informs us, that he has a skull of the former in
his possession, measuring 27^ inches in length, 9
inches between the horns, and 11^ inches across at
the orbits. The accounts of ancient authors certain¬
ly allude to a species of wild cattle very different in
their characters and dimensions from those of the
present day. The favourite haunt of these animals
m ancient times seems to have been the Caledonia
Sylva, or Caledonian Forest, which extended from
Stirling, through Menteith and Stratherne, to Athol
and Lochaber. It is described by old authors as di¬
viding the Piets from the Scots; and, being well fur¬
nished with game, especially with fierce white bulls
and kine, it was the place of both their huntings, and
of their greatest controversies. Some say it took its

204

THE WHITE URL'S, OR

name from Calder, which signifies a hazel , or com*
D.on nut-bush. The Roman historians delight much
to talk of the furious white hulls which the Forest of
Caledonia brought forth. In these early days, they
are represented as of large size, and as possessing
jubam densam, ac demissam instar leonis ; or, as
Holinshed has it, ‘crisp and curled manes like feirs
leonis.’ At what period this great forest was destroy¬
ed, and the white cattle extirpated, is uncertain. Sir
Robert Sibbald describes them, in his time, as de¬
nuded of their manes. In the sixteenth century,
they seem to have become entirely extinct as a wild
race, and, as we learn from Gesner, ‘ were all slain,
except in that part which is called Cummernad.’
Another author informs us, that ‘ thocht thir bullis
were bred in sindry boundis of the Colidin VVod, now
be continewal hunting and lust of insolent men, they
a e destroyit in all parts of Scotland, and nane of
them left but allenerlie in Cumernald.’ At what
period the present breed were introduced to the
royal chase at Cadzow, cannot now be well ascertain¬
ed. It is well known that the Cummings were at
one period proprietors of Cadzow and Cumbernauld,
and it is likely that in their time the white cattle
were in both places. But be that as it may, they
have long been extirpated at Cumbernauld, while
they have been preserved in great perfection at Ha¬
milton. The universal tradition in Clydesdale is,
that they have been at Cadzow from the remotest
antiquity ; and the probability is, that they are a part

HAMILTON BREED OF WILD CATTLE. 205

remaining of the establishment of our ancient British
and Scottish kings. At present they are objects of
great curiosity, both to the inhabitants and to stran¬
gers visiting the place. During the troubles conse¬
quent on the death of Charles I., and the usurpation
of Cromwell, they were nearly extirpated; but a
breed of them having been retained for the Hamil¬
ton family, by Hamilton Dalzell, and by Lord El-
phingstone, at Cumbernauld, they were subsequent¬
ly restored in their original purity. A tradition pre¬
vails in the country, that, about a hundred years ago,
when it was found necessary, for a time, to remove
them from one pasture to another, several hundred
individuals, belonging to the different baronies on
the ducal estate, were called out, and that they only
effected their purpose with much danger and diffi¬
culty. Instances are recorded of their having been
taken when young, and tamed, and even milked.
The milk, like that of most white cattle, is describ¬
ed as thin and watery. The usual number of 1 ibs
is thirteen on each side ; some have been slaughter¬
ed with fourteen pair of libs, but this is exceeding¬
ly rare. There is no other park of cattle in Scot¬
land of a similar description.”

In Chillingham Park they roam at large, and
there is between 1500 and 1 800 acres enclosed, com¬
bining, besides good pasture, a range of wild and
rocky moor, interspersed with abundant wood and
cover for their shelter, and approaching as near as
any enclosure can do to the wild nature of their ort-

206

THE WHITE URUS, OR

ginal habitation. From sixty to eighty head are kept
up here, a certain proportion being regularly de¬
stroyed, to prevent the increase of the breed beyond
their means of support. About two-thirds of the
stock may be cows, the remainder bulls and oxen.
When becoming too numerous, they are killed, and
used as beef, which is nearly similar in taste and
flavour to that of the common kyloe. The colour
of this stock is white, with red ears ; and they ge¬
nerally reach from fifty to sixty stones in weight.
The oxen feed heavier, and in shape and form ap¬
proach near to the Lancashire breed, the horns be¬
ing long, and beautifully turned. A few years ago,
a fine ox was fed to a large size, and was quite tame
and gentle. The present keeper of the park at one
time possessed a cow, which he had taken when a
calf, in consequence of the death of its mother : it
was gentle, and milked as a cow, bred freely with
the common bull ; but the propagation was not al¬
lowed to proceed farther, the calves being killed at
an early age.

They go in herds, and on the approach of a stranger,
after standing to gaze, like many other wild animals,
wheel round him in a circle, which, if he is so impru¬
dent as to remain, will be gradually narrowed, till an
attack is made. During the breeding-season, it is
more dangerous to approach, as the calls of the
young will always incite the parent or herd to at¬
tack the aggressor. When pursued or baited, they
become very fierce, as they also do if but slightly

HAMILTON BREED OP WILD CATTLE. 207

wounded by a ball. Lord Ossulton had a narrow
escape from a bull which had been wounded and se¬
parated from the herd. It attacked him on horse¬
back, and, at the first onset, overthrew and gored
the horse to death. One of the keepers was also
tossed, and severely maimed by a wounded bull.

The other parks where this breed was kept up,
were at Wallaton in Northamptonshire, Gisburne in
Craven, Yorkshire, Limehall in Cheshire, Chertley,
Staffordshire, Burton - Constable, Yorkshire, and
Drumlanrig, Dumfriesshire. At the two latter places
they have worn out, or have been destroyed by some
means, neglect or disease * ; and we possess no very
recent information regarding the stock in the other
parks.

The mode of killing these cattle, Mr Bewick re¬
marks, “ was perhaps the only modern remains of
the grandeur of ancient hunting. On notice being
given that a wild bull would be killed on a certain
day, the inhabitants of the neighbourhood came
mounted, and armed with guns, &c. and sometimes
to the amount of an hundred horse, and four or five
hundred foot, who stood upon walls, or got into trees,
while the horsemen rode off the bull from the rest of
the herd, until he stood at bay ; when a marksman
dismounted, and shot. At some of these huntings,
twenty or thirty shots have been fired before he was
subdued. On such occasions the bleeding victim

* The stock at Chillingham was once reduced to a
single cowin calf. The produce fortunately proved a bull.

208

DOMESTIC BREEDS.

grew desperately furious, from the smarting of Ills
wounds, and the shouts of savage joy that were
echoing from every side.” *

The races which have spread over Asia have been
thought partly to have been mixed with some of the
Indian breeds which are at present little known.

Among the largest domestic breeds known are
those of the Kirguise and Calmuc Tartars, and those
of the Roman States. The colour is generally of a
bluish-ash, the horns remarkably ample and spreading.
In Egypt a large white breed was maintained ; and
in northern and central Africa, according to Major
Denham, two varieties at present exist, both hump¬
ed, like some of the Indian breeds, the one with
small horns, the other of a large size, with immense
horns, one which was measured being three feet six
inches and a half in length, following the curve, and
twenty-three inches and a quarter in circumference, t
Upon the banks of Lake Tchad, and in the king¬
dom of Bournou, these cattle were kept in great
abundance. They performed all the laborious busi¬
ness at home of carriage and tillage, the camel only
being used for war and extensive journeys. They
were the bearers of all grain and other articles to and
from the markets. “ A small saddle of plaited rushes

* Bewick's Quadrupeds, p. 41.

*f- Denham’s Narrative, Appendix.

DOMESTIC BREEDS.

209

is laid on him, when sacks made of goat skins, and
filled with corn, are lashed on his broad and able
back. A leather thong is passed through the carti¬
lage of his nose, and serves as his bridle, while on the
top of the load is mounted the owner, his wife or his
slave.” *

Major Smith is of opinion, that the ordinary
Egyptian white and spotted breed without humps
has spread southward to Caffraria ; and we find
there, and among the Hottentots, where, as among
the Cape colonists, they may now have a mixture
with many of the Dutch breeds, cattle of very large
size, and ample horns, + of a white or light colour,
and marked with large blotches of reddish or brown.
Here, besides the ordinary economical uses, they are
employed by the Caffrarians as beasts of burden, of¬
ten transporting their whole families, house and arms
and utensils. The annexed Plate from Daniel’s
African Scenery, will illustrate both the breed and
manner of travelling.

* Denham’s Travels, p. 321.

-f* A horn from South Africa in our possession measures
21 inches in circumference at the base, and has apparently
not been cut close to the skull.

0

210

SOUTH AFRICAN CATTLE,

WITH CAFFRARIAN FAMILY ON A JOURNEY.

PLATE XXY.

This interesting Plate is thus described in Da¬
niel’s African Scenery : —

“ The Caffres who dwell upon the eastern coast of
South Africa are a race of people very superior to
what they have usually been considered, both with
regard to their physical and moral character. If
taken in the mass, it may be questioned if any nation
can produce so great a proportion of tall elegant
figures as appear among the Caffres. Though strong
and active in a great degree, they eat very little ani¬
mal food, but subsist chiefly on milk in a curdled
state, and a few wild vegetables and roots. The
shape of the head and the features of the counte¬
nance approach much nearer to inhabitants of the
north than either the Hottentot or the Negro, and
were it not for their colour, which is from black to
bronze, even Europeans might pronounce them a
very handsome race of men. Their weapons for war
and for hunting are the hassagai and the kerie. The
former is an iron spear fitted to a tapering shaft,

PLATE 25

SOUTH AFRICAN CATTLE.

211

which they hurl with effect to the distance of thirty
or forty yards. In battle they usually break off the
vooden shaft of the spear, and with the aid of a
►hield made of dried ox-hides, come to close quar¬
ters with the iron part only in their hand. The
kerie is nothing but a small stick with a round knob
at the end, with which they frequently kill the pigmy
antelope, hares, and the smaller animals. The men
in summer go naked. Their usual ornaments consist
of rings of ivory on the arm, a brush of hair attached
to the head, and frequently a cow’s tail tied to the
knee ; and when they go to war, they bind on the
head, by a fillet of skin, the two wings of the Numi-
dian Crane. The women wear long cloaks of skin,
made soft and pliant with great pains, and gaily
studded with metal buttons. The Caffre chiefs also
wear cloaks made of the skins of animals, and gene¬
rally prefer those of the leopard and tiger cat. The
children always go naked, and have no decorations
except a tuft of hair from the spring-bok, with which
their heads are frequently ornamented.”

In India we have another race of oxen which has
been also referred to the same stock as our domestic
breed, chiefly from the correspondence of the skele¬
ton, and the similar flat form of the skull.

21*2

THE INDIAN OX OR ZEB7.T

Taurus Indicus.

PLATE XXVI.

Zebu, Buffon , Desmarest. — Bos Indicus of Authors.

The Zebu seems to extend in its varieties over
India and Northern Africa, and we believe the pre¬
viously noticed animals from the kingdom of Bornou
will be referable to one of these. The general co¬
lour of the Zebu is ashy grey, paler towards the
lower parts, but varieties very commonly occur. The
size runs from that of a large mastiff dog to a large
and powerful bull of Europe, and they occur either
horned or without horns, and sometimes with the
horns, as it were, attached only to the skin, hanging
loose and without any central core ; while there is
another race, however, in greater obscurity, of a
large size, and having the horns nearly four feet in
length. The ordinary varieties of the Zebu are fur¬
nished with a fatty hump or excrescence on the
shoulders, which has been said to reach the weight
of fifty pounds. Another variety has two fatty humps,
the first placed on the shoulder, the other immediate¬
ly behind it ; these are said to be most common in

TT, ATE 2 6.

INDIAN OX OR ZEDU

Mareolall.

‘

i' - \ -

-t .

« I - J ' '• V

,v. - . ■ u"v • '

. • . . ' • ..... ,

V ■

‘vt!

«•

*-* -

*

4 • • fl .|

. . ■?. • • .

■ v-' •

THE INDIAN OX OR ZEBU.

213

the vicinity of Surat. The variety we have figured
is of large size, the horns small, and the ears large
and rather pendulous.

In India, where they have not been consecrated,
they are used for burden and tillage, and are mild-
tempered and gentle. They are also used occasion¬
ally for the saddle and in harness, and travel with
considerable speed, from twenty to thirty miles being
accomplished in a day. Among the Hindoo sects
they are consecrated, and as with many other of the
animals employed in the mythology of that remark¬
able people, are fed and pampered and allowed to
use their freedom anywhere with impunity, severe
penalties being inflicted on any one who will molest
them, even when destroying their growing crops or
other property.

“ The Brahminy, or sacred bull of the Hindoos,
rambles about the country without interruption ; he
is caressed and pampered by the people, to feed him
being deemed a meritorious act of religion. In many
parts of Bengal, an absurd custom prevails, which
frequently occasions much damage to the farmers.
When a rich young man dies, and the ceremony in
commemoration of ancestors has been performed, a
young bull is consecrated, with much solemnity, to
Siva, and married to four cows ; be is then turned
loose, after having been marked ; he may then go
where be pleases, and it is not lawful to beat him,
even if he be eating a valuable crop, or enter a shop
and there devour the grain exposed for sale. The

214

THE INDIAN OX OR ZEBU.

sufferers shout and make a noise, to drive him away ;
bat he soon despises this vociferation, and eats hearti¬
ly until he is satisfied. These consecrated bulls be¬
come in consequence of these free quarters very fat,
and are fine animals to look at, but very destructive.
The wives are given away to Brahmins, and he sel¬
dom sees them again. The two last Rajahs of Di-
najepoor, among other expedients which they devised
with great success to ruin themselves, consecrated
in this manner about two thousand cows, and as no
person presumed to molest the sacred animals, the
vicinity soon became desolate, and the magistrate
was at last compelled to sell them all, with the ex¬
ception of one hundred, which were left to the widow
to soothe her misfortune.”*

These breeds have all the inward grunting call
heard in the Yak and some other Indian animals,
not the open bellow of the true bull, and this has led
to the conjecture that there was some intermixture
between the European domestic races and the wild
animals of India.

The domestic breeds of cattle in Europe are ex¬
tremely numerous, varying with the nature and cli¬
mate of the district, according as their proprietors have
desired an animal fitted for the dairy or the butcher.
As in the sheep, they had not the improvement
of the fleece to assist in the returns of profit, and

* Hamilton’s Descript, of Hindostan.

THE INDTAN OX OR ZEBU.

215

where the quantity of milk and its products was not
an object, the best form for bearing a good covering
of fat, and the animal which would produce a fine
beef, and in large quantity, at an early age, was the
aim to which all the great breeders sought to attain ;
breeds for draught or burden in this country at least
having been nearly superseded, and even on the Con¬
tinent at last, coming to the public market, the above
mentioned qualifications are deemed most desirable.

Desmarest enumerates twenty French and Dutch
varieties or races, differing merely in the form, which
has pleased the breeder. His Bos lemovicensis sup¬
plies the Parisian market chiefly. They are kept
while young in the district of Perigord, and driven
to Normandy to be fattened and prepared for the
market. This breed is of a pale colour, generally
white or tawny, strongly formed, with large bending
horns ; their weight from 600 lb. to 850 lb. An¬
other, the Race Gasconne, Bos aquitanicus , feeds to
nearly a similar weight, is also of a pale colour, and
has the horns enormously large. These are con¬
sumed at Bourdeaux, and furnish the principal supply
for the French navy. B. avernus, reared on the
mountains of Auvergne, is employed at the age of
about three years for tillage, and afterwards fattened.
It is of strong proportions, yet does not reach a heavy
weight. The colour is generally red or brown, and are
short and point upwards. B viducassencis reaches
a large size, with large white but short horns, and
round at the tips, blotched with red and white.

216

DOMESTIC BREEDS.

black and white, or black and red, considered by M.
Desmarest as the finest breed in France, introduced
from Holland, and used for tillage. Another large
breed, B. uneliensis, when crossed with the last,
reaches a weight of 1300 or 14001b., and is con¬
sidered the largest in France. B . Helvetians is one
of the Swiss races, celebrated for the quantity of
their milk, and B. Batavius is the ordinary Dutch
breed, celebrated for a similar good quality. Den¬
mark possesses a breed also remarkable for milk,
and in Spain and Italy the breeds have a fine appear¬
ance from their very large size, their peculiar dull
grey colour, and their immense horns diverging la¬
terally. We are not, however, so well informed as
to their other qualifications.

In Britain the catalogue of varieties is even greater.
At the earlier periods of its history grazing was much
more prevalent in proportion than in the present
time, and from the times of the ancient Britains to
that of the border forays, the carcasses of the beeves
were a regular item in the winter’s larder. These,
perhaps, might be taken from any stock without the
true calculation of the quantity of meat a given time
and feeding would produce, but they were, never¬
theless, well fed on the natural pastures, and would
be perhaps even more acceptable to the accomplish¬
ed epicure in beef. With the march of cultivation,
came the necessity of attending to the varieties which
were most easily reared, and when the pasture lands
began to yield so great a return by crops of grain, it

DOMESTIC BREEDS.

217

necessarily led to the attention for these requisites
which have now been brought to such perfection. In
the same manner which we pursued when noticing the
natural history of the sheep, we have now selected
two of the British breeds for illustration, as much
contrasted as possible ; the others we shall very short¬
ly notice under them. About ten varieties are ge¬
nerally noticed, but there are more than double the
number known locally, either by the name of the
district or their original proprietors. The long¬
horned, the middle-horned, the short-horned, the
Welsh breed, the Suffolk duns, Galloway polled
breed, Highland or Kyloe breed, Lowland or Fife-
shire breed, Alderney breed, and the wild breed, are
those enumerated by Dickson.

But before proceeding to these details, we shall in
this place give some account of the barbarous though
stirring and heroic encounters of the Moors, Spa¬
niards, and Romans in their bull-fights, widely con¬
trasted as they are from the veneration in which we
have just mentioned that other nations have held the
animals at present under our notice. We have seen
the natives of Egypt and of the East deifying these
quadrupeds; and useful and peaceful as they are when
unmolested, we must exhibit them tormented in a
variety of ways, and with a cruelty which to our
present habits seems almost incredible. The origin
of bull-baiting is supposed to be derived from the
Moors, and we cannot lay before our readers a more
interesting account of these extraordinary exhibitions,

218

MOORISH BULL-FIGHT.

than the following characteristic translation from a
Moorish ballad.

THE BULL-FIGHT OF GANZUL.*

I.

King Almanzor of Grenada, he hath bid the trumpet sound,

He had summon’d all the Moorish Lords, from the hills and
plains around :

From Vega and Sierra, from Betis and Xenil,

They have come with helm and cuirass of gold and twisted
steel.

II.

’Tis the holy Baptist’s feast they hold in royalty and state, -f-

And they have closed the spacious lists beside the Alhamra’s
gate;

In gowns of black with silver laced within the tented ring,

Eight Moors to fight the bull are placed in presence of the
King.

III.

Eight Moorish lords of valour tried, with stalwart arm and
true,

The onset of the beasts abide come trooping furious through;

The deeds they’ve done, the spoils they’ve won, fill all with
hope and trust,

Y et ere high in heaven appears the sun, they all have bit
the dust.

IV.

Then sounds the trumpet clearly, then clangs the loud
tambour,

Make room, make room for Ganzul — throw wide, throw
wide the door ; —

Blow, blow the trumpet clearer still, more loudly strike
the drum,

The Alcaydd of Agalva to fight the bull doth come.

* From Ancient Spanish Ballads, translated by J. G. Lockhart, Esq.
t The day of the Baptist is a festival among the Mussulmans, as well

is among Christians.

MOORISH BULL-FIGHT.

219

V.

And first before the King he pass’d, with reverence stooping
low,

And next he bow’d him to the Queen, and the Infantas all
a-rowe *,

Then to his lady’s grace he turn’d, and she to him did throw
A scarf from out her balcony was whiter than the snow.

VI.

With the life-blood of the slaughtered lords all slippery is
the sand,

Yet proudly in the centre hath Ganzul ta’en his stand;

And ladies look with heaving breast, and lords with anxious
eye,

But the lance is firmly in its rest, and his look is calm and
high.

VII.

Three bulls against the knight are loosed, and two come
roaring on,

He rises high in stirrup, forth stretching his rejon ;

Each furious beast upon the breast he deals him such a blow.

He blindly totters and gives back across the sand to go.

VIII.

“ Turn Ganzul, turn,” the people cry — the third comes up
behind,

Low to the sand his head holds he, his nostrils snuff the
wind ;

The mountaineers that lead the steers, without stand whis¬
pering low,

* Now thinks this proud Alcaydd to stun Harpado so?” —

IX.

From Guadiana comes he not, he comes not from Xenil,
From Guadalarif of the plain, or Barves of the hill ;

But where from out the forest burst Xarama’s waters clear.
Beneath the oak trees was he nursed, this proud and stately
steer.

220

MOORISH BULL-FIGHT.

X.

Dark is his hide on either side, but the blood within doth
boil,

And the dun hide glows, as if on fire, as he paws to the tur¬
moil.

His eyes are jet, and they are set in crystal rings of snow;

But now they stare with one red glare of brass upon the foe.

XI.

Upon the forehead of the bull the horns stand close and
near,

From out the broad and wrinkled skull, like daggers they
appear ;

His neck is massy, like the trunk of some old knotted tree,

Whereon the monster’s shagged mane, like billows curl’d,
ye see.

XII.

His legs are short, his hams are thick, his hoofs are black
as night,

Like a strong flail he holds his tail in fierceness of his might ;

Like something molten out of iron, or hewn from forth the
rock,

Harpado of Xarama stands, to abide the Alcayde's shock.

XIII.

Now stops the drum — close, close they come — thrice meet,
and thrice give hack ;

The white foam of Harpado lies on the charger’s breast of
black —

The white foam of the charger on Harpado’s front of dun —

Once more advance upon his lance — once more, thou fearless
one !

XIV.

Once more, once more; — in dust and gore to ruin must thou
reel —

In vain, in vain thou tearest the sand with furious heel —

In vain, in vain, thou noble beast, I see, I see thee stagger

Now keen and cold thy neck must hold the stern Alcayd^s
dagger !

BULL-FIGHTS.

221

XV.

They have slipp’d a noose around his feet, six horses are
brought in,

And away they drag Harpado with a loud and joyful din.—
Now stoop thee, lady, from thy stand, and the ring of price
bestow

Upon Ganzul of Agalva, that hath laid Harpado low.

“ The excessive fondness of the Spaniards for bull¬
fights is a remarkable feature in their manners, and
is hostile to the feelings of other European nations,
who are less familiar with such sights. The Spani¬
ards themselves regard this practice as the means of
preserving energy of character, and of habituating
them to strong emotions, which are only terrible to
timid minds. In these sentiments the Spaniards are
not singular ; for it may be recollected that an en¬
lightened legislator, the late Mr Windham, attempt¬
ed to defend on the same principles the equally cruel
sport of bull-beating in England, when a proposal
was made for a legal enactment to suppress that bar¬
barous practice. But although bull-fighting was for¬
merly reckoned among the royal festivals in Spain,
attempts have been made, if not entirely to abolish
the entertainment, at least to diminish the number
of the exhibitions.

“ These bull-fights are attended with very consi¬
derable expense, but they are also profitable to the
undertakers ; for the spectators pay for admission as
to any other spectacle, and the price of the best and
most commodious seats is as high as a dollar. The
profits which remain after defraying the expense of

2 22

BULL-FIGHTS.

the horses and bulls, and the wages of the torre -
adores or combatants, are destined to charitable pur¬
poses. In some cities the principal square is fitted
up as a kind of theatre for this exhibition.

“ The spectacle begins with a kind of procession
round the square, in which the combatants, either on
foot or oil horseback, make their appearance j after
them two officers of justice in black robes, and of a
grave deportment, advance to the president of the
spectacle, and request to have an order for the enter¬
tainment to commence. A signal is then given, and
the animal, which had been previously shut up in a
cabin, with a door opening to the square, rushes for¬
ward, and is received by the spectators with the loud¬
est acclamations. The picadores, or combatants, on
horseback, dressed in the ancient Spanish manner,
and armed with a long lance, begin the contest; and
if the bull, without provocation, dart upon them, a
favourable opinion is entertained of his courage ; and
if, after being wounded and repulsed, he return to
the charge, the most enthusiastic expressions of joy
are heard ; but if he is struck with terror, and seem
anxious to avoid his antagonists, he is hooted and
hissed by all the spectators, and loaded with re¬
proaches and blows by those who are near him. If
after all this his courage cannot be roused, large
dogs are let loose against him, and after being torn
and mangled, in the estimation of the Spaniards he
perishes ignobly. The most animated, as well as the
most bloody scene, is exhibited with the combatant

BULL-FIGHTS.

223

on horseback ; for the irritated and wounded animal
sometimes attacks and overturns both horse and rid¬
er ; and when the latter is dismounted and disarmed,
he is protected from immediate danger by the com¬
batants on foot, who endeavour to provoke and di¬
vert the hull’s attention by shaking before him pieces
of cloth of different colours ; but in attempting to
save the dismounted horseman, they are themselves
exposed to great hazard ; for the bull sometimes
pursues them, when they escape by dropping a piece
of coloured stuff, against which the deceived animal
exerts all his rage ; or, if this resource fail, the com¬
batant springs over a barrier six feet high, which in¬
closes the inner part of the arena. In some places
this barrier is double, forming in the intermediate
space a circular gallery, behind which the combatant
is in safety ; but in some cases the barrier is single,
and the bull succeeds in his attempt to surmount it
when an indescribable scene of consternation and
confusion immediately follows, which proves fatal to
many of the spectators, while the unfortunate animal
falls under the blows which are levelled at him from
all sides.

“ If the animal is not dispatched by those on horse¬
back, and if he seem disposed to renew the combat,
they retire and give place to the banderilleros, who
are on foot, and presenting themselves before the
animal, the moment he darts upon them, plunge into
his neck a kind of hook-darts, ornamented with small
streamers of coloured paper. The rage of the animal

224

BULL-FIGHTS.

is raised to the highest pitch, and, were it not for
the experience and skill of the assailants, his furious
efforts would hurl destruction on their heads in a
moment. The bull being exhausted with numerous
wounds and loss of blood, another victim of barbarous
sport is demanded ; the signal of death is given by
the president, and announced by the sound of trum¬
pets. The matador then appears in the arena, when
the other combatants retire. In one hand he holds
a long dagger, and with the other waves a flag before
his adversary. The interest and pleasure of the
spectators, which had been suspended, are again
awakened, and the matador, watching the favourable
opportunity, inflicts the mortal blow ; and if the ani¬
mal fall, the loudest shouts of acclamation announce
the triumph of the conqueror ; but if he fail in the
first attempt, a murmur of disapprobation pervades
the assembly. The fallen animal is then dragged
from the arena by three mules ornamented with bells
and streamers, and another is immediately introduc¬
ed to run the same course of barbarous torment. \t
one period six bulls were thus sacrificed in a morn¬
ing, and twelve in the afternoon, on the days appro¬
priated to these entertainments in Madrid.” *
According to Gibbon, the Romans, about the de¬
cline and fall of the empire, borrowed this barbarous
practice from the Moors.

“ In the year 1332, a bull feast, after the fashion of
the Moors and Spaniards, was celebrated in the Co-
* Encyclopaedia Edinensis.

BULL-FIGHTS,

225

liseum itself ; and the living manners are painted in
a diary of the times.* A convenient order of benches
was restored ; and a general proclamation, as far as
Rimini and Ravenna, invited the nobles to exercise
their skill and courage in this perilous adventure.
The Roman ladies were marshalled in three squad¬
rons, and seated in three balconies, which, on this
day, the 3d of September, were lined with scarlet
cloth. The fair Jacova di Rovere, led the matrons
from beyond the Tiber, a pure and native race, who
still represent the features and character of antiquity
The remainder of the city was divided as usual be¬
tween the Colonna and Ursini. The two factions
were proud of the number and beauty of their female
bands. The charms of Savella Ursini are mentioned
with praise ; and the Colonna regretted the absence
of the youngest of their house, who had sprained her
ancle in the garden of Nero’s tower. The lots of the
champions were drawn by an old and respectable
citizen ; and they descended into the arena or pit to
encounter the wild bulls, on foot, as it should seem,
with a single spear. Amidst the crowd, our annalist
has selected the names, colours and devices of twenty
of the most conspicuous knights. Several of the
.names are the most illustrious of Rome and the ec-

* This extraordinary bull feast in the Coliseum, is de¬
scribed from tradition rather than memory, by Ludovico
Buonconte Monaldesco, in the most ancient fragments of
Roman Annals (Muratori, Script. Rerum Italicarum, tom.
xii. p. 535, 536) •, and however fanciful they may seem, they
are deeply marked with the colours of truth and nature.

P

226

BULL-FIGHTS.

clesiastical state ; Malatesta, Polenta, della Valle,
Cafarello, Savelli, Capoccio, Conti, Annabaldi, Al-
tieri, Corsi. The colours were adapted to their taste
and situation ; the devices are expressive of hope or
despair, and breathe the spirit of gallantry and arms.
“ I am alone like the youngest of the Horatii,” the
confidence of an intrepid stranger. “ I live discon¬
solate,” a weeping widower. “ I bum under the
ashes,” a discreet lover. “ I adore Lavinia or Lu*
cretia,” the ambiguous declaration of a modern pas¬
sion. “ My faith is as pure,” the motto of a white
livery. “ Who is stronger than myself?” of a lion’s
hide. “ If I am drowned in blood, what a pleasant
death,” the wish of ferocious courage. The pride or
prudence of the Ursini restrained them from the
field, which was occupied by three of their here¬
ditary rivals, whose inscriptions denoted the lofty
greatness of the Colonna name : “ Though sad, I
am strong :” “ Strong as I am great “ If I
fall,” addressing himself to the spectators, “ you fall
with me intimating (says the contemporary writer)
that while the other families were the subjects of
the Vatican, they alone were the supporters of the
rapitol. The combats of the amphitheatre were
dangerous and bloody. Every champion successively
encountered a wild bull ; and the victory may be as¬
cribed to the quadrupeds, since no more than eleven
were left on the field, with the loss of nine wounded,
and eighteen killed, on the side of their adversaries.
Some of the noblest families might mourn, but the

BULL-FIGHTS.

227

pomp of the funerals, in the churches of St John
Lateran and St Maria Maggiore, afforded a second
holiday to the people. Doubtless, it was not in such
conflicts that the blood of the Romans should have
been shed, yet, in blaming their rashness, we are
compelled to applaud their gallantry ; and the noble
volunteers, who display their magnificence, and risk
their lives, under the balconies of the fair, excite a
more generous sympathy than the thousands of cap¬
tives and malefactors who were reluctantly dragged
to the scene of slaughter.t

In Britain, similar exhibitions appear not to have
been without their admirers ; and we find bull-bait¬
ing and bull running patronised by royalty amongst
us, and these shows even graced by the presence of
the softer sex.

Queen Elizabeth, on the 25th of May 1559, soon
after her accession to the throne, gave a splendid
dinner to the French ambassadors, who afterwards
were entertained with the baiting of bulls and bears,
and the queen herself stood with the ambassadors
looking on the pastime till six at night. The day
following, the same ambassadors went by water to
Paris Garden, where they saw another baiting of
bulls and of bears ; and again, twenty-seven years
posterior, Queen Elizabeth received the Danish am¬
bassador at Greenwich, who was treated with the
sight of a bear and bull-baiting, “ tempered,” says

•f Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol.
xii. p. 416-418.

228

BULL-FIGHTS.

Holinshed, <f with other merry disports ; and, for the
diversion of the populace, there was a horse with an
ape upon his hack, which highly pleased them, so
that they expressed “ their inward-conceived joy and
delight with shrill shouts and variety of gestures.”

The manner in which these sports were exhibited
toward the close of the sixteenth century, is thus de¬
scribed by Hentzner, who was present at one of the
performances. “ There is a place built in the form
of a theatre, which serves for baiting of bulls and
bears ; they are fastened behind, and then worried
by great English bull-dogs; but not without risk to
the dogs, from the horns of the one and the teeth of
the other ; and it sometimes happens they are killed
on the spot. Fresh ones are immediately supplied
in the places of those that are wounded or tired.”

Bull-running at Stamford was another barbarous
diversion somewhat different from bull-baiting, and
much less known. The traditionary origin of the bull¬
running at Stamford, and the manner in which it was
performed in the seventeenth century, are given by
Butcher, in his Survey of that town. “ The bull-run¬
ning is a sport of no pleasure, except to those who de¬
light in beastliness and mischief ; it is performed just
the day six weeks before Christmas. The butchers of
the town, at their own charge, against the time pro¬
vide the wildest bull they can get. I his bull over night
is led into some stable or barn belonging to the aider-
man. The next morning proclamation is made by

BULL-FIGHTS.

229

the common bellman of the town, round about the
same, that each one shut up their shop-doors and
gates, and that none, upon pain of imprisonment,
offer to do any violence to strangers ; for the prevent¬
ing whereof, the town being a great thoroughfare,
and then being term-time, a guard is appointed for
the passing of travellers through the same, without
hurt ; that none have any iron upon their hull-clubs,
or other staff, which they pursue the bull with.
Which proclamation made, and the gates all shut up,
the bull is turned out of the alderman’s house ; and
then hivie-skivy, tag and rag, men, women, and chil¬
dren, of all sorts and sizes, with all the dogs in the
town, promiscuously running after him with their
bull-clubs, spattering dirt in each other’s faces, that
one would think them to be so many furies started
out of hell for the punishment of Cerberus, &c. And
which is the greater shame, I have seen persons of
rank and family, of both sexes, following this bulling
business. I can say no more of it, but only to set
forth the antiquity thereof as tradition goes.”*

We shall now illustrate the British breeds first, by
* Strutt’s Sports and Pastimes of the People of England.

230

THE SHORT-HORNED BREED.

PLATE XXVII.

The Short-horned British breed of cattle, so term¬
ed in contradistinction to other breeds, where the
horns are long and ample. They are principally
found in Lincolnshire, the eastern parts of Yorkshire,
Durham, Northumberland, and Berwickshire, are
still extensively bred in these countries, have extend¬
ed in both directions, and are now commonly found
in the south of Scotland. They are originally from
a Dutch stock, and sometimes bear that appellation.
They are a handsome breed, compact, yet elegant,
should have smooth skins and thin hides, and have
often a pleasing arrangement of blended colours of
red and white, and a sort of roan, which sometimes
almost appears purple. They feed easily, and to a
large size, and are now prized as being capable of
rearing to a heavy weight at a very early age. They
feed in common to from 60 to 100 stones’ weight,
and a few examples are recorded of 140 and 150
stones being exceeded. They are also most exten¬
sively used for the dairy, yielding abundant quantity

PLATE

THE SHORT-HORNED BREED.

231

of milk, though it is supposed by some to be of ra¬
ther an inferior quality. It is, however, in repute
for its produce of butter, for the Yorkshire firkin-but¬
ter, of the London markets, is supplied by this
breed.

The long-horned breed is deeper in the fore-quar¬
ter, and lighter behind, rather inferior to the short¬
horned in size, of a thick and firm hide, long hair,
and remarkable for their long horns. Lancashire is
the mother country of this breed, which is most
frequent in Warwickshire, Leicester, Gloucester,
Chester, and other midland counties, but it is sup¬
posed to be in the highest perfection in Leicester¬
shire. They are rather slow feeders, although there
are some improved breeds, which feed more quickly.

The middle-horned cattle are only a variety. They
are reared in Devonshire, Sussex, and Herefordshire.
The first, when in a state of purity, are of a high red
colour, are thin-skinned, and silky in handling. They
feed early, are adapted for draught, and the shoulder
points, according to Mr Culley, are beautifully fitted
for the collar. As dairy cattle they are also esteem¬
ed, and, from their being steady and active, as well
as capable of great exertion in harness, they are pe¬
culiarly adapted for the purposes of the team. They
may be wrought from three to five or six years’ old
before they are fattened ; altogether they are a very
valuable breed.

The Welsh cattle are small, active, and hardy

232

THE SHOUT- HORNED BREED.

blade, with thick horns turned upwards. They arfe
quick feeders.

The Suffolk duns are a small breed reared in that
county principally, and supposed by Mr Culley to be
a variety occasioned by an intercourse with the nor¬
thern droves. They are a polled breed, or without
horns ; the colour dun, hut it commonly varies.
They are esteemed for the dairy.

The Alderney breed is a very pretty and handsome
race, finely made, and with slender limbs. They are
of a light reddish or yellow colour, sometimes black,
but are impatient of the cold of this climate, and do
not thrive unless with extra care and keeping. They
are kept for the richness of their milk. In many
places a cross between some of our hardy smaller
races has been found useful, and they then bear the
climate of this country.

Galloway polled breed , as their name implies, is
originally from Galloway, a rather wild district in
the south of Scotland. They are now the most com'
mon cattle in that district and Dumfriesshire, where
they are reared and grazed from two to four years
old, at which period they are driven to the Norfolk,
Suffolk, and some other Southern markets, to be
farther fed ; whence they reach Smith field, and the
other London markets, and there yield a high price
from the superior quality of the beef.

The prominent feature in this breed is the want
of horns ; a peculiarity which is very striking to an

THE SHORT-HORNED BREED.

233

ndividual accustomed to a district where a horned
creed is reared. They are remarkably neat, strong,
compact animals. The favourite and common colour
is black, but red or dun brindled and pied colours
are sometimes met with. The hair is rather long,
but it should be close, fine, and silky. The last breed
we shall notice is

234

THE KYLOE OR HIGHLAND CATTLE.

PLATE XXVIII.

This, like the Black-faced Sheep, possesses the
whole of the Highlands and the Western Isles of Scot¬
land. On their native pastures, where they are not
housed, they are extremely rough and shaggy, and
wild-looking; but, when driven to the Lowlands, they
become more polished, and, on a richer pasture, in a
warmer climate, and with shelter at night, shew a rich
and glossy covering, and a considerable degree of
symmetry, uniting, at the same time, a firmness and
compactness of limb and body. The favourite co¬
lour here is also black ; but nearly the same varieties
as of the last are prevalent. It is a horned breed,
and the horns should be round, polished, and white
at the base, in an animal of high health and vigour.
Immense droves of this breed pass annually to the
south, where they are fed and supplied to the Lon¬
don markets. They are easily fed, and afford rich
and excellent beef. The smallest breeds are reared
in the Isle of Skye.

These varieties, which we have now shortly enu¬
merated, are the principal which are reared in this

PLATE 28.

THE KYLOE, OR HIGHLAND CATTLE.

235

country ; but there may be more than double the
number which have local names applied to them,
from their locality or breeder, all having at least some
supposed qualification for which they are reared.

The actual consumption of black cattle in Lon¬
don alone in 1832, amounted to 1,364,160, and, be¬
sides the immense quantity of animal food which
they afford, the different articles to which their va¬
rious parts are applied and manufactured into, are al¬
most incredible. — Leather of different kinds is pre¬
pared from the hides, after the hair has been removed,
and put aside for the use of the plasterer, &c. ; glue
from the refuse ; vellum from the skins of the calves.
Tallow is a well known article, so is horn, in its various
applications; the blood is not so commonly known as
an article extensively used in the clarifying of sugar,
and as the basis of Prussian blue ; while the common
and useful gold-beaters’ skin is not generally under¬
stood to be the lining of their intestines. With all
those useful properties, both in a living state and af¬
ter death, it is singular that in civilized nations this
useful and commonly mild-tempered animal should
be sometimes treated with the utmost cruelty. The
old English practice of bull-baiting, which we have
already given an account of on pp. 227-8, exhibits
an example of this in Britain, and is curious to con¬
template, in relation with the manners of our people,
and to contrast with its more luxurious analogy the
bull-fights of Spain.

236 THE KYLOE, OR HIGHLAND CATTLE.

Major Smith places his subgenus Taurus , which
we have been now examining, last in the series of
Bovine Animals. We have treated of it first, as con¬
taining the animals of most importance, not as dis¬
agreeing with the system of that accomplished zoo¬
logist, who has had much more extensive opportuni¬
ties of investigating the Ruminant Animals than we
are likely for a long time to enjoy. We now come
to his subgenus Bubalus , which contains animals from
both India and Africa. His characters are, “ Ani¬
mals low in proportion to their bulk ; limbs very so¬
lid ; head large, forehead narrow, very strong, con¬
vex ; choppers straight; muzzle square ; horns lying
flat, or bending laterally with a certain direction to
the rear ; eyes large ; ears mostly funnel-shaped ; no
hunch, a small dewlap ; female, under with four
mammae; tail long, slender.”*

The first species to be noticed is

® Mem. of Brit. Quad.

THE AEKri/AN BUFFALO.

237

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.

Bubalus cafer. — Smith.

PLATE XXIX.

Bos cafer, Sparrman, &c.

The Buffalo of the Cape has often been confound¬
ed with the animal of Southern Europe ; but it is
entirely of a different form, and is a much more fe¬
rocious and dangerous animal, and has never yet been
domesticated, or used for any laborious purpose. It
is an animal, Burchel remarks, found no where hut
in the extra tropical part of Southern Africa, and is
widely distinct from every other species of the ox tribe,
and most remarkable by its horns, which, though not
of more than ordinary or proportional length, are so
unusually broad at their base, as to cover the whole
forehead, and give to it the appearance of a mass of
rock ; an appearance to which the ruggedness and
unevenness of their surface greatly contribute. Its
countenance exhibits a savage aud malevolent expres¬
sion. Its bulk far exceeds that of the ox, although
its height be not much greater; but it is altogether
more robust and strongly made. Its muzzle, when not
young, is but thinly covered with short scattered black
hair ; that on the under lip, and about the corners of

838 THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.

mouth, being longer, and somewhat resembling a
beard. The wither rises high, but not sufficiently to
form a rump. The tail resembles that of the com¬
mon ox, but is much shorter ; and the two spurious
hoofs are rather longer in proportion. Its horns turn
outwards and downwards, and their points are re¬
curved upwards. The hide is much thicker thaa
that of the ox, and is much valued by the Colonists
and Hottentots for its strength. It is of a fierce and
treacherous disposition, which, added to its size and
strength, renders it dangerous to be attacked with¬
out caution, or without the certain means of escapt
at hand.*

The frame of this animal is strong and powerfully
made, and the species is at once distinguished by the
immense mass of horn which defends the forehead.
According to Lichtenstein, the rib-bones are of sucii
extraordinary breadth, that they almost unite with
one another, so that on the outer side nothing at all
is seen of the intercostal muscles, f

The African Buffalo is found in abundance in
Southern Africa, and stretches along the east coast
as far to the interior as has been yet explored. lu
the colony of the Cape, it is, however, becoming much
less plentiful, from the constant warfare kept up
against it as well as the other wild animals, and tra¬
vellers now may look in vain for any fine specimens
the places where they were seen and hunted by

* Burchell’s Africa, ii. 250.
f Lichtenstein’s Travels, ii. 276.

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.

239

Le Vaillant, Sparrman, or Daniel. All travellers
have agreed in the danger of wounding, or intruding
incautiously upon the haunts of the buffalo; he is
easily irritated, and rushes towards his object with
blind fury, bearing down all before him ; he possesses
also great activity, and in some situations consider¬
able swiftness ; and in an attack upon a herd, a
place of safe retreat is generally looked for before
commencing. They are killed in pitfalls, like much
of the larger game, but the Dutch colonist or Euro¬
pean makes use of the rifle alone, while the Hotten¬
tot prefers following this chase on foot, being more
active then the animal in seeking a retreat from his
pursuit. Mr Pringle relates the following incident
of a buffalo hunt, which we extract, as characteristic
of the animal and the sport.

“ A party of boors had gone out to hunt a herd
of Buffaloes, which were grazing on a piece of marshy
ground, interspersed with groves of yellow wood and
mimosa trees, on the very spot where the village of
Somerset is now built. As they could not conve¬
niently get within shot of the game without crossing
a part of the valei or march, which did not afford a
safe passage for horses, they agreed to leave their
steeds in charge of their Hottentots, and to advance
on foot, thinking that if any of the buffaloes should
turn upon them, it would be easy to escape by re¬
treating across the quagmire, which, though passable
for man, would not support the weight of a heavy
quadruped. They advanced accordingly, and under

240

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.

covert of the bushes, approached the game with such
advantage, that the first volley brought down three of
the fattest of the herd, and so severely wounded the
great bull leader, that he dropped on his knees, bel¬
lowing furiously. Thinking him mortally wounded,
the foremost of the huntsmen issued from the covert,
and began reloading his musket as he advanced to
give him a finishing shot ; but no sooner did the in¬
furiated animal see his foe in front of him, than he
sprang up and rushed headlong upon him. The
man throwing down his heavy gun, fled towards the
quagmire ; but the beast was so close upon him, that
he despaired of escaping in that direction, and turn¬
ing suddenly round a clump of copse wood, began
to climb an old mimosa tree which stood at the one
side of it. The raging beast, however, was too quick
for him, bounding forward with a roar, which mj
informant described as being one of the most fright¬
ful sounds he ever heard ; he caught the unfortunate
man with his terrible horns, just as he had nearly
escaped his reach, and tossed him into the air with
such force, that the body fell dreadfully mangled in¬
to a cleft of the tree. The buffalo ran round the
tree once or twice, apparently looking for the man,
until weakened with the loss of blood, he again sunk
on his knees. The rest of the party recovering from
their confusion, then came up and dispatched him,
though too late to save their comrade, whose body
was hanging in the tree quite dead.”*

* Pringle’s African Sketches, p. 271.

THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.

241

Major Smith has placed next in order, an animal
of which we have at present no distinct account. Jt
appears pretty certain that there exists in central and
unexplored Africa, a rather large Bovine animal, for
we have indications of it by various travellers, which
do not agree with any of the known species. Major
Smith met with a drawing in the collection of Prince
John Maurice of Nassau, which bears some appear¬
ance of being drawn from this animal. The de¬
scription of the drawing, a young male, is as follows ;
but that is all we yet know regarding an animal
which may prove of considerable interest “ A
young male, the horns lying across the summit of
the head ; the tips turned up ; colour darkish, with
obscure transverse ridges ; head very short, thick,
abrupt at the nose ; forehead wide ; eyes large and
full ; neck with a dense mane ; ears long, flaccid,
pendulous ; tail to below the houghs covered with
long woolly black hair; general colour deep brown,
feet white. Inhabits Congo, Angola, and central
Africa.

The late Caffre wars have increased the scarcity
of all large game ; and letters from the outposts of
the new territory describe the country as totally for¬
saken, the herds of large animals being driven off to
seek quiet and retirement.

Another animal, which is yet little known, stands
in our systems under the title of Bos pegosus. The
• Griffith’s Synopsis.

Q

242

BOS PEGASUS.

colour is deep brown, the feet white, neck with a
dense mane, the ears long and pendulous ; the horns
lying across the summit of the head, with the points
turned up. Inhabits Congo, Angola, and central
Africa.*

Maior Smith.

243

THE ARNEE OX.

The Arnee Ox, Bubalus Arnee , Smith, is tne
next animal we have to notice, remarkable in many
instances, but particularly for the immense develop¬
ment of the horns, of enormous weight, and forming
a curve rising erectly from the side of the head. This
animal is a native of China and India ; and from the
evidence given by Major Smith, it appears pretty
certain that there are two species, or at all events,
several very distinct varieties. The one inhabiting
Bengal is rather common, of moderate size, and has
the horns above three feet in length. The other is
found in small families in the forests at the foot of
the Himalayas ; and it is thought that the animal met
with by Colonel Williamson in one of his hunting ex¬
cursions, must be referred to this, and not to the
True Wild Buffalo, to which the title Arnee is some¬
times applied, as signifying an ox of very large di¬
mensions. This animal is described as having a dark
nearly black skin, scantily furnished with hair, the
skin appearing and shewing the actual colour of the
animal, as in the case of many of the ruminant ani¬
mals inhabiting a very warm climate, many of the
African Antelopes, &c. This buffalo (as it is termed

244

THE ARNEE OX.

by Williamson) measured above six feet high at the
shoulder, and nearly a yard in breadth at the chest,
and the horns were above five feet and a half in

length.

Major Smith mentions another killed to the east¬
ward of Bengal, whose head, when resting perpen¬
dicularly on the grounu, required the out- stretched
arms of a man to hold the points of the horns. Ano¬
ther pair of horns in the British Museum, measured
by the same author, were six feet three inches in
length, following the curve, and eighteen inches in
circumference at the base.

245

INDIAN OR DOMESTIC BUFFALO.

Bubalus bnjlus.

Bos bubalus of Authors, Smith, See. — Buffie, Buffon, Fred.

Cuvier , Hist. Nat. dies Mammif

This animal exists in a wild state in many parts
of India, and those in Persia, North Africa, and the
south of Europe are used as domestic animals, per¬
forming labour and carriages, for which purposes they
are managed by a ring through the cartilage of the
nose. There is, however, something treacherous
and designing in its look and appearance, and among
the herds of India there always appears a certain
jealousy of strangers, and especially of Europeans,
whom they view with a suspicious glance, and not
unfrequently attack without any warning.

The colour of the domesticated animal is general¬
ly dark, the hair scattered and coarse, the horns
large, reclining backward and sideways, with the tips
turned up. With ample feeding and care the tame
buffalo becomes a fine animal, sleek and fine-coated,
and possessing great spirit and courage. Such are
the animals which are picked and trained by the
great to exhibit in the contests with the tiger or ele¬
phant. The European domestic race exceed in size

246 INDIAN OR DOMESTIC BUFFALO.

those of India, except such as are chosen for the
combat, and stand from four to five feet high at the
shoulder.* The wild animal is of larger propor¬
tions. We are indebted to Colonel Williamson for
interesting information regarding both the tame and
the wild states, which we shall here make use of.

The Indian buffalo delights in water, so much so
that burdens have to be most carefully attended to
in travelling, the animals most probably being in¬
clined to lie or roll themselves in the first swamp or
water they meet with. No place seems to delight
them more than the deep verdure on the confines of
pools and marshes, especially if surrounded by tall
grass, so as to afford concealment and shade while
the body is covered by the water. In such situa¬
tions they appear to enjoy a perfect ecstasy, having
in general nothing above the surface but their eyes
and nostrils, the horns being kept low down, and
consequently out of sight. Frequently nothing is
perceptible but a few black lumps in the waters, ap¬
pearing like small clods, and a passenger would
scarcely expect to see, as often happens, twenty or
thirty great beasts suddenly rise. The banks of the
Ganges and Cozzimbazar Island have long been
favourite haunts of the wild buffalo. They are

* Major Smith is in doubt whether or not the Arnee of
India may be the stock from which the domestic races of
Buffaloes have sprung ; and in Colonel Williamson’s Field
Sports, the True Arnee is sometimes confounded with the
Buffalo. — See Arnee , p. 241.

INDIAN OR DOMESTIC BUFFALO.

247

hunted with elephants in the same manner as the
tiger, but with less danger. They often, however,
charge and gore the elephant, though generally from
the number and noise of the pursuers, fly until close¬
ly pressed or enraged by wounds.

In the combats with the tiger, the buffalo is ge¬
nerally the victor. Those chosen for this purpose
are males of the domestic breed, trained to the spi¬
rit (as it is termed), and selected for their vigour,
size, and spirit. The buffalo is remarkable for his
courage, and the smallest provocation irritates him ;
he will even alone sometimes attack a group of ele¬
phants. For the spectacle an area of a round or
oval form is erected of sufficient height to allow the
spectators to look on in safety. Persons unac¬
quainted with the true character of the tiger would
expect to see him attack the buffalo as soon as he
might enter the area; but no! as soon as the buffalo
makes his appearance, the tiger, which, till then,
does not perhaps betray any marked apprehension,
all at once sinks into the most contemptible despon¬
dency. He sneaks under the pallisade, crouching
and turning on his back to avoid the buffalo’s charge,
he tries every device his situation will admit, and
often suffers himself to be gored, before he can be
induced to stand on the defensive. The buffalo on
entering the area smells the tiger, and becomes in¬
stantly agitated with eagerness, his eyes sparkle with
fury as they quest around for the skulking enemy,
which is generally attacked the moment it is distin-

248 INDIAN OR DOMESTIC BUFFALO.

guished. The buffalo, shaking his head and raking
the ground for a few seconds with his foot, places
himself in the posture of attack, and with his face
brought parallel with the surface, his horns pointing
forwards, and his tail indicating both his determina¬
tion and his vigour, rushes forward at full speed.”*

For some other large oxen another group has been
thought necessary, which will contain the European
Bison, that of America, and one or two others, which
are rather imperfectly known. They are characte¬
rized by the ridge of the spine being elevated, and
often clothed with long hair, the legs rather long, and
the hair soft and woolly.

* Colonel Williamson, ii. p, 46,

249

THE AUROCH.

The European Bison, very imperfectly known, is
said to inhabit the forests of Russia in Asia, but is
also supposed to be thinly scattered in some of the
wilder parts of Germany and Poland. It is about
six feet high at the shoulder. The fore parts are
clothed with woolly hair above a foot in length, grey
or whitish. On the legs and under parts it becomes
shorter, and is of a blackish-brown colour. The fore¬
head is convex, the horns short and pointed. The
number of ribs on each side fourteen. They are
said to live in small troops, and to have a groaning
voice. It is the Auroch of the Germans.

Dr von Jarocki gave the following account of the
Auroch before the Meeting of Naturalists at Ham¬
burgh in 1830 : “ A remnant of these animals, which
appear to have at one period existed in many parts
of Europe, is still preserved in a wild state in the
forest of Bialowiza in Poland, under the special pro¬
tection of the Russian Emperor, in which situation
the author, who is Professor of Zoology in the Uni¬
versity of Warsaw, has had opportunities of observ¬
ing them, and of collecting various facts respecting
their habits and mode of life.

“ The wild oxen of the forest of Bialowiza live

250

THE ATTPOCH.

in herds, except a few of the older ones, which wan¬
der about singly. Though they have never been
tamed, they are not so shy but that they may be ap¬
proached within a moderate distance, when care is
taken to advance towards them from the windward
side. Each herd keeps constantly to the same district
of forest, near to some river or stream, so that each of
the twelve foresters, who have charge of the wood,
knows the herds that belong to his district. The
number of oxen in every herd is ascertained in the
beginning of winter, by observing their feet-tracks
on the new fallen snow, as they pass between the
wood and the store of hay, which forms their winter
provender. The whole number, as thus estimated,
is at present about 7 1 1, of which 48 are calves of last
year. The cows scarcely bring forth above once in
three years : the calves are produced in May, and
are suckled nearly a whole year. They continue to
grow7 for six years, and may live till forty. The
Urus feeds on various grasses, and on the leaves and
bark of young trees and brushwood, especially the
willow, poplar, ash, and birch. In autumn they also
browse on heath, and the lichens which cover the
bark of trees. The rutting season commences in
August, and lasts a fortnight ; about which time they
are fat and sleek, and unusually sportive. Their
most common sport consists in thrusting their horns
into the ground, near a young tree, and ploughing
round it till they root it up. It is from this circum¬
stance, in the author’s opinion, that the horns are al-

THE AUROCH.

251

most always more or less torn, or otherwise injurec
at the points. Horses and domestic cattle scent the
Urus afar off, and immediately give signs of great
dread and aversion.”*

Another animal is introduced here hy Major Smith,
also very imperfectly known, under the name of the
Gaur, Bison Gaums. The descriptions nearly all
rest on the authority of sportsmen and natives, but
they all turn to the evidence of a very large animal,
exceeding in size any of the oxen, with longer hair on
the fore parts, and of a light or greyish colour. The
vicinity of Midnapoor, and the heavy jungles between
Romghur and Nagpoor, are given as the districts
they frequent.

The best known animal belonging to the group of
Bisons, is that we have chosen for our illustration ;
it is

* Edinburgh Journal of Natural and Geographical
Science, vol. iii. p. 105.

THE AMERICAN BISON.

Bos Americanus.

PLATE XXX.

The Buffalo, Catesby , &c. — Bos Americanus, Gmefin , Ri¬
chardson. — Bison Americanus, Griffith's Synopsis.

Our information regarding this important animal
is, thanks to the intrepid travellers in the arctic re¬
gions, and particularly to Dr Richardson, much more
authentic than most of that we have been able to
collect regarding one or two others. We have ex¬
tracted the most important part ol the above-men¬
tioned naturalist’s description. They appear to have
been formerly found in considerable plenty in Ca¬
nada, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky, but are gradual¬
ly receding before the white population ; and the
rifle, as in southern Africa, has here also done its
work. They still exist in the north, and roam in
countless herds over the prairies that are watered by
the Arkansa, Platte, Missouri, and 1 he upper branches
of the Saskatchawan. They reach to latitude 63®
and 64°, and are always to be found in the vicinity
of the salt-licks, and in another direction extend to
New Mexico and California. The Bison is a fierce

PLATE

THE AMERICAS BIS OH.

THE AMERICAN BISON.

253

and treacherous-looking animal ; and all those which
we have seen exhibited under the title of Bonassus,
had a most disgusting and sinister look. The head
and fore quarter is large, appearing more so by
the thick coating of long shaggy hair, covering the
head and nape, and almost obscuring the small blood¬
shot-looking eye. The horns are small, tapering, and
acute, set far apart, and nearly straight.

The colour of the animal is a liver or umber-
brown, and its height at the shoulder is upwards of
six feet. Twelve or fourteen hundred weight is a
common weight in the fur countries ; but they some¬
times reach a weight of 2000 lb. The hump is a
mass of fat of various size, according to circum¬
stances, and is much esteemed by epicures. The
flesh is juicy and well-flavoured. The skin, from
the fine wool, makes an excellent blanket when
dressed, and sells in Canada for £3 or £4; and the
wool has in this country been manufactured into a
fine cloth. Pemmican is made of the flesh and fat
of the American Buffalo.

“ The Bison wanders constantly from place to
place, either from being disturbed by hunters, or in
quest of food. They are much attracted by the soft
tender grass, which springs up after a fire has spread
over the prairie. In winter, they scrape away the
snow with their feet, to reach the grass. The bulls
and cows live in separate herds for the greater part of
the year; but at all seasons one or two old bulls ge¬
nerally accompany a large herd of cows. In the

254

THE AMERICAN BISON,

rutting season, the males fight against each other
with great fury, and at that period it is very danger¬
ous to approach them. The Bison is, however, in
general a shy animal, and takes to flight immediate¬
ly on winding an enemy, which the acuteness of its
sense of smell enables it to do from a great distance.
They are less wary when they are assembled toge¬
ther in numbers, and will often blindly follow their
leaders, regardless of or trampling down the hunters
posted in their wny. It is dangerous for the hunter
to shew himself after having wounded one, for it
will pursue him, and, although its gait may appear
heavy and awkward, it will have no great difficulty
in overtaking the fleetest runner. One of the Hud¬
son Bay Company’s clerks was descending the Sas¬
katchewan in a boat, and having one evening pitched
his tent for the night, he went out in the dusk to
look for game. It had become nearly dark when he
fired at a Bison bull which was galloping over a
small eminence, and as he was hastening forward to
see if his shot had taken effect, the wounded beast
made a rush at him. He had the presence of mind
to seize the animal by the long hair on its forehead,
as it struck him on the side with its horns, and be¬
ing a remarkably tall and powerful man, a struggle
ensued, which continued till his wrist was severely
sprained, and his arm was rendered powerless. He
then fell, and, after receiving two or three blows,
became senseless. Shortly after, he was found by
his companions lying bathed in blood, being gored

THE AMERICAN BISON.

255

in several places, and the Bison was couched beside
him, apparently waiting to renew the attack had he
shewn any signs of life.

“ The favourite Indian method of killing the
Bison is by riding up to the fattest of the herd on
horseback, and shooting it with an arrow. When a
large party of hunters are engaged in this way on
an extensive plain, the spectacle is very imposing,
and the young men have many opportunities of dis¬
playing their skill and agility.”*

The pound , as it is termed, is used for taking se¬
veral kinds of the larger wild animals, and, though
differently constructed, according to circumstances,
is always made upon the same principle of driving
the animals within a toil or enclosure where they
cannot escape. That for taking the buffalo has been
described by both Captain Hall and Dr Richardson.
In North America, in the far countries, “ the Buffalo
pound was a fenced circular space of about a hun¬
dred yards in diameter ; the entrance banked up with
snow, to a sufficient height to prevent the retreat of
the animals that may once have entered. For about
a mile on each side of the road leading to the pound,
stakes were driven into the ground at nearly equal
distances of about twenty yards. These were in¬
tended to look like men, and to deter the animals
from attempting to break out on either side. With¬
in fifty or sixty yards from the pound, branches of
trees were placed between these stakes, to skreen
* Richardson, p. 232.

256

THE AMERICAN BISON.

the Indians, who lie down behind them to wait the
approach of the buffalo. The principal dexterity in
this species of chase is shewn by the horsemen, who
have to manoeuvre round the herd in the plains, so
as to urge them to enter the roadway, which is about
a quarter of a mile broad. When this has been ac¬
complished, they raise loud shouts, and pressing
close upon the animals, to terrify them, that they may
rush heedlessly forward towards the snare. When
they have advanced as far as the men who are lying
in ambush, they also rise, and increase the conster¬
nation, by violent shouting and firing guns. The
affrighted beasts having no alternative, run directly
into the pound, where they are quickly dispatched,
either with an arrow or gun.”*

Another animal, which will range under this di¬
vision, is an Indian Ox, which has been figured by
Frederic Cuvier, whose plate we have used as the
materials for the accompanying illustration.

Franklin's First Narrative, p. 112.

PLATE

tO

THE GAYAL or Silliet Cattle
IrecL Cuvier.

257

THE SYLHET OX.

Bison Sylhetanus — F. Cuv.

PLATE XXXI.

Jungly-gau, F. Cuv. Hist. Naiurelle des Mammif.

This animal was discovered wild in the moun¬
tains of Sylhet by M. Alfred Duvancel, and a de¬
scription and figure remitted to Frederic Cuvier,
who has published them in his great work. Both
these gentlemen were at first inclined to consider it
as one of the states or varieties of the domestic cattle;
and the opinion of the former was not changed un¬
til he saw it on its native hills. They were as abun¬
dant and as extensively spread as the buffalo. They
become soon domesticated when taken, and their
milk is more abundant, and reckoned better than that
of the other. They are hunted like the buffalo upon
elephants.

The horns of the Sylhet bull are placed at the
edges of the occipital crest, and are directed to the
sides. They are compressed at the base, and be¬
come smooth as the animal increases in age. The
hump on the shoulders is reduced to a slight fatty
eminence, which reaches to the middle of the back

R

258

THE SYLHET OX.

All this part is covered with a greyish woolly hair,
longer than on the other parts, and covering also the
back of the neck, occiput, and front. The rest of
the hair is mack, with the exception of the limbs,
which are white to the knees. The tai. is terminated
by a tuft of long strong hairs ; and in males of three
years old, .ong black hairs also hang from the lower
part of the neck- The cow is smaller in size, with
lesser horns ; the hair of a duller black, the grey of
the hump shading upon the sides, and having the
end of the lower lip white. Majoi Smith seems to
think this identical with the Gayal. B. Gavccus 01
India. His figure and description correspond in
many parts ; they inhabit also the same districts of
country, and never willingly descend to the plains ;
they delight to range in the thickest forests, feed on
the tender shoots, and rarely eat the grasses ; they al¬
so never wallow in the water. They are held in ve¬
neration by the Hindoos, and perform a part in their
religious ceremonies and offerings.

The Yak of Tartary is the only other animal we
have now to represent.

259

THE YAK.

Bison poephagus. — Smith.

Poephagusof Elion _ Bos Grunniens of Pallas and Author**

— The Yak, Shaw , Zool. ii. p. 411. — Bison poephagus of
Smith.

The Yak inhabits the range of mountains which
separates Thibet from Bootan, living in the wooded
valleys, and often making excursions to the limits of
the snow line ; and Major Smith is inclined to consi¬
der the white cattle of the Ramghur as varieties,
which would extend the limits that have usually
been assigned to it. The Yak is of an elegant form,
heavy before, but not so light in the hind quarters as
the bisons generally. The size varies, they are some¬
times humped, sometimes without it. The general
colour is black, or nearly so. The mane, hair on
the hump and tail, nearly white, the latter almost al¬
ways so. The hair on the forehead is frizzled, that on
the mane and fore quarters of some length, and that
on the hump also long and curled. The tail is al¬
ways very long, one in the British Museum measur¬
ing six feet, and is composed of an immense mass of
long, fine, and silky hair. These are in great re-

260

THE YAK.

quest by the rich and luxurious in the east, as fly
whippers, and when cut off and dressed, sometimes
dyed, are called chordrees. “ No man of fashion
in India ever goes out, or sits in form at home, with¬
out two chourabadors or brushers attending him,
each furnished with one of these tails, mounted on
silver or ivory handles, to brush away the flies. The
Chinese dye them of a beautiful red, and wear them
as tufts to their summer bonnets.”

The Yak is domesticated by the Tartars, and affords
them many useful articles, besides their food, and
milk as a nourishing drink. Their skins are used as
a warm covering, and ropes are made of their hair.
They are never used for tillage or as beasts of draught,
but for hearing a burden they are much employed,
are docile, and extremely sure footed. In their ha¬
bits they agree with the bisons, and are said to be
fond of wallowing, and they appear to enjoy the vi¬
cinity of snow.

261

Mr Swainson’s classification of the Ruminating
Animals, according to their natural affinities.

The Class Mammalia is divided into Five Orders. Qua-
drwnana , or Four-Handed Mammalia. Ferce , or Beasts of
Prey. Cetacea , or Aquatic Mammalia. Ungulata , or
Hoofed Quadrupeds. Glires , or Gnawing Quadrupeds.

The Fourth Order, Ungulata , or Hoofed Quadrupeds, is
divided into Five Tribes, Pachydermes , Anoplotheres , Eden¬
tates , Ruminantes, Solipedes.

The Fourth Tribe, Ruminantes , the Ruminating Qua¬
drupeds, is thus distributed :

1. Sub-Typical Group _ Horns sheathing-, form gracile,

slender. Fam. Antelopidce, Sw.*

Genera, &c.

1. Dicranoceros, Sm.

2. Aigocerus, Sm.

3. Oryx, Sm.

4. Gazella, Sm.

5. Antelope, Sm.

6. Redunca, SR.

7. Tragulus, Sm.

8. Raphicerus, Sm.

9. Tetracerus, Leach.

10. Cephalophus, Sm.

11. Neotragus, Sm.

12. Tragelaphus, Sm.

13. Nemorhaedus, Sm.

14. Rupicarpa, Sm.

15. Aplocerus, Sm.

16. Capra, Auct.

17. Ovis, Auct.

18. Damalis, Sm.

19. Acronatus, Sm.

20. Baselaphus, Sm.

21. Strepsicerus, Sm.

22. Portax, Sm.

• This Family is equal tothe Cuiridceoi Smith, but Is here named from
the Antelopes as typical.

262

SWAIN SON'S ARRANGEMENT.

2. Typical Group _ Horns sheathing; form heavy, robust.

— Fam. Bovidce , Smith.

Genera , §c.

].

Catoblepas, Sm.

5. Bison, Sm.

2.

Ovibos, Sm.

6. Taurus, Sm.

3.

Bos, Sm.

7. Anoa, * Sm.

4.

Bubalus, Sm.

3.

Genera , <^c.

1. Alee, Sm.

1. Rangifer, Sm.

2. Dama, Sm.

2. Cervus, Linn.

1. Rusa, Sm.

2. Axis. Sm.

Aberrant Group.
— Horns solid, ,
deciduous. — ’
Cervidce , Smith.

3. Capreolus, Sm.

1. Mazama, Sm.
2. Subulo, Sm.

5. Stvlocerus, Sm.
Horns wanting;'!
fore-legs shorter >- IMoschidce, Sw.
than the hinder.)

1. Moschus, Linn.
Horns very short,'!

covered with a >- Camelcopardce, Sw.
skin. )

\

1. Cameleopardalis,
antiq.

At the commencement of the 5th Tribe Solipedes, is
placed the Camels, &c.

1. Camelus, Linn.

2. Auchenia, Illig.

3. Equus, Antiq.

Thus the Camels and Llamas, with which Major Smith
has commenced his Ruminants, are placed here at the con¬
clusion, to represent these animals among the single-hoofed
quadrupeds, of which the Horse will be typical, and con¬
cluding the great and interesting order of the Ungulata.

• This genus is placed by Major Smith among his Capridae.

CONCLUSION.

263

Having finished our sketch of this important
tribe of animals, we would wish to impress upon in¬
dividuals abroad the imperfect knowledge we yet
possess of a very great number of these animals,
which seem capable of being applied to so many of
the wants of mankind. Many gentlemen follow with
great keenness the sports of the field, and undergo
great fatigue, and risk much danger ; and a little at¬
tention at the conclusion of their day’s sport, and a
little care of some of the animals killed, besides
those which are good for the table, would, in time,
add to our knowledge, and would greatly increase
the pleasure and satisfaction derived from their hunt¬
ing expeditions. The skins, perhaps, could not al¬
ways be preserved, but in a warm country, skele¬
tons are easily made, and the skull, with the horns
attached, are always of much importance in discri¬
minating a species, and have the farther qualification
of not being easily spoiled or destroyed. Native
artists, particularly in India, draw with great accu¬
racy; and, next to the animal itself, a correct draw¬
ing is of importance. Immense districts of our pos¬
sessions in every part of the world are yet unex¬
plored ; and, wherever man has gained a footing for
a short space, the animals are fleeing before him,
and none more than the ruminants dislike interrup¬
tion, and delight in solitude. Our Indian posses¬
sions are examples of this, in the extirpation of al-

264

CONCLUSION.

most all the large animals from the cultivated lands;
and the colony of the Cape is another, where the
herds of antelopes are so fast receding. The re¬
gistration of a single fact, the putting down of a
memorandum of the habits of an animal, or a single
measurement, is often thrown aside as insignificant,
or it is not made at all (after it has been resolved up¬
on), as being only one; but it may be of very great
importance, and may solve some intricate question.
A commencement will often carry with it a conti¬
nuance, and one examination by its interest will be¬
get another ; while, in addition, it may be borne in
mind, that their endeavours will increase our know¬
ledge of the works of Him by whose power and
goodness “ all things were made, and without whom
was not any thing made that was made."