M. De Querhoent says, that altho' the bisons invariably differ from the
common oxen by the hunch on their backs, and their hair being longer,
yet they breed in the Isle of France, and their flesh is preferable
to that of European oxen; their hair is also smoother, their legs
thinner, and their horns are longer, and after some few generations the
hunch entirely disappears. There was one brought to Holland from North
America, which was carried about to different towns, by a Swede, in
a large cage; this one had an enormous mane round his head, which was
not hair, but a very fine wool, divided into locks like a fleece; the
skin was of a black colour, excepting on the hunch, where the hair was
longer, and under that the skin was rather tawny; and to us this animal
seemed to differ from the European by the hunch and wool only.
Bisons are said to have existed formerly in the north of Europe, and
Gesner asserts, that even in his time there were some in Scotland;
but I have been credibly informed by letters, both from England and
Scotland, that not the smallest remembrance of them can be traced in
that country. Mr. Bell, in his travels from Russia to China, mentions
seeing two species of oxen in the northern parts of Asia, one of which
was the aurochs, and the other what we, after Gmelin, have called the
Tartarian, or Grunting Cow, which seemed to be of the same species as
the bison; and in which we find, by comparison, a perfect coincidence
of characters, excepting that the former grunts and the latter bellows.
Although the race of the bisons appear diffused in the Old Continent,
from Madagascar and the point of Africa, and from the extent of the
East Indies even to Siberia, and that though they are met with in
the new continent, from the country of the Ilionois to Louisiana and
Mexico, they have never passed the isthmus of Panama, for there are not
any bisons in South America, notwithstanding the climate is perfectly
agreeable to their nature, and European oxen multiply there as well as
in any other place.
The best bulls and cows at Madagascar were brought from Africa, and
have a hunch on their backs; but the cows give very little milk. In
this island there are wild bisons in the forests, the flesh of which is
not so good as that of our oxen. The natives of Agra hunt them on the
mountain of Nerwer, in the road from Surat to Golconda, and which is
surrounded with wood.
The zebu, as we formerly observed, is the bison as well as the ox
in miniature, and though originally a native of warm regions, can
nevertheless exist and multiply in temperate ones, for in a letter I
received from Mr. Colinson, dated London, December, 1764, he assures
me, that the Dukes of Richmond and Portland had several of these
animals in their parks, and which brought forth calves every year:
they were originally brought from the East Indies. He adds, that the
females were much larger than the males, but that the hunch on the back
was twice as big on the latter as the former; that the young zebu sucks
the mother like other calves, but that in our climate the milk soon
dries up, and that it is necessary to have another female to bring them
up; that the Duke of Richmond ordered one of them to be killed, when
its flesh was found not to be near so good as that of the common ox.
There may also be small oxen without the hunch, which, like the zebu,
constitute a particular race; for Careri, in his journey from Ispahan
to Schiras, saw two small cows, which had been sent as a present to the
king, that did not exceed the size of calves; they were fed entirely
upon straw, and yet were very fat.
As to the buffaloes, although they can make but little use of their
horns, they are compelled to fight lions and tigers in the Mogul's
country. These animals are numerous in warm and marshy countries,
especially near rivers, for water and a moist soil seems to be more
necessary to them than a warm climate; there are not any of them
therefore in Arabia, where the country is dry. They hunt the wild
buffaloes, but with great caution, as they are very dangerous, and
when wounded rush at their opponents with great fury.
M. de Querhoënt says, the body of the buffalo, at the Cape of Good
Hope, is about the size of our oxen, but his head is larger, and his
legs shorter. They generally keep about the edge of the woods; and
as he has a bad sight he keeps his head near the ground, and when he
observe any disagreeable object near him he makes a sudden dart upon
it, making at the same time a most hideous bellowing, and on those
occasions it is difficult to escape him; but he is not so much to be
feared in the open fields: his hair is commonly red, with a few black
spots, and they are often seen together in large flocks.