throwing up the earth and s,oon making an excavation into which the
water trickles, forming for him in a short time a cool and comfortable
bath, in which he wallows ‘ like a hog in the mire.’ In this ‘ delectable
lava ’ he throws himself flat on his side, and then forcing himself violently
around with his horns, his feet, and huge hump, ploughs up the ground
still more, thus enlarging the pool till at length he becomes nearly immersed.
Besmeared with a coating of the- pasty mixture, he at length
rises, changed into a ‘ monster o f mud and ugliness,’ with the black mud
dripping from his shaggy mane and thick woolly Coat. The mud soon
drying upon his body ensures him hours of immunity from the attack
of insects. Others, follow in succession, having waited in their turns to
enjoy the luxury ; each rolls and wallojvs in a: similar way, adding a little
to the dimensions of the hole, and carrying away a share of the adhesive
mud. By this means an excavation is eventually made having a diameter
of 15 or 20 feet, and 2 feet in depth.” . Such wallowing holes', remain as
another sad memento, of one of the noblest of American quadrupeds, .
The pairing season on the prairies took, place in July and August,
varying perhaps a little in time according to latitude; and the young,;
which never exceeded two at. a birth, were born from the following
March to June. The calves always.went about with the main herd. In
the breeding season constant conflicts took place between rival bulls.; but
owing to the shortness and form of their horns and the large mags of h fja
on the fore-quarters, little damage was in mast .cases inflicted, although the'
bellowing of the enraged combatants has been described as terrific.
The saddest point in the history of the animal was its rapid and practically
complete extermination, which was a surprise even to the hunters
themselves. And additional sadness is added to the story from the fact
that thousands were slaughtered for so-called sport, and other thousands for
no adequate return at all, perhaps merely for the sake of the tongue or
some other dainty morsel. The story is too long to be told here • but it
may be mentioned that between the years 1870 and 1875 the annual rate
of destruction has been estimated at fully two and a half million head.
The final act in the drama was the Bmpletion of the Union Pacific
Railway, which cut the main herd in two. The southern half of the
divided herd was rapidly exterminated, and it was not long before the
northern half followed suit.
The American bison breeds freely in captivity with its own kind, and
less readily with other species of cattle. Mention has been made above
of the hybrids produced by a union between the bull bison and the cow
gayal; and in 'America a breed has beenfjaised by crossing a bull bison
with a domesticated cow. Such hybrids are fertile either inter se, Or when
again crossed with domesticated cattle. A herd of partially hybrid bison
was formerly kept, at Garden City, Kansas, Bison have been kept in at
least two English parkjf| Mr. C. J. Leyland, of Haggerston Castle,
Northumberland, has a small herd, of which the first members were
imported from L i n e ® Park, Chicago, in the summer of 1890. Others
were imported in 1 8 9 1 ' and a bull bred in the Regent|gPark was also
added. About 1893 four half-breeds were raised in this parkBthree females
and one bull. A small herd of bison is also kept in the park at Woburn
Abbey, the members of which share a large paddock with wapiti and
other deer (fig. 16).
In America, among other localities; a herd has been established at
Stony Mountains;. Manitoba. Starting with five calves in .1878, the
owner had raised the number at the commencement o f 1887 t:c|f|ixty-
one head, the greater number of which were pure-bred, and the remainder
haijtbreeds. Although living in the open prairie, and feeding on the
snow-covered gras^fjeven in January they were fat and sleek, when the
thermometer was much below zero.
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