B

WILD CAT T L E.

There was formerly a very fingular fpecies of wild cattle in this country, which is now nearly extinct. Numerous herds of them were kept in feveral parks in England and Scotland; but they have been deftroyed by various means; And the only breeds now remaining in the king

dom, are in the park at Chillingham-castle, in Northumberland; at Wollaton, in Nottinghamshire, the feat of Lord Middleton; at Gifburne, in Craven, Yorkshire; at Lime-hall, in Cheshire; and at Chartley, in Staffordfhire.

The principal external appearances which distinguish this breed of cattle from all others, are the following:Their colour is invariably white; muzzles black; the whole of the infide of the ear, and about one-third of the outfide, from the tip downwards, red; horns white, with black tips, very fine, and bent upwards: Some of the Bulls have a thin upright mane, about an inch and an half, or two inches long.

At the first appearance of any person, they fet off in full gallop; and, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, make a wheel round, and come boldly up again, toffing their heads in a menacing manner: On a fudden they make a full stop, at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their furprize; but upon the least motion being made, they all again turn round, and fly off with equal speed, but not to the fame diftance: Forming a fhorter circle, and again returning with a bolder and more threatening afpect than before, they approach much nearer, probably within

About twenty years fince, there were a few, at Chillingham, with BLACK EARS; but the present park-keeper deftroyed them; -fince which period, there has not been one with black ears.— The ears and noses of all thofe at Wollaton are BLACK.-At Gifburne, there are fome perfectly WHITE; except the infide of their ears, which are BROWN. They are without horns, very strongboned, but not high.-They are faid to have been originally brought from Whalley-abbey, in Lancashire, upon its diffolution in the thirty-third of Henry the Eighth.-Tradition fays, they were drawn to Gisburne, by the power of mufic.'

thirty yards; when they make another stand, and again fly off: This they do feveral times, fhortening their diftance, and advancing nearer, till they come within ten yards; when most people think it prudent to leave them, not chufing to provoke them further; for there is little doubt but in two or three turns they would make an attack.

The mode of killing them 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. fometimes to the amount of an hundred horfe, and four or five hundred foot, who stood upon walls, or got into trees, while the horfemen rode off the Bull from the reft of the herd, until he ftood at bay; when a markfman difmounted and fhot. At fome of these huntings, twenty or thirty shots have been fired before he was fubdued. On fuch occafions, the bleeding victim grew defperately furious, from the fmarting of his wounds, and the shouts of savage joy that were echoing from every fide: But, from the number of accidents that happened, this dangerous mode has been little practised of late years; the park-keeper alone generally fhooting them, with a rifled gun, at one fhot.

When the Cows calve, they hide their calves for a week or ten days in fome fequeftered fituation, and go and fuckle them two or three times a-day. If any perfon come near the calves, they clap their heads close to the ground and lie like a hare in form, to hide themfelves: This is a proof of their native wildness, and is corroborated by the following circumstance that happened to the writer of this narrative, who found a hidden. calf, two days old, very lean, and very weak :-On strok

ing its head, it got up, pawed two or three times like an old Bull, bellowed very loud, ftepped back a few steps, and bolted at his legs with all its force; it then began to paw again, bellowed, ftepped back, and bolted as before; but knowing its intention, and stepping afide, it miffed him, fell, and was fo very weak that it could not rise, though it made feveral efforts: But it had done enough: The whole herd were alarmed, and, coming to its rescue, obliged him to retire: for the dams will allow no person to touch their calves, without attacking them with impetuous ferocity.

When any one happens to be wounded, or is grown weak and feeble through age or fickness, the rest of the herd fet upon it, and gore it to death.

The weight of the Oxen is generally from forty to fifty ftone the four quarters; the Cows about thirty. The beef is finely marbled, and of excellent flavour.

Thofe at Burton-Conftable, in the county of York, were all destroyed by a distemper a few years fince. They varied flightly from thofe at Chillingham, having black ears and muzzles, and the tips of their tails of the fame colour: They were alfo much larger, many of them weighing fixty ftone; probably owing to the richness of the pasturage in Holderness; but generally attributed to the difference of kind between those with black and with red ears, the former of which they ftudiously endeavoured to preferve. The breed which was at Drumlanrig, in Scotland, had alfo black ears.

THE URUS, OR WILD BULL,

is chiefly to be met with in the extenfive forefts of Lithuania. It grows to a fize almost equal to the Elephant, and is quite black; the eyes are red and fiery, the horns thick and fhort, and the forehead covered with a quantity of curled hair; the neck is short and strong, and the skin has an odour of mufk. The female, though not so big as the male, exceeds the largest of our Bulls in fize: Nevertheless, her udder is extremely small. Upon the whole, however, this animal, which greatly resembles those of the tame kind, probably owes its variety to its natural wildness, and the richness of the pastures where it is produced.