The Extermination of the American BisonHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
History
The Extermination of the American Bison
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
American bison; Wildlife conservation -- United States -- Sources
_The character of the buffalo-domestic hybrid._--The subjoined
illustration from a photograph kindly furnished by Mr. C. J. Jones,
represents a ten months' old half-breed calf (male), the product of a
buffalo bull and domestic cow. The prepotency of the sire is apparent at
the first glance, and to so marked an extent that the illustration would
pass muster anywhere as having been drawn from a full-blood buffalo. The
head, neck, and hump, and the long woolly hair that covers them,
proclaim the buffalo in every line. Excepting that the hair on the
shoulders (below the hump) is of the same length as that on the body and
hind quarters, there is, so far as one can judge from an excellent
photograph, no difference whatever observable between this lusty young
half-breed and a full blood buffalo calf of the same age and sex. Mr.
Jones describes the color of this animal as "iron-gray," and remarks:
"You will see how even the fur is, being as long on the hind parts as on
the shoulders and neck, very much unlike the buffalo, which is so shaggy
about the shoulders and so thin farther back." Upon this point it is to
be remarked that the hair on the body of a yearling or two year-old
buffalo is always very much longer in proportion to the hair on the
forward parts than it is later in life, and while the shoulder hair is
always decidedly longer than that back of it, during the first two years
the contrast is by no means so very great. A reference to the memoranda
of hair measurements already given will afford precise data on this
point.
In regard to half-breed calves, Mr. Bedson states in a private letter
that "the hump does not appear until several months after birth."
Altogether, the male calf described above so strongly resembles a
pure-blood buffalo as to be generally mistaken for one; the form of the
adult half-blood cow promptly proclaims her origin. The accompanying
plate, also from a photograph supplied by Mr. Jones, accurately
represents a half-breed cow, six years old, weighing about 1,800 pounds.
Her body is very noticeably larger in proportion than that of the cow
buffalo, her pelvis much heavier, broader, and more cow-like, therein
being a decided improvement upon the small and weak hind quarters of the
wild species. The hump is quite noticeable, but is not nearly so high as
in the pure buffalo cow. The hair on the fore quarters, neck, and head
is decidedly shorter, especially on the head; the frontlet and chin
beard being conspicuously lacking. The tufts of long, coarse, black hair
which clothe the fore-arm of the buffalo cow are almost absent, but
apparently the hair on the body and hind quarters has lost but little,
if any, of its length, density, and fine, furry quality. The horns are
decidedly cow-like in their size, length, and curvature.
[Illustration: HALF-BREED (BUFFALO-DOMESTIC) CALF.--HERD OF C. J. JONES,
GARDEN CITY, KANSAS. Drawn by Ernest E. Thompson.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account