ed
one that was seven feet, and a neighbour of mine who has seen a great deal
of bison shooting has killed one of similar height, and he informs me that
he is positive that he has seen a larger bull than either of these very
exceptional animals.

Bison herds generally number about twelve or fourteen, and I have never
seen one of more than twenty-three, but at certain seasons they
congregate in considerable numbers and again separate into small herds.
They lie at night in a compact circle so that if attacked by a tiger they
are ready to oppose at once a good front to the enemy. They seem to be
quite aware that if they were to lie scattered about a tiger might
suddenly spring upon one of them.

The bison has never been kept long in captivity, and there is only one
instance of its having been so, and that is in the case of a bull bison
now in possession of His Highness the Maharajah of Mysore. The history of
this animal, and more especially of the warm friendship that sprung up
between it and a doe sambur deer, is extremely interesting. I took down
the following from my neighbour Mr. Park, and read over to him the account
I now give.

It appears then that Mr. Park when out shooting some years ago, caught a
male calf bison which was supposed to be about three days old. About a
week afterwards a young doe sambur, which was being pursued by jungle
dogs, rushed into one of the labourer's huts and was secured. It was then
resolved to keep the deer as a companion for the bison, and the two were
kept together, though they were never shut up. They were first of all fed
on milk, and then allowed to graze, and soon became quite inseparable
companions. They were fed at twelve o'clock and at four in the afternoon,
and seemed to know their feeding time exactly. When about two years old it
was resolved to fit the bison with a nose rope, and for this the nose had
of course to be bored. He was tied up to a tree to be operated on and,
after the hole was bored, he was liberated, when he rushed all over the
ground adjacent to the house bellowing with rage--the only time, I may
add, Mr. Park ever heard him bellow. After this he was regularly led out
to graze by a man who trained him, by pulling the nose rope, to go in one
direction or another. After this he was fed on gram (a kind of pea). When
thus led out to graze the sambur sometimes remained behind, but seemed to
have no difficulty in finding the bull even though it had been taken to a