riding myself upwards of 13 stone, I once took an ox 60 miles in a day and a half: this is, perhaps as much as an ox could, in fairness, be made to do. A ride-ox can be tied up by his nose-bridle; but, if wild or frightened, he will assuredly struggle till the nose-stick be torn out of his nose, and he becomes free. It is, therefore, better to tie the bridle to a tuft of grass, or a slender twig, rather than to a tree or to the saddle-bags. Mounting an ox is usually a troublesome business, on account of his horns. To make ride-oxen quiet and tame, scratch their backs and tails--they dearly love it--and hold salt in your hands for them to lick. They soon learn their names, and come to be caressed when called.
Cows.--Most breeds of cows, out of Europe, cease to give milk after their calf dies; and the only way of making them continue their yield, is to spread out the calf's hide for them to lick, some time before milking them; it retains its effect for a week or more. Messrs. Huc and Gabet give the following graphic account of this contrivance, as applied to restive cows:--"These long-tailed cows are so restive and difficult to milk, that, to keep them at all quiet, the herdsman has to give them a calf to lick meanwhile. But for this device, not a single drop of milk could be obtained from them. One day a Lama herdsman, who lived in the same house with ourselves, came, with a long dismal face, to announce that his cow had calved during the night, and that unfortunately the calf was dying. It died in the course of the day. The Lama forthwith skinned the poor beast, and stuffed it with hay. This proceeding surprised us at first, for the Lama had by no means the air of a man likely to give himself the luxury of a cabinet of natural history. When the operation was completed, we observed that the hay-calf had neither feet nor head; whereupon it occurred to us that, after all, it was perhaps a pillow that the Lama contemplated. We were in error; but the error was not dissipated till the next morning, when our herdsman went to milk his cow. Seeing him issue forth--the pail in one hand, the hay-calf under the other arm--the fancy occurred to us to follow him. His first proceeding was to put the hay-calf down before the cow. He then turned to milk the cow herself. The mamma at first opened enormous eyes at her beloved infant; by degrees she stooped her head towards it, then smelt at it, sneezed three or four times, and at last proceeded to lick it with the most delightful tenderness. This spectacle grated against our sensibilities: it seemed to us that he who first invented this parody upon one of the most touching incidents in nature must have been a man without a heart. A somewhat burlesque circumstance occurred one day, to modify the indignation with which this treachery inspired us. By dint of caressing and licking her little calf, the tender parent one fine morning unripped it: the hay issued from within; and the cow, manifesting not the slightest surprise nor agitation, proceeded tranquilly to devour the unexpected provender."
The Highlanders used this contrivance, and called it a "Tulchan": hence King James's bishops were nicknamed "Tulchan bishops," to imply that they were officials of straw, merely set up as a means of milking the Scotch people of their money, in the form of church-dues.
Camels.--Camels are only fit for a few countries, and require practised attendants; thorns and rocks lame them, hills sadly impede them, and a wet slippery soil entirely stops them.
Elephants.--They are expensive and delicate, but excellent beasts of burden, in rainy tropical countries. The traveller should make friends with the one he regularly rides, by giving it a piece of sugar-cane or banana before mounting. A sore back is a certain obstacle to a continuance of travel; there is no remedy for it but rest. The average burden, furniture included, but excluding the driver, is 500 lbs., and the full average day's journey 15 miles.
Dogs.--Dogs will draw a "travail" (which see) of 60 lbs. for 15 miles a day, over hard, level country, for days together; frequently they will accomplish much more than that. For Arctic travel, they are used in journeys after they are three years old; each dog requires eight or ten herrings per day, or an equivalent to them. A sledge of 12 dogs carries 900 lbs.; it travels on smooth ice seven or eight miles an hour; and in 36 days, 22 sledges and 240 dogs travelled 800 miles--1210 versts. (Admiral Wrangel.) Dogs are used by the Patagonian fishermen to drive fish into their nets, and to prevent them from breaking through the nets when they are inside them. (See next paragraph for "Sheep-dogs.")
Goats and Sheep.--Goats are much more troublesome to drive than sheep, neither are they such enduring walkers, nor do they give as much meat; but their skins are of such great use to furnish strong leather, that it is seldom convenient to make up a caravan without them. She-goats give some milk, even when travelling fast, and in dry countries; but a ewe-sheep is not worth milking under those circumstances, as her yield is a mere nothing. Goats are very mischievous--they make their way out of all enclosures, and trespass everywhere. They butt at whatever is bright or new, or strange to them; and would drive an observer, who employed astronomical instruments on stands, to distraction. In an open country, where there are no bushes for a kraal, nets must be taken, and stakes cut, to make enclosures for the sheep. If they stray at all, the least thing scares them, and they will wander very far, and scatter. Goats are far more social and intelligent. If one, two, or three sheep only be driven, long thongs must be tied to their legs, and allowed to trail along the ground, by which they may be re-caught if they gallop off. When the Messrs. Schlagintweit were encamped at vast heights, among the snows of the Himalaya, they always found it practicable to drive sheep to their stations. When sheep, etc., are long hurdled at night, near the same encampment, the nuisance of flies and ticks becomes intolerable. Sheep-dogs seem to prove of less use to travellers than might have been expected; perhaps the other dogs corrupt them.
Management of Cattle generally.--To make an animal rise when he throws himself on the ground with his pack, and will not get up, it is not of much use to flog him; twisting or biting his tail is the usual way, or making a blaze with grass and a few sticks under his nostrils. The stubborness of a half-broken ox is sometimes beyond conception.
Cattle Bells, in countries where they can be used without danger, should always be taken; it adds greatly to the cheerfulness and gregariousness of the animals--mules positively require them. Hard wood is sonorous enough for bells.
Brands and Cattle-marks.--In buying oxen out of the herds of pastoral people, it is very difficult to remember each animal so as to recognise it again if it strays back to its former home; it requires quite a peculiar talent to do so. Therefore it is advisable that the traveller's cattle should be marked or branded. A trader in Namaqua Land, took red paint, and tied a brush on to a long stick; with this he made a daub on the hind quarters of the freshly-bought and half-wild cattle, as they pushed through the door of his kraal. It naturally excites great ridicule among natives, to paint an ox that he may be known again; but, for all that, I think the trader's plan well worth adopting. The same might be done to sheep, as a slit ear is not half conspicuous enough. A good way of marking a sheep's ear is to cut a wad out of the middle of it, with a gun-punch; but it will sometimes tear this hole into a slit, by scratching with its foot.
Chaff, to cut.--Tie a sickle against a tree, with its blade projecting; then, standing in front of the blade, hold a handful of reeds across it with both hands, one hand on either side of the blade; pull it towards you, and the reeds will be cut through; drop the cut end, seize the bundle afresh, and repeat the process. In this way, after a little practice, chaff is cut with great ease and quickness. A broken sickle does as well as a whole one, and a knife may be used, but the curve of its edge is ill adapted for the work.
Cattle will eat many sorts of herbage, as reeds and gorse, if cut small; but will not touch them, if uncut.
Occasional Food for Cattle.--They will also eat seaweed and leaves especially birch and poplar leaves, and even thrive upon them.
Pulling Cattle out of Holes.--The bight of a cord, or of some substitute for one, may be thrown over a horse's head, and he can be dragged out by a team of cattle with but very little danger to his neck. A crupper under his tail, or a thong as a breeching may be used. In Canada and the United States, a noose of rope is often run round the horse's neck, and hauled tight--thus temporarily choking the animal and making him still; he is then pulled as quickly as possible out of the hole, and no time is lost in slackening the rope.