In the beautiful Swiss Alps, in the early springtime, one hears the ringing of a large bell. This is rung in the villages and is the signal for the departure of the herds to the alps above. The cows, lowing and jumping with delight, collect eager for departure. The finest cow of all has the largest bell hung from her neck with a bright ribbon, and between her horns is placed a large nosegay of flowers.

She is the leader and has the place of honor, and to deprive her of this pleasure would be cruelty indeed. The herdsmen begin their songs, the yodling sounds through the valley, the milk stools are set between the horns of the cattle, the cheese kettles and provisions are packed upon the beasts of burden, and the procession gaily wends its way up the mountainside.

Even if poorly protected from storms which may be encountered above, we cannot wonder that the cattle thoroughly enjoy this calm, beautiful life in the alps, and we are told that cows left in the valley below will often escape and follow their companions to the distant mountains.

In the United States there are also cattle that live an outdoor life, which have the freedom of the range, and are shelterless the year around. These are the half-wild herds which roam over Texas, Colorado and other western states. Although the great cattle owners often inclose immense pastures, thousands of acres in extent, so that the herds are in a measure restricted, the smaller owners turn their cattle out and allow them to wander at will.

This occasions the necessity for the yearly “round-up.” At a given time the cattle of each county are driven to a common center, confined within an inclosure or “corral,” and the calves running with the cow mother are branded with the mark of the owners. The “round-up” is the great event of the cowboy’s life, and an interesting occasion it certainly is. The time of the “round-up” may consume a number of days. The cowboys take their places on the outer limit of the tract belonging to their division, and with a skill acquired by long experience they are able to find every cow and calf and slowly to draw the circle smaller and smaller, until all the cattle are congregated in one herd. Then follows a time of work by day and merrymaking by night. The camp is maintained until all the cattle are branded with the brands which are registered with the county clerk, thus making the ownership plain to all. The cowboys, with their broad hats frequently ornamented with the various brands of the cattle owners, with their picturesque attire, mounted on their bronchos, or scraggy, wiry mountain ponies, are interesting individually and collectively. Among them at the time of the “round-up” are often men of education and refinement, as well as others who know no life besides that of the plains and the open. They ride like the wind, and when one rode to his ranch neighbor’s thirteen miles away to execute a little commission before breakfast and returned before the coffee was spoiled, my eastern ideas received a shock which made it necessary for me to readjust my conception of western life and living.

Mr. Brehm tells us that the manner of life of the domestic cattle of various countries is instructive as well as fascinating. He tells us that there are “herds which lead the same manner of existence as did those belonging to the patriarchs. The wandering tribes of Eastern Soudan are herdsmen, who attend to their duties in exactly the same way as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Herds of cattle constitute their only riches. Their wealth is estimated by the number of their sheep and cattle, as that of the Laplander is estimated by the number of his reindeer.

The greatest of European landowners and cattle breeders, including those of Holland and Switzerland, can hardly realize the vast numbers contained in the herds of those nomads. Near the village of Melbess the plain shows a deep depression, at the bottom of which a number of wells have been dug, one beside the other, for the sole purpose of watering the herds congregating there during the noon hours. Beginning in the afternoon and during the whole night, far on toward noon next day, nearly a hundred people are busy hauling water from the wells and pouring it into pools, to which a little salty earth is added. From all sides innumerable herds of sheep, goats and cattle draw near, first the sheep and goats, then the cows. In a few minutes the valley is filled with them. One sees nothing but an unbroken herd of animals passing back and forth, a dark human form looming up between them at intervals. Thousands of sheep and goats keep arriving, while as many are departing satisfied. I believe it impossible to count the number of cattle, yet I do not exaggerate if I put down the number of the animals daily congregating at the spot as sixty thousand.

In the south of Africa the oxen are of great importance, as without them the extended trip necessary for purposes of trading and hunting through the vast wastes in parts entirely devoid of water and grass would be impossible.

In Southern Russia, Tartary and probably also a great portion of Central Asia considerable herds of cattle are kept.” In fact, at the present time there seems to be no country in the world where domestic cattle are not found. They are common from Norway and Lapland in the north to Southern Africa and South America in the south. Columbus first brought them to the New World, and the Spaniards transported them to South America, where they multiplied with great rapidity.

In a general way domestic cattle may be divided into two classes—the straight backed cattle of Europe and the New World and the humped cattle of India. Humped cattle may also be found in China, Africa and Madagascar. They not only vary from other cattle by having the hump on the withers, but they have a different coloration, voice and habits. They have a convex forehead, long, drooping ears and a dew-lap, which hangs in folds the entire length of the neck. They vary much in size, as the largest “may stand as high as a buffalo, while the smallest may be little larger than a calf a month old.” They are gentle in disposition and the larger ones are used for drawing native carriages. Unlike the European cattle, they seldom seek the shade, and never stand knee-deep in water. These cattle are often called zebus, and in the northern provinces of India, where they are used for riding, they will carry “a man at the rate of six miles an hour for fifteen hours.”

“White bulls are held peculiarly sacred by the Hindus, and when they have been dedicated to Siva by the branding of his image upon them, they are thenceforth relieved from all labor. They go without molestation wherever they choose, and may be seen about eastern bazars helping themselves to whatever dainties they prefer from the stalls of the faithful.”

In Central Africa the humped cattle are represented by the Galla, or Sanga. This is regarded by some as the finest breed of the humped variety. It is large, slender and vigorous, long legged and rather long tailed. The general color is a chestnut-brown. The horns are very strong and are fully forty inches in length.

The straight backed cattle are those of Europe, America, Australia and the smaller islands, and of some parts of Africa. They may be long-horned, short-horned or hornless. Among them are very many breeds, many well known being common almost everywhere.

One is the ox of Freiburg, or the Swiss ox. This variety yields both excellent beef and extremely rich milk.

The Dutch ox is marked by stately proportions, uniform coloring, a long, tapering head and a long and thin neck. The color is pied, a white or grayish ground showing red, brown or black spots of varying size and shape. “It has been bred in Holland for centuries. It is easily fattened and has an abundant yield of milk.”

The Durham or short-horned breed of England is an animal with little symmetry of proportion, with a small head, a straight back and short legs. It is not a good milker, but surpasses all in the production of beef.

The beautiful Jersey cow is a great favorite in America and Great Britain on account of the rich cream and butter obtained from the milk. The Alderneys and Guernseys are classed with the Jerseys and are also of “elegant appearance.” Other breeds are the hornless Galloways, the Devons, the Herefords, the Holsteins and many others.

Like the sheep, the cat and other domestic animals, the origin of domestic cattle seems surrounded with mystery and uncertainty. We know that in earliest times domestic cattle were common, as the earliest writings mention them and the ancient monuments picture them. It is, however, probable that all the straight backed varieties, directly or indirectly, may be traced back to the aurochs, or urus, a most interesting wild ox of Europe. This is extinct now, as well as some other species which may form the connecting link.

The aurochs was an animal of great size, nearly as large as an elephant, but with the form and color of a bull. Skulls and bones, both in England and on the Continent, show their characteristics, and skulls pierced by flint hatchets show that they were hunted by prehistoric hunters. We do not know when they finally disappeared, but in Julius CÆsar’s time they seem to have been common in the Black Forest of Germany. Old chronicles prove that they were found in the middle of the sixth century, and in the ninth century Charlemagne hunted the aurochs in the forests near Aix-la-Chapelle. The Nibelungen-Lied mentions the slaughter of four in the twelfth century. In classic literature there are accounts of contests with gigantic wild oxen, indicating that the animal’s range extended as far south as Greece. Bones have been found in a number of European countries, and it is certain that it roamed over Russia, but how far to the eastward and northward it wandered we cannot tell.

There still exist in England wild cattle known as the “park oxen.” Though much smaller in size, they seem to be more like a direct descendant of the aurochs than any other species, although probably they descended from domesticated early breeds. These herds are confined in private parks, and the best known at the present time is the Chillingham herd. This park was probably inclosed about the thirteenth century. The cattle are small, with moderately rough, curly hair. The insides of the ears and muzzles are red, while the animals are white. They have the characteristics of animals in a wild state. “They hide their young, feed in the night, basking or sleeping during the day. They are fierce when pressed, but generally speaking are very timorous, moving off on the appearance of anyone, even at a great distance.”

John Ainslie.