Bison

the name applied to_two species of ox. One of these, the Euro- Eo bison or aurochs (Bos bison or is on 'Europe us), is now nearly extinct, being found only in the forests of Lithuania and the Caucasus. The other, or American bison (Bison American us’, is found only in North America, and is remarkable for the great hump or projection over its fore | shoulders, and for the length and finene of its woolly hair. The American bison, or buffalo, was once extensively diffused over what is now the territory of the United States, except that part ped ‘on the BE. of Hudson river and Lake Cham plain, and narrow strips of coast on the Atlantic and Pacific. Southward its range extended to the delta of the Mi i ippi and into part of.Mexico, while in the N. W. it reached even as far as the Great Slave Lake. The great prairies connected with the Mi i ippi system formed its favorite feeding-grounds, and here it used to be seen in herds whose numbers were well-nigh incredible. All this is now a thing of the past, and the wholesale destruction of th. bison is one of the most melancholy stories in the history of zoology. So long as it was pursued only or mainly by the Indians there was | to fear for it, though many tribes were almost wholly dependent on these animals for food, clothing, tents, utensils, etc. Vast multitudes owing to this were slaughtered annually; but it is to be deeply regretted that the white hunters (especially after the spread of railroads) were in the habit of destroying these interesting and valuable beasts in the most wanton and unnece ary manner. It was common for such persons to shoot bisons, even when they had abundance of food, for the sake of the tongue or hump alone, or even because the animals came so near as to present a fair aim. It is therefore not to be wondered that, from all causes of diminution, the bison should become Je and le Numerous every yeuar till it isnow practically extinct, at least in the wild state. Of late years the National Museum of the United States thought it nece ary to send out an expedition ‘o collect a few specimens in view of this contingency; and a report furnished to the museum in 1886 shows what difficulty the expedition had in fulfilling its mi ion in consequence of the extermination of the bison having been already so nearly effected. “ It is firmly believed by good authorities,” the report states, “that there are not now more than from 50 to 100 buffaloes in the whole of Montana (where this animal used to be remarkably abundant) outside of the National Park, where there are probably from 200 to 300 head.”: Bi agos Islands, a group of small volcanic islands, about 30 in all, off the W. coast of Africa, oppos it2 the mouth of the Rio Grande, Bi ao, an island and Portuguese station closer to the African coast than the Bi agos and opposite the Jeba’s delta.