The American Bison alone on the Prairie
The real buffalo is found in the south of Asia and Europe, where it is tamed and put to work, much use being made of it. There is another species found in Africa which is very fierce and savage, hunters often being more afraid of it than they are of the lion. The buffalo of India is also savage in its wild state and the princes of that country set it to fight with the tiger in their public shows. Armed with great, sharp horns, it is more than a match for the tiger.
In its tame state the buffalo is a very docile animal when it is well treated, but will not bear bad treatment. In size and shape it is like a large, clumsy ox, but it is much stronger than the ox and can carry or draw a much heavier load. Thus it is of great value as a working animal.
Reproduced by Permission of the Philadelphia Museums
Cultivating Rice Field with the Chinese Ox. Hawaii
It is used in many parts of the East. The farmer in the Philippine Islands could not get along without it, as it is his common helper in the fields. Known there by the name of Carabao, it is loved by its owner and played with by his children, and is the plough-horse of the islands. It can be driven by a mere child. The plough used there is no more than a heavy stick of wood sharpened to a point at one end, with a handle for the farmer and a beam to which the buffalo is harnessed.
This is the way in which the rice fields of the East are worked. The buffalo is also kept in Egypt, Greece, Italy and some other countries and everywhere is a very useful working animal. But it has one habit that needs to be looked after.
By nature it is a swamp dweller, and can keep its head under water for two minutes at a time, feeling at the bottom of pools and streams for certain favorite plants. If it is to be kept in health it must have its daily mud-bath. It loves to fling itself in the mire and shuffle about until it is covered with mud from its tail to its eyes. When it has dried itself in the sun it looks like a huge clay image. It has its reason for this, for in those swamp regions are millions of stinging flies and the mud is intended as a coat of armor.
Strong as the buffalo is, it cannot work for more than two hours without rest, and will not live long if kept at a distance from streams. Its fondness for mud and water is the habit that needs to be looked after. It is not safe to load it with any goods that are likely to be spoiled by water, for it will lie down with its load in any stream it comes near.