One of the youths asked what was the size of a full-grown aurochs.
“Measured at its withers,” was the reply, “it is nearly six feet high, and it is immensely strong. Its horns are large, round and lateral, and its tail is long with a tuft of hair at the end. The shoulders and all the front part of the body are covered with long coarse hair very much like that of the American bison, and it has a long mane under its throat. The rest of the body has a thick coat of black hair, and altogether the aurochs is not an amiable looking beast.”
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One of the listeners asked whether he was fierce or gentle in his ways.
“As to that,” Mr. Graham answered, “he bears a bad reputation. He is very shy, and like the American bison will keep out of the way man face to face, but rushes at him with great fierceness. If captured when young he becomes accustomed to his keepers, but will not tolerate the presence of any one else.
“The aurochs is the urus of the ancients,” continued the gentleman, “his name coming from Ure-ox. Fossil remains of the animal have been found all over Europe, and in the time of Julius Cæsar it lived in Germany. It was a contemporary of the mammoth and is the only existing land animal whose skeleton has been found side by side when he can. He also resembles his American cousin in having a keen scent, so that he can only be approached against the wind; the buffalo hunters will tell you that you cannot get anywhere near a herd if you approach it with the wind, as the animals will scent the danger miles away and start off at a rapid pace to avoid it.
