OLD WOODENHEAD

Evening Star, Issue 21619, 15 January 1934, Page 10

OLD WOODENHEAD

, A CHARACTER SKETCH OF A BISON ‘‘l call him ■ Old Woodenhe’ad because he is so obstinate that one might think his;head was made of oak (writes Har- - per: Cory, in auexchahge). When he migrated fronT Canada-Ao -Australia he . went from'a'land where winter reigns from November' to March to. a region where summer, is at its height, at Christmas. Rational creatures would copy the Australians and wear summer garb, from;November to March; Old Wood-, enhead- did. ;otherwise—ho wore his heaviest wool and thick cape during the Australian summer and his , summer garb during the' southern winter. He. rilled life by the calendar, not the seasons..; ■ ■ ■ • ' •His stock is noted for obstinacy. ,His forefathers’ detested the sight of thd first railway to cross their lands.- Thiuo after tibie- they used thcir : bodies- as obstacles to halt the trains, ’and they, actually derailed several trains ■ before they were forcibly taught - to- respect progress. • ■ i Woodenhead has an imposing appearance. He ’looks venerable-and’ profoundly wise, and so people who should know better find all kinds of romance in his story. The truth-is that his one interest in life lies -in eating.- His great head, 1 powerful - shoulders, and pointed beard make him look as distinguished as any politician ; • but liis head is so heavy that Nature provided him with a special set of muscles to keep it from': sweeping the-’ ground;;r thesemuscles, collected on the shoulders, form a-great hump. <

GUARDING 9IS FAMILY. . I He has one or two uses other than that of looking wise and picturesque. Though not greatly interested in; his youngsters while they are babies, he is always ready to protect them. .Usually he gets as far as he can from the noisy nursery and eats with zest in the company of fathers similarly irritated by juvenile bawlings. The whole company, males and females alike,_ love to wander many miles daily during fine weather, and the males invariably leave the youngsters ■with the females. . But should a storm arise the fathers, remember their paternal duty. The young are collected into a group, around which stand the mothers" and' other ■ females.,. The males, shoulder to shoulder and head outwards, stand around the young and the females; every one of them is wearing this thick woolly cape. _No blizzard,' no matter how violent it might be, could do much harm to those wooden heads and protected shoulders, as the males keep their families warm and safe from exposure. As soon as the storm has passed picnicking is resumed without any display of fatherly affection. Old Woodenhead is stolid. If in his wanderings ho comes to a -declivity which even a goat would view with respect, he refuses to seek an" easier descent." He slips and slides to'the hot-, tom, and expects his family Ito folio*; they follow without hesitation. A hew car or a bridge would interest ns— Woodenhead pays no_ attention to such things, having made it a rule always to ignore things he does not. understand. In his family to learn is “ not done?’ The one thing he does riot tmderstand,: but dare not ignore, is a Ford ear Of ancient vintage. 1 When he hears the “ splutter-cough-cough” of the old car he gets into a steady run to escape from the noise. And when he gets into his best stride it would take a good horse to overtake him. As a rule our. womenfolk wear the more elaborate headwear. Not so in the case of Woodenhead;' he', .like his mate, carries horns. But whereas, she must be content with two very ordi-nary-looking spikes, his horns are broad at the base, pointed at .the tip, and curve inward. He is heavier than she is by four -or five hundred-pounds; he is no light-weight, for when in, condition he, will turn the scale at 2,000 or more pounds., HIS ANNUAL TOILET. His coat is somewhat. coarse and rough during winter, ; and in the early spring the hair falls out in patches. Then he looks miserable and ungainly as he stalks along with streamers of hair trailing behind him. This is all altered at the first patch of mud he reaches. After wallowing until his hair is thick with mud he allows the mess to dry and harden.- Then he rolls on the ground or forces his body through thick bushes to scrape off the caked mud. With it go the loose old hairs, and Woodenhead stands forth like a statue in bronze.

Some people call Woodenhead the buffalo, but they speak in error. He always has the hump and woolly cape which the buffalo lacks. I almost forgot to mention ' that' he has a tail, though I am -sure that neither-be nor anyone else knows why. It is only about 9in long, and has a few coarse hairs on the end of it. _ Although the bison was almost exterminated by hunters a herd of 6,000 animals is maintained the Canadian Government at Wainwnght, Alberta.