|Depth of flank | 1 | 7 | |Girth behind fore leg | 6 | 10 | |From base of horns around end of nose | 3 | | |Length of tail vertebræ | 1 | | +-----------------------------------------------------------
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10. The “Wood,” or “Mountain” Buffalo.—­Having myself never seen a specimen of the so called “mountain buffalo” or “wood buffalo,” which some writers accord the rank of a distinct variety, I can only quote the descriptions of others.  While most Rocky Mountain hunters consider the bison of the mountains quite distinct from that of the plains, it must be remarked that no two authorities quite agree in regard to the distinguishing characters of the variety they recognize.  Colonel Dodge states that “His body is lighter, whilst his legs are shorter, but much thicker and stronger, than the plains animal, thus enabling him to perform feats of climbing and tumbling almost incredible in such a huge and unwieldy beast."[32]

[Note 32:  Plains of the Great West, p. 144.]

The belief in the existence of a distinct mountain variety is quite common amongst hunters and frontiersmen all along the eastern slope the Rocky Mountains as far north as the Peace River.  In this connection the following from Professor Henry Youle Hind[33] is of general interest: 

[Note 33:  Red River, Assinniboine and Saskatchewan Expedition, II p. 104-105.]

“The existence of two kinds of buffalo is firmly believed by many hunters at Red River; they are stated to be the prairie buffalo and the buffalo of the woods.  Many old hunters with whom I have conversed on this subject aver that the so-called wood buffalo is a distinct species, and although they are not able to offer scientific proofs, yet the difference in size, color, hair, and horns, are enumerated as the evidence upon which they base their statement.  Men from their youth familiar with these animals in the great plains, and the varieties which are frequently met with in large herds, still cling to this opinion.  The buffalo of the plains are not always of the dark and rich bright brown which forms their characteristic color.  They are sometimes seen from white to almost black, and a gray buffalo is not at all uncommon.  Buffalo emasculated by wolves are often found on the prairies, where they grow to an immense size; the skin of the buffalo ox is recognized by the shortness of the wool and by its large dimensions.  The skin of the so-called wood buffalo is much larger than that of the common animal, the hair is very short, mane or hair about the neck short and soft, and altogether destitute of curl, which is the common feature in the hair or wool of the prairie animal.  Two skins of the so-called wood buffalo, which I saw at Selkirk Settlement, bore a very close resemblance to the skin of the Lithuanian bison, judging from the specimens of that species which I have since had an opportunity of seeing in the British Museum.