Zoological Society, 325 



ture, however, being opposed to the descriptions in Griffith's 

 ' Regne Animal.' M. St. Hilaire also mentions another character, 

 which it required some little perseverance to discover in the larger 

 animal in the Zoological Gardens, the smaller animal being absolutely- 

 destitute of it. He states that on the isabella colour on the limbs, 

 there are transverse lines or very narrow bands of a darker isabella, 

 in the manner of the markings of the Zebra. These lines had never 

 been observed by the keepers in the Zoological Gardens, and for 

 some time I could not discover them ; but at last with a reflected 

 light I could just discern the transverse lines noticed by M. St. Hi- 

 laire, but I was not so fortunate with the smaller animal. M. St. 

 Hilaire, on the authority of M. Geoffroy- Chateau, who sent to him a 

 description of a male Dzeggetai in Cross's Menagerie in London, 

 states that there was a disposition in the dorsal band on that animal, 

 by lateral projections at the withers, to form a small cross, like that 

 of an ass. There is not the slightest trace or manifestation of such 

 a thing in either of the animals in the Zoological Gardens. Finally, 

 M. St. Hilaire speaks of the blending by insensible degrees of the 

 isabella and white markings of the Dzeggetai, but in our animals the 

 lines of demarcation are sufficiently strong. 



" M. St. Hilaire's humorous description of the habits of kicking of 

 the female at Paris, is laughably exact with respect to our animals, 

 particularly the smaller one. I had sent one of the keepers into its 

 yard with some hay, to throw down before it, to keep it stationary 

 (at least its body) while I took a rapid sketch of it with the assistance 

 of the camera lucida. The moment the hay was thrown down, the 

 creature turned round and commenced flinging out most vigorously 

 for some time, although the man was gone, and the odd beast all the 

 time was gravely munching its hay. So petulant were both these 

 creatures, that after having sketched them I could not get any of the 

 keepers to take their measurements, nor could I succeed in obtaining 

 them, but by getting them thrown down, which I declined to do. With 

 respect to the swiftness of the Wild Ass of Cutch, without quoting 

 from Griffith ' that it runs literally with the rapidity of lightning/ 

 or from M. St. Hilaire, who says, ' it appeared to him to go as fast 

 as the best race horses ;' I will mention in confirmation of its extra- 

 ordinary swiftness, that my friend Major Wilkins, of the Cavalry of 

 the Bombay Army, who was stationed with his regiment for years 

 at Deesa, on the borders of the Run or Salt Marshes, east of Cutch, 

 in his morning rides used to start a particular Wild Ass so fre- 

 quently that it became familiar to him, and he always gave chase to 

 it ; and though he piqued himself upon being mounted on an exceed- 

 ingly fleet Arabian horse, he never could come up with the animal. 



