ZEBRAS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS 175 



equine race — this zebra is being ruthlessly cleared 

 from Africa, solely for the value of its hide, or to 

 provide food for natives, or for the sheer pleasure of 

 slaying. It is quite the most easily tamed of the 

 group, and in many instances might be of consider- 

 able assistance to man in traversing country infected 

 by the deadly horse-sickness, or by the still more 

 fatal Tse-Tse fly. 



It is a pleasure to find that quite lately in the 

 Transvaal an experiment has been made in taming 

 this zebra with a fair measure of success. Messrs. 

 Zeederberg, the contractors for a line of coaches 

 running from Pretoria to Pietersburg, bought in 

 1893 eight half-grown Burch ell's zebras from a Boer 

 hunter named Groblaar, for the purpose of running 

 them in their coach during the horse-sickness season, 

 which follows the rains. Groblaar had lassoed them 

 when quite young, four months before. Four of 

 these were broken to harness in a month, and were 

 then run in the coach alongside six mules with 

 perfect success. A photograph of the team, in- 

 spanned, together with an account of the proceed- 

 ings, appeared in the Field of March 11, 1893, 

 and were extremely interesting. These zebras were 

 described as "perfectly quiet and well trained. In 

 harness they pull well, and are willing, and never 

 jib. In fact, one of them will do his best to pull 

 the whole coach himself. They are softer-mouthed 



