COLOUR OF THE ASS. 727 
of his footsteps, which were deeply imprinted in the soft mould. After a while the animal 
seemed to have reflected upon the circumstance which led to the discovery of his offence, 
and the next time that he walked upon the flower-beds, he scraped the earth over his foot- 
marks, and endeavoured to obliterate the traces of his disobedience. As, however, his 
hoofs were not very delicate tools, and his method of levelling anything but gentle, the 
marks were more conspicuous than before. 
In the East, the Ass is used even more extensively than in Europe, and is generally 
employed for carrying burdens or for the saddle, the horse being used more for ostentation 
or for warfare than for the mere conveyance of human beings from one spot to another. 
The following account of donkey-riding in Cairo, by Bayard Taylor, gives a most vivid 
and animated description of the manner in which the Ass is employed in the East. 
“To see Cairo thoroughly, one must first accustom himself to the ways of those long- 
eared cabs, without the use of which I would advise no one to trust himself in the bazaars. 
Donkey-riding is universal, and no one thinks of goimg beyond the Frank quarters on 
foot. If he does, he must submit to be followed by not less than six donkeys, with their 
drivers. A terial of mine who was attended by such a cavalcade for ae hone was 
obliged to yield at last, and made no second attempt. When we first appeared in the 
gateway of an hotel, equipped for an excursion, the rush of men and animals was so great, 
that we were forced to retreat until our servant and the porter whipped us a path through 
the yelling and braying mob. After one or two trials, I found an intelligent Arab boy 
named Kish, who for five ee a day furnished strong and ambitious Donkeys, which 
he kept ready at the door from morning till night. The other drivers respected Kish’s 
privilege, and thenceforth I had no trouble. 
The donkeys are so small that my feet nearly touched the ground, but there is no end 
to their strength and endurance. Their gait, whether in pace or in gallop, is so easy and 
light that fatigue is impossible. The drivers take great pride in having high-cushioned, 
red saddles, and in hanging bits of jingling brass to the bridles. The 2y keep their donkeys 
close shorn, and frequently beautify them by painting them various colours. The first 
animal I rode had legs barred like a zebra’s, and my friend’s rejoiced in purple flanks and 
a yellow belly. The drivers run behind them with a short stick, punching them from 
time to time, or giving them a sharp pinch on the rump. Very few of them own their 
donkeys, and I understood their pertinacity when I learned that they frequently received 
a beating on returning home empty-handed. 
The passage of the bazaars seems at first quite as hazardous on donkey-back as on 
foot ; but it is the difference between knocking somebody down and being knocked down 
yourself, and one certainly prefers the former alternative. There is no use in attempting 
to guide the donkey, for he won’t be euided. The driver shouts behind, and you are 
dashed at full speed into a confusion of other donkeys, camels, horses, carts, water-carriers 
and footmen. In vain you cry out ‘Bess’ (enough), Piacco, and other desperate adjurations: 
the driver's only reply is, ‘Let the bridle hang loose!’ You dodge your head under a 
camel load of planks ; your lee brushes the wheel of a dust-cart ; you strike a fat Turk 
plump in the back; you miraculously escape upsetting a fruit stand; you scatter a 
company of spectral, white-masked women, and at last reach some more quiet street, 
with the sensations of a man who has stormed a battery. 
At first this sort of riding made me very nervous, but presently I let the donkey go 
his own way, and took a curious interest in seeing how near a chance I ran of striking or 
being struck. Sometimes there seemed no hope of avoiding a violent collision, but by a 
series of the most remarkable dodges, he generally carried you through in safety. The 
eries of the driver running be hind, gave me no little amusement. ‘The how adji comes ! 
Take care on the right hand! Take care on the left hand! O man, take care! O maiden, 
take care! O boy, get out of the way! The howadji comes ! Kish had strong lungs, 
and his donkey would let nothing pass him, and so wherever we went we contnibited our 
full share to the universal noise and confusion.” 
The colour of the Ass is a uniform grey, a dark streak passing along the spine, and 
another stripe being drawn transversely across the shoulders. In the quagga and zebra 
these stripes are much more extended, 
