254 BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 



of Mexico, the wild horse of the Pampas of Southern America, 

 the brumbie (or " Scrubby") of Australia, and the terpan of 

 Tartary are to all intents and purposes "wild," but it is very 

 doubtful whether, in the naturalist's sense of the term, they 

 are truly feral. As regards the brumbie of Australia it is certain 

 that he is the descendant of imported horses which strayed 

 within recent years; the enormous numbers of horses of the 

 Americas are known, from historical records, to have resulted from 

 animals imported by the Spaniards and others from Europe. The 

 horse of Tartary or Central Asia has no such historical record, and 

 yet we fiad that naturalists of good scientific reputation almost 

 without hesitation state that he must have resulted from domesti- 

 cated animals which had strayed. Y ouatt says his origin has been 

 clearly traced to horses that were employed at the siege of Azof 

 in 1657, but it is doubtful if he refers to the true Mongolian wild 

 horse. Certainly there are in this region large horse runs, the property 

 of the Imperial Chinese and other Governments, and undoubtedly 

 under not very perfect management horses stray and become lost 

 or are enticed away by their free comrades, as is the manner of wild 

 horses (though Youatt says, I know not on what authority, the wild 

 horses of Tartary quickly destroy any domestic horse which comes 

 into their power), but we have no distinct and definite evidence on 

 this question as to whether in Cantral Asia the original wild stock of 

 horse still exists in the condition of its native proprietors. We 

 may consider the evidence fairly conclusive concerning the horses 

 of America and of Australia, but in the case of those of Central 

 Asia it is not proved whether the breed has descended in unbroken 

 pedigree through ancestors which never have been tamed, or 

 whether at some time or other in the h istory of his race it has 

 yielded to the power of man. Tradition and scientific surmise (we 

 cannot speak of it in stronger terms) poiut to Central Asia as the 

 aboriginal abode of the horse, but this can by no means be proven? 

 and it is certain that fossil horses are found in both Europe and 

 America equal in age to those of Asia, thus tradition dating even 

 from extremely remote periods can have litttle importance attributed 

 to it, and it is much to be doubted whether the scientific view which 

 has hither to been adopted will hold ground against some most recent 

 observations in this connexion. Darwin's statement that "no 

 aboriginal or truly wild horse is known to exist" must still be held 

 as explaining the exact position of this question, but we must supple- 



