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 CHAPTER III. 

 THIS ASS. 



" Who hath sent out the wild ass free, or who hath loosed the bands 

 of the wild ass? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the bar- 

 ren land his dwellings. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither 

 regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is 

 his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing." JOB, xxxix. 



WE will now turn our attention to an animal of a somewhat 

 plainer form, and less distinguished rank in the order of quad- 

 rupeds, and of much less value in the estimation of mankind, 

 than the horse, although, in many respects, but little inferior in 

 utility. The Ass was, according to the most probable conjec- 

 ture, as well as the horse, originally a native of Arabia and the 

 adjacent countries ; and the supposition is not a little corrobo 

 rated by the congeniality of a warm climate to its constitution. 

 Aristotle says, that, in his time, there were no asses in Scythia, 

 nor in the adjoining countries, nor even in Gaul (France,) which 

 he calls a cold country. He further assures us, that a cold cli- 

 mate always causes them to degenerate, and this opinion is con- 

 firmed by the experience of modern times ; for the asses, bred 

 in this country, are very far inferior in size, beauty, strength, and 

 activity, to those of Spain, and other warm countries. The de- 

 serts of Africa, and some of the islands of the Archipelago, 

 contain large herds of wild asses, which run with such swiftness, 

 that the fleetest horses are scarcely equal to the pursuit ; and 

 they are hunted for their flesh, which, by the natives, is esteemed 

 excellent food. The flesh of the tame ass, however, is coarser 

 and more disagreeable than that of the horse ; but its milk is 

 esteemed an excellent remedy for many disorders, especially the 

 consumption. In their native state, asses live in separate herds, 

 consisting of a chief, and several mares and colts, sometimes to 

 the number of twenty. They are very fearful and vigilant. A 

 male takes on him the care of the herd, and is always on the 

 watch. If they see a hunter, who, by creeping along the ground, 

 has got near them, the sentinel, apprehensive of danger, takes 

 a great circuit, and goes round and round him. As soon as the 

 animal is satisfied, he rejoins the herd, which sets off with great 

 precipitation. Their senses of hearing and smelling are most 

 exquisite, so that they cannot be approached without great diffi- 

 culty. The food of the wild asses is the saltest plants of the 

 desert, as the kali and chenopodium ; and for drink, they even 

 prefer salt water to fresh. 



Asses were not, any more than horses, originally found in 



