THE SADDLE BREEDS OF HORSES 139 



call, and it was those five that founded the five great 

 families. 



160. The Keheilan Ajus. This strain is the most 

 numerous, and from it all other Keheilans are offshoots. 

 The words Kheleilan Ajus mean the mare of the old woman, 

 derived from a legend that the mare was dropped by its 

 dam near a well kept by an old woman, where the rider had 

 stopped. The traveler rode off in a short time, leaving the 

 filly colt with the old woman. The next morning the colt 

 was found by its mother's side, having traced her across 

 the desert during the night. Among the Keheilans, bays 

 are more numerous than any other color. They are the 

 fastest, although not the hardiest horses nor the most 

 beautiful. They bear a closer resemblance to the English 

 Thoroughbred than any others, as they are more nearly 

 related. The Darley Arabian, perhaps the only thorough- 

 bred Anazeh horse in our stud-books, was a Keheilan of the 

 sub-family called Ras-el-Fadawi. 



161. The Seglawi family have descended from four 

 great mares owned by a man of that name. At his death 

 he gave his favorite mare to his brother Jedran, and thus 

 the Seglawi Jedrans are the favorites of the Seglawies ; he 

 gave the second mare to his brother Obeyran; the third 

 to Arjebi ; and the fourth to El-Abd, meaning the slave. 

 The Seglawi Arjebi are extinct, and of the remaining 

 strains, the Seglawi Jedran ranks first in the esteem of 

 the Bedouins, and Seglawi El-Abd second. Some years 

 ago, Abbas Pasha, of Egypt, purchased nearly all of the 

 Seglawi Jedran mares from the Anazeh tribe, paying as 

 high a price, it is said, as 3000 pounds for a single old 

 mare. Many chestnut-colored horses are found among 

 the Seglawis; possibly, with the bays, they would form 

 about an equal division. 



