818 nifN'rrxo ADVKMTTKES. 



much the same with those of the wild horse and the dshikkctei. 

 They assemble in troops under the conduct of a leader; and are 

 very shy. They will, however, stop in the midst of their course, 

 and even suffer the approach of a man at thai instant, but will then 

 dart away with the rapidity of an arrow from the bow. This 

 Herodotus mentions, in his account of those of Mesopotamia ; and 

 Leo Africanus, in that of the African. Their wildriess is beauti- 

 fully described in scripture : See Job xxxix. 5 5. Yet they can 

 be tamed. The Persians catch and break them for the draught ; 

 they make pits, half filled with plants to lessen the fall, and take 

 them alive. They break, and hold them in great esteem, and sell 

 them at a high price. The famous breed of asses in the. east is 

 produced from the koulan reclaimed from the snvag-e state, which 

 highly improves the breed. The Romans reckoned the breed of 

 asses produced from the onnger and tame ass to excell a!l others. 

 The Tartars, who kill them for the sake of the flesh and skins, 

 lie in ambush and shoot them. They have been at all times cele- 

 brated for their amazing swiftness ; for which reason the Hebreans 

 called them Frre ; as they styled them Jlrod from their braying. 

 Their food is the saltest plants of the deserts, such as the kalis, 

 altriplex, chenopodium, and bitter milky tribe of herbs, &c. : they 

 also prefer salt water to fresh. This is exactly conformable to thf 

 history given of this animal in the book of Job; for the words 

 " barren land," expressive of its dwelling, ought, according to the 

 learned Bochart, to be rendered "salt places.'' The hunters lie 

 in wait for them near the ponds of brackish water, to which they 

 resort to drink ; but they seldom have recourse to water. Thest 

 animals were anciently found in the Holy Land, Syria, the hn:l 

 of Uz or Arabia Deserta, Mesopotamia, Phrygia, and Lyroojiia, 

 But at present they are entirely confined to the countries above 

 mentioned. Shagreen is made of the skin of these animals. The 

 Persians use the bile of the wild ass as a remedy agahi?f dimness 

 of sight. 



