592 THE MULK 



In the East, the Ass is used more extensively than elsewhere, and is generally employed 

 for carrying burdens or for the saddle, the horse being used more for ostentation or for war- 

 fare 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 descrip- 

 tion 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 going 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 friend of 

 mine who was attended by such a cavalcade for two hours, 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 piastres a day fur- 

 nished 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. They keep their donkeys close shorn, 

 and frequently beautify them by painting them various colors. 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 guided. 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 

 leg brushes the wheel of a dust-cart ; you strike a fat Turk plump in the back ; you miracu- 

 lously 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 cries of the driver 

 running behind, gave me no little amusement. ' The howadji 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 contributed our full share to the universal 

 noise and confusion." 



The color of the Ass is a uniform gray, 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. 



The cross-breed between the horse and the ass, which is commonly known by the name 

 of the MULE, is a very valuable animal for certain purposes, possessing the strength and power 

 of the horse, with the hardiness and sure foot of the ass. The largest and most useful Mules 

 are those which are produced by a male ass and a mare, the large Spanish Ass being the best 

 for this purpose. In Spain aud in ttiany eastern countries the Mule is an animal of some 



