EARLY DISTRIBUTION" OF HORSES. 49 



the Christian era. If we were able to reconstruct the original 

 line of the migration of the early English horses, we would, prob- 

 ably. first find them in "the land of Togarmah" starting to 

 market at Tyre, where they were exchanged for supplies needed 

 in Armenia. There they were put on board one of the great 

 "ships of Tarshish," and when they next touched the land it was 

 at one of the ports at the southwestern portion of England, where 

 they were exchanged for tin and other products of the mines. 



In addition to the argument furnished by this known course of 

 trade between nations and peoples, in prehistoric times, we have 

 an additional one in the natural perpetuation of racial qualities, 

 extending through many centuries. In reply to some questions 

 submitted to a friend of mine who was born in Western Persia, 

 educated in this country, and then returned to the land of his 

 nativity, I have replies to my questions bearing date of July, 

 1896. He is located at Oroomiah, not far from the modern line 

 between Persia and Turkey, and in what may be considered the 

 very center of ancient Armenia. He is not skilled in horse lore, 

 but he uses horses a great deal and is a very intelligent observer. 

 He says that the Persian horses have been greatly overrated and 

 that the country is full of very ordinary horses. He says that 

 they are all colors, with bays probably predominating. There is 

 a great variety of mixed greys, shading into white, and a few that 

 are dappled. Then there are chestnuts, sorrels, "mouse-color" 

 (duns), and not many blacks. They are small, as a rule, and a 

 harness of small size from this country has to be cut down for 

 them. From this I infer that they are generally under fourteen 

 hands. On the whole the horses are nicely shaped, have slender, 

 clean limbs, small ears, and carry the head and tail well up. As a 

 rule they are great stumblers. With regard to gaits he says that 

 stress is laid on a rapid walk a half walk and half trot. In this 

 country we would call it the "running walk" that may be kept 

 up for days in succession. In speaking of the pace, my corre- 

 spondent says: "There are some horses trained to pace, while 

 some pick it up naturally, that is, are born pacers. The greater 

 number are natural pacers. Now and then one will find a rapid 

 pacer, but commonly the pace is a five or six miles an hour gait. 

 There are some that single-foot naturally, and from birth." 



He then says horses are not bred with any care. They are turned 

 loose in herds and the breeding is such as would naturally occur. 



It will be observed that my Persian friend speaks of the differ- 



