2C6 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. 



hitherto described. The mare, of a reddish brown, had 

 been some time domesticated, and was docile and well 

 behaved ; neither of them possessing sufficient character 

 to be referred to the Barb, the Dongola, or the Nubian 

 breeds. They were undersized, and not handsome. The 

 male, who had not been long from his native forests, 

 was the best looking, carried his head well, was strong 

 and compactly made, especially about the shoulders, 

 and there was much fire about the head, which, how- 

 ever, was far from handsome. His legs were slender 

 and well-shaped. The peculiar circumstances in which 

 I was placed rendered it necessary that I should, for 

 the sake of health, take horse exercise. There was 

 nothing which could carry me except this little grey 

 horse, for I could not persuade those around me to let 

 me mount Cora, because they said she had so hard a 

 mouth. So a side-saddle was put on, and a man with 

 a skirt tried the grey once or twice. He was tolerably 

 quiet, and without much disturbance he went pretty 

 well for a few weeks, the only trouble being to get 

 upon his back. He, however, had one great peculiarity, 

 which manifested itself rather awkwardly when a party 

 of us started to go a distance. He could not endure 

 strangers, and would not suffer any of his own kind 

 to approach him who did not live in the same stable 

 as himself. This was great affectation in a horse just 

 wild from the woods, but so it was ; the instant my 

 companions approached me he made a bolt, his heels 

 went into the air, and it was in vain to resist his fancy. 

 We returned the next day, and while fording a creek 

 which we had crossed in a canoe the day before, one of 

 our party forgot my horse's peculiarity, and came up to 

 ine. He darted fairly out to sea, and not until he found 



