782 



HORSE. 



wnom they have been long associated. Of these, 

 some are in all probability exaggerated, but still 

 enough remains to show that those animals are ca- 

 pable of strong attachment and warm gratitude for 

 kind usage ; and there have been instances in which 

 a reduced and degraded horse, after plying for years 

 at hard drudgery in the streets, has recognised at once 

 his former military associate, and followed him like 

 a dog. 



The most remarkable fact of the whole matter, 

 however, is the evident fondness which horses that 

 have been accustomed to it have for the army ; and 

 this appears both in their fondness for particular regi- 

 ments, and in that for all military array, and even 

 military weapons. It is told that, in one of their in- 

 surrections in the early part of this century, the 

 Tyrolese captured fifteen horses belonging to the 

 troops sent against them, and mounted them with 

 fifteen of their own men, in order to go out to a fresh 

 rencontre with the same troops ; but no sooner did 

 those horses hear the well-known sound of their own 

 trumpet, and recognise the uniform of their own 

 squadron, than they dashed onward at full speed, and 

 in spite of all the efforts of their riders, bore them 

 into the ranks, and delivered them up as prisoners 

 to the squadron. If an old military horse, even when 

 reduced almost to skin and bone, hears the roll of a 

 drum, or the twang of a trumpet, the freshness of 

 hi youth appears to come upon him ; and if he at 

 the same time gets a sight of men clad in uniform, 

 and drawn up in line, it is no easy matter to prevent 

 him from joining them. Nor does it signify what 

 kind of military they are, as is shown by the follow- 

 ing case. Toward the close of last century, about 

 the time when volunteers were first embodied in the 

 different towns, an extensive line of turnpike road 

 was in progress of construction, in a part of the north. 

 The clerk to the trustees upon this line used to send 

 one of his assistants to ride along, occasionally, in 

 order to see that the contractors, who were at work 

 in a great many places, were doing their work pro- 

 perly. The assistant, on these journeys, rode a horse 

 which had for a long time carried a field officer, and, 

 though aged, still possessed a great deal of spirit. 

 One day as he was passing near a town of consider- 

 able size, which lay on the line of road, the volunteers 

 were at drill on the common ; and the instant that 

 Solus (that was the name of the horse) heard the 

 drum, he leaped the fence, and was speedily at that 

 post in front of the volunteers, which would have been 

 occupied by the commanding officer of a regiment on 

 parade, or at drill ; nor could the rider by any means 

 get him off the ground, until the volunteers retired to 

 the town. As long as they kept the field, the horse 

 took the proper place of a commanding officer, in all 

 their manoeuvres ; and he marched at the head of the 

 corps into the town, prancing in military style, as 

 cleverly as his stiffened legs would allow him, to the 

 great amusement of the volunteers and spectators, 

 and the no small annoyance of the clerk, who did not 

 feel very highly honoured by Solus making a colonel 

 of him against his will. 



The DZIGGITAI (E. Hemionus). This is the wild 

 horse of central Asia ; and is not found in any part 

 of the country which slopes to either sea, but chiefly 

 in the elevated and sandy plains which lie to the south- 

 ward of the Altaian mountains, and the north west 

 of Chinese Tartary. The native name, which it is 

 difficult to spell in our alphabet so as to bring out the 



correct sound of the first consonant, means " long 

 ear;" anil the specific name, first given to it by 

 Pallas, signifies " half-ass," which is not undescriptive 

 of its general appearance. This animal is about the", 

 size and figure of a mule, only it is more elegantly 

 made. The head is proportionably larger, and more 

 compressed latterly, than that of the domesticated 

 horse. The forehead is straight and flat ; the lips, 

 especially the upper one, are capable of a great deal 

 of motion ; the chin and borders of the nostrils are 

 furnished with hairs, about two inches long, forming 

 a sort of mustachios, which are of great service to 

 the animal, in preventing the sand from getting into 

 its mouth and nostrils, as it browses the scattered 

 tufts which spot the barren surface of its pastures. 

 The ears are longer than those of the horse ; they 

 are pointed, and the animal carries them very grace- 

 fully. The neck is more slender than the neck of 

 the horse, and compressed. It is furnished with a 

 mane of soft brown hair. The body is elongated, 

 compressed latterly, and arched in the spine. It 

 stands comparatively very high on its legs ; and the 

 hoofs on the feet are black, and sub-conical, evidently 

 fitted for walking on hard and dry surfaces. The 

 tail bears some resemblance to that of a cow, having 

 short hair for the upper half of its length, and a 

 brush of black hair, nine or ten inches long, at the 

 point. The general colour is greyish fawn ; but the 

 summer and winter covering differ considerably, the 

 summer being smooth and flat ; and the winter, long, 

 loose, and floculent, like the winter hair of the camel. 



It appears that in former times this animal was 

 found in regions where it is not now to be met with. 

 Aristotle mentions it as being found in Syria, and 

 ^Elian describes it as an inhabitant of India ; but it 

 does not appear that in modern times it has ever been 

 found to the southward of the mountains : it is highly 

 probable that it is this animal, which has been rendered 

 the wild ass by our translators of the Bible ; and be- 

 sides its great fleetness, there is one peculiarity noticed 

 in the Bible, which is almost decisive on the point, 

 that of "snuffing up the wind," in which the dziggitai 

 does more frequently, and with greater energy and 

 style, than any other animal whatsoever. It is pro- 

 bably also the" swiftest of all animals ; for though 

 the horses of the Tartars are fleet and enduring, it is 

 in vain to attempt following this animal, so as to run 

 it down, though mounted on the finest Arabian. 



The Tartars do hunt it, however, both for the sake 

 of its flesh, which they prize highly as an article of 

 food ; and for its skin, of which they make excellent 

 leather. Their mode of catching it very much re- 

 sembles the Highland mode of catching wild deer, 

 or the Scandinavian method of hunting bears, that 

 is, by a " tinchal?' or surrounding circle, which is 

 gradually narrowed, until the animals are hemmed in 

 on all sides, without the means of escaping. The 

 only difference is, that the Tartar circle consists of 

 horsemen, while the others, being in countries where 

 horses cannot readily act, are performed on foot. 

 The animals are usually found in troops, consisting 

 of from twenty to thirty, and sometimes as many as a 

 hundred. These troops are headed by a chief, whose 

 duty consists in watching over the interest and 

 safety of the party, and in cases where danger is ap- 

 prehended, he is ever on the alert to give the signal 

 for retreat. As the chief is ever the foremost to 

 approach the hunter, his temerity often proves fatal 

 to himself ; and his fall is invariably followed by a 



