221 



A HISTORY OF 



much more than those of the tame kind, upon j 

 whom art has, for a succession of ages, been ' 

 exercising all its force, and producing strange j 

 habits and new alterations. The contrary, j 

 however, obtains, and the wild ass is even 

 more assinine, if I may so express it, than that 

 bred in a state of domestic servitude; and 

 has even a natural aversion to the horse, as 

 the reader will shortly learn. 



The wild ass has, by some writers, been 

 confounded with the zebra, but very impro- 

 perly, for they are of a very different species. 

 The wild ass is not streaked like the zebra, 

 nor is his shape so beautiful; his figure is pret- 

 ty much the same as that of the common ass, 

 except that he is of a brighter colour, and has 

 a white list running from his head to his tail. 

 This animal is found wild in many islands of 

 the Archipelago, particularly in that of Ce- 

 rigo. There are many wild asses in the de- 

 serts of Lybia and Numidia, that run with 

 such amazing swiftness, that scarcely even the 

 coursers of the country can overtake them. 

 When they see a man, they set up a horrid 

 braying, and stop short all together, till he 

 approaches near them ; they then, as if by 

 common consent, fly off with great speed ; and 

 it is upon such occasions that they generally 

 fall into the traps which are previously pre- 

 pared to catch them. The natives take them 

 chiefly upon account of their flesh, which they 

 esteem as delicious eating; and for their skins, 

 of which that kind of leather is made which 

 is called shagreen. 



Olearius relates, that the monarch of Persia 

 invited him on a certain day to be present at 

 an entertainment of a very peculiar nature, 

 which was exhibited in a small building, near 

 the palace, resembling a theatre. After a col- 

 lation of fruits and sweetmeats, more than thir- 

 ty of these wild asses were driven into the 

 area, among which the monarch discharged 

 several shot, and some arrows, and in which 

 he was imitated by some of the rest of his at- 

 tendants. The asses, finding themselves 

 wounded, and no way of escaping, instantly 

 began to attack each other, biting with great 

 fierceness, and braying terribly. In this man- 

 ner they continued their mutual animosity, 

 while the arrows were poured in from above, 

 until they were all killed : upon which they 

 were ordered to be taken, and sent to the 



king's kitchen at Ispahan. The Persians es- 

 teem the flesh of this animal so highly, that 

 its delicacy is even become a proverb among 

 them. What may be the taste of wild ass's 

 flesh, we are unable to say ; but certain it is, 

 that the flesh of the tame ass is the worst that 

 can be obtained, being drier, more tough, and 

 more disagreeable, than horse-flesh. Galen 

 even says that it is very unwholesome. Yet 

 we should not judge hastily upon the different 

 tastes of different people, in the preference 

 they give to certain meats. The climate pro- 

 duces very great changes in the tenderness 

 and the savour of several viands: that beef, 

 for instance, which is so juicy and good in 

 England, is extremely tough and dry when 

 killed under the line ; on the contrary, that 

 pork, which is with us so unpalatable in sum- 

 mer, in the warmer latitudes, where it is al- 

 ways hotter than here, is the finest eating they 

 have, and much preferable to any hog's flesh 

 in Europe. 



The ass, like the horse, was originally im- 

 ported into America by the Spaniards, and 

 afterwards by other nations. That country 

 seems to have been peculiarly favourable to 

 this race of animals ; and, where they have 

 run wild, they have multiplied in such num- 

 bers, that in some places they are become a 

 nuisance. In the kingdom of Quito, the own- 

 ers of the grounds where they are bred, suf- 

 fer all persons to take away as many as they 

 can, on paying a small acknowledgment, in 

 proportion to the number of days their sport 

 lasts. They catch them in the following man- 

 ner. A number of persons go on horseback, 

 and are attended by Indians on foot : when 

 arrived at the proper places, they form a cir- 

 cle, in order to drive them into some valley; 

 where, at full speed, they throw the noose, 

 and endeavour to halter them. Those crea- 

 tures, finding themselves enclosed, make very 

 furious efforts to escape ; and. if only one for- 

 ces his way through, they all follow with an 

 irresistible impetuosity. However, when 

 noosed, the hunters throw them down, and 

 secure them with fetters, and thus leave them 

 till the chase is over. Then, in order to bring 

 them away with greater facility, they pair 

 them with tame beasts of the same kind ; but 

 this is not easily performed, for they are so 

 remarkably fierce that they often hurt the 



