XXXVIII 



WHERE this wonderful creature, the Arabian horse, 

 originally came from will never be known. It seems to 

 have been shown by geologists that remains of the horse 

 are found in older strata, or associated with more ancient 

 races of men, in Europe than in any part of Asia. Whether 

 this proves that the horse had his origin in Europe, or 

 merely that research has been pushed further on Euro- 

 pean soil than it has been in Asia, it is not within our 

 province to inquire. So far as concerns good equine stock 

 i.e., the horses impregnated more or less by thorough 

 blood we need go no further back than what we know of 

 them in the Syrian or Arabian desert ; the horses of the 

 Libyan desert came from these ; the Spanish horses came 

 from the Libyan desert, and our broncos came from the 

 Spanish ; while the English thorough-bred has descended 

 from sires of either the one or the other, imported into 

 England under the Stuarts. Whatever the history of the 

 horse from a geological stand-point, it is not worth while 

 to search beyond what we can glean from the early history 

 of the steed of the Bedouin. In some manner the Ara- 

 bian came of a common native race of horses which man 

 had intelligence and patience enough to seek to improve 

 by breeding them in a congenial climate for many genera- 

 tions ; or rather he came of a common strain which first 

 got improved because the man of the desert found his 

 profit and his safety in the superior speed and endurance 

 of his steeds, and naturally bred from these. This is the 

 summary of all we know. 



