A QUEER RIDER 317 



One who trespasses on a neighbor's land — in innocent 

 search of his natural food, poor fellow! — is dubbed a 

 thief, and has a piece of his ear snipped off for each of- 

 fence. Being hobbled when "at liberty" — by tying the 

 fore-legs together — the donkey cannot go far, and luckily 

 for him is not often proven guilty. The so-called thief 

 would else soon have no ears to clip. To quote a pretty 

 custom as a foil to this cruel one : the ass-colts have ribbons 

 tied around their legs above the knees and liocks, and I 

 have seen them with ears bored at the tips and tied to- 

 gether — as if to cultivate a habit of carrying them erect. 

 An ass-colt is one of the prettiest of creatures. 



Place aux dames ! While on the subject of the patient 

 ass, we may glance at one of his constant patrons, per- 

 haps the most peculiar rider that exists — the Arab woman. 

 No such curious seat can be found elsewhere. The don- 

 key-saddle of the East has no cantle whatsoever, but in 

 Egypt a pommel — high, round, and full. The seat is so 

 short that unless a^ou use very long stirrups only a part 

 of your riding surface rests on the saddle ; the balance 

 hangs over the rear of the tree where the cantle should 

 properly be. It is a most uncomfortable seat for a big 

 man, who must overhang a good deal. For a small man 

 it will do. The Egyptian female uses the man's rig and 

 sits astraddle ; but she does not ride with her legs hang- 

 ing down ; this would not suit her ideas of propriety, 

 thouo'h her Svrian cousin does not agree with her in 

 this, but rides exactly like a man. Our Egyptian rider 

 shortens her stirrups until the leathers are but a couple of 

 inches long, mounts from a block, sits on the saddle as far 

 forward as she can, throws her feet to the rear so that 

 they are right under her thighs, and rides solely by bal- 

 ance. Her knees are on either side of the padded pom- 

 mel, and she might well get some kind of a hold on it ; but 



