22 



THE HORSE 



miserably neglected state, and most of the horses had galled backs and 

 tender feet (' heffi ') from marching on rocky ground. Only the horses of 

 a few Emirs were in good condition. What diiTerent treatment did the 

 noblest of animals receive in the Sudan twenty years ago. 



" Fast-trotting, upstanding pairs of Dongola horses were much prized in 

 Cairo, and a well-matched pair would fetch £100. The best saddle-horses 



DERVISH CAVALRY HORSE. 



Sjjcdmen captured at the battle of Firket, drawn by Lieut. N. M. Smyth, and sent to the 

 editor by Statin Pasha, 1896. 



were descended from a well-known horse called Abu Dru. The Dona breed 

 of the island of Argo, north of Dongola, is also celebrated, and a fablo 

 exists that it owes its excellence to a strain of supernatural blood introduced 

 by a river-horse in the remote past. The peaceful inhabitants of the 

 Dongola province, always Avith an eye to the main chance, were naturally 

 careful of so valual>le an inheritance in horseflesh. The Dongola horse 

 was stabled in a well-built thatched shelter, brick houses being considered 

 ill-ventilated ; in summer-time he was picketed out at night. The winter 



