18 HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 



In order to ascertain the special land which can claim the 

 proud honor of being the parent country, the birth-place of this 

 noble animal, recourse must be had primarily to the pages of 

 Scripture, as being the most ancient and best authenticated of 

 all existing histories. By reference to those pages, we find 

 that, although the ass was in early use among the children of 

 Israel, the horse was unknown to them until after the com- 

 mencement of their dwelling in Egypt ; and strong evidence 

 exists for the belief that he was not brought into subjection, 

 even in that country, until after their arrival. Clear it is, at 

 all events, that Arabia, which many have supposed to be the 

 native home of the horse, did not possess him until within a 

 comparatively recent period ; while his introduction into Greece, 

 and thence into those countries of Europe and Asia in which 

 he is now found, either wild or domesticated, may be traced 

 with much certainty to an Egyptian source. 



Although in the history of Abraham frequent mention is 

 made of the ass, of the camel, of flocks and herds, sheep and 

 oxen, there is no allusion to the horse ; nor, indeed, do we 

 find any such until we reach the time of Joseph. In the 

 reign of that Pharaoh in whose service Joseph was, wagons 

 were sent by the king's command into Canaan, to bring thence 

 into Egypt Jacob and his sons, their wives and their little ones, 

 during the prevalence of the famine against which Joseph had 

 provided. It is not recorded that those wagons were drawn by 

 horses j but the inference that such was the fact is by no means 

 irrational, when we remember that it was during the continu- 

 ance of this famine that horses are first mentioned, having 

 been taken by Joseph in exchange for bread from the Egyp- 

 tian cultivators and cattle-breeders j that on the death of 



