18 SAVAGE SURVIVALS 



dispensable part of the labor of this world. 

 Whether in war or in peace, the horse has always 

 been an unfailing aid and friend of man. The 

 warriors of Cortez, on their mail-clad horses, 

 struck terror to the Indians, who had never before 

 seen such splendid beings. The Indians thought 

 that each man was a part of the horse on which 

 he rode, that is, that horse and man were one an- 

 imal. 



It is commonly supposed that there were horses 

 in America when the Europeans came here. But 

 this is a mistake. The Indians had no horses, not 

 even ponies. The pack animals of the Indians 

 were the women. The llama was used a little in 

 South America as a burden-bearer. The so-called 

 'Svild horses," which were rather common some 

 years ago in parts of western North America, 

 were domesticated horses which had lapsed into a 

 semi-wild state. 



The horse was probably domesticated in central 

 or southern Asia. There are wild horses still 

 found in some of the more inaccessible regions of 

 central Asia. Wild horses live in small herds and 

 feed on the grasses of the plains. They "run 

 away" when frightened, that is, they stampede in 

 a wild way. 



The horse has been traced back in the rocks to 

 an ancestor about the size of the fox with four 

 toes on each front foot and three behind. 



The horse walks on the last segment of its big 

 finger — on the nail of its big finger. The hoof of 



