180 HISTORY OF 



were originally bred from such as were tame. It 

 is not in the new, but the old world, that we are 

 to look for this animal in a true state of nature ; 

 in the extensive deserts of Africa, in Arabia, and 

 those wide-spread countries that separate Tartary 

 from the more southern nations. Vast droves of 

 these animals are seen wild among the Tartars : 

 they are of a small breed, extremely swift, and 

 very readily evade their pursuers. As they go 

 together, they will not admit of any strange ani- 

 mals among them, though even of their own kind. 

 Whenever they find a tame horse attempting to 

 associate with them, they instantly gather round 

 him, and soon oblige him to seek safety by flight. 

 There are vast numbers also of wild horses to the 

 north of China, but they are of a weak timid 

 breed, small of stature, and useless in war. 



At the Cape of Good Hope there are numbers 

 of horses in a state of nature, but small, vicious, 

 and untameable. They are found wild also in 

 several other parts of Africa ; but the wretched 

 inhabitants of that country either want the art 

 to tame them, or seem ignorant of their uses. It 

 is common with the Negroes, who are carried 

 over from thence to America, when they first see 

 a horse to testify both terror and surprise. These 

 poor men seem not to have any knowledge of 

 such a creature ; and though the horse is probably 

 a native of their own country, they have let all 

 the rest of mankind enjoy the benefit of his ser- 

 vices, without turning them to any advantage at 

 home. In some parts of Africa, therefore, where 

 the horse runs wild, the natives seem to consider 



