214 HISTORY OF 



placed along the sides of the mountains, and hold 

 by the roots of the trees, animate the beast with 

 shouts, and encourage him to perseverance. Some 

 mules, after being long used to these journeys, 

 acquire a kind of reputation for their safety and 

 skill ; and their value rises in proportion to their 

 fame.* 



CHAPTER XIII. 



OF THE ZEBRA. 



THERE are but three animals of the horse kind : 

 The horse, which is the most stately and courage- 

 ous ; the ass, which is the most patient and hum- 

 ble ; and the zebra, which is the most beautiful, 

 but at the same time the wildest animal in nature. 

 Nothing can exceed the delicate regularity of this 

 creature's colour, or the lustrous smoothness of 

 its skin ; but, on the other hand, nothing can be 

 more timid or more untameable.t 



Ulloa,vol.i. 



f [To these may be added the Quacha, or Quagga. This animal, till of 

 late, was supposed to be the female of the zebra ; but recent observations 

 prove that the male and female zebra are marked alike, and the quagga is 

 now acknowledged to be a distinct species. It is about the same size as the 

 zebra, and striped like it on the head and body, but with fewer lines. The 

 flanks are spotted ; the rump is plain ; the ground-colour of the head, neck, 

 body, and rump, a bright bay ; the belly, thighs, and legs are white, and 

 free from all marks. It differs likewise from the zebra in being thicker and 

 stronger made, and in being more docile; one of them having been so far 

 broke by a Dutch colonist at the Cape, as to draw in a cart.] 



