March 1, 1897.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



65 



derived from a domestic breed, as it is in the highest 

 degree unlikely that the original species was white. 

 Many breeds, such as the so-called Celtic shorthorn, were 

 established at an early period of our history ; and these 

 have been incorrectly regarded as distinct species, although 

 there is no doubt that they have the same ancestry. The 

 geographical range of the aurochs was very extensive, and 

 the original domestication may have taken place in 

 Western Asia. The humped cattle of India seem to trace 

 their origin to a distinct species now extinct, and the 

 ancestral form may perhaps be looked for among the 

 extinct oxen whose remains are found in the gravels of 

 the Narbada Valley. Some have, indeed, considered that 

 humped cattle originated in Africa, where they are 

 represented by the so-caUed Galla ox ; but it is far more 

 probable that they are really of Oriental extraction and 

 have been introduced into the Dark Continent. 



During the immense period that they have been domesti- 

 cated the true oxen have displayed great adaptability to 

 modification, as is exemplified by the diflerence between 

 such breeds as Highland, Polled Angus, Galloway, Kerry, 

 Devon, Longhorns, ibhorthorns, and .Jersey. Not so the 

 bufi'alo of Asia, which, although long domesticated in India, 

 and subsequently mtroduced into Egypt and thence into 

 Italy, has in nowise departed from the wild type, save as 

 regards a somewhat smaller stature and a diminished 

 length of horn. Certain other species of cattle, such as 

 the gayal {Boti frontaUs) of Tenasserim, and the banting 

 {B. banthuf) of the Malay countries, have been more or less 

 domesticated by various Oriental races, although, in most 

 cases, the domestic breed seems to be renovated from time 

 to time with a cross of the wild stock. AU these forms seem 

 to be unadapted for variation, and consequently breed true. 

 No attempt ever seems to have been made to domesticate 

 the bison ; while, true to their instincts, the natives of South 

 Africa have never enthralled the buffalo of that country. 



TiU within the last few years the origin of the domestic 

 ass was a matter of some uncertainty, seeing that all the 

 Asiatic wild asses differ considerably from the familiar 

 animal. Kecently, however, an ass has been discovered in 

 Somaliland which dift'ers in no important character from 

 the domestic form, and is its undoubted ancestor. Some 

 of these Somali asses are, it is true, more striped on the 

 legs than is commonly the case with the domestic breed ; 

 but then some examples of the latter are nearly or quite 

 as fully marked as the wild race, while some African 

 specimens have nearly uniformly coloured limbs. Possibly 

 the Somali wild ass may originally have ranged into Syria 

 and Arabia ; and, in any case, it is probable that it was 

 first tamed there, and thence introduced into Europe. 

 Indeed, the Greek name {onos) of the ass is stated to be 

 derived from a Semitic root ; and since this name occurs but 

 once in the " Iliad," and not at all in either the " Odyssey " 

 or in Hesoid, it has been inferred that the ass was a rare 

 and little-known animal in Greece during the epic period. 



"Whether there are any truly wild horses at the present 

 day is a moot point. The only animals that can lay claim 

 to that title are the so-called tarpan of the steppes of 

 Central Asia, which formerly ranged as far westward as 

 the Volga. Some authorities are of opinion that these 

 tarpan are a truly wild race, while by others they are 

 regarded as feral — that is to say, descended from a domes- 

 ticated stock. It is undoubted that the droves of tarpan 

 at times receive an inilux of feral animals ; but whether 

 they be feral or truly wild — and the evidence seems rather 

 in favour of thek wild origin — they undoubtedly resemble 

 the ancestral type of the horse. This, of course, will be 

 due in the one case to reversion, and in the other to 

 direct inheritance. They are rather small, clumsily built 



animals, with remarkably ugly heads, their general colour 

 being dun. Durmg the Pleistocene period horses of similar 

 type to the tarpan wandered over a great part of Europe 

 and Western Asia, as is attested by their fossilized remains ; 

 and from other evidence it is probable that at the epoch 

 in question the physical condition of much of Europe was 

 similar to that of the Asiatic steppes at the present day. 

 Such conditions would seem, indeed, to be essential for the 

 existence of wild horses, which are animals specially 

 adapted for a life on the open plains, where they find 

 safety in flight. It is true that wild horses were found in 

 parts of Europe at a much later epoch, when the country 

 had become forest-clad ; but it is quite possible that these 

 were really feral races. When we come to the consideration 

 of the place and time of the first domestication of the 

 horse, the usual difference of opinion prevails among those 

 most capable of forming a judgment. It was at one time 

 considered that the horse was first domesticated in the 

 East, but later authorities are more inclined to think that 

 the wild horse was also subjugated by the stone-implement 

 makers of Western Europe. Such race is considered to 

 have given rise to the ordinary European breeds ; but 

 thoroughbred horses are probably of Eastern origin. 

 Whether both the Western and Eastern breeds were 

 derived from the tarpan cannot be determined ; but it is 

 evident that the latter breed either originated from an 

 animal with more " blood,'' or that more attention was 

 paid to its development. We naturally look to Arabia as 

 the ancestral home of the Eastern race ; but this is a 

 mistake, as the horse is known to be a comparatively late 

 introduction into that country, the Arabs even as late as 

 the time of Strabo having neither horses nor asses, and 

 coming to battle mounted on camels. 



In the early days of Egypt — that is to say, during the 

 period known as the "old kingdom ' ' — the horse was unknown 

 in the Nile Valley ; the animal not making its appearance 

 in the frescoes till about the year 1800 b.c. Probably the 

 horse entered Egypt via Mesopotamia and Syria, where, as 

 we learn from the Nineveh sculptures, it had long been 

 known. It has been well remarked that even these sculp- 

 tures afford evidence that the horse was a comparatively 

 new animal to the Assyrians — that is to say, these 

 warriors were not such splendid riders as were the Par- 

 thians at a later date, and as are the Turkomans now. 

 If any of my readers will visit the British Museum and 

 inspect the Assyrian sculptures, he will scarcely fail to 

 notice that, whereas those mounted warriors who are 

 armed with the spear manage their own horses, such as 

 carry a bow have their horses led by a comrade. Manifestly, 

 the Assyrian warrior was incapable of managing his steed 

 when both his hands were occupied with his weapon ; and 

 he was thus a far less accomplished horseman than the 

 Parthian or the Turkoman. 



Although the evidence is not decisive, the probability is 

 that the horse was first introduced into Assyria from 

 Persia. The ancient records of India indicate that horses 

 were by no means common there, while such as there were 

 excelled neither in strength, speed, or beauty. The 

 Indian climate is, indeed, unsuited to the animal ; and there 

 is no doabt that it was originally introduced from- the 

 North. But the original horse must have come from some- 

 where, and the probability is that the nomad Mongols in 

 the East and the Turkomans in the West — still some of the 

 most splendid horsemen the world has ever seen — were 

 the first Asiatic tribes to subdue the noblest of man's 

 servants. This being ao, and Turkestan and Mongolia 

 being the home of the tarpan, it follows — if our premises 

 are true — that not only are the latter really wild 

 animals, but that the thoroughbred of the East has the 



