82 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



the tarpan, although treated by naturalists with 

 neglect, was furnished by Colonel Hamilton Smith. -^ 

 After referring to the doubts which had been enter- 

 tained by naturalists with regard to the existence 

 of truly wild horses, this author proceeds as 

 follows : — 



" Whatever may be the lucubrations of naturalists 

 in their cabinets, it does not appear that the Tatar 

 or even the Cossack nations have any doubt upon 

 the subject, for they assert that they can distin- 

 guish a feral ^ breed from the wild by many tokens ; 

 and naming the former takja and mtczin, denomi- 

 nate the real wild horse tarpan and tarpani. We 

 had some opportunity of making personal inquiries 

 on wild horses among a considerable number of 

 Cossacks of different parts of Russia, and among 

 Bashkirs, Kirghis, and Kalmuks, and with a sufficient 

 recollection of the statements of Pallas, and Buffon's 

 information obtained from M. Sanchez, to direct 

 the questions to most of the points at issue. From 

 the answers of Russian officers of this irregular 

 cavalry, who spoke French and German, we drew 

 the oreneral conclusion of their decided belief in a 

 true wild and untameable species of horse, and in 

 herds that were of mixed origin. Those most ac- 

 quainted with a nomad life, and in particular an 



^ Naturalisf s Library, Horses, p. i6o, 1841. 



* "Feral" denotes animals originally escaped from captivity, as 

 opposed to truly wild ones. 



