WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



tame an animal and to make it serviceable are two dif- 

 ferent things. To domesticate animals so that they 

 will, like slaves, carry out obediently the command of 

 man is not a matter of a few years but of many gen- 

 erations. We do not know when and how the camels, 

 the cattle, and the horses were completely pressed into 

 man's service, but we can safely assert that it could 

 only have been done by centuries of breeding and 

 training. 



No doubt the zebra can be tamed, and may, perhaps, 

 become domesticated in time, but surely not so soon 

 as enthusiasts would have us believe. This in spite of 

 the fact that a few young animals, some born in cap- 

 tivity, have been broken to drive in fancy carts and car- 

 riages. 



In vSouth Africa zebras have been used for pleasure 

 driving usually hitched together with ponies. But the 

 moment hard and persistent labor was asked of them, 

 as we do of our horses, they lie down and die of 

 "broken hearts." 



It is simply Utopian to expect to train and domesti- 

 cate the beautiful "tiger-horse" in an appreciable time 

 as completely as our horses and asses. Our circus 

 trainers can shed some light on the question of taming 

 and domesticating the zebra. It simply obeys and per- 

 forms its tricks from the mere fear of the whip, or led 

 by its gregarious instinct when coupled with zebras, 

 ponies, or other animals. But give it a chance of elud- 



192 



