24 THE ASIATIC WILD ASS. 



its wild state. The specimen in question was ridden down on 

 the Eunn of Kutch in the month of March, 1873. She is the 

 only instance known (bar one, when the beast was on the point 

 of dropping a foal) of a wild ass having been run down before. 

 The party that captured her was headed by a friend of mine, 

 Capt. H. Lowther Nutt, Acting Second Political Assistant, 

 Kattyawar. The photographs I had taken myself, and the 

 donkey at present is in my possession, waiting to be conveyed to 

 the Zoological Society by the first Suez Canal steamer that 

 leaves Bombay, the society having provided the funds for its 

 passage home. Its age at present time (October, 1873) is 

 about one year ; its colour is a mixture of white and fawn ; the 

 under parts of the body, the neck and chest, nose and nasal 

 region, back part of face, rump, channel and inside of the legs 

 are white ; the mane is short, stumpy, and dark brown. A 

 dark dun streak of longish hair runs down the back, broadening 

 towards the rump, and continuing down the tail to the end. 

 The other parts of the body and head are of a fawn colour, the 

 entire coat being smooth and glossy ; the tail has a small tuft 

 of long dark-brown hair at the end. The legs are beautifully 

 clean and flat, the back sinews standing well out ; and there is 

 a black, shiny, horny ergot high up inside each fore leg ; the 

 feet are beautifully formed, hard, and very small ; pasterns very 

 long on fore legs, rather upright on hind legs. Viewed from 

 behind, her quarters and gaskins appear enormously large in 

 proportion to the size of the animal. She is a wonderful 

 jumper, and tried an eight-foot wall, but did not get over, 

 having a log of wood tied to one of her hind legs. The eyes are 

 large, quite black and very expressive. The muzzle is small 

 and black, the nostrils large and open. The ears are long, 

 outside light fawn colour, inside covered with long white hair. 

 Outside the knees and hocks there are faint traces of three 

 brown bars. The animal shows no indication of the cross, or 

 shoulder stripe, found in other donkeys. She is at present over 

 twelve hands high, but is not yet full grown. 



" These animals have constantly been chivied on the Kunn of 

 Kutch for years past by parties of officers on horseback with 



