ANIMALS. 473 



feiibive des»Mts of Africa, in Arabia, and those wide-spread cauri- 

 tries that separate Tartary from the more southern nations. 

 Vast droves of these animals are seen wild among the Tartars ; 

 they are of a small breed, extremely swift, and very readily evade 

 their pursuers. As they go together, they will not admit of any 

 strange animals among them, though even of their own kind. 

 Whenever they find a tame horse attempting to associate with 

 them, they instantly gather round him, and soon oblige him to 

 seek safety by tlight. There are vast numbers also of wild horses 



cliiefs march, as the rear g'uard, at five or six pares from the troop. These 

 animals are impelled by a natural instinct, which hioks remarkably like rea- 

 son, to obey their leaders. They are sensible that their safety consists in 

 united force, and in maintaining subordination, — the first thing to be attend- 

 ed to, even by man himself. 



The wild horses of America are generally chestnut, bay, sorrel, or black 

 colour. The latter, however, is not very common, and chestnut usually pre- 

 dominates, from which some authors suppose that to be the original hue of 

 che horse ; but we do not fiud it to be the prevailing colour of the Asiatic 

 wild breeds, bay-dun being the most common among these. The general 

 pace of the American horse is between a gallop and an amble. 



When wild horses are feeding, should any stragglers be threatened with 

 an attack from the puma or jaguar, which are their principal enemies iu 

 America, by a particular signal, which they all understand, they close into a 

 dense mass, and trample their assailant to death, if he have the hardihood to 

 persist in his attack ; or, forming a circle, with the young and females in the 

 centre, defend themselves with their heels, and strike with such velocity and 

 force, that the most agile animal is incapable of overcoming them. When an 

 attack is resolved upon, their leader shows the example, and if he conBid<'r 

 a retreat necessary, he gives them the signal, which tliey take care to follow. 



Captain Hall, in his Journey t> Peru and Mexico, gives the following 

 description of the manner in which the gaucUo, or native inhabitant of South 

 America, takes a wild horse : — He first mounts an animal which has beeif 

 accustomed to the sport, and gallopsovertlie plain, in the direction where thH 

 wild herd are, and, circling round, by degrees gets near to one of them, and 

 ai soon as he has approached sufficiently near, the lasso is thrown round the 

 two hind legs, and as the gaucho rides round a little on one side, the jerk 

 pulls the entangled horse's feet laterally, so as to throw him on his side, with- 

 out endangering his knees or his face. Before the horse can recover the 

 shock, the rider dismoiuits, and snatching his povc/io, or cloak, from his 

 shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head. He then forces into 

 his mouth one of the ponerful hrldles of the country, straps a saddle on his 

 back, and, bestriding liim, removes the poncho; upon which, the astonished 

 horse springs on his legs, and endeavours, by a thousand vain efforts, to dis- 

 encumber himself of his new master, who sits quite compo.sedly on his back, 

 and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete 

 obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his whole speed and strength to 

 the capture of his companion,s. 



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