436 



NATURAL HISTORY OF AHABIA. 



are distinguished by a hump or bunch of fat on the 

 shoulder, immediately above the fore-legs. Those in 

 Hejaz are described by Burckhardt as small, but of a stout 

 bony make ; they have for the most part only short stumps 

 of horns, and bore a strong resemblance to those he had 

 seen on the banks of the Nile in Nubia. Of the instinct 

 ascribed to these animals, of forming into circular bodies 

 to defend themselves against beasts of prey, Niebuhr could 

 obtain no information, nor did he think the story pro- 

 bable. Buffaloes are found in all marshy parts of the 

 country and on the banks of the rivers, where they are 

 more numerous than the common horned cattle. The 

 male is as fit for the yoke as the ox ; his flesh is inferior, 

 being hard and unsavoury ; but when young it has much 

 the taste and appearance of beef. The female yields more 

 milk than the ordinary cow. The Arabs have a mode of 

 forcing her to yield more than she would do voluntarily : 

 while one person milks another tickles her; a custom 

 which the ancient Scythians practised with their mares. 



Asses. There are two sorts of asses in Arabia, one 

 small and sluggish, which is there as little esteemed as 

 in Europe ; the other a large and noble-spirited breed, 

 which sells at a high price. Niebuhr thought them pre- 

 ferable to the horse for a journey, and reckoned their 

 progress in half an hour equal to 3500 paces of a man. 

 In Yemen, the soldiers use them on patrol, as well as in 

 every military service in which parade is not an object ; 

 the pilgrims employ them in considerable numbers ; and 

 Ali Bey mentions, that they sometimes travel the dis. 

 tance from Jidda to Mecca (fifty-five miles) in twelve 

 hours. In various parts of the country these animals 

 abound in a wild state. To the northward of Nejed, ad., 

 joining the district of Jof, they are found in great num- 

 bers. The Sherarat Arabs hunt them and eat their flesh 

 (though forbidden), but not before strangers.* They sell 

 their skins and hoofs to the pedlars at Damascus and the 

 people of the Hauran. The hoofs are manufactured into 

 rings, which are worn by the peasants on their thumbs or 

 under the armpits as amulets against rheumatism. 



horses, and hogs ; as also geese and hens. " In Arabia pecorum, 

 omnis generis copia, exceptis raulis, equis, et porcis ; avium etiam 

 omnium prater anseres et gallinas." Lib. xvi. 



* Ibn H;it ut a says, that the flesh of the domestic ass was consider- 

 ed lawful in Oman, and publicly sold in the streets. Travels, p. 62. 



