COLOR OF THE ASS. 727 



of his footsteps, which were deeply imprinted in the soft mould. After a while the animal 

 seemed to have reflected upon the circumstance which led to the discovery of his offence, 

 and the next time that he walked upon the flower-beds, he scraped the earth over his 

 foot-marks, and endeavored to obliterate the traces of his disobedience. As, however, 

 his hoofs were not very delicate tools, and his method of levelling anything but gentle, 

 the marks were more conspicuous than before. 



In the East, the Ass is used even more extensively than in Europe, and is generally 

 employed for carrying burdens or for the saddle, the horse being used more for osten- 

 tation or for warfare than for the mere conveyance of human beings from one spot to 

 another. The following account of donkey-riding in Cairo, by Bayard Taylor, gives a 

 most vivid and animated description of the manner in which the Ass is employed in 

 the East. 



" To see Cairo thoroughly, one must first accustom himself to the ways of those long- 

 eared cabs, without the use of which I would advise no one to trust himself in the bazaars. 

 Donkey-riding is universal, and no one thinks of going beyond the Frank quarters on 

 foot. If he does, he must submit to be followed by not less than six donkeys, with their 

 drivers. A friend of mine who was attended by such a cavalcade for two hours, was 

 obliged to yield at last, and made no second attempt. When we first appeared in the 

 gateway of an hotel, equipped for an excursion, the rush of men and animals was so 

 great, that we were forced to retreat until our servant and the porter whipped us a path 

 through the yelling and braying mob. After one or two trials, I found an intelligent 

 Arab boy named Kish, who for five piastres a day furnished strong and ambitious 

 Donkeys, which he kept ready at the door from morning till night. The other drivers 

 respected Kish's privilege, and thenceforth I had no trouble. 



The donkeys are so small that my feet nearly touched the ground, but there is no end 

 to their strength and endurance. Their gait, whether in pace or in gallop, is so easy and 

 light that fatigue is impossible. The drivers take great pride in having high-cushioned, 

 red saddles, and in hanging bits of jingling brass to the bridles. They keep their don- 

 keys close shorn, and frequently beautify them by painting them various colors. The 

 first animal I rode had legs barred like a zebra's and my friend's rejoiced in purple 

 flanks and a yellow belly. The drivers run behind them with a short stick, punching 

 them from time to time, or giving them a sharp pinch on the rump. Very few of them 

 own their donkeys, and I understood their pertinacity when I learned that they fre- 

 quently received a beating on returning home empty-handed. 



The passage of the bazaars seems at first quite as hazardous on donkey-back as on 

 foot ; but it is the difference between knocking somebody down and being knocked down 

 yourself, and one certainly prefers the former alternative. There is no use in attempting 

 to guide the donkey, for he won't be guided. The driver shouts behind, and you are 

 dashed at full speed into a confusion of other donkeys, camels, horses, carts, water-carriers 

 and footmen. In vain you cry out ' Bess ' (enough), Piacco, and other desperate ad- 

 jurations : the driver's only reply is, ' Let the bridle hang loose ! ' You dodge your head 

 under a camel load of planks ; your leg brushes the wheel of a dust-cart ; you strike a 

 fat Turk plump in the back ; you miraculously escape upsetting a fruit stand ; you 

 scatter a company of spectral, white-masked women, and at last reach some more quiet 

 street, with the sensations of a man who has stormed a battery. 



At first this sort of riding made me very nervous, but presently I let the donkey go 

 his own way, and took a curious interest in seeing how near a chance I ran of striking or 

 being struck. Sometimes there seemed no hope of avoiding a violent collision, but by a 

 series of the most remarkable dodges, he generally carried you through in safety. The 

 cries of the driver running behind, gave me no little amusement. The howadji comes ! 

 Take care on the right hand ! Take care on the left hand ! O man, take care ! O maiden, 

 take care ! O boy, get out of the way ! The howadji comes ! ' Kish had strong lungs 

 and his donkey would let nothing pass him, and so wherever we went we contributed 

 our full share to the universal noise and confusion." 



The color of the Ass is a uniform gray, a dark streak passing along the spine, and 

 another stripe being drawn transversely across the shoulders. In the quagga and zebra 

 those stripes are much more extended. 



