248 On the different Animals known as ivild Asses. [No. 3, 



that the Asa was not eating, and seemed out of spirits. The guide 

 accounted for this by saying, that he was in the habit of living in 

 the house with his master, and that he was alarmed at being left 

 in the dark by himself; wherefore I ordered him into the shed, and 

 his supper being placed near the fire, he fell upon it with great 

 avidity ; and had no sooner finished, than he claimed a right to be. 

 long to the society, by lying down amongst us, to my great amuse- 

 ment, and the infinite chagrin of my companions, who would have 

 turned him out but for my interference. During the night he 

 became restless, and got up in order to lie down on his other side ; 

 in doing which he interfered with the guide's legs, whom I found 

 abusing him for being a pig and an infidel, and threatening to spit 

 on his beard." 



In Irwin's ' Memoir of Afghanistan,' we are informed that " the 

 Ass gradually improves as we proceed westward from the Company's 

 provinces. Perhaps the best are those from the west of Khorassan, 

 but even these are much inferior to the Arabian or the Spanish. 

 Asses are imported from Kabul into Bokhara, and the north-west; 

 of Turkistan." Buckingham tells us, that "one of the peculiarities 

 of Baghdad is its race of white Asses, which, as at Cairo, are 

 saddled and bridled for the conveyance of passengers from one part 

 of the town to another ; and these are equally as large and spirited 

 as the Egyptian Ass, and have as easy and speedy a pace. They are 

 frequently spotted over with colours, and otherwise fantastically 

 marked over with red henna-stains." This barbarism, it need not 

 be told to Indian readers, is commonly practised on Horses in this 

 country. 



At Peshawar, tame Asses of the large race are known as ' Bokha- 

 ra Asses' ; and Sir A. Burnes, writing on the domestic animals of 

 Bokhara, remarks — " none are more useful than the Ass ; the breed 

 is large and sturdy, and they are much used — both for saddle and 

 bridle. There is no objection to riding them, as in India. There 

 are no mules, from a religious prejudice against them." His brother, 

 Dr. A. Burnes, also remarks that — " Asses, much larger than those 

 of India, are to be met with iu Siudh, where the Ass attains the 

 development which it is known to enjoy only within a very limited 

 geographical distribution." But are not these fine Asses chiefly 



