THE ONAGER. 279 



and a very large head compared to the length of its body. 

 From ancient Egyptian records we learn that this ass was 

 employed for domestic purposes in Egypt many centuries 

 before the horse was known in that country. Its introduc- 

 tion into Europe, however, has been comparatively of recent 

 date. It does not appear to have been known in England 

 before the time of the Saxons, and did not come into general 

 use until the beginning of the seventeenth century. The 

 horse, as we all know, was employed by the ancient Britons, 

 even for purposes of war, at the time (55 B.C.) when Caesar 

 landed. The donkey used by native washermen in India 

 is the smallest and most miserable of its kind It is often 

 not more than eight hands high, and, from overloading at a 

 far too early age, its hocks frequently are so much turned 

 in that they rub against each other at every step, even when 

 the animal is at liberty. In countries like America and 

 Spain, where care has been bestowed on the breeding of 

 this ass, it may be found as big as an ordinary saddle horse^ 

 and proportionately strong. 



The donkey associates itself to man as readily as does 

 the dog* and, unlike the horse, evinces little or no inclina- 

 tion to return to a wild state of life after it has become 

 domesticated. It is interesting to note that this ass, which 

 is characterised by a stripe (sometimes two stripes) down 

 the shoulder, and frequently by horizontal stripes on the 

 fore arms, is a native of the country (Africa) in which zebras 

 are indigenous. 



The Oti'dJg^t {Equus onager, Fig. 273). — The wild asses 

 which are found in Syria, Arabia, Persia, Baluchistan, 

 Turkistan, Afghanistan, and Kutch (in India), resemble each 

 other so closely that they may be classed under the one 

 heading of '* onager," which is the term usually reserved for 

 the Indian and Persian wild ass. It is lighter in colour and 

 longer on the leg, in comparison to its length of body, than 

 the Abyssinian variety. It is generally of a light mouse or 

 ash colour on the head (with the exception of the muzzle), 



