110 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Zebras. 



With all its attractions, this spirited beautiful crea- 

 ture has never been brought into the service of man. 

 It. is indeed extremely vicious, and uses its heels on 

 the most trifling occasion, kicking violently, and 

 for a considerable time together, rendering it dan- 

 gerous for a person to venture near it. Yet it ap- 

 pears that in India it has occasionally been tamed, 

 and M. Dussumier states, " a European resident at 

 Cutch had a dzigguetai which was accustomed to 

 follow him in his rides. One day, having ended 

 his ride at a large sheet of water, he went on board 

 a boat ; the animal remained for some time, at first 

 quiet on the shore, but becoming impatient on find- 

 ing that the boat did not soon return, he took to 

 the water, and swimming, came up with it and fol- 

 lowed it to the end of the excursion." 



If the dzigguetai of southern Siberia andTartary, 

 the wild ass of Cutch, and the ghur of Persia and 

 Tartary, be one species, as we believe — in what, we 

 would ask, does this animal differ from the wild ass 

 of Tartary and other parts, called (as Desmarest 

 expresses himself) Koulan or Choulan by the Kal- 

 mues ? Every detail, as far as we can make out, 

 which applies to one, applies to the other also; 

 and as it respects colour, we know well that the 

 dzigguetai itself, as naturalists must admit, varies 

 in tint, and the breadth and intensity of the dorsal 

 stripe. We may here add, that one of the dziggue- 

 tais in the gardens of the Zool. Soc. was certainly 

 brought from Cutch; and another, presented by 

 Capt. Glasspoole, R.N., was most probably brought 

 from the same country, or from Sindh or Persia, 

 along the coasts of which three states he sailed in 

 pursuance of his maritime duties. 



474, 475, 476, 478, 503.— The Mule. 

 The mule is the offspring of the male ass and mare ; 

 the offspring of the horse and female ass is termed 

 the hinny, and is a small inferior animal of little 

 value. The mule in general has the form of the 

 ass, in some respects modified, and on a larger 

 scale, but the head and tail approach nearer to those 

 of the horse. We learn that the mule was bred in 

 ancient times ; it is noticed in the reign of David, 

 when it appears to have been in common use for 

 the saddle, and consequently must have been known 

 much earlier. The first mention of mules is in 

 Genesis xxxiv. 24; but the true meaning of the 

 ■word thus rendered is doubtful. Bochart is of 

 opinion that the word (yemin) really denotes a gi- 

 gantic people, and this opinion has the sanction of 

 the Samaritan text and version ; while the Syriac 

 renders the word as " waters," in which meaning St. 

 Jerome, Gesenius, and others concur. 



At the present day there are various breeds of 

 mules in Syria, and very beautiful animals are 

 produced between high-blood Arab mares and well 

 selected male asses. (Fig. 476.) In Europe the 

 Spanish mule is deservedly celebrated, as is also the 

 Spanish ass. 



In Spain the muleteer is the general medium of 

 traffic, and the legitimate traverser of the land, 

 ci'ossing the Peninsula from the Pyrenees and the 

 Asturias to the Alpuxarras. the Serrania de Ronda, 

 and even to the gates of Gibraltar. He lives fru- 

 gally and hardily: his alforjas of coarse cloth hold 

 his scanty stock of provisions ; a leathern bottle, 

 hanging at his saddle-bow, contains wine or water, 

 for a supply across barren mountains and thirsty 

 plains. A mule-cloth spread upon the ground is 

 his bed at night, and his paeksaddle is his pillow. 

 His low but clean-limbed and sinewy form betokens 

 strength ; his complexion is dark and sunburnt; his 

 eye resolute, but quiet in its expression, except 

 when kindled by sudden emotion; his demeanour 

 is frank, manly, and courteous, and he never passes 

 you without a grave salutation — "Dios guarde h, 

 usted ! " " Va usted con Dios, Caballero ! " " God 

 guard you ! God be with you, Cavalier ! " — Wash- 

 ington Irving. (Figs. 505, 507.) 



We once saw four white Spanish mules of large 

 size and admirable symmetry. 



In all mountain countries, the mule, from itssure- 

 ness of foot, its instinctive caution in choosing the 

 path, and the management of its proceeding in 

 descending a perilous and steep track, is eminently 

 serviceable. It is employed in the Andes, where it 

 has superseded the Llama. 



The mule does not breed with the mule, but has 

 occasionally been known to breed with the mare ; 

 and an instance occurred in the gardens of the Zool. 

 Soc, of a mare producing a foal, of which the male 

 parent was a hybrid between the zebra and the ass. 



The use of the mule in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and 

 also in the countries of the East, is too well known, 

 and has been too often described by travellers, to 

 need our enlarging upon it. Next to the horse it is 

 our most valuable beast of burden, and in some 

 situations far preferable. In England, however, it 

 is not in request, nor is any care taken in the acqui- 

 sition of a fine race ; yet its hardiness, strength, and 

 power of enduring fatigue are great recommenda- 

 tions in its favour. 



The word mule, observes Mr. Bell, "is doubtless 

 derived from fio\oc, labour; from whence the Latin 

 mulus, which affords the Italian mulo, the French 

 midet, and our mule. It was formerly called Moyle 

 and Moil ; and this word is still employed both in 

 the southern counties of England and in Scotland 

 to signify labour. Thus Burns, in his exquisite 

 ' Cotter's Saturday-night' — 



" The toil-worn cotter frae his labour goes : 

 This night his weekly moil is at an end." 



He adds—" Mr. Yarrell informs me that in Corn- 

 wall the word moyle signifies barren: this is a very 

 remarkable coincidence ; and, after all, may probably 

 be the etymology of the last-mentioned name of 

 our animal." A mule may be produced between 

 the zebra and the mare, or the quagga and the 

 mare. 



"Some years since the Earl of Moreton, being 

 desirous of obtaining a breed between the horse and 

 the quagga (Burchell's zebra ?), selected a young 

 mare of seven-eighths Arabian blood, and a fine male 

 of the latter species ; the produce was a female hy- 

 brid. The same mare had afterwards, first a filly 

 and next a colt, by a fine black Arabian horse. They 

 both, strange to say, resembled the quagga in the 

 dark line along the back, the stripes across' the fore- 

 head, and the bars across the legs. In the filly the 

 mane was short, stiff, and upright, like that of the 

 quagga. In the colt it was long, but so stiff as to 

 arch upwards, and hang clear of the sides of the 

 neck; in other respects they were nearly Arabian, 

 as might have been expected from fifteen-sixteenths 

 Arabian blood." 



To the physiologist this circumstance opens an 

 interesting subject for investigation, nor is the fact 

 unimportant to the breeders of animals, inasmuch 

 as it incontestably proves that the characters of the 

 male parent of the mother's first progeny exert a 

 marked influence on her subsequent offspring, 

 whatever may be the peculiarities of the father of 

 the latter. 



479, 50S.— The Zebra 



{Equus Zebra; Equus montanus, Burchell). This 

 beautiful animal is a native of the mountain dis- 

 tricts of southern Africa, and is found, according to 

 various writers, in Congo, Guinea, and even Abys- 

 sinia, according to Ludolphe. Bruce, however, 

 states that " the zebra is found nowhere in Abys- 

 sinia, except in the south-west extremity of Kuora, 

 amid the Shangalla and Galla, in Narea avid Caff, and 

 in the mountains of Dyre and Tegla, and thence to 

 the southward." It is called in South Africa Wilde 

 Paarde by the Cape colonists. 



The zebra is regularly striped, even dowm to the 

 hoofs, with glossy brownish black on a white or 

 yellowish white ground. The ears are long, the 

 neck short and deep, with a sort of dewlap under 

 the throat produced by a loose fold of the skin ; 

 the mane is short, and the tail sparely clad with 

 long hair. 



Wild and swift, this species lives in troops in the 

 bold ranges of craggy mountains remote from the 

 abodes of man. Its disposition is savage and in- 

 tractable, and it is by no means easily obtained, not 

 only from its fieetness, but from the nature of the 

 locality it frequents, where, like the wild ass of 

 Tartary, in "the wilderness and the barren land is 

 his dwelling ; he scorneth the multitude of the city." 



Two mules in the gardens of the Zool. Soc. are 

 between the male zebra and the common ass. They 

 are strong, and work well. 



481. — Burchell's Zebra 



(Equus Burcliett'd), the Dauw of the colonists of 

 South Africa. This species is a tenant of the plains, 

 and is found occurring in every district north of 

 the Orange river, as far as travellers have pene- 

 trated. It dwells in troops, which make occasional 

 migrations from the interior to the more fertile 

 districts in search of food. At irregular and uncer- 

 tain intervals there occur seasons of drought in 

 South Africa, when the pools of the desert are dried 

 up, and the surface of the wilderness is parched. 

 Driven from their native solitudes by the desolation 

 around them, zebras, antelopes, and other animals 

 in incredible multitudes pour like a torrent over 

 the cultivated districts, destroying the pasturage 

 and the corn ; with the return of the rain they re- 

 trace their steps and seek their desert fastnesses. 

 Burchell's zebra is strong and muscular, with sinewy 

 limbs, and might perhaps be made serviceable to 

 man. It is an animal that admits of being tamed 

 to a certain extent with facility, and occasionally a 

 half-domesticated specimen is exposed for sale at 

 Cape Town with a rider on its back. The persons, 

 however, who have had most opportunities of be- 

 coming acquainted with its character, regard if, 

 tractable as it may sometimes appear, as treache- 

 rous, fickle, vicious, and obstinate. It is a remark- 

 able fact that this species, and the quagga also, are 

 often seen in company with the ostrich ; several of 



the latter feeding tranquilly in the midst of a herd, 

 without experiencing any molestation. 



This species may be distinguished from its moun- 

 tain relative by the shortness of its ears, by the ab- 

 sence of stripes on the limbs and under surface of 

 the body, and by the stripes of the upper parts be- 

 ing brown. 



These animals present a brilliant appearance 

 when flying in troops before the hunter. Their 

 flesh (with that of the zebra and quagga) is relished 

 by the natives, but Mr. Burchell thought it not much 

 superior to horseflesh, and he would, with most 

 Europeans, think the same respecting the flesh of 

 the wild ass, which in Persia is in the highest esti- 

 mation, and served at royal banquets. The drawing 

 (Fig. 481) represents the spearing of one of these 

 animals by a mounted Cafl're. 



480.— The Quagga 

 {Equus Quagga). Like the preceding species, the 

 Quajrga is a native of the plain, and occurs south of 

 the Orange river, within the limits of the Cape 

 Colony. It roams in large herds, as does Burchell's 

 zebra, but the herds of the two animals never 

 mingle together, nor are the two species known to 

 produce a mixed progeny. 



The quagga is far inferior to Burchell's zebra 

 both in size and beauty ; its ground colour is a dull 

 brownish white, clouded and striped with a darker 

 colour on the head, neck, and withers, and less 

 distinctly on the sides of the body; the haunches 

 are greyish; the under parts, tail, and legs white. 

 In its temper the quagga is wild and vicious ; never- 

 theless it is said to be sometimes employed by the 

 natives for the purposes of draught. 



We have already stated that fossil relics of animals 

 of the genus Equus are abundant, and very widely 

 dispersed. They occur in the third period of the 

 tertiary series (Pliocene of Lyell), in the fresh-water 

 deposits in what is called diluvial detritus, in super- 

 ficial gravels, sands, and clays in the ossiferous 

 caverns, in the osseous breccia, and in the Eppels- 

 heim sand, &c. Captain Cautley found bones of 

 the horse (but not in abundance) among other fossil 

 remains lying on the slopes among the ruins of the 

 fallen cliffs, and also in situ in the sandstone of the 

 Sewalik Mountains, at the southern foot of the 

 Himalayas, between the Sutlej and the Ganges. 



Several species of Equus have been recorded, 

 as Equus fossilis (E. Adamiticus, Schlotheim), 

 Equus (Caballus) primigenius ; Equus (Mulus) pri- 

 migenius; Equus (Asinus) primigenius. It is veiy 

 probable that, these recorded species may be really 

 distinct from each other, yet it is by no means cer- 

 tain, for it would appear that it is rather upon size 

 than any definite and persistent characters that the 

 distinctions are founded. Indeed the bones of the 

 living species do not afford any certain data by 

 which to discriminate one from another. Cuvier 

 informs us that he had carefully compared the 

 skeletons of many varieties of horses, those of the 

 mule, of the ass, the zebra, and the quagga, and 

 that he could never find a character sufficiently 

 fixed to enable him to pronounce on a species from 

 an isolated bone. Size, he observes, furnishes but 

 incomplete marks of distinction. Horses and asses 

 vary much in this respect from their states of 

 domestication ; and he adds that though he had 

 not yet procured the skeleton of a dzigguetai, he 

 doubted not its resemblance to the other species 

 as much as they resemble each other in the same 

 particular. To distinguish the skeleton, or a few 

 bones of the skeleton, of the zebra, from those of 

 Burchell's zebra, or the quagga, or the dzigguetai, 

 is indeed difficult; but still where the relics indi- 

 cate great difference of size to have existed, taking 

 into account the circumstance that the extinct 

 Equi were wild, and therefore unmodified by the 

 influence of domestication, there are good grounds, 

 from difference of size alone, for assuming specific 

 distinctions. With regard to the probability that 

 to some of these extinct wild species is to be" attri- 

 buted the origin of our domestic races, we have 

 already expressed our opinion. 



482. — Skull op the Fossil Adapis. 

 To the order Pachydermata Cuvier refers an extinct 

 animal, of which the remains have been found in 

 the plaster-quarries of Montmartre. The remains, 

 however, are very rare, and we believe that only 

 three fragments of skulls have been recovered. 

 The adapis was evidently a small animal, its skull 

 being only about a third larger than that of a 

 hedgehog. There were four incisors, sharp-edged 

 and oblique, in each jaw, followed by a canine tooth 

 of a conical form and not exceeding the molars in 

 length. Of these latter there were seven on each 

 side, in each jaw. In the upper jaw the first molar 

 was trenchant, the second and third surrounded by 

 a small ridge, the last four flat-crowned. In the 

 lower jaw the first three molars were pointed and 

 trenchant, the remainder fiat-crowned and tuber- 

 culous, like those above opposed to them. Of the 



