504 
VEIlTEBIiATA. 
INDIAN OX OB ZEBU OF THE LAEGER KIND. 
A rover still unchecked will range, 
As humor calls or seasons change, 
His tent of mats and leathern gear 
All packed upon the patient steer." 
The oxen of Southern Africa are chiefly used for traveling over the interior of the country 
They are harnessed to large covered wagons, in which men, women, and children make journeys 
of hundreds of miles ; and as there are often no towns or houses along the way, these vehicles are 
not only nsed to ride in, but to sleep in. While the party is encamped at night they often hear 
the roar of the lions and howls of the liyenas around them. Many European travelers have 
given us narratives of expeditions of this kind. 
In other parts of Africa the ox is employed in like manner. Major Denham gives the follow- 
ing account of its use in a portion of Central Africa which he visited : "The beasts of burden," he 
observes, "are the bullock and the ass. A very fine breed of the latter are found in the Mandara 
valleys. Strangers and chiefs in the service of the sheikh, or sultan, alone possess camels. The 
bullock is the bearer of all the grain and other articles to and from the markets. A small saddle 
of plaited rushes is laid on him, when sacks made of goat-skins, and filled with corn, are lashed 
on his broad and able back. A leathern thong is passed through the cartilage of his nose, and 
serves as a bridle ; while on the top of the load is mounted the owner, his wife, or his slave. 
Sometimes the daughter or wife of a rich Shouaa will be mounted on her particular bullock, and 
precede the loaded animals, extravagantly adorned with amber, silver rings, coral, and all sorts 
of finery ; her hair streaming with fat ; a black rim of kohal, at least an inch wide, round each 
of her eyes ; and, I may say, arrayed for conquest at the crowded market. Carpet or ropes are 
then spread on her clumsy palfry ; she sits astride, and with considerable grace guides her animal 
by the nose." 
The ox of the ancient Egyptians, as may be seen by the figures of their god Apis, was similar 
to the present European breeds. 
