ZEBRA. . 
SSI 
in posture as if they were stopping 1 themselves ; 
they then also pot their hinder feet together, hot 
a little forward, as if they were going to lie down. 
In this attitude, having taken as it were a survey 
of the road, they slide down with the swiftness of 
a meteor. In the mean time, all the rider has to 
do is to keep himself fast on the saddle, without 
checking the rein, for the least motion is sufficient 
to disorder the equilibrium of the mule ; in which 
case, they both unavoidably perish. But their 
address, in this rapid descent, is truly wonderful ; 
for, in their swiftest motion, when they seem to 
have lost all government of themselves, they fol- 
low exactly the different windings of the road, as 
if they had previously settled in their minds the 
route they were to follow, and taken every pre- 
caution for their safety. In this journey, the na- 
tives, who are placed along the sides of the moun - 
tains, and hold by the roots of the trees, animate 
the beast with shouts, and encourage him to per- 
severance. Some mules, after being long used to 
these journeys, acquire a kind of reputation for 
their safety and skill ; and their value rises in pro- 
portion to their fame. 
Zebra. 
There are three animals of the horse kind 
which have been more observed than any other. 
The horse, which is one of the most stately and cou- 
rageous ; the ass^ which is one of the most patient 
and humble ; and the zebra, which is one of the 
most beautiful, but at the same time one of the 
wildest animals in nature. Nothing can exceed 
the delicate regularity of this creature’s colour, 
or the lustrous smoothness of its skin ; but, on the 
other hand, nothing can be more timid or more 
wntameable. 
