362 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
fast dromedaries when females are accompanied by 
young ones. A chase by three or four well-mounted 
Arabs will, after a hunt at full speed of several 
hours, separate the tired little ones from the long- 
enduring mothers. The small foals are then caught 
and slung upon a camel, in the same nets that are 
used for transporting the camel calves when too 
young to follow on the march. 
The nature of the wild ass defies all attempts at 
breaking it for domestic use. It is kept specially 
for breeding, as the cross with the ordinary donkey 
produces a superior animal, which is highly prized 
by the Arab sheiks of the great desert. 
The wild ass is found at so great a distance from 
water that the Arabs declare it only requires to 
drink every third day. I can readily believe this, 
as it is extraordinary to observe in countries of great 
thirst how animals adapt themselves to the necessities 
of their localities. During the dry season, between 
Sofi, on the Atbara river, and Kadarif, there is a 
long interval without water, although the land is 
rich and fertile during the rains. The cattle march 
25 and 30 miles to the river, and during the dry 
months they drink only upon alternate days. 
When we see the fact established among domestic 
animals, we may readily accept the Arab’s accounts 
of desert creatures, which have been born under 
conditions that could hardly be supported except by 
those whose progenitors had been inured to similar 
hardships and necessities. 
The first and last time that I ever disturbed 
