5 12 
UNGULATES. 
says that on the margin of the Atbara Desert “ the tracks of wild asses had been 
frequent, but hitherto I had not seen the animals, as their drinking hour was at 
night, after which they travelled far into the desert. However, on the morning of 
the 29th June, shortly after the start at about 6 A.M., we perceived three of these 
beautiful creatures on our left—an ass, a female, and a foal. They were about half 
a mile distant when first observed, and upon our approach to within half that 
distance they halted and faced about. They were evidently on their return to the 
desert from the river. Those who have seen donkeys in their civilised state have 
no conception of the beauty of the wild and original animal. Far from the passive 
and subdued appearance of the English ass, the animal in its native desert is the 
perfection of activity and courage; there is a high-bred tone in the deportment, a 
high-actioned step when it trots freely over the rocks and sand, with the speed of 
a horse. When it gallops freely over the boundless desert, no animal is more 
difficult to approach, and, although they are frequently captured by the Arabs, 
those taken are invariably the foals, which are ridden down by fast dromedaries, 
while the mothers escape.” The author then proceeds to notice how admirably the 
coloration of these animals harmonises with that of their desert surroundings. 
Their food consists of the wiry herbage found in such regions, but, in spite of such 
apparently poor diet, these animals are always found in fine condition. The flesh 
is eaten by the Arabs. It appears that these asses are found either in parties of 
two or three or in small herds, but that they do not assemble in large troops. 
Their bray is practically indistinguishable from that of the domestic race. 
The domestic ass is evidently the tamed African ass, in most cases 
deteriorated by bad food and hard usage. Any description of such 
a well-known animal would be superfluous; but it may be observed that, while 
grey is the ordinary colour, the tint may vary in one direction until it passes into 
white, while in the other it gradually darkens into a deep brown or even black. The 
dark stripe running down the back is usually distinct in the lighter-coloured 
varieties, but the shoulder-stripe is less constant, being frequently absent, although 
in some instances duplicated. The bars on the legs are generally wanting in the 
adult, although they are frequently more or less distinctly marked in the foal. 
The ass was known to the ancient Egyptians long before the horse, and was, 
indeed, probably first domesticated in the valley of the Nile, whence it has spread 
over almost the whole of the habitable regions of the globe. We are not aware, 
however, of any instances where these animals have reverted to a semi-wild 
condition. In Europe, the largest and finest breeds are produced in the more 
southern countries, such as Spain, Italy, and Malta; but there are others of still 
finer proportions in the United States, where they reach a height of 15 or 16 hands. 
These larger races are mainly kept for the purposes of mule-breeding, and show 
that the small size of the ordinary form is due in great part to the rough treatment 
and bad food which is usually its share. In England the ass was known in the 
reign of Ethelred, when it fetched the then high price of twelve shillings; but it 
has been considered that it subsequently became extinct, and was reintroduced about 
the time of Queen Elizabeth; and it is certain that it did not become common till 
after the reign of the latter. 
The ass is valued not only as a beast of burden and draught, but likewise on 
Domestic Ass. 
