8S8 
E Q U U S. 
Tartary, and of the celebrated Tandy deferts of Gobi, 
which reaches to India. They fhnn tracts of wood, and 
lofty fnowy mountains. They are not numerous in Si¬ 
beria; thofe which are there met with feem to be only 
flragglers, that have originally wandered from the large 
herds which are found to the fouth of the Ruffian domi¬ 
nions. In Tartary, they frequent chiefly the country 
lying round the lake Taricnoor; a fait lake which be¬ 
comes fometimes dry. They live in feparate parties; 
each of which, confiding of mares and colts, with an old 
male at their head, is feldom above twenty, and fre¬ 
quently under that number. Their time of copulation is 
about the middle or end of Auguft. They produce only 
one foal at a time; at lead, the inftances in which a fe¬ 
male has more, are very rare. In its third year, the young 
animal attains its full growth, with the due proportions 
of form, and the colours which diflinguifh it during the 
reft of life. When the young have reached this age, the 
elder mules expel them from their fociety, and they 
aflociate with new parties of their own age. Attempts 
have in vain been made to tame them, being impatient 
of all reftraint or controul. European arts might poflibly 
be more fuccefsful ; but, were it taught to be peaceful 
and domeftic, like the horfe, it would perhaps degene¬ 
rate in fpirit and fwiftnefs. Hitherto the dfliiggetai has 
been only an animal of the chace for the Moguls and 
Tungufians, who conflder its flelh as their greateft dainty, 
and employ the fkin to make boots. It is, however, dif¬ 
ficult to kill ft; for, on account of the keennefs of its 
fight and the acutenefs of its fmell, it feldom lets the 
hunters get within ftiot. When running, it outftrips even 
the antelope: it is impoffible for the fleeted horfe to 
overtake it; and therefore it is feldom caught during the 
hunting excurfions of the Moguls, which they call oblaui, 
but muft be fhot, by lying in wait for it ; which can be 
bed done in the neighbourhood of the dreams or pools 
to which it repairs to drink, or of the fpots where it 
comes to lick fait. The Moguls, however, are fuid to 
have remarked, that during rainy and ftormy weather 
the dfhiggetai becomes, as it were, ftupid, and neither 
fees nor fmells the hunters fo well as at other times. 
The dallions, which conduct herds more or lefs nume¬ 
rous of females, and young ones of from one to two years 
old, are exceedingly vigilant; keep their females toge¬ 
ther with the mod jealous care ; drive from the herd the 
young dallions which begin to fhow a defire for the fe¬ 
males ; and are always on the watch to guard againft 
being furprifed. When they obferve any thing uncom¬ 
mon at a diliance, the male immediately fprings forwards; 
endeavours, by making a circuit, to approach fo near the 
objedt as to difcover the danger, and for that purpofe ad¬ 
vances two or three times towards the hunters, who lie 
clofe to the ground on their bellies. On fuch occafions 
they are fometimes fhot. If the male, however, obferves 
the danger, he makes the herd which he left behind him 
betake themfelves to flight with incredible velocity. The 
Moguls fpeak of this velocity with aftonifhment; and, in 
general, the dfliiggetai is confidered as the fwifteft of all 
the wild animals of their country; for this reafon the 
people of Thibet aflign it, indead of a riding horfe, to 
Chammo , their god of fire and of war. 
Idle dfliiggetai always carries its head eredt, and when 
running, throws it entirely back, in order that it may fee 
better behind it; and bears its tail ereft. It has a parti¬ 
cular kind of neighing, which is louder and Thriller than 
that of a horfe. Dr. Pallas diffedled one of them, and 
found its conformation in every refpeft as perfedt as that 
of the horfe : the dfhiggetai cannot, therefore, be confi- 
dered among the hybrid mules. “This animal, (fays 
Dr. Pallas,) ftands high on its limbs, which are delicate, 
though its mufcles are ftrong; but the (boulders, thighs, 
and legs, are fomewhat lean. I found the winter hair to 
be two inches long, tolerably thick, as foft as camel hair, 
and of an ifabella-grey colour outwardly, but of a pale 
iron-grey towards the roots. The fummer hair was fcarce-. 
ly three quarters of a line in length, here and there dif- 
pofed into circular vortices and fhadings. A fhading of 
the hair runs lengthwife along the face, and two others 
above the eyes. The vortices I obferved firft on each 
fide of the mane immediately behind the ears. There 
were two alfo above each other under the neck ; two on 
the (ides of the neck oppofite the dioulders; a larger one 
on each joint of the fhoulder; another large one on each 
fide of the bread behind the dioulders, and alfo a cruci¬ 
form (hading of the hair. Several more of thefe hair 
vortices were formed on different parts of the body. The 
dfliiggetai is didinguifhed particularly by the head, which 
has a mean proportion between that of the horfe and the 
afs ; and, in that refpedt, as well as by the ears and the 
tail, it approaches very near to the zebra. In the reft of 
the body and the thighs it is more like the afs ; and in 
the limbs it has a greater fimilarity to the mule and the 
horfe. Its colour and hair vortices are peculiar to itfelf. 
The dripe on the back, however, is like that of the fe¬ 
male afs, and of many liorfes, without any crofs dripe. 
The tail excepted, it has, in general, the greateft likenefs 
to the mule. Bur, from the above circumdances, it 
clearly appears that the dfliiggetai is an animal of a dif- 
tindt genus, and as much peculiar to Afia as the zebra 
and quagga are to Africa; whereas the afs, and perhaps 
the horfe, in a wild date, belong to both thefe quarters 
of the world in common.” 
3. Equtts AJinus, the Ass.—This animal, in the wild 
date, has received from ancient and modern naturalifts 
the name of onager. It is diftinguidied by long douching 
ears, a fliort mane, and long hairs covering only the end 
of the tail. It is commonly afh-coloured, with two black 
ftreaks eroding each other upon its (houlders. In youth, 
this animal is rather handfome in its fhape, alert, and 
playful ; but, as it advances in life, the tame afs, either 
from the natural effects of age, or from ill treatment, lofes 
its fprightlinefs, and becomes fluggifh, ftubborn, and 
awkward. It attains its full growth in the fourth or ftfth 
year, and lives, like the horfe, to the age of five-and- 
twenty or thirty years. The male is capable of procrea¬ 
tion at the age of two years and an half, and the female 
dill earlier. Both fexes are remarkably falacious : the 
male has been known to die immediately after covering ; 
and the female is not eadly brought to fubdue the eager- 
nefs of her defires: like the mare, die is gravid 29orlays. 
Her parental tendernefs is not inferior to the ardour of 
her amorous difpofition : die will accompany her young, 
or hade to their relief, through the mod formidable dan¬ 
gers ; even flames and burning coals, are, on fuch an oc- 
cafion, no obftacle. She brings forth in a ftanding pof- 
ture; and, feven days after delivery, again courts the 
embraces of the male. She produces but one colt; the 
inftances of twins are very rare. The afs deeps lefs than 
the horfe, and never lies down to repofe, but after having 
differed much fatigue. He is lefs fubjedt to difeafes than 
the horfe. A fmall quantity of food, and that of the 
coarfed kind, fatisfies this animal. He does not defpife 
even the thiftle; but his favourite herb is the plantane. 
I.ike the horfe, he is capable of aft'edtion and attachment 
to his mafter. He diftinguifhes him among others; and 
feems even to difeern him by the feent, when at foine 
diftance. His vilion is diffidently acute. His hearing is 
fo remarkably delicate, that lie is alarmed and frightened 
by the impulfe even of muflcal founds. In the more 
fouthern countries of Europe, and in the eaft, where the 
afs is dronger, more elegantly fliaped, and more generous 
in his difpodtions, he is employed in more honourable 
fervices, and kept for riding even by the rich and luxu¬ 
rious. The milk of the flie-afs is edeemed medicinal. It 
is chiefly for its milk that the afs is valued in Britain. 
The fkin being dry, hard, and elaftic, is made into lieves, 
drums, (hoes, and parchment, which is laid over With a 
thin coat of due plafter, and ufed in pocket-books. By 
the nations of the eaft, the leather called fagri or chagrin 
is prepared from the fkin of the afs. The ancients made 
their 
