PURSUIT OF THE GOUR, OR WILD ASS. 
459 
ourselves in a wide plain, and entered into Fars. The general 
face of the country differed in no respect from the principal 
part of that we had been passing through for several days. 
The ground was barren of every kind of vegetation, excepting 
where the soap-wort grew in scanty patches, and that of a very 
meagre sort. An apt soil, I thought, to teach lessons of hardihood 
and privation ! 
The sun was just rising over the summits of the Eastern 
mountains, when my greyhound, Cooley, suddenly darted off in 
pursuit of an animal, which my Persians said, from the glimpse 
they had of it, was an antelope. I instantly put spurs to my 
horse, and followed by Sedak Beg and the mehmandar, fol¬ 
lowed the chase. After an unrelaxed gallop of full three miles, 
we came up with the dog, who was then within a short stretch 
of the creature he pursued ; and to my surprise, and at first, 
vexation, I saw it to be an ass. But, on a moment’s reflection, 
judging from its fleetness it must be a wild one, a species little 
known in Europe, but which the Persians prize above all other 
animals as an object of chase, I determined to approach as near 
to it, as the very swift Arab I was on would carry me. But the 
single instant, of checking my horse to consider, had given 
our game such a head of us, that notwithstanding all our speed 
we could not recover our ground on him. I, however, happened 
to be considerably before my companions, when, at a certain 
distance, the animal in its turn made a pause, and allowed me 
to approach within pistol-shot of him. He then darted off 
again with the quickness of thought; capering, kicking, and 
sporting in his flight, as if he were not blown in the least, and 
the chase were his pastime. 
He appeared to me to be about ten or twelve hands high ; 
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