HUNTING THE WILD ASS. 
461 
untameable. A few days after this discussion, we saw another 
of these animals; and pursuing it determinately, had the good 
fortune, after a hard chase, to kill it and bring it to our quar¬ 
ters. From it I completed my sketch. The Honourable Mount- 
stuart Elphinstone, in his most admirable account of the king¬ 
dom of Caubul, mentions this highly picturesque creature under 
the name of goorkhur ; describing it as an inhabitant of the 
desert between India and Afghanistan, or Caubul. It is called 
gour by the Persians; and is usually seen in herds; though 
often single, straying away, as the one I first saw, in the wan¬ 
tonness of liberty. To the national passion for hunting so wild 
an object, Persia lost one of its most estimable monarchs, Baha- 
ram, surnamed Gour from his fondness for the sport, and 
general success in the pursuit of an animal almost as fleet as the 
wind. The scene of this chase was a fine open vale, near to 
Shiraz; but which had the inconvenience of being intersected 
by a variety of springs, forming themselves into exceedingly 
deep ponds; caverned at the bottom, by nature, to an extent 
under ground not to be traced. While the King was in the heat 
of pursuit, his horse came suddenly to the brink of one of these 
pieces of water, and tumbling headlong, both horse and rider 
disappeared. The pond was immediately explored to the utmost 
of their ability in those days, but the body of the King could not 
be found. Hence it is supposed that it must have been driven by 
the stream into one of the subterraneous channels, and there 
found a watery grave. This event happened fourteen hundred 
years ago ; and yet it forms an interesting tale, in the memories 
of the natives about, to relate to the traveller passing that way. 
Having enjoyed our chase, we returned to the servants; and 
journeying on without further deviation, reached the village of 
