THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
559 
reverted to a state of nature. The South American horses are known to be 
the descendants of twelve European horses deserted by colonists in 1537. The 
horses of Mexico, likewise, are known to have sprung from the few animals 
brought over by the early Spaniards. 
The wild horse of the pampas in reverting at least towards the ancestral 
stock has undergone these changes: An increase of size in head and ears, an 
enlargement of the joints, a difference in character of coat, and a resumption 
of dun as a color; any dappling is regarded as indicative of zebraic descent. 
The Ass, or Onagra ( Asinus onager, Asinus sylvestris , Equus onager ), sug¬ 
gests that uncomplaining submission which invites martyrdom and real con¬ 
tentment with the merely useful, which in spite of the boast that “ peace hath 
her conquests,” 
made the satirist 
declare that 
homely features 
should be worn 
at home. Still, 
in its primitive 
condition, before 
degraded by the 
treatment of man¬ 
kind, the ass had 
all the qualities 
which we look 
for in the no¬ 
blest horse. The 
onagra , or free 
wild ass of the 
steppes, like the 
animal described 
by Job, is an ob¬ 
ject calculated to 
excite sincere 
admiration: 
“ Who hath sent 
out the wild aSs 
free? or, who 
hath loosed the 
bands of the wild ass ? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the 
barren land his dwellings. He scometh the multitude of the city, neither 
regardeth he the crying of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pas¬ 
ture.” Unlike the tarpan, the onagra is well proportioned, his legs graceful 
yet strong, his skin sleek and either a handsome gray or light brown, and 
his spirit “ proud as Lucifer’s.” When captured, he becomes no mere despised 
beast of burden, but is the loved companion of his master in his wanderings, 
and shares with him the dangers and glories of war, the frequent demands of 
peace, or the care of supporting the household. The onagra lives gregariously, 
for, unlike the tarpan, he is intelligent enough to migrate regularly according 
to the seasons. The onagra , or koulan , has generally been called the wild ass } 
AFRICAN WILD ASS- 
