nuisance. In the kingdom of Quito, the owners of the grounds where they are bred suffer all persons to take away as many as they choose, on paying a small acknowledgment, in proportion to the number of days the sport of hunting them lasts. They catch them in the following manner:-A number of persons go on horseback, and are attended by Indians on foot. When arrived at the proper places, they form a circle in order to drive the Asses into some valley, where, at full speed, they throw the noose, and endeavor to halter them. The creatures, finding themselves enclosed, make furious efforts to escape; and, if only one forces his way through, they all follow with irresistible impetuosity. However, when noosed, the hunters throw them down, and secure them with fetters, and thus leave them till the chase is over. Then, in order to bring them away with greater facility, they pair them with tame Asses; but this is not easily performed, for they are so fierce that they often wound the persons who undertake to manage them.

DOMESTICATED A58.

They have all the swiftness of Horses, and neither declivities nor precipices can retard their career. When attacked, they defend themselves by their heels and mouth with such address, that, without slackening their pace, they often maim their pursuers. But the most remarkable property in these creatures is, that, after carrying their first load, their celerity leaves them, their dangerous ferocity is lost, and they soon contract the stupid look and the dullness peculiar to their species. It is also observable that these creatures will not permit a Horse to live among them. They always feed together; and, if a Horse happen to stray into the place where they graze, they fall upon him, and, without even giving him the choice of flying, bite and kick him till they leave him dead on the spot.

The manner in which the Asses descend the precipices of the Alps or the Andes is truly extraordinary. In the passes of these mountains there are often on one side lofty eminences, and on the other frightful abysses; and, as these generally follow the direction of the mountain, the road, instead of lying on a level, forms, at every little distance, steep declivities of several hundred yards downward. Places of this description can only be descended by Asses; and the animals themselves, by the caution that they use, seem to be sensible of the danger to which they are exposed. When they come to the edge of one of the descents, they stop of themselves, without being checked by the rider; and, if he inadvertently attempt to spur them on, they continue immovable. They seem all this time ruminating on the danger that lies before them, and preparing themselves for the encounter. They not only attentively view the road, but tremble at the danger. Having

prepared for their descent, they place their fore-feet in a posture as if they were stooping themselves; they then also put their hinder feet together, but a little forward, as if they were about to lie down. In this attitude, having taken a survey of the road, they slide down with the swiftness of a meteor. All that the rider has to do is to keep h.self fast on the saddle, without checking the rein; for the least motion is sufficient to disorder the equilibrium of the Ass, in which case both must unavoidably perish. But their address in this rapid descent is truly wonderful; for, in their swiftest motion, when they seem to have lost all government of themselves, they follow exactly the different windings of the road, as if they had previously settled in their minds the route they were to follow, and had taken every possible precaution for their safety. In this journey the natives, who are placed along the sides of the mountains, and hold themselves by the roots of the trees, animate the beasts with shouts, and encourage them to perseverance. Some Asses, after being long used to these journeys, acquire a kind of reputation for their safety and skill; and their value rises in proportion to their fame.

In Spain the breed of Asses has, by care and attention, become the finest in the world; they are large, strong, elegant, and stately animals, they are often found to rise to fifteen hands high. The best of them are sometimes sold for a hundred guineas or upwards each. This shows that the Ass, notwithstanding all our prejudices, and our generally contemptuous opinion of it, may be rendered even an elegant, as well as a useful animal. The Romans had a breed which they held in such high estimation, that Pliny mentions one of the stallions selling for a price greater than three thousand pounds sterling; and he says that in Caltiberia, a province of Spain, a she Ass had Colts that were bought for nearly the same sum.

Being more hardy than Horses, these animals are preferred to them for journeys across the deserts. Most of the Musselman pilgrims use them in the long and laborious journeys to Mecca; and the chiefs of the Nubian caravans, which are sixty days in passing immense solitudes, ride upon Asses; and these, on their arrival in Egypt, do not appear fatigued. When the rider alights, he has no occasion to fasten his Ass; he merely pulls the rein of the bridle tight, and passes it over a ring on the fore-part of the saddle; this contines the animal's head, and is sufficient to make him remain patiently in his place.

In the principal streets of Cairo, Asses stand ready bridled and saddled for hire, and answer the same purposes as hackney-coaches in London. The person who lets them accompanies his Ass, running behind to goad him on, and to cry out to those on foot to make way. The animals are regularly rubbed down and washed, which renders their coat smooth, soft, and glossy. Their food is similar to that of the Horses, and usually consists of chopped straw, barley, and beans. They here seem, says M. Denon, to enjoy the plentitude of their existence: they are healthy, active, cheerful, and the mildest and safest animals that a person can possibly have. Their natural pace is a canter or gallop; and, without fatiguing his rider, the Ass will carry him

rapidly over the large plains which lie between different parts of this straggling city.

The gentleness, patience, and perseverance of this animal, so much abused and neglected in England, are without example. He is subjected to excessive labor, and contented with the coarsest herbage. The common lanes and high roads are his nightly residence, and his food is the thistle or plantain, which he sometimes prefers to grass. In his drinking he is, however, singularly nice, refusing all but the water of the clearest brooks. He is much afraid of wetting his feet, and will, even when loaded, turn aside to avoid the dirty parts of the road. His countenance is mild and modest, fully expressive of

his simple and unaffected deportment. His services are too often repaid by hard fare and cruel usage; and, being generally the property of the poor, he partakes of their wants and their distresses. He is more healthy than the horse; and though generally degraded into the most useless and neglected of domestic quadrupeds, he might, by care domestic purposes in to pay a little attenThey ought also to

and education, be rendered useful for a variety of which the horse is now employed. Were they but tion to him, we could not fail to be gainers by it. cross the breed with the Arabian, Egyptian, or even the Spanish males; which would produce an offspring improved both in strength and appearance. The fame of Asses being stubborn animals is, in a great measure, unfounded; as it arises solely from ill-usage, and not from any natural defect in their constitution or temper.

An old man, who some years ago sold vegetables in London, used in his employment an Ass, which conveyed his baskets from door to door. Frequently he gave the poor industrious creature a handful of hay, or some pieces of bread, or greens, by way of refreshment and reward. The old man had no need of any goad for the animal, and seldom indeed had he to lift up his hand to drive it on. This kind treatment was one day remarked to him, and he was asked whether his beast was apt to be stubborn. "Ah master, (he replied) it is of no use to be cruel; and as for stubbornness, I cannot complain, for he is ready to do any thing, or to go any where. I bred him myself. He is sometimes skittish and playful, and once ran away from me: you will hardly believe it, but there were more than fifty people after him;

attempting in vain to stop him; yet he turned back of himself, and never stopped till he ran his head kindly into my bosom."

There are said to have been no Asses in England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. How soon afterwards they were introduced is uncertain; they are, however, at present naturalized in the country, and their utility becomes every day more apparent.

The skin of the Ass is elastic, and of use for various articles, such as drums, shoes, and the leaves of pocket-books. Shagreen is made of that part of the skin which grows about the rump; and at Astracan and throughout Persia there are great manufactories of it. It is not naturally granulated, that roughness being altogether effected by art. The flesh of the wild Ass is eaten by the Tartars, and is said to be a very delicate and palatable food. The milk is universally known, and is an approved specific in many disorders. It is light, easy of digestion and highly nutritious.

The Mule is a mongrel breed between the Horse and the Ass. It is extremely hardy and useful, though often vicious and obstinate.

THE ZEBRA.

The Zebra, somewhat like the Mule, has a large head and ears. Its body is round and plump, and its legs are delicately small. The skin

THE ZEBRA.

is as smooth as satin, and adorned with elegant stripes like ribbons, which in the male are brown on a yellowish white ground, and in the female black on a white ground.

Zebras inhabit the scorching plains of Africa, vast herds of them affording sometimes an agreeable relief to the eye of the wearied traveller. They assemble in the day

time on the extensive plains of the interior of the country, and by their beauty and liveliness, adorn and animate the dreary scene.

All attempts to tame this animal, so as to render it serviceable to mankind, have hitherto been fruitless. Wild and independent by nature, it seems ill adapted to servitude and restraint. If, however, it were taken young, and much care was bestowed upon its education, it might, probably, be in a great measure domesticated.

Several Zebras have at different times been brought into England. In the year 1814 there was one in the Tower, which was deposited there in the month of June, 1803. It had been brought from the Cape of Good Hope by lieutenant-general Dundas; and was afterwards purchased by Mr. Bullock the master-keeper of the animals in the Tower. This animal, which was a female, was more docile than the generality of Zebras that have been brought into Europe; and when in good humor, she was tolerably obedient to the commands of her keeper, the servant of the general, who attended her during the voyage. This man would spring on her back, and she would carry him a hundred and fifty, or two hundred yards; but by the time she had done this, she always became restive, and he was obliged to dismount. Sometimes, when irritated, she plunged at the keeper, and attempted to kick him. She one day seized him by the coat with her mouth, and threw him upon the ground; and, had not the man been extremely active in rising and getting out of her reach, would certainly have destroyed him. He at times had the utmost difficulty to manage her, from the irritability of her disposition; the great extent, in almost every