5 /f ANECDOTES THE ANIMAL KINGDOM; CONTAINING ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE CHARACTERS, HABITS, DISPOSITIONS, AND CAPABILITIES, QUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, FISHES, REPTILES, AND INSECTS AND FOP.MINO AI APPROPRIATE SUPPLEMENT OTORS By CAPTAIN THOMAS BROWN, FELLOW OF THE LIN.NEAN SOCIETY, MEMBER OP THE WERNCRIAN, K1RWAMAM AND PHRENOLOGICAL SOCIETIES, AND LATE PRESIDENT UP THE ROYAL PHYSICAL SOCIETY, &C. &C. &C. GLASGOW: ARCHIBALD FULLARTON & CO., 14, HUTCHESON STREET, AND 31, SOUTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH; W. CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN ; SIMFKIN & MARSHALL, AND ORR & SMITH, LONDON. MDCCCXXXIV. GLASGOW : AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFJEL3. PREFACE. THIS Volume, which consists of Illustrative ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS, is intended to form a supplement to the Edi- tion of Goldsmith lately issued under the superintendence of the present Editor. Numerous and extensive as the Notes appended to that Edition were, it was found impossi- ble to embrace in their plan the wide field of Anecdote con- nected with the Animal Kingdom, the first and great ob- ject of the Editor being to make such corrections and addi- tions to the work as were called for by the many discoveries and improvements that have taken place in the science since the days of Goldsmith. To accomplish this object in a satis- factory manner required all the bounds which the prescribed limits of the publication afforded ; and, accordingly, the Editor, in his appended Notes, refrained from indulging in illustrative Anecdotes, except when they were found neces- sary to prove or confirm a position. But by gathering to- gether, as he has here done, in one volume, and in one con- nected view, all the best anecdotes regarding animals which he could collect from authentic sources, or which have come under his own observation, he doubted not of making an in- teresting and acceptable addition to Goldsmith ; for, as much of the charm of Political History arises from the personal biographies which it embraces, so much of the attraction of Natural History consists in the individual illustrations of in- stinct which it furnishes. Many of the Anecdotes here given are original, or derived from private sources ; and of those selected, care has been taken that they should be well authenticated, or that they should, in reality, be worth repeating. They are arranged in a 2 2030982 accordance with the system pursued by Goldsmith ; but in all other respects, this volume is entirely independent of the 'others, and may be purchased and read separately. The Anecdotes, as will be seen, are not confined to those animals with which we are all familiar, as the generous horse, the confiding dog, or the jealous cat, but embrace nearly every living creature of whom we have any account " the beast of the field, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." From the comprehensive character of the type employed on this work, the Editor has been enabled to lay before the reader a store of Anecdotes regarding animals more extensive than is to be found in any other single publication ; and altogether, he ventures to hope, that this volume has peculiar claims on the attention of the lover of Natural History, and of those who, " looking from Nature unto Nature's God," acknow- ledge a sympathy with every creature that breathes the breath of life. Natural History is not only the most captivating of the sciences, but it is also the most humanizing. It is impossi- ble to study the character and habits of the lower animals, without imbibing an interest in their wants and feelings. " To obtain the regards of man's heart," says Dr Chalmers, " in behalf of the lower animals, we should strive to draw the regards of his mind towards them. We should avail ourselves of the close alliance that obtains between the re- gards of his attention and those of his sympathy. The beasts of the field are not so many automata without sensa- tion, and just so constructed as to give forth all the natural signs and expressions of it. Nature hath not practised this universal deception upon our species. These poor animals just look, and tremble, and give forth the very indications of suffering that we do. Theirs is the distinct cry of pain. They put on the same aspect of terror on the demonstration of a menaced blow. They exhibit the same distortions of agony after the infliction of it. The bruise, or the burn, or the fracture, or the deep incision, or the fierce encounter with one of equal or superior strength, just affects them simi- larly to ourselves. Their blood circulates as ours. They have pulsations in various parts of the body like ours. They sick- en, and they grow feeble with age, and, finally, they die just as we do. They possess the same feelings ; and what exposes them to like suffering from another quarter, they possess the same instincts with our own species. The lioness robbed of her whelps causes the wilderness to ring aloud with the proclamation of her wrongs ; or the bird whose little house- hold has been stolen, fills and saddens all the grove with melodies of deepest pathos. All this is palpable even to the general and unlearned eye ; and when the physiologist lays open the recesses of their system by means of the scalpel, under whose operation they just shrink, and are convulsed as any living subject of our own species, there stands forth to view the same sentient apparatus, and furnished with the same conductors for the transmission of feeling to every minutest pore upon the surface. Theirs is unmixed and unmitigated pain the agonies of martyrdom, without the alleviation of the hopes and the sentiments whereof they are incapable. When they lay them down to die, their only fellowship is with suffering ; for in the prison-house of their beset and bounded faculties, there can no relief be afforded by communion with other interests or other things. The attention does not lighten their distress as it does that of man, by carrying off his spirit from that existing pungency and pressure which might else be overwhelming. There is but room in their mysterious economy for one inmate ; and that is, the absorbing sense of their own single and concen- trated anguish. And so in that bed of torment, whereon the wounded animal lingers and expires, there is an unexplored depth and intensity of suffering which the poor dumb animal \tself cannot tell, and against which it can offer no remon- strance ; an untold and unknown amount of wretchedness, of which no articulate voice gives utterance. But there is an eloquence in its silence ; and the very shroud which dis- guises it only serves to aggravate its horrors." o3 " To secure your kindness to the brute creation," continues the same eloquent writer, " I would bid you think of all that fond and pleasing imagery, which is associated with the lower animals, when they become the objects of a benevolent care, which at length ripens into a strong and cherished affection for them as when the worn-out hunter is permit- ted to graze and be still the favourite of all the domestics through the remainder of his life ; or the old and shaggy house-dog, that has now ceased to be serviceable, is never- theless sure of its regular meals and a decent funeral j or when an adopted inmate of the household is claimed as property, or as the object of decided partiality, by some one or other of the children; or, finally, when in the warmth and comfort of the evening fire, one or more of these home animals take their part in the living group that is around it, and their very presence serves to complete the picture of a blissful and smiling family. Such relationships with the in- ferior creatures supply many of our finest associations of tenderness, and give, even to the heart of man, some of its simplest and sweetest enjoyments. He even can find in these, some compensation for the dread and disquietude wherewith his bosom is agitated amid the fiery conflicts of infuriated men. When he retires from the stormy element of debate, and exchanges, for the vindictive glare, and the hideous discords of that outcry which he encounters among his fellows, when these are exchanged for the honest wel- come and the guileless regards of those creatures who gam- bol at his feet, he feels that even in the society of the brutes, in whose hearts there is neither care nor controversy, he can surround himself with a better atmosphere far, than that in which he breathes among the companionships of his own species. Here he can rest himself from the fatigues of that moral tempest which has beat upon him so violently ; and in the play of kindliness with these poor irrationals, his spirit can forget for a while all the injustice and ferocity of their boasted lords." INDEX CONTENTS OF THE VOLUME. A PAGE PAGE ANECDOTES OF THE ANECDOTES OF THE Bird of Paradise, 503 Adder, 840 Birds, . ,':,: V v 415 Albatross, 643 Bison, 70 Alligator, 826 Bittern, . 623, 624 Amphibious Animals, 307 Bivalve Shells, . 811 Anaconda, . ' . 854 Blackbird, . . 535 Anchovy, 788 Black-cap, 563 Animalculse, 921 Black Cock, 465 Ant, . . ' . . 880 Boa Constrictor, 845 Antelope, . ; 92 Boar, Wild, . 120 Ape, . . if ' 331 Brambling, . j ':-. 585 Argali, . . ' ' 83 Buffalo, . r j. 72 Armadillo, . 302 Bull, v-',vy ';.',;N. 56 Ass, 36 Bullfinch, ii'v),- 583 Auk, . 658 Buntin, 552 Avoset, . 626 Bustard, . ^. , 463 Butcher Bird, . . ; 441 B Buzzard, 440 Baboon, 336 Babyrouessa, 129 C Badger, ". * %v> 412 Cachalot, 694 Bantam, '. 4 . ' 453 Camel, 395 Bat, . ". '' ." 303 Camelopard, . . 390 Bear, . V 399 Canary, . , . 578 Beaver, 310 Carp, . . ' . 790 Bee, 864 Cassowary, "J ;< 419 Beetle, . 894 Cat, 131 Beluga, . ,. 698 Cetaceous Animals, 636 viii CONTENTS. PA UK l-.Ai.l. ANECDOTES OF THE ANECDOTES OF THE Chaetodon, 736 Dromedary, 395 Chaffinch, . 551 Duck, 680 Chama, . 812 Chameleon, 834 E Chamois, 89 Eagle, 420 Chimpanse, 325 Earth-worm, . 913 Chough, 490 Eels, . 753 Civet, 282 Eider Duck, . . 684 Coaita, 346 Elephant, 358 Cock, 447 Elk, 108 Cocooy, 901 Emu, . 418 Cod-fish, 771 Condor, . 427 F Conger Eel, 762 Falcon, . 432 . 434 Coot, 640 Fallow deer, 106 Coral, 916 Ferret, 279 Cormorant, . . 644 Fieldfare, 537 Corn-crake, 641 Fireflare, 724 Cow, . . '. ".' 54 Fish, 707 Crab, 796 Flamingo, . 625 Crane, . 609 Flounder, 776 Crocodile, . 824 Flying fish, 789 Crossbill, . 548 Fox, 267 Crow, 479, Rook, 480, Foumart, 280 Hooded Crow, 487 Frogs, 815 Crustaeeous Animals, 794 Fury, 911 Cuckoo, . 505 Curlew, . . 628 G Ganet, 646 D Gazelle, . 91 Dace, . . . 791 Giraffe, 390 Deer, 97 Glutton, 282 Dodo, 419 Goat, 83 Dog, . 214 Goatsucker, 599 Dolphin, . % r. 696 Goldfinch, 582 Doree Fish, 744 Gold-fish, . ' ,;.,' 792 Dormouse, 296 Goose, . 665, 667 Doterel, 640 Goshawk, 436 Douroucouli, 347 Grampus, 704 Dove, . 524 Grebre, . . 641 CONTENTS. FACIE PAGE ANECDOTES OF THE ANECDOTES OF THE Greenfinch, ~ v 548 Jer Falcon, " *-' 433 Grossbeak, ". : . . 549 Grouse, . ^Jjj? 465 K Guariba, . 346 Kangaroo, ',' ^V* 1 353 Gudgeon, 731 Kestrel, . . ' 434 Guillemot, . 660 Kingfisher, . 4 91 684 Guinea Hen, 463 Kite, . . 439 Gull, 650, 652 Gurnards, 742 L Gymnotus, . 763 Lamprey, 725 Land-rail, . . 641 II Lapwing, "...: 'j, 01 637 Haddock, . 772 Lark, 562 Hair-worm, . 912 Leopard, . .t **?'* 203 Hake, 774 Ling, . ii 7fu,off. poor uxiavoio Ev $i leap'no^yfffi af&v/ttava ttti^afiv hi, Ton pa, Ttar Htriava; fXwv .at Tguav J n i vfa^tt vnucri, yi(> lofjiitou 6tov wriaffctvra *. r. X. 'Ivsfoi S' et^t ytgan vexXuSff ay; igttnus, Q^IIXIOI' TvS ffQiv amxr' ayatos ^taftr^m E*rav. it. x. 544. Say, thou whose praises all our host proclaim, Thou living glory of the Grecian name ; Say whence these coursers, by what chance bestowed, The spoil of foes, or present of a god ? Not those fair steeds so radiant and so gay, That draw the burning chariot of the day; Old as I am, to age I scorn to yield, And daily mingle in the martial field.; But sure till now no coursers struck my sight, Like these, conspicuous through the ranks of fight ; Some god, I deem, conferr'd the glorious prize, Blest as ye are aud fav'rites of the skies, &c. Father, not so, sage Ithacus rejoined, The gifts of heaven are of a nobler kind; Of Thracian lineage are the steeds ye view, Whose hostile king the brave Tydides slew. POPE. The horse we thus find employed in the chariot in the earliest war which has been minutely recorded. But it was also soon broken so as to bear a rider, and the fable of the centaur, an animal half man, half horse, represents the idea which was formed by the ignorant witnesses of a man on horseback. The natives of America formed the same conclusion when viewing the equestrian exercises of the Spaniards. Of all the nations of antiquity, the Parthians are the most commonly celebrated for their superior skill in the management of the horse. They cultivated with great attention the breed which was noted for the lightness of the colour of the eyes, and for having the one eye generally differing from the other. The horse was trained to obey the slightest motions of the rein, and THE HORSE. 7 to change with the utmost rapidity from one direction to another. They were naturally hardy and enduring, and accustomed to perform long journeys without any nourishment. The horsemen possessed a corresponding dexterity, and could discharge their arrows with great precision in the face of a pursuing enemy, either retaining the usual posture, or rapidly turning round in the saddle during the hottest pursuit. It is on this account that the danger to his pursuer of a Parthian flight has become proverbial ; and the nation long maintained its independence, annihilated the army of Crassus, and was formidable to the Romans in the days of Augustus. As the Parthians employed the horse in war, so the licentious Sybarites associated it with their pleasures ; and as it long pre- served the honour of the one nation, so it is said to have been instrumental in the destruction of the other. The Sybarites taught their horses to dance to the sound of pipes, and intro- duced them as an amusement at their common feasts. The Sybarites engaged in a contest with the inhabitants of Cretona, and their horses were called to the unusual duties of war. The Cretonians had recourse to a curious stratagem. At the moment of attack, they caused a number of minstrels to sound those strains to which the horses had been accustomed to dance. These mechanically commenced their wonted evolutions and frolics, which being little accommodated to war, the Sybarites were thrown into inextricable confusion, were subdued, and annihilated. Among the wandering tribes of the predatory nations of antiquity, the services of the horse were indispensable. These lived in the open air, subsisting on the coarsest food, perform- ing long journeys through uncultivated or hostile countries, generally on horseback their wives and children followed in waggons dragged by horses. They seldom dismounted, but eat and slept on horseback. The horse was still farther serviceable to the barbarous Sarmatians ; they eat its flesh and drank its blood mixed with the milk of sheep. Yet these horses were carefully reared, of an excellent breed, and, as Pliny says, capable of performing a journey of one hundred and fifty miles on a stretch. But though the ancients were not defective in their care of the horse, nor in admiration of its qualities, it is in modern times 8 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. that we are to expect the greatest cultivation of its various ex- cellences, as well as the best accounts of its achievements. Still it is to be found in great perfection, and certainly in its most honoured relation to man, in the deserts of Arabia. The Ara- bian horse is a hardy animal, and left exposed, says Chateau- briand, to the most intense heat of the sun, tied by the four legs to stakes set in the ground, and refreshed generally only once in the twenty-four hours. Yet, continues the same writer, release his legs from the shackles, spring upon his back, and he will paw in the valley ; he will rejoice in his strength ; he will swallow the ground in the fierceness of his rage, and you recog- nise the original picture of Job. Between this animal and his master a strong affection exists. Nor is it wonderful, when we consider that the horse is the support and comfort of the Arabian, his companion through many a dreary day and night, enduring hunger and thirst in his service. From their constant community, a kind of sociality of feeling exists between them. The terms in which he addresses his horse are thus given by Clarke : " Ibrahim "went frequently to Rama to inquire news of the mare whom he dearly loved ; he would embrace her, wipe her eyes with bis handkerchief, would rub her with his shirt sleeves, would give her a thousand benedictions during whole hours that he would remain talking to her. ' My eyes ! my soul ! my heart ! ' he would say, ' must I be so unfortunate as to have thee sold to so many masters, and not keep thee myself? I am poor, my antelope ! I brought thee up in my dwelling as a child ; I did never beat nor chide thee ." But the poverty of the Arabs, and the desire of fo- reigners to possess their horses frequently compel them to do what they so much deprecate, to sell their horse. A horse he may be tempted by a large sum to part with, but to sell a mare is a heart-rending trial to an Arab. " When the envoy," says Sir John Malcolm, " was encamped near Bagdad, an AraDrode a bright bay mare, of extraordinary shape and beauty, before his tent until he attracted his attention. On being asked if he would sell her, ' What will you give me ? ' was the reply. ' That depends upon her age ; I suppose she is past five ? ' ' Guess again," said he. ' Four ? ' ' Look at her mouth,' said the Arab with a smile. On examination she was found to be rising three. This, from her size and symmetry, greatly enhanced her THE HORSE. 9 value. The envoy said, I will give you fifty ' tomans," (a coin nearly of the value of a pound sterling.) ' A little more, if you please,' said the fellow, a little entertained, 'eighty a hundred.' He shook his head and smiled. The officer at last came to two hundred tomans. ' Well,' said the Arab, ' you need not tempt me farther. You are a rich elchee (nobleman) ; you have fine horses, camels, and mules, and I am told you have loads of sil- ver and gold. Now,' added he, ' you want my mare, but you shall not have her for all you have got.' " But their regard for the mare can do more than conquer the love of gold. An Arab sheick eloped with the daughter of a neighbouring chief, and though hotly pursued, both effected their escape upon a mare which they stole from the lady's father. The father, on his re- turn from the pursuit, finding that the lover had stolen one ob- ject of his affection to carry off another, was flattered to think that he had not been beaten by a mare of another breed, and be- came easily reconciled to the young man, that he might recover the mare, which appeared an object about which he was more so- licitous than his daughter. Nor does the Arabian horse fail to repay the attachment of his master. His horse not only flies with him over the desert, but when he lies down to sleep, the faithful animal will browse on such herbage as is near the spot ; will watch its master with solicitude ; and, if a man or animal approaches, will neigh loudly till he is awakened. " When I was at Jerusalem," says Chateaubriand, " the feats of one of these steeds made a great noise. The Bedouin to whom the animal, a mare, belonged, being pursued by the governor's guards, rushed with him from the top of the hills that overlooked Jericho. The mare scoured at full gallop down an almost perpendicular declivity without stumbling, and left the soldiers lost in admiration and astonish- ment. The poor creature, however, dropped down dead on en- tering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her, was taken, weeping over the body of his faithful companion. AH Aga religiously showed me, in the mountains near Jericho, the footsteps of the mare that died in the attempt to save her master ! " The Arabians are curious in the pedigree of their horses, and even celebrate the union of those of noble extraction by a sort of marriage ceremony, which is publicly announced. Unless this 10 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. formality Las been observed, the colt is termed Kadischi, or " of an unknown race." They can thus trace the pedigree some hun- dreds of years back to a celebrated ancestor. But of all the races, the Kohlan is the most distinguished both for beauty of form and docility of disposition. Many wonderful anecdotes are told of its intelligence: "The Kohlan," says Count Rzeiousky, " knows when he is sold, or even when his master is bargaining to sell him. While the purchase is making, he soon guesses what is going on, becomes restless, gives from his beautiful eye a side glance at the interlocutors, scrapes the ground with his foot, and plainly shows his discontent Neither the buyer nor any other dares to come near him ; but the bargain being struck, when the vender taking the Kohlan by the halter, gives him up to the purchaser with a slice of bread and some salt, and turns away never to look at him as his own an ancient custom of taking leave of a horse it is then that this generous and noble animal becomes tractable, mild and faithful to another, and proves himself immediately attached to him whom his passion a few minutes before, might have laid at his feet and trampled under his hoof. This is not an idle story ; I have been a wit- ness of, and an actor in the interesting scene." Nor will this story seem improbable when we consider that of Kosciusko's horse. That general having sent a young .man of the name of Zeltuer on a message to Solothurn, the youth declared on his return, that he would never ride his horse again, unless he gave him his purse at the same time. Kosciusko asking what he meant, he answered, " As soon as a poor man on the road takes off his hat, and asks for charity, the horse immediately stands still, and will not stir till something is given to the petitioner, and, as I had no money about me, I was obliged to make a mo- tion as if I were giving something in order to satisfy the horse." Both anecdotes show how observant the horse is of the actions of its master, something also like sympathy with his feelings and interests. The importation of the Arabian breed into England has be- come intimately connected with the annals of our horse races, Some of the horses first brought from Arabia having been by no means celebrated, the breed had fallen into disrepute till the descendants of one procured by Mr Darley from the deserts, and on that account called the Darley Arabian, having borne THE HORSE. away the palm for fleetness from all others, turned the tide of fashion in favour of that breed. Yet it is only the progeny of the Arabian horses that excels. The English race-horses are equal, if not superior, to all other coursers. As the extraordinary swiftness of the horse has been most sig- nally displayed in the English race-course, and can also be there most precisely measured, we cannot omit the notice of some of the most remarkable of our racers. The most celebrated of these and indeed the fleetest horse that ever was bred in the world was Flying Childers, got by the Darley Arabian. What Achilles was among warriors, and Cassar among conquerors, such was Childers among horses, without an equal and without a rival. He ran against the most famous horses of his age, and was always victorious. He has been known to move at the rate of nearly a mile in the minute. Next to Childers, in fame and fleetness, is Eclipse, so called from having been foaled during the great eclipse of 1764. This horse likewise was never beaten : one contemporary rival alone was supposed to exist, Mr Shaf- toe's horse Goldfinder, but Goldfinder broke down the October before the proposed competition. Eclipse's rate of going was 47 feet in the second. Childers had a rate of 49. One hun- dred to one were offered on Eclipse against the most famous racers of his day. Mr O'Kelly purchased him for sixteen hun- dred and fifty guineas, and cleared by him twenty-five thousand pounds. He had a vast stride, never horse threw his haunches below him with more vigour or effect ; and his hind legs were so spread in his gallop, that a wheelbarrow might have been driven between them. King Herod, another famous horse, which was generally though not like Eclipse uniformly successful, is chiefly celebrated for his progeny ; his immediate descendants having gained to their owners above two hundred thousand pounds. The passion of the English for horse-racing is evident in the large sums which often depend on a single race. Of these races, which may be styled national, since they monopolize the atten- tion of the whole sporting body, the chief in modern times were the match over the Beacon-course at Newmarket between Laburnum and Flea-catcher ; and, about twenty years after- wards, that between Hambletonian and Diamond. The sums sported on these races were immense ; the bettings seemed to mix with all the transactions of life, and a man might have found 12 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. a bettor from five guineas to five hundred upon the Royal, and more especially on the Corn-Exchange, with equal facility as at the clubs in St James', at Medley's, or at Newmarket. We cannot, however, estimate the horse's powers of running from such matches only, where the speed, though it be indeed extraordinary, yet is necessarily exerted only for a brief time. We must take into consideration also his power of continuing for a very long time at a rapidity of pace, which, though not equal certainly to that displayed in the course, yet may well satisfy the expectations and excite the admiration of man. The horse particularly adapted for uniting swiftness with perseverance, is termed the hackney or roadster, distinguished for depth of shoulder, straightness of back, and strength of loins, in addition to which qualities, the experienced judge will look for strong fore-legs, the legs rather short than otherwise, the bones beneath the knee deep and flat, with the tendon not much tightened in, the foot pointing straight forward, lifting pretty high and coming flat down on the whole sole at once. Such a horse has been known to trot nine miles in half an hour, and sixteen miles in an hour. On the 25th July, 1793, Mr Crockett's gray mare trotted one hundred miles in twelve hours, but though the animal was not overcome, the person who rode her was so fatigued, that for the last ten miles he was obliged to be held on his saddle by two men. But the most extraordinary trotter on record, was a mare named Phenomena, bred by Sir Edward Astley in Norfolk. This mare was matched by her owner to trot seventeen miles in an hour, a feat till that time unheard of. She accom- plished this with ease on another occasion within 53 minutes, and Mr Robson her owner, offered at high odds to trot her nineteen miles and a half in an hour. So reduced was this animal from its excessive exertions, and so small is human estimation of fallen greatness, that she was sold in 1810 for seven pounds ; yet she seems to have recovered her vigour, for in the year after, and when she was twenty-three years of age, she trotted nine miles in twenty-eight minutes and a half, and gained four matches in one day. Sometimes indeed, the expedition of the horse has been so great, as from its incredibil- ity to form a presumption against very strong evidence. At four o'clock in the morning, a gentleman was robbed at Gadshill, on the west side of Chatham, by a highwayman named Nicks, THE HORSE. 13 who rode a bay mare. Nicks set off instantly for Gravesend, where he was detained nearly an hour by the difficulty of getting a boat, an interval which he employed to advantage in baiting his horse. From thence he got to Essex and Chelmsford, where he again stopped about half an hour to refresh his horse. He then went to Baintree, Bocking, Westerfield, and over the Downs to Cambridge, and still pursuing the cross roads, he went by Fenney and Stratford to Huntingdon, where he again rested about half an hour. Proceeding now on the north road, and at full gallop most of the way, he arrived at York the same after- noon, put off his boots and riding clothes, and went dressed to the bowling-green, where, among other promenaders, happened to be the Lord Mayor of the city. He there studied to do something particular, that his lordship might remember him, and asking what o'clock it was, the mayor informed him that it was a quarter past eight. Upon prosecution for the robbery, the whole safety of the prisoner rested upon this point. The gentleman swore positively to the time and place, but, on the other hand, the proof was equally clear of his being at York at the time specified. The jury acquitted him on the supposed impossibility, of his having got so great a distance from Kent by the time he was seen in the bowling-green. Yet he had been the highwayman. Nor is the expedition of the horse confined to those of a large size and robust make. A Shetland pony, eleven hands high, ran from Norwich to Yarmouth and back again, that is forty-four miles, in three hours and forty-five minutes ; and a Galloway nag went from London to Exeter along with the mail, performing a distance of one hundred and seventy-two miles, at the average rate of nine miles an hour. These are feats which we would be sorry to see repeated. Let it suffice that they have been accomplished, and let the fact, that the horse has so exerted itself in obedience to the will of man, save it from efforts which must be ruinous to the animal that undergoes them. The English are too prone to urge to its maximum the exertion of the horse's powers, but their horses are not alone in the power of uniting remarkable swiftness with great endurance of fatigue. " I ascertained," says Sir John Malcolm, " that those small parties of Toorkomans, who ventured several hundred miles into Persia, used both to advance and retreat at the average of nearly one hundred miles a-day. They train B H ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. their horses for these expeditions as we should do for a race, and describe him when in a condition for a foray by saying that his flesh is marble. They expected success from the suddenness of their attack, and the uncommon activity and strength of the horses on which they rode. Their sole object was plunder, and when they arrived at an unprotected village, the youth of both sexes were seized, tied on led horses, and hurried away into a distant captivity, with a speed which generally baffled all pursuit. When I was in Persia, in 1800, a horseman mounted upon a Toorkoman horse, brought a packet of letters from Shiraz to Teherary, which is a distance of five hundred miles, within six days." Of the strength of the horse examples are daily seen, which only fail to excite our wonder on account of their frequency. It is well known what heavy loads he will bear upon his back, but it is in the draught that his strength is put most fairly to the test. A remarkable instance of the power of a horse, when assisted by art, was shown near Croydon, on the Surrey iron railway. A horse started, dragging twelve waggons, each with their burdens weighing about three tons, and at each of four successive pauses, four additional waggons were added to the train. The whole weight thus dragged was above fifty-five tons, and the horse proceeded at the rate of nearly four miles an hour for six miles. In this case, however, we have to admire not only the strength of the horse, but the facility which the railway gives to its exercise. In the exertions -of the coach-horse, we are presented with the results of the union of swiftness and strength. To drag at a rapid pace is much more laborious than at a slow one, for the weight which in the latter case the horse is enabled by the force of his muscles to throw into the collar, is in the latter expended in the act of trotting or walking. Yet notwithstanding this, many extraordinary instances of the swiftness of the coach-horse are on record. In 1750, the Earl of March and Lord Egliriton provided a four-wheel carriage, with a man in it, drawn by four horses nineteen miles, in the space of fifty-three minutes and a half. Mr Giles of Leadenhall-market drove his mare, called the Maid of the Mill, twenty-eight miles on Sunbury Common, in an hour and fifty-eight minutes the mare never throughout her performance attempting to break from a trot. The fame THK HORSE. 15 of the exploit reached the continent, and a gentleman from the Netherlands purchased the mare. For the purpose of leaping, that kind of horse called the Hun- ter, is the best adapted. He should be not less than fifteen hands in height, with a lofty forehand, light head and neck? large thin shoulders, deep chest, and above all, should possess firmness of joint, with legs and pastenis rather short. A hun- ter so qualified has been known to leap over a bar three feet six inches high, taking the leap at the distance of seventeen feet seven inches from it, and covering nine yards and eight inches of ground. Mr Cunningham of Craigends leaped on horseback over the canal between Glasgow and Paisley, a breadth of ele- ven feet, the horse clearing altogether fifteen feet. Some of the most extraordinary leaps, however, have been made by the horse when it overcame the control of man. Some years ago, a fine Arabian horse disengaged himself at Greenock from the groom who had charge of him ; ran with precipitation towards the dry dock, and, unable to restrain himself when he came to the edge, leaped down, and lighted on all fours on the flags which covered the bottom, and, after trotting about for a while, thirty-four feet below the level of the ground, mounted to the top by the very steep stairs that surround the dock. A gentleman's servant who was riding to the post-office on a hackney that had never till that day been known to leap, received behind him a glazier. No sooner was the latter mounted than the horse, alarmed at the rattling of the crates of glass, started at full speed, and coming to the lodge gate, which was five feet six inches high, and spiked at the top, he cleared it all at one stroke, without any injury to his riders, or even to the glass. In 1793, a young gentleman riding between Ravenglass and Whitehaven, on a spirited blood horse, passed a chaise which caused the animal to take fright. It bolted off at full gallop, and coming upon Egremont bridge, (the middle of the battlements of which presents nearly a right angle to the entrance upon it,) was going with such fury, that, unable to retrieve himself, he leaped sidelong upon the battle- ments, which are upwards of four feet high. The rider seeing it impossible to recover his horse, and the improbability of sav- ing either of their lives had he floundered over head foremost, had presence of mind to strike him on both sides with his spurs, and force him to take a clear leap. Owing to this precaution 8 16 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. he alighted upon his feet, and the rider firmly kept his seat till reaching the bottom he leaped off. When we consider the height of the bridge, which has been accurately ascertained to be up- wards of twenty feet and a-half to the top of the battlements, and that there was not one foot depth of water in the bed of the river where they alighted, it is really wonderful that they were not both struck dead on the spot. Yet neither the horse nor the man were disabled from immediately pursuing their journey. " I will tell one more history of a horse," says Lord Herbert, and we quote his own words, " which I bought of my cousin Fowler, of the Grange, because it is memorable. I was passing over a bridge, not far from Colebrook, which had no barrier on the one side, and a hole in the bridge not far from the middle J My horse, though lusty, yet being very timorous, and seeing besides but very little in the right eye, started so much at the hole, that, upon a sudden, he had put half his body lengthwise over the side of the bridge, and was ready to fall into the river with his fore-feet and hinder-foot on the right side, when I, fore- seeing the danger I was in if I fell down, clapped my left foot, to- gether with the stirrup and spur, flat-length the left side, and so made him leap upon all-fours into the river, where, after some three or four plunges, he brought me to land." The horse is an inconvenient inmate in a ship, and has no liking to employ his powers in swimming. The wide extended field and the solid earth alone give scope to the exercise of his energies. On some occasions it has been found very difficult to overcome the opposition of a horse to go on board a ship, and he rejoices at the termination of a voyage. He sometimes even anticipates the entrance of the ship into the harbour. When Ducrow's equestrian company was approaching the stone pier at Newhaven, two of the horses getting a glimpse of the green shore, became impatient of their situation, and so desirous of the land, that they leaped overboard and made towards it. The groom instantly sprung after them, and kept swimming beside them, guiding and cheering them in their progress. When they got out of the water, they, by snorting and various kinds of gambols, expressed their high satisfaction at being restored to their natural fields. Yet the horse is well-gifted with the power of swimming, and whole regiments of cavalry have often thus crossed broad rivers. Very extraordinary feats of the horse in THE HORSE. 17 swimming are on record. We shall mention only two: The first is related in a letter from Kingston, as having been achieved by a horse which, as well as other live stock, was thrown, iu a stress of weather, out of a vessel from America. The horse, which was of a white colour, of great strength and agility, after his companions had sunk, continued to contend with the waves, and, having kept company with the vessel through a heavy sea for two days, was then taken on board and brought safe and well into port. The second is related by M. De Pages in his travels round the world. " I should have found it difficult," he says, " to give it credit had it not happened at this place (the Cape of Good Hope) the evening before my arrival ; and if, besides the public notoriety of the fact, I had not been an eyewitness of those vehement emotions of sympathy, blended with admira- tion, which it had justly excited in the mind of every individual at the Cape. A violent gale of wind setting in from north and north west, a vessel in the road dragged her anchors, was forced on the rocks and bulged ; and, while the greater part of the crew fell an immediate sacrifice to the waves, the remainder were seen from the shore struggling for their lives, by clinging to the different pieces of the wreck. The sea ran dreadfully high, and broke over the sailors with such amazing fury, that no boat whatever could venture off to their assistance. Meanwhile a planter, considerably advanced in life, had come from his farm to be a spectator of the shipwreck ; his heart was melted at the sight of the unhappy seamen, and knowing the bold and enter- prising spirit of his horse, and his particular excellence as a swimmer, he instantly determined to make a desperate effort for their deliverance. He alighted and blew a little brandy into his horse's nostrils, and again seating himself in the saddle, he instantly pushed into the midst of the breakers. At first both disappeared, but it was not long before they floated on the sur- face, and swam up to the wreck ; when taking with him two men, each of whom held by one of his boots, he brought them safe to shore. This perilous expedition he repeated no seldomer than seven times, and saved fourteen lives ; but, on his return the eighth time, his horse being much fatigued, and meeting a most formidable wave, he lost his balance and was overwhelmed in a moment. The horse swam safely to land, but his gallant rider was no more ! " Sparrman relates the same story with B3 18 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. some diversity of circumstances. The ship that was lost, he says, was Dutch, named the Jong Theomas, and the brave in- dividual who saved the people, was Voltemad, one of the keepers of the Company's menageries. The East India directors in Holland honoured his memory by calling one of the new-built ships after his name, and causing the whole incident to be painted on the stern. But the order to provide for his posterity was neglected, for his son, a young corporal, who had been witness of the affecting disaster, could not obtain even the sit- uation left vacant by the heroic death of his father. The foregoing anecdotes show to a great extent the various capabilities of the horse, its strength, its fleetness, and its per- severance. But, by the exertions of man in training him, its docility and affectionate qualities have been made still more evident. The different shapes of the various breeds of horses naturally mark them out for different employments, but the horse seems to enter into the spirit of all his occupations, and, whether in the field of war, or dragging the peaceful plough ; whether in the carriage, the course, or the gin, he wonderfully accommodates himself to what is expected of him, and to the re- quisite manner of life. A horse has resided for the last ten years upon the upper floor of the Leith and Berwick wharf, London, without having once touched the ground since his elevation. His duty has consisted in working the discharging crane of the Ber- wick smacks ; and although in this manner he has contrived to walk upon a fair average computation nearly ten miles a-day, he has never been more than thirty feet from his manger. As might be expected from so long an apprenticeship, he does not now require much attention, but, on the contrary, performs his duty with a great deal of intelligence. When the weight he is raising reaches the desired height, it is transferred from the machinery to the keeping of a friction roller, by means of a rope and pulley from below; the horse then quietly waits till the noise of the clutch thrown back, when the end of the chain has again reached the ship's hold, tells him his shoulders are again wanted. One thing may be asserted, that he has raised more grain than any other individual in the same number of summers, and, at the same time, seen less of what he was about. He appears to have been a hunter in his younger days, which renders it likely that he has seen something of the world before he was THE HORSE. 19 removed to his present habitation ; it would therefore be not a little interesting to watch how far memory would serve him, should he ever visit the world of his youth. Such instances show how readily the spirit of the horse accommodates itself to circumstances. Yet the breaking of horses is a task that requires not a little skill and delicacy. They have different dispositions ; some are timid, some courageous, they are to be found intelligent or stupid, playful and generous, and a few untameably furious or incurably vicious. Of this last disposi- tion, it is probable that not a few of the instances have been caused by the cruelty or ungenerous treatment of the person who first attempts to break them. The spaniel will lick the hand that beats it, but the horse must be won by kindness. In Arabia, where the horse is to be found in its most intelligent, mild, and docile state, it is also best treated. It is not there trained by grooms and servants, among whom our horses often acquire vicious tricks, but by the owner himself. After the first trial, in which indeed the Arabian will sometimes ride on a young steed a hundred miles over the burning sand, it is never whipped, but domesticated and treated like a companion, and the Arabian horse is found the most docile and affectionate of animals. There is required in the horse-trainer, however, besides mildness and patience of temper, a proper command over the animal, which can only be acquired by familiarity with its habits. It is very certain that a horse speedily understands whether his rider has been accustomed to that exercise, or whether he be raw and inexperienced, and that in the latter case he will some- times endeavour to throw the individual who is incapable of retaining a powerful command over his energies. There is a sort of authority over the horse which some possess, and which does not depend on cruelty or severity, but on a particular adaptation of the energies of the mind strengthened by confidence and the results of experience. These remarks furnish the only explanation which we can give of the Horse-whisperer, whose feats in reducing the most incorrigible horses to obedience, have drawn the attention of some individuals of great eminence. The facts are recorded in Townsend's Survey of the County of Cork, and independent of the fame which they have caused, they are credible on the report of this gentleman, who states himself 20 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. to have been an eye-witness of the transactions which we now quote. " James Sullivan," he says, " was a native of the county of Cork, and an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class, generally known by the appellation of the whisperer, and his profession was horse-breaking. The credulity of the vulgar bestowed that epithet upon him, from an opinion that he com- municated his wishes to the animal by means of a whisper ; and the singularity of his method gave some colour to the superstitious belief. As far as the sphere of his control extended, the boast of veni, vidi, vici, was more justly claimed by James Sullivan than by Caesar or even Buonaparte himself. How his art was acquired, or in what it consisted, is likely to remain for ever unknown, as he has lately left the world without divulging it. His son, who follows the same occupation, possesses but a small portion of the art, having either never learned its true secret, or being incapable of putting it in practice. The wonder of his skill consisted in the short time requisite to accomplish his design, which was performed in private, and without any apparent means of coercion. Every description of horse or even mule, whether previously broke or unhandled, whatever their peculiarities or ill habits might have been, submitted without show of resistance to the magical influence of his art, and in the short space of half an hour became gentle and trac- table. Tke effect, though instantaneously produced, was generally durable. Though more submissive to him than to others, they seemed to have acquired a docility unknown before. When sent for to tame a vicious horse, he directed the stable in which he and the object of his experiment were placed to be shut, with orders not to open the door until a signal given. After a tete-a- tete between him and the horse for about half an hour, during which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made ; and upon opening the door, the horse was seen lying down, and the man by his side playing familiarly with him like a child with a puppy dog. From that time he was found perfectly willing to submit to discipline, however repugnant to his nature before. I once saw his skill tried on a horse, which could never before be brought to stand for a ijrnith to shoe him. The day after Sullivan's half-hour lecture, I went not without incredulity to the smith's shop, with many other curious spectators, where we were eye-witnesses of the complete success of his art. This THE HORSE. 2? too had been a troop horse ; and it was supposed, not without reason, that after regimental discipline had tailed, no other would be found availing. I observed that the animal seemed afraid whenever Sullivan either spoke or looked at him. How that extraordinary ascendancy could have been obtained it is difficult to conjecture. In common cases this mysterious pre- paration was unnecessary. He seemed to possess an instinctive power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of natural intrepidi- ty, in which I believe, a great part of his art consisted ; though the circumstance of the tete-a-te'te shows that upon particular occasions, something more must have been added to it. A fa- culty like this would in other hands have made a fortune, and great offers were made to him for the exercise of his art abroad ; but hunting, and attachment to his native soil, were his ruling passions. He lived at home in the style most agreeable to his disposition, and nothing could induce him to quit Dunballow and the fox-hounds." Although the usual character of the horse be submission and docility, yet it cannot be denied that there are many which would require some such power as that of the Whisperer to re- duce them to tractability, and failing such means, are, to a great degree, irreclaimable. Nay, sometimes, whether that the animal has been originally vicious, and his propensities have been only suppressed, not overcome, or whether he has been trained amiss, or that he is peculiarly sensible of injuries, and seeks a time for revenging them, a horse has been known, though usually tame, to break forth into acts of much ferocity. The following inci- dent presents us with a case of fatal revenge, or an assertion of a dignity not to be trifled with : A person who resided near Boston, in America, was in the habit whenever he wished to catch his horse while it was grazing in the field, of presenting it with a quantity of corn in a measure. When called on, the horse would come up and eat the corn, thus affording to his master an opportunity of putting the bridle over his head. But the owner having deceived the animal several times, by calling on him when he had no corn in the measure, which he held out as if it were full, the horse began to suspect his design, and coming up one day as usual on being called, he looked into the measure, and perceiving it empty, turned round, reared on his hind legs, and killed his master on the spot. Sometimes the horse seems 22 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. to be actuated by a feeling of deep revenge. In 1734, the horse of a nobleman in Ireland ran at a man, seized him with his teeth by the arm, which he broke, then threw him down and lay upon him, so that every effort to get him off proving unavailing, they were forced to shoot him. The reason assigned for this ferocity was that he had been castrated by this man some time before, an injury which the animal seems to have remembered. The fol- lowing incident might be adduced as an instance of injudicious frolicsomeness in the horse, did not the suspicious manner in which it occurred point it out as a singular case not merely of fierceness which the horse sometimes possesses, but of a desire to commit injury, which is not the quality of the animal even in its state of wild nature. On a farm in the parish of Fintry, well known for the superior breed of its lambs, the shepherd was astonished and grieved to observe a gradual diminution in the number of his flock. On his way to the hills in the morning the dead bodies were found strewed in various directions, and what greatly added to his surprise was, that they were quite entire, which clearly proved that the work of destruction could not be imputed to the fox or eagle, as these animals are never known to destroy except for the purpose of allaying their hunger. The faithful dog was consequently suspected as the depredator, and the shepherd lay in wait to watch its motions ; but he was astonished to see the real cause of his misfortunes appear in the shape of a young colt, which cautiously approaching a group of lambs that were sporting on a neighbouring knoll, sprung among them, and seizing one of the innocents by the throat, would very soon, but for the interference of the shepherd, have added it to the number of the victims to its uncommon disposition. More frequently, however, the horse is distinguished by the remarkable extent to which the docility that is his common char- acteristic has been carried. The labour and ingenuity expended by public performers, to teach the horse feats of agility and imi- tation have been abundantly rewarded ; and the intelligent actions of the horse, performed in accordance to the wishes of his mas- ter, have often furnished a very popular and agreeable spectacle. A horse called Morocco, trained by one Banks, was famous in the days of our early dramatists, and is alluded to by some ot them. It is told of him that he would restore a glove to its owner on his master's whispering the person's name into his ear ; that THE HORSE. 23 he could dance to the sound of a pipe, tell the number of pence in a silver coin, and count money with his feet. Of his master, Sir Walter Raleigh says, " that had Banks lived in olden times, he would have shamed all the enchanters in the world ; for who- soever was most famous among them could never master or in- struct any beast as he did his horse." To this horse Shakspeare is supposed to allude in the following speech : " How easy it is to put years to the word three, and study three years in two words, the dancing horse will tell you !" * The most cele- brated performer of equestrian feats in our times, Mr Ducrow, of Astley's Amphitheatre, has also exhibited to the public a corresponding dexterity and alacrity in the horse. Some of his horses have been taught to carry their riders through the evo- lutions of a dance, changing partners with the utmost propriety, in all respects obeying the music, and bowing to the spectators in token of gratitude for the applause which they received. One in particular was taught to act the Bucephalus of Alexander, to exhibit all the frowardness and tricks of a vicious and irreclaimable horse, and, at the proper time, to become submissive and affec- tionate to the representative of the Macedonian hero. In the same Amphitheatre many instances of the extreme docility of the horse have been exhibited. In the entertainment of the u Blood-red Knight," one was introduced that mimicked death so complete- ly, that he suffered himself to be handled and examined without exhibiting the least signs of voluntary motion, or any symptoms of life or feeling. Mr Astley, junior, of the same Theatre, had in his possession a Barbary horse, forty-three years old, which had been presented to him by the Duke of Leeds. This ani- mal for several years officiated in the character of a waiter in the course of the performances. He brought in the tea-table and its appendages, with the requisite chairs, and finished his achieve- ments by taking a kettle of boiling water from a blazing fire. The same animal would ungirth his own saddle, and wash his feet in a pail of water. When, from old age, he died, his hide was made into a thunder-drum, which, to this day, stands on the prompter's side of the theatre. Another instance may suffice to give an idea of such feats of the horse, which may be, indeed, frequently witnessed. It is mentioned by M. le Gendre, as having been exhibited at the fair of St Germain in 1732, by a * Love's Labour Lost, Act I. Scene II. 24 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. small horse six years old. Among other tricks which this animal performed with great precision, he could specify by striking his foot so many times on the ground the number of spots upon a card which any person present had drawn out of a pack. He could also tell, in a similar manner, the hour and minute to which the hands of a watch pointed. His master collected from several persons present different pieces of money, and threw them pro- miscuously into a handkerchief; the horse restored with his mouth to each his own piece. But besides such feats as these, which must have been the result of long training and much art on the part of the master the horse has frequently and unexpectedly discovered, by singu- lar actions, the natural sagacity that belongs to him. These may be arranged under two heads, according as they discover the exercise of memory united with sagacity, or as they evidence something more, an instinct or an intelligence accommodating itself to the circumstances and wishes of the animal. That the horse remembers the scenes and transactions of past times, is proved from every day's experience. It enters familiarly into its usual abode ; inclines to stop at its ordinary halting-place ; prefers a journey which it has formerly taken, and falls readily into an occupation to which it has been accustomed. It seeks the fields in which it has formerly pastured, and has been known long afterwards to repair to the scenes of its earlier days. A horse belonging to a gentleman of Taunton strayed from a field at Corfe, three miles distant from thence. After a long and troublesome search, he was discovered on a farm at Brans- combe, in Devon, a distance of twenty-three miles, being the place where he was foaled, although it is certain that the animal had not been there for ten years, during the whole of which time he had been in the possession of the gentleman who then owned him. Five years after a Highland pony, reared upon Drumchany, belonging to General Stewart of Garth, had been brought to Edinburgh, Sir Patrick Walker rode him to Perth- shire, in company with several gentlemen. " We were ad- vancing," says he, " in the direction of Drumchany, when it was proposed that a trial should be made of the pony's memory. The evening being considerably advanced, and darkness rapidly approaching, we were desirous of taking a ford which led di- rectly to Drumchany, but were uncertain of the precise place, THE HOKSE. g5 although we knew it could not be far off. My pony was, there- fore, allowed to take the lead, and advanced cheerily, till sud- denly pausing, and turning quickly to the right, he trotted down a furrow, through a potato-field, that led directly to the ford in question, which he crossed in the same decided manner, and piloted the rest of the way to Drumchany. During my stay there, I may add, that the pony got out of the stable one night, and was found next day pasturing among the mosses where he had been bred," The horse, however, not only remembers the earliest scenes of its existence, but also those where it has been treated with kindness, or received benefits. A cart horse, belonging to Mr Leggat, Gallowgate, Glasgow, had been several times afflicted with the botts, and as often cured by Mr Downie, a farrier, near that street. After a considerable interval, the disorder re- turned while the animal was employed in College-street, a dis- tance of nearly a mile from Mr Downie's workshop. When seized with the disease he was arranged in a row with other horses engaged in the same work, and the carters being absent, he left the other carts, and, unattended by any driver, went down the High-street, along Gallowgate-street, and up a nar- row lane, and did not stop till he reached the farrier's door. Be- ing unaccompanied, it was surmised that he had been seized with his old complaint. When unyoked he lay down, and showed by every means of which he was capable, that he was in distress. He was again treated as usual and sent home to his owner. In the following case the horse discovering the same sagacity was not so well rewarded. A horse, whose stable was situated about a quarter of a mile from Dundee, had been for some years regu- larly shoed by Mr Gow, and had also undergone several opera- tions by him as veterinary surgeon. Years, however, had inca- pacitated the animal from executing his wonted tasks ; but his master, grateful for past services, had humanely tended him in the winter, in the hopes that spring might bring fresh vigour to his aged limbs. Some time after, Mr Gow and his workmen were astonished by a visit of their old customer without any attendant. The afflicted brute stood before his former benefac- tor and commenced licking and biting his own sides, accom- panying the action with a low moaning as indicative of some se- vere internal commotion. Unfortunately, however, his dumb c 26 ANKCDOTES OF ANIMALS. eloquence was lost on the person he addressed, who, unable to conjecture what this meant, shifted his place. His petitioner still following him, met with rebuffs, arid was at last dismissed. Foiled in this the distressed creature returned as he came, lay down in his stall, and in less than fifteen minutes afterwards expired. It was found that in the agonies of death he had brok- en a strong rope by which he had been fastened, and disposed of the stable door according to his mind, before he got out in search of that relief which, after all, was unwittingly denied him. The memory of the horse extends also to those habits, which may at first have been taught him with much labour, and he is urged into the enthusiasm of the chase, or of the field-day, by any signal associated with these exercises. Though long unac- customed to hear the words of military command, their recurrence often gains from him implicit obedience, even at the peril of his unprepared rider. An old cavalry horse has been known to stop in the midst of a rapid gallop on hearing the word halt, certainly very injudiciously in this case called. The Tyrolese, in one of their insurrections in 1809, took fifteen Bavarian horses, on which they mounted as many of their own soldiers A rencontre occurring with a squadron of the regiment of Bu- benhoven, these horses on hearing the trumpet and recognising the uniform of their corps, set off at full gallop, and carried their riders, in spite of all their resistance, into the midst of the Bavarian ranks, where they were made prisoners. The cavalry borse delights in the exercises and sounds of war, and whatever strikes his mind as bearing a resemblance to them, operates strongly on his feelings. Previously to the erection of the cavalry barracks in Glasgow, the detachment of horse for the West of Scotland was sometimes divided between Hamiltofi and Kilmarnock ; those assigned to the latter place having been sent to the fine grass fields in the vicinity of Loudon Castle, presented on one occasion a most striking appearance. The day was heavy and sultry ; the thunder, which had at first been heard only at a distance, began to increase in loudness and fre- quency, and drew the marked attention of the horses. As it still became more loud, and the numerous peals echoed along the extensive slopes of Galston moor, crept along the water of Irvine, or were reverberated through the woods, the horses be- came animated with the same enthusiasm which seizes them on THE HORSE. 27 hearing the rolling sounds emitted from numerous cannon. They rushed together, and rapidly arranging themselves in their accustomed ranks, presented the front of a field of war. The same enthusiasm is reported to have seized a dragoon regiment of horses which was grazing at Haverscroft, in the west riding of York, during a thunder-storm, and we do not doubt that the same effect has been frequently witnessed. In the battle-field, the horse, when wounded, is sometimes known to emit a shrill cry, which, from its, rarity and its peculiar tone, is said to be of all cries the most affecting. But the horse loves hunting as well as war, and one accustomed to the hunt is apt to be urged into it again, as soon as he hears the enlivening sounds which he has so often obeyed. The very cry of the hounds has a power- ful influence on one that has been accustomed to the chase. A proof of this occurred in 1807, when the Liverpool mail was changing horses at the inn, in Monk's Heath, between Congle- ton and Newcastle-under-line. The horses that had performed the stage had been just taken off, when Sir Peter Warburton's fox-hounds were heard in full cry. With their harness on, the horses immediately started after them, and followed the chase until its termination, which was occasioned two hours after they had joined it, by reynard running to earth in a plantation. The following anecdote which shows the horse's recollection of habits, however disreputable, deserves to be recorded for the somewhat ludicrous situations into which the animal, in this case, brought his master. Between 1750 and 1760, a Scottish lawyer made a journey to London. At that period such journeys were us- ually performed on horseback, and the traveller might either ride post, or if willing to travel economically he bought a horse, and sold him at the end of his journey. The lawyer had chosen the latter mode of travelling, and sold the horse on which he rode from Scotland as soon as he arrived in London. With a view to his return, he went to Smithfield to purchase a horse. About dusk a handsome one was offered, at so cheap a rate that he suspected the soundness of the animal, but being able to discover no blemish, he became the purchaser. Next morning, he set out on his journey, the horse had excellent paces, and our traveller while riding over the few first miles, where the road was well frequented, did not fail to congratulate himself on his good fortune which had led him to make so advantageous a 28 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. bargain. On Finchley common, and at a place where the road ran down a slight eminence, and up another, the lawyer met a clergy- man driving a one horse chaise. There was nobody within sight, and the horse by his manoeuvre instantly discovered the pro- fession of his former owner. Instead of pursuing his journey, he laid his counter close up to the chaise and stopt it, having no doubt but his rider would embrace so fair an opportunity of exercising his profession. The clergyman seemed of the same opinion, produced his purse unasked, and assured the astonished lawyer, that it was quite unnecessary to draw his pistol as he did not intend to offer any resistance. The traveller rallied his horse, and with many apologies to the gentleman he had so in- nocently and unwillingly affrighted, pursued his journey. The horse next made the same suspicious approach to a coach, from the windows of which a blunderbuss was levelled with denuncia- tions of death and destruction to the hapless and perplexed rider. In short, after his life had been once or twice endangered by the suspicions to which the conduct of his horse gave rise, and his liberty as often threatened by the peace-officers, who were dis- posed to apprehend him as a notorious highwayman, the former owner of the horse, he was obliged to part with the inauspicious animal for a trifle, and to purchase at a large price one less beautiful, but not accustomed to such dangerous habits. In such cases as these we discern the effects of habit and education, and great part of what appears to be sagacity, may be referred to memory. There are many cases, however, in which the horse discovers much intelligence, which may be properly ascribed to its own instinct, its observation, and its natural pru- dence. It is thus that it walks more distrustfully during the night than the day, in places which it has never visited, than in those to which it is accustomed, and even the very vice of start- ing at any uncommon appearance, is only an excess of that caution, which, in a proper degree, is alike useful to itself and its rider. " I have often remarked," says Professor Hennings, "that when I have wanted to ride through water where the bottom could be seen, the horse went through without hesita- tion, but when the water was muddy he shrunk back, tried the bottom with one foot, and in case he found it firm, advanced the other after it ; but if at the second step he took he found the depth increase considerably, he went back. Why did he THE HORSE. 29 act in this manner ? Certainly for no other reason than because he supposed the depth would increase still farther and be attended with danger. Did not the horse then act upon pre- meditated grounds? Pontoppidan says that the Norwegian horses in going up or down the steep paths among the rocks, feel their way very cautiously before them, to ascertain whether the stones upon which they are about to step are firm. In these cases the best horseman's life would be in danger if he did not let the animal act according to its own judgment." Horses are particularly cautious in travelling over marshy ground, and those accustomed to such a soil have a singular skill which they pro- bably gather from experience. When the Highland pony comes to any boggy piece of ground, it first puts its nose to it, then pats on it in a peculiar way with one of its fore-feet, and from the sound and feeling of the ground it knows whether it will bear its footsteps. It follows the same method with ice, and deter- mines in a minute whether it will proceed. Other anecdotes might be adduced in abundance, to show not merely a natural caution and instinct of self-preservation in the horse, but also a certain ingenuity and the use of means to com- pass an end. In 1794-, a gentleman in Leeds had a horse, which on being turned into a field where there was a pump well sup- plied with water, regularly procured by his own dexterity what he required to drink. He took the handle into his mouth, and worked it with his head till the trough had received a sufficient quantity of water to satisfy his thirst. On one occasion, a horse after having consumed his allotment of hay, ascended by the stairs to the hay-loft, the floor of which being frail was penetrated by his legs, so that the horse was found in a very helpless condition but still in such a position as led those who saw him in it to suppose, that he had been attempting to push a new supply of hay into the rack. The horse has sometimes even gone beyond the province allotted to him in the field, and given the intimation expected only from the dog. A shooting pony has been known to stop in the same way as a dog does when it feels the scent of game, and to follow the keeper till he raised a covey of partridges. None but the most vicious horses will intentionally injure any person, but for its master the animal has a particular regard. It obeys his command with greater pleasure than that of a c 3 30 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. stranger, testifies delight at his presence, seems to understand his wishes, and spares no exertion to accomplish them. When from any accident he receives injury, it manifests in a very distinct manner its sorrow. A yeoman in Essex was riding his hunter over his farm, and stooping to unfasten a five-barred gate, his heel touched the horse's side, the hunter mistaking this for a signal to take a leap, attempted it while the gate was swinging, and his hinder legs becoming entangled, he came down upon his unfortunate master's body and crushed him instantly to death. A considerable time, as was supposed, elapsed before any witness arrived, but the generous horse was standing close by his dead master, as if understanding and lamenting his fate. A somewhat similar regard for their master has been testified by horses otherwise vicious. One that had a particular antipathy to strangers, while bearing his master home from a jovial meet- ing, became disburthened of his rider, who not secure of his equilibrium on horseback preferred a brief indulgence of sleep on the ground. The horse, however, did not scamper off, but kept faithful watch by his prostrate master till the morning, when the two were perceived about sunrise by some labourers. They approached the gentleman with the intention of replacing him on bis saddle, but every attempt on their part was resolutely opposed by the grinning teeth and ready heels of the horse, who did not allow himself to be seized till the gentleman himself awoke from his sleep. The same horse among other bad pro- pensities, constantly resented the attempts of the groom to trim his fetlocks. This circumstance had been mentioned in a conversation, during which his youngest child, a very few years old, was present, when its owner defied any man to perform the operation singly. The father next day, in passing through the stable-yard, beheld with the utmost distress, the infant employed with a pair of scissors in clipping the fetlocks of the hind-legs of this vicious hunter an operation which had been always hitherto performed with great danger even by a number of men. But the horse, in the present case, was looking with the greatest complacency on the little groom, who soon after, to the very great relief of his father, walked off unhurt. The horse is far from being always passive or without ingenuity and invention in the demonstrations of his affection for his master. On an evening in the midst of the winter THE HORSE. 31 of 1830, when Mr Smith, supervisor of excise at Beauly, was returning from Fort Angustus to that place, the road among the hills was so blocked up with snow as to leave all tract of it indiscernible. In this difficulty, he resolved to trust to his horse, and throwing loose the reins, allowed him to choose his course. The animal proceeded slowly and cautiously, till com.- ing to a ravine near Glenconvent, horse arid rider sunk in a snow-wreath several fathoms deep. Mr Smith, on recovering, found himself nearly three yards from the dangerous spot, with his faithful horse standing over him and licking the snow from his face. He thinks the bridle must have been attached to his person, but so completely had he lost all sense of conscious- ness, that beyond the bare fact as stated, he had no knowledge of the means by which he made so remarkable an escape. In the following case, related by Professor Kruger of Halle, the horse has rivalled the most remarkable examples of the sagacity and fidelity of the dog : " A friend of mine," says he, '' who was one dark night riding home through a wood, had the mis- fortune to strike his head against the branch of a tree, and fell from his horse stunned by the blow. The horse imme- diately returned to the house they had left, which stood about a mile distant. He found the door closed, the family had retired to bed. He pawed at the door, till one of them hear- ing the noise, arose and opened it, and, to his surprise, saw the horse of his friend. No sooner was the door opened than the horse turned round ; and the man, suspecting there was something wrong, followed the animal, which led him directly to the spot where his master lay on the ground in a faint." Horses are naturally gregarious, and in those regions in which they exist in a state of untamed freedom, they are always found in large companies. Even in their domesticated and servile condition, they continue to preserve a strong sympathy for one another. They testify mutual delight in company, repeat the enlivening neigh, and are at once more submissive and alert when working together, as if they found a consolation for their toils in mutual encouragement. The strength of their social feelings is very evident in the solicitude of the mare for its foal. It is related that in the month of April, 1794, owing to a strong wind blowing contrary to the current of the river, the island Kroutsand, surrounded by the two branches of the Elbe, be- 32 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. came entirely covered with water, to the great alarm of the horses, which, with some foals, had been grazing on it. They set up a loud neighing, and collected themselves together with- in a small space. To save the foals that were now standing up to their bellies in water seemed to be the object of their con- sultation. They adopted a method at once ingenious and ef- fective. Each foal was arranged between horses, who pressed their sides together so as to keep them wedged up. and entirely free from injury from the water. They retained this position for six hours, nor did they relinquish their burden till the tide having ebbed and the water subsided, the foals were placed out of danger. Of the solicitude of the mare for its foal another instance may be given. A pony mare and its colt grazed in a field adjoining the Severn. One day the pony made its ap- pearance before the gentleman's house to whom- she belonged, and, by clattering with her feet and other gestures, drew his at- tention. A person being sent out, she immediately galloped off, and, being followed, proceeded through various gates all broken open. . She then came to the field, through which she passed di- rectly for a spot in the river, over which she hung with a mourn- ful look, and there the colt was found drowned ! Nor does the horse forget the wants or the claims of its aged kindred. M. de Boussanelle, captain of cavalry in the regiment of Beauvilliers, mentions that a horse belonging to his company being disabled by age for eating his hay or grinding his oats, was fed for two months by two horses on his right and left who eat with him. They drew the hay out of the rack, chewed it, and put it before their aged comrade, and, in the same way, prepared for him his portion of oats. This sympathy, however, does not exclude the most powerful exercise of emulation, and, in the race-course especially, the steed exerts bis utmost spirit, and plies every nerve, not only in obedience to his master, but in rivalry of bis competitors. He has been even known to endeavour to secure victory by what must certainly be considered as unfair means. In 1 753, Mr Quin had a famous racer, who. finding his oppo- nent likely to pass him, seized him by the legs, so that both riders were obliged to dismount in order to separate the enraged animals, who were engaged with one another in a most furious conflict. We have mentioned the sympathy of the horse with its own THE HORSE. 33 species ; but, in the strength of its social feelings, it has often extended its benevolence to animals which had no natural claim to it. The dog, in particular, so often associated with the horse in the chase, and even in the labours of the field, has been fre quently received very far into the good graces of the more dignified animal. A gentleman in Bristol had a greyhound which slept in the same stable, and contracted a very great inti- macy with a fine hunter. When the dog was taken out the horse neighed wistfully after him ; he welcomed him home with a neigh ; the greyhound ran up to the horse and licked him ; the horse, in return, scratched the greyhound's back with his teeth. On one occasion, when the groom had the pair out for exercise, a large dog attacked the greyhound, bore him to the ground, and seemed likely to worry him, when the horse threw back his ears, rushed forward, seized the strange dog by the back, and flung him to a distance which the animal did not deem it prudent to make less. Doctor Smith, a practising phy- sician in Dublin, had no other servant to take charge of his horse while at a patient's door, than a large Newfoundland dog ; and, between the two animals, a very good understanding sub- sisted. When he wished to pass to another patient without re- mounting, he needed but to give a signal to the pair, who fol- lowed him in the most perfect good order. The dog also led the horse to the water, and would give him a signal to leap over a stream. While performing this on one occasion, the dog lost hold of the reins, when the horse, having cleared the leap, trot- ted back to the dog, who resumed the reins. Not the dog only, however, has gained the confidence of the horse. A horse be- longing to Mr Jennings, and called the Mad Arabian, from his furious disposition, was afterwards tamed by Hughes of the London circus, and became so attached to a lamb, that he would allow it to mount on his back and gambol about his shoulders. To prove that disparity of kind does not always prevent social advances, the natural historian of Selbome says, that a very in- telligent person had assured him that, " in the former part of his life, keeping but one horse, he happened also on a time to have but one solitary hen. The two incongruous animals spent much of their time together in a lonely orchard, where they saw no creature but each other. By degrees an apparent regard began to take place between the two sequestered individuals ; the fowl 34 ANECDOTES OF ANIAIALS. would approach the quadruped with notes of complacency, rub- bing herself quietly against his legs, while the horse would look down with satisfaction, and move with the greatest caution and circumspection, lest he should trample on his diminutive com- panion." The horse has also his antipathies ; and, as the dog and cat, so exclusively adopted to the domestic circle, are, nevertheless, ir- reconcileably hateful to one another, so the horse and the camel, the most useful of all beasts of burden, never see one another without testifying the strongest marks of fear and aver- sion. Gibbon, indeed, has ventured to assert the contrary ; and that every stable in Persia is a proof that they are perfectly re- concileable. The reconciliation, like that of the dog and cat, is produced by art ; the antipathy is natural, and remains in the nature of the animals. The fact is confirmed by many obser- vers. M. Sante, in a memoir on camels, published at Paris in J811, states that, at Pisa, it is necessary to accustom young horses to the sight of camels, and that, without some such pre- caution there would be constant accidents from their meeting. If a strange horse passes through Pisa and sees a camel, which is there a frequent occurrence, he immediately starts, stops, ele- vates his mane and ears with terror, paws the earth, and, in many cases, takes the bit in his teeth and flies off precipitately. Si- milar effects may be witnessed in our own country whenever camels are exhibited on our streets. This antipathy has been noticed by the earliest historians. Herodotus tells us that Cy- rus, meeting a great force of Lydian cavalry under the com- '.Tnand of Croesus, disencumbered his camels of their burdens, and marched them in front of the Persian infantry against the foe. The stratagem was effectual, for the cavalry of Croesus became unmanageable, and ran off immediately on feeling the obnoxious smell of the camels. The horse, as is well known, has a natural aversion to the braying of the ass. It has also, in common indeed with other animals, an antipathy to ser- pents. As Morreau de Jonnes was riding in the island of Martinique, his horse suddenly started, and stood trembling in every limb. On looking round he observed a fer-de-lance, erect in a bush of bamboo. The horse drew back immediately, keep- ing his eyes fixed on the snake. As de Jonnes was looking for some one to hold his horse, that he might shoot the viper, he THE HORSE. 35 beheld a Negro streaming with blood, and cutting the flesh from a wound which the serpent had inflicted. Yet he en- treated de Jonnes not to kill the serpent, as he wished to seize it alive as a charm against future bites. That the horse is much affected by musical sounds must be evident to every one who has paid attention to its motions and the expression of its countenance while listening to the per- formances of a military band. It is even said that in ancient times the Libyan shepherds were enabled to allure to them wild horses by the charms of music. That this is at least not entirely improbable, is evident from an experiment made by a gentleman in the year 1829, on some of the Duke of Buccleuch's hunters. The horses being shy of his approach, and indeed retreating from it, he sounded a small musical instrument, called the mouth Eolian harp. On hearing it, they immediately erected their heads and turned round. On his again sounding it, they approached nearer him ; he began to retreat, and they to fol- low. Having gone over a paling, one of the horses came up to him, putting its mouth close to his breast, and seemingly delighted with the sounds which he continued to produce. As the other horses were coming up, apparently to follow the ex- ample of their more confident comrade, the gentleman retired. The horse is to be found of very various sizes. Some of the shelties, though exceedingly vigorous and fully formed, scarcely exceed the size of a Newfoundland dog. In 1824, there were two horses at the riding-school of Valenciennes, well-matched, and only thirty inches in height. On the other hand, the English horses and breeds obtained from them and the Netherland horse, often unite the stature of the camel with the corpulence of the ox. The horses to be seen in London are almost all of an imposing grandeur of height, and in particu- lar the dray horses might almost rival the magnitude of the elephant. As to the duration of the life of the horse many instances of longevity might be produced. The charger of Sir Ralph Aber- crombie, which was wounded at the battle of Alexandria, after- wards died at Malta, and, on a stone erected there in commemora- tion of its services, the age of thirty- six is inscribed. In 1790, there was alive, near Haddington, a Shetland pony which had been at the battle of Prestonpans in 174o, and whose age 36 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. amounted to forty-seven years. At eight years of age the marks on the lower jaw of the horse are filled up, and he is then con- sidered the worse for his years. He is often serviceable till nearly twenty years of age, but generally long before that period, his various hardships, ill treatment, and fatigues, have induced perhaps a premature decay of all his powers. WHEN the ass is brought into comparison with the horse, in respect to external form, every thing appears to be in favour of the latter animal. The ass is inferior to the horse in size, less sprightly in its motions, its head is heavy, and it stoops in its gait. The horse generally moves with its head erect, looks freely abroad on the skies and earth, with an eye expressive of lively emotions ; the ass is seen trudging slowly along, as if sensible of the hopelessness of a cessation from toil, and full of melancholy thoughts, its leaden eye is fixed on the ground. It even seems painfully conscious of the estimation in which it is generally held ; and if we may suppose that the horse borrows a sprightliness and hilarity from the approbation and affection of its master, why should we not also ascribe part of the dejection and awkwardness of the ass, to a consciousness that it is often an object of ridicule, of harsh and unjust treatment. Yet its shape and its habits, in its state of servitude, though presenting much that is pleasing, also it must be confessed are somewhat untoward and ungainly. Its mouth is indeed finely shaped, but the head above it increases to a disproportioned size, and the appearance is far from being extenuated by the extraordinary thickness of its skull and skin, the shaggy hair which clouds its visage, and the heavy and muscular ears which rise on either side. Its legs are neat, perpendicular, and finely placed, but they rather contrast with a very solid and thick-skinned body, which seems to overload its supporters. Yet the ass is not without great intrinsic merit ; it is assc*- ciated with many recollections both tender and impressive ; and it has accordingly been mentioned by Stewart as an instance of an object, which, though it may never attain honour in the THE ASS. 37 pr,ges of the poet, is highly distinguished and interesting amidst the scenes presented by the painter. " Not to speak," says he, " of the frequent allusions to it in holy writ, what interest are we led to attach to it in our early years by the fables of .33sop, by the similes of Homer, by the exploits of Don Quixote, by the pictures which it recalls to us, of the by-paths in the forest, where we have so often met with it as a beast of burden, and the associate of the vagrant poor, or where we have stopped to gaze on the infant beauties which it carried in its panniers ; in fine, by the circumstances which have called forth in its eulogy, one of the most pleasing efforts of Buffon's eloquence," its own quiet and inoffensive manners, and the patience with which it submits to a life of drudgery." But the associations connected with the ass, are not exclusive- ly those of a quiet submission to the cares and drudgeries that are the share of poverty. The ass is to be found also in a wild state, the emblem of irreclaimable freedom. " He scorneth," says Job, " the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the crying of the driver ; the range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing." The ass, in its wild state, possesses astonishing swiftness ; it has feet, saysOssian, like the whirlwind, it moves, says ^Elian, as if it were carried forward by wings like a bird. The accounts of those who have seen the ass in its untamed condition, correspond with these descrip- tions. The desert tract, called by the Indians Run, which di- vides Kattewar from Cutch, is one of the resorts of the wild ass. A traveller who visited the region, discovered several herds of these animals, amounting to sixty or seventy. Wish- ing to have a nearer view, he galloped towards them, but though mounted on a horse of proved speed, he could never approach nearer than twenty yards. A dog which accompanied him was close at their heels, when they turned and pursued him with an angry snorting noise. This ass, which the Persians call Khur, is considerably larger than in its tame state ; the body is of an ash colour, which gradually fading, becomes a dirty white under the belly. The ears and shoulder stripe resemble those of the * It may be remarked, that the description given by Goldsmith of the as(=, vol. i. p. 5046, though, as he acknowledges, formed npon Buftm's, is emi- nently graphic, and distinguished by a gentle eloquence. 38 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. common kind, but the Lead seemed much longer, and the limbs more roughly and strongly formed. The natives of India de- scribe the Khur as extremely watchful, so that it cannot be caught without great difficulty. It breeds on the banks of the Run, and the salt island in the centre of this tract. It browses on the stunted and saline vegetation found in the desert, but in Novem- ber and December, it advances into the country in herds of hundreds, to the utter destruction of whole fields of grain. The animal is then caught in pits, but is found to be fierce and un- tamable. He bites and kicks in the most furious and danger- ous manner, accompanied by the angry snorting, which appears to be his only voice. Their flesh is esteemed good food by some of the natives of the lowest cast, who lie in wait for them near the drinking places. The following extract from Heber describes the same animal in a better situation : " I saw in a paddock, near Bombay," says he, " a noble wild ass from Cutch, as high as a well-grown Galloway, a beautiful animal, admirably formed for fleetness and power, apparently very gentle and very fond of horses, and by no means disliked by them, in which respect the asses of India differ from all others of which I have heard. The same fact has been told me of the wild ass in Rajpootana. No attempt has, however, been made to break him in for riding, and it is doubtless now too late. Mr Elphinstone said, that he had never heard of any thing of the sort being tried by the natives, though they are much in the habit of mounting different animals, such as stags, &c." The ass, after being taken into the service of man, was not immediately subjected to the most degrading employments. The Indian horse, says Herodotus,f were armed like their foot ; but besides led horses, they had chariots of war drawn by horses and wild asses. The use of the ass in active employments, and even in war, is not confined to the Indians or to ancient times. In Egypt, the inhabitants generally ride upon mules or asses ; the latter are so active in this country and possess such extraordi- nary strength, that for all purposes of labour, even for carrying heavy burdens across the sandy desert, they are next in utility to the camel, and will bear work better than horses. The horse * Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, iil. 101. f B. vii. c. 86. in Egypt, is rather an animal of parade than for essential service. The vast army of the Wahabees, in the desert, were said to be mounted upon camels and upon asses.* The ass prospers in a warm climate; it is seldom indeed to be found in the colder regions of the earth, and it is in the east that we are to seek for it in its greatest perfection. That the ass was not produced in Scythia on account of its extreme cold, was observed so early as the time of Herodotus, a fact which he produces as tending to account for the confusion of the Scythian cavalry, on the approach of the Persian army, which contained great numbers both of mules and asses. The ass is still to be found in high perfection in Persia.f There are two kinds of asses in this country, the one slow and heavy, and used for bear- ing burthens, the other beautiful, and perhaps the finest in the world. Their skin is glossy, their heads high, they have light feet, which are raised with grace, walk well, and are solely em- ployed to ride on. The saddles used are round on the one side, flat on the other, made of woollen cloth or tapestry, arid the rider sits on them nearer the crupper than the neck. Some of these cost about eighteen pounds sterling, none are sold under twenty- five pistoles. They are broke like horses, and taught no other pace than the amble. The manner of teaching them is by tying their hind and fore legs with two ropes of cotton, which are made to the length the ass is to pace, and are suspended by a cord fastened to the girth. Their nostrils are slit to make them breathe more freely ; and a horse must gallop to keep pace with them. The asses, even in Arabia, travel much more expeditiously than the camel. The loaded camels take two nights to perform the journey between Djidda and Medina, resting mid-way at Hadda during the day, but a small caravan of asses lightly laden, which starts every evening, performs the journey of fifteen or sixteen hours in one night, arriving regularly at Mecca early in the morning. It is by the ass-caravan that letters are conveyed between the two towns. In time of scarcity, or at the approach of the Hadj, or pilgrimage, the hire of an ass from Djidda to Mec- ca, is twenty piastres. This price would be considered enor- mous in any other part of the Levant. Only fifteen piastres are paid for a camel from Cairo to Suez, which is double the * Clarke's Travels, vol. v. 81. f Buffon. 40 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. distance between Djidda and Mecca, and the hire of a camel is more than double that of an ass.* The ass was anciently unknown in the countries of Northern Europe. In Greece and Rome, however, it was held in much estimation, and honoured in their mythology and festivals. By its braying, it was said to have discomfited, severally, the deities who warred against the liberty of Jupiter and the chastity of Vesta, and the ides of June were celebrated in Rome as the festival of the ass. On that occasion banquets were set forth at the doors of the citizens ; the millstones were decked with gar- lands : the asses, which on workdays turned them, were led in holyday triumph covered with wreaths of flowers, and the grate- ful ladies of Rome walked before them in the procession bare- foot, to the temple of the goddess whose honour the braying of the ass had saved. The church of Rome, many of whose fes- tivals were an accommodation of pagan rites to a supposed sub- servience to Christianity, formed of the festival of Vesta, the feast of asses, which, during the dark ages, was held with par- ticular hilarity in Britain. Of this singular ceremony we have the following account from a very excellent authority :f " On the eve of the day appointed to celebrate it, before the beginning of vespers, the clergy went in procession to the door of the cathedral, where were two choristers singing in a minor key, or rather with squeaking voices, Lux hodie, lux letitiae, me judice, tristis Quisquis erit, removendus erit solemnibus istis. Sicut hodie, procul invidise, procul umnia moesta; Lacta volunt, quit-unique celebrant Asinaria Fasta. Light to-day, the light of joy I banish every sorrow ; Wherever found, be it expell'd from our solemnities to-morrow ; Away be strife, and grief,, and care, from every anxious breast ; And ail be joy and glee in those who keep the ass's feast. " After this anthem, two canons were deputed to fetch the ass, and to conduct him to the table, which was the place where the great chanter sat, to read the order of the ceremonies, and the names of those who were to take any part in them. The ani- * Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. f. 4fl. f Turner's History of England during the Middle Ages, vol. v. p. 105107. THE ASS. 41 mal was clad with precious priestly ornaments, and, in this ar- r.iy, was solemnly conducted to the middle of the choir ; during which procession the following hymn was sung in a major key. The first and last stanzas of it were : Orientis partibus Adventavit asiuus, Pulcher ct fortissimus, Sarcinis aptisaimus. Hez, Sire Ane, hez .' &c., &c. Amen, dicas asine ! Jam satias de gramine : Amen! Amen.' itera, Aspernare vetera. Hez, Sire Ane, hez ! These have been thus Englished : From the country of the East ( amr this strong and handsome beast, This able ass beyond compare, Heavy loads and packs to bear. Huzza, Siguor Ass, huzza ! Amen ! bray, most honour'd Ass, Sated now with grain and grass : Amen repeat, amen reply, And disregard antiquity. Huzza, Signer Ass, huzza! " After this the office began by an anthem in the same style, sung purposely in the most discordant manner possible. The office itself lasted the whole of the night and part of the next day ; it was a rhapsody of whatever was sung in the course of the year at the appropriated festivals, forming altogether the strangest and most ridiculous medley that can be conceived. As it was natural to suppose that the choristers and the congregation should feel thirst in so long a performance, wine was distributed in no sparing manner. The signal for that part of the ceremony was an anthem, commencing ' Conductus ad poculum,' &c. (Brought to the glass, &c.) " The first evening after vespers the grand chanter of Sens headed the jolly band in the streets, preceded by an enormous lantern. A vast theatre was prepared for their reception before the church, where they performed not the most decent interludes. D3 42 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. The singing and dancing were concluded by throwing a pail of water on the head of the grand chanter. They then returned to the church to begin the morning office ; and on that occasion, several received, on their naked bodies, a number of pails of wa- ter. At the respective divisions of the service, great care was taken to supply the ass with drink and provender. In the middle of it a signal was given by an anthem, ' Conductus ad ludos,' &c. (Brought to play, &c.) and the ass was conducted into the nave of the church, where the people, mixed with the clergy, danced round him, and strove to imitate his braying. When the dancing was over, the ass was brought again to the choir, where the clergy terminated the festival." But the circumstance of the animal having been made an object of ludicrous admiration in superstitious ages is not that on which its estimation depends. The ass is a useful, a docile, in many cases, an affectionate, animal. In eastern countries it conduces to the splendour and convenience of the rich ; with us it is especially the friend and support of the poor. It assists them in travelling, drags patiently to the market-place their little merchandise ; and though, if overloaded, it refuses to stir, yet the load under which it will move, when compared with its size, is such as may well satisfy expectation ; is even greater, comparatively, than is commonly allotted to the horse. The ass, though with us it generally moves with the appa- rent determination to proceed as slowly as possible, is naturally a very swift animal, and often, even bearing a burden, moves with considerable rapidity. For a small wager, a Mr Wilson of Ipswich, drove an ass in a gig to London and back again, a distance of one hundred and forty miles, in two days. The animal went at the rate of an ordinary gig-horse, and so great was its endurance and spirit, that without the application of the whip it came in at the rate of seven miles an hour. It was twelve hands and a half high, and half-bred Spanish and English. Ass-races have been frequently celebrated in various countries, more, it must be supposed, for the ludicrous effect which many of their tricks and uncouth motions on such an occasion ex- hibit, than for the purpose of discovering the swiftness of the animal. Skippon mentions, in his journey through Italy, that he saw ass-races at Florence, and cart and waggon- races, at which the Great Duke was present. In France, likewise, dur- THE ASS. 43 ing the year 1776, about the time that the mania for horse racing was at its height there, ass-races were also introduced, and were placed under the special patronage of the Queen. She ho- noured such exhibitions in the neighbourhood of Paris by her presence, and the winner had for his reward, a hundred livres and a golden thistle, in allusion to the plant of which the ass is so fond. In Scotland likewise ass-races have been frequently celebrated, not only in modern, but in ancient times, and as well for the amusement of the multitudes who congregate at a country fair, as for the gratification of royal and noble spectators. They are numbered among the favourite amusements of James V. ; and the following description of an ass-race, supposed to have taken place in Fife before that monarch, must be interesting not only as a good account of the various features of the race, but as most humorously characteristic of the qualities and dispositions of the animal itself: " Who can in silly pithless words paint well The pithy feats of that laborious race ? Who can the cudgellings and whippings tell, The hurry, emulation, joy, disgrace ? 'T would take for tongue the clapper of a boll, To speak the total wonders of the chase ; 'Tivould need a set of sturdy brassy lungs, To tell the mangled whips, and shatter'd sticks and rungs. E;ich rider pushes on to be the first, Nor has he now an eye to look behind ; One ass trots smartly on, though like to burst With bounding blood and scantiness of \vi:ul ; Another, by his master bann'd and cursed, Goes backward through perversity of mind, Inching along in motion retrograde, Cuntrarioiis to the course which Scotland's Monarch bade. A third obdurate stands, and cudgel-proof, And Btedfait as th" unchisell'd rock of flint, Regardless though the heaven's high marble roof Should fa'.l upon his skull with mortal dint, Or though conspiring earth beneath his hoof, Should sprout up coal with fiery flashes in't, Whilst on his back his grieved and waspish master, The stubborner he stands, still bangs and bans the faster. 41- ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. Meantime the rabblement, with fav'ring shout And clapping hand, set up so loud a din, As almost with stark terror frighted out Each ass's soul from his particular skin : Rattled the bursts of laughter round about, Grinned every phiz with mirth's peculiar grin, As through the loan they saw the cuddies awkward, Bustling, some straight, some thwart, some forward, and some backward. -In foul confusion and alarm Jostle the cuddies with rebellious mind, But who is yon, the foremost of the swarm, That scampers fleetly as the rushing wind ? 'Tis Robert Scott, if I can trust my eyne, I know the borderer well, by his long coat of green. See how his bright whip, brandish'd round his head, Flickers like streamer in the northern skies ; See how his ass on earth with nimble tread Half .flying rides, in air half-riding flies, As if a pair of ostrich wings, outspread, To help him on, had sprouted from his thighs, Well-scamper'd Bob well whipf, well spurr'd, my boy '. O haste ye, Ranter haste rush gallop to thy joy. The pole is gain'd ; the ass's head he turns Southward to tread the trodden ground again ; Sparkles like flint the cuddy's hoof, and burns, Seeming to leave a smoke upon the plain ; His bitted mouth the foam impatient churns ; Sweeps his broad tail behind him like a train ; Speed cuddy, speed I O, slacken not thy pace, Ten minutes more like this and thou shalt gain the rare. He comes careering on the sounding loan, With pace unslacken'd hast'ning to the knoll, And, as he meets with those that hobble on With northward heads to gain the ribbon'd pole, Ev'n by his forceful fury are o'erthrown His long-ear'd brethren in confusion droll ; For as their sides he passing, slightly grazes, By that collision shock'd, doivn roll the founder'd asses. Heels over head they tumble, ass on ass They dash, and twenty times roll o'er and o'er, Lubberly wallowing along the grass, In beastly ruin and with beastly roar ; While their vext riders in poor plight alas ! Hung from their saddles three long ells aud more, Tin: ASS. 45 Bruised and fomminglivl with their cuddies sprawl, Cur.-.;: 3 th' impetuous brute whose conflict caused their fall. With hats upon their heads they down did light Withouten hati disgracefully they rose ; Clean were their faces ere they fell and bright, But dirty faced they got up on their toes ; Strong were their sinuws ere they fell and tight, Hip-shot they stood up, sprained with many woes ; Blythe were their aspects ere the ground they took, Grim louring rose they up, with crabbed ghastful look. Ah ! then, with grievous limp along the ground, They sought their hats that had so flown away, And some were ciift'd and much disaster'd foui.d, And haply some not found unto this day. Meanwhile, with vast and uudiminished bound, Sheer through the bestial wreck and disarray, The brute of Mesopotam hurries en, And in his madding speed devours the trembling loan. Speed, cuddy, speed one short, short minute more, And finished is thy toil, and won the race Now one-half minute, and thy toils are o'er His toils are o'er, and he has gain'd the base ! He shakes his tail, the conscious conqueror, Joy peeps through his stupidity of face, He seems to wait the monarch's approbation, As quiver his long ears with self-congratulation."* The ass is far from being incapable of understanding the nature of the employments in which he is engaged, or disobedient to the commands of his master. An ass was employed at Carisbrook, in the Isle of Wight, in drawing water by a large wheel from a deep well, supposed to have been sunk by the Romans. When his keeper wanted water he would call the ass by his name, saying, " I want water, get into the wheel," which wish the ass immediately complied with : and there can be no doubt but that he knew the precise number of times necessaiy for the wheel to revolve upon its axis in order to complete his labour, for every time he brought the bucket to the surface of the well, he stopped and turned round his head to observe the moment when his master laid hold of the bucket to draw it towards him, because he had then a nice motion to make either * Tcnnant's Anster Fair. 46 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. slightly forward or backward as the situation of the bucket might require. The ass has been taught to perform tricks on the stage, and to act such mimickries as are considered wonderful even in the dog and horse. John Leo, who wrote a description of Africa, which was printed in 1556, says, " that when the Mahometan worship was over, the common people of Cairo resorted to the foot of the suburbs called Bed-Elloch to see the exhibition of stage-players and mountebanks, who teach camels, asses, and dogs to dance. The dancing of the ass is diverting enough ; for after he has frisked and capered about, his master tells him, that the Soldan, meaning to build a great palace, intends to employ all the asses in carrying mortar, stones, and other materials ; upon which the ass falls down with his heels upwards, closing his eyes, and extending his chest, as if he were dead. This done, the master begs some assistance of the company, to make up the loss of the dead ass ; and having got all he can, he gives them to know that truly his ass is not dead, but only being sensible of his master's necessity, played that trick to procure some provender. He then commands the ass to rise, who still lies in the same posture, notwithstanding all the blows he can give him, till at last he proclaims, by virtue of an edict of the Soldan, all are bound to ride out next day upon the comeliest asses they can find, in order to see a triumphal show, and to entertain their asses with oats and Nile water. These words are no sooner pronounced, than the ass starts up, prances, and leaps for joy. The master then declares, that his ass has been pitched upon by the warden of his street, to carry his deformed and ugly wife ; upon which the ass lowers his ears, and limps with one of his legs, as if he were lame. The master, alleging that his ass admires handsome women, commands him to single out the prettiest lady in company ; and accordingly, he makes his choice, by going round, and touching one of the prettiest with his head, to the great amusement of the company." There is a remarkable instinct possessed by many animals by wliieb. they are enabled, though removed to a distance, to regain their ordinary haunts or places of residence. That this instinct is possessed in considerable perfection by the ass, the following instance shows. In 1816, an ass belonging to Captain Dundas was shipped on board the Ister, bound from Gibraltar to Malta. The vessel struck on a sand-bank off the Point de Gat, and the THE ASS. 47 ass was thrown overboard into a sea which was so stormy that a boat that soon after left the ship was lost. In the course of a few days, when the gates of Gibraltar were opened in the morning, the guard was surprised by the same ass which had so recently been removed, presenting itself for admittance. On entering, it proceeded immediately to the stable which it had formerly occupied. The ass had not only swam to the shore, but found its own way from Point de Gat to Gibraltar, a distance of more than two hundred miles, through a mountainous and intricate country intersected by streams, which it had never passed before but which it had now crossed so expeditiously that it must have gone by a route leading the most directly to Gibraltar. The ass, though usually quiet, and apparently rather dull and insensible, is capable of the extremities of ferocity and timidity. One, which had been bit by a mad dog, attacked several persons furiously with its teeth, and even when beat off by stunning blows, returned to the conflict. A few years ago, at Swalwell, a man set his bull dog to attack an ass, that for a while gallantly defended itself with its heels, which it was agile enough to keep presented to the dog. Suddenly, turning round on its adversary, it caught it with its teeth, in such a manner, that the dog was unable to retaliate. It then dragged the assailant to the river Derwent, into which it plunged it over head, and lying down upon it, kept it in the water till it was drowned. On the other hand, the ass is said to manifest in the presence of the lion such fears, as those which the fascinating power of the serpent causes in certain birds. Though the ass be very frequently the subject of ill treatment, yet it seems to be an animal not without affection for its master, which in many cases we may suppose to be returned by kindness and care on his part. These little interchanges of benefits in a life of hardship, while they must soothe the toils of the animal may warm and gladden the heart of its master. A pleasing instance of this effect we have in the following anecdote, related in Church's Cabinet of Quadrupeds. " An old man, who some time ago sold vegetables in London, had an ass which carried his baskets from door to door. He frequently 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 48 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. had no need of any goad for the animal, and seldom indeed had he to lift up his hand to drive it on. His kind treatment was one day remarked to him, and he was asked whether the beast was not apt to be stubborn. ' Ah !' he said, ' it is of no use to be cruel ; and as for stubbornness I cannot complain, for he is ready to do any thing or 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.' " THE MULE. THE hybrid animal, engendered between the horse and ass, has been well known, and held in high estimation from the earliest times. It is mentioned in the book of Genesis, and in the earliest of the heathen writers. David and his nobles rode upon mules. Mules dragged the combustibles to the funeral pile of Patroclus, and the chariot of Priam to the tent of Achilles. Mules were often employed in the chariot race : Pelias thus contended for the prize ; and mules in the age of Homer ploughed the plains of Greece. The Latins distinguished the animal into two classes, ac- cording as a she-ass or a mare was the mother. The former was called Hinnus, the latter Mulus. The hinnus was charac- terised as being small, slow and stubborn ; the mulus, as large, swift and good-tempered ; a description which holds good still. There are male and female mules, but both are sterile, for it seems to be a law of nature, that propagation should cease with the offspring of two different species : thus the same sterility that characterises the produce of the horse and zebra, the lion and tiger, the goldfinch and canary, belongs to that of the horse and ass. Yet to this almost universal rule, a few exceptions are in the present case to be found. Some of these have occurred in foreign countries, and one or two well-attested cases in Scotland. In all these instances, however, it is to be remarked, that the foal either was produced dead, or died before it reached maturity. THE MULE. 49 f The mule possesses some of the best qualities of the two useful animals, from which it springs. It is, indeed, inferior to the horse in strength, and to the ass in patience, but it retains somewhat of the agility and beauty of motion, which we admire in the one, and is sure-footed like the other. It has a spirited look like the horse it toughly endures labour like the ass ; the external resemblance to both its parents is wonderfully preserved throughout every part of its body. The mule, like the ass, is found in greatest perfection in warm climates, and in the region of the east. " In almost all the other provinces of Persia but Khorassan," says Sir John Mal- colm, " mules are in more general use than camels, and their extraordinary strength and activity, combined with their power of enduring fatigue, place this animal in the estimation of the natives of Persia, next to the horse, and their breed is hardly an object of inferior care." In mountainous and uncultivated countries, amidst the regions of the Andes and the Alps, the mule is of indispensable service, carrying burdens or its rider along stony or precipitous tracts with singular sagacity, vigour, and safety. In Cairo, mules stand on the streets ready to be hired, and the muleteers there are a numerous class. The mule, in our country, is frequently to be found of a considerable size and strength. Of those used on the Bridge- water canal, near Manchester, many measure upwards of fourteen hands high. But of all the countries in Europe, Spain is most distinguished for its fine breed of mules, for the care with which they are trained, and the estimation in which they are held. They are there employed in very honourable services, highly valued, and sometimes disposed of for not less than fifty or sixty pounds sterling. In proportion to the care which is employed in training them, their sagacity and useful qualities are dis- covered, of which the following quotation from Townsend's Journey through Spain, furnishes a good description. " In this little journey, I was exceedingly diverted and sur- prised with the docility of the mules, and the agility of their drivers. I had travelled all the way from Barcelona to Madrid, in a cache de colleras, with seven mules ; and, both at that time and on subsequent occasions, had been struck with the quick- ness of understanding in the mule, and motion in the driver ; 50 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. but, till this expedition, I had no idea to what extent it might be carried. " The two coachmen sit upon the box, and, of the six mules, none but the two nearest have reins to guide them : the four leaders being perfectly at liberty, and governed only by the voice. Thus harnessed, they go upon the gallop the whole way ; and, when they come to any short turning, whether to the right or to the left, they instantly obey the word, and move altogether, bending to it like a spring. As all must undergo tuition, and require frequently some correction, should any one refuse the collar, or not keep up exactly with the rest, whether it be, for example, Coronela or Capitana, the name pronounced with a degree of vehemence, rapidly in the three first syllables, and slowly in the last, being sufficient to awaken attention, and to secure obedience ; the ears are raised, and the mule instantly exerts its strength. But, should there be any failure in obe- dience, one of the men springs furiously from the box, quickly overtakes the offending mule, and thrashes her without mercy ; then, in the twinkling of an eye, leaps upon the box again, and calmly finishes the tale he had been telling his companion. " In this journey I thought I had learnt the names of all the mules ; yet one, which frequently occurred, created some con- fusion, because I could not find to which individual it belonged, nor could I distinctly make out the name itself. " In a subsequent journey, the whole difficulty vanished, and my high estimation of the mule, in point of sagacity, was con- firmed. The word in question, when distinctly spoken, was Aquella otra, that is, you other also : and then, supposing Coro- nela and Capitana to be pairs, if the coachman had been calling to the former by name, Aquella otra became applicable to the latter, and was equally efficacious as the smartest stroke of a long whip ; but if he had been chiding Capitana, in that case . Aquella otra acted as a stimulus to Coronela, and produced in her the most prompt obedience." Yet the Spanish mule is in some cases a headstrong animal, and is so wedded to custom that it is almost impossible to get .it to act out of the routine to which it has been once trained. A singular instance of this was afforded by the mules, which on one occasion were employed to drag the baggage of Buonaparte. No threats, no blows could move them ; nor did it seem as if THE ZEBRA. 51 they could be brought to be serviceable on the occasion, till some one noticed that they were not arranged in their usual or- der in the traces of the waggons. No sooner, however, had they obtained their desired position, than they began to drag the waggons with their wonted strength and animation. THE ZEBU A. IN very early times we find mention made of an animal which the Romans called the hippotigris, as possessing at once the shape and agility of the horse, and the ferocity and the beauty of skin and colour which distinguish the tiger. Bassianas Cara- calla is said to have killed in one day an elephant, a rhinoceros, a tiger, and a hippotigris. The animal was thus even then consi- dered better fitted to furnish a savage sport in the combat than to be rendered useful by domestication. The same character still be- longs to the zebra, which is doubtless the animal designated by the name hippotigris. It possesses some of the characteristics of the horse, smaller in size it strongly resembles it in the shape of its body, its head, its limbs, and its hoofs. It moves in the same paces, with a similar activity and swiftness. But it discovers none of that docility which has rendered the services of the horse so invaluable to man. On the contrary, it is pro- verbially untameable ; it is ever the most wild even among those ferocious animals which are ranged in the menagerie, and it pre- serves in its countenance the resolute determination never to submit. So completely, indeed, is this its character, that the few instances in which it has shown any thing like submission, are looked upon as the most extraordinary triumphs of art over nature. Even in these cases the complacency which the ani- mal discovers is partial, and not to be trusted. In the year 1803, General Dundas brought a female zebra from the Cape of Good Hope, which was deposited in the Tower, and there showed less than the usual impatience of subordination. The person who had accompanied her home and attended her there, would some- times spring on her back, and proceed thus for about two hun- dred yards, when she would become restive, and oblige him to dismount. She was very irritable, and would kick at her i>2 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. keeper ; one day she seized him with her teeth, threw him down, and showed an intention to destroy him, which he disappointed by rapidly extricating himself. She generally kicked in all directions with her feet, and had a propensity to seize with her teeth whatever offended her. Strangers she would not allow to approach her unless the keeper held her fast by the head, and even then she was very prone to kick. Another which was kept at Kew showed the same savage disposition, allowing no one to approach except his keeper. He was sometimes able to mount the back of the animal. It one day eat a quantity of tobacco, and the paper that contained it ; and was said even to eat Mesh. The most docile zebra on record was burnt at the Lyceum, near Exeter Change. This animal allowed its keeper to use great familiarities with it, to put children on its back without dis- covering any resentment. On one occasion a person rode it from the Lyceum to Pimlico. It had been bred in Portugal, and was the offspring of parents half reclaimed. At the Cape of Good Hope many attempts have been made to train the zebra, but they have been all to a great degree unsuccessful. A merchant, who had succeeded so far as to be able to get them harnessed to his chariot, almost lost his life from the ungovernable fury with which they rushed back to their stalls. There are instances of mules having been obtained from the ass and zebra, but these in Europe do not exceed three, and they either died soon, or were unserviceable. One which was bred in the Menagerie at Paris, from a female zebra and Spanish ass, had a good deal of the form of its sire ; but it had the un- governable and vicious temper of the zebra, and attacked with its teeth every one who approached it The zebra which we have been describing, is that of the mountains or common zebra. Besides this, however, there is a variety which is called the zebra of the plain, from the nature of the regions in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope which it inhabits. It differs from the other species in having the ground colour of the body white, the mane alternately striped with black and white, and the tail of a yellowish white. A specimen of this animal is to be found in the Tower of London, where it has been brought to a degree of lameness seldom reached by the other variety. It runs peaceably about the Tower, with a man by its side, whom it does not attempt to leave except for the THE ZEBRA. 53 purpose of breaking off to the canteen, where it is sometimes regaled with a glass of ale, a liquor for which it discovers a considerable fondness. There are two other animals of the horse kind, for the know- ledge of which we are indebted chiefly to the reports of travel- lers. These are the Dziggtai and the Quagga, the former a na- tive of Central Asia, the other ranging in herds through the so- litary deserts of Southern Africa. The former is a wild animal, and is shot by the natives for the purposes of food, the latter is of a disposition susceptible of domestication, and has been seen in London drawing a fashionable curricle. They have both been too little under the observation of men to allow of an interesting biography beyond the notices which have been given of them in the notes to Goldsmith. THE COW KIND. WE come now to a class of animals whose principal qualities are connected with their incomparable utility. They do not pos* sess the sprightliness, the intelligence, or the strength of the foregoing class of animals ; they are either peacefully submissive to their condition, or when excited, ungovernably ferocious. Neither can they be termed so beautiful either in shape or mo- tion. Yet they have connected with them many pleasing asso- ciations ; and there is no object which could be worse spared in a wide landscape of rich arid green fields, expanding to the summer sun, than the animals which convert even the verdure of the seasons to the use of man. There is no picture of con- tentment, security, and abundance, more complete than that which represents the lowing herd on a shining summer even- ing, filling the air with a rich perfume from their distended udders, and delighting to be driven homewards by the milk- maid. The advantages derived by mankind from the cow are numerous, many of them essential to the comfort both of rich and poor. Their flesh is the most nutritious diet which we possess. The milk of the cow is rich and salubrious ; when converted into cheese, it is the strengthening nourishment of the most industrious classes in the land. Combs, knife-handles, and a variety of instruments are composed of the horns. From the cartilages, and the finer parings of the hides, is obtained glue j the hides compose leather ; the fat, candle. Let it be remembered also, that from the cow was first derived the sub- stance which, employed in vaccination, has caused so many to THE COW. 55 IK; thankful for preservation from deadly disease and irreparable injury to beauty. In every pastoral country the cow forms the principal riches, arid the care of the herd the principal employment of the pea- santry. The mountaineer of Switzerland lives with his cow almost as familiarly as the Arabian with his horse. He never ill-treats his cattle, nor makes use of a stick or a whip ; a per- fect cordiality seems to subsist between them, and the voice of the keeper is sufficient to guide and govern the whole herd. Fine cattle are the pride of the cow-keeper who inhabits the Alps ; and, not satisfied with their natural beauty, he adorns his best cows with large bells, suspended from broad thongs, in the procuring of which alone he is expensive. Every peasant has a harmonious set of bells, which chime in with the famous ranz des vackes. The inhabitants of the Tyrol bring a number of such bells, of all sizes, to every fair kept in the canton of Appenzell. They are fixed on a broad strap, neatly pinked, cut out, and embroidered, and fastened round the cow's neck by means of a large buckle. One of the largest bells will cost from forty to fifty gilders, and the whole peal of bells, in- cluding the thongs, will be worth a hundred and fifty gilders ; while the whole apparel of the cow- herd himself, jeven when in his best attire, does not, in value, amount to twenty. The finest black cow is adorned with the largest bells, the next hi beauty have two smaller. These ornaments are only worn on solemn occasions, when, in the spring, they are led up the Alps, or removed to another pasture ; or when they descend in autumn, or travel in winter, to the different farms where their owners have procured them hay. On such days, even in the coldest season, the peasant appears dressed in a fine white shirt, of which the sleeves are rolled up above the el- bow ; neatly embroidered braces sustain his yellow linen trow- sers ; a small leather cap covers his head, and a new milk- bowl of wood, skilfully carved, hangs across his left shoulder. Thus, recalling the picture of the pastoral age of antiquity, the peasant proceeds, singing the ranz des vaches, that air which is so indissolubly connected with the thoughts and the love of his home, that the remembrance of it is sufficient to cause, in the Swiss peasant when in distant lands, such a longing for his native scenes', as totally unfits him for every occupation 50 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. and enjoyment. On the present occasion, however, he sings it in triumph, followed by three or four goats, then by the pride of the procession, the handsomest cow with the great bell, then by two others with smaller bells, which are succeeded by the rest of the cattle walking one after another, and having in their rear the bull with a three-legged milking stool hanging on his horns. The procession is closed by a sledge, on which are placed all the implements for the dairy. There is, perhaps, no animal in which the difference of dis- position between the male and the female is so marked, as in that now under consideration. The cow, as every one knows, is generally a placid and mild animal, submissive to all the ar- rangements of the dairy, and obedient to the will of a child. The bull, on the other hand, is liable to be excited to an unman- ageable fury ; which disposition increasing with his years, renders him generally unsafe, sometimes in a great degree dangerous. As the manly and independent Swiss honour the useful and harmless qualities of the animal in a pastoral festivity, so less humane nations have taken advantage of the ferocity to which the bull may be excited, to furnish a sport suited to their own dispositions. The Portuguese and Spaniards have been especially devoted to those barbarous sports, which they call bull-feasts. " I have been present," says Sir W. Wraxall, " at these entertainments at Lisbon in 1772, which then distinguished it from all the other capitals of Europe. They were already extinct in Spain, where Charles III. had abolished them on as- cending the throne, in 1759. Joseph and the Queen his wife, on the contrary, nourished the strongest partiality for these games of Moresco origin, which they seldom failed to attend. I have seen the king present there, though one of his eyes was bandaged and swelled from the effect of a spark that had flown into it from the flint of a fowling-piece. The Portuguese bull- feasts were celebrated in a large wooden amphitheatre, capable of accommodating many thousand persons, containing benches below which were surmounted by tiers of boxes. The arena was spacious ; the champion entered gaily dressed, mounted on a spirited horse, held a spear in his hand, and made obeisance to the corporation of Lisbon. From sixteen to twenty bulls were made the victims of this cruel sport every Sunday, and sometimes this number was killed in the course of three hours. Circular THE COW. 57 pieces of leather were fastened on their horns, to prevent their ripping up or mortally wounding the combatants, yet I have witnessed many very severe, and several nearly fatal accidents. Prodigious dexterity and vigour were displayed by some of the horsemen, particularly by a Castilian, who frequently made his appearance, and whom I have seen drive his spear at the first thrust into the heart of the animal, when furiously running at him the amphitheatre then rung with applause. Several of the men who fought on foot exhibited extraordinary agility and cool- ness, in eluding the rage of the incensed animal ; but it must at the same time be remembered, that there were commonly six or seven combined, all armed with long spears. I have seen women engage the bull, ride up and wound him. It frequently happened, that the bulls wanted disposition for the contest. In these cases, the spectacle became rather a butchery, than a com- bat ; but some of them would not have disgraced a Roman amphitheatre if, as I have been assured, was customary a century earlier, their horns instead of being blunted or covered, had been iiled and sharpened to a point." Such is a general account of the formalities of a bull-fight The following relation of one taken from an account lately published, presents a more minute and lively description of the various performances of the assailant, and more particularly of the behaviour of the injured animal. As it may be expected that such sports will be less frequently witnessed for the future, we shall give the narration in the words of the describer, hoping that it may soon be an account of things that are passed and gone. ' The circus of Roiida is one of the largest in all Spain. It contains two rows of boxes. The diameter of the ring, clear of the wall that protects the people, is 190 feet. Each box has seven seats, and the whole contains about five thousand people. The price of admission to the lower circle is about two shillings English, that to the upper about fifteen pence. On entering the circus through the grand gate, you see at the opposite side similar folding doors to those which admit you. Through these come the horses from the stables, and through them also the mules drag those animals that are killed in the ring. The building is open at the top, except that a tiled roof extends over the boxes, very insufficient, however, to protect all the audience lioin the sun. Iir'front of the benches all round extends a 8 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. stone wall four feet and a half high. You may walk between this and the people three or four abreast. Its use is to protect the boxes from the unceremonious visit of the bull, which is frequently attempted ; however it is not always a security against the activity of the animals. They have been known to jump into the centre of the box more than once, where they produced a sensation amongst the well-packed people not easily forgotten. During the greater part of an hour we here had an opportunity of observing the busy and varie- gated scene around us ; and although that time might appear long to one seated on the bench of expectation for a bull-fight, I confess I felt it but too short, engaged as I was in observing the brilliancy and variety of costume that moved before me. The well-dressed of the assembly always make it a point to lounge ir. the circle before the combat begins, and it seems to be a plea- sure to them only inferior to the fight itself to strut round the circle, gazing at the crowded benches, and almost bursting with the consciousness of their elegant appearance. The peasants, on the other hand, mingle in the promenade from curiosity ; the middle orders of the Andalusians, and the peasantry themselves, even to the goatherd of the highest mountain in the Sierra, walk where others walk, and do as others do, as far as lies in their power, without conceiving that they have a whit less right than their better neighbours to do so. From this it may be inferred that the promenaders in the circle were of a very mixed nature ; but it was this very variety of quality and appearance which gave the scene, in my eyes, its greatest attraction. The humblest farmer, nay, the merest peasant, presented to you a figure, bold, unrestrained and graceful. Although their garments might have been neither new, nor fine, there was not a fold in them unbe- coming. Of ladies there were but few ; they generally chose to keep their seats, from which they dispensed their glances to the passing promenaders. A few of the mountain gentry too, who live by levying contributions on the road, mingled in the scene with their coarse, dark, and somewhat ragged dresses, their un- washed faces, and unshorn chins ; nor was the dusty muleteer, nor the cowled monk, nor the ragged water-seller with his jar and glass, wanting to relieve the eye from brighter objects. Our box, as I said before, was on the right as you entered the circus, and next to the royal box. As the door through which the bulls THE COW. 59 made their appearance was under the latter, we were close to them on their first rush, and found an excellent place to get a near view of the countenances both of the bulls and the picadors. We also fronted the doors by which the procession entered the ring to open the sports of the day. The order in which it ap- peared was this : eight mounted dragoons, at the sound of a trumpet, rode into the ring, and, dividing into double files, cleared the arena of the promenaders ; on doing which they re- tired at the same gate by which they entered. All was silence, all was clear in the ring, and the seats in both rows densely packed with anxious spectators. The bright sun enlivened every thing ; silence gave an awful grandeur to the scene, expectation heightened the interest of the moment. The trumpet again sounds, and the three mounted picadors ride slowly forward with spear in hand, and ready for the combat. Then follow two ma- tadores and six banderilleros, two abreast ; lastly are led in, three mules covered with little bells and ornamented harness. The whole advance towards the royal box, and respectfully bow be- fore the authorities of the town therein seated, who graciously receive the salute. The trumpets then sound, and the combat- ants take their respective stations. One picador draws up his horse within twenty yards of the door from which the bull is to be admitted, and close to the wall of the ring ; the horse's head rather turned towards the place from whence his antagonist is to spring. The second picador places himself behind the first, but nearly quarter-way round the circle, so as to be ready to receive the bull when his attack on the first picador terminates, and the third picador is behind him again. The banderilleros throw themselves at various points of the ring, so as to be able to dis- pose of their exertions as may be required, but two generally stand near to each horse, to draw off the bull by their flags in proper time. The dress of the picadors and banderilleros is particularly imposing, and their whole appearance gives a grand and chivalric character to the scene. Those who exhibited be- fore us were dressed as follows . One picador, an able brawny veteran, of fifty-five years of age, wore a scarlet jacket, of a Moorish cut; his hair, which was powdered and clubbed behind, in the old Spanish fashion, was surmounted by a buff-coloured hat, ornamented by a cockade of pink and yellow ribands. This sat ra- ther on the side of his head, and was fastened by a leather strap 60 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. under the chin. A silk sash was tied round his waist, and his waist- coat was of light blue silk, embroidered like the jacket, with silver. The covering of the thighs and legs down even to the toe was all of strong yellow buck-skin leather, which, in order to protect the picador from the weight of the horse and the concussion in falling, was lined with cork; but although this gave the limbs of the man a somewhat larger bulk than the natural, yet mounted and at a distance, it did not destroy the appearance of propor- tion. He wore thick gauntlets, and his saddle, which was buff- coloured, rose high before and behind him. His stirrups were cases for his feet, and his horse, although worn out, still held the erect and noble carriage of the best of Andalusia's breed. The second picador was a young man, and similarly dressed. The third picador was a man of middle age, large and stout, and only differed in dress from the others described, by a black velvet jacket embroidered with gold. His horse was piebald, cream and brown coloured, the remains of a most beautiful animal ; and his conduct through the awful struggle of the com- bat gave proof that he was as brave as he had been beautiful. The banderilleros wore different coloured jackets and short breeches, beautifully embroidered. They had nothing on their heads, the hair fastened by a comb behind j light silk sashes surrounded the waist, and white silk stockings with spangled shoes set off their well turned limbs. Nothing struck me so forcibly as the appearance of those picadors and banderilleros as they entered the ring, all my early ideas of chivalry and romance rushed upon me, and I felt myself, as it were, in the reality of my former cherished imaginings. There was something in the scene associated alike with the ancient classic games, the sanguinary bull-fights of the Italians in their best days, and the tilts and tournaments of knight-errantry, that threw a fascinating colouring over it ; I can no more forget the sensation than I can describe it. All things in readiness for the attack, the signal to commence was given by the authorities in the royal box : the trumpet sounds, and as it ceases, leaves not a murmur behind every thing is still as death. The picadors are fixed firmly in their saddles, the banderilleros are at their various points the countenances of the multitude become strained with expectation hearts palpitate, and every one holds his breath. The angry murmurs of the bull are now heard deep and portentous the bolt is THE COW. Gl slipped every eye is on the gates. In a moment they were opened, and the bull darted into the ring. Perceiving the mounted picador on his left, he without a pause sprang at him, but the well-directed spear received the enraged animal, and although the shock had almost pushed the horse on his haunches, the rider's arm succeeded in turning off his assailant, who, galled and foiled in his fiercest charge, became furious, and flew at the next horseman with astonishing rapidity. The hardy veteran stood prepared, and received the attack well with the spear, but although he turned the bull off for the moment, the charge was renewed before he could draw back his spear, and the horns were buried in the bowels of the horse, which, together with the rider, were lifted by main strength clear off the ground, and both fell. Shouts filled the arena. The bull continued to follow up his success, and gored with all his might, but the picador lay beneath his horse, and thus escaped the deadly thrusts of the horns ; and he had nearly lost his life by the bull lifting the carcass of the horse right upon him, had not the banderilleros succeeded in drawing off the assailant by the flags which they waved between his eyes and his fallen foe. ' The picador is killed !' was the cry, and we all supposed it to be the case ; however, he was lifted from the ground, and although somewhat lamed by the fall, soon appeared again in the ring mounted on a fresh horse, for the other never rose, he had been killed on the instant. The bull having made his two charges, pursued the active banderilleros, whose flags alone protected them from destruction, by attracting the bull, whose efforts being directed to the glaring colours, passed by the real enemy. They were as the fairies in the legend, and the bull, as he who pursued them ever before his eye, ever close to him, yet ever vanishing and never to be touched. Throughout the ring he chased the imps, now one, now another, and often it became a race for life and death ; but the wall was the man's resource, and when the bull with his bended neck had the point of his powerful horn at the fugitive's back, the latter flew over the wall, and disappeared, leaving the animal in amazement, who now stopped and looked up at the crowded benches before him, with rage and disappointment ; pawed the ground, and backing himself a few paces with tail erect, seemed as if about to spring 02 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. in among the people. Now approached the courageous picador on his flank, with spear couched, and watching eye : the bull turns, and like lightning darts upon the horse ; but the firm arm receives him the point is in his shoulder, and it raises the ponderous animal on his haunches the noble horse keeps his ground, and the bull is turned off successfully. A universal shout of triumph greets this second victory. But the bull has not paused ; he runs at the next, who is the remounted antagonist, and before the shout of joy has ceased, this new charge is successful both horse and rider again fall to the ground. The banderilleros draw off the victor ; the picador retires for a third horse, and the fallen is left to die. Words could scarcely express the feelings of triumph, satisfaction, and determined daring, as did the attitudes and aspect of the courage- ous bull at this period of the fight. He took the centre of the ring, stood with bead and tail erect, surveyed his enemies with a look of defiance, while they separated and cautiously clung to the protecting wall, from which, if one dared but to advance a single step, the threatening movement of the bull caused him quickly to resume his safety. Fresh-mounted for the third time, the vanquished picador appears in the ring, and burning to retrieve his reputation, moves boldly up to the bull. Again the rush is made, and again are the horns buried in the writhing horse ; the bull is a third time the victor. The second horseman now approaches, and stands boldly before him. The combatants survey each other a moment the bull moves the horse still faces him. At length the spear receives the shoulder of the impetuous animal, and turns him off, roaring and disappointed, amidst the huzzas of approbation. Now came the banderilleros, each bearing two darts, winged with cut paper of various colours. They carried no flags, and from this circumstance were exposed to great danger in their attacks ; a quick eye and a light foot were their only protection, and certainly this protec- tion they possessed amply ; for never did foot or eye turn off the close bolt of death with more deserving eclat than on this occa- sion. The darts are only thirty inches long ; they are green ash sticks, with a spike at the end, bearded at one side so as to hold when once stricken into the skin. The banderillero steps lightly up to the bull, witfcin a foot of his horns, and as he instantaneously plants the two darts in his neck, he jumps aside, THE COW. 63 escaping miraculously 1'rom the quick and desperate plunge of the beast. Again the bull receives the darts and again and again : one after the other the active banderilleros meet him in the midst of his most frantic boundings, and fly about him like ' spirits of. air,' whom all his might arid rage cannot reach. One cannot help thinking, on seeing this wonderful display, that if the noble animal thus persecuted had but one millionth part of the .cunning of his active tormentors, he would make short work with the whole nay, one could almost wish such a con- summation, so treacherous and cruel is this attack. The his- tory of the correo, however, is not without some records of such just punishment. It is, if not the only, at least the most ex- ceptionable part of the exhibition. The bull thus tormented al- most to madness bleeding profusely, his massive neck made still thicker by the swollen wounds of the darts, yet unconquer- ed, and still bent on resistance and revenge finds a momentary respite from persecution by the sound of the trumpet calling off the banderilleros. One of these, the most experienced, now walks up to the Royal box, bearing a drawn sword and a co- loured flag. He bows to the authorities, declares he will meet the bull single-handed, and bring him to his feet. He then flings into the air his little black silk-cap, bows gracefully, and ad- vances at once singly to the raging animal. He is called a ma- tador, and the one who officiated in the combat J am describing, was one of the most experienced in all Spain : which, however, could hardly be said of his bungling colleague. He was about thirty years of age, above the middle stature, and of long, dark, grave, and truly national visage. His black hair was plaited, and turned up behind, and his limbs were light and athletic. His step was firm and elastic, and he was cool and collected in his demeanour. Like the chivalric Italians of the fourteenth century, he met the bull single-banded, and, although his flag gave the odds in his favour, still his attack might be said to be the most dangerous, as well as the most equal in the whole fight. So cool, so determined, so prepared seemed the man, as he stood before the bull, that the fierce and maddened ani- mal paused and surveyed this new enemy with recollected cau- tion. He seemed, as it were, to acquire reflective powers, and to be, for the first time, aware of the necessity of dis- cretion. As long as the bull remains inactive, the mata- F2 64 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. dor can have no chance of inflicting the mortal wound ; it must be the bull's own strength that is to be turned to ac- count, for his death ; nor would the chances be more favour- able if the bull were to rush at the matador directly. Although the sword is unusually long, it would not be sufficient to reach the life at the point to which the matador directs the blade, which is between the shoulder -bone and the neck, or anatomi- cally speaking, between the scapula and the ribs ; that is to say, the bull's horn would reach the ribs of the matador before the sword's point would reach those of the bull's. But to insure success, the flag is used. The matador awaits until the bull is about to rush, and he urges him by every menace to make this rush. As soon as he sees the animal preparing for it, he dis- plays the flag before it, standing a little on one side ; the bull darts at it, and while in the act, the matador pushes the sword home to the hilt, and leaves it in its bloody sheath. It is in his heart The crimson life-tide gushes out both at the wound and at the mouth ; the beast reels quickly round, and with a cough and a groan falls lifeless. This was the case with the bull in the fight I describe. From the moment he received the wound until he was dead, a dozen seconds did not elapse. The three mules are now brought in, the traces yoked to the horns of the fallen combatant, and his body is dragged in triumph out of the ring, after which the bodies of the dead horses are removed. In a few minutes the trumpets sound the signal for the next course, and the clamour that naturally follows on the conclusion of the first, subsides into dead silence. It would be monotonous to go through a detail of the subsequent attacks. Suffice it to say, that six bulls were killed, and about as many horses, in the first day's sport, and that the veteran picador, who was so un- successful in the first attack, recovered his reputation gallantly. And it is worthy of remark, that the noble old piebald horse, that bore his rider so well in the onslaught of the first fight, left the arena with only one wound of any consequence ; this was a deep gore in the breast, which was not of any immediate danger ; several slight wounds were, however, discernible on his haunches. ]t is worthy of remark, because it seldom happens that a horse lives out the whole of a day's combats. This excellent animal bore away that honour, and with his masterly rider, was loudly cheered as he left the ring." THE COW. G5 The bull-feasts held at Rome in the fourteenth century, were of a more sanguinary character than those of modern Spain. The nobles of the city, and often the chiefs of the rival houses of Colonna and Ursini displayed their rivalry in the arena, be- fore the fairest of the Roman ladies. The bull was there encountered by one champion on foot, armed with a sword. The fight was for life and death, and the horned combatant usually had the best of it. An Italian writer states, that, at one fight, no less than eighteen young men of the best families in Rome were killed. But the description now given of a parti- cular combat, may be received also as a description of bull-fighting in general. The cruelties perpetrated on this class of animals have not however been confined even to such customs as are above re- lated. The account given by Bruce, of a practice common in Abyssinia, seemed so monstrous, that rather than believe it, the public at first were disposed to account it the fiction of a tra- veller subsequent inquiries have ascertained the fact, and while they have proved the veracity of the narrator, they have fixed the stain of inhumanity on the Abyssinians. We shall present the reader with the statement as it is made by Bruce himself: " Not long after our losing sight of the ruins of Axum, we over- took three travellers driving a cow before them ; they had black goat skins upon their shoulders, and lances and shields in their hands ; they appeared to be soldiers. The cow did not appear to be fitted for killing, and it occurred to us all that it had been stolen. We saw that our attendants attached themselves in a particular manner to the three soldiers that were driving the cow, and held a short conversation with them. Soon after we arrived at the hithermost bank of the river where I thought we were to pitch our tent. The driver suddenly tripped up the cow and gave the poor animal a very nide fall upon the ground, which was but the beginning of her sufferings. One of them sat across her neck holding down her head by the horns. The other twisted the halter about her forehead, while the third, who had a knife in his hand, to my very great surprise, in place of taking her by the throat got astride upon her belly before her hind-legs, and gave her a very deep wound in the upper part of the buttock Upon proposing to my men that they should bargain for part of the cow, they answered, what they had already learned in conversation, 66 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. that they were not then to kill her that she was not wholly theirs and that they could not sell her. This awakened iny curiosity ; I let my people go forward, and staid myself, till I saw with the utmost astonishment, two pieces thicker and larger than our ordinary beef-steaks cut out of the higher part of the buttock of the beast. How it was done, I cannot positively say, because, judging the cow was to be killed, from the moment I saw the knife drawn, I was not anxious to behold the catas- trophe, which was by no means an object of curiosity : what- ever way it was done, it surely was adroitly, and the two pieces were spread upon the outside of their shields. One of them still continued holding the head, while the other two were busied in curing the wound. This too was done not in an ordinary manner : the skin which had covered the flesh that was taken away was left entire, and flapped over the wound, and was fastened to the corresponding part by two or three small skewers or pins. Whether they had put any thing under the skin, between that and the wounded flesh, I know not ; but at the river-side where they were, they had prepared a cataplasm of clay, with which they covered the wound ; they then forced the animal to rise, and drove it on before them, to furnish them with a fuller meal when they should meet their companions in the evening."* These are savage and inhuman abuses of a most extensively useful animal. Nor are the advantages received from this class confined to the nourishment which they directly yield to the life of man ; in many countries their actual services have been called into request for such offices as are with us assigned to the horse. They were the first that dragged the plough, and an ancient proverb represented the adaptation of the ox to this use as the perfection of fitness, f They are in some countries, par- ticularly in South Africa, employed in drawing those waggons, which convey the traveller or the merchant over the sandy or stony desert, and there they choose their steps and pursue their course with a surprising sagacity. In Egypt, Eurckhardt saw cows employed in drawing buckets of water from deep-sunk wells. Even the ferocity of the bull has been so far overcome, that he has been used as a racer. In 1 794, at Low Haughton in * Travels to discover the source of the Nile. t Ut bos ai atro. THE COW. 67 Derbyshire, a race was run between an ass and a bull, each animal having a rider properly equipped with spurs and whip. The bull, which might not have been obedient to a bit, had a ring through his nose, from which chains were hung on his horns and attached to a bridle. The bull in this case proved more swift than the ass. Like the dog, the bull is very readily affected by any thing extraordinary in the human voice or gesture. A farmer, through one of whose parks there lay a thoroughfare, was desirous that it should be abandoned ; and for this purpose, put a mischievous bull to graze in the park. The first who ventured to traverse the path was a crazy woman, who, when the bull approached, made such uncouth gesticulations with her head and hands, and uttered such hideous sounds, that the terrified animal scampered off. The thoroughfare soon became as much frequented as it bad been before. Some share even of sagacity must be allowed to this animal. The cattle of South America, especially in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres, give indications of approaching rain, before the signs of it are visible in the atmosphere. A traveller relates, that in passing from this place the weather had been long dry, almost every spring had failed, and the negroes were sent in all directions to discover fountains. Soon after, the cattle began to stretch their necks to the west, and to snuff in a singular manner through their noses, which they held very high in the air. Not a cloud was then seen, nor the slightest breath of wind felt. But the cattle proceeded, as if seized with a sudden madness, to scamper about, then to gather together, squeezing closer and closer, and snuffing as before. While he was wondering what was to be the result of such extravagant motions, a black cloud rose above the mountains, thunder and lightning followed, the rain fell in torrents, and the cattle were soon enabled to quench their thirst on the spot where they stood. The cow is well known to have a strong affection for its young. When the calf is removed from the mother, especially if the two have been kept some time near each other, the latter testifies its grief by a mournful lowing, refuses to eat its food, and to yield the wonted abundance to the milker. The beha- viour of cows in such circumstances in Hungary, has been re- 68 ANECDOTES OF ANIiMALS. marked by Dr Bright :* " We met two cows," says he, " wan- dering wildly in the forest, looking in every direction, snuffing the air, and lowing continually. They had just lost their calves. The keeper gave me a singular account of their conduct under such circumstances. The mother no sooner perceives her loss than she appears distressed ; the first day she seems to search for her calf with hope, the second, she becomes disappointed and frantic, and the third, still pursues her solitary search, after which she returns to the herd, gradually becomes tranquil and composed, and associates again with her former companions." The cow has been known also to associate with a pig, to defend it from the annoyance of dogs, and give symptoms of congratu- lation on its safety. She has more frequently taken a kind of maternal charge of the lamb, and afforded it the nourishment of her milk. We know not whether the maternal solicitude exhibited by the cow has contributed much to render it that object of venera- tion among the Hindoos which it assuredly is. While, contrary to the common notion here, the purest Brahmins are allowed to eat mutton and venison, while fish is permitted to some castes, and pork to others, it is considered a grievous, in many cases a capital crime, to kill a cow or a bullock for the purpose of eat- ing. The cow has a most honoured place in a Brahminical asy- lum for animals. " At Broach," says Bishop Heber.f " is one of those remarkable institutions which have made a great deal of noise in Europe as instances of Hindoo benevolence to inferior animals. I mean hospitals for sick and infirm beasts, birds, and insects. I was not able to visit it, but Mr Corsellis described it as a very dirty and neglected place ; which, though it has considerable endowments in land, only serves to enrich the Brahmins who manage it. They have really animals of se- veral different kinds there, not only those which are accounted sacred by the Hindoos, as monkeys, peacocks, &c., but horses, dogs, and cats ; and they have also, in little boxes, an assortment of lice and fleas. It is not true, however, that they feed these pensioners on the flesh of beggars hired for the purpose. The Brahmins say that insects as well as the other inmates of their infirmary, are fed with vegetables only, such as rice, &c. How * Travels in Lower Hungary, p. 15(5. f Journey through the Upper Provinces of India, rol. iii. 67. the insects thrive I did not hear ; but the old horses and dogs, nay, the peacocks and apes are allowed to starve ; and the only creatures said to be in any tolerable plight, are some milch cows, which may be kept from other motives than charity." The Zoological Society possesses a remarkably beautiful spe- cies of bull, called the Brahmin Bull. In India this animal is almost useless, allowed to wander about at his will amidst the rice fields and gardens, and caressed by the natives with religi- ous veneration. The Committee of the Zoological Society are anxious that there should be some stock from this noble animal, the only specimen in England. It is possible that this gentle and beautiful creature might become the founder of a race supe- rior in docility to the common ox. The cow varies in appearance in different climates and cir- cumstances ; but of these varieties a full account is given in the Natural History and the Notes appended.* We shall only notice a very remarkable specimen belonging to a Frenchwoman, which she said was brought from Africa when a calf, and which was lately exhibited in various parts of the Continent and in Lon- don. Its hair was short and silky, the colour of a yellowish white ; and on the back of the neck was a hump or swelling. The aspect of the animal was usually mild and docile j but what peculiarly distinguished it was the expression of the eye when it was irritated. On these occasions the eye rose more than one half above the orbit, bearing a resemblance to a cup or ball, enabling it to see on all sides ; and the iris, which was naturally of a pale blue colour, changed from that to a very deep crim- son We proceed now to give notices of animals which, though possessing the general characteristics of the cow, are easily dis- tinguished from it both by their appearance and their habits.f * Vol. i. 520 and 523, and n. f There is an animal called the musk-bull, about the size of a small cow, anil smelling powerfully of musk. They are very jealous, and the males are often found dead, and those alive bear but a small proportion to the females found in a herd. A specimen was presented by Captain Parry to the Edinburgh College Museum. He found them as far north as Mel- ville's Island. For these and other particulars respecting it, see the Notes to Goldsmith, vol. i. p. 540, ft 11. 70 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. THE ZEBU. THE difference between this animal and the domestic cattle of India, of which country it is a native, may be rather ascribed to the influence of climate and habit than to any original diver- sity in the stock. The Zebu is about the size of our domestic cow, the forehead flat or slightly depressed. It is nearly square in its outline, its height equal to its breadth, and bounded above by a prominent line forming an angular protuberance passing directly across the skull between the bases of its horns, which sometimes stand out, or pointing backwards, with their tips slightly inflected. But that which chiefly distinguishes it is a large fatty hump, of about fifty pounds weight, on the top of the shoulders. Its usual colour is cream-yellow, or milkrwhite. It is of a gentle and tractable disposition, and is used as a beast of burden in India. In some places it is used like the horse, being either saddled, ridden, or harnessed in a carriage, and per- forms tolerably long journeys at the rate of from twenty to thirty miles a-day. Their pace, like that of the ox, is a brisk but easy trot. Instead of a bit, they are guided by a ring passed through the cartilage of their nostrils, and to it is fastened the cord that serves as a bridle. Those belonging to nabobs and men of wealth, have their horns gilded and are richly decorated with embroidered trappings. THE BISON. THE bison is the general name of the cow with the hump, and though this animal breeds with the cow, in external appearance it is remarkably different. It has an elevated forehead, of much greater breadth than length, and bounded above by an arched line passing across the head, about two inches behind the roots of the horns. The head is extremely large in proportion to the size of the body, supported by strong and powerful muscles. The eyes are small, black, and piercing ; the horns are short, black, and very thick at their base, placed widely apart, directed outwards, backwards, and upwards, slightly curved towards their THE BISON. ?L tips. Its withers are elevated in the form of a large lump, ex- tending nearly to the middle of the back, to which point it gradually slopes ; thus giving the fore parts a very strong ap- pearance. This protuberance does not consist merely of flesh, and fat, but is supported by an actual elongation of the spinous processes of the vertebrae beneath. This lump, as well as the head, neck, throat, and shoulders, are covered with a long shaggy coat of black woolly hair. All the other parts of the body are covered with short, thick set, curling hair, which becomes woolly in winter, and falls off in summer ; the general colour of the hair is of a deep blackish brown, but the hinder parts are nearly black. The legs are short, firm, and muscular ; the tail is very short, measuring only a foot in length, and is nearly naked, except at the tip, which is furnished with a tuft of long black hairs. The bison differs from the common ox, by having two additional ribs ; the ox is well known to have but thirteen, while the bison has fifteen; The female is smaller than the male, more slender in her make, and her mane is much shorter. These animals inhabit all the wild tracts of North America, from Hudson's Bay to Louisiana, extending southwards to the frontiers of Mexico, increasing in size as they diverge from the north. In northern situations they are only to be met with in small herds, while, in the immense and fertile savannahs of the south, the herds extend for miles. Captains Lewis and Clerk say, " Such was the multitude of these animals, that, although the river, including an island over which they passed, was a mile in breadth, the herd stretched, as thick as they could swim, completely from cne side to the other." And in another passage, " If it be not impossible to calculate the moving multitude which darkened the whole plains, we are convinced that twenty thousand would be no exaggerated number." Bisons generally prefer the open plains, and do not resort to woods, except when attacked : they seldom attempt to defend themselves, but almost invariably take to flight. They are ex- tremely fleet, and their sense of smell is so acute, that they discover an enemy at a great distance, so that it is difficult to get near them. They are frequently hunted by the natives, who live principally on their flesh. When the hunters kill the old dams, they pay no attention to the calf, as it is sure to remain by its dead mother. Instances have been known of a mother 72 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. entering the town of Cincinnati, followed by its calves. Many of them fall victims to wolves and grizzly bears. Their beef is said to be of an excellent quality, and of a very superior flavour. A pigmy bison, exhibited by a dealer in curiosities at Hastings, and which was said to have belonged to Count Bournon, may be mentioned, not as any illustration of the animal, but as a re- markable instance of those impostures, of which even the student of natural history requires to be aware. It was certainly unique in its kind, being only about eight inches high, whereas the bison possesses the stature of an ox, and will weigh some- times twenty or thirty hundred pounds. This little model was quite proportionate and symmetrical, perfect in horns and coat, and a complete miniature of the animal which it represented. It appeared to a person who took some pains to examine it, to have been grounded on a well-formed model of wood, covered first of all very tightly with the skin of a pug dog of corresponding size, the long hair about the head, hunch, and belly, being added with consummate skill from the skin of a young bear -. while the horns and hoofs were formed of the black horn of the buffalo ; all, however, so admirably put together, as to stamp the contriver as the first of his art.* THE BUFFALO. WERE we to attend to external appearance only, we should readily conclude, that the buffalo is an animal less formidable than the bison. It does not possess the hump of the other, nor the shaggy neck, which would lead us to expect that it should be as the lion of the ruminating tribes. Yet the buffalo is the strongest and fiercest of his class, and in oriental countries, where he is brought into the arena to contend with the most savage animals of the desert, he is formidable to the lion, and almost invariably conquers the tiger. The buffalo has a strong resemblance to the common ox. His horns are compressed, and directed laterally, with a ridge in front, reclining towards the neck, and the tips turned up. The London's Magazine of Natural History, vol. ii. p. 218. THE BUFFALO. 73 forehead is convex ; the ears are large and hanging ; the hair is nearly black, and of a coarse texture ; and the tail tufted at the end, like that of a bull. This animal is a native of various countries of the East, They are common in Western Hindostan, and also in Africa. The latter breed differs from those of India, particularly in the horns, which are very thick and rugged at the base. The horns are of great size, frequently measuring three feet in length. The body and limbs are thick and muscular. The head hangs down, which gives it a gloomy and fierce aspect. The buffalo is now very common in many parts of Germany and Hungary, where it is used as a beast of draught. These animals are naturally very fierce ; and it is dangerous to approach the situations where they feed, in their native wilds ; for, differently from most other ruminating animals, they will fearlessly attack a man ; and, in this case, there is no chance of escape. When the buffalo encounters a person, he runs against him with his horns, and having thrown him down, tramples him with his hoofs and knees, and tears him to pieces with his horns. In Africa, the buffalo is hunted by the Caffres, at which ter- rible scenes often take place. It is likewise hunted in India, and the following is the description of a hunt which took place in that country : On the morning of the 2d of March, 1813, a herd, consisting of seven wild buffaloes, with one calf, was suddenly discovered at Keshennagar, in Hindostan. Four gen- tlemen on horseback commenced a pursuit of these animals with much ardour. After having followed them three miles, the young one separated from the herd, and joined some tame cattle belonging to a neighbouring village. It was killed by the party, who afterwards continued the pursuit of the old ones, when they were overtaken in a high grass jungle four miles farther on". They were quickly driven from this place, and closely followed for more than six miles over a plain : at length the party suc- ceeded in separating one buffalo from the herd. Here the en- counter began. After receiving several wounds, he still conti- nued his flight ; he suddenly halted, and kept his pursuers at bay ; after a short interval he again fled, and was pursued and wounded as before, carrying the spears sticking in his back and sides for several hundred yards. Lieutenant White, of the 15th 74 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. Native Infantry, rode tip very close to him, threw his spear, and wounded the animal in the loins. His horse being much exhausted, was unable to wheel round before the buffalo turned about and charged with such vigour, that both horse and rider were overthrown, and lay many yards distant. Fortunately, the lieutenant received no material injury ; and when the ani- mal approached he had the presence of mind to lie flat on his back. The beast approached, but stood at his feet, without of- fering any violence. The other sportsmen called repeatedly to their companion to arise and escape. For some time, however, he disregarded the advice, fearful of the consequences ; at length, in compliance with their entreaty, he arose ; the buf- falo instantly rushed forward, but Mr White escaped by throw- ing himself down ; while the enraged beast, missing his aim, fell on the ground, his horns grazing Mr White's back, as he passed over him. After this lucky escape, he seized the fa- vourable opportunity, and regained his horse. The buffalo then took refuge in a tank ; and when his former opponent joined his companions, who were standing upon the bank, the animal issued forth, and selecting Lieutenant White for the object of its vengeance, pursued him to a considerable distance. The ani- mal was now rendered quite furious, and attacked every thing within his reach, such as cows and dogs. Unfortunately, an old woman returning from market passed, and became the vic- tim of his rage ; she was taken up without any appearance of life, having her arms broken, and many wounds. The cavalry being, from fatigue, hors de combat, could not renew the attack ; and the buffaloes, whose system was retreat, having gained a vic- toiy, now continued their course without molestation. THE SHEEP KIND. THE SHEEP. DESCENDING in the scale of the domesticated animals \ve come to the sheep, less marked than the former by noble and powerful qualities, but distinguished by its universal utility, its meek subservience to the will of men, and the many pleasing images with which it is associated. The horse serves mankind by its labours only ; the cow-kind by their produce, and frequent- ly by their labours ; the sheep by its produce only. Yet, in those climates in which the sheep is reared in most abundance, there are few animals that could be worse spared. There, scarcely an individual exists who does not owe the comforts of warmth, and the security of his health, to the woolly covering that once defended the sheep. That fleece which has rendered the sheep so valuable to man, enables it to endure greater severities of climate than most other animals ; though sagacious in its selection of food, it is capable of subsisting on a very barren soil ; and these circumstances have rendered it particularly the inhabitant of bleak and mountainous regions. There they endure cold and snow that would be fatal to most other quadrupeds. They seem to have an instinctive notion of the approach of a storm, and take refuge by the side of some hill or projecting cliff. On these occasions they crowd together ; frequently subsist whole days beneath a covering of snow ; and the shepherd, after having looked with dismay on an expanse of snow on which no living creature was visible, has been delighted to see his whole flock rush forth on the break- ing up of an aperture in a drifted pile. 08 76 ANECDOTES OF ANIMALS. The sheep has been said to be an animal without any cour- age. It may be more properly characterised as one much af- fected by circumstanced ; disposed to be implicitly submissive to the shepherd, and, when under his protection, trusting to him for its defence ; but, in other circumstances, and when obliged to rely on its own resources, capable of exerting an energy and sagacity corresponding to the powers with which it has been fur- nished by nature. On extensive mountains where numerous flocks range at liberty, arid, generally speaking, independent of the shepherd's aid, they exhibit a very different character ; and a ram or a wedder has been frequently seen to attack a dog, and to come off victorious. When the danger is more pressing, they have recourse to the collective strength of the whole, drawing up into a compact body, and presenting to every quarter, an armed front which cannot be attacked without danger to the assailant. In the mountainous parts of Wales, where the sheep enjoy so great a share of liberty as to render them very wild, they do not always collect into large flocks, but frequently graze in parties of from eight to ten or twelve, of which one is sta- tioned at a distance from the rest to give notice of the approach of danger. On observing any one approach, at the distance of two or three hundred yards, the sentinel turns his face to the enemy, keeping a vigilant eye upon his motions, and allowing him to advance as near as eighty or a hundred yards ; but, if the suspected foe attempt to come nearer, the watchful guard alarms his comrades by a loud hiss, or whistle, which is repeated two or three times. Upon this signal the whole party scour away with inconceivable rapidity, and soon gain the most inac- cessible parts of the mountains. When safety cannot be ob- tained by flight, a ram will often make a stand against a more powerful animal. If necessary, the whole flock joins in the re- sistance ; they form a dense body, having the females and young in the centre, wait till the enemy is within a few yards ; then a party of the rams darts on the assailants, and the fox or dog will not generally be left to vaunt a successful attack. As we are defending the suspected courage of the sheep, we may here adduce a notice of a petulant one, though, from the remark with which it is introduced, it will be seen not to be so conclusive as the proofs adduced above. " The guanaco," says Haigh, " is generally classed under the head THE SHEEP 77 of South American sheep, but I think it is more like a camel ; it has memory and affection, as I shall give an anec- dote to prove. I sent a pair of these animals as a present to a friend of mine, who has an estate in Surrey. The male died on the passage, but the female arrived safe in the London docks. I bought them of an Indian market-woman when they were only a few months old. Whilst they were in my possession, she came to see them once a-week, and they always showed great joy when she spoke to them, and would leap about and endea- vour to get near her. Arrived in England, the female after some time took a fancy to one of my friend's carriage horses, and when he was turned out to the grass, she would not allow any one to approach her favourite. When the carriage drove down the sweep, she would accompany her friend, and proceed bounding down the drive by his side, and become highly indig- nant when the lodge-gate was closed against her. After com- mitting a variety of freaks, such as knocking down the groom, and on more than one occasion entering the kitchen and frighten- ing the cook from the spit, my friend voted ' Miss Fanny' un- manageable and returned her to me, and I placed her under the tuition of Mr Cross, head master of the academy for wild beasts, at Exeter change."* The more remarkable qualities of the sheep, however, are innocence, and the most implicit submission to the will of the shepherd. These are the qualities which have rendered them such an impressive feature in every scene of simple and innocent life. The shepherd has but one object to preserve his helpless charge from injury ; they seem to have but one feeling, implicit confidence in his protection. His life, therefore, is one either of lonely meditation, as in the summer when the care of the sheep is comparatively easy, or of solicitude in winter, when their lives as well as his own are frequently in peril. The most marked character of the sheep, is natural affection, of which it possesses a large share. It has few wants, and fewer expedients. The old black-faced or forest breed, have more powerful capa- bilities than any of the finer breeds that have been introduced into Scotland. The anecdotes furnished by Hogg of the affe