THE ASS, ZEBRA AND MULE
The animal called the ass is a near relation of the horse, one best known to us under its common name of Donkey. It is like the horse in some ways and not like it in others. The ass is much smaller than the horse, being nearer the size of the pony. It has a heavy head, thick lips, long ears, and a tail not covered with long hair like the horse's tail, but with a tuft of hair at the end like that of a cow. A decided difference is in its voice, the bray of the donkey being an ear-splitting sound, not at all like the neigh of the horse.
The wild ass is found through all parts of Central and Southern Asia and also in Northern Africa. It is spoken of in the Bible. The book of Job praises this animal for its love of liberty. Job says of it: "He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the cry of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pasture and he searcheth after every green thing."
Reproduced by Permission of Amer. Conservatory
Mexican Donkey Waiting for the Last Straw
That is a good picture of the wild ass, for it seems to like every green thing. It eats the bitter herbs of its favorite regions, the mountain spinach, the dandelion, the thistle, and the witch grass, and drinks the salt water of the Caspian Sea as readily as fresh water. It is taller and stouter than the donkey, very active and able to bear fatigue. Its winter coat resembles that of a camel, being long and fleecy, but in summer its hair is soft and silky and silvery white beneath.
The Tartars and Persians kill and eat this animal, but it has sharp eyes and keen ears and is a swift runner, so that it is hard to shoot. When taken young it is easily tamed, and if well fed grows to be a strong and handsome animal which sells at good prices.
Such is the fine animal which has been turned into the dwarfed and stupid donkey of Europe. To be dull and obstinate is not native to this animal. Its lack of sense comes in great part from the way it is treated and its being taken to a climate too damp and cold for it. In the warm, dry regions of the south it is a finer animal and gets better care, and here the people often pet and love their donkeys.
In China and Persia there is a fine race of asses, used only for riding, and these are so thick in Bokhara that the streets are often crowded with them. They are of many colors, white, black, brown, blue-gray, etc. The donkeys of Egypt also are handsome animals, with an easy gait that makes them much liked for riding. Still handsomer are those of Upper Egypt and Nubia, which are such fine creatures that they sell for more than horses.
In the western states of this country and in the Spanish republics is a very small donkey, called the Burro, much used as a carrier of loads in the mountain regions and in the streets of cities. There are also great numbers of wild asses in parts of South America, Patagonia having very many of them. They were once so abundant in the Cape Verde and Canary Islands that they were hunted and killed like beasts of game. Aside from their flesh, which is much liked when they are young, the skin is of value, being made into parchment, vellum and shagreen.
The Striped Zebra of Africa
The Zebra, one of the most beautiful of animals, from its handsomely striped skin, is a member of the horse family, but one of which we do not need to speak, since it is found only in a wild state. It has in some cases been tamed and trained to harness, but it is an obstinate and hot-tempered brute, so that few have tried to tame it.
Another striped animal of Africa rather like the zebra, is the Quagga, but this has been hunted and killed till now none of them can be found. Its name came from its cry ("quag-ga quag-ga"), as different from the neigh of the horse as from the bray of the ass.
A cross has been made between the zebra and the horse, which has been named the Zebrule or Zebroid. These have proved strong and easy to train for harness and saddle. There are several of them now in the government collection of animals at Washington, and some time they may prove useful.
But the best cross-breed is that between the horse and the ass, well known to us all as the Mule. The breeding of mules has been carried on from very old times and is now common in many parts of the earth. It yields an animal which is cheaper to keep than the horse and better fitted for many kinds of work.
I hardly need tell you what the mule is like, for all of you have often seen this ugly and at times very obstinate, but hard-working brute. The mule is much like the horse in size and shape, but it has the long ears, the tufted tail, the thin, wiry legs, and the narrow hoofs of the ass. And while its coat is like that of the horse, its voice comes near that of the ass.
The mule is like the ass also in being strong, hardy and not given to disease. Even when thirty years old it often shows no sign of age. Thus it is useful for more years than the horse, eats less, and is fit for work not suited to the horse.
The mule is of great use in carrying loads over mountain paths. It has a firm, sure foot and can carry loads of five hundred pounds for weeks at a time over pathless hills. The planters of the South could not do without it in their cotton and sugar fields and it takes the place of the horse for much of the street work of cities.
This is not all. Mules are often used for riding and are very good for this. They are also used in carriages. They are raised in large numbers in Spain, where fine ones bring high prices, selling from $150 to $350.
We should hardly look to the donkey and the mule for signs of powers of thought, but it is likely that they are equal to the horse in intellect. The story of a gate-opening mule, given above, goes beyond anything we have found said about the horse, and it is very likely that all those members of the horse tribe, which are much alike in habits, are also much alike in thought powers.
III
CLOVEN-HOOFED DRAUGHT ANIMALS
Now we come to the two-toed animals, those called the cloven-hoofed. Looking at our own arms and legs we find five toes on each foot and five fingers on each hand and might fancy that this is the natural number. We find it to be so with the monkeys and with many other animals but we soon find some with fewer toes. Thus the dog, while it has five toes on its fore feet, has only four on its hind feet.
In the tapir and the rhinoceros we meet with three-toed animals and soon come across two-toed and one-toed animals. The two-toed are very common, for we find them in the sheep and cattle of our fields, the pig of the barnyard, the camel, the deer, the antelope, and several other kinds. As for the one-toed, their story has just been told.
Is it not worth knowing that the fewer toes an animal has the faster and longer it can run? We find this in the one-toed horse, and its cousins, the ass and the zebra, the greatest runners of all animals. Next to them come the two-toed animals. Of these the deer and antelopes are fast runners, though some of them run very little. We do not find many runners among the five-toed animals. Those of the cat tribe are better at jumping than running. In the dog tribe, in which are the wolves and foxes, there are good runners, but these animals trust to their wits as much as to their legs, catching their game often by cunning tricks.
Reproduced by Permission of the Philadelphia Museums
The Native Ox Cart of Delhi, India
Another matter of some interest is the fact that all the one-toed animals are much alike in form and habit, while the two-toed differ so much that we can find little or no likeness between them. Take the ox, the goat, the pig, the buffalo, and the camel. Are these alike in anything except their split hoofs? The fact is that the single hoof seems to fit animals only for running, while the double hoof fits them for various kinds of life. We find them at home in the desert, on the mountains and plains, in the forest depths, and in swampy regions, their forms and habits changing to suit the kind of life they lead.
Many of these animals have been tamed and made to serve man in various ways. We can see them all about us, some of them kept for food, some for work in the field or on the road. Let us take a look at those used for work.