ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ARAB HORSE.
In all times the horse has been regarded by peoples and Governments as one of the most potent elements of their strength and prosperity. At the present day there is no question relating either to rural economy or to the art of war, more canvassed than that touching the amelioration of the charger. The highest authorities of the State, learned societies, agriculturists, the army, every body, in short, is taken up with it in France, and yet we are very far from being agreed upon it. For my own part, I have never wearied of studying that noble animal, from taste quite as much as from patriotism or professional necessity. I have consulted the most esteemed authors and men of great erudition, but I confess that it is among the Arabs I have met with the most just and practical appreciations of the subject. To obtain the best possible information, I have frequently applied to the Emir Abd-el-Kader, that illustrious chief who, by reason of his exalted position in Mussulman society, his science, and his skill as a horseman, was of all men the most competent to remove the misgivings which still troubled me. The following is the last letter that he wrote to me in reply to certain questions I had proposed to him as to the origin of the Arab horse. It seems to me to contain some very remarkable suggestions, even from a zoological point of view. In any case it is sufficiently curious to justify my expectation that it will prove acceptable to all who, whether at home or abroad, feel an interest in the equine race.
LETTER OF THE EMIR ABD-EL-KADER.
Praise be to the one God!
To him who remains ever the same amidst the revolutions of this world:
To our friend, General Daumas.
Peace be with you, through the mercy and blessing of Allah, on the part of the writer of this letter, on that of his mother, his children, their mother, of all the members of his family and of all his associates.
To proceed: I have read your questions, I address to you my answers.
You ask me for information as to the origin of the Arab horse. You are like unto a fissure in a land dried up by the sun, and which no amount of rain, however abundant, will ever be able to satisfy.