Part 13 (1/2)
The Common Porpoise.
The Porpoise resembles the dolphin in general appearance. Its length, from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail, is from five to eight feet; and the width about two feet and a half. The figure of the whole body is conical; the colour of the back is deep blue, inclining to s.h.i.+ning black; the sides are gray, and the belly white. When the flesh is cut up, it looks very much like pork; but, although it was once considered a sumptuous article of food, and is said to have been occasionally introduced at the tables of the old English n.o.bility, it certainly has a disagreeable flavour. Their motion in the water is a kind of circular leap; they dive deep, but soon again rise up in order to breathe. They are seen in nearly all seas, where they sport with great activity, chiefly on the approach of a squall.
The Grampus.
The Grampus (_Orca Gladiator_) is the natural enemy of the whale and the seal, who hold him in mortal terror. His swallow is so great that he can take a porpoise or a seal whole, and has been known to swallow several in succession. The whale escapes him by getting among the ice, whither it is said the grampus will not follow him.
ORDER VI.
The Sea Cow.
The Sea Cow is an aquatic vegetarian who lives on the coast. Of the three genera which const.i.tute the family _Manatidae_ one is now said to be extinct. The genus Manatus contains two species, one belonging to South America and the other to the West Coast of Africa. The Dugong (_Halicore Dugong_) which attains to a length of nine or ten feet at maturity produces oil having similar medicinal properties to that obtained from the Cod's liver. It inhabits the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, the neighbourhood of the Malay Islands and the North and East coasts of Australia.
ORDER VII.
Hoofed Animals.
The order of hoofed animals includes a number of well known species, of which the Horse, the a.s.s, the Ox and the Sheep among the tame, and the Rhinoceros, the Hippopotamus, the Boar and the Bison among the wild are familiar examples. The order is divided into two sub-orders and these into numerous families. The sub-orders are, I, The Perissodactyla, which includes three families of animals characterised by an odd number of toes in their hind feet, the horse having one, and the Rhinoceros three.
II, The Artiodactyla which includes seven families of animals all having an even number of toes.
The Horse.
The horse stands first among the hoofed animals, as the friend and servant of man. He has a history which is full of interest but which it is quite impossible to give within the limits of our present opportunity. He is mentioned in both cla.s.sical and Biblical history at an early period, but there is reason to believe that he flourished in prehistoric times. He was used by the Greeks in their public games, the chariot race being one of their most popular forms of entertainment; he was also employed by them for the purposes of war, of which the writings of Homer and other cla.s.sical authors give abundant proof. First used apparently to draw the chariot only, the adaptation of the means to the end soon suggested to man the propriety of mounting his back, and from the throne he thus acquired man has since conquered the whole world.
Man's first appearance on horseback doubtless suggested the fable of the Centaur; those unaccustomed to the sight imagining that they beheld a monster, half man and half horse, as it is said the aborigines of America did when they first saw Spanish equestrians. The Egyptians are said to have been the first to cultivate the horse, and the Persians the first to use him in battle.
Arabian Horses.
The beauty, strength and speed of the Arabian horse are well known, and the affection which subsists between him and his master is the basis of many a pathetic story. These horses are generally of a brown colour; the mane and tail being short, and the hair black and tufted. The Arabs for the most part use the mares in their ordinary excursions, as they are less vicious than the males, and are more capable of sustaining abstinence and fatigue.
The Arab often shares his tent with his mare, the husband, the wife, the child, the mare, and the foal, lying together indiscriminately; and the youngest branches of the family embracing the neck, or reposing on the body, of the mare, without any idea of fear or danger.
St. Pierre in his ”Studies of Nature” tells a pretty story of the Arab's affection for his horse: ”The whole stock of a poor Arabian of the desert consisted of a beautiful mare; this the French consul at Said offered to purchase, with an intention to send her to Louis XIV. The Arab, pressed by want, hesitated a long time, but at length consented, on condition of receiving a very considerable sum of money, which he named. The consul wrote to France for permission to close the bargain; and, having obtained it, sent the information to the Arab. The man, so indigent as to possess only a miserable covering for his body, arrived with his magnificent courser; he dismounted, and first looking at the gold, then steadfastly at his mare, heaved a sigh. 'To whom is it,'
exclaimed he, 'that I am going to yield thee up? To Europeans! who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will render thee miserable!
Return with me, my beauty, my jewel! and rejoice the hearts of my children.' As he p.r.o.nounced the last words, he sprang upon her back, and was out of sight almost in a moment.” This story forms the subject of the well known ballad by the Hon. Mrs. Norton, ent.i.tled ”The Arab's farewell to his steed.”
Clarke thus describes the way in which the Arab will address a horse:--”Ibrahim went frequently to Rama to inquire news of the mare whom he dearly loved; he would embrace her, wipe her eyes with his handkerchief, would rub her with his s.h.i.+rt 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----” Arabs have been known to refuse enormous sums for horses, though actually themselves in a condition of extreme want. That the horse can reciprocate the kindness shown to him is proved by many a story of his fidelity. Chateaubriand says, ”When I was at Jerusalem 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 her 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 astonishment. The poor creature, however, dropped down dead on entering Jericho, and the Bedouin, who would not quit her, was taken, weeping over the body of his faithful companion.”
More romantic is the story told by M. de Lamartine, thus quoted by Mrs.
Bowdich. ”An Arab chief and the tribe to which he belonged attacked a caravan in the night, and were returning with their plunder, when some hors.e.m.e.n belonging to the Pasha of Acre surrounded them, killed several, and bound the rest with cords. Among the latter was the chief Abou el Marek, who was carried to Acre, and, bound hand and foot, laid at the entrance of their tent during the night. Kept awake by the pain of his wounds he heard his horse, who was picketed at a distance from him, neigh. Wis.h.i.+ng to caress him, perhaps for the last time, he dragged himself up to him, and said, 'Poor friend! what will you do among the Turks? You will be shut up under the roof of a khan, with the horses of a Pasha or an Aga. No longer will the women and children of the tent bring you barley, camel's milk, or dhourra, in the hollow of their hands; no longer will you gallop free as the wind in the desert; no longer will you cleave the waters with your breast, and lave your sides, as pure as the foam from your lips. If I am to be a slave, at least you may go free. Return to our tent, tell my wife that Abou el Marek will return no more; but put your head still into the folds of the tent, and lick the hands of my beloved children.' With these words, as his hands were tied, the chief with his teeth undid the fetters which held the courser bound, and set him at liberty; but the n.o.ble animal, on recovering his freedom, instead of galloping away to the desert, bent his head over his master, and seeing him in fetters and on the ground, took his clothes gently between his teeth, lifted him up, and set off at full speed towards home. Without resting he made straight for the distant but well-known tent in the mountains of Arabia. He arrived there in safety, laid his master down at the feet of his wife and children, and immediately dropped down dead with fatigue. The whole tribe mourned him, the poets celebrated his fidelity, and his name is still constantly in the mouths of the Arabs of Jericho.”
For the sake of the beautiful moral it contains the following story is well worth adding. In the tribe of Negde there was a mare of great reputation for beauty and swiftness, which a member of another tribe named Daber desired to possess. Having failed to obtain her by offering all he was worth, he sought to effect his object by stratagem. Disguised as a lame beggar he waited by a roadside, knowing that Nabee, the owner of the horse, would shortly pa.s.s that way. As soon as Nabee appeared, Daber cried out to him, begging a.s.sistance and pretending to be too weak to rise. Nabee thereupon dismounted from the mare, and helped the beggar to mount her. The moment he was mounted Daber declared himself and made off. Nabee called to him to stop, and on his turning round said to him, ”Thou hast my mare, since it pleased G.o.d I wish you success but I conjure thee tell no one how thou hast come by her.” ”Why not?” said Daber. ”Lest others should refrain from charity because I have been duped,” said Nabee, whereupon Daber dismounted and returned the mare.
The Domestic Horse.