The so-called four-toed horse, a little creature some 12 inches in
height at the shoulder, having four well-defined hoofs on the front
foot and three on the hind foot. The animal is not a true horse, but
was undoubtedly an ancestor (more or less direct) of the modern form.
It must have been a very speedy type, which contributed greatly to the
preservation of the species in an age when (so far as we know) the
carnivores were rather slow and clumsy.]
Under such an arrangement the game supply would be handled on business
principles. When game becomes scarce in any restricted area, hunting
could be suspended until the supply becomes renewed, while increased
hunting could be allowed in areas where there is sufficient game to
warrant it. In brief, big game could be handled by the common-sense
methods now used so effectively in the stock industry on the open
range. At present the lack of a definite general policy to safeguard
our game supply and the resulting danger to our splendid native animals
are deplorably in evidence.
[Illustration: A TRUE HORSE WHICH WAS FOUND IN THE FOSSIL BEDS OF
TEXAS: PLEISTOCENE
It is interesting to note that this country was possessed of several
species of wild horses, but these died out long before the advent of
the Indian on this continent. The present wild horses of our western
plains are merely stragglers from the herds brought over by the
Spaniards and other settlers. When Columbus discovered America there
were no horses on the continent, though in North America horses and
camels originated (see text, page 399).]
[Illustration: