Over the hills as the pewee flies,
’Neath the glorious blue of summer skies;
Through briery wastes where wild birds dwell,
Deep in the shade of some rocky dell;
Where the pennyroyal and mint smell sweet,
And the blackberry ripens in cool and heat;
Down the winding path by the rippling rill,
By the old-time creek, by the dear old mill;
By the vine-clad fence, in the alder’s shade
Where woodchucks and merry squirrels invade;
Through spreading fields of daisies bright,
Where butterflies roam from morn till night;
Past upland and hollow whence scents are blown
Of clover blossoms and flowers well known;
Over swamp and marshland where red-wings sing,
While in flag and tussock their nest they swing;
Through ancient orchards, o’er meadows green,
Where roses and buttercups girt the stream;
Away through the woodlands’ emerald shade
By sparkling springs, through fern-clad glade,
By old quarry ponds where memories cling
And gay swallows circle on tireless wing;
From dawn’s early light till twilight’s gloaming,
With scenes ever changing, there’s pleasure in roaming.
—Berton Mercer.
[Illustration: THE DOMESTIC HORSE.
(Equus caballus.)
ADAPTED FROM A PAINTING.]
THE HORSE.
(_Equus caballus._)
There are many objects which are so commonly seen that we deceive
ourselves by thinking we know much about them, and yet should we make a
special study of these same objects, often we would find ourselves
woefully ignorant in regard to some of their most distinguishing
characteristics.
Every day of our lives we see Horses. These frequently move with
exquisite grace and beauty, stepping daintily and proudly as if hardly
deigning to remain on earth, but seeming just ready to rise and fly as
did the fabled winged horse Pegasus. With rapidly moving feet
“The landscape speeds far away behind
Like an ocean driven before the wind,”
and we look on only to admire and wonder. And yet how comparatively few
of those who watch the fascinating motion of a rapidly moving Horse know
that the beautiful animal is running on only one toe, for that indeed is
all it possesses for each foot. The foot proper extends as high as the
apparent knee. This is in reality the wrist or ankle, and the apparent
foot is but a finger or toe corresponding to the middle finger and
middle toe of the hand and foot of man. The hoof may be likened to the
finger nail. In fact, it is a great, thick, enlarged nail, finishing and
protecting the toe above.
The Horse belongs to a great division, known as the odd-toed animals.
There are about twenty-five species of these animals now existing and
they are divided into four families, the one-toed Horses, the tapirs
with four toes in front and three behind; the rhinoceroses with three
toes, and the cony family with four toes on their fore feet and three on
the hinderfeet. These four families are very different in their ways of
living and are so unlike that one would not expect to find them
relatives.
The native country of the Horse seems to be nearly the entire northern
hemisphere, for fossil remains are found throughout this region, but in
America the Horse (never found south of Alaska) became extinct, and for
a time there were no Horses on the western continent. After the
discovery of America, Horses were imported into the country and in time
some escaped from their owners and formed herds which have multiplied
until there are a great many wild Horses now roaming over the new world.
In Europe wild Horses also became extinct, but at a comparatively recent
date; but in Asia and Africa there seems to be no time when the wild
Horses have not been roaming over the plains and tablelands, as free as
the wind.
On the steppes of southeastern Europe there are great herds of peculiar
Horses, called tarpans. These are indeed freedom-loving animals and one
can but feel a certain sympathy with their unwillingness to be tamed.
They are a rather small Horse with thin, strong legs, a rather long,
thin neck and a comparatively thick, blunt-muzzled head. They have
small, brilliant, wicked eyes; the hair is thick and short in summer and
inclined to curl; in winter it is longer and coarser and on the chin
becomes almost like a beard.
Not content to roam in freedom by themselves, they will, if possible,
entice domesticated Horses to join their number. On this account they
are persistently hunted, as they do considerable damage.
The great herds are divided into families, each family led by a stallion
who is sole ruler, taking the best of care of his subjects, but
permitting no irregularity. These herds wander from place to place,
usually running against the wind, and their keen sense of hearing warns
them of approaching danger. The stallions do not fear beasts of prey and
will sally forth against wolves and beat them down with their
fore-hoofs.
The earliest representations of Horses and the fossil remains of the
prehistoric animals show them to be of rather small size and not unlike
the tarpans, suggesting the idea to some minds that the tarpans were the
ancestors of the modern domesticated breeds, but the facility with which
the Horse will resume its wild state makes opinions of little value.
The South American wild Horses, called “the wild Horse of the Pampas,”
were all descended from a few domesticated Horses left in the town of
Buenos Ayres, which was abandoned some time after the year 1535. These
Horses are called cimarrones. They roam in immense herds and are
considered a nuisance, as they consume good pasturage and also lead away
the domestic Horses. The mustangs of Paraguay, although domestic Horses,
vary little from the conditions of the wild Horses of the pampas, as
they are much neglected, live out of doors all the year around and
really degenerate for want of care.
A. von Humboldt gives an interesting description of the life of the
Horse in the Llanos, the great grassy plains lying further to the north.
When the never-clouded sun turns the grass to dust, the Horses and
cattle roam about, pressed by hunger and thirst, and by inflating their
nostrils endeavor to discover by the damper air currents localities
where the water has not yet evaporated.
The Mules, using more intelligence, beat with their fore-feet the
prickly exterior of the melon cactus and quench their thirst with the
watery pulp.
When finally the rainy season begins, the Horses still meet with danger
and trouble, as the swelling rivers surround their grazing places and
the colts are frequently drowned. Jaguars often lurk in the tall grass
and crocodiles are a constant menace. Even among the fish there are
dangerous enemies. The electric eels “can kill the largest animals by
means of their powerful discharges if their efforts are concentrated
upon certain portions of the body.”
The Horses are often their own enemies. Becoming frantic with terror, in
a frenzy of fright, they destroy themselves by dashing against rocks or
rushing over precipices.
There is much that is interesting in regard to the half-wild Horses of
North America. These are all descendants of imported varieties, and
while owned by the various ranchmen, they have the freedom of the range
or prairie. Ofter they are seen by their owners only at the annual
“round-up,” when they are driven into the “corrals” in order that the
colts may be marked with the brand of the owner.
One can spend much time studying the instructive facts in regard to the
interesting wild and half-wild Horses of the globe, and still feel that
much remains unlearned. Yet all will admit that the most beautiful and
perfect types of Horses are those bred under the direct supervision of
man.
Of those which attain the greatest speed, most prominent are the English
thoroughbred, the American race horse, and the Trakehnen Horse, the
finest Horse of German breed.
These are all the result of many years of careful selection, each
finding among its ancestors the noted Arab steeds, “praised as the
noblest animal of creation by the naturalist, the expert and the poet.”
The Horses of the Levant and the Barbary have also aided to render the
English thoroughbred the greatest race horse of the old world. The
American trotters have not been behind, for as far back as 1889 the
maximum recorded pace was one mile in two minutes and three and
three-fourths seconds.
For the practical uses of life there seem to be as many breeds of Horses
as are necessary to meet the varying requirements of an industrial
civilization. We find all kinds and sizes, from the heavy and powerful
Percheron or Clydesdale cart Horse, standing sometimes over six feet in
height, to the smallest Shetland pony which may be even less than three
feet at the withers, and we find Horses of various colors, of various
lengths of mane and tail, and of varying degrees of intelligence.
While all Horses are not well treated, yet no animal is so respected and
loved by man and no other animal has become so close a companion. While
many nations as a whole have loved and cherished their Horses, the Arab
steeds have been most appreciated and have entered closest into the
daily life and thought of their masters. Only when it has attained its
seventh year do they consider the education of the Horse complete and
meanwhile it has been the constant companion and friend of its master.
In the extravagant and poetical language of the East, one Arab thus
speaks of his beloved Horse: “Do not tell me that this animal is my
horse, say that he is my son. It runs more quickly than the wind of a
storm, more swiftly than the glance that sweeps the plains. It is pure
as gold. Its eye is clear and so keen that it sees a hair in the dark.
It overtakes the gazelle in its course. To the eagle it says: I hurry on
like you. When it hears the shouts of girls it neighs with joy, and the
whistling of bullets rejoices its heart. From the hands of women it begs
for alms; the enemy it beats in the face with its hoofs. When it can run
to its heart’s desire, it weeps tears. It recks not whether the sky be
clear or the blasts of the desert obscure the light of the sun with
dust; for it is a noble steed and despises the rage of the storm. There
is no other in this world that could vie with it. Swift as a swallow, it
courses on; so light is its weight that it could dance on the breast of
your beloved and not annoy her. It understands all like a son of Adam,
and all it lacks is speech.”
John Ainslie.