CHAPTER II.

The Camel and its master--Occasional fury of the animal--A boy

killed by a Camel--Another instance of an infuriated

Camel--Theory respecting the Arab and his Camel--Apparent

stupidity of the Camel--Its hatred of a load, and mode of

expressing its disapprobation--Riding a Camel through the

streets--A narrow escape--Ceremony of weaning a young Camel--The

Camel's favourite food--Structure of the foot and adaptation to

locality--Difficulty in provisioning--Camel's hair and skin--Sal

ammoniac and Desert fuel--The Camel and the needle's

eye--Straining at a gnat and swallowing a Camel.

We now come to the general characteristics of the Camel.

The Camels know their master well, some of them being much more

affectionate than others. But they are liable to fits of strange

fury, in which case even their own masters are not safe from them.

They are also of a revengeful nature, and have an unpleasant faculty

of treasuring up an injury until they can find a time of repaying it.

Signor Pierotti gives a curious example of this trait of character. As

he was going to the Jordan, he found a dead Camel lying on the

roadside, the head nearly separated from the body. On inquiry he found

that the animal had a master who ill-treated it, and had several times

tried to bite him. One evening, after the Camels had been unloaded,

the drivers lay down to sleep as usual.

The Camel made its way to its master, and stamped on him as he slept.

The man uttered one startled cry, but had no time for another. The

infuriated Camel followed up its attack by grasping his throat in its

powerful jaws, and shaking him to death. The whole scene passed so

rapidly, that before the other drivers could come to the man's

assistance he was hanging dead from the jaws of the Camel, who was

shaking him as a dog shakes a rat, and would not release its victim

until its head had been nearly severed from its body by sword-cuts.

A similar anecdote is told by Mr. Palgrave, in his "Central and

Eastern Arabia:"--

"One passion alone he possesses, namely, revenge, of which he gives

many a hideous example; while, in carrying it out, he shows an

unexpected degree of forethoughted malice, united meanwhile with all

the cold stupidity of his usual character. One instance of this I well

remember--it occurred hard by a small town in the plain of Baalbec,

where I was at the time residing.

"A lad of about fourteen had conducted a large camel, laden with wood,

from that very village to another at half an hour's distance or so. As

the animal loitered or turned out of the way, its conductor struck it

repeatedly, and harder than it seems to have thought he had a right to

do. But, not finding the occasion favourable for taking immediate

quits, it 'bided its time,' nor was that time long in coming.

"A few days later, the same lad had to re-conduct the beast, but

unladen, to his own village. When they were about half way on the

road, and at some distance from any habitation, the camel suddenly

stopped, looked deliberately round in every direction to assure itself

that no one was in sight, and, finding the road clear of passers-by,

made a step forward, seized the unlucky boy's head in its monstrous

mouth, and, lifting him up in the air, flung him down again on the

earth, with the upper part of his head completely torn off, and his

brains scattered on the ground. Having thus satisfied its revenge, the

brute quietly resumed its pace towards the village, as though nothing

were the matter, till some men, who had observed the whole, though

unfortunately at too great a distance to be able to afford timely

help, came up and killed it.

"Indeed, so marked is this unamiable propensity, that some

philosophers have ascribed the revengeful character of the Arabs to

the great share which the flesh and milk of the camel have in their

sustenance, and which are supposed to communicate, to those who

partake of them over-largely, the moral or immoral qualities of the

animal to which they belonged. I do not feel myself capable of

pronouncing an opinion on so intricate a question, but thus much I can

say, that the camel and its Bedouin master do afford so many and such

divers points of resemblance, that I do not think our Arab of Shomer

far in the wrong, when I once on a time heard him say, 'God created

the Bedouin for the camel, and the camel for the Bedouin.'"

The reader will observe that Mr. Palgrave in this anecdote makes

reference to the stupidity of the Camel. There is no doubt that the

Camel is by no means an intellectual animal; but it is very possible

that its stupidity may in a great measure be owing to the fact that no

one has tried to cultivate its intellectual powers. The preceding

anecdotes show clearly that the Camel must possess a strong memory,

and be capable of exercising considerable ingenuity.

Still it is not a clever animal. If its master should fall off its

back, it never dreams of stopping, as a well-trained horse would do,

but proceeds at the same plodding pace, leaving his master to catch it

if he can. Should it turn out of the way to crop some green

thorn-bush, it will go on in the same direction, never thinking of

turning back into the right road unless directed by its rider. Should

the Camel stray, "it is a thousand to one that he will never find his

way back to his accustomed home or pasture, and the first man who

picks him up will have no particular shyness to get over; ... and the

losing of his old master and of his former cameline companions gives

him no regret, and occasions no endeavour to find them again."

He has the strongest objection to being laden at all, no matter how

light may be the burden, and expresses his disapprobation by growling

and groaning, and attempting to bite. So habitual is this conduct that

if a kneeling Camel be only approached, and a stone as large as a

walnut laid on its back, it begins to remonstrate in its usual manner,

groaning as if it were crushed to the earth with its load.

The Camel never makes way for any one, its instinct leading it to plod

onward in its direct course. What may have been its habits in a state

of nature no one can tell, for such a phenomenon as a wild Camel has

never been known in the memory of man. There are wild oxen, wild

goats, wild sheep, wild horses, and wild asses, but there is no spot

on the face of the earth where the Camel is found except as the

servant of man. Through innate stupidity, according to Mr. Palgrave,

it goes straight forwards in the direction to which its head happens

to be pointed, and is too foolish even to think of stopping unless it

hears the signal for halt.

As it passes through the narrow streets of an Oriental city, laden

with goods that project on either side, and nearly fill up the

thoroughfare, it causes singular inconvenience, forcing every one who

is in front of it to press himself closely to the wall, and to make

way for the enormous beast as it plods along. The driver or rider

generally gives notice by continually calling to the pedestrians to

get out of the way, but a laden Camel rarely passes through a long

street without having knocked down a man or two, or driven before it a

few riders on asses who cannot pass between the Camel and the wall.

One source of danger to its rider is to be found in the low archways

which span so many of the streets. They are just high enough to permit

a laden Camel to pass under them, but are so low that they leave no

room for a rider. The natives, who are accustomed to this style of

architecture, are always ready for an archway, and, when the rider

sees an archway which will not allow him to retain his seat, he slips

to the ground, and remounts on the other side of the obstacle.

Mr. Kennard had a very narrow escape with one of these archways. "I

had passed beneath one or two in perfect safety, without being obliged

to do more than just bend my head forward, and was in the act of

conversing with one of my companions behind, and was therefore in a

happy state of ignorance as to what was immediately before me, when

the shouting and running together of the people in the street on

either side made me turn my head quickly, but only just in time to

feel my breath thrown back on my face against the keystone of a

gateway, beneath which my camel, with too much way on him to be

stopped immediately, had already commenced to pass.

"With a sort of feeling that it was all over with me, I threw myself

back as far as I could, and was carried through in an almost

breathless state, my shirt-studs actually scraping along against the

stonework. On emerging again into the open street, I could hardly

realize my escape, for if there had been a single projecting stone to

stop my progress, the camel would have struggled to get free, and my

chest must have been crushed in."

It will be seen from these instances that the charge of stupidity is

not an undeserved one. Still the animal has enough intellect to

receive all the education which it needs for the service of man, and

which it receives at a very early age. The ordinary Camel of burden is

merely taught to follow its conductor, to obey the various words and

gestures of command, and to endure a load. The Deloul, however, is

more carefully trained. It is allowed to follow its mother for a whole

year in perfect liberty. Towards the expiration of that time the young

animal is gradually stinted in its supply of milk, and forced to

browse for its nourishment. On the anniversary of its birth, the young

Deloul is turned with its head towards Canopus, and its ears solemnly

boxed, its master saying at the same time, "Henceforth drinkest thou

no drop of milk." For this reason the newly-weaned Camel is called

Lathim, or the "ear-boxed." It is then prevented from sucking by a

simple though cruel experiment. A wooden peg is sharpened at both

ends, and one end thrust into the young animal's nose. When it tries

to suck, it pricks its mother with the projecting end, and at the same

time forces the other end more deeply into the wound, so that the

mother drives away her offspring, and the young soon ceases to make

the attempt.

The food of the Camel is very simple, being, in fact, anything that it

can get. As it proceeds on its journey, it manages to browse as it

goes along, bending its long neck to the ground, and cropping the

scanty herbage without a pause. Camels have been known to travel for

twenty successive days, passing over some eight hundred miles of

ground, without receiving any food except that which they gathered for

themselves by the way. The favourite food of the Camel is a shrub

called the ghada, growing to six feet or so in height, and forming a

feathery tuft of innumerable little green twigs, very slender and

flexible. It is so fond of this shrub that a Camel can scarcely ever

pass a bush without turning aside to crop it; and even though it be

beaten severely for its misconduct, it will repeat the process at the

next shrub that comes in sight.

It also feeds abundantly on the thorn-bushes which grow so plentifully

in that part of the world; and though the thorns are an inch or two in

length, very strong, and as sharp as needles, the hard, horny palate

of the animal enables it to devour them with perfect ease.

There are several species of these thorn-shrubs, which are scattered

profusely over the ground, and are, in fact, the commonest growth of

the place. After they die, being under the fierce sun of that climate,

they dry up so completely, that if a light be set to them they blaze

up in a moment, with a sharp cracking sound and a roar of flame, and

in a moment or two are nothing but a heap of light ashes. No wonder

was it that when Moses saw the thorn-bush burning without being

consumed he was struck with awe at the miracle. These withered bushes

are the common fuel of the desert, giving out a fierce but brief heat,

and then suddenly sinking into ashes. "For as the crackling of thorns

under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool" (Eccl. vii. 6).

The dried and withered twigs of these bushes are also eaten by the

Camel, which seems to have a power of extracting nutriment from every

sort of vegetable substance. It has been fed on charcoal, and, as has

been happily remarked, could thrive on the shavings of a carpenter's

workshop.

Still, when food is plentiful, it is fed as regularly as can be

managed, and generally after a rather peculiar manner. "Our guide,"

writes Mr. Hamilton, in the work which has already been mentioned, "is

an elderly man, the least uncouth of our camel-drivers. He has three

camels in the caravan, and it was amusing to see his preparations for

their evening's entertainment. The table-cloth, a circular piece of

leather, was duly spread on the ground; on this he poured the quantity

of dourrah destined for their meal, and calling his camels, they came

and took each its place at the feast. It is quaint to see how each in

his turn eats, so gravely and so quietly, stretching his long neck

into the middle of the heap, then raising his head to masticate each

mouthful; all so slowly and with such gusto, that we could swear it

was a party of epicures sitting in judgment on one of Vachette's

_chefs d'oeuvre_."

The foregoing passages will show the reader how wonderfully adapted is

the constitution of the Camel for the country in which it lives, and

how indispensable it is to the inhabitants. It has been called "the

ship of the desert," for without the Camel the desert would be as

impassable as the sea without ships. No water being found for several

days' journey together, the animal is able to carry within itself a

supply of water which will last it for several days, and, as no green

thing grows far from the presence of water, the Camel is able to feed

upon the brief-lived thorn-shrubs which have sprung up and died, and

which, from their hard and sharp prickles, are safe from every animal

except the hard-mouthed Camel.

But these advantages would be useless without another--i.e. the foot.

The mixed stones and sand of the desert would ruin the feet of almost

any animal, and it is necessary that the Camel should be furnished

with a foot that cannot be split by heat like the hoof of a horse,

that is broad enough to prevent the creature from sinking into the

sand, and is tough enough to withstand the action of the rough and

burning soil.

Such a foot does the Camel possess. It consists of two long toes

resting upon a hard elastic cushion with a tough and horny sole. This

cushion is so soft that the tread of the huge animal is as noiseless

as that of a cat, and, owing to the division of the toes, it spreads

as the weight comes upon it, and thus gives a firm footing on loose

ground. The foot of the moose-deer has a similar property, in order to

enable the animal to walk upon the snow.

In consequence of this structure, the Camel sinks less deeply into the

ground than any other animal; but yet it does sink in it, and dislikes

a deep and loose sand, groaning at every step, and being wearied by

the exertion of dragging its hard foot out of the holes into which

they sink. It is popularly thought that hills are impracticable to the

Camel; but it is able to climb even rocky ground from which a horse

would recoil. Mr. Marsh, an American traveller, was much surprised by

seeing a caravan of fifty camels pass over a long ascent in Arabia

Petræa. The rock was as smooth as polished marble, and the angle was

on an average fifteen degrees; but the whole caravan passed over it

without an accident.

The soil that a Camel most hates is a wet and muddy ground, on which

it is nearly sure to slip. If the reader will look at a Camel from

behind, he will see that the hinder legs are close together until the

ankle-joint, when they separate so widely that the feet are set on the

ground at a considerable distance from each other. On dry ground this

structure increases the stability of the animal by increasing its

base; but on wet ground the effect is singularly unpleasant. The soft,

padded feet have no hold, and slip sideways at every step, often with

such violence as to dislocate a joint and cause the death of the

animal. When such ground has to be traversed, the driver generally

passes a bandage round the hind legs just below the ankle-joint, so as

to prevent them from diverging too far.

It must be remarked, however, that the country in which the animal

lives is essentially a dry one, and that moist and muddy ground is so

exceptional that the generality of Camels never see it in their lives.

Camels do not object to mud an inch or two deep, provided that there

is firm ground below; and they have been seen to walk with confident

safety over pavements covered with mud and half-frozen snow.

The animals can ford rivers well enough, provided that the bed be

stony or gravelly; but they are bad swimmers, their round bodies and

long necks being scarcely balanced by their legs, so that they are apt

to roll over on their sides, and in such a case they are sure to be

drowned. When swimming is a necessity, the head is generally tied to

the stern of a boat, or guided by the driver swimming in front, while

another often clings to the tail, so as to depress the rump and

elevate the head. It is rather curious that the Camels of the Sahara

cannot be safely entrusted to the water. They will swim the river

readily enough; but they are apt to be seized with illness afterwards,

and to die in a few hours.

We now come to some other uses of the Camel.

Its hair is of the greatest importance, as it is used for many

purposes. In this country, all that we know practically of the Camel's

hair is that it is employed in making brushes for painters; but in its

own land the hair plays a really important part. At the proper season

it is removed from the animal, usually by being pulled away in tufts,

but sometimes by being shorn like the wool of sheep, and it is then

spun by the women into strong thread.

From this thread are made sundry fabrics where strength is required

and coarseness is not an objection. The "black tents" of the Bedouin

Arabs, similar to those in which Abraham lived, are made of Camel's

hair, and so are the rugs, carpets, and cordage used by the nomad

tribes. Even mantles for rainy or cold weather are made of Camel's

hair, and it was in a dress of this coarse and rough material that St.

John the Baptist was clad. The best part of the Camel's hair is that

which grows in tufts on the back and about the hump, the fibre being

much longer than that which covers the body. There is also a little

very fine under-wool which is carefully gathered, and, when a

sufficient quantity is procured, it is spun and woven into garments.

Shawls of this material are even now as valuable as those which are

made from the Cachmire goat.

The skin of the Camel is made into a sort of leather. It is simply

tanned by being pegged out in the sun and rubbed with salt.

Sandals and leggings are made of this leather, and in some places

water-bottles are manufactured from it, the leather being thicker and

less porous than that of the goat, and therefore wasting less of the

water by evaporation. The bones are utilized, being made into various

articles of commerce.

So universally valuable is the Camel that even its dung is important

to its owners. Owing to the substances on which the animal feeds, it

consists of little but macerated fragments of aromatic shrubs. It is

much used as poultices in case of bruises or rheumatic pains, and is

even applied with some success to simple fractures. It is largely

employed for fuel, and the desert couriers use nothing else, their

Camels being furnished with a net, so that none of this useful

substance shall be lost. For this purpose it is carefully collected,

mixed with bits of straw, and made into little rolls, which are dried

in the sun, and can then be laid by for any time until they are

needed.

Mixed with clay and straw, it is most valuable as a kind of mortar or

cement with which the walls of huts are rendered weather-proof, and

the same material is used in the better-class houses to make a sort of

terrace on the flat roof. This must be waterproof in order to

withstand the wet of the rainy season, and no material answers the

purpose so well as that which has been mentioned. So strangely hard

and firm is this composition, that stoves are made of it. These stoves

are made like jars, and have the faculty of resisting the power of the

inclosed fire. Even after it is burned it has its uses, the ashes

being employed in the manufacture of sal-ammoniac.

There are two passages in the New Testament which mention the Camel in

an allegorical sense. The first of these is the proverbial saying of

our Lord, "A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye

of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God"

(Matt. xix. 23, 24).

Now, this well-known but scarcely understood passage requires some

little dissection. If the reader will refer to the context, he will

see that this saying was spoken in allusion to the young and wealthy

man who desired to be one of the disciples, but clung too tightly to

his wealth to accept the only conditions on which he could be

received. His possessions were a snare to him, as was proved by his

refusal to part with them at Christ's command. On his retiring, the

expression was used, "that a rich man shall hardly (or, with

difficulty) enter the kingdom of heaven," followed by the simile of

the Camel and the needle's eye.

Now, if we are to take this passage literally, we can but draw one

conclusion from it, that a rich man can no more enter heaven than a

camel pass through the eye of a needle, _i.e._ that it is impossible

for him to do so. Whereas, in the previous sentence, Christ says not

that it is impossible, but difficult ([Greek: dyskolôs]) for him to do

so. It is difficult for a man to use his money for the service of God,

the only purpose for which it was given him, and the difficulty

increases in proportion to its amount. But wealth in itself is no more

a bar to heaven than intellect, health, strength, or any other gift,

and, if it be rightly used, is one of the most powerful tools that can

be used in the service of God. Our Lord did not condemn all wealthy

men alike. He knew many; but there was only one whom He advised to

sell his possessions and give them to the poor as the condition of

being admitted among the disciples.

[Illustration: CAMEL GOING THROUGH A "NEEDLE'S EYE."

"_It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for

a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God._"--MATT. xix. 24.]

We will now turn to the metaphor of the Camel and the needle's eye. Of

course it can be taken merely as a very bold metaphor, but it may also

be understood in a simpler sense, the sense in which it was probably

understood by those who heard it. In Oriental cities, there are in the

large gates small and very low apertures called metaphorically

"needle's-eyes," just as we talk of certain windows as "bull's-eyes."

These entrances are too narrow for a Camel to pass through them in the

ordinary manner, or even if loaded. When a laden Camel has to pass

through one of these entrances, it kneels down, its load is removed,

and then it shuffles through on its knees. "Yesterday," writes Lady

Duff-Gordon from Cairo, "I saw a camel go through the eye of a needle,

_i.e._ the low-arched door of an enclosure. He must kneel, and bow his

head to creep through; and thus the rich man must humble himself."

There is another passage in which the Camel is used by our Lord in a

metaphorical sense. This is the well-known sentence: "Ye blind guides,

which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel" (Matt. xxiii. 24). It is

remarkable that an accidental misprint has robbed this passage of its

true force. The real translation is: "which strain _out_ the gnat, and

swallow the camel." The Greek word is [Greek: diulizô], which

signifies to filter thoroughly; and the allusion is made to the

pharisaical custom of filtering liquids before drinking them, lest by

chance a gnat or some such insect which was forbidden as food might be

accidentally swallowed.

THE BACTRIAN CAMEL.

General description of the animal--Its use in mountain

roads--Peculiar formation of the foot--Uses of a mixed

breed--Its power of enduring cold--Used chiefly as a beast of

draught--Unfitness for the plough--The cart and mode of

harnessing--The load which it can draw--Camel-skin ropes--A

Rabbinical legend.

The second kind of Camel--namely, the Bactrian species--was probably

unknown to the Jews until a comparatively late portion of their

history. This species was employed by the Assyrians, as we find by the

sculptures upon the ruins, and if in no other way the Jews would

become acquainted with them through the nation by whom they were

conquered, and in whose land they abode for so long.

The Bactrian Camel is at once to be distinguished from that which has

already been described by the two humps and the clumsier and sturdier

form. Still the skeletons of the Bactrian and Arabian species are so

similar that none but a very skilful anatomist can distinguish between

them, and several learned zoologists have expressed an opinion, in

which I entirely coincide, that the Bactrian and Arabian Camels are

but simple varieties of one and the same species, not nearly so

dissimilar as the greyhound and the bulldog.

Unlike the one-humped Camel, the Bactrian species is quite at home in

a cold climate, and walks over ice as easily as its congener does over

smooth stone. It is an admirable rock-climber, and is said even to

surpass the mule in the sureness of its tread. This quality is

probably occasioned by the peculiar structure of the foot, which has

an elongated toe projecting beyond the soft pad, and forming a sort of

claw. In the winter time the riders much prefer them to horses,

because their long legs enable them to walk easily through snow, in

which a horse could only plunge helplessly, and would in all

probability sink and perish.

A mixed breed of the one-humped and the Bactrian animals is thought to

be the best for hill work in winter time, and General Harlan actually

took two thousand of these animals in winter time for a distance of

three hundred and sixty miles over the snowy tops of the Indian

Caucasus; and though the campaign lasted for seven months, he only

lost one Camel, and that was accidentally killed. Owing to its use

among the hills, the Bactrian species is sometimes called the Mountain

Camel.

It very much dislikes the commencement of spring, because the warm

mid-day sun slightly melts the surface of the snow, and the frost of

night converts it into a thin plate of ice. When the Camel walks upon

this semi-frozen snow, its feet plunge into the soft substratum

through the icy crust, against which its legs are severely cut. The

beginning of the winter is liable to the same objection.

The mixed breed which has just been mentioned must be procured from a

male Bactrian and a female Arabian Camel. If the parentage be

reversed, the offspring is useless, being weak, ill-tempered, and

disobedient.

The Bactrian Camel is, as has been mentioned, tolerant of cold, and is

indeed so hardy an animal that it bears the severest winters without

seeming to suffer distress, and has been seen quietly feeding when the

thermometer has reached a temperature several degrees below zero.

Sometimes, when the cold is more than usually sharp, the owners sew a

thick cloth round its body, but even in such extreme cases the animal

is left to find its own food as it best can. And, however severe the

weather may be, the Bactrian Camel never sleeps under a roof.

This Camel is sometimes employed as a beast of burden, but its general

use is for draught. It is not used for the plough, because it has an

uncertain and jerking mode of pulling, and does not possess the steady

dragging movement which is obtained by the use of the horse or ox.

[Illustration: BACTRIAN CAMEL.

"_He saw a chariot of camels._"--ISAIAH xxi. 7.]

It is almost invariably harnessed to carts, and always in pairs. The

mode of yoking the animals is as simple as can well be conceived. A

pole runs between them from the front of the vehicle, and the Camels

are attached to it by means of a pole which passes over their necks.

Oxen were harnessed in a similar manner. It was probably one of these

cars or chariots that was mentioned by Isaiah in his prophecy

respecting Assyria:--"And he saw a chariot with a couple of horsemen,

a chariot of asses, and a chariot of camels" (Isa. xxi. 7). The cars

themselves are as simple as the mode of harnessing them, being almost

exactly like the ox carts which have already been described.

The weight which can be drawn by a pair of these Camels is really

considerable. On a tolerably made road a good pair of Camels are

expected to draw from twenty-six to twenty-eight hundred weight, and

to continue their labours for twenty or thirty successive days,

traversing each day an average of thirty miles. It is much slower than

the Arabian Camel, seldom going at more than two and a half miles per

hour. If, however, the vehicle to which a pair of Bactrians are

harnessed were well made, the wheels truly circular, and the axles

kept greased so as to diminish the friction, there is no doubt that

the animals could draw a still greater load to longer distances, and

with less trouble to themselves. As it is, the wheels are wretchedly

fitted, and their ungreased axles keep up a continual creaking that is

most painful to an unaccustomed ear, and totally unheeded by the

drivers.

The hair of the Bactrian Camel is long, coarse, and strong; and, like

that of the Arabian animal, is made into rough cloth. It is plucked

off by hand in the summer time, when it naturally becomes loose in

readiness for its annual renewal, and the weight of the entire crop of

hair ought to be about ten pounds. The skin is not much valued, and is

seldom used for any purpose except for making ropes, straps, and

thongs, and is not thought worth the trouble of tanning. The milk,

like that of the Arabian animal, is much used for food, but the

quantity is very trifling, barely two quarts per diem being procured

from each Camel.

There is but little that is generally interesting in the Rabbinical

writers on the Camel. They have one proverbial saying upon the

shortness of its ears. When any one makes a request that is likely to

be refused, they quote the instance of the Camel, who, it seems, was

dissatisfied with its appearance, and asked for horns to match its

long ears. The result of the request was, that it was deprived of its

ears, and got no horns.

THE HORSE.

The Hebrew words which signify the Horse--The Horse introduced

into Palestine from Egypt--Similarity of the war-horse of

Scripture and the Arab horse of the present day--Characteristics

of the Horse--Courage and endurance of the Horse--Hardness of

its unshod hoofs--Love of the Arab for his Horse--Difficulty of

purchasing the animal--The Horse prohibited to the

Israelites--Solomon's disregard of the edict--The war-chariot,

its form and use--Probable construction of the iron chariot--The

cavalry Horse--Lack of personal interest in the animal.

Several Hebrew words are used by the various Scriptural writers to

signify the Horse, and, like our own terms of horse, mare, pony,

charger, &c., are used to express the different qualities of the

animal. The chief distinction of the Horse seemed to lie in its use

for riding or driving, the larger and heavier animals being naturally

required for drawing the weighty springless chariots. The chariot

horse was represented by the word Sus, and the cavalry horse by the

word _Parash_, and in several passages both these words occur in bold

contrast to each other. See, for example, 1 Kings iv. 26, &c.

Among the many passages of Scripture in which the Horse is mentioned,

there are few which do not treat of it as an adjunct of war, and

therefore it is chiefly in that light that we must regard it.

The Horse of the Scriptures was evidently a similar animal to the Arab

Horse of the present day, as we find not only from internal evidence,

but from the sculptures and paintings which still remain to tell us of

the vanished glories of Egypt and Assyria. It is remarkable, by the

way, that the first mention of the Horse in the Scriptures alludes to

it as an Egyptian animal. During the terrible famine which Joseph had

foretold, the Egyptians and the inhabitants of neighbouring countries

were unable to find food for themselves or fodder for their cattle,

and, accordingly, they sold all their beasts for bread. "And they

brought their cattle unto Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in

exchange for horses and the flocks, and for the cattle of herds, and

for the asses, and he fed them with bread for all their cattle for

that year."

This particular breed of Horses is peculiarly fitted for the purposes

of war, and is much less apt for peaceful duties than the heavier and

more powerful breeds, which are found in different parts of the world.

It is remarkable for the flexible agility of its movements, which

enable it to adapt itself to every movement of the rider, whose

intentions it seems to divine by a sort of instinct, and who guides it

not so much by the bridle as by the pressure of the knees and the

voice. Examples of a similar mode of guidance may be seen on the

well-known frieze of the Parthenon, where, in the Procession of

Horsemen, the riders may be seen directing their steeds by touching

the side of the neck with one finger, thus showing their own skill and

the well-trained quality of the animals which they ride.

Its endurance is really wonderful, and a horse of the Kochlani breed

will go through an amount of work which is almost incredible. Even the

trial by which a Horse is tested is so severe, that any other animal

would be either killed on the spot or ruined for life. When a young

mare is tried for the first time, her owner rides her for some fifty

or sixty miles at full speed, always finishing by swimming her through

a river. After this trial she is expected to feed freely; and should

she refuse her food, she is rejected as an animal unworthy of the name

of Kochlani.

Partly from native qualities, and partly from constant association

with mankind, the Arab Horse is a singularly intelligent animal. In

Europe we scarcely give the Horse credit for the sensitive

intelligence with which it is endowed, and look upon it rather as a

machine for draught and carriage than a companion to man. The Arab,

however, lives with his horse, and finds in it the docility and

intelligence which we are accustomed to associate with the dog rather

than the Horse. It will follow him about and come at his call. It will

stand for any length of time and await its rider without moving.

Should he fall from its back, it will stop and stand patiently by him

until he can remount; and there is a well-authenticated instance of an

Arab Horse whose master had been wounded in battle, taking him up by

his clothes and carrying him away to a place of safety.

Even in the very heat and turmoil of the combat, the true Arab Horse

seems to be in his true element, and fully deserves the splendid

eulogium in the Book of Job (xxxix. 19-25): "Hast thou given the horse

strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?

"Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his

nostrils is terror.

"He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on

to meet the armed men.

"He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back

from the sword.

"The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and the shield.

"He walketh the ground with fierceness and rage: neither believeth he

that it is the sound of the trumpet.

"He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; and he smelleth the battle afar

off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting."

In another passage an allusion is made to the courage of the Horse,

and its love for the battle. "I hearkened and heard, but they spake

not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I

done? Every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the

battle." (Jer. viii. 6.) Even in the mimic battle of the djereed the

Horse seems to exult in the conflict as much as his rider, and wheels

or halts almost without the slightest intimation.

The hoofs of the Arab Horses are never shod, their owners thinking

that that act is not likely to improve nature, and even among the

burning sands and hard rocks the Horse treads with unbroken hoof. In

such a climate, indeed, an iron shoe would be worse than useless, as

it would only scorch the hoof by day, and in consequence of the rapid

change of temperature by day or night, the continual expansion and

contraction of the metal would soon work the nails loose, and cause

the shoe to fall off.

[Illustration: WAR HORSE.

"He saith among the trumpets, Ha, Ha; and he smelleth the battle afar

off, the thunder of the captains and the shouting."--JOB xxxix. 25.]

A tender-footed Horse would be of little value, and so we often find

in the Scriptures that the hardness of the hoof is reckoned among one

of the best qualities of a Horse. See, for example, Isa. v. 28:

"Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses'

hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a

whirlwind." Again, in Micah iv. 13: "Arise and thresh, O daughter of

Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs

brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people." Allusion is here

made to one mode of threshing, in which a number of Horses were turned

into the threshing-floor, and driven about at random among the wheat,

instead of walking steadily like the oxen.

In Judges v. 22 there is a curious allusion to the hoofs of the Horse.

It occurs in the Psalm of Thanksgiving sung by Deborah and Barak after

the death of Sisera: "Then were the horse-hoofs broken by the means of

the prancings, the prancings of their mighty ones." It is easy now to

see that these words infer a scornful allusion to the inferiority of

the enemy's Horses, inasmuch as the hoofs of the best Horses would be

"counted as flint," and would not be broken by the prancings.

Horses possessed of the qualities of courage, endurance, and sureness

of foot are naturally invaluable; and even at the present day the Arab

warrior esteems above all things a Horse of the purest breed, and,

whether he buys or sells one, takes care to have its genealogy made

out and hung on the animal's neck.

As to the mare, scarcely any inducement is strong enough to make an

Arab part with it, even to a countryman, and the sale of the animal is

hindered by a number of impediments which in point of fact are almost

prohibitory. Signor Pierotti, whose long residence in Palestine has

given him a deep insight into the character of the people, speaks in

the most glowing terms of the pure Arab Horse, and of its inestimable

value to its owner. Of the difficulties with which the sale of the

animal is surrounded, he gives a very amusing account:--

"After this enumeration of the merits of the horse, I will describe

the manner in which a sale is conducted, choosing the case of the

mare, as that is the more valuable animal. The price varies with the

purity of blood of the steed, and the fortunes of its owner. When he

is requested to fix a value, his first reply is, 'It is yours, and

belongs to you, I am your servant;' because, perhaps, he does not

think that the question is asked with any real design of purchasing;

when the demand is repeated, he either makes no answer or puts the

question by; at the third demand he generally responds rudely with a

sardonic smile, which is not a pleasant thing to see, as it is a sign

of anger; and then says that he would sooner sell his family than his

mare. This remark is not meant as a mere jest; for it is no uncommon

thing for a Bedawy to give his parents as hostages rather than

separate himself from his friend.

"If, however, owing to some misfortune, he determines on selling his

mare, it is very doubtful whether he or his parents will allow her to

leave their country without taking the precaution to render her unfit

for breeding.

"There are many methods of arranging the sale, all of which I should

like to describe particularly; however, I will confine myself to a

general statement. Before the purchaser enters upon the question of

the price to be paid, he must ascertain that the parents, friends, and

allies of the owners give their consent to the sale, without which

some difficulty or other may arise, or perhaps the mare may be stolen

from her new master. He must also obtain an unquestionable warranty

that she is fit for breeding purposes, and that no other has a prior

claim to any part of her body. This last precaution may seem rather

strange, but it arises from the following custom. It sometimes happens

that, when a Bedawy is greatly in want of money, he raises it most

easily by selling a member of his horse; so that very frequently a

horse belongs to a number of owners, one of whom has purchased the

right fore-leg, another the left, another the hind-leg, or the tail,

or an ear, or the like; and the proprietors have each a proportionate

interest in the profits of its labour or sale.

"So also the offspring are sold in a similar manner; sometimes only

the first-born, sometimes the first three; and then it occasionally

happens that two or three members of the foal are, as it were,

mortgaged. Consequently, any one who is ignorant of this custom may

find that, after he has paid the price of the mare to her supposed

owner, a third person arises who demands to be paid the value of his

part; and, if the purchaser refuse to comply, he may find himself in a

very unpleasant situation, without any possibility of obtaining help

from the local government. Whoever sells his mare entirely, without

reserving to himself one or two parts, must be on good terms with the

confederate chiefs in the neighbourhood, and must have obtained their

formal sanction, otherwise they would universally despise him, and

perhaps lie in wait to kill him, so that his only hope of escape would

be a disgraceful flight, just as if he had committed some great

crime. It is an easier matter to purchase a stallion; but even in this

case the above formalities must be observed.

"These remarks only apply to buying horses of the purest blood; those

of inferior race are obtained without difficulty, and at fair prices."

For some reason, perhaps the total severance of the Israelites from

the people among whom they had lived so long in captivity, the use of

the Horse, or, at all events, the breeding of it, was forbidden to the

Israelites; see Deut. xvi. 16. After prophesying that the Israelites,

when they had settled themselves in the Promised Land, would want a

king, the inspired writer next ordains that the new king must be

chosen by Divine command, and must belong to one of the twelve tribes.

He then proceeds as follows:--"But he shall not multiply horses to

himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he

should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye

shall henceforth return no more that way."

The foresight of this prophetical writer was afterwards shown by the

fact that many kings of Israel did send to Egypt for Horses, Egypt

being the chief source from which these animals were obtained. And,

judging from the monuments to which reference has been made, the Horse

of Egypt was precisely the same animal as the Arab Horse of the

present day, and was probably obtained from nomad breeders.

In spite of the prohibitory edict, both David and Solomon used Horses

in battle, and the latter supplied himself largely from Egypt,

disregarding as utterly the interdict against plurality of Horses as

that against plurality of wives, which immediately follows.

David seems to have been the first king who established a force of

chariots, and this he evidently did for the purpose of action on the

flat grounds of Palestine, where infantry were at a great disadvantage

when attacked by the dreaded chariots; yet he did not controvert the

law by multiplying to himself Horses, or even by importing them from

Egypt; and when he had an opportunity of adding to his army an

enormous force of chariots, he only employed as many as he thought

were sufficient for his purpose. After he defeated Hadadezer, and had

taken from him a thousand chariots with their Horses together with

seven hundred cavalry, he houghed all the Horses except those which

were needed for one hundred chariots.

Solomon, however, was more lax, and systematically broke the ancient

law by multiplying Horses exceedingly, and sending to Egypt for them.

We learn from 1 Kings iv. 26 of the enormous establishment which he

kept up both for chariots and cavalry. Besides those which were given

to him as tribute, he purchased both chariots and their Horses from

Egypt and Syria, the chariots being delivered at the rate of six

hundred shekels of silver, and the Horses for an hundred and fifty

shekels.

Chariots were far more valued in battle than horsemen, probably

because their weight made their onset irresistible against infantry,

who had no better weapons than bows and spears. The slingers

themselves could make little impression on the chariots; and even if

the driver, or the warrior who fought in the chariot, or his

attendant, happened to be killed, the weighty machine, with its two

Horses, still went on its destructive way.

Of their use in battle we find very early mention. For example, in

Exod. xiv. 6 it is mentioned that Pharaoh made ready his chariot to

pursue the Israelites; and in a subsequent part of the same chapter we

find that six hundred of the Egyptian chariot force accompanied their

master in the pursuit, and that the whole army was delayed because the

loss of the chariot wheels made them drive heavily.

Then in the familiar story of Sisera and Jael the vanquished general

is mentioned as alighting from his chariot, in which he would be

conspicuous, and taking flight on foot; and, after his death, his

mother is represented as awaiting his arrival, and saying to the women

of the household, "Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the

wheels of his chariot?"

During the war of conquest which Joshua led, the chariot plays a

somewhat important part. As long as the war was carried on in the

rugged mountainous parts of the land, no mention of the chariot is

made; but when the battles had to be fought on level ground, the enemy

brought the dreaded chariots to bear upon the Israelites. In spite of

these adjuncts, Joshua won the battles, and, unlike David, destroyed

the whole of the Horses and burned the chariots.

Many years afterwards, a still more dreadful weapon, the iron chariot,

was used against the Israelites by Jabin. This new instrument of war

seems to have cowed the people completely; for we find that by means

of his nine hundred chariots of iron Jabin "mightily oppressed the

children of Israel" for twenty years. It has been well suggested that

the possession of the war chariot gave rise to the saying of

Benhadad's councillors, that the gods of Israel were gods of the

hills, and so their army had been defeated; but that if the battle

were fought in the plain, where the chariots and Horses could act,

they would be victorious.

So dreaded were these weapons, even by those who were familiar with

them and were accustomed to use them, that when the Syrians had

besieged Samaria, and had nearly reduced it by starvation, the fancied

sound of a host of chariots and Horses that they heard in the night

caused them all to flee and evacuate the camp, leaving their booty and

all their property in the hands of the Israelites.

Whether the Jews ever employed the terrible scythe chariots is not

quite certain, though it is probable that they may have done so; and

this conjecture is strengthened by the fact that they were employed

against the Jews by Antiochus, who had "footmen an hundred and ten

thousand, and horsemen five thousand and three hundred, and elephants

two and twenty, and three hundred chariots armed with hooks" (2 Macc.

xiii. 2). Some commentators think that by the iron chariots mentioned

above were signified ordinary chariots armed with iron scythes

projecting from the sides.

By degrees the chariot came to be one of the recognised forces in war,

and we find it mentioned throughout the books of the Scriptures, not

only in its literal sense, but as a metaphor which every one could

understand. In the Psalms, for example, are several allusions to the

war-chariot. "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He

breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the

chariot in the fire" (Ps. xlvi. 9). Again: "At Thy rebuke, O God of

Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep" (Ps.

lxxvi. 6). And: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we

will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Ps. xx. 7). Now, the

force of these passages cannot be properly appreciated unless we

realize to ourselves the dread in which the war-chariot was held by

the foot-soldiers. Even cavalry were much feared; but the chariots

were objects of almost superstitious fear, and the rushing sound of

their wheels, the noise of the Horses' hoofs, and the shaking of the

ground as the "prancing horses and jumping chariots" (Nab. iii. 2)

thundered along, are repeatedly mentioned.

See, for example, Ezek. xxvi. 10: "By reason of the abundance of his

horses their dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise

of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots." Also, Jer.

xlvii. 3: "At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong

horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his

wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for

feebleness of hands." See also Joel ii. 4, 5: "The appearance of them

is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

"Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,

like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a

strong people set in battle array."

In several passages the chariot and Horse are used in bold imagery as

expressions of Divine power: "The chariots of God are twenty thousand,

even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the

holy place" (Ps. lxviii. 17). A similar image is employed in Ps. civ.

3: "Who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of

the wind." In connexion with these passages, we cannot but call to

mind that wonderful day when the unseen power of the Almighty was made

manifest to the servant of Elisha, whose eyes were suddenly opened,

and he saw that the mountain was full of Horses and chariots of fire

round about Elisha.

The chariot and horses of fire by which Elijah was taken from earth

are also familiar to us, and in connexion with the passage which

describes that wonderful event, we may mention one which occurs in the

splendid prayer of Habakkuk (iii. 8): "Was the Lord displeased against

the rivers? was Thine anger against the rivers? was Thy wrath against

the sea, that Thou didst ride upon Thine horses and Thy chariots of

salvation?"

By degrees the chariot came to be used for peaceful purposes, and was

employed as our carriages of the present day, in carrying persons of

wealth. That this was the case in Egypt from very early times is

evident from Gen. xli. 43, in which we are told that after Pharaoh had

taken Joseph out of prison and raised him to be next in rank to

himself, the king caused him to ride in the second chariot which he

had, and so to be proclaimed ruler over Egypt. Many years afterwards

we find him travelling in his chariot to the land of Goshen, whither

he went to meet Jacob and to conduct him to the presence of Pharaoh.

At first the chariot seems to have been too valuable to the Israelites

to have been used for any purpose except war, and it is not until a

comparatively late time that we find it employed as a carriage, and

even then it is only used by the noble and wealthy. Absalom had such

chariots, but it is evident that he used them for purposes of state,

and as appendages of his regal rank. Chariots or carriages were,

however, afterwards employed by the Israelites as freely as by the

Egyptians, from whom they were originally procured; and accordingly we

find Rehoboam mounting his chariot and fleeing to Jerusalem, Ahab

riding in his chariot from Samaria to Jezreel, with Elijah running

before him; and in the New Testament we read of the chariot in which

sat the chief eunuch of Ethiopia whom Philip baptized (Acts viii. 28).

As to the precise form and character of these chariots, they are made

familiar to us by the sculptures and paintings of Egypt and Assyria,

from both of which countries the Jews procured the vehicles. Differing

very slightly in shape, the principle of the chariot was the same; and

it strikes us with some surprise that the Assyrians, the Egyptians,

and the Jews, the three wealthiest and most powerful nations of the

world, should not have invented a better carriage. They lavished the

costliest materials and the most artistic skill in decorating the

chariots, but had no idea of making them comfortable for the

occupants.

They were nothing but semicircular boxes on wheels, and of very small

size. They were hung very low, so that the occupants could step in and

out without trouble, though they do not seem to have had the sloping

floor of the Greek or Roman chariot. They had no springs, but, in

order to render the jolting of the carriage less disagreeable, the

floor was made of a sort of network of leathern ropes, very tightly

stretched so as to be elastic. The wheels were always two in number,

and generally had six spokes.

To the side of the chariot was attached the case which contained the

bow and quiver of arrows, and in the case of a rich man these

bow-cases were covered with gold and silver, and adorned with figures

of lions and other animals. Should the chariot be intended for two

persons, two bow-cases were fastened to it, the one crossing the

other. The spear had also its tubular case, in which it was kept

upright, like the whip of a modern carriage.

Two Horses were generally used with each chariot, though three were

sometimes employed. They were harnessed very simply, having no traces,

and being attached to the central pole by a breast-band, a very slight

saddle, and a loose girth. On their heads were generally fixed

ornaments, such as tufts of feathers, and similar decorations, and

tassels hung to the harness served to drive away the flies. Round the

neck of each Horse passed a strap, to the end of which was attached a

bell. This ornament is mentioned in Zech. xiv. 20: "In that day shall

there be upon the bells of the horses, Holiness unto the Lord"--_i.e._

the greeting of peace shall be on the bells of the animals once used

in war.

Sometimes the owner drove his own chariot, even when going into

battle, but the usual plan was to have a driver, who managed the

Horses while the owner or occupant could fight with both his hands at

liberty. In case he drove his own Horse, the reins passed round his

waist, and the whip was fastened to the wrist by a thong, so that when

the charioteer used the bow, his principal weapon, he could do so

without danger of losing his whip.

Thus much for the use of the chariot in war; we have now the Horse as

the animal ridden by the cavalry.

As was the case with the chariot, the war-horse was not employed by

the Jews until a comparatively late period of their history. They had

been familiarized with cavalry during their long sojourn in Egypt, and

in the course of their war of conquest had often suffered defeat from

the horsemen of the enemy. But we do not find any mention of a mounted

force as forming part of the Jewish army until the days of David,

although after that time the successive kings possessed large forces

of cavalry.

Many references to mounted soldiers are made by the prophets,

sometimes allegorically, sometimes metaphorically. See, for example,

Jer. vi. 23: "They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel,

and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride

upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of

Zion." The same prophet has a similar passage in chap. l. 42, couched

in almost precisely the same words. And in chap. xlvi. 4, there is a

further reference to the cavalry, which is specially valuable as

mentioning the weapons used by them. The first call of the prophet is

to the infantry: "Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to

battle" (verse 3); and then follows the command to the cavalry,

"Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with

your helmets; furbish the spears, and put on the brigandines." The

chief arms of the Jewish soldier were therefore the cuirass, the

helmet, and the lance, the weapons which in all ages, and in all

countries, have been found to be peculiarly suitable to the

horse-soldier.

Being desirous of affording the reader a pictorial representation of

the war and state chariots, I have selected Egypt as the typical

country of the former, and Assyria of the latter. Both drawings have

been executed with the greatest care in details, every one of which,

even to the harness of the Horses, the mode of holding the reins, the

form of the whip, and the offensive and defensive armour, has been

copied from the ancient records of Egypt and Nineveh.

We will first take the war-chariot of Egypt.

This form has been selected as the type of the war-chariot, because

the earliest account of such a force mentions the war-chariots of

Egypt, and because, after the Israelites had adopted chariots as an

acknowledged part of their army, the vehicles, as well as the trained

Horses, and probably their occupants, were procured from Egypt.

The scene represents a battle between the imperial forces and a

revolted province, so that the reader may have the opportunity of

seeing the various kinds of weapons and armour which were in use in

Egypt at the time of Joseph. In the foreground is the chariot of the

general, driven at headlong speed, the Horses at full gallop, and the

springless chariot leaping off the ground as the Horses bound along.

The royal rank of the general in question is shown by the feather fan

which denotes his high birth, and which is fixed in a socket at the

back of his chariot, much as a coachman fixes his whip. The rank of

the rider is further shown by the feather plumes on the heads of his

Horses.

[Illustration: EGYPTIAN WAR-CHARIOTS.

"_Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men

come forth._"--JER. xlvi. 9.

"_The noise of a whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels,

and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots._"--NAHUM iii.

2.

"_Like the noise of chariots ... shall they leap._"--JOEL ii. 5.]

By the side of the chariot are seen the quiver and bow-case, the

former being covered with decorations, and having the figure of a

recumbent lion along its sides. The simple but effective harness of

the Horses is especially worthy of notice, as showing how the ancients

knew, better than the moderns, that to cover a Horse with a

complicated apparatus of straps and metal only deteriorates from the

powers of the animal, and that a Horse is more likely to behave well

if he can see freely on all sides, than if all lateral vision be cut

off by the use of blinkers.

Just behind the general is the chariot of another officer, one of

whose Horses has been struck, and is lying struggling on the ground.

The general is hastily giving his orders as he dashes past the fallen

animal. On the ground are lying the bodies of some slain enemies, and

the Horses are snorting and shaking their heads, significative of

their unwillingness to trample on a human being. By the side of the

dead man are his shield, bow, and quiver, and it is worthy of notice

that the form of these weapons, as depicted upon the ancient Egyptian

monuments, is identical with that which is still found among several

half-savage tribes of Africa.

In the background is seen the fight raging round the standards. One

chief has been killed, and while the infantry are pressing round the

body of the rebel leader and his banner on one side, on the other the

imperial chariots are thundering along to support the attack, and are

driving their enemies before them. In the distance are seen the clouds

of dust whirled into the air by the hoofs and wheels, and circling in

clouds by the eddies caused by the fierce rush of the vehicles, thus

illustrating the passage in Jer. iv. 13: "Behold, he shall come up as

clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are

swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled." The reader will

see, by reference to the illustration, how wonderfully true and

forcible is this statement, the writer evidently having been an

eye-witness of the scene which he so powerfully depicts.

The second scene is intentionally chosen as affording a strong

contrast to the former. Here, instead of the furious rush, the

galloping Horses, the chariots leaping off the ground, the archers

bending their bows, and all imbued with the fierce ardour of battle,

we have a scene of quiet grandeur, the Assyrian king making a solemn

progress in his chariot after a victory, accompanied by his

attendants, and surrounded by his troops, in all the placid splendour

of Eastern state.

Chief object in the illustration stands the great king in his chariot,

wearing the regal crown, or mitre, and sheltered from the sun by the

umbrella, which in ancient Nineveh, as in more modern times, was the

emblem of royalty. By his side is his charioteer, evidently a man of

high rank, holding the reins in a business-like manner; and in front

marches the shield-bearer. In one of the sculptures from which this

Illustration was composed, the shield-bearer was clearly a man of

rank, fat, fussy, full of importance, and evidently a portrait of some

well-known individual.

[Illustration: ASSYRIAN CHARIOT OF STATE.

"_Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes

sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots._"--JER. xvii.

25.]

The Horses are harnessed with remarkable lightness, but they bear the

gorgeous trappings which befit the rank of the rider, their heads

being decorated with the curious successive plumes with which the

Assyrian princes distinguished their chariot Horses, and the

breast-straps being adorned with tassels, repeated in successive rows

like the plumes of the head.

The reader will probably notice the peculiar high action of the

Horses. This accomplishment seems to have been even more valued among

the ancients than by ourselves, and some of the sculptures show the

Horses with their knees almost touching their noses. Of course the

artist exaggerated the effect that he wanted to produce; but the very

fact of the exaggeration shows the value that was set on a high and

showy action in a Horse that was attached to a chariot of state. The

old Assyrian sculptors knew the Horse well, and delineated it in a

most spirited and graphic style, though they treated it rather

conventionally. The variety of attitude is really wonderful,

considering that all the figures are profile views, as indeed seemed

to have been a law of the historical sculptures.

Before closing this account of the Horse, it may be as well to remark

the singular absence of detail in the Scriptural accounts. Of the

other domesticated animals many such details are given, but of the

Horse we hear but little, except in connexion with war. There are few

exceptions to this rule, and even the oft-quoted passage in Job, which

goes deeper into the character of the Horse than any other portion of

the Scriptures, only considers the Horse as an auxiliary in battle. We

miss the personal interest in the animal which distinguishes the many

references to the ox, the sheep, and the goat; and it is remarkable

that even in the Book of Proverbs, which is so rich in references to

various animals, very little is said of the Horse.

THE ASS.

Importance of the Ass in the East--Its general use for the

saddle--Riding the Ass not a mark of humility--The triumphal

entry--White Asses--Character of the Scriptural Ass--Saddling

the Ass--The Ass used in agriculture--The Ass's millstone--The

water-wheel and the plough--Reminiscences of the Ass in the

Scriptural narrative--Its value as property--The flesh of the

Ass--The siege of Samaria and its horrors--Various legends

respecting the Ass--The impostor and his fate--Samson and

Balaam.

In the Scriptures we read of two breeds of Ass, namely, the

Domesticated and the Wild Ass. As the former is the more important of

the two, we will give it precedence.

In the East, the Ass has always played a much more important part than

among us Westerns, and on that account we find it so frequently

mentioned in the Bible. In the first place, it is the universal

saddle-animal of the East. Among us the Ass has ceased to be regularly

used for the purposes of the saddle, and is only casually employed by

holiday-makers and the like. Some persons certainly ride it

habitually, but they almost invariably belong to the lower orders, and

are content to ride without a saddle, balancing themselves in some

extraordinary manner just over the animal's tail. In the East,

however, it is ridden by persons of the highest rank, and is decorated

with saddle and harness as rich as those of the horse.

In England we should be very much surprised to see a royal prince, a

judge, or a bishop travelling habitually on a donkey, but in Palestine

it is just the animal which would be considered most appropriate for

the purpose. For example, we find that Abraham, an exceptionally

wealthy man, and a chief of high position, made use of the Ass for the

saddle. It was on an Ass that he travelled when he made his three

days' journey from Beersheba to Moriah, when he was called to prove

his faith by sacrificing Isaac (see Gen. xxii. 3).

Then in Judges x. 3, 4, we find that riding upon the Ass is actually

mentioned as a mark of high rank.

"And after him arose Jair, a Gileadite, and judged Israel twenty and

two years.

"And he had thirty sons that rode on thirty ass colts, and they had

thirty cities, which are called Havoth-jair unto this day, which are in

the land of Gilead." So here we have the curious fact, that the sacred

historian thinks it worth while to mention that great men, the sons of

the chief man of Israel, each of them being ruler over a city, rode upon

Ass colts. In the same book, xii. 13, 14, we have a similar record of

Abdon, the judge who preceded Samson.

"After him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel.

"And he had forty sons and thirty nephews" (or grandsons according to

some translators) "that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he

judged Israel eight years."

Thus we see that, so far from the use of the Ass as a saddle-animal

being a mark of humility, it ought to be viewed in precisely the

opposite light. In consequence of the very natural habit of reading,

according to Western ideas, the Scriptures, which are books

essentially Oriental in all their allusions and tone of thought, many

persons have entirely perverted the sense of one very familiar

passage, the prophecy of Zechariah concerning the future Messiah.

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem:

behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation;

lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass"

(Zech. ix. 9).

Now this passage, as well as the one which describes its fulfilment so

many years afterwards, has often been seized upon as a proof of the

meekness and lowliness of our Saviour, in riding upon so humble an

animal when He made His entry into Jerusalem. The fact is, that there

was no humility in the case, neither was the act so understood by the

people. He rode upon an Ass as any prince or ruler would have done who

was engaged on a peaceful journey, the horse being reserved for war

purposes. He rode on the Ass, and not on the horse, because He was the

Prince of Peace and not of war, as indeed is shown very clearly in the

context. For, after writing the words which have just been quoted,

Zechariah proceeds as follows (ver. 10): "And I will cut off the

chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow

shall be cut off: and He shall speak peace unto the heathen: and His

dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river even to the

ends of the earth."

Meek and lowly was He, as became the new character, hitherto unknown

to the warlike and restless Jews, a Prince, not of war, as had been

all other celebrated kings, but of peace. Had He come as the Jews

expected--despite so many prophecies--their Messiah to come, as a

great king and conqueror, He might have ridden the war-horse, and been

surrounded with countless legions of armed men. But He came as the

herald of peace, and not of war; and, though meek and lowly, yet a

Prince, riding as became a prince, on an Ass colt which had borne no

inferior burden.

That the act was not considered as one of lowliness is evident from

the manner in which it was received by the people, accepting Him as

the Son of David, coming in the name of the Highest, and greeting Him

with the cry of "Hosanna!" ("Save us now,") quoted from verses 25, 26

of Ps. cxviii.: "Save now, I beseech Thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech

Thee, send now prosperity."

"Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord."

The palm-branches which they strewed upon the road were not chosen by

the attendant crowd merely as a means of doing honour to Him whom they

acknowledged as the Son of David. They were necessarily connected with

the cry of "Hosanna!" At the Feast of Tabernacles, it was customary

for the people to assemble with branches of palms and willows in their

hands, and for one of the priests to recite the Great Hallel, i.e. Ps.

cxiii. and cxviii. At certain intervals, the people responded with the

cry of "Hosanna!" waving at the same time their palm-branches. For the

whole of the seven days through which the feast lasted they repeated

their Hosannas, always accompanying the shout with the waving of

palm-branches, and setting them towards the altar as they went in

procession round it.

Every child who could hold a palm-branch was expected to take part in

the solemnity, just as did the children on the occasion of the

triumphal entry. By degrees, the name of Hosanna was transferred to

the palm-branches themselves, as well as to the feast, the last day

being called the Great Hosanna.

The reader will now see the importance of this carrying of

palm-branches, accompanied with Hosannas, and that those who used

them in honour of Him whom they followed into Jerusalem had no idea

that He was acting any lowly part.

Again, the action of the disciples in putting their mantles on the

Ass, and setting their Master upon them, was one that signified their

acknowledgment of Him as their Prince; and the same idea was typified

by the laying of the clothes upon the road, together with the

palm-branches. Compare also the passage in 2 Kings ix. 13. When Elisha

sent the young prophet to call Jehu from among the council, and to

anoint him King of Israel, the act of anointing was performed in a

private chamber. Jehu, scarcely realizing the import of the act,

seemed to think it a trick played upon him by some of his companions,

the commanding officers of the army. When, however, they heard his

account of the interview with the prophet, they at once accepted him

as their king, and, as token thereof, "they hasted, and took every man

his garment, and put it under him at the top of the stairs, and blew

with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king."

White Asses were selected for persons of high rank, especially for

those who exercised the office of judges. See Judges v. 10: "Speak, ye

that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the

way." Such Asses are still in use for similar purposes, and are bred

expressly for the use of persons of rank. They are larger, and are

thought to be swifter, than the ordinary breeds; but they are by no

means hardy animals, and are said to be unsuitable for places near the

sea-coast.

Both sexes used the Ass for riding, as they do now in the East. See

for example Judges i. 14, where we find that Achsah, the daughter of

Caleb, rode on an Ass when she went to ask her father to give her some

springs of water, in addition to the land which he had previously

given her as a dowry. Later in the Scriptural history we read that

Abigail, the wife of the wealthy churl Nabal, rode to meet David on an

Ass, when she went to deprecate his anger against her husband (1 Sam.

xxv. 23). And, still later, the woman of Shunem, who acted so

hospitably towards Elisha, rode on an Ass to meet him when her child

had died from sunstroke in the field (see 2 Kings iv. 24).

Now all these women were of high rank, and certainly neither of them

would have considered that riding on an Ass was an act of humility. We

will cite them in succession, and begin with Achsah. She was the

daughter of one of the most illustrious of the Israelites, a man of

whom we read as being almost the equal of Joshua, one of the

illustrious two who were included in the special exemption from the

punishment of rebellion. Moreover, Caleb was a man of enormous

territorial possessions, as we find from several passages in the Old

Testament; a man who was able to give to his daughter not only a large

amount of land as a dowry, but also the wells or springs which

multiplied its value tenfold.

Next we come to the case of Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who himself

belonged to the family of Caleb, and probably owed his wealth simply

to the accident of his birth. It is related of Nabal, that his

"possessions were in Carmel, and the man was very great, and he had

three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats." Yet his wife, who

undoubtedly ruled her household as a housewife should do, and who was

thought worthy of becoming David's wife after the death of her

cowardly husband, rode on an Ass when she went on a mission in which

life and death were involved.

And lastly, the woman of Shunem, who rode on an Ass to meet Elisha,

engaged in a mission in which the life of her only child was involved,

was a woman of great wealth (2 Kings iv. 8), who was able not only to

receive the prophet, but to build a chamber, and furnish it for him.

Not to multiply examples, we see from these passages that the Ass of

the East was held in comparatively high estimation, being used for the

purposes of the saddle, just as would a high-bred horse among

ourselves.

Consequently, the Ass is really a different animal. In this country he

is repressed, and seldom has an opportunity for displaying the

intellectual powers which he possesses, and which are of a much higher

order than is generally imagined. It is rather remarkable, that when

we wish to speak slightingly of intellect we liken the individual to

an Ass or a goose, not knowing that we have selected just the

quadruped and the bird which are least worthy of such a distinction.

Putting aside the bird, as being at present out of place, we shall

find that the Ass is one of the cleverest of our domesticated animals.

We are apt to speak of the horse with a sort of reverence, and of the

Ass with contemptuous pity, not knowing that, of the two animals, the

Ass is by far the superior in point of intellect. It has been well

remarked by a keen observer of nature, that if four or five horses are

in a field, together with one Ass, and there be an assailable point in

the fence, the Ass is sure to be the animal that discovers it, and

leads the way through it.

[Illustration: SYRIAN ASSES.

_"A bridle for the ass._"--PROV. xxvi.]

Take even one of our own toil-worn animals, turned out in a common to

graze, and see the ingenuity which it displays when persecuted by the

idle boys who generally frequent such places, and who try to ride

every beast that is within their reach. It seems to divine at once the

object of the boy as he steals up to it, and he takes a pleasure in

baffling him just as he fancies that he has succeeded in his attempt.

Should the Ass be kindly treated, there is not an animal that proves

more docile, or even affectionate. Stripes and kicks it resents, and

sets itself distinctly against them; and, being nothing but a slave,

it follows the slavish principle of doing no work that it can possibly

avoid.

Now, in the East the Ass takes so much higher rank than our own

animal, that its whole demeanour and gait are different from those

displayed by the generality of its brethren in England. "Why, the very

slave of slaves," writes Mr. Lowth, in his "Wanderer in Arabia," "the

crushed and grief-stricken, is so no more in Egypt: the battered

drudge has become the willing servant. Is that active little fellow,

who, with race-horse coat and full flanks, moves under his rider with

the light step and the action of a pony--is he the same animal as that

starved and head-bowed object of the North, subject for all pity and

cruelty, and clothed with rags and insult?

"Look at him now. On he goes, rapid and free, with his small head well

up, and as gay as a crimson saddle and a bridle of light chains and

red leather can make him. It was a gladdening sight to see the

unfortunate as a new animal in Egypt."

Hardy animal as is the Ass, it is not well adapted for tolerance of

cold, and seems to degenerate in size, strength, speed, and spirit in

proportion as the climate becomes colder. Whether it might equal the

horse in its endurance of cold provided that it were as carefully

treated, is perhaps a doubtful point; but it is a well-known fact that

the horse does not necessarily degenerate by moving towards a colder

climate, though the Ass has always been found to do so.

There is, of course, a variety in the treatment which the Ass receives

even in the East. Signor Pierotti, whose work on the customs and

traditions of Palestine has already been mentioned, writes in very

glowing terms of the animal. He states that he formed a very high

opinion of the Ass while he was in Egypt, not only from its spirited

aspect and its speed, but because it was employed even by the Viceroy

and the great Court officers, who may be said to use Asses of more or

less intelligence for every occasion. He even goes so far as to say

that, if all the Asses were taken away from Egypt, not a man would be

left.

The same traveller gives an admirable summary of the character of the

Ass, as it exists in Egypt and Palestine. "What, then, are the

characteristics of the ass? Much the same as those which adorn it in

other parts of the East--namely, it is useful for riding and for

carrying burdens; it is sensible of kindness, and shows gratitude; it

is very steady, and is larger, stronger, and more tractable than its

European congener; its pace is easy and pleasant; and it will shrink

from no labour, if only its poor daily feed of straw and barley is

fairly given.

"If well and liberally supplied, it is capable of any enterprise, and

wears an altered and dignified mien, apparently forgetful of its

extraction, except when undeservedly beaten by its masters, who,

however, are not so much to be blamed, because, having learned to live

among sticks, thongs, and rods, they follow the same system of

education with their miserable dependants.

"The wealthy feed him well, deck him with fine harness and silver

trappings, and cover him, when his work is done, with rich Persian

carpets. The poor do the best they can for him, steal for his benefit,

give him a corner at their fireside, and in cold weather sleep with

him for more warmth. In Palestine, all the rich men, whether monarchs

or chiefs of villages, possess a number of asses, keeping them with

their flocks, like the patriarchs of old. No one can travel in that

country, and observe how the ass is employed for all purposes, without

being struck with the exactness with which the Arabs retain the Hebrew

customs."

The result of this treatment is, that the Eastern Ass is an enduring

and tolerably swift animal, vying with the camel itself in its powers

of long-continued travel, its usual pace being a sort of easy canter.

On rough ground, or up an ascent, it is said even to gain on the

horse, probably because its little sharp hoofs give it a firm footing

where the larger hoof of the horse is liable to slip.

The familiar term "saddling the Ass" requires some little explanation.

The saddle is not in the least like the article which we know by that

name, but is very large and complicated in structure. Over the

animal's back is first spread a cloth, made of thick woollen stuff,

and folded several times. The saddle itself is a very thick pad of

straw, covered with carpet, and flat at the top, instead of being

rounded as is the case with our saddles. The pommel is very high, and

when the rider is seated on it, he is perched high above the back of

the animal. Over the saddle is thrown a cloth or carpet, always of

bright colours, and varying in costliness of material and ornament

according to the wealth of the possessor. It is mostly edged with a

fringe and tassels.

The bridle is decorated, like that of the horse, with bells,

embroidery, tassels, shells, and other ornaments. An example of the

headstall worn by an Ass belonging to a wealthy man may be seen in the

illustration.

As we may see from 2 Kings iv. 24, the Ass was generally guided by a

driver who ran behind it, just as is the custom with the hired Asses

in this country. Owing to the unchanging character of the East, there

is no doubt that the "riders on asses" of the Scriptures rode exactly

after the mode which is adopted at the present day. What that mode is,

we may learn from Mr. Bayard Taylor's amusing and vivid description of

a ride through the streets of Cairo:--

"To see Cairo thoroughly, one must first accustom himself to the ways

of these long-eared cabs, without the use of which I would advise no

one to trust himself in the bazaars. Donkey-riding is universal, and

no one thinks of going beyond the Frank quarters on foot. If he does,

he must submit to be followed by not less than six donkeys with their

drivers. A friend of mine who was attended by such a cavalcade for two

hours, was obliged to yield at last, and made no second attempt. When

we first appeared in the gateway of an hotel, equipped for an

excursion, the rush of men and animals was so great that we were

forced to retreat until our servant and the porter whipped us a path

through the yelling and braying mob. After one or two trials I found

an intelligent Arab boy named Kish, who for five piastres a day

furnished strong and ambitious donkeys, which he kept ready at the

door from morning till night. The other drivers respected Kish's

privilege, and henceforth I had no trouble.

"The donkeys are so small that my feet nearly touched the ground, but

there is no end to their strength and endurance. Their gait, whether

in pace or in gallop, is so easy and light that fatigue is impossible.

The drivers take great pride in having high-cushioned red saddles, and

in hanging bits of jingling brass to the bridles. They keep their

donkeys close shorn, and frequently beautify them by painting them

various colours. The first animal I rode had legs barred like a

zebra's, and my friend's rejoiced in purple flanks and a yellow belly.

The drivers ran behind them with a short stick, punching them from

time to time, or giving them a sharp pinch on the rump. Very few of

them own their donkeys, and I understood their pertinacity when I

learned that they frequently received a beating on returning home

empty-handed.

"The passage of the bazaars seems at first quite as hazardous on

donkey-back as on foot; but it is the difference between knocking

somebody down and being knocked down yourself, and one certainly

prefers the former alternative. There is no use in attempting to guide

the donkey, for he won't be guided. The driver shouts behind, and you

are dashed at full speed into a confusion of other donkeys, camels,

horses, carts, water-carriers, and footmen. In vain you cry out

'_Bess_' (enough), '_Piacco_,' and other desperate adjurations; the

driver's only reply is: 'Let the bridle hang loose!' You dodge your

head under a camel-load of planks; your leg brushes the wheel of a

dust-cart; you strike a fat Turk plump in the back; you miraculously

escape upsetting a fruit-stand; you scatter a company of spectral,

white-masked women; and at last reach some more quiet street, with the

sensations of a man who has stormed a battery.

"At first this sort of riding made me very nervous, but presently I

let the donkey go his own way, and took a curious interest in seeing

how near a chance I ran of striking or being struck. Sometimes there

seemed no hope of avoiding a violent collision; but, by a series of

the most remarkable dodges, he generally carried you through in

safety. The cries of the driver running behind gave me no little

amusement. 'The hawadji comes! Take care on the right hand! Take care

on the left hand! O man, take care! O maiden, take care! O boy, get

out of the way! The hawadji comes!' Kish had strong lungs, and his

donkey would let nothing pass him; and so wherever we went we

contributed our full share to the universal noise and confusion."

This description explains several allusions which are made in the

Scriptures to treading down the enemies in the streets, and to the

chariots raging and jostling against each other in the ways.

The Ass was used in the olden time for carrying burdens, as it is at

present, and, in all probability, carried them in the same way. Sacks

and bundles are tied firmly to the pack-saddle; but poles, planks, and

objects of similar shape are tied in a sloping direction on the side

of the saddle, the longer ends trailing on the ground, and the shorter

projecting at either side of the animal's head. The North American

Indians carry the poles of their huts, or wigwams, in precisely the

same way, tying them on either side of their horses, and making them

into rude sledges, upon which are fastened the skins that form the

walls of their huts. The same system of carriage is also found among

the Esquimaux, and the hunters of the extreme North, who harness their

dogs in precisely the same manner. The Ass, thus laden, becomes a very

unpleasant passenger through the narrow and crowded streets of an

Oriental city; and many an unwary traveller has found reason to

remember the description of Issachar as the strong Ass between two

burdens.

The Ass was also used for agriculture, and was employed in the plough,

as we find from many passages. See for example, "Blessed are ye that

sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and

the ass" (Isa. xxxii. 20). Sowing beside the waters is a custom that

still prevails in all hot countries, the margins of rivers being

tilled, while outside this cultivated belt there is nothing but desert

ground.

The ox and the Ass were used in the first place for irrigation,

turning the machines by which water was lifted from the river, and

poured into the trenches which conveyed it to all parts of the tilled

land. If, as is nearly certain, the rude machinery of the East is at

the present day identical with those which were used in the old

Scriptural times, they were yoked to the machine in rather an

ingenious manner. The machine consists of an upright pivot, and to it

is attached the horizontal pole to which the ox or Ass is harnessed. A

machine exactly similar in principle may be seen in almost any

brick-field in England; but the ingenious part of the Eastern

water-machine is the mode in which the animal is made to believe that

it is being driven by its keeper, whereas the man in question might be

at a distance, or fast asleep.

The animal is first blindfolded, and then yoked to the end of the

horizontal bar. Fixed to the pivot, and rather in front of the bar, is

one end of a slight and elastic strip of wood. The projecting end,

being drawn forward and tied to the bridle of the animal, keeps up a

continual pull, and makes the blinded animal believe that it is being

drawn forward by the hand of a driver. Some ingenious but lazy

attendants have even invented a sort of self-acting whip, i.e. a stick

which is lifted and allowed to fall on the animal's back by the action

of the wheel once every round.

The field being properly supplied with water, the Ass is used for

ploughing it. It is worthy of mention that at the present day the

prohibition against yoking an ox and an Ass together is often

disregarded. The practice, however, is not a judicious one, as the

slow and heavy ox does not act well with the lighter and more active

animal, and, moreover, is apt to butt at its companion with its horns

in order to stimulate it to do more than its fair proportion of the

work.

That the Ass was put to a similar use in turning the large millstones

may be seen from Matt. xviii. 6. In the Authorized Version, the

passage is rendered thus: "But whoso shall offend one of these little

ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were

hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the

sea."

Now if we turn to the Greek Testament we find that the passage reads

rather differently, a force being giving to it which it does not

possess in the translation: "But whosoever shall scandalize [_i.e._ be

a stumbling-block to] one of these little ones that believe in Me, it

were better for him that an ass's millstone were hung about his neck,

and he were sunk in the depth of the sea." The chief force of this

saying lies in the word which is omitted in our translation. Our Lord

specially selected the Ass's millstone on account of its size and

weight, in contradistinction to the ordinary millstone, which was

turned backwards and forwards by the hands of women.

There is a custom now in Palestine which probably existed in the days

of the Scriptures, though I have not been able to find any reference

to it. Whenever an Ass is disobedient and strays from its master, the

man who captures the trespasser on his grounds clips a piece out of

its ear before he returns it to its owner. Each time that the animal

is caught on forbidden grounds it receives a fresh clip of the ear. By

looking at the ears of an Ass, therefore, any one can tell whether it

has ever been a straggler; and if so, he knows the number of times

that it has strayed, by merely counting the clip-marks, which always

begin at the tip of the ear, and extend along the edges. Any Ass, no

matter how handsome it may be, that has many of those clips, is always

rejected by experienced travellers, as it is sure to be a dull as well

as a disobedient beast.

Signor Pierotti remarks that if the owners of the Asses were treated

similarly for similar offences, the greater number would be marked as

soon as they begin to walk, and of the adults there would be scarcely

one who had any ear on his head.

The Ass being so universally useful, we need not be surprised at the

prominence which it takes in the Scriptural narrative, and the

frequency with which its name occurs. The wealthy personages of the

olden time seemed to have esteemed the Ass as highly as the camel, the

ox, the sheep, or the goat. Abraham, for example, is described as

being a rich man, and possessing "sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and

men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels" (Gen. xii.

16). In a succeeding chapter (xxx. 43) the prosperity of Jacob is

mentioned in almost exactly the same terms.

So, before Job's trials came upon him, "his substance was seven

thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of

oxen [_i.e._ 1,000], and five hundred she-asses, and a very great

household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the

east" (Job i. 3). And after his trials, when his wealth was restored

to him twofold, the thousand she-asses are mentioned as prominently as

the thousand yoke of oxen.

That the care of the Asses was an honourable post we learn from

several passages. Take for example Gen. xxxvi. 24: "And these are the

children of Zibeon; both Ajah, and Anah: this was that Anah that found

the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his

father." The charge of the Asses was, as the reader must see, a post

of sufficient honour and importance to be trusted to the son of the

owner. A similar case is recorded in the well-known instance of Saul,

whose father had lost his herd of Asses, and who at once sent his son

upon the important mission of recovering them. And it was during the

fulfilment of this mission that he was anointed the first king of

Israel.

Later in the sacred history we find that when David consolidated his

power, and organized the affairs of his new kingdom, he divided the

people in general, the army, the land, the produce, and the cattle,

into departments, and appointed over each department some eminent man

whose name is carefully given. After mentioning that the people and

the army were divided into "courses," and that certain officers were

set over each course, the sacred historian proceeds to state that one

officer was appointed as overseer of the treasury, another of the

granaries, another of the field-labourers, another over the vineyards,

and so forth. He then mentions that even the cattle were divided into

their several departments, the care of the hill-cattle being given to

one man, and of the cattle of the plain to another, of the camels to a

third, and of the Asses to a fourth.

It is scarcely necessary to mention that the flesh of the Ass was

forbidden to the Jews, because the animal neither chewed the cud nor

divided the hoof. How repulsive to them must have been the flesh of

the Ass we may infer from the terrible description of the siege of

Samaria by Benhadad. The sacred historian describes with painful

fidelity the horrors of the siege, and of the dreadful extremity to

which the people were reduced. No circumstance could be more terrible

than the quarrel between the two mothers, who had mutually agreed to

kill and eat their children, and yet on a par with that dreadful

statement is mentioned the fact that even the flesh of the Ass was

eaten, and that an Ass's head cost eighty pieces of silver.

Whether the milk of the she Ass were used or not is rather a doubtful

point, but, in all probability, the milk was considered as lawful

food, though the flesh might not be eaten.

As to the legends respecting the Ass, they are innumerable, and I

shall only mention one or two of them.

The first is an old Rabbinical legend respecting the Flood and the

admission of the creatures into the ark. It appears that no being

could enter the ark unless specially invited to do so by Noah. Now

when the Flood came, and overwhelmed the world, the devil, who was at

that time wandering upon the earth, saw that he was about to be cut

off from contact from mankind, and that his dominion would be for ever

gone. The ark being at last completed, and the beasts called to enter

it in their proper order, the turn of the Ass came in due course.

Unfortunately for the welfare of mankind, the Ass was taken with a fit

of obstinacy, and refused to enter the vessel according to orders.

After wasting much time over the obstinate animal, Noah at last lost

patience, and struck the Ass sharply, crying at the same time to it,

"Enter, thou devil!" Of course the invitation was at once accepted,

the devil entered the ark, and on the subsiding of the water issued

out to take his place in the newly begun world.

Since the Christian era, many curious legends have sprung up

respecting the Ass. One of the most familiar of these legends refers

to the black stripe along the spine and the cross-bar over the

shoulder. This black cross is really believed by many persons to have

been given to the animal in consequence of its connexion with our

Lord. I need hardly tell the reader that it is the remnant of the

stripes which in the zebra cover the animal from head to foot, which

in the quagga cover the head, body, and part of the limbs, and which

in one species of Wild Ass are not seen at all in the adult animal.

There is another Christian legend respecting the Ass of Palestine,

which is thought to owe its superiority in size, swiftness, and

strength to the fact that it helped to warm the infant Saviour in the

manger, that it carried Him and His mother into Egypt and back again,

and that it was used by the Lord himself and His disciples. Any one

who ventures to hint that the Ass of Palestine owes its superiority

over its European brother to the warmer climate, is thought to be a

heretic by the pious but ignorant men who believe and disseminate such

legends.

Signor Pierotti tells a story of a certain Russian monk who happened

to visit Palestine, and in the course of his travels found the

leg-bone of an Ass, which he took back with him and publicly exhibited

as part of the identical animal on which the Virgin Mary and infant

Saviour rode. (I need scarcely mention that there is no mention in the

Scriptures of the fact that the Holy Family rode upon an Ass; though

such a mode of travel was certainly the one which they would adopt.)

For some time, this deception drew for the impostor many gifts from

the superstitious but pious people, but the affair at last reached the

ears of his superiors, and he paid the deserved penalty of his

trickery.

There are recorded in the Scriptures two remarkable circumstances

connected with the Ass, which, however, need but a few words. The

first is the journey of Balaam from Pethor to Moab, in the course of

which there occurred that singular incident of the Ass speaking in

human language (see Numb. xxii. 21, 35). The second is the well-known

episode in the story of Samson, where he is recorded as breaking the

cords with which his enemies had bound him, and killing a thousand

Philistines with the fresh jaw-bone of an Ass.

THE WILD ASS.

The Arod and Pere of Scripture--Various allusions to the Wild

Ass--Its swiftness and wildness--The Wild Ass of Asia and

Africa--Knowledge of the animal displayed by the sacred

writers--How the Wild Ass is hunted--Excellence of its

flesh--Sir R. K. Porter's meeting with a Wild Ass--Origin of the

domestic Ass--The Wild Asses of Quito.

There are several passages of Scripture in which the Wild Ass is

distinguished from the domesticated animal, and in all of them there

is some reference made to its swiftness, its intractable nature, and

love of freedom.

In the Hebrew Scriptures there are two words which are given in the

Authorized Translation as Wild Ass, namely, Arod and Pere, and it is

rather remarkable that both words occur in the same passage. If the

reader will refer to Job xxxix. 5, he will see the following passage:

"Who hath sent out the wild ass (Pere) free? or who hath loosed the

bands of the wild ass (Arod)?" Now there are only two places in the

whole Hebrew Scriptures in which the word Arod occurs, and there are

many doubts whether the word Arod is rightly translated. The first is

that which has just been quoted, and the second occurs in Dan. v. 21:

"And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like

the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses."

The Jewish Bible translates the word differently in the two passages.

That in Job it renders as follows: "Who hath sent forth the wild ass

free? or who hath loosed the bands of the untamed?" In the other

passage, however, it follows the rendering of the Authorized Version,

and gives the word as "wild asses." It is thought by several scholars

that the two words refer to two different species of Wild Ass. It may

be so, but as the ancient writers had the loosest possible ideas

regarding distinction of species, and as, moreover, it is very

doubtful whether there be any real distinction of species at all, we

may allow the subject to rest, merely remembering that the rendering

of the Jewish Bible, "the untamed," is a correct translation of the

word Arod, though the particular animal to which it is applied may be

doubtful.

We will now pass to the word about which there is no doubt whatever,

namely, the Pere. This animal is clearly the species which is

scientifically known as _Asinus hemippus_. During the summer time it

has a distinct reddish tinge on the grey coat, which disappears in the

winter, and the cross-streak is black. There are several kinds of Wild

Ass known to science, all of which have different names. Some of our

best zoologists, however, have come to the conclusion that they all

really belong to the same species, differing only in slight points of

structure which are insufficient to constitute separate species.

The habits of the Wild Ass are the same, whether it be the Asiatic or

the African animal, and a description of one will answer equally well

for the other. It is an astonishingly swift animal, so that on the

level ground even the best horse has scarcely a chance of overtaking

it. It is exceedingly wary, its sight, hearing, and sense of scent

being equally keen, so that to approach it by craft is a most

difficult task.

Like many other wild animals, it has a custom of ascending hills or

rising grounds, and thence surveying the country, and even in the

plains it will generally contrive to discover some earth-mound or heap

of sand from which it may act as sentinel and give the alarm in case

of danger. It is a gregarious animal, always assembling in herds,

varying from two or three to several hundred in number, and has a

habit of partial migration in search of green food, traversing large

tracts of country in its passage.

It has a curiously intractable disposition, and, even when captured

very young, can scarcely ever be brought to bear a burden or draw a

vehicle. Attempts have been often made to domesticate the young that

have been born in captivity, but with very slight success, the wild

nature of the animal constantly breaking out, even when it appears to

have become moderately tractable.

Although the Wild Ass does not seem to have lived within the limits of

the Holy Land, it was common enough in the surrounding country, and,

from the frequent references made to it in Scriptures, was well known

to the ancient Jews. We will now look at the various passages in which

the Wild Ass is mentioned, and begin with the splendid description in

Job xxxix. 5-8:

"Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of

the wild ass?

"Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren lands (or salt

places) his dwellings.

"He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the

crying of the driver.

"The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after

every green thing."

Here we have the animal described with the minuteness and truth of

detail that can only be found in personal knowledge; its love of

freedom, its avoidance of mankind, and its migration in search of

pasture. Another allusion to the pasture-seeking habits of the animal

is to be found in chapter vi. of the same book, verse 5: "Doth the

wild ass bray when he hath grass?" or, according to the version of the

Jewish Bible, "over tender grass?"

The same author has several other allusions to the Wild Ass. See, for

example, chap. xi. 12: "For vain man would be wise, though man be born

like a wild ass's colt." And in chap. xxiv. 5, in speaking of the

wicked and their doings, he uses the following metaphor: "Behold, as

wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes

for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and their children,"

or for the young, as the passage may be more literally rendered. The

same migratory habit is also mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah (chap.

xiv. 6): "And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they

snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there

was no grass." There is another allusion to it in Hosea viii. 9: "For

they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself."

Even in the earliest times of Jewish history we find a reference to

the peculiar nature of this animal. In Gen. xvi. 12 it is prophesied

of Ishmael, that "he will be a wild man; his hand will be against

every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the

presence of all his brethren." Now the real force of this passage is

quite missed in the Authorized Version, the correct rendering being

given in the Jewish Bible: "And he will be a wild ass (Pere) among

men; his hand will be against all, and the hand of all against him,

and in the face of all his brethren he shall dwell."

Allusion is made to the speed of the animal in Jer. ii. 24: "A wild

ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure;

in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not

weary themselves; in her month they shall find her." The fondness of

the Wild Ass for the desert is mentioned by the prophet Isaiah.

Foretelling the desolation that was to come upon the land, he uses

these words: "Because the palaces shall be forsaken, the multitude of

the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens (or

caves) for ever, and a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks."

These various qualities of speed, wariness, and dread of man cause the

animal to be exceedingly prized by hunters, who find their utmost

skill taxed in approaching it. Men of the highest rank give whole days

to the hunt of the Wild Ass, and vie with each other for the honour of

inflicting the first wound on so fleet an animal. With the exception

of the Jews, the inhabitants of the countries where the Wild Ass lives

eat its flesh, and consider it as the greatest dainty which can be

found.

A very vivid account of the appearance of the animal in its wild state

is given by Sir R. Kerr Porter, who was allowed by a Wild Ass to

approach within a moderate distance, the animal evidently seeing that

he was not one of the people to whom it was accustomed, and being

curious enough to allow the stranger to approach him.

[Illustration: THE WILD ASS.

"As wild asses in the desert go they forth."--JOB xxiv. 5.]

"The sun was just rising over the summit of the eastern mountains,

when my greyhound started off in pursuit of an animal which, my

Persians said, from the glimpse they had of it, was an antelope.

I instantly put spurs to my horse, and with my attendants gave

chase. After an unrelaxed gallop of three miles, we came up with

the dog, who was then within a short stretch of the creature he

pursued; and to my surprise, and at first vexation, I saw it to be an

ass.

"Upon reflection, however, judging from its fleetness that it must be

a wild one, a creature little known in Europe, but which the Persians

prize above all other animals as an object of chase, I determined to

approach as near to it as the very swift Arab I was on could carry me.

But the single instant of checking my horse to consider had given our

game such a head of us that, notwithstanding our speed, we could not

recover our ground on him.

"I, however, happened to be considerably before my companions, when,

at a certain distance, the animal in its turn made a pause, and

allowed me to approach within pistol-shot of him. He then darted off

again with the quickness of thought, capering, kicking, and sporting

in his flight, as if he were not blown in the least, and the chase was

his pastime. When my followers of the country came up, they regretted

that I had not shot the creature when he was within my aim, telling me

that his flesh is one of the greatest delicacies in Persia.

"The prodigious swiftness and the peculiar manner in which he fled

across the plain coincided exactly with the description that Xenophon

gives of the same animal in Arabia. But above all, it reminded me of

the striking portrait drawn by the author of the Book of Job. I was

informed by the Mehnander, who had been in the desert when making a

pilgrimage to the shrine of Ali, that the wild ass of Irak Arabi

differs in nothing from the one I had just seen. He had observed them

often for a short time in the possession of the Arabs, who told him

the creature was perfectly untameable.

"A few days after this discussion, we saw another of these animals,

and, pursuing it determinately, had the good fortune to kill it."

It has been suggested by many zoologists that the Wild Ass is the

progenitor of the domesticated species. The origin of the domesticated

animal, however, is so very ancient, that we have no data whereon

even a theory can be built. It is true that the Wild and the

Domesticated Ass are exactly similar in appearance, and that an

_Asinus hemippus_, or Wild Ass, looks so like an Asiatic _Asinus

vulgaris_, or Domesticated Ass, that by the eye alone the two are

hardly distinguishable from each other. But with their appearance the

resemblance ends, the domestic animal being quiet, docile, and fond of

man, while the wild animal is savage, intractable, and has an

invincible repugnance to human beings.

This diversity of spirit in similar forms is very curious, and is

strongly exemplified by the semi-wild Asses of Quito. They are the

descendants of the animals that were imported by the Spaniards, and

live in herds, just as do the horses. They combine the habits of the

Wild Ass with the disposition of the tame animal. They are as swift of

foot as the Wild Ass of Syria or Africa, and have the same habit of

frequenting lofty situations, leaping about among rocks and ravines,

which seem only fitted for the wild goat, and into which no horse can

follow them.

Nominally, they are private property, but practically they may be

taken by any one who chooses to capture them. The lasso is employed

for the purpose, and when the animals are caught they bite, and kick,

and plunge, and behave exactly like their wild relations of the Old

World, giving their captors infinite trouble in avoiding the teeth and

hoofs which they wield so skilfully. But, as soon as a load has once

been bound on the back of one of these furious creatures, the wild

spirit dies out of it, the head droops, the gait becomes steady, and

the animal behaves as if it had led a domesticated life all its days.

THE MULE.

Ancient use of the Mules--Various breeds of Mule--Supposed date

of its introduction into Palestine--Mule-breeding forbidden to

the Jews--The Mule as a saddle-animal--Its use on occasions of

state--The king's Mule--Mules brought from Babylon after the

captivity--Obstinacy of the Mule--The Mule as a beast of

burden--The "Mule's burden" of earth--Mules imported by the

Phoenicians--Legends respecting the Mule.

There are several references to the Mule in the Holy Scriptures, but

it is remarkable that the animal is not mentioned at all until the

time of David, and that in the New Testament the name does not occur

at all.

The origin of the MULE is unknown, but that the mixed breed between

the horse and the ass has been employed in many countries from very

ancient times is a familiar fact. It is a very strange circumstance

that the offspring of these two animals should be, for some purposes,

far superior to either of the parents, a well-bred Mule having the

lightness, surefootedness, and hardy endurance of the ass, together

with the increased size and muscular development of the horse. Thus it

is peculiarly adapted either for the saddle or for the conveyance of

burdens over a rough or desert country.

The Mules that are most generally serviceable are bred from the male

ass and the mare, those which have the horse as the father and the ass

as the mother being small, and comparatively valueless. At the present

day, Mules are largely employed in Spain and the Spanish dependencies,

and there are some breeds which are of very great size and singular

beauty, those of Andalusia being especially celebrated. In the Andes,

the Mule has actually superseded the llama as a beast of burden.

Its appearance in the sacred narrative is quite sudden. In Gen. xxxvi.

24, there is a passage which seems as if it referred to the Mule:

"This was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness." Now the

word which is here rendered as Mules is "Yemim," a word which is not

found elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures. The best Hebraists are

agreed that, whatever interpretation may be put upon the word, it

cannot possibly have the signification that is here assigned to it.

Some translate the word as "hot springs," while the editors of the

Jewish Bible prefer to leave it untranslated, thus signifying that

they are not satisfied with any rendering.

[Illustration: MULES OF THE EAST

"_Be ye not as the horse and mule, which have no under

standing._"--PSALM xxxii. 9.]

The word which is properly translated as Mule is "Pered;" and the

first place where it occurs is 2 Sam. xiii. 29. Absalom had taken

advantage of a sheep-shearing feast to kill his brother Amnon in

revenge for the insult offered to Tamar: "And the servants of Absalom

did unto Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons

arose, and every man gat him up upon his mule, and fled." It is

evident from this passage that the Mule must have been in use for a

considerable time, as the sacred writer mentions, as a matter of

course, that the king's sons had each his own riding mule.

Farther on, chap. xviii. 9 records the event which led to the death of

Absalom by the hand of Joab. "And Absalom met the servants of David.

And Absalom rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs

of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and he was taken

up between the heaven and the earth; and the mule that was under him

went away."

We see by these passages that the Mule was held in such high

estimation that it was used by the royal princes for the saddle, and

had indeed superseded the ass. In another passage we shall find that

the Mule was ridden by the king himself when he travelled in state,

and that to ride upon the king's Mule was considered as equivalent to

sitting upon the king's throne. See, for example, 1 Kings i. in which

there are several passages illustrative of this curious fact. See

first, ver. 33, in which David gives to Zadok the priest, Nathan the

prophet, and Benaiah the captain of the hosts, instructions for

bringing his son Solomon to Gihon, and anointing him king in the stead

of his father: "Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause

Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to

Gihon."

Then, in ver. 38, we are told that David's orders were obeyed, that

Solomon was set on the king's Mule, was anointed by Zadok, and

proclaimed as king to the people. In ver. 44 we are told how Adonijah,

who had attempted to usurp the throne, and was at the very time

holding a coronation feast, heard the sound of the trumpets and the

shouting in honour of Solomon, and on inquiring was told that Solomon

had been crowned king by Zadok, recognised by Nathan, accepted by

Benaiah, and had ridden on the king's Mule. These tidings alarmed him,

and caused him to flee for protection to the altar. Now it is very

remarkable that in each of these three passages the fact that Solomon

rode upon the king's Mule is brought prominently forward, and it was

adduced to Adonijah as a proof that Solomon had been made the new king

of Israel.

That the Mule should have become so important an animal seems most

remarkable. In Levit. xix. 19 there is an express injunction against

the breeding of Mules, and it is unlikely, therefore, that they were

bred in Palestine. But, although the Jews were forbidden to breed

Mules, they evidently thought that the prohibition did not extend to

the use of these animals, and from the time of David we find that they

were very largely employed both for the saddle and as beasts of

burden. In all probability, the Mules were imported from Egypt and

other countries, and that such importation was one of the means for

furnishing Palestine with these animals we learn from 1 Kings x. 24,

25, in which the sacred writer enumerates the various tribute which

was paid to Solomon: "All the earth sought to Solomon, to hear the

wisdom which God had put in his heart.

"And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and

vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and

mules, a rate year by year." The same fact is recorded in 2 Chron. ix.

24.

In the time of Isaiah the Mule was evidently in common use as a riding

animal for persons of distinction. See chap. lxvi. 20: "And they shall

bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord, out of all

nations, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules,

and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem." Another

allusion to the Mule as one of the recognised domesticated animals is

found in Zech. xiv. 15: "So shall be the plague of the horse, of the

mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall

be in these tents, as this plague."

The value of these animals may be inferred from the anxiety of Ahab to

preserve his Mules during the long drought that had destroyed all the

pasturage. "Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all

fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find

grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the

beasts."