Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-10-24
Przev.lsky,s Wild Horse.

| ton of the origin of our domestic ami
mails. and especially TO that of the
horse-which is generally supposed not
now to exist in an aboriginally wild
state. Every fact bearing upon this
subject is of Importance, and the dis
covery by the great Russian traveller.
Przevalsky, of a new wild horse,
nearly allied to the domestic horse than
any previously known species, is GER
tainly well worthy of attention.
The horses, which constitute the
genera Equus of Linnaus, and are the
sole recent representatives of the family
Equide, fall naturally into two SUBJ
genera, as was first shown by Gray in
1925 Cool. Journ. l., p. 24l)-Equus
and Asinus.
The typical horses (Equus) are dis
tinguishable from the asses (Asinus) by
the presence of warts upon the hind
legs as well rs upon the fore-legs, by
their broad rounded hoofs, and by their
tails beginning to throw off long hairs
from the base, instead of having these
hairs confined, as a sort of pencil, to
the extremity of the tail. Up to a re-
cent period all the wild species of
Equus known to science we're referable
to the second of these sections, that is,
to the sub-genus Asinus, known from
Equus by the absence of warts or cal
losities on the hind-legs. by the con
tracted hoofs, and by the long hairs of
the tail being restricted to the extremity
of that organ. Of this group the best
known species, commonly called wild
asses and zebras, are (1) the wild ass
of Upper Nubia (Equus t%aniopus),
probably the origin of the domestic ass;
(2) the wild ass of Persia and Hutch
(E. onager); (3) the hemippe or wild
ass of the Syrian Desert (E. hemippus);
(4) the kiang or wild ass of Tibet (E.
%hemionus); H)the quagga (E. quagga),
of South Africa; (6) the Burchell's
zebra (E. Burchelli), of Southern and
Eastern Africa; CD the zebra (E. zebra),
of Southern Africa. As already stated,
these seven animals all possess the
characters of the second sub-genus
Asinus as above given, and no recent
species of horse referable to the first
sub-genus (Equus) was hitherto known
to exist on the earth's surface, except
the descendants Of such as had been
formerly in captivity.
Under the circumstances great inter-
est was manifested when It was known
that Przevalsky, on his return from his
third great journey into Central Asia, had
brought back with him to st. Petersburg
an example of a new species of wild
horse, which belonged, in some of its
characters at least, to true Equus. This
new animal was described IN 1881 in q
Russian journal by Mr.. j. S. Poliatow,
and dedicated to its discoverer as Equus
Przevalskii.
Przevalsky's wild horse has warts on
its hind-legs as well as on its fore-legs,
and has broad hoofs like the true horse.
But the long hairs of the tail, instead of
commencing at the base, do not begin
until about half way down the tail. In
this respect Equus Rrzevalskii is inter-
asses. 1t also differs from typical
Equus in having a short. erect name,
and in having no forelock, that is, no
bunch of hair in front of the name fall
ing down over the forehead. Nor has
P~rzevalsky's horse any dorsal stripe,
which, although by no means universal,
is often found in the typical horses, and
is almost always present in the asses.
Its whole general color is of a whitish
gray, paler and whittier beneath, and
reddish on the head. The legs are red
dish to the knees, and thence blackish
downto the hoofs. 1t is of small stature,
but the legs are very thick and strong,
and the head is large and heavy. The
ears r smaller than those of the asses.
Przevalsky's wild horse inhabits the
great Dsungarian Desert between the
Altai and Tianschan Mountains, where
it is called by the Tartars ''Kertag,"
and by the Mongols .'Statur." 1t is
met with in troops of from five to fifteen
individuals, led by an old stallion.
Apparently the rest of these troops con-
sist Of mares, which all belong to the
single stallion. They are lively ami
mails, very shy, and with highly de-
veloped organs of sight, hearing and
smelling. They keep to the widest
parts of the desert, and are very hard
to approach. They seem to prefer es-
pecially the saline districts and to be
able to do long without water.
The pursuit of this wild horse can
only be carried on in winter, because
the hunter must live in waterless dis
tricts, and must depend upon a supply
Of water from melted snow. As NAV
we'll be believed, such an expedition
during the severest cold Of winter into
the most remote part of the desert must
take at least a month. During the
whole time OF his stay in the Dsungarian
Desert Pzrevalsky met with only two
herds of this wild horse. In vain he
and his companion fired at these ami
mails. With outstretched head and up
lifted tail the stallion disappeared like
lightning, with the rest of the herd after
him. ~Przevalsky and his companions
could not keep near them and soon lost
their tracks. On the second occasion
they came upon them from one side, vet
one of the herd discovered their pres
ence, and they were all gone in an in
slant. The single specimen of Prevail
sky's horse subsequently procured is
now in the museum of the Academy of
Sciences at st. Petersburg, and is the
only example of this species in Europe.
Mature.
@ A Model Doctor.
The Archbishop of Canterbury dis
tributed the prizes To the students nf tho