The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-04-11
The ARABS HORSE
ihe Great Love Which East.
Entertain for the Nohla cop

D.
I"'ertain for the Noble Anime, gu
In the East the horse is
precious possession than it is with ne
am not speaking, however of its mo oS
Va'ue' but OF the love the Eastern NO
pleentertaln for the animal. The nrais,
winch an Arab lavishes on his borsa ,'' s
genuine and from the heart oontu 90
every way to the perfunctorv enI(
gums which home lover of the borS
VI morse dealer pronounces on h;
wares; Proof of this will be fo,fnd :,
the .'homance of Auar," with raforona
70 olrwet, Shedad's mare. narao,on
'hat could not be matched. a horse fba,
was priceless even to the bid of KINGS
C, HeeA not to purchase Jirwet.n said
onedad, 'for Jirwet will never be so1d.
a'h hot TO borrow her, for Jirwet con-
NOT be lent-no, not if ware =
s'r1nss OF camels in return and on their
o"'Ns loads OF merchandise. Jirwet can
~ "i'hout wings, and she tears I'm the
saios OF the desert; in her bound alone
'ne earth She is living glory. and che
otale . -H@SSh DIS IL L were a
carries me on nt.~. =, Otbo,. a4:,I
growth of her own tlesh:~s~ss e'll
more romantic stories and sayln5 ss are
extant of the love of the Arab for his
horse. Some who have sold favorite
steed for a great sum have given even
more money to get it back again. A
writer of IA Summer Ramble in the
East think that is the title of the
book, but am not quite sure-describes
the fondness of the Arab for his horse
in the following words: "a great
ruffian was mounted on a white mare
of great beauty. Having asked her
price, offered the sum. The Arab said
he loved his mare better than his own
life, that money was of no use to him,
but that mounted on her he felt as
a Pasha. Shoes and stockings he had
none, and the net value of the accOutre-
ments and dress might be calculated at
something less than seventeen pence
sterling" In the East the horse is even
more beloved and protected-he is, in a
sense, an object of worship as well; at
n
animal has been even regarded with
both political and religious reverence
Mohammrl helped, from policy, to
make the horse of the East what he has
always been up to the present day, an
object of alteration and love. 1t was
Mohammed who instilled in the people
that love for fine women and fast-going
horses that still exists. The long-headed
Prophet of Mecca decreed the future of
the horse. AS Abd-el-Kader observes:
"The Prophet was so adroit as to con-
trive that horses and hOuris should be-
come potent instruments Of religion, as
well as of political ambition. In the
days of pagansm they loved the animal
from motives of interest, but when
Mohammed praised it so warmly their
instructive love became also a religious
duty"
The Arabs, as is well known, =
tain extravaganza ideas as to the 4
of their horses, tracing their genealo-
gies back to the days of Solomon, a
King of the grand old stamp, who kept
a 4 I'd of 10000 horses and employed
12A J0horsemen. That King Solomon's
horses would be we'll looked after is
certain, because, among many other
fine precepts to which he gave utterance,
we find one which tells us that ga
righteous man careth much for his
beast" and Solomon doubtless was one
of the few wise persons who practice
what they preach. There is no proof,
however, of the descent of the steeds of
the desert from any of the horses which |
had stalls in the stable of the author of |
the proverbs and were fed on barley. 1t |
was Abd-el-Kader, I think, who wrote
an essay to demonstrate that horses
were created before mankind, and that |
Allah first made the horse and then the
mare, ''the Divine power always Great !
ing the noblest first" 1t was doubtless
from Egypt that the Arabs first of all
got their horses; it was from Egypt that
Solomon filled his stalls: "And they
fetched up and brought forth out of
Egypt chariot for 600 shekels of silver
and a horse for $50; and so brought
they out horses for all the Kings of the
Hittites and for the Kings of Syria
by their means" The Arabs them
selves believe their chestnuts to be the
tleetest, the bay the most enduring,
while the black they know to be the
most spirited. A piebald horse no Arab
will look at, and an animal with white
marks on his legs was denounced by the
Prophet, who ordered it to be held in
abhOrrence.= B0iLeu's MOnthLu