The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-14


trance of the stockade. On the morning of
the second day the zebras were only mile
or two from the spot intended for their
prison and ordered the wind-up. The ami
mails had scented the hunters for some
hours past now, when all of sudden
hundred blacks began to shout and whistle,
rattle drums and other instruments. throw
stones and cocoanuts, they became alarmed
and bewildered. The leader, a beautiful
stallion, rushed about in a manner indicat-
ing that he was at his wits end and finally
the whole herd, eleven fine zebras, made
for the disguised entrance and passed in.
The big stallion had to be killed, so feroci-
Gus was ne, but the mares and the colts
were starved into submission after a day or
two. selected for Ascania Nova the least
fierce pair of colts among those caught and
departed with them almost Immediately for
the seaboard, making it a point to feed
them myself and look after their comfort
as well as L could during the voyage. Ar
rived here, 1 turned them loose among the
ostriches and antelopes and they seemed
to feel at home at once. After three months
of freedom the colts were put i'm box stalls
and to my surprise behaved quite WELL
though occasionally an attendant was bit
ten or knocked about. However when
finally / undertook to break them in 1 ex-
perienced no more difficulty than with our
native two and four-year-o To-day the
mare 1 brought over from Africa goes in
harness with a mongrel pony and is as gen.
tie lamb. So are two of her offspring,
male and a female. 1 ride the stallion
frequently, and while it is not quite safe to
stand in front of him, behind, he is en-
tirely tractable under the saddle.
Shortly after the close of the Boer war
1 received six more zebras from German
Africa, which, on the way hither, passed
through a thousand more miles of ter
ritory infected by the tsetse plague. They
were transported through the British do
minions, including Transvaal, at the time
when the tsetse plague was at it's height.
and as it can hardly be expected that the
Uganda Railway shipped them i'm new cars,
it may be assumed that they travelled
In some that at one time or another, har-
bored victims of the plague.
THE ZEBRAS IMMUNE.
Still, the animals arrived in first class
health and the blood of each has been
sampled since only to reveal the fact that
the mysterious tsetse bacillus did not en-
ter into either of the zebras. This is most
important and leads me to believe that the
zebra is destined for the draft animal and
warhorse of the future in tropical coun-
tries, at least. In fact, the zebra seems to
be exactly the animal needed in those parts,
no other specimen of the genus horse fills
the bill now that the tsetse plague has
become an institution in Africa alongside
the rinderpest. AS soon as another trans
port of zebras arrives will test the matter.
which is easy enough. If, after frequent
incubation with the tsetse poison the zebra
fails to develop the disease, he is i'm
mune and for all time.
Il will state Beforehand that the zebroid,
/. e., the offspring of the male zebra and
she-ass, or horse-mare, takes the dis
ease as easily as our domestic horse.
Nothing will do, then, but to breed zebras
intended for tropical countries without any
admixture of foreign blood while for or
binary purposes, zebrods will be most ac-
ceptable.
Il have excellent draft animals by my
zebra stallion and an ordinary Russian
peasants mare, and one of my favorite
mounts was sired by an Arab, the mother
being the original zebra mare 1 imported
from Africa. Crosses between English
and American trotters and the zebra mare
turned out fleet-footed, energetic and
hardy colts.
Let me add that I have succeeded in
interesting, besides my own government,
that of Great Britain and Germany in
my experiments. King Edward has an
| nounced his determination to give the zebra
a trial, and has now two beautiful ami
mails in his possession, while the German
Kaiser is breeding them on the spot in his
African territory. A zebra stud on a
smaller scale has been established at Oehr-
ingen, Wurtemberg, by the Prince of Ho-
henlohe, Duke of Ujest, who was supplied
with pair of zebras by his friend the
German Kaiser"