The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-12

riding of an enthusiast, to-day the entire
English-speaking world is regarding Peny-
cuik with watchful and anxious eyes.
PROFESSOR EwARTS EXPERIMENTS.
The story of Professor Ewart's expert
ments are partly related by himself in a
small and very expensive book which he
has written, while the rest remains to be
placed before the world in book form. He
began his experiments in 1895 with five
Burchell zebras and a number of mares of
different sizes and breeds. Some were Ice
land ponies, others black Island of Rum
ponies, English ~thoroughbreds, Arabians,
Clydesdales. etc. The sire of his first five
hybrid colts was "Matopo," a beautiful ze-
bra from the Transvaal. Professor Ewart
chose the Burchell zebra for breeding pur-
poses for three reasons: First, they are
thoroughly immune to the ~tse-tse; second,
because all experiments had proved that
they took more readily TO domestication
had better dispositions, and were more east
ly trained than the savage, stubborn and
intractable mountain zebra of the Cape;
third, because they are usually hardy and
strong. This was proved some fifteen years
ago, when the rinderpest swept through At
rica, sparing neither wild nor tame ami
mails. The Burchell zebras were not affect
ed by the disease; from which so few ami
mails escaped. They were also immune to
the "brand-sickte," or burning sickness,
WHICH dlldcheQ the dutelOpeS ana cattle Oh
South Africa some years later.
To say that Professor Ewart'S experiments
nave been interesting is TO put Ii mildly,
indeed. Contrary to expectations and TO all
was utterly impossible to tell what a colt
would look like, or what it's markings would
be. before birth. One animal, the cross be-
tween a zebra mare and a Shetland pony
owned by one of his co-workers, Lady Me-
aux, bore no stripes whatever, and was not
distinguished from an ordinary Shetland
pony. Only when the animal stood in the
sunlight was Ii possible TO distinguish a
few faint stripes on the TANKS. The only
zebralike feature about this animal was the
hogged name and rather thinly haired tail.
The zebra mother of this hybrid gave birth
to another colt, sired by an Indian mus
tang pony, which bore numerous stripes,
while Romulus, the offspring of Mulatto. a
black Island of Rum pony, by Matopo, the
ZEBRA, had more stripes than his father.
Matopo had only fourteen black stripes on
his neck, but Romulus, his hybrid son, had
twenty-four. What was more, the color of
the mother seemed to cut little figure in
determining hat of the offspring. For ex-
ample, Hekla, the daughter of Matopo, and
Tundra, a piebald (white and BAY Iceland
pony, had a ground color of pale yellowish
dun, with the typical zebra stripes appear
ing on the legs, neck and part of the TANKS.
Particularly interesting was Brenda, an
other daughter of Matopo. by an enormous
Clydesdale mare, a heavy draught animal
with feet like an elephant. Brenda was
rather family striped, but large, strong and
powerful-equal, if not superior-to the
largest and finest Kentucky mule. While
these experiments were in progress an cpl
demic of s~trongylus worm broke out among
the horses of that part Of Scotland, causing
great loss. Professor Ewart lost a number
of valuable colts, ~thoroughbreds and draught
animals, but, Notwithstanding the fact that
the young zebrules were attacked, they suf-
fered less and recovered in half the length
OF time 1t took the horse colts to pull
through.
SURPRISINGLY ARD
One is surprised In reading Professor
Ewart's recent work to learn how hardy
these animals are. They ran out all winter
in weather when thoroughbreds had to be
kept indoors. Occasionally. they were in
jured; on one occasion, Romulus cut a deep
cash on one of his legs. Yet the rapidity
wth which their wounds healed was a sur
prise to Professor Ewart, who had never
experienced the same among horses.
None Of the young zebrules neighed like
their horse ancestors. Instead, when
alarmed or calling to one another, they
always uttered the quick, barking qua
hai ~qua-hai" of the Burchell zebra. They
were a tri1e more aggressive than the
morse colts, quicker at getting out of dan
ger, and possessed the zebra habit of herd
ing together, while one acted az sentinel,
and always approaching unfamiliar objects
In true zebra style by circling around. in
StVdu VI Walking ulreclly4uD 10 the OBJECT
OF their suspicious. Yet for all these wild
traits Professor Ewart found them easier
TO break to saddle and harness than the
average horse colt.
AT present Professor Ewart has nearly
twenty OF these hybrids at his farm in
Scotland. The first five that were born
were exhibited in 1898 at the Manchester
stock show, and attracted a great deal of
attention. King Edward was specially in
terested in them. 1t Is now understood that
several of these zebrules have been sent TO
superior TO mules. while others nave also
rica to organize a drive and capture some
zoo Burchelrs zehras for shipment to Eng
land for breeding purposes.
Nor is Professor Ewart the only person
engaged in this work. Similar expert
ments are being carried forward at Ham
burg with a view to securing tse-tse i'm
mune zebrules( for use as pack animals in
German East Africa and TOgoland. In Bra
Ill Baron Parana, perhaps the largest cof-
fee planter in the world, the cultivation
of whose estates requires thousands Of
mules, has imported several zebras and is
sending for others with which to produce
zebrules. The opinion seems to be that
the Zebrule is superior to the mule, espe-
cially in tropical countries, where they re-
cover quickly from wounds, are never i'll
and remain in condition on less food than
a mule requires. For light mountain bat
teries they seem 20 be the best animal yet
produced. In short, a leading English
authority has not hesitated to declare that
the zebrule is the mule. of the twentieth
century" Therefore, the question which
Kentucky and Missouri mule breeders are
asking themselves is How will this affect
our interests" Time alone will tell.