Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 05 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
Several ancient authors speak of wild horses. Herodotus says, that on
the banks of the Hypanes, in Scythia, there were wild horses quite
white, and that in the northern parts of Thrace, beyond the Danube,
there were others covered with hair five inches long. Aristotle also
cites Syria; Pliny the northern countries; Strabo, the Alps and Spain;
as places where wild horses were to be found. Among the moderns,
Carden mentions the same thing of Scotland and the Orkneys; Olaus, of
Muscovy; Dapper, of the Isle of Cyprus, which, as he says, contained
wild horses very beautiful, of great strength and swiftness; Struys,
of the Isle of May, one of the Cape de Verds, where he found wild
horses very small. Leo the African also relates that there were wild
horses in the desarts of Arabia and Lybia; and he assures us, that he
saw in the remotest parts of Numidia a white colt with a curled mane.
Marmol confirms this fact, asserting, that wild horses are found in the
desarts of Arabia and Lybia, small, and of an ash-colour; others white
whose manes and coats are short and rough; and that neither dogs nor
tame horses can equal them in swiftness; we read also, in the Letters
Edifiantes, that in China there are wild horses of a very small size.
As almost all parts of Europe are at present peopled, and equally
inhabited, wild horses are no longer found therein. Those in America
originate from European tame horses, transported thither by the
Spaniards; and have multiplied considerably in the vast desarts of this
country. The astonishment and fear which the inhabitants of Mexico and
Peru expressed at the sight of horses and their riders, is a strong
presumption that this animal was entirely unknown in the New World.
The Spaniards carried thither a great number, as well for service as
to propagate the breed. They left them on many islands, and even let
them loose on the continent, where they have multiplied like other wild
animals. M. la Salle, in 1685, saw in the northern parts of America,
near the bay of St. Louis, whole troops of these horses feeding in
the pastures, which were so wild that no one could approach them. The
author of the History of the Buccaniers, says, "That in the island of
St. Domingo, horses are sometimes seen in troops of 500, all running
together; that when they see a man, they all stop; and that one of
them will approach to a certain distance, snorts, takes flight and is
instantly followed by all the rest." He adds, "that he does not know
whether these horses, by becoming wild, have degenerated or not; but
that he did not think them so handsome as those of Spain, though they
are descended from the same breed. They have (continues he) large heads
and limbs, and their ears and limbs are also long; the inhabitants
easily tame them, and afterwards force them to work. To catch them,
nooses made of ropes are spread in places where they frequent; but if
they are caught by the neck they presently strangle themselves, unless
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