File:Odd people. Being a popular description of singular races of man (1861) (14582095658).jpg

Identifier: oddpeoplebeingpo02reid (find matches)
Title: Odd people. Being a popular description of singular races of man
Year: 1861 (1860s)
Authors: Reid, Mayne, 1818-1883
Subjects: Ethnology Primitive societies
Publisher: Boston, Ticknor and Fields
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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s-covered the New World, no animal of the horse kindwas found there; and yet the geologist has proved in-contestably that at one time horses existed in the NewWorld, — at a period too, geologically speaking, not veryremote. The fossilized bones examined by one of themost accomplished of modern travellers — Dr. Darwin— establish this truth beyond a doubt. The horse that at present inhabits America, thoughnot indigenous, has proved a flourishing exotic. Notonly in a domestic state has he increased in numbers,Dut he has in many places escaped from the control ofman, and now runs wild upon the great plains both ofNorth and South America. Although you may find inAmerica almost every breed of horses known in Eu-rope, yet the great majority belong to two very distinctkinds. The first of these is the large English horse, inhis different varieties, imported by the Anglo-Americans,and existing almost exclusively in the woodland territoryof the United States. The second kind is the Andalu-
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THE COMANCHES. 269 sian*Arab, — the horse of the Spanish conquerors, — amuch smaller breed than the English-Arabian, but quiteequal to him in mettle and beauty of form. It is theAndalusian horse that is found throughout all SpanishAmerica, — it is he that has multiplied to such a won-derful extent, — it is he that has run wild. That the horse in his normal state is a dweller uponopen plains, is proved by his habits in America, — forin no part where the forest predominates is he foundwild, — only upon the prairies of the north, and thellanos and pampas of the south, where a timbered tractforms the exception. He must have found these great steppes congenial tohis natural disposition, — since, only a very short timeafter the arrival of the Spaniards in the New World, wefind the horse a runaway from civilization, — not onlyexisting in a wild state upon the prairies, but in posses-sion of many of the Indian tribes. It would be an interesting inquiry to trace the changeof ha

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