'Travels in Beloochistan and Sinde; accompanied by a geographical and historical account of those countries, with a map.' [‎328] (370/476)

328
HISTORY OF BELOOCHISTAN.
ducks. The wild animals are lions, tigers, leopards, hyenas, wolves,
jackalls, tiger cats, wild dogs, foxes, hares, moongooses, mountain
goats, antelopes, elks, red and moose deer, wild asses, &c. &c. Of
the feathered kind there are eagles, kites, vultures, magpies *, crows,
hawks, wild geese, and ducks, flamingos, herons, bustards, florikens,
rock pigeons, lapwings, plovers, snipes, quails, partridges, and almost
every class of small bird to be met with either in Europe or India.
Vermin and venomous animals are not so common as in Hindoostan,
and fresh fish is, it may be said, unknown, except on the sea-
coast, where the inhabitants subsist on it the greatest part of the
year.
The horses of Beloochistan are strong, well boned, and large, but
usually extremely vicious. Those which are brought to India from
that country, are mostly bred to the southward of Kelat, and in Kutch
Gundava. The breed of this animal, in Lus and Mukran, is small
and deficient in spirit. Westward of the desert, the Belooches chiefly
get their horses from Khorasan ; and those chiefs, who have brood
mares, cross them with Arab or Persian horses, from which circum
stance they are very superior in mettle, docility, and beauty. There
is nothing observable in the ass or mule of this region; nor do the
black cattle, sheep, or goats, require any particular notice. The
sheep are mostly of the species called, in Persia, Doomba, or the fat-
tailed ; and the goats are rough and covered with black hair, which
serves to protect them from snow and cold. Of all the domestic
creatures I have enumerated, the camel and dromedary are the most
highly prized by the Belooches. The camel is of the species with two
humps, and is only serviceable for burthen, being heavy in his make,
with enormous bones, shaggy coat, and amazing strength. The
I have never seen magpies in any part of Asia except at Kelat. I believe they are
unknown in Persia or the Kabool dominions, and it seems unaccountable that they should
be confined to the district of Kelat alone.