438 HISTORY OF 



round the shoulders of the person who is to bear 

 it, by a machine something like that by which 

 milk-vessels or water-buckets are carried. The 

 load being thus placed on a scaffold, on each side, 

 contrived for that purpose, and the man standing 

 erect in the midst, all parts of the scaffold, except 

 that where the man stands, are made to sink ; 

 and thus the man maintaining his position, the 

 load, whatever it is, becomes suspended, and the 

 column of his bones may be fairly said to support 

 it. If, however, he should but ever so little give 

 way, he must inevitably drop, and no power of his 

 can raise the weights again. But the case is very 

 different with regard to a load laid upon a horse. 

 The column of the bones there lies a different 

 way ; and a weight of five hundred pounds, as I 

 am told, would break the back of the strongest 

 horse that could be found. The great force of a 

 horse, and other quadrupeds, is exerted when the 

 load is in such a position as that the column 

 of the bones can be properly applied ; which is 

 lengthwise. When, therefore, we are to estimate 

 the comparative strength of a horse, we are not 

 to try what he can carry, but what he can draw ; 

 and, in this case, his amazing superiority over 

 man is easily discerned ; for one horse can draw 

 a load that ten men cannot move. And, in some 

 cases, it happens that a draft horse draws the 

 better for being somewhat loaded ; for, as the 

 peasants say, the load upon the back keeps him 

 the better to the ground." 



There is still another way of estimating human 

 strength, by the perseverance and agility of our 



