LONCI TEAMS. 237 



much from that of a four horse team. 13 ut ib frequently happen* 

 that six horses are only wanted for a part of the journey, or under 

 some exceptional circumstances, so that they must be driven two 

 abreast, with a single pole and other four horse appliances. Tn 

 every country where more than four ordinary horses are driven 

 two abreast, on ordinary roads, the leaders are taken in hand by 

 a postillion, which leaves the coachman no difficult task to follow 

 with the rest of the horses. Very long teams of plough horses 

 used occasionally to be seen getting her Majesty's mails through 

 the snow in this way. In England, France, North America, and 

 many other countries, circus teams of any length may occasionally 

 be seen nominally driven from the box, but really taught to go 

 with little or no driving at all. In some parts of South America, 

 Australia, and JSTew Zealand, six horses, two abreast, may be seen 

 driven by one man, through long straight, sandy tracks, where 

 there is, in fact, nothing to do but to hound the poor weary 

 animals along. 



566. — Even the practised, daring, skilful drivers, who drive 

 a leather spring coach across the middle island of New Zealand^ 

 though obliged to use six horses through the sands, never attempt 

 to handle more than four horses up and down the mountain 

 zig-zags, where both hind wheels are often kept from turnings 

 round at all by their powerful breaks, and great steadiness and 

 sagacity is demanded from the leaders. 



567. — In South America, mules are more used amongst the 

 mountains, a habit probably introduced from Spain. They are 

 perhaps better with the average driver, although they never 

 inake the pace that good horses will do. They are not so 

 excitable ; they are more easily made reliable at a pull ; they are 

 far more certain to take care of themselves ; they are even more 

 clever in ascending and descending excessively steep places than 

 either the horse, the ox, or the zebra ; but in running down 

 ordinary hills they are far more liable to stumble, or fall on their 

 knees than an ordinary horse. 



Of course restive, jibbing, badly broken horses are utterly 

 unfit for mountain work, but well broken, well driven, and 

 regularly worked horses, that are not in excessively high condition 



