3o2 HisTOiiY or 



man with that of otlior animals ; namely, by the weights which 

 either can carry. We are assured that the porters of Constan- 

 tinople carry burdens of nine hundred pounds weight. Mr Pe- 

 saguliers tells us of a man, who by distributing weights in such a 

 maimer as that every part of his body bore its share, he was thus 

 able to raise a weight of two thousand pounds. A horse, which 

 is about seven times our bulk, would be thus able to raise a 

 weight of fourteen thousand pounds, if its strength were 

 in the same proportion.' " But the truth is, a horse will not 

 carry ujjou its back above a weight of two or three hundred 

 poimds ; while a man of confessedly inferior strength is thus able 

 to support two thousand. Whence comes this seeming supe- 

 riority ? The answer is obvious. Because tlie load upon the 

 man's shoulders is placed to the greatest advantage ; while, upon 

 the horse's back, it is placed at the greatest disadvantage. Let 

 us suppose for a moment the man standing as upright as possi- 

 ble, under the great load above mentioned. It is obvious that 

 all the bones of his body may be compared to a pillar supporting 

 a building, and that his muscles have scarce any share in this 

 dangerous duty. However, they are not entirely inactive ; as 

 man, let him stand never so upright, will have some bending in 

 different parts of his body. The muscles, therefore, give the 

 bones some assistance, and that with the greatest possible advan- 

 tage. In this manner, a man has been found to support two 

 thousand weight ; but may be capable of supporting a still greater. 

 The manner in which this is done, is by strapping the load 

 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 stand:;, 

 are made to sink ; and thus the man miiiiitaining 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 nnist inevitably drop -, and no 

 power of his can raise the weights again. But the case is very 

 different with regard to a load laid ujion a horse. The column 



1 Mr Ruffiiii carricH lliis Miiijcot no fartlicrj and thus far, without espla- 

 Datii'.ii, it is erroiioous. 



