Queer Methods of Travel 



693 



Photo and Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, New York 



Crossing a River in India on a Raft of Inflated Bullock Skins 



Korea, Japan, and returning via North- 

 eastern Siberia and our own Alaska. 



At our very first stop in Mexico we 

 encounter the "burro," the Spanish term 

 for the animal which we usuall}' know as 

 the "donkey." The statistical records in- 

 dicate the existence of about 10 million 

 of these diminutive and patient burden- 

 bearing animals scattered over the world, 

 chiefly in Spanish America, Northern 

 Africa, Arabia, and the Holy I, and. 

 Originally domesticated in the Holy Land 

 and Egypt, he was carried to Northern 

 Spain by the Mohammedans, and thence 

 to America by the Spanish explorers and 

 colonizers. 



While much used in Spanish-American 



countries, he is less prized and less cared 

 for than in his original home of Western 

 Asia and Northern Africa, where he is 

 the constant companion of man, return- 

 ing a reasonable care with faithful serv- 

 ice and evident affection for his master. 



They are used not only on the moun- 

 tain roads, where they are more sure- 

 footed than the horse, but also in the 

 towns and cities ; the horse in these more 

 populous centers being reserved for the 

 transportation of people. 



For transportation over the country 

 roads or in the mountains they are as- 

 sembled in considerable numbers and 

 march singly, following their leader in 

 a long file known as the "pack train." 



