One Of Them
Will Carry A Burthen Of Near Six Hundred Weight.
They are easily
nourished, and require no other respite from their labour, but
the night's repose.
They are the only carriage that can be used
in crossing the mountains, being very sure-footed: and it is
observed that in choosing their steps, they always march upon the
brink of the precipice. You must let them take their own way,
otherwise you will be in danger of losing your life; for they are
obstinate, even to desperation. It is very dangerous for a person
on horseback to meet those animals: they have such an aversion to
horses, that they will attack them with incredible fury, so as
even to tear them and their riders in pieces; and the best method
for avoiding this fate, is to clap spurs to your beast, and seek
your safety in flight. I have been more than once obliged to fly
before them. They always give you warning, by raising a hideous
braying as soon as they perceive the horse at a distance. The
mules of Provence are not so mischievous, because they are more
used to the sight and society of horses: but those of Piedmont
are by far the largest and the strongest I have seen.
Some very feasible schemes for improving the commerce of Nice
have been presented to the ministry of Turin; but hitherto
without success. The English import annually between two and
three thousand bales of raw silk, the growth of Piedmont; and
this declaration would be held legal evidence.
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