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Show . ' 312 H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. DISSRRT. ·in New Spain, of Carthagena, of 'Cuba, &c. refpecting.theirexdef...,. ~ five multiplication, and the excellence of their flelh (i). 0 F H 0 R S E S A N D ,M U L E S. 0 F all the refleCtions thrown out by the count de Buffon and Mr. de Paw ngainfl the animals of the new continent, there is no inftance where they have done fironger injuftice to .!ithetica, and ta truth, than in tlie 'fttppofed degeneracy of hdrfes there. 0f them Acofta fays (k), " that in many countrie'S of America, or in tH greater " part, they have profpered and profper well, and fome breeds are as " good as the befi of Spain, not only for the coul fe .and fur parade, " but alfo for journeys and lab-our." A teftimony of this .kind• frotn a European fo critical, fo impartial, and fo well verfed in the things ·Oi America and Europe, is of more weight than all tho declamations of thefe philofophers aga:inft the new world. 'Jlhe lieutenant generaL D. Antonio Ulloa, a learned Spanilh matHematician ftill living (IJ fpeaks with aftonilhment of the American horfes whiCh· he faw in: Chili and Peru ; and . celebrates thofe of Chili for their pace, thofe which are called aguiMias for their extraordinary velocity, and thofe plied parame1·os for their wonderful agility in running in chace of the il:ag with riders upon them, dbwn the fides, and . up the' fteepeft rocky parts of the m0'll!ntains. He relates,· tbat.on one of t!llofe horfes called aguilillas which, he adds, was none of .the fleetefl of his kind, · he has frequently gone upwards of fifteen miles in fifty-feven or fifty·~ eight minutes. In New Spain there is an· incredible plenty both of borfes and mules. 'Fhe multitude of them may be· conjeCtured from their price i ' at the time, of the conqueft aD ordinary honfe1 was vvorth a thoufand crowns, at ·prefent •a good one;: may be purchafed for ten or (i) It will fufficc to read what Acofra hns written in Jib. iv. cap. 3s. of his Hifrory. "It .,.1 8 ccrta•m , "1'•,a ya 11'e , 11 t h at I1 0gs have mult1· pb·e d :1bund:rntly throu. gh n\1 America, Their " fle01 is eat frc01 in many placet, and cftecmed. very wholef<Smc, anll na. much fo na that of " the fheep; namely in Carthagena ••.• In fomc places they arc fattened with corn, and be· "come extremely fat. In others they make excellent lard :md bacon of them, namely in To· " l~ca of New Sp~tin, and in l'al'ia.'' The count de Buffon, in the fame, volume xviii. in wh1ch he claffes the hog among the nnimRls which have degenemted in America, fay a pofitively, that ·the hogs tmniported to Ame1·ica have thriven there well. . (~) Hill:. Nnt. y Mor. lib. iv. cap. 3~· (I) Voyage to South America, pa'l't, I. lib. vi. cnp. 9· twelve ' H I S T 0 R Y ~ 0 F M E X ~ C 0. twelve (m). . Their fize is the fan1e as that of the common horfcs of Europe. In Mexico there is feldorn a horfe to be [een fo fmall ~s the breed of Sclavonia which we fee in Italy, and fiill fddomer fo fmall as thofe of Iceland and other countries in the North, as Andcrfon, or thofe of India as Tavernier and othc(t 'uthors relate. Their hardinefs is fuch, that it is a frequent cuftom with the inhabitants of thofc countries to make journies of feventy, eighty, ot· more miles at a good pace the whole way, without fiopping or changing their horfcs, however f:t tiguing the ro:1d. Saddle horfe~ , although they are geldinr;s for ~pe ~l1~fi. part, h ave a p~odigious fpiri.t. Mules, 'which througl) the U11 1 of that country ferve for carnages, and for burdens, · are ·equal il1 fize to thole of Europe. Thofe for burdens which are con. duc:ted by drivers, carry a load of about five hundred pounds weight. They do nOt ttavel more than twelve or·fourteen miles a-day, according t9 <the cuftohl of· that cou11·try; but I in th'is man)!ler they make jottrni'es 'of' eight · hundred, ' a 1 tho 1fat-ttl,~( ,a;n{l fifteen ~hundred miles. Carriage mules go. at 1 thc' rat'e bf the pd!l:s 6f Burope, although they draw a great deal more weight on accohrtt of the baggage of patfengers •. Saddle mules are' made ufe of for very long joumeys. It is common to make a journey on a mule from11Mexireo to Guatem~la, ~hich is ,about a .thoufan~ h1ilcs ditfunce: 8ve~lal ~ack oe COO'nti·y tl1at is moun_. tainoudihd to 1gb, at fl e rate 1bf ·tt{r~e: or four fiages a-day. The above faa~ which we 11ave ·infetted 1tol ~11ew the miftakes of our J:>h ilofopliers, are public and notbrieu's:tnt that· kingc)om,• · and· agreeable to ¢~1d report' of fc ve at Euro~biry n tho.~s!:>i ~\it· nothing i11 •our judgment I a 1 ,b c a rfir' onno9!e ('"<i·h' d't c, trocJ n• (loll.., ~ ::J 'h),/ .], ll b we ptcn·.1 ann exce ence of Americat'l hbrfes 1ilian the1 ¥oho-Wit1g fobfervatidn whi h we h'ave had occafion to I l 'll' A 11 '' I • /\ J • , >j-- Jr' ..JH ..r d fi ~nHe. , mong tnc yabpns· n1 gs. w lll.: ·are oruere rom Spain, at 'greatf pence,·· hy th~ 'Spaniards cfl:~blifhcd in1 America, from the at. t~~~.me~t t~.~~j/~e et~V:e '_t~ · th7i;1 '~rlrlve ' ~dt1n~;y; we ~o not· know {nt J~~~~-:~1~ 1. r~g(ara ... to ~~- ~( ?) rl~at~.n~~~rc two h?~.~red years ,\a~~ • (llt) .In New Gnllicia a midd\;ng4~offcill· to b~ l al! fp'r two fequi11s, a mule for three, or ~wo p.nd n h11lf, aup a hcru of tWCnt}'·four mnrcs wid1 a !l:Jllion for twenty·livc fcq:1in s. Tn Chili, for 'half ;i fcqtiin or :\ ctow n;ay tkptrtchafcd one ofthofe horles that t1>ot ~v.hi.ch at·o much :tdAlit d . for their hardincfd anu atlivi~y in running, an~\ a mare may be bought for. rill <-q Lially fmall · onliderntion. .i lug .rfqciwli. l'I .d 'h 11 ( ) 'V 01. II. ~ S s they .I 313 '• DISSERT. IV. ... I |