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forms, at every little distance, steep declivities of several hundred yards downward. These can only be descended by mules, and the animals themselves seem sensible of the danger, and the caution to be used in such descents. When they come to the edge of one of these precipices, they stop without being checked by the rider, and if he inadvertently attempts to spur them on, they continue immoveable. They seem all this time ruminating on the peril that lies before thein, and preparing themselves for the encounter. They not only attentively view the road, but tremble and snort at the danger. Having prepared for the descent, they place their fore feet in a posture as if they were stopping themselves; they then also put their hind feet together, but a little forward, as if they were going to lie down. In this attitude, having, as it were, taken a survey of the road, they slide down with the swiftness of a meteor. At this time, all the rider has to do is to keep himself fast on the saddle, without checking the reins, for the least motion is sufficient to check the equilibrium of the mule, in which case both he and his rider would perish. The address of these animals in this rapid descent is truly wonderful, for in their swiftest motion, when they seem to have lost all government of themselves, they follow exactly the different windings of the road, as if they had previously settled in their minds the route they were to follow, and had taken every precaution for their safety. Some mules, after having been long used in such journies, acquire a sort of reputation for their safety and skill, and their value rises in proportion to their celebrity.

THE OX.

THE OX, by which the natural historian means black cattle in general, without regard to sex, is one of the most precious and useful to man, among the herbiverous animals. Easily tamed, and of a gentle and placid temper, he is maintained at small expense; and while he consumes but little, he enriches and improves the ground from which he draws his substance. He patiently lends his neck to the yoke, and exerts his great muscular strength in bearing our burdens, in preparing our fields for the seed, and, to this day in eastern regions, in separating the chaff from the grain, after he has assisted in gathering in the harvest. The milk of the herd supplies us with a rich and pleasant beverage; the flesh with a nutritious food; the skin forms a part of our covering, and in many parts of the world still contributes to the defence of warriors in the day of battle. Scarcely a part of this animal indeed can be named, which is not daily rendered subservient to the purposes of utility and elegance. In the patriarchal ages, the ox constituted no inconsiderable

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