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Modern Business Geography
Fig. 120. An elephant piling teak logs at Rangoon. This “animal derrick” brings both strength
and intelligence to the task.
docks in Yokohama crowds of jinrikisha men try to persuade the pas-
sengers to jump into their little two-wheeled carts and be carried to
the hotel. At Foochow coolies with bare legs and arms come swing-
ing down the narrow streets to leave at great warehouses the bales
of tea which they have brought scores of miles on their backs.
At Madras, in India, although jinrikishas are fewer than in J apan
and not so comfortable, rough carts for carrying freight are more nu-
merous. In western Asia, one of the commonest sights is the kamal
with a pad on his back. He may be carrying anything from a goatskin
full of water to a load of melons or earthen water pots.
In the New World, in the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala, one
sees hundreds of men and women running at a little jog trot with great
baskets of fruit and vegetables on their heads, or with loads on their
backs steadied by slings that pass over the forehead. Thus, in the
backward parts of the world, there are almost countless ways in which
man does the work of transportation.
Animals in mountainous or backward countries. In regions like
Mexico, Peru, and Morocco, and even among some of our own moun-
tains, horses or other pack animals transport goods almost everywhere.
In advanced and well populated regions, however, horses are used
only to carry goods short distances. They are an expensive means of