Originally Posted by
Jon
I'm still favoring some sort of niche logistical argument to explain why men are doing the drafting upriver. Can't draft animals ultimately outperform humans, calorie for calorie? Because what is the minimum for which a human or animal can work, long-term? To replace the calories burned while working, right? Biologically, we can't continue to perform work for less than that. And a draft horse does pulling work equivalent to about 10 men? And about 5 men equal the work of a lesser draft animal like a mule?
I wonder if it's a biped vs. quadruped issue. Or a specialty work crew that needs to pull boats upriver, both on land, and in the water, both walking AND swimming upriver. What happens when horses are pulling a load through a river, and the river depth exceeds the horses' height? Will the horses swim the load forward? Can a team of 20 men swim one of those boats upriver?