The _Maragatos_ are celebrated for their fine beasts of burden; indeed, the mules of Leon are renowned, and the asses splendid and numerous, especially the nearer one approaches to the learned university of Salamanca. The _Maragatos_ take precedence on the road; they are the lords of the highway, being _the_ channels of commerce in a land where mules and asses represent luggage rail trains. They know and feel their importance, and that they are the rule, and the traveller for mere pleasure is the exception. Few Spanish muleteers are much more polished than their beasts, and however picturesque the scene, it is no joke meeting a string of laden beasts in a narrow road, especially with a precipice on one side, _cosa de España_. The _Maragatos_ seldom give way, and their mules keep doggedly on; as the baggage projects on each side, like the paddles of a steamer, they sweep the whole path. But all wayfaring details in the genuine Spanish interior are calculated for the _pack_, as in England a century back; and there is no thought bestowed on the foreigner, who is not wanted, nay is disliked. The inns, roads, and right sides, suit the natives and their brutes; nor will either put themselves out of their way to please the fancies of a stranger. The racy Peninsula is too little travelled over for its natives to adopt the mercenary conveniences of the Swiss, that nation of innkeepers and coach-jobbers. [Sidenote: RIDING TOURS.] CHAPTER VIII. Riding Tour in Spain--Pleasures of it--Pedestrian Tour--Choice of Companions--Rules for a Riding Tour--Season of Year--Day’s Journey--Management of Horse: his Feet; Shoes; General Hints. [Sidenote: ROYAL ROADS.]