Depends......I know that's a frustrating answer. Generally a horse can carry up to 25% of its body weight without showing ill effect. So.......depends on how big the horse is. A draft horse can carry more than a quarter horse.... Assuming the "average" horse of the day was around 1000 to 1200 pounds. That's about 240 to 300 pounds of total carrying capacity. They can and have carried more, but its going starting showing ill effect over distance. Mules have denser muscles so can carry more total weight.
Old,
Thank you for the kind help.
This may or may not be the same person that you are hoping to find but, if its not, there may be some undiscovered connection. Its a true story but, to the best of my knowledge, the ending has yet to be written.
It starts with the French incursion into Mexico in 1862, the Maximilian War as it was then described. After an exhausting series of wars, some bright people thought stability would come to Mexico with the creation of a monarchy. Maximilian of Austria, the restless prince who overhauled the Austrian Navy, was selected in 1859 but, he refused the position and it wasn't until 1863 that he finally accepted. By 1863, French forces were in command of Mexico. Not a bad time to take the helm. In May of 1864, Maximilian and his wife Charlotte arrived at their royal residence in Chapultepec Castle (famous). The timing could not have been worst as there remained a deep divide and dangerous resentment between Mexican liberals and conservatives. Sound familiar? This was yet another very ugly Masonic war actually. Bless those Masons.
As a result of the chaos and jealousy, Maximilian failed in his effort to unite his two masters (who could) and things began to collapse. The French military bravely abandon Mexico, leaving Max and his small army to face a very angry Mexican population. By 1867, it was over and after a long siege at Quertaro, Max was betrayed, captured, and on June 19th, executed along with his two top Generals. Max was made an example. Most of the remaining forces returned to Europe or dissolved into the Mexican population however, two of these soldiers, a Captain Ramon Ortiz and a solider under his command, Manuel Grijalva, chose a very different path. Here I will skip over their misadventures (not impossible to find) and fast forward to 1879. Actually, its easier to read the source:
"In 1879, the driver of a private express was murdered about thirty miles south of ________ and $50,000 in bullion from the ________ mine taken, besides a few hundred in greenbacks. It was soon learned that the robbery was the work of Ortiz, Girjalva, and some unnamed Mexican whom, for some reason they had induced to join them, and then the long chase began. Years after Girjalva was shot and mortally wounded in _____, __., and the pursuers had the address to impose one of their number on him as a priest. Girjalva confessed to everything, willed his share of the bullion to the church and described minutely the old _____ _____ house by the side of which the treasure was buried in _____."
Anyway, if you are interested, I can send the source material and let you read the rest of the story yourself.
For obvious reasons, I don't wish to post the details.
After an extremely hard winter, I could use a few pounds.
Good luck with your research and if anyone can dig up that article, captain1965 would be my choice, among others.