Still curious, I made friends with the teamsters. Some were from Ravenna,
and even these grumbled at the two hundred and fifty miles as ruinous to
their cattle. The animals they convoyed had come overland from Aquileia to
Altinum and from there to Ravenna by sea. In this way had come the
crocodiles, hippopotami and rhinoceroses.
More teamsters were from Aquileia itself. Some of these with the lighter
wagons for the cages containing wolves, lynxes, small antelopes, hyenas
or African apes, had been able to take the shorter though poorer road by
way of Patavium and Ateste to Bononia, which made their total journey
under five hundred and twenty miles. But most, including all those
conveying bears, boars, panthers, leopards, lions or tigers, had come by
the more northerly road through Verona. Those with panthers, leopards or
small stags had come from Verona, by way of Hostilia to Bononia and from
there southward as did all, making their journey about five hundred and
fifty miles; the men conveying cages of tigers, lions, bears, boars, elk,
or wild bulls had mostly come from Verona through Cremona; from there some
through Regio to Bononia, others through Placentia; and for these their
total teaming did not differ much, about six hundred and twenty miles for
the ones and ten miles more for the others.
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