The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1873-05-02
THE INTERIOR JOURNAL.
FRIDAY. MAY 80 q 1873.
Mules

horse, with the quaitties OF ncltDer anu
exccIling both. lie is tho sphynx Of The
brutcs. and stands alone IN his nature
and qualities, uuapproachable in devil
ment, fatbomless in cunning. born old in
crime, Of doubtful paternity, and incapa-
bic Of pcsierity; stolid, imperturbable,
with no love for anything hut the perpe-
tration Of tricks, no dextcriiy in aught
save the hinging Of his heels, no desire
for anything but stolen rations, and no
affection at all. Such is the mule. Yet
he is an snimal who deserves a very DIFF
ferent biography from any which mon
have yet found IL in their hearts to write
Of him. There are men whom all mules
hate, probably from the existence Of q
rivalry between the two; men who are
ever the victims of one Of those lightning
blows which are wonders Of dexterity
and force, considered as the results Of the
muscular energy Of so clumsy a limb.
These arc they who have given our long
cared friend his reputation. The mule
is an animal Of character IL may
be. but still a defined and changcless
character. Many men have not thai
much TO recommend them.
Everybody knows this anomaly in an
imalism, Is they fancy, very well indeed.
We have all marked the queer. knowing,
herring. sidslcng glance Of bis eye at us,
a. We passed " We have seen the fur.
tire agility va Which, the wisp Of hay
is stolen from the passing wagon, and
tho utter stolidity with which he stands
with hanging lip asleep in the sun. The
ycarling mule is the incarnation and sum
total Of quadrupedal deviltry. He is
the originator Of distinct and uninter-
rupted series of grotesque diabolis'ns
See him, with his scant and ungraceful
tail tangled with whole acre Of hetero-
gcneous burs, the long and faded hair on
his belly waving in the breeze. an in
verified adornment, so comically contrived
as 10 be perfectly IN keeping with the
nature and origin of the brute. His
fuzzy name, scarce grown, sets upon him
with the same air &c do the whiskers Of
a shaveling youth. He has a curious
jog-trot, which in itself suggests careless
and irredeemable depravity. 1t is the
gait of one who goes steadily to the bad,
yet never gets there. At that age, the
eyes are foxy and shrewd, and lack the
look of sadness so often seen IN those Of
his aged relative of the drsy and jobbing
wagon. The little black hoo.s are hard
and polished. and, like those Of the goat
and chamois, fitted for blinking in slip
perry places. And thosc, care; in all his
kind they have ever refused to be hidden.
Even as be stands noddipg against the
sunny side of the barn, they are ever
moving. Now backward, now forward,
and in opposite ways. You can tell BY
these tokens, just when an unusually
malcvolent idea is born within him.
When they are laid squarely back upon
bis neck, his countenance il clear proof
Of the truth of the science Of physiog-
nomy. Mischief has then It's incarna-
ton. The clumsy limbs astoni-h you
with their sudden limberness. and ily
high in the air with a rapidity which
defies vision. The faculty of acrobatic
kicking never leaves him, whatever else
may befall.
The male is the philosopher of the an
imh kingdom. Heretofore the owl and
the raven have shared that reputation,
to the exclusion of all others. Its time
that mere stupidity should be called by
its proper name. The mule actually
thinks. The lack of generous spirit,
which is his notorious fault, is the result
Of shrewd calculation with regard to
the amount of work he ought to do. A
tired mule will stop in the road, and no
amount Of persuasion or force will induce
him to 90 further. while the horse goes
on until he dies in bis tracks. But his
Iibers are tough aud bis endurance won
icrful, and he performs tasks of which |
no other animal in the service of man
,n the frontier is capable. A long day
and night of ceaseless travel without
water. Ride up the line, past midnight,
while you shudder 10 think of the desc
ate track behind. and the dreary twenty /
miles yet to come, and you will see each
ong-eared philosopher at his steady jog
rot. wagging his grotesque listeners
backward and forward, and pulling on
ais bits. They know the nature Of the
emergency as well as you do. The nos
rils are dilated. the eyes have distressed
ook, and the gaunt tanks throb pitiably.
But there is no dragging, no complaint.
On and on in the gloom, for YOU do not
hink or care how long, and suddenly
he whole line sets up that peculiar cry,
which is not the voice Of the horse or
he ass, nor a mixture Of the two. You
nay know the animal for years in civil
alton and not hear it. II ia as plaintive
. the voice Of child. That cry means
he scent of water, perhaps miles away,
nd soon YOU can see upon the horizon
he stunted trees which stand sparsely !
pom the banks Of the Rio Grande, the
'ecos, or the Coneho. --Kaasas Magasine.
TnE Sioux treaty Of 1868 has been vi.
,latad and white settlers have cuteroa