Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1875-06-04
The Pure ouusednes. Of the Mule

The mule is not the stupid anima
he is represented to be. His powers
of observation is sometimes wonder
full. Old teamsters say that a muli
always knows man who has fed hin
once. Take a train of 28O army wa
gons all alike, and when it gets Into
camp let the train be parked anC
mules embarrassed and driven off TO
gether a mile or two away from the
train. When it is time to feed then
their corn, if the animals are herdeG
back to the train, with strange in
stinct every mule will go right tc
his own wagon. 1 have heard ole
teamsters say that good mule is &
great deal more teachable than horse
more knowing and more affectionate
But | know of no animal whose
moral education is so much neglected
He is victim of his associates. When
Thoroughly corrupted there is no wick
edness to which he is not equal. His
hypocrisy then greatly helps him to
succeed. l have seen him when nc
looked the perfect picture of meek.
ness and humility: when it seemed
that even Moses himself must defer
to him in these crOwning virtues. \ ct
if Moses or any other patriarch had
ventured to approach him without a
tribute of corn. the mule would have
kicked him into the remotest antIqul-
ty. I have seen him deceive wagon
master himself-pretending that he
could not go a step farther, but the
moment he was released from the har
ness, bounding off as fresh and lively
as a colt.
The depraved mule rejoices IN MS
heart-if he can make some one mlser-
able. 1t is a trait for which in the
West they have specific term. They
call it squire eussedness." When a
mule devotes his whole life to Illus
trating this idea he finds thousand
opportunities and achieves wonder
fui success. 1t is this instinct which
prompts him TO encourage the mat
tention of his driver for year or two
lust for the sake of getting good
chance to kick his brains out. 1t is
this which leads him to stand still
when other people would be better
pleased if he would go. 1t is this
which often decides him when he
really does start to send his rider ON
ahead of him. Perhaps, too, it is this
spirit that gives the mule his strange
idea of Justice, which seams to be to
visitupon others the Affections which
he suffers himself. Thus it is said
that if bad lot of mules are in line
and you kick one of them violently,
instead of retaliating on the one who
kicked him he simply kicks the mule
behind him. The second mule passes
the kick to the third, he to the fourth,
and SO ontill the primary vengeance
has gore the whole length of the
line, leaving the last mule unjustifi-
ed. Perhaps it is only an illustration
of the principle that misery loves
company, since by this device the
mule first kicked secures the sympa-
thy of the whole line.
The mule has always been credited
with great deal of freedom of the
will. This it must be that makes
him dislike his rope and picket-pin. If
he can break the rope or pull up the
pin he finds a new opportunity
Then, not until he has defrauded
some less fortunate mule out of his
grass, or broken rivals jaw, or pull
ed down two or three tents, does he
go to bed happy.
The only personal objection I have
to mule is his neglect of camp cour-
5esles, especially his passion for pull
ng down tents. He has a strange in
,tinct, when self-freed, to consider
that direction the most convenient
FOR HIM which is most inconvenient
TO everybody else. On an expedi-
lion, our headquarter tents were al
ways ranged in a line, with a space,
when camp was small, only large
enough for a man to pass between
hem. Nearly every mule that pull
ID up his picket-pin in our vicinity,
,hough he might have a hundredmiles
If free unobstructed prairie on the
other side determined to pass between
hese tents, dragging his long lariat
md pin after him. No matter if they
got caught in one of our guyropes
,r corner of the tent. He forgot all
hings that were behind and pressed
Onward TO those that were before,
eaving us to repair damages. Some
lines two mules tied to one pin
would explore together: When this
vas the case both mules always tried
o see which could get through the
ent row first. atlantic Monthly.
/ Desperate struggle with a Hood
hound.
A night or two ago Patrick Eus-
ace, trusty and faithful guard at
ne Eastern Penitentiary, was going
is rounds in the yard of the institu-
ion with the two Siberian blood
ounds kept there, when fight was
ommenced between the latter.
caring that one of the hounds
7as killing the other, which was
own and the teeth of the upper