Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1877-09-10

or not till you have heard him sing. l
attended mule concert at Fort Smelling.
The programme opened with soprano
solo, and then swung into duet, and
then pranced off into trio. followed up
by quartette, and ending with a full
chorus by $50 mules. 1 didn't hear the
whole thing,s for when l came to, the
regimental surgeon was standing over
me, giving me powerful restoratives, and
heard him say that I might possibly
get out again, though I would never be
a well man again. l have been through
the New York stock exchange, and spent
part of day in . boiler factory, and
have been on one or two Sunday school
excursions for children, but 1 never
knew what noise was till l heard a lot
of army mules bray.
One Of the dead certainties about a
mule is that he is sure-footed, especially
with his hind feet. He never misplaces
them. If he advertises that his feet will
be at a certaiu spot at certain time,
with sample of mule shoes to which
we would call your attention, you will
always find them there at the appointed
time. He Is as reliable as the day of
judgment, and he never cancels an en-
gagement Every man now living who
drove mule team during the war now
draws pension.
l never owned mule. 1 came near
buying one once. He was fine looking
animal; his ears stood up like the side
spires on an Episcopal church. His tail
was trimmed down so that it looked like
tar brush leaning up against him. He
was striped off like tbe American flag,
and Raphael's cherubs never looked more
angelic than did that mule. He looked
all innocence, though he was, in no
sense. The owner sat in the wagon, with
his chin resting on his hand and his ell
bow resting on his knee. In the other
hand he held stick with brad in the
end of it. examined the mule and ask
ed the man few questions, and out of
mere form inquired if the mule was kind,
or if he kicked. kind? Kick ?" said
the man, and those were the last words
he ever uttered. He reached hiss stick
over the front of the wagon, and stuck
the brad into that mule. 1t was awful
to see man snufed out as quickly as
he was. 1t almost took away my breath
he went so suddenly. I never saw e.
thread of life snap SO abruptly as it did
on that occasion. He didn't have time
to leave message for his family. That
mule simply ducked his head, and then
a pair of heels few out behind; there
was crash, flying of splinters, and
that was all and the next moment that
mule and 1 stood alone, my face covered
with astonishment two feet deep, and
his covered with part of an old bride.
The next day read an account in the
telegraphic news of shower of flesh in
Kentucky. 1 was the only man that
could explain that phenomenon, and
did not dare to, lest should be impli-
Gated in the affair with the other mule.
1 have seen death in many forms, but
l don't recollect of ever seeing funera
gotten up with less pomp and display
than on that occasion If l had my
choice, to either work in nitro-glycer
inc factory, or take care of a mule,
should go for the factory, as in case o
an explosion, there would be more pos
sibility of my friends finding some littl
mementoes of me, with which to assuag
their grief. A very small piece of m
would tighten very big sorrow.
l will hunt around and if l find an
other facts that belong to a mule, l wi
write them down, and send them to 70
by express G. o. D.