The Billings herald. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1882-1885, 1884-06-28
A PLEA FOR THE MULE.
Where the Mule IL Seen nt His Dost
IA Noble Animal.
Turf Field and Farm

Where the Mule Il Seen at His Rest
IA Noble Animal.
Turf, Field and Farml
It is only amcng some of the Latin
races, as in Spain and Portugal and III
the east, that the mule and his sire, the
ass, are appreciated at their true value.
With the nations OF Germanic descent,
and more particularly the Anglo-Saxon,
q prejudice as deeply rooted as it Is
ill-founded, pre- vents that familiar, af.
fectionare association with the ass and
the mule which does 80 much to develop
the finest instincts, and hu unanize, as it
were, the horse and the dog. With US
horses are bred for pleasure as we'll as
profit. There is some s'ntiment in the
thing, and one rarely parts with fine
colt. at whatever price, without mora
or je5s regret.
There was time, however, few
centuries since, when even in England
the mule was the peer of his eristocratic
half brother the horse; when clad in
magnificent housings he proudly bore
upon his back the abbots, the bishops
and the princes of the au-powertul
Roman church, nor would this have
been the case had he not been deemed
by the luxurious and self iadulgent
prelates of that day as far superior to
the horse for the purposes of the sad
die.
Even as late as 1850 the mule was
Leld to lie en- indispensable part of the
apperdage OF the Bourbon dynasty of
rance, and whenever the court of
Charles X moved from the palace Of
the Tuileries to Ccmp.egne or ontaine-
bleau it was in coaches drawn OF q
gallop of ten miles an ho1r by supero
teams of Spanish mules, and such
mules! Near sixteen hands high,
matched to hair, glossy back in color,
"mealy mouthed," with legs and eyes
like antelopes, and showing in spirit,
acton and endurance the generous
Barb blood OF their maternal ancestry.
But to see the mule at his best we
should go to the sunny shores OF the
Mediterranean-to Spain and Portugal.
The Arabian domination of 800 years
on that great peninsula fled it with
no .ses of Arabian and Barb blood, and
this blood, to which we attribute the
best qualities of tie modern race horse,
and, par .doxical as it ma seem, the
sweet temper, the broad forehead, the
pre;sive eye and beautiful ear OF the
massive Percheron, flows, and freely,
too, in tee veins OF the Spanish mule.
and impar.s to him an appearance as
superior to American mules bred for
the druid yery of our southern planta-
tons as is that Of TIE kings of tie turf
| to tie coarsest Cone5toga.
Whoever has had the good fortune to
have seen the ligh-strung and highly
bred mules harnessed to the travel ng
equipages of the Spanish king dash.ng
tn O, ,.gh the Puer5o-del-Sol at ten
mile gait, or has encountered the in
! terminab!e professions of gaily capari.
scned mules bearing the names OF oil
the saints in the calendar, threading
with unerring feet the DANGEROUS de-
tiles of the Pyrenees and the Sierra
Morena, to the sound of innumerable
tinkiing of bells, will cease ct once
and forever to obiect to the mule on the
score OF his appearance; and whoever
has seen the large, dark-eyed, b: own,
di:ty, ragged, but beautiful children OF
Andalusia gamboling as fearlessly ani
with IS much impunity under the heels
of tie mules with which they wero
brought up as do the children in the
tents OF the Arab among the mares,
will be compelled to admit that with
the same kind treatment the mule. too,
will develop traits as near akin to hd-
n.aaity as tie cog and the horse.
We are inclined to believe that we'll
bred mules possess un7e!eloped quail
tie, for both quick Graught and the
saddle, for which the general public is
rot inclined to give them credit, and
we are convinced from actual obserya-
ton that Cor light, quick draught over
long distances, and continuous from
day to day, and for sad2le-ga:ts, mules
carefully bred are equal and per-
haps superior TO cur average light
draught an l saddle-horses.
We remember pair Of mules, bred
by one of the shelhy's, in Lentu ky.
that drew q carriage containing five
heavy men ty miles over al ordinarI7
road in five hours, without tlrning a
ha L OF crack of the whip, and returned
the next day with lual ease an in the
same tine.
In 1886 we saw Oh Red river, La.,
500 paid for saddle mule that could
pace at the rate of ten miles an holr
for hours together.
We have friend in Fappahannock.
Va, Tom Hughes, reg liar son OF
Anak in size, SIX feet five n his sto:k-
inss, big in proportion and tipping the
beam at over 2yU pounds, who for sew
eral seasons rode in the first flight to
hounds hunting country that was
nearly all mountain On mule that
never made a m:sstep OF refused leap
over fence OF wall.