The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1891-11-27
THE LITTLE RAT MULE.
DISAPPEARING FROM THE STREET
RAILWAY SERVICE.

car; they look like rats" They hav,
thus become known very generally a
little rat mules, and the description is
good Il certainly. Many of them dom
look much larger than a good sized billy
goat, being SO small that they are hidden
from the people in the car by the dash.
board in front. 1t certainly does look
cruel to make them pull a car loaded
down with people, a load that would
strain powerful horses on an up grade.
1t is like a great many other things,
however.
1t is cruel only in appearance. The
little mule is equal to this and much
more. If the car would hold more peo-
pie he and his mate would pull it any
place, and on a level would take it skip
ping along SO fast that you would almost
begin to think no other motive power
Yves required to realize rapid transit. He
has endurance, speed and strength, and
thrives where an animal more hardy and
stronger in appearance would sOOn die.
In rapid motion he goes by jumps and
jerks, but he accOmplishes the desired
result, and is one Of the most servicea-
BILE animals to be had in the street rail
way business.
He is, however, rapidly disappearing,
giving way to mechanical motors. AS
the old darkL said when he saw the cleo
trio cars, The Yankees is great peo-
pie; they Want satisfied ter free de
nigga, and now they've done gone and
freed de mules" That is about the case.
In st. Louis, for instance, the little rat
mTlaC-on1 for that ,o,++1, H. 1.--
mule and the hOrse-are few in number,
not one IN thirty for those employed as
recently as three years ago. With Ou1
increase IN population, new industries,
etc, this is a somewhat remarkable
statement, but it is correct.
The little rat mule is a peculiar ami.
NAL. Born and raised in the southwest,
Texas and Mexico, he is now going to
the south and southeast for service on
the plantations. In the very recent past. !
when all the street cars were drawn by
horses and mules, the demand for them
was very great for that purpose, but as
things generally ~equalize themselves, so !
has the demand for horses and mules. !
The street railway companies which
have changed to cable or electric motor
power have generally disposed of their
live stock to very fair advantage, though
there are still on hand some Of the little
rat mules that are unused.
This little animal is one of some valne.
though he does not look it. Twenty dol
lars would be q very fair valuation, but
IN fixing that estimate you would be
away off the mark. Unbroken he com
mands considerable more than that.
The cheapest lot hat ever came to St.
Louis, probably, was one of 200, the
price paid for them being a few cents
less than twenty-six dollars per head,
they were unbrOken. He is a stub
born little brute, and there is cOnsidera-
bic labor in breaking him so he can be
put ahead of a bobtail and trusted to
average driver. Thus broken he
a value Of sixty to seventy-five dol +
lars. :
One would naturally suppose that his 7
raiser would break him, and get his en- 7
nanced price, but, as a rule, he has come 8
to the st. Louis railroads as wild as +
could be, and also as stubborn, but the 2
employees OF the companies have had a c
great deal OF fun III breaking them in
reducing them to tractabilitv. They !
laVe also had some exciting experiences, q
as the little fellow has heels quite as p
as his larger relative, and he
how to use them too. You have n
got to look out for them, and you have v
got to put some muscle into use when p
think you have an easy task to hold o
hem with the lines. This is not at all 4
'asy sometimes, as he has strength and +
frequently a very hard mOuth-hard h
noush to pull a bobtail car by it with n
he traces slackened. e
1t has been said that it seems cruel TO 2
these little fellows to a street car
oaded down with passengers. To the
ontrary, there are few animals which
ave an easier life. The pulling of the s,
ar is nothing to them. They can laugh o.
t that and grow fat. TWENTY-FIVE to II
hlrty miles a day for them is nothing at a
and that Is about what they COW Of
T, with rests between trips. Through Ii
nth their days work, they are turned n,
ito a big yard, where they run and roll 81
5 they please. They never die, or at Il
the employees of the street rail A
'ays never hear of their dying. When At
~ "HPAO"SA 1AoU pC1lOI Oh Ire tleV NJ
re sold or sent off to the farm, where if
hey may still be of some use. 60
They are aged before that time comes. de
oWever. There are, for instance, little h,
mules as much as 90 or % wears dc
Ill in service here, and some which
ave been in the service twelve and
tteen years. And still they are, to all pl
.opearances, good for several years vet h
hey are as strong and active as ever. PIT
}parently, and will likely a year from til
wv start in for a second life on a south- sh
n plantation. This is a long time for W;
1 animal to tramp over granite and on
her kinds of paving, through mud and IN
all kinds of weather, but the limit III
Is seemingly never been reached with bu
Is hardy little fellow. He might he
bJected to twice as much, possibly. and
IL not fall under it.
addition to performing service TIC
to that of the horse or the large pu
ule, the little rat mule is one of the WI