The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-07-08
GOOD WORDS FOR THE MULE.
While His Reputation Is Queer, His Utili-
ty Is Simply Immense.
NeW York Sun.

NeW York Sun.
In ali the range of natural history
there is no other animal which has
been the object Of so much Gerisiou
and abuse as the mule. Not even the
evil minded and malodorus skunk has
so unenviable a reputation. If any
scholar in times so far future that the
present race Of men shall have come
to be regarded as prehistoric and the
mule shall have become extinct, dig
ging in the crust of the earth for evi,
dences of ancient existence, shall
chance upon the now prevailing type
of mule literature, he will be forced to
the conclusion that our race fostered
and maintained an animal Of unpre.
possessing appearance, long of ear in
front and of reach behind, for the sole
purpose Of poking fun at in song, story
aDd illustration.
The future e~xcaYator will be wrong.
The mule is not so black as he is paint
ed. Truly. he has his bad points, but
they are overmatched by his good ones,
and those who know him best appreci,
ate him most. So we'll is he consider
ed that a firm in Jersey City, the
Bishops Sons Company, exports him
to the extent of about 5000 head an
Dually, and our neighbors in the West
Indies and South America are glad to
pay from $50 to $3.50 for him, accord
ing to his breed and personal charac-
ter. Recently a reporter visited the
mule yard, which is an institution in
Jersey City. 1t stands at the juno
ton Of Grand and Bishop streets, and
it has accommodations for about 49,
900 mules, should it be necessary to
crowd that number in a contingency
that has never yet arisen.
About 400 animals were placidly
loaiDg about the yard when the re-
porter called. 1t charc eristic of
the mule to loaf whenever he gets a
chance, but he more than makes up
for it when he gets at work. These
mules were a calm. contemplative,
honest looking crowd with just a tinge
nt mournfulness in their expressions.
Nobody can look a mule in the face
and not be convinced of the animals
absolute straightforwardness and good
faith. In the face, by the way, is the
proper way to look at g. mule. He
can kick with his fore feet; and if he
is straightforward from q front view
be is likely to be equally straight
backward from the rear. By advice
of David A. Bishop, who did the con-
Quoting, the reporter took good care
not to pass close behind any Of the
stock.
Call this talk about the mules vi
ciousness is bosh," said Mr.. Bishop,
but he is likely to branch out a little
in mere playfulness and excess Of
good spirits, and sometimes that re-
suits badly for persons in his immedi-
ate vicinity. | knew a maj nee who
had a mule that would follow him
about like a dog, it was so fond of
him, and once after he had been on a
long journey, that mule was so glad
to see him back that it just had to
show it's JOY some way, and that man
got three ribs broken and his under
jaw knocked so far out Of place that it
never got back. Yet there was moth
ing vicious in that animal
While speaking Mr.. Bishop had led
the way over to the watering trough
where a number of the tenants were
having a drink. Near by were a feed
manger, a hay rack and a salt manger.
The animals paid no attention to their
human visitors beyond a raising and
projection of their a%wnipg-like ears.
"This is the kind of life they en-
joy" said the mule raiser. cts just
about their style of temperature, there
aren't any flies to bother them, they
have plenty to eat and drink, and al.
together 1 doubt if you could find
another spot on earth where the aver,
age of contentment is higher than
here. The mule is an ambitious sort
Of creature. All he wants is to be let
alone and he's happy. For all that it
would take a very little thing to bring
about a riot here that would send you
and me vaulting over that fence if we
wanted to save our bones. All that
you would have to do to start it would
be to drop a rail down on the heel of
one of them. They're very suspicious
of an attack from behind and very
quick to resent it. The first one would
send the flying into the air and it
would CT rafting down on another
one, who d take a kick at it, and a
third would join in, and the first thing
you knew the yard would be full of
flying hoofs and the air of thuds like
the banging of a muf1ed drum. That
the sound one mules hoofs makes
against another mules ribs. There
a surprising power Of resistance in
those ribs. It's a good thing, too, for
if there weren't the rate of mortality
here would be very high"
"Do the mules ever fight among
themselves just for the fun Of it?'
asked the reporter.
Not those of the same variety. We
have a number of varieties here, and
we keep them each herded separately.
I We seen duels between two mules,
and they were fierce and exciting, fol
these animals have a sort of bulldog
grit, and they wont give up while
they can stand
What is the best brand of muller
"a cross between a Spanish jack
and a Kentucky thoroughbred mare
produces a good mule. The jacks of,
ten come at a high price. I've known
So, 800 to be paid for one. The mules
we get here are mostly from four to
seven years old, between which ages
they are the most easily marketable.
North America breeds the best mules
in the world. France exports many,
but they are fat and lazy and cannot
be reused to hard labor by any amount
Of coaxing or abuse. The South
| American breed are small, and while
they have the spirit to work they
haven the strength; so We ship tc
those countries. 1t costs $40 a head
fox transportation and Sc to So fol-