The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-30

He May Break Ribs, but That's Only his
PIayfuIness-AlI the Talk About his vi
ciousness is Bosh, Says Mr. Bishop, but
You Don't Want to Get Near His Heels
His characteristics as Shown in a Jer-
sey City Yard.
(From the New York SUM-
In all the range of natural history
there is no other animal which has
been the object of so much derision and
abuse as the mule. Not even the evil
minded and malodorous skunk has so
unenviable reputation. If any schol-
ar in times so far future that the pres
ent race of man shall have come to be
regarded as prehistoric and the mule
shall have become extinct, digging in
the crust of the earth for evidences of
ancient existence, shall chance upon
the now prevailing type of mule litera-
ture, he will be forced to the conclusion
that our race fostered and maintained
an animal of unprepossessng appear
ance, long of ear In front and of reach
behind for the sole purpose of poking
fun at 1t in song, story and illustration.
The future excavator will be wrong.
The mule is notsso 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 well is he considered
that a firm in ersey City, the Bishop S
Sons company, exports him to the ex-
tent of about five thousand head annu-
ali ND al;
dies and South America are glad to pay
from ninety to two hundred and fifty
dollars for him according to his breed
and personal character Recently a
Sun reporter visited the mule yard,
which is an institution in Jersey City
1t stands at the junction of Grand and
Bishop streets, and it has accommodate
lions for about ten thousand mules,
should 1t be necessary to crowd that
| number in, contingency which has
never yet arisen. About four hundred
| animals We're placidly loafing about the
yard when the reporter called 1t is
characteristic of the mule to loaf when
ever he gets a chance, but he more than
makes up for 1t when he gets at work.
These mules were calm, contempla-
| tive. looking crowd with just a
| tinge of mournfuiness in their express
| sions. Nobody can look q mule in the
| face and not be convinced of the ami
mails absolute straightforwardness and
good faith In the face, by the way, is
| the proper way to look at mule. He
| can't kick with his fore feet; and if he
| is straightforward from a front view
| he is likely to be equally straightfor-
ward from the rear. BY advice of Da-
vid A. Bishop, who did the conducting,
the reporter took good care not to pass
close behind any of the stock
| "A1l 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 results bad
| ly for persons in his immediate vicinity.
| knew man once who had mule
! that would follow him around like a
| dog, it was SO fond Of him, and once af-
| ter he had been on 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 uOllllllS NlClouS III tllehl
| While speaking Mr.. Bishop had led
| the way over to the watering trough
where a number of the tenants were
| having drink. Near by were feed
manager, hay rack, and salt manager.
The animals paid no attention to their
human visitors beyond a raising and
projection of their awning-like ears.
This is the kind of life they enjoy,
| said the mule raiser. ITS just about
their style of temperature. there aren't
any flies to bother them, they have
plenty to eat and drink, and altogether
I doubt if you could find another spot
on earth where the average of content
ment is higher than right 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 riot
here that would send you and me
vaulting over that fence in one second
if we wanted to save our bones. All
that you would have to do to start it
would be to drop rail down on the
| heel of one of them. They're very Sus-
picious of any attack from behind and
very quick to resent it. The first one
| would send the rail flying up in the al.
and it would come rafting down on
another one who'd take a kick at It