Arizona republican., 1898-09-13
THE ARMY MULE.
Some Enfere sting Points About This
 Very Intelligent Animal.

! Camp WikOn, MOntauk Point, Sept. 12.-The slanderous person who in vented the comparison stupid as a mule ought to be kicked to death by 1 one of the army trained specimens as a penalty for his ignorance. A more intelligent beast than the army mule doesn't live. The brightest horse is a fool to him. He not only has an in telligence that is all his own, but he guage of humankind, which, as ad- dressed to him, is only too likely to be profane, which is perhaps the reason why he does not speak it, although he understands it. Nine out of ten of the army wagons are drawn by army mules, not the meek and plodding ami nal of the canal towpath who endures all varieties of contumely from the driver without ever dreaming of reach ing out and kicking his head off, but a frlsky. bright eyed, receptive cared, 1 self respecting animal, with a gait that makes horse hustle to keep uD with him in the long run. He is driven four or six to wagon. Any mule is good enough to put in a quartette, for the driver does his guiding with reins but six-nule outfit must be made up Of beasts of education and experience, particularly the leader on the near side, to whom is intrusted the management 1 of the others. The near wheeler is saddled and carries the driver, who has a long whip, a single guide rein, and a choice vocabulary. A pull on the rein turns the team to the left and double | r. 1S hn Cio fn f11ry, fO vii Besides this, every driver achieves d peculiar and very shrill whistle, of which he contrives a code and this code his mules soon learn. It takes a man several days to learn not to turn around when this whistle sounds, for it has a peculiar note of direct address, as if it were intended to call ones at tention. One sees a siX-mule team coming along the road at a full trot, swing around a curve, and meet a squad of cavalrymen, or perhaps a car riage coming up from the station A collision seems inevitable, but the mule driver leans forward, cracks his long whip, whistles shrilly once, twice. or thrice, as the case may be, and every one of his six, with ears prcked up. promptly performs some sort of evo- 2 lutiOn that looks like a side steD and the team sweeps by the danger point without slackening it's speed. A race between two siX-mule teams for first place in narrow defile is worth see ing. The animals with their long ears pricked up are just as eager as the drivers, and they put forth their best indeayors while the men yell defiance at each other and encoura cement to their teams. The best drivers are ne groes. They seem to establish a more intimate communication with their mules than do the white drivers. and to hear and see a conversation between a real southern darky and the mules he is driving, the man addressing them like human beings and the animals re- plying with signals by their expressive ears, is to learn something in animal intelligence. Going down in an army wagon this morning the writer was a witness to sort of controversy be- tween the young. negro who drove and the two leaders.
 You, Majah. Wha's de mattah vii yo' dis mawnin'?"
 Up went the near mules right ear and executed {; waggle.
 Don yo' sass me, mule,'' cried the driver. T crack yo' ovah!'
 At lnlS the OH leader WaSSled both his ears.
 "Whaffo' yo breck in, yo' wufies Caesah mule? Reckon yo' gittin' toe much feed fo' yo sperrits. Stretch out
 dah."
 The leaders jumped forward, and al a shrili double whistle from the driver swerved, with what seemed to the writer commendable promptness, tc l tyun off, It did not commend itself to the negro