The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-09-19
The Indispensable Mule.
eeders Gazette says..

The Breeders Gazette says.
Mules furnish the propelling power for
all army wag9ns. The -hsrse is good
enough for mounting cavalrymen and
yanking artillerymen, but when it comes
to the important matter of transporting
army supplies there are only two animals
in 1.-THE mule and its driver These are
proud days for his muleship. A few DAYS
ago despised and worthless, this hybrid
Missouri mocking bird is now a valuable
and much-sought-after article It's price
has jumped from $40 to $135 head and
army buyers are clamoring for it in 10000
head lots at this figure The mule is a
necessary as well as a luxury in war time
His advantages over a horse are legion
He is the type of toughness. He will do
more work than a horse and live on less
AS pack animal he Is far superior He
Is like a camel in his ability to go with
out water.
The mule can live on dry leaves or all
most any kind Of provender and do good
work. He will stand any kind or quanti-
ty of abuse or hard usage and never MUIR
muir His is the patience of Job. He is
somewhat stubborn and hard headed, but
the sense that is literally beaten into him
is as useful to him and his employer as
any other sense. He can trot in mud knee
deep all day without WEAKNESS, and he
is far better swimmer than the horse
One can ride a weH-trained mule into a
we'll or up tree. He is the sine qua non
for a campaign through the mountains of
Cuba. Old troopers tell me that as a war
animal the mule has ell these advantages
and many others. Said an old veteran 10
me tonight
"A mule can discover water two miles
off. And he win never fail 10 tell you
a IL will no
days without water, but he will let you
know sure whenever he comes within two
miles of it. His voice is not musical but
1t is easy 70 understand Again, his ears
are not big for nothing. He is as watch
full as a cat Any unusual sound will
awake him. He can tell the tread of hos
tile Footsteps or any movement of the enc
my at any hour of the night, and he will
never fail to let you know of il. AS a
pack animal, when his back has to be
used in lieu of vehicles, the mule Is the
only animal. He will carry everything
you put on him. He will travel with il
forever. He will never break down Wad-
ing marshes, swimming rivers, climbing
mountains-it is all the same to him. He
fattens on hardship. Mules are used
nearly altogether at army posts. They
carry the couriers, pull the ambulances
pillow the potato patches. good mule
team will pull the ambulance six miles
an hour for twenty hours and never give
forth a sign of complaint. And one of
them at the end of that journey of 100
miles will promptly elevate to the ceiling
any man who will tickle his foot. While
a mule can even stand cold better than a
horse, his powers of endurance find best
illustrations i'm hot climates. He Is
product of the South. The climate of Gu
ba has no terrors whatever for him. He
is not as swift as the horse in an artillery
charge. but he win pull these engines of
war all day without fatigue. And he will
listen to the roar of cannon without bat
ting an ear. Hts nature is not musical
The sound OF battle has neither terror
nor charm for him. He stays where you
put him, and he raises the white flag
never.