The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-16

darky. and guided by the Gee. whoa,
haw!" of the ploughman, while the
| hooking bird chirrups his droWsy too
doodle and tee-deedle on the old worm
| fence at the end of the row; or perhaps
| it will be straining and Juggling at the
! great high-Wheeled lumber cart among
| the pine barrens of southern georgia,
dashed and cursed by the driver, while
| the huge log is drawn over the rough
ground from the forest to the mill. But
before the mule is thus taught to earn
it's living it must go through various
preliminaries of preparation, bargain,
and sale, and must take a weary jour-
ney in the crowded stock cars.
The mule is a peculiar neast. Nat
urally skittish and yet doclle, III is cas-
| lily trained, but no amount or educa-
ton can overcome the perversity of its
| nature. You may ride one twenty
| five years in perfect safety, and when
| you least suspect it the tickle brute viii
| make you throw sonersault ana RICK
| you to kingdom come before you strike
| the ground. Its nature is only eonsis-
tent in its inconsistencics
In the first place the stock dealers
visit the mule growng regions of the
| West during the late fall and early Win
| ter and select such lois as suit them and
these are shipped by the trainload to
this point of distribution. Naturally
uncouth and rather ungalnly, the mule
must be trimmed and pruned INTO the
most presentable shape. Unlike it's near
| relative, the horse. long tau and
flowing name tend but to make the mule
ridiculous in the eyes Of the connois-
seur Therefore, one-of the first things
to be done is to remove all the super
fluous bristles from its neck and stubby
tail, and this is no easy task on account
of the lurking contrary spirit Oh the an
imal. 1t must first be driven INTO a
narrow stall and battered, ana then
while one man holds the natter, announcer,
generally an expert negro, as the negro
understands mule nature better than
the white man, proceeds to clip OF the
name with a pair of big shears. The
long hairs are removed from the ears
so as to give the mule pert ana lively
look, and then the worst trouble be
gins. The danger end of the mule must
now be approached, and for tear or
some sudden uprising of the heels, the
animal Is backed up against board
partition which Is higher than the mule
can kick in its cramped position. The
operator seizes the tail draws 1t over
the partition, and with the shears pro-
ceeds to divest it of hair, leaving only
a little tuft at the tip, and when 1t IS
released it resembles nothing so much
as short section of rubber pipe.
Sometimes the haltPrs are left on the
mules for convenience, but as a rule
they are taken off, and with a sky
aspiring swing of it's heels the freed ami
NAL bounds out into the carral to air
it's improved appearance among ITS
long-eared comrades. There is another
popularity about the mule that Is hard
to comprehend. 1t will follow gray
horse to the jumping-off place and then
plunge over the precipice after its
leader. For this reason the rider who
leads the drove is always mounted on
a gray steed. Occasionally member
of the drove will dash down side
street or across vacant lot, but the
two horsemen in the rear are after 1t IN
tWinkling, cracking their long whips,
and after a few gyrations the fright
ened mule catches a sight of the gray
horse of the leader and hears the IA
miliar "ho-hee, ho-ee!' Of the rider, and
away it bounds to rejon its comrades.
+ Down at the big Triton lumber mills,
a few years ago, the WoOdsman rode
gray pony which was turned into the
lot with the mules at night. In a short
time il was noticed that the pony's
name and tail We're disappearing, and
the reason was soon apparent. In their
fondness for the gray pony the mules
were continually nipping 1T its name
and tail, and after that it had to be
placed in a stab by itself. One night
the pony succeeded in escaping from
the stall, and the mules gathered
around and frolic began. The watch
man was somewhat negligent and in
their caperings the animals burst open
the big gates and away went the whole
gang laundering down the road at
breakneck speed. The alarm was given,
the teamsters were aroused, horses
were secured and chase began which
lasted until late in the following after
noon But the mules had stuck to their
gray leader and not one of the entire
band of seventy five or eighty was
missing.
In some parts of the state the veal
thy planters affect fine mule teams, in
stead of thoroughbred horses, for driv-
ing. There is no such thing as a
thoroughbred mule, each and every in
| dividual possessing characteristics that
are separate and dintinct, and there
being only a general similarity among
the species. Consequently the planter
selects pairs that match in looks and
| gait, and a two or four mule team at
| tached to a carriage, dashing along
| through the lanes and over the coun-
| try roads, is a pretty good indication
| of the independence and prosperity Of
| the owner.
A good saddle mule is a priceless
| boon. one tnat moves along III ID IoS
| trot' will carry its rider over the rough
est roads without jolt or a jostle, and,
| barring the element of possible treach-
cry, the rider may enjoy all the pleas
| urable sensations of a sail over smooth
| and sunlit waters, or swimming in "a
hammock under the magnolias when
the summer sun rides high in the heav-
| ems.
The young mule brings from 1925 to
$3.50 in the market here, if unbroken,
but if broken and of unusually good
qualities, they sometimes command a
| higher price.