The sun., 1900-08-19
PAT MURPHY AND the MUIEC
Secret Of the Method by witch He Watersd
Thirteen tantankcrous BraIs.

lnltlc'n tfaNN
They were iauAee mulNs. said the 'n,a' 4
British solder on his way home from tho Tran
vaal with vacant looh. "No i was norr -
Joubcrt's men that did mcup. Iwas sat Co,en.o
and alonr the TuGeIi. and saw some prot.
hot wori; most ever, whore till tno relief OF
Ladrsmith and not a hing happened Ia ~,
] could face bullets and not wink an eyea>n
thoy had shot M Inc 80 often.
IN tell you just how II wps Ours wHs uia
OF those mountain batteries which rou un-cT'N
and pack arouri the cOuntr, on Tho ha IS ~
horses. II worked all right hrl the hnr.H,
had a way Of getting sick or used W uary".
lousy quick and 50 some one told the au'hNr.o.
about the mules and they decided to turn I,r
battery into a mule battery.
We don't have the br,tCs at home 20 ",
don't know much about them There was a
lot of them down at the Cape that had u-'
come over from, New Orleans and thCy son,
vs. up thirteen Of them. the frskiost looE.nr
lot Of big jackas on ever saw; an but on"
old moth-eatrn moe skin which they said could
be u,od as the beI mlr', You see the yam
over there have a way Of packing these mu.r,
and driving them in string So that they
follow leader with bell around hor
neck and this leader Is called bei. mare But
those mules they sent up To us, don't believe
they had ever followed ANYTHING. Tho first thing
they did was TO stampede and IL took the whl.a
camp til dark 10 get them back into their stalls
The way tho brutes had of backing around
toward a fellow, laying their ears back ond
dancing their little heels till they got a craci,
al him was caution. Only the old leader
was docilc Ike. She was so old there wasn't
kick left in her.
That first day experience was enough 10
make us all sick of mules, all but Lieut.
jerks Jenks wasn't there when the stanpade
took place and so he hadn't learned anything
about the mules l don't believe he knew a
mule when he saw ono. anyway. A. luck would
have II jerks was orderly officer the day after
tie stampedng and Pat Murphy ard were
the only prlvates left in camp. Pat was on
stable duty and felt rather sorry for him be-
cause he would be expected 10 water those
mules, and was pretty sure II would take
every man In the battery 10 get them out ~
their stalls and back again. l think We both
were IN hopes the Lieutenant would forget
al about the mule having 70 be watered, bnt
Pai sa1d % nothing TO 9t me and satd nothing 10
to help him.
Il found the most things 10 keep me busy that
was near night and was sweating over a gun
carriage when Lieut. jerks happened 20 think
that the mules hadn't been watered. He or
dered Pat 70 uot them out and water thcrl
Pat sahted and said the blamed beat; had
been watercd. but the Lieutenant wouldn't
believe him aud told him rather sharply u
Pat had been transferred TO our battery
from the Dublin FuSiliers and he wal generally
considered the gresnest man in the hat;nry
II there wa laugh TO be had II was to b. hqd
a. the a enpense OF Door PAT. When the Lisutou-
looked over, 70 me sort Of helplessly FOR he
knew would have TO finish that gun carriaga
Se0 Re0rS S6 dark e. and bS G9gdp be t5c"d
stalls, | could hear him in there a riIrnpIs
win him Shouting and the mules a kicking
comes out leading mule Just az quiet andtsTn
The Lieutenant stood by the watering tank
70 see how much that mule would drink ami
then he talked pretty sharp to Pat brcaIisa
the mule was pretty near ohoked to death
a second mule and that one didn't seem tS want
TO drink SO much the Lieutenant walked away
telling him to hurry up and get through as
some migltn',t As Pat led away his third
mule head him say triumpant like: 'There
Geg3sh. didnt tell yez III mules had been
Il hadn't seen Pat water the mules and tie
Lieutenant ie. I, hadn't; and he shouted after Pat
all a turn at tho tank. Pat went to whistiin'
and bringing those mules out one after tie
kicked or, stampeded in their lives { III he Rad
watered the thirteen of them.
49,, The next day was on stable duty and
water those mules. could too. So went in
among them and there was r1in1pus ii mi away.
The hrst one went near Just LAID back his ears
ana let ny all Tour iect at once / saw about
four million stars. don't know what ha,-
pened after that but when | came 20. I was in
the hospital. That blessed mule had done IT,
just before they sent me down TO the Capa
Pat Murphy came To See me. He stood around
a-twitching his cap and saying he was awfully
sorry got done up. II sort Of stuck In ny
crop 20 think that Pat had watered those mule,
and hadn't. and he said:
Never ye mino, Tom, ye should a see IN
byes uyin ter wdther them al ther ye got done
VI. Tom. II took IN whole bloody camp an
all III wather that was in III tanks they tiei
heels
But, Pat, said 1. you yatered them.
stood there twitchipg his cap, looking doWa
Al the sround guilty like. aud then he said be
was sorry, and he had come 70 beg my pardon,
got hurt. Aud all this time i was wondeItnR
aud said
th!as hat he'd nary a lle ( or 9Iie 10 herr
Yes. the ono they, called the be mar'. said
Yes. that's IN very one,' said Pat his eye,
We'll, what about herr
Nothiu'. only she didn't kick We know
and she lid geutle. laInblke, an' whln I seed
couldn't wather Ih' other brutNs / list I'D tie
ole moeSkia cut and wsthered her, an II bein
Afther u, tiird time she got sick OF Ia wather
an wouldn't drink no more. IL sort O wu'
back on her stoumick, but she couldn't kick
an, IN Lieutenant didn't catch on. rm sorry
yc was goin ter be fool enough tor 10 up tor
thin mules would a told We
80 that's how | got dono M, " WASH
Jouh'Its men. but IL was those blamed lauErs
mules.