The Washington times., 1901-07-23
MULES FOR SOUTH AFRICA.

| The shipments of horses and mules from
| New Orleans to South Africa by the Brit
ish recently passed the hundred thousand
mark, and a reduisition upon the re-
mount station in this country for 1900
more has been received. This expectation
of these animals is the largest the world
has ever known, and as military pur-
chase by one country from another II
| ranks with the greatest of any kind.
Texas has been practically drained. and
| Kansas. Missouri Wyoming. and other
stock-raising States of the South and
West have been so nearly depleted that
| the so animals of 1899 bring $50 today.
| More mounts than men have gone to
| South Africa. New Orleans. though the
| main mounting station. is only one OF half
a dozen. From Austria. Australia, Por-
| tugal, and Canada animals have been
drawn, but owing to the facts that their
cost in other countries is from 80 to iGo
per cent higher than in this, and that the
American mounts are better constituted
to withstand the fevers to which they are
subjected in Africa. every order that can
be filed Is placed here. In the beginning
only large lots were purchased but now,
| of necessity, corrals have to be MAIN
tained at all the large centres in the mule
| raising sections-Houston and Dallas in
! Texas; ST. Louis and Kansas City In Mis-
| souri,, etc To these even Individual ami
mails are now brought. II they pass in
spection they are purchased on the spot.
When the collection at any of these cor
rails is large enough a stock train is char
| tered. and they are rushed to New Or
leans
The corrals in New Orleans are the most
! complete and among. the largest in the
| country. They cover, including stables.
| hospitals. exercising fields. etc, about
| twenty acres, and will accommodate sew
en- thousand head. Upon arrival from
| the sub-corrals the animals are assorted
| First to fitness for transportation:
those out of condition, sick enfeebled, or
bruised in transit are consigned to the
| hospital. where they are treated and ex-
ercised until fit to ship. Then they are
| assorted according to special qualifica-
| tions. Each animal is yaceinated num-
bered on the hoof. and marked in differ
| ent ways that designate the service for
which the veterinary surgeons have de-
| cided he is best fitted. broad arrow
eonsigns an animal to the heavy artillery.
| a narrow one to the light artillery a dou-
| BILE cross the cavalry and no mark to
| the pack trains or some other unattrac-
tive branch OF the service All have at
least three days rest and light exercise
Sittf tHe rdlrOdd journey to New Orleans
| before they are slipped
The feet of transports engaged is made
up of transformed cotton carriers that
used to ply between New Orleans and Liv-
erpool Cotton carriers are built as near
| ly air tight as is possible, that when fire
occurs it can run for days before /, be-
comes master. They are the best class
of freighters and the largest, and as
| regular cattle ships could not be had a
| fine figure had to be offered the owners to
| allow them to undergo the alterations
necessary to make such vessels fit for
stock to live in while crossing the equa-
| tor. Sheets of steel were hacked out of
| their sides for ventilation above the wa
ter line. and great canvas air sheets were
| erected to collect and force air through
tubes into the lower compartments. The
nail. saw, hammer. and chisel had no
more regard for the carved cabin wood
| work than they had for the rough pine
| of which the stalls were built from wheel
to keel. The transports all fly the Brit
ish flag. An average of els is paid for
| each animal that is loaded, whether it
| reaches its destination or dies route.
| The freight exactly equals the average
cost of the mules and is s14 less than that
of the horses.
The transports sail about once week.
carrying from l., TO nedu- Inc
| wind sails face forward, and as it is
necessary to be under way to force the /
draughts, the ship has to be loaded as :
quickly as possible lit generally takes
about twelve hours. and the boat is got
off Immediately thereupoh- In rough
weather the s-;:Tes often roll through the
holes and dOuse TIE animals. But that is
n blessing. IN the long trip across the
torrid zone the heat down in the hold
becomes awful. The animals are packed
in side to side-there is standing room
only" All last summer a loss of no more
than 10 per cent was considered splendid,
but this year the losses are being held
| under that. As everything grows more
systematic the percentage of loss grows
gradually less. This is partly due, how
ever, TO the stiffening of the physical ex-
amnatious-
AT first any mule thirteen or fourteen
hands high, or horse fourteen to sixteen
hands sound of limb and in good condi-
| ton, was an acceptable recruit Now only
an animal with a tried constitution Is
sent-one that shows signs OF being an
| immune from certain disease or that has
| been inoculated against them A veteri-
| nary surgeon and about 100 muleteers ac-
| company each ship. The latter, besides
| feeding and watering the animals and
| cleaning their stalls each day. are re-
| quired to assist the doctor in dosing the
sick binding the bruised. and sling up in
canvas hammocks passed under their bel
| lies those that become too weary to stand
| longer Then they have to throw over
| board the dead. The transports have
|
porpoises, sharks. etc.-and they follow
the ships for days. sure of at least three
good meals of mule flesh day
| The faster vessels make the trip to Cape
| Town or Delagoa Bay in twenty-eight and
| thirty-Gne days. respectively. By this
| time many dead head has had to be
| lifted out. and many others almost dead
| have to be lifted ashore. The others
| stretch. and soon the pleasure of being
| on terra frma once more revives them
| all to 4 frolicsome state, and they become
| uncomfortable, jumping and buckinS and
| kicking with JOY. But it Is simply giving
| them another taste of life before the
slaughter, for the fever, insects. and bull
| let's make short work Of them.
The ships occasionally encounter storms
| that cause the animals to be tossed about
so that many OF them MANNED and
bruised beyond recovery. and many killed
outright. One vessel the Corinthia.
foundered in a gale OFF Haiti After i've
days work in attempting to float her she
was given up. There were more than
LOO mules aboard They were hoisted
upon deck, so that they might see the
land, about a mile of and then lowered
overheard and headed for it. About 100
swan the distance. The others were
either unequal to the effort after being
penned up so long or spent their energy
foundering about the boat in the vain
nope or being taken back on board.