The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-02-04
WAYS OF THE ARMY MULE.
HE HAS OFTEN fl MIND OF HIS
 OWN.

But Ills Virtues Far Exceed His Vices
 and He Is Indispensable in MOderI
 Warfare.
 There is an eminent American army
 officer in the Philippines who has re-
 visedthe proverb about heaven giving
 the victory to the side with the best
 guns. Heaven gives the victory tC
 the army with the most mules' is his
 version. To-day the mule is regarded
 as the sine qua non of modern warfare
 Should his muleship rise as unit and
 balk on the firing line, there would bt
 no more up-to-date wars The eontin.
 ued demand for army mules in western markets has almost doubled the price
 Four years ago a velvety- -eared, high
 kicking, sfxteen-hand mule could be
 bought for seventy five dollars, and a good mule for fifty dollars. Now a western farmer who owns sound six teen hand mule will not look at less than one hundred and thirty-five dol
 
 specimen will fetch one hundred dol lars.
 Since the occupation of Manila ten thousand mules have been shipped to the Philippines alone. Three times that many have been sent to Cuba and Por- to Rico English mule buyers have drained the St. Louis and Omaha mar kets since the commencement of the Beer war, in spite of the alleged un- soldierly behavior of a squad of Amer ican mules in General Buffers corn- mand, who. on three occasions, it is said, deliberately led their English dri- vers into Boer ambush, and baked at every attempt to retreat. If this be 1 true, it is the first instance of disloyal- ty ever recorded against the army mule. 1 He has his faults, but he is game and he is faithful.
 l Just before the breaking out of the Spanish American war, Spanish buyers shipped eighteen thousand mules from American markets Our army buyers were equally busy. "It was popular suppcsition at the time that Uncle Sam was holding back to get his war ships ready" says an old army officer. He wasn't; he was buying mules. I my self bought fourteen thousand on con tract during the Maine investigation. Army officials have expended more worry in the transportation of mules to the Philippines than in the carrying of 1 troops, Up to a year ago nobody had any idea that mule could stand on his sea legs during a voyage of forty-one days and trot down a gang-plank in better condition than he trotted up. The American mule has achieved this.
 Formerly in attempting to transport mules over long distances the beasts were supported in their stalls by a sort of sling, like a hammock. supposed to give them an opportunity to rest them selves This process killed from 25 to 50 per cent. of the animals, and the rest were in a state of collapse at the end of the voyage This plan has been abandoned, and mules are now carried to Manila form Portland, Or, with loss of not more than per cent. At Manila they swim through the surf a mile in landing and within a week are fit for work,
 It has been discovered that between the mule and the Filipino there is subtle sympathy It is the same with the mule and the Porto Rican, the Cu- ban or the Mexican. Any of these peo- pie can take mule so worn out that he will show no sign of resentment if an American soldner tickles his heels, pet him bit and talk to him in his own jargon, jump on his back and trot him a hundred miles. Before the advent of the American army in the Philippines the only draft animal in use (excepting the donkey and the Chinese coolie) was the OK The mule, of course, is slow compared with a horse; but he is chain lightning beside team of oxen. The Filipnos consider him marvel of rap i'd transit. There are great many req sons why the mule Is particularly indis- pensable in the wars now going on He thrives in hot climate and is inn mune to everything. Yellow fever and swamp fever and breakbone fever are all the same to him, for he never catch- es any of them, while the horse does.
 Mules furnish the propeling power for all army vehicles. The proud war horse is not in it with the mule when it comes to actual work. An army crawls on it's stomarh, as Von Moltke re- the mule packs and hauls the necessary victuals. When a battery of artillery is limbered sup and galloped over a battlefield it is drawn by plung- | ing, rearing horses; when that battery is to be dragged slowly and painfully | over hundreds of miles of sti1ing hot roads a patient six-mule team does the 1 work, and more than likely goes with l out water, and forages for it's food on | the journeys. A mule is the type of | He will do more work than l T horse and live on third of the food. ! He is fine pack animal, and in his | ability to go without water he rivals the | camel. The mule can live on any kind | 1f provender and work, and instances | are on record where, in soldering ca- | reer, a six-mule team has travelled for | week on what it shipped from the | Also he thrives on ill-treat- nent.
 Tt ain't kindness that mule warltS; l t's abuse," says the sage army teams CT. Certainly the patience of the mule g the patience of Job. He is somewhat stubborn and hard-headed, but he has sort of mule sense, ideal in it's way. lis ears are not big for nothing. He is IS watchful as a eat. Any unusual ound awakens him He can tell the read of the enemy at any hour of the lay or night, and he is not bashful