The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-01-21
BY A. II JOHNSON.

There is an eminent American army
ofieer in the Philippines who mas revised
the proverb about heaven giving the vic
tory to the side with the best guns
! Heaven gives the victory to the army
with the most mules, Is his version To-
day the mule is regarded as the sine qua
I non of modern warfare. Should his mule
. ship rise unit and balk on the firing
line there would be no more up TO date
wars.
The continued demand for army mules
in western markets has almost doubled the
price. Four years ago a yelEety cared,
high kicking. siXteen-hsnd mule could
be bought Tor SO, and good mule Tor 80,
Now western farmer who owns sound
sixteeu-hdnd mule viii not look at less
than Sl35 for him, and almost any sort
of specimen will fetch $500
Since the occupation of Manila 1900
mules have been shipped TO the Philip
pines alone Three tines that many have
been sent to Cuba and Porto Rico. Eng
lish mule buyers have drained the 81
Louis and Omaha markets since the COM
menCement of the BOer war. in spite or
the alleged unsOldierly behavior of a
squad of American mules in General Bull
ler's command, who, on three occasions,
il is said. deliberately led their English
drivers into a Boer ambush, and baked
at every attempt to retreat IT TINS Is
true, IL is the first instance of disloyalty
ever recorded against the army mule. He
has his faults, put he is game, and ne Is
Just before the breaking out Of the
/ Spanish-American war Spanish buyers
. shipped As.ttJ UnultSa from American AAAaA
kets. Our army buyers were equally
busy. 1T was popular supposi lion at
the time that Uncle sam was holding
back TO get his warShips ready, says an
old army officer .@He wasn't; he was
buying mules I m-Hef bought l4,000 on
/ contract during the Maine investigation
Army officials have expended more wor-
~ in the transportation Of mules 10 the
Philippines than in the carrying o.
troops Up to year ago nobody nad any
idea that mule could stand on his sea
legs during a voyage of fOTty-one days
and trOt down gang plank in better
condition than he trotted up The Amer
lean mule has achieved this. Formerly
in attempting TO transport mules over
long distances the beasts were supported
in their stalls by sort Of sling, like a
hammock. supposed to give them an op-
Dortunity to rest themselves. This process
killed from % to 30 per cent OF the animals
and the rest were ina state Of collapse az
abandoned and mules are now carried
to Manila from Portland Ore. with a loss
of not more than per cent At Manila
they swim through 1.-The SURF a mile IN
landing, and within a week are mt Tor
work
Il has been discovered that between the
mule and the Filipino there Is subtle
sympathy. 1t is the same with the mule
and the Porto RiCan. the Cuban or the
Mexican. Any of these people can take a
mule worn out that ne VIII snow no
/ sign of resentment If an American SoiCler
tickles his heels. pet him a bit ana talk
to him in his ON jargon, jump on MS
back and trot nm "A hundred miles Be
fore the advent of the American army in
the Philippines, the only draft animal IN
Use excepting the donkey and the Chi
nese soOlie) was the OK The mule, OF
course, is slow compared with morse,
but he Is chain lightning beside a team OF
oxen. The Filipinds consider MIN mar
vel of rapid transit There are great
many reasons why the mule Is paTtlcu-
Iarly indispensable in the wars now go
i ing on. He thrives on a hot climate and
is immune TO everything. Yellow fever
and swamp fever and bTeaRbOne fever are
all the same to him, for he never catches
any OF them. while the horse does
Mules furnish the prOpelling power for
! all army vehicles. The proud war morse
/ is not In II with the. mule when It comes
! TO actual work. An army craWlS on us
? stomach. as Won Moltke remarked; the
. mule packs and hauls the necessary VIC
/ tuals When battery of artillery Is nhl-
I bered up and galioped over a patterned
+ il is drawn by plunging, rearing h0IseI
/ when that battery is to be drawn Slowly
/ and Dainfully over hundreds OF miles OF
I Sitting, hot roads a patient slX-muie team
I does the work. and more than ilkely goes
I without water and forages Tor It's 1000 on
/ the journey - IL Ill,
/ do more work than a horse ana llVe on d
/ third of the food. He is fine pack am
[ mail and in his ability TO go WlJhout
J water he rivals the camel me mule c9n
{ live on any kind of pTOvender ana WORK