The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-13
LoNe-EARED GENIUS OF WAR.
THE ARMY MULE Is A BEAST OF
MUCH IMPORTANCE.

/ The spanish-American War Waited
for Him-He Is the Motive Power
of Military ranspOrtatton-Rece
Wars Have Almost Doubled His
Price-His Courage, Endurance, In
tentgence, and Capacity for Work
on scant RatiOns-Parttcularl
Valuable In the Philippines, Be-
cause He Is Immune to Fever-Tale
| of the RecaIcitrnnt Mule and the
Newly Joined Baptist-Licoln's Es-
innate of the Army Mule.
Washington, Jan. u.-There is an emil
neut American army officer in the Philip
pines who has revised the proverb about
heaven giving the victory 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 non of modern warfare.
| Should his muleship rise as unit and
balk on the firing line there would be
no more up-to-date wars.
The continued demand for army mules
in Western market has almost doubled the
price. -Four years ago a velvety cared,
| high kicking, 16-hand mule could be
bought for SIS, and good mule for $50
Now Western farmer who owns a sound
16-hand mule will not look at less than
| s135 for him, and almost any sort Of spec
linen will fetch 500.
Since the occupation of Manila 10000
mules have been shipped to the Philip
pines alone. Three times that many have
| been sent to Cuba and Porto Rico. Eng
! lish mule buyers have drained the ST.
| Louis and Omaha markets since the COM
mencement of the Boer war, in spite of
the alleged unsoldierly behavior of a squad
OF American mules in Gen. Buffers COM
mand, who on three occasions, it is said
deliberately led their English drivers into
Boer ambush, and baked at every at
tempt to retreat. If this is true, it is the
first inst lance of disloyaby ever recorded
| against the army mule. He has his faults,
but he is game, and he is faithful.
Just before the breaking out of the
! Spanish-American War Spanish buyers
| shipped 1900 mules from American mar
| kets Our army buyers were equally
! busy. 1T was a popular supposition at
| the time that Uncle Sam was holding
| back to get his warships ready says an
| old army officer. He wasn't he was buy
! ing mules. l myself bought 14,000 on
contract during the Maine investigation.
! Army officials have expended more
worry in the transportation of mules to
| the Philippines than in the carrying of
! troops. Up to a year ago nobody had
| any idea that a mule could stand on his
sea legs during a voyage of forty-one
! days and trot down a gangplank in bet
ter condition than he trotted up. The
! American mule has achieved this. For
merly in attempting to transport mules
| over long distances the beasts were sup
ported in their stalls by sort Of sling,
| like a hammock, supposed to give them
| an opportunity to rest themselves. This
process killed from % to so 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 from Portland,
| Oregon, with a loss of not more than 2
! per cent. At Manila they swim through
! the surf mile in landing, and within
week are fit for work.
1t has been discovered that between
the mule and the Filipino there is a
subtle sympathy. 1t is the same with
| the mule and the Porto Rican, the Gu
ban or the Mexican. Any of these peo-
| pie can take a mule so worn out that
he will show no sign of resentment it
an American soldier tickles his heels,
pet him a bit and tad 10 him in his
own targon, jump on his back and trot
| him a hundred miles. Before the adj
vent of the American army in the Phil
ippines, the only draft animal in use lex
cepting the donkey and the Chinese
coolie) was the OK. The mule, of course,
4 is slow compared with a horse, but he
is chain lightning beside a team of oxen.
| The Filipinos consider him marvel of
rapid transit. There are a great many
reasonsc why the mule is particularly in
dispensable in the wars now going on.
| He thrives on hot climate and is i'm
mune to everything. Yellow fever and
swamp fever and breakbone fever are
all the same to him, for he never catches
aay of them, while the horse does.
Mules furnish the propelling power
! for all army vehicles. The proud war
horse is not in it with the mule when
1t comes to actual work. An army crawls
on its stomach, as Won Moltke remarked;
the mule packs and hauls the necessary
victuals. When a battery of artillery
is iimbered up and galloped over battle
field it is drawn by plunging, rearing
! horses; when that battery is to be drag
ged slowly and painfully over hundreds
Of miles of sitting hot roads patient six
mule team does the work, and more than
! likely goes without water and forages
! for its food on the journey.
A mule is the type of toughness. He
will do more work than a horse and live
on a third the food. He is a fine pack
| animal, and In his ability to go without
water he rivals the camel. The mule can
| live on any kind of provender and work,
and instances are on record where in
soldering career a slx-mule team has
Travelled for a week on what 1t shipped
from the roadside. Also, he thrives on
ill-treatment.
ut amt kindness that a mule wants;
it's abuse" said the sage army teamster.
Certainly the patience of the mule is the
patience of Job. He Is somewhat stub
born and hard-headed, but he has a sort
of mule sense, ideal in its way. His ears
are not big for nothing. He is as watch
| full as a cat Any unusual sound