The suburban citizen., 1902-03-22
THE MULE IS NOT A FOOL
~ MORE THAN ONE WAY He is
WISER THAN THE HORSE.

own business, frugality and faithful
ness, have earned for the mule the rep
utation Of stupidity. He has become
marked as the Ounce and blockhead
among animals So long has the mule
rested under this charge of mental dul-
ness that his long ears have become a
mark OF lack Of intelligence. Unjust
comparison with his near relative has
made "horse-sense" term of compli-
ment to men. And it seems that all
the time the mule has been suffering
under undeseryed reproach, for the
man who knows the beast of sharp an
giles and exaggerated curves values him
above the horse in practical intelli-
gence, and believes that patlnce, lack
Of nerves and the faculty Of attend
ing to business have been misunder-
stood for absence OF sense.
Animal trainers take not to mules,
and the horse shows know them not,
for they are always beasts Of burden
and do their playing among themselves
after working hours. They may not
have the knack Of doing parlor tricks,
but they have their share Of useful,
everyday wisdom. Everyone knows
that horses can hardly be forced out
of a burning stable. ToTOr-stricken,
they tremble with every nerve bred
into them and wait FOR the flames.
Seven or eight years ago Sparks Bros
horse and mule barn burned near the
stock yards. Robert Booth, of Sparks
Bros, says some of the horses were
dragged out, after much work, only TO
tear themselves loose and run back to
burning barn. Wherever there was an
avenue Of escape for the mules they
came out without help or urging. Two
of the long g-eared animals showed hotel
experience, jumping through windows
four feet above the ground.
(which showed the horse senseT Mr..
Booth asked. "The mule can be relied
on to keep his head under circum-
stances in which horse of any grade
would practically commit suicide from
excitement"
The mule shows his sense even when
he grows wicked. Let pair of horses
repairs or for a new wagon awaiting
the owner. He is even thankful If
not called on to pay for other vehicles
wrecked in collisions with his own,
and is happy to find that his horses
have escaped with n few cuts. When
mules run away, the mule men say,
they keep the road and simply run
till they get tired The man in the
wagon who knows will sit quietly and
let them do the driving. They avoid
telegraph poles and drug store win
dows like the pest and can turn cor
ners in better curves and with more
safety to what they're dragging than The
man who's riding so fast. Calm minds
are not usually quick, and by the time
the pair are growing tired of their
sprint, they decide that the runaway
is over. Nobody hurt no blacksmith's
bills. They used "horse sense" A
horse seldom forgets a runaway; the
mule, apparently, never remembers it.
A mule will wait six years to get
good, square kick at man. That, the
mule men say, is another foundation
less tradition of the unlearned, They
declare most solemnly that there is
less danger of sudden death from a
mule than from horse. As for kick
ing in harness, a practice not uncom
mon among horses of even the best
breeding, the mule does not know the
feeling of hoof against the dashboard
True, even the friends Of the long
cared do not waste much time in cur
rying the hind legs, but that, they say
is because the mule needs compara-
lively little of the comb and brush.
His coat is shorter, coarser and not so
full as that Of the horse. and he is by
nature cleaner. Mules like to wallow,
but not in mud as do the horses
In the sale barns at the stock yards
the managers Of the mules are filed
with food, and the animals eat what
they want and quit The hay and grain
might be mountain high and they
would not be tempted. The horses
are given no more than they are sup
posed to need. for they haven't the tenn
perance of their Woodworking broth
ers. With no limit to the food before
them they might eat to the foundering
point and then not eat again for two
weeks Many horses are injured for
ever by laundering. A mule eats much
less than a horse Of equal strength
and wastes nothing
Before crossing a strange bridge the
average mule will look it over as II
estimating its strength and then walk
over cautiously. Nor can it be forced
into a stream without careful recon
noissance. If he decides that he can't
swim it he refuses to bulge until main
force Is used He is using discretion
and is cursed for his "mulishness."
The mule is always useful citizen.
After a neglected youth he begins to
work, and that's his life story. He will
do as much work at thirty as he did
the first year he wore harness. Then
some morning he may be found in his
stall dead. He is seldom an invalid.