Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-09-28
NEWEST MULE
How Government Has Made
Him a Useful Animal.
THE PANTHAY METHOD
An AmIsbIe Fellow When Properly
TraIned-The Troubles In SomaII-
land and the Troubles OF All Of
6rItaIns "Littie Wars" Due to Diff
ficulties Of Transport.

uCulues OF transport
The troubles in SomaliIand. the trou-
bles Of all our little wars" are due
for the most part to the difficulties of
transport, writes correspondent of
the London Daily Mail. Most Of these
campaigns are fought in roadless coun
try, generally hilly, the requisite
transport being mules. The mule can
60 nearly anywhere and everywhere.
II, therefore. the government can put
its hands on an unlimited supply of
mules, ''regrettable incidents" will be
fewer, and the cost to the nation In
good HIVES and good money very must
less.
On the borders Of our Indian en-
pire-i. O., in the province of Yunnan.
in China-is the largest mule-breed-
ing industry in the world.
1t Is controlled and managed by the
Panthays, a tribe of Chinese Moham-
medans. They do not only breed the
mules, but train them To an almost
incredible pitch Of perfection. On the
slopes of the range of hills dividing
Yunnan from this district of Bhamo,
upper Burma. are numerous breeding
establishments. containing In the ag-
gregate something like 100000 mules,
each establishment ranging from as
few as twenty mules to as many as
10000 OF 10000.
The Panthay method is really won
derfully successful No mule is ever
81 . L.. @ld nttf
Of the batch of youngsters few Of the
most docile are picked. These under
go careful training They are taught
to halt at a certain sound, and to fol
low like a dog at heel. They are
also taught to come to a CALL and
not to pass over a branch thrown
across a patch. The reason of this
last is that all the main paths in those
parts are intersected by hundreds Of
others, and on coming to one of these
by-paths the man In front breaks Off
q small branch from tree and throws
It across the by-path. so that the lead
ing mule never leaves the right road.
When the education Of the mule is
complete, 1t Is hung with bells, and
which they do implicitly.
The Panthay saddles, instead Of be-
ing heavy, clumsy leather arrange
ments like our own, on which the loads
have to be deliberately tied every
morning and united at the end Of each
march. consist Of two parts made Of
wood exceedingly light and strong.
The upper part resembles a sort of in
verted cradle, on which the loads are
tied and where they remain until they
are wanted. This cradle is lifted with
the loads attached and placed on the
lower part. into which it fits.
1t Is not often that you see Pan
thay mule with a sore back. In the
morning, when it is time to start,
each mule has the lower part of the
saddle tied on and then its foreleg is
untethered (they only tether one fore
leg). and, incredible as 1t appears, two
men hold up the cradle with the load
on and the mule. quietly passes be-
tween them the cradle is dropped into
the grooves. and Off 1t goes at a trot
in the direction of the bells 1t hears
In the distance, then the next one,
and so on until you have two or three
hundred mules ready and away in less
time than 1t would take us to get Off
twenty. The Panthays know and
realize the meaning of the word sim
plicity.
Dotted here and there along the line
one catches glimpses of the mule driv-
ers with their enormous straw hats. at
least a yard In diameter at the brim
slung over their bare yellow bodies,
and their broad. loose blue Chinese
breeches showing their brawny calves
The hillsides echo with their shrill
cries as they urge on the mules which
have stopped by the wayside to nibble
some grass.
Then at the end of the days march,
as the mules come up, one by one the
cradles are lifted off and placed in
rows, so as to be ready for the morn
ing. when the mule will range along
side and fits pack will be lifted on
again without any trouble or delay
When the load Is taken of, the mule
is stripped and simply turned adrift
into the jungle to forage for grass.
One by one they disappear. Occasion
ally one of them strays to far and Is
carried of by a tiger or a leopard.
but not often.
When dusk begins TO fall It is time
to call the mules in to their feed, and
the deep silence Of the jungles is
broken by the incessant rap tap tap"
of the pegs being driven In, after
which the drivers 60 out. and, placing
leaves between their lips, make pc
culiar shrill sounds. In short time.
In groups of twos and threes, the
sturdy little animals emerge from the
Jungle at a trot. They know that
sound; 1t is their dinner bell. and they
are hungry after their days march.
At last they are all collected. and each
tethered by It's foreleg to the peg in
front, SO close together that their
TANKS touch. The evening meal over,
the night falls and all is still.
The road from Yunnan Foo (via ali
full to Bhamo, which is the terminus
of the railway from Mandalay. is
twelve days journey. These vast
breeding establishments on the hill
slopes between Tali-fu and the border
are thus only few days distance frosi
our railway. lust across the border.