The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1908-11-18
MULE PROVED RIGHT
DID WELL TO STAY OUT IN OPEN
DURING STORM.
Call Il Stubbornness or Precedence, or
Anything You Wish, But His A.
ton Saved the Life Of
His Rider.

Everybody knows that all mules
are brainy, but the mules of Old Mexi-
co have something on other mules for
q sort of precedence Of their own" said
q man who has spent many years In
the neighboring republic, to q New
York Sun writer. "A Mexican mule
will do just 80 much work and not q
bit more.
"The riding mule, for instance. is
fully aware of the distance, down to .
rod, he is supposed and required to
traverse in the progress Of one travel
ing day, and all the sharp sticks or
goads or dynamite on earth won't get
him to do q bit more than what he
knows to be the correct distance. The
Mexicans have peculiar saying In
connection with this characteristic OF
the Mexican mule. You ask . Next
can, for instance, how far it is by
muleback to such and such q point.
"'Two days journey II you are not
rushed, but three days II you are
in a hurry the Mexican will reply.
His meaning u that II you don't
ask any more of your mule than you
should ask of him the mule will be
able to make the trip in two days. But
If you attempt to drive the brute he'll
soldier on you, and in consequence the
journey will take you three days.
Nov for the prescience Of which
spoke. I don't know what else to call
1t. The latest instance I saw OF 1t
was when I was riding through the
state of Sonora a month or so ago on
an old gray mule that knew every turn
and twist of the road l was taking SO
thoroughly that I let the bride reins
hang and permitted him to 60 it alone.
"Along toward evening a terrific
thunder storm came up. The air was
heavy with the fumes Of sulphur
something I had heard about but had
never experienced before the
crashes were deafening. The road was
rocky and bad and there was only an
occasional scrub pine alongside.
"The old gray mule, when the storm
reached it's height, stopped his jog
of q sudden and stood in the middle
of the road, peacefully enough. He
wasn't worried, apparently, but he
considered that that was a pretty good
place to stand during the continuance
Of the tremendous electrical storm,
for 1t was out in the open.
For myself, l wanted to get under
the shelter of pine tree about hun
dred yards ahead of me. But the mule
couldn't and wouldn't see that. Him
for the open, and there he stood.
81 prodded him with the spurs, but
he merely looked around at me In
dusgusted sort of way. Then l dis
mounted and tried to lead him. Moth
ing doing. He wouldn't bulge.
$50 at length, giving in to him that
he knew more about it than did. I
wrapped my poncho about my head
and stood at his head. waiting for the
storm to pass. I hadn't stood by the
mule in that way for more than three
minutes before saw a couple of balls
of red fire playing around the trunk
of the pine tree that I'd wanted to get
under the shelter of. Then there
came a positively deafening crash and
when I could see again there was that
pine tree stretched across the road
and a good part of it in kindling wood.
Il suppose maybe that old gray mule
didn't know. I give it to him, anyhow,
that he did"