Catoctin clarion., 1918-08-01
army MULE never
F0RGETS TRAINING
Has PecuIiarities That Can Be
Played Upon or Must Be
Hum0red.
FOLLOW The BELL MARE
When Leader Starts for Drink Of Wa.
ter Every Mule In Place Fol.
lows Her In Single
File,

Louisville, Ky.-An old, flea-btten,
hammer-headed, ewenecked bell mare,
slowly picking her way across the cor
raj at the remount station at Camp
Zachary Taylor, followed by a long
string of mules walking in single file,
heads down and ears wagging, served
us illustration for an officer attached
to the big cantonment who had just
finished remnrking that "hOrse nature
and mule nature and human nature
were mighty contrary things anyway
you take them"
"Now take those mules" he said.
"The education of pack mule is
thing that must be begun early. He
has just two purposes in life. One
is to carry 225 pounds day after day
patiently and uncomplainngly. and
the other Is to follow the bell mare
of the train, regardless of where that
animal may go. Well, there Is in that
corral an Illustration of the effective
ness of our training. The old mare
has started after a drink of water,
of those fool mules after drink of
water"
Investigation revealed that the pack
mule is not the only member of his
family that has peculiarities that can
be played upon or must he hum0red.
1t was learned that the larger mules,
once teamed up or paired, must there
after be worked together if each Is not
to suffer loss in efficiency.
Mules Of High Quality,
The government requires three types
of mules: Animals that weigh from
1,150 to 1850 pounds for wheel mules;
mules that weigh from $50 to 1,15O for
leads, and the little flat-necked, short
bodied mule which may weigh almost
anything under $50 provided he has
the legs to hold up the 225 pounds
he is supposed to carry.
In this connection 1t might be re-
marked that the comparative differ.
cnce in the quality of horses and mules
observed in the stables of the diff.
jerent units at Camp Zachary Taylor
furnishes an excellent illustration of
the effects of the world war on the
supply of such animals held in this
country.
The country has been combcd for
horses and good animals, which nppar-
entity are difficult to obtain. When the
good animals" terms is used it means
II cavalry horse true to type cOnforma-
tlon and having the ability to carry
weight. 1t is true some fine animals
are to be seen among the horses now
obtained by the army and the pro-
portion Of good artillery horses is fair.
ly high,
The horse and the mule are not
used interchangeably by the army.
Therefore the lack of good horses Is
to the army men particularly lamenta-
bic. If the task requires quickncss
and courage, If it is one that Il sense
of pride or n love of parade will carry
through, the horse IS chosen. There
fore, the cavalry and artillery use only
the horse.
voc "uICS tooNSs
If there is hard, thankless job to
be done day after day through any con-
ditons and over all kinds of trails, If
there must at times be short rations;
then the mule gets the call. He will
go forward uncomplainingly, doing
more work day in and day out than
any horse, and at night he Will ask
for % per cent less grain. He will
thrive on this, and at the end Of
hard campaign be squealing and kick
ing up his heels when the horse would
be reduced to ineffectiveness.
Whether horse or mule, every ami
NAL bought for war duty must have
been broken. When the animal gets
into the army there are so many things
it must be taught there is no time to
waste on rudmentary things. 1t first
goes to the corrals of the remOunt
depot, where it is held with other ami
mails Of the same general type and
conformation until requStion for
animals of that sort Is received from
some unit, to which it is issued
Then begins the animals real army
training. AS with man, the first.
thing Is to drive the lesson home that
the first duty is toward the group to
which 1t is assigned. In the man this
soon becomes loyalty to the squad, the
platoon, tie company and the regiment
and results in team work. For
the animal it means that the
lesson is driven home so relentlessly
that 1t is the duty of wheeler, or
leader, or q number two or three (the
horses making up the middle team of
q sX-horse artillery team) to do thus
and so, that an animal that has been
through this school will never do it's
most effective work anywhere but in
the position to which 1t was accus-
toned in it's training.
To the cavalry horse much the
same thing applies. Put him into
training, accustom him thoroughly to
what is expected Of him, and his rider
may fall or be shot from the saddle,
and in most cases he will hold his posi-
tion and thunder forward with the rest
of the command In the midst of the
charge.