The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-05-22
AMERICAN MULE
did his SHARE
Helped Make the World Safe for
Democracy.
DID GOOD WORK over There

ear @Asr,s Tops the Mule In Mum.
bern, but Only siInhtly-ons Camp
HAs Mule That Knows. All ths Ruols
~as-cails, but ~Rsspendss to. One. Only.
, The great american mule did his
part for democracy.
.. There were. 20, GA members serving
under the colors, In this country. and
the Philippines when the war broke
out. This 10 exclusive Of $3.50 Of his
short-ribbede brother known as the pack
mule. The draft brought in 7,444 moro
Of the big fellows for service overseas,
but, bad shipping facilities disappoint-
ed all but 975 Of the little fellows.
which were Il squeezed, aboard. Thus
s 20O63 native born long cared and gear
ed seif.starters for all sorts of things
saw duty with the A. e. f.. with
mortality of about Eve thousand.
But this does not begin to tell tho
tale Of the heroism Of the mule. for
,selgn and domestic Mules from France
to tho number OF 9, 341, with e,777'from
England and 12,941 from Spain. kicked
freedom. under the Stars and Stripes,
because it,ywas cheaper to let them
kick over. there than to give up more
., money to indulge the, propensities tof
our homegrown stock and pay their
way across. In this way 29.06S allied
: and .nentral mules served alongside
the 29,910 free born hybrids on the
fields Of France; making 58973 Of the
stubborn breed who did not look for
greener graves.
124,137~M Mules Did Their Bit.
II the war had lasted longer this
tale Of the American mule at the front
would not have been so short. 1t may
be said that many waited in vain for
Mr.. Hurley to give them 4 chance to
compete against the sides Of the ship
from the inside with the submarines
without. Experienced muleteers say
that the one was about rs dangerous
as the other. The mules that did their
bit over there numbered In all 124. 137.
In the flaming record Of the war the
American horse tops the mule In num-
bers, but only slightly, on account Of
the smeaEer use OF cavalry and the dit
50 6ca3ty of transportation. ~There~were
r. 1921 mounts and -1S,67 draft horses
In service when the ewar broke out.
= Theirs were st, AL Of the former 4nd
T716;0O0 eof the latter purchased, Of
which f66,A54s and 115T30. respective.
~, wsre bought in the United states,
1880 and 81, 400 in France, .2,433 and
e y4e5 10 England and 1s2o5 and 326 IN
Spain. = OF. the American horses only
$3.50 mounts" and ,3ee' for artillery
and draft use were sent abroad. The
losses In France were $3.50 horses, Of
both kinds.
The total number Of animals sup
piled to and bought for, the A. r. r..
tincludinx s9,872 on hand At the start,
WAS 81. 178, valued at $144. 794.652, IN
- ayerass .xalue Of $253. Itswas great
work tozsnppaya this beast power to
the army within few; months, and
about a hard a task to demobilixe the
four-leEgedt troops to conserve the in
terest Of the service and save as much
80 Of the public money invested in the
animals to be sold In the United States.
.. which amounts to ~$l15,506, $50, the
horses being worth 81, 654,254 and the
mules $S4.e5A1o6. The animals in
France and to be sold there number
l21;l65 horses and 56,2O7 mules.
Farce Greatly Increased.
... The. service was organized, In Sep.
tember,s lD17, with 4 force of five off,
GERS and 10 assistants, working in four
purchasing zones. Now 1t has 600 Of
ficers and $4,000 enlisted men oper-
ating 81 remount and two embarkation
Gdepots. at Newport News and Charles
ton. s. G. The country was secured
for stock.
There were no trotters Of the Maud
S. class discovered In the horses
4. bought for cannon fodder but there
were. some surprises among the mules
At Camp Travis there is one, now.
= big piebald jack that would be prize
for any circus. Nobody can ride him
and everybody can teach him tricks.
. He is said to make an attempt to make
a salute with q sardonic grin and
DO" every LlIue ue iAccIS oil OliCCi
and to let out 4 contemptuous squawk
when-he is ignored. He works on oc-
cAsion. but never in harness with a
mate, and is ready to bog without
gloves any man or mule at any time.
Camp Gordon has mule that knows
all the bugle calls. but pays attention
TO one only. The reveille may sound,
the assembly. the mess. taps or re-
treat, but all fall on his waggins ears
unnoticed. But let this so-calhed stu
Did brute at work anywhere within
reach Of a wireless note Of the bugler
-, sounding recall" and there is bolt
for the stable that often leaves the
driver behind on the. ground and a
squirt in high gear over the roads Of
the camp.
Nurse Starts Law Suit.