The Glasgow courier. [volume] (Glasgow, Mont.) 1913-current, 1919-06-20
WRITER PAYS TRIBUTE
TO ARMY MULES
Faithful Animals Haul Wagons out of
Mud When Heavy Draft Horses
Fall Down on the Job.

afOrethOugnt ana original sin have
provided material for the comic papers
throughout the war. And we'll they
might! But now with the coming of
peace, mules, like so many of US, are
being demobilized and going back to
civil life, and a tribute may perhaps
be allowed from one who first met
them in ignorance not unmixed with
apprehension, but who ended by ad-
miring and even loving them. That,
l think, is the history of many of US
who have had to deal with mules,
says a writer in the Christian Science
Monitor.
l well remember the day we got our
first draft. Fifty mules arrived late
one summer evening, and we stood
round and looked at them helplessly,
and decided which we would try to
avoid when the time came for sharing
them out among the sections. The
general idea was to regard them as
"beastly donkeys" and to bemoan our
fate in having to work with mules in
stead of horses. Before long, however,
we discovered how to get on with
them.
Won't Be Bullied.
Mules, like other creatures, won't
be bullied, and there you have the Sc
cret in a nutshell. We soon found that
the great majority could be coaxed
when they would not be driven, and
would answer to their drivers voice
when whip and spur were useless. We
got our reward n day when a forage
wagon was found helplessly stuck in
the mud. The heavy draft horses
were taken out and our mules trium-
phantly hauled the wagon on to good
ground again much to our delight and
to the chagrin of the driver of the
horses.
Mules like time in which to think
things over; they prefer to take no
thing new on trust, and they have a
good look at a strange place before
committing themselves to it. I think
most of u mules had lived all their
lives in the open, or else they had
forgotten what stables were like; for
the trouble there was when we moved
into barracks and they were asked to
go into their stables for the first time!
There was SO much peeping through
the door, trying to dodge back when
once you were in, pretending it was
impossible to stand on the stone floor,
and starting a quarrel with your
neighbor once you were settled down.
Half the display, l am sure, was pure
devilment, for mules have a sense Of
humor all their own. Patience and
quiet handling got them in at last.
Their ingenuity is marvellous. The
way in which some of them could I'M
do their head collar chains was extra
ordinary. We used to go down the
lines and make sure that every chain
was securely fastened, and half an
hour later two or three mules would
be loose, grazing on forbidden ground
or robbing the forage pile. Another
favorite trick was getting under the
bars of the temporary stables we oc-
cupied at one time, and frolicking
around the barracks. l once watched
a big mule stretch himself out and out
until he could get under a bar that
could not have been more than three
feet six inches from the ground. You
would have thought it was some hugh
cat rather than a mule.
We had a great time when We went
overseas. Entraining and d%etraining
went smoothly for the most part, and
at the port the mules went obediently
up the steep ramp into the ship, till
an unwise veterinary officer tried TO
encourage one with a stick. That, of
course, was just the excuse they were
wanting to make a fuss, and some of
them certainly took advantage of it.
When the time for disembarking came
we led the first few off, and then
turned the rest loose in the ship, and
they quietly followed their leader
down to the quay. Then what a roll
ing and capering started, for mules
love a roll better than anything and
seem to find great refreshment in it.
At home we made them a special sand
bath, and a ten minutes roll after the
days work was a part of the regular
routine.
Most of them naturally acquired
names, and here appeared a woeful
lack of originality. Any mule who
tended to show his independence by
an occasional buck was at once chris
tened Broncho-just as in the army
all Walkers are nicknamed "Hoohy"
and all Clarkes "Nobby." We had,
too, several Jacks, Tommies and Jen-
MES. Tim and loser were a beautiful
pair of quaint small mules with skins
like satin, and were usually among
the favorites for the prize that was
periodically given for the best kept
pair in the company. Then there was
Old Nellie Wallace, why so called l
never knew, but the name seemed odd
ly appropriate to an elderly gray-fac-