The Mule Part 3

Jan. .. .. .. 624 14 76 3,677 66 226 Feb. 135 96 7 329 16 62 1,603 84 150 Mar. 2,552 150 4 448 10 64 2,823 77 169 Apr. 2,906 118 61 1,305 15 47 6,102 106 223 May. 1,087 56 46 2,440 18 52 11,780 68 211 Jun. 3,848 120 118 4,410 76 48 19,304 178 49 Jul. 1,731 94 335 4,702 74 125 13,398 462 68 Aug. 5,250 51 159 5,431 88 231 1,275 284 23 Sep. 2,834 72 248 1,198 64 176 1,536 3 18 Oct. 1,166 36 202 1,468 81 134 876 .. ..

Nov. 2,934 30 204 3,036 35 123 252 3 ..

Dec. 2,832 14 113 3,923 66 158 324 4 ..

Total 27,275 837 1,497 29,414 557 1,296 62,950 1,335 1,137

1866 Received Died Shot

169 .. ..

34 2 1 13 .. ..

29 1 ..

20 1 ..

2 .. ..

62 .. ..

329 4 1

DATE RECEIVED DIED SHOT 1863............. 27,275 837 1,497 1864............. 29,414 557 1,296 1865.............. 62,950 1,335 1,137 1866.............. 329 4 1

Total........... 119,968 2,733 3,931

PICTURES OF SOME OF OUR MOST CELEBRATED ARMY MULES.

I have had photographs taken of some of our mules. A number of these animals performed extraordinary service in connection with the Army of the Potomac and the Western Army. One of them, a remarkable animal, made the great circuit of Sherman's campaign, and has an historical interest.

I propose to give you these ill.u.s.trations according to their numbers.

No.1, then, is a very remarkable six-mule team. It was fitted out at Berryville, Maryland, early in the spring of 1861, under the directions of Captain Sawtelle, A. Q. M. They are all small, compact mules, and I had them photographed in order to show them together. The leaders and swing, or, as some call them, the middle leaders, have been worked steadily together in the same team since December 31, 1861. They have also been driven by the same driver, a colored man, of the name of Edward Wesley Williams. He was with Captain Sawtelle until the 1st of March, 1862; was then transferred, with his team, to the City of Was.h.i.+ngton, and placed under a wagon-master of the name of Horn, who belonged to Harrisburg, Pa. Wesley took good care of his team, and was kept at constant work with it in Was.h.i.+ngton, until May 14, 1862. He was then transferred, with his team, to a train that was ordered to join General McClellan at Fort Monroe. He then followed the fortunes of the Army of the Potomac up the Peninsula; was at the siege of Yorktown, the battle of Williamsburg, and in the swamps of the Chickahominy. He was also in the seven days' battles, and brought up at Harrison's Landing with the Army of the Potomac. He then drove his team back to Fort Monroe, where they were s.h.i.+pped, with the animals of the Army of the Potomac, for Was.h.i.+ngton. He was set to work as soon as he reached a landing, and partic.i.p.ated in hauling ammunition at the second battle of Bull Run. He then followed the army to Antietam, and from that battle-field to Fredericksburg, where he hauled ammunition during the terrible disaster under General Burnside. The team then belonged to a train of which John Dorny was wagon-master. When General Hooker took command of the army this team followed him through the Chancellorville and Chantilly fights. It also followed the Army of the Potomac until General Grant took command, when the train it belonged to was sent to City Point. This brings us up to 1864. It was with the army in front of Petersburg, and, during that winter, the saddle mule was killed by the enemy's shot while the team was going for a load of wood. In short, they were worked every day until Richmond was taken. In June, 1865, they were transferred back to the City of Was.h.i.+ngton. It is now August, 1866, and they are still working in the train, and make one of the very best teams we have. I refer now to the leaders and swing mules, as they are the only four that are together, and that followed the Army of the Potomac through all its campaigns. There is not a mule of the four that is over fourteen and a half hands high, and not one that weighs over nine hundred pounds. This team, I ought to add here, has frequently been without a bite of hay or grain for four or five days, and nothing to eat but what they could pick up along the road. And there are instances when they have been twenty-four hours without a sup of water. The experienced eye will see that they have round, compact bodies, and stand well on their feet.

No. 2 is the leader of the team, and for light work on the prairies, packing, or any similar work, is a model mule. Indeed, she cannot be surpa.s.sed. Her bone and muscle is full, and she is not inclined to run to flesh.

No. 3 is the off-leader of the same team. She is a good eater, tough, hardy, and a good worker,--in every way a first-cla.s.s mule. I would advise persons purchasing mules to notice her form. She is a little sprung in the knees; but this has in no way interfered with her working.

This was occasioned by allowing the heels on her fore-feet to grow out too much. During, and for some time after, the second battle of Bull Run, the train to which she belonged was kept at very hard work. The shoes that were on her at that time, to use the driver's own language, were "put on to stay." Indeed, he informed me that they were on so long, that he concluded they had grown to the feet. And in this case, as in many others, for want of a little knowledge of the peculiarities of a mule's feet, and the injury that results from over-growth, the animal had to suffer, and was permanently injured.

No. 4 is the off-swing, or middle-leader mule. She is perfectly sound, of good height, a good eater, and a great worker. She is also well adapted for packing, and a tolerably good rider. Her ears and eyes are of the very finest kind, and her whole head indicates intelligence. Her front parts are perfection itself. She is also remarkably kind.

ILl.u.s.tRATION 1

ILl.u.s.tRATION 2

ILl.u.s.tRATION 3

ILl.u.s.tRATION 4

ILl.u.s.tRATION 5

ILl.u.s.tRATION 6

ILl.u.s.tRATION 7

ILl.u.s.tRATION 8

ILl.u.s.tRATION 9

ILl.u.s.tRATION 10

ILl.u.s.tRATION 11

ILl.u.s.tRATION 12

ILl.u.s.tRATION 13

ILl.u.s.tRATION 14

No. 5 is the near swing mule, or middle leader. She is what is called a mouse-color, and is the fattest mule in the team. She underwent the entire campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, and is to-day without a blemish, and capable of doing as much work as any mule in the pack. Her powers of endurance, as well as her ability to withstand starvation and abuse, are beyond description. I have had mules of her build with me in trains, in the Western Territories, that endured hards.h.i.+p and starvation to an extent almost incredible; and yet they were remarkably kind when well treated, and would follow me like dogs, and, indeed, try to show me how much they could endure without flinching.

No. 6 is an off-wheel mule, of ordinary quality. I had to take the spotted mules from the wheels of this team, as they were not equal to the work required of them, and got very sore in front.

No. 7 is a spotted, or, as the. Mexicans call them, a calico mule. He and his mate were sent to the Army of the Potomac about the time General Grant took command of it. They were worked as wheel mules in the team until 1866, when this one, like nearly all spotted animals, showed his weak parts by letting up in his fore-feet, which became contracted to such an extent that the surgeon had to cut them nearly off. We were compelled to let him go barefoot until they grew out. This is one of the spotted mules I have referred to before. You never can rely on them.

No. 8 is the mate of No. 7. His bead, ears, and front shoulder indicate him to be of Canadian stock. His neck and front shoulder, as you will see, are faultless. But on looking closely at his eyes you will find them to be sore, and running water continually. I have noticed that nearly all animals in the army that are marked in this way have weak and inflamed eyes. A farmer should never purchase them.

No. 9 is a swing mule that has undergone a great deal of hards.h.i.+p. She is tolerably well formed but inclined to kick. She is also hard to keep in good condition, and unless great care is taken with her she would give out in the hind feet, where she now shows considerable fullness.

When a mule's neck lacks the ordinary thickness there must be some direct cause for it, and you should set about finding out what it is.

Lack of food is sometimes the cause. But in my opinion creased neck very frequently so affects the pa.s.sages to and from the head, that the organs that should work in depositing flesh, fat, or muscle become deranged, and the neck becomes weak and in a disordered state. Purchasers would do well to discard these creased-neck mules.

No. 10 is an animal of an entirely different character from No. 9. She is remarkably gentle and tractable, of good form, and great endurance, and will work in any way. She is fifteen hands and one inch high, weighs ten hundred and fifty pounds, and is seven years old. This celebrated animal went through all of General Sherman's campaigns, and is as sound and active to-day as a four-year old.

No. 11 is one of those peculiar animals I have described elsewhere. He is all bones and belly. His legs are long, and of little use as legs. He is five years old, sixteen and a half hands high, and weighs thirteen hundred and ninety pounds. One of his hind legs shows a thorough pin.

His hocks are all out of shape, and his legs are stuck into his hoofs on nearly the same principle that you stick a post into the ground. The reason why his pastern-joints show so straight is, that the heels on the hind feet have been badly trimmed when shaving. They too have been permitted to grow too long, and thus he is thrown into the position you now see him. This mule belongs to a cla.s.s that is raised to a considerable extent, and prized very highly in Pennsylvania. In the army they were of very little use except to devour forage.

No. 12 is what may be called a pack mule of the first cla.s.s. He is seven years old, fifteen and a half hands high, and weighs eleven hundred and fifty-six pounds. This animal has endured almost incredible hards.h.i.+ps.

He is made for it, as you will readily see. He is what is called a portly mule, but is not inclined to run to belly unless over-fed and not worked. He has a remarkably kind disposition, is healthy, and a good feeder. This animal has but one evil to contend with. His off hind foot has grown too long, and plainly shows how much too far back it throws the pastern-joint. This is in a measure the effect of bad shoeing. It is very rare to find a blacksmith who discovers this fact until it is too late. Now there is nothing more easy than to ruin a mule by letting his toes grow too long. Doctor L.H. Braley, chief veterinary surgeon of the army, is now developing a plan for shoeing mules, which I consider the very best that has been suggested. His treatment of the foot when well, and how to keep it so; and how to treat the foot by shoeing when it becomes injured, is the best that can be adopted.

No. 13 is a mule that has been worked in a two-mule train which has been in my charge for about a year. She was previously worked in a six-mule train, as the off-wheel mule. She is five years old, rising; size, fifteen hands and three inches high, and weighs fourteen hundred and twenty-two pounds. She was received into the Government service at Wheeling, Virginia, and when s.h.i.+pped or transferred to this depot, with four hundred others, was but two years old, rising three. She was worked, at least a year or more, too young; and to this cause I attribute certain injuries which I shall speak of hereafter. This mule, with two hundred others, was transferred to the Army of the Potomac, and went through its campaigns from 1864 up to the fall of Richmond. She is an excellent worker, and her neck, head, and fore shoulders are as fine as can be. Indeed, they are a perfect development of the horse. But her hips or flank joints are very deficient. Owing to her being worked too young, the muscles of the hind legs have given way, and they have become crooked. This is done frequently by the animal being placed as a wheeler when too young, and holding back under a heavy load. If you want to see how quick you can ruin young mules, place them in the wheels.

No. 14 is the off-wheel mule of a six-mule team. I had this mule photographed for the purpose of showing the effects of hitching animals so short to the team that the swingle-tree will strike or rest on their hocks. I referred to this great evil in another place. This mule is but six years old, sixteen hands high, and weighs nearly sixteen hundred pounds. Aside from the hocks, she is the best made and the best looking mule in the park; and is also a remarkably good worker. You will notice, however, that the caps of her hocks are so swollen and calloused by the action of the swingle-tree as to make them permanently disfigured. The position I have placed this mule in, as relates to the wagon wheel, is the proper position to put all wild, green, contrary or stubborn mules in when they are hard to bridle.

This is the severest use to which a lariat can be put on mule or horse.

The person using it, however, should be careful to see that it sets well back to the shoulder of the animal. I refer now to the part of the loop that is around the neck. The end of the lariat should always be held by a man, and not made fast to any part of the wagon, so that if the animal falls or throws himself, you can slack up the lariat and save him from injury. Three applications of the buck will conquer them so thoroughly that you will have little trouble afterwards. Be careful to keep the lariat, in front, as high as the mule's breast; and see also that they are pulled up close to the front wheel before pulling it through the hind wheel.