I have seen
nothing in the United States that could compare with them. They can,
apparently, stand any amount of starvation and abuse. I have had three
Spanish mules in a train of twenty-five six-mule teams, and starting
from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on Colonel (since General) Sumner's
expedition, in 1857, have travelled to Walnut Creek, on the Santa Fe
route, a distance of three hundred miles, in nine days. And this in the
month of August. The usual effects of hard driving, I noticed, showed
but very little on them. I noticed also, along the march, that with a
halt of less than three hours, feeding on grass that was only tolerably
thick, they will fill up better and look in better condition for
resuming the march, than one of our American mules that had rested five
hours, and had the same forage. The breed, of course, has something to
do with this. But the animal is smaller, more compact than our mules,
and, of course, it takes less to fill him up. It stands to reason, that
a mule with a body half as large as a hogshead cannot satisfy his hunger
in the time it would take a small one. This is the secret of small mules
outlasting large ones on the prairies. It takes the large one so long to
find enough to eat, when the grass is scanty, that he has not time
enough for rest and recuperation. I often found them leaving camp, in
the morning, quite as hungry and discouraged as they were when we halted
the previous evening. With the small mule it is different. He gets
enough to eat, quick, and has time to rest and refresh himself. The
Spanish or Mexican mule, however, is better as a pack animal, than for a
team. They are vicious, hard to break, and two-thirds of them kick.

In looking over a book, with the title of "Domestic Animals," I notice
that the author, Mr. R.L. Allen, has copied from the official report of
the Agricultural Committee of South Carolina, and asserts that a mule is
fit for service sooner than a horse. This is not true; and to prove that
it is not, I will give what I consider to be ample proof. In the first
place, a mule at three years old is just as much and even more of a colt
than a horse is. And he is as much out of condition, on account of
cutting teeth, distemper, and other colt ailments, as it is possible to
be. Get a three year old mule tired and fatigued, and in nine cases out
of ten he will get so discouraged that it will be next to impossible to
get him home or into camp. A horse colt, if able t