Show d I 1 AMERICAN MULE SHOWS HIS superiority SUPERIOR IT X r VY S 7 a t biz HOLE MADE BY BIG SHELL USED AS STABLE two years and a halt ot of the galm inest war in history have wrought the triumph of at least one american institution ution the army mule according to a report in new york sun by a w riter with fib the british armies in france lie lias has been weighed anew in the scales of battle proved on the fire swept fields of france and flanders and not found wanting in warm winter coat and with long inquisitive cars flopping back and forth in the breeze lie in marches arches up among the roaring guns with a steady nonchalance that lends ends confidence and faith to the fighting men who depend so much upon him from missouri georgia tennessee mississippi texas and other stock farms in the south he has journeyed to the he war and come into his own the much maligned supposedly stubborn balky and generally pestiferous mule has won a place in the heart of the british army from which he be can never he be dislodged lie he was quite an asset in the south african campaign but now is a real aristocrat of the transport service A most magnificent creature replied a british brigadier ihen asked for an opinion ot of the lowly american mule and lie lifts hns a much better character than generally Is given to him he Is something like a carcel camel in that respect most people cry down and berate the poor old camel but once you get to know him he Is much to be admired it Is just the same with the mule ile he has some ways with avith him which the british tommy quite appreciate at first but now that they ire are better acquainted and have formed a sort of 0 entente cordiale the two have lave utmost respect for each other and carry on at the front with complete understanding and effectiveness one mule equals six horses the mule had bad ills his supreme test on this front in the hie battles of the somme there were days end nights 0 of unceasing c labor short rations alid little or no attention the strain was constant and terrific in exact ratio to the number employed six bartes have succumbed where a 0 single mule gave five way the horse of course Is tin an animal of finer fiber and if far more sens sensitive if lie stumbles into a shell hole filled with mith water he ill strive and struggle to get out until lie actually dies of a broken heart 11 eart not so the mule lie ile has no imagination and not much of an ail outlook on life ile he calmly and philosophically lies iles in the shell hole until someone comes along and digs him out the mule some suppositions to the contrary notwithstanding Is vulnerable at times to shot lind and shell man ian of them have been killed in action along with the horses horse and others have lave died of wounds but modern veterinary skill Is working wonders for the animals of war and one must ile be badly hurt indeed to be abandoned the thick aklo of the mule saves him from many of the troubles that beset the horse it wards off mud blisters and the affections that come from the wet and damp and long exposure |