12 THE MULE. 



head is reined u]) too tight, as army teamsters are very 

 likely to do, is sure to work a sore mouth. 



There are few things in breaking the mule that 

 should be so carefully guarded against as this. For as 

 soon as the animal gets a sore mouth, he cannot eat 

 well, and becomes fretful ; then he cannot drink well, 

 and as his mouth keeps splitting up on the sides, he 

 soon gets so that he cannot keep water in it, and 

 every swallow he attempts to take, the water will spirt 

 out of the sides, just above the bit. As soon as the 

 mule finds that he cannot drink without this trouble, 

 he very naturally pushes his nose into the water above 

 where his mouth is split, and drinks until the want of 

 breath forces him to stop, although he has not had suf- 

 ficient water. The animal, of course, throws up its 

 head, and the stupid teamster, as a general thing, drives 

 the mule away from the water with his thirst about 

 half satisfied. 



Mules with their mouths split in this way are not fit 

 to be used in the teams, and the sooner they are taken 

 out and cured the better for the army and the Govern- 

 ment. I have frequently seen Government trains de- 

 tained several minutes, block the road, and throw the 

 train into disorder, in order to give a mule with a split 

 mouth time to drink. In making up teams for a train, 

 I invariably leave out all mules whose mouths are not 

 in a sound state, and this I do without regard to the 

 kind or quality of the animal. But the mule's mouth 

 can be saved from the condition I have referred to, 

 if the bit be made in a proper manner. 



The bit should be one inch and seven-eighths round, 



