14 THE MULE. 



of horses used in drawing railroad cars througli cities. 

 Horses that are used for hauling cars in this manner 

 are generally fed morning, noon, and night ; and are 

 able to get out of the way of a swingle-tree, should it be 

 let down so low as to work on the brakes, as it did too 

 frequently in the army. Besides, the coupling of the 

 car, or the part they attach the horse to, is two-thirds 

 the height of a common-sized animal, which, it will be 

 seen at a glance, is enough to keep the swingle-tree off 

 his heels. N^ow, the tongue of a G-overnment wagon is 

 a very different thing. In its proper condition, it is 

 about on an average height with the mule's hocks ; and, 

 especially- during the last two years of the war, it was 

 customary to pull the mule so close up to the swingle-tree 

 that his hocks would touch it. The result of hitching 

 in this manner is, that the mule is continually try- 

 ing to keep out of the way of the swingle-tree, and, 

 finding that he cannot succeed, he becomes discouraged. 

 And as soon as he does this he will lag behind ; and as 

 he gets sore from this continual banging, he will spread 

 his hind legs and try to avoid the blows; and, in doing 

 this, he forgets his business and becomes irritable. This 

 excites the teamster, and, in ninety-nine cases out of a 

 hundred, he will beat and punish the animal cruelly, 

 expecting thereby to cure him of the trouble. But, 

 instead of pacifying the mule, he will only make him 

 worse, which should, under no circumstances, be done. 

 The proper course to pursue, and I say so from long 

 experience, is to stop the team at once, and let all the 

 traces out to a length that will allow the swingle-tree 

 to swing half v/ay between the hock and the heel of 



