THE MULE. 59 



are in the habit of putting tongs and twitches in their 

 ears when they shoe them. !N'ow, against all these bar- 

 barous and inhuman practices, I here, in the name 

 of humanity, enter my protest. The animal becomes 

 almost worthless by the injuries caused by such practices. 

 There are extreme cases in which the twitch may be 

 resorted to, but it should in all cases be applied to the 

 nose, and only then when all mildet means have failed. 



But there is another, and much better, method of 

 handling and overcoming the vices of refractory mules. 

 I refer to the lariat. Throw the noose over the head 

 of the unruly mule, then draw him carefully up to a 

 wagon, as if for the purpose of bridling him. In case 

 he is extremely hard to bridle, or vicious, throw an 

 additional lariat or rope over his head, fixing it pre- 

 cisely as represented in the drawing. By this method 

 you can hold any mule. But even this method had bet 

 ter be avoided unless where it is absolutely necessary. 



It is now August, 1866. "We are working five hun- 

 dred and fifty-eight animals, from six o'clock in the 

 morning until seven o'clock at night, and out of this 

 number we have not got ten sore or galled animals. 

 The reason is, because we do not use a single padded 

 saddle or collar. Also, that the part of the harness 

 that the heaviest strain comes on is kept as smooth and 

 pliable as it is possible for it to be. Look well to your 

 drawing-chains, too, and see that they are kept of an 

 even length. If your collar gets gummy or dirty, 

 don't scrape it with a knife ; wash it, and preserve the 

 smooth surface. Your breeching, or wheel harness, is 

 also another very important part ; see that it does not 



