160 MULES, AND THEIR ADAPTABILITY 



grossly insulted by being called the son of 

 a Malaga jackass, he valiantly defended 

 the reputation of his sire, who, he declared, 

 could " pull down, bite, and kick into rags " 

 any horse he came across. And what the 

 mule claimed for his sire he can do in- 

 different Avell for himself, as Billy was 

 about to demonstrate when the timely inter- 

 position of Two-tails with terrific trum- 

 petings silenced both disputants. 



The general impression as to mules is 

 that they are incurably vicious and bad 

 tempered, but this their friends say is 

 a libel, the temper of the mule Avhen 

 properly treated being quite equal to that 

 of the horse. He is said, however, to be 

 of extremely nervous temperament, and if 

 this be so it fully accounts for his evil 

 repute, since ner Dusness is very commonly 

 mistaken for vice in the horse, at least by 

 persons not very conversant with that 

 animal's idiosyncrasies. 



