CHAPTER III. 



COLOK, CHARACTER, AND PECULIARITIKS OF MULES. 



After being in command of the upper corral, I was 

 ordered, on the 7th of September, 1864, to take charge 

 of the Eastern Branch "Wagon Park, Washington. 

 There were at that time in the park twenty-one six- 

 mule trains. Each train had one hundred and fifty 

 mules and two horses attached. There were times, 

 however, when we had as many as forty-two trains of 

 six-mule teams, with thirty men attached to each 

 train. In a year from the above date we handled up- 

 ward of seventy-four thousand mules, each and every 

 one passing under my inspection and through my 

 hands. 



In handling this large number of animals. I aimed to 

 ascertain which was the best, the hardest, and the most 

 durable color for a mule. I did this because great im- 

 portance has been attached by many to the color of 

 these animals. Indeed, some of our officers have made 

 it a distinguishing feature. But color, I am satisfied, is 

 no criterion to judge by. Thei-e is an exception to this, 

 perhaps, in the cream-colored mule. In most cases, these 

 cream-colored mules are apt to be soft, and they also 

 lack strength. This is particularly so with those that 



