When Mules Ruled the Farm
by Lonny Thiele
Published in the December 2019 Issue of Mules and More
Mules were used for farming in this country roughly 1785 to 1950 or 165 years. Mule numbers peaked in the US at 5.8 million in 1925, but there were still 1.9 million mules in 1940, that included 209,000 in Missouri. The three leading Missouri counties in 1940 in mule numbers were the Bootheel counties of New Madrid (9621), Pemiscot (9650) and Dunklin (7646). Mules were more popular in the South where cotton and tobacco were farmed because they withstood heat better than horses, were easier to care for, and cost less to feed. Quotes used in this column and most of the material used comes from stories in the book, “That Son of a Gun Had Sense: Mule Stories From the Bootheel During the 1930’s-1940’s Era.”
Harry Learned How to Move That Handle: Mules That Opened Gates
Eight of the 80 people I interviewed for the mule book talked about a mule that could open gates. Mules learned this by watching people do it. Mules are very motivated by food, and relished getting into grain bins or out to lush pasture. They might spend hours learning to open a gate with a sliding handle.
In his story the late Wyman Hampton of New Madrid County, talked about Frank. “Frank could open any door in the barn. He would nibble at a latch until he got it open. He even learned to slide a latch back. He might stand there for hours.”
The late Dr. Gene Leroux of Ripley County talked about Beck. “Beck learned to open the crib door and gates with her nose. We've had two or three of them get in the corncrib with her. They ate a lot of corn and made a mess but never hurt themselves. She'd open a pasture gate with either a hoop over it or a sliding latch. She learned how to open them both.”
The late Marie Fikuart of Scott County described it this way. “We had a big wide gate, 10-foot long, and it had a slide handle to release it. Harry learned how to move that handle and he'd open that gate to get outside for some new grass or clover...When he opened the gate there would be two or three other mules get out with him. But we knew Harry was the only one that opened gates because he was always one of them.”
The late Bob Lincoln of Dunklin County talked about Jack. “One of the black mules was named Jack. If the cattle went to the barn lot to drink and the gate was closed, Jack would nose the chain off the gate, and let the cattle drink. After they drank he would move them out of the barn lot, and would push that gate closed.”
If you want to view a mule open and close a gate, find the movie, “Francis Goes to the Races.” There is a scene where Francis opens a gate with a latch, walks through, and turns and closes it by pushing it shut.
Thiele was the author of “My Life With Harry—The Mule,” “Farm to War: A WWI Mule Story,” and “That Son of Gun Had Sense,” which are available through Amazon.com