Kicks a Car, Routs a Policeman, but is Subdued by Strategy.

February 19, 1906, New York, NY (USA): Skipper James Olsen of the canalboat Mary Ellen, lying at the foot of West Fifty-seventh Street, took three mules out on the pier late last night to exercise them. For two weeks they had done no work.
One of the three pretended to be frightened at the rumbling of a New York Central freight train in Twelfth Avenue, and ran as far as Broadway, putting to flight every person in sight.
At Broadway the mule ran into a car and tried to kick in the sides. The motorman turned on the power and bumped him out of the way. The jolt sent the mule down Broadway on the sidewalk, causing men and women to run into doorways and up side streets.
At Forty-seventh Street the mule became tired and lay down on the car tracks, and refused to budge. Policeman Charles Flood was called to remove him, but when Flood approached the mule a pair of hoofs shot out, and Flood beat a retreat. Beating a tattoo with a nightstick on the beast’s cranium did no good.
Finally Flood went to a stable in Forty-sixth Street, and bought a peck of oats. He let the mule have a smell, and then started away. The animal was on his feet in a few seconds and followed quietly to the station, where Capt. Olsen was discovered asking Sergt. Brady to send out a general alarm for the truant.

Originally Published in The New York Times, February 19, 1906, New York, NY (USA)

(mule file photo: library of congress, Jack Delano, 1941)

For anyone who has never owned a mule AND those who have…you might also enjoy reading “6 Truths About Owning Mules”.