SPOILIN’ THE BROTH
Reporter reader Jack Brooks sent the following article along to share. It appeared in the Albany News, the community newspaper of Albany, Texas, way back on Friday, April 14, 1911.
If you think your truck, or your John Deere tractor, or your front-end loader and back hoe are important to you now, this gives an insight to the value of a particular domestic animal of that day. Enjoy:
The Texas Mule
The bray of the Texas mule is heard around the world, for wherever he goes he lustily sings the praises of his native land.
He is the most sturdy farmer and the most successful miner of the animal kingdom.
He is the only animal that did not enter Noah’s ark.
By good conduct he has overcome the prejudices of an illegitimate lineage and has successfully fought his way into the highways of industry with his parents as competitors, until today he drays the nation’s commerce.
Illustration accompanying 1911 newspaper article lauding the attributes of the Texas mule.
He is a self-made animal. Year by year he has patiently studied new occupations and adapted himself to changed conditions until he is the master of more industrial pursuits than any other animal and he is by far the Commercial King of Beasts.
He has arisen from obscure origin to the wealthiest of domestic animals; he is worth $28 per head—more than the horse, six times more than the Texas steer and fourteen times more than the hog.
—bc—
There you have it. The value of a mule in 1911.
That just happens to be the year my Grandpa John Esten Cooke purchased this newspaper. Could it be that he owned a few mules and got the paper in a trade?
And yes, dear readers, I’m way ahead of you. When you saw the illustrations above you undoubtedly thought I had a twin brother.
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