Two Men and Two Mules
Jeff Davis | https://gundogcentral.com
This is a true story. It is set in a time of many transitions, including in Sussex County, Virginia, the transition from mules to tractors in the cultivation and harvest of peanuts. The time was 1945. The characters were Richard Spain, just home from service in the Army in WW II, and renting a small peanut farm to work, and Clarence Edwards, a mule dealer.
Richard was single and boarding in Clarence’s home near Homeville, Virginia.
Each evening after supper Clarence and Richard played Setback for an hour. Richard decided to acquire a mule to use to cultivate his peanut crop, and during a Setback game asked Clarence if he had a suitable mule in inventory.
It was the practice of mule dealers to import annually in winter from the West train carloads of mules for resale to farmers for the ensuing crop year. Clarence had sold most of his inventory by the time of Richard's ask, but he had one candidate and after hesitation decided to offer it to Richard . Richard asked only one question: " Is he sound? “
Clarence answered, "Yes."
Next morning Clarence took Richard to his mule lot. The mule was especially hansom and appeared fit. Richard tried to bargain the price down without success. He paid Clarence the asking price plus the price of a harness.
Later that day Richard bought a single-mule walking plow with a six-inch bottom, removed his mule from Clarence's lot, and hauled it in his stake-bed pickup to the farm he was renting near Clarence’s home.
Next morning early, Richard began to plow his peanut field. The mule pulled the plow steadily for three back-and-forth rounds, then stopped mid-field and would not move until Richard unhitched him from the plow. Then Richard walked the mule to a paddock on a remote corner of the farm, away from public road view. Richard felt sure Clarence knew the mule was a balker and likely still in inventory because returned by a buyer. On the walk to the paddock, Richard plotted his revenge.
Richard said nothing about the mule to Clarence that evening at supper or during the Setback game. The next day Richard drove to Eastern North Carolina and visited several mule traders until he found a mule for sale the same size and color as the balker, which he bought and hauled to his rented farm and released in the secluded paddock with the balker.
Next morning, Richard hitched the new mule to the plow and continued plowing the field he had started plowing with the balker. The field adjoined Route 35 which Clarence drove each morning from his home to the Homeville PO, passing by Richard's peanut field. To Clarence's amazement, Richard's mule through the summer performed without balking every task required, including plowing, planting and spreading gypsum or plaster on the vines.
Fall arrived and with the mule's faithful help Richard completed the digging and shocking of the precious peanuts to await threshing. He contracted for the threshing when the peanuts were sufficiently air dried in their shocks and saved the vines for hay.
During a Setback game Clarence got a phone call. The caller was a doctor in Petersburg who also owned a large farming operation. He was in distress. In the midst of his peanut threshing, the mule he had bought from Clarence last January had dropped dead on the job while sledding shocks to the thresher. He must have a replacement.
Clarence was about to tell the doctor he had no mules when he remembered the mule he had sold Richard. Clarence covered the mouthpiece and asked, "Sell me your mule?" Richard nodded.
Clarence removed his hand from the mouthpiece and said, " I have found one and will deliver it tomorrow morning first thing." The doctor hung up.
"How much you want for the mule?" Clarence asked Richard.
Richard said twice what he had paid Clarence for the balker. "I think he is a bit better mule than when I bought him from you."
Clarence paid in greenbacks. After Clarence went up to bed and Richard could hear his snoring, Richard drove to the paddock and removed the sound mule. Next morning at breakfast he told Clarence where he could find and load the balker.
That night during the Setback game the doctor called again. Richard could hear only Clarence's side.
"He what?"
"I don't understand, Sir."
"I did not know, Sir."
"I'll find one somewhere , Sir."
Clarence hung up.
"Where in hell will I find a mule for sale now?" Clarence said.
"I know where there is one," Richard said, "But he is likely to be high."
" I will deliver him here tomorrow morning for twice what you sold the last one to the doctor for. "
In the middle of the night, Clarence woke up and realized what Richard had done to him.
+. +. +
Soon Clarence was out of business as a mule dealer, thanks to tractors.
Richard Spain went on to make a nice fortune as a timber and lumber dealer and farmer in Sussex County.
Richard was single and boarding in Clarence’s home near Homeville, Virginia.
Each evening after supper Clarence and Richard played Setback for an hour. Richard decided to acquire a mule to use to cultivate his peanut crop, and during a Setback game asked Clarence if he had a suitable mule in inventory.
It was the practice of mule dealers to import annually in winter from the West train carloads of mules for resale to farmers for the ensuing crop year. Clarence had sold most of his inventory by the time of Richard's ask, but he had one candidate and after hesitation decided to offer it to Richard . Richard asked only one question: " Is he sound? “
Clarence answered, "Yes."
Next morning Clarence took Richard to his mule lot. The mule was especially hansom and appeared fit. Richard tried to bargain the price down without success. He paid Clarence the asking price plus the price of a harness.
Later that day Richard bought a single-mule walking plow with a six-inch bottom, removed his mule from Clarence's lot, and hauled it in his stake-bed pickup to the farm he was renting near Clarence’s home.
Next morning early, Richard began to plow his peanut field. The mule pulled the plow steadily for three back-and-forth rounds, then stopped mid-field and would not move until Richard unhitched him from the plow. Then Richard walked the mule to a paddock on a remote corner of the farm, away from public road view. Richard felt sure Clarence knew the mule was a balker and likely still in inventory because returned by a buyer. On the walk to the paddock, Richard plotted his revenge.
Richard said nothing about the mule to Clarence that evening at supper or during the Setback game. The next day Richard drove to Eastern North Carolina and visited several mule traders until he found a mule for sale the same size and color as the balker, which he bought and hauled to his rented farm and released in the secluded paddock with the balker.
Next morning, Richard hitched the new mule to the plow and continued plowing the field he had started plowing with the balker. The field adjoined Route 35 which Clarence drove each morning from his home to the Homeville PO, passing by Richard's peanut field. To Clarence's amazement, Richard's mule through the summer performed without balking every task required, including plowing, planting and spreading gypsum or plaster on the vines.
Fall arrived and with the mule's faithful help Richard completed the digging and shocking of the precious peanuts to await threshing. He contracted for the threshing when the peanuts were sufficiently air dried in their shocks and saved the vines for hay.
During a Setback game Clarence got a phone call. The caller was a doctor in Petersburg who also owned a large farming operation. He was in distress. In the midst of his peanut threshing, the mule he had bought from Clarence last January had dropped dead on the job while sledding shocks to the thresher. He must have a replacement.
Clarence was about to tell the doctor he had no mules when he remembered the mule he had sold Richard. Clarence covered the mouthpiece and asked, "Sell me your mule?" Richard nodded.
Clarence removed his hand from the mouthpiece and said, " I have found one and will deliver it tomorrow morning first thing." The doctor hung up.
"How much you want for the mule?" Clarence asked Richard.
Richard said twice what he had paid Clarence for the balker. "I think he is a bit better mule than when I bought him from you."
Clarence paid in greenbacks. After Clarence went up to bed and Richard could hear his snoring, Richard drove to the paddock and removed the sound mule. Next morning at breakfast he told Clarence where he could find and load the balker.
That night during the Setback game the doctor called again. Richard could hear only Clarence's side.
"He what?"
"I don't understand, Sir."
"I did not know, Sir."
"I'll find one somewhere , Sir."
Clarence hung up.
"Where in hell will I find a mule for sale now?" Clarence said.
"I know where there is one," Richard said, "But he is likely to be high."
" I will deliver him here tomorrow morning for twice what you sold the last one to the doctor for. "
In the middle of the night, Clarence woke up and realized what Richard had done to him.
+. +. +
Soon Clarence was out of business as a mule dealer, thanks to tractors.
Richard Spain went on to make a nice fortune as a timber and lumber dealer and farmer in Sussex County.
About the Author : Tom Word
Visit authors website | View more articlesTom Word is a lawyer who represents individuals about managing their assets and for amusement writes fiction and non-fiction about bird dogs and humans obsessed with them.