Mules and donkeys were used extensively in mines to move heavy laden ore carts.
8 thoughts on “Future industrial power?”
my grandfather kept mules even though he owned a nice ford tractor.
he said they where better at somethings than tractor ever could be.
and they lived their lives out on the farm after he passed on.
they loved carrots. I remember that about them and my uncle used to let us kids
ride them. they where safer than the horses according to my dad for us kids to ride.
Had mules in the coal mines here in the day. The old minors said that once the mules went in the mines they rarely ever came back out.
I meant “MINERS”
we knew that was miners, and we likewise damn spellcheck
The Empire Mine in Grass Valley, CA, with shafts as deep as 6,000 feet, had as many as 44 mules working underground. They were stabled underground and were treated very well. Abusing them was a firing offense. Many of the mules would spend their entire lives underground as sudden exposure to sunlight could cause blindness. Many of the miners would bring them treats of apples and carrots.
My dad started working in the coal mine in Pennsylvania in 1920 at 8 years of age. His family moved to Ohio to work in the mines for more money. He handled the mules. He said the company told him take care of the mules if they get hurt we have to buy a mule but a man can be replaced. He died in 1984 of black lung . Breathing coal dust for 50 years.
When I was 3yo, one day I went for a bit of a wander, as kids do. I discovered four older children throwing small stones at a tethered donkey, making the poor animal buck and kick. Well my little arse was offended at the unfairness of that and I told them to stop it.
You can imagine their reaction to being told what to do by a toddler, “You’re not the boss of us!” When they resumed their pelting, I moved to stop them. Just what I thought I would do to achieve that hadn’t entered my head, and I never got any farther in my policing, as I’d moved behind the donkey to try and stop the bad boys.
You can imagine just what a mistake that was, as I immediately found out what it was like to fly! That animal used both rear hooves to launch me through the air and I landed heavily some metres away. The kids took a look, then fled, as they thought that I was dead, and they’d be blamed for it.
That I probably folded like a rag doll would have saved me from real injury, so it was mostly severe bruising from the hooves, and a few scratches from the impact after reentry from low orbit that was the outcome, plus pain and copious tears.
When she saw that I wasn’t going to die, mum just put me to bed early and gave me a lecture about moving around animals like donkeys and horses, especially not approaching their hindquarters. Not that I hadn’t learned a lesson, thanks mum!
I worked in a chemical plant that was so old it still had an intact mule barn, but sadly no longer any mules in it. Apparently back in the day (probably up until the 40’s or so) it was easier to lift equipment with a team of mules and block and tackle than it was to maneuver a crane into place to make the lift.
In the 90’s some people I know went to China to help supervise the construction of a new chemical plant there. Apparently in China, it was easier to arrange about 200 chinamen on a rope with block and tackle to lift equipment than it was to maneuver a crane into place. Different worlds.
my grandfather kept mules even though he owned a nice ford tractor.
he said they where better at somethings than tractor ever could be.
and they lived their lives out on the farm after he passed on.
they loved carrots. I remember that about them and my uncle used to let us kids
ride them. they where safer than the horses according to my dad for us kids to ride.
Had mules in the coal mines here in the day. The old minors said that once the mules went in the mines they rarely ever came back out.
I meant “MINERS”
we knew that was miners, and we likewise damn spellcheck
The Empire Mine in Grass Valley, CA, with shafts as deep as 6,000 feet, had as many as 44 mules working underground. They were stabled underground and were treated very well. Abusing them was a firing offense. Many of the mules would spend their entire lives underground as sudden exposure to sunlight could cause blindness. Many of the miners would bring them treats of apples and carrots.
My dad started working in the coal mine in Pennsylvania in 1920 at 8 years of age. His family moved to Ohio to work in the mines for more money. He handled the mules. He said the company told him take care of the mules if they get hurt we have to buy a mule but a man can be replaced. He died in 1984 of black lung . Breathing coal dust for 50 years.
When I was 3yo, one day I went for a bit of a wander, as kids do. I discovered four older children throwing small stones at a tethered donkey, making the poor animal buck and kick. Well my little arse was offended at the unfairness of that and I told them to stop it.
You can imagine their reaction to being told what to do by a toddler, “You’re not the boss of us!” When they resumed their pelting, I moved to stop them. Just what I thought I would do to achieve that hadn’t entered my head, and I never got any farther in my policing, as I’d moved behind the donkey to try and stop the bad boys.
You can imagine just what a mistake that was, as I immediately found out what it was like to fly! That animal used both rear hooves to launch me through the air and I landed heavily some metres away. The kids took a look, then fled, as they thought that I was dead, and they’d be blamed for it.
That I probably folded like a rag doll would have saved me from real injury, so it was mostly severe bruising from the hooves, and a few scratches from the impact after reentry from low orbit that was the outcome, plus pain and copious tears.
When she saw that I wasn’t going to die, mum just put me to bed early and gave me a lecture about moving around animals like donkeys and horses, especially not approaching their hindquarters. Not that I hadn’t learned a lesson, thanks mum!
I worked in a chemical plant that was so old it still had an intact mule barn, but sadly no longer any mules in it. Apparently back in the day (probably up until the 40’s or so) it was easier to lift equipment with a team of mules and block and tackle than it was to maneuver a crane into place to make the lift.
In the 90’s some people I know went to China to help supervise the construction of a new chemical plant there. Apparently in China, it was easier to arrange about 200 chinamen on a rope with block and tackle to lift equipment than it was to maneuver a crane into place. Different worlds.