David M. Cochran Jr. - Southeastern Geographer: Winter 2012 Issue

JOSEPH S. MILLER
The University of Southern Mississippi

This photograph was taken on September 24, 2011 at the Mississippi Pecan Festival during the festivals mule pull competition. The Mississippi Mule Pullers Association hosts the annual competition at the Pecan Festival, which is currently in its 25 th year in Richton, Mississippi. It features around twenty teams of mules from across the state. The rules of the event are simple: heavy weights are loaded onto a sled, and as soon as the team of mules is attached to the sled and commanded by their teamster to pull, they have three tries to pull the weight a certain distance. The team that can pull the most weight within its division is the winner. As a cover image of the Southeastern Geographer, the image represents the mule as a forgotten symbol of the Southeast, but it also shows the respect that a crowd of 4,000 spectators had on this day for these four-legged champions of the Southern farm.

The mythology of the mule has been built upon stories of poverty and strenuous work (Arnold 2008). Bred between a male donkey and a female horse, the mule has been continuously bred on account of their hybrid vigor that produces the endurance that outweighs similar work animals. Although the mule is known for its stubborn attitude, it has been a top choice for Southern farmers using plows and wagons because it can endure the blistering heat of the American South. The mule was also perfect for working cotton and tobacco crops, thus contributing to their wide distribution across the region (Arnold 2008). The mule was less likely to stomp on plants between small rows of cotton and tobacco (Garrett 1990).

While the mule might be considered a symbol of the American South, their historic predominance in the region contrasts with a preference for horses elsewhere in the country. Scholars have offered several explanations for this preference. One possibility is that horses feet are better suited for the hard pavement of streets in cities of the Northeast. Another reason might be that some European immigrant groups were prejudiced against the mule as a result of the mules historic scarcity in certain regions of Europe (Leighton 1967; Garrett 1990).

As tractors began to be widely used in the 20 th century, the mule lost its dominance on Southern farms. The mule pull of the Mississippi Pecan Festival is a reminder of the strength and skill of the mules. Not only do spectators enjoy the event, the teamsters often acknowledge the life lessons they have learned through working with mules. I had an old pair of mules when I just started, and they knew more about pulling than I did, said teamster and ex-president of the Mississippi Mule Puller Association, Marion Bentley (Bentley 2012). They will teach you how to pull.