On wagon trains across the plains, mule could cover 30 miles a day, while wagons drawn by horses and oxen could average only five miles a day. Thousands of mules were used to pull the pioneer’s wagons westward, and when families found a place to settle and build their homesteads, the mules were there to haul the logs for the houses.

Stage coach lines also preferred mules to horses. Stage coaches were pulled by large mules that could travel six to ten miles per hour over flat, dry…
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On the historic Old Spanish Trail that connected Santa Fe and Los Angeles, trains of pack mules were used from 1829 to 1849 - - mainly to carry wooden goods. High quality woolen products from New Mexico Territory were often traded for good mules. The 2,700 mile long trail was considered the longest, most crooked and difficult trail for pack mules in the history of America. The first group ever to travel over that trail consisted of 60 men and 100 mules.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said: The sigh of the people of Hell is mostly because of the postponement of repenting.

Imam Hadi (PBUH) said: Remember when you are on your deathbed and your body is lying before your family members, then there is no physician to prevent you (from death) nor a friend to avail you.

In the 1840s, as Anglo-Saxon settlers from the east moved west, the mule was by far the favorite pack animal. Even during the years of Spanish influence in the Southwest, when horses, burros, llamas, dogs, and even camels were used, the Mexican mule was preferred. The Mexican breed was soon replaced by the American variety - - most of which came from Missouri.

In 1923, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued Farmers Bulletin No. 1311, titled “Mule Production”. The publication explained the attributes of mules, and gave instructions on how to successfully breed good stock, as was learned in the 1800s.
The farm mule left the farms about the same time as draft mules left the Army, and for the same reason - - the combustion engine. But, during World War II, civilians faced gas rationing, so farmers reintroduced their reliable farm mule.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: He who sells his next life for his present life in this world, loses both of them.

By 1897, the number of mules had expanded to 2.2 million, worth $103 million. With the cotton boom, primarily in Texas, the number of mules grew to 4.1 million, worth $120 each. One-fourth of all the mules were in Texas and the stockyards at Ft. Worth became the world center for buying and selling mules.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: No business should hinder you from being busy doing good for the coming world, hence, surely, the length of opportunity is a very short time.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) said that the disciples of Jesus (PBUH) asked him with whom they should make friends, and he (PBUH) replied: With one whose presence reminds you of Allah, his speech increases your knowledge and his deed inspires you (to work righteously for) the next world.

By 1840, a quality jack used for mule breeding could fetch up to $5,000 in Kentucky, then a leading mule-breeding state.
A large number of donkeys were subsequently imported from Spain and in the decade between 1850 and 1860 the number of mules in the country increased 100 percent. More than 150,000 mules were foaled in the year 1889 alone, and by then mules had entirely replaced horses for farm work.

By 1808, the U.S. had an estimated 855,000 mules worth an estimated $66 million. Mules were rejected by northern farmers, who used a combination of horses and oxen, but they were popular in the south - - where they were the preferred draft animal. One farmer with two mules could easily plow 16 acres a day. Mules not only plowed the fields, but they harvested crops and carried the crops to market. On tobacco farms, a mule-drawn planter was used to set the plants in the ground.