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The Running of the Mules... Pompano, Fla

The running of the bulls...Pamplona Spain is a yearly event that involves bulls, and people. In Pamplona the bulls run down narrow city streets behind men and boys who try to keep out of their way to keep from being gored, or trampled and they do this for fun.
Pompano had the running of the mules for another reason: to transfer mules from one place to another.

At the corner of N.E. 6th St. and Flagler Ave, the Florida East Coast Railroad had a “Mule Lot”. It was built many years ago to handle the rather large business of livestock being shipped into this area, mainly for the farming industry. “Mule Daniels” was the primary shipper of mules to this area. They were shipped mostly from Tennessee and arrived in Pompano in groups of three or four “Cattle Cars” or livestock cars. Each car carried about twenty or so mules depending on their size.

I had an advantage others didn’t have. My Dad worked for the railroad and he knew exactly when the mules would be arriving. I got the job of pumping water for them after they were unloaded. They usually arrived on a Saturday so they could be fed and watered and calmed down and then led through town on Sunday when the traffic would be lightest to the lot located on S. Dixie Highway where the east and west Dixie Highway meet.

Back then the east road was just a rock road. The mules were penned there, sold and then carried to various places. All my friends wanted to pump water for the Mules. They could drink more water than a thirsty elephant. It was an “Achy Breaky Arm” job, but being the “Head Pumper” I quickly discovered that my friends were willing to pay for the privilege of pumping water for the mules. I allowed them to pump to their hearts content for a mere ten cents. This not only gave me movie money, but gave me a break from a very tiring job. My friend “Stumpy” Maddox even paid for his turn with two five cent deposit milk bottles, which were as good as cash in the local stores.

“Mule Daniels” brought several men along with a couple of horses to move the mules. Mules, being a cross between a Jack Ass and a horse were a hy-bred that could not reproduce. They were very docile, and it was said that every mule thought every horse was his or her mother and would follow them. Each mule was fitted with a woven hemp bridle or halter, but did not have a bit for the mouth. These halters had a five foot lead and as each mule was caught-up, four of them were tied together. One man would lead two groups of four mules. When all the mules were haltered and tied together, which was almost as good as a rodeo, for some of these mules had never been fully broken, the horses were moved out and were standing by waiting for the gates to be opened. The procession of mules and men could then begin. They would cross the tracks at 6th St. and proceed south along the tracks to the lot on S. Dixie. The trickiest part was the bridge across the Pompano Canal. This was where the horses would be most valuable, as the mules should just follow them across.

When all was ready and the gates were opened, I was just leaving the pump . Suddenly “DO-DO” Smith let out a whoop and hollered loud as he could “HOT DOG! THE MULES ARE LOOSE!” Sure enough when the mules were led out of the pen there were a couple of unbroken mules that spooked, jerked their heads up and got away from their handler and headed south on Flagler towards town. The rest of the mules followed suit and they began running. The handlers were shouting and this added to the confusion. We boys began to run after the mules. Some of them ran across the tracks, some down the tracks and some just finally stopped running and began to graze.

“Stumpy” Maddox lived just south of 6TH St. on Dixie highway. Two of the groups of mules were running down the sidewalk, and they turned into his yard. There they proceeded to trample down his mother’s flower garden. But the worst thing was that one of the group of mules, still being tied together, ran through his side yard and straddled a young Mango tree growing there. Their halters caught in the branches of the tree and pulled it up by the roots. Then they really went wild with those branches in their faces and the trunk and roots flailing away. If those halters had not broken and let those mules free there is no telling what they would have done.

When Mrs. Maddox got home from church, she just could not figure out what had wrecked her yard. “Stumpy” said later he wasn’t sure she really believed what happened, even after he showed her the mule tracks up and down the street. There were mules being chased by the handlers and by us boys, and we weren’t helping the situation. The mules eventually began to tire and to slow down. The horse riders then could approach them and get them tied back together and hold them until a handler could get to them. They didn’t trust us boys to hold them, and I suppose they were justified in not doing so. It had taken a couple or three hours to get the mules all back together and started on their way to the lot. The last brace of mules was found eating grass on the banks of the Pompano canal over by THE MEN AND BOYS ARE BEHIND THE MULES.
And this was the way we had the RUNNING OF THE MULES IN POMPANO.