Mule Memories
Mick Roberts of Whitewood, SD, shares stories from his 80-plus years admiring mules.
By Kindra Gordon
Anyone around the Black Hills with a fondness for mules likely knows Mick Roberts of Whitewood, SD. At almost 88-years-old, Roberts grew up on a ranch with horses and mules and has had an affinity for the creatures ever since.
Despite his age, Roberts is still sharp-witted and hard working. He continues to live on his own on the outskirts of Whitewood and has five mules and two horses. He also still makes square bales with his old Allis Chalmers equipment.
Remembering History
Born in Rapid City in 1920, Roberts parents were ranchers out near Newell. In 1934, his dad was involved with the salebarn that was established in Whitewood, so the family moved to Whitewood.
At that time, they had 20-25 mares and raised both horses and mules (a male donkey crossed with a female horse) for the army’s cavalry. Roberts says the animals were sent to Fort Robinson and then distributed within the army from there.
One of 6 children, Roberts recalls that he and his brother were the ones who’d break the mules and horses. For the army to take them, he tells that the animals had to be 4 years old. The horses had to be geldings and had to be broke to ride. The mules could be male or female and had to be broke to drive a wagon.
Roberts says one of his most embarrassing memories was a time he had to ride one of the horses for a cavalry officer to demonstrate that it was broke to ride. He was asked to “canter,” and Roberts says, “I had no idea what canter meant. To us it was called a lope.
”By 1942, Roberts was in the army which took him to Europe and the battlefields of World War II. He is a veteran of the invasion at Sicily and then Normandy. He also served in the Korean War.
From his military service, Roberts points to a shoulder that sometimes bothers him from injuries, and says he still has a bullet in his left leg, but he shrugs that off saying, “It doesn’t bother me.”
Favorites
Roberts says one of his favorite memories goes back to 1945 when he returned home from the war in Europe just in time for the Days of 76 in Deadwood. He says, “I was still in uniform, but I didn’t have a mule team so I drove a white mule and a jersey cow through the parade on a wagon.” He adds that a photo of him and his unique “team” from that parade hangs in the Deadwood’s Days of 76 Rodeo Museum.
He also recalls when he came home to Whitewood in 1945 and says both the salebarn and high school had been moved to Sturgis.
In remembering back to his younger days, Roberts says with a smile, “I was a little wild.” He tells of Chuckwagon Racing in Deadwood and at Aksarben in Nebraska. He also tried his hand at rodeo, doing both bareback and saddle bronc.
To make his living, Roberts raised some cattle, hay, horses and mules, but he also built quite a reputation for himself as a welder. At just 5’6” and a little over 100 lbs., Roberts was especially well-suited to welding high up. He learned the craft from a man out of Rapid City. Roberts says he welded the cathedral and one of the schools in Rapid City, but he also did contract welding all over the country. He says, “The pay was much better than ranching.”
Another proud moment for Roberts was when he and his first wife Betty had their son, Jay, in 1947. Jay now lives in Deadwood. When Betty passed away, years later Roberts remarried a widow friend, Carolina. Of her, he says, “We both loved to dance.” Sadly, Carolina passed away in May 2008 after a brief battle with cancer.
Roberts continues plodding along, caring for his mules and horses and making square bales in the summer – with some help from friends and relatives.
He credits his longevity to his work – “having something to do keeps me going,” he says. He also refuses to take pills. And he likes to joke that the reason he is still here is, “because the good Lord don’t want me and the Devil’s afraid of me.
”He also finds happiness in the memories of his mules. He shares pictures and stories of each team he ever had. He tells that there are different kinds of mules, but he has always liked the really big ones. Some of his favorites included a roan set, a team from Tennessee, and his favorite of all time, a dark mule he called Sadie.
Sadie was part of a pack string Roberts had in the late 60’s when he helped guide hunters near Hamilton, MT.
Of her, Roberts says with affection that she was “the greatest mule that ever lived.” Asked why, he says she listened and minded just like a well-trained dog. He says he could tell her to do something and she just would. She lived to be 36 until he had to put her down due to her old age.
Asked how mules are similar to horses, he says, “There’s no similarity, except that they both eat.” Rather, he proudly says, “Mules are smarter than a horse.”
As an example, Roberts says you can work a horse to death, but you can’t work a mule to death. They’ll just quit because they won’t put themselves in danger.
Because a mule will stop working when they are tired, it is sometimes said mules are stubborn or lazy. But Roberts says it’s really that they are smart, and it is the mule’s way of telling people that they can’t work anymore at the moment.
What advice does Roberts give to others about mules? He says, “I tell everybody that a mule is like a girlfriend, you got to get them to like you before you go messing around (i.e. trying to get them to do something for you.”
He adds, “There are lots of spoiled mules out there. I think it’s because people abuse them, or don’t understand them. He emphasizes that just like any other well-trained animal, mules must be worked. They can’t just be out in the pasture all the time, you’ve got to ride them.”
Another thing Roberts wants people to know is that there is a misconception that you can never founder a mule. He has unfortunately had the experience of foundering two of his mules.Another favorite memory for Roberts is being a regular fixture in many a parade with his mules – either driving a team of 2 or 4 and typically pulling a stagecoach or wagon for the Cowboy Shriners from the Black Hills – a group he has been affiliated with for 55 years. Roberts drove the stagecoach with a mule team in the Days of 76 Rodeo for 27 years. He has also traveled with a mule team and the Shriners stagecoach to Canada, Denver, Minneapolis, Wyoming, Wisconsin and Michigan, and he has driven teams to carry caskets to their final resting place. This year, Roberts made his annual appearance in the Days of 76 Parade astride one of his mules.
Of his own life, Roberts agrees that he has had a good one and been blessed to live so many years. His mules have been a wonderful hobby which have allowed him to travel, make many kind friends, and feel a true kinship with animals.
He concludes, “I like mules and I guess they kind of like me.”