During the Indian wars in the American southwest, mules set a number of endurance records. In 1882, a company of scouts and one pack train, loaded 200 pounds on a mule and left the San Carlos agency in Arizona on a three-day march. In those three days, the mule had covered 280 miles. Another pack train covered 108 miles in 16 hours - - while a third had traveled 85 miles in desert heat in just 12 hours.

The Holy Prophet (S) said: During the third part of every night and on the night before Friday from the beginning (until the break of dawn) Allah sends an angel unto the sky of the earth in order to call: Is there any needy who asks that I may bestow upon him his need? Is there any repentant one that I may return to him? Is there any seeker of forgiveness that I may forgive him?

Western explorers and trailblazers knew the benefit of choosing a good mule and taking care of it. In choosing a mule, most figured it called for more thought than in choosing a wife. As for taking good care of a mule, which could mean life or death in the unexplored regions, one mountaineer wrote: “live on intimate terms of brother-explorer with your mule”.

Many western towns were originally laid out with extremely wide streets to allow mule teams to turn around.

The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) told Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib (PBUH): O Ali! Blessed is he who Allah looks upon while he is weeping for the sin that none is aware of except Allah.

Imam Ali (PBUH) said: How numerous procrastinators there are who postpone (repenting and doing good deeds) until when death overtakes them!

Imam al-Baqir (PBUH) said: He who repents of his sins is as the one who has not any (burden of) sin.

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.