The influence of the mammoth jack on Kentucky's mule-breeding industry could explain something I remember from the 1970's when I most recently lived in your fair commonwealth.

There was a weekly TV show called something like "On The Road With Byron Crawford". Mr. Crawford travelled the state in search of colorful characters and stories to feature on his weekly telecasts. In this particular case, Mr. Crawford had heard that a delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture from the nation of Colombia was in Kentucky for the purpose of buying mules.

Mr. Crawford was able to track down the Colombians, but attempts at an interview were initially frustrated by the fact that the Ag experts did not speak English and the interpreter did not seem to know much about mules. It did not help that the interpreter kept referring to the animals as "jackasses".

Finally, the interpreter explained why they had travelled such a great distance to buy mules. "Kentucky mules are highly valued", he said, "because of their size". When asked to elaborate, the interpreter said "It is no secret that some of the biggest jackasses in the world come from Kentucky". Mr. Crawford suggested that he might have asked one question too many.

At any rate, the influence of the mammoth jackmight have created the size that so impressed the Colombians.

Ben Breeding
Seabrook, Texas

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