He's known as the father of the country and hero of the America Revolution, but George Washington has another title that is less known: Father of the Mule in America.
When he returned from the war, Washington found resources scarce and funds low. His crops had failed, too. But, he had a plan. He wanted to breed mules for American farming. A mule (the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse) could work longer on less food and water than a donkey or horse.
The problem was Washington wanted a Spanish donkey to start his herd and that was difficult to come by since Spain limited export of its high quality donkeys. Finally the U.S. charg' d'affaires in Spain let Spain's Charles III know of his desire and two donkeys were dispatched in 1785.
Only one donkey survived the trip and Washington named him Royal Gift (a name less sentimental name than that of his dog, Sweetlips) and set about creating his herd. Fifteen years later he had 60 mules.
The mules became the preferred farm animal in the American South where they were reputed to be able to plow 16 acres per day.
