Nothing Can Stop the Net

[Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>]

Mule Power Used to Install Fiber-Optic Cable 

February 10, 1997
11.54 a.m. (1654 GMT)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- No manner of modern mechanical technology could
get over or around the rugged terrain confronting electricians trying to install
fiber optic cable through the Ozarks. 

So they shifted their sights from high-tech to low-tech and hired Festus, Jake,
Red and I.B. -- four Missouri mules -- to string 40 miles of cable through
southwestern Missouri. 

"Today's thought is `fast and done quick and make the big money,"' said mule
skinner James King, who works the mules for B&L Electrical Contractors. "A
lot of people have forgot the fastest way to get through the country is on a
mule or a horse." 

Even through city traffic, the mules are getting the job done. 

The idea first came about when Empire District Electric Co. was looking for
contractors to install fiber optic cable. The cable was to run along the path of a
power line strung in 1912. More than 80 years later, it was deemed
inaccessible to vehicles in most places because of steep hills, trees or other
impediments, such as chain-link fences. 

B&L submitted a bid based on doing the work with mules. The estimate was
tricky since the company had never used mules. And if they couldn't do the
job, a backup plan would have cost much more. 

"This is extremely rugged terrain. You couldn't get any motorized vehicles in
there," said Clint Lam, manager of B&L. "You could build a road through
there, but cost-wise, it would be so expensive." 

Empire didn't know the estimate was based on mule power. But when they
learned of the idea, it seemed logical, said Darrell Wilson, Empire's
telecommunications foreman. He told colleagues at a recent training seminar
about the mules' success. 

"Everybody thought I was joking," Wilson said. "They thought I meant an
ATV, some mechanical 4-wheel drive. They didn't really think it was a
four-legged animal. They were a little surprised when I said, `No, I mean a real
mule."' 

The mule skinners hook one end of the cable to an overhead pole and knot the
other end to a mule's saddle. Then the animal pulls. 

All-terrain vehicles are prone to tipping on uneven surfaces, while mules are
sure-footed and can jump creeks or chain-link fences. In fact, they worked so
well in the rough stuff, they were kept on even when the line reached
Springfield, the state's third-largest metropolitan area. 

"I think we're going to try to vote in a new position in our contract for mule
skinner," crew foreman John Agee joked. 

Dr. Melvin Bradley, of Columbia, a retired University of Missouri professor
and an expert on mules, was not surprised to learn of the mules' success. 

"The mule will go places, over banks and rough terrain and stand up and be
able to pull that cable through where horses will have trouble," he said. 

Festus, at 1,250 pounds the largest of the crew, drew curious glances from
motorists as he and skinner King recently hauled cable through exhaust-stained
snowbanks near a busy city intersection. Festus wasn't fazed, though he was a
bit trailer-sick from the 30-mile commute from Galena. 

"This is his first day on the job," the hard-hatted King said from the saddle
where he wraps the rope or cable being pulled by the mule. Festus can tow up
to 14,000 feet of cable, a load weighing more than 1 ton. 

Some people who saw the mules at work didn't know exactly what they were,
which King found remarkable. After all, mules were made Missouri's state
animal in 1995. 

"`Look, ma -- it's a horse!"' King said, mimicking what he's heard from
children passing the work crew. "It's a good old Missouri mule."