Celebrate Matanzas Mule Day Every April 27
What the heck is a Matanzas Mule you ask? This poor animal was apparently the sole casualty of a battle during the Spanish-American War.
So his (or her?) sacrifice is remembered as Matanzas Mule Day.
On April 27, 1898 American naval forces bombarded the village of Matanzas in Cuba. They weren’t too effective, because only the mule died.
As the story goes, he was buried with full military honors. A band was playing and he had hundreds of mourners.
Some people claim it was all just made up, intended to humiliate the Americans.
Although according to a story in the New York Times on August 5, 1898 (reprinted from The London Globe), a Chief Officer Smalls claims to have attended the funeral of the mule.
Whether true or not, this mule’s memory now lives forever, celebrated annually on April 27.
Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this unofficial holiday.
How to Celebrate Matanzas Mule Day
Well, this probably isn’t really a “celebrate” kind of day. More like a “what an interesting story” kind of day.
So there you go. Now you know the story.
Or most of it, at least. Apparently there were poems/songs written about the mule:
They marshaled men of every rank,
They summoned muffled drums to roll,
They called the merchant from the bank,
They caused the church’s bell to toll.
And slowly to his grave they passed,
Obeying every martial rule,
And there with tears they took a last
Long look at that bombarded mule.
Wrapped in the flag he served so well,
Amid a cloud of smoke he sank;
“The slain”–by tons of shot and shell–
Went under with a round of blank.
And then there’s this:
That Matanzas Mule
Louis Harrison
The mule stood on Matanzas shore,
And each true Yankee sailor
Shrieked, “Make it hot with shell and shot,
He looks like General Weyler.”
A gunner on the brave New York
Said, “Now, by Spanish Sancho,
All hands keep cool; I think that mule
Is Governor General Blanco.”
Quoth the Cincinnati’s pilot,
“That mule is Blanco’s master;
I’ve been to Spain, and to me it’s plain,
He looks like old Sagasta.”
The captain of the Puritan
Said, “Boys, now make him vanish;
At sea all mules look alike to me,
Especially when they’re Spanish.”
A red-hot shot went to the spot,
Which made that mule go on so
That he fell down and cracked his crown,
As will later King Alfonso.
[…] Matanzas Mule Day: Take a moment to remember the poor mule killed in Matanzas, Cuba during the Spanish-American War. Or so the story goes … […]