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Your 20 Mule Team™ is an accurate I/67th scale DRIVING THE 20 MULE Team
model and authentic replica of the great twenty mule The mules were all selected for their intelligence and were
team wagon train of Pacific Coast Borax Company trained to answer to their names. Commands were given
(now U.S. Borax) which, over 100 years ago, hauled by the driver or "skinner." He controlled his team by
borax across the blistering deserts of Death Valley. shouting orders, calling the mules by name, and by means
These great mule teams traveled 162 miles from of a long "jerk" line. The "skinner" rode the "nigh-wheel"
Furnace Creek in Death Valley to Mojave, (left hand) mule. He held the "jerk" line which was 120
California; and from the mines at Old Borate to feet long. It ran through rings on the harness of the nigh
Dagget, the nearest railroad points. Their routes animals up to the leader. A light iron rod called a jockey
carried them over some of the most forbidding land stick, with a snap hook on each end, connected the
on the face of the earth. leaders. One end of it was fastened to the chin strap of the
There was not a single house or any other sign of "off" (right hand) mule. The other end was fastened to the
habitation along the Death Valley trail. One stretch hame ring on the offside of the nigh mule. A steady pull on
of 60 miles was without water. In the summer, the line caused the team to go to the left. A jerk turned
temperatures ranged from 136 degrees to 150 them to the right. Hence the name "jerk" line.
degrees. THE 20 MULE TEAM™ DRIVER OR "SKINNER"
The twenty mule teams could cover from 16 to 18 The driver had to know his mules and to be able to handle
miles a day. Camp was made on the desert floor each them under all conditions. He had to be a practical
night. The one-way trip, from mine to railroad point, veterinarian to take care of them when they got sick, a
took about ten days. blacksmith to replace any shoes that came off, and
THE BORAX WAGONS something of a wheelwright to make any needed repairs.
The borax wagons, said to be the largest and One of the best drivers was Bill Parkinson, better known
strongest of their kind, were built in Mojave, as "Borax Bill." He had a most eloquent vocabulary to
California. The rear wheels were 7 feet high. The awaken the necessary amount of energy in balky mules.
front wheels, 5 feet high. Each wheel had steel tires 8 On occasion, he backed up his verbal commands with a
inches wide and 1 inch thick. The spokes of split oak, long black-snake whip.
measured 5 ½ inches wide at the hub and 4 inches THE "SWAMPER"
wide at the point. The axles were made of solid steel The driver's assistant was called a "swamper" and his
bars, 3 ½ inch square. The wagon beds were 16 feet duties were numerous. In going up grades, he had to get
long, 4 feet wide and 6 feet deep. out and walk beside the team. In going down grades, he
The two wagons held 25 tons, or a carload, of operated the brake on the rear wagon. When the train
ulexite, the borax ore. Two of them, together with a made camp, he assisted in unhooking and unharnessing the
trailer tank wagon that carried 1200 gallons of water, mules and in feeding them. He gathered fuel for the fire,
constituted a train. Each borax wagon weighed 7800 cooked the meals and washed the dishes.
pounds, and the combined weight of the two, loaded, The building of railroads to all portions of the Great West
(exclusive of hay, grain, and other provisions) was rapidly limited the necessity for the "twenty mule teams".
more than 60,000 pounds. However, there is no Before long the 20 Mule Team™ wagon train and "Borax
record that one of them ever broke down on the trail Bill" were relics of the past. They did, however, perform
during the many years they were in service. an interesting and useful part in the service of man and the
development of our country.