Brother Hawthorne Responds

Dear Readers, Brother Hawthorne checks out my blog about once a month. Every now and then something catches his eye. He liked my post about the Freedman's Colony. I updated it here. He also liked my post about the Heroes of Pea Island Live Saving Station. He likes history-oriented posts. I recently posted about the Tank Museum in Danville, Va. BH actually called me, practically apoplectic about the inaccuracies he found in the harnessing of those pitiful equines. I'm frantically scrambling to get pen to paper. I write this: BH: "Pole between the hitchamadoodle. Neck yoke should go in front. Catch upside down. Pole inverted. Neck yoke behind catchadoodle." At least that's what I freakin' heard. I'm mired in the technical terms.

Apparently, what Brother Hawthorne actually said, was this:

Enjoyed Blog on the A.A.F. Tank Museum.. When I was in the service I was Tank Commander on 3 of those on display-M-41,M-48, & M-60.. The only thing I saw that was not correct in the museum was in the display of the team of shaggy horses pulling the Gatling Gun..It was set up with the tongue or Pole upside down.. The neck yoke stop (which is metal attachment about a foot from front of pole) is there to hold the gun or wagon back when going downhill- they have neck yoke behind it & stop is on top-not bottom so it can`t work ! Of course only a true Muleskinner would notice something like that. Next time you are here I`ll explain & show you how the britchen is held by the quarter straps,which through the pole strap attaches to the breast straps then to the neck yoke which has to be in front of the neck yoke stop in order to hold wagon back.. Hope this is as clear as that Muddy Stream we got stuck in last January.

Brother Hawthorne AKA The Carolina Muleskinner

And rightchere is the Muddy Stream of which the Carolina Muleskinner speaks. Thank you, Brother Hawthorne. Good times, as always.