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country, he would be on the back action available to work the brake. From the trailer, armed with a can of small rocks, he could pelt an inattentive mule and send it back to work. Both men were responsible for readying the team, feeding and watering of the mules, and any veterinary care or repairs that needed to be done. There was a mid-day stop to feed and water the mules in harness. The night stops had corrals and feed boxes for the mules. A day's travel averaged about 17 miles (27 km), varying slightly from leg to leg. It took about ten days to make a trip one way. Cabins were constructed by the company for use of drivers and swampers at the night stops.
182:
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287:, two articles discussed freight operations in the Mojave with specific details on the use of mules and horses. In "Of Myths and Men: Separating Fact from Fiction in the Twenty Mule Team Story", author Ted Fave discussed how the teams were assembled, trained, and used. "Nadeau's Freighting Teams in the Mojave", based on Remi Nadeau's historic accomplishments hauling freight throughout the desert region, gives further insight as to the superiority of mules for general use.
257:. Water supplies were refilled at springs along the way, as it was not possible to carry enough water for the entire trip. Feed and water for the return trip were dispersed at camps along the road by outbound teams from Mojave pulling empty borax wagons. At one point on the route an additional 500-US-gallon (1,900 L) wagon was added to the outbound train to take water to a dry camp, which was used by a return team and the cycle repeated.
25:
283:, the two closest to the wagon. They were ridden by one of the two men generally required to operate the wagons and were typically larger than their mule brethren. They had great brute strength for starting the wagons moving and could withstand the jarring of the heavy wagon tongue, but the mules were smarter and better suited to work in desert conditions. In the
524:
Mojave over 165 miles of mountain and desert trail. A round trip required 20 days. The ore wagons, which hauled a payload of 24 tons, were designed by J. W. S. Perry, Borax
Company superintendent in Death Valley, and built in Mojave at a cost of $ 900 each. New borax discoveries near Barstow ended the Mojave shipments in 1889.
523:
Just west of this point was the
Southern Pacific terminus for the 20-mule-team borax wagons that operated between Death Valley and Mojave from 1884 to 1889. The route ran from the Harmony Borax Mining Company works, later acquired by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, to the railroad loading dock in
318:
Joe
Zentner wrote of the origins of the advertising campaign on the Desert USA website in "Twenty Mule Teams on the move in Death Valley". Bill Parkinson, formerly a night watchman for the company, had to learn quickly how to drive the team when he was given the role of "Borax Bill". He was the
314:
in
September 1939. Smith was a great promoter and sent drivers out with jerk-line teams to major U.S. cities to promote the company's laundry product with free samples. The exhibition teams were typically mules for the promotion value, but Smith explained that in actual use, wheel horses were a
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The teamster drove the team with a single long rein, known as a "jerk line", and the aid of a long blacksnake whip. The teamster usually rode the left wheeler, but he could also drive from the trailer seat, working the brake on steep descents. The swamper usually rode the trailer, but in hilly
365:
that included many details about the history of the team and the preparation for the Rose Parade outing. There is a photo of Borax Bill driving the team down
Broadway in New York City with bells on every animal. Most of the time, only the leaders wore bells. Another picture shows the team in
241:
wagon beds measured 16 feet (4.9 m) long by 6 feet (1.8 m) deep, and weighed 7,800 pounds (3,500 kg) empty. Due to their rugged construction, none ever broke down in transit. The first wagon was the trailer, the second was "the tender" or the "back action", and the tank wagon
358:, parade. The company spent $ 100,000, refitting the 115-year-old wagons and obtaining harnesses and mules for the performance. There were no plans for additional public appearances for advertising purposes, as the company no longer had a retail product line.
350:
In 1958, a twenty-mule team made a symbolic haul out of the new pit at U.S. Borax, commemorating the transition from underground to open-pit mining. Other appearances for twenty-mule teams included
President Wilson's inauguration in 1917.
218:
and his brother had shipped their company's borax in a 30-ton load using two large wagons, with a third wagon for food and water, drawn by a 24-mule team over a 160-mile (260 km) stretch of desert between
831:
Proceedings Fifth Death Valley
Conference on History and Prehistory: Remi Nadeau's Freighting Teams in the Southern Mining Camps; Of Myths and Men: Separating Fact from Fiction in the Twenty-Mule Team Story
339:
mentioned that two of the original borax wagons were en route to the New York World's Fair. The item followed with the note that muleskinner "Borax Bill" Parkinson had driven an original wagon from
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The teams hauled more than 20 million pounds (9,100 t) of borax out of Death Valley in the six years of operation, with
Pacific Coast Borax shipping their borax by train starting in 1898.
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The twenty-mule-team wagons were designed to carry 10 short tons (9.1 tonnes) of borax ore at a time. The rear wheels were seven feet (2.1 m) high, and fitted with 1-inch-thick (25 mm)
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The team eventually made its way to New York City, parading down
Broadway. After that showing, the mules were sold, and the wagons shipped back to California. The mules also appeared at the
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668:
Of Myths and Men: Separating Fact from
Fiction in the Twenty Mule Team Story, by Ted Faye, Proceedings Fifth Death Valley Conference on History and Prehistory
200:
192:
310:, who came to be known as "Borax Smith", founded Pacific Borax. Cora Keagle recounted his history in an article, "Buckboard Days in Borate", published in
370:
in 1917. This picture clearly shows the teamster on a horse. Another historic picture shows a working borax freight team with a mix of horses and mules.
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The water tank held 1,200 US gallons (4,500 L), and supplied the mules with water en route. There were water barrels on the wagons for the
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154:. After Harmony and Amargosa shut down in 1888, the mule team's route was moved to the mines at Borate, 3 miles (5 km) east of
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in 1917, spending two years on the journey. The mule team also made periodic re-enactment appearances on hauls into Death Valley.
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Promotional team appearances ended with an outing in the January 1, 1999, Rose Parade. The team had a shakedown outing in a 1998
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containing water brought up the rear. With the mules, the caravan stretched over 180 feet (55 m). When loaded with
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512:. California Historical Landmark status was given on July 1, 1958. A Twenty-mule team was used to haul the ore.
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the total weight of the mule train, wagons and all, was 73,200 pounds (33,200 kg; 36.6 short tons).
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was the maiden appearance for the team and was such a success that Parkinson went on tour.
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standard practice. Outside contractors hauling for the company typically used mixed teams.
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Borax Twenty Mule Team takes its final ride, Engineering and Mining Journal, Feb 1999
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Borax Twenty Mule Team takes its final ride, Engineering and Mining Journal, Feb 1999
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The wagons were among the largest ever pulled by draft animals, designed to carry 10
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is "about 360 miles" whereas today the distance on modern roads is about 160 miles.
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In 1877, six years before twenty-mule teams would be introduced into Death Valley,
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dedication, according to "The Last Ride, the Borax Twenty Mule Team 1883–1999".
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Desert Magazine, April 1953, Life on the Desert, as told to Ernest K. Allen
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Desert Magazine, "Giant Wagons of Death Valley," by Richard A. Bloomquist
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https://www.scribd.com/doc/2402801/196109-Desert-Magazine-1961-September
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ohp.parks.ca.gov, CHL No. 652 Mojave 20-Mule Team Borax Terminus - Kern
753:"Desert Magazine 1940 June | PDF | Arizona | New Mexico"
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https://www.scribd.com/doc/2404078/197011-Desert-Magazine-1970-November
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number 652. Mule Team Borax Terminus was located at what is now 16246
833:. Community Printing and Publishing, Bishop, California 93514. 1999.
166:
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https://www.scribd.com/doc/2403536/195304-Desert-Magazine-1953-April
657:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/2095338/194006-Desert-Magazine-1940-June
571:. Vol. 37, no. 12. September 22, 1877. pp. 184–185.
303:"Borax Smith", borax magnate and promoter of the "twenty-mule team"
285:
Proceedings Fifth Death Valley Conference on History and Prehistory
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987:
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Desert Magazine, Life on the Desert, as told to Ernest K. Allen
146:. The routes were from the Harmony and Amargosa Borax Works to
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20-Mule Borax Teams on the Move in Death Valley, DesertUSA.com
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20-Mule Borax Teams on the Move in Death Valley, DesertUSA.com
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http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5382/is_/ai_n21436005
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Here and There on the Desert, p. 37 (manuscript page number)
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Buckboard Days in Borate, Desert Magazine, September 1939
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first, but not the last, driver known by that name. The
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The Last Ride, the Borax Twenty Mule Team 1883 - 1999
917:
Mule Team Kits - the History Behind the Scale Model
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Death Valley & The Amargosa: A Land of Illusion
803:"CHL # 652 Mojave 20-Mule Team Borax Terminus Kern"
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The Last Ride, the Borax Twenty Mule Team 1883–1999
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The Last Ride, the Borax Twenty Mule Team 1883–1999
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361:U.S. Borax put out a paperback publication titled
768:Desert Magazine September 1961, by Lucille Weight
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581:. The article states that the distance between
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541:California Historical Landmarks in Kern County
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740:http://www.desertusa.com/mag05/jul/borax.html
82:For information on the cleaning product, see
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517:California State Historical Landmark reads:
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333:A short item in the June 1940 edition of
89:For the film starring Wallace Beery, see
68:Learn how and when to remove this message
392:20 Mule Team Terminus: Sign in Mojave,CA
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185:Twenty-mule-team wagons on display in
142:spur, 165 miles (266 km) away in
130:from 1883 to 1898. They traveled from
16:Transport of borax across Death Valley
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807:www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com
434:35.0569694444444°N 118.174927777778°W
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18:
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439:35.0569694444444; -118.174927777778
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867:. University of California Press.
713:Keagle, Cora L. (September 1939).
647:The History Behind the Scale Model
45:raw URLs and mixed citation style.
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603:"Borax: The Twenty Mule Team"
565:"American Borax Production".
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536:Pacific Coast Borax Company
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321:1904 St. Louis World's Fair
160:Borate and Daggett Railroad
43:. The specific problem is:
10:
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972:Death Valley National Park
715:"Buckboard Days in Borate"
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173:) of borax ore at a time.
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861:Lingenfelter, Richard E.
498:Mule Team Borax Terminus
466:Mule Team Borax Terminus
274:Death Valley, California
187:Death Valley, California
102:Death Valley, California
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110:were teams of eighteen
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1067:Death Valley Railroad
609:on September 25, 2008
381:20 Mule Team Terminus
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204:The carriage assembly
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1021:Death Valley pupfish
996:Amargosa springsnail
308:Francis Marion Smith
272:Twenty-mule team in
216:Francis Marion Smith
100:Twenty-mule team in
50:improve this article
39:to meet Knowledge's
1183:Devil's Golf Course
1077:Harmony Borax Works
1062:Death Valley '49ers
1031:Devils Hole pupfish
853:. U.S. Borax. 1999.
568:Scientific American
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341:Oakland, California
211:Scientific American
148:Daggett, California
510:Mojave, California
479:Reference no.
407:Mojave, California
328:Golden Gate Bridge
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295:Promotion and fame
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118:attached to large
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84:20 Mule Team Borax
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587:Wadsworth, Nevada
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225:Wadsworth, Nevada
122:that transported
108:Twenty-mule teams
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41:quality standards
32:This article may
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58:February 2024
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1289:California:
1173:Darwin Falls
1168:Dante's View
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968:Death Valley
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723:. Retrieved
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607:the original
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196:The vehicles
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150:, and later
128:Death Valley
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91:20 Mule Team
79:
64:
55:
48:Please help
44:
33:
632:, June 1940
437: /
425:118°10′30″W
413:Coordinates
171:metric tons
134:across the
52:if you can.
1342:Categories
1082:Lake Manly
1072:Greenwater
1011:Chuckwalla
552:References
471:Designated
422:35°03′25″N
167:short tons
913:June 1940
1310:Nevada:
1234:Rhyolite
1143:Ballarat
1057:Badwater
988:minerals
883:7709278M
863:(1986).
725:June 20,
577:26062263
530:See also
398:Location
281:wheelers
253:and the
251:teamster
140:railroad
114:and two
34:require
1383:Borates
1045:History
255:swamper
177:History
126:out of
36:cleanup
1363:Wagons
1327:SR 374
1322:SR 373
1317:SR 267
1301:SR 190
1296:SR 178
1291:SR 127
1148:Beatty
1128:Valley
1112:Places
1092:Skidoo
881:
871:
837:
575:
401:16246
156:Calico
144:Mojave
120:wagons
116:horses
1312:US 95
1264:Trona
1192:Dunes
1124:River
1006:Borax
984:flora
980:Fauna
573:JSTOR
500:is a
343:, to
235:tires
132:mines
124:borax
112:mules
986:and
970:and
869:ISBN
835:ISBN
727:2022
615:2008
585:and
496:The
264:Team
232:iron
223:and
482:778
244:ore
239:oak
169:(9
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