Beasts of Burden
The unsung heroes of the Santa Fe Trail were the mules and oxen that hauled goods over the prairies and mountains. Those beasts of burden were the workers that made the Santa Fe trade profitable.
Mules are a hybrid animal, the offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. After the first mules were introduced in Missouri in the early 1820s, traders quickly recognized their value. Missouri mules worked longer and harder than horses. They were strung together in
