414 LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

disguises friT*) with a new name and a new complexion, and rings him
in again.

The riders dress in full jockey costumes of bright-coloured silks,
satins, and velvets.

The thirteen mules got away in a body, after a couple of false
starts, and scampered off with prodigious spirit. As each mule and
each rider had a distinct opinion of his own as to how the race ought
to be run, and which side of the track was best in certain circum-
stances, and how often the track ought to be crossed, and when a
collision ought to be accomplished, and when it ought to be avoided

ABSENCE OF TT ARMORY.

these twenty-six conflicting opinions created a most fantastic and
picturesque confusion, and the resulting spectacle was killingly
comical,
Mile heat ; time 2*22. Eight of the thirteen mules distanced. I
had a bet on a mule which would have won if the procession had
been reversed. The second heat was good fun ; and so was the * con-
solation race for beaten mules,* which followed later; but the first
heat was the best in that respect.
I think that much the most enjoyable of all races is a steamboat
race ; but, next to that, I prefer the gay and joyous mule-rush. Two