Served 35 Years At Hard Labor At Wsp ... ?? Wsp ??

The caption reads "Served 35 Years at Hard Labor at WSP".

So what's a "WSP"?

Washington State Penitentiary? Wisconsin State Penitentiary? Wyoming State Penitentiary?

Or, is it the name of a town, eg, Waukegan, Weehawken ...

Or, is it the name of a prison, eg, Wallace, Webster, Whanker ...

Or (just to be a little less AmeriCentric) might it be Womballa, Wyalong, Waldeye, Waddamana, Weegena ...

The card is an RPP. The back is entirely blank (no logo, no imprint, no nothing).

Q/ Can anyone recognize the scene? The vegetation? The donkey/mule?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Looks like the mule served 35 years at Hard Labor. photo circa early 1910s .... pre WWI

My best guess: Washington State Penitentiary

I have been setting-aside penal cards - mostly of city jails - wondering whether/not it is a topic that would sustain my interest.

Where do these fit into your stash, oldguy? Prisons? Washington? Fences?

I would put this in with the penal cards. The mule looks like it was sentenced to life. The first card above (sepia) would make a nice match if you can find one. The two cards look like they may have been taken at the same time.

Horses average 25 to 30 years. Thanks to hybrid vigor, mules and hinnies may live 30 to 40 years (and sometimes up to 50), with a comparably longer working life than that of a horse.

www.ruralheritage.com/.../mule_compare.htm


If the W.S.P does indeed indicate a prison, looks like he got pretty close to a life sentence, or Job, more likely. What crime could the Mule have perpetrated in his foal hood? :)

If you look below the mule's head, you will see a white gate-like structure at the end of a tree-lined road. The two postcards of Washington State Penitentiary also show a white gate-like structure at the end of a tree-lined road (from the opposite direction).

I believe we have a match.

Here's a present view:



Robert

I'm no expert, but that creature looks like a healthy donkey to me.

(Granted, it could be a mule with its winter coat, but I don't really see much horse in it.)

Great old photo card

What 'hard labor' could a mule do at a Penitentiary? Just wondering if its some kind of play on words.

Certainly looks like he's in a winter coat.

KGB: I saw the ears as a little too short (and non-floppy) for a donkey, but I've only been around a few donkeys & mules.

Bas: A lot of American prisons, especially back in the day, maintained a prison farm, both for the health & discipline of the inmates, and to offset the cost of operating the prison. Yes, the system was subject to abuse, including 'leasing' the inmates to nearby farmers. So a donkey might be used to pull a plow, for example.

As to the play-on-words, you are correct: the iconic prison 'hard labor' was breaking rocks into gravel at a quarry, with hand tools. You will see it in American movies, cartoons, etc.

The animal looks like he's in pretty good shape, but why miss an opportunity for a play-on-words?

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

Thanks Ikey.....

Donkey, Ass, Burro, Mule, What They All Mean

Quick Reference of Terms from
http://tbnranch.com/2012/01/13/donk...ey-all-mean/

Jack + mare = mule
Stallion + jennet = hinny
Jack + mule = jule, or donkule
Stallion + mule = hule
Male mule = horse mule, or john mule
Female mule = mare mule, or molly

A hinny resembles a horse more than an ass. It looks more like a horse with long ears.
The mule is a cross between a male donkey [jack] and a female horse [mare].
The hinny is also called a mule, but is crossed between a male horse [stallion] and a female donkey [jenny, or jennet].

The Difference between Mules and Hinnies

The feet [hooves] of a hinny are more like a donkey, narrow and more upright, and the mule's hooves are more horse-like. However, a bit more angle than the donkey hoof but not as round and angled as the horse. Both mules and hinnies should be trimmed more upright and the heels left longer than a horse.

Both mule and hinnies have more endurance than the horse, more resistance to disease, and have much stronger hooves. They require less feed, and are less likely to be startled or spooked. The horse has a flight reflex when startled and the donkey is more likely to freeze and evaluate the situation.

Mules and hinnies are often mistaken as stubborn; however their self-preservation is what in fact keeps them safe. Mules and donkeys may also have flight reflexes; it just depends on the specific animal and the situation.

From the donkey a mule inherits intelligence, endurance, quite extraordinary strength, and patience. His speed and beauty is from the horse.

.............check the link for more info.

The Western Burro was the beast of burden of choice of early prospectors in the western United States.

Heres one of my beast of burden RPPCs.
A Western Burro at Old Tuscon. 6-Y-491 Kodak

Especially for Ikey

Burro: A word taken directly from Spain. It means the common, everyday working donkey found in Spain and Mexico. It came into usage in the Western United States. As a general rule, the term burro is heard West of the Mississippi and the term Donkey, east of the Mississippi. Burro is not appropriate for use in referring to Miniature Donkeys or Jackstock.

Wild Burro: These are the feral (descended from domestic stock that has gone wild over generations) asses which run wild in the Western part of the United States. The American Donkey and Mule Society and Bureau of Land Management (who are in charge of the Wild Burro population) prefer to keep the term Burro for these animals. When registering they are listed as

"Standard Donkey" and the origin and breeding is given as Wild Burro.
Donkey: Taken from England, the derivation is uncertain, but most authorities think that the name comes from dun (the usual color) and the suffix "ky" meaning small. Thus "a little dun animal". In earlier England the word Ass was taken from the Roman word for the animal. "Donkey" is a relatively recent variation of the species name.

More ...........http://tbnranch.com/2012/01/13/donk...ey-all-mean/

Bas, I would only cavil regarding a horse's flight reflex. Once a horse comes to trust his rider, he is remarkable for his bravery.

Thanks KGB.....the info was not mine but pasted as noted from http://tbnranch.com/2012/01/13/donk...ey-all-mean/