Mule Trader: Ray Lum"s Tales of Horses, Mules and Men by William R. Ferris Foreword by Eudora Welty Ray Lum (1891-1977) was an American original, a one-of-a-kind figure who seems to have stepped full-blooded from the pages of Mark Twain. In this fascinating book he speaks his mind in a colorful folk dialect and tells of the special world in which he presides. He is a riveting talker whose common-sense lessons made him a savvy bargainer and a shrewd businessman. Mules were his main interest. His home and his auction barn were in Vicksburg, Mississippi, but in trading he fanned out over twenty states and even into Mexico. A West Texas newspaper reported his fame this way: He is "known all over cow country for his honest fair dealing and gentlemanly attitude. . . . A letter addressed to him anywhere in Texas probably would be delivered." Over several years William Ferris tape recorded many long conversations with Lum. In them Lum gives the ins and outs of livestock auctioneering,...