Huh? not suggestive Shambles, finding the words "mule" and "buffalo skinners" in the same article, does not give credence to Guest bobbi's fanciful interpretation.

As noted before, muleskinner's sole profession was to drive and care for his team. Who do you think fed and tended the mules, repaired harnesses and maintained and repaired the wagon. I can assure you, that caring for two working horses consumes quite a bit of time; maintaining and caring for a whole team of mules and ancillary equipment would leave little time for the bit of recreational knife work as recounted in that article.