An Omen? West Point Hopes Not

WEST POINT, N.Y. — One of three mules used as mascots at the U.S. Military Academy died two days before the Army-Navy football game. West Point officials said today that there is nothing suspicious about the death.

Black Jack, a 10-year-old mule, died Thursday of stomach cancer, said West Point spokesman Col. Nick Hawthorne.

“It was a tragic but perfectly natural death,” he said. “The timing was curious, but there was no foul play.”