Smyrna times., 1875-06-02

i"i''i'H 'ult clHhtN tcanlStcrS. While the
hlll"rltE We're men who could hardly h,
sad /" hay" ever had amy settled uc,lra.
t"n. there were not Il few who had
seen n"h!cr works of life Stnr,krrncr.
amt 'h"'L;eachor' c!2rk~. doctors. law
yrrS, We're >lrinlilcd here anil there. in the
motley array. y lawyer at Bismarck. 4
little. frontier town ON the Missouri. near
"u" starting point. having lost his ONLY ,.a~,.
':I' 'IaH het"r" tn" departure, Of the rNpr,li,
ton. drSrairin:. OF his bread and butter for
III" summer, Immediately engaged a> a
l"a!n>t"r. Tn" SON of Il prominent clergy
man in Washington was determined to 90
ON 'hi~ expedition He applied fora position
M III" scientific department. but failing.
disguised himself, went to the quartcl.ma,-
t"r~ and signed the tram>tcrs contract
/ In the Black lIllS expedition many a,ilrn-
tuners engaged, simply to see the ncw
country. Among them was the SON of 4
. wealthy gentleman in the West. who wa,
determined I" =" and could go in no other
( capacity. The typical tr;lIn>tcr. however.
Is ON" vino = born and bred to his business.
The tc;un,ter'> duties are simple but
ardu"u~. II" drives his team ON the march.
! ami IN camp see, that they are we'll cared
! for. The art OF driving ~iX-mul, team in
the Eastern States is almost unknown. II
/ Is NOT Il government of gees and 'haw-.
nor >iX-fold complication Of rrin~. 4
single lin" from the driver to the mouth Of
tl., guido or left lrad mule. called the i'm,
mule, j. the ONLY telegraph. \ series Of
Jerks ON the line turns the obc.lirnt lra,i.r
To III" r.iIt. u c"mtinunu, l,ul guido, him
to the left. \ stick called Il locke, stick"
fastened hy a chain AT ON" end to the col
lar Of the line mule, and at the other to the
bt of his companion leader. conrrl>
IT." latter 10 second the motions Of
hlS ron~"rt. The wheel team is under the
Immediate control of the driver. who
rides on the back of the near mule. holdiuo
his line III his left hand. hi, cowhidr whip
his black Snal>rl hanging with profc.
SIonal grace around his neck. ready for any
emergency. The plain. unornamcntaI part
OF the business is easy. 1t is only whcu he
gets 10 a bad crossing. involving rrr}an, -
steep descent, heavy slough at the bottom.
and a high and difficult "come-out ON the
other >ilc. that the tcam~t,r has a chance
To display the resources and adolInmcnt, Of
his profession. Going down Eill th. team.
>trr never Sw"ai~ at his mules; descending
eiocuti"n is confined to the -inal,. word
"walroo. uttered with Il ,trnn. accent ON
the last syllable and in the transfer, most
persuasive voice. None but green hand
eyer thinks Of saving "wlua This i
Il r-e dialect. and mules have little respect
for il. When the wagon has fairly cot To-
the bottom and the nirc has begun To-
swallow its wheels, then the t,.am,ter !,
Transformed. Then il i, that un-hiIpin.
h!~ whip and opening his battery Of oath-
he bomlardS his team with blows and
ollUr4ations until every ounce Of their
strength j. put into their collar Rising on
his saddle he launches his ubmtitou, whir
at tn" of wheeler and til" swing mules.
pounds his saddle mule with hi, heels. and
vents peculiar, viyifying shrek al the
distant ears Of his leaders. The originality.
picturc>qIcnc>~. fucncy. and irlrvcrcnc.
Of the tcan>tcls cxhortatian To- hi.
mules under such circumstances battles all
decent description. No on" has full an
probation of the ultimate power and g.niu,
Of eloquencc until he has heard Il tcamstc,
discourse from his nigh wheel mule. lii
profanity i shocking.
When a tealn>tcr get stuck at a crossing. .
his companions give him but one bit Of .
advice. They tell him to graL root.
The idea pictured, | suppose. i~ that Of a .
drowning man catching at a shrub or root
on tn" bank. Freely translated it means.
Max" th" best Of your resources.
The devotion Of some tcamstcrs to their
mules is a conspicuolt, aS the neglect of
other. knew one who cried like 4 child .
when favoritr team. which he had driven
for wears. was taken from him The noisy.
-tr"duou, style Of driving which belongs to
the avcrag" tcaIu>tcr. and which the noyicc
affect. j, not without distinguished cxccl-
tom. old Buckskm .Ioc"-bv the way.
a generic nam" in the Wrst-ha, driven
t"rty-four years and ha, never broken a
tongue or tipped over wagon. Yet he
seldom whips or CURSES mule and heartily
dr~pi>c~ the professional buncombr. ~
don't ocr no use IN 50 much bcatm' and
h"ll"rin. hc would say; - don't want
none with my mules When tell 'cm what,
wantin. they alters pull every ounce that's
in en- and a man can't ask no more
Old Joe is quite character in his way.
He began to team when he wa, ten wears
old. and though now ffty-four with his
beard long and gray, he is still fond of this
rough life. Six feet high, erect in form,
with long hair falling nearly to his shoulders
and beard like the Elijah pictured in the
Sunday school books, you might take him
for one Of the later Scripture patriarchs, if .
his modern suit Of bucksl<in and hat
which Noah might have worn at the food
did not present a contradiction i'm dates