The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-05-06

I
desolation, a disconsolate tail, and a woe
begOne visage which would frighten an
| inexperienced ghOst-the poor, bankrupt
mule is the most wretched parody on
Gothic architecture that was ever forced
on the public attention. Every vestige of
meat has fled from his bones. He is a
walking Transparency, an animated hat
rack, and / have actually seen his
hip bones irreverently used to hang
teamsters' hats on. During our
homeward march from the Black
Hills, more than one such starved victim
laid down his tired frame on the earth
which had refused to nOurish him, and the
benediction Of 4 soldiers bullet called the
raven and the coyoTe to meal which it
cost the Government one hundred and
forty dollars to provide. A good mule is
well worth the Government price. In Cal
itornia | have known two thousand dol
lars to be paid for single pair of mules.
The native California mule is not large,
but-the mules sent to that State from Mis-
souri, expressly for hauling quartz are Of
ten sixteen hands high. Sixteen mule
teams, hauling eighteen thousand pounds
In enormous wagons over the mountains,
are not uncommon there.
The pack mule is necessary supple
ment to the draft mule, and in mount
ainOus and heavily timbered regions must
often supersede him entirely. Mule-pack-
ing is a fine art. With a well-trained
mule and a well-trained packer, there is
nothing imaginable, from a bag of oats to
a load of crOckery, that cannot be securely
fastened ON the mules back. Select tie
worst article you can think of TO test the
packers skill, and in an incredibly short
space of time be will pack it as though he
had been perfectly used to packing that
very thing all the days OF his life. When the
packer has finished, the animal may jump,
back, kick, rear, or roll, to rid himself of
his burden, but with no more success than
Christian had before he reached the cross.
And yet you cannot find a knot in the
whole cnmpleXity of rope and bundle. A
pack saddle, rim Mexico an appdrajo,
which is a willow frame covered with can
vas and stuffed with hay, always inter-
venes between the pack and the mules
back, and crupper and breast-strap with
a strong girth keep the bundle in position.
Paak mules in Mexico and California are
SO well trained that in the morning, when
it is time to start, they will fall into single
file and come up one by enc to receive
their burdens from the packer, moving of
again as soon as loaded.
And here we must notice a curious fact
which is wisely taken advantage of by
pack master. 1t is the fondness of mule
for gray horse, but especially fer gray
mare. Put bell on the mares neck and
a boy on her back, and start her off, and
where she dares to lead the mules will
dare to follow. 1t is contrary to the
fifteenth amendment, to be sure, for
mules 10 make such discrimination in re-
gard to color, bat is not that, however,
liberal and enlightened suffrage which
leads them TO prefer a female gray 10 a
male one? A mule is exceedingly fond
of bell, bat its affection for a light-color-
ed horse does not depend on the music
alone. as may be seen from the following
incident, which the writer witnessed last
year on the Yellowstone River, and which
turned good deal of veXation into un-
controlable merriment. General Custer,
with four hundred and fifty cavalrymen,
had been closely following the trail of a
large party of Sioux Indians who had
taken to the river and crossed. The Vel. /
lOwstone at this point is from four hun
dred and fifty to five hundred yards wide,
deep and very swift. Having waded opr
horses out to a sand-bar in the river, the
problem was, how to get over
the rest. Half dozen men tried to swim
it on their horses, but only one or two
succeeded; the strength of the current and
the width of the river Obliging the Others
to turn back. Along with our party
were two hunters, Norris and Reynolds,
the former mounted on a dun pony, the
latter en- a saddle mule which he had bOr-
rOwed especially for this trip. The two
hunters were old friends, but their ami
mails had been acquainted only fOrty-eight
hours. A strong and unaccountable
friendship had sprung up between them.
Now there is a false tradition in the
army that mule cannot swim much. In
view of possible order to swim the river
with our horses ian order which General
Custer had too much sense to issue),
Reynolds chances of getting across
with his mule were freely canvassed.
Reynolds himself was not very confident
of crossing, on a mule, swift river
which had baffied the efforts of some of
the best swimming horses in the
regiment. However, boys" said he,
a" if the old gal can only make it, reckon
| can get over myself" Disguised with
the futile efforts of the cavalry at crossing,
Norris, the other hunter, pulled OFF his
boots, and mounting his Indian pony rode
into the river. This movement did not
escape the notice of the mule. The
thought of parting gave her unutterable
pain. REYNOLDS, heT master, was at the
other end of the island. She was free to
act for herself. The struggle between
love and cOwartlice lasted only moment;
then with a sudden bound the devoted
beast rushed into the river, bearing on
her back. besides all her saddle equip
mentS, three days rations of coffee, sugar,
and hard tack. A loud cheer from the
soldiers, and laughter which made the
hills ring, greeted this new version of
Ruth and Naomi. "Hold on a minute,"
said a spectator. "wait till the old gal gets
some water i'm her ears. and you'll see her
turn back" But the mule had no such
intention. She struck out molly for the
little dun pony, keeping her head clear out
of water. Getting into the swift channel,
the hunters coffee and sugar soon mingled
with the cold running water; the hard
tack likewise, accepting a new destiny,
floated down the river. Thus relieved the
mule pressed on, soon overtaking her
companion aud swimming so near to it
that Norris, fearful of getting kick, let
90 of his pony, and man, horse, and mule
raced for the shore together. 1t was
hvelysight, and we had lively interest
in the result. IL a. any time the hunter
and his pony disappeared in the rushing
torrent. a floating and conspicuous pair OF
ears were never lost TO sight. The fierce
current carried the three far down the rlv-
er; it was nearly half an hour before they
emerged i'm safety on the other side. | be-
lieve that Reynolds was entirely reconciled
to the loss OF his ratiOns by the feeling OF
pride and satisfaction which this achieve
ment legitimately created. The cavalry
not being able to cross, Reynolds, for the
sake of the exercise, swan the dangerous
river and brought his mule b; elk again
with Norris and the pony. l may add
that the soldiers notion that mule with
water-logged ears gets discouraged, and
will not swim. is a libel.
The average load for pack-mule is
from two hundred and seventy-tive to
three hundred pounds. The heaviest
weight which pack-maSter confessed he
had ever imposed on mule was eight
hundred pounds, a piece of machinery
which could not be divided. From fifty
TO one hundred mules make good-sized
train. though three or four hundred some
times follow the same trail in close success
sion. Low, snug-built, chunky, short
coupled animals are the best for this work.
The well-broken paek-mule is proud OF his
burden. Should it by any means get
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