Arizona weekly citizen., 1881-12-11
\ Ride on Mule Back.
Portland. Michigan OhserTer.l
 rr,-o-o.- A-i-o,,a Ocf h ISS

TUcsox, Arizona, Oct. 15, lSSL
 DEAR OBsERvER:-Having in my last l article left your readers somewhere be- F tween Ogden and Sacramento, one of
 them has suggested that 1t was hardly 2 fair to leave them to "camp out" esPe- ! cially as the climate in that section is 1. ! becoming somewhat cool, but extreme 9 heat here, and high pressure of duties B has thus far prevented my writing the ! Iouc-ago promised letter to the Observer 5 which always brings with 1t welcome re- Q minders of home and friends Tn far away , Michigan. And now if you will allow Aggression from the plain route of travel and chronicle the events of more re- ? cent trip, I will promise change, at , least, from the preceding letters.
 Having decided to leave the little min- ,g town of Globe among the mountains, [ and cultivate the Kindergarten in the
 ancient and honorable pueblo of Tucson, the next question which arose was how
 were we to get there. as the stage lines
 bothto Wilcox and Casa Grande-tO the
 east and west of TUcsOn-was so cOm-
 pletely submerged by the recent rainfall
 as to render them impossible, and hence
 the only way to reach the railroad was
 to take the trai" leading over the mountains by so preeipitOus path as to
 leave any conveyance other than a mule or very sure-fOoted horse entirely out of the question. So packing that big Sara toga, and accompanied by the inevitable "shawl-strap, valise and umbrella,' we | boarded a fOur-hOrse power stage coach 1 which was to take us eight miles into the 1 country where the mule route began, and here, too, began our trouble, for as | from a lofty height we turned last, | sad glance upon Globe, the sadness came | because we had not gone sooner, and
 wasn't farther away st that time, not but | that we had met with much kindness | and found and left many friends, but
 those everlasting hills" which until a | few days had been totally barren of | everything but stones and dust of ages, | seemed to mock us with their waving ! green, brought by the late rains. Pass l | ing through an expanse of green brush l | over which a mantle of wild morning. | glories had gracefully entwined itself l we felt refreshed to ne once more ln the | | woods" and to feel that Nature was all | around us instead of those rocky walls of adamantine height, which in Globe | surrounds one on every side.
 Reaching Saxe's ranch, We left the | rumbling "CuucOrd,' winch "out vest is a disgrace to its Eastern reputation, | and prepared to take passage in the | mule tram which was to carry us twenty | miles to Silver King, mine whose ore | surpasses in beauty and richness any that have seen. Being detained here | an hour for the safe packing of the bag
 gage. a gallant captain of the party per
 sJade1 me to mount his spirited steed | as a preliminary practice for the ride on
 mule back. As the captain led the
 horse the exercise proved a very agreed
 bie one but To. when mounted on that little burrO, presto change! Being an
 ambitious creature, and having, like
 other members of the mule family,
 miud of his own, he seemed possessed
 Of two ideas, one of which was to fol-
 low that hig trunk on the pack mule
 just ahead, and the other was to land me
 at Silver King before night; and this he
 proceeded to do as soon as he felt me
 placed safely on his hack, starting off at
 a brisk trOt, taking me through bushes
 and tangle wood till l trembled with
 sheer fright at what might b, fall me be- fore the eyeutful ride was ended. The
 captain and other acquaintances from | to get near enough to scream and wave
 a last farewell, but twas all in vain. That mule was too ambitions to allow a
 horse to come within shooting distance of him, and as he was a tough-bitted lit-
 tie beast, all my persuasions, entreaties
 and commands only served to spur him ! on to greater deeds of daring, and I
 finally rode off amid the shouts and cries of the lockers On, trying to SUD-
 press ErOans of modification and disap-
 pointment, which ended in an apparent
 wild yell of triumph; but could others
 have been near enough to catch a sight
 of my face they would have seen ter
 TOT and distrust written on every fea- ture, for 1 had lost all confidence in the
 little black beast, and he seemed ut
 terly indifferent to the fact By direc- ton, however, of the train packer. the horses were placed in the rear and my
 burrO soon settled down to steady busi- ness, occasionally reminding me by some
 freak that 1 would do well to maintain my position, which, indeed. did, with a grip worthy of a better cause, for, having once got on, l proposed to stay until the ride was finished. Before noon we came to Pinto Creek, stream running down a narrow gorge between mountains piled SD 4AlAl LIltL Mltn tue DUEulllZ sun 6iell- ! ding his beams upon us as lhe soft mur- mur Cf the stream came to the ear we instinctively recalled the words of the Psalmst, As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, Oh Cod Coming to Pinal Ranch we stopped for refreshments, and found them so bOuntiful and appetizing that We were reminded of the hospitality of Michigan farmers, while thoughts of home and friends seemed for a moment to aurlhllate space, and bring us once again in the vicinity of childhood memo nes. With a little delay for rest we were soon off again, the black burro leading on a fine lOpe, and the others trying tO keep up. One gentleman whom my friends at Globe had besOught to see that l got through safely, tried to keep ne in sight by riding directly be- hind me- for the trail was too narrow for two riding abreast, but as his animal was as much too slow as mine was too fast, he declared many times that if any accident happened to me 1t would be utterly impossible for him to reach me in time to render any available assist ance; and by night the poor man was so worn ont with efforts to keep in the pro- cessIon that none of the company doubt ed but that he suffered more from be- laboring the mule than the mule did himself, for he took it as a matter of course, and seemed disappointed if the momentary thrashing was not forthcom- ing. As the afternoon shadows began Co lcng-hen we came to Devils Canyon, q wide, rocky gorge, which, while ascend. ing, none of the party attempted to ride, for toward the upper end the steps were cut out of solid rock, and should a horse once lose his footing a very demOralized ! condition both of himself and his rider at the foot of the mountain must have been tine result; SO, dismOuuting, we toIled mp its rugged side, panting and breathless, while my gentle manly escort lowed the three mules safely t1 the top. Arriving at the summit the sight was truly grand and awe-in- spiriug, while the gentle flow of the dis tant stream below sang of duty done in lOwly places and in obscure retreats. But amid these many "reminiscences I must not omit mentioning that we were accompanied on this trip as an outsider on foot, by a youthful Apache, who was carrying on his back a cage of birds for a lady in the party, and 1t was a matter of surprise that he reached the settle ment before our triumphal entry, al- though stopping on the way to gather a
 bouquet of wild flowers which not un- gracefully arranged he bound with grasses. and stuck in the top of a bush directly in the path, which my escort gathered and presented to me, and when
 he thanked the wild natlve in behalf of the white squaw he erinned and grunted
 with much satisfaction. About an hour
 before uightfal we reached the descend
 T. .r