Daily Republican., 1883-10-26
1. the Becky Iloustains.


Anyone who travels through the country
west 6f the Rocky Mountains, will ind cause
for wonder ut seeing In plaOes.most difficult
Of acccss, towns Of Substantial buildings, Of
which the material could not have come from
any where in the neighborhood. And yst they
may be hundreds OF miles from railroad.
These towns do not differ In appearance OF
In their interior equipments from those In
the East, except BY the natural dist notions
resulting from different sort Of inhAbitants.
Or course nearer the Atlantic we do not meet
with the p0nder0us mining machinery 30 no
quently seen In the mountains, but In the
mountain hotels will be found the same
the East in the saloons the same billiard
tables on which the tournaments are played
In New York. Indeed, everything that Is pro-
vided In places having easy communication
with all manufacturing centres, can be found
up in the mountains, whore II would seem
animal entirely free from burdens.
And yet the whole Of that town has been
carried there. and most Of It on the backs Of
horses and mules. In what they call pack
trading they have carried the bricks that
have made the houses and all that the houssa
contain, over Journeys that may have taken
the chances were that before the train 30,
past some OF the animals would 20 over q
precipice, Pack trains are Of course gradually
refreshing before the introduction Of rail
roads, but 1t will be many years before they
20 entirely cut Of use, and In some parts Of the
country they ere likely y rs%sin ts tho only
years there have been large companies
which have owned and managed freight
routes by means Of pack trains, In the same
manner that other companies have controlled
the various stage lines.
"A regular freight train will sometimes havs
I a. Ill vvnSp al kxnSSsr
horses are used Mules are TO be preferred
not because Of greater sureness OF foot, 5u
for the reason that their backs are more love
their hips less prominent, ana their wither
lower than IL usually the case with horses, &c
that they are not 30 liable To be chafed By
their loads. A mule can carry from two
hundred " six hundred pounds, but thos'
that can bear the greater weight are excep
tional animals.
No mods can be devised for fastsning suci
Q load that will prevent II from moving
slightly whom carried up and down steeI
hills and when back IL once chafed, there
Ia little chance for healing II before the ent
| of the journey.
The sight Of chafed mule will often max,
= man shudder. The back may have grea
! raw and bleeding patches on 1t, the wither
become festered and swollen, the points Of tn.
| hips, which come In contact with the load
may be worn nearly 10 the bone, the tail b.
1
perhaps. in addition, the belly may be GU
and pfnched by the girth until It looks 81
fearful as the back. Yet on such an anima
the load must be put every morning until
he reaches tho end Of the journey or breaks
down entirely. =.
There are two styles OF apparatus for
mules back to which his burden is fastened
One is called q pack saddle, and resemble
very closely q saw buck or the c0ntrivanc'
used on the backs Of unbroken colts. Tht
other Is much more often seen, and 1t is call
cd by tsSpanish name, apparelo. This con
sists Of two great saddlebags, about two feet
wide and three long, stuffed with hay unit
they become three or four inches thick, ant
also with half dozen willow rods running
lengthwisc inside, to make them keep thei
shape and hold their load better.
These two bags are Joined at the top b.
feathers OF their own width, so that whel
flung across the back they hang dow
two lower ends are brought together by
broad grth, or ~ 1t is called IN the West
cinch. This girth must be broad, indeet
sometimes rs broad as six inches, Tor tn
severity with which It is tghtened under tn
snimal's belly would make even hunter
groom stand agast The packer winds tn
buckskin thong that fastens the girth aroun'
J his hand, and he and his assistant place thei
knees against the apparelo, and by thei
united strength the girth Is drawn so tigh
that 1t sinks deep into the animals belly AM
makes him groan and gasp as though h
were In the greatest discomfort, II not In pos
r tive pain And yet this appareio with 1t
3 fearful cinch. must stay on perhaps for ten O
twelve hours.
A well.trained mule knows his own appaI
eio, and will come up to IT and stand Of hi
own accord. Every animal, while his loa
3 is being adjusted, has his eyes covered by
: leather strap so that he may not move, an
!, when this Is finished the strap is taken Of
his iaquima fastened around his forehead
and he Is turned loose again to wander b
himself until the train Is ready to start.
takes two or three hours to load the Who'll
train. Then the packers mount their horse
: and one Of them sets out with the mule tha
, , wears the bell Immediately behind him. .Iui
! az soon as that animal starts, all the otht
: mules that are now scattered around feeding
| lift their heads and fall into marching order