The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1883-10-12
IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
Pack TraIns-The Freights They Gar.
ry-How They IN Loaded-Sagac-
tty Of the Male
Any n who travels through the
t,country west Of the Rocky mountains,
will find cause for wonder at seeing, in
pisces most difficult Of access. towns of
substantial buildings. of which the ma.
ttcrisl could not have come from any
where in the neighborhood. And vet
they may be hundreds of miles from q
failroad. These towns do not differ in
appearance OF in their interior equip
J ments from those in the east, except by
the natural distinctions resulting from .
different sort offnhabitants. Of course,
nearer the Atlantic, we do not meet
within ~ponderous mining machinery
70 frequently Sssen in the mountains,
but in the mountain hotels will be found
the Same furniture, heavy and light,
which is used in the east; in the saloons
the came billiard tables en-
which the tournaments are
played in New York, Indeed
everything that is provided in places
having easy C communication with all
manufacturing centres, can be found up
in the mountains, where it would
seem that only a prnctised climber
could 60, or an animal entirely free from
burdens. One article is certain to be
met with in sach places in greater pro.
fusion than IS ever dreamed of in the
East, nan ely, the Ivory checks used for
gambling. For gambling goes on in
most of the buildings, and in certain
cases it never stops. There arc some
saloons which opened their doors ten
years ago, and never once closed them,
l,or put by their gambling tables, night or
day. The principal sport is stud-horse
poker; and in this variation ofthe stand
ard game the first card dealt is the only
one known to the holder alone, every
card after that being thrown on the
table face upward, and the bets being
changed after each card.
And yet the whole Of that town has
been carried there, and some of it on
the backs of horses and mules. In what
are called pack trains they have carried
the brick that made the houses and all
that the houses. contain, including bill
Fliardstables and poker checks over Jour
neys That may have taken weeks to
make, and through places where the
changes were that before a train went
past, some of the animals would go over
2 preeipicet aldsperhaps spoil a whole
billiard table by dashing to pieces part
OF its bed Pack trains are afcoufse
gradually retreating before tile introduce
ton Of railroads, But it will be many
years before they1Roaentireaiys out of use;
and in some parts of the country they
are likely to remain the only means Of
transporting freight. For many years
there AVE been large companies which
have owned and managed freight routes
|sby means sofipack brains, in the same
manner that other companies have con-
'19lls sss sas yiR tsisht s tlaia 1 MPil sometime,
have fifty animals, generally all mules,
although horses are used. Mules are to
be preferred, not because of greater
sureness Of foot, but for the reason that
their backs are more level, their hips
more prominent, and their withers low.
so, that they are notsO liable to be chafed
by their loads. A mule can carry from
two hundred to six. hundred pounds,
but those that can bear theagreater
weight are exceptional animals. No
medescAn be5deyfsed for fastening such
d loadsthat will aprevent it from moving
slightly when carried up and down steep
hills; and when a buck is caees chafed.
there is little chance for healing It be-
fore, tho end of the journey. The sight
of . chafed mule will often make a. man
sh1dder. The back may have great raw
and bleeding patches on it, the withers
becomesfestered and Eswollen, the points
ofsthe hips, which come in contact with.
the aloads may, De wofn nearly to the
bone, the tail be rubbed by the crupper
until it is bloody, and perhaps, in ad-
dition, the beliy may be cut and pinched
by the sgiTth until it looks as fearful as
the back. Yet on such an animal the
load must DO put every morning until
he reaches the end of the Jour
ney or breaks down entirely
There are two styles of apparatus for
q mules back to which his burden ID
fastened. One is called a pack saddle,
and resembles very closely o. ssambuck
orthe continuance used, on the backs of
upbroken colts, The other is much
more often seen, and It Is called by its
Spanish name, appareio. This consists
oftWo great saddle bags, each about two
feet &idefasll X three teet long, st,afed
four inches thick. and also with half q
| DOZEN willow rods running lengthwise
inside, to make themkeept their shape
and hold their load better.
Ias These twosba3s are ioined at the top
BY leather, of their own width, so that
when flung across the back they hang
down the sides and reach the belly.
Then their two lower ends are brought
together bya broad girth, or as it is called
in the west, a cinch. This girth must be
broad, indeed aoInetime6as broad as six
inches, for The severity With which it is
ttiRhteHet Ssunder the animals belly
dEtand Sghast. The packer winds the
saroind htsfhand, and he and his assist
ant place their knees againstth appar-
Eeje, and by hesunited strength OF two
men, Who are we'll used to making flieir
weight and strength felt, the girth is
drawn so tight that it sinks deep. into
the animal s belly and makes him grean
and gasp q though he were in the great
est discomfort il not in positive pain.
And-yet this apparejo must stay on per-
hapsfof tenor twelve hours.
When this is done, the animal is ready
for its load. To put this on requires
two men, one standing on either side. If
the load consists of several small packa-
ges, they are made up into two bundles,
that il will not come apart. Then q
double rope, called the swing rope, is
thrown over the appareio, aad the bun
dies are lifted up on the beasts back and
the ends of the rop hung over them 50
that they hang suspended, one counter
enhancing the other. After these have
Ebeen shifted and adjusted so that the
1sweight is rightly distributed, they are
ready to be securely fastened to the APP
|sass9 a ,Iapf Sea e 2 g eb ami lie E f sWin 7 r asss'
caifed.a lash rope.
When this Is finally tied, It has the ap.
pearance of a cats CRADLE at seems tic