The Red Cloud chief., 1883-11-02

IN. picturesque and cosmopolitan 90
IHzran y of the canal muie-tiv.f al
- make. him m objccf Of int~ress ..
4uru-ys shrouga the country. and.
IN the hope Of Farming something of
the inner lie and higher aspirations Of
the nomsd. reporter II this paper ,es-
terdsy applied 10 one of them the harm
les pumping process. Their certainly
was nothing very promising In the inter
-sting specimen which the reporter coa-
ver-cd with. but . brisk application Of
soap and water would have wrought
wonder, in his appearance. His COS,
was n Carmen, feaTfuliy and wonderful.
" made. aud might have passed in .
mu-~um for the ssri,abic one which
Joseph wore Of old
We'll. began the reporter. how Arc
the boys along the tow-P.ih getting
along this season."
oh. fhi. seasons . good un." rad
lis answered the muleteer; Its never
D,thin' to brag about"
How do the drivers work." further
Iueried the scribe, ''by the trip or BY
the day.
Both ways. A man can cii . dollar
\ day. or he kin hire out by the trip. and
git about twenty dollars = month. But
when he works by the day he gets moth.
in when q boat unloads. and workin'
by the trip his pay goes hight on. % it
makes it cvcn."
How long does IL take 10 make 3
trip from Buffalo to Albany and re-
turn
.IDcpcnds on the load. YAbout three
weeks on nm average. The cirrcn,
goes east. 80 its easier goin' 10 Albany
than comm back"
How many trips ian . boat make in
q season."
About nine or ten"
This boat YOU are driving IL loaded
with wheat How many bushels does
Il hold?"
About eight thousand"
"I' the rate Of Paymen, larger this
year than last?"
"Oh. YES. They git six cents .
bushel this year. and only three and
a half last: and no tolls 20 pay neither.
Bizncss T. mighty good this season"
How are your hours Of duty d.
vidcd?"
wal. thare alters Is two drivers.
Each I'm has six hours day and six hours
night driving. Ills mules change when
he does"
is pulling a canal boat very hard
work for the mules?"
"A mule kin stand il bc,,er'n q boss.
sons 10 wear him ouf. Now You mayn't
believe IL. but that of mule there has
been pulling a boat tw~enty-three years
But isn't n mule harder 10 drive,"
Wal. yes; they git kinder rambunc-
tious sometimes. Whoa. there" he
suddenly shouted to his mule. who was
attempting to EXECUTE . fzndsngo upon
the t,w-pnth. After the brute became
quoted. he proceeded: Something
Gurus about them mules. You can
ca'c'late their age pretty close every
time by the way they wobble their ear-.
Take n young mule. and he twists 'em
all shapes all the time; when he gifts old
he quicrs down. and holds 'cm kinder
steady. They're mighty good for tell
ing the weather. too: when a mule
keeps his ears pricked up it's a sure
sign Of rain"
Drivers sometimes have q cart be-
hind the mule" proceeded the lOqua-
cious driver. ''but too MANY mules gifts
drowned. When \ mule rares up | n
front Of one Of them things. he's mighty
likely TO tumble in the canal. It's q
snap for the driver. though"
driving nights is pretty lonesome
work. isn't it?"
"Now Yer shouting. All alone in the
dark, and no one Ia talk Ia 'ccpt n
mule; its mighty lonesome. Then
when il rains an is stormy it's not much
fun Prggin' along an hoilerin' at your
mule"
How many months of a year does a
driver work."
"Oh. eight or nine months is fair.
Sometimes nine nj ten, though. when
the weather Is good"
"And what do you do winters"
"lIaul up ut either end. and get what
Won can. Sometimes YOU can work on |
the railroad. aud sometimes nolhin' at
GLOW many men are there on n
boat?"
"Five. centrally. Thcrc'stwo drivers, |
steersmen and the Cap'n."
"Thc sterrsmen. Of course. got high
or wages than the driver?'
"Oh. yes; a steer,man can get about
forty dollars a month. That's the
place the drivcris alters fishin' fur. II
about four Of five years driving &c
get there. though"
Thcnthe mulo began toelcvntch his heels
in a manner that rendered n position
in the rear extremely prccarious. and
the reporter sought n safer ground
than on che tow-path within two fec,
The kicking apparatus which makes
every well-organizcl mule respected
Rochester ca. ~ Democrat and Chron-
icle.