The Red Cloud chief., 1883-11-02

IktArsn = 81 the canal mui--liv.s al
akcs him an ssbjccs of interest ..
gun~ys shroags the country. and.
Nm the hope Of Earning something al
the inner lie and higher aspirations al
the nomsd. = reporter of this paper yes
t-ni.y applied 70 one of them the harm
less pumping process. Their certainly
vas nothing very promising In the inier-
~-ting specimen which the Exporter ron
ser-ed with. hut . brisk application OF
soap and water would have wrought
wonders In his appearance. His coat
was n garment fearfully and wonderful
" made. and might have passed in .
mu-~um for the ssriiable ona which
Joseph wore of old
We'll. began the reporter. how are
the boys along the 'ow-Pa,h getting
along this season.
oh. thi. seasons good un." rad
ily answered the muletsrr, its never
no,hin' To hrag about"
How do the drivers work. further
| qnerird the scribe, ''by the trip or BY
the day."
Both Ways. A man can git . dollar
a dsy. or he kin hire out by the trip. and
git about twenty dollars . month. Blu,
wh-n he works by the day he gets moth.
in when a boat unloads, and workin'
by the trip his pay goes hight on. 80 it
makes IL even"
How long does Il take TO make .
trip from Buffalo to Albany and re-
turn"
depends on the load. YAbout three
weeks on An average. The cirrcn,
goes east. 80 it's easier goin' 10 Albany
than comm back"
How many trips . . boat make In
a season."
About nine or ten"
This boat YOU are driving Is loaded
with wheat. How many bushels docs
il hold?"
About eight thousand"
IL, the rate Of payment larger this
year than last?"
"Oh. yes. They Ct six cents .
bushel this year. and only three and
n half last: and no tolls TO pay neither.
Bizness l. mighty good this season"
How are your hours Of duty d.
yidedT'
wal. thare alters I, two drivers.
Each I'm has six hours day and six hours
nigh, driving. Ills mules change when
he does"
Is pulling a canal boat very hard
work for the mule,?"
"A mule kin stand il better n a boss.
Take a boss and it only takes q few sea-
o n 10 wear him out. Now You mayn't
believe il, but that of mule there has
been pulling n boat tweniy-three years
But isn't n mule harder I O drive?"
wal. YES; they git kinder rambunc-
tious sometimes. Whoa, there he
suddenly shouted to his mule. who was
attempting TO execute . fsndango upon
the t,w-path. 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 ears.
Take n young mule. and he twists EN-
all shapes all the time; when he gifts old
he quicts down. and holds 'cm kinder
steady. They're mighty good for tell
ing the weather. too; when q mule
keeps his ears pricked up it's a sure
sign Of rain"
Drivers sometimes have a cart be-
hind the mule" proceeded the lOqua-
cious driver. 'but too many mules gifts
drowned. When \ mule rarcs up in
front Of one Of them things. he's mighty
likely to tumble in the canal. It's .
snap for the driver. though"
DRIVING nights is pretty lonesome
work. isn't it"'
Now yer shouting. All alone in the
dark. and no n 10 talk to 'c"pt n
mule: its mighty lonesome. Then
when il rains an j. stormy it's moi much
fun pregin' along an hollcrin' at your
mule
How many months of a year does a
driver work."
"Oh, eight or nine months is fair.
Sometimes nine or ten, though, when
the weather il good"
"And what 10 you do winters"
"IIaul mp ut either end. and get what
You can. Sometimes You can work on
The railroad. aud sometimes nothin' nj
all"
"IIow many men arr there on n
boat?"
Five. Centrally. There'stw two drivers,
two stecrSmen and the CaP'n.'
"Thc steersmen. Of course. got high
or wages than the driver?'
"Oh. yes; a stser>man can got abou,
forty dollars a month. That's the
place the drivers alters iishin' fur. 1t
takes about four OF five years driving &c
get there. though"
Thrnthem mule began toelcvatc his heels
in n n that rendered n position
in the rear extremely prccarions. and
the reporter sought a safer ground
than on che tow-path within two feet
of the kicking apparatus which makes
every well-organizel mule respected
Rochester ca. ~ Democrat and Chrou-
icke.