The Dickinson press., 1889-03-02
MORGAN'S FEEBLE MULES.
CONVINCE AN OBSERVER THAT ALL
THE STORIES ARE TRUE.
They Came Up the Hill with no Moro
Lifc Than Pair Of Old Rubber Boots"
A Trip Down tho Other Side Like
Streak of Lightning.

Aney Camc Up the Hill with NO Moro
Lifc Than Pair Of Old Rubber Boots"
A Trip Down tho Other Side Like
Streak of Lightning.
Near the backwoods village of Tanners
vile there is a long and very steep hill in the
road. 1t has sharp lend in it about half
way down On tho outer curve tho bank is
quite high. AT the foot of that bank field
stretches away in gradual slope for prob
ably 100 yards, when il drops suddenly to an
incline of 45 degrees. That sharp incline is
3OO yards from top to bottom, and the bot
tom is simply the top of ledge that has
sheer fall of 20 feet From tho bottom
of that ledge there is another sloping piece
OF ground 200 feet or SO wide, and at the
lower edge of that slope another ledge drops
pcrpendicularly Is feet, the west branch of
Bear Run flowing at its base. If have
Made tho topography Of that section of
rather rolling country tolcrably plain it
VIII be noticcd that man in toboggpn,
taking tho course l have marked out,
would get enough sport out of ono ride to
last him until tho opening Of the next season
GONE FOR sARTIN."
was standing i'll tho road Oh the long and
crooked hill listening to Uncle Job Snyder,
tho great hunter, bemoaning tho dccadence
OF game, when Bill Morgan, tcanlster from
the Sheasley mills, appeared He had a pair
OF bobs with good load of logs aboard, and
tho load was drawn by u couple of small, de-
spondent looking mules. Bill stopped when
ho came to the hill to adjust his brake chain,
for when II team comes down that hill with
load the wagon or sled has got to havo all
the brake on it that heavy chains can give.
AS Bill Morgan was adjusting his Chains
Uncle Job Snyder said to me:
Them mules hain't got no moro life in 'cm
than pair o old rubber boots. I'm alluz
glad when ! see EN- raise this hill ngoin' home,
fer don't want EN- 10 drop dead round
here"
Bill Morgan set his brake chains and came
on down tho hill. AS tho mules passed us
noticed that they certainly did look as if u
sHldcn jar would startlo life away from
them They went as in Il hopeless sort OF
way, and had reached the very stccpcst part
OF the hill when tho brake chain separated
and tho bobs and logs began pushing rather
savagely against tho heels of those little
mules.
Now they'm gone, sartin!" exclaimed
unclc Job Snyder
Tho American mule Of the comic ncwspa
pcrs, under these circumstances, would have
kicked logs and bobs into sivcrs. Did these
real American mulcs-srlpposcd to bo on the
verge of dissolution at that-tlo anything of
that kind' No. They let those logs and
bobs prod them in tho heels two or three
times, and then, us if tho thing had ull
been planned beforehand, away they went
down that hill. They went SO fast that their
legs looked like spokes in Il trotting sulky bc-
hind horse going milo in 3l4.
They hain't got time to dio now!" OK
claimed unclo job Snyder "But they'll be
goners when they git to tho bottom O. tho
hill"
ONLY a LITTLE WlNDED.
But they didn't get to tho bottom of tho
hill When they reached the bend in the
road they didn't bend with it, but kept
straight on. Down tho bank they went,
down tho sloping field, with tho hobs and
tho logs doing their very best to keep up
When the mules struck the top of the 45 ,lc2gs
incline and went on down it they wcro going
50 fast that if there hadn't been snow on the
ground to throw them cut in relief we could
scarcely have seen them. Then tho top of
the first ledge was reached, and mules, bols,
and logs disappeared Unclo Job Synlcr
was about to open his mouth and say, "That
settles it," when tho logs came in sight, going
like strcaks of lightning down tho second
slope toward the ledge along tho creek. They
had broken their fastcnings and shot over the
mules, but tho mules followed right on in
their wake, holding the bobs behind them. 1t
was like shadow passing over u field to SEQ
those logs, mules and bobs fitting down that
slope. Tho top of tho second ledge was
reached, and tho whole cavalcadc disappeared
again. Nothing came in sight any more
"Thar." exclaimed Unclc Job, with n sigh
Of relief, "Nothin' kin ever make nc b'lievc
that tdcm mules didn't die 'foro they got to
the bend in this hill but they war pushed SO
hard they couldn't drop Whatll ye take for
their shoes, Bill!'
Bill didn't say, and Just for curiosity went
down with him and Unclo Job to SEQ how
badly the mules were wrecked. 1t was some
thing of a job to get there, but VIC managed
it. There wasn't much left of tho bobs, and
the logs wcro lying about propiscuously, u
good deal splintcrcd and jammcd. But there
III tho midst of the wreck and up to their
knees i'll water stood these two mules, looking
just as dcspondent as ever and painting lit
Tie, but as much alive as any mules that ever
Lc1-llawed and without scratch Oh 'cm!
tnclo Job stood simply aghast lie could
scarcely believe his eyes, even after Bill had
led the mules out of tho creek OH tho other
.idc and started to lead them ncrosslots to the
I'LL, the bottom of which they hadn't reached
Thea Uncle lob shouted:
Bill! Ill give yo $500 fer them mulcs!"
camo away soon afterward and don't
know whether tho mules changed hands or
not, but do know that never again can any
thing be said about the American mule that
won't to-Harrisburg Cor. New York
Times