Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-17
HUNTING WITH A MULE.
NOT EAGER FOR The CHASE, BUT
HAVING STARTED He LED.

Theodore Winde, "A Chicago young man
who has made a good deal of money on the
board of trade without being known as q
regular member, used TO go down into Ar
kansas every fall for few weeks hunt
Ing. He had quite circle of friends
among the people in the Ozark country
and whatever they could do for his enter
tainment was done with promptness and
freedom that made the gift doubly wei
come They were great fellows to hunt
foxes, and chose clear moonlight nights
Tor this choicest of sports. He had gone
with them on good many other chases
but had never yet followed the hounds af
ter night, and expressed wish to do so.
The family with which he had been stop
ping had good horse that had given him
an excellent mount on the daylight runs
but 1t was so spirited thai he did not care
to ride 1t on night chase So neighbor
offered to exchange with him, giving a
mule instead. All the young men in the
country told him the mule was a famous
hunter and that 1t would follow the
hounds through fire and water, and that
all he had to do was to hang on. But on
the evening of the meet, when he gathered
at the edge of the wood he concluded that
the mule affair was their way of playing a
JOhO Ou buS CiJy young nun.
THAT mule stood there by the fence with
his head down. his halter loose and moth
ing to keep him from running away in the
excitement OF that time of preparation"
says Mr.. Winde, Il thought it was joke,
but got down from the spirited horse and
got ready to mount the mule thinking il
they wanted a little fun with me they
might have 1t; they had earned it.
SLOW WORK.
Now, you can ride, can your asked the
mules owner.
Well, | guess eau ride that mule |
answered.
"'When he gets ready to run don't you
try to hold him-just let him go and hang
on
Il said All right, and got up on the
beast, and he never stirred muscle There
were about twenty Of us, and there must
have been hundred hounds. Some of
them were old fellows and knew their bust.
ness and some were younger and some of
them were just taking their first lesson in
hunting We started off after bit, the
mule In the rear and me kicking him
with my heels and trying to get him to be
respectable, and failing constantly. The
first mile or two was awful work. wore
myself out betting and humping that mule,
but he wouldn't go iaSter than lazy trot.
And that troll 1t loosened every Joint in
my body. 1t made me bite my tongue, and
1t bruised me so quickly had no time to
blister.
Presently one Of the young dogs struck
nm old scent and in his ineXpericnCe began
to bay hopefully Still the mule stumbled
ON. Then better dog thought he smeled
something promising, and he started an
alarm, which all the younger ones Sweled
ut once 20 that plaintive, beseeching roar
of foxhounds while ranging. Not a sign
from the mule. But all of sudden there
was that eager, short, agonized yelp of the
old hounds rs they rul' ed away from the
pack and cut out the pace on "A perfectly
fresh trail
"And if that old mule didn't know what
was the matter hope to die He unlm-
bered himself and pricked up first one and
then the other of those awfully long ears;
he changed his trot to a gallop and pushed
right up through the band of well mount
ed hunters, going straight to the front and
just simply stabbing the earth with his
little hoofs in an effort to overtake the
hounds.
FAST RIDING.
Don't try to hold him-just hang on
cried my FRIEND rs ! shot past him; and
gave myself up to that task as well rs
could, for he had me pretty we'll frightened,
On he went through the woods, just miss
ing great sycamore on one side and a
rock on the other, crashing into and over
heap of brush or the top of u fallen tree,
plunging into wide creeks and leaping over
narrow ones, till thought my end was
come But couldn't let GO
. Ia
after while and give me chance to get
away. One half of my shoe was ripped
from my foot and the half of my coat had
gone to keep it company My hands and
face were scratched and bleeding, but led
the chase and led it easily.
"Finally we came to a high rail fence
ten rails Highland | said to myself Now
have got him But hadn't He just
kept on galloping right at that fence but
he seemed to be studying it, and feeling
the bits as if they didn't set just right.
pulled away harder than ever, for ! felt if
he undertook to jump that fence he would
kill himself and me too, But he didn't try
TO 90 over it, he just went through it, He
went right at it with n rush, threw his
forelegs high enough to get them over the
top-and that settled the fence Down it
came-mule, man and all-Hnd he clam
bered out and went on without losing a
minute
"'That was cotton field 1t was rank
and tall and the balls whipped me in the
face, and the strong stalks grasped my
clothes and tore them, but couldn't get
away, and Just sawed at the bits and prayed
for a dead wall or n pitfall or a stroke of
lightning Out on the farther side of the
field the fence was down and we went out
all right
IN AT THE FINISH.
"There was the creek, and the hounds
were just creeping up the further bank, 1t
was high and steep. thought this would
end it, but it didn't That mule went at it
frantically lie leaped from the high bank
as If he were a sort of winged steed, and
landed right in the middle of the water,
But he didn't waste minute. He clam
bered up the farther bank and shot away
again after them-and the nearest horse
men were twenty rods away looking for a
ford.
"There were the hounds, just over n lit
tie hill not forty rods away, and they had
the fox If the mule had been frantic be
fore ne was mad now He fairly tlew and
uttered that unearthly cry-the only one
permitted to the hybrid brute Up over
the knoll, through a little patch OF timber
called the grape field, down
"But that was the end of my ride. One
of the grapevines hung low between two
trees and the mule darted under it, 1t
caught me about the body, and away went
that animal, right up to the hounds. |
shot high up into the air on that vine, then
swung away back, and finally managed to
get 10 the ground without injury, The
Cal all nu ~ nrnnnn