The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-10-01
MEEK AND I.OwlY,

MEEK n LowLy.
TOO wise and too accustomed to water for
that. He was simply looking and longing
for an excuse for declining to 20 farther,
and this littls damp place In the road fur
.nished 1t.
The gentleman riding him used his per-
ysnasive powers, the guide belabored and
punched him, hut never a step would he
bulge. The gentleman then insisted upon
the two ladies going on alone with the
guide, which they refused to do, and-so
the sun set land so did the burro, firm to
his resolution), the excursion was given
up until another day, and tho procession
reversed ends and returned to the city.
Yet the hurro is an intrinsic md impor-
'tnnt factor IN civilization and history.
''Hasrxs, stoiid, patient Of spirit and endur-
ing Of soul, to say nothing of back, he is u
born pioneer and frontiersnan. He Is u
democrat and 'commoncr," scorning sucn
empty bnuhles as name and pedigree,
and u philosopher "fron, way back" as
they shy out here, While tho fastidious
horse must have his veil of pink or blue
mosquito netting to protect him from the
: sflies, thnt unaccountablo pest of this clean
and wholesome Countrywide burro will
toNuliN AhA AZ ttNA aptn WIG
,vanities of life while a whole colony of
flies come prospecting upon his nose and
eyes and "nfter an hours discussion decide
to locate there.
lie can. Tive all summer upon the candy
and popcorn fed to him by the tourists and
al winter upon the remembrance of them.
He Knows he Ii homely and glories in it.
Three or four Of them will group them
selves togethcr-all wkwardness, shagci-
ness, ears and legs-and stand patiently and
enthusiastically waiting to be laughed at.
That n Colorado burro was never known to
die u natural death Is a statement vouched
for by the most reliable citizsns of the
state. They get killed in mines or by a
misstep over a precipice, or something of
that kind, But to just fall sick and die on
get too old 10 live any longer-it is an UNI
heard Of thing,
There is Old Dick, for instance, who
helped to build Pixies peak cog road two
years ago, and who ambles around Colorado
Springs and Manitou now the most friskv
and popular of tourists burros, and he was
Old Dick when he and his master, Wade,
icarriod the material for observations of the
great sun eclipse upon Pixies peak in 1870.
In fact, there Is no evidence to disprove the
claim of many of Dicks hero worshipers
that he was also employed in the earlier
occupation OF the peak during the great
gold panic Of 1910. 1t may be well to re-
mark here that Dick is a blond, and us to
whether his hair Is gray with age no one
Is able to say.
These Manitou and Cheyenne CANYON
burros are n most interesting feature of the
tourists experiences. They are owned or
rented out by the drove and are kept
saddled and bridlcd ut some specified and
accessible spot ready for parties. They are
the only mode Of conveyance suitable for
the rough and dangerous mountain rails.
Small, wiry, nimble and tenacious Of foot,
they can pick and hold their way wherc
man or horse would stumble and fall.
When they come to II level place, whether
1t be 3 or 800 feet, they run full speed,
N they have n way OF jumping chasms
and skating down Ice slides exhilarating, to
SAY the least OF it.
But, alasl the sad whole truth may as
well come first as last. The burru is stub
born! "lle takes his notions jcs' like Il wo-
man. said our guide yesterday az we
started out to Helen Hunt Jackson's grave
Chat was) on top of Cheyenne mountain.
'"And 'jes' like Il woman is scorulully SUI
..perlor to reason or persuasion," added a
.horrid man in the party, when, 10! as
though to give countennnce to tho Joint
Islander, Muggins, tho hitherto gaycst and
most amiable burro of the cavalcnde. sat
down Hat upon his haunchcs, his hind lcus
doubled up under him and his lorelcgs
Glanguidly extended in front of him along
the smoothest, easiest bit Of road VIZ had
had.
AT first everybody thought it excessively
funny, particularly tho good natured Ten
'nesseean who was riding Muggins. We
all laughcd--all but the guide-and the
ladies' called Muggins ~ cute little rascal"
and the gentlemen guyod '"rcnncsscc,' sny-
ing Muggins knew he wasn't good pay, etc.
Then we all chatted and admired the
view and politely waited for Muggins to get
rested. But Muggins evidently was very
tired, for he rolled over Co2ily on one fat
side and settled himself for an afternoon
nap, whercupon the guide went and cut
q large stick, at which the ladies began to
cry; "Oh, don't hit him! The poor, dear
.little fellow! Maybe he's i'll"
Then ono said, Lets give him some
brandy" and there were five TASKS pro.
duced in the party of nine.
You tenderfeet don'G know nothin at
MI about burros,n said the guide. ''They
amt nothin on earth the matter with that
,bnrro but pure natur' born cussedness!
They's MI that way eff the notion strikes
'em. Thar amt but one thing'll start that
burro, an that's twistin his tall
"Oh-ooV' demonstrated the ladies, and
the susceptible guide postponed the pain
snl dernier resort while wo tried our more
'Chrlstian methods Of persuasion. The
men kicked Muggins' tough sides and
pulled aim by the bride, but Muggins
went To sleep.
The ladies went In front and held out