The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-07
JIM AND WENCH SOLD.
UNCLE SAM'S TRANSFERS HATED TO
SEE THE FAITHFUL PAIR GO.

aud the Worst of Sc Yves That Thev we,o
- scrarated-For Moro Than Tven-
:; ~ Years They Had Been Together In tho
Service OF the Government.
"At 15l At 15l Going Mt 15l Who
says the half2 Do hear it? Only $15
for this mule? Why, gentlemen, she's
worth moron that if she never did an
other lick O. work. Whoa, Wench
lire old darling Fiftee- .u.s- 800"
offered =ssn't ~ the Saifs Fifteen EEL,
oncsl Do l hear t6e,haif2 Nop Fifteen
twice { Third ahd asst call and sold to
Mr.. Carl for $751;, And the auetioneen
whQ was also toy civilian cleus in the
post quarteEnaster's Office, teuderly.ou-
ressed tie aace, gray with age. Of the
ilStiS = brown mule, and, brushing his
|, nand across his own eyes. walked. Slowly
baok to his desk in the Office.
Wench was led off to. the Blacksmith
shop to be branded on the left of the
heck, 81. O. s. "-"inspected, condemn
ed, Sold" Twelve other mules had
passed under the hammer ahead of her
that morning and then to the branding
iron. The last one before her was Jim,
whose neck was still smoking with the
burning mark Of condemnation. He had
gone for $40. SO.
Two years ago the quartermaster had
| picked out Wench and Jim to submit to
the inspector for condemnation, but one
at s. time the Transfers had all come to
plead for their retention, and he had
yielded to their entreaties. Last year
again he had marked them for the list
but again gave way to the Transfers
But this time the chief Quartermaster
stepped in with his authority, and, re-
marking that there was no place in tho
quartermaster's department for senti-
ment, ordered Wench and Jim to be
condemned and sold.
For moro than n score Of years these
two little beasts have faithfully served
the government and all this time they
have been mates In the pack train they
logged along together; in the wagon
train they pulled over the same spreader;
in the camp they ate out of the same
feed box; i'll the stable they stood in the
same stall; in the corral they were al
ways found side by side. Tonight, for
the first time in this quarter century,
they will be apart, for Jim was bought
by Mr.. Hammond, and Wench was
knocked down to Mr. Carl, and Uncle
Sans exchequer is richer by $50. so.
No place for sentiment in the quar-
termaster's Department. OF course not,
yet "breathes there the man with soul
so dead" that he does not believe these
two little dumb creatures will miss each
other this night and many night?
AS the sale went on the teamsters
stood on one side like mourners at a
comrades burial; on the ether, the
farmers and ranchmen and contractors
and lumbermen from 30 miles around,
all there to bid in as cheap as possible
the mules the quartermasters depart
ment was done with. Against the name
of each mule Oh the list stood the legend,
"Old and worn out in service
There were old Rooney and Bevis and
Boss and Schaeffer and the rest of the
teamsters who have driven and packed
these mules over thousands of miles of
mountain and prairie. Are they to be
laughed at for wearing sad faces now?
Yet they bore the ordeal like men good
and true until Jim was led out. Then
you could sec their sleeves, one after
another. drawn across their eyes.
"This here's awful, boys, old Rooney
remarked. Il can't stand it. I'd rather
see the cover 'ment bust than see them
two mules Sold"
you're right, Rooney" old Bowls
spoke. IA gover'men mean enough to
sell them two mules amt fit to stand. I"
But their comments were stopped by the
auctioneer's third and last call OH poor
little Jim.
After the sale was over a farmer,
wearing canvas oyercoat that no had
bought at previous sale of condemned
stuff and that bore in the middle of the
back the big black letters, 81 c."
stepped up to the teamsters and asked
why they hated SO much to see the last
two mules sold.
"Why?" asked old Schaeffer, half an
cry, tossing tho moisture off his wrin-
killed. check. because they're the best
friends we ever had. Them two mules
was back with the pack train the day
Custer and his men was wiped out. They
toted packs during all the 1876 and
1877 campaigns gin the Indians.
They're the best pair of leaders that
was ever in this corral. They can drive
tho'selves, and in their young days,
whenever there was fight or skeery
place to go through or hard pull to
make, they was the first ones called for
They Helped haul tho Seventh from here
to Riley, and the Eighth from there up
here. There's never been campaign or
a march from this post that them mules