The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-03-19
JIM AND WENCH SOLD.
UNCLE SANS TRANSFERS HATED TO
SEE THE FAITHFUL PAIR GO.

"a To Separated-For Moro Than Twen
" Years They Had Been Together In ths
Service of the Government.
"At 16l At l5i Going ut l5l Who
says tho half? Do hear it2 Only Sl5
for this Iaule? Why. gentlemen. she's
worth more'n that if she never did an
other lick o. work. Whoa. wench, you
little old darling Fifteen dollars am
offered Can't get the half? Fifteen
once Do l hear the half? No? Fifteen
twice Third and last call and sold to
Mr.. Carl for $40" And tho auctioneer,
! who WIS also the civilian clerk in the
! post quartermaster' Office, tenderly ca
ressed the face. gray with age. of the
little brown mule, and. brushing his
hand across his own eyes, walked slowly
back to his desk in the Office.
Weneh was led off TO the blacksmith
| shop to be branded on the left OF tho
neck, 81 Q. 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 $3.50
Two years ago the Quartermaster had
picked ont Wench and Jim To submit 30
the inspector. for condemnation, but one
al time the teamsters 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 teamsters.
But this time the chief quartermaster
stepped in with his authority, and, re-
marking that there was no place in the
quartermaster' department for senti-
ment, ordered Wench and Jim to be
condemned and sold.
For moro than score Of years these
two little beasts have faithfully served
tho 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; in tho 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 DO apart, for Jim was bought
by Mr.. Hammond, and Wench was
knocked down to Mr.. Carl, and Uncle
Sans exchequer is richer By $1,000.
No place for sentiment in the quar-
termaster' department! OF course not,
yet "beeathes there the man with soul
so dead" that he does not believe these
two litlo 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 q
comrades burial; ON the other, the
farmers and ranchmen and contractors
and Juinbermen from 20 miles around,
all there to bid in as cheap as possible
the mules the quartermaster's depart
ment was done with. Against the name
OF each mule on the list stood the legend, |
"Old and worn out in service
There were old Rooney and Bevis and |
Boss and Schaeifer 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 zee their sleeves, one after
another drawn across their eyes.
This here's awful, boys, old Rooney
81 can't stand it. I'd rather
see the government bust than see them
two mules sold"
You're right, Rooney" old Bevis
spoke. "a government mean enough to
sell them two mules amt fit to stand"
But their comments were stopped by the
luctioneer S third and last call on poor
little Jim.
After the sale was over farmer,
canvas overcoat that he had
bought at q previous sale of condemned
stuff and that bore in the middle of the
back tho big black letters, 81. c."
stepped mp to the teamsters and asked
Why they hated so much to see the last
wo mules sold.
why? asked old Schaeffer, half an
Try, tossing the moisture off his wrin-
lied cheek. because they re the best
rlends we ever had. Them two mules
vas back with the pack train the day
ulster and his men was wiped out. They
oted packs during all the 1875 and
o77 campaigns gin the Indians.
they're the best pair of leaders that
vas ever in this corral. They can drive
heselves, and in their young days.
whenever there was fight or skeery
lace to go through or hard pull to
make, they was the first ones called for.
hey he'pod haul the Seventh from here
0 Riley, and the Eighth from there mp
ere. There's never been campaign or
march from this post that them mules
int gone on it. And they've never
cen separated till today. an burned il
b'lievo they'll work lick by the
elves. Do you, Bevis?'
u sho' hope they won't" this old
ollow answered bitterly. And they
talked away TO the Transfers mess. -
lew York Herald.