The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-08-28
PETERS SAGACITY.
HOW A MULE SAVED THE LIVES or A
WHOLE FAMILY.
The Animal Detected Danger Which His
Rider Failed To Discern - Must Have
Known the Murderous Apaches Were

known the Murderous Apaches Were
In the House He Would Not Approach,
''He was an ordinary, everyday sort Of
mule, with a yellow skin and shaved
tail, but he was knowing enough 10 save
my life and the lives of Tim Masten and
his wife and their two little children, -
said James Crossman, formerly ranch
man in New Mexico. He was good all
round animal that | could put 20 team
work of every kind, and if l had occasion
10 ride 90 miles he could carry me there
in day as easily as any beast ever rode.
So on this September evening in 1855,
after my work of the day was done, l sad
died mp Peter-that was the mules name
and started over TO Masten's ranch,
three miles away, expecting that he would
carry me there without hitch, as he al
ways had done before.
my ranch was in the Mimbres valley,
at place called Fairbrothers, where there
was little colony of six or seven Ameri-
can families strung along as many miles
of the river, and we all were engaged both
in farming and stock raising, with a mar
ket for our meat and vegetables at the
mine camps In the Black range Masten
had the most stock Of all Of us, and he
kept in his employ two herders for his
sheep and cattle. l knew that he had gone
with his family 20 Mimbres that day, and
that being our postoffice, my purpose in
riding over TO his house was 20 see IL he
had brought me any mail. Just as ! was
starting from my house the thought Of
Chief Geronimo, then on the warpath,
came 10 my mind. ana / went back and
got my winchester rife.
1.-THE country along tho Mimbres river
is billy, with considerable timber in the
valley and the ravines leading down into
IL. For this reason did not come in sight
of Masten's house until i was within a
hundred yards of it. had got 10 where |
could see the house, l myself being still
in the shadows of the trees, when Peter,
for the first time in all my experience
with him, baked, and not a step farther
would he 60. / was both astonished and
panied at this unusual behavior from him
and dug my spurs into his sides diligent-
ly, but could not force him ahead one
step. All he would do as | set the spurs
into him was 10 sniff and step from side 10
side, with his ears cooked straight ahead
and his nose pointed straight toward the
house. There was no light in the house,
but the herders were up, for the moon,
shining on the yeranda, showed one Of |
them seated in chair and the other sit |
ting on the floor of the veranda, with his |
back against the wall.
II wrestled about ten minutes with Pc |
ter and was undecided in my mind wheth- |
er ! had better walk 10 the house or dis |
mount and throw stones at the mule. as |
the Mexicans do with their post horses, |
when the thought struck me that the men |
on the veranda were sitting very still.
They had not changed their position or
moved once since had come in sight of
the house-tired and asleep after their
days work of course, and the reason they
had not gone 10 bed was that they were
sitting up TO await the return of Masten
and his family. They had not returned; |
that was evident. And having in this way
reasoned out the whole matter 10 my sat
isfaction | saw a way 10 compromise with
Peter by turning back and riding down
the Mimbres road 70 meet Masten. The
mules feet fairly danced when / refined
him about and gave him his head. 1t was
a mile 90 the road, and another miles rid
ing brought me TO where heard the sound
of Masten's wagon wheels.
"In my ride Of two miles had had time
20 take a second thought, and | reflected (
Nu0L ll4NEt must W sOlut TtdSOD IOT the I
mules strange behavior. There was some
thing wrong at the house, felt sure, and
when / met Masten / told him how the
mule bad behaved and what / had seen
and advised him 10 leave his wife and |
children az ranch mile back while he
and / went ahead and explored the prem
Uses. was afraid he would laugh at me,
but be had heard reports in town of In
10 -. -
fore, and he was quite willing to take up |
with my advice.
so he left his wife and children at the
ranch, borrowed saddle to put on one Of |
his wagon horses, and together we went TO |
his ranch. A quarter of mile away we |
tied the horse and mule in thcket and |
went forward on foot. The house was |
still and dark. The two men were sitting |
on the veranda precisely as had seen them |
before. While we crouched in the shadow |
Of the trees, watching, Pickering light |
in the house, and then, one by |
one, seven Apaches filed out of the door |
and took their way across the open space,
coming directly toward u.s.
Whether Masten or killed the Apache |
that fell will never be known, for we both |
were firing our repeating rifles as fast as
we could pull back the levers. The In.
dams were so near when we turned loose
on them that we could hear the bullet
strike this one as he fell backward The
other Indians dragged him away and were
lost in the shadows before we had half
emptied our magazines. They sent two or
three random shots at us as they ran, and
that was all the fight they made, for they
were ratified and stampeded by our sudden
attack, not knowing what they had ran
up against As soon as they were out Of
sight Masten made dash for the house,
and Of course | followed The Indians
had set it on fire, but the flames had not
made much Roadway, and we easily extn-
guished the blaze.
"Then we had time to look about us.
The two herders were dead, propped up in
the positions in which we found them by
the Indians, who. after killing them, had
placed them as decoys to lull the sus-
picions of any one approaching the ranch.
The men must have been killed at night
fall after their return from work. From
that time until they fred the house and
started TO go away the Indians had lain
inside waiting for the return Of Masten
and his family, and they would have got
them, and me besides had not my mule