The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-16
BRICK wmALnN's CURIOUS LUCK.
His Contract Mules Becnme a sheep
Ranch, an Apiary Then Nothing.

His Contract Mules Became n sheep
Ranch, an Apiary Then Nothing.
From the San Francisco Argonaut.
Whalen's luck was copious. and it be-
came proverbial; the facts her recorded
are but specimen pages from the book of
his experience. When the Consolidated
Canal Company went into insolvency its
assets consisted of a mortgaged right of
way through the sagebrush and several
completed but detached section of a big
ditch.
Brick Whalen, the contractor on section
No. 8, had finished the heavy work there,
and was preparing to move camp to sec
ton No G. when the company went broke.
1t was. in fact, upon the very day tho
suspension was posted that Whaleu, hav-
ing had his contract work inspected, took
the engineers certificate up to headquar-
ters to get his check. He received in
stead statement that the company was
in temporary difficulties, and an assurance
that il would soon resume. Whalen had
before this worked for shalxy corporations;
he knew better, and lost no time in acting
on his knowledge.
No good hoWn' over broken pipe or
tryin' to save the pieces he told himself
.
"Bys, the company's broke, and so am l.
l can't pay We and l can't feed We. You
got to rustic"
whats the matter with us taking the
mules?" said one.
Them mules and scrapers don't belong
to me, as I've often told ye" said Wha-
len, whose custom it was 70 refer TO A
legendary hacker. This ditching outfit is
the property of Martin of San Francisco,
and any man that NEEDLES with it will get
the sheriff after him."
IN take one, just the same" said
Shorty, and tell Martin he can have him
again when my wages is paid. That's
about fair"
A few others took the same view of the
equities involved, and took mules, to which
Whalen only made a wordy resistance
Most of the men We're induced to accept
orders on the defunct company for the
amount due them, payable with large in
terest. And if you don't get it very soon.
the interest will double your money" said
Whalen.
When The last man had gone, Whalen
went out TO the corral and counted the
mules ''Forty-one head; that was a pretty
close CALL" said he.
1t was late in the season 20 find another
job OF scraping but the mules could not
live on sage brush, and were at once start
ed for the railroad On a small stream
OF trail sheep was also camped. Whalen
eyed them disdalnfuly.
1 see the beggars eat sage" said he
why, certainly" replied the sheep-man
that's the finest kind of feed for sheep"
Il wish work mules would do that" said
Brick. 81 never was so near a sheep in my
life" he continued; the smell of 'em
mile away is enough for me. Funny little
fellows, and they look some like mules
with ears and tails cut Off What do you
do with them?'
Double our money on them every twelve
months" was the reply.
No extended description of sheep-farm-
ing would have impressed the fancy of the
veteran mule-skinner, but double your
money was his own familiar phrase for
describing any hopeful venture, and on
that evening he smoked many pipes of
black plug over il. A brute that can thrive
on a brush diet and double your money
every year is an interesting creature.
At dayDreak Whalen was in the sheep
camp negotiating a trade of sheep for
mules on basis of 50 to 1, and prepared TO
accept much less. Three days later he
sat in the door Of the shack which had
long done duty as mess-house on section
of the canal as many an evening before
he had sat watching the mules come in
from water. Tonight there was never a
mule in sight. Down the breeze came a
over the crest of an adjacent hill appear
ed the flock browsing on the rank sage.
They do look some like mules, !" he So
liloquized land I'll bet I'm the only Irish
man in America ever owned herd of
sheep"
Winter came and passed, and the only
freshman prospered. By roofing in a cut
with brush he had commodious sheds, and
cross sections of poles divided the broad
ditch into as many corrais as he chose
The sheep were fat and carried heavy
fleece.
Whalen had for help two boys who had
wandered there and asked for work He
had proposed to hire one of them. but the
boys protested that they had never been
separated, and that If they got jobs at diff
ferent ranches 1.-THE other one wouldn' {
know where the other one was" a contln-
gency which they could not abide. So
Whalen offered TO take the two at the
price of one, and on that basis they shared
with him the shack, herded the flock, and
cooked the grub. They soon knew as
much, or as little, about sheep as Brick
himself, and the proprietor found oppor-
tunity to break the monotony Of camp life
by occasional trips TO the railroad and
once to San Francisco.
I'm going to sec my friend Martin" he
told the boys Now tend to business and
don't let any get away" And the boys
gave their word that not one should es-
cape.
During Whalen's absence in the city he
went out of the sheep business even more
abruptly than he went into it the previous
autumn The instruction to the boys was
fulfilled to the letter-not any got away.
1t happened on a hot day in June, when,
contrary TO usual custom, the boys brought
the flock to camp and the shade of sheds
at noontime. It never rains in that arid re-
gion, but sometimes pours. This was one
of those times. Charged with ice and wa
ter a great black cloud came drifting down
the wind and emptied out its load upon the
camp and the hillside above 1t. The canal,
curving around its base formed an cave
trough for the whole mountain and pour
ed several thousand inches Of water into
Whalens improvised sheep-sheds. The
flood very soon subsidized, but when the
cloud had passed and the sun again shone
forth, there were no living sheep. Not
many minutes are required 70 drown a rat
in a hole.
Meanwhile the boys. greatly frightened
by the sudden storm. and with no thought
for the safety Of flock were in the
shack. The hails ed and the wind
shook it, Water coSe4 he floor.
Pray Billy" said the one on the bar