Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1897-09-11
HOW A MILE SAVED THE LIVES or A
WHOLE FAMILY.

The Animal Detected Danger Which His
Known the Mu-derous Apaches Were
In the House lie Would Not Approach.
Ho was an ordinary, everyday sort of
mule, with q yellow skin and shaved
tail, but hu was knowing enough to sayo
my life and the lives Of Tim Masten and
his wife and their two little children,
said James Crossman, formerly a ranch
man in New Mexico. He was a good all
round animal that / could put to team
work Of every kind, and if l had occasion
to rido so miles he could carry me there
in day as easily as any beast ever rode.
So on this September evening in 1885,
after my work Of the day was done. sad
died up 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 be al
ways had done before.
My ranch was in the Mimbres valley,
ut 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 to Mimbres that day, and,
that being our postoffice, my purpose in
riding over to his house was to sec If he
had brought mo any mail. just as was
starting from my house the thought of
Chief Geronimo, then on the warpath,
camo to my mind, and I went back and
got my winchester rife.
1.-The country along the Mimbres river
is billy, with considerable timber in the
valley and the rayines leading down into
it. For this reason did not come in sight
of Mastens house until was within
hundred yards of it. had got to where
could see the house, myself being still
in tho shadows of the frees, when Peter,
for the first time in all my experience
with him, baked, and not step farther
would no go. l 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 l set the spurs
into him was to sniff and step from side to
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 wore up, for the moon,
shining on the yeranda, showed one of
them seated il chair and the other sit
ting on the floor of the veranda, with his
back against the wall.
81 wrestled about ten minutes with Pc
ter and was undecided in my mind wheth-
er | had better walk to the house or dis
mount and throw stones at the mule, as
the Mexioans 60 with their post horses,
when the thought struck me that the men
on tho 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 to 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 tho whole matter to my sat
isfaotion I saw way to compromise with
Peter by turning back and riding down
the Mimbres road to meet Masten The
mules feet fairly danced when I refined
him about and gave him his head. 1t was
u mile to the road, and another miles rid
ing brought me to where l heard the sound
OF Mastens wagon wheels
in my ride of two miles had had time
to take second thought, and l reflected
that there lnust be some reason for the
mules strange behavior. There was some
thing wrong at the house, felt sure, and
when l met Masten told him how the
mule had behaved and what I had seen
and advised him to leave his wife and
children at q ranch II mile back while he
and went ahead and explored the prem
Uses. was afraid he would laugh at me,
but he had heard reports in town of In
dians Riding the upper valley the day be-
fore, and he was quite willing to take up
with my advice.
So he left his wife and children at the
ranch, borrowed a saddle to put on one of
his wagon horses, and together we went to
his ranch. a quarter of q mile away we
tied the horse and mule in a thicket and
went forward On foot The house was
still and dark. The two men were sitting
on the yeranda precisely as had seen them
before. While we crouched in the shadow
of the trees, Watching, a Pickering light
appeared 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 US.
Whether Masten or killed the Apache
that fell will never be known, for we both
were Hflhg 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 l followed Tho Indians
had set it OH fire. but tho flames had not
made much Roadway, and we easily extin-
guished the blaze.
Then we had time to look about u.s.
Tho 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 deooys to lull the sus-
picions of any ono approaching the ranch
The mon must have been killed at night
fall after their return from work. From
that time until they fired 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
| Peter been ior once wiser than his mas
| ter. "-NeT York Sun.