The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-06
THESE L Es AL n1GHE
A verncious Account or an Annoying Incident
in PENNSYLVANIA.

A verncious Account or AZ Annoying uncident
in Pennsylvania.
"of course" said John Gilbert, the travelling
Rroceryman. II don't know anything in q prac-
tical way about mules. but from what i have
seen mules do I haven't the least hesitancy In
believing every word of the story about the
bear-flghting mules that I read In THE Sun tho
other day. This is What / saw mules do. Or,
rather, perhaps. this is what l saw done to
mules. / was up at the backwoods village Of
Tannorsville, in Wayne county, Pa. when there
was snow on the ground. There is q very
long and steep hill in the road there.
The hill has a sharp bend in 1t about
half way down. On the outer curve there
is q high bank. From the foot OF that bank
q field stretches away In a gradual slope
at least a hundred yards, when 1t drops sud-
denly to an incline of A5 degrees. That sharp
incline Is 800 yards from top to bottom. and tho
bottom is simply the top Of q ledge that has a
sheer fall Of 20 feet. From the bottom Of that
ledge there Ia another sloping piece OF ground
200 teet or SO wide, and at the bottom Of that
yet another ledge drops perpendicularly 10
feet at least, at the base Of which q creek flows
close up to the rocks. If have made the topog-
raphy of that country plain you may easily note
that a man in a toboggan. taking the course I
have marked out. would get enough sport out Of
one ride to last him until next season.
IL was standing in the road on this long and
crooked hill listening to Uncle Joe Seaman, q
great hunter, bemoan the decadence Of game,
when Bill Grover, q teamster, came along. Bill
had a pair Of bob sleds with q good load Of logs
aboard. and tho load was being hauled by a team
of small. despondent.looking mules. When he
came to the top OF tho hill Bill stopped his mules
SO that he could adjust his brake chain, for
when II team comes down that hill with q load
the wagon or sled has got to have all the brake
on 1t that chains can give. As BIZ Grover was
Say John. them mules hain't got no moro
life in 'em than q pair of old rubber boots. / am
always glad whom, 1 see 'em raise this hill and
goin' home after they git down. there and un.
load, for l don't want to SEQ EN- drop dead
bill Grover fixed his brake chains and start
ed on down the hill. As the mules passed us l
noticed that they certainly did look as II a sud.
went on in a hopeless sort of way, and had
reached the very steepest part Of the hill when
logs began pushing rather savagely against the
heels Of those little mules.
Nov they're gone. sartin as applejackl' ex-
1.-THE American mule OF the comic newspa-
pers. under these circumstances, would have
those real, live. businessliko American mules
didn't do anything ling. OF ths kind, They Just let
t thSse tGss sn and G0P sbe Spoa as Ell Il Il the she eh hes'i h sI0 al Fl
that Kill They went SO fast that their legs
horse going q mile in 2:14.
o,a a,T5fy 5n asys Go.. go But tine tPs,! f BE- die son nswI when sa,
they git to the bottom O the hill
they didn't get to the bottom Of the hili:
d MhSP b shsdY 1 sfsSh IL. but sno ke eees st ,n she o 50aa D s%sS
the high bank they went. down the sloping field.
with the hobs and the logs doing their very, best
forty.ive degree incline and went right on down
it. they were going SO fast that If there hadn't
relief we couldn't have seen 'em 60. Like . flash
they reached the top Of tho first ledge. and over
it mules, hobs and logs DISAPPEARED: Uncle
That Settles iii when the logs came IN
sight on the big slope beSond that f,st
They had broken their fastcnings on the sled,
f fes ShSt o Glfh th on: RI nsoInn.o orsF w .hs m Bas . ana
hadn't disturbed the mules any, for by and by
rish ta aio 1ne ni.s ap tse ioS ea Win shs tho steps Sob 5SlibS sSinSS
to see those logs. mules: and bobs aittine down
reached. and the whole oavalcade disappeared
again. Nothing came In sight any more.
relief. :Nothin' kin ever mako ME believe that
them !, mules ,hss q, didn't die before they got to that at
you take for their shoes. Bit
Bill didn't say. and Just out of curiosity I
went down with him and Uncle Joe to see how
thing of a Job to get there, but we managed 1t.
were lying about promiscuously. a good deal
splintered and jammed. But there, in the midst
OF the wreck, and up to their knees in w,tcr.
respondent as ever, and painting a little. but as
much alive as any mules that ever hee-hawed.
simply aghast. He could scarcely believe his eyes,
even after Bill had led the mules out Of the
across lots to the hill, the bottom of which
they hadn't reached. Then Uncle Joe shouted:
".Bill! I'll give you $500 for them mules!
ST rnmn AWAY that daV. and I don't know
whether the mules changed hands or not, but |
do know this: there can't ever anything be said
about the doinps of the great American mule
that I won'tc come right up to the scratch and
swear to-"