Mexico weekly ledger., 1898-02-24
Written for the Ledger.
RIDING A MULE.

luIiy mduS' III LIE BtHorai makeup
ne seems to be a combination of dyna-
mite, double-geared chain lightning,
with patent back-action movements,
and is always wound up. He is the
very quintessence of pure unadulter-
ated cussedness whitfield down to a
point, and, unless the o hap
pens to be very hard up and you want
to give him a job, you had better not
monkey around a mule. Looking
backward down the dim vista of by
gone years, when that part of this
continent that lies between the Mis-
souri, and the Pacific was nothing but
a bowling wilderness and a trackless
plain, inhabited by wild beasts and
wilder men, the little episode that l
propose to relate occurred.
Sometimes, when in a reminiscent
mood, many stirring scenes of the
past rise, as it were, from the fathom-
less depths of oblivion and appear as
wildly as though they had happened
but yesterday. 1t seems as though they
were photographed on the brain and SO
indelibly fixed that they can never
be effaced nor forgotten.
On the Gath day of May, 1853, we
crossed the Missouri river at st. Joe
and camped the first night near a
Kickapoo village, about six miles west
OF the river. st. Joseph was a very
small village at that time nestled in a
little nook near the river, but the ever
busy fingers of time have wrought
wonderful changes since then, for st.
Joe is a large, wealthy and magnificent
city o-day.
The Kickapoos had procured a sup
ply of villainous fire water at st. Joe
that day and shortly after dark PAN
demonium broke loose and all night
long they filled the air with blood
curdling wal whoops and demoniac
yells. That was my first introduction
to poor Lo and l must confess that the
opinion that'I then formed of him
was by 10 means an exalted one and
l have never changed it. After we
had crossed the river l was put in
command of one of the huge prairie
schooners, the propelling power of
which was three yoke of the most
obstreperous, unraly, stubborn and
contrary Missouri steers that ever
were hitched by the neck. And right
here l will state that it is my candid
opinion and honest belief that no NOR
fal man avar Eual nm THE aartb u,bo |
could have driven that team fifteen
hundred miles, as I did, without max
ing use of red-hot cuss words and lots
Of 'em, too. You might argue with
them for hours and your breath was
only thrown away; and then you
might belabor them with a blacksnake
whip until you were exhausted, and it
would have no more effect on them
than pouring water Oh a ducks back,
and they wouldn't pull your hat off your
head, but If you would Just sling a few
whitening, scorching and blistering
cuss words at them they would buckle
right down to business and DO their
level best. All went well nntiI we
reached the little Nemaha, about
eighty miles from st. Joe, where we
camped on Saturday afternoon in a
beautiful bottom that lay between the
forks of the stream. In that camp the
preceding year cholera ragged among
the California emigrants and $50 or
200 died and were buried there. In
some of b trains every member was
swept away, whilst other trains were
30 crippled by deaths that the surviv-
ors were unable to proceed and had
to return to the homes they had so
recently left. The grass was so fine
In this bottom and the cattle seemed
to enjoy it SO well that we concluded
to lay over Sunday and give them the
full benefit Of it, and, as they did not
seem disposed to wander away, we
did not deem it necessary to guard {
them at night, but, as the sequal will
show, we afterwards wished that we
had. l
Early Monday morning we pulled
out from camp and, after / had trav- l
eled several miles with my wagon, l !
was overtaken by our captain, who I
said: Slight head of cattle are miss
ing; We have hunted up and down t
both forks of the creek but were
unable to find where they had crossed t
and got away. Now, / want you to c
take my mule and go back to the camp |
and help the boys to find them and 1 b
will drive your team while you are a
a
Mounting the mule l rode back to a
the camp, where l found the boys l
waiting for me. They all said that q
they knew the cattle had crossed t.
forks of the creek and that it Il
be useless for me to look for r
them in that direction, but / did not "
think SO, and, riding along the north a
1t did not take me more than ten Il
minutes to find where they had gone d
the steep bank and through a o
dense growth of willows. Crossing Il
creek, / found the trail led up a II
steep rocky hill, 30 / dismounted and a
followed 1t on foot. About every ten W
Or twenty steps / found a few spears D
Of grass growing among the rocks and Il
by examining them closely l found Il
some that were bent downward with K
D little half dried mud ON them and o
knew that l was on the right trail. u
The boys all said that 1 could see W
nothing but naked rock, but I followed a.
hat dim trail over the hill and a quar- III
,er Of a mile beyond before the grass
grew thick enough for them to see a 9
rack. Then l soon discovered the v,
racks of three ponies and knew that D,
had stolen the cattle. And C.
occurred what has always been a m
mystery to me. As soon as we came W
% where the grass was tall and luxur- al
ant there was but a single trailsshow- til
ng that eight head of cattle and three 81
were travelling single file, as n,
always do, and it continued tv
he same to the end-a distance of n,
more than thirty miles. After follow
ng the trail several miles it turned a,