The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-01-01
PETERS SAGACITY.
HOW A MULE SAVED THE LIVES OF A
WHOLE FAMILY.

The Animal Detected Danger which His
Rider Failed to Discern - Must Have
Known the Murderous Apaches Were
In the House He Would Not Approach.
"He was an ordinary, everyday sort of
mule, with yellow skin and shaved
tail, but he was knowing enough to 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 1 could put to team
work of every kind, and if had occasion
to ride 80 miles he could carry me there
in day as easily as any beast l ever rode.
So on this September evening In 1886,
after my work Of the day was done, l 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 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. / 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 see If he
had brought me any mail Just as 1 was
starting from my house the thought Of
Chief Geronimo, then on the warpath,
came to my mind, and l went back and
got my winchester rifle
"The country along the Mimbres river
is hilly, with considerable timber in the
valley and the ravines leading down into
| it, For this reason did not come in sight
of Masten's house until / was within q
hundred yards of it. l had got to where l
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, balked, and not step farther
would he 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 were up, for the moon,
shining on the veranda, showed one of
them seated in chair and the other sit
ting on the floor of the yeranda, with his
back against the wall.
81 wrestled about ten minutes with Pc
ter and was undecided in my mind wheth-
or had better walk to the house or dis
mount and throw stones at the mule, as
the Mexioans 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 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 the whole matter to my sat
isfaction / saw way to compromise with
Peter by turning back and riding down
the Mimbres road to meet Masten. The
mules feet fairly danced when / refined
him about and gave him his head. 1t was
q mile to the road, and another miles rid
ing brought me to where heard the sound
of Masten n's wagon wheels.
"In my ride of two miles had had time
| Jake Il etCOuu InOuRubt anu rtn0Cbell
that there must be some reason for the
mules strange behavior. There was some
thing wrong at the house, l felt sure, and
when / met Masten told him how the
mule had behaved and what ! had seen
and advised him to leave his wife and
children at ranch a mile back while he
and went ahead and explored the prem
ises. l was afraid he would laugh at me,
but he had heard reports In town of In
dians raiding the upper valley the day be-
fore, and he was quite willing to take up
with my ndvice.
$50 he left his wife and children at the
ranch, borrowed q saddle to put on one OF
his wagon horses, and together we went tC
his ranch A quarter Of mile away We
tied the horse and mule in thicket and
went forward on foot. The house waG
still and dark. The two men were sitting
on the yeranda precisely as l had seen them
before. While we crouched in the shadow
of the trees, watching, flickering light
appeared in the house, and then, one by
one, seven Apaohes filed out Of the door
ana took their way across the open space
coming directly toward us.
"WhethCr Masten or killed the Apache
that fell will never be known, for we boti
were firing our repeating rifles as fast a.
| we COllN pun DhCh OHo lONCTS. lu0 IL
dians were so near when we turned loos'
+ on them that we could hear the bulle
strike this one as he fell backward. TIT
other Indians dragged him away and wer
lost in the shadows before we had hal
emptied our magazines. They sent two o
three random shots at us as they ran, ant
that was all the fight they made, for the.
were ratified and stampeded by our suddel
attack not knowing what they had raj
up against AS soon us they were out o
sight Masten made dash for tho house
and of course l followed. The Indian
had set 1t on fire, but b flames had no
made much headway, and we easily extin
guished tho blaze,
"Then wo had time to look about us
The two herdcrs were dead, propped up II
the positions in which we found them b.
, the Indians, who, after killing them, ha
:, placed them as deooys to lull the sus
pioions of any ono approaching the ranch
The men must have been killed at night
fall after their return from work. From
4 that time until they fired the house an
u started to go away the Indians had lai
inside waiting for the return Of Maste
and his family, and they would have &c
them, and me besides, had not my mul
Peter been for once wiser than bis mai