The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1899-09-28
ROCKY MOUNTAIN cANARIES.
Frank A. Haywood.


Strangers have to laugh when they
first see Rocky Mountain Canary. His
small body. enormous ears and look Of
preternatural wisdom are as interest
ing as the antics Of the clown In a
circus But, nevertheless, the family OF
burros divided the honors with the rail-
roads in building up the southwestern
part Of our country, particular by New
Mexico.
Where the railroad lays down Its
burden there the burro takes 1t up. Not
much larger than a mastiff. he is yet
almost as strong as horse. AS sad
die animal you would spurn him; not
| the reason that II you should fail for
an instant to keep both your knees
| punched up under your chin your feet
would strike ground, and Mr.. Burro
would walk gently off, leaving you be-
hind him on the road. 1t is as a pack
animal that the burro excels. He Is
pstient, strong and surefooted. His
board is not expensive. for such costly
| delicacies as oats and hay are to him
| as strangers. From the time he was
| weaned from his mother he has known
no other rations than such as he could
procure by nibbling the grass by the
wayside.
On his patient back the lonely pros
| pector ties his worldly possessions,
and. following behind with rifle and
| staff. threads the mountain trails In
| search OF the new Ell Dorado. The delv-
| ing miner, far up in cloudland, uses
him to carry sacks of precious ore to
| the smelter, and bring back in return
food. clothing and even water to drink.
When the mine has been established
on paying basis. so that a large num-
ber of men are required for its opera
tion, then a settlement Is formed
| around its mouth. and the iron rails
| are laid to connect It with civilization.
The burro's work is finished here, and
| he pushes on to other fields Of useful
ness, far in advance. He is ever
pioneer.
| The word burro is simply Spanish
for donkey. Yet burro Is smaller than
| a donkey-just a pocket edition OF one,
as Lummis happily puts it, The dlf-
| ference In size probably comes from
difference in food and work continued
| through many generations So far back
as history extends the burrO has been
| abused. overworked and left to hustle
| for himself. No wonder he Is small.
But Notwithstanding his scanty d.
mensions he is wonderfully strong, and
enduring. and will grow fat on rations
that wouldn't keep a horse from star
vation. These qualities coupled with
his sure footedness. are the reason for
his being SO valuable pack animal.
His sure footedness comes from the
instinct OF self preservation, which Is
far better developed than in the horse.
| So far the instinct Is profitable, but 1t
sometimes leads to great annoyance.
One day while burro train was being
| guided down a mountain canyon the
leader came to a place where the trail
lead across the bed of a stream. A tor
rent rushed across II in the rainy sea-
son. but now 1t was simply dry sand.
as hard almost as a pavement.
The burro refused to cross. and final
| iy had to be pulled from the front and
pushed from the rear. Then. when half
| way over he deliberately laid down and
| commenced to groan. The cause was
| that the sand recalled his mind to .
| time long ago when he had stepped on
Just such an innocent looking place. 1t
was smooth and dry and yellow and
gave every evidence of plain sailing.
His little feet had gone through. how
| ever, and he would have sunk out OF
sight in the quick sand beneath had he
not been rescued with ropes in the
nick of time Catch him trying that ex-
pertinent again.
| Another instance OF utter despon-
dency under slight provocation hap
pened on the same trip. In passing
| through very narrow part Of the can
| yon, one OF the burros caught his
| pack between two projecting ledges OF
rock and stuck fast. In vain he tried to
push forward and then to back. Then
he gave up utterly. Such groans and
lamentations as issued from his little
throat have rarely been heard from a.
beast, but when his pack was united
| with the utmost haste. everyone think
Ing he had been internally injured. he
quietly trotted of to Join his COM
rades. with every indication Of being
in robust health and perfect spirits.
But what discourages a burrO quick
er than anything else is wetting his
ears. He Is very sensitive about these
grotesQue appendages under any cir
cumstances. but wetting them simply
breaks his heart. II while swimming a
their inner membrane he will give up
and drown.
pe.vit, of nn,rcu 81 EYeyfion