The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-20
SPEAKING OF MULES.
Recalls How Ono of Them, Charged with
Dynamite, Turned Mine into q Geyser.

Dynamite, Turned q Mine into q Geyser.
From tie Chicago Record
The pack mule Is quite as much an insti-
tuition as the team mule, and is absolutely
indispensable in the mountains. Mule pack
ing Is fine art, and with a well-trained
animal and a skilful packer you can safely
transport anything from a plano to a bag of
oats. When the packer has finished his lob
In an artistic manner the animal may buck
or back, kick or rear. or roll. but he can
not rid himself of his burden. and he finally
gives 1t up In despair. After two or three
experiences he will submit to his destiny
and fall into line with tie rest Of the train
every morning to receive his load from the
packer. A well broken pack mule is al
ways proud Of his load, and II by any
means 1t gets loose he will step quietly
out Of line and wait until the packmaster
comes along to tighten It,
The most serious objection to the mule,
which you sometimes find in human beings
also, Is the delusion that he can sing. One
who has never heard a mule solo cannot
appreciate the extent of his mistake; bat
like everything else about a mule, his song
Is strictly original. 1t belongs to no other
animal. No ono can describe and no one
can initiate 1t.
"Speakin O. mules" said an old Santa Fe
teamster. as he tipped back in his chair,
reminds me of a 'strordinary experience
had once with a critter Me and Mexican
MOse-mehbc you knew him? They called
him so because he was mimi in Mexico
for quite spell-me and Mexican Nose
was prospectin' up in the Bill Williams
mountains one winter when our mule ct up
all our dynamite cartridges. There we was
loo miles from nowhere. and no way of get
tin' more"
Il reckon know how We felt" said an
old Californian, who sat In the corner smok-
ing. I've been fixed that way when the
Ticker give out. It's a distressin' situation"
I'VE dasscnt try to ride the mule to the
nearest settlement" continued the team
ster, without noticing the Interruption. "fer
neither of us want quite ready for king
dom come--neither me nor Nose But Nose
he was the most ingenious cuss that ever
handled pick He was alters inventin'
some sort o. labor savin' contraption, but
Mas terrible unlucky. Nose set thinking
fer awhile over the sitooation. and then he
looked up at me kind O. pleased with him
self an observed as solemn as a preacher:
Jake. d'you happen to know anything
O. dynsmics?'
"'No. says I: not a durn thing
Wal says he, its the science OF ex-
plodin' and I low it'll work here. That
UllScT1Dlt cTlLttT mas udu Ine Iun o 0atlDR
them cartridges, and now he's got to do the
blastn'.' So he tied up a passle o. stones
in the oats and fed 'em into the mule. His
idee was that when the digestin' machinery
got to workin' It would fetch the stones into
contact with the fulminAtin' end OF tho
cartridges. and they'd be a hoistin' OF dirt
So we backed the mule down into the shaft
and crept benin big rock to wait for
things to begin to commence. Well, I swar!
In about fftin' minutes there was the big
gest kind OF Fourth of July celebration
you ever heerd tell on. 1t was bout noUA
when the proceedin's opened and when the
first cartridge went off the air was full of
dirt and mule meat fer miles round and
me and Nose had all we could tend to
dodgin' the big powders that come out Of
the shaft. In fifteen minutes the shaft
was 200 feet deep, and the dirt scattered
all over the country. In ten minutes moro
that burned mule had struck one o. them
mysterious underground streams You md
In the desert and the hole was full of
water, so there warn't any more mimi fer
u.s."
THAT was tough" said the Californian
alphabetically. "You Jest natchelly over
done 1t, didn't YER
We'll, reckon we did but we come out
even after all That Is. me and Nose didn't
lose no money"
"How's that 7"
why, we sold the shaft to a tenderfoot
that happened to come along Jest that MI
nit. He thought 1t was a geyser, and Nose
and me skinned out before the mule quit
hrin'