The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-01-13
THE BUCKING MULE.

The Century Magazines prize for the
best short story submitted by a college
graduate in 1899 was awarded to John
M. OskisOn of Leland Stanford Univer-
sity, whose home is in the Indian Ter
ritory, and whose blood is partly in
dian. Only the Master Shall Praise
is its title, and one of it's scenes is a
description Of a ride on bucking mule.
Out OF a knot of excited men Hammer
went straight to the waiting. restless
mule. With a mock air of bravado he
struck the excited mule across the flank
with his sombrerO, after roughly seiZ-
ing the reins. No one who has not
learned by experience how to mount
plunging horse can understand how
Hammer lifted himself out of the chaos
of rearing mule and struggling attend
ants into the saddle before he signed
to the men to turn the animal loose.
When the mule found itself free to
act there was a mOmentary pause.
Then began the short, nasty jumps
straight i the air, with the animals
back bowel. its legs stiff. and it's head
lowered. 1t was the first powerful
effort of the angered beast, made with
devilish confidence. Hammer was
scarcely shaken by these first straight
jumps, but then began the, twisting
series, which is the second expedient
of a bucking animal A jump high into
the air, with a seemingly impossible
twist to the side, landed the mule with
its head turned almost half round. Be-
fore the rider caught his breath an
other jump and another haIf-turn were
made. These are the notions that
make a brOnco-buster's life shorter
Hammer was bleeding at the nose in
half a minute. The twisting jumps
were continued until the strength of
the mule was almost exhausted, and as
yet only the hat of the puncher had
been dislodged. A short pause followed,
during which the mule changed its tao
tics, and Hammer thwacked it's sweaty
neck with his open hand. The next mo-
ton was a sudden rearing by the mule.
AS it rose on its hind legs the rider
yanked fiercely ON the retns, and, slip
ping to the ground on one side. allowed
the brute to fall on its back. The sad
dle-horn buried Itself in the earth, and
the mules hoofs beat the air a mo-
ment before it scrambled to it's feet
Hammer was cooler than the mule
now. and swung himself back into the
saddle with the first long leap of the
desperate animal. This was the easy
part of the trial for the rider, and the
spectacular part for the world. The
mule ran straight away for the oppo-
site fence of the fair grounds with
ing forward with the speed of a racing
yacht. Hammer brought his craft about
before it sailed into the fence, and beat
it fore and aft with a fiourishing hand
He was wild with triumph now, his
hair blowing in the wind. He leaned
forward as in a race, urging the thor
oughly tired and conquered mule
straight for the crowd. a particularly
vicious dig with the spurs made the
beast plunge into the scattering knot
of spectators and rise to a four barred
gate. At the opposite end of the track
no fence barred its way, and it ran
frightened and quivering, under the
awning of a lemonade vendors stand
scattering glasses and CONNECTIONS to
the winds, and wreckinlg' the stand
Hammer slowly dismOunted. stroked the
sweaty flank of the subdued mule, then
turning and picking uD an unbroken
bottle Of soda. proposed a toast TO
our gentle old family buggy hoss!"