The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-08-24

their peculiar position. The funny little
Gonkcys, accustomed to burdens vary
ing from fresh meat to cord-wood, ,eem-
ed quite Indifferent to the oddness of
| their live freight.
French Jcc's good natured smile
! wrcathcd his broad face once more as
he beleld the comical array Of pig-laden
mules. 1T ces verra funny-zis ting
but it ces again like what nevair see
before. Ze mule will not pleased be if
&c pig squcal in ze ears
The afternoon was we'll advanced
when Joe sang out his "IIolloa. jimmy /!
Come, Cayuse" which started the mule
train on its difficult climb up the Noun
tain trail. The trail zigzags beneath
towering pines up very steep slope,
| then it winds along canon Tor a mile,
-sccnds another pitch and finally ira
, verses a broad, wooden plateau, COM
/ raratlvcly level. at tie extreme end of
which, on slight rise, is the logging
camp.
French Joe always rode in the wake
Of the train on a mouse colored donkey
The narrowness of the trail prevented
him from passing the burdened animals,
so he had to content himself with shout
ing vociferously at the mules, as they
slowly moved over their ialy route. In
spite of all his precautions, ore beast
calmly laid down at the .steepest part of
the first pitch. Joe was compelled to
remove the pig freight and clumsy pack
saddle before the crring mule could re-
gain an upright position. In the first
place, the train had started late !; this de-
lay and the uncommon dellberateness of
the whole string of mules consumed
great deal more time. Joe's stock of pa
tcnce began to ebb. His ready tongue
poured forth surprising mixture of
French and English intcrjections as the
twilight threw gloomy shadows through
out the silent forest When the lead
mule topped the final declivity and pass
ed beneath the great pines which stud
dcd the plateau it was quite dark. Now
Joe thought it ample time to use othef
means than his voice to urge the slothful
dcnkeys onward; so he alighted from his
riding animal, gathered a pockettul OF
rocks, and mounted again. He had prac-
ticed this method before, and knew that
singing blow from a stone had its
effect.
The very first stone he threw crashed
through the Stats of one of the pig boxes
and its effect was indeed telling. All
the way up the consignment OF swine had
emitted scarcely grunt, and such
piercing squeal, coming so suddenly
from the stricken pig, electrified the
staid donkey upon whose back he was
strapped. As Joe had prophesied, "ze
mule will not pleased be if ze pig squeal
in ze ears"
The mule snorted hoarsely; he jump
ed forward against the one in front OF
him. The pig squealed again. A ter
rife, maddencd squcal, that did not die
away, but grew more ear-splittlng than
at first. Every mule in that heretofore
snail-like train pricked up its long ears.
Those self-same ears must have gather
ed in a great volume of that horrld din,
for the lead donkey struck out on a
numbering trot, closely followed by the
other thoroughly alarmed beasts.
Towering pines closely bordered the
trail; pack-saddle came in contact with
big tree-trunk, another shrill scream
joined in with the first The jolting.
swaying boxes, with their lusty-lunged
inmates, fairly slrieked; and the faster
the mules ambled the more deafening
waxed the uproar. How those sounds
rcverberated through the dim old
woods! What unearthly cries dispelled
their wonted quietudc!
Supper was in progress in the long,
low boarding house at the logging-camp.
Two rows Of tired, hungry men were
busily making wonderful inroads upon
China TOMS well-cooked viands. Tai
low candles shed dim light upon the
table, and frightened up the ruddy faces
of the "crew."
"Now, Mike, you know there's no such
thing as fairies or banshees. SO what
do YOU spin yarn like that for y
"Oi swcer me grandfather hearn wan
an didn't he tell me the truth, now,
whin he says he did,"
An animated conversation ensued; the
men dearly loved to hear mike rant
about his queer superstitlons, and argued
with him simply for that reason. In the
heat Of the discussion China Tom ap-
reared at the door which opened into the
kitchen. He carried dish of smoking
suctpuddng in either hand. The Mon
eoian seemed uneasy; he hesitated and
looked back over his shoulder. Some OF
the men noticed that his whole form
shook violently Before they had time
to saw word the Chinaman let both
dishes fall with a crash, his almond eyes
Qlittered wildly, aud he made a frantic
dash for the door. His queue sailed
ont behind him in a straight line, and as
he disappeared the men heard gasplng
Him debbil, sure He catchee me!
Whats up with the heather 2 SAID
some one.
Through the chinks Of the logs came
a strange sound. Every man heard It,
A chorus of discordant screams broke
sharply on their ears. 1t grew LOUDER
q, f:~l,tf,I c,I,r nifty seemed lul-