The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-03-22
THE SPORTING MULE.

u ran across a mule the last time I
was GOWN there" explained the man who
nau JUST returned from weeks Febru-
airy qual1 shooting in Virginia, and in
ms quiet. unassuming way [ guess that
peaSt was about as talented as any old
NIUE that ever lived. He was a sporting.
4 4d, ana l nave seen a great many high
toned sporting dogs that We're far less
punctlllous in their observance of snort
ing ethlcS- first met them-my friend
the mule and the man he was carrying
on MS pack-1n big likely field of broom
straw My dogs fell in immediately with
tne man Two pointers, and it was only
natural that l should join the outfit.
Inc than on the mule was one Of those
gentle, soft-Voiced Virginians of the old
School and if he objected to my COMPANY
ne was too courteous to tell me so. We
Tode along together for almost an hour,
l should say, without finding a bird SID
denly my companion dismounted pulled
on his big gloves and leisurely cocker his
-old-fashioned hammer gun
Heah they are at last sab he said
turning to me in the most maftarlefSs fao a.
way. - A'cl
Now, the remarkable part of this ner
Iormance was that there was not a dog
10 De seen on the horizon. Down there
Inc wider a dogs range is the bptter
they like him, and it frequently bannens
that they are out of sight for minutes at
a time; but how the mischief he lrneut
tney nag found covey was a mystery
70 me. The old man, moreover saw tbat
1t was, and seemed immensely pleased
dldn,t say anything. however. 1lst
IolloWed him across the field to a Iit+Ia
there Were the dogs-alI four of theT1
Stahuihg a gang of birds that had
peen feeding along the edge of the Uon%S
Alter we mad put them up and had son.
R t,,T1,sa Idlr single bird shooting we re-
turned to our mounts.
, How In the world demanded who,
Inc Ine outnt was under way again, did Won
Know the dogs had those birds? There
was not one of them in sight
My friend kicked his heel into The old
HuieS ribs affectionately. Zatus, heah-
toId me, he said, with a pride he did NOT
55ttempI TO conceal, 'Zatus back stood nv
ajsSt ne Always does. l reckon you all
Zatus.' -A9 '~9' ii'Ae
i reckoned frankly that we-au never
" 'Yo' just watch this 9heah mule tho
next Time ouah dogs find a gang O. pat
rldges, he said to me confidently and
yo Will see as pretty a back stand as
evan 70 care to see.
In the course of a mile or two the
Gogs found covey in the middle of a
field and pointed it in plain view.
Watch old Zatus, called my friend
ana as ne spoke the mule caught sight of
the dogs and stopped in his tracks. one
ponderous ear pitched forward and then
the other and there he stood.
60 on, Zatus, go on, sah,' the old
Zatus never budged. He amt what vo11.
all would call stylish, but he s1Iah Are
poWahful sot. He amt going to stir
from his tracks fore we-an put up yon-
dab pa'tridges'
And he didn't. I don't believe that
venerable and versatile mule moved an
eyelash until we had emptied four bar
rels into the covey; then he relaxed
his rigid pose and began browsing con-
tentedly.
. You see his owner explained LATER
I've been toting Zastus around aftah
my dogs TO- ten yeahs every fail and
winter, and being powahful observing
mule, he's learned to follow the dogs
with his eyes and when he sees ,sm
standing still ike they wuz froze To
death he knows that's where he gets a
rest and about thirty minutes for lunch
lie got so now he's most as crazy To
hlrd hunt as his ole master-ani he
KNOWS a heap more about it in some
ways. L reckon if had taken him Young
enough / could most taught him to find
en- hissef.' t---o
hunted with Zastus and his old
master all that day and number Of
times atterward, and l never saw the
eid mule fail 10 back the dogs when
they We're on a point 1t was all me-
chanlcal, presume but it was a mighty
good specially for mule and when the
dogs Were not IN sight it saved a Iot
OF mental worry. His shrewd old ewes
never grew weary in following them.
New YofA Press.