The copper era., 1903-01-08
AN OLD MINE MULE.
Lived on Mining Timbers and Copper
 Water Thirteen Years.

Water Thirteen Years.
 ''I have had this mule story up my sleeve for six months" said the Texan, who had been associating with the Montana Old Timer club of Butte for years, "but have refrained from springing 1t because l was afraid il would bring down storm Of rebuke from you. You know l can tell story if occasion demands, but this is the gospel truth.
 ''I had been working on the Texas ranges for few years and one day got tired Of the job and went over to q ranch and asked the boss if he would give me something easy, and he set me to herding a drove of razor-back hogs. He gave me an old mule to ride, and when l started. out to bring the mule to the corral to saddle him found hard proposition. He was as wild as coyote, and it appears that the boss had tried him on dozen or more men with the result that all of them quit, l was determined to make stick of it, so l stayed with the mule until got him tanned so that could ride or drive him. He got 50 tame after while that he would come to me when I called him. OCe night a gang of rustlcrs came along and stole lot of horses and mules, and my mule was among them. The band was
 
 posed of.
 ''I knocked about Texas and Mexico several pears, and then | struck out for Butte intending to learn the mining business. Instead Of going to work at once, 1 lay around and got acquainted with the lay Of the land, and made friends with some of the miners and found them cracking good fellows. They urged me to become a miner, but hesitatcd and tried my hand at other jobs. Finally l asked one Of the boys how they managed to get work in mine, and he said to go up to the mine and rustic. That word rustic made me shivcr, for in Texas man who rustlcs usually goes with d mob to the nearest tree and gives q correct imitation of man being hanged. But when he asks for work.
 ''I went up to the mine and asked the foreman for job, and he looked at me tho same as if had been rustling I, oIl on and he would put me to work.
 "He asked me if could drive mules and told him had been mule skin ner many years, and then he took me down the shaft to the 1900 level. He led the way into drift for 1000 fee. till we came to an upraise from the 1900. He then said: You go down 10 the bottom of this hole, and you will find mulc-I guess I started down and when I was within 25 feet O. the bottom heard a snort that made my hair stand on end, and the place was full Of mule heels and dirt. heard the foreman aEd the men laughing and shouting with delight at something.
 uO IuhlC = NtS NtIt SlllullS llht balls of fire, and sparks were flying from :hc top of the drift where his heels were striking. Altogether it was d wild sight, and no doubt would have frightened me had | not known the nature of the mule family. From force of habit I sang out: Whoa, Pctc' and the mule quit kicking. He recognized my voice and seemed glad to sec me. 1 went down to the level and began to talk to him, and he put his head on my shoulder and cried. Yes, sir, tears as large as hickory nuts ran down his cheeks for half an hour He knew me. It was my long-lost old Mexican Pete. His affection touched mo and | felt like crying, too; was so glad to see him. Had he not recog- nized me l never would have known him. l looked at his front feet and, sure enough, there were the initial. T F. on both hoofs which I had cut in with my jack knife more than thirty years before. But such change in mule l never saw His hair was more than two feet long and it was as green as the greenest grass l ever saw, and his shoes were turned into solid copper, and there was heavy coating of cop pr on his teeth. This was caused from drinking copper water.
 ''I went up to the 1900 again and asked the boss where the harness was. Never mind said be, don't bother with the harness today, but get a shovel and 20 down and clean out the