The National tribune., 1904-07-21
TRIBUNE: WASHINGTON O, THURSDAY 81

:: WASHINGTON, u. u, III
the vicinity Of the wagon before feeding, 1t
is paaienae-trying job to lug a lot Of
tardily-moyiag mules along. and they stop
ping to nip grass every few steps, the skin
! ner having his hands and arms full of ropes
and picAet. pins.
sion of rfulphurous expletives one can oc-
casionalV hear such remarks as:
Talk .ahapt the patience of Job. but it
amt reeerde9 that Job had to skin mules
for liyin'!" s5..-....
Il ~ AFTER WATERING,
the muIes are again tied to the wagon,
the feedItroGgh unslung from the hind end
and fastened in place on the tongue, and a
feed OF fraii lt poured into it. The tongue
OF SIH-miife wagon is braced stiff and
stands abour level with the front axle.
One who is unused to them would inn
agine, to see the mules kicking and fighting
each other over their grain, that it would
be dangerous undertaking for the Skin
| ner' to go in among them at such time,
soon learn to know the one who drives and
| takes care of them, and he doesn't hesitate
to walk right in between them whenever
occasion requires it, first speaking to them,
however, and making them ''stand over"
A good skinner" governs his mules by
ly, even petting them affectionately, when
| they obey well, and Furnishing them
promptly when they don't.
1t is an important part Of q Wagon
masters duty to see that the mules are not
| neglected or abused, and when he finds q
teamster who is habituaIly brutal to his
| team, or fails to take good care Of them. the
Boss fires" him as soon as a man can be
picked up to take his place But on ac-
count OF the scarcity of men in the latter
years OF the war. we could not afford to
discharge teamsters for neglect Of duty,
and had to adopt modes Of punishment
similar to those inflicted on soldiers.
AS soon as the mules are done eating
their grain they are picketed out-each
one to a 30-foot rope-adjacent to their
wagons, care being taken to give each room
enough SO that they will not get tangled in
and carries in his wagon a wooden mallet
with which to drive down the iron picket
pins.
TRANSFERS SUPPER.
While the mules are eating, the team
sters, in messes of five or six, are carrying
up water, making fires, cooking and eating
The kit" OF each mess consists Of q
sheet-iron camp kettle, for boiling pur-
poses a cast-iron oven or skillet, and lid,
mess pan, to mix dough in; tin plate and
cup to each man. Some members of the
mess will generally extemporize mess
chest, to carry. their grub and plates and
cups in: out of an empty packing box.
The Boss's mess kit is the same as the
Transfers and rations the same-soldier's
rations--but his mess chest is large,
commodlous affair, SO constructed as to be
very handy to contain all sorts of extra
ratiOns and etceteras, and at meal time is
easily transformed into a camp table. The
average Wagon master is a good 'forager,"
ND 10 Iy haff
piled with what the Commissary Depart
ment and country affords than the COM
handing officers table.
The SINNERS fuel is laid in as he travels
along the road by stealing Git Is called
"jayhawking" in Kansas) fence rail here
and there.
To clear my conscience always took the
trouble to caution my transfers that if
they found it necessary to "confiscate"
(another soft term for stealing) rail oc-
casionally, to not be hoggish about it, but
only toitake the top rail, and each one
which is always the top rail-till the bot
tom is reached
On coming into camp frequently the ends
of fence rails sticking out from under the
wagon sheets would look like we were NOV
ing fences instead of army supplies.
Wagon-mastcrs and Transfers generally
carry a navy revolver apiece on their own
accounts but are not furnished arms by the
Government, as they are supposed to be
non-combatants, and In dangerous times are
intended to be protected by military escorts
not that this protection is intended for
| the, mule, whackers so much as for the U. s.
propertyyin their care. But as the protec-
| ton of, the ssoldiers is neb always a safe
dependence. the skinner feels safer to be
prepared to Flock leetle out" for himself.
Each skinner furnishes his own blankets,
generally buying them. for song, from
some solder who is hard up for whisky
money and In like manner most Of a
| Transfers clothing is procured
On the march. when travelling with a
military command. Wagon-masters have TO
move and camp their trains to suit the con-
yenience of the commanding officer: but
where the military is acting merely as an
escort the Wagon-master is allowed to use
| his discretion as to drivers camps. etc,
! the escort conforming to his movements.
| BUYING FEED.
When travelling in Kansas we were usu-
ally furnished money. by our Quartermas-
| ters, to purchase feed along the route for
the mules: this being preferable to carry
| ing our feed.
During the Fall of go corn, oats and
hay were abundant and cheap in Kansas:
| / sometimes bought the grain as low as ID
cents bushel, and % cents was the highest
price paid for grain that season. l could
| get good prairie hay delivered at my camp
| for 50 ton. When / had not the money
to pay for feed was authorized to give the
seller a receipt for the amount purchased,
giving price of same, and the bill would be
paid at the Quartermaster's office when
presented.
! After go the prices of all kinds Of feed
and in fact horses. mules and all mate
rails nsed in carrying ON the war-ad-
| vanced.
INDIAN SOLDIERS.
| On arriving at Humboldt I found that
my train had been transferred. by mail, to
| the Quartermaster of the Indian Brigade,
my teamsters being transferred also, but as
said Quartermaster already had a friend
waiting to take my place. l was ordered to
Fort Scott, about 40 miles east of Hum
boldt, to look for another job. After trans
ferring my freight to the consignee, Quar-
termaster of the Indian Brigade, taking his
receipt for same, l was allowed to retain
a riding mule and received transportation
4 for MY baggage in an empty train that was
to return to Fort Scott in few days.
| Ito be contihued)
Long March. Hard Fighting.
EDITOR NATIONAL. TRIBUNE: Gen. Her