Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-05-17
MIKE.
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There were mountains ahead of us,
huge and brown under the MONDAY
sun; mountains powdered here and
there with snow, reviving in our
memories dreams of chocolate blanc
mango well sugared, such as had
pleased our pampered appetites even
tn those days of desserts and similar
hesh-pots, and which now made our
mouths water in soulful recollection.
And these mountains had to be sur.
mounted or circumvented, willy
nilly; the ground We had painfully
traversed in these last few weeks
held known dangers, while before us
lay at least uncertainty; travelling
might be worse, but there was the
chance of its being better, and
neither of us felt like retracing our
steps through that ingenious imita-
ton (if it was not the real article)
Of Hades, the desert.
That Mike, the mule, agreed with
US. we had not moments doubt.
He was Missouri product, and you
can't say much better of mule than
that. You would have guessed it,
anyway, by the cynical. "show-me"
expression of his eye, and his affec-
ton for roll in a mud mole.
We had grown in these last three
months since We had owned him-or,
to be more accurate, since he had
owned us-to have deep respect for
him, for he was mule of parts
teeth and hee!s-and when we dis
pleased him. which happened daily,
we saw both, and sometimes few
stars. But that did not subtract from
our dependence on his knowledge of
the whereabouts of a waterhole, and
when he decided to camp for the
night we learned, after several at
tempts to change his mind, that his
decision of character was to be re-
vered. When Blondine, Carr's buck
skin pony, departed this life some
vague, mirage-tortured weeks back,
Mike had literally taken the work of
two upon his back, and with his
usual cheerful cynicism, led us safely
across the indefinite, skybound
desert.
Today he wore an air of relaxa-
ton; he would loiter over green
spears of gramma grass that had
found life In few drops of moisture
filtered from those cool, glistening
SHOWS, for by now we were well in
the foothills. Or he would make
friendly advances to Carr or me, adj
yances which we met with caution,
for in addition to his other traits,
Mike was Il practical joker, his hu-
morolls moods sometimes resulting in
misfortune TO the object of his atten-
lions. have occasionally thought
We may have misjudged Mike; per-
haps he was one of those unfortun-
ates with affections which, like desert
pears, grow prickly side out. but are
sweet and wholesome within-though
always do say eating those cactus
pears isn't worth the trouble of rub
u.ng OIL such pesky lot of stickers.
Anyway, with Mike, the rubbing off
process held too many fears for us, SO
he went through life mule misun-
derstood perhaps.
Carr and | noted these signs of a
mind at ease with satisfaction, for
always the rank and file reflect the
mood of the officer commanding, and
We permitted ourselves the luxury of
an occasional rest on the shady side
of a boulder. You can't be preoccu-
pied on desert; every stay you
take, every halt you make must be
the result of calculation and expert
ence, and though this caution be-
comes habitual after time, still it
helps TO account for the peculiarly
jaded expression of men just in from
such an expedition as we were now
on. Every. rock may shelter some
venomous lizard or snake; ella
monster may be taking an airing in
the neighborhood, or, of less danger
but considerable discomfort, each
particle of vegetation is at apparent
war with the world and stands armed
at every point; you live in an atmo.
sphere of every man for himself,
which has something of the effect
on the nerves of a flyer in Wall
street, where everyone's motto is
sauve qui peut.
So it was a relief to be out of the
worst of it, for now our progress car
ried us from the desert lands behind
into the beginnings of normal vege-
tation. A stream-small, but prom
Using better things nearer its source
-trickled along. its way enlivened by
bushes and low trees. Deeper we
went into the heart of the hills, those
towering mountains seeming to go up
and up into the sky, and as the sun
dipped behind them. Mike concluded
1t was time to camp, though two
hours OF the day stff Gay ahead of-us.