OCR Text |
Show 18 that mule off'n your hand for the mere sum of V." "Done!" said Clem, and slapped a V into my open palm. With a four-mule team a man can really go places. Where we went was Arizona. You've no doubt heard of General George Crook, that bushy-bearded soldier who was trusted by the Indians and the white man alike, and who was the first person to bring Geronimo to the peace parlay. In the field Gen. Crook always preferred a mule to a horse, usually riding his reliable mule, Apache. It was after Gen. Crook proved how effective mules could be in rugged Arizona country that the government began to use mules in all the western military campaigns. We were in the standing-up country of northern Arizona. Me an' my four mules was pullin' the quartermaster wagon. We had been goin' due west for ten days, sometimes spottin' Indians, but mostly just spottin' their signs. Each time we did get close, we'd find the Indians had moved on. The reason for it all was quite simple. It was the mules' bray. Have you heard the bray of a mule? It's a near impossible sound to describe: a combination of a low, sad wail, the screech |