HO! FOR GRAY'S PEAK! 225 



First, our little four-footers would not or could not 

 quicken their pace, urge them as we would ; second, we 

 desired to name all the birds along the route, and that 

 "without a gun," as Emerson mercifully enjoins. 



Have you ever ridden a burro ? Have you ever been 

 astride of an old one, a hirsute, unkempt, snail-paced, 

 obstinate one, which thinks he knows better what gait 

 he ought to assume than you do ? If you have not, 

 I venture to suggest modestly that your education 

 and moral discipline are not quite complete. The pair 

 which we had hired were slow and headstrong enough 

 to develop the patience of Job in a most satisfactory 

 way, and to test it, too. They were as homely as the 

 proverbial " mud fence " is - supposed to be. Never 

 having seen a fence of that kind, I speak with some 

 degree of caution, not wanting to cast any disparage- 

 ment upon something of which I have so little knowl- 

 edge. If our long-eared companions had ever seen 

 a curry-comb, it must have been in the days of Noah. 

 You see, we were " tenderfoots," as far as having had 

 any experience with burros was concerned, or we might 

 have selected a more sprightly pair for our fellow- 

 pilgrims. A fine picture, fit for the camera or the 

 artist's brush, we presented as we crept with the speed 

 of a tortoise along the steep mountain roads and trails. 

 Our "jacks," as Messrs. Longears are called colloquially, 

 were not lazy oh, no! they were simply averse to 



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