82 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 36, 1885. 



The Cincinnati Zoological Gardens.— "We learn with 

 great regret that Mr. Frank J. Thompson has resigned his 

 position as superintendent of the Zoological Gardens at 

 Cincinnati. Mr. Thompson's great interest in zoo'ogy, his 

 experience, covering a long period of years and many lands, 

 and his habits of close observation have made him invaluable 

 in the position he has so long occupied. The gardens at 

 Cincinnati being deprived of his services, suffer a loss which 

 is most serious to them. Our regret at his giving up this 

 position is at the loss which his resignation will be to science- 

 Mr. Thompson's observations on the habits of wild animals 

 in confinement have been of very great value. Man} r of our 

 readers will remember his interesting paper on the birth of 

 the young sea lion at the Cincinnati Gardens, wbich appeared 

 some years ago in Forest and Stream and was afterward 

 quoted by Mr. J. A. Allen in his monograph of the Piruie- 

 pedm., as the only authentic information on the subject. This 

 was but one of many valuable papers which have been con- 

 tributed by Mr. Thompson to the scanty literature of this most 

 interesting subject. It is a serious misfortune that one who 

 has done so much for science and is abundantly qualified to 

 do so much more, should feel obliged to withdraw from a 

 position where his opportunities for observation are so great. 



The Cuvier Club's Bill op Fare, on the occasion of 

 the annual reception the other evening embraced, according 

 to a Cincinnati paper, "Rocky Mountain black-tailed deer — 

 one hundred and fifty pounds of saddle and loin. This deli- 

 cacy was procured through a little subterfuge from Denver. 

 On account of the growing scarcity of this species of deer, a 

 Colorado State law prohibits its exportation. In Denver the 

 ordinary venison costs six cents a pound and 'black-tail' 

 thirty." We indulge the hope that this report may prove to 

 be erroneous. It would be in exceedingly bad taste for a 

 society like the Cuvier Club to make a jest of the Colorado 

 game laws in this way. 



Columbia County, N. T., has a wide-awake game club 

 with headquarters at Hudson, It does not confine its activity 

 to telling what ought to be done, but sets out and does it. 

 There ought to be a hundred more clubs just like it in this 

 State, and an equal number in every State in the Union. 



President Arthur proposes to make an extended ang- 

 ling tour next summer. 



Never Roll Manuscript. Always Fold It. 



THROUGH TWO-OCEAN PASS. 



V.— THE PACK TRAIN. 



THE little company of five individuals which left the lake 

 had with them thirteen animals. Of these five were 

 horses and the remainder mules. Each one of these animals 

 had its own peculiar characteristics, and as on these de- 

 pended in no small degree the comfort of the travelers whose 

 journeyings are to be the subject of this narrative, it seems 

 but fair that they should be introduced to the reader. 

 Courtesy to the higher race demands that the horses should 

 come first, though the mules are really the more interesting 

 beasts. 



Dandy, Mr. Hague's mount, was a bright bay American 

 horse, and a fine free animal, easy-gaited, and rather re- 

 markable for the swiftness of his trot. He had been brought 

 from the East only a year before, and being new to the 

 country, was somewhat clumsy about climbing among the 

 rocks and going through the down timber. For the same 

 reason he was apt to do rather stupid things, and often got 

 tangled up in his picket rope, or stepped on and broke his 

 bridle rein, when it was thrown over his head, and he was 

 left to graze without being fastened, things which a plains- 

 bred horse never does. 



Something has already been said about Pinto. He was a 

 broncho, about fourteen and a half hands high, well put 

 together and strong. His gaits were easy, his walk a fast 

 one, and his endurance great. If he had a fault, it was a 

 habit of stopping, putting down his head and arching his 

 back, when he was urged to go where he did not want to, 

 which made one imagine that he was, in the vernacular, 

 "goin' to start in to buck." Moreover, his roached mane and 

 white eyes gave him a wild and startled expression, which 

 would not have been particularly reassuring to a timid rider. 

 He never misconducted himself in any way while I rode 

 him, except on one occasion, and then for a cause which 

 was undoubtedly good and sufficient. 



Rocket was a white-eyed buckskin ridden by Stewart, the 

 chief packer. A great strong broncho, careful in picking 

 his way through the down timber or among the miry places, 

 and excellent in the lead. He was also well broken and 

 would stand where he was left, when, as frequently hap- 

 pened, his rider had to jump off and run back to tighten up 

 some pack which required attention. 



Sadlemeyer's mount was an ancient white broncho called 

 Prickly Pear, an alliterative name which fitted him admir- 

 ably, for he was certainly difficult to handle, and was never 

 so well pleased as when he was doing something to make 

 trouble for his rider. Sometimes he would even buck, when 

 the flank cinch was drawn more tightly than he liked, 

 though his efforts in this direction were feeble nnd abortive, 

 and were no less amusing to his rider than to the lookers on. 

 The bell mare was remarkable only for her deep-rooted 

 aversion to the caresses which some of the mules liked to 



shower upon her. Most pack trains have with them a mare 

 who carries a bell, tor mules readily attach themselves to 

 horses and mares, and seem never so well pleased as when 

 near one of these animals. On the march they will often 

 fight for the position next the bell, and when feeding will 

 never wander far from it. When the herd is out at pasture 

 (he sound of the bell notifies the man, who is looking for the 

 stock, of the position of the central figure of the herd, and 

 the other animals will usually be found near her. 



Each of the mules in our train had its own name, just as 

 each had its own "rigging," that is, its aparejo, set of blank- 

 ets and lash rope. Their eight titles were Mollie, Granny, 

 Rooster, Belle, Star, Scissors, Hell and Little Nell. Mollie 

 may be dismissed with the remark that she was a saddle 

 animal ridden by the cook, who always led the bell mare. 

 Granny was a tall, aged black mule, well intentioned, and, 

 like many other well-meaning animals, human and brute, 

 rather stupid. She would sometimes buck for a little after 

 her rigging had been put on, but her pitching, like that of 

 old Prickly, and for the same reason — because of old age — 

 was always without result. She had an unhappy faculty 

 for getting into trouble, was given to falling into mud holes, 

 and was likely to attempt to go between two trees so close 

 together that the pack would not pass between them. When 

 once in such a position she would never back out, but would 

 push and twist and strain in her efforts to go forward until 

 something at length gave way. Usually one of the trees 

 would be a small one, and her struggles would either push 

 it to one side or bend it down, so that the pack would slip 

 by or over the obstacle. Every one used to feel sorry for 

 Granny when she got into any difficulty, and I really think 

 that notwithstanding all the trouble she gave, she received 

 almost as little cursing as any of the animals in the train. 



Rooster was the jewel of the train, the animal of the most 

 individuality of them all, and to me a delight from the first 

 day of the trip to the last. He was a tremendously stout, 

 well-built black animal, and was of such an independent and 

 energetic spirit combined with so much vitality and power 

 that he was never contented except when inaction. As soon 

 as he was saddled in the morning the spirit of rebellion broke 

 out, and unless he was at once tied up somewhere by him- 

 self he would spend his whole time in endeavoring to rub 

 off his rigging against the trees or the other animals. After 

 the pack was put on him it was even worse. When the blind 

 was taken off, the jaquimo stem tied up and he was turned 

 loose, he would walk away for a few swift steps, and then 

 paw the srround vigorously for a few moments, first with 

 his left foot and then with his right. He would then walk 

 rapidly toward the nearest group of animals and charge 

 through the midst of them, knocking them right and left by 

 the impetuosity of his rush and the weight of his heavy 

 pack.' If the other mules saw him coming they would usually 

 make way for him very respectfully, but often he came upon 

 them unawares, and then, especially if there were horses in 

 the group, there would be sometimes seen a swiftly moving 

 panorama of teeth gleaming, ears laid back and heels flying. 

 Of course these charges never served to stir his well-packed 

 load, and so, after making as much disturbance as possible 

 among the animals, Rooster would go close to some tree 

 against which he would rub his pack with great energy and 

 persistency, until the train started. From these idiosyncrasies 

 it resulted that the Rooster was greatly admired by all the 

 bipeds of our company, even though he made more trouble 

 than all the rest of the mules put together. He was ambi- 

 tious and was always anxious to be near the bell, and to ac- 

 complish this was continually getting out of the trail and 

 trvino- to pass the animals ahead of him. If, however, they 

 kept so close to one another that he could not push in be- 

 tween them, he would sometimes give up the attempt, 

 and wandering off to one side, begin to feed. This made 

 little difference when we were traveling iu an open 

 country, where he could be easily driven back to his place 

 by the man who brought up the rear, but it often took place 

 in the thick timber, where there was every probability that 

 he might be "hung up" between two trees, and so make 

 trouble, or worse still* on a steep hillside. In fact the latter 

 was his favorite place for an excursion of this kind. He 

 would climb briskly up a steep slope, and when twenty or 

 thirty yards above the trail, stop and browse. Pretty soon, 

 the whole train having passed, Sadlemeyer would come 

 riding along, and seeing the truant would shout, "Hi, Roos- 

 ter " cracking his quirt in the hope that the mule would 

 come down of his own accord. Rooster would placidly feed 

 on or perhaps climb up a little higher to reach some tempt- 

 ing tuft of grass above him. Then Sadlemeyer, with a few 

 pungent remarks aimed at mules in general, but especially 

 at this particular one, would lash old Prickly and start him 

 up the hill at a lope a little to one side, in order to head the 

 Rooster back to the trail. But Rooster could climb as fast 

 as Prickly, and usually instead of turning down, as he should 

 do, would keep on straight up the hill until he got tired, 

 when he would stop, let Sadlemeyer get beyond him, and 

 then walk swiftly down the slope and hurry along the trail 

 until he overtook the train. 



Belle was a pretty little brown mule, one of whose eyes 

 had been knocked out. . She was gentle and willing, and was 

 regarded with much affection by everybody, and her load 

 was always made as light and easy as possible. Stewart 

 used often to say encouragingly as he led her up to be packed, 

 and slipped the tcqxyos over her eyes, "Come up, Belle; the 

 good mules have the good.loads." 



About Scissors the most interesting point was his sup 

 posed great age. H e took his name from a brand on his hip. 

 which resembled a partly-opened pair of scissors. It was 

 reported in camp that Scissors had come into the country 

 before any of its present white inhabitants, and Stewart even 

 went so far as to aver that the animal had formed a part of 

 Lewis and Clark's outfit, which crossed the mountains in 

 1804, and in proof of his statement called attention to the 

 hip brand, which looked quite as much like a pair of crossed 

 dragoon sabres, which he stated was the brand of this expe- 

 dition, as it did like a pair of scissors. 1 do not profess to 

 know anything about the matter myself, but can testify that 

 the mule had a very venerable appearence, and was at the 

 same time one of the strongest and best animals in the train, 



Where or how Hell came by her profane name I do not 

 know, and I will not hazard a conjecture. She was cer- 

 tainly the least popular of our mules — that is putting it 

 mildly — and her name was not often mentioned without 

 some qualifying adjective. My private belief is that her in- 

 tentions were good, but her intense nervousness and timidity 

 made her a great nuisance, and she was forever in trouble of 

 one kind or another. She was possessed of a frantic affec- 

 tion for the bell mare, and manifested it by running up to 

 her on all occasions and standing as near to her as she dared. 

 This fondness the bell by no means reciprocated, and she 

 never lost the opportunity to kick and bite the unfortunate 

 Hell, who, driven to despair by this ill usage, would retreat 

 to the side of some other animal, there to be met with a like 

 reception. If there was the least opportunity to get into a 

 mud hole, to fall into a narrow slough or to get tangled up 

 in timber, it was Hell's fate to take advantage of this oppor- 

 tunity, and get into some scrape when it would be necessary 

 to take off the pack and by main strength drag her out of her 

 difficulty. It was impossible not to feel sorry for her, for 

 she was literally without a friend in the camp, and equally 

 impossible not to get angry at her when, through pure care- 

 lessness or bad judgment, she did something that necessitated 

 the stopping of the whole train for twenty minutes or half 

 an hour while she was being released and repacked. So 

 much of an introduction to some of the four-footed mem- 

 bers of the party may indicate that, as individuals, they were 

 not without their points of interest, and that the daily occu- 

 pation of catching and saddling was by no means a monoto- 

 nous task. 



On reaching camp at night the packs were taken off and 

 the mules turned loose to graze, the horses being confined to 

 hobbles, so that it was difficult for them to go fast or to 

 wander far. The six aparejos were set up like so many little 

 A-tents, side by side on the ground, with the lash rope of 

 each tied up and placed under it, and the blankets, if the 

 night was pleasant, spread upside down to dry over the tops, 

 or if it was wet or snowy, beneath, w r here they would be 

 protected from the weather. Then the ordinary business of 

 the camp— putting up tents, chopping wood, bringing water, 

 and so on— was attended to, 



In the morning, at or just before daylight, the men would 

 get up, and taking two or three sling ropes, would tie them 

 to four or five conveniently placed trees, about four feet 

 from the ground, so as to form a rope corral or inclosure, 

 leaving a narrow opening through which the stock could 



enter. 



Usually the bell would at once guide the men to where the 

 herd was feeding, but if its sound could not be heard, they 

 would start off in different directions and the tracks made 

 in the snow or on the dewy or frosty grass, would soon 

 point out the direction taken by the animals. When these 

 had been found it was an easy matter to drive them to camp 

 and into the corral, and then, Ity tying up the opening by 

 which they had gone in, they were secured. One man would 

 now take half a dozen jaquimos, and passing under the rope, 

 would quietly, and without making any sudden movements 

 to alarm them, catch the mules one after another and tie 

 them either to the trees or to the rope which formed the sides 

 of the corral. 



Sometimes the mules would decidedly object to being 

 caught, and would crowd away from the man who was 

 within the corral, pressing against the ropes so as to stretch 

 them so much that when the pressure was removed, they 

 would sag down and be only a foot or two above the ground. 

 Then unless they were at once driven back by some one on 

 the outside, the nearest mules would jump over the rope and 

 make a dash for freedom. Usually they would not go far, 

 being loath to leave the bell and the other hoises, and so 

 were easily brought back. Occasionally, too, a small mule, 

 standing with his head low down, would get it under the 

 rope, and then by raising his head and scraping out beneath 

 the barrier, he could readily escape. So there was often 

 much hurrying about and a good deal of running backward 

 and forward before all the animals had been secured. The 

 turning loose of the stock was necessary to their well-being, 

 because of the character of the country through which we 

 were traveling. Had we been passing through a level, open 

 prairie, it might have been practicable to picket each 

 animal so that all could have been caught up in the 

 morning at a less expense of time and trouble. 

 An animal on a picket rope, however, does not get nearly so 

 much to eat as one that is roaming unconfined, and, if its 

 work is hard, is likely to loose flesh and to fall away rapidly. 

 In a rough and timbered country, however, where the grass 

 is scanty and grows among rocks and trees it is quite im- 

 possible to confine stock in this way, for they at once get 



