402 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Nov. 24, 1900. 
The Omohundro Mule Show. 
"Oh, Mis' "Melia— I beg yo' pahdon, Gunnel Fairfax, ' 
fo' intehruptin' of what you's sayin', but I sutt'nly mus' 
speak tub Mis' 'Melia. Oh, Mis' 'Melia, you mus' speak 
tuh Mis' Amy an' make hei- quit her projickin' foolish- - 
ness. Mis' Amy she ain't done nui^in but tnhn her cheer 
. 'round in this here little crib an' talk tuh this yere smooth- 
face boy, an' 'tain't respec'ful tuh the horses no how. 
An' thet boy! 'Pears tuh me he couldn't set onto yo' 
father's ole chestnut 'thouten tumblin' off at the teenties' 
tinies' jump on the hull fahm. Do you tliink he could. 
Gunnel Fairfaxi"' 
"S-s-h, Mawmy" said the lady in the front of_ the box 
at the fashionable horse show. "'Remember this is the 
North, and the ways are different from Virginia ways." 
"Well, ef that ain't the betitines'! They sholy ain't 
Fehginyeh ways, 'deed they ain't. Jes' look at all them 
folks walkin' an' walkin' 'roun', an' they ain't one of 'em 
lookin' at the bosses, but jes' at they own selves. That 
ain't Fehginyeh ways, an' I hope tuh goodriess I won't 
hafter live otitwell it gets tuh be Fehginyeh ways. Massy 
me! Jes' look yander at thet bay. An' see thet gray 
'longside er him!' An' thet black, ain't he the prawncin- 
est? Would anybody down tuh Richmond tuhn they 
backs on bosses like them? Would they jes' look at 
people wdien they's bosses to look at? Yo' knows how 
it is, Gunnel Fairfax. People's no 'count, they jes' grows. 
But a boss, .ye've gotteh breed him, an' ye've gotteh rar 
him. an' then ye've gotteh train him. An' when I see 
jes' people like these yere disrespec'ful tub bosses like 
those yar thet's been bi-ed an" rared an' trained, why it's 
sutt'nly scan'lous. an' I shall be 'shamed to tell of it when 
I gets back tuh Warsaw." 
"Maybe, Aunt Martliy," said the gray Virginian, "it's 
because these people want to take a good look at you in 
this box with ^^our mistresses." 
"Huh!" said the old woman with a snort. "Don' 
quality up Norf have suhvants or only this yere hired 
help? My mistisses? I should say sOl Why, I thank 
my Lord I'm Mis' 'Melia's mawmy, an' I usetah b'long 
tuh ole Mis' Emmy, that's Mis' 'Melia's maw, an' Mis' 
Amy's my own sweet lamb. They all got the same name, 
but we has tuh call them different so's not tuh mix 'em 
ap, fer it 'pears tuh me they's always had that name f'um 
mother tuh daughter ever sence they's been any of the 
name in tidewater Fehginyeh. An' then tuh see my own 
Mis' Amy listenin' tuh a boy tbat_ ain't got the sense tub 
look at the bosses, even if he is 'fraid tuh ride 'em, it's 
puffecly scan'lous. An' them other folks thet's walkin' 
'roun' an' 'roun' an' lookin' at everything but the bosses 
— why, ef anybody behaved thet way at ole Majah's mule 
show, well, I dunno what ole Majah he'd 'a done tuh 
'em. Ef they was hands he'd 'a taken his hound thong 
an' jes' flayed 'em alive. An* ef they was people he'd 
'a stepped over to where they was neglectin' the show 
an' he'd invite them cold an' polite tuh go pistol shootin' 
with him an' he'd duel them ontwell they was daid. That 
was afore the wah when a Southern gemman could do all 
them things. It wasn't ole Majah Omohundro, it was 
ole ole Majah Omohundro, him that was my Mis' 'Melia's 
maw's paw. But you 'member thet mule show. Gunnel 
Fairfax, 'cause yo' was there yo'se'f. Them was good 
times in Fehginyeh afore the sogers come down there 
wiv their shif'less Norvern ways. Once they was a 
gen'ril er a corp'ril er some such kin' of a Yankee tole 
me I was free an' didn' b'long tuh Mis' Emmy. I was 
right smart mad ontwell I thought he was on'y a Linkum 
soger an' mos' likely didn' know no better. Ef they had 
been any sense in me bein' free I could 'a bought myse'f 
f'um Mis' Emmy, an' ole Marse he'd 'a give me the 
money even ef 'twas 'leven thousan' dollais, an' I guess 
I was wuth all thet when I was young an' likely. But I 
never was free, an' thet's why the fam'Iy has gotteh 
s'port me now when I ain't overly much good at workin' 
'roun', an' thet's howcome Mis' 'Melia she sent me this 
elegant Bombazine dress tuh come Norf in, an' Mis' 
Amy she »cnt me my elegant bunnet that's safely packed 
away in my ban'box down home tuh W arsaw, an' I wore 
this yere bandanna 'cause it's comfortable even ef 'tis 
a little more .subdued." 
"Do tell us about the mule show. Aunt Marthy!" ex- 
claimed Miss Amy. "It's not fair to arouse our curiosity 
and then to disappoint us." 
"Yo' better ask Gunnel Fairfax 'bout that show," said 
the old woman, " 'cause be was a part of it, bein' j'-ounger 
an' friskier than he is now." 
"After that statement, which is almost a charge that at 
a remote period of my life I was a mule, I must tell you 
some of the stor^', such as it is. but the true historian of 
the affair should be Aunt Marthy there. Old Major 
Omohundro had seen one of the English country horse 
shows, and thought it would be a fine thing for Virginia. 
But there was a different plan of society: there were none 
of the small farmers for whom the English shows are 
devised, and in fact the greater part of the population 
was itself owned by the few gentry who had their places 
in that part of the country. As with the population, so' 
with the horses, the titles to each class were vested in 
the same owners. Horse shows were, therefore, out of 
the question. But if there was one thing devised bj- 
nature and providence to bring out the enthusiasm of 
our at that time, unemancipated working class, it was an 
exhibition of mules, with prizes offered for various points 
of excellence, The negroes knew the mule, they loved 
the mule. They both served the same master, and there 
wa-R a deep bond of sympathy between these two that 
had not received a fair deal in Nature's game. Major 
Omohundro caused public proclamation to be made 
throu.ghoiTt the five counties that when the harvest was 
over *-here would be held a show of mules on his place 
rxQRT Warsaw, with prizes for the heaviest mule and the 
lightest mule, for speed, for pull, for endurance, for sren- 
■^ral wickedness — in fact for everv qualification with which 
't IS Dossible to endow the mule. Of course, there was 
to be a feast for all the hands, and in the great house 
*here was to be dancing for the young folks, and cards 
for the old o"*^*; of the ne'S'h boring families. At that 
time. IS .A.unt Martbv has said, both younger and friskier 
thil'l T li^ve beei] for many ''of the,^e years. I thought 
more of a dance until the sun was up than of the finest 
hand that ever was drawn to. 
" Well, the .appointed time came around. The old Omo- 
hundro house was crowded with the neighbors, who came 
flocking in for the frolic, and where space was found for 
the mules and the negroes Avas a dense' secret of the 
quarters and the stables. The show was announced to 
last three days, and a different set of mule contests was 
appointed for each day. The affair made quite a stir 
in its time, and the hotel in Warsaw Gourt House was 
tilled with gamblers from Baltimore and Washington, and 
even so far up James River as Richmond. You understand 
that in those times no gentleman was supposed to hold 
any opinions except such as he was willing to back to 
the limit. So there was a prospect of winning or losing 
something on those mules. But the judging on the 
winners of each class was a spectacle. The committees 
approached the task with the same feeling of respon- 
sibility as the committee here, and they were just as 
careful as though apportioning large sums of money in- 
stead of mere store orders for sugar or dress goods. 
It may seem to you ridiculous, but I assure you it was 
conducted very seriously. Old Major Omohundro had 
a fine sense of his dignity, and was not a man to be 
trifled with, and if there had been any manifestation of 
disrespect to him he would have called the offender to a 
strict account. This show was the first of its kind, and 
then the war came on us and we had no thought for 
shows of anything but men, and afterward there w-ere 
times when we should have been lucky to have the mules 
to plow with and not bother about exhibitions. But it 
seems to have made an ijnpression on Aunt Marthy, so 
she probably had a good time." 
•'That ain't all the story, Mis' Am}^ of ole ole Majah 
Omohundro's mule show," said the old woman. "Gunnel 
Fairfax, how come you ain't said a word 'bout that 
famous kicking mule an' my little Mis' 'Melia thet wa.s 
walkin' right inteh his heels, an' when he kicked yo' 
got there fust an' picked up Mis' 'Melia before the cruel 
heels done hit her, an' they w^eren't no damage done 
'cept your ribs thet was broke an' your head .stove in so 
thet yo' didn' knoAV nothin' for th'ree hours? .\in't thet 
the way yo' come to wait for Mis' 'Melia teh grow up 
so's yo' coidd marry her an' be Mis' Amy's paw? How 
come yo' don' tell the hull story of thet mule show when 
yoivre'tellin' it? Thet's what for I ain't got no patience 
"with these yere people that don't look at the bosses: it 
sholv ain't respec'ful teh the bosses, an' it's scan'lous." 
Llevvella Pierce Chuechill. 
An Old-Time Indian Night Attack. 
In the year i860 Lieut. Whipple (now Gen. Wm. D. 
Whipple) was stationed at Fort Defiance, Ne\v Mexico. 
This post is in the heart of the Navajo country, and is 
179 miles west of Albuquerque, N, M. This was the 
nearest town where a white man lived, except that there 
was a missionary at Laguna, an Indian pueblo about 
one-third of the distance Irom Albuquerque to Fort De- 
fiance. There -were no railroads west of the Mississippi 
River in those days. The present thirty-fifth parallel 
railroad runs not far from Fort Defiance, which is now 
an Indian agency. 
The post was badly located for defense, being eom- 
manded on one side by a range of hills rising abruptly 
to a height of about 450 feet, and on the other side by a 
ridge about 30 feet high. A cation cut through the range 
called the Gahoncito Bonito or beautiful little canon, and 
through it flowed a stream, atid this it was that furnished 
the reason for the anomalous location of the post in a 
country where water is not plentiful. The Navajos were 
then, as now, a powerful tribe, and could muster 5,000 
warriors. They are a pastoral people, had in those days 
large flocks of sheep and a few cattle. They also culti- 
vated the soil to a small extent. They were not nomadic, 
like the Apaches, but only moved from one locality to 
another to obtain grazing for their flocks. The writer 
is of the opinion that their mode of life resembled very 
closely that of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 
They are fine specimens of the North American Indian. 
The writer has measured the height of the present chief, 
Manuelito, and he stands 6 feet 3 inches. 
The garrison of Fort Defiance at the time of which I 
write consisted of three small' companies of the 3d In- 
fantry of about fifty men each, and Whipple was first 
lieutenant of one of them. Innumerable wolves (the 
big gray wolf or lobo) infested the country, as they 
obtained a fat liAdng from the flocks of the Navajos. 
Their prowling time was of course at night, and the post 
dogs entertaining a wholesome dread of the lobo, retired 
to the security which the close proximity of the build- 
ings of the post afforded when night came on. It must 
be remembered that the post, as it was called, was not 
a post in the proper sense of the term. There w-ere no 
defensive works, but it was simply a collection of houses 
and barracks in the form of a rectangle, with the corral 
for the beef cattle beyond one corner, overlooking the 
stream, which flowed out of the canon and convenient to 
the place where the beeves were slaughtered for the use 
of the garrison, and sufliciently far removed from the 
quarters not to be a nuisance. Beyond another corner 
of the rectangle was the sutler's store, but near enough 
to the quarters to be convenient at all tintes and to re- 
move as far as possigle the danger of being shot by a 
prowling Indian should one wish to go there in the 
evening. 
The Navajos at this time were very arrogant. It was 
soon after the Mexican war. and they resented every 
interference with their old-time prerogatives, one of 
which was to go for the Mexican cjn any and all oc- 
casions. Incidents are related of Navajos riding through 
the streets of Santa Fe, the capital, stopping in front of 
the open door of the little Mexican houses, and with 
their long lances taking from the griddle the tortilla or 
corn cake which was being cooked for the family and 
appropriating it to their own use. Of cotirse our pres- 
ence in Fort Defiance was intolerable to them, and they 
were accordingly hostile. It was our duty to compel 
good behaxaor so far as we could, but they had never 
been disciplined before, and they did not like it. Now 
they are as gentle as their own lambs. They had evi- 
dently planned to wipe out the garrison, and the time 
t]xec} for the rqassacre was tire night of Aprjl 30, i860, 
On that day it so happened that Lieut. Whipple was 
officer of the day. The proper discharge of his duties 
required him to visit the guard at least once between 
o'clock midnight and reveille. He went out to perform 
this duty about 2 o'clock A. M., and in crossing the 
parade ground on his way to the guard house noticed 
that the post dogs were all outside, contrary to their 
usua,l custom. Why were they out? was the qttestion 
that immediately appealed to the officer. He could hear 
them barking at something out in the darkness. It could 
not be wolves, because, as before stated, the wolves 
drove the dogs inside the post at 8; it could be but one 
other thing, Indians, and they could be assembling at 
that time of night for no good purpose. It must be for 
an attack upon the post at the favorite time for Indian 
night attacks, and that is just before daylight. Upon 
reaching the guard house the lieutenant called the atten- 
tion of the sergeant of the guard to the suspicious cir- 
cumstance just mentioned, and directed that the two 
reliefs off post be awakened, have their equipments on 
and their guns in their hands; that the drunimer have 
his drimt strained and be ready to beat the long roll, 
the signal of alarm, which means that danger is immi- 
nent and that every man must turn under arms on his 
company parade ground and there await his othcers. 
Then taking a patrol he visited the sentinels posted out- 
side of the Iniildings, called their attention to the situa- 
tion, and directed them not to walk their posts, but to' 
keep down, and hidden as much as possible, as theiir 
lives probably depended upon it, and to fight tO' the 
best they could when the attack began. He returned to 
the guard house, dismissed the patrol, and went back to 
his quarters to await results. 
About 4 o'clock the al;tack was made. Stiddciily the 
place resounded with the yells of the savages and the 
ominous roll of the drum. To full}^ appreciate the latter 
it needs to be heard under similar circumstances. Lieut. 
Whipple, anticipatirtg the attack, was in his company's 
quarters in a moment, directing his men to dress tliem- 
selves carefully, as it was uncertain when they would 
get back to their quarters again. Much to the astonish- 
ment of the attacking Indians, they did not find evcry- 
liody asleep, but were given such a \yarm reception by 
the alert guard as compelled them to retire temporarily 
for consultation. 
This refers to the m&tn attack. 
The sutler's store not being guarded, did not fare so 
well. When the companies were formed each irepaired 
to the place previously assigned it, and by an' order 
anticipating the possibility of just such an attack, Lieut. 
Whipple, with bis company, had been assigned to. the 
beef corral, not only because it was a pretty good post, 
but also to prevent the Indians running off the 
cattle. The margin of the little stream below the corral 
w^as full of Indians, yelling and whooping with all their 
might, and that seemed to be about what the attack had 
dwindled to in that quarter. The company reached ther 
corral withottt mishap, and once inside Lieut. Whip])le 
gave the order to the men to lay their guns over the 
top log and aim at the noise coming from the bed of the 
stream. It -was still pitchy dark, and nothing cmild be 
seen. The guns being placed upon the log, then came 
the commands, ""Ready! Aim! Fire!" The flash from 
the volley for an instant lit the darkness, and the noise 
ceased. In the meantime the company assigned to the 
sutler's store found it full of Indians, looting to the best 
of their ability. They bad smashed the windows and 
thus effected an entrance. The first window smashed 
was that to the clerk's bed room. The clerk stood not 
upon the order of his getting out, but got out at once 
into the yard and hid behind a headboard leaning against 
the fence and about ready to be erected over a soldier's 
grave. Here at the sutler's store was where the only loss 
of life occurred, so far as known. One soldier was 
killed, and. the writer thinks, one wounded. Nine In- 
dians were killed, and the ""rest — they ran away." They 
must have been a disgusted set when they discovered 
that among their loot a lot of boxes containing bottles 
from wdiich they expected much held nothing but ink. 
Down at the corral everything had remained quiet 
after the volley, and day began to dawn. A member of 
the company said to Lieut. Whipple, "Will the Liftinent 
allow me to get out of the corral and see what we killed 
when we fired the volley?" 
The answer was, "Houlinan, you will find nothing. If 
we did any execution, all dead or wounded have been 
carried away by their comrades. That is their way. 
Besides, look at that hillside rising above us. Every 
rock and log and tree has got an Indian behind it with a 
rifle in his hand, and the moment you break cover you 
are gone." 
"Still, if the Liftinent will allow me, I would like to 
try it." 
"Go, then." 
As liad been foretold, the spattering of bullets that 
came from that hillside was more than had been antici- 
pated, and showed that they w^ere still there in force, al- 
though not an Indian was to be seen. 
The Indians having been driven away from the im- 
mediate vicinity of the post, the commanding officer 
directed Lieut. Whipple to remain with his company 
for the common defense, while he (the commanding 
officer) went out with the other companies against what 
appeared to be the main body of the Indians. They 
went out and engaged them; the Indians retreated fight- 
ing. The sound of arms grew fainter and fainter, and 
finally ceased, and the troops returned. 
Thus ended the attack on Fort Defiance, one of the 
fewr attacks that were ever made by Indians upon a 
military post, and when we think of what might have 
been but for a little vigilance we cannot agree with the 
poet that in all cases, 
"Of all sad Avox^s •of tongue or pen. 
The saddest ate these, it might have been." 
LOTO. 
NOVE.MDER, 1900. 
See the list of good things in Woodcraft in our adv. cols. 
The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday. 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach us at tit? 
latest by Monday aT>4 as mwc}; earlier as prs^jticgblc 
