[Vanished Arizona by Martha Summerhayes]@TWC D-Link bookVanished Arizona CHAPTER IX 4/10
Each teamster had his own particular variety of oaths, each mule had a feminine name, and this brought the swearing down to a sort of personal basis.
I remonstrated with Jack, but he said: teamsters always swore; "the mules wouldn't even stir to go up a hill, if they weren't sworn at like that." By the time we had crossed the great Mogollon mesa, I had become accustomed to those dreadful oaths, and learned to admire the skill, persistency and endurance shown by those rough teamsters.
I actually got so far as to believe what Jack had told me about the swearing being necessary, for I saw impossible feats performed by the combination. When near camp, and over the difficult places, we drove on ahead and waited for the wagons to come in.
It was sometimes late evening before tents could be pitched and supper cooked.
And oh! to see the poor jaded animals when the wagons reached camp! I could forget my own discomfort and even hunger, when I looked at their sad faces. One night the teamsters reported that a six-mule team had rolled down the steep side of a mountain.
<<Back Index Next>> D-Link book Top TWC mobile books
|