Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/343



and putting  on  the  break  and  lashing  his  snorting horses to  a  keen  run,  the  skillful  Jehu,  with  a  diaboli- cal leer, would  send  his  coach  dashing  round  precipice and craggy  wall  on  a  thread  of  chiseled-out  road, swaying and  sliding  to  within  a  few  inches  of  death, and dodojino;  the  overhano-ino;  rocks  and  trees,  divinor in and  out  of  ruts  and  whirling  round  on  the  verge of chasms  where  but  for  the  timely  cry  of  "  Sit  up  to windward,"  horses,  coach,  and  company  would  be hurled  into  the  abyss  below. More than  once  the thing has  happened,  when  upon  a  drunken  driver,  a slippery  road,  a  fallen  tree  or  boulder  unexpectedly encountered in  rounding  some  sharp  turn,  was  laid the blame.

At first,  between  the  several  towns  and  camps there were  no  wagon  roads,  but  only  mule  trails ;  so that  among  the  hills  and  in  the  mountains,  provisions and other  supplies  had  to  be  carried  to  the  miners strapped to  aparejos  upon  the  backs  of  mules. Thus "packing" became  a  large  business,  and  was  one  of the  features  of  the  times. Mules for  the  purpose were driven  up  from  Sonora  and  Sinaloa,  and  Mexi- cans were chiefly  employed  as  vaqueros  or  muleteers. Making up  their  cargoes  in  loads  of  from  two  to  four hundred p  ju  ids  according  to  the  roads  and  the  ability of the  respective  animals,  each  load  was  evenly  bal- anced and firmly  lashed  on. At sunrise  or  there- abouts all was  ready  for  the  start,  when  an  old  horse with a  cow-bell  at  his  neck  and  a  boy  on  his  back  led off, and  the  tinkling  of  this  bell  the  mules  would follow day  and  night. Three or  five  Mexicans  on saddle-mules  would  follow  a  train  of  twenty  or  fifty mules re-adjusting  loads,  assisting  the  fallen,  and urging on  the  whole  with  loud  cries  of  "upa!  mula, arriba !  arriba ! "

The Mexicans  are  the  best  vaqueros  in  the  world. They are  as  familiar  with  the  habits  and  idiosyncra- sies of the  horse  and  mule  as  is  the  Arab  of  those  of the  camel,  and   they  sit  upon  the  saddle  as  if  part