od trembling while the huge cruppers
were put into place and breast straps tightened. Then the _carga_ was
placed on them, the whiskey carriers loaded with a cask on each side,
firmly bound with rawhide ropes; the meal carriers with nearly one
hundred fifty pounds in sacks on each side. While the mules winced now,
after they had become warmed up and the hay of the _aparejos_ packed to
a better fit, they could travel longer and carry the heavy burdens with
greater ease than if the cinches were slacked. The packing down and
shaping of the _aparejo_ so loosened the cinch and ropes that frequently
it was necessary to stop and tighten them all after a mile or so had
been put behind.
The _atejo_ was in charge of a major-domo, five _arrieros_, or
muleteers and a cook, or the _madre_, who usually went ahead and led the
bell mule. All the men rode well-trained horses, and both men and horses
from Turley's rancho were sleek, well fed and contented, for the
proprietor was known throughout the valley, and beyond, for his
kindness, honesty and generosity; and he was repaid in kind, for his
employees were faithful, loyal, and courageous in standing up for his
rights and in defending his property. Yet the time was to come some
years hence when his sterling qualities would be forgotten and he would
lose his life at the hands of the inhabitants of the valley.
The _atejo_ swiftly and dexterously packed, the two pairs of
bloodthirsty looking Indian guards divided into advance and rear guard,
the _madre_ led the bell mule down the slope and up the trail leading
over the low mountainous divide toward Ferdinand de Taos, the grunting
mules following in orderly file.
The trail wandered around gorges and bowlders and among pine, cedar, and
dwarf oaks and through patches of service berries with their small,
grapelike fruit, and crossed numerous small rivulets carrying off the
water of the rainy season. Taos, as it was improperly called, lay twelve
miles distant at the foot of the other side of the divide, and it was
reached shortly after noon without a stop on the way. The "noonings"
observed by the caravans were not allowed in an _atejo_, nor were the
mules permitted to stop for even a moment while on the way, for if
allowed a moment's rest they promptly would lie down, and in attempting
to arise under their heavy loads were likely to strain their loins so
badly as to render them forever unfit for work. To remove and replace
the packs wou
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