Anyone seen a mule? He’s 19 hands tall, sort of a creamy color with a big dark splotch on his face, one ear’s been chewed on pretty good and he’s got two different colored eyes. Tends to be moody and prone to bite. Occasionally answers to the name of Get Back Here.

Mountain men have a special relationship with their animals. They need them for every thing they do from riding them, packing on them, helping to keep watch at night by causing all kind of hell if there’s something around that shouldn’t be. Plus they’re good companions. Normally they’re well behaved and tend to stay close to their owners.

There are exceptions however, and old Get Back Here is a prime example of just how contrary they can be. He’s a master of the quick escape. Hobble him and he can jump walk three miles by morning. Tie him to a picket line and he’ll get that knot loose like Houdini. Stake him out on a tether and come morning he’s gone, stakes gone and you’re on foot thinking, just how tough would mule meat actually be.

Course the rest of the fellows in the group are going to make comments and suggestions about how to handle that mule. Nobody will laugh outright at him because the mules owner has been known to be unpredictable after he’s chased that mule all over the canyon.

He’s going to be fortunate this morning because some of the boys that were watering their own stock down at the creek latched on to him and he was soon back in camp. History does not relate what happened or was said between mule and owner but that’s probably a good thing. There’s a lot of sensitive folks that read the blog and we’re pretty darn careful about offending them.