The Mullin Enterprise. (Mullin, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 27, 1939 Page: 4 of 4
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See us first for all your needs in Building
A complete stock of shelf Hardware
The prettiest line of glassware and dishes
j. H. MIUOLPN & COBPANY
dying on the desert from thirst
was reduced considerably after
wheeled vehicles, with their add-
ed capacity for supplies and
stores of water, were Introduced.
In 1834, the Introduction of
wagons In place of pack horses
marked the beginning of a new
era In the Santa Pe trade. The
early trade wl<h New Mexico,
both from Old Mexico and the
States, wets carried on by means
of caravans of horses, mules or
burros. This was a very tedious
and slow method of transport
and the amount of me trade was
limited to the carrying capacity
of the caravans. Thus when
wagons came In vogue the Santa
Pe trade, now that governmental
restrictions had been removed,
took a sudden spurt In volume
that was not to be noticed again
for seventy-five years when the
steam railroads took over the
business.
The "atajo" or drove of pack
mules was driven and handled
with remarkable dexterity by the
muleteers, called "arrleros.” The
"carga,” If In a single package,
was laid across the mule's back
or, if In two packages, balanced
on either side of the mule. The
park saddle or "aparejo" con-
sisted of a large leathern pad
stuffed with hay, covering the
back and extending halfway
down both sides of the mule.
This saddle was secured by a
wide sea-grass bandage so tight-
ly laced that the body of the ani-
mal was reduced to much less
than Its natural size. The “carga"
was bound upon the "aparejo”
by a long rope of sea-grass or
rawhide, which was Intertwined
about the bandages and drawn
taut In such ft aktUtul fashion
that the cargo was held secure-
ly in position. The day’s Jour-
ney of a pack drove was usually
13 to 19 miles because the “ata-
Jo" travelled without any atop at
noon. In order to avoid unload-
ing and reloading, anA a heavily
packed “atajo” could not con-
tinue on the road for more th^n
five or six hours, day after day.
The "atajos" were guided along
the route by the muleteers,
mounted upon swift and well-
trained horses. Hie caravan of
pack mules generally numbered
from fifty to 200, each _ l9|ded
with merchandise weighing about
300 pounds. The "arrleros" were
paid very low wages, ranging
from two to five flollars a month,
and the cost of their board and
feed was extremely low. Freights
could be carried In this manner
over rough roads and precipi-
tous mountain passes where wa-
gon transportation would have
been out of the question.
The credit for the Innovation
of wagons Into the Santa Fe
trade. In 1824, belongs to Colonel
Marmeduke, who later became
governor of Missouri. In com-
pany with about eighty traders
he transported $25,000 to $30,000
worth of merchandise to Santa
Fe, some on the back of mules
but mainly In twenty-five wheel-
ed vehicles. Including one or two
stout road wagons, two carts and
the remainder made up of Dear-
born carriages. The desert route
was surprisingly free of obstacle*
to wagon transportation and they
reached their destination with
little difficulty, considering that
GRAB THIS BARGAIN
For a limited time only The
Mullln Enterprise offers a year's
subscription PLUS a year’s sub-
scription to Pathfinder, the news
review of world affairs, for only
$1.80
Song on the Mack list
Most saaibilsi song on the ,
for Wombn tills year Is "f^eel
campus at Texas State OUlagt
Adeline,” for the simple reason
that T8CW has a dearth at
Adelines this season. With every
other name from Alpha to Eilia
represented, not a single Adeline
Can be found among the 2100
given names. r j
High School Spirit Carries Ob
Freshmen at Texas state Col-
lege for Women are weQ able la
discuss the comparative media
of various high schools over thi
state, since over S94 different
Texas schools are represented In
the class this rear. School spirit *
usually carries over Into the first
year of college, and loyal dASgh-
ters of several high schools often
compete with others, during
freshman class meetings, in the
sing of school songs.
John Kemp and two nephews
of McCauley were dinner guests
of Mr and Mis J S Kemp Wed-
nesday
NOTICE
A city truck will be around the
first of the week to pick up the
last of your rubbish. Much im-
provement has been made, w get
busy and complete the good
work
l-ITTLE BOV BREAKS ARM
Little John McGuire fell and
broke his arm. Monday afternoon
and was carried to Ooldthwaite
where h.
arm was set
Terrible Hardships
Marked Beginning
Of Santa Fe Trail
The unobstructed
Santa Fe
trade may he said to have begun
in 1821 when Mexico declared
her independence from Spain
There were no dangers after that
time except those to be encount-
ered in the long journey across
the plains The main hindrance
to legititmate and open trade lay
in the rigid regulations imposed
by the customs authorities at the
border
Because Captain Becknell hap-
pened to make the trip in the
epochal year of 1821, he is con-,
.-.ldered to be the father of the
Santa Fe trade, though the vir-
tual commencement nT the trade
is dated in 1882 In company
with four trusted companions.
Becknell left Franklin. Missouri,
with the intention of engaging
,r. trade with the Comanche Jn-
,1lan» Near the Rocky Moun-
tains' they met by accident a
group of Mexican rangers who
persuaded the Becknell party to
accompany them to Santa Fe
Their the Americans made a
handsome profit from the sale
of a very small amount of mer-
chandise The following winter
Captain Becknell returned to the
Sta'cs leaving the other itiem-
ber« of his party at ’lie new1
Mexican metro|>olis
Before Captom Becknell'* first
successful American trading ex-
peditlt n to Santa Fe, all supplies
lor New Mexico were procured
from the internal provinces, by
way of Vera Cruz, by means of
caravans of pack animals The
j-jjtes were so.exorbitant by "this
route: that ordinary calicoes as
well as the more common bleach-
ar.d 'brown domestic goods
brought as much as two or three
dollars i vara' -the Spanish
yard of thirty-three inches.
These prices, however, made p»o-
hlbltive by length of haul and
the primitive methods, were soon
to be reduced The territory of
Missouri had been advanced to
statehood In the year 1821 be-
cause of the rapid Influx of set-
tlers to the American side of the
border. Conditions were becom-
ing ripe for Improvement, of the
trade between the United States
and Mexico
In June 1822 Captain Becknell,
liberator and first president of
the Texas Republlq . . . "Man of
Conquest” Is currently showing
at the Brown wood playhouse and
will remain through Saturday,
April 29 . . . Governor O'Daniel
In a wire to Lew Bray, said that
“Man of Conquest" is a picture
that “every man, woman and
child should see."
GOVERNOR W. LEE O’DANIEL
PERSONALLY ENDORSES “MAN
OF CONQUEST” -Governor W
Lee O'Daniel Is shown above con-
gratulating Lew Bray. Manager
of the Lyric Theatre in Brown-
wood tyi securing the Central
Texas Premiere of “Man of Con-
quest" film picturlzation of the
life of General Sam Houston,
perhaps emboldened by his pre-
vious successes, assembled a
trading expedition which is said
to have provided us with the
mast thrilling story of hardship
in the history of the Santa Fe
Trail The tragic Journey was
begun with a company of nearly
thirty men and goods and vari-
ous descriptions aggregating
$5,000 perhaps In value Desir-
ing to avoid the circuitous route
westward along the Arkansas
river, Captain Becknell, who was
an expert woodsman, decided,
after reaching the "Caches," to
strike directly overland, following
what we today know as the Cim-
arron cutoff Experienced In
pioneering work In the woods,
the party gave little heed to the
terrible privations that might
fall to their lot upon the track-
less desert Confident in spirit.
Ijhey began the march across the
dry plains stretching before as
lar as the Cimarron river. A
pook»t compass, the sun and the
stars were their only guides.
f
After two days marching, the
supply of water in their canteens
was exhausted and there was no
water of any description to be
had along the route The suffer-
ing caused by the lack of liquid
nourishment almost maddened
both men and beasts. Then came
the time when the thirsty men
killed their dogs and cut off til
Cars of the mules that they might
suck the blood and thus assuage
their thirst These substitutes
only irritated their parched
throats and made them lose their
sense of judgment. Frantic at
the prospect of the slow death
awaiting them and eager to take
advantage of any possible avenue
of escape, they separated afid
scattered In all directions In
search of water.
Frequently the lost men were
led astray by the deceptive shim-
mer of a mirage which made
false ponds and oases appear In
the desert a short distance
ahead They did not realize how
close the Cimarron river Was and,
in despair, were about to seek
to retrace their steps to Arkan-
sas About to perish on the plains
because of weakness brought on
by thirst and hardship, one of
their number caught sight of a
buffalo. They killed It and
drank the water from its sto-
mach. This gave some of the
men sufficient strength to strug-
gle to the river, fill their can-
tenns and return to aid their
comrades Gradually they all re-
gained sufficient -strength to re-
sume the Journey and, following
the course of the Arkansas river
to avoid other arid regions, they
reached Taos. 80 or 70 miles
away without further miship
One of the survivors later said
that the filthy water from the
buffalos stomach at the time
seemed to him to be the most de-
licious beverage that had ever
passed his Ups. The danger of
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ENTERPRISE
GOING PLACES THIS SPRING?
Time to get our new tires and give
your auto new Sinclair oil and gas—then
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ilU&fS
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Patterson, Mrs. R. H. The Mullin Enterprise. (Mullin, Tex.), Vol. 39, No. 3, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 27, 1939, newspaper, April 27, 1939; Mullin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1060181/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Jennie Trent Dew Library.