ck-mule train would be as great a curiosity as the hairy mammoth. In
the following particulars I have taken as a model the genuine Mexican
pack-train or atajo, as it was called in their Spanish dialect, always
used in the early days of the Santa Fe trade. The Americans made
many modifications, but the basis was purely Mexican in its origin. A
pack-mule was termed a mula de carga, and his equipment consisted of
several parts; first, the saddle, or aparejo, a nearly square pad of
leather stuffed with hay, which covered the animal's back on both sides
equally. The best idea of its shape will be formed by opening a book in
the middle and placing it saddle-fashion on the back of a chair. Each
half then forms a flap of the contrivance. Before the aparejo was
adjusted to the mule, a salea, or raw sheep-skin, made soft by rubbing,
was put on the animal's back, to prevent chafing, and over it the
saddle-cloth, or xerga. On top of both was placed the aparejo, which
was cinched by a wide grass-bandage. This band was drawn as tightly
as possible, to such an extent that the poor brute grunted and groaned
under the apparently painful operation, and when fastened he seemed to
be cut in two. This always appeared to be the very acme of cruelty to
the uninitiated, but it is the secret of successful packing; the firmer
the saddle, the more comfortably the mule can travel, with less risk of
being chafed and bruised. The aparejo is furnished with a huge crupper,
and this appendage is really the most cruel of all, for it is almost
sure to lacerate the tail. Hardly a Mexican mule in the old days of the
trade could be found which did not bear the scar of this rude supplement
to the immense saddle.

The load, which is termed a carga, was generally three hundred pounds.
Two arrieros, or packers, place the goods on the mule's back, one, the
cargador, standing on the near side, his assistant on the other. The
carga is then hoisted on top of the saddle if it is a single package; or
if there are two of equal size and weight, one on each side, coupled by
a rope, which balances them on the animal. Another stout rope is then
thrown over all, drawn as tightly as possible under the belly, and laced
round the packs, securing them firmly in their place. Over the load,
to protect it from rain, is thrown a square piece of matting called a
petate. Sometimes, when a mule is a little refractory, he is blindfolded
by a thin piece of leather, generally embroidered