Sierra County Advocate in Hillsboro, New Mexico

Old Mine Mule's Long Trail From Texas to Butte

A Texan recalls taming a wild mine mule named Pete in a Montana mine. After years in Texas and Mexico, he worked at a Butte shaft where Pete ate timber, roamed drift levels, and finally befriended the narrator. The mule, once unruly, ate most of the timber on the level, became gentle after escape, and was kept in check with a large iron post. The superintendent offered $600 to remove Pete from the state, which the narrator declined, and Pete remains in Texas, fed on unusual rations.