206 USE OF THE CORONA AND BLIND. 
3. The Sling rope, made of cord about the size of 
clothes-line, twenty to thirty feet long, according 
to the material to be packed; its use is to sling 
various packages, or casks, or boxes, in readiness 
for lashing. 4. The Riata, a strong rope sixty 
feet long, with which everything is securely 
lashed; by an intricate but admirable arrange- 
ment, this long rope, that has neither loop nor 
knot, so fastens the load that a mule rolling down 
a hillside can hardly displace it, a thing I have 
seen happen more than once. 5. The Sweat- 
cloth, a piece of canvas about four feet square, 
that goes next the skin. 6. The Blankets, four 
or five pieces, alittle larger than the sweat-cloth. 
7. The Corona, an embroidered cloth that goes 
between the aparacjo and blankets. - 
The packers know by the patterns embroidered 
on it to which mule the aparacjos belong. A 
blinder, to drop over the mule’s eyes whilst being 
saddled and packed, always carried by each 
packer, also serves as a formidable whip, of which 
the mules have a wholesome dread; laggers in a 
train, unruly and careless ‘ mulos,’ get switchings 
with the blinder they do not readily forget. A 
halter completes the equipment (technically 
styled ‘the rigging’) of a pack-mule. Each 
packer has a riding-mule; the cook always rides 
