MANUAL OF PACK TRANSPORTATION. 19 



mule takes the place of the donkey. The aparejo in both cases, to 

 protect the animal's body, is tilled with dried tjrass. The aparejo 

 cincha was provided with wooden stiffeners at each end ; at one end the 

 latino is secured by means of leather thonf2;s over the stiffener; at op- 

 posite end the wood is shaped to have a depression at center to receive 

 the folds of the lati<i;o in cinchinii; the aparejo. All roi)es were made 

 of rawhide carefully prepared and plaited, and a wooden hook was 

 provided on end of lash-rope cincha. In the sprin<i; of 1S78 I saw 

 both of these forms of aparejos in use in the State of Coahuila, 

 Mexico, and wooden hooks were used in our service to some extent 

 until the fall of 1886. 



In 1867 Pack Master Richard Closter, better kno^^^l as "Uncle 

 Dick," stated his first attempt in ribbino; the aparejo was for the pur- 

 pose only of causino; the aparejo to stand on its boots, the better to 

 protect the riggino; while in camp from the inclemencies of the 

 weather, the usual method being to make as many rows of the rigging 

 as a wagon sheet would cover, the series of rows helping as a brace to 

 hold them on their boots; and to distinguish each aparejo, a design 

 usually of the cactus was provided on the corona. 



In the early morning the animals were brought in from the herd 

 ground, rounded up, and either caught singly or tied to a picket line, 

 in preparation for the day's travel. 



The arrangement of the aparejos in an orderly manner (see fig. 108) by 

 this provision gave opportunity to feed the animals on the rigging by 

 spreading sections of canvas thereon, the night herders keeping watch on 

 the animals while feeding to prevent their wasting the grain, which was 

 an item of considerable expense in those days (1850-1870) and not 

 always available. The method of feeding on the rigging taught the 

 animals to come up to the rigging in patient expectation of the evening 

 meal. This led to teaching the animals to come up to the rigging 

 for grooming and in preparation for the day's travel. 



At first but two sticks on each side were employed to stiffen the 

 aparejo, one at front and one at rear; these reached but midway be- 

 tween the boots and center stitch line of the aparejo. Later sticks of 

 full length were used for the same purpose, but not with any expecta- 

 tion of assisting the aparejo to hold a weighty load away from the 

 withers and backbone of the animal. 



After each day's travel it was noted on taking off the aparejo that 

 the animal's backbone and withers were free of moisture, especially 

 at front and rear, showdng that the aparejo did not bear on that part 

 of the body. This led to inserting an additional stick in rear of the 

 "collar" known in those days by the term "crux," or cross, from the 

 fact that that portion of the aparejo fitted over the cross on the withers 

 of the mule and burro; later on from two to four additional sticks were 

 inserted on each side between the collar and carrier pieces or rear of 

 the aparejo, with the view only of saving the backbone and withers, 

 which for twenty years following the discovery of gold in California 

 were usually a mass of sores; the fact that the sticks su])ported the 

 weight of the load was considered an absurd })r()j)osition, and at the 

 present writing is not clearly understood ])y all ])ack masteis. The 

 fact is that the boots of the aparejo standing clear from contact with 

 the animal's body the cincha, in compressing the apai'ejo on the body 

 of the mule, gives to the aparejo the form of an arch, the cincha form- 

 ing the base on which the boots of the aparejo rest. If the aparejo 



