IN THE OLD WEST 185 



his bony carcass; his nether extremities being 

 clothed in pantaloons of the same material (with 

 scattered fringes down the outside of the leg 

 which ornaments, however, had been pretty well 

 thinned to supply whangs for mending moccasins 

 or pack-saddles), which, shrunk with wet, clung 

 tightly to his long, spare, sinewy legs. His feet 

 were thrust into a pair of Mexican stirrups made 

 of wood, and as big as coal-scuttles ; and iron 

 spurs of incredible proportions, with tinkling 

 drops attached to the rowels, were fastened to his 

 heel a bead-worked strap, four inches broad, 

 securing them over the instep. In the shoulder- 

 belt, which sustained his powder-horn and bullet- 

 pouch, were fastened the various instruments of 

 one pursuing his mode of life. An awl, with deer- 

 horn handle, and the point defended by a case 

 of cherry-wood carved by his own hand, hung at 

 the back of the belt, side by side with a worm 

 for cleaning the rifle; and under this was a squat 

 and quaint-looking bullet-mold, the handles 

 guarded by strips of buckskin to save his fingers 

 from burning when running balls, having for its 

 companion a little bottle made from the point of 

 an antelope's horn, scraped transparent, which 

 contained the " medicine " used in baiting the 

 traps. The old coon's face was sharp and thin, 

 a long nose and chin hob-nobbing each other ; and 

 his head was always bent forward, giving him the 

 appearance of being hump-backed. He appeared 



