Big Loads. 275 



They are mortised into the crosspiece and braced thoroughly, you 

 will notice. The crosspiece should be longer than just to come 

 to end of poles, so as to give room for a brace outside. My poles 

 are three feet apart, from centre to centre. The three-horse 

 doubletree goes on top of this crosspiece. Any kind of a one can 

 be used, but I have a simple one shown in Fig. 6. It is six feet 

 long, with three whiffletrees, each two feet four inches long. This 

 has one advantage ; one can use short whiffletrees and get through 

 a pretty narrow gate, and it is very simple and light. At first 

 thought it will appear to you that the middle horse has a dead 

 pull, but this is not the case, as you will notice. I have had men 

 come to my wagon when I was in the city, and be so certain of 

 this that they offered to bet their farms on it. But it is never best 

 to bet on the other man's game. This figure will make the matter 

 plain to you. We cross the inside traces, making each whiffletree 

 an evener. There should be a ring between the clevis on evener 



Fig. 



I 



and the one on whiffletree, so as to give plenty of play. You see, 

 the middle horse is not hitched to the middle whiffletree at all, 

 but to the inside ends of outside ones. 



One can have a set of three horse-reins made, but I have not 

 found it necessary. I use my two horse reins with the addition 

 of two hitching straps for extra checks. So fixed, I have 

 handled horses in crowded streets. Take the two-horse reins and 

 put the whole reins through on the middle horse, one on each 

 side. Then put on your extra checks, so you have two checks on 

 each rein. Take the right ones and pass one over middle horse 

 and hitch to right side of bit of left horse, and pass the other 

 over the neck of right horse and hitch to right side of his bit. 

 This rein then pulls all three horses to the right. Fix the other 

 all to the left. A little shortening or lengthening of the checks 

 will enable you to handle them all right. I always put the best 

 horse to back in the centre. Going down hill, of course the brakes 



