382 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



give directions for the tying of the diamond hitch, but the 

 object of this book is to supply information useful to the 

 hunter, and written instructions in the tying of the diamond 

 hitch would not fall into that category. A man may learn to 

 pack by practical experience and with pack, pony and an ex- 

 pert before him, but I do not believe anyone could learn from 

 printed directions. Should anyone care to try, an excellent 

 series of articles upon the subject, by a thoroughly practical 

 man signing himself * Yo,' may be found in ' Forest and 

 Stream 'for June 2, 1887, and following numbers. Let your 

 camp man be a practical packer, would be my first advice to 

 anyone meditating a shooting expedition in America. To any- 

 one who had ever made such an expedition such advice would 

 be unnecessary. There should be no difficulty in finding a 

 man who can both pack and (in a rough way) cook. I was 

 going to say that any fool could cook sufficiently well for a 

 hunter's camp, but the recollection of beans fried without 

 boiling, a vivid memory of some of the abuses of baking 

 powder, and a certain black-currant pudding boiled without 

 basin or pudding-cloths, make me pause. 



In addition to the aparejos, sweat-pads, and saddle-blankets 

 before mentioned, all of which go under your packs, you 

 must provide yourself with what are known as manteaux, i.e. 

 squares of stout waterproofed canvas which are thrown over 

 the packs to protect them not only from rain, but also from 

 pointed boughs and such like which would otherwise tear the 

 packs in passing through a timbered country. With these, 

 cinches, sling ropes, halter ropes, and a good supply of spare 

 rope of the kinds known respectively as half- and quarter- 

 inch, the sportsman should be able to transport all he requires 

 through almost any country. 



As to the packs themselves, I would recommend that as far 

 as possible everything should be put up in stout canvas bags 

 and labelled. This plan saves infinite trouble in the long run. 

 Some things of course must be carried in tins, and among 

 these should be your matches, which will thus be protected 



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