Horse Attendants and Stable Duties. 185 



the part of head-foreman, it is much the better 

 plan, as a rule^ to get, if possible, one of the 

 mates of the ship (the Chief Officer for 

 preference) to perform this duty, because he 

 will be able to enforce his authority over 

 the men under him much more effectively 

 than an outsider could do. A non-official 

 head-foreman cannot take the law into his 

 own hands, and in the event of a difficulty 

 with his men, he will have to refer the 

 matter to the Chief Officer or Captain^ 



In the heterogeneous crowd which consists 

 of horse attendants or " cattle men " (I cannot 

 call them grooms or strappers), lads or young 

 men are generally better than their seniors, 

 because as a rule they are more amenable to 

 discipline, and accept rough work with 

 greater equanimity. Such men, whether old 



