378 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



But to succeed all the world over in big game shooting, a 

 man should be able not only to find his own game and kill it 

 when found, but to skin it, pack it, pack his own food on his 

 shoulders or his horse's as the circumstances require, cook 

 his dinner, choose and pitch his camp ; in fact, he should be 

 able to do everything which he wants done for himself without 

 aid from anyone else. 



It by no means follows that because a man can do these 

 things he will be obliged to do them, but there are times in 

 every hunter's life at which the almighty dollar fails him, and 

 then it is that the beauty of being able to help himself becomes 

 apparent. It is not a bad plan just for once (say for a single 

 day) to do entirely without extraneous aid. At the end of the 

 day you will probably find that a good many things, from tying 

 a bowline knot to lighting a camp fire, look a good deal simpler 

 than they are. 



We will consider then, first, what are the essentials of camp 

 life and camp outfit in countries where the temperature ranges 

 during the shooting season from 80 above to say 10 below 

 zero, a fair sample of which may be found on the mainland of 

 British Columbia. 



One of the first maxims I would lay down is, bring with 

 you all the most important items of your outfit, rifles, ammuni- 

 tion, tents, &c., even though the cost of transport be heavy ; 

 but, on the other hand, do not load yourself with less important 

 items, such as rugs, blankets, cooking utensils, saddles and 

 smaller things. You can get most of the ordinary necessaries 

 of life in every country you enter, and in nine cases out of ten 

 the native manages to evolve the article best suited to the daily 

 needs of the country he lives in and the life he leads, e.g. the 

 so-called Mexican saddle or the Indian moccasin. There is 

 another thing worth considering, and that is that if you must 

 spend money somewhere upon your outfit, it is as well to spend 

 it where the spending of it may earn you the goodwill and 

 assistance of the people amongst whom you are going to 

 hunt. 



