The Wilderness Hunter. 



in much comfort. Usually when in the mountains I have 

 merely had one companion, or at most a couple, and two 

 or three pack-ponies ; each of us doing his share of the 

 packing, cooking, fetching water, and pitching the small 

 square of canvas which served as tent. In itself packing 

 is both an art and a mystery, and a skilful professional 

 packer, versed in the intricacies of the " diamond 

 hitch," packs with a speed which no non-professional 

 can hope to rival, and fixes the side packs and top packs 

 with such scientific nicety, and adjusts the doubles and 

 turns of the lash-rope so accurately, that everything stays 

 in place under any but the most adverse conditions. Of 

 course, like most hunters, I can myself in case of need 

 throw the diamond hitch after a fashion, and pack on 

 either the off or near side. Indeed, unless a man can pack 

 it is not possible to make a really hard hunt in the moun- 

 tains, if alone, or with only a single companion. The mere 

 fair-weather hunter, who trusts entirely to the exertions of 

 others, and does nothing more than ride or walk about 

 under favorable circumstances, and shoot at what somebody 

 else shows him, is a hunter in name only. Whoever would 

 really deserve the title must be able at a pinch to shift for 

 himself, to grapple with the difficulties and hardships of 

 wilderness life unaided, and not only to hunt, but at times 

 to travel for days, whether on foot or on horseback, alone. 

 However, after one has passed one's novitiate, it is pleasant 

 to be comfortable when the comfort does not interfere with 

 the sport ; and although a man sometimes likes to hunt 

 alone, yet often it is well to be with some old mountain 

 hunter, a master of woodcraft, who is a first-rate hand at 



