12 SPORTING ADTENTCRLS 



arc sometimes liable to light attacks of illness, it is fair to infer 

 that those who cross the Rocky Mountains in search of fur, fin, 

 or feather, may, at one time or other, become indisposed, owing 1 

 to a change of climate, water, or some other cause; it might, 

 therefore, be well to suggest to them to take some simple 

 medicines with them, so that they might be used promptly 

 in case of need. These may be confined to a few cathartic 

 pills, a diarrhoea mixture, a diuretic, sal volatile, salve, court 

 plaster, sweet oil, a bottle of ginger, and the fluid extract of 

 hamamelis to allay the irritation of fly bites, and to bathe 

 contusions or slight wounds with. Should such a calamity 

 occur to a person as to be bitten by a rattlesnake, a generous 

 dosing of whiskey until he is drunk is the only effective 

 remedy against the poison, and that is thoroughly effective; 

 hence the extract of rye, wheat, or corn is no unimportant 

 part of a campaigner's pharmacopoeia. Hot lemonade is an 

 excellent preventive of fever and ague, a fact which I have 

 thoroughly proved in several cases ; and if it is mixed with a 

 strong dose of good Holland gin it may banish the disease 

 within a few hours. A wine-glass of this mixture taken 

 twice a day acts both as a tonic and as an opponent of that 

 most disagreeable malady ; and I am free to say that few 

 persons who try it will find it ineffective. 



Fly bites may be prevented by applying a light coating of 

 tar and sweet oil to the face and hands; and if disturbed by 

 flies around the camp fire, one should move to the smoky 

 side, but if he uses tobacco he might light his pipe on any side 

 and enjoy the pleasure of hearing their song while he knows 

 the}' dare not come near him. 



To avoid fleas, boughs of trees should be used for a bed on 

 the ground instead of hay or straw, and all dogs should be 

 banished the tent and forced to keep in their own domiciles, 

 if they have one, if not, to lie around the fire or in some 

 extemporized shelter. 



In taking care of horses it is necessary that they should be 

 hobbled with side lines, or picketed, while grazing, to prevent 

 them from straying away or being stampeded by any cause. 

 The picket ropes lor each animal should be thirty or forty feet 



