THE FIRST DAY’S WORK 17 
promptly released the rope and waved his legs 
frantically in the general direction of the en- 
emy, crying lustily: ‘‘Oh, the little Devil! Help! 
Help!’ 
We finally persuaded him that he was in no im- 
mediate danger, and he allowed himself to be as- 
sisted to his feet, none the worse for his harrowing 
experience. 
It was evident, however, that as a burro-puncher 
Horace could not be considered an unqualified hit. 
We were all greatly edified by the affair, with the ex- 
ception of Frazer, who eyed Wetherby gloomily 
' enough. He was apparently approaching a state 
of pessimism concerning his protégé’s complete ef- 
ficiency. 
In the afternoon we saddled and packed the 
twenty burros with tents, beds, dufflebags and sup- 
plies, weighing altogether over two thousand pounds. 
It seemed marvellous that the little beasts could 
stand up under their loads. We had yet to learn that 
the burro, for its size, is the strongest, toughest and 
most tireless of pack animals. 
By the time our preparations were completed, 
there was not over three hours of daylight left, but 
by dint of pretty constant effort on the part of the 
packers we drove our outfit eight miles to Kingston 
and made camp before darkness fell. 
During the trip we discovered that Brown and 
Ewing had already found names for the burros. 
Some of these appellations were amusingly: descrip- 
