THE HEAD WATERS OF THE SASKATCHEWAN. 



He must go ahead to pick out the trail and 

 the easiest route where there is no trail. 

 He must find the best fords and engineer 

 the outfit across ; he must superintend the 

 packing. For a large outfit there must be 

 an assistant to pack and drive the horses 

 and to keep camp. Last, there must be a 

 head of the culinary department, who is by 

 no means the least important. Suppose 

 there are 3 hunters in the party. All must 

 have horses. This will make 6 saddle 

 horses alone. For such a party there 

 should be at least 8 or 10 pack horses. On 

 these must be carried the camp outfit, that 

 is, tent, blankets, cooking utensils, etc., the 

 personal baggage of the party and the 

 grub. This consists usually of flour, oat- 

 meal, rice, beans, dried fruit, tea, coffee, su- 

 gar, condensed milk or evaporated cream 

 and bacon. The luxuriously inclined may 

 add to these, canned goods or even bulkier 

 provisions if he be willing to take along 

 enough extra pack horses. The oersonal 

 baggage should be as light as possible, but 

 we usually find beginners loading them- 

 selves with dozens of articles they never 

 use. I have even seen a horse packed with 

 suit cases and one loaded with a steamer 

 trunk. The man who knows his business 

 takes only what he can not eet along with- 

 out, namely a change of clothes, a tooth- 

 brush and his hunting outfit, including rifle, 

 rod, shot gun, revolver and camera. 



In organizing the party each horse will 

 have his special load. These loads must 

 all be made up at the beginning according 

 to the strength, peculiaries and qualities of 

 the various horses. The flour, for instance, 

 goes on old Pinto, who has a reputation for 

 being a good horse in water and may be 

 trusted to keep his pack dry. The camera 

 supplies and breakables go on Little Billv, 

 who is a most painstaking and careful ani- 

 mal. The blankets and sleeping bags go 

 on the buckskin mare, who may be relied 

 on to buck off anything that rattles ; and so 

 on through the list until each horse has 

 been allotted a portion of the outfit. 



Then commences the packing. 



First the horses must be caught. This is 

 easily done by felling a few trees to form 

 a V, or wedge, into which the animals are 

 driven. Even the wildest can be readily 

 captured. Then, one by one, they are led 

 up to have their loads put on. First the 

 pack saddles are cinched in place and then, 

 by means of swing ropes, the side packs are 

 adjusted. This leaves a hollow between 

 the packs, where odds and ends, such as 

 fishing rods, tools, etc,, are placed. Above 

 these goes the top pack and over that the 

 canvas pack cover. Then the whole is 

 made tight and fast by a long rope ar- 

 ranged in a series of loops and slips known 

 to the initiated as the diamond hitch. Two 

 good men will pack a horse in 6 minutes, 



264 



