430 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 9, 1887. 



THE DIAMOND HITCH. 



n. 



GETTING THINGS READY. 



fTVHE essential parts of the packer's outfit besides the 

 J- pack saddles are as follows: 



Sting Rope.— A 25 to 30ft. length of i to ^in. rope, the 

 ends whipped so that they will not ravel. 



Lash Rope,— A fin. rope 35 to 40ft. long. One end is 

 passed through the ring of the lash cinch and spliced 

 into the standing part, making an eye splice. The 

 free end is either knotted, or better, is whipped, so 

 that it will not ravel. 



Lare Ropes.— Lengths of I or -Jin. rope, 15 to 20ft. long, 

 used for lashing together in compact bundles the 

 "packs," which may consist of a number of small 

 articles. 



Lash Cinch.— A cinch made either of horse hair or can- 

 vas from 6 to 8in. wide. At one end is a 3in. iron 

 ring, either running through the hair or made fast 

 to the canvas by a stout leathern string passed back 

 and forth through the ring and the canvas, attaching 

 the ring to the cinch so firmly that nothing can 

 free it. To this ring the lash rope is attached by the 

 eye splice. A better arrangement than the ring is 

 shown in Fig. 4. In this a broad strip of leather 

 is fasftned to the canvas, passes over an |in. iron 

 rod as long as the leather is wide, and then returning 

 to the canvas, is laced to it. Half way from either 

 side of the cinch and close to the iron rod, is a hole 

 large enough to admit the passage through it of the 

 lash rope. This is passed through from the belly side 



p IG . 4.— Lash Cinch with Wooden Hook. 



of the cinch, and then either knotted so that it cannot 

 pull out, or better spliced, as in the case of the ring 

 above mentioned. The advantage of this arrange- 

 ment is that the whole cinch pulls smooth from this 

 end, whereas with a ring it is apt to gather on the 

 lower side like a rag. To the other end of the cinch 

 is fastened in the same way a hook, preferably of 1 

 to fin iron, but often made of wood. The wooden 

 hook is made of oak, hickory or other hard wood, and 

 is laced on the cinch. It should be about 8in. long, 3-| 

 or 4in. wide, and the hook end is often strengthened by 

 a bolt or rod of iron riveted over a washer as shown 

 in the figure. A bolt is best, as it can be tightened in 

 case the wood shrinks. When the lash cinch is in 

 position, the open side of the hook should look for- 

 ward, and the end point downward and under the 

 animal's belly. The inner surface of the hook is 

 smooth, so that there may be as little friction as pos- 

 sible. 



Blind.— A calfskin, or heavy cloth blinder, cut in a long 

 oval and brought together at the ends. This is slipped 

 over the ears of the animal to be packed, and falling 

 down over the face covers the eyes while saddling 

 and packing. To the front of the blind a strap is 



Fig. 5. — Blind. 



sewed for a hand hold, and it is often used as a quirt 

 by the packer who carries it, or it may be hung over 

 the horn of the saddle and carried in that way. The 

 strings go back on the mule's neck. 

 Jaquima, or as it is more commonly termed, hackamore. 

 — A loose halter, put on the animal when it is caught 

 up in the morning and worn during the day, or until 

 the load is removed and the animal turned out. The 

 stem of the hackamore is the rope depending from it; 

 the equivalent of halter shank. A convenient and 

 inexpensive hackamore is shown in Fig. 6. It is 

 made of fin. rope. C is an eye made by passing «ne 

 end of the rope, A, under a strand of the other end, 

 B, and then passing the end of B under a strand of A, 

 as in the diagram. Draw this up. Splice in the 

 short end, which goes over the animal's head, about 

 12in. back from the eye, and then pass the long end 

 through the eye. This completes the halter. 



We will take it for granted that two young men quite 

 unacquainted with Western ways are starting out to go 

 through the Yellowstone Park by themselves. They wish 

 to go as inexpensively as possible, and do not care to be 

 confined to the beaten routes of travel. They want to see 

 the nooks and corners that are hidden away among the 

 mountains, to get away from the dust and rattle of the 

 stage coach, and the exclamations of the "coupon" tour- 



ists. They decide — and very wisely — to pack through 

 the Park, but do not feel that thev can afford to hire an 

 experienced packer. I shall try in these papers to so de- 

 scribe the modus operandi of packing an animal, that 

 any two persons of ordinary intelligence can, with a little 

 practice, perform the operation. Out of consideration 

 for these two young men I allow them only one animal. 



Fig. 6.— Hackamore. 



I do this because I want them, if possible, to get started 

 the first day, even if they only make half a mile. If they 

 had two or three animals to pack it is very likely they 

 would not get away from cainp for a week. 



In traveling in the mountains the animals are usually 

 turned loose at night, the bell mare and in fact all the 

 horses being hobbled so that they are not likely to stray, 

 and the mules or burros left perfectly free. The latter 

 will almost always stay with the horses. Of course, some 

 time would be saved if the animals could be picketed out, 

 but in the mountains this is impossible. There are so 

 many trees, bushes and rocks to catch and tangle up a 

 rope, that an animal which is dragging one will be sure 

 to get itself tied up early in the evening, and have to go 

 all night with nothing to eat. This is a serious matter, 

 for if your stock gets poor on a trip, you will be in a bad 

 way. In old times it was often the case that a man's life 

 depended on the ability of his animals to travel, and to 

 travel fast, with good loads, and although nowadays the 

 condition of the stock is not often of such vital importance, 

 still it is always worth while to look after it with the 

 utmost care, and even if his trip is to be a very short one, 

 the experienced traveler is always considerate of the well- 

 being of his animals. 



The single pack animal of our two heroes, or pupils, is 

 probably feeding somewhere in the neighborhood of the 

 camp. As soon as they have turned out in the morning 

 — and they should always do that at dawn — one of the 

 party should make the fire and begin to get breakfast, 

 while the other goes off to look up the animals. If they 

 are not in sight he will have to listen for the bell, which 

 one of them should always wear at night, or, if he cannot 

 hear that, he must look for their tracks made in the wet 

 grass or on the snow, and follow these up until he finds 

 the animals. They should then be driven close to camp, 

 and allowed to feed there until needed. 



Fig. 7.— Blinded. 



After breakfast one of the party should wash the dishes 

 and get the "kitchen" in shape to pack up, while the 

 other may take down the tent and fold up the blankets. 

 After all this has been done the animals must be caught. 

 If they are at all wild, take a couple of lash or picket 

 ropes and stretch them about some trees standing near 

 together, at a height of about 4ft. from the ground, so as 

 to form an inclosure, with only one opening about Oft. 

 wide, and here leave a loose end of rope long enough to 

 close this entrance after the animals have been driven 

 into it. Drive the animals slowly toward, and at length 

 into, this rope corral, and then catch them and put on 



their jaquimas and tie them to the trees. Of course, if 

 the animals are so gentle that they will let you catch 

 them without difficulty, you will not take the trouble to 

 corral them. 



We will suppose the animal to have been driven in, 

 caught, its jaquima put on and the stem tied to the limb 

 of a convenient tree. When you are ready to saddle, lead 

 him out to the saddle, put the blind on and drop the 

 halter. The operation of saddling need not be described, 

 but several points must be kept especially in mind. You 

 must see to it first that the blankets lie smoothly, i. e., 

 without wrinkles under the saddle; second, that there is 

 plenty of blanket wherever the saddle bears on the ani- 

 mal's withers or back; third, that the blanket is well for- 

 ward, for its tendency is always to work back; and 

 fourth, that the saddle is put on so firmly that there is no 

 possibility of its slipping, turning or working. Do not 

 be afraid of cinching the beast too tight. Ordinarily two 

 men take the latigo in their hands, and bracing one foot 

 each against the animal's side, pull until the mule takes 

 the shape of an hour glass. The animal grunts and groans 

 and swells itself up as much as possible, but it is useless 

 for it to resist. It is business, not sport, this packing. If 

 you are using a double cinch saddle — a sawbuck — do not 

 take the flank cinch up too tight at first, though it must 

 be made tight enough, so as to hold well, especially where 

 there is no crupper. 



It is better to make up your packs before you catch 

 your animal, because, until you have had some practice, 

 this will be slow business, and you must not keep the 

 animal tied up and starving while you are learning how 

 to do your work. Let him feed until the packs are pre- 

 pared. Of these there are usually three or more, two side 

 packs and a center, or top, pack. It is important that 

 the side packs be about equal in bulk and weight, for they 

 are to balance each other on each side of the saddle, 

 while the top pack may either be one bundle or two or 

 three, as may be convenient. Rolls of bedding make 

 convenient side packs, but boxes, sacks of flour or oats, 

 or any single bundles, may be carried on the side. If you 

 can do so, make up your two side packs of your heavy 

 stuff. Keep the bedding out, if there is enough for side 

 packs without using it. If there is not, then roll the 

 hand bags up in some of the blankets, and then in canvas 

 and tie for side packs, making the bundles as nearly as 

 possible equal in bulk and weight. 



Besides these bulky packages there will inevitably be 

 a lot of small articles, which of course cannot go on the 

 load separately, but must be put together in the top or 

 center pack. This pack, therefore, may contain a varied 

 assortment of articles; a lot of "grub," including flour, 

 coffee, bacon, sugar, pepper and salt ; the ' 'kitchen" with its 

 knives, forks, spoons, camp kettle, coffee pot, frying pan, 

 tin plates and cups; a hatchet, the tent, matches, some 

 extra ropes and extra ammunition. How is it all to go? 



You have one or two extra squares of canvas, say 6ft. 

 square, and half a dozen empty flour sacks. Your flour, 

 coffee and sugar are already in sacks. If your flour sack 

 is full, it can go on the saddle, between the side packs; 

 but if it is less than half full, put it into an empty 

 sack and tie it close down. Then put the sacks contain- 

 ing sugar and coffee and the tins of salt and pepper 

 into the other end, and tie that. The knives, forks, spoons 

 and cups, packed with grass or twigs about them so that 

 they will not rattle, will perhaps all go into the coffee 

 pot, which may be put in the end of another sack and 

 tied, while the bacon, wrapped up in a sack, can go 

 into the kettle, which if small enough can be tied up 

 in the other end of the sack that has the coffee pot. If too 

 large for that, the coffee pot with its contents can per- 

 haps go in the kettle, and a sack should be tied over its 

 mouth. If the kettle is small enough so that it will go 

 between the side packs and yet not be smashed by the • 

 crosstrees of the saddle, it may be placed there, but it is 

 safer to tie it on outside. The hatchet must have its cover 

 put on so that it will not cut anything. Spread a square of 

 canvas on the ground, and on it arrange all the packages 

 in an oblong form, filling in between the larger ones with 

 the smaller articles. After arranging the packages as 

 compactly as possible, fold the canvas over as tightly as 

 convenient. Make a loop in a lare rope and pass around 

 one end, drawing it tight, then pass over the end of the 

 bundle, and taking a half hitch around the other side of 

 the loop, tighten. Make a loop about other end of the 

 package and tighten; pass the rope over the end of 

 the bundle, and take a half hitch and tighten, continuing 

 until you have a compact package, which should be 

 about 3ft. long, 18in. wide and 9in. or a foot deep; of 

 course its size will vary indefinitely. If quite light two 

 such packages may go on top of the pack. Have all your 

 bundles compact and well tied up. 



If you have an axe instead of a hatchet this must go on 

 after the packing has been done, being shoved under the 

 ropes, blade out, where it can do no harm, and securely 

 tied. Your plates may go into a frying-pan and this into 

 a sack. Nevei put a bucket or anything that can be 

 crushed into a side pack. If you have any blankets left 

 over from the side packs fold them twice. They will go 

 on top of the load and under the pack cover. Leave your 

 camp kettle and frying-pan one side for the present. 



Yo. 



