450 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 16, 1887. 



THE DIAMOND HITCH. 



in. 



PACKING A SAWBTJCK. 



NOW you are ready for business. Your packs lie piled 

 together, and in that little pile, on your saddles, and 

 on your person are all the possessions in the camp. The 

 rnule being saddled, lead him up to where the packs lie 

 piled together, so that his head is about even with and 8 

 or 10ft. distant from them, and slip the blind over his 

 ears, so that his eyes are perfectly covered. This will 

 keep him from moving, and the halter stem is dropped to 

 the ground. Now tighten up your saddle cinches, other- 

 wise when you cinch up on your lash rope you will find 

 the saddle cinches loose. 



The sling rope on a sawbuck is passed around the horn 

 or the front cross pieces by two half hitches— a clove 



Pig. 8-Side Packs in Position, Squaw Hitch. Packs 

 Swung Low to Show Knot. 



hitch — at its middle part, and hangs down in a loop on 

 either side the animal, as in Fig. 3, the free ends 

 being passed around the after crosstrees — or in the case 

 of a riding saddle or a ring saddle, through the loops 

 or rings, so that they will run freely — coming back 

 in front of them and falling toward the ground inside 

 or below the loop, as in Fig. 3. When you are ready to 

 begin to pack, the nearside packer takes one of the side 

 packs from the ground and places it on top of the saddle, 

 holding it there until the offside man has it. The latter 

 then slips it a little toward Mm, and supports it by his 

 head and one hand, while with the other he grasps the 



Fig. 9.— Side Packs Slung with Webfoot Hitch. 



loop of the sling rope on his side, and, throwing it 

 over the pack, hooks it over the front and back cross- 

 trees, and the nearside man does the same with his. 

 Then the free ends hanging down to the ground are 

 taken in hand, and if one pack hangs a little lower than 

 the other, a slow steady pull tightens the loop, and after 

 a little swinging and rolling the side packs settle down 

 so that they just balance each other. The offside packer 

 then throws his free end of the sling rope across to his 

 partner, who ties it in a bow-knot over the bight and puts 

 the ends between the packs on top of the saddle. This is 

 called the squaw hitch (Fig 8) . On a riding or a ring saddle 



Pig. 10. —Squaw Hitch. Sling Rope tied over Center Pack. 



the loops are opened wide, and instead of being thrown 

 over the side pack, the pack rests in the loop, which 

 passes around either end, and outside of, or a little under, 

 it. The free end is then drawn on till the packs seem to 

 balance, is passed up, under and outside the pack, tied 

 around the middle of the loop by an overhand knot or a 

 half hitch, and is then thrown over to meet the other 

 free end, being tied in a double knot above the saddle, 

 where the loose ends are stowed away. The pack thus 

 rests in a cradle. This is called the webfoot, or some- 

 times the basket hitch (Fig. 9). It is often used on a saw- 

 buck for short bundles or boxes. 



It is essential that the side packs should be nicely ad- 

 justed. They should be as nearly as possible equal in 

 weight, and should hang at the same height so that the 



saddle will bear evenly on the animal's back. If one be 

 heavier than the other, that one should be the higher of 

 the two. The more nearly even they are, the better the 

 load will ride. Sometimes the free ends of the sling rope 

 are thrown over and tied above the center pack (Fig. 10). 

 The side packs are now in position and the preliminary work 

 done. The nearside packer now takes the pack which is 

 to go on top and places it there, and the offside man 

 assists in settling it down between the side packs, and 

 placing it as nearly as possible in the middle. Perhaps 

 one of the party thinks it too much trouble to carry his 

 gun and wants that to go in the pack. He had better 

 keep it on his saddle until he has learned something 

 about packing, but if he insists on putting it in the pack 

 it should be rolled up very carefully in a blanket and then 

 be placed stock foremost between the top pack and one of 

 the side packs, with the barrel projecting backward. No 

 part of it must stick out in front, for it might catch on a 

 stout limb of a tree and be broken or bent. The top load 

 being on, the tent is folded almost square and thrown 



Fig. 11.— Throwing the Rope. Sling Ropes not Shown. 



over the load. It should reach forward and back so as to 

 cover the whole load, and on the sides should come down 

 half way on the side packs. Sometimes extra squares of 

 stout canvas are carried solely to serve as pack covers. 



Now conies the throwing of the lash rope, which is 

 the important part of the whole operation. The near- 

 side packer takes the lash cinch in his left hand and 

 the coil of the lash rope in his right, and stepping 

 up to his side of the animal, throws the cinch on the 

 ground beneath its belly and the coil out behind it and 

 toward the offside. The offside packer now stoops and 

 picks up the hook end of the cinch in his left hand. The 

 nearside man now gives the rope a flirt, throwing it up 



tween the two ropes coming from the hook, from before 

 backward, well up on top of the pack, drawing through 

 most of the slack and throwing the free end across and 

 forward so that two or three feet of it will fall on the near 

 side of the mule's shoulder. The result of this is that the 

 free end when tightened will pull against the rope coming 

 from the hook, which will make the forward part of the 

 diamond. When all these operations have been gone 

 through with the rope hangs loose, but is '^all set." 



The rope is now in position, the diamond hitch has 

 been thrown, and it only remains to tighten the rope to 

 set the load firmly on the saddle. Before any pull is made 

 the load is examined from before and behind to see if it 

 balances well and will ride evenly. If one side is a little 

 too low it is lifted by the packer on that side, and the 

 other side is pulled down or the side pack rolled or swung 

 until it hangs jtast right. 



Fig. 12.— The First Throw. 



over the load so that it runs diagonally across the load 

 from the off quarter to the near shoulder. Standing near 

 this shoulder he then rapidly pulls the rope toward him 

 until he has gathered in eight or ten feet of slack, which 

 he holds in a loop in his right hand, and stepping back 

 even with the middle of the load (Fig. 11), throws this 

 loop over to the offside packer, who catches the rope as it 

 comes over, slips the hook through it, and pulls on the 

 part coming from the cinch ring until he has drawn the 

 hook and cinch well under the animal's belly and up close 

 to it. Then he lets the nearside man pull over what slack 

 there may be, and proceeds to arrange the ropes on his 

 side. The nearside packer holds the rope coming from 

 the hook in his hand until the other has the hook 

 and cinch in position, and tightened just enough to 

 keep the ropes in position. He then throws all the 

 loose loop back out of his way, and passes the rope 

 coming from the hook under the standing part below 

 where it crosses the free end from behind forward, draw- 

 ing the bight down and around the corners of the pack. 



In the meantime the offside packer picks up the free 

 end of the rope from the ground, and as soon as he has 

 hooked the loop thrown over to him, as explained above, 

 and has the cinch in position, he passes the free end be- 



Fig. 13.— Last Pull. 



Then the nearside packer steps up to the animal's side, 

 opposite the middle of the load, takes the returning por- 

 tion of the loop in his hand, turns his back to the load, 

 and putting his shoulder under it or his back against it, 

 to keep it from coming toward him when he pulls, pre- 

 pares to put a strain on the rope. When all is ready the 

 offside packer calls out to his partner, "All setr" and 



Fig. 14.— Sawbuck Pull. 



the latter replies, "Give it to her." The offside packer 

 takes the returning portion of the loop in his hand, and 

 putting his knee against the saddle, pulls out as hard as 

 he can in a series of sharp jerks, and as fast as he tightens 

 the cinch the nearside packer, by his steady strain, takes 

 up the slack. When the cinch is as tight as possible and 

 the offside packer can gain nothing more, he signifies it 

 to the nearside man who, holding fast the returning part 

 of the rope, so that he may lose nothing that he has gained, 

 takes in his left hand the same rope in front of where it 



Fig. 15.— Forward Pull on Offside. 



passes under the standing part of the loop, and pulls it 

 through until it is tight. Then by a series of sharp jerks 

 forward the rope is slipped up under the standing part of 

 the loop until it is near the top of the load. The tight 

 pressure of the standing rope will usually keep the part 

 which passes under it from slipping back. 



Or, the nearside man may seize the rope at A, Fig. 13, 

 close up to the standing part, and placing his left hand 

 against the pack for a brace and to keep the pack in 

 position, may take in slack there, and after he has got all 

 he can, will put his foot up against the pack, as in Fig. 13, 



