470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 23, 1887- 



THE DIAMOND HITCH. 



IV. 



PACKING AN APAREJO. 



"OEFORE turning our attention to the articles which 

 have been left out of the pack and to various little 

 odds and ends which must be attended to before the train 

 moves off, I may make some mention of the packing of 

 the aparejo. As has already 

 been said, the two operations 

 are similar in most essentials 

 but there are a few important 

 differences. The manner in 

 which the aparejo is put on 

 has already been described, 

 and Fig. 16 shows the rigging 

 on an animal. The latigo, 

 after the cinch is drawn as 

 tight as convenient, is passed, 

 from outside and above down- 

 ward, through a little leather 

 loop sewed on the aparejo 

 cinch above the ring, and the 

 end of the strap drawn down 

 toward the ring under the 

 ascending part. The pressure 

 and friction of the ascending 

 part holds the end in place. 



The sling ropes are ar- 

 ranged in one way on a 

 pack saddle, and in quite 

 another on an aparejo. On the 

 aparejo the rope is doubled, 

 not quite evenly, and the 

 loop is thrown over the saddle 

 by the nearside packer and 

 hangs down on the offside 

 nearly to the ground. One 

 arm of the rope lies within a 

 few inches of the front of 

 the aparejo, and the other 

 within a few inches of the 

 back. The free ends hang 

 down on the nearside of the 

 animal almost to the ground. 

 The nearside packer now 

 takes one of the side packs 



and, raising it above his 



head, places it on the top of 

 the saddle and holds it there, 



while the offside packer slips 



it down a little way toward 



him, and, supporting it by his 



head and one hand, with the 



other hand takes both sides 



of the loop of the sling rope, 



and throws it up and over the 



side pack, holding it there. 



Meantime the nearside packer 



has taken from the ground 



the other side pack, placed 



it on top of the aparejo, holds 



it there with his head and one 



hand, takes the forward free 



end of the sling rope in the 



other, passes it through the 



loop of the sling rope from 



above downward and ties it 



to the other free end in a 



simple bow-knot. The side 



packs are now supported by 



the sling ropes in front and 



behind and balance each 



other high upon the aparejo, 



as in Fig. 17. 

 The lash rope is thrown in 



the same general way as on 



a sawbuck, but the method 



may be described again. 

 The nearside man having 



thrown the loop over the load, 



lays the rope remaining in his 



hand on the mule's neck. 



Then taking the part of the 



rope which runs forward from 



the free end, and on which 



the standing part of the loop 



— that leading up from the 



cinch ring — now lies (see Fig. 12), in front of where 

 they cross, he turns it back over the standing part 

 and passes it about the after corner of the pack close 

 to the animal's side. Then he takes the returning part 

 of the loop and passes this rope under the standing 

 part below where that and the free end cross (see 

 A, Fig. 13), forward, downward and around the forward 

 corner of the pack on his side, and pushes the part 

 of the rope between these two corners down to the 

 bottom of the pack. The rope now lies just as it would 

 have done if after passing about the after corner of the 

 pack it had been brought forward, a loop passed under 

 the standing part from the cinch ring around the forward 



corner of the pack, and the upper part of this loop shoved 

 upward. 



When the pulls are made on the aparejo, all slack 

 of the rope passing around the front corner of the 

 pack on the nearside is taken up, and the two packers 

 taking hold of the rope just behind the after corner of 

 the pack, and bracing themselves against the pack or 

 the animal's quarter, surge back on the rope with all 



The offside packer, keeping firm hold on the rope, now 

 steps forward to the animal's shoulder and gives several 

 vigorous pulls on the rope passing under the side pack on 

 his side, while the nearside packer, on the nearside of the 

 animal's neck, takes the free end of the rope (see Fig. 13), 

 gathers in slack by pulling downward and forward, and 

 then bracing himself firmly, pulls on it as' hard as he can. 

 This pull makes the front of, and completes, the diamond. 



In the case of the aparejo 

 the rope, if long enough, is 

 now passed around under the 

 comers of the side pack and 

 up on the side, and after 

 being pulled tight, is passed 

 once or twice double under 

 the standing part of the loop, 

 which holds it firmly. If the 

 rope is very long it may be 

 thrown again diagonally 

 across the pack and fastened 

 in the same way on the other 

 side. 



Fig. 18.— Aparejo Pull. 



Fig. 20.— The Diamond Hitch, from Above. Lash Rope Only, a, a, a, a. Corners op Pack about which Rope Passes. 



their weight, pulling backward and upward, as in Fig. 

 18. "When it ceases to come, the nearside packer still 

 holds it, and the offside man steps round to his side and 

 pulls downward and backward on the rope, which passes 

 below the after corner of the pack on the offside, taking 

 up all the slack which has been gained by the pull on the 

 other side. Both men now surge on this rope with all 

 their force. This pull makes the after part of the 

 diamond, for, if the explanation has been clear, it will be 

 evident that those portions of the rope passing about the 

 after corners of the pack are pulling back against the 

 tightly-drawn standing part of the loop, crossing it on top 

 of the load. 



Now your animal is packed, 

 but your frying-pan and camp 

 kettle are still in sacks on the 

 ground. Tie the camp kettle 

 by its bail, behind the pack 

 and high up, to the lash rope, 

 and draw the corners of the 

 sack which contains it under 

 the lash rope and tie them. 

 It must not swing, shake or 

 rattle. If it does it will 

 probably cause your animal 

 to ran away, or else to buck, 

 and in either case you will 

 have trouble. The frying-pan 

 may also be carried on the 

 outside by thrusting the 

 handle beneath one of the 

 tightly-drawn ropes and pass- 

 ing a string through the eye 

 in the handle and tying it- to 

 some rope where it cannot 

 slip. Turn the pan bottom 

 upward and tie it close to a 

 rope behind so that it will not 

 be loose or jolt about. 



Now you are packed, and 

 you may take off the blind 

 and lead your animal about 

 a little to see how it will go. 

 Very likely it will give you 

 a fine exhibition of its powers. 

 If it is an old and gentle 

 beast it will go off quietly 

 when started, but if young 

 and wild, or it fancies itself 

 too tightly cinched, look out 

 for a display of ground and 

 lofty tumbling. There will 

 be plain, simple, honest buck- 

 ing, varied by wild plunges, 

 rearings, and finally throwing 

 itself over backward. Let 

 the creature have its buck 

 out, and if your load remains 

 firm, piously express your 

 thanks to Heaven. If the 

 load stays and the animal 

 throws itself, make it get up 

 at once and start off on your 

 march. After the pack is on, 

 you mount your saddle horses, 

 and then ride around through 

 the camp to pick up what 

 you have left behind. You 

 may be very sure that for the 

 first few days you will leave 

 something out of the packs 

 every day, and these articles 

 must always be looked for. 

 Attention to this point will 

 save much trouble and loss. 



If the packers are experi- 

 enced and the work has been 

 well done, this load should 

 ride all day. At night, when camp is made, the ropes 

 are readily loosened, the hook taken out of the loop and 

 the lash rope pulled over by the nearside packer or thrown 

 back over the animal's tail to the ground. The top load 

 is then lifted off, the sling rope loosened, and each man 

 lifts the pack on his side to the ground. 



There are a number of minor points about packing 

 and pack travel, which can scarcely be enumerated, and 

 are only to be gained by experience. Some hints may 

 be given as to certain of these matters, but new circum- 

 stances will arise each day as you travel over the moun- 

 tains, and, in general, experience must be your teacher. 

 In traveling in a rainstorm the ropes of your pack will 



