Hunting -- West (U.S.); Outdoor life; West (U.S.) -- Description and travel
_Always keep all your sleeping things together in your bed roll_, and
your husband's things together in his bed bundle. It will save you many a
sigh and weary hunt in the dark and cold. The tent and such things, you
can afford to leave to your guide or to luck. If one wishes to provide a
tent, brown canvas is far preferable to white. It does not make a glare
of light, nor does it stand out aggressively in the landscape. You have
your little nightly kingdom waiting for you and can sleep cosily if
nothing else is provided. Whenever possible, get your bed blown up and
your sleeping bags in order on top and your sleeping things together
where you can put your hands on them during the daylight, or if that is
impossible, make it the first thing you do when you make camp, while the
cook is getting supper. Then, as you eat supper and sit near the camp
fire to keep warm, you have the sweet consciousness that over there, in
the blackness is a snug little nest all ready to receive your tired self.
And if some morning you want to see what you have escaped, just unscrew
the air valve to your bed before you rise, and when you come down on the
hard, bumpy ground, in less time than it takes to tell, you will agree
with me that there is nothing so rare as resting on air. Nimrod used to
play this trick on me occasionally when it was time to get up--it is more
efficacious than any alarm clock--but somehow he never seemed to enjoy it
when I did it to him.
For riding, it is better to carry your own saddle and bridle and to buy a
saddle horse upon leaving the railroad. You can look to the guides for
all the rest, such as pack saddles, pack animals, etc.
My saddle is a strong but light-weight California model; that is, with
pommel and cantle on a Whitman tree. It is fitted with gun-carrying case
of the same leather and saddle-bag on the skirt of each side, and has a
leather roll at the back strapped on to carry an extra jacket and a
slicker. (A rain-coat is most important. I use a small size of the New
York mounted policemen's mackintosh, made by Goodyear. It opens front and
back and has a protecting cape for the hands.) The saddle has also small
pommel bags in which are matches, compass, leather thongs, knife and a
whistle (this last in case I get lost), and there are rings and strings
in which other bundles such as lunch can be attached while on the march.
A horsehair army saddle blanket saves the animal's back. Nimrod's saddle
is exactly like mine, only with longer and larger stirrups.
[Illustration: I. SADDLE COVER FOR WET WEATHER. Designed by A.A.
Anderson.]
[Illustration: II. POLICEMAN'S EQUESTRIAN RAIN COAT.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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