CHAPTER IX

PERSONAL OUTFIT FOR THE SADDLE

The outfit recommended in Chapters III and IV in discussing camp and personal equipment for canoe trips is, with the modifications and additions which we shall now consider, equally well adapted to saddle and pack horse travel. As previously stated, our object is to describe methods of packing, rather than to formulate an infallible check list. With this in view an efficient outfit that may be easily packed and transported is outlined, in a general way, and therefore such articles of outfit mentioned in previous chapters as are obviously useful only in canoe travel will not be referred to in this connection.

The wedge, the Hudson Bay, the forest ranger and the lean-to tent are all good models for pack animal travel, and easily erected. Whichever type is chosen, if made of any one of the light-weight materials described, will be found both satisfactory and easily packed. For example, a forest ranger's tent eight feet deep and eight feet wide weighs less than four pounds, while a lean-to with approximately the same floor space weighs about three pounds. In the more arid regions of the West one rarely finds it necessary to pitch a tent, though it is handy to have one along and well worth carrying, particularly should it be desired to remain more than one night at any point.

During the summer, save in high altitudes, one pair of light woolen blankets will be found ample bedding. For all probable conditions of weather, however, in tent or in the open, the sleeping bag is the most convenient and at the same time the most comfortable camp bed yet devised, and it is so easily carried on the pack horse that I advise its adoption. One made of close-woven waterproofed canvas is the most thoroughly practical bag for general use. This should be lined with two pairs of light blankets, that four thicknesses of blanket may be available for covering. The blankets should be so arranged that they may be taken out and the bag turned for airing. One may adapt such a bag to the temperature, using as many or as few thicknesses of blanket as desired, depending upon the number with which the bag is lined. I recently saw a bag lined with four thicknesses of llama wool duffel (providing two thicknesses for cover) that weighed but eight pounds and furnished ample protection for any weather down to a zero temperature.

Pack cloths or light tarpaulins 6 × 7 feet, used to cover and protect the packs, will be needed for each pack animal, and at night the bed may be spread upon them. Saddle bags make excellent pillows.

In traveling in an arid region canteens are a necessity. There should be one large one for each traveler to be carried on the pack horse, and a small one swung upon the saddle horn will be found convenient for ready use.

A folding water bucket of waterproofed canvas should also be included in the outfit.

The aluminum reflecting baker which has been described is far preferable to the Dutch oven--a heavy iron kettle with iron cover--not only because it weighs far less and is much more easily packed, but because it is more practical. Westerners are wedded to the Dutch oven, and this reference is merely made as a suggestion in case the question of choice between the two should arise.

If kyacks or alforjas are used the large water-proofed canvas duffle bags and food bags will not be required. The smaller balloon silk or musline food bags, however, will be found fully as convenient in packing in the pack horse kyack as in the canvas bags on the canoe trip.

Each rider should be provided with either a saddle slicker or a poncho, which when not in use may be rolled and secured to the saddle directly behind the seat by means of tie strings attached to the saddle. A poncho is preferable to a slicker, because of the many uses to which it may be put.

On saddle journeys in cold, windy weather a wind-proof canvas coat or a large, roomy buckskin shirt is a comfort. If a buckskin shirt is adapted, have it made plain without fringe or frill. Wilderness dwellers formerly fringed their buckskin shirts, not alone for ornament, but to facilitate the drying of the garment when wet. In the fringed shirt water, instead of settling around the bottom of the shirt, around the yoke and the seams of the sleeve, will drain to the fringe which the wind quickly dries. In our case, however, the poncho will protect the shirt from a wetting.

In summer, in an arid or desert region of the Southwest, athletic summer underwear will be found entirely satisfactory. Whether this or light wool is to be worn, however, will depend entirely upon the season and the region to be visited.

In very warm weather a close-woven, good quality khaki outer shirt is both comfortable and practical; but on chilly autumn days a flannel shirt should take its place--gray, brown, blue--the color does not matter so long as it does not crock. It is my custom to have one khaki and one flannel shirt in my outfit.

Trousers should be of heavy khaki, medium weight moleskin, or other strong close-woven material. Full-length trousers, with reinforced seat, are preferable in some respects to riding breeches, and may be worn with the regulation United States cavalry puttee leggings with shoes.

Some riders prefer top boots, such as Arizona cowboys wear, and but for their high heels which make walking uncomfortable they would be admirable. High-laced, medium-weight mountaineering shoes will eliminate the necessity of puttees, and many prefer them to low-laced shoes and puttees. In snowy, cold weather I have found heavy German socks and ordinary shoes, large enough to avoid the possibility of pinching the feet, admirable footwear for the saddle. But whatever is decided upon, extra trousers, extra leggings and extra shoes are superfluous. One pair of each--the pair worn--is sufficient.

The hat should be of the Western style, with broad brim, and of the best grade. The brims of the cheaper ones are sure to sag after a little wear and exposure to a shower or two. A good reliable hat may be had for five dollars that will stand several years of hard wear and may be renovated when soiled, assuming again the freshness of a new hat. I have one for which I paid fourteen pesos in Monterey, Mexico, in 1907. I have worn It pretty steadily since in camp and on the trail. It has been twice renovated, and to-day so nearly resembles a new hat that I am not ashamed to wear it about town.

Heavy gauntlet buckskin gloves are a necessary protection, not only against cold in frosty weather, but against brush in summer. The regulation United States cavalry glove is the best that I have discovered for all-around hard usage, and will not harden after a wetting.

The saddle rifle should be short and light--not over twenty-four-inch barrel, and not above seven pounds in weight. A revolver is never needed, though for target practice one offers a means of amusement.

Unless going into permanent camp or into an isolated region, it will hardly be found necessary to start out with more than one week's provisions. Before these are consumed settlements will be reached, where fresh supplies may be purchased. It is well to have along a few cans of baked beans and corned or roast beef, that a hasty meal may be prepared when time does not allow a sufficient halt to permit the preparation of uncooked foods. Two or three dozen lemons should also be provided, particularly in summer, and in more or less arid regions.

Provisions and general outfit should be neatly packed in small bags, and evenly distributed in the kyacks.