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.