SADDLES, BRIDLES, AND PACKING GEAR.

§ 1. Saddles.

§ 2. Saddle-bags.

§ 3. Girths, Stirrups, Bridles, &c.

§ 4. Pack-saddles.

§ 5. Tethers, Hobbles, and Kneehalters.

§ 1. Saddles.-Sore backs are the plague of beasts of burden, for if the skin be once broken, it will never heal thoroughly again during the whole journey. Every precaution should, therefore, be taken at first starting, such as wellstuffed saddles, short journeys, light and carefully-balanced packs, frequent rests of a day or two, and salt-water rubbed in. It is observed that travelling in the very early morning is bad for animals' backs, but that travelling late at night is not so.

Good saddles for riding, and especially for packing, are of nearly as great importance as the goodness of the animal who carries them. English saddlers never, I believe, can be induced to stuff a saddle sufficiently, because they have no opportunity of seeing the miserable, scraggy condition of a travelled horse's back, to which they are destined to fit. But an English saddle, re-stuffed at a bush frontier town, is excellent.

Three rings, and nine of what saddlers call "D's," should be fixed to the saddle, not simply into the leather-work, but firmly riveted or secured into the tree itself. This must be especially insisted on, or frequent disasters will happen. The three rings are fixed on to the pommel, one on its top, and one on each side of it; the nine "D's" are placed as

follows:-three along the back of the saddle, two more on each side of the seat, and two in front, for the breastplate.

To these are tied a light valise in front; a gun holster on the right of the pommel; and a small bag, containing odds and ends, gunpowder, spare bullets, a few presents, &c., on the left. On the right of the seat, a sabretasch, or thin leather portfolio-shaped pocket, for paper and writing materials; on the left, the water canteen and hobbles; behind, the crupper and small saddle-bags. The breast-plate is not worth using, except in a very hilly country. This description, of course, applies to the saddle of the horse ridden as a travelling For shooting purposes, the matter is different; and only the gun holster, and perhaps the canteen, are taken. An ox carries a saddle precisely like a horse. I rode mine nearly 1600 miles, in South Africa, with a common hunting saddle and its ordinary girths.

§ 2. Saddle-bags are such troublesome things to open, and require so many straps, that I believe it is best to use simply a bag of mackintosh, or canvass, rolled up and tied behind the saddle, resting on a pad. The pad is made of two cushions, each 9 inches long, and 4 broad, sewn parallel to one another, and 4 inches apart, on to a piece of leather. The space between the cushions corresponds to the backbone of the horse. To the upper surface of the pad, which is that on which the bag rests, it is usual to stitch four or five laths of wood, running lengthwise, to keep the whole in shape. If there be occasion to carry a bag on horseback for a short distance, pass one of the stirrup-leathers through its string and pull it home; then throw the bag over to the other side of the saddle; it will lie behind the rider's leg, and out of his way, and he will sit upon part of its string.

§ 3. Girths, stirrups, bridles, &c.-A roll of spare webbing, to patch up torn girths, should be taken; but a good substitute for a girth is made by taking a band of tanned, or even of dressed, leather, cutting it, to within four inches of the end, into seven or nine bands, and plaiting these together.

Stirrups must be very roomy, enough to admit clumsilyshaped shoes, such as are made in the bush; they must be broad under the sole of the foot, and also at the place which rubs against the little toe. Substitutes for stirrups are easily cut out from any thick raw hide—that of giraffe, rhinoceros, or sea-cow does admirably.

In default of riding-saddles, a pack-saddle must be taken and cushioned (see Pack-saddles).

Bridles and bits.-Leave behind all English notions of snaffles and double reins, and ride with nothing but an easy curb. The horse must also carry a headstall and a halter, and I like one with plenty of tassels to keep off the flies. A temporary substitute for a curb is made by noosing a string, and putting the noose round the horse's lower jaw. If the string be long enough, it can be doubled back again, and tied to the other side of the noose, so as to make a complete bridle. The groom's fashion of giving the halter a hitch, and putting it round the jaw, is well known.

Buckles, padlocks, rings.-If the tongue of a buckle breaks, a nail or a peg, pushed through the bucklehole, will, as in the figure, replace it.

A padlock, locked through the next bucklehole, prevents pilferers from unbuckling and opening the package. It is well to learn some artful sailor's-knot for tying up bags,

which other people cannot meddle with without your finding

it out.

In packing-gear and other harness, use is frequently made of rings. Iron ones may be replaced by a loop of tough wood, such as the peasants of the Campagna always employ; a piece of the thickness of a small walking-stick, and eight inches long, is taken and bent; its arms are notched where they cross, and there nailed or lashed.

§ 4. Pack-saddles.-Cut four bent pieces of tough wood, and two small planks, season them as well as you can, and join them together, as in the drawing, using raw hide in addition

to nails or pegs.

Stuffed cushions must be tied, or otherwise secured, inside the planks. The art of good packing is to balance the packs accurately, and to lash them very tightly to the saddle. The entire load is then secured to the animal's back by moderate girthing. It is going on a false principle to wind one long cord round the horse, saddle, and packs, making, as it were, a great faggot of them.

To tighten the lashings of a pack, thrust a stick through them, and twist it forcibly round and round till the lashings are screwed tight enough, and then secure the stick.

Half-filled sacks often require to have laths of wood, or a handful of twigs, put between them and the packing-cord, to equalise its pressure; otherwise, they are strangled out of shape and never lie firm.

Cruppers for pack-saddles, in very mountainous countries, can readily be made on the spot, like those in use in Norway; where, instead of a ring encircling the tail and fretting its sides, a short bar of wood, a foot long, is passed under it, and from either end of the bar a cord is tied to the packsaddle.

§ 5. Tethers, hobbles, and knee-halters. Cattle may be secured at night by being tethered, hobbled, knee-haltered, or driven into an enclosure made of bushes. The nature of the country, and what dangers are apprehended, determine which plan is most advisable. A knee-haltered horse has a good chance of escape if he scents a wild beast that is creeping up to him; for he can gallop, though with labour, to a short distance. A hobbled horse has no chance at all, though, indeed, they have been known to fight desperately with their teeth and feet, and learn to be cunning and watchful. If the hobbles are of iron, and made like handcuffs, it is hardly possible for robbers, at all events for savages, to unlock or cut them. A horse that is hobbled or knee-haltered can graze during the night; but if tied up or pounded, his grass must be cut for him. A horse may be successfully hobbled with a stirrup leather, by putting its middle round one fetlock, then twisting it half a dozen times, and lastly buckling it round the other fetlock. Oxen are often picketted to their yokes, and horses tied to the wheels, &c., of the waggon.