Part 7 (1/2)
[Sketch of foot and stirrup].
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; I like one with plenty of ta.s.sels, to keep off the flies. A temporary subst.i.tute 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 fas.h.i.+on of giving the halter a hitch, and putting it round the jaw, is well known.
Buckles.--A contrivance like this will often be found useful to replace a buckle and strap; by twisting the lower thong more tightly, its length can be shortened as much as may be required. If the tongue of a buckle breaks, a nail or a peg, pushed through the buckle-hole, as in the figure below will replace it.
[Three sketches to ill.u.s.trate items described on this page].
To Padlock a Bag.--A padlock, pa.s.sed through the next buckle-hole, as is also shown in the same figure, prevents pilferers from unbuckling and opening the package. It is well to learn some artful sailor's-knot for tying up bags, with which other people cannot meddle without your finding it out.
Rings.--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 commonly employ: a piece of the thickness of a small walking-stick, and eight inches long, is bent (see ”Wood, to bend”); its arms are notched when they cross, and are firmly nailed or lashed.
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 change 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 gra.s.s 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. The hobble used by Mr. Gregory takes into five separate pieces, viz., two fetlock straps, a1, a2; a chain, b, having a swivel point, c, in the middle; and two double pot-hooks, d1, d2, which pa.s.s through eyes in the fetlock straps, and also through the end links in the chain. The two ends of both, d1 and d2, are thickened and pierced, so as to admit of tying a thong across their mouths, as shown on one side of d2. The fetlock strap is made of a strip of thick leather, folded lengthways down its middle, and having its edges sewn together. The sewn edge should always be the uppermost, when on the horse's legs.
[Two sketches on this page ill.u.s.trating equipment].
Oxen are often picketed to their yokes; I have already mentioned that it is hazardous to secure ride and pack oxen by their nose reams, as they will tear themselves loose without heeding the pain, if really frightened. Horses are often tied to the wheels, etc., of the wagon. When you wish to picket horses in the middle of a sandy plain, dig a hole two or three feet deep, and tying your rope to a f.a.ggot of sticks or brush-wood, or even to a bag filled with sand, bury this in it. (See ”Dateram.”)
Swivel.--The woodcut shows how a makes.h.i.+ft swivel can be fitted to a tether rope. Without one, the rope will be twisted almost up to a knot by the horse walking round and round his picket peg; with one, the rope will turn freely in the hole, through which its large knotted head prevents it from being drawn.
[This page has two sketches showing material described below].
The figure below is a better sort of swivel. It must be made of hard tough wood, like oak: it is six inches in length. It has, I presume, some advantages over those of iron, because in countries where iron abounds, as in Piedmont, it holds its ground against them. The ropes have been drawn thinner than their just proportion, for the sake of distinctness.
I give a drawing of yet another description of swivel; it is a trifle more complicated than the first, but I am a.s.sured that it acts so much better as to be greatly preferable.
Horse-collar.--This, in its simplest form, consists of two stout bars that are a little bent or shaped with a knife; they go one on either side of the animal's neck, and are tied together both above and below it. To these bars, which are very thickly padded, the traces are fastened.
Traces and Trektows can be made of raw hide, cut into a long thong, then bent into three parts, and twisted and laid together, as is done in rope-making; the whole is then stretched tight between two trees to dry.
An ox-hide will make a trektow for four pairs of oxen. Poles of wood are very generally used as traces; a thong, or a few links of chain, being fastened at either end, by which to attach them.
Greasing Harness.--In dry climates take frequent opportunities of greasing every part of the harness. (See ”Hides; Leather, to grease.”)
CARRIAGES.
Wagons.--A traveller's wagon should be of the simplest possible construction, and not too heavy. The Cape wagons, or, at all events, those of a few years back, undoubtedly shared the ponderousness of all Dutch workmans.h.i.+p. Weight is required only when cras.h.i.+ng through a bushy country, where a wagon must break down all before it: in every other case it is objectionable. It is a saving of labour to have one large wagon, rather than two small ones, because a driver and a leader are thereby spared. But if a very light wagon has to be taken, I should greatly prefer its being made on the Swiss and German fas.h.i.+on, with a s.h.i.+fting perch as in the figure
[Drawing of fastening].
These are the simplest of affairs, and will split up into two carts--the pole and the fore-wheels forming one, and the perch and the hind-wheels another: now, should a great loss occur among the traveller's cattle, or should he break a wheel, or even strain an axle-tree, in a timberless country, it may be very convenient to him to abandon part of his stores, and to build up a cart for carrying on the remainder. Lady Vavasour describes one of these wagons in the following graphic manner:--”The perch is moveable, and they can make it any length they please; it is of so simple a construction that every farmer can repair his own, and make anything of it. If he has a perch, a pole, and four wheels, that is enough; with a little ingenuity, he makes it carry stones, hay, earth, or anything he wants, by putting a plank at each side. When he wants a carriage for pleasure, he fits it up for that purpose; his moveable perch allows him to make it anything. I counted seventeen grown persons sitting side by side, looking most happy, in one of them, drawn only by a pair of small horses, and in this hilly country.”
Drays.--Two-wheeled drays, and not wagons, are used very generally in Australia. A long bar is crossed by a short one near one of its ends,--this latter forms the axletree; the body of the dray is built where the two cross; and the cattle are yoked or harnessed to the long end of the bar, which acts as a pole.
Tarring Wheels.--Tar is absolutely essential in a hot country, to mix with the grease that is used for the wagon-wheels. Grease, alone, melts and runs away like water: the object of the tar is to give consistency to the grease; a very small proportion of tar suffices, but without any at all, a wagon is soon brought to a standstill. It is, therefore, most essential to explorers to have a sufficient quant.i.ty in reserve. Tar is also of very great use in hot dry countries for daubing over the wheels, and the woodwork generally, of wagons. During extreme heat, when the wood is ready to crack, all the paint should be sc.r.a.ped off it, and the tar applied plentifully. It will soak in deeply, and preserve the wood in excellent condition, both during the drought and the ensuing wet season.
(See ”Tar, to make.”) It is not necessary to take off the wheels in order to grease the axles. It is sufficient to bore an auger-hole right through the substance of the nave, between the feet of two of the spokes, and to keep a plug in the hole. Then, when you want to tar a wheel, turn it till the hole is uppermost, take the plug out, and pour in the tar.
Breaks and Drags.--Breaks.--Every cart and wagon in Switzerland, and, indeed, in most parts of the Continent, has a break attached to it: the simplest kind of break is shown in fig. 2, which represents a cart tilted upwards. Fig 1 shows the break itself; fig. 2 explains how it is fitted on to the cart. [Fig 1.] It will easily be understood how, by tightening the free end of the cord, the break is pressed against the wheels. The bent piece of iron shown in fig. 2, by which the bar of the break is kept in its place, may be replaced by a piece of wood, or even by a thong of leather. Every explorer's wagon should be furnished with a break.