It is of importance to have the straps of your saddle-bags
very strongly attached. It is not enough that they are sewn an inch into
the bag, they should extend down the sides; for want of this I had to
repair mine several times. Attached to my bridle I had a very convenient
arrangement for picketing my horse. It consisted of a rope about twelve
feet long, neatly rolled round itself; this was kept strapped on the
left side of the horse's head.
The chief pride of my outfit was a cooking-apparatus, the last thing
out, which merits a few words of description. It consisted of a round
tin box, eight inches in diameter, capable of boiling three pints of
water in two minutes and a half; of its own self-consciousness, the
sauce-pan could evolve into a frying-pan, besides other adaptations,
including space for a Russian lamp--a vessel holding spirit--with
cellular cavities for salt, pepper, matches, not forgetting cup, spoon,
and plate. The Russian lamp is a very useful contrivance, in case of
open-air cooking; it gives a flame six or seven inches long, which is
not easily affected by wind or draught.
Amongst the stores I took out from England was some "compressed tea,"
which is very portable. In riding, all powdery substances should be
avoided; I had on one occasion practical experience of this. I had
procured some horse-medicine, and giving my animal one dose, I packed
the rest very carefully, as I thought; on opening my saddle-bag after a
ride of twenty miles, I found, to my disgust, that this wretched white
powder had mixed itself up with everything.
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