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68   Art of Travel.

and irremediable gall. Girth-galls, on their first appearance, may be relieved, if not cured, by sewing two rolls of soft woollen material on to the girth. The hair from the animal's mane or tail has been used on an emergency to stuff a saddle.

Pack-Saddles.-To make when Travelling.-Cut four bent

Fig. 1.


pieces of tough wood, and two small planks; season them as well as you can (see "Wood, to season"), and join them toge

ther, as in figs. 1 and 2, using raw hide in addition to nails or pegs. Stuffed cushions must be secured inside the planks by tying or otherwise. With a saw and a mortise-chisel, a saddle of the pattern shown in fig. 3 would be easy to make. It is stronger than the one just described, and

the notched cross-bar is very convenient for the pack-ropes.

Pack-Saddles made by Saddlers.-There has been, perhaps, no journey in which pack-horses worked so effectively as during the exploration of North Australia under Mr. Gregory. I am much indebted to Mr. Baines, the artist of the expedition, who has subsequently travelled extensively, for the following very interesting account:

" The pack-saddles were made after a model by Mr. Gregory, and are the best I have yet seen. Two boards of light wood are connected by bows of iron, 12 inch wide and 4 inch thick, with hooks inserted in either side, for the pack-bags to hook on to. The straps for the breastings, breechings, and girths, were screwed to the boards ; the crupper passed

Fig. 3.

).F.- www.fastio.com