On some trail where there are no trees,sticks, or even stones; but if he is a good woodcrafter and plainsman, with his hunt-ing knife he will proceed to dig as narrow and deep a hole as possible in the earth, then he will tie a knot in the end of the picket rope and drop the knot to the bottom of the hole (Fig. 201) (the picket rope in reality should be one-half inch rope, fifty feet long); the only way to get that knot out of the hole is to stand directly over the opening and pull the knot up perpendicularly. It will never occur to the horse to shorten the line by taking hold of it with his teeth, so that it may stand over the hole and pull up the knot, consequently the animal will be as securely hitched as if tied to a post.

Hobbles

For the front legs may be purchased at any outfitter's (Fig. 202), or home-made from unravelled rope (Fig. 203). Make a loop from a strand from a large rope and then fasten it round one leg, as in diagram; after that twist the rope to make the connections between the two loops, tie another knot to prevent the rope from untwisting, then tie the two ends around the leg of the horse (Fig. 203) ; the unravelled rope is soft and will not chafe the horse's leg.

Travois

Figs. 204 and 205 show the famous Indian mode of packing by travois.