your packing perfectly sure that
nothing is going to slip back on you.

The rope passes once around the shank of the hook, and then through the
jaw (see diagram). Be sure to get it around the shank and not the curve.
Simplicity itself; and yet I have seen very few packers who know of it.

[Sidenote: The Diamond Hitch]

2. _The Diamond Hitch._--I suppose the diamond in one form or another is
more used than any other. Its merit is its adaptability to different
shapes and sizes of package--in fact it is the only hitch good for
aparejo packing--its great flattening power, and the fact that it rivets
the pack to the horse's sides. If you are to learn but one hitch, this
will be the best for you, although certain others, as I shall explain
under their proper captions, are better adapted to certain
circumstances.

The diamond hitch is also much discussed. I have heard more arguments
over it than over the Japanese war or original sin.

"That thing a diamond hitch!" shrieks a son of the foothills to a son of
the alkali. "Go to! Looks more like a game of cat's cradle. Now _this_
is the real way to throw a diamond."

[Sidenote: Colorado Versus Arizona]

Certain pacifically inclined individuals have attempted to quell the
trouble by a differentiation of nomenclature. Thus one can throw a
number of diamond hitches, provided one is catholically minded--such as
the "Colorado diamond," the "Arizona diamond," and others. The attempt
at peace has failed.

"Oh, yes," says the son of the alkali as he watches the attempts of the
son of the foothills. "That's the _Colorado_ diamond," as one would say
that is a _paste_ jewel.

The joke of it is that the results are about the same. Most of the
variation consists in the manner of throwing. It is as though the
discussion were whether the trigger should be pulled with the fore,
middle, or both fingers. After all, the bullet would go anyway.

[Illustration: A downward journey]

I describe here the single diamond, as thrown in the Sierra Nevadas, and
the double diamond as used by government freight packers in many parts
of the Rockies. The former is a handy one-man hitch. The latter can be
used by one man, but is easier with two.

[Sidenote: The Single Diamond]

Throw the pack cinch (_a_) over the top of the pack, retaining the loose
end of the rope. If your horse is bad, reach under him with a stick to
draw the cinch within reach of your hand until you hold it and the loose
end bo