n your undershirt. When you change your
underclothes--which should be one garment at a time--do the same thing.
Thus always you will be possessed of a clean outfit without the
necessity of carrying a lot of extras.

[Sidenote: Trousers]

The matter of trousers is an important one; for unless you are possessed
of abundant means of transportation, those you have on will be all you
will take. I used to include an extra pair, but got over it. Even when
trout fishing I found that by the time I had finished standing around
the fire cooking, or yarning, I might have to change the underdrawers,
but the trousers themselves had dried well enough. And patches are not
too difficult a maneuver.

[Sidenote: Moleskin and Khaki]

The almost universal wear in the West is the copper-riveted blue canvas
overall. They are very good in that they wear well. Otherwise they are
stiff and noisy in the brush. Kersey is excellent where much wading is
to be done or much rainy weather encountered--in fact it is the favorite
"driving" trousers with rivermen--but like all woven woolen materials
it "picks out" in bad brush. Corduroy I would not have as a gift. It is
very noisy, and each raindrop that hits it spreads at once to the size
of a silver dollar. I verily believe an able pair of corduroys can, when
feeling good, soak up ten pounds of water. Good moleskin dries well, and
until it begins to give out is soft and tough. But it is like the
one-hoss shay: when it starts to go, it does the job up completely in a
few days. The difficulty is to guess when that moment is due to arrive.
Anything but the best quality is worthless. Khaki has lately come into
popularity. It wears remarkably well, dries quickly, and is excellent in
all but one particular: it shows every spot of dirt. A pair of khakis
three days along on the trail look as though they had been out a year.
The new green khaki is a little better. Buckskin is all right until you
get it wet, then you have--temporarily--enough material to make three
pairs and one for the boy.

The best trousers I know of is a combination of the latter two
materials. I bought a pair of the ordinary khaki army riding breeches,
and had a tailor cover them completely--fore, aft, and sideways--with
some good smoke-tanned buckskin I happened to have. It took a skin and a
half. These I have worn now for three seasons, in all kinds of country,
in all kinds of weather, and they are to-day as good as when I
constructe