d them. In still hunting they are noiseless; horseback they do
not chafe; in cold weather they are warm, and the hot sun they turn. The
khaki holds the stretch of buckskin when wet--as they have been for a
week at a time. Up to date the smoke tan has dried them soft. Altogether
they are the most satisfactory garment of this kind I have experimented
with.

There remains the equally important subject of footwear.

[Sidenote: Socks]

Get heavy woolen lumberman's socks, and wear them in and out of season.
They are not one whit hotter on the feet than the thinnest you can buy,
for the impervious leather of the shoe is really what keeps in the
animal heat--the sock has little to do with it. You will find the soft
thick wool an excellent cushion for a long tramp; and with proper care
to avoid wrinkles, you will never become tender-footed nor chafed. At
first it seems ridiculous to draw on such thick and apparently hot socks
when the sun peeping over the rim of the desert promises you a scorching
day. Nothing but actual experience will convince you; but I am sure that
if you will give the matter a fair test, you will come inevitably to my
conclusion.

[Sidenote: The Ideal Footwear]

If a man were limited to a choice between moccasins and shoes, it would
be very difficult to decide wisely which he should take. Each has its
manifest advantages over the other, and neither can entirely take the
place of the other.

The ideal footwear should give security, be easy on the feet, wear well,
and give absolute protection. These qualities I have named approximately
in the order of their importance.

[Sidenote: Security of footing]

Security of footing depends on the nature of the ground over which you
are traveling. Hobnails only will hold you on a slope covered with pine
needles, for instance; both leather and buckskin there become as
slippery as glass. In case of smooth rocks, however, your hobnails are
positively dangerous, as they slide from under you with all the vicious
force and suddenness of unaccustomed skates. Clean leather is much
better, and buckskin is the best of all. Often in hunting deer along the
ledges of the deep box canyons I, with my moccasins, have walked
confidently up slants of smooth rock on which my hobnailed companion was
actually forced to his hands and knees. Undoubtedly also a man carrying
a pack through mixed forest is surer of his footing and less liable to
turned ankles in moccasins than in boots