tions.

On arriving upon the bank of a river of this character which has not
recently been crossed, the condition of the quicksand may be
ascertained by sending an intelligent man over the fording-place, and,
should the sand not yield under his feet, it may be regarded as safe
for animals or wagons. Should it, however, prove soft and yielding, it
must be thoroughly examined, and the best track selected. This can be
done by a man on foot, who will take a number of sharp sticks long
enough, when driven into the bottom of the river, to stand above the
surface of the water. He starts from the shore, and with one of the
sticks and his feet tries the bottom in the direction of the opposite
bank until he finds the firmest ground, where he plants one of the
sticks to mark the track. A man incurs no danger in walking over
quicksand provided he step rapidly, and he will soon detect the safest
ground. He then proceeds, planting his sticks as often as may be
necessary to mark the way, until he reaches the opposite bank. The ford
is thus ascertained, and, if there are footmen in the party, they
should cross before the animals and wagons, as they pack the sand, and
make the track more firm and secure.

If the sand is soft, horses should be led across, and not allowed to
stop in the stream; and the better to insure this, they should be
watered before entering upon the ford; otherwise, as soon as they stand
still, their feet sink in the sand, and soon it becomes difficult to
extricate them. The same rule holds in the passage of wagons: they must
be driven steadily across, and the animals never allowed to stop while
in the river, as the wheels sink rapidly in quicksand. Mules will often
stop from fear, and, when once embarrassed in the sand, they lie down,
and will not use the slightest exertion to regain their footing. The
only alternative, then, is to drag them out with ropes. I have even
known some mules refuse to put forth the least exertion to get up after
being pulled out upon firm ground, and it was necessary to set them
upon their feet before they were restored to a consciousness of their
own powers.

In crossing rivers where the water is so high as to come into the
wagon-beds, but is not above a fording stage, the contents of the
wagons may be kept dry by raising the beds between the uprights, and
retaining them in that position with blocks of wood placed at each
corner between the rockers and the bottom of the wagon-beds. T