CROSSING RIVERS. 
57 
These little eccentricities are useful in a way, in that they help 
to prevent a casual thief, or a professional, who has perhaps not had 
an opportunity of studying the habits of certain animals he desires 
to steal, from capturing them. 
Crossing Rivers. 
The impropriety of taking an elephant into water, whether for 
fording or other purpose, or permitting him. to squirt water over the 
body when heated, has already been noted ; a number of serious 
ailments, of which cramp is not the least form*idable, may follow the 
disregard of this precaution. Before crossing a river, if the animals 
be heated they should be halted, allowed to cool, and have their gear 
removed. A good landing place on the opposite bank should be 
selected, and if the river is wide or moderately so and in flood, 
due allowance must be made for current. It is always a good plan 
to send in a well-trained animal with an intelligent driver to lead 
the way ; the remaining elephants should be sent in batches of twos 
or threes. A rope should be tied round the neck, or round the girth, 
and a second rope attached, the free end of which the mahout can 
hold when the animal is in deep water. If the elephants have Jiad 
a longish swim, or a stiff current to contend against, they should be 
allowed a short rest. With an unruly animal I found the plan 
recommended by Steel answer well, namely to put the troublesome 
elephant between two quiet animals and to tie them neck to neck ; 
the attendant should carry a knife in case it may be necessary to 
cut the rope. In rivers where the fords are not well known, a quiet 
elephant and a good swimmer, with an intelligent driver, should be 
first sent across to explore the route. Elephants are good and 
powerful swimmers. In deep water the driver should stand, as the 
animals are fond of ducking themselves. When materials are 
available for making rafts these may be employed for transporting 
them across long stretches of water {see Plate V). 
Quicksands. 
If an elephant, for want of being preceded by an attendant to 
explore the route, should chance to get into a bad quicksand or 
quagmire, the best plan is to throw him large billets of wood or 
branches of trees, which he can work down under his feet until he 
has obtained a sufficiently strong footing to extricate himself. On 
such occasions it is dangerous to approach within reach of his 
