FURTHER EXPERIENCES OP MR, PRESH, 
had not even the security, as you had in the case of 
the “ doon tree/’ that it would bear your weight. At 
length even the last remnant would give way and 
necessitate the erection of a new one, in the same way 
as has already been explained. Sticks and trees were 
no object. “ Fill (fell) and fetch mair, ” Just to shew 
how strong these stick bridges were, when well con- 
structed and the timber fresh and new, a story may 
be told, which is still fresh in the memory ot Mr, 
Fresh. This gentleman was one morning walking out 
to the working place along the imperfectly formed 
traces of roads on a new clearing, when he suddenly 
became aware, from the footmarks on the path, that 
an elephant had passed on before him not long ago. He 
slackened his pace, and proceeded with great caution ; 
indeed he even thought of turning back, but didn’t, 
expecting to come up with the animal at every turn of 
the road. On coming’ to a stick bridge, to his astonish- 
ment, he very plainly saw by the trail that the elephant 
had crossed it, and not a stick broken or given way! 
Now, the elephant is a very sagacious animal, and would not 
have crossed that bridge on any account, if there had been 
an> probability of its giving way under his weight. We can- 
not say what steps he took to ascertain it security 5 no 
doubt he examined it in some way before passing over, 
for as long as you saw the marks of an elephant as having' 
recently passed over any bridge whatever, you might 
venture to Walk or ride over it with perfect safety. 
There was once a stick bridge on a jungle road — no 
matter where, for it is not there now. It spanned a rugged, 
wild, and deep mountain stream, with steep perpendicular 
rocks which formed its banks, and many a time with 
perfect safety had we walked and rode across it. At 
first, we used to dismount, and have the horse led 
across, which was rather a difficult matter, but he got 
used, to it, so much so, and no accident whatever having ever 
taken place, that w^e got bold, did not dismount at all, but 
rode slowly over it. But stick bridges are treacherous ; 
they have been called “ man-traps,” and it may be added, 
“ hor§e-traps ” too. One day , on riding across, just as 
the hbrse had placed one of his fore feet on the platform 
of rock which formed a natural abutment, one of his 
bind feet gave way, passed through the stick bridge ! 
With a bound and a snort the animal recovered himself, 
and we were safe on the other side just as the whole 
structure gave way : a mass of sticks, gravel, earth, and 
stones, tumbled with a loud crash into the roaring abyss 
below. The animal knew perfectly well that he had made 
a narrow escape; he broke out all over with sweat, 
snorting with distended nostrils, trembling in every limb, 
and ever after this event that horse would never cross a 
stick bridge ! If that horse’s fore foot had gone through 
that hole instead of his hind foot, the result need not be 
guessed ; our bones would have been laid, if they had 
ever been recovered, which would have been doubtful, “ to 
