30 
ARRANGEMENT OF DRAYS. 
the fire-arms I found to be at the outside of the 
sides, the backs, or the fronts, of those drays that 
were close boarded. 
By nailing half a large sheepskin with the wool 
on in any of these positions, a soft cushion was 
formed for the fire-arms to rest against, they were 
then fixed in their places by a loop of leather 
for the muzzle, and a strap and buckle for the 
stock ; whilst the other half of the sheepskin which 
hung loose, doubled down in front of the weapons, 
between them and the wheel, effectually preserving 
them from both dirt and wet, and at the same time 
keeping them in a position, where they could be 
got at in a moment, by simply lifting up the skin 
and unbuckling the strap ; by this means too, all 
danger or risk was avoided, which usually exists 
when the fire-arms are put on or off the drays in a 
loaded state. I have myself formerly seen carbines' 
explode more than once from the cocks catching 
something, in being pulled out from, or pushed in 
amidst the load of a dray, independently of the 
difficulty of getting access to them in cases of 
sudden emergency ; a still better plan than the one 
I adopted, would probably be to have lockers made 
for the guns, to hang in similar places, and in a some- 
what similar manner to that I have described, but 
in this case it would be necessary for the lockers to 
be arranged and fitted at the time the drays or carts 
were made. 
All the time I could spare from directing or 
