The rafts are not of wood but of ox hides, prepared by rubbing in salt and oil. They are inflated with air, by means of "bellows" of a goatskin, which depends for its valvular action on a sharp twist given by the workman between each intation. The bullock hides are then stuffed with straw and about 30 fastened into an oblong by poles and ropes. At cither end three oars, each consisting of a leg about the size of a telegraph pole, are fixed on pivots. There is, however, no rowing to be done—the oars are only needed for steering, especially in the rapids, or to avoid the shallows. The tobacco boxes are put on top, and a tent or two crowns all.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.