"On arrival at the river we were all busy in preparing for the
passage with so large a quantity of meat. The water-skins for the
raft were quickly inflated, and I learnt from the Arabs an
excellent contrivance for carrying a quantity of flesh across a
river, without its becoming sodden. The skin of the tetel was
nearly as capacious as that of an Alderney cow; this had been
drawn off in the usual manner, so as to form a sack. The Arabs
immediately proceeded to tie up the neck like the mouth of a bag,
and to secure the apertures at the knees in like manner; when
this operation was concluded, the skin became an immense sack,
the mouth being at the aperture left at the hind-quarters. The
No. 10 bullet had gone completely through the shoulders of the
tetel, thus the two holes in the hide required stopping; this was
dexterously performed by inserting a stone into either hole, of
a size so much larger than the aperture, that it was impossible
to squeeze them through. These stones were inserted from the
inside of the sack; they were then grasped by the hand from the
outside, and pulled forward, while a tight ligature was made
behind each stone, which effectually stopped the holes.
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