I recollected the simplicity of the harness the Laplanders used for their reindeer.

I tied cords to the horns of the cow--as the strength of this animal is in the head--and then fastened the other ends round the piece of timber we wanted moving.
I placed a halter round the neck of the ass, and attached the cords to this.

We were thus enabled, by degrees, to remove all our wood to the chosen spot, where the sides of the river were steep, and appeared of equal height.
It was necessary to know the breadth of the river, to select the proper planks; and Ernest proposed to procure a ball of packthread from his mother, to tie a stone to one end of the string, and throw it across the river, and to measure it after drawing it back.

This expedient succeeded admirably.

We found the breadth to be eighteen feet; but, as I proposed to give the bridge strength by having three feet, at least, resting on each shore, we chose some planks of twenty-four feet in length.