Kegs and Tanks.—­Keys for Pack-saddles.—­Small barrels, flattened equally on both sides, so that their tops and bottoms shall be of an oval and not a circular shape, are the most convenient vessels, notwithstanding their weight, for carrying water on pack-saddles across a broken country.  They are exceedingly strong, and require no particular attention, while bags of leather or macintosh suffer from thorns, and natives secretly prick them during the march, that they may suck a draught of water.  These kegs should not exceed 22 inches in length, 10 in extreme breadth, and 7 in extreme width; a cask of these measurements would hold about 40 lbs. weight of water, and its own weight might be 15 lbs.  As the water is expended, it is easy to replace the diminished weight by putting on a bag from one of the other packs.  Before starting away into the bush, these kegs should be satisfactorily fitted and adjusted to the pack-saddle that is intended to carry them, in such a way that they may be packed on to it with the least possible trouble.  A couple of leather or iron loops Fixed to each keg, and made to catch on to the hooks which are let flush into the sides of the pack-saddle, will effect this.

[Sketch as described below].

The sketch represents a section of the pack-saddle, at the place where one of the hooks is situated on either side, but the front of the kegs themselves, and not their section, is given.  Above and between the kegs lies a bag, and a strap passing from the near side of the saddle goes over the whole burden, and is buckled to a similar short strap on the other side.  It is of importance that the bung-hole should be placed even nearer to the rim than where it is drawn, for it is necessary that it should be convenient to pour out of and to pour into, and that it should be placed on the highest part of the keg, both when on the beast’s back and also when it stands on the ground, lest water should leak and be lost.  According to the above plan, when water is ladled into it, the rim keeps it from spilling; and in pouring out water, the run acts as a spout.  In making the bung-hole, a metal plate, with a screw-hole in it, is firmly fixed in the face of the cask; into this a wooden stopper, bound with iron, is made to screw (natives would probably steal a metal one).  The stopper has a small head and a deeply-cut neck, by which it is tied to the cask, and its body has a large hole bored in it, which admits of a stick being put through, to prize it round, if it should become jammed.  A spigot, to screw into the bung-hole on arriving at camp, might be really useful; but if used, a gimlet-hole must be bored in the cask to act as an air-vent.  A large tundish is very convenient, and a spare plug might be taken; but a traveller, with a little painstaking, could soon cut a plug with his own knife, sufficiently well made to allow of its being Firmly screwed in, and of retaining the water, if it had a bit of rag wrapped round it.  A piece of rag rolled tightly, will suffice to plug a hole.