Next morning it was decided that these guns must be carried over the main stream of the Yalu. Bridging was impossible, for the river was four hundred and fifty mètres wide, and within three thousand mètres of the Russian position. The order was given at nine o’clock, and eight hours afterward twenty-one pontoons were collected on the river North of Wiju where they could not be seen by the enemy. As soon as it was dark this fleet of pontoons dropped silently down the stream, keeping intervals of fifty mètres in case the Russians opened fire. At seven o’clock they were in front of the island Chonchagtai, and one officer and one private landed in order to find a suitable place for disembarking the guns. Three stages were erected on each side of the river, and at half-past nine o’clock the infantry guard of the guns began to cross the broad and swift stream. Each pontoon carried thirty-two men, and the boats took from fifteen to seventeen minutes in making the journey. A hasty reconnaissance showed that the island of Chonchagtai had been abandoned by the enemy, and the guns were ferried over in the pontoons. At three o’clock the work was completed without accident, and before dawn pontoons, tools, and material had vanished. Seven hours later some pontoons again crossed the river with ammunition for the guns and were fired upon. Two pontoons were struck by fragments of the same shell, and appeared to be sinking under a cloud of smoke, out of which rang triumphant shouts of “Banzai!” Help was sent instantly, and the boats were brought safely to shore. One of the pontoons had nine holes in it, and one of the planks was smashed to pieces; the other had seven holes--all, fortunately, above the water line. Two of the rowers were wounded, one severely and the other slightly. Neither left the oars for a second, though both fainted as soon as they were carried ashore. Another bridge was ordered to be thrown across the main stream in front of Tiger Hill, where the water was very deep, the river bed too hard for piles and the current so swift that two or three anchors were required for each boat. Neither nails nor anchors were in store and the pontoons had to be made from material collected about two thousand mètres further up stream. An ingenious officer ordered his men to search the Korean houses for ploughshares, horse-shoes, sickles, hatchets, and any metal tools. The ploughshares were turned into anchors and the rest into nails. The work began on the night of April 28th, and by noon on the 30th seventy-five pontoons were ready to span the river, which at that point was three hundred and thirty mètres wide. West of Tiger Hill the branch of the Ai-ho is very deep, and here another bridge was made, two companies of infantry having been sent to drive the enemy from Tiger Hill and to select positions for a battery of field guns.