The Indian rivers are famous for their great width, and the extent to which they break up the country through which they make their tortuous ways to the sea. The result is that when the engineer is called upon to cross from bank to bank, especially in connection with the more important waterways, he is faced with some teasing and complex problems, to solve which demands often considerable ingenuity and the expenditure of much racking cogitation. These rivers are bad friends to the engineer at the best of times, but when lashed into fury and swelled to flood they almost defy mastery. The flood is the bugbear of the bridge-builder. One never knows what the enraged water is going to do next. Sir Bradford Leslie, K.C.I.E., M.INST.C.E., who probably has been associated with more great engineering achievements of this character in India than any other living engineer, can recall thrilling moments innumerable. For instance, when he was carrying the Jubilee Bridge across the river Hooghly, the water carried away one of the caissons which he was about to launch for one of the piers. He thought it had been lashed safely into position by means of chains, preparatory to sinking, but the Hooghly “bore” quickly undeceived him. The Hooghly bore is an ugly customer, for at times it attains a height of 7 feet, and travels up-stream for 70 miles in four hours. This rapidly-moving bank of liquid struck the unlucky caisson, although the latter was of respectable dimensions and weight, snapped the mooring chains as if they were pack-thread, and carried the cylinder away as if it were a small butter-tub. The engineer had a lively chase up-stream after his work, and finally secured it stranded in an awkward position about half-a-mile above its site. Immediately arrangements were hurried forward to salvage the caisson. After a day and a half’s continuous hard toil it was recovered and anchored alongside the bank until the next propitious moment arrived for it to be towed out into the stream and sunk into position.