THE KAI'-TKNT \VA(;oN. 66/ 



with a belt across it, Donkey for a dark brown, Jan Bloed for one 

 of a peculiar shade of redness (the meaning being "John Blood"), 

 Rodeland for an ordinary red, Kruisman for one with a white 

 back suggesting a cross, Vaaltyn (or possibly Vaaltuijn, " Fallow 

 garden ' ) for a vaal or dun-coloured beast, and Geelbek for one 

 with a yellow muzzle. Then there were such neutral names as 

 Akkcnnan (Ploughman) ; Opperman (Hodman or Labourer) ; 

 Bloem (Flower) ; Bock-houder (Book-keeper) ; Dwengeland 

 (Tyrant) ; England ; Fransnian; Jonkman (Youth) ; Koopman 

 ( Merchant) ; Landman (Rustic) ; and Makman (Tameman). 



Although these names do not recall in any important measure 

 the events or scenes of past endeavours, they are interesting- to 

 the extent to which they show the animals to have been associated 

 with the lives and thoughts of the people. 



Each ox had a fixed place in the team; the hind and fore- 

 most pairs were chosen from characteristics which they had 

 exhibited during the process of training. The words hot and 

 haar described whether they were on the near or off side ; thus 

 hot or haar achter signified left or right wheeler, and naast achter, 

 op aes, op acht, naast voor and voor completed the team of 

 twelve, the sides upon which they were yoked being indicated as 

 before. The descriptive hot and haar was employed in calling 

 the names ; thus Hot Bandom ! or Haar Donker ! 



A silveriness of tone was cultivated for the calling of names, 

 and the voice was usually raised in the utterance of the final 

 syllable. There was a softening influence in this respect in the 

 Ijresence of the fair members of the family ; this form of delicacy 

 was abandoned when the carrying of heavy loads over muddy 

 roads became an occupation : the reverse became then the object 

 of voice-culture, and the terminal portion of the name was given 

 out in a groan from th6 middle of the chest^. It seem.ed 

 as if all love for the animals had vanished. 



The incident in history in which the Kap-tent wagon played 

 the most important part was the Great Trek, which attained its 

 full volume in 1837. It was needful that each 'family joining 

 in that exodus should have at least one ; some had two or more. 

 The Kruger family left in 1835. The famous President of the 

 South African Repubhc says in his Memoirs : " My parents and 

 relatives left house and home for a wild and unknown country, 

 and set out, about twenty of them, with nearly thirty thousand 

 African sheep and a few hundred horses and cattle, which they 

 had received largely in exchange for the goods they had left 

 behind." At the Orange River his father sold 3.000 wethers at 

 a dikketon apiece, the value of that coin being then equal to about 

 two shillings sterling. This is interesting as showing the value 

 of sheep (the principal property of the Boers) in relation to the 

 price of a wagon. For the one which he had made in 181 1 

 Burchell records that he paid in rix-dollars a sum equal to about 

 £80, " exclusive of the tilt and all the other separate articles 

 required in travelling " ; a wagon would thus represent the value 

 of about 800 sheep. There was much poverty amongst the 

 emigrants after their arrival in Natal, which may be partly 



