70 HOME LIFE ON AN OSTRICH FARM. 



sleeping accommodation than does the kartel, a large, 

 strong framework of wood, as wide as a double-bed, 

 suspended inside the tent of the waggon. Across this 

 framework are stretched narrow, interlacing strips of 

 hide ; mattresses and rugs are placed on it, and no 

 more comfortable bed could be desired. The goods are 

 all stowed underneath the kartel, in the bottom of the 

 wagfofon. 



People often make shooting expeditions to the in- 

 terior, travelling in waggons and sometimes remaining 



away a year at a time. T has taken several 



journeys of this kind, and speaks of it as a most enjoy- 

 able life. You take a horse or two and a couple of 

 pointers ; you get plenty of shooting during the day ; 

 and come back to the waggon in the evening to find a 

 bright fire burning near, and dinner being prepared 

 by the servants. The latter camp at night under the 

 waggon. The average distance travelled is twenty-five 

 miles a day. There is no need to take provisions for 

 the cattle, as they are always able to graze on the way ; 

 tracts of land, called public outspans, being set apart 

 by Government at convenient distances along the road 

 as halting-places for waggons. 



A Boer once told T a strange story of how — 



during one of the numerous wars with the natives — he, 

 his wife, and children were travelling at night, when 

 suddenly, without any apparent cause, the waggon 

 came to a standstill ; the oxen, though beaten hard and 

 pulling with all their might, being unable to move it, 

 al thou orb the road at that place was perfectly level. 



