o32 CATTLE SOLD BY AUCTION A TREAT. 



"In dark nights a ghost would sometimes appear at the 

 head of the team, and, laying hold of the thong attached to 

 the leading ox, would conduct the cattle out of their proper 

 course, I being totally unconscious of the proceedings at the 

 time. 



" Again, I would hear wagons and carriages coming along 

 the road at a brisk pace, and, while making way for them to 

 pass, I found, to my astonishment, that the vehicles were al- 

 ready far ahead of us." 



On the 18th of October, and when within a day's ride of 

 Cape-Town, we disposed of our cattle by public auction. 



Owing to the great distance we had brought them, and the 

 scarcity of pasturage during the latter part of the journey, 

 our cattle had become very lean, and, although they were 

 in themselves an exceedingly fine lot, their want of condition 

 neither suited the butcher nor the grazier. In their emaci- 

 ated state, indeed, it would require fully a year before they 

 would become acclimatized and refattened, in which interval, 

 and before getting accustomed to their new pasturage, many 

 would probably die. They scarcely averaged £2 per head. 

 The cows sold almost the best ; not on account of the milk 

 they yielded, for that was little or nothing, but simply be- 

 cause, strange to say, they were exempted from a peculiar 

 disease {strangury) Avhich kills the oxen in these parts. The 

 Boers are in consequence obliged to make use of cows for ag- 

 ricultural purposes. 



It is customary on these occasions to give a banquet to 

 the purchasers, who chiefly consist of Dutch farmers ; and 

 if the cattle are known to be fit for slaughter, the butchers 

 of the metropolis also come in for a share. A large quan- 

 tity of wine is supposed to be necessary to facilitate the sale. 

 Fortunately, this kind of liquor is very cheap ; and though 

 a person may have to entertain from fifty to one hundred 

 people for two days together, the expense of such festivities 

 rarely exceeds seven or eight pounds sterling. 



