INSPANNING. 131 



unnecessary trouble he is giving. When each span 

 is assembled, the driver places himself in front of 

 them with the rheim of each beast upon his arm, 

 while the voorloper takes his place behind armed with 

 a jambok, by the application of which each bullock 

 is kept in its place till the driver has placed his 

 rheims over the horns of each. They are then led 

 in pairs to their respective yokes, the after oxen 

 being generally " inspanned " last. As a rule, the 

 most mutinous and troublesome ox immediately 

 succumbs to the control of the driver the moment 

 he feels the noose over his horns ; should he not 

 do so, he will have ample reason to regret his 

 objection to discipline, for the driver will not brook 

 such conduct for a moment, and at once suppresses 

 it by the severest means. 



I have had experience of how cattle are handled 

 both in America and Australia, in which places the 

 work is done entirely on horseback ; but the African 

 driver and voorloper does all his work on foot, 

 and there is no reason to imagine that the beasts 

 of the two first-mentioned places are one whit 

 more dangerous than those of Africa. Of course, 

 occasionally serious accidents do happen, but they 



K 2 



