SOUTH AND EAST AFRICA. 37 



strongly recommended for the exploration of those parts of the 

 Namib where water is obtainable at reasonable intervals. 



b. LIGHT VEHICLE DRAWN BY ANIMALS. 



For short journeys light two or four wheeled vehicles drawn by 

 horses, mules or even oxen were formerly largely employed, but 

 the increasing popularity of motor cars is yearly limiting their use. 



The Spider or Buckboard. Except in sandy country the spider 

 or buckboard is best suited for light horse or mule transport. It 

 is a four wheeled American vehicle, weighing altogether about 

 300 Ibs, capable of seating two passengers and of carrying a great 

 quantity of luggage. By blocking the springs upwards of 1.000 Ibs. 

 can be carried. It can get over any kind of ground and is almost 

 impossible to capsize, except by locking the wheels or turning too 

 sharply. A good type of buckboard is shown in the right hand 

 corner of PL III, fig. 1. 



The price of a buckboard is about 75. 



The Cape Cart. This is the common two-wheeled vehicle of 

 South Africa and is a sort of heavy dog cart. It is very clumsy, 

 heavy on the draught animals, inconvenient for luggage and apt 

 to capsize, being inferior in every respect to the spider, except in 

 cases where long stretches of heavy sand and steep dunes have to 

 be traversed. Here a light form of Cape cart with broad flanged 

 wheels has proved very satisfactory. Carts of this type, drawn 

 by from 6 to 10 mules, are very largely used on the diamond 

 fields in the coastal desert of South West Africa, where waterless 

 lies of up to 40 miles with great belts of sand dunes have 

 to be crossed. 



The present price of Cape carts ranges from 70. to 115. 



C. RIDING AND PACK ANIMALS. 



Horses and Mules. South of the latitude of Pretoria, 25 45', 

 horses can be used with sufficient security for all gencr;il purpose*, 

 except in the coastal strip running through /uhiland, Swa/.il,m<! 

 and Portuguese territory, though ii i* not customary to us.- tin-in 

 for heavy transport. North of this l.itinnh- .m.l in the coastal hdt 

 the risks of death from horse sickness are so great that they c.mimt 



