ALGOA BAY. OX-WAGGON. 15 



On the sixth day we landed at Port Elizabeth, 

 Algoa Bay, whence I started without delay ; sand, swin- 

 dling horse-dealers, naked Fingoes, and drunken Hot- 

 tentots being my principal sights at this town. I managed 

 to obtain a mount from a friend who had voyaged from 

 Cape Town with me, and thus reserved my selection of a 

 quadruped until I arrived at Graham's Town. We ex- 

 amined the surrounding country for game, but saw only 

 a hare, a few quail, and one buck. I was told that ostriches 

 were within a few miles, and that elephants had been seen 

 near the Sundays river a day or so past. 



The ox-waggon of the Cape is a four-wheeled vehicle 

 with a canvas tilt; it is completely a necessary of the 

 South-African resident : it is his house, his ship, and 

 in many cases his income. Until he builds a house, he 

 lives in the waggon, keeps all he possesses there, and 

 travels from spot to spot independent of inns or other 

 habitations. From the general suppleness of the vehicle, 

 owing to the very small quantity of iron which is used in 

 its construction, it is well adapted for the purposes of 

 crossing the steep-banked rivers and stony roads that are 

 here so frequent. 



Fourteen oxen are generally used for a team, each 

 having his regular place, and answering to his wonderful 

 name. A miserable Hottentot boy or Fingoe is employed 

 to perform the part of leader : he is called "forelouper;" 

 his duty being to hold a small rope that is fastened to the 

 horns of the two front oxen, and to lead them in the 

 right road. 



The inspanning or coupling completed, the rope by 



