1769 and ever since fresh supplies had been drawn from the Cape 

 Colony. During the years 1840-60 Indian Army Authorities sta- 

 tioned a recruiting officer in the Colony, who had to select and buy 

 up such numbers as were required for service in India. Several of 

 these men, Col. Apperley, Lt. Col. Richardson, Major Baker and 

 others became intimately connected with all matters relating to 

 horse-breeding in the Colony and easily managed with some exertion 

 to send out horses that were selected by themselves and were quite 

 fit for cavalry and artillery work. Their successors, however, lived 

 in the cities and were contented to buy horses at exorbitant prices 

 from numerous speculators — it is surprising to find what lot of 

 harm these middle men, the speculators, have done to the industry ; 

 they were perfect fiends and it is only to be hoped that the average 

 farmer has taken his warning ; for of all trade mongers the unscrup- 

 ulous horse dealer is certainly the worst. 



At this rate it is quite obvious that inferior animals were ob- 

 tained for the Indian Army and this procedure had its bad effects 

 both ways. 



Lt. Col. Bower in criticizing this method and approving of the 

 sensible ways adopted by previous officers relates an incident he 

 had when buying remounts, which will explain the farmer's share 

 in this bad business apart from his grevious mistake of breeding 

 from inferior stallions ; for their harmful effect could not have 

 been too rapid in a stock which had a due proportion of the best 

 Thoroughbred and Arab blood infused into their veins for the last 

 two centuries. 



He had the good sense to select the horses himself and remarks 

 that the ''duty of a Remount agent at the Cape is an arduous one, 

 he should be gifted with the leather of a post boy and the patience 

 of Job." In company of Major le Marchant they came across a 

 farm where the farmer said he had no horses to sell ; after they had 

 off-saddled Bower asked to be shown over the stables and found 

 "ten uncanningly neat bay geldings." On pressing for a sale of 

 these, the farmer replied: "Oh, these are my span (waggon team), 

 and are not for sale." The horses were subsequently trotted out 

 and five were noted as fit for troopers. A second span was brought 

 up from the veld and four were picked and after "some amount of 

 coquettry nine good horses were added to the roll of the 7th, Dra- 

 goon Guards." 



42 



