CAPE TRADERS AND THEIR WAGONS. 19 



changing the wagon or wagons which bore them for 

 cash or oxen, or both, and then, purchasing a horse, he 

 returns in light marching order to the colony. 



The price which a trader gives for a wagon is usu- 

 ally from ^40 to dE60, and in war times often a thou- 

 sand rix dollars, or d£75. The number of oxen which 

 he usually obtains for it at the close of his journey is 

 from forty to fifty, and these he is supposed to select 

 himself. The value of the wagon is partly dependent 

 on the character of the tent. Tents are of two kinds ; 

 the one being coarsely yet strongly constructed of green 

 boughs fitting into iron staples along the sides of the 

 wagon, and lashed together with strips of green hide 

 so as to form a succession of arches overhead. These 

 are kept in their position by means of long straight 

 wands laid all along the outside of the arches, the 

 whole frame- work being very strongly secured by the 

 afore-mentioned strips of green hide. On the top of 

 this are placed coarse KaflSr mats made of reeds, which 

 act as a Scotchman {to use a sea-faring phrase) to keep 

 the wagon-sail, which is of stout canvas, from chafing. 

 The other variety of tent is of a less homely build, and 

 is termed by the colonists a cap-tent wagon. It re- 

 quires the hand of a skillful wagon-builder, and is much 

 more elaborately finished, the wood which supports and 

 composes the tent being all neatly sawed and planed, 

 and fastened together with iron rivets. 



This description of wagon is preferred by the aris- 

 tocracy among the Boers, as presenting a more dis- 

 tingue appcEurance, when they drive their fraus and 

 children on a round of visits, which they are constant- 

 ly doing, or when flocking to the " Nachmal," or com- 

 munion, which happens three or four times in the year. 

 The former, or common wand tent, however, possessed 



