720 



THE AOBICU LTU RAL JOURNAL. 



hardly good enough, so started plunging 

 — gave young Mcityo one with my off- 

 hind, and gave Msindo a gentle tap with 

 my left defender, and away I went, 

 stupidly thinking I had done them all 

 down, but if so, it was only for a verj 

 brief period. I was chased for about two 

 miles, and eventually brought back to 

 the kraal and caught. I could see they 

 meant business this time, as their manner 

 was more determined, and they were 

 calling me most peculiar namep. Suf- 

 ficient to say I was inspanned. 



Old Entusi asked me why the deuce I 

 had kept them all waiting an hour, and 

 hinted that he would see me later on. 

 Msindo then took up the whip and 

 shouted " Hamba " (go on^. The other 

 oxen tried to start in a half-hearted kind 

 of way, but I stood my ground. Down 

 came the whip I What a cut it was. I 

 asked Entusi to look and see if it was 

 bleeding, but he only told me not to 

 play the fool. " ffamia," for the second 

 time ; same result. It dawned on me 

 that this was rather a poor game for me, 

 80 when I heard Haniba'' for the third 

 time, I decided that it would be the third 

 and last time of asking, and accordingly 

 gave a desperate rush forward, pulling 

 Entusi and the tree after me, and pushing 

 the front oxen nearly on top of Mcityo ; 

 then I managed to get one leg over the 

 trek chain, and stopped exhausted. 

 Msindo used the butt end of his whip 

 handle so vigorously on my leg that I 

 had to draw it over the chain again. 

 Then 1 lay down and wished I was dead. 

 Msindo asked Mcityo if he had got a knife, 

 and, thinking that they were going to cut 

 my throat, I jumped up ; but Entusi told 

 me that it was only in case the neckstrap 

 was choking me, as they did not want to 

 run any risk of losing my future services, 

 so I promptly lay dov/n again. More 

 thumps, insulting language, and double 

 thonging, but I wouldn't budge. Even- 

 tually Msindo got some dry gi'ass and lit 

 a fire by my side. I got up slowly, 

 telling Entusi that it was not on account 

 of the fire, but-because I thought he was 

 getting hungry. 



After this 1 behaved myself well, and 

 heard the driver say, " Ou ! vya donsa 

 f/aJile" (by Jove! he ])ulls well). We 

 dragged the wretched tree al)out a couple 

 of miles and then turned back. I don't 



know what Msindo thought of my pulling 

 powers then ; probably he was too 

 amared and pumped to say anything. 

 While we were being outspanned, would 

 you believe it, that little sweep Mcityo 

 suggested that I should have a trek chain 

 tied round my neck before I was sent to 

 graze, by way of taming me down. But, 

 thank goodness, I was in the driver's 

 good books, and he simply asked the boy 

 what a mere child could know about 

 breaking in oxen. I was very stiff and 

 sore the next day, and consequently was 

 bullied by one or two young brutes whom 

 I could have held my own against when 

 fit. 



After being inspanned a few times 

 more, and behaving myself fairly well, I 

 was put aside as a model trek ox, and 

 later on went in with a load of wattle 

 bark to the city, and was as pleased with 

 myself going down Church Street as a 

 young subaltern when he '* first puts his 

 uniform on." The grazing was very bad, 

 and there were rumours of that dreaded 

 disease " lungsickness" ; but I minded it 

 not. Was I not one of a team of sixteen 

 transport oxen ! Entusi, I know, was 

 smiling inwardly at my pride, and the 

 way I kept a head in front of Dam- 

 me'iies (probably a corruption of 

 Damocles) who was my half section on 

 that auspicious occasion. 



I was very much struck with the Mada- 

 gascars, which I then saw for the first 

 time. I tried to chum up with one at 

 the Outspan, but Msindo had me turned 

 back as he was afraid of lungdickness. I 

 gave them a wide berth after that, but I 

 was anxious to ask them how they 

 managed to creep under fences with that 

 big lump on their backs, and whether the 

 expression "getting the hump" origi- 

 nated in Madagascar or not. But I dare- 

 say they might have felt insulted, allow- 

 ing they could speak our language ; 

 anether thing, they might have started 

 chaffing Entusi about his stumpy tail. 

 He had been through lungsickness and 

 most oxen that get cured or " salted " 

 generally go about the world without a 

 tail, or with the faintest apology for one, 

 and very often have big scars on the 

 quarters as well. Saucepan, who was 

 one of our oldest stager-s said something 

 about the r-eason the tail was cut was to 

 produce a sort of counter-irritation. He 



