152 
ADVANTAGES OF A CAPE WAGGON. 30 Apr. 22 May. 
together; a construction admirably well adapted for rough and uneven 
roads, by admitting each part to play freely, so as completely to avoid 
that straining and cracking to which solid built waggons are subjected, 
when travelling over irregular ground. The agter stel and voorstel 
are, in their movement, independent of each other; being held 
together only by the langwagen, which by its joint, moves either way. 
The sides resting on the skammels, lean against the rongs, and are 
united to the tilt, only by the ribs which are elastic and yield to every 
motion : they are, besides, each kept in their place by a single thor^g 
of raw hide, passing under the end of the after skammel through 
two staples in the lower leerboom. The brick plank simply rests 
on the skammels, and is confined in its place only by two pieces of 
iron, which pass, one before, and the other behind the after skammel. 
The bolt, on which the fore axletree turns, is not rivetted nor pinned 
through ; by which means it is at liberty to draw out a little upwards 
to relieve the rocking of the waggon, when any one of the wheels 
is much lifted up by a hillock or other unevenness in the ground. 
The preceding description of my waggon, which, although one of 
the largest dimensions, was made exactly in the manner of the usual 
ox-waggon of the colony, will not only be found useful for showing 
how excellently they are constructed for the purpose of travelling over 
an uncultivated country, but will, as an excuse for its length, enable 
the reader to comprehend many passages in this journal in which the 
mention of the different parts of a waggon cannot but frequently occur. 
My undertaking was generally looked upon in Cape Town 
as an imprudent attempt, after the failure of an expedition, in 
which, previously to its setting out, every precaution had been 
taken, and provision made, to ensure its success ; and whose 
numbers and strength so much exceeded mine. Notwithstanding 
this, a person, who had already expressed some desire to ac- 
company me, now came seriously to make the proposal, and very 
earnestly volunteered his services as my companion and assistant. 
He possessed, indeed, qualifications which would have rendered him 
both a useful, and an agreeable associate ; yet I sacrificed my in- 
clination to my judgment, and preferred being quite alone. I 
feared those disagreeable, and often fatal, consequences, which arise 
