Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-11-01

] great patches of tall reeds and strong
| PUSHES, and these are the sources of
the rivers. We find that the large
streams issuing out of .'vieys" continue
| TO bear the names of their sources un-
til the branch joins with another and
| loses its identity, as New Years vley''
| IA strong stream), Van Wyck's vIey''
and others.
| A "Iaagte" again is different and is
| one of the distinctive formations OF
South Africa, due to the clear cut dis
| tinction between the dry and wet sea
| SONS. \ laagte is properly a wide and
| comparatively shallow depression drop
ping suddenly from the prevailing coun-
| try level. 1t is full of pitfalls, and woe
betide the foreign general who shall
| try TO push cavalry or big guns across
| in the face of farmers" occupying the
| opposite built" The bottom land is,
when dry, well grassed turf of rich
| mold, no one can say how deep, often
| two miles or more wide and running
| 20 to 80 miles, mostly level as billiard
board, but with a gentle tilt sufficient
| to let the water run ElandSlaagte is
good example. These fiat bottoms
are dotted all ever with deep water
pits (''cyfer gaten'O, often almost hid
den from the incautiouS horSeman by
the long grass. These swarm with
fish, although they are totally discon-
nected from each other and may be
miles from any river. During the wet
season, however, the floor of laagte
will become a gently flowing sheet of
shallow rain water, and through this
medium the fish of the river with
which the laagte finally connects will
slither along over the grass to and
from these curious cyfer gaten.
The appointments of the great South
African OK wagon are sure to be refer
red to. OF these the great freighters
(the ''bok waGen') run to as much as
20 feet long by Il between the wheels
and are drawn by IA, 16 or Is bullocks,
"spanned'' in pairs. "Inspanning" and
'outspanning" are the acts of hitching
up and loosing these animals from the
yoke. Each OK is harnessed thus: Aft
er the span have been ..reimed" and
ranged along the "touw" the end of a
yoke is laid upon the animals neck,
and as there are two stout pieces of
wood thrust through holes in the end
of the yoke these clip his neck in a
short, twisted coupler of rawhide
Called the ''strop') connects up the
under ends of the keys" and then it
is a clever beast who can wriggle out
of that simple device. The "reims''
with which the oxen have been caught
are around their horns, and as each
pair are "yCked'' the operator seizes
their two reims and, allowing a play
- ~
OK, lays up the slack crisscross around
the horns of the other, and there you
have the entire harness of the "treck-
oss." These ''reims' are inch wide
strips of rawhide slightly softened by
twisting and run from seven to ten
feet in length. They are very strong.
The "yokes" are fastened along a
carefully laid up cable of rawhide
strands, which is called the ''treck
touw" 1--WE beg to repeat that the sound
of this word warrants the eek" instead
of the conventional ky, but some
times a European made chain is used
instead of the native ''touw," and then
the Boer will speak of it as his "treck
keteng."
Each pair of oxen are given n clear
nine feet of touw, and as the "disseL
DOOM wagon pOle) OF stout IRON
wood or "asSagai," wild pear" or
"sneeze wood" is 10 to II feet the
string in front of first class .'boxwa"
streams out at least so feet from
where the driver sits upon the "wagen
kist," deftly handling his great whip,
consisting of bamboo stock" 16 feet
long, carrying hide thong and biting
'voor Stag some % to 50 feet more.
In front of all this snakelike outfit
walks the ''voor hooper," leading the
front pair by their reims, which he has
so hitched in n loop that he can hold
it and walk before them out of horns
reach. Then "Hawt yehr' yells the
driver. with n smack of his whip as
loud as n rifle shot, and the great
freighter begins its steady crawl.
One more word: Should an exception
ally heavy piece of road develop or an
OK prove more than usually recaIci-
trant the "achter Oss sjambok" Sham
box is pulled out. This is strip of
rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide an
inch to one and n half inches square
in its native condition, but roughly ia
pered for f1agellatory purposes, and
from four to six feet in length. The
very sight of this implement puts much |
power into the backbone of every we'll !
trained and intelligent bullock, for a |
strong hand can lay open his ribs with |
it, be his hide never so thick and case
hardened. |