The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-10-28

I joins with another and loses Its Identity.
| As New Years Vley' "a strong streaml,
Van Wyck's VIey'' and others. Indeed,
Lienberg's Vley runs for more than hun
| dred miles under that appellation before
its identity is lost by joinging the Wilge
| River. There are "vleys' on the plains.
| also. more or less true marshes having
no outflow
PAN-A ''pan" again differs from avley
| in that, though also a depression In the
| plain catching the drainage of an area,
but having no outflow, it must have a
| hard bottom.
LAAGTEA '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 seasons.
A laagte is properly wide and ccmpar-
atively shallow depression. dropping sud-
denly from the prevailing country level
1t is usually full of pitfalls, and woe be-
tide the foreign general who shall try to
cavalry or big guns across in the face of
farmers" occupying the opposite built"
The bottom land is, when dry, a we'll
| erased turf of rich mould-Tio one can
say how deep-often two miles or more
vide and lGrr'rg twenty Or thirty miles.
mostly level as a billiard board, but with
a gentle tilt, sufficient to let The water
run. Elandslaagte is a good example.
CYFER-GATEN-Th fat bottoms are
dotted all over with deep water holes,
''cyfer-gaten," often almost hidden from
the incautious horseman by the long
grass. These swarm with FISH. although
they are totally disconnected from each
other End many miles from any Wv er.
During the wet season, however the
floor of a large laagte will become
gently flowing sheet of shallow rain water
and though this medium the fish in the
rivers with which the laagte finally con-
meets will slither along over the grass to
and from these curious cyfer-gaten. 1
have dubbed with a knobkerrie many d
four and five pound barbel or yellowf1sh
chasing them when in four or six inches
of such a flow they would dart along
through the bright young grass and the
rushes OF "laagte."
K-WAGEN-The appointments Of
the great South African OK wagon are
sure to be referred to. OF these the great
freighters (the 'bok-wagen'O run to as
much as twenty feet long by seven be-
tween the wheels, and are drawn by four
teen, sixteen or eighteen trained bullocks.
"spapned' in pairs.
INSPANNING AND OUTSTANDING
These are the acts of hitching up and
loosing these animals from the yoke.
Each oxen is harnessed thus: After the
span have been refined and ranged
along the "touw'' the end of 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 fork. They are |
the ''yokeseyes."
STROP-A short, twisted coupler Of
rawhide (called the "strop) connects up
the upper ends of the keys" and then /
of that single device.
REIMS-With these the oxen have been |
caught around the horns, and as each |
pair are ''yoked" the operator seizes their |
two reims, and, allowing play of about |
three feet to the right hand OK, lays up |
the slack, criss-cross, around the horns |
of the other. and there you have the en-
tire 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 lenght They
are very strong.
TRECK-TOUW-The "yokes" are fas- |
tened along a carefully laid-up cable of |
rawhide strands which is called the
treck-touw' 1--WE beg to repeat tlat the
sound of this word warrants the "cl'' in
stead of the conventional ''k'O, but some
times a European-made chain Is used in
stead of the native touw and then the
Boer will speak of it as his treck 'Ee-
teng." A chain is not a "touw,' let
Boston note.
DISSEL-BOOM-Each pair Of oxen are
given clear nine feet of touw, and as
the "dissel-boom" (wagon pole of stout
'iron-wood," or "assagai," 'wild-spear."
or "sneeze-wood. y, is ten or twelve fe ct
the string in front of first-class box
wa" streams out at least eighty feet
from where the driver sits upon the
'wagen-kist," deftly handling his great
whip, consisting of a bambo stock" six
teen feet long, carrying hide thong and
biting 'voor-slag" some twtney-five TO
thirty feet more.
VOOR-LOOPER-In front Of ali tn $
outfit walks the "voor-looper,"
leading the front pair by their reims.
which he has so hitched in a loop that
he can hold it as he walks before them
out of horns reach. Then "Hawt-yeh!'
yells the driver, with smack of his whip
as loud as rifle shot, and the great fret
ghter begins its steady crawl.
ACHTER- OSS- SJAMBOK-One more
word: Should an exceptionally heavy
piece of road develop. or an OK prove
more than usually recalcitrant, the ''Ach-
Cshambok) is pulled out.
This is a strip of rhinocerous or hippo
Dotamus hide, an inch to one and a half
inches square. in its native condition, but
roughly tapered for fagellatory purpo-
ses. and from four 10 six feet in length.
The very sight of this implement puts
much power into the backbone of every
and intelligent bullock, for
strong hand can lay open his ribs with
i, be his hide never so thick and case
hardened.
KRUGER-Is pronounced 'Krooer"
mostly in the Transvaal. but "Kreer"
generally elsewhere in South Africa
"MOTHER'S NOTIONS"