He Made A Bargain For Me
With A Dutchman, For A Light Malay Cart (A Capital Vehicle With Two
Wheels) And Four Horses, For 30s. A Day - Three Days To Caledon From
Simon's Bay, About A Hundred Miles Or So, And One Day Of Back Fare
To His Home In Capetown.
Luckily, on Saturday the wind dropped, and we started at nine
o'clock, drove to a place about four miles from Capetown, when we
turned off on the 'country road', and outspanned at a post-house
kept by a nice old German with a Dutch wife.
Once well out of
Capetown, people are civil, but inquisitive; I was strictly cross-
questioned, and proved so satisfactory, that the old man wished to
give me some English porter gratis. We then jogged along again at
a very good pace to another wayside public, where we outspanned
again and ate, and were again questioned, and again made much of.
By six o'clock we got to the Eerste River, having gone forty miles
or so in the day. It was a beautiful day, and very pleasant
travelling. We had three good little half-Arab bays, and one brute
of a grey as off-wheeler, who fell down continually; but a Malay
driver works miracles, and no harm came of it. The cart is small,
with a permanent tilt at top, and moveable curtains of waterproof
all round; harness of raw leather, very prettily put together by
Malay workmen. We sat behind, and our brown coachman, with his
mushroom hat, in front, with my bath and box, and a miniature of
himself about seven years old - a nephew, - so small and handy that
he would be worth his weight in jewels as a tiger.
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