A pair of clamps are necessary to hold the work, as both hands are employed in sewing. They may be made of two staves of a powder barrel, or an American flour cask, or any other light elastic boards that can be made to curve inward, and grip with a fair edge with tolerable firmness. These are held between the knees, so that the work may be in a convenient position for eye and hand. If barrel staves cannot be had, two small bits of plank, with fair edges, may be fitted in the smith’s vice. A young sapling, 2in. or 3in. thick, may be cut off about 30in. from its root, and the stump slit down with a sharp axe, the edges being trimmed off thin and fair; or the boat nippers described at p. 129 may be pressed into service.

The orthodox material for sewing on the sole is, of course, the waxed thread, made by taking from three to six or eight thicknesses of the flax sold in balls for that purpose, twisting them loosely together, and waxing them with the mixture before described. The ends of the threads are thinned to a fine point, and, a bristle being split part of its length, the fine end of the thread is laid between the parts, and then rolled several times round both of them; and the fastening is made by opening the strands of the thread, and passing the perfect end of the bristle through them. It is much more easy to do this than to describe it, and in five minutes’ practice almost anyone ought to be able to learn it. We prefer, however, fine “reimpjies,” or thongs, rather less than ⅛in. broad, cut from the skin of a steinbok, and nicely rubbed up, stretched, and smoothed. The points of these cut sharp, wetted a little, twisted, and allowed to dry, will be quite fine and hard enough to be passed through the awl holes; but we have upon occasion taken a bit of fine brass rabbit wire, and passing it through a hole in the end of the thong, as far as the middle have doubled the two ends together, and twisted them into one, to obtain a more rigid point.

Of the several methods of stitching, the simplest, as has been mentioned, is to lay the edges of the sole and upper leather together, and stitch them through and through (Fig. 1). In this case, however, either the thread appears outside, and is exposed to be chafed upon the ground, or the sole itself must be cut so as to let the stitches in, and sometimes a cut is made in the edge of the sole, as in Fig. 2, but this has by no means a neat and finished appearance. Some of the Dutch farmers use what is called the “binnen naaid,” or inside seam. This is made by turning the edge of the upper leather (Fig. 4) in upon the sole (Fig. 3), and sewing it with a kind of backstitch, which will be better understood by reference to the figure than by description. It must be begun in the waist of the foot and worked round the front to the other side. The heel is finished last of all, as, when the shoe is once closed, the fore parts of it could not be reached. This seam is very neat, but a last cannot be used in making it. The plan we adopted is that used by shoemakers for pumps or single soled shoes, and we believe this to be the easiest, the neatest, and, at the same time, the most durable. The sole (Fig. 1) is cut with the heel toward the thickest part (if there be any difference) of the leather, and if greater thickness is required, another piece (Fig. 2) should be cut to the shape of the heel and thinned away to nothing in front, as it must be placed on the inside of the true sole, and a thick edge would of course give pain to the foot. A small groove or channel (Fig. 3), just deep enough to bury the stitches, should be cut about ½in. from the edge upon the upper surface, and a similar one (Fig. 3a) in the edge of the true sole; then, the holes being pierced with a curved awl, the two parts should be firmly sewn together. Fig. 4 represents the channel cut all round the sole and heel for stitching on the upper leather, and Fig. 5 the bevelled edge against which the upper leather is laid. B is a sectional view, with all the parts similarly numbered, the upper leather being stitched on; and C another with the upper stitched and turned into its proper position when the shoe is finished. The sole, with its inside uppermost, must then be laid upon its proper last, and tacked to it with nails or pegs that will easily draw out when no longer required, and care must be taken that the waist fits well down into the hollow of the last. The edge must then be bevelled off, at an angle of 45° all round, reducing its apparent thickness by about one-half. In very fine work the edge is thinned down almost to nothing in the waist, but is left nearly of its full thickness in the heel. The object of this, however, is to present an inclined surface for the upper leather to rest against and be stitched to.

The upper is then turned inside out, and placed upon the last; its height at the heel, at the sides, and on the instep, is measured, and these points are first secured by small tacks, driven about half in, so that they can be withdrawn when no longer wanted. The edges are then drawn tightly over the edges of the sole, and tacked to it, beginning at the toe and proceeding equally along the sides as far as the beginning of the heel. The last is then taken, with the sole upward, between the knees, where it may be confined by a strap long enough to pass round the feet; holes are pierced with a sharp curved awl, through the upper leather, and the bevelled edge of the sole, to the channel previously cut. The thread or thong of steinbok hide, being pointed at both ends, is drawn as far as its middle through the first hole, the two ends are passed simultaneously from right and left through each successive one, and the seam, commencing from the fore part of the heel on one side, goes forward round the toe, until it comes as far back on the other side. In commencing the sewing of the heel, if an inner thickening piece has been put on, care must be taken that in front, where it is yet thin, the stitches take up also a portion of the thickness of the true sole, and do not depend only on the inner heel, until they have passed the end of the seam that connects the two thicknesses together. If the stitches of the connecting seam have been set far enough into the substance of the leather, there will be no danger of cutting them in boring the holes for sewing on the upper.

In fastening off, take two stitches back upon the seam, and a hole may be bored through one part of the thong to pass the end of the other through, but no knots must be made; inside they would gall the feet, and outside they would look clumsy and unworkmanlike. Our sketch will sufficiently illustrate the foregoing description. Fig. 1A is the sole; Fig. 4, the channel and stitching; Fig. 4a, the stitching seen through the upper leather, and D the last; B shows the relative position of the parts when the shoe is taken off the last, and turned ready for use. No inner sole or lining is needed, for the leather itself is softened sufficiently in the native processes. We generally preferred to turn the outer side, or that from which the hair had been stripped, inward, as it was smoother to the foot; and besides this, if left outside, would soon have looked shabby from contact with grass or thorns, whereas the inner or fleshy side would suffer no change of appearance by casual abrasion.

The shoe first finished should be kept in a cool moist place, and not suffered to dry till both are done, when they should be taken off the lasts, turned right side outward, and each put upon the last on which the other was made, and allowed to dry, a very little fat being rubbed upon them, that it may be absorbed as the water dries out, to prevent their becoming hard.

In one pair of shoes thus made, with soles of buffalo hide and koodoo uppers, we have performed three journeys of eighty miles each, with quite enough intermediate walking to make up the 300.

It may be thought that we have insisted too much on the lightness and pliability of foot gear, but it must be remembered that we now speak of what, under particular conditions, we have found useful. A change of circumstances might render large and heavy boots an absolute necessity. The American Indian wears the lightest possible mocassin; the South African, when he comes near his game, takes off his sandals, that he may step as noiselessly as a cat. The European hunter will do well to follow their example as closely as he can, and whatever the form of the foot gear he adopts may be, let it be light and flexible enough to walk, jump, climb, or run with facility.

The principle of the mocassin appears to be that in almost universal use among all the Esquimaux and North American Indians, the leading difference in form of construction being that the former usually carry the upper leather up over the leg to form a species of boot, whilst the latter covers the foot only with the mocassin. Unlike the shoes we have described, the Indian mocassin has far more sole than upper leather, as the so-called sole extends up over the sides, front, and heel, to be united with the border leather and front flap by a gathering seam. When about to undertake a journey over very hard or rough ground, a sort of supplementary sole of green hide, with the hair left on the outside, is not unfrequently put on. The leather used in the manufacture of the best and softest description of mocassins requires an immense deal of rubbing, dressing, and manipulation; that used by the Esquimaux tribes is chewed by the women until beautifully supple and pliant. Different tribes of Indians adopt different styles or fashions in the cut and finish of their foot gear, as shown in the illustration on p. 424, which represents the mocassins of distinct tribes; thus it is by no means difficult to detect attempted imposition by closely investigating the foot coverings of a spy or secret enemy.

Various makeshift foot coverings are used by different nations. Some of the bushmen and half-civilised Hottentots, when they have killed an animal of suitable size, such as a buffalo, quagga, or any of the larger antelopes, will cut the skin all round above and below the hough, and, having stripped it off, will draw it upon their own foot, so that the heel comes where the hough of the animal used to be; the toe is then closed with a few stitches, a slit for a small tie or lacing is made on the instep, and, by walking in it before it dries or hardens, it is trodden into the shape of the foot. We have chosen the quagga skin for our illustration because the stripes help to identify the parts used for the hough-skin shoe; but it is, perhaps, the least eligible for the purpose, as it dries so hard and rigid that it must be very unpleasant wear. The North American Indians use the hough-skin of the moose in the same manner.

The peasantry and brigands of Calabria and many other portions of the South of Europe, wear a very simple and useful kind of makeshift shoe. A piece of soft hide is cut to several sizes larger than the foot, a number of points or corners are allowed to remain along the edges, the foot, after being well swathed in bandages, is placed on the piece of hide, which is then gathered up round the foot by looping and knotting a long strip of cotton cloth or tape forward and back to the corners of the hide until all is secure and compact, as shown in the illustration on next page (Fig. 2).

The old Highland caterans shod themselves in much the same manner. We have seen the Crim-Tartars make excellent winter foot coverings from sheepskin, with the wool inwards (Fig. 1). This was cut much after the Calabrian plan, but the corners, after having slits made in them, were looped to short flat leather straps, which, when crossed forward and back over the front, were laced together with a long narrow thong of sheepskin, which served to hold a wider piece of wool-covered skin in place, as a sort of gaiter. They also make a summer shoe from soft tanned hide, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Most of the African tribes find the skin of their sole sufficiently hard for their ordinary and daily walks, but when they expect to make long marches they invariably use some sort of artificial protection; and there is no surer sign on the frontier of the Cape Colony that the Kafirs intend to make war than to see among them a general preparation of velschoens or sandals; and often the cattle farmers on the frontier have been thus forewarned, while the Government authorities, deceived by plausible excuses, have imagined there was every prospect of a continued peace.

Various forms of sandal are in use among different tribes, but those used by the Bechuana (Fig. 1, next page) may be taken as a sufficiently useful type. The leather is sometimes rendered slightly pliable by being pounded and beaten, but very often not. The foot is planted on it, and the outline drawn, the sole being cut somewhat larger than this.

Two slits are made, one on each side the hollow of the foot, and the two ends of a piece of hide are passed up through them, as shown in Fig. 2; and in each end of this are cut two slits, as seen in Figs. 1, 2, 3, for the two parts of a thong of dressed hide to pass through.

The ends of this are passed through another piece which goes down between the great toe and the next, then passes through the sole, and is fastened sometimes by being returned through two other holes, and the divided ends passed through a hole bored “in their own parts,” as in Fig. 4, and sometimes by being simply returned only once in the manner shown in Fig. 3, which represents the very simple arrangement for tightening the side straps; in fact, a thong of hide, with several holes bored in it for its own end to pass through, may be lengthened or shortened up as conveniently as a strap and buckle, the sandal being put on or off simply by drawing the loop of the thong over the heel in the same manner as a low shoe.

The Damaras wear sandals with the toe and heel pointed, and elongated 2in. or 3in. beyond the foot, like a small snow shoe; this saves the toes from contact with small thorns, and they often strap on greaves of stiff hide to protect the shins.

In Timor, we purchased two or three pairs of palm-leaf sandals, very nicely woven; these last very well for a few hours’ walking, and, being very cheap, may be renewed as often as requisite. On some of the pilgrim roads in India, the poorer travellers seldom provide sandals for themselves, but pick up those that are thrown away half worn by the more luxurious.

Small rope, not more than ½in. in diameter, makes a good sole, and by thinning one end, and beginning by bending this just before the hollow of the foot, then coiling it six or seven times round, and finishing off on the inside of the foot, so as to leave the front two turns wider than the heel, a very fairly shaped sole may be made; this may be fitted either with thongs as a sandal, or as a slipper with a canvas upper. The Malays wear a wooden sole, the heel and tread of which are about 2in. thick; it is held to the foot simply by a peg, with a knob or button on the top, which is taken between the great toe and the next, and thus held on or dropped off at pleasure; this is, in fact, much the same that is worn by the Turks, Japanese, and Persians, only that they use a leather strap instead of a button.

Sabots are, at times, extremely useful; they can be made from any light soft wood, such as withy, willow, poplar, or cotton wood (Populus tremuloides). Cut two blocks from a log with the axe, fashion them roughly into the form of a high shoe, and then, with a mallet and sharp gouge, proceed to hollow them out to the requisite capacity and thinness, when the outsides may be finished off with the spokeshave. Socks formed of sheepskin, with the wool on, add much to the comfort of the wearer. The Russian soldiers, before Sebastopol, made excellent socks or false soles from plaited straw; these were worn inside their long boots, and served to preserve the feet from damp; no stockings were worn with them. An excellent description of sabot was forwarded to us during the Crimean war for use in camp; the sole was of light wood, the upper leather was like that of a high shoe, and the lining of thick felt. The leather and wood were connected round the edges by the use of a row of small flat headed tacks, much like those used in making a pair of bellows. No description of foot gear we have ever seen equals these felt-lined sabots for use during tent life. In Chinese Tartary a sort of boot composed of thick felt is worn over both stocking and shoe. When camping in or travelling through tropical countries, never omit turning your boots or shoes upside down, and rapping the soles sharply before venturing to put them on, as scorpions, centipedes, and other unwelcome intruders, are particularly fond of taking shelter in such convenient retreats. We have found it an excellent plan, when boots or shoes of native leather get thoroughly water soaked, to fill them tightly with any kind of grain; the moisture is absorbed rapidly by it, and the leather is prevented from shrinking by the expansion of the seed.

It is well to keep a good-sized pot or canister of dubbin for your English boots and shoes. This is best made as follows:—Take of oil, obtained by boiling ox feet, half a pint; beeswax, 1oz.; spirits of turpentine, 1oz.; Burgundy pitch, ½oz.; resin, ½oz. Mix all the ingredients, except the spirits of turpentine, together in a chatty, and melt them over the embers of the camp fire until thoroughly dissolved; then remove the pot from the fire, pour in the spirits of turpentine, and stir the whole with a piece of lath until cold. To apply the dubbin properly, the boot or shoe must be held to the fire until warm, when every part of it, sole, heel, and upper, may receive a thorough dressing over, and subsequent rubbing. This not only preserves the leather from the effects of hot sun and wet ground, but prevents the white ants, cockroaches, and other devouring insects from eating it.

One of our naval friends, who was an ardent naturalist, had a pair of French wooden shoes, which he found a great protection while wading among sharp rocks in search of specimens, where india-rubber boots would have been cut and become leaky. A perfectly waterproof boot or garment of any kind is an excellent thing, but an imperfect one is worse than useless; and for wading after specimens or working in the water, if it is not convenient to be naked, a pair of wooden clogs, with a flannel shirt and drawers, and a straw hat or Tam o’ Shanter bonnet, is as good an equipment as any.

We have before spoken of india-rubber wading boots, which, to be of value, should be of first-class quality and finish. It will sometimes happen that, notwithstanding all the precautions you may take to guard them from injury, that sharp-pointed sticks, thorns, &c., will make holes in them large enough to admit water. In order to enable you to repair these injuries when they occur, it will be well to purchase from the maker of the boots a good supply of sheet india-rubber. Get also from a chemist a bottle of coal-tar naphtha fitted with a glass stopper. When about to mend your boots, take a sharp knife or pair of scissors, and snip or cut up about 2oz. of the india-rubber sheet. The cut pieces should not be larger than good-sized buck-shot. Put these into a wide-mouthed bottle, such as is used for gum; now pour in enough naphtha to cover the rubber; put in the cork, and let the mixture stand for a few hours to soak; then shake the bottle, turn it upside down, and rattle it from side to side; repeat this process from time to time until the rubber is thoroughly dissolved in the naphtha, which it will be in about three days. Should it become sticky and thick, pour in a little more naphtha and shake it about until of a convenient consistency for use. Now cut a patch from the sheet rubber, large enough to extend well beyond the margin of the hole; give both the patch and the surface to which it is to be applied a good coating of the rubber varnish; lay on the patch; press it well home; place a flat board in the boot under the patch, and another board on the outside over it, so as to nip both patch and boot between them; lay a heavy stone or other weight on the outside board, and let the whole arrangement remain until the varnish is dry and the union between the parts complete. If the hole is in the leg of your boot, turn it inside out until the injured spot is reached and the patch is seen through the hole. Proceed now with the inside exactly as you did with the outside, when the mend will be complete. If the hole is in the foot of the boot, use only the single patch attached to the outside.

When the sole of a shoe has once been soaked with salt water, it always retains dampness, and cannot again be worn with comfort or pleasure. India-rubber shoes cannot be worn in warm countries either alone or over the ordinary shoes, unless they are cut low and open, and even then the lengthened use of them is inconvenient and painful. It not unfrequently happens that the feet of those not thoroughly accustomed to hard tramping will become blistered. When the eggs of either poultry or wild birds are to be obtained, it is a good plan to break one or two, according to their size, into each shoe before starting in the morning; or, if you have any spirit, put a little in a cup or dish, place a lump of tallow on a flat stick, and hold a hot brand over it until the fat melts and runs into the spirit. The ointment thus prepared may now be taken from the spirit and applied thickly to the sore surfaces and bottoms of the stockings. When large bladders form, take one of your needles and draw a piece of soft worsted or woollen thread, obtained by unravelling a bit of old shirt, directly through the bladders. This acts as a seton, and causes the fluid to freely discharge itself.

CHAPTER IX.
WAGGONS AND OTHER WHEELED VEHICLES.

The wheeled carriages made use of in different parts of the world are even more various in their design and construction than the sledges before described; and, as a general rule, it will be found, when the test of actual use is brought to bear, that the description of contrivance (or at least a modification of it) in use among the civilised and semi-civilised inhabitants of a country or colony will be best adapted for such work as may have to be performed in it by the traveller or explorer. It is, however, difficult to overcome home prejudices, and, as an almost invariable rule, the British emigrant, on his arrival at the Cape of Good Hope or Australia, commences by denouncing the colonial waggon as clumsy, unworkmanlike, and inefficient, and usually threatens to effect immense improvements, and just as invariably, if he has to make a journey of any distance into the interior, he adopts, if he be a sensible man, the vehicle which, by the experience of many, has been found the best for the work it has to do. On the well-made roads near Cape Town or Port Elizabeth, or on the broad plains of the Orange River Free State, imported carriages from England, or vehicles upon their model by colonial builders, may be used with safety and advantage; and even some of those wondrous combinations of strength and lightness imported from America, under the names of spider or skeleton carriages, are found to do good service; but when really hard work comes on, and densely wooded kloofs or rugged mountain passes, with rough stretches of road over hill-side or valley, with fords in which stones of several hundred weight seem to lose their gravitation and become the mere playthings of the torrent, the ponderous Cape waggon will be at once appreciated, as all its parts are so strongly put together that the strain of twelve or twenty oxen cannot draw them asunder, and yet fitted so loosely that they will give and bend to every inequality of the road. The Cape waggon is found to hold its position against all rivals as the vehicle best adapted to the wants of a travelling or exploring party, and the exigencies of the transport service and general carrying trade of the country.

We have already, at pp. 60 and 61, given an example of a Cape waggon with side tents; at pp. 129-132, we have shown how the tent frame or other material of a waggon might be converted into a boat; at pp. 140-144, we have indicated the manner in which the waggon chests might be made available as a raft; at pp. 215-219 will be found diagrams and instructions for repairing axles, fore tongs, dissel-booms, strengthening wheels when the spokes are shaken loose, tightening up the tires by driving wedges between them and the felloes, or making and putting in new spokes without taking the wheel to pieces; at pp. 195-197 are remarks on tiring of wheels and prolonging the efficiency of strained bolts by shifting them so as to freshen the nip; at pp. 297 and 298 waggon camps are described; and the method of building wheels is given at pp. 366-372.

It is, therefore, now only necessary to give a general view of a full-sized “kap-tented” travelling waggon, with diagrams of such parts as have not hitherto come under notice. Such a waggon is represented in Fig. 1, and the buik plank, or floor (a), will sometimes be 17ft. or more in length, though in moderate-sized vehicles it does not exceed 13ft., or thereabouts. The sides are generally of yellow wood (⅜in. plank), b, secured to a substantial ladder-like frame, the longer pieces of which (c) are called “leer boomen,” or ladder trees. The sides and bottom are not fastened together, nor are they fastened to the understell or carriage, but the bottom plank is simply laid upon the schammels (d) and secured from moving by cleats (e), which grip the after one. The fore and hinder axles are connected by a stout beam, called the “lang wagen” (f), working freely on a pivot passing through the aftermost jaws of the fore tong (g), and strengthened by a bar of iron (h), called the iron “lang wagen.” The dissel-boom works like a carriage pole in the foremost jaws of the “fore tong.” In this tong, also, immediately behind the axle, is a stout ring-bolt (i), to which are attached the drag chains, and they, with the reim schoen and the tar bucket, are looped up to hooks, fixed at the attachment of the after tongs (j) with the lang wagen. To the back of the after axle is suspended a kind of framework, called the “trap” (k), for the reception of pots, kettles, and general lumber. Into the ends of the schammels are set rungs, or stancheons (l), which confine and support the waggon sides. Fig. 2 shows the arrangement of the carriage, clear of the wheels and top hamper. All the parts are distinguished by the same letters. Fig. 3 shows how the buik plank (a) is laid upon the after schammel (d), and kept from shifting by the clamps (e); it will be seen that there is room enough between it and the rungs (l) for the sides (b), and these are kept apart at the after part by the after bar (m), as well as by the after chest (n), and in front by the fore chest only, leaving, in the present instance, a space available for stowage of rather more than 11ft. long, 3ft. wide, and 3ft. in height; though frequently the cargo is piled much higher. The kadel, or bed, an oblong frame (o, p. 216), with a netting of raw hide thongs, is then either slung above the cargo to the stancheons of the tent, or laid upon spars placed across the waggon, with their ends resting on the top rail or leer boom (c). The tent frame should be first covered with reed matting, similar to a cheese mat, and often obtainable from the Hottentots. Above this should be the under sail, which is very often painted to render it waterproof, though for durability we prefer to have it of stout unpainted No. 1 canvas, and above this is drawn on the upper sail. In the case of a kap-tent, this is sometimes in three or more pieces; first, the roof; then the sides, which are tacked on under a neat border at its edges; and, lastly, the fore and after klaps or curtains. Sometimes, however, the whole of these parts are made in one. The central breadths of canvas are left 5ft. or 6ft. longer at each end, so as to serve for the fore and after curtains, and the sides are stitched to the roof, so that the whole may be put on or taken off in one piece. The edges are then either buttoned to brass studs along the leer boom, or tied down with thongs of koodoo hide, stitched on for the purpose. A couple of bamboos or forked sticks are lashed to the foremost and aftermost stancheons of the tent frame, to serve as “nicks” in which to lay the waggon whip, which is a well-selected straight-grown “vaderlandsche” (male bamboo), from 10ft. to 15ft. in length, with a lash of about 20ft., as thick in the middle as the little finger, and with a “voorslag,” or lash of koodoo hide, about 4ft. or 5ft. more. This, in the hands of a practised driver, is a most formidable weapon. Any particular ox in the long team of twelve or fourteen may be gently filliped in any part, or have the whip cracked next to his ear as a reminder, or if he show stubbornness or obstinacy, a cloud of hair may be cut from his sides from hip to shoulder, or each successive stroke of the long voorslag may be made to draw blood, until he goes to his duty.

The side chests are supported on stout bars (o), which cross beneath the bottom of the waggon, projecting 1ft. or 16in. beyond its sides, and these, besides being bolted to the bottom planks, are generally lashed tightly to the top rail by reims of raw hide (p), which serve to keep the bottom from bending too much with the weight of the cargo, and help still further to bind the waggon together. On open colonial roads, the side chests are generally rectangular, but we have seen them on the waggons of elephant hunters, brought to a sharp point forward, because, in passing through a thickly-wooded country, trees or stumps would knock off in passing the corners of a rectangular chest. We think, for economy of room, a long chest, tapered at both ends, as shown in our sketch, might be adopted; and if there were a probability of the waggon chests being required for a boat, as described at pp. 140-144, this might be made in two lengths, as we have shown it, so that the ends would serve for the respective ends of the boat or raft. They would be secured either by bolts and nuts, or by lashings of hide to the cross-bars and to the stancheons of the waggon sides. Padlocks and hasps are generally used, but a very stout branch may tear them off. Rim locks would be better, were it not that the same cause might disarrange the set of the lid, and prevent its fitting properly. A couple of stout knees and chocks should be screwed or bolted on to the after part of the floor for the water cask to rest in, and this should be securely lashed, and never allowed to stand or travel without at least a day’s water in it, both to keep it from shrinking and leakage, and also as a prevention against any unexpected emergency or failure of supply.

Fig. 4 is a plan of as much as is necessary to show of the “under stell,” or carriage. The same letters are attached to the parts. The junction of the two bars (j) of the after tong with the “lang wagen” is shown more distinctly. p is the head of the schammel bolt or perch bolt, which passes down through the schammel and axle, allowing the latter to turn freely. The top of the schammel is seen partly hiding the arms of the axle, underneath it; in its ends are the mortices for the rungs. q is the lifter, composed of two parts—the “legter voet,” or upright, with two mortices, corresponding to the height of the fore and after axles—and the “legter hout,” or lever, which is passed through the required mortice and forelocked by an iron pin. The shorter end is generally armed with one or more iron studs, to keep it from slipping; the longer end is tapered and rounded just so as to be easily grasped. Sometimes, when iron reim shoes are not to be had, or are worn out, a log of wood is roughly shaped and slightly hollowed (r) to receive the tire of the wheel, and, instead of chain, is attached to the fore tong by a stout hide rope. A short end is also left near the reim schoen, to hook round the felloe of the wheel.

For rough work, such as carrying stones or packages of unhandy form or dimensions, a “buik waggon” is very convenient. In this the regular lang wagen is released from the fore tong, and either replaced by a rough beam of any required length, or the beam is simply lashed under the original lang wagen, and its end is trimmed down so as to be inserted into the jaws of the fore tong; but as the bolt might probably split and draw out from the unprotected wood, the drag chains should be led aft from the ring-bolt, and hooked on as tightly as possible to the after axle, a turn or two being taken, if they are too long, round both the lang wagen and the pole by which it is lengthened. They may be set up tight by using reims of raw hide as lanyards.

The sides consist of a couple of stout planks set on edge—a couple of 21ft. deals for instance. Cross-bars are lashed under these at intervals, to keep the bottom from sagging.

A durable and convenient form of waggon can be extemporised in any wild country where wood and raw hides are procurable by proceeding as follows: First from dead, but sound, trees, or seasoned wood (see “Wood, to season”), fashion the pieces for your waggon bed frame, as shown in the illustration below. Both the fore and hind axle trees are composed of two pieces of wood matched so as to lay evenly on each other. On the surface of contact of each piece-half holes are cut for the admission of the pole (A), prong piece (B), and cross prong ends (C). The perch bolt (D) should be an iron pin, but may be a hard wood treenail. Either lashings of raw hide or treenails may be used for securing the upper and lower axle pieces to each other. The lower piece of wood, or axle bar, should be composed of some hard dense, yet tough, wood, as the axles have to be formed from it. The butt end of the prong piece (E) is so adjusted as to travel forward and backward on the pole, thus lengthening or shortening the body of the waggon. There are two methods by which the regulation of the prong piece is effected. One is to have a train of holes in the pole and one hole in the butt end of the prong piece for a pin to pass through, which being driven down through one of the holes in the pole holds it at that length. We, however, prefer hollowing out the lower surface of the prong-piece butt with a gouge until it fits on the pole after the manner of a hollow slide or rider. This we lash fast to the pole with a long strip of raw hide, taking several turns both before and behind the joint. The prong piece must be cut from a natural fork of suitable size and length. The butt end should be left at least 18in. long, in order that sufficient bearing surface may be left to rest on the pole under the hide lashing. By adopting this mode of regulating the movements of the prong, a pole of moderate and convenient size may be used without fear of breakage. A very stout pole is required for the pin plan, as the auger holes bored through it tend greatly to decrease its strength. The four upright posts (F, F, F, F) are fitted into four square holes chiselled out in the upper axle piece for the purpose of receiving them; and they serve to secure the planks, hurdles, wattle work, or poles forming the sides of the waggon.

Directions for building and fitting wheels have been given in a former portion of our work; and we need therefore only repeat that slices cut from suitable-sized log ends form very fair makeshift wheels (see p. 366); but care should be taken, if native carts are used in the region where the makeshift waggon is building, to ascertain the gauge at which their wheels are set and regulate yours accordingly, or the wheel tracks on these trails will not match with yours, and so cause strains and breakages. The adjustment of the contrivance just described will entirely depend on the purpose for which it is from time to time required. For the conveyance of the packs and baggage of a large party it may be drawn out to its full length, as shown in the illustration (p. 440), leaving only pole enough for the attachment of draught animals. By bringing the prong piece farther back a short four-wheeled waggon can be formed, and by slipping the fore axle and prong over the end of the pole you leave the perch and hinder axle to be used as a two-wheeled cart, whilst an extra pole fitted to the first axle and prong makes a second pair-wheeled cart just as handy as the other. Should there be but two available draught animals for the two carts, shafts can be used instead of poles. These are easily made by lashing on poles with raw hide, or cutting wide prong-shaped branches which spread out wide at the butt, which must be left long enough to fit into the pole hole of the axle piece, when, if cut with a good curve, these shafts will somewhat resemble those of a Hansom cab. Acting somewhat on this principle, the Californian teamsters make use at times of a sort of train waggon, which, with a powerful mule team, is, over favourable ground, worked entire; but when the vicissitudes of travel require it, they work each separate compartment of the waggon just as we should an ordinary cart.

The illustration on p. 440 represents one of these wine waggons; and, as it may so happen that the lot of the settler may be cast in regions resembling the district we have just spoken of, it may be well that he should know how to construct a conveyance of this kind, as the fore part of the waggon affords ample space for stowing away barrels or bales. As will be seen, on reference to the illustration, the length of the waggon can, like that before described, be regulated according to the requirements of the owner.

The illustration below represents a vehicle in which we performed some very rough travelling through Central India. Its cover, or tent, was composed of painted cotton cloth stretched over bamboo hoops and nailed to the framework. On the bottom, or bed, of our conveyance we placed a stout matress stuffed with cotton. Our rifles, guns, water barrel, and revolvers hung in pouches against the inside of the waggon tent. The door was at the rear. The windows had curtains fitted to them. The bullock teams varied in strength from one pair to three, according to the character of the country travelled through. Conveyances much like this in construction, and of admirable quality, are manufactured at Ahmednugger, in the Bombay Presidency. When travelling in this vehicle our heavy baggage followed in two hackeries, or country carts, each drawn by two pairs of bullocks. These hackeries, like the arobas of the Tartars, merely consist of an axle, a pair of rough strong wheels, a pole, and number of odd poles, sticks, and pieces of board bound together with hide. Our men were much puzzled in Crim-Tartary when we overtook, on the only road leading from passes perfectly impracticable for wheeled carriages, several of the bullock arobas of the country laden with bales of skins and bags of grain. The Tartars had simply taken their arobas to pieces by casting off the hide lashings, packed the bullocks, themselves, and their wolfish-looking dogs, with the divided loads and waggon gear, marched over the passes, and then put the whole affair in travelling trim again. With our horses and packed mules we had no such difficulty to contend against. Much like these in construction is the single-ox cart of Red River. In this the ox is harnessed very much as a horse would be, working between a pair of ordinary shafts. Each driver conducts his own train, which may consist of a dozen carts. The oxen are driven with a long-handled, heavy-thonged whip, which is a sort of compromise between the whip of a Cape waggoner and that of an Australian stock-man. Each of these primitive carts is capable of transporting about 9cwt. of buffalo flesh and hides from the hunting grounds to the depôt of the hunters.

Horse and mule waggons and carts vary so much in construction according to the nature of the country they are used in, and to the purpose for which they are intended, that it would be impossible to describe one-tenth of their number. The mode of harnessing, too, differs in almost every country. Whilst we, in England, usually content ourselves with a team harnessed in pairs, the Russians not unfrequently work three and four a-breast. The Spanish and Portuguese race, in their devious wanderings about the world, have taken the enormously high wheel of the Peninsula with them, and delight to see a big-booted postilion, black or white, acting as pilot to the lumbering old-world conveyance they journey in. Scarcely any two artillery services in the world correspond in their draught arrangement—some making use of the pole, whilst others, England amongst the number, use the shafts. Our province being to deal more particularly with vehicles calculated to bear the rough usage and vicissitudes of travel, we naturally turn to vastly extensive countries—where long journeys over hill, plain, and valley are commonly performed—for the best form of waggon to do it with. Experience in these matters is always the best guide. The constant demand almost invariably brings about the required supply. We have no long waggon journeys in England; and, as neither the artillery or military train waggon of this country, nor the “equipage militaire” of France, is in accordance with our notions of what travellers’ mule waggons should be, we go a little farther a-field, and select the Wilson waggon of the United States of America, the subject of the full-page illustration. The American mode of harnessing is also shown. All these waggons have wheel friction breaks fitted to them, as had all the Sardinian waggons used during the Crimean war.