JOURNEYS THROUGH AFRICA
"From the Cape to Cairo." We have all heard of the wonderful
railway which some day is to run all the way from Table Bay to
Egypt, and is to carry passengers in ease and luxury through the
heart of Darkest Africa. That will be in the future, no doubt;
but, even if the railway were already finished, it would surely be
more interesting to travel in the old-fashioned ways, and, even if
it necessitated hardships and fatigue, see something of the great
continent and of its inhabitants.
Let us suppose, then, that we start on our journey from Cape Town,
and, ignoring the railway which already could carry us far into
Central Africa, put the clock back for fifty years, or more, and
engage one of the great bullock wagons in which the old colonists
made their adventurous pilgrimages.
A traveller who journeyed through South Africa in 1846 gives an
interesting account of his conveyance and experiences.
[Illustration: CAPE BULLOCK WAGON.]
"In travelling by wagon one gets along slowly," he says. "Twenty
miles a day is reckoned moderate, and two and a half miles an hour
is the usual rate of progress. Cooking utensils, as a kettle, a
gridiron, and a pot, accompany the wagon. Bedding is also a part of
the travelling appurtenances, and is either made up at night in the
body of the wagon or in the open country, according to the weather."
This description sounds pleasant and comfortable enough, but
the men and women who in those days set out across unexplored
country in search of new homes often had to endure hardships and
face terrible dangers, for the Kaffirs and Zulus were fierce and
warlike, and they often attacked and murdered the newcomers.
As a safeguard against these enemies the colonists used to arrange
their wagons at night in a circle, and within the primitive fort,
or laager as it was called, they would make their camp and light
watch-fires to frighten away lions and other beasts of prey.
South African wagons are very large and have canvas hoods. Whole
families can travel in them comfortably, and sometimes as many as
sixteen oxen are used.
North of Cape Colony is Natal, the oldest of the British
possessions in South Africa, and now we will leave our quaint,
old-world wagon and pay a visit to the port of Durban as it is
to-day.
[Illustration: DURBAN RICKSHAW.]
Here we shall see careering along the streets or waiting to be
hired, some very strange little vehicles indeed, and shall hardly
recognise them at first as our old friends the rickshaws of Japan
and Ceylon. When we look more closely, however, we shall see that
the rickshaws themselves are just the same as those which speed
along the red roads of Colombo or under the cherry blossoms of
Yokohama.
It is the men who drag them that are extraordinary, for the Kaffir
rickshaw boys of Durban wear the most amazing costumes and deck
themselves out in queer finery of all sorts. Beads, scraps of
ribbon, feathers, all these are pressed into the service, and very
often as a finishing touch of grandeur the boys fasten buffalo
horns on to their woolly heads.
Leaving Natal behind us, we will go up country beyond the reach
of railway lines. There travellers have to make their journeys in
Cape carts, which are two-wheeled vehicles drawn by a pair of mules
and driven by a Basuto. These natives are among the finest drivers
in the whole world, and they will whip up their mules and dash
recklessly up hill and down dale, no matter how rough the road may
be, or even, as often happens, if there is no road at all.
There is no brake to a Cape cart, and the harness is frequently
rotten or mended with scraps of string or tape, but nothing seems
to matter, and the Basuto will generally manage to bring his
passengers and the piles of baggage safely to their destinations.
Occasionally in these districts a more ambitious conveyance is
provided, this being a coach, much like the old stage coaches of
England in appearance, drawn by ten mules instead of four smart,
prancing horses.
Further north we notice many strange modes of travel, such as a
white man riding a bullock with saddle, harness, and stirrups
complete; or a Masai family on the move, the woman leading an ox
which carries not only her husband but all the household goods and
chattels.
At Beira we reach the boundaries of civilisation again, for here
a little tramcar may be seen running through the streets. It is,
however, rather a primitive affair and consists only of a light
car or trolly, on which is room for one passenger, the whole being
pushed along by a scantily dressed native.
We travel on northward again and reach Khartum, whence a finished
section of the Cape to Cairo railway will carry us to Wadi Halfa.
Here, as throughout Egypt, donkeys are an important means of
transport, and very smart the little animals look with their
red leather, humped saddles, large stirrups, and the blue bead
necklaces which are worn to protect them from the Evil Eye. The
poorer inhabitants of Egypt and the Sudan have to be content with
more simply attired mounts, and they either use a rough pad as a
saddle or else ride bare-back.
[Illustration: BEIRA TRAM.]
In Cairo, the old capital of Egypt, we find vehicles of all
descriptions, for this city is a strange mixture of East and West.
In the crowded streets motor-cars and buffaloes, splendid private
carriages and long strings of clover-laden camels jostle each
other, while steam tramcars carry tourists to the Pyramids and old
Arabs on their tiny donkeys jog contentedly along the road in front
of the great European hotels.
[Illustration: CAIRO CART.]
The equipage of a rich Egyptian or high official is an imposing
sight in the streets of Cairo. It is preceded by two or more gaily
clad servants, or saises, who run in front of the horses with long
sticks in their hands and shout to the pedestrians and the more
humble conveyances to get out of the way.
Among these latter, which halt and draw back against the wall at
the sais's command, we see some of the most curious of all the
vehicles of Egypt, the little flat, two-wheeled carts on which
native women of the poorer classes are conveyed. These carts are
drawn by a mule or donkey, led by an Arab, and each carries a group
of crouching women, who sit closely together with their black
veils drawn over their faces. "An Arab taking out his wives for an
airing"--that is how tourists often describe these quaint vehicles,
but really they are public conveyances, and the native women,
having paid their fares, are going on shopping expeditions to the
bazaars or to visit their friends in some distant part of the city.
Nowadays, however, these picturesque conveyances are beginning
to be considered old-fashioned, and the natives crowd into the
electric trams which run in all directions through the town and
into the suburbs beyond.
Alexandria is even more up-to-date than Cairo, for there not only
tramcars but motor-omnibuses are to be seen.
Morocco, another country of North Africa, although much nearer to
Europe, is still very much behind the times, and therefore even
more interesting, perhaps, than Algeria and Egypt. In Tangier,
for instance, the streets are so steep and rough that only very
primitive vehicles can be used, and most people, natives and
Europeans alike, ride either on donkeys, mules, or ponies.
[Illustration: IN MOROCCO.]
The Sôk, or market-place, in this city is most picturesque, for
there can be seen groups of pack-mules, laden and ready to start
off on some long journey; ponies with women sitting on strange
saddles set sideways like chairs, and Arab chiefs mounted on their
magnificent horses. The market-place itself is very curious, with
its whitewashed and narrow gateways, through which the mules with
their large panniers can scarcely pass.