Ox-Wagon Transport in Southern Africa
Ox-Wagons and Transport Riders in the late 19th Century
Sep 21, 2008
Urban populations were concentrated on the coasts. Few railways existed and those that did mostly connected city centres with their outlying suburbs.
Ox-Wagons
The mainstay of commercial transport between the ports and the growing towns inland was ox-drawn wagons. These could be as long as eighteen feet by six feet wide.
They were used to transport any goods conceivable, from food, furniture, weapons, medicines, and luxury items. A man who used his wagon for commercial freight purposes was known as a transport rider.
Although capable of carrying up to four tons of goods, few transport riders carried more than one ton, as wagons often needed to be offloaded to lighten them so that they could pass difficult obstacles.
The rear wheels were protected by a half-inch thick tyre of iron and could be six and a half feet in width. The smaller front wheels pivoted on their axle. A small canvas top covered the rear of the wagon. Wagons were pegged and lashed together to enable them to be broken down and rebuilt should the terrain or situation demand it.
Large wooden brake blocks were attached to a beam behind the rear wheels and were operated by a hand-crank. When subjected to enormous pressure, they would smoulder due to the friction generated between the wooden block and the iron tyre.
Oxen
Wagons were drawn by teams called span (Dutch: team) of as much as fourteen to eighteen oxen. Double spans were needed to draw laden vehicles over mountainous country. Oxen were spanned in pairs, with the strongest beasts at the rear of the team. Animals of matching colours were chosen for each team. The term inspan was used to denote harnessing the beasts for a days work: uitspan or outspanning was releasing them to graze at the end of their shift.
The driver sat on the front of the wagon or walked alongside. There were no reins: drivers controlled their beasts with a long trek whip. He swung the whip above his head and flicked it sharply to produce a percussive lash that, in still conditions, could be heard miles away. The whip was seldom used directly on the animals.
The team would sometimes be led by a voorlooper (front or fore-walker), often a young boy.
Due to these lengthy spans of oxen, the main thoroughfares in towns had to be wide enough to enable a fully-spanned wagon to turn in a complete circle. The legacy of this requirement are the wide boulevards frequently encountered in many Southern African cities to this day.
Travelling by Ox-wagon
Oxen needed to graze for eight hours a day and rest for another eight. In the remaining eight hours, under ideal conditions, an ox wagon could cover eighteen miles, usually in the early morning and late afternoon. Most seldom managed more than ten. Roads were unpaved - often little more than faint tracks - and most transport riders did not follow any set route but instead chose to 'blaze their own trails', according to the nature of the terrain and obstacles in their path.
Axles and wheels often broke and could take up to a week to repair. In the wilder areas, oxen could fall prey to lions, or be taken by crocodiles when drinking at riverbanks. Added to this was the threat of bovine diseases.
The tenacity displayed by these transport riders and their teams of oxen in covering vast distances was remarkable.The ox-wagon plays a large role in southern african folklore, far more so than in any other part of the world.
One famous transport rider was Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, who wrote ‘Jock of the Bushveld‘, a moving account of the adventures he shared with his plucky Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Jock, during his years as a transport rider. Several films have been based on his work.
The Washing of the Spears The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation
Donald R.Morris
Pimlico Edition 1994
Jock of the Bushveld
Percy Fitzpatrick
Longmans, Green and Co 1907
