"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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.

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.