[drivingpairs] Cape Carts/brake carts



Kathleen,
That was very interesting!  Thanks for taking time to post all that 
information.  I enjoyed your website, also.  I was looking at your pics of 
brake carts.  I rode on a similar vehicle in Canada, but I don't remember 
the horse being so far from the cart.  Do they do that in case the young 
horse kicks?

The Cape cart is a fascinating vehicle.  It appears sturdy and well 
balanced.  The story of the hunt was great!  I can't imagine putting four 
horses in front of a cart, but apparently the driver was a capable fellow! 
That had to be fun for the horses.  Perhaps you can find such a vehicle?

Sharon in PA

> hi everyone,
>
> i am in the process of researching having made or finding a 2 wheeled pole 
> cart with a sliding seat for balance which is the necessary type vehicle 
> used with a cape cart harness. i can only transport a pair and a cart NOT 
> a pair and a 4w vehicle so i need this to come together. also, i really 
> like the challenge of "getting it right".
>
> the use of mules [pair, 4 & 6] was traditionally correct in south africa 
> with the cape cart. they were used xcountry to transport everything from 
> boer war officers to supplies and mail - frequently at the gallop and 
> certainly usually at the trot even without adequate roads. this harnessing 
> system was developed so that pairs could travel in the bullock ruts that 
> passed for roads in the south africa of the time. it is considered a very 
> safe way to harness a pair and up to a cart.
>
> if anyone is interesting in reading about the cape harness and carts it is 
> explained nicely in the book "harness" by john philipson... first 
> published in 1882 and reprinted in 1971 by acorn press and again in 
> england recently in paperback.  among other carts this book shows a dog 
> cart set up with cape cart harness system and that is something like what 
> i want for my mules.... nice but informal. if anyone is interested in 
> obtaining this book i found it on...
>
> http://www.abebooks.com/
>
> i have some pictures of cape carts posted here...
>
> http://pbase.com/conklink/cape_cart
>
> here is an excerpt from the book... "lessons from the varsity of life" 
> that particularly mentions a cape cart in use....
> http://pinetreeweb.com/bp-varsity3-2.htm
>
> AFRICAN BUCK SHOOTING
>
> Talking of shooting I have a very happy memory of staying with a Boer, 
> Bertie
> Van der Byl, at Bredasdorp down near Cape Agulhas. He had a large ostrich 
> farm there where there was mixed shooting and we even attempted 
> pig-sticking on the descendants of domestic pig which had gone wild.
>
> On this farm there was preserved a herd of Bontebok. These were a variety 
> of Blesbok, which had practically become extinct in Cape Colony. My host 
> allowed me to shoot one as a specimen. This was an unique occasion, not 
> only on account of the rarity of the species but also for the manner in 
> which we hunted them.
>
> Van der Byl drove me in a two-wheeled Cape cart with four mules, straight 
> away over the veldt till we sighted the herd. When they saw us the deer 
> started to gallop away at full speed. Crack, crack, went the whip, and 
> away we went at a stretching gallop after them. It was an exhilarating 
> chase, as we bumped over the rough ground sometimes on one wheel, 
> sometimes on none, I hanging on for dear life and my driver, as keen and 
> excited as a boy, urging his mules to do their very best.
>
> For a time it looked a hopeless chase, but as the herd changed their 
> direction and circled round, we were able to cut corners and gradually to 
> come nearer to them.
>
> Two fair-sized hills loomed up in front of us side by side, and as the 
> herd went to the right of them Van der Byl drove to the left, and when we 
> neared the gap between them he shouted to me: " Now " pulled in his team, 
> and I sprang out just in time to get a running shot as the buck passed the 
> opening between the two hillocks.
>
> By great luck my shot hit a good buck through the neck and he fell head 
> over heels dead. Fortunately he was quite a fine specimen.
>
> Some years later Van der Byl moved to another farm, up in the Transvaal, 
> taking the herd with him, and here it lived in a large paddock.
>
> When the Boer War came on the British troops invaded the country and, on 
> arrival at this farm, they shot the whole herd, seeing the chance of some 
> good meat.
>
> I fear now that the Bontebok must be practically extinct.
>
> ******************************
>
> i was actually interested enough to find out that this rare antelope was 
> not exterminated in the boer war but is protected in south africa...
> http://www.sa-venues.com/wildlife/wildlife_bontebok.htm
>
> this is only one instance of the cape cart being mentioned in terms of 
> fast travel hitched to a pair, 4 or 6 equines. i have never read about a 
> cape cart involved in an accident unlike the curricle but i'm sure it must 
> have happened.
>
> i'll keep you posted on how this project proceeds.... if anyone has any 
> input that might help i'm all ears <G> no pun intended <G>
>
>
> kathleen & john henry \  / & agnes de mule \  /

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