3-071-060 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Transvaal War: capsizing of the pont on the Incangua River, near Newcastle, 1881. Engraving from a '...Sketch, by Captain Ernest Thurlow, 60th Rifles, Natal Field Force, [showing] an incident of the march up, from Pietermaritzburg to Newcastle, on Jan. 16, in crossing the Incangua river, near the last- named place. This river, like many others on the high roads of South Africa, is yet unbridged, and is usually crossed by a ford, or "drift," as they call it in that country. But after heavy rain, as it then rises very quickly, a "pont" is used, with ropes pulled by men over the water, to convey waggons, horses, and passengers to the opposite bank. Upon this occasion, it seems, a chain broke and the pont was upset, with a laden waggon upon it, which was thrown into the river. A great part of the contents of the waggon, bags and bundles, could be saved by the men, some of whom swam out for that purpose. Such rough experiences are common enough in ordinary South African travelling'. From "Illustrated London News", 1881.