My deepest thanks to Professor Ian Phimister and the International Studies Group at the University of the Free State, and Ilse Le Roux and Tari Gwena, for enabling me to write this book. Harry Wels believed in this book from the start and it wouldn’t be here without his support and kindness. Profound thanks, Harry. My gratitude to the African Studies Centre Leiden for the Visiting Fellowship in August to November of 2023. Sincere thanks also to Erin Hill for your good-natured patience and kindness. Thanks to Erika Le Roux for helping me to locate and granting me permission to use images from the Western Cape Archives and Records Service, and to Franke Pople for photographing the ox wagon images so well. Thanks to Tom Leighton for diligently proofreading the manuscript. Marina Rust Evans, thanks for introducing me to your cow friends in Grabouw and for promoting and facilitating my fieldwork with the Nguni herd at Rietfontein. Thanks to Nikki Rust for permitting me to do my fieldwork and stay at Rietfontein for a month, it was so generous of you, Renée, and Marina. Thanks to Renée Rust for allowing me to photograph books in your excellent library. Thanks to the two peer reviewers for their astute and helpful feedback. Thank you finally to the herd of free-living Ngunis in the Karoo who allowed to me observe and be among them respectfully for a month. I learned so much and it changed me forever.