372 THE LAND OF THE LION 
do nothing in Africa if he be not aided by the black. The 
native knowing nothing whatever of the differences of race 
among Europeans, naturally found it impossible to distin- 
guish between his would-be friend and his would-be enslaver 
Age-long experience had impressed one thing on him, to 
hide from the stranger, if he be stronger than you, or to 
fight him if he be weaker. In any case, to see he does not 
cheat you, for he is sure to be your enemy. And so it came 
about that exploration was usually accompanied by blood- 
shedding, and explorers beginning their journeys with the 
best intentions possible toward the natives, were only 
able to prosecute or end them by overcoming native resis- 
tance, and taking by force native supplies of food or 
transport. 
Some of the greatest explorers—and the greatest of 
the great, Livingstone — never fired a shot in anger, and 
never took a load of food. But, then, such men made the 
dark continent their home, and for the love of its dark chil- 
dren they were content to accept it as a grave — living 
among the people not to exploit, but only to save. Were 
they opposed and misunderstood, they waited till oppo- 
sition changed to friendship, or if the evil doings of others 
had closed the path they had chosen, they turned aside by 
some other way. But the explorer wanted to get on, the 
ivory-hunter must kill ivory to live. He often was not a 
bad man or a cruel, but circumstances were too much for 
him. If the native would not sell he found himself forced 
to take. If the naked warriors lay in ambush in the 
grass, it was his life or theirs, so he tramped forward and 
his footsteps left a bloody trace. 
Inevitable, perhaps, but none the less very sad. And 
what I want to impress on my readers as I briefly outline 
the events that have so lately taken place in Africa is this 
that we cannot look to such men for a reliable estimate of 
the native character or capacity. 
