lRoualc\?ii (Beoroc Gorfron Cummtna 293 



and Gordon Gumming gathered in a goodly toll from 

 the travellers who were attracted t his show. As an 

 African hero his celebrity was eclipsed by that of 

 David Livingstone, whose first volume, " Missionary 

 Travels," created a great sensation when it appeared 

 in 1857. But Gordon Gumming was able to make 

 some capital out of his rival, too, for he had tales to 

 tell and trophies to show of the country described 

 in Livingstone's fascinating narrative. 'And then he 

 could point with pride to the testimony of the 

 great missionary explorer in corroboration of his own 

 wonderful tales. For there could no longer be any 

 doubt that Gordon Gumming was no romancer, but a 

 faithful narrator of facts, after this emphatic declaration 

 of Livingstone's : 



" I have no hesitation in saying that for those who 

 love that sort of thing Mr. Cumming's book conveys a 

 truthful idea of South African hunting. Some things 

 in it require explanation ; but the numbers of animals 

 said to have been met with and killed are by no means 

 improbable, considering the amount of large game then 

 in the country. Two other gentlemen hunting in the 

 same region destroyed in one season no less that 78 

 rhinoceroses alone. In the more remote districts, where 

 firearms have not yet been introduced, with the single 

 exception of the rhinoceros, the game is to be found 

 in much greater numbers than Mr. Gumming c\ 

 The tsetse is, however, an insuperable barrier to hunting 

 with horses there, and Europeans can do nothing on 

 foot." 



Gradually Roualeyn George Gordon Gumming faded 



