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. 



