AKTICLES OF COMMERCE. 123 



one to understand by this that they are model Christians — we can 

 not claim to be model Christians ourselves — or even in any degree 

 superior to the members of our country churches. They are more 

 stingy and greedy than the poor at home ; but in many respects 

 the two are exactly alike. On asking an intelligent chief what 

 he thought of them, he replied, " You white men have no idea of 

 how wicked we are ; we know each other better than you ; some 

 feign belief to ingratiate themselves with the missionaries ; some 

 profess Christianity because they like the new system, which gives 

 so much more importance to the poor, and desire that the old sys- 

 tem may pass away ; and the rest — a pretty large number — pro- 

 fess because they are really true believers." This testimony may 

 be considered as very nearly correct. 



There is not much prospect of this country ever producing 

 much of the materials of commerce except wool. At present the 

 chief articles of trade are karosses or mantles — the skins of which 

 they are composed come from the Desert ; next to them, ivory, the 

 quantity of which can not now be great, inasmuch as the means 

 of shooting elephants is sedulously debarred entrance into the 

 country. A few skins and horns, and some cattle, make up the 

 remainder of the exports. English goods, sugar, tea, and coffee 

 are the articles received in exchange. All the natives of these 

 parts soon become remarkably fond of coffee. The acme of re- 

 spectability among the Bechuanas is the possession of cattle and a 

 wagon. It is remarkable that, though these latter require frequent 

 repairs, none of the Bechuanas have ever learned to mend them. 

 Forges and tools have been at their service, and teachers willing 

 to aid them, but, beyond putting together a camp-stool, no effort 

 has ever been made to acquire a knowledge of the trades. They 

 observe most carefully a missionary at work until they under- 

 stand whether a tire is well welded or not, and then pronounce 

 upon its merits with great emphasis, but there their ambition rests 

 satisfied. It is the same peculiarity among ourselves which leads 

 us in other matters, such as book-making, to attain the excellence 

 of fault-finding without the wit to indite a page. It was in vain 

 I tried to indoctrinate the Bechuanas with the idea that criticism 

 did not imply any superiority over the workman, or even equality 

 with him. 



