no DAVID LIVINGSTONE. [chap. vi. 



One of the great charms of Livingstone's character, 

 and one of the secrets of his power — his personal interest 

 in each individual, however humble — appeared in connec- 

 tion with Shobo, the Bushman guide, who misled them 

 and took the blunder so coolly. " What a wonderful 

 people," he says in his Journal, " the Bushmen are ! 

 always merry and laughing, and never telling lies 

 wantonly like the Bechuana. They have more of the 

 appearance of worship than any of the Bechuana. When 

 will these dwellers in the wilderness bow down before 

 their Lord ? No man seems to care for the Bushman's 

 soul. I often wished I knew their language, but never 

 more than when we travelled with our Bushman guide, 

 Shobo." 



Livingstone had given a fair trial to the experiment 

 of travelling along with his family. In one of his letters 

 at this time he speaks of the extraordinary pain caused 

 by the mosquitos of those parts, and of his children 

 being so covered with their bites, that not a square inch 

 of whole skin was to be found on their bodies. It is no 

 wonder that he gave up the idea of carrying them with 

 him in the more extended journey he was now contem- 

 plating. He could not leave them at Kolobeng, exposed 

 to the raids of the Boers ; to Kuruman there were also 

 invincible objections ; the only possible plan was to send 

 them to England, though he hoped that when he got 

 settled in some suitable part of Sebituane's dominions, 

 with a free road to the sea, they would return to him, 

 and help him to bring the people to Christ. 



In the Missionary Travels Livingstone has given a 

 full account of Sebituane, chief of the Makololo, "unques- 

 tionably the greatest man in all that country " — his 

 remarkable career, his wonderful warlike exploits (for 

 which he could always bring forward justifying reasons), 

 his interesting and attractive character, and wide and 

 powerful influence. In one thing Sebituane was very like 



