MISSIONARY LABOURS xxi 



We now resume the thread of his life. His first mission- 

 ary Station was at Kuruman in the Bechuana country, about 

 700 miles from Cape Town. In 1844, he here married 

 the eldest daughter of Mr Moffat, the well-known African 

 missionary and traveller, by whom he has four children. The 

 following quotation from his book will give in his own 

 words a concise outline of his life from 1840 till his return 

 home : — 



(i If the reader bears in mind that from 1840 to 1845 

 I was employed in preparatory labours and associated with 

 other missionaries at Kuruman and Mabotsa ; then from 1845 

 to 1849 continued to work at Chonuane and Kolobeng, aided 

 only by Mrs Livingstone and two native teachers ; that in 

 1849 the journey to discover Lake Ngami was undertaken ; 

 and that in the following pages a sketch of our labours at 

 Kolobeng is given, as well as an account of the journey to 

 Lake Ngami, and finally the last great journey which occupied 

 the years 1852-6 detailed, — he will have a clear idea of the 

 arrangement of this book. Speaking generally, I have spent 

 sixteen years of my life, namely, from 1840 to 1856, in medi- 

 cal and missionary labours in Africa without cost to the 

 inhabitants." 



It is impossible to overrate his gigantic labours as a 

 traveller. The British character is eminently marked by 

 hardihood, endurance and perseverance. The same spirit 

 sent the Pilgrim Fathers to America, prompted the at- 

 tempt to find a north-west passage round that Continent, 

 traversed the South Pacific, conquered India, colonized 

 Australia, and now crosses Africa. These qualifications, 

 combined with high intellect, have made the Briton a pioneer 



