Ciiap. XIII. THE FEVER. 157 



down to cowardice, and Sekeletu only laughed at him now. 

 The general voice was in nvy favour, and a band of twenty- 

 seven unhired men were deputed to accompany me, to enable 

 me to accomplish an object as much desired by the Ghief and 

 his people as by myself. The sums which the Cape merchants 

 could offer for the commodities of the country, after defraying 

 the expenses of the journey, were so small, that it was scarce 

 worth while for the natives to collect the produce ; while the 

 Mambari only exchanged a few bits of print and baize for 

 elephants' tusks which were worth more pounds than they 

 gave yards. The Makololo were therefore eager for direct 

 trade with the sea-coast, and I, on my part, was convinced 

 that no permanent elevation of a people can be effected with- 

 out commerce. If missionaries were placed in this territory 

 in its present isolation, they must descend in their mode of 

 living to the level of the natives, for, even at Kolobeng, the 

 traders demanded for the articles we needed three or four 

 times their cost-price. 



The three servants whom I had brought from Kuruman 

 had frequent relapses of the fever ; and finding that instead of 

 serving me I had to wait on them, I decided that they should 

 return to the south with Fleming. I was then entirely 

 dependent on my twenty-seven men, whom I might name 

 Zambesians, for there were two Makololo only, while the 

 rest consisted of Barotse, Batoka, Bushubia, and two of the 

 Ambonda. 



The fever had caused considerable weakness in my own 

 frame. I was seized with a strange giddiness when I looked 

 up quickly at any object in the heavens. Everything ap- 

 peared to rush to the left, and if I did not catch hold of some 

 support I fell heavily on the ground. What seemed a gnsh 

 of bile along the duct from the liver caused the same fit to 

 occur at night whenever I turned suddenly round. 



The Makololo now put the question, " In the event of your 

 death, will not the white people blame us for having allowed 

 you to go away into an unknown country of enemies ? " I 

 replied that none of my friends would blame them, because 

 I would leave a book with Sekeletu, which, if I did not return, 

 would explain all that had happened until the time of my 

 departure. The book was a volume of my Journal, which 



