THE RAIN-MAKER. 47 



The Rain-maker is a most important official in savage countries where 

 water is scarce, and periods of drought of frequent occurrence. When after 

 weeks or months of dry weather, the vegetation of the country is burned up 

 and the fountains and streams turned into hollows, filled with loose sand, his 

 influence is greater than that of the chief or king himself. So implicit is 

 their belief in the power of this functionary that they will do anything at 

 his bidding. If the rain fails to come at his bidding, as in the case of the witch- 

 woman of our English rural districts, sacrifices material or otherwise are made 

 at his suggestion to propitiate the mysterious power who controls the rain. 

 Sometimes he will cause them to drag the bodies of the dead into the bush, 

 and leave them to the hyenas instead of burying them. At other times he will 

 demand the heart of a Hon or a live baboon, or set theru some like feat, the accom- 

 plishment of which will take time ; trusting, that in the interval the much 

 coveted rain may come and save his credit. A common demand is for sheep 

 and goats to kill, when endless methods have been tried and the heavens i l still 

 remain as brass." The ignorant savages frequently slay the wretched imposter 

 for his failure to make good his pretensions. 



Notwithstanding their dislike to the new religion, its preacher and ex- 

 pounder lived amongst them in the most perfect safety. He possessed the 

 secret of ingratiating himself with these savage Africans in a higher degree 

 than was ever before known; and, whether staying for a time among the 

 various tribes, or passing through their territory, the respect in which he was 

 almost invariably held is the most remarkable feature in his career. This 

 noble, resolute, and God-fearing man went amongst them for their good, and 

 that only ; and interfered with nothing that did not lie directly in his path of 

 duty. He was there to serve them and do them good, and they were quick in 

 discovering this. He asked nothing from them and at all times strove to 

 make himself independent of them, in the matter of his household wants. 

 With his own hands he built his hut, tilled his garden, and dug his irrigating 

 canals. The wild animals, needful for the food of his household, fell to his 

 own gun ; and the fruits of the earth were of his own gathering in. During 

 all his years of labour in South Africa, his mission cost the inhabitants nothing ; 

 while they received much in higher ideas of justice and right, and in improved 

 skill in husbandly and in the construction of their houses. Whatever 

 were their feelings as to the religion he taught, the man himself was above 

 the suspicion of evil, and went in and out amongst them, a genuine repre- 

 sentative to their minds of manliness, truth, and justice. 



His noble wife was no less popular. Her training, as the daughter of 

 Robert Moffat, made the trials of her life no sacrifice to her. In dealing with 

 the women and children she was most valuable, and there cannot be a doubt 

 that the fact of his being married, and living a happy and contented domestic 

 life amongst them, had a great deal to do with the influence he possessed 



