1 6 RAIN-MAKING. 



of our Saviour that we can pray to God acceptably in His 

 name alone, and not by means of medicines. 



R. D.— Truly ! but God told us differently. He made 

 black men first, and did not love us, as he did the white 

 men. He made you beautiful, and gave you clothing, 

 and guns, and gunpowder, and horses, and waggons, and 

 many other things about which we know nothing. But 

 toward us he had no heart. He gave us nothing, except 

 the assegai, and cattle, and rain-making ; he did not give 

 us hearts like yours. We never love each other. Other 

 tribes place medicines about our country to prevent the 

 rain, so that we may be dispersed by hunger, and go to 

 them, and augment their powers. We must dissolve 

 their charms by our medicines. God has given us one little 

 thing, which you know nothing of. He has given us the 

 knowledge of certain medicines by which we can make 

 rain. We do not despise those things which you possess, 

 though we are ignorant of them. We don't understand 

 your book, yet we don't despise it. You ought not to 

 despise our little knowledge, though you are ignorant 

 of it. 



M. D. — I don't despise what I am ignorant of ; I only 

 think you are mistaken in saying that you have medicines 

 which can influence the rain at all. 



R. D. — That's just the way people speak when they talk 

 on a subject of which they have no knowledge. When 

 we first opened our eyes, we found our forefathers making 

 rain, and we follow in their footsteps. You, who send to 

 Kuruman for corn, and irrigate your garden, may do 

 without rain ; we cannot manage in that way. If we had 

 no rain, the cattle would have no pasture, the cows give 

 no milk, our children become lean and die, our wives run 

 away to other tribes who do make rain and have corn, 

 and the whole tribe become 'dispersed and lost ; our fire 

 would go out. 



M. D. — I quite agree with you as to the value of the 

 rain ; but you cannot charm the clouds by medicines. 

 You wait till you see the clouds come, then you use your 

 medicines, and take the credit which belongs to God only. 



R. D. — I use my medicines, and you employ yours ; we 

 are both doctors, and doctors are not deceivers. You give 

 a patient medicine. Sometimes God is pleased to heal 

 him by means of your medicine : sometimes not — he dies. 

 When he is cured, you take the credit of what God does. 



