PRESENTS AND TRADING. 1 77 



others ; but when to this were added extra travelling 

 expenses, the wants of an increasing family, and liberal 

 gifts to chiefs, it was difficult to make both ends meet. 

 The pleasure of missionary labour would be enhanced, if 

 one could devote his life to the heathen, without drawing 

 a salary from a society at all. The luxury of doing good, 

 from one's own private resources, without appearing to 

 either natives or Europeans to be making a gam of it, is 

 far preferable, and an object worthy the ambition of the 

 rich. But few men of fortune, however, now devote 

 themselves to Christian missions, as of old. Presents were 

 always given to the chiefs whom we visited, and nothing 

 accepted in return ; but when Sebituane (in 1851) offered 

 some ivory, I took it, and was able by its sale to present 

 his son with a number of really useful articles of a higher 

 value than I had ever been able to give before to any 

 chief. In doing this, of course, I appeared to trade, but, 

 feeling I had a right to do so, I felt perfectly easy in my 

 mind ; and, as I still held the view of the inexpediency of 

 combining the two professions, I was glad of the proposal 

 of one of the most honourable merchants of Cape Town, 

 Mr. H. E. Rutherford, that he should risk a sum of money 

 in Fleming's hands, for the purpose of attempting to 

 develop a trade with the Makololo. It was to this man 

 I suggested Sekeletu should sell the tusks which he had 

 presented for my acceptance, but the chief refused to take 

 them back from me. The goods which Fleming had 

 brought were ill adapted for the use of the natives, but he 

 got a pretty good load of ivory in exchange ; and though 

 it was his first attempt at trading, and the distance 

 travelled over made the expenses enormous, he was not a 

 loser by the trip. Other traders followed, who demanded 

 90 lbs. of ivory for a musket. The Makololo, knowing 

 nothing of steelyards, but supposing that they were meant 

 to cheat them, declined to trade except by exchanging one 

 bull and one cow elephant's tusk for each gun. This 

 would average 70 lbs. of ivory, which sells at the Cape for 

 5s. per pound, for a second-hand musket worth 105. I, 

 being sixty miles distant, did not witness this attempt at 

 barter, but, anxious to enable my countrymen to drive a 

 brisk trade, told the Makololo to sell my ten tusks on 

 their own account for whatever they would bring. Seventy 

 tusks were for sale, but, the parties not understanding 

 each other's talk, no trade was established ; and when I 



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