DIFFICULTY IN USING THE GUN. 24 1 



with the charm and tied to a tree. It proved decisive, 

 and Sechele remarked it was " pleasanter to be deceived 

 than undeceived. ' ' I offered sulphur for the same purpose, 

 but that was declined, even though a person came to the 

 town afterwards and rubbed his hands with a little before 

 a successful trial of shooting at a mark. 



I explained to my men the nature of the gun, and tried 

 to teach them, but they would soon have expended all the 

 ammunition in my possession. I was thus obliged to do 

 all the shooting myself ever afterwards. Their inability was 

 rather a misfortune ; for, in consequence of working too 

 soon after having been bitten by the lion, the bone of my 

 left arm had not united well. Continual hard manual 

 labour, and some falls from ox-back, lengthened the 

 ligament by which the ends of the bones were united, 

 and a false joint was the consequence. The limb has 

 never been painful, as those of my companions on the 

 day of the rencontre with the lion have been, but, there 

 being a joint too many, I could not steady the rifle, and 

 was always obliged to shoot with the piece resting on the 

 left shoulder. I wanted steadiness of aim, and it generally 

 happened that the more hungry the party became, the 

 more frequently I missed the animals. 



We spent a Sunday on our way up to the confluence of 

 the Leeba and Leeambye. Rains had fallen here before 

 we came, and the woods had put on their gayest hue. 

 Flowers of great beauty and curious forms grow every- 

 where ; they are unlike those in the south, and so are 

 the trees. Many of the forest-tree leaves are palmated 

 and largely developed ; the trunks are covered with 

 lichens, and the abundance of ferns which appear in the 

 woods, shows we are now in a more humid climate than 

 anv to the south of the Barotse valley. The ground 

 begins to swarm with insect life ; and in the cool, pleasant 

 mornings the welkin rings with the singing of birds, which 

 is not so delightful as the notes of birds at home, because 

 I have not been familiar with them from infancy. The 

 notes here, however, strike the mind by their loudness 

 and variety, as the wellings forth from joyous hearts, of 

 praise to Him who fills them with overflowing gladness. 

 All of us rise early to enjoy the luscious balmy air of the 

 morning. We then have worship ; but amidst all the 

 beauty and loveliness with which we are surrounded, 

 there is still a feeling of want in the soul in viewing one's 



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