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THE NEW AFRICA 
tion at the lake, he nearly went mad at feeling himself in this 
helpless position. His joy at hearing that there was a white 
doctor at the lake when he came near home, had caused him 
to thank his Maker in one long fervent prayer that made his 
boatmen think he had gone insane. 
Jacobs’s wife, a Boer woman, whose people I had met formerly 
in the Transvaal, was naturally much affected at his return in 
such a miserable condition. 
The king, who had hired Jacobs to hunt for him, feeling a 
responsibility in the matter, came to me very much agitated 
at Jacobs’s mishap, and offered ten head of cattle as a fee if I 
would operate and save his life. I told the king that a fee 
was not necessary, for white men always helped each other 
when in distress, and that he might be sure I would do my 
best for Jacobs. He wanted to know how many men would 
be required to hold Jacobs down during the operation; but, 
still having chloroform in my possession, I assured him 
that this would not be required, for I would put him to sleep, 
and he should feel nothing. This statement was clearly 
beyond Moremi’s comprehension; he wished to know to 
what extent witchcraft was implicated in these proceedings, 
and when shown the chloroform in explanation, said that 
this stuff, that looked like pure water, could surely never act 
as we said it would : we would see! 
After Jacobs had recovered from the fatigue of his journey 
by resting a couple of days, I prepared for the operation, inform¬ 
ing the king, who insisted on being present, that the event would 
take place that morning. He came accompanied by some wild¬ 
looking medicine men, probably the ‘ prophets ’ of the country, 
who were adorned with snakes’ bladders and skins, and various 
other charms of a similarly gruesome nature. 
From the nature of the wound, I found that it was possible 
to save three fingers and the best part of the stump of the 
thumb, a matter of great importance to Jacobs, for this would 
enable him to hold the barrel of his gun again. 
When the chloroform was applied, the king and his men 
