missionary labor 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 gain 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 honorable 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
traveled 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 10s. 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 passed the spot some time afterward, I found
that the whole of that ivory had been destroyed by an accidental fire,
which broke out in the village when all the people were absent