A "Picho" Was Called To Deliberate On The Steps Proposed.
In These Assemblies Great Freedom Of Speech Is Allowed; And On This Occasion
One Of The Old Diviners Said, "Where Is He Taking You To?
This White Man Is Throwing You Away.
Your garments already smell of blood."
It is curious to observe how much identity of character appears
all over the world.
This man was a noted croaker. He always dreamed
something dreadful in every expedition, and was certain
that an eclipse or comet betokened the propriety of flight.
But Sebituane formerly set his visions down to cowardice,
and Sekeletu only laughed at him now. The general voice was in my favor;
so a band of twenty-seven were appointed to accompany me to the west.
These men were not hired, but sent to enable me to accomplish an object
as much desired by the chief and most of his people as by me.
They were eager to obtain free and profitable trade with white men.
The prices which the Cape merchants could give, after defraying
the great expenses of a long journey hither, being very small,
made it scarce worth while for the natives to collect produce for that market;
and the Mambari, giving only a few bits of print and baize
for elephants' tusks worth more pounds than they gave yards of cloth,
had produced the belief that trade with them was throwing ivory away.
The desire of the Makololo for direct trade with the sea-coast
coincided exactly with my own conviction that no permanent
elevation of a people can be effected without commerce.
Neither could there be a permanent mission here, unless the missionaries
should descend to the level of the Makololo, for even at Kolobeng
we found that traders demanded three or four times the price of the articles
we needed, and expected us to be grateful to them besides
for letting us have them at all.
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