RIVERS OE WATEE 
 
 IN 
 
 A DEY PLACE. 
 
 AN ACCOUNT OF 
 
 THE INTRO DUCT ION OF CHRISTIANITY 
 INTO SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 MR. MOFFAT’S MISSIONARY ~ -BOURS. 
 
 for lire gomtg, 
 
 ■Robert Mef f^rY 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY; 
 
 DEPOSITORIES, 5 6, PATERNOSTER ROW, 65,ST.PAUL’S CHURCHYARD, 
 AND 164, PICCADILLY. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, 
 BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Bible often speaks to ns about “a dry and 
 thirsty land, where no water is.” In such a land, 
 of course, there can be no trees, or grass, or flowers. 
 The ground is all dust and sand affording neither 
 shade nor food. Both men and animals must die 
 of hunger or thirst. But if Bivers of Water could 
 be turned into this “ dry and thirsty land,” the 
 wilderness would soon begin to “ blossom like a 
 rose.” Nothing is wanted but water to change the 
 desert into a fruitful field or a beautiful garden. 
 
 The poor ignorant people of South Africa had 
 been for many ages like a barren wilderness. 
 Children in England can have little idea of the 
 misery and wretchedness of those poor heathens. 
 When they repeat the hymn which begins — 
 
 “ I thank the goodness and the grace 
 Which on my birth have smiled, 
 
 And made me in these Christian days 
 A happy English child 
 
iv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 they little know how much they have to he 
 thankful for. This book is written to tell them 
 something about the poor Hottentots, and Bush- 
 men, and Bechuanas. They will soon find that 
 the labours of missionaries among them have been 
 like Rivers of Water in a dry place. 
 
 South Africa is much larger than the whole of 
 England, and contains many tribes and nations. 
 Many missionaries have gone there, some to one 
 place, some to another. To have spoken about all 
 these missionaries, and the different societies which 
 sent them out, would have made our book a great 
 deal too large for children. So we have only 
 spoken of what has been done in one part of the 
 country, and for the most part of what has been 
 done by one man. When those for whom this 
 book is written, grow a little older, they may read 
 all about this good missionary in a book written 
 by himself.* 
 
 * “ Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa.” By 
 Robert Moffat. London : John Snow, 35, Paternoster Row. 
 
RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 CHAPTER i. 
 
 FIRST MASTERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 Four hundred years ago, when King Henry YI. 
 was reigning in England, the people of this country 
 did not know even the shape of the great continent 
 of Africa. No one from Europe had sailed round 
 the southern end of it ; but those who thought on 
 the subject at all fancied that Africa reached to 
 the South Pole. 
 
 At this period, there lived in Portugal a very 
 brave prince, also called Henry, who encouraged the 
 Portuguese to make ships, and sail about the world 
 to discover new countries. The people who sailed 
 in these ships in the course of time ventured farther 
 and farther south. They crossed the equator, with- 
 out being burned to death by the hot sun, as had 
 been feared ; they passed many strange lands, with 
 their black, curly-headed natives ; they saw many 
 new rivers flowing out into the untried seas ; and 
 at length they arrived at the large cape which is 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 the south point of Africa. It was winter when 
 the ships reached it, and there was such stormy 
 weather that the sailors called it the “ Cape of 
 Storms.” 
 
 The voyagers returned to Portugal with the 
 news of their discoveries ; and the Portuguese, 
 believing that, most likely, by going round the 
 Cape, ships from Europe might reach India, called 
 it the Cape of Good Hope, and fitted out a new 
 fleet, in which they sent Yasco de Gama, with a 
 number of sailors, to try and sail round. 
 
 In the year 1497, Yasco de Gama made the 
 voyage — so wonderful in those days — from Por- 
 tugal to India round the south of Africa. 
 
 The people living at the Cape of Good Hope 
 were called Hottentots ; they were barbarous, ig- 
 norant, idle, naked savages. Those who saw Yasco 
 de Gama’s ships wondered much at the sight, and 
 perhaps mistook them for some strange, large sea- 
 birds. But what their thoughts really were, we 
 cannot tell; the poor Hottentots could not write 
 them down in books, and could not explain them- 
 selves to people speaking so different a language as 
 the Portuguese. 
 
 Nearly two hundred years passed away after the 
 Portuguese discovered the Cape, and then some 
 other Europeans visited it. These were Dutchmen ; 
 and they not only wanted to see the country, but to 
 live in it as farmers. They wished to take it from 
 the Hottentots, and keep it for themselves; and 
 
FIRST MASTERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 3 
 
 as they were stronger than the poor natives, they 
 did not find much difficulty in conquering them. 
 The Dutchmen took possession of as much land as 
 they wished to live on ; and, very unjustly, they 
 made the Hottentots build their houses, weed the 
 gardens, and tend the cattle. For all this labour 
 the natives were not paid ; on the contrary, they 
 had to find their own food and their own tools, 
 while they did the work of their cruel masters. 
 If they were troublesome, or not wanted, they were 
 driven away, and were told that, instead of con- 
 sidering themselves illused, they were to think 
 themselves well off, because they were allowed 
 to live on white men’s ground. 
 
 You shall hear one thing about these Dutch 
 farmers, or Boers, as they are called, that will 
 astonish you, — they called themselves Christians ! 
 During many long years of suffering, no one seems 
 to have thought much of what these poor savages 
 were enduring, or how they were being left to live 
 and die in misery and ignorance, with no know- 
 ledge of God, or Jesus the Saviour. 
 
 At last, in 1736, a few Christians, living at 
 Herrnhut, in Germany, remembered them ; and a 
 good man, called George Schmidt, nobly resolved 
 to devote his life to doing them good. He went to 
 South Africa, and settled in a glen, called the Glen 
 of Baboons, but now Gnadenthal (or the Yale of 
 Grace). You will find it marked in the map, not 
 far from Cape Town. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Here George Schmidt built a house, and planted 
 a garden with fruit-trees and vegetables. He col- 
 lected many of the Hottentots together, and taught 
 them how in Jesus they might have peace, which 
 the Boers could not take away. He opened a 
 school for the children ; he gave food to the 
 starving ; taught the people (who are very idle) 
 how to work; let those who had cattle pasture 
 them on the missionary land ; and tried to per- 
 suade the Boers to treat their servants better, and 
 give them fair wages for their labour. 
 
 You may imagine for yourselves that the Boers 
 did not like George Schmidt ; but you could never 
 imagine all they made him suffer. At last, when 
 for some reason he went to Europe, they hindered 
 him from returning to Africa again. They sent 
 word to the governors at home that what the mis- 
 sionary taught the people made them idle, and 
 did harm to trade ; and as the governors believed 
 what the Boers said, they would not allow George 
 Schmidt or any other missionary to go to the 
 Cape. 
 
 Eor fifty years the Boers were left without any 
 one to tell them how wrong they were, and the 
 Hottentots without any one to teach them what 
 was right. In 1792, however, some more German 
 missionaries went to the Cape. They found the 
 walls of George Schmidt’s house still standing, and 
 a pear-tree still growing in his garden. Better 
 than this, they found an old Hottentot woman who 
 
FIRST MASTERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 5 
 
 had a New Testament, evidently well used, and 
 who remembered, with much love, the good man 
 who had taught her fifty years ago. 
 
 The new missionaries were very badly treated, 
 and were often threatened with murder ; but God 
 took care of them and blessed them, so that they 
 were not obliged to give up their work ; and, after a 
 time, an event happened which greatly lightened 
 their difficulties. This event was, that the English 
 nation obtained possession of the Cape, and became 
 masters both of the Boers and Hottentots. Now 
 missionaries were allowed to teach the people and 
 to preach to them. The country of the Hottentots 
 became the possession of the English: but all 
 South Africa is not inhabited by Hottentots. Look 
 in the map, and on the right-hand side you will 
 find marked Caffres, and, to the north, Namaquas, 
 Griquas, Bechuanas. These are all names of large 
 tribes of savages who are not ruled over by the 
 English ; and besides these, there is a tribe called 
 Bushmen, who live among them all. 
 
 . The Hottentots are peaceful, submissive, and 
 perhaps rather stupid. The Caffres are strong, 
 fierce, and revengeful. The Namaquas are wild, 
 feeble, and timid. The Bechuanas — wait till you 
 hear about them, and then decide for yourselves. 
 The Bushmen are despised by all the other tribes ; 
 they are robbers and marauders, who live among 
 the rocks and caves. Job’s word describes them, 
 when he says, “They were driven forth from 
 
6 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 among men, (they cried after them as after a thief,) 
 to dwell in the cliffs of the valleys, in caves of the 
 earth, and in the rocks. Among the hushes they 
 brayed ; under the nettles they were gathered 
 together.” 
 
 All these tribes are composed of many smaller 
 tribes. The country is very large, and the number 
 of people in it very great, all with immortal souls, 
 lost in ignorance and sin, without any religion ; for 
 they did not worship even idols, as other savage 
 nations do. Many missionaries were needed to 
 teach them ; and now there are many there. The 
 first who went after the German missionaries, of 
 whom you have heard, was a Dutchman. Yes, a 
 Dutchman — a man of the same nation that had so 
 ill-used them was now going to teach them. 
 
 It is more than sixty years since Dr. Vander- 
 kemp, this Dutch missionary, went to the Cape. 
 He was a clever and a learned man, who had at 
 home been accustomed to many comforts, and what 
 is called good society; yet, for Christ’s sake, he 
 was willing to go and live among dirty, ignorant 
 savages, who would treat him with scorn. The 
 change must have been very great, greater than 
 we can imagine. At home, he could ride in a 
 comfortable carriage, which rolled pleasantly over 
 the smooth roads ; in Africa, he must travel in a 
 rude clumsy wagon, drawn by twelve or fourteen 
 oxen, over land in which there were no roads, 
 and where he must either cut a way through the 
 
FIEST MASTERS AND TEACHERS. 
 
 7 
 
 tangled underwood of the forest, or jolt over stony 
 hills, or wade through deep mud or shallow rivers. 
 At home, he had lived in a well-built, nicely-fur- 
 nished house ; in Africa, he could have no house, 
 until he had cut down the trees and built it with 
 his own hands. Before he could have a loaf of 
 bread, he must dig up some land and plant his 
 corn, and then keep it carefully watered, until it 
 was ripe enough for him to cut it down. And all 
 this must be done under a burning sun, such as in 
 this country we never feel. Often he had no better 
 resting-place than that of the dogs ; no shelter by 
 night from the drenching rain ; no refuge by day 
 from the scorching sun. 
 
 Dr. Yanderkemp concluded, from what he ob- 
 served, that it was no use to remain among the 
 Hottentots, so ill-used were they, and so trodden 
 down by their masters. He went, therefore, to 
 Caffre-land, accompanied by a few attendants and 
 another missionary, who afterwards left him. 
 
 The Caffres thought these visitors had come as 
 spies ; for they had never heard any good of white 
 men, and were afraid they would steal the cattle, 
 or even try to take possession of the country. 
 
 Dr. Yanderkemp paid a visit to the chief, Gaika, 
 and said that his wish was to live among the Caffres, 
 and try to teach them good and useful things, 
 especially about God. 
 
 “Did this plan spring forth only out of your 
 own heart?” asked Gaika; for he was astonished. 
 
8 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Dr. Vanderkemp told him, “ Yes ; but the Great 
 God had put it there.” 
 
 Dr. Yanderkemp wore neither stockings nor hat ; 
 and as all other white men, whom Gaika had seen, 
 wore hats, he was surprised to see this stranger 
 without one, and asked whether God had ordered 
 him to leave his head bare. This conversation 
 was of course carried on by means of an interpreter. 
 
 People told Gaika that the missionaries were 
 spies and assassins, and that they had enchanted 
 and poisoned wine, with which they intended to kill 
 him ; so you will not wonder when you hear that 
 he was in no hurry to give them permission to 
 remain. 
 
 At last the chief gave his consent to the mis- 
 sionaries to teach his tribe ; and they began to 
 build a house. Until now they had been living 
 in a tent ; and it happened that one stormy night 
 a young Caffre woman, seeing the tent shaking 
 in the wind, imagined it to be some strange, wild 
 animal, which the missionaries had let loose to 
 devour her. She rushed away through the river 
 into a forest, where she was nearly killed by falling 
 into a pit. 
 
 Once, when there was a great want of water, and 
 the rainmakers (of whom you shall hear more by- 
 and-by) had not succeeded in making any, Gaika 
 sent a present of two cows to Dr. Yanderkemp, 
 and begged him to try. Dr. Yanderkemp sent the 
 cows back to Gaika, and a message, saying, that he 
 
FIRST MASTERS AJND TEACHERS. 
 
 9 
 
 could not make rain, but he could pray to God to 
 send some. The good man did pray, and God 
 heard him ; for plenty of rain fell. Gaika sent 
 the cows again as a reward, but as the missionary 
 knew he had not made the showers which were so 
 much needed, he would not keep the cows. The 
 men who brought the cattle thought this was very 
 foolish, and decided that if Dr. Yanderkemp would 
 not accept them, they should not be returned to 
 Gaika. So they sent word that the two cows 
 were not enough to pay for the rain. Gaika 
 believed the message, and sent more cows ; and 
 then these wicked men kept them all for them- 
 selves. The man who was principally concerned 
 in doing this deceitful thing was afterwards 
 murdered. 
 
 Dr. Yanderkemp was soon obliged to leave the 
 Caffres and go back amongst the Hottentots. He 
 laboured much to release them from slavery, and 
 was very useful to them for many years. The 
 slaves were at last set free, but not until Dr. Yan- 
 derkemp had been long in heaven. 
 
 There are now many missionaries labouring 
 among the Hottentots and Caffres, and many of 
 these once savage people have forsaken their 
 former habits. Instead of greasing their bodies, 
 rubbing themselves with red earth, and dressing 
 in sheepskins, like their forefathers, they now dress 
 decently in European clothes, in coats and trousers, 
 petticoats and frocks. Their dwellings are no 
 
10 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 longer rude, dirty huts ; but neat, square, white- 
 washed cottages. Now, instead of knowing no 
 more than how to kill wild beasts and each other, 
 the children in the schools are taught to read and 
 write, work and cipher. Geography, grammar, and 
 history, are learaed there as you learn them here ; 
 only the little people in the schools have dark 
 bodies under their pinafores instead of fair bodies 
 like yours. 
 
 Instead of having no God, they now worship 
 the true God each Sunday in the churches and 
 chapels, and can sing with you — 
 
 I was not born a little slave, 
 
 To labour in the sun, 
 
 And wish I were but in the ^iave > 
 And all my labour done.” 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 A HOTTENTOT AND A CAFFRE STORY. 
 
 You will like to hear a stoiy of a little Hottentot 
 girl, who was taught in a mission-school at Cra- 
 dock, in South Africa. From this story you will 
 learn something of what those Hottentots who 
 have not become Christians are like, and will see 
 what a change it makes in them when they know 
 and love the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Katjee Wittboorg was a little Hottentot girl, 
 who had been brought up by a heathen father and 
 mother. Her father was a sad drunkard ; and her 
 mother cared so little for Katjee, and her other 
 children, that, when they asked for food, she used 
 to say, “ Go and look for some.” Thus these poor 
 children were obliged to go into the fields, and 
 there dig up roots to eat. 
 
 When Katjee first came to the mission-school, 
 she was about nine years old. Her colour was 
 yellowish ; and her head was covered with tufts of 
 black woolly hair. She had high cheek-bones, a 
 flat nose, and black, restless, sparkling eyes. 
 
 She was not a good girl : indeed, there was only 
 one girl in the school as troublesome as Katjee. 
 
12 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 She did not try to learn, but enjoyed making 
 grimaces and enticing the other children to play 
 with her. If she was reproved, she answered 
 rudely, or turned away her head to laugh. If her 
 teacher’s eye was turned for a moment, Katjee 
 would be off her seat, and have pinched or slapped 
 one of her companions before she was missed. 
 Her eyes were so quick, that she seemed to see 
 what every one was doing ; and, if any other girl 
 talked, or laughed, or played in school, Katjee told 
 of her in a moment. But she never told of the 
 wrong things she did herself. 
 
 Katjee was really very naughty and very trou- 
 blesome ; yet her teachers did not like to punish 
 her. She often came to school without having 
 had any breakfast, and was so badly clothed, so 
 miserably cared for, and so ill-used by her drunken 
 father and hardened mother, in her wretched, dirty 
 home, that there seemed no one but her teachers 
 to be kind and loving towards her. If they had 
 not often given her a breakfast or supper, the poor 
 child would have died from starvation. 
 
 What was to be done, to make Katjee behave 
 better at school ? 
 
 After thinking about it a great deal, the mis- 
 sionary resolved that this troublesome child should 
 have a class of little ones to keep in order. Of 
 course, she could not do that without being orderly 
 herself. How astonished Katjee must have been 
 when the missionary called her, and, pointing to 
 
A HOTTENTOT AND A CAFFKE STORY. 
 
 13 
 
 the little children, said : — “ Now, Katjee, you are 
 made monitor of this class ; and I feel sure that, 
 if you try, you will make a very good monitor, 
 and will have your class in the best order in the 
 school.” 
 
 Little Katjee was troublesome no more. Her 
 class was kept in order ; she became kind to her 
 schoolfellows and attentive to her teachers. 
 
 Not only was her position in the school changed, 
 but God changed her heart, and she feared and 
 loved Him. 
 
 After some months of very good behaviour, 
 there came a day on which Katjee did not appear 
 at school. Next day, again, she was not in her 
 place. Her teacher asked the other children 
 whether they knew where Katjee was. They said, 
 “ She is ill.” The missionary went to see her : he 
 stopped at the door of her father’s miserable hut, 
 and asked, “ Is anybody in ? ” 
 
 “Only I, sir,” answered Katjee’s weak voice 
 from inside. 
 
 The missionary entered. “Are you very ill, 
 Katjee?” he said. “Why did you not let us 
 know sooner ? ” 
 
 “ I have no pain, sir,” she replied ; “ but I am 
 very weak all over. I did not like to trouble the 
 Jaffrown.” That was the name by which she 
 called the missionary’s wife. 
 
 Katjee was very ill: she was dying; dying 
 from a sickness brought on by the many hardships 
 
14 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 she had suffered. Still she was not unhappy, for 
 she knew she- was going home to Jesus ; going to 
 leave the dirty hut and rags, for a mansion and 
 white robes in His Father’s house. There she 
 would never hunger, nor thirst, nor suffer pain, 
 nor do a wrong thing again. 
 
 She lay still and patient, and only wanted the 
 people who came to see her to talk to her about 
 Jesus, till one day angels were sent to fetch her 
 spirit away to heaven, where she is now singing 
 “ Glory, glory, glory,” with the thousands of other 
 children around God’s throne. 
 
 You have heard something of the Caffres. A 
 little girl at the Cape has written an account of 
 the visit of a Caffre chief to her father at the time 
 that our young prince Alfred was at the Cape in 
 1860. Here is the letter she wrote : — 
 
 “My DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS, — 
 
 “Although I am not in all probability older 
 than any of you, perhaps I am even younger than 
 some, still I thought that the following account of 
 the visit of Sandilli, the great Caffre chief, to my 
 father’s house may be interesting to you. 
 
 “ Perhaps you do not all know that Sandilli 
 came to Capetown, at Prince Alfred’s invitation. 
 Papa invited them to spend the evening at our 
 house on September 1 Jth ; accordingly they came 
 about six o’clock, p.m. - v^ 
 
A HOTTENTOT AND A CAFFEE STOEY. J 5 
 
 “We all stood at the dining-room door, and 
 shook hands with them as they passed in. It was 
 very amusing to watch the different ways in which 
 they performed this ceremony. Sandilli, of course, 
 came first. He is a tall, fine-looking man, and 
 would have a very nice figure, only he has a 
 withered leg, and one foot is smaller than the 
 other, which makes him limp. His manner is 
 very dignified. He was dressed in European 
 clothing, with the exception of shoes and stock- 
 ings, of which he had none. He cannot wear 
 shoes on account of his withered foot. He had 
 two or three rings on each finger, and an ear-ring 
 in each ear. After him came his counsellors, who 
 are too numerous to particularise. Two of them 
 are elders of the Rev. Siyo Soga’s church, and are 
 intelligent, pious men. Mr. Soga himself is a 
 Caffre by birth, and the son of Sandilli’s chief 
 counsellor. He was educated in Scotland, at the 
 Glasgow University, for six years. He returned 
 about three years ago, with a Scotch lady whom 
 he had married. He came down here in Sandilli’s 
 suite, at the express invitation of Prince Alfred, 
 and was our guest during the whole of his stay. 
 He preached five times to crowded congregations, 
 and beautiful sermons they were. He is a won- 
 derful specimen of what a Caffre may become by 
 education and Christianity. 
 
 “When Caffres profess to be Christians you 
 may be sure they are so ; for Christianity, instead 
 
16 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 of being the fashion in their country, is the re- 
 verse ; and any one who is converted has to give 
 up many of his enjoyments. Two of the principal 
 objections they have to our religion are — 1st. 
 They can no longer join in the native dances, of 
 which they are very fond. 2d. They may have 
 only one wife, whereas most have two or three. 
 Sandilli has eight. Sandilli’s son and daughter, 
 who are pupils of the English Church Caffre Mis- 
 sion-school at Zouneblume, did not come with him, 
 but followed soon after. 
 
 “We had a substantial tea prepared for them ; 
 the table was laden with buns, bread and butter, 
 cake, biscuits, oranges, besides plenty of coffee. 
 The Caffres were very reserved at first, but gra- 
 dually that wore off, and they talked and laughed 
 heartily. But, oh ! I cannot do justice to the 
 scene that followed ; I would not have missed it 
 for a good deal. They all sat in rows ; looking so 
 awkward, and casting very comical glances at 
 everything. They had just come from Mr. Saul 
 Solomon’s, where they had taken dinner, so that 
 they were not very hungry ; but, expecting they 
 would be ravenous, we plied them with eatables 
 and coffee as fast as we could. When they shook 
 their heads and said ‘ No/ I, taking it for mere 
 bashfulness, pressed them. One old man, who 
 seemed very fond of oranges, had just helped him- 
 self to a piece, when I brought round some more. 
 He looked first at the piece on his plate, and then 
 
A TEA PAETY 
 
A HOTTENTOT AND A CAFFRE STORY. 17 
 
 at the others, and at last put his own up to hi 
 mouth, held it with his teeth, stretched out his 
 hand and seized another, amidst laughter from his 
 companions. He did look so ludicrous ! If they 
 did not fancy the pieces that were uppermost, they 
 would turn the plate round, and finger the cake, 
 &c., until they found something they liked. At 
 last they all declined, and I suppose I looked 
 rather disappointed ; for Mr. Brownlee, the Caffre 
 Commissioner, said something to them to this 
 effect, though I did not understand it at the time : 
 ‘ If you do not eat more, the young lady will think 
 you despise her mother’s food.’ They, in the kind- 
 ness of their hearts, began to eat and drink again, 
 not wishing to hurt my feelings. In a little while 
 one of them said, ‘ Please tell the young lady not 
 to offer us any more ; for we cannot refuse her, and 
 we can eat no more.’ 
 
 “ After tea they noticed the kaross on the sofa, 
 and papa took it off to show it to them : a kaross 
 is a number of skins sewn together, and worn as 
 a cloak by the Caffres. Sandilli put it on, as 
 he would do in his own country, and pretended 
 to harangue them. He looked very picturesque ! 
 Then papa brought some African curiosities out of 
 his museum ; they recognised many of them, but 
 not the spears, battle-axes, &c., as they do not use 
 them in their country. One of them said he 
 should not like to be at war with such a fierce 
 nation. Among other things he showed them 
 c 
 
18 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 some Umlangen sticks, at which they looked very 
 much ashamed, and would not touch them ; but as 
 you will not understand why they should do this, 
 
 I must explain it to you. 
 
 “ Umlangen, the Caffre prophet, residing near 
 King William’s Town, left Caffreland, and during 
 his absence pretended to have been under the sea, 
 and to have received a message from God to his 
 countrymen. He admonished them to put away 
 witchcraft, and to receive from him charms, com- 
 posed of short sticks, to wear round their necks, 
 or to carry about with them. He told them that, 
 when they came into the presence of their enemy, 
 they must bite off a piece of stick and spit on it, 
 and also rub the juice obtained by chewing, upon 
 their bodies. They were then to call upon the 
 spirits of their dead relations to observe and aid v 
 them ; and on approaching the enemy they were 
 to cry, ‘0 Umlangen! thou son of Kala, help 
 us ! We are looking to thee. Come and bless 
 us.’ The prophet then comes with his sticks, and, 
 spitting upon them, says that those who die in 
 battle have practised witchcraft. Thus he ac- 
 counted for all the deaths that had taken place 
 during the war. The Cadres now see how the 
 prophet only deceived them ; and therefore they 
 are heartily ashamed of it. 
 
 “ Then some Indian idols were brought. Papa 
 told them a great deal about India ; what a large, 
 rich fertile country it is ; how many people live 
 
A HOTTENTOT AND A CAFFRE STORY. 
 
 19 
 
 there ; what fine things they make, and how many 
 books they have written; and yet they are subjects 
 of Great Britain. He showed them an exact 
 model of the car of Juggernaut. The bottom of 
 it is covered with wheels, and it is pulled along 
 by men on the great festival day of Juggernaut. 
 Thousands of people assemble, and many devotees 
 used to throw themselves before it, and were 
 crushed to death. They said, ‘What a small 
 country Great Britain is, and how few people live 
 in it compared with India, and yet it is the most 
 powerful country in the world ! And why is such 
 a beautiful country as India so weak?’ Papa 
 said, ‘ Because it has not the Bible, and worships 
 idols.’ ‘And why is such a small country as 
 Great Britain so powerful ? ’ ‘ Because it has the 
 
 Bible, and worships the true God.’ He told them 
 how savage the Britons once were ; how they 
 painted their bodies, and worshipped idols, until 
 some Christian missionaries came and told them 
 about Christ, and brought them the Bible; and 
 how ever since they have had the Bible, they 
 have prospered. Then he said how many people 
 had tried to conquer India, but no one succeeded 
 till the Christians came. 
 
 “ The Caffres were very attentive ; and, when the 
 idols were handed round, Sandilli said, ‘ These are 
 the nations that mock God/ They were astonished 
 at the power of Britain, and Sandilli remarked^ 
 ‘Now I see how foolish I have been in trying to 
 resist such a mighty power; but I will do so no 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 longer/* Papa said he was sure the Queen 
 wished well to both him and his people, and that 
 the Bible would prosper them as much as it had 
 the Britons. He showed them the very valuable 
 Bible which Prince Alfred gave Mr. Soga, and told 
 them he would rather have the Bible than the 
 richest farm in the colony. He said that the 
 English value their ministers and missionaries 
 very much, and that they should do the same. 
 
 “ After that, he gave Sandilli a gay purse, some 
 neckerchiefs, an Indian chain, etc., with all which 
 he was delighted. A gentleman put two half- 
 crowns in the purse, and asked how much there 
 was. They seem to learn the value of money very 
 quickly, for he said, 4 Two schelin sexpance, two 
 schelin sexpance, five schelin/ Mr. Soga offered 
 up a prayer in Caffre, and they went away. In 
 going out, Sandilli said it was the pleasantest 
 evening he had spent in town. May the grace of 
 God descend into his heart, and make him and all 
 his people Christians. But while we are interested 
 in the work of God among the heathen, ought we 
 not to ask ourselves whether we have obtained 
 salvation? Have we given our hearts to God? 
 If not, let us do so at once. 
 
 “ That the richest blessing of God may descend 
 upon you all, dear young friends, is the prayer of 
 one of your number in the distant colony of South 
 Africa .” — Copied from the Female Missionary 
 Intelligencer, March , 1861 . 
 
 * Sandilli had been fighting against the English. 
 
CHAPTER IIL 
 
 A BUSHMAN STOEY. 
 
 Let us now leave the Hottentots and Caffres, and 
 go for a little time among the wild Bushmen. 
 
 While Dr. Yanderkemp was in Caffre-land, some 
 other missionaries went to a place on the banks of 
 the Zak River, in order to try and teach the Bush- 
 men who lived there. 
 
 It is always difficult to instruct the heathen; 
 but for a long time it seemed impossible to do the 
 wretched Bushmen any good. They build no 
 houses, and have no homes, but live in caves or 
 holes. They are filthily dirty, and never think of 
 washing. They keep no flocks and herds of their 
 own, but steal from the farmers or from travellers 
 who may pass that way. As they do not cultivate 
 the ground, they can only eat what grows naturally, 
 wild roots and berries, with lizards, locusts, cater- 
 pillars, and serpents. 
 
 The serpent’s poison they are careful not to 
 swallow ; but they take it out of the reptile’s jaws, 
 and use it to cover the points of their arrows. 
 The consequence is, that, if left in a wound, the 
 arrow poisons just as a serpent’s bite would. 
 
22 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 These people, when they have eaten up all that 
 is to be found in one place, wander off elsewhere ; 
 and it is because they move about so constantly 
 that it is so difficult to improve them. Where the 
 missionaries have succeeded in making them re- 
 main in one place, and there build houses, sow 
 corn, and keep goats or cows, they have been able 
 to do the Bushmen good in other ways. 
 
 But the Bushmen appear to be clever only as 
 hunters, thieves, and murderers, and the following 
 story will show you what reason travellers have to 
 fear meeting a party of these wild men. 
 
 Some travellers once started from Kuruman for 
 the Cape. There were two men, who were brothers, 
 their mother, their wives, and their fourteen children. 
 They had with them sixty oxen, and in their 
 wagon were a number of elephants’ tusks. This 
 ivory and the oxen the men intended to sell at the 
 end of their journey. 
 
 After travelling for three days, they fell in with 
 eight Bushmen. They were kind to the Bushmen, 
 and gave them parts of the game which had been 
 killed for food. Instead of being grateful for this, 
 the Bushmen, seeing so many oxen, and so few 
 men to guard them, resolved to steal the cattle. 
 
 One night they formed a plan for doing this 
 wicked deed. In the morning, as one of the 
 brothers was stooping down to mend the pole of 
 the wagon, and his little girl of eight years old 
 was watching him, a Bushman thrust him through 
 
A BUSHMAN STORY. 
 
 23 
 
 with a spear from behind. The little girl shrieked 
 when she saw her father fall, and in a moment 
 another Bushman killed her in the same manner 
 with his spear. 
 
 The other man, hearing the shriek, ran up to see 
 his brother and niece lying dead upon the ground. 
 He rushed upon the Bushmen, threw a hatchet at 
 one of them, and fired his gun, which wounded the 
 shoulder of a second. The murderers fled, leaving 
 their bows and arrows behind them. 
 
 There was now only one man remaining to take 
 care of the three women and thirteen children, and 
 the Bushmen who had run away were sure to fetch 
 others and return in greater numbers to attack the 
 wagon. To save the ivory, it was taken from the 
 wagon and hidden in the ground, while the dead 
 bodies of the man and child were laid where the 
 ivory had been, and carried away to be buried at 
 night. In great fear, the survivors continued their 
 journey, for among the distant bushes and on the 
 tops of the hills around they could see their 
 enemies watching. 
 
 Night came. The little children were laid to 
 rest in the wagon and slept peacefully. The man, 
 women, and elder children helped to bury their 
 dead relations, and then sat up in expectation of 
 an attack. 
 
 The night passed away quietly ; morning dawned, 
 the oxen were yoked in, and the man with his 
 eldest boy urged them on. While passing a grove 
 
24 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 of acacias a shower of poisoned arrows fell among 
 the travellers, which wounded some of the children 
 md oxen. The man fired his gun among the 
 acacias, which once more frightened the Bushmen 
 away. He and the hoy were both wounded ; but 
 they were determined to defend their family and 
 property as long as they lived. 
 
 Another dreary night was passed by the poor 
 wounded children and their distressed parents. 
 Next morning, great numbers of Bushmen came 
 and attacked the wagon on all sides. Once more 
 the father fired his gun amongst them ; but this 
 time, instead of fleeing, all aimed at him with their 
 deadly poisoned arrows. In a moment the poor 
 man was covered with wounds and darts. He 
 staggered towards the wagon, while the Bushmen 
 seized the loose oxen, and drove them away. An 
 hour after, the father was dead, and the three 
 women and thirteen children were without a de- 
 fender. The Bushmen were still hovering about, 
 intending soon to kill the defenceless widows and 
 orphans, and carry off the oxen which were yoked 
 to the wagon. 
 
 But God was sending these poor people help 
 from the robbers and murderers. Some travellers 
 were advancing in the other direction, and seeing 
 a wagon in the distance, they hastened towards 
 it, and found the women and children weeping 
 together, expecting nothing but death. But they 
 were safe now; for it was friends who had found 
 
A BUSHMAN STOKY. 
 
 25 
 
 them. The Bushmen were afraid to approach when 
 they saw two wagons. The women and children 
 were kindly cared for, and taken to a place of 
 safety, where their wounds could be dressed and 
 healed. But no kindness could ever restore to those 
 orphans and widows the husbands and fathers 
 whom the cruel Bushmen had murdered. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AFRICANER. 
 
 What was the name of the tribe we put next tc 
 the Bushmen? — Namaquas. 
 
 The Namaqua country borders on a great desert ; 
 and the part of Namaqua-land on which the first 
 missionaries settled seems to he very desert-like 
 indeed. There are river-channels with no water 
 flowing down them; plenty of stones and sand; 
 "plains and hills roasted like a burnt loaf;” few 
 people, and those always wanting water so much, 
 that, on account of the rain which generally falls at 
 such times, a thunder-storm is a thing they long 
 for, though the lightnings play and the thunders roar 
 almost without stopping while the storm lasts. 
 
 In this desert country there lived, at the time 
 the first missionaries went there, a chief called 
 Africaner, famed all the country round for his 
 fierce wickedness. 
 
 Years ago, his fathers had possessed land near 
 the Cape ; but the Dutch had driven him and his 
 tribe away from their native hills, and deprived 
 them of one thing after another, until at length 
 they were made servants to a farmer. 
 
AFRICANER. 
 
 27 
 
 For a long time, Africaner served his master 
 well. He looked after the cattle, and protected his 
 master’s possessions from the Bushmen; so that 
 the farmer grew rich through the service of Afri- 
 caner and his men. 
 
 This farmer (or Boer) was, however, neither 
 honourable nor kind ; and at last the hearts of 
 Africaner and his brother Titus rebelled against 
 the injustice ; for they had been chiefs, and were 
 not accustomed to he servants, much less slaves. 
 
 The master became more and more unkind ; 
 until, at last, Africaner and his men refused to do 
 as they were ordered. This disobedience made the 
 farmer very angry. It was evening, and he sent 
 for his rebellious servants at once. They wondered 
 much what would he done to them ; nevertheless, 
 they went up to the house, and Titus, who was a 
 fierce man, carried a gun behind him, which in the 
 twilight was not observed. Africaner walked up 
 the steps in front of the house, in order to speak to 
 his master, and explain why they had refused to 
 obey him. No sooner had he reached the top of 
 the flight, than the farmer, without waiting to hear 
 a single word, rushed upon his Hottentot servant, 
 and gave him a blow which knocked him down to 
 the bottom of the steps. 
 
 The moment Titus saw his brother pushed down, 
 he raised his gun, and shot the farmer dead. Afri- 
 caner was not much hurt; and the whole party went 
 Into the house, and compelled the farmer’s wife to 
 
28 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 give them all the guns, powder, and shot which had 
 belonged to her husband. The poor woman was 
 so alarmed and overpowered, that she dared not 
 refuse, and quickly showed the rebels where to 
 find whatever they wished ; and when they had 
 taken all they wanted, they left the house, telling 
 her she should be murdered, if she did not remain 
 where she was until the morning. 
 
 Africaner at once collected his tribe, and they 
 all set off together towards the Orange River, which 
 flows through Namaqua-land, and is the boundary 
 of the British possessions. They went in great 
 haste; for Africaner knew that, as soon as the 
 Boers around heard what had happened, they would 
 pursue after him, to avenge his master’s death. On 
 the way, he was joined by many other illused, 
 desperate men, which made his party so strong, 
 that the farmers, although they followed the fugi- 
 tives, were afraid to attack them openly. 
 
 When intelligence of these events was taken to 
 the Governor of Cape Colony, he outlawed Afri- 
 caner, and offered a reward to any one who would 
 bring his head ; but no one ever managed to cut 
 it off. 
 
 However, one thing the farmers did caused a 
 great deal of needless bloodshed. They bribed 
 some of the Griqua tribes to go to war with Afri- 
 caner; and this war was carried on for many 
 years. Africaner and Titus killed every one who 
 had the misfortune to fall into their hands, both 
 
AFRICANER. 
 
 29 
 
 Dutchmen and Hottentots ; and were you to be 
 told of all the murders and robberies they com- 
 mitted, and all the wicked wars in which they en- 
 gaged, you would have a book full only of horrible 
 stories. Every one was afraid of these desperate 
 men and their band, fearing them even more than 
 the lions and the other wild beasts that roamed 
 over the wilderness. 
 
 Those must, indeed, have been courageous mis- 
 sionaries who undertook to go near such a tribe as 
 Africaner’s; but some Christian men were found 
 brave enough even for this. Two brothers, named 
 Christian and Abraham Albrecht, went to Africa 
 on purpose, and, taking with them barely what 
 was necessary, started on their perilous enterprise. 
 
 They had great difficulty in reaching Namaqua- 
 land, for there were no roads along which their 
 oxen could quietly trudge with the wagon, and 
 no inns at which they and their cattle could rest 
 or procure food. Unfortunately, the oxen proved 
 not strong enough to drag the wagon through the 
 deep hot sand; many of them dropped down 
 fainting by the way, and then there was no re- 
 freshing water to revive them, no shelter from the 
 glaring sunshine to which they could crawl for 
 rest. And so, as they fell, they were left behind 
 to die, or be eaten up by lions when the night 
 came. 
 
 The missionaries themselves could with diffi- 
 culty procure bread or water. Long were they on 
 
30 
 
 EIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 the dreary journey ; many times did they almost 
 despair of reaching the Orange .River alive, for 
 they had not been well supplied with the necessary 
 provisions. Yet God kept them from death, or 
 from abandoning their resolution in despair : He 
 had a great work to he done, and they were being 
 guided, through sore troubles, to do it. 
 
 While the missionaries are on the way, you will 
 like to stop and hear some questions once put to a 
 Hamaqua, with the answers he gave, which will 
 show you how little they knew, and how much 
 they needed teachers. 
 
 “ Did you ever hear of a God ? ” 
 
 “ Yes, we have heard that there is a God, but 
 we do not know right.” 
 
 “ Who told you that there is a God ? ” 
 
 “We heard it from other people.” 
 
 “ Who made the heavens ? ” 
 
 “ We do not know what man made them.” 
 
 “ Who made the sun ? ” 
 
 “We always heard that those people at the sea 
 made her. When she goes down, they cut her in 
 pieces, and fiy her in a pot, and then put her 
 together again, and bring her out at the other 
 side. In the day, the sun is over our heads, and 
 at other times she must give place for the moon to 
 pass by.” 
 
 “ Who, do you think, made the world ? ” 
 
 “You must have made it, assisted by your 
 brethren.” 
 
AFRICANER 
 
 31 
 
 “ Do you think that men will rise again ? ” 
 
 “ We should all have lived again. The moon 
 once said to mankind, ‘As I die, and become 
 alive again, so shall you die and become alive 
 again/ But the hare answered, ‘ It is no such 
 thing ; hut as I die, and live not again, so must it 
 be with you/ That is the reason why the moon 
 is dark and sometimes becomes ill.” 
 
 “ Is there any difference between man and 
 beast ? ” 
 
 “ We think man has made the beasts.” 
 
 “ Did you ever see a man that made beasts ? ” 
 “No ; I only heard so from others.” 
 
 “ What do you teach your children ? ” 
 
 “We only teach them to find food in the fields.” 
 “ How do you treat your wives ? ” 
 
 “ Our wives are not good ; therefore we must 
 beat them.” 
 
 You see the good missionaries, who were toiling 
 on in their wagons towards these ignorant people, 
 would have to begin by teaching them what you 
 knew as soon as you could speak. 
 
 After many wanderings, and two or three short 
 residences at other places, Christian and Abraham 
 Albrecht pitched their tents at a spot called Warm 
 Bath, one hundred miles west of the part in which 
 Africaner was living, and where they hoped to be 
 safe from him. 
 
 The country here was as bare as everywhere else 
 around ; but there was water to drink, and there 
 
32 
 
 ItIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 were people to be taught. People and water were 
 two things the missionaries must be near ; for they 
 had come in Christ’s name to teach the inhabitants 
 of the land, and they had suffered so much from 
 want of water on the way, that they had * learned 
 by painful experience to stay near a stream if 
 possible. 
 
 The missionaries had been residing nearer to 
 Africaner’s kraal, or village, before they settled at 
 Warm Bath, and the great robber had visited them, 
 and even sent his children to their school. Once 
 when he came, he said, “ As you are sent by the 
 English, I welcome you to the country ; for, though 
 I hate the Dutch, my former oppressors, I love the 
 English ; for I have always heard that they are the 
 friends of the poor black man.” Still the mission- 
 aries could not feel safe, and that was one reason 
 for moving to Warm Bath. 
 
 But before they had been at Warm Bath long, 
 who should come after them but Africaner, with 
 some of his people, resolved to settle near them, 
 for he seemed to like the missionaries. The poor 
 people at the mission-station, however, were still 
 afraid of him ; and soon after, he became greatly 
 enraged against the missionaries. Some one had 
 a quarrel with Africaner, which led to fighting. 
 The Warm Bath people joined Africaner’s enemy, 
 and this made Africaner very angry, not only with 
 them, but with their teachers, who, he believed, 
 had persuaded the people at Warm Bath to take 
 
AFRICANER. 
 
 33 
 
 the part of his adversary. In his anger he vowed 
 to destroy the mission- station, the missionaries, 
 and every creature living near. 
 
 This was very alarming. Abraham Albrecht 
 was already dead, and safe from the murderer ; hut 
 there were at the station, Abraham’s wife and child, 
 Christian and his wife, and Mr. Tromp, another 
 missionary, who had joined them. 
 
 How could they escape ? They were two hundred 
 miles from civilized men ; there was no cave in 
 which to take refuge ; no safe nook between high 
 rocks, where they might hide ; nothing hut a hot, 
 dry, sandy plain for many miles around. 
 
 Africaner was coming nearer and nearer. They 
 heard it from the terrified people who fled before 
 him. Soon, very soon, they would see him among 
 them. "What could they do ? They dug holes in 
 the sand ; deep, square holes, in which they could 
 be quite hidden, that when the bullel^shots came 
 whizzing overhead they might not he touched. 
 On the top of these holes they spread a tarpaulin, 
 to keep off the rays of the sun ; and here, in these 
 pits, the whole party existed for a week, nearly 
 suffocated by the heat and want of air. 
 
 At the end of a week, a kind chief, who had 
 heard of their distress, came and helped the mis- 
 sionaries to move quite away to another place, 
 where they were safe. Africaner arrived just in 
 time to find his victims gone ; and as there was no 
 one to kill — for all the natives had run away — he 
 D 
 
34 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and Iris plundering band began to search for what 
 the missionaries in their hasty flight might have left 
 behind them, and discovered a good many things 
 buried in the sand. This delighted them, and they 
 all sat down to examine and enjoy their new pos- 
 sessions. While they were occupied in this way, 
 one of Africaner’s servants, who was wandering 
 about, entered the little burial ground, and, to his 
 surprise, in stepping on a mound of earth, which 
 appeared to be a grave, he heard soft notes ot 
 music from under the sand. He had heard the 
 missionaries speak of the dead rising, and thought 
 perhaps they were going to rise now. Tull of 
 wonder and surprise, he stood still to listen, and 
 at last found courage once more to step on the spot 
 from wdience the music had come. Again the same 
 sweet sounds were heard. Without waiting another 
 moment, or daring to look behind him, aw T ay he 
 darted, as though followed by a ghost, to tell 
 Africaner that there was something alive, and 
 which made music in the grave. 
 
 Africaner, followed by his men, went to the 
 graveyard, for he was afraid of nothing. En- 
 couraged by their chief, one and another jumped 
 upon this mysterious mound, and each leap 
 awakened those strange, soft notes underground. 
 
 Africaner ordered his servants to dig down, and 
 discover what was beneath. A hole was quickly 
 scratched in the loose, dry sand, and such a thing 
 uncovered as these rude men had never seen 
 
AFRICANER. 
 
 o5 
 
 before. It was Mrs. Albrecht’s piano, which she 
 was hoping to find safe if ever she came again to 
 Warm Bath. Africaner had it pulled to pieces, in 
 that way to find out how the sounds were produced, 
 which of course he did not succeed in doing. 
 
 Mr. Albrecht once more returned to Hamaqua- 
 land, but not to Warm Bath. He settled at a 
 place called Pella, south of the Orange River, and 
 here many of the Warm Bath people, who had 
 learned to love their missionary, joined him. 
 
 Africaner no longer troubled the peace of the 
 little village. He listened meekly to what the 
 missionaries had come to teach. The lion-nature 
 in him God changed ; and the cruel murderer 
 became gentle and harmless as a lamb. This 
 wicked man gave his heart to Jesus, and received 
 a new good heart, which made him meek and 
 lowly, as Jesus was. 
 
 The next missionaries of whom you shall hear 
 were sent to Africaner himself, to live in his 
 kraal. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 AFRICANER CHANGED. 
 
 The missionary sent to Africaner’s own tribe was 
 Mr. Moffat. He has himself written an account 
 of this part of his missionary life, and from his 
 book it is taken for you. 
 
 It was in the year 1817 that Mr. Moffat went to 
 Ham aqua-land. Travelling through the country, 
 he told the Boers whose farms lay in his way, that 
 he was going to live with Africaner, and they won- 
 dered how he could be so foolish. Ho one had a 
 good word to say for the murderer and robber- 
 chief, nor would any one believe he was so changed 
 as Mr. Moffat had heard. 
 
 “ Ho,” said one farmer, “he will set you up as a 
 mark for his boys to shoot at.” 
 
 “ Going to him ! ” said another, “ he will strip off 
 your skin, and make a drum of it to dance to.” 
 
 “ Don’t venture,” said a third ; “ he will surely 
 make a drinking cup of your skull.” 
 
 But Mr. Moffat, like a brave and faithful man, 
 did still venture ; he believed what Mr. Albrecht 
 bad told of the wonderful alteration in Africaner; 
 
AFRICANER CHANGED. 37 
 
 for he knew that God had power to make a had 
 heart soft and good. 
 
 After a toilsome journey with his wagon, and 
 his weary oxen and drivers, the young missionary 
 reached Africaner’s kraal. The tar-famed chief 
 did not set him up as a mark, nor strip off his 
 skin, nor cut off his head ; hut as soon as he 
 heard of his arrival, he came to Mr. Moffat and 
 asked whether he were the teacher that had been 
 promised to him and his people. Mr. Moffat in- 
 formed him that he was. Africaner appeared very 
 glad to hear it, and said that as Mr. Moffat was a 
 young man, he hoped he might live many years 
 to teach the ignorant inhabitants of his kraal. 
 
 After these little speeches were over, Africaner 
 called for a number of women. This surprised 
 Mr. Moffat, who wondered for what the women 
 could be wanted. Presently, however, they came, 
 bearing on their heads bundles of mats and long 
 sticks. Africaner pointed to a spot of ground, 
 saying, “ There you are to build a house for the 
 missionary.” 
 
 The women did not seem at all unwilling to do 
 as they were ordered. They fixed a circle of poles 
 upright in the ground, and tied them together at 
 the top so as to form a beehive-shaped hut. This 
 framework they covered with mats, and in lialf-an- 
 hour the missionary’s house was finished. 
 
 In this house, too, he dwelt for six months, and 
 found it not very weatherproof, nor in any way 
 
38 
 
 .RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 very comfortable. When the sun shone, its rays 
 beat down upon the little hut so as to make the 
 heat almost unbearable. When the wind blew, it 
 was filled with dust, which came in through the 
 spaces between the poles. If it rained outside the 
 hut, it rained also inside ; and not only did heat, 
 and dust, and rain visit the missionary’s home un- 
 invited, but sometimes a great dog would force 
 his way through the openings in the wall ; some- 
 times a serpent would creep in and coil himself up 
 in a corner ; and once two bulls fought together so 
 near, that it was with difficulty Mr. Moffat pre- 
 vented them from crushing the crazy concern alto- 
 gether. Still this hut was as good a one as that 
 in which Africaner or any of the other villagers 
 lived ; all had been built by the women in the 
 same hasty manner. 
 
 Mr. Moffat’s food was not better than his house. 
 He had no bread ; for in this miserable country, 
 from want of water, no corn would grow; there 
 was nothing to eat except the flesh of the wild 
 animals, or of oxen which might be killed, and 
 only milk to drink. Meat and milk, meat and 
 milk, meat and milk. Both good things you say. 
 Yes ; but how would you like them always, or how 
 would they agree with you if you had nothing else 
 for food ? 
 
 All that had been said about the change in 
 Africaner proved to be true ; and Mr. Moffat never 
 had occasion to find fault with him. Even his 
 
AFRICANER. CHANGED. 
 
 39 
 
 look was so altered, that one day when they were 
 sitting together, his teacher remarked, 
 
 “ I was trying to picture you to myself carrying 
 fire and sword through the country, and I could 
 not think how eyes like yours could smile at 
 human woe.” 
 
 Africaner could no longer hear even the recollec- 
 tion of all the misery he had caused ; and he wept 
 bitter tears as he remembered it. 
 
 Instead of making a gun his companion, God’s 
 word was what he now loved and kept near him. 
 At night he no more joined in the savage dance, 
 but sat in the missionary’s hut, talking with him 
 of God’s wonders in the heavens above and in the 
 earth beneath, until at last he would rub his hands 
 on his head and exclaim, “ I have heard enough ; 
 I feel as if my head were too small, and as if it 
 would swell with these great subjects.” His love 
 of war was gone; and now, when he saw other 
 people and tribes ready to quarrel and fight, he 
 would -beg and pray them to be reconciled, and tell 
 them how his wars had caused nothing but grief 
 in the end. 
 
 Mr. Moffat began to teach the children of the 
 kraal ; and in this good work Africaner was of so 
 much assistance that before long there were one 
 ^ hundred and twenty young people in the school. 
 Dirtier than the dirtiest of our Eagged-school 
 children were these little savages, and missionary 
 and chief together took them to the fountain to 
 
40 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 teach them how to wash themselves, while many 
 a one received a good scrubbing from Mr. Moffat’s 
 own hands. Eemember, they had not been washed 
 since they were born, and then imagine if you can 
 what the work was. When the children’s bodies 
 had been made clean, there were all the skin 
 blankets or karosses to wash also ; and this was no 
 small matter, for skins are not so easily cleaned as 
 calicoes, and these skins had been washed as often 
 and no oftener than their young possessors. When 
 once they and their karosses were tolerably clean, 
 however, the children confessed that they felt more 
 comfortable, and they were never allowed to get so 
 very dirty again. 
 
 Africaner found out that Mr. Moffat often had 
 but little food, and therefore sent him a present of 
 two cows, that he might have milk when he could 
 procure nothing better. The milk of two cows 
 will seem to you a great quantity for one man to 
 drink ; but you must remember that the cows in 
 that part of Africa do not give the bountiful supply 
 which they do in green England. 
 
 Mr. Moffat’s milk and meat diet did not agree 
 with him, and he fell ill. Then Africaner came 
 and nursed him most kindly and attentively, and 
 was filled with joy when he saw his good teacher 
 recovering, for he feared to lose him. 
 
 Two of Africaner’s brothers were Christians as 
 well as himself ; but Titus, though improved, had 
 not given up his evil ways. He used to say to 
 
AFRICANER CHANGED. 
 
 41 
 
 Mr. Moffat, “ I hear you, and I think sometimes I 
 understand, hut my heart will not feel.” Titus 
 was the only person at the kraal who had more 
 than one wife ; he had two, and these two wives 
 of his quarrelled so dreadfully, that sometimes 
 he almost made up his mind to give some pre- 
 sents to one of them, and send her home to her 
 father. 
 
 One morning Titus came to Mr. Moffat’s hut 
 leading an ox, on which was seated one of his 
 wives. Mr. Moffat thought to himself, “ Surely 
 she is going to be sent to her father’s home at last.” 
 
 “ What is the matter ? ” he asked. 
 
 Titus held out his hand to shake Mr. Moffat’s, 
 and answered laughing, “ Just the old thing over 
 again.” 
 
 His wives had been quarrelling as usual, and 
 one in a rage had thrown a piece of stick at the 
 other, this stick had gone into the woman’s hand 
 and broken off there. The woman’s hand was 
 dreadfully swollen, and Mr. Moffat was obliged to 
 cut it, in order to extract the wood. Even this 
 accident did not make Titus send away either of 
 his wives. 
 
 You have heard that the place at which Mr. 
 Moffat lived with Africaner was not very desirable 
 on account of the want of rain and vegetation. 
 As more people joined the settlement, and they 
 became desirous of improving themselves and their 
 dwellings, the scarcity of water and grass was so 
 
42 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 mucli felt, that Africaner and Mr. Moffat resolved 
 to try and find some unoccupied land which would 
 prove more pleasant and profitable, and to which 
 all the tribe might remove. 
 
 To the journeys undertaken in search of this 
 desirable place we must devote a new chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MR. MOFFAT AND AFRICANER SEEK A NEW HOME. 
 
 You have all travelled by railroad, and know how 
 pleasant it is to be carried smoothly along by the 
 great pnffing steam-engine, which seems to know 
 its way, though it certainly can never think where 
 it is going. How different to these easy swift 
 journeys were those which Mr. Moffat and Afri- 
 caner took when looking for a new dwelling- 
 place ! 
 
 At the time of which you are reading, neither 
 you nor railroads were in existence ; but England 
 has got on faster than Africa, and if you were now 
 in Ham aqua-land you would have to travel in the 
 same fashion as that which was used forty years 
 ago. 
 
 In what fashion was that? The travellers 
 would not be safe alone, and in so desert-like a 
 land they must carry provision sufficient to keep 
 their companions alive in case of need. They 
 must have a wagon. 
 
 But Mr. Moffat’s only wagon was broken ; there 
 were iron bands needed to make the wheels strong, 
 
44 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and safe ; and there was no blacksmith to put them 
 on. It was of no use waiting, and worse than 
 no use to give up in despair, so that Mr. Moffat 
 turned smith himself. With great perseverance 
 he managed to make a large pair of bellows out of 
 two goat-skins and some wood, and then prepared 
 to heat and hammer his iron. 
 
 The people crowded round to watch his strange 
 and mysterious operations, which made Mr. Moffat 
 very nervous, as it was his first attempt at the 
 anvil, and he did not know how he should suc- 
 ceed. Succeed ! who does not succeed that sets to 
 work with patience, care, and determination ? To 
 his own surprise, and to the delight of the natives 
 capering about round the wagon and forge, Mr. 
 Moffat found that he could be his own blacksmith, 
 for he had made his rough old carriage fit for ser- 
 vice again, without having so much as burned a 
 finger. Encouraged by his success, he next tried 
 some broken guns, and mended them also. 
 
 And now, with ten or twelve oxen yoked into 
 the wagon, the guns fit for use, and thirty men as 
 a guard in case any one should attack them, Mr. 
 Moffat, Africaner, and Titus, started towards the 
 north, for in that direction they had heard there 
 was plenty of water. You will be surprised, per- 
 haps, that they did not move to the Orange Eiver 
 which flowed so near to them to the south ; but 
 other missionaries were living there, so that Mr. 
 Moffat thought it his duty to go elsewhere ; and 
 
MR. MOFFAT AND AFRICANER SEEK A NEW HOME. 45 
 
 the land belonged to other chiefs who would not 
 like Africaner to come among them. 
 
 The wagon passed slowly on over plains of 
 sand, relieved only by stunted bushes, or diversi- 
 fied with sand-hills. There were many wild ani- 
 mals roaming about. Striped zebras and swift 
 wild asses ; tall giraffes and graceful antelopes ; 
 huge rhinoceroses and hungry lions. Some of 
 these animals were shot for food, and if a large one 
 was killed, the oxen had a day’s rest while the 
 dead game was being cut up into thin strips, and 
 hung on the low bushes to dry in the sun. The 
 best parts the travellers ate at once, and the 
 remainder, when dry, was stowed away in the 
 wagon, to be eaten when nothing better could be 
 obtained. This dried meat was very tough indeed, 
 as tough, Mr. Moffat says, as the sole of a boot. 
 When used for food, it was first cooked under some 
 hot ashes, and then beaten between two stones to 
 make it a little easier to chew; but even then their 
 jaws ached terribly by the time their meal was 
 finished. 
 
 One day, the wagon approached an opening 
 between two hills, which looked in the distance 
 beautifully green and refreshing. The oxen’s 
 heads were turned towards the glen, but it was 
 found upon closer inspection to be filled with poi- 
 sonous plants, called “ Euphorbia,” through which 
 it was very difficult to force a passage. As the 
 day was extremely hot, and the oxen weary, they 
 
46 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 were allowed to rest ; and the men in wandering 
 about the glen found, in the clefts of the rocks^ 
 some honey, which was a delicious treat, as they 
 had but little to eat except the tough dried 
 meat. 
 
 But presently, one of the men who had par- 
 taken of the wild honey said that his throat was 
 getting very hot, and soon another and another 
 complained of the same sensation, until they all 
 felt as though their throats and stomachs were 
 on fire. A man who lived near happened to pass 
 just then, and seeing some of the strangers’ faces 
 smeared with honey, he said to them, “ You had 
 better not eat the honey in this valley ; do you 
 not see the poisonous (Euphorbia) bushes ? From 
 their flowers the bees gather honey and poison 
 too.” How the sufferers must have wished the 
 man had passed a little sooner ; the honey unfor- 
 tunately was eaten, and they were feeling more 
 and more unwell. The little water that had been 
 kept in the wagon was very soon drunk, but this, 
 instead of allaying, seemed only to increase the 
 burning heat. For several days the poison con- 
 tinued to give all who had taken it dreadful pain, 
 but then they gradually recovered from its effects. 
 
 Sometimes the travelling party passed a Nama- 
 qua kraal, and Mr. Moffat did not at such times 
 forget he was a missionary of J esus Christ ; but 
 tried to instruct the people, and let them hear for 
 once the glad tidings of a loving Saviour. 
 
MR. MOFFAT AND AFRICANER SEEK A NEW HOME. 47 
 
 There is a story belongingto this journey which 
 most likely you know, still old stories are plea- 
 sant ; so let us hear it again. 
 
 All day long the patient oxen had drawn the 
 wagon over a sandy plain, with the burning sun 
 beating down upon them. The men, too, had 
 toiled on in the heat without having had a drop of 
 water, and when night overtook them they were 
 compelled to lie down without having found a pool 
 at which to quench their raging thirst. 
 
 Mr. Moffat arose very early in the morning — 
 for he could not sleep — and leaving the rest of the 
 party to follow with the wagon, went forward with 
 one man to try and find water. After passing some 
 hills, and walking a long weary way over the 
 plain, they saw in the distance smoke curling up- 
 wards from among the bushes. 
 
 How welcome was the sight ! Where there was 
 smoke, there must be fire ; where there was fire, 
 there must be some one to kindle it ; where there 
 was a human creature, there must be surely water ; 
 perhaps, even, there was a kraal built near some 
 pleasant pool. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and his companion hopefully quick- 
 ened their steps, thinking thankfully of the water 
 they should shortly drink. As they approached 
 the bushes, they were startled to see, by the foot- 
 prints on the sand, that lions had been there but 
 a very short time before. Their guns were quietly 
 lying far behind in the wagon : they felt almost 
 
48 
 
 EIVEES OF WATEE IN A DEY PLACE. 
 
 afraid to venture further ; but there, in front, was 
 the peaceful smoke still rising ; and without water 
 they must die, so on they went. 
 
 The smoke was reached in safety. No village 
 was near, not even a hut or a man ; but crouching 
 down on the ground, by the fire whose smoke had 
 been seen so far off, was an old woman — a woman 
 so old, and so very very thin and weak, that, when 
 she saw the strangers coming, she tried in vain 
 to rise. She appeared extremely frightened, too. 
 especially at Mr. Moffat’s white face and strange 
 dress. He spoke kindly and soothingly to her, in 
 her own language, and said : — 
 
 “ My mother, fear not ; we are friends ; we will 
 do you no harm.” 
 
 For a while, the poor creature seemed too much 
 afraid to speak ; but after he had talked to her for 
 a time, and shown her by his behaviour that there 
 was no cause for alarm, Mr. Moffat asked her who 
 she was, and how she came to be in so desolate a 
 place, alone, with no one to be kind or attentive 
 to her. 
 
 She answered : — “ I am a woman ; I have been 
 here four days ! my children have left me here to 
 die.” 
 
 “Your children?” exclaimed Mr. Moffat. 
 
 “ Yes,” she said ; “ my own children, my three 
 sons and two daughters. They have gone away to 
 yonder blue mountain, and have left me here to 
 die.” 
 
MR. MOFFAT AND AFRICANER SEEK A NEW HOME. 49 
 
 “And pray, why did they leave you?” asked 
 Mr. Moffat. 
 
 Spreading out her bony hands, she answered : — 
 “ I am old, you see, and, therefore, I am no longer 
 able to serve them. When they kill game, I am 
 too feeble to help in carrying the flesh ; I am not 
 able to gather wood for their fires ; and I can no 
 longer carry their children on my back as I used 
 to do.” 
 
 Does this sad account make you cry ? It is all 
 true ; and Mr. Moffat wept as he gazed upon this 
 deserted mother, and listened to what she told 
 him. 
 
 He asked her again, if she was not afraid of the 
 lions, and said he was surprised they had not de- 
 voured her, so close had he seen their footprints. 
 
 “ She was so thin,” she replied, “ that there was 
 nothing on her bones for the lions to eat, and they 
 did not take the trouble to touch her.” 
 
 Just then the wagon, which had followed Mr. 
 Moffat, came in sight, and the poor creature was 
 greatly alarmed, fancying it was some dreadful 
 animal. Mr. Moffat assured her it was not alive, 
 and could do her no harm, and said, as he could 
 not bear to leave her alone, he wrnuld put her in 
 and take care of her. 
 
 Upon hearing this, she became so terrified, that 
 Mr. Moffat was afraid she would die, and did not 
 know what to do. It was evident they could not 
 take her with them in the wagon; and, as Mr. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Moffat and his companions were becoming deli- 
 rious for want of water, it was as evident that 
 they could not stay. They collected wood to re- 
 plenish her fire, gave her some dried meat, some 
 tobacco, a knife, and a few other things, and tell- 
 ing her to keep a good fire, lest the*lions should 
 attempt to steal her meat, they went away, pro- 
 mising to come again on their return. 
 
 On the way hack, Mr. Moffatt remembered his 
 promise, and looked for the old woman. She 
 was nowhere to be seen ; and, months afterwards, 
 he heard, from a man who visited the missionary 
 station, that the woman’s sons had noticed the 
 wagon near the spot, and had gone to see what 
 the people in the wagon had done to their 
 mother. Finding that the strangers had given her 
 food, and hearing from her of the white man that 
 was one of them, they fancied Mr. Moffat must be 
 a great chief, who would come and punish them 
 for treating their mother so cruelly. Therefore, 
 they carried her home again, and took care of her 
 for the rest of her life. 
 
 Is not this a shocking story ? How differently 
 you treat your mother! Your willing little feet 
 run to fetch whatever she wants, her work-basket, 
 or footstool, or book ; your loving arms often en- 
 circle her neck, while your soft lips kiss hers, and 
 you whisper your thanks and love for all her care. 
 And, by and by, your mother will be growing old. 
 Oh ! how you will love her then ! Her seat will 
 
tUJC AGED MOTHER SAVED FROM DEATH 
 
ME. MOFFAT AND AFKJCANEE SEEK A NEW HOME. 51 
 
 be the warmest and most comfortable, in the 
 pleasantest corner of the room ; and all your busi- 
 ness will be to make her happy, just as she made 
 you happy and cared for you when you were a. 
 child. Will it not be so ? 
 
 The knowledge of God’s Holy Word has made 
 this great difference between us and the heathen. 
 There, as you know, it is written, “ Honour thy 
 father and thy mother.” “ Despise not thy mother, 
 when she is old.” 
 
 Soon after leaving this despised old mother, 
 Mr. Moffat and his party reached some water, 
 and were glad to drink it, although so thick 
 and muddy that it would hardly go down their 
 throats. 
 
 At length the end of their journey, the long- 
 wished-for Fish Eiver, was in sight. How pleasant 
 after the thirsty wilderness ! But here the natives 
 stopped the wagon. They had heard of Africaner, 
 and of the missionary. They believed that hat- 
 men, or hat-wearers, as they called white men, 
 were all bad together ; and finding that the dread- 
 ful Africaner and his hat-man thought of coming 
 to live near them, they were quite determined to 
 prevent it, if possible. 
 
 No doubt Africaner might have conquered these 
 tribes as he had conquered others ; but he did 
 not wish to fight. He did not wonder that these 
 people dreaded him ; but so changed a man had 
 he become that he was not even angry. The oxen 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRV PLACE. 
 
 were allowed a few days’ rest, and then were yoked 
 into the wagon, with their heads turned away from 
 the green hanks of the Fish Eiver towards the 
 dreary wilderness again. 
 
 The travellers arrived at home in safety from 
 their unsuccessful journey, and found everything 
 looking very desolate. 
 
 Many of the men were obliged to go away to a 
 considerable distance with their cattle, in order to 
 find sufficient grass ; so that the people became 
 much scattered, and, in consequence, difficult 
 to teach. Mr. Moffat therefore resolved not to 
 remain constantly at the station, hut, leaving 
 the school in charge of Africaner’s two Christian 
 brothers, to go himself round about the country, 
 preaching and teaching wherever any one could 
 be found to listen. 
 
 You remember that Titus had just been on a 
 journey with Mr. Moffat. He had become very 
 much attached to his kind friend, the missionary, 
 and when he knew that Mr. Moffat was going to 
 travel from place on the hack of an ox, whose 
 large horns might hurt its rider, he was so very 
 generous as to beg him to accept the only horse 
 he had, which was extremely useful to himself in 
 hunting. 
 
 Accompanied by an interpreter, who was on 
 oxback, the missionary would start ; his Bible and 
 hymn-book tied up in a blanket, which was fastened 
 to the hack of his saddle. Each had a gun, but 
 
ME. MOFFAT AND AFRICANER SEEK A NEW HOME. 53 
 
 they carried nothing else except a little tobacco 
 and a tinder-box. (Lucifer matches were not in 
 use in those days.) They took no provisions, as 
 they expected to get food at the first kraal they 
 reached. 
 
 You will understand that two men alone might 
 get food, when thirty men could not ; and besides, 
 in these expeditions, Mr. Moffat only went to 
 kraals round about where he was known. 
 
 After a hot day’s ride, in the evening Mr. Moffat 
 and his interpreter would perhaps reach a village. 
 Here the women would bring their visitors a 
 draught of fresh, sweet milk just drawn from the 
 cow ; and then, all assembling together, men, 
 women, and children, would listen while Mr. 
 Moffat read to them some portion from the Bible, 
 and tried to teach them their duty to each other, 
 and to the Great God who made them. After- 
 wards he would have some more milk, and lie 
 down to sleep on a mat. Sometimes a kind 
 woman would hang a wooden vessel full of milk 
 on a forked stick near his head that he might 
 find something to drink should he be thirsty in 
 the night. 
 
 It is God who makes others kind to His ser- 
 vants as Titus and these women were. Mr. Moffat 
 could say as Paul did : “ The barbarous people 
 showed us no little kindness.” 
 
 At one kraal, Mr. Moffat slept on the ground, 
 near the door of the principal man’s house. He 
 
54 
 
 RIVERS OE WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 was disturbed in the night by something moving 
 about on the outside of a thorn fence close to 
 which he was lying. In the morning, Mr. Moffat 
 said to his host, that he thought some of the 
 cattle must have broken loose. 
 
 “ Oh, no,” answered the man ; ** it was not the 
 cattle, I have been looking at the track, it was 
 a lion ; and a few nights ago he jumped over the 
 fence and seized a goat exactly on the spot where 
 you were sleeping.” 
 
 Is it not wonderful that the lion did not jump 
 over again to see what he could get, as he had 
 been successful before? Surely the Eyes that 
 never slumber were watching both Mr. Moffat 
 and the lion that night ! 
 
 Many other times, when saved from danger or 
 death, Mr. Moffat thanked God as he did now, 
 knowing that no one else had power to preserve 
 him. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and Africaner did not grow more 
 satisfied with their desert-home as time went on ; 
 and as a part of the country belonging to the 
 Griquas was offered to Africaner, he asked the 
 missionary to go and see it. There was another 
 missionary living at Griqua Town, named Mr. 
 Andersen, and as neither he nor Mr. Moffat often 
 saw countrymen of their own, doubtless they 
 would be very glad to see each other and have a 
 talk together. 
 
 Africaner did not go with Mr. Moffat this time, 
 but sent his two brothers, David and Simon, and 
 his son, Jonker, together with a guide called 
 Jantye Vanderbyle. 
 
 There was not apparently so much fear of an 
 attack in this direction as towards the north, for a 
 guard was not considered necessary ; and as the 
 way lay near the Orange River, where it would be 
 easy to get food, a wagon and provisions were dis- 
 pensed with. 
 
 The travellers started with eight horses, their 
 guns, and some karosses in which to wrap them- 
 
56 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 selves by night. Several of these horses failed on 
 the way, and they were obliged to be left behind 
 with their burdens of skin-blankets. 
 
 Late one night, the travellers came suddenly 
 close to a steep bank. It was dark; and, far down 
 below, they heard the murmuring of the Orange 
 Liver. No one ventured to go on, lest he should 
 tumble in among the hippopotami playing in 
 the river; and so all made up their minds to 
 remain for the night where they were. No fire 
 was kindled, for fear it should be seen by Bush- 
 men who might be their enemies, and there were 
 not karosses enough left for each to have one. In 
 this difficulty, Mr. Moffat thought of a very strange 
 bed : he dug a hole in the sand, into which he put 
 himself, leaving out only his head. Here he was 
 soon so comfortable, that he called to his com- 
 panions to follow his example. One of them did 
 so, and Mr. Moffat told him a story, when they 
 were both in their holes, of another missionary 
 who had done the same thing once, when he, with 
 his dog, had been overtaken by night, and could 
 get no better shelter. Large land-crabs had tried 
 to get at the missionary’s uncovered head, and the 
 faithful dog had stayed awake, and kept the crabs 
 off, while his master slept. 
 
 “ There are no crabs here ” said the other man ; 
 “ but there are lions. What shall we do if the 
 lions come ? ” 
 
 “ Oh,” answered Mr. Moffat, “ we need not be 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 57 
 
 afraid of lions ; they will not touch our heads 
 when they can get whole bodies so easily ! ’* 
 
 And so the weary men closed their eyes, and 
 slept safely and peacefully in their strange sand 
 beds. 
 
 The scenery on the Orange Eiver was very dif- 
 ferent to that through which Mr. Moffat had passed 
 on the first journey. 
 
 Sometimes, deep down between high precipices, 
 ran the river ; at other times, it spread itself out 
 like a beautiful tranquil lake, reflecting from its 
 clear bosom the towering mimosas, the tall acacias, 
 and graceful weeping-willows. Swallows skimmed 
 over its peaceful surface, catching in their rapid 
 flight the sporting insects. Ducks, snipes, and 
 flamingoes, with other beautifully-coloured birds, 
 played among the waters, or rested under the 
 green shade of the trees that grew on its banks or 
 drooped their branches from the green islands that 
 studded it. The sights were often very beautiful, 
 much more so than the sounds ; for none of the 
 birds there have sweet notes, like our thrushes and 
 blackbirds, larks and nightingales. They make 
 hoarse croaks or shrill cries, not at all pleasant to 
 hear. And could you have watched on the banks 
 of the stream, you might have seen that everything 
 was not so peaceful as at first sight appeared. 
 There were kites and hawks sailing overhead, 
 watching an opportunity to dart down upon any 
 silly young duck or hare straying too far from 
 
58 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 home. There was the fox, slowly and noiselessly 
 stealing on to see what he could catch ; the cobra 
 and green serpent, winding their way up the trees 
 to suck the eggs in the nest, or make a meal of 
 the young birds. There, too, at night, prowled the 
 African tiger, the hyena, and the lordly lion. 
 
 One day, Mr. Moffat washed his shirt in the 
 river, and, while waiting for it to dry, laid him- 
 self down upon a rock, and looked about him. He 
 observed a crow rise from the ground, carrying 
 something dangling from its claws. He called to 
 his companions to watch the bird. 
 
 “ Oh,” they cried, “ it is only a crow with a tor- 
 toise ! You will see it fall presently.” 
 
 As they spoke, down fell the tortoise. The crow 
 flew after it, caught it up almost as soon as it 
 touched the ground, rose with it in the air higher 
 than before, and then again let the creature drop. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and his friends hastened to secure 
 the feast which the crow had so nicely prepared 
 for them. They found the bird had already begun 
 to eat his dinner; for he little imagined he had 
 broken the hard shell of the tortoise for any one 
 but himself. However, this once he had. He was 
 scared away, and the tortoise was cooked for some 
 one else. 
 
 Kites also kill tortoises in the same skilful 
 manner. Hid you ever think of the many won- 
 derful ways in which birds, beasts, and insects 
 have been taught to obtain their food ? 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 59 
 
 Some days the travellers met with kind people, 
 who had learned from missionaries, and so were 
 glad to see one ; hut more commonly the people 
 whom they encountered would give them neither 
 meat, drink, nor shelter. 
 
 One day, the promise which Jesus gave to those 
 who should preach his gospel was fulfilled to 
 Mr. Moffat. You will find the promise in Mark 
 xvi. 18: “And if they drink any deadly thing, 
 it shall not hurt them.” This came literally 
 true. 
 
 After a scorching ride across a plain, the weary 
 men and horses approached a small Bushman 
 kraal. They all went towards the huts ; hut Mr. 
 Moffat, “ because his horse would go,” turned to a 
 little pool at some distance, and being not un- 
 willing to have a draught of water, he dismounted 
 near the pool, crept through the bushes, and laid 
 himself down to drink. 
 
 No sooner had he drank enough, and raised 
 himself, than he felt a very peculiar taste and 
 sensation in his mouth ; and, looking carefully at 
 the pool, and the fence around it, he came to the 
 alarming conclusion that he had drunk poisoned 
 w r ater. Pools are sometimes poisoned for the pur- 
 pose of killing animals who may come to drink. 
 Mr. Moffat crept out again through the bushes, and 
 remounted his horse, feeling — as he well might — 
 that in a few minutes, probably, he would fall 
 down dead. 
 
60 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 At that moment, a man came running from the 
 village, out of breath, and evidently much fright- 
 ened. He was hastening to prevent Mr. Moffat 
 drinking of the poisoned water. He took him by 
 the hand, and tried to pull him away, talking very 
 fast all the time. Mr. Moffat could not understand 
 what he said, but made signs to let him know that 
 he had already drunk. For a moment the Bush- 
 man stood speechless, and then ran back with all 
 speed to the village, leaving Mr. Moffat to follow 
 on horseback. 
 
 At the village, Mr. Moffat found every one in 
 great distress. He dismounted. No one spoke ; 
 they gazed at him in silence, expecting to see him 
 drop down and die. Mr. Moffat smiled, to comfort 
 them ; and succeeded so well, that they all began 
 to babble and sing. He, however, began to feel 
 strangely ill, as though he were goiug to burst; 
 his heart beat very fast, and he became giddy. He 
 drank a quantity of good, pure water, and this 
 made him feel better; and he recovered so quickly, 
 that by the time some zebra-meat had been cooked 
 for the visitors, Mr. Moffat was ready for it, and 
 really enjoyed it, though not quite so much as he 
 would have done if he had not been so nearly 
 poisoned just before. 
 
 The Bushmen at this kraal were very kind ; and 
 the next morning, when Mr. Moffat and his com- 
 panions left, he gave them all the tobacco he had 
 with him, so grateful did he feel to them. This 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 61 
 
 present made tliem jump about like mad creatures, 
 with pleasure. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was grieved not to know their lan- 
 guage, and he, as he had no interpreter, was com- 
 pelled to go away without telling them of Him 
 who came to save the poor and needy. 
 
 At the end of a week, the travellers reached a 
 part of the stream called Kwees, and here it was 
 resolved to make a short cut right across the 
 country to Griqua Town. It was doubtful whether 
 food or water could be obtained between Kwees 
 and Griqua Town. All the meat was 'eaten except 
 a very small piece, and this piece they decided to 
 keep and carry with them. They drank as much 
 water as possible, that they might not be in need 
 directly, and then started. 
 
 On the way Mr. Moffat and Jantye accidentally 
 separated from their companions, and lost all trace 
 of them. 
 
 Night came on, and these two men found them- 
 selves alone on a large plain. They dismounted, 
 intending to remain where they were until morn- 
 ing. In hopes of making their lost companions 
 know in what direction to look for them, they fired 
 a gun, and were answered — by the roar of a lion, 
 almost close by ! 
 
 No wood could be procured for a fire, which 
 would scare him away ; nothing could be done ex- 
 cept to catch the horses and go on as well as they 
 could through the dark night. The weary horses 
 
02 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 had not strength to go fast, and Mr. Moffat and 
 Jantye could hear the lion coming on behind them. 
 It was too dark to see where they went, only the 
 lion’s roar sounded ever nearer and nearer. Pre- 
 sently the roar was all round them, echoing from 
 rock to rock, and from crag to crag ; — the world 
 seemed full of lions to the weary, lost men. Their 
 horses had walked into an opening between two 
 precipices, and here every height echoed the roar. 
 
 You expect to hear now, that Jantye, at least, 
 was eaten up. No, he was not ; although the lion 
 followed so long, and roared so much ! He must 
 have found something else to feast upon, for 
 neither Mr. Moffat, Jantye, nor the horses, did he 
 touch. By and by, it appeared from the sound, 
 that the lion was farther off, and presently the 
 moon, rising in the east, lighted up the rocks and 
 crags, and shone down with her peaceful beams 
 upon the travellers and their way. 
 
 A spot was reached at which they ventured to 
 stop. The tired horses were allowed to wander 
 and rest as they chose, while Mr. Moffat, with the 
 guide, laid themselves down upon the ground 
 without any supper, and, sleeping, dreamed that 
 they, had all manner of delights and comforts to 
 enjoy. 
 
 When morning dawned they arose ; and now 
 the effects of weariness, and of the want of food 
 and water were dreadfully felt. Mr. Moffat and 
 Jantye arose from their hard resting-place, with 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 63 
 
 tlieir eyes inflamed, their mouths so parched with 
 thirst, that for some time they could not speak, 
 and their whole bodies so burning with fever, that 
 they did not know how to move. The horses had 
 found a little grass, and so were better off than 
 their masters, hut even they were so wmrn out, 
 that in a short time their still more worn out 
 masters were obliged to dismount and drive them. 
 
 How did those two men keep on their dreary 
 way through the day? The sun heat down like 
 fire upon them, and sometimes, a little to cool their 
 burning brains, they would thrust their heads into 
 a deserted ant-hill, where there was at least some- 
 thing between them and the scorching rays. Think 
 of the hottest summer-day you remember, double 
 it in your mind, and then imagine yourself out in 
 the same circumstances as Mr. Moffat and Jantye. 
 There was neither rock nor tree to shelter them 
 from the heat ; not a cloud in the sky to cast its 
 grateful shadow upon them ; and not a sound to 
 be heard in the air, or on the earth, save the shrill 
 chirping of a kind of beetle. They dared not stop 
 their march — to stop there was to die. Jantye 
 became delirious as he walked along, and the 
 words he managed to say showed Mr. Moffat that 
 he did not know what he was talking about. 
 
 At last they could go on no more. They came 
 to a bush, and there sat down. Was it to die? 
 Who was there to help them ? God was in the 
 desert; and now, in- their great need, as they lay 
 
G4> RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 exhausted under that hush, He directed Jantye’s 
 eyes to a hill at some distance. Jantye was so 
 used to all the appearances of a dry and thirsty 
 land, that, as he looked at the hillside, and saw on 
 it a patch of greenness, he knew that there they 
 should find water. Hope helped them once more 
 to rise, and, driving their horses still, to reach the 
 hillside. It was now late in the afternoon, and, 
 although they had been so long without water, 
 they dared not drink directly, knowing that while 
 they were so hot and exhausted, the cooling- 
 draught would very likely kill them. So they sat 
 down at a little distance to rest, and enjoy the 
 feeling of the relief that was before them ; and as 
 soon as they thought it would be safe, they thank- 
 fully drank from the pool, although it was swarm- 
 ing with animalcules, and very muddy and filthy. 
 
 This pool refreshed the travellers and their 
 horses, enough to enable them to pursue their 
 journey ; and, late at night, they succeeded in 
 reaching Mr. Andersen’s house, at Griqua Town. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and Jantye entered Mr. Andersen’s 
 house, but they w r ere both unable to utter a w r ord, 
 and only by signs could they make themselves 
 understood. Very much surprised were the good 
 missionary and his wife at the appearance of 
 visitors in so sad a plight, and very kind they w r ere, 
 too, you may be sure. Mr. Moffat and Jantye had 
 not tasted food for three days ; but now quickly 
 Mrs. Andersen brought them what was in her 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 65 
 
 larder, and prepared some coffee, which did them 
 much good. 
 
 How pleasant to lie down on a bed once more 
 without fear of lions or pain from thirst. Mr. 
 Moffat begged his kind host to place a large 
 bucketful of water by his bedside ; but Mr. Ander- 
 sen was afraid so much would make his friend ill, 
 and only gave him a tumblerful. 
 
 The rest of the party reached Mr. Andersen s in 
 a few days. They had wandered, too, but hap- 
 pily, towards the river, so that while they had a 
 longer journey than Mr. Moffat and Jantye, it had 
 not been so painful a one. 
 
 They all remained at Griqua Town for a few 
 days, to recruit. During those days, Mr. Moffat 
 made every inquiry that he could about the land 
 and the people, that he might be able to tell 
 Africaner whether or no it would be wise to 
 remove from Namaqua-land to Griqua Town. 
 
 Mr. Andersen supplied his guests with biscuit 
 and some tobacco before they left, and wished 
 them with all his heart a safe journey home. 
 
 Towards the desert upon which Mr. Moffat had 
 so nearly lost his life, the whole party started on 
 their homeward way. Their horses were recovered 
 and brisk, so that they made quick progress. 
 The w r eather was hot, but black threatening clouds 
 were gathering in the sky. These clouds were 
 for a while a pleasant kind of parasol ; but long 
 before the spot was reached at which the tra- 
 F 
 
66 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 vellers intended to encamp for the night, an awful 
 thunderstorm burst overhead. The vivid light- 
 ning startled the horses; the peals of thunder 
 deafened their riders ; the torrents of rain soaked 
 them to the skin. After the thunder and light- 
 ning had died away in the distance, a cold, pierc- 
 ing wind sprang up, and the rain changed to 
 hail, which pattered down unmercifully upon the 
 drenched men. 
 
 Night came on : the travellers dismounted, .and 
 tried to find something dry with which to make a 
 fire. After many failures to light the sticks, etc. 
 which were collected, they were compelled to give 
 up the attempt, and lie down on the wet ground in 
 their wet clothes, without shelter from the wind 
 and hail. 
 
 Mr. Moffat thought of his old plan for a bed, 
 and scraped away the wet sand until he came to 
 some drier below, for the rain had not soaked in 
 far. There he and one of his companions went to 
 sleep ; but they do not seem to have been bene- 
 fited much. They all awoke dizzy, stiff, cold, and 
 covered with mud. 
 
 There was plenty of water, however, so at least 
 they could all wash. This they did, and wrung 
 the water from their wet clothes before putting 
 them on again. The next thought was breakfast. 
 The biscuit Mr. Andersen had given them would 
 be quite a treat. The bag was opened ; but how 
 disappointing! the rain had soaked the biscuit 
 
ANOTHER JOURNEY. 
 
 67 
 
 through and through ; and not only so, tho tobacco 
 had been unfortunately put into the same bag, and 
 now there they were so mixed together that the 
 biscuit was nothing but a nasty brown paste, which 
 it was impossible to eat. There was nothing for 
 breakfast but water ! 
 
 The clouds had cleared away, and the sun shone 
 out brightly, so that the travellers were soon warm 
 and dry again. Indeed, before many hours were 
 gone they were as much too hot as they had been 
 too cold. 
 
 At last Africaner’s kraal was reached after many 
 difficulties and wonderful escapes. From the in- 
 formation Mr. Moffat brought, Africaner deter- 
 mined not to move at present, but still to wait 
 and see if anything better offered. 
 
 There is a verse in the Bible which says, “ A 
 man shall be as an hiding-place from the wind, and 
 a -covert from the tempest ; as rivers of water in a 
 dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary 
 land.” The man spoken of is the Lord Jesus, and 
 the verse is written to teach us how very precious 
 He is. Perhaps you have not yet found out that 
 the Saviour is precious at all ; you have friends 
 who know it, and they pray for you that when, 
 in your journey through this world, tempests 
 overtake you, you may find Jesus to be a hiding- 
 place and a covert ; and when you reach a dry 
 place or a weary land, He may be to you a river 
 of water, and the shadow of a great rock. Very 
 F 2 
 
(58 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 likely your journey is now so smooth and com- 
 fortable you do not see how such a change will 
 ever come ; but at any rate you can see that 
 after this painful journey to and from Griqua 
 Town, Mr. Moffat and his companions must have 
 better understood the value of a hiding-place, a 
 covert, a river of water, and the shadow of a great 
 rock. 
 
CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 A VISIT TO THE CAPE. 
 
 Not very long after his return from Griqua Town 
 Mr. Moffat resolved to pay a visit to Cape Town. 
 
 One reason which made him very desirous of 
 going to the Cape was, that a young lady was on 
 her way from England to he his wife. He wished 
 to go and meet her and he married to her. 
 
 Mr. Moffat told Africaner that he was going, 
 and why, and asked whether he would not go 
 too. He thought a visit to civilized people would 
 do Africaner good ; that he would see and learn 
 much to interest and improve him, while those 
 who had heard of Africaner’s great wickedness 
 would find out for themselves how different a man 
 he had’ become. 
 
 When Mr. Moffat asked him to go, Africaner ex- 
 claimed, “ Are you in earnest ? ” seeming to think 
 that his kind friend must have almost lost his 
 senses. “ I thought you loved me,” he continued ; 
 " and do you advise me to go to the Government, 
 and he hung up as a spectacle of public justice? 
 
70 
 
 EI VERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Do you not know that I am an outlaw, and that 
 one thousand rix dollars have been offered for 
 this poor head?” 
 
 Mr. Moffat replied that there was no longer any 
 reason to fear ; he was no more the Africaner who 
 had been outlawed, and for whose head this reward 
 had been offered ; but God had made him “ a new 
 man and that he believed the Governor of the 
 Cape would be glad to see him. 
 
 Africaner answered, “ I shall roll my way upon 
 the Lord ; I know he will not leave me.” And so 
 he went to pray and ask God to make him decide 
 rightly about this journey. 
 
 The people publicly discussed the matter, and 
 many of them privately asked Mr. Moffat whethe 
 he really advised their chief to venture. So im- 
 portant an affair was it that it took three whole 
 days to come to a de6ision. At last it was decided 
 that Africaner should go, and preparations were 
 immediately made for the departure of their mis- 
 sionary and chief. The wagon was repaired ; the 
 clothes looked over ; the school provided for ; and 
 instructions given about what was to be done 
 during the months the people would be left. 
 
 It was agreed that when on the way the travellers 
 approached any farmhouse, Africaner should behave 
 as though he were one of Mr. Moffat’s servants ; 
 lest the Boers, whom he had so provoked in times 
 past, should recognise him, and, still feeling angry, 
 should try to kill him. Mr. Moffat gave Africaner 
 
A VISIT TO THE CAPE. 
 
 71 
 
 one of his few remaining shirts to wear ; and as lie 
 had trousers, coat, and hat of his own, his appear- 
 ance was no more savage. 
 
 The people seem to have felt parting with Afri- 
 caner and their missionary very much, though they 
 hoped to see them return again in safety. Almost 
 all the inhabitants of the kraal accompanied them 
 to the hanks of the Orange Eiver, and there parted 
 from them with many tears. 
 
 Mr. Moffat stopped first at Pella, the place to 
 which the people had gone when Africaner attacked 
 Warm Bath. No one was afraid to see him now. 
 He was welcomed with joy by his fellow Christians 
 at Pella ; and there Africaner met other warriors, 
 with w T hom he had fought savagely in times past, 
 but who had now, like him, learned to worship and 
 love the Prince of peace. 
 
 On the journey towards the Cape, the wagon 
 one day approached the house of a Boer. This 
 Boer was a really good man (for some of the Boers 
 are good, and most are kind and hospitable to 
 strangers). Mr. Moffat went towards the house to 
 ask for water, and the farmer, seeing a stranger 
 went down to meet him. 
 
 They had known each other before, and there- 
 fore Mr. Moffat held out his hand, and said how 
 glad he was to see an old friend again. Instead of 
 shaking hands, however, the farmer quickly put 
 his behind him, and staring at Mr. Moffat asked 
 him who he was. 
 
72 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 “ I am Robert Moffat,” was the answer. “ Have 
 you forgotten me ? ” 
 
 “ Moffat ! ” exclaimed the farmer ; “ it is your 
 ghost,” and he stepped away backwards. 
 
 “ I am no ghost,” replied Mr. Moffat. 
 
 “ Don’t come near me ! ” again exclaimed the 
 terrified farmer. “Africaner murdered you long 
 ago.” 
 
 “ But I am no ghost,” said Mr. Moffat, “ feel my 
 hands and see.” 
 
 But the farmer only became more frightened. 
 He stood staring at what he thought was a ghost, 
 while his wife and children at the door of the 
 house were astonished to see him give so strange a 
 reception to a visitor. 
 
 “ Every one says you were murdered ; and a man 
 told me. he had seen your bones,” said the farmer. 
 
 At last his trembling hand was put in Mr. 
 Moffat’s. The ghost’s hand proved to be real bone 
 and flesh, it did not melt away, or turn into nothing 
 when it was touched. 
 
 “ When did you rise from the dead ? ” asked the 
 farmer; for he could scarcely believe that Africaner 
 had not murdered him. 
 
 He would not take Mr. Moffat to the house ; for 
 he was afraid his wife would be as much alarmed 
 as he had been till she knew who this unexpected 
 visitor was. So they walked together to the wagon, 
 talking as they approached about Africaner; for 
 the farmer did not know he was there. 
 
DUTCH FARMER AND AFRICANER 
 
A VISIT TO THE CAPE. 
 
 73 
 
 Mr. Moffat said, “ He is now a truly good 
 man.” 
 
 “ I can believe almost everything you say,” re- 
 plied the farmer, “ but that I cannot credit ; there 
 are seven wonders in the world, that would be the 
 eighth.” 
 
 They talked on in this manner until they reached 
 the place where Africaner was sitting, and just 
 then the farmer exclaimed : 
 
 “Well, if what you assert be true about that 
 man, I have only one wish, and that is, to see 
 him before I die. When you return to his kraal, 
 as sure as the sun is over our heads, I will go 
 with you to see him, though he killed my own 
 uncle.” 
 
 “ Do you really wish to see him ? Here then is 
 Africaner,” answered Mr. Moffat, pointing to the 
 man at their feet. 
 
 The farmer started back, and stared at the man. 
 “ Are you Africaner ? ” he asked. 
 
 Africaner arose, took off his hat, made a polite 
 bow, and answered, “I am.” 
 
 The farmer seemed thunderstruck, and could 
 only praise God for His great power and goodness 
 in changing the heart of su'd! a man. He then 
 went and told his wife who the visitors were, and 
 she gladly supplied them with all they needed. 
 Mr. Moffat, however, hastened away, lest this 
 farmer might tell others not so good, that Africaner 
 was in the country. 
 
74 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 The Governor at the Cape gave the travellers a 
 very kind reception, and many persons wished to 
 see the renowned Africaner, of whom they had 
 heard so much. 
 
 The Governor presented him with a very strong 
 and useful wagon in token of his goodwill before 
 he left the Cape. 
 
 Little did Mr. Moffat think when he crossed the 
 Orange Eiver, and bade farewell to his poor, weep- 
 ing friends on its banks, that he should never go 
 back to them again. 
 
 You must remember that Mr. Moffat had been 
 appointed to go to Africaner’s kraal by a number 
 of Christian people called the London Missionary 
 Society. 
 
 Some gentlemen sent out by this society to see 
 how their missionaries were getting on, found Mr. 
 Moffat at the Cape. They took him with them, 
 as a kind of guide and interpreter, to the various 
 stations at which their missionaries were living; 
 and more than this, finding him so brave, and 
 good, and useful a man, they wished him to go to 
 the Bechuanas who seemed to need him more than 
 Africaner. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was at first very much startled, he 
 did not like to leave his kind friend Africaner, 
 yet for many reasons it seemed right to go to the 
 Bechuanas. Africaner himself wished it, so un- 
 selfish was he. He told Mr. Moffat he hoped 
 
A VISIT TO THE CAPE. 
 
 <0 
 
 some day to be able to bring bis people and come 
 to live in tbe Bechuana country near bis mis- 
 sionary again. He offered to convey Mr. Moffat’s 
 books and furniture, which bad been left at bis 
 kraal, across the country to Lattakoo. Lattakoo is 
 tbe name of the place at which Mr. Moffat was 
 now going to settle. You know tbe difficulties of 
 trave llin g in Africa, and will understand that this 
 offer of Africaner’s was very generous. So Mr. 
 Moffat went to Lattakoo, and Africaner returned 
 to his own kraal. 
 
 A year later, Mr. Moffat received a visit from 
 Africaner, who arrived at Lattakoo with bis wagon 
 full of tbe articles his friend bad left in Nam aqua- 
 land. After that visit, Africaner and Mr. Moffat 
 never met again. 
 
 Two years after, Africaner left his desert-home, 
 and poor little but, for that land in which no one 
 hungers or thirsts ; but where the inhabitants 
 dwell in a city paved with gold, and are led by 
 their Saviour to fountains of living waters. Afri- 
 caner was dead; but his brother Titus became a 
 Christian and tried to fill his lost brother’s place. 
 
 Yonker, Africaner’s son, you will be sorry to 
 hear, proved a great grief to his father; for he 
 became a robber-chief. He left the old kraal, and, 
 with some of the people, went to the Fish River, 
 where he lived by plunder. . 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FIRST MISSIONARIES TO THE BECHUANAS. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was not the first missionary to the 
 Bechnanas. While the good Albrechts, and after 
 them Mr. Moffat had been labouring in the deserts 
 of Nam aqua-1 and, several missionaries had been 
 sent to the Bechnanas. These missionaries had 
 not succeeded in doing much good ; but you shall 
 hear a little about them. 
 
 Two of them appear to have forgotten that they 
 had gone among the heathen for the purpose of 
 teaching them. They traded in ivory, and did all 
 they could to grow rich. They professed to be 
 the servants of God ; but they only tried to serve 
 themselves, and both were punished. One was 
 murdered by the Bechuanas ; the other was left 
 to listen to his own bad heart, until he came to 
 believe there was no God at all. So when he had 
 collected ivory enough he went nearer to the Cape 
 and bought a farm, on which to live — without 
 God. He may have been rich; you know he 
 could not have been happy ; and think what the 
 end must have been ! 
 
FIRST MISSIONARIES TO THE BECHUANAS. 77 
 
 Some years passed away, and two more mis- 
 sionaries were sent to the Bechuanas. Mr. Evans 
 and Mr. Hamilton ; Mothibi, the king of Lattakoo, 
 promised when they came he would be kind to 
 them. 
 
 “ I will be a father to them/’ he said. 
 
 They arrived, and the king changed his mind. 
 He asked what they had brought for trading. The 
 missionaries replied that they had not come to 
 trade, and reminded him of his promise to be kind 
 to them. 
 
 The king answered : “ You may come to protect 
 me, but you want water, much water; you had 
 better go to the river.” 
 
 They told him Mr. Hamilton could do carpen- 
 ter’s work, and that another missionary was com- 
 ing who was a smith and could make hatchets 
 for him. 
 
 This seemed to please Mothibi, but still he 
 answered : “There is no water; there are no trees; 
 the people have customs and will not hear.” Then 
 he said again, they might stop if they would only 
 trade as the first missionaries had done, and not 
 teach his subjects. 
 
 But these good men had come only to teach, 
 they would remain for nothing else. 
 
 At last Mothibi turned to the people who were 
 crowded round to listen, and asked them whether 
 the missionaries should stay. 
 
 “ The missionaries must not come here,” shouted 
 
78 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 the crowd ; and the king repeated after them, 
 “ The missionaries must not come here.” 
 
 So the missionaries yoked their oxen into the 
 wagon which had brought them, while the people 
 pressed round begging for presents and tobacco. 
 When they had received all that was to be had, 
 they hooted, and hissed, and derided, crying — 
 
 “ Away with the white people. Away with the 
 white people.” 
 
 The white people went away to Griqua Town, 
 and there stayed for a while, hoping that King 
 Mothibi would in time allow them to come to 
 Lattakoo. Mr. Evans grew tired of waiting and 
 went away ; but Mr. Hamilton remained praying 
 and hoping. 
 
 At last the king consented to receive a teacher. 
 He did this because he had heard from another 
 good missionary who paid him a visit, that Mr. 
 Hamilton had been to the Cape, and had brought 
 back to Griqua Town many things which would 
 be useful to him and his people. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton gladly went to Lattakoo as soon 
 as he found it possible, and took with him the 
 useful things of which the king had heard. 
 
 Hot long after Mr. Hamilton had settled at 
 Lattakoo, Mothibi collected together a number of 
 his men, and started on an expedition against ano- 
 ther tribe, for the purpose of stealing their cattle. 
 He was very unsuccessful ; as, indeed, he deserved 
 to be. Many of his men were killed by the spears 
 
FIRST MISSIONARIES TO THE BECHUANAS. 79 
 
 and arrows of their enemies ; others were dashed 
 down precipices ; and Mothibi himself came limp- 
 ing back with his foot very badly wounded. 
 
 This . calamity induced him to move with his 
 subjects to the banks of the Kuruman river. 
 Here he was further from his enemies, and a new 
 town was built, called, like the old one, Lattakoo. 
 As Mr. Hamilton moved with them, the mis- 
 sionary-station was formed at this new town ; and 
 for some time he was the only missionary there. 
 
 Before telling you what Mr. Moffat thought of 
 the Bechuanas when he went to join Mr. Hamilton, 
 you shall hear a little story about Mr. Hamilton 
 and a loaf of his. 
 
 He had built his house, and made a water- 
 course from the river to the spot which was to be 
 his garden. He had dug his ground, and planted 
 it with grain that he might have bread to eat. 
 The corn had sprung up, and, as he watered it care- 
 fully from his water-course, it had grown tall and 
 yellow. He cut down his ears of com, and sepa- 
 rated the wheat from the chaff. All this was in 
 preparation for a loaf of bread, as in these savage 
 lands, farmers, thrashers, millers, and bakers are 
 not so much as thought of. 
 
 Hext Mr. Hamilton took two handstones ; that 
 is, two flat stones, one of which has a handle in the 
 middle. Between the stones he placed his wheat, 
 and by dint of steady labour for some hours, suc- 
 ceeded in grinding it into flour. He then mixed 
 
80 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 his flour into a paste with some salt and water, 
 kneaded it well, and placed it among the embers 
 to bake. It was a fine large loaf, and as Mr. 
 Hamilton lifted it up, and smelt it, and felt how 
 hot and heavy it was, he thought what a treat was 
 in store for him. Why, this loaf would last him a 
 whole week ! 
 
 He did not begin to eat it just then, however ; 
 it was time for him to be going to the chapel, so 
 he placed the loaf carefully upon a shelf, fastened 
 the door of his little house securely, and hastened 
 to the chapel to pray with and preach to any one 
 who might come. When service was over, he re- 
 turned home, promising himself a capital supper 
 off his nice new loaf. 
 
 Mr. Hamilton unfastened the door and entered. 
 The shelf upon which he had certainly placed the 
 loaf was empty — his bread was gone. The door 
 had not been opened, how then had it been stolen ? 
 Ah ! the tiny window which looked too small for 
 any one to squeeze through had been forced open, 
 and the thief had managed to creep in there, and 
 out again with the precious loaf in his hand. 
 
 This was the kind of thanks Mr. Hamilton 
 received for leaving all his dear English friends, 
 and pleasant English comforts, and spending his 
 life in trying to teach the Bechuanas. He was not 
 looking for any reward here ; he could wait till 
 Jesus said, “Well done, good and faithful ser- 
 vant.” 
 
CHAPTEK X. 
 
 MR. MOFFAT’S NEW HOME. 
 
 Let us now return to Mr. Moffat. 
 
 Miss Smith, the young lady whom Mr. Moffat 
 expected to meet at the Cape, arrived, and they 
 were married there before Mr. Moffat said good- 
 bye to his old friend Africaner, and went to join 
 his new friend, Mr. Hamilton, at Lattakoo. 
 
 Mr. Moffat tells us he found the Bechuanas had 
 no idea of God, and did not care to hear about 
 Him. They only liked white men who had some- 
 thing to give them ; and would pretend to listen 
 to what they were taught, that they might get into 
 favour with Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Moffat, and 
 have more things given to them. . 
 
 The Bechuanas are sociable, and not so fero- 
 cious as the Caffres; but still they see no harm 
 in robbing, lying, or murdering. They despise the 
 Bushmen, and think themselves much superior to 
 the Hottentots. 
 
 The men employ their time in war or hunting ; 
 or, when at home they will watch the cows, milk 
 them, or prepare fur and skins for karosses. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 The women dig the ground, sow the grain, and 
 reap the harvest. They build the houses, make 
 the fences, and fetch wood and water. Thus, you 
 see the hard work is left for the women, and the 
 men like to have many wives, because the more 
 women there are to do the work, the more idle the 
 men can he. 
 
 A man will quietly lie down under the shade of 
 a tree, and watch his wives at a distance building 
 him a new house, or dragging large pieces of wood 
 to the spot at which his hut is to he built. The 
 day may he very hot, they may he very tired, or, 
 perhaps even they may not be well; he sees no 
 reason in all that why he should not enjoy himself 
 under the tree instead of helping them. 
 
 Mr. Moffat one day went to speak to some 
 women who were thus building a hut. As he ap- 
 proached, the wife of a principal man of the kraal 
 was about to climb on to the roof without the 
 assistance of a ladder. It was not very easy to 
 get up ; and Mr. Moffat, as any Englishman would, 
 thought it a very unsuitable employment for a 
 woman. 
 
 “ You should get your husbands to do that part 
 of the work,” said he. 
 
 The builders roared with laughter; and the 
 queen and some men who were loitering about 
 hearing the noise came to see the cause of so much 
 merriment. Mr. Moffat’s speech was repeated, and 
 then every one laughed louder than before. 
 
MR. MOFFAT’S NEW HOME. 
 
 83 
 
 The queen, however, said it would he a very 
 good plan ; and she wished the missionary could 
 give their husbands medicine to cure their laziness, 
 and make them work. Though the queen thought 
 this idea a good one, most of the new ideas which 
 the missionaries brought, she and all the people 
 considered very silly. 
 
 For instance, they did not see any sense in 
 white men putting their legs, and feet, and bodies 
 into “bags,” and thought it wiser to remain un- 
 covered. It seemed to them very ridiculous to 
 fasten these strange bags with the beautiful things 
 called by the white men buttons. They liked the 
 buttons to string and wear as ornaments for the 
 neck or hair. Washing was to them a nasty habit, 
 to smear the body with grease and red ochre, 
 proper. They laughed to see the missionaries 
 trying to keep their houses, beds, and food clean, 
 and thought it very unnecessary labour. 
 
 These civilized notions of propriety might, per- 
 haps, be learned in course of time. The dirt and 
 want of manners annoyed and troubled the mis- 
 sionaries very much ; but the first and greatest 
 difficulty was to make the Bechuanas understand, 
 or wish to understand, something of the Great 
 God who made them. 
 
 Once Mr. Moffat talked for a long time to a 
 chief as he stood before him leaning on his spear. 
 The chief did listen ; for when Mr. Moffat had said 
 all he wished, and was going away, the chief called 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 thirty of his men who were near, and repeated to 
 them what he had said. 
 
 “Here is Mr. Moffat/’ he said, ‘‘who tells me 
 that the heavens were made, and the earth also, by 
 a beginner, whom he calls God. Have you ever 
 heard any thing to he compared to this ? He says 
 that the sun rises and sets by the power of God ; 
 that God causes winter to follow summer ; the 
 winds to blow ; the rain to fall, the grass to grow, 
 and the trees to bud.” Then, casting his arms 
 about him, he exclaimed, “ God works in every- 
 thing you see and hear. Did you ever hear such 
 words ?” The men looked ready to burst out 
 laughing. “ Wait,” continued the chief, “ I will 
 tell you more : Mr. Moffat says we have spirits in 
 us which never die ; and that our bodies after 
 death will rise and live again. Open your ears 
 to-day. Did you ever hear such fables as these V 
 
 It was impossible to prevent it any longer, the 
 listeners all laughed as loudly as possible; and 
 when they were tired of laughing, the chief turned 
 to Mr. Moffat, and begged him not to tell them 
 any more such fables, lest they should think 
 him mad. 
 
 This chief did listen to what was said ; but 
 oftener it happened that after the missionaries 
 had tried for a long time to explain something to 
 a man, who appeared to attend, he would turn to 
 them and say, “What is that which you wish 
 to tell me ? ” 
 
MR. MOFFAT’S NEW HOME. 
 
 85 
 
 Sometimes a few people would come to the 
 services which were held in the chapeL They did 
 not come to listen to God’s Word, or to pray to 
 Him. They would sit upon the seats with their 
 knees up to their chins, and there chatter and 
 laugh, or go to sleep and snore aloud. Then, per- 
 haps, some one who was asleep would fall off the 
 seat upon the floor — an accident which would 
 make all the congregation shout with laughter. 
 
 At other times no one would come to the ser- 
 vice at all ; or a thief would just pop his head in 
 at the door to see who was preaching, and then 
 run off to the house of the missionary who was 
 in the chapel, to see what he could steal. 
 
 Mr. Moffat built himself a house at Lattakoo. 
 Hot a round hut like those of the natives, nor 
 such a one as he had lived in at Africaner’s kraal, 
 hut a square house, more like an English cottage. 
 This was a work of great labour ; and though it 
 was neat and comfortable when finished, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Moffat could not enjoy it. 
 
 Why ? you ask. 
 
 The dirty Bechuanas would come in and stay. 
 They did not see that their missionaries did not 
 like so many visitors. So all day long they were 
 there ; touching the furniture with their fingers, 
 and leaving red, greasy marks upon everything 
 they handled and wherever they sat. They would 
 squat down and have a chatter ; they would lie 
 down and take a nap on the floor, and afterwards 
 
86 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 go away, carrying with them knives, spoons, files, 
 hatchets, or anything else which might he of use 
 to them. 
 
 In course of time Mrs. Moffat had a little baby 
 girl bom, and then it must have been more dis- 
 agreeable than ever to have the house full of the 
 Bechuanas. For the baby had to be nursed and 
 looked after, while some one must watch to see 
 that everything was not stolen. 
 
 One day Mrs. Moffat was going to chapel, and 
 wished to lock the door, as she always did before 
 leaving the house. There was a Bechuana woman 
 in the kitchen ; it would not do to lock her in. 
 Mrs. Moffat’s baby was in her arms, and she was 
 waiting to lock up. So she gently asked the wo- 
 man to be so good as go out. The woman, instead 
 of doing as she was asked, seized a large piece of 
 wood, and was about to throw it at Mrs. Moffat, 
 who would doubtless have been much hurt, had she 
 not run away to save herself and the baby. The 
 woman remained in the kitchen as long as she 
 chose ; and when she was satisfied, and had stolen 
 what she wanted, she walked away. 
 
 Besides building their houses, and a house in 
 which they could worship God together, the mis- 
 sionaries had to make gardens and cultivate them. 
 The gardens were not for flowers ; flowers they 
 could do without, but corn and vegetables they 
 must have for food, as they would soon be ill did 
 they eat only meat. 
 
MR. MOFFAT'S NEW HOME. 81 
 
 They fenced in their land ; with great trouble 
 they dug a long watercourse from the river, sowed 
 their precious seeds, and hoped to have corn for 
 bread without much more trouble. 
 
 Their hopes were in vain. The Bechuana wo- 
 men had watched the digging of the watercourse 
 with great curiosity, and when they saw how the 
 water flowed down the channel to the white men’s 
 gardens, they thought it would be useful to them- 
 selves. Soon Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Moffat found 
 the water ceased to flow to their ground. How 
 was this ? The women had made channels from 
 the watercourse into their own gardens, and had 
 shut up the channel which flowed to the mission- 
 aries’. Of course the water ran to the Bechuana 
 gardens, and left the others dry. 
 
 The poor missionaries complained, as well they 
 might ; the Bechuanas laughed. This was a serious 
 affair, and no laughing matter to the illused white 
 men ; and they still complained. The Bechuanas 
 grew angry, and were determined that the mission- 
 aries should have no benefit from the watercourse. 
 They went to the river, and broke down the dam 
 from which the water was turned into the water- 
 course, so that no water ran in at all. 
 
 Contention could do no good. The missionaries 
 found the only way was to walk to the river, and 
 fetch whatever water they were obliged to have 
 for their houses and gardens. This was hard and 
 weary work. They used to carry with them their 
 
88 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 knives, spoons, and forks, lest these useful articles 
 should be stolen in their absence. 
 
 Many nights the missionaries spent in watering 
 their gardens, instead of sleeping. The result of 
 their care was, that some golden ears of corn 
 waved their heads in the sunshine, some carefully 
 shaded greens hid themselves among the bushes. 
 Who was to enjoy them? Not the labourers. 
 Almost all was stolen by the Bechuanas, who 
 would not have cared one bit if their white friends 
 died from want of the vegetables. 
 
 As vegetables were so scarce, the missionaries 
 were compelled to eat a great deal of meat ; there- 
 fore they kept some cattle. 
 
 The people did just the same to the cattle as to 
 everything else. They would sometimes amuse 
 themselves in the evening by driving the animals 
 from the fold into a bog, and, when it was too 
 dark to find them, they would knock at Mr. 
 Moffat’s door, and tell him of the accident, as they 
 called it. Before daylight dawned, some of the 
 oxen would be devoured by hyenas, or be eaten 
 by the deceitful men who had driven them away. 
 Once they killed and cut up the strongest of the 
 oxen used for the wagon, and carried him altogether 
 away, except one shoulder. The sheep they often 
 stole, and would cut off the tails or break the legs 
 of those they left. 
 
 In the midst of all this hard labour and ill- 
 usage, Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Moffat did not forget 
 
ME. MOFFAT’S NEW HOME. 
 
 89 
 
 for what purpose they were living at Lattakoo. 
 Christ himself, when on earth, was depised and 
 rejected. These two good men were only being 
 used as their Master was ; and, through all diffi- 
 culties, they still proclaimed the wondrous story of 
 love and pardon. 
 
 On Sundays, they took it by turns to go round 
 to the villages, and instruct the people. They 
 used to walk, and started very early in the morn- 
 ing, in order to be back again before the greatest 
 heat of the day. Walking on the hot sand was 
 extremely painful to the feet. This the people 
 knew, and, because they enjoyed to see their 
 teachers suffer, it was common to detain them as 
 much as possible. 
 
 Thus, suppose Mr. Moffat arrived at a kraal 
 very early some Sunday morning. He would ask 
 the chief man to call the people together, that he 
 might talk to them. The chief would consent, 
 but would not call them yet ; he would wait until 
 the sun was hot overhead and the ground hot 
 underfoot. Mr. Moffat, he knew, would not go 
 until he had said what he had to say. So, when 
 the sun was well up, the meeting was called, and 
 Mr. Moffat told them of the Lamb of God who 
 taketh away the sin of the world, and prayed to 
 them to believe in Him and to love him. The 
 people heard, and heeded not ; but, as soon as he 
 had finished, their delight was to watch the 
 wearied preacher walk away over the plain, to- 
 
90 
 
 MYERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 wards the station. His way was over the burning 
 sand, under the burning sun ; and they stood and 
 laughed to see him step carefully from one tuft of 
 grass to another, sometimes sitting down under 
 the shadow of a hush, to cool his head and feet. 
 
 Both Mr. Moffat and Mr. Hamilton, yes, and 
 their wives also, must have had great love to 
 Christ, to endure all this unkindness and ingrati- 
 tude for His sake. The Bechuanas could not un- 
 derstand it. To them, the missionaries’ endurance 
 was very strange. They fancied these white men 
 had other reasons for staying than they pretended 
 to have. It was not possible they should he con- 
 tent to suffer all they did, in order to teach their 
 persecutors a few ridiculous fables, which no one 
 could believe. ^ 
 
 Some said, “ They have come to our country to 
 get a living.” This idea was not very bright. It 
 was evident to all that the white men were richer 
 than themselves, and could obtain, from their own 
 country, such things as had never been seen or 
 heard of at Lattakoo. 
 
 Some brighter ones said : “ Ho ; they must be 
 wicked people, who have committed some great 
 crime, and have run away, choosing to suffer as 
 they do here, rather than endure the punishment 
 they would have to bear in their own country. 
 
 One day, Mr. Moffat’s knife was stolen out of 
 his coat-pocket, while he was preaching. Mr. 
 Moffat asked a chief to try and find the thief, and 
 
MR. MOFFAT’S NEW HOME. 
 
 91 
 
 recover the knife. The chief did not trouble him- 
 self to do this, but answered, “ What is the reason 
 you do not return to your own land? If your 
 land was a good one, or if you were not afraid of 
 returning, you would not be so content to live as 
 you do, while people devour you.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat could not make the chief understand 
 why he remained. He and Mr. Hamilton still 
 worked, and prayed, and waited, believing that the 
 day would come when the Bechuanas would know 
 why they had left their own land and would thank 
 them for doing so. 
 
 That day did come at last. Mr. Moffat is still 
 living among the Bechuanas. He has been there 
 for many years, and is growing an old man now. 
 The Lord Jesus, whom he served through all these 
 persecutions and discouragements has given him a 
 large reward here. Many of the heathen have be- 
 come Christians, many have gone to heaven. Mr. 
 Moffat, too, will some day be called to his rest. 
 Here he has “ turned many to righteousness there 
 he will “ shine as the stars, for ever and ever.” 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 The country round Lattakoo suffered frequently 
 from long drought. No rain fell for many months 
 together, and then so little, that it was all dried 
 up in an hour or two. The cattle died from want 
 of pasture ; the people died from want of food. 
 Such a drought had continued year after year, at 
 the time of which you are now hearing, and the 
 Bechuanas were enduring great privations from 
 the want of rain. 
 
 In England, rain is so common, that we do not 
 understand how great a blessing it is. Look out 
 of the window at the green grass, the leafy trees, 
 the bright flowers ; and try to imagine the conse- 
 quence were no showers to fall in England from 
 this day, for, let us say, three years. For a little 
 while you would see no great difference ; but by 
 and by how changed everything would be ! 
 
 Think — the sun shining all day long, without a 
 cloud to veil its hot, staring face (for you must 
 imagine it summer all the time). The leaves 
 stripped from the trees for want of sap to keep 
 them alive, and no sweet opening buds in their 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 93 
 
 place. The fields brown and bare ; grass and corn, 
 and all the green herbs, scorched np and dry. 
 The cattle panting in the noon-day heat, lowing at 
 the brink of the dried-np pond, where once they 
 drank, or pushing their mouths among the roots of 
 the withered grass, if haply they may find one green 
 shoot. The sheep dying in the folds ; no pretty, 
 playful lambs frisking among them ; no barking, 
 bounding dog, collecting them from their pasture ; 
 they are quietly lying down waiting to die. The 
 bird’s song is hushed ; the babbling brook is silent ; 
 the hedgerow ferns and flowers gone. 
 
 And in your own home there is hardly water to 
 wash you, or dress your food. Every drop you 
 drink is measured, while you long and beg for 
 more. Supposing yours to be a rich home, you may 
 still have food ; but among the cottages famine is 
 creeping in. The children’s faces have grown long 
 and thin ; they are forgetting the taste of meat and 
 butter, and milk; even those who used to know 
 such tastes well. Coarse bread they may have 
 still ; but the wheat to make it is brought from 
 foreign lands, and costs so much, that their fathers 
 can hardly buy enough to keep their famishing 
 wives and little ones alive. 
 
 English children, be thankful for the rain. Much 
 suffering, you see, would be the consequence, were 
 a drought to visit our green island ; but in South 
 Africa affairs are in some respects even worse. 
 The people do not trade with foreign lands as we 
 
94 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 do, and so cannot obtain elsewhere what is wanting 
 at home. 
 
 God has, in a wonderful manner, prepared the 
 land for long droughts, and we find in Africa many 
 animals and plants which can live without water 
 for a long time, yet not so long as these droughts 
 often continue. Many and many a child, many a 
 man, many a woman, many a beast, has died in 
 Africa for want of the precious rain. 
 
 In South Africa rain is so much thought of, 
 that in every tribe there is a person called a rain- 
 maker. Sometimes a tribe possesses two or three. 
 These rainmakers are very expert in deceiving 
 the people, and gain so much power over the igno- 
 rant minds around them, that they become very 
 important, and are believed in everywhere. 
 
 While the Bechuanas were suffering so much 
 from the want of water, there dwelt among another 
 tribe, far away to the east, a very celebrated rain- 
 maker, who was said to be very successful in 
 causing the showers to falL 
 
 To this man ambassadors were sent by the 
 Bechuanas, entreating him to come to their aid. 
 The ambassadors were told on no account to return 
 without him ; and if he did not think it worth his 
 while to come so far, they might promise him as 
 much payment as they chose. They were to tell 
 him he should be made the richest man that ever 
 lived, and have flocks and herds given him, enough 
 to cover all the hills ; so that he might even wash 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 95 
 
 his hands in milk, while, all the songs they sang, 
 should be in his praise. These were very extra- 
 vagant promises. The rainmaker thought they 
 sounded like reward enough to repay him, so he 
 consented to return with the ambassadors. 
 
 In the meantime, the poor Bechuanas were watch- 
 ing and waiting for the wonderful man to arrive. 
 A report went abroad that their messengers had 
 been killed on the way. All the hope was changed 
 to disappointment ; all the bright expectation to 
 gloom. The sun shone as unclouded as ever; they 
 would have danced to see gloom in the sky. 
 
 Then came a forerunner to say, that the rain- 
 maker was approaching with the ambassadors, and 
 that he sent orders for every one in the town to 
 wash their feet. The whole people shouted with 
 joy, and rushed to the river, that they might have 
 clean feet when the great man appeared. 
 
 Black clouds were gathering in the sky. Was 
 the rainmaker already at work ? He began to de- 
 scend the hill towards the town. In the clouds 
 above him, the forked lightning played; the thunder 
 echoed from the rocks around him ; and on the 
 town beyond, large drops of rain were falling, like 
 harbingers of plenty. The people danced and 
 shouted — wild with happiness and ecstasy. 
 
 The rainmaker entered the town, and with a 
 loud voice proclaimed, that he was going to make 
 so much rain that the women must plant their 
 gardens on the hillsides this year, the plains would 
 
96 KIYERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 be deluged. That day, however, only a few drops 
 fell. The thunder and lightning and heavy rain- 
 clouds were swept away by the wind. 
 
 After the excitement and noise of the rainmaker’s 
 reception were over, some men went to the mission- 
 aries, to laugh at them. 
 
 “ Where is your God ? ” they asked. “ Have you 
 seen our god ? Have you not beheld him cast from 
 his arms his fiery spears and rend the heavens? 
 Have you not heard with your ears his voice in 
 the clouds ? You talk of Jehovah and Jesus, what 
 can they do ? ” 
 
 They called the rainmaker God, and believed he 
 made the thunder and lightning. The missionaries 
 said nothing in reply. They knew God himself 
 was able to answer these questions, and show what 
 He could do. All the tribes round soon heard of 
 the fame of the rainmaker, and many of the chiefs 
 came to pay their respects to him. The mission- 
 aries did not go and pay him homage as every one 
 else did ; the rainmaker came to visit them instead. 
 He had heard of the missionaries, and believed 
 they would be his enemies ; but when he went to 
 their houses he found, that, however much they 
 might disapprove of his deceitful trade, they were 
 not going to quarrel with him. He liked the tobacco 
 they gave him, and when he saw the things they 
 made from wood and iron in their workshop, he 
 wished very much they would go to his country 
 and make such useful tilings for him. 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 97 
 
 This deceiver and his wife were provided with a 
 hut at Lattakoo, in which to live until the rain 
 was made. But the rain-making seemed to be no 
 such easy matter, weeks passed away and none fell. 
 
 When clouds appeared in the sky the women 
 were forbidden to sow or plant anything, lest the 
 showers should be scared away. They were sent 
 into the country round to gather certain herbs and 
 roots which the rainmaker said he required to 
 burn, and so make a particular kind of smoke to 
 entice the clouds. He also had sheep and goats 
 given him which he killed, pretending in this way 
 to please the clouds. 
 
 But neither the smoke, nor the sheep and goats 
 succeeded. The clouds were hard to be won. 
 
 Then the rainmaker complained. “Some one 
 must be disobeying my orders. The women must 
 have been sowing while the clouds were in the 
 sky. You do not give me anything but sheep and 
 goats ; give me oxen and I will let you see ox rain.” 
 
 One day, as his wife was busy churning, he fell 
 asleep in his house. While he was asleep, it began 
 to rain. One of the principal men of the town 
 ran to the hut to congratulate the rainmaker on 
 his success, and was, as you may imagine, very 
 much surprised to find him asleep, and quite un- 
 conscious of the shower which was falling. 
 
 *'■ Hela ka rare,” (halloo, my father,) exclaimed 
 the astonished man, as he woke the rainmaker, “ I 
 thought you were making rain.” 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 KIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Up jumped the sleeper wide awake and with his 
 senses all alive in a minute. Pointing to his wife, 
 he answered, “ Do you not see my wife churning 
 rain as fast as she can ? ” 
 
 This reply was considered satisfactory ; the man 
 went away believing the deceiver more than ever, 
 and soon all the town heard that the rain-maker 
 had churned the shower out of a milk-sack. 
 
 It was unfortunately only a shower, and in a 
 few hours the sun had dried up every trace of the 
 moisture. Weeks and weeks passed on, hut the 
 rainmaker and his wife found no more showers to 
 be churned out of their milk-sack. 
 
 The people, thin as skeletons, were going by 
 hundreds out into the open country searching for 
 roots to keep them alive, while many more really died 
 of starvation. No wonder they became impatient, 
 and asked why the promised rain did not come. 
 
 The wicked man knew perfectly well he could 
 not make it, but he thought, “ Some day it is sure 
 to rain ; if I can only deceive the people till that 
 day comes they will believe I made it. I must 
 give them something to do to fill up the time.” 
 
 He told the men he must have a baboon before 
 he could make rain. Not a dead one ; they must 
 catch it and bring it to him alive. And not only 
 alive, it must not he hurt, not even scratched or 
 bruised, or with a hair wanting. This was indeed 
 no easy task, hut away went the men to hunt the 
 baboons. Up the rocks and precipices among the 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 99 
 
 mountains scrambled the men ; while the animals 
 leaped from rock to rock, grunting and screaming, 
 or looked down from some height upon their pur- 
 suers, grinning and gnashing their teeth, and won- 
 dering, no doubt, for what they could be wanted. 
 At length the men secured a young baboon, and 
 with great joy and exultation returned to the town 
 with their prize. 
 
 They took it to the rainmaker. He looked at 
 it, and then with an expression of the deepest 
 sorrow exclaimed, “ My heart is rent in pieces, I 
 am dumb with grief.” 
 
 Why, do you think? 
 
 He pointed to the baboon’s ear ; it was scratched 
 and bleeding ; he pointed to its tail ; some hairs 
 had been rubbed off. “ Did I not tell you I could 
 not make rain if there was one hair wanting?” 
 said he. 
 
 The men went again to hunt the baboons, and 
 caught another ; but it, too, was imperfect. JSTo 
 rain could be obtained through the baboons. 
 
 The rainmaker tried another plan. He said the 
 clouds required very strong medicine, and that a 
 lion’s heart was very strong medicine. If the 
 people would procure a lion’s heart, he would 
 make enough rain to sweep away the whole 
 town. 
 
 One day, a lion attacked some cattle at a distance 
 from Lattakoo. As soon as it was known, away 
 went the men to kill the lion, and bring his heart 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 to the rainmaker. The lion was shot, and no 
 sooner was it dead than the hunters cut it up, and 
 after carefully taking out its heart roasted its flesh 
 and made a feast. The lion eaten, they returned 
 to the town in great triumph, hearing w 7 ith them 
 the heart, and shouting conquerors’ sougs as they 
 marched along. 
 
 The rainmaker took the lion’s heart and carried 
 it up to the top of a hill. Here he built fires and 
 made smoke rise towards the sky; he stretched 
 out his arms, beckoned to the clouds, and was even 
 so foolish as to shake his spear at them, and 
 threaten to punish them if they did not come at 
 his command and bring rain. 
 
 What cared the clouds? Or what cared the 
 Great God who rules the clouds, for this poor 
 creature’s threats ? The clouds obeyed their 
 Almighty Euler, not this foolish man, and all his 
 threats did not bring the much-needed rain. 
 
 How the rainmaker said the fault was with the 
 missionaries. It happened that Mr. Moffat had 
 lately been to Griqua Town, and had brought 
 back, among other things, a bag of chalk. What 
 fault could be found with the missionaries ? This 
 bag of white stuff was suspicious looking, and the 
 rainmaker declared that there was a bag of salt in 
 the mission store-house, which was keeping the 
 rain away. 
 
 The king, Mothibi, visited Mr. Moffat with a 
 number of his attendants, to inform him of the 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 101 
 
 charge laid against him. Mr. Moffat listened very 
 gravely till the king had finished, and then led the 
 way to the store-house, to show the salt to the 
 king. But when they came to look, lo ! the salt 
 was chalk, and Mothibi could not help laughing 
 when he found that the man who pretended to 
 know how to govern the clouds, did not know 
 chalk from salt. 
 
 The missionaries had hoped that as they were 
 themselves suffering much in consequence of the 
 want of rain, and their cattle were dying as much 
 as the Bechuanas’, that the people would not be so 
 silly as to think that they kept the rain away on 
 purpose. But they were silly enough to believe 
 even this, and at last they cursed Mr. Hamilton 
 and Mr. Moffat, and said they were the cause of 
 all their sorrows. The sound of the chapel bell, 
 they said, frightened the clouds away, and the 
 missionaries bowed down in their houses and 
 talked to something bad in the ground. 
 
 Last of all, the people began to suspect the 
 rainmaker himself, and to doubt his power. The 
 women were the first to blame him. 
 
 One day he came to Mr. Moffat’s house, with 
 a very long face, and sat down to have a talk. 
 He asked how the women were in Mr. Moffat’s 
 country. Mr. Moffat, thinking he wanted to know 
 how tall they were, pointed to his wife, and said 
 some of the women were taller, and some shorter 
 than she was. 
 
102 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 “ That is not what I mean/’ he replied. “ I want 
 to know what part they take in public affairs, and 
 how they act when they do so.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat answered, that when the women in 
 his country had occasion to take an active part in 
 public affairs, they carried all before them; and 
 added, “ Wait till we get the women on our side, 
 as they now are on yours, and there will be no 
 more rainmakers in the country.” 
 
 “ May that time never arrive ! ” exclaimed the 
 rainmaker. 
 
 Mr. Moffat answered, that that time assuredly 
 would come. 
 
 The rainmaker looked very much vexed, and 
 asked, “ What shall I do % I wash all the women 
 were men. I can get on with the men ; but the 
 women I cannot manage.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat told him the women certainly had 
 sufficient cause to complain ; for he had promised 
 them rain, but had given them none. The best 
 thing to do was to act like an honest man ; say he 
 had deceived them, and could not make rain. 
 
 “ They will kill me ! ” answered the poor man. 
 
 This was very likely, and Mr. Moffat knew it, 
 still he answered, “ Be honest ; and if there is 
 danger, I wall try to save you.” 
 
 The rainmaker made no remark ; he walked to 
 his own hut, and for the next fortnight nobody 
 saw him. 
 
 At the end of a fortnight, he one day appeared 
 
THE RAINMAKER 
 
 103 
 
 in the large public fold, where the men used to 
 meet for talking ; and there he proclaimed that he 
 had at last discovered the reason for the long 
 drought. Every one listened eagerly to hear. 
 
 “ Do you not see,” said he, “ when clouds come 
 over us, Hamilton and Moffat look at them ? Their 
 white faces frighten the clouds away. You need 
 not expect rain as long as they remain in the 
 country.” 
 
 Very quickly the missionaries were told how 
 wrong it was in them to look at the clouds, and 
 that they had better go quite away. They assured 
 the people that they had had no idea of the harm 
 they had done by looking up ; but as they were as 
 anxious for rain as any one could be, they would 
 in future be very careful to look down. 
 
 So Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Moffat walked about 
 with their eyes on the ground, to avoid giving 
 offence. Still no rain followed, but on all sides 
 the men’s brows looked heavy, and angry, and re- 
 vengeful. They were disappointed, and their faith 
 was gone. 
 
 By and by, the missionaries accidentally heard 
 that some one was to be speared. Who could the 
 somebody be? Was it themselves, or the rain- 
 maker ? They supposed it was the rainmaker, and 
 wished to save his life; but the people were evi- 
 dently all trying to keep the secret from them. 
 How could they discover it ? 
 
 Mr. Moffat thought of a plan. There was a 
 
104 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 woman (a chief’s wife) to whom he had often been 
 kind when she was ill. This woman and he were 
 rather friendly, and he determined to find out 
 through her. He paid her a visit, and, after a few 
 kind inquiries and a little talk, he said, — 
 
 “ Why are they thinking of killing the rain- 
 maker? They surely do not intend to eat him? 
 Why not let the poor man go home ? ” 
 
 She answered quickly, “ Who told you ? ” 
 
 Mr. Moffat rose to leave, saying, “ That is all I 
 wanted to know.” 
 
 In a moment the woman saw it was she who 
 had let out the secret. Mr. Moffat had only asked 
 those questions for the sake of her answer. 
 
 She called after him : “ Do not let them know I 
 told you. They will kill me.” 
 
 Of course Mr. Moffat did not wish her to be 
 killed, so he said nothing about his visit to any 
 one ; but he went straight to the public fold, where, 
 at that moment, thirty men were sitting in council. 
 Mr. Moffat charged them with consulting to put the 
 rainmaker to death. He told them he knew they 
 had been talking about it, and were determined 
 to commit the cruel deed. He told them how 
 great a sin it would be. He asked them to spare 
 his life ; he begged them to send him to his own 
 country instead. 
 
 An old man arose in a great rage, and, quivering 
 his spear on his hand, as though just about to 
 throw it, he spoke of the severe drought, the lean 
 
THE RAINMAKER. 
 
 105 
 
 herds, the dying peQple, and vowed he would send 
 his spear into the deceiver’s heart. 
 
 Mr. Moffat replied, that, as begging and entreat- 
 ing did no good, he would offer a ransom for the 
 man’s life. 
 
 The men were astonished. “ Do you not know 
 that this man is your enemy ? ” they said. “ If he 
 had had his way, you would have been dead now.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat did know it well ; but his Master 
 had said, “ Love your enemies.” 
 
 The people had thought him only silly in telling 
 them “ fables ” about Jesus ; but this wish to save 
 a man who had tried to do him harm — what could 
 it mean ? They had never heard so strange a wish. 
 
 However, the ransom was accepted ; the rain- 
 maker was saved through Mr. Moffat, and King 
 Mothibi himself conducted him safely away from 
 the town. His departure was very different from 
 what he had hoped. There were no large rewards 
 to carry back with him ; no herds of cattle, as 
 thank-offerings from a grateful people ; no songs 
 of praise, no blessings were heard as he went. He 
 went empty-handed, poorer than when he came. 
 The people cursed him in their hearts, and he had 
 to thank the missionaries that he had escaped 
 with his life. 
 
 When Mothibi returned to Lattakoo, having 
 seen the rainmaker safely on his way, he entered 
 Mr. Moffat’s house, with a smile of great satisfac- 
 tion beaming on his face, and evidently thinking 
 
106 RIVERS OP WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 be bad done something very good, for which he 
 deserved to be praised. The missionaries also 
 thought he deserved praise, and congratulated him 
 very heartily on what he had done. 
 
 Although the rainmaker was not killed at Lat- 
 takoo, he was speared, by order of a chief called 
 Makaba, not very long after. It was not because 
 lie could not make rain, but because Makaba’s son 
 wanted the rainmaker’s wife to be his ; and he 
 and his father decided that the easiest way to get 
 her would be to kill her husband. 
 
 There are one or two verses in God’s Word, 
 which it will be well for us to think of, when we 
 read this story of the drought and the rainmaker. 
 
 “ He watereth the hills from His chambers ; He 
 causeth grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for 
 the service of man ; that he may bring forth food 
 out of the earth He turneth rivers into a wilder- 
 ness, and the water-springs into dry ground; a 
 fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of 
 them that dwell therein.” 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE BECHUANAS WISH THEIR, MISSIONARIES TO GO. 
 
 The rainmaker was gone, but tbe missionaries’ 
 troubles were not yet over. They were blamed 
 for everything that went wrong. 
 
 Some Bushmen were troublesome in stealing 
 cattle ; and because the missionaries did not like 
 the Bushmen to be shot for doing so, the Bechu- 
 anas said Mr. Moffat and Mr. Hamilton helped 
 them to steal. Mr. Moffat told them how Jesus, 
 his Great Master, commanded him to be kind to 
 every one, but they only shouted in reply, “ Maka 
 hela, maka hela,” — “lies only, lies only.” 
 
 You have heard in what a shocking manner the 
 people behaved during divine service. A very 
 great number had never been to a place of worship 
 at all, for their chiefs threatened to punish them 
 severely if they did. 
 
 There stood in the chapel an old-fashioned 
 Dutch clock, on the top of which was a box con- 
 taining two little wooden soldiers. Whenever the 
 clock struck, these little soldiers marched out of 
 their box. 
 
108 RIVERS CF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Should you not have thought it a very pretty 
 sight, and have liked to watch the wooden figures 
 march out every hour? Very probably the Bechu- 
 anas would have admired the little men too if 
 they had not believed them to be alive. 
 
 A bad white man had told some of the chiefs 
 that the missionaries were sent by the same people 
 who had conquered the colony, and very soon they 
 would be conquered also and turned into soldiers 
 like the two on the top of the clock. They fancied 
 therefore that if they went into the chapel these 
 little men would seize them by the throat and 
 make them slaves. No wonder they kept away, 
 if they believed such nonsense as this ; but none 
 of those who had ventured to the chapel had been 
 seized and made slaves. 
 
 So frightened did the people become that Mr. 
 Moffat was obliged to take down his two little 
 soldiers, and even cut a piece off one of them in 
 order to convince the people it was nothing but 
 painted wood. But even when every one was 
 quite convinced that the soldiers were not alive, 
 and could do them no harm, they would not come 
 to the chapel, nor would they believe that the 
 missionaries only wished to do them good. 
 
 One day a chief, with about a dozen attendants, 
 came and sat down under a large tree not far from 
 Mr. Moffat’s house. Mr. Moffat wondered what 
 he was going to do there, but before long a mes- 
 senger came to fetch him and Mr. Hamilton. The 
 
BECHUANAS WISH THEIR MISSIONARIES TO GO. 109 
 
 chief had something to say to them. The mis- 
 sionaries went to hear what it was. The chief 
 arose as they approached and stood while he 
 spoke, with his spear in his hand in a very threat- 
 ening attitude. He told them that all the chiefs 
 were resolved that the white strangers should no 
 longer dwell in their country; they were to go 
 away at once. 
 
 How if the mission-land had not been bought 
 from the Bechuanas, and paid for honourably, per- 
 haps the white strangers would have been com- 
 pelled to leave ; but the land, upon which their 
 houses were, belonged no more to Mothibi, he had 
 sold it to the Missionary Society, and Mr. Moffat 
 and Mr. Hamilton had a right to it. Besides, they 
 had not yet given up the hope of seeing a brighter 
 day dawn on themselves and the benighted Bechu- 
 anas, and did not wish, having put their hands to 
 the plough, to turn back. 
 
 They answered : “We are resolved to stay. We 
 pity you, for you know not what you do. We 
 have suffered much from you, but it was because 
 you knew no better. If you are determined to 
 rid yourselves of us, you must resort to stronger 
 measures, for our hearts are with you. You may 
 kill us or burn our houses. You will not injure 
 our wives and children, we are sure.” 
 
 When the chief heard these words he shook his 
 head, and, turning to his companions, said, “ These 
 men must have ten lives, when they are so fear- 
 
110 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 less of death. There must he something in im- 
 mortality ! ” 
 
 No wonder he was surprised. How could he 
 understand such bravery as this ? He was a 
 warrior, but he could not deny himself thus. He 
 was a chief, but he could not govern himself as 
 these men did. His life was very dear to him, he 
 knew nothing more precious than himself. Ah, 
 to the missionaries, too, life was precious, hut 
 there was something they counted dearer than 
 life. “For the work of Christ they were nigh 
 unto death, not regarding their life.” 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DANGER. — THE BECHUANAS FIND REASON TO 
 CHANGE THEIR MINDS. 
 
 At last, the day dawned in which the inhabitants 
 of Lattakoo learned the value of their missionaries. 
 The events which led to this change were very 
 alarming. But for Mr. Moffat, or rather the use 
 the Great Ruler made of him, all the people would 
 have been killed or scattered — their town would 
 have been destroyed — their cattle taken away. 
 
 You want to hear more of this, and what the 
 alarming events were. 
 
 Eor some time reports had reached Lattakoo of 
 a vast army approaching from the north. It was 
 said that a woman named Mantatee was at the 
 head of this army, and it was marching on, on, 
 towards Lattakoo; leaving everywhere behind it 
 ruin and death. 
 
 Such reports seemed so unlikely to be true, 
 that, although the people were alarmed, Mr. Moffat 
 did not much heed them. He was preparing his 
 wagon for a journey northward to visit Makaba, 
 who had murdered the rainmaker. He was chief of 
 the Bauangketsi, a large tribe living two hundred 
 
112 
 
 RIVERS OF Water in a dry place. 
 
 miles from Lattakoo, and Mr. Moffat wished to 
 know whether he would consent to receive teachers 
 should any he sent. 
 
 Little as Mothibi cared for the missionaries, he 
 was not at all pleased that Mr. Moffat should go 
 to Makaba. There was probably much the same 
 feeling in the king’s mind as there is in yours 
 sometimes when you are naughty. You will not 
 play with your toys yourself, nor will you allow 
 your brothers and sisters to have them. But 
 perhaps he had a real reason besides. 
 
 At that time no white traders visited the Bau- 
 angketsi, and Mothibi preferred they should not. 
 Why ? you ask : it could have done Mothibi no 
 harm. Those tribes to the north sent ivory and 
 skins to Lattakoo, and other places at which the 
 traders called, and there the merchandise was 
 given in exchange for things brought by the traders. 
 But the tribes who had sent the ivory and skins did 
 not know how much had been given for them, and 
 the sellers did not let them know ; for the greater 
 part of what they received they kept to them- 
 selves, sending only a very small portion as the 
 price of the skins and ivory. This was of course 
 very wrong ; but Mothibi did not wish the gains 
 he made in this way to be stopped. It is true 
 Mr. Moffat was no trader, but if the way was once 
 made known, traders would soon follow him. 
 
 Whatever his real motive was, Mothibi did all 
 he could to prevent Mr. Moffat from taking this 
 
DANGER. 
 
 113 
 
 journey. He told him that Makaba was a very 
 wicked and cruel king, and would certainly kill 
 him ; so that, if he were determined to go, Mrs. 
 Moffat and the two little children had better be 
 sent away to England at once, for they would 
 never see him again. He forbade any of his men 
 to accompany the missionary, consequently Mr. 
 Moffat had no one to take with him but his own 
 servants. Still even this did not hinder him. He 
 started, and, trusting that God would guard him 
 and his little band, travelled on for several days. 
 
 At every kraal near which the toiling oxen 
 dragged the lumbering wagon, Mr. Moffat heard 
 the dreadful Mantatee army talked about. He 
 reached a place called Nokaneng, and here he 
 was told that the invaders had attacked and 
 taken a town named Kunuana, only one hundred 
 miles off. 
 
 Kunuana lay in Mr. Moffat’s road. Should he 
 go on ? Ho one had seen the invaders ; every one 
 had heard of them from some one else. Perhaps, 
 as is so often the case, the reports were a great 
 deal worse than the reality. Spies had been sent 
 out from Hokaneng, and even they had returned 
 and seen nothing. 
 
 Mr. Moffat went on. He went on to within 
 fifteen miles of Kunuana, and yet he could hear 
 and see nothing to change the doubt into cer- 
 tainty. But here, on the heights around, there 
 were strange men looking down at the wagon, 
 I 
 
1 14 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and they did not approach as the natives were 
 in the habit of doing. This was rather suspicious. 
 Were the men Mantatees ? 
 
 At last, two Barolong natives passed, who cleared 
 up the doubt. “ Yes,” they said, “ the town in front 
 was taken. There was a large savage army there. 
 Those men on the heights were Mantatees, and 
 belonged to the army. They would attack Mr. 
 Moffat, if he stayed or advanced.” These Barolongs 
 themselves had really seen them, and had with 
 difficulty escaped. 
 
 Mr. Moffat turned his oxen round at once, and 
 went as fast as possible back to Nokaneng. He 
 told the people there that the dreadful news of. 
 the army that was coming was quite true, and ' 
 then hastened on to Lattakoo to carry the intelli- 
 gence there, and see what could be done to save 
 all the country from being desolated. 
 
 An assembly of the chief men was called, and 
 Mr. Moffat gave them an account of what he had 
 seen and heard. Mantatee was not the name of a 
 woman, but of the tribe to which this army be- 
 longed. They had destroyed many towns, slaugh- 
 tered immense numbers of people, scattered the 
 Barolongs, aud were said to be cannibals. When 
 Mr. Moffat had finished, all the faces around were 
 covered with gloom, and for some minutes not a 
 sound was heard. 
 
 At last Mothibi arose, and thanked Mr. Moffat 
 for having taken this journey in spite of all that 
 
DANGER. 
 
 115 
 
 had been done to prevent him ; for by going he 
 had brought them information of their danger in 
 time for them to prepare to meet it. He asked 
 the missionaries to tell them what to do. Mr. 
 Moffat advised them either to flee to the colony 
 where the English soldiers would protect them; 
 or else to send for soldiers from Griqua Town, 
 and ask the Griquas, who were stronger and more 
 civilized, to come and help them. Some wanted 
 to flee to the Bakalari desert ; but Mr. Moffat per- 
 suaded them not to do so ; for there they would 
 most likely perish from hanger and thirst. 
 
 It was decided to send to Griqua Town : and 
 now everything was bustle and preparation. Mr. 
 Moffat started with his wagon, and made all the 
 haste he could to the Griquas. Waterboer, the 
 Griqua chief, as soon as he heard the news, went 
 off on horseback to Campbell for more help. He 
 promised to lose no time in coming to Lattakoo 
 with a party of soldiers, there to join the Bechua- 
 nas in going out to fight against the Mantatees. 
 
 Mr. Moffat returned to Lattakoo in company 
 with Mr. Thompson, a gentleman whom he had 
 met, and who wished to go and see the fight, and 
 give what assistance he could. 
 
 Mothibi sent out orders to all the villages round 
 for the chiefs to come to a parliament, or pitsho, 
 next day. About one thousand men assembled at 
 this parliament. Do you know anything of the 
 grave speakers and speeches of our parliament? 
 
 I 2. 
 
116 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Have you ever been into the Houses, and seen all 
 the preparations made there for order? Very 
 likely not. But you shall hear a little of a Be- 
 chuana parliament, and you will at least know 
 what an English one is not. 
 
 The thousand men assembled from many places 
 near. They came to Lattakoo, some singing war- 
 songs, some pretending already to be fighting, 
 throwing their arms and legs about in all the 
 strangest attitudes imaginable. The place of meet- 
 ing was the public fold, round which the men 
 seated themselves in a circle, leaving the centre 
 space free for the speakers. Each man held before 
 him his shield, with a number of spears fastened 
 to it. A quiver of poisoned arrows hung from 
 every man’s shoulder, and in every right hand was 
 a battle-axe. Many of the chiefs were adorned 
 with tiger skins and tails, and had plumes of 
 feathers waving on their heads. 
 
 Parliament was opened by King Mothibi. He 
 bounded into the space that had been left for the 
 speakers, his spear in his hand, a lady’s white- 
 chemise his only dress ; and there, before begin- 
 ning his speech, he capered and jumped about, 
 making the strangest antics he could. Then he 
 began — 
 
 “Be silent, ye Batlapis.” The people of the 
 Batlapis tribe answered, as was proper, with a 
 groan. “ Be silent, ye Barolongs.” The Barolongs 
 groaned. “ Be silent, ye Makooas.” The Makooas 
 
DANGER. 
 
 117 
 
 groaned. And so every tribe represented in the 
 meeting was told to be silent, and groaned in 
 reply. 
 
 Then Mothibi took a spear, and pointed it 
 northward towards the distant Mantatees. He 
 cursed them, and continually thrust his spear as 
 though thrusting it into the enemy. This was a 
 declaration of war. Then he pointed his spear 
 towards the Bushman country, and cursed the ox- 
 eaters, as the Bushmen are called. 
 
 “ Ye sons of Molehabangue,” he said, " the Man- 
 tatees are a strong and victorious people : they 
 have overwhelmed many nations, and they are 
 now approaching us. We have heard what they 
 mean to do, and what their manners and weapons 
 are. We cannot stand against them separately, 
 we must stand together, for the case is a great 
 one. You have seen how much the missionary 
 has done for our safety ; if we exert ourselves the 
 Mantatees can come no further. You see the 
 white people are our friends. Mr. Thompson, a 
 chief man of the Cape, has come to us on horse- 
 back. He has not come behind our houses like 
 a spy ; but openly. He is one on whom the 
 light of day may shine ; he is our friend. Let 
 every one speak his mind, and then I shall speak 
 again.” 
 
 Once more Mothibi cursed the Bushmen, and 
 Mantatees, using his spear as at the beginning of 
 his speech ; then he pointed it towards heaven, 
 
118 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 while all the people shouted “pula” (rain), and 
 amid loud applause he sat down upon the ground. 
 
 After eveiy speech a part of a war song was 
 sung, and after the song another speaker jumped 
 up and danced about. 
 
 The second speaker, named Moshume, said, 
 “ To-day we are called upon to oppose an enemy, 
 who is the enemy of us all Moffat has been near 
 the camp of the enemy. We were all averse to 
 his going ; to-day we are all glad that he went. 
 What are we now to do ? If we flee, the Manta- 
 tees will overtake us ; if we fight, they will con- 
 quer. They are as strong as lions ; they kill, and 
 eat, and leave nothing.” 
 
 It appears that Moshume did not speak loudly 
 enough to be heard by all the thousand, for an old 
 man interrupted his speech, and asked him to 
 “ roar aloud,” that he might hear. Perhaps the old 
 man was a little deaf. What Moshume said next 
 may have been true ; it was not very polite. 
 
 “ I know ye, Batlapis,” he said, “ that at home 
 ye are men ; but women in the face of an enemy. 
 You run away when you should stand. Think, 
 think; prepare this day; be united; make your 
 hearts hard.” 
 
 Another chief said, “We must not act like 
 Bechuanas; we must act like white people. Is 
 this our pitsho ? No, it is the pitsho of the mis- 
 sionaries ; therefore we must speak and act like 
 white people/ 
 
DANGER. 
 
 119 
 
 When all those who wished to address the circle 
 of listeners had done so, Mothibi once more arose 
 as before. 
 
 “It is evident/' said he, “that the best plan will be 
 to go against the enemy ; we must not allow them 
 to come nearer ; they must not take our towns, and 
 fill our houses with death and bloodshed. It is 
 good that we should be instructed by the white 
 people. I wish evil to those who will not obey. 
 There are many of you warriors who do not deserve 
 to eat out of a bowl, but only out of a broken pot. 
 T hink on what has been said, and obey without 
 murmuring. Prepare for the battle. Let your 
 shields be strong, your quivers full of arrows, and 
 your battle-axes as sharp as hunger.” 
 
 When Mothibi’s speech was ended, all the 
 people shouted, jumped up from the ground, and 
 joined in dancing about with him. For two hours 
 they all continued jumping about with their spears 
 in their hands, making the most extraordinary 
 gestures they could, and then — the parliament 
 was over. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE MANTATEES. 
 
 Eleven days passed before the promised help 
 arrived from Griqua Town. 
 
 They were busy days at Lattakoo ; the Bechu- 
 anas were preparing their weapons ; sharpening 
 their axes, poisoning their arrows ; restringing 
 their bows. The missionaries packed and buried 
 all their heavy goods, that they might have as 
 little as possible to hinder them, should they be 
 forced to flee for their lives. Many, many prayers 
 were offered up too, by those good men and their 
 wives, that they might be saved from their enemies, 
 by the God who is a fortress and deliverer to his 
 people. 
 
 Some commanders and a hundred horsemen 
 arrived from Griqua Town. They provided Mr. 
 Moffat with a horse, and asked him to go with 
 them to meet the Mantatees, in order that he 
 might if possible speak to the leaders of the army, 
 and induce them to go back to their own country 
 without more bloodshed. 
 
 Before starting from Lattakoo, the missionaries 
 and those among the Griquas who were Christians. 
 
THE MANTATEES. 
 
 121 
 
 met to ask God their Father to be their shield and 
 protector, to prevent a battle if he saw fit : but, if 
 they must fight, to fight with them and for them. 
 
 All the time that these preparations were going 
 on the Mantatee army had been advancing. They 
 had not hurried at all, but felt quite secure of con- 
 quering the Bechuanas ; they knew nothing of Mr. 
 Moffat’s having given the alarm ; nothing of the 
 hundred mounted and armed soldiers from Griqua 
 Town. They had already reached Old Lattakoo 
 when the Bechuanas and Griquas came against 
 them. Half of them were in the town, and the 
 other half on this side of it. 
 
 Even the half outside the town was a great 
 host. Their dark bodies so blackened the ground, 
 that Mr. Moffat, when in the distance he saw 
 them, did not know they were men ; but fancied 
 there had been a large fire among the bushes 
 and grass, which had left all the ground charred 
 and black, with little wreaths of smoke rising 
 up from among the ashes. But on nearer ap- 
 proach it was discovered that the smoke was 
 arising from the Mantatees’ fires, and the ashes 
 were in reality the black, naked bodies of the 
 savages. 
 
 Waterboer, the Griqua chief, and Mr. Moffat 
 were riding with a few attendants at some distance 
 before the soldiers. They saw a young woman 
 gathering and eating fruit among some bushes, and 
 went towards her. She was hungry, therefore 
 
122 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 they gave her food, and to please her, and make 
 her feel they were friends, some tobacco was added 
 to the present of food. When she had eaten 
 enough, Mr. Moffat asked her to go to the Mantatee 
 army, and say to some of the principal men that the 
 horsemen coming towards them wished to speak 
 with them. 
 
 While the woman was gone on this errand, Mr. 
 Moffat despatched another messenger hack to the 
 Griqua army to hasten them forwards, and waited 
 himself with Waterboer in sight of the Mantatee 
 army, that they might see that the horsemen who 
 wished to speak with them were not afraid of 
 them. 
 
 Presently a few naked warriors came out from 
 the vast host, and, in a threatening manner, cast 
 their spears at the little waiting company. They 
 were not near enough to do any injury, it was 
 only a threat, and Mr. Moffat, taking no notice of 
 the spears, ventured to approach closer to the 
 savages. He was very anxious, if possible, to 
 make peace with them, and so prevent the battle, 
 and slaughter, and misery, which could be avoided 
 in no other way. 
 
 His hopes were vain. Ho sooner did the savage 
 warriors see that the horsemen were really within 
 reach, than they raised a hideous yell, and several 
 hundreds rushed furiously forward, casting their 
 javelins and clubs as they came. The horses were 
 startled by the noise and sight, so that Mr. Moffat 
 
THE MANTATEES. 
 
 123 
 
 and Waterboer, with difficulty managed to turn 
 them and gallop out of reach. The Mantatees did 
 not follow, but returned to their camp. 
 
 Once more Mr. Moffat tried to get near enough 
 to speak, but with the same result. 
 
 And now the battle, which could not be avoided, 
 commenced ; the Griqua soldiers came up, and 
 fired upon the Mantatees. The savages did not 
 understand the use of guns, but though they ap- 
 peared astonished to see their companions fall dead 
 by means of this distant fire, they only yelled 
 angrily, and snatched the weapons from the hands 
 of the dying men, to supply the places of those 
 they had thrown. 
 
 The timid Bechuanas attacked the Mantatees 
 with their poisoned arrows, but were very soon 
 vanquished. Indeed, they must have been poor 
 cowards, for a few Mantatee warriors made all the 
 Bechuanas run away. They certainly would have 
 been all destroyed had they ventured against these 
 savages, without the assistance of the Griqua 
 soldiers. 
 
 What a scene that battle-field must have been ! 
 There were oxen bellowing, warriors shouting, 
 dying men groaning with agony, women shrieking 
 in alarm, children crying with terror. The Man- 
 tatees were at last put to flight, and the Griqua 
 horsemen pursued them. The oxen, the wounded, 
 the dying, and many of the women and children 
 remained about the camp, and as soon as the war- 
 
124 
 
 11IVERS OF WATER IH A DRY PLACE. 
 
 riors were gone, the cruel, cowardly Bechuanas 
 returned. They returned to take what was left 
 behind in the flight, to kill the wounded men, 
 and murder the women and helpless children. 
 
 Seeing what was going on, Mr. Moffat galloped 
 up to the camp, and tried to stop the plunderers in 
 their wicked work. At the risk of his own life he 
 rescued a great many women and children, but 
 many a wounded man raised himself from the 
 ground as Mr. Moffat passed, to throw a spear or 
 club at him. God preserved him ; but one of the 
 Bechuanas was killed. 
 
 It was very difficult to know what to do with 
 the women and children, that had been thus saved 
 from death, for they were all very hungry, and had 
 had nothing to eat for a long time. They were 
 taken to Lattakoo, and as far as possible supplied 
 with food. 
 
 The Griquas pursued the flying Mantatees for 
 some distance, and then returned home, thinking 
 the savages would now be too much scattered, and 
 too much frightened to venture further. 
 
 Numbers of women and children were still 
 wandering about and perishing from want. In. 
 order to rescue as many as possible, Mr. Hamilton 
 and the missionary from Griqua went out to find 
 them, with a wagon, in which they could be 
 brought safely to the station. 
 
 Two days after the missionaries started on their 
 kind errand, Mr. Moffat heard, by report, that the 
 
THE MANTATEES. 
 
 125 
 
 Mantatees had. returned, and were going to attack 
 Lattakoo ; for now that the Griquas and theii 
 thunder and lightning were gone, they knew the 
 Bechuanas could not resist them. 
 
 Mr. Moffat immediately sent two men after 
 Mr. Hamilton to recall him ; and despatched a 
 messenger with a letter to Waterboer, asking him 
 to send the Griqua soldiers again. 
 
 'In the course of the day, some men arrived at 
 the town, announcing that the Mantatees were 
 certainly coming. The people were extremely 
 alarmed. Night came on ; no moon lit up the 
 landscape, to show them their enemies’ approach. 
 It was supposed that the town would be surrounded 
 during the darkness, and the dawning light would 
 he the signal for a yell, a rush, and a massacre. 
 Do you wonder no one lay down to sleep, hut that 
 the people sat cowering over their fires? Many 
 men spent the night with their ears pressed against 
 the ground, listening for the sound of the stealthy 
 soft foot-falls. They heard the roar of the wild 
 beasts ; they heard the lowing of their cattle, when 
 startled in the fold ; they heard the hark and howl 
 of their dogs, roused and made uneasy by the un- 
 usual wakefulness ; they heard the cry of the 
 children, who awoke from their peaceful sleep ; 
 they heard their own heating hearts, but no sound 
 of the Mantatees. Strained ears and strained eyes 
 were alike left without certainty. Every one 
 seemed afraid to move. 
 
126 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Once a foot-fall was heard approaching. It was 
 followed by a loud wail of sorrow. Some wanderer 
 had found his way into the town, and brought the 
 news to a poor family that their father had been 
 killed by the Mantatees. 
 
 Mrs. Moffat clothed her sleeping children, and 
 sat by their bedside praying. Mr. Moffat prepared 
 his gun, and hung his cloak close by the door, 
 ready to put on should an opportunity for escape 
 come. Sometimes he and his wife were startled 
 by a loud knock at the door; it was only men 
 who had groped their way to the house through 
 the darkness, and came to tell the missionary 
 of new sounds or reports which had alarmed 
 them. 
 
 The only creatures who did not appear frightened 
 through that dismal night, were the Mantatee 
 women that had been rescued by Mr. Moffat, and 
 were lying about in his kitchen and outhouses. 
 
 The missionaries and their wives prayed much. 
 They knew there was an Eye that never slum- 
 bers, and to whom darkness and light are both 
 alike, watching and protecting them. This filled 
 their hearts with peace, notwithstanding all their 
 fears. The poor Bechuanas had no such comfort ; 
 they did not yet believe in the good and powerful 
 God. 
 
 Morning dawned, and every one saw that the 
 Mantatees were not as yet round the town. What 
 a relief ! How thankful the missionaries were 1 
 
THE MANTATEES. 
 
 127 
 
 Mr. Moffat could not bear that bis wife and 
 little children should he exposed to the threatening 
 danger any longer, so he sent them to Griqua 
 Town in a wagon. Mr. Hamilton returned to 
 the station safely, bringing with him about 
 thirty more women and children. He had not 
 seen the Mantatee army, only great numbers of 
 women, many of whom were already starved to 
 death. 
 
 A messenger arrived from Waterboer, who said 
 that he could afford the Bechuanas no help, for 
 he had heard that a party of Mantatees were on 
 their way to attack Griqua Town ; and, conse- 
 quently, all his men would be needed at home. 
 But he advised the missionaries to come at once to 
 Griqua Town, where, at least, they would be better 
 defended than at Lattakoo. 
 
 Their wives and children were already gone, and 
 Mr. Moffat and Mr. Hamilton made up their minds 
 to follow them. It was but little use to remain 
 where they were : the Bechuanas had many of 
 them run away, and those who remained were 
 too weak to resist, and too frightened to be taught. 
 Lest the Mantatee women should be murdered by 
 the Bechuanas, they also were taken to Griqua 
 Town. 
 
 You will be glad to hear that, after all, neither 
 Lattakoo nor Griqua Town was attacked by the 
 Mantatees ; and, gradually, the alarming reports 
 and the fear of this savage tribe died away. The 
 
128 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Bechuanas ventured back to their huts at Lattakoo ; 
 the missionaries returned to their old home, and, 
 as one result of all this trouble, found themselves 
 treated with much more kindness and respect than 
 formerly. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A BECHUANA PRINCE VISITS THE CAPE. 
 
 Little people like you have, on the whole, not 
 much to trouble you, and nothing beyond the fear 
 of saying a lesson badly, or losing a prize, to make 
 you anxious. You do not know what it is to he 
 made weak and ill by long watching and anxiety. 
 When Mr. and Mrs. Moffat were once more settled 
 at Lattakoo, they found that neither of them were 
 so strong to work as they had been before these 
 troubles. Mrs. Moffat, indeed, was very ill ; and it 
 seemed as though nothing hut rest and change 
 would make her well again. 
 
 Mr. Moffat wished to visit the Cape, and such a .• 
 visit would he the very thing to make his dear 
 wife better. He resolved to go, and take her and 
 the children, leaving the station in charge of Mr. 
 Hamilton. 
 
 When Mothihi heard that Mr. Moffat intended 
 taking this journey, he made no opposition, hut 
 thought it would he a very good opportunity foi 
 his son to see the country of the white people. He 
 therefore asked the missionary to allow the young 
 K 
 
130 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 prince to accompany him. Permission was granted, 
 and the young Bechuana prince, with a chief 
 appointed to be his guardian, left Lattakoo with 
 Mr. Moffat. This was a great and exciting eveut. 
 The Bechuanas had never seen an English town ; 
 and the sea and ships they had never heard of, 
 unless it was from the missionaries. 
 
 You must imagine the long, slow, two months’ 
 journey to the Cape, with the wagons, oxen, 
 prince, chief, and children. When, at last, Cape 
 Town was reached, the visitors met with a very 
 kind reception from the Governor. The prince 
 and his companion were astonished and delighted 
 beyond measure at everything they saw. The 
 houses and streets — the gardens and docks — the 
 great, restless, moving sea — the wonderful ships, 
 with their white sails, in the Bay — all was so new 
 and strange. 
 
 It was with great difficulty they could be per- 
 suaded to get into a boat, to he rowed to a ship 
 flying in the harbour ; and it was not until they 
 saw Mr. Moffat step in first, that they would ven- 
 ture. When hoisted on deck, they were perfectly 
 amazed with the size of the ship and the height of 
 the mast. A sailor-hoy ran up the rigging to the 
 mast-head, very actively, as sailor-boys know how. 
 The chief was astonished, for at Lattakoo — without 
 trees, or ladders, or even hills very near — no one 
 had learned to climb ; and he whispered to the 
 prince, as he saw the boy run, “ Is it not an ape ? ” 
 
A BECHUANA PRINCE VISITS THE CAPE. 131 
 
 They were taken into the cabin, and looked 
 down into the hold, which appeared to them so 
 deep, that they fancied its bottom must rest upon 
 the bottom of the sea. They could not even 
 comprehend that the ship was not some peculiar 
 kind of living animal ; for they asked, “ Do 
 these water-houses unyoke, like wagon-oxen, every 
 night? Do they graze in the sea, to keep them 
 alive ? ” 
 
 A ship in full sail appeared in sight, rapidly 
 approaching the harbour. It was a fine sight. 
 Some one said, “ What do you think of that ? ” 
 They answered, “We have no thoughts here; we 
 hope to think again when we get on shore.” 
 
 There was certainly plenty to think about, and 
 it was a good thing for the young Bechuana prince 
 and his companion that they had some time to 
 think before they reached Lattakoo again. The 
 two months’ journey back gave them ample oppor- 
 tunity of meditating upon all they had seen — 
 plenty of time for asking questions, getting expla- 
 nations, and arranging their ideas — so that they 
 could tell what they thought and what they had 
 learned as the result of their journey to the Cape. 
 One thing they learned and thought was of use to 
 the missionaries. They had learned, and, on their 
 return, taught their countrymen, that Mr. Moffat 
 and Mr. Hamilton were not living among them 
 because they had no friends elsewhere. They 
 thought — and this, too, they said — that the mis- 
 K 2 
 
132 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 sionaries must be very much in earnest to do 
 them good, if they could leave such comforts and 
 such friends as they had at Cape Town, for 
 the sake of teaching them the white man’s 
 religion. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 MR. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 
 
 Not long after the journey to the Cape, of which 
 you heard in the last chapter, the missionary - 
 station was moved to a pleasanter spot, close to 
 the hanks of the Kuruman River, and was hence- 
 forward called the Kuruman Station. Of course, 
 this move could not be made directly, or as easily 
 as your parents might leave one house to live in 
 another. The new houses had to be built first ; 
 and this involved much time and labour. 
 
 Another missionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hughes, had returned with Mr. Moffat to Lattakoo, 
 and also some Hottentots. These additions to the 
 party were of great assistance in erecting the new 
 dwellings. 
 
 You have not forgotten that Mr. Moffat was on 
 the way to visit Makaba, when he turned back to 
 carry the news of the Mantatees’ approach to the 
 Bechuanas. He had promised to visit Makaba; 
 and, as a Christian should always keep his pro- 
 mises, Mr. Moffat, now that peace was restored, 
 determined, if possible, to fulfil his. 
 
 A party of Griquas were going to hunt elephants, 
 
134 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and Mr. Moffat joined them, as they intended to 
 pass through Makaba’s land. There were, in all, 
 eleven wagons, one hundred and fifty oxen, a 
 hundred men, and a good many horses : quite a 
 caravan. There were no beaten roads, over which 
 to travel ; so guides went with them, to show the 
 way. 
 
 Once the travellers foolishly imagined them- 
 selves wiser than their guides. When night came 
 on, it was the custom for all the wagons to stop, 
 and for the oxen to be unyoked. But one day it 
 happened that no stream or pool had been found, 
 and darkness overtook the caravan before the 
 sight of water had gladdened the weary men and 
 beasts. The guides, as usual, stopped; but the 
 travellers thought it would be wiser to go on. The 
 day had been very hot ; the night would be cooler, 
 and not so fatiguing to the oxen; besides, the 
 water would be reached sooner if they did not 
 stop for the night. The guides acknowledged this ; 
 but, said they, “ You cannot see your way through 
 the darkness ; you will not be able to keep straight 
 on.” Straight on. Oh yes, it was easy enough 
 to go straight on. And on they went, leaving the 
 guides to follow when they chose. 
 
 The drivers of the first team of oxen must, of 
 course, lead the way. Most of the other men lay 
 down in their wagons, and fell asleep, leaving 
 their oxen to plod on after the first wagon. In 
 this way they proceeded for some time. It was a 
 
MR. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 
 
 135 
 
 beautiful, starlight night, for there was no moon 
 shining to dim their brightness. All the light 
 was overhead : the earth was very dark. By and 
 by, Mr. Moffat, who was riding near the wagons 
 on horseback, raised his eyes, and began to think 
 about the stars. But how was this? The stars 
 that were in front of them when they left the 
 guides were now quite to the side. Evidently 
 they were not going straight on, but were gra- 
 dually turning round. It would not do to go on 
 so any further ; they must stop. Mr. Moffat rode 
 on to the drivers of the first wagon, and, pointing 
 to the stars, tried to show them that their oxen 
 were going in the wrong direction. The men were 
 sure they were going right, and would not stop. 
 
 At two o’clock, the whole party halted; the 
 oxen were unyoked, fires were lighted, and the 
 men sat around to eat their suppers, or lay down 
 to sleep. By this time they had literally been 
 going back for two hours. Mr. Moffat put some 
 coffee into a pot, and, while it was boiling on the 
 fire, he took out his compass. He endeavoured to 
 explain it to his companions, and to show them by 
 the fire-light the little needle which pointed so 
 plainly, north and south. If the compass was 
 right, no doubt, they were wrong. But it is hard 
 work to convince some people that they are wrong. 
 The men only shook their heads at Mr. Moffat and 
 his compass. “ The little thing,” they said, “ may 
 know its way at home in its own country, but 
 
136 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 how can it find the way here ? It is an impostor, 
 and does not tell the truth.” Mr. Moffat put his 
 compass away, and, taking his coffee-pot from the 
 fire, began to eat his supper. Before he had 
 finished, the moon began to rise, but it was on the 
 side on which no one but he expected to see it. 
 
 “ What a fire ! ” said one. 
 
 “ It is the moon,” said Mr. Moffat. 
 
 All started to their feet. “ The moon cannot 
 rise on that side of the world,” they exclaimed. 
 
 One old man very respectfully said, “ Sir, your 
 head is turned : the moon never rose in the west 
 in my life.” 
 
 “ It is the moon,” repeated Mr. Moffat. But 
 no one believed him, and they again went on 
 with their suppers. Presently the moon appeared 
 above the horizon. Once more they all rose. 
 “ What is it ? ” exclaimed some. But the old man 
 who had told Mr. Moffat his head was turned 
 knew what it was, and said, “ The moon has, for 
 once, risen on the wrong side of the world.” How 
 childish in an old man, to believe it more possible 
 for the moon to rise on the wrong side of the 
 world than for him to make a mistake ! 
 
 In a few hours the sun also rose, and, by the 
 light he threw around, showed plainly that the 
 men were wrong and the moon was right. 
 
 This night-travelling proved a great hindrance, 
 for the oxen, when unyoked, had continued on- 
 wards, until they had reached the water they had 
 
ME. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 137 
 
 left the morning before ; and the day had to be 
 spent in going after and bringing them hack. 
 
 The guides, who had not thought themselves 
 able to see in the dark, laughed heartily when 
 they found the conceited travellers had been 
 going backwards, instead of forwards. Surely you 
 agree in thinking they deserved no pity. 
 
 Among the Griquas in this party were some 
 really good Christian men. On Sundays they 
 were glad to rest, and enjoyed singing hymns, 
 praying, and reading God’s word with Mr. Moffat. 
 
 The caravan rested on the way at Pitsan, the 
 principal town of the Barolongs. It was night 
 when the slowly moving wagons approached 
 Pitsan ; but the first salutation the travellers re- 
 ceived was “ Good morning.” The chief and his 
 people had learned the words “good morning” 
 from some English traveller, and every one was 
 proud to say “Good morning ; Good morning,” to 
 their visitors. 
 
 There were in this town about 20,000 people ; hut 
 among them all there was not one who believed 
 in God, or had learned the way to heaven through 
 Jesus the Saviour. No missionary was living 
 among them at this time ; and as Mr. Moffat saw 
 the multitudes of ignorant people around him, he 
 prayed in his heart that some one might he found 
 willing to come and teach them. He told the 
 principal men how much he wished they had a 
 missionary, and asked whether they would like to 
 
138 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 have one. One man answered, “ Yes ; yon must 
 come and make rain.” Another said, “Yes; you 
 must come and protect us.” 
 
 They had heard of the station near the Kuru- 
 man Eiver, and Mr. Moffat assured them the 
 missionaries were not there either to make rain or 
 to protect the people, hut to teach, those who 
 would learn, good things which might make them 
 happy for ever. 
 
 The Barolongs are skilful in making wooden 
 howls and ornaments, and they brought many of 
 these articles to exchange with their visitors for 
 tobacco and heads. 
 
 For a week after they left Pitsan the slow march 
 was continued, and on the following Saturday 
 afternoon the oxen were unyoked just outside the 
 dominions of Makaha. An encampment was 
 formed, and it was hoped that they might spend a 
 quiet Sunday before presenting themselves to the 
 king. But on the Sunday morning it was dis- 
 covered that a great many of the oxen had strayed. 
 It was necessary that they should he found at 
 once, so some of the men spent their Sunday 
 morning in looking for the animals. At twelve 
 o’clock they returned to the camp with the alarm- 
 ing intelligence that the cattle had been seized by 
 Makaba’s men, and one ox was already killed. 
 The information brought by the seekers made the 
 whole party very anxious. Would Makaba restore 
 the oxen ? Would he seize the remainder ? What 
 
ME. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 139 
 
 would happen? In the evening, however, their 
 anxiety was allayed. Two men appeared, driving 
 before them six of the missing oxen, and carrying 
 part of the one which had been slaughtered. They 
 appeared very sorry, and assured Mr. Moffat that 
 the others should be restored as soon as possible ; 
 the cattle had been separated and sent to different 
 places before it was known to whom they be- 
 longed, so that it would take time to collect them. 
 The reason why the men had brought these six 
 hack so quickly was because they believed Makaba 
 would kill them, if he knew they had stolen and 
 killed oxen belonging to the white man who was 
 coming to visit him. Mr. Moffat assured them 
 that if their lives were in danger he would inter- 
 cede with Makaba for them. 
 
 There were enough oxen remaining to draw the 
 wagons to Makaba’s city. On Monday morning 
 they were yoked eight to each wagon, and the 
 travellers started once more, still feeling some fear 
 as to the reception they would meet. On the way, 
 Maroga, one of Makaba’s sons, appeared marching 
 at the head of a number of men, to receive and 
 welcome them. He presented Mr. Moffat with a 
 howl full of milk, and then made a speech. “ I 
 am terrified at your presence,” he said, “ because 
 of the injury we have done you. Your oxen shall 
 be restored ; not one shall he lost. I have ordered 
 the men to he sent to the town. They shall he 
 tom to pieces before your eyes. Makaba will not 
 
140 EIYEES OF WATEE IN A DEY PLACE. 
 
 pardon them ; for he has long expected you as his 
 friends." 
 
 Mr. Moffat did not tell Maroga that they had 
 felt afraid of Makaba, but only said they must hurry 
 on, lest the king should tear the poor men in 
 pieces before he arrived to ask that their lives 
 might be spared. 
 
 Maroga and his wife rode back in Mr. Moffat’s 
 wagon, and were very much entertained at their 
 new position, for they never before had ridden in 
 or on anything. Maroga’s wife knew Mr. Moffat, 
 for she had been the wife of the rainmaker who 
 had stayed so long at Lattakoo, and who had 
 afterwards been killed by the order of Makaba. 
 
 As the wagons approached the town, they passed 
 by numbers of women working in their gardens. 
 The women, who never in their lives had seen such 
 a sight, threw down their tools, and ran to gaze on 
 the moving houses, making all the while shrill 
 cries, and loud exclamations of astonishment. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and some of his companions mounted 
 their horses, and set off at a quicker pace than the 
 wagons could move. From the top of the hill, 
 overlooking Makaba’s town, they were surprised to 
 see a wide plain before them, sprinkled over with 
 strange looking villages. It was to Kuakue, the 
 largest of these villages, they were going. 
 
 A guide showed them the way, and conducted 
 them up a narrow, winding street to the king’s 
 houses. He was standing at the door of one of 
 
ME. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 
 
 141 
 
 them, ready to receive and welcome his visitors. 
 It pleased him much to see they had ventured to 
 come without guns or swords ; and he laughed 
 heartily as he told them, he was surprised they 
 could trust themselves, at all, in the town of such 
 a villain as people declared him to he. 
 
 What Makaba said was hardly heard for the 
 noise around. A large crowd had assembled to 
 stare and wonder at the horses and their riders. 
 Such creatures had never been seen in those parts 
 before ; and now the people were pushing, and 
 shouting, and jumping, until they actually pushed 
 each other down in their eagerness to get nearer. 
 Makaba went into his house, and sent out some 
 servants with a pot of his own peculiar beer, and 
 some drinking vessels. These drinking vessels 
 were not skulls, though Mr. Moffat had heard that 
 king Makaba always used skulls for cups. 
 
 By this time the wagons had reached the out- 
 skirts of the town, and there the drivers stopped 
 the oxen. But Makaba wished them to come 
 through the principal street of his town, for no 
 wagons had ever been there before. No ; and 
 the streets had evidently not been made for car- 
 riages of any kind ; they were, even the chief one, 
 so narrow and winding, that these cumbrous 
 wagons could not be drawn through without 
 doing very great damage. Mr. Moffat pointed this 
 out to Makaba, and reminded him how the fences 
 of the houses would be broken. 
 
142 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 “ Never mind that,” said Makaba, “ only let me 
 see the wagons go through my town.” 
 
 Kings must he obeyed. The heavy wagons in 
 long procession forced a way for themselves up the 
 street, crushing the fences and unfortunate huts that 
 stood in their path most unmercifully. Makaba 
 stood on a mound near his houses, and watched 
 their approach with great delight. He was as much 
 undisturbed by the mischief done as the oxen and 
 wagons themselves : it was the women to whom 
 the work of repairing fell, who looked with troubled 
 thoughts behind the procession. 
 
 At the other end of the town the oxen were un- 
 yoked, while thousands of people crowded round 
 to see what was to be seen. Their feelings of 
 astonishment and admiration were so intense, that 
 they made a deafening noise by way of expressing 
 them ; and their curiosity was so great that not 
 until night-fall did they begin to disperse, and 
 then they went away, because they could no longer 
 see. 
 
 The next morning, Maroga, with three chief men, 
 came to the wagon. They came as a guard to the 
 visitors and their property, and were commanded 
 to stop all day, and see that nothing was stolen or 
 injured by the crowds, who gathered again as soon 
 as daylight dawned. 
 
 About sunset Makaba sent one of his wives with 
 a message to Mr. Moffat, saying, “ To-day he had 
 sent a sack of milk, to-morrow he would send 
 
ME. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAE ABA. 143 
 
 slaughtered oxen.” The sack of milk was so large 
 that it was hard work for two men to carry it 
 behind the lady. A sack of milk will appear to 
 you almost an impossible thing. The sack was 
 made of skin, the milk was pressed, and curdled, 
 and sour, and hard, nevertheless it was most thank- 
 fully received ; and many a traveller from England 
 has learned to enjoy the sour, prepared milk of the 
 African villages. 
 
 The next day, Makaba presented himself at the 
 encampment of wagons. When he was seen ap- 
 proaching, the people, who were bustling about 
 with their curiosity still unsatisfied, respectfully 
 moved away. Every one remained silent until the 
 king spoke. 
 
 “ My friends” he said, “ I am perfectly happy ; 
 my heart is whiter than milk, because you have 
 visited me. To-day I am a great man. Men will 
 say I am in league with the white men.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat, in answering this polite speech, re- 
 minded Makaba again why he had come all the 
 way from Kuruman ; he wished the king, he said, 
 to be counted as one of the chief friends of the 
 white men, and for that purpose, if he would per- 
 mit, a missionary should be sent to dwell with him 
 and his people. 
 
 “ I hope,” replied the king, “ that from this time 
 forward so many people will come and go, that no 
 grass may grow on the road between Kuruman and 
 Kuakue. Mothibi, I know, will hinder you if he 
 
1 44 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 can, lie is afraid of losing yon, lie does not wish 
 you to build your house with me.” 
 
 Makaba also told Mr. Moffat that the strayed 
 oxen should be brought back that day ; and as his 
 visitors were anxious that the men who had killed 
 their ox should not be put to death, he would pass 
 over the offence and pardon the culprits. 
 
 Mr. Moffat presented Makaba with some beads 
 and buttons, and also with a hat. He put the hat 
 upon his head, as he was told to do ; but this did 
 not satisfy him. He could not see it there over 
 his eyes, so he speedily took it off again, and placed 
 it upon the head of one of his attendants where 
 he could enjoy the sight of his new treasure. 
 
 Kuakue, Makaba’ s town, was in many respects 
 very different to Mothibi’s town, Lattakoo. It was 
 clean. The women kept their yards and house- 
 floors nice. The town was also larger ; and Makaba’s 
 many wives had each three or four houses, besides 
 a corn-house and a store-house. These houses, you 
 must remember, are not like English houses, but 
 round, one-roomed huts. 
 
 Makaba usually spent his mornings talking to 
 his chief men, cutting out skins to make cloaks, 
 and drinking. The drinking was unfortunately 
 what he liked best, and by the afternoon he was 
 not often sober enough to attend to anything. This 
 was very sad, for in what state could people be 
 whose king set them so bad an example ! 
 
 Mr. Moffat took every opportunity while he re- 
 
MR. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 
 
 145 
 
 mained of speaking to Makaba of the Great and 
 Holy God, and telling him the history of onr 
 Saviour’s life and death on earth, but he never 
 paid the least attention. 
 
 A whisper to you by the way. You think your- 
 self better than this heathen king, — do you always 
 attend when you hear such things ? 
 
 On the Sabbath Mr. Moffat made a formal visit 
 to the royal huts, praying as he went for better 
 success. He found the king sitting in the midst 
 of his admiring attendants, busy with his knife 
 and a jackal’s skin. Mr. Moffat sat down and 
 said he had some news to tell. Makaba looked 
 pleased, he was fond of hearing news, and thought 
 he would hear some stories of wars and brave 
 actions in battle; of towns burned and prisoners 
 taken. But when Mr. Moffat began to speak of a 
 king who had been born among the cattle ; who 
 had been all his life poor and despised ; who had 
 spent that life in doing kind actions and speaking 
 holy words ; he would not listen, but took up his 
 knife again and began to hum a tune. 
 
 One of the men sitting by, however, seemed 
 interested ; and when he heard how Jesus raised 
 the dead, he exclaimed, “ What an excellent doctor 
 he must have been to make dead men live.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat went on to say that a day was 
 coming when all that were in their graves would 
 hear the voice of J esus and come forth. Makaba 
 happened to hear this. 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 “ What ! ” he exclaimed with astonishment, “ the 
 dead, the dead arise ! " 
 
 “Yes/’ replied Mr. Moffat, “all the dead shall rise.” 
 “ Will my father rise ? ” 
 
 “ Yes, your father will rise.” 
 
 “ Will all the slain in battle rise ? ” 
 
 “Yes.” 
 
 “ And will all that have been killed and eaten 
 by lions, tigers, hyenas, and crocodiles rise ? 
 
 “Yes.” 
 
 He looked at Mr. Moffat, and then turning to 
 the people said, in a very loud voice, 
 
 “ Hark, ye wise men, whoever is among you, the 
 wisest of past generations, did ever your ears hear 
 such strange and unheard of news ? ” 
 
 Then the king laid his hand on Mr. Moffat’s 
 breast, and spoke to him. 
 
 “ Father, I love you much,” he said. “ The 
 words of your mouth are sweet as honey, but the 
 words of the resurrection are too great to be 
 heard. I do not wish to hear again about the dead 
 rising. The dead cannot rise. The dead must not 
 rise.” 
 
 “ Why ? ” asked Mr. Moffat. “ Can so great a 
 man as you refuse knowledge ? Why must I not 
 speak of the resurrection ? ” 
 
 Makaba rose from the floor, and, uncovering his 
 strong right arm, replied : “ I have slain my thou- 
 sands, and shall they rise ? ” 
 
 He was afraid to meet the men he had killed 
 
MR MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 147 
 
 Think, — there were thousands to accuse him as 
 their murderer at the last day. 
 
 Makaba appeared to be very fond of Mr. Moffat, 
 and called him “ the stranger’s friend.” This sur- 
 prised the missionary, and one day he asked the 
 king for what reason he called him by such a name. 
 Makaba told him a story, part of which he knew 
 before, and which explained the king’s love for his 
 visitor. 
 
 One of Makaba’s sons had been a very wicked 
 young man. He wished some years before this 
 time to make himself king, and did all in his 
 power to gain the favour of his father’s subjects in 
 hopes that they would ask him to reign over them. 
 This did not succeed ; but so resolved was the 
 prince to be king that he tried to kill his father. 
 He dug a hole in a path over which his father 
 often walked ; in this pit he had sharp stakes 
 fastened, and then the top covered in so lightly 
 that any one walking upon it would fall through 
 upon the stakes. Here he hoped his father would 
 fall in and be killed. But the hole was discovered, 
 and, to escape justly-deserved punishment, the 
 young prince ran away with a number of fol- 
 lowers. 
 
 He went as far as Lattakoo and told Mothibi 
 long stories of his father’s wickedness and unkind- 
 ness, hoping to get help from him. These tales he 
 repeated to Mr. Moffat and Mr. Hamilton. They 
 replied that it was impossible to believe what he 
 L 2 
 
1 48 RIVE US OF WATER IK A DRY PLACE. 
 
 said ; and in rebelling against bis father he was 
 committing a great sin which would surely be 
 punished. 
 
 Now among the prince’s followers were some 
 men who were really Makaba’s friends, but who 
 had gone with his son, and pretended to be his 
 son’s friends, on purpose that they might let the 
 king know all he did. These men told Makaba 
 what the missionaries had said. 
 
 This wicked prince was punished. Mothibi 
 would not assist him to fight against his father. 
 Still he succeeded in raising an army ; and a battle 
 took place between Makaba’s army and his son’s. 
 
 Makaba still loved his undutiful son so much, 
 that he gave particular directions to the warriors 
 not to kill him. The young man however was 
 slain in the battle, much to his father’s grief. 
 
 It was on account of the good advice given to 
 the prince by the missionaries, that Mr. Moffat 
 was now so much respected by the king. 
 
 Does not this story remind you of one in your 
 Bible of another king, very different to Makaba, 
 who had a rebellious son not unlike the one of 
 whom you have been reading ? 
 
 The time at length arrived for leaving Kuakue. 
 The Griquas prepared for a grand hunting ex- 
 pedition, and Mr. Moffat was going to return to 
 Kuruman almost alone. No one knew that there 
 was any particular danger in his path, but God 
 saw that if Mr. Moffat went alone he would be 
 
MR. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 149 
 
 murdered. See how God cares for those who love 
 and fear him. He put it into the heart of one of 
 the Griqua chiefs to return home at once with the 
 ivory he had already procured. To Mr. Moffat’s 
 surprise, this chief, Berend Berend, returned to him 
 with his eight wagons and all his party, after one 
 day’s absence. Berend could not tell why he had 
 so suddenly changed his plan, he only knew that 
 the thought had come into his heart to return with 
 Mr. Moffat. 
 
 Their way led them again to the Barolong town, 
 Pitsan, at which place they had before stopped. 
 All unconscious of danger they proceeded on their 
 way, and reached the town in safety. But here a 
 large party of Mantatees attacked them and the 
 town. The inhabitants fled, for they dared not 
 fight. And now if Mr. Moffat had been alone, 
 what would have happened ? He could not have 
 overcome those savage warriors ; but with the 
 help of Berend Berend and his brave men they 
 were defeated and driven away. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was safe ; but his poor wife far away 
 at Lattakoo had been dreadfully alarmed for her- 
 self and him. She had almost given up all hope 
 of seeing her dear husband any more, just at the 
 time that God had so mercifully provided for him. 
 She was expecting Mr. Moffat soon to return, when 
 she heard that once more the Mantatees intended 
 to attack Lattakoo, and that they would be there 
 almost immediately. 
 
150 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 It was evening. Mrs Moffat, having pnt her 
 children to bed, knelt down to ask God to take 
 care of them, her husband, and herself ; and then 
 she too lay down with her little ones and fell 
 asleep. At midnight, she was awakened by a loud 
 knocking at the house door. In great alarm she 
 jumped up to see what was the matter. King 
 Mothibi was outside, and as soon as the door was 
 opened he entered with so many men that the 
 room was full. 
 
 “ The Mantatees are almost here,” said the king. 
 
 Mrs. Moffat lighted a lamp, took out her paper 
 and pens and sat down, without waiting to dress, 
 to write a note to Mr. Hamilton, who was away 
 superintending the building at the new station. 
 She asked him to come over to Lattakoo imme- , 
 diately. A messenger was sent with the letter, 
 and quite early in the morning Mr. Hamilton 
 arrived. But what could he do ? All the people 
 were preparing to run away; they continually « 
 heard fresh tidings which alarmed them. 
 
 At twelve o’clock news came that the Mantatees 
 had turned away, and were going towards the 
 Barolongs. Oh! happy relief. Every heart in 
 the town rejoiced. No, all but one. Until now ] 
 Mrs. Moffat had been anxious for herself and the j 
 children, now her heart sank at the thought of her ] 
 husband. She knew the plan had been for him I 
 to return alone, and that if all things had pros- 1 
 pered he would just at this time be at Pitsan, 1 
 
MR. MOFFAT VISITS KING MAKABA. 
 
 15J 
 
 among the Barolongs. The Mantatees would 
 surely kill him. 
 
 You know Mr. Moffat was just where his wife 
 supposed him to he, and that while she was pray- 
 - ing to God for his life and safe return, God had 
 heard her prayers and was guiding him home. 
 Far away at Lattakoo, however, she did not know 
 this, and the next three weeks was a time of great 
 grief and uncertainty. People often came to her 
 house to say that her husband was killed. Various 
 were the reports they brought. One man had seen 
 a piece of his broken wagon — some had picked up 
 pieces of his clothes all stained with his blood — 
 another had found a part of his horse’s saddle. 
 They did not bring the clothes, or the saddle, or 
 the wood to Mrs. Moffat, but do you wonder she 
 was almost in despair ? 
 
 At last the wagon, the horse, the saddle, and 
 Mr. Moffat himself appeared in the town. What 
 a happy meeting there was in that mission-house ! 
 Husband, and wife, and children, had all been in 
 danger; but they were together once more, safe 
 and alive. Though they had been far apart their 
 Great Father had watched over them ! How they 
 thanked Him in their prayers, and asked him 
 never to let them forget this instance of His power 
 and love ! 
 
 Does it not appear strange to you that, twice 
 over, the Mantatees should have turned away from 
 Lattakoo, when it seemed almost certain that they 
 
152 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 would attack the town? Although the savages 
 did not know it, they too were under God’s 
 controL He had some of His servants dwelling in 
 the town, and God has said in His Word, “ The 
 salvation of the righteous is of the Lord ; he is 
 their strength in the time of trouble. And the 
 Lord will help them, and deliver them : he shall 
 deliver them from the wicked, and save them, be- 
 cause they trust in him’ , (Psalm xxxvii. 39, 40.) 
 
OHAPTEE XVII. 
 
 THIEVES, TROUBLES, AND LOCUSTS. 
 
 It really seemed that the missionaries were never 
 to enjoy peace and quiet among the Bechuanas. 
 The Mantatees were gone, and they hoped war 
 was at an end, and that the buildings, at the 
 Kuruman Fountain, for the new station, would 
 now get on fast. But no ; a civil war broke out 
 among the different Bechuana tribes, and the 
 missionaries were sorely tried by it. One con- 
 sequence of this civil war was, that robbers were 
 continually stealing the cattle. Two bold thieves 
 came down from the mountains one day, mur- 
 dered the man who had charge of the mission- 
 aries’ cattle, and took away an ox. Another time 
 all the calves disappeared from the fold. Two 
 of the missionaries’ servants were sent to look for 
 them, and after a long search found the remains 
 of the calves among the ruins of an old town. 
 Some one had already enjoyed a good feast of 
 veal, and what was left had evidently been put 
 aside for another time. There were traces of foot- 
 steps on the loose sand ; the servants followed the 
 track, out of the ruins, over the open plain, to- 
 
154 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 wards the river-bank. There, by the river, they 
 met two desperate-looking men, the thieves. They 
 had bows and arrows, but their pursuers had guns. 
 The latter, however, did not wish to kill these 
 men, and so did not shoot them. There was a long 
 scuffle between them, but at last one of the thieves 
 was captured, and he, with the meat, was taken to 
 Lattakoo. 
 
 Every one was glad to see this man brought to 
 the town a prisoner, and very quickly decided that 
 he deserved to be killed. But the missionaries, 
 though they considered he ought to be punished, 
 did not wish him to be hurt very much. He was 
 whipped; and, when Mr. Moffat thought he had 
 been whipped enough, a young man was sent 
 towards him, with a gun in his hand. He stood 
 still to fire : the prisoner saw him, and with one 
 sudden bound was free, and away. The gun was 
 fired after him ; but, as there was only powder in 
 it, it did no more than make a noise, which made 
 him run the faster. It had been fired on purpose 
 to frighten him away. 
 
 The fugitive took refuge in a village not far from, 
 Lattakoo: here he lived for some time, and used, 
 to boast that he cculd run faster than the white; 
 man’s bullet. Some one, who knew the secret, at 
 last told him that there was no bullet in the gun. 
 This new idea made him think. “ These people 
 must be better than others,” thought he ; “ for they 
 only whipped me a little, and frightened me, when 
 
THIEVES, TROUBLES, AND LOCUSTS. 155 
 
 I stole their calves. My own countrymen would 
 have killed me for much less.” His thoughts ended 
 in his going to the mission-station, and asking for 
 work. He was employed there as a labourer ; and, 
 at last, through the grace of God, became an intel- 
 ligent, industrious, loving Christian man. But this 
 was long after: at the time of the civil wars he 
 was, as you have heard, a desperate thief. 
 
 So unsettled and unsafe was the state of Lat- 
 takoo, in consequence of the quarrelling Bechuana 
 tribes, that Mr. Moffat and Mr. Hughes removed, 
 with their families, to Griqua Town. Mr. Hamil- 
 ton, as he had no wife and children, remained 
 behind, and brought word to the other missionaries 
 as soon as it was safe for them to return. Then 
 Mr. Hughes went to the Cape, to fetch a supply 
 of corn and vegetable seeds ; and he brought back 
 with him six Hottentot men and their families to 
 assist in the building. 
 
 It was difficult to procure food for so large a 
 number of people ; and so much fear was there of 
 attacks from robbers, that every one worked with 
 a gun lying at his side. 
 
 Mrs. Moffat and Mrs. Hughes, with their chil- 
 dren, still lived at Lattakoo ; and the missionaries 
 themselves took it in turns to be there ; for, while 
 building new houses for themselves, they did not 
 neglect their work of teaching the heathen, or for- 
 get to worship God publicly in the chapel, as was 
 their custom. 
 
1 5b 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 While the new station was in progress, Peclu, 
 the young prince, who had visited the Cape with 
 Mr. Moffat, died. This was a great grief to Mo- 
 thibi and his mother. The missionaries, too, were 
 grieved ; for they had entertained great hopes that 
 he would one day become a Christian, and help 
 them very much. But he died ; and his parents, 
 not understanding how such a sad event could 
 happen without a cause, believed that some one 
 must have bewitched, and so killed him. This 
 is a very common belief among the savages of 
 Africa. If any one dies, they think the dead 
 person has been made ill by a witch ; and the 
 witch must be found, and killed. The first 
 thing to be discovered was, who had bewitched 
 Peclu; and the king and queen decided it 
 must have been done by his wife’s relations. 
 Happily, they heard that they were suspected, 
 and ran away from Lattakoo, in order to save 
 their lives. 
 
 Now that their dear son was dead, Mothibi and 
 his wife hated the very thought of the grave in 
 which his body was buried. They could not even 
 bear the sight of the streets through which he had 
 walked, or of the house in which he had lived. 
 They had no hope of ever seeing him again, as 
 Christians have, when their friends die ; and so 
 they had no comfort, and were all the more ready, 
 when the time came, to leave the place at which 
 he had lived with them, and to move away nearer 
 
THIEVES, TROUBLES, AIs'D LOCUSTS. 
 
 157 
 
 
 to the Kuruman Fountain, where the new mis- 
 sionary station was building. 
 
 The years of drought at length ended with a 
 plentiful rain, which cheered the hearts of the 
 poor people and their missionaries. The Bechuanas 
 had been in very great distress ; for even the cattle, 
 which they had with great difficulty kept alive, 
 were stolen from them during the civil wars. 
 Now grass sprang up with wonderful quickness, 
 and vegetables of all kinds grew again. This year, 
 however, the Bechuanas were not to eat them. 
 Vast swarms of locusts — such as those described 
 among the plagues of Egypt — came like a great 
 cloud over the land, darkening the air, and filling 
 it with the noise of their flight. Down came the 
 locusts upon the ground, settling thickly upon 
 ever} 7 herb, and branch, and stem, so that every 
 green thing was eaten up by them. 
 
 "Wherever a swarm of locusts settle, beasts of 
 many kinds follow to eat them. Serpents, lizards, 
 frogs, kites, vultures, crows, and locust birds feast 
 upon them. Yet in such multitudes do these in- 
 sects come, that the numbers devoured do not seem 
 to make those remaining any fewer. 
 
 The grass and grain were quite destroyed; but 
 then the Bechuanas collected the locusts by sacks- 
 full — by millions and millions they collected them 
 They boiled them in pots over their fires, and then 
 spread them out in the sun to dry. They cleared 
 off the legs and wings, and put the little dried 
 
158 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 bodies into bags, or laid them up in heaps upon 
 the floors of their huts. The locusts had destroyed 
 one kind of food, but they themselves made the 
 poor Bechuanas fat. The people feasted upon their 
 little enemies, and enjoyed the feast heartily : they 
 had grown too hungry to be very dainty about 
 their food. 
 
CHAPTEK XVIII. 
 
 ME. MOFFAT AMONG LIONS AND THE BAROLONGS. 
 
 At the end of the year 1826, the missionaries 
 removed to the new station, near which many ol 
 the natives had already made their huts. 
 
 Mr. Moffat had not yet learned the Sechuana 
 language perfectly, and it was very important that 
 he should know it thoroughly. As long as he was 
 among English friends, and was constantly speak- 
 ing with them, he found it very difficult to give as 
 much attention to the language as was necessary. 
 All the while the new houses had been in course of 
 erection, he had been obliged to talk much to Mr. 
 Hamilton and Mr. Hughes about them ; and this 
 had very much retarded his progress in Sechuana. 
 He had already written a Sechuana spelling-book 
 for the use of children in school, and this was now 
 being printed at the Cape. A child’s spelling-book, 
 however, does not contain as much of any language 
 as a man should know; and, in order to learn 
 more, Mr. Moffat resolved to banish himself for 
 a while from all his friends who could speak 
 English. 
 
160 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 So once more this earnest missionary yoked the 
 oxen into the wagon, said “ Good-bye ” to his wife 
 and children, and left the pleasant Kurnman Foun- 
 tain, and his new house, with its loved and loving 
 treasures. He took no one with him but a boy to 
 help drive the oxen, and two Barolongs, who were 
 going home to Pitsan. 
 
 On the third day of their journey, at evening, 
 they halted near a pool. It was already dark. The 
 oxen were unyoked, and a fire was made. Mr. 
 Moffat and the two men each took a brand from 
 the fire, and groped their way to the pool to 
 examine the footprints about it. In this way they 
 would discover what kind of animals were near. 
 To their dismay, they found many tracks of lions. 
 They immediately returned, collected the oxen, 
 and fastened them to the wagon as strongly as 
 possible. 
 
 The Barolongs had brought with them a young 
 cow. Mr. Moffat advised them to fasten her up 
 also, but they considered it was not necessary, and 
 said she would be too wise to leave the oxen and 
 wagon. So they left the cow loose, and sat down 
 around the fire to eat their supper. After supper 
 Mr. Moffat sang a hymn and prayed to God, asking 
 him to preserve them from the lions, for He could 
 see as well in the night as in the day. The dark- 
 ness and the night are both alike to him. 
 
 The men were already asleep, and the missionary 
 was just preparing to lie down, when suddenly all 
 
A LION’S ATTACK ON A MISSIONARY ENCAMPMENT. 
 
MR. MOFFAT AMONG LIONS AND BAROLONGS. 161 
 
 the oxen started to their feet. Then came a hound, 
 a bellow, a growl, a scuffle, then all these sounds 
 were mingling together, hut the bellowings were 
 becoming more distant ; something was being 
 dragged away. 
 
 The frightened men, wide awake now, stood still 
 and listened ; they could see nothing. Evidently 
 the poor cow had been seized by a lion ; and at a 
 little distance they could distinctly hear the poor 
 animal’s bellowings, the tearing of her flesh, and 
 the breaking of her bones as the lion devoured 
 her. How the men’s hearts beat ! Suppose it had 
 been one of them ? 
 
 As soon as the poor cow had ceased bellowing, 
 Mr. Moffat fired again and again, in the direction 
 in which he heard the lion. Each time the gun 
 was fired the lion rushed at the wagon, and ex- 
 tremely terrified the oxen ; but as he always 
 returned to his prey, Mr. Moffat at last gave up 
 trying to drive him off. 
 
 The fire was getting low, and with such unpolite, 
 cruel neighbours, it was necessary to do all that was 
 possible to keep them at a distance. More wood 
 must be collected. The lion was still busy with 
 the cow ; so Mr. Moffat and one of the Barolonga 
 ventured to creep quietly along towards the pool, 
 to gather the wood which had been broken from 
 the bushes by the animals who came to drink. 
 
 Mr. Moffat had not gone far, when, lifting up his 
 eyes, he dimly discerned before him the outlines of 
 M 
 
162 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 four animals. He listened what was the sound. 
 Mr. Moffat felt his heart beat hard. It was a 
 roar. The four animals before him were lions. 
 Quietly and stealthily he crept hack on his hands 
 and knees towards his companions, to warn 
 them of their danger. He found the man on the 
 other side of the pool also much alarmed, and 
 stealthily retreating ; for on his side the water he 
 had seen two lions with a cub. 
 
 There was the one lion eating the cow, four 
 lions on one side the pool, and two lions and a 
 cub on the other. In all, eight lions around them, 
 in that dark night. How should you like to 
 have been the boy-driver? The terrified men j 
 reached the wagon safely, and there remained in 
 great fear. The fire grew less and less, until all j 
 light from it was gone. The lions were prowling 
 round, roaring savagely. Sometimes they ap- 
 proached the spot at which the one was feasting 
 upon the cow. They were not received at all : 
 politely there ; for whenever they attempted to go 
 near him, he growled and drove them away. All 
 night long he went on by himself tearing the flesh 
 and crunching the bones. Before day dawned, he 
 dragged away what he had not eaten, and all the 
 lions lay down in their lairs to sleep. 
 
 In the morning, the men went to find what the 
 lion had left of the cow. They discovered the 
 head, the backbone, the stomach, some parts of the 
 legs, and two clubs which they had flung at him. 
 
MR MOFFAT AMONG LIONS AND BAROLONGS. 163 
 
 Everything else this one hungry lion had devoured 
 in a single night. 
 
 You may he sure that the wagon and oxen did 
 not stay by that pool a second night. 
 
 After awhile Mr. Moffat reached a village be- 
 longing to a Barolong chief, and lived there for ten 
 weeks. The village was very dirty, and so were 
 the people ; but as the missionary’s object was to 
 talk to them as much as possible, he was obliged 
 to put up with the dirt. He used to go into the 
 fold where the men assembled to talk and prepare 
 their skins, and did not mind, although they 
 laughed a great deal at the mistakes he made. 
 
 While learning himself he tried to teach ; and 
 he talked to the Barolongs, as he had done to others, 
 about God, and his dear Son our Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 At night, he would try and write down what he 
 had learned during the day, which was no easy 
 matter in such a thirsty land. The flies were so 
 thirsty that they clustered into the inkstand to 
 drink the ink, and followed the pen as it travelled 
 over the paper to suck up the fluid. This, per- 
 haps, would not have been a very great difficulty 
 if there had been only a few flies, but there were 
 so many, that sometimes in swarming round and 
 into the candle they actually put it out. We, in 
 England, can hardly understand such a difficulty 
 in the way of writing exercises. 
 
 While dwelling among the Barolongs, Mr. Moffat 
 M 2 
 
164 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 saw a good deal of their maimers and customs, 
 which interested him much. 
 
 Some of the young men were very swift runners. 
 Two giraffes one day wandered near the village, 
 and some of the young men, for amusement, pur- 
 sued them, actually succeeding in overtaking and 
 killing one of the animals. Such a feat as this is 
 not common even among the Barolongs. 
 
 Not long after Mr. Moffat came to the Barolong 
 village, some Bauangketsi people arrived, and 
 begged him very much to go and visit their king, 
 Sebegue, the son of Makaba. Makaba himself 
 was now dead. Mr. Moffat told them that he could 
 not go then, but he sent a present to Sebegue. 
 
 A fortnight after, he was sitting in his wagon, 
 writing as well as he could, when he heard a cry 
 in the village, that an enemy was approaching. 
 Mr. Moffat looked out from his wagon. There cer- 
 tainly were a number of men approaching. The 
 frightened inhabitants were running away in the 
 opposite direction, and hiding wherever they could 
 find shelter. The missionary did not like to go 
 away and leave his wagon, and everything he 
 had with him, so he waited to see first who the 
 enemy was. This was rather courageous, but then 
 Mr. Moffat was no coward. 
 
 Evidently from their dress the men were war- 
 riors. Who were they ? They were coming very 
 near. Who could they be ? They were old 
 Bauangketsi friends. Sebegue himself was at 
 
MR. MOFFAT AMONG LIONS AND BAROLONGS. 165 
 
 their head on horseback. As the missionary 
 could not come to see him, he had come to see 
 the missionary. His horse had been bought on 
 purpose for this journey ; but there was another 
 horse with him — where did that come from? 
 Sebegue had stolen it that he might come before 
 Mr. Moffat in a manner worthy of a king. He 
 had also had a pair of trousers made because he 
 knew Mr. Moffat thought it was proper to wear 
 them. There were no tailors at Kuakue, and these 
 trousers were of so strange a shape that Sebegue 
 was not satisfied with them, and begged a better 
 pair from Mr. Moffat. 
 
 Two days after, the royal visitor left. His last 
 words to Mr. Moffat were, “ Trust me as you have 
 trusted my father.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat perfected himself in the language 
 very much while he remained among the Barolongs, 
 and almost immediately after his return to Kuru- 
 man, the village at which he had stopped was 
 attacked and destroyed by some robbers. 
 
 Are you surprised that the missionary was pre- 
 served from the savage lions and the cruel robbers ? 
 “ There was no manner of hurt found upon him, 
 because he believed in his God.” “ For thou, Lord, 
 wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou 
 compass him as with a shield.” 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 
 
 The prospect at Kuruman was beginning to 
 brighten. The missionaries did not yet feel that 
 any of the natives were seeking God ; but thou- 
 sands had settled near them ; the services were 
 better attended, the people appeared to listen, and 
 more children came to school. 
 
 Just as they were hoping that still brighter days 
 were to dawn, news reached them that a large 
 plundering band was going to attack the station 
 and murder every one. The Bechuanas were so 
 alarmed that they set their houses on fire and ran 
 away. The missionaries once more took refuge in 
 Griqua Town ; but so much did Mr. Moffat regret 
 having left his post, that he resolved never more 
 to be frightened away by any reports he might 
 hear. 
 
 Mr. Hughes remained at Griqua Town to help 
 the missionary there. Mr. Hamilton and Mr. 
 Moffat were glad to get back to Kuruman. The 
 people were scattered, and where their huts had 
 stood nothing was to be seen but heaps of ashes. 
 The missionaries* houses still afforded shelter, but 
 
A CHANGE FOE THE BETTER. 167 
 
 most of their oxen and cows were dead, so that it 
 was with difficulty they could procure food for 
 themselves and the children. 
 
 The people, however, soon gathered together 
 again, and new huts were quickly built. The 
 spelling books, too, arrived just now from the 
 Cape, and the school children were delighted to 
 have books from which to learn. Mr. Moffat 
 wrote three hymns in the Sechuana language, 
 which he found the people much enjoyed singing 
 in chapel. 
 
 Long and fervently had the missionaries prayed 
 in years past, that God would open the hearts of 
 the people among whom they were labouring ; and 
 send his Holy Spirit to teach them the knowledge 
 of “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom 
 He has sent.” 
 
 They had waited for an answer to these prayers, 
 and now, when they had almost given up expecting 
 an answer, it came. 
 
 The missionaries were surprised to see that 
 during the prayers and the sermon some of the 
 people wept. As they thought of their sinfulness, 
 and heard of the Almighty Saviour’s love, large 
 tears rolled down their cheeks. Even the men 
 cried like children — men who had been taught 
 that it was a disgrace to shed a tear. 
 
 A runaway slave named Aaron, had come to 
 Kuruman with his children, that they might be 
 taught to read in the Mission-schooL This man 
 
1C8 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 became a Christian. He gave himself to Christ, 
 and resolved to be his servant for the rest of his 
 life. He had run away from one master, and now 
 willingly gave himself to another, a master who 
 had loved him so well that He died to save him. 
 Aaron wished to be baptized, and asked Mr. Moffat 
 to baptize him and his children ; Mr. Moffat saw 
 that he was in earnest, and did as he desired. 
 
 This man was the first convert, but all through 
 the town now might be heard sounds of prayer 
 and singing. Numbers were anxious to be taught. 
 Aaron and two other men came to the mis- 
 sionaries, and offered to get a new schoolroom 
 built. The offer was gladly accepted, and the 
 work was begun in such good earnest that it was 
 very soon finished. The women themselves did 
 not build ; but they and the children helped the 
 men by doing what they could. They carried 
 clay, and laths, and straw, and whatever the 
 builders wanted. This schoolroom was used for a 
 chapel also until a better one could be erected. 
 
 How giad the missionaries must have been to 
 see this change. It was now thirteen years since 
 Mr. Hamilton first went to Lattakoo. All those 
 years he had suffered and waited, hoped and 
 prayed. It was a long waiting time, but now he 
 and Mr. Moffat felt fully repaid for all the pain 
 and anxiety, for all the hunger and thirst and 
 rough treatment which they had endured. The 
 Bechuanas were crying, “AVe have been like beasts 
 
A CHANGE FOR THE BETTER. 
 
 169 
 
 before God. What shall we do to be saved?” 
 How delightful to point them to the Lamb of 
 God, who taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 Other changes soon took place. The people 
 discovered that decent clothes and a good wash 
 were improvements. The women came to Mrs. 
 Moffat to learn to sew ; and the fingers that had been 
 accustomed to handling nothing much more deli- 
 cate than large poles, or awkward gardening tools 
 now tried to hold a needle. The poor women and 
 gilds could hardly feel the little things, but they 
 were very persevering in their endeavours to learn. 
 It must have been a strange looking sewing class, 
 for scarcely one of the pupils had a frock to wear. 
 
 There was another difficulty in the way of 
 making clothes. What were they to be made of ? 
 No one had ever dreamed of such a thing as a 
 linen-draper’s shop at Kuruman, for no one had 
 wanted better clothes than a skin — except indeed 
 the missionaries, and they had been obliged to pro- 
 cure a fresh supply from the Cape whenever it was 
 absolutely necessary. 
 
 Many skins were cut up, and made into jackets, 
 trousers, and gowns. If you had been at the mis- 
 sion-station about this time — of course you could 
 not have been, because you were not born — but if 
 you could have been there you might have enjoyed 
 many a good laugh at the odd dresses to be seen. 
 Sometimes a man would be walking about in a 
 jacket with only one sleeve. He had not finished 
 
170 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE 
 
 yet the second sleeve, or, perhaps, had nothing of 
 which to make it ; or a man would come to chapel 
 in a leathern jacket with cotton sleeves of different 
 colours — one pink and the other blue ; or one red 
 and the other yellow. These oddities amused the 
 missionaries ; hut it showed that the people were 
 improving, or they would not care to dress at alL 
 
 Mrs. Moffat had plenty of work to do in cutting 
 skins, which were brought to her, into garments of 
 different shapes and sizes, and then showing their 
 owners how to fasten the parts together, and how 
 to wear their clothes. 
 
 The next improvements were in the huts. Such 
 fine dresses required cleaner houses. The grease, 
 with which the people used to smear themselves, 
 was now carefully saved and made into a kind of 
 candle. Some of the people were learning to read, 
 and they found that they could both read and sew 
 after sunlight had left them, if they had candles. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was translating the Gospel of Luke 
 and some Bible lessons into the Sechuana lan- 
 guage. He made all haste to finish them, and 
 send them to the Cape to be printed, that those 
 who wished might read the history of Jesus Christ 
 in their own tongue. 
 
 How that you have read this chapter, get your 
 Bible and read Psalm cxxvi., it is very short. 
 Remember what you have read here, and you will 
 understand that little Psalm better than you have 
 before. 
 
* 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 
 
 Just as all the changes, of which you were told 
 in the last chapter, were in progress, two ambassa- 
 dors arrived at the Kuruman station from the 
 great king, Mo-se-le-kat-se, who refgned over the 
 Matabele. 
 
 This great king had heard of the white men, 
 and especially of the white men at Kuruman ; 
 and had sent these ambassadors to learn more 
 about them, their manners and customs, and what 
 they taught. He had chosen two of his chief 
 nobles to go on this errand, but what will you 
 think when you hear that, although they were 
 nobles, they arrived at the mission-station with- 
 out any clothes on at all The Bechuanas were 
 shocked, for though their ideas were not very 
 elegant, they now considered dress of some kind 
 quite necessary. To oblige the Bechuanas and the 
 missionaries, the visitors put on some clothes, 
 which were provided, for them, and as they were 
 unaccustomed to being covered, and must have felt 
 uncomfortable in things which did not fit them 
 well, this was very kind of them. 
 
172 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 The ambassadors were very much astonished at 
 everything they saw. The missionaries’ houses 
 and gardens ; the long two-mile watercourse, along 
 which the water flowed from the river to the gar- 
 dens ; the well-made walls, and above all the 
 smith-shop and forge so amazed them, that they 
 did not know how to express their feelings. They 
 did not dance about or shout, but remained grave 
 and behaved as though full of respect and venera- 
 tion for the missionaries. 
 
 “ You are men,” they said, “ we are children. 
 Moselekatse must be taught these things.” 
 
 The furniture in Mr. Moffat’s house surprised 
 them much ; one caught sight of a little mirror, 
 which he appeared greatly to admire. Mrs. Moffat 
 handed him a larger one. He looked in at the re- 
 flection of his own face, but never before having 
 seen a likeness of himself, he imagined one of his 
 servants had got behind the glass, and told him to 
 be gone. Of course, as no servant was there, no 
 one obeyed the order, and when the ambassador 
 found this was the case, he once more cautiously 
 looked at himself, and then returned the glass to 
 its owner, saying, with a very grave face, “ It is a 
 deceiver, I cannot trust it.” 
 
 The ambassadors attended public worship at the 
 chapel, and there they were more astonished than 
 ever. The people no longer behaved as they used 
 to do. There were men and women sitting decently 
 and attentively ; children who made no noise, 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 173 
 
 babies that were quickly hushed or carried out if 
 they cried. What was the cause of such order? 
 How could songs which were not war songs inte- 
 rest the congregation ? Who were they talking to 
 when they knelt down ? What did the missionary 
 talk about when he went on speaking to them so 
 long? 
 
 Mr. Moffat tried afterwards to explain to his 
 visitors the good news of Jesus’ love, and told 
 them that they all met to worship God and learn 
 about Him. 
 
 Moselekatse had wished his ambassadors to visit 
 the Cape, but the distance was so great, and the 
 difficulties in the way were so many, that they 
 were obliged to remain satisfied with all the new 
 things they had seen and heard at the Kuruman. 
 
 One day they entered Mr. Moffat’s house with 
 very grave and anxious looks, and asked to speak 
 with him alone. Mr. Moffat wondered what secret 
 he was going to hear, and quickly sent every one 
 away. This was the secret : the ambassadors were 
 in great difficulty, they said, for some of the 
 Bechuana tribes dwelling between Kuruman and 
 Moselekatse’s territory, had determined to murder 
 them on their way home. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was very much perplexed as to what 
 was best to be done. He knew that very likely if 
 the ambassadors were alone, the savage, thought- 
 less Bechuanas would murder them. He knew 
 that if they were murdered, Moselekatse, who was 
 
174 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 a great warrior, and had a large army, would come 
 and destroy the offending tribes, as he had already 
 destroyed many nations. The only way seemed 
 to he for Mr. Moffat and a guard of men to go 
 with them so far on their journey as there was 
 any fear of an attack. So wagons and oxen, and 
 a strong guard were prepared, which conveyed the 
 ambassadors as far as the country of the Bahurutsi. 
 Here Mr. Moffat delivered his charge over to the 
 king Mokhatla, and requested him either to go 
 himself with these nobles to their king, or to send 
 a strong escort with them. To this plan the am- 
 bassadors did not at all agree though Mokhatla 
 made no objection. They said that, since Mr. 
 Moffat had shown them so much kindness, they 
 wished to present him to their king, that he also 
 might express his gratitude. Mr. Moffat wished 
 much to return home, hut at last reluctantly con- 
 sented to go as far as the outposts of Moselekatse’s 
 dominions. Mokhatla desired to see the king of 
 the Matebele, so he accompanied Mr. Moffat and 
 the ambassadors. 
 
 The country lying between Mokhatla’s capital 
 and that of Moselekatse, is very different from the 
 country nearer the Kuruman. The land is better 
 watered, and as it was a rainy season, when Mr. 
 Moffat passed through it, everything looked par- 
 ticularly fresh and green. Clumps of large and 
 beautiful trees cast a delightful shade upon the 
 luxuriant grass, where animals of many kinds 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 175 
 
 were grazing. These pleasant valleys were, how- 
 ever, spoilt ; scattered through them were to be 
 seen the ruins of many towns, destroyed either by 
 the armies of the Matebele or of the Mantatees. 
 Among these sad ruins lions roamed about in great 
 numbers ; lions even more dangerous than they 
 commonly are, for they had learned to enjoy 
 human flesh, from having lived near such a man 
 as Moselekatse. 
 
 You have not heard anything bad of this king 
 before. His ambassadors had not behaved like 
 the servants of a very cruel king ; but very cruel 
 he was, and even the lions were the worse for 
 being near him. Close to the outposts of his 
 kingdom Mr. Moffat remarked a tree which had 
 some very large and strange-looking nests in it. 
 They looked like huts, but birds could not build 
 huts. Mr. Moffat climbed up the tree to get a 
 nearer view. The nests really were huts, and 
 there, at the entrance to one of them, was a woman 
 nursing a baby. What a queer little village built 
 in a tree ! And what a large tree to bear so many 
 huts and so many people. Mr. Moffat counted 
 seventeen huts, and saw a good many women and 
 children. The men were out hunting. 
 
 Why do they live up there ? you ask. Why do 
 they not build their huts on the ground, where 
 the children can run about without fear of falling ? 
 The people belonged to a tribe that had been con- 
 quered by Moselekatse, and these were all that 
 
176 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 had escaped alive. The wild beasts had feasted 
 upon the dead bodies of their companions, and 
 would quickly devour them, too, if they remained 
 on the ground. The children were safer crawling 
 about the branches, and eating roots and locusts, 
 than they would he if their mothers were culti- 
 vating gardens below, or trying to supply them 
 with cow's milk. Sometimes they had a feast 
 upon game caught by the men ; and as there was 
 an abundant supply of animals in the country 
 around, there was no fear of starvation. 
 
 This strange village was built in a tree near to 
 the kingdom of Moselekatse ; and as Mr. Moffat 
 had now travelled with the ambassadors as far 
 as he thought necessary, he prepared once more 
 to return home. The missionary went up to the 
 two men, to wish them good-bye. They were 
 sitting on the ground, but arose as their friend 
 approached, and stood for a while silent and sad. 
 Then one of them put his right hand on Mr. 
 Moffat’s shoulder, and said: “Father, you have 
 been our guardian ; we are yours ; you love us, 
 and will you leave us?” Then pointing to the 
 mountains far off on the horizon, he continued : 
 “ Yonder dwells the great Moselekatse. How 
 shall we approach his presence if you are not 
 with us ? If you love us still, save us. For when 
 we shall have told our news, he will ask why our 
 conduct caused you to return. And before the sun 
 descend on the day we see his face, we shall be 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 177 
 
 ordered out for execution because you are not 
 with us.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat tried to persuade them to go on 
 without him. 
 
 “ Are you afraid ? ” they asked. 
 
 “ No,” he answered. 
 
 “ Then it remains with you to save our lives, 
 and our wives and children from sorrow.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat could not resist the pleaders. He 
 went on through the beautiful land governed by 
 that cruel despotic king. For several days the 
 wagons were detained by dreadful thunderstorms 
 and very heavy rains. But though the travellers 
 were stopped by the weather, many visitors arrived 
 from the villages around, bringing presents of 
 milk and grain to supply them with food during 
 the delay. 
 
 Mr. Moffat found another missionary, named 
 Mr Archbell, waiting to see Moselekatse ; but the 
 king had refused to receive him until the arrival 
 of Mr. Moffat, of whose approach he had been 
 told. 
 
 A special messenger was sent to conduct Mr. 
 Moffat to the king’s presence, and Mr. Archbell 
 went with him. They left their wagons to follow, 
 and themselves rode on horseback to the town 
 unarmed and almost alone. 
 
 The fold belonging to the town was so large 
 that it held as many as ten thousand oxen, and 
 here the king had arranged to receive his visitors. 
 
 N 
 
173 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was surprised, as he entered the fold, 
 to see a company of warriors partly concealed 
 on each side of the entrance, and a much larger 
 company already in it. Should not you have felt 
 afraid ? It was too late to turn hack, whatever 
 these savage naked warriors intended to do. The 
 missionaries and their attendants rode in and 
 dismounted, as though they had seen nothing to 
 alarm them. The soldiers at the entrance raised 
 a hideous yell, and rushed in after them, then 
 quietly joined the lines of warriors already stand- 
 ing in the fold. 
 
 All remained perfectly still and motionless for 
 a few moments ; the stillness was succeeded by 
 a loud, wild war-song. Another silence followed, 
 and from behind his warriors marched forth the 
 monarch, followed by a train of men bearing 
 baskets and bowls of food. He walked up to 
 the missionaries, and saluted them with a clumsy 
 shake of the hands. Then, politely pointing to 
 the food, he asked them to eat ; which they did. 
 
 As the wagons were approaching, Mr. Moffat 
 asked the king where he might encamp. Mosele- 
 katse graciously answered, “The land is before 
 you ; you are come to your son.” 
 
 When the “ moving houses ” came nearer, the 
 king grasped Mr. Moffat’s arm tightly, and drew 
 back afraid. He had never seen wagons, and 
 thought perhaps they were alive. The oxen were 
 unyoked ; and now that the wagons no longei 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 179 
 
 moved, the king ventured cautiously to approach 
 them, and at last even to examine them. The 
 wheels astonished him, and he could not under- 
 stand how the iron bands around them were made 
 without a join. One of the ambassadors, whose 
 visit to the Kuruman had made him wiser than 
 his master, took Mr. Moffat’s hand in his and said : 
 “ My eyes saw this hand cut these bars of iron, 
 take a piece off one end, and join them as you see.” 
 By looking more carefully, the king discovered 
 the join. 
 
 “ Does he give medicine to the iron, to make 
 the ends hold together so ? ” asked the king. 
 
 “No,” answered the ambassador; “nothing is 
 used but fire, a hammer, and a chisel.” 
 
 Moselekatse was very kind to Mr. Moffat, and 
 thanked him much for his attention to his mes- 
 sengers. He gave a ball in honour of his visitor, 
 but this Mr. Moffat did not at all enjoy; for 
 heathen dances are not decent, or in any way 
 pleasant to civilized people. 
 
 There was one thing which struck Mr. Moffat 
 very much as he watched Moselekatse and his 
 subjects. His people treated him as though he 
 ■were a god ; whenever he rose up or sat down he 
 was hailed with a shout ; and the common names 
 by which he was called mean Great King, King of 
 Heaven, Elephant. 
 
 On the Sunday after the visitors’ arrival a grand 
 feast took place. Cattle were slaughtered, and all 
 N 2 
 
180 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 the people were delighted with the anticipation of 
 a day of eating, drinking, singing, and dancing. 
 
 No. Mr. Moffat noticed one man gloomy and 
 sad. Ah ! there was to be no feast for him. He 
 was an officer, and had committed some offence, 
 for which he was this day to be tried. He was 
 taken before the king without his shield or spear, 
 and the king heard the charge laid against him. 
 What he had done, we are not told ; but it was 
 proved he was guilty, and deserved to die. 
 
 When the trial was over, the king said to the 
 poor man, “ You are a dead man, but I shall do 
 to-day what I never did before. I spare your life 
 for the sake of my friend, Mr. Moffat. He has 
 travelled from a far country to see me, and he 
 says that to take away life is an awful thing. He 
 has asked me not to go to war or destroy life. I 
 wish him, when he returns to his people, to return 
 with a heart as white as he has made mine. I 
 spare you, for I love him. He has saved the lives 
 of my ambassadors.” 
 
 “But,” continued the king, “you must no more 
 be a noble, nor enter the towns of the nobles, nor 
 join in the dance of the mighty. Go to the poor 
 of the fields, and let your companions be the in- 
 habitants of the deserts.” 
 
 The proud, savage noble answered the king that 
 he would rather die than live such a life, and 
 begged his sovereign, as a mercy, to allow him to 
 be killed. 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 181 
 
 His request was granted. His hands were tied 
 over his head and he was led away between two 
 men. They led him up a hill to the edge of a 
 precipice overhanging the river ; there they threw 
 him over, and he was devoured by the crocodiles, 
 who were opening their great jaws below ready to 
 receive him. 
 
 Mr. Moffat must have found it very difficult to 
 worship God during a Sunday filled as this one 
 was with wicked and savage deeds ; and yet doubt- 
 less his heart was full of prayer for these poor 
 heathen, who knew not what they did. 
 
 Moselekatse had many conversations with Mr. 
 Moffat during his stay, and was very inquisitive 
 about everything which concerned the white men. 
 He could not understand how it was possible 
 Mr. Moffat should have left his own country 
 without asking his king’s permission ; and was 
 very much surprised to hear that he had never 
 seen his king and did not know how much cattle 
 he possessed. Mr. Moffat tried to explain that he 
 had come to Africa as the messenger of the King 
 of kings, and that even the king of England had 
 persons to teach him how to serve the Great King 
 of heaven. 
 
 “ Is your king like me ? ” asked Moselekatse. 
 
 Of course Mr. Moffat could not say yes ; for no 
 two kings could be more unlike than Moselekatse 
 and William IV., who was at that time reigning 
 in England. 
 
182 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 When Mr. Moffat described the industry of the 
 English people, the wonderful things they made, 
 and the vast numbers of sheep and oxen killed every 
 day in England for food, Moselekatse exclaimed : 
 
 “ Your nation must be terrible in battle ; you 
 must tell your king I wish to be at peace with 
 him.” 
 
 One day Mr. Moffat was talking to the king 
 about the sin of murdering his fellow-men. The 
 king agreed with all he said, and assured the mis- 
 sionary he would never go to war again. But 
 while they were speaking, a regiment of naked 
 Matebele soldiers came near, and bowed at a dis- 
 tance from their sovereign to wait for orders. 
 Their leader approached the king, and very humbly 
 saluting him, said, “ Permit us, 0 king, to go and 
 attack some town, that we may get more spoils.” 
 
 Notwithstanding what he had just said to Mr. 
 Moffat, Moselekatse let them go. 
 
 It was his way of keeping his warriors employed. 
 They used to attack a town belonging to another 
 nation, seize the cattle for themselves, and drive 
 out all the inhabitants. The old men and women 
 were killed at once. The men, who had tried to 
 defend themselves and their families, were bound 
 round with a quantity of dry grass, which was 
 then set on fire. The young men and girls were 
 loaded with the spoils taken from their own homes ; 
 they had become the slaves of their conquerors. 
 The babies and little children were left, and died of 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 1 83 
 
 hunger, or were eaten by the hyenas and lions. 
 Sometimes these helpless little ones were put to- 
 gether in the fold, wood was heaped over them, 
 and this heap was set on fire. Can you imagine 
 anything more horrible ? Did you ever think how 
 other children suffer and perish, while you are care- 
 fully fed, and clothed, and taught, and protected ? 
 
 You will hear of Moselekatse again by-and-by. 
 
 When Mr. Moffat reached home after his visit 
 to Moselekatse, he found the Bechuanas were still 
 improving. God had blessed the land with rain, 
 and the people began to cultivate many new kinds 
 of vegetables. Until this time, the only things 
 they had planted were the native corn, pumpkins, 
 kidney beans, and water melons. Now they 
 watered their gardens, and raised maize, barley, 
 peas, potatoes, carrots, onions, and even fruit-trees: 
 
 So much new work required new tools ; the men, 
 who had been so idle, were trying to buy spades, 
 ploughs, harrows, or mattocks. They were learn- 
 ing to read also, and wanted books. Mr. Moffat 
 worked hard to translate the Gospel of Luke inff> 
 the Sechuana language for them and when it was 
 done he made a journey to the Cape to get it 
 printed. He took his wife and children with him, 
 and as some of his children were growing up he 
 placed them at a school in Graham’s Town. Here 
 they could learn things it was important for them 
 to know, and where they were removed far away 
 from the bad example of the heathen. 
 
184 
 
 Ptl VERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 On his return to Kuruman Mr. Moffat took back 
 with him true riches. There were another mis- 
 sionary and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards ; all 
 the copies of Luke’s Gospel ; all the copies of the 
 hymns, many of which Mr. Moffat had composed ; 
 money to pay for building a chapel ; a large box, 
 filled with materials for clothing, printed calicoes, 
 baize, etc. ; and, to crown all, a printing-press, with 
 type, paper, and ink in plenty. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moffat’s own treasures, their 
 children, were left behind, and the house at Kuru- 
 man must have been dull to their father and 
 mother without the patter of their footsteps and 
 their cheerful voices. There was, however, no 
 time for sad thoughts. Mrs. Moffat was soon very 
 busy with her sewing-school again ; and the print- 
 ing-press was set to work by Mr. Moffat to print 
 catechisms, spelling-books, and Scripture lessons. 
 
 How astonished the people were when they saw 
 a sheet of white paper disappear for a few minutes 
 and come out of the press again covered over with 
 black letters ! When the first sheets were printed, 
 a man, standing by, begged to have one. It was 
 given to him, and away he bounded into the town, 
 showing it to everybody he met, and asserting 
 that the missionaries had made it in a minute, 
 with a round black hammer and a shake of the 
 arm. Of course, every one wanted to see such 
 conjuring as that, and crowds came to look at the 
 printing-press. 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 185 
 
 As soon as lie could, Mr. Moffat persuaded a 
 trader to live at the Kuruman station, and get 
 what the people wished to buy. So many wanted 
 European things, and were willing to pay for 
 them, that it was worth while for some one to 
 supply them. 
 
 Missionaries were sent by Christian societies to 
 other tribes of Bechuanas. Some settled at Molito ; 
 they were Frenchmen ; some went to Isantsabane, 
 and other places ; and from that time — which is 
 more than twenty years ago — to this, the number 
 of missionaries and of Christians have gone on 
 increasing. 
 
 In the year 1834, a stranger, riding on ox-back, 
 stopped at the door of Mr. Moffat’s house. There 
 were with him two or three attendants, also on 
 oxen. The stranger was clean, and pretty well 
 dressed for those parts, and he asked where he 
 might lodge and pasture his oxen. 
 
 Mr. Moffat pointed to an out-house, which was 
 empty, and asked him for what purpose he had 
 come to Kuruman. 
 
 The stranger said his name was Mosheu, and he 
 ■was the chief of some people living at a place 
 called Mosheu’s Village. He had come on purpose 
 to see Mr. Moffat with his own eyes ; and the good 
 missionary had not often been stared at more than 
 Mosheu stared at him. 
 
 In the evening, some one was sent from Mr. 
 Moffat’s house to the shed, with an offer of supper 
 
18 G 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER A DRY PLACE. 
 
 to Mosheu and his men. To every one’s surprise, 
 it was found that this stranger had brought plenty 
 of food with him, and wanted none. This was the 
 first person who had visited the Kuruman Station 
 without expecting the missionaries to supply them 
 with food. 
 
 Mosheu saw and was delighted with everything 
 at the station. Mr. Moffat spoke to him of God 
 the Father, and his Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ; 
 but, though he used his eyes well, he did not 
 appear to pay any attention to what was said. 
 
 Time passed on, and again Mosheu appeared at 
 Kuruman, not now attended by two or three 
 servants, but followed by a long train of oxen and 
 people. He had brought his wives and relations 
 this time. What had they all come for ? Mosheu, 
 on his return home, had repeated Mr. Moffat’s words 
 about God’s great love, and his need of a Saviour 
 such as Jesus is ; and now he had come back to 
 ask, “ What must we do to be saved ? ” They had 
 all come to ask, “ What must we do to be saved ? ” 
 “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt 
 be saved,” was the missionary’s glad reply to their 
 question. 
 
 Mosheu and his train remained for some time 
 at the missionary station, in order to learn more 
 of Jesus, whom to know is life eternal. When at 
 last he left, he begged Mr. Moffat to visit his village. 
 Mr. Moffat promised to do so, and went as soon 
 as he could, though, as he was very busy, he was 
 
KING MOSELEKaTSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 187 
 
 not able to do so for some time. He reached 
 Mosheu’s village very weary indeed, and hoped to 
 he able to lie down in his wagon at once, and rest. 
 But rest was out of the question. No sooner did 
 the wagon approach the village, than old and 
 young, men, women, and children, came running 
 together, to see and welcome the missionary. Five 
 hundred people were, in a few minutes, holding 
 out their hands to shake his, crowding forward, 
 and pressing upon one another in their eagerness. 
 
 It was twelve o’clock at night before they were 
 satisfied, and then Mr. Moffat lay down in his 
 wagon to sleep. 
 
 By early dawn the people were around the 
 wagon again, all waiting for him to come and 
 preach to them. Mr. Moffat heard their eager, 
 clamorous voices while dressing himself ; and, as 
 soon as he appeared, messengers ran to tell those 
 who had not come to the wagon that Mr. Moffat 
 was up. He did not wait to have his breakfast, 
 but at once began to preach to the crowd, and 
 spoke to them for an hour, while all remained 
 silent and attentive. The text he chose was this, 
 “ God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
 should not perish, but have everlasting life,” — a 
 story so old to us that there is reason to fear we 
 hardly see how marvellous a story it is ; we are 
 even tired of hearing it sometimes. These people 
 did not weary of hearing the strange glad news, 
 
1S8 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IX A DRY PLACE. 
 
 There, in the open air, in the middle of their 
 village, they stood about, and listened. The cattle 
 wandered away unheeded ; the dogs barked, and, 
 as a punishment for the interruption, had sticks 
 and stones flung at their heads. Women who had 
 been milking stood with their vessels of milk in 
 their hands all the time, and some strangers, who 
 came up with bows and spears, laid their weapons 
 down, and came to listen too. 
 
 When Mr. Moffat had finished speaking, and 
 his congregation was dispersing, he went to a pool 
 to wash himself, and then returned to his wagon, 
 to get some breakfast. What was his surprise, to 
 find the people assembled again, and to hear that 
 they wanted another sermon directly. Mr. Moffat 
 said he was hungry, and begged them to wait for 
 half an hour. One of the chief women, hearing 
 this, hobbled away to her hut, and returned with 
 a wooden bowl, filled with sour milk, which she 
 gave to Mr. Moffat, saying, with a smile, “ There, 
 drink away, drink much, and you will be able to 
 speak long.” So Mr. Moffat drank the milk, and 
 began to preach again. 
 
 As soon as the second sermon was finished, the 
 people divided into groups, to talk over what 
 had been said. Mr. Moffat heard one young man 
 repeat the whole of the sermon to a group of 
 listeners, and at the same time he imitated all the 
 preacher’s movements. It must have been rather 
 a droll sight to see this new preacher. He was 
 
THK BECHUANA PBEACHER. 
 

KING MOSELEKATSE AND HIS AMBASSADORS. 189 
 
 dressed in a strange manner. He had a good 
 memory, and had attended to what he had been 
 taught. It is gratifying to know that he became 
 a Christian, and soon after died. 
 
 But two sermons had not satisfied these eager 
 villagers. After the cows had been milked in the 
 evening, when the sun went down, the people 
 came once more around the wagon. There, while 
 the clear, silvery moon shone on their dark up- 
 turned faces, they listened again to God’s message 
 of love ; and, long after Mr. Moffat thought they 
 ought all to he asleep, they were lingering about, 
 asking questions, or talking over what they had 
 heard. 
 
 Next morning the wind was very high, which 
 quite prevented preaching out of doors ; so Mr. 
 Moffat spent the day talking to the people in their 
 huts, and began to teach them to read. They 
 imagined this learning to read would be very easy 
 work, and understood nothing of the time it would 
 take. Towards evening the wind subsided, and 
 Mr. Moffat preached again ; but no one was more 
 ready for sleep than the night before. At bed- 
 time, all the people wanted a lesson in reading. 
 
 Two or three young men, who had already 
 learned to read, had accompanied Mr. Moffat from 
 Kuruman. A few spelling-books and sheets of 
 letters were in the wagon ; and soon the Kuru- 
 man readers were each surrounded by a circle of 
 scholars, calling out “ A, B, C ” It was moonlight, 
 
190 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and the letters were small ; so that all could not 
 see them to know what they were like, but all 
 could shout, and did shout, “A, B, C.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat, too, had a class. He had brought in 
 the wagon one sheet on which the alphabet was 
 printed in large type. This sheet he spread on the 
 ground, and a number of men knelt down around it. 
 
 Mr. Moffat pointed with a stick to A. 
 
 “ A,” shouted the men after him, at the top of 
 their voices. They made a great deal of noise, 
 because, they said, it would help their tongues to 
 get sooner accustomed to the strange “ seeds,” as 
 they called the letters. 
 
 The lesson went on for some time, and it was 
 growing late. Mr. Moffat was very tired, and rose 
 to straighten his back, when he saw, coming to- 
 wards him and his class, a number of young folks. 
 They were dancing and skipping along in high 
 glee, and caught hold of him rather roughly, crying, 
 “ Oh, teach us the A, B, C, with music ! ” 
 
 One of the young men from Kuruman had told 
 them that in the schools there the children sang 
 their alphabet. 
 
 A, B, C, with a tune was much more interesting 
 and amusing than without it, and now the lesson was 
 sung to “ Auld Lang Syne.” The people learned it 
 very quickly, and were so pleased with their new 
 acquirements, that it was between two and three 
 o’clock in the morning before they allowed their 
 teacher to leave them. 
 
KING MOSELEKATSE AND HTS AMBASSADORS. 191 
 
 Then Mr. Moffat went to his wagon, and, with- 
 out undressing, lay down to sleep, while “ A, B, C 1 
 to “ Auld Lang Syne ” was still being shouted by 
 the excited people. The sound hardly died away 
 during the remainder of the night ; and when 
 morning dawned, the women went to milk the 
 cows, and the boys to tend the calves, still hum- 
 ming “ A, B, C,” to “ Auld Lang Syne. ” 
 
 These villagers must have been sorry to see 
 the oxen yoked into the kind missionary’s wagon, 
 and to find that he was going to leave them. Yes ! 
 their teacher stayed with them only a very few 
 days ; but they did not forget what he had taught 
 them, nor did they think any trouble too much for 
 the sake of learning more. Often, after this, a party 
 of men, women, and children from Mosheu’s village 
 might be seen wending their way over the weary 
 plains that lay between their home and the Kuru- 
 man station, driving their milch cows before them. 
 They were going to learn, and the cows were to 
 supply them with food during their stay at the 
 station, so that they might be no burden to the 
 friends there. 
 
 Little children, who think learning a trouble, 
 and going to school disagreeable, remember the 
 men, women, and children of Mosheu’s village ! 
 
CHAPTEE XXIII. 
 
 RING MOTHIBL — MR. MOFFAT VISITS ENGLAND. 
 
 In the year 1838, the chapel at the Kuruman 
 station was finished. Until this time Divine 
 service had been held in the room which was to 
 be now used as a school-room only. 
 
 On the day that the chapel was opened, between 
 eight and nine hundred people came to worship 
 God in it, and the Sunday after, one hundred and 
 fifty took the Lord’s Supper there. One hundred 
 and fifty obeying Jesus Christ’s command, “Do 
 this in remembrance of me ” ! What pleasure for 
 the missionaries! Many of the people wept for 
 joy as they recollected the past times of ignorance 
 and sin, and thought of their great happiness now 
 in knowing and loving Jesus. Surely the angels 
 in heaven, who rejoice over one repenting sinner, 
 were glad at the sight ? 
 
 King Mothibi was, at this time, not living at 
 Kuruman. He was old, and blind, and infirm. 
 For many years he had heard the gospel, but he 
 had not given his heart to Jesus. One day he 
 asked his sons to lead him to the missionaries. 
 They took him to Kuruman. 
 
KING MOTHIBL 
 
 193 
 
 “ 1 am an old man/’ he said to Mr. Hamilton, 
 “ an old man, but without understanding. There 
 is nothing left of me hut my dry bones and 
 withered skin. My heart is sick; my mind is 
 dark ; my soul is sorrowful ; and my memory gone. 
 Will Jesus let me come to Him now?” 
 
 “ Oh, yes,” Mr. Hamilton said ; “ Jesus said 
 f come’ even now.” 
 
 And Motliibi gave himself to Jesus, old and 
 worn out as he was. And the merciful Saviour 
 accepted the offering of his contrite heart. Humbly 
 the old king stood to he baptized among those 
 whom he had considered to be no better than dogs. 
 They were his fellow-Christians now. His grief 
 for the remainder of his life was that he had ever 
 treated his subjects badly, aud that he had not 
 known his Saviour sooner, that he might have 
 served him longer and better. 
 
 It was now more than twenty years since Mr. 
 Moffat had visited his native land. He had many 
 reasons for wishing to return. He wished to bring 
 some of his children over that they might have the 
 advantage of English teachers. There were many 
 dear friends whom he and his wife desired to see 
 again. And there were many things to tell the 
 English people, which those at least who loved 
 the Saviour would be glad to hear. They would 
 be told that, after many years of toil and strife 
 and suffering, the good seed was at last springing 
 up and bearing fruit. 
 
 o 
 
194 ? EI VTEES OF WATEE IN A DET PLACE. 
 
 So Mr. Moffat came to England with his family. 
 His friends here were very pleased to see him, and 
 many people rejoiced to meet this devoted mis- 
 sionary, and hear him speak of what he had seen 
 and done, and what the Great God had done 
 through him and his fellow-labourers at Kuruman. 
 
 While in England Mr. Moffat wrote the book 
 from which this account of Africa has been taken 
 for you. A book which your fathers and mothers 
 very likely read when they were children as you 
 are now ; for it was written twenty years ago. 
 
 Twenty years ago ! And how have the Kuru- 
 man station and Mr. Moffat been getting on since 
 then ? There is the mission station still ; there 
 are the chapel, the school-rooms, the missionaries’ 
 houses ; there still dwell Mr. and Mrs. Moffat 
 assisted by younger missionaries, and by two of 
 their daughters, who take charge of the schools. 
 How different the past and present of this far-off 
 spot ! Do you not hope it may go on prospering 
 for many years to come ? 
 
CHAPTEE XXIV. 
 
 DR. LIVINGSTONE AND SECHELE. 
 
 And now are you willing to shut up this little 
 book and put it quite away? Would you like 
 never to hear any more about South Africa and 
 Mr. Moffat ? I cannot believe it possible. 
 
 During the last twenty years Mr. Moffat must 
 have been doing something ; and surely more mis- 
 sionaries have been sent out to the other Bechuana 
 tribes, and to Moselekatse perhaps. 
 v Certainly, there are many more missionaries in 
 South Africa than there were twenty years ago, 
 and Mr. Moffat has been very busy. 
 
 About the time that Mr. Moffat visited England 
 another young Scotchman was sent out by the 
 London Missionary Society to Africa. He went 
 first to Kuruman and afterwards to a chief of the 
 Bakwains called Sechele. 
 
 This missionary you have often heard of — David 
 Livingstone. His name is better known among 
 young people than the name even of Kobert 
 Moffat. 
 
196 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 David Livingstone, however, is not spoken of 
 as a missionary, so much as a great traveller. He 
 has visited lands and people before unknown 
 to Europeans. Indeed, since he returned to 
 England and told us where he had been, it has 
 become necessary to draw new maps of Africa, 
 and put in the names of rivers, lakes, moun- 
 tains, towns, and nations which Dr. Livingstone 
 has found. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone remained with Sechele, as a 
 missionary, for some time. This chief became a 
 Christian. He was very earnest in all that he did. 
 When ho saw from God’s Word that it was not 
 right to have more wives than one, he made pre- 
 sents to all, except his principal wife, and sent 
 them home to their parents. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone had been in Africa for twelve 
 years before he began his great journey of dis- 
 covery. He had already taken several journeys, but 
 had returned from them to his wife and children, 
 in Sechele’s town. 
 
 When Sechele found that his kind teacher had 
 made up his mind to leave him, he determined to 
 send his five eldest children to the Kuruman 
 station to be taught. 
 
 The mothers and relations of the children did 
 not at all like them to be sent so far away from 
 home. In order to show their grief, they came to 
 the royal huts, and there, sitting down upon the 
 floor, made a great noise, weeping and wailing. 
 
DK. LIVINGSTONE AND SECHELE. 
 
 197 
 
 Sechele was much displeased when he saw these 
 women, and heard the noise they were making. 
 He was himself very grieved to part with his 
 children, hut he was resolved they should go ; and 
 so he told the women, if they were not quiet very 
 soon, he would himself go away with the children 
 to Kuruman, and leave his people to get on as 
 they could. On hearing this, the women made 
 more noise than ever ; hut I suppose they soon 
 left off, for Sechele did not leave them. 
 
 It was Very wise of Sechele to send his children 
 to Mr. Moffat, as there was no missionary residing 
 among his own people. It proved that he really 
 was earnest in his wish to do right, for it pained 
 him to send his children away, in order that they 
 might he trained as Christians. 
 
 The children were sent in wagons, with twelve 
 attendants. It was a long journey to school — two 
 hundred and fifty miles, in slow-moving wagons. 
 It does not seem that Sechele had even so much as 
 asked Mr. Moffat to take care of the children. He 
 must have had great faith in the missionaries’ 
 kindness, when he sent his hoys and girls so far 
 away to strangers who did not expect them. 
 
 He sent a letter to Mr. Moffat by one of the 
 attendants, asking him to teach the children ; and 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moffat were so good as to receive the 
 five scholars, and provide for them. 
 
 The children all seemed very happy ; hut their 
 attendants prepared to return home with the 
 
198 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 wagons, and one poor little boy cried when he had 
 to say “ Good-bye ” to his old nurse. This little 
 boy who loved his nurse was called Bantsang. 
 
 Sechele’s children had already been taught in 
 Dr. Livingstone’s Mission-school, and so were not 
 as ignorant as savages. Mrs. Moffat found that 
 they were obedient. Every morning she sent them 
 to Mrs. Ashton’s day-schooL When the girls re- 
 turned, they did needlework with Mrs. Moffat. In 
 the afternoon, a native Christian girl gave them all 
 a reading lesson; and in the evening they were 
 taught to write. 
 
 While Sechele’s children were thus safe among 
 Christian friends, he was himself in great danger 
 and trouble. The Boers — the old enemies of the 
 native Africans — attacked his town, plundered the 
 Mission-station, destroyed Dr. Livingstone’s books 
 and medicine bottles, scattered the people, and 
 carried away many prisoners, among whom were 
 two of Sechele’s children. 
 
 Sechele did not give up to his enemies without 
 a hard fight, and in the fight some of the Boers 
 were killed. The Boers were so used to kill their 
 enemies, and to escape themselves, that they were 
 quite surprised when they found the Bakwains 
 could fight, and kill too. They concluded that the 
 missionaries must have taught the poor Bakwains 
 to defend themselves. 
 
 Sechele now had no home. He sent his wife 
 with her baby to Mr. Moffat, with a letter telling 
 
DR. LIVINGSTONE AND SECIIELE. 
 
 199 
 
 what had happened. Perhaps you would like to 
 read a translation of the letter. 
 
 “ Priend of my heart’s love, and of all the con- 
 fidence of my heart, I am Sechele ; I am undone 
 by the Boers, who attacked me, though I had no 
 guilt with them. They demanded that I should be 
 in their kingdom, and I refused ; they demanded 
 that I should prevent the English and Griquas 
 from passing (northwards). I replied, ‘ These are 
 my friends, and I can prevent no one (of them).’ 
 They came on Saturday, and I besought them not 
 to fight on Sunday, and they assented. They be- 
 gan on Monday morning at twilight; and fired 
 with all their might, and burned the town with 
 fire, and scattered us. They killed sixty of my 
 people, and captured women, and children, and 
 men ; and the mother of Baleriling * they also 
 took prisoner. They took all the cattle and all the 
 goods of the Bakwains ; and the house of Living- 
 stone they plundered, taking away all his goods. 
 The number of wagons they had was eighty-five, 
 and a cannon ; and after they had stolen my 
 wagon and that of Macabe, then the number of 
 their wagons (counting the cannon as one) was 
 eighty-eight. All the goods of the hunters f were 
 burned in the town ; and of the Boers were killed 
 
 * Baleriling had been one of Sechele’s wives. 
 
 + He alludes to some Englishmen, who were hunting and ex 
 ploring in the north. 
 
200 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER D» A DRY PLACE. 
 
 twenty-eight. Yes, my beloved friend; now my 
 wife goes to see the children, and Kobus Hae wdll 
 convey her to yon. 
 
 “ I am, 
 
 “ Sechele (the Son of Mochoasele).” 
 
 Poor Sechele ! When he had sent his wife with 
 the letter to Mr. Moffat, he set off to take a very 
 long jonmey — even as far as to London, to see the 
 Qneen of England S He wished to tell her how ill 
 her subjects the Boers had behaved to him, and to 
 ask her to make them give up the prisoners which 
 they had earned away. 
 
 Sechele knew it was very far to England, but he 
 had no idea how far. He reached the Cape ; but 
 when he saw the sea, and heard of the immense 
 quantity of water lying between the shores of 
 Africa and the shores of England, and of the money 
 he would require to pay his passage to England 
 and back, he saw he must give up the attempt. 
 
 Most likely our good queen never so much as 
 heard how this African chief started on a long 
 journey, for the sake of asking her help. 
 
 Sechele returned to the Bakwain country ; his 
 people recovered from their fright ; they assembled 
 again ; built the ruined town ; and Sechele was 
 soon a much more powerful chief than before. 
 
 He went to the Kuruman station for his wife 
 and children, and was very much surprised and 
 delighted with the progress they had all made. 
 
BK. LIVINGSTONE AND SECHELE, 
 
 201 
 
 Mrs. Moffat, felt sorry that the children should 
 go away to a heathen home again, and asked 
 Sechele to allow at least the younger ones to re- 
 main with her a little longer. But though little 
 Bantsang was not more than ten years old, Sechele 
 thought even he could read and write so nicely, 
 that he was quite as clever as he need he, and it 
 was time that they all set to work to teach others 
 now. So the children were supplied with clothes, 
 hooks, writing-paper, pens, pencils, etc. and they 
 returned home with their father and his wife. A 
 native teacher also went with them. 
 
 It was a great pity that these children were 
 taken away from their Christian home. In some 
 things, indeed, they knew more than their father ; 
 hut young people are very seldom wise enough not 
 to be led astray hy bad examples. Indeed, very 
 often even grown up people are led to do wrong hy 
 seeing other people do it. Only those, who, hy the 
 help of God’s Holy Spirit, have set the pure and 
 good example of the Lord Jesus before them, can 
 hope to live in the world, and not he like the bad 
 people that are in it. 
 
 Sechele himself was not wise in this, he was 
 leading his children into temptation. They were 
 not fit to guide themselves, much less to teach 
 heathen men and women how to do anything 
 properly. 
 
 Presently you shall hear how disappointed 
 Sechele was in his children. 
 
CHAPTER XXY. 
 
 MR. MOFFAT CONVEYS SUPPLIES TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone had sent his wife and children 
 home to England, and was far away from civilized 
 men, travelling in unknown countries and among 
 unknown nations. 
 
 His wife, while on her way home to England, 
 and after her arrival here, must have felt very 
 anxious about her dear husband, for she could hear 
 nothing about him. She wrote letters to him, and 
 sent them to her father, Mr. Moffat, hoping, that 
 as her husband was nearer to Kuruman than to 
 England, her friends there might know something 
 of him. But Mr. Moffat did not know much more 
 about Dr. Livingstone than his daughter knew. 
 He wrote more letters, and sent them altogether 
 by messengers to a chief called Sekhomi. Sekhomi 
 had promised to forward letters to a place called 
 Linyanti, and at Linyanti there was a man waiting 
 to take them to Dr. Livingstone. 
 
 By-and-by, people travelling from Sekhomi’s 
 country, told Mr. Moffat that their chief had not 
 kept his promise. Instead of sending a man to 
 Linyanti with the parcel of letters, he had kept it, 
 
SUPPLIES CONYEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 203 
 
 and said he meant to keep it, until Dr. Livingstone 
 came himself to pay for it. 
 
 It was very wrong of Sekhomi to break his word, 
 and he caused a great deal of annoyance and 
 trouble. But that is no wonder ; people who cannot 
 be trusted, always do give trouble to others. 
 
 Mr. Moffat was very vexed, for he not only had 
 no news of Dr. Livingstone for himself, but could 
 send none to his daughter in England ; and if the 
 letters had been forwarded, by this time Dr. Living- 
 stone might have been heard from. Then, too, 
 Dr. Livingstone had heard nothing of his friends ; 
 and, after his long absence, he might be in need of 
 a great many things, which he could not obtain 
 where he was. New boots, and coats, and hats ; 
 new tents, and guns, and such things. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moffat thought over all this. They 
 decided that Mr. Moffat had better go himself, and 
 take the letters and other things which Dr. Living- 
 stone might require to Linyanti. So parcels were 
 prepared, and stowed into the wagon, the oxen 
 were yoked in, and once more the good missionary 
 journeyed away from Kuruman. 
 
 But he did not go alone. There were two 
 traders going the same way, Mr. Edwards and 
 Mr. Chapman. They were going to buy ivory and 
 skins from the Matebele, the people of Moselekatse. 
 Their wagons, with Mr. Moffat’s, all the oxen, drivers, 
 and interpreters, made a large cavalcade. 
 
 This was not quite a straight journey to Linyanti 
 
204 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 and back, for Mr. Moffat wished to pay a few visits 
 on the way. 
 
 First, a visit to Sechele, to see how he and the 
 children were getting on. 
 
 Second, a visit to Sekhomi, to ask for the letters. 
 
 Third, a visit to Mosel ekatse, through whose 
 country the supplies must be sent, as it was im- 
 possible to trust any more to Sekomi. 
 
 Sechele was very pleased to see his kind friend. 
 When he heard that the wagons were approach- 
 ing, he came out of his town, accompanied by his 
 wife and children, to receive his visitors. 
 
 Sechele’s wife and children looked neat. They 
 wore well-made, tiger-skin karosses over their 
 other clothes. 
 
 Mr. Moffat and his friends accompanied Sechele 
 home. There was a kind of verandah outside the 
 house in front ; and behind were courts and sheds, 
 in which corn, pumpkins, dried water-melons, &c. 
 were stored. The house was large and comfortable, 
 and was partitioned, or divided, so as to make a 
 sitting-room on one side, and a bed-room on the 
 other. The floor was hard and clean. There were 
 guns, bullet-pouches, and powder-horns, hanging 
 on the walls. 
 
 In the sitting-room were some chairs and a 
 table ; and at a fire, which was burning there, the 
 maids were attending to something which was 
 boiling in a pot. Clean scoured bowls were placed 
 upon the table, and presently the contents of the 
 
SUPPLIES CONYEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 205 
 
 pot were emptied into bowls. Clean spoons were 
 banded to Mr. Moffat, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Chap- 
 man, with the help of which they quickly disposed 
 of their meal of porridge. 
 
 I tell you these things about Sechele’s home 
 that you may compare them in your own mind 
 with what you have heard of the old heathen 
 habits of the people. 
 
 As the sun sank in the west, a bell was rung. 
 This was a call to school. Mr. Moffat went with 
 Sechele to the school-house ; for he wanted to see 
 how many scholars there were, and what they were 
 learning. The house itself was built of wattle and 
 mud just under an overhanging precipice. The floor 
 was covered with dust two or three inches deep. 
 Not many people came to school The native 
 teacher was there and Sechele’s children, but only 
 one or two others. A hymn was sung, then the 
 teacher read a chapter from the Testament, which 
 Mr. Moffat had translated into the Sechuana lan- 
 guage. Another hymn was sung, and then began 
 a reading lesson. 
 
 Mr. Moffat asked his old pupils how many 
 people they had taught to read. The poor children 
 were obliged to confess they had taught no one ; for 
 no one would come to them to learn. Sechele had 
 obliged many of his people to learn to make 
 wagons and use tools, so Mr. Moffat told him he 
 had better make them learn to read, too, as they 
 were so foolish as not to do it willingly. 
 
206 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PEACE. 
 
 The next day Mr. Moffat had a long talk with 
 Sechele. They sat quietly together and talked for 
 five hours. I oould not tell you what it was all 
 about, but a good deal was said about the children. 
 They were not behaving as well as Sechele had 
 hoped they would do. The elder ones even wished 
 to become heathens again. This was a great grief 
 to their father, and he begged Mr. Moffat to speak 
 to the children and tell them how wrong they 
 were. 
 
 The next day, accordingly, the children were 
 called to speak with Mr. Moffat. They came into 
 the room where he and their father were sitting. 
 There were all his old pupils, whom he had taught 
 so carefully, and prayed for so much — Sebele, Ope, 
 Kirebolecoe, Kuanting, and Bantsang. All of them 
 looked grave, except Kirebolecoe, and I am sorry 
 to say she grinned very rudely, and as though she 
 did not care at all for being reproved. 
 
 Mr. Moffat had his Bible in his hand, and turn- 
 ing to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, he read 
 to them a verse, which they had very often heard 
 before. Perhaps you have heard it too. “ Children, 
 obey your parents in the Lord : for this is right” 
 The children knew what their kind teacher meant. 
 They had not been honouring and obeying their 
 parents. 
 
 Then he spoke solemn words to them about the 
 sad consequences of sin and disobedience ; how 
 God marked it and punished it. He begged them 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 207 
 
 all to think of these things, and to resolve, with 
 God’s help, to do what they knew was right. 
 
 Gpe answered, “ Father oppresses me, I will go 
 and do as the heathen do/’ 
 
 Kirebolecoe said, “ If Ope goes I shall go also 
 and Kuanting said the same. 
 
 Here were two naughty children following the 
 bad example of an elder sister. 
 
 Sebele said, “ I do not wish to do wrong, I will 
 not go ; ” and Bantsang made the same answer. 
 
 Sebele was the eldest son, and Bantsang the 
 youngest. Doubtless little Bantsang would have 
 answered as the others did, had not Sebele influenced 
 him aright. 
 
 Then Sechele spoke to his rebellious children. 
 “ You eat my food,” he said, “ you wear my clothes, 
 you live in my house, you are under my care, you 
 are mine. I am your father. Will you run away, 
 and put me to shame and grief before those who 
 have taught me and you ? ” 
 
 Whether the children did go to the heathen, or 
 whether they repented and stayed at home, I do 
 not know. Sechele must have sorely repented his 
 mistake in bringing them away from the Kuruman 
 station. 
 
 Two days after this conversation with the 
 children, Mr. Moffat said “ Good-bye ” to Sechele, 
 and with his whole party left the town. They 
 were going to the Bamanguato country to see its 
 treacherous, cunning chief, Sekhomi. 
 
208 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 The Bamanguato people knew that Mr. Moffat 
 was coming, and many ran out to see this far-famed 
 teacher when they heard of his approach. Mr. 
 Edwards and Mr. Chapman had before travelled 
 through the country, so the natives knew them ; 
 but of Mr. Moffat they had only heard. Now 
 they came to look at him, and they amused him 
 very much by the way in which they talked about 
 him. 
 
 They would give him a good stare, and say to 
 each other, “Is it he?” “Yes; it is he. Salute 
 him.” And then came the salutation, “ Good 
 evening morning.” They had heard English 
 people say, “ Good evening,” and “ good morning,” 
 so they, knowing no better, put the words together 
 and said, “Good evening morning.” Mr. Moffat 
 smiled, but he knew the meaning of it all was, 
 “ We have heard of you ; we are very pleased to 
 see you, and wish to be very polite.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat despatched a messenger to Sekhomi, 
 to ask for the parcel of letters he had kept. 
 Sekhomi did not know what might happen to 
 him if he kept them, now that Mr. Moffat himself 
 had come, so he very quickly gave up the letters, 
 and the messenger brought them to Mr. Moffat. 
 
 Mr. Moffat had not expected, when he made up 
 that parcel, to open it again ; but now he sat down 
 in the wagon and began to look over the old letters. 
 While he was thus employed, a queer, dark, short, 
 little man peeped in at him. It was Sekhomi 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 209 
 
 himself. He supposed Mr. Moffat would not now 
 be displeased, and so had come to see him. But 
 he was not at all sorry for the wrong he had done, 
 and only laughed at everything Mr. Moffat said. 
 
 You will not be surprised to hear that Mr. Moffat 
 did not remain in the Bamanguato country any 
 longer than he was obliged, but made all haste to 
 his friend Moselekatse. 
 
 It was a very difficult and troublesome journey. 
 There was no road from Sekhomi’s land to that of 
 Moselekatse, and the travellers knew nothing about 
 the way. They had hoped that some of the Ba- 
 manguato people would have gone with them as 
 guides, but Sekhomi forbade any one to tell the 
 way, and was pleased to think of the difficulties 
 and dangers that would have to be overcome with- 
 out help. 
 
 You have heard a good deal about the troubles 
 of journeying in Africa, so I tell you no more 
 about them now. At last the country of the 
 Matebele was safely reached, and from the joy 
 shown by the people Mr. Moffat felt sure that their 
 king, Moselekatse, was still his friend. 
 
 It appears very strange that so bad and selfish 
 a man as Moselekatse should show the love and 
 respect for Mr. Moffat that he did and still does. 
 “ The evil bow before the good ; and the wicked 
 at the gates of the righteous.” Solomon said that 
 many hundred years ago, so it cannot be a new 
 thing for bad men to respect the good. Indeed, 
 P 
 
210 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 every day we may see the same thing happen in 
 England if only we notice. 
 
 Do you remember the grand and rather alarming 
 reception which king Moselekatse gave to Mr. 
 Moffat on his first visit ? There was no show of 
 warriors now. Poor Moselekatse was ill, too ill to 
 enjoy any splendour, or even to admire very much 
 the wagon Mr. Moffat had brought for him. He 
 had the dropsy in his feet and legs ; and they were 
 so swollen and weak that he could not walk, not 
 even move himself across the floor. 
 
 There he sat on a kaross, quite helpless. He 
 held Out his hand to Mr. Moffat, but he did not 
 speak. He hid his face in his cloak and wept. For 
 some time he could not even look at his old friend. 
 
 At last he began repeating Mr. Moffat’s name. 
 “ Moshete, Moshete,” he said, “ surely I am only 
 dreaming that you are Moshete.” Moselekatse 
 always called Mr. Moffat “ Moshete.” 
 
 “ Yes,” Mr. Moffat answered, “ it is true. God 
 has spared us both, and brought me here to see 
 you again before I die.” 
 
 “ Your God has sent you to help me, and heal 
 me,” said the poor king. 
 
 This was true. Mr. Moffat gave Moselekatse 
 some medicine, which in course of time made him 
 better. He also persuaded him to leave off drink- 
 ing beer while he was ill. So, by means of the 
 medicine and less beer, he recovered so much as 
 to be able to move about a little. 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 211 
 
 Moselekatse wished very much that Mr. Moffat 
 would stop with him always ; and yet he would 
 not allow the missionary to teach or preach to his 
 people. Mr. Moffat did remain for a month, but, 
 as his object was to forward letters and supplies 
 to Dr. Livingstone, he was all the while wishing 
 to get on. The king put every possible obstacle 
 in his way, but found his friend so resolved upon 
 doing what he intended that the only resource was 
 to go with him, as he did not wish to be separated 
 from his dear Moshete. 
 
 Accordingly, on the day that Mr. Moffat started, 
 Moselekatse appeared, and, without asking permis- 
 sion, told his men to help him into the wagon to 
 Moshete. A number of parcels were put in after 
 the king, but Mr. Moffat did not take very much 
 notice of this ; he thought perhaps the king wished 
 to go and see some of his wives at the next town ; 
 he never imagined that he intended to go all the 
 way with him. 
 
 Moselekatse’s own new wagon followed, but he 
 preferred Mr. Moffat’s and made himself quite at 
 home, taking possession even of the bed. 
 
 As the wagons did not move very fast, it was 
 easy for those on foot to keep up with them. 
 Moselekatse, being king, had a large number 
 of walking attendants. There were in the crowd 
 many of his principal men, twenty women carrying 
 large calabashes of beer on their heads, and others 
 carrying karosses and food. 
 
 p 2 
 
212 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 As soon as the wagons halted for the night, 
 these people set to work and made green booths 
 with boughs of trees. There are plenty of trees 
 in this part of the country. When the booths 
 were made (and they did not take long), fires were 
 lighted, two oxen were killed, cut up, cooked, and 
 eaten, amid much chattering, laughing, and merry- 
 making. 
 
 The want of roads made the travelling very 
 unpleasant to the poor king. He could walk hut 
 little, and as the wagon jolted over the large 
 stones, or tilted backwards, forwards, and side- 
 ways, over the uneven ground, he was unmercifully 
 tumbled about and bruised. Mr. Moffat assured 
 him it was all good for his health ; and very likely 
 it was. I rather wonder he did not go back and 
 stay quietly in his royal hut, but he preferred 
 remaining with the missionary. 
 
 Moselekatse could not read at all, he did not 
 know even his letters, yet he liked looking into 
 books. He had been told that white men obtained 
 their knowledge from books, and he tried hard to 
 find some knowledge for himself in them. He 
 thought books were all God’s writing, because he 
 had been told of one that God had given to man. 
 While in Mr. Moffat’s wagon he spent many 
 hours looking into those which the missionary 
 had with him. They consisted of some old maga- 
 zines, and one volume with pictures in it. He 
 would turn over the leaves with the hope of dis- 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DE. LIVINGSTONE. 21 3 
 
 covering some knowledge, and was quite delighted 
 and proud to find that he understood ome of the 
 pictures, — a picture of a parasol, fjr instance, 
 which was on the cover of one of the magazines. 
 Poor Moselekatse ! Though a man, you see he is 
 more ignorant about some things than a very small 
 English child. 
 
 But at last the travelling was brought to a 
 sudden stop. Some men had been sent forward 
 to find water. They brought back word that it 
 would take the oxen four days to reach the next 
 supply of water, and that that water was in a part 
 of country infested with the Tsetse. 
 
 “ Tsetse ! ” you exclaim ; “ what are they — 
 robbers ? ” 
 
 No, worse; they are murderers. And it has 
 been found impossible for a party like the one of 
 which you are reading to get safely through a 
 country unhurt by them. 
 
 You would fight, and kill all these murderers, 
 would you not? And you wonder that Mosele- 
 katse and his brave warriors had not destroyed 
 them long ago. 
 
 Let me explain. A gnat settles on your arm 
 and stings you. You kill it in return for its sting. 
 That was very easy. But can you kill all the 
 gnats that are flying about in the shade of the 
 trees, and so be sure a gnat will never sting you 
 again? No. And just so impossible is it to kill 
 the tsetse. It is only a fly, a little larger than 
 
214 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 the fly you took so carefully out of the milk-jug 
 one morning. Only a little larger than those flies 
 which dance so merrily up and down under the 
 chandelier all the summer long. But then — the 
 mischief that it does ! 
 
 No horse, nor dog, nor ox is safe where this 
 fly is. It comes with a buzzing noise and settles 
 upon the poor animal. The animal is not startled ; 
 it does not seem hurt ; it does not even notice its 
 enemy. The fly comes, and pierces the skin with 
 its three-pronged proboscis, and goes buzzing away 
 again. But the animal will die. It eats still It 
 walks still. But it gets thinner and thinner; it 
 looks ill ; it grows weak. Day after day it gets 
 worse and worse, until it staggers, and falls, and 
 dies. 
 
 Now it is very remarkable that if this fly bites 
 a man, the man is only stung as he would be by a 
 gnat ; he is not made ill ; he does not die. And if 
 the wild beasts are bitten they do not suffer. The 
 tsetse is the murderer of horses, oxen, and dogs. 
 
 Well, if there were tsetse flying about in front 
 it was no use to take on the wagons ; for the oxen 
 would all be killed. 
 
 But Dr. Livingstone’s supplies, how were they 
 ever to reach him ? 
 
 Mr. Moffat went to Moselekatse and said : “ If 
 you will allow me to take some of your men to 
 help carry the things, I will walk to Linyanti 
 with them.” 
 
SUPPLIES CONYEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 215 
 
 “ If you go,” answered Moselekatse, “ I will go 
 too. I cannot walk ; more men must go, and they 
 shall carry me, that I may remain with you.” 
 
 “ Well,” said Mr. Moffat, “ if you will give 
 me enough men to carry all Dr. Livingstone’s 
 goods to Linyanti, I and my men will return with 
 you.” 
 
 To this arrangement the king willingly agreed. 
 The goods were made up into seventeen packages, 
 and these packages were carried away by seven- 
 teen of Moselekatse’s men ; each being laden be- 
 sides with a shield, a spear, and some food. 
 
 Linyanti was in the country of the Makololo ; 
 and these people were enemies of the Matebele ; 
 which made it a greater kindness for the men to 
 venture with their loads. 
 
 Mr. Moffat thanked the king much for sending 
 the men, but said he wished him to be still more 
 kind. He could not feel satisfied or happy with- 
 out telling the Matebele the glad tidings of the 
 Gospel. 
 
 Moselekatse made no answer then ; but a few 
 days after, as the wagons were returning to the 
 royal city, the king sent his chief, Manyeba, with 
 a message to the missionary. This is the message 
 Manyeba brought — 
 
 “ The king is convinced that the Word of God 
 is a good thing. He looks upon you as his father, 
 on account of your kindness and wisdom. You 
 must command, and he will tell his people to hear 
 
216 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 you. He is ashamed and afraid, "because he has 
 made you sorry.” 
 
 What a pleasant message to one who wished, 
 above all things, to serve God. Many times Mr. 
 Moffat had prayed for this permission to preach to 
 the Matebele ; now it was granted. Without loss 
 of time he began to instruct the people. As soon 
 as they came to a village, the good missionary sent 
 word to the king that he wished the people called, 
 in order that he might preach to them. Mosele- 
 katse ordered everybody to go and listen, and he 
 himself went to hear what was said. He must have 
 heard many things which were very unpleasant, 
 for Mr. Moffat said just what he knew was true, 
 not what would please the king. He remembered 
 the “ King of kings,” and thought first of pleasing 
 Him. Therefore, he told the king and all the 
 people, that it was wrong to lie, or steal, or kill ; 
 wrong to keep slaves ; wrong to marry more wives 
 than one. 
 
 How, some people when they are told of things 
 that are wrong, never say to themselves, “ Do I do 
 that wrong thing?” They say instead, “I hope 
 my neighbour sees how wicked he is and will be 
 ashamed of himself.” This is something the way 
 in which poor king Moselekatse listened ; he 
 nodded his head, and looked as though he wished 
 every one to hear how wicked they were ; but he 
 never seemed to think about himself, nor his four 
 hundred wives, nor his mam T slaves, nor the things 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 217 
 
 he had stolen, the men he had killed, and the lies 
 he had told. 
 
 Mr. Moffat preached many times before he left 
 Moselekatse, because he waited for the return of the 
 men who had taken the packages for Dr. Living- 
 stone to Linyanti. The king always listened, and 
 was never offended at what he heard ; but nothing 
 seemed to make very much impression upon him. 
 He did not become a Christian as Sechele did ; he 
 did not send away his hundreds of wives, nor set 
 his slaves free. Yet his people say, and Mr. Moffat 
 says that, though still a dreadful tyrant, he has 
 been kinder and more merciful ever since this visit 
 was paid to him. 
 
 The messengers to Linyanti returned, and the 
 time arrived for Mr. Moffat to leave. Moselekatse, 
 as usual, put all kinds of hindrances in his way, 
 and, as usual, found Mr. Moffat determined. He 
 wished to give his friend a great quantity of ivory 
 as a present, but Mr. Moffat refused to take it; he 
 would only accept enough to pay the expenses of 
 his long journey. 
 
 If Mr. Moffat’s object had been to grow rich, he 
 might easily have done so, for the king would have 
 given him as much ivory as he liked, which he 
 might have sold to traders. But growing rich 
 would not have helped on his missionary work; 
 Moselekatse would not have believed what Mr. 
 Moffat said, if he had not found he meant it with 
 all his heart, and did not wish to be paid. Yes, 
 
218 
 
 LIVERS OF WATER IX A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Bobert Moffat might have been a rich man now, 
 with land and houses all his own, if he had not 
 given up everything for Christ’s sake. 
 
 Once when Jesus was on earth Peter came to 
 Him and said, “ Behold, we have forsaken all, and 
 followed Thee; what shall we have therefore?” 
 And Jesus answered, “ Every one that hath for- 
 saken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or 
 mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s 
 sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit 
 everlasting life.” 
 
 You see from this that Jesus will give to Mr. 
 Moffat, and to all who serve Him faithfully, 
 much more — a hundred times more than the} 
 give up for Him — and everlasting life. I do not 
 mean you to think that Mr. Moffat will receive a 
 great deal more ivory than Moselekatse would 
 have given him. Jesus can repay in a great many 
 ways. 
 
 Mr. Moffat became very unwell, which grieved 
 the king. He ordered an escort of men to go 
 with him for the first hundred and fifty miles, 
 and six of these men were to go on until they 
 could return and say that Moshete was quite well 
 again. 
 
 Moselekatse him self went with the wagons for 
 some distance, and then, with great reluctance, said 
 “ Good bye.” He took Mr. Moffat’s hand at part- 
 ing, and said with emphasis, “ May God take care 
 of you on the road, and bring you safe to Kuruman 
 
SUPPLIES CONVEYED TO DR. LIVINGSTONE. 219 
 
 and to Ma-Mary.* Tell her how glad I am that 
 I have seen yon.” 
 
 God did take care of Mr. Moffat and brought 
 him safely home. Soon after, he heard that Dr. 
 Livingstone was safe, and would before long reach 
 Linyanti, where the letters and supplies were 
 waiting for him. 
 
 * Ma-Mary, (Mrs. Moffat). The natives had called her by this 
 name ever since her eldest daughter, Mary, was born. It means, 
 the mother of Mary. All the mammas among the South African 
 tribes are called by the names of their eldest children. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Bit. LIVINGSTONE RETURNS TO ENGLAND. MORE 
 MISSIONARIES SENT TO AFRICA. 
 
 Before he reached Linyanti, Dr. Livingstone heard 
 that a party of Moselekatse’s men had brought 
 some packages of goods for him. He heard, too, 
 that the Makololo were very much puzzled about 
 the things. They could not believe that Mr. Moffat 
 had sent them, hut thought it was some trick of 
 their enemies, and that there must be witchcraft 
 in the parcels. 
 
 When the seventeen Matebele messengers arrived 
 at the river which divided them from the Makololo, 
 they called to the people on the other side to bring 
 canoes, and fetch the goods sent by Moshete for 
 “ Hake,” as they called Dr. Livingstone. 
 
 Instead of bringing the canoes, the Makololo 
 shouted across the river, “ Go along with you ; we 
 know better than that. How could Hake tell 
 Moshete to send his things here? He is gone 
 away to the north.” 
 
 The Matebele answered, “ Here are the goods : 
 we place them now before you ; and if you leave 
 them to spoil, the guilt will be yours.” Having 
 
DK. LIVINGSTONE EETUBNS TO ENGLAND. 221 
 
 said this, the men put down their packages, and 
 turned away homewards. 
 
 When the men were gone, the people on the 
 other side of the river felt themselves in great 
 difficulty. Suppose the packages did really con- 
 tain things sent from Moshete to ISTake, how angry 
 they would he if they were spoilt! They were 
 very much afraid of these good men. Suppose 
 the packages contained witchcraft medicine, what 
 dreadful things might happen ! They dared not 
 leave the packages ; they dared not bring them to 
 their kraal 
 
 At last, in fear and trembling, they crossed the 
 stream with their canoes, and carried the mysterious 
 parcels to a little island in the middle of the river. 
 Here they put them, and built a hut over them to 
 protect them from the weather. Here the parcels 
 were left, and the men returned safely to the shore, 
 happy, no doubt, to have accomplished their work 
 without having been bewitched. 
 
 On the little island in the middle of the river 
 the parcels remained untouched, for a whole year ; 
 and at the end of that time Dr. Livingstone arrived 
 and opened them. The news contained in the 
 letters was by this time very old ; yet Dr. Living- 
 stone must have found great pleasure in them, and 
 have felt very grateful to his father-in-law for all 
 the trouble he had taken. 
 
 At the end of the next year (which was the 
 year 1856), Dr. Livingstone arrived in England, 
 
222 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 How long ago was that? Hot very long; yet, 
 perhaps, yon do not remember his coming, and 
 how much people here thought and talked of him 
 and his discoveries. His wife and children and 
 all his relations must have been very glad to see 
 him again. If I had been one of his children 
 I should have felt not only glad, hut proud ; for 
 who would not he proud to have such a man for 
 their father — a man who had worked so perse- 
 veringly, and in spite of so many difficulties, as 
 Dr. Livingstone! 
 
 Large meetings assembled to see Dr. Living- 
 stone, and to hear him speak of his discoveries. 
 He was invited to grand dinners, and had many 
 polite speeches and kind presents made to him. 
 He wrote a hook with the account of his travels ; 
 and many thousands of people bought and read it. 
 Very likely you have looked at the pictures in the 
 book, and have listened to some of the stories it 
 contains. 
 
 The gentlemen who managed the London Mis- 
 sionary Society, when they heard so much about 
 the Matebele and Makololo and other tribes in the 
 interior of South Africa, began to think seriously 
 that it was their duty to send missionaries to these 
 tribes. Every man and woman and child of those 
 tribes had souls which would live for ever; but 
 none of them were calling on the name of the 
 Lord. The Bible says, “ Whosoever shall call upon 
 the name of the Lord shall be saved.” These gen- 
 
MORE MISSIONARIES SENT TO AFRICA. 223 
 
 tlemen recollected that this was in the Bible, and 
 they recollected what conies directly after it — 
 “ How shall they call on Him in whom they have 
 not believed ? And how shall they believe in Him 
 of whom they have not heard? Amd how shall 
 they hear without a preacher? And how shall 
 they preach except they be sent ? ” 
 
 Of course, any one who loved God, and heard of 
 these tribes who did not know Him, would, when 
 they read this passage from God’s word, say, “We 
 must send preachers.” Many Christian people 
 were willing to help in sending preachers or mis- 
 sionaries to these tribes. Money was sent to the 
 Missionary Society to pay for their passage out — 
 to pay for the food and clothing, and other things 
 that would be wanted by missionaries who were to 
 settle in unknown heathen lands. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone intended to return to Adrica 
 almost directly, and he said that Sekeletu, the 
 chief of the Makololo, would be glad to receive 
 Christian teachers. He said he was quite willing 
 to do all in his power to help. He could not go 
 with the missionaries, because they could not start 
 as soon as he wished to go ; but he would try to 
 meet them in the Makololo country. He said, too, 
 that they had better go to the north of the river 
 Zambesi, instead of settling at Linyanti, because the 
 north side of the river was higher and more healthy. 
 
 Letters were written to Mr. Moffat about mis- 
 sionaries to the Matebele. He was asked whether 
 
224 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 he could go to Moselekatse with them, and stay 
 a few months until they were settled. Mr. Moffat 
 sent an answer to England, saying he felt sure that 
 Moselekatse would he very glad to have mission- 
 aries living in his country, if he were still alive. 
 He would pay a visit to the Matebele, and ask for 
 some land for the missionaries, on which they 
 might build houses, schoolrooms, and chapels, and 
 cultivate gardens. 
 
 Mr. Moffat found Moselekatse alive, but very 
 ill. The king was delighted to see him, and so 
 were his subjects ; for they said that every visit 
 Moshete had paid their king had made him govern 
 them better than before, especially the last one. 
 
 Moselekatse promised a piece of land for the 
 Mission-station, and heard again the good news of 
 Jesus’ love. He was getting older and more and 
 more ill. Mr. Moffat, too, was getting old : the 
 good missionary wanted very much to see the king 
 a Christian. He told Moselekatse that he should 
 not have come to see him again, if it had not 
 been for his great wish to see Jesus honoured and 
 worshipped. 
 
 “ I have been working among the heathen for 
 forty years,” said Mr. Moffat. “ These long jour- 
 neys are toilsome now, and I should never have 
 come to see you again but for the hope of seeing 
 you and your people Christians before I die — 
 before I die, and go to heaven to live and rest 
 with Jesus for ever.” 
 
MORE MISSIONARIES SENT TO AFRICA. 225 
 
 Moselekatse stared, his wives stared, his nobles 
 stared. “ Ton die ! ” they exclaimed. “ Yon are 
 young ; yon will not die.” 
 
 This they said, because they wished to be polite 
 and pleasant. They did not understand how any 
 one could look forward to death, and still feel 
 happy and joyful. 
 
 After his return from Moselekatse, Mr. Moffat 
 went to the Cape. By this time the new mis- 
 sionaries were on their way from England, and he 
 went to meet them at the Cape. 
 
 While Mr. Moffat was away from home a 
 party of Boers attacked Kuruman. They killed 
 many men, carried away numbers of women and 
 children, took the cattle, destroyed the corn, 
 and did immense mischief. Their object was to 
 drive the missionaries out of the country altoge- 
 ther. They thought if the missionaries were all 
 gone there would be no one to help the natives, 
 and then they would be easily conquered and 
 killed. 
 
 But just as the wicked Boers were trying to get 
 rid of all the missionaries, there were more coming 
 out. They arrived at the Cape just about the 
 time that the Boers attacked Kuruman, and before 
 long were all on their way there. 
 
 It is always pleasant to hear of kindness, so you 
 shall hear of one kind thing that was done by a 
 Christian man at the Cape. Mrs. Helmore, one of 
 the missionaries’ wives, had with her four little 
 Q 
 
226 RTVERS OF WATER in a dry place. 
 
 children. When all the provision for the journey 
 was made, some one thought that there was not in 
 the wagons sufficient food proper for children. This 
 was mentioned to a Christian gentleman named 
 Captain Murison. He was sorry to hear it, and 
 therefore sent for the little children some cases of 
 preserved meat and soups, which were stowed into 
 the wagons amongst the other things. 
 
 We can never tell how much good a little kind- 
 ness may do. Mrs. Helmore believed afterwards 
 that if it had not been for those meats and soups 
 her little children would have died. 
 
 The whole party arrived safely’ at Kuruman ; 
 but here the Boers stopped them. They did not 
 wish missionaries to settle among either the Mako- 
 lolo or Matebele, and declared none should go. 
 The difficulty was not settled until Sir George Grey, 
 the Governor of the Cape, interfered, and said that 
 the Boers were to allow the missionaries to pass. 
 
 And now there are two parties of missionaries 
 starting from Kuruman — one to the Makololo, one 
 to Matebele. With which shall we go first ? 
 
 In one party were Mr. and Mrs. Helmore and 
 their children ; Mr. and Mrs. Price, and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mackenzie. In the other, Mr. Moffat, Mr. 
 and Mrs. John Moffat, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, and 
 Mr. Sykes. 
 
 Let us go first with the missionaries to the 
 Makololo. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 It was in the month of July, 1859, that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Helmore, and Mr. and Mrs. Price, with the 
 children, wagons, wagon drivers, oxen and sheep 
 set out from Kuruman for the country of the 
 Makololo. Mrs Mackenzie was ill, and could not 
 go, so her husband stayed behind with her, intend- 
 ing to follow as soon as his wife was better. 
 
 This large missionary party proceeded slowly 
 on their way for many a long and weary mile. 
 The very quickest African journey from Kuruman 
 to Linyanti occupied no less than seventy days, 
 and it is impossible always to do it in even that 
 time. The river Zouga was safely crossed; and 
 oxen, sheep, men, and wagons, arrived at Kama- 
 Kama. But here trouble began. 
 
 There were still three hundred miles lying 
 between them and the Makololo people, and in all 
 that distance there was not a pool or spring of 
 water to be depended upon. If it rained, water 
 might be procured. If no showers fell, ponds and 
 streams would be found dried up by the sun’s heat. 
 
 With many prayers for help and support, the 
 q2 
 
228 RIYERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 travellers urged their oxen on into this desert. 
 For three days they travelled and found nothing 
 but the beds of pools, dry, quite dry. The little 
 water that they could carry in the wagons was not 
 enough to supply both men and oxen. The oxen 
 were tired and exhausted ; they would not be able 
 to go much further without water. The children 
 were feverish and fretful, for the heat was intense, 
 and their mother could not give them as much 
 water as they wished for. 
 
 The only chance of saving life was to turn back, 
 and again to seek the pools left behind. But, as 
 with renewed hope, the travellers approached the 
 places at which they had lately left water, they 
 found the shallow ponds already dry. 
 
 How thirsty those missionaries were we cannot 
 understand. There were still a few bottles of 
 water in the wagons ; but these were cherished 
 as great treasures, only to be used to save their 
 lives. 
 
 One of these weary days, while the oxen were 
 resting, Mr. and Mrs. Helmore went to Mr. Price’s 
 wagon, and sat down in front of it. There was a 
 chest taken from the wagon to serve either as a 
 chair or a table, and on the chest was spilt a drop 
 of water. Even it was precious ; and Mr. Helmore, 
 when he saw it, said, “Will you spare me that 
 drop of water ? I am so thirsty.” Of course, Mr. 
 Price gave the drop willingly ; and, more than that, 
 he kindly went into the wagon, and brought out a 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 229 
 
 bottleful, and offered it to bis friends. That water 
 was more precious to him than gold or diamonds : 
 it was true generosity which made him give it 
 away. 
 
 As the object now was to reach water as quickly 
 as possible, the wagons did not keep together, but 
 all pressed on as fast as they could ; and the one 
 which reached water first would send some back 
 to the others by the men. 
 
 Mrs. Helmore wrote a letter from this wilderness 
 to her sister ; and as that will tell better than any- 
 thing I could write what the missionaries suffered, 
 I will copy part of it for you. 
 
 “ The last stage of our journey has been, with- 
 out exception, the most trying time of travelling I 
 have experienced in Africa. 
 
 “We are now within the tropics, and, on a 
 journey, we are more exposed than in a house ; 
 the heat during the day is intense — 102 degrees in 
 the shade — and often affects me with faintness 
 and giddiness ; but the early mornings are still 
 pleasantly cool. 
 
 “We may expect rain this month, and are 
 longing for it, as those only can long who have 
 travelled through a dry and parched wilderness 
 where no water is. Our poor oxen were at one 
 time four days, and at another time five days 
 without drink. It was quite painful to see how 
 tame they were rendered by thirst. They crowded 
 
230 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 round the wagon, licking the water-casks, and 
 putting their noses down to the dishes and basins, 
 and then looking up to our faces, as if asking for 
 water. 
 
 "We suffered very much ourselves from thirst, 
 being obliged to economize the little we had in our 
 vessels not knowing w T hen we should get more. 
 We had guides; but they either could not or 
 would not give us any information. 
 
 “ Tuesday, the 6th instant, (September, 1859), was 
 one of the most painful days I ever passed. About 
 sunrise the poor oxen, which had been painfully 
 dragging the heavy wagons through the deep sand 
 during the night, stopping now and then to draw 
 breath, gave signs of giving up altogether. We 
 had not gone as many miles as we had travelled 
 hours. 
 
 “My husband now resolved to remain behind 
 with one wagon and a single man, thinking that 
 we should certainly reach water by night. We 
 had had a very scanty supply the day before ; the 
 men had not tasted drink since breakfast until 
 late in the evening — we divided a bottleful among 
 four of them. There now remained five bottles of 
 water. I gave my husband three, and reserved 
 two for the children, expecting that we should get 
 water first. It was a sorrowful parting, for we 
 were all faint from thirst, and, of course, eating 
 was out of the question. We were afraid even to 
 do anything, lest exercise should aggravate our 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 231 
 
 thirst. After dragging slowly on for four hours, 
 the heat obliged us to stop. 
 
 “ The poor children continually asked for water. 
 I put them off as long as I could, and, when they 
 could he denied no longer, doled the precious fluid 
 out, a spoonful at a time to each of them. 
 
 “ Poor Selina and Henry cried bitterly. Willie 
 bore up manfully, but his sunken eyes showed 
 how much he suffered. Occasionally I observed a 
 convulsive twitching of his features showing what 
 an effort he was making to restrain his feelings. 
 As for dear Lizzie, she did not utter a word of 
 complaint, nor even ask for water, but lay on the 
 ground all day, perfectly quiet, her lips quite 
 parched and blackened. I gave them a little dried 
 fruit, slightly acid, in the middle of the day ; but 
 thirst took away all desire to eat. 
 
 “Once, in the course of the afternoon, dear 
 Willie, after a desperate effort not to cry, suddenly 
 asked me if he might go and drain the bottles. Of 
 course I consented, and presently he called out to 
 me, with much eagerness, that he had found 
 some. Poor little fellow ! it must have been 
 little indeed; for his sister Selina had drained 
 them already. Soon after, he called out that he 
 had found another bottle of water. You can ima- 
 gine the disappointment when I told him it was 
 cocoa-nut oil melted by the heat. 
 
 “About sunset we made another attempt, and 
 got on about five miles. The people then proposed 
 
232 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 going on with the oxen in search of water, pro- 
 mising to return with a supply to the wagon. 
 But I urged their resting a little and then making 
 
 o o o 
 
 another attempt, hoping that we might possibly get 
 near enough to walk on to it. They yielded, tied up 
 the poor oxen to prevent their wandering, and lay 
 down to sleep having tasted neither food nor 
 drink all day. None of us could eat. 
 
 “ The water was long since gone, and as a last 
 resource just before dark I divided among the 
 children half a tea-cupful of wine and water, which 
 I had reserved in case I should feel faint. They 
 were revived by it, and said how nice it was, 
 though it scarcely allayed their thirst. Henry at 
 length cried himself to sleep, and the rest were 
 dozing feverishly. 
 
 “ It was a beautiful moonlight night, but the 
 air hot and sultry. I sat in front of the wagon, 
 unable to sleep, hoping that water might arrive 
 before the children woke on another day. About 
 half-past ten I saw some persons approaching ; 
 they proved to be two Bakalari bringing a tin 
 can half full of water and a note from Mrs. Price 
 saying, that having heard from the man we had 
 sent forward of the trouble we were in, and being 
 themselves not very far from the water, they had 
 sent us all they had. 
 
 “ The sound of water soon roused the children, 
 who had tried in vain to sleep ; and I shall not 
 soon forget the rush they made to get a drink. 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 233 
 
 There was not much, but enough for the present. 
 I gave each of the children and men a cupful, and 
 then drank myself ; it was the first liquid that had 
 entered my lips for more than twenty-four hours ; 
 and I had eaten nothing. 
 
 “The Bakalari passed on after depositing the 
 precious treasure, saying that though they had 
 brought me water, they had none for themselves. 
 They were merely passing travellers. All now 
 slept comfortably excepting myself: my mind 
 had been too much excited for sleep. Amd now 
 a fresh disturbance arose; the poor oxen had 
 smelt the water, and became very troublesome ; 
 the loose cattle crowding about the wagon lick- 
 ing and snuffing, and pushing their noses towards 
 me, as if begging for water. 
 
 “ At two o’clock I aroused the men, telling them 
 that if we were to make another attempt to reach 
 water no time was to be lost. They were tired 
 and faint, and very unwilling to move, but at last 
 they got up, and began to unloose the oxen, and 
 drive them off without the wagon. I remon- 
 strated, but in vain ; they had lost all spirit. I 
 was obliged to let them go, but they assured me 
 I should have water sent as quickly as possible, 
 and the cattle should be brought back again after 
 they had drunk. They knew no more than I did 
 the distance to the water. 
 
 “ I felt anxious at their leaving us, at the 
 thought of perhaps spending another day like the 
 
234 EIVEES OF WATEE IN A DEY PLaCE. 
 
 past ; but they had not been gone more than half 
 an hour, when I saw in the bright moonlight a 
 figure coming along the road. At first I could not 
 make it out — it looked so tall: but on coming 
 nearer, who should it prove to be but my servant 
 girl Kionecoe, eighteen years of age, carrying on 
 her head an immense calabash holding about a 
 pailful of water. On hearing of our distress she 
 volunteered to help us. She had walked four hours. 
 
 “A young man had set out with her, but he 
 had driven on the sheep the day before, a great 
 distance, without either food or water, and became 
 so exhausted that he lay down under a bush to 
 rest ; and on she came alone, in the dead of night, 
 in a strange country infested with lions, bearing 
 her precious burden ! 
 
 “ Oh, how grateful I felt to her ! Surely woman 
 is the same all the world over! She had only 
 lived with me since June, was but an indifferent 
 servant, and had never shown any particular 
 attachment to the children. But this kind act 
 revealed her heart, and it seemed to draw us more 
 closely together, for her conduct since then has 
 been excellent. 
 
 “ I made a bed for the girl beside me in the fore- 
 part of the wagon ; and the children having slaked 
 their thirst with the deliciously cool water, we all 
 slept till six o’clock. 
 
 “ Then I made coffee, and offered some to Kione- 
 coe and the young man who had come up. At 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 235 
 
 first they declined it, saying the water was for me 
 and the children. I had now the happiness of 
 seeing the children enjoy a meal of tea and bis- 
 cuits; and then, once more filling up my two 
 bottles, I sent the calabash with the remainder of 
 its contents to my husband, who by this time 
 stood greatly in need of it. The distance was 
 about twelve miles. I afterwards found we were 
 about the same distance from the water. 
 
 “ Another hot day had now commenced, and I 
 had still only the two bottles of water ; so, thinking 
 employment the best thing for the children, I made 
 them take off their shoes and stockings, and outer 
 garments, and sit upon the bed, and I gave them a 
 bag of buttons to assort and string. 
 
 “ About noon, a horseman drove up, leading a 
 second horse, with two water casks and a tin 
 canteen on his back. This was a supply for Mr. 
 Helmore, sent by our kind fellow-travellers Cap- 
 tain and Mrs. Thompson, who had heard of our 
 distresses from the Prices. The man said that an 
 ox was coming with a supply for me ; but I begged 
 for a little from the tin to make coffee, promising 
 to make it good when my supply arrived. While 
 we were preparing the coffee up came the pack-ox 
 sent by Mr. Price with two water-casks for me, 
 and soon after some Bakalari arrived with a cala- 
 bash. We had now an abundant supply, and 
 my heart overflowed with gratitude to our Father 
 in heaven, who had watched over me and mine as 
 
236 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 over Hagar of old, and sent ns relief. I related 
 that and other instances of God’s care to the chil- 
 dren the day before, and exhorted them to pray to 
 their heavenly Father, and rest assured that He 
 would send us help ; they now referred to the sub- 
 ject, saying, ‘ it was just as I said.’ I could not but 
 wish that the simple experience they had now had 
 might prove a valuable lesson through life. We 
 could now wash our faces and hands, a luxury we 
 had not enjoyed since Sunday.” 
 
 A very sad letter, is it not ? Poor little children ! 
 How different was that bright summer time to you ! 
 
 Some months passed after this letter was re- 
 ceived, and nothing more was heard of these mis- 
 sionaries. It was hoped that they were safe and 
 well, and that it was only on account of the great 
 difficulty of sending letters for 1,000 miles, through 
 a country in which there were no post offices or 
 postmen, that no news had been received. 
 
 At last messengers brought letters to Kuruman, 
 and from thence they were forwarded to England. 
 The travellers, after many many difficulties and 
 troubles, had reached Linyanti in February, 1860, 
 having been seven months on their weary way of 
 1,000 miles. Linyanti is the place at which Seke- 
 letu, the Makololo chief lives. 
 
 Nothing had been seen or heard of Dr. Living- 
 stone, and the king was himself out hunting. 
 However, the day after the missionaries arrived, a 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 237 
 
 fine fat ox was sent to them as a present, and on the 
 day following came Sekeletu himself with immense 
 numbers of his men. 
 
 The king was not unkind, but told the mis- 
 sionaries that he wished them to stop at Linyanti 
 with him. This, however, was, I am afraid, not 
 from any love to the missionaries, but from a desire 
 to possess some of the things he saw packed away 
 m the wagons. 
 
 The missionaries knew Linyanti was an un- 
 healthy place, and wished much to go over the 
 river on to higher ground, as Dr. Livingstone had 
 said would be best. But there was no Dr. Living- 
 stone to arrange matters, and Sekeletu would not 
 permit the wagons to be moved, nor even point 
 out at Linyanti any fit place for the missionaries 
 to live in. 
 
 The missionaries finding they could not move 
 away, stopped where they were, and very wisely 
 did not waste time, or do harm by grumbling and 
 quarrelling about it. They built houses in which 
 to live for the present. Not very strong or sub- 
 stantial ones, indeed; that would not have been 
 wise, as they hoped directly Dr. Livingstone ar- 
 rived that they should be able to remove. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone is very clever in inducing the 
 African chiefs to do what he wishes done, and 
 therefore Mr. Helmore and Mr. Price longed to see 
 him. But all in vain ; Dr. Livingstone did not 
 come. The missionaries began to preach to the 
 
238 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 people ; but I am afraid the Makololo paid little 
 attention to wbat they heard, for their behaviour 
 afterwards was not such as we expect from those 
 who have heard what is right. Mr. Helmore had 
 been a missionary in Africa for many years, and 
 knew the Sechuana language well, so that he had 
 at once the satisfaction of being able to speak to 
 Sekeletu and his subjects. 
 
 The missionaries preached and prayed and waited. 
 They waited for Dr. Livingstone and a pleasanter 
 home. He was travelling to them as fast as he 
 could, but a terrible enemy was coming faster. 
 
 There in Linyanti, among the dank weeds 
 which the dark river washed among the oozy 
 mud on its low banks, among the thick, over- 
 grown swamps around, this enemy was already 
 lurking. It was the “ pestilence that walketh in 
 darkness.” It was upon them before they knew 
 of its approach. They were overcome by it before 
 they saw it. Mr. and Mrs. Helmore, the four 
 little children, and all the servants were, in a few 
 days, lying on their beds unable to rise, delirious 
 and restless, or unconscious with fever. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Price were also very ill, but they 
 could still crawl about, and wait upon their friends 
 and their own little sick baby, who had been born 
 since they left Kuruman. 
 
 The first who died was little Henry. He had 
 been lying on the same bed as his brothers and 
 sisters outside the tent door, and their mother was 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 239 
 
 by their side, with her head resting on a cushion. 
 So they had been lying all day ; and when evening 
 came, one by one they dropped asleep. Mr. Price 
 went to them before going to sleep himself, to see 
 if he could do anything to make them more com- 
 fortable. There was the sick mother sunk to 
 rest, there were the four sick children lying asleep 
 and unwatched that dark night in the open air, 
 unwatched, except by their heavenly Father and 
 His holy angels. They were safe, indeed, though 
 it did not seem so. 
 
 Mr. Price looked at each little suffering, sleep- 
 ing face ; he put his hand on each little feverish 
 forehead, Selina’s, Willie’s, Lizzie’s, Henry’s. But 
 Henry’s brow did not feel hot like the others, it 
 was cold. Little Henry was not asleep as his 
 brother and sisters were ; the angels who had been 
 watching had carried his spirit up to heaven, and 
 he was asleep as Lazarus was when Jesus said, 
 “ Our friend Lazarus sleepeth.” 
 
 Mr. Price lifted the little body from the bed, 
 and covered it up in the tent. The next day 
 Henry was laid in a grave to rest, and wait until 
 Jesus comes to wake him from his sleep. 
 
 Mrs. Helmore was so very ill, that she took no 
 notice when told that her precious boy was dead. 
 In a very few days she and Selina were laid by 
 his side. Mrs. Price’s little baby also died, and 
 several men who had gone with the missionaries 
 as servants. 
 
240 
 
 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 Lizzie and Willie recovered, and Mr. Iielmore 
 grew better, and hoped still to continue his work. 
 But one day, when he thought himself well eaough, 
 he paid a visit to Sekeletu, and returned veiy tired 
 and ill. From this second illness there was no 
 recovery. Gradually this faithful missionary grew 
 worse and worse until he too fell asleep in Jesus. 
 
 It was a forlorn little company that Mr. Helmore 
 left behind. There were his two orphan children, 
 Mrs. Price, who in consequence of her illness had 
 lost the use of her feet, and Mr. Price weak and 
 ill, and overpowered with grief. Mr. Helmore had 
 begged his friend to take Willie and Lizzie to the 
 Cape, and see them safe into a ship which would 
 carry them across the great ocean to their friends 
 in England. Indeed, what could any of them do 
 except try and reach some friends ? Mr. and Mrs. 
 Price were too ill to remain in such a country as 
 Sekeletu’s with any hope of Jiving ; and they could 
 do no good as missionaries unless they were well 
 
 Immediately, Mr. Price began to prepare for 
 returning to Kuruman. Mrs. Price could not help 
 at all, and her husband was too weak to walk alone. 
 Yet he must do everything that had to be done. 
 He found some one to carry or lead him from box 
 to box ; and if he worked for an hour or two one 
 day it fatigued him so much that he was obliged 
 to rest two whole days to recover sufficiently to do 
 anything more. 
 
 It was nearly a month before the wagons were 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 241 
 
 ready to begin their journey back. During all this 
 time the Makololo had watched the preparations, 
 and had stolen whatever they could from the poor 
 weak missionary. One day he had taken off his 
 clothes and lay down in his bed, when a man 
 walked up and carried awa) the clothes which he 
 had just taken off. But when Mr. Price was ready 
 to start, and had found men willing to drive the 
 oxen, Sekeletu came, and without even asking 
 permission, took possession of Mr. Helmore’s wagon 
 and everything packed in it. Then the guns and 
 ammunition, the tents and many other tlr'ngs, he 
 sent men to carry away. The savage king knew 
 that Mr. Helmore could make no resistance. 
 
 These people were so wicked that it is sur- 
 prising they did not kill Mr. Price, it would have 
 been easy to do so. Perhaps they were afraid that 
 Dr. Livingstone or Mr. Moffat would hear of it if 
 they did, and imagined that these good men might 
 punish them in some awful way. 
 
 I am sure they wished Mr. Price to die, that 
 they might take all his things. One day after 
 Sekeletu had stolen all that I have told you of, a 
 messenger came to Mr. Price — saying that the king 
 would have more goods before he allowed him to 
 leave Linyanti. Mr. Price was lying on the ground, 
 so ill that he could hardly move. When he heard 
 the message of the covetous, cruel king, he an- 
 swered, “ If you do not let me go soon, y r ou will 
 have to bury us by the others.” 
 
242 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 “Well,” replied tlie man, “you must die some- 
 where, it may as well he here.” 
 
 At last the Makololo allowed Mr. Price to depart. 
 Sekeletu himself accompanied him, riding in Mr. 
 Helmore’s wagon. He went only to get still more 
 of the missionary’s property. 
 
 There was a river to he crossed not far from the 
 town. All the packages were taken from the 
 wagons and carried by men over the river lest 
 they should be wetted. The packages and Mr. 
 and Mrs. Price, with the children, were on one 
 side of the river, Sekeletu and the wagons on the 
 other. The king told Mr. Price that he would not 
 permit the* wagons to cross until everything that 
 had belonged to Mr. Helmore was given up. It 
 was quite necessary to have a wagon, so there was 
 nothing to be done but give up the remainder of 
 Mr. Helmore’s things, as well as three cows and 
 some oxen. 
 
 At the next river, Sekeletu behaved still worse. 
 He said he would have all Mr. Price’s things before 
 he allowed him to have the wagons over. The 
 poor man begged hard to have a few comforts left 
 for his sick wife and the two orphan children ; 
 and at last the king consented to his keeping a 
 kaross for the children to sleep upon, bed clothes 
 for Mrs. Price, and just sufficient garments to cover 
 them. All the com which had been provided 
 for the drivers, and all the oxen and cows which 
 were to supply them with food were taken away. 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 243 
 
 And now that Sekeletu had robhed the mis- 
 sionary of almost everything, he turned back with 
 his spoils and left Mr. Price, with his sick wife, 
 and Willie, and Lizzie, to travel the 1,000 miles 
 back to Kuruman, or to die of want ; he did not 
 care which. 
 
 You do not wonder that Mrs. Price soon died. 
 Her husband dug her grave under a large tree 
 standing alone upon a wide plain, and buried her 
 there. It had been very painful to watch her 
 suffer as she had done ; but* now that she was 
 taken away, although it was to a land where there 
 is no more pain, Mr. Price could not help grieving ; 
 he felt left quite alone. It was impossible to travel 
 so far as Kuruman ; he took shelter among the 
 Baumangwato, and there waited for help. 
 
 Do you believe that the great and good God 
 in heaven sees what takes place on this earth of 
 his ? I do. I believe that God sees what I am 
 doing now ; and I believe that God saw the suffer- 
 ings of his servants at Linyanti, that he saw them 
 sicken and die, that He marked Sekeletu’s covetous 
 and thieving behaviour, and Mr. and Mrs. Price 
 and the children in the empty wagon. He saw 
 the grave dug under that lonely spreading tree. 
 Ah, more than this, the great God, who sees the 
 end from the beginning, had from the first provided 
 help for those of this sad party whom he did not 
 take to their heavenly home. 
 
 You remember that Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie 
 B 2 
 
24 4 RIVERS OE WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 had been detained at Kuruman. Mrs. Mackenzie 
 had recovered, and at the very time that Mr. Price 
 was being carried from box to box and from wagon 
 to wagon, slowly packing up, Mr. and Mrs. Mac- 
 kenzie were also packing np and starting on their 
 way to the Makololo. 
 
 They knew nothing about the sad things which 
 had been happening at Linyanti, but hoped to find 
 their friends all safe, and well, and happy. An 
 old Bushman was the first person who told them 
 of the disasters which had befallen the missionaries. 
 Now the Bushmen are not very truthful, and this 
 once Mr. Mackenzie hoped with all his heart that 
 what the Bushman had told him might not prove 
 to be true. 
 
 But one day, as the oxen were moving along the 
 banks of a river, a party of men came up and 
 stopped the first wagon. Mr. Mackenzie went 
 forward to inquire why this was done. 
 
 The men said, “ Our chief has sent us with boats 
 to carry you and your goods over the river.” 
 
 “ I do not wish to go over the river,” answered 
 the missionary, “ I am not going to see your chief.” 
 
 “ But,” replied the men, “ we have brought the 
 white man with us, — your brother.” 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie answered, “Where is he then? 
 If you have the white man with you, why do you 
 come without him ? ” 
 
 “ Because he is sick and tired, he remained in 
 the boat,” said the men. 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MAKOLOLO. 
 
 245 
 
 Still Mr. Mackenzie could not believe. “ I will 
 go on just as I intended,” be said. “ If you really 
 have the white man bring him to the ford, where 
 we shall sleep to night and rest to morrow.” 
 
 The men turned away, and Mr. Mackenzie went 
 on, but with a very heavy heart. 
 
 Was he to believe this story ? Would the natives 
 bring this sick white man? Were all the others 
 really dead ? As he walked on, thus sadly think- 
 ing, suddenly a driver exclaimed, “It is he.” 
 Mr. Mackenzie sprang towards the trees among 
 which he saw some one — a white man — approach- 
 ing. It was Mr. Price. They grasped each other 
 by the hand, but neither of them could speak. 
 
 Do you wonder that many bitter tears were shed 
 that evening under the trees which grow on that 
 far off river’s bank ? There was very much to 
 make them all sad, and there was much likewise 
 to make them all thankful. 
 
 Dr. Livingstone arrived at Linyanti not long 
 after the departure of Mr. Price. This was too 
 late to do any good ; but he, too, had been suffering 
 from fever. Perhaps he would have hastened had 
 he known how very much he was wanted, for he 
 had some medicine which would cure the fever, 
 and he could have prevented Sekeletu stealing 
 Mr. Price’s property. But he did not know what 
 was happening at Linyanti, how could he ? 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE MISSION TO THE MATEBELE — CONCLUSION. 
 
 Let us now return to Kuruman, and go back to 
 the time when Mr. and Mrs. Helmore’s party 
 started for the Makololo country. 
 
 At the same time, as you have heard, other 
 wagons were prepared, other goods packed up, 
 other missionaries and their wives left Kuruman. 
 They were going to the Matebele, to Moselekatse, 
 and Mr. Moffat was going with them as their 
 leader. 
 
 What a busy time it must have been at Kuru- 
 man ! How full of work, and prayer, and- hope ! 
 Some of the hopes, you know, were disappointed, 
 some of the prayers, you know, were not answered 
 as the missionaries hoped they might be. 
 
 Now let us follow the other party and their 
 six wagons. On, on, on trudged the oxen, resting 
 by night and journeying by day, until they all 
 arrived within the Matebele country, and about 
 forty miles from the king’s residence. By this 
 time the oxen were sickening of a disease which 
 sometimes spreads fearfully among cattle in Africa, 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MATEBELE. 
 
 247 
 
 and which carries off immense numbers of them. 
 Mr. Moffat did not like to take his sick animals 
 among the vast herds of Moselekatse. He sent 
 a messenger forward to the king, to say his oxen 
 were ill and ought to come no further, and he 
 could not proceed until more oxen were sent to 
 take the place of his. 
 
 To show his delight at the missionaries’ arrival,* 
 and to honour his friend, Moshete, Moselekatse 
 ordered eighty of his warriors to go and drag the 
 wagons to his presence. A strange idea, was it 
 not ? However, the warriors went, shields and 
 spears and all, with a number of oxen to feed 
 them on the way. 
 
 One day they spent in preparation, and the 
 next, taking hold of the oxen’s yokes, away they 
 started. Up the hills, down the valleys, over 
 streams, and bushes, and stones, and sometimes 
 into holes out of which it was no easy matter to 
 pull the wagons again. Still it was managed, a nd 
 done cheerfully too, with a wild war song now 
 and then to make the way easy. 
 
 They made but slow progress, however. The 
 eighty warriors could not draw all the wagons at 
 once, and so were obliged to take first three for a 
 few miles, and then return for flie other three. 
 
 Their spears and shields were hung up all over 
 the outside of the wagons, and Mr. Moffat’s wagon 
 was adorned with about three times as many as 
 either of the others. 
 
248 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 One of the wagons much pleased the men ; it 
 had been brought for the king, and was much 
 lighter to draw than those ordinarily used by 
 African travellers. 
 
 This was the first time the Matebele people 
 had seen a white woman, so doubtless Mrs. John 
 Moffat and Mrs. Thomas were very much stared 
 &t. I dare say the ladies, too, looked with wonder- 
 ing eyes at their strange escort. 
 
 The travellers found the king at a small cattle 
 outpost, where they were very graciously received. 
 He promised soon to show them the piece of land 
 on which they might settle, hut put off doing so 
 from day to day. Mr. Moffat, of course, was not 
 pleased, and if he had not been very wise, most 
 likely he and Moselekatse would have quarrelled. 
 The fact was, that the king had heard of the way 
 in which the Boers had been attacking and killing 
 the Bechuanas ; and some one had told him that 
 as soon as teachers had gone to live with a tribe, 
 the Boers always followed and conquered the 
 people. This made the king rather unwilling to 
 have missionaries in his country, and had it not 
 been for Mr. Moffat’s great skill, very likely they 
 would all have had to go away again. 
 
 As it was, after, a month’s delay, Moselekatse 
 sent some of his chiefs to conduct the missionaries 
 to a piece of land which he had selected for them, 
 and which he hoped they would like. 
 
 They would indeed have been hard to please 
 
THE MISSION TO THE MATEBELE. 
 
 249 
 
 had not this land satisfied them. It was a beau- 
 tiful valley, through which flowed a clear stream. 
 The land on either side of the stream was covered 
 with rich grass, and the hills around were well 
 wooded. Plenty of water, plenty of grass, plenty 
 of wood, a pure healthy air; could a pleasanter 
 spot have been chosen for a new missionary 
 station ? 
 
 The missionaries told Moselekatse how pleased 
 they were, ’ and as soon as possible set about 
 building houses. 
 
 Mr. Moffat remained for some months, assisting 
 the missionaries and preaching to the people. The 
 king wished him to remain altogether, but that 
 could not be. His dear wife and daughters, his 
 church and schools, his fellow-workers, and many 
 converts at Kuruman, were waiting and longing 
 for his return. Moselekatse begged him at least 
 to take a large present of ivory, but this he refused, 
 as he had always done before. 
 
 Mr. Moffat returned to Kuruman in safety, and 
 soon after bis arrival heard the sad intelligence of 
 what had befallen the missionaries to the Makololo. 
 This grieved him much. How different had been 
 the lot of his companions ! They had been joy- 
 fully received, kindly entertained, and preserved 
 in health. 
 
 Ho very important news from the Matebele 
 mission station has been received since Mr. Moffat’s 
 return. We hope that in that beautiful valley 
 
250 
 
 RIVERS OE WATER IN’ A DRY PLACE. 
 
 many a heathen will hear the gospel preached 
 and rejoice in its good tidings. 
 
 At Kuruman, too, all is peaceful and quiet now. 
 Mr. Moffat has done much, very much, for the 
 Bechuanas ; we hope he may live to do much 
 more. How different is the Kuruman station to 
 the old Bechuana city, Lattakoo, to which Mr. 
 Moffat went forty years before. 
 
 It is true the people are still poor, hut poverty 
 is not wrong unless caused by sin. At Kuruman 
 it is caused by want of water, and it is not likely 
 this want will ever be removed. The Kuruman 
 river is not so full as it used to be ; it is be- 
 coming slowly smaller and smaller, so that it 
 is only by incessant toil the land is watered and 
 cultivated. 
 
 But the rude huts, the savage manners, the 
 ignorance, the dirt, the vice, where are they ? Not 
 quite gone, or Kuruman would be a little heaven 
 upon earth. No, not gone, or there would be no 
 need of teachers and missionaries any more ; but 
 there is a great change for the better. Mrs. Moffat 
 is not likely to have anything thrown at her head 
 in her own kitchen ; the people do not tumble off 
 the seats in the chapel, nor steal loaves from the 
 missionaries’ houses, nor try to drive their kind 
 teachers away from them. Their time is not idled 
 away as it once was. Their houses are more care- 
 fully built ; their gardens and fields are cultivated ; 
 they have clothes to make, and books to read 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 251 
 
 All these occupations take up their time, and 
 leave less for the mischief which Satan finds 
 
 “ For idle hands to do.” 
 
 But all this would be of little benefit, were the 
 Bechuanas still ignorant of the great God our 
 Father, and his Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 The Holy Spirit has given them this knowledge 
 through means of the preaching and teaching of 
 Mr. Moffat and the other missionaries. Many 
 a dark-skinned Bechuana has died rejoicing in 
 Christ ; many at this moment, at Kuruman and 
 in the country round, are living really Christian 
 lives, that is, believing in J esus and serving him. 
 
 Do you suppose Mr. Moffat is proud of what he 
 has done ? Many heathen kings are afraid of dis- 
 pleasing him, and look upon him as a wonderful 
 man. Perhaps you, too, think him a wonderful 
 man. I do. Yet when at last the message comes 
 for him, “ Well done, good and faithful servant, 
 enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” I do not 
 think he will say “ Yes, I have been a good and 
 faithful servant, I deserve to have joy.” Ho, he 
 will say, “I am an unprofitable servant, I have 
 done only that which was my duty to do. Lord, 
 have mercy upon me, a sinner.” 
 
 Hot even the best among us can deserve to go 
 to heaven more than poor, old, blind Mothibi de- 
 served it, but Jesus says to us, as he said to him, 
 “ Come unto me, I am the Way.” 
 
252 RIVERS OF WATER IN A DRY PLACE. 
 
 I hope you have listened to this kind invitation 
 of the Saviour, and have resolved, with the Holy 
 Spirit’s help, to spend your lives here in loving 
 and serving him, until he calls you to the land 
 where “his servants shall serve him, and they 
 shall see his face, and his name shall he in their 
 foreheads.’’ 
 
BW9455.M696 
 
 Rivers of water in a dry place : an 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00077 9001