had no ivory at the time to pay me, I felt
the piece would be well spent on those terms, and delivered it to him.
All being ready for our departure, I took Mrs. Livingstone about six
miles from the town, that she might have a peep at the broad part of the
lake. Next morning we had other work to do than part, for our little boy
and girl were seized with fever. On the day following, all our servants
were down too with the same complaint. As nothing is better in these
cases than change of place, I was forced to give up the hope of seeing
Sebituane that year; so, leaving my gun as part payment for guides next
year, we started for the pure air of the Desert.

Some mistake had happened in the arrangement with Mr. Oswell, for we met
him on the Zouga on our return, and he devoted the rest of this season
to elephant-hunting, at which the natives universally declare he is the
greatest adept that ever came into the country. He hunted without dogs.
It is remarkable that this lordly animal is so completely harassed by
the presence of a few yelping curs as to be quite incapable of attending
to man. He makes awkward attempts to crush them by falling on his knees;
and sometimes places his forehead against a tree ten inches in diameter;
glancing on one side of the tree and then on the other, he pushes it
down before him, as if he thought thereby to catch his enemies. The only
danger the huntsman has to apprehend is the dogs running toward him, and
thereby leading the elephant to their master. Mr. Oswell has been known
to kill four large old male elephants a day. The value of the ivory in
these cases would be one hundred guineas. We had reason to be proud of
his success, for the inhabitants conceived from it a very high idea of
English courage; and when they wished to flatter me would say, "If you
were not a missionary you would just be like Oswell; you would not hunt
with dogs either." When, in 1852, we came to the Cape, my black coat
eleven years out of fashion, and without a penny of salary to draw,
we found that Mr. Oswell had most generously ordered an outfit for the
half-naked children, which cost about 200 Pounds, and presented it to
us, saying he thought Mrs. Livingstone had a right to the game of her
own preserves.

Foiled in this second attempt to reach Sebituane, we returned again to
Kolobeng, whither we were soon followed by a number of messengers from
that chief himself. When he heard of our attempts to visit him, he
dispat