One has to be patient among savage tribes. One must be very slow to anger, must use great forbearance, and adapt himself to their ways of thinking, remembering always that their ways are not his ways, especially in regard to time, for they seem to think that what can be done one day will be better done the next. In a word, they have no idea whatever of the value of time. Be kind and sympathetic with them. Never do an unjust thing. Act in such a way that they will believe implicitly in your word. Nevertheless, use great firmness, never show any sign of fear; otherwise you are doomed. Use force only in the last extremity. Pay in beads or with other trinkets for everything you get. Never take food by force, for in no country, including our own, would farmers tolerate a band of strangers plundering their fields and killing cattle to feed themselves. They would rise in a body to drive those thieves or marauders away. So we must not find fault with the poor natives when they rise in arms against the travellers and their followers who come to plunder their fields and forage their country. As I have told you, the explorer has to be wary, to look out for danger everywhere. So Friend Paul thought a great deal of his rifles and guns and revolvers--they were his friends. A brace of revolvers always lay under my head, and were used as pillows. When I suspected danger, I slept with them in the belt round my waist. A couple of rifles were always lying by my side or within my arms during my sleep. I slept with my boots on, so as to be ready at once in case of emergency or sudden attack. During the daytime I never went anywhere without carrying my revolvers, and then I had a rifle or shot-gun in my hand--just as a man carries his umbrella. No matter how friendly a people appeared, I thought a sudden attack might be made at any time. In my pouch or bag were at least fifty cartridges for rifles, and the same number for my revolvers. I had a breech-loading rifle which I loved better than all my other rifles, for it was a most powerful weapon. I could use it with either steel-pointed bullets or shells. I named the rifle "Bull-dog." The only fault I found with Bull-dog was that it was very heavy to carry, for it weighed sixteen pounds. When I carried Bull-dog I had a feeling that I was with my best friend, one upon which I could rely in case of great danger, no matter how huge or fierce the wild animal might be. That feeling always gave me confidence, and I aimed with great steadiness, for my faith in the power of Bull-dog was unbounded, and I knew I had a shot to spare in case of wounding the animal.