elephants have been, for their spoor is full of thorns, owing to the nature of the food they eat, they being specially fond of mimosa and thorn trees, and the natives constantly get these thorns in their feet. It is rarely necessary for missionaries to carry a gun, unless they wish to shoot birds for food; for protection, it is not necessary in most parts of Uganda, though some people think it is probably an advantage in many of the outlying districts.
The timber in many of the forests is varied, and often of very good and useful quality. Some trees attain an enormous size, and produce fine planks. The difficulty has been always, that there were no means of hauling logs any distance from the forests. Planks had to be hewn from the tree in the forest, and then conveyed by porters to their destination; but saw-mills are now being taken up. Trees will be cut down in the vicinity of the lake, and floated on
8
