He Almost Died In A Lion Attack

The early years of Livingstone's career as a missionary were active. Livingstone believed that if he could kill only one lion during his visit to Mabotsa in Botswana, the other lions would consider it as a warning and leave the villages and their animals alone. The area was being terrorized by many lions. As he moved forward to begin his lion hunt, Livingstone drew the attention of a big lion and shot his gun. Unfortunately for the Scottish missionary, the animal was not severely hurt enough to stop it from attacking him as he was reloading, leaving his left arm with life-threatening injuries. Mebalwe diverted its attention by attempting to shoot the lion, saving his life. He was also bitten. Just before it died, a man who attempted to spear it was attacked.

Even though he and Edwards fixed Livingstone's shattered bone improperly, it bonded tightly. He traveled to Kuruman for healing, where he was attended to by Mary Moffat, and they later became engaged. He was able to shoot and lift heavy objects once his arm healed, but it caused him a lot of pain for the rest of his life and he was only able to lift it to his shoulder.