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THE HOUSE AT BLANTYRE IN WHICH LIVINGSTONE WAS BORN

THE LIFE

AND

EXPLORATIONS

or

DAVID LIVINGSTONE,

LL.D.

CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM RELIABLE SOURCES.

Vol I.

JAMES SEMPLE,

V STIELING IRO^ID, GS- 3L .A. S <3- O ^TvT.

PREFACE.

YU'H'EN' the report of the death of Dr Livingstone reached this country,
" * many people refused to give it credit. He had so often heen given up
for lost and mourned as dead, his countrymen were reluctant to believe that
the grand old man would never more be seen amongst them.

Ever since the indomitable Stanley took his last look of the great travel-
ler— who, although for nearly six years he had been wholly cut off from
civilisation, still lingered, self-exiled, until his work should be completed —
the interest in his movements had not abated. From the Congo or from
the Nile — according to the opinions formed as to the further course of the
mysterious Lualaba, whose gathering waters he had followed from the up-
lands which divide the African central valley from that of the Zambesi, to a
point within a couple of hundred miles of the hitherto supposed head waters
of the Nile — intelligence of his movements had been looked for with an
impatience which shows how strong an impression this remarkable man and
his extraordinary career had made upon the public mind.

The life of this truly great man, from its childhood to its close, is a
living lesson which the youth of our country cannot take too closely to heart.
The child and boy who, while undergoing the drudgery of twelve hours'
daily labour in a factory, found time and means to educate himself for the
noble office of a Christian Missionary to the heathen, is as interesting and
instructive a study as that of the grown man, whose determined will and untir-
ing effort have made us familiar with more of the formerly unknown regions
of the earth than any previous explorer of ancient or of modern times.

The present narrative — mainly designed for that large class of modern
readers who have neither the time nor the opportunity for becoming acquainted
with the many sources from which it has been gleaned — has been written and
compiled with the view of giving a graphic account of a memorable life
story, the full details of which are either shut up in books beyond the reacli
of the majority of readers, locked up in files of newspapers, or buried in the
Reports and Journals of the Royal Geographical Society — these latter, a.

iv ME FA CE.

source totally inacessible to the general reader. The narrative is supple-
mented by details of the Livingstone Relief Expeditions under Mr. Stanley,
Mr. Young, and Lieutenant Cameron ; a brief memoir of Mr. Stanley, with a
full account of bis explorations into the heart of Central Africa, under the
auspices of the "New York Herald" and the London "Daily Telegraph;" a
sketch of Cameron's journey across the African Continent from the East to
the West Coast; and a record of the establishment of the great Missionary
Settlements on Lakes Nyassa, Tanganyika, and Nyanza. The founding of
these Institutions may be regarded as the appropriate fruit of Livingstone's
labours — the fittiug crown of his heroic and glorious career.

In the companion volume to this " Life of Livingstone" will be found a
complete history of African discovery, from the earliest period down to tho
researches and explorations of the illustrious travellers of this nineteenth
century. Tho possessor of these two volumes will know all that is necessary
to a general reader, of the vast continent which is destined to play so import-
ant a part in the future history of the world.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Pase
Early Tears — Education — Arrival at Cape Town as a Missionary ..... 1

CHAPTER II.

South Africa and its People — The Bushmen, the Hottentots, the Kaffrcs, and the Bcchuana

Tribes, and their Habits, &c. 9

CHAPTER III.

Dr. Livingstone arrives at Kuruman — Missionary Experiences — Visits the Bcchuana Tribes —
Resolves to Settle among the Bakwains — Adventure with a Lion — Marriage — Journeys
to the Zouga River — The Bakwains Attacked by the Boers 35

CHAPTER IV.

Livingstone's Letters to the London Missionary Society from Kuruman, Mabotsa, Chonuane,

Kolobeng, &c, &c 67

CHAPTER V.

The Kalahari Desert — Sckomi and his People — Discovers Lake ,-Ngami — Visits Sebituane —

Death of Sebituane — Discovers the Zambesi 71

CHAPTER VI.

Dr. Livingstone's Letters from Central Africa — Mr. Chapman on the Country and People
round Lake Ngami — Journey up the Course of the Zambesi or Leeambye — Preparations
for Journey to the "West Coast, &o 95

CHAPTER YII.

Starts for the West Coast — Ascends the Leeambye and the Leeba — Abundance of Animal

Life — Two Female Chiefs— Visits Shinto 125

vi CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Dr. Livingstone's Letters Home detailing his Discoveries — Receives the Royal Geographical

Society's Gold Medal for the Year — The Province of Angola, &o. 149

CHAPTER IX.

Stay at Loanda — Starts on Return Journey — Dr. Livingstone again attacked with Fever — The
Makololo suffer from Sickness — Descent of the Leeba and Leeambye — Arrival at
Linyanti — Dr. Moffat's Visit to Moselekatse's Country 169

CHAPTER X.

Start for the East Coast — The Victoria Falls — The Batoka Tribes — Reaches Zumbo, a Deserted

Portuguese Settlement 199

CHAPTER XI.

Slay at Tete — Senna — Arrival at Eilimane — Letters to Sir Roderick Murchison Concern-
ing the Teople of South and Central Africa, their Language, &c. — Departure for
England 221

CHAPTER XII.

Dr. Livingstone in England — Special Meeting of the Geographical Society — Enthusiastio
Reception — Farewell Banquet — Sir Roderick Murchison's Estimate of Dr. Livingstone,
and his Labours 235

CHAPTER XIII.

Dr. Livingstone and his Fellow Travellers Leave for Africa — Ascend the Zambesi — Difficulties

of Navigation — Ascend the Shire — Discover Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa .... 273

CHAPTER XIV.

Start for Linyanti— Cutting up an Elephant— The "Go-naked" Tribe— the Victoria Falls—

They find Sekeletu 111— Leave Sesbeke — Arrive at Kongone 301

CHAPTER XV.

Arrival of a New Steamer— Arrival of Bishop Mackenzie and Party— Liberation of a Band of
Slaves on the Shire — Disastrous ending to the Mission— Arrival and Death of Mrs-
Livingstone — Dr. Livingstone returns to England . 321

context:: vii

CHAPTER XVI

Page

Dr. Livingstone Starts a Third Time for Africa — Re-ascends the Rovuma— His Reported

Murder — Expedition sent in Search of him hears of hia Sufety 351

CHARTER XVII.

The Livingstone Search Expedition under Mr. E. D. Young— Departs for South Africa —
Ascends the Zambesi and the Shire — Hears of the Safety of Livingstone — Returns to
England — Letters from Dr. Livingstone — Death of Dr. Livingstone again reported, &c. 375

CHAPTER XVIII.

The " New York Herald's" Expedition in Search of Dr. Livingstone — Mr. Stanley arrives at
Unyanyembe — "War and other Perils — Hostility of the Natives — Reach Ujiji, on Lake
Tanganyika — Stanley Finds and Succours Dr. Livingstone, &c. . ' . . . 405

CHAPTER XIX.

Mr. Stanley and Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji — Expedition to the Rusizi — Lake Tanganyika, and
the Tribes on its Shores — Livingstone and Stanley arrive at Unyanyembe — Mr. Stanley
bids the great Traveller Farewell — Memoir of Mr. Stanley, &c 437

CHAPTER XX.

Dr. Livingstone's Account of his Explorations — His Theory of the Connection between the
Lualaba and the Nile — Horrors of the Slave-Trade — A Man-Eating Tribe — Massacre of
the Manyeina, &c ••••••• 479

THE LIFE AND EXPLORATIONS

OF

DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

CHAPTER I.

Early Years. — Education. — Arrival at Cape Town as a

Missionary .

DAVID LIVINGSTONE was born at Blantyre near Glasgow, in 1813. He
was the son of humble but respectable parents, whose simple piety and
worth were noticeable even in a community which, in those days, ranked
above the average for all those manly and self-denying virtues which, a
fcAv generations ago, were so characteristic of the lower classes of Scotland.
Humble and even trying circumstances did not make them discontented
with their lot, nor tend to make them forget the stainless name which
had descended to them from a line of predecessors whose worldly circum-
stances were hardly better than their own.

In the introduction to his " Missionary Travels and Researches in
South Africa," published in 1857, Dr. Livingstone gave a brief and modest
sketch of his early years, together with some account of the humble,
although notable family from which he could trace his descent. " One
great-grandfather," he tells us, " fell at the battle of Culloden, fighting
for the old line of kings, and one grandfather was a small farmer in Diva,
where my father was born. It is one of that cluster of the Hebrides thus
spoken of by Sir Walter Scott : —

•Ami Diva dark, and Colonsay,
And all the group of islets gay
That guard famed Staffa round.'

" Our grandfather was intimately acquainted with all the traditionary
legends which that great writer has since made use of in ' The Tales of
a Grandfather,' and other works. As a boy I remember listening with

B

LIFE OF DA VID LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

delight, for his memory was stored with a never-ending stock of stories,
many of which were wonderfully like those I have since heard while
sitting by the African evening fires. Our grandmother too, used to sing
Gaelic songs, some of which, as she believed, had been composed by
captive Highlanders languishing among the Turks.

The reverence of j-our true Highlander for his ancestors, and his
knowledge of them and their doings for many generations, have been
frequently the subject of mirth to the Lowlanders or Sassenachs, as they
are termed by the Celts; but in such instances as that of the family of
which we are treating, these feelings are not only virtues, but become the
incentives to bold and manly effort in the most trying circumstances.
Livingstone tells us that his grandfather could rehearse traditions of the
family for six generations before him. One of these was of a nature to
make a strong impression on the imaginative and independent mind of
the boy, even when almost borne down with toil too severe for his years.
He says "One of these poor hardy islanders was renowned in the district
for great wisdom and prudence ; and it is related that, when he was on
his death-bed, he called all his children around him, and said, ' Now, in
my lifetime, I have searched most carefully through all the traditions I
could find of our family, and I never could discover that there was a
dishonest man among our forefathers. If therefore, any of you or any of
your children should take to dishonest ways it will not be because it runs
in our blood; it does not belong to you. I leave this precept with you:
Be honest!'"

With pardonable pride and some covert sarcasm, Livingstone points out
that at the period in question, according to Macaulay, the Highlanders "were
much like Cape Kaffres, and any one, it was said, could escape punishment
for cattle stealing by presenting a share of the plunder to his chieftain."
Macaulay's assertion was true of the clans and bands of broken men who dwelt
near the Highland line ; but even in their case these cattle-lifting raids hardly
deserved the designation of pure theft ; as even up to the middle of the last
century they looked upon the Lowlanders as an alien race, and consequently
enemies whom it was lawful to despoil. The conduct of the needy and am-
bitious nobles who drove them from their native glens and mountains, where
their fathers had lived and hunted for centuries, with a view to possessing
themselves of their inheritance, too often furnished a sufficient excuse for the
deeds of violence and plunder which figure so prominently in the annals of the
country down even to the days of George II.

Like most of the Highlanders, his ancestors were Roman Catholics, but
when Protestantism got fairly established in Scotland, the apostacy of the
chief was followed by that of the entire clan. Liiringstone says, " they were
made Protestants by the laird (the squire) coming round, with a man having

EARLY YEARS.

a yellow staff, which would seem to have attracted more attention than his
teaching, for the new religion went long afterwards, perhaps it does so still,
by the name of ' the religion of the staff.' "

In the olden time, religion to them was only secondary to their devotion
and attachment to their chief, and never seems to have taken any firm hold of
their imaginations. The country was poor in money, and the priests they
were familiar with were needy and ignorant ; and within the Highland line
there were no splendid edifices or pomp of worship to rouse their enthusiasm,
so that the abandonment of their old mode of worship entailed no sacrifice.*

With the breaking-up of the clans and the introduction of industrial
occupations, and the teaching and preaching of devoted adherents of the new
religion, the minds of the Highlanders were moved, and for many generations
and even at the present day the Presbyterian form of worship has no more
zealous adherents than the people of the Highlands of Scotland. The man
with the yellow staff was, in all likelihood, one of the commissioners sent out
by the General Assembly to advocate the cause of the new religion among
those who were either indifferent about it, or, were too remote from Edinburgh
to be affected by the deadly struggle for supremacy which was going on be-
tween the old creed and the new religion.

Towards the end of the last century, finding the small farm in Ulva in-
sufficient for the maintenance of his family, Livingstone's grandfather removed
to Blantyre, where he, for a number of years, occupied a position of trust in
the employment of Messrs. Monteith & Co., of Blantyre Cotton Works, his
sons being employed as clerks. It formed part of the old man's duty to con-
vey large sums of money to and from Glasgow, and his unflinching honesty
in this and other ways won him the respect and esteem of his employers, who
settled a pension on him when too old to continue his services.

Livingstone's uncles shared in the patriotic spirit which pervaded the
country during the war with France, and entered the service of the king ; but
his father having recently got married settled down as a small grocer, the
returns from which business were so small as to necessitate his children bein«-
sent to the factory as soon as they could earn anything to assist in the family
support. David Livingstone was but ten years of age, in 1823, when he
entered the mill as a " piecer," where he was employed from six o'clock in the
morning until eight o'clock at night, with intervals for breakfast and dinner.

* In Waverleij, Sir Walter Scott very happily illustrates the non-religious character of your
true Highlander about the middle of last century. Waverley had just parted with Fergus Mo-Ivor,
and was approaching a Lowland village, " and as he now distinguished not indeed the ringing of bells,
but the tinkling of something like a hammer against the side of an old mossy, green, inverted porridge
pot, that hung in an open booth, of the size and shape of a parrot's cage, erected to grace the east
end of a building resembling an old barn, he asked Callum Beg if it were Sunday.

'Couldna say just preceesely, Sunday seldom cam' aboon the Pass o' Bally -Brough.' "

LIFE OF DA V1D LI V1NGST0NE, LL.D.

In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, this early introduction to a life of toil
would have been the commencement of a lifetime of obscurity and privation.
Let us see how David Livingstone bore and conquered the cruel circumstances
of his boyhood, and made for himself a name which is known and respected
throughout the civilised world ; and is accepted by the savage inhabitants of
Central Africa as conveying to their minds the ideal of all that is best in tho
character of " the white man."

Between the delicate "piecer" boy of ten and the middle-aged man
who returned to England after an absence of sixteen .years, in December
1856, with a world-wide reputation, there was a mighty hill of difficulty
nobly surmounted, and we cannot attach too much importance to tho
mode in which he conquered those difficulties and hindrances, which, but
that they are mastered every now and again in our sight by some bold
and daring spirit, we are almost inclined to think insurmountable. It is
a true saying, that every man who has earned distinction must have been
blessed with a parent or parents of no mean order, whatever their position
in society. What his ancestors were like we gather from his own brief
allusion to them ; and the few remarks he makes regarding his parents
and their circumstances, supplemented by some information procured from
one who knew them, enables us to give a picture of his home surroundings,
which will assist us materially in estimating the courageous spirit which carried
the delicate and overworked boy safely through all his early toils and trials.

To the mere observer, Livingstone's father appeared to be somewhat
stern and taciturn, and an overstrict disciplinarian where the members of
his family were concerned; but under a cold and reserved exterior he
sheltered a warm heart, and his real kindliness, as well as his truth and
uprightness are cherished in the memories of his family and his intimates.
He was too truthful and conscientious to become rich as a small grocer in
a country village; while his real goodness of heart induced him to trust
people whose necessities were greater than their ability or desire to pay,
to the further embarrassment of a household his limited business made
severe enough.

He brought up his children in connection with the Church of Scotland,
from which he seceded a few years before his death, and joined an
Independent congregation worshipping in Hamilton, some miles distant.
Speaking of the Christian example he set before his family, his famous
son says, " He deserved my lasting gratitude and homage for presenting
me from infancy with a continuously consistent pious example, such as
that, the ideal of which is so beautifully and truthfully portrayed in
Burns' ' Cottar's Saturday Night.' " He was a strict disciplinarian, and
looked with small favour on his son's passion for reading scientific books
and works of travel ; but his son had much of his own stubborn and

THE Mill IN WHICH LIVINGSTONE WORKED AT BIANTYRE

EARLY YEARS.

independent temperament where be supposed himself to be in the right ;
and sturdily preferred his own selection of books to " The Cloud of
Witnesses," " Boston's Fourfold State," or " Wilberforce's Practical Chris-
tianity." His refusal to read the latter work procured him a caning,
which was the last occasion of his father's application of the rod.

As is the case of many a young man in like circumstances, his father's
imjwrtunity and unfortunate selection of authors fostered a dislike for
merely doctrinal reading, which continued until years afterwards, when a
perusal of " The Philosophy of Religion," and the " Philosophy of a Future
State," by Dr. Thomas Dick, widened his understanding, and gratified him
by confirming him in what he had all along believed, " that religion and
science are not hostile, but friendly to each other." Both his parents had
taken much pains to instil the principles of Christianity into his mind,
but it was only after becoming acquainted with the writings of Dr. Dick
and others, that their efforts bore fruit. The depth of his religious con-
victions may be realised when we contemplate the sacrifices he afterwards made
in his evangelistic labours, but his strong understanding saved him from
becoming either a sectary or a bigot. While there was no more eai'nest-
minded or devoted servant of Christ than Dr. Livingstone, there was none
so liberal and so large-hearted in his acceptance of all honest and God-
fearing men who strove to do good, whatever their creed might be.

His father died in February 1856, at the time when his son was making
his way from the interior of Africa to the coast, on his return to England,
" expecting no greater pleasure in this country than sitting by our cottage
fire and telling him my travels. I revere his memory." The applause of the
best and the highest in the land ; in the social circle, or in the crowded
assembly ; with hundreds hanging on his every word, was as nothing compared
to the long talks he had looked forward to with the kindly though stern father
he had not seen for so many years ; but it was not to be. He has small notions
of the strength of filial affection in the heart of such a man who cannot
sympathize with his sorrow and disappointment.

His mother, a kindly and gentle woman, whose whole thoughts were given
up to the care of her children and the anxieties consequent upon narrow
means, was the constant instructor of her children in religious matters. Her
distinguished son tells us that his earliest recollection of her recalls a picture
so often seen among the Scottish poor — " that of the anxious housewife striving
to make both ends meet." Her loving and kindly nature acted as a valuable
counterpoise to the strict and austere rule of the father, and kept alive in the
hearts of her children a love and respect for all things sacred, which an
enforced study of dry theological books might have endangered or destroyed.

The little education which the "piecer" boy of ten had received, had
aroused within him the desire for more, and the genuineness of this desire was

0 LIFE OF DA VI D LI VJNGSTONE, LL.D.

proved by the purchase of a copy of " Ruddiman's Rudiments of Latin" with
a portion of his first week's earnings. For many years he pursued the study
of Latin with enthusiastic ardour, receiving much assistance in this and other
studies at an evening school, the teacher of which was partly supported by
the intelligent members of the firm at Blantyre Works, for the benefit of the
people in their employment. Livingstone's work hours were from 6 a.m. to
8 p.m ; school hours from eight to ten, and private reading and study
occupied from ten to twelve ; and at the latter hour it was often necessary
for his mother to take possession of his books and send the youthful
student to bed. Eighteen hours out of the twenty-four were given up to
toil and self -improvement, a remarkable instance truly, of determined
effort on the part of a mere boy to acquire knowledge which his hard lot
would almost have seemed to have placed beyond his reach.

Even when at work, the book he was reading was fixed upon the
spinning-jenny so that he could catch sentence after sentence as he passed
in his work. At sixteen years of age, he tells us that he knew Horace
and Virgil better than he did in 1857. Notwithstanding the limited leisure
at his disposal, he made himself thoroughly acquainted with the scenery,
botany, and geology of his district. In these excursions he was frequently
accompanied by his elder and younger brothers, John and Charles ; but he
was much alone, and while his temper was far from being moody or morose,
he was fond of rambling about, his only companion being a book of travels
or a scientific treatise. His thirst for knowledge was stronger than his desire
for boyish pastimes.

Dr. Livingstone's eldest brother John is still alive. He emigrated to
North America in early life, and settled at Listowel, twenty-five miles from
Niagara Falls, as a farmer and storekeeper. He is a man of energetic
character, and has done much towards the improvement of a large tract
of country all but unreclaimed when he entered it. Like all the other
members of his family, he is respected for his humble and unobtrusive
piety, and for his uprightness and worth as a man of the world. An
indefatigable representative of the Neio York Herald visited and interviewed
him in 1872, and treated the readers of the Herald to a graphic account
of the old gentleman and his surroundings, when Mr. Stanley and his
discovery of Livingstone were attracting universal attention.

Charles, Dr. Livingstone's younger brother, and his loved companion in
the brief holiday hours of his boyhood, educated himself for the ministry,
and was for a good many years pastor of one of the New England Pres-
byterian churches. He shared in the adventurous spirit of his brother,
and, as we shall see further on, accompanied him on his second expe-
dition to the Zambesi. Returning to England, he was appointed one of
H.M. Consuls to the West Coast of Africa, — a position which gave him much

EARLY YEARS.

opportunity of doing good to the heathen, which he turned to account with
great zeal and success. In the year 1873, his health having broken down, he
started on his return to England, but died on the passage home.

At nineteen years of age Livingstone was promoted to the laborious
duties of a cotton spinner, and while the heavy toil pressed hard upon the
young and growing lad, he was cheered by the reflection that the high wages
he now earned would enable him, from his summer's labour, to support him-
self in Glasgow during the winter months while attending medical and other
classes at the University ; to attend which he walked to and from his father's
house daily, a distance of nine miles. He never received a particle of aid
from any one, nor did the resolute youth seek, or expect such, well-knowing
that his difficulties and trials were no greater than those of dozens of his
fellows who sat on the same benches with him in the class-rooms. The
religious awakening which we have already alluded to, which occurred when
he was about sixteen years of age, inspired him with a fervent ambition to
be a pioneer of Christianity in China, and his practical instincts taught him
that a knowledge of medicine would be of great service in securing him the
confidence of the people he was so desirous of benefiting, besides ensuring his
appointment as a medical missionary in connection with a society of that
name recently formed in his native land.

at

At the conclusion of his medical curriculum he had to present a thesia
to the examining body of the University, on which his claim to be ad-
mitted a member of the faculty of physicians and surgeons would be
judged. The subject was one which in ordinary practice required the use
of the stethoscope for its diagnosis, and it was characteristic of the inde-
pendence and originality of the man, that an awkward difference arose
between him and the examiners, as to whether the instrument could do
what was claimed for it. This unfortunate boldness procured him a more
than ordinarily severe examination, through which he passed triumphantly.
Alluding to this in after-years, he drily remarked that " The wiser plan
would have been to have had no opinions of my own." Looking bark
over the years of toil and hardship which had led up to this important
stage in his career, and looking forward to the possibilities of the future,
he might well say that " It was with unfeigned delight I became a member
of a profession which is pre-eminently devoted to practical benevolence, and
which with unwearied energy pursues from age to age its endeavours to
lessen human woe."

Writing in 1857, he tells us, that on reviewing his life of toil before
his missionary career began, he could feci thankful that it was of such a
nature as to prove a hardy training for the great enterprises he was
destined afterwards to engage in; and, he always spoke with warm and
affectionate respect of the sterling character of the bulk of the humble
villagers among whom he spent his early years.

LIFE OF DA VI J) LI V1NGST0NE, LL.D.

The outbreak of the opium war with China compelled him reluctantly
to abandon his cherished intention of proceeding to that country, but ho
was happily led to turn his thoughts to South Africa, where the successful
labours of Mr. (now Dr.) Robert Moffat were attracting the attention of the
Christian public in this country. In September, 1838, he was summoned to
London to undergo an examination by the directors of " The London Mis-
sionary Society," after which he was sent on probation to a missionary
training establishment, conducted by the Rev. Mr. Cecil, at Chipping Ongar,
in Essex. There he remained until the early part of 1840, applying himself
with his wonted diligence to his studies, and testifying his disregard for hard
labour by taking more than his full share of the work of the establishment :
such as grinding the corn to make the household bread, chopping wood,
gardening operations, etc., etc. ; part of the training at Chipping Ongar
being a wise endeavour to make the future missionaries able to shift for
themselves in the uncivilized regions in which they might be called upon
to settle.

At Chipping Ongar he indulged his habit of making long excursions
in the country round ; and on one occasion he walked to and from London,
a distance of fifty miles in one day, arriving late at night completely
exhausted, as he had hardly partaken of any food during the entire journey.
From his earliest years, up to his attaining manhood, his training, both
mental and physical, had been of the best possible kind to fit him for the
great career which lay before him ; which may be said to have had its
commencement when he landed at Cape Town in 1840.

CHAPTER II.

South Africa and its Peopte. — The Bushmen, the Hottentots, the Eatfrcs,
and the Bcchuana Tribes, and their Habits, SfC

THE tract of country now known to us as Cape Colony was originally occu-
pied by the Dutch about the middle of the 17th century. A large propor-
tion of the original settlers were of German origin; but a considerable number
were of French , many French families having settled there between the years
1680 and 1690, driven thither by the persecution to which Protestants were at
that time subjected in France. The French and German settlers enslaved the
native Hottentots, Kaffres, and Bushmen, and compelled them to labour for
them on their farms, and down to a very recent period this enforced servitude
of the native tribes was the occasion of constant warfare and murder. In
1796 the Cape settlement was taken by the English, but on peace being
concluded between the two nations, it was restored to the Dutch in 1803.
War breaking out shortly after, the Colony was again taken possession of
by England, and has continued to be a dependency of this country
ever since. From that time many people from England have settled
in the country both in the towns and throughout the country districts.
Cape Colony, from east to west, measures nearly six hundred miles, and
from north to south four hundred and fifty miles. The Colony of Natal
is one hundred and seventy five miles in length by about a hundred and
twenty in breadth. The population of Cape Colony, including British
Kaffraria and Natal, is about a million, more than one half of whom are
natives.

The abolition of slavery in the British dependencies freed the Hottentots,
the Kaffres, and the Bushmen; but, as we shall see further on, that at the time
Dr. Livingstone commenced his career in Africa the Dutch Boers still com-
pelled the labour of those tribes in the neighbourhood of their settlements
who were too weak to resist them. The usual method was to manufacture a
cause of quarrel, which would give a colourable pretext for attacking a native
settlement, when they would carry off a number of the young of both sexes,
who became slaves in everything save the name. We believe that the exposure
of this traffic by Dr. Livingstone and his celebrated father-in-law, Dr. Moffat,
has resulted in a complete stoppage of this iniquitous traffic ; but it was not
c

10 LIFE OF DA VII) LI V1NGSTONE, LL.D.

effected until many missionaries were driven from their settlements by the
Boers, who very naturally objected to their teaching the natives that all men
were equal in the sight of God. As we shall see further on, Dr. Livingstone
suffered at their hands; but as he, in addition to being a missionary, was also
a great explorer and discoverer of hitherto untrodden regions in the far
interior, his denunciations had an effect in high quarters which those of
a mere preacher of the Gospel to the heathen would not have had, and the
local Government put a stop to the detestable practice. As in every other
quarter of Africa where it exists, slavery was at the root of all the wars and
bloodshed which made it so difficult and dangerous for white men, whatever
their object, to penetrate into the interior.

Previous to Dr. Livingstone's arrival in Africa, Dr. Moffat and a devoted
band of labourers had been working zealously and successfully among the
Hottentot, Bushmen, and Bechuana tribes ; and the former had made frequent
journeys to the north, and had reached points farther to the northward than
any of his predecessors and contemporaries. After Livingstone, he is the
most notable figure in African Missionary enterprise, and has spent upwards
of fifty years of his life in evangelistic labours in South Africa ; displaying a
courage and a devotedness truly apostolic. When in his prime he was a man
of commanding exterior. Upwards of six feet in height, possessed of physical
power and endurance above the ordinary, and having a singular faculty of
adapting himself to circumstances whatever their nature, he gained a great
ascendancy over the Chiefs of the interior and their followers. The noble
old man, although over eighty years of age, is still alive, and was the most
notable figure among those who stood by the grave of his great son-in-law in
Westminster Abbey.

Mr. Gordon Gumming, the great lion hunter, on visiting Kuruman, thus
alludes to him : —

" I was here kindly and hospitably entertained by Mr. Moffat and Mr.
Hamilton, both missionaries of the London Society, and also by Mr. Hume,
an old trader, long resident at Kuruman. The gardens at Kuruman are
extremely fertile. Besides corn and vegetables, they contain a great variety
of fruits, amongst which were vines, peach-trees, nectarines, apple, orange,
and lemon trees, all of which in their season bear a profusion of the most
delicious fruit. These gardens are irrigated with a most liberal supply of
water from a powerful fountain which gushes forth, at once forming
a little river, from a subterraneous cave, which has several low, narrow
mouths, but within is lofty and extensive. Mr. Moffat kindly showed
me through his printing establishment, church, and school-rooms, which
were lofty and well built, and altogether on a scale which would not have
disgraced one of the towns of the more enlightened colony. It was Mr.
Moffat who reduced the Sichuana language to writing and printing; since

MODE OF TEA VEILING. 11

which he has printed thousands of Sichuana Testaments, as also tracts
and hymns, which are now eagerly purchased by the converted natives.
Mr. Moffat is a person admirably calculated to excel in his important
calling. Together with a noble and athletic frame he possesses a face in
which forbearance and Christian charity are very plainly written, and his
mental and bodily attainments are great. Minister, gardener, blacksmith,
gunsmith, mason, carpenter, glazier — every hour of the day finds this
worthy pastor engaged in some useful employment — setting by his own
exemplary piety and industrious habits, a good example to others to go
and do likewise." Speaking of another visit he says: " The following day
was Sunday, when I attended Divine service in the large church morning
and evening, and saw sixteen men and women, who had embraced the
Christian faith, baptized by Mr. Moffat. It was now the fruit season
(January, 1845), and the trees in the gardens of the missionaries were
groaning under a burden of the most delicious peaches, figs, and apples.
The vines bore goodly clusters of grapes, but these had not yet ripened."

Years of perseverance and patient effort on the part of Dr. Moffat
and his colleagues had been crowned with success, and the material and
spiritual advancement of the natives was most marked. Further on we
treat at some length of the trials and difficulties which they had to go
through, before reaching such a state of progress and happiness.

As we proceed we shall draw upon the writings of Dr. Moffat and others,
when these will assist us in illustrating the manners and customs of the
people, and help to increase our knowledge of the countries — and their animal
and vegetable life — under our review.

The mode of travelling in and around the Kalahari desert and the districts
to the south is on horseback, or in waggons drawn by oxen. These waggons
are heavy lumbering wooden structures, on broad wheels, to enable them to pass
easily over the stretches of loose sandy soil which are of frequent occurrence at
a distance from the few rivers and streams which intersect the country. These
waggons are drawn by oxen — a team, or span, consisting of from 4 to 12
oxen, according to the weight of the baggage carried. To the north of the
Kuruman River, the travellers must carry their food, water, and bedding
and encamp for the night in the open air, unless when they can lodge with a
friendly tribe. In the most favourable seasons the country to the north of
Cape Colony is very scantily supplied with water, and in a period of drought
the suffering from want of water on the part of the natives is very great. As
all the animals on which they depend for food migrate during the continuance
of a drought, the suffering of the people is greatly intensified; and many
trihes move their quarters in search of a land more fortunately situated.

Many Hottentots, Bushmen, and Kaffres reside throughout the colony.
Several tribes of pure Hottentots are found in a savage state to the north

12 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

west of the Colony. The Bechuana tribes and the Bushmen occupy the
country to the north, and in the east the Kaffre tribes hold sway.

The Bushmen have never shown any aptitude for agriculture. They have
an instinctive passion for freedom which nothing can subdue, and in order to
preserve their independence they have scattered themselves over the interior,
and are generally found in regions where the impossibility of carrying on
agricultural operations, and the scarcity of water render it impossible that the
Bechuanas or Hottentots can interfere with them. They are smaller than
any of the other purely African races, and appear to be identical with the
Pygmies spoken of in the classics, and recently found by Du Chaillu in
the Ashaugo country to the west of the tropics; and by Dr. Schweinfurth in
Central Africa. In their habits they approach the Gipsies of modern Europe,
and seldom settle in a district for any length of time. Their huts are of
the most primitive description, so that they can move their quarters at a
moment's notice. Many of them are kept in a species of slavery by other
native tribes, but they embrace the earliest opportunity of flying to the
wilderness. In 1811 Burchell met in with individuals of this singular
people, and gave the following account of them in his " Travels in the
Interior of South Africa." He says, " Hitherto we had not seen a single
native ; a circumstance occasioned, most probably, by their universal distrust
of visitors from out of the colony. But having by their spies and observation,
satisfied themselves that we were friends, a party of eleven Bushmen, with
three women, paid us a visit this morning. They were in stature, all below
five feet ; and the women still shorter ; their skin was of a sallow brown
colour, much darkened by dirt and grease. Their clothing appeared in my
eyes, wretched in the extreme ; but, doubtless, not so to them, as they all
seemed contented enough ; although, when we first met, I observed in then-
looks great mistrust and symptoms of much fear. These gradually wore off ;
and, after we had confirmed the assurances of our peaceable intentions, by
presents of tobacco and beads, they recovered their natural tone, and chat-
tered and clacked with each other in a very lively manner.

" Among them were some young men, whom, with all the remains of ancient
prejudices, I could not help viewing as interesting. Though small and deli-
cately made, they appeared firm and hardy ; and my attention was forcibly
struck by the proportional smallness and neatness of their hands and feet. . .
The women were young ; their countenances had a cast of prettiness, and, I
fancied too of innocence : their manners were modest, though unreserved.
Their hair was ornamented with small cowrie shells, and old copper buttons,
which were interwoven with it. One of them wore a high cap of leather, the
edge of which protected her eyes from the sun : at her back, and entirely hid
excepting the head, she carried her infant, whose exceedingly small features
presented to me an amusing novelty. The poor little thing bore all the rough

A BUSH BELLE. 13

jolting motion, with a degree of patience and unconcern, which plainly showed
it to have been used to it from the day of its birth. . . . We plentifully
feasted these poor creatures, and, I believe, made them happier than they
had been for a long while. Through an interpreter, they asked me my
name, and expressed, in artless terms, how much pleasure I had given them
by so bountiful a present of tobacco."

Burchell having shot a hippopotamus had an opportunity of giving a
party of Bushmen an unwonted feast. The flesh was hastily cooked and
eaten half raw, in astounding quantities. He gives the following graphic
sketch of a Bush belle : —

" Among these happy, dirty creatures, was one who, by her airs and dress,
showed that she had no mean opinion of her personal accomplishments : she
was, in fact, the prettiest young Bush-girl I had yet seen ; but her vanity,
and too evident consciousness of her superiority, rendered her less pleasing
in my eyes, and her extravagance in dress made her perhaps a less desirable
wife in the eyes of her countrymen ; for the immoderate quantity of grease,
red ochre, &c, with which her hair was clotted, would ruin any but a very
rich husband : herself, and every part of her dress, were so well greased, that
she must have been in her nation, a girl of good family ; and the number of
leather rings with which her arms and legs were adorned, proclaimed her to
be evidently a person of property ; round her ankles she carried about a
dozen thick rings of this kind, which, added to a pair of sandals, gave her the
appearance of wearing buskins.

"But the most remarkable piece of affectation with which she adorned
herself, was, three small bits of ivory, of the size and shape of sparrows' eggs,
loosely pendant from her hah' ; one in front as low as the point of her nose,
and one on the outer side of each cheek, all hanging at the same length.
These dangled from side to side as she moved her head, and, doubtless, made
full amends for their inconvenience, by the piquancy they were thought to
add to the wearer's beauty. The upper part of her head was crowned with a
small leather cap, fitted closely, but quite unornamented, and I should have
had a pleasure in gratifying her with a present of a string of beads, to render this
part of her dress more smart, if I had not been fearful that by doing this, I should
excite in her countrymen an inclination to beg and importune for what 1
meant to reserve only for the natives further in the interior. Her vanity and
affectation, great as it was, did not as one may observe sometimes in both
sexes, in other countries, seem to choke her, or produce any alteration in the
tone of her voice, for the astonishing quantity of meat which she swallowed,
and the readiness with which she called out to her attendants for more, plainly
showed her to be resolved that no squeamishness should interfere with her
enjoyment on this occasion. . .

"In five or six years after their anrival at womanhood, the fresh plump-

14 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ness of youth has already given way to the wrinkles of age. . . . Their
early, and it may be said premature symptoms of age may, perhaps, with
much probability, be ascribed to a hard life, an uncertain and irregular
supply of food, cxjjosure to every inclemency of weather, and a want of
cleanliness, which increases with years."

Their arms consist of the bow and arrow, a spear, and a kind of club
with a round knob at the end called a kerri. Their arrows are tipped with
a mixture of vegetable and serpent poisons, and a wound from a poisoned
arrow is usually of so deadly a character that the other tribes of South Africa
look upon an encounter with the Bushmen with dread. They hunt the wild
animals of the country, and either shoot them with poisoned arrows or catch
them in pit-falls. With their spears they kill the fish in the rivers, and,
according to Burchell, they use the spear with great dexterity.

The bow is of hard wood, about five feet in length, and is thickest at the
middle. The string is made of the intestines of the smaller animals. The
arrows, which are made of reeds, are about three feet and a half long, and are
winged with a feather. When the poison is put upon the bone or iron tips of
the arrows, it is in a glutinous state but hardens rapidly. The serpent poi-
son, as we have already mentioned, is mixed with the sap of certain poisonous
plants. The arrow is partially slit through within half an inch of the bone or
iron point, and frequently breaks off, leaving the head in the wound, which
ensures a more rapid death to the man or animal struck.

The arrows are kept in a quiver made of the hollow stem of a sort of
aloe. The bottom and the tip of the quiver are covered with leather, and
not unfrequently it is altogether covered with leather. Their bows do not
carry witli accuracy beyond a hundred yards. They must have studied the
horrid art of poisoning with considerable skill, as they are aware that the poi-
son of serpents acts rapidly and affects the blood, while the vegetable poisons
with which they mix it corrupt the flesh. If the poison be fresh, there is very
little hope of any animal surviving even a slight wound, and the Bushman
hunter will track a wounded animal for many miles until it dies. When a
man is wounded, he will, if he has the courage, cut out all the flesh surround-
ing the wound and so remove the danger.

Lichtenstein says that: — "By far the greater part of the arrows are
pointed with bone : those with the iron heads are never used in the chase ;
they are reserved to be employed against mankind. The preparing the
arrows and mixing the poison are considered by them as arts, in which few
ever attain entire perfection. In like manner it is not every one among them
that can distinguish the poisonous sorts of serpents from those that are harm-
less In general, it may be taken as a rule that those which move with the
greater agility are of the noxious kind. The well-known horned serpent,
which among the colonists is esteemed so very dangerous, is little esteemed

DEATH FROM A POISONED ARROW. 13

by the Bushmen, because it does not move swiftly. Some which are very
poisonous are slow and languid in their movements at the time they are about
to cast their skins, and the Bushmen affirm they have then no effective poison.
The greater the trouble they have in catching a serpent, and the more it
writhes and seems enraged, the more pungent is the poison esteemed, the more
certain and dreadful in its effects. The dexterity and courage shown by
them in catching these serpents are truly astonishing. No sooner do they see
the animal upon the level ground than they set their foot upon its neck, press
the head fast together with their fingers, and then separate the head from the
body with a knife. They then take the bag of poison out of the head, and
prepare it for use, before time can be allowed for the least particle of its pun-
gency to evaporate."

Lichtenstein was an eye witness to the fatal effects resulting from a
wound with a poisoned arrow. He and his followers were travelling in a
neighbourhood where a party of Bushmen were at feud with the Hottentots
and settlers. The Bushmen were known to be in the neighbourhood, but
no danger was apprehended : —

"On a sudden we heard the twang of a bow on one side of us; and,
at the same moment, my Hottentot gave a scream, and exclaimed that he
was wounded : then hastily turning round, fired his gun. The arrow stuck
in his side, between the sixth and seventh ribs, and entered nearly two
inches deep. Our companions hastened up to us immediately, and assisted
me to draw it out carefully. In this we partially succeeded, notwithstand-
ing the hook that turns back (a kind of barb) ; but we found, alas ! that
the iron point, which is generally loosely fastened on, was left in the
wound, and with it, as we were afraid, some of the poison. Destitute as we
were of every kind of remedy, nothing remained but to seek the nearest
house with all the haste possible. We turned therefore directly to the
right, and descending the hill by a steep path, brought our wounded man
to a winter habitation directly, though the latter part of the way he ex-
perienced such dreadful agony from the wound, that he was scarcely able
to sit upon his horse. Every possible assistance was here given us by the
good people of the house ; but a too great length of time had elapsed
before this assistance could be obtained : in an hour and a half after our
arrival the poor creature expired. The patient lost all recollection, and
died in strong convulsions. . . Amidst all the afflictions which this accident
occasioned me, I had much reason to rejoice that the Bushmen were such
careful marksmen ; for, if the arrow had deviated the least from the direction
it took, I was so close to the Hottentot aimed at, that I should have
received it, and he would have been saved."

The Bushmen, and most tribes in the African interior, eat the flesh uf
serpents, and, with good reason, for it is most excellent ; being tender and

10 LIFE OF DA VI JJ LI VINGSHONE, LL.D.

juicy, and affords a pleasant variety after a lengthened diet on antelope flesh,
which is hard and stringy in comparison.

Besides killing fish with the spear, they have other methods of ensnaring
them. They make baskets of the twigs of trees and rushes, not unlike
the eel baskets used in our home rivers, and use them in the same manner.
If they expect a flood they make upon the strand, while the water is low,
a large hole, and surround it with a wall of stone with an opening up stream.
After the flood has subsided they find a number of fish in the excavation which
have been unable to pass out. They watch the ostriches from the heights and
finding out where their eggs are, secure them, and having eaten the contents
preserve the shells to hold water — which they bury in the earth to preserve
it against a season of scarcity. — In common with many other African tribes
they show great cunning in hunting the ostrich itself, and get near enough to
wound them with a poisoned arrow by adopting the following stratagem
thus described by Dr. Moffatt : —

" A kind of flat double cushion is stuffed with straw, and formed some-
thing like a saddle. All, except the under part of this, is covered over with
feathers, attached to small pegs, and made so as to resemble the bird. The
neck and head of an ostrich are stuffed, and a small rod introduced. The
Bushman intending to attack game, whitens his legs with any substance he
can procure. He places the feathered saddle on his shoulders, takes the
bottom part of the neck in his right hand, and his bow and poisoned arrows
in his left. Such as the writer has seen were the most perfect mimics of the
ostrich, and at a few hundred yards distant it is not possible for the human
eye to detect the fraud. This human bird, appears to peck away at the
verdure, turning the head as if keeping a sharp look-out, shakes his feathers,
now walks and then trots, till he gets within bow-shot ; and when the flock
runs from receiving the arrow, he runs too. The male ostriches will, on some
occasions, give chase to the stranger bird, when he tries to elude them in a
way to prevent them catching his scent ; for when once they do, the spell is
broken. Should one happen to get too near in his pursuit, he has only to run
to windward, or throw off his saddle, to avoid a stroke from a wing, which
would lay him prostrate." The same stratagem which enables them to
approach the ostrich enables them to get within reach of a herd of antelopes,
or any other animals whose flesh they eat.

They collect locusts, when a swarm of these insects overrun the country,
by digging a trench, into which they collect in heaps. These they eat, after
preparing them in a hasty manner. They also gather and eat large quantities
of a species of white ant, which burrows in the ground, and is found in large
quantities. Several bulbous plants supply them with food, and as they con-
tain a large amount of juice, make up for the scarcity of water in desert
places j as we shall see when we accompany Dr. Livingstone to the Kalahari

CHAR A GT ERISTICS OF B U SUM EX. 1 7

Desert; but these and all other kinds of food are only used by the Bushmen
and other African tribes when they cannot get flesh meat. Almost all South
African animals, both herbivorous and carnivorous, and birds eat locusts.

Speaking of the Bushmen, Dr. Moffat says: —

"As a whole they are not swarthy or black, but rather of a sallow
colour, and in some cases so light, that a tinge of red in the cheek is
perceptible. They are generally smaller in stature than their neighbours of
the interior; their visage and form is very distinct, and in general the top of the
head broad and flat ; their faces tapering to the chin, with high check bones,
flat- noses, and large lips. Since the writer has had opportunities of seeing
men, women, and children from China, he feels strongly inclined to think
with Barrow, that they approach nearest in colour and in the construction
of their features, to that people than to any other nation." Among the
Bcchuanas, the Bushmen are kept in a kind of vassalage, and are called
Balala. "These Balalas," Dr. Moffat says, "were once inhabitants of the
towns, and have been permitted or appointed to live in country places, for
the purpose of procuring skins of wild animals, wild honey, and roots, for
their respective chiefs. The number of these country residents was increased
by the innate love of liberty, and the scarcity of food in towns, or the
boundaries to which they were confined by water and pasture. These again
formed themselves into small communities, though of the most temporary
character, their calling requiring migration, having no cattle of any descrip-
tion. Accustomed from infancy to the sweets of comparative liberty, which
they vastly preferred to a kind of vassalage in the towns, or kraals, they
would make any sacrifice to please their often distant superiors rather than
be confined to the irksomeness of a town life. Such is their aversion, that I
have known chiefs take armed men, and travel a hundred miles into desert
places, in order to bring back Balala, whom they wished to assist them in
watching and harvesting the gardens of their wives. . . . They live
a hungry life, being dependent on the chase, wild roots, berries, locusts, and
indeed anything eatable that comes within their reach ; and when they have
a more than usual supply they will bury it in the earth from their superiors,
who arc in the habit of taking what they please.

. . . Their servile state, their scanty clothing, their exposure to the
inclemency of the weather, and their extreme poverty, have, as may be easily
conceived, a deteriorating influence on their character and condition. They
are generally less in stature, and though not deficient in intellect, the life
they lead gives a melancholy cast to their features, and from constant inter-
course with beasts of prey, and serpents in the path, as well as exposure to
harsh treatment, they appear shy, and have a wild and frequently suspicious
look. Nor can this be wondered at, when it is remembered that they associate
with savage beasts, from the lion that roams abroad by night and day, to the

D

18 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

deadly serpent which infests their path, keeping them always on the alert
during their perambulations."

When they build huts they are, as we have already said, of the most
primitive description ; but frequently they have no claim to such an appella-
tion. Lichtenstein, a very careful observer, gives a very graphic account
of their temporary abodes ; although it is but right to say that the Bushmen,
since the time of his writing, have benefited in this and many other respects
from their more frequent intercourse with the Europeans, and more cultivated
tribes; he says: —

"He (the Bushman) is fond of taking up his abode for the night in
caverns among the mountains, or clefts in the rocks ; in the plain he makes
himself a hole in the ground, or gets into the midst of a bush, when,
bending the boughs around him, they are made to serve as a shelter against
the weather, against an enemy, or against wild beasts. . . It is this
custom which has given rise to the name by which these savages are
known. The holes in the ground above mentioned, which sometimes serve
these people as beds, are only a few inches deep, of a longish round form,
and even when they have to serve for a whole family, not more than five
or six feet wide. It is incredible how they manage to pack together in so
small a space, perhaps, two grown persons and several children : each is
wrapped in a single sheep-skin, in which they contrive to roll themselves
up in such a manner, round like a ball, that air is all but entirely kept
from them. In very cold nights they heap up twigs and earth on the
windward side of the hole; but against rain they have no other shelter
than the sheep skin. In the hot season of the year, they are fond of
lying in the beds of the rivers, under the shade of the mimosas trees,
the branches of which they draw down to screen themselves from the
sun and wind."

The following, from Mr. Gordon Gumming, gives a reason for the con-
stant hostility of the native tribes and the settlers to the Bushmen : —

" Unlike the Kaffre tribes, who lift cattle for the purpose of preserving
them and breeding from them, the sole object of the Bushmen is to drive
them to their secluded habitations in the desert, where they massacre them in-
discriminately, and continue feasting and gorging themselves until the flesh
becomes putrid. When a Kaffre has lifted cattle, and finds himself so hotly
pursued by the owners that he cannot escape with his booty, he betakes him-
self to flight, and leaves the cattle unscathed ; but the spiteful Bushmen have
a most provoking and cruel system of horribly mutilating the poor cattle,
when they find that they are likely to fall into the hands of the rightful
owners, by discharging their poisoned arrows at them, ham-stringing them,
and cutting lumps of flesh off their living carcases. This naturally so incenses
the owners, that they never show the Bushmen any quarter, but shoot them

THE PYGMIES. 19

down right and left, sparing only the children, whom they tame and tuvn
into servants. The people who suffer from their dejDredations are Boers,
Griquas, and Beclmanas, all of whom are possessed of large herds of
cattle, and the massacre of the Bushmen, arising from these raids, is
endless."

Dr. Schweinfurth, in his recent work, " The Heart of Africa," points out
the remarkable similarity between the Akka, a tribe of dwarfs in Central
Africa, who are found about 400 miles to the north of the furthest point, to
which Livingstone followed the Lualaba. He says : —

" Scarcely a doubt can exist but that all these people, like the Bushmen
of South Africa, may be considered as the scattered remains of an aboriginal
population now becoming extinct ; and their isolated and sporadic existence
bear out the hypothesis. For centuries after centuries Africa has been
experiencing the effects of many emigrations ; for thousands of years one
nation has been driving out another, and, as the result of repeated subjuga-
tions and interminglings of race with race, such manifold changes have been
introduced into the conditions of existence, that the succession of neAV
phases, like the development in the world of plants, appears almost, as it
were, to open a glimpse into the infinite.

"Incidentally I have just referred to the Bushmen, those notorious natives
of the South African forests, who owe their name to the likeness winch the Dutch
colonists conceived they bore to the ape, as the prototype of the human race.
I may further remark that their resemblance to the equatorial Pygmies is in
many points very striking. Gustav Fritsch, the author of a standard work
upon the natives of Soutli Africa, first drew my attention to the marked simi-
larity between my portraits of the Akka and the general type of the Bushmen,
and so satisfied did I become in my own mind that I feel quite justified (in
my observations upon the Akka) in endeavouring to prove that all the tribes
of Africa, whose proper characteristic is an abnormally low stature, belong to
one and the self-same race." In another place he says, " The only traveller,
I believe, before myself that has come into contact with any section of this
race is Du Chaillu, who, in the territory of Ashango, discovered a wandering
tribe of hunters called Obongo, and took the measurements of a number
of them. He describes these Obongo as 'not ill shaped,1 and as having
skins of a pale yellow brown, somewhat lighter than their neighbours."

From the days of Herodotus downwards, traditions of a dwarfish race
of human beings in Central Africa have existed, and the explorations of
Dr. Livingstone and others arc only now teaching us how thoroughly
Africa was known to the ancient Greeks. We arc in short only re-discovering
countries and peoples which had been previously discovered, and had sunk
into oblivion with the great people who had wrested their knowledge of
them from the inhospitable regions of equatorial Africa, where pestilence

20 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and savage men and animals have again preserved them from the know-
ledge of civilized nations for many centuries.

In speaking of the Hottentots, we usually associate with the name
the natives who are found within the boundaries of Cape Colony, and aro
employed by the Europeans in agricultural and other pursuits. These
have lost many of the characteristics of savage life and have picked up
not a few civilized accomplishments, which can hardly be said to be an
improvement on the native habits they have abandoned. For several
generations they were actually slaves, and even up to a recent period they
were slaves in all but the name. Their language, when they have forgotten
or neglected the language of their fathers, is a broken English or Dutch,
hardly so intelligible to the stranger as the broken English of the
American nigger. They are a tall, strong, and hardy race, and
make good soldiers, and have done signal service in assisting our
troops in putting down the numberless risings of the bold and warlike
Kaffres.

The discipline and confinement of a military life at the dep6ts prove very
irksome to these sons of the wilderness, but during a campaign they have,
with very few exceptions, proved themselves excellent soldiers. The com-
plexion of the Hottentot is not so dark as that of the native Africans of the
West, and many of the tribes of Southern and Central Africa, nor have they
the same round full faces. The nose is very much depressed, so that the
mouth and lips project in many cases beyond it ; the cheek bones are high,
and the comparatively full brow gives token of considerable intelligence.
The hair is hard and dark, and when not worn long, resembles tufts of black
wool. The eyes are small and usually black, the part surrounding the
ball being a yellowish white. The huts or dwelling houses of the Hotten-
tots within the Colony are greatly superior to those in use by the Hotten-
tots and other native tribes beyond the colony, and are built in imitation
of the houses of Europeans, although they are of much less solid construc-
tion. Their innate love of freedom leads them to prefer living in the
country, although of late years many of them have settled in the towns,
where they are employed in all kinds of manual labour. They are orderly
members of the community unless when they indulge in ardent spirits
when they become noisy and unruly. A very large number of them have
become Christians, and give their children an elementary education. Much
of this is due to the missionaries specially sent out to them, and to the
resident clergymen who minister to the European population. In their
gardens they cultivate vegetables of various kinds. The women attend to
the gardens and save a little money by working at times for the farmers,
and by weaving mats made from a kind of sedge found in the rivers and
streams. Their clothing is, for the most part, of English manufacture, and

THE KAFFIR WAR- FIGHTING IN THE BUSH

THE HOTTENTOT ROBBER-AFRICANER. 21

frequently displays those vagaries in colour which delight the eye of the
savage all over the world.

As the Hottentot tribes who live beyond the colonial frontier differ in
no very marked manner in their mode of life from the Bechuanas, of whom
we shall treat further on, we need not here dwell upon their habits while
living in a natural state.

Numbers of Hottentots, who were smarting under injuries, received at
the hands of the whites formed themselves into bands, and for many years
carried murder and pillage among the settlers. The most noted freebooting
Hottentot, of whom we have any record, was Africaner. One of our earliest
recollections is the receiving at a Sunday school a copy of a tract, with
the picture of a black man on the first page of it, which gave an account
of this dreaded chief, and his wonderful conversion to Christianity. We
are indebted to Dr. Moffat for the following account of Africaner. Dr.
Moffat knew him intimately as we shall see, but his conversion was due
to the brothers Albrechts, who were sent out to Africa by the London
Missionary Society, the same society that sent out Drs. Moffat and
Livingstone : —

" This notable robber added not a little to their anxieties. Appearing
before them on one occasion, 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.' So early and so fully was this man, the
terror of the country, impressed with the purity and sincerity of the mis-
sionary character, that, hearing it was the intention of the Albrechts to remove
to a more eligible situation, he came to the missionaries (after having sent
repeated messages), entreating them not to leave that part of the country,
and testifying the pleasure he felt at seeing the progress his children had
made under their instruction, promising to send the rest, which he did eventu-
ally, taking up his abode with them, and causing his people to do the same.

" Before proceeding with the painful record of events which followed in
rapid succession, it may be proper here to glance briefly at Africaner's history
and character. In doing this, it will be well to fix the attention on Jager, the
eldest son of the old man, who, from his shrewdness and prowess, obtained the
reins of the government of his tribe at an early age.* He and his father once
roamed on their native hills and dales, within 100 miles of Cape Town; pas-
tured their own flocks, killed their own game, drank of their own streams,
and mingled the music of their heathen songs with the winds which burst

* The father of the large family of Africaners or Jagers, had resigned the hereditary right of
chieftainship to his eldest son Jager, afterwards Christian Africaner j the old man, who lived to a
great age, being superannuated.

22 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

over the Witsemberg and Winterhoek mountains, once the strongholds of his
clan. As the Dutch settlers increased, and found it necessary to make room
for themselves, by adopting as their own the lands which lay beyond them,
the Hottentots, the aborigines, perfectly incapable of maintaining their ground
against these foreign intruders, were compelled to give place by removing to
a distance, or yielding themselves in passive obedience to the farmers. From
time to time he found himself and his people becoming more remote from the
land of their forefathers, till he became united and subject to a farmer named

P . Here he and his diminished clan lived for a number of years. In

Africaner P found a faithful and an intrepid shepherd ; while his valour

in defending and increasing the herds and flocks of his master enhanced his
value, at the same time it rapidly matured the latent principle which after-
wards recoiled on that devoted family, and carried devastation to whatever

quarter he directed his steps. Had P treated his subjects with common

humanity, not to say with gratitude, he might have died honourably, and
prevented the catastrophe which befell the family, and the train of robbery,
crime, and bloodshed which quickly followed that melancholy event.

"It can serve no good purpose here to detail the many provocations and
oppressions which at length roused the apparently dormant energies of the often
dejected chieftain, who saw his people dwindling to a mere handful ; their wives
and daughters abused, their infants murdered, while he himself had to subsist on
a coarse and scanty pittance, which, in the days of his independency, he would
have considered as the crumbs of a table fit only for the poorest of the poor.
Demonstrations too tangible to admit of a doubt, convinced him and his
people, that in addition to having their tenderest feelings trodden under foot,
evil was intended against the whole party. They had been trained to
the use of fire-arms ; to act not only on the defensive, but offensive
also ; and Africaner, who had been signally expert in re-capturing stolen
cattle from the Bushmen pirates, now refused to comply with the com-
mand of the master, who was a kind of justice of peace. Order after order
was sent down to the huts of Africaner and his people. They positively
refused. They had on the previous night received authentic information that
it was a deep-laid scheme to get them to go to another farm, where some of
the party were to be seized. Fired with indignation at the accumulated woes
through which they had passed, a tempest was brooding in their bosoms.
They had before signified their wish, with the farmer's permission, to have
some reward for their often galling servitude, and to be allowed peaceably to
remove to some of the sequestered districts beyond, where they might live in
peace. This desire had been sternly refused, and followed by severity still
more grievous. It was even-tide, and the farmer, exasperated to find his
commands disregarded, ordered them to appear at the door of his house.
This was to them an awful moment; and though accustomed to scenes of

AFRICANER REBELS. 23

barbarity, their hearts beat hard. It had not yet entered their minds to do
violence to the farmer. Jagcr, with his brothers and some attendants, moved
slowly up towards the door of the house. Titus, the next brother to the chief,
dreading that the farmer in his wrath might have recourse to desperate mea-
sures, took his gun with him, which he easily concealed behind him, being
night. When they reached the front of the bouse, and Jager, the chief, had
gone up the few steps leading to the door, to state their complaints, the far-
mer rushed furiously on the chieftain, and with one blow precipitated him to
the bottom of the steps. At this moment Titus drew his gun from behind,

fired on P , who staggered backward, and fell. They then entered the

house, the wife having witnessed the murder of her husband,, shrieked, and
implored mercy. They told her on no account to be alarmed, for they had
nothing against her. They asked for the guns and ammunition which were
in the house, which she promptly delivered to them. They then straitly
chai-ged her not to leave the house during the night, as they could not ensure
her safety from others of the servants, who, if she and her family attempted
to flee, might kill them.

" This admonition, however, was disregarded. Overcome with ten-or,
two children escaped by a back door. These were slain by two Bushmen,
who had long been looking out for an opportunity of revenging injuries they

had suffered. Mrs. P escaped in safety to the nearest farm. Africaner,

with as little loss of time as possible, rallied the remnant of his tribe, and,
with what they could take with them, directed their course to the Orange
River, and were soon beyond the reach of pursuers, who, in a thinly scattered
population, required time to collect. He fixed his abode on the banks of the
Orange River ; and afterwards, a chief ceding to him his dominion in Great
Namaqua-land, it henceforth became his by right, as well as by conquest.

" Attempts were made on the part of the Colonial Government and the

farmers to punish this daring outrage on the P family ; but though

rewards were offered, and commandoes went out for that purpose, Africaner
dared them to approach his territories. Some of the farmers had recourse to
another stratagem to rid the frontiers of such a terror ; they bribed some of
the Bastards, who were in the habit of visiting the colony, from the upper
regions of the Orange River. This gave rise to a long series of severe, and
sometimes bloody conflicts between the Africaners and the chief Berend and
his associates, — Berend being impelled by a twofold reward, and Africaner by
a desire to wreak his vengeance on the farmers, who were once his friends,
the instigators of the deeply laid scheme. Though these two chiefs dreadfully
harassed each other, neither conquered ; but continued to breathe against each
other the direst hatred, till, by the gospel of peace, they were brought to 'beat
their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.' "

"As soon as Africaner had discovered the origin of the plot, which had

24 LIFE OF DA VII) LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

well nigh overthrown his power, he visited the boundaries of the colony. A
farmer named Engclbrecht, and a Bastard Hottentot, fell the victims to his
fury, and their cattle and other property were carried off, to atone for the in-
juries inflicted by the machinations of the farmers. Africaner now became a
terror, not only to the colony on the south, but also to the tribes on the north.
The original natives of the country justly viewed him as a dangerous neigh-
bour, even though he had obtaiued, by lawful means, a portion in their
country. They considered him as the common enemy. This led to pilfering
and provocations on their part ; conduct which he was sure to pay back, in
their own way, with large interest. The tribes fled at his approach. His
name carried dismay even to the solitary wastes. At a subsequent period,
as I was standing with a Namaqua chief, looking at Africaner, in a supplicat-
ing attitude, entreating parties ripe for battle, to live at peace with each other :
'Look,' said the wondering chief, pointing to Africaner, 'there is the man,
once the lion, at whose roar even the inhabitants of distant hamlets fled from
their homes ! Yes, and I ' (patting his chest with his hand), ' have, for fear
of his approach, fled with my people, our wives and our babes, to the moun-
tain glen, or to the wilderness, and spent nights among beasts of prey, rather
than gaze on the eyes of this lion, or hear his roar.'

" After the general aspect of affairs began to settle in that part of tho
country, where Africaner's head-quarters were, other distant and interior parts
of the country became a theatre, in which the inhabitants of the colony were
pursuing a bloody game, in shooting the aborigines, and carrying off their
cattle. The landrost of one of the colonial districts sent a message to Afri-
caner, requesting him to try and put a stop to these proceedings, and especially
those of a farmer, who, with his Bastard attendants, had ensconced themselves
in a stronghold in the country. Africaner promptly obeyed the call, and as
he did not intend to fight them, he went with some of his chief men on oxen,
to recommend them peaceably to retire from the country in which they were
such a scourge. On approaching the temporary dwellings of these freebooters,
and within gunshot, the farmer levelled his long gun at the small party, and
several slugs entering Africaner's shoulder, instantly brought him to the
ground. His companions immediately took up their arms, and the farmer,
knowing that their shots were deadly, kept out of the way, allowing the
wounded chief and his attendants to retire, which they did, and returned homo
brooding revenge.

"As soon as the slugs were extracted, and the wound partially healed,
though the arm was lamed for life, Africaner, who was not a man to bo
frightened from his purpose, resumed his campaign ; and the result was, that
this marauder, under a Christian name, was driven from his stronghold, and
compelled to take refuge in the colony whence he had come. The success
which, in almost every instance, followed the arms of such a small and incon-

AFRICANER'S MODE OF FIGHTING 25

sidcrablc body of banditti as that of Africaner, may be ascribed to his mode
of warfare. He endeavoured always to attack his enemy on the plain ; or, if
entrenched, or among bushes, the usual mode of fighting in the country, he
instantly drove them from their sheltering-places ; where, if both parties were
of the same mind, they would continue, from day to day, occasionally dis-
charging their missiles, or firing a shot. By Africaner's mode of warfare the
conflict was soon decided. His reasons were these : he did not like suspense
when life was at stake : he preferred to conquer a people before they had
time to be alarmed, which saved them much agony of mind, and spared the
unnecessary effusion of blood. Africaner was a man of great prowess, and
possessed a mind capable of studying the tactics of savage warfare. His
brother Titus was, perhaps, still more fierce and fearless ; and, though a little
man, he was an extraordinary runner, and able to bear unparalleled fatigue.
He has been known, single-handed, to overtake a party of twenty possessing
firearms, and only retired when his musket was shot to pieces in his hand.
On one occasion Berend's party, who were far superior in numbers, headed
by Nicholas Berend, unexpectedly carried off every ox and cow belonging to
Africaner ; only a few calves being left in the stall. After a desperate though
very unequal contest for a whole day, having repeatedly taken and lost their
cattle, they returned home, slaughtered the calves which were left them, and
rested a couple of days in order to dry the flesh in the sun, ready for the in-
tended campaign. For several days they pursued their course along the
northern banks of the Orange River, and having, by spies, found out the
rendezvous of the enemy on the southern side of the river, they passed beyond
them, in order to attack them from a quarter on which they fancied they were
safe. They swam over in the dead of the night, with their ammunition and
clothes tied on their heads, and their guns on their shoulders. The little force
thus prepared, not unlike that of Bruce at Bannockburn, seized their oppor-
tunity, and, when all the enemy were slumbering in perfect security, aroused
them by a volley of stones falling on their fragile huts. The inmates rushed
out, and were received by a shower of arrows ; and before they could fairly
recover their senses, and seize their guns, the discharge of musketry convinced
them that they were besieged by a host encamped in the most favourable
position : they consequently fled in the greatest consternation, leaving the
captured cattle, as well as their own, in the hands of the Africaners.

"Nicholas Berend, to whom reference has been made, was brother to
the chief Berend (afterwards of the Griqua mission, and now of the Wes-
ley an mission among the Basuto), and a very superior man both in appearance
and intellect. I have frequently travelled with him, and many a dreary mile
have we walked over the wilderness together. Having an excellent memory,
and good descriptive powers, he has often beguiled the dreariness of the road,
by rehearsing deeds of valour in the days of heathenism, in which this struggle

E

26 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

with Africaner bore a prominent part, and on which he could not reflect with-
out a sigh of sorrow.

" Among the remarkable inter-positions of Divine Providence in saving
his life from destruction, he more than once repeated the following, with much
emphasis. It happened when he was engaged in a desperate conflict with
Titus Africaner, from whose lips I heard the same tale. The two had been
engaged for hours in mutual strife, taking and retaking a herd of cattle. By-
means of the large drove and bushes, each had managed to conceal himself.
Suddenly a passage opening in the troop, which exposed the enraged com-
batants to each other's view, their rifles were instantly levelled. The moment
they touched the triggers, a cow darted in between, and the two balls lodged
in the centre of the animal, which fell dead on the spot. But for this inter-
position, both would, in all probability, have fallen, as they were most expert
marksmen. Titus, a man who could take his gun in the dead of night, enter
an immense deep pool in the Orange River, swim to the centre, take his seat
on a rock just above the surface of the water, and wait the approach of a hip-
popotamus, which he would shoot just as it opened its monstrous jaws to seize
him — a man who would deliberately smile the moment he laid the lion dead
at his feet — this man, who appeared incapable of fear, and reckless of dan-
ger, could not helj) acknowledging being most powerfully struck with his
escape from the ball of his antagonist, and would say to me when I referred to
the fact, ' Mynheer knows how to use the only hammer which makes my hard
heart feel.' Nicholas finished his Christian course under the pastoral care of
the Rev. T. L. Hodgson, Wesleyan missionary at Bocchuap."

In 1818 Dr. Moffat took up his quarters at Africaner's Kraal. The
account he gives of the country and its then resources is not very inviting.
After waiting an hour or more after his arrival for a visit from the Chief, he
says :—

"While engaged in an interesting conversation with Africaner on the
state and prospect of the mission in connection with the barrier to civilization,
not only from the state of country and chmate, but also from the want of
intercourse with the colony, the idea darted into my mind, that Africaner
would do well to accompany me to Cape Town ; and I at once made the pro-
posal. The good man looked at me again and again, gravely asking whether
I were in earnest, and. seemed fain to ask if I were in my senses too ; adding,
with great fervour, 'I had thought you loved me, and do you advise me to go
to the Government, to be hung up as a specimen of public justice ?' and put-
ting his hand to his head, he asked, 'Do you not know that I am an outlaw, and
that 1000 rix-dollars have been offered for this poor head ? ' These difficul-
ties I endeavoured to remove, by assuring him that the results would be most
satisfactory to himself, as well as to the Governor of the Cape. Here Africa-
ner exhibited his lively faith in the gracious promises of God, by replying, ' I

AFRICANER STARTS FOR GAPE TOWN. 27

shall deliberate, and commit (or, as lie used the word according to the Dutch
translation), roll my way upon the Lord ; I know he will not leave me.'

" During three days this subject was one of public discussion, and more
than one came to me with grave looks, asking if I had advised Africaner to go
to the Cape. On the third day the point was decided, and we made prepara-
tions for our departure, after having made the necessary arrangements for
continuing the means of instruction during my absence. Nearly all the in-
habitants accompanied us half a day's journey to the banks of the Orange
River, where we had to wait several days, it having overflowed all its banks.
The kindness of the people, and the tears which were shed when we parted
from them, were deeply affecting.

"Arriving at Pella (the place, as before stated, to which some of the
people from Warm Bath had retired when the latter was destroyed by
Africaner), we had a feast fit for heaven-born souls, and subjects to which the
seraphim above might have tuned their golden lyres. Men met who had not
seen each other since they had joined in mutual combat for each other's woe ;
met — warrior with warrior, bearing in their hand the olive branch, secure
under the panoply of peace and love. They talked of Him who had subdued
both, without a sword or spear, and each bosom swelled with purest friend-
ship, and exhibited another trophy destined to adorn the triumph of the
Prince of Peace, under whose banner each was promoting that reign in
which — •

' No longer hosts encountering hosts,

Their heaps of slain deplore ;
They hang the trumpet in the hall,

And study war no more.'

Hero I again met with Mr. Bartlett and family, who, with the chief and people
of the station, loaded us with kindness.

" We spent some pleasant days while the subject of getting Africaner
safely through the territories of the farmers to the Cape, was the theme of
much conversation. To some the step seemed somewhat hazardous. Africa-
ner and I had fully discussed the point before leaving the station ; and I was
confident of success. Though a chief, there was no need of laying aside any
thing like royalty, with a view to travel in disguise. Of two substantial
shirts left, I gave him one; he had a pair of leather trousers, a duffel jacket,
much the worse for wear, and an old hat, neither white nor black, and my
own garb was scarcely more refined. As a farther precaution, it was agreed,
that for once I should be the chief, and he should assume the appearance of a
servant, when it was desirable, and pass for one of my attendants.

" Ludicrous as the picture may appear, the subject was a grave one, and
the season solemn and important; often did I lift up my heart to Him in
whose hands arc the hearts of all men, that his presence might go with us.

28 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

It might here be remarked, once for all, that the Dutch farmers, notwith-
standing all that has been said against them by some travellers, are, as a
people exceedingly hospitable and kind to strangers. Exceptions there are,
but these are few, and perhaps more rare than in any country under the sun.
Some of these worthy people on the borders of the colony congratulated me
on returning alive, having often heard, as they said, that I had been long
since murdered by Africaner. Much wonder was expressed at my narrow
escape from such a monster of cruelty, the report having been spread that Mr.
Ebner had but just escaped with the skin of his teeth. While some would
scarcely credit my identity ; my testimony as to the entire reformation of
Africaner's character, and his conversion, was discarded as the effusion of a
frenzied brain.

" It sometimes afforded no little entertainment to Africaner and the
Namaquas, to hear a farmer denounce this supposed irreclaimable savage.
There were only a few, however, who were sceptical on this subject. At one
farm, a novel scene exhibited the state of feeling respecting Africaner and
myself, and likewise displayed the power of Divine grace under peculiar cir-
cumstances. It was necessary, from the scarcity of water, to call at such
houses as lay in our road. The farmer referred to was a good man in the
best sense of the word : and he and his wife had both shown me kindness on
my way to Namaqua-land. On approaching the house, which was on an
eminence, I directed my men to take the waggon to the valley below, while I
walked toward the house. The farmer, seeing a stranger, came slowly down
the descent to meet me. When within a few yards, I addressed him in the
usual way, and stretching out my hand, expressed my pleasure at seeing him
again. He put his hand behind him, and asked me, rather wildly, who I was.
I replied that I was Moffat, expressing my wonder that lie should have for-
gotten me. 'Moffat!' he rejoined, in a faltering voice, 'it is your ghost!''
and moved some steps backward. ' I am no ghost.' ' Don't come near me ! '
he exclaimed, ' you have been long murdered by Africaner.' ' But I am no
ghost,' I said, feeling my hands, as if to convince him and myself, too, of my
materiality ; but his alarm only increased ' Everybody says you were mur-
dered ; and a man told me he had seen your bones ; ' and he continued to gaze
at me, to the no small astonishment of the good wife and children, who were
standing at the door, as also to that of my people, who were looking on from
the waggon below. At length he extended his trembling hand, saying, ' When
did you rise from the dead ? '

" As he feared my presence would alarm his wife, we bent our steps towards
the waggon, and Africaner was the subject of our conversation. I gave him
in a few words my views of his present character, saying, ' He is now a
truly good man.' To which he replied, 'lean believe almost any thing you
say, but that I cannot credit ; there are seven wonders in the world, that

AFRICANER AT GAPE TOWN. 29

would be the eighth.' I appealed to the displays of Divine grace
in a Paul, a Manasseh, and referred to his own experience. He replied
these were another description of men, but that Africaner was one of the
accursed sons of Ham, enumerating some of the atrocities of which ho
had been guilty. By this time we were standing with Africaner at our feet,
on whose countenance sat a smile, well knowing the prejudices of some of the
farmers. The farmer closed the conversation by saying, with much earnest-
ness, ' Well, if what you assert be true respecting that man, I have only one
wish, and that is, to see him before I die ; and when you return, as sure as
the sun is over our heads, I will go with you to see him, though he killed my
own uncle.' I was not before aware of this fact, and now felt some hesitation
whether to discover to him the object of his wonder ; but knowing the sin-
cerity of the farmer, and the goodness of his disposition, I said, ' This, then,
is Africaner ! ' He started back, looking intensely at the man, as if he had
just dropped from the clouds. 'Are you Africaner?' he exclaimed. He arose,
doffed his old hat, and making a polite bow, answered, ' I am.' The farmer
seemed thunderstruck ; but when, by a few questions, he had assured himself
of the fact, that the former bugbear of the border stood before him, now meek
and lamb-like in his whole deportment, he lifted up his eyes, and exclaimed,
' 0 God, what a miracle of thy power ! what cannot thy grace accomplish ! '
The kind farmer, and his no less hospitable wife, now abundantly supplied
our wants; but we hastened our departure, lest the intelligence might get abroad
that Africaner was with me, and bring unpleasant visitors.

" On arriving at Cape Town, I waited on his Excellency the Governor,
Lord Charles Somerset, who appeared to receive with considerable scepticism,
my testimony that I had brought the far-famed Africaner on a visit to his
Excellency. The following day was appointed for an interview, when the
chief was received by Lord Charles with great affability and kindness ; and
he expressed his pleasure at seeing thus before him, one who had formerly
been the scourge of the country, and the terror of the border colonists. His
Excellency was evidently much struck with this result of missionary enter-
prise, the benefit of which he had sometimes doubted. I remembered when I
first arrived at Cape Town, the reply to my memorial for permission to pro-
ceed to my destination in Great Namaqua-land, was, that his Excellency had
cogent reasons for not complying with my request, and I was obliged to re-
main eight months in the colony : this time was not, however, lost, for it was
turned to advantage by learning the Dutch language, and attending to other
preliminaries for a missionary campaign. Whatever he might think of his
former views, his Excellency was now convinced that a most important
point had been gained ; and, as a testimony of his good feeling, he presented
Africaner with an excellent waggon, value eighty pounds sterling.

" A short time previous to my visit to the" Cape, a deputation from the

30 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

London Missionary Society, consisting of the Revs. J. Campbell and Dr.
Philip, arrived for the purpose of examining the state of our African missions,
and to them Africaner's visit was a subject of deep interest. It appeared to
be one of the happiest moments of Mr. Campbell's life to hold converse with
the man, at whose very name, on his first visit to Namaqua-land, he had
trembled, but on whom, in answer to many prayers, he now looked as a
brother beloved. Often while interpreting for Mr. C, in his inquiries, I have
been deeply affected with the overflow of soul experienced by both, while re-
hearsing the scenes of bygone days.

" Africaner's appearance in Cape Town, excited considerable attention,
as his name and exploits had been familiar to many of its inhabitants for more
than twenty years. Many were struck with the unexpected mildness and
gentleness of his demeanour, and others with his piety and accurate know-
ledge of the Scriptures. His New Testament was an interesting object of
attention, it was so completely thumbed and worn by use. His answers to a
number of questions put to him by the friends in Cape Town, and at a public
meeting held there, exhibited his diligence as a student in the doctrines of
the Gospel, especially when it is remembered that Africaner never saw a
Catechism in his life, but obtained all his knowledge on theological subjects
from a careful perusal of the Scriptures, and the verbal instructions of the
missionary."

The closing scene of the Life of Africaner is thus described by Mr.
Archbell, a Wesleyan missionary : —

" When he found his end approaching, he called all the people together,
after the example of Joshua, and gave them directions as to their future
conduct. ' We are not,' said he, ' what we were, savages, but men professing
to be taught according to the Gospel. Let us then do accordingly. Live
peaceably with all men, if possible : and if impossible, consult those who are
placed over you, before you engage in any thing. Remain together, as you
have done since I knew you. Then, when the Directors think fit to send you
a missionary, you may be ready to receive him. Behave to any teacher you
may have sent as one sent of God, as I have great hope that God will bless
you in this respect when I am gone to heaven. I feel that I love God, and
that he has done much for me, of which I am totally unworthy.

" ' My former life is stained with blood; but Jesus Christ has pardoned
me and I am going to heaven. Oh ! beware of falling into the same evils
into which I have led you frequently ; but seek God, and he will be found of
you to direct you.'

" Africaner was a man of sound judgment, and of undaunted courage ;
and although he himself was one of the first and the severest persecutors of the
Christian cause, he would, had he lived, have spilled his blood, if necessary,
for his missionary."

THE KAFFRES.

We have been induced to make this lengthy extract on account of its
giving a notable missionary experience, and illustrating a state of matters
very prevalent forty years ago, when the settlers and the natives were at
constant feud with each others.

The Kaffres are allied to the Bechuana tribes. They are a bold and
warlike race, and having been dispossessed of portions of their land by the
colonists, they, for many years, kept up a state of war, which the whole force
of the Government could hardly bring to a termination. AVhen hard pressed
they retreated to their mountain fastnesses, to issue forth on the next favour-
able opportunity, carrying ruin and desolation to many a homestead and
township. Burchell gives the following account of his first meeting with five
members of this nation : —

" These men were not less than six feet in height, strong, and finely
proportioned, and, excepting a leather kaross, or mantle, wore no covering
whatever ; a circumstance, so far as I have since been able to learn, quite
peculiar to the Icosas, or Kaffres on the eastern side of the colony. Their
bodies and cloaks were reddened all over with ochre, mixed with grease.
They accosted us in an easy, manly tone, and with manners perfectly free
from servile timidity. . . . They were the most importunate beggars I
had ever met with ; soliciting for tobacco, or whatever else they saw which
they thought would be useful ; complaining also that their -wives' heads
were uncovered, and much required a handkerchief to protect them from the
sun. It was impossible to avoid their importunities, except by granting wluit
they asked for ; and at last we got rid of them by giving them three legs of
mutton, a handkerchief for each, and a quantity of tobacco, enough for them
and their wives. I purchased from these men, for a handkerchief, a very
neat basket, wove witli rushes so admirably close, that they are always used
for holding milk or other liquids. He was careful not to let this opportunity
pass without begging for something, and first asked for some brandy, which
being refused, he asked for money to buy some ; for these people are shrewd
enough to understand very well the nature and use of the Cape money. Two
of them could speak Dutch very readily ; and the principal one with a polite
and friendly air that I little expected in a savage, if such a term could
properly be applied to him, gently raised my hands to his lips in taking leave,
and expressed at the same time the warmest acknowledgments of gratitude
for the presents I had made them."

The Kaffres are fuller in the face and darker in colour than the Hotten-
tots ; the beard is fuller, and they are much stronger and more finely formed.
Like the Bcchuanas, to whom they are allied, they practice circumcision, but
appear to be unable to account for the origin of this practice. Their wealth
consists chiefly in cattle. Their huts are circular in shape, and arc formed of
brushwood and grass. The land is the property of the whole tribe, and they

32 LIFE OF DA VID LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

shift from place to place as inclination or necessity may suggest. The triho
is split up into suh- divisions, each under a separate chief, and they are often
in a state of warfare with one another. Their principal grain is the Indian
millet. Their arms are principally the lance, which they use with great
dexterity, and a small battle axe. A kind of club, called the kirri, is used,
principally to turn aside the lance of an enemy; for which purpose they also use a
shield made of hardened ox-hide. The kirri is used as a weapon of offence when
they come to close quarters. Writing nearly seventy years ago, when the Kaffrcs
were a terror to the European settlers in Cape Colony — Lichtenstein says : —
" What makes the neigbourhood of these savages extremely irksome is, that
in peace they expect as a sort of tribute what in war they seize by force.
They often come in large bodies, and will stay several days, and even weeks,
scarcely thinking themselves obliged, even although they are entertained all
the time without cost ; and this the inhabitants do, to obviate, if possible, any
cause of quarrel with them. Many times, in making peace, endeavours have
been made to establish a fixed boundary, which neither side shall pass without
express permission from the Chiefs of the country, but to this they would
never consent, asserting that there was no use in being at peace if people could
not make visits to their friends to enquire after their welfare. Their impor-
tunity, their number, and the fear of quarrelling with them, since they are
very ready to catch at any pretence for a quarrel, commonly secure them
good entertainment."

Lichtenstein was visited by a party of Kaffres, who treated him to
"a pantomimic representation of their mode of fighting, ranging them-
selves in two rows, and showing me, by the most rapid and powerful
movements of the body, how they throw the weapon (the lance) at the
enemy. They also imitated their manner of avoiding the weapons of their
opponent, which consisted in changing their places at every moment, springing
hither and thither with loud cries, throwing themselves at one instant on the
ground, and then rising with astonishing velocity to take their aim anew.
The activity and readiness of their motions, the variety and rapid changes of
attitude in these fine, athletic, naked warriors, made this sight as pleasing as
it was interesting, on account of its novelty. . . . After it began to rain
hard, we invited our visitors into the house, where they entertained them-
selves till late in the evening with a dance after their fashion ; this was as
stiff and disagreeable as their activity and dexterity in the use of their arms
had been otherwise. The men first came forward in a row, with folded arms,
stamping with a number of strange disagreeable motions of the head,
shoulders, and body, while the women, with the most hideous grimaces,
moved slowly round the men, one after the other. Then they sing, or rather
howl a strange melody, which cannot be pleasing throughout to an European's
ear, and which could not be performed upon any of our instruments, because

MODE OF TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS. 33

their intervals stand in a very different relation one to another than ours.
Yet they imitate these intervals and the melody of these songs upon their
imperfect instruments very true. One of the women employed herself in
making baskets of rushes, such as are mentioned by Sparman, thick enough to
hold milk. The work is uncommonly neat, and does great honour to the
inventor ; but the mode in which it is done could not be described without
great prolixity."

The agriculture of the Kaffres and the Bechuana and other tribes of South
Africa was originally of a most primitive description. To the north, where
game was abundant, it was very much neglected. Their corn is known as the
Indian millet or Guinea corn, and is called Kaffre corn by the colonists. The
grain grows in a large bunch at the top of the stalk, differing from Indian corn,
the grain of which forms a large cylindrical ear. Among the Bechuanas it is
known as mabbeli. The stalk, when the plant is not over ripe, is very juicy
and refreshing, and is frequently chewed by the natives, especially when
water is scarce.

The grain is mostly eaten after boiling in water ; and it is sometimes
pounded into a thick pulp with milk after boiHng, and left until it becomes
sour and solidifies, when it is called Bukoli or bread.

A small species of kidney bean is cultivated in considerable quantities.
The stalk grows to a height of from two to three feet, and the seed is smaller
than our garden bean. Water melons and bulbous plants of various kinds, as
we shall see further on, form no inconsiderable portion of the diet of the
natives to the south of the river Zouga, and in periods of drought, when the
animals leave the country in search of water, these together with locusts, frogs,
snakes, and almost any kind of animal they can surprise and kill form their
only food. Several of the bulbous plants, a kind of pumpkin and the cala-
bash gourd, are cultivated in their gardens. Various wildberry-producingplants,
roots, and fruit trees, form no unimportant addition to their food when in season.

The natives are all hunters, and they sometimes organise a battue on a
large scale. Several hundred natives, armed with spears, and as many
muskets as they can muster, silently surround a herd of antelopes, zebras,
and quaggas. Advancing slowly and silently they drive the game inwards, the
human cordon gradually thickening as they close in, until the startled herd find
themselves surrounded by a living wall of yelling savages. In their frantic
efforts to break through they are speared in great numbers. After a gorge on
the half cooked flesh, they cut the flesh into strips and hang it on the
branches of trees and shrubs, to dry it for preservation.

They frequently form a couple of long fences of shrubs, commencing wide

apart and converging at a point, where pit-falls have been dug, and carefully

covered over with grass and shrubs; in these pit-falls they fix sharp pointed

stakes, on which tho animals impale themselves. Sometimes animals enter

¥

34 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

this enclosure voluntarily, and at other times they are driven into it, when in
pressing to get out at the narrow end, they fall into the pits in great numbers,
and are speedily despatched with lances.

The breeding of cattle, and the cultivation of the soil, have made rapid strides
of late years among the Kaffres and Bechuanas. Following the example set
by the missionaries and settlers, large tracts of ground are made fruitful by a
simple system of irrigation in the neighbourhood of streams and springs of
water. In this way a plentiful crop of grain, potatoes, and other vegetables,
and various kinds of fruit are grown in considerable quantities ; but an unusally
dry season, which turns the springs and streams into hollows of burning sand,
puts an end, for the time, to all resources, natural and artificial, and a season
of great suffering ensues, in which many of their cattle die, or are slain for
food; and many of the natives, especially the young and old of both sexes, die for
want of the necessaries of life. In time they will no doubt learn to provide for
these seasons of scarcity, but their careless and improvident habits are difficult to
eradicate.

In the foregoing sketch of the three leading races of mankind, native to
South Africa, we have been anxious to present them as they were when Dr.
Livingstone began his labours amongst them. The people he visited and
lived amongst for the first ten years of his life in Africa were all, with the
exception of the Bushmen and Hottentots, more or less of the same kindred as
the Kaffres, and speaking a language of the same character, if not always
identical. The manners and customs of tribes distinct from these will fall to
be treated off as we proceed in our narative. Since 1840 the relations of
the white population to the natives who live amongst them, and who occupy the
country bordering on the territory, have greatly changed for the better. Slowly
but surely civilization is improving the black man, and increasing the number
of his resources, and consequently the comforts of his life. Wise legislation,
missionary enterprise, and the frequent visits paid to the country by European
sportsmen, have all borne their share in this elevating process. But of all
the agencies which have been at work for the improvement of the savage
people of Africa, none have had so powerful and so immediate an effect for
good as the single-handed labonrs of David Livingstone.

CHAPTER III.

Dr. Livingstone arrives at Kuruman. — Missionary Experiences. — Visits the Bechuana
Tribes. — Resolves to settle among the Balcwains. — Adventure with a Lion. —
Marriage. — Journeys to the Zouga River. — The Balcwains attacked by the Boers.

A Regularly ordained worker in the Christian field, and a well instructed
doctor and surgeon, with an enthusiastic love for the work he was en-
gaged in, after a brief stay at the Cape, Dr. Livingstone proceeded, in accord-
dance with the instructions he had received from the Missionary Society to
Kuruman, with the view of establishing a mission station still further to the
north, where ground had not then been broken.

The calling of a Missionary in South Africa in these days was one
that offered no reward save that which follows the doing good to one's
fellow creatures. Under the best of circumstances life among the savages
was, and is, of the most comfortless description. For a large proportion
of the time so spent, the Missionary must suffer from hunger and from thirst;
from the inclemency of the weather and the total want of congenial society.
Dangers to life and limb from savage beasts and equally savage men, are
all but constant ; and to crown all, the good work, the reward of so much
suffering and self-denial proceeds but slowly, and, not unfrequently, days,
weeks, and months pass without a sign that the seed sown with such
anxiety has taken root in the heart of a single human being. The annals
of Missionary effort among the savage tribes of South Africa up to the
date of his entering upon his career were filled with a superabundance of
unpromising experiences, terminating in many instances, in disappointment
and in an early death. True, during the previous twenty years Robert
Moffat and several others, had begun to reap, in some small degree, the
fruits of the incessant toil and effort of years; but there was little which
they had to tell which could be tempting to the young enthusiast, who thought
only of merely worldly distinction.

To travel from place to place was then a work of great difficulty and
some danger even close to the colonial frontier. The following from Dr.
Moffat's "Missionary Labours" was no mere isolated experience: —

" Having travelled nearly the whole night through deep sand, the
oxen began to lie down in the yoke from fatigue, obliging us to halt
before reaching water. The next day we pursued our course, and on
arriving at the place where we had hoped to find water, we were disap-

36 LIFE OF DA VIU LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

pointed. As it appeared evident that if we continued the same route we
must perish from thirst, at the suggestion of my guide we turned north-
ward, over a dreary, trackless, sandy waste, without one green blade of
grass, and scarcely a bush on which the wearied eye could rest. Becoming
dark, the oxen unable to proceed, ourselves exhausted with dreadful thirst
and fatigue, we stretched our wearied livnbs on sand still warm from the
noon-tide heat, being the hot season of the year. Thirst aroused us at an
early hour ; and finding the oxen incapable of moving the waggon one inch,
we took a spade, and, with the oxen, proceeded to a hollow in a neighbouring
mountain. Here we laboured for a long time, digging an immense hole in
the sand, where we obtained a scanty supply, exactly resembling the old
bilge-water of a ship, but which was drunk with an avidity which no pen can
describe. Hours were occupied in incessant labour to obtain a sufficiency for
the oxen, which, by the time all had partaken, were ready for a second
draught; while some, from the depth of the hole and the loose sand got
scarcely any. We filled the small vessels which we had brought, and
returned to the waggon over a plain glowing with a meridian sun ; the
sand being so hot, it was distressingly painful to walk. The oxen ran
frantic, till they came to a place indurated, with little sand. Here they
stood together, to cool their burning hoofs in the shade of their own bodies ;
those on the outside always trying to get into the centre. In the evening,
when about to yoke them in order to proceed on our journey, we found
that most of them had run off. An attendant, who was despatched in search
of them, returned at midnight with the sad tidings that he was compelled
by thirst, and terror of meeting with lions, to abandon his pursuit.

" No time was to be lost, and I instantly sent off the remaining oxen
with two men, to take them to the next fountain, and then proceed to
solicit assistance from Mr. Bartlett, at Pella. Three clays I remained with
my waggon-driver on this burning plain with scarcely a breath of wind,
and what there was felt as if coming from the mouth of an oven. We
had only tufts of dry grass to make a small fire, or rather flame ; and little
was needful, for we had scarcely any food to prepare. We saw no human
being, although we had an extensive prospect ; not a single animal or beast
of prey made its appearance; but in the dead of the night we sometimes
heard the distant roar of the Hon on the mountains, where we had to go
twice a day for our nauseous but grateful beverage. At last when we were
beginning to fear that the men had either perished or wandered, Mr. Bartlett
arrived on horseback, with two men, having a quantity of mutton tied
to their saddles. 1 cannot conceive of an epicure gazing on a table groaning
under the weight of viands, with half the delight that 1 did on the mutton,
which, though killed only the preceding evening, required no keeping to
make it tender."

MISSIONARY TRIALS. 37

Arrived at the scene of his labours this was the sort of experience which
awaited Dr. Moffat, Mrs. Moffat, and his coadjutor, Mr. Hamilton.

"Our time was incessantly occupied in building, and labouring frequently
for the meat that perisheth ; but our exertions were often in vain, for while
we sowed, the natives reaped. The site of the station was a light sandy
soil, where no kind of vegetables would grow without constant irrigation.
Our water ditch, which was some miles in length, had been led out of the
Kuruman River, and passed in its course through the gardens of the natives.
As irrigation was to them entirely unknown, fountains and streams had been
suffered to run to waste, where crops even of native grain, which supports
amazing drought, are seldom very abundant from the general scarcity of rain.
The native women, seeing the fertilizing effect of the water in our gardens,
thought very naturally that they had an equal right to it for their own, and took
the liberty of cutting open our water ditch, and allowing it, on some occasion**,
to flood theirs. This mode of proceeding left us at times without a drop of
water, even for culinary purposes. It was in vain that we pleaded, and
remonstrated with the chiefs ; the women were the masters in this matter.
Mr. Hamilton and I were daily compelled to go alternately three miles with
a spade, about three o'clock p.m., the hottest time of the day, and turn in the
many outlets into native gardens, that we might have a little moisture to
refresh our burnt-up vegetables during the night, which we were obliged to
irrigate when we ought to have rested from the labours of the day. Many
night watches were spent in this way ; and after we had raised with great
labour vegetables, so necessary to our constitutions, the natives would steal
them by day as well as by night, and after a year's toil and care, we scarcely
reaped anything to reward us for our labour. The women would watch our
return from turning the streams into the water-course, and would immediately
go and open the outlets again, thus leaving us on a thirsty plain many days
without a drop of water, excepting that which was carried from a distant
fountain, under a cloudless sky, when the thermometer at noon would
frequently rise to 120' in the shade.

" When we complained of this, the women, who one would have thought
would have been the first to appreciate the principles by which we were
actuated, became exasperated, and going to the higher drain, where the wat. r
was led out of the river, with their picks completely destroyed it, allowing the
stream to flow in its ancient bed. By tins means the supply of water was
reduced one-half, and that entirely at the mercy of those who loved us only
when we could supply them with tobacco, repair their tools, or administer
medicine to the afflicted.

". . . Our situation might be better conceived than described : not one
believed our report among the thousands by whom we were surrounded.
Native aid, especially to the wife of the missionary, though not to be

38 LIFE OF DA VI 1) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

dispensed with, was a source of anxiety, and an addition to our cares ; for
any individual might not only threaten, but carry a rash purpose into efi'ect.
For instance, Mrs. Moffat, with a babe in her arms, begged, and that very
humbly, of a woman, just to be kind enough to move out of a temporary
kitchen, that she might shut it as usual before going in to the place of
worship. The woman seized a piece of wood to hurl it at Mrs. M.'s head,
who, of course, immediately escaped to the house of God, leaving her the
undisputed occupant of the kitchen, any of the contents of which she would
not hesitate to appropriate to her own use. ... As many men and
women as pleased might come into our hut, leaving us not room even to
turn ourselves, and making everything they touched the colour of their greasy
attire ; while some were talking, others would be sleeping, and some pilfering
whatever they could lay their hands on. This would keep the house-wife a
perfect prisoner in a suffocating atmosphere, almost intolerable ; and when
they departed, they left ten times more than their number behind — company
still more offensive. As it was not pleasant to take our meals amongst such
filth, our dinner was often deferred for hours, hoping for their departure ; but,
after all, it had to be eaten when the natives were despatching their game at
our feet.

" Our attendance at public worship would vary from ten to fifty ; and
these very often manifesting the greatest indecorum. Some would be
snoring ; others laughing ; some working ; and others, who might even be
styled the noblesse, would be employed in removing from their ornaments
certain nameless insects, letting them run about the forms, while sitting by
the missionary's wife. Never having been accustomed to chairs or stools,
some, by way of imitation, would sit with their feet on the benches, having their
knees, according to their usual mode of sitting, drawn up to their chins. In
this position one would fall asleep and tumble over, to the great merriment
of his fellows. On some occasions an opportunity would be watched to rob,
when the missionary was engaged in public service. The thief would first
put his head within the door, discover who was in the pulpit, and, knowing
he could not leave his rostrum before a certain time had elapsed, would go to
his house and take what he could lay his hands upon."

Tools, household utensils, and even the meat out of the pot were stolen,
and the cattle driven away, and possibly one of them killed and eaten.
Slowly but surely the devoted missionaries made their way to the hearts and
better natures of the natives, until their trials and difficulties would become
less and less and then finally disappear; but the above is no over-drawn picture of
missionary experience for the first few months of residence with a native tribe.
All this, and much more, would be well known to David Livingstone long
before he set foot in Africa, or penetrated into the interior from Kuruman.

At Kurumau and neighbourhood he found Moffat and his coadjutors

ADVENTURE WITH A LION. 39

hard at work, and remained with them a few months, familiarising himself
with their mode of operations, visiting and making himself acquainted with
the Bechuana people, their manners and customs, language and country, with
a view to settling amongst them ; the chief of one of the Bechuana tribes
being favourable to his projects.

In his second preparatory excursion into the Bechuana country, he
settled for six months at a place called Lepelole, and with characteristic
thoroughness of purpose completely isolated himself from European society,
in order to obtain an accurate knowledge of the language. Deeming that
this was to be the scene and centre of his future labours, he commenced his pre-
parations for a settlement among the Bakwaias, as that section of the Be-
chuana people who inhabited the district round Lepelole was named. When
these arrangements were almost completed, he made a journey, principally
on foot, to the north, and penetrated within ten days' journey of the lower
part of the river Zouga ; and if discovery had been his object, he might even
then have discovered Lake Ngami. At this time the great traveller's slini
appearance gave little token of the hardy physique which was to enable him
afterwards to undergo months and years of toilsome journeyings in regions
never before visited by civilized man ; but this trial trip proved the pluck
and stamina which were to stand him in so good stead in many undertakings
of much greater magnitude, and gave him a gratifying notion of his power of
overcoming difficulties of a novel and trying character.

Returning to Kuruman, intelligence followed him that the Bakwaius,
among whom he had made up his mind to settle, had been driven from Le-
pelole by the Barolongs, a neighbouring tribe, so that he was obliged to set
out anew in search of another locality in which to establish his mission station ;
when, after some time spent in inspecting he fixed upon the valley of Mabotsa.
Here he had an extraordinary adventure with a lion, which, from the singular
nature of his experiences, merits insertion here. Several lions had been car-
vying destruction among the cattle of the natives, and Livingstone went with
the people to assist in the extermination of the marauders. The lions were
traced to a small wooded hill, which the people surrounded, and proceeded to
beat through the underwood, with the view of driving the prey into a position
where the shooters could see and fire at them. Livingstone, having fired at
one of the animals, was in the act of reloading, when he heard a shout of
warning from the people near.

" Starting and looking half round, I saw the lion just in the act of
springing upon me. I was upon a little height. He caught my shoulder as
he sprang, and we both came to the ground below together. Growling
horribly close to my ear, ho shook mo as a terrier clog does a rat. The
shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt by a mouse
after the first shake of the cat. It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there

40 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

was no sense of pain nor feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that
was happening. It was like what patients partially under the influence of
chloroform describe, who see all the operation, but feel not the knife. This
singular condition was not the result of any mental process. The shake
annihilated fear, and allowed no sense of horror in looking round at the beast.
This peculiar state is probably produced in all animals killed by the car-
nivora; and if so, is a merciful provision by our benevolent Creator for
lessening the pain of death. Turning round to relieve myself of the weight,
as he had one paw on the back of my head, I saw his eyes directed to Me-
balwe (a native schoolmaster), who was trying to shoot him at a distance of
ten or fifteen yards. His gun, a flint one, missed fire in both barrels ; the
lion immediately left me, and attacking Mebalwe, bit his thigh. Another
man whose hip I had cured before, after he had been tossed by a buffalo,
attempted to spear the lion while he was biting Mebalwe; he left Mebalwe
and caught this man by the shoulder, but at that moment the bullets he had
received took effect, and he fell down dead. . . . Besides crunching the
bone into splinters, he left eleven teeth wounds in my arm." The broken
and splintered bones were very imperfectly attended to, as Dr. Livingstone
had to act as his own surgeon, and the arm ever afterwards was of compara-
tively little service to him.

Livingstone shrank from inquirers who were anxious to have minute
details as to the perils he had gone through ; not that he really made light of
them, but he had a horror of sensationalism, and avoided every temptation to
enlarge upon difficulties which were inevitable at the time of their occurrence.
" In connection with the above incident," says a writer in the British Quarterly
Review for April, 1874, " we well remember how, when on a visit to England,
he was eagerly questioned by a group of sympathetic friends as to what he
was thinking of when in the lion's grasp, and how he quietly answered, that
he was thinking, with a feeling of disinterested curiosity, which part of him
the brute would eat first."

Lions are much more numerous, and encounters with them much more
frequent than Dr. Livingstone's comparatively few allusions to them would
lead us to expect. He never cared to take up time and space in chronicling
his dealing with them, or other kinds of wild animals, unless there was some-
thing unusual in the experience. In travelling even in the neighbourhood of
the colonial frontier, travellers had to dispose themselves and their oxen at
night so as to be least exposed to the attack of these animals ; fires being
frequently kindled to keep them at a distance. The traveller in these regions
would not be abroad many days, before himself and his cattle were put in
extreme peril by the visits of lions. Cattle in their terror, when his roar rever-
berates through the darkness, frequently break loose, and run wildly in their
panic right into the danger they so much dread. In the early morning and the

ADVENTURE WITH A LION. 41

evening travellers not unfrequently find themselves face to face with the
" King of the Forest." If unarmed, the best course to pursue is to stand per-
fectly still, never moving a muscle, when, if the lion be unaccustomed to the
presence of man, he will be so startled at the appearance of a singular animal
standing on two legs, which does not run from him, that he will retreat, con-
tinually turning round -from time to time, until he has reached a safe distance;
when he will bound away to the intense satisfaction of the biped who has
treated him to so unwonted an encounter. If under such circumstances the party
make a single movement, either towards flight or through nervousness, the
lion will almost certainly be upon him, when if he be unarmed, the traveller's
chances of escape are exceedingly remote. It is not the power of the human
eye, as is vulgarly supposed, which will make the lion under such circumstances
turn aside ; it is the unwonted phenomena of a strange animal which shows no
fear. No wild animal is so easily intimidated by a strange appearance as the
lion ; a branch of a tree stuck into the ground in front of the carcase of an
animal he had previously slain and feasted off, will deter him from recom-
mencing his meal for a considerable time.

The traveller armed with a rifle has need of all his coolness in dealing
with a lion. If he fire and only wound the animal his position is infinitely
more dangerous than it was before. Even when wounded unto death, the
hunter must guard against the last dying effort which in most cases will be
expended in leaping upon him. The native dog is very useful in affording a
warning of the approach of lions ; and is so courageous that it will advance
upon the great brute and bark in his face. The following graphic incident is
from Burchell's " Travels in Southern Africa." In the morning while making
his way through a bush-covered country he encountered a lion and lioness. The
latter disappeared among the bushes but the lion stood his ground.

" At this moment we felt our situation not free from clanger, as the animal
seemed preparing to spring upon us, and we were standing on the bank at only
the distance of a few yards from him, most of us being on foot and unarmed,
without any possibility of escaping; I had given up my horse, and was on foot
myself; but there was no time for fear, and it was useless to attemjDt avoiding
him. Poor Tring (a Hottentot woman) was in great alarm ; she clasped her
infant to her bosom, and screamed out, as if she thought her destruction
inevitable, calling anxiously to those who were nearest the animal, Take cure.'
Take care! In great fear for my safety, she half insisted upon my moving
further off: I however stood well upon my guard, holding my pistols in my
hand, with my finger upon the trigger ; and those who had muskets kept
themselves prepared in the same manner. But, at this instant, the dogs boldly
flew in between us and the lion, and surrounding him, kept him at bay by
their violent and resolute barking. The courage of these faithful animals was
most admirable : they advanced up to the side of the huge beast, and stood

G

42 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

making the greatest clamour in his face, without tho least appearance of fear.
The lion, conscious of his strength, remained unmoved by their noisy attempts,
and kept his head turned towards us. At one moment, the dogs perceiving his
eyes thus engaged, had advanced close to his feet, and seemed as if they would
actually seize hold of him ; but they paid dearly for their impudence, for
without discomposing the majestic and steady attitude in which he stood fixed,
he merely moved his paw, and at the next instant I beheld two lying dead.
In doing this, he made so little exertion, that it was scarcely perceptible by
what means they had been killed. Of the time which wo had gained by the
interference of the dogs, not a moment was lost ; we fired upon him ; one of
the balls went through his side just between the short ribs, and the blood
immediately began to flow; but tho animal still remained standing in
the same position. We had now no doubt that he would spring upon us ;
every gun was instantly reloaded ; but happily we were mistaken, and were
not sorry to see him move quietly away. ... Of the courage of the
lion I have no very high opinion, but of his majestic air and movement, as
exhibited by this animal, while at liberty in his native plains, I can bear
testimony. Notwithstanding the pain of a wound of which he must soon after-
wards have died, he moved slowly away with a stately and measured step."

Livingstone, notwithstanding his terrible experience recorded above, held
the same feeling in regard to the courage of the lion ; but because a lion does
not always attack a man when it has the opportunity, this fact is no proof that it
lacks courage. When the lion has had a full meal it will undoubtedly avoid
an encounter ; and he cannot be aware that mankind have made him the
symbol of courage and strength, and that he is expected to show both on all
and every occasion. He only kills that he may cat, and only attacks man
and animals when he is hungry, or is brought suddenly into contact with
them. Further, his instincts are so peculiar that we cannot guess what
strange thing or circumstance may have turned him aside in such an
instance as that related above. In a state of nature he only kills his prey
when pressed by hunger, and unlike the tiger, unless fighting for his life,
never kills from a wanton thirst for blood. This which is made to detract from
his courage and nobility, is, to our thinking, another reason, and a powerful
one, for his being allowed to retain his title of " King of the Forest." Un-
doubtedly the most courageous animal is the dog, but much of that courage
has been gained by association with man. The wild dog, like the wolf, hunts
in packs, and is very unwilling to attack man under any circumstances, and only
does so when supported by numbers. Imagine what a lion would be if tamed,
and trained only to exercise his courage and terrible strength against animals
and the enemies of his master !

Lichtenstein relates an extraordinary encounter with a lion on tho part
of a Dutch settler, for which we must find room : —

ADVENTURE WITH A LION. 43

'•■ It is now," said he, " more than two years since, in the very place
where we stand, I ventured to take one of the most daring shots ever hazarded.
My wife was sitting within the house near the door ; the children were
playing about her, and I was without, near the house, busied in doing
something about a waggon, when, suddenly, although it was mid-day, an
enormous lion appeared, came up, and laid himself quietly down in the shade,
upon the very threshold of the door. My wife, either frozen with fear, or
aware of the danger attending any attempt to fly, remained motionless in her
place, while the children took refuge in her lap. The cry they uttered
attracted my attention, and I hastened towards the door ; but my astonish-
ment may well be conceived when I found the entrance to it barred in such
a way.

" Although the animal had not seen me, unarmed as I was, escape seemed
impossible, yet I glided gently, scarcely knowing what I meant to do, to the
side of the house, up to the window of my chamber, where I knew my
loaded gun was standing. By a most happy chance, I had set it into the
corner close by the window, so that I could reach it with my hand ; for, as
you may perceive, the opening is too small to admit of my having got in ;
and, still more fortunate, the door of the room was open, so that I could
see the whole danger of the scene. The lion was beginning to move, perhaps
with the intention of making a spring. There was no longer any time to
think : I called softly to the mother not to be alarmed, and, invoking the
name of the Lord, fired my piece. The ball passed directly over the hair of
my boy's head, and lodged in the forehead of the lion, immediately above his
eyes, which shot forth, as it were, sparks of fire, and stretched him on the
ground, so that he never stirred more." " Never," says Lichtenstein, " was
a more daring attempt hazarded. Had he failed in his aim, mother and
children were inevitably lost. If the boy had moved, he had been struck ;
the least turn in the lion, and the shot had not been mortal to him." In this
extraordinary case we imagine it was the unusualness of the scene, and tho
perfect passiveness of the wife and children which made the animal delay his
attack. He required to take in the unwonted scene, and find out if it
portended no danger to him. Inaction of this kind is not at all unusual in
animals, and is not unknown among men when they are placed in novel
circumstances.

Dr. Moffat had many hair-breadth escapes from lions, and wo regret
having no space to record some of the more striking cases. The following
account of his escape from a double danger is worthy of insertion here : —

" In one of my early journeys, I had an escape from a leopard and a
serpent. I had left the waggons, and wandered to a distance among the
coppice and grassy openings in quest of game. I had a small double-barrelled
gun on my shoulder, which was loaded with ball and small shot ; an antelope

U LIFE OF DA VII) LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

passed at which I fired, and slowly followed the course it took, after advancing
a short distance, I saw a leopard staring at me from between the forked
branches of a tree, behind which his long spotted body was concealed, twisting
and turning his tail like a cat just going to spring upon his prey. This I
knew was a critical moment, not having a shot of ball in my gun. I moved
about as if in search of something in the grass, taking care to retreat at the
same time. After getting, as I thought, a suitable distance to turn my back,
I moved somewhat more quickly, but in my anxiety to escape what was
behind, I did not see what was before, until startled by treading on a largo
Cobra de Capolla serpent asleep on the grass. It instantly twirled its body
round my leg on which I had nothing but a thin pair of trousers, when I
leaped from the spot, dragging the venomous and enraged reptile after me,
and while in the act of throwing itself into a position to bite, without turning
round, I threw my piece over my shoulder and shot it. Taking it by the
tail, I brought it to my people at the waggons, who, on examining the bags
of poison, asserted that had the creature bitten me, I could never have reached
the waggons. The serpent was six feet long."

The African leopard, which grows to a size frequently not much inferior
to a small tiger, is a much more dangerous foe than the lion ; because it gives
no warning of its presence. It is generally encountered among trees, seldom
venturing out upon the plain, unless to stalk any of the animals it preys upon.
Its favourite position is on the thick branch of a great tree, from which it
drops upon its prey, which is all unconscious of its proximity. When
wounded, they turn upon the hunter with terrible fury, and fight until they
drop dead. The sheep and cattle folds of the settlers suffer from its visits,
and the cattle of the native tribes, and not unfrcquently the children and
adults, fall a prey to this savage and blood-thirsty animal. A single leojiard
has been known to enter a sheep-fold and kill dozens of sheep before its thirst
for blood was satiated. In this, as we have already pointed out, it differs from
the lion, who kills only one of a herd in a single visit.

Sechele, the chief of the tribe of Bakwains, to which tribe Livingstone
attached himself, was a remarkable man, as had also been his father and
grandfather before him ; the latter was a great traveller, and was the fir.st
to tell his people of the existence of a race of white men. During his
father's life, those two extraordinary travellers, Dr. Cowan and Captain
Donovan, lost their lives in his territory, and were supposed to have been
murdered by the Bakwains until Livingstone learned from Sechele that they
had died from fever in descending the river Limpopo, after they had been
hospitably entertained by his father and his people. At that time the coun-
try was rich in cattle and pasturage, as water was more abundant. The
country in Central and Southern Africa is so rapidly undergoing a change
through the drainage caused by the disruption of the soil carrying off the

D« MOFFAT

SECIIELE LEARNS Tu HEAD. 45

water at a much lower level, that vast districts, now almost desert, were rich
in cattle, and populous with human beings, within the memory of people
then living.

The father of Sechele was murdered when the chief was a boy, and a
usurper proclaimed himself the head of the tribe. The friends of the children
applied to Sebituane, chief of the Makololo, to reinstate them, and punish the
rebels. This he successfully accomplished; and between him and his subject
tribes, and Sechele and his people, there was much friendly relation in
consequence. This ultimately led to Livingstone's visiting Sebituanc's country,
and making the acquaintance of perhaps the wisest native ruler he came in
contact with in all his wanderings.

The government in the Bechuana tribes is patriarchal : the cbief is tlic
head of the tribe, and a father is the chief of his family. Round the hut of
the chief are the huts of his wives, those of his relations, and the leading
men of the tribe ; and round the hut of the father are ranged those of his
family, when they take up house. Kinship is as minutely defined and is as
much a matter of pride with the natives of South Africa, as among the inha-
bitants of the highlands of Scotland.

The first time Livingstone held a public religious service, Sechele listened
with much attention; and on receiving permission to ask questions regarding
what he had heard, inquired if Livingstone's forefathers knew of a future
judgment. On receiving an affirmative answer and a description of the great
white throne, and Him who shall sit on it, before whose face the heaven and
earth shall flee away, etc., he said, " You startle me ; these words make all
my bones to shake ; I have no more strength in me. But my forefathers were
living at the same time yours were ; and how is it that they did not send them
word about these terrible things sooner ? They all passed away into darkness,
without knowing whither they were going." Questions these, like some
frequently asked by children of their elders, more easily sympathised with than
answered.

So eager was Sechele to learn to read, that he acquired a knowledge of
the alphabet on the first day of Livingstone's residence at Cliounane. Mr.
Oswcll, a gentleman of independent fortune travelling in the country, from
a love of sport and adventure and a desire to extend the geographical know-
ledge of South Africa — who, as we shall sec, afterwards joined Livingstone in
his expedition to Lake Ngami — taught him arithmetic. After he was able to
read, nothing gave him greater pleasure than the getting Livingstone to listen
to his reading of the Bible. Isaiah was his favourite book ; and he would
frequently say, — "He was a fine man — Isaiah; he knew how to speak."
Sympathising with the difficulties encountered in converting his people, he
offered to convert them in a body ; and could hardly be made to understand
Livingstone's objection to making Christians in a wholesale manner through

46 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LED.

the agency of whips made of rhinoceros-hide. Thinking of the difficulties in
the way of being baptized and making an open professson of his belief in
Christianity, more especially as regarded the number of his wives; the putting
away of all whom, save one, would get him into trouble with their relatives,
he frequently said, " Oh, I wish you had come into this country before I be-
came entangled in the meshes of our customs." At his own request, Livingstone
held family worship in his hut, in the hope that it might induce his
people to become attached to Christianity. But as the country was at that
time suffering from a long-continued drought, which was attributed to the
chief taking up with the new religion, few- attended save the members of his
own family. Speaking of the influence of the example of a chief in all other
things, he said, bitterly, " I love the word of God, and not one of my breth-
ren will join me." No doubt if he had become a drunkard or a plunderer
of other tribes, he would have had plenty of followers, so powerful is evil
example !

When he applied for baptism, Livingstone asked him, since he knew his
Bible, and his duty as laid down therein, how he was to act ? He went home
and sent all his superfluous wives to their parents, with all the goods and chat-
tels they had been in the habit of using, intimating that he had no fault to find
with them, but that he only followed the will of God. Crowds attended to
witness the baptism of Sechele and his family ; many of them shedding tears
of sorrow over what they termed the weakness of their chief in forsaking the
ways of his forefathers. Notwithstanding that he made few converts, Liv-
ingstone had the satisfaction of seeing that the influence of himself and his
devoted and energetic helpmate — he had married a daughter of Robert Moffat's
in 1844 — was attended with valuable results if only temporal, in introducing a
higher tone of morality among the people. This influence was so strong as
to have prevented war with neighbouring tribes on no less than five distinct
occasions.

The drought which afflicted the country shortly after Livingstone settled
among the people, and after they had removed to the Kolobeng, — a stream
forty miles distant from the previous settlement ; where an experiment in
irrigation, under the direction of Livingstone, was tried with much success for
a time, until the parent stream became dried up, — was popularly believed to
be the result of the evil influence of the missionary over the mind of the
chief, the more especially as he had previously been a believer in rain-making,
and had a high reputation among his people as a rain-doctor. After his con-
version and baptism, he forswore the medicines and incantations with which
he had previously charmed the rain-clouds to descend upon the land ; and as
this was attributed to Livingstone's influence, and the people were starving
for want of food and water for months, it proved a great hindrance to the
good work amongst them.

THE RAIN -MAKER. 47

The Rain-maker is a most important official in savage countries where
water is scarce, and periods of drought of frequent occurrence. When after
weeks or months of dry weather, the vegetation of the country is burned up
and the fountains and streams turned into hollows, filled with loose sand, his
influence is greater than that of the chief or king himself. So implicit is
their belief in the power of this functionaiy that they will do anything at
his bidding. If the rain fails to come at his bidding, as in the case of the witch-
woman of our English rural districts, sacrifices material or otherwise are made
at his suggestion to propitiate the mysterious power who controls the rain.
Sometimes he will cause them to drag the bodies of the dead into the bush,
and leave them to the hyenas instead of burying them. At other times he will
demand the heart of a lion or a live baboon, or set them some like feat, the accom-
plishment of which will take time ; trusting, that in the interval the much
coveted rain may come and save his credit. A common demand is for sheep
and goats to kill, when endless methods have been tried and tho heavens "still
remain as brass." The ignorant savages frequently slay the wretched impostor
for his failure to make good his pretensions.

Notwithstanding their dislike to the new religion, its preacher and ex-
pounder lived amongst them in the most perfect safety. He possessed the
secret of ingratiating himself with these savage Africans in a higher degree
than was ever before known ; and, whether staying for a time among tho
various tribes, or passing through their territory, the respect in which he was
almost invariably held is the most remarkable feature in his career. This
noble, resolute, and God-fearing man went amongst them for their good, and
that only ; and interfered with nothing that did not lie directly in his path of
duty. He was there to serve them and do them good, and they were quick in
discovering this. He asked nothing from them and at all times strove to
make himself independent of them, in the matter of his household wants.
With his own hands he built his hut, tilled his garden, and dug his irrigating
canals. The wild animals, needful for the food of his household, fell to his
own gun ; and the fruits of the earth were of his own gathering in. During
all his years of labour in South Africa, his mission cost the inhabitants nothing ;
while they received much in higher ideas of justice and right, and in improved
skill in husbandry and in the construction of their houses. Whatever
were their feelings as to the religion he taught, the man himself was above
the suspicion of evil, and went in and out amongst them, a genuine repre-
sentative to their minds of manliness, truth, and justice.

His noble wife was no less popular. Her training, as the daughter of
Robert Moffat, made the trials of her life no sacrifice to her. In dealing with
the women and children she was most valuable, and there cannot be a doubt
that the fact of his being married, and living a happy and contented domestic
life amongst them, had a great deal to do with the influence he possessed

48 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

over the minds of the ignorant and superstitious Bakwains. As a blacksmith
and a carpenter his skill was superior to theirs, and ho never hesitated to doff
his coat and give any of them the benefit of his labours when skill was re-
quired, wisely receiving some service which they could render him as a set-
off. In this way a feeling of mutual obligation and exchange of service was
fostered and encouraged, in which no notion of charity had a part.

In speaking of their daily experience, he tells us that they rose about six
o'clock. " After family worship and breakfast .... we kept school —
men, women, and children being all united. This lasted until eleven o'clock.
The missionary's Avife then betook herself to her domestic affairs, and the
missionary engaged in some manual labour, as that of a smith, carpenter, or
gardener. If he did jobs for the people, they worked for him in turn, and
exchanged their unskilled labour for his skilled. Dinner and an hour's rest
succeeded, when the wife attended her infant school, which the young liked
amazingly, and generally mustered a hundred strong ; or she varied it witli
sewing classes for the girls, which were equally well relished. During the
day every operation must be superintended, and both husband and wife must
labour till the sun declines. After sunset the husband went into the town to con-
verse, either on general subjects or on religion. On three nights of the week
we had a public religious service, as soon as the milking of the cows was
over, and it had become dusk; and one of instruction on secular subjects,
aided by pictures and specimens." These services were diversified by attend-
ing upon the sick, and prescribing for them, giving food, and otherwise
assisting the poor and wretched. The smallest acts of friendship, even an
obliging word and civil look, are, as St. Xavier thought, no despicable part
of the missionary armour. Nor ought the good opinion of the most abject to
be neglected, when politeness may secure it. Their good word, in the ag-
gregate, ensures a reputation which procures favour for the gospel. Show
kindness to the reckless opponents of Christianity on the bed of sickness, and
they never can become your personal enemies : there if anywhere, " love begets
love." Almost everything they required had to be manufactured by them-
selves. Bricks to build his house were made by himself in moulds formed of
planks sawn from trees which fell to his own axe. The abundant forest fur-
nished plenty of materials for roofing, doors, windows, and lintels The corn
was ground into meal by his wife, and when made into dough was baked in
an extempore oven constructed in an ant-hill, or in a covered frying-pan placed
in the centre of a fire. A jar served as a churn for making butter. Candles
were made in moulds from the tallow of various animals. Soap was made
from the ashes of a plant called salsola, or from ordinary wood ashes. Shut
out from all communication with civilization, the toil and care demanded in
supplying their every necessity did not appear a hardship. He says, " There
is something of the feeling which must have animated Alexander Selkirk on

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE BOERS. 49

seeing conveniences spring up before him from his own ingenuity ; and mar-
ried life is all the sweeter when so many comforts emanate directly from tho
thrifty striving housewife's hands."

The good done by continuous labour of this kind, undertaken in so noble
and self-denying a spirit, is incalculable. If the grown-up men and women
resisted his persuasions and held coldly aloof from his teaching of the gospel, their
respect for him induced them to permit their children to attend the various
religious and secular classes taught by him and his devoted wife. The seed
sown in these young minds before the superstitions of their elders had taken
root, will in time bring forth an abundant reward for the earnest labour
expended ; while their general comfort will be greatly enhanced by the
superior knowledge acquired from him, in husbandry and other peaceful
avocations.

In a new country just beyond the pale of civilization, always advancing
as law and order are extended, reckless, and adventurous men, most of whom
are fugitives from justice, establish themselves, and prey upon the savage tribes
who are unable to defend themselves from their cruelty and exactions. A
band of such men, under the leadership of a Mr. Hendrick Potgeiter, had
established themselves as far into the interior as the Cashan Mountains, on
the borders of the Bechuana territory. At first they were warmly welcomed
by the Bechuanas, because they had conquered and expelled a Kaffre chief,
who had exercised a cruel authority over the neighbouring tribes. Their joy
was shortlived as they found that the Boers, as Potgeiter and his followers in
common with all Dutch settlers* and their descendants are called, compelled
them to do all their manual labour without fee or reward. These men looked
with no favourable eye on the doings of Livingstone, when they found that
they could neither frighten nor coerce him. The teaching that all men were
equal in the sight of God, was most distasteful to men who lived upon the
enforced labour — the slavery in fact — of the tribes around them. When
threats had no avail, they circulated reports that he had with him quantities
of firearms, and that he was assisting the Bakwains to make war against their
neighbours. As they could not intimidate Livingstone, they sent a threaten-
ing letter to Sechele, commanding him to surrender to the Dutch, and
acknowledge himself their vassal, and stop English traders from rjroceeding
into the interior. This last was the true bone of contention. Possessing a
better knowledge of the value of skins, ivory, etc., than the Bechuanas, they
wished to close the country against any traders but themelves.

Sechele, notwithstanding the risk he ran in quarreling with them, sent
them a bold and resolute reply : —

" I am an independent chief, placed here by God, not you. Other tribes
you have conquered, but not me. The English are my friends. I get every-
thing I wish from them. I cannot hinder them from going where they like."

H

50 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

The Boers had broken up and sacked several mission stations, and
conquered the tribes which gave them shelter, carrying away men and women
as slaves. But the friendly Bakwains escaped for a time, and they did not dare
to attack them until Livingstone was absent on his first journey to Lake Ngami,
when four hundred armed Boers attacked Sechele's town, and slaughtered a con-
siderable number of adults, and carried away over two hundred children as
captives. The Bakwains defended themselves bravely until nightfall, killing
eight of the Boers, when they retreated to the mountains. Under the pretext
that Livingstone had taught them to defend themselves, and was consequently
responsible for the slaughter of their fellows, his house was plundered ; his
books and stock of medicines destroyed ; his furniture and clothing, and large
quantities of stores left by English gentlemen, who had gone northwards to
hunt, were carried off and sold to pay the expenses of their lawless raid.
The reason so few of the Boers were slain in this as in other similar expedi-
tions in which they indulged, was, because they compelled natives they had
conquered and enslaved to take their places in the front, while they fired
upon the people over their heads in comparative safety. In speaking of the
determined opposition of the Boers, Livingstone says, " The Boers resolved
to shut up the interior, and I determined to open the country ; and we shall
see who has been most successful in resolution, — they or I."

During the continuance of the drought, the Bakwains suffered great
privations, which Livingstone and his wife shared. The wild animals leave
a district in such circumstances, and the domestic animals that are not killed
and eaten to sustain life, die of hunger and thirst. Everything that would
sell was disposed of to tribes more favourably situated, in exchange for corn
and other necessities. The country round was scoured by women and
children for the numerous bulbous plants winch could sustain life, while the
men hunted for wild animals in the neighbourhood of the infrequent fountains,
where they came to slake their thirst in their wanderings over the arid and
sun-dried country.

Sometimes when a herd of antelopes, zebras, quaggas, etc., were dis-
covered in the neighbourhood, they were surrounded, and driven with shouts
into a V shaped enclosure, at the end of which a huge pit was dug, into which
they fell and were despatched with spears. The meat was equally divided
among the people, Livingstone coming in for his share with the rest. But
for the frequent recurrence of such lucky hauls as this, the sufferings of
the people from an exclusive and scanty vegetable diet must have been
extreme.

Livingstone was mainly dependent upon his friends at Kuruman for
supplies of corn during this trying period, and on one occasion they were
reduced to use bran as a substitute, which required three labourers' grinding
powers to render it fit for baking into cakes. Supplies of all kinds were so

GORDON GUMMING. 51

irregular, that they were fain to put up with locusts on many occasions, and
while not partial to such a diet, he preferred them to shrimps, " though I would
avoid hoth as much as possible."

As locusts never abound excepting in a dry season and when other kinds
of food are scarce, the natives eat them, whenever they can manage to gather
as many as will make a dish. This custom is not peculiar to Africa, but
extends to all tropical countries. The wings and legs are removed, and the
bodies are hastily prepared in the form of a raw cake. We have conversed
with more than one traveller who has partaken of this dish, and they say,
that under the circumstances, they did not find the mess unpalatable.

A large species of frog, called matlcmctto, by the natives, when procurable
was greatly relished, especially by the Doctor's children. During the con-
tinuance of dry weather, this frog remains in a hole which it excavates for
itself in the ground, out of which it emerges during rain, assembling in
numbers with such rapidity that they are vulgarly supposed to come from the
clouds along with the rain. At night they set up a croaking in their holes,
which assisted Livingstone materially in hunting for them when the cupboard
was innocent of more preferable flesh meat.

These frogs are of large size, and having a good deal of flesh on their
bones, which is both juicy and tender when properly cooked, it formed a
capital substitute for ox or antelope flesh.

Gordon Cumming, on the occasion of one of his visits to Dr. Livingstone,
attended Divine service. " I had," he says, " considerable difficulty to main-
tain my gravity, as sundry members of the congregation entered the church
clad in the most unique apparel. Some of these wore extraordinary old hats
ornamented with fragments of women's clothes and ostrich feathers. Their
fine hats they were very reluctant to take off, and one man sat with his beaver
on immediately before the minister until the door-keeper went up to him and
ordered him to remove it. At dinner we had a variety of excellent vegetables,
the garden producing almost every sort in great perfection ; the potatoes, in
particular, were very fine. . . Being anxious to visit Sechele and his tribe,
Dr. Livingstone and I resolved to leave Bakatla and march upon Chonuano
with one of my waggons on the ensuing day ; the Doctor's object being to
establish peace between the two tribes, and mine to enrich myself with
ivory, etc."

The following sketch of Sechele and his surroundings prior to his con-
version, from the pen of Mr. Gordon Cumming, merits insertion here : —

" The appearance of this chief was prepossessing, and his manner was
civil and engaging; his stature was about 5 feet 10 inches, and in his person
he inclined to corpulency. His dress consisted of a handsome leopard-skin
kaross, and on his arms and legs, which were stout and well turned, he wore
a profusion of brass and cupper ornaments, manufactured by tribes residing a

52 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

long way to the eastward. In the forenoon I accompanied Sechele to his
kraal, situated in the centre of the town, and alongside of it stood respectively
the kraals of his wives, which were five in number. These kraals were neatly
built, and were of a circular form, the walls and floors being smoothly plastered
with a composition of clay and cow dung, and secured from the weather by a
fine and well-constructed thatch of rank-dry grass. Each kraal was sur-
rounded by an area enclosed with a strong impenetrable fence 6 feet in
height. The town was built on a gentle slope on the northern side of a broad
extensive strath, throughout the whole extent of which lay wide fields and
gardens enclosed with hedges of the wait-a-bit thorn.

"A short time previous to my arrival, a rumour having reached Sechele
that he was likely to be attacked by the emigrant Boers, he suddenly resolved
to secure his city with a wall of stones, which he at once commenced erecting.
It was now completed, entirely surrounding the town, with loopholes at
intervals all along, through which to play upon the advancing enemy with
the muskets which he had resolved to purchase from hunters and traders like
myself.

" I was duly introduced to the five queens, each of whose wigwams I
visited in succession. These ladies were of goodly stature and comely in
their appearance ; they all possessed a choice assortment of karosses of
various descriptions, and their persons were adorned with a profusion of
ornaments of beads and brass and copper wire. Sechele professed, and was
believed by his tribe, to be a skilful rain-maker."

" . . . The Griquas taking advantage of the superstitious of the
Bechuanas, often practice on their credulity, and, a short time before I visited
Sechele, a party of Griquas, who were hunting in his territory, had obtained
from him several valuable karosses in barter for a little sulphur, which they
represented as a most effectual medicine (charm) for guns, having assured
Sechele that by rubbing a small quantity on their hands before proceeding to
the fields they would assuredly obtain the animal they hunted. It happened,
in the course of my converse with the chief, that the subject turned upon ball-
practice, when, probably relying on the power of his medicine, the chief
challenged me to shoot against him for a considerable wager, stipulating, at
the same time, that his three brothers were to be permitted to assist him in
the competition. The chief staked a couple of valuable karosses against a
large measure filled with my gun-powder, and we then at once proceeded to
the waggon, where the match was to come off, followed by a number of the
tribe. Whilst Sechele was loading his gun, I repaired to the fore-chest of the
waggon, when, observing that I was watched by several of the natives, I
proceeded to rub my hands with sulphur, which was instantly reported to the
chief, who directly joined me, and, clapping me on the back, entreated me to
give him a little of my medicine for his gun, which I of course told him he

A VISIT TO SECHELE 53

must purchase. Our target being set up, we commenced firing ; it was a
small piece of wood, six inches long by four in breadth, and was placed on the
stump of a tree at the distance of one hundred paces. Sechele fired the first
shot, and very naturally missed it, upon which I let fly and split it through
the middle. It was then set up again, when Sechele and his brothers
continued firing, without once touching it, till night setting in put an end to
their proceedings. This, of course, was solely attributed by all present to the
power of the medicines I had used."

"When Dr. Livingstone was informed of the circumstance he was very
much shocked, declaring that in future the natives would fail to believe him
when he denounced supernatural agency, having now seen it practised by his
own countrymen.

Mr. Chapman, who visited Sechele shortly after the attack of the Boers,
gives an interesting account of the condition of the chief and his people at
that time. He says : —

"On the 15th of October we were delighted to be under way steering for
Sechele's Town, which, after several days' march through heavy sands and
dense forests, in parts well stocked with game, we reached on the 28th.
Wirsing and I proceeded to Sechele's residence on horseback, riding forward
the last stage through rugged glens and among rocky hills, never venturing
to move faster than a walk We found the chief at his residence, perched on
a hillock composed of blocks of sandstone, loosely piled upon each other, a fit
abode for baboons only.

"Sechele, chief of the Bakwains, a tribe mustering about 500 men, stands
about 5 ft. 10 in. high, has a pleasing countenance, and is rather stout. He
was dressed in moleskin trousers, a duffel jacket, a wide-awake hat, and
military boots. In address and behaviour Sechele is a perfect gentleman.
He can read and write, having learnt within the last few years, and is an
accepted member of the Kuruman church. He was instructed by Dr. Living-
stone, who lived with him for four or five years. Sechele is said to be very
quick at learning, and anxious to substitute more civilized customs among his
tribe in the place of their own heathenish practices. He is also said to be
good-natured and generous. He presented us Avith a fat ox for slaughter, a
custom prevailing among all the tribes that can afford it.

" Sechele at once pronounced us to be Englishmen; and having corroborated
the intelligence we had already heard from Sekomi respecting his disasters
(Mr. Chapman's visit to Sekomi will be alluded to further on), he apologised
for not being able to receive us as he would like ; but he entertained
us with roast beef, sweet and sour milk, served in clean dishes,
and with silver spoons, also with sweet earth-nuts ; and while we were doing
justice to his hospitality, a man stood fanning away the flics with a bunch of
white ostrich feathers. His loss, he informed us, was sixty-eight men killed

54 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of his own tribe, besides a number of women, and between 200 and 300
children carried away captives. Ho lost, also, about 1500 head of cattle, and
several thousand sheep and goats. For his cattle he seemed not to care so
much, although his people were starving. He hoped to be able to replace them
by the profits of hunting for ivory ; but his people felt sorely the loss of their
children. Ninety waggon-loads of corn had been carried off by the Boers,
and the rest they had burnt in his town. Besides his own property, they had
carried off several waggons, oxen, and other property belonging to English
gentlemen at that time travelling to the lake.

" From Sechele we learnt that the war originated with Maselleelie, chief
of the Batkatla tribe at Mabotsa, who had often been promised by the
Boers that if he supplied them with a number of servants he would be
exempted from further demands ; but on giving one supply after another, still
more was demanded, in spite of the promises made him. At length he refused,
and became surly, thinking probably, with many others of the natives, that
the late fever had so diminished the numbers of the Boers that he could
successfully resist their authority. The Batkatla chief having ascertained,
however, that the Boers intended to punish him, and being an arrant coward,
fled to Sechele for protection, it being a custom amongst those races that when
one tribe flies to another and solicits protection it must be given ; so that on
the Boers demanding that Maselleelie should be delivered up, Sechele refused,
saying he { could not do it unless he was to cut open his own bowels and let
them fall out.'

" Most of the people of Sechele' s tribe were out during the day grubbing
for roots, their only food at present. Famine, ' the meagre fiend,' that
' blows mildew from between the shrivelled lips,' had already made great
havoc among them. Several mothers had followed the Boers home, and,
hiding themselves during the day, endeavoured at night to steal away their
children ; a few only had succeeded and returned.

" On the 1st of November we obtained a guide from Sechele to conduct us
to the main road, our waggons having been brought since our own arrival up
to his town. We accordingly departed, and at night overtook some emaciated
Bakwains, roasting the roots they had gathered during the day. I ate one
of these roots, but I thought I should have died from the effects it produced,
creating a lather like soap, and blistering the inside of my mouth in a few
minutes. I drank water to cure it, but that only aggravated the symptoms.
The pain I suffered was at last allayed by putting some fat into my mouth.

" Next day we travelled still south, and reached Kolobeng in the forenoon.
This is the site of the town where Dr. Livingstone lived with the tribe. His
house had been pillaged, and presented a melancholy picture of wanton
destruction. The Boers had taken away everything that was valuable to
them in the shape of furniture, utensils, and implements, and destroyed some

A VISIT TO KURUMAN. 55

hundreds of volumes of Sechuana Testaments, and other religious works and
tracts, the leaves of which still lay scattered for nearly a mile in every direc-
tion. Even the window and door frames had been taken out, and the floor
was strewed with bottles of valuable medicines, the use of which the Boers
did not understand. The town where Sechele was attacked, and which was
burnt to the ground, a few miles from Kolobeng, presented a melancholy
scene of desolation, bestrewn with the unburied carcases and bleaching bones
of the natives who fell."

The following is Mr. Chapman's account of Kuruman in 1853 : —
"Next day I rode over to Kuruman, where I found my friend, Mr. Thomp-
son, who afterwards travelled in company with us. Here I was introduced
to the worthy missionaries, Messrs. Moffat and Ashton, and their families, the
memory of whose uniform kindness I shall ever cherish. Milk, new bread,
and fresh butter, we were never in want of while near these good people, and
of grapes, apples, peaches, and all other products of the garden, there was
never any lack at our waggons, Every one is struck with the beauty of
Kuruman, although the site cannot boast of any natural charms. All we see
is the result of well-directed labour. A street of about a quarter of a mile in
length is lined on one side by the missionary gardens, enclosed with substan-
tial walls, and teeming with fruit and vegetables of every description. A row
of spreading willows are nourished by a fine watercourse, pouring a copious
stream at their roots for nearly a mile, and beyond the gardens flows to the
eastward the river Kuruman, between tall reeds, with flights of waterfowl
splashing on its surface. The river issues a few miles south from a grotto
said to be 100 yards long, and very spacious, the habitation of innumerable
bats, owls, and serpents of a large size. Stalactites of various shapes and
figures are to be found in this grotto. I have seen some beautiful specimens
adorning mantelpieces. One party discovered in the roof of this grotto
portions of a human skeleton perfectly petrified, and a part of which was
broken off.

" On the opposite side of the street, and facing the row of gardens, the
willows, and the stream, is a spacious chapel, calculated to hold more than
500 people. It is built of stone, with a missionary dwelling-house on either
side of it, and a trader's dwelling-house and store at the western end. All
these, as well as the smaller but neat dwellings of the Bechuanas, built in the
European stylo, and in good taste, have shady seringa trees planted in the
front. At the back of the missionary premises there are store and school rooms,
workshops, etc., with a smithy in front. Behind the chapel is a printing
office, in which native compositors were setting type for the new editions of
Mr. Moffat's bible. Thousands of Sechuana books have been as well printed
and as neatly bound in this establishment, under the superintendence of Mr.
Ashton, as they could be in England. The natives here are the most enlightened

5G LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and civilized I have seen, the greater portion wearing clothes, and being able
to read and write. It was pleasant on Sunday to see them neatly and cleanly
clad going to church three times a day. In their tillage they are also making
rapid progress, and, having adopted European practices, instead of the hoo
they use the plough."

From this stage in the career of Livingstone the character of his labour
was destined to be changed. There was to be henceforth for him no rest, and
no permanent place of abode. The mysteries of the unknown and untrodden
regions of Africa beckoned him onward, and he was possessed of all the
qualities needful for the work he was so eager to engage in. United to a
hio-h courage and determined perseverance, there was in him an eager
longing for knowledge, which no difficulties could conquer; and when to
these qualities we add those which characterise the Christian of the purest
type, whose loving charity comprehended and embraced all God's creatures,
we have presented to us the highest example of the Christian hero and
gentleman. Before proceeding to follow up his career of discovery we will,
in the following chapter, gather together what, brief records we can glean
of his labour's as a missionary among the Bakwains.

CHAPTER IV.

Livingstone's Letters to the London Missionary Society, from Kuruman, Maboisa,

Chomiane, IColobeng, Sfc.} Sfc.

THE reader cannot fail to be interested in what Livingstone had to say to tho
directors of the London Missionary Society as to his mission work, and
the remarks made on his reports by the officials of the society. It is a matter
of regret that they reproduced his letters so sparingly. One cannot help
feeling, in going over the society's reports, that the boldness and enterprise
of Livingstone were viewed with a kind of puzzled wonderment by these
worthy people. In their doubts and misgivings as to the results of his daring
raid into the unknown heart of the country they could only hope that if it was
God's will good might come out of the explorations of their servant, who
seemed bent on bringing the whole of Central Africa within the sphere of
their operations.

At a very early stage of his career, Livingstone had discovered that he
could serve the people of Africa best by opening up the country and securing
the interest of people of all ranks and classes in their condition and circum-
stances. As a mere missionary accredited to a certain specified district, his
labours, however successful, could only be known to a limited number of
people. As a missionary explorer his discoveries and adventures would
attract the attention of the entire intelligent community, not only in his own
country, but throughout the civilized world, and result in a service rendered
to the savage people of Africa which the united labours of half a hundred
missionaries could not accomplish. In a letter to his brother John, written
in December, 1873, from the neighbourhood of Lake Bangwcolo, he says : —

" If the good Lord above gives me strength and influence to complete the
task, I shall not gi'udge my hunger and toil, above all, if He permits me to
put a stop to the enormous evils of this inland slave trade I shall bless His
name with all my heart. The Nile sources are valuable to me only as a
means of enabling me to open my mouth among men. It is this power 1
hope to apply to remedy an enormous evil, and join my little helping hand
in the great revolution, that in His all embracing providence, He has been
carrying on for ages."

Fortunately for the public, and also for a good many of the readers of the
London Society's Missionary reports, Livingstone's accounts of his discoveries in
I

58 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Central Africa were handed over by the secretary to the Geographical Society,
and they were published in its journals. The notion that Livingstone had
proved unfaithful to his calling as a missionary when he started upon his
career as an explorer is held by many otherwise good and sensible people
even now. The extract from the letter to his brother, which we have given
above, puts the matter in its proper light. He knew that the great ones of the
earth would become interested in new peoples living in novel conditions in
hitherto unexplored territory, who could not be got to feel any great interest
in savage tribes living on the outskirts of civilization.

In telling the wonderful story of vast peopled regions hitherto unknown,
he got the opportunity — which he never let slip — of telling them of the spiritual
and physical needs of their inhabitants, and of pointing out how easy a matter
it would be for the people in more favoured countries to help them. His dis-
coveries, while no doubt intensely interesting to himself, were most valuable in
his sight, because, to use his own words, they enabled him " to ojien his mouth
among men." To the directors of the London Missionary Society the account
of the conversion or awakening of a single savage Bakwain appeared to be of
far more consequence to Christianity than the discovery of the River Zouga,
Lake Ngami, and the Zambesi ; and it was in all likelihood years before they
became aware of the fact that these and such like discoveries would do more
for the cause they hsd at heart than years of missionary enterprise further to
the South. Of all the services which the London Missionary Society have
rendered to humanity and the cause of Christianity, the placing of Dr.
Livingstone in South Africa in circumstances which enabled him to drift
into the great work which occupied every hour of his after life is undoubtedly
the greatest. The Christian and charitable public will not, wo believe, be
slow to remember this, nor that their efforts in christianising the heathen in
Africa and elsewhere have for many years been attended with a success
hitherto unexampled in the history of missionary labour.

The following is Livingstone's report to the London Missionary Society,
published in 1843, after his second tour among the tribes to the north of
Kuruman : —

" The population is sunk in the very lowest state both of mental and
moral degradation : it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Christians at
home to realise anything like an accurate notion of the grossness of that
darkness which shrouds their minds. I could not ascertain that they had the
least idea of a future state ; and though they have some notions which seem
to be connected with a belief in its existence, I have not met one who could
put the necessary links together in the chain of reasoning, so as to become
possessed of the definite idea. In some countries, the light which the Gospel
once shed has gone out, and darkness has succeeded. But though eighteen
centuries have elapsed since life and immortality were brought to light, there

MISSION TO THE BAKU A TLA. 59

is no certainty that these dark regions were ever before visited for the purpose
of making known the light and liberty and peace of the glorious Gospel. It
would seem that the myriads who have peopled these regions have always
passed away into darkness, and no ray from heaven ever beamed on their
path. And with whom does the guilt rest, if not with us who compose the
church militant on earth ? My mind is filled with sadness when I contem-
plate the prosjjects of these large masses of immortal beings. I see no hope
for them, except in Native Agents. The more I see of the country, its large
extent of surface, with its scattered population, and each tribe separated by a
formidable distance from almost every other, the more convinced I feel, that
it will be impossible, if not impolitic, for the Church to supply them all with
Europeans. Native Christians can make known the way of life : there are
some in connection both with the churches at Kuruman and Gricpia Town
who have done it effectually. Others too are rising up, who will soon be
capable of teaching ; and if their energies are not brought into operation by
taking up the field now open before us, I do not see where the benevolent
spirit springing up among the converts of the two Missions is to find an
outlet."

As a result of this journey, Livingstone determined on commencing
Missionary operations among the Bakhatla tribe. In the Missionary Society
report for 184-i, we find the following allusion to this determination : —

" In the course of last year, Mr. Livingstone made two journeys into the
interior, for the purpose of obtaining information as to the moral condition of
the tribes scattered over those vast and desert regions, and with a view also
to the adoption of suitable measures for introducing the Gospel, with its
attendant blessings, among some of the numerous tribes yet sitting in the
darkness of the shadow of death. On the latter occasion, he was accompanied
by Mr. Edwards, and the result of their labours was the commencement of a
station among the Bakhatla tribe, from whom they received a cordial welcome,
and every encouragement to persevere in the project which they contemplated.
They purchased a large piece of ground, and proceeded to erect a hut, and
had every prospect of success in this new and important undertaking.

" The location, upon which they have fixed, is very near the spot where
Mr. Campbell turned his face homeward, and also near the plaoe where the
renowned Moselckatse lived. ' I walked,' says Mr. Livingstone, • over the
site of his town lately, and a few human bones were the only vestiges I could
observe of all that belonged to the tyrant.' Moselekatse, however, still lives,
and his name continues to be a terror to the natives ; and his people, called
the Matabele, came last year nearly as far as their former country ; but the
Missionaries say, ' If we wait till we run no risk, the Gospel will never be
introduced into the interior. Native teachers will not go alone, for they
dread the name of Moselekatse, as they do the name of the king of terrors.'

CO LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

The brethren spent about two months at the place, and intended to remove
there immediately."

The following is from the Society's report for 1845: —

"In the last report, the friends of the Society were informed of the opening
of a mission among the Bakhatla, in the Bechuana country, through the
zealous and judicious efforts of our brother, the Bev. D. Livingstone, assisted
by Mr. B. Edwards. The progress of the labours of our devoted brethren
among this barbarous and degraded tribe has been most encouraging, and
there is reason to hope that to many the tidings of redeeming mercy will
prove the savour of life unto life. Through divine goodness, Mr. Livingstone
and his excellent native brother and valuable coadjutor, Mcbalwe, who nobly
came to his help in the moment of most imminent peril, and nearly with the
sacrifice of his own life, have entirely recovered from the serious injur)- they
sustained from the attack of a lion, which occurred not far from the new
station, in the early part of last year.

" The character and condition of the people among whom he labours,
and in part the preparatory measures contemplated for the regular organisa-
tion of the station and the instruction of the natives, arc thus described by
Mr. Livingstone in an early communication from this distant sphere of
Missionary effort : —

" The Bakhatla are at present busily engaged removing from their
former location to the spot on which we reside (Mabotsa), and it is cheering
to observe that the subordinate chiefs have, with one exception, chosen sites
for their villages conveniently near to that on which we propose to erect the
permament premises. We purpose to build a house to serve as school and
meeting-house, and when that is done, we hope our efforts to impart a know-
ledge of saving truth will assume a more regular form than at present.

" I visited the Bakhatla frequently before the establishment of the
mission, but it was not until my fifth visit that sufficient confidence was
inspired to draw forth a cordial invitation for me to settle among them ; this
is the only good I can yet ascertain as effected by my itinerancies to them.
The reason seems to be that too long a period has intervened between each
journey to produce any lasting impression. And this is not to be wondered
at, for nothing can exceed the grovelling earthliness of their minds. They
seem to have fallen as low in the scale of existence as human nature can.
At some remote period, their ancestors appear to have been addicted to
animal worship, for each tribe is called after some animal. By it they swear,
and in general they neither kill nor eat it, alleging as a cause, that the animal
is the friend of their tribe. Thus the word Batlapi, literally translated, is ' they
of the fish ;' Bakwain, ' they of the crocodile /' Bakhatla, ' they of the monkey,' &c.

" But if the conjecture is not wrong, they have degenerated from even
that impure form of worship, and the wisest among them have now no

MISSION TO THE BAKU A TLA. 61

knowledge of it, but suppose that some of their ancestors must have boon
called by these names. They have reached the extreme of degradation.
When we compare the Bakhatla with the inhabitants round Lattakoo, the
latter appear cpiitc civilized ; and their present state of partial enlightenment
shows that the introduction of the Gospel into a country has a mighty
influence even over those by whom it is either not known or rejected. I am
not now to be understood as speaking of the converts, nor of the new phases
of character, the transforming power of the Gospel has developed among
them, but I allude to the unconverted, and to those other than saving
influences of Christianity, which so materially modify the social system at
home. On many these influences have operated for years, and they have not
operated in vain. Hence, the mass of the population in the Kuruman district
are not now in that state the Gospel found them, and in which the poor
Bakhatla now are. There the existence of Deity is tacitly admitted by nearly
all ; those who form the exceptions to this rule, denying it rather on account
of attachment to their lusts than in sober seriousness ; and I believe the
number is but small who have not the idea floating in their minds that this
life is but the beeinnine of our existence and death, but one event in a life
which is everlasting.

' ' But the Bakhatla have no thoughts on the subject : their mind is darkness
itself, and no influences have ever operated on it, but those which must leave
it supremely selfish. It is only now that Christians have begun to endeavour
to stop the stream which has swept them generation after generation into
darkness. And oh, ' may the Holy Spirit aid our endeavours, for without his
mighty power all human efforts will be but labour in vain.' That power
excited over Bcchuanas — raising them from the extreme of degradation and
transforming them into worshippers of the living God — constitutes the wonder
and the cause for gratitude in the Bechuana Mission."

The report goes on to state that : —

"Around Mabotsa, there are about twelve villages of considerable size
and population, which Messrs. Livingstone and Edwards regularly visit, and
several of which— those near Kurrechane — have been placed under the
immediate charge of Mebalwc, the native evangelist. This worthy man is
of great service in the Mission by the amount of manual labour which he
cheerfully renders, and by the affectionate addresses he frequently delivers to
his countrymen on the work of Christ and the way of salvation. There is
reason to hope that he will prove an eminent blessing to many among the
native tribes, and to the cause of Christ generally, in this part of the Bechuana
country."

In the Society's report for 1846 we find the following : —

"Mi. Livingstone has removed to Chonuane, about forty or fifty miles X. E.
of Mabotsa, the residence of Sechele, the interesting and rather intelligent

02 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

chief of a numerous tribe of Bakwain, among whom the prospects of useful-
ness are encouraging. The country has a fine undulating surface. The soil
is rich, and there is no want of timber, grass, water, or rain, as the place is
situated not far from the tropic of Capricorn. The Chief is learning to read,
and has begun to instruct his wives ; and his example will doubtless exercise
a powerful influence on the people. "

In the Society's report for 1848, we find a letter from Livingstone with
remarks upon it.

" Mr. Livingstone, who has removed with his tribe to a more suitable
locality, occupied a part of the year in visiting the Kuruman, and his report
embraces the proceedings and labours of his mission subsequent to that
period: —

" When we returned to Chonuane," he writes, " we found that, though
the season for sowing had arrived, the chief had forbidden his people begin-
ning with their gardens until it was ascertained whether or not another trial
could be made of the locality. Some of his people, he said, were opposed to
removal, as Chonuane afforded abundance of native food, and the only direc-
tion in which they could move would be nearer the dreaded Mosolekatse.
' But,' added he, ' I see you are unable to live in comfort here, and though
all my people should leave me, I am determined to cleave to you wherever it
may be needful to go.' We made our choice, and are truly grateful to the
Source of all Wisdom and Goodness that we had obtained so much favour in
the eyes of the heathen as induced a simultaneous movement of the whole
tribe (the very next day after our decision was known) to perform a journey
of about forty miles to the north-west, and build a new town entirely on
our account.

" The stream on which our new settlement is formed is called the
Kolobcng, and so far as temporal matters are concerned we have the prospect
of abundance of both native and European produce ; and, better still, we can
now reasonably indulge the hope that, through the Divine blessing, the
Gospel will not only be permanent here, but sound out to the dark regions
beyond.

" While engaged in cutting wood for a temporary dwelling, the chief,
without a single suggestion from us, intimated his intention to erect a school.
( I desire,' said he, ' to build a house for God, the Defender of my town, and
that you be at no expense with it whatever.' Had we been able to bestow
the requisite superintendence, a substantial building might have been secured,
for more than 200 workmen were ready to labour upon it. But being
engaged in erecting our own huts, and as it was difficult to manage such
numbers of uninstructed workmen, all anxious to do something, I was obliged
to plan a small building, the materials of which, though frail, they knew best
how to use.

REMOVAL TO KULUBENG. C3

" It was with no small pleasure wc found ourselves, soon after our
removal, able to resume regular services. The people also undertook our
watercourse, while they gladly received our assistance in erecting a square
house for their chief. Forty of the older men made the watercourse, and a
younger band of sixty-five built the dam. When the house was finished for
the Chief Scchele, he requested us to establish a prayer-meeting in it. lie
said, l Although I have not yet given up my sin (polygamy), I greatly desire
to have prayer in my house every evening.' He invites his people to attend
this meeting as well as our other services ; and we are sensible of an increase
of knowledge in many."

The report, in commenting on the above and unpublished portions of
Livingstone's letter, says : —

" Some of the leading men of the tribe are making persevering exertions
to acquire a knowledge of reading ; their progress, however, appears to be
hardly equal to their diligence ; they seem to experience considerable diffi-
culty in the mental effort required to join letters into words, probably from
not having been accustomed to any exercises of this kind in their youth.
They have been heard to remark, that if the Missionary would give them
medicine which would enable them to conquer the difficulty, they would
gladly drink it. Sechele and his brothers have been found the most apt to
learn among all the natives ; the chief has read through twice the New
Testament and Scripture selections, and he never allows Mr. Livingstone, in
his frequent visits to the town, to retire, without requesting him to read and
explain one or two chapters of the Word of God. ' Our present position
(adds our brother) is one of hope, and all our dependence for success is on
the arm of Him who is almighty to save. We expect your prayers that Jesus
may be glorified among this heathen tribe, and that we may have grace to
ascribe to Him alone all the glory.' "

In the Missionary Report for 1819, there appears a most interesting
communication from Livingstone relative to the conversion of Sechele and its
consequences : —

" The removal of Mr. Livingstone from Chonuane to a more eligible
locality, situated on the Kolobcng River, was stated in last report. In his first
annual communication from this station, our brother thus describes the progress
of his labours and the prospects of his misson.

" In addition to other effects produced by the Gospel among the Bakwains,
circumstances have also developed considerable opposition ; but it has been of
a kind which has tended to encourage rather than depress, inasmuch as out-
most bitter opponents seem to entertain no personal animosity towards us, and
never allude to their enmity to the Gospel in our presence, unless specially
invited to state the grounds on which it rests. An event which has excited more
open hostility than any other that has occurred, was the profession of faith and

Ci LIFE OF DA VID LI V1NGST0NE, LL.D.

subsequent reception of the chief into Church-fellowship. As the circum-
stances which led us to receive his confession as genuine are somewhat peculiar,
I will briefly mention them, in order to shew the propriety of the step which
we have taken.

" Scchele, though generally intelligent, had imbibed, to a great extent,
the prevailing superstitions of his country, and, in addition to his being the
chief rain-doctor of the tribe, there is evidence to show that he was reckless
of human life. He had the reputation among other tribes of being addicted
to witchcraft, but he himself thought it highly meritorious to put all suspected
witches to death.

" From the first day of our residence with the Bakwains to the present
time, the chief attended school, and all our services, with unvaried regularity.
The first indication of deep feeling I observed in him was, when sitting
together one day under our waggon, during the heat of noon, I endeavoured to
describe the ' great white throne,' and ' the judgment seat,' as mentioned iu
the Book of Revelation. He said, ' These words shake all my bones — my
strength is gone ; ' and when I spoke of the existence of our Lord, previous to
his appearance among men, and of His Divine nature, Sechele was greatly
surprised. Often, during the three years we have spent with this tribe, we
have witnessed the power of the Word of God in elevating the mind and
stimulating its affections; and so with the chief. As his knowledge increased,
he grew bold in the faith, professed among his people his own firm belief in
the truths of Christ, and expressed great thankfulness that the Gospel was sent
to him while so many remained in darkness. The greatest sacrifice he had to
make was the renunciation of polygamy. In respect to all other sins, the
people generally had conceived an idea of their sinfulness, but they never imagined
that in this practice there was any degree of moral turpitude. The superfluous
wives of Sechele were decidedly the most amiable females of the town, and
our best scholars ; and, hoping that their souls might also be given to us, wc
felt that it was not our duty otherwise to press the point in question, than by
publicly declaring the whole counsel of God. Shortly after, the chief sent
two of them back to their parents, with this message, That he could no longer
retain them, as the Word of God had come between him and their daughters.
With this we observed a gradual change in his disposition, and a steady
improvement in his character ; and, as he also professed an earnest desire to
observe the laws of Jesus, we felt no hesitation in receiving him to the fellowship
of the church.

" A third wife was taken to her own tribe, because she had no relatives
among the Bakwains, and she left us with many tears. A fourth, although in
the same situation, we thought might remain, because she has a little daughter.
Each of the wives carried away all that belonged to her, and the chief supplied
each of them with new clothing previous to their departure. As soon as it was

APPOINTMENT OE A NATIVE TEACHER. 05

known that he had renounced his wives on account of the Gospel, a general
consternation seized hoth old and young — the town was as quiet as if it had
hecn Sunday — not a single woman was seen going to her garden — pichos
(or councils) were held during the night, in order to intimidate him from his
purpose ; hut, after seeing him tried in various ways for a period of two months,
wc proceeded to administer to him the ordinance of baptism. Many of the
spectators were in tears, but these were in general only tears of sorrow for the
loss of their rain-maker, or the severance of ties of relationship. We commend
this new disciple to your prayerful sympathies ; and to the great God, our
Saviour Jesus Christ, through the power of whose spirit alone we hope for
success, be the undivided glory of his salvation !"
The report goes on to say that : —

"The infant-school, under the care of Mrs. Livingstone, containing about
70 children, has made encouraging progress during the year, though the
attendance of the children has been somewhat interrupted, in consequence of
a partial failure of the crops compelling many of them to spend their time in
wandering about the country in search of food.

"Mr. Livingstone has employed a portion of the year in superintending and
assisting the erection of mission-premises, and also in opening an out-station, and
settling the native teacher, Paul, among the people of the chief Mokhatla."

In this year Livingstone sent a letter to the Secretary of the Missionary
Society, giving details of his discoveries and experiences. This was not, we
presume, supposed to deal with matters having any interest for subscribers to
the society. It was handed over to the Geographical Society, and was pub-
lished in its journal. A copy of it will be found inserted in its proper place
in the next chapter.

In the report for 1850, the difficulties resulting from the hostility of the
Boers during 1849 are alluded to : —

" The prospects of this Station were in the early part of last year con-
siderably overcast by the prevalence of excessive drought, and the consequent
total failure of the crops. The men being frequently absent on hunting
excursions, and the women and children also away in search of roots and locusts,
the meetings for Divine Worship, and the schools, were comparatively
deserted. In their eagerness to procure that which would satisfy the wants
of the body, the people evinced little disposition to attend to the unfelt wants
of the soul.

" A tribe called the Bakaa, who had suffered considerably by the repeated
attacks of the Bamangwato, lately came a distance of 150 miles, to join the
Bakwains. Having no sense of security in their own country, they were
attracted to this station by the report that the chief Sechcle had embraced
the ' word of peace.' They came, as they said, in order ' to enjoy sleep, as
they had none at home.' They number about 1,000; and, while thankful for
K

66 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

their arrival as an increase to his immediate sphere of usefulness, the
missionary can at present regard them only as a fresh infusion of heathenism
added to the present unchristianized mass."

In Decemher, 1848, Mr. Livingstone made an attempt to locate the native
teacher Paul in the centre of a population of many thousand souls : — -

" The tribe selected," writes Mr. Livingstone, " was that of Mokhatla,
because that chief had urgently requested that Paul might be appointed his
teacher. But the Boers have taken possession of the whole country, and
though their commandants have always expressed themselves in a most
friendly manner towards our object, they made me aware of a strong under-
current of opposition. Being unwilling to believe that this would be
develojjed in any other way than it had formerly been in our itinerancies,
yet feeling anxious lest it should prove a hindrance to Paul in his work, I
delayed setting out until our arrangements at home were such as would admit
of my spending a few months with him. When the commandant, who was
in Mokhatla's vicinity, learnt that it was no longer mere itinerancies we
contemplated, he suddenly altered his tone, and threatened in a most furious
manner to send a commando against the tribe with which we meant to settle,
alleging that my object was to take possession of the country for the English
Government ; and that I wished to introduce fire-arms among all the tribes. I
replied, by denying connection with Government, having, as he knew, when
on a former occasion I entreated him to refrain from a projected expedition
against Sechele, distinctly refused to become a political partizan, and added,
that I should certainly proceed in my work by the authority of Christ, and if
he obstructed it by driving the people away, the blood of their souls would be
required at his hand. He offered to present no impediment if I would
' promise to teach the natives that the Boers are a superior race to them.' We
immediately made preparations to build a school-house, but before we had
made any progress, we were informed that a deputation from the Dutch
Synod had come to within forty miles of us. In the belief that the Boers
might be won over to forbearance by their ministers, and that the com-
mandant's mind might be disabused of his prejudices, we advanced to meet
the deputation. Both Potgeiter and his sub-commandants had preceded us ;
they were now all flattery towards my person and objects, and all they would
request of me, previous to a thorough and permanent removal of all obstacles,
was, about one month's delay. During this period, they solemnly and
repeatedly promised that they would exert themselves to the utmost of their
power to win over such of their subjects as were opposed to missionary
operations. As they even entreated me not to force or appear to force the
matter, by building at present, and the preachers thought I ought to concede
the point, I agreed to return for a short period to Kolobeng ; and having
visited some other towns on my route, 1 came home in January."

A TTA CK BY THE BOERS. C7

In the report for 1853, wo find the following account of the long
threatened attack of the Boers, which took place in the previous year: —

" Reference was made in the last report to the precarious tenure by which
Dr. Livingstone held possession of this field of labour, to the proposed
emigration of the Bakwains to a more favoured locality, and to the opening
prospects of Dr. L. in the regions to the north.

' ' Subsequent events, however, of a most unexpected and disastrous nature,
have led to the abrupt abandonment of the station, both by the missionary
and his people. These events are detailed by Dr. Livingstone in the following
communication, dated Kuruman, 20th September, 1852 : —

" On the 28th ult. 600 Boers and 700 natives appeared in the Bakwain
country. The natives were compelled to accompany them. Before going to
Sechele's town, they sent a party with four waggons down the Kolobeng to
my house. The town is eight miles distant, and, ever since the removal of
the Bakwains, the house was guarded by a few Balala placed by it for that
purpose by Sechele. It remained in perfect security for two years, and
gentlemen passing northward deposited a portion of their stores in it till their
return. And, so far as the Bakwains were concerned, these stores were as
safe as if under Chubb' s locks in London. Well, the Boers broke it open, tore
all my books,* and scattered the leaves all over the place, destroyed my
medicines by smashing the bottles against the adjacent rocks, carried away
all the best furniture, and broke the rest ; took the smith's forge, all the tools,
corn-mills, and certain stores of coffee, tea, &c, left by English gentlemen,
who have gone to Sebituane's country. The whole body of the Boers then
went to Sechele's town, and attended church there, Mebalwe, a native teacher,
conducting the service. After the afternoon service, they told Sechele to send
away his women and children, for they had come to fight with him, because,
though repeatedly ordered by them to prevent Englishmen from going north-
wards, he had not only permitted, but encouraged them. He replied, that he
was a man of peace, and asked why he should obstruct Englishmen, who had
always treated him well. Next morning they commenced firing on the town
-with swivels. It soon took fire, and the flames having compelled the women
and children to flee, and the men to huddle together on a small hill in the town,
the Boers killed 60 natives. The men, however, kept their position the
whole day on the hill, and killed 35 of the Boers. The Boers, having
horses, carried off all the cattle of the Wanketse and Bakwains ; they burnt
or carried off all the corn of the three tribes. My cattle and those of three
native teachers were also carried off.

" Undeterred by these trials and discouragements, and cut off from the

* Dr. Livingstone enumerates the Septuagint, Hebrew Bible, Lexicon, Cyclopaedias, Atlas,
Edinburgh, Quarterly, and Medical Reviews, &c. &c.

68 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

hope of rendering further service to the ruined and scattered Bakwains, Dr.
Livingstone was, at the date of his latest communication, the 10th November
ult., on the eve of starting once more for the north, with a view to ascertain
the practicability of introducing the Gospel to the people inhabiting the lake

region."

The following from the Missionary report for 185G, gives a graphic
picture of the consequences resulting from the continued hostility of the
Boers : —

" The Colony of the Cape, under the influence of its present enlightened
and benevolent Governor, already exhibits decisive indications of social
improvement ; and the measures of the Colonial Legislature have generally
been distinguished by a spirit of equity and conciliation towards the coloured
classes to which aforetime they have been strangers. In the Eastern District,
indeed, sustained by the influence of the Graham's Town Journal, the old
calumnies continue to be reiterated against the Missionaries of our Society,
and the Native tribes, especially such as are connected with the Missionary
Institutions; but it is hoped that the Hottentots and Fingoes, who have
embraced the Gospel, will be enabled by well doing to put to silence the
ignorance and malignity of their calumniators.

"Beyond the present boundary of British rule, however, the treaty formed
in the year 1852 with the Trans Vaal Boers by Major Hogg and Mr. Owen,
the Commissioners of our Government, threatens the most dangerous results
to the liberty and lives of the aborigines. It will be remembered that while,
by this treaty, there was granted to these old adversaries of British interests
the free importation from the Colony of fire-arms and ammunition, the same
right was strictly denied to the Native tribes; and thus they were left without
the means of self-defence against the hostile aggressions of these invaders of
their country. The influence on the minds of the natives, thus delivered over
to the tender mercies of their enemies, will be seen in the burning words of a
Native Chief addressed to Mr. Moffat : —

" Do you not see," said he, " that, without a fault on our part, we have
been shot down like game ? Do you not see that we are reduced to poverty
by the Boers, who are eating our meat, and drinking our milk ?" and, raising
his voice to a higher key, he asked — "Where are our children? When
fathers and mothers lie down at night they ask — ' Where are our children ?'
and when they rise in the morning they ask — ' Where are our sons and our
daughters?' and because there is none to answer they weep. They have
wept this morning, they will weep again to-night. Are the Boers to bo per-
mitted to kill us that our children may become their slaves? Did we ever
injure them? If we did, let the Boer whom we injured, or whose sheep and
o-oats we stole, come and bear witness. Is it because we have not white skins
that we are to be destroyed like libatana (beasts of prey). Why do the

Wl-

1 Mrk.^

DIFFICULTIES WITH THE DOERS. C9

English assist the Boers ? Why do they give them power over lauds that
are not theirs to give? Why do the English supply them with ammunition
when they know the Boers ? You have spoken about what the word of God
says ; have not the English the word of God ? and have not the Boers the
Word of God ? Are we alone to obey the Word of God because we ar-e black ?
Are white people not to obey the Word of God because they are white ? We
are told that the English love all men. They give or sell ammunition, horses,
and guns to the Boers, who have red teeth,* to destroy us ; and if we ask to
buy powder we can get none ; no ! no ! no ! black men must have no ammuni-
tion, they must serve the white man. Is this their love ? The English are
not friends to the black man. If I am accusing the English or the Boers
falsely tell me. Are these things not so? You know all these things better
than we do ! "

"From the sorrowful statement of our experienced and judicious Mis-
sionary it will appear that these complaints, though strongly uttered, were
not exaggerated, and that it is indeed difficult to overrate the future conse-
quences of this ill-judged and unrighteous measure on the interests and exist-
ence of the Natives. On this painful subject Mr. Moffat observes : —

"As to whether the countries through which I have passed are likely
soon to become fields for Missionary operation I am anything but sanguine.
Of the willingness of the natives themselves to receive instruction no doubt need
be entertained ; but at present the prospect is anything but encouraging.
Past events show to a demonstration that between the natives and the Trans
Yaal Boers there can bo no peace, until the former, as far as they can be
reached, shall become the vassals of the latter, whose transactions have hitherto
been characterised by a deep-rooted enmity to all missionary operations. Why
these things are permitted is a problem beyond the wisdom of man to solve ;
but of one thing we are assured, that the atrocities which of late years have
been carried on in the interior are not unnoticed by him who has said,
' Vengeance is mine ; I will repay.'

" The Mission Churches within the Colony, composed chiefly of Hottentots,
formerly the slaves of the Colonists, are acquiring consolidation and strength.
Since the enjoyment of their freedom they have improved in industry, and
have reaped those advantages which it never fails to secure; in many instances
they have purchased land, erected comfortable dwellings, and made great
advances in all the comforts of civilized life."

The following from Mr. Moffat's report, published in 1851, is in striking
contrast with the account he gave of his early experiences at Kuruman,
which we quoted in a previous chapter : —

" Our public services, especially on the Sabbath, are well attended ; and I

* Teeth red with blood implies great cruelty.

70 LIFE OF DAY J]> LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

am sure, were you to witness the decorum and fixed attention which characterize
our congregations, you would say, what I am often induced to say, such hearers
surely cannot always remain hearers only. Knowledge, it is also true, is
increasing, and probably extending to a degree we are not aware of. Very
great advances have been made in civilization ; so that, were those persons who
saw the state of things as I saw them at the commencement of the mission, to
see them now, they would be amazed at the transformation. But we long to
witness more life and energy in the native character. We could wish to see our
members more in •arnest, and concerned for the salvation of those around them.
This season has been one of great drought. Nine months without rain, and
no native harvest except on irrigated spots. This, with the general want of
grass, and consequent want of milk, has, of course, a very depressing influence
on the native mind. We are thankful that rains have begun to fall, and if they
continue, there is still time for the hills and plains to be covered with verdure.
We are all as busy as we well can be. All my time spared from public
engagements is taken up with the woi'k of translation. Brother Ashton, also,
when not occupied in direct missionary work, and the charge of the school, is
constantly employed in the printing and bookbinding department, besides
assisting to correct for the press. A new edition of the Proverbs, Ecclesiastcs,
and Isaiah, has just been printed. I am at the present moment engaged in
revising the smaller prophets, Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy, and nearly
all the Leviticus, in MS. The work has many interruptions. But if we do
not accomplish all we wish, we have the satisfaction that we are doing all we
can for the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom."

CHAPTER V.

The Kalahari Desert. — Selcomi and his People. — Discovers Lake Ngami. — Visils
Sebituane. — Death of Sebituane. — Discovers the Zambesi.

ON the first of June, 1849, Livingstone started on his long contemplated
journey, to settle the existence of Lake Ngami and visit the numerous
tribes occupying the intervening country. He was accompanied by Messrs.
Murray and Oswell, two enterprising Englishmen, who, in addition to the
mere love of sport and adventure, were anxious to be of service in extending
our knowledge of the geography of Central Africa. Just before starting, a
number of people from the lake district came to Kolobeng, with an invitation
from their chief, Lechulatcbe, to Livingstone to visit him. These gave so
glowing an account of the wealth of the district near the lake in ivory and
skins, that the Bakwain guides were as eager to proceed as the strangers were.
The Kalahari desert, which lay between the travellers and the goal of
their hopes, covers a space of country extending from the Orange River in the
south about 29°, to Lake Ngami in the north, and from about 24° east longi-
tude to near the west coast. It is not strictly speaking a desert, as it is
covered with coarse grass and several kinds of creeping plants, with here and
there clumps of wood and patches of bushes. It is intersected by dry water-
courses, which rarely contain any water, although at no distant period they
were the channels by which the superabundant waters caused by the rains
farther north found their way to some parent stream, fertilizing the country
in their passage. But for the number of bulbous plants which are edible,
human life could not be sustained in this now arid region, unless during the
most favourable seasons. The more prominent of these are a scarlet-coloured
cucumber ; the leroshua, a small plant with long narrow leaves and a stalk no
thicker than the stem of a tobacco pipe, springing from a tuber from four to six
inches in diameter, which, " when the rind is removed, we found to be a mass
of cellular tissue, filled with a fluid much like that of a young turnip." The
mo/curi, another plant of the same kind, is a creeping plant, to which are
attached several tubers as large as a man's head. The water melon is the
most important and abundant of these edible plants, vast tracts being literally
covered with it in seasons when the rainfall has been larger than ordinary,
when it serves both as meat and drink to the passing travellers and their oxen,
and affords a plentiful support to the numerous families and little colonies of
Bushmen, who have taken refuge in the desert.

72 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Animals of various kinds abound in seasons of plenty, and are at all times
to be met with in considerable numbers. The elephant, the rhinoceros, the
giraffe, the eland, the gnu and many other varieties of antelopes, associato
together in herds, and are preyed upon by lions, hyrenas, jackals, and leo-
pards. Smaller varieties of felines, snakes, poisonous and non-poisonous, are
plentiful, and feed on the various rodents which are numerous in all dry dis-
tricts in Central Africa. Ants and several varieties of ant-eaters abound. A
large caterpillar, which feeds during the night on the leaves of a kind of
acacia-tree called mivato, and buries itself in the sand during the day, is dug
for by the natives, and roasted and eaten. But for the want of water the
passage of this vast tract of country would be comparatively easy, but as days
frequently passed without so much as a single drop being found, the priva-
tions of Livingstone and his companions, and the oxen which drew their
waggons, were severe in the extreme. No white man had ever succeeded in
crossing it before, but the resolute men who now attempted it were not to be
daunted by difficulty.

Tribes of Bushmen, whom Livingstone imagines to be the aborigines of
South Africa, inhabit the desert, and a tribe of Bechuanas, called Bakalahari,
who had been driven into the desert by the more powerful tribes of their own
nation, he also found settled there enjoying that liberty which was denied
them in more salubrious regions. The Bushmen are nomadic in their habits,
never cultivating the soil but following the herds of game from place to place.
Their only domestic animal is a breed of native dogs which assist them in
hunting, and which have sadly deteriorated in consequence of the privations
to which they along with their masters are exposed.

The Bakalahari cultivate the scanty and inhospitable soil, and grow
melons and other tuberous plants, and breed goats and other domestic
animals. They settle at a distance from water, which diminishes the chance
of visits from unfriendly Bechuanas. The water is carried by their women
from a distant well or spring, and is stored up in the shells of the eggs of the
ostrich and buried in the earth. The Bakalahari and the Bushmen hunt the vari-
ous wild animals for their skins, which they exchange with the tribes to the east-
ward for tobacco and other luxuries, spears, knives, dogs, etc; receiving in most
cases a very inadequate price for them. Some idea of the extent of the busi-
ness done, and the abundance of animals in the desert, may be formed from
the fact that twenty thousand skins were purchased by the Bechuanas during
Livingstone's stay in their country, and these were principally those of the
fclina?, (lions, leopards, tiger-cats, &c.) The Bakalahari are mild and gentle
in their habits, and are frequently tyrannized over by the powerful tribes of
the Bechuanas with whom they deal. The Bushmen, although inferior to
them in every way, arc treated with more respect, their ready use of the bow
and the poisoned arrow securing them from pillage and annoyance.

THE CHIEF SEKUMI. 73

Water, being the scarcest and most valuable commodity in the country,
is carefully hidden, to preserve it from any wandering band who might take
it by force. Livingstone's method of conciliating them, and gaining their
good opinion, was by sitting down quietly and talking to them in a friendly
way until the precious fluid, which no amount of domineering or threatening
could have brought forth, was produced.

The progress of the party was necessarily slow, as they could only march
in the mornings and evenings, and the wheels of the waggons in many places
sank deep in the loose sand. In some places the heat was so great that the
grass and twigs crumbled to dust in the hand. Hours and days of toilsome
journcyings were sometimes rewarded by the arrival at a spring, where the
abundant water fertilized a small tract around, on which the grass flourished
rank and green, affording a welcome meal to the horses and oxen after they
had slaked their burning thirst at the spring; although, often for many
hours the eyes of the party were not gladdened by the sight of such an oasis.
At times their courage almost died within them, and men and cattle staggered
on mechanically, silent, and all but broken in spirit. After being refreshed
the three travellers would enjoy a few hours' hunting at the game which was
always abundant at such places, and set out again on their journey with re-
newed vigour and high hopes as to the accomplishment of their purpose ; in
striking contrast to the despair and dread which had been their experience
only a few hours previous.

Sekomi, a powerful chief, who had no wish to see the white men pass his
territory, and open out a market direct in ivory and skins with the tribes of
the interior, tried hard to dissuade the travellers from proceeding further on
their journey ; but the fearless men he had to deal with were not to be turned
aside from their purpose by any merely human obstacle.

Sekomi was visited after this period by Mr. Gordon Cumming, who carried
a message and a present to him from Dr. Livingstone. The appearance of the
great chief did not impress Mr. Cumming favourably, he says : — "He appeared
to be about thirty years of age, and was of middle stature ; his distinguishing
feature was a wall-eye, which imparts to his countenance a roguish look that
does not belie the cunning and deceitful character of the man. As he came up
to the waggons, I met and shook hands with him, and wanted him to partake of
coffee with me. I could see that he was enchanted at my arrival. He talked
at a very rapid pace, and assumed an abrupt and rather dictatorial manner,
occasionally turning round and cracking jokes with his councillors and nobility.
He was very anxious to ascertain from Isaac the contents of the waggons, and
he said that he would buy everything I had brought, and that he would give
me a large bull elephant's tusk for each of my muskets."

Mr. Cumming proved the chief's match at a bargain-making, and succeeded
in getting his own price for muskets, viz., three tusks for a single musket,

L

n LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

•with some powder and a bullet mould thrown in. The value of the single tusk
was £30, and the value of a musket £10. The ivory was originally bought by
Sekomi on far better terms than these. They were procured from the Bushmen
for a few beads, and small articles of daily use amomg them, and they were
carried for many miles by a colony of poor Bakalahari who were subject to
him, and who did all his carrying almost without fee or reward.

Previous to this, muskets were almost unknown among them, and the
delight of the chief and his head men at becoming joossessed of some, was
similar to that of a boy when he gets his first pop-gun. " He insisted on
discharging each of the muskets as he bought it. It was amusing to see the
manner in which he performed this operation. Throwing back his kaross, and
applying the stock to his naked shoulder, he shut his good eye, and kept the
wall-eye open, to the intense amusement of the Hottentots who were his
instructors on the occasion. Each report caused the utmost excitement and
merriment among the warriors, who pressed forward and requested that they
also might be permitted to try their skill with these novel implements
of war."

Sekomi was visited by Mr. James Chapman, author of " Travels in the
interior of South Africa," several years after the period of Mr. Cumming'a
visit. He did not appear to have profited much by the visits of civilized
travellers. Mr. Chapman entertained him to breakfast. He says : —

" He seemed not at all at home in the use of knife and fork. Hunging
the fork into his meat, he held it up in the air, and cut slices from it, which
went flying in all directions, falling on the heads of his admiring followers.
I advised him to put the meat on his plate and cut it there ; but he soon upset
the plate, which lay in his lap, and, nearly plunging the fork into his thigh,
spilt the gravy over his naked legs, to be licked off by his nearest follower."
The chief had with him a sorcerer, or medicine-man, who is thus described: — ■

" His neck was ornamented with armlets of lions', lizards', and other
reptiles' claws, with snakes' heads and roots, supposed to possess infallible
remedies against injuries which the evil-disposed may contemplate against
the chief or his tribe. Four small pieces of ivory, figured over with black
spots, are used as dice ; and at any time when they feel disposed to look into
the past or future these dice are consulted, the natives believing implicitly in
the pretended prophecies, instead of obeying the dictates of reason and
prudence when assailed by danger."

Mr. Chapman relates an instance of magnanimous conduct on the part
of Sekomi in sparing the life of a Boer, after the attack on Sechele's town had
exasperated the natives to such a degree that every Boer caught on their
territory was remorselessly slain. Vilogen, a Boer, who had been in the habit
of visiting and trading with Sekomi, arrived with Mr. Chapman at the head-
quarters of the chief immediately after he had heard of the attack upon Sechele

MAGNANIMITY OF SEKOMI. 75

and his tribe. In sparing his life and dismissing him, Sekomi addressed him
to the following effect : —

" You have ever been kind to me and my people ; your life is spared ;
although, if I mistake not, had you been at home you would have joined your
countrymen in this unjust war, and after you get home, you will, in all
probability, come back and kill me, that is nothing. Go, and carry my
defiance to your countrymen. I know I have but one year to live, and will
prepare myself to die — but to die the death of a warrior. Go, tell those who
left you to be killed, that he who should have done the deed has been your
preserver. Sleep well this night, and as the day dawns I shall supply you
with a faithful guide. Make for the Limpopo ; from thence cross the Mariqua,
and proceed cautiously along the southern banks homewards. Sechele's men
are waiting outside to see you killed, and expect to take back the tidings.
They have come here to urge me to do it, but I will not stain my hands with
the blood of a friend."

Mr. Chapman also succeeded in inducing Sekomi to spare the lives of a
party of Boers, who were returning from hunting in the interior. When told
that the English people considered it cowardly to kill defenceless enemies, the
chief replied : — "Fear not, I have heard your mouth, and, although I have
been advised by many to kill them, as they are the worst of the Boers
belonging to Enslin's party, who have done great injuries to the black tribes,
and deserve death by our law, and although our kindred have been murdered
by our friends at home, still I will take your advice, and not be the first
aggressor. I shall, nevertheless, let the Boers know of my displeasure, and,
being determined to have no friendly intercourse with them, I shall warn
them to keep beyond the limits of my boundary on pain of death."

The travellers came upon several great tracts of salt-pans which lay glit-
tering in the sun, showing so like lakes, that on sighting the first one Mr.
Oswell threw his hat up into the air at the sight " and shouted a huzza which
made the Bakwains think him mad. I was a little behind," says Living-
stone, " and was as completely deceived by it as he, but as we had agreed to
allow each other to behold the lake at the same instant, I felt a little cha-
grined that he had, unintentionally, got the first glance. We had no idea
that the long looked-for lake was still more than three hundred miles distant."
These mirages were so perfect that even the Hottentots, the horses, and the
dogs, ran towards them to slake their burning thirst.

After reaching the river Zouga their further progress was easy, as they
had only to follow its course to find the object of their search, from which it
appeared to flow. Sebituane had given orders to the tribes on the banks of
the river to assist the travellers in every way, an injunction which did not
appear to be needed to ensure them kindly treatment at the hands of the
Bayeiyc as they were called. On inquiring from whence a large river which

LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

flows into the Zouga from the north came from, Livingstone was told that it
came " from a country full of rivers — so many that no one can tell their
number." This was the first confirmation of the reports he had previously
received from travelled Bakwains, and satisfied him that Central Africa was
not a "large sandy plateau," but a land teeming with life and traversed by
watery highways, along which Christianity and commerce and the arts of
peace would in the future be conveyed to vast regions never as yet visited by
civilized man. From that moment the desire to penetrate into that unknown
region became more firmly rooted in his mind ; and his enthusiastic hopes
found vent in his letters to England, to his friends and correspondents.

On the 1st of August, 1849, Livingstone and his companions stood on the
shore of Lake Ngami, and the existence of that fine sheet of water was estab-
lished. It is almost a hundred miles in circumference, and at one time must
have been of far greater extent, and it was found to be about two thousand
feet above the level of the sea from which it is eight hundred miles distant.
They found flocks of water-birds in and about the lake and the country in
the neighbourhood of it, and the river running into it abounded in animal
life. This was the first successful exploration of Livingstone, which drew the
attention of the general public towards him, and for a period of twenty-fivo
years, he was destined to engage the public attention to an extent unprece-
dented in the annals of modern travel and adventure. Finding it impossible,
from the unfriendliness of Lechulatebe, chief of the Batauana tribe, to visit
Sebituane, as he had intended, the travellers passed up the course of the
Zouga, the banks of which they found to be plentifully covered with vegeta-
tion and splendid trees, some of them bearing edible fruits. Wild indigo and
two kinds of cotton they found to be abundant. The natives make cloth of
the latter, which they dye with the indigo. Elephants, hipoppotami, zebras,
giraffes, and several varieties of antelopes were found in great abundance. A
species of the latter, which is never found at any distance from watery or
marshy ground, hitherto unknown to naturalists, was met with in considerable
numbers. Several varieties of fish abound in the river, which are caught by
the natives in nets, or killed with spears. Some of these attain to a great
size, weighing as much as a hundred-weight.

The following letter was addressed by Dr. Livingstone to Mr. Tidman,
Foreign Secretary, London Missionary Society : —

" Banks of the River Zouga, 3rd September, 1849.
" Dear Sir, — I left my station, Kolobeng (situate 25° South lat., 2G° East
long.) on the 1st of June last, in order to carry into effect the intention of
which I had previously informed you — viz., to open a new field in the North,
by penetrating the great obstacle to our progress, called the Desert, which,
stretching away on our west, north-west, and north, has hitherto presented an
insurmountable barrier to Europeans.

THE BA YEIYE TRIBE. 77

" A largo party of Griquas, in about thirty waggons, made many and
persevering efforts at two different points last year ; but though inured to the
climate, and stimulated by tho prospect of much gain from the ivory they
expected to procure, want of water compelled them to retreat.

11 Two gentlemen, to whom I had communicated my intention of pro-
ceeding to the oft-reported lake beyond the Desert, came from England for
the express purpose of being present at the discovery, and to their liberal and
zealous co-operation we are especially indebted for the success with which that
and other objects have been accomplished. While waiting for their arrival
seven men came to me from the Batavana, a tribe living on the banks of the
lake, with an earnest request from their chief for a visit. But the path by
which they had come to Kolobeng was impracticable for waggons ; so,
declining their guidance, I selected the more circuitous route by which the
Bermangueato usually pass, and having Bakwains for guides, their self-
interest in our success was secured by my promising to carry any ivory they
might procure for their chiefs in my waggon; and right faithfully they
performed their task.

" When Sekomi, the Bermangueato chief, became aware of our inten-
tion to pass into the regions beyond him, with true native inhumanity he
sent men before us to drive away all the Bushmen and Bakalahari from our
route, in order that, being deprived of their assistance in the search for water,
we might, like the Griquas above mentioned, be compelled to return. This
measure deprived me of the opportunity of holding the intercourse with these
poor outcasts I might otherwise have enjoyed. But through the good pro-
vidence of God, after travelling about three hundred miles from Kolobeng, we
struck on a magnificent river on the -ith of July, and without farther difficult}-,
in so far as water was concerned, by winding along its banks nearly three
hundred miles more, we reached tho Batavana, on the Lake Ngami, by the
beginning of August.

" Previous to leaving this beautiful river on my return home, and com-
mencing our route across the Desert, I feel anxious to furnish you with the
impressions produced on my mind by it and its inhabitants, the Bakoba or
Bayeiye. They are a totally distinct race from the Bechuanas. They call
themselves Bayeiye (or men), while the term Bakoba (the name has somewhat
of the meaning of ' slaves ') is applied to them by the Bechuanas. Their
complexion is darker than that of the Bechuanas, and of 300 words I collected
of their language, only 21 bear any resemblance to Sichuana. They paddle
along the rivers and lake in canoes hollowed out of the trunks of single trees ;
take fish in nets made of a weed which abounds on the banks ; and kill
hippopotami with harpoons attached to ropes. We greatly admired the
frank manly bearing of these inland sailors. Many of them spoke Sichuana
fluently, and while the waggon went along the bank I greatly enjoyed follow-

78 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ing the windings of the river in one of their primitive craft, and visiting their
little villages among the reeds. The banks are beautiful beyond any we had
ever seen, except perhaps some parts of the Clyde. They are covered in
general with gigantic trees, some of them bearing fruit, and quite new. Two
of the Baobab variety measured 70 to 76 feet in circumference. The higher
we ascended the river the broader it became, until we often saw more than
100 yards of clear deep water between the broad belt of reeds which grow in
the shallower parts. The water was clear as crystal, and as we approached
the point of junction with other large rivers reported to exist in the North, it
was quite soft and cold. The fact that the Zouga is connected with large
rivers coming from the North awakens emotions in my mind which make the
discovery of the lake dwindle out of sight. It opens the prospect of a high-
way capable of being quickly traversed by boats to a large section of well-
peopled territory. The hopes which that prospect inspires for the benighted
inhabitants might, if uttered, call forth the charge of enthusiasm — a charge, by
the way, I wish I deserved, for nothing good or great, either in law, religion,
or physical science, has ever been accomplished without it : however, I do not
mean the romantic, nighty variety, but that which impels with untiring
energy to the accomplishment of its object. I do not wish to convey hopes
of speedily effecting any great work through my own instrumentality, but I
hope to be permitted to work, so long as I live, beyond other men's lino of
things, and plant the seed of the gospel where others have not planted ;
though every excursion for that purpose will involve separation from my
family for periods of four or five months. Kolobeng will be supplied by
native teachers during these times of absence ; and when we have given the
Bakwains a fail- trial it will probably be advisable for all to move onward.

11 One remarkable feature in this river is its periodical rise and fall. It
has risen nearly 3 feet in height since our arrival, and this is the dry season.
That the rise is not caused by rains is evident from the water being so pure.
Its purity and softness increased as we ascended towards its junction with the
Tamunakle, from which, although connected with the lake, it derives the
present increased supply. The sharpness of the air caused an amazing keen-
ness of appetite, at an elevation of little more than 2,000 feet above the level
of the sea (water boiled at 207^° thermometer) and the reports of the Bayeiye,
that the waters came from a mountainous region, suggested the conclusion
that the increase of water at the beginning and middle of the dry season must
be derived from melting snow.

" All the rivers reported to the north of this have Bayeiye upon them,
and there are other tribes upon their banks. To one of these, after visiting
the Batavaua, and taking a peep at the broad part of the lake, we directed our
course. But the Batavana Chief managed to obstruct us by keeping all
strangers passing them to tribes beyond. Sebituano, the chief, who in former

THE BA YEIYE HEAR THE WORD OF GOD. 70

years saved the life of Scchelc, our chief, lives about ten clays north-east of the
Batavana. The latter sent a present as a token of gratitude. This would
have been a good introduction; the knowledge of the language, -however, is
the best we can have. I endeavoured to construct a raft at a part which was
only 50 or 60 yards wide, but the wood, though sun-dried, was so heavy it
sunk immediately; another kind would not bear my weight, although a
considerable portion of my person was under water. I could easily have swain
across, and fain would have done it ; but landing without clothes, and then
demanding of the Bakoba the loan of a boat, would scarcely be the thing for
a messenger of peace, even though no alligator met me in the passage. These
and other thoughts were revolving in my mind as I stood in the water — f in-
most sorely do I dislike to be beaten — when my kind and generous Mend,
Mr. Oswell, with whom alone the visit to Sebituane was to be made, offered to
bring up a boat at his own expense from the Cape, which, after visiting the
chief and coming round the north end of the lake, would become missionary
property. To him and our other companion, Mr. Murray, I feel greatly
indebted ; for the chief expense of the journey has been borne by them. They could
not have reached this point without my assistance ; but for the aid they
have rendered in opening up this field, I feel greatly indebted ; and should
any public notice be taken of this journey, I shall feel obliged to the directors
if they express my thankfulness.

" The Bayeiye or Bakoba listened to the statements made from the
Divine Word with great attention, and, if I am not mistaken, seemed to
understand the message of mercy delivered better than any people to whom
I have preached for the first time. They have invariably a great many
charms in the villages ; stated the name of God in their language (without
the least hesitation) to be ' Oreaja,' mentioned the name of the first man and
woman, and some traditionary statements respecting the flood. I shall not,
however, take these for certain till I have more knowledge of their language,
They are found dwelling among the reeds all round the lake and on the banks
of all the rivers to the north.

" With the periodical flow of the rivers, great shoals of fish descend.
The people could give no reason for the rise of the water, farther than that a chief,
who lives in a part of the country to the north, called Mazzekiva, kills a man
annually, and throws his body into the stream, after which the water begins
to flow. When will they know Him who was slain, that whosoever will
may drink of the water of life freely ?

" The sketch, which I enclose, is intended to convey an idea of the
River Zouga and the Lake Xgami. The name of the latter is pronounced as
if written with the Spanish N, the y being inserted to show that the ringing
sound is required. The meaning is ; Great water.' The latitude taken by a
sextant, on which I can fully depend, was 20 20' S., at the north-east extremity,

80 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

where it is joined by the Zouga ; longitude about 24° E. We do not, however,
Icnoio it with certainty. We left our waggon near the Batavana town, and rode
on horseback about six miles beyond to the broad part. It gradually widens out
into a Frith, about 15 miles across, as you go south from the town, and in the
south south-west presents a large horizon of water. It is reported to be about
70 miles in length, bends round to the north-west, and there receives another
river similar to the Zougra. The Zouga runs to the north-cast. The thorns
were so thickly planted near the upper part of this river that we left all our
waggons standing about 180 miles from the lake, except that of Mr. Oswell,
in which we travelled the remaining distance. But for this precaution our
oxen would have been unable to return. I am now standing at a tribe
of Bakurutsc, and shall in a day or two re-enter the desert.

" The principal disease reported to prevail at certain seasons appears
from the account of the symptoms the natives give to be pneumonia, and not
fever. When the wind rises to an ordinary breeze, such immense clouds of
dust arise from the numerous dried-out lakes, called salt pans, that the whole
atmosphere becomes quite yellow, and one cannot distinguish objects more
than two miles off. It causes irritation in the eyes, and as wind prevails
almost constantly at certain seasons, this impalpable powder may act as it
does among the grinders in Sheffield. We observed cough among them, a
complaint almost unknown at Kolobeng. Mosquitoes swarm in summer, and
banyan aud palmyra trees give in some parts an Indian cast to the scenery.
Who will go in to possess this goodly land in the name of Him whose right it
is to reign ? " David Livingstone."

The second journey to Lake Ngami was undertaken in April, 1850, with
the view of pushing up the Tamunakle, a tributary of the Zouga, to visit
Sebituane. Sechele, Mrs. Livingstone, and her three children accompanied
the intrepid traveller on this journey. Just as he had arranged with Lechula-
tebe to furnish the necessary guides, and to undertake the protection of Mrs.
Livingstone and the children during his absence, the latter were seized witli
fever. As several of their attendants were seized at the same time, the attempt
was given up as hopeless at this time, and the party, after recruiting in the
pure air of the desert, returned to Kolobeng.

Writing of this journey from Kolobeng, August 24, 1850, Livingstone
says : —

" Mrs. Livingstone and Mcbalwe, the native teacher, had joined in my
desire to visit Sebituane ; and Sechele, our chief, having purchased a waggon,
the first service he wished it to perform was to place him in presence of the
man who, in former years, when assaulting the Bakwain town, ordered his
followers to be sure and spare the lives of the sons of Mochoasele (Sechelc's
father). The attack having been made in the dark, Sechele was badly
wounded, and lay insensible till the morning. When recognised, Sebituane

SECOND VIEW OE LAKE NGAMI. 81

gave orders to his doctors to attend to the wounds, and subsequently restored
him to liberty. Had we succeeded in reaching Scbituanc, the interview
between the two chiefs might have been interesting. Our chief sent a present
to his former benefactor last year, but his messengers were prevented going
in the same way that we were. They have been more successful this year ;
so, though we have not been able to go as far as we intended, we are thankful
to hear that the way has been opened by them.

" Having no apprehension that Sekomi would throw obstacles in our
way, we visited his tribe both in going and returning. As he is an old
friend, I apologised for passing to the westward of him in our last trip, on the
ground that, as I knew he was very much opposed to our finding a passage
to the lake (he having twice refused our request to pass), I had determined
to go in spite of him, and yet without contention. He replied, ' U'ntsitile,
mi kia boka ' (You beat me, and I thank you, or acknowledge it). His entire
conduct was the opposite of what it was last year. We had more intercourse
with the Bakalahari, especially with the inhabitants of a large village about
40 miles N. of the Bamangwato ; and as we passed through their country in
April, before the pools, which are usually filled by the rains, are dried up, we
suffered no inconvenience from want of water. After visiting the Bakarutse,
who live at the lower end of the Zouga, we crossed that river, and ascended
on its northern bank. Our intention in passing along the northern bank of
the Zouga was to follow the course of the Tamunakle until we reached
Sebituane, but, when near the junction of the two rivers, we were informed
by a Bakhoba chief named Palane, that the fly called ' tsetse ' abounded on
the Tamunakle. As its bite is fatal to oxen, horses, and dogs, though harm-
less to men and goats, and we had no more oxen than were sufficient to draw
our waggons, I proposed proceeding alone; but Mrs. L. preferring to wait daring
my absence among the Batavana, we recrossed the Zouga, and went down
towards the lake. Sechulathebe, the chief, furnished guides, and informed us
that the distance would be performed partly by land and partly by water, as
the Tamunakle had a very zigzag course; that the riding ox would certainly
die soon after I returned, in consequence of being bitten by the fly, and
promised to furnish my family with meat during my absence, but objected to
Sechele going along with me, because his messenger had not yet returned to
tell how Sebituane's mind stood affected towards him. Everything seemed
favourable, and, before starting, I took my wife down to take a peep at the
lake. We felt rather more curiosity than did an Englishman who came to
buy ivory from the Batavana, for, although within six miles of it, he informed
us that he had never visited it. On the day following our driver and leader
were laid up by fever, and subsequently to that two of our children, and
several of the people besides ; a young English artist, Mr. Rider, who had
taken some views of the lake scenery, and a Hottentot belonging to another
If

82 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

party, died of it. As the malaria seemed to exist in a more concentrated form
near the Ngami than in any other part, we were compelled to leave, after
spending two Sundays with the Batavana ; and as the time at my command
•would have been spent before I could safely leave my people, the fever and
the fly (the tsetse) forced me to return to Kolobeng. I was mistaken last year
in supposing the epidemic, of which we heard, to be pneumonia ; there is
undoubtedly a greater amount of cough on the river than at Kolobeng, but
the disease which came under my observation this year was real marsh-fever.
The paludal miasma is evolved every year as the water begins to flow and
moisten the banks of vegetable matter. When the river and lake are full the
fever ceases, but it begins again when evaporation has proceeded so far as to
expose the banks to the action of the sun. Our visit was made last year
when the river was nearly at its height ; but the lake had now retired about
20 feet from the spot on which we stood last year; this might be about
3 feet in perpendicular height. In the natives, the effects of the poison
imbibed into the system appear most frequently in the form of a bilious fever,
and they generally recover after a copious evacuation of bile. In some it
appears as continued fever. In a child there was the remittent form, while
in two cases it was simply intermittent. In -one case the vascular system of
the abdomen was greatly affected, and the patient became jaundiced and
died ; in another there were only muscular pains and rapid decline of
strength ; while in several others there was only pain in the head, which a
dose of quinine removed. Mr. Wilson, an enterprising trader, who had it in
its most severe form, had several violent fits of intermittent fever when
recovering from the other, while at a distance of 400 miles from the lake. This
disease seems destined to preserve intertropical Africa for the black races of
mankind. If the Boers, who have lately fallen upon the plan of waylaying
travellers between Kuruman and this, should attempt to settle on either lake or
river, they would soon find their graves. As the Ngami is undoubtedly a hollow
compared to Kolobeng, and the Tcoge, a river which falls into the lake at
its N.W. extremity, is reported to flow with great rapidity, the region beyond
must be elevated. A salubrious spot must be fouud before we can venture
to form a settlement : but that alone will not suffice, for Kolobeng is
270 miles by the trochameter from Kuruman, and the lake by the
same instrument is 600 miles beyond this station. We must have a
passage to the sea on cither the eastern or western coast. I have hitherto been
afraid to broach the project, but as you are aware, the Bechuana mission was
virtually shut up in a cul-de-sac on the North by the Desert, and on the East by
the Boers. The Rev. Mr. Fridoux, of Motito, lately endeavoured to visit the
Ramapela, and was forcibly turned back by an armed part}-. You at home
are accustomed to look upon a project as half finished when you have secured
the co-operation of the ladies. Well, then, my better half has promised me

VARIETIES OE FISH. 83

twelve months' leave of absence for mine. Without promising anything, I
mean to follow a useful motto in many circumstances and ' try again.'

" The following information, gleaned from intelligent natives, may be
interesting and probably is not far from the truth, as they could have no object
in deceiving me. The Ngami is merely a reservoir for the surplus waters of
a much larger lake or marsh, containing numerous islands, about 150 or 200
miles beyond. Sebituane, who was defeated by the Grriquas near Motito or
Latakoo, in 1824, lives on one of these islands. The river, which falls into the
Ngami at its N.W. extremity, is called the Teoge ; it runs with so much
rapidity that canoes ascend with great difficulty, and when descending no
paddling is required, as the force of the current suffices to bring the boats down.
Large trees are frequently brought down, and even springboks and other
antelopes have been seen whirling round and round in the middle i if the stream,
as it hurried on their carcasses to the lake. But this flow only occurs at
one period of the year, and whence the increase of water in the upper lake is
derived no one can tell. Other rivers are reported as existing beyond Sebitnane's
district, and a large population is said to live on their banks. The names of
these tribes are : Bagomae, Barovaia, Barosia, Batongka, Banambia, Ban ami,
Bazatoa, Bachorongka, and Babiko. The people of the last-named tribe are
famed for their skill in manufactures, are lighter in colour than the Bakhoba,
and have longer hair and beards. All the iron used among the people near
the lake comes from the North. Though the Bakhoba are much more inquisitive
than the Bechuanas, I never met with one who had even heard of the existence
of the sea. They had heard of a people whom we conjectured to be Portuguese,
and we saw an old coat which we believed to be of Portuguese manufacture.
Although we have seen the Zouga flowing and even rising considerably, the
natives assert that soon after the small reservoir near the Bakurutse villag
called Kumatao, is filled by the Zouga, the latter ceases to flow, the rains do
not affect it in the least, and in many parts its bed becomes quite dry. This
is also the case, according to report, with the Tamunakle and Teoge. During
a certain portion of the year the beds of these rivers exhibit only a succession
of pools with dry patches between them. The fishes, which we saw so
abundant in July and August last year, had not descended from the North
in June. The Bakhoba seemed quite sure they would appear in the month
following, and they enumerated nine varieties of them in the lake and rivers,
two of which are said to attain occasionally the length of a man. Of the
five varieties which came under our observation four were very good eating ;
the fifth, the Glanis siluris, had attained a length of about 3 feet. Crocodiles,
or alligators, and hippopotami are a*lso found, but the latter are now scarce in
consequence of the Bakhoba frequently hunting them ; they kill them by
means of a large harpoon, to which a strong rope is attached, in somewhat the
same manner as whalers do. They use nets made of the hibiscus, baskets,

84 LIFE OF DA VI I) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and assegais (spears) for killing fish ; their canoes are flat-bottomed, and scooped
out of single trees. The banks of the river are in many parts lined with trees
of gigantic growth. 'I observed twelve quite new to us at Kolobcng. The
banyan and palmyra were recognised as Indian trees by our friend Mr.
Oswell ; the baobab, the body of which gives one the idea of a mass of granite
from its enormous size, yields a fruit about the size of a quart-bottle ; the
pulp between the seeds tastes like cream of tartar, and it is used by the
natives to give a flavour to their porridge. Three others bear edible fruits,
one of which, called ' moporotla,' yields a fruit, an unripe specimen of which
measures 20| inches in length and 7\ in circumference ; the seeds are roasted
and eaten, and the body of the tree is used for making canoes. Another,
called ' motsouri,' is a beautiful tree, and very much resembles the orange,
but we did not see the fruit. The natives pound the root of a kind of flag,
and obtain flour not greatly inferior to that from wheat in taste and
appearance ; this flag is called ' tsitla,' and grows abundantly on both lake
and river. The root of a water-lily is likewise used as a vegetable, but it is
not so agreeable as the tsitla. The people sow when the river has risen high
enough to moisten the soil of the flats in which their gardens are situated ;
they do not require to wait for rain, as the other tribes must do, for they
have good crops, though but little rain falls. Rain-makers ai*e consequently
at a discount among the Bakhoba. Besides the usual native produce they
cultivate an excellent ground-nut.

" The banks of the Zouga are studded with pitfalls, which the Bakhoba
dig for the pui'pose of killing game. Some of these are very neatly smeared
over with mud, and if a sharp look out is not kept, one finds himself at the
bottom with the sand running down on him, as the first intimation of the
presence of the trap ; they are from 8 to 10 feet in depth, and the wild
animals are so much afraid of them that they drink during the night, and
immediately depart to the desert. Elephants abound in large numbers, but
previous to our first visit the ivory was of no value ; the tusks were left in the
field with the other bones. I saw 13 which had been thus left, and which
were completely spoiled by the weather. In our first visit the Batavana would
have preferred to sell a tusk for a few beads to parting with a goat for twice
the amount ; they soon, however, acquired a knowledge of the value of ivory.
In one village the headman informed me that two of his wives had been
killed by elephants entering the village during the night and turning over the
huts, apparently by way of amusement. Besides elephants, rhinoceros,
buffaloes, &c, we observed a new species of antelope, called 'leche;' it is
rather larger than the pallah, the horns in shape are like those of the water-
buck, the colour of the skin is a beautiful brownish yellow, and its habits are
those of the waterbuck. Mr. Oswell has this year secured a new variety of
the koodoo.

AN OASIS IN THE SAHARA.

SALT VANS. 85

" The country beyond the Bamangwato, so far as we have penetrated, is
quite flat, only intersected here and there by the dry beds of ancient rivers.
The desert does not deserve its name, excepting from its want of water, for it
is usually covered with abundance of grass, bushes, and trees; nor is it destitute
of inhabitants, as both men and animals exist in considerable numbers. Man,
however, has a hard struggle to keep soul and body together. The Bakalahari
children are usually distinguished by their large protruding abdomen, and ill-
formed legs and arms; their listless eye shows that youth has few joys for
them. Although much oppressed by the Bechuanas, who visit them annually in
order to collect skins, they are often at variance among themselves. They
obtain water in certain hollow parts called "sucking-places," where there is a
stratum of wet sand about 3 feet below the surface, by means of a reed. A
bunch of grass is tied round one end of it, to act as a sort of filter ; this is
inserted in the wet sand and that which was taken out in making the hole is
firmly rammed down around it. The mouth applied to the free extremity
draws up enough of water to fill a load of ostrich egg-shells. By making wells
in these spots we several times obtained water sufficient for our oxen. The
natives were always anxious that we should not in digging break through a
hard layer at the bottom of the wells, asserting that if we did the water would
be lost. The Bushmen of the desert are perhaps the most degraded specimens
of the human family : those near the river Zouga look much better ; the river
supplies them with fish and "tsitla," and they seem expert in the use of the
bow and arrow, for they have killed nearly all the lions. The Botlctli are real
Bushmen in appearance and language, and about twelve years ago were in
possession of large herds of cattle. We saw specimens of the horns of these
cattle, which measured from 6 to 8 feet from point to point. The Bushmen
are very numerous on all sides of both lake and river, and the language has as
much klick as it has further South.

" Of the animals which live in the desert, the eland is, perhaps, the most,
interesting. It is the largest of the antelope kind, attains the size of a very
large ox, and seems wonderfully well adapted for living in that country : for
though they do drink a little if they pass near water, they can live for
months without a drop: they become very fat, the meat is excellent, and, as they
arc easily run down by a good horse, it is surprising to me that they have not been
ii ltroduced into England. The soil is generally sandy ; vegetation is not much more
luxuriant, except in the immediate vicinity of the river than in this portion of
Africa generally. All the rocks we saw consisted of calcareous tufa, travertin,
and sandstone. On the banks of the lake there is a rock of igneous origin.
The tufa contains no shells, but the salt-pans near the lower end of the Zouga
are covered with four varieties of recent shells. It is probable these flats,
called salt-pans because sometimes covered with an efflorescence of salt, were
reservoirs, such as the Kumatoa is now, at a period when the flow of the

80 LIFE OF DA V1D LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

Zouga was greater than it is at present. The country generally is
unquestionably drying up. Streams and fountains which, in the memory of
persons now living, supplied villages with water, are now only dry water-
courses ; and as ancient river-beds are now traversed by more modern streams,
giving sections which show banks of shells, gravel, and rolled boulders, it is,
perhaps, not unreasonable to conjecture that an alteration in the elevation of the
entire country is taking place. At present, wherever the bed of the Zouga
may lead (perhaps towards the Limpopo ?), water seldom flows far past the
Bakarutse villages."

On the occasion of the third and successful journey, undertaken with the
view of meeting Sebituane, his wife and children accompanied him as before.
Shobo, a Bushman, undertook to be their guide ; but losing his way, his
courage failed him, and he refused to proceed, finally disappearing altogether.
Driving on at random, the travellers suffered terrible privations. At last
knowing that water was near by the number of birds they saw, and the fresh spoor
of the rhinoceros, and other animals, they unyoked the oxen, and they knowing
the signs, pushed forward until they came to the Matabe, a tributary of the
Tamunakle. Their sufferings were so great for several days that it almost
seemed as if his children were doomed to perish before his eyes. This was
all the more hard to bear as a supply of water had been wasted by one of the
servants. His wife looked at him, despair at the prospect of losing her children
in her eyes, but spoke no word of blame. Here the travellers made the
acquaintance of that terrible insect, the tsetse, whose bite is so fatal to cattle
and horses. It is not much larger than the common house-fly, and is of a
brown colour, with three or four bars of yellow in the abdomen. Its bite is
fatal to the horse, the ox, and the dog. Within a few days the eyes and nose
of the bitten animal begin to run, and a swelling appears under the jaws, and
sometimes on the belly. Emaciation sets in, and at the end of three months,
when tlie poor beast is only a mass of skin and bone, purging commences, and
it dies of sheer exhaustion. Man, and the wild animals which abound in the
district, the goat, the mule, and the ass, enjoy a perfect immunity from its
bite.

On the banks of the Chobe the travellers came across a number of Ma-
kololo men, and learning- from them that their chief, Sebituane, was absent
twenty miles down the river Chobe, Mr. Oswell and Livingstone proceeded
in canoes to visit him. He had marched some two hundred miles to welcome
the white men into his country. On . hearing of the difficulties they had
encountered in their endeavours to reach him, he expressed his satisfaction at
their having at last succeeded, and added : " Your cattle are all bitten bv the
tsetse, and will certainly die ; but never mind; I have oxen, and will give you
as many as you need."

In their ignorance they thought little of this ; but the death of forty of

SEBITUANE. 87

their oxen, although not severely bitten, too surely attested his better
knowledge.

The great chief Livingstone had so long desired to see was a tall, wiry
man, with a deep olive complexion. He belonged originally to the south of
Kuruman, where his warlike and undaunted bearing (for he was not born a
chief) procured him a small following of bold men, who retreated before tho
cruel raid of the Griquas in 182-1.

The Bakwains and others of the Bechuanas made war upon him, and
drove him to desperate shifts ; but his courage and genius stood him in good
stead through innumerable difficulties, and forcing his way through the
desert of Kalahari, he maintained for a long period a desperate struggle with
the Matabele, who were then led by a chief called Moselckatse, a warrior
almost as renowned as himself, for tho possession of the country between tho
Zouga and Zambesi. After a long and terrible struggle, Moselckatse was
finally beaten in his attempt to subject Sebituane to his rule. Sebituane'a
frank and manly bearing, and his kindness and benevolence to his people,
and the strangers who trusted to his hospitality, secured him the affections of
his own people, and that of the tribes wdiich he conquered.

After he had subdued all the tribes in the neighbourhood of Lake Nirami,
his strong desire to open up communication with white men led him to
the country of the Zambesi, fighting and conquering every tribe in bis line of
march. Long before he saw Dr. Livingstone he had determined on opening
out a highway for trade with the west coast, and considering the character of
the man, we can readily imagine the blow which his untimely death would
be to him. No wonder he was adored by all who came in contact with him.
Livingstone tells us that, " when a party of poor men came to his town to
sell their hoes or skins, no matter how ungainly they might be, he soon knew
them all. A company of these indigent strangers, sitting far apart from the
Makololo around the chief, would be surprised to sec him come alone to them,
and, sitting down, inquire if they wrere hungry. He would order an
attendant to bring meal, milk, and honey, and mixing them in their sight, in
order to remove any suspicion from their minds, make them feast, perhaps
for the first time in their lives, in a lordly dish. Delighted beyond measure
with his affability and liberality, they felt their hearts warm towards him,
and gave him all the information in their power; and as he never allowed
a party of strangers to go away without giving every one of them, servants
included, a present, his praises were sounded far and wide. ' He has a heart ;
he is wise r were the usual expressions we heard before we saw him," says
Livingstone.

He was much gratified at the confidence reposed in him by Livingstone's
proposing to leave his wife and children with him, in the event of his pushing
further into the interior, or returning to Kolobeng for his household

88 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

effects, and he promised to convey them to his head-quarters, where they might
locate themselves. But this was not to be : these great men but met to
part, and that for ever. The intrepid chief whose liberal notions had enabled
Livingstone to push thus far into the interior of the country, was stricken
with inflammation of the lungs, and died after a few days' illness. On the
Sunday afternoon on which he died, Livingstone visited him, taking his boy
Robert with him. "Come near," he said, "and see if I am any longer a
man : I am done." Arrived but recently amongst them, the great missionary
must have felt cut to the heart that he dare not deal as he would have wished
with him. He feared to attempt to arrest his malady in case he might be
blamed for causing his death if he had not succeeded in curing him. He
could only speak of the hope after death, and commend him to the care of
God. His last act was characteristic of the unselfish kindness of the man.
Raising himself from his prone position, he called a servant, and said, " Take
Robert to Manunku [one of his wives], and tell her to give him some milk."

The death of Sebituanc was a severe blow to Livingstone. Had he lived,
much that was to do which proved difficult, notwithstanding the friendliness
of his successor and his people, might have been earlier and more easily
accomplished had that noble and enlightened chief lived to second his efforts
and possibly share in his journey. " He was," Livingstone says, "the best
specimen of a native chief I ever met. I never felt so much grieved by the
loss of a black man before, and it was impossible not to follow him in thought
into the world of which he had just heard before he was called away, and to
realise somewhat of the feelings of those who pray for the dead. The deep,
dark question of what is to become of such as he must, however, be left where
we find it, believing that, assuredly the Judge of all the earth will do right."
From sources other than those supplied by Dr. Livingstone, wo are enabled
to form a very high estimate of the wisdom and humanity of Sebituane. The
liberality of his government over the conquered tribes was equalled by his
generosity. His policy in war was to spare life as much as possible. Jf the
conquered chief submitted to his rule, he reinstated him in his position, and
made him the instrument of carrying out wise laws. At the time of his death
the tribes under his rule were living in peaceful and contented dependence.
His power was absolute over a wide tract of country, and his rule was so popu-
lar that no ambitious rival chief dared, while he lived, attempt to contest his
supremacy.

Mr. Chapman thus speaks of Sebituane : —

" He was not only one of the greatest warriors of his nation, but his
name is held in respect for his liberal government and generosity to his
enemies. He had subjected a great many tribes in these parts, fifteen of
which I have heard enumerated. His policy was generally to spare life as
much as possible ; but the conquered chief he would either kill, or, separating

DWELLING HOUSES IN A TREE. 89

him from the rest, would place him in a tract of country where he would
be always in his power. He would return them their cattle to live on, give
(hem a daughter or relative to wife, and administer his own laws. This
liberal plan, unlike that adopted by other tribes, combined with a judicious
and uniform treatment, inspired the conquered people with such confidence in, and
devotion and reverence for their new chief, that they generally soon preferred
his government to the former. In this manner amalgamation took place, and
the original tribe of Basutos are now, perhaps, the least of the whole
population ; and the climate not being congenial to their former habits, they
have become the most effeminate of the races under Sekeletu's sway."

The Matabelo are very much dreaded by the Bechuanas, and, indeed, by
all the neighbouring tribes. They are very blood-thirsty, and when they
surprise a village, massacre all the old and middle-aged of both sexes, carrying
the young into captivity. No Matabele is looked upon as being a man until
he has slain an enemy, and his standing as a warrior is regulated by the
number of men he has slain. They sell their captives to the half-caste
Portuguese dealers in human flesh, who come up the Zambesi.

Moselekatse, the chief of the Matabele, a warrior nearly as renowned as
Scbituane — who had succesfully resisted his arms — whose name was a terror to
the Bechuanas, and other tribes bordering on his territory, was visited, at his
own request, by Mr. Moffat in 1830. Hearing of the white men at Kuruman
and their doings, Moselekatse sent two of his head men with some returning
traders to invite the great missionary to his town. On his way to visit the
chief, Mr. Moffat found a small colony of Bakones, settled among the branches
of a huge Baobab tree. He says : —

" My attention was arrested by a beautiful and gigantic tree, standing in
a defile leading into an extensive and woody ravine, between a high range of
mountains. Seeing some individuals employed on the ground under its shade,
and the conical points of what looked like houses in miniature, protruding
through its evergreen foliage, I proceeded thither, and found that the tree was
inhabited by several families of Bakones, the aborigines of the country. I
ascended by the notched trunk, and found, to my amazement, no less than
seventeen of these aerial abodes, and three others, unfinished. On reaching
the topmost hut, about thirty feet from the ground, I entered, and sat down.
Its only furniture was the hay which covered the floor, a spear, a spoon, and
a bowl full of locusts. Not having eaten anything that day, and from the
novelty of my situation, not wishing to return immediately to the waggons, I
asked a woman who sat at the door with a babe at her breast, permission to
cat. This she granted with pleasure, and soon brought me more in a pow-
dered state. Several more females came from the neighbouring roosts, stepping
from branch to branch, to see the stranger, who was to them as great a
curiosity as the tree was to him. I then visited the different abodes, which

N

90 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

were on several principal branches. The structure of these houses was very
simple. An oblong scaffold, about seven feet wide, is formed of straight
sticks. On one end of this platform a small cone is formed, also of straight
sticka, and thatched with grass. A person can nearly stand upright in it; the
diameter of the floor is about six feet. The house stands on the end of the
oblong, so as to leave a little square space before the door. On the day previous
I had passed several villages, some containing forty houses, all built on poles,
about seven or eight feet from the ground, in the form of a circle ; the ascent
and descent is by a knotty branch of a tree placed in front of the house. In
the centre of the circle there is always a heap of the bones of game they
have killed. Such were the domiciles of the impoverished thousands of the
aborigines of the country, who having been scattered and plundered by Mosele-
katse, had neither herd nor stall, but subsisted on locusts, roots, and the chase.
They adopted this mode of architecture to escape the lions which abounded
in the country. During the day the families descended to the shade beneath
to dress their daily food. When the inhabitants increased, they supported
the augmented weight on the branches, by upright sticks, but when lightened
of their load, they removed these for firewood.

"As a proof of the necessity of such an expedient as above described, I may
add, that during the day, having shot a rhinoceros, we had reserved the hump
of the animal to roast during the night, a large ant-hill was selected for the
purpose, and being prepared by excavation and fire, this tit-bit was deposited.
During the night, a couple of lions attracted by the roast, drew near, and
though it was beyond gun-shot, we could hear them distinctly, as if holding
council to wait till the fire went out, to obtain for themselves our anticipated
breakfast. As the fire appeared to have gone out altogether, we had given
up hope till morning light showed us that the lions had been in earnest, but
the heat of the smouldering ant-hill had effectually guarded our steak."

Mr. Moffat's journey led across many miles of country, which had been
devastated by Moselekatse. One of the attendants of a chief man of the latter
gave him a graphic account of the overthrow of his tribe by Moselekatse.
Pointing to the scantily peopled country around them, he said : —

" There lived 4hc great chief of multitudes. He reigned among them like
a king, lie was the chief of the blue-coloured cattle. They were numerous
as the dense mist on the mountain brow ; his flocks covered the plain. He
thought the number of his warriors would awe his enemies. His people boasted
in their spears, and laughed at the cowardice of such as had fled from their
towns. ' I shall slay them, and hang up their shields on my hill. Our race
is a race of warriors. Who ever subdued our fathers ? they were mighty in
combat. AVc still possess the spoils of ancient times. Have not our dogs
eaten the shields of their nobles ? The vultures shall devour the slain of our
enemies.' Thus they sang and thus they danced, till they beheld on yonder

RE CEP TION B Y MOSELEKA TSE. 0 I

heights the approaching foe. The noise of their song was hushed in night,
and their hearts were filled with dismay. They saw the clouds ascend from
the plains. It was the smoke of burning towns. The confusion of a whirl-
wind was in the heart of the great chief of the blue-coloured cattle. The
shout was raised, 'They arc friends;' but they shouted again, 'They are
foes,' till their near approach proclaimed them naked Matabele. The men
seized their arms, and rushed out, as if to chase the antelope. The onset
was as the voice of lightning, and their spears as the shaking of a forest in the
autumn storm. The Matabele lions raised the shout of death, and flew upon
their victims. It was the shout of victory. Their hissing and hollow groans told
their progress among the dead. A few moments laid hundreds on the ground.
The clash of shields was the signal of triumph. Our people fled with their cattle
to the top of yonder mount. The Matabele entered the town with the roar
of the lion ; they pillaged and fired the houses, speared the mothers, and cast
their infants to the flames. The sun went down. The victors emerged from
the smoking plain, and pursued their course, surrounding the base of yonder
hill. They slaughtered cattle : they danced and sang till the dawn of day ;
they ascended and killed till their hands were weary of the spear. Stooping
to the ground on which we stood, he took up a little dust in his hand ; blow-
ing it off, and holding out his naked palm, he added, ' That is all that remains
of the great chief of the blue-coloured cattle!' 'It is impossible for me,'
says Mr. Moffat, ' to describe my feelings while listening to this descriptive
effusion of native eloquence ; and I afterwards embraced opportunities of
writing it down, of which the above is only an abridgement. I found also
from other aborigines that his was no fabled song, but merely a compendious
sketch of the catastrophe.' "

Arrived at the town of the great chief, Mr. Moffat was received with
much pomp : —

" On riding into the centre of the large fold, which was capable of hold-
ing ten thousand head of cattle, we were rather taken by surprise to find it
lined by eight hundred warriors, beside two hundred which were concealed
in each side of the entrance, as if in ambush. We were beckoned to dismount,
which we did, holding our horses' bridles in our hands. The warriors at the
gate instantly rushed in with hideous yells, and leaping from the earth with
kilts around their bodies, hanging like loose tails, and their large shields,
frightened our horses. The)' then joined the circle, falling into rank with as
much order as if they had been accustomed to European tactics. Here we
stood surrounded by warriors, whose kilts were of ape skins, and their legs
and arms adorned with the hair and tails of oxen, their shields reaching to
their chins, and their heads adorned with feathers.

"Although in the centre of a town all was silent as the midnight hour,
while the men were motionless as statues. Eyes only were seen to move, and

92 LIFE OF DA V1D LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

there was a rich display of fine white teeth. After some minutes of profound
silence, which was only interrupted by the breathing of our horses, the war
song burst forth. There was harmony, it is true, and they beat time with
their feet, producing a sound like hollow thunder, but some parts of it was
music befitting the nether regions, especially when they imitated the groan-
ings of the dying on the field of battle, and the yells and hissings of the con-
querors. Another simultaneous pause ensued, and still we wondered what
was intended, till out marched the monarch from behind the lines, followed
by a number of men bearing baskets and bowls of food. He came up to us,
and having been instructed in our mode of salutation, gave each a clumsy but
hearty shake of the hand. He then politely turned to the food, which was
placed at our feet, and invited us to partake. By this time the waggons were
seen in the distance, and having intimated our wish to be directed to a
place where we might encamp in the outskirts of the town, he accompanied us,
keeping fast hold of my right arm, though not in the most graceful manner,
yet with perfect familiarity. ' The land is before you ; you are come to your
son. You must sleep where you please.' When the ' moving houses,' as
the waggons were called, drew near, he took a firmer grasp of my arm, and
looked on them with unutterable surprise j and this man, the terror of thousands,
drew back with fear, as one in doubt as to whether they were not living crea-
tures. When the oxen were unyoked, he approached the waggon with the utmost
caution, still holding me by one hand, and placing the other on his mouth, in-
dicating his surprise. He looked at them very intently, particularly the wheels,
and when told of how many pieces of wood each wheel was composed, his
wonder was increased. After examining all very closely, one mj-stery yet
remained, how the large band of iron surrounding the felloes of the wheel
came to be in one piece without either end or joint. 'Umbate, my friend and
fellow-traveller, whose visit to our station had made him much wiser than his
master, took hold of my right hand, and related what he had seen. ' My
eyes,' he said, ' saw that very hand,' pointing to mine, ' cut these bars of iron,
take a piece off one end, and then join them as you now see them.' A minute
inspection ensued to discover the welded part. ' Does he give medicine to
the iron?' was the monarch's inquiry. ' No,' said 'Umbate, 'nothing is used
but fire, a hammer, and a chisel.' Moselekatse then returned to the town,
where the warriors were still standing as he left them, who received him
with immense bursts of applause.

" Moselekatse did not fail to supply us abundantly with meat, milk, and a
weak kind of beer, made from the native grain. He appeared anxious to please,
and to exhibit himself and people to the best advantage. In accordance with
savage notions of conferring honour, all the inhabitants and warriors of the
neighbouring towns were ordered to congregate at head-quarters, and on the fol-
lowing day a public ball was given in compliment to the strangers. A smooth

MOSELEKATSE. 93

plain adjoining the town was selected for the purpose, where Moselekatse took
his stand in the centre of an immense circle of his soldiers, numbers of women
being present, who with their shrill voices and clapping of hands took part in tho
concert. About thirty ladies from his harem with long white wands marched to
the song backward and forward on the outside of the ranks, their well lubricated
shining bodies being too weighty for the agile movements which characterized
the matrons and damsels of lower rank. They sang their war songs, and one
composed on occasion of the visit of the strangers, gazing on and adoring
with trembling fear and admiration, the potentate in the centre, who stood
and sometimes regulated the motions of thousands by the movement of his
head, or the raising or depression of his hand. He then sat down on his
shield of lion's skin, and asked me if it was not fine, and if we had such
things in my country. I could not gratify his vanity by saying I did admire
that which excited the most thrilling sensations in his martial bosom, and as
to there being balls, public balls, in honour of the great and renowned, I did
not choose to acknowledge.

" This public entertainment or display of national glory occupied the
greater joart of the day, when the chief retired swollen with pride, amidst the
deafening shouts of adoring applause, not only of the populace, but of his
satraps, who followed at a distance to do him homage at his own abode
Whenever he arose or sat down, all within sight hailed him with a shout,
Bauite ! or Aaite ! followed by a number of his high sounding titles, such as
Great King, King of heaven, the Elephant," etc.

Mr. Moffat gives the following account of this Conqueror of the 1 >es rl : — ■
"When a youth his father was the chief of an independent tribe. His
people were attacked by one more powerful, and routed. He took refuge under
the sceptre of Chaka, who was then rendering his name terrible by deeds of
crime. Moselekatse, from his intrepid character, was placed at the head of a
marauding expedition, which made dreadful havoc among the northern kibes ;
but, instead of giving up the whole of the spoils, he made a reserve fur himself.
This reaching the ears of Chaka, revenge instantly burned in the tyrant's
bosom, who resolved to annihilate so daring an aggressor. Moselekatse
was half prepared to take flight, and descend on the thickly-peopled re-
gions of the north, like a sweeping pestilence. He escaped, after a desperate
conflict with the warriors of Chaka, who killed nearly all the old men, and
many of the women. His destructive career among the Bakone tribes has been
noticed ; but dire as that was, it must have been only a faint transcript of the
terror, desolation, and death, which extended to the utmost limits of Chaka's
arms. Though but a follower in the footsteps of Chaka, the career of Mosele-
katse, from the period of his revolt till the time I saw him, and long after.
formed an interminable catalogue of crimes. Scarcely a mountain, over exten-
sive regions, but bore the marks of his deadly ire. His experience and native

91 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

cunning enabled him to triumph over the minds of his men, and made his
trembling captives soon adore him as an invincible sovereign. Those who
resisted, and would not stoop to be his dogs, he butchered. He trained tho
captured youth in his own tactics, so that the majority of his army were for-
eigners ; but his chiefs and nobles gloried in their descent from the Zulu dynasty.
He had carried his arms far into the tropics, where, however, he had more than
once met with his equal (this was Sebituane) ; and on one occasion, of six hun-
dred warriors, only a handful returned to be sacrificed, merely because they had
not conquered, or fallen with their companions. Abject representatives came,
while I was with him, from the subjugated tribes of the Bamanguato, to solicit
his aid against a more distant tribe, which had taken their cattle. By means
like these, it may be said, ' He dipped his sword in blood, and wrote his
name on lands and cities desolate.' In his person he was below the middle
stature, rather corjuilent, with a short neck, and in his manner could bo ex-
ceedingly affable and cheerful. His voice, soft and effeminate, did not indicate
that his disposition was passionate ; and, happily for his people, it was not
so, or many would have been butchered in tho ebullitions of his anger."

Mr. Moffat frequently visited him and his people after this, and was suc-
cessful in planting Christianity amongst them.

According to his wish, Sebituane was succeeded in the chieftainship by a
daughter, to whom Livingstone and his party applied for leave to settle and
travel in the country, which was granted. In company with Mr. Oswcll,
Livingstone discovered the Zambesi in the end of June, 1851, at a point
where it was not known previously to exist. The sight of that noble stream,
even in the dry season, flowing majestically eastward, with a breadth of from
three to six hundred yards, must have filled Livingstone's mind with the hope
of the near approach of the time when commerce and Christianity would flow
into the heart of the country along this great natural highway.

As tho Makololo between the Chobe and the Zambesi live on the low
marshy grounds in the neighbourhood of these rivers and their affluents, as a
protection from their numerous enemies, the question of where a mission
station could be settled was a serious one. The healthy regions were de-
fenceless and not to be thought of in the then state of the country. So there
was no help for it but to move south once more, and after shipping his family
for England, return to complete the work which no mere personal considera-
tions would have stopped at this juncture.

CHAPTER VI.

Dr. Livingstone's Loiters from Central Africa. — Mr. Chapman on the Country and
People Hound Lake Ngami. — Journey up the Course of the Zambesi or
Lccambyc. — Preparations for Journey to the West Coast, S,'c.

The following letter, dated Banks of the River Zouga, 1st October, 1851,
while it repeats, to some extent information already given, contains so much
interesting matter that we give it entire : —

" This letter will bo forwarded by a party of Griquas who leave this river
to-morrow, and proceed direct to Phillippolis. We left our old route at
Nahokotsa and proceeded nearly due north, crossed the bed of the Zouga, and
certain salt pans remarkable for their extent. One called ' Ntivetivc ' was
about fifteen miles broad and probably one hundred long. Beyond this we
passed through a hard flat country covered with mopanc trees, and containing
a great number of springs, in limestone rock. A considerable number of
Bushmen live in the vicinity, and they seem to have abundance of food.
Leaving this district of springs and guided by a Bushman, we crossed an
excessively dry and difficult tract of country, and struck a small river called
Mabali. Visiting a party of Bushmen and another of Banajoa, we, after some
days, reached the Chobe in 18° 20' S., the river on which Scbituanc lived. The
tsetse (a venomous insect), abounded on the southern bank, and, as the depth
is from twelve to fifteen feet, wo could not cross with the waggons; the cattle
were accordingly taken over to an island, and Mr. Oswell and I proceeded
about thirty miles down the river in a canoe. It was propelled by five
superior rowers ; and to us who arc accustomed to bullock waggons, the speed
seemed like that of boat races at home.

Sebituano received us kindly, and offered to replace our cattle, which
were all believed to be bitten by tsetse. He returned to the waggons
with us, and subsequently fell sick, and to our great sorrow, died.
lie formed one of the party of Mantatecs repulsed by the Griquas, at
old Lattakoo, and since then he has almost constantly been fighting.
lie several times lost all his cattle, but, being a man of great ability,
managed to keep his people together, and ended his days richer in cattle,
and with many more people under his sway, than any other chief we
know in Africa. A doctor who attended him interrupted with rudeness when
I attempted to speak about death, and his people took him away from the
island when not far from his end. Mr. Oswell and I went over to condole

96 LIFE OF DA VII) LI VINGSTUNE, LEI).

"with his people soon after the news of his death came, and they seemed to
take our remarks thankfully. "Wo remained two months with them; they
are hy far the most savage race of people we have seen, hut they treated us
with uniform kindness, and would have heen delighted had we heen ahlc to
remain with them permanently. Such was my intention when I left Kolo-
heng, and having understood that there were high lands in that region, to
avoid the loss of time which would occur in returning for my family, I
resolved that they should accompany me. The deep rivers among which they
now live, are a defence to them against the Matahclc. To have removed them
to the high land would have heen rendering them defenceless; and the country
itself was so totally different from anything I could have anticipated, I felt
convinced that two years alone in it, are required for the successful com-
mencement of a mission. It is for hundreds of miles intersected with
numerous rivers, and hranches of rivers coming out of these and returning
into them again ; these arc flanked with large reedy, hoggy, tracts of country.
Where trees ahound, if not on an island, the tsetse exists ; indeed we seem to
have reached the limits of waggon travelling.

"We proceeded on horseback ahout one hundred miles further than
the place where the waggons stood to see the Sesheke or river of the
Barotse. It is from three hundred to five hundred yards broad, and
at the end of a remarkably dry season, had a very large volume of
water in it. The waves lifted the canoes and made them roll beauti-
fully, and brought back old scenes to my remembrance. The town of
Sesheke is on the opposite shore ; the river itself, as near as we could ascer-
tain by both instruments, 17° 28' South. It overflows the country periodically
for fifteen miles out, contains a waterfall called Mosiatunya (smoke sounds), the
spray of which can be seen ten or fifteen miles off. The river of Bashukolompo
is about eighty yards wide, and when it falls into the Sesheke the latter is called
Zambesi. There are numerous rivers reported to connect the two, and all
along the rivers there exists a dense population of a strong black race. That
country abounds in corn and honey, and they show much more ingenuity in
iron work, basket work, and pottery, than any of the people south of them.

" That which claims particular attention is the fact that the slave trade
only began in this region during 1850. A party of people called Mambari, from
the west, came to Sebituane bearing a large quantity of English printed and
.striped cotton clothing, red, green, and blue baize of English manufacture,
and with these bought from the different towns about two hundred boys; they
had chains and rivets in abundance, and invited the people of Sebituane to go
a marauding expedition against the Bashukolompo by saying, j7ou may take
all the cattle, Ave will only take the prisoners. On that expedition they met
with some Portuguese, and these gave them three English guns, receiving in
return at least thirty slaves. These Portuguese promised to return during

TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE. 97

tills winter. The people confessed that they felt a repugnance to the traffic,
but (the Mambari and Portuguese) refused cattle for their clothing and
guns. It seems to me that English manufactures might come up the Zambesi
during the months of June, July, and August, or September, by the hands of
Englishmen, and for legitimate purposes, as well as by these slave dealers for
their unlawful ends. There is no danger from fever if people come after
May, and leave before September. The Government might supply informa-
tion to traders on the coast. I shall write you fully on this subject, as also on
another of equal importance, but at which I can only now hint.

"You will see by this accompanying sketch what an immense region
God has in His providence opened up. If we can enter in and form a settle-
ment, we shall be able, in the course of a very few years, to put a stop to the
slave trade in that quarter. It is probable that the mere supply of English manu-
factures in this part of the country will effect this, for they did not like it, and
promised to abstain. I think it will be impossible to make a fair commence-
ment unless I can secure two years devoid of family cares. I shall be obliged
to go southward, perhaps to the Cape, in order to have my uvula excised and
my arm mended. It has occurred to me, that as wo must send our children
to England soon, it would be no great additional expense to send them now
along with their mother. This arrangement would enable me to proceed
alone, and devote about two, or perhaps three yeai-s to this new region ; but
I must beg your sanction, and if you please, let it be given or withheld as soon
as you conveniently can, so that it might meet me at the Cape. To orphanize
my children, will be like tearing out my bowels ; but when I can find time to
write to you fully, you will perceive it is the only way, except giving up the
region altogether."

In the Missionary Magazine for June, we have the continuation of his
account of his visit to the interior. He says : —

" The confusion which has for a considerable time prevailed on our
borders, contains to those avIio are intimately acquainted with the native
tribes, unmistakable evidence of a state of transition ; and though not at all
anxious to inflict our simple faith as to the ultimate result of the transition
process, on those who can see further into a millstone than ourselves, or even
desirous to stave off the blame, which such eagerly heap on the agents of the
London Missionary Society, we may hint that the process, when conducted by
missionaries, untrammelled by the interference of Government, is incom-
parably the cheapest at least, both with respect to blood and treasure. And
the intentions of Providence seem to indicate a wide extension of the process.
The Bible will soon be all translated and printed in the Sichuana. The
Providence of God fixed the residence of the translator on a spot which
became the city of refuge for individuals and families from nearly every
tribe in the country- The translation, by this circumstance, became better
o

98 LIFE OF DAY ID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

adapted for general use, and contains less of a provincial character than it
otherwise would have done. It is owing to this circumstance that if a word
is objected to, ten to one but the objector is familiar only with a dialect
peculiar to a minority of the Bechuana nation.

" Then there is the extensive prevalence of that language and its
grammatical exactitude. It is totally different from all Eurojiean languages,
and the Bush or Hottentot. Its forms and inflections arc nearly perfect, and
tribes, which have through war or other degrading influences lost much of the
expressiveness of their dialects, admire the Sichuana Testament on account of
the little loss that language has sustained. Sebituane has planted it on the
banks of the Zambesi. It is the court language there, as the Norman-French
was in our court some centuries ago. He encountered great difficulties in
crossing the Kalahari desert. The extreme thirst which his people and cattle
underwent in passing along nearly the same route as that at present pursued
in our course to the Lake Ngami, resulted in the loss of nearly all his cattle —
hundreds in the frenzy of thirst fled back to Mushue, Lopeps, &c, and wero
captured by tribes living on this side of the desert. He went before us to
prepare our way. The existence of the Kalahari desert excludes the shadow
of the shade of foundation for the idea that any Avhite man ever crossed it
before Mr. Oswcll and myself. Even the Griquas, who were well acquainted
with the desert, always attempted to go through it. Those who succeeded
subsequently to the period of our discovery did so witli the entire loss of
waggons and oxen. The idea of passing, as it were, round the end of the
desert instead of through it, never entered any one's head until we put it in
practice.

" In our late journey to the country of Sebituane, or the region situated
about two hundred miles beyond the Lake Ngami, we followed our usual
route towards the Zouga until we came to Nahokotsa. From thence our
course became nearly due north.

" Early on the morning of the 19th of June we found ourselves on the
banks of the River Chobe, lat. 18° 20' south, long. 26' east.

" The extensive regions to the north-north-east and north-west of the
Chobe and Seshekc rivers, under the sway of tho late Sebituane, and now
governed by his people called Makololo, in the name of his daughter, is for
hundred of miles nearly a dead level. In passing over one hundred miles
from the point where the waggons stood to the River Scsheke, we saw no hill
higher than an ant hill. The country is intersected by numerous deep rivers,
and adjacent to each of these, immense reedy bogs or swamps stretch away in
almost every direction. Oxen cannot pass through these swamps ; they sink
in up to the belly, and on looking down the holes made by their legs, the
parts immediately under the surface are seen to be saturated with water.

" The rivers are not like many in South Africa, mere ' nullahs,' con-

THE RISE AND FALL OF III VERS. 99

taining nothing but sand and stones. All of those we saw contained large
volumes of -water. The period of our visit happened to be the end of an
extraordinary dry season, yet, on sounding the Chobe, we found it to have a
regular depth of 15 feet on the side to which the water swung, and of 12. feet
on the calm side. The banks below the lowest water mark were more
inclined to the perpendicular than those of a canal. It was generally as deep
at a foot from the bank as in the middle of the stream. The roots of the
reeds and grass seem to prevent it wearing away the land, and in many parts
the bank is undermined and hangs over the deep water. Were its course not
so verv winding, a steam vessel could sail on it. The higher lands in this
region are raised only by a few feet above the surrounding level. On these,
the people pasture their cattle, make their gardens, and build their towns.
The rivers overflow their banks annually. The great drought prevented the
usual rise of the water while we were in the country in July, and the people
ascribed the non-appearance of the water to the death of their chief. But
when the rivers do fill, the whole country is inundated, and must present
the appearance of a vast lake with numerous islands scattered over its surface.
The numerous branches given off by each of the rivers and the annual over-
flow of the country, explain the reports we had previously heard of
' Linokanoka ' (rivers upon rivers), and ' large waters ' with numerous islands
in them. The Chobe must rise at least 10 feet in perpendicular height before
it can reach the dykes built for catching fish, situated about a mile from its
banks, and the Sesheke must rise 15 or 20 feet before it overflows its banks.
Yet, Mr. Oswell and I saw unmistakeable evidence of that overflow, reaching
about 15 miles out. We were fortunate in visiting the country at the end of
a remarkably dry year, but even then the amount of zigzag necessary to avoid
the numerous branches of the rivers — the swamps and parts infested by the
tsetse — would have frittered away the only season in which further progress,
by means of waggons, would have been practicable. As the people traverse
the country in every direction in their canoes, and even visit their gardens
in them, a boat may be indispensable in the equipment of future travellers.

" The soil seemed fruitful. It is generally covered with rank coarse
grass ; but many large and beautiful trees adorn the landscape. Most of
these were to us entirely new. We claimed acquaintance, however, with the
gigantic Baobab, which raises its enormous arms high above all the other
forest trees, and makes them by the contrast appear like bushes below it.
Large numbers of date trees and palmyras grow on the road to Sesheke.
The former were in blossom at the time of our visit, and we saw date seeds
under them. Of the new trees, some were very beautiful evergreens ; and in
addition to numbers of large parasitical plants, we observed two of the
orchidian family. One splendid fruit tree particularly attracted our notice,
but, unfortunately, all the seeds (about the size of peach stones) were broken

100 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

by some animal. In addition to the usual grains grown by the natives, they
raise large numbers of a kind of earth-nut called ' motuohatsi ' (man of the
earth). It is sweet when roasted in the ashes and also when boiled. It has
grown well at Kuruman, and has been distributed in the colony of the Cape.
The people of the Barotse tribe cultivate the sugar-cane and sweet potato.
Wheat, maize, peach, and apricot stones, and other garden seeds, have been
left with the Makololo, as they willingly promised to make and sow a garden
for our use. As the moisture from the river seems to permeate the soil, it is
probable that some of these seeds will vegetate and increase the food of the
inhabitants ; but of this, their stout appearance seemed to indicate no want.

"The people inhabiting these regions are a black race, totally distinct from
the Bechuanas. The people of Sebituane are called Makololo, and the black
race which we found inhabiting the numerous islands is divided into several
tribes, which pass by different names ; as the Barotse, Banyeti, Batoko,
Bashukulompo, &c. The Makololo are a sort of omnium, gatherum, of different
Bechuana tribes, all speaking Sichuana. The providence of God has prepared
the way for us, for wherever we went we found the Sichuana, into which the
Bible is nearly all translated, in common use. It is the court language.
There arc besides the different dialects of the black tribes, viz., those of the
Barotse, Batoka, &c. ; and though the radicals bear some resemblance to the
Sichuana, and are oi the same family, none of the Bechuana could under-
stand them when spoken. The Barotse arc very ingenious in basket making
and wood-work generally. The Banyeti are excellent smiths, making ox and
sheep bells, spears, knives, needles, and hoes of superior workmanship ; iron
abounds in their country, and of excellent quality ; they extract it from the
ore, and they are famed as canoe builders; abundance of fine, light, but strong
wood called molompi, enables them to excel in this branch of industry ; other
tribes are famed for their skill in pottery ; their country yields abundance of
native corn, &c. ; and though their upper extremities and chests are largely
developed, they seem never to have been much addicted to wars. They seem
always to have trusted to the defences which their deep reedy rivers afford.
Their numbers are very large. In constructing the rough sketch of the
country given in the map, we particularly requested of the different natives
employed, that they would only mention the names of the large towns. As scores
of them were employed by Mr. Oswell and myself, and they generally agreed
in their drawings and accounts of the towns, &c, we consider what we have
put down, to be an approximation to the truth. The existence of the large
towns indicated, derives additional confirmation from the fact that in our ride
to Scsheke we saw several considerable villages containing 500 or GOO inhabi-
tants each, and these were not enumerated by our informants as being too
small to mention.

European manufactures, in considerable quantities, find their way in from

THE TRADE IN IVOEY. 101

the cast and west coasts to the centre of the continent. We were amused soon
after our arrival at the Chobc, by seeing a gentleman walking toward us in a
gaudily-flowered dressing gown, and many of the Makololo possessed cloaks
of blue, red, and green baize, or of different-coloured prints. On inquiring
Ave found that these had been obtained in exchange for slaves, and that this
traffic began on the Sesheke only in 18-50. A party of another African tribe,
called Mambari, came to Sebituane in that year, carrying great quantities of
cloth and a few old Portuguese guns marked ' Legitimo de Braga,' and though
cattle and ivory were offered in exchange, everything was refused except boys
about fourteen years of age. The Makololo viewed the traffic with dislike, but
having great numbers of the black race living in subjection to them, they
were too easily persuaded to give these for the guns. Eight of these old
useless guns were given to Sebituane for as many boys. They then invited
the Makololo to go on a fray against the Bashukolompo, stipulating before-
hand, that in consideration for the use to be made of their guns in the attack
on the tribe, they should receive all the captives, while the Makololo should
receive all the cattle. While on this expedition the Makololo met a party of
slave-dealers on the Bashukolompo or Mauniche river; these were either Portu-
guese or bastards of that nation, for they were said to be light coloured like us
(our complexion being a shade darker than wash leather), and had straight
hair. These traders presented three English muskets to the Makololo, and
the latter presented them with about thirty captives. The Mambari went off
with about two hundred slaves, bound in chains, and both parties were so well
pleased with their new customers, that they promised to return in 1851. We
entertained hopes of meeting them, but they had not yet come when we left.
The Mambari came from the north-west, and live in the vicinity of the sea
coast on that side ; while the other slave dealers come up the Zambesi, from
the east coast. Can Europeans not equal the slave dealers in enterprise ? If
traders from Europe would come up the Zambesi, the slave dealer would soon
be driven out of the market. It is only three years since we first opened a
market for the people on the river Zouga and Lake Ngami. We know of nine
hundred elephants having been killed in that period on one river alone.
Before we made a way into that quarter there was no market ; the elephants'
tusks were left to rot in the sun with the other bones, and ma)' still be seen,
completely spoiled by sun and rain ; but more than £10,000 worth of ivory
has come from that river since its discovery ; and if one river helps to swell
the commerce of the colony, what may not be expected from the many rivers,
all densely populated, which are now brought to light? ' But the blacks will
be supplied with fire-arms and give the colonists much trouble afterwards.'
Yes they will, and that too, most plentifully by those who make the greatest
outcry against the trade in arms, and the sale of gunpowder. But can the
trade in lire-arms be prevented ? So long as, according to (Junnning's state-

102 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ment, 3,000 per cent, can be made by it, it is in vain to attempt to stop it.
The result of all our observation in the matter is, the introduction of guns
among the natives has the same effect among them as among European
nations; it puts an end to most of their petty wars, and renders such as do
occur much less bloody than they formerly were. We do not plead for the
trade. We only say stop that, and stop the slave trade, by coercion if you can.
If any one will risk something in endeavouring to establish a trade on the
Zambesi, we beg particularly to state that June, July, and August are, as far
as our present knowledge goes, the only safe months for the attempt. He who
docs establish a fair trade will be no loser in the end. We had frost on the Chobe
in July, but the winter is very short. We saw swallows on Seshekc in the
beginning of August, and the trees generally never lose their leaves."

From Mr. Chapman's travels we are tempted to give here a scries of
extracts supplementing Livingstone's account of the countries to the south of
the Zambesi. Near the streams and lakes the abundance of animal life is very
striking. In his account of his approach to Lcchulatebes town, Mr. Chapman
gives a graphic account of animal and plant life on the Botletlie or Zouga
river : —

" The vegetation is everywhere luxuriant, and the animals seem to revel
in it. The birds, in particular, are seen in countless numbers and of endless
varieties. We saw some (Jibbaroos) as large as adjutants, with long red beaks
turned upward at the extremity, the plumage black and white. Also three
kinds of demoisella cranes, and a large magnificent hawk, with black breast
and throat. It is dark sepia grey above, snow white underneath, with black
spots. Hundreds of grouse and pheasants, with their young broods, run
before us, and hawks are all day snapping them up, while mice and lizards,
coming out to bask, are so plentiful that these rapacious birds have no want
of food. Wherever the water has pushed over the banks, and formed little
swamps and pools, we see hundreds of ducks and geese of several kinds, also
the large yellow-billed duck, with glossy green wings, and the large whistling
ducks.

"Next morning, which was bitterly cold, with again a southerly wind, I
started early, cooped up in a middling-sized ill-shapen canoe, with a Makobo
and two little sons with him, one to paddle and the other for company. We
poled or paddled, or drifted with the stream, as chance offered, frequently
having to tear our way through the dense reeds which shut up our path. For
a mile or two the river would be quite free and open, and often so shallow
that we had to put back and return by another channel, or get out and drag
the boat, so that I somewhat repented that I had not rather undertaken the
journey on foot. At times we forced our way through large and picturesque
basins, under perpendicular white cliffs, crowned with gigantic over-hanging
trees, while the green slopes on the opposite side were clothed with a carpet

TROPICAL SCENERY. 103

of emerald, on which cattle and goats were browsing. The water in these
little lakes was almost entirely hidden under the profusion of immense lotus
leaves, which lay on its surface, and were buoyant enough to support the weight
of stilt legs (a rare bird), snipes, and other aquatic birds, running about in quest
of their food. These leaves, large and oblong, are slit at one end as far as
the stalk, and though as thin as a sheet of paper, receive their buoyancy from
the fact of their outer edges drying and curling up to the sun, so that they
float like large ducks in the water ; excepting when the wind sometimes lifts
one up, causing it to flap like the wings of a bird. Thousands of pretty lotus
flowers enliven the scene, while they emit an odour grateful and invigorating
to the senses. "We passed over some beds of hard sandstone, worn full of
round cavities. At times I fancied we were about to bump up against a
brown coral-like reef, which, however, yielded before us and proved to be a
peculiar aquatic plant. "We started some lovely little king fishers, with
plumage of most ethereal hues, and I shot a brace of white storks. I got
pretty well tired of the boat, and occasionally took a walk on the banks,
leaving the boat to pursue its course. . . . By-and-bye we came to a
large makuchon tree shading a large circle on the north bank, and I knew
another hour would land us at the town. Just here there are many shallows,
so that in many parts a waggon can easily cross. There are scarcely any
reeds on the banks, and large plains exist which were covered with water
and reeds, even so lately as twenty or thirty years ago."

This stream, the Botlctlie, or Zouga, Livingstone supposed to be the outlet
of Lake Ngami, but Mr. Chapman and others, who have been repeatedly round the
lake, have found that it has no outlet, and that it is gradually shrinking in
dimensions. During the rainy season a portion of the waters of the Zou°-a
flows eastwards, while another portion flows westwards into the Lake ;
Livingstone must have seen it when the channel lake-wards was full, and the
surplus water of the river was flowing to the east. The change of climate is
rapidly reducing the waters which flow into it, and in all probability the country
round will, within a few generations, assume the character of the Kalahari desert.
To the south there is a large shallow salt lake, and all over the country salt-pans,
or the beds of former salt lakes are found. The grass-eating animals frequent
these salt-pans just as their congeners in North America visit the salt licks. Mr.
Chapman has passed twice between Lake Ngami and Walvisch Bay on the
West Coast, and next to Dr. Livingstone, has explored the largest amount of
South African territory. His two volumes of " Travels in the Interior of
South Africa," are most interesting reading. His descriptions of the flora
and fauna of the vast regions he has traversed are most copious and valuable,
and we take the opportunity here of acknowledging our indebtedness to his
graphic and entertaining pages.

Mr. Chapman had thoughts of settling for a time between Lake Ngami

104 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and the West Coast, and endeavouring to make peace between the various
warlike tribes of the district, while he traded in ivory and skins, and made a
careful study of the natural history of the district, but the wars between the
Namaqua Hottentots and the Damaras, rendered it impossible. The follow-
ing picture of the scene in which he hoped to settle, will give a good idea of
the beauty and fertility of vast tracts in Central Africa : —

"In the course of the ensuing fortnight I removed to Wilson's old place in
the Schwagoup river, where my cattle wore grazing. I made a pit for the
cattle, and one for ourselves, with a garden, &c., and collected material for
building a house, in the hope of yet being able to make peace between the
hostile tribes, and bring my wife and family to settle in this country, with a
view to prosecute for a few more years my researches in natural history, &c.

" The site at the " shambles," as the spot was called, was a lovely one for
a dwelling, surrounded by a park of most gigantic and graceful anna trees.
Over these trees, at the back of my residence, peeps out a large smooth mass
of granite mountain, towering a thousand feet above the plain ; and on the
southern or opposite side is another reddish-looking mountain sparsely covered
with green grass and bush. In this hill copper has been found. To the
westward the hills are crossed with wavy streaks of quartz through soft grey
granite. The werft was overrun with dry burr- grasses, the seeds of which,
together with a wild vegetable, or spinach, called omboa, constitutes an
article of food of the Damaras. Dark and heavy clusters of a creeping or
parasitical plant hang gracefully around the thick stems of the anna trees. To
the north there are open, undulating, bush-dotted plains, extending for several
miles, and terminated by sharp-angled, serrated hills in the distant north and
west. Pheasants run cackling about on my homestead by hundreds, de-
stroying my garden, and guinea-fowls and korhaans are heard. The zebra,
the koodoo, the ostrich, and other tenants of the wilds, are to be found on the
station. The grazing and the water is good and abundant, and nothing is
wanting but peace in the country to make this, and a thousand other equally
pleasant spots, a delightful place of residence.

' ' Continual rumours of immediate attack by the Hottentots, however,
forbid anything like repose. We are kept in a state of constant alarm, and
all exercise of peaceful industry was rendered impossible. This state of
suspense which paralysed all useful effort, was succeeded, after some weeks,
by a lull, and it was understood that an accommodation had been come to
on the part of the respective leaders, and that the strife between the Damaras
and Hottentots was virtually at an end. Encouraged by these reports, and
finding it impossible to exist in Damara Land, I resolved upon removing my
property into the Hottentot country, and as the Damaras were again gaining
courage and moving up to Wilson's and Bessingthwaite's places, near the
Hottentots, I succeeded in getting a few to accompany me to the matchless

HONEY BEER. 105

copper-mines near Jonker's place, — where they knew there was abundance
of food, and a prospect of trade with the Hottentots. Accordingly, I packed
up my tilings and started, on December 6th, for Otjimbengue ; a thousand
Damaras met me on the road, and their moro ! moro ! (good morning) was
always accompanied with tutu la/co (give me tobacco).

" The country eastward was green and flourishing, the valley of the Kaan
teeming with guinea-fowl, of which I shot a great number. I reached Rim-
hoogte on the evening of the 8th, and, with some delays consequent on the
necessity of waiting for my cattle to come up, arrived a few days later at my
destination. I found the houses at the mines in a terribly tumble-down con-
dition. But as Mr. Andersson, who had a claim to the buildings, had given
me permission to occupy any of them if I felt disposed to run the risk of
doing so, I set to work at renovating the best of them, and made a garden
while waiting the arrival of Jan Jonker, to whom I had notified my presence
there On the 17th, I received a visit from the chief, who was accompanied
by his uncle, old Jan Jonker, with an interpreter and One or two attendants.
Jan Jonker himself looked very much improved since I had last seen him :
he was smartly dressed, had grown stouter and more manly in figure, and
exhibited, in the questions he put to me, a degree of shrewdness and general
intelligence which I little expected to find in the debauched youth of bygone
years He evidently sought to extract from me all the information at my
disposal ; and I could not but admire the assumed air of indifference with
which he asked the most important questions. We had much conversation on the
disturbed state of the country, and the disputed points between the Dainara
and Hottentot nations. He denied the alleged grievances of the former people,
and resented warmly the interference of English traders in native affairs.

" Jan Jonker and his party left me next morning, the chief promising
that he would send to warn the Topuaars not to molest my property, intima-
ting at the same time that they were not his subjects, but a perfectly inde-
pendent people, over whom he had no direct control. I wished to give him a
letter, to be forwarded to Amraal's to meet my brother, who is expected from
the lake ; but he declines taking charge of it, there being at present no com-
munication with that tribe, owing to the small-pox, which, he says, is making
dreadful ravages.

" Having now made all the arrangements I thought necessary to ensure
the safety of my people , whom I left in charge of my servant, James Har-
rison, I left, on the 19th, for the Bay, in order to meet my wife, who was
determined in future to be my travelling companion. Passing a day at
Mr. Bessingthwaitc's house (where a pot of honey-beer, or methlegen, the
favourite beverage of the Hottentots, was hospitably brewed in my honour)
on the way, and descending by Rimhoogte into the valley of the Kami river,
I reached Otjimbengue in time to spend the Christmas there.
p

106 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" Tlie Kaan, which the road frequently crosses, is a very turbulent moun-
tain torrent ; it is one of the largest branches of the Schwagoup river above
Otjimbenguc, and pours occasionally a large body of water into that river,
but, owing to the quick drainage, never offers a long-continued impediment
to waggon travelling. When, however, its turbid waves come rolling down
with thundering roar after the rains, the traveller has only to wait patiently
until its fury is spent

" The Kaan valley offers many a scene of striking interest to the lover of
Nature and the pencil of the artist. One of the most striking features in the
surrounding scenery is found in the uniform parallel stratifications of schist
projecting some distance from the earth, and all bearing in one direction; the
intervals are covered with a mixture of last year's crop of dry grass, blending
with the incipient crop of this. An occasional white-stemmed gouty-looking
motiudi tree, with its large, pointed, oval, pulpy leaves, strongly serrated,
and tall aloes, cacti, and euphorbias are seen. The round and sometimes
broken and cliffy hills, dotted with verdant sweet-gums, their bases often
washed by the flood, offer pictures which it is pleasant to behold, surrounded,
as they often are, with pretty forests of blooming, sweet-scented mimosa from
whose black stems the silvery gum is trickling, while their bright blossoms
perfume the morning air. The blue jay, with heavy wing, hovers mockingly
overhead, vociferating in concert with gay-painted but screeching paroquets
and discordant guinea-fowls, whose notes are further augmented by the
whir — r — r of pheasants and partridges, which rise on every side, while insects
of green and gold buzz and boom amongst the foliage.

"The least interesting part of this valley is clothed with dabby (Tamarisk),
a few pretty ebony trees, aged and wide-spreading mokalas and anna-booms.
Here graceful koodoos are still found browsing and the rock buck perches on the
highest pinnacles, and the equally agile mountain zebra (the small black one of
the Cape), wary as a cat, barely shows his head over the mountains, ere,
tossing his mane and rearing back, he suddenly flings out his heels and
plunges forward in mad gallop. The steinboks keep on the lower plains, and
baboons are found in large gangs grubbing for bulbs (lunchies) and the roots
of the purple-blossomed sorrel, which is also abundant, and is a nourishing
and wholesome vegetable to man as well. Through such a landscape it is an
interesting sight to watch the red wheels of the white-tilted waggons drag-
ging heavily after the sturdy team of parti-coloured oxen, often stumbling
and kneeling over the sharp flints; now rolling with the roar of distant thunder
down the rocky steps of the mountains, with difficulty maintaining its equili-
brium ; now grating down the quartzy slope with the drag on, the oxen drag-
ging sometimes on their haunches ; anon grinding over the pebbly bed of the
stream, on emerging from which the sore-footed cattle more firmly tread tho
soft, red, sandy road, cut through a carpet of emerald, until they bury them-

SECHELE'S LETTER. 107

selves out of sight in the blooming groves, while the mountains re-echo with
the driver's harsh voice and the crack of his huge whip.

" We halted during the day at a spot where Isaak, a half-witted Hottentot
lad by whom I was attended, noticed a plant of the cactus or euphorbia tribe,
known by the name of elephant's trunk. Isaak plucked several of the younger
shoots of the plants, and, rubbing off the prickles with a stone, set me the
example of eating some. Notwithstanding that I knew the plant to be freely
eaten by the Namaquas, I thought, on tasting the first mouthful, that Isaak
was bent ujion poisoning me, and made some horrible wry faces. Isaak
however, devoured several pounds of the nauseous plant."

Livingstone, in pursuance of a design intimated at the close of last chap-
ter, and further alluded to in the letter published in this chapter, accompanied
his family to the Cape, from whence they were to be conveyed to England.
On his return he was delayed at Kuruman for a fortnight by the breaking of
a waggon wheel, which prevented him from being present with Sechele and the
friendly Bakwains at Kolobeng, when the long-threatened attack of the Boers,
already detailed, was carried into effect. Previous to this, Sechele had sent
his children to Mr. Moffat at Kuruman to be educated.

The news of the attack of the Boers was brought by Masabele, Sechele's
wife. She had herself been hidden in a cleft of rock, over which a number of
Boers were firing. Her infant began to cry, and terrified lest this should
attract the attention of the men, the muzzles of whose guns appeared at every
discharge over her head, she took off her armlets as playthings to quiet the
child. She brought Mr. Moffat a letter which tells its own tale ; nearly lite-
rally translated it is as follows : —

" Friend of my heart's love, and of all the confidence of my heart ; I am
undone by the Boers, who attacked me, although I had no guilt with them.
They demanded that I should be in their kingdom, and I refused. They de-
manded that 1 should prevent the English and Griquas from passing (north-
wards). 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 began 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 Baloriling (a former wife of Sechele) they also took prisoner. They
took all the cattle and all the goods of the Bakwains ; and the house of
Livingstone they plundered, taking away all his goods. The number of
waggons they had was eighty-five, and a cannon ; and after they had stolen
my own waggon and that of Macabe, then the number of their waggons (count-
ing the cannon as one) was eighty-eight. All the goods of the hunters (cer-
tain English gentlemen hunting and exploring in the north) wTerc burned in
the town; and of the Boers were killed twenty-eight. Yes, my beloved

108 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

friend, now my wife goes to see the children, and Robus Hae will convey her
to you. " I am, Sechele, The son of Mochoasele."

The report of this disaster raised such a panic among the Bechuanas that
Livingstone had great difficulty in engaging any one to accompany him from
any of the tribes near Kuruman. At last in conjunction with George
Heming, a man of colour, who was on his way to the Makololo country, with
the view of opening up a trade with them, half-a-dozen servants Avere procured.
"They were," he says, "the worst possible specimens of those who imbibe
the vices without the virtues of Europeans ; but we had no choice, and were
glad to get away on any terms."

At Motilo, forty miles to the north, the travellers met Sechele on his way,
as ho said, to submit his case " to the Queen of England." He was so firmly
impressed with a belief in the justice of Englishmen, that they found it im-
possible to dissuade him from making the attempt. On reaching Bloemfontein,
he found some English troops just returned from a battle with the Basutos.
The officers were much interested in Sechele, invited him to dinner, and sub-
scribed a handsome sum amongst them to defray his expenses. He proceeded
as far as the Cape, when, having expended all his means, he was compelled to
return to his own country without accomplishing his object.

If anything had been required to prove that the Dutch Boers on the
frontier were actuated by selfish interests only, the fact that they were so
assured of their ability to chastise the Bakwains for receiving Livingstone and
other Englishmen, that they agreed to wait over the Sunday before attacking
them, at Sechele's request, would be evidence sufficient.

Sechele's journey was not altogether in vain, as on his return he adopted
a mode of punishment he had seen in the colony — the making criminals work
on the public roads. As Livingstone had made up his mind to go into the
interior, he became the missionary to his own tribe. So popular did he
become, that within a very short period numbers of the tribes formerly living
under the Boers attached themselves to him, until he became the most power-
ful chief in the district.

It is facts like these which enable us to form a true idea of the influence
of the teaching and example of a noble-minded and self-denying man like
Livingstone among the tribes of Central Africa.

On his way to the north, Livingstone found the unfortunate Bakwains
suffering severely from the destruction of their property and the plunder
of their cattle. Notwithstanding that Sechele had given orders that no vio-
lence was to be offered to the Boers during his absence, a band of young men
had ventured out to meet a party of Boers, and as the latter were in a minority
they ran off leaving their waggons, which the young men brought in triumph
to Letubamba, the head-quarters of the tribe. The Boers were alarmed, and
sent four of their number to sue for peace, which was granted on their return-

SLA VE HUNTERS A T LINYANTI. 109

ing Sechcle'.s three children, whom Schloz, the Boer leader, had carried oft'
as slaves. One of them had three large unbound open sores on its body,
caused by falling into the fire. This, and the general appearance of the poor
children, spoke eloquently of the cruel treatment they had been subjected to.

A larger fall of rain than ordinary having taken place, the travellers
found little difficulty in crossing the hem of the Kalahari desert. Water
melons and other succulent roots were abundant. They met an English
traveller, Mr. J. Macabe, who had crossed the desert at its widest part, his
cattle on one occasion subsisting on the water melons for twenty-one days.
Macabe had, previous to Livingstone's discovery of Lake Ngami, written a
letter in one of the Cape papers, recommending a certain route as likely to
lead to it. The Trans-vaal Boers fined him five hundred dollars for writing
about " onze velt," our country, and imprisoned him until it was paid. Mr.
Macabe's comrade, a Mr. Maher, fell a victim to the hatred engendered by the
Boers. A tribe of Barolongs having taken him for a Boer, shot him as he
approached their village. When informed that he was an Englishman their
regret at the misadventure was extreme.

At Linyanti the capital of the Makololo, the travellers were heartily
welcomed by Sekeletu, the son of Sebituane, who had succeeded to his sister.
Mamoschisane had found it impossible to carry out her father's wishes ; and
this could hardly be wondered at, since one of these was that she should have
no husband, but use the men of the tribe or any number of them she chose,
just as he himself had done by the women ; but these men had other wives,
and as Livingstone drily puts it, in a proverb of the country, " The temper
of women cannot be governed," and they made her miserable by their
remarks. She chose one man who was called her wife, and her son the child
of Mamoschisane's wife; but disliking the arrangement, shortly after her
father's death she declared she would never govern the Makololo. Sekeletu,
who was afraid of the pretensions of Mpepe, another member of the family,
urged her to continue as chief, offering to remain with her and support her
authority in battle. She wisely persisted in her determination to abdicate,
indicating Sekeletu as her successor. " I have been a chief only because my
father wished it. I always would have preferred to be married and have a
family like other women. You, Sekeletu, must be chief, and build up your
father's house."

Sekeletu was afraid of Mpepe, whose pretensions were favoured by tho
Mambari tribe and the half-caste Portuguese, who carried on the slave trade
between the tribes in the interior and the dealers in human flesh on the coast.
All their hopes of being able to carry on their trade lay in the success of his
rebellion. Previous to Livingstone's arrival at Linyanti, a large party of
Mambari had arrived there ; but on the receipt of intelligence that Living-
stone was approaching, they fled so precipitately as not even to take leave of

110 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Sekeletu. A marvellous evidence truly of the moral influence of England,
even -when only represented by one resolute man, on savage men who are
seldom amenable to anything save superior force ! The Mambari retreated to
the north, where several half-caste slave traders, under the leadership of a
half-caste Portuguese, had erected a stockade. Through the aid of the fire-
arms of the slave traders, Mpepe hoped to be able to make himself the head
of the Makololo ; while they, in the event of his being victorious, expected to
be rewarded by the captives he might make in the course of the struggle.

Here and elsewhere the religious services were held in the Kotla, or public
meeting place, under the trees near the chief hut, and these were always well
attended. The meetings were called at Mabotsa and Kolobeng by the chief's
herald. As many as seven hundred frequently attended these meetings. At
Kolobeng, Sechele's wife frequently came in after service had begun, as if to
draw attention, not to her dress, but to her want of dress. Sechele, in great
displeasure, would send her out again to put on some clothing. As she retired
she pouted, and looked the very picture of feminine annoyance. If a woman
found that another woman was seated upon her dress, she would give her a
shove with her elbow, which the other would return with interest, until
several others would join in the fray, the men swearing at them all to enforce
silence. If a child cried, it was enough to set a great many of the audience
into a fit of laughter ; it seemed to them the perfection of a joke for a squalling
child to interrupt the grave and earnest missionary.

Mpepe, determining to strike the first blow, had armed himself with a
battle-axe, avowing his intention of striking Sekeletu down on the occasion of
their first interview, trusting to his being exalted to his position as chief,
during the panic which would inevitably take possession of the Makololo
on his death. At Livingstone's request, Sekeletu accompanied him on a
journey, with a view of ascending the Leeambye, and when they had
got about sixty miles on their way they encountered Mpepe. At their
first interview Livingstone sat between them, and was thus unconsciously
the means of saving the life of Sekeletu. Some of Mpepe's friends having
informed Sekeletu of his murderous intentions, he despatched several of his
attendants to his hut, who, seizing him by the arms, led him about a milo
from the encampment, where they speared him. This summary settlement
of a grave political difficulty thoroughly established Sekeletu in his position,
and removed what could hardly have failed to become a serious hindrance to
the carrying out of Livingstone's cherished schemes. Mpepe's men fled to the
Barotse, a tribe living in the district Livingstone and Sekeletu were on their
way to visit; and they, considering it unadvisable to go there during the
commotion excited by that occurrence, returned to Linyanti for a month,
when they again set out for the purpose of ascending the river from
Sesheke. They were accompanied by a large number of attendants, who are

THE ZAMBESI VALLEY. Ill

thus described : — " It was pleasant to look back along the long extended line
of our attendants, as it twisted and bent according to the course of the foot-
path, or in and out behind the mounds, the ostrich feathers of the men waving
in the wind. Some had the white ends of ox-tails on their heads, hussar
fashion, and others great bunches of black ostrich feathers, or capes made of
lions' manes. Some wore red tunics, or various coloured prints, which the
chief had bought from Fleming ; the common men carried burdens ; the
gentlemen walked with a small club of rhinoceros horn in their hands, and
had servants to carry their shields; while the machaka — battle-axe men —
carried their own, and were liable at any time to be sent off a hundred miles
on an errand, and expected to run all the way." Sekeletu was closely ac-
companied in marching by his own mopato, or body-guard of young men about
his own age, who were selected for the personal attendance and defence of the
chief, and seated themselves round him when they encamped.

The Makololo were rich in cattle, and the chief had numerous cattle stations
all over the country. In journeying, as on this occasion, his attendants were
fed by the chief, an ox or two being selected from his own herds, if there were
any in the neighbourhood ; if not the headman of the nearest village presented
one or two for the purpose. The people of the villages presented the party
on their arrival with draughts of the beer of the country and milk. As elands,
antelopes, and other kindsof game were frequently met within the plains between
Linyanti and the Leeambye they never wanted for food. The party struck
the Leeambye at a village considerably above Sesheke, where it is about six
hundred yards broad. After crossing to the north side of the river several
days were spent in collecting canoes. During this interval Livingstone took
the opportunity of going in pursuit of game to support the party, and to ex-
amine the adjacent country. The country is flat, diversified with small tree-
covered mounds, which are too high to be covered by the floods during the
rainy season. The soil on the flat parts is a rich loam, and this and the
abundant floods during the rainy season enable the natives to raise large
supplies of grain and ground-nuts. Vast numbers of a small antelope, about
eighteen inches high, new to naturalists, named the tian-yane, are found on
these plains, together with many of the larger antelopes, including a new or
striped variety of the eland ; buffaloes and zebras were found on the plains,
so that there was no difficulty in the way of providing for so large a party.

This journey was undertaken by Livingstone and Sekeletu with the object
of finding a healthy spot for establishing the head-quarters of the Makololo
within friendly or defensible territory. The low-lying and swampy districts
they had been compelled for purposes of safety from their numerous enemies
to occupy, was exercising a fatal influence on the physique and the increase
of the tribe. Fevers and other diseases incidental to marshy districts were
common. Livingstone himself had suffered severely from an attack of fever,

112 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and the intelligent chief and the headmen of the tribe were wise enough
to understand the value of the counsel of their missionary friend, when he
advised the removal of the bulk of the tribe to a more elevated and healthy
locality. Such a position had to be sought for beyond the reach of the annual
inundations, which for a period transform the course of the river for miles
into lakes and swamps ; as when the waters subside, the miasma arising from
the wet soil and the rotting vegetation under a tropical sun makes the district
a hot-bed of fever and dysentery. Coming from the comparatively cold and
hilly region of the south, the Makololo suffered more severely from the effects
of the climate than the various tribes of Makalaka Sebituane had found living
in the district, and made subject to his rule. From choice they lived in the
neighbourhood of the river ; as their agriculture is entirely dependent on the
annual floods. They cultivate dura, a kind of grain, maize, beans,
ground-nuts, pumpkins, water-melons, and cucumbers ; and in the Barotse
valley, along the course of the Leeambye, the sugar-cane, sweet-potato, etc.,
are added to the agricultural produce, the fertility of the soil being increased
by rude efforts at irrigation.

Having collected thirty-three flat-bottomed canoes, capable of conveying
one hundred and sixty men, the imposing flotilla, rowed by Makalaka men,
who are more skilful watermen than the Makololo, moved rapidly up the
broad waters of the Leeambye; the great exjdorer enjoying an exhilaration
of spirits natural to an adventurous man, who, first of all his countrymen,
passed up this noble stream, and who saw clearly the great and important
part which a magnificent natural highway like this would play in the civilizing
of the numerous tribes of Central Africa. At man)^ places the river is more
than a mile broad, its surface broken by islands, small and large. The islands
and the banks are thickly covered with trees, among which are the date-palm,
with its gracefully curved fronds, and the lofty palmyra, with its feathery
mass of foliage towering over all. Elephants and the larger species of game
were very abundant, but in consequence of the presence of that destructive
insect, the tsetse, the villagers on the banks had no domestic cattle. The
inhabitants of the valley of the river here are known as Banyete, and are,
liom their skill in making various utensils, the handicraftsmen of the neigh-
bouring tribes. They make neat wooden vessels with lids, wooden bowls,
and, after Livingstone had introduced the custom of sitting on stools, they
exercised their taste and ingenuity in the construction of these in a variety
of shapes. Wicker baskets made of the split roots of trees, and articles of
domestic and agricultural utility in pottery and iron, were also among the
products of their skill. Iron ore is dug out of the earth, and smelted, and
fashioned into rude hoes, almost the only implement of husbandry known at
the time of his visit.

The Banyete never appear to have been a warlike people. War is either

ARTIFICIAL MOUNDS. 113

caused by slavery or the possession of cattle ; and as the slave-dealers had
never reached their peaceful habitations, and the tsetse rendered the possession
of cattle impossible, they had lived secure from the ambitious and selfish
designs of more powerful and warlike tribes. Tribute was regularly paid to
Sckcletu in the simple articles constructed by their industrial skill, and in ex-
change they lived contented and happy under his protection. When the river
is low, a series of rapids make navigation difficult for considerable distances,
but the travellers met with no serious obstacle until they reached the falls of
Gonye, where the river, narrowing into a space of seventy or eighty yards wide,
falls a distance of thirty feet. There they had to carry the canoes for about a
mile over land.

At this place Livingstone heard of a tradition of a man who took advan-
tage of the falls to lead a portion of the river over the level country below for
the purposes of irrigation. His garden or farm was pointed out, and though
neglected for generations, they dug up an inferior kind of potato, which was
found to be bitter and waxy. If properly cultivated and irrigated, Living-
stone appears to think that the valleys through which the great rivers and
their affluents flow might be made as productive as the valley of the Nile, to
which that of the Zambesi bears a striking resemblance. The intelligent and
generally peaceable character of the tribes visited by Livingstone in Central
Africa is a guarantee that, with the introduction of agricultural implements,
and the humanising influence of contact with civilization, such a desirable
state of matters may speedily follow the opening up of the country for pur-
poses of legitimate trade with Europeans.

The valley of the Barotse, a district inhabited by a people of that name,
subject to the Makololo, which extends west to the junction of the Leeambye
and Leeba, is about one hundred miles in length, and from ten to thirty miles
in width, with the Leeambye winding down the middle. The whole of this
valley is inundated, not by local rainfall, but by the flooding of the river, just
as the Nile valley is flooded by the overflow of that river, caused by rains
falling within the tropics. The villages of the Barotse are built on mounds,
which are at a sufficient elevation to be secure from the annual floods. These
mounds are for the most part artificial, and are said to have been raised by a
famous chief of the Barotse, named Santuru, who planted them with trees,
which give a grateful shade besides adding to the beauty of the scenery. As
this portion of the valley is free from the dreaded tsetse, the Barotse have
plenty of cattle, which find abundant food in the rich pasturage. At the
approach of the floods they retire to the high grounds, where food being less
abundant, they rapidly fall off in condition. Their return to the low ground
on the subsidence of the river is a season of rejoicing among the people, be-
cause the time of plenty has returned once more.

In one of the Barotse towns Mpcpe's father lived, and as he and another
Q

114 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

man had counselled Mamochisane to kill Sekeletu and marry Mpepe, they
were led forth and tossed into the river. On Livingstone remonstrating
against this off-hand shedding of human blood, Nokuane, who had been one
of the executioners on this occasion, and had also assisted in slaying Mpepe,
excused the act by saying, "You see we are still Boers; we are not yet
taught." Surely a terrible sarcasm coming from a savage on the doings of
so-called civilized men ! At Naliele, the capital of the Barotse, which is built
on a great mound raised by Santuru, the party were visited by some of the
Mambari. The pure Mambari are as black as the Barotse, but many of them
were half-caste Portuguese, and could read and write. The head of the party
Livingstone believed to be a true Portuguese. Mpepe had given them full
permission to trade in his district, and they had not been slow to take advan-
tage of the permission in exchanging the commodities they brought with them
for slaves, assuring the "people they were only to be employed by them to
cultivate the land, and that they would take care of them as their own
children. The notion that they were taken and sold across the sea was new to
these simple people, and the lesson taught by Livingstone could not fail to bo
useful in circumscribing the abominable traffic among themselves and the other
tribes he visited on his way to the west coast. Santuru was once visited by
the Mambari, but he and his headmen refused them permission to buy any of
his people. The Makololo in expelling them from the country quoted this as
a precedent.

Finding that Katonga, as the high ground beyond Naliele was called,
was extensive, and free from the annual inundations, Livingstone visited it,
but although exceedingly beautiful, and abounding in gai'dens of great
fertility, cultivated with much care by the Barotse, it was found to be equally
unhealthy with the low ground. The view from Katonga is thus described :
" We could see the great river glancing out at several points, and fine large
herds of cattle quietly grazing on the green succulent herbage, among
numbers of cattle-stations and villages which arc dotted over the landscape.
Leches (a kind of antelope) in hundreds fed securely beside them, for they
have learned only to keep out of bow-shot, or two hundred yards. When
guns come into a country, the animals soon learn their longer range, and
begin to run at a distance of five hundred yards." As the current of the river
was here about four and a half miles an hour, a sure sign of a rapidly
increasing rise in the country, Livingstone determined on pushing still further
up the stream in search of a healthy location which he might make his head-
quarters.

Leaving Sekeletu at Naliele, he proceeded up stream, the chief having
presented him with men and rowers, and also a herald to announce his
arrival at the villages with proper effect, by shouting at the top of his voice,
" ' Here comes the lord, the great lion,' the latter phrase being tau e tona.

A NATIVE DANCE. 115

which in his imperfect way of pronunciation became saw e tona, and, so liko
the great sow, that I could not have the honour with becoming gravity, and
had to entreat him, much to the annoyance of my party, to be silent." At
all the villages the party met with a hearty welcome, as being to them
messengers of peace, which they term " sleep." After pushing his way
to the junction of the Leeba with the Leeambye, and failing to find a
suitable spot for a mission settlement, the party descended to Naliele, but
not before Livingstone had made a guess that there lay the high road to the
west coast, and that its head waters must be within a hundred and twenty
miles of the Coanza, which would lead them down to the coast near Loanda.
The Coanza, as he afterwards found, does not come from anywhere near the
route he afterwards followed to Loanda.

The following extract from "The Missionary Travels" will give some
idea of the abundance of large game in this region, and their want of fear of man.
" Eighty-one buffaloes defiled in slow procession before our fire one evening,
within gun-shot; and hundreds of splendid elands stood by day without fear
at two hundred yards' distance. They were all of the striped variety, and with
their fore-arm markings, large dewlaps, and sleek skins, were a beautiful sight
to see. The lions here roar much more than in the country further south. One
evening we had a good opportunity of hearing the utmost exertions the animal
can make in that line. We had made our beds on a large sandbank, and could
be easily seen from all sides. A lion on the opposite shore amused himself for
hours by roaring as loudly as he could, putting, as is usual in such cases, his
mouth near the ground, to make the sound reverberate. . . . Wherever
the game abounds, these animals exist in proportionate numbers. Here they
were frequently seen, and two of the largest I ever saw seemed about as tall
as common donkeys ; but the mane made their bodies appear rather larger."

Coming down the river to the town of Ma Sekeletu (the mother of
Sekeletu) they found the chief awaiting them. After a short stay, the party
started on their voyage down the river, and reached Linyanti after an absence
of nine weeks. This being the first visit paid by Sekeletu to that portion of
his dominions, the travellers were received with the utmost enthusiasm every-
where, the headmen of the villages presenting him with more eatables and
drinkables than even his numerous followers could devour, notwithstanding
their wonderful powers in that way. The enthusiasm of the people usually
wound up with an extraordinary dance, which Livingstone describes: " It
consists of the men standing, nearly naked, in a circle, with clubs or small
battle-axes in their hands, and each roaring at the loudest pitch of his voice,
while they simultaneously lift one leg, stamp heavily twice with it, then lift the
other, and give one stamp with that ; this is the only movement in common.
The arms and head arc thrown about also in every direction ; and all this
time the roaring is kept up with the utmost possible vigour. The continued

116 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

stamping makes a cloud of dust around, and they leave a deep ring in the
ground where they have stood. If the scene were witnessed in a lunatic
asylum, it would be nothing out of the way, and quite appropriate even as a
means of letting off the excessive excitement of the brain ; but the grey headed
men joined in the performance with as much zest as others whose youth might
be an excuse for making the perspiration stream off their bodies with the
exertion. . . . The women stand by clapping their hands, and occasionally
one advances into the circle composed of a hundred men, makes a few move-
ments, and then retires."

The effect the experience gained in this journey had iqion him, and the
reflections induced thereby, are indicated in the following extract. "I had
been," he says, "during a nine weeks' tour, in closer contact with heathenism
than I had ever been before; and though all, including the chief, were as
kind and attentive to me as possible, and there was no want of food, yet to
endure the dancing, roaring, and singing, the jesting, anecdotes, grumbling,
quarreling, and murdering of these children of nature, seemed more like a
severe penance than anything I had before met with in the course of my mis-
sionary duties. I took thence a more intense disgust at heathenism than I had
before, and formed a greatly elevated opinion of the latent effect of missions
in the south, among tribes which are reported to have been as savage as the
Makololo. The indirect benefits which, to a casual observer lie beneath the
surface, and are inappreciable, in reference to the probable wide diffusion of
Christianity at some future time, are worth all the money and labour that
have been expended to produce them."

The following account, written by the great traveller of his first passage
up the Leeambye, forms a very valuable supplement to the brief narrative we
have already given. It is dated Town of Sekeletu, Linyanti, 20th Septem-
ber, 1853:—

" As soon as I could procure people willing to risk a journey through the
country lately the scene of the gallant deeds of the Boers, I left Kuruman ;
and my companions being aware of certain wrathful fulminations uttered by
General Piet Scholtz to deter me from again visiting the little strip of
country which the Republicans fancy lies between Magaliesberg and Jeru-
salem, our progress was pretty quick till we entered lat. 19°, at a place that I
have marked on my map as the Fever Ponds. Here the whole party, except
a Bakwain lad and myself, was laid prostrate by fever. He managed the
oxen and I the hospital, until, through the goodness of God, the state of the
invalids permitted us again to move northwards. I did not follow our old
path, but from Kamakama travelled on the magnetic meridian (N.N.W.), in
order to avoid the tsetse (fly). This new path brought us into a densely
wooded country, where the grass was from 8 to 10 feet high. The greater
leafiness of the trees showed we were in a moist climate, and we were most

INUNDATED COUNTRY. 117

agreeably surprised by tbe presence of vines growing luxuriantly, and yield-
ing clusters of dark purple grapes. The seeds, as large as split peas and very
astringent, leave but little room for pulp, though the grape itself is of good
size. The Bakwain lad now became ill ; but, by the aid of two Bushmen, we
continued to make some progress. I was both driver and road-maker, having
either the axe or whip in hand all day long till we came to lat. 18° 4. Here
we discovered that the country adjacent to the Chobe was flooded : valleys
looked like rivers, and after crossing several we came to one, the Sanshureh,
which presented a complete barrier to further travelling with waggons. It
was deep, half a mile broad, and contained hippopotami. After searching in
vain for a ford, our two Bushmen decamped. Being very anxious to reach
the Makololo, I took one of the strongest of our invalids, crossed the Sanshureh
in a small pontoon, kindly presented by Messrs. Webb and Codrington, and
went N.N.W. across the flooded country in search of the Chobe. After
splashing through about 20 miles of an inundated plain, we came to a mass
of reed, which towards the N.E. seemed interminable. We then turned for a
short distance in the direction of our former waggon-stand, and from a high tree
were gratified by a sight of the Chobe ; but such a mass of vegetation grew
between the bank and the flowing river, that our utmost efforts failed in pro-
curing a passage into it. The water among the reeds cither became too deep,
or we were unable to bend down the barrier of papyrus and reed bound
together by a kind of convolvulus. You will understand the nature of our
struggles, when I mention that a horrid sort of grass, about 6 feet high, and
having serrated edges which cut the hands most cruelly, wore my strong
moleskin ' unmentionables ' quite through at the knees, and my shoes (nearly
new) at the toes. My handkerchief protected the former ; but in subsequent
travelling through the dense grass of the plains the feet fared badly. Though
constantly wet up to the middle during the day, Ave slept soundly by night
during the three days we spent among this mass of reeds, and only effected a
passage into the open water of the Chobe river on the fourth day. After
paddling along the river in the pontoon about 20 miles, we discovered a
village of Makololo. We were unexpected visitors, and the more so since
they believed that no one could cross the Chobe from the South bank without
their knowledge.

" In their figurative language they said, ' I had fallen on them as if from
a cloud, 3rct came riding on a hippopotamus ' (pontoon). A vague report of
our approach had previously reached the chief, and two parties were out in
search of us ; but they had gone along the old paths. In returning to the
waggons, which we did in canoes and in a straight line, we found the distance
not more than 10 miles. Our difficulties were now ended, for a great number
of canoes and about 140 people were soon dispatched from the town. They
transported our goods and waggons across the country and river, and when

118 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

we had been landed on the other side of the'Chobe, we travelled northward
till within about one day from Sesheke, in order to avoid the flooded lands
adjacent to the river. We there struck upon the path which Mr. Oswell and
I travelled on horseback in 1850, and turning into it proceeded S.W. until we
came to Sekeletu's town Linyanti. Our reception here was as warm as could
have been expected. The chief Sekeletu, not yet 19 years of age, said he had
got another father instead of Sebituane ; he was not quite sure, however,
about learning to read : ' ho feared it might change his heart and make him
content with one wife only, as in the case of Scchelc.' It is pleasant to hear
objections frankly stated.

" About the end of July we embarked on our journey to the North,
embarking at Sekhose's village on the Zambesi, or, as the aborigines
universally name it, the Leeambye, viz., the river. This village is about 25
miles West of the town of Sesheke. When I proposed to Sekeletu to examine
his country and ascertain if there were any suitable locality for a mission, he
consented frankly ; but he had not yet seen me enough. Then he would not
allow me to go alone ; some evil might befall me, and he would be accountable.
This and fever caused some delay, so that we did not get off till about the end
of July. In the meantime I learned particulars of what had taken place hero
since my last visit in 1852.

" The daughter of Sebituane had resigned the chieftainship into
(Sekeletu's) her brother's hands. From all I can learn she did it gracefully
and sincerely. Influential men advised her to put Sekeletu to death, lest he
should become troublesome when he became older. She turned from their
proposals in disgust, called a meeting, and with a womanly gush of tears,
said she had been induced to rule by her father, but her own inclination had
always been to lead a domestic life. She therefore requested Sekeletu to take
the chieftainship, and allow her to marry.

" He was equally sincere in a continued refusal during several days, for
he was afraid of being cut off by a pretender, who had the audacity to utter
some threatening words in the assembly. I, who had just come from a nine
weeks' tour, in company with a crowd who would have been her courtiers, do
not now wonder at the resolution of Sebituane's daughter : there was no want
of food, oxen were slaughtered almost every day in numbers more than
sufficient for the wants of all. They were all as kind and attentive to me as
they could have been to her, yet to endure their dancing, roaring, and singing,
their jesting, anecdotes, grumbling, quarrelling, murdering, and meanness,
equalled a pretty stiff penance.

" The pretender above referred to, after Sekeletu's accession, and at the
time of my arrival, believing that he could effect his object by means of a
Portuguese slave-merchant and a number of armed Mambari, encouraged them
to the utmost. The selling of children had been positively forbidden by the

ON THE LEEAMBYE. 119

lawful chief Sekeletu, but Ids rival transported the slave-trading party across
the Leeambyo river, and gave them full permission to deal in all the Batoka and
Bashukulompo villages to the East of it. A stockade was erected at Katongo,
and a flag-staff for the Portuguese banner planted, and in return for numerous
presents of ivory and cattle, that really belonged to Sekeletu, the pretender
received a small cannon. Elated with what he considered success, he came
down here with the intention of murdering Sekeletu himself, having no doubt
but that, after effecting this, he should, by the aid of his allies, easily reduce
the whole tribe."

The circumstances connected with the failure of the conspiracy have
already been related, and need not be repeated.

"Another Portuguese slave-merchant came also from the West. He
remained here only three days, and finding no market, departed. A large
party of Mambari was encamped by Katongo, about the time of our arrival
at Linyanti. No slaves were sold to them ; and when they heard that I
had actually crossed the Chobe, they fled precipitately. The Makololo
remonstrated, saying I would do them no harm, but the Mambari asserted
that I would take all their goods from them because they bought children.
The merchant I first spoke of had probably no idea of the risk he ran in
listening to the tale of a disaffected under chief. He was now in his stockade
at Katongo, and influential men proposed to expel both him and the Mambari
from the country. Dreading the results which might follow a commencement
of hostilities, I mentioned the difficulty of attacking a stockade, which could
be defended by perhaps forty muskets. ' Hunger is strong enough,' said an
under chief — ' a very great fellow is he.' As the chief sufferers in the event
of an attack would be the poor slaves chained in gangs, I interceded for
them, and as the result of that intercession, of which of course they are
ignorant, the whole party will be permitted to depart in peace : but no
stockading will be allowed again.

tl Our company, which consisted of 160 men, our fleet of 33 canoes,
proceeded rapidly up the river towards the Barotse. I had the choice of all
the canoes, and the best was 34 feet long and 20 inches wide. With six
paddlers we passed through 44 miles of latitude, by one day's pull of 10|
hours : if we add the longitude to this, it must have been upwards of 50 miles'
actual distance. The river is indeed a magnificent one. It is often more than
a mile broad, and adorned with numerous islands of from 3 to 5 miles in
length. These and the banks, too, are covered with forest, and most of the
trees on the brink of the water send down roots from their branches like the
banian. The islands at a little distance seem rounded masses of sylvan vege-
tation of various hues, reclining on the bosom of the glorious stream. The
beauty of the scene is greatly increased by the date palm and lofty palmyra
towering above the rest, and casting their feathery foliage against a cloudless

120 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

sky. The banks are rocky and undulating ; many villages of Kanyeti, a poor
but industrious people, are situated on both of them. They are expert hunters
of hippopotami and other animals, and cultivate grain extensively. At the
bend of Katima Molelo the bottom of the river bed begins to be rocky, and
continues so the whole way to about lat. 16°, forming a succession of rapids and
cataracts, which are dangerous when the river is low. The rocks arc of hard
sandstone and porphyritic basalt. The rapids are not visible when the river
is full ; but the cataracts of Kale Bombwe and Nambwe are always dangerous.
The fall of them is from 4 to 6 feet in perpendicular height ; but the cataracts
of Gonye (hard by) excel them all. The main fall of these is over a straight
ledge of rock, about 60 or 70 yards long and 40 feet deep.

" Tradition reports the destruction in this place of two hippopotami hunters,
who, too eager in the pursuit of a wounded animal, were with their prey drawn
down into the frightful gulf. We also digged some yams in what was said to have
been the garden of a man, who of old came down the river and led out a portion
of it here for irrigation. Superior minds must have risen from time to time in
these regions, but ignorant of the use of letters, they have loft no memorial.
One never sees a grave nor a stone of remembrance set up. The very rocks
are illiterate ; they contain no fossils. All these beautiful and rocky parts of
the valley of the river are covered with forest, and infested with the tsetse fly ;
but in other respects the country seems well adapted for a residence. When,
however, we come to the northern confines of lat. 16°, the tsetse suddenly
ceases, and the high banks seem to leave the river and to stretch away in
ridges of about 300 feet high to the N.N.E. and N.N.W., until between 20
and 30 miles apart ; the intervening space, 100 miles in length, is the Barotse
country proper : it is annually inundated not by rains but by the river, as
Lower Egypt is by the Nile, and one portion of this comes from the North-
west and another from the North. There are no trees in this valley, except
such as were transplanted for the sake of shade by the chief Santuru; but it
is covered with coarse succulent grasses, which are the pasturage of large
herds of cattle during a portion of the year. One of these species of grass
is 12 feet high, and as thick as a man's thumb. The villages"and towns are
situated on mounds, many of which were constructed artificially.

" I have not put down all the villages that I visited, and many were seen at a
distance ; but there are no large towns, for the mounds on which alone towns and
villages are built are all small, and the people require to live separate on account
of their cattle. Nailele, the capital of the Barotse country, does not contain
1,000 inhabitants ; the site of it was constructed artificially. It was not the an-
cient capital. The river now flows over the site of that, and all that remains of
what had cost the people of Santuru the labour of many years, is a few cubic
yards of earth. As the same thing has happened to another ancient site, the
river seems wearing eastwards. Ten feet of rise above low-water mark

ON THE LEEAMBYE. 121

submerges the whole valley, except the foundations of the huts, and 2 feet
more would sweep away the towns. This never happens, though among the
hills below the valley the river rises 60 feet, and then floods the lands adjacent
to Sesheke on both sides. The valley contains, as I said, a great number of
villages and cattle-stations. These, and large herds of cattle grazing on the
succulent herbage, meet the eye in every direction. On visiting the ridges,
we found them to be only the commencement of lands which are never
inundated : these are covered with trees and abound in fruitful gardens, in
which are cultivated sugar-cane, sweet potato, two kinds of manioc, two kinds
of yam-bananas, millet, &c. Advantage is taken of the inundation to
raise large quantities of maize and Kaffre corn, of large grain and beautiful
whiteness. These, .with abundance of milk and plenty of fish in the river,
make the people always refer to the Barotse country as the land of plenty.
No part of the country can be spoken of as salubrious. The fever must be
braved if a mission is to be established ; it is very fatal even among natives.
I have had eight attacks of it ; the last very severe : but I never laid by. I
tried native remedies in order to discover if they possessed any valuable
means of cure ; but after being stewed in vapour baths, smoked like a red
herring over fires of green twigs in hot potsherds, and physicked secundum
Hack artem, I believe that our own medicines are safer and more efficacious.
I have not relinquished the search, and as I make it a rule to keep on good terms
with my professional brethren, I am not without hope that some of their
means of re-establishing the secretions (and to this, indeed, all their efforts are
directed) may be well adapted for this complaint.

" I did not think it my duty to go towards Mosioaiunya, for though a
hilly country, the proximity to Moselekatse renders it impossible for the
Makololo to live there ; but I resolved to know the whole Barotse country
before coming to the conclusion now reached that the ridge East of Nailele is
the only part of the country that can be fixed on for a mission. I therefore
left Sekeletu's party at Nailele, the Barotse capital, and went northwards.
The river presents the same appearance of low banks, without trees, till we
come to 14° 38' lat. Here again it is forest to the water's edge, and tsetse. I
might have turned now ; but the river Londa, or Leeba, comes from the
capital of a large state of the former name, and the chief being reported
friendly to foreigners, if I succeed in reaching the West coast, and am per-
mitted to return by this river, it will be water-conveyance for perhaps two-
thirds of the way. We went, therefore, to the confluence of the Leeba or
Londa (not Lonta as we have written it) with the Leeambye : it is in
14° 11' South. The Leeba comes from the North and by West or N.N.W. ;
while the Leeambye there abruptly quits its northing and comes from the
E.N.E. (The people pointed as its course due East. Are the Maninche or
Bashukulompo river and Leeambye not one river, dividing and meeting again
B

122 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

down at the Zambesi ?) The Loeti, with its light-coloured water, flows into
the Leeambye in 14° 18'. It comes from Lebale, which is probably a country
through which a Portuguese merchant informed me he had passed, and had
to cross as many as ten considerable rivers in one day : the Loeti comes from
the W.N.W. The current of the Leeambye is rapid ; 100 yards in 60 seconds
of time, or between 4 and 5 miles an hour. Our elevation must have been
considerable; but I had to regret having no means of ascertaining how much it
was. The country flooded by the river ends on the West bank before we
reach the Loeti, and there is an elevated table-land, called Mango, on which
grows grass, but no trees. The Barotse country, when inundated, presents
the appearance of a lake from 20 to 30 miles broad and 100 long.

" The Makololo quote the precedent of Santuru, who, when he ruled this
country, was visited by. Mambari, but refused them permission to buy his
people as slaves. This enlightened chief deserves a paragraph, and as he was
a mighty hunter, you will glance at it with no unfriendly eye. He was very
fond of rearing the young of wild animals in his town, and, besides a number
of antelopes, had two tame hippopotami. When I visited his first capital, the
people led me to one end of the mound and showed me some curious instru-
ments of iron, which are just in the state he left them. They are surrounded
by trees, all of which he transplanted when young. ' On these,' said the
people, ' Santuru was accustomed to present his offerings to the gods ' (Barimo
— which means departed souls too). The instruments consisted of an upright
stem, having numerous branches attached, on the end of each of which was a
miniature axe, or hoe, or spear. Detached from these was another, which
seemed to me to be the guard of a basket-hilted sword. When I asked if I
might take it as a curiosity, ' O no, he refuses.' ' Who refuses ? ' ' Santuru.'
This seems to show a belief in a future state of existence. After explaining
to them the nature of true worship, and praying with them in our simple form,
which needs no offering on the part of the worshipper except that of the heart,
we planted some fruit-tree seeds, and departed in peace.

" I may relate another incident which happened at the confluence of the
Leeba and Leeambye. Having taken lunar observations, we were waiting
for a meridian altitude for the latitude, before commencing our return. My
chief boatman was sitting by, in order to bind up the instruments as soon as
I had finished. There was a large halo round the sun, about 20' in diameter.
Thinking that the humidity of the atmosphere which this indicates might
betoken rain, I asked him if his experience did not lead him to the same view.
' O no,' said he, ' it is the Barimo who have called a picho (assembly).
Don't you see they have placed the Lord (sun) in their centre ? '

" On returning towards Nailele, I wrent to the eastern ridge in order to
examine that, and to see the stockade of the Portuguese slave-merchant,
which was at Katongo. He had come from the furthest inland station of the

ARAB SLA VE HUNTERS. 123

Portuguese, opposite Benguela. I thought of going westward on my further
travels in company with him, but the sight of gangs of poor wretches in
chains at the stockade induced me to resolve to proceed alone.

" Some of the Mambari visited us subsequently to their flight, of which
I spoke before. They speak a dialect very much resembling the Barotse.
They have not much difficulty in acquiring the dialects, even though but
recently introduced to each other. They plait their hair in threefold cords,
and arrange it down by the sides of the head. They offered guns and
2>owder for sale at a cheaper rate than traders can do who come from the Cape
Colony ; but the Makololo despise Portuguese guns, because different from
those in the possession of other Bechuanas — the bullets are made of iron.
The slave-merchant seemed anxious to show kindness, influenced probably by
my valuable passport and letter of introduction from the Chevalier Duprat,
who holds the office of arbitrator in the British and Portuguese mixed com-
mission in Cape Town. This is the first instance in which the Portuguese
have seen the Leeambye in the interior. The course of Pereira* must be
shifted northwards. He never visited the Barotse : so the son and companions
of Santuru assert ; and the event of the visit of a white man is such a remark-
able affair among Africans, it could scarcely be forgotten in a century.

"I have not, I am sorry to confess, discovered a healthy locality. The
whole of the country of Sebituane is unhealthy. The current of the river is
rapid as far as we went, and showed we must have been on an elevated table-
land ; yet the inundations cause fever to prevail very extensively. I am at a
loss what to do, but will not give up the case as hopeless. Shame upon us
missionaries if we are to be outdone by slave-traders! I met Arabs from
Zanzibar, subjects of the Imaum of Muscat, who had been quite across the
continent. They wrote Arabic fluently in my note-book, and boldly avowed
that Mahomet was greatest of all the prophets.

"At one time, as I mentioned above, I thought of going West in
company with the slave-traders from Katongo, but a variety of considerations
induced me to decide on going alone. I think of Loanda, though the distance
is greater, as preferable to Benguela, and as soon as the rains commence will
try the route on horseback. Trees and rivers are reported, which would
render travelling by means of a waggon impossible. The Portuguese are
carried in hammocks hung on poles ; two slaves carry a man. It docs not
look well.

"I am sorry to say that the Boers destroyed my celestial map, and
thereby rendered it impossible for me to observe as many occupations as I
had intended. I have observed very few ; these I now send to Mr. Maclear,
in order that he may verify my lunars. If I am not mistaken, we have placed

* A Portuguese traveller.

124 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

our rivers, &c, about 2° of longitude too far East. Our waggon-stand, instead
of being 26° East, is not more than 23° 50' or 24°. It is probable that an error
of my sextant, of which I was not aware, deranged the calculations of the
gentleman who kindly undertook to examine them. I send many lunar
observations too, and hope it may be convenient for Mr. Maclear to examine
them, and let you know whether I am right or wrong in my calculations.

" Sportsmen have still some work before them in the way of discovering
all the fauna of Africa. This country abounds in game ; and, beyond
Barotse, the herds of large animals surpass anything I ever saw. Elands
and buffaloes, their tameness was shocking to me: 81 buffaloes defiled slowly
before our fire one evening, and lions were impudent enough to roar at us.
On the South of the Chobe, where Bushmen abound, they are very seldom
heard : these brave fellows teach them better manners. My boatman informed
me that he had seen an animal, with long wide spreading horns like an ox,
called liombikalela — perhaps the modern bison; also another animal, which
does not live in the water, but snorts like a hippopotamus, and is like that
animal in size — it has a horn, and may be the Asiatic rhinoceros. And we
passed some holes of a third animal, which burrows from the river inland, has
short horns, and feeds only by night. I did not notice the burrows at the
time of passing, but I give you the report as I got it.

" The birds are in great numbers on the river, and the sand-martins
never leave it. We saw them in hundreds in mid- winter, and many beautiful
new trees were interesting objects of observation ; but I had j)erpetually to
regret the absence of our friend Mr. Oswell. I had no one to share the
pleasure which new objects impart, and, instead of pleasant conversation in
the evenings, I had to endure the everlasting ranting of Makololo."

In 1849, the Boyal Geographical Society awarded Livingstone a gold
chronometer watch for his discoveries, and in 1850 he was awarded a royal
premium of 25 guineas for the discovery of Lake Ngami. Several attempts
to reach the Lake from the east and from the west, one of which was specially
instituted by the Geographical Society, had failed, and many people had
begun to look upon the existence of the Lake as a myth, until they were
startled bj its discovery by Livingstone and his fellow travellers — Messrs.
Murray and Oswell. From this time, as his intention of penetrating further
into the country was well known, great expectations were formed of the
additions he would make to our knowledge of these hitherto unvisited regions;
and, as we shall see, these were not disappointed, but more than abundantly
gratified.

THE SETULA-TS1P1 FEEDING IN CROCODILE'S MOUTH.

CHAPTER VII.

H tarts for the West Coast. — Ascends the Leeambije and the Leeba. — Abundance of
Animal Life. — Two Female Chiefs. — Visits Shinte.

THIS, the longest journey he had yet undertaken, and during which for
many months his safety was to be a matter of painful speculation to his
friends and the thousands of intelligent men and women throughout the civi-
lized world who had been watching the doings of the intrepid missionary, —
extended from the south coast to St. Paul de Loanda, the capital of Angola,
on the west coast; and from thence across the continent to Killimane, on
the East Coast of Africa.

As Sekeletu and the headmen of the Makololo were as alive to the advan-
tages which would accrue to them from the opening out of trade with the west
coast, as Livingstone was for these and higher purposes which they could not
comprehend, every assistance was rendered which could help a traveller in
carrying out his bold and daring attempt to make his way across the country.
A picho, or conference of the headmen of the tribe presided over by the chief,
was held to discuss the adventure, and the best way of assisting in it. One of
the old men, who was famed as a croaker, said, "Where is he taking you to ?
This white man is throwing you away. Your garments already smell of
blood." This foreboding had no influence on Sekeletu or any of his men; they
were too much accustomed to hearing his prognostications of evil from every
enterprise ; and it was decided that a band of twenty-seven picked men,
principally Barotse — they being best acquainted with the tribes to the west —
should accompany Livingstone, as the contribution of the chief and his people
towards the accomplishment of an object so desirable to all.

In answer to the question, whether, " In the event of your death, will not
the white people blame us for having allowed you to go away into an unhealthy
and unknown country of enemies ? " Livingstone replied that none of his
friends "would blame them, because he would leave a book with Sekeletu, to
be sent to Mr. Moffat in case I did not retain, which would explain to him all
that had happened until the time of my departure." This book was a volume
of his journal, and months afterwards, when the Makololo were despairing of
ever seeing or hearing anything of him again, it was delivered, along with a
letter, by Sekeletu to a trader to be delivered to Mr. Moffat. No trace of this

126 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

journal could be found on his return, which was a matter of much regret, as it
contained valuable notes on the habits of wild animals, etc.

The following illustrates admirably the spirit which animated this extra-
ordinary man when ready to start on his dangerous enterprise. " The prospect
of passing away from this fair and beautiful world thus came before me in a
pretty plain matter-of-fact form ; and it did seem a serious thing to leave wife
and children, to break up all connection with earth, and enter on an untried
state of existence ; I find myself in my journal pondering over that fearful
migration which lands us in eternity ; wondering whether an angel will soothe
the fluttering soul, sadly flurried as it must be on entering the spirit world,
and hoping that Jesus might speak but one word of peace, for that would
establish in the bosom an everlasting calm. But as I had always believed that,
if we serve God at all, it ought to be done in a manly way, I wrote to my
brother, commending our little girl to his care, as I was determined to succeed
or perish in the attempt to open up this part of Africa. The Boers, by taking
possession of all my goods, had saved me the trouble of making a will ; and
considering the light heart now left in my bosom, and some faint efforts to
perform the duty of Christian forgiveness, I felt that it was better to be the
plundered party than one of the plunderers."

Wisely resolving that his baggage should be so limited in quantity as not
to excite the cupidity of any unfriendly tribe, he took with him only three
muskets, a rifle, and a double-barrelled gun, with the necessary ammunition; a
few biscuits, several pounds of tea and sugar, and about twenty pounds of
coffee, a beverage greatly relished by the natives. Of wearing apparel,
independent of what they wore, they had a small tin canister filled with shirting,
trowsers, and shoes, to be donned when the party should reach the neighbour-
hood of civilization, and another supply in a bag was for use during the
journey.

Another tin can contained a stock of medicines. A third contained his
books, consisting of a nautical almanac, Thomson's Logarithms, and a Bible ;
and a fourth box contained a magic lantern, a sextant and artificial horizon,
a thermometer, a chronometer watch with a stop for seconds, and a small but
powerful telescope, with a stand capable of being screwed to a tree, and two
compasses, one of them for the pocket, were carried apart. A small gipsy
tent to sleep in, a blanket, and a horse-rug, from the simplicity of the other
impedimenta, might be termed the luxuries of his baggage roll. As the
country so far as explored by him abounded in game, he trusted to his good
rifle and double-barrelled gun for furnishing the bulk of the food required ;
but in case of having to pass through a country where these were not plenti-
ful, twenty pounds of beads of the value of forty shillings, were set apart for
the purchase of such necessities in the way of food as they might require. In
addition to the absolutely necessary baggage, the party carried with them

A NATIVE BEADLE. 127

four elephants' tusks belonging to Sekeletu, by the sale of which they were to
test the value of the market on the coast.

Surely never was so formidable a journey undertaken with so little pre-
paration in the way of mere personal comfort and convenience ; but the want
of hundreds of those things usually supposed to be " indispensable to travel-
lers " undertaking journeys of trifling danger and extent in comparison, were
more than made up by a large stock of pluck and endurance, and the courage
and resolve which are born of an enterprise which had for its object no
thought of personal interest, vain glory, or aggrandisement, but was under-
taken in the noblest spirit, solely in the interest of the physical and spiritual
welfare of the savage tribes of Central Africa.

Scouts were sent to examine the country to the west, to discover an
outlet from Linyanti by a nearer route than the one taken on the previous
journey, but none could be found free from the plague of tsetse, and such as
were defiled by the existence of the slave trade ; and a passage through the latter
for an expedition, the leading material purpose of which was the extinction
of that detestable traffic, was out of the question. The expedition started for
the Chobe on the 4th November, 1853, and commenced their voyage down
that river at the island Manuka, where Livingstone had first met Sebituane.
Here Sekeletu and several of his principal men, who had accompanied them
thus far, took leave of them, wishing them success. After paddling at the
rate of five miles an hour for forty-two hours, they reached the Leeambye,
and proceeding up the river, they reached Sesheke on the 19 th of November.

Moriantsane, a brother-in-law of Sebituane, the chief of the various
tribes in* and around Sesheke, supplied Livingstone with milk, honey, and
meal, and sent scouts up the river to the villages he was to stop at, enjoining
the headmen to have food ready for him and his party. The chief and large
numbers of the people assembled in the open air to listen to religious ad-
dresses from Livingstone. The audiences were very attentive, and appeared
anxious to profit by the instruction received, betraying their interest by
asking explanations of those things which were beyond their comprehension.
Moriantsane acted as a kind of amateur beadle in keeping order, on one
occasion hurling his staff at some young man he saw toying with a skin
instead of listening to the speaker.

In their passage up the river abundance of food and fruit was provided,
and several varieties of the latter are worthy of notice. A fruit about the
size of an orange contains a number of seeds or pips imbedded in layers of a
pleasant juicy pulp. From the pips and bark are derived a variety of nux
vomica, from which strychnia is extracted. A fruit called mobola, about the
size of the date, when stripped of the seeds and dried forms a very palatable
dish, with a flavour of strawberries ; in a dried state it can be preserved for
a considerable period. The most palatable fruit of the district is called the

123 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

mamosho; it is about the size of a walnut. These fruits, which in the
Leeambye valley grow on trees, some of them attaining a great size, are found
in the Kalahari desert, where they exist as small herbaceous plants. In the
well-watered country, plants which in the dry regions of the south are mere
shrubs, become great trees; illustrating in a remarkable manner, the effect of the
drying up of the numerous water courses in regions once as rich in vegetation
as the valleys of the Zambesi and its tributaries. A number of his
attendants, with the baggage and oxen of the party, marched by land, the
canoe party regulating their advance to suit their rate of progress.

As the trees were putting on their fresh green leaves, the banks of the
river were much more beautiful than on the occasion of his previous visit.
In case of accident from the attack, or the sudden uprising near them, of the
hippopotami, they hugged the banks, often passing under the grateful shade
of giant trees, among whose branches the ibis, turtle-doves, and many other
birds were perched, careless of the near neighbourhood of the canoes and
their occupants. Plovers of various kinds wheeled overhead, raising a great
clamour. One of these, from its hard metallic cry called setula-tsipi, or
hammering wire, is the bird famous for its friendship with the crocodile of the
Nile, which it invariably accompanies, boldly entering its terrible jaws, and
eating water insects which attach themselves to the roof of the mouth of the
brute, and cause it much annoyance. It is provided with a spur on its
shoulder (the top of the wing) about half an inch in length, which it uses as a
weapon of defence. This bird and its habits were known to Herodotus, and
up till twenty years ago, when Mr. St. John actually witnessed it feeding
within the iron jaws of the huge reptile, the account was looked, upon as
fabulous. In places where the banks are steep, several species of birds
build their nests in holes which they dig with their bills. Among these, the
most notable is the bee-eater, a pretty little bird, a species of sand-martin,
and several varieties of king-fishers, one of them as large as a pigeon.

Song birds in endless variety, some of them new to science, enlivened
the passage of the river, and flocks of green pigeons rose from the trees as
they passed. In some districts several species of canaries were as common
and as destructive to garden produce as sparrows are in England. The
natives tame them, and keep them in wicker cages ; their notes are clear and
sweet. Tame pigeons were also common. This love for birds would appear
to have been initiated by Santuru in the Leeambye valley, who kept a great
many tame animals ; among others, a couple of hippopotami — ungainly pets
enough.

The loomslang, a species of tree-snake, preys upon the small birds,- the noise
and chattering of a number of birds fluttering round a tree usually indicate
its presence. The birds are unable or unwilling to keep aloof from the dan-
gerous proximity of this reptile, which with its body coiled round a branch,

LI Y IN G STONE ASA PEA CE- MA KER. 129

its head and about a foot of its neck erect, quietly waits until one of thein,
more reckless than the rest, comes within reach of its spring.

The snake-bird, so called because in swimming the whole body is
submerged, and only the head and neck appear above water, floated about them.
The fish-hawk and the pelican preyed on the finny tribe on the shoals,
the former sometimes relieving the pouch of the latter of its prey when its
ungainly bill was temptingly open. Guinea fowls were common on the banks,
while snipes, herons, sjDOon-bills, scissor-bills, flamingoes, cranes, geese, and
various other aquatic birds, were met with in great numbers, especially in the
uninhabited districts. Vast shoals of fish descended the river with the floods,
the rainy season having set in. These are taken by the natives in the shallow
creeks, in baskets, nets, and by clumsy hooks. AVhcn not eaten fresh, they arc
preserved by smoke-drying for future use. Several species of mullet are very
abundant, and are the most in favour as food. Crocodiles and iguanas, a
species of lizard, the flesh of which is greatly relished by the natives, plunged
into the water at the approach of the canoes ; while in creeks and shady parts
hippopotami floundered about, the females carrying their young upon their
backs.

Elephants, rhinoceroses, antelopes, zebras, etc., were abundant on land,
and as a consequence lions, leopards, and other carnivorous animals were
common.

When neariug Naliele, Livingstone heard that a party of Makololo,
headed by Lerimo, an under chief, had carried out a successful foray against
Masiko, a son of Santuru, the chief of a tribe who had settled with his people
to the north of Naliele. This expedition was undertaken with the full sanction
of Mpololo, the uncle of Sekeletu, and head chief of the district. Some prisoners
hud been taken and several villages destroyed. As this was in the direction
Livingstone was going, and as Sekeletu had strictly forbidden that such forays
should be undertaken, he determined, in the name and by the authority of
Sekeletu, to condemn the transaction and compel restitution of the prisoners,
he undertaking to conduct them to their homes.

At Ma Sckeletu's town he found Mpololo himself, and being supported
by the mother of Sekeletu, he succeeded in getting the captives returned t.>
their homes, and an apology sent to Masiko. A fresh foray, for which a
number of men had been collected, was abandoned; and through the influence
of Livingstone a cowardly Avarfare, undertaken for the purpose of plunder,
was prevented, and a knowledge of the peaceful and wise designs of Sekeletu
disseminated, Avhich could not fail to be of much value to the comfort and
happiness of the district.

Mosantu, a Batoko man, was despatched to Masiko with the captives of
his tribe, with a message that he (Livingstone) was sorry to find that Santuru
had not borne a wiser son; Santuru loved to govern men, but Masiko wanted

a

130 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

to govern wild beasts. Several captives belonging to other tribes further to
the north were taken with the party.

Passing up the placid Leeba he saw a tree in flower which brought the
pleasant fragrance of hawthorn hedges back to memory ; its leaves, flowers,
perfume, and fruit, resembled those of the hawthorn, only the flowers were
as large as dog-roses, and the " haws like boys' marbles." On the banks of
the Leeba and Leeambye, and further to the north, the flowers are dis-
tinguished for their sweet perfume ; a pleasant contrast to many of those
further to the south, which emit either no smell, or only a nauseous odour.

Crocodiles were very numerous ; and as it was the season for hatching,
large numbers of young ones, from a foot long and upwards, were met with ;
the little creatures biting savagely at the spears with which his attendants
impaled them. The natives search for and eat the eggs when they are fresh,
so that an increase of population would greatly diminish the number of these
dangerous reptiles. They feed on fish and the smaller species of game which
come to the water to drink ; now and again picking a child, a woman, or a
man off the banks, or seizing them in the water when bathing. The natives
have little dread of them ; and when armed with a knife or javelin, go into
the water and attack and kill them. One of Livingstone's attendants, in
swimming across a creek, was seized by one; but being armed with a javelin,
he wounded it severely behind the shoulder, and escaped with a severe teeth-
wound in the thigh where the brute had seized him.

In the south, where some tribes hold the animal sacred, when a man has
been bitten by a crocodile he is shunned by the rest of his tribe as being un-
clean ; but further north no such custom is known, and they voluntarily hunt
it for the sake of its flesh, which they eat.

At the village of Manenko, two Balonda men visited Livingstone, and
informed him that one of his party was believed to have acted as a guide to
Lerimo during his foray in the district. Having a captive boy and girl with
him whom he was conducting back to their people, to show that neither he
nor Sckeletu had anything to do with the sins of inferior men, they were so
far satisfied that his intentions were peaceable, and departed to report the
conversation to Manenko, the first female chief they had come across. Aftor
waiting two days an answer came from this African amazon, accompanied
with a basket of manioc roots, telling them that they were to remain until she
should visit them. Other messengers arrived with orders that he should visit
her ; but having lost four days in negotiations, he declined going at all, and
proceeded up stream to the confluence of the Leeba and Makondo. Here one
of the party picked up a bit of a steel watch-chain ; and its being there was
explained by the information that it was here the Mambari crossed in going
and coming to Masiko.

Among other articles of commerce the Mambari bring Manchester goods

A FEMALE CHIEF. L31

into the valley of the Leeba and Leeambye, which seem so wonderful in the
eyes of the simple natives that they could hardly believe that they were the
work of mortal hand. No explanation satisfies them. " How can the irons
spin, weave, and print so beautifully? Truly, ye arc Gods!" It was impos-
sible for them to understand the hard and prosaic toil endured in the manu-
facture of similar fabrics for years by the white man who stood before them —
toil sweetened by the opportunity the remuneration for it gave it to prepare
himself for the great work he was to accomplish on their behalf, a work which
to the worldly and unthinking brought no adequate reward for these early
trials and toils.

Shcakondo, chief of the village of the same name at the mouth of the
Lonkonye, visited the bivouac of the party with two of his sons. The people
who accompanied him had their teeth filed to a point, by way of beautifying
themselves. They were tattooed and marked on the body with stars formed
by the skin being raised in small cicatrices. They wear little or no clothing,
and anoint their bodies with butter or ox-fat, and when these fail them, with
oil they extract from the castor-oil plant. Sheakondo, who appears to have
been a fine specimen of an unsophisticated savage, seemed awe-struck when
told some of the "words of God." The elder of his wives presented some
manioc roots, begging for butter to anoint herself in exchange, which was
given to her ; and, as she had little clothing and was not very clean, he says:
" I can readily believe that she felt her comfort greatly enhanced thereby."
The younger and more favoured wife also begged for butter ; and she had
numbers of iron rings on her ankles, to which were suspended small pieces of
sheet-iron, which made a tinkling as she walked mincingly in African style —
simple ornaments which appeared to give her a great deal of pleasure.
Livingstone drily remarks, " The same thing is thought pretty by our own
dragoons in walking jauntily."

Wending their way up stream, they arrived at the village of another
female chief, Nyamoana, the mother of Manenko and the sister of Shinte, the
greatest Balonda chief of the Leeba district. Nyamoana gave Livingstone an
audience. She was seated alongside of her husband, on skins, on a raised
couch, surrounded by a trench. Round this trench sat about a hundred of
her people of all ages, the men armed with bows, spears, and broad swords.
After a palaver, Livingstone drew their attention to his hair, which was
always a subject of curiosity in the district. They imagined it a wig made
of a lion's mane, and could hardly believe it to be hair. He explained to
them that his was the real original hair, "Such as theirs would have been,
had it not been scorched and frizzled by the sun." In proof of what the sun
could do, he uncovered his bosom, and showed them the contrast between its
white hue, and his bronzed face and hands. As they go nearly naked and
exposed to the sun, this practical lesson enabled them readily to grasp the

132 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LED.

idea of a common origin for whites and blacks. This was a familiar illustra,-
tion of Livingstone's in addressing the natives,

Nyamoana's people were very superstitious, and it was here that he first
saw evidence of the existence of idolatry. The idol was a human head rudely
carved on a block of wood. His watch and pocket compass were scanned
with much curiosity ; but although invited to look at them by her husband,
the chief appeared to be afraid of them, and could not be persuaded to
approach near enough to see them.

On expressing his intention of proceeding up the Leeba, which appeared
still to come from the direction he wished to go, Nyamoana urged liim not to
do so, as there was a cataract in front, and the Balobale, whose country lies
to the west of the river, might kill the party. As the Balobale were unfriendly
to the Makololo, his attendants joined with her in urging that they should
proceed by land, and visit her brother Shinte. In the midst of the
discussion, Mancnko appeared upon the scene, and, throwing her influence
into the scale, carried the day against the further ascent of the river.

Mancnko was a tall, well-formed, hardy, and masculine woman, about
twenty years of age ; a profusion of ornaments and medicines, supposed to act
as charms, being suspended about her person. She scarcely wore any
clothing, and her body was smeared with a mixture of fat and red ochre, as
a protection against the weather. When asked why she, who could procure
plenty of clothing, went about in a state of nudity, she replied that it was
necessary for her as chief to show her indifference to the weather. She was
a splendid pedestrian, and on a march made her attendants and companions
glad when she proposed a halt. Livingstone's people succumbed at once
to the strong will of this female ruler : and Livingstone himself, though reso-
lute and inflexible in carrying out his own purposes in his own way, was
compelled to give way to her wishes. "What could he do or sa}' when a
difference arose, when, approaching him, she put her hand on his shoulder in
a motherly way, and said, " Now my little man, just do as the rest have
done ?"

As the tribes in the districts where he now found himself had no cattle,
the party suffered severely from the want of food. All they had had for several
days was a small dole of manioc roots every evening from Nyamoana. This
was the state of affairs when Mosantu arrived from his visit to Masiko,
accompanied by an imposing embassy, consisting of his under chiefs, who
brought a fine elephant's tusk, two calabashes of honey, and a large
piece of blue baize, as presents. He sent his expressions of pleasure at
the return of the captives, and at the prospects of a peaceful alliance with
the Makololo.

An ox was given by Livingstone as a return for his gifts ; but the poor
under chiefs were so hungry that they wished to kill and eat it. On asking

HUNTING THE CROCOOI IE

NA TI YE BEE1II YES. 133

his permission to do this, he was reluctantly compelled to decline, as he had
nothing he could send instead, and had no food to offer them.

Manenko and her husband Sambanza, accompanied by a drummer, whoso
duty it was to thump regularly on his drum, in order to acquaint all people
they might meet with the fact that a personage of importance was coming,
started to escort Livingstone and his party to Shintc's town. The rain poured
in torrents, notwithstanding that her husband endeavoured to stop it by
various incantations and vociferations. Manenko marched on unconcernedly
at such a rate as made it difficult for the men to keep up with her. Living-
stone being still weak from fever, which was aggravated by the low diet of
the last few days, was on oxback, the indomitable Manenko walking by his
side, keeping up a lively conversation. All suffered from want in this journey;
the bulk of what they got was begged from the inhabitants of the villages
they passed, and they were a sad contrast to the kindly Makololo, for on
several occasions they refused to give them even the scantiest supply. Even
when, on one occasion, Manenko herself went to beg something for Living-
stone she only managed to procure five ears of maize, and this notwithstanding
that the headman of the village was a subject of her uncle's.

In the forests they came upon artificial beehives, which arc formed by
removing the bark whole from a tree, which is then sewn up, closed at both ends,
and after a hole is perforated in each for the bees to pass in and out by, they
are hung upon the trees. The bees, finding so suitable a place for the deposit
of their honey and wax, take possession of it, and at the proper season their
store is removed by the natives. In this way all the honey and wax exported
from Loanda is collected. A piece of medicine (a charm) is attached to the
tree, and proves a sufficient protection. Their idolatry is the result of fear
only ; and their dread of unknown and terrible consequences keeps the people
honest under such circumstances.

To the west of the Lceba, Livingstone and his men found it useless to
follow the fluttering flight of the bee cater, or honey bird, as all the bees of
the district were artificially provided with hives ; and he Avould not permit
any of the hives to be interfered with.

Great quantities of edible mushrooms were found in the forest, and as
they were pleasant to cat, some of them even when raw, they proved a gnat
blessing in their present half-starved condition. Some of these grow to a
great size — as large as the crown of a hat — and several of them are of colours
unknown to Europe, one being dark blue. In this district he first saw signs
of the insecurity of life and property. The huts were closed with upright
stakes, which were removed and replaced as the inmates went in or departed.
The dealings with the Mambari in slaves, and the over-reaching nature of
their bargainings, had introduced a lower state of morals than he found pre-
vailing among the Bechuanas and the Makololo, where theft and over-reaching

134 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

were all but unknown in their transactions witli eacli other, and the relations
between the members of each tribe were conducted with primitive simplicity and
justice. In all ages and at all times, wherever slavery exists and is fostered
by white men, the vices of civilization, without its virtues, become rampant.

Kabompo, Shinte's town, stands in a pleasant green valley with a limpid
brook running through it. The town was embowered in trees, and the huts were
well built, and had square walls (the first he had seen), and circular roofs. The
streets were straight, and each hut had its patch of ground, in which tobacco,
sugar-cane, and bananas were carefully cultivated, the whole being surrounded
by a straight fence of upright poles a few inches apart, with grass, or leafy
branches interwoven between. Outside these fences trees of the Metis Indica
family, which they hold in veneration, form a grateful shade. Two native
Portuguese traders, and a large number of Mambari were in the town, dealing
in their wares, and trading in human flesh. For the first time the Makololo
men saw slaves in chains. " They are not men," they exclaimed, " who treat
children so."

Shinto gave Livingstone a grand reception in the Kotla, or place of
assemblage. About a hundred women were present ; this was the first occa-
sion in which he had seen women present in the Kotla on a formal or state
occasion. A party of musicians, consisting of three drummers and four per-
formers on the marimba, filled up the intervals with music. The marimba
"consists of two bars of wood placed side by side, here quite straight, but
farther north, bent round so as to resemble half the tire of a carriage wheel ;
across these arc placed about fifteen wooden keys, two or three inches broad,
and fifteen inches long ; their thickness is regulated according to the deepness
of the note required ; each of the keys has a calabash beneath it ; from the
upper part of each a portion is cut off to enable them to embrace the bars, and
form hollow sounding-boards to the keys ; and little drumsticks elicit the
music. Rapidity of execution seems much admired among them, and the
music is pleasant to the ear."

After a man had imitated "the most approved attitudes observed in actual
fight, as of throwing one javelin, receiving another on the shield, springing
to one side to avoid a third, running backwards and forwards, leaping, etc.
Sambanza (Manenko was indisposed) and the spokesman of Nyamoana, stalked
backwards and forward before Shinte, giving him a full and true account, so
far as they knew, of the white man and his object in passing through the
country, recommending him to receive him well and send him on his way.
Several speakers among his own headmen also delivered orations, the women
bursting into a plaintive melody between each. This over, Shinte stood up,
and the reception was at an end. The power and standing of Shinte among
the Balonda chiefs was borne out by the numbers present, there being about
a thousand people and three hundred armed men."

RECEPTION BY SIIINTE. 135

On this occasion no communication passed between Livingstone and
Shinto. By some mistake, the former was permitted to take a seat at a con-
siderable distance from the latter; and the one being too dignified to approach
his guest, and the other imagining that all was according to etiquette at
Kabompo, they parted without exchanging a word ; but it was remarked by
his attendants that Shinto scarcely took his eyes off Livingstone during the
interview. Next day Livingstone was commanded to visit him, and found
him frank and straightforward ; he was about fifty-five years of age, about
the middle height, and of dignified bearing. After discussing Livingstone's
plans, he signified his approval of them. After the business was over,
Livingstone inquired if he had ever seen a white man before. "Never; you
are the very first man I have seen with a white skin and straight hair ; your
clothing, too, is different from any we have ever seen."

On receiving a hint that " Shinte's mouth was bitter for want of tastin^
ox-flesh," Livingstone presented him with one to his great delight, recom-
mending him to trade in cows with the Makololo, as his country was so well
adapted for them. When he visited him on the return journey Livingstone
found that this shrewd savage had followed his advice. When Mancnko, who
was busy preparing a hut and court-yard suitable to her pretensions, heard
that the white man had presented her uncle with an ox, she was very wroth.
" This white man belonged to her. She had brought him, and therefore the
ox was hers, not Shinte's," and ordering her men to bring it, she had it
slaughtered, only sending her uncle a leg, with which he appeared to be quite
contented. She evidently had her own way with him, as with all others witli
whom she came in contact.

The magic lantern was a never-failing source of interest and instruction
everywhere ; the simple savages never tired of looking at the pictures, many
of them travelling miles to see them; chiefs and people inquiring minutely as
to the meaning of every picture. As many of them were illustrations of
Scripture subjects, he found it a ready means of introducing them to Bible
truths. A kind of beer or mead is largely drunk among the Balonda, and
many cases of intoxication, — a thing unknown further south, — were observed.
Sambanza, the husband of Manenko, got hopelessly tipsy on one occasion,
and staggered towards the hut of his wife ; and although, as Livingstone
says, she " had never promised ' to love, honour, and obey him,' she had not
been ' nursing her wrath to keep it warm,' so she coolly bundled him into the
hut, and put him to bed."

At their last interview, Shinte presented Livingstone with a string of
beads, and the end of a common sea-shell mounted with string, " which is
considered in regions far from the sea of as great value as the Lord Mayor's
badge in London. He hung it round my neck, and said, ' There, now you
have a proof of my friendship.' " For two such shells he afterwards found a

13G LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

slave could be bought, and five of them were considered a handsome price for
an elephant's tusk worth ten pounds.

The following extract from Livingstone's first letter to Sir Roderick
Murchison supplements the above account of his interview with Shinte : —

" We were received in what they consider grand style. The old
chief sat under a species of Fieus Indica, on a raised seat, having
some hundreds of women behind him, all decked out in their best,
and that best was a profusion of red baize. Some drums and primi-
tive instruments made of wood, were powerfully beaten ; and different
bands of men, each numbering about fifty or eighty persons, well armed
with large bows and iron-headed arrows, short broadswords and guns,
rushed yelling towards us from different quarters As they all screwed up their
faces so as to look very fierce and savage, I supposed they were trying whether
they could not make us take to our heels. But they knelt down and made their
obeisance to Shinte, which in all this country consists in rubbing dust on the
upper and front part of the arms and across the chest. When several hundreds
had arrived, speeches were delivered, in which my history, so far as they
could extract it from my companions, was given. ' The Bible containing a
message of peace.' ' The return of two captives to Shinte.' ' The opening of
a new path for trade,' &c, were all described. ' Perhaps he is fibbing, perhaps
not ; they rather thought he was.' ' But as they were good-hearted, and not
at all like the Balobale, or people of Sekeletu, and had never done any evil to
any one, Shinte had better treat him well and send him on his way.' The
women occasionally burst forth with a plaintive ditty, but I could not distinguish
whether it was in praise of the speakers or of themselves ; and when the sun
became hot the scene closed.

" Shinte came during the night and hung around my neck a particular
kind of shell, which is highly valued as a proof of the greatest friendship ;
and he was greatly delighted with some Scriptural pictures which I showed
him from a magic lantern. The spirit of trade is strong in all Africans, and
the Balonda chiefs we visited all highly approved of our journey. Each
expressed an earnest hope that the projected path might lead through his town.
Shinte facilitated our progress to the next important chief, named Katema."

After furnishing him with guides, and a stock of provisions, they parted
with mutual good wishes, each being serviceable to the other to an extent of
which Shinte had little idea.

The great explorer was now in regions where his knowledge of the
language of the Bechuanas and the Makololo was of no service to him ;
and he speaks bitterly of the inconvenience and drawbacks of speaking
through an interpreter.

From Kabompo to Katema's town, Livingstone and his party passed
across a country rich in woods and fertile plains, the latter covered from a

A NATIVE SNUFF TAKER. 137

deptb of a few inches to several feet with water, the result of the incessant
rains which fell daily. In this vast plain the rivers which unite to form the
Zambesi take their rise. The people at the various villages were very
friendly, presenting Livingstone and his party with abundance of food, and
even striving who should have the pleasure of entertaining them. The
people were very superstitious, their superstition taking the form of a dread
and terror of some being or beings unseen, and supposed to be near and dan-
gerous. In the forests medicines were found fixed to the trees as charms ;
human faces cut out of the bark, and propitiatory gifts hung in the branches,
and bundles of twigs, to which every passer by added his or her quota, all
designed as offerings to the unseen powers, who draw them by fear and not
by love, were frequently met with.

Several remarkable chiefs and headmen were met and conversed with
during this stage of the journey. Mozinkwa, a headman of Katema's and
his wife (he had only one), were above the ordinary run in character and
intelligence. They had a large and well-kept garden, hedged round. The
hut and courtyard were surrounded by a living and impenetrable wall of
banian trees. Cotton grew round all the jDreniises. Plants used as relishes
to the insipid porridge of the district, castor-oil plants, Indian brignalls, yams,
and sweet potatoes were carefully and successfully cultivated. Several large
trees planted in the middle of the yard formed a grateful shade to the huts of the
family, who were fine specimens of the negro race at its best. Livingstone
was much touched by the worth and kindness of this family, and amongst
other things promised to bring the wife a cloth from the white man's country
on his return ; but alas ! before his return she was dead, and Mozinkwa and
his family had forsaken their pleasant huts and gardens, as a Balonda man
cannot live in a spot where a favourite wife has died.

In speaking to these people on religious subjects, he found that nothing
made so much impression upon them as the fact that the Sou of God came
down from heaven to die for men, and really endured death in our stead out
of pure love, and to tell about God and the place from whence He had come.
If this method of interesting them did not succeed, he found it impossible to
move them. As human sacrifices had been at one time common among the
Balonda, and at the time of Livingstone's visit were still practised to a limited
extent, on the occasion of the death of great chiefs, &c, they readily appre-
ciated the extent of the sacrifice made by a great being in submitting himself
to death in the place of others.

Quendcnde, the father-in-law of Katema, a fine old man with long woolly
hair reaching to the shoulders, plaited on either side, and the back hair
gathered into a lump on the nape of the neck, received a visit which gratified
him much. Quendcnde was a snuff-taker and prepared the titillating powder
in a primitive fashion; the leaves of the tobacco plant after being dried at the

T

138 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

fire were pounded in a mortal*, after which it was ready for use. The whole
party were hospitably entertained by him, and he took great interest in all
that the white man told him, and gave him much information as to the Ba-
londa and their habits in return. Speaking of Matiamvo, a powerful chief of
the district, he said that so absolute was he, that when any of the mountain
traders arrived, he would select a large portion of their goods, and hand over
a number of his people, or even the inhabitants of an entire village, as pay-
ment. He was a man of violent temper and appeared to have been really
insane, as " he sometimes indulged in the whim of running a muck in the
town, and beheading whomsoever he met, until he had quite a heap of human
heads." That these people have some notion of a future state is evident from
the answer of an ambassador of Matiamvo when he was rebuked for his
cruelty, and told that he would be judged in company with those he destroyed.
•• We do not go up to God as you do ; we are put into the ground."

Katema received the party seated on a sort of throne, with about three
hundred of his principal men around him, and thirty women, said to be his
wives, seated behind. The main body of the people were seated in a semi-
circle about fifty yards distant. Intemese, the chief guide sent with Living-
stone by Shinto, in a speech, gave the history of the white man, his doings
and intentions. Katema placed twelve large baskets of meal, half a dozen
fowls, and a dozen eggs before them, telling them to " go home, and cook
and eat, and you will then be in a fit state to speak to me at an audience I
will give you to-morrow." Katema was described by Livingstone as ■• a tall
man, about forty years of age, and his head was ornamented with a helmet
of beads and feathers. He had on a well worn snuff-brown coat, with a
broad band of tinsel down the arms, and carried in his hand a large tail made
of the caudal extremities of a number of gnus," which had charms attached
to it.

He had a great idea of his own importance, and did not fail to give
Livingstone the benefit of it on the morrow. "I am the great Moene (lord)
Katema, the father of Matiamvo. There is no one in this country equal to
Matiamvo and me ; I have always lived here, and my forefathers too. There
is the house in which my father lived. You found no human skulls near the
place where you encamped. I never killed any of the traders, they all come
to me, I am the great Moene Katema, of whom you have heard."

Livingstone presented him with several small articles, apologising for the
meagrencss of his gift, and asking him what he should bring him from the
coast, hinting that it might not be bulky. Everything (he said laughing) of
the white people would be acceptable, and he would receive anything thank-
fully ; but the coat he had then on was old and he would like another.

Unlike the chiefs farther to the south, he had a herd of cattle, reared
from two he had bought from the Balobalc when he was young. They were

LAKE DILOLO. 139

fine animals, almost white, and as handsome and nearly as active as Elands.
As he did not milk them they were in a semi- wild state; and when he wanted
to kill one it had to be stalked and shot.

Livingstone explained to him how to milk them. The Balonda are
remarkable for a formal etiquette which will not permit them to eat meat
prepared by others, or to eat in the presence of strangers ; and when an
inferior meets a superior he drops on his knees and puts handfuls of dust on
his breast.

Here several of Livingstone's people suffered from fever, and he had
another attack himself. These frequent seizures had reduced his strength,
but had not impaired in the slightest degree that resolute and iron will which
allowed nothing to interfere with the great end he had in view. Before he
was quite recovered he was on the move again accompanied by three guides
given by Katema. While here and at Shinte's town they had wanted for
nothing the people had to give, and they were able to return the compliment,
as while there they killed an ox, a share of which was a great boon to people
who seldom tasted flesh meat. The want of cattle throughout a district so
admirably adapted for them, on account of the abundance of grass and water,
and its freedom from tsetse struck him as singular.

Pushing on through flooded plains and dank forests, the party reached
the narrow end of Lake Dilolo, which at its widest is about three miles broad,
and is about seven miles long. Livingstone's weak state rendered it unde-
sirable that he should examine it carefully, even although this only involved
a few miles of travel. The frequent attacks of fever from which he had suf-
fered made him anxious to loiter as little by the way as possible. His pas-
sionate desire was to reach the coast; and the only dread that seemed to
possess him was, that he might succumb before accomplishing his purpose, in
which case his long and toilsome journey would have been useless to man-
kind. On reaching the unflooded higher lands beyond the plain, Livingstone
discovered to his joy and surprise that he now stood on an elevated plateau
which formed the water-shed both of the northern and the southern rivers.
The streams running north fell into the Kasai, or Loke, and those to the
south united to form the Zambesi (under the names of the Leeba and the
Leeambye), the upward course of whose waters he had followed with so mucli
ease and comfort. Unwittingly he had also reached the western extremity of
the water-shed of the great Lualaba, about which he had so much to tell us
years afterwards.

Here the valleys were deeper and more beautiful than any lie had yet
seen, their steep sides were seamed with water courses ; and as each of these
valleys was drained by a running stream, the growth of the trees was not
impeded by the accumulation for months annually of stagnant water. Many
of these trees grew lo a great height — sixty and eighty feet of clean straight

140 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

trunk ere the branches were reached being not uncommon. The ground
underneath was covered with a luxuriant crop of green grass, through and
over which beautiful flowers of all colours stood out, gladdening the sight and
perfuming the air.

Turning westwards through such scenery as this, Livingstone found
himself among tribes who owed allegiance to Katema, and whose dealings
with the Mambari had taught them to give nothing to strangers out
of friendship. Gunpowder or calico was demanded for everything ;
and as he had none of these to spare, and as his last parcel of beads was
about all he had to traffic with during the long and arduous journey still
before him, he began to dread that the expedition was doomed to suffer more
from hunger than it had yet done. Kangenke, a chief whose village is near
the Kasai, although not inclined to play the generous host, readily furnished
guides, enabling the party to proceed at once. They crossed the Kasai in
canoes, the men pointing out its course, saying, " Though you sail along it
for months, you will turn without seeing the end of it." The Kasai and its
tributaries unite and form the Congo, which falls into the Atlantic Ocean four
degrees to the north of Loanda, whither the expedition was bound, so that its
course was long enough to give these untravelled savages a high notion as to
its unknown extent. Speaking of the stream where the party crossed it,
Livingstone likens it to his native Clyde, which in its lower reaches above
Glasgow is richly wooded.

Food was now getting scarce, as none could be got unless in exchange
for something out of their little store. One of the guides caught a blue
mole and two mice, which he dressed for his supper, a distinct indication that
larger game was scarce, or not to be had. Since his entrance into the country
of Balonda the sight of herds of game and even single individuals had
become few and far between ; and these had become so shy from being
hunted, that there was no chance of getting within gun-shot of them without
horses and other hunting appliances which he had not got. The weakness
caused by the frequent attacks of fever, and the bad setting of his shoulder,
which had been shattered by the lion that attacked him at Chounane, left
him hardly able to carry or hold his gun straight. Katende, a chief, sent a
message to Livingstone that he must give him either a man, a tusk, beads,
copper rings, or a shell, before he would be allowed to pass ; to which demand
an explanation of his circumstances, and one of his remaining shirts, was
sent, together with a message that if he liked he might come and take any-
thing else, in which case he would reach his own chief naked and have to
account for it by telling that Katende had taken them. The shirt was
detained, and a little meal and manioc, and a fowl sent in exchange to the
famishing band.

They passed onward without seeing Katende. and reached a river with

AN AFRICAN PIKE MAN. U\

a wooden bridge across it, which Livingstone was surprised to find in the posses-
sion of a " pikeman " who demanded toll — a functionary he had not expected
to meet with so far from the confines of civilization. A payment of three
copper bracelets secured the passage of the party. For days their route was
across a country intersected by valleys through each of which flowed a
flooded stream, more or less difficult to cross. In passing one of these Living-
stone lost his hold of the tail of an ox, and swam unassisted to the other
side, to the great joy of his men, who leaped into the water to save him.
They had not known till then that he could swim, and expressed their satis-
faction and contempt for future difficulties of a similar nature by saying,
" We can all swim. Who carried the white man across the river but himself?"

Livingstone's men, who had accompanied him from the Leeambye and
the Chobe, and passed through so many miles of country not half so fertile
as the region they had been passing through for days, expressed their
astonishment at the want of cattle and the non-cultivation of the soil, espe-
cially as the country was about as thickly peopled as their own. He came
to the conclusion that when wild game was abundant in the district it had
been afflicted with tsetse, and that now, on account of the introduction of
guns &c, these becoming scarce, the insect plague had ceased, a state of
matters of which, up to that time, Shinte, Katemo, and Matiainvo, were the
only chiefs who had had the wisdom to take advantage.

The travellers were now in the country of the Chiboque, a people who,
through their connection with the Mambari had imbibed a passion for plun-
dering all strangers by way of toll for the right of passage through their
country, which subjected the party to much danger and inconvenience.
AVishing to be on good terms with Njambi, a chief of some consequence, the
hump and ribs of an ox they had slaughtered were sent to him. The gift
was accepted, and a present of food was promised next day, which resolved
itself into a small quantity of meal and a demand for a man, an ox, a gun,
some powder, or cloth. About mid-day the young men of the tribe began to
gather round the party; and as they were overheard remarking that they had
only five guns, it was evident they intended plundering and perhaps murder-
ing them. Livingstone's men stood on the defensive, while the young
Chiboque brandished their swords and pointed their guns at Livingstone,
who sat quietly on a camp stool with his double barrelled gun across his
knees.

The resolute and calm demeanour of the party had its effect ; and the
chief consented to take a seat along with several of his headmen beside
Livingstone to talk matters over. He complained that one of his men,
Pitsane, had spat upon one of the Chiboque, and that the matter might be
settled by the present of a man, an ox, or a gun. It was no use explaining
to them that the offence was a pure accident, they were determined to haw

142 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

all they could get, and after a bunch of beads and a large handerkerchief had
been given, they were more clamorous than ever. Feeling certain that he
and his men could give a good account of these plundering savages, but being
determined to avoid bloodshed unless driven to extremity, Livingstone main-
tained his coolness, which had its effect upon his men as well as upon the
Chiboque. Before the chief and his counsellors were aware of it, they found
themselves cut off from their people and surrounded by Livingstone's party.
This induced a more friendly understanding, and taught them unmistakably
that any attempt at plunder would be met with a most formidable defence.
Being desirous of satisfying them as far as possible, a tired ox was given to
the chief, who promised to send food in return, — but all he sent was a small
basket of meal and a few pounds of the flesh of his own ox. As they could
now depart, Livingstone forbore remonstrating against the shabby treatment
they had received, and pushed on.

For several days he suffered severely from fever, being scarcely able to
sit upon his ox, and when quite prostrate from its effects, a mutiny arose
among his men, who were dissatisfied on account of some presents he had
made to his guides and chief men, who had become disheartened, and whose
goodwill and courage were so necessary to the safety of the expedition.
Having explained the matter to them, and promised to slay an ox at the next
village they reached, he imagined that harmony was restored. Some time
after, on recovering from a stupor induced by fever, he found matters in a
worse state than ever. Feeling how necessary it was that order should be
restored, he staggered from his bed armed with his double-barrelled pistol,
and, partly by threats and cajolery, restored amity amongst them. Several
clays afterwards, the exactions of the Chiboque and the dangers with which
they were daily beset sapped the courage of his men, and they demanded to
be led back to their homes, as they saw no hope of being able to reach the
coast. After using all his power of persuasion without avail, he announced
his intention in the event of their deserting him, of proceeding to his destina-
tion alone. This had the desired effect ; some of them made answer: "We
will never leave you. Do not be disheartened. Wherever you lead we will
follow. Our remarks were made only on account of the injustice of these
people."

Those who had accompanied him all the way, said " they were all my
children ; they knew no one but Sekeletu and me, and they would die for
me." At every step of his journey we are called upon to admire the wisdom
and courage of this heroic man. On many occasions, the slightest indiscretion
or rashness would have ruined the expedition by exciting the jealous and sus-
picious nature of those savage tribes ; and when real danger threatened, his cool
and resolute bearing — offering no violence, but showing unmistakably that if
such were absolutely necessary it would be forthcoming — saved them frequently

THE QUANGO VALLEY. 143

from plunder and a violent death. A man like this, who knows his own
powers thoroughly, and possesses the unusual faculty of commanding himself,
his passions and feelings, in all cases, illustrates our highest idea of what " a
leader of men " should he. To such men few undertakings, however dan-
gerous, are impossible ; their courage and honesty conquer the stranger, while
their followers cannot helj) imbibing these qualities to an extent which makes
them capable of efforts they would have shrunk from under inferior guidance.

The travellers passed rapidly over the remainder of their route to the
Quango, avoiding villages, as the visiting of these only led to delays, no food
being procurable without making sacrifices of their now scanty necessaries.
On passing a village, swarms of children would rush out, and run for long
distances alongside of them, viewing them with wonder. They suffered
greatly from hunger ; but the near prospect of reaching Portuguese territory
and finding friends, kept them up, and induced them to strain every nerve to
reach it as speedily as possible.

On the 30th of March, when so weak from fever and hunger that he had
to be led by his men to prevent his falling, Livingstone looked down from the
high land upon a valley about a hundred miles wide, through which the broad
Quango wound its way to the north-west. This great valley is nearly
covered with dark forest excepting along the course of the river, which
gleamed here and there from the midst of the green meadows which extend
a considerable way from its banks. On the further side lofty mountains rose
indistinctly through the haze, while the high ground from which he viewed
the magnificent scene was about a thousand feet above the level of the stream.
Weary and worn with want and disease, one can readily imagine the
feelings of this remarkable man, as he surveyed the magnificent valley spread
out before him, and had his eyes refreshed and his spirit stirred by the
sight of blue mountain summits, after hundreds of miles of travel through
a country all but flat. Beyond that broad sti-eam lay friendly territory!
A few days more of trial and difficulty and he would be among a people who
would aid him in the completion of his great enterprise, and esteem it an
honour to supply him with the comforts and necessaries of which he stood so
much in need !

The chief of the Bashinje, a people on the east bank of the Quango,
made himself as troublesome as possible, as Livingstone would neither give
him a man nor one of the tusks belonging to Sekeletu. Everything they had
possessed, save the tusks and his instruments, was gone, and the clothes of the
travellers were hanging about them in tatters. The chief, a young man of
pleasing countenance, visited Livingstone, who showed him his watch, which
so excited his fear and wonder that he declined to see the magic lantern and
his pocket compass. Hunger and the near prospect of succour had made the
whole party determined to march on, even if they should have to cut their

144 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

way through these unfriendly people. In answer to the threats and demands
of the chief, he was told firmly that they " should certainly go forward next
day, and if he commenced hostilities, the blame before God would be his ; "
and Livingstone's interpreter added of his own accord, " How many white
men have you killed in this path?" meaning, " You have never killed any
white man, and you will find one more difficult to manage than you imagine."
Arrived at the Quango, another Bashinje chief insisted upon having an
ox, a man, or a gun, before he would permit them to be ferried across.
Livingstone's men stripped off the last of their copper rings and gave them to
him ; but he still insisted upon a man. While in the midst of this difficulty,
a young half-caste Portuguese sergeant of militia, Cypriano di Abreu, who
had crossed from the other side to purchase beeswax, made his appearance,
and joined with Livingstone in inducing his men to go down to the river
bank. There Cypriano succeeded in arranging matters with the ferryman,
and to their great joy they found themselves in Portuguese territory. They
passed with light hearts through the tall grass, which in the valley of the
Quango is frequently over six feet in height. Three miles to the west of the
river they came to several neat square houses, before which many cleanly
looking half-caste militiamen, part of Cypriano's command, stood and saluted
them.

Livingstone's tent was pitched in front of Cypriano's dwelling, and in
the morning his men were plentifully supplied with pumpkins and maize,
while Livingstone was entertained to a breakfast in his dwelling, of ground
nuts, roasted maize, and boiled manioc roots, with guavas and honey as a
dessert. "I felt sincerely grateful," says Livingstone, "for such a breakfast."
Several of Cypriano's friends joined them at dinner, before partaking of
which, each guest had water poured on his hands to wash them, by a female
slave.

One of the guests cut up a fowl with a knife and fork, the only set in the
house, so that they all partook of the fowl with their fingers, their hands
being washed at the conclusion of the dinner as at the commencement.

During the few days they remained with Cypriano, he killed an ox for
their entertainment, and stripped his garden of its produce to feed them ; nor
did his kindness end here, as he furnished them with as much food as would
serve them during the four or five days' journey to Cassange.

All these half-caste militiamen could read and write ; they were Roman
Catholics, but knew nothing about the Bible. The militia are quartered
among the Ban gala, the people of the district, on account of their having, at
one time, made themslves troublesome to the Portuguese traders — killing one
of them. When the governor of Angola had reduced them to obedience, the
militia were established amongst them to enforce their good behaviour. Thesp
militia receive no pay, but maintain themselves by trade and agriculture.

AT CASSANGE. 145

As the party had crossed several streams and had marched for miles
among wet grass which grew two feet over their heads, they had a very
forlorn appearance as they entered Cassange, the farthest east Portuguese
settlement, and presented themselves to the gaze of civilized men. The first
gentleman Livingstone met asked him for his passport, " and said it was neces-
sary to take me before the authorities. As I was in the same state of mind
in which individuals arc who commit a petty depreciation in order to obtain
the shelter and food of a prison, I gladly accompanied him to the house of
the commandant, Senor do Silva Rego. Having shown my passport (letters
of recommendation from the Chevalier Du Prat, of Cape Town) to the gentle-
man, he politely asked me to supper ; and as we had eaten nothing except the
farina of Cypriano, from the Quango to this, I suspect I appeared particularly
ravenous to the other gentlemen around the table." One can readily sym-
pathise with him, when he adds, " Had they not been present, I might have
put some in my pocket to eat by night ; for after fever the appetite is unusu-
ally keen, and manioc is one of the most unsatisfying kinds of food." One
of the guests, Captain Antonio Rodrigues Neves, took the worn and exhausted
traveller to his house with him, where he remained during his stay, and pre-
sented him with a decent suit of clothing. This kindly man also furnished
food for the famishing party.

The Portuguese traders in Cassange numbered about forty, and were all
officers in the militia ; they were exceedingly kind to the coloured people
about them — their half-caste and full-coloured clerks and assistants in the
business sitting at table with them. None of them had European wives with
them, but most of them had families by native women whom they treated
with every kindness and consideration, seldom or never deserting them, and
providing for them as if they were legitimately born.

At Cassange the tusks belonging to Sekeletu were sold, and as two
muskets, three small barrels of gunpowder, and English baize and calico suffi-
cient to clothe the whole party, with several large bunches of beads, were
received for one tusk, Livingstone's companions were quite delighted, as in
their own country they only received one gun for two tusks. Another tusk
was sold for calico with which to pay their way to the coast, as it is the chief
currency of the district, and the remaining two were sold for money to buy a
horse for Sekeletu at Loanda.

Livingstone was astonished to find that the traders at Cassange had an
accurate knowledge of the country and the courses of the rivers far to the east,
although this information had never appeared on any European map.

The commander handsomely sent a soldier with the party as a guide to
Ambaca, entertained Livingstone to a farewell dinner, and presented his com-
panions with an ox to regale themselves with. The merchants accompanied
him some distance in hammocks carried by slaves, and having given hi in

146 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LED.

letters of introduction to their friends in Loanda, they parted with mutual
expressions of good-will. Livingstone's guide was a man of colour, a
native of Ambaca, and a full corporal in the militia. He was attended by
three slaves, two of whom carried his hammock, in which he always reclined
in state on entering and leaving a village; the third slave carried a box which
contained his dishes, clothing, and writing materials, for he could both read
and write, as nearly all his brethren could. Although a pure native himself,
when he lost his temper in dealing with any of his slaves, he called him a
u negro," as if he meant it as a term of reproach.

Crossing the high lands which bounded the Quango valley to the west,
Livingstone found no difficulty in procuring abundance of food from the
inhabitants of the numerous villages in exchange for pieces of calico and beads.
The rains and night dews brought on another attack of fever; and a consider-
able portion of the journey was made in pain and misery. The skin of his
body became abraded in various places ; and his strong courage almost failed
him even when the hour of his success was so near at hand.

Arrived at Ambaca, Livingstone was hospitably entertained by the
commandant, who recommended wine for his debility; and here he took the
first glass of that beverage he had taken in Africa. While sleeping in the house
of the commandant he was bitten by an insect called the tampan, a kind of
tick, varieties of which range in size from a pin's head to a pea. It invariably
attacks the parts between the toes, sucking the blood till quite full. Its bite
is poisonous, and causes a sensation of pain and itching, which passes up the
limb until it reaches the abdomen, when it causes purging and retching.
When these effects do not follow, fever often sets in, which frequently results
in death. Before starting, the commandant gave them two militia soldiers as
guides, to replace their Cassange corporal, who left them here ; and pro-
vided them with as much bread and meat as would serve them until they
reached the next station. With characteristic liberality, Livingstone tells us
that the ability of so many of the people of Ambaca to read and write, " is
the fruit of the labours of the Jesuit and Capuchin missionaries, for they
taught the people of Ambaca ; and ever since the expulsion of the teachers by
the Marquis of Pombal, the natives have continued to teach each other.
These devoted men are held in high estimation throughout the country to this
day. All speak well of them ; and now that they are gone from this lower
sphere, I could not help wishing that their own Roman Catholic fellow Chris-
tians had felt it their duty to give the people the Bible, to be a light to their
feet when the good men themselves were gone."

Nothing of note occurred during the remainder of the journey. The
Portuguese, without exception, treated the party with the utmost considera-
tion and kindness, which was all the more gratifying to him on account of
his debilitated condition. Parties of Mambari were met who did not seem

ARRIVAL AT LOAN DA. 147

pleased at finding Makololo men so far from their native Zambesi, and so
near a market where they would discover the true value of their elephants'
tusks. They tried to induce them to return, by repeating the legend that the
white men lived in the sea, and that harm would happen to them. But
Livingstone's companions were now proof against such fables ; and although
full of wonder and doubt as to the new world they were about to enter, and
the treatment they might receive, they determined to stand by him to the last.
On catching their first glimpse of the sea, the astonishment of his com-
jianions was boundless ; speaking of their first sight of it, on their return to
their friends, they said: "We marched along with our father, believing that
what the ancients had always told us was true, that the world had no end ;
but all at once the world said to us, ' I am finished, there is no more of me.' '
There was only one Englishman in Loanda — which had then a population of
eleven thousand souls — Mr. Gabriel, the British commissioner for the suppres-
sion of the slave trade, and he gave his countryman a warm welcome. He
had sent an invitation to meet him on the way from Cassange, whence intel-
ligence of the arrival of an Englishman from the interior of Africa, — a region
from which no European had ever before come, — had reached Loanda ; but
it had missed him on the way. After partaking of refreshments, and noticing
how ill his guest looked, he conducted him to bed. "Never shall I forget,"
says he, " the luxuriant pleasure I enjoyed in feeling myself again on a good
English couch, after six months' sleeping on the ground. I was soon asleep,
and Mr. Gabriel coming in almost immediately, rejoiced at the soundness of
my repose."

He had achieved his purjDOse : the mystery of South Africa was solved.
Instead of being a vast barren desert, he had found it to be a populous and
fertile region, watered by splendid streams, navigable for hundreds of miles,
abounding in animal life of all kinds, and inhabited by tribes capable of benefit-
ing from the civilizing and humanizing influences of honest commerce, and the
teaching of the Gospel. What are the triumphs of arms compared with the
great work this heroic man had achieved ? On these vast fertile plains, there
is room for millions of human beings living peaceful and industrious lives. Is
it too much to hope, that within a period not very remote, the tribes of South
and Central Africa will have become all that he believes them capable of
becoming, and that they will hold in reverence the name and memory of the
undaunted Englishman who first introduced them and their country to the
knowledge of the civilized world ?

Livingstone and his party started from Liny an ti on the 11th of Novem-
ber, 1853, and reached Loanda on the 31st of May, 1854, the journey thus
occupying something more than six months, during which period none of his
friends, cither savage or civilized, heard anything of him. He had disap-
peared into the wilderness ; and, like many more daring spirits, it was

148 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

supposed that ho had fallen a victim to the climate or the cruelty of some
savage chief. Not the least remarkable fact connected with his journey was,
that he had not lost a man in the long and toilsome journey; and, as we shall
sec, he was equally fortunate in returning.

Instead of burning and parched plains, he had found, as he had shrewdly
suspected he would, that, with the exception of a portion of the Bechuana
country and the Kalahari desert, the vast districts between the confines of
civilization at Kuruman and St. Paul de Loanda on the west coast — and from
all he could see and learn of the northern watersheds, equally vast districts
to the north of his line of march, — were seamed with rivcrcourses which
poured their waters into magnificent streams which found their way to the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and were for many hundred miles of their course
navigable for flat-bottomed vessels. The long rainy season gave to the earth
a fertility which the abundant animal life of these districts could not master ;
and the tall grass lay rotting on the ground in the flooded districts, a tangled
mass impeding the progress of the traveller, the dense swathes of which were
used by the various species of antelopes for hiding their young from their
numerous enemies.

Save in the immediate neighbourhood of the rivers and swamps the
natives are subject to fewer diseases than Europeans. In return for the
comforts and industrial appliances of civilized life they could give cotton,
indigo, skins, ivory, etc. ; and a legitimate and mutually helpful trade of this
kind with the civilized centres of the world would do more in ten years towards
the suppression of the traffic in human flesh than all the money Great Britain
has spent for this object since the abolition of slavery in her dependencies.

This great district he found as thickly populated as the Bechuana country
by tribes ranking high among savages in intelligence, who, in the main, led
peaceable and blameless lives, — cultivating their gardens, feeding their cattle,
catching the fish in the rivers, and hunting the game of the plains, and
cherishing traditions of wise and distinguished forefathers of their tribes. To
the west, through their connection with the slave traders of the coast, and the
evil passions which invariably follow this inhuman traffic, he found a people
who had lost the peaceful and patriarchal simplicity of their brethren of the
interior ; but amongst them he found wise and intelligent chiefs and head-
men, with whom it appeared to him easy, given the opportunity of bringing
the proper teaching and experience before them through missionary and com-
mercial effort, to introduce a purer and nobler life.

CHAPTER VIII.

Dr. Livingston J 8 Letters Home Detailing his Discoveries. — Receives the Royal
Geographical Society's Gold Medal for the Year. — The Province of Angola, §c.

THE Missionary Magazine for October, 1855, was able to give the following
brief account of Dr. Livingstone's great journey : —

" Our enterprising missionary has, since the early part of 1853, been
engaged on his fourth tour of exploration in the interior of Africa. Arriving
at the town of the Chief Sekeletu, on the river Linyanti, in September of that
year he proceeded in a north-westerly direction, in company with a detachment
of the followers of that chief, in search of an outlet on the west coast, and, after
surmounting great difficulties and hardships, he at length reached St. Paul de
Loanda at the end of May, 18-54.

" In consequence of the loss of some of Dr. Livingstone's letters, by the
wreck of the vessel in which they were despatched, the detailed account of his
extended journey has not yet come to hand ; but our readers will be gratified
by the notice of its more recent incidents embodied in the subjoined extracts
from his last communication.

" Under date, Cassange, Angola, West Africa, 14th January, ult.,
Dr. Livingstone writes : —

" As soon as I was sufficiently recovered from the severe indisposition
which kept me prostrate for a long time after my arrival at Loanda, I wrote
you a full account of the journey, concerning which you have probably received
information from other sources. I regretted that you had not received the
earliest intelligence directly from my own hand, and that regret was increased on
learning a few days ago at Punjo Andonjo, that all my letters and maps had
been lost in the wreck of the ' Forerunner] off Madeira.

" Having left the river Zambesi or Leeambye in latitude 1411' S., and
longitude 23 40' E., we ascended the Leeba until we had the country at Lobale
on our left, and Loanda on our right. We then left the canoes and travelled
N.N.W. on oxback till we reached the latitude of this place, viz., GT37', whence
proceeding westwards we at last reached Loanda.

"In passing through a part of Loanda we found the people exceedingly
kind, and generally anxious that we should succeed in opening up a new road
to the coast ; they belong to the negro race and are more superstitious than any
of the southern tribes ; they would not eat with us, and near every village wo

150 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

observed an idol, consisting either of a clay figure of a lion or alligator, or a
block of wood on which a human face was rudely carved. In cases of sickness
or failure in any pursuit, offerings of food are presented and drums beat before
them during whole nights. The Balonda invariably go armed with short
broadswords, large bows and arrows, and guns, and seem to possess but little
sense of security in their own country. Cases of kidnapping of children occurred
while we were passing, and these with persons who flee from one chieftain to
another are generally sold to half-blood Portuguese who visit the country as
slave dealers. The country appeared to contain a large population, and it
abounds in the necessaries of life. The soil is fertile, and the climate admits
of the crops appearing in all the different stages all the year round.

" The time of our visit was unfortunately the season of the heavy
rains, which appear to follow the course of the sun in his progress north. Our
experience can scarcely be considered a fair criterion of what may occur
during the rest of the year : perpetual drenchings, a hot sun (the temperature
never under 84° in the shade), quickly drying our clothing, and frequently
sleeping in damp beds, prevented my forming a reliable idea of the salubrity
of the climate. My companions, all native Zambesians, had nearly as much
sickness as myself — intermittent fever being the complaint from which we all
suffered most. The country, however, is elevated, and, abounding in flowing
streams, is moreover of great fertility and beauty. The time spent in the
way was also longer than may be required at other seasons, because we had
to halt early in the afternoons, in order to allow the men to build little huts
for shelter during the night. The dense-tangled forests, however, presented
an insurmountable obstacle to travelling in waggons, but the plains on our
west may not be similarly obstructed.

"When we came into the vicinity of the Portuguese settlements, the
native tribes treated us rather badly. Some levied heavy fines on the most
frivolous pretences ; others demanded payment for leave to pass at all. I
parted with everything I could dispense with, and my men gave all their
ornaments and most of their clothes, either for food, fines, or ferries. But
when we explained we had nothing to part with besides, it did not in the
least appease the violence of the mobs which surrounded us, we must pay
cither a man, an ox, or a gun, and were looked upon as interlopers, wishing
to cheat them out of their dues. At last, on reaching the river Quango, by
the generous assistance of a young Portuguese sergeant of Militia, we entered
the territory of Portugal, and received the kindest treatment from all classes
all the way to Loanda.

" In that city I arrived nearly knocked up, and suffering from fever and
dysentery. Edmund Gabriel, Esq., Her Majesty's Commissioner for the
Suppression of the Slave Trade, and the only Englishman I know in the city,
most generously received me and my twenty-seven companions into his house.

INFLUENCE OF MISSIONARIES. 151

I shall never forget the delicious pleasure of lying down on his bed, after
sleeping six months on the ground, nor the unwearied attention and kindness,
through a long sickness, which Mr. Gabriel invariably showed. May God reward
him ! My companions were struck with awo at the sight of a city, and more
especially when taken on board Her Majesty's ships of war. The kindness of
the officers of the cruisers removed the last vestige of fear from their minds; for
finding them to be all my countrymen, they saw the fallacy of the declara-
tions of the negroes of every village we came to west of Cassange, ' that the
white man was taking them to the sea, and would sell them all, to be taken
on board ship, fattened, and eaten.' They were afterwards engaged in
discharging coals from a ship for wages, and will marvel to the end of their
lives at the prodigious quantity of 'stones that burn' one ship could contain.
They previously imagined their own little canoes on the Zambesi the best
vessels, and themselves the most expert sailors in the world.

" His excellency the Bishop of Angola, then the acting governor of the
province, received my companions with great kindness, and assured them of
his protection and friendship as well as desire to promote commercial inter-
course with the country of Sekeletu. He also sent a present of a horse and
handsome dress for that chief, and showed very great attention to myself in
my sickness. The merchants too, of Loanda, took the opportunity of oul*
return, to send presents to Sekeletu ; and as they give much more for the
produce of his country than can be or is done by merchants from the Cape
colony, it is to be hoped that intercourse with either Cassange or Loanda,
will promote the civilization of the interior. ... I have- been remarkably
well treated by the Portuguese. The Government did everything in its
power to facilitate my progress through the province. . . .1 visited
several of the ' extinct convents,' or, as we should say, deserted missionary
stations. The churches are standing in some instances, and would require but
little to put them in good repair. South American fruit trees grow in the neat
gardens which the missionaries laid out, the bedsteads stand in the dormitories
as they left them, and the chests in which the brethren stowed their provisions;
but there were no books nor any inscriptions on the graves which would enable
one to learn something of the dust which sleeps beneath. But turning to the
people we soon recognise their memorials in the great numbors who can both
read and write. There are few of the people of Ambaca who cannot use their
pen, and the sight is not uncommon in that district of a black man sitting in
the evening with a fire-stick in one hand, and a pen in the other, writing in a
beautiful hand a petition to a commandant. I looked upon these relics of
former times with peculiar interest. . . . Among the benefits conferred
on the country by the missionaries may be mentioned coffee. A few mocha
seeds were planted, and it has now extended itself over the whole country.
Plantations of it arc daily discovered in the forests, and only require to bo

152 LIFE OF DA VID LI VINGSTONE, LED.

cleaned to yield as good quality of fruit as can be found in the world. A few
months ago it was discovered at Cassange, 300 miles inland. ... I
return because I feel that the work to which I set myself is only half
accomplished. The way out to the eastern coast may be less difficult than
I have found that to the west. If I succeed, we shall at least have a
choice. I intend, God helping me, to go down the Zambesi or Lccambyo
to Killimane. I may, in order to avoid the falls of Mosioatunya, and
the rapid and rocky river above that part, go across from Sesheke to the
Mauniche-Loeuge or river of the Bashokolompo, and then descend it to tho
Zambesi. If I cannot succeed I shall return to Loanda, and thence embark
for England. I expected letters at Loanda, and feel much disappointed at
receiving none. I asked my friends to write to that place, and now suppose
they believed I should never reach it. I shall feel obliged if you will send a
letter to Killimane. I know not whether I shall reach it. I mean to try."

The following extracts from a letter written by Dr. Livingstone to Dr.
Tklman give a graphic account of the countries and peoples he had visited
previous to October, 1855, the date of the letter : —

" Dear Sir, — The excessive heat and dust which prevail previous to the
commencement of the rainy season, have prevented my departure from the town
of Sekeletu, as I intended at the beginning of this month, in order to descend
the Leeambye or the Zambesi. And though often seized with sore longing for
the end of this pilgrimage, the certainty that the present weather would soon
lay me up with fever, at a distance from friends, almost reconciles the mind
to the delay. As I now possess considerable knowledge of the region to which
I have devoted some years of toil, I will employ my present comparative
leisure in penning a sort of report, which may enable you to form a clear idea
of inter-tropical Africa as a missionary field.

" Physical Features of the Country.

"It may be advantageous to take a glance at the physical features of tho
country first, in order to be able to appreciate the nature of the obstacles
which will have to be surmounted by those whom God may honour to intro-
duce Christianity into this large section of the heathen world. The remarks
made for this purpose must be understood as applying exclusively to the
country between 18' and 10J S. latitude, and situated towards tho centre of
the continent. The region thus indicated may be described as an extensive
plain, intersected in every direction by large rivers, with their departing and
re-entering branches. They bear on their bosoms volumes of water, such as
are totally unknown in the south, and never dry up as the Orange and most
other African rivers do. They appear as possessing two beds, one of inunda-
tion, and another cut out exactly like the Clyde above Bothwell bridge. They
overflow annually during the rainy season in the north, and then the beds of

A MISSION FIELD. 153

inundation — the Laughs or holms— are all flooded, though, as in the Barotse
valley, they may be more than 20 miles broad. The main body of the water
still flows in the now very deep low water bed, but the rivers look more like
chains of lakes than streams. The country between this and Sheseke was,
during the present year, nearly all under water. The parts which remained
dry are only a few feet above the general level, and canoes went regularly
from Linyanti to Sheseke, the distance being in a straight line more than 120
miles. It was an unusually wet year, and the plains are not yet free from
large patches of stagnant, foul-smelling water ; though we expect the rains of
another season to begin during the present month. The inundation, if I may
judge from my own observation, is by no means partial. The exceptions are
where overtopping rocks form high banks, and there we have rapids and
cataracts, which impede navigation, and have probably been the barriers to
inland trade. When the supply of water from the north diminishes, the rivers
are confined to the low water channels, and even at their lowest are deep
enough to prevent invasion by enemies who cannot swim or manage canoes.
Numerous lakes, of considerable size, are left on the lately flooded meadows
by the retiring rivers, and these are either fringed with reeds or covered with
mat rushes, papyrus plants, the Egyptian arum, the lotus, and other water-
loving plants. They are always drying up, but are never altogether dry ere
the next wet season begins.

" The country over which the rivers never rise is nearly two hundred
feet higher than the holms.

" The Inhabitants, their Accessibility to Christianity.

" In regard to the people inhabiting this large and populous territory, it
is difficult in the absence of all numerical data to present a very precise idea.
The tribes are large, but divided into a great number of villages. So thickly
were these dotted over the country, that in travelling in a straight line in which
we could rarely see more than a mile on each side, we often passed ten or
twelve hamlets in a single day. Occasionally, however, we marched ten miles
without seeing any. In no part of the south I have visited is such a population
seen. Angola contains 600,000 souls, and Loanda seemed more populous and
of larger extent than it. The Cape Colony, with 200,000 souls, possesses some
hundreds of missions and other Christian instructors and schoolmasters, but it
will bear no comparison with Loanda as a missionary field. The Makololo
territory has several tribes — Batoka, Barotse, Bashubca, Banyeti, Makalakn,
&c. — and there is no impediment to immediate occupation by missionaries ;
and to such as aspire to the honour of being messengers of mercy to the actual
heathen, there is no more inviting field in South Africa. I am not to be
understood as meaning that any of these people are anxious for the Gospel.
They arc quite unlike the intelligent inquiring race of the Punjaub, or the
v

154 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

vivacious islanders of the Pacific. But there is not such callous indifferenco
to religious truth as I have seen elsewhere, nor yet that opposition which
betokens progress in knowledge. But there is a large population, and we are
siu'e, if the word of life is faithfully preached, in process of time many will
believe. I repeat again, that I know of no impediment to immediate efforts
for their instruction. Every headman and chief in the country would be
proud of the visit or residence of a white man. There is security generally
for life and property. I left by mistake a pontoon in a village of Loanda, and
found it safe eighteen months afterwards. Some parcels sent by Mr. Moffat,
by means of Matebele, lay a whole year on an island in the Zambesi, near
Mosioatunya. It is true, it was believed, that they contained medicine,
which might bewitch, but regular rogues are seldom scared by such
preservatives. The Balonda are a friendly industrious race, and thousands
of the Balobale find an asylum among them from the slave-dealing pro-
pensities of their chiefs. They seem to possess a more vivid conviction of
their relation to the unseen world than any of the southern tribes. In the
deep dark forests near their villages, we always met with idols and places of
prayer. The latter are spots about four feet broad and forty long, kept
carefully clear of vegetation and falling leaves. Here, in the still darkness of
the forest night, the worshipper, either male or female, comes alone and prays
to the gods (Barimo) or spirits of departed relatives, and when an answer to
the petition seems granted, meal or other food is sprinkled on the spot as a
thank offering.

" The Balonda extend to 7° south latitude, and their paramount chief is
always named Matiamvo. There are many subordinate chiefs all nearly
independent. The Balobale possess the same character, but are more warlike,
yet no prudent white man would be in the least danger among them. It seems
proper to refer to the Chiboque, Bashingo, and Bangala, who treated us more
severely than any I had previously met with in Africa. Sometimes they
levelled their guns at us, and it seemed as if we must fight to prevent entire
plunder and reduction to slavery. But I thank God we did them no harm,
and no one need fear vengeance on our account. A few more visits on this
principle would render them as safe as all other tribes, concerning which it
may confidently be stated, that if one behaves as a Christian and a gentleman
he will invariably be treated as such. Contrary conduct will give rise to remarks
and treatment of scorn."

Languages.

" Reference has been made to the Barotse, Batoka, &c, as of the true
negro race which occupies the interior of the continent. By their subjection
to the Makololo, they have acquired considerable knowledge of the Sichuana
language. We have thus a very important field open in a tongue into which

TRADING HABITS OF THE NATIVES. 155

the whole of the Sacred Scriptures will, it is hoped, soon be translated, and
the time necessary for learning and reducing the negro language may not be
so barren as is usually the case. The Barotse, Batoka, Balonda, and Ambonda
dialects (or language spoken by the Angolese), with those spoken in Luba and
beyond, as also those of the people on the east coast, are all undoubtedly
cognate with the Bechuana tongue and Kaffre. The very considerable number
of words exactly alike or only slightly varied in their inflections, can only be
explained on that hypothesis, for there has been no intercourse between these
tribes, at least for centuries past. Each of the negro tribes readily learns the
language of the others. The Bechuanas, however, often fail to acquire that
of the negroes though living among them. Yet my companions acquired it in
Angola as readily as I could a smattering of Portuguese, and failed entirely
in the latter. The influence of the Sacred Scriptures in the true negro language
will be immense. If we call the actual amount of conversion the direct results
of missions, and the wide diffusion of better principles the indirect, I have no
hesitation in asserting that the latter are of infinitely more importance than the
former. I do not undervalue the importance of the conversion and salvation of
the most abject creature that breathes, but viewing our work of wide sowing
of the good seed, relatively to the harvest when all our heads are low, there
can, I think, be no comparison.

" It might be premature to contemplate the probability of any results
from the circulation of the edition of the Testament which was furnished to
Park ; but the circumstances are somewhat similar, seeing that all the Arabs
I have met with are able to read and write. We may accomplish that which
he was not permitted to do. It will, at all events, be working in the right
direction.

Openings for the Ultimate Spread op Civilization and Christianity.

" The Africans are all deeply imbued with the spirit of trade. Wo
found great difficulty in getting past many villages ; every artifice was em-
ployed to detain us, that we might purchase our suppers from them. And
having finished all the game, they are entirely dependent on English calico
for clothing. It is retailed to them by inches; a small piece will purchase a
slave. If they had the opportunity of a market they would raise on their
rich soil abundance of cotton, and zingoba beans for oil. I cannot say they
were lazy, though they did seem to take the world easy. Their hair was
elaborately curled; many of their villages were models of neatness, and so
were their gardens and huts. Many were inveterate musicians. The men
who went with me to Loanda did so in order to open up a path for eommen
and without any hope of payment from me. Though compelled to part with
their hard-won earnings in that city for food, on our way home I never beard
a murinur. The report they gave of the expedition, both in public and

156 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

»g-

private, and very kind expressions towards myself, were sufficiently flattering
A fresh party was dispatched with ivory, under the guidance of an Arab from
Zanzibar, and two days only given for preparation ; and when they return, or
even sooner, my companions are to start again. That their private opinions
are in accordance with their public professions, I have evidence in the
number of volunteers who offer themselves to go to the east with me,
knowing I have not wherewith to purchase food even. And they are not an
enthusiastic race either ; there is not the least probability of any mere adven-
turer attaining much influence among them. If the movement now begun is
not checked by some untoward event, the slave trade will certainly come to a
natural termination in this quarter, our cruisers have rendered slaves so little
value now on the coast. Commerce has the effect of speedily letting the
tribes see their mutual dependence. It breaks up the sullen isolation of
heathenism. It is so far good. But Christianity alone reaches the very
centre of the wants of Africa and of the world.

" Theoretically I would pronounce the country about the forks of tho
Leeba and Leeambye, or Kabompo, and the river of the Bashukolompo, as a
most desirable central point for the spread of civilization and Christianity.
And unfortunately I must mar my report by saying I feel a difficulty as to
taking my children there without their own intelligent self-dedication. I can
speak for my wife and myself only — we will go whoever remains behind."

We give a few extracts from an interesting letter written by Dr. Living-
stone, and addressed to Sir Roderick Murchison. It is the earliest of that
series of letters between these two distinguished men we have been able to
recover : —

" The commerce of the country over which Sekeletu now reigns, and that
of numerous tribes situated more to the East, have been until lately completely
neglected by Europeans. A large waterfall, called Mosioatunya, is conjectured
to have prevented the Portuguese from ascending the Zambesi ; and the Desert
presented an insurmountable obstacle to commercial enterprise in the south.
Accordingly, when we first visited the country we saw many instances in which
valuable ivory had been allowed to rot with other bones, just where the animal
had fallen. Indeed tusks went by the name of " mere bones" (marapohela=
bones only) ; and, though the inhabitants soon acquired an idea of their superior
value, they have not, up to the present time, received prices sufficient to
stimulate them to proper efforts to procure large supplies. Elephants abound
in the land, and there are many daring hunters ; but a few pieces of cloth
present only a very small indication that the tusks are of more value than the
flesh. The elephants have always been killed more for food than for profitable
barter ; and other articles of trade, such as beeswax, which abounds in some
parts of the country, are thrown aside as useless.

"Tho common methods of killing elephants may be mentioned. The

CD

Q-

MODE OF ELEPHANT HUNTING. 157

hunters having observed the path by which certain elephants or a herd go to
water, select the highest overhanging trees as best adapted for their purpose.
They are armed with spears having very long handles, made of very light
wood, and blades about two feet long, furnished with a barb on the shaft. As
the animals generally drink during the night, the men perch themselves on
branches hanging nearly over the path, and, when the elephant comes unsus-
pectingly along, plunge their spears into his body. The wounded animal
rushes madly away, and, as the spear is held in by the barb, the motion of
the body causes the long handle to swing in different directions. Contact
with trees produces the same effect; and, as the motions of the blade are
uniform with those of the handle, the numerous internal gashes soon bring
this strong animal to the ground. Another method is by means of a log of
wood, having a poisoned spear-head inserted. It is suspended on a branch
above the elephant's path by means of a cord, which again is secured to a
small wooden catch on the ground. When the catch is touched by the foot of
the elephant in passing along, the beam falls on his back, and the barbed
spear-head remains. In this case the trust of the hunter lies in the
poison. Still another method is that of deep, wedge-shajDed pitfalls, carefully
covered over and plastered, so as to have the same appearance as the rest of
the path. Many females and young animals are destroyed by this last
means ; but it is evident that with better arms and the prospect of a speedy
and profitable sale of the ivory, much more produce would appear. The
present means are often rendered futile by one elephant helping another out
of a pitfall, or by the sagacious beast snuffing danger in the wind, and
abruptly leaving the country. Even when successful, it can only be with one
animal, for the others at once forsake the district if one of their number
falls a victim.

" The inhabitants of the Balonda country, belong to the true woolly-headed
negro race, and differ remarkably from the Bechuanas and other tribes in the
south in their treatment of females and in the practice of idolatry. They swear
by their mothers, and never desert them ; they allow the women a place
and voice in their public assemblies, and frequently elevate them to the chief-
tainship.

" The Bechuanas, on the contrary, swear by their fathers, glory in the
little bit of beard which distinguishes them from the sex which they despise,
and, though they have some idea of a future state, it exerts but little influence
on their conduct. Their supreme God is a cow, and they never pray."

After giving details of his intercourse with Shinto, which we have already
quoted, Dr. Livingstone goes on to explain the river system of the country.
He struck the Lecba after leaving Shintc's town: — "It had," he says,
" assumed the same easterly and westerly course as the Leeambye. After
crossing it we were obliged to go almost due North, in consequence of the

158 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

plains of Lobale on our West being flooded and impassable. It happened to be
the rainy season, and never did twent}>--four hours pass without frequent
drenching showers. All the streams were swollen, so as to appear con-
siderable rivers ; but as they were generally furnished with rustic bridges, we
may infer their flow to be perennial. Several extensive plains were crossed
with the water standing more than a foot deep ; and broad valleys also, along
which the water flowed fast towards the Leeba, deep enough to wet our
blankets, which we used as pads on the oxen instead of saddles. Both this
and the water in the rivers were so clear, that, in using the bridges over the
latter, though they were submerged breast-deep, we could easily see the sticks
on which to place our feet. This clearness of the water, which we observed
in the Zouga, Chobe, and Leeambye, at the times of inundation, is the result
of the rains falling on a mat of grass so thick as to prevent the abrasion of the
soil. As the tropical rains cause the plains of Lobale to present a similar
phenomenon, it may not be unreasonable to conclude that the water of
inundation of the Barotse valley and lower parts of the Zambesi, is supplied
by copious rains in the North, and, as the natives reported, comes chiefly
from Lobale.

" We suffered less detention than might be expected from the swollen
state of the rivers ; for though we had to swim some of them, all except two
boys knew the art ; and we never stopped to dry our clothes, unless it were in
the afternoons. We got drenched, either by rains or rivers, two or three
times every day ; but the sun was hot, and we suffered no inconvenience. If,
however, we arrived at our sleeping-place damp, or got our blankets wet,
intermittent fever was sure to follow.

" The country of the Balonda through which we passed was both fertile
and beautiful. Dense forests alternate constantly with open valleys covered
with grass resembling fine English meadows. The general surface, though flat,
seems covered with waves disposed lengthways from N.N.E. to S.S.W. The
crest of each of these earthen billows is covered with forest 4 or 5 miles broad ;
while the trough, about a mile wide, has generally a stream or bog in the centre,
with the habitations and gardens of the inhabitants on the sides. The forests
consist of lofty evergreen trees, standing close together, and interlaced with
great numbers of gigantic climbers. The trees, covered with lichens, and the
ground with mosses and ferns, indicate a much more humid climate than is to
be found in the south. The only roads through these dense thickets are small
winding footpaths ; and as an attempt to stop an ox suddenly, only makes him
rush on, we were frequently caught by the overhanging climbers, and came to
the ground head foremost. On this account I never trusted to the watch
alone for longitudes.

" The streams with which the country is well supplied differ remarkably
in the directions in which they flow. Many were flowing southwards; but a

KINDNESS OF BALUNDA PEOPLE. 159

distance of about 20 miles brought us to streams running N.E., and in much
deeper valleys. I suspected that we were travelling on an elevated table-
land, because the current of the Zambesi and other rivers was rapid, and we
had large Cape-heath and rhododendrons, which grow on elevated positions,
together with a wonderful lack of animal life. This proved to be the fact, for
when we were about 40 miles E.S.E. of the Quango we came upon a sudden
descent, perhaps about 2000 feet, which to me seemed about the same height
as Table Mountain at the Cape. Ninety or one hundred miles West from
this descent appeared as it were a range of mountains ; but it is only the
edge of a similar table-land, identical with that on the margin of which we
stood. This presents the same mountainous appearance to a person coming
from the "West. The intervening* valley is called Cassange, and through it
flows the Quango and other rivers.

"Only when we reached the declivity which forms the valley of Cassange
could I conceive why all the rivers that flowed North N.E., or N.W., ran in
much deeper valleys than those which followed an opposite course. . The
slopes down to the feeders of the Kasai and Quango are more than 500 yards
long and pretty steep, while the beds of the branches of the Leeba are never
more than 10 yards below the level of the surrounding country. The whole
valley of Cassange seems to have been a work of denudation, for on all sides
the declivity presents the same geological peculiarities, viz., a covering of
brown haematite, mixed with quartz pebbles, lying upon bright-red friable
clay slate. This, differing only in hardness and paleness of colour, continues
to the bottom ; but towards the centre of the valley it takes the form of
argillaceous schist. A detached mountain, 7 or 8 miles S.S.W. of Cassange,
called Kasala, and having perpendicular sides all round, possesses the same
structure. I regret much having no instruments to measure the elevations of
these parts ; but, after ascending again at Tala Mungongo, we appeared to
descend again all the way to Ambaca, where we met primitive and secondary
rocks, the latter containing metals.

" This country, as compared with that to the South, is well peopled. We
came to villages every few miles, and often passed as many as ten in a day.
Some were extremely neat ; others were so buried in a wilderness of weeds,
that, though sitting on the ox in the middle of the village, we could see only
the tops of the houses. There is no lack of food; manioc or the tapioca
plant is the staff of life, and requires but little labour for its cultivation. The
seasons seemed to allow of planting or reaping all the year round. The
Balonda were all extremely kind ; and, indeed, had they been otherwise, we
should have starved ; for there is no game, and all the goods which I had
brought from the Cape were expended before we started, excepting a few
beads.

" When we came near to the Portuguese possessions, the tribes altered very

1G0 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

much for the worse ; and the Chiboque so annoyed us by heavy fines levied on
the most frivolous pretences, that we changed our course from N.W. to N.
This did not relieve us long, for, when we came nearer Cassange, we found
our route obstructed by the M'bangala, who demanded payment of ' a man,
an ox, or a gun,' for leave to pass at all. A refusal on our part was some-
times followed by a whole tribe surrounding us, brandishing their swords,
arrows, and guns, and tumultuously vociferating their demands. The more we
yielded, the more unreasonable the mob became, till at last, in order not to
aid in robbing ourselves, we ceased speaking, after telling them that they
must strike the first blow. My men, who were inured to fighting by Sebituane,
quickly surrounded the chief and councillors. These felt their danger, and
speedily became more amicable They never disputed the proposition that the
ground they cultivated alone belonged to them, and all the rest of the country
to God. This being the idea in the native mind, they readily admitted that
they had no right to demand payment for treading on the soil of our common
Father. But they pleaded custom ; ' slave-traders always gave them a slave.'
My companions being all free subjects of Sekeletu, had as good a right to give
me as I had to give one of them ; and the affair usually ended by our agreeing
to give each other food in token of friendship. I had to part with an ox ; and
their part of the contract was sometimes fulfilled by sending us two or three
pounds of the meat of our own animal, with many expressions of regret at
having nothing else to give. It was impossible to avoid laughing at the coolness
of the generous creatures. I had paid away my razors, shirts, and everything
I could dispense with ; but, though I showed these extortioners the instruments
and all we had, as being perfectly useless to them, the oxen, men and guns
still remained. ' You may as well give what we ask for, as we shall get the
whole to-morrow, after we have killed you ; ' or, ' You must go back from whence
you came, and say we sent you ; ' were some of the witticisms, which, with
hunger, were making us all sulky and savage. If Sekeletu had allowed my
companions to bring their shields, I could not have restrained them ; but we
never came into actual collision, and, as far as we are concerned, the way is
open for our return. On the last occasion on which we parted with an ox,
objections were raised against one which had lost his tail, because they imagined
a charm had been inserted in the stump, which might injure them; and the
remaining four, still in our possession, very soon exhibited the same peculiarity
of their caudal extremities. Attempts have frequently been made by the
Balonda and other distant tribes to open up commercial intercourse with
the Portuguese, and these have always been rendered abortive by the bor-
derers."

The value and magnitude of the discoveries made by Dr. Livingstone left
the members of the Royal Geographical Society in no dubiety as to who should
be the gold medallist for the year. At the annual meeting the president of the

HONOURS AWARDED TO LIVINGSTONE. 1C1

Society, Lord Ellesmere, after handing the medal to Dr. Tidman, who repre-
sented the London Missionary Society, said : —

"After the observations which have been addressed to this Meeting1, on
the subject of Dr. Livingstone's merits, by a Right Reverend Prelate, the
Bishop of Oxford, a Fellow of this Society, it has become scarcely necessary
for me to say anything in justification of an award, which I know will meet
with an assent as unanimous in this assembly as it did in our Council-room.
If its further vindication were necessary, I should appeal rather to the eye
than the ear. I should point to the pregnant sketches of the routes of
recent South African discoverers on our walls ; and borrowing from the
epitaph of Wren the simple word ' Circumspice,' request you to search for
yourselves, where Dr. Livingstone entered on the terra incognita of South
Africa, and where, at Loanda, he emerged. The satisfaction with which I
pronounce the award of our Society, unanimous as I am sure it is, is only
alloyed by the circumstance that Dr. Livingstone is not here in person to
receive it, as he might have been, but for that noble spirit of perseverance
and fidelity to his engagements with a native chief, which has launched him
again on his adventurous career. It is some consolation to feel that, in his
absence, I could not more appropriately confide this Medal than to the hands
of Dr. Tidman, the distinguished Secretary of the London Missionary
Society, which has found and sent forth an instrument for their sacred pur-
poses, so illustrious as Dr. Livingstone. Your character, Sir, and your
functions remind me, that if Dr. Livingstone has incidentally done that for
science which has deserved from us, as a scientific Society, our highest reward,
he has gone forth with even higher objects than those which we specially
pursue. Your presence here reminds me that his object has been the intro-
duction of Christian truth into benighted regions, and that the means and
method of his action have been strictly appropriate to his ends. Within these
two days a volume in the Portuguese language has been placed in my hands,
the record of a Portuguese expedition of African exploration from the East
Coast. I advert to it to point out the contrast between the two. Colonel
Monteiro was the leader of a small army — some 20 Portuguese soldiers and
120 Kaffres. I find in the volume no reason to believe that this armed and
disciplined force was abused to any purpose of outrage or oppression ; but
still the contrast is as striking between such military array and the solitary
grandeur of the missionary's progress, as it is between the actual achieve-
ments of the two ; between the rough knowledge obtained by the Portuguese
of some 300 leagues of new country, and the scientific precision with which
the unarmed and unassisted Englishman has left his mark on so many impor-
tant stations of regions hitherto a blank, over which our associate Mr.
Arrowsmith* has sighed in vain. To you then, Sir, I gladly confide this mark

* Mr. Arrowsmith, a great Geographer and Constructor of ilaps.
W

1G2 LIFE OF DA Y1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of our Society's appreciation of Dr. Livingstone's merits ; and. I would fain
hope that our award will add somewhat to the satisfaction, you and your
fellow-labourers must indulge, in having selec-ted and sent forth such an instru-
ment of your high and holy designs."

The Rev. Dr. Tidman replied : —

" My Lord, — In receiving this mark of honour on behalf of Dr. Living-
stone, I can but very inadequately express the gratification which I feel that
my intrepid and devoted friend should have secured the distinguished com-
mendation of the President and Council of the Royal Geographical Society.

" When I had the pleasure on a former occasion of receiving, as Dr.
Livingstone's representative, the award of a chronometer watch from your
Society, I ventured to express the sanguine expectation that, if his lifo
were spared, he would hereafter accomplish more extended labours for
the exploration of the interior of Southern Africa. That expectation was
founded on the knowledge I have long possessed of the indefatigable in-
dustry and dauntless courage of Dr. Livingstone ; his ardent love of science ;
and above all, his disinterested Christian benevolence toward the aboriginal
tribes of that hitherto unexplored region : for I need not inform your
lordship and this meeting, that, how anxious soever our missionary traveller
may be to ascertain the geographical facts and physical features of the country,
his first and ultimate object is with the people, by introducing them to a know-
ledge of that inspired volume which is the true source of civilization and
happiness in the present life, no less than of immortal hope and joy beyond it.

" When Christian missionaries half a century since commenced their
work of mercy in Southern Africa, the native tribes jDOssessed no symbol,
or visible form of thought ; and the Rev. Robert Moffat and others had to
acquire the knowledge of their rude speech, not by the eye, but by the ear ;
to make the hut of the savage their study, and by a nice comparison of
utterances and sounds, to learn, by slow degrees, the thoughts and feelings of
the natives. But over these difficulties their ardour and perseverance
triumphed; and they have given back to these aborigines, in their own
tongue, various treatises on education and useful knowledge, together with
that inspired volume which can make men wise unto salvation.

"Dr. Livingstone, in the course of his extended journey, found his
knowledge of the Sichuana language invaluable; for notwithstanding tho
variety of dialects which prevailed among different tribes, he was able to
hold easy and intelligent intercourse with all ; but, in addition to the charm
which the traveller bears about him who can speak the language of the people
whom he visits, Dr. Livingstone canies with him the stronger charm of
truthfulness, rectitude, and disinterestedness — these have secured for him a
good name, and throughout his journey, with rare exceptions, he was received
with confidence and treated with kindness by the natives.

LORD ELLESMERE'S ADDRESS. 163

" I sympathise deeply in the pleasure expressed by the Bishop of Oxford,
who moved the adoption of your report, that this most successful effort to
explore the terra incognita of Southern Africa has been accomplished by a
Christian missionary ; and I can confidently assure your lordship and this
meeting, that you will find in these devoted labourers, in every field of their
efforts, the true friends of science and social improvement, no less than the
faithful teachers of religion.

"It would be premature to offer an opinion on the probable results of
Dr. Livingstone's researches in the future extension of civilization and
Christianity in South Africa ; but it is a benevolent and noble enterprise to
seek out these myriads, who have remained for ages unknown to the great
family of man ; and as they are now brought within our sympathy, so we
may hope, by God's help, to extend to them hereafter the blessings of know-
ledge and of true religion."

In his annual address delivered to the members of the Royal Geographical
Society, Lord Ellesmere alluding again to the labours and discoveries of Dr.
Livingstone, said : —

" Dr. Livingstone's unparalleled journey from the Cape of Good Hope
through the interior has, since the last anniversary, been continued with
perfect success as far as Loanda in the Portuguese territory on the West coast.
His map arrived here safely, but unfortunately the journals and communica-
tions which had been transmitted to the Society through our associate Lieut.
Bedingfield, R.N., were lost in the ' Forerunner.' Dr. Livingstone had left
his friend Sckeletu with 27 men and oxen, as well as a consignment of ivory,
entrusted to him by that chief. With this party he ascended the Leeambye
and a portion of the Leeba flowing from the northward, as far as the Balonda
country, which he found populous and well governed under a powerful chief
named Matiamvo. Here the party left the boats and proceeded on oxback.
The natives continued to exhibit great kindness as far as the borders of
the Portuguese settlements, when exorbitant payments for passage were
demanded, in accordance with the practice of these border tribes, which
has hitherto effectually obstructed commerce, but which, it is hoped, will be
overruled. After vainly endeavouring to avoid these plunderers, he succeeded
in reaching the Quango, where a fortunate meeting with a Portuguese settler
obtained him protection till he reached Cassange, in lat. 9° 37' 30' South and
long. 23° 43' East. From thence he proceeded without difficulty to Loanda,
where he was received with unbounded favour and hospitality by the Portu-
guese authorities and the whole population.

" Heavy rain constantly occurred throughout the journey. The whole
route passed over a plateau of extreme fertility, well watered, and populous,
and great hopes are entertained of its being laid open to commerce and
civilisation.

16 i LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" Dr. Livingstone has left Loanda to return with his party to Sekeletu,
with a present of trade goods for that worthy chief from the Portuguese mer-
chants. From thence it was the traveller's intention to follow the Leeambye,
in the expectation of reaching Killimane on the "West coast, where he hoped
to find some means of returning to England, and begged that inquiries might
be made for him by one of H.M.'s ships on the station.

"In connection with Dr. Livingstone's adventures, a communication has
just been received by the London Missionary Society from his father-in-law,
the veteran missionary Robert Moffat, who is stationed at Kuruman, and has
spent nearly forty years in South Africa. Finding that letters and parcels
which had been transmitted for Livingstone through a native chief had been
detained, Dr. Moffat started from Kuruman with supplies for his brave son-in-
law in June, 1854, accompanied by two traders, Messrs. Chapman and
Edwards. This journey occupied seven months, and it is alone of great
interest, relating to a beautiful, wooded, and well-watered country, occupied
by a very powerful chief and warlike peoj)le. The dominions of this ruler,
named Moselekatse, extend from the river Zambesi southwards, over an
immense territory, to the river Limpopo, and eastwards towards the river
Shash, a tributary of the Limpopo. It is inhabited by Matabele, or Zulus
of the original stock, and by several other tribes, including the Bakone on
the South, the Mashona on the North, the Batonga, &c. The town of Matlo-
kotloko in the Mashona country, where Moselekatse was residing, is ten da}'s
to the southward of the Zambesi river. The Mashona speak the language of
the Makalaka, a dialect of the Sichuana, which was reduced to a written form
by Dr. Moffat, who has also translated and printed the Bible in that widely-
spread tongue. Dr. Moffat succeeded in forwarding the supplies for Dr.
Livingstone to his friend Sekeletu at Linyanti. He learned that the traveller
was still on his journey to the "West coast, and was expected to return when
the summer rains commenced. Dr. Moffat established the most friendly
relations with Moselekatse, who could scarcely be persuaded to part with him,
and at last gave him an escort and supplies for the entire journey to Kuruman.
Further accounts of this interesting journey will, we hope, be made known
from Dr. Moffat's journals. "

The Senatus Academicus of Glasgow University — Livingstone's Alma
Mater — unanimously conferred upon him the degree of M.D. immediately
after the receipt of the intelligence of his arrival at Loanda had reached this
country.

The Portuguese would appear to have been more successful in their
colonising efforts on the west coast of Africa than they have been on the east
coast, as we shall see when we follow Dr. Livingstone to the mouth of the
Zambesi. The following is his account of Angola : —

" The province of Angola possesses great fertility and beauty, and its

THE PROVINCE OF ANGOLA. 165

capabilities, both agriculturally and commercially, are of a very high order ;
indeed, I do not fear contradiction in asserting it to be the richest in resources
of Western Africa.

" As I have now had the advantage of passing through the province twice,
and have honestly endeavoured to obtain correct knowledge of the country, I
venture to give you my impressions, as not calculated to mislead any except
those whose general views of the world are much more gloomy than mine.

" As we proceed from the coast inland, the country, except in the vicinity
of rivers, presents a rather arid appearance. There are not many trees, but
abundance of hard, coarse grass. But the low meadow-lands, of several miles
width, lying adjacent to the rivers, are sufficiently fertile, and yield annually
fine crops of sugar-cane, different vegetables and manioc (the staff of life
through all this part of Africa), also oranges, bananas, and mangoes, of
excellent quality. Proceeding eastwards, we enter on a different sort of
country, about longitude 14° E. It is mountainous, well watered with
perennial streams, and mollified by fogs deposited from the western winds,
which come regularly to different places at different hours every day. Near
the Muria we enter dense forests, whose gigantic trees, covered with scarlet or
other coloured blossoms, and giving support to numerous enormous climbers,
with the curious notes of strange tropical birds, present the idea of excessive
luxuriance, and recall the feelings of wildness produced when standing in
similar sylvan scenery in the interior of Brazil. The palm which yields the
oil of commerce grows everywhere. Pine apples, bananas, and different kinds
of South American fruit-trees first introduced by the missionaries, flourish in
the woods, though apparently wild and totally uncared for. Most excellent
coffee, from a few seeds of the celebrated Mocha, propagates itself spon-
taneously in the forests which line the mountain-sides. Cotton of rather
inferior quality finds itself so well suited with climate and soil, that it appears
as if indigenous. Provisions are abundant and cheap. Ten pounds of the
produce of the manioc plant, which, under the classical appellation ' Revalenta
Arabica,' sells in England for twenty-two shillings, may, in the district
referred to, be purchased for one penny. Labour, too, is abundant and
cheap ; twopence per day is considered good wages by carpenters, smiths,
potters, &c, as well as by common labourers. The greatest drawback the
population has in developing the resources of the country, is the want of
carriage-roads for the conveyance of produce to markets. The slave-trade
led to the neglect of every permanent source of wealth. All the merchandise
of the interior was transported on the shoulders and heads of the slaves, who,
equally with the goods, were intended for exportation. And even since the
traffic has been effectually repressed by our cruisers, human labour for trans-
port has alone been available. This is a most expensive and dilatory system,
as the merchants and persons of smaller means, on whose industry access to a,

1G6 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

proper market would have a most beneficial effect, possess no stimulus for
exertion in cultivation. Some use is made of the river Zenza by means of
canoes, and considerable trade is carried on between the districts on the
Coanza and Loanda by the same means ; but the bars at the mouths of both
rivers present serious obstacles to speedy transit.

" The country still further inland becomes gradually more open. Ambaca
presents an undulating surface, with ranges of mountains on each side in the
distance. It possesses a great number of fine little streams, which might be
turned to much advantage for water-power and irrigation. Both it and Puugo
Adongo abound in cattle. The latter seems more elevated ; for, as we cross
the Lotete, the boundary between the two districts, we enter upon the same
vegetation and trees which characterise Lunda. Wheat, grapes, and European
vegetables, grow in nearly the same spots with bananas and other tropical fruits.
Indeed, by selecting proper localities, cotton, sugar, coffee, and other products
of hot climates, might be raised to any amount in this fine and beautiful country,
together with many of the grains and fruits of colder regions. No attempts
have hitherto been made to develop its internal resources. It is but lately that
coffee-plantations were turned to as a source of wealth. Some were discovered
during my progress, and the actual extent of the tree is still unknown : I saw
it at Tala Mungongo, nearly 300 miles from the coast. Different kinds of gum
abound, as gum elemi, India rubber, &c, and, among metals, very superior iron
is found all through the country. Rich copper ore exists in the interior of
Ambriz, and there are indications of coal.

" Cassange is at present the farthest inland station of the Portuguese. It
may be called the commercial capital of the interior. Trade in ivory and wax
is carried on with great vigour and success; and large quantities of English cotton
goods are sent into the country beyond, by means of natives or half-blood
Portuguese. The merchants treat their customers with great liberality. At
the time I write, Captain Neves is preparing presents, consisting of cloth, beads
carpets, furniture, &c, of upwards of £50 value, for Matiamvo, the most
powerful potentate east of this. This chief lives about long. 24°, and
monopolises the trade which, but for him, might pass to tribes called Kanyika
beyond him.

" The deep valley of Cassange is wonderfully fertile, but success in trade
prevents the merchants from paying any attention to agriculture. The soil,
so far as present experience goes, would place Mr. Mcchi's pipes for liquid
manure at a discount, for it requires nothing but labour ; the more it is worked,
the more fruitful it becomes.

" The government of the country may be described as a military one, and
closely resembles that which Sir Harry Smith endeavoured in vain to introduce
among the Kaffres. The imposts are exceedingly light, consisting of a tax of
eightpence on each hearth, and sixpence on each head of cattle. Something

COMMERCE OF ANGOLA. 167

is also levied on gardens near the coast, and on weavers and smiths. The
population is large, between 500,000 and 600,000 souls being under the sway
of the Portuguese ; and of this large number, the majority are free-born. In
those districts to the statistics of which I had access, the slaves did not form
5 per cent, of the entire population, and a very large proportion was dependent
on agriculture alone. There are very few whites conqiaratively ; • and, from
the polite way in which persons of colour are addressed and admitted to the
tables of the more affluent, it might be inferred that there is as little prejudico
against colour as in any country in the world. Nothing struck me as more
remarkable than the change produced on convicts by their residence in this
colony. No sooner do they arrive than they are enlisted into the 1st regiment
of the line, and perform similar duties to our Foot Guards in London. The
11,000 inhabitants of Loanda go comfortably to bed every night, although
they know that the citadels and all the arms of Loanda are in the hands of
convicts, many of whom have been transported for life. The officers are not
supposed to have been guilty of any offence against the laws of their country,
and probably they may have considerable influence with the men; but their
testimony even is, that the men perform their duty well, and are excellent
soldiers. Some ascribe the remarkable change to the utter hopelessness of
escape, the certainty of detection and punishment of any crime, and the fear
of being sent to the deadly district of St. Jose de Encoge (something like our
Norfolk Island, but not so bad) ; but, however accounted for, the beneficial
change in the men is unquestionable.

"Another pleasing feature in the population is the ability of many to
read and write. It is considered a disgrace in Ambaca for a free man of
either colour to be unable to write. This general diffusion of education is
the result of the teaching of the Jesuit missionaries, who were expelled the
country by the Marquis of Pombal. If the results of their teaching have
been so permanent, without anything like a proper supply of books, we may
be allowed to indulge the hope that the labours of Protestants of all denomina-
tions, who endeavour to leave God's word behind them, will be not less
abiding.

" The commerce of Angola has been remarkably neglected by the English ;
for, though the city of Loanda contains a population of 11,000 souls, clothed
chiefly in the produce of English looms, and though, in many parts of the
interior, cheap Glasgow and Manchester goods constitute the circulating
medium, there is not a single English house established at the capital. For
this anomaly various reasons are assigned : the most cogent of these appears
to be, that those who first attempted to develope a trade, unfortunately
accepted bills on Rio Janeiro in part payment of their cargoes, at a timo
when the increased numbers and vigilance of our cruisers, caused the bank-
ruptcy of many houses both in Rio and Loanda. Heavy losses were sustained,

168 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and Angola got a bad name in the mercantile world in consequence. No
attempt has ever been made since. Still, with the same difficulties and
burdens as the English encountered, the Americans carry on a flourishing trade
with Loanda. A very large proportion of the goods imported in other ships
are English manufactures, taken in exchange for colonial produce, which has
gone by the expensive and circuitous route of Lisbon, i. e. produce on which
the expense of port-dues, freight, commission, &c, is paid from Loanda to
Lisbon, and again thence to London. As the same round of expenses is
incurred on English manufactures, a British merchant carrying merchandise
direct to and from England, and dealing in Loanda in a liberal spirit,
would almost certainly establish a lucrative trade."

Several of Dr. Livingstone's letters which we have drawn upon so
largely in this chapter were written after his return to Linyanti, but as
they refer to the journey, the first part of which he had at this stage
of our narrative so successfully completed, we have given them a place
here. We must now accompany him and his native party on their way back
to Linyanti, where they had been given up as lost. We cannot too much
admire the spirit which impelled him to return from whence he had come in
redemption of the pledge he had given to Sekeletu and his people. After
months of arduous travel, and constant attacks of sickness, we could scarcely
have blamed him if he had been tempted to go home to England for a time
to recruit. The great secret of his success as a traveller, and the confidence
the native tribes reposed in him, was the dependence they felt they could
place in his word. With few exceptions, his word was never doiibted by a
native African. Higher compliment than is conveyed in tins fact could not
be passed upon him.

CHAPTER IX.

Slay at Loanda. — Starts on return Journey. — Dr. Livingstone again attached with
Fever. — The MaJcohlo suffer from Sickness. — Descent of the Lccba and Lceam-
hje. — Arrival at Linyanti. — Dr. Moffat's Visit to Moselekatse 's Country.

AS Livingstone's illness was of so serious a nature as to require a consider-
able period of rest and treatment, he remained at the house of Mr.
Gabriel, where he was treated with every kindness and attention ; nor was the
comfort and well-being of his attendants forgotten. Mr. Gabriel presented
them with red caps and striped cotton jackets, in which costume they were
presented by Dr. Livingstone to the bishop, who was acting as provisional
Governor. The bishop, who took a warm interest in Livingstone and his
attendants, offered the latter a free passage to Loanda as soon as they might
wish to return. Two British ships of war, engaged in the suppression of the
slave trade, having come into the harbour, their commanders, Captain Skene
and Commander Bedingfield, invited the party to visit their ships. Nearly
the whole of them went, although filled with misgivings as to what might
befall them. The kindness of the sailors, who gave them a share of their
dinners, put them at their ease. The firing of a cannon gave them a high
idea of the power and the determination of the countrymen of Livingstone in
their endeavour to put down the slavery. The size of the ship filled them
with amazement. " It is not a canoe, it is a town," they said of the brig of
war; " and what sort of town is this which you must climb up into with a
rope ?"

The respect in which Livingstone was held by every one in authority
increased their reverence for him, and added to their own importance as the
servants and companions of a man so highly esteemed among white men.
This tended to enhance their devotion for him ; and as this and the other
wonders they saw did not lose in the rehearsing to their friends on the Chobe
and the Leeambye, the influence and standing of Livingstone among the
tribes of Central Africa were greatly increased.

Compassionating Livingstone's emaciated condition, Captain Bedingfield,
of H.M.S. Pluto, who was returning to England on board the Forerunner, an
African mail steamer, in consequence of the shattered state of his health,
which had suffered through a long and arduous service on the coast, offered
him a passage home. This kind offer Livingstone, true to his idea of duty,
was compelled to decline. The twenty-seven subjects of Sckclctu had come
x

170 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

thus far with him on the understanding that he should take them back again
to their own country if that were possible. In addition to this, he felt that
the long land journey through swamps and forests from the Lceba to the
Quango, made the passage from the centre of the continent to the west coast
one of extreme difficulty ; and he had already begun to think of a more easy
route down the valley of the Zambesi to the east coast, which he could explore
after his return to Liny an ti.

During his convalescence, his attendants of their own accord employed
themselves in gathering firewood in the neighbouring forest, which they sold
in the town. Through the interest of Mr. Gabriel, Avho was delighted with
this evidence of their industrious habits, they were employed in unloading a
coal vessel, which had come from England, at sixpence a day. In speaking
of this to their friends on their return, they endeavoured to convey some idea
of the size of the vessel by stating that " they had laboured every day, from
sunrise to sunset, for a moon and a half, unloading, as quickly as they
could, stones that burn, and were tired out, still leaving plenty in her." The
money they earned was spent in purchasing clothing and ornaments to take
back with them to their own country ; their good sense being shewn in se-
lecting plain, strong calico, instead of the more coloured and flaring fabrics.

Through the intelligent kindness of the authorities and merchants at
Loanda, the expedition left that place handsomely provided with comforts
and necessities. The authorities sent a colonel's uniform and a horse for
Sekeletu, and gave suits of clothing to all the men. The public subscription
among the merchants provided two donkeys, in the hope of introducing the
ass into districts where its insensibility to the poison of the tsetse would make
it invaluable as a beast of burden. His man-of-war friends provided Living-
stone with a good new tent, manufactured by the crew of the Philomel.
Livingstone provided each man with a musket, and procured a good stock of
ammunition, beads, and cotton cloth. They set out on the 20th of September,
1854, having remained at Loanda nearly four months. Their baggage was
as heavy as it was valuable ; and they were much beholden to the bishop,
who furnished them with twenty carriers, to assist them to the nearest station,
and ordered the commandants of the districts they had to pass through to give
Livingstone and his party all needful help.

The hard dry ground tried the feet of his attendants severely ; and on
account of this, and an attack of malaria, from which several of them suffered,
their progress was slow. Towards the middle of December, they reached
the estate of Colonel Pires, which is situated to the south of the Lucalla, one
of the tributaries of the Coanza, in the district of Pungo Andongo, where he
learned to his great soitoav and regret that the Forerunner was lost, and that his
dispatches, journals, and maps had gone to the bottom with her. It was mat-
ter for congratulation to him that his friend, Captain Bedingfield, was among

A PLAGUE OF ANTS. 171

the saved ; and with characteristic energy he set to work, while under the ho-
spitable roof of Colonel Pires, to re-write his journal. Colonel Pires had two
estates, and was the most energetic and successful planter of the district.
His slaves, in consequence of heing so well treated, might readily, from their
zeal and efficient service, have been taken for free servants. Through his
exertions the district has become the garden of Angola, producing abundant
crops of figs, grapes, wheat, butter, cheese, &c, &c. Coming to the country
as a servant on board ship, Colonel Pires, by his skill and perseverance, had
become the richest merchant in the country. He could number his cattle
by thousands, and, if need were, could have defended himself and his property
with several hundred armed slaves, who would have fought for him with
willing devotedness.

The fort and village of Pungo Andongo are situated in the midst of a
group of rocky columns, several of which are over three hundred feet in
height, and about one hundred feet in width at the base. As the village is
situated in an open space in the centre of these rocks, and is only reached by
narrow and circuitous roads, commanded by the rocks, it must have been a
place of great strength when the country was in an unsettled state under the
Jingas, the original possessors of the country. This warlike tribe, which was
driven out of their territory by the Portuguese, have settled farther to the
north, where they maintain an independent existence.

Crossing the Coanza and several of its tributaries, they reached Tula
Mungongo, where they made a short stay, and suffered from a plague of red
ants, which were so numerous and so formidable that slaves were obliged to
sit up all night burning fires of straw round the slaughtered carcase of a cow,
otherwise the insects would have devoured it. These march in a compact band,
several inches wide, and attack man and every animal crossing their track
with determined pugnacity. The stinging pain caused by their bites is com-
pared by Livingstone to that produced by sparks of lire falling upon the bare
skin. They perform considerable service in devouring any carrion they
come across, and by eating the white ants, rats, and mice, small snakes, and
even the large pythons, when they find them in a state of surfeit. They do
not form hills like the white ants, but construct their nests in burrows at
some distance from the surface of the ground.

At Cassange he was again hospitably entertained by Captain Neves; and
during his short stay he finished the re-writing of his journal, and to his great
joy received a packet of the Times newspaper, which gave him, among other
news, " an account of the Russian war up to the terrible charge of the light
brigade. The intense anxiety I felt to hear more may be imagined by every
true patriot ; but I was forced to live on in silent thought, and utter my poor
prayers for friends who, perchance, were now no more, until I reached the
other side of the continent." When he next came within reach of news from

172 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

home, the Russian war was ended, and the Indian mutiny was the absorbing
topic of interest and anxiety among his countrymen. This complete isolation
from all news from the civilized quarters of the world was not the least of the
trials to which his adventurous career exposed him.

But for the prevalence of fever, which perhaps improved cultivation might
tend to diminish, Livingstone speaks of Angola as being "in every other
respect an agrecablo land, and admirably adapted for yielding a rich abun-
dance of tropical produce for the rest of the world." He further says that,
" had it been in the possession of England, it would now have been yielding
as much or more of the raw materials of her manufactures, as an equal extent
of territory in the cotton-growing states of America. A railway from Loanda
to this valley (the Quango) would receive the trade of most of the interior of
South Central Africa." Livingstone's men, during their passage through
Angola, collected better breeds of fowls and pigeons than those in their own
country. The native tribes of Angola are very superstitious ; and notwith-
standing the vigilance of the Portuguese government, practise many of their
inhuman rites, — notably the ordeal for witchcraft, which consists in the
accused party drinking the sap of a poisonous tree, a test which very
frequently proves fatal.

After partaking of the hospitality of their good friends in Portuguese

territory, they bade adieu to civilized society, and crossed the Quango,

reducing the ferryman's charge from thirty yards of callico to six, their more

prosperous appearance and better armament having its effect in expediting

their progress where they had previously suffered so much. Sleeping on the

damp ground during the incessant rains brought on a severe attack of

rheumatic fever, which delayed his journey for twenty days, as the faithful

Makololo would not stir during his weak state. Petty chiefs endeavoured to

extract handsome presents for permission to pass through their small territories,

but experience had taught the Explorer to set them at defiance, the wisdom

of which course was shown when the party were attacked in a forest by a chief

and his braves, whom they confronted so resolutely as to make them glad to

be permitted to depart with whole skins.

As the Makololo suffered from sickness, their progress was slow, — about
two-thirds of their time being taken up with stoppages to recruit or to collect
provisions. Making a detour to the south the party came in contact with
several tribes who had not been contaminated by connection with slave traders;
and amongst these they procured abundance of food on reasonable terms. The
men were great dandies, the oil dripping from their hair on to their shoulders,
until every article of clothing was saturated with it. These tribes amused tb em-
selves with various kinds of musical instruments of most primitive manufacture,
and never went out save armed to the teeth; their guns and bows were ornamented
with strips of the hides of the various animals they had shot. Their women

A CHIEF OUTWITTED. 173

tended pet lap-dogs with as much care as their civilized sisters, with a better
excuse for their peculiar taste in pets, as these were fattened for eating. Flesh
meat was so scarce with them that they were always pleased to give something
in return for the smallest piece of ox flesh. Rats, mice, lizards, and birds, espe-
cially the latter, were so diligently hunted and trapped for food, that they were
seldom seen. Parasitic plants were so plentiful, that in many places a man
had to precede the party in the forests armed with a hatchet to cut a passage.
The luggage on the backs of the oxen was frequently entangled by them and
thrown to the ground, — the same fate frequently overtaking the leader of the
party himself. Provisions were exceedingly cheap, — a fowl and 20 lbs. of
manioc meal costing a yard of calico, worth threepence. From the Quango
valley the party had been accompanied by Paseval and Favia, two half-caste
slave traders. It was instructive to notice that they could not carry on their
peculiar traffic without paying heavy black-mail in the shape of presents to
every petty chief whose village they visited ; nor could they trust their native
bearers, who seemed to consider it the right thing to plunder them on all
occasions. They were compelled to wink at these irregularities, as the safety
of their merchandise was entirely in their hands.

Kawawa, a Balonda chief, being baulked in his endeavours to extract
black-mail from the party, sent forward four of his men to the ferry across
the Kasai, with instructions to the ferrymen that they should not be carried
across the stream, which was about a hundred yards broad and very deep,
unless they got a man, an ox, a gun, and a robe. At night, Pitsanc, who had
seen where the canoes were hidden among the reeds on the opposite side
of the stream, secured a canoe, in which they all passed safely across, to
the chagrin of the ferrymen and Kawawa's messengers, who could hardly
guess how they managed to cross, as the canoes were all safe on their side of
the stream, — Pitsane had replaced the canoe after it had done its work, and
swam across to join his comrades, some beads being left in it as payment
for a small quantity of meal got from the ferryman on the previous day.
In their mortification at being so completely worsted Kawawa's people
shouted across to them, "Ah, you are bad!" to which the Makololo returned
for answer, "Ah, ye are good! and we thank you for the loan of your
canoe."

The country before them might now be considered as friendly territory
in which the simple inhabitants could be trusted to assist them in their onward
progress, and whose generous kindness would render less serious the exhausted
condition of their stores of baggage and ornaments, which had disappeared
through the exactions of the unfriendly chiefs and tribes whose territory they
had passed through since crossing the Quango, and the payment for provisions
during the long delays caused by the ill health of the party. The goods and
ornaments the Makololo had received in presents, or had purchased out of

174 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

their earnings at Loanda, had nearly all gone, together with the iron they had
purchased for Sekeletu.

The open plains of the Balonda country were comparatively clear of
water, save in low-lying spots, and as the vegetation was less dense than they
had found it farther to the east, their progress was more easy. Animal lifo
became more abundant as they proceeded, giving cheering token of tho land
of plenty to which they were approaching — vultures sailed overhead ; swifts
and several varieties of swallows flitted about ; wild ducks and other water-
fowl were seen in considerable numbers in the neighbourhood of the streams
and pools ; small herds of the larger game, rendered very shy in consequence
of being regularly hunted by the natives, were frequently seen ; and jet black
larks made the air musical with their song in the early mornings. The plain was
radiant with flowers ; one Livingstone specially noticed which grows in such
numbers as to give its hue to the ground. The variety of colour of this
flower was remarkable. A broad band of yellow on being closely exa-
mined would resolve itself into individual flowers, exhibiting every variety
of colour from the palest lemon to the richest orange. A hundred yards
of this rich carpeting would be succeeded by another broad band of the same
flower of a blue colour, made up of every variation of that tint from the
lightest to the darkest blue, and even purple. The colour of the birds was
as variable in this and other districts as that of the flowers.

On the second day's journey from the Kasai, Livingstone suffered from
his twenty-seventh attack of fever ; and after an exhausting journey he
reached Lake Dilolo. "The sight of the blue waters," he tells us, " and the
waves lashing tho shore, had a most soothing influence on the mind, after so
much of lifeless, flat, and gloomy forest. The heart yearned for the vivid
impressions which are always created by the sight of the broad expanse of
the grand old ocean." Livingstone's old friend, Katema, entertained the
party most hospitably, presenting them with a cow and abundance of meal.
According to promise, Livingstone presented him with a cloak of red baize,
a cotton robe, a quantity of beads, an iron spoon, and a tin pannikin con-
taining a quarter of a jjound of powder. Katema had come from his hunting
ground to meet the party, to which he returned after his interview with
Livingstone, leaving instructions with his headmen to attend to their wants,
and provide them with a guide to the Leeba.

At Shinte's town the party were most hosjutably entertained by that
intelligent chief ; and Nyamoana, his sister, who had changed the site of her
village in consequence of the death of her husband, treated them with every
kindness and gave them the loan of five small canoes in which to proceed
down the Leeba. Livingstone's companions also bought several light sharp-
prowed canoes for hunting animals in the water. Manenko was unable to visit
the party in consequence of a burn in the foot, but her husband, Sambanza, came

ONCE MORE AMONG FRIENDS. 175

instead, and as an earnest of good-will performed the ceremony called kasendi
— Pitsane and Sambanza being the parties engaged. The hands of the parties
were joined, and small incisions sufficient to cause bleeding made in the hands,
on the pits of the stomachs, the right cheeks, and the foreheads. Drops of
blood were conveyed from the wounds of each on a stalk of grass and dipped
in beer — the one drinking the beer mixed with the other's blood. During
the drinking of the beer members of the party beat the ground with clubs
and muttered sentences by way of ratifying the treaty. This ceremony
constitutes the parties engaging in it blood relations, each being bound to
warn the other of impending evil, even if it involved the disclosure of an
intended attack on the tribe of the other by his own chief. After the
ceremony they exchanged presents — Pitsane getting an abundant supply of
food and two shells, and Sambanza receiving Pitsane's suit of green baize,
faced with red.

Below the confluence of the Leeba and Leeambye the party met some
native hunters, well provided with the dried flesh of the hippopotamus,
buffalo, and the crocodile. They stalk these animals among the reeds with a
cap made of the skin of the head of an antelope, with the horns attached,
and the breast and shoulder skin, or with the neck and head attached, of a
species of crane. By adopting these stratagems, they get within bow shot of
the animal they wish to kill. They presented Livingstone with three fine
water turtles, one of which had upwards of forty eggs in its body. The eggs
and flesh of these turtles are most excellent, and were joyfully accepted by
the party. Here Livingstone had a narrow escape from a bull buffalo, which
charged him at full speed. In rounding a bush the animal exposed his
shoulder into which he sent a bullet. " The pain must have made him
renounce his purpose, for he bounded past me into the water, where he was
found dead."

At Libonta they were received with every demonstration of joy and
thankfulness for their return. For months they had been given up as dead ;
such a scene of kissing and hand-shaking ensued, as made Livingstone glad
when they wei*c all quietly seated in the kotla to hear the report of their adven-
tures. He wisely declined to be the spokesman of the party himself, but
Pitsane enlarged for a whole hour on the wonders they had seen, and the ad-
ventures they had come through. The members of the party had with par-
donable vanity throughout all their trials preserved a suit of white European
clothing with red caps, and these were donned for the occasion and excited
the admiration of their friends. Next day they had two religious services in
the kotla, where Livingstone " addressed them all on the goodness of God in
preserving us from all the dangers of strange tribes and disease." The men
presented them with two fine oxen, and the women brought abundance of
milk, meal, and butter. They explained the total expenditure of their means

176 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

in the return journey, as a reason for their giving nothing in return ; and the
good Libontese answered — " It does not matter ; you have opened a path for
us, and we shall have sleep (peace)."

All the way down the Barotse valley they were received with the same
enthusiasm, and as generously treated. At Chitlane's village they were in-
vited to collect a colony of yonubi linkololo, a long-legged bird about the size
of a crow, which breeds among the reeds on the banks of the Leeambye.
They secured a hundred and seventy-six of them, and when roasted they made
capital eating. All along their route it was a continuous feast of joy — the
donors partaking with the party of the meats they furnished.

At Sesheke Livingstone found several packages sent up the river to him
by Dr. Moffat, whose long and fatiguing journey in search of him, already
briefly related, will be found fully described further on. In these, which had
been carefully kept by the Makololo in a hut on an island in the river, as
they feared witchcraft on the part of the Matabeles (their enemies) who had
brought them, he found English newspapers and magazines, and some pre-
served eatables. Amongst other information the papers contained, was the
explanation by Sir Roderick Murchison, after a study of Mr. Barnes' geological
map, and discoveries made by Livingstone and Mr. Oswell, of the peculiar con-
formation of the continent of Central Africa. Speaking of this wonderful
prediction of the physical characteristics of a country of which Sir Roderick
had no knowledge, save that supplied by induction, Livingstone says: —
" There was not much use in nursing my chagrin at being thus fairly cut out
by the man who had foretold the existence of Australian gold before its dis-
covery, for here it was, in black and white. In his easy chair he had fore-
stalled me by three years, though I had been working hard through jungle,
marsh, and fever, since the light dawned in my mind at Dilolo. I had been
cherishing the pleasing delusion that I should be the first to suggest the idea
that the interior of Africa was a watery plateau of less elevation than flanking
hill ranges !"

Arriving at Linyanti in September, Livingstone found his waggon and
goods standing where he had left them more than twelve months before. Not
an article had been touched, although they all possessed great value in the
eyes of the Makololo. Chief and people were loud in their demonstrations of
joy at the unlooked-for return of the wanderers. A great meeting was held
to receive their report and the presents sent from the Governor and merchants
of Loanda. The wonderful story of their adventures lost nothing in the tell-
ing at the hand of the Makololo who had accompanied him ; and the presents
sent to the chief filled them with unbounded admiration. Sekeletu was proud
of his colonel's uniform, and when he donned it at the first religious service
held after their arrival, his splendid suit attracted more attention than the
sermon. The two donkeys were greatly admired, as they promised to be the

MAN TOSSED BY A BUFFALO. 177

parents of a flock of domestic animals of great value. Thev had borne the
long journey with that patient and untiring endurance so characteristic of
their species, and took very kindly to the abundant vegetation of their new
home.

For a great part of the journeys now so happily closed, Dr. Livingstone,
on account of his weakness, rode on ox-back. The back of an ox is a very
uneasy seat, and slow and sedate as the animal usually appears, he can be
skittish and mischievous enough. Sinbad, Dr. Livingstone's ox, was not by
any means free from the vices of his kind. " He had," he says " a softer
back than others, but a much more intractable temper. His horns were bent
downwards, and hung loosely, so he could do no harm with them ; but as we
wended our way slowly along the narrow path, he would suddenly dart aside.
A string tied to a stick put through the cartilage of the nose serves instead
of a bridle ; if you jerk this back, it makes him run faster on ; if you pull it to
one side, he allows his head and nose to go, but keeps the opposite eye directed
to the forbidden spot, and goes in spite of you. The only way he can be
brought to a stand is by a stroke with a wand across the nose. When Sinbad
ran in below a climber stretched over the path, so low that I could not stoop
under it, I was dragged off and came down on the crown of my head; and he
never allowed an opportunity of the kind to pass without trying to inflict a
kick, as if I neither had nor deserved his love."

Before reaching the Leeba on the return journey when food was scarce,
the question of devouring Sinbad was frequently mooted, but the traveller had
come to like this dumb companion of his wanderings. Possibly as he always
liked to be overcoming something, the daily encounters with Sinbad helped
to relieve the tedium of his journey. Never was so long a journey accom-
plished with so few accidents. Near Naliele his canoe was nearly upset by a
hippopotamus. When proceeding along the shore, he says : —

"At midnight, a hippopotamus struck the canoe with her forehead, lifting
one half of it quite out of the water, so as nearly to overturn it. The force of
the butt she gave, tilted Mashanana out into the river ; the rest of us sprang to
the shore, which was only about ten yards off. Glancing back, I saw her come to
the surface a short way off, and look to the canoe, as if to see if she had done
much mischief. It was a female, whose young one had been speared the day
before. This is so unusual an occurrence, when the precaution is taken to
coast along the shore, that my men exclaimed, ' Is the beast mad ?' There were
eight of us in the canoe at the time, and the shake it received shows the
immense power of this animal in the water."

The buffalo is at all times a dangerous animal, and one of the Makololo men
had a narrow escape from one on the outward j ourncy. Three buffaloes on a wild
stampede dashed through their lines. " My ox," Livingstone says, " set off
at a gallop, and when I could manage to glance back, I saw one of the men

Y

178 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

up in the air about five feet above a buffalo, which was tearing along with a
stream of blood running down his flank. When I got back to the poor fellow,
I found he had lighted on his face, and, though he had been carried about
twenty yards before getting the final toss, the skin was not pierced nor was a
bone broken. When the beasts appeared he had thrown down his load and
stabbed one in the side. It turned suddenly upon him, and, before he could
use a tree for defence, carried him off. We shampooed him well, and then
went on, and in about a week he was able to engage in the hunt again."

Save an unsuccessful attack on one of the party by a crocodile, already
alluded to, and a severe bite received by another from a non-poisonous snake,
there are no other mishaps to chronicle. Hunger and fever and unfriendly
tribes were the most dangerous enemies they had to encounter, and they
had passed safely through them all.

Having been so long separated from his family, and having come through
so many trials and difficulties, which left him feverish and enfeebled, no one
would have blamed him if he had harnessed his oxen to his waggon and
departed for Kuruman or the Cape, to rest and recruit before attempting
another journey. But this was not in accordance with Livingstone's sense of
duty. His popularity gave him hopes of being able to make an impression
on the Makololo by his religious teaching ; and their kindness, and their
confidence in him made him desirous of serving them in other ways. The
road to Loanda was long and difficult ; and so much of it passed over land
inhabited by unfriendly tribes, that he felt this was not the proper outlet for
the merchandise of Central Africa. For months his mind had wandered
down the course of the great Zambesi, to the East coast ; and the more he
thought over the matter, the more he became convinced that that was the
proper route, and that it was his duty to settle the point without delay.

He was all but destitute, and was indebted to the faithful Makololo for
everything he required while amongst them ; and he could not carry out his
intention of passing to the coast without their aid in men, oxen, and material.
Nor were these wanting. Explaining to Sekeletu the method of preparing
sugar, the latter asked him if he could purchase a mill for him at the East coast.
On his replying that he had nothing with which to buy a mill, Sekeletu and his
councillors said, " The ivory is all your own; if you leave any in the
country, it will be your own fault." Sekeletu then gave him an order for a
sugar mill, " and for all the varieties of clothing he had ever seen, and
especially a Mohair coat, a good rifle, beads, brass wire, etc., and any other
beautiful thing you may see in your own country." As he had found the
two horses left with him when Livingstone started for Loanda of great use,
especially in hunting, he was anxious to have more ; and these Livingstone
expected to be able to get for him at the nearest Portuguese settlements.

The mother of Sekeletu, who had joined her son at Linyanti, prepared a

MOFFAT AND MOSELEKATSE. 179

bag of ground nuts, by frying them in cream with a little salt, as a sort of
sandwich for the journey ; and every one seemed anxious to contribute some-
thing for the use of the party. One hundred and fourteen men, principally
volunteers, were selected to accompany him and carry the ivory, with which
they were to pay their way to the coast, and purchase the articles they meant
to bring back. Sekwebu, who had been captured by the Matabele when a boy,
had travelled along with the tribe in which he was captive to the district near
Tete, and was intimately acquainted with the country on both sides of the
Zambesi and the dialects spoken, was appointed the head of the expedition.
Mamire, a chief who had married the mother of Sekeletu, since Livingstone's
departure for the west coast, a man of great wisdom and prudence, on bidding
Livingstone farewell, said, "You are now going among a people who cannot be
trusted because we have used them badly ; but you go with a different message
from any they have ever heard before ; and Jesus will be with you, and help
you, though among enemies ; and if He carries you safely, and brings you and
Ma-Robert back again, I shall say he has bestowed a great favour upon me.
May we obtain a path whereby we may visit, and be visited by other tribes,
and by white men ! " On Livingstone mentioning his inability to pay the
men who would accompany him, the sagacious chief replied, " A man wishes,
of course, to appear among his friends after a long absence, with something
of his own to show ; the whole of the ivory in the country is yours, so you
must take as much as you can, and Sekeletu will furnish men to carry it."

As the wives of many of his companions in the journey to Loanda had
given their husbands up as lost and taken to themselves other helpmeets,
Livingstone had some difficult questions as to possession to settle. In cases
where the man had only one wife, he decided without hesitation that she
should go back to the original husband ; but when a man had more than one he
declined to decide what should be done, in case it should be thought that he
favoured polygamy. Some of the men consoled themselves for the loss of
their wives by taking others.

Soon after his arrival a picho was held to consider the propriety of settling
in the Barotse valley, to be nearer the west coast for the purpose of trade
with the new market the expedition had opened to them. At this " picho"
Sekeletu said, addressing Livingstone, "lam perfectly satisfied as to the
<4'rcat advantages for trade of the path which you have opened, and think
that Ave ought to go to the Barotse, in order to make the way for us to Lo-
anda shorter ; but with whom am I to live there ? If you were coming with
us, I would remove to-morrow; but now you are going to the white man's
country to bring Ma-Robert (Mrs. Livingstone) ; and when you return you
will find me near to the spot on which you wish to dwell."

Dr. Moffat's account of his expedition through the country of Mosele-
katse, and his intercourse with that great chief and his people, already alluded

180 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

to by Dr. Tidman in his speech before the members of the Geographical Society,
is so interesting that we find room for several lengthy extracts. The influence
Dr. Moffat had over this powerful and cruel savage chief is evidenced by
his consenting to visit his enemies the Makololo with him. We cannot
help regretting that difficulties — as we shall see — prevented their reaching
Linyanti. It would have been interesting to notice how the Makololo and
Matabele, who had been enemies for nearly forty years, Avould have deported
themselves, when meeting in their unwonted character of friends. Mr. Chap-
man, whose travels we have drawn upon so frequently, and Mr. Edwards,
another English traveller, accompanied Dr. Moffat. The party started in
June, 1854 ; on June 20th they reached Sekomi's town : —

" This morning, at an early hour, Sekomi, who had been often heard to
say that he would not give up the letters and papers until Livingstone himself
should come with a large reward, sent down the parcels, the very sight of
which grieved me. Most of them ought to have been sent a twelvemonth
ago. Soon after a number of men presented themselves before my waggon,
and a rather insignificant person saluted me, to which I answered by remark-
ing that I was going to see the chief. He laughed, and added, ' I am
Sekomi !' I remarked that he was beforehand with me, as it was my duty
to wait on him as my superior, according to custom. He admitted this with
something like a smile, but appeared quite at a loss to know what to say. He
felt he had got into a difficulty and lost my esteem (if ever I had any for
him), by not forwarding Livingstone's parcels, for which he knew well he
would be rewarded. He tried to get out a sentence or two in palliation of his
ungrateful conduct to Livingstone, who, I knew, had been kind to him, but
made such a bungling excuse, that I recommended him to confess at once that
he had behaved badly, and I should then hope he would improve some day.
I tried to convince him how sorry I was, but he only laughed, and tried to
divert my thoughts from the subject, by telling me how glad he was to see me.
The subject of Christian instruction was introduced, and its importance
enlarged upon, but it proved most unwelcome."

On the 10th of July they came across several Bamanguato — subjects of
Moselekatse.

"We got two of them to guide our waggons to a neighbouring village
of the same people, where they said were some cattle, and an officer belong-
ing to Moselekatse. With grateful hearts we saw that all was right, and much
sooner than we yesterday anticipated. After advancing several miles we
were met by a company of the same people, who requested us to halt till they
should communicate with a chief man at a village about five miles beyond. To
their inquiries as to what they were to say to the chief man, they were told
that I was Moffat, or Moshete, as they pronounce it, of the Kuruman.
Though no one of the scores who were standing round had seen me, they

A ROCKY COUNTRY. 181

appeared quite familiar with the name, and all knew that their sovereign was
anxious to see me. The messenger must have been a swift one, as the Mata-
bele made his appearance in an hour and a half with several attendants. He
saluted with rather an awkward, but hearty shake of the hand. He assured
me, again and again, of the delight Moselekatse would have on hearing of
my long looked-for arrival. On mentioning the names of some Matabele I
knew, and inquiring about their welfare, ho snapped his fingers apparently
with great satisfaction, as this was an additional proof that I was the veritable
Moffat, for, as I afterwards learned, if he had taken a counterfeit Moffat to
his master, his days would have been numbered in a few seconds. He said
he would send messengers to head-quarters to request that persons should be
sent who knew me ; that he had seen me when he was a boy, but I had then
a long black beard. We started again for the village where he was residing
pro tempore to collect taxes, which we reached the same evening.

"Mr. Edwards and I took our guns and walked out to the woody heights
and cornfields lately harvested, to seek pheasants and guinea fowls. We were
struck with the beauty and fertility of the country. We also found hundreds
of acres of new ground prepared for next year's sowing. The trees were hewn
down and the branches laid round the bottom of the trunks to be burned when
sufficiently dry. The ground is all made up in ridges about 15 in. high, and
from 4 to 6 ft. apart, so as to allow the water to run off. The grain is sown on
the tops of the ridges, where it appears to grow luxuriantly. The whole
country, as far as the eye can reach, is very mountainous, and these mostly
isolated, and frequently composed of enormous blocks and boulders. Blocks
may be seen 30 or 40 ft., standing on one end on the top, and sometimes on
the brow of hills, which the slightest touch of an earthquake would bring
thundering down hundreds of feet. Though these mountains are rugged,
they look fine, being partially or nearly wholly covered with trees, many of
which are evergreens, or in leaf nearly the whole year. Trees may be seen,
chiefly of the ficus tribe, growing on the solid granite rock, and with trunks
running up perpendicular walls of a great height, and adhering so close to the
rocks, and being of the same colour, it requires a near ajyproach to convince
one that they are not parts of the rock itself. A fine field for the botanist as
well as the geologist ! I saw some trees and shrubs entirely new to me, but,
not being in flower at the time, could not tell to what genus they belonged.
Granite of various grain predominates ; indeed the foundations of the whole
country appear to be granitic, with enormous blocks of quartz, which is also
found filling up large rents and furrows in the solid rock ; also slat)- gneiss
and pieces of basalt in the bottoms of rivers, as if washed down from higher
places. It would appear as if grain might be cultivated anywhere, even at
the tops of hills, where the soil is frequently very rich. Though rain has
not fallen for months I found some places quite damp, and the debris of the

182 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

granite hills and the sand afford an easy passage for the water to the number-
less small rivers, so that the water is, except during the rainy season, under-
going a constant filtration. In the evening two Matabele women came down
from the village to see the friend of their chief. They are altogether different
in their dress to that of the other tribes. On asking if they knew me, they
said, ' We know your size, your nose, and your eyes, but what has become of
the long black beard ?' they inquired. I found that these two respectable-
looking matrons, and two others, had been charged with bewitching at head-
quarters, and were banished to this distant outpost. This, to say the least, is
a merciful punishment for the Matabelian tyrant.

" Having got in readiness we started again with a company of Bamanguato,
who were to be our guides and assistants under one who is their chief, called
Mapongko (words or news), and, being as familiar with the Matabele language
as his own, he will serve as interpreter. After having passed through a
jiicturesque country — fine water and abundance of pasture — we halted at what
is called the M'akue river, having travelled 18 miles in 9 hours, with frequent
hindrances from cutting down trees and seeking roads across ravines. Last
night we slept near some large masses of granite, near a range of pools ; the
night cold, with heavy dew, although the atmosphere appeared dry during the
day. The country exceedingly picturesque, and the mountains and trees number-
less as their shapes. Wherever the eye is directed nothing but hills on hills
rise in endless succession ; nearly all are covered with enormous granite blocks
and trees, though, to a superficial observer, there appears to be scarcely any
soil. We also passed hills, some not less than 6 miles in circumference,
exactly resembling the half or third part of a perfect sphere above the ground,
solid granite, and, to the eye, as smooth as an orange, without a single tuft of
graes or loose pebble on the whole surface. Having scrambled part of the way
up such granite globes it appeared to me that not a particle, not even grains of
sand had lain on them since washed by the waters of the flood. The alluvial
deposits accumulated in the valleys between these hills are exceedingly rich,
and send forth luxuriant brushwood and grass. Sometimes the granite crops
out in large flat masses, and having been washed by the rains of some thousand
summers, these are employed as threshing-floors, in the vicinity of the native
gardens. Blocks rising above trees, on the tops of hills, might, without much
effort of the imagination, be taken for ancient castles, surrounded with broken
ramparts. I examined a single block near to where we passed, on an entirely
level surface of rich soil. It exhibited a perpendicular face of 50 by 40 ft.,
smooth as if it had been chiseled, and looked as if intended for a base to some
stupendous monument. Among the debris of the surrounding hills are large
quantities of quartz, blue stone, mica, slate. It is very evident, from the
appearance of these mountains, that there have been no earthquakes here
since a very remote period, or otherwise thousands of boulders of great

MOSELEKATSE. 183

magnitude would have been hurled from the dizzy heights, where they seem
to tremble with a breath of air.

"Last night, when about retiring to rest, two messengers from Moselekatse
arrived, who had left yesterday morning, and had travelled most of the night.
The principal one delivered the message with great animation, and with many
extravagant expressions about the delight the news of my arrival had
imparted to the sovereign. Observing him to be evidently much fatigued
with his run, I remarked that, instead of starting early to-morrow, we should
defer till the afternoon following, that he might rest. To this he would on
no account agree, adding, ' No rest for me. I want none till I see you in the
presence of Moselekatse.' We accordingly started early, and, after much
winding, got through a range of high precipitous hills. All the rivers we
passed, since leaving the Banguaketse, run to the East and E.S.E. We have
passed to-day rivers which all flow to the N.N.W., while farther to the right
there are still tributary streams going to the Limpopo. We ai-e thus travelling
along the backbone, or highest place of this part of Africa, between 27° and
29° E. long. All the rivers to the N.W. turn North and fall into the
Zambesi.

"Last night, after having all got fast asleep, a man arrived from the town
with an ox to be slaughtered. The native idea was, that we must kill and
eat the whole night, and start on the coming morn. It Avas kindly
intended, but not according to our way of doing things. On we went, and
as we passed some towns, out rushed men and women to see us. It was a
favourable opportunity ; for no one dares to come to head-quarters, except on
special business, so they made the best of the time they had. Early in the
forenoon, as we approached the royal residence, we met men with shields and
spears coming in procession to inform us of the king's happiness at our arrival.
We, as a matter of course, expected to see some such display as I had
witnessed on my former visits. Being considerably in advance of the
waggons we entered the large public fold, and, following a chief man, wero
led to the opposite side, where sat in different parties about GO chief men.
The town appeared new, or rather half finished. There was nothing like the
finish I had seen before in regal towns. We stood for some minutes at a door-
way in the fence, which seemed to lead to premises behind, where some kind
of preparations were going on. While our attention was directed to the
waffsrons, Moselekatse had been moved to the entrance where we were stand-
ing. On turning round there he sat on a kaross, but how changed ! The
vigorous and active monarch of the Matabele, was now aged, lame in the feet,
incapable of standing, or even moving himself along the floor. I entered,
and he grasped my hand, gave mo an impressive look, drew his mantle over
his eyes, and wept. Some time elapsed before he could even speak or look at
me. In the meantime Mr. Edwards, who had gone to direct the waggons,

184 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

came up, little expecting to see the hero of so many battles, and the con-
quering tyrant of so many tribes, bathed in tears, which he endeavoured in
vain to hide, probably from some of his wives who stood behind him, and his
nobles who stood waiting in silence without. After some minutes spent in
this way he repeated my name several times, adding, ' Surely I am only
dreaming that you are Moffat.' I remarked that God, whom I served, had
spared us both, and that I had come once more to see him before I should die,
and, though very sorry to see him so ill, I was thankful to God that we were
permitted to meet again. He pointed to his feet, which I had observed to
be dropsical, and said that they, as well as other parts of his body, were
hitting him, adding, ' Your God has sent you to help me, and heal me.'

" Moselekatse's dominion extends from the Shashe River on the South to
the Zambesi on the North, and all the numerous canoes and boatmen on the
southern bank acknowledge his authority. On account of the tsetse, or fly,
much of the country towards the Zambesi cannot possibly be occupied with
cattle ; they are swept off immediately by that small but overwhelming
insect. The scattered inhabitants have abundance of game, and are able to
keep sheep and goats, which do not suffer ; it is remarkable that this should
be the case, for though their hair or wool is thicker than other animals,
there are vulnerable parts, which the tsetse can easily reach ; dogs im-
mediately fall victims.

" This morning I said to my interpreter, and to another who might be
called the king's aide-de-camp, that I wished to convey to Moselekatse all my
plans, and what I wished to accomplish during my stay. When I mentioned
Linyanti, and that, as I had goods, &c, for Livingstone, I intended to go
thither, or as near the Makololo as I could, in order to forward his supplies,
the proposal seemed to operate on them like an electric shock, and they
supplicated me most humbly, for the sake of their lives, not to send them to
their master with such a message ; that I must on no account whisper such a
thing — the king must first see me for a month or two to come. The day
had been so windy, cold, and damp, his majesty had kept within doors, and
one or two, who might be considered sheriffs, being absent, some women from
the harem, and others who had brought beer, &c, to the town, took the
favourable opportunity of drawing near to have a look at me. Though cold,
they had nothing like dress on the upper part of their bodies, and, according
to the Matabele custom, very little anywhere else. They appeared very
cheerful and happy, most of them with arms over each other's necks.
They acted with great decorum, and when they retired they said they
were glad I had come, and were thankful for the opportunity of seeing me.
By far the greater part of his people are not pure Matabele, but belong to the
tribes whom Moselekatse had subjugated during his long career.

" The Mashona have more or less intercourse with the Portuguese, and

MOSELEKATSE. 185

with tribes contiguous, for they barter from that quarter coarse cottons, though
they themselves make garments of cotton of a very coarse texture. I also saw
among them two musical instruments, consisting of about forty notes, com-
posed of as many strips of iron fastened to a small board within a large
calabash, into the opening of which the two hands are introduced, playing in
the same manner as one would on the pianoforte. The instrument exhibits
considerable ingenuity, and, for a people so barbarous, is a successful one.
Their dress, though rude enough, is much more decent than that of the Mata-
bele, and indeed they seem to be an entirely different people. Their language
is the same as the Makalaka tribe, of which, though a branch of the Sichuana,
I could understand but little. The Mashona say their fathers emigrated from
the south-east, beyond the land of the Baraputsi. Some of their customs are
peculiar, and different from any other tribe I know.

"I had some conversation with Moselekatse, and tried to make him
understand that the world moved, and not the sun ; that the earth was a
globe, and not a flat ; that people could go round and round, and, were a
hole pierced through its centre to the other side, he would find people on
what would also appear to him a plain or sea. He looked rather bewildered
at these facts, for he had no idea that I was deliberately telling falsehoods.
I described to him the speed with which waggons travelled in England, and
ships on the sea ; but it seemed like multiplying words to no purpose, as it
was far above his conception. He, however, freely admitted the superior
wisdom of the white men, which afforded me an excellent text to explain to
him the process by which the Maengelise, as he calls them, have reached their
present state of refinement and wisdom.

" In the course of another conversation with Moselekatse I had handed
to him some tin vessels I had made, which he admired, and no doubt
viewed me as a perfect genius of a tinker. I had before conversed with him
about Livingstone, and now stated plainly that it was my purpose to go to
Sckeletu's country, or as near it as I could get, in order to hear if he had
returned from the journey to the west coast, and to convey goods and letters
I had brought for him. This resolution was to him like a dose of assafcetida ;
he replied that he was my son, and I must not leavo him, especially as he was
sick — that there was no one, even among his own people, whom he loved and
confided in like myself, and he could not give his consent to my undertaking
such a journey. He then began to number up bugbears, with the hope of
frightening me, and talked of fevers which pervaded all the rivers and swamps
through which I must pass — crocodiles, and savage hordes. Putting on a very
grave face, I said, ' Moselekatse, Livingstone is my child, and he is a servant
of God ; if I return without seeing him, or hearing certainly about him, I
shall return with a heavy heart, and tell my friends Moselekatse does not love
inc.' I added, that if he had an)' fears of my perishing on the road, I should
z

186 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

leave a letter, which he could send to the Kuruman, which would tell Maiuele,
as he called Mrs. Moffat, that it was entirely my own fault.

" Two young girls, about ten years of age, daughters of Moselekatse, of
different mothers, came from a neighbouring town to see him, or rather me.
He kissed each of them on the brow and then on each cheek. I observed
others kiss them on each cheek, the brow, and chin. This seems to be the
mode of Matabele kissing ; it is done by men, too, when they meet after a
long absence. The girls seemed the very picture of health ; though they
drank beer daily, their countenances exhibited great childish sweetness, while
their bodies, well washed and anointed with oil, presented the most perfect
female symmetry ; but the women in general are no beauties.

" Moselekatse said, that as he had sent men to inquire respecting the
road, and as they would go till they could learn something about Livingstone,
he would wish me to defer my journey till they had returned. Supposing
this to be a plan, like others, to prolong my stay, I could not agree, especially
as the hot weather would soon commence, and the rainy season in the month
of October, which would render travelling in a country like this next to
impossible. He showed me a number of elephants' tusks, which ho said he
intended to present to me as a token of the gratitude he felt for the kindness
he had received from me since he first knew me. I replied, that though I
could fully appreciate his kind intentions, I felt I could not accept of anything
of the kind till I should have accomplished my purpose in getting
Livingstone's goods, &c, conve}*ed to him, and, if it were jiiossible, seeing
him myself. I added, that if he aided me in this undertaking, I should
esteem his help more valuable than his present, and that I should be more
ready to make him a present than to receive one, and that I should return to
the Kuruman rich without a single tusk. These remarks made him look
unusually grave, and, after a pause, he said, ' Verily you love Livingstone,
and you love me too ;' and, taking me by the hand, said, ' You shall go.' I
snapped my fingers in Matabelian fashion, and thanked him with all my
heart.

" In the morning, when about to start in search of Livingstone, Moselekatse
got into my waggon, followed by some parcels of presents which he had
received from one and another, and which were deposited within, He sat down
very composedly, and requested that the waggons might start. I supposed
he was intending to go only to the next town, as he was followed by most of
the men, some of them rather too advanced in years to proceed far. Bidding
adieu to my kind-hearted fellow-traveller — who would have been happy to
accompany me, but, being in partnership with Mr. Chapman, he felt it his duty
to remain a while longer — away we went, with about 100 men and nearly
half that number of dogs, large and small. Passing the first town without
halting, we came to a pass between two hills, commanding a beautiful and

MOSELEKATSE ON THE MARCH. 187

rather extensive view. Here we halted under an ancient sycamore till the
chief's own waggon, which he had sent for, should arrive. To my surprise,
the waggon no sooner arrived, than he requested that we should proceed to
where there were bushes and firewood. On its joining us we again set off —
his sable majesty keeping possession of my bed or stretcher, which, by its
creaking, gave token that it had got an unusual load. After winding through
considerable thickets along the base of hills, we descended into a pretty
valley, where was every requisite for a comfortable bivouac. During the last
two hours we had been followed by some carrying karosses, others food, and
about twenty women with large calabashes of beer on their heads. Mose-
lekatse's waggon being placed alongside of mine, the people then, as at every
halting-place during the journey, commenced hewing and tearing down
branches from trees, principally evergreens. Of these, very commodious
booths were formed in all directions, leaving an open space in the centre for
the cattle to sleep in. On the left of my waggon was a booth for my four
men, in which Moselekatse chooses to sleep, and not in his waggon, or among
his own people. To the right of my waggon was what may be called a royal
pavilion of evergreens, Avhere he sometimes sat, and his personal attendants
reposed. Immediately in front of my waggon was another large circular fence,
where there were about nine of his wives, and twenty other women — beer-
carriers. Several large companies occupied other portions of the encampment,
which, lighted up by the blazing fires, presented an animated spectacle.
Before dark a troop of fat cattle were brought, of which two were slaughtered,
and strips of meat soon garnished the live coals at every fire-place ; and if
human masticators were busy, tongues were performing their part to some
purpose, which never seemed to incommode the sovereign of all, who walked
about evidently much pleased.

" After passing half the night meditating plans, I got up and found our
governor in excellent spirits. When I asked him what he thought we were to
do, ' Let us go on,' was the reply. While we were sitting together, eating a
royal dish of meat — paunch cooked witli fat, not invitingly clean, but such as
travellers get accustomed to — the men who had been sent to ascertain the
state of the country arrived. Their intelligence at once settled the point as
to our advance. Water was not to be had for oxen until the fourth day, and
then only amongst the tsetse. Wc talked and reasoned long on the subject,
till I asked the chief what he thought was best to be done. He replied, ' 1
am here to serve you ; you must say what you wish, and I shall do it or order
it.' The idea of Bending men with Livingstone's goods at that moment struck
me, on which I inquired how far it was to Linyanti ; and if messengers were
sent, when would they return ; or, if I were to go on foot, how long should ]
be absent ? ' Twenty or thirty days,' was the reply ; and if to the Barotse
country, where Sekeletu might be, it would be a much longer time. I rose,

183 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and said, ' I must think alone,' and I should tell him the result of my cogita-
tions. I soon after received the same testimony from William, and another
individual upon whose word I could rely ; for I knew well that if Mosclekatse
said Linyanti was just three steps on the other side of the moon, all his people
would say so too. I returned to Mosclekatse and proposed to go on foot if
he would give me a certain number of his men. To this he would on no
account agree ; and declared that if I went he would go too, and would be
carried when he could no longer walk. I then made the proposal that, if he
would give me men sufficient to carry all Livingstone's goods and papers to
Linyanti, I should divide them into packages such as they could manage. To
this he promptly agreed, and the next moment ordered a man to make a
selection of individuals best acquainted with the country. The whole day
was employed in making arrangements, and orders were given for twenty men
and an officer to be in readiness. There were seventeen packages. The men,
after hearing my instructions, repeated and re-repeated them, placed the bags,
boxes, &c, some on their heads, others on their shoulders, and, taking their
shields and spears, marched off. They were well supplied with food to enable
tli em to pass through perhaps as wild and desolate a region as can well be
found ; to go through forests, over mountains and morasses to the country of
those who are their enemies. No persons of any tribe with which I am
acquainted Avould have dared to attempt such a thing. It is more than I
had anticipated. Having thus done all in my power to supply the wants of
Livingstone, who doubtless will find all most acceptable should he be spared
to receive them, I began to think how I could make the best of my time in
the company of Moselekatse, who had given such unmistakeable proofs of his
willingness to serve me. On the departure of the men, I turned to him and
said, ' How happy and how thankful I now feel ! for with one word you have
rolled off the big stone which lay on my heart.' This remark made him
smile with unwonted cheerfulness. We soon unyoked and returned about
twelve miles by the way we came. He remained with me at my waggon most
of the evening, which afforded the opportunity of talking to him on the all-
important subject of religion. He had heard me say that, but for the desire
I felt to show him how grateful I was for his kindness, I should prefer taking
a direct course homewards, instead of returning to Matlokotloko, but that now
I should return with him thither with all my heart. He remarked that he
wished to show me still more kindness. I replied that the greatest kindness
he could now show was to allow me to deliver to him and his j>eoplc the
message of God, which was the great object I had in view in my present
journey ; that if he consented to this, I should desire nothing else. On
hearing this he appeared thoughtful, stood up, and walked off to another part
of the encampment.

" I have just now learned, with thankfulness, that Livingstone had, with

rilOBABLE TRADE ROUTES. 180

extraordinary perseverance, reached St. Paul dc Loanda, and was to return
to Linyanti. It affords mo no little gratification to see that I was directed by
a wisdom, far other than that of man, in what I was able to accomplish on
his account. If he be spared to return to Linyanti, he will have the satisfac-
tion of receiving supplies for the outer, as well as the inner man.

"As to whether tho countries through which I have passed are likely
soon to become fields for missionary operation, I am anything but sanguine.
Of the willingness of the natives themselves to receive instruction no doubt
need be entertained ; but at present the prospect is anything but encouraging.
Past events show to a demonstration that between the natives and the Trans-
Vaal Boers there can be no peace, until the former, as far as they can be
reached, shall become the vassals of the latter, whose transactions have hitherto
been characterised by a deep-rooted enmity to all missionary operations. To
me the case appears more hopeless than ever, since the inhabitants of the
Sovereignity, or Free State, have with heart and hand espoused the cause of
the Trans- Vaal Republic, and are lending their aid in the work of exter-
minating the Aborigines. If a road were opened up from Sebituane's or
Moselekatse's country to the East coast, and permission obtained there for free
intercourse with the interior, a wide field would be opened for missionary
enterprise. The Matabclo having traded with Englishmen, who come
up the Zambesi from the coast in boats, shows what could be done.
Between the country of Moselekatse and the Zambesi, there is, however,
an insuperable barrier to travelling with either oxen or horses, on
account of the tsetse, so often referred to in these pages, and described
by Livingstone in his former journeys. They commence South of
the Limpopo river, run North till near the Zambesi, and then stretch along
between that and the country which I traversed towards the country of
Sebituane. The Makalaka, Bakurutsc, Mashona, Becuabi, Masuase, Batonga,
and other tribes, with whom I came into contact among the Matabelc, did not
appear to exhibit anything very savage in their disposition.

"It is the character of the Matabelan warfare, and the nature of their
government, that make them a terror to the surrounding tribes.

" Nothing remains but to seek to reach the interior tribes by the East
or West coast, and any missionary who has witnessed the deteriorating
influence of a juxtaposition with the civilized communities would a thousand
times prefer isolation, notwithstanding the difficulties it would involve in
obtaining supplies. The most part of Moselekatse's country I should suppose
to be healthy, especially the higher portion of it, principally of granite
foundation. That the fever prevails in the more northern portions, especially
in wet seasons, there is no doubt ; but not with the virulence witnessed by
Livingstone farther to the N.W. On the whole the country is beautiful, and
would present a rich treat to the geologist, as well as to the botanist — but how

190 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.Il

much more to the Christian missionary, with its numerous inhabitants, living
and dying under a twofold tyranny I "

With the following extracts we exhaust Dr. Livingstone's allusions to his
memorable journey to Loancla and back, and its results and probable conse-
quences. The letter from which these extracts are taken was addressed to
Sir Roderick Murchison : —

" 13y a note dated Cabango, in August last, I endeavoured to convey an idea
of the country between Cassangc andthatpoint, and, if the rough tracing enclosed
leached its destination, you will have remarked that there was little absolutely
new to communicate. The path followed is that usually trodden by native Por-
tuguese, who arc employed by Angolese merchants to trade with Matiamvo — the
' Muata-ya-nvo ' of some — the paramount chief of the negro tribes called Londa
(Lunda) or Balonda. There is another and straighter course situated a little
farther north, and I suppose it is there the scarcity of water mentioned by
others is experienced. We never found it necessary to carry a supply, and
almost always spent the night at villages situated on streams or rivulets. A
Portuguese merchant and planter, Senhor Graca, of Monte Allcgrc, whose
acquaintance I had the pleasure of making, was once a visitor to Matiamvo ;
and his notes, having been published in the Government Gazette or ' Bolctim '
of Loanda, might, I conceive, still be found in Lisbon. A severe and long-
continued attack of fever, soon after crossing the Quango, made me so very
feeble and deaf, that I was glad to avail myself of the company and friendly
aid of three native Portuguese, whose employer, Senhor Neves of Cassange,
very politely enjoined them by letter to forward my plans by every means in
their power. The virtue of the Chiboque was thereby not much exposed
to temptation to take advantage of my weakness — a temptation which
often proves rather too powerful for the goodness of more enlightened speci-
mens of humanity. The most then I could effect in the circumstances was to
put down the rivers with greater precision than any of my predecessors, who
have uniformly been unfurnished with instruments.

" The rate of travelling of such traders may be interesting to those who
examine their accounts of journeys to otherwise unknown regions. I found the
average between a great number of regular sleeping stations to be 7 geo-
graphical miles. The average time required was 3£ hours, and the speed 2
geographical miles an hour. The stoppages from all causes amounted to 20
days monthly ; so that a month's journey means actually one of 10 days, or 70
miles. The carriers are very unwilling to help each other ; hence the sickness
of one man often stops the march of the whole party. When wc parted with
them, our own rate was 10^ geographical miles per day. This required an
average of five hours' march at the rate of two geographical miles an hour,
and wc travelled twenty days each month. The negro step was quicker than
ours, but we generally overtook them while resting, and arrived in equal times.

TAKING THE LOAN OF A (J AN OK. 191

If wo kept going for 6 successive days, both men and. oxen showed symptoms
of knocking up, although they were a most willing company, and all were
anxious to get home. It was therefore necessary to give another day weekly
for rest, besides Sunday. The starchy nature of the food had, I believe,
considerable influence on the rate of progress. In winding through forest,
I could not make any approach to a reckoning of distance ; an observation was
always necessary. The zigzag would mako the day's march to be probably
not much under 20 miles in these cases.

" I had indulged the hope of proceeding to the head-quarters of Matiamvo,
who seems to be located 19 days east-north-east of Cabango, or on lat. 8' 20' S.,
long. 22° 32' E. But the long delay had now made such an inroad into
our stock of goods that we saw clearly, by the time of our arrival there,
we should be unable either to give a suitable present to the prince, or
pay our way afterwards to the south. This alone would not have proved a
barrier, for a branch of the Leeambye or Zambesi is reported to flow south-
wards from a part a few days east of his town, 23" or 21° E. long. (?), and it
would have been of great importance to have discovered water conveyance all
the way down to the country of the Makololo. But it is universally asserted
and believed that Matiamvo will on no account permit any white man, or even
native trader, to pass in that direction ; it is his own principal resort for ivory.
The tribes living there kill many elephants, and bring the ivory to him as
tribute. They are called Kanyika and Kanyoka, or Banyika and Banyoka.
Having but slender acquaintance with the Londa dialect, we felt that neither
pay nor persuasion could be effectively employed to secure permission to follow
our object ; so we decided on leaving Cabango to proceed south-east to our
friend Katema, and thence down the Leeba.

" The people among whom we now travelled being Balonda only, we
got on very comfortably, except in one instance, in which a chief named
Kawawa, who had heai'd of our treatment by the Chiboque in going north,
presumed on his possessing the fords of the Kasai, so far as to demand tribute
from the white man. Nothing could exceed the civilities which passed between
us on the Sunday of our stay in liis town. But when we offered to cross the
river he mustered all his forces to compel payment of ' a gun, an ox, a man,
a barrel of powder, a black coat ! or a book which would tell him if Matiamvo
had any intention of sending to cut off his head.' Unless we had submitted
to everything, as the Membari do, and given a bad precedent for all white
men afterwards, we were obliged to part with ' daggers drawn.' The canoes
were all concealed among the reeds, but my men were better sailors than his;
and having taken the loan of one by night, in order to show how scrupulously
honest we were, we left it and a few beads on their own side of the river, and
thanked them next morning for their kindness amidst shouts of laughter.

" The route we followed to Katema, being considerably. to the east of that

102 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

by which we went to Loanda, a curious phenomenon, which then escaped our
notice, was now discovered, viz., that of the river Lotenibwa flowing in two
nearly opposite directions. By the tracing sent from Angola, you will see it
as if rising in the small lake Dilolo. Such seemed the fact as far as the southern
portion of the river is concerned. Our former route having led us to the Kasai,
at some distance west of the northern portion, we were not aware of its existence.
In returning, however, we were surprised at being obliged to cross the Lotembwa
before we reached Lake Dilolo. It was more than a mile broad, three or four
feet deep, and full of Arum Egyptiacum, lotus, papyrus, mat-rushes, and other
aquatic plants. Not being then informed of the singular fact that it actually
flows N.N.W. into the Kasai, I did not observe the current, simply concluding
it was a prolongation of the Lotembwa beyond the lake, and that it rose in a
long flat marsh, as most of the rivers in this quarter do. But we wero positively
informed afterwards that the flow was to the Kasai, and not into Dilolo. I
have no reason to doubt the correctness of this information. I could not
ascertain whether Lake Dilolo gives much water to the northern Lotembwa ;
but if there had been a current of one-fourth the strength of that which flows
into the southern Lotembwa, I must have observed it. It looks like an arm of
the lake where I crossed it, and probably flows faster when nearer the Kasai.
The southern Lotembwa proceeds from an arm of the lake, half a mile broad,
and at the part where most of the water flows it is chin deep. We crossed the
river above its confluence with the latter arm, and the great body of flowing
deep water it contained there (from 80 to 100 yards wide) made me suppose
that it receives a sujmly from the northern as well as from the southern end of
Dilolo. The fever having there caused vomiting of large quantities of blood,
I could not return and examine the curious phenomenon more minutely ; but
I consider it as almost quite certain that Lake Dilolo divides its waters between
the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. A jjortion flows down the Kasai — Zaire, or
Congo, and another down the Leeba to the Zambesi. The whole of the
adjacent country is exceedingly flat. In coming to the Lotembwa frorn the
north we crossed a plain 24 miles broad, and so level that the rain-water stands
on it for months together ; and when going north we waded through another
plain to the south of the northern Lotembwa, 15 miles broad, with about a foot
of water on it, and the lotus flowers in bloom therein.

"As the Royal Geographical Society receives geographical information
from every quarter, and then acts on the eclectic principle of securing the good
and true from the heaps of materials which travellers abroad and loungers at
home may send to the crucible, I have, with less diffidence than I should
otherwise have felt, resolved to state some ideas which observation and native
information have led me to adopt as to the form of the southern part of the
continent. It is right to state also distinctly that I am now aware that the same
views wero clearly expressed in the anniversary speech of 1S52, by the

CENTRAL AFRICAN Rl VERS. 193

gentleman to whom tins letter is addressed. Yet having come to nearly the
same conclusions about three years afterwards, and by a different method, the
reasons which guided my tortoise pace may, though stated in my own way,
be accepted as a small contribution to the inferences deduced by you (Sir
Roderick Murchison) from the study of the map of Mr. Barnes.

" In passing northwards to Angola, the presence of large Cape heaths,
rhododendrons, Alpine roses, and more especially the sudden descent into the
valley of the Quango, near Cassange, led me to believe we had been travelling
on an elevated plateau. I had hopes then of finding an aneroid at Loanda ;
but having been disappointed in this, from my friend Colonel Steel having gone
to the Crimea, I had to resort, on my return, to observations of the temperature
of boiling water as a means of measuring elevations.

" The highest point in the district of Pungo Andongo is given to show
that it is lower than the ridge, which I believe is cut through by the valley of
Cassange, in which the Quango now flows. And the top of the ascent of Tala
Mungongo — which, to the eye, looks much higher than the eastern ascent, if
we may depend on the point of ebullition as an approximation — is in reality
much lower ; indeed not more elevated than Lake Ngami, which is clearly in
a hollow. In coming along this elevated land towards the Quango, we were
unconsciously near the crest of a large oblong mound, or ridge, which pro-
bably extends through 20° of latitude, and gives rise to a remarkable number
of rivers : thus, the Quango on the north ; the Coanza on the west ; the
Laneebonero, which the latest information identifies with the Loeti, and the
numerous streams which unite and form the Chobe, on its south-east ; all
the feeders of the Kasai and that river itself on the east ; and probably also
the Embara or river of Libebe on the south. Yet this elevation is by no
means mountainous. The general direction of all these rivers, except the
Coanza and Quango, being towards the centre of the continent, with a little
northing or southing in addition, according as they belong to the western or
eastern main drains of the country, clearly implies the hollow or basin form
of that portion of intertropical Africa. The country about Lake Dilolo seems
to form a partition in the basin ; hence the contrary direction of its drainage.

"Viewing the basin from this (Linyanti) northward, we behold an
immense flat, intersected by rivers, in almost every direction, and these
are not the South African mud, sand, or stone rivers either, but deep
never-failing streams, fit to form invaluable bulwarks against enemies who can
neither swim nor manage canoes. They have also numerous departing and
re-entering branches, with lagoons and marshes adjacent, so that it is scarcely
possible to travel along their banks without the assistance of canoes. We
brought two asses as a present from certain merchants in Loanda to Sekeletu,
and as this animal is not injured by the bite of the tsetse, they came as frisky
as kids through all the flowing rivers of Loanda ; but when we began to descend
▲ 1

194 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the Leeambye, dragging them almost hourly through • patches of water or
lagoons, they were nearly killed, and we were obliged to leave them at Naliele.
These valley rivers have generally two beds, one of low water and another of
inundation. The period of inundation does not correspond with the rainy
season here, but with a period in the north subsequent to that. The flood of
the Leeambye occurs in February and March, while that of the Chobe, from
its being more tortuous, is a month later. We hear of its being flooded 40
miles above Linyanti, eight or ten days before it overflows there. When these
rivers do overflow, then the valley assumes the appearance of being ornamented
with chains of lakes. This is probably the geologically recent form which the
great basin showed, for all the low-water channels in the flats are cut out of soft
calcareous tufa, which the waters of this country formerly deposited most
copiously. The country adjacent to the beds of inundation is, except where
rocks appear, not elevated more than from 50 to 100 feet above the general
level.

" That the same formation exists on the eastern side of the country appears
from the statements of Arabs or Moors from Zanzibar. They assert that a
large branch of the Leeambye flows from the country of the Banyassa
(Wun'yassa) to the south-west, and passes near to the town of Cazembe ; it is
called Luapula. The Banyassa live on a ridge parallel to the east coast ; and
though they have no lake in their own country, they frequently trade to one
on their N. N. W. My Arab informants pass this lake on their way back to
Zanzibar. It is said to be ten days' north-east of Cazembe, and is called
Tanganyika, and is said to be connected with another named Kalague
(Garague ?). Both are stated to be so shallow that the canoes are punted the
whole way across, and the voyage occupies three days. Will it be too specu-
lative to suppose that these large collections of fresh water are the residue of
greater and deeper lakes, just as Lake Ngami is, the openings in the eastern
ridge not being deep enough to drain those parts of the basin entirely ?

"In a foray made by the Makololo to the country about east of Masiko's
territory, during our visit to Loanda, they were accompanied by the Arab
Ben Habib, from whom I received much of the above information. This
party saw another river than the Luapula, coining from the north-east, with a
south-west course, to form a lake named Shuia (Shooea). A river emerges
thence, which, dividing, forms the Bashukulompo and Loangwa rivers.
There is a connection between these and the Leeambye too, a state-
ment by no means improbable, seeing the country around Shuia (lat. 13°,
long. 27° or 28° E. ?) is described as abounding in marshes and reedy valleys.
When there, the Arab pointed to the eastern ridge, whence the rivers come,
and said, ' When we see that, we always know we are about to begin the
descent of ten or fifteen days to the sea.'

" I am far from craving implicit faith in those statements, for my

DR. BUCKLAND. 195

6

informants possess a sad proneness to ' amiability,' and they will roundly
assert whatever they think will please you. For example : — ' Are you happy
as a slave?' ' 0, infinitely more so than when I was free;' and then run
away from their masters. But my object in making inquiries was unknown ;
and, when supported by the testimony of the Makololo, the statements may
be taken as supporting the view that the central parts of Africa south of the
equator, though considerably elevated above the level of the sea, form really
a hollow in reference to two oblong ridges on its eastern and western sides.
As suggestive of further inquiry only, I may mention, though not pretending
to have examined the pretty extensive portions of the country which came
under my observation with the eye and deep insight of a geologist, that the
general direction of the ranges of hills appears to be parallel to the major axis
of the continent. The dip of the strata down towards the centre of the
country led to the conclusion, before I knew of the existence of the ridges,
that Africa had in its formation been pressed up much more energetically at
the sides than at the centre. The force which effected this, I supposed, may
have been of the same nature as that which determined most recent volcanoes
to be in the vicinity of the sea. This seems to have been the case in Angola
at least ; and having probably been in operation over a vast extent of coast,
decided the very simple littoral outline of Africa. I am induced to make this
suggestion because, when the ridges are situated far from the coast, they do
not seem to owe their origin to recently erupted rocks. There is a section of the
western ridge, near Cassange, nearly a thousand feet in height; and except a
capping of haematite mixed with quartz pebbles, it is a mass of the red clay shalo
termed in Scotland ' keel,' the thin strata of which are scarcely at all disturbed.
This keel is believed to indicate gold. Had I met with a nugget I would have
mounted a mule instead of the ungainly beast (his ox Sinbad) I rode.

" I have mentioned the locality of Lake Dilolo as forming a sort of parti-
tion in the central valley, but it is not formed by outcropping rocks, as one
may travel a month beyond Shinte's without seeing a stone ; but in proceeding
south of Ngami, the farther we go the greater has been the filling up by
eruptive traps. The 25th parallel of latitude divides a part of the valley,
containing 1000 feet more filling up than that north of Kolobeng; and, strangely
enough, the only instance of a large transported boulder occurs just at the
edge of the more hollow part. The plains to the south of that are elevated
perhaps 5000 feet above the level of the sea. But the erupted rocks, as that
on which Kuruman stands, have brought up fragments of the very old bottom
rocks in their substance.

"As I am not aware that the late Dr. Buckland made any public use of
a paper which I sent to him in 1843, on the gradual desiccation of the
Bechuana country, it may not be improper to mention, in support of the actual
drying up of all the rivers which have a westerly course, that I had pointed

196 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

out the bed of a still more ancient river than those trickling rills which now
pass by the name. It flowed from north to south, exactly as the Zambesi does
now, and ended in a large lake, which must have been discharged when the
fissure was made through which the Orange river now flows. At the point of
confluence between river and lake some hills of amygdaloid caused an eddy,
and in the eddy we have a mound of tufa and travertin full of fossil bones.
From these I had hopes of ascertaining the age of the river ; but, in addition
to my time being much restricted by sacred duties, I had no instrument with
me when I discovered these beautiful fossils, which stand out in relief on the
rock. On the second occasion I was called off by express to the child of
another missionary, and galloped a hundred miles to find him in his grave.
To crown all, some epiphises and teeth, which I sent with specimens to illus-
trate the geology of the interior, though taken to England by the Rev. H. H.
Methuen, were stolen from the railway before reaching Dr. Buckland's hands.
As it is not likely that I shall ever visit the spot again, I may mention that
the mound is near Bootschap, and well known to the Rev. H. Helmore, who
would willingly show it to any one desirous of procuring sjiecimens. They
are perfectly fossilised, and about the same size as zebras or buffaloes.

" With respect to the spirit in which our efforts have been viewed by the
Makololo, I think there is no cause for discouragement. The men of my
company worked vigorously while at Loanda, and their savings appeared to
them to be considerable. But the long journey back forced us to expend all
our goods, and on arriving at the Barotse we were all equally poor. Our
reception and subsequent treatment were, however, most generous and kind.
The public reports delivered by my companions were sufficiently flattering to
me, and their private opinions must have been in unison, for many volunteers
have come forward unasked to go to the east. A fresh party was despatched
with ivory for Loanda, and only two days were allowed for preparation.
They are under the guidance of the Arab from Zanzibar already alluded to,
and the men have no voice in the disposal of the goods ; they are simply to
look and learn. After my late companions have rested some time, it is in-
tended for them to return as independent traders. This was not my sugges-
tion— indeed I could scarcely have expected it, for the hunger and fatigue
they endured were most trying to men who have abundance of food and
leisure at home. But the spirit of trade is strong in the Africans, and they
are much elated with the large prices given at Loanda.

"If no untoward event interferes, a vigorous trade will certainly be
established. The knowledge of the great value of ivory puts a stop to the
slave-trade in a very natural way. As our cruizers on the west coast render
property in slaves of very small value there, the Mambaii, who are generally
subjects of Kangombe of Bihe, purchase slaves for domestic purposes only;
but to make such a long journey as that from Bihe to the Batoka country, east

PUZZLING VARIETY OF NAMES. 197

of the Makololo, at all profitable, they must secure a tusk or two. These can
only be got among certain small tribes who depend chiefly on agriculture for
subsistence, and are so destitute of iron that they often use hoes of wood.
They may be induced to part with ivory and children for iron implements,
but for nothing else. The Mambari tried cloth and beads unsuccessfully, but
hoes were irresistible. The Makololo wished to put a stop to their visits by
force, but a hint to purchase all the ivory with hoes was so promptly responded
to, that I anticipate small trade for the Mambari in future. If any one among
the tribes subject to the Makololo sells a child now, it is done secretly. The
trade may thus be said to be pretty well repressed. A great deal more than
this, however, is needed. Commerce is a most important aid to civilisation,
for it soon breaks up the sullen isolation of heathenism, and makes men feel
their mutual dependence. Hopes of this make one feel gratified at the success
which has attended my little beginning. But it is our blessed Christianity
alone which can touch the centre of the wants of Africa. The Arabs, it is well
known, are great in commerce, but not much elevated thereby above the
African in principle. My Arab friend Ben Habib, now gone to Loanda, was
received most hospitably by an old female chief called Sebola Makwaia ; and
she actually gave him ivory enough to set him up as a trader ; yet he went
with the Makololo against her to revenge some old feud with which he had
no connexion."

The Victoria Falls were viewed with dread by the natives living at a
distance. They supposed them to be the haunt of some powerful and myste-
rious deity. Dr Livingstone says : —

"The former name of the spot was Shongwe, the meaning of which I
cannot ascertain. The Makololo, in passing near it, said, "Mosi oa tunya,"
" smoke does sound." Very few of them ever went near to examine the cause
before my visit. When the river is in flood, the vapour is seen and the sound
heard ten or more miles distant. Although I have not felt at liberty to act on
my conviction on the subject of names, I think all rivers and hills discovered
by Englishmen ought to have English names. The African name is known
only to people in the locality. I could not get the name Zumbo lately from
the people among the ruins, and passed Dambarari on the opposite side of the
river, nobody having ever heard the name before. The same would have
happened of course had they been English or Portuguese names, but we should
not have the nonsense with which, by mis-spelling, we and the printers disfigure
the maps. See how many ways Bechuanas are mentioned — Booshuanas, Boot-
jouanas, Bertjouanas, &c. : Makrakka for Makabe ; Marelata for Moretcle;
Wanketzeens for Bangwaketse ; Beza (God) for Beza. We on the spot are
often misled getting information from (native) foreigners, who pronounce names
according to their own dialects, and are thereby often guilty of leading those
at home astray. English names, too, are surely better than the round Dutch

198 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

names, — l sand,' ' stone,' ' mud,' or ' reed ' rivers. I do not urge the point,
but I think it merits consideration."

The value of ivory showed clearly how far the slave-traders had advanced.
Where ivory . was common and had no value attached to it, it was a certain
indication that the place had not been visited by half-caste traders from the
east or west coast. No traders had been at or near the Falls prior to his visit.
He says : —

" That trade has never extended thus far from either the east or western
coasts, is, I believe, extremely probable from the grave of the elder Sekote
being still seen on Kalai Island, ornamented with seventy large elephants'
tusks planted round it, and there are about thirty tusks over the resting-places
of his relatives. Indeed, ivory was used only to form the armlets and grave-
stones of the rich, and it is now met with in a rotten state all over the Batoka
country. This fact I take as corroborative of the universal assertion, that no
trader ever visited the country previous to the first and unsuccessful attempt
of the Mambari to establish the slave trade with Santuru, the last chief of the
Barotse."

CHAPTER X.

Start for the East Coast. — The Victoria Falls. — The Batoka Tribes. — Reaches
Zi/mbo, a Deserted Portuguese Settlement.

ON the 3rd of November, 1855, Livingstone and his fellow-adventurers,
accompanied by Sekeletu with 200 of his followers, who were to accom-
pany them as far as Kalai, on the Leeambye, started from Linyanti. The
whole party were fed at Sekeletu's expense, — the cattle for the purpose being
taken from his cattle stations, which are spread over the whole territory
owning him allegiance. Passing through a " tsetse " district when dark, to
escape its attacks, they were overtaken by a tremendous storm of thunder,
lightning, and rain, which thoroughly drenched the party. Livingstone's
extra clothing having gone on, he was looking forward ruefully to the pros-
pect of passing the night on the wet ground, when Sekeletu gave him his
blanket, lying uncovered himself. He says, " I was much touched by this
little act of genuine kindness. If such men must perish by the advance of
civilization, as certain races of animals do before others, it is a pity. God
grant that ere this time comes they may receive that gospel which is a solace
for the soul in death ! "

Writing to Sir Roderick Murchison about this touching incident and
the general kindness of Sekeletu, he uses words which, at the risk of repetition,
are worth quoting: — "When passing Sheseke on our way down the river in
November last, Sekeletu generously presented ten slaughter-cattle and three of
the best riding oxen he could purchase among his people, together with sup-
plies of meal and everything else he could think of for my comfort during the
journey. Hoes and beads were also supplied to purchase a canoe, when we
should come to the Zambesi again, beyond the part where it is constricted by
the rocks. These acts of kindness were probably in part prompted by the
principal men of the tribe, and are valuable as showing the light in which our
efforts are viewed ; but as little acts often show character more clearly than
great ones, I may mention that — having been obliged to separate from the
people who had our luggage, and to traverse about 20 miles infested by the
tsetse during the night — it became so pitchy dark, we could only see by the
frequent gleams of lightening, which at times revealed the attendants wander-
ing hither and thither in the forest. The horses trembled and groaned, and
after being thoroughly drenched by heavy rain we were obliged to give up

200 LIFE OF DA V1D LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

the attempt to go farther, and crawled under a tree for shelter. After the
excessive heat of the day one is peculiarly sensitive to cold at night. The
chief's blanket had fortunately not gone on ; he covered me with it, and
rested himself on the cold, wet ground until the morning. If such men must
perish before the white race by an immutable law of heaven, we must seem
to be under the same sort of 'terrible necessity' in our ' Kaifre wars' as the
American professor of chemistry said he was when he dismembered the man
whom he murdered."

On the island of Kalai, they found the grave of Sekote, a Batoka chief,
who had been conquered bySebituane, and had retreated to this place, where
he died. The ground near the grave was garnished by human skulls, mounted
on poles, and a large heap of the crania of hippopotami — the tusks being
placed on one side. The grave was ornamented with seventy large elephants'
tusks, planted round it with the points inwards, forming an ivory canopy; and
thirty more were placed over the graves of his relatives. As they neared the
point from which the party intended to strike off to the north-east from the
river, Livingstone determined to visit the falls of Mosioatunya, known as the
falls of Victoria since his visit. He had often heard of these falls from the
Makololo. None of them had visited them, but many of them had been near
enough to hear the roar of the waters and see the cloud of spray which hangs
over them. The literal meaning of the Makololo name for them is, " smoke
does sound there," or " sounding smoke."

He visited them twice on this occasion, the last time along with Sekeletu,
whose curiosity had been aroused by his description of their magnificence.
Just where the sounding smoke of which Sebituane and the Makololo had told
him, rises up for several hundred feet into the sky, and is visible for over
twenty miles — a spectacle of ever changing form and colour — the mighty
stream, nearly a mile in width, plunges in a clear and unbroken mass into a
rent in the basaltic rock which forms the bed of the river and the low hills
which bound the river in front and on either side for a considerable distance
of its course. This chasm is from eighty to a hundred feet in width, and of
unknown depth, the thundering roar of the falling waters being heard for a
distance of many miles. The throbbing of the solid ground, caused by the
immense weight and force of the falling water is felt at a great distance from
the tremendous chasm in which the great river is engulfed.

After a descent of several yards, the hitherto unbroken mass of water
presents the appearance of drifted snow, from which jets of every form leap
out upon the opposite side of the chasm. For about a hundred feet, its
descent can be traced to where it reaches the seething surface of the water
below ; from wliich it arises, in jets of water like steam. A dense smoke cloud
of spray which, descending on all sides like rain, wets the on-1-ooker to the
skin, maintains a constant" green verdure within the reach of its influence.

THE VICTORIA FALLS. 201

The depth of the narrow chasm, which draws off such a vast volume of
water must he very great. At one place it has heen plumbed to a depth
more than twice that of the pool into which the St. Lawrence falls at Niagara.
The great smoke clouds are formed by five distinct columns of spray which
ascend from the gulf to a height of from two to three hundred feet. Three
of these columns — two on the right, and one on the left of Garden Island,
which overlook the falls, appeared to Livingstone to contain as much water
in each, as there is in the Clyde at the fall of Stonebyres during a flood. The
waters are drained off near the eastern end of the falls by a prolongation of
the rocky chasm, which pursues its way, with little variation as to breadth,
in a zigzag course through the mass of low hills for over thirty miles, when
the tormented waters break into the plain and spread out to their former
width, to be here and there narrowed by the several rapids which interrupt
its navigation, in some cases even to the light canoes of the bold and skilful
Makalaka and Batoka men.

The scene round the falls is exceedingly beautiful. The banks and islands
are covered with vegetation, through which the giants of the African forest
rear their lofty crests. The baobab, each of whose arms would form great
trees, the palmyra, with its feathery leaves, the mohonou, hi form like the
cedars of Lebanon, the cypress-like motsouri, and other varieties of trees
similar to our own oaks, elms, and chestnuts, stand out clear against the back-
ground of smoke cloud, which during the day glows in the sun, and is
surmounted by magnificent rainbows, and at night shines with a yellow sul-
phurous haze, shadowed by clouds of pitchy blackness, as if belched from the
crater of a burning mountain. No wonder the ignorant natives look upon
this scene, so grand and so terrible in its beauty and majesty, as the abode of
their God Barimo; it is the highest manifestation of the power and gran-
deur of nature with which they are acquainted. The untutored savage
worships power and mystery ; and here these are presented to him in a form
which cannot fail to impress his imagination.

Previous to the formation of the immense fissure into which the Zambesi
falls, the plains above must have been the bed of a vast lake, and its whole
course front the falls upwards, previous to Livingstone's visit, had been popu-
larly supposed to be a parched desert. The great traveller notices that while
he was engaged in resolving this a writer in the Atherueum, dealing with the
previous discoveries and guesses as to the extent of this river, placed its source
in the neighbourhood of the falls, on the edge of a great desert, and made its
upper waters, the Leeba and the Leeambye, turn sharply to the south, and
lose themselves in the arid wastes of the Kalahari desert ; so difficult is it to
get mere theorists to give up a long-existing notion. To this writer a central
desert must exist, and all other physical facts, however new and strange, must
conform to it.

B 1

202 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

We cannot resist giving Dr. Livingstone's account of the Victoria Falls,
as furnished to Sir Roderick Murchison : —

" Our convoy down to Mosioatunya consisted of the chief and about 200
followers. About 10 miles below the confluence of the Chobo and Leeanibye
or Zambesi, we came to the commencement of the rapids. Leaving the canoes
there, we marched on foot about 20 miles further, along the left or northern
bank, to Kalai, otherwise called the island of Sekote. It was decided by those
who knew the country well in front, that we should here leave the river, and
avoid the hills through which it flows, both on account of tsetse and the
extreme ruggedness of the path. By taking a north-east course the river
would be met where it has become placid again. Before leaving this part of
the river I took a canoe at Kalai, and sailed down to look at the falls of
Mosioatunya, which proved to be the finest sight I have seen in Africa. The
distance to the ' Smoke-sounding ' Falls of the Zambesi was about 8 miles in a
S.S.E. direction, but when we came within 5 miles of the spot we saw five
laige columns of 'smoke' ascending 200 or 300 feet, and exhibiting exactly
the appearance which occurs on extensive grass-burnings in Africa. The river
above the falls is very broad, but I am such a miserable judge of distances on
water that I fear to estimate its breadth. I once showed a naval officer a space
in the bay of Loanda which seemed of equal breadth with parts of the river which
I have always called 400 yards. He replied, ' That is 900 yards.' Here I
think I am safe in saying it is at least 1000 yards wide. You cannot imagine
the glorious loveliness of the scene from anything in England. The ' Falls,'
if we may so term a river leaping into a sort of straight-jacket, are bounded
on three sides by forest-covered ridges about 400 feet in height. Numerous
islands are dotted over the river above the falls, and both banks and islands
are adorned with sylvan vegetation of great variety of colour and form.

" At the period of our visit many of the trees were spangled over with
blossoms, and towering above them all stands the great burly baobab, each
of whose (sycmite-coloured) arms would form the bole of a large ordinary
tree. Groups of graceful palms, with their feathery-formed foliage, contribute
to the beauty of the islands. As a hieroglyphic, they always mean ' far from
home;' for one can never get over their foreign aspect in picture or land-
scape. Trees of the oak shape and other familiar forms stand side by side
with the silvery Mohonono, which in the tropics looks like the cedar of
Lebanon. The dark cypress-shaped Motsouri, laden with its pleasant scarlet
fruit, and many others, also attain individuality among the great rounded
masses of tropical forest. We look and look again, and hope that scenes
lovely enough to arrest the gaze of angels may never vanish from the memory.
A light canoe, and men well acquainted with the still water caused by the
islands, brought us to an islet situated in the middle of the river and forming
the edge of the lip over which the water rolls. Creeping to the verge, we

THE VICTORIA FALLS. 203

peer down into a large rent which has been made from bank to bank of the
broad Zambesi, and there we see the stream of a thousand yards in breadth
suddenly compressed into a channel of fifteen or twenty. Imagine the Thames
flanked with low tree-covered hills from the tunnel to Gravesend, its bed of hard
basaltic rock instead of London mud, and a rent or fissure made in the bed,
from one end of the tunnel to the other, down through the keystones of the
arch, to a depth of 100 feet, the lips of the fissure being from 60 to 80 feet
apart. Suppose farther, the narrow rent prolonged from the tunnel to
Gravesend along the left bank, and the Thames leaping bodily into this gulf,
compressed into 15 or 20 yards at the bottom, forced to change its direction
from the right to the left bank, then turning a corner and boiling and roaring
through the hills, and you may conceive something similar to this part of
the Zambesi.

"In former days the three principal falls were used as places where
certain chiefs worshipped the Barimo (gods or departed spirits). As even at
low water there are from 400 to 600 yards of water pouring over, the constancy
and loudness of the sound may have produced feelings of awe, as if the never-
ceasing flood came forth from the footstool of the Eternal. It was mysterious
to them, for one of their canoe songs says,

• The Leeambye — nobody knows
Whence it comes or whither it goes.'

" Perhaps the bow in the cloud reminded them of Him who alone is
unchangeable and above all changing things. But, not aware of His true
character, they had no admiration of the beautiful and good in their bosoms.
Secure in their own island fortresses, they often inveigled wandering or fugi-
tive tribes on to others which are uninhabited, and left them there to perish.
The river is so broad, that, when being ferried across, you often cannot see
whether you are going to the main land or not. To remove temptation out
of the way of our friends, we drew the borrowed canoes last night into our
midst on the island where we slept, and some of the men made their beds
in them.

" Before concluding this account of the falls, it may be added that the
rent is reported to be much deeper further down, perhaps 200 or 300 feet ;
and at one part the slope downward allows of persons descending in a sitting
posture. Some Makololo, once chasing fugitives, saw them unable to restrain
their flight, and dashed to pieces at the bottom. They say the river appeared
as a white cord at the bottom of an abyss, which made them giddy and fain
to leave. Yet I could not detect any evidence of wear at the spot which was
examined, though it was low water, and from seven to ten feet of yellow dis-
colouration on the rock showed the probable amount of rise. I have been led
to the supposition by the phenomena noticed by both Captain Tuckey and

204 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Commander Beclingfield in the Congo or Zaire, that it, as well as the Orange
River, seems to be discharged by a fissure through the western ridge. The
breadth of the channel among the hills, where Captain Tuckey turned, will
scarcely account for the enormous body of water which appears farther down.
Indeed, no sounding can be taken with ordinary lines near the mouth, though
the water runs strong and is perfectly fresh.

" On the day following my first visit I returned to take another glance
and make a little nursery garden on the island ; for I observed that it was
covered with trees, many of which I have seen nowhere else ; and as the wind
often wafted a little condensed vapour over the whole, it struck me this was
the very thing I could never get my Makololo friends to do. My trees have
always perished by being forgotten during droughts ; so I planted here a lot
of peach and apricot stones and coffee-seed. As this island is unapproachable
when the river rises, except by hippopotami, if my hedge is made according
to contract, I have great hopes of Mosioatunya's ability as a nuseryman. On
another island close by, your address of 1852 remained a whole year. If you
had been a lawyer, instead of a geologist, your claims to the discovery would
have been strong, as ' a bit of your mind ' was within sight and sound of
the falls very long before the arrival of any European.* I thank you for
sending it."

Mr. Chapman, who visited the falls several times, gives the following as
his impression on the second visit. His introduction to the falls at a distance
occurred under the following circumstances : —

" When we halted for the night, under a gigantic tree by the path-
side, we had no idea that we were so near the falls, but as the boisterous
laughter and merry frolicking of our little Makalaka subsided, there gradually
arose in the air a murmuring, and at length a roaring sound, increasing as the
night advanced, and sounding like the dashing of a mighty surf upon a rock-
bound coast. So much does the sound resemble this, that a stranger,
unacquainted with the existence of a waterfall here, and unaware of his
distance from the sea, could not be persuaded to the contrary. It was one
everlasting roar, broken occasionally by the thundering, like successive
cannonading in the distance ; and thus it sounded all through the night. . .

" I should remark that on sailing down the river, one ignorant of the
fact may approach to within a very few yards of the falls, without dreaming
of being on the verge of such a chasm, owing to the strange and mysterious
manner in which the whole stream, of nearly a mile in breadth, has
suddenly disappeared before the eyes, vanishing as if it had been swallowed
by the earth. In all falls that I have seen, a perspective view of the water

* Sir Koderick's address was contained in the packages sent by Dr. Moffat from Moselekatse's
country, all of wldch Livingstone found carefully preserved on an island in tlie Zambesi on bis return
from the west coast.

Hftfitu.

:

THE VICTORIA FALLS. 205

below has always been visible, but there is nothing of the kind here. You see
land before you on your own level, which seems as if springing out of the
stream on which you arc sailing, and proceed in utter unconsciousness of the
danger ahead, discovering at length that it is on the opposite side of the rent.
But for this circumstance, the Victoria Falls, presenting one unobstructed
view, would not alone have been the most magnificent, but the most
stupendous sight of the kind on the face of the globe."

In another place he says : —

" As I neared the falls from the north, the sound issuing from the crack
is more subdued ; the smoke during the heat of the day less ; but although
we can sometimes hardly hear the roaring of the water, though within half a
mile of it, we can feel very distinctly a quivering sensation in the earth, like
the distant rumbling of an earthquake. But the sound of the waters is very
different under the various circumstances in which it is heard, whether from a
height or from a valley ; wake up at any time during the night, and you may
hear it like the roaring of a mighty wind, or the commotion of a strong sea.
I have since heard it at the distance of fifteen miles on an elevated region in
the south.

" There are a thousand beauties to be seen here which it is impossible to
describe. My senses became truly overwhelmed with crowding sensations
while gazing on these wondrous works of God, but I cannot describe them.
In passing, we again peep down into the depths of the yawning chasm at the
west end, belching forth its dense clouds of vapour, and follow with our eyes
through the blinding brilliancy of the rainbow the boiling, roaring, dashing,
splashing, gushing, gleaming, bounding stream, and exclaim, ' How beauti-
ful! ' ' How terrible ! ' These rainbows, seen from a distance of about two
miles at 4 p.m., their depth being then very much enlarged on the rising spray,
impart a most startling effect. On observing it for the first time from this
point, it looked so much like sulphurous fire issuing from the bowels of the
earth, that I was on the point of exclaiming to my companion, u Look at that
fire.' The many streams of vapour flying fast upwards through the broad
and vivid iris of the rainbows looked so like flames, that even I was for the
moment mistaken. We passed the Three Rill Cliff, and came again to the
first extensive fall of water. Here the stream, pouring over the edge of the
precipice, tumbles like gigantic folds of drapery. I have never seen anything
with which I can compare it. Here green, there convolute streams pour
down in heavier volumes, bearing behind in their flight a thousand comet-like
sparkles of spray. . . Here and there a deeper channel has been worn,
down which a larger body of water falls into the basin below, again to
rebound, boiling, to the surface, over which rose swift volumes of smoke from
the falling mass, puffed out like great discharges of musketry, and enveloping
the scene in an aerial misty shroud, through which the oblique rays of the sun

206 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

arc seen in ever-shifting perspective. But while watching intently to catch
every charm of these falls, it vanishes on the instant. The view is always
changing, yet ever recurring. Creep again to the uppermost pinnacle over
the outlet — a giddy height — and peer into the crack to the right and left ;
here large, heavy, fleecy masses chase one another down like phantoms
chasing phantoms, and then dissolve into thin air before they are overtaken.
Wherever the large broad masses fall, the height does not seem so stupendous
as where the streams are smaller."

At some points the spectator can look down into the chasm for a distance
of three hundred feet, but when a large body of water raises clouds of spray
the eye can penetrate only to about a third of that area. From the surfaco
of the water to the bottom of the rent, the distance must be very great,
considering the enormous quantity of water which flows into it. Before the
disruption of the earth which formed the crack, the whole of the Makololo
country and the valley of the river, as Dr. Livingstone pointed out, must
have been under water ; and, from his observations and those of others, it is
evident that the falls are of recent formation, and may not date many
generations back.

Taking leave of Sekeletu and his followers, the party pushed northwards
through the Batoka country. This powerful and numerous tribe had been
conquered and decimated by Sebituane and the Matabele, until vast tracts of
fruitful hill and plain, in which the larger game abounded, were almost devoid
of human life. The Batoka people are of a low type, and are of a cruel and
vindictive disposition, evil qualities, probably fostered by the wars they havo
been forced to wage against more powerful tribes. They have a barbarous
habit of knocking out the front teeth in the upper jaw, which gives to their
faces a hideous expression. They explained that they did this in order to
look like oxen, and not like zebras, as they hold the latter animals in
detestation.

Speaking of the country he was now passing through in his letter to Sir
Roderick Murchison, Livingstone says : —

" The sources of the rivulets, which have all a mountain-torrent character,
as well as the temperature of the boiling water, showed that we were ascending
the eastern ridge. The first stream is named Lekone, and is perennial. It
runs in what may have been the ancient bed of the Zambesi, before the fissure
was made. I could examine it only by the light of the moon, but then it
seemed veiy like an ancient river channel. The Lekone runs contrary to the
direction in which the Zambesi did and does now flow, and joins the latter
five or six miles above Balai. If little or no alteration of level occurred when
the fissure was formed, then, the altitude of the former channel being only a
little higher than Linyanti, we have a confirmation of what is otherwise
clearly evident, that the Zambesi was collected into a vast lake, which included

A DEGRADED TRIBE. 207

not only Lake Nganii in its bosom, but spread westwards beyond Libele,
southwards and eastwards beyond Nehokotsa. Indeed, in many parts south
of Ngami, when an anteater makes a burrow, he digs up shells identical with
those of mollusca now living in the Zambesi. And all the surface indicated
is covered by a deposit of soft calcareous tufa, with which the fresh waters of
the valley seem to have formerly been loaded. The water in the Barotse
valley was probably discharged by the same means ; for Gonyo possesses a
fissure character, and so does another large cataract situated beyond Masiko
in the Kabompo country.

" It would be interesting to ascertain if these rents were suddenly made
and remain in their original state, or whether they are at present progressive.
I had a strong desire to measure a point of that of Mosioatunya, but had
neither the means of accurate measurement, nor of marking the hard rock
afterwards. They have proved drains on a gigantic scale ; and if geologists
did not require such eternities of time for their operations, we might hazard
a hint about a salubrious millenium for Africa.

" Shall we say that they are geologically recent, because there is not
more than 3 feet worn off the edge subjected to the wear of the water ? and
that they are progressive, as the gradual desiccation of the Bechuana country
shows a slow elevation of the ridges ? No one will probably think much of
the negative fact, that there is no trace of a tradition in the country of an
earthquake. The word is not in the language ; and though events, centuries
old, are sometimes commemorated by means of names, I never met any ap-
proach to a Tom Earthquake or Sam Shake-the-ground among them. Yet
they do possess a tradition which is wonderfully like the building of the
Tower of Babel, ending differently, however, from that in the Bible, the
bold builders having got their heads cracked by the giving way of the
scaffolding. There is also the story of Solomon and the harlots; and all
trace back their origin to a time when their forefathers came out of a cave in
the north-east in company with animals. The cave is termed Loe (Noe ?), and
is exceptional in the language, from having masculine pronouns."

In the valley of the Lekone, a considerable river which falls into the
Zambesi below the falls, they rested a day at the village of Moyara, whose
father had been a powerful chief, Avith many followers and large herds of
cattle and goats. His son lives among the ruins of his town, with five wives
and a handful of people, while the remains of his warlike and more powerful
father are buried in the middle of his hut, covered with a heap of rotting ivory.
Bleached skulls of Matebele, evidences of his power and cruelty, were stuck
on poles about the village. The degraded condition of the Batoka among the
more powerful tribes was exemplified by the fact that a number of them were
introduced into his party by Sekeletu to carry his tusks to the nearest Portu-
guese settlement.

208 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

The open plains and the short grass and firm ground made travelling a
luxury compared with their experiences in going to the west coast, and the
party marched on in the highest spirits. Fruit trees, yielding edible fruit,
were abundant ; several of them were similar to those they had seen on the
coast near Loanda. Large regiments of black soldier ants were seen ; they
are about half an inch in length, and march in close column headed by
leaders, which are considerably larger than the others. They prey upon the
white ants, which are stung by the leaders, the sting producing a state of coma,
during which they are carried away to be eaten by the marauders. When dis-
turbed in their march, they utter a distinct hissing or chirping sound. But for
the black ants, the white ants would increase to an alarming extent, and make
the country a desert by eating up everything vegetable. The white ants
perform several useful functions. The soil, after being manipulated by them
in forming their houses and nests, becomes exceedingly fertile, and they re-
move all decaying vegetation, just as the black ants do all putrid flesh and
excrement.

The Batoka, like the Makololo and other inland tribes, smoke the
mutohvane, a species of hemp, which produces a kind of intoxication, which
sometimes leads to a fit of mad frenzy. So strongly are they addicted to this
practice, that even Sekcletu and his head men could not be persuaded by
Livingstone to abandon it.

Buffaloes, antelopes, elephants, zebras, and lions and other felines
abounded in the district crossed by them during the early part of their jour-
ney. In consequence of being little disturbed, the larger game were very
tame. Livingstone shot a bull baffalo among a herd. When wounded, the
others endeavoured to gore it to death. This herd was led by a female ; and
he remarks that this is often the case with the larger game, as the leader is
not followed on account of its strength, but its wariness, and its faculty of
discerning danger. The cow buffalo-leader, when she passed the party at
the head of the herd, had a number of buffalo birds seated upon her withers.
By following the honey-birds, his attendants procured abundance of honey,
which formed an agreeable addition to their meals.

The ruins of many towns were passed, proving the density of the popu-
lation before the invasion of the country by Sebituane, and his being driven
out of it by the Matabele and other rival tribes. At the river Dila they saw
the spot where Sebituane had lived. The Makololo had never ceased to
regret their enforced departure from this healthy, beautiful, and fertile region;
and Sekwebu had been instructed by Sekeletu to point out to Livingstone its
advantages as a position for their future head quarters. Beyond the Dila
they reached a tribe hostile to the Makololo, but, although they assumed a
threatening attitude, the party, owing to Livingstone's courage and firmness,
passed through unharmed. Save on this occasion, the Batoka were most

STRANGE MODE OF SAL UTA TION. 209

friendly, great numbers of them coming from a distance with presents of
maize and fruit, and expressing their great joy at the first appearance of a
white man amongst them. The women clothe themselves much as the Ma-
kololo women do, but the men go about in pia-is naticralibis, and appeared to
be quite insensible to shame. The country got more populous the farther
east they advanced, but the curiosity and kindness of the people fell off as
they proceeded. Food was abundant ; the masuJca tree was plentiful, and its
fruit was so thickly strewn about the ground that his men gathered and ate it
as they marched. Everywhere among these unsophisticated sons of nature,
who had all they wished for in their genial climate — plentiful herds, and
abundant crops of maize and fruit — the cry was for peace. Before the advent
of Sebituane the country had been swept by a powerful chief named Pingola,
who made war from a mere love of conquest ; and the memory of their suf-
ferings had entered deeply into their hearts. A sister of Monze, the head
chief of the tribes in the district they were now traversing, in expressing
her. joy at the prospect of being at peace, said "It would bo so pleasant to
sleep without dreaming of any one pursuing them with a sj)ear,"

Monze visited the party wrapped in a large cloth, and rolled in the dust,
slapping the outside of his thighs with his hands — a species of salutation
Livingstone had a strong repugnance to, especially when performed by naked
men ; but no expression of his feelings tended to put a stop to it. Monze
gave them a goat and a fowl, and a piece of the flesh of a buffalo which had
been killed by him, and was greatly pleased with a present of some handker-
chiefs; the head men of the neighbouring villages also visited them, each
of them provided with presents of maize, ground nuts, and corn. Some of
these villagers had the hair of their heads all gathered in a mass, and woven
into a cone, from four to eight inches in width at the base, ending in a point
more or less prolonged.

Livingstone's own sketch of the country, and the mode of travel, etc., in
one of his letters, merits a place here : —

''Still ascending the western side of the ridge (to the north of the
Zambesi), we cross another rivulet named Unguesi, which flows in the
same direction as Lekone, and joins the Zambesi above the point where
the rapids begin. The next tributary, called Xaloino, never dries; and
being on the top of the ridge, runs south, or south and by east, fall-
ing into the Zambesi below the falls. Lastly, wo crossed the Mozuma,
or Dcla, flowing eastwards. We continued tho eastern descent till we
came to the Bashukulompo River, where it may be said to terminate, for
Ave had again reached the altitude of Liny an ti. We intended to have struck
the Zambesi exactly at the confluence, but we were drawn aside by a wish
to visit Semalcmbue, who is an influential chief in that quarter. Tho
Bashukulompo River is here called Kehowhc, and further down it is named
c I

210 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Kafue. Passing through some ranges of hills, among which the Kaf uo winds,
we came to the Zambesi, a little beyond the confluence. It is here much
broader than that part of it called Leeambye, but possesses the same character
of reedy islands, sandbanks, and wonderful abundance of animal life. It was
much discoloured by recent rains ; but as we came down along the left bank,
it fell more than two feet before we had gone thirty miles. It is never dis-
coloured above Mosioatunya. Hence I conclude the increase or flood was
comparatively local, and effected by numerous small feeders on both banks
east of the ridge. When we ascended the Zambesi, towards Kabompo, in
January, 1854, the annual flood which causes inundation had begun, and with
the exception of sand, which was immediately deposited at the bottom of the
vessel, there was no discolouration. Ranges of hills stand on both banks as
far as we have yet seen it. The usual mode of travelling is by canoe, so there
arc generally no paths, and nothing can exceed the tedium of winding along
through tangled jungle without something of the sort. We cannot make more
than two miles an hour ; our oxen are all dead of tsetse, except two, and the only
riding ox is so weak from the same cause as to be useless. Yet we are moro
healthy than in the journey to Loanda. The banks feel hot and steamy both
night and clay, but I have had no attack of fever through the whole journey.
I attribute this partly to not having been ' too old to learn,' and partly to
having had wheaten bread all the way from the waggon at Linyanti. In
going north we braved the rains, unless they were continuous ; and the lower
half of the body was wetted two or three times every day by crossing streams.
But now, when rain approaches, we halt, light large fires, and each gets up a
little grass shed over him. Tropical rains run through everything, but, though
wetted, comparatively little caloric is lost now to what would be the case
if a stream of water ran for an hour along the body. After being warmed by
the fire, all go on comfortably again, and the party has been remarkably
health)'. In the other journey, too, wishing to avoid overloading the men,
and thereby making them lose heart, I depended chiefly on native food, which
is almost pure starch, and the complete change of diet must have made mo
more susceptible of fever. But now, by an extemporaneous oven, formed by
inverting a pot over hot coals, and making a fire above it, with fresh bread
and coffee in Arab fashion, I get on most comfortably. There is no tiring of
it. I mention this because it may prove a useful hint to travellers who may
think they will gain by braving hunger and wet.

" From the longitudes, I estimate the distance from top to top of the
ridges to be about 600 geographical miles. I purposely refrain from mention-
ing any of my own calculations of lunar observations, because it would
appear so presumptuous to allow them to appear on the same page with those
of Mr. Maclear, who, moreover, undertakes the labour with such hearty
good-will, that I fear the appearance even of undervaluing his disinterested aid.

ROCKY FORMATION OF THE COUNTRY. 211

" The eastern ridge seems to bend in to the west at the part we have
crossed, and then trends away to the north-east, thereby approaching the east
coast. It is fringed on some parts by ranges of hills, but my observations
seem to show they are not of greater altitude than the flats of Linyanti. I
cannot hear of a hill on either ridge, hence the agricultural phrase I employ.
And if the space between the ridges is generally not broader than 600 miles,
instead of calling the continent basin-shaped, it may be proper to say that it
has a furrow in the middle, with an elevated ridge on each side, each about
150 or 200 miles broad, the land sloping on both sides thence to the sea.

'•'I have referred to the clay-shale, or 'keel' formation, of which I got a
glance in the western ridge. In the eastern we have a number of igneous
rocks, with gneiss and mica-slate, all dipping westwards ; then large rounded
masses of granite, which appear to change the dip to the eastward. I bring
specimens of both classes of rocks along with me. Is this granite the cause
of elevation ?

" I shall refer to but one topic more. The ridges are both known to be
comparatively salubrious, closely resembling in this respect that most healthy
of healthy climates, the interior of Southern Africa, adjacent to the desert.
The grass is short ; one can walk on it without that high, fatiguing lift of the
foot necessary among the long tangled herbage of the valley. We saw
neither fountain nor marsh on it ; and, singularly enough, we noticed many of
the plants and trees which we had observed on the slopes of the western ridge.
"If my opinion were of any weight, I would fain recommend all visitors
to the interior of Africa, whether for the advancement of scientific knowledge,
or for the purposes of trade or benevolence, to endeavour to ascertain whether
the elevated salubrious ridges mentioned are not prolonged farther north than my
inquiries extend, and whether sanatoria (health stations) may not be established
on them. At present I have the prospect of water-carriage up to the bottom of
the eastern ridge. If a quick passage can be effected thither during a healthy
part of the season, there is, I presume, a prospect of residence in localities
superior to those on the coast. Did the Niger expedition turn back when
near such a desirable position for its stricken and prostrate members ?

" I have said that the hills which fringe the ridge on the east are not of
great altitude. They are all lower than the crest of the ridges, and bear
evident marks of having been subjected to denudation un a grand scale.
Many of the ranges show on their sides, in a magnified way, the exact
counterparts of mud-banks left by the tides. A coarse sandstone rock which
contains banks of shingle and pebbles, but no fossils, often exhibits circular
holes, identical with those made by round stones in rapids and water-tails.
They are from 3 to 4 feet broad at the brim ; wider internally, and (3 or S feet
deep. Some are convenient wells, others are filled with earth ; but there is
no agency now in operation in the heights in which they appear which could

212 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

have formed them. Close to the confluence of the Kafue there is a forest of
silicified trees, many of which are five feet in diameter ; and all along the
Zambesi to this place, where the rock appears, fragments of silicified wood
abound. I got a piece of palm, the pores filled with silica, and the woody
parts with oxide of iron. I imagined it was one of the old bottom rocks,
because I never could see a fossil in it in the valley ; but at and about Tete I
found it overlying beds of coal !"

As buffaloes and elephants were plentiful, one was now and again shot, so
that the party seldom wanted flesh meat. A party of his men on one occasion
slaughtered a female elephant and her calf with their spears, native fashion.
The mother had much the appearance of a huge porcupine, from the number
of spears sticking into her flesh when she fell exhausted by the loss of
blood. This was a needlessly cruel method of recruiting their stores of food,
and Livingstone did not encourage it ; although he found shooting the larger
game for food both trying and hazardous, as he could make little use of
the arm which had been fractured by the lion when among the Bakwain.s.
His skill was very much impaired, and was provokingly enough at its lowest
ebb when meat was most wanted.

" I never before saw," he says in one of his letters, " elephants so nume-
rous or so tame as at the confluence of the Kafue and Zambesi. Buffaloes,
zebras, pigs, and hippopotami, were equally so, and it seemed as if we had
got back to the time Avhen megatheriae roamed about undisturbed by man.
We had to shout to them to get out of the way, and then their second thoughts
were — 'It's a trick.' 'We're surrounded' — and back they came, tearing
through our long-extended line. Lions and hyrenas are so numerous that all
the huts in the gardens are built on trees, and the people never go half a mile
into the woods alone."

They had now got into a district where rains were frequent, and so much
had they been spoiled by the beautiful dry weather and fine open country
they had passed through, that at first, as he has told us above, they invariably
stopped and took shelter when it fell.

It was on the 18th December they reached the Kafue, the largest tributary
of the Zambesi they had yet seen. It was about two hundred yards broad, and
full of hippopotami. Here they reached the village of Semalembue, who made
them a present of thirty baskets of meal and maize, and a large quantity of
ground nuts. On Dr. Livingstone explaining that he had little to give in re-
turn for the chief's handsome gift, he accepted his apologies politely, saying
that he knew there were no goods in the couutry from which he had come. He
professed great joy at the words of peace which Livingstone addressed to him,
and said, " Now I shall cultivate largely, in the hope of eating and sleeping
in peace." The preaching of the gospel amongst these people gave them the
idea of living at peace with one another as one of its effects. It wa3 not

WHITE MAN'S MEAL. 213

necessary to explain to them the existence of a Deity. Sekwebu pointed out
a district, two and a half days' distance, where there is a hot fountain which
emits steam, where Scbituane had at one time dwelt. " There," said lie,
" had Sebituane been alive, he would have brought you to live with him.
You would be on the bank of the river, and by taking canoes, you would at
once sail down to the Zambesi, and visit the white people at the sea."

The country they were now in was diversified by low hills, and every
available piece of ground in the valleys in the neighbourhood of the villages
was carefully tilled. The gardens near the river are surrounded by pitfalls,
to prevent the inroads of the hippopotami, which are very numerous and
quite tame, showing no fear when any of the party approached them. As
they required meat, they shot a cow hippopotamus, and found the flesh tasted
very much like pork. The range of hills amongst which they now were, rose
from six to nine hundred feet above the level of the river, and these were but
the outer and lower fringe of a higher range beyond. From the top of the
outer range of hills, they had a splendid view of the surrounding country.
The course of the Kafue, through hills and forests, could be followed towards
its confluence with the Zambesi, and beyond that lay a long range of dark
hills, and above the course of the Zambesi floated a Hue of fleecy clouds.
Elephants, zebras, and buffaloes were met with in vast herds, which showed
no dread at their approach. They also saw large numbers of red-coloured
wild pigs.

As they approached the Zambesi, the ground became more and more
thickly covered with broad-leaved brush-wood, and water-fowl rose out of the
pools and streams and flew overhead in large numbers. Oa again reaching
the river, they found it greatly increased in volume, and flowing at the rate
of four and a half miles an hour. When Sekwebu was a boy, this region was
thickly inhabited, and all the natives had plenty of cattle. The return to it
of the larger game, after the depopulation of the country, had introduced the
dreaded insect, "tsetse," which rapidly destroyed the cattle.

Every village they passed furnished two guides, who conducted them by
the easiest paths to the next. Along the course of the Zambesi, in this
district, the people are great agriculturists — men, women, and children were
all very busily at work in their gardens. The men are strong and robust,
with hands hardened by toil. The women disfigure themselves by piercing
the upper lip, and inserting a shell. This fashion universally prevails among
the Maran, which is the name of the people. The head men of the villages
presented the party freely with food, and one of them gave Livingstone a
basinful of rice, the first he had seen for a long time. He said he knew it
was white man's meal, and refused to sell a quantity unless for a man.
Strange that his first introduction to one of the products of civilisation in this,
to him, new region, should be simultaneous with the appearance of a hateful

214 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

commerce, fostered by a race holding themselves so much superior to tho
savagu tribes of the interior through which they had passed, who held it in
abhorrence.

Previous to Livingstone's arrival in this part of the country, Sinatomba,
an Italian slave-dealer, who had married the daughter of a neighbouring
chief, had ascended the river in canoes with fifty armed slaves, and carried off
a largo number of people and a quantity of ivory from several inhabited
islands. At the instigation of his father-in-law, several chiefs assembled their
followers and attacked him as he descended the river, defeating and slaying
him and liberating his prisoners. Selole, a great chief, hearing of the
approach of a white man with a large following, imagining that this was
another Italian slave-trader, or Sinatomba himself risen from the dead, made
great preparations for attacking the party. A timely explanation of the
object of their journey put matters to rights at once. At Mburumba's village
his brother came to meet them, and in explanation of the delay caused by the
threatened attack, told them that the Italian had come among them, talking
of peace as they did, and had kidnapped slaves and bought ivory with them,
and that they were supposed to be of the same calling. As they had been
unsuccessful in hunting the day before, an elephant having got clear off with
from seventy to eighty spears fixed in his flesh in addition to the last dozen
of Livingstone's bullets, he said, " The man at whose village you remained
was in fault in allowing you to want meat ; for had he only run across to
Mburumba, he would have given him a little meal, and, having sprinkled
that on the ground as an offering to the gods, you would have found your
elephant." Among these tribes, the chiefs are all supposed to possess
supernatural power.

Mburumba did not visit the party himself, and, although he sent presents
of meal, maize, and native corn, the conduct of his people was very suspicious,
as they never came near them unless in large numbers, and fully armed with
bows and spears. The party were suspicious of the intentions of the guides
sent by Mbu rumba to take them to his mother's village ; but they reached
their destination in safety, and were hospitably treated by Ma-Mburumba,
who furnished them with guides, who conveyed them to the junction of the
Loangwa and the Zambesi. As the natives assembled in great force at the
place where they were to cross the Loangwa, they were still in dread of being
attacked ; but whatever were their reasons for this formidable demonstration,
they allowed the party to pass safely to the other side.

Beyond the river they came upon the ruins of stone houses, which were
simply constructed, but beautifully situated on the hill-sides commanding a
view of the river. These had been the residences of Portuguese traders in
ivory and slaves when Zumbo, which they were now approaching, had been
a place of considerable importance as a Portuguese trade settlement. Passing

THE MAKALOLO PREPARE TO FIGHT. 215

Zumbo, they slept opposite the island of Shotanaga in the Zambesi, and were
surprised by a visit from a native with a hat and jacket on, from the island.
Ho was quite black, and had come from the Portuguese settlement of Tete,
which they now learned to their chagrin was on the other side of the stream.
This was all the more awkward, as he informed them that the people of the
settlement had been fighting with the natives for two years. Mpcnde, a
powerful chief, who lived farther down the river, had determined that no
white man should pass him. All this made them anxious to cross to the other
bank of the river ; but none of the chiefs whose villages lay between then-
present position and Mpende's town, although in every other way most
friendly, dared to ferry them across, in dread of offending that powerful chief.

All but unarmed as they were, and dependent upon the kindness of the
people through whose country they were passing, their progress being retarded
by the feebleness of their tsetse-bitten oxen, there was no help for it but to
proceed and trust to Providence for the reception they might receive from the
dreaded chief who was at war with the Portuguese in their front. Trusting
in the jmrity of his motives, and that dauntless courage, tempered with discre-
tion, which had never deserted him, Livingstone passed on, the fear of what
awaited him in front not preventing him from admiring the beauty of the
country and its capability under better circumstances of maintaining a vast
population in peace and plenty. Nearing Mpende's village, where a conical
hill, higher than any he had yet seen, and the wooded heights and green
fertile valleys commanded his admiration, he all but forgot the danger of his
situation, until forcibly reminded of it by the arrival of a formidable number
of Mpende's people at his encampment, uttering strange cries, waving some
red substance towards them, and lighting a fire on which they placed chains —
a token of war — after which they departed to some distance, where armed
men had been collecting ever since daybreak.

Fearing a skirmish, Livingstone slaughtered an ox, according to the
custom of Sebituane, with the view of raising the courage of his men by a
plentiful meal. Although only half-armed, in rags, and suffering from their
march, yet inured as they were to fatigue, and feeling a confidence in their
superiority over the Zambesi men, notwithstanding all drawbacks in comfort
and circumstances, Livingstone had little fear of the result if fight he must ;
but in accordance with his constant policy, he was bound to accomplish
his object in poacc, if that were possible. His men were elated at the
prospect of a fight, and looked forward to victory as certain, and the posses-
sion of corn and clothes in plenty, and of captives to carry their tusks and
baggage for them. As they waited and ate the meat by their camp-fire, they
said, " You have seen us -with elephants, but you don't know yet what we can
do with men."

By the time breakfast was dispatched, Mpende's whole tribe was asembled

216 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

at about half a mile distance from their encampment ; spies, who refused to
answer any questions, advanced from among the trees which hid the position
of the main body came up to the encampment of the party. To two of these
Livingstone handed the log of an ox, desiring them to carry it to Mpende.
This brought a visit from two old men, who asked Livingstone who he was.
" I am a Lekoa" (Englishman), he replied. " We don't know the tribe," they
said; " we suppose you are Mozunga (Portuguese), with whom we have been
fighting. " As the Portuguese they knew were half-castes, Livingstone bared
his bosom and asked if they had hair and skin like his. " No," they replied,
" we never saw skin so white as that. Ah ! you must be one of that tribe
that loves the black man."

Through the intercession of one of these men, Sindcse Oalea, the head
man of a neighbouring village, Mpende, after a long discussion Avith his coun-
cillors, was induced to believe Livingstone's account of himself and his inten-
tions, and to treat him and his party with great generosity and kindness.
Skcwebu was sent to the chief with a request that he might be permitted
to buy a canoe to convey one of his men who was ill. Mpende said, " That
white man is truly one of our friends. See how he lets me know his afflic-
tions." " Ah !" said Sckwebu, " if you only knew him as well as we do who
have lived with him, you would understand that he highly values your friend-
ship, and that of Mburuma, and as he is a stranger, he trusts in you to direct
him." He replied, " Well, he ought to cross to the other side of the river,
for this bank is hilly and rough, and the way to Tete is longer on this than
on the opposite bank." "But who will take us across if you do not?"
" Truly,'" replied Mpende, " I only wish you had come sooner to tell me
about him ; but you shall cross." And cross they did, leaving the place in
very different spirits from those with which they had approached it.

The people here and lower down the river he found well-supplied with
cotton goods, which they purchased from the Babisa, a tribe farther to the
east, who had been doing all the trade with the interior during the two years
the war with the Portuguese had lasted. Beyond the range of hills to the
north lived a tribe called Basenga, who are great traders in iron ore ; and
beyond them again, in a country where the Portuguese had at one time
washed for gold, lived a people called Maravi, who are skilful agriculturists,
raising in addition to corn and maize, sweet potatoes, which grow to a great
size in the fertile soil of the district, and which they have learned to preserve
for future use by burying them in the ground, embedded in wood ashes. The
ground on the north side of the river appeared to be much more fertile than
that in the south. In many places he found evidence that coal was
abundant.

A little way down the river they arrived opposite an island belonging to
a chief called Mozinkwa ; here they were detained by heavy rains, and the

SAND RIVERS. 217

illnesss of one of the Batoka men, who died. He had required to be carried
by his fellows for several days, aud when his case became hopeless they wanted
to leave him alone to die ; but to such an inhuman proposal Livingstone could
not of course give his consent. Here one of the Batoka men deserted openly
to Mozinkwa, stating as his reason, that the Makololo had killed both his
father and his mother, and that he would not remain any longer with them.

Towards the end of January they were again on their way ; and early
in February, as his men were almost in a state of nudity, Livingstone gave
two tusks for some calico, marked Lawrence Mills, Lowell, U.S. The clayey
soil and the sand-filled rivulets made their progress slow and difficult. The
sand rivers are water-courses in sandy bottoms, which are full during the
rainy seasons and dry at other times, although on digging a few feet into the
bed of the stream, water is found percolating on a stratum of clay. " This,"
Livingstone says, " is the phenomenon which is dignified by the name of
rivers flowing underground." In trying to ford one of these sand rivers — the
Zingesi — in flood, he says, " I felt thousands of particles of coarse sand
striking my legs, and the slight disturbance of our footsteps caused deep
holes to be made in the bed. The water . . . dug out the sand beneath
the feet in a second or two, and we were all sinking by that means so deep
that we were glad to relinquish the attempt to ford it before we got half way
over ; the oxen were carried away down to the Zambesi. These sand rivers
remove vast masses of disintegrated rock before it is fine enough to form soil.
The man who preceded me was only thigh deep, but the disturbance caused
by his feet made it breast deep for me. The stream of particles of gravel
which struck against my legs gave me the idea that the amount of matter
removed by every freshet must be very great. In most rivers where much
wearing is going on a person diving to the bottom may hear literally
thousands of stones knocking against each other. This attrition, being carried
on for hundreds of miles in different rivers, must have an effect greater than
if all the pestles and mortar mills of the world were grinding and wearing
away the rocks."

The party were now in a district where a species of game-law exists. If
an elephant is killed by a stranger, or a man from a neighbouring village
living under another chief, the under half of the carcase belongs to the lord of
the soil, nor must the hunter commence to cut it up until the chief claiming
the half, or one of his headmen, is present. The hind leg of a buffalo, and a
large piece of an elephant must be given in like circumstances to the occupier
of the land on which they were grazing when shot. The number of rivulets
and rivers enable them to mark out their terrritory with great exactness. In
this district the huts are built on high stages in the gardens, as a protection
from the attacks of lions, hyenas and leopards.

Before leaving the land of a chief named Nyampungo, who had cnter-

D 1

218 LIFE UF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

tained them hospitably, Livingstone's men killed a bull elephant, and had to
wait a day until some of the chief's people came to superintend the cutting
up and secure his half of the animal. Nyampungo's men brought with them
a basket of corn, a fowl, and a few strings of handsome beads as a thank-
offering for his having killed the elephant. While they were cutting up and
cooking the carcase, a large number of hyenas collected round them at a
respectful distance, " and kept up a loud laughter for two nights. I asked
my men what the hyenas were laughing at, as they usually give animals
credit for a share of intelligence ; they said that they were laughing because
we could not take the whole, and that they would have plenty to eat as well
as us."

Speaking of the birds of Central Africa, he says, " These African birds
have not been wanting in song, they have only lacked poets to sing their
praise, which ours have had from the time of Aristophanes downwards. Ours
have both a classic and a modern interest to enhance their fame. In hot dry
weather, or at mid-day, when the sun is fierce, all are still ; let, however, a
good shower fall, and all burst forth at once into merry lays and loving court-
ship. The early mornings and the cool evenings are the times for singing.''

In the Mopane country they met with numbers of a red-beaked variety
of hornbill, which builds its nest in an aperture in a tree. When the nest is
built the female retires into it, while the male covers the orifice with clay, all
save a narrow slit for the introduction of air and for feeding her, which the
devoted bird does until the eggs are hatched. As the female is very fat at
such times, the natives search for their nests, and capture and eat them.
Lions were abundant, and were treated as privileged animals by the natives,
no one attempting to hunt them, as it is supposed that when a chief dies, he
can metamorphose himself into a lion.

At the village of a chief called Monina, Monahin, one of Livingstone's
men disappeared during the night. As he had been ill for some time and
had complained of his head, Livingstone imagined that he had wandered in
an insane state, and been picked up by a lion. They jjrowled about the
native settlements at night with great boldness, making it dangerous for any
one to be about after dark. He had proved very valuable to Livingstone,
and he felt his loss greatly. The general name of the people of this district is
Banyai ; they are ruled over by several chiefs, the government being a sort of
feudal republican. The people of a tribe, on the death of their chief, have the
privilege of electing any one, even from another tribe, to be his successor, if they
are not satisfied with any of the members of his family. The sons of the
chiefs are not eligible for election among the Banyai. The various chiefs of
the Banyai acknowledge allegiance to a head chief. At the time of Living-
stone's visit, this supreme position was held by a chief called Nyatewe. This
custom appears to prevail in South and Central Africa ; and if the chief

NEWS FROM HOME. 219

who wields supreme power is a wise and prudent ruler, the result is highly
beneficial.

Among the Banyai the women are treated with great respect, the
husband doing nothing that his wife disapproves. Notwithstanding this, a
barbarous custom prevails amongst thera if a husband suspects his wife of
witchcraft or infidelity. A witch-doctor is called, who prepares the infusion
of a plant named goho, which the suspected party drinks, holding up her hand
to heaven in attestation of her innocence. If the infusion causes vomiting,
she is declared innocent ; but if it causes purging, she is held to be guilty,
and burned to death. In many cases the drinking of the infusion
causes death. This custom prevails, with modifications, amongst most of
the tribes of Central Africa, and is found as far west as Ambaca. When
a Banyai marries, so many head of cattle or goats are given to the
parents ; and unless the wife is bought in this way, the husband must enter
the household of his father-in law and do menial offices, the wife and her
family having exclusive control of the children. The Banyai men are a fine
race ; but the superior courage and skill Livingstone's men displayed in
hunting, won the hearts of the women ; but none of them would be tempted
into matrimony, where it involved subjection to their wives.

Several of the chiefs through whose villages they passed occasioned some
trouble by disbelieving the statement of Livingstone, that he was unable
to make presents. A powerful chief, Nyakoba, who sympathised with their
condition, gave them a basket of maize, and another of corn, and provided
them with guides to Tete, advising them to shun the villages so as to avoid
trouble. This they succeeded in doing till within a few miles of Tete, where
they were discovered by a party of natives, who threatened to inform
Katolosa, the head chief of the district, that they were passing through the
country without leaye. A present of two tusks satisfied them, and they were
allowed to depart.

Within eight miles of Tete, Livingstone was so fatigued as to be unable
to go on, but sent some of his men with his letters of recommendation to the
commandant. About two o'clock on the morning of the 3rd of March, the
encampment was aroused by the arrival of two officei's and a company of
soldiers sent with a supply of provisions for the party by the commandant.
As Livingstone and his men had been compelled for several days to live on
roots and honey, their arrival was most timely. He says, " It was the most
refreshing breakfast I ever partook of, and I walked the last eight miles with-
out the least feeling of weariness, although the path was so rough that one of
the officers remarked to me, ' This is enough to tear a man's life out of him.'
The pleasure experienced in partaking of that breakfast was only equalled by
the enjoyment of Mr. Gabriel's bed when I arrived at Loanda. It was also
enhanced by the news that Sebastopol had fallen, and the war was finished."

220 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

Major Sicard, the Portuguese commandant at Tote, treated Livingstono
and his men with the greatest generosity. He clothed himself and his men,
and provided them with food and lodgings, declining to receive several tusks
which were offered in compensation. As the most of his men were to be left
here, Major Sicard gave them a portion of land on which to cultivate their
own food, and permission to hunt elephants — the money they made from the
tusks and dried meat to be used for the purchase of articles to take to Sekeletu
on their return.

Had Livingstone set out on his journey several months earlier he would
have arrived in the neighbourhood of Tete during the war between the natives
and the Portuguese, when he would have had little chance of escaping with
his life. His arrival was not unexpected at Tete, as through Lord Clarendon
and the Portuguese minister, Count de Lavradio, the Portuguese authorities
on the Zambesi were warned of his expected appearance. A short time
previous to his arrival, some natives came down the river to Tete and said,
alluding to the sextant and artificial horizon, " that the Son of God had come ;"
and that he was " able to take the sun down from the heavens and place it
under his arm." Major Sicard then felt sure that this was the man mentioned
in Lord Clarendon's despatch.

CHAPTER XI.

Stay at Tete. — Senna. — Arrival at Kilimane. — Letters to Sir Roderick Murchkon
Concerning the People of South and Central Africa, their Language, etc.,
etc. — Departure for England.

AS Livingstone was in a very emaciated state, and fever was raging at Kili-
mane, the point on the coast to which he was bound, he was induced to
remain at Tete for a month, during which time he occupied himself by mak-
ing several journeys in the neighbourhood, visiting a coal-field, etc., etc.
The village of Tete he found to consist of a large number of wattle-and-daub
native huts with about thirty European houses built of stone. The place had
declined greatly in importance through the introduction of the slave trade.
In former times considerable quantities of wheat, maize, millet, coffee, sugar,
oil, indigo, gold dust, and ivory were exported, and as labour was both abun-
dant and cheap the trade was profitable. Livingstone says, "When the slave
trade began, it seemed to many of the merchants a more speedy mode of
becoming rich to sell off the slaves, than to pursue the slow mode of gold-
washing and agriculture ; and they continued to export them until they had
neither hands to labour nor to fight for them. . . . The coffee and sugar
plantations and gold-washings were abandoned, because the labour had been
exported to the Brazils." The neighbouring chiefs were not slow to take
advantage of the impoverished state of the Portuguese and half-caste
merchants of Tete. " A clever man of Asiatic and Portuguese extraction,
called Nyaude, had built a stockade at the confluence of the Luenya and
Zambesi; and when the commandant of Tete sent an officer with his company
to summon him to his presence," they were surrounded and bound hand and
foot. The commandant " then armed the whole body of slaves and marched
against the stockade of Nyaude," but before they reached it, Nyaude despatch-
ed a strong party under his son Bonga, who attacked Tete, plundered and
burned the whole town, with the exception of the house of the commandant
and a few others, and the church and fort. The women and children having
taken refuge in the church were safe, as the natives of this region will never
attack a church. The news of this disaster caused a panic among the party
before the stockade of Nyaude, and they fled in confusion, to be slain or
made captives by Katolosa the head chief of the district to the west of Tete.

Another half-caste chief, called Kisaka, on the opposite bank of the river,
near where- the merchants of Tete had their villages and principal plantations.

222 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

also rebelled, and completed the defeat and impoverishment of the Portu-
guese. "An attempt was made to punish this rebel, but it was unsuccessful,
and he has lately been pardoned by the home government. One point in the
narrative is interesting. They came to a field of sugar-cane so large that
4,000 men eating it during two days did not finish the whole. Nyaude kept
the Portuguese shut up in their fort for two years, and as he held the com-
mand of the river, they could only get goods sufficient to buy food by sending
to Kiliniane by an overland route along the north bank of the Zambesi."
The memory of one man's sufferings in this affair evoked the following from
Livingstone — " The mother country did not, in these ' Kaffre wars,' pay the
bills, so no one became rich or blamed the missionaries. Major Sicard from
his good character had great influence with the natives, and put a stop to the
war more than once by his mere presence on the spot. We heard of him
among the Banyai as a man with whom they would never fight, because he
had a good heart." No doubt the influence of this good and generous man
helped Livingstone and his party in their march through the districts which
had so recently been disturbed.

In consequence of a sudden change of temperature, Major Sicard and
Livingstone and nearly every person in the house suffered from an attack of
fever ; Livingstone soon recovered, and was unremitting in his attention to
the others. His stock of quinine becoming exhausted, his attention was
drawn by the Portuguese to a tree called by the natives kumbanzo, the baric
of which is an admirable substitute. He says, " there was little of it to be
found at Tete — while forests of it are at Senna, and near the delta of Kili-
mane. It seems quite a providential arrangement, that the remedy for fever
should be found in the greatest abundance where it is most needed. . . . The
thick soft bark of the root is the part used by the natives; the Portuguese use
that of the tree itself. I immediately began to use a decoction of the bark of
the root, and my men found it so efficacious that they collected small quan-
tities of it for themselves, and kept it in little bags for future use."

On the 22nd of April Livingstone started on his voyage down the river
to Killimane, having selected sixteen men from among his party who could
manage canoes. Many more wished to accompany him, but as there was a
famine at Kilimane in consequence of a failure of the crops, during which
thousands of slaves were dying of hunger, he could take no more than was
absolutely necessary. The commandant sent Lieutenant Miranda Avith
Livingstone to convey him to the coast. At Senna, where they stopped, they
found a more complete ruin and prostration than at Tete. For fifteen miles
from the head of the delta of the Zambesi, the Mutu, which is the head
waters of the Kilimane river, and was then erroneously supposed to be the
only outlet to the Zambesi, was not navigable, and the party had to walk
under the hot sun. This together with the fatigue brought on a severe attack

PROVISION MADE FOR THE MAKOLOLO. 223

of fever, from which Livingstone suffered greatly. At Interra, where the
Pangaze, a considerable river, falls into the Muto, navigation became prac-
ticable. The party were hospitably entertained by Senhor Asevedo, " a man
who is well known by all who ever visited Kilimane and who was presented
with a gold chronometer watch by the Admiralty for his attentions to English
officers." He gave the party the use of his sailing launch for the remainder
of the journey, which came to its conclusion at Kilimane, on the 20th of May,
1856, " which wanted (Livingstone says) only a few days of being four years
since I started from Cape Town." At Kilimane, Colonel Galdino Jose Nunes re-
ceived him into his house, and treated him with marked hospitality. For
three years he had never heard from his family direct, as none of the letters
sent had reached him ; he had now the gatification of receiving a letter from
Admiral Trotter, " conveying information of their welfare, and some news-
papers, which were a treat indeed. Her Majesty's brig, the Frolic, had called
to inquire for me in the November previous, and Captain Nolloth of that ship
had most considerately left a case of wine, and his surgeon, Dr. James Walsh,
divining what I should need most, left an ounce of quinine. These gifts
made my heart overflow. . . . But my joy on reaching the coast was
sadly embittered by the news that Commander McLune, of Her Majesty's
brigantine Dart, in coming into Kilimane to pick me up had, with Lieut.
Woodruffe and five men, been lost on the bar. I never felt more poignant
sorrow. It seemed as if it would have been easier for me to have died for
them, than that they should all have been cut off from the joys of life in gener-
ously attempting to render me a service." In speaking of the many kind
attentions he received while at Kilimane, he says — " One of the discoveries I
have made is that there are vast numbers of good people in the world ; and I
do most devoutly tender my unfeigned thanks to that gracious One who
mercifully watched over me in every position, and influenced the hearts of
both black and white to regard me with favour."

Ten of the smaller tusks belonging to Sekeletu were sold to purchase
calico and brass wire for the use of his attendants at Tete, the remaining
twenty being left with Colonel Nunes, with orders to sell them and give the
proceeds to them in the event of his death or failure to return to Africa.
Livingstone explained all this to the Makololo, who had accompanied him to
Kilimane, when they answered, " Nay, father, you will not die; you will return
to take us back to Sekeletu." Their mutual confidence was perfect ; they
promised to remain at Tete until he returned to them, and he assured them
that nothing but death would prevent his rejoining them. The kindness and
generosity of the Portuguese merchants and officers have already been
alluded to ; a continuance of the same was promised to his men during his
absence, and it was understood that the young King of Portugal, Don Pedro,
as soon as he heard of their being in his territory, sent orders that they

224 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

should be maintained at the public expense of the province and Mozambique,
until Livingstone should return to claim them.

The following remarks on the influence of locality on the character of
peoples, as exemplified by the African tribes he had come in contact with,
their language, habits, etc., are extracted from Dr. Livingstone's letters to
Sir Roderick Murchison : —

"Perhaps nowhere else do hills seem to exert a more powerful and well-
marked influence on national character than they do in Africa. Every one is
aware of the brave resistance offered by the Kaffre mountaineers to the British sol-
diers, than whom I believe there are hone more brave beneath the sun. And the
whole of the hill tribes, with but few exceptions, possess a similarity of character.
They extend chiefly along the eastern side of the continent. Those among
whom I have lately travelled have been fighting with the Portuguese for the
last two years, and have actually kept the good men of Tete shut up in thoir
fort during most of that time. They are a strong, muscular race, and, from
constant work in the gardens, the men have hands like those of English plough-
men. Like hill people in general, they are much attached to the soil. Their
laws are very stringent. The boundaries of the lands of each are well defined,
and, should an elephant be killed, the huntsman must wait till one comes from
the lord of the land to give permission to cut it up. The underlying tusk and
half of the carcase are likewise the property of him on whose soil the elephant
fell. They may well love their land, for it yields abundance of grain, and
here superior wheat and rice may be seen flourishing side by side. Their
government is a sort of republican-feudalism, which has decided that no child
of a chief can succeed his father. A system of separating the young men from
their parents and relatives would have pleased the author of the CyropaBdia :
yet the frequent application of the ordeal to get rid of a wife no longer loved
shows that Xenophon's beau ideal does not produce gallantry equal to that
which emanates from the birch of a wrathful village dominie among ourselves.
The country towards Mozambique supports people of similar warlike propen-
sities ; and if these are owing to an infusion of Arab blood in their veins, that
mixture does not seem to have had much influence on their customs, for those
are more negro than aught else. They all possess a very vivid impression of
the agency of unseen spirits in human affairs, which I believe is especially
characteristic of the true negro family.

" Situated more towards the centre of the continent, we have the
Bechuana tribes, who live generally on plains. Compared with the Kaffre
family, they arc all effeminate and cowardly ; yet even here we see courage
manifested by those who inhabit a hill country. Witness, for example,
Scbituane, who fought his way from the Basuto country to the Barotse and
to the Bashukulompo. Moshesh showed the same spirit lately in his
encounter with Enghsh troops. These stand highest in the scale, and certain

A HOSPITABLE PEOPLE. 225

poor Bechuanas, named Bakalahari, are the lowest. The latter live on the
desert, and some of their little villages extend down the Limpopo. They
generally attach themselves to influential men in the Bechuana towns, who
furnish them with dogs, spears, and tobacco, and in return receive the skins of
such animals as they may kill either with the dogs or by means of pitfalls.
They are all fond of agriculture, and some possess a few goats; but the
generally hard fare which they endure makes them the most miserable objects
to be met with in Africa. From the descriptions given in books, I imagine
the thin legs and arms, large abdomens, and the lustreless eyes of their
children, make the Bakalahari the counterparts of Australians.

" But though it is all very well, in speaking in a loose way, to ascribe
the development of national character to the physical features of the country,
I suspect that those who are accustomed to curb the imagination in the severe
way employed to test for truth in the physical sciences would attribute more
to race or breed than to mere scenery. Look at the Bushmen — living on the
same plains, eating the same food, but oftener in scantier measure, and
subjected to the same climatorial and physical influences as the Bakalahari,
yet how enormously different the results ! The Bushman has a wiry, compact
frame ; is brave and independent ; scorns to till the ground or keep domestic
animals. The Bakalahari is spiritless and abject in demeanour and thought,
delights in cultivating a little corn or pumpkins, or in rearing a few goats.
Both races have been looking at the same scenes for centuries. Two or threo
Bechuanas from the towns enter the villages of the Bakalahari, and pillage
them of all their skins of animals without resistance. If by chance the Bechu-
anas stumble on a hamlet of Bushmen, they speak softly, and readily deliver up
any tobacco they may have as a peace-offering, in dread of the poisoned arrow
which may decide whether they spoke truly in saying they had none.

" Again, look at the river Zouga, running through a part of the Bushman
and Bakalahari desert. The Bayeiye or Bakoba live on its reedy islets, culti-
vate gardens, rear goats, fish and hunt alternately, and are generally possessed
of considerable muscular development. Wherever you meet them they are
always the same. They are the Quakers of the body politic in Africa. They
never fought with any one, but invariably submitted to whoever conquered
the lands adjacent to their rivers. They say their progenitors made bows of
the castor-oil plant, and they broke ; ' therefore (!) they resolved never to fight
any more.' They never acquire much property, for every one turns aside
into their villages to eat what he can find. I have been in their canoes and
found the pots boiling briskly until we came near to the villages. Having
dined, we then entered with the pots empty, and they looked quite innocently
on any strangers who happened to drop in to dinner. Contrast these Friends
with the lords of the isles, Sekote and others, living among identical circum-
stances, and ornamenting their dwellings with human skulls.

E 1

226 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" The cause of the difference observed, in tribes inhabiting the same
localities, though it spoils the poetry of the thing, consists in certain spots
being the choice of the race or family. So when we see certain characters
assembled on particular spots, it may bo more precise to say we see the
antecedent disposition manifested in the selection, rather than that the part
chosen produced a subsequent disposition. This may be evident when I say
that, in the case of the Bakalahari and Bushmen, we have instances of com-
pulsion and choice. The Bakalahari were the first body of Bechuana
emio-rants who came into the country. They possessed large herds of very
lon^-horned cattle, the remains of which are now at Ngami. A second
migration of Bechuanas deprived them of their cattle and drove them into
the desert. They still cleave most tenaciously to the tastes of their race;
while, for the Bushman, the desert is his choice, and ever has been from near
the Coanza to the Cape. When we see a choice fallen on mountains, it means
only that the race meant to defend itself. Their progenitors recognised the
principle, acknowledged universally, except when Kaffre police or Hottentots
rebel, viz., that none deserve liberty except those who are willing to fight
for it. This principle gathers strength from locality, tradition develops it
more and more, yet still I think the principle was first, foremost, and
alone vital.

" In reference to the origin of all these tribes, I feel fully convinced, from
the very great similarity in all their dialects, that they are essentially one race
of men : the structure, or we may say the skeletons, of the dialects of Kaffre,
Bechuana, Bayeiye, Barotse, Batoka, Batonga or people of the Zambesi,
Mashona, Babisa, the negroes of Londa, Angola, and people on the west coast
are all wonderfully alike. A great proportion of the roots is identical in all.

" The Bushman tongue seems an exception, but this, from the little lean
collect of it, is more apparent than real. While all the others are develoj)cd
in one and nearly the same direction, this deviates into a series of remarkable
klicks. The syllable on which, in other dialects, the chief emphasis is put, in
this sometimes constitutes the whole word. But though the variations lie in
klicks, the development is greater than in the other dialects. They have for
instance, the singular, plural, and dual numbers ; the masculine, feminine, and
neuter genders ; and the aorist tense ; which the others have not.

" Tending in the same way as this indisposition to diseases which
decimate tribes which are passing away, is the fact that the Africans are
wonderfully prolific. The Bushmen are equally so, but the Bechuanas are an
exception which the introduction of Christianity may remove. As this has
not, it is reported, happened in the Pacific, the data on which our hopes are
founded may prove deceptive.

" With respect to the perpetuity of the African race, we have stronger
hope than in the case of the South Sea Islanders, and other savage nations in

KILIMANE. 227

contact with Europeans. The well-known preference that fever manifests
for the natives of Northern Europe, and the indisposition it exhibits to make
victims of Africans, would lead persons resident in one region of this continent
to say that the white race was doomed to extinction. However to be explained,
the Africans who have come under my observation are not subject to many of
the diseases which thin our own numbers. Smallpox and measles paid a
passing visit through the continent some thirty years ago ; and though they
committed great ravages, they did not remain endemic nor return. They did
not find a congenial soil ; and though the period preceding the rains is
eminently epidemic in its constitution, excepting hooping cough, no epidemic
known in Europe appears. There is an indisposition independent of climatic
influences, which becomes, I imagine, evident, when a certain loathsome dis-
ease is observed to die out spontaneously in Africans of pure blood ; and those
of mixed blood are subjected to all its forms with a virulence exactly pro-
portioned to the amount of European blood in their veins.

" Strangers are so liable to be unintentionally misled by the careless
answers of uninterested inhabitants, I would fain have subjected every
important point to the test of personal examination, but except in the cases
of gold, coal, iron, and a hot fountain, which did not involve any additional
fatigue, I had to rely on the information of others alone. The difference of
climate must account for the disproportionate exhaustion experienced by
myself and companions from marches of a dozen miles, compared with that
produced in our naval officers by those prodigious strides we read of having
been performed in the Arctic Circle. Indeed I was pretty well 'knocked up' by
not much more than a month on foot ; the climate on the river felt hot and
steamy, water never cools, clothes always damp from profuse perspiration ;
and as the country is generally covered with long grass, bushes, and trees, the
abundance of well-rounded shingle everywhere renders it necessary to keep
the eyes continually on the ground. Pedestrianism under such circumstances
might be all very well for those whose obesity calls for the process of Press-
neitz; but for one who had become as lean as a lath, the only discernible
good was that it enabled an honest sort of man to gain a vivid idea of ' a
month on the treadmill.' "

Dr. Livingstone soon concluded that Kilimane was not the proper posi-
tion for the port of the Zambesi, but he was not then aware that another and
a better mouth of the river, only known to themselves, was used for the ex-
portation of slaves. He says : —

" The Portuguese, in extenuation of the apparent disadvantage of building
the l capital of the rivers of Senna' (Kilimane) where it possesses such slender
connection with the Zambesi, allege that the Mutu in former times was large,
but it is now filled up with alluvial deposit. The bar, too, was safer then than
it is now. To a stranger it looks remarkable that the main stream of the

o.->c

LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Zambesi, sometimes called Cuama and Luabo, which is, at least, three quarters
of a mile broad at the mouth of the Mutu, should be left to roll on to the ocean
unused. It divides, it is true, below that into six or seven branches ; but two
of these named, near the sea, Melambe and Catrina, present comparatively
safe harbours at their mouths and free passage into the interior for large
launches during the entire year. These harbours are not more insalubrious
than Kilimane and Senna.

"With respect to Kilimane, one could scarcely have found a more man-
killing spot than it. The village is placed on a large mudbank, so moist that
water is found by digging two feet deep, and it is surrounded by mango-bushes
and marsh. The walls of the houses, too, sink gradually, so as to jam the
doors against the floors. That the subject of securing a better harbour for the
commerce of the magnificent country drained by the Zambesi merits the
attention of the Portuguese Government, as interested in its prosperity, a
glance at the articles which might be exported to a great amount will sufficiently
show.

" Coal. — The disturbances effected by the eruptive rocks in the grey
sandstone have brought many seams of coal to the surface. There are no fewer
than nine of these in the country adjacent to Tete, and I came upon two before
reaching that point. One seam in the rivulet Muatise is 58 inches in diameter;
another is exposed in the Morongoze, which, as well as the Muatize, falls into
the Revubue, and that joins the Zambesi from the north about two miles below
Tete. The Revubue is navigable for canoes during the whole year, and but
for a small rapid in it, near the points of junction with these rivulets, canoes
might be loaded at the seams themselves. Some of the rocks have been ejected
in a hot state since the deposition of the coal, for it is seen in some spots
converted into coke, and about ten miles above Tete there is a hot fountain
emitting abundance of acrid steam ; the water at the point of emergence is
158' Fahr., and when the thermometer is held in it half a minute it shows
steadily 160° When frogs or fish leap into it from the rivulet in which it is
situated, they become cooked, and the surrounding stones were much too hot
for the bare feet of my companions.

" The remarks about the absence of any tradition of earthquakes in my
last letter must be understood in reference to the country between the ridges
alone, for I find that shocks have frequently been felt in the country of the
Maravi, and also at Mozambique, but all have been of short duration, and
appeared to pass from east to west.

" Iron. — In addition to coal, we have iron of excellent quality in many
parts of the country. It seems to have been well roasted in the operations of
nature, for it occurs in tears or rounded masses, admitting of easy excavation
with pointed sticks, and it shows veins of the pure metal in its substance.
When smelted it closely resembles the best Swedish iron in colour and tough-

GOLD DIGGINGS. 229

ness. I have seen spears made of it strike the crania of hippopotami and
curl up instead of breaking, the owner afterwards preparing it for further use
by straightening it, while cold, with two stones.

" Gold. — If we consider Tete as occupying a somewhat central position
in the coal-field, and extend the leg of the compasses about 3|°, the line which
may then be described from north-east round by west to south-east nearly
touches or includes all the district as yet known to yield the precious metal.
We have five well-known gold-washings from north-east to north-west. There
is Abutua, not now known, but it must have been in the west or south-west,
probably on the flank of the eastern ridge. Then the country of the Bazizula,
or Mashona, on the south, and Manica on the south-east. The rivers Mazoe,
Luia, and Luenya in the south, and several rivulets in the north, bring gold
into the coal-field with their sands; but from much trituration it is gener-
ally in such minute scales as would render amalgamation with mercury
necessary to give it weight in the sand, and render the washing profitable.
The metal in some parts in the north is found in red clay-shale which is soft
enough to allow the women to pound it in wooden mortars previous to washing.
At Mashinga it occurs in white quartz. Some of the specimens of gold which
I have seen from Manica and the country of Bazizula (Mosusurus) were as
large as grains of wheat, and those from rivers nearer Tete were extremely
minute dust only. I was thus led to conclude that the latter was affected by trans-
port, and the former showed the true gold-field as indicated by the semicircle.
Was the eastern ridge the source of the gold, seeing it is now found not far
from its eastern flank ?

" We have then at present a coal-field surrounded by gold, with abund-
ance of wood, water, and provisions — a combination of advantages met with
neither in Australia nor California. In former times the Portuguese traders
went to the washings accompanied by great numbers of slaves, and continued
there until their goods were expended in purchasing food for the washers.
The chief in whose lands they laboured expected a small present — one pound's
worth of cloth perhaps — for the privilege. But the goods spent in purchasing
food from the tribe was also considered advantageous for the general good,
and all were eager for these visits. It is so now in some quarters, but the
witchery of slave-trading led to the withdrawal of industry from gold-washing
and every other source of wealth ; and from 130 to 140 lbs. annually, the
produce has dwindled down to 8 or 10 lbs. only. This comes from independent
natives, who wash at their own convenience, and for their own profit.

" A curious superstition tends to diminish the quantity which might be
realised. No native will dig deeper than his chin, from a dread of the earth
falling in and killing him ; and on finding a piece of gold it is buried again,
from an idea that without this c seed ' the washing would ever afterwards prove
unproductive. I could not for some time credit this in people who know ri^ht

230 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

well the value of the metal ; but it is universally asserted by the Portuguese,
who are intimately acquainted with their language and modes of thought.
It may have been the sly invention of some rogue among them, who wished to
baulk the chiefs of their perquisites, for in more remote times these pieces were
all claimed by them.

" Agriculture. — The soil formed by the disintegration of igneous rocks is
amazingly fertile, and the people are all fond of agriculture. I have seen
maize of nearly the same size of grain as that sold by the Americans for seed
in Cape Town. Wheat, for which one entertains such a friendly feeling,
grows admirably near Tete, in parts which have been flooded by the Zambesi,
and it doubles the size of the grain at Zumbo. When the water retires the
sowing commences. A hole is made with a small hoe, a few grains dropped
in, and the earth pushed back with the foot. This simple process represents
all our draining, liming, subsoil-ploughing, &c. ; for with one weeding a fine
crop is ready for the sickle in four months afterwards.

" Wheat, sugar, rice, oil, and indigo were once exported in considerable
quantities from Tete. Cotton is still cultivated, but only for native manufac-
ture. Indigo of a large kind grows wild all over the country. There are
forests of a tree which acts as the cinchona near Senna. Does not this show
the Divine care over us ? — where fever prevails the remedy abounds. We
have also sarsaparilla, calumba-root, and senna leaves in abundance ; the last
I believe to be the same as is exported from Egypt.

" It may not be out of place here to call attention to native medicines as
worthy the investigation of travellers. I have always had to regret the want
of time to ascertain which were efficacious and which were not, and whether
there are any superior to our own. It is worthy of note that the bark, which
is similar in properties to that which yields the quinine, has been known as a
potent febrifuge by the natives from time immemorial. Our knowledge of
the virtues of the bark is comparatively recent. Some may think we have
more medicines in the Pharmacopoeia than we know well how to use, but the
fact of well-educated persons resorting to Homoeopathy, Holloway's oint-
ment, Morison's pills, and other nostrums, may indicate an actual want, to be
supplied by something more potent than either raillery or argument. Few
such I imagine would in cool blood prefer Parr's life pills to quinine in
intermittent fever ; and if we had a remedy for cholera only half as efficacious
as quinine in Kilimane fever, it would be esteemed a universal blessing.
Many native remedies are valueless, perhaps the majority arc so ; but they
can cure wounds inflicted by poisoned arrows. In Inhambane and Delagoa
Pay a kind of croup prevails : it is probably the Laringismus stridulus, as it
attacks and proves very fatal to adults. Singularly enough, it was unknown
till the first visit of Potgeiter's Boers to Delagoa Bay, who brought it from
parts to the south-west where it prevails, and left it there, though none of

EVIL EFFECTS OF SLAVERY. 231

them were suffering from it at the time. It is still unknown here. This case
is analogous to ships leaving diseases at the South Sea Islands. After many
had perished, a native doctor pointed out a root which, when used in time,
effects a speedy cure. The Portuguese now know the remedy and value it
highly. I am not disposed to believe everything marvellous ; but from
excoriations having been made, by means of the root, on the tongue of the
patient, and abstraction of blood so near the seat of the disease having been
successful in this very intractable disease, I think the black doctor deserves
some credit. The fact, too, that certain plants are known by widely separated
tribes all over the country as medicinal, is an additional reason for recom-
mending those who have nothing but travel and discovery on hand to pick
up whatever fragments of aboriginal medical knowledge may come in their way.

" In addition to the articles of commerce mentioned above, I saw
specimens of gum copal, orchilla-weed, caoutchouc, and other gums. There
are two plants, the fibres of which yield very strong thread and ropes. Bees
abound beyond Tete, but the people eat the honey and throw the wax away.
There are several varieties of trees which attain large dimensions, yielding
timber of superior quality for durability in shipbuilding. I saw pure negroes
at Senna cutting down such trees in the forest, and building boats on the
European model, without the superintendence of a master. Other articles of
trade are mentioned by writers, but I refer to those only which came under
my personal observation.

"I feel fully persuaded that, were a stimulus given to the commerce of
the Zambesi by a small mercantile company proceeding cautiously to develop
the resources of this rich and fertile country, it would certainly lead to a
most lucrative trade. The drawbacks to everything of this sort must, however,
be explicitly stated : and though anxious to promote the welfare of the teeming
population of the interior by means of the commercial prosperity and inter-
course of the coasts, I should greatly regret any undue expectations from
unconsciously giving a too high colouring to my descriptions. I shall therefore
try to explain the causes of the miserable state of stagnation and decay in
which I found the Portuguese possessions.

" I have already stated that the slave-trade acted by withdrawing labour
from every other source of wealth in this country, and transferring it to the
plantations of Cuba and Brazil. The masters soon followed the slaves; hence
this part of Africa contains scarcely any Europeans possessing capital and
intelligence or commercial enterprise. Of those who engaged in the slave-
trade in both eastern and western Africa, it is really astonishing to observe how
few have been permanently enriched by it. There seems a sort of fatality
attending these unlawful gains, for you again and again hear the remark, ' Ho
waa rich in the time of the slave-trade.' Beyond all question, it has impover-
ished both the colonists and the country. And when our cruisers, by their

232 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

indomitable energy, rendered the traffic much more perilous than any other
form of gambling for money, they conferred a double benefit. The slave was
prevented from being torn from his home and country, and the master was
compelled to turn to more stable sources of income and wealth. But when
this took place it was found that the strong arms which washed for gold and
cultivated coffee, cotton, wheat, indigo, sugar, earthnuts for oil, &c, were
across the Atlantic, and a civil war breaking out completed the disorder.

" Our explanations were, however, considered satisfactory ; indeed, when
we could get a palaver, they were never unreasonable until we came close to
Tete ; but it was unpleasant to be everywhere suspected. The men belonging
to some chiefs on the Zambesi never came near us unless fully armed ; others
would not sit down, nor enter into any conversation, but after gazing at us
for some time with a sort of horror they went off to tell the chief and great
men what they had seen. We appeared an uncouth band, for the bits of
skins, alias fig-leaves, had in many cases disappeared, and my poor fellows
could not move about without shocking the feelings of the well-clothed Zam.
besians. The Babisa traders (Muizas) bring large quantities of cotton cloth
from the coast to the tribes beyond Zumbo. Both Moors and Babisa had
lately been plundered too. They could not have taken much from us, for the
reason contained in the native proverb, ' You cannot catch a humble cow by
the horns.' We often expected bad treatment, but various circumstances
conspired to turn them from their purposes.

"It is impossible to enumerate all the incidents which, througli the
influence of our Divine protector on the hearts of the heathen, led to our
parting in friendship with those whom we met with very different sentiments ;
but I must not omit the fact that, if our cruisers had accomplished nothing
else, they have managed to confer a good name on our country. I was quite
astonished to find how far the prestige had spread into the continent ; and in
my case they had ocular demonstration of more than a hundred evidently
very poor men going with one of 'that white tribe' without either whip or
chain. My headman speaks the language perfectly, and being an intelligent
person, he contributed much by sensible explanations to lull suspicion. We
had besides no shields with us ; this was often spoken of, and taken as
evidence of friendly intentions ; and for those who perversely insisted that we
were spies, we had forty or fifty gallant young elephant-hunters, and the
extraordinary bravery they sometimes exhibited seemed to say it would
scarcely be wholesome to meddle with such fellows. The personal character
of some chiefs led at once to terms of friendship. With others we spent
much time in labouring in vain to convince them we were not rogues and
vagabonds: they were in the minority, as the utterly bad are everywhere
else. With fair treatment the inhabitants on the Zambesi would, I believe,
act justly ; they are not powerful as compared with our Kaffres of the Cape."

SAD END OF SEKWEBU. 233

After waiting about six weeks at Kilimane, the Frolic arrived, bringing
abundant supplies for all his needs, and £150 to pay his passage home, from
the agent of the London Missionary Society at the Cape. The admiral at the
Cape sent an offer of a free passage to the Mauritius, which Livingstone
gladly accepted. As six of the eight of his attendants who had accompanied
him to Kilimane had, by his instructions, gone back to Tete to await his
return, while the other eight who had accompanied him as far as the delta of
the Zambesi had also returned, only two were left with him when the Frolic
arrived. One of these was Sekwebu, who had been so useful throughout the
journey that he determined to take him to England with him, so that he
might be able to tell Sekeletu and the Makololo what sort of country England
was, and further increase the confidence and trust already reposed in him and
in his countrymen generally. The other one begged hard to be permitted to
accompany them, and it is a matter for regret that the expense alone
prevented Livingstone from acceding to his wishes. There was a heavy sea
on when they crossed the bar to the Frolic, and as this was Sekwebu's first
introduction to the ocean he appeared frightened. On board ship he seemed
to get accustomed to his novel situation, picked up a few words of English,
and ingratiated himself with the crew, who treated him with great kindness.
During all this time there was, although unnoticed, a strain upon his
untutored mind, which reached its climax when a steamer came out to tow the
Frolic into the harbour at the Mauritius. The terror evoked by the sight of the
uncouth panting monster with its volume of smoke culminated in madness, and
he descended into a boat alongside. On Livingstone following him to bring
him back, he said, "No! no! it is enough that I die alone. You must not
perish ; if you come I shall throw myself into the water." Noticing then that
his mind was affected, Livingstone said, " Now Sekwebu, we are going to Ma-
Robert." This had a calming effect upon his mind, and he said " Oh, yes 5
where is she ? and where is Robert ? " (Livingstone's son). The officers pro-
posed to put him in irons for a time ; but Livingstone, fearing that this would
wound his pride, and that it might be said in his own country that he had
bound him like a slave, unfortunately would not consent to this. " In the
evening a fresh accession of insanity occurred ; he tried to spear one of the
crew, then leaped overboard, and, though he could swim well, pulled himself
down hand under hand, by the chain cable. We never found the body of
Sekwebu."

At the Mauritius, Livingstone was hospitably entertained by Major-Gen.
C. M. Hay, and was induced to remain some time there to recruit his shattered
health. On the 12th of December, 1856, he arrived in England after an
absence of seventeen years, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company
generously refunding his passage money, when made aware of the dis-
tinguished personage they had had the honour of carrying. On the day prG-
p 1

234 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ceding his arrival the Times informed the country that — " The Rev. Dr.
Livingstone had arrived at Marseilles from Tunis, on the 6th inst., and was
then in good health ; his left arm is, however, broken and partly useless, it
having been torn by a lion. When he was taken on board the Frolic on the
Mozambique coast, he had great difficulty in speaking a word of English,
having disused it so long while travelling in Africa. He had with him a
native from the interior of Africa. This man, when he got to the Mauritius,
was so excited with the steamers, and various wonders of civilization, that he
went mad, and jumped into the sea and was drowned. Dr. Livingstone had
been absent from England seventeen years. He crossed the great African
continent almost in the centre, from west to east, has been where no civilized
being has ever been before, and has made many notable discoveries of great
value. He travelled in the twofold character of missionary and physician,
having obtained a medical diploma. He is rather a short man, with a pleas-
ing and serious countenance, which betokens the most determined resolution.
He continued to wear the cap which he wore while performing his wonderful
travels. On board the Candia, in which he voyaged from Alexandria to Tunis,
he was remarkable for his modesty and unassuming manners. He never
spoke of his travels except in answer to questions. The injury to his arm was
sustained in the desert while travelling with a friendly tribe of Africans. A
herd of lions broke into their camp at night, and carried off some of their
cattle. The natives, in their alarm, believed that a neighbouring tribe had
bewitched them. Livingstone taunted them with suffering their losses through
cowardice, and they then turned to face and hunt down the enemy. The
Doctor shot a lion, which dropped wounded. It afterwards sprang on him,
and caught him by the arm, and, after wounding two natives who drew it off
him, it fell down dead. The wounded arm was not set properly, and Dr.
Livingstone suffered excruciating agony in consequence.-"

CHAPTER XII.

Dr. Livingstone in England — Special Meeting of the Geographical Societg — En-
thusiastic Reception — Farewell Banquet — Sir Roderick Murchison's Estimate
of Dr. Livingstone and his Labours.

AT Cape Town a meeting was held on the 12th of November, 1856, for the
purpose of taking steps to express the public sense of the eminent services
rendered to science, civilisation, and Christianity by Dr. Livingstone. Sir
George Grey, the governor, who occupied the chair, said: — " I think no man
of the j>resent day is more deserving of honour than Dr. Livingstone — a man
whom we indeed can hardly regard as belonging to any particular age or
time, but who belongs rather to the whole Christian epoch — possessing all
those qualities of mind, and that resolute desire at all risks to spread the gospel,
which we have generally been in the habit of attributing solely to those who
lived in the first ages of the Christian era. Indeed, that man must be of
almost apostolic character, who, animated by a desire of performing his duty
to his Maker and to his fellow-men, has performed journeys which we cannot
but regard as altogether marvellous." The Bishop of Cape Town, the judges,
and other government officials took part in the proceedings, which were of a
most enthusiastic character. The meeting resolved to enter into a subscrip-
tion for a testimonial to the great traveller, which Sir George Grey headed
with a donation of £50.

In England, curiosity had been excited by the appearance of short para-
graphs in the newspapers treating of his discoveries, but it was not until a
meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on which occasion the Society's
gold medal was presented to the distinguished traveller, that the magnitude
of his discoveries and the heroic character of the man came to be properly
understood.

It was on the 15th of December, 1856, that the special meeting of the Royal
Geographical Society was held to receive and do honour to Dr. Livingstone.
The proceedings at this meeting were of so singularly exceptional a character,
that we do not hesitate to re-produce the report of it here as it appeared in the
" Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society."

Sir Roderick Murchison, the President of the Society, was in the chair,
and the room was filled with a distinguished assemblage. In opening the
meeting the President said : —

Gentlemen, — We are now specially assembled to welcome Dr. Living-

236 LIFE OF Dl VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

stone, on returning from Southern Africa to his native country after an
absence of sixteen years, during which, while endeavouring to spread the
blessings of Christianity through lands never before trodden by the foot of a
British subject, he has made discoveries of incalculable importance, which
have justly won for him, our Victoria or Patron's Medal.

When that honour was conferred in May, 1855, for traversing South
Africa from the Cape of Good Hope, by Lake Ngami and Linyanti to Loanda
on the west coast, the Earl of Ellesmere, then our president, spoke with
eloquence of the "scientific precision, with which the unarmed and unassisted
English missionary had left his mark on so many important stations of
regions hitherto blank."

If for that wonderful journey, Dr. Livingstone was justly recompensed
with the highest distinction we could bestow, what must be our estimate of
his prowess, now that he has re-traversed the vast regions, which he first
opened out to our knowledge ? Nay, more ; that, after reaching his old
starting point at Linyanti in the interior, he has followed the Zambesi, or
continuation of the Leeambye river, to its mouths on the shores of the Indian
Ocean, passing through the eastern Portuguese settlements to Kilimane —
thus completing the entire journey across South Africa. In short, it has been
calculated that, putting together his various journeys, Dr. Livingstone has not
travelled over less than eleven thousand miles of African ground.

Then, how does he come back to us ? Not merely like the far-roaming
and enterprising French missionaries, Hue and Gabet, who, though threading
through China with marvellous skill, and contributing much to our knowledge
of the habits of the people, have scarcely made any addition to the science of
physical geography ; but as the pioneer of sound knowledge, who, by astro-
nomical observations, has determined the site of numerous places, hills, rivers,
and lakes, nearly all hitherto unknown to us.

In obtaining these results, Dr. Livingstone has farther seized upon every
opportunity of describing to us the physical features, climatology, and
geological structure of the countries he has explored, and has made known
their natural productions, including vast breadths of sugar-cane and vine-
producing lands. Pointing out many new sources of commerce, as yet
unknown to the enterprise of the British merchant, he gives us a clear insight
into the language, manners, and habits of numerous tribes, and explains to us
the different diseases of the people, demonstrating how their maladies vary
with different conditions of physical geography and atmospheric causes.

Let me also say that he has realised, by positive research, that which was
necessarily a bare hypothesis, and has proved the interior of Southern Africa
to be a plateau traversed by a network of lakes and rivers, the waters of
which, deflected in various directions by slight elevations, escape to the
eastern and western oceans, by passing through deep rents in the hilly,

SIR RODERICK MURCIIISON'S SPEECH. 237

flanking tracts. He teaches us that these last high grounds, differing essen-
tially from the elevated central region, as well as from the rich alluvial deltas
of the coasts, are really salubrious, or, to use his own language, are perfect
sanatoria.

I have thus alluded, in the briefest manner, to the leading additions to
our knowledge which have been brought before you by Dr. Livingstone.
The reading of the last letters, addressed to myself, was, by the direction of
my lamented predecessor, Admiral Beechey, deferred until the arrival of the
great traveller ; in order that the just curiosity of my associates might be
gratified by having it in their power to interrogate him upon subjects of such
deep importance ; and, above all, that we might commit no mistakes in hastily
constructing maps from immature data ; certain sketch maps having been
sent to us, before it was possible to calculate his observations and reduce them
to order.

Passing then from this meagre outline of the results to science, what
must be our feelings as men, when we mark the fidelity with which Dr.
Livingstone kept his promise to the natives who, having accompanied him to
St. Paul de Loando, were reconducted by him from that city to their homes ?
On this head my predecessors and myself have not failed, whenever an
opportunity occurred, to testify our deep respect for such noble conduct.
Rare fortitude and virtue must our medallist have possessed, when — having
struggled at the imminent risk of life through such obstacles, and escaping
from the interior, he had been received with true kindness by our old allies
the Portuguese at Angola — he nobly resolved to redeem his promise, and
retrace his steps to the interior of the vast continent. How much, indeed,
must the moral influence of the British name be enhanced throughout Africa,
when it has been promulgated that our missionary has thus kept his plighted
word to the poor natives who faithfully stood by him !

Turning to Dr. Livingstone, the President then said — Dr. Livingstone,
it is now my pleasing duty to present to you this our Patron's or Victoria
Medal, as a testimony of our highest esteem. I rejoice to see on this occasion,
such a numerous assemblage of geographers and distinguished persons, and
that our meeting is attended by the ministers of foreign nations. Above all,
I rejoice to welcome the representative of that nation whose governors and sub-
jects, in the distant regions of Africa, have treated you as a brother, and without
whose aid many of your most important results could not have been achieved.
Gladdened must be the hearts of all the geographers present, when they see
you attended by men, who accompanied and aided you in your earliest
labours. I allude particularly to our own fellows, Colonel Steele, Mr. Cotton
Oswell, and Captain Vardon, who are now with us. As these and other
distinguished African travellers are in this room, and among them Dr.
Barth, who alone of living men, has reached Timbuctoo and returned, may

238 LIFE OF DA V1D LI V1NGST0NE, LL.D

not the Geographical Society be proud of such achievements ? I therefore,
heartily congratulate you, sir, on being surrounded by men, who certainly ure
the best judges of your merits, and I present to you this medal, as a testimony
of the high admiration with which we all regard }Tour great labours.

Dk. Livingstone replied : — Sir, I have spoken so little in my own tongue
for the last sixteen years, and so much in strange languages, that you must
kindly bear with my imperfections in the way of speech-making. I beg to
return my warmest thanks for the distinguished honour you have now con-
ferred upon me, and also for the kind and encouraging expressions with
which the gift of the gold medal has been accompanied. As a Christian
missionary, I only did my duty, in attempting to open up part of southern
inter-tropical Africa to the sympathy of Christendom ; and I am very much
gratified by finding in the interest, which you and many others express, a
pledge that the true negro family, whose country I traversed, will yet become
a part of the general community of nations. The English Government and
the English people, have done more for Central Africa than any other, in the
way of suppressing that traffic, which has proved a blight to both commerce
and friendly intercourse. May I hope that the path which I have lately
opened into the interior, will never be shut ; and that in addition to the
repression of the slave trade, there will be fresh efforts made for the develop-
ment of the internal resources of the country ? Success in this, and the
spread of Christianity, alone will render the present success of our cruisers in
repression, complete and permanent. I cannot pretend to a single note of
triumph. A man may boast when he is pulling off his armour, but I am just
putting mine on ; and while feeling deeply grateful for the high opinion you
have formed of me, I fear that you have rated me above my deserts, and that
my future may not come up to the expectation of the present. Some of the
fellows of your society — Colonel Steele, Captain Vardon, and Mr. Oswell, for
instance — could, either of them, have effected all that I have done. You are
thus not in want of capable agents. I am, nevertheless, too thankful now,
that they have left it to me to do. I again thank you for the medal, and
hope it will go down in my family as an heirloom worth keeping.

The Right Hon. H. Labouchere, M.P., Her Majesty's Secretary of
State for the Colonies, then said, — Sir Roderick Murchison, I thought it a
great privilege to be allowed to attend to-night upon your invitation ; and
certainly with little expectation that I should be called upon to address you
on this interesting occasion. I am happy to say, however, that the resolution
which has been put into my hands, and which I have been requested to
propose to the meeting, is one that I am sure will require no arguments of
mine to recommend it to your very cordial adoption. You have heard from
the president, how the distinguished traveller, who is here to-day to give an
account of the achievements which he has performed on the field of Africa,

MR. LABOUGHERE'S SPEECH. 239

you have heard, how cordially and usefully he was assisted by the Governors
of the Portuguese Establishments on the coast of Africa. There is, perhaps,
no nation which can boast more than Portugal, of having largely contributed
to early geographical enterprise, to our better knowledge of the globe which
we inhabit, and to the spread of commerce throughout the earth. I may also
say that the mention of the name of Portugal, is always agreeable to British
ears, because there is no country with which we are united by an older, by a
closer, and, I trust, by a more enduring connection. I think it is fortunate
and gratifying to us, on the present occasion, that we have the advantage of
having among us, the distinguished nobleman who represents Portugal in this
country ; therefore, we shall be able to convey to the Portuguese authorities,
through him, the acknowledgment which, I am sure, we must be all anxious
to make on the present occasion. I am too well aware of the value of your time,
and of the superior claims that others have upon it, to be desirous of address-
ing you at any length. Of the importance of the discoveries made in Africa, I
am sure we must all feel the strongest and deepest sense ; it is, at all events,
a matter of liberal curiosity to all men, to obtain a better knowledge of our
earth. But there are interests very dear to the people of this country, which
are closely connected with everything that relates to a better knowledge of
Africa. There is none, I believe, which has taken a faster hold on the people
of Britain than, not only to put a stop to the horrible traffic in slaves, which
was once the disgrace of our land as much, if not more than of any other ;
but also, as far as possible, to repay to Africa the debt which we owe her, by
promoting in every manner, with regard to her inhabitants, the interests of
civilization and commerce. We must feel how important a better knowledge
of the internal resources and of the condition of Africa must be, in all the
efforts which Parliament or statesmen can make in that direction. I will not
trespass longer upon your time, but conclude by reading the resolution which
has been placed in my hands, and which is one that I am sure will meet from
you, a very cordial reception : —

" That the grateful thanks of the Royal Geographical Society be con-
veyed, through his Excellency Count de Lavradio, the Minister of the King
of Portugal, to His Majesty's Authorities in Africa, for the hospitality and
friendly assistance they afforded to Dr. Livingstone, in his unparalleled
travels from St. Paul de Loanda to Tete and Kilimane, across that
continent."

Sir Henry Rawlinson, F.R.G.S., then said — Sir, I could have wished
that the task of seconding the resolution had been confided to abler hands ;
but since the president has issued his orders — orders which are equivalent to
the laws of the Medes and the Persians, with which I am tolerably well
acquainted, — I am obliged humbly to bow to the task. After the eloquent
description you have heard of the merits of the Portuguese nation, it would

240 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ill become me to intrude long upon your time ; but I would wish to call your
attention to the really great obligations which science is generally under to
the Portuguese, especially with regard to the geography of Africa. We are
too apt to forget the debt of gratitude which we owe to them for our know-
ledge of the interior of Africa, almost up to the present time, when Dr.
Livingstone has completed the chain of their discoveries. We must remember
that it was Vasco de Garna, a Portuguese, in the first instance, who doubled
the Cape of Good Hope. The Portuguese have established settlements
throughout Southern Africa from the earliest times down to the present,
and until Dr. Livingstone has laid down all his discoveries upon the map,
the old Portuguese maps of the interior of Africa, especially the southern
portion, are the best available. It is singularly interesting and gratifying to
find, that it should be to the Portuguese Governors, that we are indebted for
the hospitable reception, which they gave to our distinguished traveller, Dr.
Livingstone, and which has enabled him to return home in safety, and
acquaint us with the results of all his discoveries. As you are about to hear
from Dr. Livingstone some brief account of his travels, I will not longer
trespass on your time, but merely second the resolution which has been
submitted to your notice.

The resolution having been put from the chair, was carried unanimously.
The Count de Lavradio then rose, and after a brief apology in English
for his want of fluency in our language, thus spoke in French : —

" Mr. President, — As I did not expect to have the honour of speaking
before you, it is with great hesitation and timidity that I rise to address a
few words to you, in order to express my gratitude for the resolution you
have just adopted. My first duty is to return my sincere and hearty thanks
to the Right Hon. Mr. Labouchere, in the name of the Sovereign, whom I
have the honour to represent, and in that of the Portuguese nation, to which
I belong, not only for the resolution which he has proposed — that the Royal
Geographical Society should adopt — but also for the sentiments of admiration
and esteem which he has so well expressed for the memory of the intrepid
and learned Portuguese navigators, who, in discovering seas and lands, till
then unknown, curried everywhere the germs of civilization, and rendered
very great services to science. I also beg Sir H. Rawlinson to accept my
best thanks for the kindness with which he has supported the proposition of
Mr. Labouchere, in recalling to the remembrance of the society the important
discoveries made by the Portuguese. My warmest thanks are also due to
y*)u, Mr. President, for the good-will with which you have submitted the
proposition of Mr. Labouchere to the society ; and to you, gentlemen, the
members of the Royal Geographical Society, for the unanimity of your
approbation. I assure you, I shall hasten to transmit to my Government the
resolution just adopted, and I feel sure it will be much flattered by it. When

COUNT BE LAVRADW'S SPEECH. 241

I learned that Dr. Livingstone was going to endeavour to traverse Southern
Africa from the western to the eastern shore, I wrote to my Government,
praying it to dispatch the most positive orders, that all the Portuguese
colonies should lend Dr. Livingstone all the protection he should require, to
enable him to pursue his travels in a safe and comfortable manner. I am
happy to learn that the orders of my Government have been executed. And
now, Mr. President, and gentlemen, the members of the Royal Geographical
Society, permit me to thank you in my own name, for the honour you have
conferred upon me in inviting me to this assembly. At any time I should be
very happy and highly honoured to find myself among the elite of the learned
English geographers and travellers ; but, to-day, my happiness is still greater
since tliis august assembly is particularly called to celebrate the return of
Dr. Livingstone to Europe — this courageous savant — this friend of humanity,
who, braving the greatest dangers, exposing liimself to all sorts of privations,
employed the best years of his life in exploring Central Africa, with the
single-minded and noble aim of enriching science and of diffusing in far-off
lands the morality of the Gospel, and with it, the benefits of true civilization.
Men, such as Dr. Livingstone, are, permit me the expression, veritable
Providences, which Heaven, in its mercy grants us, to console us for the
many useless or wicked persons who inhabit a part of the earth. Everybody
knows that it is nearly four centuries and a half since some Portuguese
navigators, as courageous, and as learned, undertook and accomplished some
great discoveries. The names of Zamo, of Prestrillo, of Dias, of the great
Vasco de Gama, and of many others, are well# known ; but everbody does not
know, that, at the same time that these navigators were crossing the seas,
surveying the coasts, and trying to make the tour of Africa in order to reach
Asia, others were endeavouring to arrive at the same result, by crossing the
interior of Africa. Before the year 1450, by the orders and instructions of
the great and immortal Infante Don Henri of Portugal, the greatest and most
learned prince of his time, Jean Fernandez penetrated into the interior of
Africa, where, shortly after, he was joined by Anton Gonsalves. Some years
after, several other Portuguese penetrated into the interior of Africa ; some
searching for Timbuctoo, and others in various other directions. History
has preserved the names of several of these travellers, and it may be said
that the Portuguese have never relinquished their endeavours to penetrate
into the interior of Africa. Towards the end of the last century, the learned
Dr. Lacerda, furnished with good instruments, proposed to traverse Southern
Africa, from the eastern to the western shore ; unfortunately, death surprised
him in the midst of these learned travels, in the country of the King of
Cazembe. Afterwards, other travellers undertook to cross Africa, and from
ISOfi to 1811, Pedro Jean Baptista and Ainaro Jose, with the instructions of
Colonel Fraucisco de Castro, went from the western to the eastern shore, and

o 1

242 LIFE OF DA VJD LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

returned to Loanda by the same road, after an absence of more than four
years. The journal of their travels has been printed, but, unfortunately,
they were not sufficiently well-informed to be able to determine astronomically
the position of the different places they had crossed.* Gentlemen, I must
conclude, and if I have cited these facts and these names, it is by no means
for the purpose of diminishing the glory that belongs to Dr. Livingstone ;
but, on the contrary, to recognise that he has obtained results more complete
than those who preceded him. The name of Dr. Livingstone is already
inscribed in the history of the civilization of Southern Africa, and it will
always cccupy a very distinguished place there.

" Honour then to the learned Dr. Livingstone !

" Mr. President and gentlemen, I beg your pardon for having trespassed
so long on your time and attention, and thank you for the kindness with
which you have condescended to listen to me ; but before sitting down,
allow me to ask you to accept of my best wishes for the prosperity of the
Royal Geographical Society, which has rendered so many and such great
services to science, to commerce, and to civilization. Accept also my best
wishes for the British Empire — may this land of order and of liberty — this
country, where all the unfortunate find a safe and generous asylum, always
preserve its power ! I offer these wishes as the representative of the oldest,
most constant, and most faithful ally of England ; I offer them also as a
private individual."

The Secretary then read extracts from the three last communications,
addressed by Dr. Livingstone from Africa to Sir Roderick Murchison, which
had been reserved for that occasion. They were full of minute and graphic
details relating to the regions explored by the traveller, and were listened to
with the utmost interest. (In the preceding chapter we have drawn largely
upon these letters.)

The President said : We return thanks to Dr. Livingstone for having
communicated these able documents to us, a very small portion of which has
been read by Dr. Shaw. It is impossible, on an occasion like the present,
fully to estimate the value of Dr. Livingstone's communications ; but there
are so many subjects, some of them of deejD interest to persons here assembled,
and others of vast importance to the world at large, that I hope Dr. Livingstone
will explain to us, viva voce, some of those remarkable features in his travels, on
which he would wish most to dwell. I particularly invite him to indicate to
the meeting, those portions of the country, the produce of which is likely to

* In regard to this Dr. Livingstone said afterwards : — " After the first European had traversed
the African continent the Portuguese Minister claimed the honour for two black men (trading per-
sons of colour), and these blacks, in the memory of a lady now living at Tete, came thither dressed
and armed as the people of Loanda, but proceeded no further. They thus failed by about 400 miles
of what was claimed for them."

CENTRA L A FRIG A N RI VERS. 243

be rendered accessible to British commerce. I wish him to point out, on the
diagram made for this occasion by Mr Arrowsmith, the lines of those ridges
which he describes as perfect sanatoria or healthy districts, distinguished from
the great humid or marshy region in the interior, and as being equally dis-
tinguished from the deltas on the coast, in which the settlements of Europeans
have hitherto been made. It is important to observe that large tracts of this
country are occupied by coal-fields, of which we have had the first knowledge
from our distinguished traveller. There are indications throughout the
flanking ranges, of great disturbance of the strata, by the intrusion of igneous
rocks which have very much metamorphosed them. The strata upon the two
sides of Africa, dip inwards, and the great interior region thus forms an
elevated plateau arranged in basin-shape. This vast basin is occupied by
calcareous tufa, the organic remains in which seem to indicate that at a
period not remote in the history of the globe, this great marshy region has
been desiccated, leaving in these broad plateaus of calcareous tufa, the
remains of lacustrine and land animals, which are still living in the country.
I hold in my hand a geological map of the Cape territory as prepared by Mr.
Bain, which, coupled with the discovery of Lake Ngami, led me to offer to
you that speculation on the probable physical condition of the interior of
Africa which the observations of Dr. Livingstone have confirmed.

Dk. Livingstone then rose, and, pointing to the diagram of Africa, said :
The country south 20° is comparatively arid ; there are few rivers in it, and
what water the natives get, is chiefly from wells. But north of 20°, we find a
totally different country, wonderfully well watered, and very unlike what
people imagine Central Africa to be. It is covered by a network of waters,
which are faintly put down in the map, and chiefly from native information.
The reason why we have trusted to native information in this case, is this :
when Mr. Oswell and I went up to the Chobe in 1851, we employed the
natives to draw a part of the Zambesi in the centre of the country, which had
hitherto been unknown to Europeans. They drew it so well, that although I
have since sailed up and down the river several times, and have taken obser-
vations all along, I have very little to add to that native map. The natives
show on their maps that you can go up one river and get into another. You
can go up the Kama, for instance, and get into another, the river of the
Banyenko. You can go up the Simah and get into the Chobe, and can come
down into the Zambesi, or Leeambye. You can go up the river Teoge, and
round again by the Tzo to Lake Ngami. If you go up the Loi, you can get
into the Kafue. And they declare that if you go up the Kafue in a canoe,
you can get as far as the point where that river divides from the Loangua.
All these rivers are deep and large, and never dry up as the South African
rivers do. Some will say that the natives always tell you that one river
comes out of another. Yes, if you do not understand the language you may

244 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

say so. I remember when Colonel Steele and I were together, the natives
pointed him out as still wild, and said I was tame, because I understood the
language. Now, I suppose, when a geographer tells you that, when tin-
natives say, " one river runs into or out of another," they don't mean what
they say ; but, in reality, the natives mean that the geographer is still u'ild,
he is not tame, i. e. he does not know the language. I found the natives to be
very intelligent; and, in this well watered part, to be of the true Negro
family. They all had woolly hair, and a good deal of it, and they are darker
than those who live to the south. The most remarkable point I noticed
among them, was the high estimation in which they hold the women. Many
of the women become chiefs. If you ask a man to do something for you, he
will perhaps make some arrangements about payment ; but before deciding
to do it, he is sure to say, " "Well, I will go home and ask my wife." If the
wife agrees to it, he will do what you want ; but if she says no, there is no
possibility of getting him to move. The women sit in the public council, and
have a voice in the deliberations. Among the Bechuanas the men swear by
their fathers, but among the true negroes they swear by their mothers. Any
exclamation they make is, " Oh, my mother !" — while among the Bechuanas
and the Kaffres they swear by their father. If a woman separate from her
husband, the children all go with the mother — they all stick by the mother.
If a young man falls in love with a young woman of another village, he must
leave his own village and live with her ; and he is obliged to keep his mother-
in-law in firewood. If he goes into her presence, he must go in a decent way,
clapping his hands in a supplicatory manner ; and if he sits, he must not put
out his feet towards her — he must bend his knees back, and sit in a half-bent
position. I was so astonished at this, that I could scarcely believe their own
statements as to the high estimation in which they held the ladies, until I
asked the Portuguese, if they understood the same, as I did. They said,
exactly the same ; they had been accustomed to the natives for many years,
and they say that the women are really held in very great estimation. I
believe they deserve it ; for the whole way through the centre of the country,
we were most kindly treated by them. When I went up the Zambesi, I pro-
ceeded as far as the 14th degree, and then returned to Linyanti. I found the
country abounding in all the larger game. I know all the country through
which Mr. Gordon Cumming and others have hunted, and I never saw any-
thing before like the numbers of game that are to be found along the Zambesi.
There are elephants all the wa}>- to Tete, in prodigious numbers, and all the
other large game, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, and a great variety of antelopes.
There are three new species of antelope that have never been brought to
Europe.

Seeing the country was well supplied with game, I thought it was of
little use burdening my men with other provisions ; I thought I could easily

PUNISHMENT OF HUSBANDS. 245

supply our wants with the gun, and I did not wish to tire them and make
them desire to return before we had accomplished our journey ; so we went
with scarcely anything. All the way up the river we had abundance of food,
and any one who is anything of a shot, may go out and kill as much in two
or three hours, as will serve for three or four days. The animals do not know
the gun, and they stand still, at bowshot distance. We got on very well in
this way, until we came to Shinte. There we found that the people, having
guns, had destroyed all the game in the district, and that there was nothing
left but mice ; you see the little boys and girls digging out the mice. I did
not try to eat them, but we were there obliged to live entirely upon what the
people gave us. We found the women remarkably kind to all of us; the
same in going down the Zambesi. Whatever they gave, they always did it
most gracefully, very often with an apology for its being so little. Then,
when coming to the eastward, we found it just the same. They supplied us
liberally with food wherever we went, all the way down, till we came near
to the settlements of the Portuguese. In the centre of the country, we found
the people generally remarkably civil and kind ; but as we came near to the
confines of civilization, then they did not improve. We had a good deal of
difficulty with different tribes, as they tried to make us pay for leave to pass.
It so happened that we had nothing to pay with. They wanted either an ox,
a gun, or a man. I told them that my men had just as good a right to give
me, as I had to give one of them, because we were in the same position — we
were all free men. Then they wanted an ox, and we objected to it, saying,
" These oxen are our legs, and we cannot travel without them ; why should
we pay for leave to tread upon the ground of God, our common Father ? "
They agreed it was not right to ask payment for that, but said it had always
been the custom of the slave-traders, when they came in, to give a slave or an
ox, and we ought to do the same. But I said, " We are not slave-dealers, we
never buy nor sell slaves." " But you may as well give us an ox," they
replied, " it will show your friendship ; we will give you some of our food, if
you give us some of yours." If we gave them an ox, they very often gave
us back two or three pounds of our own food ; this is the generous way they
paid us back. But with the women we never found any difficulty.

Let me mention the punishment which women inflict upon their husbands
in some parts. It is the custom of the country for each woman to have her
own garden and her own house. The husband has no garden and no house,
and his wives feed him. I have heard a man say, " Why, they will not feed
me; they will give me nothing at all." A man may have five wives, and
sometimes the wives combine and make a strike against him. When he
comes home he goes to Mrs. One. She says, " I have nothing for you ; you
must go to Mrs. Two." He then goes to Mrs. Two, and she says, " You can
go to the one you love best ; " and in this way the husband is sent from ono

246 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

to the other, until he gets quite enraged. In the evening I have seen the
poor fellow get up in a tree, and in a voice loud enough to be heard by the
whole village, cry out, " I thought I had married five wives, but I find I have
married five witches ; they will not let me have any food." The punishment
a woman receives for striking her husband, I thought very odd, the first time
I saw it in the town of Sechele. The chief's place is usually in the centre of
the town. If a woman happens to forgot herself so far as to give her husband
a blow, she is brought into the centre of the town, and is obliged to take him
on her back and carry him home, amid the jeering and laughter of the people,
some of the women crying out, " Give it to him again."

Slavery exists in the country, i, e., domestic slavery ; but the exportation
of slaves is effectually repressed. I found in Angola, that slaves could scarcely
be sold at all. I saw boys of 14 years of age, sold for the low sum of 12s.
If they could send these to Brazil, they would fetch a very much higher price,
perhaps 60 dollars. In passing along, we went in company with some native
Portuguese, who were going into the interior, and who had eight slave women
with them, and were taking them towards the centre of the country to sell them
for ivory. It shows that the trade is turning back towards the interior. In
passing through the country , I found that the English name had penetrated a long
way in. The English are known as the tribe " that likes the black manP The
Portuguese, unfortunately, had been fighting with them near Tote ; but the
natives had been aided by half-breeds, and kept the Portuguese shut up at
Tete, two whole years. In coming down the river, I knew nothing of this
war. Once we saw great numbers of armed men going along the hills and
collecting into a large force, and all the women and children sent out of tho
way. When we got to where they were, some of the great men came to ask
what I was ? "Are you a Mozungo ?" — that is the name they apply to tho
Portuguese ; I did not know it, however, at that time. " No," I said, " I am
a Lekoa." " Then," they said, " they did not know the Lekoa." I showed
them my arm. I could not show my face as anything particularly white, but
I showed my arm, and said, " Have the Mozungo skin like that ?" " No, no ;
we never saw such white skin." "Have they long hair like mine?" — the
Portuguese make a practice of cutting the hair short. " No ; you must then
be one of the white tribe ' that loves the black man.' " " Yes, I am." I was
then in the midst of the belligerents, without having any wish to engage in
the quarrel. They finally allowed me to pass.

Once when we came to a tribe, one of my head men seemed to have become
insane and ran away, and we lost three days seeking for him. This tribe
demanded payment for leave to pass, and I gave them a piece of cloth. In
order to intimidate us they got up the war dance, and we made them another
offer, and gave another piece of cloth. But this was not satisfactory, and then
they got up their war dance in full armour, with their guns and drums and

TEA VBLLERS' TALES. 247

everything quite warlike, in the sight of our encampment. My men had been
perfectly accustomed to fighting ; they were quite veterans, but in appearance
they were not near so fine as these well-fed Zambesians. They thought they
were intimidating us, but my men were perfectly sure of beating them. One
of my chief men seemed to be afraid, because they never make a war dance
without intending to attack, and got up during the night and said, " There
they are, there they are ! " and ran off, and we never saw him again.

The country is full of lions, and the natives believe that the souls of
their chiefs go into the lion, and consequently when they meet a lion they
salute and honour it. In travelling, the natives never sleep on the ground ;
they always make little huts up in the trees. We had a good many diffi-
culties of the nature I have described, with the different tribes on the confines
of civilization. The people in the centre of the country seem totally different
from the fringe of population near the coast. Those in the centre are very
anxious to have trade. You may understand their anxiety in this respect
when I inform you, that the chief of the Makololo furnished me with 27 men
and 15 oxen, canoes, and provisions, in order to endeavour to form a path to
the West Coast; and on another occasion the same man furnished 110 men,
to try and make another path to the East Coast. We had found the country
so full of forest, and abounding with so many rivers and so much marsh, that
it was impossible to make a path to the west, and so we came back and
endeavoured to find one to the east. In going that way, we never carried
water a single day. Any one who has travelled in South Africa, knows the
difficulty of procuring water, but we were never without water a single day.
We slept near water, passed by water several times during the day, and slept
near it again.

The western route being impracticable for waggons, we came back,
and my companions returned to their friends and relatives. I did not
require to communicate anything about our journey, or speak even a word
about what we had seen ; as my men got up in all the meetings which were
held, and told the people of what had passed. One of the great stories they
told was, " We have been to the end of the world. Our forefathers used to
tell us that the world has no end, but we have been to the end of the world.
We went marching along, thinking that what the ancients had told us was
true, that the world had no end ; but all at once the world said to us, ' I am
finished ; there is no more of me ; there is only sea in front.' All my goods
were gone when I got down into the Barotse valley, among the Makololo,
and then they supplied me for three months ; and in forming the eastern path,
which I hope will be the permanent one into the interior of the country, the
chief furnished me with twelve oxen for slaughter and abundance of other
provisions, without promise or expectation of payment. At one time it was
thought, instead of going down the way we came, wo should go on the other

248 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

or south side of the river. But this river forms a line of defence against the
Matabelc, where my father-in-law, Dr. Moffat, went. I was persuaded by-
some to go in that direction. But when I had heard the opinions of all who
knew the country, and those who had lived in that direction, I resolved to go
north-east, and strike the Zambesi there.

In passing up towards Loanda, we saw that the face of the country was

different, that it was covered with Cape heaths, rhododendrons, and Alpine

roses, showing that we must be on elevated ground. Then we came to a

sudden descent of 1,000 feet, in which the river Quango seemed to have

formed a large valley. I hoped to receive an aneroid barometer from Colonel

Steele, but he had gone to the Crimea. In going back, therefore, I began to

try the boiling point of water, and I found a gradual elevation from the west

coast until we got up to the point, where we saw the Cape heaths and

rhododendrons ; then, passing down iidand, we saw the rivers running

towards the centre of the country, and the boiling point of water showed

a descent of the surface in that direction too. This elevated ridge is formed

of clay slate. In going north-east, towards the Zambesi, we found many

rivulets, running back towards the centre of the country. Having gone

thither, we found the elevation the same as it was on the western ridge, and

the other rivers, as described by the natives, flowing from the sides into the

centre, showing that the centre country is a valley — not a valley compared to

the sea, but a valley with respect to the lateral ridges. There were no large

mountains in that valley ; but the mountains outside the valley, although

they appeared high, yet, actually, when tried by the boiling point of water,

were not so high as the ridges, and not much higher than the valley.

The President : Will you describe the White Mountains ?

Dr. Livingstone : They lie to the north-east of the Great Falls. They

are masses of white rock somewhat like quartz, and one of them is called

" Tabacheu," which means " white mountain." From the description I got

of its glistening whiteness, I imagined that it was snow ; but when I observed

the height of the lull, I saw that snow could not He upon it.

The President : The society will observe that this fact has an important
application.

Dr. Livingstone: I observed to them, " What is that stuff upon the top
of the hill ?" They said it was stone, which was also affirmed to me while I
was at Linyanti, and I have obtained pieces of it. Most of the hills have
this coping of white quartz-lookiug rock. Outside the ridges the rocks are
composed of mica and mica-slate, and crystalline gneiss at the bottom. Below
we have the coalfield, which commences at Zumbo. Higher up there are
very large fossil trees, of which I have brought specimens.

The President : The point to which I called your attention with
reference to the white rocks, is important, as it may apply to the mountains

THE HOTTENTOT TRIBE. 249

towards the eastern coast of Africa, which have been supposed to be covered
with snow, and are commonly called the " Mountains of the Moon." It seems
that the range of white-capped hills, which Dr. Livingstone examined, trended
towards those so-called mountains, and it may prove that the missionaries,
who believe that they saw snowy mountains under the equator, have been
deceived by the glittering aspect of the rocks under a tropical sun. I would
also ask Dr. Livingstone if he has formed any idea of that great interior lake,
which is said to be 600 or 700 miles long ; and whether the natives gave him
any information respecting it ?

Dr. Livingstone : When I was on my way from Linyanti to Loanda, I
met with an Arab, who was going to return home towards Zanzibar across the
southern end of the lake " Tanganyika," and who informed me that in the
country of the Banyassa (Wun' Yassa ?) there is an elevated ridge which
trends towards the N.N.E. The lake lies west of it, and in the northern part
is called Kalague. They cross the southern end of it, and when crossing
they punt the canoe the whole way, and go from one island to another,
spending three days in crossing. It seems, from the description I got
from him, to be a collection of shallow water, exactly like Lake Ngami,
which is not deep either, as I have seen men punting their canoes over it.
It seems to be the remnant of a large lake, which existed in this part,
before the fissure was made to allow the Zambesi to flow out. That part
of the country is described by many natives as being exceedingly marshy.
The Makoloko went up to the Shuia Lake and found all the country
exceedingly marshy, and a large lake seems to be actually in existence, or a
large marsh with islands in it. But it can scarcely be so extensive as has
been represented, as in that case I must have crossed part of it or heard
more of it.

Mk. F. Galton, F.R.G.S. : I should be glad to ask Dr. Livingstone,
whether, in his route across Africa, he fell in with any members of the
Hottentot race. In old maps the northern limit of the Hottentot race is
placed but a short distance beyond the Orange River ; later information has
greatly advanced their boundary, and in my own travels, I found what
appeared to be an important headquarters of that people, at latitude 18° South.
There they were firmly established in the land, and were on intimate terms
with their negro neighbours, the Ovampo. These Hottentots asserted that
their race was equally numerous still farther to the northward of the most
distant point I was able to reach, and I have been unable as yet, to obtain
any information by which any northern liinit to the extension of the Hot-
tentot race can, with certainty, be laid down.

Dk. Livingstone: When I went up to discover Lake Ngami with Mr.
Oswell, I found people who have the "click" in their language, and who
seem to bo Hottentots j they had formerly large quantities of cattle, and

H 1

250 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

intermarry with the Bushmen. Again, two Portuguese of Loanda described
to mc a people in 12° South as Bushmen, but I did not see them.

Me. G-aeton : I might mention in corroboration of Dr. Livingstone's
report of a gradual desiccation of the Bechuana country, that the Damaras
entertain a precisely similar belief. They say that within the existing
generation, their country has become dried up to a marked extent ; hence,
without doubt, this same physical phenomenon affects the entire breadth of
Southern Africa.

Dr. Livingstone : You not only see remains of ancient rivers all through
the country, but you find actually the remains of fountains ; you see holes
made in the solid rock, where the water lias fallen, when flowing out of these
fountains, and you find in the sides of some of the holes, pieces of calcareous
tufa, that have been deposited from the flowing of the water.

Professor Owen: I have listened with very intense interest to the
sketches of those magnificent scenes of animal life, that my old and most
esteemed friend, Dr. Livingstone, has given us. It recalls to my mind the
conversation I had the pleasure to enjoy with him in the Museum of the
College of Surgeons, seventeen years ago. I must say, that the instalment
which he has given us of his observations on animal life this evening, more
than fulfils the highest expectations that I indulged of the fruit that science
would receive from his intended expedition. It has, so far, exceeded all our
expectations ; but it is not only in reference to those magnificent pictures of
mammalian life, — that reference is to those new forms of that peculiar family
of ruminants, the antelopes ; but it is to those indications of the evidence of
extinct forms of animal life which interest me still more. I hope some frag-
ments will yet come to us of those accumulated petrified remains of animals,
which it has been Dr. Livingstone's good fortune, among many very wonderful
and unique opportunities of observing nature, to have seen.

Mr. J. Macqueen, F.R.G.S., observed — Lacerda does not give either the
longitude or the latitude of Tete. He gives the latitude of Maxenga to the
north of Tete, 15' 19' South, the estimated distance to which from Tete,
according to the rate of time in travelling, places Tete, by my calculation, in
16° 20' South lat. Dr. Lacerda gives the latitude of the Isle of Mozambique,
at the western entrance of the Lupala, 16° 31' South. Dr. Livingstone gives
it 16° 34', a concordance which proves the accuracy of both. Dr. Lacerda's
accuracy, thus established, is of great importance, because he gives us two
important astronomical observations far to the northword. The first, at
Mazavamba, 12° 33' South lat., and 32° 18' East long., and 20 miles south
of the Arroanga of the north, 260 miles from Tete, which is the same river as
that designated the Loangua by Dr. Livingstone, at its junction with the
Zambesi. The second observation was made at Muiro Achinto, now called
Chania, lat. 10° 20v South, and long. 30° 2" East, from which point Gamitto's

MRS. LIVINGSTONE. 251

daily bearings and distances enable us to fix the capital of Cazembe with
sufficient accuracy. Westward of Mazavamba, about 60 miles, is the great
mountainous chain of Maxinga, or Muchinga, rising from 16,000 to 17,000
feet above the level of the sea. A branch of it runs north-east, another to the
westward, and a third to the S.S.W., by the Zunibo, stretching southward to
the mountains of Chidain and those called Mushome.

The accounts of the Embarah are fully substantiated by Brocheda and
the journeys of Ladislaus. Embarah is the Aimbara, or the chief tribe and
ruler of the great province of Quanhama, situated to the westward of the
great river Cubango. This river rises in Nanno, near the sources of the
Cunene, but instead of joining that river, as hitherto supposed, it pursues its
way on the westward of Bihe to the south-east, and joins the Leeambye, and
is doubtless the parent stream of the Chobc. This may give a great water
communication from the western portion of Bihe to the Indian Ocean, which
is important. The land to the east of Bihe is very high. It is, properly
speaking, the Libale. In July and August, the hills are reported to be
covered with snow, and the lakes and rivers to be completely frozen over.
This degree of cold so near the equator (14° to 15° South lat.) gives a very
high elevation. Ladislaus in his southern journey penetrated to 22° 5V South
lat., and 22° 431 East long., at which point he must have been at one time only
about three days 'journey distant from the point where Dr. Livingstone was
at that time, and who was probably the white man of a party described as
riding on an ox. Ladislaus has also penetrated northwards and north-east-
wards around the Cassaby to 4° 41' South lat., and 25° 43v East long.

It affords me great pleasure to see Dr. Livingstone among us. I have
closely followed his journeys since I heard of him on the top of the volcanic
Bakkaluka hills riding on the ox, convinced that he would soon send us most
important information. Dr. Livingstone has travelled more in Africa than
any other traveller ancient or modern, while he has laid down with geographic
accuracy every point over which he travelled from sea to sea — the Atlantic to
the Indian Ocean.

Captain Vardon, F.R.G.S. : I beg to supply an omission which my
friend, Dr. Livingstone, has made this evening. He has expatiated at great
length on the amiability of the African ladies ; but there is one lady whom I
met in South Africa, and from whom, I believe, many South African travellers,
whom I see in this room, experienced the greatest kindness and hospitality.
Dr. Livingstone has not made any allusion to her, and I rise to do so. This
lady, I need scarcely say, is his own wife. I observe here Colonel Steele,
Mr. Oswcll, Mr. Gordon dimming, and others, who will bear me out in say-
ing that we received the greatest kindness from Dr. and Mrs. Livingstone ;
their hospitality was unbounded, and I am glad of having this opportunity of
publicly thanking them before the Royal Geographical Society. Dr. Living-

252 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

stone has said, with his usual modesty, that he has not done much, that any
of us might have done as much. I beg to differ from him. As to my own
small excursion on the Limpopo, after what I have heard to-day, I feel so
ashamed of myself, that I fancy I have only just returned from Blackheath.

Colonel Steele, F.R.Gr.S. : My travels in South Africa were much like
Captain Vardon's. Dr. Livingstone was my earliest companion in Africa, but
we travelled such a short distance in company, that I am afraid any remarks
I could offer, beyond again returning my best thanks to Dr. and Mrs. Living-
stone for their hospitality, would be of no importance to the society.

The President : Colonel Steele's modesty has prevented him from stating
that without the instruments with which he had provided Dr. Livingstone, he
could not have made the excellent observations which have been obtained.

Mr. Gordon Cumming begged to confirm what Captain Vardon had said
with respect to the kindness with which Dr. Livingstone received all parties
who visited him. He was not aware that Dr. Livingstone had alluded to the
insect (the tsetse) whose bite is fatal to cattle. One year, while hunting in
the mountains, he, Mr. Cumming, lost all his horses and oxen from the bites
of this fly, and if it had not been for the kindness of Dr. Livingstone in at
once sending him his own cattle, he would scarcely have been able to have
extricated himself from his dilemma and returned to Europe.

Mr. J. Crawfurd, F.R.CS. : Perhaps Dr. Livingstone will have the
goodness to give us some notion of the state of society among these people,
especially among the tribes that inhabit the plateau valley. That ought to bo
a place in which there is a considerable civilisation with a decent form of
government. They seem to have many advantages, an excellent climate,
excellent soil, and an excellent supply of water. What is the state of the arts
among those people ? Do they understand the art of making malleable iron
or steel ? Do they know the use of any other metal, or the use of alloys, as
those of copper ? Can they weave, or make bread ? What plants do they
cultivate ? And what are they likely to produce in exchange for our mer-
chandise ? I strongly suspect, from what Dr. Livingstone has said respecting
the women, that the great portion of the labour, even of the field, is left to
them, and is not performed by the men, otherwise how could the women be
able to feed the men ? They must work in order to procure that with which
the men are fed. I expect the men are idle and the women laborious. Some
men would appear to have as many as five wives. How come they to
monopolise so many ?

Dr. Livingstone said : The new articles of commerce that I observed are
chiefly fibrous substances, some of them excessively strong, and like flax.
They abound in great quantities on the north bank of the Zambesi. There
are also great quantities of a tree, the bark of the root of which is used by
the Portuguese and natives as the Cinchona. It has been employed in fever

MARKETABLE COMMODITIES. 253

by the aborigines of the country from time immemorial, and both the
Portuguese and my companions and myself found it very efficacious. It
is remarkable that where the fever most prevails, there the tree, which I
believe to be a cinchona, abounds. It seems the remedy is provided for the
disease, where it prevails most. Now, in connection with the opening up of
this river and the fever, I have seen on the banks of the Zambesi whole forests
of this Cinchonaceous tree, particularly near Senna. A decoction of the bark
of the root has been found to act exactly as quinine : it is excessively bitter,
and may prove a good substitute. There is also Calumba root, which the
Americans purchase, to be used as a dye, and it is found in large quantities.
A species of sarsaparilla is to be found throughout the whole country. The
sugar-cane grows abundantly, but the natives have no idea of sugar, although
they have cultivated the cane from time immemorial. The chief of the
Makololo sent about thirty elephant tusks down to the coast, and gave me a
long list of articles, which I was to buy for him in the white man's country.
As I had been entirely sujDported by him for several months, I thought it my
duty to accept his commission, and I intend to obtain these articles for him.
Among other things he ordered a sugar-mill. When he found that we could
produce sugar from the cane, he said, " If you bring the thing that makes
sugar, then I will plant plenty of cane, and be glad."

Then, again, indigo grows all over the country in abundance. The town
of Tete has acres of it ; in fact, it is quite a weed, and seems to be like that
which grows in India, for before the slave trade became so brisk indigo was ex-
ported from Tete. The country also produces the leaves of senna, and, as far
as I could ascertain, exactly like that which we import from Egypt. There is
plenty of beeswax through the whole country ; and we were everywhere invited
by the honey-bird to come to the hives. Any one who has travelled in Africa
knows the call of the honey-bird. It invites travellers to come and enjoy the
honey, and if you follow it, you are sure to be led to the honey. Some natives have
given it a bad character. Sometimes, when a man follows the bird, he comes
in contact with a lion or a serpent, and he says, " It is a false bird, it lias
brought me to the lion." But if he had gone beyond the lion, he would have
come to the honey. The natives eat the honey and throw the wax away.
In Angola it is different. There, a large trade in wax is carried on, and the
bees are not so numerous as in the eastern parts of the country ; but here they
have no market. It was the same with ivory when Lake Ngami was dis-
covered. They will not throw away an ounce of it now. Then, again, there
are different metals found. There is a very fine kind of iron ore ; and at
Cazcmbe there is much malachite, from which the natives extract copper.
Then there is gold round about the coal-field, and gold has been procured by
washing from time immemorial. In former times the Portuguese went to
different places for gold with large numbers of slaves. It was before the time

254 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of the great exportation of slaves began. The chiefs had no objection to their
washing for gold, provided they gave a small present first. Then there is
coal near Tete ; no fewer than eleven seams exist, one of which I found to be
58 inches in diameter. The coal has been lifted up by volcanic action.
There is also a hot spring there. The thermometer stands at 160°. The coal
from two of these seams could be easily exported, as they are situated on a
small river, about two miles below Tete, and the coal could with very little
trouble be brought down. When you go up the Luabo, or largest branch,
the river is rather narrow, but as you ascend it gets much broader. The
Mutu is another river that joins the Zambesi. At the point of junction of the
Mutu or Kilimane river with the Zambesi, the beginning of the Delta, that
river is three-quarters of a mile broad. When I passed down to that point
it was a deep, large river, as it was then full. The Portuguese tell me there
is always a large body of water in the river, during certain months in the
year. This great body of water, spread over a large space, is in the dry
season shallow, except in the channel, which is rather winding. At some
seasons the channel changes its course. There are many reedy islands in it,
and these are sometimes washed away. During five months of the year there
is plenty of water for navigation, and during the whole year there is water
enough for canoes. A vessel of light draught like the Portuguese launches,
could go up to about 20 miles beyond Tete with the greatest ease, during
those months. At Kebrabasa in Chicova, there are rapids, caused by certain
rocks jutting out of the stream. I did not see them, as we were obliged in
our descent to leave the river, on account of the rivulets being filled by the
large river coming into flood, and to pass down by land all the way from the
hill Pinkue to Vunga, and thence to Tete. There is another rapid called
Kansala. Beyond that the river is smooth again, until you come to the
" Great Falls of Victoria," where it would be quite impossible for any one to
go up, as it is a deep fissure or cleft.

Me. Consul Brand, F.R.G.S. : I am unwilling to be altogether silent on
the present interesting occasion, having resided a good many years in that
part of the West Coast of Africa which Dr. Livingstone visited, and where
our associate Mr. E. Gabriel still resides. I had been obliged by ill health to
leave the country shortly before Dr. Livingstone's arrival ; but the Doctor
could not have fallen into better hands than into those of Mr. Gabriel. It
was from a letter addressed by Mr. Gabriel to Lord Ellesmere, that this
society first heard of Dr. Livingstone's arrival at Cassange. Mr. Gabriel
immediately sent an invitation to the Doctor to take up his abode with him,
during his stay at Loanda, and at his house the Doctor and his faithful com-
panions found a home. The Doctor's first report from Loanda to the London
Missionary Society, was written at his sick-bed by Mr. Gabriel's own hand.
He accompanied the Doctor part of the way on his return journey through

MAKOLOLO TRADING PARTY AT LOANDA. 255

Angola, and from that time up to the present, I have been in the habit of
receiving from him letters manifesting the deepest interest in the Doctor's
progress in the interior of Africa. I wish to mention these facts in justice to
Mr. Gabriel, because on my arrival the other day in England, I received a
letter from him simultaneously with Dr. Livingstone's arrival, in which he
expresses the utmost anxiety for the Doctor's safety. I have written, and a
letter is now on its way to Loanda, announcing the Doctor's safe arrival
among us. But it is not only to Mr. Gabriel that I would allude ; for when
Dr. Livingstone arrived at Loanda, I was delighted to hear how he had been
received by the Portuguese. I resided nearly nine years among this people,
and I can testify that I never received greater acts of kindness from any other
nation, .than from them. I had among them some of my best friends, whose
friendship was unequivocally tested under trials and in sickness, and I was
delighted to hear that the same kindness which I had experienced at their
hands had been experienced by Dr. Livingstone. I am glad to have this
opportunity of testifying, in the presence of the Portuguese Minister, my
gratitude for the kindness I received from his countrymen during my
residence in the province of Angola.

But the consequences resulting from Dr. Livingstone's journey, are
calculated to contribute so much to the interests of the Portuguese African
Colonies, that I am sure in time, they will be more than repaid for the kind-
ness they showed him. Dr. Livingstone's arrival at Angola I look upon, as
one of those opportune events, which sometimes have an important influence
on the destinies of a country ; at no period could such a visit have been more
fortunate. The minds of men were unsettled in consequence of the depressed
condition of the peculiar traffic which had so long been paramount, and the
attention of thinking persons was turned to legitimate trade and the develop-
ment of the resources of the country. Farther, the Portuguese Government
had passed a measure for registering and gradually emancipating the slaves
in their colonies. Those who take an interest in the progress of the African
race will be glad to hear of this fact.

Dr. Livingstone arrived about this time, and showed that by opening up
a communication with the interior of Africa, a rich trade might be carried on,
that would more than compensate for the loss the colony was likely to sustain
from the abolition of the slave trade. The Doctor projihesied that, very soon
after his journey had become generally known, an attempt would be made on
the part of the tribes in the interior, to communicate with the coast. This
prophecy has been fulfilled ; for I learn from a communication from Mr.
Gabriel that a caravan of negroes, fitted out by Sekeletu and led by one of
the Arabs, who crossed from the coast of Zanzibar to Benguela in 1851, had
arrived at Loanda by way of Bihe. This expedition has not, it would seem,
been very profitable, owing to causes incident, I should hope, only to first

256 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

attempts ; but I trust that experience will render the next more suc-
cessful. I shall not, at this late hour, read Mr. Gabriel's very interest-
ing communication, but limit myself to stating the fact it announces,
which proves that the inland tribes are anxious to open up a commu-
nication with the coast, and shows how correctly Dr. Livingstone calculated
the result.

I wish to mention another result of Dr. Livingstone's visit. At Loanda
we had but one small newspaper ; the Doctor wrote a series of articles for it,
which appears to have stimulated a literary taste, and you here see the
" Loanda Aurora, a literary journal," printed at the Government press, and,
I believe, one of the fruits of Dr. Livingstone's visit to that city.

The President : I have now only to congratulate the meeting upon
having received so much instruction from Dr. Livingstone. I may well say
he has communicated to us the outlines of a book, which I hope will soon be
published for the information of the British public. I am glad to add that
there is no person fuller of gratitude to the Portuguese than Dr. Livingstone
himself. If he has not here expatiated upon that subject, I can testify that
in private letters which he has addressed to me, he has uniformly dwelt
upon the very kind and liberal conduct of the Portuguese authorities, officers,
and people to himself and party. He was also most kindly received by
General Hay, commanding Her Majesty's forces in the Mauritius, and
restored to health by the hospitality of our countryman.

Next day the London Missionary Society honoured him with a public
reception in Freemason's Hall, and in the evening he was entertained at a
dinner by the Society at the Milton Club, Ludgate Hill. Both gatherings
were attended by a numerous and distinguished assemblage. At the latter,
Mrs. Livingstone was present in the gallery, and received a share in the
ovation with her husband.

A great meeting was held in the Egyptian Hall, Mansion House, the
Lord Mayor in the chair, for the purpose of raising a fund towards presenting
a testimonial to Dr. Livingstone. Upwards of £450 was subscribed in the
room. This sum was ultimately raised to one thousand guineas. In Scotland
a special Livingstone Testimonial Fund was instituted, and £1000 col-
lected. Addresses poured in upon the great traveller from all quarters. The
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge conferred the degree of D.C.L. and
LL.D. on him respectively. In his own country — Edinburgh, Glasgow,
Hamilton &c, presented him with the freedom of their corporations, and
entertained him at banquets, &c, &c. The Geographical Society of France
presented him with the gold medal for the year, and throughout the civilized
world the magnitude and importance of his discoveries were ungrudgingly
admitted, while the dauntless intrepidity of his character and the manly sim-
plicity of his bearing tended greatly to enhance the general estimate of his

THE PRESS ON DR. LIVINGSTONE. 257

worth. His appearance and manner on the platform at this time were thus
described in the Nonconformist newspaper: —

" A foreign-looking person, plainly and rather carelessly dressed, of
middle height, bony frame, and Gaelic countenance, with short-cropped hair
and moustachios, and generally plain exterior, rises to address the meeting.
He appears to be about forty years of age. His face is deeply furrowed, and
pretty well tanned. It indicates a man of quick and keen discernment,
strong impulses, inflexible resolution, and habitual self-command. Unani-
mated, its most characteristic expression is that of severity ; when excited, a
varied expression of earnest and benevolent feeling and remarkable enjoy-
ment of the ludicrous in circumstances and character passes over it. . . .
When he speaks, you think him at first to be a Frenchman ; but as he tells a
Scotch anecdote in true Glasgowegian dialect, you make up your mind that
he must be, as his face indicates, a countryman from the north. His com-
mand of his mother tongue being imperfect, he apologises for his broken,
hesitating speech, by informing you that he has not spoken your language for
nearly sixteen years ; and then he tells you, as but a modest yet earnest man
can, concerning his travels. . . . His narrative is not very connected
and his manner is awkward, excepting once when he justifies his enthusiasm,
and once when he graphically describes the great cataract of Central Africa.
He ends a speech of natural eloquence and witty simplicity by saying that he
has ' begun his work, and will carry it on.' His broken thanks are drowned
by the applause of the audience."

The press was not slow to acknowledge the greatness and importance of
the discoveries he had made, nor stinted in its admiration of the manner in
which he carried out his self-imposed task. The Star said, " We believe that
along the whole line of eleven thousand miles which he traversed in Africa,
the name of Dr. Livingstone will awaken no memories of wrong or pain in the
heart of man, woman, or child, and will rouse no purposes of vengeance to fall
on the head of the next European visitor that may follow in his footsteps.
His experience has utterly belied the truculent theory of those who maintain
that barbarous and semi-barbarous nations can be influenced only by an appeal
to their fears, and that the safety of the traveller consists in a prompt and
peremptory display of force. . . . Dr. Livingstone, clothing himself in a
panoply of Christian kindness, passed unscathed among the warlike African
tribes, and won them to an exhibition of noble generosity of character towards
himself and his companions." The "leader" wound up an eloquent tribute
with the following : —

" For seventeen years, smitten by more than thirty attacks of fever,

endangered by seven attempts upon his life, continually exposed to fatigue,

hunger, and the chance of perishing miserably in a wilderness, shut out from

the knowledge of civilized men, the missionary pursued his way, an apostle

I 1

258 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and a pioneer, without fear and without egotism, without desire of reward. Such
a work, accomplished by such a man, deserved all the eulogy that can be be-
stowed upon it. For nothing is more rare than brilliant and unsullied success."

Dr. Livingstone remained in England until the 10th of March, 1858, in
the interval publishing his " Missionary Travels in South Africa," a task
which he found so irksome as to induce him to say that he would rather cross
the continent of Africa from coast to coast once more than write another book.
Finding that his freedom of future action might be encumbered by his con-
tinuing his connection with the Missionary Society he separated himself from
it. His pay as a missionary was too small for the calls upon him as a son, a
husband, and a father ; and he concluded, not unnaturally, that funds would
be forthcoming, through the aid of Government or otherwise, to enable him to
continue his efforts for the opening up of the interior of Africa for legitimate
commerce and the suppression of the slave trade. " While I hope to continue
the same cordial co-operation and friendship which has always characterised
our intercourse, various reasons induced me to withdraw from pecuniary de-
pendence on any Society. I have done something for the heathen, but for an
aged mother, who has still more sacred claims than they, I have been able to
do nothing ; and a continuance of the connection would be a perpetuation of
my inability to make any provision for her declining years."

On the 18th of February, 1858, a Farewell Livingstone Festival took place
at the Freemasons' Tavern, London, Sir Roderick Murchison in the chair.
Three hundred and fifty gentlemen, representing the elite of English society
in literature, science, art, politics, &c, sat down to dinner. The gallery was
occupied by a brilliant assemblage of ladies.

The toasts were given with all the honours, and the band of the
Grenadier Guards and the Duke of Argyle's piper played Scotch and other
airs. After the usual loyal and formal toasts, Sir Roderick Murchison rose
amidst great applause, and said : —

" I rise, gentlemen, to propose the toast of the evening — ' Health to the
excellent man who sits on my right hand, and success to his expedition.'
(Vehement and long continued applause.) When this farewell dinner to my
distinguished friend was suggested ten days ago only, by a few ardent
Geographers, with a request that I would take the chair, it might well have
been supposed that in so brief a space of time it would be difficult to obtain
an attendance worthy of the great occasion ; but I felt assured that the name
of Livingstone alone would attract an assembly larger than any room in
London could contain. (Cheers.) My anticipation, gentlemen, was correct ;
and it truly gratifies me to see that this impromptu ' coup de voyageur ' has
brought together men of real distinction in all the great classes of the British
public. (Cheers.) The only weak part of the programme, I said to my
friends, would be that of your chairman (cries of ' No, no '); but at all events,

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 259

you know, gentlemen, that my geographical friends and myself have done
our best to honour the great traveller and good missionary. (Cheers.)

" At any public meeting held a year and a half ago, it would have been
necessary to dwell upon the merits of Livingstone ; but now his name has
become a household word among my countrymen, and no efforts of mine can
raise him higher in that esteem which he has won for himself, and especially
I rejoice to say by the sale of 30,000 copies of the work issued by the flourish-
ing firm of Murray, Livingstone, and Co. (laughter), and by which he has
secured independence for himself, and a provision for his wife and family.
(Cheers.)

" My eminent friend has not only made us thoroughly well acquainted
with the character and disposition of the inhabitants and the nature of tho
animals and plants of the interior of Africa, but has realised that which no
missionary has ever accomplished before ; since with consummate talent,
perseverence, and labour he has laid down the longitude as well as latitude of
places hitherto unknown to us, and has enriched every department of know-
ledge by his valuable and original discoveries. These are great claims upon
the admiration of men of science ; but, great as they are, they fall far short
of others which attach to the name of the missionary who, by his fidelity to
his word, by his conscientious regard for his engagements, won the affections
of the natives of Africa by the example which he set before them in his treat-
ment of the poor people who followed him in his arduous researches through
that great continent. (Loud cheers.)

" Sitting by my side (laying his hand on Dr. Livingstone's shoulder) is
the man who, knowing what he had to encounter — who having twenty or
thirty times struggled with the fever of Africa — who, knowing when he
reached the western coast, at St. Paul de Loanda, that a ship was ready to
cany him to his native land, where his wife and children were anxiously
awaiting his arrival, true to his plighted word, threw these considerations,
which would have influenced an ordinary man, to the winds, and reconducted
those poor natives who had accompanied him through the heart of the countiy
back to their homes ! — thus by his noble and courageous conduct leaving for
himself in that country a glorious name, and proving to the people of Africa
what an English Christian is. (Loud and long continued cheering.)

" So much for the character of the man of whom, as a Scotchman, I am
justly proud ; and now a few words with regard to his present expedition, of
which I may say that no enterprise could have been better organized than it
has been, under the recommendation of my distinguished friend, aided by the
countenance and hearty co-operation of Lord Clarendon, and the very
judicious arrangements of Captain "Washington, the Hydrographer of the
Admiralty, on whom fortunately has fallen the chief labour of its organization.
(Loud cheers.) The naval officer of the expedition is Commander Bedingfeld,

2G0 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

a man well known to geographers for his successful explorations of the coast
and rivers of Western Africa, especially the Congo, and my dear friend will
no doubt receive substantial assistance from that gallant officer. (Cheers.)
Dr. Kirk, of Edinburgh, an accomplished botanist, zoologist, and physiologist,
also accompanies the expedition ; whilst my clever young friend Richard
Thornton will, I doubt not, do good service as the mining geologist.
(Cheers.) Mr. Baines, too, whose previous travels in Africa and North
Australia and striking sketches are well known to the public, will be there ;
and last but not least in usefulness among the members of the expedition
let me mention Mrs. Livingstone. (Loud and long continued cheering.)

" When I remember the efforts which have been made in the cause of
Christianity and for the diffusion of knowledge by that exemplary lady (loud
cheers), when I know how she, the daughter of that faithful missionary, the
venerable Moffat, has educated her children, and when I see the spirit with
which she is again going to cross the broad seas and to share all the toils and
perils of her husband, I cannot but think that the services of Mrs. Livingstone
(acquainted as she is with many of the languages of South Africa) will tend
materially to the success of the expedition.* (Loud and protracted cheering.)

" But, gentlemen, I would not, however, wish you to raise your hopes too
high as to the immediate results of this expedition, which is in truth one of
an exploratory character only. It is, in fact, merely the sowing of the seed
which, under God's Providence, may produce an abundant harvest. We
must not look to a sudden importation of indigo or of cotton, and those raw
materials which we manufacture in this country, nor must we expect suddenly
to light upon a new El Dorado ; though I believe that my friend may find
districts which abound in gold and copper, and good thick coal-seams.

" Yet if, after all, those expectations to which the commercial world looks
should fail — if we gain nothing more than the implanting in Africa of that
good name which Dr. Livingstone is sure to leave (cheers), and that accession
to our knowledge which the discoveries of our great explorer are certain to
supply, and which it would be a disgrace to Britain not to endeavour to
obtain, even then I say that the Livingstone expedition will have a great and
a glorious issue. (Loud and long continued cheering.) I propose, therefore,
the health of our eminent friend Dr. Livingstone, and success to his noble
enterprise. (The toast was drunk with the utmost enthusiasm ; and after the
cheering had ceased, at the suggestion of a gentleman in the body of the
room, three more hearty cheers were given for Mrs. Livingstone.)"

The name of Sckeletu, chief of Livingstone's Makololo friends, was
announced at the bottom of the room, and a cheer was claimed for him.

* As we shall see further on, Mrs. Livingstone did not go to Africa until Dr. Livingstone had been
for some time in the interior.

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 261

Dr. Livingstone, in rising to return thanks, showed umnistakeably how
much he was affected by the reception which he had met with. He said : —

" When I was in Africa I could not but look forward with joyous antici-
pation to my arrival in my native land ; but when I remember how I have
been received, and when I reflect that I am now again returning to the scene
of my former labours, I am at a loss how to express in words the feelings of
my heart. (Loud cheers.) In former times, while I was performing what I
considered to be my duty in Africa, I felt great pleasure in the work ; and
now, when I perceive that all eyes are directed to my future conduct, I feel
as if I were laid under a load of obligation to do better than I have ever done
as yet. (Loud cheers.) I expect to find for myself no large fortune in that
country (renewed cheers), nor do I expect to explore any large portions of a
new country ; but I do hope to find in that part of the country which I have
partially explored, a pathway by means of the river Zambesi which may lead
to high lands where Europeans may form a healthful settlement, and where by
opening up communication and establishing commercial intercourse with the
natives of Africa they may slowly, but not the less surely, impart to the
people of that country the knowledge and the inestimable blessings of
Christianity. (Loud cheers.)

"lam glad to have connected with me in this expedition my gallant
friend Captain Bedingfeld (hear, hear), who knows not only what African
rivers are, but also what are African fevers. (A laugh.) With his aid I may
be able to determine the principles of the river system of that great continent;
and if I find that system to be what I think it is, I propose to establish a
depot upon the Zambesi, and from that station more especially to examine
into that river system, which, according to the statements of the natives,
would afford a pathway to the country beyond, where cotton, indigo, and
other raw material might be obtained to any amount.

" I am happy also in being accompanied, as Sir Roderick has told you,
by men experienced in geology, in botany, in art, and in photography, who
will bring back to England reports upon all those points, which I alone have
attempted to deal with, and with very little means at my disposal. (Loud
cheers.)

" The success — if I may call it success — which has attended my former
efforts (renewed cheering) to open up the country mainly depended upon my
entering into the feelings and the wishes of the people of the interior of Africa.
I found that the tribes in the interior of that country were just as anxious to
have a path to the seaboard as I was to open a communication with the
interior, and I am quite certain of obtaining the co-operation of those tribes
in my next expedition. Should I succeed in my endeavour — should we bo
able to open a communication advantageous to ourselves with the natives of
the interior of Africa, it would be our duty to confer upon them those great

262 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

benefits of Christianity which have been bestowed upon ourselves. (Cheers.)
Let us not make the same mistake in Africa that we have made in India
(renewed cheering), but let us take to that country our Christianity with us.
(Cheers.)

" I confess that I am not sanguine enough to hope for any speedy result
from this expedition, but I am sanguine as to its ultimate result. (Cheers.)
I feel convinced that if we can establish a system of free labour in Africa, it
will have a most decided influence upon slavery throughout the world. (Loud
cheers.) Success, however, under Providence, depends upon us as Englishmen.
I look upon Englishmen as perhaps the most freedom-loving people in the
world, and I think that the kindly feeling which has been displayed towards
me since my return to my native land has arisen from the belief that my
efforts might at some future time tend to put an end to the odious traffic in
slaves. (Loud cheers.) England has, unfortunately, been compelled to
obtain cotton and other raw material from slave States (cheers), and has thus
been the mainstay and support of slavery in America. Surely, then, it follows
that if we can succeed in obtaining the raw material from other sources than
from the slave States of America, we would strike a heavy blow at the system
of slavery itself. (Loud cheers.)

"I do not wish, any more than my friend Sir Roderick, to arouse
expectations in connexion with this expedition which may never be realised,
but what I want to do is to get in the thin end of the wedge (cheers), and
then leave it to be driven home by English energy and English spirit. (Loud
cheers.)

" I cannot express to you in adequate language the sense which I
entertain of the kindness which I have received since my return to this
country, but I can assure you that I shall ever retain a grateful recollection of
the way you have received me on the eve of my departure from my native
land. (Cheers.)

" Reference has been made in language most kind to Mrs. Livingstone.
(Cheers.) Now, it is scarcely fair to ask a man to praise his own wife
(laughter), but I can only say that when I left her at the Cape, telling her
that I should return in two years, and when it happened that I was absent
four years and a half, I supposed that I should appear before her with a
damaged character. (Laughter.) I was, however, forgiven. (Laughter and
cheering.) My wife, who has always been the main spoke in my wheel, will
accompany me in this expedition, and will be most useful to me. She is
familiar with the languages of South Africa, she is able to work, she is willing
to endure, and she well knows that in that country one must put one's hand
to everything. In the country to which I am about to proceed she knows
that at the missionary's station the wife must be the maid-of-all-work within,
while the husband must be the jack-of-all- trades without, and glad am I

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 263

indeed that I am to be accompanied by my guardian angel. (Loud cheering.)
Allow me, in conclusion, to say one word in reference to our excellent chair-
man. In packing up my things a few days ago, I found the identical address
which he delivered to the Geographical Society in 1852, and which he had
the impudence to send out to me in the heart of Africa, where it lay upon an
island a whole year before I got it. In that address my distinguished friend
actually foreshadowed a great portion of my discoveries ; and all I can now
say is, that I hope he will not do the same again. (Laughter and long
continued applause.) "

The company then gave " Three times three for Mrs. Livingstone," and
that lady, from the gallery, bowed in acknowledgment of the compliment.

The Duke of Argyle, in returning thanks for the House of Lords, said : —

" I deem it a great honour, gentlemen, to any Government and to any
Parliament to be able to assist in that noble enterprise to which Dr. Living-
stone has devoted his best energies, and to which he is now willing to devote
his life. Perhaps no enterprise of modern times has attracted so large an
amount of public attention ; and this because it includes within itself almost
every variety and degree of interest. First and foremost there is the interest
which attaches to the character of the man ; and it is right, gentlemen, that
this should be the first and foremost interest of all. The progress of the
world depends upon its great men ; and happy is that people which knows
them when they appear. (Cheers.)

" Dr. Livingstone has to-night told us, with that moderation and sobriety
of expectation which is one of the most remarkable characteristics of his mind,
that he looks for no great immediate results ; but he hopes, he says, to be
able to serve as the ' small end of the wedge.' Now, gentlemen, I say that
at all times and in all successful movements for the improvement of the human
race, ' the small ends of the wedge ' have been individual men of great
endowments for their special work. (Loud cheers.)

" I will not dwell on some of those features in the character of Dr.
Livingstone which have been referred to with so much feeling by our chair-
man ; but I think I cannot go far wrong when I say that one thing at least
for which he is admired by his countrymen is for that lofty and enduring
courage — that true British pluck — for there is no better word — of which we
have lately seen many noble examples, but which has never been exhibited in
a nobler form than that which — not under the strong incitement of a desire to
preserve the lives of those nearest and dearest to him, or of the pride, the
just pride of national dominion, but for objects hid in the far distant future —
has sustained Dr. Livingstone for years through the deserts and the swamps
of Africa. Then, as another great source of public interest, there is the love
of natural science. I recognise around me the faces of many who arc devoted
to that science in its various branches : nor is there one of thorn who may not

264 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

reasonably expect material additions to his knowledge from the researches of
our guest. Dr. Livingstone has told us how our chairman, in two great
branches of inquiry in which he is almost equally distinguished, had in some
decree anticipated and forestalled the result of his (Dr. Livingstone's) dis-
coveries ; and sharing as I am sure our chairman does in the higher interests
of this expedition, he cherishes also, I suspect, a secret hope that it may add
another province to the already extended dominions of the Silurian king.
(Laughter.) I see at this table my distinguished friend Professor Owen. He
also, gentlemen, is well able — no man more able — to appreciate the ' higher
ends ' of our guest's exertions ; but mingled with his interest in these, he too
perhaps has an eye open to special pursuits — and to bones which may extend
the range of his favourite ' homologies.' (Laughter.)

" But the real source, gentlemen, of the interest taken by the public in
the enterprise of Dr. Livingstone, is the deep and abiding interest which they
take in that great cause with which it is specially connected — that great cause
to which their attention was roused in the last generation by the eloquence of
Wilberforce and his associates — the cause of the African race. (Cheers.) I
have been astonished during this last week to receive from America a journal
containing the report of a discussion which has lately taken place in the
Senate of that great Republic, in which it was asserted that there were evident
symptoms of a change of feeling upon this subject in England. And I was
even more surprised to see the reply made to that assertion by another
member of the same body, which was to the effect that he did not believe
there was any change on the part of the people of this country, although he
feared there was a change of policy on the part of its Government. Now,
gentlemen, there is nothing I am more anxious to say on this occasion than
to give an emphatic denial to both assertions. (Cheers.) There is no change
in the feeling of the people — as little is there any change in the policy of the
Government. I need hardly say that as regards slavery in America the
Government of this country neither has, nor can have, any policy at all.
There can be no doubt that any public or official interference on our part
upon that subject would only tend to add to the many powerful motives
already arrayed on the side of slavery, the just susceptibilities of national
independence. But as regards the policy of the Government with reference
to the slave-trade, and generally towards the African race, it is the same as it
has ever been since this country was awakened to her duty. I think I could
appeal to the keenest opponent of Lord Palmerston whether, during his long
&nd distinguished public career, there has been any subject on which he has
shown more constantly his characteristic energy and tenacity of purpose.
(Cheers.) I can sincerely say that the great motive which has induced him
and my noble friend Lord Clarendon, and the other members of the Govern-
ment, to support the enterprise of Dr. Livingstone, has been the hope that

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 265

it may tend to promote the civilization and improvement of the people of
Africa. (Loud applause.)

" Before I sit down, gentlemen, I trust I may be allowed to refer for a
moment to a matter which has been touched upon by our chairman. I am
proud of Dr. Livingstone not only as a Scotchman, but as a native of that
part of the country with which I am more particularly connected. Dr.
Livingstone has himself informed me that at a very recent period his family
came from the little island of Ulva, on the coast of Argyllshire, an island
belonging to what Sir Walter Scott has called

"the group of islets gay
That guard famed Staffa round."

And I deem it, gentlemen, a circumstance not altogether unworthy of remark,
that Ulva stands in very close proximity to another island which was one of
the earliest seats of missionary enterprise in our own country. Most of you
will probably recollect the famous sentence in which the great moralist and
philosopher of England, Dr. Johnson, records his visit to that celebrated spot.
I think I can remember it with substantial accuracy. ' We were now treading
that illustrious island whence roving tribes and rude barbarians derived the
benefits of knowledge and the blessings of religion. The philosophy of that
man is but little to be envied whose patriotism would not kindle on the plains
of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of
Iona.' If such be the feelings with which we should tread upon the spot
which at the distance of so many centuries has been hallowed by the footsteps
of the Christian missionary, surely it is with something of the same feelings
of reverence with which we should assemble here to-night, to bid God-speed
to one whose name will be remembered in after ages, and perhaps by millions
of the human race, as the first pioneer of civilization and the first harbinger
of the Gospel."

In proposing the toast of the various missionary societies, Sir Benjamin
Brodie said : —

" I shall not occupy your time, gentlemen, for more than a few minutes
before I name the toast which I have undertaken to propose.

" We recognize in Dr. Livingstone the intrepid and enterprising traveller,
exploring regions which, in great part at least, had not been before explored
by Europeans, contributing to the general stock an abundance of valuable
information in geography, in natural history, in geology ; associating with
races of mankind of whom we had little or no previous knowledge, conversing
Avith them in their own language, familiarising himself with their habits,
institutions, and modes of thought ; and thus promoting the advancement of
that most important of all the sciences, the science of human nature.
(Cheers.)

"Nor was Dr. Livingstone thus occupied, as in the case of ordinary

Kl

266 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

travellers, for a few months or for one or two years, but for many successive
years. During this long period he continued his researches with unabated
zeal ; without being appalled by danger, or disheartened by the privations to
which he was subjected, or the difficulties which he had to encounter ; not the
least of these being, repeated and severe attacks of bodily illness. (Cheers.)

" But Dr. Livingstone is also presented to us under another aspect, as a
Christian missionary, using his endeavours to extend the advantages of
civilization, not after the fashion of the Roman conquerors of Gaul and
Britain, by transplanting, at the cost of rapine and bloodshed, the arts and
sciences of an older and more civilised people into the conquered country,
but by communicating knowledge, promoting education, and inculcating the
principles of a religion which enjoins the exercise of kindness, charity, and
justice, which tells us that we are to forgive our enemies, and do unto others
as we would that they should do unto us.

" There are others in Africa engaged in the same pursuits, who, however
occupied with their duties as missionaries, have found leisure from time to
time to transmit to Europe important information on other subjects, and to
whom science is much indebted ; and I have to propose to you as a toast —
' The Members of the Missionary Societies who by their Christian labours
have so much enlarged our acquaintance with Africa and its inhabitants.' "
(Cheers.)

The Bishop of Oxford, in proposing the health of Sir Roderick Murchison,
said : —

u In proposing, therefore, gentlemen, to you the health of our chairman,
I know that I have with me the universal concurrence of all the members of
this great gathering. (Cheers.) In truth, sir, for reasons which connect
themselves immediately with our important object to-night, you are the fittest
man amongst us to occupy that post. For you as a most distinguished
geologist and geographer, and as the head of the Royal Geographical Society,
have done more by far than any who have not carefully examined the whole
matter can conceive, both to support our enterprising friend Dr. Livingstone
during his arduous undertakings, and finally to crown them with success.
(Cheers.)

" Gentlemen, I need but draw your attention for a single moment to the
pregnant words in which Dr. Livingstone has dedicated his recent volume to
our chairman in order to convince you of this. Weigh well these words, ' as
a token of gratitude for the kind interest he has always taken in the author's
pursuits and welfare ; ' and then remember the simple-hearted, truth-speaking
writer from whose pen they flowed, and you will be more able to estimate
what were really our chairman's services in this great undertaking. (Cheers.)

" Truly it does need the combination of different men and different
faculties before any such vast undertaking as this can be achieved. There

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 267

must be, first, the physical, the intellectual, the moral, and the spiritual
faculties combined in one person, which are so eminently combined in Dr.
Livingstone, before the actual agent in such explorations can be provided.
But then beyond these personal qualifications he must have support from
home ; there must be the mere physical support, as I may call it, of money,
means, ships, companions, goods for presents, and the like ; and then, far
beyond these, there must be that internal consciousness of possessing the
sympathy of hearty, generous, trusting friends at home ; that inward stirring
of a true national life within the individual ; the reflection within himself of
the outcoming towards him of the strong national life at home which makes
the poet, or the hero, or the great explorer. In how many times of trial,
difficulty, and despondency does the stirring of this inward life again invi-
gorate the far-off man in the midst of his lonely wanderings in the desert !
(Cheers.)

" But then the existence of this home remembrance must, in a great
degree, depend on there being at home some few who are able and willing
generously to keep alive the home remembrance of the absent man and an
interest in his work. For at home all things are moving so fast that things
out of sight are soon things out of mind. The world round us goes at such
speed, its objects, its cares, its pleasures, its amusements, its entanglements,
shift and vary with such rapid and endless permutation, that unless there be
some ' sacred prophet ' evermore at hand to sing to us of the absent, he passes
out of remembrance ; and this work for Dr. Livingstone was done by our
chairman : from the chair of the Geographical Society, amongst men of
science, amongst statesmen, he kept alive the interest which was due to
Livingstone and his work. And how well qualified above other men he was
to do this, the rest of that dedication shows : for it embalms the really
remarkable fact already alluded to, that our chairman by his mere scientific
deductions had arrived at the true hypothesis as to the physical conformation
of the African continent which Livingstone verified by actual observation.
And so, for these discoveries, there were combined the various necessary con-
ditions— (Cheers) — the Geographical Society, headed by its president, to
solicit the Government to keep alive the interest of the public, and so to
support the enterprising traveller. He, too, combined in himself rare
faculties for his work of stepping out, if I may so express it, as to African
explorations the first track of civilized feet on the dangerous and untrodden
snows, which at any moment might be found to have merely loosely covered
fathomless abysses. He had the physical strength needed for such work.
He had the capacity for understanding the greatness of his enterprise, and,
gentlemen, I believe him to be full of the truest greatness. (Cheers.)

" You will not think that I speak too strongly when I say that I believe
we owe a debt of unparalleled magnitude to our dark brethren dwelling in

268 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

that great continent. For we, as a nation, were of old the great founders
and the great conductors of the accursed slave-trade. Complete at last, thank
God ! but late as well as complete, was our repentance, and all that we can
do we are bound to do to remedy the wrongs we have inflicted. And fearful
have they been. How humiliating is it to us in our talk of the onward march
of civilization, and of piercing with our discoveries into the heart of African
barbarism, to learn from Dr. Livingstone that he can trace by the presence of
vice,' and crime, and rapine, and distrust, and insecurity of property and life,
the very limits of the past intercourse of the black savages of Africa with the
white Christians of Europe ! (Cheers.) For it was not only on the coast
line that deep injury was inflicted by that accursed trade ; but far within
that coast line, wherever the agents of that traffic penetrated, there were
contamination and destruction. And how can this evil be undone ? Much
may be done by our naval squadron, and for doing anything by any means I
am convinced that its vigorous maintenance is essential ; but the best successes
of that blockade can only create the calm necessary for the working of other
influences, and amongst the very first, if not actually as the very first, of
those influences I esteem the establishment of lawful commerce. (Cheers.)

" Now, this Livingstone had the grasp of mind to perceive ; to see that
he should be most effectually opening the way for the future evangelisation of
Africa, if he first opened a path by which lawful Christian commerce could
pass and repass into those hitherto separated regions. (Cheers.)

" Well, but in addition to this he had many other faculties, which all
made up together the combination necessary to qualify him to act as the true
discoverer of Africa. For, besides what I have named already, he had a clear,
shrewd, strong understanding, great simplicity, great power of mastering
languages, great courage, great power of influencing others, great gentleness
by which he won on their affections, and, above all, he had, to qualify him
for his work, downright, straightforward, sterling British truth and honesty.
(Great cheering.)

" For supporting, then, this man as he has supported him, we owe, I
think, all thanks and honour to our chairman, and I call upon you to drink
with all the honours long life and happiness to him."

Professor Owen, in proposing the toast of " The Universities and
Scientific Bodies," which have united the geographers to honour Livingstone,
said : —

" I rise to express the pleasure with which I avail myself of the oppor-
tunity I am favoured with of publicly acknowledging the deep sense of the
obligation which, in common with all men of science, and more especially the
cultivators of natural history, I feci towards the distinguished traveller we
have this day assembled to honour. (Cheers.)

" During the long and painful journeyinga by which the great geographi-

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 2C9

cal discoveries were made that place the name of Livingstone among the
foremost in that science — though harassed by every difficulty, enfeebled by
sickness and encompassed by dangers — in perils of swamps and waters, in
perils of noxious and destructive beasts, or of crafty and hostile men — yet no
phenomenon of nature, whether meteoric or living, appears to have escaped
the clear glance and self-possessed cognition of the determined explorer.
(Loud cheers.)

" In regard to zoology, I must state that I never perused the work of any
traveller from which I had to take, from the same number of pages, so many
extracts of new and original notices of the living habits of rare animals, as
from the volume of African travels of which Mr. Murray now announces the
' Thirtieth Thousand.' In this work the South African colonist and the
entomologist are alike benefited by the most precise and authentic evidence
yet obtained of the terrible tsetse-fly, and its fatal effects on the ox, horse,
dog, and other animals indispensable to colonising progress. The scientific
staff about to accompany Livingstone in his second exploration of the
Zambesi will doubtless, aided by his experience, clear up all the mystery
of this most extraordinary property attributed to an insect no bigger
than the house-fly. In the same unpretending volume we find a rich
store of new facts in natural history, told with the charm of direct transcript
from nature, and with the racincss of original power, and that humour which
is so often the concomitant of great and simple minds. In regard to the
singular economy of the ants and teremites, with what interest we read of the
unhooking of the wings by the insect itself after the nuptial flight, when the
bride, her one holiday excursion ended, lays down her ' limber fans ' of
glistening gauze, and betakes herself henceforth to the duties of domestic life,
— of the untiring activity of the workers, under the scorching sun, which
unweariedness the deep-thinking traveller illustrates by comparison with the
beating of the heart, perhaps unconscious of the profound physiological truth
embodied in this comparison of insect movements with the involuntary or
reflex muscular action in higher animals ! How mysterious seems that power
of most rapid diffusion of a subtle penetrating effluvium, which Livingstone
notices as the defence of certain ants, with experimental determinations of
distance and rate of progress of the emanation ! (Applause.) The same
faculty of exact inquiry is manifested in the experiments, which remind us of
those of Hunter — born, like Livingstone, in the parish of Kilbride — by which
our traveller determined the independent source of the fluid secretion of the
tree-insect, from which it dripped in such extraordinary quantity, both whilst
attached to the twig and when insulated from its sap- vessels. The ornitho-
logist has wondered at the seeming monstrous beaks of the hornbills, little
dreaming of that strange economy manifested in the voluntary imprisonment
of the incubating female, plastered up with her nest in the cleft of a tree, a

270 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

fissure only being left through which she can protrude the tip of her long bill
to receive food from her attendant mate, and he, reciprocally, poke his into
the procreative prison to tempt her with some dainty. (Applause.)

" Of the ostrich much has been written ; yet we wanted Livingstone's
testimony of the vocal power of the wild male, roaring like the lion, and only,
as our traveller tells us, distinguishable by being heard in broad day instead
of by night. (Continued applause.) Of the king of beasts himself the
volume contains the richest storehouse of facts, from direct and varied
observations of him in his native wilderness.

" Perhaps, however, this is the part of our friend's book that has failed
to give unmixed satisfaction to the British public. We dislike to have our
settled notions disturbed by provokingly unvarnished, uncompromising asser-
tions of facts that militate against a cherished prepossession. Some of us feel
rather sore at our notions of the majesty of England's old emblematic beast
being upset by the sum of our guest's opportunities of intimate acquaintance
with the natural disposition and habits of the lion of South Africa. (Laughter.)
Fearfully intimate, indeed, was part of his experience ! That direful grip —
which since has left one arm a dangling appendage — when the dishevelled
mane of the irate monster was tossed about his victim's head, and the hot
breath driven with deafening roar into his ear ! — did it shake all respect for
the traditional nobility of the lion out of the Doctor's mind ? Certain it is,
the sum of his recorded observations shows the lion to be a slothful, skulking,
cruel beast of prey, — by no means the psychical compound we have delighted
to associate with our national emblem. (Laughter.) Perhaps, however, I
have a word of comfort for those who would still glorify its type. Species
differ in habits. The British lion is not a mere heraldic monster, but was
once a grim flesh-and-blood reality. I have had the satisfaction of deter-
mining that the Felts speloea of our Yorkshire, Somersetshire, and Devonshire
bone-caves was a veritable lion, surpassing in bulk, and with j)aws of twice
the relative size, of those of the largest living lion of North or South Africa.
The old British species has passed away — at least he now only shakes his
mane and roars in metaphor (continued laughter) ; but the extinct antetype
may have possessed all the qualities which his most ardent admirer would
have ascribed to him. (Cheers.)

"It is hard for the naturalist, when on his favourite topic, to forbear
gleaning: from Livingstone's full and rich storehouse of facts about buffaloes,
rhinoceroses, elephants, and so forth. But the hour reminds me that time has
fled apace — quickly because so pleasantly.

" Our excellent chairman has j^ointedly adverted to one quality in
Livingstone — his inflexible adherence to his word. (Cheers.) It is shown in
small as well as great things. When, eighteen years ago, the young
missionary was preparing himself for his task, he devoted part of his short

FAREWELL FESTIVAL. 271

leisure in London to studying the science of comparative anatomy in the
Hunterian Museum, then under my charge. On taking leave of me he
promised to bear me in mind if any particular curiosity fell in his way.
Such an one did in the course of his Zambesi travels — the tusk of an elephant
with a spiral curve. It was a heavy one ; and you may recall the difficulties
of the progress of the weak, sick traveller, on the bullock's back. Every
pound weight was of moment ; but Livingstone said, ' Owen shall have this
tusk,' and he placed it in my hands in London. (Loud cheers.)

" In the perusal of the missionary's travels it is impossible not to infer the
previous training of a strong and original mind richly and variously stored ;
not otherwise could science have been enriched by such precious records of
wanderings in a previously untrod field of discovery. Our honoured guest
may feel assured that whilst the cultivators of science yield to no class of
minds in their appreciation and reverence of his dauntless dissemination of
that higher wisdom which is not of this world, such feelings enhance their
sense of obligation for his co-operation in the advancement of that lower
wisdom which our great poet defines as ' resting in the contemplation of
natural causes and dimensions.' (Applause.)

" Every man to whom it has been given to add to human knowledge
looks back with grateful feelings to the school or college where he acquired
his elements of the sciences. With the same feeling that Livingstone may
recall the old lecture halls at Glasgow, so do I those of Edinburgh. "We may
both rejoice that the natural sciences have always had so large a share of the
teachings in those universities. At the same time we cannot forget that we
have both been honoured by a degree from the oldest and most classical
university of England."

At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, subsequent to Living-
stone's departure for the Zambesi, Sir Roderick Murchison indicated the
objects he had in view, and his fitness for carrying them to a successful issue,
in the following : —

" Having observed in the character of my friend Dr. Livingstone a happy
union of simplicity, patience, unruffled temper, and kindness, with quickest
perception, and the most undaunted resolution, I feel persuaded that, vast as
have been his achievements, he is still destined to confer great advantages
upon South Africa and his own country. His aim, when he returns to Kili-
mane and Tete, in the spring of 1858, or the first period of the healthy
season, and after he has rejoined his old companions the Makololo, who are
anxiously waiting for him, will be to endeavour to establish marts or stations
beyond the Portuguese colony, to which the inhabitants of the interior may
bring their goods for sale, and where they may interchange them for British
produce. At these stations, which will be in those flanking, high grounds of
the African continent that he has described as a perfect sanatoria, he will en-

272 LIFE OF DA YID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

deavour to extend the growth of cotton, as well as to teach the natives how
to till their land, taking out with him for these intents cotton-seed, gins,
ploughs, &c. He will further endeavour to bring to the English market a
vegetable called Buaze, which possesses so tough and fibrous a tissue as to
render it of great value even to the natives in their rude manufactures.
Specimens of this plant, which grows in profusion on the north bank of the
Zambesi, have been converted into a substance that has been pronounced by
a leading manufacturer to be worth, when prepared, between fifty and sixty
pounds per ton, and applicable to all purposes for which flax is employed.
In this material, therefore, alone, to say nothing of indigo, cotton, beeswax,
ivory, and the ores of iron, with much good coal, we have sufficient indication
that no time should be lost in establishing a regular intercourse with the
natives of so prolific a region.

" Thus, acting as the pioneer of civilisation, Dr. Livingstone will first
engage the good will of the natives through their love of barter, and, having
secured their confidence by honesty of purpose, he will the more readily be
able to lead them to adopt the truths of that religion of which he is a minister,
and of the value of which his whole life is a practical illustration.

" Fortunate is it for our country that we have in the Earl of Clarendon
a Minister of Foreign Affairs, who not less than the noble Premier has been
the consistent and vigorous supporter of every measure tending to root out
the trade in slaves ; and impressed as our Government is with the desire to
sow those seeds of civilization among the natives, and probably realise the
cheering prospect of a great production of the raw material necessary for our
manufactures by the independent nations of Africa, let us hope that, whilst
the Niger or Kwara Expedition under Baikic, to which I have adverted, is
working towards that good end upon the West, the benevolent and enter-
prising Livingstone, already so dear to the natives, may be sent back to
reside among his friends the Mnkololo, as the ' Agent of the Queen of the
people who love the Black Man.' "

CHAPTER XIII.

Dr. Livingstone and His Fellow Travellers Leave for Africa. — Ascend the Zam-
besi.— Difficulties of Navigation. — Ascend t/ie Shire. — Discover Lakes tihirwa
and Ngassa.

THE interest felt by the public in the second mission of Dr. Living-
stone to Africa was shared by the Government of the day. Lord
Palmerston, who was then at the head of Her Majesty's Government,
readily assented to rendering assistance to enable him to prosecute his
researches in the valley of Zambesi. Lord Clarendon then held the seals of
the Foreign Office, and under his auspices a mission was formed and means
furnished to enable Dr. Livingstone to provide himself with efficient assistance
and equipment for the proper prosecution of his new enterprise. This provi-
sion included his brother, the Rev. Charles Livingstone, who had joined him
from the United States, Dr. Kirk, as botanist, since well-known to the public
as Her Majesty's Consul at Zanzibar, Mr. R. Thornton, as geologist and
naturalist, Mr. Baines, as artist, and Captain Bedingfeld, as navigator and
surveyor of the river sj*stems. A small steamer constructed of steel, and chris-
tened the Ma-Rolert in honour of Mrs. Livingstone, was specially designed
for the navigation of the Zambesi.

The party proceeded to the Cape on board Her Majesty's Colonial steam-
ship, Pearl, where they were joined by Mr. Francis Skead, R.N., as surveyor,
and arrived off the mouths of the Zambesi in May. The real mouths of the
Zambesi were little known, as the Portuguese Government had let it be
understood that the Killimane was the only navigable outlet of the river.
This was done to induce the English cruisers employed in the suppression of
the slave trade to watch the false mouth, while slaves were quietly shipped
from the true one ; this deception being propagated — even after the publication
of Livingstone's discoveries — in a map issued by the Portuguese colonial
minister. The Ma-Robert was put together and launched, and four inlets to
the river, each of them superior to the Killimane, discovered and examined.
The four mouths are known as the Milambe, the Luabo, the Timbwe, and the
Kongone ; the latter being selected as the most navigable.

Dr. Livingstone's manly exposure of the deception practised by the Portu-
guese Government for the purpose of encouraging the slave trade, excited the
wrath and jealousy of the Portuguese Government officials, who have vainly
Ll

m LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

endeavoured to throw discredit upon his discoveries. This feeling was not
shared by the local authorities, who were, or pretended to be, really ignorant
of the existence of the true channel, and showed their appreciation of his
discovery by establishing a fort at the mouth of the Kongone.

Steaming up the channel, the natives retreating in terror at their approach,
the party had an opportunity of admiring the fertility of the soil, and the
abundant animal and vegetable life with which the delta abounds. The
delta is much larger than that of the Nile, and if properly cultivated would,
Livingstone thinks, grow as much sugar-cane as would supply the wants of
the whole of Europe. The dark woods of the delta " resound with the lively
and exultant cries of the kinghunter, as he sits perched on high among the
trees. As the steamer moves on through the winding channel, a pretty little
heron or bright kingfisher darts out in alarm from the edge of the bank. . .
The magnificent fishhawk sits on the top of a mangrove tree digesting his
morning meal of fresh fish, and is clearly unwilling to stir until the imminence
of the danger compels him at last to spread his great wings for flight. The
glossy ibis, acute of ear to a remarkable degree, hears from afar the unwonted
sound of the paddles, and, springing from the mud where his family has been
quietly feasting, is off screaming out his loud, harsh, and defiant ha ! ha ! ha !
long before the danger is near."

" The mangroves are now left behind, and are succeeded by vast level
plains of rich dark soil, covered with gigantic grasses, so tall that they tower
over one's head, and render hunting impossible. Beginning in July, the grass
is burned off every year after it has become dry. . . . Several native huts
now peep out from the bananas and cocoa-palms on the right bank ; they
stand on piles a few feet above the level of the low damp ground, and their
owners enter them by means of ladders." The native gardens were in a high
state of cultivation — rice, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, cabbages,
onions, peas, cotton, and sugar-cane being freely cultivated. The natives
they met with were well fed, but very scantily clothed. They stood on the
banks and gazed with wonder at the Pearl and the Ma-Ilobcrt, one of them,
an old man, asking if the former was made out of one tree. They were all
eager to trade, coming alongside the steamers in their canoes with fruit, and
food, and honey, and beeswax, and shouting " Malonda, Malonda ! — Things
for sale."

When the water became too shallow for the passage of the Pearl, she left
the party ; Mr. Skead and a Mr. Duncan, who had accompanied them from
the Cape, returning with her. Several members of the expedition were left on
an island, which they named Expedition Island, from the 18th of June until the
13th of August, while the others were conveying the goods up to Shupanga and
Senna. This was a work of some danger, as the country was in a state of
war — a half-caste chief, called Mariano, who ruled over the country from the

DR. LIVINGSTONE UNDER FIRE. 275

Shire down to Mazaro at the head of the Delta, having waged war against the
Portuguese for some time previous to their visit. He was a keen slave-hunter,
and kept a large number of men well armed with muskets. So long as he
confined himself to slave-hunting forays among the helpless tribes, and
carried down his captives in chains to Kilimane, where they were sold and
shipped as "free emigrants" to the French island of Bourbon, the Portuguese
authorities did not interfere with him, although his slave-hunting expeditions
were conducted with the utmost atrocity, he frequently indulging his thirst for
blood by spearing large numbers of helpless natives with his own hand.
Getting bolder, he began to attack the natives who were under the protection
of the Portuguese, and then war was declared against him. He resisted for
a time ; but fearing that he would ultimately get the worst of it, he went to
Kilimane to endeavour to arrange for peace with the governor ; but Colonel
da Silva refused his proffered bribes, and sent him to Mozambique for trial.
When Livingstone's party first came in contact with the rebels at Mazaro,
they looked formidable and threatening ; but on being told that the party were
English, they fraternised with them, and warmly approved of the objects of
the expedition.

A little later, a battle was fought between the contending parties within
a mile and a half of Livingstone's party ; and on landing to pay his respects
to several of his old friends who had treated him kindly on the occasion of
his former appearance amongst them, he found himself among the mutilated
bodies of the slain. The governor was ill of fever, and Livingstone was re-
quested to convey him to Shupanga ; and just as he had consented, the battle
was renewed, the bullets whistling about his ears. Failing to get any assist-
ance, Livingstone half supported and half carried the sick governor to the
ship. His Excellency, who had taken nothing for the fever but a little
camphor, and being a disbeliever in Livingstone's mode of treatment, was
after some difficulty cured against his will. A little after this, Bonga,
Mariano's brother, made peace with the governor, and the war came to
an end.

For miles before reaching Mazaro, the scenery is uninteresting, consisting
of long stretches of level grassy ])lains, the monotony of which is broken here
and there by the round green tops of stately palm-trees. Sandmartius flitted
about in flocks, darting in and out of their holes in the banks. On the
numerous islands which dot the broad expanse of the stream, many kinds of
water-fowl, such as geese, flamingoes, herons, spoonbills, etc., were seen in large
numbers. Huge crocodiles lay basking on the low banks, gliding sluggishly
into the stream as they caught sight of the steamer. The hippopotamus
" rising from the bottom, where he has been enjoying his morning bath after
the labour of the night on shore, blows a puff of spray out of his nostrils,
shakes the water out of his ears, puts his enormous snout up straight and

276 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

yawns, sounding a loud alarm to the rest of the herd, with notes as of a mon-
strous bassoon."

The Zulus or Landeens are the lords of the soil on the right bank of the
Zambesi, and take tribute from the Portuguese at Senna and Shupanga.
Each merchant pays annually 200 pieces of cloth of sixteen yards each, be-
side beads, and brass wire ; and while they groan under this heavy levy of
black mail, they are powerless, as a refusal to pay it would involve them in a
war in which they would lose all they possess. In the forests near Shupanga,
a tree, called by the natives molcundu-kundu abounds; it attains to a great size,
and being hard and cross-grained, is used for the manufacture of large canoes.
At the time of Livingstone's visit, a Portuguese merchant at Kilimane paid
the Zulus 300 dollars per annum for permission to cut it.

Livingstone's old friends, Colonel Nunes and Major Sicard, received the
traveller and his party with much goodwill, causing wood to be cut for fuel
for the steamer. The wood used for this purpose was lignum vitse and African
ebony ; Rae, the engineer, knowing the value of these at home, " said it made
his heart sore to burn woods so valuable." The india rubber tree and calumba
root were found to be abundant in the interior ; and along the banks of the
river, indigo was growing in a wild state. The Ma-Robert turned out a
failure, the builder, having deceived Livingstone as to her power, &c. It
took hours to get up steam, and she went so slowly that the heavily-laden
native canoes passed more rapidly up the river than she did. One can hardly
think with temper on a misadventure like this, and can readily sympathise
with his feeling of annoyance when he found that for all practical purposes
she was worse than useless. Near the mouth of the Shire, Bonga, with some
of his principal men visited the party ; and in addition to assuring them that
none of his people would molest them, presented them with some rice, two
sheep, and a quantity of fire-wood. Within six miles of Senna, the party
had to leave the steamer, the shoal channel not being deep enough for her
draught. " The narrow winding path, along which they had to march in
Indian file, lay through gardens and patches of wood, the loftiest trees being
thorny acacias. The sky was cloudy, the air cool and pleasant, and the little
birds in the gladness of their hearts, poured forth sweet strange songs, which,
though equal to those of the singing birds at home on a spring morning, yet
seemed somehow as if in a foreign tongue. We met many natives in the
wood, most of the men were armed with spears, bows and arrows, and old
Tower muskets ; the women had short-handled iron hoes, and were going to
work in the gardens: they stepped aside to let us pass, and saluted us politely,
the men bowing and scraping, and the women, even with heavy loads on
their heads, curtseying — a curtsey from bare legs is startling ! "

On an island near Senna they visited a small fugitive tribe of hippopotami
hunters, who had been driven from their own island in front. They are an

**!

SPEARING H I PPOPOIAM

A VOLUNTARY SLAVE. 277

exclusive people, and never intermarry with other tribes. These hunters
frequently go on long expeditions, talcing their wives and children with thein,
erecting temporary huts on the banks of the rivers, where they dry the meat
they have killed. They are a comely race, and do not disfigure themselves
with lip-ornaments, as many of the neighbouring tribes do. Livingstone
gives the following description of the weapon with which they kill the hipopo-
tamus : — " It is a short iron harpoon inserted in the end of a long pole ; but
being intended to unship, it is made fast to a strong cord of milola or hibiscus
bark, which is wound closely round the entire length of the shaft and secured
at its opposite end. Two men in a swift canoe steal quietly down on the
sleeping animal ; the bowman dashes the harpoon into the unconscious victim,
while the quick steersman sweeps the light craft back with his broad paddle.
The force of the blow separates the harpoon from its corded handle ; which,
appearing on the surface, sometimes with an inflated bladder attached, guides
the hunters to where the wounded beast hides below until they despatch it."

Near Tete, a seam of excellent coal, of twenty-five feet in thickness, was
visited and examined. Coal and iron are common in the lower Zambesi, tho
latter being of excellent quality, and quite equal to the best Swedish. The
existence of these minerals must play an important part in the regeneration
of the people and the civilization of this vast and important district.

The Ma-Robert anchored in the stream off Tete on the 8th of September,
and great was the joy of the Makololo men when they recognised Dr. Living-
stone. Some were about to embrace him; but others cried out, "Don't
touch him ; you will spoil his new clothes." They listened sadly to the
account of the end of Sekwebu, remarking, "Men die in any country."
They had much to tell of their own doings and trials. Thirty of their num-
ber had died of small-pox ; and other six, becoming tired of wood-cutting,
went away to dance before the neighbouring chiefs. They visited Bonga,
the son of Nyaude (not the brother of Mariano), who cruelly put them to
death. " We do not grieve," they said, " for the thirty victims of small-pox,
who were taken away by Morimo (God) ; but our hearts are sore for the six
youths who were murdered by Bonga." If any order had been given by Don
Pedro for the maintenance of the Makololo men during Livingstone's absence,
it never reached Tete ; and they were dependent on their own exertions and
the kindness of Major Sicard, who treated them most generously, and gave
them land and tools to raise some food for themselves.

At Tete, the party took up their abode in the Residency House, and re-
ceived the most generous hospitality from Major Sicard and all the Portuguese
residents. A singular case of voluntary slavery came under Livingstone's
notice here. Chibanti, an active young fellow, who had acted as pilot to the
expedition, sold himself to Major Sicard, assigning as a reason that he had
neither father nor mother, and that Major Sicard was a kiud master. He sold

278 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

himself for three-and-thirty yard-pieces of cloth. "With two of the pieces he
bought a man, a woman, and a child ; afterwards he bought more slaves, and
owned a sufficient number to man one of the large canoes with which the trade
of the river is carried on. Major Sicard subsequently employed him in car-
rying ivory and other merchandise to Kilimane, and gave cloth to his men
for the voyage. The Portuguese, as a rule, are very kind to their slaves ; but
the half-castes are cruel slave-holders. Livingstone quotes a saying of a hu-
mane Portuguese which indicates the reputation they bear: — "God made
white men, and God made black men ; but the devil made half-castes."

The party visited and examined the Kebra-basa Rapids, and found them
very formidable barriers to the navigation of the river. They are so called
from a range of rocky mountains which cross the Zambesi at that spot. The
river, during the dry season, is confined to a narrow channel, through which
the water forces itself, boiling and eddying within a channel of not more than
sixty yards in width, the top of the masts of the Ma-Robert, although thirty
feet high, not reaching to the flood-mark on the rocky sides. The whole bed
and banks of the stream are broken by huge masses of rock of every
imaginable shape. The rapids extend for upwards of eight miles, and could
only be passed by a steamer during the floods. The march along the banks
of the river among the rocks, which were so hot from the heat of the sun as
to blister the bare feet of the Makololo men, was most fatiguing. Several
miles above these rapids is the cataract of Morumbwa, where the river is
jammed into a cavity of not more than fifty yards in width ; with a fall of
twenty feet in a slope of thirty yards. During floods it is navigable, the
rapids being all but obliterated through the great rise in the river, the rocks
showing a flood mark eighty feet above the level of the stream.

Dr. Livingstone's account of the rapids and the country in the neighbour-
hood, as given in his letters to the Foreign Offices, is so interesting that
we give several extracts here : —

" They were not seen by me in 1856, and, strange as it may appear, no
one else could be found who could give an account of any part except the
commencement, about 30 miles above this. The only person who had possessed
curiosity enough to ascend a few miles, described it as a number of detached
rocks jutting out across the stream, rendering the channel tortuous and
dangerous. A mountain called Panda Maboa (Copper Mountain — a mass of
saccharine marble at the top, contains joints of the green carbonate of copper,
which is said to have been worked — hence the name) stretches out towards the
range of hills on the eastern bank, so as to narrow the river to 60 or 80 yards.
This is the commencement of Kebra, or, more correctly, Kebra-basa. We
went about four miles beyond Panda Maboa, in this little steamer, and soon
saw that the difficulty is caused by the Zambesi being confined by mountains
to a bed scarcely a quarter of a mile broad. This bed, viewed from a height,

KEBRA-BASA RAPIDS. 279

appears covered with huge blocks of rock, interspersed with great rounded
boulders. Large patches of the underlying rock, which is porphyry and
various metamorphic masses huddled together in wild confusion, are also
seen on the surface; and winding from side to side in this uppper bed
there is a deep narrow gorge, in which, when we were steaming up the
usual call of the man at the lead was, " no bottom at ten fathoms."
Though the perpendicular sides of this channel are generally of hard
porphyry or syenite, they are ground into deep pot-holes, and drilled into
numerous vertical groves similar to those in Eastern wells, where the draw-
rope has been in use for ages ; these show the wearing power of the water
when the river is full. The breadth of this channel was from 30 to 60 yards,
and its walls at low water from 50 to 80 feet high. At six or seven points
there are rocky islands in it which divide the water into two or three channels
for short distances. The current, which we generally found gentle, increases
in force at these points to four or five knots, and as our vessel has only a
single engine of 10-horse power, it can scarcely stem that amount in open
water ; and besides, being of an extremely awkward and unhandy ' canoe-
form,' and only one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, it is evident we cannot
risk her in any but the gentlest currents. The attempt to haul her through
would have doubled her up, so we left her at the beginning of the first rapid,
and went forward to examine the parts above on foot. The usual course
traders have pursued is to come to a point below, where we left the steamer
in canoes, and leaving them there, go overland through the level Shidima
country, well away from the mountains which skirt the river, and when they
reported an impediment to navigation, they referred to the unwieldy canoes
only in common use on the lower parts of the Zambesi. These cannot paddle
against a 4-knot stream ; nor can they punt at a depth of 60 feet, nor tow
along a precipice often 80 feet high, and always smooth, slippery, or jagged.
But though there is an impediment to canoe-navigation, it would prove none
during four or five months each year to a steamer capable of going 12 or 1-i
knots an hour.

" With Dr. Kirk, Mr. Rae, and some Makololo in company, we marched
about 12 miles nearly North from the entrance, at Panda Maboa. The upper
bed, in which we were travelling, was excessively rough, but we occasionally
got glances of the river at the bottom of the groove, and saw four rapids.
The people having all fled from some marauding party, we could neither get
provisions nor information, and returned in order to organize a regular
exploration of the whole difficulty.

"Major Sicard having found out that a native Portuguese, Sn. Jose
Santa Anna, had, when young, hunted elephants among the mountains which
confine the Zambesi, engaged him to accompany us in our second expedition,
which consisted of the seven members of our party and ten Makololo.

280 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Leaving the steamer at a safe spot above Panda Maboa, we proceeded up the
left bank, the different members pursuing their several avocations as much as
the roughness of the march would allow. A careful sketch and a photograph
were made of the worst rapid we had then seen ; there was a fall of about 5
feet in 20 yards, but on our return a rise of the river of between 3 and 4 feet
had made it nearly level.

" Crossing the Luia, a small river coming into the Zambesi from the
North-east (lat. 15° 37' South), we turned Westwards, and soon reached the
beginning of the range Shiperizioa, which, without knowing the name, we
had previously seen. This part of the river our guide had only once seen
from a distant mountain, and supposed what was now only a small, and by no
means steep rapid, to be a large waterfall. The range Shiperizioa, appearing
to end in a fine peak at least 2300 feet high, we resolved to ascend it and get
a view of the river beyond. A hippopotamus having been killed, a party was
left to cut up the meat while we went on to the peak. It was found inaccessible
from the river-side. It forms the most prominent feature in the landscape,
and we thought it right to pay a compliment to our Portuguese friends, by
naming it Mount Stephanie, after their young Queen. As our guide, Sn. Jose,
had hunted all along the river to Chicova, and a party of natives who came to
beg meat, agreed with him in asserting that no waterfall existed above Mount
Stephanie, we began our return to the steamer. But after one day's march
homewards one of the Makololo mentioned that he had received information of
the existence of a larger cataract than any we had seen, and that too from one
of the above-mentioned party of natives, it was at once resolved that Dr. Kirk
and I should return and verify this while the rest of the party worked their
way downwards.

" Accompanied by four Makololo, we now proceeded by the back or
northern side of Mount Stephanie, and were fortunate enough to find a village
situated in a beautiful valley, with a fine stream of water running through it.
The people are called Badema, and though mountaineers, possess but little of
that brave character which we are accustomed to ascribe to such people. They
generally flee from strangers ; their gardens were seen on the highest parts
of the mountains ; some of them on slopes at an angle of 70°, where there
was very little soil. They cultivate the native cotton in preference to the
imported, as the former, though yielding less, has by far the strongest fibre,
and the plants continue yielding annually, though burned down to the ground.
They support the branches which remain by trellice-work, as we do grape-vines ;
their looms are of the most primitive description, but they value the cloth made
from them much more than they do our more beautifully woven fabrics.

" Zanclia, the head man of this village, furnished us with two guides tp
take us to Pajodzi, the point to which canoes are accustomed to descend ; for
though he asserted that there was no waterfall, we considered it our duty to

ROUGH TRAVELLING. 281

see all the difficult part by descending from that point before reporting to Her
Majesty's Government. The next village we came to gave a totally different
account ; the men asserted that there was a waterfall so frightful as to be
perfectly unapproachable : ' no elephant had ever gone near it, nor hippopo-
tamus ; not even an alligator could reach it, and a man might perish with
thirst in sight of, but unable to approach it.' On asking how they happened
to get near this frightful abyss, they replied that it was more accessible from
the other side. They had a political reason for not showing us the river ; the
Banyai, on the opposite lands (Shidima) have been in the habit of exacting
large payments from the traders for leave to pass. Eighty fathoms of calico
are sometimes paid to a single village, and the villagers here were afraid that
blame would be imputed by the Banyai to them in the event of our opening
a path whereby their exactions would be avoided. By insisting that our two
guides from Zandia should fulfil their bargain, they went on, but led us to a
point near Mount Stephanie, where, emerging from the mountains, we found
ourselves a good thousand feet above the Zambesi ; the mountains on both
sides slope at a high angle down to the water, and there is no upper or flood-
bed. The water, about 300 yards broad, appeared to us at the height we first
saw it, not more than a third of this width. The guides pointed to a rapid,
caused by two rocks about eight feet high in the middle of the stream, as the
waterfall ; but refusing to credit them, we resolved to go up along the bank
westward.

"On descending to the water's edge we found the steep sloping bank
covered with enormous boulders, with a black glaze, as if they had recently
been smeared over with tar. Wherever the water flows over rocks for a lona'
time this peculiar glaze appears ; it has been observed in the Congo, and has
been mentioned by Humboldt in the Orinoco. The guides declared that it was
totally impossible to go further, though their soles were furnished with a thick
cracked skin similar to that of the elephant. The marks of these cracks were
visible on the sand they trod upon. The Makololo head-men — very willing
fellows — showed me their feet on which the blisters were broken by the hot
rocks over which we had climbed, and said they were fairly done up ; that it
was evident the villagers magnified the difficulty from political motives ; and
that there was no impediment save such as we had already seen. On urging
them to make another effort, they said that they ' always imagined I had a
heart till then ; they were sorry Kirk could not understand them, for he would
acquiesce in their views and go back — I had surely become insane ; ' and next
day they endeavoured by signs to induce him to return. Leaving them there
Dr. Kirk and I went on alone ; but while striving with all our might we could
not make more than one mile in three hours. It was in truth the worst tract I
ever travelled over ; our strong new English boots were worn through the soles.
The sun's rays were converged by the surrounding hills into a sort of focus, and

M 1

282 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

the stones were so hot the hand could not be held on them a moment, though
we were in danger of being dashed down into the crevices by letting go for
an instant. The reflection from the rocks felt exactly like the breath of a
furnace. I felt sure that if I had come down this way in 1856 instead of
through the level Shidima country, I should have perished before reaching
Tete ; for now, with but a fortnight's exposure, and an examination of about
30 miles, we all returned as lean and haggard as if we had been recovering
from serious illness. One of the Makololo came up to us in the afternoon,
and seeing farther progress to be impracticable, we were returning, when we
met the rest of the party. After sleeping among the hot rocks, where no
covering is necessary, we next day induced the guides and Makololo to go on
through the spurs from the mountain, along whose flank we were toiling, until
they became perpendicular cliffs, requiring a great deal of dangerous climbing
to get past ; in the afternoon we were rewarded by the sight of a cataract
called Morumbua, the only one we had seen deserving the name ; on both
sides there are perpendicular walls of rock, along the face of which no towing-
line could be carried. The inaccessible sides are 500 or 600 feet high. The
cataract itself presents a fall (as nearly as we could guess at a distance of 500
yards) of 30 feet, and the water comes down at an angle of 30°. When the
river is full it is at least 80 feet higher than when we saw it, and no cataract
is visible at the place we saw the broken water. We stood in a pot-hole and
dropped down a measuring-tape 53 feet to the level of the water. In flood
the river at that same pot-hole is at least 30 feet deep. We witnessed on our
return the effect of a three feet rise, in rendering a cataract already mentioned,
of five feet, nearly level. It is quite a moderate conrputation to say the perpen-
dicular rise among the hills is 80 feet. This, while it obliterates some rapids, will,
in all probability, give rise to others ; and the disparity of statement among the
natives may partially be accounted for by their having seen the river at different
stages of flood. Resolving to return and examine the whole when the river is
in full flood in February, we commenced the ascent of the high mountain
behind us, and were three hours in cutting our way through the tangled forest
which covers it and all the mountains here. The rains are unusally late this
year, but the trees had put on fresh leaves, and rendered the scenery of a
lively light-green appearance. Looking northwards from the heights we
reached, we saw an endless succession of high hills, chiefly of the conical form.
This district may be called the beginning of the really healthy region. We
slept for a fortnight in the open air, and seldom put on a blanket till towards
morning ; nor did we use quinine : yet all returned in good health, and
have remained so.

" We have ascertained nothing to invalidate the opinion which I have
expressed, that the highlands beyond this are healthy, and fit for the residence
of Europeans. The only ailments the party has been subject to, with the

NAVIGATION OF THE ZAMBESI. 283

exception of one slight sun-stroke, have been colds, modified by the malaria
to which we were exposed in the Delta. Dr. Kirk and I have enjoyed
uninterrupted good health. The only cases of real fever we have seen have
been among the Kroomen, and, as far as our experience goes at present,
Europeans are more likely to be safe and useful than Kroomen.

" The geologist reports having found three fine beds of coal ; the first
seven feet thick, the second thirteen feet six inches, and the third twenty -five
feet in thickness. They are all in cliff sections, and the last was fired a few
years ago by lightning, and burned a long time. I have already reported on
its good quality, though obtained only from the surface. Mr. Thornton will
run a shaft some distance in order to ascertain its quality there. There are
immense quantities of the finest iron-ore in the same district.

" I was not aware that sugar was manufactured by the natives till lately,
but I bought six pots of it, at the rate of two yards of calico for twenty
pounds. This is only the beginning of the fine country, and I naturally feel
anxious that my companions should have an opportunity of verifying my
statements respecting both its productions and people. As for the inhabitants
near the Portuguese, I almost despair of doing anything with them. My
hopes are in my own countrymen and the natives of the central regions.

" The Zambesi being now about twelve feet above low- water mark in
November, it was difficult to recognise it as the same river. It is truly what
Captain Gordon called it, ' more like an inland sea than a river,' and exhibits
none of those sand-banks to the view which, in trying to depict it at its lowest
ebb, we have marked in the tracings sent home.

" On the day after our arrival here Messrs. C. Livingstone and Baines
returned from Kebra-basa : their reports coincide exactly with what I stated in
No. 12 as to the effectof a rise of the river on the rapids. It thoroughly obliterates
formidable cataracts ; but a vessel of good steam-power is necessary to stem
the current in the middle and resist the suction of the eddies. On hearing that
the rapid was so much changed that, but for the mountains which had been
sketched, the situations of the cataracts would not have been known, I felt
strongly inclined to attempt hauling the vessel up ; but she can carry no cargo,
and, besides the risk of her breaking up in the attempt, we should very soon
be destitute of supplies after we had succeeded."

Finding it impossible to take their steamer through the Kebra-basa
Rapids, the party forwarded from Tete, to which they had returned, informa-
tion to that effect to the English Government, requesting that a more suitable
vessel for the ascent of the river should be sent out to them. In the
meantime, they determined on ascending the Shire, which falls into the
Zambesi about a hundred miles from its mouth. The Portuguese could give
no information about it, no one ever having gone up it for any distance, or
found out from whence it came. Years ago, they informed him, that a

284 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Portuguese expedition had attempted to ascend it, but had to turn back on
account of the impenetrable masses of duck-weed which grew in its bed and
floated in shoals on its surface. The natives on its banks were reported to bo
treacherous, thievish, and bloodthirsty ; and nothing but disaster was predicted
as the end of such a foolhardy expedition.

Dr. Livingstone and his party had come all the way from England
to explore the district, and were not to be lightly turned aside from
their object; so, early in January, 1859, they boldly entered the Shire.
They found for the first twenty-five miles that a considerable quantity of
duckweed was floating down the river, but not in sufficient quantity to
interrupt its navigation, even in canoes. As they approached the native
villages, the men assembled on the banks, armed with bows and arrows ; but
it was not until they reached the village of a chief called Tingane, who had
gained considerable notoriety by his successful prevention of the Portuguese
slave-traders from passing farther to the north, that they met anything like
serious opposition. Here five hundred armed men were collected, who com-
manded them to stop. Livingstone boldly went on shore, and at an interview
with the chief and his headmen, explained the objects of the party and their
friendly disposition. Tingane, who was an elderly, well-made man, grey-
headed, and over six feet high, withdrew his opposition to their further pro-
gress, and called all his people together, so that the objects of the exploring
party might be explained to them.

Following the winding course of the river for about two hundred miles,
their farther jjrogress was arrested by a series of cataracts, to which the party
gave the name of " The Murchison," in honour of the great friend of the ex-
pedition, Sir Roderick Murchison. In going down the stream, the progress
of the Ma-Robert was very rapid. The hipjiopotami kept carefully out of the
way, while the crocodiles frequently made a rush at the vessel as if to attack it,
coming within a few feet of her, when they sank like a stone, to re-appear
and watch the progress of the unknown invader of their haunts, when she
had passed.

Although narrower than the Zambesi, the Shire is much deeper and more
easily navigated. The lower valley of the Shire is about twenty miles wide,
and very fertile ; the hills which enclose it on either side are covered with
wood, in many cases to their summits ; some of these hills rise to a height of
4000 feet above the level of the sea. They visited one of the loftiest of tho
hills, called by the natives Morambala. On the wooded sides of this mountain
Dr. Kirk found thirty species of ferns. In the forests near its base, monkeys,
antelopes, rhinoceroses, and several varieties of tho larger birds were abund-
ant. ' ' A hot fountain boils up on the plain, near the north end. It bubbles
out of the earth, clear as crystal, at two points, or eyes, a few yards apart
from each other, and sends off a fine flowing stream of hot water. The tern-

MURCHISON FALLS

LAKE SHIRWA DISCOVERED. 285

perature was found to be 174° Fahr., and it boiled an egg in about the usual
time." Two pythons coiled together among the branches of a tree were shot,
the largest was ten feet long. Their flesh is greatly relished by the natives.
The people who dwelt on the mountain slopes, here and elsewhere on the
lower Shire, were found to be a hardy and kindly race. They cultivate
maize, pumpkins, and tobacco in their gardens on the plains, and catch fish in
the river, which they dry for future sale or for their own use. On the occasion
of a future ascent of the river, as we shall see, the party found that many of
these hardy mountaineers had been swept away in a slave raid by Mariano.

In the middle of March they started for a second trip up the Shire, when
they found the natives altogether friendly, and anxious to sell them rice,
fowls, and corn. Within ten miles of the Murchison Cataracts they entered
into amicable relations with a chief named Chibisa, whose career had been of
a very warlike character, which he excused and explained by stating that the
parties with whom he had fought had all been in the wrong, while he was
invariably in the right He was a true believer in the Divine right of kings.
" He was an ordinary man, he said, when his father died, and left him the
chieftainship ; but directly he succeeded to the high office, he was conscious
of power passing into his head, and down his back ; he felt it enter, and knew
that he was a chief, clothed with authority, and possessed of wisdom ; and
people then began to fear and reverence him."

Fortunately his people were of the same mind, for they bathed in the
river without dread of the crocodiles, after he had placed a medicine in it to
prevent their biting them.

Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, and several of the Makololo men left the
steamer and the other members of the party at Chibisa's village, and pro-
ceeded overland to Lake Shirwa, the inhabitants of the district through which
they passed presenting a hostile appearance. Through a misunderstanding
their guide took them first to an extensive marsh, which they christened Ele-
phant Marsh, from the large number of those animals they saw there. After-
wards they pushed on without guides, save when an idiot from a native
village joined them, and accompanied them a considerable way on their
march, when no sane member of the tribe would consent to guide them for
love or money. The people who occupy the district beyond the Shire were
called Manganja, and were distinguished for their bold and independent
bearing. Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, while keeping themselves prepared for
any attack, were careful to give no cause of offence, and so managed to avoid
getting into any serious difficulty with this warlike people, to the disgust
of the Makololo men, who were anxious to give them a taste of their
quality.

On the 18th of April they discovered Lake Shirwa. The water was
brackish, and in it were enormous numbers of leeches, the attacks of which

286 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

prevented them obtaining the latitude by the natural horizon, which they
hoped to do on a sand-bank at some distance from the shore. Several
varieties of fish, hippopotami, and crocodiles were abundant in the waters of
the lake. The lake was found to be 1800 feet above the level of the sea.
They did not on this occasion get any reliable information as to its extent.
Lofty mountains, whose height was supposed to be about 8000 feet, stand near
its eastern shore ; and on the west is a long ridge, called Mount Zomba, with
a height of about 7000 feet, and a length of about twenty miles. In
returning to the steamer they changed their route, and passed through a
country peopled by friends of Chibisa, who did not interfere with their
progress. They found their quartermaster, John Walker, ill of fever ; and
having cured him, they steamed down to the Zambesi, reaching Tete on the
23rd of June.

We again turn to Dr. Livingstone's communications to the Foreign
Office with the view of supplementing our narrative at this stage : —

" In accordance with the intention expressed of revisiting the River Shire
as soon as the alarm created by our first visit had subsided, I have the pleasure
of reporting to your Lordship that, having found the people this time all
friendly, we left the vessel in charge of the quartermaster and stoker, with a
chief named Chibisa (latitude 16° 2' South, longitude 35° East), and, with Dr.
Kirk and thirteen Makololo, advanced on foot till we had discovered a magni-
ficent inland lake, called Shirwa. It has no known outlet, but appears
particularly interesting from a report of the natives on its banks, that it is
separated from Lake Nyassa, which is believed to extend pretty well up to the
equator, by a tongue of land only five or six miles broad ; and, as we ascertained,
the southern end of the Shirwa is not more than 30 miles distant from a branch
of the navigable Shire.

"We had traced the Shire up to the northern end of Zomba, but were
prevented by a marsh from following it further on that side. Coming round
the southern flank of the mountain, on the 14th April, we saw the lake, and
were then informed that the river we had left so near it had no connexion with
Lake Shirwa. We then proceeded eastwards, and on the 18th April reached
its shores : a goodly sight it was to see, for it is surrounded by lofty moun-
tains, and its broad blue waters, with waves dashing on some parts of its
shore, look like an arm of the sea. The natives know of no outlet. We saw
a good many streams flowing into it, for the adjacent country is well watered;
several rivulets which we crossed unite and form the Talombe and Sombane,
which flow into the lake from the south-west. The water of the Shirwa has
a bitter taste, but is drinkable. Fish abound, and so do alligators and hippo-
potami. When the southerly winds blow strongly, the water is said to retire
sufficiently from that side to enable the people to catch fish in weirs
planted there.

RE-ASCENT OF THE SHIRE. 287

" The lake is of a pear-shape, only the narrow portion is prolonged some
30 miles South of the body where we stood. There is an inhabited moun-
tain-island near the beginning of the narrow part : the broad portion may be
from 25 to 30 miles wide. We ascended some way up the mountain Pirirniti,
and, looking away to the N.N.E., we had 26° of watery horizon, with two
mountain-tops, rising in the blue distance like little islands 50 or 60 miles
away. The natives use large canoes, for fear of storms on it, and reckon it
four days' paddling in a calm to reach the end ; but with a strong wind they
can do it in two days. Until it is surveyed, it will not be over-estimated at
60 or 70 miles in length. This does not include the southern narrow portion
of 30 miles.

" The whole region was well, though not densely, peopled with Man-
ganja, who inhabit both banks of the River Shire from Morambala up to
Chibisa's place; but they occupy the eastern bank only and the adjacent
mountains beyond that point. The western bank above Chibisa is peopled by
the Maravi. None of this tribe are to be met with near Shirwa, so it would
appear to be improper to identify it with the ' Lake Maravi' of the maps ;
nor can we set it down as that concerning which I collected some informa-
tion from Senhor Candido, of Tete, for it was described as 45 days to
the N.N.W. of that village. The Portuguese do not even pretend to know
Shirwa.

" We made frequent inquiries among the people if they had ever been
visited by white men before, and we were invariably answered in the negative.
A black woolly-haired slave-trader once visited the part ; but the discovery is
not spoken of in reference to such, the lake being surrounded by them, but it
is claimed for Dr. Kirk and myself, as Europeans who accomplished it, entirely
ignorant of any information that may or may not be locked up in Portuguese
archives."

As their provisions were almost exhausted, the chief members of the
party proceeded down the river to meet some of Her Majesty's cruisers off the
Kongone ; and here they were compelled to beach the Ma-Robert for repairs.
Besides being a bad sailer, she leaked so that the cabin was constantly
flooded, the water coining not only from below, but through the deck when-
ever it rained. The damp caused by this state of affairs was very prejudical
to their health, and also caused the destruction of many botanical specimens,
occasioning much worry and loss of time in replacing them with others. After
receiving a supply of provisions from Her Majesty's brig Persian, the party
returned to Tete, and started on their third ascent of the Shire. On this
occasion they examined a lagoon, called "the Lake of Mud" in the language
of the natives, in which grows a lotus root called nyika, which the natives
collect; when boiled or roasted, it resembles our chestnuts, and as it is
common throughout South Africa, it is extensively used as food. These

288 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

lagoons and marshes, which are common in the course of the great
rivers of South Africa, mark the spot where extensive lakes existed when
the waters passed off to the sea at a higher level than they do at the
present day.

As the miserable little steamer could not carry all the men they required
in this more extended expedition, they were compelled to place some of them
in boats, which were towed astern. Unfortunately one of these capsized, and
one of the Makololo men was drowned. At Mboma, where the people were
eager to sell any quantity of food, the party were entertained by a native
musician, who drew excruciating notes from a kind of one-stringed violin.
As he threatened to serenade them all night, he was asked if he would not
perish from cold. "Oh no," he replied; "I shall spend the night with my
white comrades in the big canoe ; I have often heard of the white men, but
have never seen them till now, and I must sing and play well to them." A
small piece of cloth bought him off, and he departed well satisfied.

On the banks were many hippopotami traps, which " consist of a beam
of wood five or six feet long, armed with a spear-head or hardwood spike co-
vered with poison, and suspended by a forked pole to a cord, which, coming
down to the path, is held by a catch, to be set free when the animal treads on
it. . . . One got frightened by the ship, as she was steaming close to the
bank. In its eager hurry to escape, it rushed on shore, and ran directly under
a trap, when down came the heavy beam on its back, driving the poisoned
spear-head a foot deep into its flesh. In its agony it plunged back into the
river, to die in a few hours, and afterwards furnished a feast for the natives.
The poison on the spear-head does not affect the meat, except the part around
the wound, which is cut out and thrown away."

In the Shire marshes, in addition to abundance of the large four-footed
game, water-fowl of many kinds were seen in prodigious numbers. Dr. Living-
stone says : —

" An hour at the mast-head unfolds novel views of life in an African
marsh. Near the edge, and on the branches of some favourite tree, rest
scores of plotuses and cormorants, which stretch their snake-like necks, and in
mute amazement turn one eye and then another towards the approaching
monster. The pretty ardetta, of a light yellow colour when at rest, but
seemingly of a pure white when flying, takes wing and sweeps across the
green grass in large numbers, often showing us where buffaloes are, by perch-
ino- on their backs. Flocks of ducks, of which the kind called soriri is most
abundant, being night feeders, meditate quietly by the small lagoons, until
startled by the noise of the steam machinery. Pelicans glide over the water
catching fish, while the scopus and large herons peer intently into the pools.
The large black and white spur-winged goose springs up and circles round to
find out what the disturbance is, and then settles down again with a splash,

A FEMALE CHIEF. 289

Hundreds of linongolas rise from the clumps of reeds or low trees, iu which
they build in colonies, and are speedily in mid air. Charming little red and
yellow weavers remind one of butterflies, as they fly in and out of the tall
grass, or hang to the mouths of their pendant nests, chattering briskly to
their mates within. . . . Kites and vultures are busy overhead beating
the ground for their repast of carrion ; and the solemn-looking, stately-
stepping marabout, with a taste for dead fish, or men, stalks slowly along the
almost stagnant channels. . . . Towards evening hundreds of pretty
little hawks are seen flying in a southerly direction, and feeding on dragon-
flies and locusts. . . . Flocks of scissor-bills are then also on the wing,
and in search of food ploughing the water with their lower mandibles, which
are nearly half an inch longer than the upper ones."

Beyond the marshes in many places the soil is saline, and the natives
procure large quantities of salt, by mixing the earth with water in a pot with
a small hole in it, evaporating the liquid as it runs through in the sun.
Livingstone noticed that on these saline soils the cotton grown is of a larger
and finer staple than elsewhere. When the party arrived at Chibisa's village,
they found several of the men busy cleaning, sorting, and weaving cotton.
This was a sight which greeted them in most of the villages on the Shire ;
and as cotton can be grown there to any extent, there can be no doubt that,
if slavery was put down and legitimate commerce introduced, the course of
this fine river would become a thriving and populous district, as food can be
grown to any extent, and there is plenty of grass for innumerable herds of
cattle.

On the 28th of August, Livingstone and his three white companions,
accompanied by two guides and thirty-six Makololo men, left the vessel in
charge of the remainder of the party, and started in search of Lake Nyassa.
A short march up a beautiful little valley, through which flowed a small
stream, led them to the foot of the Manganja hills, over which their course
lay. Looking back from a height of 1000 feet the beautiful country for many
miles with the Shire flowing through it excited their admiration ; while as
they approached the summit of the range, innumerable valleys opened out to
their admiring gaze, and majestic mountains reared their heads in all direc-
tions. This part of the journey was exceedingly toilsome, but the uniform
kindness of the inhabitants and the beauty of the scenery made up for their
exertions. Among the hill-tribes women are treated as if they were inferior
animals, but in the upper valley of the Shire, they found that women were
held in great respect, the husband seldom doing anything unless the wife
approved. A portion of the valley was ruled over by a female chief named
Nyango. On reaching the village the party went to the boalo, or speaking
place, under the shade of lofty trees, where mats of split reeds or bamboo were
usually placed for tho white members of the party to sit upon. Here the
N 1

290 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

grand palaver was held, at which their objects and intentions in visiting the
country were discussed with due gravity and form.

The inhabitants of this district are very industrious; in addition to
cultivating the soil extensively, they work in iron, weave cotton, and make
baskets. Each village has its suielting-house, charcoal-burners, and black-
smiths. The axes, spears, needles, arrowheads, bracelets, and anklets are
excellent, and are sold exceedingly cheap. Crockery and pottery of various
kinds are also largely manufactured ; and fishing-nets are made from the
fibres of the buaze, a shrub which grows on the hills.

The use of ornaments on the legs and arms is common, but the most
extraordinary custom is that of the pelele, worn by women. A small hole is
made in the upper lip, and gradually widened, — the process of widening
extending over several years, — until an aperture of from one to two inches is
rendered permanent ; into this a tin or ivory ring is forced until the lip
protrudes a couple of inches beyond the nose. " When an old wearer of a
hollow ring smiles, by the action of the muscle of the cheeks, the ring and
lip outside it are dragged back and thrown over the eyebrows. The nose is
seen through the middle of the ring, and the exposed teeth show how care-
fully they have been chipped to look like those of the crocodile." No reason
was given for this monstrosity, excepting that it was the fashion. The
prevalence of such a hideous custom, is the more to be wondered at, as the
Manganja are a comely people, intelligent-looking, with well-shaped heads
and agreeable features.

They brew large quantities of a kind of beer. " The grain is made to
vegetate, dried in the sun, pounded into meal, and gently boiled. When
only a day or two old, the beer is sweet, with a slight degree of acidity,
which renders it a most grateful beverage in a hot climate, or when fever
begets a sore craving for acid drinks." It is pinkish in colour, and of
the consistency of thin gruel. It takes a large quantity of it to produce
intoxication ; but as they must drink it rapidly, as it will not keep for any time,
intoxication among the Manganjas is very common — whole villages being often
found by the travellers on the spree. It apparently has no baneful effects upon
them, nor does it shorten life, as the party never saw so many aged people
as they did while amongst this people. One aged chief, Muata Manga,
appeared to be about ninety years of age. " His venerable appearance
struck the Makololo. ' He is an old man,' they said ; ' a very old man ; his
skin hangs in wrinkles, just like that on elephants' hips.' "

Speaking of the drinking habits of the Manganjas, Dr. Livingstone said
in one of his letters — " I saw more intoxication in the forty days of our
march on foot than I had seen in other parts during sixteen years. It is a
silly sort of drunkenness ; only one man had reached the fighting stage, and
he was cured by one of the Makololo thrusting him aside from the path he

NATIVE PISTOLS. 291

wished to obstruct, and giving him a slap in the face." It would appear that,
like many combative people nearer home, he was only " pot valiant."

They very rarely wash, and are consequently very dirty. An old man
told them that he had once washed, but it was so long since that he did not
remember how he felt ; and the women asked the Makololo, " Why do
you wash; our men never do?" As might have been expected, skin
diseases were common. They believe in a Divine being whom they call
Morungo, and in a future state ; but where or in what condition the spirits
of the dead exist, they do not know, as although the dead, they say, sometimes
return to the living, and appear to them in their dreams, they never tell them
how they fare, or whither they have gone.

"Our friends the Portuguese do not enter the River Shire: theManganja
are brave, and repelled an expedition sent in former times before it had gono
30 miles. Traders are afraid to go, as some native ones have been plundered ;
but we have gone about 150 miles without once coming into collision. The
Manganja cultivate the soil very extensively, and more men than women were
sometimes seen at this occupation. The soil is very rich : the grass, generally
from 6 to 8 feet high, overhangs the path, which, from being only about a foot
wide, there is a perpetual pattering on the face in walking. A few yards often
hides a companion completely, and guides are always necessary, it beino-
impossible to see, on entering a path, where it leads. Even the hills, though
very steep and stony, are remarkably fertile. Gardens are common high up
their sides and on their tops : they present a pleasant diversity of light and
shade in the general dark green colour of the trees, with which nearly all are
covered. Cotton is cultivated largely, and the farther we went the crop
appeared to be of the greater importance. The women alone are well clothed
with the produce, the men being content with goat-skins and a cloth made of
bark of certain trees. Every one spins and weaves cotton : even chiefs may
be seen with the spindle and bag, which serves as a distaff. The process of
manufacture is the most rude and tedious that can be conceived : the cotton
goes through five processes with the fingers before it comes to the loom. Time is
of no value. They possess two varieties of the cotton plant. One, indigenous,
yields cotton more like wool than that of other countries : it is strong, and feels
rough in the hand. The other variety is from imported seed, yielding a
cotton that renders it unnecessary to furnish the people with American seed.
A point in its culture worth noticing is, the time of planting has been selected
so that the plants remain in the ground during winter, and five months or so
after sowing they come to maturity before the rains begin, or insects como
forth to damage the crop.

" The Manganja have no domestic animals except sheep, goats, fowls,
and dogs. Provisions are abundant, and at a cheap rate. They have no
ivory, and few wild animals are seen; but they assert that elephant3 and

292 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

large game abound among the Maravi, West of the Shire. Their weapons
are large bows and poisoned arrows with iron heads. Every one carries a
knife, and almost every village has a furnace for smelting black magnetic
iron-ore. Spears are rarely seen, but are very well made and of excellent
iron. Firearms have not been introduced ; but a rude imitation of a pistol
has been made by a people N.N.W. of them in a country called Siria, and it
is used with powder only on occasions of mourning. They were not awaro
that it could propel a ball. It cannot be classed with arms, but with the
apparatus of the undertaker. They think that making a noise at funerals is
the proper way of expressing grief."

Lake Nyassa was discovered a little before noon on the 16th of September,
1859, with the river Shire running out at its southern end in 14" 25' S. latitude.
The chief of the village near the outlet of the Shire, called Mosauka, invited
the party to visit his village, and entertained them under a magnificent ban-
yan-tree, giving them as a gift, a goat and a basket of meal. A party of Arab
slave-hunters were encamped close by. They were armed with long muskets
and were a villainous looking set of fellows. Mistaking the country of the
white men they had met so unexpectedly, they offered them young children
for sale ; but on hearing that they were English, they showed signs of fear,
and decamped during the night. Curiously enough, one of the slaves they
had with them recognised the party; she had been rescued by Her Majesty's
ship Lynx at Kongone along with several others. She said, " that the Arabs
had fled for fear of an uncanny sort of Basunga" (white men or Portuguese).

Several great slave-paths from the interior cross the upper valley of the
Shire. The chiefs are ashamed of the traffic, and excuse themselves by saying
that they " do not sell many, and only those that have committed crimes."
The great inducement to sell each other is, that they have no ivory and no-
thing else with which to buy foreign goods : a state of matters which the
Arab traders know how to take advantage of, as they want nothing but slaves
and the food they may require when on the hunt. Nothing but the establish-
ment of legitimate commerce can be expected to put a stop to the slave traffic
in such circumstances as these. The sight of slaves being led in forked sticks
excited the indignation of the Makololo, and they could not understand why
Livingstone did not allow them to set them free, by force if necessary. They
said, " Ay, you call us bad, but are we yellow-hearted like these fellows ?
why don't you let us choke them ? " These slave-sticks were about three
feet in length, with a fork at one end into which the neck is thrust. The
stick is retained in its position by putting a piece of stout wire through the
ends of the fork, which is turned down at either end. The price of slaves
near Lake Nyassa was four yards of cotton cloth for a man, three for a woman,
and two for a boy or girl. When flesh and blood cost so little as an absolute
purchase, free labour could be bought at a price which would make the

S9

*

THE MAIL BAGS LOST. 293

rearing of cotton, corn, &c, a profitable speculation if a proper means of
communication with the coast were opened up. Water carriage by the Shire and
the Zambesi exists all the way, save for a distance of about thirty miles at the
Murchison Cataracts ; and from the character of the country, the making of a
road for this distance would be no serious difficulty. At the time of Living-
stone's visit, cotton, of which the Manganja grew considerable quantities for
their own use, was worth less than a penny per pound.

The tribes on the Upper Shire were suspicious and less hospitable than
those in the lower valley. Many slave-trading parties had visited them with
as much pretension to friendliness as Dr. Livingstone and his party, only to
abuse their confidence. As every care was taken to do nothing that could
give offence, they were slowly but surely won over to a belief in the friendly
intentions of the red men, as they termed Livingstone and his white friend?.
Lake Nyassa, as he proved on his second visit, was more than two hundred
miles long, with a breadth of from eighteen to fifty or sixty miles at its widest
parts. It is narrowest towards its southern end, and has somewhat of the
boot-shape of the Italian peninsula.

The party returned to the steam-boat after a land journey of forty days,
very much exhausted from eating the cassava root. In its raw state it is
poisonous, but when boiled twice, and the water strained off, it has no evil
effect. The cook, not knowing this, had served it up after boiling it until the
water was absorbed ; and it was only after it had been tried with various mix-
tures, and the whole party had suffered for days from its effects, that the
cause was discovered.

At Elephant Marsh on their return, they saw nine vast herds of ele-
phants ; they frequently formed a line two miles long.

From Chibisa's Village Dr. Kirk and Mr. Rae, with guides, went overland
to Tete, and suffered greatly from the heat on the journey, arriving there very
much exhausted. The steamer with the other members of the expedition had
arrived at Tete before them and gone down to Kongone, as it was necessary to
beach the vessel for repairs, as she leaked worse than ever. Off Senna, Senhor
Ferrao sent them a bullock, which was a very acceptable gift. At Kongone
they were supplied with stores from Her Majesty's ship Lynx; but unfortu-
nately a boat was swamped in crossing the bar, and the mail bags, with
despatches from Government and letters from home, were lost. It is easy to
sympathise with Livingstone's distress at this most unfortunate accident.
" The loss of the mail bags," he says " was felt severely, as we were on the
point of starting on an expedition into the interior, which might require eight
or nine months ; and twenty months is a weary time to be without news of
friends and family. After returning to Tete, where they stayed some time
enjoying the hospitality of the Portuguese merchants, Livingstone and his
companions, before proceeding inland to visit the Makololo country, sailed down

294 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the Zambesi with Mr. Rae (the engineer), who was about to return to England
to superintend the construction of a successor to the Ma-Robert, which was now
of no use for the purposes for which she was intended. At Shupanga, Sinin-
yane, one of the Makololo, exchanged names with a Zulu, and ever afterwards
only answered to the name of Moshoshoma. This custom is common among
the tribes on the Zambesi. After exchanging names the parties owe to each
other special duties and services ever afterwards. While at Kebra-basa,
Charles Livingstone was made a comrade for life — -names not being ex-
changed— of a hungry native traveller to whom he gave some food and a small
piece of cloth. Eighteen months afterwards, the man having prospered in
the interval, he came into the camp of the party while on their journey into
the interior, bringing a liberal present of rice, meal, beer, and a fowl, saying,
" that he did not like them to sleep hungry or thirsty." Some of the Mako-
lolo took the names of friendly chiefs, and others took the names of famous
places they had visited ; the assumed names being retained after their return
to their own country.

While anchored in the river the party suffered from the visits of certain
animals and insects. Mosquitoes of course were plentiful at certain seasons
in the low-lying districts, but other tormentors were of a novel description.
Livingstone gives a graphic account of some of them, from which we quote
the following: — "The rats, or rather large mice of this region, are quite
facetious, and, having a great deal of fun in them, often laugh heartily.
. . . No sooner were we all asleep, than they made a sudden dash over
the lockers and across our faces for the cabin door, where all broke out into a
loud he ! he ! he ! he ! he ! he ! showing how keenly they enjoyed the joke.
They next went forward with as much delight and scampered over the men.
Every evening they went fore and aft, rousing with impartial feet every
sleeper, and laughing to scorn the aimless blows, growls, and deadly rushes of
outraged humanity. . . . Scorpions, centipedes, and poisonous spiders
were not unfrequently brought into the ship with the wind, and occasionally
found their way into our beds ; but in every instance we were fortunate
enough to discover and destroy them, before they did any harm. . . .
Snakes sometimes came in with the wood, but oftener floated down the river
to us, climbing on board with ease by the chain-cable, and some poisonous
ones were caught in the cabin. A green snake lived with us several weeks,
concealing himself behind the casing of the deck in the day time. To be
aroused in the dark by five feet of cold green snake gliding over one's face
is rather unpleasant, however rapid the movement may be. Myriads of two
varieties of cockroaches infested the vessel ; they not only ate round the roots
of our nails, but even devoured and defiled our food, flannels, and boots ; vain
were all our efforts to extirpate these destructive pests ; if you kill one, say
the sailors, a hundred come down to his funeral J"

IND USTRIO US MONKE YS. 295

At Senna and Tete he noticed a singular service in which domesticated
monkeys were engaged. In speaking of the opportunities the merchants at
these places allow to pass them of creating a thriving legitimate commerce, he
says — " Our friends at Tete, though heedless of the obvious advantages which
other nations would eagerly seize, have beaten the entire world in one branch
of industry. It is a sort of anomaly that the animal most nearly allied to
man in structure and function should be the most alien to him in respect to
labour, or trusty friendship ; but here the genius of the monkey is turned to
good account. He is made to work in the chase of certain ' wingless insects
better known than respected.' Having been invited to witness this branch of
Tete industry, we can testify that the monkey took it kindly, and it seemed
profitable to both parties."

The following is taken from Dr. Livingstone's report on the Shire
Valley : —

" I have the honour to convey the information that we have traced the
river Shire up to its point of departure from the hitherto undiscovered Lake
Xyinyesi or Nyassa, and found that there are only 33 miles of cataracts to be
passed above this, when the i-iver becomes smooth again, and continues so right
into the lake in lat. 14° 25' south. We have opened a cotton and sugar
producing country of unknown extent, and while it really seems to afford
reasonable prospects of great commercial benefits to our own country, it presents
facilities for comrnandin°: a larsre section of the slave-market on the east coast
and offers a fairer hope of its extirpation by lawful commerce than our previous
notion of the country led us to anticipate. The matter may appear to your
Lordship in somewhat the same light, if the following points in the physical
conformation of the country are bome in mind.

" There is a channel of about from five to twelve feet, at all seasons of the
vcar, from the sea at Kongone harbour up to this cataract, a distance of about
200 miles, and very little labour would be required to construct a common
road past the cataracts, as the country there, though rapidly increasing in
general elevation, is comparatively flat near the river.

" The adjacent region may be easily remembered as arranged in three
well-defined terraces. The lowest of these is the valley of the Shire, which
is from 1200 to 1500 feet above the level of the sea, and exactly like the
valley of the Nile near Cairo, but beyond the cataracts somewhat broader.
The second terrace lies east of this, and is upwards of 2000 feet in altitude,
and some three or four miles broad. A third terrace, still further east, is over
3000 feet high at its western edge, or about the height of Table Mountain at
the Cape, which is often mentioned as the most remarkable mountain in that
part of Africa. The terrace is 10 or 12 miles broad, and is bounded on the
east by Lake Shirwa, or Tamandua, and a range of very lofty mountains. On
this last terrace rises Mount Zomba, which, on ascending, we found to be in

296 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

round numbers 7000 feet high ; a mass of the same mountain, eight or ten
miles distant from our encampment on it, must be at least 8000 feet
in altitude.

" These features of the country are mentioned in order to show that we
have very remarkable varieties of climate within a few miles' distance of each
other. We travelled in the hottest season of the year, or that called in West-
ern Africa ' the smokes,' when, from the burning of tens of thousands of acres
of tall grass, the atmosphere takes on a good deal of the appearance of a partial
London fog ; only here it is broiling hot. While we were marching in the
Shire valley, or lowest terrace, the air was sultry and oppressive, the thermo-
meter in the shade even often standing at 96°, and the water never under a
temperature of 81° Fahr., but when we ascended the second terrace, the air
became delightfully cool, and every mile or two we crossed a running rill of
deliciously cold water. The third terrace was cold, and equally well supplied
with running brooks; while on the top of Zomba our native companions
complained bitterly of the cold.

" The mountain itself is of large extent, and at the part we ascended
there is a large valley with a fine stream and much cultivation on the top ;
several parts of it are well wooded, and Dr. Kirk, the botanist, found pepper
growing wild : an indication of a decidedly humid climate. On each of the
three terraces cotton is cultivated extensively : this is not of the indigenous
variety only, but foreign seeds have come up the Shire to some parts of the
terraces, and also to the lake region, from the east coast. The length of
staple to which these imported varieties have attained shows a suitable soil
and climate. A good deal of salt is met with in certain soils here ; and in all
probability sea-island, the dearest of all cottons, would flourish, for specimens
of common kinds were found superior to the Egyptian. The indigenous
variety feels more like wool than cotton, but foreign seeds were eagerly
accepted by the people from Mr. C. Livingstone, and the best means for
disarming their suspicions that we might turn out to be a marauding party,
was frankly to state that we came to find out and mark paths for our traders
to follow and buy their cotton.

" We found a heavy swell on the lake, though there was no wind, and
there was no appearance of the water ever falling or rising much from what
we saw it. The river Shire never varies more than two or three feet from the
wet to the dry season, and as it is from 80 to 150 yards broad, 12 feet deep, and
has a current of 2\ knots an hour, the body of water which gives it off must be
large and have considerable feeders. At its southern end the lake seemed
eight or ten miles broad, and it trended away to the N.N.W.; a hilly island
rose in the distance. It is small, and is called Bazulu. The same range of
lofty mountains that lies east of Shirwa, or Tamandua, ajipeared as if con-
tinued along the north-east shore of Nyassa.

REPORT ON THE ZAMBESI. 297

In his letters he made a formal report on the Zambesi, and its capacity
as a channel of commerce, and the importance of the district through which
it flows for trading purposes, he says : —

u In endeavouring to form an estimate of the value of the Zambesi for
commercial purposes, it is necessary to recollect that we were obliged in the
first instance to trust to the opinions of naval officers who had visited it, and
the late Captain Parker, together with Lieutenant Hoskins, having declared
that it was quite capable of being used for commerce, though the Portuguese
never did, and do not now enter it directly from the sea, we trusted in the
testimony of our countrymen, and though we failed to find a passage in by
Parker's Luabo, we discovered a safe entrance by the Urande Kongone ; and
H.M.S. Lynx, Captain Berkely, at a subsequent period, found a good channel
by the main stream (Parker's Luabo) though we had failed to observe it in a
three days' search. The question of safe entrance from the sea having thus
been satisfactorily solved, our attention was next directed to the rest of the river,
the subject of this report. It isdesirable also to rememberthat, in an experimental
expedition like ours, it was plainly an imperative duty to select the most healthy
period of the year, in order to avoid the fate of the Great Niger Expedition. Had
we come at any time between January and April, a large vessel could have been
taken up as far as Tete, but that is the most unhealthy time of the year, and we
then looked on the African fever as a much more formidable disease than we do
now. We entered the river in June, when it was falling fast, but even then
the official reports of Captain Gordon and other naval officers were precisely
the same as those of Captain Parker and Lieutenant Hoskins. Their testi-
mony, however, referred to only about 70 miles from the sea, Mazaro, the
point at which the Portuguese use of the river begins. We have now enjoyed
a twelvemonth's experience, which is the shortest period in which all the
changes that occur annually can be noted, and we have carefully examined
the whole, from the sea to Tete, five times over, in a craft the top-speed of
which, (3| knots) admitted of nothing being done in a hurry, and may there-
fore be considered in a position to give an ojnnion of equal value to that of
flying visitors, better qualified in all other respects for the task. As a report
on the river would be incomplete without a description of it when at its
lowest, I sent the journal of Mr. T. Baines to the Society, which was written
at the worst part of the river, and in a season said by all to be one of unusual
drought. Mr. Baines was taken up by a southern channel, which contained
much less water than that which we ascended a month later ; but adopting
that journal as showing what the river may again become in a season of
drought, I would only add that in passing from the sea to Tete, when the
river had fallen still lower than at the period when the journal was penned,
we were obliged to drag the vessel over three crossings, 100 or 150 feet long,
of from 2*4 to 18 inches of water. It is not, however, to be understood that
ol

293 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

such is then the general depth. In the broad parts of the river we have three
or four channels, and the greater part of these channels contains water from
8 to 15 feet deep, even when the river has readied its lowest ebb. But we are
often obliged to cross from one channel to another, and sometimes from one
bank to the other ; and it is in these crossings that the difficulties occur. I
am not aware that anything has been written on the form of the bottoms of
rivers, but familiarity with that and the signs on the surface will enable one
man to find three fathoms, while another will run aground in one or two feet.
From our experience of a year in which the river was unusually low, and the
rise deferred to a later than ordinary period, it is certain that a vessel really
of 18 inches or 2 feet draught could ply at all seasons on the first 300 miles
of the Zambesi.

" We have in the course of one year cut up into small pieces upwards of
150 tons of lignum vitse alone, which, according to the average prices in
London during 1858, was worth about £900. This wood, when dry, was, in
the absence of coal, the only fuel with which we could get up steam, owing to
the boiler-tubes being singularly placed all on one side and chiefly below the
level of the fire, from which novel arrangement one side remains long cold
while the other is hot, like a patient in the palsy ; and four and a half or five
mortal hours of fuel-burning are required to get up steam ; yet by incessant
labour and a dogged determination to extract all the good possible out of an
engine probably intended to grind coffee in a shop-window, we have traversed
2350 miles of river. Now, had we been permitted to show what could be
effected in this one branch of commerce, it is not unreasonable to say that
every time the saw went through lignum vitas it might have been to secure or
dress a log. Without any great labour we might have cut a thousand instead
of one hundred and fifty tons of that valuable wood, and given a practical
exposition of what may, and very probably soon will be effected by the
Germans in Zambesi commerce.

" The only paper that reached us up to the middle of June last contained
a short notice of the meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, in which
some interesting assertions were made in connection with a pretty theory and
an engineering plan, that the Zambesi, which, under the very serious
disadvantages of that plan, we have actually been navigating, was not
navigable at all. If our fellow-members will only believe that we have a
merry smile on our faces, we would venture to move, for the support of the
theory, in parliamentary fashion, that the word ought be inserted thus :
' Wheat ought not to grow at the level of the sea ;' ' indigo ought not to grow
more than a foot high,' and ' it ought not to contain indigo at all.' ' The seeds
of cucumbers and water-melons ought not to contain a fine bland oil, fit for the
purposes of the table,' because that would be like 'extracting sunbeams from
cucumbers.' ' The Zambesi ought not to be navigable for commercial

REPORT ON THE ZAMBESI. 299

purposes,' and the Steam Launch ' Asthmatic' ' ought to have been intended
to draw something more than merely ' grist to the mill.'

" From October, 1858, to June, 1859, 5782 elephants' tusks have gone
down the Zambesi from Tete alone; of these two-thirds were large, or
upwards of 501bs. each. The weight of the whole was in round numbers
100,0001bs. All merchandise is carried in large unwieldy canoes, which cost
between £60 and £70 each. When loaded they draw about two feet and carry
two tons, at an expense of £10 sterling from Kilimane to Tete, when the
river is full. When the small channel between the Zambesi and the Kilimane
river is dry, which is the case at least nine months in the year, the expense is
much increased by the land-carriage to Mazaro. English manufactured goods
come in a roundabout way by Banian or Gentoo traders from Bombay, and
they are obliged to give larger prices for ivory than the Americans or Germans,
who are absorbing all the trade of Eastern Africa. Several Tete merchants
have been waiting at Kilimane for months in expectation of American ships
with cottons. For the information of mercantile men it may be added that
the American calicoes are coarse, unbleached, yard-wide cottons, costing at
Kilimane between 5d. and 6d. per yard ; and muskets, inferior to English
trade arms, from 26s. to 36s. each. With calicoes, guns, and gunpowder, they
easily secure all the trade on the east coast below Zanzibar. No attempt is
made to encourage the native taste for better articles, which exists quite as
strongly here as on the west coast. Red and blue colours are often unravelled,
respun, and rewoven into country cloths, and towards Lake Shirwa the only
scraps of these colours that come in to the country are exclusively claimed by
the chiefs."

"If we divide the Zambesi into three reaches, namely, from the sea to
Kebra-basa — from Kebra-basa to Kansolo — and thence to Victoria Falls — -we
lind that each reach is abundantly supplied with coal. Your Lordship's
attention has already been directed to the coal-field at Tete. In addition to a
former discovery of coal on the south bank above Chicova, we now discovered
the mineral in two rivulets on the north bank. Blocks of it, a foot or more
square, lay in a stream, called Sinjere, and, curiously enough, the natives did
not know that it would burn. The same coal-field extends, with occasional
faults from the bursting through of igneous rocks, nearly to the Victoria Falls,
and the quality is better even than that of Tete. It resembles closely English
domestic coal, for it froths like toasting-cheese in an open fire. This vast
coal-field will possibly modify the calculations of philosophers as to the amount
of mineral in the world, and it may constitute an important element in the
future greatness of the Cape colony.

"Dr. Kirk and I, with four Makololo, went up to the worst or
unapproachable rapid, called ' Morumbua.' Our companions were most
willing fellows ; but at last gave in, showing their horny soles blistered, and

300 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the blisters broken. Our good strong boots were quite worn through ; a pair
of 'powries' (none-such) went as the others, though in ordinary travelling
there was no wearing them down. On still urging the Makololo to another
effort, they said that ' they always believed I had a heart till then ; I had
surely become insane, and they were sorry Kirk could not understand
them, for if he could he would go back with them.' A fortnight and
thirty miles made us all lean and haggard, as if recovering from
severe illness. Had I come by this way in 1856, I should never
have reached Tete. I do not attempt to describe the rocks, broken, twisted,
huddled about in the wildest manner and confusion, over which we struggled:
it is impossible. But this region, with its lofty healthy mountains, will yet
become famous for tourists. We climbed over mountains 2,000 or 2,300 feet
high, and cut our way through the tangled forest that covers them. I once
thought highly of field geography, and despised that of the easy chair ; but I
gave in now. Commend me to travelling with a pair of compasses or seven-
league boots, without any regard to the slight obstacles which Nature has inter-
posed. Easy-chair geography will do for all the easy-going people, and is often
believed in by even the public ; but you need not supppose I have been going
the length of making no observations, though I cannot send you any on this
occasion ; no time to transcribe."

" The people inhabiting the valley of the Zambesi above the confluence
of the Kafue are chiefly Baleuje and Bawe ; but they are much mixed with
other tribes. They all cultivate the soil and raise large quantities of grain.
A considerable amount of remarkably fine cotton is also planted, yet a large
number of the men go stark naked. They are not inferior in any respect to
the natives who clothe themselves — the women are all decently covered ; but
these Baenda-pezi, or go-nakeds as they are called, are absolutely devoid of
shame. Their tobacco-pipes are elaborately ornamented with iron and
copper, and they are sufficiently conceited in the fashion of their hair and the
colour of the beads around their necks ; but though they deny the existence
of any law on the subject except custom, neither laughing nor joking could
arouse the sense of decency. What was of more importance, they were very
hospitable, and accompanied us for days together, carrying the burdens of our
men for very small payments."

CHAPTER XIV.

Start for LinyanH. — Cutting up an Elephant. — The "go-naked" Tribe. — Tlic
Victoria Falls. — They find Sekeletu III. — Leave Sesheke. — Arrive at Kongonc.

AS Livingstone felt bound in honour to revisit Sekeletu and take back the
men who had accompanied him from that chief in his wanderings,
together with the merchandise he had purchased for his use with the tusks
entrusted to him, the party started from Tete for Linyanti, on the loth of
May, leaving ten English sailors in charge of the ship until their return. As
many of the men had taken up with slave women they did not leave with
much good will, and before the party had reached Kebrabasa Rapids, thirty
of them had deserted. Before starting, Livingstone had paid them in cloth,
&c, for their services in the expedition, being anxious that they should make
as good an appearance as possible when they reached Linyanti. Many of
them had earned a good deal during their stay at Tete, while Dr. Livingstone
was absent in England ; but as they unfortunately picked up a good many of
the evil habits of the natives round Tete, they had squandered all they pos-
sessed. It is painful to think that these unsophisticated sons of nature
should have come so far to see and meet civilized people with such results.
Not only were the slave and half-caste population drunken and immoral, but
the Portuguese merchants with few exceptions were no better.

A merchant at Tete sent three of his men with the party to convey a
present for Sekeletu, two other merchants sent him a couple of donkeys,
and Major Sicard sent them men to assist them on their return, when, of
course, their attendants would be reduced, should the Makololo men elect to
remain, and no one volunteer to accompany them on their return down the
river. In order to escape the exactions of the Banyai tribes, the party pro-
ceeded up the left bank of the river. At several of the villages, on their way
up the Zambesi valley, they saw and conversed with pondoros, as men are
called who pretend to be able to change themselves into a lion or other animal.
Strangely enough, this power appeared to be believed in by the people ; even
the wife of the poudoro, during the period when he retires into the forests to
change his shape, leaving food for liim in a hut in the forest prepared for
him, the change to the brute form apparently not destroying or altering the
human appetite. These excursions usually last until the pondoro has dis-
covered some animal just slain by a lion, when he returns to his village and

302 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

leads thern to the carcase, taking credit to himself, of course, for having killed
it dining his transformation.

" It is believed also," says Dr. Livingstone, " that the souls of departed
chiefs enter into lions, rendering them sacred. On one occasion, when we had
shot a buffalo in the path beyond the Kafue, a hungry lion, attracted probably
by the smell of the meat, came close to our camp, and roused up all hands by his
roaring." One of their native followers, imbued with the popular belief that
the brute was a chief in disguise, took him to task in his intervals of silence
for his meanness in wanting to plunder the camp.

"You a chief, eh? You call yourself a chief do you? What kind a
chief are you to come sneaking about in the dark, trying to steal our buffalo
meat ? Are you not ashamed of yourself ? A pretty chief truly ; you are
like the scavenger beetle, and think of yourself only. You have not the heart
of a chief; why don't you kill your own beef? You must have a stone in
your chest, and no heart at all indeed ! "

Near the village of a chief called Sandia, six of the Makololo shot a cow
elephant. In this district, the chief claims one half of any game killed on his
ground. This right was to some extent waived, the headman of the hunting
party superintended the cutting up of the brute and apportioned the pieces —
" the head and right hind leg belong to him who killed the beast, that is to him
who inflicted the first wound ; the left leg to him who delivered the second, or
first touched the animal after it fell ; the meat around the eye to the English,
or chief of the travellers ; and different parts to the headmen of the different
fires, or groups, of which the camp is composed ; not forgetting to enjoin the
preservation of the fat and bowels for a second distribution." The cutting up
of the carcase is a scene of wild excitement. "Some jump inside, and roll
about there in their eagerness to seize the precious fat, while others run off
screaming, with pieces of the bloody meat, throw it on the grass, and run back
for more ; all kept talking and shouting at the utmost pitch of their voices.
Sometimes two or three, regardless of all law, seize the same piece of meat, and
have a brief fight of words over it. . . . In an incredibly short time tons of meat
are cut up, and placed in separate heaps around." The following is the method
of cooking the elephant's forefoot, which the white members of the party had
for breakfast on the following morning. " A large hole was dug in the ground
in which a fire was made, and when the inside was thoroughly heated, the entire
foot was placed in it, and covered over with the hot ashes and soil. Another
fire was made above the whole, and kept burning all night. . . . It is a
whitish mass, slightly gelatinous, and sweet, like marrow. . . . Elephants'
trunks and tongues are also good, and, after long simmering, much resemble
the hump of a buffalo, and the tongue of an ox ; but all the other meat is tough,
and, from its peculiar flavour, only to be eaten by a hungry man." The natives
eat enormous quantities of meat when they have the opportunity.

NA TI VE POLITICIA NS. 303

" They boil as much as their pots will hold, and cat until it becomes
physically impossible for them to stow away any more. An uproarious dance
follows, accompanied with stentorian song ; and as soon as they have shaken
their first course down, and washed off the sweat and dust of the after per-
formance, they go to work to roast more ; a short snatch of sleep succeeds, and
they are up and at it again ; all night long it is boil and eat, roast and devour,
with a few brief interludes of sleep. Like other carnivora, these men can
endure hunger for a much longer period than the mere porridge-eating tribes."
As game was abundant, the weather excellent for camping, and the route
known, travelling was not an unpleasant task. Flocks of guinea fowl and
other birds, were met with daily ; and, as they were in good condition, and
their flesh excellent, the party enjoyed a variety of flesh meat.

In camping the men by turns cut grass for the beds of the three English-
men,— Dr. Livingstone being placed in the middle, Dr. Kirk on the right, and
Charles Livingstone on the left. Their bags, rifles, and revolvers were placed
near their beds, and a fire was kindled near their feet. A dozen fires were
kindled in the camp nightly, and replenished from time to time by the men
who were awakened by the cold. On these grass beds, with their rugs drawn
over them, the three Englishmen slept soundly under some giant tree, through
whose branches when awake they could look up to the clear star-spangled
moonlit sky. Their attendants slept between mats of palm leaves, which were
sewn together round three sides of the square, one being left open to enable
the man to crawl in between the two. These sleeping bags are called fumlas,
and when they were all at rest within the encampment, they had the appear-
ance of sacks strewn round about the camp fires.

In camp, when food was plenty, there was no lack of amusement.
After the camp fires were lighted and the important labours consequent
on cooking and eating were over, the party sat round the fires talking and
singing.

" Every evening one of the Batoka played his sansa, and continued at
it until far into the night ; he accompanied it with an extempore song, in
which he rehearsed their deeds ever since they left their own country."
Political discussions frequently arose, in which radical and revolutionary
theorists combated loyal and constitutional orators, after the manner of
political clubs at home. On these occasions " the whole camp was aroused,
and the men shouted to one another from the different fires ; whilst some
whose tongues were never heard on any other subject, now burst forth into
impassioned speech. The misgovernment of chiefs formed an inexhaustible
theme.

" ' We could govern ourselves better,' they cry, ' so what is the use of
chiefs at all ? they do not work. The chief is fat, and has plenty of wives ;
whilst we, who do the hard work, have hunger, only one wife, or more likely

304 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

none ; now this must be bad, unjust, and wrong.' All shouted to this a loud
' ehe,' equivalent to our ' hear, hear.'

" Next the headmen, Kanyata, and Tuba, with his loud voice, are heard
taking up the subject on the loyal side."

" ' The chief is the father of the people ; can there be people without a
father, eh ? God made the chief. Who says that the chief is not wise ? He
is wise, but his children are. fools.' ' Tuba goes on generally till he has
silenced all opposition ; and if his arguments are not always sound, his voice
is the loudest, and he is sure to have the last word. "

About five o'clock in the morning the camp was astir ; the blankets were
folded and stowed away in bags ; the fumbas and cooking pots were fixed on
the end of the carrying sticks, which were borne on the shoulders. The
cook carried the cooking utensils used for the Englishmen; and after a cup of
tea or coffee, the whole party were on the march before sunrise.

At nine, breakfast was prepared at a convenient spot. In the middle of
the day there was a short rest, and early in the afternoon they pitched their
camp — the white men going a-hunting if food was required, and examining
the neighbourhood. Their rate of progress was about two and a half miles an
hour as the crow flies, and their daily march lasted about six hours. After
several days of this, the natives complained of being fatigued, even when well
fed with fresh meat. They lacked the stamina and endurance of the
Europeans, although travelling in their own country.

In the Chicova plains, a chief named Chitora brought the party a present
of food and drink, because, he said, " He did not wish us to sleep hungry :
he had heard of Dr. Livingstone when he passed down, and had a great
desire to see and converse with him ; but he was a child then, and could not
speak in the presence of great men. He was glad that he had seen the Eng-
lish now, and was sorry that his people were away, or he should have made
them cook for us." Here and at other places they noticed that the natives
filtered their water through sand, even although at the time the water of the
river was clear and limpid. During the flood as the water is polluted with
all sorts of filth collected near the native villages, the filtering process is very
necessary.

Of the effect the white men have upon the native population on a first
encounter, Dr. Livingstone says : —

" There must be something in the appearance of white men frightfully
repulsive to the unsophisticated natives of Africa; for, on entering villages
previously unvisited by Europeans, if we met a child coming quietly and
unsuspectingly towards us, the moment he raised his eyes, and saw the men
in ' bags ' (trousers), he would take to his heels in an agony of terror, such as
we might feel if we met a live Egyptian mummy at the door of the British
museum. Alarmed by the child's wild outcries, the mother rushes out of her

A DISAPPOINTED CHIEF. 305

hut, but darts back again at the first glimpse of the same fearful apparition.
Dogs turn tail and scour off in dismay, and hens abandoning their chickens
fly screaming to the tops of the houses. The so-lately peaceful village
becomes a scene of confusion and hubbub, until calmed by the laughing
assurance of our men, that white people do not eat black folks ; a joke having
oftentimes greater influence in Africa than solemn assertions. Some of our
young swells, on entering an African village, .might experience a collapse of
self-inflation, at the sight of all the pretty girls fleeing from them, as from
hideous cannibals, or by witnessing, as we have done, the conversion of
themselves into public hobgoblins ; the mammas holding naughty children
away from them, and saying, ' Be good, or I shall call the white men to bite
you.' "

The two donkeys rivalled them in the interest they excited. " Great
was the astonishment when one of the donkeys began to bray. The
timid jumped more than if a lion had roared beside them. All were startled,
and stood in mute amazement at the harsh-voiced one, till the last broken
note was uttered; then, on being assured that nothing in particular was
meant, they looked at each other, and burst into a loud laugh at their
common surprise. When one donkey stimulated the other to try his vocal
powers, the interest felt by the startled natives must have equalled that of the
Londoners, when they first crowded to see the famous hippopotamus."

Here, they examined seams of excellent coal, and found lumps of it
which had been brought down from the near hill ranges by the brooks,
and astonished the natives by showing them that the black stones would burn.
They stated that there was plenty of it among the hills. Some of the chiefs
wore wigs made of the fibrous leaves of a plant called ife, allied to the aloes ;
when properly dyed these wigs have a fine glossy appearance. Mpende and
his people, who were objects of some dread to Livingstone and his companions
in their journey to the coast from Linyanti were now most friendly: the chief
apologising for his want of attention to the traveller and his party as they
passed on their way to the coast. Several Banyai chiefs sent their headmen
across the stream to demand tribute, but the travellers were glad to be in a
position to resist such exactions. Halting near the village of a chief named
Pangola, he demanded a rifle in exchange for the food they needed, and
refused to trade on any other terms; fortunately, a member of the party managed
to shoot a water-bok, which rendered them independent of the greedy savage,
who was intensely mortified at seeing them depart without his having traded
with them in any way. He cried after them as they passed on their way,
"You are passing Pangola. Do not you sec Pangola?" But the wholo
party were so disgusted with him that they would have no dealings with him
on any terms.

Passing the ruins of the once flourishing Portuguese settlement of Zumbo,
Pi

306 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

which is beautifully situated in the midst of fertile plains watered by two
splendid rivers, the travellers moralised on the worse than utter failure attending
the establishment of the Portuguese on the east coast of Africa. " Not a single
art (says Dr. Livingstone) save that of distilling spirits by means of a gun-barrel,
has ever been learnt from the strangers ; and if all the progeny of the whites were
at once to leave the country, their only memorial would be the ruins of a few
stone and mud-built walls, and that blighting relic of the slave-trade, tho
belief that man may sell his brother man; a belief which is not of native
origin, for it is not found except in the track of the Portuguese." Beyond the
ruins of their churches at Zumbo, there is nothing in the habits and beliefs of
the people to tell that Christianity was once taught there. At Tete, Senna,
and Kilimane, where the Jesuits have still establishments, although shorn of
their original splendour, their want of success is in deep contrast to the good
done among the people of Ambaca, winch is still perceptible after several
generations. M aintaining a footing in the country only on the sufferance of
the Zulus and other native tribes, it is a matter of deep regret that the Portu-
guese government should be permitted to stand in the way of the elevation of
a people, and the civilization of a vast territory.

Between Zumbo and the falls, game of all kinds was so abundant that
their native attendants got fat, and became fastidious in their eating, declining
antelope and preferring buffalo flesh and guinea fowl. The natives were
curious and hospitable at all the villages they passed, and their bold and
fearless beariug told that they were now beyond the range of the operations
of the slave-traders. Families were frequently met marching in single file —
the man at the head, carrying nothing save his weapons of defence, his wives
and sons and daughters following with their scanty household utensils and
comforts. These parties always came in for a share of the white men's
abundance of flesh meat. Around the foot of the great tree of audience at
every village, or suspended from its branches, were collections of buffalo and
antelope horns and skulls, the trophies of the chase. The travellers remarked,
that " at these spots were some of the most splendid buffalo heads we have
ever seen ; the horns after making a complete circle had commenced a second
turn. This would be a rich country for a horn-fancier."

The only thing edible they wanted in the central plains was vegetables ;
now and again they got a supply of sweet potatoes, which allayed the dis-
agreeable craving which a continuous diet of meat and meal had induced.
After crossing the Kafue, the party got amongst a people of Batoka origin,
and belonging: to the same tribe as several of the attendants who had left
Linyanti with Livingstone. Here they were told that Moselekatso's (Sebi-
tuane's great enemy) chief town was above three hundred miles distant, and
that the English had come to him and taught him that it was wrong to kill
people, and that now he sent out his men to collect and sell ivory. It was

THE GO-NAKED TRIBE. 307

refreshing to find that news of this description had travelled so far. The
Bawee, a people who go entirely nude, or clothed only in a coat of
red ochre (of whom we shall hear more from Mr. C. Livingstone), were
very friendly. The party tried to discover the reason for their going
naked, but could only learn that it was the custom ; the habit was only con-
fined to the males, the women being always more or less clothed. They felt
no shame, nor could any feeling be aroused by laughing and jocking at their
appearance. They " evidently felt no less decent than we did with our
clothes on ; but whatever may be said in favour of nude statues, it struck us
that man in a state of nature is a most ungainly animal. Could we see a
number of the degraded of our own lower classes in like guise, it is probable,
that, without the black colour which acts somehow as a dress they would look
worse still."

Leaving the bank of the Zambesi for a time, the party travelled through
the Batoka highlands, where the free air of the hill side was most invigorat-
ing and beneficial, especially to Dr. Kirk, who had suffered from fever. The
country, although very fertile, is thinly populated, Sebituane and Moselekatse
having ravaged it in their numerous forays The Batoka are a peace-loving
and industrious people ; they were so hospitable that it would have pained
them if the party had passed without receiving something. Very frequently
they prepared their camp for them, — smoothing the ground with their hoes
for their beds, collecting grass and firewood, erecting a bush fence to protect
them from the wind, and carrying water from the distant well or stream.

Once they were visited by a noble specimen of the Go-nakeds, clothed
only in a tobacco pipe, with a stem two feet long wound round with polished
ivory. " God made him naked," he said, " and he had therefore never worn
any clothing."

Great quantities of tobacco are grown in the Batoka country, which is
famed for its quality ; they are inveterate smokers, but always had the polite-
ness to ask the white men's permission before smoking in their presence.
Above Kariba the people had never before been visited by white men. The
chief of Koba, on being asked if any tradition existed among his people of
strangers having visited the country, answered "Not at all; our fathers all
died without telling us that they had seen men like you. To-day I am exalt-
ed in seeing what they never saw"; while others, in a spirit worthy of Charles
Lamb, who threatened to write for the ancients, because the moderns did not
appreciate him properly, said, "We are the true ancients; we have seen
stranger things than any of our ancestors, in seeing you."

The following admirable account of the Batoka country and its people is
from the pen of Mr. Charles Livingstone : —

" The country of the Batoka, in Central Africa, lies between the 25th
and 29th degrees of East longitude and the 16th and 18th of South latitude.

308 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D

It has the river Kafue on the North, the Zambesi on the East and South, and
extends West till it touches the low fever-plains of the river Majeela, near
Sesheke.

" But a few years since these extensive, healthy highlands were well
peopled by the Batoka ; numerous herds of cattle furnished abundance of
milk, and the rich soil largely repaid the labour of the husbandman. Now
enormous herds of buffaloes, elephants, antelopes, zebras, &c, fatten on the
excellent pasture which formerly supported multitudes of cattle, and not a
human being is to be seen. We travelled from Monday morning till late in
the Saturday afternoon (from Thabacheu to within 20 miles of Victoria Falls)
without meeting a single person, though constantly passing the ruined sites of
Batoka villages. These people were driven out of this, the choicest portion
of their noble country, by the invasion of Sebituane. Many were killed, and
the survivors, except those around the Falls, plundered of their cattle, fled to
the banks of the Zambesi and to the rugged hills of Mataba. Scarcely, how-
ever, had the conquerors settled down to enjoy their ill-gotten riches when
they themselves were attacked by small-pox ; and, as soon as its ravages had
ceased, the fighting Matabele compelled them to abandon the country, and
seek refuge amidst the fever-swamps of Linyanti.

" The Batoka have a mild and pleasant expression of countenance, and
are easily distinguished from the other Africans by the singular fashion of
wearing no upper front teeth, all persons of both sexes having them knocked
out in early life. They seem never to have been a fighting race, but to have
lived at peace among themselves, and on good terms with their neighbours.
While passing through their country we observed one day a large cairn. Our
guide favoured us with the following account of it : — ' Once on a time the
ancients were going to fight another tribe ; they halted here and sat down.
After a long consultation they came to the unanimous conclusion that, instead
of proceeding to fight and kill their neighbours, and perchance getting them-
selves killed, it would be more like men to raise this heap of stones as their
earnest protest against what the other tribe had done, which they accordingly
did, and then returned quietly home again.'

11 But, although the Batoka appear never to have had much stomach for
fighting with men, they are remarkably brave hunters of buffaloes and
elephants. They rush fearlessly close up to these formidable animals, and kill
them with their heavy spears. The Banyai, who have long levied black-mail
froru all Portuguese traders, were amazed at the daring bravery of the Batoka
in coming at once to close quarters with the elephant and despatching him.
They had never seen the like before. Does it require one kind of bravery to
fight with men, and another and different sort to fight with the fiercest
animals ? It seems that men may have the one kind in an eminent degree,
and yet be without the other.

NA Tl YE GRA VE YARDS. 309

" The Batoka having lived at peace for ages, had evidently attained to a
degree of civilization very much in advance of any other tribe we have yet
discovered. They planted and cultivated fruit-trees. Nowhere else has this
been the case, not even among the tribes which have been in contact with the
Portuguese for two hundred years, and have seen and tasted mangoes,
oranges, &c, &c. The natives round Senna and Tete will on no account
plant the stone of a mango. They are firm believers in a superstition that
' if any one plants a mango, he will die soon afterwards.'

" In and around the Batoka villages some of the most valuable timber-
trees have been allowed to stand, but every worthless tree has been cut down
and rooted out, and the best of the various fruit-trees of the country have
been carefully planted and preserved, and also a few trees from whose seeds
they extracted oil. We saw fruit-trees which had been planted in regular
rows, the trunks being about three feet in diameter, and also grand old
Motsakiri fruit-trees still bearing abundantly, which had certainly seen a
hundred summers.

" Two of the ancient Batoka once travelled as far as the river Loangwa.
There they saw the massan-tree in fruit, carried some all the way back to the
Great Falls, and planted them. Two of the trees are still standing, the only
ones of the kind in all that region.

" They made a near approach to the custom of even the most refined
nations in having permanent graveyards, either on the sides of sacred hills,
or under the shady fig-trees near the villages. They reverenced the tombs of
their ancestors, and erected monuments of the costliest ivory at the head of
the grave, and often even entirely enclosed it with the choicest ivory. Other
tribes on the Zambesi throw the body into the river, to be devoured by
alligators ; or, sewing it in a mat, place it on the branches of the baobab, or
cast it into some gloomy, solitary spot overgrown with thorns and noxious
weeds, to be devoured by the foul hyena. But the Batoka reverently buried
their dead, and regarded the ground as sacred to their memories. Near the
confluence of the Kafue, the chief, accompanied by some of his headmen,
came to our sleeping-place with a present ; their foreheads were marked
with white flour, and there was an unusual seriousness in their de-
meanour.

M We were informed that shortly before our arrival they had been accused
of witchcraft. Conscious of innocence they accepted the terrible ordeal, or
offered to drink the poisoned muavi. For this purpose they made a journey
to the sacred hill where reposed the bodies of their ancestors, and, after a
solemn appeal to the unseen spirits of their fathers to judge of the innocence
of these their children, drank the muavi, vomited, and were therefore
declared to be ' Not guilty.' They believed in the immortality of the soul,
and that the souls of their ancestor? knew what they were doing, and were

310 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

pleased or not accordingly. The owners of a large canoe refused to sell it
because it belonged to the spirits of their fathers, who helped them in killing
the hippopotamus.

" Some of the Batoka chiefs must have had a good deal of enterprise.
The lands of one in the western part of the country lay on the Zambesi,
which protected him on the South ; on the East and North was an impassable
reedy marsh, filled with water all the year round, leaving only his West border
unprotected and open to invasion. He conceived the bold project of digging
a broad and deep canal, nearly a mile in length, from the AVest end of the
reedy river to the Zambesi, and actually carried it into execution ; thus
forming a large island, on which his cattle grazed in safety, and his corn
ripened from year to year secure from all marauders.

"Another chief, who died a number of years ago, believed that he had
discovered a remedy for tsetse-bitten cattle. His son showed us the plant,
which was new to our botanist, and likewise told us how the medicine was
prepared. The bark of the root is dried, and — what will be specially
palatable to our homceopathist friends — a dozen tsetse are caught, dried, and
ground with the bark to a fine powder. The mixture is administered
internally, and the cattle are also smoked, by burning the rest of the plant
under them. The treatment is continued some weeks, as often as symptoms
of the poison show themselves. This, he frankly said, will not cure all the
bitten cattle, for cattle, and men too, die in spite of medicine ; but should a
herd by accident stray into a tsetse district and get bitten, by this medicine
of Kampakampa, his father, some of them could be saved, while without it
all would be sure to die.

"A remarkably prominent feature in the Batoka character is their
enlarged hospitality. No stranger is ever allowed to suffer hunger. They
invariably sent to our sleeping-places large presents of the finest white meal,
with fat capons " to give it a relish," and great pots of beer to comfort our
hearts, with pumpkins, beans, and tobacco ; so that, as they said, we ' should
not sleep hungry or thirsty.'

"In travelling from the Kafue to Sinamanes, we often passed several
villages in the course of a day's march. In the evening, deputations arrived
from those villages at which we could not sleep, with liberal presents of food.
It evidently pained them to have strangers pass them without partaking of their
hospitality. Repeatedly were we hailed from huts, asked to wait a moment
and drink a little beer, which they brought with alacrity.

" When we halted for the night, it was no uncommon thing for these
people to prepare our camp. Entirely of their own accord, some with their
hoes quickly smoothed the ground for our beds ; others brought bundles of
grass and spread it carefully over the spot ; some with their small axes
speedily mado a brush-fence round to shield us from the wind j and if, as

RAGS AT A DISCO UNT. 311

occasionally happened, the water was a little distant, others hastened and
brought a pot or two of water to cook our food with, and also firewood. They
arc an industrious people, and very fond of agriculture. For hours at a time
have we marched through unbroken corn-fields of nearly a mile in width.
They erect numerous granaries for the reception of the grain, which give
their villages the appearance of being unusually large ; and when the water
of the Zambesi has subsided they place the grain, tied up in bundles of grass,
well plastered over with clay, on low sand islands, as a protection against the
attacks of marauding mice and men.

" Owing to the ravages of the weevil, the native corn can hardly be
preserved until the following crop comes in. However largely they may
cultivate, and abundant the harvest, it must all be consumed the same year in
which it is grown. This may account for their making so much of it into
beer. The beer they brew is not the sour and intoxicating kind found among
other tribes, but sweet, and highly nutritious, with only a slight degree of
acidity to render it a pleasant drink. We never saw a single case of intoxi-
cation among them, though all drank great quantities of beer. They were
all plump, and in good condition.

" Both men and boys were eager to work for very small pay. Our men
could hire any number of them to carry their burdens for a few beads a-day
or a bit of cloth. The miserly and extra-dirty cook had an old pair of
trousers some of us had given him, and which he had long worn himself:
with one of the decayed legs of his trousers he hired a man to carry his
heavy load a whole day ; a second man carried it the next day for the other
leg ; and what remained of the old trousers, minus the buttons, procured the
labour of another man for the third day.

" A peculiar order of men is established among them, the order of the
Endah Pezes (Go-Nakeds). The badge of this order, as the name suggests,
consists in the entire absence of the slightest shred of clothing. They are
in the state in which Adam is reported to have been before his invention of
the fig-leaf apparel. We began to see members of this order about two days
above the junction of the Kafue ; two or three might be seen in a village.
The numbers steadily increased, until in a short time every man and boy
wore a badge of the Endah Pezes. The chief of one of the first villages, a
noble, generous fellow, was one, as were likewise two or three of his men. In
the afternoon he visited us in the full dress of his order, viz., a tobacco-pipe,
nothing else whatever, the stem about two feet long, wound round with
polished iron. He gave us a liberal present. Early next morning he came,
accompanied by his wife and daughter, with two large pots of beer, in order
that we might refresh ourselves before starting. Both the women, as comely
and modest-looking as we have seen in Africa, were well clothed and adorned.

" The women, in fact, are all well clothed, and have many ornaments.

312 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Some wear tin ear-rings all round the ear, no fewer than nine often in each
ear. There was nothing to indicate that they had the slightest idea of there
being anything peculiar in the no-dress-at-all style of their order. They rub
their bodies with red ochre. Some plait a fillet two inches wide, of the inner
bark of trees, shave the wool off the lower part of the head to an inch above
the ear, tie this fillet on, having rubbed it and the wool which is left with the
red ochre mixed in oil. It gives them the appearance of having on a neat
forage-cap. This, with some strings of beads, a little polished iron wire
round the arms, the never-failing pipe, and a small pair of tongs to lift up a
coal to light it with, constitute all the clothing the most dandyfied Endah
Peze ever wears.

" They raise immense quantities of tobacco on the banks of the Zambesi
in the winter months, and are, perhaps, the most inveterate smokers in the
world. The pipe is seldom out of their hands. They are as polite smokers
as any ever found in a railway carriage. When they came with a present,
although it was their own country, before lighting their pipes they asked if
we had any objections to their smoking beside us, which of course, contrary
to railway travellers, we never had. They have invented a novel mode of
smoking, which may interest those who are fond of the weed at home. They
take a whiff, puff out the grosser smoke, then by a sudden inhalation before
all is out contrive to catch, as they say, and swallow the pure spirit of the
tobacco, its real essence, which common smokers lose entirely. Their tobacco
is said to be very strong ; it is certainly very cheap ; a few strings of beads
will purchase as much as will last any reasonable smoker half a year. Their
government, whatever it may have been formerly, is now that of separate
and independent chiefs."

At Moachemba, the first of the Batoka villages which owed allegiance to
Sekeletu, the party distinctly saw the smoke of the Victoria Falls, twent}'
miles distant. Here their native attendants heard news from home. Take-
lang's wife had been killed by Sekeletu's headman at the Falls, on a charge
of witchcraft ; Inchikola's two wives, believing him to be dead, had married
again ; and Masakasa was intensely disquieted to hear that two years before
his friends, giving him up for dead, had held a kind of Irish wake in his
honour, slaughtered all his oxen, and thrown his shield over the Falls. He
declared he would devour them, and when they came to salute him would
say, "I am dead; I am not here; I belong to another world, and should stink
if I came among you." The Batoka wife of Sima, who had remained faithful
to him during his absence, came to welcome hiin back, and took the young
wife he had brought with him from Tete away with her without a murmur of
disapproval. At night, when the camp was quiet, Takelang fired his musket
and cried out, "lam weeping for my wife ; my court is desolate; I have no
home 1 " ending with a loud wail of anguish.

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS. 313

Dr. Livingstone and his English friends had news also to receive of a pain-
ful character. An attempt to establish a mission at Linyanti under the Rev.
F. C. Hclmoro had failed. The mission originally consisted of nine Europeans
and thirteen coloured people from the neighbourhood of Kuruman. Of these,
five Europeans, including Mr. Helmore and his wife, and four natives, died
within three months, and the survivors retreated disheartened from the region
which had been so deadly to their devoted companions. Sekeletu had behavod
very badly to the members of the mission, and got into trouble on account of
his conduct with Sechele, who considered himself the guardian and protector
of the white men in these parts.

The various headmen of Sekeletu having been holding forays among the
Batoka, had to be lectured by Dr. Livingstone — a discipline which they took
in good part, excusing themselves by endeavouring to prove that they were
in the right, and could not avoid fighting.

On the 9th of August, 1860, the party reached the Victoria Falls, and
Dr. Livingstone and his two companions were rowed through the rapids to
Garden Island, to obtain a view of the falls. The canoe in which they sat
was owned by Tuba Mokoro, which means " Smasher of canoes," a somewhat
ominous title, which his success and skill on the present occasion belied. The
party had to embark several miles above the falls, and were strictly enjoined
to maintain silence. For a considerable distance the river was smooth and
tranquil, the beautiful islands, densely covered with tropical vegetation,
adding to the pleasure felt in the rapid and easy movement of the craft.
Near the falls the surface of the river is broken by rocks, which, as the
water was then low, protruded their heads above the stream, breaking the
cm-rent into boiling and foaming eddies, which required all the skill of the
boatmen to pilot their way through. " There were places " — Livingstone
says — " where the utmost exertion of both men had to be put forth in order to
force the canoe to the only safe part of the rapids, and to prevent it from
sweeping down broadside, when in a twinkling we should have found ourselves
floundering among the plotuscs and cormorants, which were eno-a°-ed in
diving for their breakfast of small fish. At times it seemed as if nothing
could save us from dashing in our headlong race against the rocks, which,
now that the river was low, jutted out of the water ; but, just at the very nick
of time, Tuba passed the word to the steersman, and then with ready pole
turned the canoe a little aside, and we glided smoothly past the threatened
danger. Never was canoe more admirably managed. . . . We were
driving swiftly down. A black rock, over which the foam flew, lay directly in
our path. The pole was planted against it as readily as ever, but it slipped just
as Tuba put forth his strength to turn the bow off. We struck hard, and were
half full of water in a moment. Tuba recovered himself as speedily, shoved off
the bow, and shot the canoe into a still shallow place, to bale out the water."

314 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

At the falls they met an Englishman, a Mr. Baldwin, from Natal, who
had reached them, his only guide for the greater part of the way being his
pocket compass. He had anticipated the arrival of his waggon by two days.
Mashotlam had ferried him across the stream, and when nearly over he had
jumped out and swam ashore. "If" said the chief, " he had been devoured
by one of the crocodiles which abound there, the English would have blamed
us for his death. He nearly inflicted a great injury upon us, therefore, we
said, he must pay us a fine." Mr. Baldwin was, when Dr. Livingstone and
his friends met him, contentedly waiting the arrival of his waggon, so that he
might pay the fine.

On reaching Sesheke, where Sekeletu was, Dr. Livingstone found matters
in a bad way with the Makololo. Sekeletu was suffering from leprosy, and
had withdrawn himself from the sight of his people. A long-continued
drought had almost destroyed the crops, and the country was suffering from
a partial famine. The illness and inactivity of Sekeletu had induced chiefs
and headmen at a distance to do as they pleased ; which meant too often the
ill-usage of their immediate dependants, and the plundering of neighbouring
and friendly tribes.

On the arrival of the party an unbroken stream of visitors poured in
upon them, all desirous of paying their respects to Dr. Livingstone, and to
tell him the haps and mishaps which had befallen them during his absence.
All were in low spirits. Sekeletu, believing himself bewitched, had slain a
number of his chief men, together with their families ; distant friendly tribes
were revolting ; famine was upon them, and the power of the Makololo was
passing away. These forebodings were only too soon realised. In 1864
Sekeletu died ; and in the struggle which ensued for the succession, the wide
kingdom his father had conquered and ruled over, with a wisdom unexampled
among his peers, was broken up.

They found Sekeletu sitting in a covered waggon, which was enclosed in
a high wall of reeds. His face was slightly disfigured by the thickening and
discolouration of the skin where the leprosy had passed over it. He had a
firm belief that he had been bewitched. As the doctors of his own tribe
could do nothing for him, a female doctor of the Manyeti tribe was endea-
vouring to cure him at the time of Dr. Livingstone's arrival. After some
difficulty she allowed the white men to take her patient in charge, and under
their treatment he all but recovered.

The two horses left by Dr. Livingstone in 1853 were still alive, notwith-
standing the severe discipline to which they had been subjected. Sekeletu
had a great passion for horses, and about a year before the arrival of Living-
stone and his friends from Tete, a party of Makololo were sent to Benguela
on the west coast, who had purchased five horses, but they had all died on the
journey, through being bewitched as they believed, and they arrived with

A LOST NOTE-BOOK FOUND. 315

nothing to show for them save their tails. The merchants at Benguela had
treated them kindly, and made them presents of clothing and other articles.
As they had only recently arrived, and their clothes were comparatively
unworn, they proved, when arrayed in their best, to be as well if not better
dressed than Livingstone and his white friends. " They wore shirts well
washed and starched, coats and trousers, white socks, and patent leather
boots, a red Kilmarnock cowl on the head, and a brown wide-awake on the
top of that." They and the travelled natives who had come from Tete
fraternised, and held themselves to be something superior on account of what
they had seen ; but, as in more enlightened regions, there was not wanting a
party who believed in ignorance. " They had seen the sea, had they ? " these
would say, " and what is that ? nothing but water. They could see plenty of
water at home — ay, more than they wanted to see ; and white people came
to their town — why then travel to the coast to look at them ?"

Sekeletu was well pleased with the articles brought for him. The sugar
mill had been left at Tete, being too bulky to be carried with them. On the
arrival of a proper steamer for the navigation of the Zambesi, he was informed
it would be sent up as far as the falls. In his ignorance as regarded the power
of artillery, he asked if cannon could not blow away the falls, and allow the
vessel to come up to Sesheke.

Two packages containing letters and newspapers from Kuruman were
lying at Linyanti, and a messenger was sent for them, who returned with
only one (the other being too heavy for him), within seven days, during
which time he had travelled 240 miles.

As Dr. Livingstone wished to get some more medicine and papers out of
the waggon he had left at Linyanti in 1853, he determined to proceed there
himself. On his arrival he found the waggon and its contents untouched from
the time of his departure in 1853, and everything in its place. This
illustrates the trustworthy character of the Makololo, which was still further
exemplified by the discovery of one of the books of notes he had left with
Sekeletu on his departure for the west coast in 1853. It will be remembered,
that fearing he was dead Sekeletu had given two books, together with a letter
addressed to Mr. Moffat, to a native trader, and that nothing further had been
heard of them. On being told that the trader, to whom they had said they had
given the books and letters, had denied having received them, Seipone, one of
Sekeletu's wives, said " He lies ; I gave them to him myself." The trader
afterwards went to Moselekatse's country, and his conscience having bothered
him, it is presumed, " one of the volumes was put into the mail-bag coming
from the south, which came to hand with the lock taken off in quite a
scientific manner."

In the waggon Livingstone found the supply of medicine he had left
there untouched, and it was a melancholy reflection that Mr. Helmore and

316 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the other members of his mission should have died there, with the medicines
they needed lying within a hundred yards of their encampment. In return-
ing to Sesheske he heard of a lion being killed by the bite of a serpent.
Animals were frequently the victims of poisonous snakes, but he seldom heard
of their attacking human beings. While the Makololo generally accepted tho
leading truths of Christianity, there were some habits and superstitions which
it was found difficult to shake. The belief in witchcraft and sorcery was
deeply rooted. They said, " They needed the book of God ; but the hearts
of black men are not the same as those of the whites. They had real sorcerers
among them. If that was guilt which custom led them to do, it lay between
the white man and Jesus, who had not given them the book, nor favoured
them as He had the whites." As to cattle-lifting from their weaker neighbours,
they said, " Why should these Makalaka (a term of contempt for the blacker
tribes) possess cattle if they cannot fight for them ?" The pithy border creed —

" ... the good old rule
Sufficeth them, the simple plan,
That they should take who have the power,
And they should keep who can,"

■ — was universally understood in its naked simplicity ; and despite their general
ignorance, they could reason very ingeniously. The cattle they took from
neighbouring tribes were in all likelihood the descendants of cattle which at
an earlier period had belonged to themselves ; how, therefore, could it be a
sin, they argued, to take back what was their own ? We question whether
any border cattle-lifter of the 17th century could have given a better reason
for his cattle stealing proclivities than this !

To those who knew the history of the Makololo tribe and its great chief
Sebituane, the prospect of its passing away as a power in Central Africa was
sad indeed. . Indolence — the Makalaka did all their hard work — and the
pestilent country on the Chobe and Zambesi induced a rapid deterioration of
the manly qualities which had made them predominant over the tribes of the
interior. Livingstone says : —

"None but brave and daring men remained long with Sebituane: his
stern discipline soon eradicated cowardice from his army. If the chief saw a
man running away from the fight, he rushed after him with amazing speed,
and cut him down ; or waited till he returned to the town, and then sum-
moned the deserter into his presence.' ' You did not wish to die in the field,
you wished to die at home, did you ? You shall have your wish ! and he was
instantly led off and executed.' "

The Makololo made use of the sjDOons given them to convey their food
to the palm of their hand which conveyed it to the mouth. They were
horrified at seeing Dr. Livingstone and his friends put butter on their bread,
as they only eat it when melted. " Look at them look at them," they said,

'

.-

MATOKWANE SMOKERS. 317

" they are actually eating raw butter." The principal use they made of
butter was to anoint the body.

" The Makololo women have soft, small delicato hands and feet ; their
foreheads are well shaped, and of good size ; the nose not disagreeably flat ;
the mouth, chin, teeth, eyes, and general form, are beautiful, and contrasted
with the west coast negro, quite lady-like. Having maid-servants (children
of the Barotse and Makalaka) to wait on them and perform the principal part
of the household work, abundance of time is left them, and they are some-
times at a loss to know what to do with it."

The party " met a venerable warrior, sole survivor, save one, probably, of
the Mantatee host which threatened to invade the colony in 1824. He retained
a vivid recollection of their encounter with the Griquas. ' As we looked at
the men and horses, puffs of smoke arose, and some of us dropped down dead !
Never saw anything like it in all my life, a man's brains lying in one place
and his body in another ! ' They could not understand what was killing
them ; a ball struck a man's shield at an angle ; knocked his arm out of joint
at the shoulder ; and leaving a mark or burn, as he said, on the shield, killed
another man close by. We saw the man with his shoulder still dislocated.
Sebituane was present at the fighting, and had an exalted opinion of the
power of white people ever afterwards."

The natives of Central Africa smoke Barig or native hemp, under the
name of Matokwane. Dr. Livingstone says : —

" We had ample opportunity for observing the effect of this Matokwane
smoking on our men. It makes them feel very strong in body, but it
produces exactly the opposite effect upon the mind. Two of our finest young
men became inveterate smokers, and partially idiotic. The performances of
a group of Matokwane smokers are somewhat grotesque ; they are provided
with a calabash of pure water, a split bamboo, five feet long, and the great
pipe, which has a large calabash or antelope's horn chamber to contain the
water, through which the smoke is drawn, on its way to the mouth. Each
smoker takes a few whiffs, the last being an extra long one, and hands the
pipe to his neighbour. He seems to swallow the fumes ; for, striving against
the convulsive action of the muscles of the chest and throat, he takes a
mouthful of water from the calabash, waits a few seconds, and then j^ours
water and smoke from his mouth down the groove of the bamboo. The
smoke causes violent coughing in all, and in some a species of frenzy, which
passes away in a rapid stream of unmeaning words, or short sentences, as
4 the green grass grows,' ' the fat cattle thrive,' ' the fish swim.' No one in
the group pays the slightest attention to the vehement eloquences, or the sage
or silly utterances of the oracle, who stops abruptly, and, the instant common
sense returns, looks rather foolish."

The party left Sesheske on the 17th of September, 1S60. Leshore and

318 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Pitsane (the latter the factotum of Dr. Livingstone in his journey to and
from Loanda), and several Batoka men being sent with them to aid them in
their journey, and bring the merchandise left at Tete, and a supply of
medicine for Sekeletu, "who was then nearly cured of his loathsome complaint.
Although he and his people were suffering from famine, Sekeletu had been
generous in his treatment of Dr. Livingstone and his companions ; and when
they left he gave them six oxen for their support until they reached the
country below the falls, where food was more abundant. The party
passed down the valley of the Zambesi, sometimes by land and sometimes in
canoes — the latter being either bought or borrowed, or freely loaned for their
use without reward, according to the friendly or unfriendly character of the
proprietors. Below the junction of the Kafue with the Zambesi, they met a
half-caste ivory hunter named Sequasha, who, along with a large number of
armed slaves, had been hunting elephants since they passed up the river. He
told them that his men had killed 210 elephants during the trip. This
Sequasha was an unscrupulous villain. Shortly before this he had entered into
a league with the headman of a chief called Mpangwe, near Zumbo, to kill the
chief. With a picked party of slaves, armed with loaded muskets, he visited
the unsuspecting chief, who received him kindly ; and while he was minister-
ing to their wants, the chief and twenty of his people were shot in cold blood.
For this diabolical service he received ten tusks, and the headman usurped the
place of his murdered master. Sequasha carried a plentiful supply of wares
with him to purchase tusks and food, and among other articles he had a
quantity of American clocks, which got him into trouble with a tribe of
Banvai. He set them all a-going in the presence of the chief, who was
greatly frightened at the strange noise they made, and imagining that they
were intended to bewitch himself and his people, it was decided that Sequahas
should pay a heavy fine of cloth and beads for his imprudence.

They again met Sequasha at Senna, when he confessed to having brought
down 25,800 lbs. of ivory. At Tete he was afterwards cast into prison, the
reason given being his disorderly conduct in the interior — the true reason
being the desire to share a part of his wealth. He was soon after set at
liberty, no doubt after he had compounded with the authorities.

At the Mburuma Rapids the party had a striking instance of the presence
of mind and devotion of the Makololo. While passing the most dangerous of
the rapids, the two canoes filled with water, and were in danger of being
swamped, when of course the whole party must have perished. Two men
without a moment's hesitation leaped out of each of the canoes, and ordered a
Batoka man to do the same, as " the white men must be saved." " I cannot
swim," said the Batoka. " Jump out then, and hold on to the canoe ?"
Swimming alongside, they guided the canoes down the swift current, to the
foot of the rapid, and then ran them ashore to bale them out.

WOMAN SEIZED BY A CROCODILE. 319

In one of the Kebrabasa Rapids, Dr. Kirk's canoe was swamped, the
occupants scrambling ashore with difficulty ; but unfortunately a chronometer,
a barometer, his notes of the journey, and botanical drawings of the fruit
trees in the interior, were lost. The river was very low and crocodiles were
numerous. On one occasion, as they were dragging the dead body of a
hippopotamus behind one of the canoes, these reptiles rose in such numbers
and tugged so hard at the huge carcase that they had to cut it adrift to save
the canoe from being swamped. On another occasion, one of these monsters
seized a water-bok, which had been wounded by a shot, and dragged it into
the river. The poor animal made a desperate resistance and succeeded in
freeing itself, when another crocodile gave chase, but a ball aimed at it drove
it to the bottom. At many places in the interior stockades were erected to
preserve the women from the attacks of crocodiles while taking water from the
river. At Tete and Senna, where many slave women were seized by croco-
diles, no such precautions were taken (even although Livingstone offered a
subscription towards the expense). The lives of slaves were too valueless to
occasion either thought or trouble for their preservation to men otherwise
humane.

After the accident to Dr. Kirk's canoe, the party passed the remainder of
the rapids on foot, through a rough and trying country, which greatly fatigued
the whole party ; one of the two donkeys they had with them died from
sheer exhaustion. Although the natives are very partial to the flesh of the
zebra and the quagga, which are a sort of second cousins to the donkey, they
would not eat its flesh. They said, " It would be like eating man himself,
because the donkey lives with man, and is his bosom companion."

The party arrived safely at Tete on the 23rd of November, after an
absence of a little over six months. The two English sailors had enjoyed
excellent health, and behaved themselves admirably during the absence of the
party. Their gardening operations turned out a failure. A hippopotamus
had paid the garden a visit and eaten up all the vegetables, and the sheep
they had ate up the cotton when it was in flower, the crocodiles devoured
the sheep left with them, and two monkeys they purchased ate the eggs of
the fowls, and in turn the natives relieved them of all care of the latter by
landing on the island during the night and stealing them. They were more
successful in bargaining with the natives for food ; their purchases were all
made on board the steamer, and when more was demanded than the market
price, they brought a chameleon out of the cabin, an animal of which the
natives have a mortal dread, and thus settled the matter at once, by clearing
the deck of the exorbitant traders.

One night they were roused by hearing shrieks of distress, and on rowing
to the spot found a woman in the jaws of a crocodile. Rescuing her with the
loss of a leg below the knee, they took her on board, gave her a bottle of rum,

320 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

bandaged the leg, and carried her to her hut in the village. Next morning
they found the bandages torn off and the unfortunate creature left to die.
" I believe," remarked one of the sailors, " her master was angry with us for
saving her life, seeing as how she had lost her leg."

Starting for the mouth of the Kongone, where they expected to meet
some English cruisers with supplies and the new steamer they had ordered,
they were compelled to abandon the Ma-Robert, as she would keep afloat no
longer. They reached the mouth of the Kongone on the 4th of January,
1861, and found that the Portuguese had erected a custom-house there, and
also a hut for a black lance-corporal and three men. The party took up
their quarters in the custom-house. The soldiers were suffering from hunger.
The provisions of Dr. Livingstone's party were also becoming exhausted, but
as large herds of water-boks were found in a creek between the Kongone and
East Luabo, they were not put to any serious strait during the month they
waited for the arrival of a ship. From drinking the brackish water, and
eating the fresh pasturage, which is saline near the coast, the flesh of the
antelopes was much sweeter and more tender than in the interior, where it is
so dry and tough that the natives, who are not over-fastidious, refuse to eat it
for any length of time. The eggs of the pelican and the turtle were found in
abundance, and together with several varieties of fish assisted in giving variety
to their limited cuisine.

They found some natives pounding the woody stems of a poisonous
climbing plant, and hanging it up in bundles. Having staked off a portion
of the stream with bushes to prevent the exit of the fish, the poisonous plants
were placed in the water and either killed the fish or stupified them, so that
they were easily secured.

CHAPTER XV.

Arrival of a Neio Steamer. — Arrival of Bishop Mackenzie and Party. — Libe-
ration of a Band of Slaves on the Shire. — Disastrous ending to the 3Iission. — ■
Arrival and Death of Mrs. Livingstone. — Dr. Livingstone returns to England.

ON the 31st of January, their new ship the Pioneer anchored outside the bar,
but owing to the state of the weather she did not venture in until the 4th
of February. Shortly after two of H.M.S. cruisers arrived, bringing with
them Bishop Mackenzie, and the Oxford and Cambridge Missions, to the tribes
of the Shire and Lake Nyassa. The mission consisted of six Englishmen and
five coloured men from the Cape ; and as Dr. Livingstone and his party were
under orders to explore the Rovuma, about 700 miles to the north of the
Zambesi, and beyond Portuguese territory, they were somewhat at a loss what
to do with them. If they acceded to Bishop Mackenzie's wishes and con-
veyed them at once to Chibisa's village on the Shire, and left them there, they
dreaded that, as they had no medical attendant, they might meet the fate of
Mr. Helmore and his party at Linyanti. It was at last arranged that the
bishop should, after accompanying his companions to Johanna, where they
would await his return with H.M. Consul, Mr. Lumley, go with the expedition
on board the Pioneer to the Rovuma, in the hope that by this route access
might be found to Lake Nyassa and the valley of the Shire.

The Pioneer anchored in the mouth of the Rovuma on the 25 th of
February, which they found to have a magnificent natural harbour and bay.
They sailed up the river for thirty miles, through a hilly and magnificently
wooded country, but were compelled to return as the river was rapidly falling
in volume, and they were afraid that the ship might ground altogether, and have
to lie there until the next rainy season.

In a letter to Sir Roderick Murchison, Dr. Livingstone gives a graphic
account of the Rovuma River and the difficulties attending the navigation : —
" The bed of the river is about three-quarters of a mile wide. It is
flanked by a well-wooded table-land, which looks like ranges of hills, 500 feet
high. Sometimes the spurs of the high land come close to the water, but
generally there is a mile of level alluvial soil between them and the bank. So
few people appeared at first, it looked like a ' land to let ;' but, having walked
up to the edge of the plateau, considerable cultivation was met with, though to
make a garden a great mass of brushwood must be cleared away. The women

K 1

322 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and children fled; but calling to a man not to be afraid, he asked if I had any
objection to ' liquor with him,' and brought a cup of native beer. There are
many new trees on the slopes, plenty of ebony in some places, and thickets of
brushwood. The whole scenery had a light-gray appearance, dotted over
with masses of green trees, which precede the others in putting on new foliage,
for this may be called our winter. Other trees showed their young leaves
brownish-red, but soon all will be gloriously green. Further up we came to
numerous villages, perched on sandbanks in the river. They had villages on
shore, too, and plenty of grain stowed away in the woods. They did not fear
for their victuals, but were afraid of being stolen themselves. We passed
through them all right, civilly declining an invitation to land at a village
where two human heads had been cut off. A lot of these river-pilots then
followed us till there was only a narrow passage under a high bank, and there
let drive their arrows at us. We stopped and expostulated with them for a
long time ; then got them to one of the boats, and explained to them how
easily we could drive them off with our rifles and revolvers, but we wished to
be friends, and gave about 30 yards of calico in presents, in proof of friendship.
All this time we were within 40 yards of a lot of them, armed with muskets
and bows, on the high bank. On parting, as we thought, on friendly terms,
and moving on, we received a volley of musket-balls and arrows, four bullet-
holes being made in my sail ; but finding that we, instead of running away,
returned the fire, they took to their heels, and left the conviction that these
are the Border ruffians who at various points present obstacles to African
exploration — men-stealers in fact, who care no more for human life than that
respectable party in London who stuffed the ' Pioneer's ' life-buoys with old
straw instead of cork. It was sore against the grain to pay away that calico ;
it was submitting to be robbed for the sake of peace. It cannot be called
' black mail,' for that implies the rendering of important services by Arabs ;
nor is it ' custom dues.' It is robbery perpetrated by any one who has a
traveller or trader in his power, and, when tamely submitted to, increases in
amount till wood, water, grass, and every conceivable subject of offence is
made occasion for a fine. On our return we passed quietly through them all,
and probably the next English boat will be respected. Beyond these Makonde
all were friendly and civil, laying down their arms before they came near us.
Much trade is carried on by means of canoes, and we had the company of
seven of these small craft for three days. They bring rice and grain down
to purchase salt. When about 60 miles up, the table-land mentioned above
retires, and we have an immense plain, with detached granite rocks and hills
dotted over. Some rocks then appear in the river, and at last, at our turning
point, the bed is all rocky masses, four or five feet high, with the water rush-
ing through by numerous channels. The canoes go through with ease, and
we might have taken the boats up also, but we were told that further up the

HUNTING THE SENZE. 323

channels were much narrower, and there was a high degree of probability that
we should get them smashed in coming down.

' ' We were on part of the slave-route from the Lake Nyassa to Quiloa (Kilwa)
about 30 miles belowthe station of Ndonde, where that route crosses the Rovuma,
and a little further from the confluence of the Liende, which, arising from the
hills on the east of the Lake Nyassa, flows into the Rovuma. It is said to be very
large, with reeds and aquatic plants growing in it, but at this time only ankle-
deep. It contains no rocks till near its sources on the mountains, and between
it and the lake the distance is reported to require between two and three days.
At the cataracts where we turned there is no rock on the shore, as on the Zam-
besi, at Kebra-basa, and Murchison's cataracts. The land is perfectly smooth,
and, as far as we could see, the country presented the same flat appearance, with
only a few detached hills. The tsetse is met with all along the Rovuma, and
the people have no cattle in consequence. They produce large quantities of
oil-yielding seeds, as the sesame, or gerzelin, and have hives placed on the
trees every few miles. We never saw ebony of equal size to what we met on
this river ; and as to its navigability, as the mark at which water stands for
many months is three feet above what it is now, and it is now said to be a
cubit lower than usual, I have no doubt that a vessel drawing when loaded
about 18 inches would run with ease during many months of the year. Should
English trade be established on the Lake Nyassa, Englishmen will make this
their outlet rather than pay dues to the Portuguese.

" We return to put our ship on Nyassa, by the Shire, because there we
have the friendship of all the people, except that of the slave-hunters. For-
merly we found the Shire people far more hostile than are the Makonde of
Rovunia, but now they have confidence in us, and we in them. To leave
them now would be to open the country for the slave-hunters to pursue their
calling therein, and we should be obliged to go through the whole process of
gaining a people's confidence again.

<; It may seem to some persons weak to feel a chord vibrating to the dust
of her who rests on the banks of the Zambesi, and thinking that the path
thereby is consecrated by her remains. We go back to Johanna and Zam-
besi in a few days. Kind regards to Lady Murchison, and believe me ever
affectionately yours."

On the Rovuma they found that hunting the senze, u an animal the size
of a large cat, but in shape more like a pig, Avas the chief business of men and
boys, as we passed the reedy banks and low islands. They set fire to a mass
of reeds, and, armed with sticks, spears, bows and arrows, stand in groups
guarding the outlets through which the scared senze may run from the
approaching flames. Dark dense volumes of impenetrable smoke now roll
over the lee-side of the islet, and showed the hunters. At times vast sheets
of lurid flames bursting forth, roaring, crackling and exploding, leap wildly

324 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

far above the tall reeds. Out rush the terrified animals, and amid the smoke
are seen the excited hunters dancing about with frantic gesticulations, and
hurling stick, spear, and arrow, at their burned-out victims. Kites hover
over the smoke, ready to pounce on the mantes and locusts as they spring
from the fire. Small crows and hundreds of swallows are on eager wing,
darting into the smoke and out again, seizing fugitive flies. Scores of insects,
in their haste to escape from the fire, jump into the river, and the active fish
enjoy a rare feast."

Soon after reaching the sea, fever prostrated the bulk of the crew, and
the command and navigation of the ship devolved upon Dr. Livingstone,
who was quite equal to the occasion. He drily remarks, " That the habit
of finding the geographical positions on land, renders it an easy task to steer
a steamer, with only three or four sails set, at sea ; when, if one does not
run ashore, no one follows to find out an error, and where a current affords
a ready excuse for every blunder." After calling at Johanna for the bishop's
friends, they sailed for the mouth of the Zambesi, and steamed up that river
to the Shire, up which they ascended as far as Chibisa's village, the ship
being dragged over the shallows with extreme difficulty. She drew five feet
of water, which rendered her quite useless for the navigation during the dry
season of either of the three great rivers which flowed through the tract of
country they were accredited to.

On arriving at Chibisa's, they learned that war was raging in the
Manganja country ; and that on the following day a slave party, on its way
to Tete, would pass through the village. " Shall we interfere ?" was the
question asked of each other. On the one hand, there was the risk to be run,
if they did, of irritating the authorities at Tete, where the principal portion of
the private baggage of the party was stored, and which might be confiscated
in retaliation. On the other hand, Dr. Livingstone and the whole party were
indignant that his steps should be followed by slave parties, who had never
entered the country before, and called themselves his children and followers,
while they extended the range of the accursed traffic, which he had gone through
so much privations to put down. The decision, as might have been expected,
was, that they should run all risks, and do what they could to stop the traffic.
This is Dr. Livingstone's account of what followed : —

" A long line of manacled men and women made their appearance ; the
black drivers, armed with muskets, and bedecked with various articles of
finery, marched jauntily in the front, middle, and rear of the line, some of
them blowing exulting notes out of long tin horns. They seemed to feel that
they were doing a very noble thing, and might proudly march with an air of
triumph. But the instant the fellows caught a glimpse of the English, they
darted off like mad into the forest ; so fast, indeed, that we caught but a
glimpse of their red caps, and the soles of their feet. The chief of the party

ENCOUNTER WITH SLAVE-HUNTERS. 325

alone remained ; and he, from being in front, had his hand tightly grasped by
a Makololo ! He proved to be a well-known slave of the late commandant at
Tete, and for some time our own attendant while there. On asking him how
he obtained these captives, he replied, he had bought them ; but on our
inquiring of the people themselves, all save four said they had been captured
in war. While this inquiry was going on, he bolted too. The captives knelt
down, and in their way of expressing thanks, clapped their hands with great
energy. They were thus left entirely in our hands, and knives were soon at
work cutting women and children loose. It was more difficult to cut the men
adrift, as each had his neck in the fork of a stout stick, six or seven feet long,
and kept in by an iron rod, which was riveted at both ends across the throat.
With a saw, luckily in the bishop's baggage, one by one the men were sawn
out into freedom. The women, on being told to take the meal they were
carrying and cook breakfast for themselves and the children, seemed to con-
sider the news too good to be true ; but after a little coaxing went at it with
alacrity, and made a capital fire by which to boil their pots with the slave
sticks and bonds, their old acquaintances through many a sad night and weary
day. Many were mere children, about four years of age and under. One
little boy, with the simplicity of childhood, said to our men, ' The others tied
and starved us, you cut the ropes and tell us to eat ; what sort of people are
you ? where do you come from ?' Two of the women had been shot the day
before for attempting to untie the thongs. . . . One woman had her
infant's brains knocked out, because she could not carry her load and it ; and
a man was despatched with an axe, because he had broken down with fatigue."

The number liberated was eighty-four in all; and on being told that they
were at liberty to go where they pleased, or remain with the mission, they
chose the latter. During several days following many more captives were
liberated, their drivers running from before the faces of the white men.
Months afterwards at Tete, several merchants, all of whom were engaged in
the slave trade, remarked to Dr. Livingstone that he had released some of the
governor's slaves, to which he replied that he had liberated several groups of
slaves in the Manganja country; and this was all that passed in regard to the
transaction.

Leaving the rescued slaves, the party started to visit the Ajawa people,
who were carrying war and slavery among the Manganja, and came upon them
in the act of sacking and burning a village, where Dr. Livingstone and his
friends had been previously entertained by the peaceful inhabitants, so many
of whom were then engaged in weaving cotton, that they had jestingly called
it " the Paisley of the hills." After engaging with the bishop in fervent prayer,
the party advanced to demand a parley. The poor Manganja seeing them
shouted out, " Our Chibisa is come ;" Chibisa being well known as a great gene-
ral and conjurer. The Ajawa ran off yelling, War ! war ! and refused to listen

326 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

to theni ; but, rallying and forming themselves into a body, they began to shoot
at them with their poisoned arrows, until the party were reluctantly compelled
in self-defence to fire upon their assailants, who fled, shouting back that they
would follow and kill them while they slept. This was the first occasion on
which, in all his wanderings, Dr. Livingstone had felt compelled to use force;
and it was with sad hearts that he and his companions returned to the village
they had left in the morning, having failed in their attempt at conciliation,
and having been compelled reluctantly to take a step which might subject
them to much blame and misconstruction at the hands of lukewarm friends, aud
the secret enemies of the cause they had at heart.

As the bishop had made up his mind to settle among the Manganja at
Magomero, he felt naturally indignant at the idea of the people in his charge
being swept away into slavery in hordes, and proposed that they should at once
follow the triumphant Ajawa, and drive them out of the country, and liberate
the captives they might have in their possession. All were in favour of this
course save Dr. Livingstone, who saw clearly what would be the result if a
Christian missionary took such a step as this, and he cautioned them not in
any circumstances to interfere by force in any of these wars, even although
called upon by the Manganja to go to their assistance in their extremity. It
is necessary to mention this, because, many people ignorantly blamed Dr. Liv-
ingstone for having given him different counsel. The site chosen for the
mission settlement was on a small promontory, formed by the windings of the
little clear stream called the Magomero. It was completely surrounded by
stately trees. The weather was delightful, and provisions were cheap and
abundant ; and when Dr. Livingstone and his friends left them to proceed to
Lake Nyassa, the bishop had commenced to learn the languages, Mr. Waller
was busy superintending the building operations, and Mr. Scudamore was
getting together the members of an infant school. They were full of hope
and ardour, and saw nothing before them but success in the noble work they
had sacrificed home and comfort to carry out.

The disastrous end of the mission may as well be told here. After
labouring for some time with much acceptation among the neighbouring
tribes, and being anxious to discover a nearer route to the Shire, Messrs.
Proctor and Scudamore, with a number of Manganja carriers, left in
December to explore the country for a new route. Their guides misled them,
and they found themselves in a slave-trading village, where the threatening
aspect of the people boded mischief. Warned by a woman that if they slept
there they would be all killed, they prepared to leave, when the Anguro
followed, shooting their arrows at the retreating party. Two of the carriers
were taken prisoners, and the two missionaries, barely escaping with their
lives, swam a deep river, and made their way with great difficulty to
Magomero, where they arrived exhausted with their exertions.

FATE OF THE MISSION. 327

The wives of the two carriers pleaded with the bishop that, as their
husbands had been made captive in his service, he should rescue them from
slavery. It appeared to him to be his duty to do this ; and on asking the
Makololo who had remained with him to assist in the expedition, they joyfully
assented, as they held the prowess of the natives of the district in contempt,
and knew of no better way of settling a difference with them than by a
resort to force. There can be no doubt that had the bishop given them leave
to do as they pleased, they would have cleared the country of the offenders ;
but he restrained them, which gave the delinquents an opportunity of
escaping. The offending village was burned, and a few sheep and goats
taken. The headman being afraid to retain the captives any longer liberated
them, and they returned to their homes. As this expedition was undertaken
during the rainy season, and the missionaries got frequently wet, their
health was seriously affected.

The Cape Argus gives a summary of the fate of the leaders of the mission
and the proceedings of Captain Wilson and Dr. Kirk in taking Miss Mackenzie,
Mrs. Burrup, and the Rev. Mr. Hawkins, to the Mission Station on the Shire : —
" At Shupanga, about ten miles from Mozzaro, the Pioneer, it was found,
could proceed no further. There was, therefore, no alternative but to prose-
cute the remainder of the journey in the two boats, which were provisioned
for ten days ; and as it was supposed that their destination might be reached
in four the prospect did not look very formidable. When we say that, instead
of four, twelve days elapsed ere the boats made the junction of the Rua river,
60 miles from their journey's end, and that during this period the ladies were
in open boats, exposed to all the extremes of a fearfully unwholesome atmos-
phere, to the thousand insect-plagues which literally render existence almost
unbearable, and that the crews were, man after man, struck down by insidious
disease, it will be readily understood how wretched was their situation, and
how heavily those in charge felt their responsibility.

" At this part of the river it was that the bishop and Mr. Burrup were
expected to be in readiness to receive them. But the natives would not give
any information. No one appeared, and Captain Wilson, knowing that pro-
visions would be needed by the Gorgon, sent one of the two boats back down
the river on a foraging expedition, while he pushed up with the other to leave
the ladies at Chibisa. The crew of the former suffered terribly from fever on
their way, and indeed, from all accounts, were most miraculously preserved,
especially as provisions and medicine were all used up ; and of stimulants
there were none.

" Captain Wilson in his boat went on safely enough to Chibisa, the
nearest spot to the mission station : there he left the ladies in charge of the
doctor, and tried to get overland with Dr. Kirk, of the Pioneer, and four men ;
but when within two days' march of the place he was attacked by fever, which

328 LIFE OF DA 7ID LIVINGSTONE, LL.JD.

had nearly proved fatal. Dr. Kirk even had looked out for a place in which
to bury him. Dr. Kirk, too, was struck down, but most providentially a
messenger, who had been dispatched forward, returned with some of the
mission party. This may be said to have saved them from death.

" Then it was that Captain Wilson and Dr. Kirk first learned the dis-
astrous news which has shocked and saddened so many. The natives at Rua
had known of it, but had kept silence, fearing lest they should be suspected of
having caused the deaths of the bishop and Mr. Burrup, by witchcraft. One
night, indeed, the boat in which were Miss Mackenzie and Mrs. Burrup had
anchored within 100 yards of the bishop's grave.

" On the 14th of February, it was first known at the station, by the
arrival there of one of the Makololo, who reported the bishop's death, and
intimated the approach of the Rev. Mr. Burrup, who was carried on some
rough branches of trees by two Makololo, but so shrunk and ill as to be
scarcely recognisable. From Mr. Burrup it was gathered, that, after leaving
the station on January 3, the bishop and he had slept five nights on the road ;
that at Chibisa they obtained a small canoe (the only one) with some men,
who paddled them down to the island (Malo), Unfortunately they were
upset, got wet through, and, worst of all, lost a case in the water, containing
clothes, powder, and medicine. At first they were well received by Chief
Chikaugi. : , The bishop had an attack of low fever, which soon gained ground
on a constitution which, though naturally strong, had been weakened by
exposure and suffering. It soon became evident that he was sinking fast, as
his speech was wandering, and he was perfectly helpless. The same after-
noon, on the other side of the river, in a secluded spot under a large tree, the
Rev. Mr. Burrup was reverently reading the burial service in the dim twilight
over his lost leader, with no one near to share his affliction save the Makololo
who had dug the grave.

" On the next day, Mr. Burrup prepared to return to the station.
Nothing but death was before him. Leaving a letter for Dr. Livingstone, he
journeyed on to Chibisa. Thence to the station he was carried, being too
weak to walk. From the 14th February, the day of his arrival, hopes of his
recovery were entertained for a short time ; but ere long diarrhoea added to
his weakness, and the fever was aggravated by the want of proper nourishing
food. On the morning of the 22nd he breathed his last ; and on Sunday, the
following day, he was buried near the station. Neither Miss Mackenzie, Mrs.
Burrup, nor the Rev. Mr. Hawkins, ever reached the station : they returned
to the Cape in H.M.'s ship Gorgon?''

After the deaths of Bishop Mackenzie and Mr. Burrup, " it appears that
several applications were made for assistance against the Ajawa, which, how-
ever, were resolutely declined. A constant succession of claims, nevertheless,
ultimately decided Mr. Procter, who on Bishop Mackenzie's death had been

DIFFICULTIES OF THE MISSIONARIES. 329

left in charge of the mission, to visit Urbona, the chief of the Mingazi, in
order to get his sanction to reside in his district, the country being hilly,
particularly fine, and pleasant. Mr. Procter and Mr. Dickenson undertook
this journey, and started off early on the morning of March 20 ; and on
reaching their destination obtained permission to have a tour of exploration
through the district governed by Urbono, in order to select a site which would
not only be healthy, but also be appropriate for the carrying out of their
mission. Accordingly, they proceeded towards a fine long spur of the western
extremity of the Chiradzu Mountain, as the place looked promising. After
crossing a valley which lay between them and the ridge which they wanted
to reach, and ascending the ridge a considerable distance, Mr. Procter found
the country favourable to their purpose. The want, however, of a stream,
compelled them to abandon the thought of residing there. After making
further explorations, the party returned to their mission station, where they
continued until April 15, a period of nearly a month, educating the natives,
&c, without being molested. On that day, however, news reached them of
a series of incursions of the Ajawa, which rendered it imperative to change
their station. This was accordingly done, about 70 men being engaged to
assist in carrying their luggage. It was decided that they should proceed to
Chibisa's village, on the Shire, for the present. The journey, which occupied
ten days, was accomplished safely, almost all the people — in number about
GO — freed through the exertions of the mission party, accompanied them.
Mr. Procter's communication concludes : ' We are situated on a bank about
100 feet high, and for nearly a month have not felt any ill effects worse than
those which came upon us in our former place. "We hope wc shall be able
to remain here for a few months, and go on with our previous work, acquiring
the language and teaching our own people.' "

About December it was apparent that yet other victims had to suffer
from the malaria of these regions. The Rev. H. C. Scudamorc expired on
the morning of 1st January, 186;J. The following letter from the Rev. L. J.
Procter gives an account of the state of affairs prior to Mr. Scudamore's
death : —

" Signor Vianna's, on the Zambesi, 27th Dec, 1862.

" The wretched state of the country on the hills and along the Shire has
compelled us again to have recourse to the Portuguese for a further supply of
the food merely absolutely necessary, and I have come down with one of our
native people to purchase rice for ourselves and mapira for our dependents.
On reaching this place, the residence of Signor Vianna, on the 16th, I fell
in with Dr. Livingstone, who had just returned from the Rovuma, which he
had been exploring in boats, and where he tells me he had been partially
successful in his search for a river-route to Lake Nyassa ; but that he and
his party had been in considerable danger from a number of river-pirates who
Si

330 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

had attacked them with guns : they had come upon rapids in the river, but
the country around was favourable for land carriage. All were well on the
Pioneer, and they were going on to Shupanga, whence they would start up
the Shire for Chibisa's, as soon as the rise in the water should be sufficient.
As regards ourselves, he told me that there was a great quantity of stores for
us at Killimane, which had been brought from the Cape by H.M.S. Rapid,
in November, and which he had assisted in landing with considerable trouble
and difficulty — another kindness for which we are indebted to the good
Doctor.

" As I came down the Shire I found the people in considerable affright
on account of Mariano in the higher parts of the surrounding country, where
an immense number of fugitives had also gathered together : the lower parts
were ravaged and almost deserted, burnt villages being the signs of what had
been going on, and a number of guns fired only three or four miles distant
from an island on which we one night slept, the tokens of what is still going on.
Mariano has about 2,000 men, armed with guns for the most part, in his service,
and is leagued now with the Portuguese at Killimane for slaving pm-poses.

" We have had the greatest difficulty in getting even a very small
quantity of seed-corn from the natives. A short time before my departure
we sent Charles Thomas, one of the Cape men, up the hills south of our last
station to try if he could buy any ; but he had very small success. He went
towards the Milanje, and got very near the very place where I and Scudamore
were attacked : the people there pleaded famine, not it appears from real
want, against which there was abundant external evidence, but because they
were evidently unwilling to encourage any traffic or even communication
with the English. Charles gave a miserable account of the country in the
neighbourhood of our late district, and the route to it from the Shire : it is at
least decimated on account of the famine ; he passed through many villages
where all the inhabitants, he was told, had died of hunger. Mbami's village
itself, with which I presume you are by this time familiar as the first
stopping-place on our route to Magomero, is destitute of people ; all have
perished except the chief himself and a few of his family. He paid us a visit
a short time ago and was then looking himself in a half-starved condition,
very different from the stout and hearty personage who greeted us there on
our first journey up. With regard to Satchi, and the country between it and
Magomero, I think I have informed you in my previous letter.

" I took a journey with some of our own people down the Shire a short
time before I left Mikaraugo, to try if anything was to be bought in the way
of seed or corn, but I could get nothing : there were large crops coining on,
but at present the complaint is famine. The people on the right bank, our
side of the river, were also in great fear of another Portuguese rebel, of
whom I made mention in one of my last letters as staying with Chibisa."

DIFFICULTIES OF THE MISSIONARIES. 331

The following postscript (dated 27th February) to a letter dated 10th
February, 1863, from the Rev. J. L. Procter, already mentioned, narrates the
state of matters up to date : —

Having alluded to the departure of Mr. Rowley, one of the mission to
Tete for food (the expected supplies not having arrived), Mr. Procter says : —
" This is our last resource ; animal food is failing us, and even before
Rowley can return we shall be reduced to simply vegetable diet. Of course,
therefore, much depends upon this difficult and trying journey to Tete,
which will occupy at least a month. If food can be had, all will be well : if
not, our case is desperate, and but one resource will be left for us. I have
accordingly written thus to Mr. Woodcock, our lion, secretary : — ' Under the
circumstances I feel it my duty to state that, if animal food cannot be
insured, and if help in men and some additional provisions do not arrive from
home, we shall be compelled to quit our present abode for the sea-coast,
whence we shall try to make our way to either Johanna, Natal, or the Cape ;
and, not to leave any iudefiniteness in this sad statement, I will add that,
if we receive no addition to our numbers, or see no better hopes for the
future before the 15th June next, we shall then proceed to make our way
down the river in the best way we can. Grievous as this resolve is, I fear we
cannot do otherwise. The whole country is in a state of utter ruin and
destitution, and the drought still continues. Our surgeon, Mr. Dickinson,
assures us that we have only this alternative unless we choose to stay and die
for want of proper sustenance.' "

A few weeks afterwards, Captain Wilson, of H.M.S. Gorgon, together with
Dr. Kirk and a large party, including Mrs. Mackenzie and Mrs. Burrup, went
up the Shire, to join the mission as they hoped; and, although they were close
by the grave of Bishop Mackenzie, they could hear nothing from the chief of
Malo of the mission. He was in all likelihood afraid that he might be blamed
for his death. At Chibisa's, the faithful Makololo told them the sad news they
had come so far to hear. This information awakened fresh anxiety as to the
fate of the others ; so, leaving the ladies with Dr. Ramsay and the Makololo,
Captain Wilson and Dr. Kirk pushed up into the hill country, where they mot
the survivors of the mission party at a chief's called Soche. Captain Wilson
was suffering from a severe attack of fever, and the whole party were so
exhausted that there was nothing for it but to return to the boat, and sail sadly
down the river to the Pioneer. On the 4th of April, the Gorgon sailed for the
Cape, taking with her all the surviving members of the mission save one.

On the 6th of August, 1861, Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, and Mr. Charles
Livingstone, started for Nyassa, with a light four-oared gig, attended by a
white sailor and a score of natives. They found no difficulty in hiring peo-
ple to carry the boat from village to village, and as they had the means of
crossing the streams they met with, were quite independent of the humours of

332 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the various chiefs and headmen, with whom, on previous occasions, they had
had to bargain for being transferred across the streams. The course of the
river was followed closely so as to avail themselves of the still reaches between
the rapids for sailing, and when they had passed the last of them, they
launched their boat for good on the Shire. The upper portion of the river is so
broad and deep that it is roughly spoken of by the natives as a portion of the
lake. At one point in the upper reaches of the river Lake Shirwa is only a
day's journey distant ; and within a recent period they must have been con-
nected. The native land party which they had sent forward to join them
above the rapids, passed thousands of Mangauja living in temporary huts, who
had been compelled to fly before the bloodthirsty Ajawa.

The following is a singular instance of tenacity of life in a native woman
on the Shire, who had been wounded in an attack by the Ajawa : — ■

" In the afternoon a canoe came floating down empty, and shortly after
a woman was seen swimming near the other side, which was about two
hundred yards distant from us. Our native crew manned the boat and
rescued her ; when brought on board, she was found to have an arrow-head,
eight or ten inches long in her back, below the ribs, and slanting up through
the diaphragm and left lung towards the heart — she had been shot from
behind when stooping. Air was coming out of the wound, and, there being
but an inch of the barbed aiTOw-head visible, it was thought better not to run
the risk of her dying under the operation necessary for its removal ; so we
carried her up to her own hut. One of her relatives was less scrupulous, for
he cut the arrow and part of the lung. Mr. Young sent her occasionally
portions of native corn, and strange to say, found that she not only became
well, but stout."

The cooler temperature on the broad and deep waters of the lake was very
enjoyable after the stifling heat on the river, which in its upper reaches is
enclosed in an almost impenetrable belt of papyrus and other water plants ;
but they were very nearly shipwrecked in a tremendous storm which burst
upon them almost without warning. " The waves most dreaded came rolling
on in threes, with their crests driven into spray, streaming behind them. . .
Had one of these white-named seas struck our frail bark, nothing could
have saved us, for they came on with resistless fury ; seaward, in shore, and
on either side of us, they broke in foam, but we escaped. . . . AVc had to
beach the boat every night to save her from being swamped at anchor ; did
we not believe the gales to be peculiar to one season of the year, we would call
Nyassa the Lake of Storms."

At no place in Africa had Dr. Livingstone found the population so dense
as on the shores of Nyassa. In some parts there was almost one unbroken
succession of villages, and the inhabitants lined the shores of every bay, look-
ing in wonder on a boat when propelled by sails. Whenever they landed

A T

- #,

WAR TRJS in a VI UAGE

LAKE NYASSA. 333

they were the objects of untiring curiosity. The people are industrious
agriculturists and fishers, and appeared to enjoy plenty of everything. No
fines or dues were exacted from the explorers, nor presents demanded. The
northern dwellers on the lake during a portion of the year reap a singular
harvest. At the proper season clouds as of smoke from burning grass hang
over the lake and the adjacent country. These clouds are formed of countless
myriads of minute midges or gnats, and are called by the natives kungo,
which means a cloud or fog. The natives gather these insects by night, and
boil them into thick cakes, which they eat as a relish to their vegetable food.
"A hungo cake, an inch thick, and as large as the blue bonnet of a Scotch
ploughman, was offered to us; it was very dark in colour, and tasted not unlike
caviare, or salted locusts."

The lake swarmed with fish, which the native fishermen catch in nets
and basket traps, with hook and line. The principal fish, called the sanjika, a
kind of carp, grows to a length of two feet. Its flesh was delicious, better
than that of any fish the party had tasted in Africa. Fine watermen as the
Makololo were, they frankly confessed that the lake fishermen were their
superiors in daring and skill.

Their fishing nets were formed from the fibres of the buazc, and their
clothes were manufactured from cotton grown by themselves, or from the
fibres of the bark of a tree which is abundant in the district. The fishermen
presented the party with fish, while the agricultural members of the com-
munity gave food freely. The chief of the northern parts, a tall, handsome
man named Marenga, gave them largely of food and beer. " Do they weav
such things in your country?" he asked, pointing to his iron bracelet, which
was studded with copper and highly prized. The doctor said he had never
seen such in his country, whereupon Marenga instantly took it off and
presented it to him, and his wife also did the same with hers. On the return
of the party he tried to induce them to spend a day with him drinking beer,
and when they declined he loaded them with provisions.

The following account of Lake Nyassa and the people on its shores and
their habits is extracted from a letter addressed by Mr. Charles Livingstone
to Sir Roderick Murchison in January, 1862 : —

" The dcptli of the lake," he says, " is indicated by the different colour of
its waters. Near the land, and varying in width from a few yards to several
miles according to the nature of the coast, is a belt of light green, and to this
joined in a well-defined line the blue or indigo of the ocean, which is the colour
of the great body of Nyassa.

"Not far from where we turned back, and about a mile from shore, we
could find no bottom with over a hundred fathoms of line out. The tempera-
ture of this mass of water, near the end of September, was 72', and the air
was always cooler on the beach than farther inland. Wo visited the lake in

334 LIFE OF DA Y1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

perhaps the stormiest season of the year (September and October), and were
repeatedly detained by severe gales. At times, while sailing pleasantly over
the blue water, with a gentle breeze and under a cloudless sky, suddenly and
without any warning, would be heard the sound of the pursuing gale, as it
came roaring on, dragging myriads of white-crested waves in its excited
wake. We got caught, one morning in a heavy gale. As a sort of forlorn
hope the anchor was let go in seven fathoms, a mile from the land, with the sea
breaking, even far out beyond us. The waves we dreaded most rushed upon
us in squadrons of threes, with a few minutes of comparative quiet between
the successive charges. Had one of these almost perpendicular-sided masses
broken on our frail bark nothing could have saved us, but, to our heartfelt
relief, as on they came with resistless force they broke before reaching us, or
on one side, or behind. For six mortal hours we faced the fierce charges of
those terrible trios, not knowing but some one of their waves might be carry-
ing our fate on its hoary and uplifted head. A low, dark cloud came slowly
from the mountains, and for hours hung directly over our heads. Our black
crew became so sea-sick as to be unable to sit up, and the bow-oar had to be
constantly at work to keep the boat's head to the sea. The natives, with our
land party, stood on the high cliffs, commiserating the unhappy fate of the
poor white men, and exclaiming, as the boat was hid by the waves, ' Ah \
they're lost ! they're dead ! ' In the afternoon the gale moderated, the anchor
was soon up, the glad boat ran for the land, dashed through the boiling surf,
and in a few seconds was safe on the beach.

" The west side of Nyassa is a succession of bays of similar form, as
though produced by a common cause, such as the prevalence of north-easterly
winds ; and each is separated from its neighbour by a rocky headland, with
detached rocks extending some distance out to sea. In general these bays
have a sandy beach or pebbly shore. The great south-westerly bay has a
safe and commodious harbour. A good deal of the land adjacent to the lake
is low, sometimes marshy, with numerous waterfowl and some elephants.
Eight or ten miles back of the plain are ranges of high and well-wooded
granite hills, running nearly parallel with the lake, and presenting in several
places magnificent views of range towering behind range, until the distant
blue mountains bound the prospect by rearing their lofty summits to the
skies. Towards the north the plain becomes narrower, and near where we
turned disappears altogether. The mountains then rise abruptly out of the
lake, and form the north-east boundary of a high and extensive table-land,
resembling the Batoka country, healthy, and well-suited for pasturage and
agriculture.

" Never before, in Africa, have we seen anything like the dense popula-
tion of Lake Nyassa, especially in the south. In some parts there seemed to
be an unbroken chain of villages. On the beach of well-nigh every little

LAKE NYASSA. 335

sandy bay, black crowds were standing gazing at the novel spectacle of a boat
under sail ; and whenever we landed we were surrounded in a few seconds by
hundreds of men, women, and children, who had hastened to stare at the
• chiromba,' or wild animals. To see the animals feed was the great attraction.
Never did Zoological Society's lions draw a tithe of such multitudes. They
crowded round us at meal times, a wilderness, an impenetrable thicket of
negroes, looking on with the deepest apparent interest. The zeal they
manifested in order to witness the whole procedure was more amusing than
agreeable. The smell of black humanity, in a state of perspiration, is not
pleasant while one is eating.

" They cultivate the soil pretty extensively, and grow large quantities of
sweet potatoes, as well as rice, maize, native corn, &c. ; but in the north
manioc was the staple product, and, with fish kept till they attain a high
flavour, constituted the principal food of the inhabitants. During a certain
portion of the year, however, they have a curious harvest, which furnishes a
singular sort of food. The cakes are dark in colour, and tasted not unlike
decayed red-herring. Plenty of excellent fish are found in the lake ; some of
the kinds were new to us. One, called sanjika, somewhat resembles trout,
and runs up the rivers to spawn as salmon do at home. The largest were
above two feet in length ; splendid fish, the best we have ever eaten in Africa.
They were running up the rivers in August and September, and numbers of
fishermen were actively employed in catching them. Dams were constructed,
full of sluices, in each of which was set the fatal trap fish-basket, over whoso
single entrance might have been written ' All hope abandon ye who enter here.'
A short distance below, nets were stretched across from bank to bank, so that it
seemed a marvel how even the most sagacious sanjika could get up without
being taken, unless a free passage is left at night.

" In the lake the fish are caught chiefly with nets, but in deep water,
some kinds are taken in fish-baskets, lowered to a great depth, and attached by
a long line to a float, around which is often fastened a mass of grass or weeds,
to serve, perhaps, as an alluring shade for the fish. Fleets of fine canoes are
engaged in the lake fisheries ; the men have long paddles, and stand while
using them. They sometimes venture out when there is a considerable
sea on.

" Perhaps the first impression one receives of the men is that they are
far from being industrious — in fact, are downright lazy. During the day,
groups are seen lying asleep under the shady trees, and appearing to take life
remarkably easy. But a little further acquaintance modifies first impressions,
as it leads to the discovery that many of the sleepers work hard by night.
In the afternoon they examine and mend their nets, place them in the canoes,
and paddle off, frequently to distant islands, or other good fishing-grounds, and
during a large portion of the night the poor fellows are toiling, passing niuoh

336 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of the time in the water dragging their nets. Many men and boys aro
employed in gathering the buaze, preparing the fibre, and making it into
long nets. When they come for the first time to gaze at suspicious-looking
strangers, they may, with true African caution, leave their working materials
at home. From the number of native cotton cloths worn in many villages at
the south end of the lake, it is evident that a goodly number of busy hands
must be constantly at work. An extensive manufacture of bark-cloth also is
ever going on from one end of the lake probably to the other, and much toil
and time are required before the bark becomes soft and fit to wear. A pro-
digious amount of this bark-cloth is worn, indicating the destruction of an
immense number of trees every year.

" The lake people are by no means handsome. The women are fright-
fully ugly, and really make themselves hideous by the very means they adopt
with the laudable view of rendering their persons beautiful and attractive.
The pelele, or upper-lip ornament, is as fashionable as crinoline in other
countries. Some are made of tin in the shape of a small dish, and they some-
times actually cany things in them. Others are of white quartz, and give
the wearer the appearance of having an inch or two of one of Price's patent
candles thrust through the lip and projecting beyond the point of the nose.
A few are of a blood-red colour, and at a little distance the lady looks as if
she had come off only second best in a recent domestic squabble. All are
tattooed, the figures varying with the tribes. Some tattoo their faces, after a
fashion so execrable, that they seem to be covered all over with great ugly
warts or pimples. The young boys and girls, however, are reasonably good-
looking. In regard to their character they are pretty much like other people.
There are decent ones among them, and a good many are, as they say in
Scotland, ' nae better than they suld be.' If one of us happened to be at
hand when a net was hauled, a fish was usually offered. Sailing one day past
a number of men who had just dragged their net ashore, we were hailed, and
asked to come and get a fish, and received a generous present. The northerly
chief, Marenga, was remarkably generous, giving us large presents of food
and beer, both going and returning. Others also made us presents of food.

" In some things the people of Nyassa are as far advanced as the most
highly civilised communities. They have expert thieves among them. On
our way up we had a disagreeable visit from some of this light-fingered class.
They called one morning when two of us were down with fever, between the
rather early hours of three and five, and, notwithstanding a formidable array
of revolvers and rifles, quietly relieved us of a considerable amount, while we
all slept ingloriously throughout the whole performance. AVe awoke, as
honest men do, at the usual hour, and the fact of our loss soon burst upon us.
'My bag's gone I'' cried one of the victims, 'and all my clothes! and my
loots, too ! ' ' Both of mine are off ! ' responded another. ' And so is mine ! '

MAZ1TU SLA YE TRADERS. 337

chimed in a third : ' and the bag of leads ! and the rice /' 'Is the cloth gone
too ? ' ' No ; it's all safe : I used it for a pillow.'

" ' There is honour among thieves,' it is said. These Nyassa scoundrels
left on the beach our aneroid barometer and a new pair of boots, thinking,
perhaps, that they might be of use to us though of none to them. It was
rather humiliating to be so completely done for by a few black thieves.

" A few of the best fisheries seem to be the private property of indi-
viduals. We found shelter from a storm one morning in a spacious lagoon
which communicated with the lake by a narrow passage. Across this strait
stakes were driven in, leaving spaces for the fish-baskets. About a score of
men were busily engaged in taking out the fish. We tried to purchase some,
but they refused to sell. ' The fish were not theirs, they belonged to a man
in a neighbouring village : they would send for the owner.' In a short time
the gentleman made his appearance, and sold us some. He did not appear
to be the chief, but one who owned, or had farmed out, this very productive
fishery.

" Some of their burying- grounds are wonderfully well arranged and
cared for. One of these was on the southern shore of the fine harbour in the
great bay. A neat and wide path was made on its east and south sides. A
grand, old, sacred fig-tree stood on the north-east corner, and its wide-spread-
ing branches threw their kindly shade over this last resting-place of the dead.
Other splendid trees grew around the hallowed spot. The graves were raised
exactly as they are at home, but lay north and south, the heads being at the
north. The graves of the sexes were distinguished by the implements which
the buried dead had been accustomed to use in their respective occupations,
while amidst the joys of life. The heavy stick used in pounding corn, one
end in the grave and the other thrust through the basket in which the meal
is sifted, showed that a woman slept beneath the sod ; a piece of fishing-net
and a broken paddle were over the grave of a fisherman, and all the graves
had numerous broken pots arranged around them. At the head of some a
banana-tree had been carefully planted. The people of the neighbouring
village were friendly, and readily brought us food for sale."

On the northern shore of the lake the Mazitu had settled, and were carrying
on the slave trade with terrible rigour, sweeping away the helpless people like
sheep. They had frequently attacked Marenga and his people; but the thickets
and stockades around their villages enabled the bowmen to pick off the Mazitu
in security, and they were driven off. Many of the Mazitu were settled on
islands in the lake, from which they emerged to plunder and make captive
the peaceable inhabitants on the shores of the lake. Long tracts of country
were passed through where " the population had all been swept away; ruined
villages, broken utensils, and human skeletons, met with at every turn, told a
sad tale of ' man's inhumanity to man.' The extent of the trade done in slaves

T 1

333 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

in the Nyassa district may be gathered from the fact that 19,000 slaves alone
pass through the custom-house of the island of Zanzibar ; and those taken out
of the country form only a small section of the sufferers, as many thousands
more are slain in the slave raids, and die of famine after having to fly from
their homes." The exploration of the lake extended from the 2nd of Septem-
ber to the 26th of October, 1861, and was abandoned for a time because they
had expended or lost the most of their goods. The party frequently suffered
from the want of flesh meat, although from the great size of the game, they
frequently had much more than they could use, in which case the natives
gladly accepted the surplus. On one occasion they killed two hippopotami and
an elephant, "perhaps in all some eight or ten tons of meat, and two days
after they ate the last of a few sardines for dinner." The wretched and ruined
Manganja, although all their sufferings were caused by the demand for human
flesh, sold each other into slavery when they had a chance. In speaking of a
native of this tribe who sold a boy he had made captive in a hostile raid, Dr.
Livingstone notes his " having seen a man who was reputed humane, and in
whose veins no black blood flowed, parting for the sum of £4 with a good-
looking girl, who stood in a closer relationship to him than the boy to the
man who excited our ire ; and she being the nurse of his son besides, both son
and nurse made such a pitiable wail for an entire day, that even the half-caste
who had bought her relented, and offered to return her to the white man, but
in vain." It is so long since our Government washed its hands, at an
immense cost, of this iniquitous traffic, and it expends so much annually to put
it down on the coast of Africa, that the knowledge that such things can be
done by civilized men comes with a shock upon us. Surely the wonderful
trials Dr. Livingstone has come through in his campaign against this detesta-
ble traffic will not have been suffered in vain ; and the knowledge of such
crimes against humanity will be the prelude to their extinction !

Arriving at the village at the foot of the cataracts, the party found it in
a much more flourishing condition than when they passed up. A number of
large huts had been built, and the people had a plentiful stock of cloth and
beads. The sight of several fine large canoes, instead of the old leaky ones
which lay there before, explained the mystery — the place had become a
crossing place for the slaves on their way to Tete. Well might the indignant
members of the expedition say that " nothing was more disheartening than
the conduct of the Manganja, in profiting by the entire breaking up of their
nation."

The party reached the ship on the 8th of November, and on the 14th
Bishop Mackenzie and Mr. Burrup, who had only just joined him, visited them;
as they started on their downward voyage, they "gave and received three
hearty English cheers, as they went to the shore and we steamed off." This
was the last they saw of these devoted men, as they soon after perished in the

DEATH OF MRS. LIVINGSTONE. 339

manner already related. The slap having run aground about twenty miles
below Chibisa's, they were detained five weeks, until the river rose sufficiently
to float her off; and during their detention, the carpenter's mate, a fine healthy
young Englishman, died of fever, being the first death of a member of the
expedition, although they had been three years and a half in the country.

At Mboma's village they heard that the notorious Mariano had been
allowed to leave Mozambique in order to collect a heavy fine which had been
imposed upon him after trial for his crimes. He had immediately taken to
his old trade, slavery, and had depopulated a large tract of country on the
right bank of the river. While expressing indignation at his conduct, and
sending an expedition against him, which he was supposed to have defeated,
the leader of it being sent back loaded with presents, the party had no doubt
that the Portuguese officials at Mozambique were quite aware of his intentions
before he started, and were in all likelihood sharing in his ill-gotten gains.
The sending a force against him was merely a ruse to save appearances.

Sailing down the Zambesi, they anchored in the Great Luabo mouth of
the Zambesi; and on the 30th of December H.M.S. Gorgon arrived, towing
the brig which brought Mrs. Livingstone, Miss Mackenzie, and Mrs. Burrup ;
the former had come out to join her husband, while the latter were on their
way to join their friends at Magomero, where they arrived, as we have
already seen, too late to see their friends alive.

The progress of the Pioneer with the party, and a portion of the sections
of the Lady Nyassa, a vessel which Livingstone had had specially built for
river navigation, in pieces of a size which one man could carry on land, was
so distressingly slow, in consequence of the machinery having been allowed to
get out of order, that Livingstone and his friends determined to land and put
the pieces of the Lady Nyassa together at Shupanga, while Captain Wilson,
Dr. Kirk, and Dr. Ramsay, and Mr. Sewell of the Gorgon, and the mission
party, went forward in the gig of that ship.

During the unhealthy season several of Dr. Livingstone's party suffered
from fever, and about the middle of April Mrs. Livingstone was prostrated by
that disease ; and notwithstanding that she received every attention which
affection and skill could render, she died on the 27th of that month, and was
buried on the following day under the shadow of a giant baobab-tree, the Rev.
James Stewart, who had shortly before come out to enquire into the practica-
bility of establishing a mission in connection with the Free Church of Scotland,
reading the burial service. The gallant seamen of the Gorgon mounted guard
for several nights over her last resting-place. It is impossible not to sympathise
with the stricken husband, who thus lost the wife of his early years, who had
shared in so many of his trials and difficulties, just when he was re-united to
her after a separation of four years. Beloved and revered as she was by white
men as well as by black, the party who stood under the wide spreading

340 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

brandies of the baobab-tree must have been a sad and melancholy one. One
comforting reflection there was — she died among dear and loving friends, and
not alone among savages, like Bishop Mackenzie and Mr. Burrup, the know-
ledge of whose death was so soon to overwhelm with grief the two companions
of her voyage out, who little dreamed when they sorrowed for her that the
dear ones they had come so far to see had already been consigned to the grave
by savage, although friendly hands.

When the Lady Nyassa was put together at Shupanga, she was launched in
the presence of a large assemblage of natives, who had come from far and near
to witness it. They could not believe that being of iron she would float, and
their astonishment was great when they saw her glide lightly and gracefully
into the water. The figure head, which was the head and bust of a female,
was pointed to as a wonderful work of art. As it was now well on in June,
and the river was at its lowest, it would be impossible to sail up the river until
December. The party proceeded in the Pioneer to Johanna to obtain a supply
of provisions and other requisites, and some draught oxen to carry the sections
of the Lady Nyassa past the Murchison Cataracts. Mr. Lumley, H.M. Consul
at Johanna, forwarded their views in every way, and gave them six of his
own trained oxen from his sugar plantation.

In the interval which must elapse before they could sail up the Shire, the
principal members of the expedition, with a number of native assistants,
proceeded to explore the Rovuma, as Dr. Livingstone was still of opinion
that a better way to Lake Nyassa might be found by ascending this river ; but
his hopes were doomed to disappointment. The Rovuma was found to
contain a much smaller volume of water than many of the tributaries of the
Zambesi. Shallows were numerous, and snags formed by the sinking of large
trees in the mud during the subsidence of the floods, rendered the navigation
diflicult even for the boats of H.M.S. Orestes, which had been lent to the party
for the ascent. Ninety miles from its mouth their further progress was
arrested by a series of cataracts, and there was nothing for it but to return
to Johanna, and proceed to Lake Nyassa by the valley of the Shire.

The lower part of the Rovuma valley was found to be very sparsely
populated, and of no great breadth, the hills lying close to the river on either
side. Sixty-five miles up the stream they arrived at an inhabited island, and
after some difficulty they managed to open friendly relations with the natives,
and purchased food from them. Here not only the females, but many of the
young men, wore the pelele or lip ring. Farther up the stream, at the tempo-
rary village of an armed band of slave-traders, an attempt was made to
arrest their further progress unless a toll was paid. Rather than proceed to
extremities, Dr. Livingstone gave them thirty pieces of calico, which so
excited their cupidity that they fired a volley of musketry and poisoned arrows
at the party, fortunately without effect. A few shots fired at them drove these

AFRICAN WOMEN HOEING AND POUNDING GRAIN

EFFECTS OF A SLA YE RAID. 341

bloodthirsty cowards into the forest, and secured the party from any further
attack.

The people in the neighbourhood of the cataracts were found to be peace-
ful and industrious, and friendly in their disposition. They arc called Makoa,
and are known by a cicatrice on the brow, in the form of a crescent, with the
horns pointing downwards. The hills on either side of the river were lofty,
and seemed to be the outlying spurs of a still wider range on either side.
Coal was found in such circumstances as warranted the party in believing that
it existed in abundance in the valleys.

In January 1863, the Pioneer steamed up the Shire, with the Lady Nyassa
in tow ; and she had not breasted its waters for many hours before the party
came upon traces of the wholesale ravages of the notorious and bloodthirsty
Mariano. A little more than twelve months before, the valley of the Shire
was populous with peaceful and contented tribes ; now the country was all but
a desert, the very air polluted by the putrid carcases of the slain, which lay
rotting on the plains, and floated in the waters of the river in such numbers as
to clog the paddles of the steamer. Once they saw a crocodile making a rush
at the carcase of a boy, and shake it as a terrier dog shakes a rat, while others
rushed to share in the meal, and quickly devoured it. The miserable inhabit-
ants who had managed to avoid being slain or carried off into captivity, were
collecting insects, roots, and wild fruits — anything in short that would stave
off starvation, in the neighbourhood of the villages where they had formerly
enjoyed peace and plenty. They were entirely naked, save for the palm-leaf
aprons they wore, as everything of any value had been carried off by the slave
stealers. The sight of hundreds of putrid dead bodies and bleached skeletons
was not half so painful as the groups of children and women who were seen
sitting amidst the ruins of their former dwellings, with their ghastly famine-
stricken faces and dull dead eyes. These made up such a tale of woe and
misery that those who were dead might be deemed fortunate in comparison
with the survivors, who instinctively clung to the devastated spot they had
once called home, and those who had been led into life-long captivity. Every-
where dead bodies were met with. In the huts when opened the mouldering
corpse was found " with the poor rags round the loins, the skull fallen off the
pillow ; the little skeleton of the child, that had perished first, rolled up in a
mat between two large skeletons."

Mr. Thornton rejoined the party on the Shire, bringing with him supplies
for the mission and the expedition party, after successfully assisting Baron
Vanderdecken in a survey of the Kilimanjaro mountains, and the ascent of
the highest member of the range to a height of 14,000 feet, discovering at the
same time that the height above the level of the sea of the highest peak was
20,000 feet. These mountains above 8,000 feet are covered with perpetual
snow. His present mission was to examine the geology of the district in the

342 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

neighbourhood of the cataracts ; but before he had well begun his arduous
labour he was attacked with fever, and died on the 21st of April.

While busily making a road through the forest to connect the lower Sliire
with the upper, beyond the Murchison cataracts, Dr. Kirk and Mr. Charles
Livingstone, after repeated attacks of fever and dysentery, were compelled to
leave for England ; the undaunted chief of the expedition remaining at his
post, although he also had had a severe attack of fever. Before they had com-
pleted their arrangements for passing the cataracts, a despatch arrived from
Lord John Russell, then minister for foreign affairs, withdrawing the expedi-
tion. As the ascent of the river could not be made for some time, Dr.
Livingstone determined on a journey to the neighbourhood of Lake Nyassa,
selecting five of the Makololo men, who had settled near Chibisa's, and several
of the Johanna men and natives on the spot, making in all twenty native
assistants, to accompany him. In attempting to ascend the cataracts in boats,
one of these, with valuable stores in it, was lost through the foolhardiness of
several Zambesi men, who were desirous of showing that they could manage
her better than the Makololo.

As a punishment, the Zambesi men were sent back to Chibisa's for
provisions, cloth, and beads, Dr. Livingstone determining to go on on foot.
The bold explorer managed to penetrate through a hitherto unvisited country,
to a point several hundred miles west of the lake. At the different villages he
was well received, after his intentions were made known. In many places he
was received with coldness, and the inhabitants were in daily dread of a
slave-stealing raid being made upon them, and naturally looked with suspicion
on an armed party, headed by a white man. The country was very populous,
and exceedingly beautiful, showing every variety of scenery to be found
between the level plain and the summits of the mountain ridges, at a height
of from three to four thousand feet above the level of the sea.

The party were the recipients of much kind attention from the great bulk
of the simple inhabitants of the district through which they passed ; and again
and again Dr. Livingstone had proofs, both of eye and ear, that the native
tribes in the interior, who have not suffered from the introduction of the slave
trade, lead comparatively blameless and industrious lives. It was a refreshing
sight to see men, women, and children, preparing the ground for their crops,
or clearing the latter of weeds, which were carefully gathered and burned, as
in highly farmed England ; or grinding their corn in the stone mill, which
consists all over the districts he had visited, "of a block of granite, or even
mica schist, fifteen or eighteen inches square, and four or six thick, with a
piece of quartz or other hard rock, about the size of half a brick, one side
of which has a coarse surface, and fits into a concave hollow in the large and
stationary stone. The work-woman kneeling, grasps this upper millstone
with both hands, and works it backwards and forwards in the hollow of the

TALL NATIVES. 343

lower millstone, in the same way that a baker works his dough, when pressing
it and pushing it from him. The weight of the person is brought to bear on
the movable stone ; and while it is pressed and pushed forwards and backwards,
one hand supplies every now and then a little grain, to be thus at first bruised,
and then ground in the lower stone, which is placed on the slope, so that the
meal, when ground, falls on to a skin or mat spread for the purpose."

Before being ground, the corn is pounded in a large wooden mortar,
exactly similar to the method of the ancient Egyptians. The pestle is about
six feet long, and four inches in thickness. By this process the husk is removed
from the grain ; and that it is a tedious process we have the authority of Solo-
mon, who thought that it took more vigour and trouble to separate " a fool
from his folly" than to remove the hard husk from the wheat.

"A chief named Muazi presented Livingstone with a basket of unground
corn ; and on his hinting that he had no wife to grind it for him, the chief's
buxcm spouse archly said, ' I will grind it for you; and leave Muazi, to
accompany and cook for you in the land of the setting sun.' "

Everywhere he was struck with little touches of human nature, which
told him that blacks and whites in their natural ways were very much the
same. Sleeping outside a hut, but near enough to hear what passed in the
interior of it, he heard a native woman commence to grind in the dark, about
two o'clock in the morning. " Ma," said her little daughter, u. why grind in
the dark ?" After telling her to go to sleep, she said, " I grind meal to buy
a cloth from the strangers, which will make you a little lady." And no doubt
the little child went to sleep quite contented, just as an English girl would,
under like circumstances.

Their greatest luxury was beer, of which they drank considerable quan-
tities, generally in an hospitable kind of way, inviting their neighbours to share
in the jollification. Under such circumstances they politely praise the quality
of the liquor provided, a common saying being that it was so good, " the taste
reaches right to the back of the neck."

The merchants or traders of the district are the Babisa. They are dis-
tinguished by a line of horizontal cicatrices, down the middle of the forehead
and chin. They collect the ivory from the Manganja and the Ajawa, and
carry it to the coast and sell it, bringing back European manufactures, beads,
etc., in return for it, and deal in tobacco and native iron utensils. Some of
the natives to the west of the lake were very tall and strong ; many of them
were a good way over six feet in height, and six feet was common. On reach-
ing Lake Nyassa on their return journey, they found many of the inhabitants
living in hiding among the reeds by the margin of the lake ; temporary huts
being erected on the flattened reeds, which were so thick and strong as to
form a perfect, though yielding floor, on the surface of the lake. They had a
miserable half-starved appearance, agriculture being out of the question while

344 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

they were living in constant terror of a visit from slave-trading bands. No
one would sell any food unless in exchange for some other article of food, for
the simple reason that they were starving, many of them dying from sheer
want.

Before the party got back to the ship they were caught in the rains ;
sometimes it came on at night, with unpleasant results, when the party were
asleep with no shelter but the umbrageous foliage of some giant tree. Living-
stone says, " when very tired a man feels determined to sleep in spite of every-
thing, and the sound of dripping water is said to be conducive to slumber,
but that docs not refer to an African storm. If, when half- asleep, in spite of
a heavy shower on the back of the head, he unconsciously turns on his side,
the drops from the branches make such capital shots into the ear, that the
brain rings again." Curiously enough, the keen bracing air of the highlands
had a deleterious effect on the Zambesi men.

The following is Dr. Livingstone's account of the journey to the north-
west of Lake N}^assa, in a letter to Sir Roderick Murchison : —

" The despatch containing instructions for our withdrawal, though dated
2nd of February, did not reach me before the 2nd of July, when the water
had fallen so low that the Pioneer could not be taken down to the sea. To
improve the time, therefore, between July and the flood of December, I
thought that I might see whether a large river entered the northern end of
Lake Nyassa, and, at the same time, ascertain whether the impression was
true that most of the slaves drawn to Zanzibar, Kilwa, Iboe, and Mozambique,
came from the Lake district. With this view I departed, taking the steward
of the Pioneer and a few natives, carrying a small boat, and ascended the
Shire. Our plan was to sail round the eastern shore and the north end of the
lake, but unfortunately we lost our boat when we had nearly passed the falls
of the Shire ; the accident occurring through five of our natives trying to
show how much cleverer they were than the five Makololo who had hitherto
had the management of it. It broke away from them in a comparatively still
reach of the river, and rushed away like an arrow over the cataracts. Our
plans after this had to be modified, and I resolved to make away for the
north-west on foot, hoping to reach the latitude of the northern end of the
lake without coming in contact with the Mazitu, or Zulus, who have de-
populated its north-western shores, and then go round the Lake from the
west.

" We soon came to a range of mountains running north and south, rising
about 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. The valley on the eastern base
was 2,000 feet above the sea, and was of remarkable beauty — well supplied
with streams of delicious cold water. This range forms the edge of the high
table-land (called Deza) on which the Maravi dwell. We were, however,
falsely told that no people lived on the other side, and continued our course

SLAVE VALUES. 345

along the valley until wo came out at the heel of the lake — the bold moun-
tainous promontory of Cape Maclear on our right, and the hills of Tsenga in
front of us. Again starting off towards the north-west, we came to a stockade
which the Mazitu, or other natives pretending to be of this tribe, had attacked
the day before, and we saw the loathsome relics of the fight in the shape of
the dead bodies of the combatants. Wishing to avoid a collision with these
people, we turned away towards the north-east until we again came to the
lake, and marched along its shores to Kota-Kota Bay (lat. 12' 55' South).

" At Kota-Kota Bay we found two Arab traders busily engaged in
transporting slaves across the lake by means of their boats ; they were also
building a dhow to supply the place of one which was said to have been
wrecked. These men said that they had now 1500 souls in their village,
and we saw tens of thousands of people in the vicinity who had fled thither
for protection. They were the same men whom we had seen on our last visit,
but at that time they had very few people. Every disturbance amongst the
native tribes benefits the slave-trader. They were paying one fathom of
calico, value one shilling, for a boy, and two fathoms for a good-looking girl.
Yet, profitable as it may seem, the purchase of slaves would not pay, were it
not for the value of their services as carriers of the ivory conveyed to the
coast by the merchants. A trader with twenty slaves has to expend at least
the price of one per day for their sustenance : it is the joint ivory and slave
trade which alone renders the speculation profitable. It was the knowledge
that I was working towards undermining the slave-trade of Mozambique and
Iboe by buying up the ivory, that caused the Portuguese to exert all their
obstructive power. I trust that operations in the interior, under a more able
leader, will not be lost sight of ; for these will do more to stop the slave-trade
than all the cruisers on the ocean.

" Kota-Kota Bay, which is formed by a sandy spit running out and pro-
tecting the harbour from the east wind, is the crossing-place for nearly all the
slaves that go to Kilwa, Iboe, and Mozambique. A few are taken down to
the end of the lake, and for cheapness cross the Shire ; but at Kota-Kota lies
the great trade-route to Katanga, Cazembe, &c. The Babisa are the principal
traders; the Manganja are the cultivators of the soil. The sight of the new
dhow gave me a hint which perhaps may be useful. She was 50 feet by 12, and
5 feet deep. I should never think again of carrying more than the engine
and boilers of a vessel past the cataracts ; the hull could be built here more
easily than it could be conveyed hither. On the southern shores of the lake
there are many trees whose trunks arc above 2 feet in diameter and 60 feet
in height without a branch. The Arabs were very civil when we arrived,
and came forth to meet us, and presented us with rice, meal, and sugar-cane.
Amongst other presents they made us was a piece of malachite.

" On leaving Kota-Kota we proceeded due west. In three days we
u 1

34G LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

ascended the plateau, the eastern side of which has the appearance of a range
of mountains. The long ascent, adorned with hill and dale and running
streams, fringed with evergreen trees, was very beautiful to the eye, but the
steep walk was toilsome, causing us to halt frequently to recover our breath.
The heights have a delicious but peculiarly piercing air : it seemed to go
through us. Five Shupanga men, who had been accustomed all their lives to
the malaria of the Zambesi Delta were quite prostrated by that which, to me,
was exhilarating and bracing. We travelled about 90 miles due west on the
great Babisa, Katanga, and Cazembe slave-route, and then turned to the
north-west. The country is level, but the boiling-point showed a slope in
the direction we were going. The edge of the plateau is 3,440 feet above the
sea-level. At the Loangwa end of the lake the height shown is 3,270 feet. The
direction of the streams verifies these approximate heights and your famous
hypothesis too ; for the Loangwa of the lake finds its way backwards to the
Nyassa, whilst another river of the same name, called the Loangwa of the
Maravi, here flows to the westward, and enters the Zambesi at Zumbo. The
feeders of these rivers are boggy valleys, with pools in their courses. We
were told we had crossed one branch of the Moitala, or Moitawa, which flows
N.N.W. into a small lake called Bemba.* The vallej^s in which the rivers rise
closely resemble those in Londa or Lunda ; but here each bank is dotted over
with villages, and a great deal of land is cultivated ; the vegetation is more
stunted, and the trees cove-red with flat lichens, like those on old apple-trees
in Scotland, besides a long thready kind similar to orchilla-weed ; the land on
which maize has been planted is raised into ridges instead of, as elsewhere,
formed into hollows — all which reveals a humid climate.

" As we were travelling in the direction whence a great deal of ivory is
drawn by the traders on the slave-route, hindrances of various kinds were put
in our way. The European food we had brought with us was expended ; the
people refused to sell us food, and dysentery came back on us in force.
Moreover, our time was now expired. I was under explicit orders not to under-
take any long journey, but to have the Pioneer down to the sea by the earliest
flood. I might have speculated on a late rise in the Zambesi, but did not like
the idea of failing in my duty, and so gave up the attempt to penetrate farther
to the west. The temptation to go forward was very great ; for the lake
Bemba was said to be but ten days' journey distant ; and from this, according
to native report, issues the river Loapula (or Luapula), which flowing west-
ward, forms the lakes Mofu (or Mofue) and Moero, and then, passing the town
of Cazembe, turns round to the north and is lost in Tanganyika. Is there an
outlet to Tanganyika on the west into the Kasai, to the east of the point at

* We -were destined to become very familiar with this Lake in connection 'with Dr. Livingstone's
last jounieyings in Central Africa.

DEATH OF MARIANO. H47

which I formerly crossed that river ?* All agreed in asserting that no river
flowed eastward into Lake Nyassa Two small ones do, but at a distance of,
say, 80 or 90 miles from the lake ; the watershed is to the west. One should
have no bias in investigating these questions by the aid of travelled natives ;
but I had a strong leaning to a flow from Tanganyika into Nyassa or the
Zambesi. I was, however, stoutly opposed by all ; and I had crossed so many
running streams, which, from entering the lake among reeds, had not been
observed from the boat on our first visit, that, before reaching Kota-Kota, I
had come to the conclusion that a large river from the North was not needed
to account for the perennial flow of the Shire. I am sorry I have only native
information to give instead of my own direct observations ; but, having been
confined to work of much greater importance than exploration, the above was
all I could achieve when set free.

" As the steward and myself were obliged to try our best during the limited
time at our disposal, it may be worth mentioning that we travelled 660 geo-
graphical miles in 55 travelling days, averaging 12 miles per day in straight
lines. The actual distance along the wavy, up-and-down paths we had was
of course much greater. The new leaves on the trees of the plateau were
coming out fresh and green, and of various other hues, when we were there,
and on reaching the ship on the 31st of October, we found all, except the
evergreen ones by streams, as bare of leaves as in mid-winter.

The party reached the ship early in November, and found those they had
left there in good health. The exploring party had travelled nearly seven
hundred miles in a straight line, which gave a mileage of twelve and a half
per day, but taking the windings into account, Livingstone put their rate of
advance down at fifteen miles, a wonderful progress truly in an unknown
country. An Ajawa chief, named Kapeni, waited upon them, and gratified
Livingstone by saying that he and most of his people were anxious to receive
English missionaries as their teachers. The effect of this was marred by intelli-
gence which reached him shortly afterwards, that Bishop Tozer, Bishop
Mackenzie's successor, after a short stay near the mouth of the Shire, on the
top of Mount Marambala, had determined to leave the country. In descend-
ing the river they heard that Mariano, the infamous slave-stealing half-caste,
had died of debauchery some time previous.

From Shupanga he wrote on the 10th of Feb., 186-1 : — " The river rose in
tremendous force on the 19th of January — much later than usual. Its lateness
extracted many a groan from me, for it was plain that I had plenty of time
to have examined Lake Bemba, which I suppose to be the beginning of the
drainage system which finds an outlet by the Congo. Mofu, or Mofue, was

* In his last journey Dr. Livingstone found that the river ho alludes to had no connection with
Lake Tanganyika, but is, as he supposed, the head waters of the Nile.

348 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

seen, I believe, by Montiero in bis journey to Cazembe. Part of our line
of march was along the route from Kilwa to the same chief."

The following extract from a letter of Dr. Livingstone to the late Admiral
Washington, relates to the end of Bishop Tozer's mission, and the exactions of
the Portuguese : —

" Tbe Mission of the Universities has been a sore disappointment to me,
but on public grounds alone, for it formed no part of my expedition. Before
I left the Zambesi, I heard from Bishop Tozer, the successor to Bishop
Mackenzie, that he had determined to leave the country as early in the present
year (1864) as possible. He selected the top of an uninhabited mountain —
Morambala, at the mouth of the Shire — for his mission-station. Fancy a mission-
station on the top of Ben Nevis ! It is an isolated hill in the middle of a generally
flat country ; consequently all the clouds collect around the summit, and the con-
stant showers and fogs at certain times make the missionaries run, to avoid
being drenched, into the huts. Unlike the first, the second party has been quite
useless; they never went near any population that could be taught, and are now
about to run away altogether. Wishing to be strictly accurate as to the
incredible fact of a missionary bishop without a flock, I made minute inquiry,
and found that on the mountain there were three native huts at one spot, four
at another, and nine at a third ; but none, except the first three, within easy
access of the station. Twenty-five boys whom we liberated, and gave to the late
Bishop Mackenzie, were very unwillingly received by his successor, although
without them he would have had no natives whatever to teach. He wished to
abandon certain poor women and children who were attached to the mission by
Bishop Mackenzie, but Mr. Waller refused to comply with his proposal, and
preferred to resign his connection with the mission. In reference to a promise
by the Government of Portugal to send out fresh instructions to the Portu-
guese officials to render us every assistance, which was made in answer to
Lord Russell's remonstrance to the authorities at Lisbon, we have only a fresh
imposition, in the shape of a tax for residence at Killimane, on Dr. Kirk's
party. It amounted to between £7 and £8, which, of course, I must pay. The
duty of 4d. per pound weight on calico seems to say, ' We Portuguese mean to
seal up the country more closely than ever.' I never intended to make use of
the Zambesi after getting the steamer on the Lake. I only thought, as we had
discovered this opening, we ought to make use of it to get up there, and then
send out ivory by the Rovuma, during the eight months of the year that it is
navigable. I regret not being able to finish what I had begun. I thank you
for the charts of the Rovuma, and shall endeavour to take soundings, not on
the bar, for there is none, but opposite the mouth. The only thing like a bar
is a phenomenon which occurs at half-ebb, and up to the time when the tide
turns, at which period the water, rushing out of the river, falls from three or
four fathoms into nineteen fathoms, and thus causes a commotion which might

LIVINGSTONE AS A NA VIGATOR. 349

swamp a boat. It lasts, however, but a short time, for as soon as the flow
begins all is smooth again. I believe that the Rovuma may be navigable for
a vessel of light draught eight or nine months out of the twelve, and the bay
is perfectly safe, and magnificent. " David Livingstone.

" P.S. 24th Feb. 1864.— The Bishop is off before me. I take the boys
and children (40 in number) whom he wished to abandon, and send them
myself to the Cape. Having once liberated them, I felt in honour bound to
see them secure from a return into slavery, and am sure that the gentlemen
who sent out the mission would have done the same."

He kept with him on board the Lady Nyassa seven men, and two boys — ■
Chumah and Wekotani — of whom we shall hear more hereafter.

The Lad// Nyassa steamed from Mozambique to Zanzibar ; and as Living-
stone had determined to dispose of her, he started in her on a voyage of 2,500
miles for that purpose to Bombay, which he acconrplished in safety, arriving
there on the 13th of June, having left Zauzibar on the 16th of April ; the
heroic explorer acting as navigator, his crew consisting of three Europeans,
viz., a stoker, a sailor, and a carpenter, and seven native Zambesi men, and
two boys. Considering that the three European members of his crew were
laid aside for a month each, and his native Zambesi men had to bo taught the
duties of the ship, and that the Lady Nyassa was a tiny light craft constructed for
lake and river navigation, the feat of sailing her across the Indian Ocean was
not the least marvellous of the many daring undertakings he has successfull}'
carried through. When they steamed into the harbour of Bombay, lie says
"the vessel was so small, that no one noticed our arrival." His appearance
in civilized society after such a fashion, must have been as unexpected and
Avonderful as his turning up among the Portuguese in the West, after travelling
from the Cape right across country through regions till then wholly unknown.
The two native boys, who were about sixteen years of age named respectively
Wekotani and Chumah, were left with Dr. Wilson, of Bombay, to be educated.
This astounding feat in seamanship — a voyage of 2,500 miles in the Lady
Nyassa — did not strike Livingstone as being anything very wonderful. In a
letter to Sir Roderick Murchison from Bombay, he says : —

"We arrived at Bombay on the 13th instant, after a passage of 44 days
from Zanzibar. From Zanzibar we crept along the African coast, in order to
profit by a current of at least 100 miles a day. If Solomon's ships went as far
South as Sofala, as some suppose, they could not have done it during the
south-west monsoon against such a current. We went along beautifully till
we got past the line ; we then fell in with calms, which continued altogether
for 24 a days. The sea was as smooth as glass ; and, as we had but one
stoker, we could not steam more than nine or ten hours at a time. By
patience and perseverance we have at length accomplished our voyage of 2,500
miles, but now I feel at as great a loss as ever. I came here to sell my

350 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

steamer, but with this comes the idea of abandoning Africa before accomplish-
ing something against the slave-trade ; the thought of it makes me feel as
though I could not lie in peace in my grave, with all the evils I know so well
going on unchecked. What makes it doubly galling is, that while the policy
of our Government has, to a very gratifying extent, been successful on the
West coast, all efforts on the East coast have been rendered ineffectual by a
scanty Portuguese convict population. The same measures have been in
operation here, the same expense and the same dangers, the same heroic
services have been performed by Her Majesty's cruisers, and yet all in vain.
The Zambesi country is to be shut up now more closely than ever, and, unless
we have an English settlement somewhere on the mainland, beyond the so-
called dominions of the Portuguese, all repressive measures will continue
fruitless. I would willingly have gone up some of the other rivers with my
steamer, instead of coming here, but I had only three white men with me —
a stoker, a sailor, and a carpenter — and seven natives of the Zambesi. The
stoker and the sailor had both severe attacks of illness on the way, and it
would have been imprudent to have ascended an unexplored river so short-
handed. Could I have entered the Juba, it would have been not so much to
explore the river, as to set in train operations by merchants and others which
should eventually work out the destruction of the slave-trade."

Dr. Livingstone arrived in England in July, 1864, and busied himself
with the preparation of his narrative for the press, and thinking over further
efforts to be made for the amelioration of the condition of the natives of Central
Africa. It was quite clear to him that no help in this direction must be looked
for from the Portuguese government, which, in spite of the utter valuelessness
of its possessions on the east coast of Africa, seemed to wink at the devasta-
tion and depopulation of the country by slave dealers, and threw every obstacle
in the way of any one anxious to acquire information regarding the tribes
bordering on their territory, and the possible introduction of legitimate com-
merce amongst them. The horrors Dr. Livingstone had to make us acquainted
with then, and those which he was only telling us so recently, after having
been lost to his country and friends for years, have raised such a storm of
indignation throughout the civilized world, as cannot fail to hasten the end
of the frightful traffic in human beings, which is carried on under the pro-
tection of the Portuguese flag.

CHAPTER XVI.

Starts a Third Time for Africa. — Re-ascends the Rovuma. — His Reported Murder. — ■
Expedition sent in Search of him Hears of his Safety.

WHEN Dr. Livingstone arrived in England, the discoveries of Captain
Speke and Major Grant were the subject of almost universal interest
among the intelligent public ; and he had not been long amongst us, when
the enthusiasm those had excited, and the cravings for further knowledge of
the regions about the head waters of the Nile, were further indulged by the
discoveries of Sir Samuel Baker. Lakes, hill ranges, and populous native settle-
ments, were slowly filling up the great blank patch in the centre of the vast
continent of Africa, which for centuries had been assumed to be a vast sandy de-
sert, a second and greater Sahara. From the known regions of Southern Africa
Livingstone had, from his several expeditions prior to 1852, when he marched
across the Kalahari desert and discovered Lake Ngami, down to his leaving
the Zambesi, on the conclusion of his last series of explorations, laid down
rivers, lakes, mountain ranges, and native settlements, over a tract of country
vastly more extensive than was ever explored by a single individual in the
history of discovery and adventure. His discoveries in the south, and those
of his contemporary explorers farther to the north, had settled the fact beyond
dispute, that the centre of Africa was peopled by tribes mentally and indus-
trially capable of elevation, if the iniquitous slave-trade was suppressed, and
legitimate commerce with civilized nations introduced amongst them ; and
that they inhabited regions rich in vegetable and animal life, and watered by
magnificent rivers and streams, which filled the minds of thoughtful men with
the hope of seeing opened, within a reasonable time, new corn, cattle, cotton,
coffee, sugar, indigo, coal, and iron-producing regions of so vast an extent, as
to render the European continent independent in the future of the exhaustion
of her present stores, through the demands of a population daily increasing
in number and in wealth.

Between Speke and Grant's and Bakers discoveries, and Livingstone's in
the south, there was still a vast tract of country of which little or nothing
reliable was known. Further investigation, and a due consideration of the
character of the newly-explored regions, led thinking men to doubt and ques-
tion the fact that Captain Speke had traced the Nile to its head quarters, when
he watched it How a noble stream from the Victoria Nyanza Lake. These

352 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

doubts and questions soon resolved themselves into actual belief that the head
waters of the river of Egypt must be carried as far south, and farther south, aa
some thought, than Lake Tanganyika.

Dr. Livingstone had not unnaturally looked forward to a considerable
period of rest in the bosom of his family after his laborious exertions during the
preceding six years ; but there was to be henceforward for him no rest on
this side of the grave. The minds of men were drawn towards the unknown
country between lakes Tanganyika and Nyassa, and there was one man on
whom the eyes of all men were turned as its explorer. The great traveller
himself, after he had seen his book, The Zambesi and its Tributaries, through tho
press, had not made up his mind as to his future operations, when he was
waited upon by Sir Roderick Murchison. That gentleman, with all the
astuteness of a Scotch diplomatist, did not at once ask Dr. Livingstone to go
himself — on. a new mission.

" My dear Livingstone," he said, " your disclosures respecting the interior
of Africa have created a profound excitement in the geographical world. We
(the Geographical Society) are of opinion that we ought to send another ex-
pedition into the heart of Africa to solve the problem of the water shed
between the Nyassa and the Tanganyika lakes ; for when that is settled, all
questions about Central Africa will be definitively resolved. Whom could you
recommend to take charge of it as a proper man?"

After some reflection, Dr. Livingstone recommended a gentleman well
known to them both. This gentleman, on being spoken to, would only con-
sent to go on the understanding that he would be sufficiently remunerated for
his services. There can be only one opinion as to the propriety of the con-
ditions on which this gentleman was willing to act ; as it would hardly be fair
to ex]3ect a man advanced in years to undertake a mission of such privation
and difficulty without ample compensation. As the Geographical Society
could not guarantee any pecuniary reward, that gentleman declined to proceed
to Africa.

Sir Roderick was much distressed at this refusal, and calling on Dr.
Livingstone to announce the non -success of his efforts, he said — " Why
cannot you go ? Come, let me persuade you. I am sure you will not refuse
an old friend." " I had flattered myself," said Dr. Livingstone, " that I had
much prospective comfort in store for me in my old days. And pecuniary
matters require looking after for the sake of my family ; but since you ask
me in that way, I cannot refuse you."

"Never mind about the pecuniary matters," said Sir Roderick. "It
shall be my task to look after that ; you may rest assured your interests shall
not be forgotten."

At this time Dr. Livingstone's circumstances were of such a nature, as
but for this generous offer, to give him considerable anxiety. His first book,

DR. LIVINGSTONE LEA VES FOR AFRICA. 353

The Missionary Travels, sold to the extent of 30,000 copies, and in consequence
returned him a large sum of money. While on the Zambesi, and when the
second steamer, the Pioneer, sent out to him proved a failure, he ordered the
Lady Nyassa at his own expense, her cost being £6,000. She was lying at
Bombay, and would be of no use in the contemplated journey at all. The
sale of his second book, The Zambesi and its Tributaries, up to the time of which
we are writing, had not much exceeded 3,000 copies, so that if he left for
Africa and was lost to sight for several years, the future of his motherless
children could not fail to be a source of anxiety to him.

The generous offer of Sir Roderick Murchison, his old and tried friend,
put him at his ease as to the future welfare of his family, and he began at
once, with his usual promptitude and energy, to prepare for his departure upon
what was to be his last expedition. Lord John Russell (now Earl Russell)
and then Prime Minister, sent Mr. Hayward, Q.C., to him, to sound him as to
what he would like the Government to do for him. No doubt his lordship
wished to know what honour or reward he wished for himself. Livingstone,
quite unmindful of himself, said, " If you stop the Portuguese Slave Trade,
you will gratify me beyond measure." A second time Mr. Hayward asked
him if anything could be done for himself, and his answer was, "No, he
could not think of anything." Many times when he was waiting in the heart
of Africa for succour from the coast, the thought came into his mind that he
had then lost an opportunity of providing for his children.

Two thousand pounds were subscribed for the expedition. Mr. James
Young, the well-known paraffin oil manufacturer, and a friend of Living-
stone's at College, furnished £1,000, and promised that whenever he lacked
funds he would supply him to any amount. The Government gave £500,
and the Royal Geographical Society subscribed a like sum. As Dr. Living-
stone, when he reached Bombay, sold the Lady Nyassa steamer, and placed
the sum received for her (£2,000) in bank, to be drawn upon by him for the
expenses of the expedition, he actually subscribed one-half the entire sum he
believed he had at his disposal at starting. Months after he had passed into
the interior of Africa, the banker with whom he had deposited the money
became bankrupt, and the whole sum was totally lost.

Lord John Russell happily connected the expedition Avith the public
service by renewing Dr. Livingstone's appointment as H.M. Consul to the
tribes in the interior of Africa, thus giving to his mission- a semi-official
character.

Dr. Livingstone left England to set out on his last expedition on the 14th
of August, and .was accompanied to Paris by his eldest daughter, Agnes.
From Paris he went to Bombay, where, having completed his arrangements,
he proceeded to Zanzibar, accompanied by the two African boys (Chumah and
Wekotani) he had left with Dr. Wilson, a number of men from the Johanna
v 1

354 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Islands, a Sepoy Havildar, a few enlisted Sepoys, and some Wasawahili. Thus
accompanied, he sailed in an Arab dhow from Zanzibar on the 28th March,
1864, and landed at the mouth of the Rovuma, after a voyage of several days.

Before leaving Bombay, Wekotani wrote the following letter to a
gentleman in England (Mr. Horace Waller, we believe.) "We give a literal
translation of it here, as it cannot fail to interest our readers.

" I, Wekotani, and I, Chumah, send a letter to give to you, W . The

Doctor has said all is well, and has given to me the money which you gave to
him, the Doctor ; this is done of the good heart.

"As for us, Chumah and Wekotani, the Doctor said to us, 'Farewell;
remain yet at Bombay ; cause to be learned reading and the art of writing.'
I said, even I, Wekotani, ' It is good, my chief.' ' Farewell,' said he.

" I have answered to the voice of the Doctor, and I now write to you
this letter ; and when it is finished I shall like to write to you yet another.

" The Doctor has arrived ; he said, 'Come here, Wekotani and Chumah,
and take that money which W has given out of a good heart.

" I, Wekotani, learn that one of the boys is dead. I know Kaminya-
pongwi is dead; God has taken him. I learn my kinsman Chinsoro has
married a wife ; I learn that there is a child born to Uriah. If it be a boy, I
know not ; if a girl, I know not.

" Now I, Wekotani, speak to Uriah and Chinsoro, my kinsmen. He, even
he, the Doctor, has said : ' Wekotani and Chumah,' said he, ' let us go to the

Rovuma.' The chief W has spoken ; he says — ' You, Wekotani, go

with the Doctor before him on the path, and see other large waters, and speak
with and see the Waiou (Ajawa), and speak the Waiou language.' I said,
' This is good, and I travel once more, and travelling there will be no sitting
down when the great water is reached. I, I return with the Doctor.'

"Now I am informed of Adams, and Chumala, and Blair. W says

Blair and Adams are at Natal, a country belonging to the English, says he.

"I speak to you, W ; you who used to live with Chinsoro — and to

A ; he lived with Sumbani, I and you, W , I, Wekotani; there is no

forgetting W with me.

" Now I have written my letter, telling W I am at Bombay. Of

Chiku and his companions, the traders, four are dead. Chiku is present. I
have finished writing.

" I remain, Sir,

" Yours mostly obediently,

" Wekotani.

"You, W , made pictures (photographs), portraying Chinsoro; and

I have seen his countenance and that of his wife, of Uriah and of his wife,
and I see Daonia and those women Ochuomvala and her mother ; Jambani,
I do not see his face. Chiku says, may it be well with you, W ."

LETTER FROM DR. LIVINGSTONE. 355

Early in November, the following letter was received from Dr. Living-
stone. It was dated from Ngomano, 18th May, 1866, and was the first
communication of any importance received from him since he had passed into
the interior : —

"When we could not discover a path for camels through the Mangrove
swamps of the mouth of the Rovuma, we proceeded about twenty-five miles
to the north of that river, and at the bottom of Mikindany bay entered a
beautiful land-locked harbour, called Kinday or Pemba. The entrance seems
not more than three hundred yards wide ; the reef on each side of the
channel showing so plainly of a light colour that no ships ought to touch.
The harbour is somewhat the shape of the spade on cards, the entrance being
like the short handle. There is nearly a mile of space for anchorage, the
southern part being from ten to fourteen fathoms, while the north-west portion
is shallow and rocky. It is a first-rate harbour for Arab dhows, the land rising
nearly all round from two to three hundred feet. The water is so calm, Arabs
can draw their craft to the shore to discharge and take in cargo. They are
also completely screened by the masses of trees growing all round it from sea-
ward observation.

" The population consists of coast Arabs and their slaves. The six
villages in which they live are dotted round the shore, and may contain three
hundred souls in all. They seemed to be suspicious, and but for our having
been accompanied by H.M.S. Penguin, would have given trouble. The
ordinary precaution of placing a sentry over our goods caused a panic, and
the Sirkar or head man thought that he gave a crushing reply to my explana-
tions when he blubbered out, ' But we have no thieves here.'

" Our route hence was S.S.N, to the Rovuma, which we struck at the
spot marked on the chart as that at which the Pioneer turned in 1861. We
travelled over the same jilateau that is seen to flank both sides of the Rovuma
like a chain of hills from four to six hundred feet high. Except where the
natives who are called Makonde have cleared spaces for cultivation, the whole
country within the influence of the moisture from the ocean is covered with
dense jungle. The trees in general are not large, but they grow so closely
together as generally to exclude the sun. In many places they may be said
to be woven together by tangled masses of climbing-plants, more resembling
the ropes and cables of a sliip in inextricable confusion than the graceful
creepers with which we are familiar in northern climates.

" Trade paths have already been made, but we had both to heighten and
widen them for camels and buffaloes. The people at the sea-coast had
declared that no aid could be got from the natives. When we were seven
miles off, we were agreeably surprised to find that for reasonable wages we
could employ any number of carriers and wood-cutters we desired. As they
were accustomed to clear away the gigantic climbers for their garden ground,

356 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

they "whittled away with their tomahawks with remarkable speed and skill.
But two days continuous hard labour was as much as they could stand. It is
questionable whether any people (except possibly the Chinese) who are not
meat-eaters can endure continuous labour of a kind that brings so many
muscles into violent action as this work did. French navvies could not com-
pete with the English until they were fed exactly like the latter. The
Makonde have only fowls, a few goats, and the chance of an occasional gorge
on the wild hog of the country.

". . . Such rocks as we could see were undisturbed grey sandstone,
capped by ferruginous conglomerate. Upon this we often stumbled against
blocks of silicified wood, so like recent wood that any one would be unwilling
to believe at first sight they were stones. This is a sure indication of coal
being underneath, and pieces of it were met in the sands of the river.

" When about ninety miles from the mouth of the Rovuma, the geologi-
cal structure changes, and with this change we have more open forest, thinner
vegetation, and grasses of more reasonable size. The chief rock is now
syenite, and patches of fine white dolomite lie upon it in spots. Granitic
masses have been shot up over the plain, which extends in front all the way
to Ngomano, the confluence of the Rovuma and the Loendi. In the drier
country we found that one of these inexplicable droughts had happened over
the north bank of the Rovuma, and a tribe of Mazitu, propably Zulus, had
come down like a swarm of locusts, and carried away all the food above
ground, as well as what was growing. I had now to make forced marches
with the Makonde in quest of provisions for my party, and am now with
Machumora, the chief at Ngomano, and by sending some twenty miles to the
south-west, I shall obtain succour for them. This is the point of confluence,
as the name Ngomano implies, of the Rovuma and the Loendi. The latter is
decidedly the parent stream, and comes from the south-west, where, in addi-
tion to some bold granitic peaks, dim outlines of distant highlands appear.
Even at that distance they raise the spirits, but possibly that is caused partly
by the fact that we are now about thirty miles beyond our former turning-
point, and on the threshold of the unknown.

" I propose to make this my head-quarters till I have felt my way round
the north end of Lake Nyassa. If prospects arc fair there I need not return,
but trust to another quarter for fresh supplies, but it is best to say little about
the future. Machumora is an intelligent man, and one well-known to be trust-
worthy. He is appealed to on all hands for his wise decisions, but he has not
much real power beyond what his personal character gives him.

" The Makonde are all independent of each other, but they are not
devoid of a natural sense of justice. A carrier stole a shirt from one of my
men ; our guide pursued him at night, seized him in his own house, and the
elders of his village made him pay about four times the value of the article

REPORTED MURDER OF LIVINGSTONE. 357

stolen. No other case of theft has occurred. No dues were demanded, and
only one fine — a very just one — was levied."

Here, as elsewhere in Central Africa, the Arabs had not been successful
in imposing the Moslem creed upon the natives. The Arabs believed it to be
useless to persevere in any attempt to teach them, as the Makonde had no idea
of a Deity. The fatal tsetse fly engages Livingstone's attention here, as in so
many districts of Central Africa. He had selected buffaloes and camels, think-
ing that they would brave the fatal effects of its bite. He says : — " The expe-
riment with the buffaloes has not been satisfactory ; one buffalo and two camels
died. Had we not been in a tsetse country, I should have ascribed this to
over-work and bruises received on board the dhow which brought them from
Zanzibar. These broke out into large ulcers. When stung by gad-flies blood
of the arterial colour flows from the punctures. This may be the effect of the
tsetse, for when an ox known to be bitten was killed, its blood was all of the
arterial hue. I had but four buffaloes for the experiment, and as three yet
remain, I am at present in doubt."

In March, 1867, the whole civilized world was startled by the receipt
of intelligence that Dr. Livingstone had been slain in an encounter with a
party of Mafite or Mazitu on the western side of Lake Nyassa, at a place called
Kanipunda or Mapunda. The intelligence came in the shape of a dispatch
from Dr. Gr. E. Seward, Acting Consul at Zanzibar to Lord Stanley (now
Earl Derby), then Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

" Zanzibar, December 10th, 1866.

" My Lord — I send you the saddest news. Dr. Livingstone, in his
dispatch from Ngomano, informed your lordships that he stood ' on the
threshold of the unexplored.' Yet, as if that which should betide him had
already thrown its shadow, he added, ' it is best to say little of the future.'

" My Lord, if the report of some fugitives from his party be true, this
brave and good man has ' crossed the threshold of the unexplored ; ' he has
confronted the future, and will never return. He was slain, so it is alleged,
during a sudden and unprovoked encounter with those very Zulus, of whom
he says, in his dispatch, that they had laid waste the country round about
him, and had ' swept away the food from above and in the ground.' With
an escort reduced to twenty by desertion, death, and dismissals, he had
traversed, as I believe, that terra incognita between the confluence of the
Loanda and Rovuma livers at Ngomano, and the eastern or north-eastern
littoral of Lake Nyassa ; had crossed the lake at some point, as yet unas-
certained ; had reached a station named Kanipunda, on its western shore ;
and was pushing west or north-west into dangerous ground, when between
Marenga and Maklisoora a band of implacable savages stopped the way, a
mixed horde of Zulus, or Mazitu, and Nyassa folk.

" The Nyassa folk were armed with bow and arrow, the Zulus with the

358 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

traditional shield, broad-bladed spears and axes. With Livingstone there
were nine or ten muskets ; his Johanna men were resting with their loads
far in the rear. The Mazitu instantly came on to fight ; there was no parley,
no avoidance of the combat ; they came on with a rush and with war-cries,
and rattling on their shields with their spears. As Livingstone and his party
raised their pieces, their onset was for a moment checked, but only for a
moment.

" Livingstone fired, and two Zulus were shot dead (his boys fired too,
but their fire was harmless); he was in the act of reloading, when three
Mazitu leaped upon him through the smoke. There was no resistance, there
could be none, and one cruel axe- cut from behind put him out of life. He
fell, and when he fell, his terror-stricken escort fled, hunted by the Mazitu.
One, at least, of the fugitives escaped ; and he, the eye-witness, it is who tells
the tale — Ali Moosa, chief of his escort of porters.

" The party had left the western shores of Nyassa about five days.
They had started from Kampunda, on the lake's borders (they left the
Havildar of Sepoys there dying of dysentery, Livingstone had dismissed the
other Sepoys of the Bombay 21st at Mataka), and had rested at Marengo,
where Livingstone was cautioned not to advance. The next station was
Maklisoora ; they were traversing a flat country broken by small hills, and
abundantly wooded. Indeed, the scene of the tragedy so soon to be consum-
mated would appear to have been an open forest-glade.

" Livingstone, as usual, led the way, his nine or ten unpractised
musketeers at his heels. Ali Moosa had nearly come up with them, having
left his own Johanna men resting with their loads far in the rear. Suddenly
he heard Livingstone warn the boys that the Mazitu were coming ; the boys
in turn beckoned Moosa to press forward. Moosa saw the crowd here and
there among the trees, and he had just gained the party, and had sunk down
behind a tree to deliver his own fire, when his leader fell (by an axe-cut from
behind). Moosa fled for his life along the path he had come, meeting his
Johanna men, who threw down their loads, and in a body rushed into the
deeper forest. ... If the Mazitu really passed Moosa, his escape and
that of his people verges on the marvellous.

" However, at sunset, they in great fear left their forest refuge, and got
back to the place where they hoped to find their baggage. It was gone, and
then with increasing dread they crept to where the slain traveller lay. Near
him, in front, lay the grim Zulus, who were killed under Ins sure aim ; here
and there lay some four fugitives of the expedition. That one blow had
killed him outright ; he had no other wound but this terrible gash ; it must
have gone, from their description, though the neck and spine, up to the throat
in front, and it had nearly decapitated him. Death came mercifully in its
instant suddenness, for David Livingstone was ' ever ready.' They found

BR. KIRK ON LIVINGSTONE'S ROUTE. 359

him stripped only of his upper clothing, for the Mazitu had respected him
when dead. They dug with some stakes a shallow grave, and hid from the
starlight the stricken temple of a grand spirit — the body of an apostle of
freedom, whose martrydom should make sacred the shores of that sea which his
labours made known to us, and which, now baptized with his life's blood, men
should henceforth know as ' Lake Livingstone.' . . The Johanna men
made the best of their wray back to Kampunda, not venturing near any
village or station ; they lost themselves in the jungle, and were fourteen days
on the way.

" At Kampunda they witnessed the end of the Havildar of Sepoys. He
alone of all the Indians was faithful ; on the threshold of this Consulate of
Zanzibar, he pledged himself at the moment of starting never to forsake his
leader — nor did he ; to the last he struggled on, worn with dysentery, but
broke down hopelessly on the road to Marenga. A day or two later, and he
would have shared his leader's fate. Insubordinate, lazy, impracticable, and
useless, Livingstone had dismissed the other Sepoys at Mataka. Had they
been faithful like the Havildar, I should not have had to inscribe a record of
this sad happening. Their unfitness for African travel might have been
predicted. At Kampunda the Johanna men were deprived of their weapons
by the chief, who also kept the Havildar's. Here they joined an Arab slave-
caravan, recrossed the Nyassa and made for Kilwa, the great slave outlet on
the Zanzibar coast.

" But here again, and where least expected, they encountered the Mazitu.
They had reached a place within eight days south-west of Kilwa, when the
appearance of a band of these savages scattered the caravan. Abandoning
ivory, slaves — their all — the Arab leaders thought best of saving their lives.
The Johanna men again made their escape, and reached Kilwa, whence by the
kindness of the customs people they were at once sent to Zanzibar. They
arrived here on the 6th December

" I must reserve other details for a subsequent letter ; but I may state
that no papers, effects, or relics of Livingstone, are likely to be recovered.

" Gr. Edwin Seward."
With the same mail Sir Roderick Murchison received several letters from
Dr. Kirk, then Assistant Consul at Zanzibar — and as he was a prominent
member of Dr. Livingstone's expedition to the Zambesi and its tributaries,
his impressions regarding Dr. Livingstone's route and the importance to be
attached to the report of his murder are of interest and importance : —

" My Dear Sir Roderick — Although the evidence is, in many points,
contradictory in detail, and the survivors can give no clear account of their
route, I find no cause to doubt their veracity in the main points of the narra-
tive, and allow for much from the fact that an early flight alone saved them
— an act of cowardice which would lead them in a measure to exaggerate

360 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

some of the circumstances. One great difficulty is, that they speak the
language of Johanna only, for this necessitates the use of unskilled inter-
preters.

" Our last communication from Dr. Livingstone was written by him on
the 18th May. He was then at Ngomano, where he remained fifteen days,
and probably his letter was written about the beginning of that time, or soon
after his arrival. We know that he started from Mikindany, struck the
Rovuma about thirty miles from its mouth, and proceeded to Ngomano, with-
out encountering any obstacle ; so far the natives were friendly, but the path
was most difficult, owing to the dense forest and tangled vegetation. I need
not recount what he has narrated, and what has, no doubt, been communi-
cated to you through Her Majesty's Secretary of State ; but shall briefly
state, so far as I have learned, the condition of the party when at Ngomano.
They mustered in all thirty-six, viz. : — Dr. Livingstone, twelve Bombay
Sepoys, ten Johanna men, nine boys (African) educated, and four Africans,
who had gone with him from the Zambesi to Bombay, where they awaited
his return. Ngomano, on the confluence of the Rovuma and the Loendi, is
the country between these streams, so that he had crossed the Rovuma before
reaching the village of the chief. The Loendi was seen to be the main
stream, the Rovuma being secondary to it. From previous expeditions
we know that the Rovuma below the confluence is very subject to sudden
rises and falls. In May it would be a considerable stream, but in October
and November a dry bed with hardly a boat passage, and fordable every mile.
Above the confluence of the Loendi, therefore, it must have become a series
of almost isolated pools, if the Loendi was the main source. On Dr. Living-
stone's arrival, the district was in a disordered state ; a drought had injured
the crop, and the little left had been carried off to the north of the Rovuma
by a marauding tribe of Mazitu. Dr. Livingstone seems to have obtained
provisions from the Mabiha of the south-east, and fifteen days after his arrival
to have proceeded westward. The first day's march was over desert country,
but the following day they again met the Rovuma, but did not cross it.
They had taken a path which jjroved a chord to one of the river-bends.
Passing small villages of the Walolo, a tribe speaking the Makua language,
and differing in little but the mark in the forehead from the main tribe to the
south, they reached hills towards the end of the third day's march; these
were clothed with bamboo jungles, but little water was found. Here one of
the Africans, educated at Bombay, died. On the fourth and fifth days they
seem to have crossed open grazing plains with trees ; they were steadily
making an ascent, as indicated by the coldness of the mornings.

" On the seventh day they were at Makarika, where they rested two
days, and after eleven marches came to Mataka, a town of considerable size,
the residence of a chief, who has power over a large district and many people ;

DR. KIRK'S REPORT. 361

these are of the Waiao tribe, the same whom we call Ajawa on the Zambesi.
This is a high mountainous country, with fine scenery and abundant water.
The streams passed had a south-east direction, or seemed to flow from the
Loendi, and one crossed on the ninth day's march from Ngomano was of
considerable size.

" This region is well peopled, and has abundance of cattle, besides goats
and fowls. While here Dr. Livingstone was well received by the chief, pre-
sents were exchanged, and provisions obtained. In the short journey already
accomplished, the Bombay Sepoys had proved unequal to the fatigues and
irregular supply of food ; the cattle and camels employed to carry loads had
died, seemingly from the tsetse fly, and drilled Sepoys were of no use to take
their place; they were easily fatigued and useless. Here Dr. Livingstone dis-
carded all, except the Havildar, who bravely stuck by him, and advanced while
his men returned towards the coast, in company with a slave caravan which
passed that way, soon after Dr. Livingstone had left Malaka. An estimate of
Dr. Livingstone's confidence in these men may be proved from the fact that
his letters and despatches were entrusted to the Chief Malaka to be given to
the first caravan : these important documents have not yet been received,
although six of the Sepoys have come in, and Arab caravans have arrived at
Kilvva. Great interest will attach to the recovery of those papers, as in
them Dr. Livingstone would probably state whether he purposed again
returning to Ngomano (where he had left some stores on advancing), after
having settled the end of the Nyassa and its northern limits towards Lake
Tanganyika. I have little doubt myself that any idea he may have had of
returning had, by this time, been abandoned ; indeed, it seemed contrary to
Dr. Livingstone's nature to retrace his steps, nor could he have done so with-
out disorganising his now enfeebled expedition. His only chance of keeping
the remainder seems to have been to advance beyond the regions in
which desertion was easy. Having been fifteen days at Malaka, his party
advanced, still in a westerly course : the first day's march one of the Bombay
educated negroes ran back, and returned to Zanzibar eventually with the
Sepoys.

" . . . Beaching the Lake after eight da)'s' march, they obtained four
canoes, and, embarking in the morning, were all landed on the opposite shore
by mid-day. Comparing the water with parts of the Zanzibar harbour, my
informants, the Johanna men, estimate the width as nearly six miles, which,
from the time taken to cross, seems under the truth ; but, it is to be
remembered, that they are not explicit as to where they embarked. On this,
however, they arc decided, that water extended to the north as far as they
could see, and they heard of no end in that direction. To the south it seemed
still wider. They also stated that the canoes were propelled by means of
poles, and paddles were seldom used. The water was not deep j the opposite
w 1

362 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

shore was of white sand, with plains to the west, but no hills visible, although
high mountains appeared to the south.

"That night they slept at a small village on the western shore, and,
leaving the water behind, marched west to Kampunda. The people of this
place possess only a few cattle, but they gave a goat to Dr. Livingstone, and
he remained one day. One of the Zambesi boys, Wekotani by name,
deserted him ; and the Havildar, worn out by disease, which attacked him in
crossing the Nyassa, lagged behind and was left. Dr. Livingstone's party
was thus reduced to twenty men, all told ; of these, however, very few knew
how to handle fire-arms, and could be of no service in case of a determined
attack by natives. They left Kampunda, and arrived at Marenga after two
days' march over level land, journeying west. After remaining a day at
Marenga, they again followed a westerly course over smooth ground.
Marenga, who was civil to the party, ferried them in canoes over a muddy
channel or swamp, rather than a river. Soon after this they passed Maksura,
still keeping west, and slept one night in the jungle. They had been told
that the Mazitu were fighting in this part, but they had been so long near them
that Dr. Livingstone seemed not to regard it. This was to the men, but no doubt
he was aware that suddenly he might find himself face to face with them, as had
happened to us on a former occasion on Lake Nyassa, not far south of this very
place.

"The fatal attack occurred at 9 a.m. on the morning march. As to the
date it is doubtful. If the data such as I have been able to elicit, from a mass of
contradictory evidence, is to be relied on, it would be about the 15th of July;
not before then, but possibly, if there had been stoppages, of which no account
has been taken, as late as the end of that month. A great difficulty here occurs;
for, on reckoning back on the date of arrival of the Johanna men at Zanzibar,
we find a discrepancy of nearly a month unaccounted for. And whether this
is to be intercalated before or after the fight, I am as yet unable to determine;
but if the meeting with the Mazitu and Dr. Livingstone's death did not happen
in July, it must have been in the following month. As I was saying, about
9 a.m. on the morning's march, they found themselves traversing a plain
country, covered with grass as high as a man's waist, and abounding in low
bushes, with forest trees and dense wood at intervals, such, indeed, as is seen
a little further south, where the country is known. Livingstone led the way,
having next to him, as usual, the Zambesi boys and the Bombay educated
Africans, while Moosa, the head of the Johanna men, drew up the rear. As
Moosa is our only authority for what happened at this time, I may state that
he was about fifty yards behind Dr. Livingstone, when the boys passed the
word for the Doctor in front that the Mazitu were seen a little distance off.
On this he ran a little forward, having with him his loaded rifle. When he
had reached within ten paces of Dr. Livingstone, the Mazitu were near and

DR. KIRK'S REPORT. 3G3

charging, their heads dressed with feathers visible above the large Kaffre
shields of ox-hide. Their arms were spears and battle-axes.

" On seeing Dr. Livingstone and his boys with levelled muskets, they
checked their charge for a moment, and came on with a hissing sound when
they found they were not fired on. Dr. Livingstone then shot the foremost
man : he dropped dead. The others fired, and, as the smoke cleared away,
Moosa saw three men facing Dr. Livingstone. Moosa was at this time stand-
ing behind a tree, in order to fire. Seeing the Mazitu suddenly so close, lie
appears to have been panic-stricken. Dr. Livingstone had emptied his gun,
and was endeavouring to re-load, when faced by these three Mazitu, who cut him
down with a blow from a battle-axe, which severed the neck-bone, so that the head
dropped forward, and he fell instantly. What happened in the field after this
is unknown. Moosa ran off, and, having been behind, probably was unseen,
while the Mazitu attacked those who were with the Doctor and had fired.

"Moosa in his flight met his men; they had already heard the firing a
little way in front, and were prepared to throw down their loads and make
off. This they now did, and ran to a distance, where they hid themselves in the
bush. Near sunset they came out ; and, desirous of seeing if any of the loads
still remained, they stealthily approached the place. Finding nothing where
they had thrown them down, and seeing no one, they became bolder and
cautiously advanced, when they saw Dr. Livingstone's body stripped of all
but the trousers, and presenting one wound in the back of the neck. They
scraped a hole in the soil, and placed the body there, covering it over with
the earth. They did not stay longer; near Livingstone's corpse were the
bodies of two of the boys, which they recognised in the dim light by the
unragged trousers still on them. The corpses of two Mazitu lay near — it might
be twenty yards off — their shields by their sides, but their spears and axes had
been carried off. Nothing remained to bring away ; the Mazitu had taken all.
The nine Johanna men who had come back saw two boys dead. One Johanna
man, and all the Bombay and Zanzibar boys, are missing ; and there is little
chance that any one of them ever returns, taking as truth the statements
solemnly made by the Johanna man and his eight companions, who all declare
that, although, with the exception of Moosa, none saw Dr. Livingstone fall,
yet they assisted afterwards in depositing the body in a shallow grave.

" I shall not now follow in detail the narrative of the return journey. Dr.
Livingstone was gone ; it has, therefore, little interest. It was only a gang
of ignorant negroes, destitute of everything, and fearing every man they saw,
endeavouring first to avoid habitations, then joining a coast caravan, which
they met after crossing the lake at Kampunda. On the way to the coast at
Kilwa, the party was suddenly attacked by a band of Mazitu and dispersed.
Every one fled, the Johanna men now for the second time ; ivory and slaves
were abandoned, and left to the will of the dreaded marauders. No account

364 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

is given by the Johanna men of their having crossed the Rovuma on the return
journey ; but they crossed some river beds, at that time dry, with pools of water in
them. No doubt one of them was the Rovuma, which could be little more than as
described, in the dry season, before the junction of the Loendi, its chief supply.

" Thus has ended what at one time promised to be an expedition rich in
results, and we must pause again in the march of discovery, leaving the map
of Africa a disconnected string of lakes, every one of which is incompletely
gurveyed. Beginning at the north, the Victoria Nyanza is known only at its
north and south ends ; the intermediate coast on the west side has not been
seen, and the east is entirely hypothetical, beyond the simple fact that it must
have limits in that direction. As to the Albert, but a small part is known ;
and, like the Tanganyika, its north and south ends are as yet a blank. The
southern end, however, is now the only one of interest, on account of the
possibility of its uniting with the Tanganyika, and thus moving the Nile
sources far to the south, and proving the Portuguese who visited the Cazembo
to have been the first to reach them. I do not say that such a thing is pro-
bable ; I believe it is not. I suspect, however, that Dr. Livingstone was satisfied
the Nyassa did not extend far beyond where he crossed it, if indeed it was the
Nyassa that he passed over. His first object, and one of his chief aims, was to
determine the extent of the Nyassa westwards, and it is very improbable that
he would push on into an unknown and decidedly dangerous land beyond it,
leaving this important point unaccomplished. That it was the northern pro-
longation of the Nyassa I am decidedly inclined to believe ; for, firstly, the
general direction from Ngomana — which was west — would lead him there. It
could be none of the southern crossings by which he traversed the lake, for
indeed no part of the lake south of latitude 1 1° S. is shallow. Certainly nowhere
could it be crossed in canoes propelled by long bamboos. On the western side,
also, there are hills at all the crossings, except at Kota Kota, and there the
lake is wide. I believe that Dr. Livingstone first came upon the lake near
latitude 10* W., where the lofty mountains which were seen by us further south,
on both sides, have subsided. The precipitous rocky borders of tho Nyassa,
in latitude 1 1°, are too marked a f eature to escape the observations of the most
obtuse ; and the Johanna men all spoke of the land on both sides as flat, tho
shores sandy, and the water shallow. .

"Let me close this very hurried letter, impressing once more on you that
the information it contains is the result of an imperfect investigation ; much
has still to be elicited, much never will be known. If I disbelieved the story,
you know I would be the last to repeat it ; but I do think that substantially,
although not in detail, it is correct. " John Kirk."

On the 26th of January, 1867, Mr. Seward sent a despatch to the Foreign
Office, which greatly tended to the fostering of a hope that the great traveller
was not murdered, as had been so circumstantially asserted.

MORE HOPEFUL INTELLIGENCE. 365

" I have the honour," he says, " to inform you that, in pursuance of an
intention expressed in my last despatch, concerning the asserted death of Dr.
Livingstone, I have personally made inquiries amongst the traders at Kilwa
and Kiringi, and have gathered information there which tends to throw dis-
credit on the statement of the Johanna men, who allege that they saw their
leader dead.

" The evidence of the Nyassa traders strengthens the suspicion that these
men abandoned the traveller when he was about to traverse a Mazitu-haunted
district, and, for ought they knew to the contrary, Dr. Livingston may yet be
alive."

The foregoing are the most important of the many communications
regarding the reported death of Dr. Livingstone, read to the fellows of the
Royal Geographical Society at their meeting on the 25th of March, 1867, and
they have been selected for insertion here, because they give the best resume
of the tale told by Moosa and the other Johanna men.

That Livingstone should fall by the hand of violence in his efforts to
penetrate the interior of Africa was no unlikely circumstance, and the story
we have rehearsed above was so circumstantial in all its details that it was
a matter of no surprise that many should sorrowfully accept it as true. But
there were a good many of Dr. Livingstone's friends who declined to believe
that the great traveller was yet dead — chief of whom were Sir Roderick
Murchison, Messrs. E. D. Young, and Horace Waller.

After the letters from Mr. Seward and Dr. Kirk had been read, Sir
Roderick Murchison said that —

" He could not, as an old and dear friend of Livingstone, avoid clingin^
to the hope that he was still alive ; and that he might be at that very moment
on that Lake Tanganyika, which he had gone out to explore. If he only
succeeded in passing the narrow tract inhabited by the warlike Mazitu, he
would be comparatively safe, and so far from the lines of communication that
it would be impossible to hear of him for many months, except by the accident
of some Arab trader bringing down the intelligence to the coast. It was on
this account, and trusting to the last despatch from our Consul, officially
reporting what he had heard from Arab traders as to the untruthfulness of the
Johanna men, that he thought there might still be some hopes — he would not
say very sanguine hopes — that their illustrious friend was not dead. At
all events, they ought, before they decided, to have better evidence than that
of these men, all belonging to one tribe, and not, like the negro Africans,
attached to Livingstone, but only his baggage-bearers, and in the rear, and
who were described as a cowardly race. If any of these negroes, several of
whom were said to have escaped, had returned and told the story, they might
then believe it. And why should they not have returned, if their leader
was dead, as well as the Johanna men ? He thought it was their duty to

366 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

cling to the hope as long as they could, until some decisive evidence was
obtained."

Sir Samuel Baker, the great Nile traveller and discoverer of the Albert
Nyanza lake, and recently the leader of an expedition sent by the Viceroy of
Egypt into the interior of Africa to put down the Slave trade, said —

" The news of Livingstone's death lay so heavily upon his mind that he
could not speak of the lake system of Africa without first expressing his opinion
respecting the fate of the great traveller. From his personal experience in
Africa of nearly five years, he was compelled to differ in opinion from Sir
Roderick Murchison. For his part he felt perfectly certain, from the evidence
that had been laid before them, that they should see Livingstone's face no
more. To him, who knew the native character, which was the same — exceed-
ingly brutal and savage — throughout Africa, it was no wonder Livingstone
was killed : it was only a wonder that one man out of a hundred ever returned
from that abominable country. The death of Livingstone had given a check
to African exploration, and he felt perfectly convinced that for a long time to
come the centre of Africa would be closed to us. . . He felt certain that
no individual enterprise would ever open Africa, except to this extent — that
an unfortunate traveller, weary and toilworn, might return to the Geographical
Society, and state with all humility the little that he had done. "With regard
to Livingstone, he was perfectly convinced that, as Baron Von der Decken
and Dr. Roscher had been killed, and Mrs. Livingstone had left her bones in
Africa, so Livingstone had fallen a sacrifice; and although they could not
erect a monument to his memory on the place where he fell, yet his name
would live in their hearts as that of a man who had nobly done his duty."

Mr. Horace Waller said " he was with Dr. Livingstone many months in
Africa on the Shire river, and knew many of these people whose names had
been mentioned to the meeting. He had met men of the Mazitu tribe. They
are a terror to the Portuguese; and although Dr. Kirk imagined that they
crossed to the northward of the Zambesi forty years ago, he was led to believe
that the particular band, who were killing everybody right and left throughout
the country, only crossed in 1856. It had been stated in the public papers that
Dr Livingstone, before he struck the lake, had been in collision with the slave-
dealers. He had the pleasure of telling them, from letters he had received
within the last few days from Zanzibar, that Livingstone had not been in colli-
sion at all with the slave-dealers. As to Ali Moosa, he knew him very well ;
he was the head of these twelve Johanna men ; but he was thoroughly untruth-
ful, and would lie through thick and thin whenever it answered his purpose.
Moosa was a man he would not put confidence in at all. But Dr. Kirk had
been there : he knew Moosa, and he knew all the men, and he was the most
likely man of all who had been upon that coast to come to a sound conclu-
sion. He may say he placed faith in the sagacity of Dr. Kirk, and whatever

DOUBTS AS TO LIVINGSTONE'S DEATH. 367

opinion Dr. Kirk entertained with regard to the fate of Livingstone he must
entertain."

Captain Sherard Osborne said that — ■

"The fate of Livingstone at this moment was remarkably analagous to
that of Franklin in 1848. Franklin was missing, and there were plenty of
people ready to come forward and produce indubitable proofs that Franklin
had perished close to the threshold of his work. He and others doubted it
strongly ; but so fiercely was the question agitated that some of the best and
soundest authorities in this country were disposed to relinquish the idea of
Franklin's pushing forward then, as he believed poor Livingstone might be
pushing forward now. He held that they, as members of the Geographical
Society, should act upon the broad principle that, until they had positive
proof of the death of Livingstone, or any other explorer, it was their duty
not to cease their efforts to rescue them. If it were easy for the slave-trader
and the missionary to traverse Africa, he maintained that other men could
penetrate to Luenda and see if Livingstone had left that place in safety, and
bring back any papers he might have left there. If Livingstone had fallen,
he believed the efforts made to solve the mystery of his death would lead, in
all probability, to the clearing up of the mystery of the African lake regions,
just as the problem of the northern polar regions had been solved in the
search for Franklin."

Mr. Baines said, " as one who had been with Livingstone eighteen months
in Africa, he wished to bear testimony to his perseverance and ability as an
explorer. With regard to his reported death, he himself had been reported
dead, and in 1860 or 1861 it was stated that Dr. Livingstone had been
killed; but the editor of the Cape paper added very sensibly, that Dr. Miller,
who brought down the letters, had previously been reported dead, and had
come out alive." Mr. Baines said he did not give up hope ; at the same time
he had very great fear, founded on the conclusions Dr. Kirk had come to,
who would not be easily deceived by the natives."

The President, Sir Roderick Murchison, in concluding the discussion,
said he was glad to find that gentlemen well acquainted with parts of the
region recently explored, had, as well as himself, a hope that Livingstone
might be still alive. Although it was a ray of hope only, they would, he
was sure, agree with him that an expedition should be sent out to clear up
this painful question. Until that was done he should remain in doubt as to
the death of the great explorer.

Mr. E. D. Young, afterwards the leader of the Livingstone Search
Expedition, gave an equally indifferent account of the truth and honesty of
Moosa. He says : —

" I had previously a good experience of the salient points in the
character of the Mohammedans. It had fallen to my bad lot on a former

368 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

occasion to be brought into contact with just such practices in Moosa, head-
man for the nonce, as would stand him in good stead, supposing desertion,
pillage, and a plausible tale should ever suggest themselves to him as a way
out of a difficulty. He had served under me for a year on the river Shire,
and the tropical growth of rascality during an idle six months there (as
witnessed in him and his followers) was marked, but certainly not amusing.
The first canon in their creed was to lie; the second made stealing an honest
transaction towards their Christian neighbours. With consciences thus
pretty well fortified, these two laws were rigorously exercised amongst bead
sacks, calico bales, bundles of brass wire, rice bags, and beef casks, on
every available opportunity when my back was turned. It was no use
stopping their grog — that stern preventative measure with the ordinary Jack-
tar — for they drank none. A religion which winks at the above practices,
sneezes if the air brings upon it a whiff of anything so unlawful and unclean
as rum ! At my wits' end, I hit upon two expedients. Distance from their
home lent no aid to disenchant the visions of spotless purity in which the
faithful must indulge. If rum were loss of houris, jjork was simply destruc-
tion to all ideas of peace of mind. Now it so happened a pig was brought
to us one day at Ma Titti, where the Pioneer and her motley crew were lying
for six months. A fathom or two of cloth transferred to my possession a
nondescript beast, with bristles like cocoa-nut fibre brushed different ways,
and with teeth, legs, tail, and ears, tending to defy ought but the merest
semblance of things swine-like.

" Great was the dismay of Moosa and his companions when they saw a
small cabin fitted up in the bows, with a packing case or two, and some
handy spars, for our new acquisition. To stay in the same ship was
simply impossible to the followers of the Prophet. However, a compromise,
with a view to further business, was eventually come to. Piggy was on no
account to be suffered out of his sty, except at such times as the faithful
were safely on shore ; as long as they worked well so did the arrangement.
But things soon lapsed. Less work and more lying and stealing took the
place of the wholesome dread of being run up against by the unclean.

"Necessity is the mother of invention. So after the unusually success-
ful result in seeing how not to do things, one day I had eight bells struck,
and, as usual, the Johanna men got ready to dine on shore. What was their
dismay to hear the clatter of trotters, and in a moment the 'defiled' was
amongst the faithful ! Sauve qui pent was the order of the day. Piteous
appeals, to which hunger lent its zest at the accustomed dinner horn', was
showered down upon me from the rigging. ' Ah Misser Young, 'spose you
catch 'em porco, 'spose we work plenty.'

" On these conditions at last I relented, and for a time a mere glance of
my eye towards ' porco's ' sty was enough to get quite a paroxysm of work

JOHANNA VALUE OF LIFE. 369

out of them. Then this failed, and I had to resort to a still more persuasive
argument. The stealing was becoming past endurance. A culprit was
caught, and a long threatened operation (which for brevity's sake we will
call ' two dozen') was to be his lot, as soon as he was tied up and a proper
person found to administer the corrective. That a follower of the Prophet
should be struck by the 'Kaffre' was out of the question, and a loud protest,
founded on this theory, at last had its hearing. I relented, but a second
impossibility took its place. Still more unheard of was it that ' dog should
cat dog,' or Moslem thrash Mussulman ! However, of these two evils, the faith-
ful decided it was the least, not without a bias, as I discovered very soon.
The reason became aj)parent as the brotherly consideration which came to
the front in the attempt to mitigate, if not prevent, the flagellation. Moosa
himself consented to wield an irujjroniptu and very mild sort of 'cat.' I
had the culprit properly fastened to the rigging to receive his whipping, and
took my station to see it justly administered. All was ready ; Moosa, with a
stern sense of justice and self-sacrifice for principle's sake manifested on his
countenance, handled the ' cat ' in the most approved fashion. Great was
the preparation for the blow, and Ali Baba must evidently be cut in twain at
the first go off! Not so: the well feigned uplifted vengeance in the lash
came down to a modification in the fall, which left the tawny skin of the
marauder merely tickled. This would not do ; defeat was ruin, or at least
plunder more pertinacious than ever.

" Coming up behind M. Moosa with a rope's end, I told him that it was
evident he was at a loss to know exactly how hard he was to hit — an
excusable failing considering his scanty knowledge of plain English — and
I could furnish him with a simple but sure guidance. So it was 'Now Moosa'
(thwack) pass that on to AH Baba ! The result was marvellous, and although
Moosa never could exactly see why he could not pass on just what he received,
I broke up a cabal which made detection and punishment alike a burden to our
otherwise sorely tried life with these Johanna men."

The Johanna men, like all Mohammedans, showed themselves careless of
life and selfish to a degree. Mr. Charles Livingstone relates an incident
which occurred in the Zambesi illustrative of this : —

" Once, when they were all coming to the ship after sleeping ashore,
one of them walked into the water with the intention of swimming off to the
boat, and while yet hardly up to his knees, was seized by a horrid crocodile,
and dragged under ; the poor fellow gave a shriek, and held up his hand for
aid, but none of his countrymen stirred to his assistance, and he was never
seen again. On asking his brother-in-law why he did not help him, he
replied, ' Well, no one told him to go into the water. It was his own fault
that he was killed.' "

The grave doubts as to the truth of the Johanna men, expressed by
xl

370 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

men so competent to judge as to the value of their evidence, communicated
itself to the public, and within a very short space of time the hope was
generally current that their statements were unworthy of credence. On the
8th of April Sir Roderick Murchison intimated to a meeting of the Royal
Geographical Society that the Council had drawn up the following resolution
with regard to Dr. Livingstone : —

" The Council are of opinion that it is highly desirable that a tentative
expedition or expeditions should proceed, whether from Zanzibar to the head
of Lake Nyassa, or from the Zambesi to that point, with a view to ascertain
the fate of Dr. Livingstone ; and that the expedition committee be requested
to report upon the measures advisable to be adopted."

It was then resolved —

" That the President be requested to communicate this resolution to
Lord Stanley (then Minister for Foreign Affairs), with the expression of a
hope that Her Majesty's Government will see fit to adopt such measures as
may appear to them most conducive to the end in view, in which not only
geographers, but the public at large, take so deep an interest."

On the 27th of May Sir Roderick Murchison was in a position to intimate
that Her Majesty's Government had agreed to co-operate with the Royal
Geographical Society, and that an expedition was about to start for the
neighbourhood of Lake Nyassa, by way of the Zambesi, which would set at rest
all doubts as to the truth or falsehood of the Johanna men.

" In the meantime," he said, " not believing in the death of Livingstone,
on the sole testimony of one of the baggage-bearers who fled, and who has
already given different versions of the catastrophe, I am sure the Society and
the public will approve of the course I recommended, and in which I was
cordially supported by the Council, and, to their great credit, by Her
Majesty's Government — viz., to send out a boat expedition to the head of
Lake Nyassa, and thus ascertain the truth. If by this exhaustive search we
ascertain that, sceptical as we are, the noble fellow did fall at that spot where
the Johanna men said he was killed, why, then, alas ! at our next anniver-
sary it will be the sad duty of your President, in mourning for his loss, to
dwell upon the wondrous achievements of his life. If, on the contrary, we
should learn from our own envoys, and not merely from Arab traders, that
he has passed on into the interior (and this we shall ascertain in six or seven
months), why then, trusting to the skill and undaunted pluck of Livingstone,
we may feel assured that, among friendly negro tribes, who know that he is
their steadfast friend, he may still realise one of the grandest geographic
triumphs of our era, the connection of the great Tanganyika with the Nile
system.

"But even here I woidd have my countrymen, who are accustomed to
obtain rapid intelligence of distant travellers, not to despair, if they should

THE LIVINGSTONE SEARCH EXPEDITION. 371

be a year or more without any news of our undaunted friend. For, if ho
be alive, they must recollect that he has with him a small band of youthful
negroes, none of whom could be spared to traverse the wide regions between
Tanganyika and the coast. Until he himself reappears — and how long was
he unheard of in his first great traverse of southern Africa — we have, there-
fore, little chance of knowing the true result of his mission. But if, as I
fervently pray, he should return to us, with what open arms will the country
receive him ! and how rejoiced will your President be if he lives to preside
over as grand a Livingstone festival as he did when the noble and lion-hearted
traveller was about to depart on his second great expedition.

" The party which I have announced as about to proceed to Africa, to pro-
cure accurate information concerning Livingstone, will be commanded by Mr.
E. D. Young, who did excellent service in the former Zambesi expedition in
the management of the Nyassa river-boat. "With him will be associated Mr.
Henry Faulkner, formerly a Captain of H.M's. 17th Lancers, a young volun-
teer of great promise,* and three acclimatised men, Mr. J. Buckley, an old ship-
mate of Mr. Young's, and Mr. John Reed, a mechanic, and the other a seaman.
The expedition, I am happy to say, is warmly supported by Her Majesty's
Government, and the building of the boat is rapidly progressing under the
order of the Board of Admiralty.

"The boat will be a sailing one ; made of steel, and built in pieces, no one
of which will weigh more than forty pounds, so that the portage of the whole
by natives past the cataracts of the Shire will be much facilitated. The
Government have arranged for the transport of the party to the Cape, with the
boat and stores, by the African Mail Steamer, on the 9 th of next month (June).
Arrived there, one of the cruisers will take them to the Luabo mouth of the
Zambesi, where the boat will be put together, and the party, having engaged
a crew of negroes, will be left to pursue their noble and adventurous errand
by the Zambesi and the Shire, to the head of Lake Nyassa. On account of
the heavy seas which prevail on the western or leeward side of that lake, the
expedition will keep close to its eastward shore, hitherto unexplored, and it is
expected it will reach Kampunda, at the northern extremity, by the end of
October, and there ascertain whether our great traveller has perished as
reported, or has passed forward in safety through Cazembe to the Lake
Tanganyika."

At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on the 3rd of June, Sir
Roderick Murchison introduced Mr. Young and Mr. Faulkner to the meeting.
In the course of some remarks concerning the expedition of which he had
taken the command, Mr. Young said, that "he did not believe the report of
Moosa, the Johanna man, who had been under him nearly two years on the
Zambesi, and had shown himself to be totally untruthful."

* Mr. Faulkner wont out at his own cost.

372 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Mr. Petherick, the great Nile traveller, in the course of some remarks on
the expedition, said, "He entirely coincided with Sir Roderick Murchison in
disbelieving the report of Dr. Livingstone's death. Any man who had had a
lono- experience of the negroes of those districts would detect a falsehood on
the very face of the story that Moosa had told. It was too circumstantial for
a true account. His statement, that after the fight he returned with his com-
panions several hours afterwards, and found the bodies of Livingstone and
three or four of his companions on the ground unmolested, was so unlike the
usual mode of proceeding of these people, that it could not be correct. Every
African traveller knew that the trophy most prized by savages such as the
Mazitu, would be a portion of the body of the enemy they had slain ; and if
the poor Doctor had fallen, his body would have been cut up into as many
pieces as there were savages to be gratified. It was, he thought, to be deeply
regretted that the object of the expedition, now about to leave England, was
merely to ascertain the certainty of the fate of Dr. Livingstone, and was on
so small a scale as to preclude it from the possibility of affording the illustrious
traveller, should he be in life, that relief of which he might be in need. He,
himself had been in his late journey in a similar strait, and had he not most
fortunately obtained supplies from one of the trading stations, he and his party
must have succumbed."

On the 25th of November letters were read from H.M.'s Consul at
Zanzibar, H. A. Churchill, and Dr. Kirk, that they had heard from a native
trader just returned from Central Africa, that a white man had been seen in
the country of Marungo, near the town of the head chief Katumba,* and that
they had hopes that this white man was none other than Dr. Livingstone.
Early in December a letter was received by Mr. Webb of Newstead Abbey
from Dr. Kirk, which may be said to have satisfied the public that Dr.
Livingstone was alive and pushing on towards the north. Dr. Kirk says : —

" The interesting discovery that a white man had been seen seven months
ago to the south of Lake Tanganyika, induced Mr. Churchill, the Consul, and
myself, to go to Bagamoyo, a place on the coast, the point of arrival and
departure of the Ujiji caravans. The result of our visit has been to find two
other men who also saw the wanderer in the interior at Marunga, and to place
his existence beyond a doubt. We have also learned something about hia
personal appearance, his escort, and the route he was taking ; and have been
told that letters were given to one of the headmen of another caravan that
was at Marunga. This man, we have since been told, is a well-known man ;
so that on his arrival from the interior, expected in the course of a month, we
may not only have our curiosity satisfied, but I sincerely hope our best wishes

*It was in this district, and near Katumba's town, that the great traveller died, about six years
after liis first appearance there.

LIVINGSTONE'S SAFETY ASSURED. 373

for our dear friend Livingstone realized. I hope we shall find that he has
been successful, and is pushing his way to the Albert Nyanza, thence to
emerge via the Nile, on the Mediterranean. He will have been the first man
who has not only crossed the continent, but has passed through the whole
length of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope to the mouth of the Nile. But
the essential part of his work will have been done before he reaches the Nile,
and he may safely return towards Zanzibar, if so minded, with laurels suffi-
cient to constitute liim the greatest of all explorers, and the African traveller
par excellence. You see I am very sanguine that our friend is still alive. The
manner in which we obtained the testimony was very satisfactory. In the
first place, I picked up the news amongst the native traders. I then addressed
the caravan people, and drew out their story while they were unsuspicious of
its interest, so that neither Hindee traders nor Suaheli men had an object to
tell lies, nor any idea how to act if they wished merely to please. Besides,
our conversation was carried on without an interpreter, and, although making
no pretence to a full knowledge of the language, I knew quite sufficient to
be able to express myself, and dispense with that feeble source of conference,
an interpreter. With the prospect of letters froin Livingstone so near, we may
well refrain from all speculation on the subject of his geographical discoveries."

The reports recorded by Dr. Kirk in the above were further confirmed
from other sources, and by the time that the Search Expedition under the
command of Mr. E. D. Young returned with the intimation that the story of
Ali Moosa was a fabrication, concocted by him to screen the desertion of him-
self and the other Johanna men, the public were in the daily expectation of
hearing from Dr. Livingstone himself. Mr. Young and Mr. Faulkner made
their report to the Royal Geographical Society on the 27th of January, 1868.
Unfortunately Sir Roderick Murchison was not present at the meeting on
account of illness.- He addressed a letter to the Members of the Society, in
which he said, with justifiable pride, that his "friends of the Geographical
Society will recollect that, from the first, I expressed my belief that the
Johanna men had deserted Livingstone, and had concocted a false and wholly
incredible account of his death. I subsequently gave as an hypothesis of
their reasons for deserting that they were coast-men, and acquainted only
Avith the Zambesi and its tributaries ; and that when their chief decided upon
plunging into the heart of Africa, they fled from him; and, indeed, they
assigned as their motive to the native chief, to whom they told the truth, that
it was fear which prevailed on them. Had they only re-told this story to the
Consul at Zanzibar, what sufferings of the friends of Livingstone would they
not have averted, instead of bringing on themselves the execrations of every
one ! I hope some measures will be taken to make these wretches feel that,
in reporting to British authorities, they must speak the truth."

The public waited with impatience for news from the great traveller

374 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

himself. He had been so long lost in unknown and untrodden regions, that
they looked forward to a stirring narrative of new countries, new peoples,
and strange adventures, equal to that with which he had treated them after
his famous march across Africa in company with the Makololo men. A higher
feeling than mere curiosity was at work in the public mind. The series of
remarkable explorations in Africa, commencing with that of Livingstone in
the south, in 1849, and ending with the discovery of the Albert Nyanza Lake
by Samuel Baker, had kept that vast continent constantly in the foreground
as a scene of discovery, and the great explorer was known to be approaching
the ground so recently travelled by Speke, Grant, Burton, and Baker, the
great explorers of the north and east. The mysterious heart of Africa was
fast giving up its secrets, and few doubted but that the indefatigable Living-
stone would pass through the as yet unknown lands that lay between the
country of Cazembe, and the great lake region of Speke and Baker. The Nile,
Avhich had been a mystery since the earliest dawn of civilization, had been
traced further and further to the south, and Livingstone, who had passed far
to the north of the watershed of the Zambesi, was in the Hue of march which,
if successfully prosecuted, must solve the mystery of its source and its annual
floods. How he was to be thwarted and turned aside through the bungling
carelessness of those responsible for the sending of his supplies, and how death
at last was to intervene between him and the full accomplishment of his work,
were unthought of possibilities in the joy at finding that he was alive and well;
but they were doomed within a few short years to be the subject of bitter re-
flection to millions throughout the globe.

CHAPTER XVII.

The Livingstone Search Expedition under Mr. E. D. Young. — Departs for South
Africa. — Ascends the Zambesi and the Shire. — Hears of the Safety of Living-
stone.— Returns to England. — Letters from Dr. Livingstone. — Death of Dr.
Livingstone again reported, etc., etc.

WE proceed to give a brief account of the " Livingstone Expedition and
its results." Mr. Young and his companions reached Table Bay on the
12th of July, 1867. The Rev. Mr. Lightfoot, who had taken charge of the
forty-two natives brought from the Shire valley by Dr. Livingstone and Mr.
Waller in 1864, recommended two of their number to act as interpreters to the
expedition, and make themselves otherwise useful. The names of the two
were Chinsoro (the friend of Wekotani) and Sinjeri. The former had been
befriended by Dr. Dickinson, of the Oxford and Cambridge Mission ; and the
latter had been at the same time a servant to Mr. Horace Waller. Both of
them had been rescued from slavery.

H.M.S. Petrel, Captain Gordon, conveyed the expedition to the Kongone
mouth of the Zambesi, which they reached on the 25 th of July. Speaking of
the scene presented to their gaze, Mr. Young says : —

" There is something very singular about the embouchures of African rivers.
At first sight the long dark avenues of mangrove trees, through which the
channels discharge their waters, do away with the idea of solitude. It seems
as if the hand of man had been at work. The trees appear to have been
trimmed to a level at the top, and they overhang the rivers far too methodi-
cally to impress the mind with the utter loneliness that really haunts such
localities. The first impression is anything but disagreeable, and not a fair
introduction to the vastness and grandeur of the interior country. The
Zambesi, it must be remembered, enters the sea by a great variety of channels.
It has ceased to exist as a river some forty miles above the sea. The waters
of one of the grandest streams imaginable find their way as best they can to
the ocean, where they become entangled in the swampy delta which lies between
its broad channel and the sea.

" The full desolation of the scene is withheld till one sees a canoe stealing
along under the shadow of the overhanging trees. Black in colour, manned

376 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

by two or even one dark crouching form, frightened at the appearance of the
.stranger, it seems as if the denizens of such a wilderness were ashamed to he
found there — as if it were an intrusion on a solitude which is too real. To
confirm this the traveller has but to set foot amongst the mangroves ; all the
outward trim order vanishes in an instant. It is a deceitful garb of green,
hung over a tangle of poles — living, dying, and dead — which stick out of a
sickening, filthy mud bed, defying the searcher to venture many yards.

Passing up the river deserted houses on every side told that the hold of
the Portuguese in the country had become most precarious. At Shupanga they
picked up a native who had been one of the crew of the Pioneer. His English
name was John Gaitty. His delight at seeing Mr. Young was most unbounded,
and he very willingly agreed to join the party. Mr. Faulkner and Mr. Young
visited Mrs. Livingstone's grave under the large Baobab tree at Shupanga,
and several of Mr. Young's old comrades on the Shire " fetched their hoes and
cleared all. the grass away from it for us." The greatest respect seemed to be
shown for the memory of one so dear to a man whose fame is fair and clear
both to friend and former foe wherever our steps lead us. . . Before start-
ing I saw to the plastering and white-washing of the tomb, and having paid
the men who performed this duty, we started up the river."

At Senna the ruin which had befallen the Portuguese settlements afforded
Mr. Young the subject for wise reflections. He says: —

" In former times it was tenanted by a little group of slave and ivory
dealers, Senhor Ferrao standing out in bold relief for his well-known hos-
pitality to all comers, and his universal goodness to his slaves. We were
grieved to hear he was no more, but his son received us most hospitably.
From him we gathered that the Landbeen Kaffres had not only destroyed the
once important town of Tete on the right bank of the river above us, but that
they had also killed one hundred and thirty of the European convict troops
and three officers, taking the Governor prisoner into the bargain. Sorry as
we naturally felt for the loss of life, it was a source of gratification to learn
that this nucleus of infamy had at last been done away with.

" Tete had hitherto been the great head-quarters of a slave traffic which
had brought desolation into the country in which we were about to travel.
From this land, to the north of Tete, women and children were collected, no
matter at what cost of life and bloodshed, to be transported to the tribes on
the south of the Zambesi, in exchange for ivory. These tribes to whom they
were thus sold as slaves, had been so long at war that hardly any but the fighting
men remained. The traders' ready sagacity saw that, instead of paying enor-
mous import duties on calico, beads, muskets, etc., if they could only collect
these poor things instead, and make barter goods of them, all such drawbacks
would be avoided. Livingstone's discoveries, his free roamings through the
Shire uplands, his reports of a teeming population, industrious and peaceable,

A MARSH SCENE. 377

first furnished the desired hunting ground for the Tete men. . . The
whole country was laid waste, tribe was set against tribe, the strong sided
with the strong against the weak, the captives were bought at a price varying
from two to five yards of calico a-piece, and the population had thus become
exterminated in the hills."

Two years previous to the visit of Mr. Young's party, the Zambesi and
its tributaries had come down in unusual flood — the former river forcing a
passage for the bulk of its waters across country to the Shire, which they
reached twenty miles from its mouth. Two guides having been procured who
were acquainted with the new channel, Mr. Young determined to pass through
it to the Shire. Once fairly into the channel the perils of its navigation
presented themselves when it was too late to turn back. " Our boats," Mx.
Young says, "were hurried along like leaves in a mill race, and to stop was
impossible. The first part lay through trees, and the danger of being dashed
against ' snags' was every moment recurring. There was nothing to do but
' carry on,' although it felt more like being in a railway train than a boat :
once only did we receive a bad bump, and most fortunately it neither capsized
nor stove us. This headlong career kept on till we made a large open space,
and we were very glad to cast anchor on a sandbank for the night."

The channel widened into a marsh, through which the navigation was
most intricate and difficult. The abundance of animal and plant life in this
marsh called forth his admiration and wonder : —

" The plentiful supply of water, the rank vegetation for cover and food,
and the patches of forest, afford all that the antelope tribe and the large game
of Africa require. Elephants, rhinoceros, and buffalo, are very plentiful,
whilst water-buck, zebra, and numerous other animals, stray about in mixed
herds. . . Acres of azure-blue lilies hide the water in places, and for the
moment deceive the eye which has acknowledged, day by day, the similar
hue above. Hollyhocks and convolvuli are amongst the reeds ; the palm
tree's stateliness, and the acacia's blossom, are things that fix themselves in
the mind ; the mists are whiter, the cries of the birds wilder, the largeness
larger, and the stillness of the dawn more still upon these lagoons than any-
where else. All nature by concert seems to acknowledge the reign of stillness,
knowing that sound travels so easily and swiftly over water and through white
fog. Rarely is silence broken, and then only by sounds which utter allegiance
to the scene. It is the lion's roar before the dawn, the hippopotamus' trumpet
vibrating over the glassy expanse of water as day breaks, and the shriek as
from another world of the fish-hawk — these sounds are allowable and allowed
in the Shire marshes. The report of a gun is sacrilege ; a bird's song would
be destruction. By the pools stand white ghostly-looking bitterns, bleached
for night, whose very lustreless eyes seem swollen to perpetual silence : they
rise from the sedge in flakes ; they slide a few boat-lengths over the water,
y 1

378 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and then settle down again, lifeless and alone. Myriad strings of geese move
twice a-day, when the scene-shifting must be done — that is, when sun rises
and sun sets — but they do it as noiselessly as they can. Troops of pelicans
pass here and there, quartering the heavens into long lines with the geese, but
no noise comes from them — they never move again when once they alight
unless disturbed, for all and everything must help to keep all still."

The fish-hawk of these regions attracts the attention and admiration of
all travellers. Dr. Livingstone perpetually alludes to it in his writings. Mr.
Young speaks of it as the presiding genius of the water-courses. " It is im-
possible," he says, " ever to forget his weird, impressive cry as he flies on and
on ahead. . . Nothing catches the eye so quickly as his large, snow-
white head and beautiful chocolate-coloured wings, which at their full expanse
measure between six and seven feet. He may be seen soaring over the water,
now throwing back his head to give his wild laugh, which rings from rock to
rock, and anon dashing down into the water to seize a fish. When this is
secured with his talons, he either flies off with it to a sand-bank, or if, as
sometimes happens, it becomes a question of mere strength which shall con-
quer, he will consent to be dragged along the surface till he can at last make
sail again, and lead his tired captive to a shoal place."

On the Shire Mr. Young met with a singular superstition. On the
extreme peak of the Kolubvi hills a woman is incarcerated in a hut, and the
natives resort to her to listen to her ravings, which they believe to have a
divine origin. The original occupant of the hut was the wife of a distinguished
Manganja chief, who was supposed by his followers to be a spirit. After his
death he spoke to them through a prophetess, who is constantly being re-
newed, as the solitary vigil on the hill-top generally renders the post vacant
every year or two. As any female member of the tribe is eligible for the
office of " prophetess," great is the consternation " when it is known that
'Zarima's' life has fled from the hill-top."

Near the junction of the Ruo and the Shire, and close by the last scene
in the life of Bishop Mackenzie, the party encountered a large body of natives,
who loudly expressed their delight at once more meeting with the " English."
"Nearing Chibisa's, every yard renewed old recollections, and a little further
on we encountered a well-known face — there stood one of our old comrades,
the Makololo ! The news spread from village to village like wildfire : ' The
English ! the English ! ' "

" We found a very large population where we had left a scanty one.
The whole place was in an uproar. Crowd after crowd came to the bank
of the river, and the shouting, dancing, and clapping of hands, told its own
tale. It was a welcome although a deeply thoughtful moment. What had
been done — what might still be done with such good feeling as a ground-
work ? Arrived at Chibisa's it seemed as if all the surrounding country had

ENGA G1NG NA Tl YE BE A RERS. 379

gathered together to greet us. The people rushed into the river to drag our
boats to shore, calling out continually, ' Our fathers, the English, are come
again! Here is Mr. Young! Mr. Young! Mr. Young!' They were wild
with delight."

When the Makololo were all assembled together, Mr. Young explained
to them the purpose of their journey, and asked them if they would join him.

" They answered me," says Mr. Young, " through their chief Malako, in
the quaint and perfect form with which a savage addresses his hearers in
council assembled. ' Mr. Young, Narki (the name by which Dr. Livingstone
goes among the Makololo) was our father ; and you who were out here with
him, behaved well to us during your former stay. You are as our father now,
and we will go anywhere with you, and do anything you wish us to do.' I
stated my conditions in plain terms to them. They replied : ' You may give
us what you please ; only tell us what to do.' "

At Ma-Titi, the commencement of the Murchison cataracts, the party
built a hut to contain their stores, and, taking the steel boat to pieces, made
arrangements for the tedious land journey of sixty miles to the clear water
beyond. The engaging of native bearers to carry the pieces of their steel
boat and other impedimenta was a work to try the patience of the calmest-
tempered mortal.

"Any one," says Mr. Young, "who has had to do with the natives, can
picture to himself some portion of the task that met me next niornin"\ It
would be an interesting problem to solve, whether an African really ever did
think he had justice shown him when it came to carrying a certain burden
for a certain wage. There lies the load, and up stands the stalwart form
by its side. Then comes the question, ' Two yards of calico ? ' Impossible !
Why nothing would justify him in shouldering it, or rather heading it for
that A long haggle succeeds, for it is the prominent feature throughout the
length and breadth of the land to lose no opportunity of indulging in this in-
satiable habit ; finally, a few more inches concludes a bargain which seems
irrevocable.

"But it now occurs to our worthy, for the first time, that he will raise the
load at his feet, and feel its weight : what contortions ! what squeaks of sur-
prise! ' Why one would think the M'Sungi (white man) wished to kill him.'
' No, never ! he is dead already if he has to convey such a load as that the
length of his nose.' Another wrangle succeeds, and another three or four
inches of calico makes the package appear full of corks, whereas it might have
been supposed to contain cannon-balls ten minutes before. This sort of work
docs not grow on one by repetition : multiply it by, say, a round hundred,
and then a tolerable notion may be conceived of what it is to get all in order
for the march."

Two Krumen were left in charge of the hut and the other boats until the

380 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

return of the party, and these were strengthened by the addition of Buckley,
the seaman, after the party had passed the cataracts, and put the Search
together, and launched her on the Shire once more. The passage of the
cataracts was accomplished in four days, during which time they came in con-
tact with very few natives. They had nearly all been swept away — killed or dis-
persed by the slave parties. Nothing was left to show where a teeming and
happy population had existed only a few years before save the ruins of their
huts, and the skeletons of the slain bleaching in the sun and rain.

The natives they encountered were in dread of an attack from the Mazitu
or the Ajawa. The former were ravaging the country to the eastward of the
Shire and Lake Nyassa, and the latter were devastating the country to the
west. The toil of the journey was very severe on account of the heat, and
nothing but the abundance of animal food provided by Mr. Faulkner's gun
could have induced the natives to maintain the rate of travel they accom-
plished. The country they passed through, if difficult of travel, was magnifi-
cent. On the second day they passed a waterfall known as Tenzani, which
Mr. Young says, as a waterfall, " is worth going from England to see. Of
great height, even at this time of the year, the volume of water which pours
through its zig-zag channel, and then over a sheer cliff, is magnificent. What
a spectacle it must be in the rainy season, when the flood rises certainly a
hundred feet in the gorge at Patamanga, and pours through a narrow cleft !
It must be one of the sights of the world. We were able to notice that there
is this extraordinary increase in the flood when the rains come, by roots and
debris left fully the height I have named above the ordinary level. Most
singularly we discovered, perched up at a great elevation, an English oar,
rotten and worm-eaten. The readers of the ' Zambesi and its Tributaries '
will recollect the occasion of Dr. Livingstone losing his boat, oars, and gear
in 1863, amongst these cataracts. This was a relic of the accident which the
flood had placed in its own niche to commemorate some of the difficulties of
the explorer's life."

While putting the boat together, on the 29th of August, the party were
informed by some natives that a white man had been seen some time ago in
Pamalombi, a small lake on the Shire, not far below its outlet from Nyassa.
This traveller had a dog with him, and he had left there to go further in
a westerly direction 1 What could this mean ? Launching the Search on the
Shire, they started for Lake Nyassa, the natives coming to the shore in hun-
dreds to gaze upon them, and warn them of the bloodthirsty Mazitu who,
they said, were in front. These reports being reiterated at every stopping
place, even the courage of the Makololo failed, and it was with great difficulty
they could be got to go forward. On one occasion an immense concourse of
spectators stood waiting their approach upon the right bank of the river.
Most of them were armed with spears and bow and arrows, and seemed deter-

LIVINGSTONE'S TRAIL STRUCK. 381

mined on hostilities. They had taken the Search party for a band of Mazitu,
and when they learned that there were English on board, they became most
friendly.

On the shores of Lake Nyassa they heard of Dr. Livingstone having been
seen, and the party had to come to the conclusion that " all previous calcula-
tions, all those shrewd ponderings and siftings of evidence at the Geographical
Society were put an end to by the simple narrative that fell from the lips of
a poor native." Landing in a small bay on the east shore of Nyassa, they were
hospitably received by a party of natives. The headman advanced and
asked them if they had seen the Englishman who had been there some time
previous. In reply to the questions of Mr. Young, they got a most accurate
description of Dr. Livingstone, his apparel, etc. ; the well-known naval cap
which he wore being graphically described. In describing the boxes the
Englishman had with him, the headman said —

" There was one, a little one; in it there was water which was white;
when you touched it by placing your finger in it, ah ! behold it would not
wet you, this same white water : I lie not."

Q. " What was it for — what did the Englishman do with it ? "
A. "He used to put it down upon the ground, and then he took a thing
in his hand to look on the sun with."

Q. " Now show me what you mean ; how did he do this ? ''
This brought out all the singular capability of the savage for pantomimic
illustration. The old chief gravely took up a piece of stick, and his actions,
as he imitated a person taking observations with the sextant's artificial horizon
(which I may explain to my less experienced readers, is a small square trough
of mercury — the white water), could not have been surpassed. The gravity
with which he stretched his feet apart and swayed himself backwards to look
up at the sun along his piece of stick, and then brought it down to a certain
point, was a masterpiece of mimicry. It is a quality among all savages, and
a most amusing half-hour can at any time be got out of them by exercising
it. To ask them to describe a hunting scene was a favourite plan ; thoy will
imitate the gait of every animal in a manner which would convince a European
he had everything to learn in the way of catching salient points and represent-
ing them truthfully."

As the natives here remembered the names of Chumah, Wekatoni, and
Moosa, and gave an accurate account of the other members of Livingstone's
party, there could be no doubt that they had only to follow up his line of
march to learn the truth or falsehood of Moosa's story. At another native
settlement a chief appeared, holding in his hand a small English Prayer Book.
Striking the trail of Dr. Livingstone on the western shore of the lake, they
found that, at a place called Paca homa, Moosa and his companions had not
been of the party. The work they had come so far to accomplish was all

382 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

but completed. Here they were informed that he had gone into the Babisa,
or Bisa country. At Marenga's village, " a black mass of heads stood far and
wide on the shore to witness our approach. I stood up in the bow of the boat,
and, taking off my cap to show them that I was not an Arab, I called out that
we were English, who were about to visit the chief. This caused the most
friendly demonstration of hand-clapping and gesticulating, and our reception
was as warm as if we had landed at Plymouth, instead of at a village on this
far lone lake in Africa, all but unknown even in name. We landed, and on
making our request to see Marenga, we were conducted by one of his wives
to the old chief's hut."

"I found myself in the presence of a fat, jovial-looking old fellow, the
very picture of good living and good humour. Without further to do he seized
me by the hand, and shook it most violently, clearly demonstrating, not only
his respect for my countrymen, but also for their mode of salutation. This
ended, he asked me at once if I had brought his old friend, the other English-
man, with me. On hearing that he was not with us, and that, on the contrary,
our object was to learn what had become of him, the old fellow very frankly
volunteered all the information in his power."

The information Mr. Young received from Marenga was to the effect that
Dr. Livingstone had stayed a day in his village, and that two days after his
departure Moosa and his companions had returned to his village, giving the
following as their reasons for having deserted him : —

" They were merely Arabs," said they, "who had come across Living-
stone in his wanderings, and had consented to help him in his undertaking ;
but really there must be a limit to all things, and as they knew he was about
to enter a very dangerous country, they were not justified in further indulging
their disinterested natures in assisting a traveller, and having, as it were, torn
themselves away from him with reluctance, they must get back to the coast."

Further, Marenga informed him that if anything had happened to Dr.
Livingstone, even at a long distance to the north, he would have heard of it,
as he had tidings of his well-being for a month's journey from his village.

This Marenga was a character, and he and his surroundings were a sub-
ject of interest and amusement to Mr. Young. He was originally from the
Babisa country, and had travelled a great deal in his youth. Gathering around
him a band of experienced natives, he settled on the coast of the lake, and
did a large trade in slaves and ivory with Kilwa, Ibo, and Mozambique.

" With great satisfaction," says Mr Young, " he introduced me to forty
of his young wives, who, although not fair, and far under forty in years in
any case, were as sleek as good living and pombi drinking could make them.
Their reverence for their liege lord was excessive, and he could not stir with-
out his least want or wish being anticipated by one or other of them. Marenga
had led a hard life in his younger days, and had travelled far and wide j now

A JOLLY OLD CHIEF. 383

he was determined to take it easily, and drink pomli to his heart's content.
This latter determination engrossed the whole attention of more than one
dusky Hebe, and the quantity the attractive damsels succeeded in getting
their spouse to imbibe was astonishing. One device certainly never struck
me before, and it is, I am afraid, too late to put it on record, now that the
good old days are gone. It consists in tickling the patient when he has had
quite enough to be good for him. In Marenga's case the operation seemed to
answer the purpose of getting far more into him than was possible by other
means, and his sober moments were anxiously looked for by us during our
stay ; the tickling was anything but to our fancy. However, in his better
moods, he was confidential to a degree."

Marenga consulted Mr. Young about a gun he had which was clothed
with charms outwardly, and stuffed with them inwardly to a degree which
would have made it a serious matter for the person who might attempt to fire
it off. Mr. Young proceeded to unload the weapon, and drew out of it a most
heterogeneous collection of materials.

" First and foremost out came about three or four inches of stringy bark,
very much like oakum, then a plug of iron, then a conglomeration which I
was gravely told was powerful medicine, but which required a pharmacopoeia
the most uncanny to elucidate. At a venture, I should say it consisted of
brains (most likely human), snakes' skins, and castor oil made into a kind of
ointment, and, for effect's sake coloured with red ochre. Then came another
layer of bark oakum, and, astern of all, about a handful of coarse blasting
powder ; a doze, in fact, that was more fitted for a cannon than a musket.
' It's sure to kill some one,' said Marenga, looking gravely at me, and I quite
concurred in the notion. Natives, as a rule, have no idea of the strength of
powder, and it is very common to see the protuberance of a badly united frac-
ture of the collar-bone, where a load of this kind has upset the unfortunate
artillery-man head over heels, shattering at times his hands and the heads of
the bystanders."

" . . Surely if there be a representative still living of old King Cole,
he exists in our worthy host ! Such a place for drumming and singing I never
heard of. The first law of his court was, that the sound of singing should
never be out of his ears, wherever he happened to be, and there seemed no
chance of a repeal the whole time we were there. On the 20th of September,
after getting the latitude of Marenga's village, we bade adieu to the old fellow
and his forty wives. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, he happened to
be very drunk at the time. In one way we were lucky, for no delay took
place for either parting cup or parting present. During his more sober mo-
ments in the morning, he gave us a very nice ox, which came in most accept-
ably."

As they had satisfactorily established the falsehood of Moosa's story, the

384 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

object of the expedition was accomplished. In sailing down the lake the
party encountered several of the tremendous storms for which it is famous.
They landed at Mapunda, which is the village in which, according to Moosa,
he and his followers were robbed and ill-treated. The chief was unfortunately
from home, but the party were hospitably entertained by his mother. Here
they learned that Wekatoni, who found some of his relatives in the village,
elected to remain in spite of the persuasions of Dr. Livingstone. Unfor-
tunately the lad was not then at the village, but the natives brought Mr.
Young " a small book "Wekatoni had left at his hut, called ' The First
Footsteps in the way of Knowledge.' The lad's name is written in it : ' This
book belongs to Wekatoni, Bombay, 15 December, 1864,' and there are other
schoolboy-scribblings also. I had it replaced by my Bible, and it was with
pleasure I gave it, on my return to England, to one who had stood by when
Wekatoni saw the white man for the first time, and gave his footsteps free-
dom by cutting the slave's thongs from the lad's limbs in years gone past,
upon the Manganja hills."

Mr. Young left a letter for Wekatoni, telling him the reports which had
been circulated as to the death of Dr. Livingstone, and the reason for his
journey, and pleaded with him to make his way to Kilwa or Mozambique, and
place himself once more within the pale of civilization. As yet there has
been no response to this appeal, and no European has been in the lake region
who could bring any tidings as to his future fate. The mother of Ma-
punda treated the party with great hospitality, and solemnly denied that
Moosa and his companions had either been robbed or ill-treated in the
village. Her manner of doing this is worthy of note : —

"Standing erect in the middle of her assembled people, she stooped and
picked up a handful of sand, and then, looking up to the sky, and again
down to the ground, she slowly let it trickle from her hand, and with all tho
solemnity of a heavy oath, declared that every word was utterly false ; and
I believed her. She was certainly the most remarkable native woman I had
ever come across, and the respect shown for her by all her people was
profound."

But for the dread of the Mazitu Mr. Young would have thoroughly ex-
amined the north end of Lake Nyassa, but the Makololo were in terror of
their cutting them off from their settlement near Chibisa's, and he was re-
luctantly compelled to start at once on his homeward voyage. On the return
their boat nearly came to grief from a hippopotamus. " We had struck him
on the head with a rifle ball, and his struggles were tremendous. All we
could do to keep him from getting under the boat seemed useless, and the
blows dealt to our steel vessel shook her from stem to stern. Had it been a
smaller boat, or one less strongly built, we should have been upset and
smashed to pieces."

HIPPOPOTAMI HUNTERS. 385

At Ma Titi they remained for a short time to recover from the fatigues
of the land journey, and here one of the party had a narrow escape from a
crocodile. Mr. Young says, " I have alluded before to the extreme audacity
of the crocodiles. As our men were standing on the shore, a few yards from
the river, to their dismay a huge crocodile rushed from the water open-
mouthed at them. Most fortunately, the man at whom he darted had his
rifle in his hand, and literally drove a ball through its head at his very feet."
The same man, John Gaitty, was tossed and terribly mauled by an elephant
further down the Shire, and notwithstanding that several of his ribs were
broken and he was otherwise dreadfully bruised, he recovered. Near Malo
they came upon a party of hippopotami hunters called Akombwi, and ai'rivcd
just in time to see a most exciting display of their courage and skill in cap-
turing these denizens of the Shire marshes. " There were not less than twenty
harpoons sticking into a half-grown hippopotamus, and his exertions to tear
himself away from the men who were hauling him bodily ashore was truly
frightful. To add to the effect, another huge animal, exasperated at his
sufferings, dashed boldly in and crushed up one of the canoes as if it had
been a bundle of matches."

" I do not know that there is anything in the way of sport that requires
such consummate corn-age and coolness as their mode of hunting. The
hunter has to trust entirely to his activity with the paddle to escape the claws
of the animal, and a touch from the monster upsets the frail canoes as easily
as a skiff would be capsized by a touch from a steamer. It requires, in fact,
that the harpooner should keep his balance exactly as he stands in the bow
of his long slim canoe, and that during the utmost excitement. The moment
the weapon is lodged in the hippopotamus, he has to sit down, seize his paddle,
and escape, or he is instantly attacked ; nor is the next stage of proceedings
less fraught with danger.

"It now becomes necessary to get hold of the pole, which floats on the
water ; the iron head of the harpoon, which has come out of its socket, re-
mains attached to this pole by a long and very strong rope. The hunter
hauls upon this till he knows that the hippopotamus is under water, just ' up-
and-down' beneath his canoe. To feel for the moment when the line suddenly
slackens — a sure sign he is rising to the surface — and to prepare to deliver
another harpoon the instant his enormous jaws appear with a terrible roar
above water within a few feet of him, is about as great a trial of nerve as
can very well be imagined. Constantly are the canoes crushed to atoms.
The only escape then is to dive instantly, and gain the shore by swimming
under water, for the infuriated animal swims about looking on the surface
for his enemies, and one bite is quite enough to cut a man in two. When I
add, where the presence of blood in the water is the sign for every crocodile
within hail to lick his lips and make up stream to the spot, I am sure it rc-
zl

38G LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

commends itself as a sjDort to the most enthusiastic canoer in England, or the
most blase sportsman, who had ' done all that sort of thing and got sick of it,'
in the common routine of English sports. The Akombwi will show him
more pluck in half-an-hour, and more exercise of muscle, brain, and nerve,
than in any sport I ever saw.

" As a race the men are magnificent. To watch the evolutions of their
canoes, as they pass and repass over the deep pools in which hippopotami lie,
is a very beautiful sight. Each canoe is manned by two men, and the har-
pooner's attitude, as he stands, erect and motionless, with the long weapon
poised at arm's length above his head, would make the painter or sculptor
envious of a study. Hard exercise and activity develop every muscle, and
the men, as a rule, have the most magnificent figures. They are as generous
as they are brave. They lead a wonderful life, living mostly on the rivers,
establishing villages for a year or two in one place or another, where
families build huts and cultivate a patch of ground. The flesh of the hip-
popotami they kill is always eagerly exchanged for grain by the natives
along the river, and the curved teeth, the hardest of all ivory, find a ready
market with the Portuguese."

Before leaving the Shire, Mr. Young visited the graves of Bishop
Mackenzie and his brave companions, and reverently renewed them. They
found that the natives had treated them as sacred. Arrived at Shupanga,
he paid off his native crew who had been with him three months. Early
in November the party dropped down to the Kongone mouth of the Zambesi,
where H.M.S. Racoon called for them according to arrangement on the 1st
of December. In every respect the search expedition under Mr. Young's
command was the most successful on record. Not only did they com-
pletely succeed in the object of their quest, but there had been no case of
fever during the entire journey, and no accident to life or limb to record
save the attack on John Gaitty by the elephant in the Shire. Well might
Sir Roderick Murchison say of it : —

" To put together a boat constructed in sections, to find a negro crew
for the navigation of the Zambesi, to take the boat to pieces, and have it
carried up thirty-six miles along the sides of the cataracts to the river Shire —
then, after navigating the waters of the lake until the fate of Livingstone was
clearly ascertained, to convey her back to the Zambesi, and finally bring her
and the party safe back to England without the loss of a single man — this,
indeed, is a real triumph."

The first accounts of his movements from Dr. Livingstone himself, reached
this country in the shape of a letter to a friend in Edinburgh, about the 20th
of April, from which we make the following extracts. It is dated the
country of the Chipeta, which is far to the north-west of the point to which
the search expedition traced him, and was written on the 10th of November,

LETTER FROM DR. LIVINGSTONE. 387

18GG. " It has been quite impossible to send a letter coastwise ever since we
left the Rovuma. , The Arab slave-traders take to their heels as soon as they
hear that the English are on the road. I am a perfect bugbear to them.
Eight parties thus skedaddled, and last of all my Johanna men, frightened out
of their wits by stories told them by a member of a ninth party who had
been plundered of his slaves, walked off and left me to face the terrible
Mazitu with nine Nassick boys. The fear which the English name has
struck into the slave-traders has thus been an inconvenience. I could not go
round the north end of the lake for fear that my Johanna men, at sight of
danger, would do then what they actually did at the southern end ; and the
owner of two dhows now on the lake kept them out of sight, lest I should
burn them as slavers, and I could not cross in the middle." Rounding' the
southern end he got up to Kirk's range, and among Manganja not yet made
slave-sellers. " This was a great treat, for, like all who have not been con-
taminated by that blight, they were very kind ; and, having been worried
enough by unwilling sepoy and cowardly Johanna men, I followed my bent
by easy marches, among friendly, generous people, to whom I tried to im-
part some new ideas in return for their hospitality. The country is elevated
and the climate cool. One of the wonders told of us in successive villages
was that we slept without fires. The boys having blankets did not need fire,
while the inhabitants being scantily clad, have their huts plastered inside and
out, and even use moss to make them comfortable. Our progress since has
been slow from other and less agreeable causes. Some parts have been de-
nuded of food by marauding Mazitu or Zulus ; we have been fain to avoid
them, and gone zigzag. Once we nearly walked into the hands of a party,
and several times we have been detained by rumours of the enemy in front.

"January, 1867. — I mention several causes of delay; I must add the
rainy season is more potent than all, except hunger. In passing through the
Babisa country we found that food was not to be had. The Babisa are great
slave-traders, and have in consequence little industry. This seems to be the
chief cause of their having no food to spare. The rains, too, are more
copious than I ever saw them anywhere in Africa ; but we shall get on in
. time. February 1. — I am in Bcmba or Loemba, and at the chief man's place,
which has three stockades around it, and a deep dry ditch round the inner
one. He seems a fine fellow, and gave us a cow to slaughter on our arrival
yesterday. We are going to hold a Christmas feast of it to-morrow, as I
promised the boys a blow out when we came to a place of plenty. We have
had precious hard lines ; and I would not complain if it had not been for
gnawing hunger for many a day, and our bones sticking through as if they
would burst the skin. When we were in a part where game abounded, I
filled the pot with a first-rate rifle given me by Captain Wartcr, but else-
where we had but very short rations of a species of millet called macre, which

388 LIFE OF DA 7ID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

passes the stomach almost unchanged. The sorest grief of all was the loss of
the medicine box which your friends at Apothecaries' Hall so kindly fitted
up." Several of his attendants acting as carriers had made off with the box,
his plates and dishes, and most of his powder and two guns. " This loss,
with all our medicine, fell on my heart like a sentence of death by fever, as
was the case with poor Bishop Mackenzie ; but I shall try native remedies,
trusting Him who has led me hitherto to lead me still. We have been mostly
on elevated land, between 3,000 and 5,000 feet above the sea. I think we
are now in the watershed for which I was to seek. We are 4,500 feet above
the sea level, and will begin to descend when we go. This may be put down
as 10° 50 2". We found a party of black half-caste armed slaves here, and
one promised to take a letter to Zanzibar, but they give me only half a day
to write. I shall send what I can, and hope they will be as good as their
word. We have not had a single difficulty with the people, but we have been
very slow. Eight miles a day is a good march for us, loaded as the boys
are ; and we have often been obliged to go zigzag, as I mentioned. Bless-
ings on you all."

The next communication from Livingstone was addressed to Sir Roderick
Murchison, and was read at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society on
the 29th of April, 1868. It is dated February 2nd, 1867. We give extracts
from it, cutting out parts referring to matters dealt with in the preceding
letter. From the end of July to the middle of September, Livingstone re-
mained at Mataka, about fifty miles from Nyassa on the Rovuma side. He
says, " There are at least a thousand houses in the town, and Mataka is the
most powerful chief in the country. . . He was anxious that some of the
boys (Nassick boys) should remain with him, and I tried my best to induce
them, but in vain. He wished to be shown how to make use of his cattle in
agriculture ; I promised to try and get some other boys, acquainted with
Indian agriculture, for him. This is the best point I have seen for an in-
fluential station, and Mataka showed some sense of right. When his people
went, without his knowledge, to plunder at a part of the lake, he ordered the
captives and cattle to be sent back. This was his own spontaneous act, and
it took place before our arrival ; but I accidentally saw the strangers. They
consisted of fifty-four women and children, about a dozen boys, and thirty head
of cattle and calves. I gave him a trinket in memory of his good conduct,
at which he was delighted, for it had not been without opposition that he
carried out his orders, and he showed the token of my approbation in
triumph."

Leaving the shores of the lake he endeavoured to ascend Kirk's range ;
"but the people below were afraid of those above, and it was only after an
old friend, Katosa, had turned out with his wives to carry our extra loads,
that we got up. It is only the edge of a plateau peopled by various tribes of

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S LETTERS. 389

Manganja, who had never been engaged in slaving ; in fact they had driven
away a lot of Arab slavers a short time before. We used to think them all
Maravi, but Katosa is the only Maravi chief we know. The Kanthunda, or
climbers, live on the mountains that rise out of the plateau ; the Chipeta live
more on the plains there ; the Echewa still further north. We went among
a very hospitable people, until we thought we were past the longitude of the
Mazitu ; we then turned north, and all but fell into the hands of a marauding
party of that people. After a rather zigzag course, we took up the point we
had left in 1863, or say 21' west of Chimanga's, crossed the Loangwa, in
12' 45' south, as it flows in the bed of an ancient lake, and after emerging
out of this great hollow we ascended the plateau of Lobisa, at the southern
limit of 11° south. The hills on one part of it rise to a height of 6,600 feet
above the sea. . . We had now (on the plains) a good deal of gnawing
hunger, as clay after day we trod the sloppy dripping forests, which yield
some wretched wild fruit and lots of mushrooms. A woman collected a load
of half a hundred weight ; after cooking they pound them into what they call
porridge ; but woe is me ! they are only good for producing dreams of the
roast beef of by-gone days. . . When we got to the Chambeze, which is
true to the character of the Zambesi, in having abundant animal life in its
waters, we soon got an antelope on its banks. We crossed it in 10° 24'; it was
flooded with clear water, but the lines of bushy trees which showed its actual
banks were not more than forty yards apart.

" We arrived here (at Bemba) on the 1st day of January ; it is a stock-
aded village, with three lines of defence, the inner one having a deep dry
ditch round it. I think, if I am not mistaken, we are on the watershed be-
tween the Chambeze and Luapula. I have not had any time to take observa-
tions, as it is the rainy season, and almost always cloudy ; but we shall rest a
little here and get some flesh on our bones. Altitude about 4,500 feet above
the sea. The Luapula is said to be a very large river, but I hope to send
fuller information from Tanganyika. I have done all the hunting myself,
have enjoyed good health, and no touch of fever ; but we lost all our medi-
cines— the severest loss of goods I ever sustained ; so I am hoping, if fever
comes, to tend it off by native remedies, and trust in the watchful care of a
Higher Power. . . The chief here seems a jolly, frank person ; but unless
the country is insecure, I don't see the use of his lines of circurnvallation.
He presented a cow on our arrival, and an elephant's tusk, because I had sat
upon it.

" I have had no news whatever from the coast since we left it, but hope
for letters and our second stock of goods (a small one) at Ujiji. I have been
unable to send anything either; some letters I have written in hopes of
meeting an Arab slave-trader, but they all skedaddled as soon as they heard
the English were coming."

390 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

In a letter to Dr. Seward he gives an account of the cowardly behaviour
and desertion of the Sepoys. "The Sepoys," he says, "seem to have plan-
ned my compulsory return as soon as they had killed all the beasts of burden ;
one camel they beat with the butts of their guns till he expired on the spot,
and a mule was killed ; certain sores were cruelly probed and lacerated when
I was not in sight, and I came upon them one day when one was mauling a
fine camel with a stick, thicker than his arm ; next day he had to leave it
with inflammation of the hip-joint, the point where I saw the blow struck.
They gave or paid eight rupees into the hands of our Arab guide, to feed and
take them down to the coast when the animals were all nearly done for, so
sure were they of returning with their scheme triumphant. The Havildar
was seen paying the money by one of the Nassick boys. Then, when we
came to a part where provisions were scanty, they refused to obey orders to
come up to me, whither I had gone to secure provisions ; and they would not
rise in the morning, though called by the Havildar, but I saw reason after-
wards to believe that the Havildar and Naik were art and part in the plot.
A great deal of blubbering took place when I hauled them up, to send them
back as prisoners. I sentenced the Naik to disratement, and all to carry
small loads as punishment, but they were such a disgraceful-looking lot, and
by disobedience had prevented my carrying out the plan of getting pro-
visions— namely, by going forward and sending in all directions to purchase
them, that they had to suffer hunger. They sold their cartridges, gave their
muskets and belts to people to carry for them, telling them that I would pay
for carriage, lay down perpetually in the march, and went to sleep. This
was the custom all the way from the coast, and they were so filthy in their
habits — when we had plenty of food gorging themselves, then putting the
finger down the throat to relieve their stomachs, and, lastly, they threatened
to shoot the Nassick boys when away from English power in some quiet
place, because, as they supposed, the boys were informants.

"I sent them back from Mataka's, leaving seventy yards of cloth with that
chief to give to the trader Suleiman, who was expected, and came a few days
afterwards, to convey them to the coast. This cloth was amply sufficient for
all their expenses. But I heard that the seven Mohammedans did not go
with Suleiman, but remained at Mataka's, where food was abundant, and
where their pay would be running on. They had their belts and ammunition-
pouches, and muskets and bayonets, all complete then. The Havildar still
pretended that he wanted to go on with us ; he thought I did not understand
the part he had played. ' They won't obey me, and what am I to do ?' was
his way of speaking. ' Bring the first man to me who refuses a lawful order
and I shall make him obey.' None was ever brought. When he talked of
going to die with us I said nothing. He soon got sulky and was a useless
drag. I had to pay two yards of calico per day for carriage of his bed and

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S LETTERS. 391

cooking things, and could make no use of him. He could not divide pro-
visions even with partiality, nor measure off cloth to the natives without
cheating them. He complained at last of unaccountable pains in his feet, ate
a whole fowl for supper, slept soundly till daylight, and then commenced
furious groaning. He carried his bed one mile the night before without
orders, then gave his belt and musket to a native, to blind me as to his having
sold and stolen the cartridges. The native carriers would not follow us
through a portion of jungle, and when I sent back for the loads, the gallant
Havildar was found sitting by his own baggage, and looking on while the car-
riers paid themselves by opening one of the bales. He then turned back to
join his fellows at Mataka's; the country abounded in provisions, and the
people were very liberal."

In a letter to Sir Bartle Frere, he describes the country about Bemba as
" chiefly forest and exceedingly leafy: one can see but a little way from an
elevation. The gum-copal and another tree abound, with rhododendrons
and various evergreen trees — the two first furnish the black-cloth which is the
principal clothing of the people. . . We could not for some time find out
where the Portuguese route to Cazembe lay, but it has been placed by the
map-makers too far east. There they had no mountain chains such as we
have met with. . .

" Mataka's town and country (to the east of the north end of Lake
Nyassa) are the most likely for a permanent settlement to be made. It is
elevated and cool. English pears were in full bearing, and bloom in July ;
the altitude is over 3,000 feet, and this country is mountainous and abounds
in running streams, the sources of the Rovuma. Dr. Norman Macleod pro-
mised to try and get me some German Missionaries from Harmsburgh, in
Hanover, and salaries for them, if I could indicate a locality. These same
men go without salaries, and are artificers of different kinds ; but this is a
mistake : they ought to have a little, for some of them have, in sheer want,
taken to selling brandy even, but at Mataka's they could easily raise wheat,
by sowing it at the proper time, and native products, when the rains come,
but it would require a leader of some energy, and not a fellow who would
wring his hands if he had no sugar to his tea. I have almost forgotten the
taste of sugar, and tea is made by roasting a little Joare, and calling the de-
coction either tea or coffee. I have written to the Doctor, and given some
account of the difficulties to be overcome ; three hundred miles is a long way
to go, but I feel more and more convinced that Africa must be Christianised
from within."

After the reading of Dr. Livingstone's letters to the members of tho
Royal Geographical Society at a meeting held on the 07th of April, 1808, Sir
Roderick Murchison said — " That the question on which Europeans and the
British public at large were now interested, was the future course of Living-

392 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

stone, and at what time he might be expected to return. In the journey
from the place at which he disembarked, Mikindany Bay, to the south
end of the Lake Nyassa, he occupied seven months ; but for three weeks or
more of that time he remained at Mataka. The distance traversed from the
coast was only five hundred miles. During these months people often asked
in England, ' Why does Livingstone not send us some account of his pro-
ceedings ? The Sepoys have returned, but they have brought no despatches.'
He was sorry to say that the Sepoys had behaved extremely ill. We had
now, in Livingstone's handwriting, the statement that they were the worst of
companions, inferior even to the Johanna men. He entrusted to the Sepoys
a despatch which they never delivered. The next part of Livingstone's
journey, after crossing the Shire, was to the west and northwards, taking a
circuitous course, in order to avoid the Mazitu (called the Mavite to the east of
Lake Nyassa.) It occupied five months, the date of the despatches being the
1st of February, when he was at Bemba. The progress made at this point
would enable us to judge of the time he was likely to take in accomplishing
the remainder of his journey. We now know that he had arrived at Ujiji, on
the eastern shores of Lake Tanganyika, by about the middle of October last.
The distance between Bemba and Ujiji was only 500 miles ; but he was de-
lighted to hear that the traveller had been so long on this part of his route,
because it implied that he had devoted himself to examining Lake Tangan-
yika, which had never yet been explored.

"When Burton and. Speke crossed the Lake in the northern part at Ujiji,
they knew nothing of the southern part, except from information furnished by
Arabs. If Livingstone found the waters flowing northwards from the neighbour-
hood of Bemba, whence he wrote, and into Lake Tanganyika, he would continue
his journey to the northern end. There would then be before him another great
problem, the solution of which would be the settlement of the geography of the
whole interior of Africa. If, according to the theory of Mr. Findlay, which
had been read before the Society, the waters of Lake Tanganyika flowed into
the Albert Nyanza, the geographical object of Livingstone's expedition would
be accomplished. He would be upon the waters of the Nile, and having deter-
mined that great physical problem, he would probably turn to the eastward,
and reach the coast at Zanzibar. If, on the contrary, it proved, as shown in
the original map of Burton and Speke, that a mountain range separated Tan-
ganyika from Albert Nyanza, the outflow of the waters of Tanganyika must
be sought for on its western side ; for being fresh, these waters must have a
free outlet in some direction. In this case, Livingstone might be induced to
follow that river wherever he found it. It was known that there was no outflow
to the east, because the country on that side had been explored, and no great
stream found. To follow such a western outlet would lead him far across the
great unknown western interior of Africa.

LETTERS FROM DR. KIRK. 393

"Such was Livingstone's great vigour and audacity in meeting every diffi-
culty, that he had not the slightest doubt that he would pursue such a river, if
found, and come out on the west coast, where his first expedition terminated,
before he recrossed to the Zambesi. In this case, we must not expect to hear
from him for twelve or eighteen months. But if, under the hypothesis, which
he rather held to, Livingstone found the waters of the Tanganyika flowing
into Baker's Lake (the Albert Nyanza), and turned back towards Zanzibar,
as most probably he would do, he might be expected in England in the
month of September next. A third hypothesis was, that having since
arrived at the Lake of Sir Samuel Baker, he would follow its waters, and come
out by the Nile. He had dismissed that hypothesis from his own mind, in
consequence of the small force which Livingstone had at his disposal, and the
diminished store of goods for presents to give to the Equatorial Kino-s.
Knowing the difficulties which Speke, and Grant, and Baker, had in those
countries, he would pause before concluding that he had taken that route,
particularly after he had geographically solved the problem. Another reason
which operated in his mind against the third hypothesis was, that Livingstone
would have to go through the whole of the White Nile region, where the slave
trade was carried on to an abominable extent."

We give Sir Roderick Murchison's remarks in full, because in them we
have the different theories as to the course of the waters, whose northward
flow Livingstone had struck when he had passed the hill region to the north and
west of Nyassa. We shall see, further on, that all these theories were at variance
with tbe conclusions which Dr. Livingstone ultimately arrived at when he
found that the main drainage of the vast central valley did not fall into the
Tanganyika at all, but passed it many miles to the west of its shores, and
flowed northward into unknown regions.

News reached England eaidy in October that Livingstone was on his way
to the coast, and was, at the time of its transmission, within a few miles of
Zanzibar, but on the 20th and 23rd, word reached London from Dr. Kirk,
that he had letters from him dated from Marenga, a district south, and in tho
vicinity of Lake Tanganyika, in latitude 7° 55' south, and longitude 30° east,
near Ujiji, a district and an Arab station on Lake Tanganyika. This letter
was very brief, and had been written in the months of October and December,
and gave a satisfactory account for the delay in his progress to the north. He
had been living for three months with friendly Arabs, and waiting for the
close of a native war before proceeding to Ujiji, and he told the Arab messen-
ger, that after exploring Tanganyika, he meant to return to Zanzibar. Dr.
Kirk reported, when sending this information, that provisions, medicines,
letters, etc., etc., had been sent to Ujiji to meet him, some time previous to
the receipt of his letters.

On the 9th of November, 18GS, a short letter from Dr. Livingstone to Dr.
A 2

394 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Seward, dated " Town of Cazerube," 14th December, 18G7, was read. In this
letter he said—

" One of Seyd Ben Ali's men leaves this to-morrow to join his master in
Buira. He and Hamees have letters from me to you. One of them, in the hands
of Hamees, repeats an order for goods, which I sent by Magora Mafupi in
February last. If Magera Mafupi's letter came to hand, then the goods would
be sent before the present letter can reach you. I have more fear of the want
of shoes than anything else. If you have any tracing paper, I should like
some ; I lost a good deal in fording a river ; some pencils and ink powder, if
you can spare them, and an awl, and stick of sealing wax. I am going to
Ujiji in two days, and think that I shall be able to send letters thence to Zan-
zibar sooner than my friends can reach it by Bagamoyo.

"Moero is one chain of lakes, connected by a river, having different names.
When we got there, I thought it well to look at Cazembe, of which the Portu-
guese have written much ; but all the geographical information is contained in
letters I have written, which I mean to send to Ujiji, and have no heart to
repeat myself. "

In the letters to Dr. Seward and Dr. Kirk, which were of a private
character, Livingstone writes in a most hopeful spirit as to the accomplishment
of the work before him, and gave a most gratifying account of the state of his
health.

On the 18th of January, 1869, a letter appeared in the Times from Horace
Waller, one of Livingstone's old comrades during a part of the Zambesi expe-
dition, that from letters received from Dr. Kirk from Zanzibar, nothing had
been heard of Livingstone for a long time. After cautioning the public to be
in no anxiety on that account, he says, " Dr. Kirk informs me that Moosa,
(the chief of the Johanna men who deserted him) has been handed over to him
at Zanzibar from Johanna. Finding that he had already passed eight months
in heavy irons, the authorities very humanely considered this time sufficient
for the reflective powers of the mischievous scamp to reconsider the merits of
truth and falsehood ; so Dr. Kirk set him free."

On the 19th of April, news arrived in England that Livingstone laacl
reached Zanzibar, and was on his way to England. His old friend Sir
Roderick Murchison published his doubts of the truth of this, and as in many
other cases where the great traveller was concerned, the veteran geologist was
correct. A report of Dr. Livingstone having been murdered, and another of his
being in captivity, having got into circulation, were causing much anxiety in
the public mind. Sir Roderick Murchison wrote to the London Scotsman on
the 6th of September, as follows : — After exjjlaining that a long time must
elapse, in consequence of the district into which he had entered, before we
could expect to hear from him, he says, " It is, therefore, I think, unnecessary
to have recourse to the hypothesis of his captivity. But, whatever may be the

LETTER TO LORD CLARENDON. 395

speculations entered into during his absence, I have such implicit confidence
in the tenacity of purpose, undying resolution, and Herculean power of
Livingstone, that however he may be delayed, I hold stoutly to the opinion
that he will overcome every obstacle, and will, as I have suggested, emerge
from South Africa on the same western shore on which he appeared after his
first great march across that region, and long after his life had been despaired
of."

Sir Roderick Murchison was partly right once more. Livingstone was
not on his way home, nor thinking of it; for on the 24th of October, 1869, a
telegram was received in this country, to the effect that Dr. Kirk had received
a letter from him, dated July 8th, 18G8, from Lake Bangweolo, in which he
said, " I have found the source of the Nile between 10" and 12* south."
The great traveller wrote in good health and spirits, and it was cheering at
the same time to be told that a caravan which had recently arrived at Zanzibar,
reported him at Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, and that the road between Zan-
zibar and Ujiji was open.

The letter was addressed to Lord Clarendon, and was dated from Near
Lake Bangweolo, South Central Africa, July, 1868. We give the following
extracts: — "When I had the honour of writing to you in February, 1867, I
had the impression that I was then on the watershed of the Zambesi, and either
the Congo or the Nile. More extended observation has since convinced me of
the essential correctness of that impression ; and from what I have seen,
together with what I have learned from intelligent natives, I think that I may
safely assert that the chief sources of the Nile arise between 10" and 12"
south latitude, or nearly in the position assigned to them by Ptolemy,
whose river Raptita is probably the Rovuma. Aware that others have been
mistaken, and laying no claim to infallibility, I do not speak very positively,
particularly of the parts west and north-west of Tanganyika, because these
have not yet come under my observation ; but if your lordship will read the
following short sketch of my discoveries, you will perceive that the springs of
the Nile have hitherto been searched for very much too far north. They riso
about 400 miles south of the most southerly portion of Victoria Nyanza, and,
indeed, south of all the lakes except Bangweolo. Leaving the valley of the
Loangwa, which enters the Zambesi at Zumbo, we climbed up what seemed to
be a great mountain mass, but it turned out to be only the southern edge of an
elevated region, which is from 3,000 to 6,000 feet above the level of the sea.
This upland may roughly be said to cover a space south of Lake Tanganyika
of some 350 square miles. It is generally covered with dense or open forest ;
has an undulating, sometimes hilly surface ; a rich soil ; is well-watered by
numerous rivulets ; and, for Africa, is cold. It slopes towards the north and
west ; but I have found no part of it under 300 feet of altitude. The country
of Usango, situated east of the space indicated, is also an upland, and affords

396 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

pasturage for the immense herds of the cattle of the Basango, a remarkahly
light-coloured race, very friendly to strangers. Usango forms the eastern side
of a great hut still elevated valley. The other or western arch is formed by
what are called the Kone mountains, beyond the copper mines of Katanga.
Still farther west, and beyond the Kone range or plateau, our old acquaintance
the Zambesi, under the name of Jambasi, is said to rise. The southern end of
the great valley between Usango and the Kone range is between 11° and
12° south. It was rarely possible then to see a star, but accidentally awak-
ing one morning between two and three o'clock, I found one which showed
latitude 11° 56" south, and we then were fairly on the upland. Next day
we passed two rivulets, running north. As we advanced, brooks, evidently
perennial, became numerous. Some went eastwards, to fall into the Loangwa;
others went north-west, to join the river Chambeze. Misled by a map call-
ing this river, in an off-hand manner, ' Zambezi, eastern branch,' I took
it to be the southern river of that name ; but the Chambeze, with all its
branches, flows from the eastern side into the centre of the great upland
valley mentioned, which is probably the valley of the Nile. It is an interesting
river as helping to form these lakes, and changing its name three times in the
500 or 600 miles of its course. It was first crossed by the Portuguese, who
always inquired for ivory and slaves, and heard of nothing else. A person
who collected all, even the hearsay geography of the Portuguese, knew so
little actually of the country, that he put a large river here, running 3,000 feet
up-hill, and called it New Zambesi.

"I crossed the Chambeze in 10° 34" south latitude, and several of its
confluents, south and north, quite as large as the Isis at Oxford, but running
faster, and having hippopotami in them. I mention these animals, because
in navigating the Zambezi I could always steer the steamer boldly to where
they lay, sure of finding not less than eight feet of water.

" The Chambeze runs into Lake Bangweolo, and in coming out of it assumes
the name Luapula, and flows north, past the town of Cazembe, and twelve
miles below it enters Lake Moero. On leaving Moero at its northern end by
a rent in the mountains of Rua, it takes the name Lualaba, and passing on
N.N.W. forms Lake Ulenge, in the country west of Tanganyika.

"I have seen it only when it leaves Moero, and where it comes out of the
crack in the mountains of Rua, but am quite satisfied that even before it re-
ceives the river Sofunso from Marunga, and the Soburi from the Baloba country,
it is quite sufficient to form Ulenge, whether that is a lake with many islands,
as some assert, or a sort of Punjaub — a division into several branches, as is
maintained by others. These branches are all gathered up by the Lufira — a large
river, which, by many confluents, drains the western side of the great valley.
I have not seen the Lufira, but pointed out west of 11° south, it is asserted,
always to require canoes. This is purely native information. Some intelligent

LETTER TO LORD CLARENDON. 397

men assert that -when the Lufira takes up the water of Ulenge, it flows N.N.W
into Lake Chowambe, which I conjecture to be that discovered by Mr. Baker.
Others think that it goes into Lake Tanganyika, at Uvira, and still passes
northward into Chowambe, by a river named Loando. These are the parts,
regarding which, I suspend my judgment. If I am in error there, and live
through it, I shall correct myself."

Here follow a number of surmises as to the course of the river running out
of Ulenge which were exceedingly interesting at the time, but are now fore-
stalled by information derived from personal observation, with which we will
deal further on. "My opinion at present is, if the large amount of water I
have seen going north, does not flow past Tanganyika on the west, it must
have an exit from the lake, and in all likelihood by the Loanda. . . On
the northern slope of the upland, and on the 2nd of April, 1867, I discovered
Lake Liemba. It lies in a hollow with precipitous sides, 2,000 feet down.
It is extremely beautiful, sides, top, and bottom, being covered with trees and
other vegetation. Elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes, feed on the steep slopes,
while hippopotami, crocodiles, and fish, swarm in the waters. Guns being
unknown, the elephants, unless sometimes deceived into a pitfall, have it all
their own way. . . It is as perfect a natural paradise as Xenophon could
have desired. On two rocky islands, men till the land, rear goats, and catch
fish ; the villages ashore are embowered in the palm-oil palms of the west
coast of Africa. Four considerable streams flow into Liemba, and a number
of brooks, from 12 to 15 feet broad, leap down the steep bright clay schist rocks,
and form splendid cascades, that made the dullest of my attendants pause and
remark with wonder. I measured one of the streams fifty miles from its con-
fluence, and found it, at a ford, 294 feet, say 100 yards broad, . . thigh
and waist deep, and flowing fast over hardened sandstone flag, in September.
The last rain had fallen on the 12th of May. . . The Louzua drives a
large body of smooth water into Liemba ; this body of water was ten fathoms
deep. Another of the four streams is said to be larger than the Lofu ; but
an over-officious headman prevented me from seeing more of it and another
than three mouths. The lake is not large — from 18 to 20 miles broad, and
from 30 to 40 long ; it goes off N.N.W. in a river-like prolongation, two miles
wide, it is said, to Tanganyika.* . . I tried to follow the river-like por-
tion, but was prevented by a war which had broken out between the chief of
Itawa and a party of ivory traders from Zanzibar. I then set off to go 100
miles south, then west, till past the disturbed district, and explore the west of
Tanganyika ; but on going 80 miles, I found the Arab party, showed them a
letter from the Sultan of Zanzibar, which I owe to the kind offices of his
Excellency, Sir Bartle Frere, Governor of Bombay, and was at once supplied

* This Dr. Livingstone afterwards found to be coifed .

398 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

with provisions, cloth, aud beads ; they showed the greatest kindness and
anxiety for my safety and success. The leader of the party readily perceived
that a continuance of hostility meant shutting up the ivory trade, but the
peace-making was a tedious process, requiring three and a-half months ; I was
glad to see the mode of ivory and slave-trading of these men, it formed such
a perfect contrast to that of the ruffians from Kilwa," and to the ways of the
atrocious Portuguese from Tete, who were connived at in their murders by
the Governor, De Almeida."

After peace was declared, he visited Masama, the chief of Itawa, and
examined Lake Moero, which he found to be 60 miles long, and from 20 to
50 miles broad. From thence he visited Cazembe, and was very hospitably
treated by the chief of that name, with whom he staid forty days, on account
of the rains having flooded the country and made progress impossible. Ca-
zembe's town, which has been three times visited by Portuguese, " stands on
the north-east bank of the lakelet Mofwe ; this is from two to three miles
broad, and nearly four long. It has several low reedy islets, and yields plenty
of fish, a species of perch. It is not connected with either the Luapula or the
Moero. I was forty days at Cazembe, and might then have gone on to Bang-
weolo, which is larger than either of the other lakes ; but the rains had set in,
and this lake was reported to be very unhealthy. Not having a grain of any
kind of medicine, and as fever without treatment produced very disagreeable
symptoms, I thought it would be unwise to venture where swelled thyroid
elands, known among us as Derbyshire neck and elephantiasis (seroli) pre-
vail." Getting tired of his inactivity, he went northwards towards Ujiji,
" where," he says, " I have goods, and, I hope, letters, for I have heard
nothing from the world for more than two years ; but when I got within 13
daA7s of Tanganyika, I was brought to a standstill by the superabundance of
water in the country in front. A native party came through and described
the country as inundated so as often to be thigh and waist deep, with dry
stepping places difficult to find. This flood lasts till May or June. At last I
become so tired of my inactivity, that I doubled back on my course to Ca-
zembe." His description of wading across swollen rivulets, flooded plains and
morasses, gives a vivid idea of the courage and resolution of the man. The
paths among the long grass were even more trying than these. He says : —
" The plain was of black mud, with grass higher than our heads. We had to
follow the path, which in places the feet of passengers had worn into deep
ruts. Into these we every now and then plunged, and fell over the ancles in
soft mud, while hundreds of bubbles rushed up, and, bursting, emitted a fright-
ful odour. We had four hours of this wading and plunging ; the last mile
was the worst, and right glad we were to get out of it, and bathe in the clear
tepid waters and sandy beach of the Moero. In going up the bank of the
lake, we first of all forded four torrents thigh deep; then a river 80 yards

A THEORETICAL GEOGRAPHER. 399

wide, with 300 yards of flood on its west bank, so deep, we had to keep to the
canoes, till within fifty yards of the higher ground, then four brooks from
five to fifteen yards broad. One of them, the Chungu, possesses a somewhat
melancholy interest, as that on which poor Dr. Lacerda died. . . He was
the only Portuguese visitor who had any scientific education, and his latitude
of Cazembe's town on the Chungu being 50 miles wrong, probably reveals that
his mind was clouded with fever when he last observed ; and any one who
knows what that implies, will look upon his error with compassion.
The Chungu went high on the chest, and we had to walk on tiptoe to avoid
swimming. As I crossed all these brooks at both high and low water, I ob-
served the difference to be from fifteen to eighteen inches, and from all the per-
ennial streams, the flood is a clear water. The state of the rivers and the
country made me go in the lightest marching order. I took nothing but the
most necessary instruments, and no paper except a couple of note-books and
the Bible. On unexpectedly finding a party going to the coast, I borrowed a
piece of paper from an Arab, and the effects, unavoidable in the circumstances,
you will kindly excuse. Only four of my attendants would come here ; the
others, on various pretences, absconded. The fact is, they are all tired of this
everlasting tramping ; and so verily am I. Were it not for an inveterate
dislike to give in to difficulties, without doing my utmost to overcome them,
I would abscond too. I comfort myself by the hope that by making the coun-
try and the people better known, I am doing good ; and by imparting a little
knowledge occasionally, I may be working in accordance with the plans of an
all-embracing Providence, which now forms part of the belief of all the more
intelligent of our race : my efforts may be appreciated in good times coming

yet."

After speaking of the care which he had always taken to give the position
of places with the utmost accuracy, and the compliments paid to the success
with which he had done this on the Zambesi and the Shire by scientific men,
he says: — "Well, it is not very comforting, after all my care and risk of
health, and even of life, it is not very inspiriting to find 200 miles of lake
tacked on to the north-west end of Nyassa ; and then 200 miles perched up
on the upland region, and passed over some 3,000 feet higher than the rest of
the lake ! We shall probably hear that the author of this feat in fancyo-
graphy claims therefrom to be considered a theoretical discoverer of the
sources of the Nile." After stating several instances in which his positions
had been unwarrantably changed, he says, " The desecration my positions
have suffered, is probably unknown to the Council ; but that is all the more
reason why I should adhere to my resolution to be the guardian of my own
observations until publication. I regret this, because the upsetting of a canoe,
or any accident happening to me, might lead to the entire loss of the disco-
veries. My borrowed paper is done, or I should have given a summary of

400 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

the streams which, flowing into Chambeze, Luapula, Lualaba, and the lakes,
may be called sources. Thirteen, all larger than the Isis at Oxford, or the
Avon at Hamilton, run into one line of drainage, five into another, and five
into a third receptacle — twenty-three in all. Not having seen the Nile in the
north, I forbear any comparison of volume."

In a postscript he says, " Always something new from Africa. A large
tribe live in underground houses in Rua. Some excavations are said to be
thirty miles long, and have running rills in them — a whole district can stand
a siege in them. The ' writings ' thereon, I have been told by some of the
people, are drawings of animals, and not letters, otherwise I should have gone
to see them. People very dark, well made, and outer angle of eyes slanting
inwards." That Dr. Livingstone should have been able to write a communi-
cation such as this, bristling with facts carefully detailed, under the circum-
stances indicated, is as wonderful as the resolute endurance and courage
necessary to their collection.

In a letter to Sir Bartle Frere, he touches upon his anxieties as a father
completely separated from his children. He says : — " I am often distressed
in thinking of a son whom I left at the University of Glasgow. He was to
be two years there, then spend a year in Mons in Germany, for French and
German, before trying the Civil Service examination for India. He will now
be in especial need of my counsel and assistance, and here I am at Bang-
weolo. His elder brother, after being well educated, wandered into the
American war, and we know no more of him after an engagement before
Richmond.* Possibly Sir Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax) in consideration
of my services, might do something to fix this one. . . I feel more at
liberty in telling you of my domestic anxiety, and my fears lest Tom should
go to the examination unprepared, because you have a family yourself, and
will sympathise with me. . . Agnes (his eldest daughter) is to tell Tom
not to go in for examination till he is well prepared, and he may take a year
more of education where he may have found the most benefit."

The next information received from Dr. Livingstone was contained in
a letter sent to Dr. Kirk at Zanzibar, and was published in the Times of
December 13th, 1869. ItisdatedUjiji, May 30th, 1869, and is as follows:—
" This note goes by Musa Kamaals, who was employed by Koarji to drive the
buffaloes hither, but by over-driving them unmercifully in the sun, and tying
them up to save trouble in herding, they all died before he got to Unyan-
yembe. He witnessed the plundering of my goods, and got a share of them ;

* He was wounded in the battle mentioned, and died in hospital. He was of a very enter-
prising disposition, and previous to his going to the United States, he had made an attempt to join
his father in Central Africa. This expedition was undertaken without the knowledge of his family
aud friends, and want of funds compelled him to abandon it. Dr. Livingstone was unaware of his
fate until Mr. Stanley reached him at Ujiji.

DIFFICULTY IN SENDING LETTERS. 401

and I have given him beads and cloth sufficient to buy provisions for himself
on the way back to Zanzibar. He has done nothing here. He neither went
near the goods here, nor tried to prevent them being stolen on the way. I
suppose that pay for four months in coming, other four of rest, and four in
going back, would be ample, but I leave this to your decision. I could not
employ him to carry my mail back, nor can I say anything to him, for he at
once goes to the Ujijians, and gives his own version of all he hears. He is
untruthful and ill-conditioned, and would hand over the mail to any one who
wished to destroy it. The people here are like the Kilwa traders, haters of
the English. Those Zanzibar men whom I met between this and Nyassa were
gentlemen, and traded with honour. Here, as in the haunts of the Kilwa
hordes, slavery is a source of forays, and they dread exposure by my letters.
No one will take charge of them. I have got Thani bin Suelim to take a mail
privately for transmission to Unyanyembe. It contains a cheque on Ritchio,
Stewart & Co., of Bombay, for 2,000 rupees, and some forty letters written
during my slow recovery. I fear it may never reach you. A party was sent
to the coast two months ago. One man volunteered to take a letter secretly,
but his master warned them all not to do so, because I might write something
he did not like. He went out with the party, and gave orders to the headman
to destroy any letters he might detect on the way. Thus, though I am good
friends outwardly with them all, I can get no assistance in procuring carriers ;
and, as you will see, if the mail comes to hand, I sent to Zanzibar for fifteen
good boatmen to act as carriers if required, eighty pieces of mcritauo, forty
ditto of kinitra, twelve farasales of the beads called jasain, shoes, etc., etc. I
have written to Seyd Majid begging two of his guards to see to the safety of
the goods here into Thani bin Suelim's hands, or into those of Mohammed bin
Sahib.

"As to the work done by me, it is only to connect the sources which I
have discovered, from 500 to 700 miles south of Speke and Baker, with their
Nile. The volume of water which flows from latitude 120° south is so
large, I suspect I have been working at the sources of the Congo as well as
those of the Nile. I have to go down the eastern Hue of drainage to Baker's
turning point. Tanganyika, Ujiji, Chowambe (Baker's) are one water, and
the head of it is 300 miles south of this. The western and central lines of
drainage converge into an unvisited lake west or south-west of this. The out-
flow of this, whether to Congo or Nile, I have to ascertain. The people of
this district, called Manyema, are cannibals, if Arabs speak truly. I may have
to go there first, and down Tanganyika, if I come out uneaten, and find my
new squad from Zanzibar ; I earnestly hope that you will do what you can to
help me with the goods and men. £i00 to be sent by Mr. Young must surely
have come to you through Fleming Brothers. A long box paid for to Ujiji wu
left at Unyanyembe, and so with other boxes."
b2

402 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.l).

In this letter we have the first indications of dissatisfaction with the way
assistance was being sent to him by Dr. Kirk at Zanzibar, of which we have
heard more from Mr. Stanley and from the traveller himself. It was natural
that the lonely man who had not had any communication with the world for
so long a period, and who had been travelling in unknown regions dependent
upon chance for the necessities of living, should feel a bitterness at the want
of success in relieving him. It is to be feared that he had good reason for his
discontent. To the unsettled state of the country and the dishonesty and
carelessness of the people he employed to succour Dr. Livingstone, were due
the failure of these efforts, and, as we shall see further on, he failed to take
the most ordinary precautions to guard against such failure. Dr. Kirk men-
tions in a note published along with this letter, that stores and letters had been
sent on the 7th of October, and that no time would be lost in sending the
articles now required by the explorer.

Once more the cloud of mystery and darkness enveloped the fate of the
great traveller, and surmises and reports as to his probable fate tended towards
a general beHef that in some unknown region in the far interior, the greatest
traveller and discoverer the world has ever seen, had become the most distin-
guished of that long roll of martyrs who had perished in their dauntless
endeavour to penetrate the secret recesses of a country all but impregnably
guarded by disease, pestilence, and the cruel jealousy of savage tribes. The
anxiety of the public regarding the fate of the traveller was shared in by the
Government. In May, 1870, £1,000 was sent to the consul at Zanzibar, to be
expended in efforts to discover and relieve him. On the 25th of January,
1871, hope was again excited that we might soon hear tidings from himself of
a much later date than the last received, by the arrival of a letter to Sir
Roderick Murchison from Dr. Kirk giving extracts from a letter received from
an Arab chief, Sheik Said, of Unyanyembe, dated 16th of Jul}', 1870. The chief
says, "Your honoured letter has reached, and your friend (Livingstone) has
understood it. The people (a party with a caravan from Zanzibar) arrived in
good health, and are going on to Ujiji to our friend the Doctor. The news of
him is that he has not yet returned from Manemis (Menama, or Manyema, the
Arabic word is spelt in three different ways), but we expect him soon, and
probably he and the people with supplies will reach Ujiji at the same time."
As Sir Roderick pointed out, this was the first indication we had received that
the explorer had made a lengthened journey to the west of Tanganyika, which
taken together with the probability that letters sent by him had been destroyed
by jealous Arabs, accounted for his long silence.

Early in May this intelligence was corroborated by the arrival of news from
Shirif Bassheikh bin Ahmed, the Arab sent from Zanzibar and Ujiji in charge
of stores for Dr. Livingstone, dated November 15th, 1870, that he had been
visited a few days previously by a messenger from the people of Menama (or

LETTER FROM MR. STANLEY. 403

Manyema), with letters from the Arabs staying there, and one from "the
Doctor," the letters being dated October 15. The messenger had told him
that the Doctor was well, although he had been suffering, and that he was at
the town of Manakosa, with Mohammed bin Thai-ib, waiting for the caravans,
being himself without means, and with few followers, only eight men, so that
he could not move elsewhere, or come down to Ujiji. Shirif further stated
that he had sent twelve men, with a quantity of goods, ammunition, quinine,
etc., etc., on to him, and that he awaited the explorer's further orders at Ujiji.

The intelligence that a war had broken out between the Arab colony in
the district of Unyanyembe and a powerful native chief between Ujiji and
Kasagne, which was being carried on with the utmost fury on both sides, and
effectually closed up the road to the coast, added to the public anxiety. For
the first time since his departure on an adventurous mission in search of Dr.
Livingstone in February, we have the mention of a young gentleman, a Mr.
Stanley, a correspondent of the New York Herald, who had been despatched
by the proprietor of that great journal from Paris, with orders to find out Dr.
Livingstone, or bring back tidings of his safety or death at whatever cost. In
a letter to Earl Granville, dated Zanzibar, 22nd September, 1871, Dr. Kirk
says : —

"Letters just received by special messengers, who left Unyanyembe about
a month ago, inform us of a sad disaster that has befallen the Arab settlement
there, and that will in all likelihood stop the road to Ujiji and Kasagne for
some time to come. All accounts agree as to the main facts ; but, naturally,
letters written by Mr. Stanley, an American gentleman who was on the spot,
are the most circumstantial and reliable. . . A chief whose village was one
day's journey distant on the main road to Ujiji and Kasagne, fell under the
displeasure of the Unyanyembe Arab settlers ; and his place was attacked, in
due course, by a force of about 1500 muskets. Seeing that he could not hold
the blockaded village, he retired with his followers, and formed an ambush
for the return of the attacking party, when laden with ivory and other booty.
The result was disastrous to the Arabs, and a great many were killed, in-
cluding ten or twenty of the leaders, men of good family here. The Arab
retreat soon became a rout, and much property was lost.

" Fortunately, Mr. Stanley, who was weak and ill from fever, managed
to return to Unyanyembe ; but he was abandoned by the Arabs, whose con-
duct he speaks of as cowardly in the extreme." In announcing to the mem-
bers of the Geographical Society that the Council had determined to address
the Foreign Office, asking its assistance in an effort to succour Dr. Livingstone,
Sir Roderick Murchison said : "It appeared to the Council and himself, now
that the hope which we had of communicating with Dr. Livingstone through
Mr. Stanley, the American traveller, must for the present be abandoned ; and
it had become, consequently, their duty to cast about for some other means

404 LIFE OF PA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of reaching him." The result of this determination of the Council of the
Royal Geographical Society was the getting up of a formidable expedition to
march into the interior, and find news of the great explorer, dead or alive.
As the Government refused to advance any money to assist in covering the
expenses of the expedition, it was left for the Society and the public to fur-
nish the means, and within a few weeks ample funds and an efficient party
were ready to start for Africa.

Early in 1872 this expedition was being organized at Zanzibar, under the
guidance of Lieutenant Dawson, who was assisted by Lieutenant Henn, Mr.
New, a missionary, and Mr. Oswell Livingstone, a son of the great explorer.
As the public felt satisfied with the zeal and abilities of the English heads of
the Search and Relief Expedition, the general excitement subsided. No one
appeared to hope for any results from the expedition sent out by the proprietors
of the Neio York Herald, and gradually its existence came to be overlooked or
forgotten. Even Dr. Kirk, who had opportunities of seeing its leader and
his careful preparations for his journey, never dreamed that Livingstone would
ever be heard of through his exertions.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The " New York Herald's" Expedition in search of Dr. Livingstone — Mr. Stanley
arrives at Unyanyembe — War and other Perils — Hostility of the Natives — ■
Reach Ujij'i, on Lake Tanganyika — Stanley finds and succours Dr. Living-
stone, etc., etc.

THE expedition of Mr. Stanley now claims our attention. In October, 1869,
Mr. James Gordon Bennet, the proprietor of the Neio York Herald, was
iu Paris, and staying at the Grand Hotel, when he determined on attempting
to succour Dr. Livingstone. Among his staff of travelling correspondents was
a Mr. Henry M. Stanley, who had represented his newspaper during the cam-
paign against King Theodore in Abyssinia, and it struck him that this was
the man who could find the lost traveller, if he was alive. He telegraphed
for him at Madrid, where he then was in the prosecution of his duties, and
Mr. Stanley started immediately for Paris, which he reached on the following
night, after Mr. Bennet had retired to his apartment. The interview which
resulted had better be detailed in Mr. Stanley's own words : —

"I went straight to the ' Grand Hotel' and knocked at the door of Mr.
Bennet's room. ' Come in ! ' I heard a voice say. Entering, I found Mr.
Bennet in bed.

" ' Who are you ? ' he asked. ' My name is Stanley,' I answered.

"' Ah, yes ! sit down ; I have important business on hand for you.'

"After throwing over his shoulders his robe-de-chambre, Mr. Bennet asked,
' Where do you think Dr. Livingstone is ? ' — ' I really do not know, sir.'

'"Do you think he is alive?' — 'He may be, and he may not be,' I answered.

" ' Well, I think he is alive, and that he can be found ; and I am going to
send you to find him.'

"' What! ' said I, ' do you really think I can find Dr. Livingstone? Do
you mean me to go to Central Africa ? '

'"Yes; I mean that you shall go, and find him wherever you may hear
that he is, and to get what news you can of him, and perhaps' — delivering
himself thoughtfully and deliberately — ' the old man may be in want : take
enough with you to help him, should he require it. Of course, you will
act according to your own plans, and do what you think best — but Find
Livingstone.'

406 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" Said I, wondering at the cool order of sending one to Central Africa to
search for a man whom I, in common with almost all other men, believed to
be dead, ' Have you considered seriously the great expense you are likely to
incur on account of this little journey ? '

" ' What will it cost ? ' he asked abruptly. ' Burton and Speke's journey
to Central Africa cost between £3,000 and £5,000, and I fear it cannot be
done under £2,500.'

" 'Well, I will tell you what you will do. Draw a thousand pounds now ;
and when you have gone through that, draw another thousand ; and when
that is spent, draw another thousand ; and when you have finished that, draw
another thousand; and so on, but — Find Livingstone.'"

After some further conversation, Mr. Stanley asked if he was to go at
once. Mr. Bennet answered, " No; I wish you to go to the inauguration of
the Suez canal first, and then proceed up the Nile. . . Then you might
as well go to Jerusalem ; I hear Captain Warner is making some interesting
discoveries there. Then next to Constantinople, and find out about that trouble
between the Khedive and the Sultan. Then — let me see — you might as well
visit the Crimea and those old battle-grounds. Then go across the Caucasus
to the Caspian Sea ; I hear there is a Russian expedition bound for Khiva.
From thence you may go through Persia to India ; you could write an inter-
esting letter from Perseopolis.

" Bagdad will be close on your way to India ; suppose you go there, and
write up something about the Euphrates Valley Railway. Then when you
have come to India, you can go after Livingstone. Probably you will hear
by that time that Livingstone is on his way to Zanzibar ; but if not, go into
the interior and find him. If alive, get what news of his discoveries you can ;
and if you find he is dead, bring all possible proof of his being dead. That
is all : good-night, and Cod be with you."

Mr. Stanley carried out the programme Mr. Bennet chalked out for hiin,
and chronicled the incidents of his journey ings in the Neio York Herald, and
arrived in India in the month of August, 1870. He sailed from Bombay for
the Mauritius on the 12th of October, and after touching at Mahe, an island of
the Leychelles group, he, in company with William Lawrence Farquhar, mate,
a Scotchman, and an Arab boy he had picked up to act as interpreter, sailed
in an American whaling vessel, bound for Zanzibar, which they reached on
the 6th of January, 1871. Captain Webb, the American Consul at Zanzibar,
after hearing the nature of his mission, entertained him at his house, and did
all he could to assist him in his preparations for the journey he had under-
taken. The following is Mr. Stanley's account of the City of Zanzibar : —

" My general impressions are of crooked, narrow lanes, white- washed
houses, mortar-plastered streets in the clean quarter ; of seeing alcoves on each
side, with deep recesses, with a foreground of red-turbaned Banyans (East

ZANZIBAR. 407

Indian traders), and a background of flaring cottons, prints, calicoes, domestics,
and what not ; or of floors, crowded with ivory tusks ; or of dark corners,
with a pile of ungummed and loose cottons ; or of stores of crockery, nails,
cheap Bruinrnagem ware, tools, &c, in what I call the Banyan quarter ; of
streets smelling very strong — in fact, exceedingly malodorous, with steaming
yellow and black bodies, and woolly heads, sitting at the doors of miserable
huts, chatting, laughing, bargaining, scolding, with a compound smell of
hides, tar, filth, and vegetable refuse in the negro quarter; of streets lined
with tall, solid-looking houses, flat roofed; of great carved doors, with large
brass knockers, with baabs, sitting cross-legged, watching the dark entrances
to their master's houses ; of a shallow sea inlet, with some dhows, canoes,
boats, an odd steam tub or two, leaning over on their sides, in a sea of mud,
which the tide has just left behind it, called M'nazi-Moyo, ' one cocoa tree,'
whither Europeans wend on evenings, with most languid steps, to inhale the
sweet air that glides over the sea, while the day is dying, and the red sun is
sinking to the westward ; of a few graves of dead sailors, who paid the forfeit
of their lives on arrival in this land ; of a tall house, in which lives Dr. Tozer,
Missionary Bishop of Central Africa, and his school of little Africans ; and of
many other things, which got together into such a tangle that I had to go to
sleep, lest I should never be able to separate the moving images, the Arab from
the African, the African from the Banyan, the Banyan from the Hindi, the
Hindi from the European, &c."

In the harbour of Zanzibar are Arab dhows, engaged in the gum, copal,
cloves, pepper, and cocoa-nut oil trades, and foreign vessels, hailing from
England, Germany, France, and the United States; man-otwar ships, carrying
the flags of these four nations, come and go, or rest at anchor in the channel
between the mainland and the Island. The exports reach about a million
annually, while the value of merchandise imported is in excess of that
amount.

The Island of Zanzibar, which is distant from the mainland about forty
miles, contains a population of about 200,000 inhabitants, one-half of
whom are in the town of Zanzibar. The inhabitants consist of Arabs,
Banyans, Mahommedans, Hindis, native Africans, and a considerable sprinkling
of European merchants. The Arabs are all engaged in the ivory, gum,
copal, and slave-trade, and most of them have wandered for years in the
interior of Africa, collecting the articles in which they trade, and are perfectly
familiar with the regions which Dr. Livingstone and others have made known
to us. It is no uncommon thing for an Arab trader to cross the Continent
from Zanzibar, Khiva, or Mozambique, to the West coast. They arc a most
reticent class, and although they have gone through adventures, and seen
sights which would make the reputation of a European traveller, they make
no allusion to their adventures. The Banyans are the most wealthy class ;

408 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and it is with money furnished by them that two-thirds of the slave-trade is
carried on. These Banyans, as Dr. Livingstone has so frequently pointed out,
are our fellow-subjects, and have hitherto carried on their detestable traffic in
human flesh under the protection of the British flag. No wonder that Living-
stone found it difficult to get letters to and from the coast, and found it next
to impossible to get stores and articles of absolute necessity delivered in the
interior. The voice of this prophet in the wilderness of Africa was pronouncing
the death-knell of their trade, and was to be stopped at all hazards. He was
too conspicuous a man, and stood too well with the native tribes, to be slain
with safety, but he might be starved out. Weary waiting and hope deferred
might tire out the iron constitution, and break the lion heart, and to this they
and their emissaries set themselves. But they had not calculated upon the
resolute endurance and high courage of the man with whom they had to deal ;
and the very means they took to stop his voice made it tenfold more powerful
when, through the aid of Mr. Stanley, its story of shame and horror penetrated
to the ends of the earth.

The climate of Zanzibar is not naturally unhealthy, but the almost total

want of sanitary arrangements has made it a very pest house. A little energy,

and a small money outlay, would make Zanzibar a hundred per cent.

healthier than it is ; but the climate, and the influence exercised by the Arabs^

Banyans, and Hindis, soon subdues the vitality of the most energetic European,

and the Malagash inlet, a shallow arm of the sea, which makes the site of

Zanzibar a peninsula, with a neck of only 250 yards, is the receptacle for " the

undrained filth, the garbage, offal, dead mollusks, dead pariah dogs, dead cats,

all species of carrion, and remains of men and beasts unburied. "Were these 250

yards cut through by a ten foot ditch, and the inlet deepened slightly, Zanzibar

would become an island of itself, and what wonders would it not effect as to

health and salubrity !" On suggesting this to Captain Noble, the American

Consul, he admitted the ease with which so great an improvement could be

carried out, and the great need for it, but pleaded his utter helplessness.

" Oh," said he, " it is all very well for you to talk about energy, and that
kind of thing, but I assure you that a residence of four or five years on this
island, among such people as are here, would make you feel that it was a
hopeless task to resist the influence of the example by which the most energetic
spirits are subdued, and to which they must submit in time, sooner or later.
We were all terribly energetic when we first came here, and struggled bravely
to make things go on as we were accustomed to have them at home, but we
have found that we were knocking our heads against granite walls, to no
purpose whatever. These fellows — the Arabs, the Banyans, and the Hindis —
you can t make them go faster by ever so much scolding and praying ; and in a
very short time you see the folly of fighting against the unconquerable. Be patient,
and don't fret ; that is my advice, or you won't live very long here."

ZANZIBAR MARKET. 409

Captain Grant, the companion of Speke, in his famous African journey,
gives some characteristic sketches of Zanzibar at the period of his visit
(I860):—

" Though the streets of Zanzibar," he says, " are too narrow for a
wheeled carriage, and the supply of water deficient, everything looked clean
and neatly kept; and the shopkeepers, chiefly Indians, were respectful, even
to a painful degree, rising as we passed them. The bazaar is very abundantly
supplied with vegetables, fruit, and dried fish ; little butcher meat, but liquor
shops abound, and water has to be purchased — the best quality being carried
from a hot spring, which bubbles from under a rock, and tastes unpleasantly
warm. Men in the market-place have an odd way of hawking about their
goods for sale. Goats, carved doors, beds, knives, swords, etc., arc all paraded
up and down, and their prices shouted out. The market for human beings is
a triangular space, surrounded by rickety huts, thatched with cocoa-nut leaves,
and the parties of slaves (negro men and women, brought originally from the
interior of Africa), on being exhibited, are guarded by men with swords.
Some of the unhappy groups sit calmly in the market-place, looking very
clean, well-fed, and dressed, with a depressed anxious look, saying to you
with their eyes, ' Buy me from this yoke of slavery.' It is a very striking,
though most humiliating sight, to observe one of the Zanzibar rakish-looking
crafts, felucca rigged (called dhows) arrive from Ibo, on the mainland, crammed
with naked slaves for the market, all as silent as death. The Arab owners,
gaily dressed, stand at the stern, and one holds the colours, in seeming
defiance of the British Consulate, as he sails past. The price of slaves was low
in 1860, only £3 each; and many Arabs would have taken -less, as Colonel
Rigby (then H.M.'s Consul), had released upwards of 4,000, who became inde-
pendent, living in a newly-made part of the town, and gaining a livelihood by
fetching water, and selling the produce of the island.

" The climate of Zanzibar is very relaxing, owing to the humidity of the
air, a great amount of rain falling during the year. The rain comes down in
plunges, pelting showers, or like squalls at sea, and in the intervals any bodily

exertion is attended with profuse perspiration and lassitude The

island has two crops of grain yearly, and four of manioc, which, with dried
shark, is the staple food of the people. They cook it in every form, making
also flour of it. One has only to walk of a morning along the roads leading to
the town, to sec the productiveness of this beautiful island. Negro men and
women, laden with mangoes, oranges, plantain, sugar-cane, grass, cocoa-nut,
manioc, yams, sweet potato, Indian corn, ground nut, etc., go in streams to the
market. The return of these crowds is, in contrast, utterly ludicrous. Nothing
do they then carry but a stick over their shoulders, with a cut of stale fish
hanging from it, and one wonders at the extreme poverty of the people in the
midst of such abundance.
c 2

410 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

u Besides the above products, cloves, cotton, bajra, sorghum, coffee,
tobacco, scesamum, nutmeg, red pepper, betel-nut, catchoo-nut, jack-fruit,
papan, almond, jiomegranate, and the castor-oil plant, were all seen growing.
To remark upon a few : — The mango tree, met with everywhere, is splendidly
umbrageous, more lofty than the variety seen in Indian topes, and not so
brittle. It yields two crops yearly of stringy fruit ; but there are better sorts,
such as those from Pemba Island, to be procured. The clove tree is planted in
rows, twenty feet apart, and after it has grown to the height of thirty feet, it
seems to die, as if from the effects of ants. Cotton we rarely saw. The
cocoa-nut is the most common tree in the country, the husk, we observed,
being used as firewood, and a capital salad is made from the crown of the
trunk. The Arabs allow their slaves to cultivate the manioc gratis, under the
cocoa-nut trees, in payment for gathering the harvests of mango, cloves, etc.
The growth of the ground-nut is very curious, creeping close to the ground,
with a yellow flower, and leaf resembling clover. On the flower withering,
the pod grows underground, when it matures. The coffee-tree grows luxuri-
antly, and the sugar-cane is very fine ; pomegranate does not seem to succeed.
The boundaries of farms are often marked by the castor-oil bush." Captain
Grant arrived at Zanzibar in time to witness and compel the execution of two
of the murderers of Dr. Roscher, a Grerrnan traveller, who was murdered in the
neighbourhood of Lake Nyassa, in 1858, by natives, who coveted his scientific
instruments and his small supply of stores. The Sultan of the country in
which the offence took place sent four of the natives implicated to Zanzibar
for trial. Two of them were sentenced to be decapitated, and the remaining
two got a free pardon. The Sultan was afraid to carry the sentence into execu-
tion ; and when they were brought to suffer, on the 23rd of August, and
were squatted outside the fort wall, naked to the waist, no order had come to
proceed with the execution. After the prisoners had remained in this position
for a considerable time, " a jail official announced that the Sultan wished the
Sahib to give the order, and I informed Colonel Rigby of the circumstances.
He at once saw through the timidity of the Sultan, and said, as the sentence
had been passed weeks ago, he could give no orders about it. Returning to the
place of execution, where both men still sat, wo found the mob had increased.
An Arab boldly asked me, ' Why should two men suffer for one white ?' On
my remarking that ' Sooner or later the men must suffer — the sun was broiling
over the poor creature's heads — would it not be a charity to go on with the
execution ?' the reply was, ' They are mere animals, and have no feeling.'
Still no one would give the order. Again the Sultan was applied to. A rush
was now rudely made upon the crowd by half-a-dozen handsomely dressed
x\rabs, brandishing their shields and swords. I thought it was a rescue, but
kept my place ; and it appeared they only wanted to get up to the prisoners,
around whom every one laughed heartily at the momentary panic. Here one

MR. ST A NLE Y'S BA GGA GE. 411

of the guard, with whom I had boon conversing, laid hold of my arm, and
followed by a noisy drummer, the prisoners, and mob, wc pushed on for a
dozen yards, and stopped in an open space, where some cows were lying. A
twig of grass pinioned each man, and they were made to sit on the ground,
speaking calmly, while the crowd, all crushing around, joked as if at a holiday
rout. Another delay occurred ; no one had given the order. On being asked
' Might it commence ?' I replied, ' Yes, certainly ; proceed.' The execu-
tioner at once took his place, drew his sword, weighed it in his hand, threw
up his sleeves, and slipped his feet out of his shoes, while the dense mass all
seemed breathless. The executioner was a small man, respectably dressed,
looking like an Indian. The prisoners sat three yards apart, one slightly in
advance of the other. The foi'emost was then ordered to bend his head, when,
with ono stroke, the back of his neck was cut to the vertebras ; he fell forward,
and lay breathing steadily, with his right cheek in his own blood, without a
sound or struggle. The executioner, after wiping his sword on the loin cloth
of the dying man, coolly felt its edge. The other victim had seen all, and
never moved nor spoke. The same horrible scene was again enacted, but with
a different result ; the man jerked upwards from his squatting position, and fell
back on his left side, with no sound nor after struggle. Both appeared as if in
a deep sleep ; two chickens hopped on the still quivering bodies, and the cows
in the open space lay undisturbed.

" I loft the spot, hoping never to witness such another scene ; but I had the
satisfaction of feeling that justice was carried out, and that had I not been
present, these murderers would have escaped punishment, owing to the
effeminancy and timidity of the Sultan of Zanzibar. Their accomplices, each
with a cleft log on his neck, were taken to witness the bodies."

Mr. Stanley gives an interesting account of the impedimenta he collected
for his journey, after consulting with a grey-bearded old Sheikh, and several
Arab merchants he introduced him to. Putting the number of his party at
100, he was informed that ten doti — ±0 yards of cloth per day — would be
sufficient for food. About 4,000 doti of various kinds of cloth were purchased.
Next in importance to cloth was the kind and quality of beads necessary.
These were selected of various colours, as only a particular land or colour of
bead would circulate in each of the districts through which he had to pass.
Wire was another important article. Three hundred and fifty pounds of brass
Wire, nearly as thick as telegraph wire, was his stock of this important com-
modity. In addition to these he purchased a plentiful supply of provisions,
cooking utensils, rope, twine, tents, bagging, canvas, tools, ammunition, guns,
bedding, hatchets, medicines, presents for chiefs, boats, &c, &c, until his
baggage weighed in all about six tons. No wonder he asked himself, " How
will it ever be possible to move all this inert mass across the wilderness,
stretching between the sea and the great lakes of Africa Y'

412 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

He purchased twenty donkeys, each of which would carry a load of about
140 lbs., and the loads for the human bearers were made up into bundles of
681bs. each. An armed escort of twenty men, whom he designates in his
narrative as soldiers, were engaged with Bombay, an old servant of Captain
Speke's, in his journey to Lake Tanganyika as chief. Mabruki and other five
of Speke's "faithfuls" were also engaged. When his escort appeared before
him, " they were an exceedingly fine-looking body of men — far more intelli-
gent in appearance than I could ever have believed African barbarians to be."
John William Shaw, an Englishman, third mate of an American ship, applied
for a situation in the caravan, and was engaged. The carriers could only be
engaged at Bagamoyo, on the mainland. Before leaving he was presented to
the Sultan by Captain Webb. The Sultan's palace " is a large, roomy, lofty,
sylvan house, close to the port, built of coral, and plastered thickly with lime
mortar. In appearance, it is half Arabic, and half Italian. The shutters are
Venetian blinds, painted a vivid green, and presenting a striking contrast to
the white-washed walls."

The party was received at the outer door of the Palace by the Sultan,
who waived them up the steps, and into the audience chamber before him. The
room was lofty, and painted in the Arabic style ; the carpet was of Persian
fabric, and the furniture consisted, in addition to the chair of state, of a dozen
gilt chairs and a chandelier.

"The Sultan," says Mr. Stanley, "so far as dress goes, might be taken
for a Mongolian gentleman, excepting, indeed, for the turban, whose ample
folds, in alternate colours of red, yellow, brown, and white, encircled his head.
His lono1 robe was of dark cloth, cinctured round the waist with his rich sword-
belt from which was suspended a gold-hilted scimitar, encased in a scabbard
also enriched with gold. His legs and feet were bare, and had a ponderous
look about them, since he suffered from that strange curse of Zanzibar — ele-
phantiasis. His feet were slipped into a pair of slippers, with thick soles, and
a strong leathern band over the instep. His light complexion and correct
features, which are intelligent and regular, bespeak the Arab patrician. They
indicate, however, nothing except his high descent and blood ; no traits of
character are visible, unless there is just a trace of amiability, and perfect
contentment with himself and all around.

" Such is Prince, or Seyd Burghash, Sultan of Zanzibar and Pemba, and
the East coast of Africa, from Somali Land to the Mozambique, as he appeared
to me. Coffee was served in cups supported by golden finjans, also some
cocoa-nut milk and rich sweet sherbet. The conversation began with the
question, addressed to the Consid —

"'Are you well?' — 'Yes, thank you; how is His Highness?' — 'Quite

well.'

" His Highness to me. ' Are you well ? ' — ' Quite well, thanks.

/»»

"'-'*

THE SLAVE MARKET AT ZANZIBAR

A ROMAN CA TIIOLIC MISSION. 413

"The Consul now introduces business, and questions about my travels fol-
low from His Highness.

"'How do you like Persia? Have you seen Kerbela, Bagdad, Masr,
Stamboul? Have the Turks many soldiers? How many has Persia ? Is
Persia fertile ? How do you like Zanzibar ? '

"Having answered each question to His Highness' satisfaction, he handed
me letters to his officers at Bagamoyo and Kaole, and a general introduc-
tory letter to all Arab merchants I might meet on the road, and concluded his
remarks to mo with the expressed hope, that on whatever mission I was bound,
I might be perfectly successful.

"We bowed ourselves out of his presence in much the same manner as we
had bowed ourselves in, he accompanying us to the great entrance door."

Arrived at Bagamoyo, Mr. Stanley was hospitably entertained by the
members of a Roman Catholic mission, during the time occupied in engaging
140 pagazis (bearers), and arranging to start. While Bishop Tozer, the Pri-
mate of Central Africa — who failed in establishing a mission on the Shire, after
a few weeks' residence on the top of a mountain, where there was scarcely any
people for miles — resided at Zanzibar, the Catholic missionaries were success-
fully carrying on their labours on the mainland. Mr. Stanley's account of
the Fathers, their station, and their work, is worth quoting : —

" The Mission is distant from the town a good half-mile, to the north of
it ; it is quite a village of itself, numbering some fifteen or sixteen houses.
There are more than ten padres engaged in the establishment, and as many
sisters, and all find plenty of occupation in educing from native crania, the
fire of intelligence. Truth compels me to state that they are very successful
having over two hundred pupils, boys and girls, in the Mission, and, from the
oldest to the youngest, they show the impress of the useful education they
have received.

" The dinners furnished to the padres and their guest consisted of as many
plats as a first-class hotel in Paris usually supplies, and cooked with nearly as
much skill, though the surroundings were by no means equal. I feel assured,
also, that the padres, besides being tasteful in their potages and entrees, do not
stultify their ideas for lack of that element which Horace, Hafiz, and Byron,
have praised so much. The Champagne — think of Champagne Cliquot in
East Africa ! — Lafitte, La Rose, Burgundy, and Bordeaux, were of first-rate
quality, and the meek and lowly eyes of the fathers were not a little brightened
by the vinous influence. Ah ! these fathers understand life, and appreciate
its duration. Their festive board drives the African jungle fever from their
doors, while it soothes the gloom and isolation which strikes one with awe, as
one emerges from the lighted room, and plunges into the depths of the dark-
ness of an African night, enlivened only by the weary monotone of the fro^s
and crickets, and the distant ululation of the hyena. It requires somewhat

414 LIFE OF J) A VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

above human effort, unaided by the ruby liquid that cheers, to be always
suave and polite amid the dismals of native life in Africa. After the evening
meal, the most advanced of the pupils came forward, to the number of twenty,
with brass instruments, thus forming a full band of music. It rather aston-
ished me to hear instrumental sounds issue forth in harmony from such woolly
headed youngsters ; to hear well-known French music at this isolated post ;
to hear negro boys, that a few months ago knew nothing beyond the traditions
of their ignorant mothers, stand forth and chant Parisian songs about French
valour and glory, with all the sang froid of gamins from the purlieus of Saint
Antoine."

Mr. Stanley's expedition arrived at Bagamoyo on the 6th of February,
1871, and his first caravan started on the 16th, and the last on the 21st of
March, each being under the escort of a certain number of soldiers, with one
of Speke's " Faithfuls" at their head. The number of people forming the
expedition was 192.

In melancholy contrast with this was the fate of a caravan despatched
by Dr. Kirk for Dr. Livingstone, on the 1st November, 1870. It consisted of
thirty-live packages, which required as many bearers, and it had not left Baga-
moyo on the 10th of February. One cannot help thinking, that Dr. Kirk,
knowing the need there was for promptitude if his old friend was to be re-
lieved, should have crossed the narrow channel to the mainland, and seen it
fairly started. Mr. Stanley's formidable expedition had been collected to-
gether, and was on the march within seventy-three clays of his arrival in
Zanzibar, while the Livingstone caravan had rested more than that period
on the very threshold of its journey. The knowledge that another expedition
was being collected, should have stimulated him to see to the very needful
duty that the one under his charge had at least started on its journey. No
wonder Dr. Livingstone fretted and thought that he had been utterly forgotten,
when, sick and weary, and without the means of going forward, he went and
came to and from Ujiji, until, at last, he had perforce to remain there until
relieved.

Mr. Stanley had not proceeded far when "the plague of flies" induced
him to watch their habits, and examine them witli a view to identifying the
famous tsetse fly. In his eagerness, he submitted himself as a victim to their
thirst for blood. " I permitted one," he says, " to alight on my flannel trou-
sers, which I wore when en deshabille in camp. No sooner had he alighted,
than his posterior was raised, his head lowered, and his weapons, consisting of
four hair-like styles, unsheathed from the proboscis-like bag which concealed
them, and immediatly I felt pain, like that caused by a dexterous lancet-cut,
or the probe of a fine needle. I permitted him to gorge himself, though my
patience and naturalistic instinct was sorely tried. I saw his abdominal parts
distend with the plenitude of the repast until they had swollen to three times

AN AFRICAN WALLED TOWN. 415

their former shrunken girth, when he flew away, of his own accord, laden with
blood. On rolling up my flannels to see the fountain whence the fly had
drawn the fluid, I discovered it to be a little above the left knee, by a crimson
bead resting over the incision. After wiping the blood, the wound was simi-
lar to that caused by a deep thrust of a fine needle, but all pain had vanished
with the departure of the fly.

"This fly is called mabunya by the natives. It is about a third larger than
the common honey bee, and its colour more distinctly marked ; its head is
black, with a greenish gloss to it ; the after-part of the body is marked by a
white line running lengthwise from its junction with the trunk, and on each
side of this white line are two other lines, one of a crimson colour, the other
of a light brown. . . This fly, along with a score of others, attacked my
grey horse, and bit it so sorely in the legs, that they appeared as if bathed in
blood. . . This I consider to be the African horse-fly."

The second fly examined " was exceedingly nimble, and it occupied
three soldiers nearly an hour to capture a specimen ; and, when it was finally
caught, it stung the hand most ravenously, and never ceased its efforts to attack
until it was pinned through. It had three or four white marks across the
after-part of its body ; but the biting parts of this fly consisted of two black
antenna?, and an opal coloured style, which folded away under the neck.
When about to bite the style was shot out straight, and the antennae embraced
it closely.

" The third fly, called by the natives ' Chufwa,' was a third larger than
the house-fly, and had long wings. This insect certainly did the most work,
and inflicted the most injury. Horses and donkeys streamed with blood, and
roared and kicked with the pain. So determined was it not to be driven away be-
fore it obtained its fill, that it was easily despatched ; but this dreadful enemy
to cattle constantly increased in numbers. The three species above named
are, according to natives, fatal to cattle ; and this may perhaps be the reason
why such a vast expanse of first-class pasture is without domestic cattle of any
kind, a few goats only being kept by the villagers. This last fly I subse-
quently found to be the tsetse?

About the middle of April Mr. Stanley reached the town of Simbam-
wenni, which was the largest and most important town he came across in his
wanderings. It contains a population of 3,000. " The houses in the town are
eminently African, but of the best type of construction. The fortifications are
on an Arabic-Persian model, combining Arab neatness with Persian plan.
Through a ride of 950 miles in Persia, I never met a town outside of the great
cities better fortified than Simbamwenni. . . Well-built towers of stone
guard each corner, iron gates, one facing each cardinal point, and set half-way
between the several towers, permit ingress and egress for its inhabitants. The
gates are closed with solid square doors, made of African teak, and carved

416 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. .

with the infinitcsimally firm and complicated devices of the Arabs, from which
I suspect that the doors were either made at Zanzibar or on the coast. . . .
The Sultana is the eldest daughter of the famous Kizabengo, a name infamous
throughout the neighbouring districts for his kidnapping propensities. Ho
was another Theodore on a small scale. Sprung from humble ancestry, he
acquired distinction for his personal strength, his power of harangue, and his
amusing and versatile address, by whicli he gained great ascendancy over
fugitive slaves, and was chosen a leader among them. Fleeing from justice,
which awaited him at the hands of the Zanzibar Sultan, he arrived in Ukami,
which extended at that time from Ukwere to Usagara, and here he commenced
a career of conquest, the result of which was the cession by the Uakami of an
immense tract of fertile countiy, in the valley of the Ungerengcri. On its
desirable site, with the river flowing close under the walls, he built his capital,
and called it Simbamwenni, Avhich means 'the lion,' or the strongest city."

Two days' journey beyond Simbamwenni, Mr. Stanley had his first
attack of fever. Many of his attendants had suffered from dysentery and other
causes. The rainy season had now commenced, and for miles their course was
over swollen streams and swamps, half-wading half-swimming in the utmost
discomfort. The first of May found them struggling through the mire and water
of the Mataka river, with a caravan bodily sick, from the exertion and fatigue
of crossing so many rivers, and wading through marshes. Shaw was still
suffering from his first fever ; Zaidi, a soldier, was critically ill with the small-
pox. Most of the others were either really sick or driven to despair by the
fatigues of the journey. "I was compelled," says Mr Stanley, " to observe
that when mud and wet sapped the physical energy of the lazily-inclined, a
dog- whip became their backs, restoring them to a sound — sometimes to an
extravagant activity."

Once clear of the valley of Mataka, the road improved, but as population
was scant, and game scarce, the expedition stopped for want of fresh meat for
several days. Farquhar broke down completely, and had to be left at a
friendly village until their return ; but long before Mr. Stanley passed through
on his way to the coast he was in his grave. On the Mpwapa slopes the
party suffered from a plague of ear- wigs. " In my tent," says Mr. Stanley,
"they might be counted by thousands ; in my sling cot they were by
hundreds ; on my clothes they were by fifties ; on my neck and head they
were by scores. It is true they did not bite, and they did not irritate the
cuticle, but what their presence and number suggested was something so
horrible that it drove one nearly insane to think of it. . . Second to the
ear- wig in importance were the white ants, whose powers of destructivencss
were simply awful. Mats, cloth, portmanteaus, clothes, in short every article
I possessed, seemed on the verge of destruction, and, as I witnessed their
voracity, I felt anxious lest my tent should be devoured while I slept In the

ENTRY INTO UNYANYEMBE. 417

Ugogo country the various Sultana and chiefs were clamorous for presents.
Food was plentiful, and the weather fine, but the major portion of the donkeys
died. The horses had early succumbed to the climate. The population was
very numerous, and at every village hundreds of natives crowded to see the
Masungu (white men). The Wahumba, a tribe of shepherds, evoked the
traveller's admiration.

" The men are positively handsome, tall, with small heads, the posterior
parts of which project considerably. One will look in vain for a thick lip or
a flat nose amongst them ; on the contrary, the mouth is exceedingly well cut,
delicately small ; the nose is that of the Greeks, and so universal was this
peculiar feature that I at once named them the Greeks of Africa. Their
necks are long and slender, on winch their small heads are poised most grace-
fully. Athletes from their youth, shepherd-bred, and intermarrying among
themselves, thus keeping the race pure, any of them would form a fit subject
for the sculptor who would wish to immortalise in marble an Antinous, a
Hylas, a Daphnis, or an Apollo. The women are as beautiful as the men
are handsome. They have clear ebon skins, not coal-black, but of an inky
hue. Their ornaments consist of spiral rings of brass, pendant from the ears,
brass ring collars about the neck, and a spiral cincture of brass-wire about
their loins, for the purpose of retaining the calf and goat skins, which are
folded about their bodies, and depending from the shoulder, shade one half of
the bosom, and fall to the knees."

In the Ugogo country Mr. Stanley's caravan was joined by those of two
Arab toaders, Sheikhs Thani and Hamed, and he had ample opportunity of
observing how the Arabs are compelled to pay heavy black mad to every
chief who is in a position to demand it. The contrasts of travel in Africa are
very striking. Before reaching the country of Ugogo the party had to force
their way through thirty miles of swamp, and flooded streams and moors.
The last week of travel, before reaching the district of Unyanyembe, the
party suffered from hunger and thirst, and the heat of the sun was all but
unsufferable. They reached Kwikuru, two miles south of Talbor, the chief
Arab settlement of Unyanyembe, on the 21st of June, and hungry and jaded
as they were, they managed to enter it with banners flying and trumpets
blowing, and the discharge of fire-arms. Outside the town they " saw a lon^
line of men in clean shirts, whereat we opened our charged batteries, and fired
a volley of small arms, such as Kwikuru seldom heard before. The pagazis
(carriers) closed up, and adopted the swagger of veterans. The soldiers
blazed away uninterruptedly, while I, seeing that the Arabs were advancing
towards me, left the ranks, and held my hand, which was immediately grasped
by Sheikh Sayd-bin-Salim, one of the two chief dignitaries of Unyanyembe,
and then by about two dozen other people, and thus our entree into Unyan-
yembe was effected."

418 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

The country round Tabora is exceedingly fertile, as the Arabs irrigate
portions of it, and cultivate it with care, and the merchants Kyo in a state of
considerable comfort and even luxury : —

" The plain in which the settlement is situated is exceedingly fertile,
though naked of trees ; the rich pasturage it furnishes permits them to keep
large herds of cattle and goats, from which they have an ample supply of milk,
cream, butter, and ghee. Rice is grown everywhere ; sweet potatoes, yams,
maize, millet, peas, are cheap everywhere, and always procurable. Around
their tembes the Arabs cultivate a little wheat for their own purposes, and
have planted orange, lemon, papaw, and mangoes, which thrive here fairly
well. Onions and garlic, chilies, cucumbers, tomatoes, and brinjalls, may bo
procured by the white visitor from the more important Arabs, who are un-
doubted epicureans in their way. Their slaves convey to them from the coast,
once a year at least, their stores of tea, coffee, sugar, spices, jellies, curries,
wine, brandy, biscuits, sardines, salmon, and such fine clothes and articles as
they require for their own personal use. Almost every Arab of any eminence
is able to show a wealth of Persian carpets, and most luxurious bedding, com-
plete tea and coffee services, and magnificently carved dishes of tinned copper
and brass lavers. Several of them sport gold watches and chains ; mostly
all a watch and chain of some kind. And, as in Persia, Afghanistan, and
Turkey, the harems form an essential feature of every Arab household, the
sensualism of the Mohammedans is as prominent here as in the Orient.

The finest-house in Unyanyembe belongs to Amram bin Mussoud, who paid
ivory for it to the value of about £700. " It is one hundred feet in length,
and twenty feet high, with walls four feet thick, neatly plastered over with
mud mortar. The great door is a marvel of carving-work for Unyanyembe
artizans. Each rafter in them is also carved with fine designs. Before the
front of the house is a young plantation of pomegranate trees, which flourish
here as if they were indigenous to the soil. A shadoof,* such as may be seen
on the Nile, serves to draw water to irrigate the gardens."

Ten days after his arrival, when he and his party had rested, Mr. Stanley
was visited by the principal Arab settlers of Tabora, which is the principal
Arab settlement of Central Asia. It consists of over one thousand houses, and
contains over five thousand inhabitants, Arabs and natives. The intelligence
he received as to the state of the country he would have to cross on his way to
Ujiji, was anything but reassuring. Mirambo, originally the head of a gang
of robbers, had usurped the lordship of a large tract of country to the west.
He had carried war and plunder far and wide, and becoming bolder with
success had, previous to Mr. Stanley's arrival, begun to rob Arab caravans
bound for Ujiji, and refuse them passage.

*A rude hand-crane, worked with a lever.

A DELUSIVE VICTORY. 419

A council of war was held, at which it was determined to fight Mirambo
and his followers, a decision which met with much applause from all engaged
in the trade of Central Africa. As Mr. Stanley was as much interested in
forcing a passage to the west as any of them, and a brush with a native chief
would give him a new experience, and gratify his adventurous spirit, he •
agreed to join them with all his available force in men and fire-arms.

While preparations were being made for engaging in war with Mirambo,
Mr. Stanley was waited upon by the head man of the Livingstone caravan he
had seen at Bagamoyo, who showed him a packet of letters addressed to Dr.
Livingstone, Ujiji, bearing the date of leaving Zanzibar Nov. 1st, 1870, on it.
" From November 1st, 1870, to February 10th, 1871, just one hundred days
at Bagamoyo. A miserable, small caravan of thirty-three men, halting one
hundred days at Bagamoyo, only twenty-five miles by water from Zanzibar.
Poor Livingstone ! Who knows but he may be suffering for want of those
very supplies that were detained so long near the sea. The caravan arrived
in Unyanyembe some time about the middle of May. About the latter part
of May the first disturbance took place. Had this caravan arrived here in
the middle of March, or even the middle of April, they might have travelled
on to Ujiji without trouble."

On the 7th of July, Mr. Stanley was insensible from an attack of fever,
and had only recovered his usual state of health on the 21st. Mr. Stanley
and the Arabs, and their forces, numbering in all 2,225 men, 1,500 of
whom were armed with guns and muskets of various kinds, marched to the
stronghold of Mfuto on the 29th of July, and on the 3rd of August, they
marched out to do battle with Mirambo. At a village called Zimbizo they
encountered the enemy, and defeated him. On the morning of the fifth day
a small detachment went out to reconnoitre, and managed to capture a spy,
who was thrown on the ground, and liis head cut off immediately. Grrowin»'
valiant over this little feat, a body of Arabs, under Soud, son of Said-bin-
Majid, volunteered to go and capture Wilyemkuru, where Mirambo was just
then with several of his principal chiefs. They were 500 in number, and
very ardent for the fight. I had suggested to the Governor, that the leader
of the 500 volunteers should deploy his men, and fire the long dry grass
before they went, that they might rout all the forest thieves out, and have a
clear field for action. But an Arab will never take advice, and they marched
out of Zimbizo without having taken this precaution. They arrived before
Wilyemkuru, and after giving a few volleys, rushed in at the gate, and
entered the village. While they rushed in at the gate, Mirambo took -100 of
his men out by another gate, and instructed them to lie down close to the
road by which the Arabs had come, and when they should return, to get up
at a given signal, and each to stab his man.

The Arabs found a good deal of ivory, and captured a large number

420 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of slaves, and having loaded themselves with everything they thought
valuable, prepared to return by the same road they had gone. When they
had arrived opposite to where the ambush party was lying on each side the
road, Mirambo gave the signal, and the forest thieves rose as one man, and
each taking hold of his man, speared him, and cut off his head. Not an Arab
escaped, but some of the slaves managed to save themselves, and bring the
news to us at Zimbizo." The Arab soldiers, slaves, and women and chil-
dren, fled pell-mell to Unyanyembe, and Mr. Stanley, who was suffering from
another attack of fever, found himself left to fight the enemy, or make his
way out of danger as best he could. At a meeting of the chief Arabs,
Mr. Stanley told them that he was satisfied, having seen their mode of
fighting, that they would not conquer Mirambo in a yeai\ "I am a white
man," he said, " accustomed to wars after a different style. I know some-
thing about fighting, but I never saw people run away from an encampment
like ohm at Zimbizo for such cause as you had."

Mr. Stanley turned back three days journey to Kwihara, and determined
to await the attack of Mirambo there, if he should venture on such a course.
He determined to fight the enemy, if fight he must, on his own account, and
trust to the chapter of accidents to being able to maintain his ground, and
march on to Ujiji. " A fortlet was rapidly constructed, in which all our arms
and effects were placed, and a lofty bamboo was procured, and planted on
the roof of our fortlet ; and the American flag was run up, where it waved
joyously and grandly, an omen to all fugitives and their hunters. Then
began the work of ditch-making and digging rifle pits all around the court
or enclosure. The strong clay walls were pierced in two rows for the
muskets ; the great door was kept open, with materials ready close at hand
to barricade it when the enemy came in sight; watchmen were posted on the top
of the house ; every pot in the house was filled with water ; provisions were
collected sufficient to stand a siege of a month's duration ; the ammunition
boxes were unscrewed, and when I saw the three thousand bright metallic
cartridges for the American carbines, I laughed within myself at the idea that,
after all, Mirambo might be settled with American lead, and all this furore of
war be ended without much trouble.

" Before six p.m., I had one hundred and twenty-five muskets, and stout
fellows who had enlisted from the fugitives; and the house, which only looked
like a fortlet at first, became a fortlet in reality, impregnable and untakeable.
All night we stood guard ; the suburbs of Tabora were in flames ; all the
"Wanyamwezi and Wangwana houses were destroyed ; and the fine house of
Abid-bin-Sulermain had been ransacked, and then committed to the flames.
Mirambo boasted that ' to-morrow ' Kwihara should share the fate of Tabora,
and there was a rumour that that night the Arabs were going to start for the
coast. But the morning came, and Mirambo departed, with the ivory and

HOW TO DEAL WITH DESERTERS. 421

cattle he had captured, and the people of Kwihara and Tabora breathed freer.
Here is a sketch of a morning at Unyanyembe, in which we are introduced to a
native who was destined to excite a large amount of interest in England : —

" In the early morning, generally about 5.30 a.m., I begin to stir the
soldiers up, sometimes with a long bamboo; for you know they arc such
hard sleepers, they require a good deal of poking. Bombay has his orders
given him ; and Ferajji, the cook, who has long ago been warned by
the noise I make when I rouse up, is told in unmistakable tones to bring
' chai ' (tea). For I am like an old woman ; I love tea very much, and can
take a quart and a half without any inconvenience. Kululu, a boy of seven,
all the way from Cazembe's country, is my waiter and chief butler.
He understands my ways and mode of life exactly. Some weeks ago he
ousted Selim from the post of chief butler by skill and smartness. Sclim,
the Arab boy, cannot wait at table. Kululu, young antelope, is frisky.
I have but to express a wish, and it is gratified. He is a perfect Mercury,
though a marvellously black one. Tea over, Kululu cleans the dishes, and
retires under the kitchen shed, where, if I have a curiosity to know what ho
is doing, he may be seen with his tongue in the tea-cup licking up the sugar
that was left in it, and looking very much as if he would like to eat the cup
for the sake of the divine element it has so often contained.

" And now I am going to say farewell to Unyanyembe for a while.
I shall never help an Arab again. He is no fighting man ; or, I should say,
docs not know how to fight, but knows personally how to die. They will not
conquer Mirambo within a year, and I cannot stop to sec that play out.
There is a good old man waiting for me somewhere, and that impels me on.
There is a journal far off that expects me to do my duty, and I must do it.
Good-bye. I am off the day after to-morrow for Ujiji, then perhaps to the
Congo river." Clearly here was a man who was not to be turned aside from
his purpose on small or even great occasions. He had been sent to find
Livingstone, and find him he had determined iqion, if he was alive.

Captains Speke and Grant spent a considerable time in the neighbourhood
of Kwihara. The account of the latter forms an interesting pendant to Mr.
Stanley's narrative : —

"The province of Unyanyembe has nearly four months of rain, commenc-
ing in the end of November, and winding up with the greatest fall in Febru-
ary. As soon as the soil of sand, or black, spongy mould, has softened, the
seed is dropped, and by the 1st of February all is green as an emerald. The
young rice has to struggle for fifteen days against the depredations of a small,
black caterpillar, green underneath. It is a precarious time for the agricultu-
rist, for if rain does not fall, the crop is lost, being eaten close by this insect.
Women walk in the fields, with small hand-picks, loosening the soil, clearing
it of weeds and worms. There is only one crop in the year, and all the cereals

422 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

known in Zanzibar are grown here. Cotton was considered by an Indian
resident to be as fine as that grown in Kutch, but he said they had no
use for it, merely burning it as wick. . . . The surrounding country-
is devoid of game, but within a long day's march a forest was visited, where
various antelopes, giraffes, lions, and a few elephants, might be met with along
the valley of the Wallah river. The scales of an armadillo were seen worn
as a charm, three inches across and striated or lined at one end. One man
had a superstition that the person who found a live armadillo would become a
king — meaning, I imagine, that it was so rare. However, we came upon a
pet one, at 3 ° N. latitude. About the cultivations, near the village, no
singing-birds are ever heard; but the plumage of those seen is often very
brilliant. Flocks of beautiful little birds, with black bodies, golden-tinted
scarlet heads and backs, pecked at the ears of corn; or in the rice-fields,
the favourite of the Cape farmers, the "locust bird," black, and looking
like a curlew when walking, went tamely about. Crows, with a ring of
white round the neck, were seen in two's and three's. The matting in the
house was full of bugs, or ticks, which pestered one while seated at night,
causing considerable irritation

"Let me give the reader some idea of our life here. Moosah, an
Indian, in whose house we resided, was a fine benevolent old man, with an
establishment of three hundred natives, men and women, round him. His
abode had, three years ago, taken two months to build, and it was surrounded
by a circular wall, which enclosed his houses, fruit and vegetable gardens,
and his stock of cattle. The lady who presided over the whole, was of most
portly dimensions, and her word was law. Moosah sat from morn till night
with his ' Foondee,' or chief manager, and other head servants, within sight,
receiving salutes and compliments from the rich and poor at the front, or
gentlemen's side of the house, while the lady presided over the domestic
arrangements of the interior. We had full access to both ; and no house
could be conducted with greater regularity. At three o'clock in the morning,
Moosah, who had led a hard life in his day, would call out for his little pill
of opium, which he never missed for forty years. This would brighten him
up till noon. He would then transact business, chat, and give you the gossip
at any hour you might sit by him on his carpet. To us it seemed strange,
that he never stopped talking when prayers from the Koran were being read
to him by a ' Birkeen,' or Madagascar man. Perhaps he had little respect
for the officiating priest, as the same reverend and learned gentleman was
accustomed to make his shirts. After a mid-day sleep, he would refresh
himself with a second and larger pill, transact business, and so end the day.
The harem department presented a more domestic scene. At dawn, women
in robes of coloured chintz, their hair neatly plaited, gave fresh milk to the
swarm of black cats, or churned butter in gourds, by rocking it to and fro in

MOOS AH' S COW-HERDS. 423

their laps. By seven o'clock the whole place was swept clean. Some of the
household fed the game fowls, or looked after the ducks and pigeons ; two
women, chained by the neck, fetched firewood, or ground corn at a stone ;
children would eat together without dispute, because a matron presided over
them; all were quiet, industrious beings, never idle, and as happy as the
day was long. When any of Moosah's wives gave birth to a child there was
universal rejoicing; the infant was brought to show its sex ; and when one
died, the shrill laments of the women were heard all night long. When a
child misbehaved, our white men were pointed at to frighten it, as nurses at
home too often do with ghost stories.

" The most important functionary about this court was the head keeper, or
Foondee, who had been a slave all his life, and now possessed a village, with
a farm and cattle. His daily duty was to sit within sight of his master. On
Spcke calling to see his collection of horses, and extract a bullet from the leg
of one of his slaves, the Foondee made us heartily welcome. Stools were placed,
and in gratitude for the operation he produced some ripe plantain, and showed
us about his premises. He also took us to one of his favourite shooting-
grounds, where he certainly knew how to make himself comfortable. His
servants had constructed for him a most luxurious waterproof hut, with broad
stripes of freshly-cut bark, and a capital bedstead of boughs. At night five
fires were kept burning round him to keep off the mosquitoes. The grate was
most original : three stout pegs of green wood, driven into the ground, forming
an equilateral triangle, answered every purpose of an iron utensil, and in it a
frying-pan, made of bark, frizzled mushrooms and meat to the chief's satis-
faction. By his own account, he had shot many lions from trees ; and during
the march to and from Zanzibar, with his master's property, he, with a staff
of under-keepers, used to supply the porters with rations from wild animals,
which plan saved the expenditure of bead-money. He had many sporting
stories. The lion, he said, seldom killed men ; but, not long ago, he had
jumped the wall of the building, and killed five cows, two of which he
dragged over the wall — the natives fearing to impede his course.

Moosah's cow-herds were a very interesting set of people — so well
featured, tall, and generally superior to the Africans, that I took great
interest in them. They were Watusi, from Karague. There were ten men
and women, all with woolly hair — the men leaving a crescent of it unshaved.
Their gums were blackened with a preparation from the tamarind-seed,
powdered, roasted, and mixed into a paste with blue vitriol, and afterwards
heated until fit for use. Their ornaments were large, solid rings of brass
upon the wrists, and iron rings, in masses, on their ankles. In walking, they
carried a bow and arrow, a staff, and long-stemmed pipe. The women were
of a large stamp, with fine oval faces, and erect figures, clad in well-dressed
cow-skin, from above the waists to their small feet. Their huts were quite

424 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

different from any we had seen, being shaped like the half of an orange,
and only five feet high, made of boughs, and covered with grass very neatly.
There was but one door ; the hut had no chimney, the smoke finding its way
through the light, grass roof. I observed a portable Indian ' chivlah ' or
fireplace inside the hut, which was tidily floored with hay. These natives
are a curious and distinct race. Previous to milking the cows in the morning,
they wash themselves, their teeth, and their wooden milk vessels or gourds,
with the urine of the animal, as they consider there is some virtue in it,
afterwards using fresh water for cleansing. They are allowed half the milk,
and Moosah had his half milked into his own clean vessel, in the morning
at eight o'clock. It took the milk of two cows to fill one good-sized tin
tea-pot. A cow's value was four or five dollars, though a first-class one would
cost double, or two pounds. Men milked them into a large crucible of wood
or gourd, in an open yard ; the hind-legs were tied above the hocks with a
thong of leather ; one of the handsome women sat on the other side, with a
bouoh beating off the flies, and with a stick to keep away the calf, which
stood at its mother's head, a boy sometimes assisting. Should the calf die,
its skin is stuffed and placed before the cow, otherwise she refuses to
milk. The Wanyamwezi look with great respect on this people. When two
of them meet, the Wezee puts both his palms together; these are gently
clasped by the Watusi, a few inaudible words are repeated, and they pass on.
The form of salutation, when a native meets one of his women senior to
himself, is gentle and pleasing ; he places his hands on her arms, below her
shoulders, while her hands hang by her sides."

The following interesting picture of African village life and industry, by
Captain Grant, refers to the country a few days' march to the south of
Kwihara.

" The flora was new and interesting ; but we were amazed at not seeing
better crops, as grasses, with pendant panicles, grew luxuriantly ten feet high.
The surface-soil, however, was very light, merely the washings of the hill-
sides brought down in a stream of red clay grit. In this tract of country we
came upon groups of palms, not met with since we left the coast. They were
converted into many uses — fences, thatching, firewood, and uprights for
building, etc. Toddy, also, was occasionally extracted. The fruit hung
down in rich, large, tempting clusters, at the mercy of any hungry traveller.
We observed some of these palms, with their leaf stalks still remaining in
the tree, to be the support and life of a species of ficus, growing like a
parasite, luxuriantly healthy, its roots not near the ground, but forming a
complete network round the stem of the palm. Tamarind-trees, so umbra-
geous and beautiful in outline, were numerous. There were also the runner,
from ten to twelve feet high ; and the tree, a ficus, whose bark affords the
\V Uganda their clothing, was here seen for the first time. The bark is taken

NATIVE AGRICULTURE. 425

off in strijjs, according to the size they can got it, then damped and beaten by
heavy wooden hammers till pliant, and afterwards sewn into a shirt, the
colour of Chainois leather, but much thicker ; the outer bark is thrown away.
Near the villages a few scrubby bushes of cotton were grown upon mounds
made by white ants. Looms of the rudest construction converted the pro-
duce of these into a hard, very stout, heavy cloth, about four or five feet in
size, with one-fourth of it a black border, and woven by women only.
Sessamum grew in ridges with the sorghum ; its oil, and that extracted from
the ground-nut, being used by the natives for smearing themselves from head
to foot, giving their skins a handsome colour, like the gloss on polished
marble. To vary the colour some red clay is added. The sorghum is some-
times afflicted with a black blight, but the natives do not think this any dete-
rioration; all goes into the mill. They live upon Indian corn, ulezee,
sorghum, made into flour, by rubbing the grains between stones, as a house-
painter pounds colours. Their vegetables are sweet potato, and the leaves,
flowers, and fruits of pumpkins ; and they brought us, daily, ground nuts,
tobacco, and fowls, for sale. On the 3rd of April, the rice-harvest was being
gathered in; but we perceived no traces of irrigation, as in Egypt. Abundant
rains gave an ample crop. The reapers consisted of negro women and girls,
who sang pleasantly, though the scene was marred by the sight of a gang of
men-slaves, heavily ironed together by their necks, with some superintend-
ants, gleaning. Those who had small knives, cut the stalk four or five inches
below the grain, and held it in their left hand till the hand was full, when it
was placed in a huge tub of bark lying in the field.

The thrashing of the rice was novel. A quantity of ears was placed upon
a cow's hide, slaves in irons were made to work it with their toes and feet, and
winnow it in the wind ; and after being thoroughly sun-dried upon a clear
space of cow-dunged ground, it was fit for the process of shelling in the large
pestle and mortar. If a considerable amount was to be thrashed, a bludgeon
answered the purpose of the negro's feet. The stubble would afterwards bo
turned over with powerful long-handled hoes, beds of the soil made, and the
suckers or offshots of the sweet potato planted there by bands of twenty or
thirty villagers, shouting and singing the whole time. If one Seedee (negro)
had to clean rice in the wooden mortar, a dozen hands would set about tho
work of two. It could not be done without those who worked keeping time
with their feet to the song, the lookers-on clapping hands, and stamping with
their feet. The work and song never ceased until tho rice was pounded
almost into dust — such joyous, reckless creatures are these Africans. Yams
are grown upon mounds of earth, placed all over a field, tho branches of the
plant trained upon a stick, or rnoro commonly allowed to crawl over the
ground. They do not attain a great growth. Grain is buried under the eaves
of stack-shaped huts, or a clustered mass of Indian-corn may be seen suspended
b2

42C LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE', LL.D.

from the bough of a tree, as exhibited in the illustration of ' Unyauiwezi
harvest,' in Captain Speke's Journal.

" Provisions were all remarkably cheap upon the route. A fat cow was
purchased far four fathoms of calico ; another full-sized cow and four small
goats were got for eight fathoms ; but three small goats were a bargain at the
same price ; a donkey was offered for fourteen, but he would have been dear
at half the amount. For a fowl, one native demanded a charge of gunpowder,
and would not sell it for anything else ; another native led in a goat to camp,
saying if we repaired his old flint-musket we should have the animal ; he
refused to bargain for anything else. For two quarts of impure honey, ten
strings of common beads and a fathom of calico were asked, but not given.
Milk was not always to be had, the people being afraid to keep heads of cattle,
as they would attract the plundering Watuta race. Milk sometimes cost three
strings of beads per pint ; twelve measures of rice, one fathom of calico ;
sweet potatoes were one-tenth of the price they brought at Zanzibar ; a basin-
ful of ground nuts, or a load of wood, cost but one string of ordinary beads.

11 The people preferred keeping a few milk-cows, being more productive
than oxen, which were rarely met with, except one or two, fattened up to a
large size, on purpose to be killed on the visit of a neighbouring Sultan, or to
celebrate some success in war. After the cattle have been brought in at night,
a quantity of rubbish is allowed to smoke and smoulder in the centre of the
fold. It was amusing to watch how each animal took up its nightly position,
never altering it, and thoroughly enjoying the smoke, which prevented them
from being annoyed by insects. The sheep were very stupid-looking animals,
small, and wanting in rotundity.

" We had daily visits from the women of the country, who came in parties.
They were copper-coloured, and flat featured, and wore round their necks a
profusion of pendent bead necklaces, of the colour of the mountain-ash berry ;
their ankles were concealed with masses of wire rings. For hours they sat
silently before us, smoking, nursing, and shampooing the limbs and necks of
their infants ; some wore the heavy cloth of the country, others had soiled
robes of calico. Young girls, many of them with pleasing faces, and plump
round figures, wore merely a diminutive cloth about their loins, and infants
had a fringe of beads. . . . We saw some decidedly handsome girls on
this route : their men attend upon cattle exclusively, while they stay at home
doing household work, cooking, coquetting, and showing off their beautiful
feet and ankles. Two, in the bloom of youth, sat by us, with their arms most
affectionately twined round each other's necks. The arms were at once dropped,
exposing their beautiful necks and busts, quite models for a ' Greek Slave.'
Their woolly hair was combed out, and raised up from the forehead and over
the ears by a broad band, made from the skin of a milk-white cow; this con-
trasted strikingly with their beautiful light copper skins."

FOREST SCENERY. 427

"When Mr. Stanley arrived at his next camping ground — Mkwenkwe — he
found that his attendants, who had gone before to make preparations, had deserted
in a body, and returned to Kwihara. To make matters worse, he was suffering
from fever. The awkward position in which he found himself roused his indomit-
able pluck, and enabled him to throw off the fever which oppressed him ; and the
men who stood true to him having collected the scattered fugitives, after a couple
of days' rest he continued his march. After reaching Kasegera, two of his
followers deserted. When brought back, he had them tied up and flogged, and
then fastened them together with a chain. This mode of treatment he found
to be quite successful in quelling insubordination. He says in regard to it :
" I was determined to try a new method, not having the fear of Exeter Hall
before my eyes ; and I am happy to say to-day, for the benefit of all f uture
travellers, that it is the best method yet adopted, and that I will never tread
in Africa again without a good long chain." A few days after this, Shaw the
Englishman broke down, partly from illness and partly from fear, and was sent
back to Unyanyembe.

The following extract gives a graphic picture of the country he was
marching through: — "We were about entering the immense forest that
separates Unyanyembe from the district of Ugunda. In lengthy, undulating
waves, the land stretched before us — the new land which no European knew —
the unknown mystic land. The view which the eyes hurry to embrace as we
ascend some ridge higher than another, is one of the most disheartening which
can be conceived. Away, one beyond another, were the lengthy rectilinear
ridges clad in the same garb — woods, woods, woods ; forests, leafy branches,
green and yellow, and dark-red and purple ; then an undefinable ocean, bluer
than the bluest sky. The horizon all round shows the same scene — a sky
dropping into the depths of the endless forest, with but two or three tall giants
of the forest, higher than their neighbours, which are conspicuous in their out-
lines, to break the monotony of the scene. On no one point do our eyes rest
with pleasure ; they have viewed the same outlines, the same forest, and the
same horizon, day after day, week after week ; and again, like Noah's dove,
from wandering over a world without a halting-place, they return wearied with
the search."

At Ugunda Mr. Stanley had an interview with a friendly chief, Maman-
yara, " a tall, stalwart man, with a pleasing face. He carried in his hand a
couple of spears, and, with the exception of a well-worn barsati round his
loins, he was naked. Three of his principal men and himself were invited to
seat themselves on my Persian carpet. They began to admire it excessively,
and asked if it came from my country. Where was my country ? Was it
large ? How many days to it ? Was I a king ? Had I many soldiers ? were
questions quickly asked, and as quickly answered ; and the ico being broken,
the chief being as candid as I was myself, he grasped my forefiuger and middle

428 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.R

fingers, and vowed we were friends. The revolvers and Winchester's repeating
rifle were things so wonderful that to attempt to give you any idea of how
awe-struck he and his were, would task my powers. The chief roared with
laughter ; he tickled his men in the ribs with his forefinger ; he clasped their
fore and middle fingers, vowed that the Masungu (white man) was a wonder,
a marvel, and no mistake. Did they ever see anything like it before ? * No,'
as solemnly as before. Is he not a wonder ? Quite a wonder — positively a
wonder."'

Pushing onwards, he made the acquaintance of the honey bird, and while
in timbered country never lacked the agreeable addition of honey to their
meals. The honey bird " is a pretty bird, not much larger than a wren.
When it sees a human being it becomes very busy all at once, hops and skips
and flies from branch to branch with marvellous celerity. The traveller lifts
up his eyes, beholds the tiny little bird hopping about, and hears its sweet call,
1 Sweet — Sweet — Sweet !' If he is a Wokonongo (a native tribe given to honey-
hunting), he follows it. Away flies the bird on to another tree ; then springs
to another branch nearer to the begging man, as if to say, ' Shall I — must I
come and fetch you ?' Another, assured by the advance of its friend, rushes
off to another tree, coquets about, and sweets his call rapidly — sometimes more
earnest and loud, as if chiding the traveller for being so slow ; and so on, until
at last the treasure is found and secured. As the honey bird is a very busy
little animal, while the man secures his treasure of honey, he holds himself
ready for another flight, and to discover another treasure."

The following illustrates the trouble he had in maintaining discipline
among his own followers. A man of less courage and nerve must either have
laid down his life there and then, or have been compelled to abandon the
expedition for a time, if not for altogether. Three hours' journey from the
banks of the Gombe, where they had rested for three days, his men halted, and
refused to proceed. The rapid marching was beginning to tell upon them, and
they wished to remain encamped several days, where, from the quantity of
game about, they could rest and enjoy abundance. Ever since ho had left
Kwihara, Stanley had been possessed by a feverish eagerness to push forward,
and was in consequence in no mood to submit to any needless detention. We
will let him tell what happened in his own words : —

"As I was walking up to see what was the matter, I saw the guide and his
brother sitting on an ant-hill, apart from the other people, fingering their guns
in what appeared to be a most suspicious manner. Calling Selim, I took the
double-barrelled smooth-bore, and slipped in two charges of buckshot, and then
walked on to my people, keeping an eye, however, upon the guide and his
brother. I asked Bombay to give me an explanation of the stoppage. He
would not answer, though he mumbled something sullenly, which was unin-
telligible to me. I looked on the other people, and perceived that they acted

A MUTINY QUELLED. 429

in au irresolute manner, as if they feared to take my part, or were of the same
mood as the party on the ant-hill. I was but thirty paces from the guide, and
throwing the barrel of the gun into the hollow of my left hand, I presented it
cocked at the guide, and called out to him, if he did not come to me at once I
would shoot him, giving him and his companions to understand that I had
twenty-four small bullets in the gun, and that I could blow them to pieces. In
a very reluctant manner they advanced towards me. When they were
sufficiently near I ordered them to halt ; but the guide, as he did so, brought
his gun to the present, with his finger on the trigger, and, with a treacherous
and cunning smile, which I perfectly understood, he asked what I wanted of
him. His companion, while he was speaking, was sidling to my rear, and was
impudently engaged in filling the pan of his musket with powder ; but a threat
to finish him if he did not go back to his companion, and there stand till I gave
him permission to move, compelled this villainous Thersite to execute the
' right about ' with a promptitude which caused commendation from me. Then
facing my Ajax of a guide with my gun, I next requested him to lower his
gun if he did not wish to receive the contents of mine in his head ; and I do
not know but what the terrible catastrophe, warranted by stern necessity, had
occurred then and there, if Mabruki (bull-headed Mabruki, but my faithful
porter and faithfullest soldier) had not dashed the man's gun aside, asking him
how he dared level his gun at his master, and then throwing himself at my
feet, prayed me to forgive him. . . . When Mabruki's prayer for f ox-give-
ness was seconded by that of the principal culprit that I would overlook his
offence, I was able to act as became a prudent commander, though I felt some
remorse that I had not availed myself of the opportunity to punish the guide
and his companion as they eminently deserved. . . . However, as Bombay
could not bend himself to ask forgiveness, I came to the conclusion that it were
best he should be made to feel the penalty for stirring dissensions in the
expedition, and be brought to look with a more amiable face upon the scheme
of proceeding to Ujiji through Ukonongo and Ukawendi ; and I at at once
proceeded about it with such vigour, that Bombay's back will for as Ion"- a
time bear traces of the punishment which I administered to him, as his front
teeth do of that which Speke (he had been a servant of Speke's) rightfully
bestowed on him some eleven years ago."

After a time the character of the scenery changed, and this, together with
rapid movement, and the almost certainty that Lake Tanganyika would bo
speedily reached, had the effect of raising the spirits of every member of tho
expedition. This is his description of the country within fourteen days of the
great lake, on whose shore he hoped to find the object of his search : —

" Here and there were upheaved above the tree- tops sugar-loaf hills; and
darkly blue, west of us, loomed a noble ridge of hills, which formed tho
boundary between Kamiramba's territory and that of Utendi. Elephant tracks

430 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

became numerous, and buffalo met the delighted eyes everywhere. Crossing
the mountainous ridge of Mivara, with its lengthy slope slowly declining
westward, the vegetation became more varied, and the outlines of the land
before us more picturesque. We grew satiated with the varieties of novel fruit
which we saw hanging thickly on the trees. There was the Mbember, with
the taste of an over-ripe peach ; the Tamarind pod and beans, with their
grateful acidity, resembling somewhat the lemon in their flavour ; the
Matonga, or nux vomica, was welcome ; and the luscious Singive, the plum of
Africa, was most delicious of all. There were wild plums like our own, and
grapes unpicked, long past their season, and beyond eating.

"Guinea-fowl, the moor-hen, ptarmigan, and ducks, supplied our tables;
and often the hump of a buffalo, or an extravagant piece of venison, filled our
camp-kettles. My health was firmly re-established. The faster we prosecuted
our journey, the better I felt. I had long bidden adieu to the nauseous calomel
and rhubarb compounds, and had become quite a stranger to quinine. There
was only one drawback to it all, and that was the feeble health of the Arab
boy, Selim, who was suffering from an attack of acute dysentery, caused by
inordinate drinking of the bad water at the pools at which we had camped
between Manyara and Mvera ; but judicious attendance, and Dover's powders,
brought the boy round again. After a halt of three days at this village for
the benefit of the Arab boy, we proceeded westerly. . . Traversing a dense
forest of young trees, we came to a plain dotted with acres of ant-hills. Their
uniform height (about seven feet high above the plain) leads me to believe that
they were constructed during an unusually wet season, and when the country
was inundated for a long time in consequence. The surface of the plain also
bore the appearance of being subject to inundations. Beyond this plain about
four miles we came to a running stream of purest water — a most welcome sight,
after so many months spent by brackish pools."

Pushing onwards, their proximity to the Tanganyika lake was evident
from the number of streams, all trending towards that goal of their hopes.
The neighbourhood of these streams was thickly covered with brushwood, and
the vicinity of these was dreaded by his followers, and not without cause. He
sayS : — " The undergrowth of bushes and tall grass, dense and impenetrable,
likely resorts of leopard, lion, and wild boar, were enough to appal the stout-
est heart. One of my donkeys, while being driven to water along a narrow
patli edged by the awesome brake on either side, was attacked by a leopard,
which fastened its fangs in the poor animal's neck ; and it would have made
short work of it, had not its companions set up a braying chorus that might
well have terrified a score of leopards. And that same night, while encamped
contiguous to the limpid stream of Mtambu, with that lofty fine of enormous
trees rising dark and awful above us, the lions issued from the brakes beneath,
and prowled about a well-set bush defence of our camp, venting their fearful

SCENERY OF UKAWENDI 431

clamour without intermission until morning. Towards daylight they retreated
towards their leafy caverns, for —

' There the lion dwells — the Monarch,
Mightiest among the brutes ;
There his right to reign supremcst
Never one his claim disputes ;
There he layeth down to slumber,
Having slain and ta'en his fill ;
There he roameth, there he couchetli,
As it suits Ms lordly -will.'

And«few I believe would venture therein to dispute it. Not I, (i faith,' when
searching after Livingstone."

He has a different story to tell of the southern portion of the same region.
He says : " The fairest portion of Calif ornian scenery cannot excel, though it
may equal, such scenes as Ukawendi can boast of, and yet a land as large as
the State of New York is almost uninhabited. Days and days one may travel
through primeval forests; now ascending ridges overlooking broad, well-
watered valleys, with belts of valuable timber crowning the banks of the river ;
and behold exquisite bits of scenery — wild, fantastic, picturesque, and pretty
— all within the scope of vision, whichever way one may turn. And, to crown
the glories of this lovely portion of earth, underneath the surface but a few
feet is one mass of iron ore, extending across three degrees of longitude, and
nearly four of latitude, cropping out at intervals, so that the traveller cannot
remain ignorant of the wealth lying beneath.

" Ah me ! what wild and ambitious projects fill a man's brain as ho looks
over the forgotten and unpeopled country, containing in its bosom such stores
of wealth, and with such an expanse of fertile soil capable of sustaining mil-
lions ! What a settlement one could have in this valley ! See, it is broad
enough to support a large population. Fancy a church spire where that tree
rears its dark crown of foliage, and think how well a score or so of rjretty
cottages would look, instead of thoso thorn clumps and gum trees !

" Fancy this lovely valley teeming with herds of cattle, and fields of corn
spreading to the right and left of this stream ! How much better would such
a state of things become this valley, than the present deserted and mid aspect!
But be hopeful ; the day will come, and a future year will see it when happier
lands have become crowded, and nations have become so overgrown, that
they have no room to turn about. It really wants an Abraham or a Lot, an
Alaric or an Attila, to lead their hosts to this land, which perhaps has been
wisely reserved for such a time."

Leaving this unpeopled paradise behind them, the party had several
weary days' march over a country as rocky and sterile as the Sierra Nevada,
which, in its rocky hills, and dry, stony watercourses, reminded Mr. Stanley
of the country round Magdala. Their provisions were all but exhausted,

432 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and they were suffering from thirst, and foot-sore and weary, when they reached
the village of a son of the chief of Uzogera, where they were hospitably enter-
tained. From this point the country improved at every step, although many
difficulties had yet to be overcome, the principal of which were the heavy
tributes exacted by warlike chiefs for leave to pass through their territory.
Mr. Stanley's account of a natural bridge, across which the expedition passed
with safety, cannot fail to be interesting. " Fancy," he says, " a river as
broad as the Hudson at Albany, though not near so deep or swift, covered
over with water-plants and grasses, which had become so interwoven and
netted together as to form a bridge covering its entire length and breadth,
under which the river flowed calm and deep below. It was over this natural
bridge we were expected to cross. Adding to the tremor which one naturally
felt at having to cross this frail bridge was the tradition that, only a few yards
higher up, an Arab and his donkey, thirty-five slaves, and sixteen tusks of
ivory, had been suddenly sunk for ever out of sight. As one-half of our column
had already arrived at the centre, we on the shore could see the network of
grass waving on either side, and between each man ; in one place like the
swell of the sea after a storm, and in another like a small lake violently ruffled
by a squall. Hundreds of yards away from them it ruffled and undulated,
one wave after another. As we all got on it, we perceived it to sink about a
foot, forcing the water on which it rested into the grassy channel formed by
our footsteps. One of my donkeys broke through, and it required the united
strength of ten men to extricate him. The aggregate weight of the donkey
and men caused that portion of the bridge on which they stood to sink about
two feet, and a circular pool of water was formed. I expected every minute
to see them sink out of sight. Fortunately we managed to cross the trea-
cherous bridge without further accident. Arrived on the other side, we struck
north, passing through a delightful country, in every way suited for agricul-
tural settlements, or happy mission stations. The primitive rock began to
show itself anew in eccentric clusters, or a flat-topped rock on which the vil-
lages of the Wavinza were seen, and where the natives prided themselves on
their security, and conducted themselves accordingly in an insolent and for-
ward fashion, though I believe that with forty good rifles I could have made
the fellows desert their country en masse. But a white traveller's motto in
these lands is, do, dare, and endure ; and those who have come out of Africa
alive have generally to thank themselves for their prudence rather than their
temerity."

At last their eyes were gladdened by the sight of the broad and swift
Malagarazi, an influent of Lake Tanganyika. The goal was nearly won ; a
few days' march, and the mighty lake of Central Africa would be spread out
before their gaze. The principal Sultan of Uvinza, the country bordering on
the Malagarazi, was Kiala, the eldest son of Uzogera. The command of the

THE CROCODILES OF THE MALAGA RAZL 433

river gave him great power as a levier of black-mail from travellers passing
through his country, which he used to the uttermost. After much hi cm-lino-
Stanley had to give 92 yards of cloth for the privilege of passing through his
country. The tribute for passing the river had still to be settled, and after a
long and stormy discussion, this was arranged. " Finally," he says, "seven
doti (28 yards of cloth) and ten pounds of Sam-Sami beads were agreed upon;
after which we marched to the feny, distant half a mile from the scene of so
much contention. The river at this place was not more than thirty yards
broad, sluggish, and deep. Yet I would prefer attempting to cross the Missis-
sippi by swimming, rather than the Malagarazi. Such another river for croco-
diles— crocodiles cruel as death, I cannot conceive. Their long tapering heads
dotted the river everywhere, and though I amused myself pelting them with
two ounce balls, I made no effect upon their numbers.

" Two canoes discharged their live cargo on the other side of the river,
when the story of Captain Burton's passage across the Malagarazi higher up
was brought vividly to my mind by the extortions which now commenced.
About twenty or so of the chief's men had collected, and backed by them he
became insolent. If it were worth while to commence a struggle for two or
three more doti of cloth, the mere firing of one revolver at such close quarters
would have settled the day ; but I could not induce myself to believe it was
the best way of proceeding, taking in view the object of our expedition. And
accordingly, this extra demand was settled at once with as much amiability as
I could muster ; but I warned him not to repeat it ; and to prevent him from
doing so, ordered a man to each canoe, and to be seated there with a loaded
gun in each man's hand. After this little episode we got on very well until
the men, excepting two, besides Bombay and myself, were safe on the other
side. . . . We then drove a donkey into the river, having first tied a
strong halter to his neck ; but lie had hardly reached the middle of the river
when a crocodile beneath seized him by the neck and dragged him under
after several frantic but ineffectual endeavours to draw him ashore. A sadness
stole over all, after witnessing this scene ; and as the shades of nio-ht had now
drawn around us, and had tinged the river to a black, dismal colour it was
with a feeling of relief that the fatal stream was crossed, and we all set foot
ashore."

More and yet more pillage in name of tribute had the party to undergo.
After paying tribute to the chief of Kawanga, the party marched forward
cheerfully, when they were overtaken by a party, who demanded why they
attempted to pass without paying the tribute to the King of Ubha. In their
innocence they thought they had settled with him when they satisfied his
subordinate Kawanga. Mionvu, another subordinate of the King of Ubha
came up to them to receive his masters tribute.

" He was," says Mr Stanley, " robed most royally, after the fashion of
F 2

434 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Central Africa, in a crimson cloth, arranged toga-like over his shoulder, and
depending to his ankles ; and a brand new piece of Massachusetts shirting
folded around his head He greeted us graciously; he was the prince of
politeness ; shook hands first with myself, then with my head men, and cast a
keen glance around, in order, as I thought, to measure our strength. Then
seating himself, he spoke with deliberation, something in this style : — ' Why
does the white man stand in the road ? The sun is hot, let him seek the
shelter of my village, when we can arrange this little matter between us.
Does he not know that there is a king in Ubha, and that I, Mionvu, am his
servant ? It is a custom with us to make friends with great men, such as
the white man. All Arabs and Wanguana stop here, and give us cloth.
Does the white man mean to go on without paying ? Why should he desire
war ? I know he is stronger than we are here ; his men have guns, and we
have but spears and arrows ; but Ubha is large, and has plenty of people. The
children of the king are many. If he comes to be a friend to us, he will come
to our village, give us something, and then go his way.'

" The armed warriors around applauded the speech of Miovnu, because
it spoke the feelings with which they viewed our bales. Certain am I,
though, that one portion of his speech — that which related to our being
stronger than the Ubha — was an untruth, and that he knew it, and that he
only wished we would start hostilities, in order that he might have good reason
for seizing the whole. It is not new to you, of course, if you have read this
letter through, to find that the representative of the Herald was held of small
account here, and never one did I see who would care a bead for anything
that you would ever publish against him ; so the next time you want me to
enter Africa, I only hope you will think it worth while to send 100 good men
from the Herald office to punish this audacious Mionvu, who neither fears the
New York Herald nor the ' Star Spangled Banner.'

" I submitted to Mionvu's proposition, and went with him to his village,
when he fleeced me to his heart's content. His demand, which he adhered to
like a man who knew what he was about, was one good bale of cloth,
apportioned between the king, himself, his wife, three of his chief men, and
his son, a little boy. I went to bed that night like a man on the verge of
ruin. However, Mionvu said we would have to pay no more in Ubha. Not-
withstanding this, a brother of Mionvu's levied black mail on the traveller at a
village further to the west, and further exactions were eluded by starting in the
middle of the night, and keeping clear of the villages."

At last they are at " the base of a hill, from the top of which the
Kirangozi (a native tribe) said we would obtain a view of Lake Tanganyika.
. . . On arriving at the top, we beheld it at last from the spot whence
probably Burton and Speke looked at it, ' the one in a half-paralyzed state,
the other almost blind.' Indeed, I was placed at the right, and as we

UJIJI AT LAST. 435

descended, it opened more and more into view, until it was revealed at last
into a great inland sea, bounded westward by an appalling black-blue range of
mountains, and stretching north and south, without bounds, a grey expanse
of water."

After feasting their eyes on this longed-for prospect, they hurry on with
eager footsteps. "From the western base of the hill there was a three hours'
march, though no march ever passed off so quickly — the hours seemed to have
been quarters — we had seen so much that was novel and rare to us who had
been travelling so long in the highlands. The mountains bounding the lake
on the eastward receded, and the lake advanced. We had crossed the Ruche,
or Liuche, and its thick belt of matete grass ; we had plunged int o a perfect
forest of them, and had entered into the cultivated fields which supply the
port of Ujiji with vegetables, etc ; and we stood at last on the summit of the
last hill of the myriads we had crossed, and the port of Ujiji, embowered in
palms, with the tiny waves of the silver waters of the Tanganyika rolling at
its feet, was directly beneath us.

" We are now about descending. In a few minutes we shall have reached
the spot where lives, we imagine, the object of our search. Our fate will soon
be decided. No one in that town knows we are coming — least of all do they
know we are so close to them ; if any of them ever heard of the white man at
Unyanyembe, they must believe we are there yet. We shall take them all
by surprise ; for no other but a white man would dare leave Unyanyembe for
Ujiji with the country in such a distracted state — no other but a crazy white
man, whom Sheikh, the son of Nasib, is going to report to Syed or Prince
Binghas, for not taking his advice."

The supreme moment had come at last; the American flag is flung out
to the breeze ; muskets are loaded and fired off in hot haste to rouse the little
town of Ujiji, which as yet knew nothing of the strange and unexpected visi-
tors now at its gates. " The flags are fluttered — the banner of America is in
front, waving joyfully — the guide is in the zenith of his glory — the former
residents of Zanzibar will know it directly, and will wonder — as well they
may, as to what it means. Never were the stars and stripes so beautiful to
my mind, the breeze of the Tanganyika has such an effect on them. The
guide blows his horn, and the shrill wild clangour of it is far and wide, and
still the muskets tell the noisy seconds. . . The natives of Ujiji, . .
and I know not where else, hurry up by the hundreds to ask what it all means,
this fusillading, shouting, and blowing of horns, and flag-flying. There are
Yambos (how do you do's) shouted out to me by the dozen, and delighted
Arabs have run up breathlessly to shake my hand and ask anxiously where I
come from. But I have no patience with them — the expedition goes far too
slow ; I should like to settle the vexed question by one personal view. Where
is he ? Has he fled ? Suddenly a man, a black man at my elbow, shouts in

436 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

English, ' How do you do, sir ?' ' Hallo, who the deuce are you?' 'I am the
servant of Dr. Livingstone,' he says ; but before I can ask any more questions,
he is running like a madman towards the town.

" We have at last entered the town. There are hundreds of people
around me — I might say thousands, without exaggeration. It seems to me
it is a great triumphal procession. As we move, they move ; all eyes are
drawn towards us. The expedition at last comes to a halt, the journey is
ended for a time, but I alone have a few more steps to take. There
is a group of the most respectable Arabs ; and as I come nearer, I see the
white face of an old man among them. He has a cap with a gold band
around it ; his dress is a short jacket of red blanket cloth ; and his pants —
well, I didn't observe. I am shaking hands with him. We raise our hats,
and I say, ' Dr. Livingstone, I presume ?' and he says, ' Yes.' Finis coronat
opus,"

CHAPTER XIX.

Mr. Stanley and Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji — Expedition to the Rusisi — Zaire Tan-
ganyika, and Tribes on its shores — Livingstone and Stanley arrive at
Unyanycmhc — Mr. Stanley bids the great Traveller farewell — Memoir oj
Mr. Stanley, etc., clc.

THE following description of Dr. Livingstone, as he appeared to Mr.
Stanley at Ujiji, has additional interest for us, now that its subject
has passed away to the land of shadows. He says: — " Upon my first in-
troduction to him, Livingstone was to me like a huge tome with a most
unpretending binding. Within, the work might contain much valuable
lore and wisdom, but its exterior gave no promise of what was within.
Thus, outside Livingstone gave no token, except of being rudely dealt writh
by the wilderness, of what elements of power or talent lay within. Ho
is a man of unpretending appearance enough, has quiet, composed features,
from which the freshness of youth has quite departed, but which retain
the mobility of prime age, just enough to show that there yet lies much
endurance and vigour within his frame. The eyes, which are hazel, are
remarkably bright, not dimmed in the least, though the whiskers and
moustache are very gray. The hair, originally brown, is streaked here and
there witli gray over the temples ; otherwise it might belong to a man of
thirty. The teeth alone show indications of being worn out ; the hard fare
of Louda and Manajenia have made havoc in their rows. His form
is stoutish — a little over the ordinary height, with slightly bowed shoulders.
When walking, he has the heavy step of an overworked and fatigued man.
On his head he wears the naval cap, with a round visor, with which he has
been identified throughout Africa. His dress shows that at times he has
had to resort to the needle to repair and replace what travel has worn.
Such is Livingstone externally. " Of the inner man, much more may be
said than of the outer. As he reveals himself bit by bit to the stranger, a
great many favourable points present themselves, any of which, taken singly,
might dispose a man well towards him. I had brought him a packet
of letters, and, though I urged him again and again to defer conversation
with me until he had read the news from home and children, he said he

438 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

would defer reading until night; for the moment he would enjoy the
astonishment which the European caused him, and any general world news I
could communicate."

" . . . . The hours of that afternoon passed most pleasantly —
few afternoons of my life more so. It seemed to me as if I had met an old,
old friend. There was a friendly or good-natured abandon about Livingstone,
which was not lost on me. As host, welcoming one who spoke his language,
he did his duties with a spirit and style I have never seen elsewhere. He had
not much to offer, to be sure ; but what he had was mine and his. The
wan features, which had shocked me at first meeting, the heavy step which
told of age and hard travel, the gray beard and stooping shoulders, belied
the man. Underneath that aged and well-spent exterior lay an endless
fund of high spirits, which now and then broke out in peals of hearty
laughter; the rugged frame enclosed a very young and exuberant soul.
The meal — I am not sure but what we ate three meals that afternoon — was
seasoned with innumerable jokes and pleasant anecdotes, interesting hunting
stories, of which his friends Webb, Oswell, Varden, and Gordon Cumming,
were always the chief actors. ' You have brought me new life,' he said
several times, so that I was not sure but there was some little hysteria in this
jovial ty and abundant animal spirits ; but as I found it continued during
several weeks, I am now disposed to think it natural. . . . Dr. Living-
stone is a truly pious man, a man deeply imbued with real religious instincts.
The study of the man would not be complete if we did not take the religious
side of his character into consideration. His religion, any more than
his business, is not of the theoretical kind, simply contenting itself with own-
ing all other religions as wrong or weak. It is of the true, practical kind,
never losing a chance to manifest itself in a quiet, practical way — never
demonstrative or loud. It is always at work. It is not aggressive, which
sometimes is troublesome, and often impertinent. In him religion exhibits
its loveliest features. It governs his conduct towards his servants, towards
the natives, and towards the bigoted Mussulmans even — all who come in
contact with him. Without religion, Livingstone, with his ardent tempe-
rament, his enthusiastic nature, his high spirit and courage, might have been
an uncompanionable man, and a hard master. Religion has tamed all these
characteristics; nay, if he was ever possessed of them, they have been
thoroughly eradicated. Whatever was crude or wilful, religion has refined,
and has made him — to speak the earnest, sober truth — the most agreeable of
companions and indulgent of masters.

" I have been frequently ashamed of my impatience while listening to
liis mild rebuke of a dishonest lazy servant ; whereas had the servant been
mine, his dishonesty or laziness had surely been visited with prompt
punishment, I have often heard our servants discuss our respective merits.

CHA MP A ONE A T UJIJI. 439

' Your master,' say my servants to those of Livingstone, ' is a good man —
a very good man ; he does not beat you, for he has a kind heart ; but ours —
oh ! he is sharp — hot as fire.' From being hated and thwarted in every pos-
sible way by the Arabs and half-castes upon his first arrival at Ujiji, through
his uniform kindness and mild pleasant temper, he has now won all hearts.
I perceived that unusual respect was paid to him by all. . . . Every
Sunday morning he gathers his flock around him, and he has prayers read,
not in the stereotyped tone of an English High Church clergyman, which
always sounds in my car insincerely, but in the tone recommended by
Archbishop Whately, viz. natural, unaffected, and sincere. Following these,
he delivers a short address in the Kisawahili language about what he has been
reading from the Bible to them, which is listened to with great attention."

Dr. Livingstone having expressed his determination not to return to Eng-
land until he had completed his task, Mr. Stanley asked him why he had come
so far back without finishing the short task he had to do.

" Simply," said he, " because I was forced. My men would not budge a
step forward. They mutinied, and passed a secret resolution, if I still insisted
in going on, to raise a disturbance in the country, and after they had effected
it to abandon me ; in which case I should have been killed. It was dangerous to
go any further. I had explored six hundred miles of the watershed, had traced
all the principal streams which discharged their water into the central line of
drainage, and when about starting to explore the last hundred miles the hearts of
my people failed, and they set about frustrating me in every possible way.
Now having returned seven hundred miles to get a new supply of stores and
another escort, I find myself destitute of even the means to live but for a
few weeks, and sick in mind and body."

After the Arabs had left Dr. Livingstone and Mr. Stanley together, the
latter says, " Said bin Majid, and a curried chicken, was received from
Mohammed bin Sali, and Moeni Kheri sent a dishful of stewed goat meat and
rice ; and thus presents of food came in succession ; and as fast as they
were brought we set to. I had a healthy sublime digestion — the exer-
cise I had taken had put it in prime order ; but Livingstone — he had been
complaining that he had no appetite, that his stomach refused everything
but a cup of tea now and then — he ate also — ate like a vigorous, hungry
man ; and as he vied with me in demolishing the pancakes, he kept re-
peating, ' You have brought me knew life. You have brought me new
life.'

" ' Oh, by jingo ! ' I said, ' I have forgotten something. Hasten Selim,
and bring that bottle ; you know which ; and bring me the silver goblets.
I brought this bottle on purpose for this event, which I hoped, would come to
pass, though often it seemed useless to expect it." Sclim knew where the
bottle was, and he soon returned with it — a bottle of Sillery champagne ; and

440 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

handing the Doctor a silver goblet brimful of the exhilarating wine, and
pouring a small quantity into my own, I said : —

" ' Dr. Livingstone, to your very good health, Sir.' ' And to yours,' he
responded, smilingly.

" And the champagne I had treasured for this happy meeting was drunk
with hearty good wishes to each other.

" But we kept on talking and talking, and prepared food was being brought
to us all that afternoon ; and we kept on eating each time it was brought,
and until I had eaten even to repletion, and the Doctor was obliged to confess
that he had eaten enough. Still, Halimah, the female cook of the Doctor's
establishment, was in the state of the greatest excitement. . . She was
afraid the Doctor did not properly appreciate her culinary abilities ; but now
she was amazed at the extraordinary quantity of food eaten, and she was in a
state of delightful excitement. We could hear the tongue rolling off a tre-
mendous volume of clatter to the wondering crowds who halted before the
kitchen to hear the current of news with which she edified them. Poor
faithful soul I While we listened to the noise of her furious gossip, the
Doctor related her faithful services ; and the terrible anxiety she evinced
when the guns first announced the arrival of another white man in Ujiji ;
how she had been flying about in a state of the utmost excitement, from the
kitchen into his presence, and out again into the square, asking all sorts of
questions ; how she was in despair at the scantiness of the general larder and
treasury of the strange household ; how she was anxious to make up for their
poverty by a grand appearance — to make up a sort of Barmecide feast to
welcome the white man. ' Why,' said she, ' is he not one of us ? does he
not bring plenty of cloths and beads ? Talk about Arabs ? Who are they
that they should be compared to white men ? Arabs, indeed ! '

a The Doctor and I conversed upon many things, especially upon his own
immediate troubles, and his disappointments upon his arrival in Ujiji, when
told that all his goods had been sold, and he was reduced to poverty. He
had but twenty cloths or so left of the stock he had deposited with the man
called Sherif, the half caste, drunken tailor, who was sent by the consul in
charge of the goods. Besides what he had been suffering from an attack of
dysentery, his condition was most deplorable. He was but little improved
on this day, though he had eaten well, and already began to feel stronger and
better."

Mr. Stanley stayed with Livingstone for a considerable period ; and before
they left for Unyanyembe, at which place Dr. Livingstone was to await stores
and assistance from Zanzibar, they set off for the head of the Tanganyika to
settle the question as to whether the Rusizi is an influent or effluent of the
lake — a question which was greatly exciting the miuds of Geographers at
home.

CRUISE ON TANGANYIKA. 441

"It took us," says Mr. Stanley, " ten days' hard pulling to reach the head
of tlie lake, a distance of nearly 100 geographical miles from Ujiji; the
remaining eight -\ve "were coasting along the bold shores of Urundi, which
gradually inclined to the eastward ; the western ranges, ever bold and high,
looking like a huge blue-black barrier some thirty miles west of us, to all
appearance impenetrable and impassable. If the waters of the Tanganyika
could be drained out, and we were to stand upon the summit of those great
peaks which rise abruptly out of the lake, a most wonderful scene would be
presented to us We should see an extraordinary deep chasm from 5000 to
7000 feet deep, with the large island Ubwari rising like another Magdala from
the awful depths around it, for 1 think that the greatest depth of that lake is
nearly 3000 feet deep. . . . Only two miles from shore I sounded, and
although I let down 620 feet of line 1 found no bottom. Livingstone sounded
when crossing the Tanganyika from the westward, and found no bottom with
1800 feet of line. The mountains around the northern half of the Tanganyika
fold around so close, with no avenue whatever for the escape of waters, save
narrow valleys and ravines which admit rivers and streams into the lake, that
were it possible to force the water into a higher altitude of 500 feet above its
present level, its dimensions would not be increased considerably. The
valley of the Malagarazi would then be a narrow deep arm of the lake, and
the Rusizi would be a northern arm, crooked and tortuous, of sixty or seventy
miles in length.

" The evening before we saw the Rusizi, a freed man of Zanzibar was
asked which way the river ran — out of the lake or into it ? The man swore
that he had been on the river but the day before, and that it ran out of the
lake. Here was an announcement calculated to shake the most sceptical. I
thought the news to good to be true. I should certainly have preferred that
the river ran out of the lake into either the Victoria or the Albert. The night
we heard this announcement made so earnestly, Livingstone and myself sat
up very late, speculating as to where it went. We resolved, if it flowed into
the Victoria Nyanza, to proceed with it to the lake, and then strike south to
Unyanyembe, and if it flowed into the Albert lake, to proceed into the Albert
lake and cruise all around it, in the hope of meeting Baker.

" As there was war between the rival tribes inhabiting the banks of the
Rusizi, the King Mokamba advised us to proceed to his brother's village in
Mugihewa by night, which was situated about 800 yards from the river, on
the right bank. Just after dark we started, and in the morning we arrived at
Mugihewa. After a cup of coffee we manned our canoe, and having prepared
our guns we started for the mouth of the river. In about fifteen minutes we
were entering a little bay about a mile wide, and saw before us to the north
a dense brake of papyrus and match cane.

" Until we were close to this brake wc could not detect the sb>htest

a 2

442 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

opening for a river such as we imagined the Rusizi to be. We followed some
canoes which were disappearing mysteriously and suspiciously through some
gaps in the dense brake. Pulling boldly up, we found ourselves in what
afterwards proved to be the central mouth of the river. All doubt as to what
the Rusizi was, vanished at once and for ever before that strong brown flood,
which tasked our exertions to the utmost as we pulled up. I once doubted,
as I seized an oar, that we should ever be able to ascend ; but after a hard
quarter of an hour's pulling, the river broadened, and a little higher up we
saw it widen into lagoons on either side."

Several times the party were in considerable danger from the attacks of
the numerous inhabitants on the shores of the lake. Mr. Stanley had a
slight attack of fever, and during its continuance Dr. Livingstone nursed him
with great care. An amusing incident happened at Mukamba's town.

" Susi, the Doctor's servant, got gloriously drunk, from the chief's liberal
and profuse gifts of pombi. Just at dawn, next morning, I was awakened by
hearing several sharp crack-like sounds. I listened, and found the noise was
in our hut. It was caused by the Doctor, who, towards midnight, had felt
some one come and lie down by his side on the same bed, and, thinking it
was me, he had kindly made room, and laid down on the edge of the bed.
But in the morning feeling rather cold, he had been thoroughly awakened,
and, on rising on his elbow to see who his bedfellow was, he discovered, to
his great astonishment, that it was no other than his black servant, Susi, who
taking possession of his blankets, and folding them about himself most
selfishly, was occupying almost the whole bed. The Doctor, with that
gentleness characteristic of him, instead of taking the rod, had contented
himself with slapping Susi on the back, saying, ' Get up, Susi, will you ?
You are in my bed. How dare you, Susi, get drunk in this way, after I
have told you so often not to do so ; get up.' ' You won't ? Take that, and
that, and that.' Still Susi slept and grunted ; so the slapping continued,
until even Susi's thick hide began to feel it, and he was thoroughly awakened
to the sense of his want of devotion and sympathy for his master, in the
usurping of even his master's bed. Susi looked very much crestfallen after
this expose of his infirmity before the ' little master,' as I was called."

One of the questions left for Livingstone to settle was the outlet from
Tanganyika, and whether it is or is not connected with the Nile drainage by
some other channel.

Dr Livingstone and Mr. Stanley reached Ujiji on the 13 th of December,
and after making the necessary preparations, they started for Unyanyembe.

The Tanganyika Lake was first seen by European eyes in 1858, when
Captains Burton and Speke looked down upon it from the heights above
Ujiji. After a terrible journey from Unyanyembe, Captain Speke was nearly
blind, and Captain Burton was so weak from fever and paralysis that for

BURTON ON TANGANYIKA. 443

several days he had been carried in a hammock. For three hundred years
the existence of this great lake had been known, and various guesses had
been made as to the course of its effluent waters. In some maps it was laid
down as having a connection with the Nyassa lake; in others it figured as the
head-waters of the Congo or the Nile — although Livingstone, Stanley, and
Captain Grant, have visited it since the date of Captain Burton's visit, and
the direction of its outflow is as great a mystery as ever. As its waters are
sweet it must have an outlet somewhere, and in all likelihood they find an
exit by a rent in the mountains, similar to that through which Livingstone
saw the Lualaba escaping from Lake Moero, through the mountains of Rua.
Captain Burton inclines to the belief that it has no effluent. He says : —

"A careful investigation and comparison of statements leads to the be-
lief that the Tanganyika receives and absorbs the whole river system — a
net-work of streams, nullahs, and torrents — of that portion of the Central
African depression, whose water-shed converges towards the great reservoir.
Geographers will doubt that such a mass, situated at so considerable an alti-
tude, can maintain its level without an effluent. Moreover, the freshness of the
water would, under normal circumstances, augur the escape of saline matter
washed down by the influents from the area of drainage. But may not the
Tanganyika, situated, like the Dead Sea, as a reservoir for supplying with
humidity the winds which have parted with their moisture in the barren and
arid regions of the south, maintain its level by the exact balance of supply and
evaporation ? * And may not the saline particles deposited in its waters be
wanting in some constituent which renders them evident to the taste.

" As in Zanzibar, there is little variety of temperature upon the Tanganyika.
The violent easterly gales, which, pouring down from the cold heights of
Usagara, acquire impetus sufficient to carry the current over Ugogo, Unyani-
wezi, and Uvinza, are here less sharply defined. The periodical winds over the
latter — regular, but not permanent — are the south-east and the south-west,
which also bring up the foulest weather. The land and sea breezes are felt
almost as distinctly as upon the shores of the Indian Ocean. The breath of
the morning, called by the Arabs el barad, or the zephyr, sets in from the
north. During the day, are light variable breezes, which often subside, when
the weather is not stormy, into calms. In the evenings, a light afflatus comes
up from the lake. Throughout the dry season the lake becomes a wind trap
and a heavy ground-sea rolls toward the shore. In the rains there is less
sea, but accidents occur from sudden and violent storms, which are preluded
as about Zanzibar, by sudden gusts of cold and rainy wind. The moun-
tainous breakers of Arab and native informants were not seen ; indeed, with a

* Dr Livingstone has demonstrated that there is no desert to the south nearer than the Kalahari
Desert, nearly a couple of thousand miles to the south, so that this theory falls to the ground.

444 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

depth of three feet from ridge to dell, a wave would swamp the largest laden
canoe. Wind currents appear common. In a few hours a stream will be
traversed setting strongly to the east, and crossed by a southerly or south-
westerly current. High gales in certain localities, when the waves set upon
a flat, flush shore, drive the waves from fifteen to twenty feet beyond the
normal mark. This circumstance may partly explain the Arab belief in a
regular ebb and flow, which they maintain has been observed in the Tangan-
yika and Nyassa lakes, and which Mr. Anderson believes to exist in lake Ngami.
A mass of waters so large must be, to a certain extent, subject to tidal in-
fluences ; but the narrowness of the bed from west to east would render this
effect almost unobservable.

" The navigation of Tanganyika is as yet undeveloped. It has neither
quay nor jetty, except strips of sand ; nor harbours, save shallow bays, or
dwarf creeks, winding through hedges of stiff rush. In former times the
Arabs built sailing vessels, bought gangs of slaves, and trained them to row
instead of paddling. In 1858, there remained but one dhow, or small quarter-
decked sailing-craft, capable of carrying about fifty men ; it belonged to an
Arab merchant, Hainid bin Sulyman, who, professing willingness to let it for
a voyage, nullified his concession by removing the crew. The native boats
are long, narrow canoes, rudely hollowed with the axe — the application of
fire being unknown — in fact, mere logs of mvule, or some other large tree.
The most considerable are composed of three parts — clumsy, mis-shapen
planks, forming, when placed side by side, a keel and two gunwales, the latter
fastened to the centre-piece by cords of palm-fibre passing through lines of
holes. The want of caulking causes excessive leakage. The cry Senga ! — bale
out! — rarely ceases, and the irregular hollowing of the tree-trunks makes them
lie lopsided in the water. These vessels have neither masts nor sails ; an
iron ring, fixed in the stern, is intended for a rudder, which, however, seldom
appears except in the canoes of the Arabs, and a flag-staff, or a fishing-rod,
projects from the bow. Layers of pahn-ribs are strewed over the interior,
to raise the cargo — which is often of salt — above the bilge-water. The crew
sit upon narrow benches, extending across the canoe, and fastened with cords
to holes in the two side-pieces ; upon each bench, despite the narrowness of
the craft, two place themselves side by side. The stout, stiff mats used for
hutting and bedding, are spread for comfort upon the seats; and for conve-
nience of paddling, the sailors, when at work, incline their bodies over the
sides. In the centre there is a square place about six feet long, kept clear of
benches ; here also cargo is stored, passengers, cattle, and slaves are carried,
the paddles, gourds, and other furniture of the crew, are thrown. It is
often ankle-deep in water, and affords no convenience for leaning or lying
down. The most comfortable place, therefore, is near the stern or bow of
the boat. The spears are planted upright at one or two corners of the hold,

I —

CO

o

CO
CJ3

LAKE STORMS. 445

so as to be ready at a moment's notice ; each man usually has his dagger
stuck in his belt, and on long trips, all are provided with bows and arrows.
These Africans cannot row. The paddle in the Tanganyika is a stout staff,
about six feet long, and cut out at the top to admit a trefoil-shaped block
the size of a man's hand. The block is adorned with black paint, in triangular
patches. It is tied to the staff by a bit of whipcord, and it seldom lasts a day
without breaking. The paddler, placing his hand on the top, and the other
about the middle of the staff, scoops up, as it were, the water in front of him,
steadying his paddle by drawing it along the side of the canoe. It is a labo-
rious occupation, and an excessive waste of power.

" The Lake people derive their modern practice of navigation, doubtless,
from days of old ; the earliest accounts of the Portuguese mention the traffic
of this inland sea. They have three principal beats from Ujiji : the northern
abuts at the ivory and slave marts of Uvira ; the western conducts to the oppo-
site shores of the lake, and the island depots on the south-west ; and the
southern leads to the land of Marungu. Their canoes creep along the shores
like the hollowed elder-trees of thirty bygone centuries, and, waiting till the
weather augurs fairly, they make a desperate push for the other side. Nothing
but their extreme timidity, except when emboldened by the prospect of a
speedy return home, preserves their cranky craft from constant accidents. The
Arabs, warned by the past, prefer the certain loss incurred, by deputing, for
trading purposes, agents and slaves, to personal risk. A storm upon the lake,
especially on one of the portentous evenings of the tropics, is indeed deeply
impressive. The wind is hushed, and the air feels sultry and stifling, while
low mutterings from the sable cloud-banks lying upon the horizon, cut by light
masses of mist in a long unbroken line, or from the black arch rising above the
Acroceraunian hills, at times disturb the death-like stillness. Presently, as
the shades deepen, a cold gust of wind — the invariable presage of a storm —
pours through the vast of night ; lightning flashes — at first by intervals, then
incessantly, with its accompaniment of reverberating thunder; now a loud
lumbering roll, like the booming of heavy batteries, then deepening into a
crash, which is followed after an interval by a rattling discharge, like the
sharp pattering of musketry. The waves begin to rise ; the rain — descending
at first by warning drops, presently in torrents — blinds the crew ; and if the
wind increases, there is little chance of the frail canoe living through the short
chopping sea. In addition to the dangers of the deep, the maritime tribes are,
or are supposed to be, ever planning ambuscades against the boats touching
at their land, and the sight of a few woolly heads in the bush causes the crew
to rise precipitately from food or sleep, to rush headlong to their canoes, with-
out caring what may be left behind, and to put out to sea beyond the reach
of a flight of arrows.

" A voyage upon the Tanganyika begins with all the difficulties and delays

446 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of African locomotion. When the boat is hired, the crew must be collected,
and paid, rationed, and kept together. This is no easy task, as each man is
thinking solely of his own affairs, disdaining the slighest regard for the wishes,
the comfort, or the advantage of his employer. The cargo must then be
placed on board, and the canoe moved to its original place — to a point of
known departure, otherwise no man can be persuaded to embark. The expedi-
tion sets out in a kind of procession ; the captain, dressed in his best dress,
heads the sailors, who are followed by their loud-voiced wives, performing upon
the rudest musical instruments. Of these the most noisy is a kind of shawm,
(a short tube of wood, bound with palm-fibre, and opening like a clarionet) : a
distressing bray is kept up through a hole pierced in the side. The most
monotonous is a pair of foolscap-shaped cones of thin iron, joined at the
apices, and connected at the bases by a solid cross-bar. This rude tom-tom
is performed upon with painful perseverance by a stick muffled with cloth or
skin. After embarkation, the canoe must be paddled out for a mile, to ascer-
tain the proper quantum of cargo and crew, an exertion followed by fresh
delays for victualling, taking leave, settling disputes, hard drinking, and
driving deserters. The first stage is short enough to admit of the scene being
encored. Finally, when the weather is perfectly calm, and no pretext nor
desire for further detention remains, the crew scramble into the canoes, and,
with the usual hubbub and strife — order which no man obeys, and advice
which no man takes — they pole off and paddle along the shore.

" The Wajiji, and, indeed, all these races, never work silently or regularly.
A long monotonous howl, broken occasionally by a scream of delight from the
boys, or by the bray and clang of the instruments, lasts throughout the trip,
except when extreme terror induces a general silence. They row in "spurts,"
applying vigorously to their paddling, till the perspiration pours down their
sooty persons, and splashing the water in streams over the canoe : after a few
minutes, fatigued and breathless, they either stop to quarrel, or they progress
languidly till recruited for another effort. When two boats are together they
race continuously, till a bump, and the consequent difficulty of using the
paddles, afford an opportunity for a little chatter and abuse. At times they
halt to eat, drink, or smoke ; the bhang pipe is produced after every hour,
and the paddles are taken in whilst they indulge in the usual screaming whoop-
ing cough. They will not allow questions to be asked, or scraps of provisions
to be thrown overboard ; moreover, it is a mortal sin to chip or to break off
the smallest bit of even a worn-out boat drawn up on the sands. They will
lose half an hour, when time is most precious, to secure a dead fish, as, en-
tangled, in its net, it floats past the canoe. They never pass a village or a
settlement without a dispute — some wishing to land, and the others objecting
because that some wish it. The captain, seated either in the fore or in the
stern, has no authority ; and if the canoe is allowed to touch the shore, half

LAKE FISHERMEN. U7

the crew spring out, without an idea of consulting anything but their own
convenience. Obeying only impulse, and being wholly deficient in order or
arrangement, they make the voyage as uncomfortable as possible. They have
no regular stages, and no fixed halting times ; they will waste a fine cool
morning, and pull through the heat of the day, and doze throughout the day,
and at the cry of Pakira Bala I — (pack up, hearties!) — they will rush into their
canoes after midnight. Outward bound, they seem to seek opportunities for
delay ; homeward, they hurry with precipitous haste. Arrived at their des-
tination, there is a general concert — vocal and instrumental, while the captains
perform a solemn and bear-like dance upon the mat-covered benches — the
apology for a quarter-deck ; and when touching at places where they have
friends, the crews rattle their paddles against the canoe sides, in token of
greeting ; an imitation, probably, of the ceremonious address which is per-
formed by knocking the elbows against the ribs. Finally, the voyage con-
cluded, they enter their homes by daylight with much pomp and ceremony,
noise, and jollity, and are not sober for the next fortnight.

" The Lakists generally are an almost amphibious race, excellent divers,
strong swimmers, and fishermen. At times, when excited by the morning
coolness and by the prospect of a good haul, they indulge in a manner of
merriment, which resembles the gambols of sportive water-fowls : standing
upright, and balancing themselves on their hollow logs, which appear but little
longer than themselves, they strike the water furiously with their paddles,
skimming over the surface, dashing to and fro, splashing one another, urging
forward, backing and wheeling their craft, now capsizing, then regaining their
position with wonderful dexterity. They make coarse hooks, and have many
varieties of nets and creels. Conspicuous on the waters, and in the villages,
is the Dewa, or ' otter ' of Oman, a triangle of stout reeds, which shows the
position of the net. A stronger variety, and used for the larger ground-fish,
is a cage of open basket-work, provided, like the former, with a bait and two
entrances. The fish once entangled cannot escape, and a log of wood, used
as a ' trimmer,' attached to a float of rushy plants, directs the fisherman. The
heaviest fish are caught by a rope-net, weighted and thrown out between two
boats. They have circular frames of lath, meshed in with a knot somewhat
different from that generally used in Europe ; the smaller kind is thrown from
the boat by a single man, who follows it into the water — the larger, which
reaches six feet in diameter, is lowered from the bow by cords, and collects
the fish attracted by the glaring torch fire. The Wajiji also make big and
little drag nets, some let down in a circle by one or more canoes, the others
managed by one or two fishermen, who, swimming at each end, draw it in
when ready. They have diminutive purse-nets to catch small fry, hoops
thrust into a long stick-handle, through the reed walls that line the shore ;
aud by this simple contrivance the fish are caught in considerable quantities.

448 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

The common creel resembles the Khun of Western India, and is well-known
even to the Bushmen of the South: it is a cone of open bamboo strips or
supple twigs, placed lengthways, and bound in and out by strings of grass
or tree fibre. It is closed at the top, and at the bottom there is a narrow
aperture, with a diagonally-disposed entrance like that of a wire rat-trap,
which prevents the fish escaping. It is placed upon its side with a bait, em-
banked with mud, reeds, or sand, and well answers the purpose for which it is
intended. In Uzaramo, and near the coast, the people narcotise the fish with
the juice of certain plants; about the Tanganyika the art appears unknown."*

There are many varieties of fish in the lake, but most of them are some-
what tasteless. One of the largest, which sometimes attains a length of five or
six feet, is called the Mguhe, and is the most palatable of the whole. Another
large fish is the Shiga; it is scaleless, and has long fleshy feelers or cirri, standing
out from its snout. This fish is much prized by the natives on account of its rich
luscious fat. Two smaller varieties, known as the Mvoro and the Sanjale, are
somewhat like mackarel in shape. Minnows of several kinds, a kind of eel, and
a fresh water shrimp, are very abundant, and are largely captured and eaten.
A fresh-water oyster, called Sinani, is eaten by the natives, but it is unpala-
table to Europeans. The numerous islands on the lake are mostly all inha-
bited, although many of them are exceedingly unhealthy. The inhabitants
of the lake district are a quarrelsome and warlike people, and it is owing to
their hostility that the lake and its shores have never as yet been properly
examined by any of the travellers who have visited it.

The lake, with its continuation Lake Liemba, is about three hundred
miles in length, and its breadth at the widest part ranges from twenty-five to
thirty-five miles, and it covers an area of nearly six thousand square miles.
Captain Burton, in speaking of the water of the lake, says : —

" The waters of the Tanganyika appear deliciously sweet and pure, after
the salt and bitter, the putrid and shiny produce of the wells, pits, and pools
on the line of march. The people, however, who drink it willingly when
afloat, prefer, when on shore, the little springs which bubble from its banks.
They complain that it does not satisfy thirst, and they contrast it unfavourably
with the waters of its rival Nyanza ; it appears, moreover, to corrode metal
and leather with exceptional power. The colour of the pure and transparent
mass has apparently two normal varieties : a dull sea-green — never, however
verdigris — coloured, as in the shoals of the Zanzibar seas, where the reflected
blue of the atrnosjmere blends with the yellow of the sandy bottom — the
other, a clear, soft azure, not deep and dark, like the ultramarine of the
Mediterranean, but resembling the light and milky tints of tropical seas.
Under a stormy wind the waves soon rise in yeasty lines, foaming up from a

* The reader will remember that Dr. Livingstone noticed the same practice on the Zambesi

THE LAKE TRIBES. 449

turbid greenish surface, and the aspect becomes menacing in the extreme.
. . . Judging from the eye the walls of the basin of the lake rise in an
almost continuous curtain, rarely waving and impacted, to from two to threo
thousand feet above the water-level. The bay is almost due north and south,
and the form a long oval, widening in the central portions, and contracting
systematically at both extremities."

The principal tribes in the lake region are the Wajiji, the Wavinza, the
Wakaranga, the Watuta, the Wabuha, and the Wahha. We give Captain
Burton's account of these tribes : —

"The Wajiji are a lively race of barbarians, far sturdier than the tribes
to the eastward, with dark skins, plain features, and straight, strong limbs :
they are larger and heavier men than the Wanyamwezi, and the type, as it
approaches Central Africa, becomes rather negro than negroid. Their feet and
hands are rather flat, their voices are harsh and strident, and their looks, as
well as their manners, are independent even to insolence. The women, who
are held in high repute, resemble, and often excel their masters in rudeness
and violence : they think little of entering a stranger's hut in their cups and
of snatching up and carrying away any article which excites their admiration.
Many of both sexes and all ages are disfigured by the small-pox — the Arabs
have vainly taught them inoculation ; and there are few who are not affected
by boils and various eruptions ; there is also an inveterate pandemic itch,
which, according to their Arab visitors, results from a diet of putrid fish.

" The tribe is extensively tatooed, probably as a protection against the
humid atmosphere and the chills of the Lake Region. Some of the chiefs have
ghastly scars raised by fire, in addition to large patterns marked upon their
persons — lines, circles, and rays of little cupping-cuts drawn down the back,
the stomach and the arms, like the tatoo of the Wangindo tribe, near Kilwa.
Both sexes like to appear dripping with oil ; and they manifestly do not hold
cleanliness to be a virtue. The head is sometimes shaved ; rarely the hair
is allowed to grow ; the most fashionable coiffure is a rnixure of the two ;
patches and beauty-spots of the most eccentric shapes — buttons, crescents, and
galeated lines — being allowed to sprout either in the front, the sides, or the
back of the head, from a carefully-scraped scalp. Women, as well as men, are
fond of binding a wisp of white tree-fibre round their heads, like the ribbon
which confines the European wig. There is not a trace of mustachio or
whiskers in the country ; they are removed by the tweezers, and the climate,
according to the Arabs, is unfavourable to beards. For cosmetics, both sexes
apply, when they can procure such luxuries, red earth to the face, and over
the head a thick coating of chalk or mountain meal, which makes their black-
ness appear hideously grotesque.

" The chiefs wear expensive stuffs, checks and cottons, which they extract
from passing caravans. Women of wealth affect the tobe or coast dress, and

a 2

450 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

some are seen to wear red or blue hood-cloths. The male costume of the
lower orders is confined to softened goat, sheep, deer, leopard, or monkey
skins, tied at two corners like a little apron, passed over the right or left
shoulder, with the flaps open at one side, and with tail and legs dangling in
the wind. Women who cannot afford cloth use, as a substitute, a narrow kilt
of fibre or skin, and some were seen with a tassel of fibre, or a leafy twig,
depending from a string bound round the waist, and displaying the nearest
approach to the original fig-leaf. At Ujiji people are observed, for the first
time, to make extensive use of the macerated tree-bark , which supplies the
place of cotton in Urundi, Karagwah, and the northern kingdoms. This arti-
cle, technically called ' mbugu,' is made from the inner bark of the various
trees. The trunk of the full-grown tree is stripped of its integument twice or
thrice, and is bound with plantain-leaves till a finer growth is judged fit for
manipulation. This bark is carefully removed, steeped in water, macerated,
kneaded, and pounded with clubs and battens to the consistency of a coarse
cotton. Palm-oil is then spurted upon it from the mouth, and it acquires the
colour of chamois-leather. The Wajiji obtain the mbugu mostly from Urundi
and Uvira. They are fond of striping it with a black, vegetable mud, so as
to resemble the spoils of leopards and wild cats, and they favour the delusion
by cutting the edge into long strips, like the tails and other extremities of
wild beasts. The price of the mbugu varies according to size, from six to
twelve strings of beads. Though durable, it is never washed ; after many
months' wear, the superabundance of dirt is removed by butter or ghee.

"Besides common brass girdles and bracelets, armlets and anklets, masses
of white porcelain, blue glass, and large ' pigeon-egg ' beads, and hundreds
of the iron-wire circlets, called sambo, worn with ponderous brass or copper
rings round the lower part of the leg, above the foot, the Wajiji are distin-
guished from tribes not on the lake by necklaces of shells — small pink
bivalves strung upon a stout fibre. Like their Lakist neighbours, they
ornament the throat with disks, crescents, and strings of six or seven cones,
fastened by the apex, and depending to the breast. Made of the whitest
ivory, or of the teeth, not the tusks, of the hippopotamus, these dazzling
ornaments effectively set off the shining, dark skin. Another peculiarity
among these people is, a pair of iron pincers, or a piece of split wood, ever
hanging round the neck ; nor is its use less remarkable than its presence.
The Lakists rarely chew, smoke, or take snuff, according to the manner of
the rest of mankind. Every man carries a little half-gourd, or a diminutive
pot of black earthenware, nearly full of tobacco ; when inclined to indulge,
he fills it with water, expresses the juice, and from the palm of his hand
snuffs it up into his nostrils. The pincers serve to close the exit, otherwise
the nose must be corked by the application of finger and thumb. Without
much practice, it is difficult to articulate during the retention of the dose,

PREVALENCE OF DRUNKENNESS. 451

which lasts a few minutes, and when an attempt is made, the words are
scarcely intelligible. The arms of the Wajiji are small battle-axes, and
daggers, spears, and large bows, which carry unusually heavy arrows. They
fear the gun and the sabre, yet they show no unwillingness to fight. The
Arabs avoid granting their demands for muskets and gunpowder, conse-
quently, a great chief never possesses more than two or three fire-arms.

" Tho Wajiji are considered by the Arabs to be the most troublesome race
upon this line of road. They are taught by the example of their chiefs to be
rude, insolent, and extortionate ; they demand beads even for pointing out the
road ; they will deride and imitate a stranger's speech and manner before his
face ; they can do nothing without a long preliminary of the fiercest scolding ;
they are as ready with a blow as with a word ; and they may often be seen
playing at ' rough and tumble' fighting, pushing, and tearing hair, in their
boats. The Wajiji draw dagger or use spear upon a guest with little hesita-
tion. They think twice, however, before drawing blood, which will cause a
feud. Their roughness of manner is dashed with a curious ceremoniousness.
When the Sultan appears amongst his people he stands in a circle and claps
his hands, to which all respond in the same way. Women curtsey to one
another, bending the right knee almost to the ground. When two men meet
they clasp each other's arms with both hands, rubbing them up and down, and
ejaculating for some minutes, ' Nama Sanga ? Nama Sanga ? — Art thou well ? '
They then pass the hands down to the fore-arm, exclaiming ' Wakhe ?
Wakhe ? — How art thou ? ' and, finally, they clap hands at each other — a
token of respect which appears common to these tribes of Central Africa. The
children have all the frowning and unprepossessing look of their parents ; they
reject little civilities, and seem to spend life in disputes, biting and clawing
like wild cats. There appears to be little family affection in this undemon-
strative race. The only endearment between father and son is a habit of
scratching and picking each other, caused probably by the prevalence of a
complaint before alluded to ; as among the Simiads, the intervals between
pugnacity are always spent exercising the nails. Sometimes, also, at sea,
when danger is near, the Wajiji breaks the mournful silence of his fellows,
who are all thinking of home, with the exclamation, ' Ya mguri wange — 0
my wife ! ' They are never sober when they can be drunk ; perhaps in no part
of the world will the traveller more often see men and women stajnrerin"-
about the villages with thick speech and violent gestures. The favourite
inebricnt is tembo or palm-toddy ; almost every one, however, when on board
the canoe, smokes bhang, and the whooping and screaming which follows the
indulgence resemble the noise of wild beasts rather than the sounds of human
beings. Their food consists principally of holcus, manioc, and fish, which is
rarely eaten before it becomes offensive to European organs.

"The great Mwami or Sultan of Ujiji in 1858-9 was Rusimba ; under him

452 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

were several mutware or minor chiefs, one to each settlement, as Kannena in
Kawele, and Lurinda in Gungu. On the arrival of a caravan, Rusimba
forwards, through his relations, a tusk or two of ivory, thus mutely intimating
that ho requires his blackmail, which he prefers to receive in beads and cloth,
proportioning, however, his demands to the trader's means. "When the point
has been settled, the mutware sends his present, and expects a proportionate
return. He is, moreover, entitled to a fee for every canoe hired ; on each
slave the Kiremba or excise is about half the price ; from one to two cloths
are demanded upon every tusk of ivory ; and he will snatch a few beads from a
man purchasing provisions for his master. The minor chiefs are fond of
making ' sare ' or brotherhood with strangers, in order to secure them in case
of return. They depend for influence over their unruly subjects wholly upon
personal qualifications, bodily strength, and violence of temper. Kannena, the
chief of Kawele, though originally a slave, has won golden opinions by his
conduct; when in liquor, he assumes the most ferocious aspect, draws his
dagger, brandishes his spear, and, with loud screams, rushes at his subjects as
with the intention of annihilating them. The affairs of the nation are settled
by the Mwami, the great chief, in a general council of the lieges, the Wateko
(in the singular Mteko), or elders presiding. Their intellects, never of the
brightest, are invariably muddled with toddy, and, after bawling for hours
together, and coming apparently to the most satisfactory conclusion, the word
of a boy or an old woman will necessitate another lengthy palaver. The
sultans, like their subjects, brook no delay in their own affairs; they im-
patiently dun a stranger half-a-dozen times a day for a few weeks on occasions
to him of the highest importance, whilst they are drinking pombe or taking
leave of their wives. Besides the Magubiko or preliminary presents, the
chiefs are bound, before the departure of a caravan which has given them
satisfaction, to supply it with half-a-dozen masuto or matted packages of grain,
and to present the leader with a slave, who generally manages to abscond.
The parting gifts are technically called ' urangozi ' or guidance.

" . . . The Wajiji never could reconcile themselves to 'merchants'
who had come to see and not to buy, and, under the influence of slavery, made
no progress in the science of commerce. They know nothing of bargaining
or of credit ; they will not barter unless the particular medium on which they
have set their hearts is forthcoming ; and they fix a price proportioned to their
wants, not to the value of the article. The market varies with the number of
caravans present at the depot, with the season, the extent of the supply, and
a variety of similar considerations. Besides the trade in ivory, slaves, cloth,
and palm-oil, they manufacture and hawk about iron sickles, shaped like the
European ; small bells, and wire circlets, worn as ornaments round the ankles ;
long double-edged knives in wooden sheaths, neatly whipped with strips of
rattan ; and Jembe, or hoes.

THE WAKARANGA TRIBE. 453

"... The traveller in the Lake regions loses by cloth ; the people,
contented with softened skins and tree-bark, prefer beads, ornaments, and
more durable articles. On the other hand, he gains upon salt, which is pur-
chased at half-price at the Parugerero pans, and upon largo wires brought
from the coast. Beads are a necessary evil to those engaged in buying ivory
and slaves. ... A serious inconvenience awaits the inexperienced, who
find a long halt at, and a return from, Ujiji necessary. The Wanyainwezi
porters, hired at Unyanyembe, bring with them the cloth and beads they have
received as hire for going to, and coming from the lake; and they lose no
time in bartering the outfit for ivory and slaves. Those who prefer the
former article, will delay for some days with extreme impatience and daily
complaints, fearing to cross Uvinza, in small bodies, when loaded with
valuables. The purchasers of slaves, however, knowing that they will
evidently lose them after a few days at Ujiji, desert at once. In all
cases, the report that a caravan is marching eastwards, causes a general
disappearance of the parties. As the Wajiji will not carry, the caravan is
reduced to a halt, which may be protracted for months — in fact, till another
body of men coming from the east will engage themselves as return-porters.
Moreover, the departure homewards almost always partakes of the nature of
a flight, so fearful are the strangers, lest their slaves should seize the oppor-
tunity to desert. The Omani Arabs obviate these inconveniences, by always
travelling with large bodies of domestics, whose interest it is not to aban-
don the master. They also wisely discourage the Africau's proclivity for
' levanting,' by refusing to hire parties who have run away. The coast
Arabs, and the Wasawahili, on the other hand, ignore this point of commercial
honour, and shamelessly offer a premium to deserters.

" South of the Wajiji lie the Wakaranga, a people previously described
as almost identical in development and condition, but somewhat inferior in
energy and civilization. Little need be said of the Warinza, who appear to
unite the bad qualities of both the Wanyamwezi and the Wajiji. They are a
dark, meagre, and ill-looking tribe ; poorly clad, in skin aprons and kilts.
They keep off insects, by inserting the chauri, or fly-flap, into the waist-band
of their kilts ; and at a distance present, like the Hottentots, the appear-
ance of a race with tails. Their arms are spears, bows, and arrows ; and they
use, unlike their neighbours, wicker-work shields, six feet long by two in
breadth. Their chiefs are of the Watosi race ; hence, every stranger who
meets with their approbation is called, in compliment, Mtosi. They will
admit caravans into their villages, dirty clumps of bee-hive huts ; but thcy
refuse to provide them with lodging. Merchants, with valuable outfits, prefer
the jungle, and wait patiently for provisions brought in baskets from the
settlements. They seldom muster courage to attack a caravan, but stragglers
are in imminent danger of being cut off by them. Their country is rich in

454 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

cattle and poultry, grain, and vegetables. Bhang grows everywhere near the
settlement, and they indulge themselves in it immoderately.

" The Watuta — a word of fear in these regions — are a tribe of robbers
originally settled upon the southern extremity of the Tanganyika Lake.
After plundering the lands of Marungu and Ufipa, whose cattle they almost
annihilated, the Watuta migrated northwards, rounding the eastern side of
the lake. . . Shortly afterwards they attacked Msene, and were only repulsed
by the matchlocks of the Arabs, after a week of hard skirmishing. In the
early part of 1858, they slew Ruhembe, the Sultan of Usui, a district north of
Unyanyembe, upon the march to Karagwah. In the latter half of the same
year, they marched upon Ujiji, .plundered Gungu, and proceeded to attack
Kawele. The valiant Kannena, and all his men, fled to the mountains. The
Arab merchants, however, who were then absent on a commercial visit to
Uvira, returned precipitately to defend their depots, and, with large bodies of
slave- musketeers, beat off the invader. The lands of the Watuta are now
bounded, on the north by Utumbara ; on the south by Misene ; eastward by
the meridian of Wilyankuru ; and, westwards by the highlands of Urundi.

"The Watuta, according to the Arabs, are a pastoral tribe, despising, like
the Wamasai and the Somal, such luxuries as houses and fields ; they wander
from place to place, camping under trees, over which they throw their mats,
and driving their herds and plundered cattle to the most fertile pasture-
grounds. The dress is sometimes a mbugu or bark-cloth ; more generally it
is confined to the humblest tribute paid to decency by the Kaffirs of the Cape,
and they have a similar objection to removing it. On their forays they move
in large bodies, women as well as men, with the children and baggage placed
on bullocks, and their wealth, in brass wire, twisted round the horns. Their
wives carry their weapons, and joiri it is said, in the fight. The arms are
two short spears, one in the right hand, the other in the left, concealed by a
large shield, so that they can thrust upwards unawares. Disdaining bows and
arrows, they show their superior bravery by fighting at close quarters, and
they never use the spear as a weapon to be thrown. In describing their
tactics the Arabs call them inanoeuverers. Their thousands march in four or
five extended lines, and attack, by attempting to envelope the enemy. There
is no shouting or war-cry, to distract the attention of the combatants : iron
whistles are used for the necessary signals. During the battle, the Sultan, or
chief, whose ensign is a brass stool, sits, attended by his forty or fifty elders,
•in the rear ; his authority is little more than nominal, the tribe priding itself
upon autonomy (self-government.) The Watuta rarely run away, and take no
thought of their killed and wounded. They do not, like the ancient Jews,
and the Gallas and Abyssinians of the present day, carry off a relic of the slain
foe; in fact, the custom seems to be ignored south of the equator. The
Watuta have still, however, a wholesome dread of fire-arms, and the red flag

LIVINGSTONE DECLINES TO LEA VE AFRICA. 455

of the caravan causes them to decamp without delay. According to the
Arabs they are not inhospitable, and though rough in manner, they have
always received guests with honour. A fanciful trait is related concerning
them. Their first question to a stranger will be — ( Didst thou see me from
afar?' — which, being interpreted, means — 'Did you hear of my greatness
before coming here ?' — and they hold an answer in the negative to be a
causus belli.

" The Wabuha form a small and insignificant tribe, bounded on the north
by Ubha, and on the south by the Malagarazi River ; the total breadth is
about three marches ; the length, from the Rusugi stream of the Wavinza to
the frontiers of Ujiji and Ukaranga, is a distance of four days. Their prin-
cipal settlement is Uyonwa, the district of Sultan Mariki ; it is a mere clearing
in the jungle, with a few wretched huts, dotting fields of sweet potatoes. This
harmless and oppressed jjeople will sell provisions, but, though poor, they are
particular upon the subject of beads, preferring the coral and blue to the ex-
clusion of black and white. They are a dark, curly-headed, and hard-favoured
race : they wear the shushah or top-knot of hair, dress in skin and tree-barks,
ornament themselves with brass and copper armlets, ivory disks, and beads,
and are never without their weapons, spears, daggers, and small battle-axes.
Honourable women wear tobes of red broad cloth, and fillets of grass or fibre
confining the hair.

" Ubha was previously a large tract of land bounded on the north by the
mountains of Urundi, southwards and eastwards by the Malagarazi River, and
on the west by the northern parts of Ujiji. As has been recorded, the Waliha,
scattered by the Watuta, have dispersed themselves over the broad lands
between Unyanyembe and the Tanganyika, and their fertile country, well
stocked with the finest cattle, has become a waste of jungle. A remnant of
the tribe, under Kanoni, their- present Sultan, son of the late T'hare, took
refuge in the highlands of Urundi, not far from the principal settlement of the
mountain king Mwezi : here they find water and pasture for their herds, and
the strength of the country enables them to beat off their enemies. The
Wahha are a comparatively fair and a not uncomely race ; they are, however,
universally held to be a vile and servile people ; according to the Arabs they
came originally from the southern regions, the most ancient seat of slavery in
Eastern Africa. Their Sultans or chiefs are of Wahinda or princely origin,
probably descendants from the royal race of Unyamwezi. Wahha slaves com-
mand the highest prices in the local slave markets."

Dr. Livingstone, as we have previously stated, was to accompany Mr. Stan-
ley as far as Unyanyembe, there to await stores, etc., which he undertook to
see despatched from Zanzibar in safe and competent custody. Livingstone
declined to return. He said, " I would like very much to go home and see
my children once again ; but I cannot bring my heart to abandon the task I

456 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

have undertaken when it is so nearly completed. It only requires six or
seven months more to trace the true source that I have discovered with
Peth crick's branch of the White Nile, or with the Albert Nyanza of Sir
Samuel Baker. Why should I go home before my task is ended, to have to
come back again to do what I can very well do now ?"

In order to avoid the districts through which Mr. Stanley had passed, and
in which he had been so heavily mulcted in tribute, the party went south,
along the east coast of the lake, partly on foot, and partly by boat, to
Urimba, from whence they struck across country to Unyanyembe. For several
days their route lay through unexplored country. For long distances the dense
grass and brushwood, and the want of a path, made the progress tedious and
difficult. On the 17th of January, 1872, they reached Imrera, where Mr.
Stanley and his party had previously camped, on their march to Ujiji. Both
Dr. Livingstone and Mr. Stanley suffered from sore feet, which were cut and
bleeding from the long and trying march. The Doctor's shoes were worn
out, and cut and slashed all over to save his blistered feet, and Mr. Stanley's
were in no better state. They rested for a day, and on the 19th, Mr. Stanley
shot a male and female zebra. As they had had no flesh-meat for a consider-
able time, the possession of such an amount of meat had a wonderful effect
in raising the spirits of their tired-out followers. On the 21st, Mr. Stanley
shot a giraffe. This was the noblest animal which had as yet fallen to his
rifle, but he could not feel in his heart that its death was a triumph. "I
was rather saddened than otherwise," he says, " at seeing the noble animal
stretched before me. If I could have given her her life back, I think I
should have done so. I thought it a great pity that such splendid animals,
so well adapted for the service of man in Africa, could not be converted
to some other use than that of food. Horses, mules, and donkeys, die in
these sickly regions ; but what a blessing for Africa would it be, if we could
tame the giraffes and zebras for the use of explorers and traders. Mounted
on a zebra, a man would be enabled to reach Ujiji in one month from
Bagamoyo ; whereas it took me over seven months to travel that distance.

On the 27th the party disturbed a huge swarm of bees, which stung the
men and animals frightfully. This is no unusual incident in African travel.
A kind of bee, which makes its nest among the long grass, when disturbed
rushes out in vast numbers, and stings every animal within reach. There is
nothing for it but flight in such circumstances, and men and beasts rush from
the enraged insects with all the speed they may.

At Mwaru they met a slave of Sayd bin Habib, in charge of a caravan, for
Ujiji. He reported that Mirambo was nearly exhausted, and that Shaw, who
had been left by Mr Stanley at Unyanyembe, was dead. They also learned
that several packets of letters, papers, and goods, had arrived for Mr. Stanley
from Zanzibar. The Doctor also reminded Mr. Stanley that, " according to

LIVINGSTONE'S STORES, A DELUSION. 457

his accounts, he had a stock of jellies and crackers, soups, fish, and potted ham,
besides cheese, awaiting him at Unyanyembe." Mr. Stanley, who had suf-
fered from several attacks of fever, was longing for a change of diet, and the
prospect of such variety cheered him. " I wondered," he says, " that people
who have access to such luxuries, should ever get sick, and become tired of
life. I thought that if a wheaten loaf, with a mere pat of fresh butter
were presented to me, I would be able, though dying, to spring up and dance
a wild fandango."

Arrived at Unyanyembe, the two toil-worn travellers found welcome
letters and newspapers from home. Among other letters to Mr. Stanley was
one from Dr. Kirk, H.M.'s Consul at Zanzibar, requesting him to do all he
could to push on the Livingstone caravan. It will be remembered that Mr.
Stanley found it at Unyanyembe as he passed through on his way to Ujiji, and
it was still there when he returned. The man who had gone and relieved
Livingstone, and was half-way on his return journey when he received this
request in connection with a caravan which left Zanzibar two months prior
to his own expedition, has some grounds for the terms in which he speaks
throughout his book of the carelessness of Dr. Kirk. He dryly remarked
to Dr. Livingstone that the request came too late for his visit to Ujiji, but
that he had done better, he had brought him to the caravan.

When Dr. Livingstone's boxes came to be opened, Mr. Stanley, who had
been looking forward to luxuriating on all the delicacies of civilization, was
grievously disappointed. We must let him tell the result in his own words ;
it is a fine commentary on commercial morality, and the watchful care of the
traveller's friends : —

" The first box opened contained three tins of biscuits, six tins of potted
hare — tiny things, not much larger than thimbles, which, when opened, proved
to bo nothing more than a table-spoonful of minced meat, plentifully sprinkled
with pepper : the Doctor's stores fell five hundred degrees below Zero in my
estimation. Next were brought out five pots of jam, one of which was opened
— this was also a delusion. The stone jars weighed a pound, and in each was
found a little over a tea-spoonful of jam. Verily, we began to think our hopes
and expectations had been raised to too high a pitch. Three bottles of curry
were next produced — but who cares for curry ? Another box was opened, and
out tumbled a fat dumpy Dutch cheese, hard as a brick, but sound and good,
although it is bad for the liver in Unyamwezi. Then another cheese was seen,
but this was all eaten up — it was hollow, and a fraud. The third box con-
tained nothing but two sugar loaves; the fourth candles; the fifth, bottles of
salt, Harvey, Worcester, and Reading sauces, essences of anchovies, pepper and
mustard. Bless me ! what food were these for the revivifying of a moribund
such as I was ! The sixth box contained four sheets, two stout pair of shoes,
some stockings, and shoe-strings, which delighted the Doctor so much when he
i 2

458 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

tried them on that he exclaimed, ' Richard is himself again !' ' That man,
said I, * whoever he is, is a friend indeed.' ' Yes, that is my friend
Waller.'

" The five other boxes contained potted meat and soups; but the twelfth,
containing one dozen bottles of medicinal brandy, was gone ; and a strict
cross-examination of Asmani, the head man of Livingstone's caravan, elicited
the fact that not only was one case of brandy missing, but also two bales of
cloth, and four bags of the most valuable beads in Africa — Sami-sami — which
are as gold with the natives.

" I was grievously disappointed after the stores had been examined.
Everything proved to be deceptions in my jaundiced eyes. Out of the tins of
biscuits, when opened, there was only one sound box, the whole of which
would not make one full meal. The soups — who cared for meat soups in
Africa ? Are there no bullocks, and sheep, and goats, in the land from which
far better soup can be made than any that ever was potted ? Peas or any
other kind of vegetable soup would have been a luxury, but chicken and game
soups I — what nonsense."

Asmani, the head man in charge of Dr. Livingstone's caravan, had also
broken into Mr. Stanley's store huts at Unyanyembe, and abstracted cloth
and other articles. It was evident that if the two travellers had been much
longer in reaching Unyanyembe the Doctor's stores would have entirely dis-
appeared. The stolen goods found in possession of Asmani were taken from
him, and he was at once discharged. Nearly one-half of the stores Mr.
Stanley had brought from Bagamoyo were at Unyanyembe, and the greater
portion of them were handed over to Dr. Livingstone for use in his future
journey ings.

Another caravan of stores which had been prepaid from Zanzibar to
Ujiji, which had been despatched shortly after Dr. Livingstone landed in the
country in 1866, or rather the miserable remnants of it, was found in the
possession of an Arab who had been charged with their despatch to Ujiji, and
handsomely paid for the same.

On the 14th of March, 1872, Mr. Stanley departed for the coast, and left
Dr. Livingstone at Unyanyembe, who was to await there the sending of car-
riers and some further stores for his future journey. He was, thanks to Mr.
Stanley, well supplied with everything, and could rest in ease and plenty until
he was joined by the carriers who were to accompany him in his march. The
parting of these two brave men must have been a serious task to both. The
courageous young man who had succoured the great traveller, could hardly
help thinking that possibly they who had met so opportunely in the heart of
Africa might never meet again ; and the dauntless explorer, when he looked
his last upon the lithe and active figure of the young man who had come to
him in his great need, would not fail to think that this might be to him the

PARTING OF LIVINGSTONE AND STANLEY. 459

last glimpse — the last visible embodiment of civilization be was destined to see.
Any feeling of this nature would be more than balanced in his enthusiastic
nature by the hope that now he had the means of completing the great work
which was dearer to him than life.

Dr. Livingstone accompanied Mr. Stanley for a part of the way, and then
the moment came when they must part. " Now, my dear Doctor," said Mr.
Stanley, "the best of friends must part. You have come far enough; let nio
beg of you to turn back."

"Well, I will say this to you: you have done what few men could do —
far better than some great travellers I know. And I am grateful to you for
what you have done to me. God guide you safe home, and bless you, my
friend."

" And may God bring you safe back to us all, my dear friend. Fare-
well ! "

" We wrung each other's hands, and I had to tear myself away before I
unmanned myself; but Susi and Chumah, and Hamoydah — the Doctor's
faithful fellows — they must all shake and kiss my hands before I quite turn
away. I betrayed myself !

" Good-bye, Doctor — dear friend ! "

" Good-bye ! "

" The Farewell between Livingstone and myself had been spoken. We
were parted, he to whatever fate Destiny had in store for him, to battling
against difficulties, to many, many days of marching through wildernesses, with
little or nothing much to sustain him save his own high spirit, and enduring
faith in God, who would bring all things right at last, and I to that which
Destiny may have in store for me."

On the march back, Mr. Stanley and his party suffered from the flooded
state of the country, as the rainy season was now on ; and moro than once
they had extreme difficulty in passing the swollen rivers.

On one occasion a native, in wading a stream with the box containing Dr.
Livingstone's despatches and letters on his head, plunged into a hole up to
the neck, and Mr. Stanley for a moment was filled with an awful dread that
they might be lost. Presenting a loaded revolver at his head, lie shouted :
"Lookout! Drop that box, and I'll shoot you." The poor fellow's terror
was extreme, but after a staggering effort he reached the shore in safety.

The rains being at their height, the difficulties were greater than any
Mr. Stanley had as yet experienced. He gives a graphic picture of the jungle
at one point of their journey. He says, "What dreadful odours and indis-
cribable loathing this jungle produces! It is so dense that a tiger could not
crawl through it ; it is so impenetrable that an elephant could not force his
way ! Were a bottleful of concentrated miasma, such as we inhale herein,
collected, what a deadly poison, instantaneous in its action, undiscoverable in

4C0 LIFE OF DA YID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

its properties, would it be 1 I think it would act quioker than chloroform, be
as fatal as prussic acid."

" Horrors upon horrors are in it. Boas above our heads, snake3 and
scorpions under our feet. Land-crabs, terrapins, and iguanas, move about in
our vicinity. Malaria is in the air we breathe ; the road is infested with ' hot
water' ants, which bite our legs until we dance and squirm about like
madmen. Yet somehow we are fortunate enough to escape annihilation, and
many another traveller might also."

Arrived at Bagamoyo, Mr. Stanley was soon in communication with
the heads of the " Livingstone Relief Expedition," Lieutenant Henn, Mr.
Charles New, a missionary, and Mr. Oswell Livingstone, the eldest surviving
son of Dr. Livingstone. Lieutenant Dawson, the head of the expedition, had
thrown up his appointment on hearing of the approach of Mr. Stanley.
Lieutenant Henn and Mr. New, on learning that Dr. Livingstone had been
relieved, decided to retire from the expedition, but Mr. Oswell Livingstone
determined to go on with the bearers and stores needed to completely equip his
father for his further journeyings. A few weeks afterwards he decided not to
go, a decision which now he must bitterly regret.

The expedition sent to Dr. Livingstone consisted of fifty-seven individuals,
many of whom had accompanied Mr. Stanley to and from Ujiji. The most of
them had accompanied Dr. Livingstone on his Zambesi journey. Six Nassick boys
(African lads educated at the Nassick School, Bombay), who had been brought
by Dr. Livingstone from the Shire valley in 1864, and had volunteered to go
with Lieutenant Dawson's expedition, were among the number. Their names
were Jacob Wainwright, John Wainwright, Matthew Wellington, Canas
Ferrars, Richard Rutton, and Benjamin Rutton. The first of these was
destined to accompany the remains of his great master to England, and stand
beside his grave in Westminster Abbey.

On the 29th of May, Mr. Stanley left Zanzibar for England, and within
a few days it was known all over the civilized world that Dr. Livingstone had
been found and relieved.

In addition to the assurance of his being alive, we had news of his having
been in the far west among friendly tribes, exploring the western division of
the great watershed of Central Africa, of the extent of which he had already
informed us in his letter to Lord Clarendon of July 8, 18G8.

The news of his safety did not come to us in the shape of a telegram of
a few lines by way of Bombay — tantalizing us with the scantiness of its
information, and the dread that in a few days, like many others, it would be
contradicted — but reached us in the form of a succinct narrative of the meeting
of Mr. Stanley and the explorer at Ujiji, their companionship together for
several months, a brief account of his discoveries, and an intimation that Mr.
Stanley was the bearer of letters and despatches from Dr. Livingstone for the

RECEPTION OF STANLEY'S REPORT IN ENGLAND. 461

Government, the Royal Geographical Society, and personal friends. As
many of the most sanguine believers in his ultimate safety had begun to have
grave doubts that Livingstone's great career had ended, as that of many a
brave predecessor in African discovery had, the joy and satisfaction felt at the
certainty of his safety was of the warmest description.

When people had time to think calmly about his safety, and the startling
nature of the discoveries which he had made, while lost to our view in the
recesses of the interior, a feeling of wonder arose that he should have been
discovered and succoured by a private individual, a young man at the
threshold of his fourth decade, the correspondent of a newspaper, whose only
experience of Africa, prior to this great feat which has associated his name
for ever with that of the greatest and most successful explorer of ancient or
modern times, was gained in company with the expedition sent by the
English Government for the rescue of the English prisoners at Magdala.
Caravan after caravan, laden with stores, and accompanied by men intended
to be of service to the traveller, had been despatched by Dr. Kirk, H.M.
Consul at Zanzibar — the Government and the Royal Geographical Society
aiding him in his endeavours to discover and succour the man in whose fate
the whole civilised world was interested — in vain.

As we have seen, an imposing expedition under the auspices of the
Geographical Society, and handsomely provided with means by subscriptions
from private individuals and corporate bodies, had left this country, and was
then popularly supposed to be far on its way towards the unknown region
where its mission could be fulfilled.

That Livingstone's safety should be determined, and his wants supplied,
at the cost of the proprietor of a New York newspaper, and through the pluck
and daring of one of his subordinates, who went at his bidding to look for Living-
stone in Central Africa, just as he would have gone to collect news in any of
the great centres of European civilization, was a singular way of accomplishing
a great object, sadly puzzling for a time to many ; and fears were entertained
that the whole was an audacious canard, which only a Yankee journalist would
dare to perpetrate. By and by, as the original intelligence came to be sup-
plemented, it became apparent that not only was his story true, but that
this young journalist was one who, in determined courage and resolute per-
severance, was in every way worthy to take his place among the heroes of
African discovery and travel. When James Gordon Bennett, the proprietor
of the New York Herald, made up his mind that an effort should be made to
find Livingstone, and assigned the task to Mr. Stanley, it fell into the hands
of a man capable of carrying it into successful execution. No doubt, if some
Englishman or American of fortune had done this thing from a love of adven-
ture, or some higher impulse, our ideas of the fitness of things would not have
been outraged ; but there are hundreds of capable and adventurous men who

462 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

cannot afford to indulge in heroic impulses of this nature, and it was a for-
tunate thing for Livingstone, and a matter for congratulation on the part of
civilised mankind, that Mr. Bennet had such a man on his staff, and had the
wisdom to know that he was the man who could carry out his wishes, if these
were possible.

In 1841, shortly after David Livingstone had joined Robert Moffat and
his coadjutors at Kuruman, with the view of fitting himself for the work of the
Christian Mission to the heathen tribes, to the north of the furthest missionary
outpost — in a humble cottage on the site of the old Castle of Denbigh, a son
was born to John Rowlands, son of a small farmer, and Elizabeth Parry,
daughter of a respectable butcher of Denbigh. No lives could have seemed so
far apart as that of the resolute and adventurous Scot, who was commencing
that career of lofty and " high souled-surprise " in Africa which has rendered
his name illustrious, and that of the infant who was entering upon a childhood
and boyhood of poverty and dependence. That child, who for fifteen years
went by the name of his father and grandfather — John Rowlands — as Mr.
Henry M. Stanley, was destined to have his name associated with that of
David Livingstone, as his deliverer and preserver, when his fate was the sub-
ject of anxiety and discussion throughout the civilized world.

In any circumstances, the early life of such a man, prior to the great
achievement which has rendered him famous, could not fail to be a subject of
interest to all, but as in his case there had been crowded into his previous
thirty years of life an amount of trial, vicissitude, and daring adventure,
given to few to experience during the natural term of life, our interest in him
is redoubled. The father and maternal grandfather of John Rowlands (Rol-
lants, the Welsh have it), having died when he was about ten years of age,
the child was left all but dependent upon a humble couple, who, so long as
their means would permit, treated him as though he had been a member of
their own family. When five years of age the death of an uncle left the child
totally dependent upon strangers, and he was received into the work-house at
St. Asaph. This last refuge of the poor is in too many cases a cold foster-parent
to the orphan, but it is a pleasure to be able to record, that the work-house of
St. Asaph was not only admirably looked after by the guardians and the
officials, but the outside public, from the Bishop of the diocese and the local
county families down to the tradesmen of the district, took such an interest
in the management of the house and the well-being of its inmates, that the
incidents in the life of the orphan boy, up to the time of his leaving St. Asaph,
have been easily collected.

For ten years John Rowlands was an inmate of the work-house of St.
Asaph, where, amongst other experiences of much use to him in after life, he
received an admirable elementary education. He was notable among his
compeers in the class-room and the play-ground as a lad of more than ordinary

MEMOIR OF STANLEY. 463

parts and pluck. In the class-room there was only one lad who approached
hirn in diligence and success, but in the play-ground, whether in the amuse-
ments proper to his years, or in a rough stand-up fight, he was without a
rival. Notwithstanding the comfort and even indulgence he enjoyed at St.
Asaph's, his adventurous disposition manifested itself in more than one attempt
to escape from the house. As Mr. J. Hughes, teacher, Llandudno, who knew
him after he left St. Asaph, says : — " He burst the trammels of beadledom
three times ! The widow of his uncle, Mrs. Parry of Dale Street, Denbigh,
tells that, on one occasion, he presented himself at her house at an unusually
late hour, and without any companion — circumstances which, taken in con-
nection with his sheepish look, led her to suspect that something was wrong.
On asking him some questions, she found he had run away. After consult-
ing with some of her friends, John got supper and went to bed.

" Next morning he was sent to St. Asaph in the coach in charge of the
guard, who had strict orders to leave him at the school. Before he left Mrs.
Parry gave him a sixpence, which gratified him much, and reconciled him
to his return. Years afterwards, in speaking of this incident of his life, he
spoke of the feeling of being rich, which the possession of that sixpence gave
him." *

When John Rowlands, who was then fifteen years of age, left St. Asaph's,
in May, 1856, he joined a cousin, Mr. David Owen, teacher of the National
School at Mold, with whom he remained for some time, acting as his assistant.
His residence with his cousin was a period of much trial and discomfort. The
young man and the boy had nothing in common, and quarrels and bickerings
were the result. Mr. John Hughes, who saw a good deal of him at this period,
gives an interesting account of him. He speaks of finding a copy of Johnson's
" Rasselas" on his table, and describes him as being possessed of "an indo-
mitable will, that really knew no impediment to its purpose. . . . His
youthful struggles, the character of his reading, and his bold, inflexible nature,
eminently fitted him for adventure. ... I knew every ingredient in his
nature, I thought, and used to sum him up as a full-faced, stubborn, self-willed
round-head, uncompromising, deep fellow. In conversation with you, his
large black eyes would roll away from you as if he was really in deep medi-
tation about half-a-dozen things besides the subject of conversation. He
was particularly strong in trunk, but not very smart or elegant about the
legs, which were slightly disproportionately short. His temperament was unu-
sually sensitive ; he could stand no chaff, nor the least bit of humour."

*" Henry M. Stanley, the Story of the Life." By Cad walader Rowlands. London, 1873. We
shall have frequent occasion to quote this work, to which wc are indebted for our account of the
incidents in the early lifo of Mr. Stanley. The book purports to be written by a countryman, who
haa had unusual facilities for collecting the materials.

464 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

This being his character, and his cousin having become jealous of his
superior abilities, he endeavoured, to crush his proud spirit, by putting him to
menial occupations, and by parading his authority over him, we need not
wonder that, after a year at Mold, John Rowlands walked straight away into
the great world, with only a few pence in his pocket. He walked to Liver-
pool, and within a few hours engaged himself as extra hand on board a New
Orleans cotton ship, which carried passengers on the outward voyages.

" Passage as an emigrant," says the biographer of Stanley, "in an emigrant
ship, is quite bad enough, . . . but a passage in the same ship, as an
extra hand, going for the first time to sea, is an experience which few who
have ever passed through it will recall with pleasure. However, John Row-
lands had made up his mind to bear it, and the first sharp lesson tried his
quality. The unfortunate holder of such a position on board ship is usually
the slave of all the crew, and is put to all sorts of menial tasks. The value of
his passage has to be taken out of him in work, and he is lucky if he escapes
a plentif ul share of kicks and curses in addition."

Landed at New Orleans, John Rowlands parted with his shipmates, and
went his way in search of what fortune might bring him. He was not long in
learning that a cotton broker, of the name of Stank//, was in want of a youth
to assist him in the counting house. He applied for the situation, and was for-
tunate enough to get it. Mr. Stanley was a bachelor, and was noted for an
eccentric and kindly disposition. Our hero filled the situation to the entire
satisfaction of Mr. Stanley ; and the latter having induced him to tell the
story of his early years, his sympathies were excited in his favour, and within
a very few months, at his suggestion, he took the name of his friend and
benefactor, and adopted the name by which he is now so well known. Further
intimacy so deepened the affection which the old merchant bore to his friend-
less assistant, that he intimated to him that he would take charge of his future
while he lived, and provide for him by will in the event of his death.

Unfortunately, Mr. Stanley's death took place suddenly, before he had
executed a will, and the relations, who looked with no kindly eye on the
young man who had so narrowly escaped coming between them and what they
would naturally suppose to be their rightful inheritance, turned him adrift.
He was now about nineteen years of age, and capable of looking after himself.
The next two years were spent in various commercial situations. When the
American civil war broke out, his adventurous spirit induced him to enlist in
the Southern army. " During his service with the Confederates," says Mr.
Cadwalader Rowlands, "he took part in all the engagements fought by
General Johnstone up to, and including the battle of Pittsburg Landing.
The battle commenced on Sunday, the 6th of April, 1862. The first day's
fighting resulted in the defeat of the Federal forces, under General Grant,
but the latter being reinforced by General Buell, renewed the engagement

MEMOIR OF STANLEY. 465

on the following day, and defeated the enemy, General Johnstone being
among the killed. Many Confederate prisoners were taken in the retreat,
among whom was Mr. Stanley.

" While being conveyed with a number of others to prison, Stanley deter-
mined on making his escape, and in the most daring manner burst through the
armed escort, and, plunging into a river, swam across, and got clear off.
More than a dozen shots were fired at him, but he escaped without a scratch."

He returned to England immediately after making his escape, and visited
his mother in South Wales. After a short stay he went to Liverpool, where
he filled a situation as clerk for several months, living with some of his father's
relatives. Having some difference with his friends, he shipped again for the
United States, and landed at New York. The war was still raging, and he,
with characteristic promptness and audacity, enlisted as a common seaman
in the Federal navy. His quality rapidly asserted itself, and within four
months we find him secretary to the Admiral, on board the Ticonderoga, the
flag-ship. " This apparently unwarlike appointment," says his biographer,
" did not prevent him from embracing opportunities of showing the stuff that
was in him, and his next step in promotion was the most fitting reward for
a most gallant and daring exploit. In the heat of an action, he swam five
hundred yards under the fire of a fort mounting twelve guns, and fixed a
rope to a Confederate steamer, out of which the crew had been driven by
the Federal fire, thus enabling the Ticonderoga to secure her as a prize.

" He was raised to the rank of ensign on the spot. He fought in several
engagements, both on sea and land, and concluded his fighting career as a
naval officer, by taking part in the second attack on Fort Fisher, on the 13th
January, 1865. Ten months after this decisive engagement, the Ticonderoga
was sent on a cruise, and arrived at Constantinople in the year 1866."
Getting leave of absence, he visited Denbigh, and was well received by his
relatives and friends. Visiting the old castle, the scene of his birth, and
the first four years of his life, he made the following entry in the visitors'
book : —

December Uth, 1866.

John Rowlands, formerly of this Castle,* now Ensign in the United States Navy,
in North America, belonging to the U. S. Ship " Ticonderoga^ now at Constan-
tinople, Turkey; absent on furlough.

It is worthy of notice, that while he was known in the world as Henry
M. Stanley, and all his friends and acquaintances in and around Denbigh
knew that he had assumed that name — in the scene of his infant years he
makes use of his baptismal name — John Rowlands. He called upon all his

* The houses built within tlic Avails of the Old Castle were, ami are still, spoken of a3 the Castle.
K 2

466 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

old friends — and visited the work-house at St. Asaph, and made a speech to
the children. The Board of Management were very much gratified at the
visit. One of the members said, in speaking of the visit — " He came gratefully,
and, I may say, gracefully, to see his former acquaintances, and to return
thanks to the Governors for the kindness he had formerly received, and to
show how well he had merited the indulgence shown to him.

Shortly after this Mr. Stanley resigned his commission, and became the
leading actor in a most extraordinary adventure. Along with two young
companions, Mr. Cook and Mr. Noe, he formed a resolution of undertaking a
journey in Asia Minor. The three adventurers landed at Smyrna, and pene-
trated into the interior, on horseback, as far as Chi-Hissar, about three hundred
miles from the coast. At that place Noe was guilty of some imprudence,
which exposed him to the ire of a formidable Turk, the chief of a gang of
brigands, who gave him a good caning. In the excitement of the moment,
Stanley drew a sword, with which he was armed, and struck him from his
horse, and would undoubtedly have slain him but for the protecting folds of
his turban. After an adventure of this nature, there was nothing for it but
flight. Unfortunately they rode right into the robber's head quarters, and
were immediately seized, stripped, and maltreated, and all their money and
valuables taken from them. The robber who was struck hit upon an artful
expedient for hiding the outrage he and his party had been guilty of. He
took the luckless travellers before the Cadi, and charged them with assault and
robbery. When asked what they had to say to this charge, Mr Stanley, as
spokesman of the party, addressed the Cadi, who, fortunately, was acquainted
with the English tongue, and said, "That so far from having attempted to rob
their captors, they themselves had been robbed of everything they possessed,
and if certain members of the party were searched (here he pointed with his
finger to some of the robbers), evidence of his assertion would be proved."

On the men being searched, many of the missing articles were found upon
them, a result which the daring young fellow knew how to improve. He
threatened all and sundry with the vengeance of Brother Jonathan if they
were not at once set at liberty, and their property restored to them, and the
robbers punished. His eloquence had such an effect upon the Cadi that the
robbers were put under arrest. At Afiun-Kara-Hissar, M. Pelesa, of the Otto-
man Bank, provided them with some money and clothes to enable them to proceed
to Constantinople. "Within a few days' march of Constantinople, Mr. Stanley
sent a letter detailing the usage they had received to Mr. E. Joy Morris, the
United States Representative at the Turkish Government. Another letter
was sent for insertion to the Levant UcraM, so that by the time the ragged and
worn travellers reached the " City of the Sultan," the whole Erankisk com-
munity was busy with their sufferings and their wrongs. When they arrived
at the American Consulate, " Mr. Morris and the American Consul-General

MEMOIR OF STANLEY. 467

were waiting to receive them, and notwithstanding that they had been pre-
pared for witnessing a case of suffering and destitution, the forlorn appearance
of the three youths startled them. Mr. Stanley's clothing, if clothing it could
be called, consisted almost exclusively of a single over-covering ; he had nei-
ther shirt nor stockings, and his companions were in no better plight. Mr.
Morris would appear to have been a model minister, for he at once advanced
Mr. Stanley £150 without security of any kind." .

So vigorously did Mr. Morris press the case of his suffering countrymen
upon the attention of the Turkish Government that the brigands were sen-
tenced to various terms of imjjrisonment, and the loss they had sustained in
money and property was made good — the Grand Vizier, Ali Pacha, actually
concluding the arrangements with Mr. Morris. The services of an English
Consul in Asia Minor were also pressed into the service, and he watched the trial
of the robbers on behalf of Mr. Morris, who had no official countryman within
hail. English travellers abroad must think with envy of the readiness
with which Yankee officials attend to the interests of their wandering
countrymen.

Mr. Stanley returned to the United States early in 1867, and acted for
some time as correspondent of the Neiv York Tribune and the Missouri Demo-
crat, with General Hancock's expedition against the Kiowa and Cheyenne
Indians. On his return from this congenial expedition he, along with a com-
panion, constructed a raft, and floated down the Platte river to its junction
with the Missouri, a distance of seven hundred miles. Mr. Stanley's biographer
says: — " This was an exploit strikingly illustrative of the enterprising character
of Stanley, for we may safely assume that it was instigated by him. Travel
by the lumbering stage down the valley of the Platte, for seven hundred miles,
would have been a dull and prosaic method of finding his way back to civiliza-
tion after several months' raid against the Indian tribes of the far west. A
raft voyage was not without its dangers ; the Indians might prove hostile ; an
unexpected encounter with a snag might shiver the raft into its respective
fragments and drown the two voyagers, or a grizzly bear might pay a visit to
their night encampment on the banks of the river, and make an end of them.
But dangers like these would only give a zest to the adventure."

Mr. Stanley's letters from the far west, abounded with details of horrible
massacres by the Indians, who had been goaded into madness by the ill-usage
they received from the frontier men. No compact is kept with them ; further
and further westward they are being driven from the land of their forefathers by
the advancing tide of the pale faces. The pioneers of civilization there, as else-
where, are a reckless and lawless class, and they think as little of shooting an
Indian as an Englishman would of shooting a hare. When one reads of a
terrible instance of Indian vengeance, when whole families have been put to
death after unheard-of tortures, we are apt to forget that some cruel wrong

468 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

and injustice on the part of the white settler8 have let loose the wild and savage
passions of the Redskins. We find room for an abbreviated account of a
desperate Indian foray reported by Mr. Stanley. A band of Sioux Indians
made a raid upon the railway, near Fort Kearney, over two hundred miles to
the west of Omaha. They met a gang of telegraph repairers, and slew and
scalped them — James Thomson, an Englishman, escaping with his life. This
is Thomson's account of it, as reported by Mr. Stanley : —

" He (the Indian) took out his knife and stabbed me in the neck, and
then, making a twirl round his fingers with my hair, he commenced sawing
and hacking away at my scalp. Though the pain was awful, and I felt dizzy
and sick, I knew enough to keep quiet. After what seemed to be half-an-
hour, he gave the last finishing touch to the scalp on my left temple, and as it
still hung a little, he gave it a jerk. I just thought then that I should have
screamed my life out. I can't describe it to you ; it just felt as if the whole
head was being taken right off. The Indian then mounted and galloped away,
but as he went he dropped my scalp within a few feet of me, which I managed
to get and hide. . . Drs. Peck and Moore, of this city (Omaha)," says Mr.
Stanley, "will endeavour to reset the scalp on his head, and they are confident
they can do it well. As he is a strong man, it is expected that he will recover
health and strength." There is something horrible, and yet humorously
grotesque, in the securing of his own scalp, by the half-dead Englishman !

On his return to New York, he received the appointment of travelling
correspondent to the New York Herald^ at a salary of £600 a-year, and his
first important commission was to accompany the forces under Sir Robert (now
Lord Napier) for the relief of the English captives, detained by King Theodore
at Magdala. As Mr. Stanley has recently published his account of this brilliant
campaign, we will not allude to it further than to mention, that his energetic
character enabled him to obtain a happy superiority, not only over his fellow-
correspondents, but over the English Government itself, as he sent important
intelligence to his paper, which reached England via New York, a few days
earlier than the official intelligence sent by the Commander-in-chief.

On his return to England from Abyssinia, he spent several weeks with
his relatives in Wales, before starting for Spain, to give an account of the
revolution which resulted in the flight of Queen Isabella. He was at Madrid,
as we have seen, when Mr Gordon Bennet sent for him to Paris, for the pur-
pose of despatching him in search of Dr. Livingstone. As Mr. Stanley himself
has informed us, he was present at the opening of the Suez canal, visited the
more important places of interest in Palestine, and marched right across Asia
Minor into India, landing in Bombay in September of 1869.

His old friend, Mr. E. Joy Morris, saw him at Constantinople, previous
to his starting on his famous journey to Bombay. Mr. Morris gave him letters
of introduction to such merchants as he knew on his route, and also reconi-

MEMOIR OF STANLEY. 4G9

mended him to the good offices of the Russian authorities. Mr. Morris says —
" He started on the desperate enterprise some time after, and my table thereby
lost one of its most entertaining guests. When I say desperate enterprise, I
mean it — for Persia is to a European a practically unexplored country ; and
in consequence of its weak government, and the marauders with which it
abounds, a journey from Zanzibar to Unyanyembe would be a safe trip com-
pared to it. I received a letter from him, while on the way, narrating the
hospitable manner in which he had been received by the Russian authorities,
and the way in which he had astonished them by the performances of his Henry
rifle. (This rifle was a present from Mr. Morris.) The journey over the Cau-
casus and through Georgia was a sort of triumphal march, though he was looked
upon as a lost man by all who knew anything of the East.

" The route he took was an entirely new one, as he went in a kind of zig-
zag way to Thibet, and he must have possessed a charmed life to have come
through so much peril in comparative safety. After this affair I returned home,
and I did not hear of Mr. Stanley again until I heard of him as the discoverer
of Livingstone. . . I should be astonished at no feat in the line of travel
that he might not accomplish. He is a clever traveller, and I used to say to
myself at my table in Constantinople, ' Here is a man who will yet achieve
greatness, and leave his mark behind him in the world.' He has all the quali-
ties which the great explorers possessed — Mungo Park, Humboldt, and Living-
stone himself — a hardy frame, unflinching courage, and inflexible perseverance.
If such a thing were possible, that I were forced to become a member of a
band to undertake some forlorn hope, some desperate enterprise — I know of
no one whom I Would so readily select as the leader of such an undertaking as
Henry Stanley."

As the Shah of Persia is an object of more interest to English readers now
than he was at the time Mr. Stanley wrote, we cannot refrain from quoting
Mr. Stanley's account of the first use the "King of Kings" made of the Tele-
graph when Teheran was first connected with the principal places in his domi-
nions by wire. To understand it properly we may say that the khans or
governors of provinces in Persia pay the Shah for their positions, they screwing
out of the people as much more than they pay to the Shah as possible. Mr.
Stanley says : —

" The Shah of Persia visited the Telegraph Office in person, and — cun-
ning fellow ! — after examining the mode of operating, professed to be delighted
with everything he saw. He regarded the apparatus of telegraphy intently,
and then begged Mr. Pruce to explain how he manipulated the little round
knob, which flashed the mysteries. Mr. Pruce did so very readily, and as he
speaks eloquently, no doubt the Shah was much enlightened, for during the
exposition the Shah laughed heartily, and delivered many a fervid ' Masha-
allah 1 ' Then the Shah wanted to telegraph ; he tried a long time, but as the

470 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

words would not march, he gave it up as a difficult job. His fingers, he said
apologetically, were dumb : they would not talk. Then he summoned one of
his own employes from the Persian office, and bade him telegraph as follows : —

"Telegram No 1, to Koum, prom the Shah in Person.
" ' How much money hast thou for the Shah, Khan ? '
" Answer. — (After a pause of about three minutes, the rascally governor
evidently considering, for all along the line the governors had been forwarned.)
' When the Asylum of the Universe commands less than the least of hia slaves,
he will give all he is worth.'

" Telegram No. 2, to Koum.
" ' How much is that ? '
" Answer. — ' Ten thousand tomans.' (£4,000.)

" Telegram No. 3, to Koum.
" ' Send the money, the Shah commands ; he is well pleased.'

" Telegram No. 4, to Kashan.
" ' Oh ! Khan, the Shah wants money ; how much hast thou to give him ?'
"Answer. — 'Whatever the Light of the World commands is at his ser-
vice. I have five thousand tomans.' (£2,000.)

" Telegram No. 5, to Kashan.
" ' Too little; send me twenty thousand tomans (£8,000): the Shah has
said it.'

" Telegram No. 6, to Ispahan.
" ' Khan, thou knowest thy position is a treasure. What wilt thou give
the Shah to keep it ? A man has offered me fifty thousand tomans (£20,000)
for thy place. Speak quickly : it is the Shah that waits.'

" Answer. — ' Oh ! King of Kings, thou knowest my faithfulness, and hast
but to speak: I have 60,000 tomans ready.'

" Telegram No 7, to Ispahan.
" ' It is good. Thou art a wise Khan. Send the money.'

" Telegram No. 8, to Shiraz.

" ' Shah-Zadeh, speak for thy place. There are evil-minded men who
desire thy position. Art thou wise, and is thy hand open ?'

" Answer. — ' The throne is the place of wisdom. When the Shah speaks
the world trembles ; the ears of his governors are open. I have 30,000 tomans
in hand.'

MEMOIR OF STANLEY. 471

" Telegram No. 9, to Shiraz.
u ' The Ameer-ed-Dowlah offers me 45,000 tomans. Oli ! little man, thou
art mad.'

" Answer. — ' The Shah has spoken truly : I will send 50,000 tomans.'

"From his telegram to Bushire, he received answer that 10,000 tomans
would he sent immediately, which was accepted. This is the Shah and his
ways of government. The handsome sum of 150,000 tomans, or £60,000
sterling, was netted in one morning from the governors' privy purses His
governorships are sold to the highest bidder."

Mr. Stanley arrived in England on the 1st August, 1872. His half-brother
and cousin from Denbigh met him on Dover pier, and accompanied their
now famous relative to London. Petty jealousy on the part of professional
geographers, and certain newspapers, prompted unworthy doubts as to the truth
of the story he had to tell ; and both in this country and in America it was
broadly hinted that Mr. Stanley had never seen Dr. Livingstone at all. The
day after Mr. Stanley's arrival, Lord Granville, and Dr. Livingstone's son
and daughter, bore testimony to the authenticity of the letters and despatches
he had forwarded to them. The first public appearance made by Mr. Stanley
was at the meeting of the British Association, held at Brighton during the
third week of August. The geographers had a theory that the waters of the
region Dr. Livingstone had been exploring for five years must find their way
to the Congo, notwithstanding that Dr. Livingstone stated it as his belief
that the Lualaba was in reality the Nile. Mr. Stanley's fiery nature was
thoroughly roused by the storm of doubts and cavils which had burst upon
him, and he indulged in an amount of hard hitting in reply to the discussion
which the reading of his paper had evoked, which was thoroughly enjoyed by
a large and enthusiastic audience. We give a few extracts from his address : —

" Gentlemen of the Geographical Society — I have been invited to deliver
an address here before you, or rather, to read a paper on the Tanganyika.
Responding to that invitation, I came here ; but before entering upon that
subject, which seems to interest this scientific assemblage, permit me to say
something of j^our ' distinguished medallist ' and Associate, Dr. David Livino--
stone. I found him in the manner already described, the story of which in
brief, is familiar to everybody. He was but little impaired in health, and but
a little better than the ' ruckle of bones' he came to Ujiji. With the story of
his sufferings, his perils, his many narrow escapes, related as they were by
himself, the man who had endured all these and still lived, I sympathised.
What ho suffered far eclipses all that Ulysses suffered, and Livingstone but
needs a narrator like Homer, to make his name as immortal as the Greek

472 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

hero's; and, to make another comparison, I can liken his detractors in
England and Germany only to the suitors who took advantage of Ulysses's
absence to slander him, and torment his wife. The man lives not who is
more single-minded than Livingstone — who has worked harder, been more
persevering in so good a cause as Livingstone — and the man lives not who
deserves a higher reward.

" Before going to Central Africa in search of Livingstone, I believed
almost everything I heard or read about him. Never was a man more
gullible than I. I believed it possible that the facetious gentleman's story,
who said that Livingstone had married an African princess, might be correct.
I believed, or was near believing, the gentleman who told me personally that
Livingstone was a narrow-minded, crabbed soul, with whom no man could
travel in peace ; that Livingstone kept no journals or notes ; and that if he
died his discoveries would surely be lost to the world. I believed then with
the gentleman that Livingstone ought to have come home and let a younger
man — that same gentleman, for instance — go and finish the work that Living-
stone had begun. Also, inconsistent as it may seem — but I warn you again
that I was exceedingly gullible — I believed that this man Livingstone was
aided in a most energetic manner, that he had his letters from his children
and friends sent to him regularly, and that stores were sent to him monthly
and quarterly — in fact, that he was quite comfortably established and settled
at Ujiji. I believed also that every man, woman, and child in England
admired and loved this man exceedingly. I was deeply impressed with these
views of things when James Gordon Bennet, jun., of the New York Herald,
told me, in a few words, to go after Livingstone, to find him, and bring what
news I could of him. I simply replied with a few monosyllables in the
affirmative, though I thought it might form a very hard task. What, if
Livingstone refused to see me or hear me ? ' No matter,' said I to myself in
my innocence, ' I shall be successful if I only see him.' You yourselves,
gentlemen, know how I would stand to-day if I had come back from the
Tanganyika without a word from him; some, but few, believed me, when
Livingstone's own letters appeared. But how fallacious were all my beliefs!
Now that I know the virtue and uprightness of the man, I wonder how it was
possible that I could believe that Livingstone was married to an African
princess and had settled down. I feel ashamed that I entertained such
thoughts of him. Now that I know Livingstone's excessive amiability, his
mild temper, the love he entertains for his fellow-men, white or black, his
pure Christian character, I wonder now why this man was maligned. I
wonder now whether Livingstone is the same man whom a former fellow-
traveller of his called a tyrant and an unbearable companion. I wonder now
whether this is the traveller whom I believed to be decrepid and too old to
follow up his discoveries, whom a younger man ought to displace, now that I

STANLEY A T BRITISH ASSOGIA TION. 473

have become acquainted with his enthusiasm, his iron constitution, his sturdy
frame, his courage and endurance.

" I have been made aware, through a newspaper published in London,
called the Standard, that there are hopes that some confusion will be cleared
up when the British Association meets, and Mr. Stanley's story is subject to
the sifting and cross-examination of the experts in African discovery. What
confusion people may have fallen into through some story I have told I cannot
i.it present imagine, but probably after the reading of this paper, the ' experts'
will rise and cross-question. If it lies in my power to explain away this ' con-
fusion ? ' I shall be most happy to do so.

" There are also some such questions as the following propounded : — ■
Why did not Dr. Livingstone return with Mr. Stanley ? Why was the great
traveller so uncommunicative to all but the New York Herald ? Why did not
the relief expedition go on and relieve him ? What has Dr. Kirk been doing
all the time at Zanzibar ? Here arc four questions which admit of easy
solution. To the first I would answer, because he did not want to come with
Mr. Stanley ; and may I ask, was Mr. Stanley Dr. Livingstone's keeper, that
as soon as he found him he should box him with the superscription, ' This side
up, with care ? ' To the second I would answer that Dr. Livingstone was not
aware that there was another correspondent present at the interview when he
imparted his information to the correspondent of the New York Herald. To
the third question, I would answer that Livingstone was already relieved, and
needed no stores. To the fourth question I would reply that Dr. Kirk's rela-
tives in England may probably know what he has been doing better than I do.
Also, in answer to that article in the Standard, and to some articles in other
newspapers, I must confess that I cannot see wherein those letters of Dr.
Livingstone to Mr. James Bennet are disturbing, grotesque, or unexpected,
unless the editors believed that Dr Livingstone was dead, and that his ghost
now haunts them and disturbs their dreams. We are also told that 'Dr.
Livingstone's reports are strangely incoherent ;' that Sir Henry Rawlinson's
letter is 'most discouraging;' that the only theory to be gleaned from Dr.
Livingstone's letter is simply impossible ; that the Standard, echoing the opi-
nion of geographers, is more in the 'dark than ever?' Here is a field for
explanation, had one only time or space in such a paper as this to explain.
Let us hope that geographers who are in the dark will come forward to demand
to be admitted into the light.

" But leaving these tremendous questions to a subsequent moment, let us
now turn our attention to that large body of water called the Tanganyika.
England is the first and foremost country in African discoveries. Her sons
are known to have plunged through jungles ; travelled over plains, mountains,
and valleys ; to have marched through the most awful wildernesses, to resolve
the many problems -which have arisen from time to time concerning Central

l2

474 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

Africa. The noblest heroes of geography have been of that land. She
reckons Bruce, Clapperton, Lander, Ritchie, Mungo Park, Laing, Baikie,
Speke, Burton, Grant, Baker, and Livingstone, as her sons. Many of these
have fallen, stricken to death by the poisonous malaria of the lands through
■which they travelled. Who has recorded their last words — their last sighs ?
Who has related the agonies they must have suffered — their sufferings while
they lived ? What monuments mark their lonely resting-places ? Where is
he who can point out the exact localities where they died ? Look at that
skeleton of a continent ! We can only say they died in that unknown centre
of Africa — that great broad blank between the eastern and the western coasts.

"Before I brought with me producible proofs, in the shape of letters, his
journal, his broken chronometers, his useless watches, his box of curiosities,
it was believed by all, with the exception of a few, that the most glorious
name among these geographical heroes — the most glorious name among fearless
missionaries, had been added to the martyrology list ; it was behoved that
the illustrious Livingstone had at last succumbed to the many fatal influences
that are ever at work in that awful heart of Africa.

" It was in my search for this illustrious explorer, which has now ended so
happily — far more successfully than I could ever have anticipated — that I
came to the shores of the great lake, the Tanganyika. At a little port, or
bunder, called Ujiji, in the district of Ujiji, my efforts were crowned with
success. If you will glance at the south-eastern shore of the Tanganyika, you
will find it a blank ; but I must now be permitted to fill it with rivers, and
streams, and marshes, and mountain ranges. I must people it with powerful
tribes — with Wafipa, Wakawendi, Wakonongo, and Wanyamwezi. More to
the south, ferocious Watuta, and predatory Warori ; and to the north, Mana
Msengi, Wangondo, and Waluriba. Before coming to the Malagarazi, I had
to pass through southern Wavinza. Crossing that river, and after a day's
march, I entered Ubha, a broad, plain country, extending from Uvinza north
to Urundi, and the lands inhabited by the northern Watuta. Three long
marches through Ubha brought me to the beautiful country of Ukaranga
and Ujiji, the Liuche valley, or Ruche, as Burton has it. Five miles further
westwards, brought me to the summit of a smooth, hilly ridge, and the town
of Ujiji, embowered in palms, lay at our feet, and beyond was the silver
lake, the Tanganyika, and beyond the broad belt of water towered the darkly
purple mountains of Ugoma and Ukaramba.

"To very many here, perhaps, African names have no interest, but to those
who have travelled in Africa, each name brings a recollection — each word has
a distinct meaning ; sometimes the recollections are pleasing, sometimes bitter.
If I mention Ujiji, that little port in the Tanganyika, almost hidden by palm
groves, with the restless plangent surf rolling over the sandy beach, is recalled
as vividly to my mind as if I stood on that hill-top looking down' upon it, and

STANLEY CROSS-EXAMINED. 475

where, after a few minutes later, I met the illustrious Livingstone. If I think
of Unyanyembe, naturally I recollect the fretful, peevish, and impatient life
I led there, until I summoned courage, collected my men, and marched to the
south to see Livingstone, or to die. If I think of Ukonongo, recollections of
our rapid marches, of famine, of hot suns, of surprises from enemies, and
mutiny among my men, of feeding upon wild fruit, and of a desperate rush
into a jungle. If I think of Ukawendi, I see a glorious land of lovely valleys,
and green mountains, and forests of tall trees ; the march under their twilight
shades, and the exuberant chant of my people, as we gaily tramped towards
the north. If I think of southern Uvinza, I see mountains of haematite
of iron — I see enormous masses of disintegrated rock, great chasms, deep
ravines, a bleakness and desolation as of death. If I think of the Malagarazi,
I can see the river, with its fatal reptiles, and snorting hippopotami ; I can
see the salt plains stretching on either side ; and if I think of Ubha, recollec-
tions of the many trials we underwent, of the turbulent, contumacious crowds,
the stealthy march at midnight through their villages, the preparations for
battle, the alarm, and the happy escape, culminating in the happy meetino-
with Livingstone. There, in that open square, surrounded by hundreds of
curious natives, stands the worn-out, pale-faced, grey-bearded, and bent form
of my great companion. There stands the sullen-eyed Arabs, in their snowy
dresses, girdled, stroking their long beards, wondering why I came. There
stands the Wajiji, children of the Tanganyika, side by side with the Wanyani-
wezi, with the fierce and turbulent Warundi, with Livingstone and myself in the
centre. Yes, I note it all, with the sun-light falling softly on the picturesque
scene. I hear the low murmur of the surf, the rustling of the palm branches.
I note the hush that has crept over the multitudes as we two clasp hands."

After Mr Stanley had given details of the geographical discoveries Dr.
Livingstone had entrusted to him, which we will deal with further on — the
geographical experts proceeded to cross-examine him, and to propound their
individual theories as to the ultimate goal of the great river Lualaba. None
of them agreed in the belief that Livingstone held as to its being the Nile,
and Mr. Stanley was exceedingly caustic in dealing with these geographical
doubters. We make a few extracts from an account of the scene by an eye-
witness.

After Mr. Stanley's paper was read, some extracts from Dr Livingstone's
despatches were read, " the gentleman who performed that duty skipping a good
deal ; and then Mr. Francis announced a paper from Colonel Grant (Speke's
companion), part of which had only been received by post that morning. Mr.
Stanley began to make notes for his reply directly Colonel Grant's doubts came
to be read, and it was clear that he was prepared to stand by the theories ho
had formed after his four months and four days' close conference with Living-
stone, let who would oppose them."

476 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" Mr. Consul Petherick, a hale-looking, portly gentleman, with white
whiskers and beard, then gave his experience as an explorer, and claimed to
have been the first traveller who had attempted to estimate the volume of
water flowing from the various African rivers.

" Dr. Beke then had his turn, and after regretting that he should have to
eat his own words, said that, taking Dr. Livingstone's facts as they stood, it
was impossible that his conclusions could be correct.

" Mr. Oswell, an old fellow-traveller of Livingstone's, who was not down
on the programme, but was called on by the chair, spoke next from the body
of the hall, and paid wann testimony to the heroic qualities of Livingstone's
wife, who was one of the expedition in which the speaker took part.

" Then Sir Henry Rawlinson rose at the chairman's right, and disclaimed
with some elaboration all feeling of jealousy on the part of the Geographical
Society, and then paid warm compliments to the honourable loyalty and
gallant courage with which Mr. Stanley had performed his onerous task.

" Still Sir Henry could not assent to the proposition, as one beyond
cavil, that Livingstone had discovered the sources of the Nile ; and leant
rather to the opinion, that some great lake or swamp, or system of water sheds,
would be found to be the outfall into which Livingstone's river emptied itself.

" Mr. Stanley had before this pointed out, at the request of the President,
on the large map of Africa, drawn by Mr. Keith Johnston, the alterations
which it will, in his judgment, require before it accords with the map shown
by Livingstone. This map was hung behind the platform, and was of a size
which enabled every one to follow the course of exploration as it was touched
upon by the various speakers.

" Mr. Galton spoke, when summing up the proceedings from the chair, of
the ' somewhat impassioned appeal ' made by Mr. Stanley on behalf of Living-
stone's conclusions, and the phrase expresses accurately the character of the
traveller's reply. He spoke like a man who was a little indignant.

u ' Dr. Beke,' Mr. Stanley said, ' living in London, and never having been
within two thousand miles of the spot, declares positively that Livingstone has
not discovered the sources of the Nile ; whereas Livingstone, who has devoted
thirty-five years to Africa, only says he thinks he has discovered,' was one of
the remarks which created a good deal of laughter and applause. So when
Mr. Stanley, lifting his arms aloft in amazed protest, exclaimed, ' and Sir Henry
Rawlinson thinks that a river of from one to three miles in breadth can lose
itself in a swamp,' and when he alluded to gentlemen ' sitting on their easy
chairs at home, and mapping out Central Africa to their own satisfaction,
and to never having known an Englishman discover anything yet, but some
learned German declared he'd been there first,' the laughter was long and
loud.

" Altogether, the impression left by Mr. Stanley upon his hearers was in

MR. STANLEY AND TEE QUEEN. 477

the highest degree favourable ; and while it is possible that some of his
opinions may be modified by the light scientific geographers may supply, it
is certain that he carried his audience with him this morning in debate."

On the 27th August, 1872, Mr. Stanley received the following letter from
niarl Granville ; it was accompanied by a valuable gold snuff-box, set with
brilliants : —

" Foreign Office, August 27th, 1872.
"Sib,

" I have great satisfaction in conveying to you, by command of the
Queen, her Majesty's high appreciation of the prudence and zeal which you
have displayed in opening a communication with Dr. Livingstone, and re-
lieving her Majesty from the anxiety which, in common with her subjects, she
had felt in regard to the fate of that distinguished traveller.

"The Queen desires me to express hex thanks for the service you have
thus rendered, together with her Majesty's congratulations on your having so
successfully carried out the mission which you so fearlessly undertook. Her
Majesty also desires me to request your acceptance of the memorial which
accompanies this letter.

" I am, Sir,
" Your most obedient humble servant,
"Henry Stanley, Jun. " Geanville."

Nothing could exceed the warmth with which the general public gave
expression to their admiration of the pluck and daring with which Mr. Stanley
had carried out his splendid achievements. At banquets, luncheons, and
public meetings, he was received with the utmost enthusiasm. The freedom of
the principal cities of the empire was conferred upon him at the unanimous
wish of their corporations, and he had a personal interview with the Queen.

He accompanied the forces under Sir Garnet Wolesley during the Ashantee
Campaign, and gave the results of his observations in the New York Herull.
His letters from thence have since been reprinted as a volume, and we need
hardly assure our readers that it is not the least interesting account of that
brilliant campaign among the many with which the public have been
favoured.

As we write he is on his way to Zanzibar to organise the most formidable
expedition ever led by a European into the heart of Africa for mere purposes
of exploration and discovery. The relief of Livingstone, and the stirring and
adventurous life he has led since boyhood, prove him to be thoroughly fitted for
the dangerous and arduous duty he has undertaken. The proprietors of the
New York Herald and the London Daily Telegraph bear the entire charges of this
great undertaking. It must be months, and it may be years, before we hear
of him from the centre of Africa, but we may rest assured that all that skill,

478 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

resolute daring, and an iron constitution can do, will be clone to unravel the
mystery of the " Heart of Africa."

As this sheet goes to press, we learn that Mr. Stanley, who had met
with a gratifying reception from the authorities at Zanzibar, has, along with
Mr. Laing, a Zanzibar merchant, ascended the Lufiji river, which flows into
the Indian Ocean, opposite the island of Monfia. He reports that boats, of
light draught, can ascend it at certain seasons, for a distance of over two
hundred and forty miles. The main stream of slave traffic from Central
Africa crosses this river at the point where it ceases to be navigable. While
this river will materially lessen the travel to Lake Tanganyika, it will also
prove of great usefulness in the final suppression of the slave trade.

CHAPTER XX.

Dr. Livingstone's Account of his Explorations. — His theory of the connection between
the Lualaba and the Nile. — Horrors of Slave-Trade. — A Man-Eating Tribe. —
Massacre of the Manyema, etc., etc.

THE story of Dr. Livingstone's wanderings to and fro over the vast extent
of country, the watershed of which, according to his belief, goes to form
the Nile and the Congo, cannot be better told than in his own words. Letters
to Mr. James Gordon Bennett, and to Lords Clarendon and Granville, succes-
cessively Foreign Ministers in the English Government, supply ample mate-
rials, and tell the story of his trials and difficulties, and the geographical con-
clusions he had arrived at up to the period of Mr. Stanley's meeting with him,
in a far more graphic and telling manner than any paraphrase of ours could
pretend to. As the letters were sent to different individuals, there is consi-
derable repetition, which we have endeavoured, by excisions, to render as
little noticeable as possible. In his first letter to Mr. Gordon Bennett, he
records his thanks for the great service rendered to him by that gentleman : —

" It is, in general, somewhat difficult to write to one we have never seen.
It feels so much like addressing an abstract idea ; but the presence of your
representative, Mr. H. M. Stanley, in this distant region, takes away the
strangeness I should otherwise have felt, and in writing to thank you for the
extreme kindness that prompted you to send him, I feel quite at home.

" If I explain the forlorn condition in which he found me, you will easily
perceive that I have good reason to use very strong expressions of gratitude.
I came to Ujiji off a tramp of between four hundred and five hundred miles
beneath a blazing vertical sun, having been baffled, worried, defeated, and
forced to return, when almost in sight of the end of the geographical part
of my mission, by a number of half-caste Moslem slaves, sent to me from
Zanzibar instead of men. The sore heart, made still sorer by the truly woe-
ful sights I had seen of ' man's inhumanity to man,' reacted on the bodily
frame, and depressed it beyond measure. I thought that I was dying on
my feet. It is not too much to say, that almost every step of the weary
sultry way I was in pain, and I reached Ujiji a mere ruckle of bones. Here
I found that some £500 worth of goods I had ordered from Zanzibar had
unaccountably been entrusted to a drunken half-caste Moslem tailor, who,

480 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

after squandering them for sixteen months on the way to Ujiji, finished up
by selling off all that remained for slaves and ivory for himself. He had
divined on the Koran, and found that I was dead. He had also written
to the governor of Unyanyembe that he had sent slaves after me to Manyema,
who returned and reported my decease, and begged permission to sell off
the few goods that his drunken appetite had spared. He, however, knew
perfectly well from men who had seen me, that I was alive, and waiting
for the goods and men ; but as for morality, he is evidently an idiot ; and
there being no law here except that of the dagger or musket, I had to sit
down in great weakness, destitute of everything save a few barter cloths
and beads I had taken the precaution to leave here in case of extreme need.
The near prospect of beggary among Ujijans made me miserable. I could
not despair, because I laughed so much at a friend who, on reaching the
mouth of the Zambesi, said ' that he was tempted to despair on breaking the
photograph of his wife : we could have no success after that.' After that, the
idea of despair has to me such a strong smack of the ludicrous, it is out of
the question.

" Well, when I had got about the lowest verge, vague rumours of an
English visitor reached me. I thought of myself as the man who went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho; but neither priest, Levite, nor Samaritan, could
possibly pass my way. Yet the good Samaritan was close at hand j and one
of my people rushed up at the top of his speed, and in great excitement gasped
out, ' An Englishman coming ! I see him !' And off he darted to meet him.
An American flag, the first ever seen in these parts, at the head of a caravan,
told me the nationality of the stranger. I am as cold and non-demonstrative
as we islanders are usually reputed to be, but your kindness made my frame
thrill. It was indeed overwhelming, and I said in my soul, ' Let the richest
blessings descend from the Highest on you and yours.'

" The news Mr. Stanley had to tell me was thrilling: the mighty politi-
cal changes on the Continent, the success of the Atlantic cables, the election of
General Grant, and many topics, riveted my attention for days together, and
had an immediate and beneficial effect on my health. I had been without
news from home for years, save what I could glean from a few Saturday
Reviews and Punch for 1868. The appetite revived, and in a week I began
to feel strong again. Mr. Stanley brought a most kind and encouraging
despatch from Lord Clarendon, whose loss I sincerely deplore — the first I
have received from the Foreign Office since 1866 — and information that Her
Majesty's Government had kindly sent £1000 to my aid. Up to his arrival
I was not aware of any pecuniary aid. I came unsalaried, but this want is
now happily repaired ; and I am anxious that you and all my friends should
know that, though uncheered by letters, I have stuck to the task which my

LIVINGSTONE'S LETTERS. 431

friend Sir Roderick Murchison set me, with John-Bullish tenacity, believing
that all will come right at last."

After giving a brief account of his geographical discoveries, he sa}rs : —
" I must go to Unyanyembe at Mr. Stanley's and your expense, ere I can put
the natural completion to my work ; and if my disclosures regarding the ter-
rible Ujijan slavery should lead to the suppression of the East Coast slave
trade, I shall regard that as a greater matter by far than the discovery of all
the Nile sources together.

" Now that you have done with domestic slavery for ever, lend us your
powerful aid towards this great object. This fine country is blighted as with
a curse from above, in order that the slaving privileges of the petty Sultan of
Zanzibar may not be infringed, and that the rights of the Crown of Portugal,
which are mythical, should be kept in abeyance till some future time, when
Africa will become another India to Portuguese slave dealers."

Dr. Livingstone's despatch, addressed to the Earl of Clarendon, gives
the best summary of his geographical conclusions up to the time of which
we are writing. No single letter from any traveller, from the scene of his
labours, ever recorded so important discoveries. We give it entire : —

" I wrote a very hurried letter on the 28th ultimo, and sent it by a few
men who had resolved to run the risk of passing through contending parties
of Banyamwezi and mainland Arabs at Unyanyembe, which is some twenty
days east of this. I had just come off a tramp of more than four hundred
miles beneath a vertical torrid sun, and was so jaded in mind by being forced
back by faithless attendants, that I could have written little more though the
messengers had not been in such a hurry to depart as they were. I have now
the prospect of sending this safely to the coast by a friend ; but so many of
my letters have disappeared at Unyanyembe, when entrusted to the care of
the Lewale or Governor, who is merely the trade agent of certain Banians,
that I shall consider that of the 28th as one of the unfortunates, and give in
this as much as I can recall.

"I have ascertained that the watershed of the Nile is a broad upland
between 10° and 12° south latitude, and from four thousand to five thousand
feet above the level of the sea. Mountains stand on it at various points, which,
though not apparently very high, are between six thousand and seven thou-
sand feet of actual altitude. The watershed is over seven hundred miles in
length, from east to west. The springs that rise on it are almost innumerable;
that is, it would take a large portion of a man's life to count thein. A bird's-
eye view of some parts of the watershed would resemble the frost vegetation
on window-panes. They all begin in an ooze at the height of a slightly
depressed valley. A few hundred yards down the quantity of water from
oozing earthen sponge forms a brisk perennial burn or brook a few feet broad,
and deep enough to require a bridge. These are the ultimate or primary

n2

482 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

sources of the great rivers that flow to the north in the great Nile valley.
The primaries unite and form streams, in general larger than the Isis at
Oxford or Avon at Hamilton, and may be called secondary sources. They
never dry, but unite again into four lines of drainage, the head waters or
mains of the river of Egypt. These four are each called by the natives
Lualaba, which, if not too pedantic, may be spoken of as lacustrine rivers,
extant specimens of those which, in pre-historic times, abounded in Africa,
and which in the south are still called by Bechuanas ' Melapo ;' in the north,
by Arabs, ' Wadys;' both words meaning the same thing — river-beds in which
no water ever now flows. Two of the four great rivers mentioned fall into
the central Lualaba or "Webb's Lake River, and then we have but two main
lines of drainage as depicted nearly by Ptolemy.

" The prevafling winds on the watershed are from the south-east. This
is easily observed by the direction of the branches ; and the humidity of the
climate is apparent in the number of lichens, which make the upland forest
look like the mangrove swamps on the coast.

" In passing over sixty miles of latitude, I waded thirty -two primary
sources from calf to waist deep, and requiring from twenty minutes to an
hour and a quarter to cross stream and sponge j this would give about one
source to every two miles.

" A Suaheli friend, in passing along part of the Lake Bangweolo, during
six days counted twenty-two from thigh to waist deep. This lake is on the
watershed, for the village at which I observed on its north-west shore was a
few seconds into 11° south, and its southern shores and springs and rivulets
are certainly in 12° south. I tried to cross it, in order to measure the breadth
accurately. The first stage to an inhabited island was about twenty-four
miles. From the highest point here, the tops of the trees, evidently lifted by
the mirage, could be seen on the second stage and the third stage ; the main-
land was said to be as far as this beyond it. But my canoe men had stolen
the canoe, and got a hint that the real owners were in pursuit, and got into
a flurry to return home. ' They would come back for me in a few days
truly,' but I had only my coverlet left to hire another craft if they should
leave me in this wide expanse of water ; and being four thousand feet above
the sea, it was very cold, so I returned.

" The length of this lake is, at a very moderate estimate, one hundred-
and-fifty miles. It gives forth a large body of water in the Luapala ; yet
lakes are in no sort sources, for no large river begins in a lake. But this and
others serve an important purpose in the phenomena of the Nile. It is one
large lake, and, unlike the Okara — which, according to a Suaheli, who tra-
velled long in our company, is three or four lakes run into one huge Victoria
Nyanza — gives out a large river, which, on departing out of Moero, is still
larger. These men had spent many years east of Okara, and could scarcely

THE NILE FOUNTAINS. 483

be mistaken in saying that, of the three or four lakes there, only one, the
Okara, gives off its water to the north.

"The 'White Nile' of Speke, less by a full half than the Shire out of
Nyassa (for it is only eighty or ninety yards broad), can scarcely be named
in comparison with the central or Webb's Lualaba, of from two thousand to
six thousand yards, in relation to the phenomena of the Nile. The structure
and economy of the watershed answer very much the same end as the great
lacustrine rivers, but I cannot at present copy a lost despatch which explained
that. The mountains on the watershed are probably what Ptolemy, for rea-
sons now unknown, called the Mountains of the Moon. From their bases I
found that the springs of the Nile do unquestionably arise. This is just what
Ptolemy put down, and is true geography. We must accept the fountains,
and nobody but Philistines will reject the mountains, though we cannot con-
jecture the reason for the name.

" Mounts Kenia and Kilimanjaro are said to be snow-capped ; but they are
so far from the sources, and send no water to any part of the Nile, they
could never have been meant by the correct ancient explorers, from whom
Ptolemy and his predecessors gleaned their true geography, so different from
the trash that passes current in modern times.

" Before leaving the subject of the watershed, I may add that I know
about six hundred miles of it, but am not yet satisfied, for unfortunately the
seventh hundred is the most interesting of the whole. I have a very strong
impression, that in the last hundred miles the fountains of the Nile mentioned
to Herodotus by the Secretary of Minerva in the city of Sais do arise, not,
like all the rest, from oozing earthen sponges, but from an earthen mound ;
and half the water flows northward to Egypt, the other half south to Inner
Ethiopia. These fountains, at no great distance off, become large rivers,
though at the mound they are not more than ten miles apart. That is, one
fountain rising on the north-east of the mound becomes Bartle Frere's Lua-
laba, and it flows into one of the lakes proper, Kamolondo, of the central line
of drainage ; Webb's Lualaba, the second fountain, rising on the north-west,
becomes (Sir Paraffin) Young's Lualaba, which passing through Lake Lincoln
and becoming Loeki or Lomame, and joining the central line too, goes north
to Egypt. The third fountain on the south-west, Palmerston's, becomes the
Leeambye or Upper Zambesi ; while the fourth, Oswell's fountain, becomes
the Kafue, and falls into the Zambesi in Inner Etluopia.*

* The following is the passage in Herodotus alluded to by Dr. Livingstone : —
" "With regard to the sources of the Nile, not one of the Egyptians, or Lybians, or Greeks, pro-
fessed to know anything, excepting the guardian of the precious things consecrated to Minerva in
Sais, a city of Egypt. But this individual, in my opinion at least, did but joke when he asserted he
waa perfectly acquainted with them. He gave the following account : — ' That there were two peaked

484 LIFE OF DA VI D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" More time has been spent in the exploration than I ever anticipated.
My bare expenses were paid for two years ; but had I left when the money
was expended, I could have given little more information about the country
than the Portuguese, who, in their three slave-trading expeditions to Cazembe,
asked for slaves and ivory alone, and heard of nothing else. From one of the
subordinates of their last so-called expedition, I learnt that it was believed
that the Luapula went to Angola ! I asked about the waters till I was
ashamed, and almost afraid of being set down as afflicted with hydrocephalus.
I had to feel my way, and every step of the way, and was generally groping
in the dark ; for who cared where the rivers ran ? Many a weary foot I trod
ere I got a clear idea of the drainage of the great Nile valley. The most intel-
ligent natives and traders thought that all the rivers of the upper part of that
valley flowed into Tanganyika. But the barometers told me that to do so
the water must flow up-hill. The great rivers and the great lakes all make
their waters converge into the deep trough of the valley, which is a full inch
of the barometer lower than the Upper Tanganyika. It is only a sense of
duty, which I trust your Lordship will approve, that makes me remain, and,
if possible, finish the geographical question of my mission. After being
thwarted, baffled, robbed, worried almost to death in following the central
line of drainage down, I have a sore longing for home ; I have had a perfect
surfeit of seeing strange new lands and people, grand mountains, lovely val-
leys, the glorious vegetation of primeval forests, wild beasts, and an endless
succession of beautiful mankind ; besides great rivers and vast lakes — the last
most interesting from their huge overflowings, which explain some of the
phenomena of the grand old Nile.

" Let me explain, but in no boastful style, the mistakes of others who
have bravely striven to solve the ancient problem, and it will be seen that I

mountains situate between Syene and Elephantis, the names of which, mountains are Krophis and
Memphis, and that accordingly the sources of the Nile, which are bottomless, come from between
these two mountains — that one-half of the water flows into Egypt, and towards the north, while the
other half flows into Ethiopia. That the sources are bottomless Bammetticus, the king of Egypt,'
he said, ' proved, for having caused a cable to be twisted, many thousand ogyse in length, he cast it
in, but could not reach the bottom.' "

A recent writer compares Livingstone's story with that of Herodotus. He says : — " Herodotus
speaks of the peaked mountains, between which lie the sources of the river — Livingstone of an earthen
mound and four fountains, as the sources of the river. Herodotus writes that one-half of the water
flows north into Egypt — Livingstone, two of these run north to Egypt, Lufira and Lomame. Hero-
dotus again — the other flows into Ethiopia : Livingstone — and two run south into Inner Ethiopia, as
the Leeambye, or Upper Zambesi, and the Kafue. Again the father of history is confirmed by modern
research, and the information which the Doctor has obtained, almost in the immediate neighbourhood
of the object of his ambition, shows how carefully the curious old traveller of two or three hundred
years ago must have pursued his inquiries and recorded the results, although he puts it upon record
that he thought the man of letters, or notary, was joking with him.

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THE NILE SOURCES. 485

have cogent reasons for following the painful, plodding investigation to its
conclusion. Poor Speke's mistake was a foregone conclusion. When he dis-
covered the Victoria Nyanza, he at once leaped to the conclusion that therein
lay the sources of the river of Egypt, ' twenty thousand square miles of
water,' confused by sheer immensity.

" Ptolemy's small lake 'Coloc' is a more correct representation of the
actual size of that one of three or four lakes which alone sends its outflow to
the north ; its name is Okara. Lake Kavirondo is three days distant from it,
but connected by a narrow arm. Lake Naibash or Neibash is four days from
Kavirondo. Baringo is ten days distant, and discharges by a river, the Nagar-
dabash, to the north-east.

" These three or four lakes, which have been described by several intel-
ligent Suaheli, who have lived for many years on their shores, were run into
one huge Victoria Nyanza. But no sooner did Speke and Grant turn their
faces to this lake to prove that it contained the Nile fountains, than they
turned their backs to the springs of the river of Egypt, which are between
four hundred and five hundred miles south of the most southerly portion of
the Victoria Lake. Every step of their heroic and really splendid achieve-
ment of following the river down took them farther and farther from the
sources they sought. But for devotion to the foregone conclusion, the sight
of the little ' White Nile,' as unable to account for the great river, they must
have turned off to the west down into the deep trough of the great valley,
and. there found lacustrine rivers amply sufficient to account for the Nile and
all its phenomena.

" The next explorer, Baker, believed as honestly as Speke and Grant,
that in the Lake River Albert he had a second source of the Nile to that of
Speke. He came farther up the Nile than any other in modern times, but
turned when between six hundred and seven hundred miles of the caput JVili.
He is now employed in a more noble work than the discovery of Nile sources ;
and if, as all must earnestly wish, he succeeds in suppressing the Nile Slave
Trade, the boon he will bestow on humanity will be of far higher value than
all my sources together.

" When intelligent men like these and Bruce have been mistaken, I have
naturally felt anxious that no one should come after me and find such sources
south of mine, which I now think can only be possible by water running up
the southern slope of the watershed.

" But all that can in modern times, and in common modesty, be fairly
claimed, is the re-discovery of what had sunk into oblivion, like the circum-
navigation of Africa by the Phoenician admiral of one of the Pharaohs, about
B. c. 600. He was not believed, because he reported that, in passing round
Libya, he had the sun on his right hand. This, to us who have gone round
the Cape from east to west, stamps his tale as genuine.

486 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

" The predecessors of Ptolemy probably gained their information from
men who visited this very region ; for in the second century of our era he
gave, in substance, what we now find to be genuine geography.

" The springs of the Nile, rising in 10° to 12° south latitude, and their
water collecting into two large lacustrine rivers, and other facts, could have
been learned only from primitive travellers or traders — the true discoverers
of what emperors, kings, philosophers, all the great minds of antiquity, longed
to know, and longed in vain.

" The geographical results of four arduous trips in different directions in
the Manyema country are briefly as follows : — The great river, Webb's Lua-
laba, in the centre of the Nile valley, makes a great bend to the west, soon
after leaving Lake Moero, of at least one hundred-and-eighty miles ; then,
turning to the north for some distance, it makes another large sweep west, of
about one hundred-and-twenty miles, in the course of which about thirty miles
of southing are made ; it then draws round to north-east, receives the Lomame,
or Loeki, a large river which flows through Lake Lincoln. After the union a
large lake is formed, with many inhabited islands in it ; but this has still to
be explored. It is the fourth large lake in the central line of drainage, and
cannot be Lake Albert ; for, assuming Speke's longitude of Ujiji to be pretty
correct, and my reckoning not enormously wrong, the great central lacustrine
river is about five degrees west of Upper and Lower Tanganyika.

" The mean of many barometric and boiling-point observations made
Upper Tanganyika two thousand eight hundred-and-eighty-feet high. Respect
for Speke's memory made me hazard the conjecture that he found it to be
nearly the same ; but from the habit of writing the Anno Domini, a mere
slip of the pen made one thousand eight hundred-and-forty-four feet. But I
have more confidence in the barometers than in the boiling-points, and they
make Tanganyika over three thousand feet, and the lower point of Central
Lualaba one inch lower, or about the altitude ascribed to Grondokoro.

" Beyond the fourth lake the water passes, it is said, into large reedy
lakes, and is in all probability Petherick's branch — the main stream of the
Nile — in distinction from the small eastern arm, which Speke, Grant, and
Baker, took to be the river of Egypt.

"In my attempts to penetrate farther and farther I had but little hope
of ultimate success ; for the great amount of westing led to a continual effort
to suspend the judgment, lest, after all, I might be exploring the Congo in-
stead of the Nile ; and it was only after the two great western drains fell into
the central main, and left but the two great lacustrine rivers of Ptolemy, that
I felt pretty sure of being on the right track.

" The great bends west probably form one side of the great rivers above
that geographical loop, the other side being Upper Tanganyika and the Lake
River Albert. A waterfall is reported to exist between Tanganyika and

MANYEMA-LAND. 487

Albert Nyanza, but I could not go to it ; nor have I seen the connecting link
between the two — the upper side of the loop — though I believe it exists.

11 The Manyema are certainly cannibals, but it was long ere I could get
evidence more positive than would have led a Scotch jury to give a verdict of
' not proven.' They eat only enemies killed in war ; they seem as if insti-
gated by revenge in their man-eating orgies, and on these occasions they do
not Like a stranger to see them. I offered a large reward in vain to any one
who would call me to witness a cannibal feast. Some intelligent men have
told me that the meat is not nice, and made them dream of the dead. The
women never partake, and I am glad of it, for many of them far down Lua-
laba are very pretty ; they bathe three or four times a day, and are expert
divers for oysters.

" The terror that guns inspire generally among the Manyema, seem to
arise among the Bakuss from an idea that they are supernatural. The effect
of gun-shot on a goat was shown, in order to convince them that the traders
had power, and that the instruments they earned were not, as they imagined,
the mere insignia of chieftainship : they looked up to the skies and offered to
bring ivory to purchase the charm by which lightning was drawn down ; and
afterwards, when the traders tried to force a passage, which was refused,
they darted aside on seeing Banyamwezi followers place the arrows in the
bow-strings, but stood in mute amazement while the guns mowed them down
in great numbers. They use long spears in the thick vegetation of their
country with great dexterity; and they have told me frankly, what was
self-evident, that but for the fire-arms, not one of the Zanzibar slaves or
half-castes would leave their country.

" There is not a single great chief in all Manyema. No matter what
name the different divisions of people bear — Manyema, Balegga, Babire,
Bazire, Bakoos — there is no political cohesion — not one king or kingdom.
Each head man is independent of every other. The people are industrious,
and most of them cultivate the soil largely. We found them everywhere very
honest. When detained at Bambarre, we had to send our goats and fowls to
the Manyema villages, to prevent them all being stolen by the Zanzibar
slaves ; the slave-owners had to do the same.

" Manyema-land is the only country in Central Africa I have seen where
cotton is not cultivated, spun, and woven. The clothing is that known in
Madagascar as ' lambas ' or grass cloth, made from the leaves of the ' Mualo '
palm.

" They call the good spirit above ' Ngulu,' or the Great One ; and the
spirit of evil, who resides in the deep, ' Mulambu.' A hot fountain near Bam-
barre is supposed to belong to this being, the author of death by drowning
and other misfortunes.

The following graphic account of travel in Manyema-land, which occurs

488 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

in a despatch to Lord Granville, gives a striking picture of the country and
the difficulties of travel : —

" The country is extremely beautiful, but difficult to travel over. The
mountains of light grey granite stand like islands in new red sandstone, and
mountain and valley are all clad in a mantle of different shades of green.
The vegetation is indescribably rank. Through the grass — if grass it can be
called, which is over half-an-inch in diameter in the stalk, and from ten to
twelve feet high — nothing but elephants can walk. The leaves of this mega-
therium grass are armed with minute spikes, which, as we worm our way
along elephant-walks, rub disagreeably on the side of the face where the
gun is held, and the hand is made sore by fending it off the other side for
hours. The rains were fairly set in by November ; and in the mornings, or after
a shower, these leaves were loaded with moisture which wet us to the bone.
The valleys are deeply undulating, and in each innumerable dells have to be
crossed. There may be only a thread of water at the bottom ; but the mud,
mire, or (scotticej ' glaur' is grievous: thirty or forty yards of the path on each
side of the stream are worked by the feet of passengers into an adhesive com-
pound. By placing a foot on each side of the narrow way, one may waddle
a little distance along ; but the rank crop of grasses, gingers, and bushes,
cannot spare the few inches of soil required for the side of the foot, and down
he comes into the slough. The path often runs along the bed of the rivulet
for sixty or more yards, as if he who first cut it out went that distance seek-
ing for a part of the forest less dense for his axe. In other cases, the Muale
palm, from which here, as in Madagascar, grass-cloth is woven, and called by
the same name, ' lamba,' has taken possession of the valley. The leaf-stalks,
as thick as a strong man's arm, fall off and block up all passage, save by a
path made and mixed up by the feet of elephants and buffaloes ; the slough
therein is groan-compelling and deep.

"Every now and then the traders, with rueful faces, stand panting;
the sweat trickles down my face; and I suppose that I look as grim as
they, though I try to cheer them with the hope that good prices will re-
ward them at the coast for ivory obtained with so much toil. In some
cases the subsoil has given way beneath the elephant's enormous weight;
the deep hole is filled with mud ; and one, taking it all to be about calf
deep, steps in to the top of the thigh, and flaps on to a seat, soft enough,
but not luxurious; a merry laugh relaxes the facial muscles, though 1 have
no other reason for it than that it is better to laugh than to cry.

" Some of the numerous rivers which in this region flow into Lualaba are
covered with living vegetable bridges : a species of dark glossy-leaved grass,
with its roots and leaves, felts itself into a mat that covers the whole stream.
When stepped upon, it yields twelve or fifteen inches, and that amount of
water rises up on the leg. At every step the foot has to be raised high

THE NEST OF THE GORILLA. 489

enough to place it on the unbent mass in front. This high stepping fatigues
like walking on deep snow . Here and there holes appear, which we could
not sound with a stick six feet long ; they gave the impression that anywhere
one might plump through and finish the chapter. Where the water is shallow
the lotus, or sacred lily, sends its roots to the bottom, and spreads its broad
leaves over the floating bridge, so as to make believe that the mat is its own ;
but the grass referred to is the real felting and supporting agent, for it often
performs duty as a bridge where no lilies grow. The bridge is called by
the Manyema ' kintefwetefwe ,' as if he who first coined it was grasping
for breath after plunging over a mile of it.

" Between each district of Manyema large belts of the primeval forest still
stand. Into these the sun, though vertical, cannot penetrate, except by send-
ing down at mid-day thin pencils of rays into the gloom. The rain-water
stands for months in stagnant pools made by the feet of elephants ; and the
dead leaves decay on the damp soil, and make the water of the numerous
rivulets of the colour of strong tea. The climbing plants, from the size of
whip-cord to that of a man-of-war's hawsers, are so numerous, the ancient
path is the only passage. When one of the giant trees falls across the road,
it forms a wall breast-high to be climbed over, and the mass of tangled ropes
brought down makes cutting a path round it a work of time.

" The shelter of the forest from the sun makes it pleasant, but the roots
of trees high out of the soil across the path keep the eyes, ox-like, on the
ground. The trees are so high that a good ox-gun shot does no harm to
parrots or guinea-fowls on their tops ; and they are often so closely planted,
that I have heard gorillas, here called ' sokos,' growling about fifty yards off,
without getting a glimpse of them. His nest is a poor contrivance ; it exhibits
no more architectural skill than the nest of our cushat dove. Here the ' soko'
sits in pelting rain, with his hands over his head. The natives give him a
good character, and from what I have seen he deserves it; but they call his
nest his house, and laugh at him for being such a fool as to build a house,
and not go beneath it for shelter.

" Bad water and frequent wettings told on us all, by choleraic symptoms
and loss of flesh. Meanwhile the news of cheap ivory caused a sort of Cali-
fornian gold fever at Ujiji, and we were soon overtaken by a horde, num-
bering six hundred muskets, all eager for the precious tusks. These had been
left by the Manyema in the interminable forests, where the animals had been
slain. The natives knew where they lay, and, if treated civilly, readily
brought them, many half-rotten, or gnawed by a certain rodent to sharpen
his teeth, as London rats do on leaden pipes. I had already, on this jour-
ney, two severe lessons, that travelling in an unhealthy climate in the rainy
season is killing work. By getting drenched to the skin once too often in
Marunga I had pneumonia, the illness to which I have referred, and that was

n2

490 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

worse than ten fevers — that is, fevers treated by our medicine, and not by
the dirt supplied to Bishop Mackenzie at the Cape as the same. Besides
being unwilling to bear the new comers company, I feared that, by further
exposure in the rains, the weakness might result in something worse. . . .

" The rains continued into July, and fifty-eight inches fell. The mud
from the clayey soil was awful ; and it laid up some of the strongest men, in
spite of their intense eagerness for ivory. I lost no time, after it was fea-
sible to travel, in preparing to follow the river ; but my attendants were fed
and lodged by the slave- worn en, whose husbands were away from the camp
in trade, and pretended to fear going into a canoe. I consented to refrain
from buying one. They then pretended to fear the people, though the
inhabitants all along the Lualaba were reported by the slaves to be remark-
ably friendly. I have heard both slaves and freemen say, ' No one will ever
attack people so good' as they found them. Elsewhere I could employ the
country people as carriers, and was comparatively independent, though de-
serted by some four times even. But in Manyema no one can be induced to
go into the next district, for fear, they say, of being killed and eaten."

In a despatch addressed to Earl Granville, dated Ujiji, Nov. 14, 1871,
Dr. Livingstone exposes the fact that the slave trade in Central Africa is
mainly carried on for the benefit of British subjects. He says: —

" In my letter dated Bambarre, November 1870, now enclosed, I stated
my grave suspicions that a packet of about forty letters — despatches, copies of
all the astronomical observations from the coast onwards, and sketch maps on
tracing paper, intended to convey a clear idea of all the discoveries up to the
time of arrival at Ujiji — would be destroyed. It was delivered to the agent
here of the Governor of Unyanyembe, and I paid him in full all he demanded
to transmit it to Syde-bin-Salem Buraschid, the so-called Governor, who is
merely a trade agent of certain Banyans of Zanzibar, and a person who is
reputed dishonest by all. As an agent, he pilfers from his employers, be they
Banyans or Arabs ; as a Governor, expected to exercise the office of a magistrate,
he dispenses justice to him who pays most ; and as the subject of a Sultan who
entrusted him because he had no power on the mainland to supersede him, he
robs his superior shamelessly. No Arab or native ever utters a good word for
him, but all detest him for his un justice.

" The following narrative requires it to be known that his brother, Ali-
bin-Salem Buraschid, is equally notorious for unblushing dishonesty. All
Arabs and Europeans who have had dealings with either speak in unmeasured
terms of their fraud and duplicity. The brothers are employed in trade,
chiefly by Ludha Damji, the richest Banyan in Zanzibar.

"It is well known that the slave trade in this country is carried on
almost entirely with his money and that of other Banian British subjects.
The Banyans advance the goods required, and the Arabs proceed inland as

BANYAN SLAVE TRADERS. 491

their agents, perform the trading, or rather murdering ; and when slaves and
ivory are brought to the coast, the Arabs sell the slaves. The Banyans pocket
the price, and adroitly let the odium rest on their agents. As a rule, no tra-
velling Arab has money sufficient to undertake an inland journey. Those who
have become rich imitate the Banyans, and send their indigent countrymen
and slaves to trade for them. The Banyans could scarcely carry on their sys-
tem of trade were they not in possession of the custom-house, and had power
to seize all the goods that pass through it to pay themselves for debts. The
so-called Governors are appointed on their recommendation, and become mere
trade agents. When the Arabs in the interior are assaulted by the natives,
they never unite under a Governor as a leader ; for they know that defending
them, or concerting means for their safety, is no part of his duty. The Arabs
are nearly all in debt to the Banyans, and the Banyan slaves are employed in
ferreting out every trade transaction of the debtors ; and when watched by
Governors' slaves and custom-house officers, it is scarcely possible for even
this cunning, deceitful race to escape being fleeced. To avoid this, many
surrender all the ivory to their Banyan creditors, and are allowed to keep or
sell the slaves as their share of the profits. It will readily be perceived that
the prospect of in any way coming under the power of Banyan British sub-
jects at Zanzibar is very far from reassuring.

" The packet above referred to was never more heard of, but a man called
Musa Kamaah had been employed to drive some buffaloes for me from the
coast, and on leaving Ujiji the same day the packet was delivered for trans-
mission, I gave him a short letter, dated May 1869, which he concealed on
his person, knowing that on its production his wages depended. He had
been a spectator of the plundering of my property by the Governor's slave,
Saloom, and received a share to hold his peace. He was detained for months
at Unyanyembe by the Governor, and even sent back to Ujiji on his private
business, he being ignorant all the while that Kamaah preserved the secret
letter. It was the only document of more than forty that reached Zanzibar.
It made known, in some measure, my wants, but my cheques on Bombay for
money were in the lost packet, and Ludha, the rich Banyan, was employed
to furnish, on credit, all the goods and advances of pay for the men required
in the expedition. Ludha is, perhaps, the best of all the Banyans at Zan-
zibar ; but he applied to Ali-bin-Salem, the brother of his agent, the Gover-
nor, to furnish two head men to conduct the goods and men to Ujiji, and
beyond it, wherever I might be then reported to be. He recommended
Shereef Bosher and Awathe as first and second conductors of the caravan.
Shereef, the Governor, and the Governor's brother, being • birds of one
feather,' the consequences might have been foretold. No sooner did Shereef
obtain command than he went to one Muhamad Nassur, a Zanzibar-born
Banyan or Hindoo, and he advanced twenty-five boxes of soap and eight

492 LIFE OF DA VII) LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

cases of brandy for trade. He then went to Baganioyo on the mainland,
and received from two Banyans there, whose names to me are unknown,
quantities of opium and gunpowder, which, with the soap and brandy, were
to be retailed by Shereef on the journey.

In the Bagamoyo Banyan's house, Shereef broke the soap boxes, and
stowed the contents and the opium in my bales of calico, in order that the
carriers paid by me should carry them. Others were employed to carry the
cases of brandy and kegs of gunpowder, and paid with my cloth. Hence-
forth all the expenses of the journey were defrayed out of my property, and
while retailing the barter goods of his Banyan accomplices, he was in no
hurry to relieve my wants, but spent fourteen months between the coast and
Ujiji, a distance which could have been easily accomplished in three. . . .
Two months at one spot, and two months at another place, and two at a
third, without reason except desire to profitably retail his brandy, etc., which
some people think Moslems never drink, but he was able to send back from
Unyanyembe over sixty pounds worth of ivory — the carriers being again
paid from my stores. He ran riot with the supplies, all the way purchasing
the most expensive food for himself, his slaves, and his women, the country
afforded. When he reached Ujiji his retail trade for the Banyans and him-
self was finished ; and, in defiance of his engagement to follow wherever I led,
when men from a camp eight days beyond Bambarrie went to Ujiji and reported
to him that I was near and waiting for him, he refused their invitation to
return with them."

Leaders of slave parties often resort to massacre with the view of inspiring
a dread of their power, and to ensure the rapid capturing of slaves during the
confusion thus created. Dr. Livingstone gives a terrible narrative of an attack
upon the unoffending Manyema: — " On the 13th of June, a massacre was per-
petrated which filled me with such intolerable loathing, that I resolved to
yield to the Banyan slaves, return to Ujiji, get men from the coast, and try
to finish the rest of my work by going outside the area of Ujijian bloodshed,
instead of vainly trying from its interior outwards.

" Dugumbe's* people built their huts orf the right bank of Lualaba, at a
market-place called Nyangwe. On hearing that the head slave of a trader at
Ujiji had, in order to get canoes cheap, mixed blood with the head men of
the Bagenya on the left bank, [they] were disgusted with his assurance, and
resolved to punish him, and make an impression in the country in favour
of their own greatness by an assault on the market people, and on all the
Bagenya who had dared to make friendship with any but themselves.
Tagamoio, the principal under-trader of Dugumbe's party, was the perpetrator.

* Duguuibe was an Arab Iradcu

MA SSA ORE OF MANY EM A . 403

The market was attended every fourth day by between two thousand and
three thousand people. It was held on a long slope of land, which down at
the river ended in a creek capable of containing between fifty and sixty
large canoes. The majority of the market people were women, many of them
very pretty. The people west of the river brought fish, salt, pepper, oil,
grass-cloth, iron, fowls, goats, sheep, pigs, in great numbers, to exchange
with those east of the river for cassava grain, potatoes, and other farinaceous
products. They have a strong sense of natural justice, and all unite in forcing
each other to fair dealing. At first my presence made them all afraid ; but
wishing to gain their confidence, which my enemies tried to undermine or
prevent, I went among them frequently, and when they saw no harm in me,
became very gracious.

"The bargaining was the finest acting I ever saw. I understood but

few of the words that flew off the glib tongues of the women, but their gestures

spoke plainly. I took sketches of the fifteen varieties of fish brought in, to

compare them with those of the Nile farther down, and all were eager to

tell their names. But on the date referred to I had left the market only a

minute or two, when three men whom I had seen with guns, and felt inclined

to reprove them for bringing them into the market-place, but had refrained,

attributing it to ignorance in new-comers, began to fire into the dense crowd

around them ; another party, down at the canoes, rained their balls on the

panic-struck multitude that rushed into these vessels. All threw away their

goods; the men forgot their paddles; the canoes were jammed in the creek

and could not be got out quick enough, so many men and women sprang into

the water. The women of the left bank are expert divers for oysters, and a

long line of heads showed a crowd striking out for an island a mile off; to

gain it, they had to turn the left shoulder against a current of between a

mile and a-half to two miles an hour. Had they gone diagonally with the

current, though that would have been three miles, many would have gained

the shore. It was horrible to see one head after another disappear, some

calmly, others throwing their arms high up towards the Great Father of all,

and going down. Some of the men who got canoes out of the crowd paddled

quick, with hands and arms, to help their friends ; three took people in, till

they all sank together. One man had clearly lost his head, for he paddled

a canoe which would have held fifty people straight up-stream, nowhere.

The Arabs estimated the loss at between four hundred and five hundred

souls. Dugumbe sent out some of his men in one of his thirty canoes, which

the owners in their fright could not extricate, to save the sinking. One woman

refused to be taken on board because she thought that she was to be made a

slave; but he rescued twenty-one, and of his own accord sent them, next day,

home ; many escaped and came to me, and were returned to their friends.

When the firing began on the terror-stricken crowd at the canoes, Tagamoio's

494 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

band began their assault on the people on the west of the river, and con-
tinued the fire all day. I counted seventeen villages in flames, and next day-
six. Dugumbe's power over the underlings is limited, but he ordered them
to cease shooting; those in the market were so reckless, they shot two of their
own number. Tagamoio's crew came back next day in canoes, shouting and
firing off their guns as if believing that they were worthy of renown.

"Next day about twenty head men fled from the west bank and came
to my house. There was no occasion now to tell them that the English had
no desire for human blood. They begged hard that I should go over with
them and settle with them, and arrange where the new dwellings of each
should be. I was so ashamed of the bloody Moslem company in which
I found myself, that I was unable to look at the Manyema. I confessed
my grief and shame, and was entreated, if I must go, not to leave them
now. Dugumbe spoke kindly to them, and would protect them as well as
he could against his own people ; but when I went to Tagamoio to ask back
the wives and daughters of some of the head men, he always ran off and
hid himself.

" This massacre was the most terrible scene I ever saw. I cannot de-
scribe my feelings, and am thankful that I did not give way to them, but
by Dugumbe's advice avoided a blood feud with men who, for the time,
seemed turned into demons. The whole transaction was the more deplorable,
inasmuch as we have always heard from the Manyema, that though the men
of the district may be engaged in actual hostilities, the women pass from one
market-place to another with their wares, and were never known to be molested.
The change has come only with these alien bloodhounds, and all the blood-
shed has taken place in order that captives might be seized where it could be
done without danger, and in order that the slaving privileges of a petty
Sultan should produce abundant fruit.

" Heartsore, and greatly depressed in spirits, by the instances of ' man's
inhumanity to man ' I had unwillingly seen, I commenced the long weary
tramp to Ujiji, with the blazing sun right overhead. The mind acted on
the body, and it is no over-statement to say that almost every step of be-
tween four hundred and five hundred miles was in pain. I felt as if dying
on my feet, and I came very near to death in a more summary way. It is
within the area of bloodshed that danger alone occurs. I could not induce
my Moslem slaves to venture outside that area or sphere. They knew better
than I did. 'Was Muhamad not the greatest of all, and their prophet ?' "

" About midway back to Bambarre, we came to villages where I had
formerly seen the young men compelled to carry a trader's ivory. When
I came on the scene the young men had laid down the tusks and said : ' Now
we have helped you so far without pay, let the men of the villages do as
much.' ' No, no, take up the ivory ;' and take it up they did, only to go a

A NA TI VE A RISTOGRA T. 495

little way and cast it into the dense vegetation on each side of the path we
afterwards knew so well. When the trader reached the next stage he sent
back his men to demand the ' stolen ' ivory ; and when the elders denied the
theft they were fired upon and five were killed, eleven women and children
captured, and also twenty-five goats. The surviving elders then talked the
matter over, and the young men pointed out the ivory, and carried it twenty-
two miles after the trader. He chose to say that three of the tusks were
missing, and carried away all the souls and goats he had captured. They
now turned to the only resource they knew, and when Dugumbe passed, way-
laid and killed one of his people."

The natives to the west of Lake Tanganyika are, according to Living-
stone, a naturally intelligent and well-favoured race, and exceedingly friendly
and well-disposed towards strangers, until they have lost confidence in them
through cruelty and ill-usage. The following " fights and shadows " of
African life are painfully interesting. He says : —

" Slaves generally — and especially those on the West Coast at Zanzibar,
and elsewhere — are extremely ugly. I have no prejudice against their colour;
indeed, any one who lives long among them forgets that they are black, and
feels that they are just fellow-men. But the low retreating forehead, prog-
nathus jaws, lark heels, and other physical peculiarities common among slaves
and West Coast Negroes, always awaken the same feelings of aversion as
those with which we view specimens of the ' Bill Sykes ' and ' Bruiser ' class
in England. I would not utter a syllable calculated to press down either class
more deeply in the mire in which they are already sunk; but I wish to point
out that these are not typical Africans any more than typical Englishmen,
and that the natives of nearly all the high lands of the interior of the conti-
nent are fair average specimens of humanity. I happened to be present
when all the head men of the great chief Insama, who lives west of the south
end of Tanganyika, had come together to make peace with certain Arabs who
had burned their chief town, and I am certain one could not see more finely-
formed, intellectual heads in any assembly in London or Paris, and the faces
and forms correspond with finely-shaped heads. Insama himself, who had
been a sort of Napoleon for fighting and conquering in his younger days, was
exactly like the ancient Assyrians sculptured on the Nineveh marbles, as
Nimrod and others ; he showed himself to be one of ourselves by habitually
indulging in copious potations of beer, called pombe, and had become what
Nathaniel Hawthorne called ' bilbous ' below the ribs. I don't know where
the phrase ' bloated aristocracy' arose. It must be American, for I have had
glimpses of a good few English noblemen, and Insama was the only specimen
of a bloated aristocrat on whom I ever set my eyes.

" Many of the women were very pretty, and, like all ladies, would have
been much prettier if they had only let themselves alone. Fortunately, the

496 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

dears could not change their charming black eyes, beautiful foreheads, nicely
rounded limbs, •well-shaped forms, and small hands and feet. But they must
adorn themselves ; and this they do — oh, the hussies ! — by filing their splendid
teeth to points like cats' teeth. It was distressing, for it made their smile,
which has generally so much power over us great he-donkeys, rather crocodile-
like. Ornaments are scarce. What would our ladies do, if they had none,
but pout and lecture us on ' Women's Rights ' ? But these specimens of the
fair sex make shift by adorning their fine warm brown skins, tattooing them
with various pretty devices without colours, that, besides purposes of beauty,
serve the heraldic uses of our Highland tartans. They are not black, but of
a light warm brown colour ; and so very sisterish — if I may use the new coin-
age— it feels an injury done to oneself to see a bit of grass stuck through the
cartilage of the nose, so as to bulge out the alee nasi (wings of the nose
of anatomists). Cazembe's Queen — a Ngombe, Moari by name — would be
esteemed a real beauty in London, Paris, or New York, and yet she had a small
hole through the cartilage near the top of her fine slightly aquiline nose. But
she had only filed one side of the two fronts of her superb snow-white teeth ;
and then what a laugh she had ! Let those who wish to know, go and see her
carried to her farm in her pony phaeton, which is a sort of throne fastened
on two very long poles, and carried by twelve stalwart citizens. If they take
PunclUs motto for Cazembe, ' Niggers don't require to be shot here,' as their
own, they may show themselves to be men ; but whether they do or not,
Cazembe will show himself a man of sterling good sense. Now these people,
so like ourselves externally, have genuine human souls. Rua, a very large
section of country north and west of Cazembe's, but still in the same inland
region, is peopled by men very like those of Insama and Cazembe.

"An Arab, Said-bin-Habib, went to trade in Rua two years ago, and, as
the Arabs usually do when natives have no guns, Said-bin-Habib 's elder
brother carried matters with a high hand. The Rua men observed that the
elder brother slept in a white tent, and pitching their spears into it by night,
killed him. As Moslems never forgive bloodshed, the younger brother forth-
with ran at all indiscriminately in a large district. Let it not be supposed
that any of these people are, like the American Indians, insatiable bloodthirsty
savages, who will not be reclaimed, or enter into terms of lasting friendship
with fair-dealing strangers. Had the actual murderers been demanded, and
a little time been granted, I feel morally certain, from many other instances
among tribes who, like the Ro Rua, have not been spoiled by Arab traders,
they would all have been given up. The chiefs of the country would, first
of all, have specified the crime of which the elder brother was guilty, and who
had been led to avenge it. It is very likely that they would stipulate that
no other should be punished but the actual perpetrator. Domestic slaves,
acting under his orders, would be considered free from blame. I know of

THE SLA YE STICK. 497

nothing that distinguishes the untcontaminated Africans from other degraded
peoples more than their entire reasonableness and good sense. It is different
after they have had wives, children, and relations kidnapped; hut that is
more than human nature, civilised or savage, can bear. In the case in
question, indiscriminate slaughter, capture and plunder took place. A very
large number of very fine young men were captured, and secured in chains
and wooden yokes. I came near the party of Said-bin-Habib, close to the
point where a huge rent in the mountains of Rua allows the escape of the
River Lualaba out of lake Moero ; and here I had for the first time an oppor-
tunity of observing the differences between slaves and freemen made captives.
When fairly across Lualaba, Said thought his captives safe, and got rid of
the trouble of attending to and watching the chained gang by taking off
both chains and yokes. All declared their joy and perfect willingness to
follow Said to the end of the world or elsewhere ; but next morning twenty-
two made clear off to the mountains. Many more, on seeing the broad Lua-
laba roll between them and the homes of their infancy, lost all heart, and in
three days eight of them died. They had no complaint but pain in the heart,
and they pointed out its seat correctly, though many believe that the heart
is situated underneath the top of the sternum or breast-bone. This to me
was the most startling death I ever saw. They evidently died of broken-
heartedness, and the Arabs wondered, seeing they had plenty to eat. I saw
others perish, particularly a very fine boy of ten or twelve years of age.
When asked where he felt ill, he put his hand correctly and exactly over the
heart. He was kindly carried, and as he breathed out his soul, was laid
gently on the side of the path. The captors were not usually cruel ; they
were callous — slavery had hardened their hearts.

" When Said, who was an old friend of mine, crossed the Lualaba, he
heard that 1 was in a village where a company of slave-traders had been pre-
viously assaulted for three days by justly-incensed Babemba. I would not
fight, nor allow my people to fire, if I saw them, because the Babemba had
been especially kind to me. Said sent a party of his own people to invite me
to leave the village by night and come to him. He showed himself the oppo-
site of hard-hearted ; but slavery ' hardens all within, and petrifies the feel-
ings.' It is bad for the victims, and bad for the victimisers.

" I once saw a party of twelve who had been slaves in their own country —
Lunda or Londa — of which Cazembe is chief in general. They were loaded
with large heavy wooden yokes, which are forked trees about three inches
in diameter and seven or eight feet long. The neck is inserted in the fork,
and an iron bar driven in across from one end of the fork to the other, and
riveted ; the other end is tied at night to a tree, or to the ceiling of a hut,
and the neck being firm in the fork, the slave is held off from unloosing it.
It is excessively troublesome to the wearer ; and when marching, two yokes
Q 2

498 LIFE OF DAVID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

are tied together by their free ends, and loads put on the slaves' heads besides.
Women having in addition to the yoke and load a child on their back, have
said to rne on passing, ' They are killing me! If they would take off the yoke,
I could manage the load and child ; but I shall die with the loads.' One who
spoke this did die ; and the poor little girl, her child, perished of starvation.
I interceded for some, but, when unyoked, off they bounded into the long
grass, and I was greatly blamed for not caring to preserve the owner's pro-
perty. After a day's march under a broiling vertical sun, with yokes and
heavy loads, the strongest are exhausted.

" The party of twelve above mentioned were sitting singing and laughing.
1 Hallo ! ' said I, ' these fellows take to it kindly ; this must be the class for
whom philosophers say slavery is the natural state.' And I went and asked
the cause of their mirth. I had to ask the aid of their owner as to the mean-
ing of the word rukha, which usually means to fly or leap. They were using
it to express the idea of haunting, as a ghost, and inflicting disease and
death ; and the song was, ' Yes, we are going away to Manga (abroad in
white man's land) with yokes on our necks ; but we shall have no yokes in
death. And we shall return to haunt and kill you.' The chorus then struck
in with the name of the man who had sold each of them, and then followed
the general laugh, in which at first I saw no bitterness. Perembe, an old
man of at least one hundred-and-four years, had been one of the sellers. In
accordance with African belief, they had no doubt of being soon able, by
ghost power, to kill even him. Their refrain might be rendered —

' Oh, oh, oh !

Bird of freedom, oh !

Tou sold me, oh, oh, oh !

I shall haunt you. oh, oh, oh !'

The laughter told not of mirth, but of tears of such as were oppressed, and
they had no comforter. ' He that is higher than the highest regardeth.' '

No slave hunters or traders had ever entered the Manyema country until
about the time of Dr. Livingstone's visit. He was destined to see the first
horrors consequent upon their presence ; and his account of what he saw was
destined to be the prime agent in rousing the Government of this country to
attempt the complete extinction of the slave trade. To the Manyema, as they
had no market for it, " the value of ivory was quite unknown." As Living-
stone has already informed us, the natives readily produced the hitherto value-
less ivory, and handed the tusks over to the traders for a few brass or copper
ornaments. "I have seen," he says, "parties return with so much ivory,
that they carried it by three relays of hundreds of slaves. But even this
did not satisfy human greed. The Manyema were found to be terrified by
the report of guns : some, I know, believed them to be supernatural ; for

MANYEMA CANNIBALS. 499

when the effect of musket-ball was shown on a goat, they looked up to the
clouds, and offered to bring ivory to buy the charm by which lightning was
drawn down. When a village was assaulted, the men fled in terror, and
women and children were captured.

"Many of the Manyema women, especially far down the Lualaba, are
very light-coloured and lovely : it was common to hear the Zanzibar slaves —
whose faces resembled the features of London door-knockers, which some
atrocious ironfounder thought were like those of lions — say to each other,
' Oh, if we had Manyema wives, what pretty children we should get ! '
Manyema men and women are vastly superior to the slaves, who evidently
felt the inferiority they had acquired through wallowing in the mire of
bondage. Many of the men were tall strapping fellows, with but little of
what we think distinctive of the negro about them. If one relied on the
teachings of phrenology, the Manyema men would take a high place in the
human family. They felt their superiority, and often said truly, ' "Were it
not for fire-arms, not one of the strangers would ever leave our country.' If
a comparison were instituted, and Manyema taken at random, placed oppo-
site, say, the members of the Anthropological Society of London, clad like
them in kilts of grass cloth, I should like to take my place alongside the
Manyema, on the principle of preferring the company of my betters ; the
philosophers would look wofully scraggy. But though the ' inferior race,' as
we compassionately call them, have finely-formed heads, and often handsome
features, they are undoubtedly cannibals.

" It was more difficult to ascertain this than may be imagined. Some
think that they can detect the gnawings of the canine teeth of our cannibal
ancestry on fossil bones, though the canine teeth of dogs are pretty much
like the human."

Dr. Livingstone found it difficult to pick up genuine information as to
the man-eating propensities of the Manyema. " This arose," he says, " partly
from the fellows being fond of a joke, and they liked to horrify any one who
seemed incredulous. They led one of my people, who believed all they said,
to see the skull of a recent human victim, and he invited me in triumph. I
found it to be the skull of the gorilla, here called soko, and for the first time
I became aware of the existence of the animal there." Speaking of the soko,
he says : — " I cannot admire him. He is sometimes seen in the forest, walk-
ing upright, with his hands on his head, as if to steady his loins; but on sight
of man, he takes to all-fours. He is not handsome : a bandy-legged, pot-
bellied, low-browed villain, without a particle of the gentleman in him ; but
he has a good character from the natives."

" The country abounds in food of all kinds, and the rich soil raises
everything in great luxuriance. A friend of mine tried rice, and in between
three and four months it yielded between one hundred-aud-twenty fold.

500 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

. . . Maize is so abundant, that I have seen forty-five loads, each about
sixty lbs., given for a single goat. The ' Maize-dura,' or Sorghum, sweet
potatoes, and yams, flourished in no stinted measure, the farinaceous ingre-
dient of diet ; the palm-oil, the ground nuts, and a forest tree, afford the fatty
materials of food; bananas and plantains, in great profusion, and the sugar-
cane, yield a substitute for sugar ; the palm toddy, beer of bananas, tobacco,
and bange, form the luxuries of life ; and the villages swarm with goats, sheep,
dogs, pigs, and fowls ; while the elephants, buffaloes, zebras, and gorillas,
yield to the expert hunter plenty of nitrogenous ingredients of human food.
It was puzzling to me why they should be cannibals. New Zealanders, we
are told, were cannibals because they had killed all the gigantic birds, and
they were converted from the man-eating persuasion by the introduction of
pigs. But the Manyema have plenty of pigs and other domestic animals, and
yet they are cannibals. They say that human flesh is not equal to that of
goats or pigs ; it is saltish, and makes them dream of the dead. Why fine-
looking men like them should be so low in the moral scale, can only be attri-
butable to the non-introduction of that religion which makes those distinc-
tions among men which phrenology and other ologies cannot explain. . . .

" The Manyema women, especially far down the Lualaba, are very
pretty and very industrious. The market is, with them, a great institution,
and they work hard and carry far in order to have something to sell. Mar-
kets are established about ten or fifteen miles apart. There those who raise
cassava, maize, grain, and sweet potatoes, exchange them for oil, salt, pepper,
fish, and other relishes ; fowls, also pigs, goats, grass cloth, mats, and other
utensils, change hands. All are dressed in their best — gaudy-coloured, many-
folded kilts, that reach from the waist to the knee." As Livingstone already
told us, they all unite to enforce honest trading. He says that they are
such eager traders, "They set off in companies by night, and begin to run
as soon as they come within the hum arising from hundreds of voices. To
haggle, and joke, and laugh, and cheat, seems to be the dearest enjoyment
of their life. They confer great benefits upon each other. The Bayenza
women are expert divers for oysters, and they barter them and fish for farina-
ceous food with the women on the east of the Lualaba, who prefer cultivating
the soil to fishery. The Manyema have told us that women going to market
were never molested. When the men of two districts were engaged in actual
hostilities, the women passed through from one market to another unarmed ;
to take their goods even in war was a thing not to be done.

" But at these market women the half-castes directed their guns. Two
cases that came under my own observation were so sickening, I cannot allow
the mind to dwell upon or write about them. Many of both sexes were
killed, but the women and children chiefly were made captives. No matter
how much ivory they obtained, these 'Nigger Moslems' must have slaves;

LIVINGSTONE SUSPECTED. 501

and they assaulted the markets and villages, and made captives, chiefly, as it
appeared to me, because, as the men ran off at the report of the guns, they
could do it without danger. I had no idea before how bloodthirsty men can
be when they can pour out the blood of their fellow men in safety. And all
this carnage is going on in Manyema at the very time I write. It is the
Banyans, our protected Indian fellow subjects, that indirectly do it all. We
have conceded to the sultan of Zanzibar the right, which it was not ours to
give, of a certain amount of slave-trading, and that amount has been from
twelve to twenty thousand a-year. As we have seen, these are not traded for
but murdered. They are not for slaves, but free people made captive.

"A Sultan with a sense of justice would, instead of taking head-money,
declare that all were free as soon as they reached his territory. But the
Banyans have the custom-house, and all the Sultan's revenue, entirely in
their hands. He cannot trust his Mahometan subjects, even of the better
class, to farm bis income, because, as they themselves say, he would get no-
thing in return but a crop of lies. The Banyans naturally work the custom-
house so as to screen their own slaving agents ; and so long as they have the
power to promote it, their atrocious system of slaving will never cease. For
the sake of lawful commerce, it would be politic to insist that the Sultan's
revenue, by the custom-house, should be placed in the hands of an English or
American merchant of known reputation and uprightness. By this arrange-
ment the Sultan would be largely benefited, legal commerce would be exalted
to a position it has never held since Banyans and Moslems emigrated into
Eastern Africa, and Christianity, to which the slave trade is an insurmount-
able barrier, would find an open door."

Sometimes the great traveller met with a cold reception, from his sup-
posed connection with Arab slavers and robbers. " In going west of Bam-
barre," he says, " in order to embark on the Lualaba, I went down the
Luamo, a river of from one to two hundred yards broad, which rises in the
mountains opposite Ujiji, and flows across the great bend of the Lualaba.
When near its confluence I found myself among people who had been lately
maltreated by the slaves, and they naturally looked on me as of the same
tribe as their persecutors. Africans are not generally unreasonable, though
smarting under wrongs, if you can fairly make them understand your claim
to innocence, and do not appear as having your back up. The women here
were particularly outspoken in asserting our identity with the cruel strangers.
On calling to one vociferous lady, who gave me the head traitor's name, to
look at my colour, and see if it were the same as his, she replied with a bitter
little laugh, ' Then you must be his father !' The worst the men did was to
turn out in force, armed with their large spears and wooden shields, and show
us out of their district."

At Buinbarre Dr. Livingstone was laid up with ulcers on his feet for over

502 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

six months. He says : — " I found continual wading in mud grievous ; for the
first time in my life my feet failed. When torn by hard travel, instead of
healing kindly as heretofore, irritable eating ulcers fastened on each foot.
If the foot is placed on the ground, blood flows, and every night a dis-
charge of bloody ichor takes place, with pain that prevents sleep. The wail-
ing of the poor slaves with ulcers that eat through everything, even bone,
is one of the night sounds of a slave camp. They are probably allied tc
fever. The people were invariably civil, and even kind ; for curiously
enough, the Zanzibar slaves propagated everywhere glowing accounts of my
goodness, and of the English generally, because they never made slaves."
Once Livingstone had a narrow escape with his life, from being found in
company with traders who had ill used the Manyema. On his way to
Bambarre, he says, " We passed another camp of Ujijian traders, and they
begged me to allow their men to join my party. These included seventeen
men of Manyema, who had volunteered to carry ivory to Ujiji. These were
the very first of the Manyema who had in modern times gone fifty miles
from their birth-place. As all the Arabs have been enjoined by Seyed Majid,
the late Sultan, to show me all the kindness in their power, I could not decline
their request. My party was increased to eighty, and a long line of men
bearing elephants' tusks gave us all the appearance of traders. The only
cloth I had left some months before consisted of two red blankets, which
were converted into a glaring dress, unbecoming enough ; but there were no
Europeans to see it. ' The maltreated men' ( Manyema who had been wronged
by the traders), now burning for revenge, remembered the dress, and very
naturally tried to kill the man who had murdered their relations. They
would hold no parley. We had to pass through five hours of forest with
vegetation so dense, that by stooping down and peering towards the sun, we
could at times only see a shadow moving, and a slight rustle in the rank
vegetation was a spear thrown from the shadow of an infuriated man. Our
people in front peered into every little opening in the dense thicket before
they would venture past it. This detained the rear, and two persons near to
me were slain. A large spear lunged past close behind ; another missed me
by about a foot in front. Coming to a part of the forest of about a hundred
yards cleared for cultivation, I observed that fire had been applied to one of
the gigantic trees, made still higher by growing on an ant-hill twenty or
more feet high. Hearing the crack that told the fire had eaten through, I
felt that there was no danger, it looked so far away, till it appeared coming
right down towards me. I ran a few paces back, and it came to the ground
only one yard off, broke in several lengths, and covered me with a cloud of
dust. My attendants ran back, exclaiming, ' Peace, peace ! you will finish
your work in spite of all these people, and in spite of everybody ! ' I, too,
took it as an omen of good, that I had three narrow escapes from death in

THE BANYAN SLA VE TRADERS. 503

one day. The Manyema are expert in throwing the spear ; and as I had a
glance of him whose spear missed by less than an inch behind, and he was
not ten yards off, I was saved clearly by the good hand of the Almighty
Preserver of men. I can say this devoutly now ; but in running the terrible
gauntlet for five weary hours among furies, all eager to signalize themselves
by slaying one they sincerely believed to have been guilty of a horrid out-
rage, no elevated sentiment entered the mind. The excitement gave way to
overpowering weariness, and I felt as I suppose soldiers do on the field of
battle — not courageous, but perfectly indifferent whether I were killed or
not."

The real slave dealers are thus exposed by Dr. Livingstone : — " The
Banyan subjects have long been, and are now, the chief propagators of the
Zanzibar slave trade : their money, and often their muskets, gunpowder,
balls, flints, beads, brass wire, and calico, are annually advanced to the
Arabs, at enormous interest, for the murderous work of slaving, of the
nature of which every Banyan is fully aware. Having mixed much with
the Arabs in the interior, I soon learned the whole system that is called
' butchee.' Banyan trading is simply marauding and murdering by the
Arabs, at the instigation and by the aid of our Indian fellow subjects. The
cunning Indians secure nearly all the profits of the caravans they send
inland, and very adroitly let the odium of slaving rest on their Arab agents.
. . . It is a mistake to call the system of Ujiji slave ' trade ' at all —
the captives are not traded for, but murdered for ; and the gangs that are
dragged eastwards to enrich the Banyans are usually not slaves, but captive
free people. A Sultan anxious to do justly rather than pocket head-money,
would proclaim them all free as soon as they reached his territory. . . .
"I cannot say that I am altogether free from chagrin in view of the worry,
thwarting, and baffling, which the Banyans and their slaves have inflicted.
Common traders procure supplies of merchandise from the coast, and send
loads of ivory down by the same pagazi or carriers we employ, without any
loss. But the Banyans and their agents are not their enemies. I have lost
more than two years in time, have been burdened with one thousand eight
hundred miles of tramping, and how much waste of money I cannot say,
through my affairs having been committed to the Banyans and slaves, who
are not men. I have adhered, in spite of losses, with a sort of John Bullish
tenacity to my task ; and while bearing misfortune in as manly a way as pos-
sible, it strikes me that it is well that I have been brought face to face with the
Banyan system, that inflicts enormous evils on Central Africa. Gentlemen in
India, who see only the wealth brought to Bombay and Cutch, and know that
the religion of the Banyans does not allow them to harm a fly or mosquito, would
scarcely believe that they are the worst cannibals in all Africa. The Manyema
cannibals, among whom I spent nearly two years, are innocence compared

504 LIFE OF DA V1D LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

with our protected Banyan fellow-subjects .... The Banyans, having
complete possession of the custom-house and revenue of Zanzibar, enjoy ample
opportunity to aid and conceal the slave trade, and all fraudulent transactions
committed by their agents. . . . Geographers will be interested to know
the plan I propose to follow. I shall at present avoid Ujiji, and go about
south-west from this to Fipa, which is east of and near the south end of
Tanganyika ; then round the same south end, only touching it again at Sam-
betti ; thence resuming the south-west course to cross Chambezi, and proceed
along the southern shores of Lake Bangweolo, which being in latitude twelve
degrees south, the course will be due west to the ancient fountains of Herodotus.
From these it is about ten days north to Katanga, the copper mines of which
have been worked for ages. . . . About ten days north-east of Katanga
very extensive underground rock excavations deserve attention as very an-
cient, the natives ascribing their formation to the Deity alone. They are
remarkable for having water laid on in running streams, and the inhabitants
of large districts can all take refuge in them in case of invasion. Return-
ing from them to Katanga, twelve days N.N.W., will take to the southern
end of Lake Lincoln. I wish to go down through it to the Lomame, aud
into Webb's Lualaba, and home."

How much of this programme he had successfully carried out up to
the time of his death, we are not at present in a position to state. Of the
work of exploration still to be done he spoke cheerfully and hopefully. He
says: "I know about six hundred miles of the watershed pretty fairly; I
turn to the seventh hundred miles with pleasure and hope. I want no com-
panion now, though discovery means hard work. Some can make what they
call theoretical discoveries by dreaming. I should like to offer a prize for
an explanation of the correlation of the structure and economy of the great
lacustrine rivers in the production of the phenomena of the Nile. The prize
cannot be undervalued by competitors even who may have only dreamed of
what has given me very great trouble, though they may have hit on the
division of labour in dreaming, and each discovered one or two hundred miles.
In the actual discovery so far, I went two years and six months without once
tasting tea, coffee, or sugar; and except at Ujiji, have fed on buffaloes, rhi-
noceros, elephants, hippopotami, and cattle of that sort ; and have come to
believe that English roast-beef and plum-pudding must be the real genuine
theobroma, the food of the gods, and I offer to all successful competitors a
glorious feast of beef-steaks and stout. No competition will be allowed after
I have published my own explanation, on pain of immediate execution, with-
out benefit of clergy!"

A brief outline of Dr. Livingstone's journeyings, and their results, up to
this period, will enable the reader to understand a little more clearly what
he has been about since he entered Africa for the third time in 1860. From

AN A FRIO A N Q UEEN. 505

the Lake Nyassa district until lie left Cazembe's country, he was travelling
in regions to some extent known to us through his own previous explorations,
and those of Portuguese travellers. Beyond Cazembe's country, either to the
north or the west, lay a vast extent of country totally unknown to Europeans,
and of which even the most intelligent native knew only, and that imper-
fectly, a narrow hem of from fifty to a hundred miles in extent. Cazemhe
was first made known to us by Lacerda, the Portuguese traveller. Living?
stone found the present ruler of Cazembe to be a kingly savage. He describes
him as a tall, stalwart man,- wearing a peculiar kind of dress made of crimson
print, and worn in many folds in the form of a prodigious kilt, the upper part
of his body being bare. The statement of the traveller, that he was going
north in search of lakes and rivers, filled him with astonishment. " Whai
can you want to go there for?" he said. " The water is close here ! There
is plenty of large water in this neighbourhood !" Cazembe had never seen an
Englishman before; and notwithstanding that he could not understand this
water-seeker, and very possibly thought him wrong in the head, or, as Living-
stone puts it, that " he had water on the brain," he gave orders to his chiefs
and people that the traveller was to be allowed to go wherever he had a mind,
and treated him with much consideration.

Cazembe's queen, described as a fine tall woman, paid the traveller a visit,
and evidently intended to give him a striking idea of the honour done him.
She was decked out in all the finery her wardrobe could muster, and was
armed with a ponderous spear. Following her was a body-guard of Ama-
zons, also armed with spears. His royal visitor and her retinue, and their
dress and accoutrements, did astonish the stranger, but not in the way in-
tended. He burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter, which disconcerted
the royal lady for a moment ; but recovering herself, she joined heartily in
the laugh — which was re-echoed by her attendants — and then fled from his
presence until she had recovered the dignity and gravity becoming so great
a queen. The Portuguese assertion, that the river he found running to the
north, and named the Chambezi, was one of the main branches of the Zam-
besi, cost him many a month of tedious and unprofitable wandering.
Although he was not long in forming doubts as to the truth of this con-
clusion, the similarity in name made him cautious in accepting his own
notions regarding it. Up and down and across its course he wandered
like an uneasy spirit, until at last the conclusion was forced upon him,
that it flowed to the north, and could be none other than the head waters
of the Nile.

Striking away to the north-east of Cazembe's country, he came to a

large lake called by the natives Liemba, from the country of that namo

which borders it. Following its winding shore to the northwards, he found

it to be a continuation of Lake Tanganyika. Returning to the southern end

p2

506 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D.

of the lake, he crossed the Marungu country, and reached Lake Moero ; and
finding its chief influent the Luapula, he ascended its course to the point
where it flows out of Lake Bangweolo or Bemba, a lake nearly as large as
Tanganyika itself. The most important feeder of this lake he found to be
the Chambezi, so that all doubts as to the course of that river were set at rest.
In the hitherto untrodden land to the north, this great and constantly in-
creasing volume of water pursued its winding course ; and he braced himself
up to the effort of tracing it to a point where, under some other name, it was
already well known to geographers. From this lake, Livingstone, in the first
place, went to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, where he hoped to find stores await-
ing him, and where he could recruit himself for the accomplishment of the
arduous task he had set himself to accomplish. From his letters we already
know how sadly he was disappointed in his hopes of material help from Zan-
zibar. While waiting there among rascally Arab traders and their slaves,
and equally rascally natives, corrupted by their association with those worth-
less representatives of the civilisation he had been cut off from for nearly
three years, he longed to explore the shores of Tanganyika, and settle the
question of its effluent ; but Arabs and natives alike were so bent on plunder-
ing him for every service rendered, he was compelled to abandon his design.
Although worn in body, and scantily provided with stores and followers, he
determined, in June 1869, to march across country until he should strike the
great river which he knew flowed northwards out of Lake Moero. At Bam-
barre in Manyeina land, as we know, he was laid up for six weary months
with ulcerated feet. So soon as he had recovered he set off in a northerly
direction, and after several days' journey struck the main artery of his line
of drainage — the Lualaba, a magnificent lacustrine stream, with a width of
from one to three miles. This great stream pursues so erratic a course, flow-
ing northward, westward, and even southwards, in wide loops, that he was
frequently fairly at fault as to its ultimate course. Sometimes he thought he
was working away at the Congo, but at last he was completely satisfied that
its course was northward. After following it up to its outlet from Lake Moero,
and confirming its consequent identity with the Luapula and the Chambezi,
he retraced his steps, and saw it lose itself in Lake Kamalondo. As many
of the great streams on the watershed were named Lualaba by the natives he
christened the stream which flows from Lake Moero to Lake Kamalondo
" Webb's Lualaba," to distinguish it, and also to do honour to one of his
oldest friends, Mr. Webb of Newstead Abbey.

Several days south-west from Kamalondo, he discovered another lake
called by the natives Chebungo. This he named "Lake Lincoln," in honour
of Abraham Lincoln, President of the United states during the war of
secession. Its principal effluent he named "Young's Lualaba," in honour of
another fast friend, Mr. Young, of Paraffin oil celebrity; " Sir Paraffin," as

SIR SAMUEL BAKER'S THEORY. 507

Dr. Livingstone humorously designates him. The waters of Lake Lincoln
pass into the Lualaha by the river Loeki or Lomame

The river which, issuing out of Lake Kamalonda and flowing to the
north, was, he now found, the central or main line of drainage, and he named
it the Lualaba proper. Although sick and worn, he followed its course as far
as four degrees south latitude, and found that it flowed into another large
lake. From his letters we know how the brave and dauntless traveller
was compelled to turn back when so near to the termination of the quest he
had suffered so much in following up thus far, and fell back to Ujiji, with but
little hope of succour arriving there from the coast. But help was at hand.
He had barely settled down to what he feared must be a weary waiting for
succour when Mr Stanley made his appearance, and so unexpectedly, that he
was all but face to face with his deliverer before he even knew that any tra-
veller with a white skin was in search of him.

What the result of his exploration after parting with Mr Stanley at
Unyanyembe may be, we do not at present know. At that time, the great
traveller appeared to have no doubt that the Chambezi, the Luapula, and the
Lualaba, were none other than the Nile ; and that these were connected by
a series of lakes and shallow lakelets with Petherick's White Nile, which issues
out of the Bahr-Ghazal. The great lake in four degrees south latitude into
which Dr. Livingstone found that the Lualaba flowed, Mr. Stanley conjectures
may be the lake discovered by the Italian traveller Piaggia. If Dr. Living-
stone be correct in his conclusions — and we know that he is not a rash theo-
rizer — the Nile is the second longest river in the world, and flows two thousand
six hundred miles in a straight line, or seven hundred miles farther than we
had previously supposed.

Spealdng at a meeting of the Geographical Society, on 26th January,
1874, Sir Samuel Baker said " it would be quite an impossibility to say, for
certain, whether or not the Tanganyika Lake was connected with the Albert
Nyanza, but during his recent expedition he had heard accounts from native
merchants which had shaken his faith in the opinion he had formerly ex-
pressed that there was no connection between the two lakes. Two merchants
told him that they had formerly travelled from one lake to the other by
boats, but had ceased to perform the journey in that way, because the canoes
were too small to carry ivory. These men had no object m telling a He — no
interest in deceiving him. Some months after this, the envoys whom the
Sultan of Uganda sent to Fatiko, gave him a detailed explanation of the geo-
graphical features of the country. They said that the Lake Victoria Nyanza,
discovered by Speke and Grant, bore the name of Sessi. The natives had
formerly stated to Speke and Grant, that Sessi was the name of an island in
the lake ; but these envoys said not that there was an island in the lake, but
that if a person wanted to inquire for the Victoria Nyanza, ho must ask for

508 LIFE OF DA VII) LI VINGSTONE, LL.D.

Sessi. The lake," they added, " was divided into two parts, with a connection
between them, which a canoe required a day to pass through. Both of tho
lakes bore the name Sessi, but they drew a distinction between the Victoria
Nyanza and the Albert Nyanza. This latter lake," they said, " was a con-
tinuation of the Tanganyika — the whole bearing the name of Mwootanzige.
He did not state this as his own theory, but as what he had himself heard."

If these statements are trUe, Sir Samuel Baker accounted for a connection
between the lakes, even if the Tanganyika was on a lower level than the Albert
Nyanza at certain seasons: — " When it is remembered that the Tanganyika
received its rainfall at the season of the rainfall south of the Equator, while
the Albert Nyanza received its rainfall at the season of the rains north of the
Equator, it was easy to imagine, that to keep up the equilibrium between the
two lakes, there must be a constant flux and reflux. In 1869, Livingstone
addressed a letter to Sir Roderick Murchison, in which he said — ' Baker's
Lake and Tanganyika are all one water.' That was what Livingstone heard
at Ujiji, and he had heard exactly the same account at the north end of the
Albert Nyanza." Our readers will remember that, on the occasion of Living-
stone's first visit to Lake Ngami, he imagined that the River Zouga was
the outlet of the lake which Mr. Chapman, several years afterwards, when
the lake was very low, found the Zouga flowing into. In vast districts,
where there is little difference in level for many miles, it is easy to under-
stand how the streams may flow in one direction during the rainy season,
«,nd fill up a lake at the end of the watershed, and that, when the lower
lakes fall at the end of the rainy season, the accumulated waters will flow in
the opposite direction. If these two great lakes are connected, this would
account for the steady flow to the north of the waters of Tanganyika, which
Livingstone observed at Ujiji. As it was during the rainy season that Mr.
Stanley and Dr. Livingstone examined the Rusizi, they may have witnessed
the commencement of tbe influx of water from the Albert Nyanza. If this be
so the Rusizi is both an influent and an effluent of the Tanganyika, which
would account for the conflicting accounts received of it from the natives.

Even should there be a connection between the Tanganyika and the
Nile, it does not necessarily follow that Livingstone's Lualaba is not the
head waters of the Nile. Geographers at home have not hesitated to theo-
rize, and have almost unanimously gone counter to Dr Livingstone's declared
impression as to the further course of the Lualaba. With wonderful unani-
mity, they throw aside the belief of the man who has suffered so much in
acquiring it and insist that the Lualaba must be the Congo. We shall be
curious to hear what they will say for themselves if it should turn out, as we
believe it will, that he who had the best of means of coming to a conclusion
was right, nnd that they who could only theorize were wrong.

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