David Livingston's Zambezi Manuscript

Author(s): Livingstone, David

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Introduction


When first, I determined on
publishing the narrative of my
“Missionary Travels” I had a great
misgiving as to whether the criticism
my endeavours might provoke
would be friendly or the reverse,
more particularly as I felt that
I had then been so long a sojourner
in the wilderness that I was quite
a stranger to the British
public. But I am now in this
my second essay at authorship
cheered by the conviction that
very many readers who are
personally unknown to me,
will recieve this narrative
with the kindly consideration
and allowances of friends : and
many more under the genial
influence of an innate love of
liberty, and a desire to see the same
blessings of social & religious
light they themselves enjoy
disseminated throughout
the world, will sympathize
with me in the efforts by
which I have striven however
imperfectly, to elevate the



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status and character of our fellow men.
This knowledge makes me doubly
anxious to render my narrative
acceptable to all my readers, but
in the absence of any excellence
in literary composition — the natural
consequence of my pursuits, I have
to offer only a simple account of
a mission which in consideration
of the objects proposed to be effected
deserved success far above any
former Expedition to Eastern Africa — and what
information is given respecting the
people visited and countries —
traversed will probably not be
materially gain said by any future
common place traveller like myself
who may be blest with fair
health and a gleam of sunshine
in his breast. It is written in
the hope that it may prove a contribution to that information
which may lead to that great fertile
continent being no longer wantonly
sealed, but made available
as the scene of European —
enterprise, and to its people
taking a place among the nations
of the Earth, thus perhaps pioneering
the happiness & prosperity of
tribes now sunk in barbarism
or debased by slavery.

the first Expedition sent to East
Africa after the Portuguese had worked



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a passage round the Cape was
instituted under the auspices of
the Government of Portugal for
the purpose it is believed of discovering
the land of Ophir made mention
of in Holy Scripture as the country
whence King Solomon drew sandal
wood, ivory, apes, peacocks &
gold. the terms used by the Jews
to express the first four articles
according to Max Muller had no
existence in the Hebrew language
but are words imported into it
from Sanscrit. It is curious that
the search was not directed
to the coast of India
as that language was known on
the Malabar coast where also
peacocks & sandal wood are met in
abundance. The Portuguese like
some others of more modern
times were led to believe that
Sofalla because sometimes
pronounced Zophar by the Arabs
from being the lowest most
southerly post they visited, was
identical with the Ophir alluded
to in Sacred History. the
whole of Eastern Africa had
been occupied from the most
remote times by traders from
India and the Red Sea. Vasco
da Gama in 1497-8 found them
firmly established at Mosambique
and after reaching India turned with



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longing eyes from Calicut towards Sofalla and
actually visited it in 1502. It as Ophir was
expected to be the most lucrative of all
the Portuguese stations until at
great loss of both men & money
they conquered the district in which
the gold washings were situated
under the impression that an
important settlement could be
established there — but in the absence
of all proper machinery, an
infinite amount of labour returned
so small an amount of gain
that they abandoned them in disgust.

[¿]


The next expedition consisting
of three ships and a thousand men,
mostly gentlemen volunteers, left
Lisbon in 1569 for the conquest
of the gold “mines” or washings of the chief
Monomotapa west of Tette; and
of those in Manica still further
but in a more southerly direction, and also to
find a route to the west coast.
In this last they failed and to this day
it has been accomplished by
only one European and that
an Englishman. The Expedition
was commanded by Francisco
Barreto and abundantly supplied
with horses, asses, camels &
provisions. Ascending the
Zambesi as far as Senna
many Arab & other traders were



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found already settled there — and they
recieved the strangers with great
hospitality — the horses however having
passed through a district abounding
with Tsetse, an insect whose bite
is fatal to domestic animals soon
showed the emaciation peculiar to the
poison and Senna being notoriously
unhealthy, the sickness of both men
and horses aroused Barreto's suspicion
that poison had been administered
by the inhabitants, most of whom
consequently he put to the sword or
blew away from his guns — Marching
beyond Senna with five hundred
and sixty soldiers they suffered terribly
from hunger and thirst and after
being repeatedly assaulted by a large
body of natives the Expedtion was
compelled to return to Senna without
ever reaching the gold mines which
Barreto so eagerly sought.

Previous to this however,
devoted Roman catholic missionaries
had penetrated where an army could
not go. for Senhor Bordalo in his
excellent historical Essays, mentions
that the Jesuit father Gonçalo da
Silveira had already suffered martyr-dom
by command of the chief
of Monomotapa. Indeed missionaries
of that body of Christians established
themselves in a vast number of
places in Eastern Africa as the
ruins of mission stations still
testify, but not having succeeded



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in meeting with any reliable history
of the labours of these good men, it
is painful to be unable to contradict
the calumnies which Portuguese writers
still heap on their memory. So far
as the impression left on the native
mind goes it is decidedly favourable
to their zeal & piety, while the writers
referred to roundly assent that the
missionaries engaged in the slave
trade, which is probably as false as
the more modern scandals occasionally
retailed against their Protestant
bretheren. Philanthropists sometimes
err in accepting the mere gossip of
coast villages as facts shewing the
atrocities of our countrymen abroad.
While others regarding, perhaps all
philanthropy as weakness, yet
in the practice of the silliest of all
hypocrisies to appear worse than
they are, accept and publish the
mere brandy and water twaddle
of immoral traders against a body of men
who as a whole are an honour
to human kind. In modern mission
ary literature, now widely spread,
we have a remedy which will
probably outlive all mis-representation.
and it is much to be
regretted that there is no available
Catholic literature of the same
nature. and that none of the
translations which may have
been made can now be consulted.

We cannot believe that these good men would risk their lives
for the unholy gains which even were they lawful by the rules of
their order they could not enjoy — but it would be intensely
interesting to all their successors to know exactly what were the
real causes of failure in perpetuating their faith.



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[¿] instructions.

[Pardoe]


In order that the narrative may
be clearly understood it is necessary
to call to mind some things which
took place previous to the Zambesi
Expedition being sent out : and
most geographers are aware that
before the discovery of Lake Ngami
and the well watered country in
which the Makololo dwell, the idea
prevailed that a large part of the
interior of Africa consisted of large
sandy deserts into which rivers
ran and were lost. During a journey
in 1852-6 from sea to sea across the
south intertropical part of the continent,
it was found to be a well watered country
Large tracts: of fine fertile soil covered with
forest, and beautiful grassy
valleys were seen to be occupied by a
considerable population — and one
of the most wonderful waterfalls
in the world was brought to light. the
peculiar form of the continent was
also revealed to be an elevated
plateau, somewhat depressed in the
centre with fizzures in the sides by
which the rivers escaped to the sea;
and this great fact in physical
geography can never be referred to
without recalling the remarkable
hypothesis by which the distinguished
president of the Royal Geographical
Society, (Sir Roderick I. Murchison)
clearly delineated this peculiarity
before it was verified by



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actual observations of the altitudes of
the country and the courses of the
rivers. New light was thrown on
other portions of the continent by
the famous travels of Dr Barth, the
researches of Dr Baikie, the journey
of Francis Galton, and the most
interesting discoveries of Lakes
Tanganyika and Victoria Nyanza
by Captain Burton ; and by Captain
Speke whose untimely end we all
most deeply deplore. Then followed
the researches of Van der Decken
and Thornton, and others, and
last of all the grand discovery
of the main source of the Nile,
which every Englishman must
feel an honest pride in knowing
was accomplished by our
gallant countrymen Captains
Speke and Grant.

In exploration the chief object
in view was not to discover objects of
nine days wonder, to gaze and be
gazed at by barbarians in a
continent whose history is only
just beginning, but when pro-ceeding
to the west coast in order to
find a path to the sea by which
lawful commerce might be introduced
to aid missionary operations, it
was very striking to observe the
very decided influence of that which
is known as Lord Palmerston's
policy several hundreds of miles




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B Page 9


it is so reasonable to expect
that self interest would induce
the slave trader to do his utmost
to preserve the lives by which
he makes his gains that men
yield ready credence to the
plausible theory — but the
atrocious waste of human life
was just as great when the
slave trade was legal — it
always has and must be marked
by the want of foresight characteristic
of the murderer. Every one
wonders why he who has taken
another's life did not take this
that or the other precaution to
avoid detection — and every one
may well wonder why slave traders
have always by overcrowding
acted so much in opposition to
their own interest, but it is the
fatality of the murderer — the loss
of life he causes simply baffles
exaggeration

On this subject the opinion of the RevD
J.L. Wilson a most intelligent American
missionary who has written by far the most
able work that has appeared on the West Coast
is worth a host. It concludes that the efforts of
the English Government are worthy of
all praise. Had it not been for the
cruizers and especially those of England
Africa had as yet been inaccessible
to missionary labour, and it is
devoutly to be hoped that these noble
and disinterested measures may not

be driven away from the Earth
the slave trade is the greatest obstacle in existence to civilization
and commercial progress, and as our people are the most
philanthropic and will always have the largest stake in the continent
the policy for its suppression in every possible way shews thorough
wisdom & foresight.


B Page 10
as our instructions from [ to ] all Government
stated the expedition was intended
separately to extend the knowledge already"
attained of the geography and mineral
and agricultural resources of Eastern
and Central Africa - to improve
our acquaintance with the inhabitants
and to endeavor toengage them to apply themselves
to industrial pursuits and to the
cultivation of their lands with a
view to the production of raw
material to be exported to England.
in return for British
manufactures, and as it was
hoped that by encouraging
the natives to occupy themselves
in the development of the resource
of the country, a considerable
advance might be made towards
Ship V Dennet
[¿] extinction of the slave trade
as the natives will not be long
in discovering that the former
will eventually be a more certain
source of profit than the latter

It was sent in accordance with
the settled policy of the English Government;
and the Earl of Clarendon on being
then at the head of the foreign office
the mission was organized under
his more immediate care. When



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a change of Government ensured
we experienced the same generous
countenance and sympathy
from the Earl of Malmesbury as
we had previously enjoyed from
Lord Clarendon and on the
accession of Lord Russell
to the high office he has so long
filled we were always favoured
with the same ready attention
& the same prompt assistance —
and the conviction was produced
that our work embodied the
principles not of party but of
the hearts of the people of England
As a subordinate but most
effective agent our heartfelt
gratitude is due to the
warm hearted and ever obliging
Hydrographer to the Admiralty
the Late Admiral Washington
and to the Lords of the
Admiralty for their un-varying
readiness to
render us every assistance
in their power.



[10]

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The Portuguese Government
professed itself willing, nay anxious
to see the country opened to the influence
of civilization and lawful commerce
Indeed it
could scarcely
be otherwise
[seeing] not
a gain of
[benefit] ever
accrued to
Portugal by
shutting it
up.
and as we had a large
river, the Zambesi, which , promised to be
a fine inlet to the highlands and interior
generally = The natives agricultural and all fond of
trading — the soil fertile indigo cotton tobacco sugar--cane and
other articles of value already either
cultivated or run wild — it seemed that if this
region could be opened to lawful
commerce it
it would have
the effect of ending
Cruizers in
in the same
way as has been done by the
missionaries & traders on the
West coast, and a good service
be performed to Africa and to
Europe. ¶ the main
object of the Zambesi Expedition.
(Insert B page 10)
¶ In speaking of what has been
done it is to be always understood that
Dr Kirk, Mr Charles Livingstone,
Mr R. Thornton and others composed it. In using
the plural number they are meant.
and I wish to bear testimony to the
untiring zeal and energy with
which my companions laboured —
never daunted by difficulties nor
dangers nor hard fare, it is my
firm belief that were their
services required in any
other capacity, they might be
implicitly relied on to perform
their duty like men. The



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B. page 11


He collected over 4000 species of plants
specimens of most of the valuable
woods — of the different native
manufactures & food — the different kinds
of cotton from every spot we visited
and a great variety of birds & insects
besides making meteorological
observations and affording
as our instructions required
medical assistance to the natives
in every case where he could be
of use.


[Pardoe]


Charles Livingstone was also
fully occupied in his duties in
following out the general objects
of our mission — in encouraging
the culture of cotton — making
magnetic and meteorological observations
In photographing — so long as the
materials would serve —
in collecting birds, insects
and other objects of interest
collections being Government property have been
forwarded to the British Museum
and to the Royal Botanic
Gardens at Kew — and should
Dr Kirk undertake their description
three or four years would be
required for the purpose.



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C.11


Though collections were made it
was always distinctly understood that
however desirable these & “Explorations
might be H. M. Government
attached more importance to the
moral influence that may be
exerted on the mind of the natives by a
well regulated and orderly household
of Europeans, setting an example
of consistent moral conduct
to all who may witness it. Treating
the people with kindness and
relieving their wants, teaching them
to make experiments in agriculture
explaining to them the more
simple arts, imparting to them
religious instruction as far as
they are capable of recieving
it, and inculcating peace &
good will to each other.”


It would be tiresome to en-umerate
in detail all the little acts
which in following out our
instructions were performed.
As a rule whenever the steamer
stopped to wood Dr K & C L went
ashore to their duties. [¿] [a] person
intended to navigate and



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D.11.


lay down the geographical
positions having failed to
answer expectations these
duties fell chiefly to the share of Dr L.
It involved a considerable
amount of night work in
which he was alway cheerfully
aided by his companions
and the results regularly
communicated to Sir
Thomas Maclear of the
Royal Observatory — Cape of
Good hope. It also involved
considerable exposure to the
Sun and to his regret kept
him from much anticipated intercourse
with the natives
and the formation of the full vocabularies
But all the wearisome
repetitions are as much as
possible avoided in the
narrative and the attempt
is made to give as fairly
as possible just what
would most strike any
person of ordinary intelligence
passing through the country


End of Introduction



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reason why Dr Kirk's name does
not appear on the title page of this
narrative is, because it is hoped
that he may give the Botany and
natural history of the Expedition
in a work by his own pen.


Insert
B.11 page
C.11D.11-




Wheatley


Chapter I. The Expedition left England
on the 10th of March 1858 in H. M.
Colonial Steamer Pearl commanded
by Captain Duncan, and after enjoying the most generous hospitality of our friends at Cape Town
with the obliging services of Sir George Grey — and recieving Francis
Skead. R. A. surveyor on board — reached
the coast in the following May.
Our first object was to explore
the Zambesi — its mouths and
tributaries, with a view to their
being used as highways for
commerce and Christianity
to pass into the vast interior.
When we came within five or
six miles of the land the yellowish
green tinge of the sea in soundings
was suddenly succeeded by
muddy water with wreck as
of a river in flood. The two
colours did not intermingle
but the line of contact was
as sharply defined as when
the ocean meets the land. It
was observed that under the
wreck consisting of reeds, sticks,
leaves, and even under floating
cuttle fish bones — and Portuguese
men of war (Physalia) numbers



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of small fish screen themselves
from the eyes of birds of prey
and from the rays of the torrid
sun.


The coast is low and covered
with Mangrove swamps, among
which are sandy patches
clothed with grass, creeping
plants and stunted palms. The
land trends nearly East and
West without any notable feature
to guide the navigator and it is difficult
to make out the rivers mouth but the water shoals
gradually and each fathom
marks about a mile.

We entered the River Luawe
first, because its entrance is so
smooth and deep that the Pearl
drawing 9 feet 7 inches went in
without a boat sounding a head.
The harbour too is deep but shut
in by mangrove swamps —
and though the water a few miles up is fresh
it is only a tidal river ; for
after ascending some seventy
miles, it was found to end in
marshes blocked up with
reeds and succulent aquatic
plants. As the Luawe had been
called “West Luabo” it was
supposed to be a branch of
the Zambesi, the main stream
of which is called “Luabo” or
“East Luabo.”



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6


The Zambesi pours its water
into the ocean by four mouths,
namely, the Milambe, or most
Westerly — The Kongone — The Luabo —
and the Timbwe (or Muselo) When
the river is in flood, a natural
canal running parallel with the
coast and winding very much
among the swamps, forms a
secret way for conveying slaves
from Quillimane to the bays
Massangano Nameara or to
the Zambesi itself. The River of
Quillimane some sixty miles
distant from the mouths of the
Zambesi, has long been
represented as the principal
entrance to this river, in order,
as the Portuguese now maintain,
that the English cruizers might
be induced to watch the false
mouth while slaves were
quietly shipped from the true
one ; and strange to say this
error has lately been propagated
by a map from the colonial
minister of Portugal. *


*
[Stranger still the Portuguese official paper Annaes do Conselho Ultramarinho]
for 1864 shamelessly asserts that “in that harbour (Kongone) which
Dr L says he discovered many vessels with slaves have taken refuge
from the persecutions of English cruizers”. This (shall we admit) was
known to the Portuguese Government. Would any other gentleman in
Europe construct a map such as that mentioned in the text and send it
to the English Government as shewing the true mouth of the Zambesi?


After the examination of
three branches by the able and
energetic surveyor Francis
Skead R.A. the Kongone
was found to be the best
entrance. The immense amount
of sand brought down by the




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the Zambesi has in the course
of ages formed a sort of promontory
against which the long swell of
the Indian Ocean beating during
the prevailing winds has formed
bars, which acting against the
waters of the delta may have
led to their exit sideways.
The Kongone is one of these
lateral branches and the safest
inasmuch as the bar has nearly
two fathoms on it at low
water and the rise at spring tides
is from twelve to fourteen feet.
The bar is narrow — the passage
nearly straight and were it
buoyed and a beacon placed
on [Pearl] island, would always
be safe to a steamer. [When the wind is from the East or North the bar is smooth, if from the South or]
South-East it has a heavy break on it — and is not to be attempted in boats. A
strong current sets to the East when the tide is flowing and to the West when ebbing
It may drag a boat or ship into the breakers. If one is doubtful of his longitude
and runs East he will soon see the land at Timbwe disappear away to the North,
and coming West again he can easily make out East Luabo from its size — & Kongone
follows. It is a good but long bar and not to be attempted unless the wind be North or East The names
applied by the natives refer
more to the land on each side
of the branches than to the
streams — thus, one side of
the Kongone is Nyamisenga
another Nyangalule — and
Kongone, the name of a fish —
is applied to one side of
the natural canal which leads
into the Zambesi proper or
Cuama — and gives the port
its value.




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Chapter I
Space for Contents
Pardoe
When a native of the temperate north first lands
in the tropics, his feelings and emotions resemble
in some respects those which the First Man may
have had on his entrance into the Garden of
Eden. He has set foot in a new world,
another state of existence is before him;
Everything he sees, every sound that
falls upon the ear, has all the freshness and
charm of novelty. The trees and the plants
are new, the flowers and the fruits, the beasts
the birds and the insects are curious and
strange. The very sky itself is new glowing
with colours and sparkling with constellations
never seen in northern climes.




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Note for compositor — page 17 to 27
transferred to of page 469


The Kongone is five miles East of
the Milambe or West branch, and seven from
East Luabo which again is five from the Timbwe
We saw but few natives, and these, by fleeing
from their canoes into mangrove thickets
the moment they caught sight of us, gave
unmistakable indications that they had no
very favorable opinion of white men. They
were probably fugitives from Portuguese slavery.
On the grassy glades
Buffaloes, Wart hogs, & three kinds of Antelope,
were abundant, and the latter
easily obtained. A few hours hunting
usually provided venison enough for a
score of men for several days.



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( 17 to 26) omitted this follows [p] 16



On proceeding up the Kongone branch
it was found that by keeping well in
the bends shoals were easily avoided
The first twenty miles are straight & deep
then a small deep & rather tortuous
natural canal leads off to the right and
after about five miles ends in the
broad Zambesi. The rest of the Kongone
branch comes out of the main stream
considerably higher up as the Doto.

The first twenty miles of the Kongone
are enclosed in mangrove jungle
some of the trees are ornamented
with ochilla weed which appears
never to have been gathered. Huge
ferns — wild palm bushes, and
occasionally wild date palms
peer out in the forest; the bunches of
bright yellow though scarcely edible
fruit contrasting prettily with its
graceful green leaves. In some
spots the Milola an umbrageous
hibiscus with large yellowish flowers
grows in masses along the bank.
Its bark is made into cordage & is
especially valuable for the manufacture of
ropes attached to harpoons for
killing hippopotami — the Pandanus
also appears or screw palm from which
sugar bags are
made in the
Mauritius and on coming out
of the canal into the Zambesi
many are so tall as in the distance to remind one
of the steeples of our
native land, and make us relish
the remark of an old sailor “that but
one thing was wanting to complete the
picture & that was “a grog shop near the church”



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28


We find also a few guava and lime trees,
growing
wild but the natives claim the crops.
The dark woods resound with the
lively and exultant song of the King hunter,
as he sits perched on high among the trees.
As the steamer moves on through the winding
channel, a pretty little heron or bright king fisher darts out in alarm
from the edge of the bank, flies on ahead a
short distance and settles quietly down to be
again frightened off in a few seconds as we
approach . The magnificent
fish hawk sits on the top of a mangrove tree
digesting his morning meal of fresh fish and



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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.



end


The mangroves now left behind are succeeded



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by vast level plains of rich dark soil covered with
gigantic grasses so tall it towers over ones head & renders hunting impossible.
Beginning in July This grass is burned off
every year after it has
become dry. These fires prevent the growth
of timber, as only a few trees from among
the more hardy kinds, such as the Borassus Palm
and Lignum Vitæ can live [Slip 9 through the sea
of fire which annually roars across the plains.
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 low
damp ground and their owners ascend by
means of ladders. The soil is wonderfully
rich, and the gardens are really excellent.



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Rice is cultivated largely ; they raise also
sweet potatoes, pumpkins, tomatos, cabbages,
onions (shalots) peas and a little cotton
and sugarcane. It is said that
English potatoes
when planted
at Quillimane
on soil resembling
this, in the
course of two
years become
like sweet
potatoes —
(convolulus batala)
which in taste
is like our
potato frosted The whole of their fertile
region extending from the Kongone canal to beyond
Mazaro — some eighty miles in length and
fifty in breadth — is admirably adapted for the growth
of sugar cane and were it in the hands of our friends at the Cape would supply all Europe with sugar. The remarkably few people seen appeared to be
tolerably well fed, but there was a shivering
dearth of clothing among them ; nearly
all are Portuguese “colonos” or Serfs.
They manifested no fear of white men,
and stood in groups on the bank gazing
in astonishment at the Steamers, especially at
“Pearl” which accompanied us thus far up the river ;
one old man who came on board, remarked that never before



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had he seen any vessel so large as the “Pearl”
it was like a Village, “was it made out of one
tree?” — All were eager traders, and soon
came off to the ship in light swift canoes,
with every kind of fruit and food they possessed.
A few brought honey and beeswax, which
are found in quantities in the mangrove forests.
As the ships steamed off many anxious sellers
ran along the Bank, holding up fowls, baskets
of rice &c and shouting “Malonda, Malonda”
“things for sale”, while others followed in canoes
which they sent through the water with great
velocity by means of short broad bladed paddles.


[¿]



The deep channel of the Zambese is winding



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and even narrow when contrasted with the
great breadth of the river itself. The river
bottom appears to be a succession of immense
submerged sand banks, having at low water from one to four feet of
water on them. The main channel runs for
some distance between the sand bank and the
river's bank with a depth in the dry season varying from five
to fifteen feet, and a current of nearly
two knots an hour. It then turns and
flows along the lower edge of the sand bank
in a diagonal direction across the river, and
continues this process winding from bank to bank
repeatedly during a day's sail making expert navigators on the
ocean feel helplessly at sea on the river. On these



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30


crossings the channel has it's lowest water.
This tortuous channel, or Qwete as the
canoe men call it, is in general pretty clearly
defined. In calm weather there is a peculiar
boiling up of its water from some action below.
With a light breeze the Qwete assumes a
characteristic ripple, and when the wind
freshens and blows up the river, as it usually
does from May to November, the waves are larger than those of
other parts, and a line of small breakers
marks the edge of the shoal bank above. —


Finding the “Pearl's” draught too great for
the part of the river near the island of Simbo where the branch
called the Doto is given off to the Kongone on the right and another
named Chinde to the secret canal already mentioned on the
left

the goods belonging to the expedition were taken out


35
31
after and placed on one of the frassy
islands about 40 miles from the bar.
The “Pearl” then left and we had to
part with our good friends Duncan and Skead. The former
for Ceylon, the latter to proceed with his duties as Government
surveyor at the cape.
Some of us remained
on Expedition island from the 18th June until
the 13th of August, while the launch and
pinnace were carrying the goods up to
Shupanga and Senna. Here we had
our first introduction to Afican life, and
African fever. The weather was delightful,
with only an occasional shower or cold foggy morning.
Daily Large columns of smoke rose a white cloud was often seen to rest on the head of the column as if a current of hot [damp] air was sent up by the heat of the flames and there its moisture was condensed-Rain did not follow though [¿] have imagined in such cases it ought from different
points of the horizon showing that the natives
were burning off the immense crop of tall grass, here a
nuisance however valuable elsewhere.
Large game, buffaloes, Zebras & were abundant
But no men could be seen



36

32


on the mainland. Over on the right bank
of the river we were amused by the
eccentric gyrations and evolutions of
flocks of a small seed eating birds, who in their
flight wheeled into compact columns with
such military precision as to give us the
impression that they must be guided by a
leader and all directed by the same signal
Several other kinds of small birds now go in
flocks, and among others the large Senegal swallow. This bird
now clearly in a state of migration from the north, while the common
swallow of the
country, and the
brown kite are away
beyond the
Equator, leads to
the conjecture that
there may
be a double migration —
namely, of birds from Torrid
climates to the
more temperate as
this now is, as well
as from severe
winters to sunny
regions = but this could not
be verified by such
birds of passage
as ourselves.


On reaching Mazaro the mouth of a narrow creek which in floods
communicates with the Quillimane river,
we found the Portuguese at war with and had generally fled from
a half caste named Mariano, who having
built a stockade near the mouth of the
Shire, owned all the country
between that and Mazaro. He was a Keen



37

33


slave hunter and kept a large number of
men, well armed with muskets. He
had been in the habit of sending out armed parties on slave
hunting forays among the helpless tribes
to the North East, and carried down the kidnapped
victims in chains to Quilimane, where they
were sold by his brother in law Cruz da Coimbra and
shipped as “Free emigrants” to the French island of Bourbon.
So long as his robberies and murders
were restricted to the natives at a distance ; the
authorities did not interfere,
but his men, trained to deeds of violence
and bloodshed in their slave forays,
naturally began to practise on the people nearer at hand though belonging



38

34


to the Portuguese and even in the village of
Senna, under the guns of the fort.
A gentleman of the highest standing there told
us that while at dinner with his family
it was no uncommon event for a slave
to rush into the room pursued by one of
Mariano's men, with spear in hand to
murder him. —


Scott



The atrocities of this villain aptly termed by the late
Governor of Quillimane a “notorious
robber and murderer” became at length
intolerable; all the Portuguese spoke of
him as a rare monster of inhumanity. It is
unaccountable why half castes like him
are so much more cruel than real
Portuguese but such is undoubtedly the case



39

35


2 folio
Mrs Webb



They asserted that one of his favourite modes of creating an impression in the
country and making his name dreaded was to spear his
captives with his own hand. On one occasion he is reported to have done
so to forty poor wretches placed in a row before him. We
did not at first credit these statements, and
thought they were merely exaggerations of the
incensed Portuguese, who naturally enough
were exasperated with him for stopping their
trade and harbouring their run away slaves,
but we learned afterwards from the natives
as well, that the accounts given us by the
Portuguese had not exceeded the truth, and
that Mariano was quite as great a ruffian as they
had described him . One expects
slave owners
to treat their
human
chattels as well
as men do
other animals of
value, but
the slavetrade
seems always to
engender an
unreasonable
ferocity if
not bloodthirstiness.
¶/. War was declared
against him and a force sent to take him,
he resisted for a time, but seeing that he was
likely to get the worst of it, and knowing that the
Portuguese Governors have small salaries and
are therefore “disposed to be reasonable” —



40

36


Mariano went down to Quilimane to using country expressions “arrange”
with the Governor ; but Colonel da Silva
put him in prison and then sent him for
trial to Mozambique. When we came into
the country his people were fighting under
his brother Bonga, the war had lasted six
months and stopped all trade on the river during
that period. On the 15 June
we first came
into contact
with the rebels
They appeared
as a crowd of
well armed
& fantastically
dressed people
under the trees
at Mazaro.
On explaining
that we were
English some
came on board
& called to those
on shore to
lay aside their
arms. On
landing among
them we saw
that many had
the branded
marks on
their chests of
slaves, but
they warmly
approved
our objects &
knew well
the distinctive
character of
our nation
on the slave
question. The
shout at our
departure contrasted
strongly
with the suspicious
questioning on our approach. Henceforth we were recognized
as friends by both parties. — ¶. At a later period We were wooding within a
mile of the scene of action but a dense fog
prevented our hearing the noise of a battle at Mazaro. & On arriving
there immediately after, many natives and
Portuguese appeared on the bank. Dr L.
landing to salute some of his old friends among the
latter found himself in the sickening smell, and
among the mutilated bodies of the slain ; he
was requested to take the Governor, who was very
ill of fever across to Shupanga, and as he gave



41

37


his assent, the rebels renewed the fight —
and the balls began to whistle about in all
directions.— After trying in vain to get someone
to assist the Governor down to the Steamer and
unwilling to leave him in the danger he went
into the hut and dragged along His Excellency to the ship
he was a very tall man, , and as he
swayed hither & thither from weakness weighing down Dr. L. it must
have appeared like one drunken man helping
another. — Some of The Portuguese white soldiers
were seen fighting with great bravery with
the enemy in front, while a few were coolly
shooting at their own slaves for fleeing
into the river behind. The rebels soon
retired and the Portuguese escaped to a
sand bank in the Zambesi, and thence
to an island opposite Shupanga, where they



42

38


lay for some weeks looking at the rebels on
the mainland opposite. This state of
inactivity on the part of the Portuguese could
not well be helped as they had expended all
their ammunition and were waiting anxiously
for supplies ; and hoping sincerely that the
enemy might not hear that their powder had
failed ; luckily enough their hopes were
not disappointed ; the rebels waited until a
supply came
and they were repulsed after 3½ hours hard
fighting. —


Insert after
4th line of
page 43


His Excellency meanwhile
being a disciple of Raspail had taken nothing
for the fever but a little camphor & soon
became comatose ; more potent remedies were
to his intense disgust administered to him on
board and he soon recovered.—


Two months
afterwards Mariano's stockade was burned




43

39


the garrison having fled in a panic, and
as Bonga said that he did not wish to
fight with this Governor with whom he had
no quarrel, the war soon came to an end.-
Insert 6 lines
of page 42


Smith


For the first 60 or 70 miles before reaching
Mazaro the scenery is tame and uninteresting.
On either hand is a dreary uninhabited expanse
of the same level grassy plains with merely
a few trees to relieve the painful monotony.
The round green top of the stately palm tree
looks at a distance, when its grey trunk
cannot be seen, as though hung in mid-air.
Many flocks of busy sandmartins have
perforated the banks in order to place their
nests two or three feet within, and are now chaseing on restless wing
myriads of tropical insects — The broad



44

40


river has many low islands, on which are
seen various kinds of waterfowl, as geese
spoonbills, herons and flamingoes.
Repulsive crockodiles as with open jaws they
sleep and bask in the sun on the low banks, soon
catch the sound of the revolving paddles
and glide quietly into the stream. —
The hippopotamus having selected some still reach of the river
to spend the day rises from the bottom, where
he has been enjoying his morning nap after
the labours of the night on shore, and sounds
a loud alarm to the rest of the herd. —
As we approach Mazaro the scenery improves,
We see the well wooded Shupanga ridge
stretching to the left, and in front blue hills
loom far in the distance. - There is no
trade whatever on the Zambesi below Mazaro,
All the merchandise of Senna & Tette is brought
to that point in large canoes, and thence carried


45
41
6 miles across the country on men's heads to

be re-shipped for Quilimane
a small stream that flows into Kwakwe. On
Qullimane river which is entirely distinct from the Zambesi
only on rare occasions &during the highest
floods can canoes pass from the Zambesi
to the Quilimane river through the
narrow natural canal Muter the dry bed of which
was now three feet above the level of the
water in the Zambesi
The natives of Maruru or country around Mazaro-the word Mazaro meaning the month of the Mutu creek have a bad
name among the Portuguese, and may
not be undeserving of it, they are said to be
expert thieves, and the merchants sometimes
suffer from their adroitness while the goods
are in transit from one river to the other.
In general they are trained canoe men, and
man many of the canoes that ply [¿] to
Senna and Tette, their pay is small, and
not trusting the traders they must always have
it before they start — as black men



46

42


in Africa can assign as plausible reasons
for their conduct as white men in
more enlightened lands, it is possible they may be
good humouredly giving their reason for insisting
on being invariably paid in advance in the
words of their favourite canoe song “Wachingere
Wachingere Kale” “You cheated me of old &c or
“Thou art slippery slippery always”.—


The Landeens or Zulus are lords of the right
bank of the Zambesi, and the Portuguese by
paying this fighting tribe a pretty heavy annual
tribute, practically admit this. Regularly
every year come the Zulus in force to Senna
and Shupanga for their accustomed tribute.
The few wealthy merchants of Senna groan
under the burden, and it falls chiefly on them.
They submit to pay 200 pieces of cloth of 16 yards each
a year, besides beads and brass wire,



47

43

Smith


knowing that refusal involves war, which
might end in the loss of all they possess.
Slip 13 The Zulus appear to keep as sharp a lookout
on the Senna and Shupanga people as ever landlord did
on Tenant; the more land they cultivate
the more tribute they have to pay . On asking why they did not endeavour
to raise certain highly profitable products,
it was replied “What's the use of our cultivating
any more than we do, the Landeens would
only be down on us for more tribute”.


In the forests of Shupanga the Mokundu-kundu
tree abounds; & the large canoes capable
of carrying three or four tons are made from its wood .— For permission to cut these trees, a
Portuguese gentleman of Quilimane was paying
the Zulus in 1858 hundred dollars a year,
and his successor now pays three hundred.—




40

44


At Shupanga, a one story stone house stands on the
prettiest site on the river; in front a sloping
lawn, with a fine mango orchard at it's southern end
leads to the broad Zambese where green islands
repose on the sunny bosom of the tranquil waters.
Beyond lie vast fields and forests of strange
tropical trees, with the massive mountain of
Morumbala towering amidst the white
clouds, and farther away more distant
hills appear in the far off blue horizon.—
This beautifully situated house possesses a
melancholy interest from having been associated in the history of two English Expeditions in a most mournful manner.— Here in 1826 poor
Kirkpatrick of Capt. Owen's Surveying Expedition
died of fever, and here in 1862 died of
the same fatal disease, Mrs. Dr. Livingstone,
wife of the Commander of the Zambese Exploring
Expedition, and a hundred yards East of the



49

45


house under a large Baobab tree , far from their native land
both are buried.—





“ and [¿] [¿] the sun.”


[Dennet]


The Shupanga house was the headquarters
of the Governor during the Mariano war.
He told us, that the Province of Mosambique costs the
home Government between £5000 v £6000 annually
and East Africa yields no revenue in return to the
mother country.
We met there several other influential
Portuguese. All seemed friendly and
expressed their willingness to assist the Expedition
in every way in their power and better still
Colonel Nunes
and Major
Sicard put
it in practice
by cutting
wood for
the steamer
and sending
men to help
in unloading.
It was observable that not one of them
knew anything about the Kongone mouth ;
all thought that we had come in by the
“Barra Catrina” or East Luabo —
Dr. Kirk remained here a few weeks and besides exploring a small lake 20 miles to the S.W. had
the sole medical care of their sick & wounded
soldiers & he received the thanks of the Portuguese
Government for his valuable services.—
We wooded up at this place with African Ebony and





50

46


Lignum Vitae ; the latter tree attains to an
immense size, sometimes as much as four feet
in diameter, and our engineer knowing what Ebony & Lignum Vitae cost at home, said it made his
heart sore to burn woods so valuable
Though botanically different
They are extremely like these timbers brought
from other countries : Cahoutchouc or India rubber
is found
in abundance
inland from
Shupanga
house — and
Calumba root
is plentiful
in the district
Indigo in
quantities
propagates
itself close
to the banks
of the river
The last was
probably
introduced
for indigo was
once exported
The India rubber
is made into
balls for a game
resembling tennis
and calumba
root is said to be used as a mordant for certain colours
but not as a dye itself.


We started for Tette on the 17 th. August 1858,
the navigation was rather difficult, the
Zambese from Shupanga to Senna being wide
and full of islands ; Our black pilot
John Scissors, a serf, sometimes took the
wrong channel and ran us aground,
nothing abashed he would exclaim in an
aggrieved tone “This is not the path, it is
back yonder”, “Then why didn't you go
yonder at first?” growled out our Kroomen
who had the work of getting the vessel off. When
they spoke roughly to poor scissors the weak
cringing slave spirit came forth in “Those



51

47


men scold me so, I am ready to run away.”
Our Steamer's badly constructed furnaces
consumed a frightful amount of wood.
Fires were lighted at two in the morning
but steam was seldom up before six.—
A great deal of time was lost in
wood cutting. The large heavy laden country canoes
could nearly keep up with us, and the small
ones shot ahead, and looked back in
wonder and pity at the slow puffing “Asthmatic”.
For us, steam was no labour-saving power,
Boats, or canoes even, would have done for
the Expedition all that it did, with half
the toil and expense.


We landed to wood at Shamoara Shamoara just
below the confluence of the Shire. It's quartz
hills are covered with trees and gigantic grass, the
Buaze, a species of Polygala, a forest plant,
grows abundantly on these hills, it's beautiful
clusters of sweet scented pinkish flowers perfume the



52

48


air with a rich fragrance,
while it remains in blossom — the seeds yield a
fine drying oil : and the bark of the smaller branches
gives a fibre of finer v stronger quality than flax with
which the natives make their nets for fishing


Bonga and some of his principal men came
to see us, and were perfectly friendly,
though told of our having carried the
sick governor across to Shupanga and
cured him of fever. He never tried
to make any
use of us in
the strife;
The other side
shewed less
confidence
by carefully
cross question-ing
our pilot
whether we
had sold
any powder
to the enemy
We managed
however to
keep on
good terms
with both
rebels and
Portuguese.— On acquainting Bonga with the object of the
Expedition, he remarked, that we should suffer no hindrance from his
people in our good work. — He sent us a present of rice,
two sheep, and a quantity of fire wood. —

¶ Being unable to take the Steamer up the
shallow channel on which Senna stands,
we anchored at Nyaruka, a small village
of blacks, six miles below, and walked up
to the town next morning:— The narrow winding
footpath along which we had to march in Indian
file lay through gardens and patches of wood.



53

49


the loftiest trees being thorny Acacias


The sky was cloudy, the morning 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 on the road. Most of
the men were armed with spears, bows and
arrows or 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 curtsy from bare legs is startling
Senna is built on a low plain on the right
bank of the Zambese and some pretty detached hills [in] the background
; it is
surrounded by a stockade of living trees to protect it's
inhabitants from their troublesome neighbours



54

50


It contains a few large houses , some ruins
of others, and a weather beaten cross where once
stood a church ; a mud fort once
stood by the river but it was dilapidated, and cows were grazing
peacefully over its prostrate walls. This
grieves not the villagers for it's
black garrison was wont to keep within doors
when the foe came near, leaving the
merchants to settle as they could, therefore
they consider that the decay of the
fort has not caused them to be any more
helpless than they were before. —


Mayhew


The few Senna merchants , send parties of
trusted slaves into the interior to hunt for
and purchase Ivory, with little or no trade
in the village it is a dull place & very conducive
to sleep. One is sure to take fever in Senna
on the second day, if by chance he escapes
it on the first of his sojourn there,


55 51>
but no place is entirely bad, Senna
has one redeeming feature, it is the
native town of the large hearted and hospitable
Lenhor H. A. Ferraô. The benevolence of this
gentleman is unbounded. The poor black
stranger passing through the town goes to
him almost as a matter of course for food, and is never sent away
hungry. In times of famine the starving
natives are fed by his generosity ; hundreds
of his own people he never sees except
on these occasions, and the only benefit
derived from being their master is that
as they lean on him as a patriarchal chief

he has the satisfaction of settling their differences
and saving their lives in seasons of drought and scarcity. His father
—a man of superior attainments was Governor
of Senna and acquired a vast tract of rich country
to the southward by most honorable means, but his
own (Portuguese) government, robbed
him of two thirds of it saying “it would



56

52


never do for a subject to own more land
than the crown of Portugal”. The Landeens
soon followed and took possession of the whole.


Senhor Ferraô received us with his usual
kindness, and gave us a bountiful
breakfast ; during the day the principal
men of the place called. and were
unanimously of opinion that the free
natives would willingly cultivate large quantities,
of cotton, could they find purchasers — They had
in former times exported largely both cotton v cloth.
“On their own soil” they declared “the natives
are willing to labour and trade, provided
only they can do so to advantage,
if it is their interest
to do so blacks work very hard”. — We dined with another very
honourable Portuguese, Major Tito A d'A. Sicard who
quoted the common remark
that Dr. Livingstone's discovery of the
Kongone bar had ruined Quilimane,
the Government had proposed to
abandon that fever-haunted locality, and
found a new town at the mouth of the



57

53


Kongone. It was not then known that householders in
the old village preferred to resign all offices rather. than remove.
The Major however had a great desire
to assist Dr. in
his enterprize, and when the war was over
he would at once take up our goods to
Tette in canoes” and this he most generously did.
While returning to Nyaruka we heard a
kind of nightingale pouring forth it's
sweet melody in the stillness of the
evening.—

An exceedingly picturesque range of
lofty hills bounding the left bank, commences
opposite Senna, and runs in a northerly
direction nearly parallel with
the River. Here we first saw that fine
antelope the Koodoo (Strepsiceros Capensis).— A few miles
above Senna is the island of Pita, with a
considerable native population ; who
appeared to be well off for food. A
half caste, claiming to be the headman,



58

54


came on board and gave us a few
ears of green maize, as a “seguati.”
This is not an ordinary present, but
a very small gift, which is to win back
to the donor at least twice it's value,
When a stingy
native has a tough little fowl, or a
few ears of Indian corn, the value of
which is hardly appreciable, as a dozen of
their best fowls only costs two yards of
cloth, (then 3d- a yard) and a basket of maize
but half a yard, he forms it into a “seguati” ; his heart overflowing with
that gratitude generally described as a
lively sense of favours to come, and
he is rather disappointed if he does not get
twice the value in return.—



59

55


We soon learned to dislike “seguatis” but
it was in vain to say to the [shrewd]
African “Sell it, we will buy it” “Oh, no
Senhor, it is a seguati, it is not for sale”
was the invariable reply.—


Beyond Pita lies the little island
Nyamotobsi, where we met a small
fugitive tribe of hippopotamus hunters,
who had been driven by war from
their own island in front. All were
busy at work ; some were making gigantic
baskets for grain, the men plaiting away inside the
vessel. — With the common civility the
Chief ordered a mat to be spread for us
under a shed ; & then showed us the weapon
used for killing the hippopotamus ; 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



60

56


round the entire length of the shaft, and
secured at it's 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 it's corded
handle, which appearing on the
surface & sometimes with an inflated bladder attached guides the hunters to where he hides below until
they dispatch the wounded beast.


These hippopotamus hunters, form a
separate people and rarely, the women it is said never intermarry with any
other tribe .
The reason for keeping aloof from
certain of the natives on the Zambese is obviously
because some have as great an abhorrence



61

57


of hippopotamus meat, as Mahomedans
have of swine's flesh. Our pilot, Scissors,
was one of this class, he would not
even cook his food in a pot which had
contained hippopotamus meat,
preferring to go hungry, 'till he could find
another ; and yet he traded eagerly in
the animal's tusks, and eat with great
relish the flesh of the foul feeding Marabou.
These hunters go out frequently on long
hunting expeditions taking in
their canoes their wives and children
cooking pots, and sleeping mats.
When they reach a good game district
they erect temporary huts on the bank,
and there dry the meat they kill. They are rather
a comely looking race, with very black smooth
skins, and never disfigure themselves



62

58



with the frightful ornaments of some
of the other tribes. The Chief declined
to sell a harpoon because they could
not now get the Milola bark from the coast
on account of Mariano's war.—
He expressed some doubts about our
being children of the same Almighty
Father, remarking that “he could not become
white, let him wash ever so much.”-
We made him a present of a bit of
cloth, and he very generously gave us in return
some fine fresh fish
and Indian corn.— The heat of the
weather steadily increases during this
month, and foggy mornings are rare
now. A strong breeze ending in a
gale blows past everynight.—




63

59


Mrs Webb.
3 —folio



It came in the afternoon a few weeks ago,
then later and at present it's arrival is
near midnight, it makes our frail cabin doors
fly open before it, but continues only for a
short time & is succeeded by a dead calm.
Game becomes more abundant ; near our
wooding places we see herds of zebra both Burchels & the mountain variety
Pallahs (antelope Melampus), water buck, and wild hogs, with the
spoor of buffaloes and Elephants.


Wheatly


Shiramba Dembe on the right bank is deserted,
a few old iron guns, show where a rebel stockade
once stood and near the river above stands a magnificent Baobab
hollowed out into a good sized hut with bark inside as
as well as without
The old oaks
in Sherwood
forest when
hollow have
the inside
dead or rotten
but the Baobab

though stripped
of its bark outside
and hollowed
to a cavity inside
has the power
of exuding
new bark
from its substance
to both
the [outer &
inner surfaces
so a hut made like that oak called the “Forest Queen” in Sherwood
would soon all be lined with bark P/ the portions of the river called
Shigogo and Shipanga shew a low level
expanse of marshy country, adjacent
with occasional clumps of palm trees and a few
Mimosæ.— The river spreads out to a width of
from three to four miles, with many islands
among which it is difficult to navigate except
when in flood.— In front a range of high hills
from the North East crosses the river, which flows



64

60


in a deep narrow channel through the Lupata
Gorge. The Portuguese thought the Steamer
would not stem the current here but as it is
not more than about 3 knots and being favoured
with a strong breeze, steam and sails put her
through, with ease. — Heavy laden canoes
take two days to go up this pass. — A three knot
current sweeps round the little rocky promontories
Pefura and Kangkombe forming whirlpools
and eddies dangerous for these clumsy craft, which
are dragged past with long ropes. —

The Paddlers place meal on these rocks as an
offering to the turbulent deities which they believe preside
over spots which have been fatal to many a
large canoe. — We were slyly told that
native Portuguese take off their hats to
these river gods, and pass in solemn silence,
when safely beyond they fire muskets, and as
we ought to do, give the canoe men grog. — From the spoor


65 61
of buffaloes & elephants it appears that these
animals frequent Lupata in considerable numbers
and as we have often observed the association
the Tsetse fly is common. A house
for the Governor of Tette was sent in canoes
from Qullimane, and lest it might be
wrecked on the Pifura rocks, it was put on
shore and sent in the day time through the pass on foot.
It was of course bitten by
the Tsetse, and died soon after,
unlike Francesco Barreto they thought that the air of Tette
had not agreed with it! The currents above
Lupata are stronger than those below and
the aspect of the country becomes more
picturesque and hilly, and has a larger
population. Within a few miles of
Tette are numerous ruins of stone houses
which were destroyed some years ago by
hostile natives. On approaching the town



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crowds of people chiefly blacks appeared on
the beach gazing at the steamer in
astonishment, and by the motions of
their arms demonstrating to other farther
off the manner in which the paddles
revolved. —

The ship anchored in the stream, and
Dr. Livingstone went ashore in the boat ;
no sooner did the Makololos recognize him
than they rushed to the waters edge, and manifested
great joy at seeing him again. Some
were hastening to embrace him, but others
cried out “Don't touch him, you will spoil
his new clothes”. The five headmen came on
board and listened in quiet sadness to the
story of poor Sekwebu who died at Mauritius on his way to
England. “Men die in any country” they
observed, and then told us that thirty of their



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own number had died of small pox
having been bewitched by the people of
Tette, who envied them, because none of
their party had died during the first year.
Six of their young men becoming tired
of cutting fire wood for a meagre pittance
proposed to go and dance for gain before
some of the neighbouring chiefs, “Don't go”
said the others “we don't know the people of
this country” but the young men set out and
visited an independent half caste chief a
few miles to the north, named Chisaka who
some years ago burned all the Portuguese
villas on the North bank of the river
and afterwards to Bonga, another half caste chief the
who bade defiance to the Tette authorities
and had a stockade at
the confluence of the Zambese and Luenya, a
few miles below that village ; asking whence they
came he rejoined, “Why do you come from my enemy
to me?” “You have brought witchcraft medicine
to kill me”. In vain they protested that



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they did not belong to the country, they
were strangers and had come from far with
an Englishman ; the superstitious savage
put them all to death. — “We do not grieve”
said their companions “for the thirty victims
of the small pox, who were taken away
by Morimo (God) but our hearts are
sore for the six youths who were murdered
by Bonga”. Justice was
out of the
question
Bonga once caught
a captain
in the army
and forced
him to perform
the menial
labour of
pounding
maize in
a wooden
mortar, with impunity
the Government
of Lisbon
has since
given Bonga
the honorary
title of
captain by
way of
coaxing him
to own their
authority
but he still holds his stockade.” — ¶/ One of the headmen
remarked “that they had some pigs, if they
had been oxen they would have had
many, but they were only pigs” “Would
the Dr. eat pig?” “Why do you ask” rejoined
another, “if he won't his people will”, When
parting they remarked “We shall sleep tonight”.
The use of the Residencia was kindly given
us by Senhor Tito ; it is a stone house of
one story, thatched with grass, it's windows



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of cloth, and the floors of clay. —
The Makololos carried up our goods,
the minstrel followed jingling his native
bells, and chanting an energetic song
extemporised for the occasion. — The
reader may remember that when
Dr. Livingstone was in England it was
commonly reported that the Portuguese
Government had sent out orders to have
the Makololo supported at the public expense
until Dr. Ls returned to take them
back to their own country. . This generous
sympathy on the part of the ministers in Lisbon,
gratified many & relieving the
Doctor's mind from anxiety, gave
him time to prepare his journal for the
press before setting out again to his work.


Pardoe


When our own Government promises




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to perform any thing, no one in his senses
ever doubts their word of honour, and for
this reason English people, and English Governments
naturally err by giving too ready credit to the
assurances of Governments.
whose moral tone is pitched much lower than their own
The Makololo never heard of the order
from Portugal, and the Portuguese authorities
of Tette were in profound ignorance of it's
existence.— The pay of the officials in fact
was several years in arrear, and for His
Most Faithful Majesty's Government to
order them to feed a hundred men , out of their own
private means, looked a little like not unusual kind of benevolence of being
generous with other people's property.
The poor fellows had to go far to cut wood and then



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hawk it round the village to buy a little food
They received no aid from the Mosambique Government but
major Tito did assist them most generously
at his own cost and also gave them land
and hoes to cultivate for themselves.—


P/ Tette is on a sandstone ridge on the right
bank of the Zambese, which is here nearly
a thousand yards wide. Shallow ravines
running parallel with the river, form the streets,
the houses being built on the ridges the whole
surface of
the streets
except narrow
foot paths
were overrun
with selfsown
indigo
and tons
might have
been collected
That and
senna &
stramonium
form the
weeds of the
place which
are annually
hoed off
& burned. A wall of
stone and mud surrounds the village and
the native population live in huts outside.
The fort and the church near the river are
their strongholds, the natives having a salutary
dread of the guns of the one and a superstitious
fear of the unknown power of the other —
The number of white inhabitants is small
and rather select, many of them having been
considerately sent out of Portugal “for their country's
good”.— The military element



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preponderates in society, the convict soldiers
receiving very little pay depend in great
measure on the produce of the gardens of their black wives.
The condition of the resulting population may be imagined
Even The officers seldom receive their pay from
Government, but being of an enterprizing
spirit, contrive to support themselves
by marrying the daughters or widows of
wealthy merchants, and trade in Ivory
by means of the slaves. of whom they
thus become the masters.


Droughts are of frequent occurrence, and
the crops suffer severely. This may arise
partly from it's position between the ranges
of hills North and South, for which the
rain clouds appear to have a strong attraction.
It is often seen to rain on those hills, when
not a drop falls at Tette. — Our first
season was one of drought. Thrice had the



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women planted their gardens in vain
the seed after just vegetating was killed by the intense
dry heat. A fourth . planting shared
the same hard fate, and then some of
the knowing ones discovered the cause of the
clouds being frightened away, it was
decided to be our unlucky rainguage
in the garden ; We got a bad name through
that same rainguage , and were
regarded by many as a species
of evil omen. The Makololo in turn blamed the
people of Tette for drought. “ a number
of witches live here who won't let it rain”. —
Africans in general are sufficiently
superstitious but those of Tette are in this
particular preeminent above their fellows.
Coming from many different tribes all the rays of
the separate superstitions converge as into a



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focus at Tette, [&] burn out common sense
from the minds of the mixed breed
. They believe that many
Evil spirits live in the air the earth and
the water. These invisible malicious beings
are thought to inflict much suffering on the human race, but
as they have a weakness for beer, and a craving
for food, they may be propitiated from time
to time by offerings of meat v drink .— The serpent is
an object of worship, and hideous little
images are hung in the huts of the sick and
the dying.— The uncontaminated African believes that Morung[¿] Morungo the great
spirit who formed all things lives above the stars, but they
never pray to him, and know nothing
of their relation to him, or of his interest
in them. The spirits of their departed
ancestors are all good, according to their ideas



75
71
and on rare occasions aid them in their
enterprises. When a man has his hair
cut he is careful to burn it, or bury it
secretly, lest falling into the hands of one
who has an evil eye or is a witch it should be used as a
charm to afflict him with painful headache.
They too will live after the death of the body —
but they do not know anything more —
of the state on the Barims (gods).
The mango tree flows luxuriantly above
Lupata, and furnishes a fateful shade.
It's delicious fruit is superior to that on
the coast. For weeks the natives who have
charge of the mangos live entirely on the
fruit, and as some trees bear in November and
some in March, while the main crop comes between,
fruit in abundance may easily be obtained
during four months of the year; but no native
can be induced to plant a mango. A wide spread



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superstition has become riveted in the native
mind, that if any one plants a mango he
will soon die. The Makololo, like other
natives were very fond of mangos ; But when told to take up some mango stones on their return, and plant them in their own
country they too had become
firmly imbued with the belief that it was
a suicidal act to plant the mango, and
replied “they did not wish to die so soon”.
There is also a superstition even among
the native Portuguese of Tette that if
a man plants Coffee, he will never be
happy after ; they drink it however and
seem the happier for it.— During the
drought of 1858 a neighbouring chief got up



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a performance with divers ceremonies and
incantations to bring rain, but it would
not come. — The Goanese padre of
Tette to satisfy his compatriots appointed a
procession and prayers in honour of
,
Saint Antonio — The first procession did
not answer — but on the second occasion
arranged to come off after the new moon appeared, a grand procession in the saints honour honour , ended in so much rain that the roof
of the residencia gave way ; the coincidence that it was covering
certain heretical heads. had the effect that —
Saint, Antonio's, image was decorated the following
week with a golden coronal worth £22 — for

sending the long delayed and much needed rain. —
We never looked
with disdain
on the rites or
ceremonies of
any church
but on going
on to witness
the acts of worship
on this occasion
so great was
the irreverence
manifested
the persons
kneeling laughing
& joking between
the responses
not even
ceasing the
grin when
uttering “ora
pro nobis”
we could not
help believing
that like the
natives they
had faith in rainmaking
¶. Most of the trees shed their leaves in May,




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the beginning of winter, and remain bare
until the rains come in November, several
kinds indulge in the curious habit of anticipating
as it were the rains by instinct and in the beginning of
October when the dry season has reached it's
dryest point and there is not a drop
of dew, they begin to generate
buds, and in a few days put forth fresh
and various-hued foliage and sometimes
beautiful blossoms ; Sir John Richardson
says that in a similar manner the
trees in the Arctic regions often anticipate
the coming spring and display fresh green leaves even
when the ground is hard and frozen
to a depth greater than that
to which roots ever penetrate,



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¶/ The Portuguese of Tette have many
slaves, with all the usual vices of their
Class ; as theft lying and impurity, as
a general rule the real Portuguese are tolerably
humane masters and rarely treat
a slave cruelly, this may be due as much
to natural kindness of heart as to the fear
of the loss of the slaves by running away. When they
purchase an adult slave they buy at
the same time if possible all his
relations along with him, they thus contrive to secure him

him to his new home by domestic
ties ; Running away then, would be



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to forsake all who held a place in his heart
for the mere chance of acquiring a freedom
which would probably be forfeited on his
entrance in first native village, as
the chief might without
compunction again sell him into
slavery ; Eccles ¶/ a rather novel case of voluntary
slavery came to our knowledge ; a
free black, an intelligent active young
fellow, who had been our pilot on the
river told us that he had sold himself
into slavery, on asking why he had
done this he replied that he had been all alone
in the world, had neither father nor mother
nor anyone else to give him water when
sick or food when hungry, so he sold
himself to Major Tito, a notoriously kind master



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Eccles

Slip 21


whose slaves had little to do, and
plenty to eat ; “and how much did
you get for yourself” we asked,
“Three, thirty yard pieces of cotton cloth” he
replied, “and with that I bought a man
a woman and child, who cost me
two of the pieces [and I had one piece left”,
this at all events showed a cool and
calculating spirit ; he afterwards
bought more slaves, and in two years
owned a sufficient number to man one
of the large canoes. His master employing
him in carrying ivory to Quilimane
and gave him cloth to
hire mariners for the voyage, he took
his own slaves of course and thus drove a thriving



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trade, fully convinced that he had made
a good speculation by the sale of himself,
for had he been sick his master must
have supported him. Occasionally
some of the free blacks become slaves voluntarily
by going through the simple
but significant ceremony of breaking a
spear in the presence of their future
master. A Portuquese officer, since dead,
persuaded one of the Makalolo to remain
in Tette, instead of returning to his own
country, and tried also induce him to break
a spear before him, and thus acknowledge
himself his slave, but the man was too
shrewd for this, he was a great Elephant
doctor, who accompanied the hunters, told
them when to attack the huge beast,
and gave them medicine



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to ensure success ; Unlike the real Portuguese
many of the half castes are merciless
slaveholders, their brutal treatment
of the wretched slaves is notorious what a humane native
of Portugal once said of them is appropriate if not true “God made
white men, and God made black men, but
the devil made half castes”. The officers
and merchants send parties of slaves
under faithful headmen to hunt Elephants
and trade in Ivory, providing them
with a certain quantity of cloth, beads &c.
and requiring so much ivory in return.
These slaves think that they have made
a good thing of it, when they kill an Elephant
near a village, as the natives give them beer
and meal in exchange for soome of



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the Elephant's meat, and over every tusk
that is bought there is expended a vast
amount of time, talk and beer.
Most of the Africans are natural born
traders, they love it more for the sake of
trading than for what they make by it.
An intelligent gentleman of Tette told
us that native traders often come to him
with a tusk for sale, consider the price
he offers, demand more, talk over it,
retire to consult about it, and at
length go away without selling it ;
next day try another merchant,
talk, consider, get puzzled and go off,
as on the previous day, and continue
this course daily until they have
perhaps seen every merchant in the


85
81
village, and then at last end by
selling the precious tusk to some
one for even less than the first
merchant had offered.
Their love of [dawdling] in the [transaction] arises from the self-importance
conferred on them by their being the object
of thewheedling and coaxing of eager merchants
a feeling to which even the love of gain
is subordinate.
The native medical profession is reasonably
well represented, in addition to
to the regular practitioners who are a
really useful class, and know
something of their profession, and the
nature and power of certain medicines
there are other who devote their talents
to some particular specialty, then



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Elephant doctor prepares a medicine
which is invaluable to the hunters
when attacking that noble and sagacious
beast, no hunter is willing to
venture out before investing in this
precious nostrum ; the crocodile
doctor sells a charm which
possesses the singular virtue of
protecting its owner from crocodiles ;
unwittingly we offended the crocodile
school of medicine while at Tette, by
shooting a huge reptile of this species
as it lay on a sand-bank basking in the sun
; the crocodile doctor came to the
Makololo in wrath clamouring to know
why the White man shot their crocodiles.



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Mrs Webb


4


Smith


A shark's hook was baited one evening with a dog of which the crocodile is said to be
particularly fond , but they removed the bait on the
principle perhaps that the more crocodiles
the more demand for medicine ; or because
they preferred to eat the dog themselves. Many of the
natives of this quarter are known to eat the dog without
paying any attention to its feeding as in the South Seas
The dice doctor or diviner is an important member
of the community, being consulted by Portuguese
and natives alike.— Part of his business
is that of a detective, it being his

duty to discover theives
.— When goods are stolen he goes
and looks at the place, casts his dice,
and waits a few days, and then for a
consideration tells who is the thief ,
He is generally correct, for he trusts not to
his dice alone, he has confidential agents
all over the town, by whose enquiries and
information he is enabled to detect the culprit.
Since the introduction of muskets, gun doctors



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have sprung up, and they sell the medicine
which professes to make good marksmen,
others are rain doctors &c. &c. — These various
schools deal in little charms, which are hung round
the neck to avert evil, some of these contain
the medicine, others increase it's power. —

Senna and Indigo of excellent quality grow
in Tette and in the villages outside. We
set the Makololo to collect specimens, but the
natives objected to their doing so, though
they never made use of them, themselves.
A small amount of first rate cotton
is cultivated by the native population for
the manufacture of a coarse cloth. — In
former times the Portuguese did so to
supply the Manica trade. A neighbouring
tribe raises the sugar-cane, and makes a
little sugar but using most primitive



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wooden rollers, and no skill to use lime with the extracted juice, it is of course of very inferior
quality. — Plenty of Magnetic iron ore is found near
Tette, and coal also to any amount, a single
cliff seam measuring 25 feet in thickness ; It was
found to burn well in the steamer though never so used
before. The ash shewed
a large quantity
of shaly refuse
but suspecting
that this was
the result of
the coal near
the surface
having been
exposed to the
weather for
ages, a shaft
was made
some thirty
feet inwards
and the mineral
found to
improve
the farther
we went
in. gold is washed for in the beds of rivers
within a couple of days of Tette, , the natives
are fully aware of its value, but
seldom search for it, and never
dig deeper than four or five feet
. They dread lest the falling in
of the sands of the river's bed should
bury them. In former times when traders went
with hundreds of slaves to the washings
the produce was considerable. It is
now insignificant. The gold producing
lands have always been in the hands
of independent tribes. Deep cuttings
near the sources
of the gold yielding
streams seem
never to have
been tried here
as in California
& Australia
nor has any
[machinery been used save common wooden basons.]


The steamer having returned from the
bar, we set out on the 22nd. of November
to examine the rapids of Kebrabusa.
The country on both banks is well wooded
and hilly. Conspicuous among the trees



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for it's gigantic size and bark coloured exactly like Egyptian syenite is the burly “Baobab”.
It often make the other trees of the forest look like
mere bushes in comparison
The lofty hill ranges of Kebrabus cross the
Zambese and confine it within
a deep, narrow rough and rocky, channel.
In the dry season the water is confined in a narrow and deep groove
We reached the foot of the hills late
in the afternoon of the 24th and anchored
in the stream. Canoe men never sleep on
the river but always on shore. The
natives (Banyai) who at this short distance from Tette are
independent
and accustomed
to lord it over
Portuguese
traders wondered what could be our object
and were naturally suspicious at on our departing from the universal custom.
They hailed us from the bank in the
evening with “Why don't you come and
sleep on shore like other people?, ”? The answer they received
from our Makololo who now felt as independant as the Banyai was “We are held
to the bottom with iron, you may see we are not like your Bazunga”. Leaving the
steamer, next morning we proceeded on foot accompanied
by a native Portuguese and his men,



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and a dozen Makololo, who carried our baggage.
The morning was pleasant, the hills on our
right furnished for a time a
delightful shade, but before long the path
grew frightfully rough, and the hills no
longer shielded us from the blazing sun.
scarcely a vestige of a track,
was now visible, and indeed had not our guides assured us to the contrary we should have been
innocent of even the suspicion of a way along
the patches of soft yielding sand and over the great rocks we so painfully clambered
. These rocks have singular forms
from being dislocated and twisted in every direction
and covered with a thin black glaze ,
as if highly
polished and coated with lamp black varnish.
This seems to have been deposited while the river
was in flood, for it covers only those rocks
which lie between the high water mark



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and a line about four feet above the lowest.
Travellers who visit the rapids of Orinoco and
of the Congo say that the rocks there have a similar
appearance and it is attributed , to some
deposit from the water when the current is strong
this may account for it in part as
it prevails only where the narrow river is
confined between masses of rock backed by high
hills where the current in floods is known to be strongest , and does not exist where the rocks are
only on one side, with a sandy beach opposite, and a
broad expanse of river between. The hot rocks
burnt the thick soles of our men's feet and sorely
fatigued ourselves. Our first day's march
did not exceed four miles in a straight line
A few inhabitants of the tribe called
Badèma were seen living in the valleys they cultivate small quantities of maize
tobacco and cotton in the available
hollows, and the Holcus sorghum on the steep slopes
of their mountains . Fish are caught in the river
with casting nets. Zebras, antelopes &c. are



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taken by driving them into ravines, while
strong nets made of Baobab bark
are stretched across their narrow outlets.


The state of insecurity in which the Badèma
tribe lives is indicated by the general
habit of hiding their provisions in the hills & keeping only
a small quantity in their huts ; they strip
a particular species of tree of the bitter bark
to which both mice and monkeys are known to have an
antipathy, and turning it inside out sew
cylindrical vessels for their grain, and bury
them in holes and in crags on the wooded hill sides.
By this means, should
a marauding party plunder their huts they save a supply.
They could give us no information, they had
no food, Chisaka's men had robbed them a
few weeks before. “Never mind” said
our native Portuguese “they will sell you
plenty when you return, they are afraid of
you now, as yet they do not know who you are”.



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We slept under trees in the open air
and suffered no inconvenience from either
mosquitos or dew, no prowling wild beast
troubled us, though one evening while we were there a native
sitting with some others on the opposite bank
was killed by a leopard.

Pardoe


One of the Tette slaves who wished to be considered
a great traveller gave us as we sat by our evening fire an interesting
account of a strange race of men whom he had seen
in the interior ; they were only three feet
high, and had horns growing out of their
heads ; they lived in a large town and
had plenty of food. The Makololo
pooh poohed this story and roundly told
narrator that he was
telling a down right lie. “We come from
the interior” cried out a tall fellow
measuring some six feet four “are we
dwarfs? have we horns on our heads?”
and thus they laughed the fellow to scorn


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91
but he still stoutly maintained
that he had seen these
little people and had actually been in their town.
This “Travellers tale”
meant only
that ones dark
companion
made himself
the hero of the
traditional story
which before since the
time of Herodotus
has with curious
[persistency]
clung to the
native mind.
The mere fact
of such notions
being permanent
[¿]in the entire absence
of
literature
invests their
religious ideas also
with importance
as fragments
of the wreck
of a primitive
faith floating
down the
stream of time.

We waded across the rapid Luia which
took us up to the waist and was about
forty yards wide; The water being brown at the time we were not without
apprehension that a crocodile might
chance to fancy a white been for dinner.
Next day one of the men crawled over
the black rocks to within tea yards of a
sleeping hippopotamus, and shot him
through the brain. the weather being warm the body floated in a
few hours and some of us had our first
trial of hippopotamus flesh. It is a coarsegrained
sort of meat, something between
pork and beef, with a little of the taste of each — pretty good food when
one is hungry and can get nothing better.
When we reached the foot of the mountain
Chipereziwa, whose perpendicular rocky sides



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are clothed with many coloured lichens,
our companion informed us that now no more obstruction to navigation existed
in the river being all smooth above ; he
had hunted there and knew it well.
Supposing that the object of our trip was
accomplished, we turned back, but two natives
who came to our camp at night, assured us
that a cataract called
Morumbua, did still exist in front. Drs. Livingstone and
Kirk then decided to go forward with three Makololo and settle the
question themselves . It was as tough a bit of
travel as we ever had in Africa and after some painful marching the
Badèma guides refused to go further,
“the Banyai”, they said “would be angry
if they showed white men the country, —
[¿] and there was besides no practicable approach to the spot”, no Elephants nor Hippopotamus
nor even a crocodile could reach the
cataract”. — The slopes of the mountain



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on each side of the narrow river which were more
than 3000 feet down were covered
either with dense thorn bush, or huge
black boulders, and had the effect of causing the
sun's rays to converge as into a focus
making the surface so hot that the soles of
the feet of the Makololo became blistered . Around and up and down
we clambered among these heated blocks
at a pace not exceeding a mile an hour ;
and often were glad to cower in the shadow
formed by one rock overhanging and
resting on another, the shelter induced the peculiarly
strong and overpowering inclination to sleep
which too much sun sometimes causes. This sleep so
heavy that
it feels as
if a portion
of ones existence
had been
snipped out
is curative
of what
may be
incipient
sunstroke.
The sun is
excessively
hot and
feels sharp
in Africa
but probably
from the
greater
dryness of
the atmosphere
we never
[heard] of a
single case
of sunstroke
so common
in India The Makololo told Dr. L they “always
thought he slip 25 Pardoe[had a heart, but now they
believed he had none”, and tried to
persuade Dr. Kirk to return, on the ground
that it must be evident that in trying



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to go where no living foot could reach
his leader had given unmistakeable
signs of having gone mad. All their efforts of
persuasion however were lost upon Dr. Kirk
as he had not yet learned their language.
and his leader took care not to enlighten him.
At one part the bare side of the mountain
going sheer down to the water's edge, had to
be scaled, though the crags were so hot that
it was scarcely possible for the hand to
hold on long enough to ensure safety
on the passage, but in that wild hot
region we met a fisherman casting
his hand net into the boiling eddies,
and he pointed out the cataract of
Morumbua, and within an hour we
were trying to measure it from a
rock overhanging it, at a height of
about 100 feet. — It is a sloping



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fall of perhaps 20 feet in a distance of
30 yards and would stop all navigation
except probably during the highest floods for
the rocks showed that the water rises upwards
of 80 feet and the old chief Zandia said it then all became smooth. — ¶ A band of native
musicians came to our camp one evening
and treated us with their
wild & not unpleasant music on the Marimba, an
instrument formed of bars of hard wood of different breadths
and thicknesses laid on different sized hollow calabashes, tuned to
give the different
notes
a few pieces of cloth pleased them and they passed
on.— As our companion had told us
the people were perfectly willing to sell us
provisions on our way back. When we
arrived at Tette the Commandant informed
us that shortly after we had left, the river
rose a foot, and became discoloured,
on seeing which, a native Portuguese
came to him with a grave
countenance and said “that
Englishman is doing something to the river”



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this is a fair sample of the ignorance and
superstition common to the native born,
and which unfortunately is sometimes shared even by
men reared in Portugal. A Captain of
infantry was
sent prisoner
to Mosambique
for administering
the Muave
or ordeal while
we were at
Tette and
putting the
suspected
person to death
on that
evidence
alone. — ¶/ At the end of
the dry season
the country
is dry &
dusty. The
atmosphere
loaded with
blue haze
and very
sultry After the
rains begin, the face of the country changes
rapidity for the better ; though
we have not the moist hothouse like atmosphere
of the West Coast, fresh green herbage springs up
quickly over the hills and dales, so recently
parched & brown The air becomes
clear of the
smoky looking
haze & one
sees to great
distances
with ease — The
landscape
is bathed in
a perfect
flood of light
A
delightful
sense of
freshness
is given
from everything
in the mornings
before the glare of noon overpowers the eye. — The young foliage of
several trees comes out brown, pale red, or pink, or yellow
like the hues of autumnal leaves in England ; and as
the leaves increase in size they change to a
pleasant fresh light green ; — strange flowers
various in form and colour, start into life ;
Many trees such as the scarlet Erithryna attract the eye by the beauty of their blossoms
some are bright with the gayest
colours as white, scarlet pink or yellow



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97


some few like the dark crimson
blossoms of the Kigelia. The white of the Baobab are of large size,
and others with small & delicate flowers form rich
clusters. —
Myriads of wild bees are busy from morning
'till night collecting stores of excellent honey.
Some of the Acacia trees possess a peculiar
attraction for one species of Beetle, while the
Palm tree allures others, which congregate
in numbers on its leaves. — Insects of all
sorts are now in full force ; brilliant butterflies
flit along from flower to flower, with the
charming little sun birds which represent the hummingbirds of
America & the West Indies and never seem to tire, countless multitudes of
ants are hard at work, hunting for food and
bearing it home in triumph when they
have found it. The winter birds of passage
such as the yellow wagtail and blue shrikes have all gone, and other kinds



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98


have come as the brown kite with his piping whistle
the spotted cuckoo with a note like “pula” and are making the air resound
with a volume of melody about equal to that of our
songsters on a bright May morning. — Some birds of the weaver
kind have laid aside their winter
garments of a sober brown, and appear
in a gay summer dress of scarlet
and jet black,others of yellow with patches like black velvet. — [¿]
The brisk little cock Whyda bird with a pink bill
after assuming his summer garb of black and
white, has graceful plumes attached to his new coat,

his finery as some believe must be to please at least the seven henbirds with which he is said to live
. — Birds of
song are not
entirely
confined to
villages but
they have
in Africa so
often been
observed to
congregate
around villages
as to prduce
the impression
that
song & beauty
may have
been intended to please
the ear &
eye of man,
for it is only
when we
approach the
pleasant haunts
of men that
we know that the time
singing of birds is come”
In deserted
villages no birds
are seen.
We once thought
that the little
creatures were
attracted only by grain & water till we saw villages with standing
grain by running streams & the people swept off by slavery. Another, a pretty red throated black
weaver bird comes in flocks a little later wearing
a long train of magnificent plumes which
seem to be greatly in his way when working
for his dinner among the long grass.—


It appears strange now to have Christmas
come in such a cheerful bright season as
this ; One can hardly recognize Christmas



103

99


in summer dress, with singing birds, and
springing corn, and flowery plains, instead
of in the winter robes of by gone days
when the keen bracing air and ground

clad in a mantle of snow made the cozy
fire side meeting place of families doubly comfortable. — Shall
we therefore make months
at this sunny portion of
our fair world which only
is unhealthy because the
exhuberant fertility with
which the Maker has
endowed it to yield food
for man and beast
is allowed to
run to waste and say
in reference to it and
its sadly degraded inhabitants



104

100





[Dennet]



How long ago it was
remarked, that in Africa everything
seems contrary — “wool
groweth on the heads of men and
hair on the backs of sheep.” or add that the men often
wear their hair long, the women
scarcely ever. Where they have
cattle the women till the land —
plant the corn, and build the
huts — the men stay at home to
sew and talk & milk the cows.
The men (seem to) pay a dowry
for their wives instead of getting
one with them — The mountaineers
of Europe are reckoned hospitable
generous and brave — those of this
part of Africa are feeble, spiritless
and cowardly even when con-trasted
with their own countrymen
on the plains. Some Europeans
aver that Africans and them-selves
are descended from monkeys.
Some Africans believe that souls
at death pass into the
bodies of Apes — Without going
farther on with these wise com-parisons
we may smile at
the heaps of nonsense which have been
written about the negro intellect.


105
101
Broken English is employed and silly
phrases used as if translations of remarks
which ten to one were never made by people,
who speak a beautiful language &
have no vulgar patois of the lower classes.
Quite as sensible if not more pertinent answers will in general
be given by Africans to those who know their language as we obtain from our own
uneducated poor; and should we ever
forget that a couple of centuries back
the ancestry of the common people — probably our own great-grandfathers as Africans were as unenlightened
we might moan away about
intellect forgetful perhaps that the tacit
inference will never be drawn that our own is
Arch-Angelic the most
notable instance
in modern
times of pride of
intellect in
whites receiving
a fall is the
case in
which all the
slaving
American
[¿]
about“King
Cotton” was
proved to
be mere
drivel
the low motives which often
Actuate the barbarians, do unfortunately bear abundant
crops of mean actions among servants and
even higher people of of the more civilized but we must hope
that these may decrease with general improvement



106

102


of our race. —


The rainy season of Tette differs a little
from that of some other inter tropical regions.
The quantity of rain fall being considerably
less. It begins in November and ends
in April. During our first season in that
place, only a little over nineteen inches fell
. On many days It did not rain at all and
rarely all day. — some days have merely
a passing shower, preceded & followed by hot sunshine

occasionally an interval of a week or even a
fortnight passes without a drop of rain and then the
crops suffer from the sun. These partial draughts happen in December v January. — The greatest
heat appears to be governed by circumstances
similar to those which regulate the
intensest cold in other countries.



107

103


After several days of progressive heat on
the hottest of which the thermometer probably
reaches 103° in the shade, a break occurs in
the weather, & a thunderstorm cools the air
for a time. — The Zambese is in
flood twice in the course of [¿] the year, the
first, a partial one attains its greatest
height about the end of December or beginning
of January, the second and great flood
occurs after the river inundates the interior
in a manner similar to the overflow of the Nile,
the rise not taking place at Tette until
March. — The Portuguese say
that the greatest height which the
March floods attain is 30 feet at Tette and
this happens only about every fourth year ; Their observations however have never been very
accurate on anything but Ivory,
and they have trusted to memory alone,



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104


. The only
fluviometer at Tette or any where else on
the river was set up at our suggestion and , the first
flood was at its greatest height of 13ft., 6in.
on the 17th. January 1859, and then gradually
fell a few feet, until succeeded by the
greater flood of March. The river rises
suddenly, the water is highly discoloured and
impure, and there is a four knot current
in many places, but in a day or two after
the first rush of waters is passed, the
current becomes more equally spread over
the whole bed of the river, and resumes its
usual rate in the channel although
continuing in flood. — The Zambese
water at other times is almost
chemically pure, and the Photographer



109

105


will find that it is nearly as good as distilled water for the Nitrate of silver
bath.

Mayhew


¶/ A second examination of Kebrabusa was
made for the purpose of ascertaining whether
it might be navigable, when the Zambese
was in flood and , it was
found that the rapids observed in
our first trip had disappeared, and that while some were smoothed over in
a few places the current had increased in
strength. As the river fell rapidly while we
were on the journey thither the Cataract of
Morambua did not differ materially
from what it was when discovered. —
Some fishermen assured us that it was
not visible when the river was at its fullest,
and that the current was then not very
strong. — On this occasion we travelled on
the right bank, and found it ,with the additional inconvenience of rain, as rough
and fatiguing as the left had been



110

106


our progress was impeded
by the tall wet grass and dripping boughs,
and consequent fevers . — During the
earlier part of this journey on the right bank we came upon a few
deserted hamlets, but saw no natives, but at last in a pleasant valley, we met some of the
people of the country, who were miserably
poor and hungry, the women were
gathering wild fruits in the woods. A young
man having consented for two yards
of cotton cloth, to show us a short path to the
Cataract — led us up a steep hill to a village
perched on the point of one of its acclivities.
A thunderstorm happening at the time, the headman
invited us to take shelter in a hut until the storm
had passed, our guide having informed him of what he
knew, and conceived to be our object, was favoured in
return with a long oration in well sounding blank verse, ; at the end of every line the guide
who listened with deep attention, responded with a
grunt, which soon became so ludicrous that our
men burst into a loud laugh. Neither the orator nor
the responsive guide took the slightest notice of their
rudeness and kept on as energetically as ever to the end.
The speech made some impression on our guide, for he declined to go
any further, although offered double pay.—



111

107


Mrs Webb
5/




We had brought cotton seed in ignorance that the
cotton already introduced was equal, if not superior
to the common American, and offered it to any
of the Portuguese & natives who chose to cultivate it, but
though some tried this source of wealth, it was
evident that their ideas could not soar beyond
“black-ivory” or slaves and elephant's tusks and a little gold dust.


A great deal of fever comes in March and April
in the first month named if considerable intervals
take place between the rainy days, and in the
latter always, for then large surfaces of mud and
decaying vegetation are exposed to a hot sun.
In general an attack does not continue long
but it pulls one quickly down, though when the
fever is checked the strength is as quickly restored



112

108


It has long been observed that those who were
stationed for any length of time in one spot and
lived sedentary lives suffered more from fever than
the others, who moved about, and had both mind and
body occupied, but we could not all go in the
small vessel when she made her trips, in which
the change of place and scenery seemed so
conducive to health, for some of us remained
in charge of the Expedition's property making
occasional branch trips to examine objects of
interest in the vicinity. — Whatever may
be the cause of the fever we observed repeatedly
that often all were afflicted at the same time
as if from some malaria in the air. This
was particularly the case during a north wind —
It was then commonly believed that a daily dose
of quinine would prevent fever — For a
number of months all our men except two took quinine
regularly every morning — The fever sometimes attacked the



113

109


believers in quinine and let the
unbelievers in its prophylactic powers escape
When the men took it daily
for months and then
omitted it for as long it did not cause the slightest difference. The fever
was impartial, and attacked us on the
days of quinine as regularly and as severely
as on the days when it remained
undisturbed in the medicine chest, and
we finally abandoned the use of quinine
as a prophylactic altogether — slip 29 The
best preventative we know of is plenty
of interesting work to do and abundance
of wholesome food to eat. To a man
well housed & clothed who enjoys these the fever [Tette] will not
prove a more formidable enemy than a common
cold ; but let one of them be wanting
let him be indolent or guilty of excesses
in eating or drinking, or have poor or
scanty fare, and the fever will become
probably a more serious matter



114

110


It is a milder type at Tette than it is at
Quillimane and on the low sea coast ; and
as one is as liable to attacks of fever as he
is to common colds in England, it would
be advisable for strangers always to hasten
from the coast to the higher lands in order
that when the seizure does take place it may be of the
mildest type. This having been pointed out
by Dr Kirk the Portuguese authorities afterwards
took the hint and sent the next
detachment of soldiers at once up to Tette
It consisted of eighty men, and in spite of the irregularities
committed (most of them being of the class termed
incorrigibles, in three years only ten died and but five
of fever. Although quinine was not
found to be a preventative of fever, except
possibly in the way of acting as a tonic and
rendering the system more able to resist
influence of malaria, it was found
invaluable in the cure of the complaint
as soon as pains in the back, sore bones,
head ache, yawning, noticeable pulsations,


115
111
of the [jugulars]. With hot skin and foul tongue
began. A pill composed of from sex to eight
grams of [Prince]ar> of Jalap. The same of Rhubarb
and three each of calomel and [¿]. This
made into a pill with [tincture of cardomoney]
usually relieved all the symptoms in five or
six hours. They received from the men the
[human] of sources. [¿] then given in
large doses every two or three hours until
[¿] cinchonism [¿]
completed the cure. Very curious
are the effects of African [¿] in [culour]
minds.
[¿] vanishes and the whole [mated]
horizon is overcast with black clouds of
gloom and [¿]. . The
liviliest joke
cannot provoke even the semblance of a
smile



116

112


The countenance is grave, the eyes
suffused, and the few utterances are made in
the piping voice of a wailing infant :
An irritable temper is often the first symptom
of approaching fever. — At such times
a man feels very much like a fool, if he does
not act like one. — nothing is right, naught
pleases the cantankerous victim of fever
He is peevish, , prone to find fault
and to contradict, and think himself insulted and
, is exactly what an Irish
naval surgeon before a Court Martial
defined a drunken man to be. a man unfit
for society. If a party were all soaked full of malaria at once
the life of the leader of the Expedition
would be made a burden to him. One might
come with
lengthened
visage and
urge as a
good reason
for his despair
if further
progress were
attempted,
that “he had
broken the
photograph
of his wife.”
another that
his proper
position was
unjustly withheld
because
special
search was
not directed
towards “the
ten lost tribes” — It
is dangerous
to rally such
for his
gallant companion sees their habitat in the
bible “beyond the rivers of Ethiopia” — When a man
began to feel that everything was meant to his prejudice
he either wrote to the Newspapers or took a dose of “Rousers” accord
to the amount of sense with which nature had endowed him


Eccles


¶ Finding that it was impossible to take
a steamer of only ten horse power through
Kebrabasa and convinced that if one
could force a passage when the river was
in flood, it must have much greater power



117

113


due information was forwarded to H M
Government and application made for a more
powerful vessel. Our attention was in the
meantime turned to the exploration of the
River Shire, a northern tributary of the
Zambesi, which joins it about a hundred
miles from the sea. We could learn nothing
satisfactory from the Portuguese regarding this
affluent ; none had ever been up
the river nor could they say whence it came
. Years ago a Portuguese expedition is said to have
attempted the ascent, but abandoned it
on account of the impenetrable duckweed. Many asserted in consequence that not even canoes
could force their way through the masses of
duckweed that covered its surface.
Others however hinted in a private way
that it was not the duckweed
which drove back the Expedition but the
poisoned arrows by which the hostile natives,
repulsed the Portugese with
heavy loss. —



118

114


No one sent native traders up the Shire, nor had
intercourse with the treacherous savages
who live on its banks. A merchant
of Senna, said that he once sent a trading
party a short distance up the river, but the
men were robbed and barely escaped with their
lives. “Our Government” said one
Commandant “has sent us orders to assist
and protect you , but you go where we
dare not follow
and how can we protect you
We observed
also that while the authorities
acknowledged
the public orders
for our
assistance
protection
the private
feeling was
universally
expressed
in “We
shall do
everything
in our
power for
you personally
but nothing
for the
expedition”.
Indeed this was so often repeated that the un-charitable
inference was drawn that with the public orders
had come private hints of another kind.


Our first trip to the Shire was in Janry
1859. A considerable quantity of
duckweed floated down the river for the
first twenty five miles, but not such
as could interrupt navigation with
canoes or with any other craft.
Nearly the whole of this aquatic plant
proceeds from a marsh on the
West & comes into the river a little beyond Mount
Morambala. Above that there is hardly
any. When we approached the




119

115


inhabited portions the natives collected in
large numbers armed with bows and poisoned
arrows and some dodged behind trees and
were observed taking aim as
if on the point of shooting.
All the women had been sent out of the
way and the men were evidently prepared
to resist aggression. Tingane's [191 p.] At Tingane's village
at least five hundred natives collected and
ordered us to stop. Dr L. went ashore and on
explaining that we were English. and had come
neither to take slaves nor to fight. but only to open a path by which
our countrymen might follow to purchase
Cotton or whatever else except slaves they [have] to sell
Tingane became quite friendly. The
presence of the Steamer, which shewed
they had an entirely new people to deal with
probably contributed to this result. for
Tingane was notorious for being the barrier
to all intercourse between the Portuguese
black traders and the natives further
inland none were allowed to pass him






120

116


either way. He was an elderly well made man,
grey headed and over six feet high. Though
somewhat excited by our presence, he
readily complied with the request to call his
people together, in order that all might know
what were our objects — —


In commencing intercourse with any
people we almost always,
referred to the English detestation of slavery
[¿] Nearly all already possess some
information .. respecting the efforts made to suppress
the slave trade ; and our work being
to induce them to raise and sell cotton,
instead of capturing and selling their fellow
men. Our errand appeared quite natural and As all have clear ideas of their
own self interest and are keen traders,
the reasonableness of the proposal gains a ready
assent, and all having a belief in
a supreme being, the Maker and Ruler
of all things, as well as of the continued
existence of departed spirits it also becomes
quite appropriate to explain that we possess
a book containing a Revelation



121

117


of the will of Him to whom in their natural
state they recognize no relationship.
The fact that His Son appeared among
men, and left his words in his book, always
awakens attention, but the great difficulty
is to make them feel that they have any
relationship to him and that He feels an interest in them. e numbness
moral
erception
hibited is
[¿] discouraging
but the
mode of
ommunication
either by
interpreters
or by the
imperfect
knowledge
of the language
which not
even missionaries
of talent can
overcome
save by the
labour of
[¿] of years
may in
part account
for the
phenomenon
However The idea of the Father
of all being displeased with his children
for selling or Killing each other at once gains their ready assent it
harmonizes so exactly with their own ideas of
right and wrong, but nothing less than as in our own case
the instruction and example of many years will secure
their moral elevation. The dialect
spoken here closely resembles that used
at Senna and Tette. We understood it
at first only enough to know if our
interpreter was saying what we bade him
or was indulging in his own prelections
After stating pretty nearly what he was told
he had an inveterate tendency to wind
up with, The book says they were to grow
cotton, and the English were to come and



122

118


buy it, or with some joke of his own, which
might have been ludicrous, had it not
been seriously distressing —


The magnificent Murchison Cataracts
commencing in 15.55[¿] south, stopped
further progress with the Steamer. A few
days were spent here in the hope that there
might be an opportunity for taking
observations for longitude, but the sky
was either overcast or it rained most of
the time. It was deemed not prudent
to risk a land journey whilst the natives
were so very suspicious, as to have a strong
guard on the banks of the River night and
day . and the weather was also unfavorable
After sending presents and messages to two
of the Chifs the ship returned to Tette. going
own stream
ur progress
as rapid
s we were
ided by
current
Hippopotami
ever made
a mistake
but rushed
out of our
ay. The
crocodiles
not so wise
sometimes
rushed with
great velocity
at us thinking
that we were
a huge land
animal
swimming
ey kept
bout a foot
from the
surface but
made three
well defined
ripples from
feet &
body which
marked their
rapid progress — raising the head out of the water when
only a few yards from the expected feast down they
went to the bottom like a stone


¶/ In the middle of march she started again
for a second trip on the shire. The natives
were now friendly and readily sold rice
fowls and corn. We entered into friendly
relations with the Chief Chibisa whose village
was about ten miles below the Cataract



123

119


He had sent two men on our first visit
to invite us to drink beer, but the Steamer
was such a terrible apparition to them, that
after shouting the invitation they rushed
ashore and left their canoe to drift down
the Stream. Chibisa was a remarkably
shrewd man the very image save darkness of one of our most elebrated London actors and the most intelligent
Chief by far in this quarter. A great deal
of fighting had fallen to his lot he said,
but it was always others that began he was invariably in the right & they
alone were to blame.
He was moreover a firm
believer in the divine right of kings, he was
an ordinary man 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 &
people then began to reverence him — He mentioned this as one would a fact



124

120


of natural history and a doubt
out of the question. His people too
believed in him, for they bathed in the River
without the slightest fear of crocodiles —
the chief had placed a powerful medicine
there which protected them from the bite of
these terrible reptiles.


F. Scott


Leaving the ship opposite Chebisa's village
Dr. Livingstone, Kirk and a number of the
Makololo started on foot for Lake Shirwa.
They travelled in a northerly direction over
a mountainous country. The people were far
from being friendly, and some of their
guides tried to mislead us so they could
not be trusted. Misakasa Masakasa, a Makololo
headsman, over heard some native
remarks, which satisfied him that the
guide was leading us into trouble.
He said nothing till they reached a lonesome
part, when he came up to the Dr. and
said that fellow is bad, he is leading us
into mischief, my spear is sharp and there


126
121
>is no one here, shall I cast him into the
long [grass]. Had the Dr. given the slightest
token of [¿] or even kept silent, never
there would [strangers] have been deceived by
that guide for in a troubling he would have
been where the wicked cease from troubling
we pushed on at last without guides, or only
with crazy ones, for oddly enough, we were often
under great obligations to the incidence of the
different villages. One honoured us as we slept in the open air by
dancing and singing at our feet the whole
night. They sympathetic with as, probably
in the belief, that we belonged to their own
[clap] and uninfluenced by the general
opinion of their country men they really
pitied and took kindly, to us and often guided
us faithfully from place to place, where
no sane man could be hired for love or money
independent
using of the
[¿]a
[¿]a
[¿]
[¿]to
[¿]
[¿]they
afterwards
assumed
when the
[¿]scourge
[¿]slave
[¿]passed
[¿][then]
country
[signals were]
[¿]from
different
villages by
[¿]of
[¿]
[¿]of defiance
and [¿]
[¿]sounded
in our ears
at voluble might and occasionally we were kept awake
in expectation of an instant attack the whole
night. While Masal Kasa was rather anxious to show
what he could do
The perseverance of the explorers was finally
crowned with success for on the 18th of April
they discovered Lake Shirwa (a considerable
body of bitter water. Containing [¿] fish



126

122


crocodiles and hippopotami. From having no known outlet The water is
slightly bitter
and it appears to be deep. with islands
like hills rising out of it. Exceedingly lofty
mountains probably 8.000. ft. above the sea level
stand near its Eastern shores. This range is
called Milanje while on the West stands
Mount Zomba 7,000 feet in height. and
some seventy miles long —
¶/ The steamer returned to Tette on the 23rd
of June, and after undergoing repairs, proceeded
to the Kongone, to receive provisions from one
of the cruizers. On the way down we
purchased a few gigantic cabbages and
pumpkins at a native village below Mazaro
Our dinners usually consisted of but a single course, it was agreeably
varied next day, by our black cook from
Sierra Leone bearing in a second course.
What ever have you got there was asked in
wonderment — A tart sir — A tart, “of what is
it made, “of cabbage sir! As we had no
sugar and could not “make believe”
as in the days of boyhood we did
not enjoy the feast that Tom's
genius had prepared

David Livingston's Zambezi Manuscript

Document Information

Document ID	185
Title	David Livingston's Zambezi Manuscript
Year group	1850-1900
Genre	Personal writing
Year of publication	1864
Wordcount	20394

Author information: Livingstone, David

Author ID	36
Forenames	David
Surname	Livingstone
Gender	Male
Year of birth	1813
Place of birth	Blantyre, Scotland
Occupation	Missionary, explorer, mill worker
Education	University
Locations where resident	Blantyre, Glasgow
Other languages spoken	Latin
Religious affiliation	Protestant, Congregational Church