is employed to mix with the flour instead of yeast. It makes excellent
bread. At Kilimane, where the cocoanut palm abounds, the toddy from it,
called "sura", is used for the same purpose, and makes the bread still
lighter.

As it was necessary to leave most of my men at this place, Major Sicard
gave them a portion of land on which to cultivate their own food,
generously supplying them with corn in the mean time. He also said that
my young men might go and hunt elephants in company with his servants,
and purchase goods with both the ivory and dried meat, in order that
they might have something to take with them on their return to Sekeletu.
The men were delighted with his liberality, and soon sixty or seventy of
them set off to engage in this enterprise. There was no calico to be
had at this time in Tete, but the commandant handsomely furnished my men
with clothing. I was in a state of want myself, and, though I pressed
him to take payment in ivory for both myself and men, he refused all
recompense. I shall ever remember his kindness with deep gratitude. He
has written me, since my arrival in England, that my men had killed four
elephants in the course of two months after my departure.

On the day of my arrival I was visited by all the gentlemen of the
village, both white and colored, including the padre. Not one of them
had any idea as to where the source of the Zambesi lay. They sent for
the best traveled natives, but none of them knew the river even as
far as Kansala. The father of one of the rebels who had been fighting
against them had been a great traveler to the southwest, and had even
heard of our visit to Lake Ngami; but he was equally ignorant with all
the others that the Zambesi flowed in the centre of the country. They
had, however, more knowledge of the country to the north of Tete than I
had. One man, who had gone to Cazembe with Major Monteiro, stated
that he had seen the Luapura or Loapula flowing past the town of that
chieftain into the Luameji or Leeambye, but imagined that it found its
way, somehow or other, into Angola. The fact that sometimes rivers were
seen to flow like this toward the centre of the country, led geographers
to the supposition that inner Africa was composed of elevated sandy
plains, into which rivers ran and were lost. One of the gentlemen
present, Senhor Candido, had visited a lake 45 days to the N.N.W. of
Tete, which is probably the Lake Maravi of geographers, as in going
thither they pass through the people of that name. The inhabitants of
its southern coast are named Shiva; those on the north, Mujao; and they
call the lake Nyanja or Nyanje, which simply means a large water, or
bed of a large river. A high mountain stands in the middle of it, called
Murombo or Murombola, which is inhabited by people who have much cattle.
He stated that he crossed the Nyanja at a narrow part, and was 36 hours
in the passage. The canoes were punted the whole way, and, if we take
the rate about two miles per hour, it may be sixty or seventy miles in
breadth. The country all round was composed of level plains covered with
grass, and, indeed, in going thither they traveled seven or eight days
without wood, and cooked their food with grass and stalks of native
corn alone. The people sold their cattle at a very cheap rate. From the
southern extremity of the lake two rivers issue forth: one, named after
itself, the Nyanja, which passes into the sea on the east coast under
another name; and the Shire, which flows into the Zambesi a little below
Senna. The Shire is named Shirwa at its point of departure from the
lake, and Senhor Candido was informed, when there, that the lake was
simply an expansion of the River Nyanja, which comes from the north
and encircles the mountain Murombo, the meaning of which is junction
or union, in reference to the water having parted at its northern
extremity, and united again at its southern. The Shire flows through
a low, flat, marshy country, but abounding in population, and they are
said to be brave. The Portuguese are unable to navigate the Shire up to
the Lake Nyanja, because of the great abundance of a water-plant which
requires no soil, and which they name "alfacinya" ('Pistia stratiotes'),
from its resemblance to a lettuce. This completely obstructs the
progress of canoes. In confirmation of this I may state that, when I
passed the mouth of the Shire, great quantities of this same plant were
floating from it into the Zambesi, and many parts of the banks below
were covered with the dead plants.

Senhor Candido stated that slight earthquakes have happened several
times in the country of the Maravi, and at no great distance from Tete.
The motion seems to come from the eastward, and never to have lasted
more than a few seconds. They are named in the Maravi tongue "shiwo",
and in that of the people of Tete "shitakoteko", or "shivering". This
agrees exactly with what has taken place in the coast of Mozambique--a
few slight shocks of short duration, and all appearing to come from the
east. At Senna, too, a single shock has been felt several times, which
shook the doors and windows, and made the glasses jingle. Both Tete and
Senna have hot springs in their vicinity, but the shocks seemed to come,
not from them, but from the east, and proceed to the west. They are
probably connected with the active volcanoes in the island of Bourbon.

As Senhor Candido holds the office of judge in all the disputes of the
natives, and knows their language perfectly, his statement may be relied
on that all the natives of this region have a clear idea of a Supreme
Being, the maker and governor of all things. He is named "Morimo",
"Molungo", "Reza", "Mpambe", in the different dialects spoken. The
Barotse name him "Nyampi", and the Balonda "Zambi". All promptly
acknowledge him as the ruler over all. They also fully believe in the
soul's continued existence apart from the body, and visit the graves
of relatives, making offerings of food, beer, etc. When undergoing the
ordeal, they hold up their hands to the Ruler of Heaven, as if appealing
to him to assert their innocence. When they escape, or recover from
sickness, or are delivered from any danger, they offer a sacrifice of a
fowl or a sheep, pouring out the blood as a libation to the soul of some
departed relative. They believe in the transmigration of souls, and
also that while persons are still living they may enter into lions and
alligators, and then return again to their own bodies.

While still at Tete the son of Monomotapa paid the commandant a visit.
He is named Mozungo, or "White Man", has a narrow tapering head, and
probably none of the ability or energy his father possessed. He was
the favorite of his father, who hoped that he would occupy his place.
A strong party, however, in the tribe placed Katalosa in the
chieftainship, and the son became, as they say, a child of this man. The
Portuguese have repeatedly received offers of territory if they would
only attend the interment of the departed chief with troops, fire off
many rounds of cartridges over the grave, and then give eclat to the
installment of the new chief. Their presence would probably influence
the election, for many would vote on the side of power, and a candidate
might feel it worth while to grant a good piece of land, if thereby he
could secure the chieftainship to himself. When the Portuguese traders
wish to pass into the country beyond Katalosa, they present him with
about thirty-two yards of calico and some other goods, and he then gives
them leave to pass in whatever direction they choose to go. They must,
however, give certain quantities of cloth to a number of inferior chiefs
beside, and they are subject to the game-laws. They have thus a body of
exclusive tribes around them, preventing direct intercourse between them
and the population beyond. It is strange that, when they had the power,
they did not insist on the free navigation of the Zambesi. I can only
account for this in the same way in which I accounted for a similar
state of things in the west. All the traders have been in the hands of
slaves, and have wanted that moral courage which a free man, with free
servants on whom he can depend, usually possesses. If the English had
been here, they would have insisted on the free navigation of this
pathway as an indispensable condition of friendship. The present system
is a serious difficulty in the way of developing the resources of
the country, and might prove fatal to an unarmed expedition. If this
desirable and most fertile field of enterprise is ever to be opened up,
men must proceed on a different plan from that which has been followed,
and I do not apprehend there would be much difficulty in commencing a
new system, if those who undertook it insisted that it is not our
custom to pay for a highway which has not been made by man. The natives
themselves would not deny that the river is free to those who do not
trade in slaves. If, in addition to an open, frank explanation, a small
subsidy were given to the paramount chief, the willing consent of all
the subordinates would soon be secured.

On the 1st of April I went to see the site of a former establishment
of the Jesuits, called Micombo, about ten miles S.E. of Tete. Like all
their settlements I have seen, both judgment and taste had been employed
in the selection of the site. A little stream of mineral water had been
collected in a tank and conducted to their house, before which was a
little garden for raising vegetables at times of the year when no rain
falls. It is now buried in a deep shady grove of mango-trees. I was
accompanied by Captain Nunes, whose great-grandfather, also a captain in
the time of the Marquis of Pombal, received sealed orders, to be opened
only on a certain day. When that day arrived, he found the command to go
with his company, seize all the Jesuits of this establishment, and march
them as prisoners to the coast. The riches of the fraternity, which were
immense, were taken possession of by the state. Large quantities of gold
had often been sent to their superiors at Goa, inclosed in images. The
Jesuits here do not seem to have possessed the sympathies of the people
as their brethren in Angola did. They were keen traders in ivory and
gold-dust. All praise their industry. Whatever they did, they did it
with all their might, and probably their successful labors in securing
the chief part of the trade to themselves had excited the envy of the
laity. None of the natives here can read; and though the Jesuits are
said to have translated some of the prayers into the language of the
country, I was unable to obtain a copy. The only religious teachers now
in this part of the country are two gentlemen of color, natives of
Goa. The one who officiates at Tete, named Pedro Antonio d'Araujo, is
a graduate in Dogmatic Theology and Moral Philosophy. There is but a
single school in Tete, and it is attended only by the native Portuguese
children, who are taught to read and write. The black population is
totally uncared for. The soldiers are marched every Sunday to hear mass,
and but few others attend church. During the period of my stay, a kind
of theatrical representation of our Savior's passion and resurrection
was performed. The images and other paraphernalia used were of great
value, but the present riches of the Church are nothing to what it once
possessed. The commandant is obliged to lock up all the gold and silver
in the fort for safety, though not from any apprehension of its being
stolen by the people, for they have a dread of sacrilege.

The state of religion and education is, I am sorry to say, as low as
that of commerce; but the European Portuguese value education highly,
and send their children to Goa and elsewhere for instruction in the
higher branches. There is not a single bookseller's shop, however, in
either eastern or western Africa. Even Loanda, with its 12,000 or 14,000
souls, can not boast of one store for the sale of food for the mind.

On the 2d the Zambesi suddenly rose several feet in height. Three such
floods are expected annually, but this year there were four. This last
was accompanied by discoloration, and must have been caused by another
great fall of rain east of the ridge. We had observed a flood of
discolored water when we reached the river at the Kafue; it then fell
two feet, and from subsequent rains again rose so high that we were
obliged to leave it when opposite the hill Pinkwe. About the 10th of
March the river rose several feet with comparatively clear water, and
it continued to rise until the 21st, with but very slight discoloration.
This gradual rise was the greatest, and was probably caused by the water
of inundation in the interior. The sudden rise which happened on the
2d, being deeply discolored, showed again the effect of rains at a
comparatively short distance. The fact of the river rising three or four
times annually, and the one flood of inundation being mixed with the
others, may account for the Portuguese not recognizing the phenomenon of
the periodical inundation, so well known in the central country.

The independent natives cultivate a little cotton, but it is not at all
equal, either in quantity or quality, to what we found in Angola. The
pile is short, and it clings to the seed so much that they use an iron
roller to detach it. The soil, however, is equal to the production of
any tropical plant or fruit. The natives have never been encouraged to
cultivate cotton for sale, nor has any new variety been introduced. We
saw no palm-oil-trees, the oil which is occasionally exported being from
the ground-nut. One of the merchants of Tete had a mill of the rudest
construction for grinding this nut, which was driven by donkeys. It
was the only specimen of a machine I could exhibit to my men. A very
superior kind of salad oil is obtained from the seeds of cucumbers, and
is much used in native cookery.

An offer, said to have been made by the "Times", having excited
attention even in this distant part, I asked the commandant if he knew
of any plant fit for the production of paper. He procured specimens of
the fibrous tissue of a species of aloe, named Conge, and some also from
the root of a wild date, and, lastly, of a plant named Buaze, the fibres
of which, though useless for the manufacture of paper, are probably
a suitable substitute for flax. I submitted a small quantity of these
fibres to Messrs. Pye, Brothers, of London, who have invented a superior
mode for the preparation of such tissues for the manufacturer. They most
politely undertook the examination, and have given a favorable opinion
of the Buaze, as may be seen in the note below.*

   *
   80 Lombard Street, 20th March, 1857.

   Dear Sir,--We have the pleasure to return you the specimens of
   fibrous plants from the Zambesi River, on which you were
   desirous to see the effects of our treatment; we therefore
   inclose to you,

   No. 1.  Buaze, in the state received from you.
   1 A.    Do.    as prepared by us.
   1 B.  The tow which has come from it in hackling.
   No. 2.  Conge, as received from you.
   2 A.    Do.    as prepared by us.

   With regard to both these fibres, we must state that the VERY
   MINUTE QUANTITY of each specimen has prevented our subjecting
   them to any thing like the full treatment of our process, and
   we can therefore only give you an APPROXIMATE idea of their
   value.

   The Buaze evidently possesses a very strong and fine fibre,
   assimilating to flax in its character, but we believe, when
   treated IN QUANTITY by our process, it would show both a
   stronger and finer fibre than flax; but being unable to apply
   the rolling or pressing processes with any efficiency to so
   very small a quantity, the gums are not yet so perfectly
   extracted as they would be, nor the fibre opened out to so
   fine a quality as it would then exhibit.

   This is even yet more the case with the Conge, which, being
   naturally a harsh fibre, full of gums, wants exactly that
   powerful treatment which our process is calculated to give it,
   but which can not be applied to such miniature specimens.  We
   do not therefore consider this as more than half treated, its
   fibre consequently remaining yet harsh, and coarse, and stiff,
   as compared with what it would be if treated IN QUANTITY.

   Judging that it would be satisfactory to you to be in
   possession of the best practical opinion to be obtained on
   such a subject, we took the liberty of forwarding your little
   specimens to Messrs. Marshall, of Leeds, who have kindly
   favored us with the following observations on them:

   "We have examined the samples you sent us yesterday, and think
   the Conge or aloe fibre would be of no use to us, but the
   Buaze fibre appears to resemble flax, and as prepared by you
   will be equal to flax worth 50 Pounds or 60 Pounds per ton,
   but we could hardly speak positively to the value unless we
   had 1 cwt. or 2 cwt. to try on our machinery.  However, we
   think the result is promising, and we hope further inquiry
   will be made as to the probable supply of the material."

   We are, dear sir, your very obedient servants, Pye, Brothers.

   The Rev. Dr. Livingstone.

A representation of the plant is given in the annexed woodcut,* as a
help to its identification. I was unable to procure either the flowers
or fruit; but, as it is not recognized at sight by that accomplished
botanist and eminent traveler, Dr. J. D. Hooker, it may safely be
concluded that it is quite unknown to botanists. It is stated by the
Portuguese to grow in large quantities in the Maravi country north of
the Zambesi, but it is not cultivated, and the only known use it has
been put to is in making threads on which the natives string their
beads. Elsewhere the split tendons of animals are employed for this
purpose. This seems to be of equal strength, for a firm thread of it
feels like catgut in the hand, and would rather cut the fingers than
break.

   * Unfortunately, this woodcut can not be represented in this
   ASCII text, but buaze, or bwazi, is 'Securidaca
   longipedunculata'.--A. L., 1997.

Having waited a month for the commencement of the healthy season at
Kilimane, I would have started at the beginning of April, but tarried a
few days in order that the moon might make her appearance, and enable me
to take lunar observations on my way down the river. A sudden change of
temperature happening on the 4th, simultaneously with the appearance of
the new moon, the commandant and myself, with nearly every person in the
house, were laid up with a severe attack of fever. I soon recovered by
the use of my wonted remedies, but Major Sicard and his little boy were
confined much longer. There was a general fall of 4 Deg. of temperature
from the middle of March, 84 Deg. at 9 A.M., and 87 Deg. at 9 P.M.;
the greatest heat being 90 Deg. at midday, and the lowest 81 Deg.
at sunrise. It afforded me pleasure to attend the invalids in their
sickness, though I was unable to show a tithe of the gratitude I felt
for the commandant's increasing kindness. My quinine and other remedies
were nearly all expended, and no fresh supply was to be found here,
there being no doctors at Tete, and only one apothecary with the
troops, whose stock of medicine was also small. The Portuguese,
however, informed me that they had the cinchona bark growing in their
country--that there was a little of it to be found at Tete--whole
forests of it at Senna and near the delta of Kilimane. It seems quite
a providential arrangement that the remedy for fever should be found in
the greatest abundance where it is most needed. On seeing the leaves,
I stated that it was not the 'Cinchona longifolia' from which it
is supposed the quinine of commerce is extracted, but the name and
properties of this bark made me imagine that it was a cinchonaceous
tree. I could not get the flower, but when I went to Senna I tried to
bring away a few small living trees with earth in a box. They, however,
all died when we came to Kilimane. Failing in this mode of testing
the point, I submitted a few leaves and seed-vessels to my friend,
Dr. Hooker, who kindly informs me that they belong "apparently to an
apocyneous plant, very nearly allied to the Malouetia Heudlotii (of
Decaisne), a native of Senegambia." Dr. H. adds, "Various plants of this
natural order are reputed powerful febrifuges, and some of them are
said to equal the cinchona in their effects." It is called in the native
tongue Kumbanzo.

The flowers are reported to be white. The pods are in pairs, a foot or
fifteen inches in length, and contain a groove on their inner sides.
The thick soft bark of the root is the part used by the natives; the
Portuguese use that of the tree itself. I immediately began to use a
decoction of the bark of the root, and my men found it so efficacious
that they collected small quantities of it for themselves, and kept it
in little bags for future use. Some of them said that they knew it in
their own country, but I never happened to observe it. The decoction is
given after the first paroxysm of the complaint is over. The Portuguese
believe it to have the same effects as the quinine, and it may prove a
substitute for that invaluable medicine.

There are numbers of other medicines in use among the natives, but I
have always been obliged to regret want of time to ascertain which were
useful and which of no value. We find a medicine in use by a tribe
in one part of the country, and the same plant employed by a tribe a
thousand miles distant. This surely must arise from some inherent virtue
in the plant. The Boers under Potgeiter visited Delgoa Bay for the first
time about ten years ago, in order to secure a port on the east coast
for their republic. They had come from a part of the interior where the
disease called croup occasionally prevails. There was no appearance of
the disease among them at the period of their visit, but the Portuguese
inhabitants of that bay found that they had left it among them,
and several adults were cut off by a form of the complaint called
'Laryngismus stridulus', the disease of which the great Washington died.
Similar cases have occurred in the South Sea Islands. Ships have left
diseases from which no one on board was suffering at the time of their
visit. Many of the inhabitants here were cut down, usually in three
days from their first attack, until a native doctor adopted the plan of
scratching the root of the tongue freely with a certain root, and giving
a piece of it to be chewed. The cure may have been effected by the
scarification only, but the Portuguese have the strongest faith in the
virtues of the root, and always keep some of it within reach.

There are also other plants which the natives use in the treatment of
fever, and some of them produce 'diaphoresis' in a short space of
time. It is certain that we have got the knowledge of the most potent
febrifuge in our pharmacopoeia from the natives of another country. We
have no cure for cholera and some other diseases. It might be worth the
investigation of those who visit Africa to try and find other remedies
in a somewhat similar way to that in which we found the quinine.*

   * I add the native names of a few of their remedies in order
   to assist the inquirer:  Mupanda panda:  this is used in fever
   for producing perspiration; the leaves are named Chirussa; the
   roots dye red, and are very astringent.  Goho or Go-o: this is
   the ordeal medicine; it is both purgative and emetic. Mutuva
   or Mutumbue:  this plant contains so much oil that it serves
   as lights in Londa; it is an emollient drink for the cure of
   coughs, and the pounded leaves answer as soap to wash the
   head.  Nyamucu ucu has a curious softening effect on old dry
   grain.  Mussakasi is believed to remove the effects of the Go-
   o. Mudama is a stringent vermifuge.  Mapubuza dyes a red
   color. Musikizi yields an oil.  Shinkondo:  a virulent poison;
   the Maravi use it in their ordeal, and it is very fatal.
   Kanunka utare is said to expel serpents and rats by its
   pungent smell, which is not at all disagreeable to man; this
   is probably a kind of 'Zanthoxylon', perhaps the Z.
   melancantha of Western Africa, as it is used to expel rats and
   serpents there.  Mussonzoa dyes cloth black. Mussio:  the
   beans of this also dye black.  Kangome, with flowers and fruit
   like Mocha coffee; the leaves are much like those of the sloe,
   and the seeds are used as coffee or eaten as beans. Kanembe-
   embe:  the pounded leaves used as an extemporaneous glue for
   mending broken vessels.  Katunguru is used for killing fish.
   Mutavea Nyerere:  an active caustic.  Mudiacoro:  also an
   external caustic, and used internally.  Kapande:  another
   ordeal plant, but used to produce 'diaphoresis'.  Karumgasura:
   also diaphoretic. Munyazi yields an oil, and is one of the
   ingredients for curing the wounds of poisoned arrows.  Uombue:
   a large root employed in killing fish.  Kakumate:  used in
   intermittents.  Musheteko: applied to ulcers, and the infusion
   also internally in amenorrhoea. Inyakanyanya:  this is seen in
   small, dark-colored, crooked roots of pleasant aromatic smell
   and slightly bitter taste, and is highly extolled in the
   treatment of fever; it is found in Manica. Eskinencia:  used
   in croup and sore-throat.  Itaca or Itaka: for diaphoresis in
   fever; this root is brought as an article of barter by the
   Arabs to Kilimane; the natives purchase it eagerly.
   Mukundukundu:  a decoction used as a febrifuge in the same way
   as quinine; it grows plentifully at Shupanga, and the wood is
   used as masts for launches.  I may here add the recipe of
   Brother Pedro of Zumbo for the cure of poisoned wounds, in
   order to show the similarity of practice among the natives of
   the Zambesi, from whom, in all probability, he acquired his
   knowledge, and the Bushmen of the Kalahari. It consists of
   equal parts of the roots of the Calumba, Musheteko, Abutua,
   Batatinya, Paregekanto, Itaka, or Kapande, put into a bottle
   and covered with common castor-oil.  As I have before
   observed, I believe the oily ingredient is the effectual one,
   and ought to be tried by any one who has the misfortune to get
   wounded by a Bushman's or Banyai arrow.

The only other metal, besides gold, we have in abundance in this region,
is iron, and that is of excellent quality. In some places it is obtained
from what is called the specular iron ore, and also from black oxide.
The latter has been well roasted in the operations of nature, and
contains a large proportion of the metal. It occurs generally in tears
or rounded lumps, and is but slightly magnetic. When found in the beds
of rivers, the natives know of its existence by the quantity of oxide
on the surface, and they find no difficulty in digging it with pointed
sticks. They consider English iron as "rotten"; and I have seen, when a
javelin of their own iron lighted on the cranium of a hippopotamus, it
curled up like the proboscis of a butterfly, and the owner would prepare
it for future use by straightening it COLD with two stones. I brought
home some of the hoes which Sekeletu gave me to purchase a canoe, also
some others obtained in Kilimane, and they have been found of such good
quality that a friend of mine in Birmingham has made an Enfield rifle of
them.*

   * The following remarks are by a practical blacksmith, one of
   the most experienced men in the gun-trade.  In this trade
   various qualities of iron are used, and close attention is
   required to secure for each purpose the quality of iron
   peculiarly adapted to it:

   The iron in the two spades strongly resembles Swedish or
   Russian; it is highly carbonized.

   The same qualities are found in both spades.

   When chilled in water it has all the properties of steel: see
   the piece marked I, chilled at one end, and left soft at the
   other.

   When worked hot, it is very malleable:  but cold, it breaks
   quite short and brittle.

   The great irregularity found in the working of the iron
   affords evidence that it has been prepared by inexperienced
   hands.

   This is shown in the bending of the small spade; the thick
   portion retains its crystallized nature, while the thin part
   has been changed by the hammering it has undergone.

   The large spade shows a very brittle fracture.

   The iron is too brittle for gun-work; it would be liable to
   break.

   This iron, if REPEATEDLY heated and hammered, would become
   decarbonized, and would then possess the qualities found in
   the spear-head, which, after being curled up by being struck
   against a hard substance, was restored, by hammering, to its
   original form without injury.

   The piece of iron marked II is a piece of gun-iron of fibrous
   quality, such as will bend without breaking.

   The piece marked III is of crystalline quality; it has been
   submitted to a process which has changed it to IIII; III and
   IIII are cut from the same bar.  The spade-iron has been
   submitted to the same process, but no corresponding effect can
   be produced.

The iron ore exists in great abundance, but I did not find any limestone
in its immediate vicinity. So far as I could learn, there is neither
copper nor silver. Malachite is worked by the people of Cazembe, but, as
I did not see it, nor any other metal, I can say nothing about it. A
few precious stones are met with, and some parts are quite covered with
agates. The mineralogy of the district, however, has not been explored
by any one competent to the task.

When my friend the commandant was fairly recovered, and I myself felt
strong again, I prepared to descend the Zambesi. A number of my men
were out elephant-hunting, and others had established a brisk trade in
firewood, as their countrymen did at Loanda. I chose sixteen of those
who could manage canoes to convey me down the river. Many more would
have come, but we were informed that there had been a failure of the
crops at Kilimane from the rains not coming at the proper time, and
thousands had died of hunger. I did not hear of a single effort having
been made to relieve the famishing by sending them food down the river.
Those who perished were mostly slaves, and others seemed to think that
their masters ought to pay for their relief. The sufferers were chiefly
among those natives who inhabit the delta, and who are subject to the
Portuguese. They are in a state of slavery, but are kept on farms and
mildly treated. Many yield a certain rental of grain only to their
owners, and are otherwise free. Eight thousand are said to have
perished. Major Sicard lent me a boat which had been built on the river,
and sent also Lieutenant Miranda to conduct me to the coast.

A Portuguese lady who had come with her brother from Lisbon, having been
suffering for some days from a severe attack of fever, died about three
o'clock in the morning of the 20th of April. The heat of the body having
continued unabated till six o'clock, I was called in, and found her
bosom quite as warm as I ever did in a living case of fever. This
continued for three hours more. As I had never seen a case in which
fever-heat continued so long after death, I delayed the funeral until
unmistakable symptoms of dissolution occurred. She was a widow, only
twenty-two years of age, and had been ten years in Africa. I attended
the funeral in the evening, and was struck by the custom of the country.
A number of slaves preceded us, and fired off many rounds of gunpowder
in front of the body. When a person of much popularity is buried, all
the surrounding chiefs send deputations to fire over the grave. On one
occasion at Tete, more than thirty barrels of gunpowder were expended.
Early in the morning of the 21st the slaves of the deceased lady's
brother went round the village making a lamentation, and drums were
beaten all day, as they are at such times among the heathen.

The commandant provided for the journey most abundantly, and gave orders
to Lieutenant Miranda that I should not be allowed to pay for any thing
all the way to the coast, and sent messages to his friends Senhors
Ferrao, Isidore, Asevedo, and Nunes, to treat me as they would himself.
From every one of these gentlemen I am happy to acknowledge that I
received most disinterested kindness, and I ought to speak well forever
of Portuguese hospitality. I have noted each little act of civility
received, because somehow or other we have come to hold the Portuguese
character in rather a low estimation. This may have arisen partly from
the pertinacity with which some of them have pursued the slave-trade,
and partly from the contrast which they now offer to their illustrious
ancestors--the foremost navigators of the world. If my specification of
their kindnesses will tend to engender a more respectful feeling to the
nation, I shall consider myself well rewarded. We had three large canoes
in the company which had lately come up with goods from Senna. They
are made very large and strong, much larger than any we ever saw in the
interior, and might strike with great force against a rock and not be
broken. The men sit at the stern when paddling, and there is usually a
little shed made over a part of the canoe to shade the passengers from
the sun. The boat in which I went was furnished with such a covering, so
I sat quite comfortably.

Chapter 32.

Leave Tete and proceed down the River--Pass the Stockade of Bonga--
Gorge of Lupata--"Spine of the World"--Width of River--Islands--War
Drum at Shiramba--Canoe Navigation--Reach Senna--Its ruinous
State--Landeens levy Fines upon the Inhabitants--Cowardice of native
Militia--State of the Revenue--No direct Trade with Portugal--Attempts
to revive the Trade of Eastern Africa--Country round Senna--Gorongozo,
a Jesuit Station--Manica, the best Gold Region in Eastern
Africa--Boat-building at Senna--Our Departure--Capture of a Rebel
Stockade--Plants Alfacinya and Njefu at the Confluence of the
Shire--Landeen Opinion of the Whites--Mazaro, the point reached by
Captain Parker--His Opinion respecting the Navigation of the River
from this to the Ocean--Lieutenant Hoskins' Remarks on the same
subject--Fever, its Effects--Kindly received into the House of Colonel
Nunes at Kilimane--Forethought of Captain Nolloth and Dr. Walsh--Joy
imbittered--Deep Obligations to the Earl of Clarendon, etc.--On
developing Resources of the Interior--Desirableness of Missionary
Societies selecting healthy Stations--Arrangements on leaving my Men--
Retrospect--Probable Influence of the Discoveries on Slavery--Supply of
Cotton, Sugar, etc., by Free Labor--Commercial Stations--Development
of the Resources of Africa a Work of Time--Site of Kilimane--
Unhealthiness--Death of a shipwrecked Crew from Fever--The Captain
saved by Quinine--Arrival of H. M. Brig "Frolic"--Anxiety of one of my
Men to go to England--Rough Passage in the Boats to the Ship--Sekwebu's
Alarm--Sail for Mauritius--Sekwebu on board; he becomes insane; drowns
himself--Kindness of Major-General C. M. Hay--Escape Shipwreck--Reach
Home.

We left Tete at noon on the 22d, and in the afternoon arrived at the
garden of Senhor A. Manoel de Gomez, son-in-law and nephew of Bonga. The
Commandant of Tete had sent a letter to the rebel Bonga, stating that
he ought to treat me kindly, and he had deputed his son-in-law to be my
host. Bonga is not at all equal to his father Nyaude, who was a man of
great ability. He is also in bad odor with the Portuguese, because
he receives all runaway slaves and criminals. He does not trust the
Portuguese, and is reported to be excessively superstitious. I found his
son-in-law, Manoel, extremely friendly, and able to converse in a very
intelligent manner. He was in his garden when we arrived, but soon
dressed himself respectably, and gave us a good tea and dinner. After a
breakfast of tea, roasted eggs, and biscuits next morning, he presented
six fowls and three goats as provisions for the journey. When we parted
from him we passed the stockade of Bonga at the confluence of the
Luenya, but did not go near it, as he is said to be very suspicious. The
Portuguese advised me not to take any observation, as the instruments
might awaken fears in Bonga's mind, but Manoel said I might do so if I
wished; his garden, however, being above the confluence, could not avail
as a geographical point. There are some good houses in the stockade. The
trees of which it is composed seemed to me to be living, and could not
be burned. It was strange to see a stockade menacing the whole commerce
of the river in a situation where the guns of a vessel would have
full play on it, but it is a formidable affair for those who have only
muskets. On one occasion, when Nyaude was attacked by Kisaka, they
fought for weeks; and though Nyaude was reduced to cutting up his copper
anklets for balls, his enemies were not able to enter the stockade.

On the 24th we sailed only about three hours, as we had done the day
before; but having come to a small island at the western entrance of the
gorge of Lupata, where Dr. Lacerda is said to have taken an astronomical
observation, and called it the island of Mozambique, because it was
believed to be in the same latitude, or 15d 1', I wished to verify
his position, and remained over night: my informants must have been
mistaken, for I found the island of Mozambique here to be lat. 16d 34'
46" S.

Respecting this range, to which the gorge has given a name, some
Portuguese writers have stated it to be so high that snow lies on it
during the whole year, and that it is composed of marble. It is not
so high in appearance as the Campsie Hills when seen from the Vale of
Clyde. The western side is the most abrupt, and gives the idea of the
greatest height, as it rises up perpendicularly from the water six or
seven hundred feet. As seen from this island, it is certainly no higher
than Arthur's Seat appears from Prince's Street, Edinburgh. The rock
is compact silicious schist of a slightly reddish color, and in thin
strata; the island on which we slept looks as if torn off from the
opposite side of the gorge, for the strata are twisted and torn in every
direction. The eastern side of the range is much more sloping than the
western, covered with trees, and does not give the idea of altitude
so much as the western. It extends a considerable way into the Maganja
country in the north, and then bends round toward the river again, and
ends in the lofty mountain Morumbala, opposite Senna. On the other
or southern side it is straighter, but is said to end in Gorongozo, a
mountain west of the same point. The person who called this Lupata
"the spine of the world" evidently did not mean to say that it was
a translation of the word, for it means a defile or gorge having
perpendicular walls. This range does not deserve the name of either
Cordillera or Spine, unless we are willing to believe that the world has
a very small and very crooked "back-bone".

We passed through the gorge in two hours, and found it rather tortuous,
and between 200 and 300 yards wide. The river is said to be here always
excessively deep; it seemed to me that a steamer could pass through
it at full speed. At the eastern entrance of Lupata stand two conical
hills; they are composed of porphyry, having large square crystals
therein. These hills are called Moenda en Goma, which means a footprint
of a wild beast. Another conical hill on the opposite bank is named
Kasisi (priest), from having a bald top. We sailed on quickly with the
current of the river, and found that it spread out to more than two
miles in breadth; it is, however, full of islands, which are generally
covered with reeds, and which, previous to the war, were inhabited, and
yielded vast quantities of grain. We usually landed to cook breakfast,
and then went on quickly. The breadth of water between the islands was
now quite sufficient for a sailing vessel to tack, and work her sails
in; the prevailing winds would blow her up the stream; but I regretted
that I had not come when the river was at its lowest rather than at
its highest. The testimony, however, of Captain Parker and Lieutenant
Hoskins, hereafter to be noticed, may be considered conclusive as to the
capabilities of this river for commercial purposes. The Portuguese state
that there is high water during five months of the year, and when it is
low there is always a channel of deep water. But this is very winding;
and as the river wears away some of the islands and forms others, the
course of the channel is often altered. I suppose that an accurate
chart of it made in one year would not be very reliable the next; but I
believe, from all that I can learn, that the river could be navigated in
a small flat-bottomed steamer during the whole year as far as Tete. At
this time a steamer of large size could have floated easily. The river
was measured at the latter place by the Portuguese, and found by them to
be 1050 yards broad. The body of water flowing past when I was there
was very great, and the breadth it occupied when among the islands had a
most imposing effect. I could not get a glimpse of either shore. All the
right bank beyond Lupata is low and flat: on the north, the ranges
of hills and dark lines below them are seen, but from the boat it is
impossible to see the shore. I only guess the breadth of the river to
be two miles; it is probably more. Next day we landed at Shiramba for
breakfast, having sailed 8-1/2 hours from Lupata. This was once the
residence of a Portuguese brigadier, who spent large sums of money in
embellishing his house and gardens: these we found in entire ruin, as
his half-caste son had destroyed all, and then rebelled against the
Portuguese, but with less success than either Nyaude or Kisaka, for he
had been seized and sent a prisoner to Mozambique a short time before
our visit. All the southern shore has been ravaged by the Caffres,
who are here named Landeens, and most of the inhabitants who remain
acknowledge the authority of Bonga, and not of the Portuguese. When at
breakfast, the people of Shiramba commenced beating the drum of war.
Lieutenant Miranda, who was well acquainted with the customs of the
country, immediately started to his feet, and got all the soldiers of
our party under arms; he then demanded of the natives why the drum was
beaten while we were there. They gave an evasive reply; and, as they
employ this means of collecting their neighbors when they intend to rob
canoes, our watchfulness may have prevented their proceeding farther.

We spent the night of the 26th on the island called Nkuesi, opposite a
remarkable saddle-shaped mountain, and found that we were just on the
17th parallel of latitude. The sail down the river was very fine; the
temperature becoming low, it was pleasant to the feelings; but the
shores being flat and far from us, the scenery was uninteresting. We
breakfasted on the 27th at Pita, and found some half-caste Portuguese
had established themselves there, after fleeing from the opposite
bank to escape Kisaka's people, who were now ravaging all the Maganja
country. On the afternoon of the 27th we arrived at Senna. (Commandant
Isidore's house, 300 yards S.W. of the mud fort on the banks of the
river: lat. 17d 27' 1" S., long. 35d 10' E.) We found Senna to be
twenty-three and a half hours' sail from Tete. We had the current
entirely in our favor, but met various parties in large canoes toiling
laboriously against it. They use long ropes, and pull the boats from the
shore. They usually take about twenty days to ascend the distance we had
descended in about four. The wages paid to boatmen are considered high.
Part of the men who had accompanied me gladly accepted employment from
Lieutenant Miranda to take a load of goods in a canoe from Senna to
Tete.

I thought the state of Tete quite lamentable, but that of Senna was ten
times worse. At Tete there is some life; here every thing is in a state
of stagnation and ruin. The fort, built of sun-dried bricks, has the
grass growing over the walls, which have been patched in some places by
paling. The Landeens visit the village periodically, and levy fines upon
the inhabitants, as they consider the Portuguese a conquered tribe, and
very rarely does a native come to trade. Senhor Isidore, the commandant,
a man of considerable energy, had proposed to surround the whole village
with palisades as a protection against the Landeens, and the villagers
were to begin this work the day after I left. It was sad to look at the
ruin manifest in every building, but the half-castes appear to be in
league with the rebels and Landeens; for when any attempt is made by
the Portuguese to coerce the enemy or defend themselves, information
is conveyed at once to the Landeen camp, and, though the commandant
prohibits the payment of tribute to the Landeens, on their approach
the half-castes eagerly ransom themselves. When I was there, a party of
Kisaka's people were ravaging the fine country on the opposite shore.
They came down with the prisoners they had captured, and forthwith
the half-castes of Senna went over to buy slaves. Encouraged by this,
Kisaka's people came over into Senna fully armed and beating their
drums, and were received into the house of a native Portuguese. They
had the village at their mercy, yet could have been driven off by half
a dozen policemen. The commandant could only look on with bitter sorrow.
He had soldiers, it is true, but it is notorious that the native
militia of both Senna and Kilimane never think of standing to fight,
but invariably run away, and leave their officers to be killed. They
are brave only among the peaceable inhabitants. One of them, sent from
Kilimane with a packet of letters or expresses, arrived while I was at
Senna. He had been charged to deliver them with all speed, but Senhor
Isidore had in the mean time gone to Kilimane, remained there a
fortnight, and reached Senna again before the courier came. He could not
punish him. We gave him a passage in our boat, but he left us in the way
to visit his wife, and, "on urgent private business," probably gave up
the service altogether, as he did not come to Kilimane all the time I
was there. It is impossible to describe the miserable state of decay
into which the Portuguese possessions here have sunk. The revenues are
not equal to the expenses, and every officer I met told the same tale,
that he had not received one farthing of pay for the last four years.
They are all forced to engage in trade for the support of their
families. Senhor Miranda had been actually engaged against the enemy
during these four years, and had been highly lauded in the commandant's
dispatches to the home government, but when he applied to the Governor
of Kilimane for part of his four years' pay, he offered him twenty
dollars only. Miranda resigned his commission in consequence. The common
soldiers sent out from Portugal received some pay in calico. They all
marry native women, and, the soil being very fertile, the wives find but
little difficulty in supporting their husbands. There is no direct trade
with Portugal. A considerable number of Banians, or natives of India,
come annually in small vessels with cargoes of English and Indian goods
from Bombay. It is not to be wondered at, then, that there have been
attempts made of late years by speculative Portuguese in Lisbon to
revive the trade of Eastern Africa by means of mercantile companies. One
was formally proposed, which was modeled on the plan of our East India
Company; and it was actually imagined that all the forts, harbors,
lands, etc., might be delivered over to a company, which would bind
itself to develop the resources of the country, build schools, make
roads, improve harbors, etc., and, after all, leave the Portuguese the
option of resuming possession.

Another effort has been made to attract commercial enterprise to this
region by offering any mining company permission to search for the ores
and work them. Such a company, however, would gain but little in the way
of protection or aid from the government of Mozambique, as that can
but barely maintain a hold on its own small possessions; the condition
affixed of importing at the company's own cost a certain number of
Portuguese from the island of Madeira or the Azores, in order to
increase the Portuguese population in Africa, is impolitic. Taxes would
also be levied on the minerals exported. It is noticeable that all the
companies which have been proposed in Portugal have this put prominently
in the preamble, "and for the abolition of the inhuman slave-trade."
This shows either that the statesmen in Portugal are enlightened and
philanthropic, or it may be meant as a trap for English capitalists; I
incline to believe the former. If the Portuguese really wish to develop
the resources of the rich country beyond their possessions, they
ought to invite the co-operation of other nations on equal terms with
themselves. Let the pathway into the interior be free to all; and,
instead of wretched forts, with scarcely an acre of land around them
which can be called their own, let real colonies be made. If, instead of
military establishments, we had civil ones, and saw emigrants going out
with their wives, plows, and seeds, rather than military convicts with
bugles and kettle-drums, we might hope for a return of prosperity to
Eastern Africa.

The village of Senna stands on the right bank of the Zambesi. There are
many reedy islands in front of it, and there is much bush in the country
adjacent. The soil is fertile, but the village, being in a state of
ruin, and having several pools of stagnant water, is very unhealthy. The
bottom rock is the akose of Brongniart, or granitic grit, and several
conical hills of trap have burst through it. One standing about half a
mile west of the village is called Baramuana, which has another behind
it; hence the name, which means "carry a child on the back". It is 300
or 400 feet high, and on the top lie two dismounted cannon, which were
used to frighten away the Landeens, who, in one attack upon Senna,
killed 150 of the inhabitants. The prospect from Baramuana is very fine;
below, on the eastward, lies the Zambesi, with the village of Senna; and
some twenty or thirty miles beyond stands the lofty mountain Morumbala,
probably 3000 or 4000 feet high. It is of an oblong shape, and from its
physiognomy, which can be distinctly seen when the sun is in the west,
is evidently igneous. On the northern end there is a hot sulphurous
fountain, which my Portuguese friends refused to allow me to visit,
because the mountain is well peopled, and the mountaineers are
at present not friendly with the Portuguese. They have plenty of
garden-ground and running water on its summit. My friends at Senna
declined the responsibility of taking me into danger. To the north of
Morumbala we have a fine view of the mountains of the Maganja; they here
come close to the river, and terminate in Morumbala. Many of them are
conical, and the Shire is reported to flow among them, and to run on
the Senna side of Morumbala before joining the Zambesi. On seeing the
confluence afterward, close to a low range of hills beyond Morumbala, I
felt inclined to doubt the report, as the Shire must then flow parallel
with the Zambesi, from which Morumbala seems distant only twenty or
thirty miles. All around to the southeast the country is flat, and
covered with forest, but near Senna a number of little abrupt conical
hills diversify the scenery. To the west and north the country is also
flat forest, which gives it a sombre appearance; but just in the haze
of the horizon southwest by south, there rises a mountain range equal in
height to Morumbala, and called Nyamonga. In a clear day another range
beyond this may be seen, which is Gorongozo, once a station of the
Jesuits. Gorongozo is famed for its clear cold waters and healthiness,
and there are some inscriptions engraved on large square slabs on the
top of the mountain, which have probably been the work of the fathers.
As this lies in the direction of a district between Manica and Sofala,
which has been conjectured to be the Ophir of King Solomon, the idea
that first sprang up in my mind was, that these monuments might be more
ancient than the Portuguese; but, on questioning some persons who had
seen them, I found that they were in Roman characters, and did not
deserve a journey of six days to see them.

Manica lies three days northwest of Gorongozo, and is the best gold
country known in Eastern Africa. The only evidence the Portuguese have
of its being the ancient Ophir is, that at Sofala, its nearest port,
pieces of wrought gold have been dug up near the fort and in the
gardens. They also report the existence of hewn stones in the
neighborhood, but these can not have been abundant, for all the stones
of the fort of Sofala are said to have been brought from Portugal.
Natives whom I met in the country of Sekeletu, from Manica, or Manoa,
as they call it, state that there are several caves in the country,
and walls of hewn stones, which they believe to have been made by their
ancestors; and there is, according to the Portuguese, a small tribe
of Arabs there, who have become completely like the other natives. Two
rivers, the Motirikwe and Sabia, or Sabe, run through their country into
the sea. The Portuguese were driven out of the country by the Landeens,
but now talk of reoccupying Manica.

The most pleasant sight I witnessed at Senna was the negroes of Senhor
Isidore building boats after the European model, without any one to
superintend their operations. They had been instructed by a European
master, but now go into the forest and cut down the motondo-trees, lay
down the keel, fit in the ribs, and make very neat boats and launches,
valued at from 20 Pounds to 100 Pounds. Senhor Isidore had some of them
instructed also in carpentry at Rio Janeiro, and they constructed for
him the handsomest house in Kilimane, the woodwork being all of country
trees, some of which are capable of a fine polish, and very durable. A
medical opinion having been asked by the commandant respecting a better
site for the village, which, lying on the low bank of the Zambesi, is
very unhealthy, I recommended imitation of the Jesuits, who had chosen
the high, healthy mountain of Gorongozo, and to select a new site on
Morumbala, which is perfectly healthy, well watered, and where the Shire
is deep enough for the purpose of navigation at its base. As the next
resource, I proposed removal to the harbor of Mitilone, which is at
one of the mouths of the Zambesi, a much better port than Kilimane, and
where, if they must have the fever, they would be in the way of doing
more good to themselves and the country than they can do in their
present situation. Had the Portuguese possessed this territory as a real
colony, this important point would not have been left unoccupied; as it
is, there is not even a native village placed at the entrance of this
splendid river to show the way in.

On the 9th of May sixteen of my men were employed to carry government
goods in canoes up to Tete. They were much pleased at getting this work.
On the 11th the whole of the inhabitants of Senna, with the commandant,
accompanied us to the boats. A venerable old man, son of a judge, said
they were in much sorrow on account of the miserable state of decay into
which they had sunk, and of the insolent conduct of the people of Kisaka
now in the village. We were abundantly supplied with provisions by
the commandant and Senhor Ferrao, and sailed pleasantly down the broad
river. About thirty miles below Senna we passed the mouth of the River
Zangwe on our right, which farther up goes by the name of Pungwe; and
about five miles farther on our left, close to the end of a low range
into which Morumbala merges, we crossed the mouth of the Shire, which
seemed to be about 200 yards broad. A little inland from the confluence
there is another rebel stockade, which was attacked by Ensign Rebeiro
with three European soldiers, and captured; they disarmed the rebels and
threw the guns into the water. This ensign and Miranda volunteered
to disperse the people of Kisaka who were riding roughshod over
the inhabitants of Senna; but the offer was declined, the few real
Portuguese fearing the disloyal half-castes among whom they dwelt.
Slavery and immorality have here done their work; nowhere else does
the European name stand at so low an ebb; but what can be expected?
Few Portuguese women are ever taken to the colonies, and here I did
not observe that honorable regard for the offspring which I noticed in
Angola. The son of a late governor of Tete was pointed out to me in the
condition and habit of a slave. There is neither priest nor school at
Senna, though there are ruins of churches and convents.

On passing the Shire we observed great quantities of the plant
Alfacinya, already mentioned, floating down into the Zambesi. It is
probably the 'Pistia stratiotes', a gigantic "duck-weed". It was mixed
with quantities of another aquatic plant, which the Barotse named
"Njefu", containing in the petiole of the leaf a pleasant-tasted nut.
This was so esteemed by Sebituane that he made it part of his tribute
from the subjected tribes. Dr. Hooker kindly informs me that the njefu
"is probably a species of 'Trapa', the nuts of which are eaten in the
south of Europe and in India. Government derives a large revenue from
them in Kashmir, amounting to 12,000 Pounds per annum for 128,000
ass-loads! The ancient Thracians are said to have eaten them largely. In
the south of France they are called water-chestnuts." The existence of
these plants in such abundance in the Shire may show that it flows from
large collections of still water. We found them growing in all the still
branches and lagoons of the Leeambye in the far north, and there also we
met a beautiful little floating plant, the 'Azolla Nilotica', which is
found in the upper Nile. They are seldom seen in flowing streams.

A few miles beyond the Shire we left the hills entirely, and sailed
between extensive flats. The banks seen in the distance are covered
with trees. We slept on a large inhabited island, and then came to the
entrance of the River Mutu (latitude 18d 3' 37" S., longitude 35d 46'
E.): the point of departure is called Mazaro, or "mouth of the Mutu".
The people who live on the north are called Baroro, and their country
Bororo. The whole of the right bank is in subjection to the Landeens,
who, it was imagined, would levy a tribute upon us, for this they are
accustomed to do to passengers. I regret that we did not meet them, for,
though they are named Caffres, I am not sure whether they are of
the Zulu family or of the Mashona. I should have liked to form their
acquaintance, and to learn what they really think of white men. I
understood from Sekwebu, and from one of Changamera's people who lives
at Linyanti, and was present at the attack on Senna, that they consider
the whites as a conquered tribe.

The Zambesi at Mazaro is a magnificent river, more than half a mile
wide, and without islands. The opposite bank is covered with forests of
fine timber; but the delta which begins here is only an immense flat,
covered with high, coarse grass and reeds, with here and there a few
mango and cocoanut trees. This was the point which was reached by
the late lamented Captain Parker, who fell at the Sulina mouth of
the Danube. I had a strong desire to follow the Zambesi farther, and
ascertain where this enormous body of water found its way into the sea;
but on hearing from the Portuguese that he had ascended to this point,
and had been highly pleased with the capabilities of the river, I felt
sure that his valuable opinion must be in possession of the Admiralty.
On my arrival in England I applied to Captain Washington, Hydrographer
to the Admiralty, and he promptly furnished the document for publication
by the Royal Geographical Society.

The river between Mazaro and the sea must therefore be judged of from
the testimony of one more competent to decide on its merits than a mere
landsman like myself.

'On the Quilimane and Zambesi Rivers'. From the Journal of the late
Capt. HYDE PARKER, R.N., H. M. Brig "Pantaloon".

"The Luabo is the main outlet of the Great Zambesi. In the rainy
season--January and February principally--the whole country is
overflowed, and the water escapes by the different rivers as far up
as Quilimane; but in the dry season neither Quilimane nor Olinda
communicates with it. The position of the river is rather incorrect in
the Admiralty chart, being six miles too much to the southward, and
also considerably to the westward. Indeed, the coast from here up to
Tongamiara seems too far to the westward. The entrance to the Luabo
River is about two miles broad, and is easily distinguishable, when
abreast of it, by a bluff (if I may so term it) of high, straight trees,
very close together, on the western side of the entrance. The bar may
be said to be formed by two series of sand-banks; that running from the
eastern point runs diagonally across (opposite?) the entrance and nearly
across it. Its western extremity is about two miles outside the west
point.

"The bank running out from the west point projects to the southward
three miles and a half, passing not one quarter of a mile from the
eastern or cross bank. This narrow passage is the BAR PASSAGE. It
breaks completely across at low water, except under very extraordinary
circumstances. At this time--low water--a great portion of the banks are
uncovered; in some places they are seven or eight feet above water.

"On these banks there is a break at all times, but in fine weather, at
high water, a boat may cross near the east point. There is very little
water, and, in places, a nasty race and bubble, so that caution is
requisite. The best directions for going in over the regular bar
passage, according to my experience, are as follows: Steer down well to
the eastward of the bar passage, so as to avoid the outer part of the
western shoals, on which there is usually a bad sea. When you get near
the CROSS-BAR, keep along it till the bluff of trees on the west side of
the entrance bears N.E.; you may then steer straight for it. This will
clear the end of the CROSS-BAR, and, directly you are within that,
the water is smooth. The worst sea is generally just without the bar
passage.

"Within the points the river widens at first and then contracts again.
About three miles from the Tree Bluff is an island; the passage up the
river is the right-hand side of it, and deep. The plan will best explain
it. The rise and fall of the tide at the entrance of the river being at
springs twenty feet, any vessel can get in at that time, but, with all
these conveniences for traffic, there is none here at present. The water
in the river is fresh down to the bar with the ebb tide, and in the
rainy season it is fresh at the surface quite outside. In the rainy
season, at the full and change of the moon, the Zambesi frequently
overflows its banks, making the country for an immense distance one
great lake, with only a few small eminences above the water. On the
banks of the river the huts are built on piles, and at these times the
communication is only in canoes; but the waters do not remain up more
than three or four days at a time. The first village is about eight
miles up the river, on the western bank, and is opposite to another
branch of the river called 'Muselo', which discharges itself into the
sea about five miles to the eastward.

"The village is extensive, and about it there is a very large quantity
of land in cultivation; calavances, or beans, of different sorts, rice,
and pumpkins, are the principal things. I saw also about here some wild
cotton, apparently of very good quality, but none is cultivated. The
land is so fertile as to produce almost any (thing?) without much
trouble.

"At this village is a very large house, mud-built, with a court-yard.
I believe it to have been used as a barracoon for slaves, several large
cargoes having been exported from this river. I proceeded up the river
as far as its junction with the Quilimane River, called 'Boca do
Rio', by my computation between 70 and 80 miles from the entrance. The
influence of the tides is felt about 25 or 30 miles up the river. Above
that, the stream, in the dry season, runs from 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 miles an
hour, but in the rains much stronger. The banks of the river, for
the first 30 miles, are generally thickly clothed with trees, with
occasional open glades. There are many huts and villages on both sides,
and a great deal of cultivation. At one village, about 17 miles up on
the eastern bank, and distinguished by being surrounded by an immense
number of bananas and plantain-trees, a great quantity of excellent peas
are cultivated; also cabbages, tomatoes, onions, etc. Above this there
are not many inhabitants on the left or west bank, although it is much
the finest country, being higher, and abounding in cocoanut palms, the
eastern bank being sandy and barren. The reason is, that some years back
the Landeens, or Caffres, ravaged all this country, killing the men and
taking the women as slaves, but they have never crossed the river; hence
the natives are afraid to settle on the west bank, and the Portuguese
owners of the different 'prasos' have virtually lost them. The banks of
the river continue mostly sandy, with few trees, except some cocoanut
palms, until the southern end of the large plantation of Nyangue,
formed by the river about 20 miles from Maruru. Here the country is more
populous and better cultivated, the natives a finer race, and the huts
larger and better constructed. Maruru belongs to Senor Asevedo, of
Quilimane, well known to all English officers on the east coast for his
hospitality.

"The climate here is much cooler than nearer the sea, and Asevedo has
successfully cultivated most European as well as tropical vegetables.
The sugar-cane thrives, as also coffee and cotton, and indigo is a weed.
Cattle here are beautiful, and some of them might show with credit in
England. The natives are intelligent, and under a good government this
fine country might become very valuable. Three miles from Maruru is
Mesan, a very pretty village among palm and mango trees. There is here a
good house belonging to a Senor Ferrao; close by is the canal (Mutu)
of communication between the Quilimane and Zambesi rivers, which in the
rainy season is navigable (?). I visited it in the month of October,
which is about the dryest time of the year; it was then a dry canal,
about 30 or 40 yards wide, overgrown with trees and grass, and, at the
bottom, at least 16 or 17 feet above the level of the Zambesi, which was
running beneath. In the rains, by the marks I saw, the entrance rise
of the river must be very nearly 30 feet, and the volume of water
discharged by it (the Zambesi) enormous.

"Above Maruru the country begins to become more hilly, and the high
mountains of Boruru are in sight; the first view of these is obtained
below Nyangue, and they must be of considerable height, as from this
they are distant above 40 miles. They are reported to contain great
mineral wealth; gold and copper being found in the range, as also COAL
(?). The natives (Landeens) are a bold, independent race, who do not
acknowledge the Portuguese authority, and even make them pay for leave
to pass unmolested. Throughout the whole course of the river hippopotami
were very abundant, and at one village a chase by the natives was
witnessed. They harpoon the animal with a barbed lance, to which is
attached, by a cord 3 or 4 fathoms long, an inflated bladder. The
natives follow in their canoes, and look out to fix more harpoons as
the animal rises to blow, and, when exhausted, dispatch him with their
lances. It is, in fact, nearly similar to a whale-hunt. Elephants and
lions are also abundant on the western side; the latter destroy many of
the blacks annually, and are much feared by them. Alligators are said to
be numerous, but I did not see any.

"The voyage up to Maruru occupied seven days, as I did not work the men
at the oar, but it might be done in four; we returned to the bar in two
and a half days.

"There is another mouth of the Zambesi seven miles to the westward of
Luabo, which was visited by the 'Castor's pinnace'; and I was assured by
Lieutenant Hoskins that the bar was better than the one I visited."

The conclusions of Captain Parker are strengthened by those of Lieut. A.
H. H. Hoskins, who was on the coast at the same time, and also visited
this spot. Having applied to my friend for his deliberate opinion on the
subject, he promptly furnished the following note in January last:

"The Zambesi appears to have five principal mouths, of which the Luabo
is the most southern and most navigable; Cumana, and two whose names
I do not know, not having myself visited it, lying between it and the
Quilimane, and the rise and fall at spring tides on the bar of the Luabo
is 22 feet; and as, in the passage, there is NEVER less than four feet
(I having crossed it at dead low-water--springs), this would give an
average depth sufficient for any commercial purposes. The rise and fall
is six feet greater, the passages narrow and more defined, consequently
deeper and more easily found than that of the Quilimane River. The river
above the bar is very tortuous, but deep; and it is observable that the
influence of the tide is felt much higher in this branch than in the
others; for whereas in the Catrina and Cumana I have obtained drinkable
water a very short distance from the mouth, in the Luabo I have ascended
seventy miles without finding the saltness perceptibly diminished. This
would facilitate navigation, and I have no hesitation in saying that
little difficulty would be experienced in conveying a steam-vessel of
the size and capabilities of the gunboat I lately commanded as high as
the branching off of the Quilimane River (Mazaro), which, in the dry
season, is observed many yards above the Luabo (main stream); though
I have been told by the Portuguese that the freshes which come down in
December and March fill it temporarily. These freshes deepen the river
considerably at that time of the year, and freshen the water many miles
from the coast. The population of the delta, except in the immediate
neighborhood of the Portuguese, appeared to be very sparse. Antelopes
and hippopotami were plentiful; the former tame and easily shot. I
inquired frequently of both natives and Portuguese if slavers were
in the habit of entering there to ship their cargoes, but could not
ascertain that they have ever done so in any except the Quilimane. With
common precaution the rivers are not unhealthy; for, during the whole
time I was employed in them (off and on during eighteen months), in open
boats and at all times of the year, frequently absent from the ship for
a month or six weeks at a time, I had not, in my boat's crew of fourteen
men, more than two, and those mild, cases of fever. Too much importance
can not be ascribed to the use of quinine, to which I attribute our
comparative immunity, and with which our judicious commander, Commodore
Wyvill, kept us amply supplied. I hope these few remarks may be of some
little use in confirming your views of the utility of that magnificent
river.

A. H. H. Hoskins."

It ought to be remembered that the testimony of these gentlemen is all
the more valuable, because they visited the river when the water was at
its lowest, and the surface of the Zambesi was not, as it was now, on a
level with and flowing into the Mutu, but sixteen feet beneath its bed.
The Mutu, at the point of departure, was only ten or twelve yards broad,
shallow, and filled with aquatic plants. Trees and reeds along the banks
overhang it so much, that, though we had brought canoes and a boat
from Tete, we were unable to enter the Mutu with them, and left them
at Mazaro. During most of the year this part of the Mutu is dry, and we
were even now obliged to carry all our luggage by land for about fifteen
miles. As Kilimane is called, in all the Portuguese documents, the
capital of the rivers of Senna, it seemed strange to me that the capital
should be built at a point where there was no direct water conveyance
to the magnificent river whose name it bore; and, on inquiry, I was
informed that the whole of the Mutu was large in days of yore, and
admitted of the free passage of great launches from Kilimane all the
year round, but that now this part of the Mutu had been filled up.

I was seized by a severe tertian fever at Mazaro, but went along the
right bank of the Mutu to the N.N.E. and E. for about fifteen miles.
We then found that it was made navigable by a river called the Pangazi,
which comes into it from the north. Another river, flowing from the same
direction, called the Luare, swells it still more; and, last of all,
the Likuare, with the tide, make up the river of Kilimane. The Mutu at
Mazaro is simply a connecting link, such as is so often seen in Africa,
and neither its flow nor stoppage affects the river of Kilimane. The
waters of the Pangazi were quite clear compared with those of the
Zambesi.*

   * I owe the following information, of a much later date, also
   to the politeness of Captain Washington.  H. M. sloop
   "Grecian" visited the coast in 1852-3, and the master remarks
   that "the entrance to the Luabo is in lat. 18d 51' S., long.
   36d 12' E., and may be known by a range of hummocks on its
   eastern side, and very low land to the S.W.  The entrance is
   narrow, and, as with all the rivers on this coast, is fronted
   by a bar, which renders the navigation, particularly for
   boats, very dangerous with the wind to the south of east or
   west. Our boats proceeded twenty miles up this river, 2
   fathoms on the bar, then 2-1/2--5--6--7 fathoms.  It was
   navigable farther up, but they did not proceed.  It is quite
   possible for a moderate-sized vessel to cross the bar at
   spring tides, and be perfectly landlocked and hidden among the
   trees.

   "The Maiudo, in 18d 52' S., 36d 12' E., IS NOT MENTIONED IN
   HORSBURGH, NOR LAID DOWN IN THE ADMIRALTY CHART, but is,
   nevertheless, one of some importance, and appears to be one of
   the principal stations for shipping slaves, as the boats found
   two barracoons, about 20 miles up, bearing every indication of
   having been very recently occupied, and which had good
   presumptive evidence that the 'Cauraigo', a brig under
   American colors, had embarked a cargo from thence but a short
   time before.  The river is fronted by a portion of the
   Elephant Shoals, at the distance of three or four miles
   outside. The eastern bank is formed by level sea-cliffs (as
   seen from the ship it has that appearance), high for this part
   of the coast, and conspicuous. The western side is composed of
   thick trees, and terminates in dead wood, from which we called
   it 'Dead-wood Point'.  After crossing the bar it branches off
   in a W. and N.W. direction, the latter being the principal
   arm, up which the boats went some 30 miles, or about 10 beyond
   the barracoon.  Fresh water can be obtained almost immediately
   inside the entrance, as the stream runs down very rapidly with
   the ebb tide.  The least water crossing the bar (low-water--
   springs) was 1-1/2 fathom, one cast only therefrom from 2 to 5
   fathoms, another 7 fathoms nearly the whole way up.

   "The Catrina, latitude 18d 50' south, longitude 36d 24' east.
   The external appearance of this river is precisely similar to
   that of the Maiudo, so much so that it is difficult to
   distinguish them by any feature of the land.  The longitude is
   the best guide, or, in the absence of observation, perhaps the
   angles contained by the extremes of land will be serviceable.
   Thus, at nine miles off the Maiudo the angle contained by the
   above was seven points, the bearing being N.E. W. of N.W. (?);
   while off the Catrina, at the same distance from shore (about
   nine miles), the angle was only 3-1/2 to 4 points, being N. to
   N.W.  As we did not send the boats up this river, no
   information was obtained."

My fever became excessively severe in consequence of traveling in the
hot sun, and the long grass blocking up the narrow path so as to exclude
the air. The pulse beat with amazing force, and felt as if thumping
against the crown of the head. The stomach and spleen swelled
enormously, giving me, for the first time, an appearance which I had
been disposed to laugh at among the Portuguese. At Interra we met Senhor
Asevedo, a man who is well known by all who ever visited Kilimane, and
who was presented with a gold chronometer watch by the Admiralty for
his attentions to English officers. He immediately tendered his large
sailing launch, which had a house in the stern. This was greatly in my
favor, for it anchored in the middle of the stream, and gave me some
rest from the mosquitoes, which in the whole of the delta are something
frightful. Sailing comfortably in this commodious launch along the river
of Kilimane, we reached that village (latitude 17d 53' 8" S., longitude
36d 40' E.) on the 20th of May, 1856, which wanted only a few days of
being four years since I started from Cape Town. Here I was received
into the house of Colonel Galdino Jose Nunes, one of the best men in the
country. I had been three years without hearing from my family; letters
having frequently been sent, but somehow or other, with but a single
exception, they never reached me. I received, however, a letter from
Admiral Trotter, conveying information of their welfare, and some
newspapers, which were a treat indeed. Her majesty's brig the "Frolic"
had called to inquire for me in the November previous, and Captain
Nolluth, of that ship, had most considerately left a case of wine; and
his surgeon, Dr. James Walsh, divining what I should need most, left an
ounce of quinine. These gifts made my heart overflow. I had not tasted
any liquor whatever during the time I had been in Africa; but when
reduced in Angola to extreme weakness, I found much benefit from a
little wine, and took from Loanda one bottle of brandy in my medicine
chest, intending to use it if it were again required; but the boy who
carried it whirled the box upside down, and smashed the bottle, so I can
not give my testimony either in favor of or against the brandy.

But my joy on reaching the east coast was sadly imbittered by the news
that Commander MacLune, of H. M. brigantine "Dart", on coming in to
Kilimane to pick me up, had, with Lieutenant Woodruffe and five men,
been lost on the bar. I never felt more poignant sorrow. It seemed as if
it would have been easier for me to have died for them, than that they
should all be cut off from the joys of life in generously attempting to
render me a service. I would here acknowledge my deep obligations to the
Earl of Clarendon, to the admiral at the Cape, and others, for the kind
interest they manifested in my safety; even the inquiries made were very
much to my advantage. I also refer with feelings of gratitude to
the Governor of Mozambique for offering me a passage in the schooner
"Zambesi", belonging to that province; and I shall never forget the
generous hospitality of Colonel Nunes and his nephew, with whom I
remained. One of the discoveries I have made is that there are vast
numbers of good people in the world, and I do most devoutly tender my
unfeigned thanks to that Gracious One who mercifully watched over me
in every position, and influenced the hearts of both black and white to
regard me with favor.

With the united testimony of Captain Parker and Lieutenant Hoskins,
added to my own observation, there can be no reasonable doubt but that
the real mouth of the Zambesi is available for the purposes of commerce.
The delta is claimed by the Portuguese, and the southern bank of the
Luabo, or Cuama, as this part of the Zambesi is sometimes called, is
owned by independent natives of the Caffre family. The Portuguese are
thus near the main entrance to the new central region; and as they have
of late years shown, in an enlightened and liberal spirit, their desire
to develop the resources of Eastern Africa by proclaiming Mozambique
a free port, it is to be hoped that the same spirit will lead them to
invite mercantile enterprise up the Zambesi, by offering facilities to
those who may be led to push commerce into the regions lying far
beyond their territory. Their wish to co-operate in the noble work of
developing the resources of the rich country beyond could not be shown
better than by placing a village with Zambesian pilots at the harbor of
Mitilone, and erecting a light-house for the guidance of seafaring men.
If this were done, no nation would be a greater gainer by it than the
Portuguese themselves, and assuredly no other needs a resuscitation of
its commerce more. Their kindness to me personally makes me wish for a
return of their ancient prosperity; and the most liberal and generous
act of the enlightened young king H. M. Don Pedro, in sending out orders
to support my late companions at the public expense of the province
of Mozambique until my return to claim them, leads me to hope for
encouragement in every measure for either the development of commerce,
the elevation of the natives, or abolition of the trade in slaves.

As far as I am myself concerned, the opening of the new central country
is a matter for congratulation only in so far as it opens up a prospect
for the elevation of the inhabitants. As I have elsewhere remarked, I
view the end of the geographical feat as the beginning of the missionary
enterprise. I take the latter term in its most extended signification,
and include every effort made for the amelioration of our race, the
promotion of all those means by which God in His providence is working,
and bringing all His dealings with man to a glorious consummation. Each
man in his sphere, either knowingly or unwittingly, is performing the
will of our Father in heaven. Men of science, searching after hidden
truths, which, when discovered, will, like the electric telegraph,
bind men more closely together--soldiers battling for the right against
tyranny--sailors rescuing the victims of oppression from the grasp of
heartless men-stealers--merchants teaching the nations lessons of mutual
dependence--and many others, as well as missionaries, all work in the
same direction, and all efforts are overruled for one glorious end.

If the reader has accompanied me thus far, he may, perhaps, be disposed
to take an interest in the objects I propose to myself, should God
mercifully grant me the honor of doing something more for Africa. As the
highlands on the borders of the central basin are comparatively healthy,
the first object seems to be to secure a permanent path thither,
in order that Europeans may pass as quickly as possible through the
unhealthy region near the coast. The river has not been surveyed, but
at the time I came down there was abundance of water for a large vessel,
and this continues to be the case during four or five months of each
year. The months of low water still admit of navigation by launches, and
would permit small vessels equal to the Thames steamers to ply with ease
in the deep channel. If a steamer were sent to examine the Zambesi,
I would recommend one of the lightest draught, and the months of May,
June, and July for passing through the delta; and this not so much for
fear of want of water as the danger of being grounded on a sand or mud
bank, and the health of the crew being endangered by the delay.

In the months referred to no obstruction would be incurred in the
channel below Tete. Twenty or thirty miles above that point we have
a small rapid, of which I regret my inability to speak, as (mentioned
already) I did not visit it. But, taking the distance below this point,
we have, in round numbers, 300 miles of navigable river. Above this
rapid we have another reach of 300 miles, with sand, but no mud banks
in it, which brings us to the foot of the eastern ridge. Let it not,
however, be thought that a vessel by going thither would return laden
with ivory and gold-dust. The Portuguese of Tete pick up all the
merchandise of the tribes in their vicinity, and, though I came out by
traversing the people with whom the Portuguese have been at war, it
does not follow that it will be perfectly safe for others to go in
whose goods may be a stronger temptation to cupidity than any thing I
possessed. When we get beyond the hostile population mentioned, we reach
a very different race. On the latter my chief hopes at present rest. All
of them, however, are willing and anxious to engage in trade, and, while
eager for this, none have ever been encouraged to cultivate the raw
materials of commerce. Their country is well adapted for cotton; and I
venture to entertain the hope that by distributing seeds of better kinds
than that which is found indigenous, and stimulating the natives to
cultivate it by affording them the certainty of a market for all they
may produce, we may engender a feeling of mutual dependence between them
and ourselves. I have a twofold object in view, and believe that, by
guiding our missionary labors so as to benefit our own country, we shall
thereby more effectually and permanently benefit the heathen. Seven
years were spent at Kolobeng in instructing my friends there; but the
country being incapable of raising materials for exportation, when the
Boers made their murderous attack and scattered the tribe for a season,
none sympathized except a few Christian friends. Had the people of
Kolobeng been in the habit of raising the raw materials of English
commerce, the outrage would have been felt in England; or, what is more
likely to have been the case, the people would have raised themselves
in the scale by barter, and have become, like the Basutos of Moshesh
and people of Kuruman, possessed of fire-arms, and the Boers would
never have made the attack at all. We ought to encourage the Africans
to cultivate for our markets, as the most effectual means, next to the
Gospel, of their elevation.

It is in the hope of working out this idea that I propose the formation
of stations on the Zambesi beyond the Portuguese territory, but having
communication through them with the coast. A chain of stations admitting
of easy and speedy intercourse, such as might be formed along the flank
of the eastern ridge, would be in a favorable position for carrying out
the objects in view. The London Missionary Society has resolved to have
a station among the Makololo on the north bank, and another on the
south among the Matebele. The Church--Wesleyan, Baptist, and that most
energetic body, the Free Church--could each find desirable locations
among the Batoka and adjacent tribes. The country is so extensive there
is no fear of clashing. All classes of Christians find that sectarian
rancor soon dies out when they are working together among and for the
real heathen. Only let the healthy locality be searched for and fixed
upon, and then there will be free scope to work in the same cause
in various directions, without that loss of men which the system of
missions on the unhealthy coasts entails. While respectfully submitting
the plan to these influential societies, I can positively state that,
when fairly in the interior, there is perfect security for life and
property among a people who will at least listen and reason.

Eight of my men begged to be allowed to come as far as Kilimane, and,
thinking that they would there see the ocean, I consented to their
coming, though the food was so scarce in consequence of a dearth that
they were compelled to suffer some hunger. They would fain have come
farther; for when Sekeletu parted with them, his orders were that none
of them should turn until they had reached Ma Robert and brought her
back with them. On my explaining the difficulty of crossing the sea, he
said, "Wherever you lead, they must follow." As I did not know well how
I should get home myself, I advised them to go back to Tete, where food
was abundant, and there await my return. I bought a quantity of calico
and brass wire with ten of the smaller tusks which we had in our charge,
and sent the former back as clothing to those who remained at Tete. As
there were still twenty tusks left, I deposited them with Colonel Nunes,
that, in the event of any thing happening to prevent my return, the
impression might not be produced in the country that I had made away
with Sekeletu's ivory. I instructed Colonel Nunes, in case of my death,
to sell the tusks and deliver the proceeds to my men; but I intended, if
my life should be prolonged, to purchase the goods ordered by Sekeletu
in England with my own money, and pay myself on my return out of
the price of the ivory. This I explained to the men fully, and they,
understanding the matter, replied, "Nay, father, you will not die; you
will return to take us back to Sekeletu." They promised to wait till I
came back, and, on my part, I assured them that nothing but death would
prevent my return. This I said, though while waiting at Kilimane a
letter came from the Directors of the London Missionary Society stating
that "they were restricted in their power of aiding plans connected
only remotely with the spread of the Gospel, and that the financial
circumstances of the society were not such as to afford any ground of
hope that it would be in a position, within any definite period, to
enter upon untried, remote, and difficult fields of labor." This has
been explained since as an effusion caused by temporary financial
depression; but, feeling perfect confidence in my Makololo friends, I
was determined to return and trust to their generosity. The old love of
independence, which I had so strongly before joining the society, again
returned. It was roused by a mistaken view of what this letter meant;
for the directors, immediately on my reaching home, saw the great
importance of the opening, and entered with enlightened zeal on the work
of sending the Gospel into the new field. It is to be hoped that their
constituents will not only enable them to begin, but to carry out their
plans, and that no material depression will ever again be permitted, nor
appearance of spasmodic benevolence recur. While I hope to continue the
same cordial co-operation and friendship which have always characterized
our intercourse, various reasons induce me to withdraw from pecuniary
dependence on any society. I have done something for the heathen, but
for an aged mother, who has still more sacred claims than they, I have
been able to do nothing, and a continuance of the connection would be
a perpetuation of my inability to make any provision for her declining
years. In addition to "clergyman's sore throat", which partially
disabled me from the work, my father's death imposed new obligations;
and a fresh source of income having been opened to me without my asking,
I had no hesitation in accepting what would enable me to fulfill my duty
to my aged parent as well as to the heathen.

If the reader remembers the way in which I was led, while teaching the
Bakwains, to commence exploration, he will, I think, recognize the
hand of Providence. Anterior to that, when Mr. Moffat began to give
the Bible--the Magna Charta of all the rights and privileges of modern
civilization--to the Bechuanas, Sebituane went north, and spread the
language into which he was translating the sacred oracles in a new
region larger than France. Sebituane, at the same time, rooted out
hordes of bloody savages, among whom no white man could have gone
without leaving his skull to ornament some village. He opened up the
way for me--let us hope also for the Bible. Then, again, while I
was laboring at Kolobeng, seeing only a small arc of the cycle of
Providence, I could not understand it, and felt inclined to ascribe our
successive and prolonged droughts to the wicked one. But when forced by
these and the Boers to become explorer, and open a new country in the
north rather than set my face southward, where missionaries are not
needed, the gracious Spirit of God influenced the minds of the heathen
to regard me with favor; the Divine hand is again perceived. Then I
turned away westward rather than in the opposite direction, chiefly from
observing that some native Portuguese, though influenced by the hope of
a reward from their government to cross the continent, had been obliged
to return from the east without accomplishing their object. Had I
gone at first in the eastern direction, which the course of the great
Leeambye seemed to invite, I should have come among the belligerents
near Tete when the war was raging at its height, instead of, as it
happened, when all was over. And again, when enabled to reach Loanda,
the resolution to do my duty by going back to Linyanti probably saved me
from the fate of my papers in the "Forerunner". And then, last of all,
this new country is partially opened to the sympathies of Christendom,
and I find that Sechele himself has, though unbidden by man, been
teaching his own people. In fact, he has been doing all that I was
prevented from doing, and I have been employed in exploring--a work
I had no previous intention of performing. I think that I see the
operation of the unseen hand in all this, and I humbly hope that it will
still guide me to do good in my day and generation in Africa.

Viewing the success awarded to opening up the new country as a
development of Divine Providence in relation to the African family,
the mind naturally turns to the probable influence it may have on negro
slavery, and more especially on the practice of it by a large portion of
our own race. We now demand increased supplies of cotton and sugar,
and then reprobate the means our American brethren adopt to supply our
wants. We claim a right to speak about this evil, and also to act in
reference to its removal, the more especially because we are of one
blood. It is on the Anglo-American race that the hopes of the world for
liberty and progress rest. Now it is very grievous to find one portion
of this race practicing the gigantic evil, and the other aiding, by
increased demands for the produce of slave labor, in perpetuating the
enormous wrong. The Mauritius, a mere speck on the ocean, yields sugar,
by means of guano, improved machinery, and free labor, equal in amount
to one fourth part of the entire consumption of Great Britain. On that
island land is excessively dear and far from rich: no crop can be raised
except by means of guano, and labor has to be brought all the way from
India. But in Africa the land is cheap, the soil good, and free labor
is to be found on the spot. Our chief hopes rest with the natives
themselves; and if the point to which I have given prominence, of
healthy inland commercial stations, be realized, where all the produce
raised may be collected, there is little doubt but that slavery among
our kinsmen across the Atlantic will, in the course of some years, cease
to assume the form of a necessity to even the slaveholders themselves.
Natives alone can collect produce from the more distant hamlets, and
bring it to the stations contemplated. This is the system pursued so
successfully in Angola. If England had possessed that strip of land, by
civilly declining to enrich her "frontier colonists" by "Caffre
wars", the inborn energy of English colonists would have developed its
resources, and the exports would not have been 100,000 Pounds as now,
but one million at least. The establishment of the necessary agency must
be a work of time, and greater difficulty will be experienced on the
eastern than on the western side of the continent, because in the one
region we have a people who know none but slave-traders, while in
the other we have tribes who have felt the influence of the coast
missionaries and of the great Niger expedition; one invaluable benefit
it conferred was the dissemination of the knowledge of English love of
commerce and English hatred of slavery, and it therefore was no failure.
But on the east there is a river which may become a good pathway to
a central population who are friendly to the English; and if we
can conciliate the less amicable people on the river, and introduce
commerce, an effectual blow will be struck at the slave-trade in that
quarter. By linking the Africans there to ourselves in the manner
proposed, it is hoped that their elevation will eventually be the
result. In this hope and proposed effort I am joined by my brother
Charles, who has come from America, after seventeen years' separation,
for the purpose. We expect success through the influence of that Spirit
who already aided the efforts to open the country, and who has since
turned the public mind toward it. A failure may be experienced by sudden
rash speculation overstocking the markets there, and raising the prices
against ourselves. But I propose to spend some more years of labor, and
shall be thankful if I see the system fairly begun in an open pathway
which will eventually benefit both Africa and England.

The village of Kilimane stands on a great mud bank, and is surrounded by
extensive swamps and rice-grounds. The banks of the river are lined with
mangrove bushes, the roots of which, and the slimy banks on which they
grow, are alternately exposed to the tide and sun. The houses are well
built of brick and lime, the latter from Mozambique. If one digs down
two or three feet in any part of the site of the village, he comes to
water; hence the walls built on this mud bank gradually subside; pieces
are sometimes sawn off the doors below, because the walls in which they
are fixed have descended into the ground, so as to leave the floors
higher than the bottom of the doors. It is almost needless to say that
Kilimane is very unhealthy. A man of plethoric temperament is sure to
get fever, and concerning a stout person one may hear the remark, "Ah!
he will not live long; he is sure to die."

A Hamburgh vessel was lost near the bar before we came down. The men
were much more regular in their habits than English sailors, so I had
an opportunity of observing the fever acting as a slow poison. They
felt "out of sorts" only, but gradually became pale, bloodless, and
emaciated, then weaker and weaker, till at last they sank more like oxen
bitten by tsetse than any disease I ever saw. The captain, a strong,
robust young man, remained in perfect health for about three months,
but was at last knocked down suddenly and made as helpless as a child
by this terrible disease. He had imbibed a foolish prejudice
against quinine, our sheet-anchor in the complaint. This is rather
a professional subject, but I introduce it here in order to protest
against the prejudice as almost entirely unfounded. Quinine is
invaluable in fever, and never produces any unpleasant effects in any
stage of the disease, IF EXHIBITED IN COMBINATION WITH AN APERIENT. The
captain was saved by it, without his knowledge, and I was thankful that
the mode of treatment, so efficacious among natives, promised so fair
among Europeans.

After waiting about six weeks at this unhealthy spot, in which, however,
by the kind attentions of Colonel Nunes and his nephew, I partially
recovered from my tertian, H. M. brig "Frolic" arrived off Kilimane. As
the village is twelve miles from the bar, and the weather was rough, she
was at anchor ten days before we knew of her presence about seven miles
from the entrance to the port. She brought abundant supplies for all
my need, and 150 Pounds to pay my passage home, from my kind friend
Mr. Thompson, the Society's agent at the Cape. The admiral at the Cape
kindly sent an offer of a passage to the Mauritius, which I thankfully
accepted. Sekwebu and one attendant alone remained with me now. He was
very intelligent, and had been of the greatest service to me; indeed,
but for his good sense, tact, and command of the language of the tribes
through which we passed, I believe we should scarcely have succeeded in
reaching the coast. I naturally felt grateful to him; and as his chief
wished ALL my companions to go to England with me, and would probably be
disappointed if none went, I thought it would be beneficial for him to
see the effects of civilization, and report them to his countrymen; I
wished also to make some return for his very important services. Others
had petitioned to come, but I explained the danger of a change of
climate and food, and with difficulty restrained them. The only one
who now remained begged so hard to come on board ship that I greatly
regretted that the expense prevented my acceding to his wish to visit
England. I said to him, "You will die if you go to such a cold country
as mine." "That is nothing," he reiterated; "let me die at your feet."

When we parted from our friends at Kilimane, the sea on the bar was
frightful even to the seamen. This was the first time Sekwebu had seen
the sea. Captain Peyton had sent two boats in case of accident. The
waves were so high that, when the cutter was in one trough, and we in
the pinnace in another, her mast was hid. We then mounted to the crest
of the wave, rushed down the slope, and struck the water again with
a blow which felt as if she had struck the bottom. Boats must be
singularly well constructed to be able to stand these shocks. Three
breakers swept over us. The men lift up their oars, and a wave comes
sweeping over all, giving the impression that the boat is going down,
but she only goes beneath the top of the wave, comes out on the other
side, and swings down the slope, and a man bales out the water with a
bucket. Poor Sekwebu looked at me when these terrible seas broke over,
and said, "Is this the way you go? Is this the way you go?" I smiled
and said, "Yes; don't you see it is?" and tried to encourage him. He was
well acquainted with canoes, but never had seen aught like this. When we
reached the ship--a fine, large brig of sixteen guns and a crew of one
hundred and thirty--she was rolling so that we could see a part of her
bottom. It was quite impossible for landsmen to catch the ropes and
climb up, so a chair was sent down, and we were hoisted in as ladies
usually are, and received so hearty an English welcome from Captain
Peyton and all on board that I felt myself at once at home in every
thing except my own mother tongue. I seemed to know the language
perfectly, but the words I wanted would not come at my call. When I
left England I had no intention of returning, and directed my
attention earnestly to the languages of Africa, paying none to English
composition. With the exception of a short interval in Angola, I had
been three and a half years without speaking English, and this, with
thirteen years of previous partial disuse of my native tongue, made me
feel sadly at a loss on board the "Frolic".

We left Kilimane on the 12th of July, and reached the Mauritius on the
12th of August, 1856. Sekwebu was picking up English, and becoming a
favorite with both men and officers. He seemed a little bewildered,
every thing on board a man-of-war being so new and strange; but he
remarked to me several times, "Your countrymen are very agreeable," and,
"What a strange country this is--all water together!" He also said that
he now understood why I used the sextant. When we reached the Mauritius
a steamer came out to tow us into the harbor. The constant strain on
his untutored mind seemed now to reach a climax, for during the night
he became insane. I thought at first that he was intoxicated. He had
descended into a boat, and, when I attempted to go down and bring him
into the ship, he ran to the stern and said, "No! no! it is enough that
I die alone. You must not perish; if you come, I shall throw myself
into the water." Perceiving that his mind was affected, I said, "Now,
Sekwebu, we are going to Ma Robert." This struck a chord in his bosom,
and he said, "Oh yes; where is she, and where is Robert?" and he seemed
to recover. The officers proposed to secure him by putting him in irons;
but, being a gentleman in his own country, I objected, knowing that the
insane often retain an impression of ill treatment, and I could not
bear to have it said in Sekeletu's country that I had chained one of
his principal men as they had seen slaves treated. I tried to get him
on shore by day, but he refused. In the evening a fresh accession
of insanity occurred; he tried to spear one of the crew, then leaped
overboard, and, though he could swim well, pulled himself down hand
under hand by the chain cable. We never found the body of poor Sekwebu.

At the Mauritius I was most hospitably received by Major General C. M.
Hay, and he generously constrained me to remain with him till, by the
influence of the good climate and quiet English comfort, I got rid of an
enlarged spleen from African fever. In November I came up the Red Sea;
escaped the danger of shipwreck through the admirable management of
Captain Powell, of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Company's ship
"Candia", and on the 12th of December was once more in dear old England.
The Company most liberally refunded my passage-money. I have not
mentioned half the favors bestowed, but I may just add that no one has
cause for more abundant gratitude to his fellow-men and to his Maker
than I have; and may God grant that the effect on my mind be such that
I may be more humbly devoted to the service of the Author of all our
mercies!

Appendix.--Latitudes and Longitudes of Positions.

[The "Remarks" column has been replaced, where needed, with remarks listed
below the corresponding line, and inclosed in square brackets.]

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Positions.                    Latitude.  Longitude.      Date.     No. of Sets
                                   South.      East.                    of Lunar
                                                                       Distances.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  d  '  "    d  '  "                        W. E.
   Manakalongwe Pass.            22 55 52    .  .  .  1853, Jan. 26
   Letloche.                     22 38  0    .  .  .        Jan. 28
   Kanne.                        22 26 56    .  .  .        Jan. 31
   Lotlokane, where the first    21 27 47    .  .  .        Feb. 11, 12
    Palmyra-trees occur.
    Hence path to Nchokotsa N.N.W.,
    thence to Kobe N.W.
   Kobe (1st group).             20 53 14   24 52  0        Feb. 18, 19
   Kama Kama, from whence        19 52 31    .  .  .        Mar.  2
    traveled in magnetic
    meridian (1st group).
   Fever Ponds (1st group).      19 15 53   24 55  0        Mar. 11, 28
   Ten miles S. of hill N'gwa    18 38  0   24 26  0        Apr. 14
    (1st group).
   N'gwa Hill (a central         18 27 50   24 13 36        Apr. 15, 16
    occultation of
    B.A.C. 2364 Gemini).
   N'gwa Valley, half mile       18 27 20   24 13 36        Apr. 17
    N. of hill.
   E. of and in parallel of      18 20  0    .  .  .        Apr. 17
    Wagon Station of 1851.
   Wagon Station on the Chobe,   18 20  0   23 50  0        . . .
    three miles S.
    of Sekeletu's Town.
   Sekeletu's Town (1st group).  18 17 20   23 50  9       |June 13    |
                                                           |July 14, 17|
        [ Boiling-point of water = 205-1/3 Deg.; Alt. = 3521 feet. ]
   Island Mahonta.  The Chobe    17 58  0  (24  6)          Apr. 26
    runs here in 17d 58'.
   Banks of Sanshureh River,     18  4 27   24  6 20        Apr. 26
    a branch of the Chobe
    (1st group).
        [ At a well-known Baobab-tree 9' south of Mahonta island. ]
   Town of Sesheke               17 31 38   25 13  0  1855, Aug. 31         .  1
    on the Zambesi.
   Sekhosi's Town on             17 29 13    .  .  .  1853, July 26, 27
    the Zambesi (about 25 miles
    W. of Sesheke).
   Cataract of Nambwe.           17 17 16    .  .  .        July 31
   Confluence of                 17  7 31    .  .  .  1855, Aug. 22         .  1
    Njoko and Zambesi.
   Cataract of Bombwe.           16 56 33    .  .  .  1853, Aug.  1
   Kale Cataract.                16 49 52    .  .  .  1855, Aug. 21         .  1
   Falls of Gonye.               16 38 50   23 55  0 |1853, Aug.  2|
                                                     |1855, Aug. 19|        1  2
   Nameta.                       16 12  9    .  .  .        Aug. 17         .  2
   Seori sa Mei,                 16  0 32    .  .  .  1853, Aug.  5
    or Island of Water.
   Litofe Island, town of.       15 55  0    .  .  .        Aug.  6
   Loyela, S. end of this        15 27 30    .  .  .        Aug.  9
    island, town of Mamochisane.
   Naliele or Nariele,           15 24 17   23  5 54        Aug. 10, 13
    chief town of Barotse
    (occultation of Jupiter)
    (1st group).
   Linangelo, old town           15 18 40    .  .  .        Aug. 19
    of Santuru (site nearly
    swallowed up).
   Katongo (near Slave           15 16 33    .  .  .        Aug. 30
    Merchants' Stockade).
   Point of Junction of Nariele  15 15 43    .  .  .        Aug. 29
    Branch with the Main Stream.
   Quando Village.               15  6  8    .  .  .        Aug. 28
   Town of Libonta.              14 59  0    .  .  .        Aug. 21
   Island of Tongane.            14 38  6    .  .  .        Aug. 23
   Cowrie Island.                14 20  5    .  .  .        Aug. 24
   Junction of the Loeti         14 18 57    .  .  .        Aug.
    with the Main Stream
    (Leeambye, Zambesi).
        [ Boiling-point of water = 203 Deg. = 4741 feet. ]
   Confluence of the Leeba       14 10 52   23 35 40        Aug. 24, 25
    or Lonta with the Leeambye
    (1st group).
   Kabompo, near the Leeba.      12 37 35   22 47  0 |1854, Jan.  1|
                                                     |1855, July  3|        .  3
   Village about 2' N.W.         12  6  6   22 57  0  1854, Feb.  1
    of the Leeba after leaving
    Kabompo town:  the hill Peeri,
    or Piri, bearing S.S.E.,
    distant about 6'.
   Village of Soana Molopo,      11 49 22   22 42  0        Feb.  7
    3' from Lokalueje River.
   Village of Quendende,         11 41 17    .  .  .        Feb. 11
    about 2' S.E. of the ford
    of the Lotembwa, and about
    9' from the town of Katema.
   Banks of the Lovoa.           11 40 54    .  .  .  1855, June 20         2  .
   Lofuje River flows into       12 52 35   22 49  0        July  7         .  3
    the Leeba; Nyamoana's village.
   Confluence of the Makondo     13 23 12    .  .  .        July 13
    and Leeba Rivers.
   Katema's Town, 5' S. of Lake  11 35 49   22 27  0  1854, Feb. 17         .  2
    Dilolo, the source of the
    Lotembwa, one of the principal
    feeders of the Leeba.
   Lake Dilolo (station about    11 32  1    .  .  .  1855, June 18         .  2
    half a mile S. of the lake).                            June 13         .  .
        [ Boiling-point of water = 203 Deg. = 4741 feet. ]
   Village near the ford of      11 15 55    .  .  .  1854, Feb. 28
    the River Kasai, Kasye,
    or Loke.  The ford is
    in latitude 11d 17'.
   Bango's Village, about 10'    10 22 53   20 58  0  1855, May  28         3  .
    W. of the Loembwe.
   Banks of the Stream Chihune.  10 57 30  (20 53)*1* 1854, Mar.  8
        [ The longitude doubtful. ]
   Ionga Panza's village.        10 25  0   20 15  0 *2*    Mar. 20
   Ford of the River Quango.      9 50  0  (18 27  0)       Apr.  5
   Cassange, about 40 or 50       9 37 30   17 49  0        Apr. 13, 17     3  2
    miles W. of the River Quango,
    and situated in a deep valley.
   Tala Mungongo, 2' E.           9 42 37  (17 27)          Jan. 11, 14
    of following station.
        [ Longitude not observed:  Water boils--
          Top of = 206 Deg., height 3151 feet.
          Bottom of descent     = 208 Deg. = 2097 feet.
          Bottom of east ascent = 205 Deg. = 3680 feet.
          Top     "   "     "   = 202 Deg. = 5278 feet. ]
   Banks of the Quinze,           9 42 37   17 25  0  1855, Jan. 10         .  1
    near the source, 2' W. of
    the sudden descent which
    forms the valley of Cassange.
   Sanza, on the River Quize      9 37 46   16 59  0        Jan.  7         .  4
    (about 15 yards wide).
   Pungo Andongo,                 9 42 14   15 30  0  1854, Dec. 11         .  4
    on the River Coanza.
        [ On the top of the rocks water boils at 204 Deg. = 4210 feet. ]
   On the River Coanza,           9 47  2    .  .  .        Dec. 22
    2' W. of Pungo Andongo.
   Candumba, 15 miles E. of       9 42 46    .  .  .  1855, Jan.  2
    Pungo Andongo, 300 yards
    N. of the Coanza.
   Confluence of the Lombe        9 41 26    .  .  .        Jan.  3
    and Coanza, 8' or 10' E.
    of Candumba, and at house
    of M. Pires, taken at about
    half a mile N. of confluence.
        [ Here the Coanza takes its southern bend. ]
   Golungo Alto, about midway     9  8 30   14 51  0  1854,|Oct. 27|
    between Ambaca and Loanda.                             |May  14|
   "Aguaes doces" in Cassange,    9 15  2    .  .  .        Oct.  6,  7     .  2
    10' W. of Golungo Alto.
        [ At the confluence of the Luinha and Luce. ]
   Confluence of the Luinha       9 26 23    .  .  .
    and Lucalla.
   Confluence of the Lucalla      9 37 46    .  .  .        Oct. 11, 12
    and Coanza, Massangano
    town and fort.
        [ A prominent hill in Cazengo, called Zungo, is about 6'
          S.S.W. of "Aguaes doces", and it bears N.E. by E.
          from the house of the commandant at Massangano. ]
   Ambaca, residence of the       9 16 35   15 23  0        Dec.  6
    commandant of the district.
   Kalai,                        17 51 54   25 41  0  1855, Nov. 18         2  3
    near the Mosioatunya Falls.
   Lekone Rivulet.               17 45  6   25 55  0        Nov. 20         4  1
        [ Water boils at 204-1/2 Deg. = 3945 feet.  Between Lekone and Kalomo,
          Marimba 203-1/4 Deg. = 4608 feet. ]
   Kalomo River.                (17  3  0)   .  .  .        Nov. 30         .  1
        [ The lat. and long. doubtful.  Top of ridge, water boils
          at 202 Deg. = 5278 feet. ]
   Rivulet of Dela,              16 56  0   26 45  0        Dec.  2         .  3
    called Mozuma.
   Kise Kise Hills.              16 27 20    .  .  .        Dec.  3
   Nakachinto Rivulet.           16 11 24    .  .  .        Dec. 11
        [ On eastern descent from ridge, water boils at 204 Deg. = 4210 feet. ]
   Elephant's Grave.            (16  3  0) (28 10)          Dec. 14         1  .
        [ The latitude not observed. ]
   Kenia Hills, Rivulet Losito  (15 56  0) (28  1)          Dec. 16         3  .
    on their western flank.
        [ The latitude not observed. ]
   6' E. of Bolengwe Gorge,      15 48 19   28 22  0        Dec. 18         3  3
    and on the banks of the Kafue.
   7' or 8' N.E. or E.N.E.      (15 49  0) (28 34) *3*      Dec. 29         .  4
    of the confluence of
    the Kafue and Zambesi,
    at a rivulet called Kambare.
        [ The lat. not observed; water boils 205-1/2 Deg. = 3415 feet.
          Top of the hills Semalembue, water boils 204-1/2 Deg. = 4078 feet.
          Bottom of ditto, 205-3/4 Deg. = 3288 feet. ]
   Confluence of Kafue           15 53  0    .  .  .
    and Zambesi.
   Banks of Zambesi,             15 50 49    .  .  .        Dec. 30
    8' or 10' below confluence.
        [ Water boils at 209 Deg. = 1571 feet. ]
   Village of Ma-Mburuma,        15 36 57   30 22  0  1856, Jan. 12         1  1
    about 10 miles from Zumbo.
   Zumbo station, ruins of a     15 37 22   30 32  0        Jan. 13         2  3
    church on the right bank of
    the Loangwa, about 300 yards
    from confluence with Zambesi.
        [ Water boils at 209-1/4 Deg. = 1440 feet. ]
   Chilonda's Village, quarter   15 38 34   30 52  0        Jan. 20         3  .
    of a mile N. of Zambesi,
    near the Kabanka Hill.
   Opposite Hill Pinkwe.         15 39 11  (32  5) *4*      Feb.  7         .  1
        [ Long. doubtful; the moon's alt. only 4 Deg. ]
   Moshua Rivulet.               15 45 33   32 22  0 *5*    Feb.  9         1  2
   Tangwe Rivulet, or            16 13 38   32 29  0        Feb. 20
    Sand River, 1/4 mile broad.
   Tete or Nyungwe station,      16  9  3   33 28  0        Mar.  2, 17     4  8
    house of commandant.
   Hot Spring Makorozi,          15 59 35    .  .  .        Mar. 13
    about 10 m. up the river.
   Below Tete, island of         16 34 46   32 51  0        Apr. 23         1  .
    Mozambique, on the Zambesi.
   Island of Nkuesa.             17  1  6    .  .  .        Apr. 25
   Senna, 300 yards S.W.         17 27  1   34 57  0 *6*   |April 27|       2  6
    of the Mud Fort on the bank                            |May 8, 9|
    of the river.
   Islet of Shupanga.            17 51 38    .  .  .        May  12
   Small islet in the middle of  17 59 21    .  .  .        May  13
    the Zambesi, and six or eight
    miles below Shupanga.
   Mazaro or Mutu,               18  3 37   35 57  0        May  14         2  2
    where the Kilimane River
    branches off the Zambesi.
   Kilimane Village,             17 53  8   36 40  0 *7*  June 13, 25, 27   1  6
    at the house of Senor
    Galdino Jose Nunes,
    colonel of militia.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Positions.                    Latitude.  Longitude.      Date.     No. of Sets
                                   South.      East.                    of Lunar
                                                                       Distances.
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   *1* Probably 20d 25'.--I. A.
   *2* Probably 20d 10'.--I. A.
   *3* Probably 28d 56'.--I. A.
   *4* Probably 31d 46' 30".--I. A.
   *5* Probably 31d 56'.--I. A.
   *6* Probably 35d 10' 15".--I. A.
   *7* Probably 36d 56' 8".--I. A.

Appendix.--Book Review in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, February, 1858.

[This review is provided to allow the reader to view Livingstone's
achievement as it was seen by a contemporary.--A. L., 1997.]

Livingstone's Travels in South Africa.*

   * 'Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa'. By
   David Livingstone, LL.D., D.C.L.  1 vol. 8vo. With Maps and
   numerous Illustrations.  Harper and Brothers.

   'Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa'. By
   Henry Barth, Ph.D., D.C.L.  3 vols. 8vo. With Map and numerous
   Illustrations.  Harper and Brothers.

These two works, each embodying the results of years of travel and
research, entirely revolutionize all our theories as to the geographical
and physical character of Central Africa. Instead of lofty mountains and
sandy deserts, we have a wide basin, or rather series of basins, with
lakes and great rivers, and a soil fertile even when compared with the
abounding exuberance of our own Western valleys and prairies.

Barth, traveling southward from the Mediterranean, explored this
region till within eight degrees of the equator. Livingstone, traveling
northward from the Cape of Good Hope, approached the equator from the
south as nearly as Barth did from the north. He then traversed the
whole breadth of the continent diagonally from the west to the east.
His special researches cover the entire space between the eighth and
fifteenth parallels of south latitude. Between the regions explored by
Barth and Livingstone lies an unexplored tract extending eight degrees
on each side of the equator, and occupying the whole breadth of
the continent from east to west. Lieutenant Burton, famous for his
expedition to Mecca and Medina, set out from Zanzibar a few months
since, with the design of traversing this very region. If he succeeds
in his purpose his explorations will fill up the void between those of
Barth and Livingstone.

Dr. Livingstone, with whose travels we are at present specially
concerned, is no ordinary man. The son of a Presbyterian deacon and
small trader in Glasgow; set to work in a cotton factory at ten years
old; buying a Latin grammar with his first earnings; working from six in
the morning till eight at night, then attending evening-school till
ten, and pursuing his studies till midnight; at sixteen a fair classical
scholar, with no inconsiderable reading in books of science and travels,
gained, sentence by sentence, with the book open before him on his
spinning-jenny; botanizing and geologizing on holidays and at spare
hours; poring over books of astrology till he was startled by inward
suggestions to sell his soul to the Evil One as the price of the
mysterious knowledge of the stars; soundly flogged by the good deacon
his father by way of imparting to him a liking for Boston's "Fourfold
State" and Wilberforce's "Practical Christianity"; then convinced by the
writings of the worthy Thomas Dick that there was no hostility between
Science and Religion, embracing with heart and mind the doctrines of
evangelical Christianity, and resolving to devote his life to their
extension among the heathen--such are the leading features of the early
life of David Livingstone.

He would equip himself for the warfare and afterward fight with the
powers of darkness at his own cost. So at the age of nineteen--a slim,
loose-jointed lad--he commenced the study of medicine and Greek, and
afterward of theology, in the University of Glasgow, attending lectures
in the winter, paying his expenses by working as a cotton-spinner during
the summer, without receiving a farthing of aid from any one.

His purpose was to go to China as a medical missionary, and he would
have accomplished his object solely by his own efforts had not some
friends advised him to join the London Missionary Society. He offered
himself, with a half hope that his application would be rejected, for it
was not quite agreeable to one accustomed to work his own way to become
dependent in a measure upon others.

By the time when his medical and theological studies were completed,
the Opium War had rendered it inexpedient to go to China, and his
destination was fixed for Southern Africa.

He reached his field of labor in 1840. Having tarried for three months
at the head station at Kuruman, and taken to wife a daughter of the
well-known missionary Mr. Moffat, he pushed still farther into the
country, and attached himself to the band of Sechele, chief of the
Bakwains, or "Alligators", a Bechuana tribe. Here, cutting himself for
six months wholly off from all European society, he gained an insight
into the language, laws, modes of life, and habits of the Bechuanas,
which proved of incalculable advantage in all his subsequent intercourse
with them.

Sechele gave a ready ear to the missionary's instructions.

"Did your forefathers know of a future judgment?" he asked.

"They knew of it," replied the missionary, who proceeded to describe the
scenes of the last great day.

"You startle me: these words make all my bones to shake; I have no more
strength in me. But my forefathers were living at the same time yours
were; and how is it that they did not send them word about these
terrible things? They all passed away into darkness without knowing
whither they were going."

Mr. Moffat had translated the Bible into the Bechuana language, which he
had reduced to writing, and Sechele set himself to learn to read, with
so much assiduity that he began to grow corpulent from lack of his
accustomed exercise. His great favorite was Isaiah. "He was a fine man,
that Isaiah; he knew how to speak," he was wont to say, using the very
words applied by the Glasgow Professor to the Apostle Paul. Having
become convinced of the truth of Christianity, he wished his people also
to become Christians. "I will call them together," he said, "and with
our rhinoceros-skin whips we will soon make them all believe together."
Livingstone, mindful, perhaps, of the ill success of his worthy father
in the matter of Wilberforce on "Practical Christianity", did not favor
the proposed line of argument. He was, in fact, in no great haste
to urge Sechele to make a full profession of faith by receiving the
ordinance of baptism; for the chief had, in accordance with the customs
of his people, taken a number of wives, of whom he must, in this case,
put away all except one. The head-wife was a greasy old jade, who was
in the habit of attending church without her gown, and when her husband
sent her home to make her toilet, she would pout out her thick lips in
unutterable disgust at his new-fangled notions, while some of the other
wives were the best scholars in the school. After a while Sechele took
the matter into his own hands, sent his supernumerary wives back to
their friends--not empty-handed--and was baptized.

Mr. Livingstone's station was in the region since rendered famous by
the hunting exploits of Gordon Cumming. He vouches for the truth of
the wonderful stories told by that redoubtable Nimrod, who visited him
during each of his excursions. He himself, indeed, had an adventure with
a lion quite equal to any thing narrated by Cumming or Andersson, the
result of which was one dead lion, two Bechuanas fearfully wounded, his
own arm marked with eleven distinct teeth-marks, the bone crunched to
splinters, and the formation of a false joint, which marred his shooting
ever after.

Mr. Livingstone has a republican contempt for the "King of Beasts". He
is nothing better than an overgrown hulking dog, not a match, in fair
fight, for a buffalo. If a traveler encounter him by daylight, he turns
tail and sneaks out of sight like a scared greyhound. All the talk about
his majestic roar is sheer twaddle. It takes a keen ear to distinguish
the voice of the lion from that of the silly ostrich. When he is gorged
he falls asleep, and a couple of natives approach him without fear. One
discharges an arrow, the point of which has been anointed with a subtle
poison, made of the dried entrails of a species of caterpillar, while
the other flings his skin cloak over his head. The beast bolts away
incontinently, but soon dies, howling and biting the ground in agony.
In the dark, or at all hours when breeding, the lion is an ugly enough
customer; but if a man will stay at home by night, and does not go out
of his way to attack him, he runs less risk in Africa of being devoured
by a lion than he does in our cities of being run over by an omnibus--so
says Mr. Livingstone.

When the lion grows old he leads a miserable life. Unable to master the
larger game, he prowls about the villages in the hope of picking up a
stray goat. A woman of child venturing out at night does not then come
amiss. When the natives hear of one prowling about the villages, they
say, "His teeth are worn; he will soon kill men," and thereupon turn out
to kill him. This is the only foundation for the common belief that
when the lion has once tasted human flesh he will eat nothing else. A
"man-eater" is always an old lion, who takes to cannibalism to avoid
starvation. When he lives far from human habitations, and so can not get
goats or children, an old lion is often reduced to such straits as to be
obliged to live upon mice, and such small deer.

Mr. Livingstone's strictly missionary life among the Bakwains lasted
eight or nine years. The family arose early, and, after prayers and
breakfast, went to the school-room, where men, women, and children were
assembled. School was over at eleven, when the husband set about his
work as gardener, smith, or carpenter, while his wife busied herself
with domestic matters--baking bread, a hollow in a deserted ant-hill