one, who pretended to be an important person, was carried about in a
hammock slung between two poles, which looking like a bag, the natives
called him "the father of the bag." Mpepe favoured these scoundrels, as
he hoped by their means to succeed in his rebellion. The arrival of Dr
Livingstone, however, somewhat damped their hopes.
As the chief object of the doctor was to select a spot for a settlement,
he ascended, accompanied by Sekeletu, the great river Zambesi, which had
been discovered in the year 1851.
The doctor had taught the Makololo to ride on their oxen, which they had
never before done, though, having neither saddles nor bridles, they
constantly fell off.
He and Sekeletu were riding along side by side, when they encountered
Mpepe, who, as soon as he saw them, ran towards the chief with his axe
uplifted; but Sekeletu, galloping on, escaped him. On their arrival at
their camp, while the chief and the doctor were sitting together, Mpepe
appeared, his men keeping hold of their arms. At that moment the rebel
entered; but the doctor, unconsciously covering Sjkeletu's body, saved
him from the assassin's blow. His cousin's intention having been
revealed to Sekeletu, that night Mpepe was dragged off from his fire and
speared. So quietly was the deed done that Dr Livingstone heard
nothing of it till the next morning.
Dr Livingstone was soon after this attacked by fever, when his hosts
exhibited the interest they felt for him by paying him every attention
in their power. His own remedies of a wet sheet and quinine were more
successful than the smoke and vapour baths employed by the natives.
It is important that the position of Linyanti should be noted, as from
it Dr Livingstone set out on his journey westward to Loanda, on the
West Coast, and, returning to it, commenced from thence that adventurous
expedition to the East Coast, which resulted in so many interesting
discoveries. Its latitude is 18 degrees 17 minutes 20 seconds south;
longitude 23 degrees 50 minutes 9 seconds east.
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
TRAVELS OF DR. LIVINGSTONE, CONTINUED.
SET OUT--SESHEKE--MAKOLOLO ARCHITECTURE--VILLAGE OF KATONGA--PADDLE UP
THE LEEAMBYE--MPEPE--NALIELE--VISIT MA-SEKELETU--A GRAND DANCE--RETURN
TO LINYANTI--EXPEDITION TO THE WEST--ON THE CHOBE--GONYE FALLS--UP THE
LEEANIBYE--UP THE LEEBA--THE BALONDA COUNTRY--MANENKO--VISITS SHINTI--
RECEPTION OF LIVINGSTONE--PROCEEDS NORTHERLY--VISIT KATEMA--REACH THE
TERRITORY OF THE CHIBOQUE--WANT OF FOOD--A MUTINY--THE BANKS OF THE
QUANGO--REACH KASENGE--SLEEPING-PLACES ON THE ROAD--AMBACA--TROMBETA--
ARRIVE AT LOANDA--LIVINGSTONE, WITH HIS MAKOLOLO, GOES ON BOARD THE
"PLUTO" AND "PHILOMEL"--THE CITY OF LOANDA--DEPARTURE--ASCEND THE RIVER
BENGO TO ICOLLO-I-BENGO--GOLCONGO ALTO--EXCURSION TO KASENGE--PROCEED
TO, AND ARRIVE ON, THE BANKS OF THE QUANGO--BASHINJI COUNTRY--ATTACKED--
REACH CALONGO--KANAWA'S VILLAGE--PAST LAKE DILOLO--SHUITI'S CAPITAL--ON
THE LEEBA--THE LECAMBYE--THE TOWN OF LEBOUTA--PROCEEDING, ARRIVES AT
SESHEKE AND AFTERWARDS AT LINYANTI.
Having recovered from his fever, Dr Livingstone, accompanied by
Sekeletu and about one hundred and sixty attendants, mostly young men,
associates of the chief, set out for Sesheke. The intermediate country
was perfectly flat, except patches elevated a few feet only above the
surrounding level. There were also numerous mounds, the work of
_termites_, which are literally gigantic structures, and often wild
date-trees were seen growing on them.
The party looked exceedingly picturesque as, the ostrich feathers of the
men waving in the air, they wound in a long line in and out among the
mounds. Some wore red tunics or variously-coloured prints, and their
heads were adorned with the white ends of ox tails or caps made of
lions' manes. The nobles walked with a small club of rhinoceros horn in
their hands, their servants carrying their shields; while the ordinary
men bore burdens, and the battle-axe men, who had their own shields on
their arms, were employed as messengers, often having to run an immense
distance.
The Makololo possess numerous cattle, and the chief, having to feed his
followers, either selected oxen from his own stock or received them from
the head men of the villages through which they passed, as tribute.
Dr Livingstone and the chief had each a little gipsy tent in which they
slept, though the Makololo huts, which are kept tolerably clean,
afforded them accommodation. The best sort of huts consist of three
circular walls, having small holes to serve as doors, through which it
is necessary to creep on all fours. The roof resembles in shape a
Chinaman's hat, and is bound together with circular bands. The
framework is first formed, and it is then lifted to the top of the
circle of poles prepared for supporting it. The roof is next covered
with fine grass and sewed with the same material as the lashings. Women
are the chief builders of huts among the Makololo.
Reaching the village of Katonga on the banks of the Leeambye, some time
was spent there in collecting canoes. During this delay Dr Livingstone
visited the country to the north of the village, where he saw enormous
numbers of buffaloes, zebras, elans, and a beautiful small antelope
called the _tinyane_. He was enabled, by this hunting expedition, to
supply his companions with an abundance of food.
At length, a sufficient number of canoes being collected, they commenced
the ascent of the river. His own canoe had six paddlers, while that of
the chief had ten. They paddled standing upright, and kept stroke with
great exactness. Being flat-bottomed, they can float in very shallow
water. The fleet consisted altogether of thirty-three canoes and one
hundred and sixty men.
The Makololo are unable to swim, and, a canoe being upset, one of the
party, an old doctor, was lost, while the Barotse canoe-men easily saved
themselves by swimming.
Numerous villages were seen on both banks of the river, the inhabitants
of which are expert hunters of the hippopotamus, and are excellent
handicraft-men. They manufacture wooden bowls with neat lids, and show
much taste in carving stools. Some make neat baskets, and others excel
in pottery and iron.
On their arrival at the town of the father of Mpepe, who had instigated
his son to rebellion, two of his chief councillors were led forth and
tossed into the river.
Mpepe had encouraged the slave-dealers to come into the country, and a
large party of his supporters, the Mambari, had taken shelter in a
stockade. It was proposed to attack them; but Dr Livingstone urged his
friends to refrain from so doing, especially as the enemy possessed
firearms. It was then agreed that they would starve them out.
"Hunger is strong enough for that," observed a chief, "he is a very
great fellow;" but here again, as the unfortunate slaves who were
chained in gangs would have suffered, the doctor interceded, and they
were allowed to depart.
Naliele, the capital of the Barotse, the tribe inhabiting the district
in which they now were, is built on an artificially-constructed mound,
as are many other villages of that region, to raise them above the
overflowing of the river. From finding no trace of European names among
them, Dr Livingstone was convinced that the country had not before been
visited by white men; whereas, after he had come among them, great
numbers of children were named after his own boy, while others were
called Horse, Gun, Wagon, etcetera.
Here again numbers of large game were seen. Eighty-one buffaloes
defiled in slow procession before the fire of the travellers one evening
within gun-shot, and herds of splendid elans stood at two hundred yards'
distance, without showing signs of fear. Lions, too, approached and
roared at them. One night, as they were sleeping on the summit of a
large sandbank, a lion appeared on the opposite shore, who amused
himself for hours by roaring as loudly as he could. The river was too
broad for a ball to reach him, and he walked off without suffering for
his impertinence. Dr Livingstone saw two as tall as common donkeys,
their manes making their bodies appear of still greater size.
The doctor was visited at his camp by two Arabs, who had made their way
thus far west. They professed the greatest hatred of the Portuguese
because they eat pigs, and they disliked the English because they thrash
them for selling slaves.
On their journey they visited the town of Ma-Sekeletu, or the mother of
Sekelutu, where, as it was the first visit the king had paid to this
part of his dominions, he was received with every appearance of joy. A
grand dance was got up, the men standing nearly naked in a circle, with
clubs or small battle-axes in their hands, roaring at the loudest pitch
of their voices, while they simultaneously lifted one leg, stamped twice
with it, then lifted the other and gave one stamp with that. The arms
and head were thrown about in every direction, the roaring being kept up
with the utmost vigour, while the dust ascended in clouds around them.
Returning down the stream at a rapid rate, they quickly reached
Linyanti.
During this nine-weeks' tour Dr Livingstone had been in closer contact
with heathenism than ever before, and though, including the chief,
everyone had been as attentive as possible, yet the dancing, roaring,
singing, jesting, quarrelling, added to the murdering propensities of
these children of nature was painful in the extreme. He took a more
intense disgust of heathenism than he had ever before felt, and formed a
higher opinion of the latent effects of missions in the south among
tribes which were once as savage as the Makololo.
The chief and his followers, agreeing that the object of Dr
Livingstone's proposed expedition to the west was most desirable, took
great pains to assist him in the undertaking. A band of twenty-seven
men was appointed to accompany him by the chief's command, whose eager
desire was to obtain a free and profitable trade with the white men, and
this, Dr Livingstone was convinced, was likely to lead to their
ultimate elevation and improvement. Three men whom he had brought from
Kuruman having suffered greatly from fever, he sent them back with
Fleming, a trader, who had followed his footsteps. His new attendants
he named Zambesians, for there were only two Makololo men--the rest
consisting of Barotse, Batoka, and other tribes. His wagon and
remaining goods he committed to the charge of the Makololo, who took all
the articles into their huts. He carried only a rifle and
double-barrelled smooth-bore gun for himself, and gave three muskets to
his people, by means of which he hoped game might be obtained for their
support. Wishing also to save his followers from having to carry loads,
he took for his own support but a few biscuits and a pound of tea and
sugar, about twenty of coffee, a small tin canister with some spare
shirting, trousers, and shoes, another for medicines, and a third for
books, while a fourth contained a magic lantern. His ammunition was
distributed in portions among the whole luggage, that, should an
accident occur to one, the rest might be preserved. His camp equipage
consisted of a gipsy tent, a sheep-skin mantle, and a horse-rug as a
bed, as he had always found that the chief art of successful travelling
consisted in taking as few impediments as possible. His sextant,
artificial horizon, thermometer, and compasses were carried apart.
On the 11th of November, 1853, accompanied by the chief and his
principal men to see him off, he left Linyanti, and embarked on the
Chobe. The chief danger in navigating this river is from the bachelor
hippopotami who have been expelled their herd, and, whose tempers being
soured, the canoes are frequently upset by them. One of these
misanthropes chased some of his men, and ran after them on shore with
considerable speed.
The banks of the river were clothed with trees, among them the _ficus
indica_, acacias, and the evergreen _motsouri_, from the pink-coloured
specimens of which a pleasant acid drink is obtained.
Leaving the Chobe, they entered the Leeambye, up which they proceeded at
somewhat a slow rate, as they had to wait at different villages for
supplies of food. Several varieties of wild fruit were presented to
them.
The crews of the canoes worked admirably, being always in good humour,
and, on any danger threatening, immediately leaped overboard to prevent
them coming broadside to the stream, or being caught by eddies, or
dashed against the rocks.
Birds, fish, iguanas, and hippopotami abounded; indeed the whole river
teemed with life.
On November 30th the Gonye Falls were reached. No rain having fallen,
it was excessively hot. They usually got up at dawn--about five in the
morning--coffee was taken and the canoes loaded, the first two hours
being the most pleasant part of the day's sail.
The Barotse, being a tribe of boatmen, managed their canoes admirably.
At about eleven they landed to lunch. After an hour's rest they
embarked, the doctor with an umbrella overhead. Sometimes they reached
a sleeping-place two hours before sunset. Coffee was again served out,
with coarse bread made of maize meal, or Indian corn, unless some animal
had been killed, when a potful of flesh was boiled.
The canoes were carried beyond the falls, slung on poles placed on men's
shoulders.
Here as elsewhere the doctor exhibited his magic lantern, greatly to the
delight of the people.
Nothing could be more lovely than the scenery of the falls. The water
rushes through a fissure and, being confined below by a space not more
than a hundred yards wide, goes rolling over and over in great masses,
amid which the most expert swimmer can in vain make way.
The doctor was able to put a stop to an intended fight between the
inhabitants of two villages. Several volunteers offered to join him,
but his followers determined to adhere to the orders of Sekeletu, and
refused all other companions.
They were treated most liberally by the inhabitants of all the villages,
who presented them with more oxen, milk, and meal than they could stow
away. Entering the Leeambye, Dr Livingstone proceeded up that stream
in his canoe, while his oxen and a portion of his men continued their
journey along its banks.
The rain had fallen, and nature put on her gayest apparel: flowers of
great beauty and curious forms grew everywhere, many of the forest trees
having palmated leaves, the trunks being covered with lichens, while
magnificent ferns were seen in all the moister situations. In the cool
morning the welkin rang with the singing of birds, and the ground
swarmed with insect life.
Livingstone did not fail to preach the Gospel to his attendants, as well
as to the inhabitants of the villages, ever having in mind the value of
human souls.
Alligators were in prodigious numbers, children and calves being
constantly carried off by them. One of his men was seized, but,
retaining his presence of mind when dragged to the bottom, he struck the
monster with his javelin and escaped, bearing the marks of the reptile's
teeth on his thigh.
The doctor's men had never before used firearms, and, proving bad shots,
came to him for "gun medicine" to enable them to shoot better. As he
was afraid of their exhausting his supply of powder, he was compelled to
act as sportsman for the party.
Leaving Leeambye, he proceeded up the Leeba. Beautiful flowers and
abundance of wild honey was found on its shores, and large numbers of
young alligators were seen sunning themselves on the sandbanks with
their parents.
They had now reached the Balonda country, and received a visit from a
chieftainess, Manenko, a tall strapping woman covered with ornaments and
smeared over with fat and red ochre as a protection against the weather.
She invited them to visit her uncle Shinti, the chief of the country.
They set out in the midst of a heavy drizzling mist; on, however, the
lady went, in the lightest marching order. The doctor enquired why she
did not clothe herself during the rain; but it appeared that she did not
consider it proper for a chief to appear effeminate. The men, in
admiration of her pedestrian powers, every now and then remarked:
"Manenko is a soldier." Some of the people in her train carried shields
composed of reeds, of a square form, five feet long and three broad.
With these, and armed with broadswords and quivers full of iron-headed
arrows, they looked somewhat ferocious, but are in reality not noted for
their courage.
The doctor was glad when at length the chieftainess halted on the banks
of a stream and preparations were made for their night's lodging.
After detaining them several days she accompanied them on foot to
Shinti's town. The chief's place of audience was ornamented by two
graceful banyan-trees, beneath one of which he sat on a sort of throne
covered with a leopard-skin. He wore a checked shirt and a kilt of
scarlet baize, edged with green, numerous ornaments covering his arms
and legs, while on his head was a helmet of beads, crowned with large
goose feathers. At his side sat three lads with quivers full of arrows
over their shoulders.
Dr Livingstone took his seat under the shade of another tree opposite
to the chief, while the spokesman of the party, who had accompanied
them, in a loud voice, walking backwards and forwards, gave an account
of the doctor and his connection with the Makololo.
Behind the chief sat a hundred women clothed in red baize, while his
wife was seated in front of him. Between the speeches the ladies burst
forth into a sort of plaintive ditty. The party was entertained by a
band of musicians, consisting of three drummers and four performers on
the _marimba_, a species of piano. It consists of two bars of wood
placed side by side; across these are fixed fifteen wooden keys, each
two or three inches broad and about eighteen long, their thickness being
regulated by the deepness of the note required. Each of the keys has a
calabash below it, the upper portion of which, being cut off to hold the
bars, they form hollow sounding-boards to the keys. These are also of
different sizes according to the notes required. The keys are struck by
small drumsticks to produce the sound. The Portuguese have imitated the
_marimba_, and use it in their dances in Angola.
The women in this country are treated with more respect by the men than
in other parts of Africa.
A party of Mambari, with two native Portuguese traders, had come up to
obtain slaves, and, while Dr Livingstone was residing with Shinti, some
young children were kidnapped, evidently to be sold to them.
The day before he was to recommence his journey, the doctor received a
visit in his tent from Shinti, who, as a mark of his friendship,
presented him with a shell on which he set the greatest value,
observing: "There, now you have a proof of my affection."
These shells, as marks of distinction, are so highly valued that for two
of them a slave may be bought, and five will purchase an elephant's tusk
worth ten pounds.
The old chief had provided a guide, Intemese, to conduct them to the
territory of the next chief, Katema. He also gave an abundant supply of
food, and wished them a prosperous journey.
Dr Livingstone again started on the 26th of January, Shinti sending
eight men to assist in carrying his luggage. He had now to quit the
canoes and to proceed on ox-back, taking a northerly direction.
He and his party received the same kind treatment in the country as
before, the villagers, by command of their chiefs, presenting them with
an abundance of food. They found English cotton cloth more eagerly
enquired after than beads and ornaments.
On arriving at a village the inhabitants lifted off the roofs of some of
their huts, and brought them to the camp, to save the men the trouble of
booth-making. On starting again the villagers were left to replace them
at their leisure, no payment being expected.
Heavy rains now came on, and the doctor and his party were continually
wet to the skin.
Polite as the people were, they were still fearful savages. Messengers
arrived from the neighbouring town to announce the death of their chief,
Matiamvo. That individual had been addicted to running a-muck through
his capital and beheading any one he met, till he had a large heap of
human heads in front of his hut. Men were also slaughtered
occasionally, whenever the chief wanted part of a body to perform
certain charms.
The Balonda appear to have some belief in the existence of the soul, and
a greater feeling of reverence in their composition than the tribes to
the eastward. Among their customs they have a remarkable one. Those
who take it into their heads to become friends, cement their friendship.
Taking their seats opposite one to the other, with a vessel of beer by
the side of each, they clasp hands. They then make cuts on their
clasped hands, the pits of their stomachs, their foreheads, and right
cheeks. The point of a blade of grass is then pressed against the cuts,
and afterwards each man washes it in his own pot of beer; exchanging
pots, the contents are drunk, so that each man drinks the blood of the
other. Thus they consider that they become blood relations and are
bound in every possible way to assist each other.
These people were greatly surprised at the liberty enjoyed by the
Makololo.
The travellers paid a visit to Katema, the chief of the district, who
received them dressed in a snuff-brown coat, with a helmet of beads and
feathers on his head, and in his hand a number of tails of _gnus_ bound
together. He also sent some of his men to accompany them on their
journey.
The rains continued, and the doctor suffered much from having to sleep
on the wet ground.
Having reached the latitude of Loanda, Dr Livingstone now directed his
course to the westward.
On the 4th of March he reached the outskirts of the territory of the
Chiboque.
As he approached the more civilised settlements, he found the habits of
the people changed much for the worse: tricks of all sorts were played
to detain him and obtain tribute; the guides also tried in every way to
impose on him. Even his Makololo expressed their sorrow at seeing so
beautiful a country ill cultivated and destitute of cattle.
He was compelled to slaughter one of his riding oxen for food, as none
could be obtained.
The Chiboque coming round in great numbers, their chief demanded
tribute, and one of their number made a charge at Dr Livingstone, but
quickly retreated on having the muzzle of the traveller's gun pointed at
his head. The chief and his councillors, however, consenting to sit
down on the ground, the Makololo, well drilled, surrounded them and thus
got them completely in their power. A mutiny, too, broke out among his
own people, who complained of want of food; but it was suppressed by the
appearance of the doctor with a double-barrelled pistol in his hand.
They never afterwards gave him any trouble.
Similar demands for payment to allow him to pass through the country
were made by other chiefs, his faithful Makololo giving up their
ornaments, as he had done nearly all the beads and shirts in his
possession. The most extortionate of these chiefs was Ioaga Panza,
whose sons, after receiving payment for acting as guides, deserted him.
All this time Dr Livingstone was suffering daily from the attacks of
fever, which rendered him excessively weak, so that he could scarcely
sit his ox.
The country appeared fertile and full of small villages, and the soil is
so rich that little labour is required for its cultivation. It is,
however, the chief district whence slaves are obtained, and a feeling of
insecurity was evident amongst the inhabitants.
A demand was now made by each chief for a man, an ox, or a tusk as
tribute. The first was of course refused, but nearly all the remainder
of the traveller's property had to be thus paid away.