on the 12th of August. Poor Sekwebu had become a favourite both with
men and officers, and was gaining some knowledge of English, though all
he saw had apparently affected his mind. The sight of a steamer, which
came out to tow the brig into the harbour, so affected him that during
the night he became insane and threatened to throw himself into the
water. By gentle treatment he became calmer, and Dr Livingstone tried
to get him on shore, but he refused to go. In the evening his malady
returned; and, after attempting to spear one of the crew, he leaped
overboard and, pulling himself down by the chain cable, disappeared.
The body of poor Sekwebu was never found.
After remaining some time at the Mauritius, till he had recovered from
the effects of the African fever, our enterprising traveller sailed by
way of the Red Sea for old England, which he reached on the 12th of
December, 1856.
Dr Livingstone, in the series of journeys which have been described,
had already accomplished more than any previous traveller in Africa,
besides having gained information of the greatest value as regards both
missionary and mercantile enterprise. He had as yet, however, performed
only a small portion of the great work his untiring zeal and energy have
prompted him to undertake.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
DR. LIVINGSTONE'S SECOND EXPEDITION TO AFRICA, TO EXPLORE THE ZAMBESI.
LEAVES ENGLAND--ARRIVES AT THE EAST COAST--UP THE LUAWE--THE LITTLE
"MA-ROBERT"--WAR--COMMENCE THE VOYAGE FOR TETE--SENNA--ARRIVES AT TETE--
THE KEBRABASA FALLS--RETURNS TO TETE--UP THE SHIRE, AND RETURN--THE
SECOND TRIP UP THE SHIRE--SETS OUT FOR LAKE SHIRWA--RETURNS TO TETE--SET
OUT FOR LAKE NYASSA--TREACHERY--ARRIVE AT THE LAKE--RETURNS TO THE
KONGONE--JOURNEY WESTWARD--A PONDORO--SUPERSTITION--PASSING KEBRABASA,
ARRIVE IN MPENDE'S TERRITORY--REACHES MOACHEMBA--SETS OUT FOR VICTORIA
FALLS--TUBA, THE SMASHER OF CANOES--LEAVE SESHEKE--MORE SUPERSTITION--
REACH ZUNIBO--DOWN THE KEBRABASA RAPIDS--CANOES UPSET--ARRIVE AT TETE--
THE CHAMELEON.
After spending rather more than a year in England, Dr Livingstone again
set out, on the 10th of March, 1858, on board HMS "Pearl," at the head
of a government expedition for the purpose of exploring the Zambesi and
the neighbouring regions. He was accompanied by Dr Kirk, his brother
Charles Livingstone, and Mr Thornton; and Mr T. Baines was appointed
artist to the expedition.
A small steamer, which was called the "Ma-Robert," in compliment to Mrs
Livingstone, was provided by the government for the navigation of the
river.
The East Coast was reached in May.
Running up the river Luawe, supposed to be a branch of the Zambesi, the
"Pearl" came to an anchor, and the "Ma-Robert," which had been brought
out in sections, was screwed together. The two vessels then went
together in search of the real mouth of the river, from which Quillimane
is some sixty miles distant, the Portuguese having concealed the real
entrance, if they were acquainted with it, in order to deceive the
English cruisers in search of slavers.
The goods for the expedition brought out by the "Pearl" having been
landed on a grassy island about forty miles from the bar, that vessel
sailed for Ceylon, while the little "Ma-Robert" was left to pursue her
course alone. Her crew consisted of about a dozen Krumen and a few
Europeans.
At Mazaro, the mouth of a creek communicating with the Quillimane or
Kilimane River, the expedition heard that the Portuguese were at war
with a half-caste named Mariano, a brother of Bonga, who had built a
stockade near the mouth of the Shire, and held possession of all the
intermediate country. He had been in the habit of sending out his armed
bands on slave-hunting expeditions among the helpless tribes to the
north-west, selling his victims at Quillimane, where they were shipped
as free emigrants to the French island of Bourbon. As long as his
robberies and murders were restricted to the natives at a distance, the
Portuguese did not interfere, but when he began to carry off and murder
the people near them, they thought it time to put a stop to his
proceedings. They spoke of him as a rare monster of inhumanity. He
frequently killed people with his own hand in order to make his name
dreaded. Having gone down to Quillimane to arrange with the governor,
or, in other words, to bribe him, Colonel Da Silva put him in prison and
sent him for trial to Mozambique. The war, however, was continued under
his brother Bonga, and had stopped all trade on the river.
The expedition witnessed a battle at Mazaro, between Bonga and the
Portuguese, when Dr Livingstone, landing, found himself in the
sickening smell and among the mutilated bodies of the slain. He brought
off the governor, who was in a fever, the balls whistling about his head
in all directions. The Portuguese then escaped to an island opposite
Shupanga, where, having exhausted their ammunition, they were compelled
to remain.
There is a one-storied house at Shupanga, from which there is a
magnificent view down the river. Near it is a large baobab-tree,
beneath which, a few years later, the remains of the beloved wife of Dr
Livingstone were to repose.
On the 17th of August the "Ma-Robert" commenced her voyage up the stream
for Tete. It was soon found that her furnaces being badly constructed,
and that from other causes she was ill adapted for the work before her.
She quickly, in consequence, obtained the name of the "Asthmatical."
Senna, which was visited on the way, being situated on low ground, is a
fever-giving place. The steamer, of course, caused great astonishment
to the people, who assembled in crowds to witness her movements,
whirling round their arms to show the way the paddles revolved.
Tete was reached on the 8th of September. No sooner did Dr Livingstone
go on shore, than his Makololo rushed down to the water's edge, and
manifested the greatest joy at seeing him. Six of the young men had
foolishly gone off to make money by dancing before some of the
neighbouring chiefs, when they fell into the hands of Bonga, who,
declaring that they had brought witchcraft medicine to kill him, put
them all to death.
The Portuguese at this place keep numerous slaves, whom they treat with
tolerable humanity. When they can they purchase the whole of a family,
thus taking away the chief inducement for running off.
The expedition having heard of the Kebrabasa Falls, steamed up the
river, and on the 24th of November reached Panda Mokua, where the
navigation ends, about two miles below them. Hence the party started
overland, by a frightfully rough path among rocky hills, where no shade
was to be found. At last their guides declared that they could go no
further; indeed, the surface of the ground was so hot that the soles of
the Makololos' feet became blistered. The travellers, however, pushed
on. Passing round a steep promontory, they beheld the river at their
feet, the channel jammed in between two mountains with perpendicular
sides, and less than fifty yards wide. There is a sloping fall of about
twenty feet in height, and another at a distance of thirty yards above
it. When, however, the river rises upwards of eighty feet
perpendicularly, as it does in the rainy season, the cataract might be
passed in boats.
After returning to Tete, the steamer went up the Shire, January, 1859.
The natives, as they passed them, collected at their villages in large
numbers, armed with bows and poisoned arrows, threatening to attack
them. Dr Livingstone, however, went on shore, and explained to the
chief, Tingane, that they had come neither to take slaves nor to fight,
but wished to open up a path by which his countrymen could ascend to
purchase their cotton. On this Tingane at once became friendly.
Their progress was arrested, after steaming up a hundred miles in a
straight line, although, counting the windings of the river, double that
distance, by magnificent cataracts known to the natives as those of the
Mamvira, but called by the expedition the Murchison Falls.
Rain prevented them making observations, and they returned at a rapid
rate down the river.
A second trip up it was made in March of the same year. They here
gained the friendship of Chibisa, a shrewd and intelligent chief, whose
village was about ten miles below the cataracts. He told the doctor
that a few years before his little daughter had been kidnapped, and was
now a slave to the _padre_ at Tete, asking him, if possible, to ransom
the child.
From hence Dr Livingstone and Dr Kirk proceeded on foot in a northerly
direction to Lake Shirwa. The natives turned out from their villages,
sounding notes of defiance on their drums; but the efforts to persuade
them that their visitors came as friends were successful, and the lake
was discovered on the 18th of April.
From having no outlet, the water is brackish, with hilly islands rising
out of it. The country around appeared very beautiful and clothed with
rich vegetation, with lofty mountains eight thousand feet high near the
eastern shore.
On their return they found Quartermaster Walker, who had charge of the
steamer, dangerously ill, though he ultimately recovered.
They returned to Tete on the 23rd of June, and thence, after the steamer
had been repaired, proceeded to the Kongone, where they received
provisions from HMS "Persian," which also took on board their Krumen, as
they were found useless for land journeys. In their stead a crew was
picked out from the Makololo, who soon learned to work the ship, and
who, besides being good travellers, could cut wood and required only
native food.
Frequent showers fell on their return voyage up the Zambesi, and, the
vessel being leaky, the cabin was constantly flooded, both from above
and below.
They were visited on their way up by Paul, a relative of the rebel
Mariano, who had just returned from Mozambique. He told them that the
Portuguese knew nothing of the Kongone before they had discovered it,
always supposing that the Zambesi entered the sea at Quillimane.
A second trip up the Shire was performed in the middle of August, when
the two doctors set out in search of Lake Nyassa, about which they had
heard.
The river, though narrow, is deeper than the Zambesi, and more easily
navigated.
Marks of large game were seen, and one of the Makololo, who had gone on
shore to cut wood, was suddenly charged at by a solitary buffalo. He
took to flight, pursued by the maddened animal, and was scarcely six
feet before the creature when he reached the bank and sprang into the
river. On both banks a number of hippopotamus-traps were seen.
The animal feeds on grass alone, its enormous lip acting like a mowing
machine, forming a path before it as it feeds. Over these paths the
natives construct a trap, consisting of a heavy beam, five or six feet
long, with a spear-head at one end, covered with poison. This weapon is
hung to a forked pole by a rope which leads across the path, and is held
by a catch, set free as the animal treads upon it. A hippopotamus was
seen which, being frightened by the steamer, rushed on shore and ran
immediately under one of these traps, when down came the heavy beam on
its head.
The leaks in the steamer increased till the cabin became scarcely
habitable.
The neighbourhood of Chibisa's village was reached on the 25th of
August.
The doctor had now to send word to the chief that his attempts to
recover his child had failed, for, though he had offered twice the value
of a slave, the little girl could not be found, the _padre_ having sold
her to a distant tribe of Bazizulu. Though this _padre_ was better than
the average, he appeared very indifferent about the matter.
On the 28th of August, an expedition consisting of four whites,
thirty-six Makololo, and two guides left the ship in the hopes of
discovering Lake Nyassa. The natives on the road were very eager to
trade. As soon as they found that the strangers would pay for their
provisions in cotton cloth, women and girls were set to grind and pound
meal, and the men and boys were seen chasing screaming fowl over the
village. A head man brought some meal and other food for sale; a fathom
of blue cloth was got out, when the Makololo head man, thinking a
portion was enough, was proceeding to tear it. On this the native
remarked that it was a pity to cut such a nice dress for his wife, and
he would rather bring more meal. "All right," said the Makololo, "but
look, the cloth is very wide, so see that the basket which carries the
meal be wide too, and add a cock to make the meal taste nicely."
The highland women of these regions all wear the _pelele_, or lip-ring,
before described. An old chief, when asked why such things were worn,
replied: "for beauty; men have beards and whiskers, women have none.
What kind of creature would a woman be without whiskers and without the
_pelele_?"
When, as they calculated, they were about a day's march from Lake
Nyassa, the chief of the village assured them positively that no lake
had ever been heard of there, and that the river Shire stretched on, as
they saw it, to a distance of two months, and then came out between two
rocks which towered to the skies. The Makololo looked blank, and
proposed returning to the ship.
"Never mind," said the doctor, "we will go on and see these wonderful
rocks."
Their head man, Massakasa declared that there must be a lake, because it
was in the white men's books, and scolded the natives for speaking a
falsehood. They then admitted that there was a lake. The chief brought
them a present in the evening. Scarcely had he gone when a fearful cry
arose from the river; a crocodile had carried off his principal wife.
The Makololo, seizing their arms, rushed to her rescue; but it was too
late.
The expedition moving forward, on the 16th of September, 1859, the
long-looked-for Lake Nyassa was discovered, with hills rising on both
sides of it.
Two months after this the lake was visited by Dr Roscher, who was
unaware of Dr Livingstone's and Dr Kirk's discovery; unhappily he was
murdered on his road back towards the Rovuma.
The travellers were now visited by the chief of a village near the
confluence of the lake and the river, who invited them to form their
camp under a magnificent banyan-tree among the roots of which, twisted
into the shape of a gigantic arm-chair, four of the party slept. The
chief told them that a slave party, led by Arabs, was encamped near at
hand; and in the evening a villainous set of fellows, with long muskets,
brought several young children for sale; but, finding that the
travellers were English, they decamped, showing signs of fear. The
people of the Manjanga tribe, amidst whom they were now travelling,
showed much suspicion of their object, saying that parties had come
before with the same sort of plausible story, and had suddenly carried
off a number of their people. To allay these suspicions, Dr
Livingstone thought it best at once to return to the ship.
Soon afterwards Dr Kirk and Mr Rae, the engineer, set off with guides
to go across the country to Tete, the distance being about one hundred
miles. From want of water they suffered greatly, while the _tsetse_
infested the district.
Dr Livingstone had resolved to visit his old friend Sekeletu; but,
finding that before the new crop came in, food could not be obtained
beyond the Kebrabasa, he returned in the "Ma-Robert" once more to the
Kongone.
They found Major Sicard at Mazaro, he having come there with tools and
slaves to build a custom-house and fort.
After this trip, the poor "Asthmatic" broke down completely; she was
therefore laid alongside the island of Kanyimbe, opposite Tete, and
placed under charge of two English sailors. They were furnished with a
supply of seeds to form a garden, both to afford them occupation and
food.
Active preparations were now made for the intended journey westward;
cloth, beads, and brass-wire were formed into packages, with the
bearer's name printed on each.
The Makololo who had been employed by the expedition received their
wages. Some of those who had remained at Tete had married, and resolved
to continue where they were. Others did not leave with the same good
will they had before exhibited, and it was doubtful, if attacked,
whether they would not run to return to their lately-formed friends.
All arrangements had been concluded by the 15th of May, 1860, and the
journey was commenced.
As the Banyai, who live on the right bank, were said to levy heavy
fines, the party crossed over to the left.
Dr Livingstone was stopping near the Kebrabasa village, when a man
appeared, who pretended that he was a _pondoro_; that is, that he could
change himself into a lion whenever he chose--a statement his countrymen
fully believed. Sometimes the _pondoro_ hunts for the benefit of the
villagers, when his wife takes him some medicine which enables him to
change himself back into a man. She then announces what game has been
killed, and the villagers go into the forest to bring it home. The
people believe also that the souls of the departed chiefs enter into
lions. One night, a buffalo having been killed, a lion came close to
the camp, when the Makololo declared that he was a _pondoro_, and told
him that he ought to be ashamed of himself for trying to steal the meat
of strangers. The lion, however, disregarding their addresses, only
roared louder than ever, though he wisely kept outside the bright circle
of the camp-fires. A little strychnine was placed on a piece of meat
and thrown to him, after which he took his departure, and was never
again seen.
Again passing Kebrabasa, the travellers enjoyed the magnificent mountain
scenery in this neighbourhood, and came to the conclusion that not only
it, but the Morumbwa could, when the river rises, be passed, so as to
allow of a steamer being carried up to run on the upper Zambesi.
On the 20th of June they reached the territory of the chief Mpende, who
had, on Dr Livingstone's journey to the East Coast, threatened to
attack him. Having in the mean time heard that he belonged to a race
who love black men and did not make slaves, his conduct was now
completely changed, and he showed every desire to be friendly.
Game was abundant, and lions were especially numerous.
After visiting Zumbo, Dr Kirk was taken dangerously ill. He got better
on the high ground, but immediately he descended into the valley he
always felt chilly. In six days, however, he was himself again, and
able to march as well as the rest.
Again abundance of honey was obtained through the means of the "honey
guide." The bird never deceived them, always guiding them to a hive of
bees, though sometimes there was but little honey in it.
On the 4th of August the expedition reached Moachemba, the first of the
Batoka villages, which owe allegiance to Sekeletu. From thence, beyond
a beautiful valley, the columns of vapour rising from the Victoria
Falls, upwards of twenty miles away, could clearly be distinguished.
The Makololo here received intelligence of their families, and news of
the sad termination of the attempt to plant a mission at Linyanti, under
the Reverend H. Helmore. He and several white men had died, and the
remainder had only a few weeks before returned, to Kuruman.
At the village opposite Kalai the Malokolo head man, Mashotlane, paid
the travellers a visit. He entered the hut where they were seated, a
little boy carrying a three-legged stool. In a dignified way the chief
took his seat, presenting some boiled hippopotamus meat. Having then
taken a piece himself, he handed the rest to his followers. He had
lately been attacking the Batoka, and when the doctor represented to him
the wrongfulness of the act, he defended himself by declaring that they
had killed some of his companions. Here also they found Pitsane, who
had been sent by Sekeletu to purchase horses from a band of Griquas.
As the new-comers were naturally anxious to see the magnificent falls,
they embarked in some canoes belonging to Tuba Mokoro ("a smasher of
canoes"), who alone, they were assured, possessed the medicine which
would prevent shipwreck in the rapids. Tuba conducted them at a rapid
rate down the river. It required considerable confidence in his skill
not to feel somewhat uneasy as they navigated these roaring waters.
They were advised not to speak, lest their talking might diminish the
virtue of the medicine; few indeed would have thought of disobeying the
orders of the canoe-smasher. One man stood at the head of the canoe,
looking out for rocks and telling the steersman the course to take.
Often it seemed as if they would be dashed to pieces against the dark
rocks jutting out from the water, then in a moment the ready pole turned
the canoe aside, and they quickly glided past the danger. As they went
swiftly driving down, a black rock, with the foam flowing over it, rose
before them; the pole slipped, the canoe struck and in a moment was half
full of water. Tuba, however, speedily recovering himself, shoved off,
and they reached a shallow place, where the water was bailed out. He
asserted that it was not the medicine was at fault, but that he had
started without his breakfast.
The travellers landed at the head of Garden Island, and, as the doctor
had done before, peered over the giddy heights at the further end across
the chasm. The measurement of the chasm was now taken; it was found to
be eighty yards opposite Garden Island, while the waterfall itself was
twice the depth of that of Niagara, and the river where it went over the
rock fully a mile wide. Charles Livingstone, who had seen Niagara,
pronounced it inferior in magnificence to the Victoria Falls.
The Batokas consider Garden Island and another further west as sacred
spots, and here, in days gone by, they assembled to worship the Deity.
Dr Livingstone, on his former visit, had planted a number of
orange-trees and seeds at Garden Island, but though a hedge had been
placed round them, they had all been destroyed by the hippopotami.
Others were now put in. They also, as was afterwards found, shared the
same fate.
They now proceeded up the river, and, on the 13th, met a party from
Sekeletu, who was now at Sesheke, and had sent to welcome them. On the
18th they entered his town. They were requested to take up their
quarters at the old _kotlar_, or public meeting-place tree. During the
day visitors continually called on them, all complaining of the
misfortunes they had suffered. The condition of Sekeletu, however, was
the most lamentable. He had been attacked by leprosy, and it was said
that his fingers had become like eagles' claws, and his face so
fearfully distorted that no one could recognise him. One of their head
men had been put to death, it being supposed that he had bewitched the
chief. The native doctors could do nothing for him, but he was under
the charge of an old doctress of the Manyeti tribe, who allowed no one
to see him except his mother and uncle. He, however, sent for Dr
Livingstone, who gladly went to him. He and Dr Kirk at once told him
that the disease was most difficult to cure, and that he might rest
assured he had not been bewitched. They applied lunar caustic
externally and hydrate of potash internally, with satisfactory results;
so that in the course of a short time the poor chief's appearance
greatly improved.
Although the tribe had been suffering from famine, the chief treated his
visitors with all the hospitality in his power.
Some Benguela traders had come up to Sesheke, intending probably to
return from the Batoka country to the east with slaves; but the
Makololo, however, had secured all the ivory in that region. As the
traders found that the trade in slaves without ivory did not pay, they
knew it would not be profitable to obtain them, for Sekeletu would allow
no slaves to be carried through his territory, and thus by his means an
extensive slave-mart was closed.
Sekeletu was greatly pleased with the articles the doctor brought him
from England, and enquired whether a ship could not bring up the
remainder of the goods which had been left at Tete. On being told that
possibly a steamer might ascend as far as Sinainanes, he enquired
whether a cannon could not blow away the Victoria Falls, so as to enable
her to reach Sesheke.