LIVINGSTONE’S LAST JOURNEY AND DEATH.
Dr. Livingstone anxiously awaits the Recruits and Supplies sent by Mr.
Stanley -- On their Arrival sets out Southwestward on his Last Journey
-- Reaches Kisera, where Chronic Dysentery seizes him -- He refuses to
yield; but pushes on, till Increasing Debility compels him to stop and
retrace his steps -- He sinks rapidly, and on May 4th Breathes his
Last -- His attendants take Necessary Precautions to Insure the Return
of the Corpse to England -- Letter from Mr. Holmwood, Attaché of the
British Consulate at Zanzibar.
It will be recollected that Stanley bade Dr. Livingstone farewell on the
14th of March, 1872, at Kwihara, and that, on his arrival at Zanzibar,
he sent back to Dr. Livingstone the men and means he had expressed a
wish for.
From some unexplained cause, this party of recruits, with their stores,
was exceedingly slow in reaching Dr. Livingstone. According to the
account given Mr. Stanley by Dr. Livingstone’s body-servant, Jacob
Wainwright, after the funeral, in London, “The Doctor expressed great
joy, when he at last saw the caravan of freemen for which he had been
anxiously waiting, before the resumption of his explorations.” After
allowing them a few days’ rest at Unyanyembe, Dr. Livingstone and his
party started on his last exploring journey. They traveled southwest by
way of Kasagera and Kigandu to Kisera, a district ruled by King Simba.
Here the Doctor had a relapse of his old malady, the Chronic Dysentery,
which so weakened him that he was compelled to take to riding a donkey.
He did not yet regard the attack as dangerous, and accordingly pursued
his march, still southwestward, to Mpathwa, and thence into the valley
of the Rungwa, where he found many boiling springs; thence he pressed on
through Ufipa and Uemba (or Uremba), to Margunga. In the marshes of
Uemba (or Uremba) one of their two donkeys died. Traveling along the
Moungo, they reached the district called Kawendi, where a lion killed
the remaining donkey. Thenceforward, the Doctor, getting daily weaker,
had to be borne in a _kitanda_ (a native bed resembling a hammock); he
still refused to yield, but urged his party on till they came to the
head-waters which empty themselves into Lake Bangweolo. Here they made
use of Stanley’s boat, which they had carried a distance of eleven
hundred miles. They crossed the Chambezi, and attempted to push their
way along the southern shore to Lake Bangu, and toward the Fountains of
Herodotus, reported to be at Katanga (Katanda?), where he hoped to pause
and recruit his health. Perceiving, however, how rapidly he was growing
weaker, he determined to hasten back to Unyanyembe, and accordingly at
last turned his face northward; but on arriving at Kitumbo, he seemed
suddenly to realize that his last hour was drawing near, and he tried to
stop there, but the chief refused to permit it, and he was forced to
proceed farther north toward Kibende. On their arrival at a small
village in the district of Mullala, his tent was pitched, and he was
placed therein. But, fearing the heat of the sun, he directed that a hut
should be built for him “to die in.” This was done, and he was
carefully removed to it. His last entry in his diary is dated April
27th, 1873, thirteen months and thirteen days after his parting from Mr.
Stanley, and in that entry he records his extreme illness and his
inability to proceed farther. After this, he seems to have resolutely
prepared for the great journey of death.
[Illustration: THE LAST MILE OF DR. LIVINGSTONE’S TRAVELS.]
The boy Majwara states that, during the intervals between the paroxysms
of extreme pain, the doctor prayed constantly for his family, and
frequently uttered the word “home!” After his being placed in his hut,
Dr. Livingstone would permit no one to stay with him except Majwara, and
occasionally Susi, though the rest each morning called and greeted him
with the customary words “Yambo, bana!” (“Good-morning, master!”)
Majwara, on the last morning, made some tea for the Doctor and
administered stimulants, which appeared to have no effect. At about
midnight of May 1st, Dr. Livingstone quietly breathed his last.
The next morning, the faithful attendants held a consultation as to what
was to be done with the remains. Their movements had to be kept very
secret, because, if the fact of the death were discovered by the
natives, there was reason to fear that their superstitions would lead
them to prevent the removal of the corpse.
Fargalla, one of the men sent by Mr. Stanley, then disemboweled the
body, and, after leaving the village a safe distance, they hung it in
the sun for five days, to dry it thoroughly, after which they packed it
carefully in bark.
These steps were taken with the view the better to carry out their
determination of sending the body home to England. After the heart and
intestines had been carefully removed a solemn funeral service was held,
and they were committed to the earth, Jacob Wainwright officiating as
leader in the religious ceremonies.
They then set out on their long journey to Unyanyembe, a journey which
consumed six weary months, owing to repeated attempts of natives to bar
their march, which necessitated much loss of time in pursuing circuitous
routes.
Meanwhile, the fourth Search and Relief Expedition arrived at Zanzibar
in February, 1873. This expedition was under the leadership of
Lieutenants Murphy and Cameron and Dr. Dillon, and had been sent out by
the Royal Geographical Society. Sir Bartle Frere was then at Zanzibar
endeavoring to forward the efforts of the Government to suppress the
slave trade, in response to the earnest representations of Dr.
Livingstone. He rendered the expedition such aid as he could, and it
proceeded to Unyanyembe, where it arrived in August. In October, a
messenger brought in the sad news of Dr. Livingstone’s death. Dr.
Dillon, who was sick, with Lieut. Murphy, soon after started to return
from their expedition, but at Kasegera Dr. Dillon, under a temporary
attack of insanity, committed suicide.
Leaving to the ensuing chapter the notes of the homeward voyage of the
party who bore Dr. Livingstone’s remains to England, we cannot better
close this chapter than by copying an interesting letter from Mr.
Holmwood, the British Vice-Consul at Zanzibar, to Sir Bartle Frere, then
the President of the Royal Geographical Society. We have already given
the substance of the information, as detailed by Jacob Wainwright, but
the letter is interesting enough to justify its insertion,
notwithstanding the repetitions and occasional apparent discrepancies.
“ZANZIBAR, March 12, 1874.
“MY DEAR SIR BARTLE--No doubt you will hear from several interested in
Dr. Livingstone; but, as I do not feel sure that any one has
thoroughly examined the men who came down with his remains, I briefly
summarize what I have been able to glean from a careful
cross-examination of Majwara, who was always at his side during his
last days, and Susi, as well as the Nassick boys, have generally
confirmed what he says. I inclose a small sketch-map, merely giving my
idea of the locality, and have added a dotted line to show his route
during this last journey of his life.
“The party sent by Stanley left Unyanyembe with the Doctor about the
end of August, 1872, and marched straight to the south of Lake
Tanganyika, through Ufipa, crossing the Rungwa River, where they met
with natural springs of boiling water, bubbling up high above the
ground. On reaching the Chambezi or Kambezi River, they crossed it
about a week’s journey from Lake Bemba, also crossing a large feeder;
but by Susi’s advice Livingstone again turned northward, and recrossed
the Kambezi, or Luapula, as he then called it, just before it entered
the lake.
“He could not, however, keep close to the north shore of Lake Bemba,
owing to the numerous creeks and streams, which were hidden in forests
of high grass and rushes. After making a detour, he again struck the
lake, at a village where he got canoes across to an island in the
centre, called Matipa. Here the shores on either hand were not
visible, and the Doctor was put to great straits by the natives
declining to let him use their canoes to cross to the opposite shore.
He therefore seized seven canoes by force, and when the natives made a
show of resistance he fired his pistol over their heads, after which
they ceased to obstruct him. Crossing the lake diagonally, he arrived
in a long valley; and the rains having now set in fully, the caravan
had to wade rather than walk, constantly crossing blind streams, and,
in fact, owing to the high rushes and grass, hardly being able to
distinguish at times the land, or rather what was generally dry land,
from the lake.
“Dr. Livingstone had been weak and ailing since leaving Unyanyembe;
and when passing through the country of Ukabende, at the southwest of
the lake, he told Majwara (the boy given him by Stanley, who is now in
my service) that he felt unable to go on with his work, but should try
and cross the hills to Katanga (Katanda?) and there rest, endeavoring
to buy ivory, which in all this country is very cheap (three yards of
_merikani_ buying a slave or a tusk), and returning to Ujiji through
Manuema to recruit and reorganize.
“But as he approached the northern part of Bisa (a very large
country), arriving in the province of Ulala, he first had to take to
riding a donkey, and then suffer himself to be carried on a _kitanda_
(native bedstead), which at first went much against the grain. During
this time he never allowed the boy Majwara to leave him, and he then
told that faithful and honest fellow that he should never cross the
high hills to Katanda. He called for Susi, and asked how far it was to
the Luapula, and on his answering ‘three days’ remarked ‘he should
never see his river again.’
“On arriving at Ilala, the capital of the district, where Kitambo the
Sultan lived, the party were refused permission to stay, and they
carried Livingstone three hours’ march back toward Kabende. Here they
erected for him a rude hut and fence, and he would not allow any to
approach him for the remaining days of his life except Majwara and
Susi, except that every morning they were all desired to come to the
door and say ‘Good-morning!’
“During these few days he was in great pain, and could keep nothing,
even for a moment, on his stomach. He lost his sight so far as hardly
to be able to distinguish when a light was kindled, and gradually sank
during the night of the 4th of May, 1873. Only Majwara was present
when he died, and he is unable to say when he ceased to breathe. Susi,
hearing that he was dead, told Jacob Wainwright to make a note in the
Doctor’s diary of the things found by him. Wainwright was not quite
certain as to the day of the month; and as Susi told him the Doctor
had last written the day before, and he found this entry to be dated
27th April, he wrote 28th April; but, on comparing his own diary on
arrival at Unyanyembe, he found it to be the 4th of May; and this is
confirmed by Majwara, who says Livingstone was unable to write for
the last four or five days of his life. I fancy the spot where
Livingstone died is about 11.25 degrees south and 27 degrees east;
but, of course, the whole of this is subject to correction, and,
although I have spent many hours in finding it all out, the Doctor’s
diary may show it to be very imperfect.
“I fear you will find this a very unconnected narration, but my
apology must be that the Consul-General is not well, and the other
assistant absent on duty, and there is much work for me to do. Mr.
Arthur Laing has been entrusted with the charge of the remains and
diaries, which latter he has been instructed to hand to Lord Derby.
“Trusting that you are in the enjoyment of good health, and with great
respect, believe me, dear Sir Bartle, your most obedient servant,
“FREDERICK HOLMWOOD.
“To the Right Hon. Sir BARTLE FRERE, K. C. B., G. C. S. I., etc.,
President of the Royal Geographical Society.”
[Illustration]