How I found Livingstone : $b Travels, adventures, and discoveres in Central Africa, including an account of four months' residence with Dr. LivingstoneStanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
History
How I found Livingstone : $b Travels, adventures, and discoveres in Central Africa, including an account of four months' residence with Dr. Livingstone
Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton)
Africa, Central -- Description and travel; Livingstone, David, 1813-1873
In 1 h. 30 m. we arrived at this Tongoni, or deserted clearing of
the Wakamba. Here were three or four villages burnt, and an extensive
clearing desolate, the work of the Wa-Ruga-Raga of Mirambo. Those of the
inhabitants who were left, after the spoliation and complete destruction
of the flourishing settlement, emigrated westerly to Ugara. A large
herd of buffalo now slake their thirst at the pool which supplied the
villages of Ukamba with water.
Great masses of iron haematite cropped up above the surfaces in these
forests. Wild fruit began to be abundant; the wood-apple and tamarind
and a small plum-like fruit, furnished us with many an agreeable repast.
The honey-bird is very frequent in these forests of Ukonongo. Its cry is
a loud, quick chirrup. The Wakonongo understand how to avail themselves
of its guidance to the sweet treasure of honey which the wild bees have
stored in the cleft of some great tree. Daily, the Wakonongo who had
joined our caravan brought me immense cakes of honey-comb, containing
delicious white and red honey. The red honey-comb generally contains
large numbers of dead bees, but our exceedingly gluttonous people
thought little of these. They not only ate the honey-bees, but they also
ate a good deal of the wax.
As soon as the honey-bird descries the traveller, he immediately utters
a series of wild, excited cries, hops about from twig to twig, and from
branch to branch, then hops to another tree, incessantly repeating his
chirruping call. The native, understanding the nature of the little
bird, unhesitatingly follows him; but perhaps his steps are too slow for
the impatient caller, upon which he flies back, urging him louder, more
impatient cries, to hasten, and then darts swiftly forward, as if he
would show how quickly he could go to the honey-store, until at last the
treasure is reached, the native has applied fire to the bees' nest, and
secured the honey, while the little bird preens himself, and chirrups in
triumphant notes, as if he were informing the biped that without his aid
he never could have found the honey.
Buffalo gnats and tsetse were very troublesome on this march, owing to
the numerous herds of game in the vicinity.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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