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
were surrounded--upon whom we now looked down, under the influence of
Mocha coffee and moral philosophy, with calm contempt, not unmixed with
a certain amount of compassion. The Doctor related some experiences he
had had among people of similar disposition, but did not fail to ascribe
them, with the wisdom of a man of ripe experiences, to the unwise
conduct of the Arabs and half-castes; in this opinion I unreservedly
concur.
From Murembwe Point, having finished our coffee and ended our discourse
on ethics, we proceeded on our voyage, steering for Cape Sentakeyi,
which, though it was eight or ten miles away, we hoped to make before
dark. The Wangwana pulled with right good will, but ten hours went by,
and night was drawing near, and we were still far from Sentakeyi. As
it was a fine moonlight night, and we were fully alive to the dangerous
position in which we might find ourselves, they consented to pull
an hour or two more. About 1 P.M., we pulled in shore for a deserted
spot--a clean shelf of sand, about thirty feet long by ten deep, from
which a clay bank rose about ten or twelve feet above, while on each
side there were masses of disintegrated rock. Here we thought, that
by preserving some degree of silence, we might escape observation, and
consequent annoyance, for a few hours, when, being rested, we might
continue our journey. Our kettle was boiling for tea, and the men had
built a little fire for themselves, and had filled their black earthen
pot with water for porridge, when our look-outs perceived dark forms
creeping towards our bivouac. Being hailed, they at once came forward,
and saluted us with the native "Wake." Our guides explained that we were
Wangwana, and intended to camp until morning, when, if they had anything
to sell, we should be glad to trade with them. They said they were
rejoiced to hear this, and after they had exchanged a few words
more--during which time we observed that they were taking mental notes
of the camp--they went away. Upon leaving, they promised to return in
the morning with food, and make friends with us. While drinking our tea,
the look-outs warned us of the approach of a second party, which went
through the same process of saluting and observing as the first had
done. These also went away, over-exuberant, as I thought, and were
shortly succeeded by a third party, who came and went as the others had.
From all this we inferred that the news was spreading rapidly through
the villages about, and we had noticed two canoes passing backwards and
forwards with rather more haste than we deemed usual or necessary. We
had good cause to be suspicious; it is not customary for people (at
least, between Ujiji and Zanzibar) to be about visiting and saluting
after dark, under any pretence; it is not permitted to persons to prowl
about camp after dark without being shot at; and this going backward and
forward, this ostentatious exuberance of joy at the arrival of a small
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account