The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868Livingstone, David
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The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868
Livingstone, David
Africa, Central -- Description and travel
We had come to Mpabala at the rate of six knots an hour, and returned
in the same time with six stout paddlers. The latitude was 12' in a
south-east course, which may give 24' as the actual distance. To the
sleeping-place, the Islet Kasango, there was at least 28' more, and
from thence to the mainland "Manda," other 28'. This 24 + 28 + 28 =
80' as the breadth from Masantu village, looking south-east. It lies
in 11 deg. 0' S. If we add on the half distance to this we have 11 deg.
40' as the latitude of Manda. The mainland to the south of Mpabala is
called Kabende. The land's end running south of Masantu's village is the
entrance to the Luapula: the clearest eye cannot see across it there.
I saw clouds as if of grass burning, but they were probably "Kungu,"
an edible insect, whose masses have exactly the same appearance as
they float above and on the water. From the time the canoes take to go
to Kabende I believe the southern shore to be a little into 12 deg. of
south latitude: the length, as inferred from canoes taking ten days to
go from Mpabala to the Chambeze, I take to be 150 miles, probably
more. No one gave a shorter time than that. The Luapula is an arm of
the Lake for some twenty miles, and beyond that is never narrower than
from 180 to 200 yards, generally much broader, and may be compared
with the Thames at London Bridge: I think that I am considerably
within the mark in setting down Bangweolo as 150 miles long by 80
broad.
When told that it contained four large islands, I imagined that these
would considerably diminish the watery acreage of the whole, as is
said to be the case with five islands in Ukerewe; but even the largest
island, Chirubi, does not in the least dwarf the enormous mass of the
water of Bangweolo. A range of mountains, named Lokinga, extends from
the south-east to the south-west: some small burns come down from
them, but no river; this range joins the Kone, or Mokone range, west
of Katanga, from which on one side rises the Lufira, and on the other
the Liambai, or Zambesi. The river of Manda, called Matanga, is only a
departing and re-entering branch of the Lake, also the Luma and Loela
rivers--some thirty yards broad--have each to be examined as springs
on the south of the Lake.
_July 29th, 1868._--Not a single case of Derbyshire neck, or of
Elephantiasis, was observed anywhere near the Lake, consequently the
report we had of its extreme unhealthiness was erroneous: no muddy
banks did we see, but in the way to it we had to cross so many
sponges, or oozes, that the word _matope_, mud, was quite applicable;
and I suspect, if we had come earlier, that we should have experienced
great difficulty in getting to the Lake at all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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