The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868Livingstone, David
History
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
Here the destruction is quite recent, and has been brought about by
some who entertained us very hospitably on the Misinje, before we came
to the confluence. The woman chief, Ulenjelenje, or Njelenje, bore a
part in it for the supply of Arab caravans. It was the work of the
Masininga, a Waiyau tribe, of which her people form a part. They
almost depopulated the broad fertile tract, of some three or four
miles, between the mountain range and the Lake, along which our course
lay. It was wearisome to see the skulls and bones scattered about
everywhere; one would fain not notice them, but they are so striking
as one trudges along the sultry path, that it cannot be avoided.
_9th September, 1866._--We spent Sunday at Kandango's village. The men
killed a hippopotamus when it was sleeping on the shore; a full-grown
female, 10 feet 9 inches from the snout to the insertion of the tail,
and 4 feet 4 inches high at the withers. The bottom here and all along
southwards now is muddy. Many of the _Siluris Glanis_ are caught equal
in length to an eleven or a twelve-pound salmon, but a great portion
is head; slowly roasted on a stick stuck in the ground before the fire
they seemed to me much more savoury than I ever tasted them before.
With the mud we have many shells: north of Ngombo scarcely one can be
seen, and there it is sandy or rocky.
_10th September, 1866._--In marching southwards we came close to the
range (the Lake lies immediately on the other side of it), but we
could not note the bays which it forms; we crossed two mountain
torrents from sixty to eighty yards broad, and now only ankle deep. In
flood these bring down enormous trees, which are much battered and
bruised among the rocks in their course; they spread over the plain,
too, and would render travelling here in the rains impracticable.
After spending the night at a very civil headman's chefu, we crossed
the Lotende, another of these torrents: each very lofty mass in the
range seemed to give rise to one. Nothing of interest occurred as we
trudged along. A very poor headman, Pamawawa, presented a roll of salt
instead of food: this was grateful to us, as we have been without that
luxury some time.
_12th September, 1866._--We crossed the rivulet Nguena, and then went
on to another with a large village by it, it is called Pantoza
Pangone. The headman had been suffering from sore eyes for four
months, and pressed me to stop and give him medicine, which I did.
_13th September, 1866._--We crossed a strong brook called Nkore. My
object in mentioning the brooks which were flowing at this time, and
near the end of the dry season, is to give an idea of the sources of
supply of evaporation. The men enumerate the following, north of the
Misinje. Those which are greater are marked thus +, and the lesser
ones -.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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