Great African Travellers, from Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley, byW. H. G. Kingston. 

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At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the coastal parts of Africawere of course well-known, and in any of the territories round thecoasts there were European officials, such as consuls, and Europeantraders. This becomes very apparent as you read this book, as many ofthe travels described involve sorties from an existing European base. 

On the other hand the very sources of the various major rivers were noton the map, and the object of many of the travellers was to find thesesources, for instance that of the Nile, or rather, that of any one ofits major components, such as the Red Nile and the Blue Nile. 

On the whole the various regions they passed through had already asettled African regime. In most cases this regime was friendly, but insome cases the opposite was the case. These explorations and travelscould only take place if the native rulers could be brought to giveassistance, and in most cases this was forthcoming. On the other handsome of the lesser-known early travellers were murdered, and the goodsthey travelled with, stolen. It is really only those travellers whowere able to complete their self-imposed tasks, and return to Britain, that have become famous. 

Written in an easy style, this book is a good read, and very worth thewhile of even today's teenagers. There are too many names to make anaudiobook very easily, so we have not done so, and have no comments onthat. 

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GREAT AFRICAN TRAVELLERS, FROM MUNGO PARK TO LIVINGSTONE AND STANLEY, BYW. H. G. KINGSTON. 

FROM MUNGO PARK TO LIVINGSTONE AND STANLEY. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

INTRODUCTION--THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION--LEDYARD--LUCAS--FIRST INFORMATIONRESPECTING THE NIGER, OR QUORRA, AND THE GAMBIA--TIMBUCTOO HEARD OF--THOMPSON AND JOBSON'S VOYAGE UP THE GAMBIA--MAJOR HAUGHTON'S EXPEDITIONAND DEATH. 

When the fathers of the present generation were young men, and Georgethe Third ruled the land, they imagined that the whole interior ofAfrica was one howling wilderness of burning sand, roamed over by browntribes in the north and south, and by black tribes--if human beingsthere were--on either side of the equator, and along the west coast. 

The maps then existing afforded them no information. Of the Mountainsof the Moon they knew about as much as of the mountains in the moon. The Nile was not explored--its sources unknown--the course of the Nigerwas a mystery. They were aware that the elephant, rhinoceros, cameleopard, zebra, lion and many other strange beasts ranged over itssandy deserts; but very little more about them than the fact of theirexistence was known. They knew that on the north coast dwelt thedescendants of the Greek and Roman colonists, and of their Arabconquerors--that there were such places as Tangiers, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers with its piratical cruisers who carried off white men intoslavery; Morocco, with an emperor addicted to cutting off heads; Salee, which sent forth its rovers far over the ocean to plunder merchantmen;and a few other towns and forts, for the possession of which Europeanshad occasionally knocked their heads together. 

From the west coast they had heard that ivory and gold-dust was to beprocured, as well as an abundant supply of negroes, whose happy lot itwas to be carried off to cultivate the plantations of the West Indiesand America; but, except that they worshipped fetishes, of their mannersand customs, or at what distance from the coast they came, theirignorance was profound. They possibly were acquainted with the factthat the Portuguese had settlements at Loango, Angola, and Benguela; andthat Hottentots and Kaffirs were to be found at the Cape, where a colonyhad been taken from the Dutch, but with that colony, except in theimmediate neighbourhood of Cape Town, where ships to and from Indiatouched, they were but slightly acquainted. 

Eastward, if they troubled their heads about the matter, they had anotion that there was a terribly wild coast, inhabited by fiercesavages, and northward, inside the big island of Madagascar, that thePortuguese had some settlements for slaving purposes; that further northagain was Zanzibar, and that the mainland was without a town or spotwhere civilised man was to be found, till the Strait of Bab el Mandeb, at the mouth of the Red Sea, was reached. That there, towards theinterior, was the wonderful country of Abyssinia, in which the Queen ofSheba once ruled, and Nubia, the birthplace from time immemorial ofblack slaves, and that, flowing northward, the mysterious Nile made itsway down numerous cataracts, fertilising the land of Egypt on its annualoverflows, till, passing the great city of Cairo, it entered theMediterranean by its numberless mouths. 

About Egypt, to be sure, more was known than of all the rest of thecontinent together--that there were pyramids and ruined cities, colossalstatues, temples and tombs, crocodiles and hippopotami in the waters ofthe sacred river, and Christian Copts and dark-skinned Mahommedansdwelling on its banks. But few had explored the mighty remains of itspast glory, or made their way either to the summits or into theinteriors of its mountain-like edifices. 

Those who had read Herodotus believed in a good many wonders which thatnot incredulous historian narrates. The late discoveries ofLivingstone, however, prove that Herodotus had obtained a more correctaccount of the sources of the Nile than has hitherto been supposed. Indeed, free range was allowed to the wildest imagination, and the mostextravagant stories found ready believers, there being no one withauthority to contradict them. 

When, however, Bruce and other travellers made their way further thanany civilised man had before penetrated into the interior of thecontinent, their accounts were discredited, and people were disappointedwhen they were told that many of their cherished notions had nofoundation in truth; in fact, up to the commencement of the presentcentury the greater part of Africa was a _terra incognita_, and only byslow and painful degrees, and during a comparatively late period, has aknowledge of some of its more important geographical features beenobtained. 

We will now set forth and accompany in succession the most noted of thevarious travellers who, pushing their way into that long unknowninterior, bravely encountering its savage and treacherous tribes, itsfever-giving climate, famine, hardships, dangers and difficulties ofevery description, have contributed to fill up some of the numerousblank places on the map. Although, by their showing, sand enough and tospare and vast rocky deserts are to be found, there are wide districtsof the greatest fertility, possessed of many natural beauties--elevatedand cool regions, where even the European can retain his health andstrength and enjoy existence; lofty mountains, magnificent rivers andbroad lakes, and many curious and interesting objects, not morewonderful, however, than those of other parts of the globe, while theinhabitants in _every_ direction, though often savage and debased, differ in no material degree from the other descendants of Ham. 

Although our fathers knew very little about Africa, their interest hadbeen excited by the wonders it was supposed to contain, and they wereanxious to obtain all possible information respecting it. This was, however, no easy matter, as most of the travellers who endeavoured tomake their way into the interior had died in the attempt. 

A society called the African Association, to which the Marquis ofHastings and Sir John Banks belonged, was at length formed to open upthe mighty continent to British commerce and civilisation. 

The first explorer they despatched was Ledyard, who as a sergeant ofmarines had sailed round the world with Captain Cook, and after livingamong the American Indians had pushed his way to the remotest parts ofAsiatic Russia. If any man could succeed, it was thought he would. 

He proceeded to Egypt, intending to make his way to Sennaar, and thenceto traverse the entire breadth of the African continent; but, seizedwith an illness at Cairo, he died just as he was about to start with acaravan. 

The next traveller engaged by the society was Mr Lucas, who, havingbeen captured by a Salee rover, had been several years a slave inMorocco. He started from Tripoli, but was compelled by the disturbedstate of the country to the south of that place to put back. 

It should have been said that it had been long known that two mightyrivers flowed through the interior of Africa, one called the Gambia andthe other the Niger, or Quorra; but whereabouts they rose, or thedirection they took, or the nature of the country they traversed intheir course, no exact information was possessed. 

From Arab traders, also, accounts had been received of a vast city, situated near the banks of the Niger, far away across the desert, calledTimbuctoo, said to possess palaces, temples and numberless publicbuildings, to be surrounded by lofty walls and glittering everywherewith gold and precious stones, to rival the ancient cities of Mexico andPeru in splendour and those of Asia in the amount of its population. 

A century and a half before, two sea captains, Thompson and Jobson, sentout by a company for the purpose, had made their way some distance upthe Gambia in boats, and early in the eighteenth century Captain Stibbshad gallantly sailed up the same river to a considerable distance, but, his native crew refusing to proceed, he was compelled to return withouthaving gained much information. 

As a wide sandy desert intervened between the shores of theMediterranean and the centre of Africa, it was naturally supposed thatthe unknown region could be more easily reached from the west coast thanover that barren district, and, soon after the return of Lucas, MajorHaughton, a high-spirited, gallant officer who had lived some time inMorocco, volunteered to make his way along the bank of the Gambiaeastward, under the belief that a journey by land was more likely tosucceed than one by water. Some way up that river is the the town ofPisania, where an English factory had been established, and a fewEuropeans were settled, with a medical man, Dr Laidley. Leaving thisplace, he proceeded to Tisheet, a place in the Great Desert, hoping fromthence to reach Timbuctoo; but, robbed by a Moorish chief, of everythinghe possessed, he wandered alone through the desert, till, exhausted byhunger and thirst, he sat down under a tree and died. The news of hisfate was brought to Dr Laidley soon afterwards by some negroes. 

These expeditions threw no light on the interior of the continent. Afresh volunteer, however, Mungo Park, then unknown to fame, was soon tocommence those journeys which have immortalised his name, and whichcontributed so greatly to solve one of the chief African problems--thecourse of the Niger. 

CHAPTER TWO. 

TRAVELS OF MUNGO PARK. 

PARENTAGE--RETURNS FROM INDIA--SENT OUT BY THE AFRICAN ASSOCIATION--SAILS FOR AFRICA--ARRIVES AT PISANIA--STARTS WITH A COME EASTWARD--MUMBOJUMBO--ARRIVES AT KOOJAR--REACHES CAPITAL OF BONDOU--WELCOMED AT THECAPITAL OF KAARTA BY KING DAISY--SEIZED AT THE TOWN OF DALLI BY MOORISHSOLDIERS, AND CARRIED CAPTIVE TO BENOWM--BARBAROUSLY TREATED BY ALI--TAKEN TO VISIT ALI'S WIFE FATIMA--SHE COMPASSIONATES HIM--ALMOSTSTARVED--DIFFICULTY OF OBTAINING WATER--HIS SERVANTS TAKEN FROM HIM--ALIATTACKED BY DAISY--PARK AGAIN FALLS INTO ALI'S HANDS--RESOLVES TOESCAPE. 

Mungo Park, who long ranked as the chief of African travellers, was bornon the 10th of September, 1771, at Fowlshiels, a farm occupied by hisfather on the banks of the Yarrow, not far from the town of Selkirk, inScotland. 

The elder Mr Park, also called Mungo, was a substantial yeoman ofEttrick Forest, and was distinguished for his unremitting attention tothe education of his children, the greater number of whom he sawrespectably settled in life. The young Mungo, after receiving with hisbrothers a course of education at home under a private tutor, was sentto the Grammar School at Selkirk, and at the age of fifteen wasapprenticed to Mr Thomas Anderson, a surgeon of that town. Hence heremoved to the University of Edinburgh, and during his vacations made atour with his brother-in-law, Mr Dickson, a distinguished botanist. Ongoing to London he was introduced by his relative to Sir Joseph Banks, whose interest procured for him the appointment of assistant surgeon tothe "Worcester, " East Indiaman. Returning from India, he offered hisservices to the African Association, who, notwithstanding the failure ofthe first expeditions they had sent out, still determined to perseverein their efforts. 

Possessed of unbounded courage and perseverance, he was admirably fittedfor the task he undertook, and his offer was gladly accepted. 

Having received his final instructions from the African Association, hesailed from Portsmouth on the 22nd of May, 1795, on board the"Endeavour, " an African trader bound for the Gambia, where he arrived onthe 21st of the following month. 

His directions were to make his way to the Niger, by Bambook or anyother route, to ascertain the course of that river, and to visit theprincipal towns in its neighbourhood, particularly Timbuctoo and Houssa, and afterwards to return by way of the Gambia or any other route hemight deem advisable. 

Houssa is not a city, as was then supposed, but a kingdom or province. 

The vessel anchored on the 21st of June at Jillifree, where he landedand from thence proceeded up the Gambia to Pisania. The only whiteresidents were Dr Laidley and two merchants of the name of Ainsley, with their numerous black domestics. It is in the dominions of the Kingof Yany, who afforded them protection. 

Assisted by Dr Laidley, Park here set to work to learn the Mandingotongue, and to collect information from certain black traders calledSeedees. During his residence at Pisania he was confined for two monthsby a severe fever, from which he recovered under the constant care ofhis host. 

A coffle, or caravan, being about to start for the interior of Africa, Park, having purchased a hardy and spirited horse and two asses, arranged to accompany it. He obtained also the services of Johnson, anegro who spoke both English and Mandingo. Dr Laidley also providedhim with a negro boy named Demba, a sprightly youth who spoke, besidesMandingo, the language of a large tribe in the interior. His baggageconsisted only of a small stock of provisions, beads, amber and tobacco, for the purchase of food on the road; a few changes of linen, anumbrella, pocket compass, magnetic compass and thermometer, with afowling-piece, two pair of pistols and other small articles. FourMahommedan blacks also offered their services as his attendants. Theywere going to travel on foot, driving their horses before them. Thesesix attendants regarded him with great respect, and were taught toconsider that their safe return to the countries of the Gambia woulddepend on his preservation. 

Dr Laidley and the Mr Ainsleys accompanied him for the two first days, secretly believing that they should never see him again. 

Taxes are demanded from travellers at every town, by the chiefs. 

Madina was the first town of any size he reached. He was here receivedby King Jatta, a venerable old man, who had treated Major Haughton withgreat kindness. He was seated on a mat before his hut, a number of menand women ranged on either side, who were singing and clapping theirhands. Park, saluting him respectfully, informed him of the purport ofhis visit. The king replied that he not only gave him leave to pass, but would offer up his prayers for his safety. He warned him, however, of the dangers he would encounter, observing that the people in the eastdiffered greatly from those of his country, who were acquainted withwhite men and respected them. 

The king having provided a guide, Park took his departure, reachingKonjowar the next night. Here, having purchased a sheep, he foundJohnson and one of his negroes quarrelling about the horns. It appealsthat these horns are highly valued as being easily converted intosheaths for keeping secure certain charms, called _saphies_. These_saphies_ are sentences from the Koran, which the Mahommedan priestswrite on scraps of paper and sell to the natives, who believe that theypossess extraordinary virtues. They indeed consider the art of writingas bordering on magic; and it is not in the doctrines of the Prophet, but in the arts of the magician that their confidence is placed. 

On the 8th, entering Koloa, a considerable town, he observed hanging ona tree a masquerading habit, made of bark, which he was told belonged toMumbo Jumbo, a sort of wood demon, held greatly in awe, especially bythe female part of the community. This strange bugbear is common to allthe Mandingo towns, and much employed by the pagan negroes in keepingtheir women in subjection. As the Kaffirs, or pagan Africans, are notrestricted in the number of their wives, every one marries as many as hecan conveniently maintain; and it frequently happens that the ladiesdisagree among themselves, their quarrels sometimes reaching to such aheight that the authority of the husband can no longer preserve peace inhis household, --in such cases the interposition of Mumbo Jumbo is calledin and is always decisive. This strange minister of justice, who issupposed to be either the husband or some person instructed by him, disguised in the dress which has just been mentioned, and armed with therod of public authority, announces his coming by loud and dismal screamsin the woods near the town. 

He begins the pantomime at the approach of night, and as soon as it isdark he enters the town and proceeds to the _bentang_, or publicmeeting-house, at which all the inhabitants immediately assemble. Thewomen do not especially relish this exhibition; for, as the person indisguise is entirely unknown to them, every married female suspects thatthe visit may possibly be intended for her; but they dare not refuse toappear when summoned. 

The ceremony commences with songs and dances, which continue tillmidnight, about which time Mumbo fixes on the offender. The unfortunatevictim being thereupon immediately seized, is stripped naked, tied to apost, and receives a severe switching with Mumbo's rod, amidst thederisive shouts of the whole assembly, the rest of the women being theloudest in their exclamations against their unhappy sister. Daylightputs an end to the unmanly revel. 

The desert was now to be passed, in which no water was to be procured. The caravan therefore travelled rapidly till they arrived at Koojar, thefrontier town of Woolli, on the road to Bondou, from which it isseparated by another intervening wilderness of two days' journey. 

While crossing the desert, they came to a tree, adorned with scraps ofcloth, probably at first hung up to inform other travellers that waterwas to be found near it; but the custom has been so sanctioned by timethat nobody presumes to pass without hanging up something. Parkfollowed the example and suspended a handsome piece of cloth on one ofthe boughs. Finding, however, a fire, which the negroes thought hadbeen made by banditti, they pushed on to another watering-place, where, surrounded by their cattle, they lay down on the bare ground, out ofgun-shot from the nearest bush, the negroes agreeing to keep watch byturns, to prevent surprise. 

They soon after reached Koorkarany, a Mahommedan town, which contained amosque, and was surrounded by a high wall. The _maraboo_, or priest, ablack, showed Park a number of Arabic manuscripts, passages from whichhe read and explained in Mandingo. 

Moving on at noon of the 21st of December, the traveller. .. 

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His fellow-travellers considered it necessary to journey by night tillthey could reach a more hospitable part of the country. Theyaccordingly started as soon as the people in the village had gone tosleep. The stillness of the air, the howling of the wild beasts and thedeep solitude of the forest made the scene solemn and impressive. Not aword, except in a whisper, was uttered; and his companions pointed outto him the wolves and hyaenas, as they glided like shadows from onethicket to another. 

The inhabitants of Bondou are called Foulahs. They are naturally of amild and gentle disposition; but the uncharitable maxims of the Koranhave made them less hospitable to strangers and more reserved in theirbehaviour than the Mandingoes. 

Leaving Bondou, the caravan entered the kingdom of Kajaaga. Theinhabitants, whose complexion is jet-black, are called Serrawoollies. The _dooty_, or chief man of Joag, the frontier town, though a rigidMahommedan, treated Park very civilly; but while he was staying there aparty of horseman, sent by the king, arrived to conduct him to Maana, his residence. When there, the king demanded enormous duties, and Parkhad to pay him the five drachms of gold which he had received from theKing of Bondou, besides which his baggage was opened and everything ofvalue taken. His companions now begged him to turn back, and Johnsondeclared it would be impossible to proceed without money. He hadfortunately concealed some of his property; but they were afraid ofpurchasing provisions, lest the king should rob him of his few remainingeffects. They therefore resolved to combat hunger during the day andwait for another opportunity of obtaining food. 

While seated on the ground, with his servant-boy by his side, a poorwoman came up with a basket on her head, and asked Park if he had hadhis dinner. The boy replied that the king's people had robbed him ofall his money. On hearing this the good old woman, with a look ofunaffected benevolence, took the basket from her head, and presented himwith a few handfuls of ground nuts, walking away before he had time tothank her. 

Leaving Joag in company with thirty persons and six loaded asses, herode on cheerfully for some hours till the caravan reached a species oftree for which Johnson had frequently inquired. On seeing it heproduced a white chicken which he had purchased at Joag, tied it by aleg to one of the branches, and then told his companions that they mightsafely proceed, as the journey would be prosperous. 

This incident shows the power of superstition over the minds of negroes;for though this man had resided seven years in England, it was evidentthat he still retained the superstitions imbibed in his youth. 

Koomakary was the birthplace of one of Park's companions from Pisania, ablacksmith, who had been attentive to him on the road. On approachingthe place shouts were raised and muskets were fired. The meetingbetween the long-absent blacksmith and his relations was very tender. The younger ones having embraced him, his aged mother was led forth, leaning upon a staff. Every one made way for her as she stretched outher hands to bid her son welcome. Being totally blind, she stroked hisarms, hands and face with great care, and seemed highly delighted thather ears once more could hear the music of his voice. "It was evident, "observes Park, "that, whatever may be the difference between the negroand European, there is none in the genuine sympathies and characteristicfeelings of our common nature. "

The king, Dembo Sego, gave the traveller an audience, and appearedwell-disposed towards him. An escort was also sent to conduct him tothe frontiers of Kaarta. 

The capital of that province was reached on the 12th of February, and assoon as he arrived a messenger came from the king, bidding him welcome, and a large hut was at once provided for his accommodation. The people, however crowded in till it was completely full; when the first visitorswent, another took their place--in this way the hut being filled andemptied thirteen different times. 

Park found the king, whose name was Daisy, surrounded by a number ofattendants, the fighting men on his right-hand and the women andchildren on his left. A bank of earth, on which was spread aleopard-skin, formed the throne. Daisy seemed perfectly satisfied withthe account the traveller gave of himself, but warned him of the dangersin his way on account of the war which was then raging, and advised himto return to Kason, there to remain till it was over. Wise as thisadvice was, the approaching hot months made it important for him toproceed, dreading as he did having to spend the rainy season in theinterior of Africa. 

Daisy presented him with food, and sent a party of horse men to conducthim to Jarra, while three of his sons, with about two hundred horsemen, undertook to accompany him part of the way. 

He had evidence of the disturbed state of the country while staying atthe next town he entered. A body of Moors approached the gates andcarried off the cattle, and one of the horsemen was shot by a Moor. Thewounded man was brought in, when, as he was borne along, his mother wentbefore, clapping her hands and enumerating the good qualities of herson. The ball had passed through both his legs, and as he and hisfriends would not consent to have one of them amputated, he died thesame night. 

Going forward, on the 18th they passed through Simbug, the frontiervillage of Ludamar. It was from hence Major Haughton wrote his lastletter, with a pencil, to Dr Laidley. After leaving the place, whenendeavouring to make his way across the desert, he was murdered by somesavage Mahommedans, who robbed him of everything he possessed. 

At this time, while Daisy was employed in fortifying a strong positionamong the hills, his territory was overrun by his enemy, Mansong. 

On the evening of the 5th of March Park reached the town of Dalli. Herethe people crowded in so disagreeable a manner to see the whitestranger, that his host proposed, in order to avoid them, going in thecool of the evening to a negro village called Samee, at a short distanceoff. 

As he was now within two days' journey of the heathen kingdom of Goumba, he had no apprehensions from the Moors, and readily accepted theinvitation. His landlord was proud of the honour of entertaining awhite man, and Park spent the forenoon very pleasantly with these poornegroes, their gentleness of manner presenting a striking contrast tothe rudeness and barbarity of the Moors. 

While thus enjoying himself, greatly to his dismay a party of Moorishsoldiers suddenly appeared in the place. They were sent, they said, bytheir chief, Ali, to convey the white stranger to his camp at Benowm. If he would come willingly it would be better for him, but come he must, as they had orders to convey him by force; because Fatima, Ali's wife, having heard much about Christians, was anxious to see one. Park, unable to resist, was compelled to accompany them. The journey occupiedmany days, during which both Park and his attendants suffered much fromthirst. 

On the evening of the 12th they came in sight of Benowm, which presentedto the eye a number of dirty-looking tents scattered without order overa large space of ground. Among the tents appeared large herds ofcamels, cattle and goats. As soon as he was seen the people who weredrawing water threw down their buckets and, rushing towards him, beganto treat him with the greatest discourtesy; one pulled at his clothes, another took off his hat, while a third stopped him to examine hiswaistcoat buttons. 

At length the king's tent was reached, where a number of men and womenwere assembled. Ali was seated on a black leather cushion, clipping afew hairs from his upper lip, a female attendant holding up alooking-glass before him. 

He enquired whether the stranger could speak Arabic, and being answeredin the negative he remained silent. The ladies, however, asked athousand questions, inspected his apparel, searched his pockets, andobliged him to unbutton his waistcoat to display the whiteness of hisskin. 

In the evening the priests announced prayer. Before they departed hisMoorish guide told him that Ali was about to present him with somethingto eat. On looking round he saw some boys bringing a wild hog, whichthey tied to one of the tent ropes, when Ali made signs to him to killand dress it for supper. Though very hungry, he did not think itprudent to eat any part of an animal so much detested by the Moors, andtherefore replied that he never touched such food. The hog was thenuntied, in the hopes that it would run at the stranger, the Moorsbelieving that a great enmity subsists between hogs and Christians. Inthis, however, they were disappointed, for the animal no sooner regainedhis liberty than he began to attack indiscriminately every person whocame in his way, and at last took shelter under the couch upon which theking was sitting. 

Park was after this conducted to a hut, where he found another wildhog--tied there to a stick for the purpose of annoying him. Itattracted a number of boys, who amused themselves by beating it withsticks, till they so irritated the animal that it ran and bit at everyperson within reach. 

A number of people came in and made him take off his stockings toexhibit his feet, and then his jacket and waistcoat to show them how hisclothes were put off and on. 

Day after day he was treated in the same manner. He was also compelledto undertake various offices. First, he was told to shave the head ofone of the young princes, but, unaccustomed to use a razor, he soon cutthe boy's skin, on seeing which the king ordered him to desist. 

On the 18th his black servant, Johnson, was brought in as as a prisonerbefore Ali by some Moors, who had also seized a bundle of his clothesleft at Jarra. Of these Ali took possession, and Park was unable toobtain even a clean shirt or anything he required. The Moors nextstripped him of his gold, his watch, the amber he had remaining and oneof his pocket compasses. Fortunately he had hidden the other in thesand near his hut. This, with the clothes on his back, was the onlything Ali now left him. 

Ali, on examining the compass, wished to know why the small needlealways pointed to the Great Desert. Park, unwilling to inform him ofthe exact truth, replied that his mother lived far beyond the sands ofthe Sahara, and that while she was alive the piece of iron would alwayspoint that way and serve as a guide to conduct him to her. Ali, suspecting that there was something magical in it, was afraid of keepingso dangerous an instrument in his possession. 

The Moors now held a council to determine what should be done with thestranger. Some proposed that he should be put to death, others that heshould only lose his right-hand, and one of Ali's sons came to him inthe evening and with much concern informed him that his uncle hadpersuaded his father to put out his eyes. Ali, however, replied that hewould not do so until Fatima, the queen, who was at present in thenorth, had seen him. 

In vain Park begged that he might be permitted to return to Jarra. Alireplied that he must wait till Fatima had seen him, and that then heshould be at liberty to go, and that his horse should be restored tohim. 

So wearied out was he at last with all the insults he received that hefelt ready to commit any act of desperation. 

One day Ali sent to say that he must be in readiness to ride out withhim, as he intended to show him to some of his women. They togethervisited the tents of four different ladies, at every one of which he waspresented with a bowl of milk and water. They were all remarkablycorpulent, which in that country is the highest mark of beauty. Theywere also very inquisitive, examining minutely his hair and skin, thoughaffecting to consider him as a sort of inferior being to themselves, andpretending to shudder when they looked at the whiteness of his skin. Notwithstanding the attention shown him by these fat dames, hiscondition was not improved, and he was often left without even food orwater, while suffering fearfully from the heat. 

Ali at length moved his camp, and Park was sent forward under the escortof one of the king's sons. The new encampment was larger than that ofBenowm, and situated in the midst of a thick wood, about two milesdistant from a neighbouring town, called Bubaka. Here Park wasintroduced to queen Fatima by Ali. She seemed much pleased at hiscoming, shaking hands with him, even though Ali had told her that he wasa Christian. She was a remarkably corpulent woman, with an Arab cast ofcountenance and long hair. 

After asking a number of questions, with the answers to which sheappeared interested, she became perfectly at her ease and presented hervisitor with a bowl of milk. She was, indeed, the only person whotreated Park kindly during his stay. 

Both men and cattle suffered much from thirst, and though Ali had givenhim a skin for containing water, and Fatima once or twice presented himwith a small supply, yet such was the barbarous disposition of theMoors, that when his boy attempted to fill his skin at the wells, hegenerally received a sound drubbing for his presumption. One night, having in vain attempted to obtain water, he resolved to try his fortunehimself at the wells, which were about half a mile distant. Aboutmidnight he set out, and, guided by the lowing of the cattle, he reachedthe place. Here a number of Moors were drawing water, but he was drivenby them from each well in succession. At last he reached one wherethere was only an old man and two boys. He earnestly besought the firstto give him some water. The old man complied, and drew up a bucket; butno sooner did Park take hold of it than, recollecting that the strangerwas a Christian, and fearing that his bucket might be polluted, hedashed the water into the trough, and told him to drink from thence. Though the trough was none of the largest, and three cows were alreadydrinking in it, Park knelt down, and, thrusting his head between two ofthe cows, drank with intense pleasure till the water was nearlyexhausted. 

The rainy season was now approaching, when the Moors evacuate thecountry of the negroes and return to the skirts of the Great Desert. 

Ali looked upon Park as a lawful prisoner, and though Fatima allowed himfood and otherwise treated him kindly, she had as yet said nothing abouthis release. 

Fortunately for him, Ali had resolved to send an expedition to Jarra, oftwo hundred Moorish horsemen, to attack Daisy. Park obtained permissionto accompany them, and, through the influence of Fatima, he alsoreceived back his bundle of clothes and his horse. 

On the 26th of May, accompanied by Johnson and his boy Demba, he set outwith a number of Moors on horseback, Ali having gone on before. On hisway Ali's chief slave came up and told Demba that Ali was to be hismaster in future; then, turning to Park, said, "The boy goes back toBubaka, but you may take the old fool, " meaning Johnson, "with you toJarra. " Park in vain pleaded for Demba, but the slave only answeredthat if he did not mount his horse he would send him back likewise. Poor Demba was not less affected than his master. Having shaken handswith the unfortunate boy, and assured him that he would do everything inhis power to redeem him, Park saw him led off by three of Ali's slaves. 

At Jarra he took up his lodgings in the house of an old acquaintance, Dayman, whom he requested to use his influence with Ali to redeem theboy, and promised him a bill on Dr Laidley for the value of two slavesthe moment he brought him to Jarra. 

Ali, however, considering the boy to be Park's principal interpreter, would not liberate him, fearing that he would be instrumental inconducting him to Bambarra. 

Still Park was eager, if possible, to continue his journey, but Johnsonrefused to proceed further. At the same time he foresaw that he mustsoon fall a victim to the Moors if he remained where he was, and that ifhe went forward singly he must encounter great difficulties, both fromthe want of an interpreter and the means of purchasing food. On theother hand he was very unwilling to return to England withoutaccomplishing his mission. He therefore determined to escape on thefirst opportunity at all risks. This arrived sooner than he expected. 

On the 26th of June news was brought that Daisy had taken Simbug, andwould be at Jarra the next day. Hearing this, the people began packingup their property and beating corn for their journey, and early in themorning nearly half had set off--the women and children crying, the menlooking sullen and dejected. 

Though Park was sure of being well treated could he make himself knownto Daisy, yet as he might be mistaken for a Moor in the confusion, hethought it wisest to mount his horse with a large bag of corn beforehim, and to ride away with the rest of the townspeople. 

He again fell in with his friend Dayman and Johnson. They pushed on twodays' journey to the town of Queira. 

While Park was out tending his horse in the fields on the 1st of July, Ali's chief slave and four Moors arrived at Queira, and Johnson, whosuspected the object of their visit, sent two boys to overhear theirconversation. From them he learned that the Moors had come to conveyPark back to Bubaka. This was a terrible stroke to him, and, nowconvinced that Ali intended to detain him for ever in captivity, orperhaps to take his life, he determined at all risks to attempt makinghis escape. He communicated his design to Johnson, who, though heapproved of it, showed no inclination to accompany him. Park thereforeresolved to proceed by himself, and to trust to his own resources. 

CHAPTER THREE. 

MUNGO PARK'S TRAVELS CONTINUED. 

PARK ESCAPES AT NIGHT--PURSUED BY MOORS AND ROBBED--FEARFUL SUFFERING;FROM THIRST--FINDS WATER--KINDLY TREATED BY AN OLD WOMAN--WANDERINGS INTHE FOREST--REACHES BAMBARRA--ILL-TREATED--REACHES THE NIGER--ARRIVES ATSEGO, THE CAPITAL--THE KING REFUSES TO SEE HIM--SENT TO A DISTANTVILLAGE--ALMOST STARVING--A COMPASSIONATE WOMAN TAKES HIM INTO HER HOUSEAND FEEDS HIM--KING MANSONG ORDERS HIM TO QUIT THE COUNTRY--ENTERSSANSANDING ON THE NIGER--THE MOORS THREATEN HIM FOR BEING A CHRISTIAN--WRITES CHARMS FOR HIS HOST--PROCEEDS--FOLLOWED BY A LION--HIS HORSEFALLS SICK, AND, LEAVING THE ANIMAL, HE PROCEEDS ON FOOT--PROCEEDS DOWNTHE NIGER TO MOORZAN--DETERMINES TO RETURN--FINDS HIS HORSE ALIVE--RAINYSEASON COMMENCES--AGAIN REACHES SANSANDING--INHOSPITABLY TREATED--REPULSED FROM NUMEROUS PLACES--SWIMS SEVERAL RIVERS--BETTER TREATED ASHE GETS WESTWARD--A NEGRO MERCHANT AT RAMMAKO RECEIVES HIM HOSPITABLY--SETS OFF WITH A SINGING MAN AS HIS GUIDE--CONDUCTED BY TWO SHEPHERDS--DESPOILED OF HIS CLOTHES AND HORSE BY ROBBERS--IN DANGER OF PERISHING--REACHES SIBIDOOLOO--MANSA, THE CHIEF MAN, RECOVERS HIS HORSE ANDCLOTHES--SUFFERS FROM FEVER--PEOPLE STARVING--CONTINUES HIS JOURNEY--KINDLY TREATED AT KAMATIA BY A BUSHREEN--KAFA TAURA--STARTS WITH A SLAVECARAVAN--ATTACKED BY BEES--DEATH OF A SLAVE--SUFFERINGS OF SLAVES--REACHES PISANIA--SAILS BY WAY OF AMERICA FOR ENGLAND--REACHES HOME. 

The time had arrived when, as Park felt, he must either again submit tothe tyrannical treatment of Ali, or perish possibly in attempting toescape. At night he got ready a bundle of clothes, consisting of twoshirts and two pair of trousers, with a cloak and a _few_ otherarticles; but he had not a single bead to purchase food for himself orhis horse. About daybreak Johnson came and told him that the Moors wereasleep. The awful crisis had now arrived; a cold perspiration stood onhis brow as he thought of the dreadful alternative and reflected thatone way or the other his fate must be decided in the course of the day. To deliberate was to lose the only chance of escape; so, taking up hisbundle, he stepped gently over the negroes sleeping in the air, mountedhis horse, bade Johnson farewell, desiring him to take particular careof the papers with which he had intrusted him, and to say that he hadleft him in good health, on his way to Bambarra. 

He rode on, expecting every moment to be overtaken by the Moorishhorsemen. Some shepherds he encountered followed, hooting and throwingstones at him. Scarcely was he out of their reach, and was againindulging in the hopes of escaping, when he heard somebody call behindhim, and on looking back, he saw three Moors on horseback galloping atfull speed and brandishing their weapons. To escape was vain. Hestopped, and one of them, presenting his musket, told him that he mustgo back to Ali. The effect of this announcement was to benumb hisfaculties. He rode back with apparent unconcern, but he had not gonefar when the Moors, stopping, ordered him to untie his bundle. Havingexamined the articles, they found nothing worth taking except his cloak, and one of them, pulling it off, wrapped it about himself. It hadserved to protect him from the rain in the day and the dews at night, and was of the greatest value to him. He earnestly begged the robbersto return it, but his petition was unheeded. As he attempted to followthem to regain his cloak, one of the robbers struck his horse over thehead, and presenting his musket, ordered him to proceed no further. Finding that the sole object of the Moors had been to plunder him, heturned his horse's head towards the east, thankful to have escaped withhis life. 

As soon as he was out of sight of the robbers, he struck into the woodsand pushed on with all possible speed. He had at length obtained hisliberty--his limbs felt light, even the desert looked pleasant. He soonrecollected, however, that he had no means of procuring food, nor aprospect of finding water. 

He directed his course by compass in the hopes of at length reachingsome town or village in the kingdom of Bambarra. 

His thirst, in consequence of the burning heat of the sun, reflectedwith double violence on the sand, became intense. He climbed a tree inthe hopes of seeing some human habitation. Nothing appeared around butthick underwood and hillocks of white sand. 

At sunset he again climbed a tree, but the same sight met his eyes. Descending, after taking the saddle off his horse's back, he wassuddenly seized with giddiness, and fell to the ground believing thatthe hour of death was fast approaching. He recovered, however, just asthe sun was sinking behind the trees, and now, summoning up all hisresolution, he determined to make another effort to prolong hisexistence. 

He had gone on some distance further when he perceived some lighteningin the north-east, a delightful sight, for it promised rain, and soon heheard the wind roaring among the bushes. He was expecting therefreshing drops, when in an instant he was covered with a cloud ofsand. It continued to fly for nearly an hour; then more lighteningfollowed and then down came a few heavy drops of rain, enabling him toquench his thirst by wringing and sucking his clothes. 

He travelled on during the night, which was intensely dark, till heperceived a light ahead. Cautiously approaching it he heard the lowingof cattle and the clamorous tongues of the herdsmen, which made himsuspect that it was a watering-place belonging to the Moors. Ratherthan run the risk of falling into their hands he retreated, but beingdreadfully thirsty, and fearing the approach of the burning day, hethought it prudent to search for the wells which he expected to find atno great distance. 

While thus engaged he was perceived by a woman, who screaming out, twopeople ran to her assistance from the neighbouring tents and passedclose to him. 

Happily he escaped from them and, plunging again into the woods, afterproceeding a mile he heard a loud and confused noise. Great was hisdelight to find that it arose from the croaking of frogs, which wasmusic to his ears. 

At daybreak he reached some shallow pools full of large frogs, which sofrightened his horse that he was obliged to keep them quiet by beatingthe water till he had drank. Having quenched his own thirst, heascended a tree to ascertain the best course to take, when he observed apillar of smoke about twelve miles off. Directing his course to it hereached a Foulah village belonging to Ali. Hunger compelled him toenter it, but he was denied admittance to the _dooty's_ house, and couldnot obtain even a handful of corn. Reaching, however, a humble hut atwhich an old motherly-looking woman sat spinning cotton, he made signsthat he was hungry. She immediately laid down her distaff, and desiredhim in Arabic to come in, setting before him a dish of _kous-kous_. Inreturn he gave her one of his pocket-handkerchiefs, and asked for alittle corn for his horse, which she readily brought him. 

While his horse was feeding the people collected round him, and fromtheir conversation he discovered that they proposed seizing him andconveying him back to Ali. He therefore tied up his corn and, lest itmight be supposed that he was running from the Moors, driving his horsebefore him he took a northerly direction, followed by the boys and girlsof the town. Having got rid of his troublesome attendants he struckinto the woods, where he was compelled to pass the night with his saddlefor a pillow. He was awakened by three Foulahs, who, taking him for aMoor, told him that it was time to pray. Without answering them hesaddled his horse and made his escape. 

The next day he took shelter in the tent of a Foulah shepherd, whocharitably gave him boiled corn and dates, although he was recognised asa Christian. He here purchased some corn in exchange for some brassbuttons, and again took the road to Bambarra, which he resolved tofollow for the night. Hearing some people approaching, he thought itprudent to hide himself, which he did in the thick brushwood. He theresat holding his horse by the nose to prevent him neighing, equallyafraid of the natives without and the wild beasts within the forest. The former took their departure, and he went on till past midnight, whenthe croaking of frogs induced him to turn off from the road, that he andhis steed might quench their thirst. Having discovered an open placewith a single tree in the midst of it, he lay down for the night. Hewas disturbed towards morning by the sound of wolves, which made himonce more mount. 

On the morning of the 5th of July he reached a negro town in theconfines of Bambarra. It was a small place surrounded by high walls, inhabited by a mixture of Mandingoes and Foulahs, chiefly employed inthe cultivation of corn. The people were suspicious of his character, some supposing him to be an Arab, others a Moorish sultan, but the_dooty_, or chief magistrate, who had been at Gambia, took his part, andassured them that he was a white man. On its being reported that he wasgoing to Sego, the capital, several women came and begged that he wouldenquire of Mansong what had become of their children, who had beencarried off to fight. 

He was allowed to take his departure without molestation, and on the 6threached the town of Dingyee. 

When he was about to depart the next morning, the landlord begged him togive him a lock of his hair, understanding that white men's hair made a_saphie_, or charm, which would bestow on the possessor all theirknowledge. This he willingly promised to do, but the landlord's thirstfor learning was such that he cropped nearly the whole of one side ofhis head, and would have done the same with the other had not Park toldhim that he wished to reserve some of this precious merchandise for afuture occasion. 

Having reached the town of Wassiboo, shortly afterwards eight fugitiveKaartan negroes, who had escaped from the tyrannical government of theMoors, arrived, on their road to offer their allegiance to the king ofBambarra. Park gladly accepted their invitation to accompany them ontheir road. 

His horse at the end of three days, becoming completely knocked up, hedismounted and desired his companions to ride on, telling them he wouldfollow; but they declined leaving him, declaring that lions werenumerous, and that, though they would not attack a body of people, theywould soon find out a single individual and destroy him. One of theparty, therefore, insisted on remaining with him, and he and his friend, after he had rested, overtook their companions, passing through severalof the numerous towns in this part of the country. His horse, nowbecoming weaker and weaker, he was obliged to drive the animal on beforehim the greater part of the day, so that he did not reach Geosorro tilllate in the evening. The _dooty_ of the place refused to give him orhis companions food, so he lay down supperless to sleep. Their host, however, relented, and about midnight he was awakened with the joyfulinformation that victuals were prepared. 

Next day his fellow-travellers, having better horses, went on ahead, andhe was walking barefoot, driving his own poor animal before him, when hemet a coffle, or caravan, of about seventy slaves coming from Sego. They were tied together by their necks with thongs of bullock's hidetwisted like a rope, seven slaves upon a thong, and a man with a musketbetween every seven. They were bound for Morocco. 

On arriving at the next place he found that his companions had gone onwithout him, but he fell in, the following day, with two negroes goingto Sego, who afforded him their company. 

In the village through which he passed he was constantly taken for aMoor. The people jeered at him, laughing at his tattered and forlornappearance. He, however, again overtook the Kaartans, who promised tointroduce him to the king. 

As they were riding along over some marshy ground, and he was anxiouslylooking around for the river which he now supposed to be near, one ofhis companions called out, "_Geo affilli_!" ("See water!") and, lookingforward, he saw with infinite pleasure the great object of his mission--the long-sought-for majestic Niger, glittering in the morning sun, asbroad as the Thames at Westminster, and flowing slowly to the east. Hehastened to the brink, and having drunk of the water, offered up hisfervent thanks in prayer to the Great Ruler of all things for havingthus far crowned his endeavours with success. 

Sego, the capital of Bambarra--at which he had now arrived--consists, properly speaking, of four distinct towns: two on the north and two onthe south bank of the Niger. They are surrounded by high mud walls. The houses are built of clay, of a square form with flat roofs--some ofthem of two stories, and many of them are whitewashed. Moorish mosquesare seen in every quarter; and the streets, though narrow, are broadenough for every useful purpose in a country where wheel-carriages areunknown. It contains about thirty thousand inhabitants. 

While waiting to cross the river, a messenger arrived, informing himthat the king could not possibly see him until he knew what had broughthim into the country, and that he must not venture to cross the riverwithout his majesty's permission. He was directed to pass the night ina distant village; but when he reached it, no one would admit him. Hewas regarded with astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit all daywithout food in the shade of a tree. He fully expected to have to passthe night in the same place; but about sunset, after he had turned hishorse loose, a woman, perceiving that he was weary and dejected, enquired into his situation. Casting looks of pity upon him, she tookup his saddle and bridle, and told him to follow her. Having conductedhim into her hut, she lighted her lamp, spread a mat on the floor andsignified that he might remain there for the night. Finding that he wasvery hungry, she brought him a fine fish for supper. Having thusattended to the stranger, telling him that he might sleep in safety shecalled her women around her and desired them to resume their task ofspinning cotton, in which they continued to employ themselves thegreater part of the night, lightening their labours by songs, some ofwhich had reference to their white visitor. 

Several days passed, when a messenger arrived from Mansong with a bag inhis hands. He told Park that it was his Majesty's pleasure he shouldforthwith depart from the neighbourhood of Sego, but that the king, wishing to relieve a white man in distress, had sent him five thousandcowries. From the conversation Park had with the guide, he ascertainedthat Mansong would willingly have seen him, but that he was apprehensiveof being unable to protect him against the blind and inveterate maliceof the Moorish inhabitants. His conduct, therefore, was at once prudentand liberal. 

He was the same evening conducted to a village about seven miles to theeastward, where he was well received. His guide told him that if Jennewas really the place of his destination, the journey was one of greaterdanger than he might suppose; for, although that town was nominally apart of the King of Bambarra's dominions, it was in fact a city of theMoors--the chief part of the inhabitants being Bushreens, a fanaticalMahommedan sect. He heard, too, that Timbuctoo, the great object of hissearch, was entirely in possession of that savage and merciless people, who allow no Christian to live there. He had, however, advanced too farto think of returning with uncertain information, and he determined toproceed. 

Being provided with a guide, he left the village on the morning of the24th, travelling through a highly cultivated country, the scenerybearing a greater resemblance to that of England than he had expected tofind in the middle of Africa. 

The people were everywhere employed in collecting the fruit of the sheatrees, from which they prepared vegetable butter. In the evening hereached the large town of Sansanding, the resort of numerous Moorishcaravans from the shores of the Mediterranean. In the harbour heobserved twenty large canoes, and others arrived while he was there. Hewas received into the house of the _dooty_, Counti Mamadi. Scarcely hadhe arrived when hundreds of people surrounded him, all speakingdifferent dialects, several of them declaring that they had seen him invarious parts of the continent. It was evident that they mistook himfor somebody else. One of them, a _shereef_, from Suat, declared thatif he refused to go to the mosque he would carry him there. He hadlittle doubt that the Moor would have put his threat into execution hadnot his host interposed in his behalf. The latter said that, if hewould let his guest alone for the night, in the morning he should besent about his business. This somewhat appeased them, but even after hehad retired to his hut the people climbed over the pailings to look athim. 

At midnight, when the Moors had retired, Mamadi paid him a visit andearnestly desired him to write a _saphie_, or charm, observing, "If aMoor's _saphie_ is good, a white man's must needs be better. " Parkreadily furnished him with one, which was in reality the Lord's Prayer, a reed serving for a pen, charcoal and gum-water for ink and a thinboard for paper. 

Allowed to proceed, as he and his guide were crossing an open plain witha few scattered bushes, the guide wheeled his horse round, called loudlyto him and, warning him that a lion was at hand, made signs that heshould ride away. His horse was too much fatigued to do this, so theyrode slowly past the bush, and he, not seeing anything himself, thoughtthe guide had been mistaken. Suddenly the Foulah put his hand to hismouth exclaiming, "God preserve us!" To his great surprise he thenperceived a large red lion a short distance from the bush, his headcouched between his fore paws. Park expected that the creature wouldinstantly spring upon him, and instinctively pulled his foot from thestirrups to throw himself on the ground, that his horse might become thevictim rather than himself; but probably the lion was not hungry, for hequietly allowed the traveller to pass though fairly within his reach. 

The next day his horse completely broke down, and the united strength ofhimself and his guide could not place the animal again upon his legs. He sat down for some time beside the worn-out associate of hisadventures; but, finding him still unable to rise, he took off thesaddle and bridle and placed a quantity of grass before him. While hesurveyed his poor steed as he lay panting on the ground, he could notsuppress the sad apprehension that he should himself in a short time liedown and perish in the same manner from fatigue and hunger. With thisforeboding he left his horse, and with great reluctance followed hisguide on foot along the banks of the river until he reached the smallvillage of Kea. 

Here he parted from his Foulah guide, whom he requested to look afterhis horse on his return, which he promised to do. 

From Kea he went down the river in a canoe, and thence to Moorzan, afishing town on the northern bank, and was then conveyed across thestream to Silla, a large town. Here, after much entreaty, the _dooty_allowed him to enter his house to avoid the rain, but the place was dampand he had a smart attack of fever. Worn down by sickness, exhaustedwith hunger, and fatigued, half-naked, without any article of value bywhich he could procure provisions, clothes, or lodgings, he began toreflect seriously on his situation, and was convinced by painfulexperience that the obstacles to his further progress wereinsurmountable. The _dooty_ approved of the resolution he had arrivedat of returning, and procured a fisherman to carry him across toMoorzan, whence he got back to Kea. The brother of the _dooty_ wasstarting for Modiboo. He took his saddle, which he had left at Kea, intending to present it to the king of Bambarra. 

Travelling along the banks of the river, the footprints of a lion quitefresh in the mud were seen. His companion, therefore, proceeded withgreat circumspection, insisting that Park should walk before him. Thishe declined doing, when his guide threw down the saddle and left himalone. He therefore continued his course along the bank, and believingthat the lion was at no great distance, he became much alarmed, and tooka long circuit through the bushes. 

He at last arrived at Modiboo. While conversing with the _dooty_ of theplace he heard a horse neigh in one of the huts. The _dooty_ inquiredwith a smile if he knew who was speaking to him. He explained himselfby telling Park that his horse was still alive and somewhat recoveredfrom his fatigue, and that he must take the animal with him. 

Though tolerably well treated at the villages where he stopped, he invain endeavoured to obtain a guide. The rains were now falling, and thecountry, it was supposed, would soon be completely flooded. He heardthat a report had been abroad that he had come to Bambarra as a spy andthat, as Mansong had not admitted him into his presence, the _dooties_of the different towns might treat him as they pleased. 

A little before sunset of the 11th of August he reached Sansanding. Here even Mamadi, who had formerly been so kind to him, scarcely gavehim a welcome, and everyone seemed to shun him. Mamadi, however, cameprivately to him in the evening, and told him that Mansong haddespatched a canoe to bring him back, and advised him to set off fromSansanding before daybreak, cautioning him not to stop at any town nearSego. He therefore resumed his journey on the 12th, and in theafternoon reached the neighbourhood of Kabba. 

As he approached, one of several people who were standing at the gateran towards him and, taking his horse by the bridle, led him round thewalls of the town and, pointing to the west, told him to go along or itwould be the worse for him. He in vain represented the danger of beingbenighted in the woods, exposed to the inclemency of the weather and thefury of wild beasts. "Go along, " was the only answer he received. Hefound that these negroes had acted thus from kindness, as the king'smessengers who had come to seize him were inside the town. 

Being repulsed from another village, he went on till he reached a smallone somewhat out of the road, and sat down under a tree by a well. Twoor three women came to draw water and, perceiving the stranger, enquiredwhere he was going. On Park telling them to Sego, one of them went into acquaint the _dooty_. In a little time the _dooty_ sent for him, andpermitted him to sleep in a large hut. 

Next day he again set forward, meeting with the same inhospitabletreatment as before, and having for three days to subsist on uncookedcorn. He was repulsed in like manner from the gates of Taffara; and atthe village of Sooha, which he reached next day, he in vain endeavouredto procure some corn from the _dooty_, who was sitting by the gate. While Park was speaking to the old man, he called to a slave to bringhis paddle along with him, and when he brought it, told him to dig ahole in the ground, pointing to a spot at no great distance. Whilethe slave was thus engaged, the _dooty_ kept muttering thewords--"Good-for-nothing! A real plague!" These expressions, coupledwith the appearance of the pit the lad had dug, which looked much like agrave, made Park think it prudent to decamp. He had just mounted hishorse, when the slave who had gone into the village returned, draggingthe corpse of a boy by a leg and arm, which he threw into the pit withsavage indifference, and at once began to cover it up with earth. 

At sunset Park reached Koohkorro, a considerable town, and the greatmarket for salt. Here he was received into the house of a Bambarranwho, once a slave to a Moor, had obtained his freedom and was now amerchant. Finding that his guest was a Christian, he immediatelydesired him to write a _saphie_, saying that he would dress him a supperof rice if he would produce one to protect him from wicked men. Parktherefore covered the board on both sides, when his landlord, wishing tohave the full force of the charm, washed the writing from the board intoa calabash with a little water and, having said a few prayers over it, drank the whole draught; after which, lest a single word should escape, he licked the board until it was quite dry. The _dooty_ of the placenext sent to have a _saphie_ written--a charm to procure wealth. Sohighly satisfied was he with his bargain that he presented the travellerwith some meal and milk, and promised him in the morning some more milkfor his breakfast. 

When Park had finished his supper of rice and salt, he lay down upon abullock's hide and slept quietly until morning, this being the firstgood meal and refreshing sleep he had enjoyed for a long time. 

After leaving this place, having been misdirected as to his road, hereached a deep creek. Rather than turn back, he went behind his horseand pushed him headlong into the water; then, taking the bridle in histeeth, he swam to the other side. This was the third creek he hadcrossed in this manner since he had left Sego. His clothes were, indeed, constantly wet from the rain and dew; and the roads being verydeep and full of mud, such a washing was sometimes pleasant. 

At Bammakoo, which he reached on the evening of the next day, he wasreceived into the house of a negro merchant, of whom there are manywealthy ones in the place, trading chiefly in salt. He was feasted alsoby a number of Moors, who spoke good Mandingo, and were more civil tohim than their countrymen had before been. One of them had travelled toRio Grande, and spoke highly of the Christians. From this man hereceived a present of boiled rice and milk. He also met a slavemerchant who had resided some years on the Gambia, who informed himabout the places which lay in his intended course to the westward. Hewas told that the road was impassable at this season of the year, andthat there was a rapid river to cross. Having, however, no money tomaintain himself, Park determined at all risks to push on, and, havingobtained a singing man who said he knew the road over the hills, set offthe next day. His musical conductor, however, lost the right path and, when among the hills, leaping to the top of a rock as if to look out forthe road, suddenly disappeared. Park managed, however, just beforesunset, to reach the romantic village of Koomah, the sole property of aMandingo merchant and surrounded by a high wall. Though seldom visitedby strangers, whenever the weary traveller did come to his residence themerchant made him welcome. 

Park was soon surrounded by the harmless villagers, who had numberlessquestions to ask and in return for the information he gave them broughtcorn and milk for himself and grass for his horse, and kindled a fire inthe hut where he was to sleep. 

Accompanied by two shepherds as guides, he set out the next day fromKoomah. The shepherds, however, walked on ahead, troubling themselvesbut little about him. 

The country was very rough, and the declivity so great that a false stepwould have caused him and his horse to be dashed to pieces. 

As he was riding on, the shepherds being about a quarter of a milebefore him, he heard a loud screaming as from a person in greatdistress. Supposing that a lion had taken off one of the shepherds, hehurried on to ascertain what had happened. The noise had ceased, and ina short time he perceived one of the shepherds lying among the longgrass near the road, and concluded that the man was dead; but when hecame close to him the shepherd whispered to him to stop, telling himthat a party of armed men had seized upon his companion and shot twoarrows at him. While considering what to do, he saw at a littledistance a man sitting upon the stem of a tree, and also the heads ofsix or seven more who were crouching down among the grass, with musketsin their hands. It being impossible to escape, he rode forward towardsthem, hoping that they were elephant hunters. By way of opening theconversation he inquired if they had shot anything; but in answer one ofthem ordered him to dismount, and then, as if recollecting himself, waved with his hand as a sign that Park might proceed. He had riddensome way when they shouted to him again to stop, and told him that theKing of the Foulahs had sent them to carry him to Fooladoo. Withouthesitating, Park turned and followed them. 

They had reached a dark part of the wood when one of them observed inthe Mandingo language, "This place will do, " and immediately snatchedhis hat from his head. Feeling that resistance was useless, he allowedthem to proceed till they had stripped him quite naked. While they wereexamining their plunder, Park begged them to return his pocket compass;but, on his pointing to it as it lay on the ground, one of the banditticocked his musket, swearing that he would shoot him if he presumed totake it. After this some of them went away with his horse, and theremainder stood considering whether they should leave him quite naked orallow him something to shelter him from the sun. Humanity at lastprevailed, and they returned the worst of his two shirts and a pair oftrousers; one of them also threw back his hat, in the crown of which hekept his memorandums--probably the reason why they did not wish to keepit. 

Here he was in the midst of a vast wilderness in the depth of the rainyseason, naked and alone, and surrounded by savage animals and men stillmore savage, five hundred miles from the nearest European settlement. His spirits began to fail, but he reflected that no human prudence couldpossibly have averted his present sufferings, and that, though astranger in a strange land, he was still under the protecting eye ofthat Providence who has condescended to call Himself the stranger'sfriend. At this moment the extreme beauty of a small moss infructification caught his eye. Though the whole plant was not muchlarger than the top of one of his fingers, he could not contemplate thedelicate conformation of its roots, leaves, and capsules withoutadmiration. "Can that Being, " he thought, "who brought this plant toperfection look with unconcern upon the situation and sufferings ofcreatures formed after his own image? Surely not. " He started up and, disregarding both hunger and fatigue, travelled forward, assured thatrelief was at hand. 

In a short time he overtook the two shepherds who had come with him fromKoomah. They were greatly surprised to see him, observing that theynever doubted that the Foulahs had murdered him. In their company hearrived at Sibidooloo, the frontier town of the kingdom of Manding. Thechief man in the place, called Mansa, received him most kindly, and whenPark related how he had been robbed of his horse and apparel, heobserved, with an indignant air, "Sit down. You shall have everythingrestored to you--I have sworn it. " He at once gave directions to hispeople to search for the robbers. Park was conducted into a hut, wherehe was provided with food, and a crowd of people assembled, all of whomcommiserated his misfortunes and vented imprecations against theFoulahs. 

As there was a great scarcity of provisions in the place, Park, afterspending two days there, begged Mansa to allow him to depart. He gavehim permission to do so, provided he would remain at a town called Wandafor a few days, until he received some account of his horse and goods. 

He took his departure accordingly on the morning of the 28th, andreached Wanda about noon of the 30th. 

The head man of the place, who was a Mahommedan, acted not only as chiefmagistrate, but as schoolmaster. He kept his school in an open shed, where the traveller was desired to take up his lodgings. Park was veryanxious for his clothes, as those he had on were completely worn-out, his shirt being like a piece of muslin and dirty in the extreme. 

He here spent nine days suffering much from fever. On the 6th twopeople arrived from Sibidooloo, bringing his horse and clothes, but hispocket compass, greatly to his vexation, was broken to pieces. 

Every day he observed several women come to the house to receive acertain quantity of corn. Knowing how valuable this article was at thepresent juncture, he enquired of his host whether he maintained thesepoor women from pure bounty or expected a return when the harvest shouldbe gathered in. 

"Observe that boy, " said he, pointing to a fine child about five yearsof age. "His mother has sold him to me for forty days' provisions forherself and the rest of her family. I have bought another boy in thesame manner. "

Sick as he was, Park thought it necessary to take his leave of hishospitable landlord, to whom he presented his horse as the onlyrecompense he could make, desiring him to convey his saddle and bridleas a present to Mansa of Sibidooloo. As he was about to set out, hishost begged him to accept his spear as a token of remembrance and aleather bag to contain his clothes. Having converted his half-bootsinto sandals, he travelled with more ease. 

Although the people were suffering great distress from the failure ofthe crops, he was in general most hospitably treated. His landlord atKinyeto, observing that he had hurt his ankle, insisted on his remainingseveral days till he could walk with the help of a staff. 

Notwithstanding suffering from fever and exposed to constant rain, hecontinued his journey, narrowly escaping being detained at the town ofMansia by the inhospitable chief, who insisted on being paid for thesmall amount of food he had provided. 

On September 16th he reached the town of Kamalia. He was here conductedto the house of a Bushreen, Kafa Taura. He was collecting a caravan ofslaves to convey to the European settlements on the Gambia, as soon asthe rains should be over. He found Kafa seated in his house surroundedby several _slatees_ who proposed joining the caravan. He was readingto them from an Arabic book, and enquired if his guest understood it. On being answered in the negative, he desired one of the _slatees_ tofetch a curious little book which had been brought from the westcountry. It proved to be a book of Common Prayer, and Kafa expressedgreat joy on hearing that Park could read it, for some of the _slatees_, observing the colour of his skin, now become yellow from sickness, suspected that he was an Arab in disguise. Kafa, however, had now nodoubt concerning him, and kindly promised him every assistance in hispower. 

Park was here laid up completely by fever, but Kafa, who had provided aquiet hut for his accomodation, advised him to remain within it, assuring him that if he did not walk out in the wet he would soon bewell. 

He passed five weeks in a gloomy and solitary manner, seldom visited byany person except his benevolent landlord, who came daily to enquireabout his health. 

When the rains became less frequent the country began to grow dry andthe fever left him, but in so debilitated condition that it was withdifficulty he could crawl with his mat to the shade of a tamarind treeat a short distance, there to enjoy the refreshing smell of thecorn-fields. The benevolent and simple manners of the negroes, and theperusal of Kafa's little volume greatly contributed to his restoration. 

In the beginning of December, Kafa began to make arrangements for hisjourney, and to complete the purchase of his slaves. 

As he had to be absent about his affairs for a month, Park was leftduring the time to the care of a good old Bushreen, who acted asschoolmaster to the younger people of Kamalia. 

The long-wished-for day of the departure of the caravan, the 19th ofApril, at length arrived, and the irons being removed from the slaves, the _slatees_ assembled at the door of Kafa's house, where the bundleswere all tied up, and everyone had his load assigned him. 

Kafa had twenty-seven slaves for sale, but eight others afterwardsjoined them, making in all thirty-five. The schoolmaster who was on hisreturn to Woradoo, the place of his nativity, took with him eight of hisscholars. Altogether, the come numbered seventy-three persons. 

The caravan was followed for about half a mile by most of theinhabitants of Kamalia; and when they had arrived at the top of a hill, from whence they had a view of the town, they were all ordered to sitdown--those belonging to the coffle with their faces towards the west, and the townspeople with theirs towards Kamalia. The schoolmaster, withtwo of the principal _slatees_, having taken their places between thetwo parties, pronounced a solemn prayer, after which they walked threetimes round the coffle, making impressions in the ground with the endsof their spears, and muttering something by way of a charm. When thisceremony was ended, all the people belonging to the coffle sprang upand, without taking a formal farewell of their friends, set forward. 

Another ceremony was performed when the party stopped to dine on theroad. Before commencing the meal, when each person was seated withtheir quotas arranged before him in small gourd shells, the schoolmasteroffered up a short prayer that God and the holy prophet might preservethem from robbers and all bad people, that their provisions might neverfail nor their limbs become fatigued. 

After stopping at the town of Kenytakooro till the 22nd of April, thecoffle commenced the journey through the Jallonka wilderness. Thecountry was very beautiful and abounded with birds and deer; but soanxious were they to push on, that they made fully thirty miles thatday. Fatigued as they were, they were frequently disturbed in the nightby the howling of wild beasts and the bites of ants. 

On setting out in the morning Nealee, one of Kafa's female slavesrefused to drink the gruel offered her. The country was extremely wildand rocky, and Park began to fear that he should be unable to keep upwith the party. Others, however, suffered more than he did. The poorfemale slave began to lag behind; and, complaining dreadfully of painsin her legs, her load was taken from her and given to another, and shewas ordered to keep in front of the coffle. 

As the party were resting near a rivulet a hive of bees was discoveredin a hollow tree, and some of the people were proceeding to obtain thehoney, when an enormous swarm flew out, and, attacking every one, madethem fly in every direction. Park being the first to take alarm, wasthe only person who escaped with impunity. The slaves had, however, left their bundles behind them, and to obtain them it was necessary toset the grass on fire to the east of the hive, when the wind driving theflames along, the men pushed through the smoke and recovered theirbundles. They also brought with them poor Nealee, whom they found lyingby the rivulet stung in the most dreadful manner. On her refusing toproceed further, she was cruelly beaten with a whip, when, suddenlystarting up, she walked for four or five hours; she then made an attemptto run away, but, from weakness, fell to the ground. Though unable torise, the whip was a second time applied, when Kafa ordered that sheshould be placed on an ass. Unable to sit on it, she was carriedafterwards on a litter by two slaves. 

The unfortunate slaves, who had travelled all day in the hot sun withloads on their heads, were dreadfully fatigued; and some of them beganto snap their fingers--a sure sign, among negroes, of desperation. Theywere, therefore, put in irons, and kept apart from each other. Next daypoor Nealee was again placed on the ass; but unable to hold herself on, frequently fell to the ground. At length the cry aroseof--"_Kang-tegi_!" ("Cut her throat!") As Park did not wish to see thishorrible operation performed, he went on ahead; but soon afterwards hewas overtaken by one of Kafa's domestic slaves with poor Nealee'sgarment on the end of a bow. On making inquiries of the man, he repliedthat Kafa and the schoolmaster would not consent to her being killed, but had left her on the road, where probably she was soon devoured bywild animals. 

Such is one example of the cruel treatment received by the unhappyslaves. The old schoolmaster, however, was so affected, that he fastedthe whole of the ensuing day. 

The party now travelled on rapidly, everyone being apprehensive that hemight otherwise meet with the fate of poor Nealee. 

The coffle had still many dangers to encounter. Receiving informationthat two hundred Jallonkas were lying in wait to plunder them, theyaltered their course and travelled with great secrecy until midnight, when they entered the town of Koba. Here they remained some days toescape the Jallonkas. 

The next town they reached, Malacotta, was the birthplace of theschoolmaster, whose brother came out to meet him. The interview wasvery natural and affecting. They fell on each other's neck, and it wassome time before either of them could speak. The schoolmaster thenturning, pointed to Kafa, saying, "This is the man who has been myfather in Manding. I would have pointed him out sooner to you, but myheart was too full. "

They were now in the country of friends, and were well received at eachof the towns they entered. 

Park, however, witnessed numerous instances of the sad effects of theslave trade. A singing man, the master of one of the slaves who hadtravelled for some time with great difficulty, and was found unable toproceed further, proposed to exchange him for a young slave girlbelonging to one of the townspeople. The poor girl was ignorant of herfate until the bundles were all laid up in the morning, and the coffleready to depart, when, coming with some of the other young women to seethe coffle set out, her master took her by the hand and delivered her tothe singing man. Never was a face of serenity more suddenly changedinto one of the deepest distress; the terror she manifested on havingthe load put on her head and the rope round her neck, and the sorrowwith which she bid adieu to her companions, were truly affecting. Notwithstanding the treatment which the slaves received, they had heartswhich could feel for the white stranger amidst their infinitely greatersufferings, and they frequently of their own accord brought water toquench his thirst, and at night collected branches and leaves for hisbed, during that weary journey of more than five hundred British miles. 

Knowing that the greater number were doomed to a life of slavery in aforeign land, he could not part from them without feeling much emotion. 

At last Pisania was reached, and Park was warmly welcomed as one risenfrom the dead by the Mr Ainsleys and Dr Laidley. They had heard thatthe Moors had murdered him as they had murdered Major Haughton. Helearned with great sorrow that neither of his two attendants, Johnsonand Demba, had returned, and that nothing was known of them. Park gavedouble the amount he had promised to Kafa, and sent a present also tothe good old schoolmaster at Malacotta. Kafa, who had never beforeheard English spoken, listened with great attention to Park, whenconversing with his friends. His astonishment at the various articlesof furniture in the houses was very great; but it was still greater whenhe saw Mr Ainsley's schooner lying in the river. He could notcomprehend the use of the masts and sails, or conceive how so large abody could be moved by the wind. He was frequently heard to exclaim, with a sigh: "Ah! black men are nothing. "

After waiting at Pisania some time, finding no vessel likely to saildirect for England, he took his passage on board a slave vessel boundfor South Carolina. She, however, meeting with bad weather, put intoAntigua, and from thence he sailed in an English packet, and arrived atFalmouth on the 22nd of December, having been from England about twoyears and seven months. 

CHAPTER FOUR. 

PARK'S SECOND JOURNEY. 

MARRIES--PREPARES FOR ANOTHER JOURNEY--ACCOMPANIED BY MESSRS. ANDERSONAND SCOTT, LIEUTENANT MARTYN AND THIRTY-FIVE SOLDIERS, PROCEEDS TOPISANIA BY WAY OF GOREE--ENGAGES ISAACO AS GUIDE--NUMEROUS ASSES--JOURNEY COMMENCED--THREE SOLDIERS DIE--ATTACKED BY BEES--SICKNESS AMONGTHE MEN INCREASES--ANNOYED BY LIONS--MESSRS. ANDERSON AND SCOTT ILL OFFEVER--SEVERAL MEN LEFT BEHIND--ISAACO SEIZED BY A CROCODILE--NATIVESATTEMPT TO ROB THEM--A BRIDGE BUILT--REACH BANGASSI--SCOTT LEFT BEHIND, SICK--THE CORPORAL AND MORE MEN DIE--MR. ANDERSON'S ILLNESS INCREASES--FOLLOWED BY LIONS--HEAVY RAINS--MEETS KAFA TAURA--THE NIGER REACHED--DESCENDS THE NIGER IN A CANOE--ISAACO TAKES HIS LEAVE--ALARMINGREPORTS--RECEIVES ENVOYS FROM MANSONG--CONTINUES VOYAGE IN CANOES--RECEIVES NEWS OF SCOTT'S DEATH--MR. ANDERSON DIES--A VESSEL BUILT--COMMENCES VOYAGE IN HER WITH LIEUTENANT MARTYN, TWO WHITE MEN AND SOMESLAVES--ATTACKED BY NATIVES--CONTINUES VOYAGE--AGAIN ATTACKED--PARK ANDMARLYN DROWNED, OTHERS KILLED--ONE SLAVE ESCAPES, WHO GIVES AN ACCOUNTOF THE TRAGEDY. 

Soon after his return to England Park married the daughter of MrAnderson, with whom he had served his apprenticeship, and resided acouple of years with his mother and one of his brothers on the farm thathis father had occupied at Fowlshiels, in Scotland. After this hepractised his profession for some time at Peebles. But this sort oflife not satisfying his ardent temperament, on hearing from Sir JosephBanks that another expedition into Africa to explore the Niger wasproposed, he at once offered his services. 

Nothing, however, was settled till the year 1803, when, being directedto hold himself in readiness to proceed to Africa, he engaged a nativeof Mogadore, named Sidi Omback Boubi, then residing in London, toaccompany him to Scotland for the purpose of instructing him in Arabic. 

Nearly another year passed before all arrangements were concluded. Itwas finally determined that the expedition should consist of Parkhimself, his brother-in-law (Mr Anderson), and Mr George Scott, whowas to act as draughtsman, together with a few boat-builders andartificers. They were to be joined at Goree by a party of soldiers ofthe African corps stationed in that garrison. 

Three months after this elapsed ere they set sail on board the"Crescent" transport on the 30th of January, 1805; and, after touchingat Saint Jago to obtain asses for the journey, they reached Goree on the28th of March. 

There was no lack of volunteers, the whole garrison offering theirservices. Thirty-five soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Martynof the Royal Artillery Corps were selected, as well as two sailors fromthe "Squirrel" frigate. 

They left Goree on the 6th of April, the men jumping into the boats inthe highest spirits, and bidding adieu to their friends with repeatedhuzzas. 

Landing at Kayee on the northern bank of the Gambia, they commencedtheir overland journey to Pisania on the 27th of April. The weather wasintensely hot, and the asses, unaccustomed to carry loads, made theirmarch very fatiguing and troublesome, three of the animals sticking fastin a muddy rice field soon after they started. 

So many delays had occurred that the rainy season was alreadyapproaching, and it would have been more prudent had the expeditionremained at Goree or Pisania till the country had become again suitablefor travelling. It was just possible, however, that they might reachthe Niger before the middle of June, when the rainy season usuallycommences, and that river could then have been navigated without muchexposure or toil. So eager, however, was Mr Park to proceed, that hedisregarded the warnings of his friends, and determined to set forth onhis journey. 

Several days were lost at Pisania in arranging the burdens of the assesand in purchasing more animals, as those they possessed were notsufficient for carrying all the loads. 

He here engaged a Mandingo priest named Isaaco, who was also atravelling merchant, to serve as a guide, and, on the 4th of May, allbeing ready, the caravan set forth from Pisania, whence nearly ten yearsbefore Park had commenced his adventurous journey into the interior. 

The arrangements for the march were well devised. The animals as wellas their loads were marked and numbered with red paint, and a certainnumber allotted to the care of each of the six messes into which thesoldiers were divided. Mr Scott and Isaaco generally led, LieutenantMartyn marched in the centre, and Anderson and Park brought up the rear. 

All their forethought, however, could not guard them against the deadlyattacks of the climate. The asses from the first gave them a great dealof trouble--many, from being overloaded, lying down in the road, whileothers kicked off their bundles--so that the caravan made but slowprogress. 

They had not gone far when two of the soldiers died, and, a few daysafterwards, another lost his life. 

At most of the places through which they passed they were well received;but at the town of Bady the chief man demanded enormously high duties, and sent a large band of armed followers to collect them. When Isaacowas sent over to Bady to enquire the reason of this conduct, he wasseized, his weapons taken from him, and he was tied to a tree andflogged. It was proposed to attack the place; but early the next daythe guide was sent back, and the matter was settled by payment of aportion of the duties demanded. 

While halting at a creek, the asses being unloaded, some of the men wentin search of honey. Unfortunately they disturbed a large swarm of bees, which, rushing out, attacked both men and beasts. The asses, beingloose, galloped off, but the horses and people were fearfully stung. 

A fire, which had been kindled for cooking, being deserted, spread inall directions, setting the bamboos in flames and very nearly destroyingtheir luggage. Two of the asses died here, and others were missing. 

Several of the soldiers now fell sick, and were mounted on the horsesand spare asses. 

At Toombin, which the caravan reached on the 16th of June, in theneighbourhood of Malacotta, the good old schoolmaster, Park's formerfriend, arrived just as the baggage had started, having travelled allnight to visit him. Park invited him to go forward to the next placewhere they should halt, that he might reward him for his formerkindness. 

After leaving the village he found Hinton, one of the party, to whom MrAnderson had lent his horse, lying under a tree, and the horse grazingat a little distance. Park put the sick man on the horse and drove itbefore him, but was at length compelled to leave him. A mile further onhe came to two others lying in the shade of a tree, whom he placed onhis own and Mr Anderson's horses, and carried on to the next village. Hence he sent back for poor Hinton, and left the three in charge of the_dooty_, giving him beads to purchase provisions for them should theylive, and to bury them if they died. 

On the 22nd one of the carpenters was also left behind at his ownrequest. A soldier, Bloore, lost his way in the woods while looking foran ass which had strayed, and in the search another sick man, Walter, was found. He had laid himself down among the bushes. He died soonafter being taken up, and Park with his sword, and two of the soldierswith their bayonets, dug his grave in the desert, covering it over witha few branches. 

Thus, one by one, in rapid succession, Park's companions, attacked byfever, either sank on the road or were left behind, too probably toperish. 

On the 30th of June both Mr Anderson and Mr Scott were attacked by thefever. 

While encamped during a violent tornado, when it was necessary to putout the watch-fires, a peculiar roaring and growling was heard. Supposing the sound to be that of wild boars, Park and Lieutenant Martynwent in search of them and fired several shots into the bush. Thenatives on their return told them that they were not boars, but younglions, and that unless a very good look out was kept they would probablykill some of the cattle during the night. About midnight the lionsattempted to seize one of the asses, which so alarmed the rest that theybroke the ropes and came full gallop in amongst the tents. Two of thelions followed so close that the sentry cut one with his sword, butdared not fire for fear of killing the asses. 

Both Anderson and Scott were worse, but Park urged them to proceed. Alston, a seaman, had become so weak that he was unable to sit hishorse, and entreated to be left in the woods till the morning. Parkgave him a loaded pistol and some cartridges to protect himself. 

The next day, the 4th of July, the river Wanda, which they reached, wasfound to be greatly swollen. There was but one canoe. In this thebaggage was carried over, and Isaaco endeavoured to make the asses crossby swimming and pushing them before him. While thus employed, just ashe reached the middle of the stream, a crocodile suddenly rose and, seizing him by the left thigh, pulled him under water. With wonderfulpresence of mind he thrust his finger into the creature's eye; on whichit quitted its hold, and Isaaco attempted to reach the further shore, calling out for a knife. The crocodile returned and seized him by theother thigh, and again pulled him under water. He had recourse to thesame expedient, and thrust his finger into its eyes with such violencethat it again quitted him and, when it rose, after flouncing about, swamdown the stream. Isaaco reached the other side, and as soon as thecanoe returned Park went over, and, having dressed his wounds withadhesive plaster, he was carried to the nearest village, fortunately notfar off. Park here found himself very ill and unable to stand erectwithout feeling a tendency to faint, while all the people were so sicklythat they could with difficulty carry the loads into the tents, thoughrain threatened. Greatly to their astonishment, Ashton the sailorarrived, with his fever much abated, but quite naked, having beenstripped of his clothes by some natives during the night. 

Important as it was to push on, they found it impossible to do sowithout Isaaco, whose recovery seemed doubtful, though the delay wouldexpose them to the full violence of the rain shortly to be expected. Isaaco, under Park's care, notwithstanding his fears, rapidly recovered;and on the 10th of July they were able once more to travel forward, taking a west and north-west direction. 

They were now exposed to the thieving propensities of the natives, whotook every opportunity of carrying off whatever they could lay theirhands on. Among the chief robbers were the sons of a potentate calledMansa Mumma, whose town they reached on the 12th. As Park was lookingout for an easy ascent over some rocky ground, two of these youngprinces, approaching, snatched his musket from his hand and ran off withit. He instantly sprang from his saddle and followed the robber withhis sword, calling to Mr Anderson to tell some of the people to lookafter his horse. Anderson got within musket-shot of the man, but, seeing that he was Mumma's son, had some doubt about shooting him. Thethief made his escape, and on Park's return he found that the otherprince had stolen his great coat. An elder brother, who had beenengaged as a guide, told him that after what had happened he would bejustified in shooting the first who attempted to steal from the loads. The soldiers were accordingly ordered to load their muskets and beready. Notwithstanding this, a short time afterwards a man made a dashat one of the asses which had strayed a little from the rest, took offthe load, and began to cut it open with his knife. The soldiers fired, but did not hit him, and he made his escape, leaving the load behindhim. Another seized a soldier's knapsack and attempted to make off withit. The soldier covered him with his piece, but it flashed in the pan, and the robber escaped. Another robber, however, who had attempted tocarry off a great coat from an ass driven by one of the sick men, waswounded, and Mansa's son insisted that he should be killed, as otherwisethey would not fulfil the orders of the king, who had directed thatevery person be shot who stole from the caravan. 

In this way, day after day, they were attacked, and they had littledoubt that one of the sick men who had fallen behind had been robbed andmurdered by these people. 

A deep stream being reached, it was proposed to form a raft; but theMandingoes insisted that it would be necessary to build a bridge toenable them to cross. It was most ingeniously and rapidly constructed. The people, however, were too sickly to carry the baggage over, andnegroes were therefore hired for the purpose, as well as to swim theasses across. 

Another of the soldiers here lay down and expired, and, as the sun wasvery hot, it was impossible to stop and bury him. 

As he was riding on, Park found Mr Scott lying by the side of the path, too sick to walk, and, shortly afterwards, Lieutenant Martyn lay down inthe same state. 

Pushing on to the town of Mareena, Park sent back a party to bring inhis sick companions. 

Hence they proceeded to Bangassi, six miles distant, the capital of theChief Serenummo. While encamped outside, one of the sick men, who hadbeen left under the shade of a tree, was nearly being torn to pieces bywolves, which he found, on awakening, smelling at his feet. Ill as hewas, he started up and rushed to the camp. 

Here the corporal died, and several soldiers, as well as one of thecarpenters, insisted on being left behind. Park handed to the _dooty's_son a quantity of amber and other articles of trade, that the poor menmight be taken care of. 

Poor Park's troubles increased. Mr Scott, who rode his horse, continued very ill, and the soldiers were so weak that, when the loadsfell off the asses, they were unable to lift them on again. In thecourse of one day's march Park himself had to assist in re-loadingthirteen of the animals. The caravan was also followed by wolves, whoprowled round them during the night, showing too plainly what would bethe fate of any of the sick men who dropped behind. Provisions alsobecame scarce, and thieves likewise dodged their footsteps, taking everyopportunity of robbing them. 

On the 10th of August, as Park, who was bringing up the rear, reached astream, he found many of the soldiers sitting on the ground, and MrAnderson was lying under a bush, apparently dying. He took hisbrother-in-law on his back, and carried him across the stream, though ittook him up to his middle. He had then to carry other loads, and getthe animals over, having thus to cross sixteen times. He then put MrAnderson on his horse and conveyed him to the next village, where, however, a solitary fowl was the only food he could obtain. 

During the last two marches four more men had been lost, and, though MrScott was somewhat recovered, Mr Anderson was in a very dangerousstate. He struggled on, however, for another day, when, after he hadpassed a number of sick men, Mr Anderson declared that he could ride nofurther. Park, having turned the horses and ass to feed, sat down inthe shade to watch the pulsations of his dying friend. In the evening, there being a fine breeze, Mr Anderson agreed to make another attemptto move on, in the hopes of reaching a town before dark. They had notproceeded above a mile, when they heard a noise very much like the barkof a large mastiff, but ending in a hiss like that of a cat. MrAnderson was observing: "What a bouncing fellow that must be, " whenanother bark nearer to them was heard, and presently a third, accompanied by a growl a short distance further. Coming to an openingin the bushes, three enormous lions of a dusky colour were seen boundingover the long grass, abreast of each other, towards them. Fearing that, should they come near, and his piece miss fire, the lions would seizethem, Park advanced and shot at the centre one. The animals stopped, looked at each other, and then bounded away, and, though one againstopped while he was loading his piece, they all disappeared. Thelions, however, followed him; but Mr Anderson having a boatswain'scall, Park took it and whistled, and made as much noise as possible, sothat they did not again molest him. Notwithstanding Mr Anderson'sreduced condition he persevered in travelling, and, being placed in ahammock constructed out of a cloak, was carried along by two men. MrScott, however, complaining of sickness, shortly afterwards droppedbehind. 

On entering Doomblia during heavy rain, greatly to his satisfaction Parkmet Kafa Taura, the worthy negro merchant who had been so kind to him onhis former journey. He had now come a considerable distance to see him. 

From hence he sent back to enquire for Mr Scott, but no informationcould be obtained about him. 

On the 19th of August the sad remnant of the expedition ascended themountainous ridge which separates the Niger from the remote branches ofthe Senegal. Mr Park hastened on ahead, and, coming to the brow of thehill, once more saw the mighty river making its way in a broad streamthrough the plain. 

Descending from thence towards Bambakoo, the travellers pitched theirtents under a tree near that town. 

Of the thirty-four soldiers and four carpenters who left the Gambia, only six soldiers and one carpenter reached the Niger, three having diedduring the previous day's march. 

As the only canoe Park could obtain would carry but two persons besidestheir goods, he and Mr Anderson embarked in it, leaving Mr Martyn andthe men to come down by land with the asses. He himself was sufferinggreatly from dysentery. In the evening they landed on some flat rocksnear the shore, and were cooking their supper, when the rain came down, and continued with great violence all night. 

The next day Mr Martyn and the rest of the people overtook them. 

On the following day Isaaco, having performed the task he hadundertaken, of guiding them to the Niger, received the payment agreedon; and Park likewise gave him several articles, and told him that whenthe palaver was adjusted at Sego, he should have all the horses andasses for his trouble. 

He here also prepared the present he purposed to offer to Mansong, theking of Bambarra, and which he sent forward to Sego by Isaaco. 

Every day brought them some unfavourable news or other. At one time itwas reported that Mansong had killed Isaaco with his own hand, andthreatened to do the same with all the whites who should come intoBambarra. These reports proved to be false, for Isaaco himself arrivedin a canoe from Sego, bringing back all the articles sent to Mansong, who had directed that they should be taken up to Samee, and that hewould send a person to receive them from Park's own hands. Mansong hadpromised that the expedition should pass, but whenever Isaaco mentionedit particularly, or related any incident that had happened on thejourney, Mansong began to make squares and triangles in the sand beforehim with his finger, and continued to do so as long as Isaaco spokeabout them. This the superstitious monarch probably did to defendhimself against the supposed incantations of the white man. 

On the 22nd of September the chief counsellor of Mansong, Modibinne, andfour grandees, arrived by a canoe, bringing a fat milk-white bullock asa present. Next morning Modibinne and the grandees came to the camp anddesired Park to acquaint them with the motives which had induced him tocome into their country. Park explained them, telling them that it washis wish to sail down the Joliba, or Niger, to the place where it mixeswith the salt water, and that if the navigation was found open, thewhite men would send up vessels to trade at Sego, should Mansong wishit. Modibinne replied that the object of the journey was a good one, and prayed that God would prosper it, adding, "Mansong will protectyou. "

The presents intended for the king were then spread out, and appeared togive great satisfaction. Two more soldiers died that evening. On the26th the expedition, in open canoes, left Samee. Park felt himself veryunwell, and the heat was intense, sufficient to have roasted a sirloin. Isaaco, however, having formed an awning over the canoe with four sticksand a couple of cloaks, Park found himself better. 

On the 2nd two other privates died, the body of one of whom the wolvescarried off, the door of the hut having been left open. 

Wishing to obtain cowries, Park opened a market at Marroboo to disposeof his goods, and so great was the demand for them that he had to employthree tellers at once to count his cash. In one day he turned 25, 756pieces of money-cowries. 

The sad news now reached him of the Mr Scott's death, and on the 28thof October his brother-in-law, Mr Anderson, breathed his last. "Noevent, " Park remarks, "which took place during the journey ever threwthe smallest gloom over his mind till he laid Mr Anderson in the grave. He then felt himself left a second time lonely and friendless amidstthe wilds of Africa. "

Some days before this, Isaaco had returned with a large canoe, but muchdecayed and patched. Park, therefore, with the assistance of Bolton, one of the surviving soldiers, took out all the rotten pieces, and, byadding on the portion of another canoe, with eighteen days' hard labourthey changed the Bambarra canoe into his Majesty's schooner "Joliba. "Her length was forty feet, breadth six feet; and, being flat-bottomed, she drew only one foot of water when loaded. In this craft he and hissurviving companions embarked on the 16th of November, on which day hisjournal closes. He intended next morning to commence his adventurousvoyage down the Joliba. Besides Park and Lieutenant Martyn, twoEuropeans only survived. They had purchased three slaves to assist inthe navigation of the vessel, and Isaaco had engaged Amadi Fatouma tosucceed him as interpreter. This increased their number to nine. 

Descending the stream, they passed the Silla and Jenne withoutmolestation; but lower down, in the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo, theywere followed by armed canoes, which they beat off, killing several ofthe natives. They had, indeed, to fight their way down past a number ofplaces, once striking on the rocks, and being nearly overset by ahippopotamus which rose near them. 

Having a large stock of provisions, they were able to proceed withoutgoing on shore. Amadi was the only person who landed in order to getfresh provisions. 

At Yaour Park sent a present to the king by one of the chiefs, but, thechief inquiring whether he intended to return, Park replied that he hadno purpose of doing so. This induced the chief to withhold the presentsfrom the king, and who, accordingly, indignant at being thus treated, put Amadi into irons, took all his goods from him, and sent a force tooccupy a rock overhanging the river where it narrows greatly. Onarriving at this place, Park endeavoured to pass through, when thepeople began to throw lances and stones at him. He and his companionsdefended themselves for a long time, till two of his slaves in the sternof the boat were killed. 

Finding no hopes of escape, Park took hold of one of the white men andjumped into the water, and Martyn did the same, hoping to reach theshore, but were drowned in the attempt. The only slave remaining in theboat, seeing the natives persist in throwing their weapons, entreatedthem to stop. On this they took possession of the canoe and the man, and carried them to the king. Amadi, after being kept in irons threemonths, was liberated, and on finding the slave who had been taken inthe canoe, learned from him the manner in which Mr Park and hiscompanions had perished. The only article left in the canoe had been asword-belt, which Isaaco, who was afterwards despatched to learnparticulars of the tragedy, obtained--the sole relic of the expedition. 

Park could not have been aware of the numerous rapids and otherdifficulties he would have had to encounter on descending the upperportion of the Niger. In all probability his frail and ill-constructedvessel would have been wrecked before he had proceeded many miles belowthe spot where he lost his life. Had he, however, succeeded in passingthat dangerous portion, he might have navigated the mighty stream to itsmouth. 

Although at first the account of Park's death was not believed inEngland, subsequent enquiries left no doubt that all the statements weresubstantially correct. 

Thus perished, in the prime of life, that heroic traveller, at the verytime when he had good reason to believe that he was about to solve theproblem of the Niger's course. 

CHAPTER FIVE. 

TRAVELS OF DENHAM AND CLAPPERTON. 

PRECEDED BY HORNEMAN--ROENTGEN--TUCKEY AND OTHERS--MAJOR LAING'SJOURNEY--LIEUTENANT CLAPPERTON AND DR. OUDNEY, JOINED BY MAJOR DENHAM, LEAVE TRIPOLI--DIFFICULTIES WITH THE PACHA--DENHAM SAILS FOR ENGLAND--THE PACHA SENDS AFTER HIM--BOO-KHALOUM APPOINTED CONDUCTOR--JOURNEYACROSS THE DESERT--ILLNESS OF CLAPPERTON AND OUDNEY--NUMBERLESSSKELETONS OF SLAVES--ARABS' ILL-TREATMENT OF THE NATIVES--LAKE CHAD--EMPIRE OF BORNOU--RECEPTION AT KOUKA BY THE SHEIKH--BODY-GUARD OF THESHEIKH--BARCA GANA, HIS GENERAL--VISIT TO THE SULTAN OF BIRNIE--ELEPHANTAND BUFFALO HUNTING--DENHAM JOINS AN EXPEDITION UNDER BACA GANA--MEETTHE SULTAN OF MANDARA--ATTACK ON THE FELATAHS--DENHAM NEARLY LOSES HISLIFE--BOO-KHALOUM KILLED--BARCA GANA'S TROOPS TAKE TO FLIGHT--THE MAJORKINDLY TREATED BY A DEPOSED PRINCE--RETURNS TO KOUKA. 

Between Park's two expeditions, several travellers endeavoured to solvesome of the many problems connected with the geography of Africa. 

The first person sent out by the Association was a young German, Frederick Horneman, in the character of an Arab merchant. He travelledfrom Alexandria to Cairo, where he was imprisoned by the natives on thenews arriving of Bonaparte's landing in the country. He was, however, liberated by the French, and set out on the 5th of September, 1798, witha caravan destined for Fezzan. 

On one occasion, when passing through Siwah, the bigoted Mahommedaninhabitants surrounded the caravan, having heard that two Christiansbelonged to it, and promising to let it proceed provided these weredelivered up to them. Having, however, by his knowledge of the Koran, satisfied them that he was a true Mahommedan, being protected by theother members of the caravan, he was allowed to proceed. 

He reached Mourzouk in safety, and there endeavoured to gain informationabout the states to the south of Timbuctoo. He, however, heard butlittle, though he found that Houssa was not, as supposed, a city, but aregion embracing many kingdoms, the inhabitants of which were said to besuperior in civilisation to those of the surrounding people. 

He remained here for a considerable time, and then visited Tripoli, after which he returned to Mourzouk, and started thence in April, 1800. 

From that time no information was received directly from him; but MajorDenham many years afterwards learned that he had penetrated as far asNyffe on the Niger, where he fell a victim to disease. 

Another German, Roentgen, also sent out by the Association in 1809, started from Mogadore and, it is supposed, was murdered by his guides. 

Two Americans, one a seaman, named Adams, and the other a supercargo, James, having been wrecked on the west coast at different periods, travelled for a considerable distance through the north-west portion ofthe continent. Adams was carried to Timbuctoo, where he remained sixmonths in 1810. He found the city chiefly inhabited by negroes; and hedescribes the few religious ceremonies which took place as pagan. Thecity had lately been conquered by the king of Bambarra, who hadestablished there a negro government. Even the largest houses werelittle more than huts, built of timber frames filled in with earth. Hewas ultimately liberated by the British consul at Mogadore. 

Riley, who was wrecked in 1815, was carried as a slave through thecountry. From a caravan merchant, Sidi Hamet, who purchased him fromhis first captors, he obtained much information about the country. Fromthe account he received, it appears at that time that Timbuctoo waslarger and better built than Adams described it. Sidi Hamet alsotravelled a considerable distance down the banks of the Niger, which, though at first running due east, afterwards turned to the south-east. Travelling sixty days, he reached Wassanah, a place twice as large asTimbuctoo, the inhabitants being hospitable and kind-hearted. Fromthence he heard that boats with cargoes of slaves sailed two months, first south and then west, down the river, till they came to the sea, where they met white people in vessels armed with guns. This was themost correct account hitherto received of the course of the Niger. Riley was also rescued by the English consul at Mogadore. 

In 1816 the English Government sent out an expedition to proceed up theCongo, under Captain Tuckey, but he and his followers fell victims tothe climate. 

At the same time another expedition had started under Major Peddie, andCaptain Campbell, but they both, with Lieutenant Stokoe, of the navy, died the following year. 

In 1821 Major Laing, starting from Sierra Leone, made a journey insearch of the source of the Niger, but was compelled to return. 

In 1819 Mr Ritchie, with Lieutenant Lyon, of the navy, started fromTripoli, intending to proceed southward to Bornou, in order to trace thedownward course of the Niger, but Mr Ritchie died, and Lieutenant Lyonwas unable to get further than the southern frontier of Fezzan. 

Owing to the judicious conduct of Mr Warrington, the British Consul atTripoli, the English were held in high estimation at that court, and thepacha, who was looked upon by the wild tribes of the south as the mostpotent of all monarchs, assured him that any of his countrymen couldtravel with perfect safety from his territories to Bornou. 

The Government, therefore, considering circumstances so favourable, organised a fresh expedition, headed by Lieutenant Clapperton and DrOudney, of the Navy. Major Denham having volunteered his services, theywere accepted, and he joined his intended companions at Tripoli. He wasaccompanied by Mr Hillman, a shipwright, who undertook to direct thebuilding of a vessel on the Niger. 

After visiting the pacha, and having accompanied him on a hawking partyin the desert, Major Denham set out on the 5th of March, 1822, to joinhis two companions, who had gone forward to the beautiful valley ofMemoom. 

When near Sockna, they met a _kafila_, or caravan of slaves, in whichwere about seventy negroes, who told them that they came from thedifferent regions of Soudan, Begharmi, and Kanem. Those from Soudan hadregular features and a pleasing expression of countenance. 

On reaching Mourzouk they were disappointed in their expectation ofreceiving assistance from the sultan, who declared that it wasimpossible to obtain either camels or horses before the next spring, toenable them to proceed. Finding this, Major Denham determined to returnto Tripoli, to represent to the pacha that something besides merepromises must be given. 

Attended by his negro servant, Barca, he reached that town on the 12thof June, and the pacha himself showing little inclination to renderassistance, he at once started for England, to represent the state ofaffairs to the Government. He was, however, overtaken at Marseilles bya messenger from the pacha entreating him to return, and assuring himthat he had appointed a well-known caravan leader, Boo-Khaloum, with anescort to convey him to Bornou. 

On his return to Africa he found Boo-Khaloum and part of the escortalready waiting for him at the entrance of the desert. His new frienddelighted in pomp and show, and he and his attendants entered Socknaattired in magnificent costumes, their chief himself riding a beautifulTunisian horse, the saddle and housing richly adorned with scarlet clothand gold. This African caravan merchant united the character of awarlike chief and trader, his followers being trained not only to fightin defence of his property, but to attack towns and carry off thehapless inhabitants as slaves. Yet Book-Haloum was superior to most ofhis age; he possessed an enlarged and liberal mind, and was consideredan honourable and humane man, while so great was his generosity that hewas adored by his people. 

On the 30th of October the caravan entered Mourzouk with all the paradeand pomp they could muster. Boo-Khaloum's liberality had made him sopopular that a large portion of the inhabitants of the town came out towelcome him. 

Major Denham was greatly disappointed at not seeing his friends amongthe crowd. He found that Dr Oudney was suffering from a complaint inhis chest, and that Clapperton was confined to his bed; indeed theclimate of Mourzouk is evidently very unhealthy. 

The arrangements for starting were not completed until the 29th ofNovember. In the meantime the other members of the expedition hadsomewhat recovered. Major Denham had engaged a native of the Island ofSaint Vincent, of the name of Simpkins, but who, having traversed halfthe world over, had acquired that of Columbus. He spoke Arabicperfectly, and three European languages. Three negroes were also hired, and a Gibraltar Jew, Jacob, who acted as store-keeper. These, with fourmen to look after their camels, Mr Hillman and themselves, made uptheir household to thirteen persons. Several merchants also joinedtheir party. Besides these, the caravan comprised one hundred and tenArabs, marshalled in tens and twenties under their different chiefs. 

The Arabs in the service of the pacha, who were to escort them toBornou, behaved admirably, and enlivened them greatly on their drearydesert road by their wit and sagacity, as well as by their poetry, extemporary and traditional. 

The camels and tents having been sent on before, the party started onhorseback on the evening of the day mentioned. Dr Oudney was sufferingfrom his cough, and neither Clapperton nor Hillman had got over theirague, a bad condition in which to commence their arduous journey. 

The heat when crossing the desert was great; not a bird nor an insectwas to be seen moving through the air; but the nights were beautiful andperfectly still, gentle breezes cooling the air. By digging a fewinches into the hot, loose soil, a cool and soft bed was obtained. Through wide districts the surface was covered with salt, and from thesides of hollows where it was broken, hung beautiful crystals like thefinest frost-work. 

Before proceeding far, objects sufficient to create the deepest horrorin their minds were met with. In all directions the ground was coveredwith the skeletons of those who had perished in attempting to cross thewilderness. At first only one or two were seen, but afterwards as manyas fifty or sixty were passed in a day. At one place a hundred werefound together, and near the wells of El Hammar they were lying toothickly to be counted. One morning as Denham, dozing on his horse, wasriding, he was startled by a peculiar sound of something crashing underthe animal's feet, and, on looking down, he found that he was tramplingover two human skeletons, one of the horse's feet having driven a skullbefore him like a ball. To some of the bones portions of the flesh andhair still adhered, and the features of others were distinguishable. Two skeletons of females lay close together, who had evidently died ineach other's arms. 

The Arabs, accustomed to such scenes, laughed at the sympathy exhibitedby the English, observing, with a curse on their fathers, that they wereonly blacks. There can be no doubt that the larger group consisted of anumber of slaves captured by the Sultan of Fezzan, during a lateexpedition he had made into Soudan. His troops, having left Bornou withan insufficient supply of provisions, allowed their unhappy captives toperish, while they made their escape with the food intended to supportthem. 

One evening the major exhibited a book of drawings made by Captain Lyon, to Boo-Khaloum. The portraits he understood, but he could notcomprehend the landscapes, and would look at one upside down. On seeinga beautiful print of sand-wind in the desert, though it was twicereversed, he exclaimed: "Why, it is all the same!" Probably a European, even, who had never before cast his eye on the representation of alandscape, would be long before he could appreciate the beauties of thepicture. One beautiful moonlight evening Denham exhibited histelescope. An old _hadji_, after he had been helped to fix the glass onthe moon, uttering an exclamation of wonder, walked off as fast as hecould, repeating words from the Koran. 

Few adventures were met with; but one whole day the travellers wereannoyed by a strong east wind, and the next day the wind and driftingsand were so violent that they were compelled to keep their tents. Theyhad to sit in their shirts, as the sand could thus be shaken off as soonas it made a lodgment, which with any other articles of dress could notbe done. Denham found the greatest relief by rubbing the neck andshoulders with oil, and being shampooed by his servant, Barca's wife, who, when a slave in the palace of the pacha, had learned the art. 

The Tibboos, a tribe who had for some time accompanied them, went off toobtain some sheep, an ox, honey, milk and fat. On their return the milkturned out sour camels' milk, full of sand, and the fat very rancid, while a single lean sheep was purchased for two dollars. 

Some of their horses were very handsome and extremely fat, which arosefrom being fed entirely on camels' milk, corn being too scarce for theTibboos to spare them. 

The girls of this tribe were pretty, but the men extremely ugly. 

Their Arabs, who were sent as an escort to oppose banditti, after a timebecame dissatisfied at having nothing to do, and were evidentlycontemplating inroads on the inhabitants. 

Denham, with Boo-Khaloum and a dozen horsemen, each having a footmanbehind him, started off towards a spot where some Tibboo tents had beenseen. On their arrival they found that the shepherds had moved off, knowing well how they should be treated by the white people, as theycalled the Arabs. Their caution was made the excuse for plunderingthem. "What! not stay to sell their sheep? the rogues!" exclaimed theArabs. 

After a time they came in sight of two hundred head of cattle and abouttwenty persons--men, women and children--with camels, moving off. TheArabs, slipping from behind their leaders, with a shout, rushed down thehill, part running towards the cattle to prevent their escape. Theunfortunate people were rapidly plundered, the camels were brought tothe ground and the whole of their loads rifled. The poor women andgirls lifted up their hands, stripped as they were to the skin, butDenham felt that he could do nothing for them beyond saving their lives. 

When Boo-Khaloum came up, however, he seemed ashamed of the paltry bootyhis followers had obtained, and Denham seized the favourable moment toadvise that the Arabs should give everything back, and have a few sheepand an ox for a feast. He gave the order, and the property wasrestored, with the exception of ten sheep and a fat bullock. 

An old _maraboot_ assured Denham that to plunder those who left theirtents, instead of supplying travellers, was quite lawful. Too often thenatives are not only plundered, but murdered, by the armed attendants ofcaravans as they make their way across the desert. 

The natives, as may be supposed, retaliate. Should any animal stragglefrom the main body, it is certain to be carried off. Major Denham losta favourite dog, which was captured and eaten. 

On reaching Lara, a small town of conical-topped rush huts, to thedelight of the travellers they saw before them, from a rising ground, the boundless expanse of Lake Chad, glowing with the golden rays of thesun. They hastened down to the shores of this large inland sea, whichwas darkened with numberless birds of varied plumage--ducks, geese, pelicans and cranes four or five feet high, immense spoonbills of snowywhiteness, yellow-legged plovers--all quietly feeding at halfpistol-shot. A large basket to supply their larder was soon filled. 

Moving along the shores of the lake, the caravan arrived at Woodie, anegro town of considerable size. It was here arranged that the caravanshould wait till an embassy could be sent to the Sheikh of Bornou, toobtain permission for presenting themselves before him. 

The empire of Bornou had, some twenty years before, been overrun andsubjected by the Felatahs, a powerful people to the west. The presentsheikh, a native of Kanem, though of humble birth, had by his superiortalents and energy rallied round him a band of warriors, and, pretendingthat he had received a command from the prophet, hoisted the green flag, and had in a few months driven the invaders out of the country, whichthey had never since been able to occupy, though frequently attackinghis borders. 

While waiting for the sheikh's reply, Major Denham rode out early onemorning in search of a herd of a hundred and fifty elephants, which hadbeen seen the day before. He found them about six miles from the town, on ground annually overflowed by the waters of the lake. They seemed tocover the whole face of the country, and exceeded the number he expectedto see. Often, when forced by hunger, they approach the towns andspread devastation throughout their march, whole plantations beingdestroyed in a single night. Some antelopes were also seen, but theynever allowed the party to get near enough to hazard a shot. 

The country for the last eighteen days of their journey had been coveredwith a grass which produces a calyx full of prickles. These adhere tothe dress and penetrate to the skin, to which they fasten themselveslike grappling-irons. They got between the toes of the poor dog Niger, and into every part of his long silken hair, so as to make him unable towalk. 

At the next camping-place hyaenas came close to their tents and killed acamel, on the carcase of which a lion, when he had driven them away, banqueted, when they returned and devoured what he had left. 

Several days' journey took the caravan into the neighbourhood of Kouka. They had been told that the sheikh's soldiers were a few ragged negroes, armed with spears, who lived upon the plunder of the black Kaffircountries. Greatly to their astonishment, as they approached the townthey beheld a body of several thousand cavalry, drawn up in line andextending right and left as far as they could see. 

As the Arabs approached, a yell was given by the sheikhs people, whichrent the air; and a blast being blown from their rude instruments, theymoved on to meet Boo-Khaloum and his Arabs. Small bodies kept chargingrapidly towards them, to within a few feet of their horses' heads, without checking the speed of their own until the moment of theirhalting; then they wheeled at their utmost speed with great precision, shaking their spears over their heads, exclaiming, "_Baka_ _baka_!"("Blessing! blessing!") They quickly, however, surrounded the caravan soas to prevent it moving on, which greatly enraged Boo-Khaloum, but to nopurpose, as he was only answered by shrieks of welcome, and spearsunpleasantly rattled over the traveller's heads. In a short time, BarcaGana, the sheikh's first general--a negro of noble aspect, clothed in afigured silk _tobe_, mounted on a beautiful Mandara horse--made hisappearance, and cleared away those who had pressed upon them, when theparty moved on slowly towards the city. 

Arrived at the gates, Boo-Khaloum, with the English and about a dozen ofhis followers, alone were allowed to enter. They proceeded along a widestreet completely lined with spearmen on foot, with cavalry in front ofthem, to the door of the sheikh's residence. Here the horsemen wereformed up three deep, and the party halted while some of the chief'sattendants came out and, after a great many "_Baka's! baka's_!" retired, when others performed the same ceremony. On this, Boo-Khaloum againlost patience, and swore by the pacha's head that he would return to histents, if he was not immediately admitted. Denham advised him tosubmit, and Barca Gana, appearing, invited him to dismount. The Englishwere about to do the same, when an officer intimated that the Arab alonewas to be admitted. 

Another half-hour, and the gates were again opened, and the fourEnglishmen were called for. The strictest etiquette appeared to be keptup at the sheikh's court; but the major and his companions declineddoing more in the way of reverence than bending their heads and layingtheir right-hands on their hearts. They found the sheikh sitting on acarpet, in a small, dark room. He was plainly dressed in a blue _tobe_of Soudan and a small turban, with armed negroes on either side of him, and weapons hung up on the walls. His personal appearance wasprepossessing, and he had an expressive countenance and a benevolentsmile. 

After he had received the letter from the pacha, he enquired what wastheir object in coming. They answered, to see the country and to givean account of its inhabitants, produce and appearance, as their sultanwas desirous of knowing every part of the globe. His reply was thatthey were welcome, and whatever he could show them would give himpleasure. 

Huts had been built for them and an abundance of provisions wasprovided, though the number of their visitors gave them not a moment'speace, while the heat was insufferable. 

Next day they had another audience, to deliver their presents. With thefirearms, especially, the sheikh was highly delighted, and he showedevident satisfaction on their assuring him that the king of England hadheard of Bornou and himself. Immediately turning to his councillors, heobserved: "This is in consequence of our defeating the Begharmis. " Uponthis the chief who had most distinguished himself in this memorablebattle, Bagah Furby, demanded: "Did he ever hear of me?" The reply of"Certainly!" did wonders for their cause. "Ah, then your king must be agreat man!" was re-echoed from every side. 

Every morning, besides presents of bullocks, camel-loads of wheat andrice, leather skins of butter, jars of honey, and wooden bowlscontaining rice with meat, and paste made of barley flour--savoury, butvery greasy--were sent to them. 

In a short time--by the exhibition of rockets, a musical box, and otherwonders--Denham appeared to have entirely won the sheikh's confidence. Reports, however, had been going about that the English had come to spyout the land, and intended to build ships on Lake Chad, in which theywould sail about and conquer the surrounding country. Reports were nowreceived that the Begharmis were approaching Bornou, and it was saidthat the sheikh would immediately send a force into their country, inorder to punish their sultan for even thinking of revenge. 

The sheikh, in the meantime, had given them leave to visit all the townsin his dominions, but on no account to go beyond them. He asked manyquestions about the English manner of attacking a walled town; and, onhearing that they had guns which carried ball of thirty-two pounds'weight, with which the walls were breached, and that then the place wastaken by assault, his large dark eyes sparkled again, as he exclaimed:"Wonderful! wonderful!"

Although the sheikh was the real ruler of the country, he allowed theexistence of the hereditary sultan, a mere puppet, who resided atBirnie. Boo-Khaloum advised that they should pay their respects to thissovereign; and they accordingly set out for the place, which containedabout ten thousand inhabitants. They were first conducted to the gateof the sultan's mud edifice, where a few of the court were assembled toreceive them. One, a sort of chamberlain, habited in eight or ten_tobes_, or shirts, of different colours, carried an immense staff, andon his head was a turban of prodigious size, though but a trifling onecompared to those they were destined to see at the audience on thefollowing morning. A large marquee was pitched for their reception, which they found luxuriously cool. In the evening a plentiful repastwas brought them, consisting of seventy dishes, each of which would havedined half-a-dozen persons with moderate appetites; and for fear theEnglish should not eat like the Bornouy, a slave or two arrived loadedwith live fowls for their dinner. 

Soon after daylight the next morning they were summoned to attend thesultan. He received them in an open space in front of the royalresidence. They were compelled to stop at a considerable distance fromhim, while his own people approached to within about a hundred yards, passing first on horseback, and, after dismounting and prostratingthemselves before him, they took their places on the ground in front, but with their backs to the royal person. He was seated in a sort ofcage made of cane, on a throne which appeared to be covered with silk orsatin. Nothing could be more absurd and grotesque than the figures whoformed his court. The sheikh, to make himself popular with all parties, allowed the sultan to be amused by indulging in all the folly andbigotry of the ancient negro sovereigns. Large bellies and large headsare considered the proper attributes of the courtiers, and those who donot possess the former by nature, make up the deficiency of protuberanceby a wadding, which, as they sit on horseback, gives them a mostextraordinary appearance, while the head is enveloped in folds of muslinor linen of various colours, of such size as to make the head appearcompletely on one side. The turbans are, besides, hung all-over withcharms enclosed in little red leather bags. The horse is also adornedin the same manner. 

When the courtiers had taken their seats, the visitors were desired tosit down. On this, the ugliest black that can be imagined, the onlyperson who approached the sultan's seat, asked for the presents. Boo-Khaloum produced them, enclosed in a large shawl, and they werecarried unopened into the presence of the sultan. The English, by someomission, had brought no presents. 

A little to their left was an extemporary declaimer, shouting forth thepraises of his master, with his pedigree, and near him stood a man witha long, wooden trumpet, on which he ever and anon blew a blast. 

Nothing could be more ridiculous than the appearance of these people, squatting down in their places, tottering under the weight and magnitudeof their turbans and their bellies, while the thin legs that appearedunderneath but ill accorded with the bulk of the other part. 

Immediately after the ceremony the travellers took their departure forAngornou, a town containing at least thirty thousand inhabitants. Themarket-place was crowded with people, and there were a number ofbeggars. Linen was so cheap that all the men wore shirts and trousers;but the beggars were seen holding up the arms of an old pair of thelatter, touching the shirt at the same time, and exclaiming: "Butbreeches there are none; but breeches there are none. " This novel modeof drawing the attention of the passers-by so amused Denham that hecould not help laughing outright. 

He was, however, anxious to visit a large river to the southward ofKouka, called the Shary; but was delayed by Dr Oudney's seriousillness, and the unsettled state of Book-Haloum's affairs with theArabs; indeed, so mutinous had some of these become, that he was at lastcompelled to send thirty of them back again to Fezzan. 

Hillman had greatly pleased the sheikh by manufacturing a couple ofchests, and he was now requested to make a sort of litter, such as thesheikh had heard were used by the sultans of Fezzan. 

Among other presents, the sheikh sent them a young lion about threemonths old. It was a tame, good-natured creature, but as Denham wasunder the necessity of refusing the animal a corner of his hut, it wasimmediately in consequence killed. 

During the illness of his companions Major Denham made an excursion tothe shores of Lake Chad, accompanied by Maraymy, an intelligent black, to whose charge he had been committed by the sheikh, where numerouselephants and some beautiful antelopes were seen. The sheikh's people, as they came near the elephants, began screeching violently. Theanimals, though moving a little away, erected their ears, and gave aroar that shook the ground under them. One was an immense fellow. Theparty wheeled swiftly round him, and Maraymy casting a spear at him, which struck him just under the tail, the huge brute threw up hisproboscis in the air with a loud roar, and from it cast such a volume ofsand as nearly to blind the major, who was approaching at the time. 

The elephant rarely if ever attacks, but, when irritated, he willsometimes rush upon a man on horseback, and, after choking him withdust, destroy him in a moment. 

Pursued by the horsemen, the animal made off at a clumsy, rolling walk, but sufficient to keep the steeds at a full gallop. The major firedtwice at fifty yards' distance. The first shot which struck the animalfailed to make the least impression, and the second, though wounding himin the ear, seemed to give him a moment's uneasiness only. Afteranother spear had been darted at him, which flew off his rough hidewithout exciting the least sensation, the elephant made his escape. 

The Shooas, the original inhabitants of the country, are great hunters. Mounted on horseback, a Shooa hunter seeks the buffalo in the swampyregions near the lake, and, driving the animal he has selected to thefirm ground, rides on till he gets close alongside, when, springing up, he stands with one foot on his horse and the other on the back of thebuffalo, through which he plunges his spear, driving it with tremendousforce into its heart. 

Denham heard of people called Kerdies, who inhabited islands far away inthe eastern part of the lake. They frequently make plunderingexcursions even close up to Angornou, and carry off cattle and people intheir canoes, no means being taken to oppose them. 

The sheikh was very unwilling that his white visitor should cross theShary, for fear of the danger he would run. 

At length an opportunity occurred of seeing the country, which Denhamdetermined not to let slip. Boo-Khaloum, though sorely against hiswill, had been induced by his Arabs to plan an expedition against thepagan inhabitants of some villages in the mountains of Mandara, in orderto carry them off as slaves to Fezzan. He, wishing rather to visit thecommercial regions of Soudan, long held out against these nefariousproposals. The sheikh, who wished to punish the people who wereconstantly in arms against him, instigated the Arabs to induceBoo-Khaloum to undertake the expedition, and at length, believing thatby no other means could he hope to make a profitable journey, he wasinduced to comply. The sheikh, however, was unwilling that Major Denhamshould be exposed to the dangers he would meet with, but, as he haddetermined to go, at last gave his consent, appointing Maraymy to attendhim, and to be answerable for his safety. 

Boo-Khaloum and his Arabs, with the sheikh's forces under his general, Barca Gana, had already got some distance ahead. Accompanied byMaraymy, Denham overtook them when several miles from the city, and wasreceived with great civility by Barca Gana in his tent. He had beenkept some minutes outside while the general consulted his charm writer, and his remark as he entered was: "If it was the will of God, thestranger should come to no harm, and that he would do all in his powerfor his convenience. "

Barca Gana had about two thousand of the sheikh's soldiers under hiscommand. He was himself, however, only a slave, but from his braveryhad been raised by his master to the rank of Governor of Angala and allthe towns on the Shary, as well as that of commander-in-chief of histroops. He was accompanied by several guards of horse and foot, and aband of five men, three of whom carried a sort of drum, who sangextemporary songs while they beat time; another carried a pipe made of areed, and a fifth blew on a buffalo's horn loud and deep-toned blasts. As he advanced through the forest he was preceded by twelve pioneers, who carried long forked poles, with which they kept back the branches asthe party moved forward; at the same time they pointed out any dangersin the road. 

The heat was intense. Into a lake at which they arrived the horsesrushed by hundreds, making the water as thick as pea-soup. As themajor's camel had not come up, he could not pitch his tent, and he wascompelled to lie down in the best shade he could find, and cover himselfcompletely with a cloth and a thick woollen bournous, to keep up alittle moisture, by excluding all external air. 

After several days' march they arrived near the capital of Mandara, whose sultan sent out several of his chiefs to meet them. Near the townof Delow the sultan himself appeared, surrounded by about five hundredhorsemen. Different parties of these troops charged up to the front ofBarca Gana's forces, and, wheeling suddenly round, galloped back again. They were handsomely dressed in Soudan _tobes_ of different colours--dark blue and striped with yellow and red; bournouses of coarse scarletcloth, with large turbans of white or dark-coloured cotton. Theirhorses were really beautiful--larger and more powerful than any seen inBornou. They managed them with great skill. 

A parley was now carried on. This sultan was an ally of the sheikh, butthe people who were to be attacked were his own subjects, though, asthey were pagans, that mattered nothing. 

Boo-Khaloum was, as usual, very sanguine of success. He said he shouldmake the sultan handsome presents, and that he was quite sure a Kerdieor pagan town full of people would be given him to plunder. 

The Arabs eyed the Kerdie huts, now visible on the sides of themountains, with longing eyes, and, contrasting their own raggedcondition with the appearance of the Sultan of Mandara's people in theirrich _tobes_, observed to Book-Haloum that what they saw pleased them;they would go no further; this would do. They trusted for victory totheir guns--though many were wretched weapons, and their powder wasbad--declaring that arrows were nothing, and ten thousand spears of noimportance. "We have guns! we have guns!" they shouted. They were soonto find that they made a fearful mistake. 

The Sultan of Mandara had assisted the Sheikh Kanemy in driving out theFelatahs, and, since then, supported by his powerful ally, had risengreatly in power. The Felatahs, indeed, were his principal enemies inthe neighbourhood, and he was only waiting for such an expedition as nowjoined him to attack them. 

The unfortunate Kerdies, who believed that they themselves were theobjects of the raid, beheld with dread the army of Barca Ganabivouacking in the valley. The fires, which were visible in thedifferent nests of the hapless mountaineers, threw a glare on the boldpeaks and bluff promontories of granite rock by which they weresurrounded, and produced a picturesque and somewhat awful appearance. Denham could distinguish many of them through his telescope, making offinto the mountains, while others came down bearing leopard-skins, honey, and slaves as peace offerings, as also asses and goats, with which themountains abound. They, however, on this occasion, were not destined tosuffer. The people of Musgu, whose country it had been reported thatthe Arabs were to plunder, sent two hundred slaves and other presents tothe sultan. As they entered and left the palace they threw themselveson the ground, pouring sand on their heads, and uttering the mostpiteous cries. 

The sultan all this time had not informed Boo-Khaloum what district hewould allow him to attack, but observed that the Kerdie nations, beingextremely tractable, were becoming Mussulmans without force. 

Major Denham had several interviews with this intelligent but bigotedsultan, when he was greatly annoyed by the chief doctor of the court, or_fighi_, Malem Chadily, who, because he was a Christian, endeavoured toprejudice the mind of the sultan against him; indeed, the bigotry ofthis court far surpassed that usually found among black tribes who havebecome Mahommedans. The major had been drawing with a lead pencil, whenhe was carried into the presence of the sultan. Malem Chadily on thisoccasion pretended to treat him with great complaisance. 

The courtiers were much astonished at seeing the effect produced by thepencils, and the ease with which their traces were effaced byindia-rubber. Several words were written by the doctor and others, which were quickly rubbed out by the major. At last, the doctor wrote:"_Bismillah arachmani arachemi_" ("In the name of the great and mostmerciful God") in large Koran characters. He made so deep an impressionon the paper, that after using the india-rubber the words still appearedlegible, the _fighi_ remarking: "They are the words of God, delivered toour prophet: I defy you to erase them. " The sultan and all around himgazed at the paper with intense satisfaction, exclaiming that a miraclehad been wrought, and Denham was well pleased to take his departure. Even Barca Gana afterwards, when Denham visited him in his tent, exclaimed, "Wonderful! wonderful!" And the _fighi_, or doctor, added, "I will show you hundreds of miracles performed alone by the words ofthe wonderful book. " He then urged the major to turn Mahommedan. "Paradise will then be opened to you, " he remarked. "Without this, whatcan save you from eternal fire. I shall then see you, while sitting inthe third heaven, in the midst of the flames, crying out to your friendBarca Gana and myself, `Give me a drop of water!' but the gulf will bebetween us and then it will be too late. " Malem's tears flowed inabundance during this harangue, and everybody appeared affected by hiseloquence. 

Poor Boo-Khaloum all this time was ill, from vexation more thansickness. At last he had another interview with the sultan, butreturned much irritated, and told the major, as he passed, that theyshould move in the evening, and to the question if everything went well, he answered: "Please God. " The Arabs, from whom he kept his destinationa secret, received him with cheers. Whom they were going against theycared little, so long as there was a prospect of plunder, and the wholecamp became a busy scene of preparation. Two hours after noon the marchwas commenced towards the mountains, which rose up in ruggedmagnificence on either side. 

As the morning of the 28th of April broke, an interesting scenepresented itself. The Sultan of Mandara, mounted on a beautiful, cream-coloured horse, and followed by a number of persons handsomelydressed, was on one side. Barca Gana's people, who were on the other, wore their red scarves or bournouses over their steel jackets. Themajor took up a position at the general's right-hand, when the troops, entering a thick wood in two columns, were told that at the end of itthey should find the enemy. Maraymy kept closer to the major's side, asdanger was approaching. 

As they were riding along, several leopards ran swiftly from them, twisting their long tails in the air. A large one was seen, whichMaraymy remarked was so satiated with the blood of a negro it had justbefore killed, that it would be easily destroyed. The Shooa soonplanted a spear, which passed through the animal's neck. It rolledover, breaking the spear, and bounded off with the lower half in itsbody. Another Shooa attacking it, the animal, with a howl, was in theact of springing on the pursuer, when an Arab shot it through the head. 

On emerging from the wood, the large Felatah town of Durkulla wasperceived, and the Arabs were formed in front, headed by Boo-Khaloum. They were flanked on each side by a large body of cavalry, who, as theymoved on, shouted the Arab war-cry. Denham thought he could perceive asmile pass between Barca Gana and his chief, at poor Boo-Khaloum'sexpense. 

Durkulla was quickly burned, and another small town near it. The fewinhabitants found in them, being infants or aged persons, unable toescape, were put to death or thrown into the flames. A third town, called Musfeia, built on a rising ground, and capable of being defendedagainst assailants ten times as numerous as the besiegers, was nextreached. A strong fence of palisades, well pointed, and fastenedtogether with thongs of raw hide, six feet in height, had been carriedfrom one hill to the other. Felatah bowmen were placed behind thepalisades and on the rising ground, with a _wady_ before them, whiletheir horses were all under cover of the hills. This was a strongposition. The Arabs, however, moved on with great gallantry, withoutany support from the Bornou or Mandara troops, and, notwithstanding theshowers of arrows, some poisoned, which were poured on them from behindthe palisades, Boo-Khaloum carried them in about half an hour, anddashed on, driving the Felatahs up the sides of the hills. The womenwere everywhere seen supplying their protectors with fresh arrows, tillthey retreated, still shooting on their pursuers. The women also rolleddown huge masses of rock, killing several Arabs. Barca Gana, with hisspearmen, at length advanced to the support of Boo-Khaloum, and piercedthrough and through some fifty unfortunates, who were left wounded nearthe stakes. The major rode by his side into the town, where a desperateskirmish took place, but Barca Gana with his muscular arm threw eightspears, some at a distance of thirty yards or more, which all told. Hadeither the Mandara or the sheikh's troops now moved up boldly, they musthave carried the town and the heights above it. Instead of this, theykept on the other side of the _wady_, out of reach of the arrows. TheFelatahs, seeing their backwardness, made so desperate an attack thatthe Arabs gave way. The Felatah horse came on. Had not Barca Gana andBoo-Khaloum, with his few mounted Arabs, given them a very spiritedcheck, not one of their band would have lived to see the following day. As it was, Barca Gana had three horses hit under him, two of which diedalmost immediately, while poor Boo-Khaloum and his horse were bothwounded. The major's horse was also wounded in the neck, shoulder, andhind leg, and an arrow struck him in the face, merely drawing blood asit passed. He had two sticking in his bournous. The Arabs sufferedterribly: most of them had two or three wounds; one dropped with fivearrows sticking in his head, and two of Boo-Khaloum's slaves were killednear him. 

No sooner did the Mandara and Bornou troops see the defeat of the Arabsthan they, one and all, took to flight in the most dastardly manner andthe greatest confusion. The sultan led the way, having been prepared totake advantage of whatever plunder the success of the Arabs might throwinto his hands; but no less determined to leave the field the moment thefortune of the day appeared to be against them. 

Major Denham had reason to regret his folly in exposing himself, badlyprepared as he was for accident. By flight only could he save himself. The whole army, which had now become a flying mass, plunged in thegreatest disorder into the wood which had lately been left. 

He had got to the westward of Barca Gana in the confusion, when he sawupwards of a hundred of the Bornou troops speared by the Felatahs, andwas following the steps of one of the Mandara officers, when the criesbehind, of the Felatah horse pursuing, made both quicken their pace. His wounded horse at this juncture stumbled and fell. Almost before hewas on his legs the Felatahs were upon him. He had, however, kept holdof the bridle, and, seizing a pistol from the holster, presented it attwo of the savages who were pressing him with their spears. Theyinstantly went off; but another, who came on more boldly just as he wasendeavouring to mount, received the contents in his shoulder, and he wasenabled to place his foot in the stirrup. Remounting, he againretreated, but had not proceeded many hundred yards when his horse oncemore came down, with such violence as to throw him against a tree at aconsiderable distance. At this juncture, alarmed by the horses behindhim, the animal got up and escaped, leaving the major on foot andunarmed. 

The Mandara officer and his followers were butchered and stripped withina few yards of him. Their cries were dreadful. His hopes of life weretoo faint to deserve the name. He was almost instantly surrounded, andspeedily stripped, his pursuers making several thrusts at him with theirspears, wounding his hands severely, and his body slightly. In thefirst instance they had been prevented from murdering him by the fear ofinjuring the value of his clothes, which appeared to them a rich booty. His shirt was now torn off his back. When his plunderers began toquarrel for the spoil, the idea of escape came across his mind. Creeping under the belly of the horse nearest him, he started as fast ashis legs would carry him, to the thickest part of the wood. Two of theFelatahs followed. He ran in the direction the stragglers of his ownparty had taken. His pursuers gained on him, for the prickly underwoodtore his flesh and impeded his progress. Just then he saw a mountainstream gliding along at the bottom of a deep ravine. His strength hadalmost failed him, when, seizing the long branches of a tree overhangingthe water, he let himself down into it. What was his horror to observea large liffa, the most venomous of serpents, rise from its coil as ifin the very act of striking! His senses left him, the branch slippedfrom his hand, and he tumbled headlong into the water. The shock, however, revived him, and with three strokes of his arms he reached theopposite bank, which with great difficulty he crawled up. He, atlength, felt that he was safe from his pursuers. Still, the forlornsituation in which he was placed, without even a rag to cover his body, almost overwhelmed him. Yet, fully alive to the danger to which he wasexposed, he had began to plan how he could best rest on the top of atamarind tree, in order to escape from panthers, when the idea ofliffas, almost as numerous, excited a shudder of despair. While tryingto make his way through the woods, he observed two horsemen between thetrees, and, still further to the east, with feelings of gratitude, herecognised Barca Gana and Boo-Khaloum, with about six Arabs. Althoughthey were pressed closely by a party of Felatahs, the guns and pistolsof the Arabs kept the latter in check. His shouts were drowned by thecries of those who were falling under the Felatahs' spears and thecheers of the Arabs rallying; but, happily, Maraymy distinguished him ata distance. Riding up, the faithful black assisted the major to mountbehind him, and, while the arrows whistled over their heads, theygalloped off to the rear as fast as the black's wounded horse couldcarry them. After they had gone a mile or two, Boo-Khaloum rode up anddesired one of the Arabs to cover the major with a houmous. This wasthe last act of Denham's unfortunate friend. Directly afterwardsMaraymy exclaimed: "Look, Boo-Khaloum is dead!" The major turned hishead, and saw the caravan leader drop from his horse into the arms of afavourite Arab. A poisoned arrow in his wounded foot had proved fatal. The Arabs believed he had only swooned; but there was no water to revivehim, and before it could be obtained he was past the reach ofstimulants. At the same time, Barca Gana offered the major a horse; butMaraymy exclaimed: "Do not mount him; he will die!" He thereforeremained with the black. Two Arabs, however, mounted the animal, and inless than an hour he fell to rise no more; and, before they couldrecover themselves, both the Arabs were butchered by the Felatahs. 

At last a stream was reached. The horses, with the blood gushing fromtheir noses, rushed into the water, and the major, letting himself down, knelt amongst them, and seemed to imbibe new life from the copiousdraughts of the muddy beverage he swallowed. He then lost allconsciousness; but Maraymy told him that he had staggered across thestream and fallen down at the foot of a tree. Here a quarter of anhour's halt was made, to place Boo-Khaloum's body on a horse and tocollect stragglers, during which Maraymy had asked Barca Gana foranother horse, in order to carry the major on, when the chief, irritatedby his defeat, as well as by having had his horse refused, by whichmeans he said it had come by its death, replied: "Then leave him behind. By the head of the Prophet! believers enough have breathed their lastto-day! What is there extraordinary in a Christian's death?" His oldantagonist, Malem Chadily, replied: "No; God has preserved him, let usnot forsake him. " Maraymy returned to the tree, awoke the major, and, again mounting, they moved on as before, though with less speed. 

The effect produced on the horses wounded by arrows was extraordinary;immediately after drinking they dropped and instantly died, the bloodgushing from their mouths, noses, and ears. More than thirty horseswere lost at this spot from the effects of the poison. 

After riding forty-five miles, it was past midnight before they haltedin the territories of the Sultan of Mandara, the major thoroughlyworn-out. The bournous thrown over him by the Arab teemed with vermin, and it was evening the next day before he could get a shirt, when a mangave him one, on the promise of getting a new one at Kouka. Maraymy allthe time tended him with the greatest care while he slept for a wholenight and day under a tree. 

Denham here met with an unexpected act of kindness from Mai Meegamy, adethroned sultan, now subject to the sheikh. Taking him by the hand, the sultan led him into his own leathern tent, and, disrobing himself ofhis trousers, insisted that the major should put them on. No act ofcharity could exceed this. Denham was exceedingly touched by it, butdeclined the offer. The ex-sultan, however, supposing that he did sounder the belief that he had offered the only pair he possessed, seemedmuch hurt, and immediately called in a slave, whom he stripped of thosenecessary appendages of a man's dress, which he put on himself, insisting that Denham should take those he had first offered him. Meegamy was his great friend from that moment, though he had scarcelyspoken to him before he had quitted the sheikh's dominions. 

In this unfortunate expedition, besides their chief, forty-five of theArabs were killed, nearly all were wounded, and they lost everythingthey possessed, Major Denham having also lost his mule and all hisproperty. 

The wounds of many of the people were very severe, and several died soonafterwards, their bodies, as well as poor Boo-Khaloum's, becominginstantly swollen and black. Sometimes, immediately after death, bloodissued from the nose and mouth, which the Bornou people asserted was inconsequence of the arrows having been poisoned. 

The surviving Arabs, who had now lost all their arrogance, entreatedBarca Gana to supply them with corn to save them from starving, for theSultan of Mandara refused to supply them with food, and even keptBoo-Khaloum's horse-trappings and clothes. 

In six days the expedition arrived at Kouka. The sheikh was excessivelyannoyed at the defeat; but laid the blame, not without justice, on theMandara troops, who had evidently behaved treacherously to their allies. 

CHAPTER SIX. 

TRAVELS OF DENHAM AND CLAPPERTON, CONTINUED. 

MAJOR DENHAM AND DR. OUDNEY VISIT OLD BIRNIE--ACCOMPANY THE SHEIKH ON ANEXPEDITION AGAINST THE MUNGA--REVIEW OF TROOPS--SUBMISSION OF REBELS--BARCA GANA DISGRACED--RETURN--ARRIVAL OF LIEUTENANT TOOLE--EXPEDITION TOTHE SHARY--PEST OF FLIES--WELL RECEIVED BY THE SULTAN OF BEGHARRNI--DEATH OF LIEUTENANT TOOLE--RETURNS TO KOUKA--ARRIVAL OF MR. TYRHWIT--EXPEDITION AGAINST REBELS ON SHORES OF LAKE CHAD--BARCA GANA AGAINDEFEATED AND WOUNDED--THE SHEIKH'S SEVERE LAWS AGAINST IMMORALITY. 

Soon after the return of the unfortunate expedition to Mandara, thesheikh set out on another against a people to the west, called theMunga, who had never hitherto acknowledged his supremacy, and refused topay tribute. Another complaint against them was, as he explained it, "that they were _kaffiring_--not saying their prayers--the dogs. " Thisfault is generally laid to the charge of any nation against whom trueMahommedans wage war, as it gives them the power of making slaves of theheathens. By the laws of Mahomet, one believer must not bind another. 

Major Denham and Dr Oudney were anxious to visit Birnie, the oldcapital of Bornou, and the sheikh left one of his chief slaves, OmarGana, to act as their guide. Thence they were to proceed to Kabshary, there to await his arrival. 

They set out with five camels and four servants, making two marches eachday, from ten to fourteen miles, morning and evening. 

The country round Kouka is uninteresting and flat, thickly covered withacacias. 

The ruins of old Birnie, which they visited, convinced them of the powerof its former sultan. The city, though now in ruins, covered a space offive or six square miles. The walls, in many places standing, consistedof large masses of red brickwork, three or four feet in thickness, andsix to eight in height. Besides destroying the capital, the Felatahshad razed to the ground upwards of thirty large towns during theirinroads. 

The whole country which they passed after proceeding some way had becomea complete desert, having been abandoned since the Felatahs commencedtheir inroads, and wild animals of all descriptions abounded in greatnumbers. 

They heard that Kabshary had been attacked by the Munga people andburned; and news came that the Munga horse were reconnoitring all roundthem, and had murdered some men proceeding to join the sheikh. 

One of the means the people had taken to defend themselves against theinvaders, had been to dig deep holes, at the bottom of whichsharp-pointed stakes were fixed, the pits being then carefully coveredover with branches and grass, so as completely to conceal them. Similarpitfalls are used in many parts of Africa for entrapping the giraffe andother wild animals. 

The major's servant, Columbus, and his mule not making their appearance, he was searching for him, when he found that the animal had fallen intoone of these pits, the black having by a violent exertion of strengthsaved himself. The poor mule was found sticking on four stakes, withher knees dreadfully torn by struggling. She was, however, got outalive. 

Escaping from various dangers, they joined the sheikh on the banks of alarge piece of water called Dummasak. Hearing that a caravan hadarrived at Kouka from Fezzan, they were anxious to return to thecapital. They sent word to the sheikh, but their communication was notdelivered, and, before they could see him, he and his troops had movedoff. They were, however, on their way to Kouka, when Omar Gana overtookthem, entreating them to return to the sheikh, who, angry at theirhaving gone, had struck him from his horse, and directed him to bringthem to the army without delay. They had nothing to do but to obey. 

Many of the spots they passed presented much picturesque beauty. Inseveral places were groups of naked warriors resting under the trees onthe borders of the lake, with their shields on their arms, whilehundreds of others were in the water, spearing fish, which were cookedby their companions on shore. The margin was crowded with horses, drinking or feeding, and men bathing, while, in the centre, hippopotamiwere constantly throwing up their black muzzles, spouting water. 

The march of the Bornou army now commenced; but little order waspreserved before coming near the enemy, everyone appearing to know thatat a certain point an assembly was to take place. The sheikh took thelead, and close after him came the Sultan of Bornou; who always attendedhim on these occasions, though he never fought. The sheikh was precededby five flags with extracts of the Koran on them, and attended by abouta hundred of his chiefs and favourite slaves. A negro boy carried hisshield, a jacket of mail, and his steel skull-cap, and his arms;another, mounted on a swift _mahary_, and fantastically dressed with astraw hat and ostrich feathers, carried his timbrel, or drum, which itis the greatest misfortune to lose in action. In the rear followed theharem; but on such occasions the sheikh takes but three wives, who aremounted astride on trained horses, each led by a slave boy, their headsand figures completely enveloped in brown silk bournouses, with anattendant on either side. The sultan has five times as many attendantsas his general, and his harem is three times as numerous. 

On reaching Kabshary, the sheikh reviewed his favourite forces, theKanemboo spearmen, nine thousand strong. With the exception of a goator sheep's skin, with the hair outwards, round their middles, and a fewstrips of cloth on their heads, they were nearly naked. Their arms werespear and shield, with a dagger on the left arm, reversed. The shieldis made of a peculiarly light wood, weighing only a few pounds. Theirleaders were mounted and distinguished merely by a _tobe_ of dark blue, and a turban of the same colour. 

The sheikh's attendants were magnificently dressed, but his own costumewas neat and simple, consisting only of two white figured muslin_tobes_, with a bournous, and a Cashmere shawl for a turban: over allhung the English sword which had been sent him. On the signal beingmade for his troops to advance, they uttered a fearful shriek, or yell, and advanced by troops of eight hundred to a thousand each. Afterstriking their spears against their shields for some seconds, which hadan extremely grand effect, they filed off on either side, again formingand awaiting their companions, who succeeded them in the same way. 

There appeared to be a great deal of affection between these troops andthe sheikh. He spurred his horse onwards into the midst of some of thetroops as they came up, and spoke to them, while the men crowded roundhim, kissing his feet and stirrups. It was a most pleasing sight, andhe seemed to feel how much his present elevation was owing to theirexertions; while they displayed a devotion and attachment denoting thegreatest confidence. The major assured him that, with these troops, heneed fear but little the attempts of the Fezzaners on his territories. 

The next day a number of captives--women and children--were brought in:one poor woman accompanied by four children--two in her arms and two onthe horse of the father who had been stabbed for defending those heloved. They were uttering the most piteous cries. The sheikh, afterlooking at them, desired that they might all be released, saying: "Godforbid that I should make slaves of the wives and children of anyMussalman! Go back: tell the wicked and powerful chiefs who urged yourhusbands to rebel and to _kafir_, that I shall be quickly with them, andwill punish them instead of the innocent!"

This message had its effect; for, during the following day, manyhundreds of the Munga people came in, bowing to the ground, and throwingsand upon their heads in token of submission. Several towns also senttheir chiefs and submitted in this manner, bringing peace offerings, when the sheikh swore solemnly not to molest them further. Theirprincipal leader, Malem Fanaamy, fearing to lose his head, would notcome; but offered to pay two thousand slaves, a thousand bullocks, andthree hundred horses as the price of peace. The offer was refused; and, compelled by his people, Malem Fanaamy made his appearance, poorlydressed, with an uncovered head. The sheikh received his submission;and, when he really expected to hear the order for his throat to be cut, he was clothed with eight handsome _tobes_, and his head made as big assix, with turbans from Egypt. This matter being settled, the armyreturned to the capital. 

Major Denham soon after this visited a caravan which had come fromSoudan, on its way to Fezzan. The merchants had nearly a hundredslaves, the greater part female, mostly very young--those from Nyffe ofa deep copper colour, and beautifully formed; the males were also young, and linked together in couples by iron rings round their legs, yet theylaughed and seemed in good condition. It is a common practice with themerchants to induce one slave to persuade his companions that onarriving at Tripoli they will be free and clothed in red--a colour ofwhich negroes are passionately fond. By these promises they are inducedto submit quietly until they are too far from their homes to renderescape possible. 

An extraordinary event occurred here, showing the despotic power of thesheikh. Barca Gana, his general, a governor of six large districts, hadoffended the sheikh, who sent for him, had him stripped in his presence, and a leathern girdle put round his loins, and, after reproaching himwith his ingratitude, ordered that he should be forthwith sold to theTibboo merchants, for he was still a slave. The other chiefs, however, falling on their knees, petitioned that their favourite general might beforgiven. The culprit at that moment appeared to take his leave. Thesheikh, on this, threw himself back on his carpet, wept like a child, and suffered Barca Gana to embrace his knees, and, calling them all hissons, pardoned his penitent slave. 

Poor Dr Oudney had never risen since his return from Munga, andClapperton and Hillman were also dangerously ill. 

News now arrived that a caravan was on its way from the north. This wasgratifying intelligence, as the expedition hoped to obtain letters andremittances by it. 

Hillman had manufactured some carriages for two brass guns, which hadbeen sent to the sheikh from Tripoli. The sheikh was delighted when themajor, the only person capable of attending to them, fired them off. Henow thought himself able to attack all who might become hostile to him. 

On the 14th of December Mr Clapperton and Dr Oudney, having somewhatrecovered, set out with a large _kafila_, bound to Kano in Soudan. DrOudney, however, was in a very unfit state to travel, being almost inthe last stage of consumption. A few days after they had gone, a_kafila_ arrived from the north, and with it came a young ensign of the80th Regiment, Mr Toole, who had taken the place of Mr Tyrwhit, detained on account of sickness. Major Denham was much pleased with hisappearance and manners--his countenance, indeed, being an irresistibleletter of introduction. He had made the long journey from Tripoli toBornou in three months and fourteen days, arriving with only the loss offive camels. Denham's spirits revived with the society of so pleasant afriend, and he determined to take the first opportunity of visiting theShary and Loggun. The sheikh willingly gave them permission, appointinga handsome negro, Belial, to act as their guide and manager. He wasaltogether a superior person, and was attended by six slaves. These, with themselves and personal attendants, formed their party. 

Their journey was commenced on the 23rd of January, 1824. After leavingAngornou, they proceeded east, along the borders of the lake, to Angala, where resided Miram, the divorced wife of the sheikh, El Kanemy, in afine house--her establishment exceeding sixty persons. She was a veryhandsome, beautifully-formed negress about thirty-five, and had much ofthe softness of manner so extremely prepossessing in the sheikh. Shereceived her visitors seated on an earthen throne covered with a Turkeycarpet, and surrounded by twenty of her favourite slaves, all dressedalike in fine white shirts which reached to their feet; their necks, ears, and noses thickly ornamented with coral. A negro dwarf, measuringscarcely three feet, the keeper of her keys, sat before her, richly-dressed in Soudan _tobes_. 

The Shary was reached on the 23rd. The travellers were surprised at themagnitude of the stream, which appeared to be fully half a mile inwidth, running at the rate of two or three miles an hour towards theChad. 

Remaining some days at the town of Showy on the banks of the river, theyembarked, accompanied by the _kaide_, or governor, and eight canoescarrying ten slaves each. After a voyage of nearly eight hours, theyreached a spot thirty-five miles from Showy. The scenery was highlyinteresting: one noble reach succeeded another, alternately varyingtheir courses; the banks thickly scattered with trees, rich in foliage, hung over with creepers bearing variously-coloured and aromaticblossoms. Several crocodiles were seen, which rolled into the streamand disappeared as they approached. 

After proceeding further down the river, they returned to Showy, andthen made another excursion up the stream. 

With much grief Denham perceived symptoms of illness in his companion, who, however, complained but little. While he was suffering theyreached a place which is so infested by flies and bees that theinhabitants cannot move out of their houses during the day. 

Their houses are literally formed one cell within another, five or sixin number, in order to prevent the ingress of the insects. One of theirparty, who went out, returned with his eyes and head in such a statethat he was ill for three days. 

Hence they moved on to Zarmawha, an independent sultan, who had twicebeen in rebellion against the sheikh. Belial was received with scantcourtesy; but the sultan was very civil to the white men, to whom hesent a variety of dishes of food, and was highly pleased with thepresents he received, observing that the English were a race of sultans. 

Mr Toole's sufferings increased, though they managed to reach Loggun, on the banks of the Shary. As they approached, a person, apparently ofconsequence, advanced towards them, bending nearly double and joininghis hands, followed by his slaves, stooping still lower than himself. He explained that he was deputed by the sultan to welcome the white men, and, preceding their party, conducted them to a habitation which hadbeen prepared for them, consisting of four separate huts, well-builtwithin an outer wall, with a large entrance-hall for their servants. 

Next morning Denham was sent for to appear before the sultan, when hewas preceded through the streets by ten immense negroes of high birth, with grey beards, bare heads, and carrying large clubs. After passingthrough several dark rooms, he was conducted to a large square court, where some hundred persons were assembled, seated on the ground. In themiddle was a vacant space to which he was led, and desired to sit down. Two slaves in striped cotton _tabes_, who were fanning the air through alattice work of cane, pointed out the retirement of the sultan. Thisshade was removed, and something alive was discovered on a carpet, wrapped up in silk _tobes_, with the head enveloped in shawls, andnothing but the eyes visible. The whole court prostrated themselves andpoured sand on their heads, while eight _frum-frums_ and as many hornsblew a loud and very harsh-sounding salute. 

This great man, however, was not above doing a stroke of business, for, after enquiring whether the major wished to buy female slaves, heobserved: "If you do, go no further; I have some hundreds, and will sellthem to you as cheap as anyone. "

Though a much handsomer race than the Bornouese, the Loggun people arethieves, and, judging from their chiefs, great rascals. It appearedthat there were two sultans, father and son, both of whom applied to themajor for poison that would not lie, to be used against each other, theyounger one offering him three female slaves as a bribe. 

The province of which Loggun is the capital, is called Begharmi. Thepeople are in many respects similar to the Bornouese, with whom they areconstantly at war. They possess a strong force of cavalry, clothed insuits of thick quilted armour, with helmets of the same material, easilypenetrated however by bullets, though impervious to arrows. Theirhorses are also covered in the manner of their riders. So unwieldy arethese warriors, that they require to be assisted when mounting theirsteeds. Their weapons are long, double-headed spears, something likepitchforks with flattened prongs. 

Shortly after this a large body of them, five thousand strong, with twohundred chiefs were defeated by the Bornouese, when all the chiefs and aconsiderable number of the men were slain. 

The Loggunese, however, have made considerable progress in the arts ofpeace. The clothes woven by them are superior to those of Bornou, beingbeautifully glazed, and finely dyed with indigo; and they make use evenof a current coin of iron, somewhat in the form of a horse-shoe, whichnone of the neighbouring nations possess. Their country abounds ingrain and cattle, and is diversified with forests of acacias and otherbeautiful trees. 

As they proceeded on their journey, poor Mr Toole grew worse. 

Escaping several dangers, they returned to Angala, where at first themajor hoped his poor friend might recover, but on the 26th of February acold shiver seized him, and just before noon he expired, completelyworn-out and exhausted. He had scarcely completed his 22nd year, andwas in every sense an amiable and promising young officer. 

On Denham's return to Kouka, he found the sheikh with a large armycollected to attack the Begharmis, who were scouring the country. As, however, he was suffering from fever, he went on to Kouka, where heheard of the death of Dr Oudney at a place called Murmur. The sheikh'sexpedition was successful, and the people were highly delighted with theplunder which had been obtained. 

Sickness, however, was at work in the city. Omar, an Arab, who hadarrived with Mr Toole, died, and Columbus caught the fever, and had totake to his bed. The major, however, was cheered by the arrival of MrTyrhwit, who had been sent out by the British Government to strengthenthe party. He brought a present of two swords, two brace of pistols, adagger, and two gold watches, which were received by El Kanemy withgreat delight. On hearing that some rockets had also been forwarded, heexclaimed: "What besides all these riches! There are no friends likethese; they are all true; and I see by the book that, if the prophet hadlived only a short time longer, they would have become Moslem. "

On the termination of the Rhamadan, June 1st, the sheikh again took thefield, proceeding eastward along the shores of the Chad, against apowerful Biddomah chief, called Amanook, who held a strong position onsome islands near the shores of the lake. The object of the expeditionhad been kept a great secret till the neighbourhood of the country to beattacked was reached. The army marched through the country of theShooas, a people who live entirely in tents of leather and huts ofrushes, changing but from necessity, on the approach of an enemy or wantof pasturage for their numerous flocks. They seldom fight, except intheir own defence. Their principal food is the milk of camels, in whichthey are rich, and also that of cows and sheep; often they take no othernourishment for months together. They have the greatest contempt forand hatred of the negro nations, and yet are always tributary either toone black sultan or another. There is no example of their ever havingpeopled a town or established themselves in a permanent home. 

The sheikh having halted the main body of his army, Barca Gana advancedwith a thousand men, being joined also by four hundred Dugganahs. Theyfound the chief, Amanook, posted, with all his cattle and people, on anarrow pass between two lakes, having in front of him a lake which wasneither deep nor wide, but full of holes, with a deceitful, muddybottom. 

The sheikh's troops had long been without food, and the sight of thebleating flocks and lowing herds was too much for them. Barca Gana, however, seeing the strength of the enemy's position, wished to halt, and to send over spearmen on foot, with shields, who would lead theattack. The younger chiefs however exclaimed: "What! be so near them asthis, and not eat them? No, let us on: this night their flocks andwomen will be ours!" In this cry the Shooas also joined. The generalyielded, and the attack commenced. The Arabs led the way with theDugganahs. On arriving in the middle of the lake the horses sunk up totheir saddle-bows; most of them were out of their depth, and othersfloundering in the mud; the ammunition of the riders became wet, theirguns useless. As they neared the shore, Amanook's men hurled at themwith unerring aim a volley of their light spears, charging with theirstrongest and best horses, trained and accustomed to the water, while atthe same time another body, having crossed the lake higher up, came bythe narrow pass and cut off the retreat of all those who had advancedinto the lake. The sheikh's people now fell thickly. Barca Gana, although attacking against his own judgment, was among the foremost, andreceived a severe spear-wound in his back, which pierced through four_tobes_ and his iron chain armour, while attacked by five chiefs, whoseemed determined on finishing him. One of these he thrust through withhis long spear, and his own people coming to his rescue with a freshhorse, he was saved, though thirty of his followers were either killedor captured by Amanook's people. 

It was expected that Amanook would attack the camp, but, instead of sodoing, he sent word that he would treat with the sheikh, and that hewished for peace. If peace was not to be obtained, however, he swore bythe Prophet that he would turn fish, and fly to the centre of the water;and, should even the sheikh himself come, he would bring the _wady_against him. 

The major and his companions visited the general, whom they foundsuffering much from his wound, but Denham acting as surgeon, it in ashort time healed. Barca Gana then strongly advised him to return toKouka, showing that his hopes of getting to the east would certainly bedisappointed. 

A little sheikh, who had arrived from Fezzan, endeavoured to poison themind of El Kanemy against the English, telling him that they hadconquered India and probably fully intended to attack Bornou. 

On the major's return to Kouka he found that Captain Clapperton had justreturned from Soudan. On going to the hut where he was lodged, Denhamdid not know his friend as he lay extended on the floor, so great wasthe alteration in him; and he was about to leave the place, whenClapperton called out his name. Notwithstanding this, so great wereClapperton's spirits, that he spoke of returning to Soudan after therains. He had performed a very interesting journey, the particulars ofwhich will shortly be narrated. 

The sheikh had just before made himself very unpopular with the femaleportion of his subjects, having, in consequence of his determination toimprove the morality of his people, issued an order such as the mostsavage of despots have never ventured to enact. One morning the gatesof the city were kept closed at daylight, and sixty women who had a badreputation were brought before him. Five were sentenced to be hanged inthe public market, and four flogged. Two of the latter expired underthe lash, while the former were dragged, with their heads shaved, through the market, with ropes round their necks, and were thenstrangled and thrown by twos into a hole previously prepared. 

The effect on the people was such that a hundred families quitted Koukato take up their abode in other towns, where this rigour did not exist. 

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

CLAPPERTON'S JOURNEY TO SOUDAN. 

EXPEDITION OF CLAPPERTON AND OUDNEY TO SOUDAN--BEAUTY OF THE WOMEN--CRUELTY OF THE ARABS--DR. OUDNEY PRESCRIBES FOR THE SICK--REACHKATAGUM--SLAVES OFFERED AS PRESENTS--DEATH OF DR. OUDNEY--CLAPPERTONARRIVES AT KANO--CITY DESCRIBED--HAUSSA BOXERS--SACKATOO REACHED--RECEPTION BY SULTAN BELLO--GREAT INTELLIGENCE OF THE SULTAN--WONDER ATENGLISH CUSTOMS--DESIRES THAT A CONSUL AND DOCTOR MAY BE SENT TO HIM--CLAPPERTON LEAVES SACKATOO--SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST--DANGEROUS JOURNEY--RETURNS TO KOUKA--VISIT TO LAKE CHAD--JOURNEY ACROSS THE DESERT TOTRIPOLI. 

It will be remembered that Captain Clapperton, accompanied by DrOudney, set out from Kouka on the 14th of December, 1823, for thepurpose of exploring Soudan. Their party consisted of Jacob, a Jew, twoservants, and three men of Fezzan. They had three saddle-horses andfour sumpter mules. They travelled in company with a _kafila_ in whichwere twenty-seven Arab merchants and about fifty natives of Bornou. Most of the Arabs rode on horseback, some having, besides, a led horse, but all the rest of the party were on foot. 

Doctor Oudney was of great service to the _hadji_, who had injured hishand by the bursting of a gun. He invariably pitched his tent close tothat of the doctor, who regularly dressed it for him. 

Passing old Birnie, they had after two days to pass through anundulating country, frequently wading across hollows filled with water. Having to cross a river, the _hadji_ had provided himself with a largeraft, on which his own and his friends' baggage was carried across; butthe Arabs, who passed lower down the river, were dreadfully frightened. The greatest difficulty was with the camels and female slaves, the womenscreaming and squalling loudly. The camels were towed across, one manswimming before with a halter in his teeth, while another kept beatingthe animal behind with a stick, while it every now and then attempted toturn back, or bobbed its head under water. 

The next day they were exposed to another danger. The grass having beenset on fire, the flames advanced rapidly, and must have put them all toflight, had they not sought shelter within the ruined walls of oldBirnie. 

They passed through numerous towns and villages, the people belonging toa tribe of Shooa Arabs. The women were really beautiful. They woretheir hair in a form which at a distance might be mistaken for a helmet, a large braid at the crown having some resemblance to a crest. 

They had now to pass through a country inhabited by Bedites, who had notembraced Islamism. Protected by the natural fastnesses of theircountry, they were held in dread and abhorrence by all the faithful. The road lay over very elevated ground, and so low was the temperaturein the morning, that the water in their shallow vessels was crusted withthin flakes of ice, and the water-skins themselves were frozen as hardas a board. The horses and camels stood shivering with cold. DrOudney also became extremely ill, probably from the low temperature. 

They had just entered the country of the Bedites when two men were met, who were immediately seized by the Arabs; one was a Shooa and the othera negro. One of the Bornouese had inflicted a dreadful cut under theleft ear of the negro, and, notwithstanding his wound, they led the poorfellow by a rope fastened round his neck. Clapperton could not refrainfrom beating the merciless Bornouese and at the same time threatening tolodge the contents of his gun in his head if he repeated his cruelties. He took occasion to impress on the minds of the Arabs how unworthy itwas of brave men to behave so cruelly to their prisoners, and hethoroughly shamed them into good behaviour. 

Having crossed the river You, they reached the city of Katagum, when aservant of the governor met them with a present, and, accompanied by aband of horsemen with drummers drumming and two bards singing thepraises of their master, they entered the city. Here they remained, while the caravan pursued its course. 

This was the most eastern of the Felatah towns. They were here visitedby a Tripolitan merchant who was very rich, possessing no less than fivehundred slaves and a vast number of horses. 

Through all the towns and villages which they had passed, the sick werebrought to be cured, while numbers came for remedies against all sortsof fancied diseases. 

The governor received them in the most simple way. They found himseated under a rude canopy, on a low bank of earth, with three old menattending on him. They shook hands and then sat down on the floor. Hewas highly pleased with the presents he received, and offered anythingthey might wish for, especially slaves. Clapperton told them that aslave was unknown in England, and that the moment one set foot onBritish ground he was instantly free. When he heard that their onlyobject was to see the world, he told them that they must go to theSultan Bello, who was a learned man and would, be glad to meet peoplewho had seen so much. 

A lucky omen, as the natives supposed it, occurred. Among the presentsoffered by the king was ajar of honey; this one of the servants upsetwithout breaking the pot. Had it been broken, the omen would have beenunfortunate; as it was, the governor was highly pleased, and ordered thepoor to be called in to lick up the honey. They rushed in, squabblingamong themselves. One old man, having a long beard, came off with adouble allowance, for he let it sweep up the honey and then sucked itclean. 

Dr Oudney soon after this became too weak to sit his horse, but stillhe begged to be carried on. They therefore travelled forward to thetown of Murmur. Here they were compelled to stop, though the doctor thenext morning, after drinking a cup of coffee, with the assistance of hiscompanions dressed. It was soon evident that he would be unable toproceed. He was carried back into his tent, where in a short timeCaptain Clapperton, with unspeakable grief, witnessed his death withouta struggle or a groan. He was but thirty-two years of age. His friendhad a deep grave dug, and enclosed it with a wall of clay to keep offthe beasts of prey. He had also two sheep killed and distributed amongthe poor. 

Ill as Captain Clapperton himself was, and now left alone among strangepeople, the loss to him was severe and afflicting. Still, his ardentspirit triumphing over sorrow and trouble, he pursued his journey, andon the 20th of January he entered Kano, the great emporium of thekingdom of Haussa. He dressed himself in his naval uniform to make animpression on the inhabitants of the city, which, from the descriptionof the Arabs, he expected to see of surprising grandeur. Hisdisappointment was therefore great, when he traversed the place. Hefound the houses nearly a quarter of a mile from the walls, and in manyparts scattered into detached groups between large stagnant pools ofwater. Not an individual turned his head round to gaze at him, allbeing intent on their own business. The market-place was bordered tothe east and west by an extensive swamp, covered with weeds and waterand frequented by wild ducks, cranes, and vultures. The house which hadbeen provided for him was close to a morass, the pestilentialexhalations of which were increased by the sewers of the houses allopening into the street. 

Fatigued and sick, he lay down on a mat which the owner had spread forhim. His mansion had six chambers above, extremely dark, and five roomsbelow, with a dismal-looking entrance, a back court, draw-well, andother conveniences. Little holes, or windows, admitted a glimmeringlight into the apartments. Nevertheless, this was thought a handsomemansion. 

All the Arab merchants, not prevented by sickness, who had travelledwith him from Kouka, came to see him, looking more like ghosts than men, as almost all strangers at the time were suffering from intermittentfever. 

The governor gave him a private audience, and seemed highly pleased withthe presents he received, promising to forward them on to his master, the Sultan Bello, at Sackatoo, after his own return from an expeditionwhich would occupy him fifteen days. 

During the interval Captain Clapperton suffered greatly from fever. 

The newspapers which he here received from Major Denham apprised him ofBelzoni's attempt to penetrate to Timbuctoo by the way of Fez. 

On returning from a ride he met two large bodies of troops, who were toaccompany the governor, each consisting of five hundred horse and foot. The latter were armed with bows and arrows, the cavalry with shields, swords, and spears, and sumptuously accoutred. The swords were broad, straight, and long, and were indeed the very blades formerly wielded bythe knights of Malta, having been sent from that island to Tripoli, where they were exchanged for bullocks and carried across the desert toBornou, thence to Haussa, and, at last, re-mounted at Kano for the useof the inhabitants of almost all central Africa. The shields werecovered with hides of animals, and were generally round; but there weresome of an oval shape, in the centre of which was scored a perfectMaltese cross. He observed crosses of other forms cut in the doors ofthe houses. 

Several camels, loaded with quilted cotton armour, both for men andhorses, were in attendance. This armour was arrow proof; but it isseldom worn, except in actual combat. The saddles had high peaks beforeand behind, and the stirrup-irons were in the shape of a fire-shovel. 

A nephew of the Sultan Bello paid him a visit the next morning and toldhim, after taking a cup of tea, which he liked very much, that he hadhitherto looked upon a Christian as little better than a monster, thoughhe now confessed that he liked the traveller. Another nephew came also, a most intelligent young man, who read and spoke Arabic with fluency, and was very anxious to see everything, and to hear all about England. 

He found the market well supplied with every necessary and luxury inrequest among the people of the interior. The sheikh, who superintendedit, however, fixed the prices of all wares, for which he was entitled toa commission; and, after every bargain, the seller returned to the buyera stated part of the price by way of a blessing, or a "luck-penny" as itwould be called in England. Cowries were here used as coins, thoughsomewhat cumbersome, as twenty were worth only a halfpenny; thus, inpaying a pound sterling, nine thousand six hundred shells had to becounted out. As he remarks: "The great advantage of the use of thecowrie is that forgery is excluded, as it cannot possibly be imitated. "The natives show also great dexterity in counting out even the largestsums. 

The butchers were numerous, and understood showing off animals to thebest advantage. Sometimes they even stuck a little sheep's wool on aleg of goat's flesh, to make it pass for mutton. When a fat bull wasbrought to the market to be killed, its horns were dyed red with_henna_, the drummers attended, a mob soon collected, the news of theanimal's size and fatness spread, and all ran to buy. Near at hand weresmall wood fires stuck round with wooden skewers, on which small bits offat and lean meat, the size of a penny-piece, were roasting, superintended by a woman with a mat dish placed on her knees, from whichshe served her guests, who were squatted round her. Indeed, the marketwas as busy a one as can be seen in any country. Jugglers also, likethose of India, were practising their tricks with snakes, havingextracted the venomous fangs. 

Haussa is celebrated for its boxers, the most expert of whom are foundamong the butchers. Clapperton having intimated his willingness to payfor a performance, a number of combatants arrived, attended by twodrummers and the whole body of butchers. A ring was soon formed, by themaster of the ceremonies throwing dust on the spectators to make themstand back. The drummers entered the ring, followed by one of theboxers, who was quite naked with the exception of a skin round hismiddle. Placing himself in an attitude as if to oppose an antagonist, he wrought his muscles into action, and then went round the ring showinghis arms to the bystanders and exclaiming: "I am a hyaena! I am a Hon!I am able to kill all that oppose me!" To which the spectators replied, "The blessing of God be upon thee!--Thou art a hyaena: thou art a lion. "

A number of fighters then came forward, when they were next ranged inpairs. If they happened to be friends, they laid their left breasttogether twice, and exclaimed: "We are lions! we are friends!" Then oneleft the ring, and another was brought forward. If the two did notrecognise one another as friends, the combat immediately commenced. They parried with the left hand open, and struck as opportunity offeredwith the right, generally aiming at the pit of the stomach and under theribs. Occasionally they closed with one another, when one seized theother's head under his arm and beat it with his fist, at the same timestriking with the knee between his antagonist's thighs. Indeed, muchthe same brutality was exhibited as in English prize-fights. Clapperton, hearing that they sometimes gouged out each other's eyes, and that such combats seldom terminated without one or more beingkilled, having satisfied his curiosity, ordered the battle to cease, andgave the promised reward. 

The custom in this place is to bury the people in their own houses, which are occupied as usual by the poorer classes; but when a great manis buried, the house is for ever after abandoned. A corpse beingprepared for interment, the first chapter of the Koran is read over it. The funeral takes place the same day. The bodies of slaves are draggedout of the town and left a prey to vultures and wild beasts in mostplaces; but in Kano they are thrown into the morass or nearest pool ofwater. 

On the 22nd of February, Clapperton commenced his journey towardsSackatoo, in company with an Arab merchant, Mahomet Jolly, having lefthis Jew servant, Jacob, to return in case of his death, with his effectsto Bornou. 

At the towns where he stopped he was generally taken for a _fighi_, orteacher, and was pestered to write out charms. One day his washerwomaninsisted on being paid with a charm in writing, that would induce peopleto buy earthenware of her. 

After travelling for some days he was met by an escort of one hundredand fifty horsemen with drums and trumpets, sent by Sultan Bello toconduct him to his capital, which he reached on the 16th of March. He, as usual, dressed himself in his naval uniform; and, as he approachedthe gates, he was met by a messenger from the sultan, to bid him welcomeand to acquaint him that his master, who was out on an expedition, wouldreturn to Sackatoo in the evening. 

Large crowds were out to look at him, and he entered the city amid thehearty welcomes of young and old. He was conducted to the house of the_gadado_, or vizier, where apartments were provided for him and hisservants. The _gadado_ himself arrived in the evening, and wasexcessively polite, but would not drink tea with him, as he said that hewas a stranger in their land, and had not yet eaten of his bread. 

Next morning the sultan sent for him. Clapperton found him seated on asmall carpet, between two pillars supporting the roof a thatched house. The walls and pillars were painted blue and white in the Moorish taste. Giving him a hearty welcome, the sultan at once entered intoconversation. He asked numerous questions about Europe, and seemedperfectly well acquainted with the names of the more ancient sects, inquiring whether his visitor was a Nestorian or a Socinian. Clappertonreplied that he was a Protestant, but had to acknowledge that he was notsufficiently versed in religious subtleties to solve all the knottypoints on which Bello wished for information. He then ordered somebooks belonging to Major Denham to be brought, among which was hisjournal, and they were all in a handsome manner returned. He spoke withgreat bitterness of Boo-Khaloum for making predatory inroads into histerritories, next putting the puzzling question: "What was your frienddoing there?" Clapperton replied that Major Denham had no other objectthan to make a short excursion into the country. 

The sultan was a noble-looking man, somewhat portly, with short, curling, black beard, a small mouth, a fine forehead, Grecian nose, andlarge, black eyes. He was habited in a light-blue cotton _tobe_, withwhite muslin turban, the small end of which he wore over the nose andmouth in the Turaick fashion. 

This was the first of many visits Clapperton paid him. 

He was highly pleased with the various presents which the King ofEngland had sent him. He asked what he could give in return. Clapperton replied that the most acceptable service he could renderwould be to assist the King of England in putting a stop to the slavetrade. 

"What!" he asked; "have you no slaves in England? What do you do forservants?"

He was much astonished at hearing that regular wages were paid, and thateven soldiers were fed, clothed, and received pay from government. 

"You are a beautiful people, " he observed. 

The usual question was also put: "What are you come for?" Clappertonreplied, "To see the country--its rivers, mountains, and inhabitants, etcetera. My people had hitherto supposed yours devoid of all religion, and not far removed from the condition of wild beasts, whereas I nowfind them to be civilised, learned, humane, and pious. "

On another occasion Clapperton exhibited a planisphere of the heavenlybodies. The sultan knew all the signs of the zodiac, some of theconstellations, and many of the stars by their Arabic names. He wasgreatly interested with the sextant, or, as he called it, "thelooking-glass of the sun. " Clapperton showed him how to obtain anobservation with it. 

The sultan made minute inquiries as to the conquests of the English inIndia, and also the reason of their attack on Algiers, evidentlysuspecting that they contemplated similar proceedings against hiscountry. Clapperton explained that the King of England had a vastnumber of Moslems who were his willing subjects, and that their objectin India was to protect the natives and to give them good laws, not totyrannise over them; while, with regard to Algiers, the Algerines hadbeen punished because they persisted in making slaves of Europeans. 

The sultan, however, as after events proved, was far from satisfied, hisfears being increased by the Arabs, who were aware that the chief objectof the English was to open up a trade from the west coast with thecountry, and, should they succeed, they themselves would thus bedeprived of their trade across the desert from the north. 

At Clapperton's request the sultan ordered a chart of the Quorra to bedrawn by one of his learned men, who asserted that that river enteredthe sea at Fundah, near a town called Jagra, governed by one of Bello'ssubjects. 

This made the traveller still more anxious to proceed down that river tothe coast, but the sultan, though he at first promised an escort, ultimately declined sending it, declaring that he could not sanction sorash an enterprise, and that his guest could only return home by the wayhe had come. 

From an Arab chief residing here Clapperton obtained much informationabout Mungo Park and the way in which he had lost his life, whichconfirmed what had previously been heard. 

The sultan made an especial request that an English consul and physicianshould be sent to reside at Sackatoo, and Clapperton promised that hewould represent the matter to his own government, and he had no doubtthat his request would be complied with. He also begged that guns androckets might be sent out by way of Tripoli and Bornou, under the escortof an Arab leader, El Wordee, who had conducted the last caravan. ThisClapperton had no doubt was a device of El Wordee's, to have theopportunity of conducting another English mission and fleecing them ashe had done the last. When the Arab found that his plans were opposedby the traveller, he set to work to revenge himself, and by hismachinations succeeded in compelling Clapperton to abandon his intendedjourney to the sea-coast by way of Youri. 

Frequent attempts were made to induce the traveller to turn Mahommedan, especially by a famous old _maraboo_; but after his failure the Moslemappeared to have given up the attempt as hopeless. 

At length, on the 4th of May, he was allowed to take his departure fromSackatoo, escorted by one the sultan's officers, with a party ofmerchants and their slaves. As the country was in a disturbed state, they pushed on night and day through a dense underwood, which tore theirclothes and scratched the legs of the riders. Several of the poornatives on foot, who had taken advantage of the escort to pass throughthis part of the country, overcome with fatigue and thirst, sank downnever to rise. One of Clapperton's servants also dropped, apparentlydead; but his master had him lashed on the camel, when, throwing up aquantity of bile, he soon appeared as fresh as ever. The next day manyof the horses died, and all the people were overcome with fatigue andthirst. On the third day no less than nine men and six horses werefound to have perished on the road. 

Clapperton was taken to the town of Kashna, where an old Arab chief, whohad resided there for some years, took compassion on him and sent anelderly black slave woman to nurse him, with two younger attendants. This was the first offer of the kind he had ever received from aMussulman, and under their care and attendance he soon recovered hishealth and strength. 

After meeting with numerous adventures and exposed to many dangers, onthe 8th of July he reached Kouka, when he found that Major Denham wasabsent on a journey to the east side of the Chad. Hillman, thecarpenter, was busily employed in finishing a covered cart, to be usedas a carriage for the sheikh's wives. The workmanship reflected thegreatest credit on his ingenuity, though it was neither light norhandsome. 

On the 16th of August, soon after Major Denham returned from theeastward, he and Captain Clapperton, accompanied by William Hillman thecarpenter, took their departure from Kouka, with the intention of firstvisiting the shores of Lake Chad and then joining the _kafila_ which wason its way from Soudan to Tripoli. On the morning of their departurethey went to take leave of the sheikh, whom they found in his garden. He gave them a letter to the King of England, and a list of requests, and expressed himself very kindly. At parting he offered his hand, which excited an involuntary exclamation from his attendants. 

Meeting with no event of any especial interest on their visit to thelake, they joined the caravan on the 14th of September. 

Throughout the journey they found that they got on as well, if notbetter than their companions, who looked to them both for safety andprotection, as well as for the direction of the route. They had upwardsof fifty miles to cross, over a frightful waste of movable sand-hills, to Zow; many of the poor children, panting with thirst, scarcely able tocreep along. 

At Bilma they laid in a stock of dates for the next fourteen days, during which man and beast nearly subsisted upon them, the slaves fortwenty days together mostly getting no other food. 

Then came the stony desert, which the camels, already worn-out by theheavy sand-hills, had to cross for nine days. El Wahr is of surpassingdreariness, the rocks a dark sandstone of the most gloomy and barrenappearance; the wind whistles through the narrow fissures, where not ablade of grass finds nourishment, and, as the traveller creeps under thelowering crags to take shelter for the night, he stumbles over theskeleton of some starved human being. 

On the day they made El Wahr, and the two following, camels in greatnumbers dropped down and died, or were quickly killed and the meatbrought in by the hungry slaves. 

Such are some of the ordinary events of a journey across the desert. 

On the 21st of January, 1825, they reached Tripoli, and soon afterembarked for Leghorn. Before leaving, however, Major Denham obtainedthe freedom of a Mandara boy, whose liberation from slavery he had paidfor some months before. He now got the pacha to put his seal on thenecessary document, the only way in which a Christian can give freedomto a slave in a Mahommedan country. 

The travellers were long detained by quarantine at Leghorn, so that thethree survivors of the expedition did not teach England till the 1st ofJune. 

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON'S SECOND JOURNEY. 

CAPTAIN CLAPPERTON'S SECOND JOURNEY, ACCOMPANIED BY RICHARD LANDER--JOINED BY CAPTAIN PEARCE--MESSRS. MORRISON AND DICKSON--REACHES BENIN--JOURNEY OF DICKSON AND COLUMBUS--THEIR DISAPPEARANCE--CLAPPERTON STARTSFROM BADAGARRY--JOINED BY MR. HOUTSON--EXPEDITION REACHES JANNAH--ATTACKED BY FEVER--WELL RECEIVED--FONDNESS OF PEOPLE FOR DOGS--DEATH OFCAPTAIN PEARCE AND DR. MORRISON--THE KING OF EYEO AND HIS WIVES--BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY--FELATAH VILLAGES--ENTER YOURIBA--THE KING'S COURT--ENTERTAINED WITH A PLAY--MR. HOUTSON RETURNS AND DIES--CLAPPERTON, WITHLANDER AND PASCO, PROCEEDS ALONE--REACHES WAWA, NEAR THE NIGER--THEWIDOW ZUMA--INQUIRIES ABOUT PARK--VISITS THE SCENE OF HIS DEATH--WELLTREATED BY KING OF WAWA--ENTERS KINGDOM OF NYFFE--LAX MAHOMMEDANS--DESOLATED BY WARFARE--REACHES KANO--LEAVES LANDER WITH THE BAGGAGE, ANDPROCEEDS TO SACKATOO ALONE--TRYING JOURNEY--WELL RECEIVED BY BELLO--SIEGE OF ZEG-ZEG--ABSURD STYLE OF FIGHTING--BELLO SEIZES HIS PROPERTY--LANDER ARRIVES AT SACKATOO--ILLNESS AND DEATH OF CLAPPERTON--BURIED BYLANDER--LANDER SETS OUT WITH INTENTION OF EXPLORING THE NIGER--WARNEDNOT TO PROCEED SOUTH--LEAVES KANO FOR THE WEST--TAKEN TO ZARIA--ALLOWEDTO PROCEED--CONTINUES JOURNEY ALONE TO BADAGARRY, AND ARRIVES INENGLAND. 

From the favourable report which Clapperton on his return home broughtof the Sultan Bello of Sackatoo, and his wish to open up a commercialintercourse with the English, the Government determined at once to sendout another expedition, in the hopes that that object might be carriedout, and that means might be found for putting a check on the slavetrade in that part of Africa. 

Clapperton, now raised to the rank of commander, was placed at the headof the expedition. Captain Pearce and a Mr Morrison, a naval surgeon, were appointed to serve under him. He also engaged the services of MrDickson, another surgeon, and of a very intelligent young man, RichardLander, who was to act as his servant. 

As Sultan Bello stated that two large towns under his government existednear the coast, called Funda and Raka, and that he would send downmessengers, whom his friends would meet on their arrival, it was settledthat the expedition should proceed to the Bight of Benin, and thencemake their way to Sackatoo. Losing no time, the very year after hisreturn Clapperton sailed from Portsmouth on board HM sloop "Brazen, "and, touching at Sierra Leone, arrived at Benin on the 26th of November. 

Mr Dickson, wishing to make his way alone to Sackatoo, was landed atWhidah, taking with him Columbus, Denham's former servant, and fromthence, in company with a Portuguese of the name of De Sousa, he set offfor Dahomey. Here he was well received and was sent forward to a placecalled Shar, seventeen days' journey from Dahomey. From thence he wasknown to have set forward with another escort, but from that timenothing whatever was heard of him or his attendant, Columbus. 

At Benin Clapperton met an English merchant of the name of Houtson, whoadvised him not to ascend the river, but to take a route from Badagarryacross the country to Katunga, the capital of Youriba. 

Under the sanction of the King of Badagarry, the mission set out on itslong and perilous journey on the 7th of December, accompanied by MrHoutson. 

At Badagarry Clapperton had engaged an old negro, who had been a sailor, named Pasco, and who, speaking English, was likely to prove useful as aninterpreter. 

Travelling on sixty miles, the mission entered the town of Jannah. Bythis time all its members were suffering greatly from the climate;Captain Pearce and Dr Morrison especially were very ill, and RichardLander was also suffering. Those who were able had ridden on horseback, but the sick were carried in hammocks. 

They halted in the palaver-house, an open shed, which was soonsurrounded by thousands of people making a great noise. Here theywaited till the caboceer, or chief man, made his appearance. He camegorgeously attired in a large yellow silk shirt and red velvet cap, witha silver-mounted whip ornamented with beads in one hand, and a stickcovered with bells in the other, which he rattled whenever he spoke. Hetook his seat on a large leathern cushion, placed on a scarlet cloth. When Captain Clapperton was going to sit down on the cloth, theattendant ladies pulled it from under him; so he took his seat on a mat. The females then sang in chorus very beautifully. The members of thecommission then shook hands with the caboceer, who said he was glad tosee them, and that whatever they had to say to the King of Eyeo mustfirst be delivered to him. Their reply was that they had nothing tosay, except to request that the king would grant them a passage throughhis country. His answer was that he was glad, that they should see theKing of Eyeo's face, and that he would give them a good path and forwardthem on without trouble; but that they must ride on horseback, as hispeople were unaccustomed to carry hammocks. They were then shown to ahouse, where they remained during their stay. 

As Captain Clapperton and Mr Houtson walked through the town, they werefollowed by an immense crowd, who rushed over the baskets in themarket-place, the boys darting under the stalls, the women bawling afterthose who had scattered their goods; yet not a word of disrespect wasuttered to the strangers. They remarked the kind way in which the dogsin this place were treated, their necks ornamented with collars ofdifferent colours, and cowries. No great man was without one, whichalways has a boy to take care of it. 

The people, hearing that a Brazilian brig had arrived at Badagarry, werepreparing to set out on a slaving expedition to a place to the eastward. 

Slave-dealers as the people were, they deserve to be commended for theirhonesty; for during the whole journey hitherto, although the mission hadhad ten relays of carriers, not a single article had been stolen. 

A few days after, Dr Morrison, who continued to get worse, requested toreturn, hoping that the sea air would restore him. Mr Houtsonaccompanied him back to Jannah. The next day Dawson, a seaman, who, while suffering from ague caught at Jannah, had fallen off into thewater in the morning, died in the evening. Three days afterwardsCaptain Pearce, who, supported by his wonderful spirits, insisted uponcoming on, grew much morse, and at nine in the evening he breathed hislast. 

The death of his friend was a serious loss to Clapperton, for he waseminently qualified by his talents and perseverance to render essentialservice to the mission. 

Another three days passed, when Mr Houtson returned with the sad newsthat Dr Morrison had died at Jannah on the same day as Captain Pearce. 

Mr Houtson, though unwell, still insisted on accompanying Clapperton. 

Powerful as the king of Eyeo pretended to be, he employed his wives inevery place to trade for him, and, like women of the common class, theywere seen carrying large loads on their heads from town to town. 

On the 6th of January, 1826, the travellers entered the town of Chocho, beyond which their road lay through beautiful rocky valleys, cultivatedin many places, and planted with cotton, corn, yarns, and bananas, andmany watered by little streams. Numbers of little huts were seenperched on the tops and in the hollows of the hills. Beautiful as thecountry was, it was the scene of the miserable devastating wars carriedon in all parts of Africa for the purpose of obtaining slaves to be soldon the coast. 

On the 8th they entered Duffo, a town containing fifteen thousandpeople. The crowd which came to see them in the house where they werelodged was immense. When the people were told to go away, they said:"No; if white man would not come out, they would come in to see him. "

They passed numerous other large towns, and were received in a friendlymanner by the caboceers, and were well supplied with fowls, sheep, andgoats. Yet the people, though kind, were exceedingly curious, andallowed them but little rest. 

Further eastward they passed a number of Felatah villages, whoseinhabitants live there as they do in most other parts of Africa, attending to the pasturage of their cattle, without interfering in thecustoms of the country, or receiving any annoyance from the natives. Some of them, as they passed, brought them milk to drink. 

Further on, however, they came to a number of villages, some of whichhad been destroyed by the Felatahs, their walls being already coveredwith weeds. 

As they approached Katunga, the capital of Youriba, the caboceer, withan enormous escort, came out to meet them. His musicians kept drumming, playing, dancing, and singing all night. 

The country round was well-cultivated. The city, as they saw it lyingbelow them, appeared surrounded and studded with green, shady trees, forming a belt round the base of a granite mountain. 

The king was found seated under the verandah of his house, with two redand blue umbrellas, raised on large poles, held over him by slaves. 

The crowd, as they advanced, had to be kept back with sticks and whips;but they were used in a good-natured manner. 

Clapperton was told that he must prostrate himself before the king; butthis he declined doing, saying that he would turn back unless he wasallowed to act as he would do before his own sovereign; that he wouldonly take off his hat, and bow, and shake hands with his majesty, if hepleased. The king agreed to this, and the English were introduced indue form. 

Behind the king were an immense number of ladies, so closely packed thatit was impossible to count them. They stood up as the strangersapproached, and cheered them, shouting "Oh, oh, oh!" equivalent to"Hurra!" while the men outside joined them. 

The king had on a large white shirt, with a blue one under it, and apasteboard crown, covered with blue cotton, made apparently by someEuropean on the coast, and sent up to him as a present. 

Comfortable apartments were provided for them, and in the evening theking himself made his appearance, plainly dressed, with a long staff inhis hand, saying that he could not sleep till he had personallyascertained how they were. 

They spent two very pleasant days here, resting after the fatigues oftheir journey. The king pressed them to remain to see the nationalamusements, which would begin in about two months. On this, Mr Houtsonenquired whether they were such as took place at Dahomey, on which theking declared that no human beings were ever sacrificed in Youriba, andthat if he ordered the King of Dahomey to desist from such a practice hemust obey him. 

The king had sent forward a messenger to open the way to Nyffe, and tillhe returned they were compelled to remain at the capital. 

They were entertained here with a pantomime, the stage being the openground before his majesty's residences, the characters appearing inmasks. One of them presented an enormous snake, which crept out of ahuge bag and followed the manager round the park while he defendedhimself with a sword. Out of another sack came a man covered apparentlywith white wax, to look like a European, miserably thin and starved withcold. He went through the ceremony of taking snuff and rubbing hisnose. When he walked it was with an awkward gait, treading as the mosttender-footed white man would do in walking with bare soles over roughground. 

Clapperton pretended to be as much pleased with this caricature of awhite man as the natives were. 

Between each act the king's women sang a number of choral songs, joinedby the crowd outside. 

They thankfully heard, on the 6th of March, that the messengers hadreturned, and that they might set out the next day, when the kingpresented Clapperton with a horse and bade him farewell. 

Mr Houtson, who had been for some time suffering from illness, wascompelled to return, and he, too, died on reaching the coast. 

Clapperton, with his faithful attendant, Richard Lander, and the black, Pasco, proceeded alone. They had evidence as they advanced of thedestruction caused by the Felatahs, in the number of villages which hadbeen burnt down, while the inhabitants of others, who had taken toflight, were seen returning to their homes. 

A few days after starting they overtook a large caravan belonging toHaussa, on its way from Gonga and Ashantee. It consisted of upwards ofa thousand men and women, and as many beasts of burden. The head manoffered to carry Clapperton's baggage to Kano for a certain sum. Hesaid that he had been detained in Gonga twelve months on account of thewars. Their goods were carried on bullocks, mules, asses, and also by anumber of female slaves. Some of the merchants had no more propertythan they could carry on their own heads. The chief of the town, however, advised Clapperton not to trust the caravan leader, for, as hehad no means of conveying his luggage, he would undoubtedly leave him inthe lurch. He therefore proceeded as he intended, alone. 

On the 20th of March Clapperton entered the village of Barakina, theinhabitants of which were noted as the best hunters in the country. Ashe entered, a hunter came in from the chase. He wore a leopard-skinover his shoulder, carrying a light spear in his hand, and his bow andarrows slung over his shoulder. He was followed by three cream-coloureddogs, their necks adorned with collars of different-coloured leather. He was followed by a slave carrying a dead antelope. 

On leaving this village he passed through a narrow gorge, shaded by tallmajestic trees. "Here, " he thought to himself, "are the gates leadingto the Niger. "

Next day he arrived before the walls of Wawa, in the neighbourhood ofthe far-famed river. 

Here he met with a most unexpected difficulty. Not only did thedaughter of the governor make love to him, but a rich widow called Zuma, the daughter of an Arab, who, though brown, considered herself a whitewoman, insisted on marrying either him or his servant Richard. Beingabove twenty, she was considered past her prime; but had it not been forher stoutness, which made her look like a walking water-butt, she wouldreally have been handsome. Finding that neither of the white strangerswould accept her offers, she endeavoured to entrap them by giving a wifeto Pasco, by which, according to the customs of the country, sheobtained some sort of claim over his master. The governor soon becamealarmed, declaring that, as the lady had a thousand slaves and enormouswealth, she would very likely drive him from the country, and, shouldthe traveller accept her hand, raise him to the throne of Waiva. In thehopes of ending the matter, Clapperton set off for the Niger, leavinghis baggage to follow him to the ferry of Comie, while he went round byBoussa. Greatly to his annoyance his baggage was, however, detained bythe governor, who feared the widow Zuma's machinations, and refused toliberate it till her return. Clapperton had great difficulty in makinghim believe that he had no sort of communication whatever with the lady. Next day, however, the widow Zuma made her entrance into the city, sitting astride on a fine horse, with housings of scarlet cloth trimmedwith lace. She herself was habited in a red silk mantle, red trousers, and morocco boots, numerous spells enclosed in coloured leather casesbeing hung round her. A large train of armed attendants followed her, while she was preceded by a drummer decked in ostrich feathers. 

Clapperton's resolution, however, was not to be overcome. To settle thematter he made Pasco give back his wife again, assuring the governorthat he had no intention whatever of entering into any of her designs. She, therefore, indignantly shook the dust from her feet, and allowedthe hard-hearted stranger to proceed unmolested on his way. 

He made inquiries of all who could give him any information about thefate of Park. They all asked him whether he intended to take up thevessel, which they said still remained at the bottom. The governor'shead man told him that the boat stuck fast between two rocks; that thepeople in it laid down four anchors ahead, when, the water rushing downfiercely from the rocks as the white men attempted to get on shore, theywere drowned; that crowds of people went to see them, but that the whitemen did not shoot at them, nor did the natives at the people in theboat, as they were too much frightened either to shoot at or assistthem. They said, further, that a great many things were in the boat--books and riches--which the Sultan of Boussa had possession of; thatthere was an abundance of beef, cut in slices and salted, and that thepeople of Boussa who had eaten of it had died because it was humanflesh, which it was well-known white men eat. Another man, however, asserted that the natives did shoot arrows because the people in theboat had fired at them. 

They all treated the affair with much seriousness, looking on the placewhere the boat was wrecked with awe, and telling some most marvellousstories about her and her ill-fated crew. 

Boussa, Clapperton says in his journal, is a large town with extensivewalls, situated on an island in the Quorra, and that to reach it he hadto cross in a canoe, while his horse swam over. 

After Clapperton had offered the sultan the presents he had brought forhim, he inquired about the white men who had been lost in the river. Heseemed _very_ uneasy at the question, and replied that he was a littleboy at the time, and had nothing belonging to them; indeed, Clappertonfound that any books and papers which had been saved were in thepossession of the Sultan of Youri. 

Shortly afterwards a messenger arrived from that chief, inviting him tohis town, and offering to send canoes to convey him up the river; butClapperton, anxious to proceed on his journey, unfortunately declinedthe offer. 

He was here treated in the kindest way possible, and everyone was readyto give him information on all points, with the exception of thatconnected with Park's death. 

The place, however, where the boat struck and the unfortunate crewperished was pointed out to him. It was in the eastern of threechannels into which the river is here divided. A low flat island ofabout a quarter of a mile in breadth lies between the town of Boussa andthe fatal spot. The banks are not more than ten feet above the level ofthe water, which here breaks over a grey slaty rock, extending across tothe eastern shore. 

The sultan made him a present of a fine young horse, and his brother, with many of the principal people, accompanied him as he set out on hisjourney. 

As he rode towards the ford at Comie, he ascended a high rockoverlooking the river. From hence he saw the stream rushing round lowrocky and wood-covered islands and among several islets and rocks, when, taking a sudden bend to the westward, the water dashed on with greatviolence against the foot of the rock on which he sat. Below theislands the river fell three or four feet, while the rest of the channelwas studded with rocks, some of which were above water. It seemed tohim, that even had Park and Martyn passed Boussa, their vessel wouldalmost to a certainty have been destroyed on these rocks, where theywould probably have perished unheard of and unseen. 

The traveller next entered the kingdom of Nyffe, till lately one of thebest cultivated and most flourishing in Africa, but, in consequence ofhaving been the prey of a desolating civil war, now almost ruined. Adispute had arisen between two rival princes, one of whom called in theaid of the Felatahs, who, in their usual way, had ravaged the wholecountry and placed the traitorous prince on the throne. Two largewalled towns had, however, resisted the inroads of the invaders: one ofthese was Coolfu, where Clapperton and the caravan he had now joinedhalted for some days. Although the inhabitants were professedlyMussulmans they were exceedingly lax in their religious duties, and noneof the bigotry so prevalent in other places was discernible. The women, indeed, took an active part in public matters, many of them beingengaged in mercantile pursuits. They have an odd idea about imbibingthe precepts of the Koran; and, to do so, they get some learned man towrite texts from it with black chalk on pieces of board. These are thenwashed, when the water is drunk. They evidently consider it a fetish orcharm of some sort. 

Clapperton now entered the Felatah country of Zeg-zeg. The region, inthe neighbourhood of its capital, Zaria, was the most beautiful he hadseen in Africa, being variegated with hill and dale, resembling in manyrespects the finest parts of England. It was covered with rich pasturesand fields, now blessed with plentiful crops, while the rice grown therewas the finest in Africa. Zaria was said to contain fifty thousandinhabitants, a population exceeding that of Kano. 

Arrived at Kano, he took up his quarters in his former residence. Thecity was, however, in a great state of agitation, in consequence of warraging on every side. Hostilities had broken out between the King ofBornou and the Felatahs, while other provinces were in open rebellion, so that a caravan had great difficulty in proceeding in any direction. 

As Kano is midway between Sackatoo and Bornou, Clapperton, who purposedvisiting the latter province, determined to leave his baggage at Kano, under charge of Richard Lander, while he himself went forward, carryingonly the presents intended for Bello. 

His journey towards Sackatoo was very fatiguing; his camels wereworn-out, while he often suffered greatly from thirst. 

At the town of Jaza he met his old friend the _gadado_, the sultan'sgeneral, with a numerous train on horseback and foot. The horsemen werearmed with spears, swords, and shields, the foot with bows and arrows. The women came behind him, some riding on horseback astraddle, some oncamels, others on foot carrying the kitchen utensils. The _gadado_ waspreceded by a band, with four long trumpets, two drums, and a pipe. Onmeeting Clapperton he dismounted, and taking him by the hand, walkedhand in hand with him into the house which had been prepared for hisreception. He said that Bello had received no letters from Bornouappointing where his messengers were to meet the mission on the coast. 

Clapperton, besides suffering from hunger and thirst, lost his horse andall his camels, which died, while his journal, ink-horn, pens, andspectacles were stolen; nor did he ever recover them--one of thegreatest misfortunes that could happen to a traveller. 

On the 15th of October, about noon, he arrived at Bello's camp, and wasimmediately admitted to an audience. 

The sultan's residence consisted of a number of huts, screened off bycloth fixed on poles, making quite a village of itself. 

He received the traveller in a kind and gratifying way. He asked afterthe health of the King of England, and was greatly surprised to hearthat Clapperton had remained only four months at home, and had hastenedback to Africa without seeing his friends. 

Bello's army was on its march to attack Coonia, the capital of therebels of Goobur. Nothing could be more disorderly than the march, horse and foot intermingled in the greatest confusion, all rushing toget forward; sometimes the followers of one chief tumbled amongst thoseof another, when swords were half-drawn, but they ended in making facesat each other, or putting on a threatening aspect. This disorderly armyconsisted of upwards of fifty thousand fighting men, horse and foot. 

As soon as they arrived before the town, they formed a dense circle ofmen and horses around it; the horse kept out of bowshot, while the foot, as they felt courage or inclination to do so, rushed forward and kept upa straggling fire with about thirty muskets in addition to their bows. The Zeg-zeg troops had one French fusil, and the Kano force forty-onemuskets. The Kano men, as soon as they fired their pieces, ran out ofbowshot to reload. The enemy seldom threw away their arrows, notshooting till they were sure of doing so with effect. Occasionally asingle horseman would gallop up and brandish his spear, while he coveredhimself with his large leathern shield, returning as fast as he went andshouting: "Shields to the wall, you soldiers of the _gadado_! Why doyou not hasten to the wall?" Many of the soldiers answered: "You have alarge shield to cover you, " and disregarded the call. At length thetroops habited in quilted armour were marched forward, having at adistance a somewhat fine appearance, as their helmets were ornamentedwith black and white ostrich feathers, while at the sides pieces of tinglittered in the sun, their long, quilted cloaks of gaudy coloursreaching down to the horses' tails and hanging over their flanks. Theriders were armed with large spears, and they had to be assisted tomount their horses. Their quilted cloaks were so heavy that it requiredtwo men to mount a cavalier. Six of these warriors belonged to thesultan and six to each governor. 

The besieged possessed one musket, and with this they did wonderfulexecution, for it brought down the van of the quilted cavaliers, whofell from his horse like a sack of corn, when the footmen dashed forwardand dragged him and his steed out of harm's way. He had been shot bytwo balls, which went through his body, one coming out and the otherlodging in his quilted armour. There were three Arabs, armed at allpoints, one of whom was struck by the Coonia musket, but the others keptcarefully behind the sultan. 

The most useful and bravest person was an old female slave of thesultan, who, mounted astraddle on a long-backed horse, rode about withhalf a dozen gourds filled with water, and a brass basin, from which shesupplied the wounded and thirsty. 

In the evening this valiant army retired to their camp, when the Cooniaforce managed to cut off the water from the stream which supplied it, and then an alarm was raised that they were about to make an attack. Onthis the whole army, horse and foot, tumbled over each other pell-mell, trying who should get the soonest out of danger. 

Clapperton had wisely not undressed, but, making his servant saddle hishorse and load his camels, he set off in the morning with the army, which soon afterwards retreated and returned to Sackatoo. 

Though his old Arab acquaintance called upon him and pretended to bevery friendly, they were plotting his destruction. Bello had alsoreceived a letter from the Sultan of Bornou, warning him against themachinations of the English. He likewise took steps to thwart thetraveller's objects, though he did not treat him with any personalviolence. When the chief people in the place found that their sultanwas no longer on friendly terms with the stranger, they also gave upvisiting him, and he was left very much alone. Bello likewise insistedon seeing the letter which Clapperton was carrying to the King ofBornou, and when his request was refused he seized it. He also by falsepretences induced Lander to come on to Sackatoo with the presents, including several firearms which were intended for the King of Bornou, that he might get them into his own possession. 

This news preyed greatly on Clapperton's mind, besides which he caught adangerous chill from lying down while hunting, when overcome with heatand fatigue, on a damp spot in the open air. He was soon afterwardsseized with dysentery, which rapidly reduced his strength. During hisillness he was watched over with the tenderest care by Richard Lander, who was also himself suffering much from sickness. 

Old Pasco, who had been dismissed at Kano for stealing, was at Lander'ssuggestion forgiven, and greatly assisted their dying master. 

The heat was intense, and Lander used to carry him to a couch outsidethe hut, where he might enjoy the air, and return with him in theevening. He also daily read to him some portions of the New Testament, and the ninety-fifth Psalm, which he was never weary of listening to. 

Twenty days he continued in this state, growing weaker and weaker. Atlength he called his faithful servant to his bedside. "Richard, I shallsoon be no more: I feel myself dying. "

Almost choked with grief, Lander replied: "God forbid, my dear master!you will live many years yet. "

"Don't be so much affected, my dear boy, " said Clapperton. "It is thewill of the Almighty: it cannot be helped. "

He then directed Lander how to dispose of his papers and all hisproperty, adding, as he took his faithful attendant's hand: "My dearRichard, if you had not been with me I should have died long ago. I canonly thank you with my latest breath for your kindness and attachment tome; but God will reward you. "

During their conversation Clapperton fainted from weakness, but afterthis appeared to rally, and for several days Lander's hopes revived; butone morning he was alarmed by hearing a peculiar rattling soundproceeding from his master's throat. At the same instant Clappertoncalled out, "Richard!" in a low and hurried tone, when going to him, Lander found him sitting upright in his bed, and staring wildly round. Placing his master's head gently on his left shoulder, Lander gazed fora moment at his pale and altered features. Some indistinct expressionsquivered on his lips, and, in the attempt to give them utterance, heexpired without a struggle or a sigh. 

Having done all that under the circumstances was required, he sent tothe Sultan Bello for permission to bury his master; and, in return, anofficer arrived with four slaves, and Lander was desired to follow them. Placing Clapperton's body on the back of his camel, and throwing theUnion Jack over it, he bade them proceed, and they conducted him to avillage, situated on rising ground, about five miles to the south-eastof Sackatoo--the village of Jungavie. Here a grave was dug; and thefaithful attendant, opening a prayer-book, read, amid showers of tears, the funeral service over the remains of his beloved master. 

Bello appeared to have regretted his treatment of the brave explorer. He furnished Lander with the means of returning home, and gave himpermission either to proceed across the desert or to take any otherroute. Lander, not wishing to trust the Arabs, determined to take theroute by which he had come, among the better-disposed negroes. He wasaccompanied by old Pasco, who acted as his interpreter, and Mudey, ablack, who had always been faithful. 

On reaching Kano he determined to proceed southward to Funda, where, from the information he received, he hoped to be able to settle theproblem of the course of the Niger, to ascertain whether it from thenceflowed onward to the sea, or turned eastward into the interior of thecountry, as by many it was supposed to do. 

After travelling some distance he was warned that he would meet with amountainous region inhabited by cannibals, who would certainly put himto death, and who were reported to have killed and eaten a whole caravana short time before. 

On his way he passed through a large place called Cuttup, whichconsisted of five hundred small villages clustered together. Here hewas well received by the king, whose numerous wives were highlydelighted when he made them a present of two or three gilt buttons fromhis jacket, which they, imagining to be pure gold, fastened to theirears. 

He had reached the village of Dunrera near the large city of Tacoba, inthe neighbourhood of which the Shary was said to flow in a continuouscourse between Funda and Lake Chad. This raised his spirits, and he wasexpecting in ten or twelve days to solve the great problem, when, to hisdismay, four horsemen galloped into the town, their leader informing himthat the King of Zeg-zeg had sent to conduct him to Zaria. 

Finding himself compelled to obey, he repaired to the capital, where theking boasted that he had done him an essential service; for, as thepeople of Funda were at war with Sultan Bello, they would certainly havemurdered him. 

The king's chief object, however, was, it appears, to gratify hiscuriosity, for, as he had been absent when Clapperton and Lander passedthrough his capital, he had not before seen a white man. Lander waswell treated by the king's eldest son, a remarkably handsome young manof two and twenty. As an especial mark of favour the prince introducedhim to his fifty wives, who were found industriously employed inpreparing cotton, making thread, and weaving it into cloth. They nosooner saw him than, dropping their work, they flew off and hidthemselves. He here obtained a pack-bullock and a pony in lieu of hisasses, which were worn-out; and after some delay the king gave himpermission to proceed on his journey. 

Leaving Zaria, he proceeded westward, along the route by which he hadcome into the country. 

Wherever he went inquiries were made about his father, as he wassupposed to be Clapperton's son, and every one expressed great grief athearing of his death. 

The intelligence, courage, and resolution he exhibited, proved Lander tobe no ordinary person. He not only made his way among the varioustribes he had to pass through, but carried with him in safety a largetrunk, containing Clapperton's clothes and other property, threewatches, which he had secured about his person to preserve them from therapacity of Bello, and all his master's papers and journals, with which, after a journey of nine months, accompanied by three blacks, he arrivedin safety at Badagarry. 

From thence he was conveyed in the English brig "Maria" to Cape Coast, whence he obtained a passage home in the "Esk, " and arrived in Englandon the 30th of April. 

CHAPTER NINE. 

JOURNEY OF THE LANDERS, AND THEIR VOYAGE DOWN THE NIGER, 1830. 

THE BROTHERS REACH BADAGARRY--PROCEED INLAND TO KATUNGA--WELL RECEIVEDBY THE KING--REACH BOUSSA--THE WIDOW ZURNA--KIND-HEARTED KING--VISITYOURI--RECEPTION BY THE KING--OBTAIN RELICS OF PARK--THE DANCINGMONARCH--OBTAIN CANOES--BEGIN VOYAGE DOWN THE NIGER--GREAT WIDTH OF THERIVER AT LEECHEE--SLEET THE KING OF THE DARK WATER--A ROGUISH ARAB--DETAINED BY MALLAM DENDOW--COMPELLED TO GIVE HIM PARK'S ROBE--REACHEGGA--NO PRESENTS REMAINING--PASS MOUTH OF BINUE--THREATENED BYNATIVES--DETAINED AT DAMUGGOO--ATTACKED BY PIRATICAL CANOES--JOHN LANDERNEARLY DROWNED--PROPERTY SEIZED--RESCUED BY AN HONEST CHIEF--INHABITANTSSIDE WITH THEM--JOURNALS LOST--CONTINUE VOYAGE--REACH EBOE--INTERVIEWWITH OBIE, THE KING--HEAR OF ENGLISH AND SPANISH SHIPS IN THE RIVER--CONVEYED DOWN THE RIVER BY KING BOY--REACH ENGLISH BRIG--BRUTAL CONDUCTOF THE CAPTAIN--BRIG ESCAPES FROM THE RIVER--THE LANDERS SAIL FOR RIO DEJANEIRO AND REACH ENGLAND. 

The courage, perseverance, and judgment exhibited by Richard Lander inmaking his way from Sackatoo to Badagarry after the death of Clapperton, and the attempt he had made of his own accord to follow the course ofthe Niger to the sea, pointed him out to the British Government as a fitperson to lead another expedition with that object in view. He at onceaccepted the offer made to him, and was allowed to take his youngerbrother John, a well-educated and intelligent young man, as hiscompanion. They were directed to proceed from Badagarry to Boussa onthe Niger, where Mungo Park was wrecked and lost his life, and down towhich he had traced the stream from the neighbourhood of Timbuctoo. Thence, after visiting Youri, the chief of which place was supposed tobe in possession of Park's papers, he was to make his way, either downthe stream in canoes or along the banks by land, as he might findpracticable, either to the sea, if the stream was found to flow in thatdirection, or eastward into Lake Chad, which at that time, it wassupposed, it might possibly do. In the latter case, if found advisable, he was to return home by way of Fezzan and Tripoli; but, in either case, he was to follow its course, if possible, to its termination, whereverthat might be. 

Sailing from Portsmouth on the 9th of January, 1830, the Landers reachedCape Coast Castle on the 22nd. Here they were fortunate enough toengage old Pasco and his wife, with Richard's former attendant, Jowdie, together with Ibrahim and Nimo, two Bornou men, who could speak English, as also the Haussa language. Hence they went to Badagarry, the chief ofwhich place, Adooley, entertained them hospitably. 

On the 31st of March, they commenced their journey into the interior, proceeding up the river as far as it was navigable. Reaching Bidjiithey were supplied with horses, on which they continued their journey. It was here Captain Pearce and Dr Morrison fell sick when accompanyingClapperton in his last journey. Both the brothers suffered fromsickness; but, undaunted, they pursued their course till they reachedKatunga, the capital of Youriba. 

Houses in this province were formed of badly-built clay walls, thatchedroofs, and floors of mud, polished with cow-dung. The only differencebetween the residence of a chief and those of his subjects consisted inthe number, though not in the superiority, of his court-yards. For themost part they were tenanted by women and slaves, together with flocksof sheep and goats, and abundance of pigs and poultry mixedindiscriminately. The palace of the king, however, was somewhatsuperior. 

The monarch had put on his robes of state to receive them, and amusedthem while dinner was preparing with a concert from a number of longdrums, kettledrums, and horns. He wore on his head an ornament like abishop's mitre, covered with strings of coral. His _tobe_ was of greensilk, crimson silk, damask, and green silk velvet, sewn together like apiece of patchwork. He wore English cotton stockings, and sandals ofneat workmanship. His subjects as they approached prostratedthemselves, rubbing their heads with earth, and kissing the groundrepeatedly, till their faces were covered with the red soil. 

The king was so amused with the very different style with which theEnglishmen saluted him that he burst out in a fit of laughter, in whichhis wives and subjects joined him. 

They parted with the worthy monarch, who forwarded them on theirjourney. 

Avoiding Avawa, at which place the widow Zuma had laid siege to thehearts of Clapperton and his attendant, they proceeded on to Boussa, which, greatly to their surprise, they found standing on the mainland, and not on an island as Clapperton's journal had stated. 

The king asserted, when they had presented themselves, that he and hiscourt had been weeping all the morning for the death of Clapperton; but, as no outward signs of tears were visible, the travellers rathermistrusted the monarch's assertion. 

A hut having been selected for them, they repaired to it, and were wellsupplied with dishes of meat, rice, and corn for supper. 

What was their astonishment the next day to receive a visit from thewidow Zuma! who appeared, however, woefully changed, being clad in veryhumble apparel of country cloth. Having quarrelled with the ruler ofWawa, she had made her escape over the city wall in the night, travelling on foot to Boussa, where she had since taken up her abode. 

The king was highly pleased with the presents which the Landers hadbrought him, and he and his wife, his chief counsellor and onlyconfidant, honoured them with a visit at their hut. The queen wasdressed in a check shirt, with several pieces of blue cotton--one tiedround her waist, another hanging over her shoulder, and one covering herhead--brass rings ornamenting her great toes, and bracelets her wrists;besides which she wore a necklace of coral and beads of gold, and smallpieces of coral stuck in the lobe of each ear. Coral appeared to be ingreat demand wherever they went, and the queen was disappointed onfinding that they had brought none. 

Lander, concealing the object of his journey, informed the king that hispurpose was to go to Bornou by way of Youri, and requested a safeconveyance through his territories. 

This permission was granted, and, sending their horses by land, theyproceeded up the river in a canoe which was furnished them, towardsYouri. 

The scenery on the main branch of the river was interesting andpicturesque: the bank literally covered with hamlets and villages, andfine trees bending under the weight of their dark foliage, andcontrasting with the lively verdure of the hills and plains. 

After proceeding a short distance the stream gradually widened to twomiles, in some places the water being very shallow, but in others ofconsiderable depth. 

Steering directly northward they voyaged on for four days, havingpassed, they were told, all the dangerous rocks and sandbanks which areto be found above Youri or below Boussa. 

Landing at a little village on the bank, where their horses met them, they rode a distance of eight miles to the walls of Youri. That citythey entered through an amazingly long passage, at the end of which wasan immense door, covered with plates of iron rudely fastened to thewoodwork. 

A habitation had been provided for them, to which they were conducted, excusing themselves from paying their respects to the sultan on accountof the fatigues of their journey. The following evening they visitedthe sultan, whose palace consisted of a group of buildings enclosed by ahigh wall. Dismounting, they were conducted along a low, dark avenue, with pillars on either side, and, passing through which, they entered alarge square yard, where a number of servants were hurrying about andothers seated on the ground. They were kept waiting for some time, till, receiving a summons to advance, they were introduced into anothersquare, which resembled a clean farm-yard. Here they found the sultanseated alone on a plain piece of carpet, with a pillow on each side ofhim and a neat brass pan in front. He was big-headed, corpulent, and, though of advanced age, a jolly-looking man. He expressed his annoyancethat Clapperton did not visit him, and that Lander had not done so onhis return, and they were not sorry to take their leave. 

He here was shown a rich damask _tobe_, covered with gold embroidery, which had belonged to Mr Park, and was probably part of the spoil takenfrom the canoe, intended as a present to some native prince. They were, at first, in hopes of obtaining Park's journals; but only an oldnautical almanack was seen, and they afterwards discovered that thejournals themselves, though kept for some years, had, after Clapperton'sdeath, been destroyed by the person into whose hands they had fallen. They, however, obtained a gun which had undoubtedly belonged to Park, and which was given up to them in exchange for one of their ownfowling-pieces. 

The king, though he expressed his readiness to assist them, declaredthat he could not forward them on their way to the eastward, as from thedisturbed state of the country he would be unable to guarantee theirsafety, and that the best thing he could do was to send them back toBoussa. On this they immediately sent a message to the King of Boussa, saying that as they were unable to continue their journey in thedirection they had proposed, they would feel deeply obliged if he wouldlend them a canoe, by which they might proceed down the river to thesalt water, and that they would remunerate him to the best of theirability. 

The disturbances of which they had heard had been created by the widowZuma, who had instigated the people of Nouffie to make a raid into theterritory of the King of Wawa. They had succeeded in carrying off somebullocks near the walls of his town. She had fled from Boussa toanother town, the governor of which had, however, sent her back, and shewould now probably be severely punished by the King of Boussa, or bereturned to her own sovereign, who would probably cut off her head. 

On the 2nd of August they set off on their road to Boussa, but here theywere kept some weeks, during which either one or the other of thebrothers paid visits to the King of Wawa, from whom they found they hadthe best chance of obtaining a canoe. The King and Queen of Boussa werethe most amiable couple they met with on their travels, and treated themwith uniform kindness during their stay. The king, though not equallingthe King of Wawa, is proud of his skill as a dancer, and he exhibitedhis accomplishments at a grand festival which took place during theirvisit. Although advanced in life, he was as active as a boy, andindulged largely in his favourite amusement every Friday. 

On the last day of the festival, while his subjects were gathered inlarge numbers on the racecourse, he appeared among them, followed byboys carrying calabashes full of cowries, with which he rewarded thedancers, singers, and musicians, scattering the remainder among thecrowd, to be scrambled for. Then, to show his affection for hissubjects, unwilling to send them to their homes without giving themanother treat, he danced sideways half way up the racecourse and backagain to his residence, with much stateliness, his amiable wife smilingwith delight that she had such a spouse, while the people were louderthan ever in their shouts of approbation. 

They heard here that El Kanemy, Major Denham's friend, had fallen intodisgrace with the Sultan of Bornou, who suspected him of treasonablepractices, and of the intention of usurping the sovereignty. He hadbeen imprisoned, and would have lost his head had not the Mahommedanpriests interfered and obtained his liberation. 

During their last visit to the King of Wawa, he exhibited a collectionof charms written on sheets of paper, glued or pasted together. Amongthem was a small edition of Watts's Hymns, on one of the blank leaves ofwhich was written, "Alexander Anderson, Royal Military Hospital, Gosport, 1804, " which of course had belonged to Mr Park'sbrother-in-law, who died in that neighbourhood. They had seen also twoother notes addressed to Park, one from a Mr Watson, and the other fromLady Dalkeith. 

It was not before the 30th of September that at length, having obtainedthe long-wished-for canoes, they were able to embark from the Island ofPatashie, in the neighbourhood of Boussa. Cheered by the natives, theysprang on board, and the current rapidly bore them down the stream. 

Their voyage had now begun prosperously; but they were detained atseveral places by the chiefs, who wished to get as much as they couldout of them. 

At Lever a priest, attended by a number of followers, told them thatthey were in his power, and should not quit the town till he thoughtproper. They had hitherto always behaved in the mildest mannerpossible, but now Lander replied that if the priest or any one elseattempted to hinder them from taking their departure, he should feel nohesitation in shooting him. In an instant the priest's manner changed, and he became civil and humble. They and their people were, however, allowed to make the attempt of launching their canoe, in which, as shewas long and heavy, they were unable to succeed. The priest and hisfollowers at length, ashamed of seeing the strangers labouring so hard, came to the spot and in a few minutes carried their boats into thewater. They passed numerous islands, many of them several miles inlength and thickly inhabited. 

At Leechee the Niger was found to be three miles in width. Theinhabitants of the place had numerous canoes. The boatmen they engagedhere, though they had only paddled on for about forty minutes, refusedto go further, and they were compelled to wait till they could obtain afresh crew. Indeed, at the different places at which they stopped, theywere vexatiously delayed on various pretexts by the natives. 

At Belee Island a messenger arrived to inform them that they would bevisited in the morning by the King of the Dark Water. 

They embarked at an early hour, and at about ten o'clock the sound ofvoices singing, which reached their ears over the surface of the stream, warned them of the approach of the monarch. A small canoe came first, and then another propelled by upwards of twenty fine young men. Inthis, under a decorated awning, with a piece of scarlet cloth ornamentedwith beads and gold lace in front, sat the King of the Dark Water. Inthe stern were a number of musicians--drummers and a trumpeter--and inthe bow four little boys, neatly clad. The king, of coal-black hue, wasa fine-looking man, well stricken in years. He was dressed in abournous of blue cloth, under which was a variegated _tobe_, made offigured satin, Haussa trousers, sandals of coloured leather, and a redcloth cap on his head. He was accompanied by six fine, handsome, jet-black girls, his wives, also picturesquely dressed, their wristsornamented with silver bracelets and their necks with colourednecklaces. 

The travellers saluted him with a discharge from their muskets, andwhile he went on shore, Richard arrayed himself in an old naval uniformcoat, and his brother in the handsomest dress he possessed; theirattendants put on new, white, Mahommedan _tobes_, while the British flagflew from the bow of their boat, so that they might show him all therespect in their power. These arrangements being concluded, the Englishled the way down the river, followed by the King of the Dark Water, anda squadron of canoes, to the island of Zagozhi, on which a town ofconsiderable size was situated. Opposite to it was the town of Rabba, said to be very large and populous. 

The Niger flows at this spot in a direction south of east. 

While staying at this place, Lander was surprised by receiving anover-warm and affectionate salutation from a little, ugly, old Arab, whom he recognised as having been employed by Clapperton, havingafterwards acted as his own guide from Kano. He had cheated Clapperton, and had also stolen Captain Pearce's sword and a sum of money when sentback to Kano, from which he had decamped. When reminded of hisrogueries he only laughed, and then in the most impertinent mannerbegged for everything he saw. Lander consequently turned him out of thehut. 

They found here Mallam Dendow, a cousin of Bello, very old and feeble. He was pleased with the presents he received, and through his means theKing of the Dark Water promised to supply them with canoes and a guideto conduct them to the sea. 

Funda, the town near which the Niger was supposed to flow, was, as faras they could learn, at a considerable distance from this neighbourhood. Mallam Dendow had lately planned an expedition against it, but itterminated by his warriors taking fright and returning to their homeswithout accomplishing anything. 

These Arabs, throughout Africa, were the greatest curse of the country, and were the chief cause of the devastating wars which were constantlytaking place, while they in no way contributed to the real civilisationof the people. 

Just as the travellers were hoping to recommence their voyage, old Pascoreturned from Mallam Dendow with the unpleasant information that thechief was dissatisfied with the gifts he had received, and that unlessthey would present him with others of more value he would take theirguns and powder from them before he would permit them to leave Zagozhi. Having no articles left among their stores, they were most unwillinglycompelled to present him with Mr Park's _tobe_, which had been given bythe King of Boussa. With this he was highly delighted, and now, declaring that he would be their friend for ever after, he not onlyobtained for them the restitution of their canoe, which had been seizedby the King of the Dark Water, but made them a present of a number ofhandsome mats and a supply of cowries and provisions. 

On the 16th they again launched into the river, firing two muskets anduttering three cheers as a salute to the King of the Dark Water and thehundreds of spectators gazing at them, whom they soon left out of sight. 

They were now, with the exception of a few bracelets and other triflingarticles, possessed of nothing with which to make presents or paytribute to the chiefs. It was, therefore, important that they shouldhasten down the stream, touching at as few places as possible. 

They passed a village on an island completely submerged, and were nearlyupset by striking against the roof of one of the cottages, towards whicha whirlpool had driven them. A number of canoes were engaged incarrying off the inhabitants. 

At the island of Fofo they heard that the frontiers of Funda were threedays' journey down the Niger, and that the city itself was upwards ofthree days' journey inland from the water-side, and that thus it wouldbe impossible for them to visit it. 

After they had left Zagozhi, in between three and four days they reachedEgga, a large town situated behind a morass, several creeks leading outof it. A vast number of large canoes lay off the place, laden with allkinds of merchandise. The chief, a venerable man with a long, whitebeard, examined them from head to foot and, remarking that they werestrange-looking people well worth seeing, awarded them a commodious hut. 

It was a town of prodigious extent and had an immense population. Theriver varied in width from two to five and six miles. 

They here observed Benin and Portuguese clothes worn by the inhabitants, who, being very enterprising, were engaged in trading up and down theriver. 

On the 22nd they once more embarked, their crew greatly alarmed with theprospect of meeting enemies ahead, who would, they said, very likely putthem to death. 

Had they, however, remained at Egga, they would probably have been madeslaves. They heard, indeed, dreadful reports of the character of thepeople occupying both sides of the Niger between Kakunda and Bocqua. They, however, loaded their arms and prepared to defend themselves. 

One of their men, Antonio, son of a chief on the Bonny river, who hadjoined them from HM brig "Clinker, " was especially alarmed--not on hisown account, as he said that his life was of no consequence, but that hefeared that his two white friends, whom he loved so dearly, might bekilled. They, accordingly, pulled on during the night, passing a largetown, from which issued a loud noise, as of a multitude quarrelling. Once they fancied they saw a light following them, but it turned out tobe a will-o'-the-wisp. 

On the 25th of October suddenly the river changed to the south-west, running between immensely high hills, and in the evening they passed themouth of a considerable rivet entering the Niger from the eastward. After pulling up some little way, they found the current so strongagainst them that they were compelled to return. This they concluded tobe the Tsadda, known, however, as the Binue. 

While their men were on shore collecting firewood they came suddenly ona village, and, the people being aroused, the travellers, seated under apalm-tree, were quickly surrounded; but the chief, appearing, waspersuaded that they only desired peace. Old Pasco was the only one whohad stood by them during the interval, the rest having taken to theirheels on the appearance of danger. 

On landing at another place, a number of women hastened out of anadjacent village with muskets; but, seeing the travellers sitting downquietly without making any hostile display, they soon became friendly. 

They were detained three days at Damuggoo, a very dirty town, where, however, the people were generally dressed in Manchester cottons; thatis to say, they wore pieces of them round their waists, extending to theknee. 

Continuing their voyage down the river, they observed the large markettown of Kirree. Near it were a number of canoes of considerable size, with flags flying on long bamboos. Shortly afterwards a fleet of fiftycanoes appeared ahead, with flags of all nations, among which the UnionJack was most conspicuous. All the people were dressed in Europeanclothes, with the exception of trousers, which the chiefs alone areallowed to wear. 

Lander, overjoyed by the sight, supposing that they must be friends, approached without fear, when a huge man of most forbidding countenancebeckoned him to come on board his canoe. The next instant the sound ofdrums was heard, and several men levelled their muskets at thetraveller. In addition to the muskets, each canoe had a long four orsix-pounder in its bow, besides which the crews were armed with swordsand boarding-pikes. In an instant their luggage was transferred to thecanoes of their opponents, while some of them seized Pasco's wife, andwere dragging her out of the canoe. On this Lander, calling to his mento assist him, determined to sell his life as dearly as he could; and, having dragged back Pasco's wife, they fought so determinedly that theywere able to effect their escape. None of the other canoes hadinterfered, and, seeing that which had plundered them making its way tothe market, Lander pulled after her as fast as he could go, in the hopesof recovering their property. On their way they encountered anothercanoe, in which a person, apparently of consequence, hailed them withthe words: "Hilloa, white man! You French; you English?"

"English, " answered Lander. "Come here in my canoe, " was the reply. Lander accordingly got into his canoe, while the chief put three meninto Lander's that they might assist in pulling to the market. He atonce treated Lander with great kindness and promised him everyassistance in his power. 

Soon after this, what was Richard Lander's dismay to see the canoe ofwhich his brother John had command followed by the villains who hadattacked him, capsized, and sunk, while their luggage went to thebottom--his brother and crew being left struggling in the water. Richard was on the point of leaping in to help him, when he saw himdragged into another canoe, the other men swimming on shore. It wassome time before he was able to reach him, when, with their new friend, they repaired to the market. Here they found a number of Damuggoopeople and others who sided with them, and a Mahommedan from Funda urgedthem to keep up their spirits, and that all would be made right. Searchwas then commenced for their property. One of their journals and a boxof books, with the medicine chest and a few articles of clothing werefound, and after a palaver were restored; but the whole of RichardLander's journal with the exception of one note-book, Mr Park's gun andthirty-six of their cutlasses and pistols, some elephant tusks, ostrichfeathers, leopard-skins, and a variety of seeds had all been lost, aswell as their remaining cowries, buttons, and needles, which were soimportant to enable them to purchase food. 

The people who had attacked them were from Eboe, and had come thisdistance on a plundering expedition, intending to trade when unable tocarry off property without fighting. The leading man who had attackedthem was put into irons and doomed to die by the people of Kirree; andit was decided that if the king of Eboe, whose subject he was, shouldrefuse to put him to death, no more of his canoes should be allowed tocome to the country to trade. 

Escorted by six war-canoes from Damuggoo, the travellers left Kirree andcontinued their voyage down the river, passing through a large lake-likeexpanse of the Niger, till on the evening of the 8th they reached thetown of Eboe. 

The houses were neatly built of yellow clay, plastered over and thatchedwith palm leaves. Yards were attached to each, in which plantations ofbananas and cocoa-nut trees grew. 

Here they were addressed in English by several brawny fellows withstentorian voices, who shook hands, asking them "how they did"--onecalling himself Gun, though Blunderbuss or Thunder would have been asappropriate a name, then stating that his brother was King Boy and thathis father was King Forday, who with King Jacket governed all the Brasscountry. He also informed them that a Spanish schooner and an Englishbrig, the "Thomas, " of Liverpool, were lying in the first Brass river. 

After resting for some time they were conducted to the palace of thedreaded Obie, king of the Eboe country. Instead of the savage monsterthey expected to see, a door opened, when a sprightly young man, with amild countenance and an eye which indicated quickness and intelligence, appeared before them and cordially shook hands. His dress was socovered with a profusion of coral ornaments that he might appropriatelyhave been styled the "Coral King. " On his head he wore a sugar-loafhat, thickly adorned with strings of coloured beads and pieces of brokenlooking-glass, while several strings of beads were tightly fastenedround his neck. He had on a short Spanish surtout of red cloth, ornamented with gold epaulettes, and a pair of trousers of the samematerial, while both his legs and wrists were covered with strings ofbeads, and to each leg, above the naked ankles and feet, was suspended astring of little brass bells, which jingled as he walked. 

An account of what had happened at Kirree was narrated to him, and hedeclared his intention of settling the matter. Notwithstanding hisprotestations, however, the fair-spoken king detained the travellers, and would have kept them and their followers in slavery had not KingBoy, the eldest son of the King of Brass Town, volunteered to pay theirransom on receiving a written promise that it should be repaid to him bythe master of the "Thomas, " then lying in the Brass River, or by anyother merchantman captain who might be found there. King Boy wished tosend the document down to the brig at once; but fortunately Lander toldhim that he was sure the captain would not pay it till he had beenreceived on board. On this the King of Eboe allowed them to embark inKing Boy's canoe. It was a large craft, paddled by forty men and boys, in addition to whom there were, besides the king and his wife and theirown party, several slaves, so that the number on board amounted to fullysixty people. There were also cannon lashed to the bows, and a numberof cutlasses and chests of spirits, silk, and cotton goods. 

Thus laden, the Brass canoe took her way down the river, her unfortunateEnglish passengers dreadfully cramped for room--John Lander one night, while suffering from fever, having the feet of the royal couple in hisface. 

On the 15th of November they landed at the excessively dirty town ofKing Forday, situated in the middle of a marsh. Here they took up theirquarters at Boy's house. 

Soon after their arrival they were cheered by recognising the featuresof a European in the midst of a crowd of savages. He proved to be themaster of a Spanish schooner lying in the Brass River for slaves. Hewas affable and courteous, and told them that six of his crew were illof fever and that the rest were suffering. 

Their residence, which its owner called an English house, was builtclose to the water, of yellow clay, but with several windows, allfurnished with shutters. 

Having paid his respects to King Forday, Richard Lander, leaving hisbrother and his men at the town, set off, in King Boy's canoe, to gosixty miles down the river to the brig. 

His feelings of delight may be imagined when he had ocular evidence thathe had at length succeeded in tracing the mysterious Niger down to theocean, by seeing before him two vessels, one the Spanish slaver, theother the English brig on board which he fully expected to receive theassistance he so greatly required. 

To his utter surprise and consternation, on going on board, CaptainLake, though almost himself at death's door from fever, flatly refusedto give him a single thing. By his language and behaviour he showedhimself to be a greater savage than the ignorant blacks among whomLander had been travelling. Lander in vain expostulated with thecaptain; fearful oaths and flat refusals were the only answers he made. At last, when Lander suggested that he had five men, who might be usefulin working his vessel out of the river, he softened a little, and gavehim a change of linen and some provisions for his brother. 

King Boy was ultimately induced to go back to bring John Lander and therest of the men, on Richard's reiterated promise that he would at sometime or other obtain the goods they had promised him. He presented himalso with some silver bracelets, which they had before overlooked, and anative sword. These articles Boy accepted, but when John Lander offeredhim his watch it was refused with disdain, the savage not knowing itsvalue. 

The captain of the brig had in the meantime loaded his guns and got hisarms ready, and when Boy came up to him once more, to demand the barswhich had been promised, he replied, in a voice of thunder: "I no will!"

As the pilot, to whom the captain had also refused to pay his demand, could not be trusted to take the brig out, she narrowly escapedshipwreck on the bar, but happily at length getting clear of the river, she steered a course for Fernando Po, where the travellers landed. Hence they sailed for Rio de Janeiro, which they reached on the 16th ofMarch, and from that port obtained a passage on board the "WilliamHarris" to England, which they reached safely on the 10th of June. 

Thus, with very humble means, by the energy and courage of twounpretending men, was the long-disputed problem of the course of theNiger at length completely solved. 

Besides the payment which the Government had promised to Richard Lander, he received a premium of fifty guineas, placed at the disposal of theRoyal Geographical Society by the king, and his brother John obtainedemployment under Government suitable to his abilities. 

CHAPTER TEN. 

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES OF DR. BARTH IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AFRICA, 1849. 

LEAVES TRIPOLI WITH MR. RICHARDSON AND DR. OVERWEG--SUPPRESSION OF SLAVETRADE THE CHIEF OBJECT OF THE EXPEDITION--NUMEROUS RUINS SEEN--CROSS THEHAMMADA DESERT--REST AT AN OASIS--REACH MOURZOUK--DR. BARTH'SADVENTURE--NEARLY PERISHES IN THE DESERT--DIFFICULTIES OF JOURNEY--FOLLOWED BY TAWAREK FREEBOOTERS--PREPARATIONS FOR AN ATTACK--STRANGEDANCERS--TRIBUTE DEMANDED--CAMP AT NIGHT--EXPECTING AN ATTACK--CONSTANTFIRING KEPT UP--CAMELS STOLEN--PURSUED--DANGEROUS SITUATION--TRAVELLERSEXPECT DEATH--SAVED BY FRIENDLY CHIEF--DR. BARTH VISITS AGADES--ASALT-CARAVAN--THE CARAVAN REACHES TAGELEL. 

The British Government had, in 1849, appointed Mr Richardson, anexperienced traveller in Africa, to the command of an expedition whichwas to start from Tripoli, on the north coast, and thence endeavour topenetrate to the central part of the continent. By the recommendationof the Chevalier Bunsen Dr Barth, who had spent three years travellingthrough Barbary and the desert tracts to the westward bordering theshores of the Mediterranean, was allowed, accompanied by another German, Dr Overweg, to join the expedition. 

A light boat, which was divided into two portions and could be carriedon the backs of camels, was provided, and a sailor to navigate hereither on Lake Chad or down the Niger. 

Dr Barth and his countryman at once pushed on for Tripoli, in theneighbourhood of which they made long excursions while waiting for thearrival of Mr Richardson, who had remained in Paris for despatches. 

One of the principal objects of the expedition was the abolition of theslave trade, which it was known was carried on to a fearful extent inthose regions. The principal employment of the Moorish tribes on theborders of the territories inhabited by blacks is still, as it was inthe days of Mungo Park and Clapperton, slave-hunting. Villages areattacked for the purpose, when the prisoners captured are carriednorthward across the desert and sold in Morocco and the other Barbarystates. 

Another object was the opening up a lawful commercial intercourse withthe people who might be visited, and the exploration of the country forscientific purposes, as well as to discover the course of the greatriver which the Landers had seen flowing into the Niger in theiradventurous voyage down that stream. 

On the arrival of Mr Richardson the travellers at length set out fromTripoli, on the 24th of March, 1850. They rode on camels, aconsiderable number of which were also required to carry their baggage. The boat had unfortunately been divided only into two pieces instead offour, thus causing much trouble. 

We may picture them setting forth with their long line of camels andnumerous attendants, servants, camel-drivers, and guides, andaccompanied by Mr Crowe, the consul, Mr Reade, the vice-consul, andother friends who came forth to see them start; or with their tentspitched on a moonlight night, amidst a few date and olive trees, in agreen meadow--a little oasis surrounded by sand. 

The two doctors alone required eight camels for their luggage, besidesthose they rode. Dr Barth had procured an excellent one of therenowned Bu-Saef breed. The travellers were well-armed, as they had topass through disturbed districts, and were likely to encounter openenemies, and might have to keep treacherous attendants in awe. 

During the first part of their journey their way lay along cultivatedand flourishing corn-fields in the narrow _wady_, or valley, of Majenin. At the further end of it Mr Richardson with his party overtook themand pitched his enormous tent. It was not till the 2nd of April thatthey fairly set out on their expedition. Keeping to the west of arugged range of hills, they entered the rocky _wady_ of Haera, wherethey filled their water-skins from the pools formed by the rain. 

The long oars and poles of the boat caused the camels which carried themmuch fatigue; but the boat, which was now cut into quarters, was moreeasily packed. 

The country over which they passed was stony and rocky, intercepted bydry water-courses, and, as they proceeded, here and there adorned withclusters of date-trees. They frequently passed the ruins of Romantemples, tombs, monuments, and other buildings, and also numerous Romanmilestones: the Romans, indeed, had extensive colonies in this district. 

Their chief object, when seeking a spot for encamping, was water. Sometimes it was found in pools: at others in wells, being drawn to thesurface by oxen. 

Travellers in Africa cannot proceed at railroad speed. Camels journeymuch after their own inclination, straying to the right or left--nippinghere a straw, and there browsing on a bush--and, being obstinatecreatures, it is difficult to urge them forward faster than they like. The doctor would have preferred a horse, but it would have beennecessary to carry barley and water for it, as it cannot live like thecamel without drinking when crossing the desert. The expense, too, would have been very great. 

Their course was nearly due south, directed in the first place towardsthe town of Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan. 

Their general rate of marching was at from two to two and a half milesan hour. The heat was very great. The doctor's Arab servant, who hadgone off to see his family in the neighbourhood, on his return arrivedat the encampment after they had started. He, accordingly, set off toovertake the caravan. Though he had a skin of goat's milk, yet itbecame so hot that he could not drink it; and, as he was obliged tomarch the whole of the day without water, he suffered greatly andarrived in a very exhausted state. 

Among the monuments passed was one adorned with rich carving, provingthat these regions, now so poor, must have once supported a populationsufficiently advanced in taste and feeling to admire works of a refinedcharacter. They also found ruins of Christian churches of a laterperiod. 

They were now travelling through a district known as the Hammada--ahigh, level, stony region, destitute of wells or pools. Here and there, however, small green patches of herbage were found, affording a welcomemeal to the camels. 

They were accompanied by a little green bird, called the "asfir, " whichlives entirely upon the caravans as they pass along, by picking off thevermin from the feet of the camels. 

At a green oasis, El Wueshkeh, where grew a few stunted palm-trees, their camel-drivers killed a number of a venomous lizard, called"bu-keshash. " At night a cold wind, accompanied by rain, began to blow;their tent was overturned, and they had much trouble in pitching itagain. The next day a number of truffles were found, which affordedthem some delicious truffle soup. 

They met, soon after starting, two caravans--the largest consisting offifteen camels laden with ivory. With the latter was a woman sittingcomfortably in a little cage on the camel's back. 

Passing through a narrow ravine between gloomy cliffs, they reached asandy waste, passing across which they at length arrived at somecrumbling ruins surrounding a well, where they and their camels couldquench their thirst. Though the great watering-place on this desertroad, it has not a cheerful aspect; but, as the water is always bubblingup and keeps the same level, the largest caravan might be fullysupplied. A day was spent here, as both camels and men required rest. 

Day after day they travelled on, passing through rocky _wadies_ andnarrow defiles, out of the sides of which projected jet-black masses ofsandstone, giving a wild air to the desolate region. 

One day two gazelles were caught, an addition to their bill of fare. 

At length in the distance appeared a town on the top of a broad, terraced rock. They took long to reach it. 

It is rarely such a place is seen in that part of the world. The rockrose in the midst of a valley, occupying a position which in days ofyore must have made it a place of great importance. It is called Ederi. Amidst the sand-hills which surround it are green fields of wheat andbarley, and here and there groves of date-trees. 

Before them now lay a series of sand-hills, intermingled with smallclusters of palm-trees. Sometimes the ascent of the sand-hills was mosttrying for the camels. They extend for five days' march or more, butare nothing in comparison with those in the direction of the NatronLakes: so one of their guides told them. 

Often, while crossing this sandy waste, thirsty travellers are deceivedby the effects of the curious mirage, when lakes glittering in the sun, with towers, domes, and minarets reflected on their surface, appearbefore their eyes, to vanish suddenly as they approach. 

Their camel-drivers had led them them to the left, in order to visittheir own village of Ugrefe. It consisted of about thirty light and lowdwellings made of clay and palm branches. In an open space near it theyencamped beneath two splendid ethel-trees, or tamarisks. 

At length, on the 6th of May, they reached the plantations surroundingMourzouk, the capital of Fezzan. The walls are built of a sort of clayglittering with saline incrustations. Going round the whole of thewestern and northern sides, which have no gateway wide enough for acaravan, they halted on the eastern side of the town, not far from thecamp of the pilgrims who were returning from Egypt to Morocco. Theywere here welcomed by Mr Gagliuffi, a Greek merchant, who received theminto his house. 

The buildings are mostly of one story, with flat roofs and parapets, with interior courts, and broad porticoes supported by pillars in front. The town contains a bazaar and barracks for two thousand Turkishtroops. It is a thoroughfare rather than the seat of a commerce. 

They were here joined by a man of influence named Mahomet Boro, anelderly, respectable-looking personage, wearing a green bournous overwhite under-clothes. He was to act as mediator between them and theinhabitants of the countries they were to visit. He was now on hishomeward journey from a pilgrimage to Mecca. 

On the 13th of June they left Mourzouk by the eastern gate. Some chiefsfrom Ghat had arrived, to whose charge Mr Gagliuffi had committed thetravellers. At this Mahomet Boro became very indignant, and threatenedthat he would take care that they should be attacked on the road by hiscountrymen, nor were these empty threats. 

It is remarkable that while the Mahommedan religion in general issinking to corruption along the coast, there are ascetic sects rising upin the interior which unite its last zealous followers by a religiousbond. From some of these sects travellers receive much ill-treatmentand annoyance. On the 15th of July the doctor determined to visit aremarkable mountain which appeared in the distance. Being unable toobtain any guide, he set off, taking with him as provisions only driedbiscuits and dates--the worst possible food in the desert when water isscarce. Making his way over the pebbly ground, he saw a pair ofbeautiful antelopes, which stopped, gazing at him and wagging theirtails. 

The distance proved far greater than he had imagined; indeed, there wasa deep valley between him and the side of the mountain. Still, eager toreach its summit, he pushed on. The sun began to put forth its power;there was not the slightest shade around. At length he reached theheight at which he was aiming, but, on looking round, he in vain soughtfor any traces of the caravan. Having but a small supply of water inhis water-skin, he could only venture to sip a few drops, while he couldwith difficulty eat his dry biscuit and dates. 

Fearing that the caravan might push on believing him to be in advance, he immediately descended the mountain, in order to follow its course. At noon he swallowed the remainder of his water, but, taken on an emptystomach, it did not restore his strength. Believing that his party wereto encamp at no great distance from the mountain, he strained his sightin hopes of seeing his friends; but no living being was visible. Havingwalked some distance, he ascended a mound crowned with an ethel-bush, where he fired his pistols; but a strong east wind blowing against him, he in vain waited for an answer. Crossing some sand-hills, he againfired, and, at last convinced that there could be nobody in thatdirection, he supposed that his party were still behind him, andunluckily kept more to the east. At last some small huts appeared inthe distance. He hastened towards them, but they were empty, nor was adrop of water to be obtained. His strength being exhausted, he sat downon the bare plain, hoping that the caravan would come up. For a momenthe thought he saw a string of camels passing in the distance, but it wasa delusion. 

He mustered strength sufficient to scramble to an ethel-tree on anelevated spot, intending to light a fire, but, unable to move about, hecould gather no wood. Having rested after dark for an hour or two, heonce more rose, and discovered in the south-west a large fire. Again hefired his pistols, but no answer was returned. Still the flames rosetowards the sky, telling him where deliverance was to be found, but hewas unable to drag his weary limbs so far. Having waited long, he fireda second time, yet no answer came. At last he resigned himself to thecare of the Merciful One and tried to sleep, but in vain--he was in ahigh fever. The long night wore away and dawn was drawing nigh. Allwas repose and silence: he was sure that he could not choose a bettertime for trying to inform his friends by signal of his whereabouts. Collecting his remaining strength, he loaded his pistol with a heavycharge and fired once and then again. His companions seemed not to haveheard his signals. The sun he had half longed for, half looked-forwardto with terror, at last rose. His condition, as the heat increased, became more dreadful. He crawled round the tree, trying to enjoy thelittle shade afforded by the leafless branches. About noon there wasonly sufficient shade left to shelter his head. He suffered greatlyfrom the pangs of thirst, till at last, becoming senseless, he fell intoa sort of delirium, from which he only recovered when the sun went downbehind the mountain. Crawling from beneath the shade of the tree andthrowing a glance over the plain, suddenly the cry of a camel reachedhim. It was the most delightful music he had ever heard in his life. Raising himself a little, he saw a mounted Tarki passing at somedistance and looking eagerly around. The Tarki had discovered hisfootprints in the sandy ground. Crying as loud as his faint strengthwould allow, "_aman! aman_!" ("Water! water!") he was rejoiced to seethe Tarki, Musa by name, approaching, and in a few moments he was at hisside, washing and sprinkling his head. His throat was, however, too dryto enjoy the draught which Musa poured into it. His deliverer thenplaced him on his camel, mounted himself in front, and carried him tothe tents. 

The strength of a European is soon broken in those climes, if for asingle day he is prevented from taking his usual food. Next day, however, the doctor was able to continue his journey. 

Ghat, well situated in the centre of an oasis, was next reached. It issurrounded by mud walls, with flat-roofed houses, while outside areplantations of date-trees. 

On the 26th of July the caravan again set out. On the 29th theycommenced their ascent to the greatest elevation of the desert, fourthousand feet above the sea. The path winding along through looseblocks of stone, the precipitous ascent proved very difficult. Severalloads were thrown off the camels, and the boat frequently came incontact with the rocks. It is indeed the wildest and most rugged regionof the whole desert. At one place the road meandered in a remarkableway, sometimes reduced to a narrow crevice between curiously-terracedbuttresses of rocks. Two hours were occupied in descending. 

At the bottom was a _wady_ between steep, precipitous cliffs lookingalmost like walls erected by the hand of man. They were more than athousand feet high, with a pond of rainwater at the bottom. The valleyis called Aegeri. 

They had now to pass a region of sand-hills. During their passage themirage set before their eyes beautiful sheets of water, which quicklydisappeared as they approached. 

Desolate as the country appears, large herds of wild oxen rove over it. Though the men tried to catch some of them, they were unsuccessful, asthe animal, sluggish as it seems, rapidly climbs the rocks and is soonlost to sight. 

The travellers, having now entered the tropics, expected to reachpleasanter regions than they had hitherto passed through. Their guides, however, were leading them further to the west than they wished, theirgreat desire being to reach Negroland as soon as possible. 

On the 18th of August they were quietly pursuing their road, when one oftheir party was seen running up behind them, swinging his musket overhis head and crying: "Lads, our enemy has come!" Alarm was spreadthrough the caravan: everyone seized his arms, and those who were ridingjumped from their camels. The man reported that a number of Tawarek, mounted on camels, had been seen rapidly approaching, with the evidentintention of attacking the caravan. A warlike spirit prevailed, andall, the doctor thought, would fight valiantly. Freebooting parties, however, do not attack openly. They first introduce themselves in apeaceable way, when, having disturbed the little unity which exists inmost caravans, they gradually throw off the mask. 

After some time they came to the conclusion that it was not likely thatthey would be attacked by daylight. They, therefore, sent off a body ofarchers to gain information from a small caravan which was coming fromSoudan, consisting of a few Tebus, ten camels, and about forty slaves. The unfortunate Tebus were soon afterwards attacked by a fierce tribe, the Haddanara, who, disappointed at getting nothing from the Englishexpedition, murdered the whole of them and carried off their camels andslaves. 

Soon after the party had encamped at night three strangers made theirappearance; but, although they were known to be robbers, and that anumber of their companions were not far off, they were allowed to liedown for the night. The experienced old Sheikh of the Kafeila warnedBarth to be on his guard, and exhorted his attendants to be staunch. Everybody was crying for powder. Their clever servant, Mahomet, placedhis four pieces of boat on the outside of the tents, that they mightafford shelter in case of an attack. They kept watch the whole night, and the strangers, seeing them well on their guard, did not venture toassail them. In the morning they went slowly away to join theircompanions, who had kept behind a rocky ridge in the distance. Therewas indeed much cause for anxiety. Suddenly an alarm was raised thatthe camels had been stolen. The old chief, taking advantage of thisstate of things, urged Barth and Overweg to confide their property tohim and another chief. This was not entirely disinterested advice; for, if anything had happened to the travellers, the chief would, of course, have been their heir. 

At an early hour they started with an uneasy feeling. With the firstdawn the true believers had been called together for prayer; and thebond which united the Mahommedan members of the caravan with theChristian travellers, it was seen, had been loosened in a veryconspicuous manner. 

Instead of, as usual, each little party starting off as soon as theywere ready, they all waited till the whole caravan had loaded theircamels, when they began their march in close order, to be ready in caseof being attacked. 

After advancing some distance they saw four men seated ahead of them, onan eminence. The doctor, being in the first line of the caravan, dismounted and led forward his camel. A party of archers had beendespatched to reconnoitre. What was his surprise to see them and theunknown individuals executing a wild sort of armed dance. Suddenly twoof the dancers rushed upon him and grasped the rope of the camel, askingfor tribute. Barth seized his pistols, when, just in time, he was toldthey were friends. 

The eminence is an important locality in the modern history of thecountry. It was here, when the Kel-owi, a pure Berber tribe, tookpossession of the territory of old Gober, that a covenant was enteredinto between the red conquerors and the black natives, that the lattershould not be destroyed, and that the principal chief of the Kel-owishould only be allowed to marry a black woman. As a memorial of thistransaction, when caravans pass the spot where the covenant was enteredinto, the slaves make merry and are authorised to levy upon theirmasters a small tribute. 

The black man who had stopped the doctor was the chief of the slaves. As the caravan proceeded, the merry creatures executed another dance, and the incident would have been of great interest if the members of thecaravan had not been depressed with the forebodings of mishap. 

They now reached a small village of leathern tents, inhabited by apeople of the tribe of Fade-ang, in a valley on the frontier region ofAire. The chief was respected as a person of great authority, and, itwas said, was able to protect them against the freebooting parties whichtheir guests of the other day, who had gone on before, were sure tocollect against them. He had been invited to the camp; but he sent hisbrother instead, who, it was soon evident, could render them noassistance. The travellers were soon surrounded by the inhabitants, towhom a number of small presents were given. These men were veryinferior in appearance even to the common Taki freebooter, and extremelydegraded in their habits. 

While resting in their tents they were alarmed by a report that a bodyof sixty Mehara were about to attack them, and again everybody wasexcited, all calling out for powder and shot. It was evident that therewas an entire want of union among the members of the caravan. 

The scene which followed in the bright moonlight evening, and lastingthrough the night, was animating and interesting in the extreme. Thecaravan was drawn up in line of battle, the left wing being formed bythe travellers and the detachment of the Kel-owi who had postedthemselves in front of their tents, while the Timylkum and the Sfaksiformed the centre, the rest of the Kel-owi with Boro the right wing, leaning upon the cliffs, the exposed left being defended by the fourpieces of boat. About ten o'clock a small troop of Mehara, so-calledfrom riding on _mehara_, or swift camels, made their appearance. Immediately a heavy fusillade was commenced over their heads, and waskept up with shouting during the night. 

The enemy hovered around them during the whole of the next day, andprevented them from making excursions. 

Leaving their camping ground on the 24th of August, they travelled onwithout molestation; but, soon after their tents had been pitched thenext evening in a valley full of talha trees and oat-grass, themarauders again made their appearance, mounted on camels, and, dismounting within pistol-shot of the tents, discussed, with wild, ferocious laughter, their projects with their Azkar confederates in thecaravan. Some of these soon afterwards came and told them that theymight sleep with perfect security; others, however, warned them thatthey must on no account rest during the night. Preparations for anattack were therefore made, and their camels were brought close to thetents; but the Kel-owi left theirs outside. 

In the morning it was found that all the camels had been carried off. On this, Boro led on the more warlike members of the caravan in pursuit. The enemy were overtaken, and, alarmed by the appearance of thebayonets, which they saw would place the Europeans on an equality evenafter the guns had been fired, offered to come to terms. They declaredthat they had only come against the white men because they wereChristians, and immediately all sympathy for the travellers ceased inthe caravan. The rebels were allowed to retain their booty and weretreated besides with an enormous quantity of _mohamsa_. 

They now hoped to proceed without further molestation; and the Merabetchief, who had accompanied and sanctioned the expedition against them, was allowed to join their party, as it was thought to be the best meansof preventing any further molestation. Boro, who passed the eveningwith Mr Richardson's interpreter, in reading the Koran, treated himhospitably. 

They were expecting to reach Selufiet, where they hoped to be in safety. When about eight miles from it, the chiefs insisted on encamping, and anumber of Merabetin, a fanatical tribe, insisted that they should turnMohammedans. Their friends and servants urged them to do so, as theonly means of saving their lives. They were kept seated in their tentwhile the fanatics discussed the subject. The travellers sat insilence. At last Mr Richardson exclaimed: "Let us talk a little. Wemust die. What is the use of sitting so mute?" For some minutes deathseemed really to hover over their heads. Mr Richardson proposed tryingto escape for their lives, when the kind-hearted Sliman rushed into thetent, exclaiming in a tone of sincere sympathy: "You are not to die. "The Merabetin were content instead to receive a heavy tribute. Unfortunately, the merchandise they carried, instead of consisting of a_few_ valuable things, was composed of worthless, bulky objects; and, asthey had also ten iron cases filled with dry biscuits, the ignorantpeople supposed that they carried enormous wealth. In consequence, whenall the claims had been settled, the rebels threatened to fall upon therest of the baggage. Their friendly chief on this declared that some ofit was his own, and also dashed to pieces one of the iron cases, when, to the astonishment of the simple people, instead of beholding heaps ofdollars, they saw a dry and tasteless sort of bread!

Meanwhile, the persecuted Christians made off under the escort of theKel-owi, and the whole caravan was once more collected together. 

On the 4th of September they encamped on the summit of a sand-hill, in abroad valley, near the village of Tintellust, the residence of the chiefAmur, under whose protection they were now to proceed. The chiefreceived them in a friendly way, and assured them that, even thoughChristians, the dangers and difficulties they had gone through wouldsuffice to wash off their sins, and that they had nothing to fear butthe climate and the thieves. He told them that they were welcome toproceed to Soudan at their own risk; but that if they wished for hisprotection, they must pay him handsomely. 

While the camp remained here, Dr Barth paid a visit to the town ofAgades, a place once of great importance, and still containing aboutseven thousand inhabitants, a large number engaged as tradesmen or incommerce. It is situated on the borders of the desert, surrounded bylawless tribes. He performed his journey on the back of a bullock, withhis luggage behind him. He was received in a very friendly way by thesultan, who told him that he had never before heard of the English--notsuspecting from whom the gunpowder he used was obtained. The doctor, after placing the treaty before the sultan, said that the English wishedto enter into friendly relations with all the chiefs and great men ofthe earth, in order to establish commercial intercourse with them. Hethen told him that they had been deprived of nearly all the presentsthey were bringing for himself and the other princes of Soudan. At thishe expressed the greatest indignation. 

After spending two months at Agades, the doctor returned to Tintellust. Here the expedition was detained six months waiting for an escort, without which they could not proceed with any degree of safety toSoudan. At length, on the 5th of December, the first body of thesalt-caravan, for which they had been waiting, arrived from Bilma, andon the 12th of December, 1850, they began to move. The caravan lookedlike a whole nation in motion: the men on camels or on foot; the womenon bullocks or asses, with all the necessaries of the little household, as well as the houses themselves; a herd of cattle, another ofmilk-goats, and a number of young camels running playfully alongside, and sometimes getting between the regular lines of the laden animals. The old chief walked ahead like a young man, leading his _mahary_ by thenose-cord. 

The ground was very rocky and rugged, and looked bare and desolate inthe extreme. Several high peaks, which characterise this volcanicregion, rose on either side. 

The whole caravan consisted of about two thousand camels, of whom twohundred were laden with salt. At night their camp presented many livelyand merry scenes, ranging as it did over a wide district illuminated bylarge fires. Dancing was going forward and the drummers were vying witheach other, one especially rivalling their drummer Assam, and performinghis work with great skill, caused general enthusiasm among the dancingpeople. 

On their journey on the 29th of December, they found the ground coveredwith _had_, a plant regarded by the Arabs as the most nutritious of allthe herbs of the desert for the camel. Numerous footprints of thegiraffe were seen, besides those of gazelles and ostriches, and also ofthe large and beautiful antelope (_Leucoryx_). Here, too, was seen the_magaria_, a tree which bears a fruit of the size of a cherry, of alight brown colour. When dry it is pounded and formed into littlecakes, and is thus eaten. 

On the 1st of January, 1851, they fell in with a tribe of the Tagana, whose morality is of the lowest order. Hunting, together withcattle-breeding, is their chief occupation, and on their little swifthorses they catch the large antelope as well as the giraffe. 

A steep descent of a hundred feet conducted the caravan off the highregion of the Hammada to a level plain. 

On the 7th they came in sight of a village, where they saw for the firsttime that style of architecture which extends over the whole of centralAfrica. The huts are composed entirely of the stalk of the Indian corn, with only a slight support from the branches of trees. They aresomewhat low, curved over at the top. Amid them were seen small stacksof corn, raised on scaffolds of wood about two feet high, to protectthem from the white ant and mouse, as also from the _jerboa_, which isso pretty an object to look at as it jumps about the fields, but is anespecial foe to the natives. The people came forth from the villages tooffer cheese and Indian corn. They were black pagans and slaves, meanlyand scantily dressed, but far more civilised in reality than thefanatical people among whom Barth and his companions had hitherto beentravelling. 

On the 9th of January the travellers reached Tagelel. From this placethere was little danger in their proceeding singly, and it was agreed, in consequence of the low state of their finances, that they shouldseparate, in order to try what each might be able to accomplishsingle-handed and without ostentation, till new supplies should arrivefrom home. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

TRAVELS OF DR. BARTH, CONTINUED. 

DR. BARTH QUITS MR. RICHARDSON--REACHES TASSAWA--ARRIVES AT KANO--FLOURISHING COUNTRY--KANO DESCRIBED--KINDLY TREATED--MANUFACTURES ANDIMPORTS--SETS OUT WITH HIS SERVANT GATRONI FOR BORNOU--HEARS OF MR. RICHARDSON'S DEATH--ENTERS KOUKA--THE VIZIER MEETS HIM--RECEPTION OF THESHEIKH, A BLACK--EXCURSION WITH THE SHEIKH TO NGORNU--VISITS LAKE CHAD--FISHERMEN ON THE LAKE--JOURNEY TO ADAMAWA--REACHES THE BINUE RIVER--COMPELLED TO RETURN--SETS OUT FOR KANEM--TRAVELLING WITH ROBBER PARTY--ATTACKED BY NATIVES--ROBBERS BEATEN--RETURNS TO KOUKA--EXPEDITION OFVIZIER AGAINST MANDARA--BEAUTIFUL, WELL-CULTIVATED COUNTRY DEVOTED TODESTRUCTION--THE NATIVES BARBAROUSLY SLAUGHTERED--SLAVES TAKEN--DEMMODESTROYED--MUSGU WARRIORS--NATIVES DEFEND THEMSELVES ON AN ISLAND--RETURNS TO KOUKA--JOURNEY TO BEGHARMI--WELL TREATED AT LOGGUN--REACHESTHE MAGNIFICENT SHARY--WHITE ANTS--MADE PRISONER AND PUT INTO CHAINS--RELEASED, AND ENTERS MAS-ENA--A LEARNED BLACK FAKI--VISIT TO THESULTAN--HIS SUPERSTITIOUS FEARS--BARTH RETURNS TO KOUKA--DEATH OF DR. OVERWEG. 

Parting from Mr Richardson, the two Germans continued on to Chirak, where Overweg quitted Dr Barth, who intended to proceed to Tassawa. The doctor, disposing of a favourite camel, obtained horses for theremainder of the journey and now went on alone; but, accustomed towander by himself among strange people, he felt in no degree oppressed. His companion was a black, Gajere, a Mahommedan, and, thoughcommunicative, rather rude and unable to refrain from occasionallymocking the stranger who wanted to know everything but would notacknowledge the prophet. Mounted on an active steed, he and hisattendants soon reached Tassawa, the first large place of Negrolandproper which he had seen. Everywhere were unmistakable marks of thecomfortable, pleasant sort of life led by the natives. The court-yards, fenced with tall reeds, closed to a certain degree the gaze of thepasser-by, without securing to the interior absolute secrecy. Near theentrance was a cool shady hut for the transaction of ordinary businessand the reception of strangers. The lower portions of most of thehouses consisted of clay, and the upper part of wicker-work, while theroof was composed of reeds only. The dwellings were shaded withspreading trees, and enlivened with groups of children, goats, fowls, pigeons, and, where a little wealth had been accumulated, by a horse, orpack-ox. The men wore white shirts, and trowsers of dark colour, whiletheir heads were generally covered with light caps of cotton cloth. Only the wealthier wore the shawl thrown over the shoulders like theplaid of a Highlander. The dress of the women consisted almost entirelyof a large cotton cloth of dark colour, fastened round the neck with afew strings of glass beads. 

On the 1st of February Dr Barth approached the important city of Kano. Almost all the people he met saluted him kindly and cheerfully, only afew haughty Fellani passing without a salute. 

The villages were here scattered about in the most agreeable way, suchas is only practicable in a country in a state of considerable security. Some of them were surrounded by a bush like the broom, growing to aheight of ten or twelve feet. The doctor and his native companionspassed through a village in which was a large market-place consisting ofseveral rows of well-built sheds. The market women who attachedthemselves to their cavalcade assured them that they would be able toreach the city that day, but that they ought to arrive at the outer gatebefore sunset, as at that time it is shut. The party accordingly pushedon; but, after entering the gate, it took them forty minutes to reachthe house of Bawu, and, as it was quite dark, they had some trouble intaking possession of the quarters assigned to them by their host. 

Kano had been sounding in the traveller's ears for more than a year; ithad been one of the great objects of his journey. It is the chiefcentral point of commerce, a great storehouse of information, and was, Barth considered, the point from whence a journey to more distantregions might be most successfully attempted. At length, after nearly ayear's exertions, he had reached it. He was, however, greatlyinconvenienced by not being provided with ready cash, instead of whichmerchandise had been provided for the expedition, which they had beenassured would not only be safer than money, but would also prove moreadvantageous. 

Barth had now to pay away a large sum, and all the smaller articles, which had been carried for barter, having been expended by the heavyextortions to which they had been subjected on the road to Aire--he wasplaced in much difficulty for want of means. He soon found also thatBawu, Mr Gagliuffi's agent, could not be implicitly relied on. 

The currency of the country consists of cowrie shells, or _kurdie_, which are not, as in regions near the coast, fastened together instrings of one hundred each, but are separate, and must be counted oneby one. The governors of towns make them up in sacks containing twentythousand each. Private individuals will not receive them withoutcounting them out; those even who made but a few small purchases had tocount out five hundred thousand shells. 

The doctor had now to borrow two thousand _kurdie_, which did not amountto the value of a dollar. 

He was forbidden to leave his quarters until he had seen the governor, and he was thus kept within them for several days, till he was attackedby fever. At length, on the 18th of February, he received a summons toattend the great man. 

Although the distances in Kano are less than those of London, they arevery great, and the ceremonies to be gone through are almost as tediousas those of any European court. 

Arousing himself, and putting on his warm Tunisian dress, wearing overit a white _tobe_ and a white bournous, he mounted his poor black nagand followed his advocates, Bawu Elaiji and Sidi-Ali, the two latter ofwhom showed him the most disinterested friendship. It was a finemorning: before him lay the whole scenery of the town, in its greatvariety of clay houses, huts, sheds, green open places affording pasturefor oxen, horses, camels, donkeys, and goats, in motley confusion, withmany beautiful specimens of the vegetable kingdom--the slenderdate-palm, the spreading _alleluba_, and the majestic silk-cotton tree--the people in all varieties of costume, from the almost naked slave upto the most gaudily-dressed Arab, all formed a most animating andexciting scene. 

Passing through the market-place, they entered the quarters of theruling race--the Fulbe or Fellani, where conical huts of thatched workand the gonda-tree are prevalent. 

They first proceeded to the house of the _gadado_, the lord of thetreasury. It was an interesting specimen of the domestic arrangementsof the Fulbe, who do not disown their original character of nomadiccattle-breeders. Its court-yard, though in the middle of the town, looked like a farm-yard, and could not be commended for its cleanliness. 

The treasurer having approved of the presents and appropriated tohimself a large gilt cup, the doctor and his companions were conductedto the audience-hall. It was very handsome, and even stately for thiscountry. The rafters of the elevated ceiling were concealed by twolofty arches of clay, very neatly polished and ornamented. At thebottom of the apartment were two spacious and highly-decorated niches, in one of which the governor was reposing on the _gado_ spread with acarpet. His dress consisted of all the mixed finery of Haussa andBarbary. He allowed his face to be seen, the white shawl hanging downfar below his mouth, over his breast. 

The governor was highly pleased with the handsome presents he received, and the doctor, notwithstanding the fatigue he had gone through, quicklyrecovered from his fever. 

The next day he rode round the town. Here were a row of shops filledwith articles of native and foreign produce, with buyers and sellers inevery variety of figure, complexion, and dress, yet all intent upontheir little gain. There a large shed full of naked half-starved slavestorn from their homes--from their wives or husbands, from their childrenor parents--ranged in rows like cattle, and staring desperately upon thebuyers, anxiously watching into whose hands it should be their destinyto fall. In another part were to be seen all the necessaries of life;here a rich governor dressed in silk and gaudy clothes, mounted upon aspirited and richly-caparisoned steed, and followed by a host of idle, insolent slaves; there a poor blind man, groping his way through themultitude, and fearing at every step to be trodden down. There werepleasant scenes too, a snug-looking cottage with the clay walls nicelypolished, beneath the shade of a wide-spreading alleluba-tree; or a_papaya_ unfolded its large leather-like leaves above a slender, smoothand undivided stem; or the tall date-tree, waving over the whole scene;a matron, in clean black cotton gown, busy preparing the meal for herabsent husband or spinning cotton, and at the same time urging thefemale slaves to pound the corn, and children, naked and merry, playingabout in the sun, or chasing a straggling, stubborn goat; earthenwarepots and wooden bowls, all cleanly washed, standing in order. In oneplace dyers were at work, mixing with the indigo some coloured wood inorder to give it the desired tint, others drawing a shirt from thedye-pot or hanging it up on ropes fastened to the trees. Further on, ablacksmith, busy with his rude tools making a dagger, a formidablebarbed spear, or some more useful instrument of husbandry. Here acaravan appears from Gonga bringing the desired kola-nut, chewed by allwho have ten _kurdie_ to spare; or another caravan laden with natron; ora troop of A'sbenawa going off with their salt to the neighbouringtowns; or some Arabs leading their camels, heavily laden with theluxuries of the north and east. Everywhere human life was to be seen inits varied forms, the most cheerful and the most gloomy closely mixedtogether--the olive-coloured Arab, the dark Kanuri with his widenostrils, the small-featured, light, and slender Ba-fellanchi, thebroad-faced Mandingo, the stout, large-boned, and masculine Nupe female, the well-proportioned and comely Ba-haushe woman. 

The doctor met with many friends, and was very kindly treated at Kano. He was again attacked with illness, but, recovering, prepared to set outfor Kukawa, where he had arranged with Mr Richardson to arrive in thebeginning of April. The capital of the large province of Sackatoocontains sixty thousand inhabitants during the busy time of the year, about four thousand of whom belong to the nation by whom the people wereconquered. The principal commerce consists in native produce, viz. , cotton cloth, woven and dyed here and in the neighbouring towns in theforms either of _tobes_, the oblong piece of dress of dark colour wornby the women, or plaids of various colours, and the black _litham_. Alarge portion of it is sent to Timbuctoo, amounting to three hundredcamel-loads annually, thus bringing considerable wealth to thepopulation, for both cotton and indigo are produced and prepared in thecountry. Leathern sandals are also made with great neatness andexported in large quantities. Tanned hides and red sheep-skins are senteven as far as Tripoli. The chief article of African produce sold inthe Kano market is the kola-nut, which has become to the natives asnecessary as coffee or tea to Europeans. The slave trade is animportant branch of commerce, though the number annually exported fromKano does not exceed five thousand; but very many are sold into domesticslavery, either to the inhabitants of the province itself or to those ofthe adjoining districts. 

The greatest proportion of European goods is still imported by thenorthern road; but the natural road by way of the great eastern branchof the so-called Niger will in the course of events be soon opened. Thedoctor deeply regretted that after the English had opened that nobleriver to the knowledge of Europe, they allowed it to fall into the handsof the American slave-dealers, who began to inundate Central Africa withAmerican produce, receiving slaves in return. Happily an end has cometo this traffic. The English did not appear to be aware of what wasgoing on. Space will not allow us to speak further of the variousarticles of commerce. The principal English goods brought to the marketof Kano are bleached and unbleached calicoes and cotton prints fromManchester, French silks, and red cloth from Saxony, beads from Veniceand Trieste, a coarse kind of silk from Trieste, paper, looking-glasses, needles and small ware from Nuremberg, sword blades from Solingen, razors from Styria. It is remarkable that so little English merchandiseis seen in this great emporium of Negroland. 

On the 9th of March the doctor, with immense satisfaction, mounted onhis ugly little black nag, rode out of Kano. He had but one servant, his faithful Gatroni, to load his three camels. He was, however, attended by a horseman to see him to the frontier of the Kano territory. The latter, being showily dressed and well mounted, gave himself allpossible airs as they rode through the narrow streets into the openfields. Hence he took an easterly course towards Bornou proper. 

After passing a number of interesting places, on the 22nd of March thedoctor entered the region of Bornou proper. It is here that thedum-palm exclusively grows in Negroland. 

He enjoyed an interesting and cheerful scene of African life in theopen, straggling village of Calemri, amid which, divided into twodistinct groups by a wide, open space, were numerous herds of cattlejust being watered. How melancholy came afterwards the recollection ofthat busy scene, when on his return, three and a half years later, hefound it an insecure wilderness, infested by robbers, the whole of theinhabitants having been swept away!

On the 24th, as he was approaching a more woody district than he hadhitherto passed, a richly-dressed person rode up to him and gave him thesad intelligence of the death of Mr Richardson at Kukawa. He stillcould scarcely believe the news; but it was confirmed afterwards byanother party of horsemen whom he met. At first he felt as if the deathof Mr Richardson involved the return of the mission; but after someconsideration he resolved to persevere by himself. On the 2nd of April, pushing on ahead of his camels, on horseback, he approached Kukawa, orKouka, the capital of Bornou. Proceeding towards the white clay wallwhich encircles the town, he entered the gate, gazed at by a number ofpeople, who were greatly surprised when he enquired for the residence ofthe sheikh. Passing the daily market, crowded with people, he rode tothe palace, which bordered a large promenade on the east. It wasflanked by a mosque, a building of clay with a tower on one side, whilehouses of grandees enclosed the place on the north and south sides. 

On approaching the house of the vizier, to whom he had been directed, hefound assembled before it about two hundred gorgeously-dressed horsemen. The vizier, who was just about to mount his horse in order to pay hisdaily visit to the sheikh, saluted him cheerfully and told him that hehad already known him from the letter which had been despatched. Whilehe rode to the sheikh he ordered one of the people to show the doctorhis quarters. 

Some days passed before he was introduced to the sheikh. In themeantime he had a good deal of trouble regarding the means of paying MrRichardson's servants. By great firmness he obtained possession of allMr Richardson's property, which would otherwise have been appropriatedby the chiefs. He found the sheikh reclining upon a divan in a fine, airy hall. He was of a glossy black colour, with regular features, buta little too round to be expressive; dressed in a light _tobe_, with abournous wrapped round his shoulder, and a dark red shawl round his headwith great care. 

The doctor spent a considerable time in Kukawa, devoting himself to thestudy of the language, and making enquiries about the surroundingcountry. Kukawa was not so bustling a place as Kano, but thicklyinhabited, and on market-day crowded with people. 

He became acquainted with many visitors to the place, among them a_hadji_, Ibrahim. On one occasion Ibrahim, being unwell, asked thedoctor for medicine, and received in return five doses, which he was totake on successive days; but Ibrahim, being in a great hurry to getwell, took the whole at once, and was very nearly dying in consequence--an event which would have placed the doctor in a very dangerousposition. 

His stay at Kukawa was agreeably interrupted by an excursion to Ngornuin which he accompanied the sheikh, and from thence paid a visit to theshores of Lake Chad. Attended by two horsemen and his servants, he setout for the lake. After an hour's ride they reached swampy ground, andhad to make their way through the water, often up to their knees onhorseback. After the dry and dreary journey over sands, he found itvery pleasant thus wading through deep water. Two boats were seen withmen in them, watching evidently to carry off into slavery any of theblacks who might come to cut reeds on the banks of the lagoon. Furtheron they reached another creek inhabited by hippopotami, which weresnorting about in every direction, and by two species of crocodile. There were no elephants seen, however, as that animal always likes tosecure a dry couch on the sand, elevated above swampy ground, where itmay be free from mosquitoes. On the northern part of the lake, wherethere are ranges of low sand-hills, immense herds are to be met with. 

At the village of Maduwari, he made the acquaintance of a chief, FugoAli, who treated him with great kindness and continued his friend everafterwards. It was at his house, a year and a half later, poor DrOverweg was destined to expire. Accompanying Fugo Ali, he made a longexcursion in the neighbourhood of the lake, which is difficult to bereached, as it is surrounded by forests of reeds and broad creeks. He, however, got to one of these, a fine, open sheet of water, now agitatedby a light east wind, which sent the waves rippling on the shore. Thesurface was covered with water-plants, and numberless flocks of fowl ofevery description played about. To reach it he had to pass through verydeep water which covered his saddle, though he was mounted on a tallhorse; and one of his companions on a little pony was swampedaltogether, his head and his gun alone being visible from time to time. 

The inhabitants on the shores of the lake subsist chiefly on fish, whichthey catch in an ingenious way. The fisherman takes two large gourds, which he connects by a bamboo of sufficient length to allow him to sitastraddle between them. He then launches forth on the water, taking hisnets. These are weighted by little leathern bags, filled with sand andsupported by bits of bamboo. Having shot his net, he paddles about withhis hands, driving the fish into it, and then, taking them out, killsthem with a club, and throws them into the gourds. When they are full, he returns to the shore. 

Returning to Kukawa, Dr Barth found encamped outside the town a largeslave caravan. There were seven hundred and fifty slaves in thepossession of the merchants who went with it. Slaves were at that timethe principal export from Bornou. 

Soon after this Dr Overweg arrived, looking greatly fatigued and muchworse than when the doctor parted from him four months before. 

On the 29th of May, 1851, Dr Barth and Dr Overweg set out on a journeyto Adamawa, in the south. As they advanced their camels were objects ofgreat curiosity and wonder to the natives, that animal seldom gettingthus far south, as it will not bear the climate for any length of time. 

The country was generally level, with high conical mountains, separatedfrom each other, rising out of it. Though at first swampy, it becamewoody and well-watered, in many parts densely inhabited, with numerousvillages, where even the Mahommedans have penetrated. 

At last Mount Alantika appeared in sight, eight thousand feet above theplain. Near it flows the Binue, that long looked-for stream, supposedto make its way westward to the Niger, and which it had been Barth'sgreat object to reach. There were no signs of human industry near theriver, as, during its floods, it inundates the country on both sides. His feelings may be imagined when he stood at length on the banks of thestream, which here flowed from east to west in a broad and majesticcourse through an entirely open country, from which only here and theredetached mountains rose up in solitary grandeur. Not far-off anotherriver, the Faro, rushed forth, not much inferior to the principal river, descending from the steep sides of the Alantika. 

On reaching Yola, the capital of the province of Adamawa, he was, greatly to his disappointment, compelled by the governor to turn back. 

Slavery exists on an immense scale in this province, many privateindividuals having more than a thousand slaves. The governor, MohametLowel, is said to receive five thousand every year in tribute, besideshorses and cattle. 

This is one of the finest districts in Central Africa, irrigated as itis by numerous rivers besides the Binue and Faro, and being diversifiedwith hill and dale. Elephants were exceedingly plentiful, both blackand grey and yellow, and the rhinoceros is also met with in the river. Barth was told that there lives in the river an animal resembling theseal, which comes out at night and feeds on the fresh grass. 

His adventurous journey obtained the doctor so much fame at Kukawa that, on his return, a party of horsemen galloped out to salute him, and ledhim in procession to his house. Mr Overweg, who had in the meantimebeen exploring Lake Chad in a boat, now rejoined him. His nextexcursion was to Kanem, on the east of Lake Chad, for which he set outon the 11th of September by the way of its northern shores. He hadreceived a valuable horse from the vizier, which was his companion forthe next three years. He was attended by two Arabs and a couple ofFezzan lads he had taken into his service. He soon felt revived by thefresh air of the country. The region through which he passed wasusually rich, partly forest and partly cultivated. 

On the 18th he was joined by Mr Overweg, who arrived accompanied by aband of horsemen. The horsemen treated the natives with the utmostcruelty, stealing their property wherever they went. One day, meetingsome cattle-breeders, they plundered them of their milk and of the veryvessels which contained it. On applying to Dr Barth for redress, hewas enabled not only to restore to them their vessels, but to make thema few small presents. 

Descending from the high ground, they continued their course between thesand-hills and a blue inlet of the lake to the south. Some way to theright they caught sight of a whole herd of elephants, ranged in regulararray like an army of rational beings, slowly proceeding to the water. 

It had been supposed that Lake Chad is salt. This is not the case. Thenatron or soda, which is procured in the neighbourhood, is found alonein the ground. When an inundation reaches a basin filled with soda, thewater of course becomes impregnated. The soda, indeed, has very littleeffect so long as the basin is deep, and does not begin to make itselffelt till the water becomes shallow. 

Shortly afterwards, passing a grove of mimosa, two of the horsemen whohad been in front came galloping back with loud cries. On approachingthe spot they saw a large snake hanging in a threatening attitude fromthe branches of a tree. On seeing the strangers it tried to hideitself, but after several balls had struck it, it fell down, and itshead was cut off. It measured eighteen feet seven inches in length, andfive inches in diameter. 

They now joined themselves to a party of Arabs, by whom they hoped to beprotected on their journey. The expedition was not without danger. Onenight they were aroused by a terrible screaming and crying from thewomen, and shouts of "Mount! mount!" Another band of freebooters hadattacked the camels, and, having put to flight two or three men andkilled a horseman, had driven off part of the herd. The robbers werepursued and overtaken, when they gave up their booty. The lamentationsof the females for a man who had been slain sounded woefully through theremainder of the night. 

Two days afterwards the Arabs were in great commotion, in consequence ofthe most handsome among the female slaves, who composed part of thespoil that was to be taken to the vizier, having made her escape duringthe night. They were eagerly searching for her from dawn of day, butcould not find her. At length they discovered her necklace and clothes, and the remains of her bones--evident proofs that she had fallen a preyto the wild beasts. 

As they advanced eastward the situation of the Arab robbers became dailymore dangerous; nothing was thought of but to retrace their stepswestward. 

The doctor was lying in his tent suffering from fever, when the alarmwas given that the enemy had arrived within a short distance of thecamp. He heard firing, when Overweg, mounting his horse, galloped off, calling on his friend to follow him. The doctor, while his servant wassaddling his horse, flung his bournous over himself, and, grasping hispistols and gun, mounted and started off towards the west, orderingMahomet to cling fast to his horse's tail. Not a moment was to be lost, as the enemy had begun to attack the east side of the camp. Soonafterwards, however, he saw the Arab horsemen rallying to attack theenemy, who had dispersed in order to collect the spoil, and, overtakingMr Overweg, informed him that the danger was over. 

On returning to the camp they found that their luggage and even theirtent had gone. The Arabs, however, pursuing the enemy, got back most oftheir things. 

The natives again attacked the camp in the evening, but were beaten off. Hearing, however, that a large body of Wadey horsemen were to jointheir enemies, the Arabs retreated, and the doctor and his friends, finding a caravan on its way to Kukawa, returned with it on the 25th ofNovember. 

After a rest of ten days the persevering travellers again set forth withthe sheikh and his vizier on an expedition against Mandara, theprincipal object of which was to replenish their coffers andslave-rooms, a secondary one to punish the prince of that small country, who, protected by its mountains, had behaved in a very refractorymanner. The vizier treated the travellers with great courtesy, anddesired them to ride by his side. The army, which was of considerablesize, advanced in regular order. At first they amused themselves withhunting. One day a giraffe was caught. The vizier was attended byeight female slaves and horsemen, and the same number of led horses. The unfortunate natives had to provide grain for the army wherever itmarched. They spent a day at a village where the troops had to lay in asupply of corn, as they were about to pass the border region, betweenthe cities of the Mahommedans and those of the Pagan tribes, which, asis generally the case in this part of the world, have been reduced todesolation. The vizier made Mr Overweg a present of a small lion. Ona previous occasion he had given him a ferocious little tiger cat, whichthough young was extremely fierce, and quite mastered the young lion. They, however, soon died, in consequence of the continual swingingmotion they had to endure on the backs of the camels in the heat of theday. 

Passing through a dense forest region, frequented by numerous elephants, they arrived at Gabari, the northernmost of the Musgu villages, surrounded by fields of native grain. The inhabitants had fled; for, though nominally under the protection of the rulers of Bornou, they hadthought it prudent to take care of their own safety. Their village wascompletely plundered, the soldiers thrashing out their grain and loadingtheir horses with it, while their goats, fowls, and articles offurniture fell a prey to the greedy host. The village had presented anappearance of comfort, and exhibited the industry of the inhabitants. Its dwellings were built of clay; and each court-yard contained a groupof from three to six huts, according to the number of wives of theowner. 

Continuing their march, on the 28th of December they reached the countrydevoted to destruction. The country was pleasant in the extreme;stubble-fields surrounded numerous groups of huts and wide-spreadingtrees, on whose branches was stored up the nutritious grass of thoseswampy grounds for a supply in the dry season. Broad, well-troddenpaths, lined by thick fences, wound along through the fields in everydirection. Near the village were regular sepulchres, covered in withlarge well-rounded vaults, surrounded by an earthen urn. While thedoctor was contemplating this scene he found that the vizier and hisparty had galloped on in advance. On looking round he saw only a fewShooa horsemen. Following them, he soon found that he was entirely cutoff from the main body of the army. A scene of wild disorder presenteditself; single horsemen were roving about to and fro between the fencesof the villages; here a poor native, pursued by sanguinary foes, runningfor his life in wild despair; there another dragged from his place ofrefuge; while a third was seen stealing by, under cover of a fence, andsoon became a mark for numerous arrows and balls. A small troop ofShooa horsemen were collected under the shade of a tree, trying to keeptogether a drove of cattle which they had taken. Accompanying anotherband, the doctor at length rejoined the vizier. News had just beenreceived that the pagans had broken through the line of march near theweakest point, and that the rear had been dispersed. Had these poorpagans been led on by experienced chieftains, they would have been ablein their dense forests, where cavalry is of little use, to do an immensedeal of damage to their cowardly invaders, and might easily havedispersed them altogether. 

A large number of slaves had been caught, and in the evening a greatmany more were brought in, altogether between five hundred to athousand. To the horror of the travellers, not less than one hundredand seventy full-grown men were mercilessly slaughtered in cold blood, the greater part of them being allowed to bleed to death, a leg havingbeen severed from the body. The unwarlike spirit and dilatoryproceedings of the army, large as it was, enabled the inhabitants ofother villages to make their escape. 

The village of Demmo was next to be attacked. On reaching it, however, a large watercourse, two miles in width, appeared before them, acrosswhich the natives made their escape. The scene on its banks was highlyinteresting, and characteristic of the equatorial regions of Africa. Instead of the supposed lofty range of the Moon, only a few isolatedmountains had been seen, and in place of a dry desolate plateau they hadfound wide and extremely fertile plains, less than one thousand feetabove the level of the sea, and intersected by innumerable broadwater-courses. 

The village, which only a few moments before had been the abode ofcomfort and happiness, was destroyed by fire and made desolate. Slaughtered men, with their limbs severed from their bodies, were lyingabout in all directions. 

Led by a treacherous Musgu chief, the army attacked other places, tillthe river Loggun put a stop to their further advance. These unfortunateMusgus are ugly-looking fellows. Only the chiefs wear clothing, consisting merely of the skins of wild animals, thrown over theirshoulders. They adorn their heads with strange-looking feather caps, and their bodies with red paint, staining their teeth of the samecolour. Their weapons are long spears, and formidable knives forthrowing at their foes, while they ride strong, active horses, withoutsaddles, guiding them by halters fastened round their muzzles. 

Having accomplished these mighty deeds, the army halted for two days, for the purpose of distributing the slaves taken during the expedition. The proceeding was accompanied by the most heart-rending scenes, causedby the number of young children and even infants who were distributed, many of the poor creatures being mercilessly torn from their mothers, never to see them again. There were scarcely any full-grown men. 

Another expedition was undertaken by a part of the army, when, as theyreached the river, a dozen courageous natives were seen occupying asmall elevated island with steep banks, separated from the shore by anarrow but deep channel. Here they set at defiance the countless hostof enemies, many of whom had firearms. Not one of the small band ofheroes was wounded, either the balls missed their aim, or else, strikingupon the wicker-work shields of the pagans, were unable to penetrate. The doctor was urged to fire, and on his refusing to do so was abused bythe soldiers. 

The doctor and his companion returned to Kukaka on the 1st of February, 1852. 

On the 4th of March, Dr Barth again set out on a journey to Begharmi, aconsiderable distance to the south-east of Lake Chad. His onlyconveyance was his own horse and a she-camel for his luggage. The nextday Ovenveg, who had resolved to explore Lake Chad in a boat, partedfrom him, and he proceeded on his hazardous expedition alone, his coursebeing to the south-east, along the shores of the lake. He passedseveral towns in a state of decay. In that of Ngla the palace of thegovernor was of immense size for Negroland. It had large and toweringclay walls, having the appearance of an enormous citadel. 

He was hospitably treated at the large town of Loggun. Here the riverof the same name, which falls into Lake Chad, is from three hundred andfifty to four hundred yards across. About forty or fifty boats ofconsiderable size floated on the stream. He made an excursion on theriver, when he excited great admiration by firing at a crocodile, thoughhe did not kill the creature. The sultan formed so high an estimationof the traveller, that he wished him to remain to assist him in fightinghis enemies, but the doctor, being anxious to proceed eastward, inducedhim at length to let him take his departure. 

On the 16th of March he left Loggun to endeavour to penetrate intoregions never before trodden by European foot. He crossed the river ina boat, while his horse and camel swam over. Passing through a denseforest, he observed the footprints of the rhinoceros, an animal unheardof in the western parts of Negroland. It is greatly feared by theinhabitants. Little further in advance he suddenly beheld through thebranches of the trees the splendid sheet of a river far larger than thatof Loggun. All was silence, the pellucid surface undisturbed by theslightest breeze; no vestige of human or animal life, with the exceptionof two hippopotami which had been basking in the sun on shore, and nowplunged into the water. This was the real Shary, the great river of theKotoko, which with the river Loggun forms a large basin, giving to thispart of Negroland its characteristic feature. 

After some time a ferry-boat appeared, but the ferrymen declinedcarrying the party over before they had informed their master. Whilewaiting for them, a large troop of pilgrims on their way to Mecca, mostly from the western parts of Negroland, came up, and the doctor madethem a present of needles. The boatmen, returning, declared that thechief of the village would not allow him to pass. He was, however, notto be defeated, and, proceeding along the banks of the river, at lengthfound some ferrymen who did not hesitate to take him across. He was, however, soon again stopped, and, after repeated attempts to push on, was compelled to take up his residence at a place called Bakada. 

Here the white ants waged relentless war against his property. Thoughhe had placed his bed on the top of some poles, he found that they notonly had reached the summit, but had eaten through both the coarse mats, finished a piece of his carpet, and destroyed other articles. 

The doctor had sent a messenger to the capital, but as he did notreturn, he determined to set out. 

He had reached Mela, on the bank of the river, when, as he was seated inhis tent, the head man of the village arrived, followed by a number ofothers, and he found himself suddenly seized and his feet placed inirons, his property being carried off. He was conveyed to an open shed, where he was guarded by two servants of the lieutenant-governor. Hisservants were also seized, but ultimately set at liberty that they mightattend on him. He was liberated, however, the next day by the arrivalof Hacik, whose friendship he had formed at Bakada, and who promisedthat he should without further difficulty visit the capital. 

On the 27th of April Mas-ena, the capital, appeared beyond a fine extentof verdure. He had a good house provided for him, and numbers of peoplecame to visit him; among them was Faki Sambo, who was totally blind. Hehad travelled much and was well versed in Arabic literature, having readeven portions of Aristotle and Plato, translated into Arabic. Thedoctor had many interesting conversations with this wonderfullywell-informed man. 

The lieutenant-governor, however, grew suspicious of the traveller, asdid many of the people. He had a narrow escape by being called in tovisit a sick man, when, convinced that his illness was serious, herefused to give any medicine. The man died a few days afterwards, andhis death would, had he done as he was asked, have been attributed bythe savage people to him. 

On the 6th of July the caravan from Fezzan arrived, bringing despatchesfrom Kukawa, sent out from England, authorising him to carry on theobjects of the expedition on a more extensive scale, while means wereplaced at his disposal for doing so. It was hoped in England that heand his companion would be able to cross the unknown region ofequatorial Africa and reach the south-east coast; but, as the state ofhis health made this impossible, he was glad to find that LordPalmerston suggested he should endeavour to reach Timbuctoo. To thisplan, therefore, he turned his attention. He, however, found it verydifficult to leave the city. The sultan, after some time, gave him anaudience; that is to say, the doctor saw him, but the great man did notallow himself to be seen. Earth presented his gifts, and received inreturn, at his request, a supply of the manufactures of the country, instead of a female slave and a white camel, which the sultan offeredhim. He heard that the sultan entertained the fear that he might poisonor kill him by a charm, and that he had repeatedly consulted his learnedmen, or councillors, how he should protect himself against hiswitchcraft. 

After repeated delays, on the 10th of August he was allowed to take hisdeparture. The sultan had set his eyes on his horse, and, just as hewas starting, sent to ask him to sell it; but this he positivelydeclined doing, and no attempt was made to seize the animal. 

He reached Kukawa after an interesting journey, without a mishap, on the21st of August. He found Mr Overweg very sickly. Unhappily, hethought himself strong enough to go out shooting, and was so imprudentas to go into deep water after water-fowl, and remain all the dayafterwards in his wet clothes. He was seized with a severe illness inconsequence, but believed that he should get better if removed to thecountry home of their friend Fugo Ali. He here became much worse, andin two days died. A grave was dug for him near the borders of the lakein the exploration of which he had taken so much interest. 

Dejected at his lonely situation, and unwilling any longer to stay in aplace which had become intolerable to him, Barth determined to set outas soon as possible on his journey towards the Niger. 

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

TRAVELS OF DR. BARTH CONCLUDED. 

BARTH SETS OUT FOR TIMBUCTOO--DETAINED AT KATSEENA--REACHES SAY, ON THENIGER--CROSSES RIVER--MEETS AN ARAB, WHO OFFERS TO ESCORT HIM--DISGUISEDAS AN ARAB--ENTERS BAMBARRA--SWAMPY COUNTRY--EMBARKS ON THE NIGER--VOYAGE UP THE RIVER TO KABARA--RICE TO TIMBUCTOO--ENTERS THE CITY--THESHEIKH EL BAKAY--COMPELLED TO REMAIN IN HIS HOUSE--TIMBUCTOO DESCRIBED--THE FANATICS THREATEN HIS LIFE--ACCOMPANIES THE SHEIKH INTO THE DESERT--RETURNS TO THE CITY--HEARS ABOUT MUNGO PARK--THE RIVER RISES--FOR FEAROF DISTURBANCES FROM THE FANATICS, GOES INTO THE DESERT AGAIN--SETS OUTWITH THE SHEIKH TOWARDS KOUKA--LIONS AND HIPPOPOTAMI--REACHES SACKATOO--HEARS OF EXPEDITION UNDER DR. VOGEL--DANGERS OF JOURNEY--REACHES BUNDI--MEETS DR. VOGEL--REPAST, BUT NO WINE--WELL RECEIVED BY SHEIKH OMAR ATKOUKA--DETAINED FOUR MONTHS--RETURNS WITH A CARAVAN TO TRIPOLI--DISCOVERY OF BINUE RIVER MOST IMPORTANT RESULT OF JOURNEY. 

On the 25th of November, 1852, all arrangements being made, Dr Barthset out on his venturesome expedition to Timbuctoo, intending to proceedfirst to the town of Say, on the banks of the Niger. He had parted onfriendly terms with the sheikh, who sent him two fine camels as apresent. He had as head servant his faithful Gatroni, who had gone toFezzan and had lately returned, five other freemen, and two slaves, besides another personage, who acted as his broker, well accustomed totravel in Negroland; but, being an Arab, the doctor only put confidencein him as long as circumstances were propitious. 

He encamped, as was his custom on commencing a journey, only two milesfrom the city. It was the coldest night he had experienced inNegroland, the thermometer being only nine degrees above thefreezing-point. 

On the 25th of December he arrived at Zinder, the frontier town ofBornou, built round and about masses of rock, which rose out of theground, the picturesqueness of the place being increased by groups ofdate-palms. Water, which collects at short depths below the surface, fertilises a number of tobacco-fields, and gives to the vegetationaround a very rich character. 

On the 5th of February, 1853, the party entered the town of Katseena, where he laid in a supply of articles. Here they were detained for aconsiderable time, as an expedition was setting out against the Fulbe, and it would have been dangerous to proceed until it was known whatdirection the hostile army would take. By the 25th of March, however, he was ready to continue his journey, the governor himself havingarranged to accompany him for some days, as the whole country wasexposed to imminent danger, and, further on, a numerous escort was toattend them. 

Interesting as his journey was, it is impossible to describe the variousplaces he visited or the adventures he met with. Day after day hetravelled on, sometimes detained for weeks and months together, at onetown or another, though he was never idle, always employing himself ingaining information, or in studying the language of the district throughwhich he was to pass. 

On the 19th of June he was close to the Niger, and hoped that the nextday he might behold with his own eyes that great river of Western Africawhich has caused such immense curiosity in Europe, and the upper part ofthe large eastern branch of which he had himself discovered. Elatedwith such feelings, he set out early the next morning, and, after amarch of two hours through a rocky wilderness covered with dense bushes, he obtained the first sight of the river, and in another hour reachedthe place of embarkation, opposite the town of Say. Here he beheld, ina noble, unbroken stream, the mighty Niger gliding along in anorth-north-east and south-south-west direction, though at this spot, owing to being hemmed in by rocky banks, only about seven hundred yardsbroad. It had been seen by Mungo Park flowing eastward, and it wastherefore, till the Landers descended it, supposed that it mightpossibly make its way into some vast lake in Central Africa. On theflatter shore opposite, a large town lay spread out, the low rampartsand huts of which were picturesquely overtopped by numbers of slenderdum-palms. 

After waiting some time the boats he had sent for, which were aboutforty feet in length and four to five in width, arrived. They wereformed by hollowing out two trunks of trees, which were sewn together inthe centre. His camels, horses, people, and luggage having crossed insafety, he followed in the afternoon, intending to survey the course ofthe river between the point where it has become well-known by thelabours of Mungo Park, Caillie, and the Landers. 

The language spoken here, the Songhay, differs materially from that withwhich he was acquainted, and he therefore was less able to converse withthe people than he had been before. 

Quitting Say, he left the Niger behind him, or rather on his right-handside, proceeding north-west towards Timbuctoo. The country on this sideof the Niger is thickly inhabited, and he passed numerous towns andvillages on his way. 

At the village of Namantugu he met an Arab from the west, calledWallati, who undertook to escort him safely to the town of Timbuctoo. He was a handsome fellow. His dress consisted of a long black gown, with a black shawl wound round his head, and he moved along at a solemnpace; he reminded the doctor of the servants of the Inquisition. 

The inhabitants of this place were clothed in the purest white, even thelittle children wearing round their heads turbans composed of strips ofwhite cotton. 

They had now entered a region full of water, the soil presenting verylittle inclination to afford it the means of flowing off. 

He was detained some time in the populous town of Dore, and on the 21stof July set out on the most dangerous stage of his journey to Timbuctoo. Many large sheets of water had to be crossed, and occasionally swamps, which greatly impeded their progress. It was the rainy season, and hewas thus at times unable to proceed. 

As he had now to traverse the province of Dellah, which is ruled by agovernor subject to the fanatical chief of Mas-ena, who would neverallow a Christian to visit his territory, the doctor was obliged toassume the character of an Arab. 

At the town of Bambarra, situated among the creeks and back-waters ofthe Niger, he met an Arab native of Tisit, who had made the pilgrimageto Mecca. The stranger cross-questioned him very narrowly about theplace from which he came, and the doctor had reason to fear he should bediscovered. However, the man's whole appearance inspired him with suchconfidence that he felt sure that he might be trusted. 

On the 27th of August the doctor set out on his last journey by land, inorder to reach Sarawano, the place where he was to embark on the river. 

It is only during the rainy season that there is communication by waterto Timbuctoo, which lies directly north from this place. 

He here engaged a boat with two cabins of matting, one in the prow andthe other in the stern. She was built of planks sewn together in a verybungling manner. 

A labyrinth of creeks, back-waters, and channels spreads over the wholeof this country, affording water-communication in all directions. 

On the 1st of September the voyage commenced, and the doctor naturallyfelt in high spirits when he found himself floating on the river whichwas to carry him all, the way to the harbour of Timbuctoo. The waterwas greatly obstructed by long grass, which made rowing impossible, andthe boat was therefore impelled by poles, generally moving at the rateof between two and three miles an hour. At night, a storm threatening, the boat was moored in a wide grassy creek; but the numerous swarms ofmosquitoes molested them greatly during the night. The barking soundsof some animals were heard, which the doctor found proceeded from youngcrocodiles. 

On the 2nd of September the boatmen made use of their oars, sometimespassing broad open spaces, and again getting into narrow channels. 

Barth and his attendants were tolerably well supplied with fish, whichthey either purchased or which were caught by the boatmen with aharpoon. 

They at last entered a large confluent of the Niger, and glidedpleasantly along, a short distance from the northern bank, which wasthickly clothed with trees, till at length, darkness approaching, theycrossed, fully a thousand yards, to the opposite bank, where the vesselwas moored near a village. Most of the party slept on shore, but othersmade themselves comfortable in the boat and on the top of the mattingwhich formed the cabins. 

The next day, they entered the mighty stream, along which theyproceeded, here running from the west to the east. It was at this spotabout a mile across, and its magnitude and solemn magnificence, as thenew-moon rose before them, with with the summer lightning at timesbreaking through the evening sky, inspired his servants with awe andalarm, while he stood on the roof, looking out for the city, the greatobject of his journey. 

Leaving the Niger and passing along a series of channels, the doctorlanded at the village of Kabara on the 5th of September. Here he tookup his quarters in a comfortable house while he despatched messengers tothe city. On their return, accompanied by the brother of the Sheikh ElBakay, Sidi Alawate (who turned out a great rogue and cheated him inevery way), with several followers, on the 7th of September hiscavalcade set out for Timbuctoo. 

The short distance was soon traversed, the doctor riding on ahead toavoid the questions of those who met the party, as, had they felt theslightest suspicion with regard to his character, they might haveprevented his entering the town, and thus endangered his life. Unfortunately he encountered a man who addressed him in Turkish, alanguage he had almost forgotten, and he had some difficulty in making areply. 

Traversing the rubbish accumulated round the clay walls of the city, andleaving on one side a row of dirty reed huts which encompassed theplace, he entered some narrow streets and lanes which scarcely allowedtwo horses to proceed abreast. He was not a little surprised at thepopulous and wealthy character which this quarter of the town exhibited, many of the houses rising to the height of two stories, their _facades_evincing even an attempt at architecture and adornment. 

On passing the house of the Sheikh El Bakay, he was desired to fire apistol to do him honour, but, as his arms were loaded with ball, hedeclined doing this, and soon reached the house destined for hisresidence, thankful to find himself safely in his new quarters. 

Timbuctoo has never been the real capital of a negro empire, but, onaccount of its becoming the seat of Mahommedan learning and worship, itenjoyed greater respect than Gogo, which was the real capital; and, onaccount of its greater proximity to Morocco, the little commerce whichremained in that distracted region was here concentrated. It has, however, undergone many changes during the fearful convulsions whichconstantly occur in that region. 

During the absence of the sheikh the doctor found it prudent to remainwithin the walls of his house, though he received visits from numerouspeople. From the flat roof of his house he was, however, able to enjoyair and exercise, and at the same time obtained a view of what was goingon in the city. For some time he suffered severely from fever, whilerain and thunder-storms occurred nearly _every_ day. 

He here heard much about Major Laing, who, after being almost killed bythe Tawarek, was kindly received in the camp of the sheikh's father. Hetried to obtain the major's papers, but found that they had all beendestroyed. He was much pleased with the Sheikh El Bakay, who treatedhim with real kindness, and regretted that he could not keep histroublesome brother Alawate in order. On one occasion he made thedoctor fire off his six-barrelled pistol, in front of his house, beforea numerous assemblage of people. This excited great astonishment, andexercised much influence upon his future safety, as it made the peoplebelieve that he had arms all over his person, and could fire as manytimes as he liked. 

The city of Timbuctoo is about three miles in circumference. The townis laid out partly in rectangular, partly in winding streets, coveredwith hard sand and gravel. Besides two market-places there are few openareas. There are about nine hundred and eighty clay houses, and acouple of hundred conical huts, of matting mostly, on the outskirts. Three large mosques and three smaller ones are the only places ofworship, there being no other public buildings of any size. It isdivided into quarters, one of which is especially inhabited byMahommedans, though the larger number of the people profess to havefaith in the Prophet. There are about thirteen thousand settledinhabitants, and, during the time of the greatest traffic, from five toten thousand people visit the city. 

A fanatical party, hearing that a Christian had come to the place, madevarious attempts to destroy him. By the advice of his kind protector, the sheikh, he determined to leave the city with him, and take up hisresidence in the desert. As he rode forth on his white mare, thenatives thronged the streets in order to get a glance at the Christianstranger. He was thankful to find himself once more in the fresh air ofthe desert. Here he passed several days in the most quiet and retiredmanner, much recovering his health. 

He then paid another visit to Timbuctoo, and was able to explore thecity and the great mosque, Jingere-Ber, which made a great impression onhis mind by its stately appearance. He had again, however, to return tothe camp of El Bakay, where the perils of his position kept increasing, and he in vain urged his dilatory protector to enable him to make hisescape. His enemies were legion--fresh parties arriving constantly toseize him, dead or alive. A band of them actually made a descent on thecamp, but were driven back by the bold front his friends exhibited. 

He had an interesting visit from an Arab chief, who was acquainted withMungo Park, and gave him a full account of the way in which he had beenattacked by the Tawarek as he descended the great river in his boat. 

On the 12th of December Barth heard that Ali, a fanatical chief of theBerabish, had arrived with a large body of followers, to take his life. Suddenly, however, Ali fell ill and died, and the people believed thatit was a judgment on him, as his father had killed Major Laing, whoseson it was supposed the doctor was. Many of the Berabish, indeed, cameto El Bakay to beg his pardon and to obtain his blessing, saying thatthey would no longer impede the stranger's departure. 

The river had gradually been rising, and on the 25th of December thewater entered the wells situated to the south of the town. 

On the 4th of January, 1854, the first boat from Kabara reachedTimbuctoo, and other boats arriving laden with corn, the supply shortlybecame plentiful and cheap. 

The inundation attained its greatest height towards the end of January, an event possessing almost the same importance as that of the rising ofthe Nile. 

The city depends entirely upon commerce, the only manufactures beingconfined to the art of the blacksmith and a little leather-work. 

Another year, 1854, of the persevering traveller's stay in Negroland, began with the fervent prayer that he might return home before the endof it. His hopes were raised that he might soon be able to set off. Numberless disappointments, however, occurred. 

On the 17th of March, by the advice of his friends, he returned to thecamp, such a step being deemed essential for the security of the townand their own personal interests. He was here kept till the 19th ofApril, and even then his friend the Sheikh El Bakay, could not overcomehis habitual custom of taking matters easy, and the sun was already highin the sky and very hot before the camels were loaded and the caravanbegan to move. 

In consequence of the progress the French were making in Algiers at thistime, much suspicion was attached to the doctor, as the people could notbut think that his journey to the country had some connection with them. Even after this he was detained till the 17th of May, at an encampmentamidst swamps, when at last the news arrived that the sheikh, who hadleft them, had gone on ahead, and all was joy and excitement. 

On overtaking the sheikh, who, as he awoke from his slumbers, receivedthe doctor with a gentle smile, despatches were delivered to him fromEngland. One from Lord John Russell expressed the warmest interest inhis proceedings, and others informed him that Dr Vogel, with twosergeants, had set out to join him, and that he would probably meet themin Bornou. He was much surprised that he received no news from hisfriend the vizier, as the parcel had evidently come by way of Bornou--little aware, at the time, of the murder of that friendly officer. 

The following day they passed through a dense forest, said to befrequented by lions. Keeping along the course of the river, which washere very shallow, crocodiles were seen in abundance, and anxiety wasfelt for the horses, which were pasturing on the fine rank grass at itsborders. 

Owing to the dilatory character of his friend the sheikh, the progresswas very slow, but he was thus enabled to enter into conversation withthe natives, and obtained much information. 

On his way he visited Gogo, situated at the southern limits of the GreatDesert, one portion on the banks of the river, and another on an island, that to the east having been inhabited by the Mahommedans, the other byidolators. He found the place, however, in a most ruinous condition, even the mosque itself being in a dilapidated state. Indeed, the oncegreat city of Negroland now consists only of from three to four hundredhuts, grouped in separate clusters and surrounded by heaps of rubbish, which indicated its former site. Here it is believed that Mungo Parkwas buried. 

While encamped at a place called Borno, close to the banks of the river, a number of hippopotami made their appearance, snorting fiercely atbeing disturbed, and put their horses to flight. At times theyinterrupted the intercourse between the banks, and in the evening becamestill more noisy, when they wanted to come out for their usual feed. 

He was fortunate in having so able a protector as the Sheikh El Bakay, who, in consequence of his supposed sacred character, was treated withhonour whenever he went. 

After visiting a number of places, both on the banks and eastward of it, he reached, on the 24th of August, Sackotoo. Here he receivedintelligence of the arrival of five Christians, with a train of fortycamels, at Kukawa, and had little doubt that it was the expedition underDr Vogel. 

On the 14th of October he arrived in Kano, where he found everythingprepared for his reception. He here received the intelligence thatSheikh Omar, of Kukawa, had been dethroned, his vizier slain, and thatin a fierce battle a number of his other friends had fallen. He hadmade up his mind, therefore, to proceed to Aire, instead of returning toBornou; but, subsequently hearing that Omar had been again installed, hekept to his former determination. 

At length, escaping from greedy rulers, hostile populations, wildbeasts, swamps, rains and fevers, he at length reached Bundi, nearKouka, on the 30th of November. 

He had again left that place, when, riding through the forest with hishead servant, he saw advancing towards him on horseback a young man, offair complexion, dressed in a _tobe_, with a white turban, andaccompanied by two or three blacks, also on horseback. The stranger wasDr Vogel, who dashed forward, when the two travellers gave each other ahearty reception on horseback. Dismounting in the forest, they unpackedtheir provisions and sat down to enjoy a social repast, Barth, however, being greatly disappointed that not a bottle of wine, for which he hadan extraordinary longing, had been brought. 

Vogel, with Corporal Church and Private Macguire, had come out tostrengthen the expedition and to follow up Barth's discoveries. Vogelsuccumbed to the climate about a year afterwards, on a journey toAdamawa. After his death Macguire was killed on his way home, andChurch returned with Dr Barth. 

While Vogel pursued his journey to Zinda, Barth proceeded on to Kukawa. He found the village of Kaleemri, which, on his outward journey, was socheerful and industrious, now a scene of desolation--a few scatteredhuts being all at present to be seen. Such is, unhappily, the fate ofnumerous towns and villages in this distracted country. 

His old friend, the Sheikh Omar, who had been reinstated, sent out abody of horsemen to give him an honourable reception on his return toKukawa. Here he had to remain four months, greatly troubled byfinancial difficulties, and finding that a considerable portion of hisproperty had been stolen by the rascality of one of his servants. Hishealth, too, was greatly shattered. 

It was not till the 4th of May that, in company with a Fezzan merchant, Kolo, he commenced his return journey, with a small caravan, towardsTripoli. At Barruwa they laid in a supply of dry, ill-smelling fish, which constitutes the most useful article of exchange in the Tebucountry. The region to his right, over which he had previously passed, was now entirely covered with water from the overflowing of the Chad, which had submerged several villages. 

He met with no unusual adventures during his long, tedious journeynorthward across the desert. 

At Mourzouk he had the pleasure of meeting Mr Frederick Warrington. Hehere remained six days, discharging some of his servants, and among themhis faithful Gatroni. 

Some tribes of Arabs had here rebelled against the Turks, and he was insome danger while in their hands. Escaping, however, from them, hereached Tripoli in the middle of August, and, embarking at the end offour days, arrived safely, on the 6th of September, in London. 

Although much of the country he had passed over was already known, noprevious African traveller more successfully encountered and overcamethe difficulties and dangers of a journey through that region. 

The most important result of his adventurous journey was the discoveryof a large river, hitherto unknown, falling into the Chad from thesouth, and of the still larger affluent of the Quorra, the mighty Binue, which, rising in the far-off centre of the continent, flows through theprovince of Adamawa. 

The courage and perseverance of Dr Barth, while for five yearstravelling many thousand miles, amidst hostile and savage tribes, in anenervating climate, frequently with unwholesome or insufficient food, having ever to keep his energies on the stretch to guard himself fromthe attacks of open foes or the treachery of pretended friends, havegained for him the admiration of all who read his travels, and place himamong the first of African travellers. 

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

CAPTAIN SPEKE'S DISCOVERIES OF THE SOURCE OF THE NILE. 

SPEKE'S PREVIOUS CAREER--JOINS AN EXPEDITION TO THE SOMALI COUNTRY--THESOMALI--ARRIVE AT BERBERA--ATTACKED BY ROBBERS--HIS ESCAPE AND RETURN TOADEN, AND FINALLY TO ENGLAND--JOINS CAPTAIN BURTON IN AN EXPEDITION TOTHE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON--SETS OUT FOR BOMBAY, AND AFTERWARDS TOZANZIBAR--ENGAGE SHEIKH SAID AND THEIR ESCORT--CROSS TO KAOLE--ARRIVE ATCAZE, AND RECEIVED BY THE ARAB MERCHANTS--PORTERS DESERT--ILLNESS OFCAPTAIN BURTON, AND CARRIED TO ZIMBILI--SETS OUT WITH FRESH PORTERS--ASIGHT OF THE TANGANYIKA LAKE--THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON--NEARLY BLIND--UP THE LAKE TO UJIJI--ARRIVE AT KAWELE--THEIR JOURNEY ON THE LAKECONTINUED--AN ALARM--CAMP AT NIGHT--SHELLS--A STORM--ARRIVE AT SULTANCASANGA'S TERRITORY--THE PEOPLE--ARRIVE AT THE FISH MARKET OF KABIZIA--ASINGA--CROSS TO KASENGE--RECEPTION--THE CHIEF DESCRIBED--THE RESULTS OFSLAVERY--HEARS OF A LARGE RIVER--CANNOT OBTAIN A BOAT--RETURNS TOUJIJI--SETS OUT TO EXPLORE A RIVER THAT FALLS INTO THE LAKE--TRICKS OFTHE PADDLERS--RETURNS TO UJIJI--HELP ARRIVES--RETURNS TO CAZE--SETS OUTTO EXPLORE THE COUNTRY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE NYANZA LAKE--TRICKSOF HIS ESCORT--VILLAGES DESCRIBED--DETAINED BY A SULTANA--THE RECEPTIONSHE GIVES SPEKE--ILLNESS IN THE CARAVAN--INON--LEAVING ISAMIRO, THENYANZA APPEARS IN SIGHT--THE SCENE--HE CALLED THE LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA--DESCENDS TO MUANZA--THE SOURCE OF THE NILE!--RETURN JOURNEY, AND ARRIVESAT CAZE--ARRIVES WITH CAPTAIN BURTON IN ENGLAND. 

Captain, then Lieutenant, John Hanning Speke, the son of a gentleman ofproperty in England, was an officer in the Indian army, and had takenpart under Lord Gough in the great battles of Ramnugger, Chillianwalla, and others. He had, at intervals during leave, travelled in theHimalaya Mountains, as well as through other parts of India and inThibet, for the purpose of collecting specimens of the fauna of thoseregions to form a museum in his father's house. While thus occupied, heformed the design of traversing Africa as soon as he could obtainfurlough, visiting the Mountains of the Moon and descending the Nilewith the same object in view. 

At the end of ten years' service, on obtaining furlough, hearing that anexpedition was to be sent by the Indian Government, under the command ofLieutenant Burton, to explore the Somali country, a large tract lyingdue south of Aden, and separated from the Arabian coast by the Gulf ofAden, he offered his services, and was accepted. Two other Indianofficers, Lieutenants Stroyan and Heme, also joined the expedition. 

The Somali are Mahommedans, descendants of Arabs who have intermarriedwith negroes. They are a savage, treacherous race, noted for theircheating and lying propensities; in figure tall, slender, light, andagile, scarcely darker than Arabs, with thin lips and noses, but woollyheads like negroes. Their ancestors, having taken possession of thecountry, drove out its former Christian inhabitants, who retreatednorthward. 

Caravans, however, pass through their country to their only port andchief market, Berbera, which at the time of the fair is crowded withpeople, though entirely deserted for the rest of the year. 

It was proposed that the expedition should follow the route of thesecaravans, or accompany one of them, and thus penetrate through thecountry, into the interior. 

Considerable time was spent in making excursions for short distances, during which Lieutenant Speke shot a large number of wild animals; butunfortunately the _abban_, or petty chief, who undertook to be hisprotector and guide, proved to be a great rascal, and cheated anddeceived him in every possible way. 

The Somali are keen and cunning sportsmen, and have various methods ofkilling elephants, ostriches, and gazelles. They fearlessly attack anelephant, on foot, one man only being mounted on a horse, who gallops infront, and while the animal pursues him, the others rush in andhamstring him with their knives. Ostriches are caught by throwing downpoison at the spots where they feed. The Somali also hunt them, on thebacks of their hardy little ponies. The ostrich is a shy bird, and isso blind at night that it cannot feed. A Somali, knowing this, providing himself with provisions for two or three days, sets off insearch of them; showing himself to the ostriches, he is discovered, buttakes care to keep at a distance. They stalk off, and he follows at thesame rate, but never approaches sufficiently near to scare them. Atnight the birds, unable to see, stop, but cannot feed. He, meantime, rests and feeds with his pony, resuming the chase the next day. Hefollows the birds in the same way as at first, they from constantfasting becoming weaker, till after the second or third day he is ableto ride in among them and knock them down in succession. 

The party had at length secured, after considerable trouble, the camelsand horses they required, and were encamped at Berbera, which wascompletely deserted by its inhabitants, when they were surprised atnight by a large band of robbers. Lieutenant Stroyan was killed andLieutenant Speke was made prisoner and desperately wounded, but, springing to his feet just as a robber was about to run him through withhis spear, he knocked over his assailant with his hands, though boundtogether, and made his escape to the sea-shore, to which the rest of theparty had already fled. They were here taken on board a vessel, whichhad providentially put in the day before, and in her returned to Aden. 

Although his first expedition had terminated so disastrously, on hisarrival in England Lieutenant Speke again volunteered to accompanyLieutenant Burton on an expedition to survey that part of the centre ofAfrica, in the neighbourhood of the Mountains of the Moon, where anenormous lake was supposed to exist, equal in size to the Caspian Sea. 

Returning to Bombay, Lieutenant Speke and Lieutenant Burton obtainedtheir outfit, and set sail on the 3rd of December, 1856, for Zanzibar, on board the HEIC sloop of war, "Elphinstone. "

At Zanzibar they were warmly welcomed by the consul, Colonel Hamerton, and well received by the Sultan Majid, who, from his intelligence andgood disposition, appeared likely to be a favourite with his people. 

As they had arrived during the dry season, they were unable to commencetheir journey, and some time was spent in visiting different parts ofthe coast. 

Their intention was to proceed to Ujiji, on the shores of LakeTanganyika, which was then supposed to be the southern end of the greatcentral lake. They engaged as their _kafila bashi_, or head of theircaravan, a well-disposed man, Sheikh Said. A body of the sultan'sBelooch soldiers, under a _jemadar_, or officer, and a party of slavesarmed with muskets, formed their escort. Besides them, they had theirprivate servants, Valentine and Gaetano, Goa men, who spoke Hindostanee, and a clever little liberated black slave, Bombay by name, who had beencaptured from his native place, Uhiyou, to the east of Lake Nyanza, andsold to an Arab merchant, by whom he was taken to India. Having servedthis master for several years, on his death he obtained his liberation, and made his way to Zanzibar. Here he took service in the army of thesultan, and was among those engaged by Lieutenant Speke. He was aremarkably quick, clever, honest little fellow, and in most instancescould thoroughly be trusted. 

Crossing to Kaole, on the mainland, on the 16th of June, 1857, they weredetained there collecting baggage animals. The first five hundred milesof their journey to Caze, a place in the centre of Unyamuezi, the Landof the Moon, was performed with comparative ease, and they weresubjected only to annoyances from the savage people and the graspingchiefs on the way. 

Caze is occupied by Arab merchants as a central trading depot, and israpidly increasing. It was supposed that Ujiji would be found much ofthe same character. Here they arrived on the 7th of November, 1857. They were kindly received by the Arab merchants, especially by SheikhSnay, and had a house appropriated to them. 

The houses of the Weezee, the people among whom they were living, arebuilt of mud, generally with flat tops: this description is called a_tembe_. Others, however, are in the form of haystacks, and areconstructed with great care; the door is very small, so that only oneperson can enter at a time. The villages are surrounded with a strongfence, having taller stakes on each side of the entrance, which aredecorated either with blocks of wood or the skulls of those who havebeen put to death. 

The flat-roofed houses are built round a large court, the outer wallsserving as the walls of the villages, all the doors opening into theinterior. 

Some time was usefully spent in gaining information from the Arabs andothers, who told them that the Nyanza was a separate lake to that ofUjiji, and that from the latter a river ran out to the northward--though, at first, they had stated that it ran into it. Besides thisthey heard that vessels frequented some waters to the north of theequator--a fact of which Speke had heard when travelling in the Somalicountry. 

Their porters, who had come from this part of the country, all leftthem, and they found the greatest difficulty in procuring others. 

Captain Burton here fell dangerously ill, and, as he believed that heshould die unless he could be moved, his companion had him carried toZimbili, where, by degrees, he recovered. At length a sufficient numberof porters being obtained, they broke ground on the 10th of January, 1858. 

Proceeding due west about one hundred and fifty miles, when moving overthe brow of a hill, they came in sight of the lovely Tanganyika lake, which could be seen in all its glory by everybody but Lieutenant Speke, who was suffering from inflammation of the eyes, caught by sleeping onthe ground while his system was reduced by fevers and the influence ofthe vertical sun. It had brought on almost total blindness, and everyobject before him appeared clouded by a misty veil. 

They were now standing on the eastern horn of a large, crescent-shapedmass of mountains, overhanging the northern half of the lake. Thesemountains Speke supposed to be the true Mountains of the Moon. 

Reaching the margin of the lake, a canoe was hired to carry them toUjiji, the chief place on its shores, frequented by Arabs. The lake atwhich they now arrived was supposed to be three hundred and eighty mileslong, and thirty to forty broad. Its waters are sweet and abound withfine fish. The sides of the lake are thickly inhabited by numerousnegro tribes, among whom are the Wabembe cannibals, into whose territorythe Arabs dare not venture. 

The explorers took up their abode in the deserted house of an Arabmerchant, at a small village called Kawele; but, unfortunately, thechief of the place, Kannina, was a tyrannical extortioner, and causedthem much trouble. They wished to engage an Arab dhow for navigatingthe lake, sufficiently large to carry provisions and to resist hostileattacks, but could only obtain a canoe. It was long and narrow, hollowed-out of the trunk of a single tree. She carried Bombay, Gaetano, two Belooch soldiers, and a captain, with twenty stark-nakedsavage sailors. In this Speke set out on the 3rd of March, 1858, whileBurton, too sick to move, remained at Ujiji. Speke and his attendantshad moved but a short distance along the shore, when a storm came on, and they had to camp till the afternoon of the 5th, when all got onboard. 

To pack so many men together was no easy matter. Speke had his beddingamidships, spread on reeds; the cook and bailsman sat facing him, andBombay and one Belooch behind him. Beyond them, in couples, were thecrew, the captain taking post in the bows. The seventeen paddles dashedoff with vigour. Steering southwards, they passed the mouth of theRuche river. They paddled on all night, and after dawn landed in asecluded nook for breakfast. All were busily occupied. Gaetano dippedhis cooking-pot in the sea for water, greatly to the annoyance of thenatives, who declared that the dregs from it would excite the appetitesof the crocodiles, who would be sure to follow the boat. They have asgreat an aversion to the crocodile as English seamen have to a shark. 

Suddenly there was a cry that foes were coming. All, jumping up, rushedto the boat, some seizing one thing, some another, the greater numberbeing left on the ground. A breathless silence followed; then onejumped on shore to secure a pot, and then another, and, gaining courage, they searched around, crawling cautiously in the bush, others stealthilymoving along, till at last a single man was pounced upon, with an arrowpoised in hand. He was one of eight or ten men of a tribe whom theydeclared to be a rough, lawless set of marauders. They therefore brokehis bow and arrows, and, though some of the crew proposed taking hislife, he was allowed to go. The sailors, on their return, each vauntedthe part he had taken in the exploit, boasting as though a mighty battlehad been won. 

They passed along a border of aquatic reeds, tenanted by crocodiles andhippopotami, the latter staring, grunting, and snorting, as if vexed atthe intrusion on their privacy. Many parts of the shore were desolate, the result of slave-hunting and cattle-lifting parties. 

"At night Speke's tent is pitched; the men build huts for themselveswith boughs, covering the top with grass, two men at the most occupyinga hut. When it rains they are covered by their mats, but, as they areall stark-naked, the rain can do them no harm. 

"Interesting shells, unknown to the conchological world, are picked up, numbers of which are lying on the pebbly beach. 

"They are delayed again by another storm. The superstitious captainwill answer no questions, for fear of offending the _ugaga_, or church, whilst at sea; he dreads especially to talk of places of departure andarrival, for fear ill luck should overtake them. 

"Fourteen hours are occupied in crossing the lake, when they reach agroup of islands belonging to Sultan Casanga. The sailors and hispeople fraternise, and enjoy a day of rest and idleness. At night theyare attacked by a host of small black-beetles, one of which gets intoSpeke's ear and causes him fearful pain, biting its way in, and by nomeans can he extract it. It, however, acts as a counter-irritant, anddraws away the inflammation from his eyes. 

"The population of the neighbouring shore is considerable, theinhabitants living in mushroom huts, and cultivating manioc, sweetpotato, and maize, and various vegetables. The people dress inmonkey-skins, the animals' heads hanging in front and the tailsdepending below. They are very inquisitive, and, by their jabberingsand pointings, incessantly, want Speke to show everything he possesses. 

"He gets away the next day, and reaches a fish market, in the littleisland of Kabizia, in time to breakfast on a large, black-backed, scaleless monster, the _singa_. The sailors considering it delicious, are disinclined to move on. 

"Again detained by a high wind, they cross, at noon on the 11th, toKasenge, where Sheikh Hamer, an Arab merchant, receives Speke with warmand generous hospitality. His house is built with good, substantialwalls of mud, and roofed with rafters and brushwood, the rooms beingconveniently partitioned off to separate his wife and other belongings, with an ante-room for general business. His object in coming to theremote district is to purchase ivory, slaves, and other commodities. Heis the owner of the dhow which Speke is anxious to obtain; but though heprofesses his readiness to lend it, he makes numberless excuses, andfinally Speke has to continue his voyage in his small canoe. 

"Slavery is the curse of this beautiful region. Here for a loin-clothor two a mother offers eagerly to sell one of her offspring and deliverit into perpetual bondage to his Belooch soldiers. Whole villages aredestroyed, in the most remorseless manner, by the slave-hunters toobtain their victims. The chiefs of the interior are as fond of gain asthose on the coast, and this sets one against the other, for the sake ofobtaining slaves to sell. 

"From Hamed Speke learns that a large river runs from the Mountains ofthe Moon into the northern end of the lake. 

"On the 13th the dhow comes in, laden with cows, goats, oil, and _ghee_;but, though Speke offers five hundred dollars for her hire, the Arabmerchant still refuses to lend her. 

"On the 27th Speke commences his return voyage, and arrives on the 31stat Ujiji. 

"Captain Burton is somewhat recovered, and, though unfit to travel, insists on starting in the canoe to explore the head of the lake--thechief, Kannina, offering to accompany them. Their object is to examinethe river which is said to fall into it. They start in two canoes, thechief and Captain Burton being in the largest. In eight days theyarrive at Uvira. The chief, however, will go no further, knowing thatthe savages of the Warundi are his enemies. He confirms the statementthat the Rusizi River runs into the lake. 

"The black naked crews are never tired of testing their respectivestrengths. They paddle away, dashing up the water whenever they succeedin coming near each other, and delighting in drenching the travellerswith the spray. Their great pleasure appears in torturing others, withimpunity to themselves. They, however, wear mantles of goat-skins indry weather, but, as soon as rain comes on, they wrap them up, and placethem in their loads, standing meantime trembling like dogs which havejust emerged from the water. 

"In no part of Africa have they seen such splendid vegetation as coversthis basin from the mountain-tops to the shores. "

On returning to Ujiji, Speke wished to make a further survey of thelake, but was overruled by Captain Burton, who considered that theirmeans were running short; indeed, had not an Arab merchant arrived, bringing supplies, they would have been placed in an awkward position. This timely supply was one of the many pieces of good fortune whichbefell them on their journey. Help had always reached them when theymost required it. 

Captain Burton, being too ill to walk, was carried in a hammock, and, setting out, they returned safely to Caze. 

They were here again received by their friend, Sheikh Snay, who gaveSpeke an account of his journey to the Nyanza Lake. His statements werecorroborated by a Hindoo merchant called Musa, who gave him also adescription of the country northward of the line, and of the riverswhich flowed out of the lake. 

Eager to explore the country, Speke arranged to set off, leaving CaptainBurton at Caze. Sheikh Snay, however, refused to accompany him, and hehad in consequence some difficulty in arranging with the Belooch guard. 

On the 9th of July, 1858, he was able to start his caravan, consistingof twenty porters, ten Beloochs, and his servants. The Beloochs were, from the first, sulky and difficult to manage, while the _pagazis_, orporters, played all sorts of tricks, sometimes leaving their loads andrunning off to amuse themselves, and in the evening they would dance andsing songs composed for the occasion, introducing everybody's name, andespecially Mzimza, the wise or white man, ending with the prevailingword, among these curly-headed bipeds, of "_Grub! grub! grub_!"

The Weezee villages are built in the form of a large hollow square, theouter wall of which serves for the backs of the huts; another wall formsthe front, and the intermediate space is partitioned off by interiorearthen walls. The roofs are flat, and on them are kept firewood, grain, pumpkins, and vegetables. Each apartment contains a family, withtheir poultry and cooking utensils; some, however, are devotedexclusively to goats and cows. 

They passed through forests of considerate size; caravans from the northwere also met with. At one place the country was found to be governedby a sultana, the only one they met with in their travels. She did herutmost to detain Speke, not allowing him an interview till the next day. On paying the lady a visit, he was received by an ugly, dirtily-garbedold woman, though with a smiling countenance, who, at his request, furnished him eggs and milk. At length the sultana appeared--an olddame with a short, squat figure, a nose flabby at the end, and eyesdestitute of brows or lashes, but blessed with a smiling face. Herdress consisted of an old _barsati_, dirtier even than her maid's. Herfingers were covered with rings of copper wire, and her legs staggeredunder an immense accumulation of anklets, made of brass-wire wound roundan elephant's tail or that of a zebra. On her arms were solid brassrings, and from other wire bracelets depended a variety of brazen, horn, and ivory ornaments. 

Squatting by his side, the sultana, after shaking hands, felt Speke allover, wondering at his dress. She insisted on his accepting a bullock;but, anxious to be off, he declined waiting for it. She at lastconsented to send it after him by some of his porters, who were toremain for the purpose. 

He was constantly detained by the laziness of his _ftagazis_, who, whengetting into a rich country, preferred eating the meat, eggs, andvegetables they could obtain. 

He unfortunately had only white beads with him, which which were not thefashion: with coloured beads he could have purchased provisions at amuch cheaper rate. Had the people also been addicted to wearing cloth, instead of decorating themselves with beads, he would with his clothhave been able to make his purchases much more advantageously. As thecountry is overstocked with common beads, it is far more economical toobtain high-priced than low-priced beads when preparing to start fromZanzibar. 

As warfare was going on, it was necessary to make a tortuous track toavoid the combatants. 

The _jemadar_ and two Beloochs complained of sickness and declared theycould not march, and poor Gaetano fell ill and hid himself in thejungle, being thus left behind. Men were sent off to search for him, and the next day the Beloochs brought him in, looking exactly like anaughty dog going to be punished. 

The sultans, however, of the different villages were generally friendly. 

When a desert tract had to be passed, the men went on well enough, hoping to obtain food at the next cultivated district. 

On the 30th of July Speke discerned, four miles off, a sheet of waterwhich proved to be a creek at the most southern portion of the Nyanza, called by the Arabs the Ukerewe Sea. 

Passing amidst villages and cultivated grounds, they descended to awatercourse which he called the Jordan. It is frequented byhippopotami, and rhinoceros pay frequent visits to the fields. 

Iron is found in abundance in this district, and nearly all the irontools and cutlery used in this part of Eastern Africa is manufacturedhere: it is, in truth, the Birmingham of the land. The porterstherefore wished to remain to make purchases of hoes. 

A rich country was passed through, and on the 4th of August the caravan, after leaving the village of Isamiro, ascended a hill, when the vastexpanse of the pale blue waters of the Nyanza burst suddenly on thetravellers' gaze. It was early morning. The distant sea-line of thenorth horizon was defined in the calm atmosphere between the north andwest points of the compass. An archipelago of islands intercepted theline of vision to the left. The sheet of water extended far away to theeastward, forming the south and east angle of the lake, while two largeislands, distant about twenty or thirty miles, formed the visible northshore of this firth. _Ukerewe_ is the name by which the whole lake iscalled by the Arabs. Below, at no great distance, was the debouchure ofthe creek along which he had travelled for the last three days. 

This scene would anywhere have arrested the traveller by its peacefulbeauty. He writes enthusiastically--

"The islands, each swelling in a gentle slope to a rounded summitclothed with wood, between the rugged, angular, closely-cropping rocksof granite, seen mirrored in the calm surface of the lake, on which ishere and there detected the a small black speck--the tiny canoe of someMuanza fisherman. On the gentle-shelving plain below me blue smokecurled above the trees, which here and there partially concealedvillages and hamlets, their brown thatched roofs contrasting with theemerald green of the beautiful milk-bush, the coral bunches of whichclustered in such profusion round the cottages, and formed alleys andhedgerows about the villages, as ornamental as any garden shrub inEngland. 

"But the pleasure of the mere view vanished in the presence of thosemore intense and exciting emotions which were called up by theconsideration of the commercial and geographical importance of theprospect before me. I no longer felt any doubt that the lake at my feetgave birth to that interesting river the source of which has been thesubject of so much speculation and the object of so many explorers. TheArab's tale was proved to the letter. This is a far more extensive lakethan the Tanganyika: so broad, you could not see across it, and so longthat nobody knew its length. "

To this magnificent lake Speke gave the name of Victoria Nyanza. 

Note. It has since been proved to be only one and the leastconsiderable of the sources of the White Nile, by the later discoveriesof Baker and Livingstone. 

He now descended to Muanza, on the shores of the lake, having altogetherperformed a journey of two hundred and twenty-six miles from Caze. 

He was here kindly treated by Sultan Mahaya, with whom an Arab merchant, named Mansur, was residing, who gave him much valuable information. 

Taking a walk of three miles along the shores of the lake, accompaniedby Mansur and a native, the greatest traveller of the place, he ascendeda hill whence he could obtain a good view across the expanse of waterspread out before him. Several islands were seen, but some so far-offas scarcely to be distinguishable. Facing to the west-north-west was anunbroken sea horizon, and he calculated that the breadth of the lake wasover a hundred miles. The native, when asked the length of the lake, faced to the north, and, nodding his head, indicated by signs that itwas something immeasurable, adding that he thought it probably extendedto the end of the world. 

Poor Mansur had been robbed of his merchandise, by a sultan whoseterritory was on the shore of the lake, and he had very little chance ofobtaining redress. 

Sultan Mahaya was considered the best and most just ruler in thosequarters; and when Speke proposed crossing the lake to the island of theUkerewe, he urged him on no account to make the attempt. Mansur alsodid his best to dissuade him, and, boats not being obtainable, he wascompelled to give up his design. 

Speke, arguing from the fact that the source of the Nile at the highestspot which had been reached, two thousand feet above the level of thesea, is considerably lower than the surface of the lake, which is fourthousand feet, is of opinion that the waters of the lake must flow intoit. The lake has, however, numerous feeders which flow from theMountains of the Moon. Indeed, from that and several other reasons, hefelt convinced that the lake is the real and long-looked-for source ofthe Nile. 

As no boats of any size were to be obtained, and having gained all theinformation he could, regretting that he was unable to extend hisexplorations, he bade the Sultan and his Arab friend adieu, and on the6th of August commenced his return journey. 

The country through which he passed abounds in game. Elephants arefiner here than in any other part of the world, and some have tusksexceeding five hundred pounds the pair in weight. The people are mostlyagricultural; and when a stranger comes among them, they welcome him, considering his advent as a good omen, and allow him to do what helikes. 

His black attendants were in much better humour on the return journey, as they were now going home, and, as the country was well stocked withcattle, they could obtain as much meat as was required. One villagethrough which he passed, being full of sweet springs, had a densepopulation possessing numerous herds of cattle. 

"If they were ruled by a few score of Europeans, what a revolution a fewyears would bring forth! An extensive market would be opened to theworld, and industry and commerce would clear the way for civilisationand enlightenment, " Speke remarks. 

The country is also, he says, high, dry, and healthy, while the air isneither too hot nor too cold. 

On the evening of the 25th of August he marched into Caze, under theinfluence of a cool night and bright moon, his attendants firing offmuskets and singing, while men, women, and children came flocking out, piercing the air with loud, shrill noises. The Arabs all came forth tomeet him and escort him to their depot, where Captain Burton, who hadbeen very anxious as to his safety, greeted him, numerous reports havingbeen set afloat about him. 

Captain Burton being now restored to health, they set off together forZanzibar, whence they shortly afterwards returned to England. 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

CAPTAINS SPEKE AND GRANT'S TRAVELS FROM THE ISLAND OF ZANZIBAR, ON THEEAST COAST OF AFRICA, TO LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA, AND DOWN THE NILE. 

SETS OUT WITH AN EXPEDITION TO PROVE THAT THE SOURCE OF THE NILE IS THENYANZA RIVER--ARRIVES AT ZANZIBAR--CROSSES TO BAGOMOYO WITH HISFOLLOWERS--THE CARAVAN--SQUABBLES AMONG THE PORTERS--THE MARCH BEGUN FORCAZE--THE TRAVELLER'S ROUTINE OF WORK--TRIBUTE DEMANDED BY CHIEFS--THEHOTTENTOT ESCORT AND THE WAGUANA ESCORT--THE COUNTRY OF THE WAZARAMO--THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS--KIDUNDA--ALONG THE KINGANNI RIVER TO THECOUNTRY OF THE USAGARA--GRANT IS ILL--UGOGO--THE PLACE AND PEOPLE--ENCAMP ON A CLEARING CALLED KANYENYE, WHERE SOME OF THE PORTERSABSCOND--SHOOTING RHINOCEROS--NEW YEAR'S DAY AT ROUND ROCK--UNYAMUEZI, THE COUNTRY OF THE MOON--CAZE--RECEIVED BY HIS FRIEND MUSA--THEUNYAMUEZI PEOPLE--SET OUT AND REACH MININGA--LIBERATES A SLAVE--ILLNESS, AND RETURNS TO CAZE--THE CUSTOM OF THE WEEZEE--REACHES MININGA AGAIN--DIFFICULTIES--ARRIVES AT THE DISTRICT OF THE CHIEF, MYONGA--THE PIG--DIFFICULTIES AGAIN--SPEKE'S ILLNESS--IS ATTENDED BY LUMERESI, WHOAFTERWARDS MAKES EXTORTIONATE DEMANDS AND CAUSES TROUBLE--ALARMING NEWSOF GRANT. 

Captain Speke, who had already made two expeditions into Africa, whichhave been described--on the second of which he discovered the greatlake, Victoria Nyanza--started, on the 20th of July, 1858, on a thirdexpedition, in the hopes of proving that the Nile has its source in thatlake. He was accompanied by an old Indian brother officer, CaptainGrant. 

Having reached the island of Zanzibar, where some time was spent incollecting a sufficient band of followers, they left Zanzibar on the25th of September, in a corvette placed at their disposal by the sultan, and crossed over to Bagomoyo, on the mainland. 

They had, as their attendants, ten men of the Cape Mounted Rifles, whowere Hottentots; a native commandant, Sheikh Said; five old blacksailors, who spoke Hindostanee; in addition to Bombay, Speke's formerattendant, factotum, and interpreter; a party of sixty-four Waguanablacks, emancipated from slavery; and fifteen porters of the interior. The two chief men, besides Said, were Bombay and Baraka, who commandedthe Zanzibar men. Fifty carbines were distributed among the elder menof the party, and the sheikh was armed with a double-barrelled rifle, given to him by Captain Speke. The sultan also sent, as a guard ofhonour, twenty-five Beloochs, with an officer, to escort them as far asUzaramo, the country of the Wazaramo. They had also eleven mules tocarry ammunition, and five donkeys for the sick. 

Their whole journey was to be performed on foot. As there were noroads, their luggage was carried on the backs of men. 

Some time was spent among the porters in squabbling, and arranging theirpacks. Their captain, distinguishable by a high head-dress of ostrichplumes stuck through a strip of scarlet flannel, led the march, flag inhand, followed by his gang of woolly-haired negroes, armed with spearsor bows and arrows, carrying their loads, either secured tothree-pronged sticks or, when they consisted of brass or copper wire, hung at each end of sticks carried on the shoulder. The Waguanafollowed in helter-skelter fashion, carrying all sorts of articles, nextcame the Hottentots, dragging the mules with the ammunition, whilstlastly marched the sheikh and the Belooch escort, the goats and women, the sick and stragglers bringing up the rear. 

One of the Hottentot privates soon died, and five others were sent backsick. About thirty Seedees deserted, as did nearly all the porters, while the sheikh also soon fell sick. 

On the 2nd of October, having bid farewell to Colonel Rigby, the Britishconsul at Zanzibar, who took deep interest in the expedition, andafforded it every assistance in his power, the march began. 

They had first before them a journey of five hundred miles to Caze, thecapital of the country of the Moon, in latitude 5 degrees south, longitude 33 degrees east, being due south of Lake Victoria Nyanza. This was a small portion, however, only of the distance to be performed. 

Captains Speke and Grant divided the duties of the expedition betweenthem, the first mapping the country, which is done by timing the rate ofmarch, taking compass-bearings, noting the water-shed, etcetera. Then, on arriving in camp, it was necessary to boil the thermometer toascertain the altitude of the station above the sea-level, and thelatitude by the meridional altitude of a star; then, at intervals ofsixty miles, lunar observations had to be taken to determine thelongitude; and, lastly, there was the duty of keeping a diary, sketching, and making geological and zoological collections. CaptainGrant made the botanical collections and had charge of the thermometer. He kept the rain-guage and sketched with water colours, for it was foundthat photography was too severe work for the climate. 

The march was pursued before the sun was high, then came breakfast and apipe before exploring the neighbourhood, and dinner at sunset, then teaand pipe before turning in at night. 

Scarcely had they commenced the journey than the petty chiefs demandedtribute, which it was necessary to pay. The porters also struck forhigher wages; but, the leaders going on, they thought better of thematter, and followed. 

The poor Hottentots suffered much from the climate, and were constantlyon the sick-list. The Waguana treated them with great contempt, and oneday, while a little Tot was trying to lift his pack on his mule a largeblack grasped him, pack and all, in his muscular arms, lifting themabove his head, paraded him round the camp amid much laughter, and then, putting him down, loaded his mule and patted him on the back. 

"A day's march being concluded, the sheikh and Bombay arrange the camp, issuing cloths to the porters for the purchase of rations, the tents arepitched, the Hottentots cook, some look after the mules and donkeys, others cut boughs for huts and fencing, while the Beloochs are supposedto guard the camp, but prefer gossiping and brightening their arms, while Captain Grant kills two buck antelopes to supply the larder. "

The country through which they were passing belongs to to the tribe ofWazaramo. It is covered with villages, the houses of which are mostlyof a conical shape, composed of hurdle-work and plastered with clay, andthatched with grass or reeds. They profess to be the subjects of theSultan of Zanzibar. They are arrant rogues, and rob travellers, whenthey can, by open violence. They always demand more tribute than theyexpect to get, and generally use threats as a means of extortion. Oneof their chiefs, the Lion-Claw, was very troublesome, sending back thepresents which had been made him, and threatening dire vengeance if hisdemands were not complied with. Further on, Monkey's-Tail, anotherchief, demanded more tribute; but Speke sent word that he should smellhis powder if he came for it; and, exhibiting the marksmanship of hismen, Monkey's-Tail thought better of it, and got nothing. 

The people, though somewhat short, are not bad-looking. Though theirdress is limited, they adorn themselves with shells, pieces of tin, andbeads, and rub their bodies with red clay and oil, till their skinsappear like new copper. Their hair is woolly, and they twist it into anumber of tufts, each of which is elongated by the fibres of bark. Theyhave one good quality, not general in Africa: the men treat the womenwith much attention, dressing their hair for them, and escorting them tothe water, lest any harm should befall them. 

Kidunda was reached on the 14th of October. Hence the Belooch escortwas sent back the next day, with the specimens of natural history whichhad been collected. 

Proceeding along the Kinganni River they reached the country of theUsagara, a miserable race, who, to avoid the slave-hunters, build theirvillages on the tops of hills, and cultivate only just as much landamong them as will supply their wants. Directly a caravan appears, theytake to flight and hide themselves, never attempting resistance ifovertaken. Their only dress consist of a strip of cloth round thewaist. 

Captain Grant was here seized with fever, and the sickness of theHottentots much increased. 

A long day's march from the hilly Usagara country led the party into thecomparatively level land of Ugogo. Food was scarce, the inhabitantsliving on the seed of the calabash to save their stores of grain. 

The country has a wild aspect, well in keeping with the natives whooccupy it. The men never appeared without their spears, shields, and_assegais_. They are fond of ornaments, the ordinary one being a tubeof gourd thrust through the lower lobe of the ear. Their colour issomewhat like that of a rich plum. Impulsive and avaricious, theyforced their way into the camp to obtain gifts, and thronged the road asthe travellers passed by, jeering, quizzing, and pointing at them. 

On the 27th, they encamped on the eastern border of the largest clearingin Ugogo, called Kanyenye, stacking their loads beneath a largegouty-limbed tree. Here eight of the Wanyamuezi porters absconded, carrying off their loads, accompanied by two Wagogo boys. 

Speke set off to shoot a rhinoceros at night. Having killed one, twomore approached in a stealthy, fidgetty way. Stepping out from hisshelter, with the two boys carrying his second rifle, he planted a ballin the largest, which brought him round with a roar in the best positionfor receiving a second shot; but, on turning round to take his sparerifle, Speke found that the black boys had scrambled off like monkeys upa tree, while the rhinoceros, fortunately for him, shuffled away withoutcharging. He hurried back to let his people know that there was foodfor them, that they might take possession of it before the hungry Wagogocould find it. Before, however, they had got the skin off the beast, the natives assembled like vultures, and began fighting the men. Thescene, though grotesque, was savage and disgusting in the extreme; theyfell to work with swords and hatchets, cutting and slashing, thumpingand bawling, up to their knees in the middle of the carcass. When atempting morsel was obtained by one, a stronger would seize it and bearoff the prize--right was now might. Fortunately no fight took placebetween the travellers and the villagers. The latter, covered withblood, were seen scampering home, each with a part of the spoil. 

The Sheikh Magomba did his utmost to detain them, sending his chief, Wazir, in an apparently friendly manner, to beg that they would live inhis palace. The bait, however, did not take--Speke knew the rogue toowell. Next day the sheikh was too drunk to listen to anyone, and thusday after day passed by. The time was employed in shooting, and anumber of animals were killed. Magomba, however, induced nearly thewhole of the porters to decamp, and there was great difficulty inobtaining others to take their places. An old acquaintance, whom theymet in a caravan, urged them not to attempt to move, as he thought thatit would be impossible for them to pass through the wilderness dependingonly on Speke's and Grant's guns for their support. 

Still Speke resolved to push on, and most of the men who had desertedcame back. 

To keep up discipline, one of the porters, who had stolen seventy-threeyards of cloth, which was found in his kit, received three dozen lashes, and, being found to be a murderer and a bad character, he was turned outof the camp. 

They spent New Year's Day at Round Rock, a village occupied by a fewWakimbu, who, by their quiet and domestic manners, made them feel thatthey were out of the forest. Provisions were now obtained by sendingmen to distant villages; but they were able to supply the camp withtheir guns, killing rhinoceros, wild boar, antelope and zebra. 

On the 23rd of January they entered Unyamuezi, or the country of themoon, little inferior in size to England, but cut up into numerouspretty states. The name is abbreviated to Weezee. 

On the 24th they reached Caze, where Speke had remained so long on hisformer visit. His old friend, Musa, came out to meet them, and escortedthem to his _tembe_, or house, where he invited them to reside till hecould find porters to carry their property to Karague, promising to gothere with them himself. They found here also Sheikh Snay, who, withother Arab merchants, came at once to call on them. Snay told him thathe had an army of four hundred slaves prepared to march against thechief, Manua Sera, who was constantly attacking and robbing theircaravans. Speke advised him not to make the attempt, as he was likelyto get the worst of it. The other Arab merchant agreed that a treaty ofpeace would be better than fighting. 

Musa gave him much information about the journey northward, and promisedto supply him with sixty porters from his slave establishment, by whicharrangement Speke would have a hundred armed men to form his escort. 

Musa loudly praised Rumanika, the King of Karague, through whosedominions the expedition was to pass. 

Some time, however, was of necessity spent at Caze in makingpreparations for the journey, the two travellers employing themselvesduring it in gaining information about the country. 

The Wanyamuezi, among whom they were residing, are a polite race, havinga complete code of etiquette for receiving friends or strangers; drumsare beat both on the arrival and departure of great people. When onechief receives another, he assembles the inhabitants of the village, with their drums and musical instruments, which they sound with alltheir might, and then dance for his amusement. The drum is used, likethe bugle, on all occasions; and, when the travellers wished to move, the drums were beaten as a sign to their porters to take up theirburdens. The women courtesy to their chief, and men clap their handsand bow themselves. If a woman of inferior rank meets a superior, shedrops on one knee and bows her head; the superior then places her handon the shoulder of the kneeling woman, and they remain in this attitudesome moments, whispering a few words, after which they rise and talkfreely. 

The Wanyamuezi, or, as they are familiarly called, the Weezee, are greattraders, and travel to a considerable distance in pursuit of theirbusiness. 

When a husband returns from a journey, his favourite wife prepares toreceive him in a peculiar manner. Having put on all her ornaments, towhich she adds a cap of feathers, she proceeds, with her friends, to theprincipal wife of the chief, when, the lady coming forth, they all dancebefore her, taking care to be thus occupied when the husband makes hisappearance, a band of music playing away and making as much noise aspossible with their instruments. 

On the 7th of February news was brought that Sheikh Snay had carried outhis intention of attacking Manua Sera, whom he found ensconced in ahouse at Tura. Manua, however, made his escape, when Snay plundered thewhole district, and shot and murdered every one he fell in with, carrying off a number of slaves. The chief, in consequence, threatenedto attack Caze as soon as the merchants had gone off on theirexpeditions in search of ivory. 

Soon after this it was reported that Snay and other Arabs had beenkilled, as well as a number of slaves. This proved to be true. 

Finding that nothing more could be done at Caze, the travellers, assembling their caravan, commenced their march northward on the 17th ofMarch. 

On the 24th they reached Mininga, where they were received by an ivorymerchant named Sirboko. Here one of Sirboko's slaves, who had beenchained up, addressed Speke, piteously exclaiming: "Oh, my lord, takepity on me! When I was a free man, I saw you on the Tanganyika lake; mypeople were there attacked by the Watuta, and, being badly wounded, Iwas left for dead, when, recovering, I was sold to the Arabs. If youwill liberate me, I will never run away, but serve you faithfully. "Touched by this appeal, Speke obtained the freedom of the poor man fromhis master, and he was christened Farham, or Joy, and enrolled among hisother freemen. 

The abominable conduct of the Arabs, who persisted in attacking thenatives and devastating the country, placed the travellers in an awkwardposition. The Hottentots, too, suffered so much from sickness that, asthe only hope of saving their lives, it was necessary to send them backto Zanzibar. Speke therefore found it necessary to return to Caze, which he reached on the 2nd of May, leaving Grant, who was ill, behindat Mininga. 

He here heard of a tribe of cannibals, who, when they cannot get humanflesh, give a goat to their neighbours for a dying child, consideringsuch as the best flesh. They are, however, the only cannibals known inthat district. 

They were still in the country of the Weezee, of whose curious customsthey had an opportunity of seeing more. Both sexes are inveteratesmokers. They quickly manufacture their pipes of a lump of clay and agreen twig, from which they extract the pith. They all grow tobacco, the leaves of which they twist up into a thick rope like a hay-band, andthen coil it into a flattened spiral, shaped like a target. They arevery fond of dancing. A long strip of bark or cow-skin is laid on theground, and the Weezee arrange themselves along it, the tallest manposting himself in the centre. When they have taken their places themusicians begin playing on their instruments, while the dancers commencea strange chant, more like a howl than a song. They bow their heads, putting their hands on their hips and stamping vigorously. The men notdancing look on, encouraging their friends by joining in the chorus, while the women stand behind without speaking. Meantime, the elders siton the ground drinking _pomba_. On one of these occasions the chief, who was present, drank more _pomba_ than any of the people. 

While the party were thus engaged, two lads, with zebra manes tied overtheir heads, and two bark tubes, formed like huge bassoons, in theirhands, leaped into the centre of the dancers, twisting and turning andblowing their horns in the most extraordinary manner. The men, women, and children, inspired by the sound of the music, on this began to singand clap their hands in time. 

_Pomba_ is a sort of spirituous liquor, produced from a kind of graingrown in the country, which is cultivated by women, who nearly entirelysuperintend the preparation of the drink. 

They received a visit from Sultan Ukulima, of Unyamuezi, a fine hale oldman, who was especially fond of this beverage, drinking it all day long. He was pleasant enough in manner, and rather amusing when he happenednot to be tipsy. Being fond of a practical joke, he used to beg forquinine, which he would mix slyly with _pomba_, and then offer it to hiscourtiers, enjoying the wry faces they made when partaking of the bitterdraught. He used to go round to the houses of his subjects, managing toarrive just as the pomba-brewing was finished, when he would take adraught, and then go on to the next. He sometimes sucked it through areed, just as a sherry cobbler is taken, while one of his slaves heldthe jar before him. 

The women and men do not drink it together. It is the custom of theladies to assemble in the house of the sultana, and indulge in it in hercompany. 

The women, as has been said, are employed in the cultivation of thegrain from which it is made. When it is green, they cut off the earswith a knife. These are then conveyed to the village in baskets, andspread out in the sun to dry. The men next thrash out the grain withlong, thin flails. It is afterwards stacked in the form of corn-ricks, raised from the ground on posts, or sometimes it is secured round a tallpost, which is stuck upright in the ground, swelling out in the centresomewhat in the shape of a fisherman's float. When required for use, itis pounded in wooden mortars, and afterwards ground between two stones. 

Speke reached Mininga again on the 15th, where he found Grant greatlyrecovered. During his absence three villagers had been attacked by acouple of lions. The men took to flight, and two gained the shelter oftheir hut, but the third, just as he was about to enter, was seized bythe monsters and devoured. 

Difficulties of all sorts beset them: the chief was obtaining porters;Musa, too, who pretended to be so friendly, did not keep faith withthem; but, rather than be delayed, Speke paid the beads demanded, andonce more set off. 

At length he obtained a _kirangozi_, or leader, by name Ungurue, whichmay be translated the Pig. He had frequently conducted caravans toKarague, and knew the languages of the country. He proved to be whathis name betokened--a remarkably obstinate and stupid fellow. 

Speke was still detained by the difficulty of procuring porters, somebeing engaged in harvest, while others declared that they feared theWatuta and other enemies in the districts through which they would haveto pass. 

An Arab caravan which had followed them was in the same condition. 

At length, having obtained a part of the number he required, a camp wasformed at Phunze, where Grant, with Bombay to attend on him, remained incharge of part of the baggage, while Speke, with the Pig as his guideand Baraka as his attendant, pushed on ahead. 

The chiefs of every district through which they passed demanded _hongo_, or tribute, without which the travellers could not move forward. Thiscaused numberless provoking delays, as the chiefs were often not contentwith what was offered to them. 

On the 9th of June he arrived in a district governed by a chief calledMyonga, famed for his extortions and infamous conduct, in consequence ofwhich no Arabs would pass that way. On approaching his palace, wardrums were heard in every surrounding village. The Pig went forward toobtain terms for the caravan to pass by. Myonga replied that he wishedto see a white man, as he had never yet set eyes on one, and would havea residence prepared for him. Speke declined the favour, but sentBaraka to arrange the _hongo_. Baraka amused himself, as usual, forsome hours, with firing off volleys of ammunition, and it was not tillevening that the palace drums announced that the _hongo_ had beensettled, consisting of six yards of cloth, some beads, and otherarticles. On this Speke immediately gave orders to commence the march, but two cows had been stolen from the caravan, and the men declared thatthey would not proceed without getting them back. Speke knew that if heremained more cloths would be demanded, and as soon as the cows arrivedhe shot them and gave them to the villagers. This raised a mutiny amonghis men, and the Pig would not show the way, nor would a single porterlift his load. Speke would not enter the village, and his partyremained, therefore, in the open all night. The next morning, as heexpected, Myonga sent his prime minister, who declared that the ladiesof his court had nothing to cover their nakedness, and that somethingmore must be paid. This caused fresh difficulties, the drums beat, andat length, much against his inclination, Speke paid some more yards ofcloth for the sake of Grant, who might otherwise have been annoyed bythe scoundrel. 

This is a specimen of some of the lighter difficulties which thetravellers had to encounter on their journey. 

Having passed a number of villages, they entered a tract of jungle inwhich a stream formed the boundary between the great country of the Moonand the kingdom of Uzinga. 

The district Speke next entered was ruled by two chieftains descendedfrom Abyssinians. They were as great extortioners, however, as any ofthe pure negro race. 

The Pig continued his tricks, and the travellers were heavily taxed androbbed at every step. The porters, too, refused to advance, declaringthat they should be murdered, as the Watuta, their great enemies, wereout on a foray: finally, they ran away and hid themselves. TheseWatuta, they said, were desperate fellows, who had invaded their countryand killed their wives and children, and had despoiled them ofeverything they held dear. Baraka also showed the white feather. Speke, however, put on a bold front, and declared that he would returnto Caze and collect men who would not be afraid to accompany him toUsui. He carried his plan into execution, rejoined Grant, and obtainedtwo fresh guides, Bui and Nasib, a steady old traveller. Still he wasunable to obtain fresh porters to carry on his baggage, and he was oncemore obliged to part from Grant. 

Having gone some way, Speke was taken seriously ill, while, again, hisguides refused to proceed. This occurred while he was in the districtof a chief, named Lumeresi, who insisted on his coming to his village, feeling jealous that he had remained in that of another inferior chief. Lumeresi was not in when Speke arrived, but on his return, at night, hebeat all his drums to celebrate the event, and fired a musket; in replyto which Speke fired three shots. The chief, however, though hepretended to be very kind, soon began to beg for everything he saw. Speke, who felt that his best chance of recovering from his illness waschange of air, ordered his men to prepare a hammock in which he might beconveyed. Although he had already given the chief a handsome _hongo_, or tribute, consisting of a red blanket, and a number of pretty commoncloths for his children, no sooner did he begin to move than Lumeresiplaced himself in his way and declared that he could not bear the ideaof his white visitor going to die in the jungle. His true object, however, was to obtain a robe, or _deole_, which Speke had determinednot to give him. However, at length, rather than be detained, hepresented the only one which he had preserved for the great chief, Rumanika, into whose territories he was about to proceed. Scarcely hadthe chief received it, than he insisted on a further _hongo_, exactlydouble what had previously been given him. Again Speke yielded, andpresented a number of brass-wire bracelets, sixteen cloths, and ahundred necklaces of coral beads, which were to pay for Grant as well ashimself. 

When about to march, however, Bui and Nasib were not to be found. Onthis, Speke determined to send back Bombay to Caze for fresh guides andinterpreters, who were to join Grant on their return. 

In the meantime, while lying in a fearfully weak condition, reducedalmost to a skeleton, he was startled, at midnight, out of his sleep byhearing the hurried tramp of several men. They proved to be Grant'sporters, who, in short excited sentences, told him that they had leftGrant standing under a tree with nothing but a gun in his hand; that hisWanguann porters had been either killed or driven away, having beenattacked by Myonga's men, who had fallen upon the caravan, and shot, speared, and plundered the whole of it. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

SPEKE AND GRANT'S TRAVELS CONTINUED. 

CAPTAIN GRANT--HIS DESCRIPTION OF A WEEZEE VILLAGE AND THE CUSTOMS OFTHE PEOPLE--SLAVERY--SETS OUT, AND IS ATTACKED BY MYONGA--GRANT ANDSPEKE UNITE--JOURNEY TO KARAGUE--THE COUNTRY DESCRIBED--RUMANIKARECEIVES THEM--THE PEOPLE AND THEIR CUSTOMS--WILD ANIMALS--SPEKE SETSOUT FOR UGANDA. 

We must now return to Captain Grant, who had been left in the Unyamuezicountry, about which, during his stay, he made numerous observations. 

"In a Weezee village, " he tells us, "there are few sounds to disturb thetraveller's night rest. The horn of the new-comers, and the reply to itfrom a neighbouring village, an accidental alarm, the chirping ofcrickets, and the cry from a sick child occasionally, however, broke thestillness. At dawn the first sounds were the crowing of cocks, thelowing of cows, the bleating of calves, and the chirruping of sparrows(which might have reminded him of Europe). Soon after would be heardthe pestle and mortar shelling corn, or the cooing of wild pigeons inthe neighbouring palm-grove. " The huts were shaped like corn-stacks, dark within as the hold of a ship. A few earthen jars, tattered skins, old bows and arrows, with some cups of grass, gourds, and perhaps astool constitute the furniture. 

Different tribes vary greatly in appearance. Grant describes some asvery handsome. He mentions two Nyambo girls, who, in the bloom ofyouth, sat together with their arms affectionately twined round eachother's neck, and, when asked to separate that they might be sketched, their arms were dropped at once, exposing their necks and busts, modelsfor Greek slaves. Their woolly hair was combed out, and raised up fromthe forehead and over their ears by a broad band from the skin of amilk-white, cow, which contrasted strangely with their transparent, light-copper skins. The Waha women are like them, having tall, erect, graceful figures and intelligent features. 

An Arab trader, whom they had met, had sixty wives, who lived togetherin a double-poled tent, with which he always travelled. One of them wasa Watusi, a beautiful, tall girl, with large, dark eyes, and thesmallest mouth and nose, with thin lips and small hands. Her noble racewill never become slaves, preferring death to slavery. 

The Wanyamuezi treat the Watusi with great respect. When two people ofthese tribes meet, the former presses his hands together, the Watusiuttering a few words in a low voice. If a Watusi man meets a woman ofhis own tribe, she lets her arms fall by her side, while he gentlypresses them below the shoulders, looking affectionately in her face. 

The class of Arabs met with were a most degraded set: instead ofimproving the country, they brought ruin upon it by their imperiousnessand cruelty. All traded in slaves and generally treated them mostharshly. Several gangs were met with in chains. Each slave was dressedin a single goat's skin, and at night they kept themselves warm by lyingnear a fire. Never, by day or night, is the chain unfastened; shouldone of them require to move, the whole must accompany him. All atetogether boiled sweet potato, or the leaves of the pumpkin plant, andwere kept in poor condition to prevent their becoming troublesome. 

Any meat or bones left from the travellers' dinners were therefore giventhem, and accepted thankfully. One gang was watched over by a smalllad, whose ears had been cut off, and who treated them with unfeelingcoarseness. A sick slave having recovered, it was the boy's duty tochain him to his gang again, and it was grievous to see the rough way heused the poor, emaciated creature. 

They had not much work to do, the sole object of the owner being to keepthem alive and prevent their running away till sold at the coast. Theygenerally looked sullen and full of despair; but occasionally, at night, they danced and became even riotous, till a word from the earless imprestored them to order. 

Among them was a poor fellow who had been five years in chains. Thetravellers took compassion on him, and released him from bondage. Hischains were struck off with a hammer, and, once on his feet, a freedman, he seemed scarcely to believe the fact; when, however, attired in aclean calico shirt, he strutted about and soon came to make his newmaster his best bow. On his body were numerous spear-wounds. He hadbeen captured by the Watuta, who had cut off several of his toes. Thisman never deserted them during the journey, accompanying them to Cairo, having gained the character of a faithful servant. 

The Arab in Africa takes presents for everything he does, and it wasbelieved that the white men would do the same. If a bullet wasextracted, a gun repaired, an old sultan physicked, or the split lobe ofan ear mended, a cow or cows were at hand to be paid when the task wasfinished. 

When slaves were brought for sale and declined by the Englishmen, thenatives could not understand their indifference to such traffic, butwould turn from them with a significant shrug, as much as to say: "Whyare you here then?" The most horrible punishments are inflicted onthose who offend against the laws of the country. A woman and lad, whohad been accused of bewitching the sultan's brother, were found withtheir arms tied behind them, writhing in torture on their faces. Nosympathy was shown them from the jeering crowd. The lad at last criedout: "Take me to the forest; I know a herb remedy. " He was allowed togo, while the woman was kept in the stocks near the sick patient. Thelad was put to death, and Captain Grant suspected, tortured before afire. Another man, for a crime in the sultan's harem, was stripped, tied to railings, and his person smeared with grease and covered withgreased rags, which were then set fire to, when he was dragged forth toa huge fire outside the village. On his way, _assegais_ were darted athim by the son and daughter-in-law of the sultan, and when he fell hewas dragged out by one leg. 

Grant had the same difficulties in moving that Speke had experienced. 

At length, on the 12th of September, he got away, but on the 16th, as hewas passing through the territory of Sultan Myonga, his men moving inIndian file, a band of two hundred natives, armed with _assegais_ andbows and arrows, burst upon him, springing over the ground like cats. The uplifted _assegais_ and the shouts of the robbers frightened theporters, who gave up their loads and attempted to escape from theruffians, who were pulling their clothes and loads from them. Grantendeavoured without bloodshed to prevent this, but, as he had only oneof his gun-men and two natives by him, he could do nothing. LittleRohan the sailor, one of his Zambesi men, was found with his rifle inhand at full cock, defending two loads against five men. He had beenurged to fly for his life. The property, he answered, was his life. Grant made his way, however, to Myonga, seeing as he went the nativesdressed out in the stolen clothes of his men. Though honour was dear, the safety of the expedition was so likewise, and one false step wouldhave endangered it. 

Myonga pretended to be very indignant, and said that he had cut off thehand of one of his men, and promised that the property should berestored. Some of the loads were given back, but others had been brokenopen and rifled, and the chief demanded an enormous _hongo_ forpermitting Grant to proceed. This was the origin of the alarmingintelligence Captain Speke had received. 

At length the two travellers united their forces, and together theycontinued their journey towards Karague. To reach it they had first topass through the province of Usui, the chief of which, Suwarora, pillaged them as usual. Here the little grass-hut villages were notfenced by a _boma_, but were hidden in large fields of plantains. Cattle were numerous, kept by the Wahuma, who would not sell their milk, because the Englishmen eat fowls. Their camp, night after night, wasattacked by thieves. One night, as Speke was taking an observation, aparty of these rascals enquired of two of the women of the camp what hewas about. While the latter were explaining, the thieves whipped offtheir clothes and ran away with them, leaving the poor creatures in astate of absolute nudity. Speke had not taken much notice of the goatsand other things which had been stolen, but, in consequence of this, heordered his men to shoot any thieves who came near. A short timeafterwards, another band approaching, one of the men was shot, whoturned out to be a magician, and was till then thought invulnerable. Hewas tracked by his blood, and afterwards died of his wound. The nextday some of Speke's men were lured into the huts of the natives by aninvitation to dinner, but, when they got them there, they stripped themstark-naked and let them go again. At night the same rascals stoned thecamp. After this another thief was shot dead and two others werewounded. Bombay and Baraka gave their masters also a good deal oftrouble. The former, who was looked upon as an excellent fellow, morethan once got very drunk, and stole their property in order to purchasea wife for himself, besides which the two men quarrelled desperatelywith each other. 

At length, however, the travellers got free of Usui and the native guardwho had been sent to see them over the borders, and entered Karague, totheir great relief and happiness. 

They had now, for some distance, wild animals alone to contend with, andthese they well knew how to manage. Soon after pitching their tent theywere greeted by Kachuchu, an officer sent by the king, Rumanika, toescort them through his country. He informed them that the villageofficers were instructed to supply them with food at the king's expense, as there were no taxes gathered from strangers in the kingdom ofKarague. 

The country was hilly, wild, and picturesque, the higher slopes dottedwith thick bushes of acacias, the haunts of the white and blackrhinoceros, while in the valley were large herds of harte-beestes. Thefurther they proceeded into the country, the better they liked it, asthe people were all kept in good order. A beautiful lake was seen, which at first they supposed to be a portion of the Nyanza, but itproved to be a separate lake, to which the name of Windermere was given. 

They now attained the delightful altitude of five thousand odd feet, theatmosphere at night feeling very cool. Away to the west some boldsky-scraping cones were observed, and, on making enquiries, Speke wasconvinced that those distant hills were the great turn-point of theCentral African water-shed. Numerous travellers, whom he collectedround him, gave him assistance in forming his map. He was surprised atthe amount of information about distant places which he was able toobtain from these intelligent men. 

As they approached the palace, the king, Rumanika, sent them a supply ofexcellent tobacco and beer manufactured by his people. On drawing nearhis abode, the bearers were ordered to put down their loads and fire asalute, and the two travellers at once received an invitation to visitthe king. He was found sitting cross-legged with his brother Nnanaji, both men of noble appearance and size. The king was plainly dressed inan Arab black _choba_; he wore on his legs numerous rings of richcoloured beads, and neatly-worked wristlets of copper. Nnanaji, being adoctor of high credit, was covered with charms; he wore a checked clothwrapped round him. Large clay pipes were at their sides, ready for use. In their rear sat the king's sons, as quiet as mice. 

The king greeted them warmly and affectionately, and in an instant bothtravellers felt that they were in the company of men who were totallyunlike the common order of the natives of the surrounding districts. They had fine oval faces, large eyes, and high noses, denoting the bestblood of Abyssinia. They shook hands in the English style, theever-smiling king wishing to know what they thought of his country. Heobserved that he considered his mountains the finest in the world: "Andthe lake, too; did not they admire it?" He seemed a very intelligentman, and enquired how they found their way over the world, which led toa long story, describing the proportions of land and water, the wayships navigate the ocean, and convey even elephants and the rhinocerosto fill the menageries of Europe. He gave them their choice of havingquarters in his palace or pitching their tents outside. They selected aspot overlooking the lake, on account of the beautiful view. The youngprinces were ordered to attend on them, one of whom, seeing Speke seatedin an iron chair, rushed back to his father with the intelligence. Speke was accordingly requested to return, that he might exhibit thewhite man sitting on his throne. Rumanika burst into a fresh fit ofmerriment at seeing him, and afterwards made many enlightened remarks. On another visit Speke told the king that if he would send two of hischildren, he would have them instructed in England, for he admired hisrace, and believed them to have sprung from the friends of the English, the Abyssinians, who were Christians, and had not the Wahuma lost theirknowledge of God, they would be so likewise. A long theological andhistorical discussion ensued, which so pleased the king that he said hewould be delighted if Speke would take two of his sons to England. Hethen enquired what could induce them to leave their country and travel, when Speke replied that they had had their fill of the luxuries of life, and that their great delight was to observe and admire the beauties ofcreation, but especially their wish was to pay visits to the kings ofAfrica, and in particular his Majesty. He then promised that theyshould have boats to convey them over the lake, with musicians to playbefore them. 

In the afternoon Speke, having heard that it was the custom to fatten upthe wives of the king and princes to such an extent that they could notstand upright, paid a visit to the king's eldest brother. On enteringthe hut, he found the old chief and his wife sitting side by side on abench of earth strewed over with grass, while in front of them wereplaced numerous wooden pots of milk. Speke was received by the princewith great courtesy, and was especially struck by the extraordinarydimensions, yet pleasing beauty of the immoderately fat fair one, hiswife. She could not rise. So large were her arms that between thejoints the flesh hung like large loose bags. Then came in theirchildren, all models of the Abyssinian type of beauty, and as polite intheir manners as thorough-bred gentlemen. They were delighted inlooking over his picture-books and making enquiries about them. Theprince, pointing to his wife, observed: "This is all the product ofthose pots, as, from early youth upwards, we keep those pots to theirmouths, being the custom of the court to have very fat wives. "

The king, having supposed that the travellers had been robbed of alltheir goods, was delighted with the liberal presents he received, aboveall that of a coat of handsome scarlet broadcloth. He told them thatthey might visit every part of his country, and when the time arrivedfor proceeding to Uganda, he would escort them to the boundary. 

Altogether, Rumanika was the most intelligent and best-looking ruler thetravellers met with in Africa. He had nothing of the African in hisappearance, except that his hair was short and woolly. He was fully sixfeet two inches in height, and the expression of his countenance wasmild and open. He was fully clothed in a robe made of smallantelope-skins and another of dark cloth, always carrying, when walking, a long staff in his hand. His four sons were favourable specimens oftheir race, especially the eldest, named Chunderah. He was somewhat ofa dandy, being more neat about his lion-skin covers and ornaments thanhis brothers. From the tuft of wool left unshaven on the crown of hishead to his waist he was bare, except when his arms and neck weredecorated with charmed horns, strips of otter-skin, shells, and bands ofwool. He was fond of introducing Friz, Speke's head man, into thepalace, that he might amuse his sisters with his guitar, and in returnthe sisters, brothers, and followers would sing Karague music. Theyoungest son was the greatest favourite, and on one occasion, thetravellers having presented him with a pair of white kid gloves, weremuch amused with the dignified way in which he walked off, having coaxedthem on to his fingers. 

Rumanika, contrary to the usual African custom, was singularlyabstemious, living almost entirely on milk, merely sucking the juice ofboiled beef. He scarcely ever touched plantain wine or beer, and hadnever been known to be intoxicated. The people were generallyexcessively fond of this wine, the peasants especially drinking largequantities of it. 

Rumanika was not only king, but priest and prophet; indeed, hiselevation to the throne was due, as his friends asserted, tosupernatural agency. After the death of his father, his two brothersand he claimed the throne. Their pretentions were to be settled by anordeal. They possessed a small magic drum, and, it being placed on theground, he who could lift it was to take the crown. His brothers wereunable to stir it, though exerting all their strength, but Rumanikaraised it with his little finger. This test, however, not satisfyingthe chiefs, they insisted on Rumanika going through another trial. Hewas seated on the ground, and it was believed that if he was theappointed king, the portion of soil on which he sat would rise up in theair, but if not, it would collapse, and he would be dashed to pieces. According to the belief of his subjects, no sooner had Rumanika takenhis seat, than he was raised into the sky, and was thereforeacknowledged king. 

One of the most curious customs which Rumanika holds in his character ofhigh priest, is his new-moon _levee_, which takes place every month, forthe purpose of ascertaining the loyalty of his subjects. On the eveningof the new-moon the king adorns himself with a plume of feathers on hishead, a huge white beard descending to his breast. He takes post behinda screen. Before him are arranged forty long drums on the ground, onthe head of each of which is painted a white cross. The drummers standeach with a pair of sticks, and in front is their leader, who has acouple of small drums slung round his neck. The leader raises first hisright arm and then his left, the performers imitating him, when hebrings down both sticks on the drums with a rapid roll, they doing thesame, until the noise is scarcely to be endured. This having continuedfor some hours, with the addition of smaller drums and other musicalinstruments, the chiefs advance in succession, leaping andgesticulating, and shouting expressions of devotion to their sovereign. Having finished their performance, they kneel before him, holding outtheir knobbed sticks that he may touch them, then, retiring, make roomfor others. 

Civilised as the country is in some respects, marriage is a matter ofbarter between the father and the intended husband, the former receivingcows, slaves, sheep, etcetera, for his daughter. Should, however, abride not approve of her husband, by returning the marriage gifts she isagain at liberty. The chief ceremony at marriages consists in tying upthe bride in a skin, blackened all over, and carrying her with a noisyprocession to her husband. 

The ladies of this country lead an easy life in many respects, theirchief object, apparently, being to get as fat as possible. Many of themsucceed wonderfully well, in consequence of their peculiar constitution, or from the food they eat being especially nutritious. Five ofRumanika's wives were so enormous that they were unable to enter thedoor of any ordinary hut, or to move about without being supported by aperson on either side. One of his sisters-in-law was of even stillgreater proportions. Speke measured her; round her arm was one footeleven inches; chest, four feet four inches; thigh, two feet seveninches; calf, one foot eight inches; height, five feet eight inches. Hecould have obtained her height more accurately could he have had herlaid on the floor; but, knowing the difficulties he would have had tocontend with in such a piece of engineering, he tried to get her heightby raising her up. This, after infinite exertion, was accomplished, when she sank down again, fainting, for the blood had rushed into herhead. Meanwhile the daughter, a lass of sixteen, sat before them, sucking at a milk-pot, on which the father kept her at work by holding arod in his hand; for, as fattening is one of the first duties offashionable female life, it must be duly enforced with the rod ifnecessary. The features of the damsel were lovely, but her body was asround as a ball. 

The women turn their obesity to good account. In exchanging food forbeads it is usual to purchase a certain quantity of food, which shall bepaid for by a belt of beads that will go round the waist. The women ofKarague being on an average twice as large round the waist as those ofother districts, food practically rises a hundred per cent, in price. Notwithstanding their fatness their features retain much beauty, theface being oval and the eyes fine and intelligent. The higher class ofwomen are modest, not only wearing cow-skin petticoats, but a wrapper ofblack cloth, with which they, envelope their whole bodies, merelyallowing one hand to be seen. 

The travellers were allowed to move about the country as they liked, andthe king sent his sons to attend on them, that they might enjoy suchsport as was to be found. They heard of no elephants in that district, but harte-beestes, rhinoceros, and hippopotami were common. 

One day Captain Grant saw two harte-beestes engaged in a desperatecombat, halting calmly between each round to breathe. He could hear, even at a considerable distance, the force of every butt as their headsmet, and, as they fell on their knees, the impetus of the attack, sending their bushy tails over their backs, till one, becoming thevictor, chased the other out of the herd. 

Several varieties of antelope and the mountain gazelle were seenbounding over the hills. Pigs abounded in the low grounds, andhippopotami in the lake. 

Captain Speke went out in search of rhinoceros, accompanied by theprince, with a party of beaters. In a short time he discovered a finemale, when, stealing between the bushes, he gave him a shot which madehim trot off, till, exhausted by loss of blood, he lay down to die. Theyoung princes were delighted with the effect of the Englishman's gun, and, seizing both his hands, congratulated him on his successes. 

A second rhinoceros was killed after receiving two shots. Whilepursuing the latter, three appeared, who no sooner sighted Speke, thanthey all charged at him in line. His gun-bearers, however, were withhim, and, taking his weapons, he shot the three animals in turn. Onedropped down a little way on, but the others only pulled up when theyarrived at the bottom of the hill. The fore legs of another werebroken, when the natives set on him; but he kept charging with so muchfury that they could not venture to approach till Speke had given him asecond ball, which brought him to the ground. Every man then rushed atthe creature, sending his spear, _assegai_, or arrow into his sidesuntil he sank like a porcupine covered with quills. The heads were sentto the king, to show what the white man could do. Rumanika exhibitedthe greatest astonishment, declaring that something more potent thanpowder had been used; for, though the Arabs talk of their shootingpowers, they could not have accomplished such a feat. "It is nowonder, " he added, "that the English are the greatest men in the world. "

Rumanika, like great men in other countries, had his private band. Theinstruments were of a somewhat primitive character, while the musiciansdiffered in appearance considerably from those of Europe. The mostcommon instruments are the drums, which vary greatly in size: one hungto the shoulder is about four feet in length, and one in width. It isplayed with the fingers, like the Indian _tom-tom_. The drums used atthe new-moon _levee_ are of the same shape, but very much larger. Thewar drum is beaten by women. At its sound the men rush to arms, andrepair to their several quarters. There are also several stringedinstruments. One of these, which Captain Grant describes, was played byan old woman; it had seven notes, six of which were a perfect scale. Another, which had three strings, was played by a man: they were a full, harmonious chord. A third instrument called "the laced _nanga_" formedof dark wood, in the shape of a tray, had three crosses in the bottom, and was laced with one string, seven or eight times, over bridges ateither end. 

The prince sent the best player to be found to entertain his guest. Theman entered, dressed in the usual Wanyambo costume, looking a wild, excited creature. After resting his spear against the roof of his hut, he took a _nanga_ from under his arm and began playing, his wild yetgentle music and words attracting a number of admirers. It was about afavourite dog, and for days afterwards the people sang that dog song. 

There is another stringed instrument, called the _zeze_, somewhatsimilar to the _nanga_. They have two wind instruments, one resemblinga flageolet, and another a bugle. The latter is composed of severalpieces of gourd, fitted one into another, in telescope fashion, and iscovered with cow-skin. 

Rumanika's band was composed of sixteen men, fourteen of whom hadbugles, and the other two hand-drums. On the march they form in threeranks, the drummers being in the rear, swaying their bodies in time tothe music, while the leader advances with a curiously active step, touching the ground alternately with each knee. They also, when theking rested on a march, or when out hunting, played before him, while hesat on the ground and smoked his pipe. 

The Wahuma, like most Africans, have great faith in the power of charms, and believe that by their means persons can be rendered invulnerable. They also believe in the constant presence of departed souls, supposingthat they exercise a good or evil influence over those whom they haveknown in life. When a field is blighted or a crop does not promisewell, a gourd is placed in the pathway; passengers set up a wailing cry, which they intend as a prayer to the spirits to give a good crop totheir mourning relatives. Rumanika, in order to propitiate the spiritof his father, was in the habit of sacrificing annually a cow on histomb, and also of placing offerings on it of corn and wine. These andmany other instances show that, though their minds are dark andmisguided, the people possess religious sentiments which might affordencouragement to missionaries of the gospel. 

The commencement of 1862 found the travellers still guests of theenlightened king. Hearing that it was the English custom on ChristmasDay to have an especially good dinner, he sent an ox. Captain Speke inreturn paid him a visit. He offered him the compliments of the season, and reminded him that he was of the old stock of Abyssinians, who wereamong the oldest Christians on record, and that he hoped the time wouldcome when white teachers would visit his country, to instruct him in thetruths which he and his people had forgotten. 

News now arrived which induced them to believe that Mr Petherick wasindeed on his road up the Nile, endeavouring to reach them. Rumanikawas highly delighted to hear this, as he was especially anxious to havewhite men visit his country from the north. 

Active preparations were now made for the departure of the travellers, but unhappily Captain Grant was suffering from so severe a complaint inone of his legs, that he was compelled to remain behind, under theprotection of the hospitable sovereign, while Speke set off for Uganda. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

SPEKE AND GRANT'S TRAVELS CONTINUED. 

AN ESCORT FROM MTESA, KING OF UGANDA, ARRIVES--THE KITANGULE RIVER--THEPHEPO--SLAUGHTER OF THE NATIVES--UGANDA DESCRIBED--SPEKE'S RECEPTION--MTESA'S CRUELTY--ARREST OF THE QUEEN--A REVIEW OF TROOPS--GRANTARRIVES--ARRANGEMENTS FOR PROCEEDING TO UNYORO--THE WATER-SPIRIT'S HIGHPRIEST. 

On the 10th of January a large escort of smartly-dressed men, women, andboys, leading their dogs and playing their reeds, under the command ofMaula, arrived from Mtesa, King of Uganda, to conduct the travellers tohis capital. Maula informed them that the king had ordered his officersto supply them with everything they wanted while passing through hiscountry, and that there would be nothing to pay. 

Speke set forth, in the hopes that before long he should settle thegreat Nile problem for ever. It was, however, not believed that hewould be able to proceed north from Uganda, Rumanika especiallydeclaring that he would be compelled to return to the southward. 

Passing through a remarkably rich country, famous for its ivory andcoffee productions, they descended from the Mountains of the Moon to analluvial plain, where Rumanika keeps thousands of cows. Once elephantsabounded here, but, since the increase of the ivory trade, these animalshad been driven off to the distant hills. 

On the 16th they reached the Kitangule River, which falls into theVictoria Nyanza. It was about eighty yards broad and so deep that itcould not be poled by the canoe-men, while it runs at a velocity of fromthree to four knots an hour. It is fed from the high-seated springs inthe Mountains of the Moon. Speke believed that the Mountains of theMoon give birth to the Congo as well as the Nile, and also the Shirebranch of the Zambesi. 

The country through which they passed was a perfect garden ofplantations, surprisingly rich, while along the banks of the rivernumberless harte-beestes and antelopes were seen. 

At a village, where they were compelled to stop two days, drumming, singing, screaming, yelling, and dancing went on the whole time, duringthe night as well as day, to drive the _phepo_, or devil, away. Infront of a hut sat an old man and woman, smeared with white mud, andholding pots of _pomba_ in their laps, while people came, bringingbaskets full of plantain squash and more pots of _pomba_. Hundreds ofthem were collected in the court-yard, all perfectly drunk, making themost terrific uproar. 

The king sent messengers expressing his desire to see the white man, andthey were informed that he had caused fifty big men and four hundredsmall ones to be executed because he believed that his subjects wereanxious to prevent them. 

Speke now sent back to Grant, earnestly urging him to come on if hepossibly could, as he had little doubt that they would be able toproceed across the country to the northward. 

On approaching the capital, a messenger came to say that the king was soeager to meet the white man that he would not taste food until he hadseen him. 

The neighbourhood was reached on the 19th of February. Speke says itwas a magnificent sight; the whole hill was covered with gigantic huts, such as he had never before seen in Africa. He proposed going at onceto the palace; but the officers considered that such a proceeding wouldbe indecent, and advised him to draw up his men and fire his gun off tolet the king know that he had arrived. He was excessively indignant atbeing shown the dirty huts for his accommodation, in which the Arabs putup when they came to the place. Speke declared that, unless betterquarters were found him, he would return; but the officer entreated thathe would not be so hasty. Rain, coming on, prevented a _levee_ beingheld that day. The presents being got ready, Speke marshalled hisprocession: the king's officers and pages, with himself, marched on theflanks; the Union Jack, carried by his guide, led the way, followed bytwelve of his men, as a guard of honour, dressed in red flannel cloaks, carrying their arms sloped, with fixed bayonets, while in the their rearcame the rest of his attendants, each bearing some article as a present. 

He was surprised at the extraordinary dimensions of the palace, and theneatness with which it was kept. The whole brow and sides of the hillwere covered with gigantic grass-huts, neatly thatched and fenced allround with the tall, yellow reeds of the tiger-grass, while, within theenclosures, the lines of huts were joined together or partitioned offinto courts, with the walls of the same grass. 

These huts formed the residence of Mtesa's three or four hundred wives, the rest living chiefly with his mother, the queen dowager. The ladieswere seen at the doors, making their remarks and enjoying their jokes. At each gate they passed, officers opened and shut them, jingling thebig bells hung upon them to prevent stealthy entrance. 

As they advanced, courtiers of high dignity stepped forward to greet thewhite man, dressed in the most scrupulously neat fashions. Men, women, bulls, dogs, and goats were led about by strings, cocks and hens werecarried in men's arms, and little page-boys with rope turbans rushedabout conveying messages, as if their lives depended on their swiftness, every one holding his skin cloak tightly round him, lest his naked legsshould by accident be shown, a crime which in that kingdom, if happeningin the presence of the king, meets with instant death. 

These huts are well-built of reed, which grows to a great height. Theyhave double roofs formed of thick grass thatch, in order to exclude theheat of the sun. The outer roof comes nearly to the ground on allsides. The structure is supported by stout poles, on which are hungsacks of corn, meat, and other provisions. The interior is divided intotwo portions by a high screen, the inner serving as a sleeping-room, inwhich a bedstead formed of cane is placed. There are no windows norchimneys, and only one door in front. 

When Speke, however, was desired to sit down outside to wait theappearance of the monarch, he, considering this an act of discourtesy, refused to comply. After waiting five minutes, as the king did notappear, he thought it right to walk home again, giving Bombay directionsto leave his present on the ground. He was followed soon afterwards byBombay, who told him that he might bring his own chair, as the king wasanxious to show him every respect, although no one but the monarch wasallowed in Uganda to sit on an artificial seat. 

On his return, he found the king, a good-looking, well-figured, tallyoung man of twenty-five, sitting on a red blanket, which formed histhrone, in the state hut. His hair was cut short, with the exception ofa ridge on the top which ran stem to stern, like a cockscomb. He woreon his neck a large ring with beautifully-worked small beads. On onearm was another bead ornament, and on the other a wooden charm, and onevery finger and toe he had alternately brass and copper rings, whileabove the ankles, half way up to the calf, he had stockings of verypretty beads. 

In front of him were his nobles, squatting on the ground, all habited inskins, mostly cow-skins, some few--the sign of royal blood--havingleopard-skins girded round their waists. Speke was desired to halt andsit in the glaring sun, while he was advancing hat in hand. He donnedhis hat, mounted his umbrella, and quietly sat down, to observe what wasgoing on. A white dog, spear, shield, and woman, the Uganda cognisance, were by the side of the king, as also a knot of staff-officers, withwhom he kept up a brisk conversation, while he took copious draughtsfrom neat little gourd cups, offered by his ladies-in-waiting. 

The traveller could not speak his language, and his interpreter darednot address the king, it being contrary to etiquette. Conversation wastherefore impossible, and he was very glad, therefore, when at lengthhis Majesty got up and retired, with a gait which was intended to bevery majestic. It was to represent the step of a lion, but the outwardsweep of the legs looked only like a ludicrous waddle. The king had inreality gone to eat his breakfast, as he had not broken his fast sincehearing of the traveller's arrival. He quickly returned, and Speke wasagain invited in, with his men. He found the king standing on a redblanket, talking and laughing to a hundred or more of his admiringwives, who were all squatting on the ground outside, forming two groups. His men dared not advance upright, but, stooping, with lowered head andaverted eyes, came cringing after him, it being a high crime to lookupon the ladies of the court. It was difficult, however, to carry onconversation with him, as every answer had to be passed through theinterpreter, and then delivered to the king's chief officer, andfrequently another question was asked before the first was answered. The most important questions had reference to opening up a passageacross the country. Before Speke could explain his views, the king putanother question. 

Mtesa was a perfect despot and tyrant, the lives of all his subjects, from the highest to the lowest, being in his power. When the whimseized him, he did not hesitate to kill as many as he chose. 

The king's subjects approach in the most cringing attitudes, and, onreceiving any favour, throw themselves on the ground, floundering about, shrieking out: "_Nynzig! nynzig_!" He is attended by a number of youngpages, with rope turbans on their heads, who are seen rushing about inevery direction to obey his behests, and directly a wife or courtieroffends the despot, rush upon the unhappy individuals and drag them offto immediate execution. 

Speke, however, won his favour by blistering and doctoring him. Hemanaged to keep up his own dignity by refusing to submit when improperlytreated. He also gained great credit with the monarch by exhibiting hisskill as a sportsman; and Mtesa was delighted to find that after alittle practice he himself could kill birds and animals. He did not, however, confine himself to shooting at the brute creation, butoccasionally killed a man or woman who might have been found guilty ofsome crime. 

After a considerable lapse of time Speke obtained a residence at whatwas looked upon as the "west end" of the city. It was in a garden, inview of the palace, so that he could hear the constant music and see thethrongs of people going to and fro. Having selected the best hut forhimself, and giving the other to his three officers, he ordered his mento build barracks for themselves in the form of a street from his hut tothe main road. He could now visit the palace with more ease, andobtained better opportunities of seeing the king and endeavouring togain the important ends he had in view. 

The sights he witnessed were very often painful. Scarcely a day passedthat he did not see one, and sometimes more, of the unhappy femaleinmates of the palace dragged off to execution by one of the body-guard, the poor creature shrieking out, as she went to premature death: "Oh, mylord, my king, my mother!" and yet no one dared to lift a hand topreserve her. 

He made several sporting excursions with the king, who was alwaysdelighted when he shot a bird or an animal, jumping and leaping, andshouting: "_Woh! woh! woh_!" to express his delight. One of these wasto the Lake Nyanza, after Speke had somewhat ingratiated himself withthe sovereign. It was somewhat of a picnic party, and the king wasaccompanied as usual by a choice selection of his wives. Having crossedover to a woody island some distance from the shore, the party sat downto a repast, when large bowls of _pomba_ were served out. They thentook a walk among the trees, the ladies apparently enjoying themselvesand picking fruit, till, unhappily, one of the most attractive of themplucked a fruit and offered it to the king, thinking, probably, toplease him. He took it, however, as a dire offence, and, declaring thatit was the first time a woman had had the audacity to offer him food, ordered the pages to lead her off to execution. No sooner had the wordsbeen uttered than the abominable little black imps rushed at her like apack of beagles, slipping off their cord turbans and throwing the ropesround her limbs. She, indignant at being touched, remonstrated andattempted to beat them off, but was soon overcome and dragged away, crying out the names of "_Kamraviona! Mzungu_!" the title applied toSpeke, for help and protection, while the other women clasped the kinground the legs, imploring him to pardon their unhappy sister. His onlyreply was to belabour the miserable victim with a thick stick. Spekehad carefully abstained heretofore from interfering with any of theking's acts of arbitrary cruelty. On hearing, however, his own nameimploringly pronounced, his English blood was up, and, rushing at thetyrant, he stayed his uplifted arm, and demanded the poor creature'slife. He, of course, ran a great risk of losing his own; but thenovelty of the event seemed to tickle the capricious chief, and he atonce ordered the woman to be released. 

This was, however, one of the only occasions on which he was successful. 

Day after day both men and women were led off to execution. On oneoccasion a poor girl had run away from the ill-treatment of her master, and had taken refuge in the house of a decrepit old man. The two werebrought up for judgment, when the king sentenced them to death, anddecreed that their lives should not be taken at once, but that theyshould be fed and dismembered, bit by bit, as rations for his vulturesevery day until life was extinct. The dismayed criminals, Speke says, struggling to be heard, were dragged away to the drowning music of hornsand drums. 

After he had been some time in the palace, he was introduced to thequeen dowager. Her majesty was fat, fair, and forty-five. He found herseated in the front part of her hut, on a carpet, her elbow resting on apillow. An iron rod, like a spit, with a cup on the top, charged withmagic powder, and other magic wands were placed before the entrance, andwithin the room four Mabandwa sorceresses, or devil-drivers, fantastically dressed, with a mass of other women, formed the company. They being dismissed, a band of musicians came in, when _pomba_ wasdrunk by the queen, and handed to her visitor and high officers andattendants. She smoked her pipe, and bid Speke to smoke his. Sherequired doctoring, and Speke had many opportunities of seeing her, socompletely winning her regard that she insisted on presenting him withvarious presents, among others a couple of wives, greatly to hisannoyance. She appeared to be a jovial and intelligent personage. Onanother occasion Speke, when introduced, found her surrounded by herministers, when a large wooden trough was brought in and filled with_pomba_. The queen put her head in and drank like a pig from it, herministers following her example. If any was spilled by her, theydabbled their noses in the ground, or grabbed it up with their hands, that not a particle might be lost, as everything that comes from royaltymust be adored. Musicians and dancers were then introduced, exhibitingtheir long, shaggy, goat-skin jackets, sometimes dancing upright, atothers bending or striking the ground with their heels like hornpipedancers. 

The plaguy little imps of pages were constantly playing tricks, andseemed to delight in mischief. 

One of the great officers of the court having offended the king, theycame with a message to Speke's attendants while he himself was away, ordering them all to attend the king with their arms. Instead of beingled to the palace, they were guided to the house of the refractoryofficer, when they were ordered to rush in and spare nothing, men, women, children, _mbugus_, or cowries, all alike. Speke's men, firingtheir guns, did as they were ordered. One of the inmates was speared, but the rest were taken, and brought in triumph to his camp. He, ofcourse, ordered all the seizures to be at once given up to the king'schief officer, and shut himself up in his house, declaring that he wasashamed to show his face. In vain the king sent to him to come andshoot. The reply was: "Bana" (the name by which the king called Speke)"is praying to-day that Mtesa may be forgiven the injury he hascommitted by sending his soldiers on such a duty; he is very angry aboutit, and wishes to know if it was done by the kings orders. " The boysreplied that nothing could be done without the king's orders. Spekealso insisted on sending the red cloth cloaks worn by his men, becausethey had defiled their uniform when plundering women and children. Hetook this opportunity of teaching the barbarian a lesson. 

On his next visit the king told him that he had wished to see him on theprevious day, and begged that whenever he came he would fire a gun atthe waiting hut, that he might hear of his arrival. The king was muchpleased with a portrait Speke made of him, as also with his colouredsketches of several birds he had killed, but was still more delightedwith some European clothes, with which he was presented. When Spekewent to visit him, he found his Majesty dressed in his new garments. The legs of the trousers, as well as the sleeves of the waistcoat, weremuch too short, so that his black feet and hands stuck out at theextremities as an organ-player's monkey's do, while the cockscomb on hishead prevented a fez cap, which he wore, from sitting properly. On thisvisit twenty new wives, daughters of chiefs, all smeared and shiningwith grease, were presented, marching in a line before the king, utterlydestitute of clothes, whilst the happy fathers floundered, _nynzigging_, on the ground, delighted to find their darling daughters appreciated bythe monarch. Speke burst into a fit of laughter, which was imitated notonly by the king but by the pages, his own men chuckling in suddengusto, though afraid of looking up. 

The king at last returned Speke's visit. Having taken off his turban, as Speke was accustomed to take off his hat, he seated himself on hisstool. Everything that struck his eye was admired and begged for, though nothing seemed to please him so much as the traveller'swide-awake and mosquito curtains. The women, who were allowed to peepinto Sana's den, received a couple of sacks of beads, to commemorate thevisit. 

A few days afterwards he was accompanying the king when an adjutant-birdwas seen in a tree. The king had a gun Speke had given him, but he hadlittle more than one charge of powder remaining. Speke had left his gunat home. The king at the second shot killed the bird, greatly to hisdelight, shouting his usual "_Woh! woh_!" He was so delighted that heinsisted upon carrying the bird to show to his mother. 

Before entering the palace, however, he changed his European clothes fora white goat-skin wrapper. Directly afterwards a battalion of his armyarrived before the palace, under the command of his chief officer, whomSpeke called Colonel Congou. The king came out with spear and shield inhand, preceded by the bird, and took post in front of the enclosure. His troops were divided into three companies, each containing about twohundred men. After passing in single file, they went through variousevolutions. Nothing, Speke says, could be more wild or fantastic thanthe sight which ensued. The men, nearly naked, with goat or cat-skinsdepending from their girdles, and smeared with war-colours according tothe taste of each individual, one half of the body red or black, theother blue, in irregular order; as, for instance, one leg would be red, the other black, whilst the upper part would be the opposite colours, and so with the chest and arms. Each man carried two spears and oneshield, held as if approaching an enemy. They thus moved in three linesof single rank and file at fifteen or twenty paces asunder, with thesame high action and elongated step, the ground leg only being bent togive their strides the greater force. The captains of each companyfollowed, even more fantastically dressed. The great Colonel Congou, with his long, whitehaired goat-skins, a fiddle-shaped leather shield, tufted with white hair at all six extremities, bands of long hair tiedbelow the knees, and the helmet covered with rich beads of severalcolours, surmounted with a plume of crimson feathers, from the centre ofwhich rose a stem, tufted with goat-hair. Finally the senior officerscame charging at their king, making violent protestations of faith andhonesty, for which they were applauded. 

Speke was now, towards the end of May, looking forward to the arrival ofGrant. 

To propitiate the despot he sent a compass, greatly to the delight ofMtesa, who no sooner saw it than he jumped and "_wohed_" with intenseexcitement, and said it was the greatest present Bana had ever givenhim, for it was the thing by which he found out all the roads andcountries. 

It had been arranged that Grant should come by water; but the natives, fearing to trust themselves on the lake, brought him all the distance ona litter. 

At length, on the 27th, the sound of guns announced the arrival ofGrant, and Speke hurried off to meet his friend, who was now able tolimp about a little, and to laugh over the accounts he gave of histravels. 

The travellers forthwith began to make arrangements for proceeding on toUnyoro, governed by a chief named Kamrasi, of despicable character andconsidered merciless and cruel, even among African potentates, scattering death and torture around at the mere whim of the moment;while he was inhospitable, covetous, and grasping, yet too cowardly todeclare war against the King of the Waganda, who had deprived him ofportions of his dominions. The Waganda people were, therefore, veryunwilling to escort the travellers into his territory; and ColonelCongou declared that if compelled to go, he was a dead man, as he hadonce led an army into Unyoro. 

The travellers' great object was to reach the spot where the Nile wassupposed to flow out of the Victoria Nyanza, and proceed down the streamin boats. 

Speke had written to Petherick, and on the 28th of June news arrivedthat white men were at Gani enquiring for the travellers. Spekeconsequently informed the king that all he required was a large escortto accompany them through Usoga and Kidi to Gani, as further delay incommunicating with Petherick might frustrate the chance of opening theNile trade with Uganda. The king replied that he would assemble hisofficers, and consult them on the subject. He exhibited his folly, however, by allowing his people to make an inroad into Unyoro and carryoff eighty cows belonging to Kamrasi. To their horror, Kyengo, thechief magician, informed them that the king, being anxious to pry intothe future, had resolved to adopt a strong measure with that end inview. This was the sacrifice of a child. The ceremony, which it fellto the lot of Kyengo to perform, is almost too cruel to describe. Themagician, having placed a large earthen pot full of water on the fire, arranges a platform on the top, and on this he binds a young child and afowl, covering them with another pot, which he inverts over them. Afterthe fire has burned for a given time the upper pot is removed. If bothvictims are dead, it is considered that war must be deferred for thepresent; but, if either should be alive, it may be commencedimmediately. When the army is about to proceed to war, the magicianflays the young child, and lays the bleeding body in the path, that thewarriors may step over it, thereby believing that they will gainimmunity for themselves in the approaching combat. 

During the expedition, which Speke made with the king to the Nyanza, they landed on an island inhabited by a magician and his wife, who weresupposed to be priests of of the water-spirit of the lake. His head wasdecorated with numerous mystic symbols, among them a paddle, the badgeof his high office. He was dressed in a little, white, goat-skin apron, adorned by various charms, and, instead of a walking-stick to supporthis steps, he used a paddle. Though not an old man, he pretended to beso, walking slowly and deliberately, coughing and mumbling like one. Seating himself, he continued coughing for half an hour, when his wifecame in, much in the some manner, without saying a word, and assumingthe same affected style. 

The king, who was seated near the door, with his wives behind him, askedSpeke what he thought of it. No voice was heard but that of the oldwife, who croaked like a frog for some water, and when some was brought, croaked again because it was not the purest of the lake's produce, andhad the first cup changed, wetted her lips with the second, and hobbledaway in the same manner as she had come. 

The water-spirit's chief priest now summoned several of the king'sofficers to draw round him, and then, in a low voice, gave them all theorders of the deep, and walked away. His revelations appeared to havebeen unpropitious, for the party immediately repaired to their boats andreturned to their quarters. 

During this excursion, the king went off on the lake, leaving Speke byhimself on shore. He took the opportunity of visiting an hospitable oldlady, who treated him and his attendants to the last drop of _pomba_ inher house, smoking her pipe with him, and did not hesitate to speak ofthe horrors of the Uganda punishments. When his servant told her thathe had saved the life of one of the women, she seemed astonished at thedaring of the stranger and at the leniency of the monarch. The king'sservants had robbed her of nearly everything in her house. 

The most barbarous orders of the despot are obeyed with the utmostalacrity by his officers, who would to a certainty, if they hesitated, be themselves put to death. His horrible little pages are his chiefemissaries. At his command a dozen start off together, each striving tooutrun the others, their dresses, streaming in the wind, giving them theresemblance at a distance of a flight of birds. On one occasion, Spekehaving given Mtesa a rifle, the king, after examining the weapon, loadedit and told a page to go out and shoot some one, to ascertain if itwould kill well. In a moment a report was heard, and the urchin cameback grinning with delight at his achievement, just like a schoolboy whohas shot his first sparrow. Nothing was heard about the unfortunatewretch who had served as a target, the murder of a man being by far toocommon an incident to attract notice. 

Many of the people expressed the greatest horror of the king's cruelty;but all his subjects were abject slaves, and no union existed among themwhich would have afforded them any hope in rebellion or in bringingabout a better state of things. 

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

SPEKE AND GRANT'S TRAVELS CONCLUDED. 

SET OUT FOR KAMRASI--ATTACKED BY THE WAGANDA--REACH THE NILE--THE ISAMBARAPIDS--THE RIPPON FALLS--THE SOURCE OF THE NILE--RETURNS TOURONDOGANI--THREATENED DESTRUCTION--MARCH FOR UNYORO--KAMRASI'SRECEPTION--THE MAGICIAN AT WORK--KAMRASI RECEIVES A BIBLE--LEAVEKAMRASI, AND PROCEED DOWN THE KUFFO TO THE FALLS OF KARUMA--THE GANIPEOPLE--THE MADI--ARRIVE AT PETHERICK'S OUTPOSTS--SPEKE AGAIN SETS OUT--THE BARI COUNTRY--GONDOKORO AND NILE BOATS SEEN--SIR SAMUEL BAKER--VOYAGE DOWN THE NILE TO KHARTOUM--A BANQUET--BERBER--ARRIVE AT LENGTH INENGLAND. 

By the 7th of July the arrangements for their journey were made. Theking presented them with a herd of cows for their provisions, as well assome robes of honour and spears, and he himself came out with his wivesto see them off. Speke ordered his men to turn out under arms and_nynzig_ for the favours received. Mtesa complimented them on theirgoodly appearance and exhorted them to follow their leader through fireand water, saying that, with such a force, they would have no difficultyin reaching Gani. 

It was arranged that Grant should go on to Kamrasi direct, with theproperty, cattle, etcetera, while Speke should go by the river toexamine its exit from the lake, and come down again, navigating as faras practicable. 

They now commenced their march down the northern slopes of Africa, escorted by a band of Waganda troops, under the command of Kasora, ayoung chief. They had proceeded onwards some days, when Kari, one ofSpeke's men, had been induced to accompany some of the Waganda escort toa certain village of potters, to obtain pots for making plantain wine. On nearing the place, the inhabitants rushed out. The Waganda menescaped, but Kari, whose gun was unloaded, stood still, pointing hisweapon, when the people, believing it to be a magic horn, speared him todeath, and then fled. 

On the 21st, after passing through a country covered with jungle, Spekereached the banks of the Nile. The shores on either side had theappearance of a highly-kept park. Before him was a magnificent stream, six or seven hundred yards wide, dotted with islets and rocks--theformer occupied by fishermen's huts, the latter by sterns andcrocodiles, basking in the sun--flowing between fine, high, grassybanks, covered with trees and plantations. In the background herds of_nsunnu_ and harte-beestes could be seen grazing, while the hippopotamiwere snorting in the water, Florican and Guinea fowl rising at theirfeet. Here Speke had some fine sport, killing _nsunnu_ and other deer. 

The chief of the district received them courteously, and accompaniedSpeke to the Isamba Rapids. 

"The water ran deep between its banks, which were covered with finegrass, soft cloudy acacias, and festoons of lilac convolvuli; while hereand there, where the land had slipped above the rapids, bare places ofred earth could be seen like that of Devonshire. There, too, thewaters, impeded by a natural dam, looked like a huge mill-pond, sullenand dark, in which two crocodiles, floating about, were looking out forprey. " From the high banks Speke looked down upon a line of slopingwooded islets lying across the stream, which, by dividing its waters, became at once both dam and rapids. "The whole scene was fairy-like, wild, and romantic in the extreme, " says Captain Speke. 

Proceeding southward they reached the Rippon Falls on the 28th, by farthe most interesting sight he had seen in Africa. 

"Though beautiful, the scene was not exactly what I expected, for thebroad surface of the lake was shut out from view by a spur of hill, andthe falls, about twelve feet deep and four to five hundred feet broad, were broken by rocks; still it was a sight that attracted one to it forhours. The roar of the waters, the thousands of passenger fish leapingat the falls with all their might, the fishermen coming out in boats, and taking post on all the rocks with rod and hook, hippopotami andcrocodiles lying sleepily on the water, the ferry at work above thefalls, and cattle driven down to drink at the margin of the lake, madein all, with the pretty nature of the country--small grassy-toppedhills, with trees in the intervening valleys and on the lower slopes--asinteresting a picture as one could wish to see. "

Here, then, he had arrived at what he considered the source of theNile--that is, the point from where it makes its exit from the VictoriaNyanza; and he calculated that the whole length of the river is, thusmeasuring from the south end of the lake, two thousand three hundredmiles. 

He and his party now returned northward, and reached Urondogani again onthe 5th of August. The difficulty was next to obtain boats. Thefishermen, finding that the strangers were to be supplied with fish bythe king's order, ran away, though the cows they had brought furnishedthe travellers with food. At length five boats, composed of five plankslashed together and caulked with rags, were forthcoming. Speke, withhis attendants, Kasora, and his followers embarked, carrying goats, dogs, and kit, besides grain and dried meat. No one, however, knew howmany days it would take to perform the voyage. 

Tall rushes grew on either side of the broad river, which had in placesa lake-like appearance. The idle crew paddled slowly, amusingthemselves by sometimes dashing forward, and then resting, while Kasorahad the folly to attack the boats of Wanyoro he met coming up the river. 

The frontier line was crossed on the 14th, but they had not proceededfar when they saw an enormous canoe of Kamrasi's, full of well-armedmen, approaching them. The canoe turned, as if the people were afraid, and the Waganda followed. At length, however, the chased canoe turned, and the shore was soon lined with armed men, threatening them withdestruction. Another canoe now appeared. It was getting dark. Theonly hope of escape seemed by retreating. Speke ordered his fleet tokeep together, promising ammunition to his men if they would fight. Thepeople in one boat, however, were so frightened that they allowed her tospin round and round in the current. The Wanyoro were stealing on them, as they could hear, though nothing could be seen. One of the boats keptin-shore, close to the reeds, when suddenly she was caught bygrappling-hooks. The men cried out: "Help, Bana! they are killing us. "Speke roared in reply: "Go in, and the victory will be ours. " When, however, three shots were fired from the hooked boat, the Wanyoro fled, leaving one of their number killed and one wounded, and Speke and hisparty were allowed to retreat unmolested. 

Speke, after proceeding up the river some distance, determined tocontinue the journey by land, following the track Grant had taken. 

Grant's camp was reached on the 20th, and the next day a messengerarrived from Kamrasi, saying that the king would be glad to see them, and the march was ordered to Unyoro. 

The frontier was again passed, when the country changed much for theworse. Scanty villages, low huts, dirty-looking people clad in skins, the plantain, sweet potato, _sesamum_, and millet forming the chiefedibles, besides goats and fowls. No hills, except a few scatteredcones, broke the level surface of the land, and no pretty views cheeredthe eye. They were now getting to a distance from the rain-attractiveinfluences of the Mountains of the Moon, and vegetation decreasedproportionately. Their first halt was on the estate of the chiefKidjwiga. Scarcely had they been established than a messenger page fromMtesa, with a party of fifty Waganda, arrived to enquire how Bana was, and to remind him of the gun and other articles he had promised to sendup from Gani. 

The natives ran off as they passed through the country, believing themto be cannibals. They supposed that the iron boxes which the porterscarried on their shoulders each contained a couple of white dwarfs, which were allowed to fly off to eat people. They, however, gainedconfidence, and soon flocked round the Englishmen's huts. 

On arriving at the end of their day's march on the 2nd of September, they were told that elephants had been seen close by. Grant and Speke, therefore, sallied forth with their guns, and found a herd of about ahundred, feeding on a plain of long grass. Speke, by stealing alongunder cover of the high grass, got close to a herd, and fired at thelargest. The animals began sniffing the air with uplifted trunks, when, ascertaining by the smell of powder that their enemy was in front ofthem, they rolled up their trunks, and came close to the spot where hewas lying under a mound. Suddenly they stopped, catching scent of thewhite man, and lifting their heads high, looked down upon him. Spekewas now in a dangerous position, for, unable to get a proper front shotat any of them, he expected to be picked up or trodden to death. As helet fly at their temples, they turned round and went rushing away at amuch faster pace than they came. They, however, soon stopped, and beganto graze again. Though several were wounded, none were killed. 

Bombay was now despatched to King Kamrasi, with a request from thetravellers for an early interview. Goats, flour, and plantains werebrought to them, and Kidjwiga became very indignant that the flour wasnot all given to him, as he, having been appointed their guide andprotector, considered that it ought to have been. 

At last they received an invitation from Kamrasi. As on a previousoccasion, only some dirty huts were offered to Speke. He insisted onbeing lodged in the palace. Bombay, who had been kept there, nowarrived, and they were informed that better accommodation was preparingfor them. The king had been very communicative to Bombay. 

The monarch, however, got tipsy, and was consequently unable to receivehis guests. Next day he sent some _pomba_, fowls, and plantains as apresent. 

They were, however, after this still kept waiting several days. At lastSpeke sent to say that if the king did not wish to see the white men, they would proceed on their journey to Gani. This had the desiredeffect; and, in their usual style, with the Union Jack floating abovetheir heads, they approached the palace. 

They found the monarch seated on a wooden stool, with cow-skins belowand leopards' above, on an elevated platform of grass, looking like apope in state, calm and motionless. His arms were adorned withbrass-wire rings, and his hair was worked up into peppercorn-like knobs;his eyes were of a long shape, his face narrow, and nose prominent; yet, though a well-made man, being above six feet high, he was inferior insize to Rumanika. 

Speke endeavoured to impress on the stupid-headed king that his onlyobject was to open up a communication along the Nile, by which boatscould bring up the produce and manufactures of other countries, toexchange with his ivory. 

The king evidently wished to detain them, in order that they mightassist him in putting down an insurrection which his two brothers hadraised against him. At last they determined to send Bombay on toascertain whether boats were really waiting for them. 

Kamrasi was as eager to obtain gifts as any of the other chiefs, and, having heard of their chronometer, which they had been observed using, he was especially desirous to possess it, believing it to be some magicinstrument, and the means by which the travellers guided themselvesabout the country. Speke told him that it was not his guide, but atime-keeper, made for the purpose of knowing at what time to eat hisdinner. He told him it was the only one he possessed, but that, if hewould wait with patience, he would send him up one on his arrival atGani. He was too eager to possess the wonderful instrument to consentto delay, and at last Speke, to satisfy him, placed it on the ground andsaid it was his. He said he should like to buy another, and wassurprised to hear that it would cost five hundred cows. This increasedthe surprise of the whole party, who could not believe that any personin his senses would give five hundred cows for the mere gratification ofseeing at what time his dinner should be eaten. 

Kamrasi was a thorough tyrant, and, at the same time, an arrant coward. He kept up a perfect system of espionage, by which he knew everythinggoing forward in the country. His guards, in order that they might beattached to his person, were allowed to plunder at will the rest of hisunfortunate subjects, who, if they offended him, were put to deathwithout mercy. If an officer failed to give him information, he wasexecuted or placed in the shoe, an instrument of torture not unlike thestocks. It consists of a heavy log of wood, with an oblong slit throughit; the feet are placed in this slit, and a peg is then driven throughthe log between the ankles, so as to hold them tightly. Frequently theexecutioner drives the peg against the ankles, when the pain is soexcessive that the victim generally dies from exhaustion. 

After the travellers had moved into better quarters, they were told thatKamrasi intended to pay them a visit. The room was accordingly preparedfor his reception--hung around with mats, horns, and skins of animals, and a large box, covered with a red blanket, was placed as a throne forhim to sit on. Speke then called out his men to form a guard of honour, and ordered them to fire as soon as he appeared. No sooner did hearrive than he wanted everything he saw: first their gauze mosquitocurtains, then an iron camp bed, next the sextant and thermometer. Whenany books were shown him of birds and animals he wanted them, and wasmuch surprised when Speke positively refused. The important questionwas put to him whether he would wish English traders to come up to hiscountry, and, in reply, he answered that it was what he desired aboveall things; but, if the English would advance with guns, he would marchout with his army, and that, between them, his brothers, who were nowacting in rebellion, would be destroyed. He was evidently, however, very angry at receiving no presents, and, getting up, walked straightout of the hut. No _pomba_ was sent by him next day. They, however, presented him with a gun. At first he was much afraid of firing it off, and called one of Speke's men to do it for him. 

One morning they found that their rain-guage had been removed, so theysent Kidjwiga to say that they wished a magician to come at once andinstitute a search for it. He soon returned with the adept: "An oldman, nearly blind, dressed in strips of old leather fastened to thewaist, and carrying in one hand a cow's horn primed with magic powder, carefully covered on the mouth with leather, from which dangled an ironbell. The old creature jingled the bell, entered their hut, squatted onhis hams, looked first at one and then at the other, enquired what themissing things were like, grunted, moved his skinny arm round his headas if desirous to catch the air from all four sides of the hut, thendashed the accumulated air on the head of his horn, smelt it to see ifall was going right, jingled the bell again close to his ear, andgrunted his satisfaction. The missing article must be found. To carryout the incantation more effectually, all the men were sent for to sitin the open air before the hut, when the old doctor rose, shaking thehorn and tinkling the bell close to his ear. He then, confronting oneof the men, dashed the horn forward as if intending to strike him on theface, then smelt the head and dashed it at another, and so on, till hebecame satisfied that Speke's men were not the thieves. He then walkedinto Grant's hut, inspected that, and, finally, went to the place wherethe bottle had been kept. There he walked about the grass with his armup, and jingling the bell to his ear, first on one side and then on theother, till the track of a hyaena gave him a clue, and in two or threemore steps he found it. A hyaena had carried it into the grass anddropped it. Bravo for the infallible horn, and well done the king forhis honesty in sending it. Speke gave the king the bottle and gauge, which delighted him amazingly, and the old doctor, who begged for_pomba_, got a goat for his trouble. "

News reached them soon after this of the death of Budja, one of theofficers who had attended them, and who it was said had died from beingbewitched by a charm put into a pot of _pomba_ by one of Kamrasi'sfrontier officers, the poor fellow having evidently been poisoned. 

The travellers were now in some anxiety about Bombay, who had notreturned from Gani. They received intelligence that the coronationformalities of Mtesa were taking place, when upwards of thirty of hisbrothers were to be burned to death. 

Kamrasi had been presented with a Bible. As soon as he got hold of it, he began to count the leaves, supposing that each page or leafrepresented one year of time since the beginning of creation. Aftergetting through a quarter of the book, he shut it up, on being told thatif he desired to ascertain the number more closely he had better countthe words. 

Six weeks had been uselessly spent, when at length Bombay returned, hisattendants dressed in cotton jumpers and drawers, presents given them byPetherick's outposts, though Petherick himself was not there. Thejourney to and fro had been performed in fourteen days' actualtravelling, the rest of the time being frittered away by the guides. 

Two hundred Turks were stationed at Gani, who were all armed withelephant-guns, and had killed sixteen elephants. 

On this, Speke sent a present to Kamrasi, and prepared for hisdeparture. The king, however, complained that he had not receivedenough, and insisted on having the chronometer. He had himself sent apresent of spears; but Speke refused to accept them unless permissionfor his departure was given. The only way indeed to treat these blackpotentates is to act with the greatest firmness and determination. 

At last the king promised to give them a parting interview, and to senda large escort to accompany them to Petherick's boats. Several days, however, passed before the interview took place, when the king againasked for more presents, and even begged for the rings which he saw onGrant's fingers, but without success. Speke had wished to take two ofthe king's sons to be educated in England, but instead, he sent twoorphan boys, who, being both of the common negro breed, were sounattractive in appearance that Speke declined receiving them. They hadbeen kept the whole time almost as prisoners, without being allowed bythe suspicious king to move about the neighbourhood, while no one hadbeen permitted to visit them. They were therefore thankful when at lastthey persuaded the savage monarch to allow them to take their departure. Canoes had been provided, and on the 9th of November they embarked inone of them on the river Kuffo. Crowds were collected on the banks tosee them depart, shouting and waving adieus as they shot down thestream. Among them was the only lady of rank they had seen, dressed inyellow bark cloth, striped with black; she was flat-featured and plain. Their canoes were formed of logs bound together. 

Proceeding down the Kuffo, they entered, a few miles below Kamrasi'sresidence, the White Nile, down which they floated four days to theFalls of Karuma. The river had the appearance of a large lake, andwithout a pilot they would have found it impossible to guess whatdirection to take. It then assumed the appearance of a river a thousandyards wide, covered with numberless moving and stationary islands, amidst which hippopotami reared their heads. These islands were perfectthickets of thorns, creepers, and small trees. Some went rolling roundand round, moved by the stream, which ran at the rate of a mile an hour. Amidst them were seen the lofty papyrus, bending to the breeze, whichas they drove on, continually changing their relative positions, lookedlike a fleet of felucca-rigged vessels. 

On the third day, a strong breeze coming on, these floating islandsmelted away or were driven on shore. They landed every evening tosleep, having to push their way between a wide belt of reeds, rushes, and convolvuli. 

They passed some attractive scenery. In one place a hill rose eighthundred feet above the water, and on the Kidi side the ground wasundulating and wild, covered with handsome trees, with floweringcreepers clinging to their boughs, now in rich bloom and presentingevery variety of colour. 

The king having given his officers directions to supply the travellerswith food, they had some exciting chases after canoes, which took toflight as soon as their object was discovered. No sooner was oneovertaken than their Wanyoro escort robbed her of bark, cloth, liquor, beads, spears, and everything on board, the poor owners being utterlyhelpless. Their Seedees, however, seeing the injustice of this, recovered the stolen property, and restored it to the proper owners. 

Their cattle and the main body of their escort had gone by land. 

On the 19th of November they reached the Karuma Falls, so-called, theblacks say, because the familiar of a certain great spirit placed stonesacross the river to break its waters as they flow down, and, as a rewardfor his services, the spot was called after him. 

They were here kept some days, preparing to cross the Kidi wilderness. 

They were still in the territories of Kamrasi. The governor of thedistrict, a very great man, who sits on a throne only a little inferiorto the king's, called upon them, and was provided accordingly with a boxon which to rest. His idea was that his own people had been once halfblack and half white. He could only account for it by supposing thatthe country formerly belonged to white men, who had been driven out bythe blacks, and that the former were now coming back to retake it. Thetravellers relieved his apprehensions by telling him that his ancestorswere all at one time white, till they crossed the sea and tookpossession of the country. 

Before they started, Kidjwiga sacrificed two kids, one on each side ofthe river, flaying them, with one long cut, each down their breasts andbellies; the animals were then spread eagle-fashion on the grass, thatthe travellers might step over them and obtain a prosperous journey. 

A messenger arrived from the king urging them to stop, as he was afraidthat his rebel brother, Rehonga, might attack them; but they, believingthat he had interested motives, commenced their march. The day wasrainy, and the road lay across swamps, through thick jungle and longgrasses. This continued for a couple of days, when, at length, theyfound themselves on the borders of a high plateau. Elephants andbuffaloes were seen, and the guide, to make the journey propitious, plucked a twig, stripped off the leaves and branches, and, waving it upthe line of march, broke it in two, and threw portions on either side ofthe path. 

They had, however, again quickly to plunge into the tall grass, abovetheir heads, and to cross numerous swamps. 

On the 29th they reached the habitations of men at Koki, in Gani--acollection of conical huts on the ridge of a small chain of hills. Knots of naked men were seen perched like monkeys on the granite blocks, anxiously watching their arrival. A messenger was sent to the governor, Chongi, who despatched the principal people in the place to welcomethem. These people, covered with war paint--something like clowns in afair--rushed down the hill with their spears full tilt, and, performingvarious evolutions, conducted them to the governor, who advanced, attended by his familiar--he holding a white hen, the latter a gourd of_pomba_ and a little twig. 

The chief, having greeted them cordially, and swinging the fowl by oneleg and sprinkling the contents of the gourd over them, led them to hismagic-house, which being sprinkled in the same way, he finally spread acow-skin under a tree, bidding them sit on it, and then presented themwith a bowl of _pomba_. 

These people were entirely naked, but were covered with beads and brassornaments, even the women having only a few fibres hanging like tailsbefore and behind. Their hair was dressed in the most fantasticfashion. They also carried diminutive stools, on which they satwherever they went. 

The travellers had great difficulty, in getting porters, who would neveragree until the king's soldiers had seized their women and cattle, andthey frequently had to zig-zag from village to village to obtain them. 

These curious people might be seen sitting on the rocks or in the shadeof the trees, dressing each other's hair or forming their pigtails, which are turned up and covered with fine wire. Indeed, they seemed tohave little else to do, and were generally observed standing inconceited or ridiculous attitudes. The children are carried on thebacks of the women, supported by straps, and the head of the infant isshaded by a reversed gourd from the heat of the sun. 

The country had assumed a more attractive appearance, with forests, undulating ground covered with grass, and clusters of habitations, frequently intercepted by running streams. 

The party had now entered the country of the Madi, who are savage intheir appearance, and are similar to the Gani. Their houses arecylinders of bamboo wicker-work, with steep roofs of bamboo and grass, and are plastered inside, making them very warm. 

On the 3rd of December, having pushed on in spite of the attempts of thefriendly chiefs to detain them, they came in sight of what they supposedto be Petherick's outposts, in north latitude 3 degrees 10 minutes 33seconds. The Seedees immediately began firing away their carbines. Directly afterwards bang, crack, bang! was heard from the distant camp, when, in an instant, every height was seen covered with men. Thetravellers and their attendants hastened on, when before them appearedthree large red flags, heading a military procession which marched outof the camp, with drums and fifes playing. Speke's party halted, when ablack officer, Mahamed, in Egyptian regimentals, hastened from the headof his ragamuffin regiment, a mixture of Nubians, Egyptians, and slavesof all sorts, which he had ordered to halt, and, throwing himself intoSpeke's arms, began to hug and kiss him. 

Petherick was enquired for. "He is coming, " was the answer. "Whatcolours are those?"

"Oh, they are Debono's. "

"Who is Debono?" was asked. "The same as Petric, " answered Mahamed. 

Mahamed soon had dinner for them, and they enjoyed a better repast thanthey had done for many a day. Then the greatest treat was to come--water with which to wash their hands, and the luxury of soap. Theremains of their repast was then placed before their faithful Seedees. 

On retiring to their hut at night they offered up a prayer ofthankfulness to the Almighty for having preserved them through so manydifficulties, and at length, by His all-protecting arm, brought them insafety to the boundary of civilisation after twenty-six months ofunceasing toil and anxiety. They had still, however, a considerabledistance to march before they were to meet with civilised men. 

Their host, Mahamed, was little better than a land pirate, who plunderedand shot down the natives without compunction. Among his troops therewas not a true Turk, wool predominating on their heads. They wereadventurers, born from negro stock in the most southern Egyptiandominions. Numbers of such characters are found at Khartoum, ready forany employment. The merchants engage them there, and send them into theinterior under the command of a chief to collect ivory and slaves. Theywere all married to women of the country, whom they had dressed incloths and beads. 

Mahamed, like the black chiefs, wished to detain the travellers, thatthey and their party might guard his camp, while he went off on anexpedition on his own account. He succeeded by depriving them of theirporters, and then marched out with his army--drums and fifes playing, colours flying, guns firing, officers riding, some on donkeys, others oncows. On the 31st the army returned, after having burned down andplundered three villages, laden with ivory and driving in four slavegirls and thirty head of cattle. 

A few days afterwards another example of Turkish barbarity came undertheir notice. The head man of a village arrived with a large tusk ofivory with which to ransom his daughter. Fortunately for him it hadbeen considered by the Turks wise to keep on terms with so influential aman; and therefore, on receiving the tusk, Mahamed gave back the damsel, adding a cow to seal their friendship. 

At length, weary of Mahamed's procrastination, on the 11th of JanuarySpeke ordered the march, telling Mahamed he might follow if he wished. 

At first the villagers, supposing that the travellers were Turks, madetheir escape in every direction, carrying what stores and cattle theycould; while others pulled down their huts, and marched off with thematerials to a distant site, to escape from their persecutors. 

The people do this because the Turks, when they arrive at a village, often pull down the huts and carry off the roofs to form a camp forthemselves outside the enclosure. 

They also without ceremony rob the corn-stores, and should the ownerremonstrate, he is knocked down with the butt of a musket, and told heis fortunate to escape being shot. 

Finding that Speke was determined to move, Mahamed broke up his camp, the whole party, including porters to carry the ivory tusks, amountingto nearly a thousand men. 

The Turks, as they marched along, helped themselves from the half-filledbins of the unfortunate natives, who were starving, while the chiefs atthe different villages were quarrelling among themselves. 

One night a party of warriors from another place appeared in front ofthe village near which they were encamped, and the next morning thevillagers turned out and killed two of them. The enemy, as theyretired, cried out that as soon as the guns were gone the villagers mustlook out for themselves. 

Speke and Grant, however, kept their own pots boiling by shootingantelopes and other game. The Turks ate anything they could get holdof. Greatly to the disgust of the Seedees, they devoured a crocodilewhich was killed; they also feasted off crocodiles' eggs. 

They were now passing through the Bari country. Villages were numerous, but the inhabitants fled as soon as they appeared. Whenever the Turkshalted, they sacked the villages of provisions. 

At Doro, which they reached on the 13th of February, the Turks havingplundered the nearest villages, the natives turned out with their arms, and war drums were beaten as a sign that they intended to attack thecamp. As soon as darkness set in, they attempted to steal into thecamp, but, being frightened off by the patrols, hundreds collected infront and set fire to the grass, brandishing torches in their hands, howling like demons, and swearing that they would annihilate theirenemies in the morning. 

On the 15th of February the travellers approached Gondokoro, and totheir delight saw in the distance a white speck, which marked theposition of the Austrian mission-house. Soon afterwards the masts ofthe Nile boats could be seen. 

The Toorkees halting to fire a _feu de joie_, the party marched intogether. 

While making enquiries for Petherick, they caught sight of a sturdyEnglish figure approaching them. Uttering a hearty cheer and wavingtheir hats, they rushed forward and, greatly to their delight, foundthemselves shaking hands with Mr, now Sir Samuel, Baker, the elephanthunter of Ceylon, who had bravely come out in search of them. 

They had had no news from England later than April, 1860, and it was nowFebruary, 1863. It was believed in England that they never would havebeen able to get through the savage tribes. They had reason to begrateful for the kind sympathy of their friends and countrymen. 

The long-looked-for Petherick was away on a trading expedition, and had, as yet, made no attempt to succour them. 

They waited at Gondokoro till the 26th, that Speke might ascertain, bylunar observation, the longitude, which was 31 degrees 46 minutes 9seconds east, the latitude being 4 degrees 54 minutes 5 seconds north. The thermometer ranged between 94 degrees and 100 degrees in the shade. The climate was considered better than that of Khartoum. 

While Mr Baker, accompanied by his devoted wife, continued his journeysouthward, they proceeded down the Nile in his boats to Khartoum. 

At Gondokoro an Austrian mission has been established for thirty years;but, owing to utter want of success, it was now about to be abandoned. 

They here found three Dutch ladies--the Baroness Capellen, Madame Tinne, and her daughter--who had, in the most spirited way, come up the Nile ina steamer for the purpose of assisting them, intending to proceedoverland to Fernando Po. 

They had, while at Gondokoro, been shocked by seeing a number of slaves, attacked by small-pox, thrown overboard by the native traders. Thesenoble and philanthropic ladies had rescued some of the unfortunatenatives from slavery. Unhappily, overcome by the climate, Madame Tinneand most of her companions some time afterwards died, and their proposedexpedition was arrested. 

The voyage down the Nile to Khartoum took from the 26th of February tothe 30th of March, and was performed in a _diabeah_, the usual Nileboat, the after part being covered with a deck, on which was built acomfortable poop cabin. Their Seedees followed them in two large boats. They were hospitably welcomed by Ali Bey, and by a number of Europeanand Turkish inhabitants. 

They now felt themselves in a civilised country. Fifty years agoKhartoum was a mere military post on the Egyptian frontier; it nowcontains quarters for fifteen thousand troops. 

At a banquet, given in their honour by an Italian hunter, MonsieurDebono, upwards of twenty gentlemen and four ladies were present. Theyhere met also Mr Aipperly, a minister of the Pilgrim Mission from theSwiss Protestant Church. He was stationed at Gallabat, and, havinglearned blacksmith's work and other trades, he was able to make friendswith the natives by assisting them to put up their irrigation wheels andother carpenter's work. 

Among other interesting places they visited was a Coptic church. In thecentre was a desk, at which a man was reading aloud to a number of otherpersons wearing large turbans, their shoes placed on one side, andseveral children, all sitting on a carpet, listening devoutly. On thewalls were draperies and pictures of the Saviour, and within a doorwaywas a high altar, covered with a cloth marked with the figure of thecross. The service was in Arabic. A handsome old man entered, bearinga staff surmounted by a golden cross. After kneeling at the altar, heinvited the strangers to his house to have coffee. Grant says that henever saw a finer face than that of this venerable Copt, Gabriel byname, who is at the head of the Coptic Church at Khartoum. 

They left Khartoum on the 15th of April, and continued their journeydown to Berber by water. Here they landed, and had a fatiguing camelride across the desert to a place called Korosko, whence they continuedit by water to Cairo. Here they were to part from their faithfulSeedees, of whom Bombay was appointed captain. The Seedees receivedthree years' pay, and an order for a freeman's garden to be purchasedfor them at Zanzibar, when each man was to receive ten dollars more assoon as he could find a wife. They ultimately, after many adventures, reached their destination. 

The two travellers, whose adventures we have thus far followed, embarkedfor England, on the 4th of June, on board the "Pera, " where they safelyarrived, after an absence of eleven hundred and forty-six days. 

His friends had shortly afterwards to mourn Captain Speke's untimelydeath, from his gun accidentally going off while at shooting. Hisgallant companion, now Colonel Grant, survives. 

Although not, as he supposed, the discoverer of the remotest source ofthe Nile, Speke was undoubtedly the first European who saw the VictoriaNyanza, while the adventurous and hazardous journey he and Grantperformed together deservedly places them in the first rank of Africantravellers. They also opened up an extensive and rich district hithertototally unknown, into which the blessings of Christianity and commercemay, in a few years, be introduced. It is to be hoped that KingRumanika, the most intelligent ruler with whom they came in contact, still survives, as he would afford a cordial welcome both tomissionaries and legitimate traders, and his beautiful and healthycountry might become the centre of civilisation in that part of EasternAfrica. Were a mission sent to him by way of Zanzibar, backed by a bodyof disciplined, well-armed men, he would probably greatly assist inclearing the district intervening between the north of his dominions andthat lately brought under subjection by Sir Samuel Baker, and a speedyend might be put to the horrible cruelties of the barbarous Mtesa, Kingof Uganda. It is sad to reflect, however, that while Mahommedan Turksand Arabs are allowed to range at will over the wide regions of Africaand proselytise the heathen, so few Christian merchants or missionarieshave made their way into the interior with the advantages their superiorcivilisation and pure faith would bestow on the hapless inhabitants. 

We may yet hope with Captain Burton that, "as the remote is graduallydrawn nigh, and the difficult becomes accessible, the intercourse ofman--strongest instrument of civilisation in the hands of Providence--will raise Africa to that place in the great republic of nations, fromwhich she has hitherto been unhappily excluded. "

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

TRAVELS OF DR. LIVINGSTONE--FIRST EXPEDITION. 

HIS PARENTAGE AND EARLY LIFE--SETS OUT FOR AFRICA AS A MISSIONARY FROMTHE LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY--ARRIVES AT CAPE TOWN--LEPELOLE--MABOTSA--SECHELE--DR. LIVINGSTONE FINDS HIM AT KOLOBENG--A MISSIONARY'S NECESSARYACCOMPLISHMENTS--THE KALAHARA DESERT DESCRIBED--STARTING--THE BANKS OFTHE ZOUGA--LAKE NGAMI--RETURN TO KOLOBENG--RETURN TO LAKE NGAMI--FEVER--SET OUT AGAIN AND REACH THE CHOBE--SEBITUANE--BANKS OF THE ZAMBESI--RETURNS TO KOLOBENG--ARRIVES AT CAPE TOWN, WHERE HIS WIFE AND CHILDRENEMBARK FOR ENGLAND--REACHES KURUMAN--THE DUTCH BOERS--LINYANTI--RECEIVEDBY THE MAKOLOLO--FEVER. 

David Livingstone comes of a race whose chief pride was that they werehonest men. His great grandfather fell at the battle of Culloden. Hisgrandfather was a small farmer in Ulva, one of the western islands ofScotland. Here his father was born, but his grandfather after thatevent migrated to a large cotton factory at the Blantyre Works, situatedon the Clyde, above Glasgow. His uncles all entered His Majesty'sservice either as soldiers or sailors, but his father remained at home, and his mother, being a thrifty housewife, in order to make the two endsmeet, sent her son David, at the age of ten, to the factory as a piecer. 

He was fond of study, and with part of his first week's wages hepurchased "Ruddiman's Rudiments of Latin, " and for many years afterwardsstudied that language at an evening school after his work was done. Healso, when promoted at the age of nineteen to cotton-spinning, took hisbooks to the factory, and read by placing one of them on a portion ofthe spinning-jenny, so that he could catch sentence after sentence as hepassed at his work. He was well paid, however, and having determined toprepare himself for becoming a medical missionary in China, was enabled, by working with his hands in summer, to support himself while attendingmedical and Greek classes in Glasgow in winter, as also the divinitylectures of Dr Wardlow. He was thus able to pass the requiredexaminations, and was at length admitted a licentiate of the Faculty ofPhysicians and Surgeons. 

The war in China preventing him from proceeding thither, he offeredhimself as a missionary to the London Missionary Society, and embarkedfor Africa in 1840. 

After reaching Cape Town, he went round to Algoa Bay, whence heproceeded about eight hundred miles into the interior to Kuruman, themissionary station of the Reverend R. Moffat, whose daughter heafterwards married. 

Thence he went to Lepelole, where, to gain a knowledge of the languageand habits of the inhabitants, the Bakwains, he cut himself off fromEuropean society for six months. The Bakwains, however, being driven byanother tribe from their country, he was unable, as he had intended, toform a station at that place. 

He was more successful at Mabotsa, also inhabited by the Bakwains, towhich place he removed in 1843. It was here, while in chase of a lion, that he nearly lost his life. He had fired both the barrels of his gun, and was re-loading, when the lion, though desperately wounded, sprangupon him, catching his shoulder, both man and beast coming to the groundtogether. Growling horribly, the fierce brute shook the doctor as aterrier dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to thatwhich seems to be felt by a mouse after the first shake of a cat. Thegun of his companion, a native schoolmaster, who came to his assistance, missed fire, when the lion, leaving Dr Livingstone, attacked him. Another native came up with a spear, when the lion flew at him also, butthe bullets at that moment taking effect, the fierce brute fell downdead. 

The chief of the Bakwains, Sechele, became a Christian, and exertedhimself for the conversion of his people, restoring his wives to theirfathers, and living in every respect a thoroughly consistent life. 

The Dutch Boers, who had pushed forward to the confines of the country, proved, however, most adverse to the success of the mission, by carryingoff the natives and compelling them to labour as slaves. 

By the advice of Dr Laidley, Sechele and his people moved to Kolobeng, a stream about two hundred miles to the north of Kuruman, where DrLivingstone formed a station. 

He here built a house with his own hands, having learned carpenteringand gardening from Mr Moffat, as also blacksmith work. He had nowbecome handy at almost any trade, in addition to doctoring andpreaching, and, as his wife could make candles, soap, and clothes, theypossessed what may be considered the indispensable accomplishments of amissionary family in Central Africa. 

Among the gentlemen who had visited the station was Mr Oswell, in theEast India Company's service. He deserves to take rank as an Africantraveller. Hearing that Dr Livingstone purposed crossing the KalaharaDesert in search of the great Lake Ngami, long known to exist, he camefrom India on purpose to join him, accompanied by Mr Murray, volunteering to pay the entire expenses of the guides. 

The Kalahara, though called a desert from being composed of soft sandand being destitute of water, supports prodigious herds of antelopes, while numbers of elephants, rhinoceros, lions, hyenas, and other animalsroam over it. They find support from the astonishing quantity of grasswhich grows in the region, as also from a species of water-melon, andfrom several tuberous roots, the most curious of which is the_leroshua_, as large as the head of a young child, and filled with afluid like that of a turnip. Another, the _mokuri_, an herbaceouscreeper, the tubers of which, as large as a man's head, it deposits in acircle of a yard or more horizontally from the stem. On thewater-melons especially, the elephants and other wild animals revelluxuriously. 

Such was the desert Dr Livingstone and his party proposed to cross whenthey set out with their wagon on the 1st of June, 1849, from Kolobeng. Instead, however, of taking a direct course across it, they determinedto take a more circuitous route, which, though longer, they hoped wouldprove safer. 

Continuing on, they traversed three hundred miles of desert, when, atthe end of a month, they reached the banks of the Zouga, a large river, richly fringed with fruit-bearing and other trees, many of them ofgigantic growth, running north-east towards Lake Ngami. They received acordial welcome from the peace-loving inhabitants of its banks, theBayeiye. 

Leaving the wagons in charge of the natives, with the exception of asmall one which proceeded along the bank, Dr Livingstone embarked inone of their canoes. Frail as are the canoes of the natives, they makelong trips in them, and manage them with great skill, often standing upand paddling with long light poles. They thus daringly attack thehippopotami in their haunts, or pursue the swift antelope which venturesto swim across the river. After voyaging on the stream for twelve days, they reached the broad expanse of Lake Ngami. Though wide, it isexcessively shallow, and brackish during the rainy season. They hereheard of the Tamunacle and other large rivers flowing into the lake. 

Livingstone's main object in coming was to visit Sebituane, the greatchief of the Makololo, who live about two hundred miles to thenorthward. The chief of the district, Sechulatebe, refused, however, either to give them goods or to allow them to cross the river. Havingin vain attempted to form a raft to ferry over the wagon, they werereluctantly compelled to abandon their design. The doctor had beenworking at the raft in the river, not aware of the number of alligatorswhich swarmed around him, and had reason to be thankful that he escapedtheir jaws. 

The season being far advanced, they determined to return to Kolobeng, Mr Oswell generously volunteering to go down to the Cape and bring up aboat for the next season. 

Half the royal premium for the encouragement of geographical science anddiscoveries was awarded by the council of the Royal Geographical Societyto Dr Livingstone for the discoveries he made on this journey. 

Sechele, the Christian chief of the Bakwains, who was eager to assisthim in reaching Sebituane, offered his services, and with him as aguide, accompanied by Mrs Livingstone and their three children, he setout, in April, 1850, taking a more easterly course than before. 

They again reached the lake, but the greater number of the party beingattacked by fever, he was compelled to abandon his design of visitingSebituane. 

He here heard of the death of a young artist, Mr Rider, who had shortlybefore visited the lake for the purpose of making sketches. 

The natives inhabiting the banks of the rivers falling into Lake Ngamiare famed for their skill in hunting the hippopotamus. In perfectsilence they approach in their light canoes, and plunge their sharpspears, with thongs attached, into the back of one of the hugecreatures, which dashes down the stream, towing the canoe at a rapidrate. Thus the animal continues its course, the hunters holding on tothe rope, till its strength is exhausted, when, other canoes coming up, it is speared to death. Frequently, however, the hippopotamus turns onits assailants, bites the canoe in two, and seizes one of them in itspowerful jaws. When they can manage to do so, they tow it into shallowwater, and, carrying the line on shore, secure it to a tree, while theyattack the infuriated animal with their spears, till, sinking exhaustedwith its efforts, it becomes their prey. 

Mr Oswell, who had arrived too late for the journey, spent theremainder of the season in hunting elephants, liberally presenting DrLivingstone with the proceeds of his sport, for the outfit of hischildren. 

The third journey was commenced in the spring of 1851, when, rejoined byMr Oswell, he set out once more, accompanied by Mrs Livingstone andtheir children. 

First travelling north, and then to the north-east, through a regioncovered with baobab-trees, abounding with springs, and inhabited byBushmen, they entered an arid and difficult country. Here, the supplyof water being exhausted, great anxiety was felt for the children, whosuffered greatly from thirst. At length a small stream, the Mababe, wasreached, running into a marsh, across which they had to make their way. During the night they traversed a region infested by the _tsetse_, a flynot much larger than the common house-fly, the bite of which destroyscattle and horses. It is remarkable that neither man, wild animals, noreven calves as long as they continue to suck, suffer from the bite ofthis fearful pest. While some districts are infested by it, others inthe immediate neighbourhood are free, and, as it does not bite at night, the only way the cattle of travellers can escape is by passing quicklythrough the infested district before the sun is up. Sometimes thenatives lose the whole of their cattle by its attacks, and travellersfrequently have been deprived of all means of moving with their wagons, in consequence of the death of their animals; some, indeed, haveperished from being unable to proceed. 

Having reached the Chobe, a large river, which falls into the Zambesi, leaving their attendants encamped with their cattle on an island, DrLivingstone and his family, with Mr Oswell, embarked in a canoe on theformer river, and proceeded down it about twenty miles to an island, where Sebituane was waiting to receive them. 

The chief, pleased with the confidence the doctor had shown in bringinghis wife and children, promised to take them to see his country, thatthey might chose a spot where they might form a missionary station. Hehad been engaged in warfare nearly all his life, under varying fortunes, with the neighbouring savage tribes, and had at length establishedhimself in a secure position behind the Chobe and Leeambye, whose broadstreams guarded him from the inroads of his enemies. He had now alarger number of subjects and was richer in cattle than any chief inthat part of Africa. 

The rivers and swamps, however, of the region produced fever, which hadproved fatal to many of his people. He had long been anxious forintercourse with Europeans, and showed every wish to encourage those whonow visited him to remain in his territory. 

Unhappily, a few days after the arrival of his guests the chief wasattacked with inflammation of the lungs, originating in an old wound, and, having listened to the gospel message delivered by the doctor, hein a short time breathed his last. 

Dr Livingstone says that he was decidedly the best specimen of a nativechief he had ever met. His followers expressed the hope that theEnglish would be as friendly to his children as they intended to havebeen to himself. 

The chieftainship devolved at his death on a daughter, who gave thevisitors leave to travel through any part of the country they chose. They accordingly set out, and traversing a level district covered withwild date-trees, and here and there large patches of swamp, for adistance of a hundred and thirty miles to the north-east, they reachedthe banks of the Zambesi, in the centre of the continent. 

From the prevalence of the _tsetse_, and the periodical rise of itsnumerous streams causing malaria, Dr Livingstone was compelled toabandon the intention he had formed of removing his own people thitherthat they might be out of the reach of their savage neighbours, theDutch boers. It was, however, he at once saw, the key of Southern andCentral Africa. 

The magnificent stream, on the bank of which he now stood, flowshundreds of miles east to the Indian Ocean--a mighty artery supplyinglife to the teeming population of that part of Africa. He thereforedetermined to send his wife and children to England, and to returnhimself and spend two or three years in the new region he haddiscovered, in the hopes of evangelising the people and putting a stopto the trade in slaves, which had already been commenced even thus farfrom the coast. 

He accordingly returned to Kolobeng, and then set out with his family ajourney of a thousand miles, to Cape Town. Having seen them on board ahomeward-bound ship, he again turned his face northward, June, 1852. 

Having reached Kuruman, he was there detained by the breaking of awagon-wheel. During that time the Dutch Boers attacked his friends, theFakwains, carrying off a number of them into slavery, the only excusethe white men had being that Sechele was getting too saucy--in reality, because he would not prevent the English traders from passing throughhis territory to the northward. The Dutch plundered Dr Livingstone'shouse, and carried off the wagons of the chief and that of a trader whowas stopping in the place. Dr Livingstone therefore found greatdifficulty in obtaining guides and servants to proceed northward. PoorSechele set out for Cape Town, intending, as he said, to lay hiscomplaint before the Queen of England, but was compelled by want offunds to return to his own country, where he devoted himself to theevangelisation of his people. 

Parting with the chief, Dr Livingstone, giving the Boers a wide berth, proceeded across the desert to Linyanti, the capital of the Makololo, where he had visited the Chief Sebituane in 1851. The whole population, amounting to nearly seven thousand souls, turned out to welcome him. Hefound that the princess had abdicated in favour of her brother Sekeletu, who received him with the greatest cordiality. The young king, thenonly nineteen, exclaimed: "I have now got another father instead ofSebituane. " The people shared this feeling, believing that by theresidence of a missionary among them they would obtain some importantbenefits, though of the real character of the blessing they mightreceive they were totally ignorant. 

A rival of the young king existed in the person of a cousin, Mpepe, whohad been appointed by the late king chief over a portion of hissubjects, but whose ambition made him aim at the command of the whole. 

Half-caste Portuguese slave-traders had made their way to Linyanti, andone, who pretended to be an important person, was carried about in ahammock slung between two poles, which looking like a bag, the nativescalled him "the father of the bag. " Mpepe favoured these scoundrels, ashe hoped by their means to succeed in his rebellion. The arrival of DrLivingstone, however, somewhat damped their hopes. 

As the chief object of the doctor was to select a spot for a settlement, he ascended, accompanied by Sekeletu, the great river Zambesi, which hadbeen discovered in the year 1851. 

The doctor had taught the Makololo to ride on their oxen, which they hadnever before done, though, having neither saddles nor bridles, theyconstantly fell off. 

He and Sekeletu were riding along side by side, when they encounteredMpepe, who, as soon as he saw them, ran towards the chief with his axeuplifted; but Sekeletu, galloping on, escaped him. On their arrival attheir camp, while the chief and the doctor were sitting together, Mpepeappeared, his men keeping hold of their arms. At that moment the rebelentered; but the doctor, unconsciously covering Sjkeletu's body, savedhim from the assassin's blow. His cousin's intention having beenrevealed to Sekeletu, that night Mpepe was dragged off from his fire andspeared. So quietly was the deed done that Dr Livingstone heardnothing of it till the next morning. 

Dr Livingstone was soon after this attacked by fever, when his hostsexhibited the interest they felt for him by paying him every attentionin their power. His own remedies of a wet sheet and quinine were moresuccessful than the smoke and vapour baths employed by the natives. 

It is important that the position of Linyanti should be noted, as fromit Dr Livingstone set out on his journey westward to Loanda, on theWest Coast, and, returning to it, commenced from thence that adventurousexpedition to the East Coast, which resulted in so many interestingdiscoveries. Its latitude is 18 degrees 17 minutes 20 seconds south;longitude 23 degrees 50 minutes 9 seconds east. 

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

TRAVELS OF DR. LIVINGSTONE, CONTINUED. 

SET OUT--SESHEKE--MAKOLOLO ARCHITECTURE--VILLAGE OF KATONGA--PADDLE UPTHE LEEAMBYE--MPEPE--NALIELE--VISIT MA-SEKELETU--A GRAND DANCE--RETURNTO LINYANTI--EXPEDITION TO THE WEST--ON THE CHOBE--GONYE FALLS--UP THELEEANIBYE--UP THE LEEBA--THE BALONDA COUNTRY--MANENKO--VISITS SHINTI--RECEPTION OF LIVINGSTONE--PROCEEDS NORTHERLY--VISIT KATEMA--REACH THETERRITORY OF THE CHIBOQUE--WANT OF FOOD--A MUTINY--THE BANKS OF THEQUANGO--REACH KASENGE--SLEEPING-PLACES ON THE ROAD--AMBACA--TROMBETA--ARRIVE AT LOANDA--LIVINGSTONE, WITH HIS MAKOLOLO, GOES ON BOARD THE"PLUTO" AND "PHILOMEL"--THE CITY OF LOANDA--DEPARTURE--ASCEND THE RIVERBENGO TO ICOLLO-I-BENGO--GOLCONGO ALTO--EXCURSION TO KASENGE--PROCEEDTO, AND ARRIVE ON, THE BANKS OF THE QUANGO--BASHINJI COUNTRY--ATTACKED--REACH CALONGO--KANAWA'S VILLAGE--PAST LAKE DILOLO--SHUITI'S CAPITAL--ONTHE LEEBA--THE LECAMBYE--THE TOWN OF LEBOUTA--PROCEEDING, ARRIVES ATSESHEKE AND AFTERWARDS AT LINYANTI. 

Having recovered from his fever, Dr Livingstone, accompanied bySekeletu and about one hundred and sixty attendants, mostly young men, associates of the chief, set out for Sesheke. The intermediate countrywas perfectly flat, except patches elevated a few feet only above thesurrounding level. There were also numerous mounds, the work of_termites_, which are literally gigantic structures, and often wilddate-trees were seen growing on them. 

The party looked exceedingly picturesque as, the ostrich feathers of themen waving in the air, they wound in a long line in and out among themounds. Some wore red tunics or variously-coloured prints, and theirheads were adorned with the white ends of ox tails or caps made oflions' manes. The nobles walked with a small club of rhinoceros horn intheir hands, their servants carrying their shields; while the ordinarymen bore burdens, and the battle-axe men, who had their own shields ontheir arms, were employed as messengers, often having to run an immensedistance. 

The Makololo possess numerous cattle, and the chief, having to feed hisfollowers, either selected oxen from his own stock or received them fromthe head men of the villages through which they passed, as tribute. 

Dr Livingstone and the chief had each a little gipsy tent in which theyslept, though the Makololo huts, which are kept tolerably clean, afforded them accommodation. The best sort of huts consist of threecircular walls, having small holes to serve as doors, through which itis necessary to creep on all fours. The roof resembles in shape aChinaman's hat, and is bound together with circular bands. Theframework is first formed, and it is then lifted to the top of thecircle of poles prepared for supporting it. The roof is next coveredwith fine grass and sewed with the same material as the lashings. Womenare the chief builders of huts among the Makololo. 

Reaching the village of Katonga on the banks of the Leeambye, some timewas spent there in collecting canoes. During this delay Dr Livingstonevisited the country to the north of the village, where he saw enormousnumbers of buffaloes, zebras, elans, and a beautiful small antelopecalled the _tinyane_. He was enabled, by this hunting expedition, tosupply his companions with an abundance of food. 

At length, a sufficient number of canoes being collected, they commencedthe ascent of the river. His own canoe had six paddlers, while that ofthe chief had ten. They paddled standing upright, and kept stroke withgreat exactness. Being flat-bottomed, they can float in very shallowwater. The fleet consisted altogether of thirty-three canoes and onehundred and sixty men. 

The Makololo are unable to swim, and, a canoe being upset, one of theparty, an old doctor, was lost, while the Barotse canoe-men easily savedthemselves by swimming. 

Numerous villages were seen on both banks of the river, the inhabitantsof which are expert hunters of the hippopotamus, and are excellenthandicraft-men. They manufacture wooden bowls with neat lids, and showmuch taste in carving stools. Some make neat baskets, and others excelin pottery and iron. 

On their arrival at the town of the father of Mpepe, who had instigatedhis son to rebellion, two of his chief councillors were led forth andtossed into the river. 

Mpepe had encouraged the slave-dealers to come into the country, and alarge party of his supporters, the Mambari, had taken shelter in astockade. It was proposed to attack them; but Dr Livingstone urged hisfriends to refrain from so doing, especially as the enemy possessedfirearms. It was then agreed that they would starve them out. 

"Hunger is strong enough for that, " observed a chief, "he is a verygreat fellow;" but here again, as the unfortunate slaves who werechained in gangs would have suffered, the doctor interceded, and theywere allowed to depart. 

Naliele, the capital of the Barotse, the tribe inhabiting the districtin which they now were, is built on an artificially-constructed mound, as are many other villages of that region, to raise them above theoverflowing of the river. From finding no trace of European names amongthem, Dr Livingstone was convinced that the country had not before beenvisited by white men; whereas, after he had come among them, greatnumbers of children were named after his own boy, while others werecalled Horse, Gun, Wagon, etcetera. 

Here again numbers of large game were seen. Eighty-one buffaloesdefiled in slow procession before the fire of the travellers one eveningwithin gun-shot, and herds of splendid elans stood at two hundred yards'distance, without showing signs of fear. Lions, too, approached androared at them. One night, as they were sleeping on the summit of alarge sandbank, a lion appeared on the opposite shore, who amusedhimself for hours by roaring as loudly as he could. The river was toobroad for a ball to reach him, and he walked off without suffering forhis impertinence. Dr Livingstone saw two as tall as common donkeys, their manes making their bodies appear of still greater size. 

The doctor was visited at his camp by two Arabs, who had made their waythus far west. They professed the greatest hatred of the Portuguesebecause they eat pigs, and they disliked the English because they thrashthem for selling slaves. 

On their journey they visited the town of Ma-Sekeletu, or the mother ofSekelutu, where, as it was the first visit the king had paid to thispart of his dominions, he was received with every appearance of joy. Agrand dance was got up, the men standing nearly naked in a circle, withclubs or small battle-axes in their hands, roaring at the loudest pitchof their voices, while they simultaneously lifted one leg, stamped twicewith it, then lifted the other and gave one stamp with that. The armsand head were thrown about in every direction, the roaring being kept upwith the utmost vigour, while the dust ascended in clouds around them. 

Returning down the stream at a rapid rate, they quickly reachedLinyanti. 

During this nine-weeks' tour Dr Livingstone had been in closer contactwith heathenism than ever before, and though, including the chief, everyone had been as attentive as possible, yet the dancing, roaring, singing, jesting, quarrelling, added to the murdering propensities ofthese children of nature was painful in the extreme. He took a moreintense disgust of heathenism than he had ever before felt, and formed ahigher opinion of the latent effects of missions in the south amongtribes which were once as savage as the Makololo. 

The chief and his followers, agreeing that the object of DrLivingstone's proposed expedition to the west was most desirable, tookgreat pains to assist him in the undertaking. A band of twenty-sevenmen was appointed to accompany him by the chief's command, whose eagerdesire was to obtain a free and profitable trade with the white men, andthis, Dr Livingstone was convinced, was likely to lead to theirultimate elevation and improvement. Three men whom he had brought fromKuruman having suffered greatly from fever, he sent them back withFleming, a trader, who had followed his footsteps. His new attendantshe named Zambesians, for there were only two Makololo men--the restconsisting of Barotse, Batoka, and other tribes. His wagon andremaining goods he committed to the charge of the Makololo, who took allthe articles into their huts. He carried only a rifle anddouble-barrelled smooth-bore gun for himself, and gave three muskets tohis people, by means of which he hoped game might be obtained for theirsupport. Wishing also to save his followers from having to carry loads, he took for his own support but a few biscuits and a pound of tea andsugar, about twenty of coffee, a small tin canister with some spareshirting, trousers, and shoes, another for medicines, and a third forbooks, while a fourth contained a magic lantern. His ammunition wasdistributed in portions among the whole luggage, that, should anaccident occur to one, the rest might be preserved. His camp equipageconsisted of a gipsy tent, a sheep-skin mantle, and a horse-rug as abed, as he had always found that the chief art of successful travellingconsisted in taking as few impediments as possible. His sextant, artificial horizon, thermometer, and compasses were carried apart. 

On the 11th of November, 1853, accompanied by the chief and hisprincipal men to see him off, he left Linyanti, and embarked on theChobe. The chief danger in navigating this river is from the bachelorhippopotami who have been expelled their herd, and, whose tempers beingsoured, the canoes are frequently upset by them. One of thesemisanthropes chased some of his men, and ran after them on shore withconsiderable speed. 

The banks of the river were clothed with trees, among them the _ficusindica_, acacias, and the evergreen _motsouri_, from the pink-colouredspecimens of which a pleasant acid drink is obtained. 

Leaving the Chobe, they entered the Leeambye, up which they proceeded atsomewhat a slow rate, as they had to wait at different villages forsupplies of food. Several varieties of wild fruit were presented tothem. 

The crews of the canoes worked admirably, being always in good humour, and, on any danger threatening, immediately leaped overboard to preventthem coming broadside to the stream, or being caught by eddies, ordashed against the rocks. 

Birds, fish, iguanas, and hippopotami abounded; indeed the whole riverteemed with life. 

On November 30th the Gonye Falls were reached. No rain having fallen, it was excessively hot. They usually got up at dawn--about five in themorning--coffee was taken and the canoes loaded, the first two hoursbeing the most pleasant part of the day's sail. 

The Barotse, being a tribe of boatmen, managed their canoes admirably. 

At about eleven they landed to lunch. After an hour's rest theyembarked, the doctor with an umbrella overhead. Sometimes they reacheda sleeping-place two hours before sunset. Coffee was again served out, with coarse bread made of maize meal, or Indian corn, unless some animalhad been killed, when a potful of flesh was boiled. 

The canoes were carried beyond the falls, slung on poles placed on men'sshoulders. 

Here as elsewhere the doctor exhibited his magic lantern, greatly to thedelight of the people. 

Nothing could be more lovely than the scenery of the falls. The waterrushes through a fissure and, being confined below by a space not morethan a hundred yards wide, goes rolling over and over in great masses, amid which the most expert swimmer can in vain make way. 

The doctor was able to put a stop to an intended fight between theinhabitants of two villages. Several volunteers offered to join him, but his followers determined to adhere to the orders of Sekeletu, andrefused all other companions. 

They were treated most liberally by the inhabitants of all the villages, who presented them with more oxen, milk, and meal than they could stowaway. Entering the Leeambye, Dr Livingstone proceeded up that streamin his canoe, while his oxen and a portion of his men continued theirjourney along its banks. 

The rain had fallen, and nature put on her gayest apparel: flowers ofgreat beauty and curious forms grew everywhere, many of the forest treeshaving palmated leaves, the trunks being covered with lichens, whilemagnificent ferns were seen in all the moister situations. In the coolmorning the welkin rang with the singing of birds, and the groundswarmed with insect life. 

Livingstone did not fail to preach the Gospel to his attendants, as wellas to the inhabitants of the villages, ever having in mind the value ofhuman souls. 

Alligators were in prodigious numbers, children and calves beingconstantly carried off by them. One of his men was seized, but, retaining his presence of mind when dragged to the bottom, he struck themonster with his javelin and escaped, bearing the marks of the reptile'steeth on his thigh. 

The doctor's men had never before used firearms, and, proving bad shots, came to him for "gun medicine" to enable them to shoot better. As hewas afraid of their exhausting his supply of powder, he was compelled toact as sportsman for the party. 

Leaving Leeambye, he proceeded up the Leeba. Beautiful flowers andabundance of wild honey was found on its shores, and large numbers ofyoung alligators were seen sunning themselves on the sandbanks withtheir parents. 

They had now reached the Balonda country, and received a visit from achieftainess, Manenko, a tall strapping woman covered with ornaments andsmeared over with fat and red ochre as a protection against the weather. She invited them to visit her uncle Shinti, the chief of the country. 

They set out in the midst of a heavy drizzling mist; on, however, thelady went, in the lightest marching order. The doctor enquired why shedid not clothe herself during the rain; but it appeared that she did notconsider it proper for a chief to appear effeminate. The men, inadmiration of her pedestrian powers, every now and then remarked:"Manenko is a soldier. " Some of the people in her train carried shieldscomposed of reeds, of a square form, five feet long and three broad. With these, and armed with broadswords and quivers full of iron-headedarrows, they looked somewhat ferocious, but are in reality not noted fortheir courage. 

The doctor was glad when at length the chieftainess halted on the banksof a stream and preparations were made for their night's lodging. 

After detaining them several days she accompanied them on foot toShinti's town. The chief's place of audience was ornamented by twograceful banyan-trees, beneath one of which he sat on a sort of thronecovered with a leopard-skin. He wore a checked shirt and a kilt ofscarlet baize, edged with green, numerous ornaments covering his armsand legs, while on his head was a helmet of beads, crowned with largegoose feathers. At his side sat three lads with quivers full of arrowsover their shoulders. 

Dr Livingstone took his seat under the shade of another tree oppositeto the chief, while the spokesman of the party, who had accompaniedthem, in a loud voice, walking backwards and forwards, gave an accountof the doctor and his connection with the Makololo. 

Behind the chief sat a hundred women clothed in red baize, while hiswife was seated in front of him. Between the speeches the ladies burstforth into a sort of plaintive ditty. The party was entertained by aband of musicians, consisting of three drummers and four performers onthe _marimba_, a species of piano. It consists of two bars of woodplaced side by side; across these are fixed fifteen wooden keys, eachtwo or three inches broad and about eighteen long, their thickness beingregulated by the deepness of the note required. Each of the keys has acalabash below it, the upper portion of which, being cut off to hold thebars, they form hollow sounding-boards to the keys. These are also ofdifferent sizes according to the notes required. The keys are struck bysmall drumsticks to produce the sound. The Portuguese have imitated the_marimba_, and use it in their dances in Angola. 

The women in this country are treated with more respect by the men thanin other parts of Africa. 

A party of Mambari, with two native Portuguese traders, had come up toobtain slaves, and, while Dr Livingstone was residing with Shinti, someyoung children were kidnapped, evidently to be sold to them. 

The day before he was to recommence his journey, the doctor received avisit in his tent from Shinti, who, as a mark of his friendship, presented him with a shell on which he set the greatest value, observing: "There, now you have a proof of my affection. "

These shells, as marks of distinction, are so highly valued that for twoof them a slave may be bought, and five will purchase an elephant's tuskworth ten pounds. 

The old chief had provided a guide, Intemese, to conduct them to theterritory of the next chief, Katema. He also gave an abundant supply offood, and wished them a prosperous journey. 

Dr Livingstone again started on the 26th of January, Shinti sendingeight men to assist in carrying his luggage. He had now to quit thecanoes and to proceed on ox-back, taking a northerly direction. 

He and his party received the same kind treatment in the country asbefore, the villagers, by command of their chiefs, presenting them withan abundance of food. They found English cotton cloth more eagerlyenquired after than beads and ornaments. 

On arriving at a village the inhabitants lifted off the roofs of some oftheir huts, and brought them to the camp, to save the men the trouble ofbooth-making. On starting again the villagers were left to replace themat their leisure, no payment being expected. 

Heavy rains now came on, and the doctor and his party were continuallywet to the skin. 

Polite as the people were, they were still fearful savages. Messengersarrived from the neighbouring town to announce the death of their chief, Matiamvo. That individual had been addicted to running a-muck throughhis capital and beheading any one he met, till he had a large heap ofhuman heads in front of his hut. Men were also slaughteredoccasionally, whenever the chief wanted part of a body to performcertain charms. 

The Balonda appear to have some belief in the existence of the soul, anda greater feeling of reverence in their composition than the tribes tothe eastward. Among their customs they have a remarkable one. Thosewho take it into their heads to become friends, cement their friendship. Taking their seats opposite one to the other, with a vessel of beer bythe side of each, they clasp hands. They then make cuts on theirclasped hands, the pits of their stomachs, their foreheads, and rightcheeks. The point of a blade of grass is then pressed against the cuts, and afterwards each man washes it in his own pot of beer; exchangingpots, the contents are drunk, so that each man drinks the blood of theother. Thus they consider that they become blood relations and arebound in every possible way to assist each other. 

These people were greatly surprised at the liberty enjoyed by theMakololo. 

The travellers paid a visit to Katema, the chief of the district, whoreceived them dressed in a snuff-brown coat, with a helmet of beads andfeathers on his head, and in his hand a number of tails of _gnus_ boundtogether. He also sent some of his men to accompany them on theirjourney. 

The rains continued, and the doctor suffered much from having to sleepon the wet ground. 

Having reached the latitude of Loanda, Dr Livingstone now directed hiscourse to the westward. 

On the 4th of March he reached the outskirts of the territory of theChiboque. 

As he approached the more civilised settlements, he found the habits ofthe people changed much for the worse: tricks of all sorts were playedto detain him and obtain tribute; the guides also tried in every way toimpose on him. Even his Makololo expressed their sorrow at seeing sobeautiful a country ill cultivated and destitute of cattle. 

He was compelled to slaughter one of his riding oxen for food, as nonecould be obtained. 

The Chiboque coming round in great numbers, their chief demandedtribute, and one of their number made a charge at Dr Livingstone, butquickly retreated on having the muzzle of the traveller's gun pointed athis head. The chief and his councillors, however, consenting to sitdown on the ground, the Makololo, well drilled, surrounded them and thusgot them completely in their power. A mutiny, too, broke out among hisown people, who complained of want of food; but it was suppressed by theappearance of the doctor with a double-barrelled pistol in his hand. They never afterwards gave him any trouble. 

Similar demands for payment to allow him to pass through the countrywere made by other chiefs, his faithful Makololo giving up theirornaments, as he had done nearly all the beads and shirts in hispossession. The most extortionate of these chiefs was Ioaga Panza, whose sons, after receiving payment for acting as guides, deserted him. 

All this time Dr Livingstone was suffering daily from the attacks offever, which rendered him excessively weak, so that he could scarcelysit his ox. 

The country appeared fertile and full of small villages, and the soil isso rich that little labour is required for its cultivation. It is, however, the chief district whence slaves are obtained, and a feeling ofinsecurity was evident amongst the inhabitants. 

A demand was now made by each chief for a man, an ox, or a tusk astribute. The first was of course refused, but nearly all the remainderof the traveller's property had to be thus paid away. 

On the 4th of April they reached the banks of the Quango, here a hundredand fifty yards wide. The chief of the district--a young man, who worehis hair curiously formed into the shape of a cone, bound round withwhite thread--on their refusing to pay him an extortionate demand, ordered his people not to ferry them across, and opened fire on them. At this juncture a half-caste Portuguese, a sergeant of militia, Cypriano Di Abreu arrived, and, obtaining ferrymen, they crossed overinto the territory of the Bangala, who are subject to the Portuguese. They had some time before rebelled, and troops were now stationed amongthem, Cypriano being in command of a party of men. Next morning heprovided a delicious breakfast for his guest, and fed the Makololo withpumpkins and maize, while he supplied them with farina for their journeyto Kasenge, without even hinting at payment. 

The natives, though they long have had intercourse with the Portuguese, are ignorant and superstitious in the extreme. Many parts of thecountry are low and marshy, and they suffer greatly from fever. Of theuse of medicine they have no notion, their only remedies being charmsand cupping. The latter operation is performed with a small horn, whichhas a little hole in the upper end. The broad end is placed on theflesh, when the operator sucks through the hole; as the flesh rises, hegashes it with a knife, then replaces the horn and sucks again, tillfinally he introduces a piece of wax into his mouth, to stop up thehole, when the horn is left to allow the blood to gush into it. 

It took the travellers four days to reach Kasenge, a town inhabited byabout forty Portuguese traders and their servants. Though told by thedoctor that he was a Protestant minister, they treated him with thegreatest kindness and hospitality. 

Here the Makololo sold Sekeletu's tusks, obtaining much better pricesthan they would have done from the Cape traders, forgetting, however, that their value was greatly increased by the distance they had beenbrought. 

The Makololo here expressed their fears, from what they had heard, thatthey were about to be led down to the sea-coast to be sold, but whenLivingstone asked them if he had ever deceived them, and that he wouldassure them of their safety, they agreed to accompany him. 

The merchants of Kasenge treated the doctor with the most disinterestedkindness, and furnished him with letters to their friends at Loanda. 

He was escorted by a black corporal of militia, who was carried in ahammock by his slaves. He could both read and write, and was cleanly inall his ways; he was considerate also to his young slaves, and walkedmost of the way, only getting into his hammock on approaching a village, for the sake of keeping up his dignity. He, however, had the usualvices in a land of slaves, and did not fail to cheat those he was sentto protect. 

Sleeping-places were erected on the road about ten miles apart, as thereis a constant stream of people going to and coming from the coast. 

Goods are either carried on the head or on one shoulder, in a sort ofbasket, supported by two poles five or six feet long. When the carrierfeels tired and halts, he plants them on the ground, allowing his burdento rest against a tree, so that he has not to lift it up from the groundto the level of his head. 

On arriving at a sleeping-place, the sheds were immediately takenpossession of by the first comers, those arriving last having to makehuts with long grass for themselves. Women might then be seen comingfrom their villages with baskets of manioc meal, yams, garlic, and otherroots for sale. 

As Dr Livingstone had supplied himself with calico at Kasenge, he wasable to purchase what was necessary. 

The district of Ambaca, through which he now passed, was excessivelyfertile. Large numbers of cattle exist on its pastures, which arewell-watered by flowing streams, while lofty mountains rise in thedistance. It is said to contain forty thousand souls. 

The doctor was delighted with Golcongo Alto, a magnificent district--thehills bedecked with trees of various hues, the graceful oil-yieldingpalm towering above them. 

Here the commandant, Lieutenant Castro, received him in a way which wonthe doctor's affectionate regard. 

He calculated that this district has a population of a hundred and fourthousand. 

The lieutenant regretted, as does every person of intelligence, theneglect with which this magnificent country has been treated. 

As they proceeded, they passed streams with cascades, on which millsmight easily be formed; but here numbers of carpenters were convertingthe lofty trees which grew around into planks, by splitting them withwedges. 

At Trombeta the commandant had his garden ornamented with rows of trees, with pineapples and flowers growing between them. A few years ago hehad purchased an estate for 16 pounds, on which he had now a coffeeplantation and all sorts of fruit-trees and grape-vines, besides grainand vegetables growing, as also a cotton plantation. 

As they approached the sea the Makololo gazed at it, spreading outbefore them, with feelings of awe, having before believed that the wholeworld was one extended plain. They again showed their fears that theymight be kidnapped, but Dr Livingstone reassured them, telling themthat as they had stood by each other hitherto, so they would do to thelast. 

On the 31st of May they descended a declivity leading to the city ofLoanda, where Dr Livingstone was warmly welcomed by Mr Gabriel, theBritish commissioner for the suppression of the slave trade. Seeing himso ill, he benevolently offered the doctor his bed. "Never shall Iforget, " says Dr Livingstone, "the luxurious pleasure I enjoyed infeeling myself again on a good English couch, after for six monthssleeping on the ground. "

It took many days, however, before the doctor recovered from theexposure and fatigue he had endured. All that time he was watched overwith the most generous sympathy by his kind host. The Portuguese Bishopof Angola, and numerous other gentlemen, called on him and tenderedtheir services. 

Her Majesty's ship "Polyphemus" coming in, the surgeon, Mr Cockin, afforded him the medical assistance he so much required, and on the 14thof June he was sufficiently recovered to call on the bishop, attended byhis Makololo followers. They had all been dressed in new robes ofstriped cotton cloth, and red caps, presented by Mr Gabriel. 

The bishop, acting as head of the provisional government, received themin form, and gave them permission to come to Loanda and trade as oftenas they wished, with which they were greatly pleased. 

The Makololo gazed with astonishment at all they witnessed, the largestone houses and churches especially, never before having seen abuilding larger than a hut. The commanders of the "Pluto" and"Philomel, " which came into the harbour, invited them on board. Knowingtheir fears, Dr Livingstone told them that no one need go should theyentertain the least suspicion of foul play. Nearly the whole party, however, went. 

Pointing to the sailors, the doctor said: "Now, these are all mycountrymen, sent by our queen for the purpose of putting down the tradeof those that buy and sell black men. "

They replied: "Truly they are just like you, " and all their fearsvanished. 

Going forward amongst the men, they were received much the same as theMakololo would have received them, the jolly tars handing them a shareof the bread and beef they had for dinner. They were allowed to fireoff a cannon, at which they were greatly pleased, especially when thedoctor observed: "That is what they put down the slave trade with. "

This visit had a most beneficial effect, as it raised Dr Livingstonestill more highly than ever in the opinion of the natives. 

They were not so much struck at the high mass which they witnessed atthe cathedral, observing that they had seen the white men charming theirdemons. 

During August the doctor was again attacked by a severe fit of fever. 

His men, while he was unable to attend to them, employed themselves ingoing into the country and cutting firewood, which they sold to theinhabitants of the town. Mr Gabriel also found them employment inunloading a collier, at sixpence a day. They continued at this work forupwards of a month, astonished at the vast amount of "stones that burn"which were taken out of her. With the money thus obtained theypurchased clothing, beads, and other articles to carry home with them. In selecting calicoes they were well able to judge of the best, andchose such pieces as appeared the strongest, without reference tocolour. 

Saint Paul de Loanda, once a considerable city, has now fallen greatlyinto decay. There are, however, many large stone houses, and the palaceof the governor, and the government offices, are substantial structures. Trees are planted throughout the town for the sake of shade. Thoughthe dwellings of the native inhabitants are composed merely of wattleand daub, from the sea they present an imposing appearance. 

Though at first the government lost its chief revenue from thesuppression of the slave trade, it has again gradually increased by thelawful commerce now carried on by its merchants. The officers are, however, so badly paid that they are compelled to engage in mercantilepursuits, and some attempt by bribes to assist the slave-dealers. 

From the kind and generous treatment Dr Livingstone received from thePortuguese, they rose deservedly high in his estimation. 

He now prepared for his departure. The merchants sent a present toSekeletu, consisting of specimens of all their articles of trade and twodonkeys, that the breed might be introduced into his country, as the_tsetse_ cannot kill those beasts of burden. The doctor was alsofurnished with letters of recommendation to the Portuguese authoritiesin Eastern Africa. The bishop likewise furnished him with twentycarriers, and sent forward orders to the commandants of the districts tothe east to render him every assistance. He supplied himself withammunition, and beads, and a stock of cloth, and he gave each of his mena musket. He had also purchased a horse for Sekeletu. His friends ofthe "Philomel" fitted him out also with a new tent, and, on the 20th ofSeptember, 1854, he and his party left Loanda, escorted by Mr Gabriel, who, from his unwearied attentions and liberality to his men, had becomeendeared to all their hearts. 

Passing round by the sea, he ascended the River Bengo to Icollo-i-Bengo, once the residence of a native king. While Mr Gabriel returned toLoanda, Dr Livingstone and his party proceeded to Golcongo Alto, wherehe left some of his men to rest, while he took an excursion to Kasenge, celebrated for its coffee plantations. On his return he found severalof them suffering from fever, while one of them had gone out of hismind, but in a short time recovered. 

The doctor had the satisfaction of returning the kindness he receivedfrom Mr Canto, the commandant, by attending him during a severe attackof illness. 

He had thus an opportunity of watching the workings of slavery. Themoment their master was ill, the slaves ate up everything on which theycould lay their hands, till the doctor himself could scarcely obtaineven bread and butter. Here Sekeletu's horse was seized withinflammation, and the poor animal afterwards died on its journey. 

On the 28th of February they reached the banks of the Quango, where theywere again received by Cypriano. 

The coloured population of Angola are sunk in the grossest superstition. They fancy themselves completely in the power of spirits, and areconstantly deprecating their wrath. A chief, named Gando, had latelybeen accused of witchcraft, and, being killed by the ordeal, his bodywas thrown into the river. 

Heavy payment was demanded by the ferrymen for crossing in theirwretched canoes; but the cattle and donkeys had to swim across. 

Avoiding their friend with the comical head-dress, they made their wayto the camp of some Ambakistas, or half-caste Portuguese, who had goneacross to trade in wax. They are famed for their love of learning, andare keen traders, and, writing a peculiarly fine hand, are generallyemployed as clerks, sometimes being called the Jews of Angola. 

The travellers were now in the country of the Bashinji, possessing thelowest negro physiognomy. At a village where they halted, they wereattacked by the head man, who had been struck by one of the Makololo ontheir previous visit, although atonement had been made. A large body ofthe natives now rushed upon them as they were passing through a forest, and began firing, the bullets passing amid the trees. Dr Livingstonefortunately encountered the chief, and, presenting a six-barrelledrevolver, produced an instant revolution in his martial feelings. Thedoctor then, ordering, him and his people to sit down, rode off. 

They were now accompanied by their Portuguese friends, the Londa people, who inhabit the banks of the Loajima. 

They elaborately dress their hair in a number of ways. It naturallyhangs down on their shoulders in large masses, which, with their generalfeatures, give them a strong resemblance to the ancient Egyptians. Someof them twist their hair into a number of small cords, which theystretch out to a hoop encircling the head, giving it the resemblance ofthe glory seen in pictures round the head of the Virgin Mary. Othersadorn their heads with ornaments of woven hair and hide, to which theyoccasionally suspend the tails of buffaloes. A third fashion is toweave the hair on pieces of hide in the form of buffalo horns, projecting on either side of the head. The young men twine their hairin the form of a single horn, projecting over their forehead in front. They frequently tattoo their bodies, producing figures in the form ofstars. Although their heads are thus elaborately adorned, their bodiesare almost destitute of clothing. 

Reaching Calongo, Dr Livingstone directed his course towards theterritory of his old friend, Katema. 

They were generally well received at the villages. 

On the 2nd of June they reached that of Kanawa. This chief, whosevillage consisted of forty or fifty huts, at first treated them verypolitely, but he took it into his head to demand an ox as tribute. Ontheir refusing it, Kanawa ordered his people to arm. On this, DrLivingstone directed his Makololo to commence the march. Some did sowith alacrity, but one of them refused, and was preparing to fire atKanawa, when the doctor, giving him a blow with his pistol, made him gotoo. They had already reached the banks of the river when they foundthat Kanawa had sent on ahead to carry off all the canoes. Theferrymen, supposing that the travellers were unable to navigate thecanoes, left them, unprotected, on the bank. As soon as it was dark, therefore, the Makololo quickly obtained one of them, and the wholeparty crossed, greatly to the disgust of Kanawa when he discovered inthe morning what had occurred. 

They now took their way across the level plain, which had been floodedon their former journey. Numberless vultures were flying in the air, showing the quantity of carrion which had been left by the waters. 

They passed Lake Dilolo, a sheet of water six or eight miles long andtwo broad. 

The sight of the blue waters had a soothing effect on the doctor, whowas suffering from fever, after his journey through the gloomy forestand across the wide flat. 

Pitsane and Mohorisi, Livingstone's chief men, had proposed establishinga Makololo village on the banks of the Leeba, near its confluence withthe Leeambye, that it might become a market to communicate westward withLoanda, and eastward with the regions along the banks of the Zambesi. 

Old Shinti, whose capital they now reached, received them as before in afriendly way, and supplied them abundantly with provisions. 

The doctor left with him a number of plants, among which were orange, cashew, custard, apple, and fig-trees, with coffee, acacias, and papaws, which he had brought from Loanda. They were planted out in theenclosure of one of his principal men, with a promise that Shinti shouldhave a share of them when grown. 

They now again embarked in six small canoes on the waters of the Leeba. Paddling down it, they next entered the Leeambye. Here they found aparty of hunters, who had been engaged in stalking buffaloes, hippopotami, and other animals. They use for this purpose the skin of adeer, with the horns attached, or else the head and upper part of thebody of a crane, with which they creep through the grass till they canget near enough to shoot their prey. 

The doctor, wishing to obtain some meat for his men, took a small canoeand paddled up a creek towards a herd of zebras seen on the shore. Firing, he broke the hind leg of one of them. His men pursued it, and, as he walked slowly after them, he observed a solitary buffalo, whichhad been disturbed by others of his party, galloping towards him. Theonly tree was a hundred yards off. The doctor cocked his rifle in thehope of striking the brute on the forehead. The thought occurred tohim, but what should his gun miss fire? The animal came on at atremendous speed, but a small bush a short distance off made it swerveand expose its shoulder. The doctor fired, and as he heard the ballcrack, he fell flat on his face. The buffalo bounded past him towardsthe water, near which it was found dead. His Makololo blamed themselvesfor not having been by his side, while he returned thanks to God for hispreservation. 

On reaching the town of Lebouta, they were welcomed with the warmestdemonstrations of joy, the women coming out, dancing and singing. Thence they were conducted to the _kotlar_, or house of assembly, wherePitsane delivered a long speech, describing the journey and the kind wayin which they had been received at Loanda, especially by the Englishchief. 

Next day Dr Livingstone held a service, when his Makololo braves, arrayed in their red caps and white suits of European clothing, attended, sitting with their guns over their shoulders. 

As they proceeded down the Barotse Valley, they were received in thesame cordial manner. 

The doctor was astonished at the prodigious quantities of wild animalsof all descriptions which he saw on this journey, and also whentraversing the country further to the east--elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and pigs. Frequently the beautifulspringbok appeared, covering the plain, sometimes in sprinklings and atother times in dense crowds, as far as the eye could reach. 

The troops of elephants also far exceeded in numbers anything which hehad ever before heard of or conceived. He and his men had often toshout to them to get out of their way, and on more than one occasion aherd rushed in upon the travellers, who not without difficulty madetheir escape. A number of young elephants were shot for food, theirflesh being highly esteemed. To the natives the huge beasts are a greatplague, as they break into their gardens and eat up their pumpkins andother produce; when disturbed they are apt to charge those interruptingtheir feast, and, following them, to demolish the huts in which they mayhave taken refuge, not unfrequently killing them in their rage. 

Resting at Sesheke, they proceeded to Linyanti, where the wagon andeverything that had been left in it in November, 1853, was foundperfectly safe. 

A grand meeting was called, when the doctor made a report of his journeyand distributed the articles which had been sent by the governor andmerchants of Loanda. Pitsane and others then gave an account of whatthey had seen, and, as may be supposed, nothing was lost in thedescription. The presents afforded immense satisfaction, and on SundaySekeletu made his appearance in church dressed in the uniform which hadbeen brought down for him, and which attracted every man's attention. 

The Arab, Ben Habed, and Sekeletu arranged with him to conduct anotherparty with a load of ivory down to Loanda; they also consulted him as tothe proper presents to send to the governor and merchants. The Makolologenerally expressed great satisfaction at the route which had beenopened up, and proposed moving to the Barotse Valley, that they might benearer the great market. The unhealthiness of the climate, however, wasjustly considered a great drawback to the scheme. 

The doctor afterwards heard that the trading party which set out reachedLoanda in safety, and it must have been a great satisfaction to him tofeel that he had thus opened out a way to the enterprise of theseindustrious and intelligent people. 

The donkeys which had been brought excited much admiration, and, as theywere not affected by the bite of the _tsetse_, it was hoped that theymight prove of great use. Their music, however, startled theinhabitants more than the roar of lions. 

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

TRAVELS OF DR. LIVINGSTONE, CONTINUED. 

PREPARES FOR A JOURNEY TO THE EAST COAST--LEAVES LINYANTI--A STORM--THEVICTORIA AND MOZIOATUNYA FALLS--FROM KALAI SETS OFF FOR LEKONE--CROSSTHE KAFUE--THE ZAMBESI--DOWN ITS BANKS--REACH THE CONFLUENCE OF THELOANGWA--MBURUMA'S PLOT--ZUMBO, A RUINED PORTUGUESE SETTLEMENT--ACURIOUS RECEPTION--ARRIVAL AT TETE--A GOOD BREAKFAST--TETE DESCRIBED--DOWN THE QUILLIMANE--EMBARKS WITH SEKWEBU ON BOARD THE "FROLIC"--ARRIVESAT MAURITIUS--SEKWEBU DROWNS HIMSELF--LIVINGSTONE ARRIVES IN ENGLAND. 

Dr Livingstone now began to make arrangements for performing anotheradventurous journey to the East Coast. In the mean time he was fullyoccupied in attending to the sick, as also in preaching the Gospel tothe people generally. 

He was advised to wait till the rains had fallen and cooled the ground;and as it was near the end of September, and clouds were collecting, itwas expected that they would soon commence. The heat was very great:the thermometer, even in the shade of his wagon, was at 100 degrees, and, if unprotected, rose to 110 degrees; during the night it sank to 70degrees. 

His notes made during the time abound with descriptions of the habitsand customs of the people. The children strongly resemble in manyrespects those of other nations. "They have merry times, especially inthe cool of the evening. One of their games consists of a little girlbeing carried on the shoulders of two others. She sits withoutstretched arms as they walk about with her, and all the rest claptheir hands and, stopping before each hut, sing pretty airs, somebeating time on their little skirts of cow-skin, and others making acurious humming sound between the songs. Excepting this and theskipping-rope, the play of the girls consists in imitating the seriouswork of their mothers--building little huts, making small pots andcooking, pounding corn in miniature mortars, or hoeing tiny gardens. The boys play with small spears and shields, or bows and arrows, or makelittle cattle-pens and cattle in clay, often showing much ingenuity intheir imitations of the animals, especially of their horns. " However, we must accompany Dr Livingstone on his journey. Among other routeswhich were proposed, he selected that by the north bank of the Zambesi. He would, however, thus have to pass through territories in thepossession of the Matabele, who, under the powerful Chief Mozelekatse, had driven away the Makololo, its original possessors. 

Notwithstanding this he had no fears for himself, as that chief lookedupon Mr Moffat, his father-in-law, as his especial friend. Aconsiderable district, also, of the country was still inhabited by theMakololo, and by them he was sure to be kindly treated. The Makololo, it must be understood, are a mixed race, composed of tribes of Bechuanaswho formerly inhabited the country bordering the Kalahara Desert. Theirlanguage, the Bechuana, is spoken by the upper classes of the Makololo, and into this tongue, by the persevering labours of Mr Moffat, nearlythe whole of the scriptures have been translated. Thus means alreadyexisted of making known the Gospel among them. The bulk of the peopleare negroes, and are an especially fine, athletic, and skilful race. 

As soon as Dr Livingstone announced his intention of proceeding to theeast, numerous volunteers came forward to accompany him. From amongthem he selected a hundred and fourteen trustworthy men, and Sekeletuappointed two, Sekwebu and Kanyata, as leaders of the company. Sekwebuhad been captured, when a child, from the Matabele, and his tribe nowinhabited the country near Tete; he had frequently travelled along thebanks of the Zambesi, and spoke the various dialects of the peopleresiding on them, and was, moreover, a man of sound judgment andprudence, and rendered great service to the expedition. 

On the 3rd of November Dr Livingstone, bidding farewell to his friendsat Linyanti, set out, accompanied by Sekeletu and two hundred followers. On reaching a patch of country infested by the _tsetse_ it becamenecessary to travel at night. A fearful storm broke forth, sometimesthe lightning, spreading over the sky, forming eight or ten brancheslike those of a gigantic tree. At times the light was so great that thewhole country could be distinctly seen, and in the intervals between theflashes it was as densely dark. The horses trembled, turning round tosearch for each other, while the thunder crashed with tremendous roars, louder than is heard in other regions, the rain pelting down, making theparty feel miserably cold after the heat of the day. At length a fire, left by some previous travellers, appeared in the distance. Thedoctor's baggage having gone on before, he had to lie down on the coldground, when Sekeletu kindly covered him with his own blanket, remainingwithout shelter himself. Before parting at Sesheke, the generous chiefsupplied the doctor with twelve oxen, three accustomed to be ridden on, hoes and beads to purchase a canoe, an abundance of fresh butter andhoney; and, indeed, he did everything in his power to assist him in hisjourney. 

Bidding farewell to Sekeletu, the doctor and his attendants sailed downthe river to its confluence with the Chobe. Having reached this spot, he prepared to strike across the country to the north-east, in order toreach the northern bank of the Zambesi. Before doing so, however, hedetermined to visit the Victoria or Mozioatunya Falls, of which he hadoften heard. The meaning of the word is: "Smoke does sound there, " inreference to the vapour and noise produced by the falls. After twentyminutes' sail from Kalai they came in sight of five columns of vapour, appropriately called "smoke, " rising at a distance of five or six milesoff, and bending as they ascended before the wind, the tops appearing tomingle with the clouds. The scene was extremely beautiful. The banksand the islands which appeared here and there amid the stream, wererichly adorned with trees and shrubs of various colours, many being infull blossom. High above all rose an enormous baobab-tree surrounded bygroups of graceful palms. 

As the water was now low, they proceeded in the canoe to an island inthe centre of the river, the further end of which extended to the edgeof the falls. At the spot where they landed it was impossible todiscover where the vast body of water disappeared. It seemed, indeed, suddenly to sink into the earth, for the opposite lip of the fissureinto which it descends was only eighty feet distant. On peering overthe precipice the doctor saw the stream, a thousand yards broad, leapingdown a hundred feet and then becoming suddenly compressed into a spaceof fifteen or twenty yards, when, instead of flowing as before, itturned directly to the right, and went boiling and rushing amid thehills. 

The vapour which rushes up from this cauldron to the height of two orthree hundred feet, being condensed, changes its hue to that of darksmoke, and then comes down in a constant shower. The chief portionfalls on the opposite side of the fissure, where grow a number ofevergreen trees, their leaves always wet. The walls of this giganticcrack are perpendicular. Altogether, Dr Livingstone considered thesefalls the most wonderful sight he had beheld in Africa. 

Returning to Kalai the doctor and his party met Sekeletu, and, biddinghim a final farewell, set off northwards to Lekone, through a beautifulcountry, on the 20th of November. The further they advanced the morethe country swarmed with inhabitants, and great numbers came to see thewhite man, invariably bringing presents of maize. 

The natives of this region have a curious way of saluting a stranger. Instead of bowing they throw themselves on their backs on the ground, rolling from side to side and slapping the outsides of their thighs, while they utter the words "_Kina bomba! kina bomba_!" In vain thedoctor implored them to stop. They, imagining him pleased, only tumbledabout more fiercely and slapped their thighs with greater vehemence. 

These villagers supplied the party abundantly with ground nuts, maize, and corn. 

When the doctor addressed them and told them of Jesus as their Saviour--how He had come on earth to bring peace and goodwill to men--theyreplied: "We are tired of flight. Give us rest and sleep, "--though, ofcourse, they could not understand the full import of the message. 

These people appeared humbled by the scourgings they had received fromtheir enemies, and seemed to be in a favourable state for the receptionof the Gospel. 

Their chief, Monze, came one Sunday morning, wrapped in a large cloth, when, like his followers, he rolled himself about in the dust, screamingout "_Kina bomba_!" He had never before seen a white man, but had metwith black native traders, who came, he said, for ivory, but not forslaves. His wife would have been good-looking, had she not followed thecustom of her country by knocking out her teeth. Monze soon madehimself at home, and presented the travellers with as much food as theyrequired. 

As they advanced, the country became still more beautiful, aboundingwith large game. Often buffaloes were seen standing on eminences. Oneday, a buffalo was found lying down, and the doctor went to secure itfor food. Though the animal received three balls they did not provefatal, and it turned round as if to charge. The doctor and hiscompanions ran for shelter to some rocks, but, before they gained them, they found that three elephants had cut off their retreat. The enormousbrutes, however, turned off, and allowed them to gain the rocks. As thebuffalo was moving rapidly away the doctor tried a long shot, and, tothe satisfaction of his followers, broke the animal's fore leg. Theyoung men soon brought it to a stand, and another shot in its brainsettled it. They had thus an abundance of food, which was shared by thevillagers of the neighbourhood. Soon afterwards an elephant was killedby his men. 

Leaving the Elephant Valley, they reached the residence of a chief namedSemalembue, who, soon after their arrival, paid them a visit, andpresented five or six baskets of meal and maize, and one of ground nuts, saying that he feared his guest would sleep the first night at hisvillage hungry. The chief professed great joy at hearing the words ofthe Gospel of Peace, replying: "Now I shall cultivate largely, in thehopes of eating and sleeping in quiet. "

It is remarkable that all to whom the doctor spoke, eagerly caught upthe idea of living in peace as the probable effect of the Gospel. 

This region Sekwebu considered one of the best adapted for the residenceof a large tribe. It was here that Sebituane formerly dwelt. 

They now crossed the Kafue by a ford. _Every_ available spot betweenthe river and hills was under cultivation. The inhabitants select thesepositions to secure themselves and their gardens from their humanenemies. They are also obliged to make pit-holes to protect theirgrounds from the hippopotami. These animals, not having been disturbed, were unusually tame, and took no notice of the travellers. A number ofyoung ones were seen, not much larger than terrier dogs, sitting on thenecks of their dams, the little saucy-looking heads cocked up betweenthe old one's ears; when older, they sit more on the mother's back. 

Meat being required, a full-grown cow was shot, the flesh of whichresembled pork. 

The party now directed their course to the Zambesi near its confluencewith the Kafue. They enjoyed a magnificent view from the top of theouter range of hills. A short distance below them was the Kafue, winding its way over a forest-clad plain, while on the other side of theZambesi lay a long range of dark hills. The plain below abounded inlarge game. Hundreds of buffalo and zebras grazed on the open spaces, and there stood feeding two majestic elephants, each slowly moving itsproboscis. On passing amidst them the animals showed their tameness bystanding beneath the trees, fanning themselves with their large ears. Anumber also of red-coloured pigs were seen. The people in theneighbourhood having no guns, they are never disturbed. 

A night was spent in a huge baobab-tree, which would hold twenty meninside. 

As they moved on, a herd of buffaloes came strutting up to look at theiroxen, and only by shooting one could they be made to retreat. Shortlyafterwards a female elephant, with three young ones, charged through, the centre of their extended line, when the men, throwing down theirburdens, retreated in a great hurry, she receiving a spear for hertemerity. 

They were made aware of their approach to the great river by the vastnumber of waterfalls which appeared. It was found to be much broaderthan above the falls: a person might indeed attempt in vain to make hisvoice heard across it. An immense amount of animal life was seen botharound and in it. 

Pursuing their course down the left bank, they came opposite the islandof Menyemakaba, which is about two miles long and a quarter broad. Besides its human population it supports a herd of upwards of sixtybuffalo. The comparatively small space to which the animals haveconfined themselves shows the luxuriance of the vegetation. The onlytime that the natives can attack them is when the river is full and partis flooded: they then assail them from their canoes. 

The inhabitants of the north side of the Zambesi are the Batonga; thoseon the south bank the Banyai. 

Both buffalo and elephants are numerous. To kill them the natives formstages on high trees overhanging the paths by which they come to thewater. From thence they dart down their spears, the blades of which aretwenty inches long by two broad, when the motion of the handle, aided byknocking against the trees, makes fearful gashes which soon cause death. They form also a species of trap. A spear inserted in a beam of woodis suspended from the branch of a tree, to which a cord is attached witha latch. The cord being led along the path when struck by the animal'sfoot, the beam falls, and, the spear being poisoned, death shortlyensues. 

At each village they passed, two men were supplied to conduct them tothe next, and lead them through the parts least covered with jungle. 

The villagers were busily employed in their gardens. Most of the menhave muscular figures. Their colour varies from a dark to a lightolive. The women have the extraordinary custom of piercing the upperlip, and gradually enlarging the orifice till a shell can be inserted. The lip appears drawn out beyond the nose, and gives them a very uglyappearance. As Sekwebu remarked: "These women want to make their mouthslike those of ducks. " The commonest of these rings are made of bamboo, but others are of ivory or metal. When the wearer tries to smile, thecontraction of the muscles turns the ring upwards, so that its upperedge comes in front of the eyes, the nose appearing through the middle, while the whole front teeth are exposed by the motion, exhibiting theway in which they have been clipped to resemble the fangs of a cat or acrocodile. 

On their next halt Seole, the chief of the village, instead of receivingthem in a friendly way, summoned his followers and prepared for anattack. The reason was soon discovered. It appeared that an Italian, who had married the chief's daughter, having armed a party of fiftyslaves with guns, had ascended the river in a canoe from Tete, andattacked several inhabited islands beyond Makaba, taking large numbersof prisoners and much ivory. As he descended again with his booty, hisparty was dispersed and he himself was killed while attempting to escapeon foot. Seole imagined that the doctor was another Italian. 

This was the first symptom of the abominable slave trade they met withon the east side of the continent. Had not the chief with whom they hadpreviously stayed arrived to explain matters, Seole might have giventhem much trouble. 

Mburuma, another chief of the same tribe, had laid a plan to plunder theparty by separating them, but the doctor, suspecting treachery, kept hispeople together. They had on a previous occasion plundered a party oftraders bringing English goods from Mozambique. 

On the 14th of January they reached the confluence of the Loangwa andthe Zambesi. 

Here the doctor discovered the ruins of a town, with the remains of achurch in its midst. The situation was well chosen, with lofty hills inthe rear and a view of the two rivers in front. On one side of thechurch lay a broken bell, with the letters IHS and a cross. This hefound was a Portuguese settlement called Zumbo. The conduct of Mburumaand his people gave Dr Livingstone much anxiety, as he could not helpdreading that they might attack him the next morning. His chief regretwas that his efforts for the welfare of the teeming population in thatgreat region would thus be frustrated by savages, of whom it might besaid: "They know not what they do. "

He felt especially anxious that the elevated and healthy district whichhe had now discovered, stretching towards Tete, should become known. Itwas such a region as he had been long in quest of as a centre from whichmissionary enterprise might be carried into the surrounding country. 

While the party were proceeding along the banks of the river, passingthrough a dense bush, three buffaloes broke through their line. Thedoctor's ox galloped off, and, as he turned back, he saw one of his mentossed several feet in the air. On returning, to his satisfaction hefound that the poor fellow had alighted on his face, and, although hehad been carried twenty yards on the animal's horns, he had in no waysuffered. On the creature's approaching him he had thrown down his loadand stabbed it in the side, when it caught him and carried him offbefore he could escape. 

Soon after this they had evidence that they were approaching thePortuguese settlements, by meeting a person with a jacket and hat on. From this person, who was quite black, they learned that the Portuguesesettlement of Tete was on the other bank of the river, and that theinhabitants had been engaged in war with the natives for some time past. 

This was disagreeable news, as Livingstone wished to be at peace withboth parties. 

As they approached the village of Mpende, that chief sent out his peopleto enquire who the travellers were. The natives, on drawing near, uttered strange cries and waved some bright red substance towards them. Having lighted a fire, they threw some charms into it and hastened away, uttering frightful screams, believing that they should thus frighten thestrangers and render them powerless. The Makololo, however, laughed attheir threats, but the doctor, fully believing that a skirmish wouldtake place, ordered an ox to be killed to feast his men, following theplan Sebituane employed for giving his followers courage. 

At last two old men made their appearance and enquired if the doctor wasa Bazunga, or Portuguese. On showing his hair and white skin, theyreplied: "Ah, you must be one of the tribe that loves black men. "

Finally the chief himself appeared, and expressed his regret that he hadnot known sooner who they were, ultimately enabling them to cross theriver. 

After this they were detained for some time by the rains on the southbank. 

In conversation with the people they exhibited the greatest hatred ofthe slave-traders. 

Meeting with native traders, the doctor purchased some American calicoin order to clothe his men. It was marked "Lawrence Mills, Lowell, "with two small tusks, an interesting fact. 

Game laws existed even in this region. His party having killed anelephant, he had to send back a considerable distance to giveinformation to the person in charge of the district, the owner himselfliving near the Zambesi. Their messenger returned with a basket ofcorn, a fowl, and a few strings of beads, a thank-offering to them forhaving killed it. The tusk of the side on which the elephant fellbelonged to the owner, while the upper was the prize of the sportsman. Had they begun to cut up the animal before receiving permission theywould have lost the whole. The men feasted on their half of thecarcass, and for two nights an immense number of hyaenas collectedround, uttering their loud laughter. 

The people inhabiting the country on this side of the Zambesi are knownas the Banyai. Their favourite weapon is a huge axe, which is carriedover the shoulder. It is used chiefly for ham-stringing the elephant, in the same way as the Hamran Arab uses his sword. The Banyai, however, steals on the animal unawares, while the Hamran hunter attacks it whenit is rushing in chase of one of his comrades, who gallops on ahead on awell-trained steed. 

Those curious birds, the "honey guides, " were very attentive to them, and, by their means, the Makololo obtained an abundance of honey. Ofthe wax, however, in those districts no use appears to be made. 

Though approaching the Portuguese settlement, abundance of game wasstill found. The Makololo killed six buffalo calves from among a herdwhich was met with. 

They were warned by the natives that they ran a great risk of beingattacked by lions when wandering on either side of the line of march insearch of honey. One of the doctor's head men, indeed, Monahin, havingbeen suddenly seized with a fit of insanity during the night, left thecamp, and, as he never returned, it was too probable that he had beencarried off by a lion. 

It was not till the 2nd of March that the neighbourhood of Tete wasreached. Livingstone was then so prostrated that, though only eightmiles from it, he could proceed no further. He forwarded, however, theletters of recommendation he received in Angola to the commandant. Thefollowing morning a company of soldiers with an officer arrived, bringing the materials for a civilised breakfast, and a litter in whichto carry him. He felt so greatly revived by the breakfast, that he wasable to walk the whole way. 

He was received in the kindest way by Major Sicard, the commandant ofTete, who provided also lodging and provision for his men. 

Tete is a mere village, built on a slope reaching to the water, close towhich the fort is situated. There are about thirty European houses; therest of the buildings, inhabited by the natives, are of wattle and daub. 

Formerly, besides gold-dust and ivory, large quantities of grain, coffee, sugar, oil, and indigo were exported from Tete, but, on theestablishment of the slave trade, the merchants found a more speedy wayof becoming rich, by selling off their slaves, and the plantations andgold washings were abandoned, the labourers having been exported to theBrazils. Many of the white men then followed their slaves. After this, a native of Goa, Nyaude by name, built a stockade at the confluence ofthe Luenya and Zambesi, took the commandant of Tete, who attacked him, prisoner, and sent his son Bonga with a force against that town andburned it. Others followed his example, till commerce, before renderedstagnant by the slave trade, was totally obstructed. 

On the north shore of the Zambesi several fine seams of coal exist, which Dr Livingstone examined. The natives only collect gold from theneighbourhood whenever they wish to purchase calico. On finding a pieceor flake of gold, however, they bury it again, believing that it is theseed of the gold, and, though knowing its value, prefer losing it ratherthan, as they suppose, the whole future crop. 

Dr Livingstone found it necessary to leave most of his men here, andMajor Sicard liberally gave them a portion of land that they mightcultivate it, supplying them in the mean time with corn. He alsoallowed the young men to go out and hunt elephants with his servants, that they might purchase goods with the ivory and dry meat, in orderthat they might take them back with them on returning to their ownhomes. He also supplied them with cloth. Sixty or seventy at onceaccepted his offer, delighted with the thoughts of engaging in soprofitable an enterprise. He also supplied the doctor with an outfit, refusing to take the payment which was offered. 

The forests in the neighbourhood abound with elephants, and the nativesattack them in the boldest manner. Only two hunters sally forthtogether--one carrying spears, the other an axe of a peculiar shape, with a long handle. As soon as an elephant is discovered, the man withthe spears creeps among the bushes in front of it, so as to attract itsattention, during which time the axe-man cautiously approaches frombehind, and, with a sweep of his formidable weapon, severs the tendon ofthe animal's hock. The huge creature, now unable to move in spite ofits strength and sagacity, falls an easy prey to the two hunters. 

Among other valuable productions of the country is found a tree alliedto the cinchona. The Portuguese believe that it has the same virtues asquinine. 

As soon as the doctor had recovered his strength he prepared to proceeddown the river to Kilimane, or Quillimane, with sixteen of his faithfulMakololo as a crew. Many of the rest were out elephant hunting, whileothers had established a brisk trade in firewood. 

Major Sicard lent him a boat, and sent Lieutenant Miranda to escort himto the coast. 

On their way they touched at the stockade of the rebel, Bonga, whoseson-in-law, Manoel, received them in a friendly way. 

They next touched at Senna, which was found in a wretchedly ruinouscondition. Here some of the Makololo accepted employment fromLieutenant Miranda to return to Tete with a load of goods. Eightaccompanied the doctor, at their earnest request, to Quillimane. 

He reached that village on the 20th of May, 1856, when it wanted but afew days of being four years since he started from Cape Town. He washospitably received by Colonel Nunes. A severe famine had existed amongthe neighbouring population, and food was very scarce. He thereforeadvised his men to go back to Tete as soon as possible, and await hisreturn from England. They still earnestly wished to accompany him, asSekeletu had advised them not to part with him till they had reachedMa-Robert, as they called Mrs Livingstone, and brought her back withthem. 

With the smaller tusks he had in his possession he purchased calico andbrass-wire, which he sent back to Tete for his followers, depositing theremaining twenty tusks with Colonel Nunes, in order that, should he beprevented from revisiting the country, it might not be supposed that hehad made away with Sekeletu's ivory. He requested Colonel Nunes, incase of his death, to sell the tusks and deliver the proceeds to hismen, intending to purchase the goods ordered by Sekeletu in England withhis own money, and, on his return, repay himself out of the price of theivory. 

He consented, somewhat unwillingly, to take Sekwebu with him to England. 

After waiting about six weeks at Quillimane, HM brig "Frolic" arrived, on board which he embarked. A fearful sea broke over the bar, and thebrig was rolling so much that there was great difficulty in reaching herdeck. Poor Sekwebu looked at his friend, asking: "Is this the way yougo?" The doctor tried to encourage him; but, though well acquaintedwith canoes, he had never seen anything like it. 

Having been three and a half years, with the exception of a shortinterval in Angola, without speaking English, and for thirteen butpartially using it, the doctor found the greatest difficulty inexpressing himself on board the "Frolic. "

The brig sailed on the 12th of July for the Mauritius, which was reachedon the 12th of August. Poor Sekwebu had become a favourite both withmen and officers, and was gaining some knowledge of English, though allhe saw had apparently affected his mind. The sight of a steamer, whichcame out to tow the brig into the harbour, so affected him that duringthe night he became insane and threatened to throw himself into thewater. By gentle treatment he became calmer, and Dr Livingstone triedto get him on shore, but he refused to go. In the evening his maladyreturned; and, after attempting to spear one of the crew, he leapedoverboard and, pulling himself down by the chain cable, disappeared. The body of poor Sekwebu was never found. 

After remaining some time at the Mauritius, till he had recovered fromthe effects of the African fever, our enterprising traveller sailed byway of the Red Sea for old England, which he reached on the 12th ofDecember, 1856. 

Dr Livingstone, in the series of journeys which have been described, had already accomplished more than any previous traveller in Africa, besides having gained information of the greatest value as regards bothmissionary and mercantile enterprise. He had as yet, however, performedonly a small portion of the great work his untiring zeal and energy haveprompted him to undertake. 

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S SECOND EXPEDITION TO AFRICA, TO EXPLORE THE ZAMBESI. 

LEAVES ENGLAND--ARRIVES AT THE EAST COAST--UP THE LUAWE--THE LITTLE"MA-ROBERT"--WAR--COMMENCE THE VOYAGE FOR TETE--SENNA--ARRIVES AT TETE--THE KEBRABASA FALLS--RETURNS TO TETE--UP THE SHIRE, AND RETURN--THESECOND TRIP UP THE SHIRE--SETS OUT FOR LAKE SHIRWA--RETURNS TO TETE--SETOUT FOR LAKE NYASSA--TREACHERY--ARRIVE AT THE LAKE--RETURNS TO THEKONGONE--JOURNEY WESTWARD--A PONDORO--SUPERSTITION--PASSING KEBRABASA, ARRIVE IN MPENDE'S TERRITORY--REACHES MOACHEMBA--SETS OUT FOR VICTORIAFALLS--TUBA, THE SMASHER OF CANOES--LEAVE SESHEKE--MORE SUPERSTITION--REACH ZUNIBO--DOWN THE KEBRABASA RAPIDS--CANOES UPSET--ARRIVE AT TETE--THE CHAMELEON. 

After spending rather more than a year in England, Dr Livingstone againset out, on the 10th of March, 1858, on board HMS "Pearl, " at the headof a government expedition for the purpose of exploring the Zambesi andthe neighbouring regions. He was accompanied by Dr Kirk, his brotherCharles Livingstone, and Mr Thornton; and Mr T. Baines was appointedartist to the expedition. 

A small steamer, which was called the "Ma-Robert, " in compliment to MrsLivingstone, was provided by the government for the navigation of theriver. 

The East Coast was reached in May. 

Running up the river Luawe, supposed to be a branch of the Zambesi, the"Pearl" came to an anchor, and the "Ma-Robert, " which had been broughtout in sections, was screwed together. The two vessels then wenttogether in search of the real mouth of the river, from which Quillimaneis some sixty miles distant, the Portuguese having concealed the realentrance, if they were acquainted with it, in order to deceive theEnglish cruisers in search of slavers. 

The goods for the expedition brought out by the "Pearl" having beenlanded on a grassy island about forty miles from the bar, that vesselsailed for Ceylon, while the little "Ma-Robert" was left to pursue hercourse alone. Her crew consisted of about a dozen Krumen and a fewEuropeans. 

At Mazaro, the mouth of a creek communicating with the Quillimane orKilimane River, the expedition heard that the Portuguese were at warwith a half-caste named Mariano, a brother of Bonga, who had built astockade near the mouth of the Shire, and held possession of all theintermediate country. He had been in the habit of sending out his armedbands on slave-hunting expeditions among the helpless tribes to thenorth-west, selling his victims at Quillimane, where they were shippedas free emigrants to the French island of Bourbon. As long as hisrobberies and murders were restricted to the natives at a distance, thePortuguese did not interfere, but when he began to carry off and murderthe people near them, they thought it time to put a stop to hisproceedings. They spoke of him as a rare monster of inhumanity. Hefrequently killed people with his own hand in order to make his namedreaded. Having gone down to Quillimane to arrange with the governor, or, in other words, to bribe him, Colonel Da Silva put him in prison andsent him for trial to Mozambique. The war, however, was continued underhis brother Bonga, and had stopped all trade on the river. 

The expedition witnessed a battle at Mazaro, between Bonga and thePortuguese, when Dr Livingstone, landing, found himself in thesickening smell and among the mutilated bodies of the slain. He broughtoff the governor, who was in a fever, the balls whistling about his headin all directions. The Portuguese then escaped to an island oppositeShupanga, where, having exhausted their ammunition, they were compelledto remain. 

There is a one-storied house at Shupanga, from which there is amagnificent view down the river. Near it is a large baobab-tree, beneath which, a few years later, the remains of the beloved wife of DrLivingstone were to repose. 

On the 17th of August the "Ma-Robert" commenced her voyage up the streamfor Tete. It was soon found that her furnaces being badly constructed, and that from other causes she was ill adapted for the work before her. She quickly, in consequence, obtained the name of the "Asthmatical. "

Senna, which was visited on the way, being situated on low ground, is afever-giving place. The steamer, of course, caused great astonishmentto the people, who assembled in crowds to witness her movements, whirling round their arms to show the way the paddles revolved. 

Tete was reached on the 8th of September. No sooner did Dr Livingstonego on shore, than his Makololo rushed down to the water's edge, andmanifested the greatest joy at seeing him. Six of the young men hadfoolishly gone off to make money by dancing before some of theneighbouring chiefs, when they fell into the hands of Bonga, who, declaring that they had brought witchcraft medicine to kill him, putthem all to death. 

The Portuguese at this place keep numerous slaves, whom they treat withtolerable humanity. When they can they purchase the whole of a family, thus taking away the chief inducement for running off. 

The expedition having heard of the Kebrabasa Falls, steamed up theriver, and on the 24th of November reached Panda Mokua, where thenavigation ends, about two miles below them. Hence the party startedoverland, by a frightfully rough path among rocky hills, where no shadewas to be found. At last their guides declared that they could go nofurther; indeed, the surface of the ground was so hot that the soles ofthe Makololos' feet became blistered. The travellers, however, pushedon. Passing round a steep promontory, they beheld the river at theirfeet, the channel jammed in between two mountains with perpendicularsides, and less than fifty yards wide. There is a sloping fall of abouttwenty feet in height, and another at a distance of thirty yards aboveit. When, however, the river rises upwards of eighty feetperpendicularly, as it does in the rainy season, the cataract might bepassed in boats. 

After returning to Tete, the steamer went up the Shire, January, 1859. The natives, as they passed them, collected at their villages in largenumbers, armed with bows and poisoned arrows, threatening to attackthem. Dr Livingstone, however, went on shore, and explained to thechief, Tingane, that they had come neither to take slaves nor to fight, but wished to open up a path by which his countrymen could ascend topurchase their cotton. On this Tingane at once became friendly. 

Their progress was arrested, after steaming up a hundred miles in astraight line, although, counting the windings of the river, double thatdistance, by magnificent cataracts known to the natives as those of theMamvira, but called by the expedition the Murchison Falls. 

Rain prevented them making observations, and they returned at a rapidrate down the river. 

A second trip up it was made in March of the same year. They heregained the friendship of Chibisa, a shrewd and intelligent chief, whosevillage was about ten miles below the cataracts. He told the doctorthat a few years before his little daughter had been kidnapped, and wasnow a slave to the _padre_ at Tete, asking him, if possible, to ransomthe child. 

From hence Dr Livingstone and Dr Kirk proceeded on foot in a northerlydirection to Lake Shirwa. The natives turned out from their villages, sounding notes of defiance on their drums; but the efforts to persuadethem that their visitors came as friends were successful, and the lakewas discovered on the 18th of April. 

From having no outlet, the water is brackish, with hilly islands risingout of it. The country around appeared very beautiful and clothed withrich vegetation, with lofty mountains eight thousand feet high near theeastern shore. 

On their return they found Quartermaster Walker, who had charge of thesteamer, dangerously ill, though he ultimately recovered. 

They returned to Tete on the 23rd of June, and thence, after the steamerhad been repaired, proceeded to the Kongone, where they receivedprovisions from HMS "Persian, " which also took on board their Krumen, asthey were found useless for land journeys. In their stead a crew waspicked out from the Makololo, who soon learned to work the ship, andwho, besides being good travellers, could cut wood and required onlynative food. 

Frequent showers fell on their return voyage up the Zambesi, and, thevessel being leaky, the cabin was constantly flooded, both from aboveand below. 

They were visited on their way up by Paul, a relative of the rebelMariano, who had just returned from Mozambique. He told them that thePortuguese knew nothing of the Kongone before they had discovered it, always supposing that the Zambesi entered the sea at Quillimane. 

A second trip up the Shire was performed in the middle of August, whenthe two doctors set out in search of Lake Nyassa, about which they hadheard. 

The river, though narrow, is deeper than the Zambesi, and more easilynavigated. 

Marks of large game were seen, and one of the Makololo, who had gone onshore to cut wood, was suddenly charged at by a solitary buffalo. Hetook to flight, pursued by the maddened animal, and was scarcely sixfeet before the creature when he reached the bank and sprang into theriver. On both banks a number of hippopotamus-traps were seen. 

The animal feeds on grass alone, its enormous lip acting like a mowingmachine, forming a path before it as it feeds. Over these paths thenatives construct a trap, consisting of a heavy beam, five or six feetlong, with a spear-head at one end, covered with poison. This weapon ishung to a forked pole by a rope which leads across the path, and is heldby a catch, set free as the animal treads upon it. A hippopotamus wasseen which, being frightened by the steamer, rushed on shore and ranimmediately under one of these traps, when down came the heavy beam onits head. 

The leaks in the steamer increased till the cabin became scarcelyhabitable. 

The neighbourhood of Chibisa's village was reached on the 25th ofAugust. 

The doctor had now to send word to the chief that his attempts torecover his child had failed, for, though he had offered twice the valueof a slave, the little girl could not be found, the _padre_ having soldher to a distant tribe of Bazizulu. Though this _padre_ was better thanthe average, he appeared very indifferent about the matter. 

On the 28th of August, an expedition consisting of four whites, thirty-six Makololo, and two guides left the ship in the hopes ofdiscovering Lake Nyassa. The natives on the road were very eager totrade. As soon as they found that the strangers would pay for theirprovisions in cotton cloth, women and girls were set to grind and poundmeal, and the men and boys were seen chasing screaming fowl over thevillage. A head man brought some meal and other food for sale; a fathomof blue cloth was got out, when the Makololo head man, thinking aportion was enough, was proceeding to tear it. On this the nativeremarked that it was a pity to cut such a nice dress for his wife, andhe would rather bring more meal. "All right, " said the Makololo, "butlook, the cloth is very wide, so see that the basket which carries themeal be wide too, and add a cock to make the meal taste nicely. "

The highland women of these regions all wear the _pelele_, or lip-ring, before described. An old chief, when asked why such things were worn, replied: "for beauty; men have beards and whiskers, women have none. What kind of creature would a woman be without whiskers and without the_pelele_?"

When, as they calculated, they were about a day's march from LakeNyassa, the chief of the village assured them positively that no lakehad ever been heard of there, and that the river Shire stretched on, asthey saw it, to a distance of two months, and then came out between tworocks which towered to the skies. The Makololo looked blank, andproposed returning to the ship. 

"Never mind, " said the doctor, "we will go on and see these wonderfulrocks. "

Their head man, Massakasa declared that there must be a lake, because itwas in the white men's books, and scolded the natives for speaking afalsehood. They then admitted that there was a lake. The chief broughtthem a present in the evening. Scarcely had he gone when a fearful cryarose from the river; a crocodile had carried off his principal wife. The Makololo, seizing their arms, rushed to her rescue; but it was toolate. 

The expedition moving forward, on the 16th of September, 1859, thelong-looked-for Lake Nyassa was discovered, with hills rising on bothsides of it. 

Two months after this the lake was visited by Dr Roscher, who wasunaware of Dr Livingstone's and Dr Kirk's discovery; unhappily he wasmurdered on his road back towards the Rovuma. 

The travellers were now visited by the chief of a village near theconfluence of the lake and the river, who invited them to form theircamp under a magnificent banyan-tree among the roots of which, twistedinto the shape of a gigantic arm-chair, four of the party slept. Thechief told them that a slave party, led by Arabs, was encamped near athand; and in the evening a villainous set of fellows, with long muskets, brought several young children for sale; but, finding that thetravellers were English, they decamped, showing signs of fear. Thepeople of the Manjanga tribe, amidst whom they were now travelling, showed much suspicion of their object, saying that parties had comebefore with the same sort of plausible story, and had suddenly carriedoff a number of their people. To allay these suspicions, DrLivingstone thought it best at once to return to the ship. 

Soon afterwards Dr Kirk and Mr Rae, the engineer, set off with guidesto go across the country to Tete, the distance being about one hundredmiles. From want of water they suffered greatly, while the _tsetse_infested the district. 

Dr Livingstone had resolved to visit his old friend Sekeletu; but, finding that before the new crop came in, food could not be obtainedbeyond the Kebrabasa, he returned in the "Ma-Robert" once more to theKongone. 

They found Major Sicard at Mazaro, he having come there with tools andslaves to build a custom-house and fort. 

After this trip, the poor "Asthmatic" broke down completely; she wastherefore laid alongside the island of Kanyimbe, opposite Tete, andplaced under charge of two English sailors. They were furnished with asupply of seeds to form a garden, both to afford them occupation andfood. 

Active preparations were now made for the intended journey westward;cloth, beads, and brass-wire were formed into packages, with thebearer's name printed on each. 

The Makololo who had been employed by the expedition received theirwages. Some of those who had remained at Tete had married, and resolvedto continue where they were. Others did not leave with the same goodwill they had before exhibited, and it was doubtful, if attacked, whether they would not run to return to their lately-formed friends. 

All arrangements had been concluded by the 15th of May, 1860, and thejourney was commenced. 

As the Banyai, who live on the right bank, were said to levy heavyfines, the party crossed over to the left. 

Dr Livingstone was stopping near the Kebrabasa village, when a manappeared, who pretended that he was a _pondoro_; that is, that he couldchange himself into a lion whenever he chose--a statement his countrymenfully believed. Sometimes the _pondoro_ hunts for the benefit of thevillagers, when his wife takes him some medicine which enables him tochange himself back into a man. She then announces what game has beenkilled, and the villagers go into the forest to bring it home. Thepeople believe also that the souls of the departed chiefs enter intolions. One night, a buffalo having been killed, a lion came close tothe camp, when the Makololo declared that he was a _pondoro_, and toldhim that he ought to be ashamed of himself for trying to steal the meatof strangers. The lion, however, disregarding their addresses, onlyroared louder than ever, though he wisely kept outside the bright circleof the camp-fires. A little strychnine was placed on a piece of meatand thrown to him, after which he took his departure, and was neveragain seen. 

Again passing Kebrabasa, the travellers enjoyed the magnificent mountainscenery in this neighbourhood, and came to the conclusion that not onlyit, but the Morumbwa could, when the river rises, be passed, so as toallow of a steamer being carried up to run on the upper Zambesi. 

On the 20th of June they reached the territory of the chief Mpende, whohad, on Dr Livingstone's journey to the East Coast, threatened toattack him. Having in the mean time heard that he belonged to a racewho love black men and did not make slaves, his conduct was nowcompletely changed, and he showed every desire to be friendly. 

Game was abundant, and lions were especially numerous. 

After visiting Zumbo, Dr Kirk was taken dangerously ill. He got betteron the high ground, but immediately he descended into the valley healways felt chilly. In six days, however, he was himself again, andable to march as well as the rest. 

Again abundance of honey was obtained through the means of the "honeyguide. " The bird never deceived them, always guiding them to a hive ofbees, though sometimes there was but little honey in it. 

On the 4th of August the expedition reached Moachemba, the first of theBatoka villages, which owe allegiance to Sekeletu. From thence, beyonda beautiful valley, the columns of vapour rising from the VictoriaFalls, upwards of twenty miles away, could clearly be distinguished. 

The Makololo here received intelligence of their families, and news ofthe sad termination of the attempt to plant a mission at Linyanti, underthe Reverend H. Helmore. He and several white men had died, and theremainder had only a few weeks before returned, to Kuruman. 

At the village opposite Kalai the Malokolo head man, Mashotlane, paidthe travellers a visit. He entered the hut where they were seated, alittle boy carrying a three-legged stool. In a dignified way the chieftook his seat, presenting some boiled hippopotamus meat. Having thentaken a piece himself, he handed the rest to his followers. He hadlately been attacking the Batoka, and when the doctor represented to himthe wrongfulness of the act, he defended himself by declaring that theyhad killed some of his companions. Here also they found Pitsane, whohad been sent by Sekeletu to purchase horses from a band of Griquas. 

As the new-comers were naturally anxious to see the magnificent falls, they embarked in some canoes belonging to Tuba Mokoro ("a smasher ofcanoes"), who alone, they were assured, possessed the medicine whichwould prevent shipwreck in the rapids. Tuba conducted them at a rapidrate down the river. It required considerable confidence in his skillnot to feel somewhat uneasy as they navigated these roaring waters. They were advised not to speak, lest their talking might diminish thevirtue of the medicine; few indeed would have thought of disobeying theorders of the canoe-smasher. One man stood at the head of the canoe, looking out for rocks and telling the steersman the course to take. Often it seemed as if they would be dashed to pieces against the darkrocks jutting out from the water, then in a moment the ready pole turnedthe canoe aside, and they quickly glided past the danger. As they wentswiftly driving down, a black rock, with the foam flowing over it, rosebefore them; the pole slipped, the canoe struck and in a moment was halffull of water. Tuba, however, speedily recovering himself, shoved off, and they reached a shallow place, where the water was bailed out. Heasserted that it was not the medicine was at fault, but that he hadstarted without his breakfast. 

The travellers landed at the head of Garden Island, and, as the doctorhad done before, peered over the giddy heights at the further end acrossthe chasm. The measurement of the chasm was now taken; it was found tobe eighty yards opposite Garden Island, while the waterfall itself wastwice the depth of that of Niagara, and the river where it went over therock fully a mile wide. Charles Livingstone, who had seen Niagara, pronounced it inferior in magnificence to the Victoria Falls. 

The Batokas consider Garden Island and another further west as sacredspots, and here, in days gone by, they assembled to worship the Deity. 

Dr Livingstone, on his former visit, had planted a number oforange-trees and seeds at Garden Island, but though a hedge had beenplaced round them, they had all been destroyed by the hippopotami. Others were now put in. They also, as was afterwards found, shared thesame fate. 

They now proceeded up the river, and, on the 13th, met a party fromSekeletu, who was now at Sesheke, and had sent to welcome them. On the18th they entered his town. They were requested to take up theirquarters at the old _kotlar_, or public meeting-place tree. During theday visitors continually called on them, all complaining of themisfortunes they had suffered. The condition of Sekeletu, however, wasthe most lamentable. He had been attacked by leprosy, and it was saidthat his fingers had become like eagles' claws, and his face sofearfully distorted that no one could recognise him. One of their headmen had been put to death, it being supposed that he had bewitched thechief. The native doctors could do nothing for him, but he was underthe charge of an old doctress of the Manyeti tribe, who allowed no oneto see him except his mother and uncle. He, however, sent for DrLivingstone, who gladly went to him. He and Dr Kirk at once told himthat the disease was most difficult to cure, and that he might restassured he had not been bewitched. They applied lunar causticexternally and hydrate of potash internally, with satisfactory results;so that in the course of a short time the poor chief's appearancegreatly improved. 

Although the tribe had been suffering from famine, the chief treated hisvisitors with all the hospitality in his power. 

Some Benguela traders had come up to Sesheke, intending probably toreturn from the Batoka country to the east with slaves; but theMakololo, however, had secured all the ivory in that region. As thetraders found that the trade in slaves without ivory did not pay, theyknew it would not be profitable to obtain them, for Sekeletu would allowno slaves to be carried through his territory, and thus by his means anextensive slave-mart was closed. 

Sekeletu was greatly pleased with the articles the doctor brought himfrom England, and enquired whether a ship could not bring up theremainder of the goods which had been left at Tete. On being told thatpossibly a steamer might ascend as far as Sinainanes, he enquiredwhether a cannon could not blow away the Victoria Falls, so as to enableher to reach Sesheke. 

The Makololo, who had been sent down to Benguela, came to pay thetravellers a visit, dressed in well-washed shirts, coats, and trousers, patent leather boots, and brown wideawakes on their heads. They had along conversation with their men about the wonderful things they had allseen. 

Sekeletu, who took a great fancy to Dr Kirk, offered him permission toselect any part of the country he might chose for the establishment ofan English colony. Indeed, there is sufficient uncultivated ground onthe cool unpeopled highlands for a very large population. 

The Makololo are apt to get into trouble by their propensity to liftcattle; for if their marauding is sanctioned by the chief, they do notlook upon it as dishonourable. This custom must be put a stop to if anygood is to be done to them, as must the gigantic evil of the slave tradeamong the tribes nearer the coast. 

The expedition left Sesheke on the 17th of September, 1860, convoyed byPitsane and Leshore. Pitsane was directed to form a hedge round thegarden at the falls on his way. 

When navigating the river the canoe-men kept close to the bank duringthe day for fear of being upset by the hippopotami, but at night, whenthose animals are found near the shore, they sailed down the middle ofthe stream. 

The canoes were wretched, and a strong wind blew against them, but theirBatoka boatmen managed them with great dexterity. Some of these menaccompanied the expedition the whole way to the sea. 

On their passage down the river, in approaching Kariba Rapids, they cameupon a herd of upwards of thirty hippopotami. The canoe-men were afraidof venturing among them, asserting that there was sure to be anill-tempered one who would take a malignant pleasure in upsetting thecanoes. Several boys on the rocks were amusing themselves by throwingstones at the frightened animals. One was shot, its body floating downthe current. A man hailed them from the bank, advising them to let himpray to the Kariba gods that they might have a safe passage down therapids, for, without his assistance, they would certainly be drowned. Notwithstanding, having examined the falls, seeing that canoes might becarried down in safety, they continued their voyage. The natives weremuch astonished to see them pass in safety without the aid of thepriest's intercession. 

Here they found the hippopotamus which had been shot, and, taking it intow, told the villagers that if they would follow to theirlanding-place, they should have most of the meat. The crocodiles, however, tugged so hard at it, that they were compelled to cast itadrift and let the current float it down. They recovered thehippopotamus, which was cut up at the place where they landed to spendthe night. As soon as it was dark, the crocodiles attacked the portionthat was left in the water, tearing away at it and lashing aboutfiercely with their tails. 

A day or two afterwards they encamped near some pitfalls, in whichseveral buffaloes had shortly before been caught and one of the animalshad been left. During the night the wind blew directly from the deadbuffalo to their sleeping-place, and a hungry lion which came to feed onthe carcass so stirred up the putrid mass and growled so loudly over hisfeast, that their slumbers were greatly disturbed. 

They reached Zumbo by the 1st of November. Here their men had a scurvytrick played them by the Banyai. The Makololo had shot a hippopotamus, when a number of the natives came across, pretending to assist them inrolling it ashore, and advised them to cast off the rope, saying that itwas an encumbrance. All were shouting and talking, when suddenly thecarcass disappeared in a deep hole. The Makololo jumped in after it, one catching the tail, another a foot, but down it went, and they gotbut a lean fowl instead. It floated during the night, and was foundabout a mile below, on the bank. The Banyai, however, there disputedtheir right to it, and, rather than quarrel, the Makololo, after takinga small portion, wisely allowed them to remain with the rest. 

Believing that there was sufficient depth of water, they ventured downthe Kebrabasa Rapids. For several miles they continued onward till, theriver narrowing, navigation became both difficult and dangerous. Twocanoes passed safely down the narrow channel with an ugly whirlpool, caused by the water being divided by a rock in the centre. DrLivingstone's canoe came next, and while it appeared to be driftingbroadside into the vortex, a crash was heard, and Dr Kirk's canoe wasseen dashed against the perpendicular rock by a sudden boiling-up of theriver, which occurs at regular intervals. Dr Kirk grasped the rock andsaved himself, while his steersman, holding on to the same ledge, preserved the canoe, but all its contents were lost, including thedoctor's notes of the journey, and botanical drawings of the fruit-treesof the interior. After this the party, having had enough of navigation, performed the remainder of the journey on shore. 

On their march they met two large slave-trading parties on their way toZumbo. Among them were a number of women with ropes round their necks, and all made fast to one long rope. They were to be sold for ivory. 

Tete was reached on the 23rd of November, the expedition having beenabsent rather more than six months. They were glad to find that the twoEnglish sailors were in good health, and had behaved very well; buttheir farm had been a failure. A few sheep and fowls had been left withthem: they had purchased more of the latter, and expected to have a goodsupply of eggs, but they unfortunately also bought two monkeys, who ateup all their eggs. One night a hippopotamus destroyed their vegetablegarden, the sheep ate up their cotton-plants, while the crocodilescarried off the sheep, and the natives had stolen their fowls. 

Having discovered that the natives have a mortal dread of the chameleon, one of which animals they had on board, they made good use of theirknowledge. They had learned the market price of provisions, anddetermined to pay that and no more. When the traders, therefore, demanded a higher price and refused to leave the ship till it was paid, the chameleon was instantly brought out of the cabin, when the nativessprang overboard and made no further attempt to impose upon them. 

The sailors had also performed a gallant act. They were aroused onenight by a fearful shriek, when they immediately pushed off in theirboat, supposing, as was found to be the case, that a crocodile hadcaught a woman and was dragging her across a shallow bank. Before theyreached her, the reptile snapped off her leg. They carried her onboard, bandaged up her limb, bestowed Jack's usual remedy for allcomplaints, a glass of grog, on her, and carried her to a hut in thevillage. Next morning they found the bandages torn off and the poorcreature left to die, their opinion being that it had been done by hermaster, to whom, as she had lost a leg, she would be of no further use, and he did not wish the expense of keeping her. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE THE ZAMBESI, CONTINUED. 

SETS OUT AGAIN--CHRISTMAS AT CHIMBA ISLAND--SENNA--DOWN THE RIVER TOCONGO--THE "PIONEER"--ARRIVAL OF BISHOP MACKENZIE--REACHES THE ROVUMA--BACK AGAIN AND UP THE ZAMBESI TO THE SHIRE--LIBERATION OF A PARTY OFSLAVES--NEWS OF THE AJAWA STARTS FOR NYASSA--ENTERS THE LAKE--DESCRIBED--A STORM ON THE NYASSA--SLAVERY--RETURNS TO THE ROVUMA--SETSOUT WITH BISHOP MACKENZIE FOR RUO--REACHES THE ZAMBESI, AND AFTERWARDSPROCEEDS TO THE GREAT LUABO--ARRIVAL OF MRS. LIVINGSTONE AND THE "LADYNYASSA"--BISHOP MACKENZIE'S DEATH--EXPLORES THE ROVUMA--AN ADVENTUREWITH THE NATIVES--VISITS JOHANNA IN THE "PIONEER"--STEAMS UP THE SHIRE--EFFECTS OF THE SLAVE TRADE--MEETS MR. THORNTON--ATTACKED BY FEVER--MOREOF THE SLAVE TRADE--START FOR THE UPPER CATARACTS--DESPATCHES FROMENGLAND--VISIT CHIA LAKELET--AN ARAB SLAVE-DHOW--LEAVES THE ZAMBESI, ANDARRIVES AT BOMBAY. 

Once more, on the 3rd of December, the leaky "Asthmatic" was got underway, but every day fresh misfortunes happened to her, till Rae declared:"She cannot be worse than she is, sir. "

He and his mate, Hutchings, had done their best to patch her up, but hercondition was past their skill. On the morning of the 21st she groundedon a sandbank and filled. The river rising, all that was visible thenext day was about six feet of her two masts. The property on boardwas, however, saved, and the expedition spent their Christmas of 1860encamped on the island of Chimba. 

Canoes having been procured, they reached Senna on the 27th. They heresaw a large party of slaves belonging to the commandant, who had been upto trade with Mozelekatse, carrying a thousand muskets and a largequantity of gunpowder, and bringing back ivory, ostrich feathers, athousand sheep and goats, and thirty head of fine cattle, and inaddition a splendid white bull, to show that he and the traders partedfriends. The adventure, however, was a losing one to the poorcommandant: a fire had broken out in the camp, and the ostrich feathershad been burned; the cattle had died from the bite of the _tsetse_, ashad the white bull, and six hundred of the sheep had been eaten by theslaves, they thinking more of their own comfort than their master'sgain. 

This is one of the many proofs of the clearness of slave labour. 

Proceeding down the river in boats, the expedition reached Congo on the4th of January, 1861. Here a flagstaff and a custom-house (a floorlesshut of mangrove stakes roofed with stakes) had been erected. 

The garrison of the place being almost starved, the provisions of theexpedition also ran short, though they obtained game in abundance. 

On the 31st the "Pioneer, " the steamer which had been sent to replacethe "Asthmatic, " appeared off the bar, but the bad weather prevented herentering. At the same time two men-of-war arrived, bringing BishopMackenzie at the head of the Oxford and Cambridge mission to the tribesof the Shire and Lake Nyassa. It consisted of six Englishmen and fivecoloured men from the Cape. The bishop wished at once to proceed up toChibisa; but the "Pioneer" was under orders to explore the Rovuma, andit was ultimately arranged that the members of the mission should becarried over to Johanna in the "Lyra" man-of-war, while the bishophimself accompanied the expedition in the "Pioneer. "

They reached the mouth of the Rovuma on the 25th of February. The rainyseason was already half over, and the river had fallen considerably. 

The scenery was superior to that on the Zambesi. 

Eight miles from the mouth the mangrove disappeared, and a beautifulrange of well-wooded hills rose on either side. 

Unhappily fever broke out, and the navigation of the "Pioneer" fell tothe charge of Dr Livingstone and his companions. 

The water falling rapidly, it was considered dangerous to run the riskof detention in the river for a year, and the ship returned down to thesea. 

On their voyage back they touched at Mohilla, one of the Comoro Islands, and from thence went on to Johanna, where they received the Bishop'sfollowers, and proceeded back to the Kongone. Thence they at oncedirected their course up the Zambesi to the Shire. The "Pioneer, " itwas found, drew too much water for the navigation of the river, and shein consequence frequently grounded. 

Among his many duties, Charles Livingstone was engaged in collectingspecimens of cotton, and upwards of three hundred pounds were thusobtained, at a price of less than a penny a pound, which showed thatcotton of a superior quality could be raised by native labour alone, andthat but for the slave trade a large amount might be raised in thecountry. 

Wherever they went they gained the confidence of the people, andhitherto the expedition had been eminently successful. No sooner, however, did they come in contact with the Portuguese slave trade thansad reverses commenced. Marauding parties of the Ajawa were desolatingthe land, and a gang had crossed the river with slaves. Manjanga hadgone away just before they got the ship up to Chibisa; but his deputywas civil, and supplied them with carriers to convey the bishop's goodsup the country. 

They halted at the village of their old friend, Mpende, who suppliedthem with carriers, and informed them that a slave party on its way toTete would soon pass through his village. They consulted together. Should they liberate the slaves? By a bold stroke they might possiblyput a stop to the slave trade, which had followed in their footsteps. Afew minutes afterwards a slave party, consisting of a long line ofmanacled men, women, and children, escorted by black drivers armed withmuskets, adorned with articles of finery, and blowing horns, marched bythem with a triumphant air. Directly, however, the rascals caught sightof the English, they darted off into the forest, with the exception ofthe leader, who was seized by the Makololo. He proved to be a slave ofthe late commandant of Tete, and was well-known to them. He declaredthat he had bought the slaves; but directly his hands were released hedarted off. The captives now, kneeling down, expressed their thanks byclapping their hands. Knives were soon busily at work setting free thewomen and children. It was more difficult to liberate the men, who hadeach his neck in the fork of a stout stick, six or seven feet long, andkept in by an iron rod riveted at both ends across the throat. A saw, produced from the bishop's baggage, performed the work. The men couldscarcely believe what was said, when they were told to take the mealthey were carrying and cook breakfast for themselves and children. Manyof the latter were about five years of age and under. One of themobserved to the men: "Those others tied and starved us; you cut theropes, and tell us to eat! What sort of people are you?"

Two women had been shot the previous day for attempting to untie thethongs, and another had her infant's brains knocked out because shecould not at the same time carry her load and it. The rest were toldthat this was done to prevent them from attempting to escape. Thebishop was not present, having gone to bathe just before; but when hereturned, he approved of what had been done. 

Eighty-four persons, chiefly women and children, were thus liberated;and being told that they might go where they liked, they decided onremaining with the English. The men willingly carried the bishop'sgoods. 

Eight others were freed in a hamlet on the road; but another party, withnearly a hundred slaves, though followed by Dr Kirk and four Makololo, escaped. Six more captives were soon afterwards liberated, and twoslave-dealers were detained for the night, but being carelessly watchedby two of the bishop's black men, who had volunteered to stand guardover them, they escaped. The next day fifty more slaves were freed atanother village and comfortably clothed. 

At Chigunda a Manjanga chief had invited the bishop to settle in hiscountry near Magomero, adding that there was room enough for both. Thisspontaneous invitation seemed to decide the bishop on the subject. 

Marching forward, on the 22nd news was received that the Ajawa werenear, burning villages; and at once the doctor and his companionsadvanced to seek an interview with these scourges of the country. Ontheir way they met crowds of Manjangas flying, having left all theirproperty and food behind them. Numerous fields of Indian corn werepassed, but there was no one to reap them. All the villages weredeserted. One, where on the previous visit a number of men had beenseen peacefully weaving cloth, was burned, and the stores of grainscattered over the plain and along the paths. The smoke of burningvillages was seen in front, and triumphant shouts, mingled with the wailof the Manjanga women lamenting over the slain, reached their ears. Thebishop knelt and engaged in prayer, and on rising, a long line of Ajawawarriors with their captives was seen. In a short time the travellerswere surrounded, the savages shooting their poisoned arrows and dancinghideously. Some had muskets, but, on shots being fired at them, theyran off. The main body in the mean time decamped with the captives, twoonly of whom escaped and joined their new friends. Most of the partyproposed going at once to the rescue of the captive Manjanga; but thisDr Livingstone opposed, believing that it would be better for thebishop to wait the effect of the check given to the slave-hunters. Itwas evident that the Ajawa were instigated by the Portuguese agents fromTete. It was possible that they might by persuasion be induced tofollow the better course, but, from their long habit of slaving for theQuillimane market, this appeared doubtful. The bishop consulted DrLivingstone as to whether, should the Manjangas ask his assistanceagainst the Ajawa, it would be his duty to give it? The reply was: "Donot interfere in native quarrels. " Leaving the members of the missionencamped on a beautiful spot, surrounded by stately trees, near theclear little stream of Magomero, the expedition returned to the ship toprepare for their journey to Lake Nyassa. 

On the 6th of August, 1861, the two doctors and Charles Livingstonestarted in a four-oared gig, with one white sailor and twenty Makololo, for Nyassa. Carriers were easily engaged to convey the boat past theforty miles of the Murchison Cataracts. Numberless volunteers cameforward, and the men of one village transported it to the next. Theypassed the little Lake of Pamalombe, about ten miles long and fivebroad, surrounded thickly by papyrus. Myriads of mosquitos showed thepresence of malaria, and they hastened by it. 

Again launching their boat, they proceeded up the river, and entered thelake on the 2nd of September, greatly refreshed by the cool air whichcame off its wide expanse of water. The centre appeared to be of a deepblue, while the shallow water along the edge was indicated by its lightgreen colour. A little from the shore the water was from nine tofifteen fathoms in depth, but round a grand mountain promontory nobottom could be obtained with their lead-line of thirty-five fathoms. The lake was estimated to be about two hundred miles long and fromtwenty to sixty broad. 

The lake appeared to be surrounded by mountains, but on the west theywere merely the edges of high table-land. 

It is visited by sudden and tremendous storms. One morning the seasuddenly rose around them, preventing them from advancing or receding, as the tremendous surf on the beach would have knocked their light boatto pieces, while the waves came rolling on in threes, their crestsbroken into spray. Had one of them struck the boat, nothing could havesaved her from being swamped. For six hours they remained at anchor alittle from the shore, thus exposed to the fury of the gale. The crewbecame sea-sick and unable to keep the boat's head to the sea, whilesome of their party who had remained on shore watched them, the nativesevery moment exclaiming: "They are lost! they are all dead!"

After this, every night they hauled the boat up on the beach; and, hadit not been supposed that these storms were peculiar to one season, theywould have given the Nyassa the name of the "Lake of Storms. "

A dense population exists on the shores of the lake, some being a tribeof Zulus who came from the south some years ago. They own large herdsof cattle, and are on the increase by uniting other people tothemselves. The marshy spots are tenanted by flocks of ducks, geese, cranes, herons, and numerous other birds. The people cultivate thesoil, growing large quantities of rice, sweet potatoes, maize, andmillet. Those at the north end reap a curious harvest. Clouds of whatappeared to be smoke rising from miles of burning grass were seen in thedistance. The appearance was caused by countless millions of midges. As the voyagers' boat passed through them, eyes and mouth had to be keptclosed. The people collect these insects by night, and boil them intothick cakes, to be eaten as a relish. One of the cakes, which tastedlike salted locusts, was presented to the doctor. 

Abundance of fish were caught, some with nets and others with hook andline. Women were seen fishing, with babies on their backs. 

Enormous crocodiles were seen, but, as they can obtain abundance offish, they seldom attack men. When, however, its proper food is scarce, the crocodile, as is always the case, becomes very dangerous. 

The lake tribes appear to be open-handed, and, whenever a net was drawn, fish was invariably offered. On one occasion the inhabitants, on theirarrival, took out their seine, dragged it, and made their visitors apresent of the entire haul. The chiefs treated them also withconsiderable kindness. One at the north of Marenga, who was living in astockade in a forest surrounded by a wide extent of country, which heowned, made them beautiful presents. The doctor admiring an ironbracelet studded with copper which the chief wore, he took it off andpresented to him, while his wife did the same with hers. 

Wherever the slave trade is carried on, the people are dishonest anduncivil, and when they found that the English did not come to buyslaves, they immediately put on a supercilious air, and sometimesrefused to sell them food. At one of these places a party of thievesstole into the camp and carried off most of their goods, no one awaking, though their rifles and revolvers were all ready. The cloth, havingbeen used for pillows, escaped, but nearly all their clothing was lost, and even their note-books and specimens. 

On the high lands at the northern end, a tribe of Zulus, known as theMazitu, make sudden swoops on the villages of the plains, and carry offthe inhabitants and burn villages; and putrid bodies slain by Mazituspears were seen in all directions. In consequence of this the landparty, composed of blacks, were afraid of proceeding, and DrLivingstone accordingly landed to accompany them. While he struckinland to go round a mountain, the boat pursued her course; but a freshgale compelled her to run in-shore. On continuing her voyage, a numberof armed Mazitu were seen on a small island, with several large canoesbelonging to them. It was evident that it was a nest of lake pirates. Further on they met a still larger band, and the voyagers were orderedto come on shore. On refusing, a number of canoes chased them, one withnine paddlers persevering a considerable time, till a good breezeenabled the gig to get away from them. This circumstance caused greatanxiety about Dr Livingstone. 

The boat party having sailed on for fifteen miles northward, he wasstill nowhere to be seen, and they therefore resolved to return. Another gale, however, compelled them to put into a harbour, where anumber of wretched fugitives from the slave trade, who had crossed fromthe opposite shore, were found; but the ordinary inhabitants had beenswept off by the Mazitu. In their deserted gardens cotton of a finequality, with staple an inch and a half long, was seen growing, some ofthe plants deserving to be ranked with trees. 

On returning, their former pursuers tried to induce them to come onshore. 

Four days passed before Dr Livingstone with two of his party discoveredthem. He had in the mean time fallen in with the Mazitu, who were armedwith spears and shields, and their heads fantastically dressed withfeathers. By his usual courage and determination he prevented them fromattacking him. When they demanded presents, he told them his goods werein the boat; and when they insisted on having a coat, the Makololoenquired how many of the party they had killed, that they thus began todivide the spoil; and at last, suspecting that he had support at hand, they took to their heels. 

Numerous elephants, surprisingly tame, were seen on the borders of thelake even close to the villages, and hippopotami swarmed in all thecreeks and lagoons. Several were shot for food during the journey. Sometimes food was thus abundant; at others, a few sardines served fordinner. 

The slave trade on the lake was being pursued with fearful activity. Adhow had been built by two Arabs, who were running her regularly, crowded with slaves, across its waters. Part of the captives arecarried to the Portuguese slave-exporting town of Iboe, while others goto Kilwa. 

The chiefs showed but little inclination to trade, their traffic beingchiefly in human chattels. 

Colonel Rigby states that nineteen thousand slaves from the Nyassacountry alone pass annually through the custom-house at Zanzibar. 

They, however, represent but a small portion of the sufferers. Besidesthose actually captured, thousands are killed and die of their woundsand famine; thousands more perish in internecine war waged for slaveswith their own clansmen and neighbours. The numerous skeletons seenamong rocks and woods, by the pools, and on the paths of the wilderness, attest the awful sacrifice of human life. 

The doctor saw that a small armed steamer on Lake Nyassa could, byfurnishing goods in exchange for ivory and other products, exercise apowerful influence in stopping the traffic in that quarter. 

The expedition had spent from the 2nd of September to the 27th ofOctober in exploring the lake, and their goods being now expended, itwas necessary to return to the ship. 

On their way back they fell in with a number of Manjanga families, driven from their homes by Ajawa raids, taking shelter among the papyrusgrowing on Lake Pamalombe, supporting themselves on the fine fish whichabound in it. 

The party reached the ship on the 8th of November, but in a weakcondition, having latterly suffered greatly from hunger. 

On the 14th they received a visit from the bishop, who appeared inexcellent spirits, and believed that all promised well for futuresuccess. Many of the Manjanga had settled round Magomero to be underhis protection, and it was hoped that the slave trade would soon ceasein the neighbourhood. He here arranged to explore the country, fromMagomero to the mouth of the river, and it was agreed that the"Pioneer, " her draught being too great for the upper part of the Shire, should on her next trip not go higher than Ruo. The bishop's hope wasto meet his sisters and Mrs Burrup, whose husband was one of hisassistants. 

With three hearty cheers, the "Pioneer" steamed down the river. Therain ceasing, she unfortunately ran on a shoal, and was detained in anunhealthy spot for five weeks. Here the carpenter's mate, a finehealthy young man, was seized with fever and died. A permanent rise inthe river enabled them at last to get on. 

On reaching Ruo, they heard that Mariano had returned from Mozambique, and was desolating the right bank of the river. He had lived in luxuryduring his nominal imprisonment, and was now able to set the Portugueseat defiance. An officer sent against him, instead of capturing therebel, was captured himself, but soon returned to Tete with a present ofivory he had received. 

The Zambesi was reached on the 11th of January, 1862, when the "Pioneer"proceeded to the Great Luabo mouth of the river. 

On the 30th HMS "Gorgon" arrived, towing the brig which brought out MrsLivingstone and some ladies about to join the University mission, aswell as the sections of a new iron steamer intended for the navigationof Lake Nyassa. The name of the "Lady Nyassa" was given to the newvessel. 

The "Pioneer, " with as large a portion of the vessel as she could carry, accompanied by two of the "Gorgon's" paddle-box boats, steamed off forRuo on the 10th of February. Captain Wilson, with several of hisofficers and men, went on board her to render assistance. The ladiesalso took their passage in her. Her progress was very slow, and sixmonths were expended before Shupanga was reached. Here the sections ofthe "Lady Nyassa" were landed, and preparations were made to screw hertogether. 

Captain Wilson had kindly gone on in his boat to Ruo, taking MissMackenzie and Mrs Burrup and others. On reaching Ruo, greatly to theirdismay the chief declared that no white man had come to his village. They thence went on to Chibisa, where the sad news was received of thedeath of the bishop and Mr Burrup. Leaving the ladies under care ofDr Ramsay, the "Gorgon's" surgeon, Captain Wilson and Dr Kirk hastenedup the hills to render assistance to the survivors, they themselvessuffering greatly, and Captain Wilson almost losing his life. 

The sad tale of the bishop's death has often been told. He had set offin the hopes of rescuing some of his flock who had been kidnapped, and, undergoing fatigue and exposure to rain far greater than hisconstitution could stand, having been upset in a canoe and sleepingafterwards in his wet clothes, had succumbed to fever when returningwith his companion, Mr Burrup, to Ruo. 

The Free Church of Scotland had sent out the Reverend J. Stewart toform a mission. Before doing so he wisely determined to survey thecountry thoroughly. After doing this he returned to England. He foundmere remnants of a once dense population on the banks of the Shire, nowscattered and destroyed by famine and slave-hunting. 

Captain Wilson returning to the "Pioneer, " she, with the ladies onboard, steamed down to Kongone, when the whole of the mission partyexcept one left the country in the "Gorgon. "

The fever now attacked the crew of the "Pioneer, " and only one manremained fit for duty. She, however, continued carrying up the portionsof the "Lady Nyassa" to Shupanga. 

About the middle of April Mrs Livingstone was attacked by the disease. Notwithstanding the most skilful medical aid rendered to her, her eyeswere closed in a Christian's death as the sun set on a sabbath day, the27th of April, 1862. Her grave was placed beneath the great baobab-treein the spot before described, and the Reverend J. Stewart read theburial service. There rested the daughter of the Missionary Moffat, that Christian lady who had exercised such beneficial influence over therude tribes of the interior, and might, it was hoped, have renewed herlabours in the country to which she had come. 

The "Lady Nyassa" was now screwed together and her stores got on board;but, as she could not be taken to the cataract before the rains inDecember, the "Pioneer" sailed for Johanna to obtain mules and oxen toconvey her by land, after she had been taken to pieces, above the falls. 

To fill up the time the doctor resolved, on the return of the "Pioneer, "to explore the Rovuma in boats. She arrived at its mouth, towed by HMS"Orestes. " Captain Gardner and several of his officers accompanied themtwo days in the the gig and cutter. The water was now low; but whenfilled by the rains, in many respects the Rovuma appears superior to theZambesi. It would probably be valuable as a highway for commerce duringthree-fourths of each year. 

Above Kichokomane was a fertile plain, studded with a number of desertedvillages. Its inhabitants were living on low sandbanks, though they hadleft their property behind, fearing only being stolen themselves. Theyshowed, however, an unfriendly spirit to the white men, notunderstanding their objects. The blacks assembled on the shore, andevidently intended to attack the party as they passed the high bank, buta stiff breeze swept the boats by. Attempts were made to persuade thenatives that the travellers had only peaceable intentions, that theywished to be their friends, and that their countrymen bought cotton andivory. Notwithstanding this, these savages were not satisfied, andtheir leader was seen urging them to fire. Many of them had muskets, while others, who were armed with bows, held them with arrows ready setto shoot. Still the doctor and his companions were exceedinglyunwilling to come to blows, and half an hour was spent, during which, atany moment, they might have been struck by bullets or poisoned arrows. The English assured them that they had plenty of ammunition, that theydid not wish to shed the blood of the children of the same Great Father, and that if there was a fight, the guilt would be theirs. At last theirleader ordered them to lay down their arms, and he came, saying that theriver was theirs, and that the English must pay toll for leave to pass. As it was better to do so than fight, the payment demanded was given, and they promised to be friends ever afterwards. 

The sail was then hoisted, and the boats proceeded up, when they werefollowed by a large party, as it was supposed merely to watch them, butwithout a moment's warning the savages fired a volley of musket-ballsand poisoned arrows. Providentially they were so near that six arrowspassed over their heads, and four musket-balls alone went through thesail. Their assailants immediately bolted, and did not again appeartill the boats had got to a considerable distance. A few shots werefired over their heads, to give them an idea of the range of theEnglishmen's rifles. They had probably expected to kill some of theparty, and then in the confusion to rob the boats. 

They were more hospitably treated by a Makoa chief higher up, who hadbeen to Iboe, and once to Mozambique with slaves. 

His people refused to receive gaily-coloured prints, having probablybeen deceived by sham ones before, preferring the plain blue stuff ofwhich they had experience. 

Another old chief, on seeing them go by, laid down his gun, and whenthey landed approached them. 

They proceeded up to the cataracts of the Rovuma, but finding that thedistance overland was far greater to Lake Nyassa than that byMurchison's Cataracts on the Shire, they considered it best to taketheir steamer up by that route. 

After having been away a month, they reached the "Pioneer" on the 9th ofOctober. The ship's company had used distilled water, and not a singlecase of sickness had occurred on board, while those who had been in theboats had some slight attacks. 

After this they put to sea and visited Johanna, returning to thefever-haunted village of Quillimane. Here they were kindly entertainedby one of the few honourable Portuguese officials they met with in thatregion, Colonel Nunes. He came out as a cabin-boy, and, by perseveringenergy, has become the richest man on the East Coast. 

On the 10th of January, 1863, the "Pioneer, " with the "Lady Nyassa" intow, steamed up the Shire. 

They soon met signs of the bandit slave-hunter Mariano's expedition. Dead bodies floated by them in great numbers, and for scores of milesthe entire population had been swept away. The river banks, once sopopulous, were all now silent. The remains of burnt villages wereeverywhere seen, and oppressive silence reigned where once crowds ofeager sellers had before come off with the produce of their industry. Their friend Tingane had been defeated, and his people killed, kidnapped, or forced to fly. In every direction they encountered thesight and smell of dead bodies. The skeletons of those who had fallenin their flight lay everywhere on the roads, while the ghastly forms ofboys and girls in the last stage of starvation were seen crouchingbeside the huts. 

The grave of the good bishop was visited. How would his heart have bledhad he lived to witness the scenes they did!

A hippopotamus was shot, and, at the end of three days after, itfloated. As the boat was towing it, immense numbers of crocodilesfollowed, and it was necessary to fire at them to keep them off. It issaid that the crocodile never eats fresh meat; indeed, the more putridit becomes, the better he enjoys his repast, as he can thus tear thecarcass more easily. The corpse of a boy was seen floating by. Severalcrocodiles dashed at it, fighting for their prey, and in a few secondsit disappeared. Sixty-seven of the repulsive reptiles were seen on onebank. The natives eat the animal, but few who had witnessed thehorrible food on which they banquet would willingly feed on their flesh. 

Their former companion, Mr Thornton, here rejoined them. Hearing thatthe remaining members of the bishop's party were in want at Chibisa, hevolunteered to carry over a supply of goats and sheep to them. Overcomeby the fatigues of the journey, he was attacked by fever, whichterminated fatally on the 21st of April, 1863. 

The whole of the once pleasant Shire valley was now a scene ofwide-spread desolation. Fearful famine had followed the slave raids, and the sights which met their eye in every direction wereheart-rending. The ground was literally covered with human bones. "Many had ended their career under the shade of trees, others underprojecting crags of the hills, while others lay in their huts withclosed doors, which, when opened, disclosed the mouldering corpse with afew rags round the loins, the skull fallen off the pillow; the littleskeleton of a child that had perished first, rolled up in a mat betweentwo large skeletons. "

Hoping that the "Lady Nyassa" might be the means of putting a check onthe slavers across the lake, they hurried on with their work. She wasunscrewed at a spot about five hundred yards below the first cataract, and they began to make a road over the portage of forty miles, by whichshe was to be carried piecemeal. 

Trees had to be cut down and stones removed. The first half-mile ofroad was formed up a gradual slope till two hundred feet above the riverwas reached, where a sensible difference in the climate was felt. Before much progress was made, Dr Kirk and Charles Livingstone wereseized with fever, and it was deemed absolutely necessary that theyshould be sent home. Soon afterwards Dr Livingstone was himselfattacked. 

The "Pioneer" meantime was roofed over and left in charge of thetrustworthy gunner, Mr Young. 

One day, an empty canoe was seen floating down with a woman swimmingnear it. The boat put off and brought her on board, when she was foundto have an arrow-head in the middle of her back. A native cut it out, and, notwithstanding the fearful character of the wound, being fedliberally by Mr Young, she recovered. 

On the 16th of June the remaining members of the expedition started forthe upper cataracts. 

Cotton of superior quality was seen dropping off the bushes, with no oneto gather it. 

The huts in several villages were found entire, with mortars and stonesfor pounding and grinding corn, empty corn safes and kitchen utensils, water and beer-pots untouched, but the doors were shut, as if theinhabitants had gone to search for roots or fruits and had neverreturned; while in others, skeletons were seen of persons who diedapparently while endeavouring to reach something to allay the gnawingsof hunger. 

Several journeys had been made over the portage, when, on returning tothe ship on the 2nd of July, they received a despatch from Earl Russell, directing the return home of the expedition. 

Considering the utter devastation caused by the slave-hunting, and thesecret support given by the Portuguese officials to the slave-traders, notwithstanding the protestations of their government that they wishedto put an end to the trade, it was impossible not to agree in the wisdomof this determination. 

Arrangements therefore were made to screw the "Lady Nyassa" togetheragain, as the "Pioneer" could not move till the floods in December. Inthe mean time it was determined to make another trip to the lake in aboat to be carried overland past the cataracts. 

The same scenes were witnessed as before. Wild animals had takenpossession of the ruins of a large village in which on their previousvisit the inhabitants had been living in peace and plenty. 

They had no idea, having before kept closer to the river, of the numberof villages, always apparently selected with a view to shade, existingin that region, all of which were now deserted. 

They at length reached a region which had hitherto escaped, where thepeople welcomed them with the greatest cordiality, and were willing tospare the small amount of food they had remaining for themselves. Buteven here news of war soon reached them, and they found that a tribe ofZulus, the Mazitu, were ravaging the country, and that the inhabitantswere only safe within their stockades. They soon encountered men andwomen carrying grain towards these fortifications, and soon they cameupon dead bodies, first one and then another, lying in postures assumedin mortal agony such as no painter can produce. 

On their arrival at Chinsamba's stockade, they were told that the Mazituhad been repulsed thence the day before, and the sad sight of thenumerous bodies of the slain showed the truth of the report. Themarauders had, however, carried off large numbers of women laden withcorn, and, on being repulsed, cut off the ears of a male prisoner andsent him back, saying that they meant to return for the corn they hadleft, in a month or two. 

Chinsamba urged them not to proceed to the north-west, where the Mazituhad occupied the whole region, and they accordingly remained with himtill the 5th of September. 

After this they visited Chia Lakelet. On their way they met men andwomen eagerly reaping the corn in haste, to convey it to the stockades, while so much was found scattered along the paths by the Mazitu and thefugitives that some women were winnowing it from the sand. Dead bodiesand burned villages showed that they were close upon the heels of theinvaders. Among the reeds on the banks of the lake was seen acontinuous village of temporary huts in which the people had takenrefuge from their invaders. 

On visiting the village of an Arab chief, Juma, at Kota Bay, on the 10thof September, they found him engaged with his people in building a largedhow, or Arab vessel, fifty feet long and twelve broad. They offered topurchase the craft, but he refused to sell it for any amount. It wasvery evident that she was to be engaged for carrying slaves across thelake. 

They now regretted the attempt to carry an iron vessel overland, as awooden one might have been built at much less cost on the banks of thelake, and in a shorter time than the transit of the "Lady Nyassa" wouldhave occupied. 

Another extensive and interesting journey was taken in the neighbourhoodof the lake, and, on their return along the shores, they found the reedsstill, occupied by the unhappy fugitives, who were already sufferingfearfully from famine. Numbers of newly-made graves showed that manyhad already perished, and others had more the appearance of humanskeletons than living beings. 

Altogether in this expedition they travelled seven hundred and sixtymiles in a straight line, averaging about fifteen miles a day, and theyreached the ship on the 1st of November, where all were found in goodhealth and spirits. They were visited on board by an Ajawa chief namedKapeni, who asserted that he and his people would gladly receive theassociates of Bishop Mackenzie as their teachers. It showed that he andhis people had not been offended at the check which the bishop had givento their slaving, their consciences telling them that the course he hadpursued was right. 

About the middle of December news reached them of the arrival of thesuccessor of Bishop Mackenzie, but that gentleman, after spending a fewmonths on the top of a mountain as high as Ben Nevis, at the mouth ofthe Shire, where there were few or no people to be taught, returnedhome, while six of the boys who had been reared by Bishop Mackenzie hadbeen deserted and exposed to the risk of falling back into heathenism. The poor boys, however, managed to reach the ship, expressing theirsorrow that they no longer had one to look after them, remarking thatBishop Mackenzie had a loving heart, and had been more than a father tothem. 

On the 19th of January, 1864, the Shire suddenly rising, the "Pioneer"was once more got underway; but, her rudder being injured, she wasdelayed, and did not reach Morambala till the 2nd of February. Herethey received on board about thirty orphan boys and girls, and a fewhelpless widows who had been attached to Bishop Mackenzie's mission, andwho could not be abandoned without bringing odium on the English name. The difference between shipping slaves and receiving these on boardstruck them greatly. The moment permission to embark was given, theyall rushed into the boat, nearly swamping her in their eagerness to besafe on the "Pioneer's" deck. 

At the mouth of the Zambesi they found HM ships "Orestes" and "Ariel, "when the former took the "Pioneer" in tow, and the latter the "LadyNyassa, " bound for Mozambique. 

After encountering a heavy storm, when the little vessels behavedadmirably, while the "Pioneer" was sent to the Cape, the "Lady Nyassa, "under charge of Dr Livingstone, proceeded by way of Zanzibar to Bombay, which they safely reached, though at times they thought their epitaphwould be: "Left Zanzibar on the 30th of April, 1864, and never moreheard of. "

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

TRAVELS OF SIR SAMUEL AND LADY BAKER. 

ARRIVAL IN EGYPT--CROSS THE NUBIAN DESERT--RESIDENCE AT BERBER--RESOLVESTO LEARN ARABIC--JOURNEY TOWARDS ABYSSINIA COMMENCED--FIRST MEAL ONHIPPO-FLESH. --A WHIRLWIND--THE RIVER SUDDENLY FILLS--CAUSE OF THEOVERFLOW OF THE NILE--RAINY SEASON BEGINS--VISIT TO CAMP OF ABOU SINN--RESIDENCE AT SON--ENGAGE GERMANS--HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTING--HAMRAN ELEPHANTHUNTERS--MODE OF HUNTING--ABOU DO A HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTER--EXCITING ATTACKON A HIPPOPOTAMUS--BAKER WITNESSES ATTACK ON AN ELEPHANT BY AGGAGEERS--RODUR'S COURAGE--THE TRAVELLERS REACH KHARTOUM. 

Sir Samuel, then Mr Baker, was already an experienced traveller and apractised sportsman, when in March, 1861, having resolved to devote hisenergies to the discovery of one of the sources of the Nile, he setforth from England to proceed up the mysterious river from its mouth, inwardly determined to accomplish the difficult task or to die in theattempt. He had, however, shortly before married a young wife. She, with a devoted love and heroism seldom surpassed, notwithstanding thedangers and difficulties she knew she must encounter, entreated toaccompany her husband, in a way not to be denied. 

Leaving Cairo on the 15th of April, they sailed up the Nile to Korosko, whence they crossed the Nubian Desert on camels, with the simoon in fullforce and the heat intense to Berber. Here Mr Baker, finding his wantof Arabic a great drawback, resolved to devote a year to the study ofthat language, and to spend the time in the comparatively known regionsto the north of Abyssinia, while he explored the various confluences ofthe Blue Nile. 

They were kindly received at Berber by Halleem Effendi, the ex-governor, who gave them permission to pitch their tents in his gardens close tothe Nile. It was a lovely spot, thickly planted with lofty date-grovesand shady citron and lemon-trees, in which countless birds were singingand chirruping, and innumerable ring-doves cooing in the shady palms. The once sandy spot, irrigated by numerous water-wheels, had been thustransformed into a fruitful garden. 

Here they received visits from their host and the governor, as well asfrom other officers, who expressed their astonishment when theyannounced their intention of proceeding to the head of the Nile. 

"Do not go on such an absurd errand, " exclaimed Halleem Effendi. "Nobody knows anything about the Nile. We do not even know the sourceof the Atbara. While you remain within the territory of the Pacha ofEgypt you will be safe; but the moment you cross the frontier you willbe in the hands of savages. "

Mr Baker, though receiving the advice _cum grano salis_, profited byit. 

Their host sent them daily presents of fruit by a charmingly prettyslave girl, whose numerous mistresses requested permission to pay thetravellers a visit. In the evening a bevy of ladies approached throughthe dark groves of citron-trees, so gaily dressed in silks of thebrightest dyes of yellow, blue, and scarlet, that no bouquet of flowerscould have been more gaudy. They were attended by numerous slaves, thehead of whom requested Mr Baker to withdraw while the ladies paid hiswife a visit. 

Many of them she described as young and pretty. By distributing anumber of small presents among them, she completely won theirconfidence. 

After a week spent at this pleasant spot, they commenced their journeyon the evening of the 10th of June, attended by a guard of Turkishsoldiers, who were to act in the double capacity of escort and servants. 

Their dragoman was called Mahomet, and the principal guide Achmet. Theformer, though almost black, declared that his colour was of a lightbrown. He spoke very bad English, was excessively conceited, andirascible to a degree. Accustomed to the easy-going expeditions on theNile, he had _no_ taste for the rough sort of work his new master hadundertaken. 

The journey across the desert tract was performed on donkeys, theluggage being carried on camels or dromedaries. 

In two days they reached the junction of the Atbara river with the Nile. Here, crossing a broad surface of white sand, which at that seasonformed the dry bed of the river, they encamped near a plantation ofwater-melons, with which they refreshed themselves and their tireddonkeys. The river was here never less than four hundred yards inwidth, with banks nearly thirty feet deep. Not only was it partiallydry, but so clear was the sand-bed that the reflection of the sun wasalmost unbearable. 

They travelled along the banks of the river for some days, stopping bythe side of the pools which still remained. Many of these pools werefull of crocodiles and hippopotami. One of these river-horses hadlately killed the proprietor of a melon-garden, who had attempted todrive the creature from his plantation. Mr Baker had the satisfactionof killing one of the monsters in shallow water. It was quicklysurrounded by Arabs, who hauled it on shore, and, on receiving hispermission to take the meat, in an instant a hundred knives were atwork, the men fighting to obtain the most delicate morsels. He and hiswife breakfasted that morning on hippopotamus flesh, which was destinedto be their general food during their journey among the Abyssiniantributaries of the Nile. 

Game abounded, and he shot gazelles and hippopotami sufficient to keepthe whole camp well supplied with meat. 

On the 23rd of June they were nearly suffocated by a whirlwind thatburied everything in the tents several inches in dust. 

The heat was intense; the night, however, was cool and pleasant. Abouthalf-past eight, as Mr Baker lay asleep, he fancied that he heard arumbling like distant thunder. The low uninterrupted roll increasing involume, presently a confusion of voices arose from the Arabs' camp, hismen shouting as they rushed through the darkness: "The river! theriver!"

Mahomet exclaimed that the river was coming down, and that the supposeddistant roar was the approach of water. Many of the people, who hadbeen sleeping on the clean sand of the river's bed, were quicklyawakened by the Arabs, who rushed down the steep bank to save the skullsof two hippopotami which were exposed to dry. 

The sound of the torrent, as it rushed by amid the darkness, and themen, dripping with wet, dragging their heavy burdens up the bank, toldthat the great event had occurred. The river had arrived like a thiefin the night. 

The next morning, instead of the barren sheet of clear white sand with afringe of withered bush and trees upon its borders, cutting the yellowexpanse of desert, a magnificent stream, the noble Atbara river flowedby, some five hundred yards in width, and from fifteen to twenty feet indepth. Not a drop of rain, however, had fallen; but the current gavethe traveller a clue to one portion of the Nile mystery. The rains werepouring down in Abyssinia--these were the sources of the Nile. 

The rainy season, however, at length began, during which it wasimpossible to travel. 

The Arabs during that period migrate to the drier regions in the north. 

On their way they arrived in the neighbourhood of the camp of the greatSheikh Achmet Abou Sinn, to whom Mr Baker had a letter of introduction. Having sent it forward by Mahomet, in a short time the sheikh appeared, attended by several of his principal people. He was mounted on abeautiful snow-white _hygeen_, his appearance being remarkably dignifiedand venerable. Although upwards of eighty years old, he was as erect asa lance, and of herculean stature; a remarkably arched nose, eyes likean eagle's, beneath large, shaggy, but perfectly white eyebrows, while asnow-white beard of great thickness descended below the middle of hisbreast. He wore a large white turban, and a white cashmere robereaching from the throat to the ankles. He was indeed the perfectpicture of a desert patriarch. He insisted on the travellersaccompanying him to his camp, and would hear of no excuses. OrderingMahomet to have their baggage repacked, he requested them to mount twosuperb _hygeens_ with saddle-cloths of blue and purple sheep-skins, andthey set out with their venerable host, followed by his wild andsplendidly-mounted attendants. 

As they approached the camp they were suddenly met by a crowd of mountedmen, armed with swords and shields, some on horses, others on _hygeens_. These were Abou Sinn's people, who had assembled to do honour to theirchief's guests. Having formed in lines parallel with the approach oftheir guests, they galloped singly at full speed across the line ofmarch, flourishing their swords over their heads, and reining in theirhorses so as to bring them on their haunches by the sudden halt. Thisperformance being concluded, they fell into line behind the party. 

Declining the sheikh's invitation to spend two or three months at hiscamp, Mr and Mrs Baker travelled on to the village of Sofi, where theyproposed remaining during the rainy season. 

It was situated near the banks of the Atbara, on a plateau of abouttwenty acres, bordered on either side by two deep ravines, while belowthe steep cliff in front of the village flowed the river Atbara. 

Their tents were pitched on a level piece of ground just outside thevillage, where the grass, closely nibbled by the goats, formed a naturallawn. 

Here huts were built and some weeks were pleasantly spent. Mr Bakerfound an abundance of sport, sometimes catching enormous fish, at othersshooting birds to supply his larder, but more frequently huntingelephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, and other large game. 

He here found a German named Florian, a stone-mason by trade, who hadcome out attached to the Austrian mission at Khartoum, but preferring afreer life than that city afforded, had become a great hunter. MrBaker, thinking that he would prove useful, engaged him as a hunter, andhe afterwards took into his service Florian's black servant Richarn, whobecame his faithful attendant. A former companion of Florian's, JohannSchmidt, soon afterwards arrived, and was also engaged by Mr Baker toact as his lieutenant in his proposed White Nile expedition. PoorFlorian, however, was killed by a lion, and Schmidt and Richarn aloneaccompanied him. 

Mr Baker's skill as a sportsman was frequently called into play by thenatives, to drive off the elephants and hippopotami which infested theirplantations. One afternoon he was requested to shoot a savage old bullhippopotamus which had given chase to several people. Accompanied byMrs Baker he rode to the spot, about two miles off, where thehippopotamus lived in a deep and broad portion of the river. The oldhippopotamus was at home. 

"The river, about two hundred and fifty yards wide, had formed by anacute bend a deep hole. In the centre of this was a sandbank just belowthe surface. Upon this shallow bed the hippopotamus was reposing. Onperceiving the party he began to snort and behave himself in a mostabsurd manner, by shaking his head and leaping half way out of thewater. Mr Baker had given Bacheet, one of his attendants, a pistol, and had ordered him to follow on the opposite bank. He now directed himto fire several shots at the hippopotamus, in order if possible to drivethe animal towards him. The hippo, a wicked, solitary, old bull, returned the insult by charging towards Bacheet with a tremendoussnorting, which sent him scrambling up the steep bank in a panic. Thisgave the brute confidence; and the sportsman, who had hitherto remainedconcealed, called out according to Arabic custom: `_Hasinth! hasinth_!'the Arabic for hippopotamus. The brute, thinking no doubt that he mightas well drive the intruder away, gave a loud snort, sank, and quicklyreappeared about a hundred yards from him. On this Mr Baker orderedBacheet to shoot to attract the animal's attention. As the hippopotamusturned his head, Mr Baker took a steady shot, aiming behind the ear, and immediately the saucy old hippo turned upon his back and rolledabout, lashing the still pool into waves, until at length hedisappeared. "

His intention of engaging a party of the Hamran Arabs, celebrated ashunters, to accompany him in his explorations of the Abyssinian rivershaving become known, several of these men made their appearance at Son. They are distinguished from the other tribes of Arabs by an extra lengthof hair, worn parted down the centre and arranged in long curls. Theyare armed with swords and shields, the former having long, straight, two-edged blades, with a small cross for the handle, similar to thelong, straight, cross-handled blades of the crusaders. Their shields, formed of rhinoceros, giraffe, or elephant-hide, are either round oroval. Their swords, which they prize highly, are kept as sharp asrazors. The length of the blade is about three feet, and the handle sixinches long. It is secured to the wrist by a leathern strap, so thatthe hunter cannot by any accident be disarmed. 

These men go in chase of all wild animals of the desert; some are notedas expert hippopotamus slayers, but the most celebrated are theAggageers, or elephant hunters. The latter attack the huge animaleither on horseback, or on foot when they cannot afford to purchasesteeds. In the latter case, two men alone hunt together. They followthe tracks of an elephant which they contrive to overtake about noon, when the animal is either asleep or extremely listless and easy toapproach. Should the elephant be asleep, one of the hunters will creeptowards its head, and with a single blow sever the trunk stretched onthe ground, the result being its death within an hour from bleeding. Should the animal be awake, they will creep up from behind, and give atremendous cut at the back sinew of the hind leg, immediately disablingthe monster. It is followed up by a second cut on the remaining leg, when the creature becomes their easy prey. 

When hunting on horseback, generally four men form a party, and theyoften follow the tracks of a herd from their drinking-place for upwardsof twenty miles. 

Mr Baker accompanied them on numerous hunting expeditions, andwitnessed the wonderful courage and dexterity they displayed. 

After spending three months at Son, he set out for the Settite River, heand his wife crossing the Atbara River on a raft formed of his largecircular sponging bath supported by eight inflated skins secured to hisbedstead. 

A party of the Aggageers now joined him. Among them was Abou Do, acelebrated old hippopotamus hunter, who, with his spear of trident shapein hand, might have served as a representative of Neptune. The old Arabwas equally great at elephant hunting, and had on the previous dayexhibited his skill, having assisted to kill several elephants. He nowdivested himself of all his clothing, and set out, taking his harpoon inhand, in search of hippopotami. 

This weapon consisted of a steel blade about eleven inches long andthree-quarters of an inch in width, with a single barb. To it wasattached a strong rope twenty feet long, with a float as large as achild's head at the extremity. Into the harpoon was fixed a piece ofbamboo ten feet long, around which the the rope was twisted, while thebuoy was carried on the hunter's left hand. 

After proceeding a couple of miles, a herd of hippopotami were seen in apool below a rapid surrounded by rocks. He, however, remarking thatthey were too wide-awake to be attacked, continued his course down thestream till a smaller pool was reached. Here the immense head of ahippopotamus was seen, close to a perpendicular rock that formed a wallto the river. The old hunter, motioning the travellers to remain quiet, immediately plunged into the stream and crossed to the opposite bank, whence, keeping himself under shelter, he made his way directly towardsthe spot beneath which the hippopotamus was lying. "Stealthily heapproached, his long thin arm raised, with the harpoon ready to strike. The hippopotamus, however, had vanished, but far from exhibitingsurprise, the veteran hunter remaining standing on the sharp ledge, unchanged in attitude. No figure of bronze could be more rigid thanthat of the old river king, as he thus stood, his left foot advanced, his right-hand grasping the harpoon above his head, and his left theloose coil of rope attached to the buoy. "

"Three minutes thus passed, when suddenly the right arm of the statuedescended like lightening, and the harpoon shot perpendicularly into thepool with the speed of an arrow. In an instant an enormous pair of openjaws appeared, followed by the ungainly head and form of a furioushippopotamus, who, springing half out of the water, lashed the riverinto foam as he charged straight up the violent rapids. Withextraordinary power he breasted the descending stream, gaining a footingin the rapids where they were about five feet deep, thus making his way, till, landing from the river, he started at full gallop along theshingly bed, and disappeared in the thorny jungle. No one would havesupposed that so unwieldy an animal could have exhibited such speed, andit was fortunate for old Neptune that he was secure on the high ledge ofrock, for had he been on the path of the infuriated beast, there wouldhave been an end of Abou Do. "

The old man rejoined his companions, when Mr Baker proposed going insearch of the animal. The hunter, however, explained that thehippopotamus would certainly return after a short time to the water. Ina few minutes the animal emerged from the jungle and descended at fulltrot into the pool where the other hippopotami had been seen, about halfa mile off. Upon reaching it, the party were immediately greeted by thehippopotamus, who snorted and roared and quickly dived, and the floatwas seen running along the surface, showing his course as the cork of atrimmer does that of a pike when hooked. Several times the hippoappeared, but invariably faced them, and, as Mr Baker could not obtaina favourable shot, he sent the old hunter across the stream to attractthe animal's attention. The hippo, turning towards the hunter, affordedMr Baker a good chance, and he fired a steady shot behind the ear. Thecrack of the ball, in the absence of any splash from the bullet, showedhim that the hippopotamus was hit, while the float remained stationaryupon the surface, marking the spot where the grand old bull lay deadbeneath. The hunter obtaining assistance from the camp, thehippopotamus, as well as another which had been shot, were hauled onshore. The old bull measured fourteen feet two inches, and the head wasthree feet one inch from the front of the ear to the edge of the lip, ina straight line. 

Though hippopotami are generally harmless, solitary old bulls aresometimes extremely vicious, and frequently attack canoes withoutprovocation. 

Many of the elephant hunts in which Mr Baker engaged were exciting inthe highest degree, and fraught with no small amount of danger. 

Among the Aggageers was a hunter, Rodur Sherrif, who, though his arm hadbeen withered in consequence of an accident, was as daring as any of hiscompanions. 

The banks of the Royan had been reached, where, a camp having beenformed, Mr Baker and his companions set out in search of elephants. Alarge bull elephant was discovered drinking. The country around waspartly woody, and the ground strewed with fragments of rocks, illadapted for riding. The elephant had made a desperate charge, scattering the hunters in all directions, and very nearly overtaking MrBaker. He then retreated into a stronghold composed of rocks and unevenground, with a few small leafless trees growing in it. The scene mustbe described in the traveller's own words. "Here the elephant stoodfacing the party like a statue, not moving a muscle beyond the quick andrestless action of the eyes, which were watching on all sides. Two ofthe Aggageers getting into its rear by a wide circuit, two others, oneof whom was the renowned Rodur Sherrif, mounted on a thoroughly-trainedbay mare, rode slowly towards the animal. Coolly the mare advancedtowards her wary antagonist until within about nine yards of its head. The elephant never moved. Not a word was spoken. The perfect stillnesswas at length broken by a snort from the mare, who gazed intently at theelephant, as though watching for the moment of attack. Rodur coolly satwith his eyes fixed upon those of the elephant. 

"With a shrill scream the enormous creature then suddenly dashed on himlike an avalanche. Round went the mare as though upon a pivot, awayover rocks and stones, flying like a gazelle, with the monkey-like formof Rodur Sherrif leaning forward and looking over his left shoulder asthe elephant rushed after him. For a moment it appeared as if the maremust be caught. Had she stumbled, all would have been lost, but shegained in the race after a few quick bounding strides, and Rodur, stilllooking behind him, kept his distance, so close, however, to thecreature, that its outstretched trunk was within a few feet of themare's tail. 

"The two Aggageers who had kept in the rear now dashed forward close tothe hind quarters of the furious elephant, who, maddened with theexcitement, heeded nothing but Rodur and his mare. When close to thetail of the elephant, the sword of one of the Aggageers flashed from itssheath as, grasping his trusty blade, he leaped nimbly to the ground, while his companion caught the reins of his horse. Two or three boundson foot, with the sword clutched in both hands, and he was close behindthe elephant. A bright glance shone like lightning as the sun struck onthe descending steel. This was followed by a dull crack, the swordcutting through skin and sinew, and sinking deep into the bone abouttwelve inches above the foot. At the next stride the elephant halteddead short in the midst of his tremendous charge. The Aggageer who hadstruck the blow vaulted into the saddle with his naked sword in hand. At the same moment Rodur turned sharp round and, again facing theelephant, stooped quickly from the saddle to pick up from the ground ahandful of dirt, which he threw into the face of the vicious animal, that once more attempted to rush upon him. It was impossible: the footwas dislocated and turned up in front like an old shoe. In an instantthe other Aggageer leaped to the ground, and again the sharp swordslashed the remaining leg. "

Nothing could be more perfect than the way in which these daring huntersattack their prey. "It is difficult to decide which to admire most--whether the coolness and courage of him who led the elephant, or theextraordinary skill and activity of the Aggageer who dealt the fatalblow. "

Thus, hunting and exploring, Mr Baker, accompanied by his heroic wife, visited the numerous river-beds which carry the rains of the mountainousregions of Abyssinia into the Blue Nile, and are the cause of theperiodical overflowing of the mighty stream, while its ordinary currentis fed from other far-distant sources, towards one of which thetraveller now prepared to direct his steps. 

Speke and Grant were at this time making their way from Zanzibar, acrossuntrodden ground, towards Gondokoro. 

An expedition under Petherick, the ivory-trader, sent to assist them, had met with misfortune and been greatly delayed, and Mr Bakertherefore hoped to reach the equator, and perhaps to meet the Zanzibarexplorers somewhere about the sources of the Nile. 

Proceeding along the banks of the Blue Nile, Mr and Mrs Baker reachedKhartoum on the 11th of June, 1862. A beautiful view met their sight asthey gazed across the waters of the Nile. "The morning sun was shiningon this capital of the Soudan provinces; the dark green foliage of thegroves of date-trees contrasted exquisitely with the numerous buildingsof many colours which lined the margin of the river, while long lines ofvessels with tapering spars gave light to the scene. But alas! thisbeauty soon vanished, both the sight and smell being outraged grievouslyas they entered the filthy and miserable town. "

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

TRAVELS OF SIR SAMUEL AND LADY BAKER, CONTINUED. 

PREPARATIONS FOR JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH--DIFFICULTIES--THE SHILLOOKS--THENUEHR--INFORMATION ABOUT THE SLAVE TRADE--THE KYTCH--THE SACREDBULLOCK--ARRIVE AT GONDOKORO--ATTEMPTS TO SHOOT BAKER--HIS ESCORTMUTINY--HE MEETS SPEKE AND GRANT--TREACHERY AMONG HIS SERVANTS--ENCOUNTER WITH SLAVE-TRADERS--WINS OVER IBRAHIM, AND ARRIVES ATTARRANGOLLE--THE LATOOKA VICTORY--MISBEHAVIOUR OF THE TURKS, ANDTHREATENED ATTACK BY THE NATIVES--A FUNERAL DANCE--RETURNS TO OBBO--FEVER--SETS OUT FOR KARUMA--REACHES KARUMA FALLS--KAMRASI--PROCEEDS TOTHE LAKE--A STRANGE RECEPTION--ILLNESS OF MRS. BAKER--REACH THE VILLAGEOF PARKANI--ARRIVE AT THE LAKE WHICH BAKER CALLED ALBERT NYANZA--SURVEYSIT--REACHES MAGIMGO--PROCEEDS TO THE MURCHISON FALLS--RETURN TOMAGIMGO--DESERTED BY HIS GUIDE AND CARRIERS--STARVATION--THE GUIDEREAPPEARS, AND THEY ARRIVE AT KAMRASI'S CAMP--AN INVASION BY FOWOOKAS--MR. BAKER PREVENTS AN ATTACK--HE AT LAST SETS OFF WITH TURKISH TRADERS, AND ARRIVES AT SHOOA--A MARCH THROUGH THE BARI--REACH GONDOKORO--VOYAGEDOWN THE NILE--WELCOMED AT KHARTOUM--A DUST-STORM--CONTINUING THEIRVOYAGE, REACH BERBER, AND AT LENGTH ARRIVE IN ENGLAND--RETURNS TOEGYPT--ORGANISES AN EXPEDITION TO CONVEY STEAMERS UP THE NILE FOR LAKENYANZA, TO OPPOSE THE SLAVE TRADE. 

At Khartoum Mr and Mrs Baker spent some months to recruit, occupyingthe house of the British Consul, who was then absent. 

On the 17th of December their preparations for a fresh start werecompleted. Three vessels had been engaged, and were laden with largequantities of stores, with four hundred bushels of corn, and twenty-ninetransport animals, including camels, horses, and donkeys. Their partyconsisted of ninety-six souls, including Johann Schmidt and the faithfulblack Richarn, and forty-nine well-armed men. 

Khartoum was a nest of slave-traders, who looked with jealous eyes uponevery stranger venturing within the precincts of their holy land, and, as Mr Baker observes: "sacred to slavery and to every abomination andvillainy that man can commit. "

The Turkish officers pretended to discountenance slavery; at the sametime every house was full of slaves, and Egyptian officers received aportion of their pay in slaves. The authorities, therefore, looked uponthe proposed exploration of the White Nile by a European traveller aslikely to interfere with their perquisites, and threw every obstacle inhis way. 

As the government of Soudan refused to supply him with properly-trainedsoldiers, the only men he could get for an escort were the miserablecut-throats of Khartoum, who had been accustomed all their lives tomurder and pillage in the White Nile trade; yet, such as they were, hewas compelled to put up with them, though he would undoubtedly have donebetter had he gone without such an escort. 

The voyage alone to Gondokoro, the navigable limit of the Nile, waslikely to occupy about fifty days, so that a large supply of provisionswas necessary. 

Difficulties were met with from the very beginning. The vessel's yardswere continually being carried away. 

Poor Johann, who, though he had long been suffering, insisted onaccompanying his employer, died a short time after the commencement ofthe voyage. 

On the 2nd of January they were sailing past the country inhabited bythe Shillooks, the largest and most powerful black tribe on the banks ofthe White Nile. They are very wealthy, and possess immense herds ofcattle; are also agriculturists, fishermen, and warriors. Their hutsare regularly built, looking at a distance like rows of buttonmushrooms. They embark boldly on the river in their raft-like canoes, formed of the excessively light ambatch-wood. The tree is of no greatthickness, and tapers gradually to a point. It is thus easily cut down, and, several trunks being lashed together, a canoe is quickly formed. Awar party on several occasions, embarking in a fleet of these rafts, have descended the river, and made raids on other tribes, carrying offwomen and children as captives, and large herds of cattle. 

Nothing can be more melancholy and uninteresting than the generalappearance of the banks of the river. At times vast marshes alone couldbe seen, at others an immense expanse of sandy desert, with hugeant-hills ten feet high rising above them. The inhabitants were nakedsavages. While stopping at a village on the right bank, they received avisit from the chief of the Nuehr tribe and a number of his followers. They were most unearthly-looking fellows; even the young women weredestitute of clothing, though the married had a fringe made of grassround their loins. The men wore heavy coils of beads about their necks, two heavy bracelets of ivory on the upper portions of their arms, copperrings upon the wrist, and a horrible kind of bracelet of massive iron, armed with spikes about an inch in length, like leopards' claws. Thewomen had their upper lips perforated and wore ornaments on their heads, about four inches long, of beads, upon iron wires projecting like thehorn of a rhinoceros. 

The chief exhibited his wife's arms and back, covered with jagged scars, to show the use of the spiked iron bracelet. 

These were among the first blacks met with. They are almost too low inthe scale of humanity to be fit for slaves. Mr Baker gained muchinformation about the slave trade of this part of the world. Most ofthose engaged in this nefarious traffic are Syrians, Copts, Turks, Circassians, and some few Europeans. When a speculator has determinedto enter into the trade, he engages a hundred and fifty to two hundredruffians, and purchases guns and ammunition, and a few pounds of glassbeads. With these he sails up to Gondokoro and, disembarking, marchesinto the interior till he arrives at the village of some negro chief, with whom he establishes an intimacy. The chief has probably an enemyto attack, and his new allies gladly assist him. Led by him, theyapproach some unsuspecting village about half an hour before daybreak. Surrounding it while the occupants are still sleeping, they fire thegrass-huts in all directions, and pour volleys of musketry through theflaming thatch. Panic-struck, the unfortunate victims rush from theirburning dwellings. The men are shot down, the women and childrenkidnapped and secured, while the herds of cattle are driven off. Thewomen and children are then fastened together, the former secured by aninstrument, called a _sheba_, made of a forked pole. The neck of theprisoner fits into the fork, secured by a cross-piece also behind, whilethe wrists, brought together in advance of the body, are tied to thepole. The children are then fastened by their necks with the ropeattached to the women, and thus form a living chain, in which order theyare marched to the head-quarters with the captured herds. Of course, all the ivory found in the place is carried off. The cattle are thenexchanged with the negro chief for any tusks he may possess. 

In many instances a quarrel is soon afterwards picked with him, and hisvillage is treated in the same way as that of his foes. Should anyslave attempt to escape, she is punished either by brutal flogging, orhanged as a warning to others. The slaves are then carried down theriver, and landed a few days' journey south of Khartoum, whence they aremarched across the country, some to ports on the Red Sea, there to beshipped for Arabia and Persia, while others are sent to Cairo. In fact, they are disseminated throughout the slave dealing East. 

Sailing on day after day, with marshes and dead flats alone in sight, mosquitos preventing rest even in the day, they at length arrived at thestation of a White Nile trader, where large herds of cattle were seen onthe banks. 

They were here visited by the chief of the Kytch tribe and his daughter, a girl of about sixteen, better looking than most of her race. Thefather wore a leopard-skin across his shoulder, and a skull-cap of whitebeads, with a crest of white ostrich feathers. But this mantle was theonly garment he had on. His daughter's clothing consisted only of apiece of dressed hide hanging over one shoulder, more for ornament thanuse, as the rest of her body was entirely destitute of covering. Themen, though tall, were wretchedly thin, and the children mere skeletons. 

While the travellers remained here, they were beset by starving crowds, bringing small gourd shells to receive the expected corn. The natives, indeed, seem to trust entirely to the productions of nature for theirsubsistence, and are the most pitiable set of savages that can beimagined, their long thin legs and arms giving them a peculiar gnat-likeappearance. They devour both the skin and bones of dead animals. Thebones are pounded between stones, and, when reduced to powder, boiled toform a kind of porridge. 

It is remarkable that in every herd they have a sacred bull, who issupposed to have an influence over the prosperity of the rest. Hishorns are ornamented with tufts of feathers, and frequently with smallbells, and he invariably leads the great herd to pasture. 

A short visit was paid to the Austrian mission stationed at Saint Croix, which has proved a perfect failure--indeed, that very morning it wassold to an Egyptian for 30 pounds. 

It was here the unfortunate Baron Harnier, a Prussian nobleman, waskilled by a buffalo which he had attacked in the hopes of saving thelife of a native whom the buffalo had struck down. 

The voyage terminated at Gondokoro on the 2nd of February. 

The country is a great improvement to the interminable marshes at thelower part of the river, being raised about twenty feet above the water, while distant mountains relieve the eye, and evergreen trees, scatteredin all directions, shading the native villages, form an invitinglandscape. A few miserable grass-huts alone, however, form the town, ifit deserves that name. 

A large number of men belonging to the various traders were assembledhere, who looked upon the travellers with anything but friendly eyes. 

As Mr Baker heard that a party were expected at Gondokoro from theinterior with ivory in a few days, he determined to await their arrival, in hopes that their porters would be ready to carry his baggage. 

In the mean time he rode about the neighbourhood, studying the place andpeople. 

"The native dwellings are the perfection of cleanliness. The domicileof each family is surrounded by a hedge of euphorbia, and the interiorof the enclosure generally consists of a yard neatly plastered with acement of ashes, cow-dung, and sand. Upon this cleanly-swept surfaceare one or more huts, surrounded by granaries of neat wicker-work, thatched, and resting upon raised platforms. The huts have projectingroofs, in order to afford a shade, and the entrance is usually about twofeet high. 

"The natives are of the Bari tribe. The men are well grown, and theirfeatures are good, the woolly hair alone denoting their negro blood. 

"They use poisoned arrows, but, as their bows are inferior and they arebad marksmen, they do not commit much mischief with them. "

Gondokoro was a perfect hell--a mere colony of cut-throats. TheEgyptians might easily have sent a few officers and two or three hundredmen from Khartoum to form a military government, and thus impede theslave trade; but a bribe from the traders to the authorities wassufficient to ensure an uninterrupted asylum for any amount of villainy. The camps were full of slaves, and the Bari natives assured Mr Bakerthat there was a large depot of slaves in the interior, belonging to thetraders, that would be marched to Gondokoro for shipment a few hoursafter his departure. He was looked upon as a stumbling-block to thetrade. Several attempts were made to shoot him, and a boy was killed bya shot from the shore, on board his vessel. His men were immediatelytampered with by the traders, and signs of discontent soon appearedamong them. They declared that they had not sufficient meat, and thatthey must be allowed to make a razzia upon the cattle of the natives toprocure oxen. This demand being refused, they became more insolent, andaccordingly Mr Baker ordered the ringleader, an Arab, to be seized andto receive twenty-five lashes. Upon his _vakeel_ approaching to capturethe fellow, most of the men laid down their guns and, seizing sticks, rushed to his rescue. Mr Baker, on this, sprang forward, sent theirleader by a blow of his fist into their midst, and then, seizing him bythe throat, called to Saati for a rope to bind him. The men, stillintent on their object, surrounded Mr Baker, when Mrs Baker, landingfrom the vessel, made her way to the spot. Her sudden appearance causedthe mutineers to hesitate, when Mr Baker shouted to the drummer boy tobeat the drum, and then ordered the men to fall in. Two-thirds obeyedhim, and formed in line, while the remainder retreated with theirringleader. At this critical moment Mrs Baker implored her husband toforgive the mutineer, if he would kiss his hand and beg his pardon. This compromise completely won the men, who now called upon theirringleader to apologise, and all would be right. This he did, and MrBaker made them rather a bitter speech and dismissed them. 

This, unhappily, was only the first exhibition of their mutinousdisposition, which nearly ruined the expedition, and might have led tothe destruction of the travellers. 

A few days afterwards guns were heard in the distance, and news arrivedthat two white men had arrived from "the sea"! They proved to be Grantand Speke, who had just come from the Victoria Nyanza. Both lookedtravel-worn. Speke, who had walked the whole distance from Zanzibar, was excessively lean, but in reality in good tough condition. Grant'sgarments were well-nigh worn-out, but both of them had that fire in theeye which showed the spirit that had led them through many dangers. 

They had heard of another lake to the westward of the the Nyanza, knownas the Luta Nzige, which Speke felt convinced was a second source of theNile. 

Accordingly, he and Grant having generously furnished him with asperfect a map as they could produce, Baker determined to explore thelake, while his friends, embarking in his boats, sailed down the Nile ontheir voyage homeward. His men, notwithstanding the lesson they hadreceived, still exhibited a determined mutinous disposition, and inevery way neglected their duties. Happily for him, he had among hisattendants a little black boy, Saati, who, having been brought as aslave from the interior, had been for a time in the Austrian mission, from which, with many other slaves, he was turned out. Wandering aboutthe streets of Khartoum, he heard of Mr and Mrs Baker, and, making hisway to their house, threw himself at the lady's feet, and implored to beallowed to follow them. Hearing at the mission that he was superior tohis juvenile companions, they accepted his services, and, beingthoroughly washed, and attired in trousers, blouse, and belt, heappeared a different creature. From that time he considered himself asbelonging entirely to Mrs Baker, and to serve her was his greatestpride. She in return endeavoured to instruct him, and gave himanecdotes from the Bible, combined with the first principles ofChristianity. 

Through the means of young Saati, Mr Baker heard of a plot among theKhartoum escort, to desert him with their arms and ammunition, and tofire at him should he attempt to disarm them. The locks of their gunshad, by his orders, been covered with pieces of mackintosh. DirectingMrs Baker to stand behind him, he placed outside his tent, on histravelling bedstead, five double-barrelled guns loaded with buck-shot, arevolver, and a naked sabre. A sixth rifle he kept in his own hands, while Richarn and Saati stood behind him with double-barrelled guns. Hethen ordered the drum to beat, and all the men to form in line ofmarching order, while he requested Mrs Baker to point out any man whoshould attempt to uncover his lock when he gave the order to lay downtheir arms. In the event of the attempt being made, he intended toshoot the man immediately. At the sound of the drum only fifteenassembled. He then ordered them to lay down their arms. This, withinsolent looks of defiance, they refused to do. 

"Down with your guns this moment!" he shouted. 

At the sharp click of the locks, as he quickly capped the rifle in hishand, the cowardly mutineers widened their line and wavered; someretreated a few paces, others sat down and laid their guns on theground, while the remainder slowly dispersed, and sat in twos or singlyunder the various trees about eighty paces distant. On the _vakeel_ andRicharn advancing, they capitulated, agreeing to give up their arms andammunition on receiving a written discharge. They were immediatelydisarmed. The discharge was made out, when upon each paper Mr Bakerwrote the word "mutineer" above his signature. Finally, nearly thewhole of the escort deserted, taking service with the traders. 

Not to be defeated, Baker obtained a Bari boy as interpreter, determinedat all hazards to start from Gondokoro. 

A party of traders under Koorshid, who had lately arrived from Latookaand were about to return, not only refused to allow the travellers toaccompany them, but declared their intention of forcibly driving themback, should they attempt to advance by their route. 

This served as an excuse to the remainder of his escort for notproceeding. 

Saati discovered another plot, his men having been won over by MahometHer, the _vakeel_ of Chenooda, another trader. 

Notwithstanding the danger he was running, Mr Baker compelled his mento march, and by a clever manoeuvre got ahead of the party led byIbrahim, Koorshid's _vakeel_. 

Finally, by wonderful tact, assisted by Mrs Baker, he won over Ibrahim, and induced him to render him all the assistance in his power. 

Aided by his new friend, he arrived at Tarrangolle, one of the principalplaces in the Latooka country, a hundred miles from Gondokoro, which, though out of his direct route, would, he hoped, enable him with greaterease finally to reach Unyoro, the territory of Kamrasi. 

In the mean time, however, several of his men had deserted and joinedMahomet Her. He had warned them that they would repent of their folly. His warnings were curiously fulfilled. 

News soon arrived that Mahomet Her, with a party of a hundred and tenarmed men, in addition to three hundred natives, had made a razzia upona certain village among the mountains for slaves and cattle. Havingsucceeded in the village and capturing a number of slaves, as they werere-ascending the mountain to obtain a herd of cattle they had heard of, they were attacked by a large body of Latookas, lying in ambush amongthe rocks on the mountain side. 

In vain the Turks fought; every bullet aimed at a Latooka struck a rock, while rocks, stones, and lances were hurled at them from all sides andfrom above. Compelled to retreat, they were seized with a panic, andtook to flight. 

Hemmed in by their foes, who showered lances and stones on their heads, they fled down the rocky and perpendicular ravines. Mistaking theirroad, they came to a precipice from which there was no retreat. 

The screaming and yelling savages closed round them. All was useless;not an enemy could they shoot, while the savages thrust them forwardwith wild yells to the very verge of a precipice five hundred feet high. Over it they were driven, hurled to destruction by the mass of Latookaspressing onward. A few fought to the last; but all were at lengthforced over the edge of the cliff, and met the just reward of theiratrocities. No quarter had been given, and upwards of two hundred ofthe natives who had joined the slave-hunters in the attack, had fallenwith them. 

Mahomet Her had not accompanied his party, and escaped, though utterlyruined. 

The result of this catastrophe was highly beneficial to Mr Baker. 

"Where are the men who deserted me?" he asked of those who stillremained with him. 

Without speaking, they brought two of his guns covered with clottedblood mixed with sand. Their owners' names were known to him by themarks on the stocks. He mentioned them. 

"Are they all dead?" he asked. 

"All dead, " the men replied. 

"Food for the vultures, " he observed. "Better for them had theyremained with me and done their duty. "

He had before told his men that the vultures would pick the bones of thedeserters. 

From that moment an extraordinary change took place in the manner bothof his _own_ people and those of Ibrahim towards him. Unhappily, however, the Latookas exhibited a change for the worse. The Turks, asusual, insulted their women, and treated the natives with the greatestbrutality; and had he not exercised much caution and vigilance, both hisown party and Ibrahim's would in all probability have been cut off. Ibrahim had been compelled to go back to Gondokoro for ammunition, andMr Baker waited at Tarrangolle for his return. 

On one occasion, in consequence of the misbehaviour of the Turks, thewhole of the natives deserted the town, and vast numbers collectedoutside, threatening to attack it and destroy their guests. Mr Baker, gaining information of their intention, took command of the Turks, andwith his own men showed so bold a front that the natives saw clearlythat they would be the sufferers should they attempt to carry theirpurpose into execution. 

Their chief, Comonoro, came into the town, and seeing the preparationsmade for its defence, agreed to persuade his people to act in apeaceable manner. The next morning they dispersed, and the inhabitantsreturned to the town. 

The Turks, after their alarm, behaved better, though they threatened, when Ibrahim arrived with reinforcements and ammunition, that they wouldhave their revenge. 

Mr Baker after this moved his camp to a secure position some distancefrom the town, near a stream of water. Here he formed a garden, andlived in a far more independent way than before. 

The debased state of morality prevailing among the natives was exhibitedin a variety of ways. One of their chiefs, Adda by name, came to himone day and requested him to assist in attacking a village, for thepurpose of procuring some iron hoes which he wanted. Mr Baker askedwhether it was in an enemy's country. "Oh, no!" was the reply; "it isclose here, but the people are rather rebellious, and it will do themgood to kill a few. If you are afraid, I will ask the Turks to do it. "

A funeral dance a short time after this took place in honour of thosewho had been killed in the late fight. The dancers were grotesquely gotup, and are amusingly described by Mr Baker. "Each man had about adozen huge ostrich feathers in his helmet, a leopard or monkey-skin hungfrom his shoulders, while a large iron bell was strapped to his loinslike a woman's bustle. This he rang during the dance, by jerking thehinder part of his body in the most absurd manner. All the time ahubbub was kept up by the shouting of the crowd, the blowing of horns, and the beating of seven _nogaras_, or drums, all of different notes, while each dancer also blew an antelope's horn suspended round his neck, the sound partaking of the braying of a donkey and the screeching of anowl. Meantime crowds of men rushed round and round, brandishing theirlances and iron-headed maces, following a leader, who headed them, dancing backwards. The women outside danced at a slower pace, screaminga wild and inharmonious chant, while beyond them a string of young girlsand small children beat time with their feet, and jingled numerous ironrings which adorned their ankles. One woman attended upon the men, running through the crowd with a gourd full of wood-ashes, handfuls ofwhich she showered over their heads, powdering them like millers. Theleader among the women was immensely fat; notwithstanding this she keptup the pace to the last, quite unconscious of her general appearance. "

Notwithstanding the dangers of his position, Mr Baker frequently wentout shooting, and, among other animals, he killed an enormous elephant, but the natives carried off the tusks and flesh. He was able, however, with his gun, to supply his camp with food, which was fortunate, as thenatives would not sell him any of their cattle. 

Soon after Ibrahim's return, the Turks, at the request of Comonoro, attacked the town of Kayala, but were driven back by the natives, whosecattle, however, they carried off. 

It became dangerous to remain longer in the country, in consequence ofthe abominable conduct of the Turks, which so irritated the natives thatan attack from them was daily expected. 

They were therefore compelled to return to Obbo, the chief of which, oldKatchiba, had before received them in a friendly manner. 

Here, in consequence of their exposure to wet, Mr and Mrs Baker wereattacked with fever. By this time all their baggage animals as well astheir horses had died. Mr Baker purchased from the Turks some goodriding oxen for himself and his wife, and, having placed his goods underthe charge of old Katchiba and two of his own men, he set out on the 8thof January, 1864, with a small number of attendants, to proceed toKaruma, the northern end of Kamrasi's territory, which Speke and Granthad visited. 

The Shooa country, through which he passed, is very beautiful, consisting of mountains covered with fine forest trees, andpicturesquely dotted over with villages. Several portions presented theappearance of a park watered by numerous rivulets and ornamented withfine timber, while it was interspersed with high rocks of granite, whichat a distance looked like ruined castles. 

Here they found an abundance of food: fowls, butter, and goats werebrought for sale. 

They had obtained the services of a slave woman called Bacheeta, belonging to Unyoro, and who, having learned Arabic, was likely to proveuseful as an interpreter and guide. She, however, had no desire toreturn to her own country, and endeavoured to mislead them, by takingthem to the country of Rionga, an enemy of Kamrasi. Fortunately MrBaker detected her treachery, and he and his Turkish allies reached theKaruma Falls, close to the village of Atada. A number of Kamrasi'speople soon crossed the river to within parleying distance, whenBacheeta, as directed, explained that Speke's brother had arrived to payKamrasi a visit, and had brought him valuable presents. Kamrasi'speople, however, showed considerable suspicion on seeing so many people, till Baker appeared dressed in a suit similar to that worn by Speke, when they at once exhibited their welcome, by dancing and gesticulatingwith their lances and shields in the most extravagant manner. Theparty, however, were not allowed to cross till permission was obtainedfrom Kamrasi. That very cautious and cowardly monarch sent his brother, who pretended to be Kamrasi himself, and for some time Baker wasdeceived, fully believing that he was negotiating with the king. Notwithstanding his regal pretensions, he very nearly got knocked down, on proposing that he and his guest should exchange wives, and evenBacheeta, understanding the insult which had been offered, fiercelyabused the supposed king. 

His Obbo porters had before this deserted him, and he was now dependenton Kamrasi for others to supply their places. 

The king, however, ultimately became more friendly, and gave orders tohis people to assist the stranger, granting him also permission toproceed westward to the lake he was so anxious to visit. 

A few women having been supplied to carry his luggage, he and his wife, with their small party of attendants, at length set out. 

On approaching a considerable village, about six hundredstrangely-dressed men rushed out with lances and shields, screaming andyelling as if about to attack them. His men cried out: "Fire. There isa fight! there is a fight!"

He felt assured that it was a mere parade. The warriors were dressedeither in leopard or white monkey-skins, with cows' tails strapped onbehind, and two antelope horns fixed on their heads, while their chinswere ornamented with false beards made of the bushy ends of cows' tails. 

These demon-like savages came round them, gesticulating and yelling, pretending to attack them with spears and shields, and then engaged insham fights with each other. 

Mr Baker, however, soon got rid of his satanic escort. Poor Mrs Bakerwas naturally alarmed, fearing that it was the intention of the king towaylay them and perhaps carry her off. 

Soon after this, while crossing the Kafue river, the heat beingexcessive, what was Mr Baker's horror to see his wife sink from her oxas though shot dead. He, with his attendants, carried her through theyielding vegetation, up to their waists in water, above which they couldjust keep her head, till they reached the banks. He then laid her undera tree, and now discovered that she had received a _coup de soleil_. Asthere was nothing to eat on the spot, it was absolutely necessary tomove on. A litter was procured, on which Mrs Baker was carried, herhusband mechanically following by its side. For seven days continuouslyhe thus proceeded on his journey. Her eyes at length opened, but, tohis infinite grief, he found that she was attacked by a brain fever. 

One evening they reached a village. She was in violent convulsions. Hebelieved all was over, and, while he sank down insensible by her side, his men went out to seek for a spot to dig her grave. On awakening, allhope having abandoned him, as he gazed at her countenance her chestgently heaved; she was asleep. When at a sudden noise she opened hereyes, they were calm and clear: she was saved. 

Having rested for a couple of days, they continued their course, MrsBaker being carried on her litter. At length they reached the villageof Parkani. To his joy, as he gazed at some lofty mountains, he wastold that they formed the western side of the Luta Nzige, and that thelake was actually within a march of the village. Their guide announcedthat if they started early in the morning, they might wash in the lakeby noon. That night Baker hardly slept. 

The following morning, the 14th of March, starting before sunrise, onox-back, he and his wife, with their attendants, following his guide, ina few hours reached a hill from the summit of which "he beheld beneathhim a grand expanse of water, a boundless sea horizon on the south andsouth-west, glittering in the noonday sun, while on the west, at fiftyor sixty miles distant, blue mountains rose from the bosom of the laketo a height of about seven thousand feet above its level. "

Hence they descended on foot, supported by stout bamboos, for two hours, to the white pebbly beach on which the waves of the lake were rolling. 

Baker, in the enthusiasm of the moment, rushed into the lake, and, thirsty with heat and fatigue, with a heart full of gratitude, drankdeeply from what he supposed to be one of the sources of the Nile, notdreaming of the wonderful discoveries Livingstone was making at thatvery time many degrees to the southward. He now bestowed upon this lakethe name of the Albert Nyanza. 

The dwellers on the borders of the lake are expert fishermen, and in oneof their villages, named Vakovia, the travellers now establishedthemselves. 

His followers, two of whom had seen the sea at Alexandria, and whobelieved that they should never reach the lake, were astonished at itsappearance, unhesitatingly declaring that though it was not salt, itmust be the sea. 

Salt, however, is the chief product of the country, numerous salt-pitsexisting in the neighbourhood, and in its manufacture the inhabitantsare chiefly employed. 

Vakovia is a miserable place, and, in consequence of its damp and hotposition, the whole party suffered from fever. 

Here they were detained eight days waiting for canoes, which Kamrasi hadordered his people to supply. At length several were brought, but theywere merely hollowed-out trunks of trees, the largest being thirty-twofeet long. Baker selected another, twenty-six feet long, but wider anddeeper, for himself and his wife and their personal attendants, whilethe luggage and the remainder of the people embarked in the former. Heraised the sides of the canoe, and fitted up a cabin for his wife, whichwas both rain and sun-proof. 

Having purchased some provisions, he started on a voyage to survey thelake. 

Vakovia is about a third of the way from the northern end of the lake. His time would not allow him to proceed further south. He directed hiscourse northward, towards the part out of which the Nile was supposed toflow. 

The difficulties of the journey were not yet over. The first day'svoyage was delightful, the lake calm, the scenery lovely. At times themountains on the west coast were not discernible, and the lake appearedof indefinite width. Sometimes they passed directly under precipitouscliffs of fifteen hundred feet in height, rising abruptly out of thewater, while from the deep clefts in the rocks evergreens of every tintappeared, and wherever a rivulet burst forth it was shaded by thegraceful and feathery wild date. Numbers of hippopotami were sportingin the water, and crocodiles were numerous on every sandy beach. 

Next night, however, the boatmen deserted, but, not to be defeated, Baker induced his own people to take to the paddles. He fitted a paddleto his own boat, to act as a rudder, but the men in the larger boatneglected to do as he had directed them. 

A tremendous storm of rain came down while he was at work. His owncanoe, however, being ready, he started. He was about to cross from oneheadland to another, when he saw the larger canoe spinning round andround, the crew having no notion of guiding her. Fortunately it wascalm, and, on reaching the shore, he induced several natives to serve ashis crew, while others went off in their own boats to assist the largecanoe. 

He now commenced crossing a deep bay, fully four miles wide. He hadgained the centre when a tremendous storm came on, and enormous wavesrolled in over the lake. The canoe laboured heavily and occasionallyshipped water, which was quickly bailed out. Had this not been done, the canoe would inevitably have been swamped. Down came the rain intorrents, while the wind swept over the surface with terrific force, nothing being discernible except the high cliffs looming in thedistance. The boatmen paddled energetically, and at last a beach wasseen ahead. A wave struck the canoe, washing over her. Just then themen jumped out, and, though they were rolled over, they succeeded inhauling the boat up the beach. 

The shore of the lake, as they paddled along it, was thinly inhabited, and the people very inhospitable, till they reached the town ofEppigoya. Even here the inhabitants refused to sell any of their goats, though they willingly parted with fowls at a small price. 

At each village the voyagers changed their boatmen, none being willingto go beyond the village next them. This was provoking, as delaysconstantly occurred. 

At length they reached Magimgo, situated inside an immense bed of reeds, at the top of a hill, above the mouth of a large river. Passing up achannel amidst a perfect wilderness of vegetation, they reached theshore below the town. Here they were met by their guide, who hadbrought their riding oxen from Vakovia, and reported them all well. 

The chief of Magimgo and a large number of natives were also on theshore waiting for them, and brought them down a plentiful supply ofgoats, fowls, eggs, and fresh butter. 

Proceeding on foot to the height on which Magimgo stands, they thenceenjoyed a magnificent view, not only over the lake, but to the north, towards the point where its waters flow into the Nile. 

Baker's great desire was to descend the Nile in canoes, from its exitfrom the lake to the cataracts in the Madi country, and thence to marchdirect, with only guns and ammunition, to Gondokoro. This plan he foundimpossible to carry out. 

Before their return to the canoes, Mr Baker himself was laid prostratewith fever, and most of his men were also suffering. 

They had heard, however, of a magnificent waterfall up the river. Theyaccordingly proceeded up it, and, as they got about eighteen miles aboveMagimgo, a slight current was perceived. The river gradually narrowedto about a hundred and eighty yards, and now, when the paddles ceasedworking, the roar of water could be distinctly heard. Continuing on, the noise became louder. An enormous number of crocodiles were seen, and Mr Baker counted, on one sandbank alone, twenty-seven of largesize. 

Reaching a deserted fishing village, the crew at first refused toproceed further, but, on Mr Baker explaining that he merely wished tosee the falls, they paddled up the stream, now strong against them. 

On rounding a point, a magnificent sight burst upon them. On eitherside of the river were beautifully-wooded cliffs, rising abruptly to aheight of about three hundred feet, rocks jutting out from the intenselygreen foliage, while, rushing through a gap which cleft the rock exactlybefore them, was the river. It is here contracted from a grand streamto the width of scarcely a hundred and fifty feet. Roaring fiercelythrough the rock-bound pass, it plunged, in one leap of about a hundredand twenty feet, perpendicularly into the dark abyss below, thesnow-white sheet of water contrasting superbly with the dark cliff thatwalled the river, while the graceful palms of the tropics, and wildplantains, perfected the beauty of the scene. 

This was the great waterfall of the Nile, and was named the MurchisonFalls, in compliment to the president of the Royal Geographical Society. To the river itself he gave the name of the Victoria Nile. 

Having taken a view of the falls, and remained for some time admiringthem, narrowly escaping being upset by a huge bull hippopotamus, theyreturned down the river to Magimgo. 

Starting the next morning, both Mr and Mrs Baker suffering from fever, while all their quinine was exhausted, they found that their oxen hadbeen bitten by the tsetse-fly, and were in a wretched condition, unlikely to live. Their guide also deserted them, and the whole oftheir carriers went off, leaving them on the Island of Patooam, in theVictoria River, to which they had been ferried across. 

It was now the 8th of April, and within a few days the boats in whichthey had hoped to return down the Nile would leave Gondokoro. It was, therefore, of the greatest importance that they should set out at once, and take a direct route through the Shooa country. 

The natives, not to be tempted even by bribes, positively refused tocarry them. Their own men were also ill, and there was a great scarcityof provisions. War, indeed, was going on in the country to the east, Patooam being in the hands of Kamrasi's enemies. It was on this accountthat no Unyoro porters could be found. 

They might have starved had not an underground granary of seed beendiscovered, by the means of Bacheeta, in one of the villages burned downby the enemy. This, with several varieties of wild plants, enabled themto support existence. 

The last of their oxen, after lingering for some time, lay down to die, affording the men a supply of beef, and Saati and Bacheeta occasionallyobtained a fowl from one of the neighbouring islands, which they visitedin a canoe. 

At length both Mr and Mrs Baker fully believed that their last hourwas come, and he wrote various instructions in his journal, directinghis head man to deliver his maps and observations to the British Consulat Khartoum. 

The object, it appeared, of Kamrasi in thus leaving them, was to obtaintheir assistance against his enemies, and at length their guide, Rehonga, made his appearance, having been ordered to carry them toKamrasi's camp. 

The journey was performed, in spite of their weak state; and on theirarrival they found ten of the Turks left as hostages with Kamrasi byIbrahim, who had returned to Gondokoro. The Turks received them withrespect and manifestations of delight and wonder at their havingperformed so difficult a journey. 

A hut was built for their reception, and an ox, killed by the Turks, wasprepared as a feast for their people. 

The next day the king notified his readiness to receive the traveller, who, attiring himself in a Highland costume, was carried on theshoulders of a number of men into the presence of the monarch. The kinginformed him that he had made arrangements for his remaining at Kisoona. 

As now all hope of reaching Gondokoro in time for the boats had gone, Mr Baker, yielding to necessity, prepared to make himself at home. Hehad a comfortable hut built, surrounded by a court-yard with an openshed in which he and his wife could spend the hot hours of the day. Kamrasi sent him a cow which gave an abundance of milk, also amplysupplying him with food. 

Here the travellers were compelled to spend many months. Their stay wascut short, in consequence of the invasion of the country by Fowooka'speople, accompanied by a large band of Turks under the trader Debono. Kamrasi proposed at once taking to flight; but Baker promised to hoistthe flag of England, and to place the country under British protection. He then sent a message to Mahomet, Debono's _vakeel_, warning him thatshould a shot be fired by any of his people, he would be hung, andordering them at once to quit the country; informing them, besides, thathe had already promised all the ivory to Ibrahim, so that, contrary tothe rules of the traders, they were trespassing in the territory. 

This letter had its due effect. Mahomet deserted his allies, who wereimmediately attacked by Kamrasi's troops, and cut to pieces, while thewomen and children were brought away as captives. Among them, Bacheeta, who had once been a slave in the country, recognised her formermistress, who had been captured with the wives and daughters of theirchief, Rionga. 

After this Ibrahim returned, bringing a variety of presents for Kamrasi, which, in addition to the defeat of his enemies, put him in excellenthumour. 

Mr Baker was able to save the life of an old chief, Kalloe, who hadbeen captured; but some days afterwards the treacherous Kamrasi shot himwith his own hand. 

At length the Turkish traders, having collected a large supply of ivory, were ready to return to Shooa; and Mr Baker, thankful to leave theterritory of the brutal Kamrasi, took his leave, and commenced thejourney with his allies, who, including porters, women, and children, amounted to a thousand people. 

At Shooa he spent some months more encamped among the friendly Madi. 

As they were marching thence through the country inhabited by the Baritribe, they were attacked in a gorge by the natives. The latter were, however, driven back; but the following night the camp was surrounded, and poisoned arrows shot into it. One of the natives, who had venturednearer than the rest, was shot, when the rest, who could not be seen onaccount of the darkness, retired. In the morning a number of arrowswere picked up. 

On reaching Gondokoro, only three boats had arrived, while the tradingparties were in consternation at hearing that the Egyptian authoritieswere about to suppress the slave trade and with four steamers hadarrived at Khartoum, two of which had ascended the White Nile and hadcaptured many slavers. Thus the three thousand slaves who were thenassembled at Gondokoro would be utterly worthless. 

The plague also was raging at Khartoum, and many among the crews of theboats had died on the passage. Mr Baker, however, engaged one of them, a _diabiah_, belonging to Koorshid Pacha. 

Bidding farewell to his former opponent, Ibrahim, who had since, however, behaved faithfully, Mr Baker and his devoted wife commencedtheir voyage down the Nile. 

Unhappily the plague, as might have been expected, broke out on board, and several of their people died among them. They chiefly regretted theloss of the faithful little boy, Saati. 

At Khartoum, which they reached on the 5th of May, 1865, they werewelcomed by the whole European population, and hospitably entertained. 

Here they remained two months. During the time the heat was intense, and the place was visited by a dust-storm, which in a few minutesproduced an actual pitchy darkness. At first there was no wind, andwhen it came it did not arrive with the violence that might have beenexpected. So intense was the darkness, that Mr Baker and hiscompanions tried in vain to distinguish their hands placed close beforetheir eyes: not even an outline could be seen. This lasted for upwardsof twenty minutes, and then rapidly passed away. They had, however, felt such darkness as the Egyptians experienced in the time of Moses. 

The plague had been introduced by the slaves landed from two vesselswhich had been captured, and in which the pestilence had broken out. They contained upwards of eight hundred and fifty human beings. Nothingcould be more dreadful than the condition in which the unhappy beingswere put on shore. The women had afterwards been distributed among thesoldiers, and, in consequence, the pestilence had been disseminatedthroughout the place. 

Mr Baker had the satisfaction of bringing Mahomet Her, who hadinstigated his men to mutiny at Latooka, to justice. He was seized andcarried before the governor, when he received one hundred and fiftylashes. How often had the wretch flogged women to excess! What murdershad he not committed! And now how he howled for mercy! Mr Baker, however, begged that the punishment might be stopped, and that it mightbe explained to him that he was thus punished for attempting to thwartthe expedition of an English traveller by instigating his escort tomutiny. 

The Nile having now risen, the voyage was recommenced; but their vesselwas very nearly wrecked on descending the cataracts. 

On reaching Berber, they crossed the desert east to Sonakim on the RedSea. Hence, finding a steamer, they proceeded by way of Suez to Cairo, where they left the faithful Richarn and his wife in a comfortablesituation as servants at Shepherd's Hotel, and Mr Baker had thesatisfaction of hearing that the Royal Geographical Society had awardedhim the Victoria Gold Medal, a proof that his exertions had been dulyappreciated. He also, on his arrival in England, received the honour ofknighthood. 

Sir Samuel and Lady Baker, after a short stay at home, returned toEgypt; Sir Samuel there having received the rank of pacha from theKhedive, organised an expedition to convey steamers up the Nile, to beplaced on the waters of Lake Albert Nyanza, and with a strong hand toput a stop to the slave trade, the horrors of which he had witnessed. For many weary months he laboured in his herculean task, opposed inevery possible way by the slave-traders, and the treachery and openhostility of the natives, overcoming obstacles which would have dauntedany but the most courageous and determined of men. 

Reports of his defeat and destruction reached England; but happily theyproved to be false, and it is to be hoped that he and his heroic wifewill, ere long, return in safety to give an account of their adventures. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S THIRD GREAT EXPEDITION. 

DR. LIVINGSTONE, WITH THIRTY FOLLOWERS, LANDS NEAR MOUTH OF ROVUMA--PROCEEDS UP BANK OF RIVER--MISCONDUCT OF SEPOYS--LOSS OF ANIMALS--REACHES LAKE NYASSA--THE BABISA CHIEF--ROGUISH ARAB--PROCEEDS WESTWARD--VISITS THE CHAMBEZI--ARRIVES AT KAZEMBE'S CITY--LONDA--RECEPTIONS BY THEKING AND HIS WIFE--LAKE MOPO--LAKE MOERO--THE LUALABA RIVER--PROCEEDSDOWN IT--OTHER LARGE LAKES HEARD OF--COMPELLED TO RETURN EAST--TREACHERYOF A MOOR--THREE YEARS OCCUPIED IN EXPLORING--SEVERE ILLNESS--MILDCHARACTER OF NATIVES--CRUELTIES OF THE ARABS--RETURNS TO UJIJI. 

Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships he had endured during the manyyears spent in penetrating into the interior of Africa and exploring theZambesi, Dr Livingstone, unwearied and undaunted, felt an ardent desireto make further discoveries, to open up a road for commerce, and, morethan all, to prepare the way for the the spread of the Gospel among thebenighted inhabitants of the mighty continent. 

A year after he performed his adventurous voyage in the "Lady Nyassa" toBombay, he returned to Zanzibar to make arrangements for anotherexpedition. 

For the particulars of the expedition we have to depend on the briefletters he sent home at distant periods, and more especially on thedeeply-interesting account of Mr Stanley, who, when many had begun todespair of the traveller's return, made his adventurous journey to findhim. 

See "How I Found Livingstone, " by Henry M Stanley. Sampson, Low andCompany, 1872. 

The Governor of Bombay had given Dr Livingstone permission to taketwelve Sepoys, who, being provided with Enfield rifles, were to act asguards to the expedition. He had brought nine men from Johanna, andthese, with seven liberated slaves and two Zambesi men, making thirty inall, formed his attendants, and were considered sufficient to enable himto pass through the country without having to fear any marauding attacksfrom the natives. 

Leaving Zanzibar in March, 1866, he landed in a bay to the north of themouth of the Rovuma River, early in the following month. 

On the 7th of April he began his journey into the interior, moving alongthe left bank of the river. His baggage consisted of bales of cloth andbags of beads, with which to enable him to purchase food and pay tributeto the chiefs through whose territories he might pass. He had, besides, his chronometer, sextant, artificial horizon, and thermometers carriedin cases, as also medicines, and the necessary clothing and otherarticles for himself. To carry the luggage he had also brought sixcamels, three horses, two mules, and three donkeys. 

The route he had chosen was beset with difficulties. For miles on thebank of the river he found the country covered with dense jungle, through which the axe was required to hew a way. There was, indeed, apath which twisted and turned about in _every_ direction, formed by thenatives, sufficient for the passage of persons unencumbered by luggage, but which it was found the camels could not possibly pass along, unlessthe branches overhead were first cut down. 

Greatly to his disappointment the Sepoys and Johanna men, unaccustomedto such sort of labour, showed from the first a great dislike to beemployed in it, and, soon after they started, they began to use everymeans in their power to ruin the expedition, in order to compel theirleader to return to the coast. So cruelly did they neglect and illtreat the unfortunate camels and other animals, that in a short timethey all died. The doctor, however, obtained natives to carry on theloads. They then tried to prejudice him in the minds of the natives bybringing all sorts of false accusations against him. They likewisebehaved ill in a variety of other ways. To lighten their own shoulders, they laid hands on any woman or boy they could find, and compelled themto carry their arms and ammunition. Frequently also, after marching ashort distance, they would throw themselves down on the ground, declaring that they were too much fatigued to move, and refused toadvance, often not making their appearance till the camp was formed inthe evening. 

The doctor, feeling that even should he be attacked, they would probablydesert him, at length dismissed the whole of the Sepoys, and, providingthem with provisions, sent them back to the coast. 

For several days together he and his remaining men travelled through anuninhabited wilderness, and, being unable to obtain food, they sufferedmuch from hunger, while several of the men deserted. Reaching, however, the village of a Wahiyou chief, situated on high ground above LakeNyassa, their wants were supplied. 

Early next month he arrived at the village of another chief, namedMpende, near the shore of Lake Nyassa. Here one of his attendants, inwhom he thought he could place confidence, and whom he had liberatedfrom slavery, insisted on leaving him, making various excuses for doingso. He also tried to induce another youth, named Chumah, to desert; butthe latter coming to the doctor, who suspected that he would only bemade a slave of, persuaded him to remain. 

The next halt was made at the residence of a Babisa chief, who wassuffering from sickness; and here the doctor remained till he had seenhim restored to health. 

While at this place an Arab arrived, and declared that he had escapedfrom a marauding band of Mazitu, who had plundered him of his property. He so worked on Musa, the captain of the Johanna men, who pretended tobelieve his account, that Musa entreated the doctor to return; but whenthe Babisa chief denounced the Arab as an impostor, Musa confessed thathis great object was to get back to his family at Johanna. 

On finding that the doctor persevered in his intention to proceedwestward, Musa and his followers deserted him. 

Thus was Livingstone left with only three or four attendants toprosecute his journey, while those who had gone off had robbed him ofmuch of his property and even the greater part of his own clothes. 

Leaving the Nyassa, he proceeded westward, passing through theterritories of numerous chiefs, who generally treated him hospitably, though he had numerous difficulties to encounter, and constantly metwith misfortunes. 

Continuing his course west and north-west, he came to a large riverflowing west, called the Chambezi, and, in consequence of the similarityof its name to that of the stream he had so long navigated, heconcluded, trusting to the accounts given by Dr Lacerda, that it wasbut the head water of the Zambesi. He pushed on therefore, withoutpaying it the attention he otherwise would have done. He subsequentlydiscovered that it fell into a large lake called Bangueolo, to the southof which are a range of mountains which cut it off completely from theZambesi. 

Directing his course to the north-west, through the large province ofLonda, he reached the town of a chief named Kazembe, of whom he hadheard through Dr Lacerda. 

This prince was a very intelligent man, with a fine commanding figure. He received Dr Livingstone, dressed in a kilt of crimson stuff, surrounded by his nobles and guards. 

The doctor had previously received a visit from a chief, who called toenquire the objects he had in view, and who now announced in due formthe reply he had received. He stated that the white man had arrived forthe purpose of ascertaining what rivers and lakes existed in thecountry, though, as he observed, it was difficult to comprehend why hewished to gain such information. The king then, having put variousquestions to the doctor, the answers to which seemed to satisfy him, gave him leave to travel wherever he liked throughout his dominions, andassured him that he could do so without the risk of interference fromany of his subjects. He had never before seen an Englishman, and he waspleased to see one for whom he already felt a regard. Soon after thedoctor received the announcement that the queen would honour him by avisit, and a dignified fine-looking young woman, holding a spear in herhand, and followed by a number of damsels also with spears, made herappearance, evidently intending to produce an effect upon the whitestranger. Her costume, however, and the enormous weapon she carried inher hand, seems so to have tickled the doctor's fancy, that he burstinto a fit of laughter. The lady herself and her attendant maidens, unable to resist the influence of the doctor's laugh, joined in the fun, and, wheeling about, rapidly beat a retreat. The doctor quickly madehimself at home with his new friends, and under their protectioncommenced a series of researches which occupied him for many months. 

Londa, Kazembe's capital, is situated on the small Lake Mopo. To thenorth of it is a very much larger lake called Moero, surrounded by loftymountains, clothed to their summits with the rich vegetation of thetropics. The whole scenery is indeed beautiful and magnificent in theextreme. 

This is, however, only one of a series of lakes which the doctordiscovered in the wide-extending province of Londa. The most southernis the large lake of Bangueolo, four thousand feet above the level ofthe sea, its area almost equal to that of Lake Tanganyika. It is intothis lake that the Chambezi and a vast number of other smaller streamsempty themselves. 

As the Chambezi rises in the lofty plateau of Lobisa, six thousand sixhundred feet above the level of the sea, the doctor is inclined, fromthe discoveries he afterwards made, to consider that it is the truesource of the Nile, which, if such is the case, would give that river alength in direct latitude of upwards of two thousand miles, making itonly second to the Mississippi, the longest river on the face of theglobe. 

This will be seen as we proceed with the account of his interestingdiscoveries. 

The next important fact to be observed is that a larger river than anyof them, called the Luapula, runs out of the lake into Lake Moero. Outof the northern end of the Lake Moero again another large river, theLualaba, runs thundering forth through a vast chasm, and then, expandinginto a calm stream of great width, winds its way north and west till itenters a third large lake, the Kamolondo. The doctor gave it theadditional name of Webb's River. In some places he found it to be threemiles broad. He perseveringly followed it down its course, and found itagain making its exit from Lake Kamolondo, till it was joined by otherlarge rivers, some coming from the south and others from the east, tillhe reached the village of Nyangwe, in latitude 4 degrees south. Here, having exhausted the means of purchasing fresh provisions, and hisfollowers refusing to proceed further, he was compelled to bring hisjourney northward to a termination. This was not till the year 1871. 

He, however, heard of another enormous lake to the northward, into whichthe Lualaba empties itself, bounded by a range to the westward calledthe Balegga mountains. From the information he received, he believedthat this last-mentioned lake is connected by a series of small lakes, or by a somewhat sluggish stream, with the Albert Nyanza, the waters ofwhich undoubtedly flow into the Nile. 

Of course it is possible that the waters which flow out of this largeunknown lake, instead of running to the north-east into the AlbertNyanza, may have a westerly or north-westerly course, in which case, instead of making their way into the Nile, they may be feeders of theCongo river. 

To the south-west of Lake Kamolondo the doctor discovered another largelake, to which he gave the name of Lake Lincoln, after the President ofthe United States, the liberator of their negro population. 

Another large river, the Lomame, flowing from the southward, enters thislake, and, passing out again at its northern end, joins the Luaba, whichafter this takes an almost, northerly course. 

These discoveries occupied Dr Livingstone three years. After hisdiscovery of Lake Moero, while residing with Kazembe, he unfortunatelybecame acquainted with a half-caste Moor, named Mahommed Ben Sali, whohad been detained as a prisoner by the king. The doctor obtained hisrelease, and allowed the Arab to accompany him. The villainous oldfellow, in return, did his utmost to ruin Dr Livingstone, by inducinghis attendants to desert him, and even Susi and Chumah for a time werewon over, though they ultimately returned to the doctor. 

During his journeys, now to the west, now to the east, he met, in thelatter quarter, a large sheet of water, which he discovered to be thesouthern end of Lake Tanganyika, and, after remaining some time withKazembe, he set off, and crossed over to Ujiji, which he reached aboutthe middle of March, 1869. After resting here till June, he againcrossed the lake, and proceeded westward with a party of traders till hereached the large village of Bambarra, in Manyema. 

It is the chief ivory depot in that province, where large quantities areobtained. 

He was here detained six months, suffering severely from ulcers in hisfeet, which prevented him putting them to the ground, and from thence itwas, when again able to set out, that he discovered the course of theLualaba, which occupied him till the year 1871. 

From Nyangwe, as before mentioned, he was compelled to return eastwardto Ujiji, a distance of seven hundred miles. Manyema, in the provinceof Ruo, lying directly to the south of it, is inhabited by heathens, each village governed by its own chief, holding little or nocommunication with their neighbours. The people appear to be mild andinoffensive, though perfect pagans. They posses a considerable amountof ingenuity, and manufacture a most beautiful fabric from fine grass, equal to the finest grass cloth of India. 

So numerous are the elephants which range through the wilds of thisregion, that until the Arabs unhappily made their way into it, thepeople were accustomed to form their door-posts and partially to buildtheir houses with ivory tusks. The inhabitants, who were thenunacquainted with firearms, were so terrified at hearing the reports ofthe Arabs' muskets and feeling their effects, that they did not attemptto defend themselves, and already great numbers had been carried offinto slavery by the abominable kidnappers. 

Dr Livingstone witnessed a horrible massacre committed by one of thesewretches, a half-caste Arab, Tagamoyo by name, with his armed slaves, ona number of the helpless inhabitants collected in a market-place on thebank of the Lualaba. While the people, unsuspicious of danger, wereassembled, to the number of two thousand, eagerly carrying on theirtrade, the wretch Tangamoyo suddenly appeared, and opened fire uponthem. Numbers were shot down, others rushed to their canoes, and, intheir terror, made off without their companions, while many, throwingthemselves headlong into the water, were seized by the voraciouscrocodiles. Upwards of four hundred women and children were killed, while a greater number were carried off into slavery. 

The doctor describes the people as of light colour, with well-formedfeatures. Being of gentle manners, they are eagerly sought for by theArabs, whose wives they sometimes become. 

Further to the north he met with a race not darker than the Portuguese, and a remarkably handsome people, who seemed to have a peculiar aptitudefor commerce. 

In Ruo he discovered some rich copper mines. 

On reaching Ujiji, on the 16th of October, 1871, greatly to his dismayhe found that Sherrif, into whose charge he had committed his goods, had, believing him to be dead, sold the whole of them for ivory, whichhe had appropriated. 

Thus, the doctor, already suffering fearfully from illness, foundhimself deprived of the means of purchasing food or paying his way backto the coast. The letters, stores, and provisions sent to him fromZanzibar had been detained on the road. 

What might have been his fate had he not been succoured by Mr Stanley, who, as we are about to relate, at the head of the "New York Herald"expedition, so nobly and gallantly made his way across to find him, itis impossible to say. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

STANLEY'S EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF DR. LIVINGSTONE. 

STANLEY SENT OUT BY MR. BENNETT, OF THE "NEW YORK HERALD"--REACHESZANZIBAR--DR. KIRK--HIS WHITE AND NATIVE ATTENDANTS--BOMBAY ENGAGED--BOATS PREPARED--CROSSES TO BAGOMOYO--JESUIT MISSION--FINDS CARAVAN FORRELIEF OF LIVINGSTONE DETAINED--DIFFICULTIES TO BE SURMOUNTED--PORTERSABSCOND--MISCONDUCT OF WHITE MEN--A STRONGLY FORTIFIED TOWN--ATTACKED BYFEVER--SENDS FARQUHAR SICK TO MPWAPWA, WHERE HE DIES--SHAW FIRES ATSTANLEY--STANLEY'S COOL CONDUCT--EXPEDITION ENTERS UGOGO WITH ARABCARAVAN--HEAVY TRIBUTE DEMANDED BY SULTAN OF MVUMI--DONKEYS DIE--JOURNEYTHROUGH JUNGLE--COUNTRY LAID WASTE BY ARAB SLAVE-TRADERS--WELL RECEIVEDBY MKASWA--LIVINGSTONE CARAVAN ARRIVES--PREPARES TO START FOR UJIJI--SOME OF HIS MEN JOIN ARABS IN AN ATTACK ON A TOWN, AND ARE DEFEATED--STANLEY AND SHAW NARROWLY ESCAPE--RETURNS TO KIVIHARA--THE PLACETHREATENED--PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE--HEARS NEWS OF LIVINGSTONE--RECEIVES PRESENT OF A SLAVE BOY, KIULU--FOLLOWERS PROVE REFRACTORY--SETSOUT--SENDS SHAW BACK--NARROW ESCAPE FROM A CROCODILE--DONKEY SEIZED BYCROCODILE--MEET CARAVAN FROM UJIJI--MORE NEWS OF LIVINGSTONE--THREATENEDBY WAHHA--PASS VILLAGE AT NIGHT--NEARLY DISCOVERED--LAKE TANGANYIKASEEN--DR. LIVINGSTONE FOUND AT LAST--LIVINGSTONE RECOVERS--CHARACTER OFLIVINGSTONE--VOYAGE ON LAKE TANGANYIKA--THE RUSIZI RIVER--LIVINGSTONEAND STANLEY SET OFF FROM UJIJI TOGETHER--JOURNEY TO MKASWA, AND STAYTHERE--LIVINGSTONE REMAINS, AND STANLEY PROCEEDS TO ZANZIBAR TO FIT OUTAN EXPEDITION TO ASSIST HIM--FINDS KISALUNGO DESTROYED BY A FLOOD--DREADFUL FLOODS--ADVENTURES ON JOURNEY--MEETS WITH THE LIVINGSTONERELIEF EXPEDITION--IT IS DISBANDED--DISBANDS HIS OWN, AND FITS OUT AFRESH ONE--STARTS IT OFF, AND SAILS FOR ENGLAND VIA THE SEYCHELLES--NOBLE LIBERALITY OF MR. BENNETT. 

The spirited proprietor of the "New York Herald, " James Gordon Bennett, having become deeply interested in the fate of Dr Livingstone, determined to send out one of his special correspondents, Mr Henry M. Stanley, then at Madrid, to Africa, in search of the traveller. 

Arriving in Paris, Stanley received his instructions, which were, firstto ascertain in Egypt what Sir Samuel Baker--then about to start up theNile--intended to do, and, after visiting a good many other places, tomake his way _via_ Bombay, Mauritius, and the Seychelles, to Zanzibar. 

He carried out his instructions, and arrived in January, 1871, atZanzibar, which he found to be a much more beautiful and fertile islandthan he had supposed. 

He soon introduced himself to Dr Kirk, and, without delay, set aboutmaking the necessary preparations for his journey. 

The great difficulty was to obtain information as to the amount of food, or rather the articles for purchasing it, which would be required forthe hundred men he proposed enlisting in his service. 

He had engaged at Jerusalem a Christian Arab boy named Selim, who was toact as his interpreter, and he had also on the voyage attached to theexpedition two mates of merchantmen, Farquhar and Shaw, who were veryuseful in constructing tents and arranging two boats and thepack-saddles and packages for the journey, but who proved in otherrespects very poor travellers. He also secured the services of that nowwell-known hero, Bombay, captain of Speke's faithfuls, and five of hisother followers, Uledi, Grant's valet, and the bull-headed Mabruki, whohad in the mean time lost one of his hands, but, notwithstanding, waslikely to prove useful. They were the only remains of the band to befound, the rest having died or gone elsewhere. These six still retainedtheir medals for assisting in the discovery of the source of the Nile. 

The boats, one of which was capable of carrying twenty people and theother six, were stripped of their planks, the timbers and thwarts onlybeing carried. Instead of the planking it was proposed to cover themwith double canvas skin, well tarred. They and the rest of the baggagewere carried in loads, none exceeding sixty-eight pounds in weight. Twohorses and twenty-seven donkeys were purchased, and a small cart, whilethe traveller had brought with him a watch-dog, which he hoped wouldguard his tent from prowling thieves. An ample supply of beads, cloth, and wire were also laid in, with tea, sugar, rice, and medicine. ToBombay and his faithfuls were added eighteen more free men, who were allwell-armed, and when mustered appeared an exceedingly fine-looking bodyof soldiers. These were to act as escort to the _pagazis_, or carriers. 

On the 4th of February, 1871, the expedition was ready, and on the 5thembarked in four dhows, which conveyed it across to Bagomoyo on themainland. 

Here it was detained five weeks while its persevering leader wascombatting the rogueries of Ali Ben Salim and another Arab, HadjiPalloo, who had undertaken to secure one hundred and forty _pagazis_. The packages were rearranged, the tents improved, and other necessaryarrangements made. 

He found here a caravan which had been despatched by the British Consula hundred days before to the relief of Dr Livingstone; but which, itsleader making as an excuse that he was unable to obtain a fresh numberof _pagazis_, had hitherto remained inactive. 

The climate of Bagomoyo is far superior to that of Zanzibar. 

In its neighbourhood a French Jesuit mission has been for some timeestablished, with ten priests and as many sisters, who have been verysuccessful in educating two hundred boys and girls. The priestssumptuously entertained Mr Stanley with excellent champagne and claret, while some of their pupils, among whom they had formed an excellentbrass band, amused them with instrumental music and French songs. 

He divided his expedition into five caravans, the first of which hestarted off on the 18th of February, although it was not till March 21stthat he with the largest was able to commence his journey westward. Altogether the expedition numbered on the day of departure, besides thecommander and his two white attendants, twenty-three soldiers, fourchiefs, one hundred and fifty-three _pagazis_, and four supernumeraries. Every possible care had been bestowed on the outfit, and in nothingthat it needed was it stinted. 

Bombay proved to be as honest and trustworthy as formerly, while Ferajjiand Mabruki turned out true men and staunch, the latter, on oneoccasion, finding a difficulty in dragging the cart, having brought italong on his head rather than abandon it. 

The Kinganni river was reached by a bridge rapidly formed with Americanaxes, the donkeys refusing to pass through the water. 

The country due west of Bagomoyo was found to be covered with towns andvillages which were previously unknown. 

Soon after starting, Omar, the watch-dog was missing, when Mabruki, hastening back, found him at the previous halting-place. 

One of the caravans at the same place was detained by the sickness ofthree of the _pagazis_, whose places it was necessary to supply. 

Stanley soon had to experience the invariable troubles of Africantravellers. His two horses died within a few hours of each other, both, however, from disease of long standing, and not from the climate. 

Few men were better able to deal with the rogueries of the petty chiefshe met with than Mr Stanley. He had always a ready answer, andinvariably managed to catch them in their own traps, while the "greatmaster, " as he was called, managed to keep all his subordinates inpretty good order. 

One of his _pagazis_, Khamisi, under Shaw's command, having absconded, Uledi and Ferajji found him, having fallen into the hands of someplundering Washensi, who were about to kill him. A court of eightsoldiers and eight _pagazis_, having been convened, condemned him to beflogged with the "great master's" donkey-whip. As Shaw ought to havekept a better look out, he was ordered to give him one blow and the_pagazis_ and soldiers the remainder. This being done, the man waspardoned. 

Moving on, the expedition passed Simbamwenni, the capital of Useguhha, the fortifications of which are equal to any met with in Persia. Thearea of the town is about half a square mile, while four towers of stoneguard each corner. There are four gates, one in each wall, which areclosed with solid square doors of African teak, and carved withcomplicated devices. 

It is ruled by the daughter of the infamous Kisalungo, notorious as arobber and kidnapper, another Theodore on a small scale. 

Before long Stanley was attacked with fever, which greatly prostratedhis strength, though he quickly recovered by taking strong dozes ofquinine. 

The most painful event which occurred was the flight of Bunda Selim, whohad been punished for pilfering rations. The men sent after him wereseized and imprisoned by the Sultana of Simbamwenni, and, thoughultimately liberated by the interference of an Arab sheikh, nothingcould be found of the missing cook. Shaw also fell ill, and left thetask of urging on the floundering caravan through marshes and rivers tohis superior. Several of the others followed his example, and evenBombay complained of pains and became unserviceable. 

The report from Farquhar's caravan was most unsatisfactory, he, as faras Stanley could make out, having lost all his donkeys. The unhappyman, indeed, he found on overtaking him, was suffering from dropsy. Hehad also given to the _pagazis_ and soldiers no small amount of thecontents of the bales committed to his charge, as payment for theservices he had demanded of them, and in purchasing expensive luxuries. As he could not walk and was worse than useless, Stanley was obliged tosend the sick man, under the charge of Mabruki, thirty miles away to thevillage of Mpwapwa, to the chief of which place he promised an amplereward if he would take care of him. 

Worse than all the wretched Shaw, after a dispute, during the nightfired into his tent, too evidently with the intention of killing him. He found the intended murderer pretending to be asleep, with a gun byhis side yet warm. Unable to deny that he had fired, he declared thatin his dreams he had seen a thief pass his door; and then asked what wasthe matter? "Oh, nothing, " answered Stanley; "but I would advise you infuture, in order to avoid all suspicion, not to fire into my tent, or atleast, so near me. I might get hurt, in which case ugly reports wouldget about, and this, perhaps, would be disagreeable, as you are probablyaware. Good night!"

On reaching Mpwapwa the Chief Lencolo positively refused to take chargeof the white man unless an interpreter was left with him, and Jako, whowas the only one of the party besides Bombay and Selim who could speakEnglish, was ordered to remain in that capacity. 

The expedition was now about to enter Ugogo. During the passage of theintervening desert, five out of the nine donkeys died, the cart havingsome time before been left behind. 

The expedition was now joined by several Arab caravans, so that thenumber of the party amounted to about four hundred souls, strong inguns, flags, horns sounding, drums, and noise. This host was to be ledby Stanley and Sheikh Hamed through the dreaded Ugogo. 

On the 26th of May they were at Mvumi, paying heavy tribute to thesultan. Nothing seemed to satisfy him. Stanley suggested that as hehad twenty Wazunga armed with Winchester repeating rifles, he might makethe sultan pay tribute to him. The sheikh entreated that he would actpeaceably, urging that angry words might induce the sultan to demanddouble the tribute. 

While here five more donkeys died, and their bones were picked cleanbefore the morning by the hyaenas. 

The tribute was paid to preserve peace, and on the 27th, shaking thedust of Mvumi off their feet, the party proceeded westward. The countrywas one vast field of grain, and thickly populated. 

Between that place and the next sultan's district twenty-five villageswere counted. Whenever they halted large groups of people assembled andgreeted with peals of laughter the dress and manner of the _mzungu_, orwhite man, and more than once had to be kept at a distance by Stanley'srifle or pistols, sometimes his thick whip coming into play. 

After this a dense jungle was entered, the path serpentining in and outof it; again open tracts of grass bleached white were passed: now it ledthrough thickets of gums and thorns, producing an odour as rank as astable; now through clumps of wide-spreading mimosa and colonies ofbaobab-trees across a country teeming with noble game, which, thoughfrequently seen, were yet as safe from their rifles as if they had beenon the Indian Ocean. But the road they were on admitted of no delay;water had been left behind at noon; until noon the next day not a dropwas to be obtained, and unless they marched fast and long, raging thirstwould demoralise everybody. 

After this wearisome journey Stanley was again attacked by fever, whichit required a whole day's halt and fifty grains of quinine to cure. 

As may be supposed they were thankful when Ugogo was passed, and theyentered Unyanyembe. 

As the caravan resumed its march after halting at noon, the Wanyamuezicheered, shouted, and sang, the soldiers and _pagazis_ shouting inreturn, and the _kirangoza_ blew his horn much more merrily than he hadbeen wont to do in Ugogo. 

A large district, however, presented the sad spectacle of numerousvillages burnt down, cattle carried off, and the grain-fields overrunwith jungle and rank weeds--too common a sight in that part of thecountry. 

The expedition at length entered Kivihara, the capital of the provinceruled over by the aged Sultan Mkaswa, who received Stanley in a friendlyway. The Sheikh Said Ben Salim invited him to take up his quarters inhis _tembe_, or house, a comfortable-looking place for the centre ofAfrica. Here his goods were stored, and his carriers paid off. 

His three other caravans had arrived safely. One had had a slightskirmish, a second having shot a thief, and the third having lost a balewhen attacked by robbers. 

This is the place, to the southward of Victoria Nyanza, where CaptainsBurton, Speke, and Grant remained for a considerable time at differentperiods during their expeditions. 

Soon after, the Livingstone caravan arrived, and the goods were storedwith those of Stanley, the men being quartered with his. The chief ofthe caravan brought Stanley a package of letters directed to DrLivingstone at Ujiji, when, to his surprise, he found that it was markedoutside: "November 1st, 1871. " What a cruel delay was this!

After his long journey, Stanley was now laid completely prostrate, andfor two weeks was perfectly senseless. The unhappy Shaw was also againtaken ill. The fever rapidly destroyed both his memory and his reason. Selim, who had hitherto faithfully watched over his master and treatedhim according to the written directions he had received, was alsoprostrated, and in a state of delirium for four days. 

On the 28th of July, however, all had again recovered, and on the 29thfifty _pagazis_ were ready to start with bales, beads, and wire forUjiji. 

Three days after this, Shaw again broke down, asserting he was dying, and he had to be carried on the backs of his men till brought into hisleader's hut. 

The road, however, ahead was closed by the chief Mirambo, who declaredthat no Arab caravan should pass that way. The Arabs, therefore, hadresolved to attack him, and mustered an army of upwards of two thousandmen. Stanley, with his followers, determined to join them, to assist inbringing the war to a speedy conclusion. 

The palace was soon surrounded, and, though the party were received witha volley, the fire of the defenders was soon silenced. They took toflight, and the village was entered. 

Notwithstanding the heavy fire which had been kept on it, twenty deadbodies only were found. 

Other villages were attacked and burned. 

A more serious affair occurred soon afterwards. When Stanley was againattacked with fever, a number of his men, notwithstanding his orders tothe contrary, joined the Arabs in an attack on a more important place, Wilyankuru, commanded by Mirambo himself. The result was that, thoughthe place was taken, the Arabs fell into an ambush, laid by Mirambo, andwere completely defeated, many of them, including some of Stanley'ssoldiers, being killed. Mirambo, following up his successes, pursuedthe Arabs, and Stanley had to mount his donkey, Shaw being lifted onhis, and to fly at midnight for their lives. His soldiers ran as fastas their legs could carry them, the only one of his followers whoremained by his master's side being young Selim. At length they reachedMfuto, from which they had issued forth so valiantly a short timebefore. 

Stanley had felt it his duty to assist the Arabs, though he had nowcause to regret having done so. 

From the last-mentioned place he returned to Kivihara. Here he wasdetained a considerable time, during which he received authentic news ofLivingstone from an Arab, who had met with him travelling into Manyema, and who affirmed that, having gone to a market at Liemba in threecanoes, one of them, in which all his cloth had been placed, was upsetand lost. The news of Farquhar's death here reached him. 

As he had expected, Mirambo advanced; and one of the leading Arabs andhis adopted son, who had gone out with their slaves to meet him, theslaves having deserted, were killed. 

The neighbouring village of Tabora was burned, and Kivihara itself wasthreatened. Stanley made preparations for defence, and, havingcollected a hundred and fifty armed men, bored loopholes for the musketsin the clay walls of the _tembe_, formed rifle-pits round it, torn downthe huts, and removed everything which might afford shelter to theenemy, felt little fear for the consequences. Mirambo, however, seemedto have thought better of it, and marched away with his troops, satisfied with the plunder he had obtained. 

Month after month passed away, and he had great difficulty in obtainingsoldiers to supply the places of those who had been killed or died, which was the fate of several. 

He one day received a present of a little slave boy from an Arabmerchant, to whom, at Bombay's suggestion, the name of Klulu, meaning ayoung antelope, was given. 

On the 9th of September Mirambo received a severe defeat, and had totake to flight, several of his chief men being slain. 

Shaw gave Stanley a great deal of trouble. Again he himself wasattacked with fever, but his white companion in no degree sympathisedwith him, even little Klulu showing more feeling. Weak as he was, he, however, recommenced his march to the westward, with about forty menadded to his old followers. 

Bombay, not for the first time, proving refractory and impudent, received a thrashing before starting, and when Stanley arrived at hiscamp at night, he found that upwards of twenty of the men had remainedbehind. He, therefore, sent a strong body back, under Selim, whoreturned with the men and some heavy slave-chains, and Stanley declaredthat if any behaved in the same way again he would fasten them togetherand make them march like slaves. Shaw also showed an unwillingness togo forward, and kept tumbling from his donkey, either purposely or fromweakness, till at last Stanley consented to allow him to return toUnyanyembe. 

On the 1st of October, while he and his party lay encamped under agigantic sycamore-tree, he began to feel a contentment and comfort towhich he had long been a stranger, and he was enabled to regard hissurroundings with satisfaction. 

Though the sun's rays were hot, the next day's march was easilyperformed. On the roadside lay a dead man; indeed, skeletons or skullswere seen every day, one, and sometimes two, of men who had fallen downand died, deserted by their companions. 

While encamped near the Gambe, its calm waters, on which lotus-leavesrested placidly, all around looking picturesque and peaceful, invitedStanley to take a bath. He discovered a shady spot under awide-spreading mimosa, where the ground sloped down to the still water, and having undressed, was about to take a glorious dive, when hisattention was attracted by an enormously long body which shot into view, occupying the spot beneath the surface which he was about to explore bya header. It was a crocodile! He sprang back instinctively. Thisproved his salvation, for the monster turned away with a disappointedlook, and he registered a vow never to be tempted again by thetreacherous calm of an African river. 

As war was going on in the country, it was necessary to proceed withcaution. Some of his followers also showed a strong inclination tomutiny, which he had to quell by summary proceedings, and Bombayespecially sank greatly in his good opinion. 

As they approached Lake Tanganyika all got into better humour, andconfidence returned between them. They laughed joyously as they glidedin Indian file through the forest jungle beyond the clearing of Mrera, and boasted of their prowess. 

An ambassador from Simba, the Lion of Kasera, received two gorgeouscloths, and other articles, as tribute--Stanley thus making that chief afriend for ever. 

After having encamped one evening, Stanley went out with his rifle, accompanied by Klulu, to shoot some animal or other for supper. Afterin vain searching, he was returning, when he encountered a wild boar, which, although it received several bullets after it had fallen, at thelast moment started up, and escaped into the wood. On his return to thecamp, from which he was then three miles off, he was followed by somelarge animal, which it was too dark to see plainly, but it must havebeen either a lion or the ghost of the dead boar. At all events, duringthe night, the party were startled by the roar of a lion, which was soonjoined by another and another. He turned out to shoot them, but not abullet took effect. At length he went to sleep with the roar of themonster as a lullaby. 

On the evening of the 2nd of November the left bank of the Malagaraziriver was reached. The greater part of the day had been occupied innegotiating with the ambassador of the great Mzogera, chief of thegreedy Wavinza tribe, who demanded an enormous _hongo_. This beingsettled, the ferrymen demanded equally preposterous payment for carryingacross the caravan. These demands, however, having at length beensettled, the next business was to swim the donkeys across. One fineanimal, Simba, was being towed with a rope round its neck, when, just asit reached the middle of the stream, it was seen to struggle fearfully. An enormous crocodile had seized the poor animal by the throat; in vainit attempted to liberate itself. The black in charge tugged at therope, but the donkey sank and was no more seen. Only one donkey nowremained, and this was carried across by Bombay the next morning, beforethe voracious monsters were looking out for their breakfasts. 

The next day was an eventful one. Just before starting, a caravan wasseen approaching, consisting of a large party of the Waguhha tribe, occupying a tract of country to the south-west of Lake Tanganyika. 

The news was asked. A white man had been seen by them who had latelyarrived at Ujiji from Manyema. He had white hair and a white beard, andwas sick. Only eight days ago they had seen him. He had been at Ujijibefore, and had gone away and returned. There could be no doubt thatthis was Livingstone. How Stanley longed for a horse! for on a goodsteed he could reach Ujiji in twelve hours. 

In high spirits he started, pushing on as fast as his men could move. There were dangers, however, still in the way. A war party of Wavinzawas out, who would not scruple even to rob their own villages whenreturning victorious from battle. 

Next day they travelled on in silence, but on the 5th fell in with aparty of the Wahha, who soon brought a band of warriors down upon them, at the head of which appeared a fine-looking chief, Mionvu by name, dressed in a crimson robe, with a turban on his head, he and his peoplebeing armed with spears, and bows and arrows. He asked whether itshould be peace or war? The reply was, of course, peace. At the sametime Stanley hinted that his rifles would quickly give him the victoryshould war be declared. Notwithstanding this Mionvu demanded a hundredcloths as _hongo_. Ten were offered. Rather than pay the hundred, Stanley asked his followers if they would fight, but Bombay urgedpacific measures, remarking that the country was open--no places to hidein, and that every village would rise in arms. 

"Pay, Bana, pay: it is better to get along quietly in this country, " heobserved. 

Mabruki and Asmani agreed with him. The _hongo_ was paid. Stanleywisely resolved, if possible, not to come back that way. 

A night march was determined on, and sufficient grain was purchased tolast the caravan six days through the jungle. They hoped thus to escapethe extortions of other chiefs to the westward. The men bravely toiledon, without murmuring, though their feet and legs bled from the cuttinggrass. 

The jungle was alive with wild animals, but no one dared fire. 

As they were halting in the morning near the Rusugi river, a party ofnatives were seen, who detected them in their hiding-place, but who fledimmediately to alarm some villages four miles away. At once the caravanwas ordered to move on, but one of the women took to screaming, and evenher husband could not keep her quiet till a cloth was folded over hermouth. 

At night they bivouacked in silence, neither tent nor hut being erected, each soldier lying down with his gun loaded by his side, their gallantleader, with his Winchester rifle and its magazine full, ready for anyemergency. 

Before dawn broke, the caravan was again on its march. The guide havingmade a mistake, while it was still dark, they arrived in front of thevillage of Uhha. Silence was ordered; goats and chickens which mighthave made a noise had their throats cut, and they pushed boldly throughthe village. Just as the last hut was passed, Stanley bringing up therear, a man appeared from his hut, and uttered a cry of alarm. 

They continued their course, plunging into the jungle. Once he believedthat they were followed, and he took post behind a tree to check theadvance of their foes; but it proved a false alarm. 

Turning westward, broad daylight showed them a beautiful and picturesquecountry, with wild fruit-trees, rare flowers, and brooks tumbling overpolished pebbles. 

Crossing a streamlet, to their great satisfaction they left Uhha and itsextortionate inhabitants behind, and entered Ukaranga. 

Their appearance created great alarm as they approached the village, theking and his people supposing them to be Rugruga, the followers ofMirambo, but, discovering their mistake, they welcomed them cordially. 

On the 10th of November, just two hundred and thirty-six days afterleaving Bagomoyo, and fifty-one since they set out from Unyanyembe, surmounting a hill, Tanganyika is seen before them. Six hours' marchwill bring them to its shores. 

On they push, the air fresh and cool--a glorious morning. The "starsand stripes" float out in the breeze; repeated volleys are fired. Thevillage is reached. The faithful Chumah and Susi, Dr Livingstone's oldfollowers, rush out to see who the stranger is, and in a short timeStanley is rewarded for all the dangers and hardships he has gonethrough by meeting the long-looked-for traveller face to face. 

His own book must give the description of the meeting; it is not theleast graphic portion of his deeply interesting work. 

At the time, when reduced almost to death's door by sickness anddisappointment, the assistance thus brought to Dr Livingstone was ofinestimable worth. What might have been his fate had he not beenrelieved, it is impossible to say. The society of his new friend, theletters from home, the well-cooked meal which the doctor was able toenjoy, and the champagne quaffed out of silver goblets, and broughtcarefully those hundreds of miles for that especial object, had awonderfully exhilarating influence. 

Some days were spent at Ujiji, during which the doctor continued toregain health and strength. Future plans were discussed, and hisprevious adventures described. The longer the intercourse Stanleyenjoyed with Livingstone, the more he rose in his estimation. 

He formed, indeed, a high estimate of his character, though, he fullybelieved, a just one. 

"Dr Livingstone, " he says, "is about sixty years old. His hair has abrownish colour, but here and there streaked with grey lines over thetemples. His beard and moustache are very grey. His eyes, which arehazel, are remarkably bright: he has a sight keen as a hawk's. Hisframe is a little over the ordinary height; when walking, he has a firmbut heavy tread, like that of an over-worked or fatigued man. I neverobserved any spleen or misanthropy about him. He has a fund of quiethumour, which he exhibits at all times when he is among friends. Duringthe four months I was with him I noticed him every evening making mostcareful notes. His maps evince great care and industry. He issensitive on the point of being doubted or criticised. His gentlenessnever forsakes him, his hopefulness never deserts him; no harassinganxiety or distraction of mind, though separated from home and kindred, can make him complain. He thinks all will come out right at last, hehas such faith in the goodness of Providence. Another thing whichespecially attracted my attention was his wonderfully retentive memory. His religion is not of the theoretical kind, but it is constant, earnest, sincere, practical; it is neither demonstrative nor loud, butmanifests itself in a quiet, practical way, and is always at work. Inhim religion exhibits its loveliest features; it governs his conduct notonly towards his servants, but towards the natives. I observed thatuniversal respect was paid to him; even the Mahommedans never passed hishouse without calling to pay their compliments, and to say: `Theblessing of God rest on you!' Every Sunday morning he gathers hislittle flock around him, and reads prayers and a chapter from the Biblein a natural, unaffected, and sincere tone, and afterwards delivers ashort address in the Kisawahili language, about the subject read tothem, which is listened to with evident interest and attention. 

"His consistent energy is native to him and his race. He is a very fineexample of the perseverance, doggedness, and tenacity whichcharacterises the Anglo-Saxon spirit. His ability to withstand theclimate is due not only to the happy constitution with which he wasborn, but to the strictly temperate life he has ever led. 

"It is a principle with him to do well what he undertakes to do, and, inthe consciousness that he is doing it, despite the yearning for hishome, which is sometimes overpowering, he finds to a certain extentcontentment, if not happiness. 

"He can be charmed with the primitive simplicity of Ethiopia's duskychildren, with whom he has spent so many years of his life. He has asturdy faith in their capability--sees virtue in them, where others seenothing but savagery; and wherever he has gone among them, he has soughtto ameliorate the condition of a people who are apparently forgotten ofGod and Christian men. "

In another place Stanley says: "Livingstone followed the dictates ofduty. Never was such a willing slave to that abstract virtue. Hisinclinations impel him home, the fascinations of which it requires thesternest resolution to resist. With every foot of new ground hetravelled over he forged a chain of sympathy which should hereafter bindthe Christian nations in bonds of love and charity to the heathen of theAfrican tropics. If he were able to complete this chain of love byactual discovery, and, by a description of them, to embody such peopleand nations as still live in darkness, so as to attract the good andcharitable of his own land to bestir themselves for their redemption andsalvation, this Livingstone would consider an ample reward. 

"Surely, as the sun shines on both Christian and infidel, civilised andpagan, the day of enlightenment will come; and though the apostle ofAfrica may not behold it himself, nor we younger men, nor yet ourchildren, the hereafter will see it, and posterity will recognise thedaring pioneer of its civilisation. "

Yes, and Stanley might have added: with his enlarged and far-seeingmind, this it is what encourages Livingstone to persevere in his task todo what he knows no other man can do as well. It might be farpleasanter to tell crowded congregations at home about the wrongs of thesons and daughters of Africa, but, with the spirit of a true apostle, heremains among those whose wrongs it is the ardent desire of his soul toright, that he may win their love and confidence, and open up the way bywhich others may with greater ease continue the task he has commenced. 

After they had been some weeks together at Ujiji, Stanley andLivingstone agreed to make a voyage on Lake Tanganyika, one of the chiefobjects of which was to settle the long mooted point as to whether theRusizi river is an effluent or an influent. They embarked in a somewhatcranky canoe, hollowed-out of a mvule-tree, which carried sixteenrowers, Selim, Ferajji, the cook, and two guides, besides themselves. 

The lake was calm, its waters of a dark green colour, reflecting theserene blue sky above. The hippopotami came up to breathe in closeproximity to the canoe, and then plunged down again, as if playing athide and seek with them. 

At one place where they sounded, the depth was found to be thirty-fivefathoms near the shore, and further out a hundred and fifteen fathoms ofline was let down without finding bottom, and the doctor stated that hehad sounded opposite the lofty Kabogo, and attained the depth of threehundred fathoms. 

A range of hills, beautifully wooded and clothed with green grass, sloping abruptly--almost precipitately--into the depth of thefresh-water, towered above them, and as they rounded the several capesor points, high expectations of some new wonder or some exquisitepicture being revealed to them were aroused: nor were they disappointed. 

However, we must not venture to attempt a description of the magnificentscenery of this enormous lake. Each night they landed and encamped, continuing their voyage the next day. 

Generally they were well received by the natives, though they had toavoid one or two spots where the people were said to be treacherous andquarrelsome. 

On reaching the mouth of the Rusizi, they pushed up it a short distance, but were stopped by its shallowness, it not being navigable for anythingbut the smallest canoes. It, however, abounds in crocodiles, though notone hippopotamus was seen. 

The most important point, however, which they discovered was that thecurrent was flowing, at the rate of six to eight miles an hour, into thelake. Still the doctor asserted that there must be an outlet somewhereto the Tanganyika, from the fact which he adduced that all fresh-waterlakes have outlets. 

Coasting round the north shore, they paddled down the west coast tillnearly opposite the island of Muzimu, when they crossed back to theshore from whence they had come, and steered southward beyond Ujiji tillthey reached nearly the sixth degree of latitude, at a place calledUrimba. 

Their voyage, altogether, took twenty-eight days, during which time theytraversed over three hundred miles of water. 

On their return to Ujiji, they resolved to carry out one of the severalplans which Stanley had suggested to Livingstone. One of them was toreturn to Unyanyembe to enlist men to sail down the Victoria Nyanza inStanley's boats, for the purpose of meeting Sir Samuel Baker; but this, with several others, was dismissed. Livingstone's heart was set onendeavouring to settle numerous important points in Manyema connectedwith the supposed source of the Nile. He, therefore, finally agreed toallow Stanley to escort him to Unyanyembe, where he could receive hisown goods and those which Stanley proposed to deliver up to him, andwhere he could rest in a comfortable house, while his friend would hurrydown to the coast, and organise a new expedition, composed of fifty orsixty men, well-armed, by whom an additional supply of needful luxuriesmight be sent. 

Christmas Day was kept with such a feast as Ujiji could furnish them, the fever from which Stanley had lately been suffering having left himthe night before. 

On the 27th of December they embarked in two canoes, the one bearing theflag of England, the other that of America; and their luggage being onboard, and having bidden farewell to Arabs and natives, together theycommenced their voyage on the lake, steering for the south. At the sametime the main body of their men, under Asmani and Bombay, commencedtheir journey, which was to be performed on foot, along the shores ofthe lake. It had been arranged that the canoes should meet them at themouth of every river, to transport them across from bank to bank. Theirintention was to land at Cape Tongwe, when they would be opposite thevillage of Itaga, whence, by traversing the uninhabited districts to theeast, they would avoid the exactions of the roguish Wavinza and theplundering Wahha, and then strike the road by which Stanley had come. This plan was completely carried out. Stanley had procured a strongdonkey at Ujiji, that the doctor might perform the journey on its back. 

Pouring rain, however, came down during the whole journey, and it was totheir intense satisfaction that at length the two friends walked intoStanley's old quarters, who said: "Doctor, we are at home. "

Here they were again busily employed in examining stores, and the doctorin writing despatches and letters to his friends. 

Mirambo still held out, and probably the Arabs would not conquer him formany months to come. 

Here the doctor resolved to remain, while Stanley went down to the coastto enlist men and collect such further stores as were required, and tosend them back. On their arrival, Livingstone purposed returning withthem to Ujiji, and from thence crossing over into Manyema, to makefurther researches in that province and Ruo; among other things, toexamine the underground habitations which he had heard of on a previousjourney. 

On the 14th of March, Stanley and Livingstone breakfasted together, andthen the order was given to raise the flag and march. Livingstoneaccompanied him some way, but they had to part at last. 

The return journey was not performed without many adventures and aconsiderable amount of suffering by the enterprising traveller. 

Passing the stronghold of Kisalungo, a large portion had disappeared. The river had swept away the entire front wall and about fifty houses, several villages having suffered disastrously, while at least a hundredpeople had perished. The whole valley, once a paradise in appearance, had been converted into a howling waste. 

Further on, a still more terrible destruction of human life and propertyhad occurred. It was reported that a hundred villages had been sweptaway by a volume of water which had rushed over the banks of theUngerengeri. 

Passing a dense jungle, and wading for several miles through a swamp, onthe 6th of May the caravan was again _en route_, at a pace its leaderhad never seen equalled. At sunset the town of Bagomoyo was entered. 

His first greeting was with Lieutenant Henn, who had come out as secondin command of the proposed Livingstone search and relief expedition. Henext met Mr Oswald Livingstone, the doctor's second son. The twoproposed shortly starting on their journey, having come over with noless than a hundred and ninety loads of stores, which they would havehad no small difficulty in conveying. Two other members of theexpedition, Lieutenant Dawson, RN, and the Reverend C New, had resigned, for reasons which Mr Stanley fully explains. He himself was not overwell pleased with some of the remarks made in the papers about himself, some having regarded his expedition into Africa as a myth. 

"Alas!" he observes, justly, "it has been a terrible, earnest fact withme: nothing but haul, conscientious work, privations, sickness, andalmost death. "

However, welcomed cordially by numerous friends at Zanzibar, which hereached the following day, he soon recovered his spirits, and, havingdisbanded his own expedition, he set to work to arrange the one he hadpromised to form for the assistance of Dr Livingstone, Mr Henn havingin the mean time resigned, and Mr Oswald Livingstone being compelledfrom ill health to abandon the attempt to join his father. 

Fifty guns, with ammunition, stores, and cloth, were furnished by MrOswald Livingstone out of the English expedition. Fifty-seven men, including twenty of those who had followed Stanley, were also engaged, the services of Johari, chief dragoman to the American consulate, beingalso obtained to conduct them across the inundated plains of theKinganni. 

Stanley did not perform his duty by halves. Having engaged a dhow, hesaw them all on board, and again urged them to follow the "greatmaster, " as they called Livingstone, wherever he might lead them, and toobey him in all things. 

"We will! we will!" they cried out. 

He then shook hands with them, and, ordering them to take up theirloads, marched them down to the beach, seeing them on board, and watchedthe dhow as she sped westward on her way to Bagomoyo. 

Those who had accompanied him had been handsomely rewarded, and hestates to their credit, though Bombay and many others had at firstannoyed him greatly, that from Ujiji to the coast, they had all behavedadmirably. 

After being detained at the Seychelles for a month, Mr Stanley reachedMarseilles, _via_ Aden, when Mr Bennett, in order to fulfil MrStanley's promise that he would post Dr Livingstone's letters to hisfamily and friends in England twenty-four hours after he had seen hispublic ones published in the London journals, telegraphed two of them bycable, at an expense of nearly two thousand pounds--"one of the mostgenerous acts, " as he observes, "that could be conceived, after all hehad done in originating and sustaining the enterprise. "

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

CONCLUSION. 

TRAVELS OF BURTON--DU CHAILLU--BAINES--ANDERSSON--GALTON--EXPEDITIONS UPTHE NIGER--DR. BAIKIE'S VOYAGE IN THE "PLEIAD"--JOURNEYS OFMISSIONARIES, SPORTSMEN, AND OTHERS--CONCLUDING REMARKS. 

We must now bid farewell to that land of savagism, so large a portion ofwhich we have seen opened out to the view of the civilised world by thegallant and enterprising men whose footsteps we have traced. We wouldgladly have accompanied many others who have contributed their _quota_to our knowledge of the continent. Among the first stands Burton, whoranks as a great traveller in all parts of the world, and who, besideshis trip on Lake Tanganyika, has visited Dahomy, the Cameroon Mountains, Abeokuta, and many other places. 

We regret to have to omit the travels and wonderful adventures of DuChaillu through the gorilla country and other portions of tropicalAfrica. 

Interesting journeys have been made by the enterprising travellers, Andersson, the artist Baines, and Mr Galton, who, starting fromWalvisch Bay on the West Coast to the north of Cape Colony, visited theDamaras, the Namaquas, the Bechuanas, and other tribes to the west ofLake Ngami. 

Several expeditions also have been made to explore the Niger, and openup commerce with the teeming population on its banks. One of the first, sent out a few years after the return of the Landers, proved mostdisastrous, the greater number of officers and men having perished fromfever. 

Another, however, which was organised in 1854 by the Government, was farmore successful. A small steamer, the "Pleiad, " was fitted out with ablack crew and a few white officers, and in consequence of the death ofMr Beecroft, who had been appointed to lead the expedition, it wasplaced under the command of Dr Baikie, R. N. He proceeded up theQuorra, the proper name of the Niger, and entering the mouth of theBinue, known as the Tsadda, discovered by Dr Barth, steamed up thatmagnificent stream till the falling waters compelled him to return. 

Numerous other expeditions have been made on the West Coast bymissionaries, for the purpose of extending the blessings of the Gospel. Still more numerous have been the journeys, with the same object inview, made from the southern part of Africa. 

In this direction also no small number of sportsmen, with Gordon dimmingat their head, have penetrated far into the interior, many of themhaving given accounts of their exploits to the world. 

The travels of Mansfield Parkyns, and his description of life inAbyssinia, as well as Plowden's, Stern's, and many others, are of thedeepest interest. 

We would gladly also have given an account of the travels of theenterprising ivory-trader, Mr Petherick, who has visited many of thedistricts we have gone over, as well as those on both sides of the Nile. 

They have all added to our knowledge of Africa; yet a considerableamount of the interior remains unexplored. 

Livingstone, undoubtedly, will have solved the problem of the sources ofthe Nile; but the source of the Congo is still to be discovered, unlessthe expedition which started from the West Coast to the relief ofLivingstone has ere this settled the question: while Sir Samuel Baker, when once he gets his steamers launched on the waters of the AlbertNyanza, is not likely to stop till he has made further discoveries tothe west and south of his vast lake. 

If he is correct in his belief that the Albert Nyanza and Tanganyika areportions of one vast lake, or united by a broad channel, a directhighway by water exists, nine hundred miles in length, through theinterior of the continent, which cannot fail greatly to assist in thecivilisation of the teeming population in its neighbourhood. We, however, must await the return of Sir Samuel Baker and Dr Livingstone, to be enlightened on this and many other deeply interesting points. 

We shall rest satisfied if the work we have now brought to a conclusionexcites the interest of our readers in the numberless black races spreadover the continent, and induces them to exert all the influence they maypossess in forwarding measures for suppressing the nefarious slave tradethroughout the length and breadth of the land, and in aiding those whogo forth to carry the blessings of the Gospel to its long benightedpeople. 

THE END.