HAVING given a full description of the curious
customs and re-
markable character of the tribes among whom Livingstone
spent many years, we are now prepared to take up the
thread of
the narrative and follow him through his various fortunes,
his
trials and his remarkable successes. The chief of the
Bakwains,
Sechele, renounced his heathenism, became a much better
man than he
had been before, restored his wives to their fathers,
and lived 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
carrying off the natives and compelling them to labor
as slaves. By
advice Sechele and his people moved to Kolobeng, a stream
about, two
hundred miles north of Kuruman, where Dr. Livingstone
formed a
station.
He here built a house with his own hands, having learned
carpentering
and gardening from Mr. Moffatt, as also blacksmith work.
He had now
become handy at almost any trade, in addition to doctoring
and preach-
ing, and, as his wife could make candles, soap, and clothes,
they
possessed what might be considered the indispensable
accomplishments
of a missionary family in Central Africa.
Among the gentlemen who had visited the station was Mr.
Oswell, in
the East India Company's service. He deserves to take
rank as an Af-
rican traveller. Hearing that Dr. Livingstone purposed
crossing the
Kalahara Desert in search of the great Lake N'gami; long
known to
exist, he came from 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 sand
and being destitute of water, supports prodigious herds
of antelopes,
while numbers of elephants, rhinoceros, lions, hyaenas,
and other wild
animals roam over it. They find support from the astonishing
quantity
of grass which grows in the region, as also from a species
of watermelon,
and from several tuberous roots, the most curious of
which is as large as
the head of a young child, and filled with a fluid like
that of a turnip.
Another is an herbaceous creeper, the tubers of which,
as large as a man's
head, it deposits in a circle of a yard or more horizontally
from the stem.
On the watermelons especially, the elephants and other
wild animals
revel luxuriously.
Starting on a Hazardous Journey.
Such was the desert Livingstone and his party proposed
to cross when
they set out with their wagon on the first of June, 1849,
from Kolobeng.
Instead, however, of taking a direct course across it,
they determined to
take a more circuitous route, which, though longer, they
hoped would
prove safer.
Continuing on, they traversed three hundred miles of desert,
when, at
the 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 of gigantic
growth, running north-east towards Lake N'gami. They
received a
cordial welcome from the peace-loving inhabitants of
its banks, the
Bayeiye.
Leaving the wagons in charge of the natives, with the
exception of a
small one which proceeded along the bank, Livingstone
embarked in one
of their canoes. Frail as are the canoes of the natives,
they make long
trips in them, and manage them with great skill, often
standing up and
paddling with long light poles. They thus daringly attack
the hippo-
potami in their haunts, or pursue the swift antelope
which ventures to
swim across the river. After voyaging on the stream for
twelve days,
they reached the broad expanse of Lake N'gami. Though
wide, it is
excessively shallow, and brackish during the rainy season.
They here
heard of the Tamunacle and other large rivers flowing
into the lake.
Livingstone's main object in coming was to visit Sebituane,
the great
chief of the Makololo, who hve about two hundred miles
to the north-
ward. The chief of the district, Sechulatebe, refused,
however, either to
give them goods or to allow them to cross the river.
Having in vain
attempted to form a raft to ferry over the wagon, they
were reluctantly
compelled to abandon their design. The doctor had
been working at the
raft in the river, not aware of the number of crocociles
which swarmed
around him, and had reason to be thankful that he escaped
their jaws.
These creatures are the foes of the traveller, and even
the natives
entertain for them a peculiar dread. Once in their ferocious
jaws all hope
is gone. Livingstone had many narrow escapes from the
crocodiles which
infest many of the rivers of Africa. A graphic account
from the writings
of a traveller in Africa shows the dangers sometimes
met with by Trop-
ical explorers. The account is as follows
Suddenly the scene became startling. I heard an exclamation
of hor-
ror from the natives, who, with eyes starting from their
sockets, pointed
eastward toward the nearer tree clumps.
" What is it ? " said I, straining my eyes in the same
direction, but in vain.
"Crocodiles! Crocodiles!"
I repeated the word mechanically, my heart sinking within
me as I,
too, began to distinguish the black points which indicated
to the natives'
quick eyes the approaching enemy.
Face to Face witli tlie Monsters.
"Are you sure ?" I wihispered hoarsely, the cold sweat
pouring off
my forehead.
"Yes, Sahib, certain; there are four of them."
I had only six explosive-ball cartridges, and, in spite
of their terrible
effectiveness, I could but remember that the crocodile
in the water is
well-nigh invulnerable, with only his armor-plated back
exposed. How-
ever, the terrible foe was still some way off, and I
should not myself have
detected them but for the natives' quick instinct. There
was nothing left
us but to try, at any cost, to reach the nearest of the
tree islands, avoid-
ing by guess the bottomless mud-holes that beset the
path.
The unfortunate native who was responsible for our position
headed
the line again, sounding to right and left, as he advanced,
with his spear.
It is impossible to describe this adventure marching
through the water,
pursued by crocodiles, not daring to put down one's foot
until assured by
sounding that it would reach something solid. Although
the island grew
perceptibly nearer, our hungry neighbors did too, and
at an increasing
pace. Still we were distancing them for over many of
the shoals they
could not swim, and wading, for a crocodile, is a slow
process when,
without warning, and as quick as lightning, we felt the
ground sink
beneath our feet, and we were all four precipitated simultaneously
into the
swamp. Instinctively, my attendant and I raised our weapons
and am-
munition high over our heads, for when we touched bottom
that is, a
fairly solid layer of vegetable matter the water reached
our arm-pits.
" We might as well give up," said I, in despair ; " this
time we are lost ! "
" Oh, don't give up yet. Sahib. We are so low that, with
this head
wind, the crocodiles cannot see us and will perhaps be
unable to find us
at all. Let us cover our heads with these marsh grasses
and leaves and lie low."
Struggling for Dear Liife.
His advice was so evidently good that instead of a vain
attempt to
reach the firm land with its inevitable exposure to the
hungry eyes of our
terrible pursuers, we acquiesced at once. After several
minutes of suspense,
the native raised himself slightly on a hummock, and
glanced cautiously
toward the spot where we had last seen them. His face
cleared at once,
and he cheered us with
" They have lost us, and have separated to search for
us. Three are
going almost directly from this place, and one only knows
enough to keep
on in the first course."
" And he is headed for us ? "
"In a straight line !"
"Then do not lose sight of him for an instant. With one
enemy we
may be able to cope, and then there is a chance that
he may lose the scent."
When I asked him again where the animal was for I dared
not raise
my own head to look he replied that he was still coming
straight toward
us, and I saw that a meeting was inevitable and made
my preparations
accordingly.
I took my rifle and loaded it with an explosive ball.
"Now then," said I, "listen to my instructions. The native
says the
crocodile is sure to find us. I shall let him get within
ten yards of us,
and then I shall fire at whatever vulnerable part I can
his eye or his
belly. Of course I may miss him, or the bullet may glance
off his back
without wounding him."
The black's eyes rolled with horror.
" Then, without an instant's hesitation and yet without
haste, you, who
must stand just behind me, must take my rifle and hand
me my other gun
for a second shot. Do you understand ? "
" Perfectly."
"And I can depend on you?"
"Till death.''
"We will try to make it less bad than that, and your courage
shall meet, its reward."
"A Shudder of Horror Kan through Me."
I knew what he said was true, for the fellow had been
devoted to me
ever since I saved his life in the jungle when the gorilla
grappled him,
and I felt I could rely upon him.
Raising myself as high as I could, I took a good look
at the slowly
approaching monster, and, I confess, a shudder of horror
ran through me
at his immense size. He was farther off than I expected,
and evidently
quite unconscious of our neighborhood, into which he
had come by chance,
following the raised path on which Ave ourselves had
been travelling when
the tide overtook us. I immediately changed my plan of
attack. I
ordered my attendant to wade off to the left so that
the smoke from his
gun should not blow across me, and told him to fire at
the crocodile and
try to wound him, if only slightly.
As this would make the latter raise his head and look
round, I hoped
to get a shot at some vulnerable spot, and land an explosive
ball where it
would do most good. I had hardly taken up my position,
with rifle lifted,
when my attendant's gun cracked sharp and clear, and
I saw blood fly
from the eye of the crocodile, whose advance ceased immediately.
I
could scarcely restrain a cry of joy, but catching sight
of a yellow piece
of neck, I fired at it and shut my eyes. A great splash
and the shouts of
triumph of the natives encouraged me to open them, and
I found the suc-
cess of the shot greater than I had hoped.
A Hard Death.
The crocodile lay on his side on a little island with
his neck blowti
open the entire length of the jaw, while the natives
who made a break for
land without regard to me, capered round him. I called
them, and »the)r
helped me on shore to where the animal lay in his last
agony for these
brutes die as hard as a snake. He was a very large specimen,
with a
head twice as long as it was broad, his eyes set close
together above his
long snout, of which only the under jaw was movable.
His front feet
had five toes armed with claws, and his hind feet but
four, and webbed to
allow him to swim easily. His whole body was shingled
with plates of
a shell-like membrane that made him a fine coat of mail
nearly bullet-
proof. Green on the back, his color gradually shaded
off into yellow
and he was a terrible foe to meet in the water, where
we should not have-
come off so well had not our good luck stood by us just
as it did.
I was duly thankful to regain the bank, which I had never
expected to
touch again, and had not the heart to blame the native
who was respon-
sible for our narrow escape; but I resolved to place
less reliance on the
natives in future.
Ancient Crocodiles.
It is interesting to see what changes take place in the
Animal Kingdom
with the lapse of ages. For instance, the early crocodile,
the great
monster that lived thousands of years ago had larger
jaws, more terrible
teeth, and a fiercer look than the crocodile of to-day.
We present a
striking illustration of this ancient monster reproduced
from his remains
which have been found.
Returning to Livingstone, the season being far advanced,
they deter-
mined to return to Kolobeng, Mr. Oswell generously volunteering
to go
down to the Cape and bring up a boat for next season.
Half the royal
premium for the encouragement of geographical science
and discoveries
was awarded by the council of the Royal Geographical
Society to Dr.
Livingstone for the discoveries he made on this journey.
Sechele, the Christian chief of the Bakwains, who was
eager to assist
him in reaching Sebituane, offered his services, and
with him as a guide,,
accompanied by Mrs. Livingstone and their three children,
he set
out, in April, 1850, taking a more easterly course than
before. They
again reached the lake, but the greater number of the
party being at-
tacked by fever, he was compelled to abandon his design
of visiting
Sebituane. He here heard of the death of a young artist,
Mr. Rider who
had shortly before visited the lake for the purpose of
making sketches.
Hunting the Hippotamus.
The natives inhabiting the banks of the rivers falling
into Lake N'gami
are famed for their skill in hunting the hippopotamus.
In perfect silence
they approach in their light canoes, and plunge their
sharp spears, with
thongs attached, into the back of one of the huge creatures,
which dashes
down the stream, towing the canoe at a rapid rate. Thus
the animal con^
tinues its course, the hunters holding on to the rope,
till its strength is ex-
hausted when, other canoes coming up, it is speared to
death.
Frequently, however, the hippopotamus turns on its assailants,
bites the
canoe in two, and seizes one of them in its powerful
jaws. When they
can manage to do so, they tow it into shallow water,
and carrying the
line oh shore, secure it to a tree, while they attack
the infuriated animal
with their spears, till, sinking exhausted with its efforts,
it becomes their
prey.
Mr. Oswell. who had arrived too latefor the journey, spent
the remain-
der of the season in hunting elephants, Lierally presenting
Dr. Living-
stone with the proceeds of his sport, for the outfit
of his children.
The third journey was commenced in the spring of 185 1,
when, rejoined
by Mr. Oswell, he set out once more, accompanied by Mrs.
Livingstone
and their children.
First travelling north, and then to the north-east, through
a region
covered with baobab-trees, abounding with springs, and
inhabited by
Bushmen, they entered an arid and difficult country.
Here, the supply
of water became exhausted, great anxiety was felt for
the children, who
suffered greatly from thirst. At length a small stream,
the Mababe, was
reached, running into a marsh, across which they had
to make their way.
During the night they traversed a region infested by
the tsetse, a fly not
much larger than the common house-fly, the bite of which
destroys cattle
and horses.
A Terrible Pest.
It is remarkable that neither man, wild animals, nor even
calves as long
as they continue to suck, suffer from the bite of this
fearful pest. While
some districts are infested by it, others in the immediate
neighborhood
are free, and, as it does not bite at night, the only
way the cattle of travel-
lers can escape is by passing quickly through the infested
district before
the sun is up. Sometimes the natives lose the whole of
their cattle by its
attacks, and travellers frequently have been deprived
of all means of moving
with their wagons, in consequence of the death of their
animals; some,
indeed, have perished 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, Living-
stone and his family, with Mr. Oswell, embarked in a
canoe on the former
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 bring-
ing his wife and children, promised to take them to see
his country, that
they might choose a spot where they might form a missionary
station.
He had been engaged in warfare nearly all his life, under
varying fortunes,
with the neighboring savage tribes, and had at length
established himself
in a secure position behind the Chobe and Leeambye, whose
broad
streams guarded him from the inroads of his enemies.
He had now a
larger number of subjects and was richer in cattle than
any chief in that
part of Africa.
The rivers and swamps, however, of the region produced
fever, which
had proved fatal to many of his people. He had long been
anxious for
intercourse with Europeans, and showed every wish to
encourage those
who now visited him to remain in his territory. Unhappily,
a few days
after the arrival of his guests the chief was attacked
with inflammation
of the lungs, originating in an old wound, and, having
listened to the
gospel message delivered by the doctor, he in a short
time breathed his
last.
Dr. Livingstone says that he was decidedly the best specimen
of a
native chief he had ever met. His followers expressed
the hope that the
English would be as friendly to his children as they
intended to have
been to himself.
The chieftainship devolved at his death on a daughter,
who gave the
visitors leave to travel through any part of the country
they chose. They
accordingly set out, and traversing a level district
covered with wild date-
trees, and here and there large patches of swamp, for
a distance of a
hundred and thirty miles to the north-east, they reached
the banks of the
Zambesi, in the centre of the continent.
From the prevalence of the tsetse, and the periodical
rise of its nu-
merous streams causing malaria. Dr. Livingstone was compelled
to
abandon the intention he had formed of removing his own
people thither
that they might be out of reach of their savage neighbors,
the Dutch
Boers. It was, however, he at once saw, the key of Southern
and Central
Africa.
The magnificent stream, on the bank of which he now stood,
flows
hundreds of miles east tq the Indian Ocean a mighty
artery supplying,
life to the teeming population of that part of Africa.
He therefore deter-
mined to send his wife and children to England, and to
return himself
and spend two or three years in the new region he had
discovered, in the
hope of evangelizing the people.
He accordingly returned to Kolobeng, and then set out
with his family
a journey of a thousand miles, to Cape Town. Having seen
them aboard
a homeward bound ship, he again turned his face northward,
June, 1852.
The Explorer's House Kotobed.
Having reached Kuruman, he was there detained by the breaking
of a
wagon-wheel. During that time the Dutch Boers attacked
his friends,
the Bakwains, carrying off a number of them into slavery,
the only excuse
the white men had being that Sechele was getting too
saucy in reality
because he would not prevent the English traders from
passing through
his territory to the northwa:rd. The Dutch plundered
Livingstone's
house, and carried off the wagons of the chief and that
of a trader who
was stopping in the place. Livingstone therefore found
great difficulty
in obtaining guides and servants to proceed northward.
Poor Sechele
set out for Cape Town, intending as he said, to lay his
complaint before
the Queen of England, but was compelled by want of funds
to return to
his own country, where he devoted himself to the evangelization
of his
people.
Parting with the chief, Livingstone, giving the Boers
a wide berth, pro-
ceeded 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.
He found that the princess had abdicated in favor of
her brother Se-
keletu, who received him with the greatest cordiality.
The young king,
then only nineteen, exclaimed: " I have now got another
father instead
of Sebituane." The people shared this feeling, believing
that by the
residence of a missionary among them they would obtain
some important,
benefits, though of the real character of the blessing
they might receive
they were totally ignorant.
A rival of the young king existed in the person of a cousin,
Mpepe,
who had been appointed by the late king chief over a
portion of
his subjects, but whose ambition made him aim at the
command of the
whole.
Half-caste Portuguese slave-traders had made their way
to Linyanti
and one, who pretended to be an important person, was
carried about in
a hammock slung between two .poles, which looking like
a bag, the
natives called him " the father of the bag." Mpepe favored
these scoun-
drels, as he hoped by their means to succeed in his rebellion.
The
arrival of Livingstone, however, somewhat dampened their
hopes.
Living-stone Saves a Chief from an Assassin.
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 had
been discovered in the year 1851. The doctor had taught
the Makololo
to ride on their oxen, which they had never before done,
though, having
neither saddles or bridles, they constantly fell off.
He and Sekeletu were riding along side by side, when they
encoun-
tered Mpepe, who, as soon as he saw them, ran towards
the chief with
his axe uplifted; but Sekeletu, galloping on, escaped
him. On their
arrival at their camp, while the chief and the doctor
were sitting to-
gether, Mpepe appeared, his men keeping hold of their
arms. At that
moment the rebel entered ; but the doctor, unconsciously
covering
Sekeletu's body, saved him from the assassin's blow.
His cousin's inten-
tion having been revealed to Sekeletu, that night Mpepe
was dragged
off from his fire and speared. So quietly was the deed
done that
Livingstone heard nothing of it till the next morning.
Livingstone was soon after this attacked by fever, when
his hosts
exhibited the interest they felt for him by paying him
every attention in
their power. His own remedies of a wet sheet and quinine
were more
successful than the smoke and vapor baths employed by
the natives.
It is important that the position of Linyanti should be
noted, as from
it Livingstone set out on his journey westward to Loanda,
on the West
Coast, and, returning to it, commenced from thence that
adventurous
expedition to the East Coast, which resulted in so many
interesting
discoveries.
A Picturesque Company.
Having recovered from his fever, Livingstone, accompanied
by Sekeletu,
and about one hundred and sixty attendants, mostly young
men, asso-
ciates of the chief, set out for Sesheke. The intermediate
country was
perfectly flat, except patches elevated a few feet only
above the sur-
rounding level. There were also numerous mounds, the
work of ants,
which are literally gigantic structures, and often as
tall as wild date trees
at their full height.
The party looked exceedingly picturesque as, the ostrich
feathers of the
men waving in the air, they wound in a long line in and
out among the
mounds. Some wore red tunics or variously-colored prints,
and their
heads were adorned with the white ends of ox tails or
caps made of lions'
manes. The nobles walked with a small club of rhinoceros
horn in their
hands, their servants carrying their shields; while the
ordinary men bore
burdens, and the battle-axe men, who had their shields
on their arms,
were employed as messengers, often having to run an immense
distance.
The Makololo possess numerous cattle, and the chief, having
to feed
his followers, either selected oxen from his own stock
or received them
from the head men of the villages through which they
passed, as tribute.
Reaching the village of Katonga on the banks of the Leeambye,
some
time was spent there in collecting canoes. During this
delay Living-
stone visited the country to the north of the village,
where he saw enor-
mous numbers of buffaloes, zebras, elans, and a beautiful
small antelope.
He was enabled, by this hunting expedition, to supply
his companions
with an abundance of food.
At length, a sufficient number of canoes being collected,
they com-
menced the ascent of the river. His own canoe had six
paddles, while
that of the chief had ten. They paddled standing upright,
and kept
stroke with great exactness. Being flat-bottomed, they
can float in very
shallow water. The fleet consisted altogether of thirty-three
canoes and
one hundred and sixty men.
"Man Overboard!"
Most of the Makololo are unable to swim, and a canoe being
upset,
one of the party, an old doctor, was lost, while the
Barotse canoe-men
easily save themselves by swimming.
Numerous villages were seen on both banks of the river,
the inhabitants
of which are expert hunter of the hippopotamus, and are
excellent handi-
craftmen. They manufacture wooden bowls with neat lids,
and show
much taste in carving stools. Some make neat baskets,
and others excel in
pottery and iron. On their arrival at the town of the
father of Mpepe,
who had instigated his son to rebellion, two of his chief
councilors were
led forth and tossed into the river.
Naliele, the capital of the Barotse, the tribe inhabiting
the district in
which they now were, is built on an artificially-constructed
mound, as are
many other villages of that region, to raise them above
the overflowing
river. From finding no trace of European names amongthem,
Livingstone
was convinced that the country had not before been visited
by white men ;
whereas, after he had come among them, great numbers
of children were
named after his own boy, while others were called Horse,
Gun, Wagon, etc.
Roaring Lions.
Here again numbers of large game were seen. Eighty-one
buffaloes
defiled in slow procession before the fire of the travellers
one evening
within gunshot, and herds of splendid elans stood at
two hundred yards'
distance, without showing signs of fear. Lions, too,
approached and
roared at them. One . night, as they were sleeping on
the summit of a
large sandbank, a lion appeared on the opposite shore,
who amused him-
self for hours by roaring as loudly as he could. The
river was too broad
for a ball to reach him, and he walked off without suffering
for his imper-
tinence. Livingstone saw two as tall as common donkeys,
their manes
making their bodies appear of still greater size.
Lions are in the habit of preying upon cattle, and the
natives have to
contrive all manner of ways for protecting their herds.
These formida-
ble beasts have been known to carry off young cattle
as large as
themselves.
On their journey they visited the town of Ma-Sekeletu,
or the Mother
of Sekeletu, where, as it was the first visit the king
had paid to this part of
his dominions, he was received with every appearance
of joy. A grand
dance was got up, the men moving in a circle, with spears
and small
battle-axes in their ha,nds, roaring at the loudest pitch
of their voices.
The arms and head were thrown about in every direction,
the roaring
being kept up with the utmost vigor, while the dust ascended
in clouds
around them.
Wild Men of the Jungle.
Returning down the stream at a rapid rate, they quickly
reached
Linyanti. During this nine weeks' tour. Dr. Livingstone
had been in.
closer contact with heathenism than ever before, and
though, including
the chief, everyone had been as attentive as possible,
yet the dancing,
roaring, singing, jesting, quarreling, added to the murdering
propensities
of these children of nature was painful in the extreme.
The chief and his followers, agreeing that the object
of Livingstone's
proposed expedition to the west was most desirable, took
great pains to
assist him in the undertaking. A band of twenty-seven
men was ap-
pointed to accompany him by the chief's command, whose
eager desire
was to obtain a free and profitable trade with the white
men, and this,
Livingstone was convinced, was likely to lead to their
ultimate elevation
and improvement. Three men whom -he had brought from
Kuruman
having suffered greatly from fever, he sent them back
with Fleming, a
trader, who had followed his footsteps. His new attendants
he named
Zambesians, for there were only two Makololo men the
rest consisting
of Barotse, Batoka, and other tribes. His wagon and remaining
goods
he committed to the charge of the Makololo, who took
all the articles-
into their huts. He carried only a rifle and a double-barrelled
smooth-
bore gun for himself, and gave three muskets to his people,
by means of
which he hoped game might be obtained for their support.
Wishing also to save his followers from having to carry
heavy loads,
he took for his own support but a few biscuits and a
pound of tea and
sugar, about twenty of coffee, a small tin canister with
some spare shirting,
trousers, and shoes, another for medicines, and a third
for books, while a
fourth contained a magic lantern. His ammunition was
distributed in
portions among the whole luggage, that, should an accident
occur to one,
the rest might be preserved. His camp equipage consisted
of a gipsy
tent, a sheep-skin mantle, and a horse-rug as a bed,
as he had always
found that the chief art of successful travelling consisted
in taking as few
impediments as possible. His sextant, artificial horizon,
thermometer,
and compasses were carried apart.
Carry as little as he would, Livingstone found that he
was compelled
to take more baggage than could be conveniently transported
through
African forests and jungles. Some people in civilized
countries when
they travel appear to take everything they need and everything
they do
not need ; it cannot be said of our great explorer, however,
that he took
anything which was not needed. His box of medicines was,
of course,
a constant companion ; we shall see farther on that this
box was lost or
stolen and that the expedition was left entirely without
medical remedies.
Often large parts of the baggage would have to be exchanged
with the
natives for food, or paid out as tribute to unfriendly
chiefs. This was
one of the unpleasant experiences and severe hardships
which the great
traveller encountered.
It will be seen through all these journeys that Livingstone
was per-
fectly willing to share the fate of his men. He asked
nothing for him-
self better than he was willing to grant for them. If
they slept on the
hard ground, he was willing to sleep there too ; if they
waded rivers, he
was willing to go in as deep as they went; if they had
unwholesome
food, and little of it, he was ready to divide with them
his last crust.
By his own self-sacrificing and generous spirit he attached
himself
strongly to his followers. This was one great secret
of his magnificent
achievements in the Dark Continent
CHAPTER 6
Continued
at ERBzine 6099_06
