No, No!" Was The
Reply, "If You Sit In The Shade, So Will We." They Then Rattled
Their Shields With Their Clubs, A Proceeding Which Usually Inspires
Terror; But Moloka Remarked, "It Is Not The First Time We Have Heard
Shields Rattled." And All Sat Down Together.
They asked for a
present, to show their chief that they had actually met strangers -
something as evidence of having seen men who were not Arabs.
And
they were requested in turn to take these strangers to the boat, or
to their chief. All the goods were in the boat, and to show that no
present such as they wanted was in his pockets, Dr. Livingstone
emptied them, turning out, among other things, a note-book: thinking
it was a pistol they started up, and said, "Put that in again." The
younger men then became boisterous, and demanded a goat. That could
not be spared, as they were the sole provisions. When they insisted,
they were asked how many of the party they had killed, that they thus
began to divide the spoil; this evidently made them ashamed. The
elders were more reasonable; they dreaded treachery, and were as much
afraid of Dr. Livingstone and his party as his men were of them; for
on leaving they sped away up the hills like frightened deer. One of
them, and probably the leader, was married, as seen by portions of
his hair sewn into a ring; all were observed by their teeth to be
people of the country, who had been incorporated into the Zulu tribe.
The way still led over a succession of steep ridges with ravines of
from 500 to 1000 feet in depth; some of the sides had to be scaled on
hands and knees, and no sooner was the top reached than the descent
began again. Each ravine had a running stream; and the whole
country, though so very rugged, had all been cultivated, and densely
peopled. Many banana-trees, uncared for patches of corn, and Congo-
bean bushes attested former cultivation. The population had all been
swept away; ruined villages, broken utensils, and human skeletons,
met with at every turn, told a sad tale. So numerous were the slain,
that it was thought the inhabitants had been slaughtered in
consequence of having made raids on the Zulus for cattle.
Continuing the journey that night as long as light served, they slept
unconsciously on the edge of a deep precipice, without fire, lest the
Mazitu should see it. Next morning most of the men were tired out,
the dread of the apparition of the day before tending probably to
increase the lameness of which they complained. When told, however,
that all might return to Mankambira's save two, Moloka and Charlie,
they would not, till assured that the act would not be considered one
of cowardice. Giving them one of the goats as provision, another was
slaughtered for the remainder of the party who, having found on the
rocks a canoe which had belonged to one of the deserted villages,
determined to put to sea again; but the craft was very small, and the
remaining goat, spite of many a threat of having its throat cut,
jumped and rolled about so, as nearly to capsize it; so Dr.
Livingstone took to the shore again, and after another night spent
without fire, except just for cooking, was delighted to see the boat
coming back.
We pulled that day to Mankambira's, a distance that on shore, with
the most heartbreaking toil, had taken three days to travel. This
was the last latitude taken, 11 degrees 44 minutes S. The boat had
gone about 24 minutes further to the north, the land party probably
half that distance, but fever prevented the instruments being used.
Dr. Kirk and Charles Livingstone were therefore furthest up the lake,
and they saw about 20 minutes beyond their turning-point, say into
the tenth degree of south latitude. From the heights of at least a
thousand feet, over which the land party toiled, the dark mountain
masses on both sides of the lake were seen closing in. At this
elevation the view extended at least as far as that from the boats,
and it is believed the end of the lake lies on the southern borders
of 10 degrees, or the northern limits of 11 degrees south latitude.
Elephants are numerous on the borders of the lake, and surprisingly
tame, being often found close to the villages. Hippopotami swarm
very much at their ease in the creeks and lagoons, and herds are
sometimes seen in the lake itself. Their tameness arises from the
fact that poisoned arrows have no effect on either elephant or
hippopotamus. Five of each were shot for food during our journey.
Two of the elephants were females, and had only a single tusk apiece,
and were each killed by the first shot. It is always a case of
famine or satiety when depending on the rifle for food - a glut of
meat or none at all. Most frequently it is scanty fare, except when
game is abundant, as it is far up the Zambesi. We had one morning
two hippopotami and an elephant, perhaps in all some eight tons of
meat, and two days after the last of a few sardines only for dinner.
One morning when sailing past a pretty thickly-inhabited part, we
were surprised at seeing nine large bull-elephants standing near the
beach quietly flapping their gigantic ears. Glad of an opportunity
of getting some fresh meat, we landed and fired into one. They all
retreated into a marshy piece of ground between two villages. Our
men gave chase, and fired into the herd. Standing on a sand hummock,
we could see the bleeding animals throwing showers of water with
their trunks over their backs. The herd was soon driven back upon
us, and a wounded one turned to bay. Yet neither this one, nor any
of the others, ever attempted to charge.
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