# The Personal Life of David Livingstone/CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIII.
GOING HOME WITH THE MAKOLOLO.
A.D. 1860.
Down to Kongone--State of the ship--Further delay--Letter to Secretary of Universities Mission--Letter to Mr. Braithwaite--At Tette--Miss Whately's sugar-mill--With his brother and Kirk at Kebrabasa--Mode of traveling--Reappearence of old friends--African warfare and its effects--Desolation--A European colony desirable--Escape from rhinoceros--Rumors of Moffat--The Portuguese local Governors oppose Livingstone--He becomes unpopular with them--Letter to Mr. Young--Wants of the country--The Makololo--Approach home--Some are disappointed--News of the death of the London missionaries, the Helmores and others--Letter to Dr. Moffat--The Victoria Falls re-examined--Sekelétu ill of leprosy--Treatment and recovery--His disappointment at not seeing Mrs. Livingstone--Efforts for the spiritual good of the Makololo--Careful observations in Natural History--The last of the "Ma-Robert"--Cheering prospect of the Universities Mission--Letter to Mr. Moore--to Mr. Young--He wishes another ship--Letter to Sir Roderick Murchison on the rumored journey of Silva Porto.
It was necessary to go down to Kongone for the repair of the ship. Livingstone was greatly disappointed with it, and thought the greed of the vendor had supplied him with a very inferior article for the price of a good one. He thus pours forth his vexation in writing to a friend: "Very grievous it is to be standing here tinkering when we might be doing good service to the cause of African civilization, and that on account of insatiable greediness. Burton may thank L. and B. that we are not at the other lakes before him. The loss of time greediness has inflicted on us has been frightful. My plan in this Expedition was excellent, but it did not include provisions against hypocrisy and fraud, which have sorely crippled us, and, indeed, ruined us, as a scientific Expedition."
Another delay was caused before they went inward, from their having to wait for a season suitable for hunting, as the party had to be kept in food. The mail from England had been lost, and they had the bitter disappointment of losing a year's correspondence from home. The following portions of a letter to the Secretary of the Committee for a Universities Mission gives a view of the situation at this time:
A few more general topics are touched on in a letter to Mr. Braithwaite:
At Tette one of his occupations was to fit up a sugar-mill, the gift of Miss Whately, of Dublin, and some friends. To that lady he writes a long letter of nineteen pages. He tells her he had just put up her beautiful sugar-mill, to show the natives what could be done by machinery. Then he adverts to the wonderful freedom from sickness that his party had enjoyed in the delta of the Zambesi, and proceeds to give an account of the Shiré Valley and its people. He finds ground for a favorable contrast between the Shiré natives and the Tette Portuguese:
From Tette he writes to Sir Roderick Murchison, 7th February, 1860, urging his plan for a steamer on Lake Nyassa: "If Government furnishes the means, all right; if not, I shall spend my book-money on it. I don't need to touch the children's fund, and mine could not be better spent. People who are born rich sometimes become miserable from a fear of becoming poor; but I have the advantage, you see, in not being afraid to die poor. If I live, I must succeed in what I have undertaken; death alone will put a stop to my efforts."
A month after he writes to the same friend, from Kongone, 10th March, 1860, that he is sending Rae home for a vessel:
In his communications with the Government at home, Livingstone never failed to urge the importance of their securing the free navigation of the Zambesi. The Portuguese on the river were now beginning to get an inkling of his drift, and to feel indignant at any countenance he was receiving from their own Government.
Passing up the Zambesi with Charles Livingstone, Dr. Kirk, and such of the Makololo as were willing to go home, Dr. Livingstone took a new look at Kebrabasa, from a different point, still believing that in flood it would allow a steamer to pass. Of his mode of traveling we have some pleasant glimpses. He always tried to make progress more a pleasure than a toil, and found that kindly consideration for the feelings even of blacks, the pleasure of observing scenery and everything new, as one moves on at an ordinary pace, and the participation in the most delightful rest with his fellows, made traveling delightful. He was gratified to find that he was as able for the fatigue as the natives. Even the headman, who carried little more than he did himself, and never, like him, hunted in the afternoon, was not equal to him. The hunting was no small addition to the toil; the tired hunter was often tempted to give it up, after bringing what would have been only sufficient for the three whites, and leave the rest, thus sending "the idle, ungrateful poor" supperless to bed. But this was not his way. The blacks were thought of in hunting as well as the whites. "It is only by continuance in well-doing," he says, "even to the length of what the worldly-wise call weakness, that the conviction is produced anywhere, that our motives are high enough to secure sincere respect."
As they proceeded, some of his old acquaintances reappeared, notably Mpende, who had given him such a threatening reception, but had now learned that he belonged to a tribe "that loved the black man and did not make slaves." A chief named Pangola appeared, at first tipsy and talkative, demanding a rifle, and next morning, just as they were beginning divine service, reappeared sober to press his request. Among the Baenda-Pezi, or Go-Nakeds, whose only clothing is a coat of red ochre, a noble specimen of the race appeared in full dress, consisting of a long tobacco-pipe, and brought a handsome present.
The country bore the usual traces of the results of African warfare. At times a clever chief stands up, who brings large tracts under his dominion; at his death his empire dissolves, and a fresh series of desolating wars ensues. In one region which was once studded with villages, they walked a whole week without meeting any one. A European colony, he was sure, would be invaluable for constraining the tribes to live in peace. "Thousands of industrious natives would gladly settle round it, and engage in that peaceful pursuit of agriculture and trade of which they are so fond, and, undistracted by wars and rumors of wars, might listen to the purifying and ennobling truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ." At Zumbo, the most picturesque site in the country, they saw the ruins of Jesuit missions, reminding them that there men once met to utter the magnificent words, "Thou art the King of Glory, O Christ!" but without leaving one permanent trace of their labors in the belief and worship of the people.
Wherever they go, Dr. Livingstone has his eye on the trees and plants and fruits of the region, with a view to commerce; while he is no less interested to watch the treatment of fever, when cases occur, and greatly gratified that Dr. Kirk, who had been trying a variety of medicines on himself, made rapid recovery when he took Dr. Livingstone's pills. He used to say if he had followed Morison, and set up as pill-maker, he might have made his fortune. Passing through the Bazizulu he had an escape from a rhinoceros, as remarkable though not quite as romantic as his escape from the lion; the animal came dashing at him, and suddenly, for some unknown reason, stopped when close to him, and gave him time to escape, as if it had been struck by his color, and doubtful if hunting a white man would be good sport.
At a month's distance from Mosilikatse, they heard a report that the missionaries had been there, that they had told the chief that it was wrong to kill men, and that the chief had said he was born to kill people, but would drop the practice--an interesting testimony to the power of Mr. Moffat's words. Everywhere the Makololo proclaimed that they were the friends of peace, and their course was like a triumphal procession, the people of the villages loading them with presents.
But a new revelation came to Dr. Livingstone. Though the Portuguese Government had given public orders that he was to be aided in every possible way, it was evident that private instructions had come, which, unintentionally perhaps, certainly produced the opposite effects. The Portuguese who were engaged in the slave-trade were far too much devoted to it ever to encourage an enterprise that aimed at extirpating it. Indeed, it became painfully apparent to Dr. Livingstone that the effect of his opening up the Zambesi had been to afford the Portuguese traders new facilities for conducting their unhallowed traffic; and had it not been for his promise to bring back the Makololo, he would now have abandoned the Zambesi and tried the Rovuma, as a way of reaching Nyassa. His future endeavors in connection with the Rovuma receive their explanation from this unwelcome discovery. The significance of the discovery in other respects cannot fail to be seen. Hitherto Livingstone had been on friendly terms with the Portuguese Government; he could be so no longer. The remarkable kindness he had so often received from Portuguese officers and traders made it a most painful trial to break with the authorities. But there was no alternative. Livingstone's courage was equal to the occasion, though he could not but see that his new attitude to the Portuguese must give an altered aspect to his Expedition, and create difficulties that might bring it to an end.
A letter to Mr. James Young, dated 22d July, near Kalosi, gives a free and familiar account of "what he was about":
When the party reached the outskirts of Sekelétu's territory the news they heard was not encouraging. Some of the men heard that in their absence some of their wives had been variously disposed of. One had been killed for witchcraft, another had married again, while Masakasa was told that two years ago a kind of wild Irish wake had been celebrated in honor of his memory; the news made him resolve, when he presented himself among them, to declare himself an inhabitant from another world! One poor fellow's wail of anguish for his wife was most distressing to hear.
But far more tragical was the news of the missionaries who had gone from the London Missionary Society to Linyanti, to labor among Sekelétu's people. Mr. and Mrs. Helmore and several of his party had succumbed to fever, and the survivors had retired. Dr. Livingstone was greatly distressed, and not a little hurt, because he had not heard a word about the mission, nor been asked advice about any of the arrangements. If only the Helmores and their comrades had followed the treatment practiced by him so often, and in this very valley at this time by his brother Charles, they would probably have recovered. All spoke kindly of Mr. Helmore, who had quite won the hearts of the people. Knowing their language, he had at once begun to preach, and some of the young men at Seshéke were singing the hymns he had taught them. Rumors had gone abroad that some of the missionaries had been poisoned. In some quarters blame was cast on Livingstone for having misled the Society as to the character of Sekelétu and his disposition toward missionaries; but Livingstone satisfied himself that, though the missionaries had been neglected no foul play had taken place; fever alone had caused the deaths, and want of skill in managing the people had brought the remainder of the troubles. One piece of good news which he heard at Linyanti was that his old friend Sechéle was doing well. He had a Hanoverian missionary, nine tribes were under him, and the schools were numerously attended.
Writing to Dr. Moffat, 10th August, 1860, from Zambesi Falls, he says:
Again the grand Victoria Falls are reached, and Charles Livingstone, who has seen Niagara, gives the preference to Mosi-oa-tunya. By the route which they took, they would have passed the Falls at twenty miles' distance, but Dr. Livingstone could not resist the temptation to show them to his companions. All his former computations as to their size were found to be considerably within the mark; instead of a thousand yards broad they were more than eighteen hundred, and whereas he had said that the height of fall was about 100 feet, it turned out to be 310. His habit of keeping within the mark in all his statements of remarkable things was thus exemplified.
On coming among his old friends the Makololo, he found them in low spirits owing to protracted drought, and Sekelétu was ill of leprosy. He was in the hands of a native doctress, who was persuaded to suspend her treatment, and the lunar caustic applied by Drs. Livingstone and Kirk had excellent effects[60]. On going to Linyanti, Dr. Livingstone found the wagon and other articles which he had left there in 1853, safe and sound, except from the effects of weather and the white ants. The expressions of kindness and confidence toward him on the part of the natives greatly touched him. The people were much disappointed at not seeing Mrs. Livingstone and the children. But this confidence was the result of his way of dealing with them. "It ought never to be forgotten that influence among the heathen can be acquired only by patient continuance in well-doing, and that good manners are as necessary among barbarians as among the civilized." The Makololo were the most interesting tribe that Dr. Livingstone had ever seen. While now with them he was unwearied in his efforts for their spiritual good. In his Journal we find these entries:
[Footnote 60: In 1864, while residing at Newstead Abbey, and writing his book, _The Zambesi and its Tributaries_, Dr. Livingstone heard of the death of Sekelétu.]
The last subject on which he preached before leaving them on this occasion was the great resurrection. They told him they could not believe a reunion of the particles of the body possible. Dr. Livingstone gave them in reply a chemical illustration, and then referred to the authority of the Book that taught them the doctrine. And the poor people were more willing to give in to the authority of the Book than to the chemical illustration!
In _The Zambesi and its Tributaries_ this journey to the Makololo country and back occupies one-third of the volume, though it did not lead to any very special results. But it enabled Dr. Livingstone to make great additions to his knowledge both of the people and the country. His observations are recorded with the utmost care, for though he might not be able to turn them to immediate use, it was likely, and even certain, that they would be useful some day. Indeed, the spirit of faith is apparent in the whole narrative, as if he could not pass over even the most insignificant details. The fish in the rivers, the wild animals in the woods, the fissures in the rocks, the course of the streams, the composition of the minerals and gravels, and a thousand other phenomena, are carefully observed and chronicled. The crowned cranes beginning to pair, the flocks of spurwinged geese, the habits of the ostrich, the nests of bee-eaters, pass under review in rapid succession. His sphere of observation ranges from the structure of the great continent itself to the serrated bone of the konokono, or the mandible of the ant.
Leaving Seshéke on the 17th September, they reached Tette on the 23d November, 1860, whence they started for Kongone with the unfortunate "Ma-Robert." But the days of that asthmatic old lady were numbered. On the 21st December she grounded on a sand-bank, and could not get off. A few days before this catastrophe Livingstone writes to Mr. Young:
The correspondence of this year indicates a growing delight at the prospect of the Universities Mission. It was this, indeed, mainly that kept up his spirits under the depression caused by the failure of the "Ma-Robert," and other mishaps of the Expedition, the endless delays and worries that had resulted from that cause, and the manner in which both the Portuguese and the French were counter-working him by encouraging the slave-trade. While professedly encouraging emigration, the French were really extending slavery.
Here is his lively account of himself to his friend Mr. Moore:
In a letter to Mr. James Young, Dr. Livingstone gives good reasons for not wishing to push the colonization scheme at present, as he had recommended to the Universities Mission to add a similar enterprise to their undertaking:
In the Royal Geographical Society this year (1860), certain communications were read which tended to call in question Livingstone's right to some of the discoveries he had claimed as his own. Mr. Macqueen, through whom these communications came, must have had peculiar notions of discovery, for some time before, there had appeared in the Cape papers a statement of his, that Lake 'Ngami of 1859 was no new discovery, as Dr. Livingstone had visited it seven years before; and Livingstone had to write to the papers in favor of the claims of Murray, Oswell, and Livingstone, against himself! It had been asserted to the Society by Mr. Macqueen, that Silva Porto, a Portuguese trader, had shown him a journal describing a journey of his from Benguela on the west to Ibo and Mozambique on the east, beginning November 26, 1852, and terminating August, 1854. Of that journal Mr. Macqueen read a copious abstract to the Society (June 27, 1859), which is published in the Journal for 1860.
In a letter to Sir Roderick Murchison (20th February, 1861), Livingstone, while exonerating Mr. Macqueen of all intention of misleading, gives his reasons for doubting whether the journey to the East Coast ever took place. He had met Porto at Linyanti in 1853, and subsequently at Naliele, the Barotse capital, and had been told by him that he had tried to go eastward, but had been obliged to turn, and was then going westward, and wished him to accompany him, which he declined, as he was a slave-trader; he had read his journal as it appeared in the Loanda "Boletim," but there was not a word in it of a journey to the East Coast; when the Portuguese minister had wished to find a rival to Dr. Livingstone, he had brought forward, not Porto, as he would naturally have done if this had been a genuine journey, but two black men who came to Tette in 1815; in the Boletim of Mozambique there was no word of the arrival of Porto there; in short, the part of the journal founded on could not have been authentic. Livingstone felt keenly on the subject of these rumors, not on his own account, but on account of the Geographical Society and of Sir Roderick who had introduced him to it; for nothing could have given him more pain than that either of these should have had any slur thrown on them through him, or even been placed for a time in an uncomfortable position.