The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-01-11 00:00:00

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S EXPEDITION.

The following letters have just been received by a
gentleman in Glasgow, from Dr. Livingatone :
" Steam Launch Ma Robert, River Zambesi,
"June 23, ISM.

" My dear liirt—Ry the departure of the oiolonial ves-
sel Pearl I sin enabled to communicate with my friends at
home by the overland Indian route, snot I have much
pleasure in informing you that we have been very clearly
favoured with we:ether ever since we left I,:verpool. I
feel thankful for the isierey which has watched over us,
fur, with the weight on our deck, a gale would have
wrought a (earful strainadi. I was to part will,
hivingootone wet tats...ii at one t'sis., but we there
met Mr. end Mrs. Motiat, hoses Ku 11111 l ail arid she will
go with them thither, and afterwards j me by the
"tell aid way hey I that. This we felt toe he a trial,
but now wee it was for the best, for the Portuguese and
natives are at War. and ea t pass up the riser. You
are aware that I did not see the lower tuition of the
Zambesi, but left it at Masora, a place Al melee from
its mouth. This lower part haul to be all explored, and
that took up about a th, from the number of mouths
it possesse... We found • very good bar and harbour at
the river or branch by which we entered. It is called
Kongo ~,,, and lime ten mouths, if I may so call them,
stickling water by diem out uf the main stream. One
of these is a natural canal, five miles long, through
, which we entered the Zambesi. I hir ship, the Pearl.
was a screw, and would nut back readily, and was quite
too deep fur exploring. We were, mover, ham-
! tiered by very atringent orders not to rim any risk of
det g her ill the river, but rather land our wads on
an island, antl send her off. This we have done, though
with a liaddleliteanier of five or six feet draught we
could leave gone to Tete. We are below Majors, and
I next week will go to Tete, where toy men are waiting
! for me. It is said that many of them have died with
smallpox, a di,ea.e unknown en their own c try, limit
the rest have purchased pigs, goats, moil poultry with
timir earnings, and refuse either to slaughter or sell
them till I
:lobed, and encountered the enemy, *insisting of 200
well!arieueil natives (with Tower muskets.) We al,.
proacheol them slowly, and when within bail, I called
out that we were English. moil pointed to the English
ensi!,:n. They gave a shout of joys and we moon saw
them running down with bananas for sale. We mean to
keep free of the quarrel on both the native and Purtu-
guise tiles, anti get away beyond them as NOM aspos.
Abe. My brother found very good cotton in the delta.
lout all complain that wars ! their cultivation. Of
the river I can now speak with confidence, as I had the
company of three naval officers. It is generally froon
1.000 to 2.000 yards wide, but *hen it has islands it
spreads out to two and a half or three miles. These are
! the worst pada, in the narrower parts we have from
three to seven fathoms. In these broad parts a chan-
nel of two or two and a half fatin,mi.a can be found only
by *cambia's. One of my friends remarked it was more
like an imbued sea than a river. I shall adhere to the
opinion I have all along expremsed, tient a vessel draw-
I Mg Ervin four to six feet water could rem upon it
' during KeVell or eight this of the year with ease.
We all enjoy good health, no ease of fever having Sp-
peared annu.ng us, and we have been ill the delta five
weeks. But this I knew beforehand to be the healthy
season, or winter, and lielect4.4l health in preference to a
full river. " I am, k.c.,
" DAVID LIVINtiSTONE."

" Tete, Sept. 14, HIM.
" My dear 81r,-1 wrote to you a long letter oy the
Pearl, but, unfortunately, by some mistake it was
unnent, no I have now to tell you that we spent some
time getting a pioper entrance into the Zambesi, as the :
main entrance seined unsafe. We entered by a side !
branch, Sad having been about a month exploring the i
delta, and the river falling fent, it was resolved to land
all our goods on an inland, and carry them up by 'moven-
sire trips in our email steam launch. This we have
been doing as fast as we could. This you are aware of
probably ere this, and posaihly also of the very favour.
able opinion respecting the value of this river exprenaeil
by the two naval officers who accompanied Inc. I see
it now several feet lower than they did, and as it is spread
out in many place* below Lopata to from one to three
miles in width, you may be sure we have difficulties in
Ending the deep channel. Formerly I believed, from
wlint the Portuguese told me, that this river was navi•
gable tinning only six or eight tin in the year. I
now believe that it could be navigaksl with one of the
30-inch steamer,' ten months, if nut the whole year.
When we got to Lopata, where the river is DO longer
divided into many chsimels, our difficulties in naviga-
tion ended. Here the gentlemen at once yielded to my
suggestion, and dug out a ton and a hall' of coals, the
very Rrat ever taken out of the earth in this country.
Mr. Rao, a Glarguwegian, pronounces them to be good,
and promising better, as they are got from the surface in
the bank of the Muatexe, where they have been ex-
polled to the action of foods and atilionpliere for ages.
There is an lumen,* *oilfield here, and many of the
seams crop out. Witlicual, and thebent iron ore in abund-
ant*, surely Africa will not always be the trodden-down
nation it has been. Our venal was the Rent that ever
ateamed at Tete, and we were visited an if we bad been
another Leviathan. The country wit,' in a state of war.
and no Portuguese durat pan., but we did, our passport
being the English name. This in against our prospects',
for everything stands still or goes back when war rages.
We had gone from the Portuguese to the native aide,
from time to time, unmolested, being equally friendly
to both parties. Many of the officers wished to accept
nay mediation, and the rebel* all did, but the Governor
would not give in. A decisive blow is to be struck
noon, but the rebels being mostly runaway slaves, they
will hold out. Two who acted as pilots on board once
wanted ine to buy them, to get out of the scrape. It is
sad to see so fine a country in this state. We meet some
very fine cotton growing wild wherever it has once been
WWII. It is long in the nraple, and has been introduced
an its name imports. The other has • short strong
staple which clings to the seed, and is more like wool
in the hand than cotton. We have also more lignum
vitnie than ebony, but I must leave all these things to
be reported on by my companions. My men were still
at Tete. though 30 of them had died of swell-pox and
six had been killed by a neighbouring chief. The poor
fellows received me with great joy, and no IVY glad was
Ito see them. All the party in now well. We have
had intern. but no coast fever. I think, as both we and
the Pearl escaped, it wan greatly owing to pushing with
all our viper away from the mangrove swamps at the
mouth of the river. These are the hot beds of fever.
am, ke.,
" DAVLD LIVINGSTONE."