Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1854-11-06
Africn-A RemnrlabIe Explorer.


AN officer of H. M. S. Pluto, writes under
date Fernando, July 25:
" We have had most exciting cruise at
ter leaving this place, and communicating
with the senior officer at Loanda, we were
sent up the river Congo to settle dispute be-
tween the master of an English merchant
brig and some Portuguese. After this was
arranged we returned to Loanda for our let
tiers but the Polyphemus not arriving in
time, the ship sailed again for the Congo, and
l was left behind in one Of our gigs, with four
kroomen, for the mail. During our stay 1
met, at the house of one OF the Commission
ers, one of the most extraordinary men have
ever seen, DR.. Livingston; he has just arrived
from the Cape, overland, most arduous I'M
dertaking, and one never accomplished be.
fore, though often attempted. His plan of
proceeding differed materially from any of his
predecessors instead of setting out with half
a hundred attendants, horses, bullocks, &C.,
he commenced his journey, carrying with him
only a sextant, gun, chronometer, tent, four
servants, and as many days provisions, rely
ing on Providence and his gun for a supply
when these were gone. After leaving the
Cape Colony he had to travel a long way to
the northeast to avoid the deserts and hostile
tribes in their vicinity, that lay on his left;
crossing in this route a great many branches
OF the river Zambegi, and others, the names
of which l have forgotten, till he arrived at
large town; there, as the chief was very hos
pitable, he remained short time to recruit
his health, having been nearly drowned aud
starved half dozen times during the nine
months it took him to perform this part of the
Journey and his arm badly broken in two
places by lion. Itappeared he had wander
ed one evening from his attendants, after they
had pitched their tent, in quest of game, when
he came suddenly on large lion crouching
down ready Tor spring at him; without
waiting second he fired, and must have been
knocked down at the same moment and
stunned, as he remembers nothing from the
time he fred till he was found by his servants
next morning. When they came up they
found the doctor insensible, and the lion ly-
ing dead alongside of him. When he left,
the chief, who was very DESTROYS of finding a
route to the westward for the transmission of
his ivory gave him twenty.four of his people
to assist him on his journey. After leaving,
he again travelled to the notheast, until he ar
rived in the parallel of Ioanda. Now came
the tug of war. He had upward of a thous-
and miles to travel, across the unexplored
countries of our charts, a tract never hitherto
trodden by any white man, and wholly I'M
known to the blacks he had seen as yet.
However, this part of their journey proved
to be the easiest, and it was not till he
arrived near Cassanga, on the Portuguese
frontier, that he met with any molestation.
The country he found to be thickly populated,
and the inhabitants very peaceably disposed.
From their never having seen a white man be-
fore, you may fancy what an object of curiosi-
ty he became to them wherever he stopped.
the people from far and near focked round
him, with the utmost astonishment pictured on
their countenances. As the doctor was very
much sunburnt, his color did not SO much
surprise them as his hair which was very
long this was the great object of attraction
wherever he went and highly favored did
those fancy themselves who became the pos
SCISSORS of a lock of it. Every tribe he met
with had some idea of one supreme Being
and future existence, though they all wor-
ship in addition various animals that they hold
sacred. At every place he stopped, they sup
piled him literally with provisions, and it was
not, as l mentioned before, till he arrived near
the Portuguese territories, that he met with
any trouble. There the Inhabitants have been
in the habit of kidnapping the people further
inland to sell to the Portuguese for slaves, and
fearing, should road be opened that way, it
would spoil their traffic, they became very
troublesome, and wanted the doctor to pay
toll nearly every step he took however, by
putting ON bold front, he managed to make
his way through, and arrived at Loanda safe
ly in the beginning of June, making it exact
ly two years since he left the Cape. The doc
tor is very much emaciated from the hardships
he has undergone, and has not recovered the
use of his arm perfectly yet but as soon as
he is well he is determined to return, trying
this time to find shorter road than the one
he came by. We had the whole Of his attend
ants on board, and showed them over the ship.
Having never seen salt water before, or any
thing afoat larger than canoe. they were very
much surprised and delighted, though they
told the doctor they would never be able to
get any of their people to believe them on
their return, so perfectly astonishing did
everything appear to them"