The Placer herald., 1857-03-14
From the New York Tribune.
DR.. Livingstone's Discoveries.

That mysterious quarter of the globe, last in
civilization-tor in the geography of human
advancement, as we'll as in physical geogra-
| ply, Egypt has always been a part of Asia
fortified against foreigners by its compact
form, its fatal teve4s, the fabulous savagery
of its inhabitants, and more than all, the
uncertain terror which is everywhere pro-
jected like shadow from the raknown has
within few years past, lost great part of
its Known Nothing character. The sources
of the Nile have been almost reached. The
countries to the south of Sahara have been
crossed and re-crossed by white men, Steam
has vexed thousand miles of the waters of
the Niger, and Iri5anes have been regularly
sent to within three or four hundred miles
of the geographical centre of the country
North Of the Cape Of Good Hope, Lake
Ngami has recently added something to our
knowledge, and its discoverer, DR.. Living
stone, is now astonishing the lovers of heroic
tails of a walk Of 1000 miles from St. Paul
de Loando on the Atlantic, to Quiimane on
the Indian Ocean.
Dr. Livingstone is nearly forty years of
age His face is furrowed by hardships and
thirty fevers, and black with exposure to a
burning sun. His left arm is crushed and
nearly helpless from the too cordial embrace
Of an African lion, and sixteen years among
savages have given him an African accent
and great hesitancy in speaking English.-
Passing through all privations with the heart
of a true hero, not as sacrifices but as vic
tories, he reached st. Paul de Loando, in
May, 1854, after a foot journey of a thousand
miles from his mission among the Bechuanas.
lie remained at st. Loando until the close of
the year, when he set out for the unknown
East. In March he arrived at Quillimane,
where he was taken up by British man-of-
war. On the way he traced the Leeambye
down to the Zambeze thus denominatng the
existence in the centre of this unknown land
of river some two thousand miles long.
This immense stream, whose discovery il
the great fruit of the journey, is in itself an
enigma without parallel. But small por
ton of It's waters reach the sea-coast Like
the Abyssinian Nile, it falls through a basaltic
cleft, near the middle of its course, which
reduces its breadth from 900 to 20 yards.
Above these falls it spreads out periodically
nto great sea, filing hundreds of lateral
channels; below it is tranquil stream of
totally different character. Its mouths seem
to be closing. The southemmost was navi-
gable when the Portuguese first arrived in
that country, 800 years ago, but it has long
since ceased to be practicable The Quill
name mouth has of late years been impass-
ble even for a canoe, from July to February,
and for 200 or 800 miles up the river nav-
cation is never attempted in the dry season.
And in this very month of July, when the
lower portion Of the river, after its April
freshets, has shrunk to a mere ribblet, above
the falls the river spreads out like a sea over
hundreds of square miles. This with frequent
cataracts and the hostility of the natives,
would seem to be an ehectual bar to the
high hopes of fat trade and fibustering in
which English merchants and journals are
now indulging
During this unprecedented march, alone
and among savages, to whom Il white face
was a miracle, DR.. Livingstone was compel
led to struggle through indiscribable hard
ships. The hostility Of the natives he con
quered by his intimate knowledge Of their
character and the Bechuana tongue to which
theirs is related. He waded rivers and slept
in the sponge and ooze of Marshes being
often so drenched as to be compelled to turn
his armpt into watch pocket. His cattle
were destroyed by the terrible tse-tse fly and
he was too poor to purchase q canoe. Lions
were numerous being worshiped by many
of the tribes as the receptaclcs of the de-
parted souls of their chiefs; dangerous, too,
as his crushed arm testities. However he
thinks the fear of African wild beasts greater
in England than in Africa. Many Of his
documents we're lost while crossing a river in
which he came near loosing his life also, but
he has memoranda Of the atitudes and lon
gitudes Of multitude Of cities towns, rivers
and mountains, which will 90 far to fill up
the unknown region in our aliases.
Toward the interior he found the country
more fertile and more populous. The ma
tives worshiped idols, believed in transmi-
grated existence after death, and performed
religious ceremonies in groves and woods.
They were less terocious and suspicious than
the seaboard tribes, had a tradition Of the
deluQe and more settled Governments. Some
of them practsed incubation, and used 1uin
inc, and all we're eager for trade, being en-
trely dependent on English calico for cloth
ing small piece Of which would purchase
a slave Their language was sweet and eX-
pressve Although their women, on the
whole, were not we'll treated, a man having
as many wives as he chose, they were com
plete mistresses Of their own houses and
gardens which the husband dare not enter in
his wife's absence. They were fond Of show
and glitter, and as much as $3.50 had been
given for an English rifle. On the arid pla-
teau of the interior water-melons supplied
the place Of water for some months of the
year. as they do on the Plains Of Hungary
in summer. A Quaker tribe on the river
Zanga, never fight never have consumption,
scrofula, hydrophoba, cholera, smallpox or
meases. These advantages, however, are