Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-08-17
Dr. IivInr.tone,. ExpIOralIona.

possibly IDENTIFIED Tribune.
DIR. LivlnEstOne's Explorations.
At a recent meeting of the geographical
section of the British Association an interest
ing paper was read from DR., Livingstone,
giving an account of his discoveries in Africa,
from which the following is an extract:
ain the upper part of the Lower Shire, in
the Highlands and in the vallies Of the Lower
Shire, there is a somewhat numerous populat
ton. The people generally live in villages
and in hamlets near them. Each village has
its own chief and the chiefs in a given ter
ritory have head chief, to whom they owe
some sort of allegiance. The paramount chief
of one portion of the Upper Shire is awoman.
The sites of their villages are selected, for the
most part, with judgment and good TASTE
stream or spring is near, and pleasant
shade-trees grow in and around the place
Nearly every village is surrounded by a thick
high hedge of the poisonous euphorbia. Du-
ring the greater part Of the year the inhab-
itants could see an enemy through the hedge,
while he would find it difficult matter TO
see them. By shooting their already poi
soned arrows through the tender branches,
they get smeared with the poisonous milky
Juice, and infiict most painful, if not fatal
wounds. The constant dripping OF the juice
of the bruised branches prevents the enemy
from attempting TO force his way through the
hedge, as it destroys the eyesight. The huts
are larger, stronger built, with higher and
more graceful roofs than any we have seen
on the Zambesi. Many of the men are very
intelligent-lOoking witt high foreheads and
well shaped heads. They show singular taste
in the astonishingly varied styles in which
their hair is arranged. Their bead necklaces
are really pretty specimens of work. Many
have the upper and middle as well as the
lower part of the ear bored, and have from
three to FIVE rings in each ear. The hole in
the lobe of the ear is large enough to admit
ones finger, and some wear a piece Of bamboo
about an inch long in it. Brass and iron
bracelets, elaborately figured, are seen; and
some of the men sport from two to eight
brass rings on each finger, and even the
thumbs are not spared. They wear copper,
brass and iron rings on their legs and arms;
and many have their front teeth nOtched,
and some file them till they resemble the
teeth of a saw. The upper lip ring Of the
women give them q revolving appearance
it is universally worn in the highlands A
puncture is made high up in the lip and it
is gradually enlarged until the pelele can be
inserted. Some are very large. One we
measured caused the lip to project two inches
beyond the tip of the nose; when the lady
smiled the contraction of the muscles eleva-
ted it over the eyes. why do the women
wear these things2' the venerable chief
Chinsurdi, was asked. Evidently surprised
at such stupid question, he replied, For
beauty They are the only beautiful things
women have; men have boards, women have
none What kind of person would she be
without the pelele? She would not be wo-
man at all with mouth like a man, but no
beard"
"They seem to be an industrious race
Iron is dug out of the hills, and every village
has one or two smelting-houses; and from
their own native iron they make excellent
hoes, axes, spears, knives, arrow-heads, &c.
They make also round baskets, of various
sizes, and earthen pots, which they ornament
with plumbago, said to be found in the Hill
Country, though we could not learn exactly
where, nor in what quantities; the only
specimen we obtained was not pure. At every
fishing village on the banks of the River,
Shire men were busy spinning buaze, and
making large fishing nets from it; and from
Chibasis to the lake, in every village, almost
saw men cleaning and spinning cotton,
lie others were weaving it into strong
cl b, IN looms of the simplest construction,
al the processes being excessively SLOW
7 is is great tcotton-grOwing country. The
CT ton is of two kinds-"TOnji manga" or
f eign cotton, and ''Tonii cadji," or native
C. ton. The former is OF good quality, with
a taple of from three-quarters to an inch in
l. 9Th. 1t is perennial, requiring to be re-
planted only once in three years. The ma
tive cotton is planted every year in the high
lands, is of short staple, and feels more like
wool than cotton. Every family appears to
own cotton patch, which is kept clear of
weeds and grass. We saw the foreign
growing at the lake, and in various pla
ces, for thirty miles below the cataracts,
on the Lower Shire. Although the ma
tive cotton requires to be planted annually,
in the highlands the people prefer it because
they say it makes the stronger cloth. 1t was
remarked to a number of intelligent natives
near the Shire lakelet "you should plant
plenty of cotton, and perhaps the English
Will COME soon anu Dul IL OuIGlg INC
country is full of cotton" said an elderly
man, who was trader and travelled much
Our own observations convinced US of this
statement. Everywhere we saw it. Cotton
patches of from two to three acres were seen
abreast of the cataracts during the first trip,
when Lake Tamandua was discovered, though
in this journey, on a different route, none
were observed of more than half an acre
They usually contain about a quarter Of an
acre each. There are extensive tracts on the
level plains of both the Lower and Upper
Shire, where salt exhudes from the soil. Sea
island cotton might grow well there, as on
these the foreign cotton becomes longer
in the staple The cotton growers here ney-
er have their crops cut off by frosts. There
| are none. Both kinds of cotton require but
| little labor, none of that severe toll requisite
/ in the United States. The people are great
cultivators of the sol, and it repays them well.
They grow lassaver in large quantities, pre-
pairing ridges for it from three to four feet
wide, and about foot high. They also raise
maize rice, two kinds Of millet, beans, sugar
cane, sweet potatoes yams, ground nuts,
/ pumpkin, tobacco, and Indian hemp. Near
Lake Nyassa We saw indigo seven feet high