The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-07-27
EXPLORATIONS IN AFRICA


Association, which met early in July at Oxford, we
find letter which was read before the Geographi-
cal and chronological Section, from the celebrated
traveller DR.. Livingstone. The following extracts
will give readers some little idea of the hitherto
unexplored regions in which Dr. Livingstone is
journeyng, and of the people by whom they are in
habited: .a-|.
RIVER SHIRE, Nov. 4, 1859.
"The River Shire has its in the green
waters of the great Lake Nyassa (at IA deg. 90
min. s., long. 35 deg. 80 min. e. 1t flows serene
ly on in a southerly direction, fine navgable
stream from so to l20 yards in breadth, expanding
some twelve or fifteen miles from Nyassa into a
beautiful lakelet, with wedeiine water horizon
and perhaps five six miles wide: then narrowing
again, it moves quietly about forty miles till il
reaches Murchison's Cataracts. After turbulent
course of thirty miles, emerges from the cataracts
peaceful river capable OF carrying large steam
er through the remaining liz miles of its deep
channel, and joins the Zambesi in lat. q deg. AZ
min s., 100 miles from the confluence of that river
| with the sea. The valley through which the Shire
flows is from ten to twelve miles broad at the
southern extremity Lake yassa but so on stretch
es out to twenty thirty miles, and is bounded all
the way on both sides by ranges of hills, the east
eern range being remarkably lofty. AT Chihisas
| (lat. lG deg. min. 3 sec. S., 35 deg. l min E.
a few miles below the cataracts, the range of hills
on the left bank of the Shire js not above three
miles from the river, while the other range has
| ceded out of sight. If from 'Chihisas we proceed
in northeasterly path, IA three hours march
places us on an elevation Of upwards of thousand
feet This is not far from the level of the Upper
Shire valley q2oo fsel and appears to be its
we reach another plateau, thousand
| feet higher, and in a few hours more
the highest plateau, 5000 feet above the level
OF the sea, Is attained, and on an extensive
table land, which, in these three distinct divisions
extends to Zomba (lat. of southern end I5o 2lI 8
1t is then broken and natives report that north of
Iomba, which is twenty one miles in length from
/ NJ tn t- ht.to
| Lakes Nyassa and Tamandua (Shirwal Three ia
| lands were visible the west side of what we
could see of Nyassa from its southern end The
two ranges of hills stretch along its shores and we
| could see looming through the haze caused by
burning grass all over the country, the dim outlines
| of some lofty mountains behind the eastern hills On
| the table-land are numerous hills and some noun
tains, as Chicadjura, perhaps 5000 feet high and
Z0mba, (Which was ascended) from 1000 to 1000
| in altitude, From this tabl land we can see on
| the east Of Lake Tamandua, the Mange Noun
tairs, apparently higher than Zomba and Mount
Clarendon, not unworthy of the noble name it
bears. All this region is remarkably well watered;
wonderfully numerous are the streams and noun
tain rills of clear, cool, gushing water. Once we
| passed eight of them and strong spring in a sim
gle hour, and we were then at the end of the dry
season. Even Iomba has river about twenty
yards wide. flowing through rich valley near its
| summit. The hill is well wooded also; trees, ad-
mirable for their height and the amount of timber
IN them, abound along the banks of the streams
sis this country good for cattle?' the head man of
the Makolodo, whose business had been the charge
OF cattle, was asked. "Truly," replied he "don't
you see the abundance of such and such grasses
which cattle love, and on which they grow fat ?''
And yet the people have only few goats and still
fewer sheep. There wild animals in the
highlands and but few birds, and with the excep-
tlon of one place, where saw some elephants
butaloes, &C., there are none the plains of the
Upper Shire, but the birds, new and strange are
pretty numerous.
high hedge of the poisonous nuphorbia. During
the greater part of the year the inhabitants could
see an enemy through the hedge, while he would
find it a difficult matter to see them By shooting
their already poisoned arrows through the tender
branches, they get smeared with the poisonous
milky juice, and infict most painful, if not fatal
wounds: The constant dripping of the juice from
the bruised branches prevents the enemy from at.
tempting to force his way through the hedge, as it
destroys the eyesight.
They seem to be industrious race Iron is
dug out of the hills and every village has one or
two smelling 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 vii
lage on the banks of the river Shire, men were
busy spinning buaZe and making large fishing nets
from it; and from Chhsas to the Lake, in every
village almost, we saw men cleaning and spinning
cotton, while others were weaving it into strong
cloth in looms of the simplest construction, all the
processes being excessively Slow This is great cot
ton growig country. The cotton is of two kinds
"Tonji manga" or foreign cotton and the ''Tong
cadii," or native cotton. The former is of GOOD
quality, with staple from three-quarters to an
inch In length. 1t is perennial, requiring to be
re-planted only once in three years.
The native cotton is planted every year in the
highlands, 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 places for thirty miles south of it,
and about an equal number of miles below the cata
racts on the Lower Shire. Although the native
cotton requires to be planted annually in the high
lands, the people prefer it, because they say, sit
makes the stronger cloth" 1t was remarked to a
number of intelligent natives near the Shire lake
let, "you should plant plenty of cotton, and per-
haps the English will come and buy it,
"Surely the country is full of cotton said an
elderly man, who was trader and travelled much.
Our own observations convinced us of the trnth OF
| this statement. Everywhere we saw it. Cotton
patches 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 different route, observed of
| than half They usually contained about
a quarter of an acre each. There are extensive
| tracts on the level plains Of both the Lower and
Upper Shire, where salt exudes from the soil. Sea
island cotton might grow well there, these the
foreign cotton becomes longer in the staple. The
cotton growers here have their crops cut off
| by frosts. There are none. Both kinds OF cotton
require but little labor, none of that and
killing toll requisite in the United States The peo
great cultvators fthe SOIL and it repays them
well.
They also raise maize, rice, two kinds of met,
beans, sugar cane, sweet potato es, vans, ground
nuts, pumpkin, tobacco, and Indian hemp. Near
Lake Nyasa we saw indigo seven feet high. Large
quantities of beer made, and they like it well.
We found whole villages on the spree, and saw the
stupid type of drunkenness the silly sort, the
boisterous talkatve sort, and on occasion the
almost-up- p-to-the fighting point variety, when a
petty Chief with some of the people near, placed
himself in front, exclaiming, al stop this path;
you must go back" Had he not got out the
way with greater speed than dignity, an incensed
Makoolo would have cured him of all desire to
try similar exploit in future. 1t was remarked
by the oldest traveller in the party that be had not
seen so much drunkenness during all the years he
had spent in Africa. The people, notwithstanding,
large number of old grey headed persons in the
highlands. This seems to indicate healthy eli
mate. For their long lives they are in the
least indebted to frequent abutions ''Why do
you wash yourselves? oar men never do, said
some women at Chinsurdi to the Makoolo.
| Ar, old man told US he remembered having wash
| ed himself once when boy, but never repeated it;
and from his appearance one could hardly call the
| truth of his statement in question fellow who
volunteered wild geographical information
| followed US about dozen miles, and introduced
US TO the cnlel AOena M0ezl Dy saying, 'Iney nave
wandered; they don't know where they are going"
''Scold that man. said MakolOlo head to his
factotum, who Immediately commenced an extern
porary scoldng; yet the singular geographer
would follow u.s. and we could not get quit of him
till the Makoloo threatened to take him to the
river and wash him. The castor-oil with which
they lubricate themselves and the dirt serve ad
ditional clothing, and to wash themselves is like
throwing away the only upper garment they pos
sess. They feel cold and uncomfortable after
wash. We observed several persons marked by
the smallpox.
SEWARD'S REPLY TO GREELEY.
The following are the concluding paragraphs of
letter purporting to be the reply of Hon. VIM. Il.
Seward to the famous epistle of Horace Greeley.
The New York Post expresses the belief that it is
genuine:
Gas to the firm of Seward, Weed and Greeley, l
| think on a fair review of the whole matter, that
YOU will come to the conclusion that you have not
been without an immortal reward for your services
| in the business of that firm You have gained
name and fame, power and position-your senti-
ments finding an echo in million hearts, and your
history as a reformer being sure to 60 down to an
admiring pOsterity. know you may think it cool
of me to thus refer you to future generations for
reward which it may appear to you l have OBJ
tanned while still on this side of Jordan but such
is the immutable law of compensation, and nature
assigns different rewards to different degrees and
| varieties of service. You have chosen the better
and more philosophic post in our firm as thinker,
guide and feeder of the lamp OF principle while
Weed has labored in his own department at the
machinery, and while have borne my brunt of
" IL.