Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-05-15
DR.. Liviugstone-Letter from the Great
African Explorer.

s letter was received in Edinburg from
Dr. Livingstone, by friend of the celebra-
ted traveller The following are extracts:
( COUNTRY OF THE CufpETA, Nov. 10, 1866.
1t has been quite impossible to send a
letter cOastwIse ever since we left the ROvu-
ma. The Arab slave traders take to their
heels as soon as they hear that the English
are on the road. | am perfect bugbear
20 them. Eight parties thus skedaddled,
and last Of all my johanna men, frightened
out Of their wits by the stories told them by
member Of a ninth party who had been
I plundGred of his slaves, walked off and left
me to face the terrible Mazitu with nine
Nassick boys The fear which the English
name Fas struck into the souls Of the slave
( traders has thus been an Inconvenience. !
could not go round the north end Of the
lake for fear that my Johanna men at sight
of danger, would do there what they actu
ally did at the southern end, and the own
ers Of two dhews on the lake kept them out
OF sight, lest | should burn them as slayers
and could not cross in the middle Round
the southern end, We got up to Kirk $
range, and among MaDgaja not yet made
save-sellers This was great treat for,
Ike all who have not been contaminated by
that blight, they we're very kind. and hav-
ing been worried enough by unwilling Sc
ph0ys and cowardly johanna men, | fol-
lowed my bent by easy marches among
friendly, generous people, to whom I tried
to lmpart some new ideas in return for
their hospitality. The country is elevated,
and the climate cool One of the wonders
told Of US IN successive villages was that we
slept without fires. The boys having blan-
kets did not need fire, while the inhabi-
tautS, being scantily clad, have their huts
plastered inside and out, and even the roofs,
to make themselves comfortable. Our pro-
gress since has been slow from other and
ess agreeable causes Some parts have
been denuded Of food by marauding Mazitu
or Aulus we have been faiu to avoid these
and gone zigzag Ouce we nearly walked
INTO the hands Of party, and several times
We have been detained by rumors of the
e1emy IN front. January. 1857. IL men
ton several causes Of delay. | must add,
the rainy season is more potent than all,
except hunger In passing through the
Bablsa country we found that food was not
to he had. The Babisa are great slave
Traders and have, In consequence, little in
dustry. This seems to be the cause of their
having no food to spare The rains, too,
are more copious than | ever saw them any
where IN Africa; but we shall get on in
time. February, IL am in Bomba, or
Lobemba, and ut the chief man place,
which has three stockades around it, and
deep dry ditch; round the inner one. He
seems to be fine fellow, and gave US COW
to slaughter on our arrival yesterday. We
are going to hold Christmas feast off ii to-
morrow, as | promised the boys blow out
when we came to place of plenty. We
have had precious hard times, and l would
not complain if it had not been gGawing
hunger for many day, and our bones stick
lng through as if they would burst the skin
W hen We were in a part where game
abounded and | filed the pot with first
rate rifle given me by Captain Fraser; but
elsewhere VIC had but very short rations OF
a species of millet called ''macre," which
passes the stomach almost unchanged. The
s0rest grief Of all was the loss Of the medi-
cine box which your friend at Apothecaries
Hall so kindly fitted up All other things
l divided among the bundles, so that ifone
or two were lost we should not be destitute
Of such articles; but this | gave to a steady
boy aud trusted him He exchanged for
march with two volunteers, who behaved
remarkably well, till at last hungry marches
through a dripping forest, cold hungry
nights, and tatiguing days overcame their
virtue, and they made off with 'Steady's''
load-all his clothes, our plates, dishes,
much of our powder, and two guns, and it
was impossible to track them after the first
drenching shower, which fell Immediately
after they left US. The forests arc SO dense
and leafy that one cannot see fifty yards on
one side. This loss, with all our medicines,