Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-11-07

ONE OF LIVINGSTON'S GUARD.
Tells of the Last Days of the Famous
Explorer.

Tells of the Last Days of the Famous
Explorer.
A letter to the editor, recently re-
ceived from Mrs. J. A. Bailey, of the
G. NJ. S. agency, Mombasa, British East
Africa, gives some interesting details
in regard to the last sickness of David
Livingston and the man who bore his
body to the coast. Mrs. Taylor was led
to write through reading in the New
Acts of the Apostles the account OF
LivingstOne's bodyguard. 1t occurred
to her that she might see Matthew
ank ask him a few details of that won
derful journey which had never been
given to the public She writes:
Matthew Wellington was one of the
six boys from Mask who came over
from India to help find David Living
stone In Africa. He IS still alive, a
hale and hearty man, probably between
90 and go years of age He is an over
seer in government employment in the
public works department. L have
known him since 1885, and his daughter
Florence is 4 good girl-a teacher in
our G. NJ. S. school on the mainland,
Freretown. One son, Henry, the eld-
est, is no good, but John, the younger,
is a steady lad Ruth the mother, is
a capable woman, a good wife and
mother
Matthew, one Sunday morning after
service, came and told me about the
starting and the journey: the meeting
and serving his master, Livingstone
his wonderful knowledge of country
and people and languages. He spoke of
his WEAKNESS of body sometimes and
his trouble to get food for the pOrters
of his camp. He dwelt on the mission
ary's upright, pure, clean life, his keep
ing the sabbath with prayer and read
ing with his men and his feast at
Christmas for them. He told of Liv
ingstone's weakness and death, after
journeying up to the very last, as long
as he could ride a donkey or walk.
Matthew then described graphically
the embalming and added the informa-
ton that for fourteen days the body
lay in the sun; then it was turned over
and exposed for another fourteen days.
He also told what l have never heard
before-that the legs were doubled up
from the knee to the body to make the
burden easier in carrying it across the
country. This shows the ingenuity of
the native mind in an emergency. The
heart and viscera were buried.
The chief thought in the boys minds
was to do everything according to their
orders at Mask from the Royal Geo
graphical Society's letter, Bring him
or find him, alive or dead, to the coast" "
This was their duty, and they stuck
to the letter of the directions.
Matthew described the first coffin
made at Bagamoyo, on the coast Of the
French mission, and then, so natural
to a native mind, spoke of the glory
of q coffin Of lead or tin, and the outer
wooden one with brass handles, at the
consulate of Zanzibar. He said that
Jacob was a clever, intelligent boy,
more so than any of the others, and
no one grudged him the honor of the
Journey to England. He was afterward
q teacher for the @. NJ S. for a time,
but is now dead.
Matthew has lived in Mombasa or
Freretown ever since. He told me all
these details in Terarhill, as 1 felt I
should get the facts more fully in a
native language than In English.