There, and raising the prices against ourselves.
But I propose to spend some more years of labor, and shall be thankful
if I see the system fairly begun in an open pathway which will eventually
benefit both Africa and England.
The village of Kilimane stands on a great mud bank, and is surrounded
by extensive swamps and rice-grounds. The banks of the river
are lined with mangrove bushes, the roots of which, and the slimy banks
on which they grow, are alternately exposed to the tide and sun.
The houses are well built of brick and lime, the latter from Mozambique.
If one digs down two or three feet in any part of the site of the village,
he comes to water; hence the walls built on this mud bank gradually subside;
pieces are sometimes sawn off the doors below, because the walls in which
they are fixed have descended into the ground, so as to leave the floors
higher than the bottom of the doors. It is almost needless to say
that Kilimane is very unhealthy. A man of plethoric temperament
is sure to get fever, and concerning a stout person one may hear the remark,
"Ah! he will not live long; he is sure to die."
A Hamburgh vessel was lost near the bar before we came down.
The men were much more regular in their habits than English sailors,
so I had an opportunity of observing the fever acting as a slow poison.
They felt "out of sorts" only, but gradually became pale,
bloodless, and emaciated, then weaker and weaker, till at last
they sank more like oxen bitten by tsetse than any disease I ever saw.
The captain, a strong, robust young man, remained in perfect health
for about three months, but was at last knocked down suddenly
and made as helpless as a child by this terrible disease.
