Those - And They Were The Majority -
Who Had Still A Number Left, He Consoled By Telling Them That They Had
Quite as many as was good for them - more than he himself had.
So, undeterred by this single untoward result
Of their experiment,
the adventurers one and all set about gathering ivory for another adventure
to the west.
Livingstone had satisfied himself that the great River Leeambye,
up which he had paddled so many miles on his way to the west,
was identical with the Zambesi, which he had discovered four years previously.
The two names are indeed the same, both meaning simply "The River",
in different dialects spoken on its banks. This great river
is an object of wonder to the natives. They have a song which runs,
"The Leeambye! Nobody knows
Whence it comes, and whither it goes."
Livingstone had pursued it far up toward its source, and knew whence it came;
and now he resolved to follow it down to the sea, trusting that
it would furnish a water communication into the very heart of the continent.
It was now October - the close of the hot season. The thermometer stood
at 100 Deg. in the shade; in the sun it sometimes rose to 130 Deg.
During the day the people kept close in their huts, guzzling a kind of beer
called `boyola', and seeming to enjoy the copious perspiration
which it induces. As evening set in the dance began,
which was kept up in the moonlight till long after midnight.
Sekeletu, proud of his new uniform, and pleased with the prospect of trade
which had been opened, entertained Livingstone hospitably, and promised
to fit him out for his eastern journey as soon as the rains had commenced,
and somewhat cooled the burning soil.
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