His Name Is Not Brought Forward With A View Of Throwing
Any Odium On His Character.
The disinterested kindness which he
showed to Dr. Meller, and others, forbids that he should be mentioned
by us with anything like unkindness.
Under all these considerations, with the fact that we had not found
the Rovuma so favourable for navigation at the time of our visit as
we expected, it was impossible not to coincide in the wisdom of our
withdrawal; but we deeply regretted that we had ever given credit to
the Portuguese Government for any desire to ameliorate the condition
of the African race; for, with half the labour and expense anywhere
else, we should have made an indelible mark of improvement on a
section of the Continent. Viewing Portuguese statesmen in the light
of the laws they have passed for the suppression of slavery and the
slave-trade, and by the standard of the high character of our own
public men, it cannot be considered weakness to have believed in the
sincerity of the anxiety to aid our enterprise, professed by the
Lisbon Ministry. We hoped to benefit both Portuguese and Africans by
introducing free-trade and Christianity. Our allies, unfortunately,
cannot see the slightest benefit in any measure that does not imply
raising themselves up by thrusting others down. The official paper
of the Lisbon Government has since let us know "that their policy was
directed to frustrating the grasping designs of the British
Government to the dominion of Eastern Africa." We, who were on the
spot, and behind the scenes, knew that feelings of private
benevolence had the chief share in the operations undertaken for
introducing the reign of peace and good will on the Lakes and central
regions, which for ages have been the abodes of violence and
bloodshed. But that great change was not to be accomplished. The
narrow-minded would ascribe all that was attempted to the grasping
propensity of the English. But the motives that actuate many in
England, both in public and private life, are much more noble than
the world gives them credit for.
Seeing, then, that we were not yet arrived at "the good time coming,"
and that it was quite impossible to take the "Pioneer" down to the
sea till the floods of December, we made arrangements to screw the
"Lady Nyassa" together; and, in order to improve the time
intervening, we resolved to carry a boat past the Cataracts a second
time, sail along the eastern shore of the Lake, and round the
northern end, and also collect data by which to verify the
information collected by Colonel Rigby, that the 19,000 slaves, who
go through the Custom-house of Zanzibar annually, are chiefly drawn
from Lake Nyassa and the Valley of the Shire.
Our party consisted of twenty natives, some of whom were Johanna men,
and were supposed to be capable of managing the six oxen which drew
the small wagon with a boat on it. A team of twelve Cape oxen, with
a Hottentot driver and leader, would have taken the wagon over the
country we had to pass through with the greatest ease; but no sooner
did we get beyond the part of the road already made, than our drivers
encountered obstructions in the way of trees and gullies, which it
would have been a waste of time to have overcome by felling timber
and hauling out the wagon by block and tackle purchases. The Ajawa
and Manganja settled at Chibisa's were therefore sent for, and they
took the boat on their shoulders and carried it briskly, in a few
days, past all the Cataracts except one; then coming to a
comparatively still reach of the river, they took advantage of it to
haul her up a couple of miles. The Makololo had her then entirely in
charge; for, being accustomed to rapids in their own country, no
better boatmen could be desired. The river here is very narrow, and
even in what are called still places, the current is very strong, and
often obliged them to haul the boat along by the reeds on the banks,
or to hand a tow-rope ashore. The reeds are full of cowitch
(Dolichos pruriens), the pods of which are covered with what looks a
fine velvety down, but is in reality a multitude of fine prickles,
which go in by the million, and caused an itching and stinging in the
naked bodies of those who were pulling the tow-rope, that made them
wriggle as if stung by a whole bed of nettles. Those on board
required to be men of ready resource with oars and punting-poles, and
such they were. But, nevertheless, they found, after attempting to
pass by a rock, round which the water rushed in whirls, that the
wiser plan would be to take the boat ashore, and carry her past the
last Cataract. When this was reported, the carriers were called from
the various shady trees under which they had taken refuge from the
sun. This was midwinter, but the sun is always hot by day here,
though the nights are cold. Five Zambesi men, who had been all their
lives accustomed to great heavy canoes, - the chief recommendation of
which is said to be, that they can be run against a rock with the
full force of the current without injury - were very desirous to show
how much better they could manage our boat than the Makololo; three
jumped into her when our backs were turned, and two hauled her up a
little way; the tide caught her bow, we heard a shout of distress,
the rope was out of their hands in a moment, and there she was,
bottom upwards; a turn or two in an eddy, and away she went, like an
arrow, down the Cataracts. One of the men in swimming ashore saved a
rifle. The whole party ran with all their might along the bank, but
never more did we see our boat.
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