We Cheerfully, If Necessary, Will Bear All
Responsibility Up To This Point; And If The Bishop Afterwards Made
Mistakes In
Certain collisions with the slavers, he had the votes of
all his party with him, and those who best knew
The peculiar
circumstances, and the loving disposition of this good-hearted man,
will blame him least. In this position, and in these circumstances,
we left our friends at the Mission Station.
As a temporary measure the Bishop decided to place his Mission
Station on a small promontory formed by the windings of the little,
clear stream of Magomero, which was so cold that the limbs were quite
benumbed by washing in it in the July mornings. The site chosen was
a pleasant spot to the eye, and completely surrounded by stately,
shady trees. It was expected to serve for a residence, till the
Bishop had acquired an accurate knowledge of the adjacent country,
and of the political relations of the people, and could select a
healthy and commanding situation, as a permanent centre of Christian
civilization. Everything promised fairly. The weather was
delightful, resembling the pleasantest part of an English summer;
provisions poured in very cheap and in great abundance. The Bishop,
with characteristic ardour, commenced learning the language, Mr.
Waller began building, and Mr. Scudamore improvised a sort of infant
school for the children, than which there is no better means for
acquiring an unwritten tongue.
On the 6th of August, 1861, a few days after returning from Magomero,
Drs. Livingstone and Kirk, and Charles Livingstone started for Nyassa
with a light four-oared gig, a white sailor, and a score of
attendants. We hired people along the path to carry the boat past
the forty miles of the Murchison Cataracts for a cubit of cotton
cloth a day. This being deemed great wages, more than twice the men
required eagerly offered their services. The chief difficulty was in
limiting their numbers. Crowds followed us; and, had we not taken
down in the morning the names of the porters engaged, in the evening
claims would have been made by those who only helped during the last
ten minutes of the journey. The men of one village carried the boat
to the next, and all we had to do was to tell the headman that we
wanted fresh men in the morning. He saw us pay the first party, and
had his men ready at the time appointed, so there was no delay in
waiting for carriers. They often make a loud noise when carrying
heavy loads, but talking and bawling does not put them out of breath.
The country was rough and with little soil on it, but covered with
grass and open forest. A few small trees were cut down to clear a
path for our shouting assistants, who were good enough to consider
the boat as a certificate of peaceful intentions at least to them.
Several small streams were passed, the largest of which were the
Mukuru-Madse and Lesungwe.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 160 of 263
Words from 83161 to 83663
of 136856
