Drs. Livingstone And Kirk Were
Desirous That Nothing Should Occur To Make The Natives Regard Them As
Enemies; Masakasa, On The Other Hand, Was Anxious To Show What He
Could Do In The Way Of Fighting Them.
The perseverance of the party was finally crowned with success; for
on the 18th of April they discovered Lake Shirwa, a considerable body
of bitter water, containing leeches, fish, crocodiles, and
hippopotami.
From having probably no outlet, the water is slightly
brackish, and it appears to be deep, with islands like hills rising
out of it. Their point of view was at the base of Mount Pirimiti or
Mopeu-peu, on its S.S.W. side. Thence the prospect northwards ended
in a sea horizon with two small islands in the distance - a larger
one, resembling a hill-top and covered with trees, rose more in the
foreground. Ranges of hills appeared on the east; and on the west
stood Mount Chikala, which seems to be connected with the great
mountain-mass called Zomba.
The shore, near which they spent two nights, was covered with reeds
and papyrus. Wishing to obtain the latitude by the natural horizon,
they waded into the water some distance towards what was reported to
be a sand-bank, but were so assaulted by leeches, they were fain to
retreat; and a woman told them that in enticing them into the water
the men only wanted to kill them. The information gathered was that
this lake was nothing in size compared to another in the north, from
which it is separated by only a tongue of land. The northern end of
Shirwa has not been seen, though it has been passed; the length of
the lake may probably be 60 or 80 miles, and about 20 broad. The
height above the sea is 1800 feet, and the taste of the water is like
a weak solution of Epsom salts. The country around is very
beautiful, and clothed with rich vegetation; and the waves, at the
time they were there breaking and foaming over a rock on the south-
eastern side, added to the beauty of the picture. Exceedingly lofty
mountains, perhaps 8000 feet above the sea-level, stand near the
eastern shore. When their lofty steep-sided summits appear, some
above, some below the clouds, the scene is grand. This range is
called Milanje; on the west stands Mount Zomba, 7000 feet in height,
and some twenty miles long.
Their object being rather to gain the confidence of the people by
degrees than to explore, they considered that they had advanced far
enough into the country for one trip; and believing that they could
secure their end by a repetition of their visit, as they had done on
the Shire, they decided to return to the vessel at Dakanamoio island;
but, instead of returning by the way they came, they passed down
southwards close by Mount Chiradzuru, among the relatives of Chibisa,
and thence by the pass Zedi, down to the Shire. The Kroomen had,
while we were away, cut a good supply of wood for steaming, and we
soon proceeded down the river.
The steamer reached Tette on the 23rd of June, and, after undergoing
repairs, proceeded to the Kongone to receive provisions from one of
H.M. cruisers. We had been very abundantly supplied with first-rate
stores, but were unfortunate enough to lose a considerable portion of
them, and had now to bear the privation as best we could. On the way
down, we purchased a few gigantic cabbages and pumpkins at a native
village below Mazaro. Our dinners had usually consisted of but a
single course; but we were surprised the next day by our black cook
from Sierra Leone bearing in a second course. "What have you got
there?" was asked in wonder. "A tart, sir." "A tart! of what is it
made?" "Of cabbage, sir." As we had no sugar, and could not "make
believe," as in the days of boyhood, we did not enjoy the feast that
Tom's genius had prepared. Her Majesty's brig "Persian," Lieutenant
Saumarez commanding, called on her way to the Cape; and, though
somewhat short of provisions herself, generously gave us all she
could spare. We now parted with our Kroomen, as, from their
inability to march, we could not use them in our land journeys. A
crew was picked out from the Makololo, who, besides being good
travellers, could cut wood, work the ship, and required only native
food.
While at the Kongone it was found necessary to beach the steamer for
repairs. She was built of a newly invented sort of steel plates,
only a sixteenth of an inch in thickness, patented, but unfortunately
never tried before. To build an exploring ship of untried material
was a mistake. Some chemical action on this preparation of steel
caused a minute hole; from this point, branches like lichens, or the
little ragged stars we sometimes see in thawing ice, radiated in all
directions. Small holes went through wherever a bend occurred in
these branches. The bottom very soon became like a sieve, completely
full of minute holes, which leaked perpetually. The engineer stopped
the larger ones, but the vessel was no sooner afloat, than new ones
broke out. The first news of a morning was commonly the unpleasant
announcement of another leak in the forward compartment, or in the
middle, which was worse still.
Frequent showers fell on our way up the Zambesi, in the beginning of
August. On the 8th we had upwards of three inches of rain, which
large quantity, more than falls in any single rainy day during the
season at Tette, we owed to being near the sea. Sometimes the cabin
was nearly flooded; for, in addition to the leakage from below, rain
poured through the roof, and an umbrella had to be used whenever we
wished to write: the mode of coupling the compartments, too, was a
new one, and the action of the hinder compartment on the middle one
pumped up the water of the river, and sent it in streams over the
floor and lockers, where lay the cushions which did double duty as
chairs and beds.
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