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.
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