How I Found Livingstone Travels, Adventures And Discoveries In Central Africa Including Four Months Residence With Dr. Livingstone By Sir Henry M. Stanley
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The Effect Was Magical, For He
Fell Back As If Shot, And Such Contortions As His Features
Underwent Are Indescribable.
His chiefs roared with laughter,
and clapped their hands, pinched each other, snapped their fingers,
and committed many other ludicrous things.
I verily believe if such
a scene were presented on any stage in the world the effect of it
would be visible instantaneously on the audience; that had they
seen it as I saw it, they would have laughed themselves to
hysteria and madness. Finally the Sultan recovered himself, great
tears rolling down his cheeks, and his features quivering with
laughter, then he slowly uttered the word "kali," - hot, strong,
quick, or ardent medicine. He required no more, but the other
chiefs pushed forward to get one wee sniff, which they no sooner
had, than all went into paroxysms of uncontrollable laughter.
The entire morning was passed in this state visit, to the mutual
satisfaction of all concerned. "Oh," said the Sultan at parting,
"these white men know everything, the Arabs are dirt compared to them!"
That night Hamdallah, one of the guides, deserted, carrying with
him his hire (27 doti), and a gun. It was useless to follow him
in the morning, as it would have detained me many more days than
I could afford; but I mentally vowed that Mr. Hamdallah should
work out those 27 doti of cloths before I reached the coast.
Wednesday, October 4th, saw us travelling to the Gombe River,
which is 4 h. 15 m. march from Manyara.
We had barely left the waving cornfields of my friend Ma-manyara
before we came in sight of a herd of noble zebra; two hours
afterwards we had entered a grand and noble expanse of park
land, whose glorious magnificence and vastness of prospect,
with a far-stretching carpet of verdure darkly flecked here
and there by miniature clumps of jungle, with spreading trees
growing here and there, was certainly one of the finest scenes
to be seen in Africa. Added to which, as I surmounted one of
the numerous small knolls, I saw herds after herds of buffalo
and zebra, giraffe and antelope, which sent the blood coursing
through my veins in the excitement of the moment, as when I first
landed on African soil. We crept along the plain noiselessly to
our camp on the banks of the sluggish waters of the Gombe. '
Here at last was the hunter's Paradise! How petty and
insignificant appeared my hunts after small antelope and wild boar
what a foolish waste of energies those long walks through damp
grasses and through thorny jungles! Did I not well remember '
my first bitter experience in African jungles when in the maritime
region! But this - where is the nobleman's park that can match
this scene? Here is a soft, velvety expanse of young grass,
grateful shade under those spreading clumps; herds of large and
varied game browsing within easy rifle range. Surely I must
feel amply compensated now for the long southern detour I have
made, when such a prospect as this opens to the view!
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