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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Provisions were to be purchased,
sufficient to last four days, for the tramp through the jungle,
and men were at once sent with cloth to purchase grain at any price.
Fortune favoured us, for before 8 P.M. we had enough for six days.
November 7th. - I did not go to sleep at all last night, but a
little after midnight, as the moon was beginning to show itself,
by gangs of four, the men stole quietly out of the village; and
by 3 A.M. the entire Expedition was outside the boma, and not the
slightest alarm had been made. After a signal to the new guide,
the Expedition began to move in a southern direction along the
right bank of the Kanengi River. After an hour's march in this
direction, we struck west, across the grassy plain, and maintained
it, despite the obstacles we encountered, which were sore enough to
naked men. The bright moon lighted our path: dark clouds now and
then cast immense long shadows over the deserted and silent plains,
and the moonbeans were almost obscured, and at such times our
position seemed awful -
Till the moon.
Rising in clouded majesty, at length,
Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.
Bravely toiled the men, without murmur, though their legs were
bleeding from the cruel grass. "Ambrosial morn" at last appeared,
with all its beautiful and lovely features. Heaven was born anew
to us, with comforting omens and cheery promise. The men, though
fatigued at the unusual travel, sped forward with quicker, pace as
daylight broke, until, at 8 A.M., we sighted the swift Rusugi River,
when a halt was ordered in a clump of jungle near it, for breakfast
and rest. Both banks of the river were alive with buffalo, eland,
and antelope, but, though the sight was very tempting, we did not
fire, because we dared not. The report of a gun would have alarmed
the whole country. I preferred my coffee, and the contentment which
my mind experienced at our success.
An hour after we had rested, some natives, carrying salt from the
Malagarazi, were seen coming up the right bank of the river. When
abreast of our hiding-place, they detected us, and dropping their
salt-bags, they took to their heels at once, shouting out as they
ran, to alarm some villages that appeared about four miles north of
us. The men were immediately ordered to take up their loads, and
in a few minutes we had crossed the Rusugi, and were making direct
for a bamboo jungle that appeared in our front. On, on, we kept
steadily until, at 1 P.M., we sighted the little lake of Musunya,
as wearied as possible with our nine hours march.
Lake Musunya is one of the many circular basins found in this part
of Uhha. There was quite a group of them. The more correct term
of these lakes would be immense pools.
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