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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Nature, Also - Proud, Wild Nature-0-With The Lofty Azure Dome
Upheaved Into Infinity - With Her Breadth And Depth Of Vivid
Greenness And Enormous Vastness On Our Left - With Her Immense
Sheet Of Bright, Glancing Water - With Her Awful And Intense
Serenity - She Partook Of And Added To Our Joy.
About 10 A.M. we arrived at Kirindo's, an old chief, noted for his
singular kindness to Dr. Livingstone, while he bore animosity to
the Arabs.
To the Arabs this was unaccountable - to the Doctor it
was plain: he had but spoken kind and sincere words, while all the
Arabs spoke to him as if he were not even a man, least of all a
chief.
Kirindo's place is at the mouth of the Liuche, which is very wide;
the river oozes out through a forest of eschinomenae (pith tree).
This was a rendezvous agreed upon between shore and lake parties,
that the canoes might all cross to the other side, distant a mile
and a half. The mouth of the Liuche forms the Bay of Ukaranga,
so named because on the other side, whither we were about to cross
our party, was situated the village of Ukaranga, a few hundred yards
from the lake. All the baggage was taken out of the largest canoe,
and stowed snugly in the smaller one, and a few select oarsmen
having taken seats, pushed off with the Doctor on board, who was
to superintend pitching the encampment at Ukaranga; while I remained
behind to bind the fractious and ill-natured donkeys, and stow
them away in the bottom of the large canoe, that no danger of
upsetting might be incurred, and a consequent gobbling-up by
hungry crocodiles, which were all about us waiting their opportunity.
The flock of goats were then embarked, and as many of our people
as could be got in. About thirty still remained behind with myself,
for whom my canoe was to return.
We all arrived safe at Ukaranga, though we got dangerously near
a herd of hippopotami. The crossing of the wide mouth (the Liuche
being then in flood) was effected in about four hours.
The next day, in the same order as on our departure from Ujiji,
we pursued our way south, the lake party keeping as closely as
possible to the shore, yet, when feasible, wind and weather
permitting, we struck off boldly across the numerous small bays
which indent the shores of the Tanganika. The shores were
beautifully green, the effect of the late rains; the waters of
the lake were a faithful reflex of the blue firmament above.
The hippopotami were plentiful. Those noticed on this day were
coloured with reddish rings round the base of their ears and on the
neck. One monster, coming up rather late, was surprised by the
canoe making full for him, and in great fright took a tremendous
dive which showed the whole length of his body. Half way between
the mouth of the Malagarazi and that of the Liuche we saw a camp
on shore - that of Mohammed bin Gharib, a Msawahili, who figured
often in Livingstone's verbal narrative to me of his adventures
and travels as one of the kindest and best of the Moslems in
Central Africa.
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