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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I Had Been The First To
Arrive On The Opposite Bank, In Order To Superintend The Crossing;
When I Caught Sight Of This Man Walking In The River With The Most
Precious Box Of All On His Head.
Suddenly he fell into a deep
hole, and the man and box went almost out of sight, while I was in
an agony at the fate which threatened the despatches.
Fortunately,
he recovered himself and stood up, while I shouted to him, with
a loaded revolver pointed at his head, "Look out! Drop that bog,
and I'll shoot you."
All the men halted in their work while they gazed at their
comrade who was thus imperilled by bullet and flood. The man
himself seemed to regard the pistol with the greatest awe, and
after a few desperate efforts succeeded in getting the box safely
ashore. As the articles within were not damaged, Rojab escaped
punishment, with a caution not to touch the bog again on any
account, and it was transferred to the keeping of the sure-footed
and perfect pagazi, Maganga.
From this stream, in about an hour, we came to the main river,
but one look at its wild waters was enough. We worked hard to
construct a raft, but after cutting down four trees and lashing
the green logs together, and pushing them into the whirling
current, we saw them sink like lead. We then tied together all
the strong rope in our possession, and made a line 180 feet long,
with one end of which tied round his body, Chowpereh was sent across
to lash it to a tree.
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