How I Found Livingstone Travels, Adventures And Discoveries In Central Africa Including Four Months Residence With Dr. Livingstone By Sir Henry M. Stanley







 -   I fancy a suspicion haunts my
mind, as I write, that there lies some motive behind all this.
I wonder - Page 68
How I Found Livingstone Travels, Adventures And Discoveries In Central Africa Including Four Months Residence With Dr. Livingstone By Sir Henry M. Stanley - Page 68 of 160 - First - Home

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I Fancy A Suspicion Haunts My Mind, As I Write, That There Lies Some Motive Behind All This. I Wonder If These Arabs Tell Me All These Things To Keep Me Here, In The Hope That I Might Be Induced Another Time To Assist Them In Their War With Mirambo!

If they think so, they are much mistaken, for I have taken a solemn, enduring oath, an oath to

Be kept while the least hope of life remains in me, not to be tempted to break the resolution I have formed, never to give up the search, until I find Livingstone alive, or find his dead body; and never to return home without the strongest possible proofs that he is alive, or that he is dead. No living man, or living men, shall stop me, only death can prevent me. But death - not even this; I shall not die, I will not die, I cannot die! And something tells me, I do not know what it is - perhaps it is the ever- living hopefulness of my own nature, perhaps it is the natural presumption born out of an abundant and glowing vitality, or the outcome of an overweening confidence in oneself - anyhow and everyhow, something tells me to-night I shall find him, and - write it larger - FIND HIM! FIND HIM! Even the words are inspiring. I feel more happy. Have I uttered a prayer? I shall sleep calmly to-night.

I have felt myself compelled to copy out of my Diary the above notes, as they explain, written as they are on the spot, the vicissitudes of my "Life at Unyanyembe." To me they appear to explain far better than any amount of descriptive writing, even of the most graphic, the nature of the life I led. There they are, unexaggerated, in their literality, precisely as I conceived them at the time they happened. They speak of fevers without number to myself and men, they relate our dangers, and little joys, our annoyances and our pleasures, as they occurred.

CHAPTER X. TO MRERA, UKONONGO.

Departure from Unyanyembe. - The expedition reorganized.-Bombay. - Mr. Shaw returns sick to Unyanyembe. - A noble forest.-The fever described. - Happiness of the camp. - A park-land. - Herds of game and noble sport. - A mutiny. - Punishment of the ringleaders. Elephants. - Arrival at Mrera

The 20th of September had arrived. This was the day I had decided to cut loose from those who tormented me with their doubts, their fears, and beliefs, and commence the march to Ujiji by a southern route. I was very weak from the fever that had attacked me the day before, and it was a most injudicious act to commence a march under such circumstances. But I had boasted to Sheikh bin Nasib that a white man never breaks his word, and my reputation as a white man would have been ruined had I stayed behind, or postponed the march, in consequence of feebleness.

I mustered the entire caravan outside the tembe, our flags and streamers were unfurled, the men had their loads resting on the walls, there was considerable shouting, and laughing, and negroidal fanfaronnade. The Arabs had collected from curiosity's sake to see us off - all except Sheikh bin Nasib, whom I had offended by my asinine opposition to his wishes. The old Sheikh took to his bed, but sent his son to bear me a last morsel of Philosophic sentimentality, which I was to treasure up as the last words of the patriarchal Sheikh, the son of Nasib, the son of Ali, the son of Sayf. Poor Sheikh! if thou hadst only known what was at the bottom of this stubbornness - this ass-like determination to proceed the wrong way - what wouldst thou then have said, 0 Sheikh? But the Sheikh comforted himself with the thought that I might know what I was about better than he did, which is most likely, only neither he nor any other Arab will ever know exactly the motive that induced me to march at all westward - when the road to the east was ever so much easier.

My braves whom I had enlisted for a rapid march somewhere, out of Unyanyembe, were named as follows: -

1. John William Shaw, London, England.

2. Selim Heshmy, Arab.

3. Seedy Mbarak Mombay, Zanzibar.

4. Mabruki Spoke, ditto.

5. Ulimengo, ditto

6. Ambari, ditto.

7. Uledi, ditto.

8. Asmani, ditto.

9. Sarmean, ditto.

10. Kamna, ditto.

11. Zaidi, ditto.

12. Khamisi, ditto.

13. Chowpereh, Bagamoyo.

14. Kingaru, ditto.

15. Belali, ditto.

16. Ferous, Unyanyembe.

17. Rojab, Bagamoyo.

18. Mabruk Unyanyembe, Unyanyembe.

19. Mtamani, ditto.

20. Chanda, Maroro.

21. Sadala, Zanzibar.

22. Kombo, ditto.

23. Saburi the Great, Maroro.

24. Saburi the Little, ditto.

25. Marora, ditto.

26. Ferajji (the cook), Zanzibar.

27. Mabruk Saleem, Zanzibar.

28. Baraka, ditto.

29. Ibrahim, Maroro.

30. Mabruk Ferous, ditto.

31. Baruti, Bagamoyo.

32. Umgareza, Zanzibar.

33. Hamadi (the guide), ditto.

34. Asmani, ditto, ditto.

35. Mabruk, ditto ditto.

36. Hamdallah (the guide), Tabora.

37. Jumah, Zanzibar.

38. Maganga, Mkwenkwe.

39. Muccadum, Tabora.

40. Dasturi, ditto.

41. Tumayona, Ujiji.

42. Mparamoto, Ujiji.

43. Wakiri, ditto.

44. Mufu, ditto.

45. Mpepo, ditto.

46. Kapingu, Ujiji.

47. Mashishanga, ditto.

48. Muheruka, ditto.

49. Missossi, ditto.

50. Tufum Byah, ditto.

51. Majwara (boy), Uganda.

52. Belali (boy), Uemba.

53. Kalulu (boy), Lunda.

54. Abdul Kader (tailor), Malabar.

These are the men and boys whom I had chosen to be my companions on the apparently useless mission of seeking for the lost traveller, David Livingstone. The goods with which I had burdened them, consisted of 1,000 doti, or 4,000 yds. of cloth, six bags of beads, four loads of ammunition, one tent, one bed and clothes, one box of medicine, sextant and books, two loads of tea, coffee, and sugar, one load of flour and candles, one load of canned meats, sardines, and miscellaneous necessaries, and one load of cooking utensils.

The men were all in their places except Bombay. Bombay had gone; he could not be found.

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