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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- To-day the Expedition suffered a loss in the death of
the grey Arab horse presented by Seyd Burghash, Sultan of Zanzibar.
The night previous I had noticed that the horse was suffering.
Bearing in mind what has been so frequently asserted, namely, that
no horses could live in the interior of Africa because of the tsetse,
I had him opened, and the stomach, which I believed to be diseased,
examined. Besides much undigested matama and grass there were found
twenty-five short, thick, white worms, sticking like leeches into
the coating of the stomach, while the intestines were almost alive
with the numbers of long white worms. I was satisfied that neither
man nor beast could long exist with such a mass of corrupting life
within him.
In order that the dead carcase might not taint the valley, I had
it buried deep in the ground, about a score of yards from the
encampment. From such a slight cause ensued a tremendous uproar
from Kingaru - chief of the village - who, with his brother-chiefs of
neighbouring villages, numbering in the aggregate two dozen wattled
huts, had taken counsel upon the best means of mulcting the Musungu
of a full doti or two of Merikani, and finally had arrived at the
conviction that the act of burying a dead horse in their soil without
"By your leave, sir," was a grievous and fineable fault. Affecting
great indignation at the unpardonable omission, he, Kingaru,
concluded to send to the Musungu four of his young men to say to him
that "since you have buried your horse in my ground, it is well; let
him remain there; but you must pay me two doti of Merikani." For
reply the messengers were told to say to the chief that I would
prefer talking the matter over with himself face to face, if he would
condescend to visit me in my tent once again.
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