weretheusualexpressionsweheardbeforewesawhim。
Hewasmuchpleasedwiththeproofofconfidencewehadshowninbringingourchildren,andpromisedtotakeustoseehiscountry,sothatwemightchooseapartinwhichtolocateourselvesOurplanwas,thatIshouldremaininthepursuitofmyobjectsasamissionary,whileMrOswellexploredtheZambesitotheeastPoorSebituane,however,justafterrealizingwhathehadsolongardentlydesired,fellsickofinflammationofthelungs,whichoriginatedinandextendedfromanoldwoundgotatMelitaIsawhisdanger,but,beingastranger,Ifearedtotreathimmedically,lest,intheeventofhisdeath,IshouldbeblamedbyhispeopleImentionedthistooneofhisdoctors,whosaid,“Yourfearisprudentandwise;thispeoplewouldblameyou。”
Hehadbeencuredofthiscomplaint,duringtheyearbefore,bytheBarotsemakingalargenumberoffreeincisionsinthechest。
TheMakololodoctors,ontheotherhand,nowscarcelycuttheskin。
OntheSundayafternooninwhichhedied,whenourusualreligiousservicewasover,IvisitedhimwithmylittleboyRobert“Comenear。”
saidSebituane,“andseeifIamanylongeramanIamdone。”
Hewasthussensibleofthedangerousnatureofhisdisease,soIventuredtoassent,andaddedasinglesentenceregardinghopeafterdeath。
“Whydoyouspeakofdeath?”saidoneofarelayoffreshdoctors;
“Sebituanewillneverdie。”IfIhadpersisted,theimpressionwouldhavebeenproducedthatbyspeakingaboutitIwishedhimtodie。
Aftersittingwithhimsometime,andcommendinghimtothemercyofGod,Irosetodepart,whenthedyingchieftain,raisinghimselfupalittlefromhisproneposition,calledaservant,andsaid,“TakeRoberttoMaunkuoneofhiswives,andtellhertogivehimsomemilk。”
ThesewerethelastwordsofSebituane。
Wewerenotinformedofhisdeathuntilthenextday。
TheburialofaBechuanachieftakesplaceinhiscattle-pen,andallthecattlearedrivenforanhourortwoaroundandoverthegrave,sothatitmaybequiteobliteratedWewentandspoketothepeople,advisingthemtokeeptogetherandsupporttheheirTheytookthiskindly;
andinturntoldusnottobealarmed,fortheywouldnotthinkofascribingthedeathoftheirchieftous;thatSebituanehadjustgonethewayofhisfathers;andthoughthefatherhadgone,hehadleftchildren,andtheyhopedthatwewouldbeasfriendlytohischildrenasweintendedtohavebeentohimself。
HewasdecidedlythebestspecimenofanativechiefIevermet。
Ineverfeltsomuchgrievedbythelossofablackmanbefore;
anditwasimpossiblenottofollowhiminthoughtintotheworldofwhichhehadjustheardbeforehewascalledaway,andtorealizesomewhatofthefeelingsofthosewhoprayforthedead。
Thedeep,darkquestionofwhatistobecomeofsuchashe,must,however,beleftwherewefindit,believingthat,assuredly,the“Judgeofalltheearthwilldoright。”
AtSebituane’sdeaththechieftainshipdevolved,asherfatherintended,onadaughternamedMa-mochisaneHehadpromisedtoshowushiscountryandtoselectasuitablelocalityforourresidenceWehadnowtolooktothedaughter,whowaslivingtwelvedaystothenorth,atNaliele。
Wewereobliged,therefore,toremainuntilamessagecamefromher;
andwhenitdid,shegaveusperfectlibertytovisitanypartofthecountrywechoseMrOswellandIthenproceededonehundredandthirtymilestothenortheast,toSesheke;andintheendofJune,1851,wewererewardedbythediscoveryoftheZambesi,inthecentreofthecontinent。
Thiswasamostimportantpoint,forthatriverwasnotpreviouslyknowntoexistthereatallThePortuguesemapsallrepresentitasrisingfartotheeastofwherewenowwere;andifeveranythinglikeachainoftradingstationshadexistedacrossthecountrybetweenthelatitudes12Degand18Degsouth,thismagnificentportionoftherivermusthavebeenknownbeforeWesawitattheendofthedryseason,atthetimewhentheriverisaboutatitslowest,andyettherewasabreadthoffromthreehundredtosixhundredyardsofdeepflowingwater。
MrOswellsaidhehadneverseensuchafineriver,eveninIndia。
Attheperiodofitsannualinundationitrisesfullytwentyfeetinperpendicularheight,andfloodsfifteenortwentymilesoflandsadjacenttoitsbanks。
ThecountryoverwhichwehadtraveledfromtheChobewasperfectlyflat,exceptwheretherewerelargeant-hills,ortheremainsofformerones,whichhadleftmoundsafewfeethighThesearegenerallycoveredwithwilddate-treesandpalmyras,andinsomepartsthereareforestsofmimosaeandmopaneOccasionallythecountrybetweentheChobeandZambesiisflooded,andtherearelargepatchesofswampslyingneartheChobeoronitsbanks。
TheMakololowerelivingamongtheseswampsforthesakeoftheprotectionthedeepreedyriversaffordedthemagainsttheirenemies。
Now,inreferencetoasuitablelocalityforasettlementformyself,IcouldnotconscientiouslyaskthemtoabandontheirdefensesformyconveniencealoneThehealthydistrictsweredefenseless,andthesafelocalitiesweresodeleterioustohumanlife,thattheoriginalBasutoshadnearlyallbeencutoffbythefever;
Ithereforefearedtosubjectmyfamilytothescourge。
Asweweretheveryfirstwhitementheinhabitantshadeverseen,wewerevisitedbyprodigiousnumbersAmongthefirstwhocametoseeuswasagentlemanwhoappearedinagaudydressing-gownofprintedcalico。
ManyoftheMakololo,besides,hadgarmentsofblue,green,andredbaize,andalsoofprintedcottons;oninquiry,welearnedthatthesehadbeenpurchased,inexchangeforboys,fromatribecalledMambari,whichissituatednearBiheThistribebegantheslave-tradewithSebituaneonlyin1850,andbutfortheunwillingnessofLechulatebetoallowustopass,weshouldhavebeenwithSebituaneintimetohavepreventeditfromcommencingatallTheMambarivisitedinancienttimesthechiefoftheBarotse,whomSebituaneconquered,andherefusedtoallowanyonetosellachildTheynevercamebackagaintill1850;
andastheyhadanumberofoldPortuguesegunsmarked“LegitimodeBraga“,whichSebituanethoughtwouldbeexcellentinanyfutureinvasionofMatebele,heofferedtopurchasethemwithcattleorivory,buttheMambarirefusedeverythingexceptboysaboutfourteenyearsofage。
TheMakololodeclaretheyneverheardofpeoplebeingboughtandsoldtillthen,anddislikedit,butthedesiretopossessthegunsprevailed,andeightoldgunswereexchangedforasmanyboys;thesewerenottheirownchildren,butcaptivesoftheblackracestheyhadconquered。
IhaveneverknowninAfricaaninstanceofaparentsellinghisownoffspringTheMakololowereafterwardincitedtomakeaforayagainstsometribestotheeastward;theMambaribargainingtousetheirgunsintheattackforthecaptivestheymighttake,andtheMakololoweretohaveallthecattleTheywentoffwithatleasttwohundredslavesthatyearDuringthisforaytheMakololometsomeArabsfromZanzibar,whopresentedthemwiththreeEnglishmuskets,andinreturnreceivedaboutthirtyoftheircaptives。
Intalkingwithmycompanionsoverthesematters,theideawassuggestedthat,iftheslave-marketweresuppliedwitharticlesofEuropeanmanufacturebylegitimatecommerce,thetradeinslaveswouldbecomeimpossible。
Itseemedmorefeasibletogivethegoods,forwhichthepeoplenowpartwiththeirservants,inexchangeforivoryandotherproductsofthecountry,andthuspreventthetradeatthebeginning,thantotrytoputastoptoitatanyofthesubsequentstepsThiscouldonlybeeffectedbyestablishingahighwayfromthecoastintothecentreofthecountry。
AstherewasnohopeoftheBoersallowingthepeaceableinstructionofthenativesatKolobeng,IatonceresolvedtosavemyfamilyfromexposuretothisunhealthyregionbysendingthemtoEngland,andtoreturnalone,withaviewtoexploringthecountryinsearchofahealthydistrictthatmightproveacentreofcivilization,andopenuptheinteriorbyapathtoeithertheeastorwestcoast。
ThisresolutionledmedowntotheCapeinApril,1852,beingthefirsttimeduringelevenyearsthatIhadvisitedthescenesofcivilizationOurroutetoCapeTownledustopassthroughthecentreofthecolonyduringthetwentiethmonthofaCaffrewar;
andifthosewhoperiodicallypayenormoussumsfortheseingloriousaffairswishtoknowhowourlittleunprotectedpartycouldquietlytravelthroughtheheartofthecolonytothecapitalwithaslittlesenseorsignofdangerasifwehadbeeninEngland,theymustengagea“`Times’SpecialCorrespondent“forthenextoutbreaktoexplainwherethemoneygoes,andwhohavebeenbenefitedbythebloodandtreasureexpended。
Havingplacedmyfamilyonboardahomeward-boundship,andpromisedtorejointhemintwoyears,weparted,for,asitsubsequentlyproved,nearlyfiveyearsTheDirectorsoftheLondonMissionarySocietysignifiedtheircordialapprovalofmyprojectbyleavingthematterentirelytomyowndiscretion;andIhavemuchpleasureinacknowledgingmyobligationstothegentlemencomposingthatbodyforalwaysactinginanenlightenedspirit,andwithasmuchliberalityastheirconstitutionwouldallow。
IhavethelikepleasureinconfessingmythankfulnesstotheAstronomerRoyalattheCape,ThomasMaclear,Esq。,forenablingmetorecallthelittleastronomicalknowledgewhichconstantmanuallaborandtheengrossingnatureofmissionarydutieshadeffacedfrommymemory,andinaddingmuchthatIdidnotknowbeforeThepromisehemadeonparting,thathewouldexamineandcorrectallmyobservations,hadmoreeffectinmakingmepersevereinovercomingthedifficultiesofanunassistedsolitaryobserverthananythingelse;sowhatevercreditmaybeattachedtothegeographicalpositionslaiddowninmyroutemustbeattributedtothevoluntaryaidoftheexcellentandlaboriousastronomeroftheCapeobservatory。
Havinggiventhereaderasrapidasketchaspossibleofeventswhichattractednoticebetween1840and1852,Inowproceedtonarratetheincidentsofthelastandlongestjourneyofall,performedin1852-6。
StartinJune,1852,onthelastandlongestJourneyfromCapeTown
CompanionsWagon-travelingPhysicalDivisionsofAfrica
TheEastern,Central,andWesternZonesTheKalahariDesert
ItsVegetationIncreasingValueoftheInteriorforColonization
OurRouteDutchBoersTheirHabitsSterileAppearanceoftheDistrictFailureofGrassSucceededbyotherPlants
VinesAnimalsTheBoersasFarmersMigrationofSpringbucks
WarinessofAnimalsTheOrangeRiverTerritoryoftheGriquasandBechuanasTheGriquasTheChiefWaterboer
HiswiseandenergeticGovernmentHisFidelityIll-consideredMeasuresoftheColonialGovernmentinregardtoSuppliesofGunpowder
SuccessoftheMissionariesamongtheGriquasandBechuanas
ManifestImprovementofthenativeCharacterDressoftheNatives
Afull-dressCostumeANative’sDescriptionoftheNatives
ArticlesofCommerceintheCountryoftheBechuanas
TheirUnwillingnesstolearn,andReadinesstocriticise。
HavingsentmyfamilyhometoEngland,IstartedinthebeginningofJune,1852,onmylastjourneyfromCapeTownThisjourneyextendedfromthesouthernextremityofthecontinenttoStPauldeLoando,thecapitalofAngola,onthewestcoast,andthenceacrossSouthCentralAfricainanobliquedirectiontoKilimaneQuilimane
inEasternAfricaIproceededintheusualconveyanceofthecountry,theheavy,lumberingCapewagondrawnbytenoxen,andwasaccompaniedbytwoChristianBechuanasfromKurumanthanwhomIneversawbetterservantsanywherebytwoBakwainmen,andtwoyounggirls,who,havingcomeasnurseswithourchildrentotheCape,werereturningtotheirhomeatKolobengWagon-travelinginAfricahasbeensooftendescribedthatIneedsaynomorethanthatitisaprolongedsystemofpicnicking,excellentforthehealth,andagreeabletothosewhoarenotover-fastidiousabouttrifles,andwhodelightinbeingintheopenair。