DR. LIVINGSTONE'S EXPEDITION.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 1, Issue 83, 23 April 1859, Page 3

DR. LIVINGSTONE'S EXPEDITION.

Tee following letters have "been received by a, gentleman in Grlasgow from Dr.. Livingstone.: — Steam Laimoli.'MarEoTb^rtj'.^tiverr :.,.;.. I '... Zambesi,. 2Bs. Jujv?, 1859, \. ■ My bEAB.Sp,-rrßyttlio departiire, s oi t'he-cplo-" ; nial 38jii^l 'J^eor j,' 6pabled.td comraumca't'e ■witli^Bfriends a^iome /by ' overland India' routejlna i'tiave^&aeh pJeasurein informing^jouc that ■ we'have' been 1 vet y >olearly! favored with;- • ther ever ; siace;^e feel t-l^nkfyl. iovi thejineroy. 1 - ft^ -Y^%^ ,9 T , ei *^f>'^or,\ 'with .the i weight on our'decic, a gale tvbuft' have* wrought a fearfu! straniash.- I was obliged to '< ,\ ,par.t with "Uris; l liiviiigstone';aiid" Osweli ; at- th©. •'■•-"•■.""■ ':;,:',";■ ■'■■-? ■.:,">-. ■>■•.:..:•,:.:>. ;■..•■•;..., f - ' „

Cape,- but we there met Mr. and Mrs. Moffat from Kuruman, and Bhe will go with them thither, and afterwards join me by the overland way' beyond that. This we felt to be a trial, but now see it was for the best/ for the Portuguese and natives are'^'war, and cannot pass up the/river. You . are^aV^thafc I did not see : the' lower -portion of the'- Zambesi, bufc left it at Mazaro, a r place 70 miles from its mouth. This lower part had to be ,all ; explored, and that took up a month, fromithe 'riuniber of mouths it pdsßesses. "We found a very good bar and" harbor at the river or branch by which we entered. It is called Kongone, and has ten mouths, if I may so call them, sucking water by them out of the main stream. . One of these is a natural canal, five miles long, through, which we entered the Zambesi. Our ship, the 'Pearl,' was a screw, and would not back readily, and was quite too deep for exploring. We were, moreover, . hampered by very stringent orders not to run any risk, of detaining her in the river, but rather laqd ' our goods on an islandj and send her off. This we have done, though with a- paddle steamer of five or" six feet draught-we could have gone to Tete. We are below MaZaro, and next week" will go to Tetej where my men are waiting for me. It ; is said v that many of them have died bf small-pox, a disease- unknown in their own country ; but the rest<hjwe^p6ri!hased pigs, goats and"; -povltry with.'; their earnings, and refuse either to slaughter or sell them till I 'come. We went up to Mazaro in the 'Ma-Robert;,', and encountered the enemy, consisting of 200 veil armed natives (with Towfcr muskets.) We \approached them ; slowly, and, when within hail, % called out that we ; were ;Engglish, and pointed to the English ensign, They gave a shout of joy, and we soon saw them running down with bananas for sale.. We mean to".' keep' free of the quarrel on both the native and Portuguese sides, and get beyond them as soon as possible. My brother found very good cotton in the delta ; bu^, all complain that wars/ruin their cultivation. Of the river I can now- speak with confidence, as I had the company of three naval officers. It is generally from 1000 to 2000 yards wide ; but where it has islands it spreads out to two-and-a-half or three miles; These are the worst parts.; in. the narrower parts we have. from three ' to 'seven' fathoms. In these broad parts a. channel of two or two and-a-half fathoms can be ISiSSlF'only by searching. Oneof my friends- re-; markjed it was more like an inland sea than -a.ri.ver.' I sßaUiaShere to the Opinion? I 1 have all along expressed, that a.y.essel drawing from four to six feet water couldrun upon if during seven or eight months of the year with ease. We all enjoy good health, no case of fever haying appeared, among .us^and we hav.e been in the delta five weeks. .But tnis I knew beforehand to be the healthy season, or winter, arid selected health in preference to a full river.. : "■ ' I am, &c, David Livingston.

Tete, September 14, 1859. My deab Sir, — I wrote you a long letter by the 'Pearl,' btit, 'unfortunately, by some mistake it was 'iinsent, so I hare 'how-to' tell you that we 'spent?.; some 5 time getting & proper entrance into the Zanl! f.besi,- as "the -main entrance seemed unsafe. We'e^ , tered by a side branch", and- having been about a . month exploring the delta, and the river falling fast, it was resolved to land all- our goods on an island, and carry them up by successive trips in bur small steam launch. This we have been doing as fast as we could.. This you are aware of probably ere this, and possibly also of the very, favor- . Abie opinion respecting the value of this river expressed by the two naval officers who accompanied me. I see it now several feet lower than they did, and as it is spread out in many places between Lupata to from one to three miles in width, you may ,be sure we have difficulties in finding the deep channel. Formerly I believed, from what the 'Portuguese told me, that this river was navigable during only six or eight months in the year. I ...nosf believe that it could be navigated with one of "Ihft §O-inch steamers, ten months, if not the whole yeiaiii j cWhen we got to Lupa.ta,j where* the -river is no-longer divided into many channels, "our difficulties in navigation ended. Here the gentlemen at once yielded to my suggestion, and dug out a tori and a half of coals, the very first ever taken • dirt ■of the earth in this country. Mr- Eae, a Glasgowegian, pronounces them to' be good, and promising better, as they are got from the surface in the bank of the Muatoze, where they have been exposed to the action of floods and ■ atmosphere for ages. There is an immense coal-field here and many seams crop out. "With coal and the best iron ore in abundance, surely Africa will not al- . ways be the trodden-down nation it has been. Our vessel was the first that ever steamed at lete, and we were visited as if we had been another Lev iathan. The eountiy was. in a state qt^war, and no Portuguese durst pass, but. we did, pjir passport .being the English name. , This is against our prospects, for everything stands still, or goes back, when war rages. We had gone- from* 'the -Portugueseiito the native. side, from time ;to time, un-- ! moisted, bei^g equally friendly to .both parties. 'Sitany of the officers wished'to accept;'m.y-media-tion,'aiad the rebels-all did,- ; but -H'tie"' Governor 'Would-not give Hrx. A decisive \blowi is to flbe . strack soon, but the rebels being, mostly : xunaw|ay slices, they will hold out.- . Twp who acted.as pilots^ on, board once wanted me to buy tliem,'Jto get out of the scrape. It'^ssad to see' ! so f ßne ar-coun-t'ry in. this condition.' We have T.ery fine cotfon:. •growing wild wherever it has once been, sown : it. is long- in the staple, and has been introduced,- as its name imports. The other has' a short !stro.ng staple which clings to the seed, and^i9 )% more ljke wool in the hand than edttoti.' Wer have also more lignum vitse than ebony,.but I must leave allthese things-to^ be reported on by, my companions. ,My 'men r w"erc still at Tete, though 30 of them Had died jjf #pall-pq?4" and 6 had been killed by '$' neigh-' 'bo^ring^cliief." The p&ffr fellows received me with greais'oy> alid no less glad' was I tosee'ihem. ■ All '-the pasty is now. -welL , \Ve;ha>v,e, ha.d4llpessi, but ' I r think,r.as.bo I <^yi^ (^ix^ Itli"^ 'Pearl' escape^,, it \jras j, 'greatiyj. pvfinE^.to pushing . •with, all^jour yigour 'a way from" toe" inangrov^ < -slPjnpsat tnembxxth'bf the'rivei'i l^ese ai'e; this . hot^Bfeds of fever/- '- :^' ; ■.• : >'---J .->■■■: ';'.-■ i-.^-; -^x? ; ~ Jif'i Vr-Jfic^ •— ,i'-J-ani J '&C.i; •...>, : '^}>;.-;v j'.'-' ' /;/?*..;. ■*'.'><";'.: y-r: ■' - . DATID .-I/iTI^aSXPKE. ■ ■-. '- ; . ■'■■:' : ■ - ' ;i '^:- : '- -■" '•■■■y?i-}V^-:~