As we approached the villages, the natives collected in large numbers, armed with bows and poisoned arrows; and some, dodging behind trees, were observed taking aim as if on the point of shooting.All the women had been sent out of the way, and the men were evidently prepared to resist aggression.At the village of a chief named Tingane, at least five hundred natives collected and ordered us to stop.Dr. Livingstone went ashore; and on his explaining that we were English and had come neither to take slaves nor to fight, but only to open a path by which our countrymen might follow to purchase cotton, or whatever else they might have to sell, except slaves, Tingane became at once quite friendly.The presence of the steamer, which showed that they had an entirely new people to deal with, probably contributed to this result; for Tingane was notorious for being the barrier to all intercourse between the Portuguese black traders and the natives further inland; none were allowed to pass him either way.He was an elderly, well-made man, grey-headed, and over six feet high.Though somewhat excited by our presence, he readily complied with the request to call his people together, in order that all might know what our objects were.
In commencing intercourse with any people we almost always referred to the English detestation of slavery.Most of them already possess some information respecting the efforts made by the English at sea to suppress the slave-trade; and our work being to induce them to raise and sell cotton, instead of capturing and selling their fellow-men, our errand appears quite natural; and as they all have clear ideas of their own self-interest, and are keen traders, the reasonableness of the proposal is at once admitted; and as a belief in a Supreme Being, the Maker and Ruler of all things, and in the continued existence of departed spirits, is universal, it becomes quite appropriate to explain that we possess a Book containing a Revelation of the will of Him to whom in their natural state they recognise no relationship.
The fact that His Son appeared among men, and left His words in His Book, always awakens attention; but the great difficulty is to make them feel that they have any relationship to Him, and that He feels any interest in them.The numbness of moral perception exhibited, is often discouraging; but the mode of communication, either by interpreters, or by the imperfect knowledge of the language, which not even missionaries of talent can overcome save by the labour of many years, may, in part, account for the phenomenon.However, the idea of the Father of all being displeased with His children, for selling or killing each other, at once gains their ready assent:it harmonizes so exactly with their own ideas of right and wrong.But, as in our own case at home, nothing less than the instruction and example of many years will secure their moral elevation.
The dialect spoken here closely resembles that used at Senna and Tette.We understood it at first only enough to know whether our interpreter was saying what we bade him, or was indulging in his own version.After stating pretty nearly what he was told, he had an inveterate tendency to wind up with "The Book says you are to grow cotton, and the English are to come and buy it," or with some joke of his own, which might have been ludicrous, had it not been seriously distressing.
In the first ascent of the Shire our attention was chiefly directed to the river itself.The delight of threading out the meanderings of upwards of 200 miles of a hitherto unexplored river must be felt to be appreciated.All the lower part of the river was found to be at least two fathoms in depth.It became shallower higher up, where many departing and re-entering branches diminished the volume of water, but the absence of sandbanks made it easy of navigation.We had to exercise the greatest care lest anything we did should be misconstrued by the crowds who watched us.After having made, in a straight line, one hundred miles, although the windings of the river had fully doubled the distance, we found further progress with the steamer arrested, in 15 degrees 55 minutes south, by magnificent cataracts, which we called, "The Murchison," after one whose name has already a world-wide fame, and whose generous kindness we can never repay.The native name of that figured in the woodcut is Mamvira.
It is that at which the progress of the steamer was first stopped.
The angle of descent is much smaller than that of the five cataracts above it; indeed, so small as compared with them, that after they were discovered this was not included in the number.
A few days were spent here in the hope that there might be an opportunity of taking observations for longitude, but it rained most of the time, or the sky was overcast.It was deemed imprudent to risk a land journey whilst the natives were so very suspicious as to have a strong guard on the banks of the river night and day; the weather also was unfavourable.After sending presents and messages to two of the chiefs, we returned to Tette.In going down stream our progress was rapid, as we were aided by the current.The hippopotami never made a mistake, but got out of our way.The crocodiles, not so wise, sometimes rushed with great velocity at us, thinking that we were some huge animal swimming.They kept about a foot from the surface, but made three well-defined ripples from the feet and body, which marked their rapid progress; raising the head out of the water when only a few yards from the expected feast, down they went to the bottom like a stone, without touching the boat.
