The Personal Life Of David Livingstone

1854-

ria Falls--The healthy longitudinal ridges--Pedestrianism--Great dangers--Narrow escapes--Triumph of the spirit of trust in God--Favorite texts--Reference to Captain Maclure's experience--Chief subjects of thought--Structure of the continent--Sir Roderick Murchison anticipates his discovery--Letters to Geographical Society--First letter from Sir Roderick Murchison--Missionary labor--Monasteries--Protestant mission-stations wanting in self-support

This arose from detention of various kinds [41]: the sicknesses of Livingstone and his men, the heavy rains, and in one case, at Pungo Andongo, the necessity of reproducing a large packet of letters, journals, maps, and despatches, which he had sent off from Loanda. These were despatched by the mail-packet "Forerunner," which unhappily went down off Madeira, all the passengers but one being lost. But for his promise to the Makololo to return with them to the

. In his case in this journey the proportion was generally reversed--twenty days of traveling and ten of rest, and his rate per day was about ten geographical mile

ed from the Portuguese; and his prayers that God would reward and bless them were no

ing in them not quite barbarised. On one point he was very clear--the Portuguese settlements among them had not improved them. Not that he undervalued the influences which the Portuguese had brought to bear on them; he had a much more favorable opinion of the Jesuit missions than Protestants have usually allowed themselves to entertain, and felt both kindly and respectfully toward the padres, who in the earlier days of these settlements had done, he believed, a useful work. But the great bane of the Portuguese settlements was slavery. Slavery prevented a good example, it hindered justice, it kept down improvement. If a settler took a fancy to a good-looking girl, he had only to buy her

account of our ships of war on the coast, yet will sell them to the best advantage. These women are decent-looking, as much so as the general run of Kuruman ladies, and' were caught lately in a skirmish the Portuguese had with their tribe; and they will be sold for about three tusks each. Each has an iron ring round the wrist, and that is attached to the

e. How are my dear ones? I have not seen any equal to them since I put them on board sh

erstood much that was said from its similarity to that tongue, and when I interlarded my attempts at Portuguese with Latin, or spoke it entirely, they und

e evening to receive a present, but I said unless he brought one he should receive nothing. He came in the usual way. The Balonda show the exalted position they occupy among men, viz., riding on the shoulders of a spokesman in the way little boys do in England. The chief brought two cocks and some eggs. I then gave a

IVING

et. There was no help for it. Every part of a plain was flooded ankle-deep. We got soaked by going on, and sodden if we stood still." In his former journey he had been very desirous to visit Matiamvo, paramount chief of the native tribes of Londa, whose

pposition. We cannot fail to be struck with his extraordinary care for his men. It was his earnest desire to bring them all back to their homes, and in point of fact the whole twenty-seven re

charge a cargo of coals or, as they called them, "stones that burned." But, like Livingstone, they had to part with everything on the way home, and now they were in rags; yet they were quite as cheerful and as fond of thei

nd having given an address on divine things, I told them we had come that day to thank God before them all for his mercy in preserving us from dangers, from strange tribes and sicknesses. We had another service in the afternoon. They gave us two fine oxen to slaughter, and the women have supplied us abundantly with milk and meal. This is al

proved inconstant and married another man. As the men had generally more wives t

s as earnest as ever for the spiritual benefit of the people. Some extracts from his Journal will illustrate his

and will deal with them in justice and kindness. This constitutes a ground of hope. Poor degraded Africa! A permanent station among them might effect something in t

opportunity compared to ours who have been carefully instructed in the knowledge of divine truth

'you speak truly,' is all the response. In reading accounts of South Sea missions it is hard to believe the quickness of the vegetation of the good seed, but I know several of the men" [the South Sea missionaries], "and am sure they are of unimpeachable veracity. In trying to convey knowledge, and use the magic lantern, whi

t to Mosilikatse, while a box of goods and comforts was sent to Linyanti to await his return, should that ever take place. A letter from Mrs. Moffat accompanied the box. It is amusing to read her motherly explanations about the whi

expect them to be fulfilled, and that every petition, however fervent, must be with devout submission to his will. My poor sister-in-law clung tenaciously to the 91st Psalm, and firmly believed that her dear husband would thus be preserved, and never indulged the idea that they should never meet on earth. But I apprehend submission was wanting. 'If it be Thy will,' I fancy she could not say--and, therefore, she was utterly confounded when the news came [42]. She h

am to the ordination of two native pastors, and when returning in

e can of his long detention. She seems to have put the matter play

a case of libel another 'source of attraction.' They tried to engulf me in a law-suit for simply asking the postmaster why some letters were charged double. They were so marked in my account. I had to pay ￡13 to quash it. They longed to hook me in, from mere hatred to London missionaries. I did not remain an hour after I could move. But I do not wonder at your

she had asked more full information. He quiets her fears by his favorite texts for the present--"Commit thy way to the Lord," and "Lo, I am with you alway"; and his favorite vision of the future--the earth full of the knowledge of the Lord. He is somewhat cutting at the expense of so-called "missionaries to the heathen, who never march into real heathen territory, and quiet their consciences by opposing their do

e, and three of his best riding oxen; stores of food were given, and a right to levy tribute over the tribes that were subject to Sekelétu as he passed through their borders. If Livingstone had performed these journeys with some long-pursed society or individual at his back, his feat even then would have been wonderful; but it becomes quite amazing when we think that he went without stores, and owed everything to the influence he acquired with men like Sekelétu and the natives generally. His heart was much touched on one occasion by the disinterested kindness of Sekelétu. Having lost their w

lish name to them,--the first he had ever given in all his African journeys,--the Victoria Falls. We have seen how genuine his respect was for his Sovereign, and it was doubtless a real though quiet pleasure to connect her name with the grandest natural phenomenon in Africa, This is one of the discoveries [43] that have taken most hold on the popular imagination, for the Victoria Falls are like a second Niagara, but grander and more astonishing; but except as illustrating his views of the structure of Africa, and the distribution of its waters, it had

iscovery, though m

d by him to be 1800 yards

practical importance. It had been ascertained by him that skirting the central hollow there were two longitudina

one, "may be all very well for those whose obesity requires much exercise; but for one who was becoming as thin as a lath through the constant perspirat

been glad to be on the tread-mill again. In one of his letters to Mr. Maclear he thus speaks of a part of this journey: "It was not likely that I should know our course well, for the country there is covered with shingle and gravel, bushes,

sovereignty of Sekelétu. At the union of the rivers Loangwa and Zambesi, the suspicious feeling regarding him reached a climax, and he could only avoid the threatened doom of the Bazimka (i.e. Bastard Portuguese) who had

signation to Thy will, and entire reliance on Thy powerful hand. On Thy Word alone I lean. But wilt Thou permit me to plead for Africa? The cause is Thine. What an impulse will be given to the idea that Africa is not open if I perish now! See, O Lord, how the heathen rise up against

weak, and h

ind arms

and all my cares down at Thy feet. Thou kn

me known in Christendom. Thy will be done!... They will not furnish us with more canoes than two. I

e in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations--and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world' It is the word of a gentleman of the most sacred and strictest honor, and there is an end on't. I will not c

as lent, though we saw two tied to the bank. And the part of the river we crossed at, about a mile from the confluence, is a good mile broad. We passed all our goods first, to an island in the middle, then the cattle and men, I occupying the post of honor, being the last to enter the canoe. We had, by this me

hey were again th

message has yet come from him, though several parties have arrived, and profess to have come simply to see the white man. Parties of his people have been collecting from all quarters long before daybreak. It would be considered a challenge--for us to move down the river, and an indication of fear and invitation to attack if we went back. So we must w

Livingstone as of the other David, the triumph of confidence was not the less wonderful that it was preceded by no small inward tumult. Both were human creatures. But in both the flutter lasted only till the soul had time to rally its trust--to think of God as a living friend, sure to help in time of need. And how real is the sense of God's presence! The me

en gave him all t

in his experience: 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy steps. Commit thy way unto thy Lord; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.' Many more, I have no doubt, of

felt keenly--that to live among the heathen is in itself very far from favorable to the vigor or the prosperity of the spiritual life. "T

urneys, two appear to have been especially prominent: first, the configuration of the country

eat heart of South Africa were the remains of the earlier accumulation before the fissures were formed. Lake 'Ngami, large though it was, was but a little fraction of the vast lake that had once spread itself over the south. This view of the structure of South Africa he now found, from a communication which reached him at Linyanti, had been anticipated by Sir Roderick Murchison, who in 1852 had propounded it to the Geographical Society. Livingstone was only amused at thus losing the credit of his discovery; he contented himself with a playful remark on his being "cut out" by Sir Roderick. But the coincidence of views was very rem

, as we have seen, he had written through a Fellow of the Society, his friend and former fellow-traveler, Captain, now Colonel Steele; but as the Colonel had been called on duty to the Crimea, he now addressed his letters to his c

o, 17th May, 1855; Linyanti, October 16, 1855; Chanyuni, 25th

SQUARE, Oct

d made a tour in the Highlands, and just as the meeting of th

ection of that body, and the reading of it called forth an un

sh geographers for your unparalleled exertions, and your successful accomplishment o

ociety who proposed that you should receive our first gold medal of the past sess

ce of Colonel Steele, and to assure you that I shall consider myself as much honored, as I

nd that you may return to us in health to receive the homage of

I. MURC

establishments, and, mutatis mutandis, he thought something of the kind might be very useful. He thought it unfair to judge of what these monasteries were in their periods of youth and vigor, from the rottenness of their decay. Modern missionary stations, indeed, with their churches, schools, and hospitals, were like Protestan

, thereby, to spread Christ's gospel among the heathen, is rather different, I ween, from the same given to a man to act as pastor to a number of professed Christians.... Some may think it creditable to our principle

ich men, however unenlightened, gave expression to their religious feelings; but he could not away with the sight of men of intelligence kissing the toe of an image of the Virgin, as he saw them doing in a Portuguese church, and taking part in services in which they did not, and coul

cteristic manliness he charges the Directors not to publish that part of his letter, lest he should appear to be making too much of his trials. "Sacrifices" he could never call them, because nothing could be worthy of that name in the service of Him who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor. Two or three times every day he had been wet up to the waist in crossing streams and marshy ground. The rain was so drenching that he had often to put his watch under his arm-pit to keep it dry. His good ox Sindbad would never let him hold an umbrella. His bed was on grass, with only a horse-cloth between. His food often consisted of bird-seed, manioc-roots, and meal. No wonder if he suffered much. Others would not have all that to bear. Moreover, if the fever of the district was severe, it was almost the only disease. Consumption, scrofula, madness, cholera, cancer, delirium tremens, a

n was of over whelming consequence, but with relation to the final harvest, it was more important to sow the seed broadcast over a wide field than to reap a few heads of grain on a single spot. Concentration was not the true principle of missions. The Society itself had felt this, in sending Morrison and Milne to be

were all deeply imbued with the spirit of trade. Commerce was so far good that it taught the people their mutual dependence; but Christianity alone reached the centre of African wants. "Theoretically," he concludes, "I would pronounce the country about the junction of the Leeba and Leeambye or Kabompo, and river of t

ean missionaries. It was formerly occupied by the Makololo, and they had a great desire to resume the occupation. One great advantage of such a locality was that it was on the border of the regions occupied by the true negroes, the real nucleus of the African p

re commanding point of view, he sees the necessity for other work. The continent must be surveyed, healthy localities for mission-stations must be found, the temptations to a cursed traffic in human flesh must be removed, the products of the country must be turned to account; its whole social economy must be changed. "The accomplishment of such objects, even in a limited degree, would be an immense service to the missionary; it would be such a preparing of his way that a hundred years hence the spiritual results woul

HE GEOGRAPHIC

NG OF THE E

t was like "to tear a man's life out of him." At Loanda he had heard of the battle of the Alma; after being in Tette a short time he heard of the fall of Sebastopol and the end of the Crimean War. He remained in Tette till the 23d April, detained by an attack of fever, receiving extraordinary kindness from the Governor, and, among other tokens of affection, a gold chain fo

afterward circulated to the effect that Livingstone's real design was to wrest the Portuguese settlements in Africa from Portugal, and to annex them to the British Crown. He refers most gratefully to the great kindness and substantial aid he had received from His Majesty's subjects, and is emboldened thereby to address him on behalf of Africa. He suggests certain agricultural products--especially wheat and a species of wax--that might be cultivated with enormous profit. A great stimulus might be given to the cultivation of other products--coffee, cotton, sugar, and oil. Much had b

reference to their future welfare. The absence also of Portuguese women In the colony is a circumstance which seems to merit the attention of Government for obvious reasons. And

, to bring it into the circuit of commerce and Christianity, and thus place it under the influence of the greatest blessings. But even as to being first, Livingstone was careful not to claim anything that was really due to others. Writing from Tette to Sir Roderick in March, 1856, he says: "It seems proper to mention what has been done in former times in the way of traversing the continent, and the result of my inquiries leads to the belief that the honor belongs to our country." He refers to the brave attempt of Captain José da Roga, in 1678, to penetrate from Benguela to the Rio da Senna, in which attempt, howev

of intelligence was the Times, 17th November, 1855, after the terrible affair of the Light Cavalry. The news was not certain about a most determined attack to force the way to Balaclava, and Sebastopol expected every day to fall, and I have had to repress all my longings since, except in a poor prayer to prosper the cause of justice and right, and cover the heads of our soldiers in the day of battle." [A few days later he heard the news.] "We are all engaged in very much the same cause. Geographers, astronomers, and mechanicians,

ches Quilimane on the 20th May, and is most kindly received by Colonel Nunes, "one of the best men in the country." Dr. Livingstone has told us in his book how his joy in reaching Quilimane was embittered on his l

sideration a petition from the widow of one of the men. He had never seen her, he said, but he had been the unconscious cause of he

ven years of age, had been drowned in Canada. All the deeper was his gratitude for the goodness and mercy that had

h his life had been ordered up to this point, is so striking t

it, and felt inclined to ascribe our successive and prolonged droughts to the wicked one. But when forced by these, and the Boers, to become explorer, and open a new country in the north rather than set my face southward, where missionaries are not needed, the gracious Spirit of God influenced the minds of the heathen to regard me with favor, the Divine hand is again perceived. Then I turned away westward, rather than in the opposite direction, chiefly from observing that some native Portuguese, though influenced by the hope of a reward from their Government to cross the continent, had been obliged to return from the east without accomplishing their object. Had I gone at first in the eastern direction, which the course of the great Leeambye seemed to invite, I should have

ans connected only remotely with the spread of the gospel, and that even though certain obstacles (from tsetse, etc.) should prove surmountable, "the financial circumstances of the Society are not such as to afford any ground of hope that it would be in a position

of the gospel as the Boers would allow them to be. A plan of opening up a path from either the East or West Coast for the

men while laboriously and without swerving pursuing tha

my brother that I would perish rather than fail in my enterprise. I shall not boast of what I have done, but t

ill of God, means will be pr

s views. It is so important as throwing light on his missiona

pendix

ut meanwhile, as he tells us in his book, his old feeling of independence had returned,

from whom he received the greatest kindness, and so rapid was his recovery from an affection of the spleen which his numerous fevers had bequeathed, that before he left the island he wrote to Commodore Trotter and other friends that he was perfectly well, and "quite ready to go back to Africa again." This, however, was not to be just yet. In November he sailed through the Red Sea, on the homeward r

ith her sails flapping all helplessly, against the rocks; the boats were provisioned, watered, and armed, the number each was to carry arranged (the women and children to go in first, of course), when most providentially a wind sprung up and carried us out of danger into the Bay of Tunis, where I now write. The whole affair was managed by Captain Powell most admirably. He was assisted by two gentlemen whom we all admire--Captain Tregear of the same Company, and Lieutenant Chimnis of the Royal Navy, and though they and the sa

Marseilles, and Livingstone proc

to him as his life was ebbing away. "Ay, very much, very much; but the will of the Lord be done." Then after a pause he said, "But I think I'll know whatever is worth knowing about him. When you see him, tell him I think so." David had not less eagerly desired to sit once more at the