The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death | Page 5

Their hair is collected up to the top of the head.
From Kibizé islet to Kabogo River on east side of Lake ten hours; sleep there. Syde slipped past us at night, but we made up to him in four hours next morning.
_13th March, 1869._--At Rombolé; we sleep, then on.
[At last he reached the great Arab settlement at Ujiji, on the eastern shore of Tanganyika. It was his first visit, but he had arranged that supplies should be forwarded thither by caravans bound inland from Zanzibar. Most unfortunately his goods were made away with in all directions--not only on this, but on several other occasions. The disappointment to a man shattered in health, and craving for letters and stores, must have been severe indeed.]
_14th March, 1869._--Go past Malagarasi River, and reach Ujiji in 3-1/2 hours. Found Haji Thani's agent in charge of my remaining goods. Medicines, wine, and cheese had been left at Unyanyembé, thirteen days east of this. Milk not to be had, as the cows had not calved, but a present of Assam tea from Mr. Black, the Inspector of the Peninsular and Oriental Company's affairs, had come from Calcutta, besides my own coffee and a little sugar. I bought butter; two large pots are sold for two fathoms of blue calico, and four-year-old flour, with which we made bread. I found great benefit from the tea and coffee, and still more from flannel to the skin.
_15th March, 1869._--Took account of all the goods left by the plunderer; sixty-two out of eighty pieces of cloth (each of twenty-four yards) were stolen, and most of my best beads. The road to Unyembé[3] is blocked up by a Mazitu or Watuta war, so I must wait till the Governor there gets an opportunity to send them. The Musa sent with the buffaloes is a genuine specimen of the ill-conditioned, English-hating Arab. I was accosted on arriving by, "You must give me five dollars a month for all my time;" this though he had brought nothing--the buffaloes all died--and did nothing but receive stolen goods. I tried to make use of him to go a mile every second day for milk, but he shammed sickness so often on that day I had to get another to go; then he made a regular practice of coming into my house, watching what my two attendants were doing, and going about the village with distorted statements against them.
I clothed him, but he tried to make bad blood between the respectable Arab who supplied me with milk and myself, telling him that I abused him, and then he would come back, saying that he abused me! I can account for his conduct only by attributing it to that which we call ill-conditioned: I had to expel him from the house.
I repaired a house to keep out the rain, and on the _23rd_ moved into it. I gave our Kasanga host a cloth and blanket; he is ill of pneumonia of both lungs.
_28th March, 1869._--Flannel to the skin and tea very beneficial in the cure of my disease; my cough has ceased, and I walk half a mile. I am writing letters for home.
_8th April, 1869._--Visited Moené Mokaia, who sent me two fowls and rice; gave him two cloths. He added a sheep.
_13th April, 1869._--Employed Suleyman to write notes to Governor of Unyembé, Syde bin Salem Burashid, to make inquiries about the theft of my goods, as I meant to apply to Syed Majid, and wished to speak truly about his man Musa bin Salum, the chief depredator.
Wrote also to Thani for boat and crew to go down Tanganyika.
Syde bin Habib refused to allow his men to carry my letters to the coast; as he suspected that I would write about his doings in Rua.
_27th April, 1869._--Syde had three canoes smashed in coming up past Thembwé; the wind and waves drove them on the rocks, and two were totally destroyed: they are heavy unmanageable craft, and at the mercy of any storm if they cannot get into a shut bay, behind the reeds and aquatic vegetation. One of the wrecks is said to have been worth 200 dollars (40_l._).
The season called Masika commenced this month with the usual rolling thunder, and more rain than in the month preceding.
I have been busy writing letters home, and finished forty-two, which in some measure will make up for my long silence. The Ujijians are unwilling to carry my letters, because, they say, Seyed Majid will order the bearer to return with others: he may say, "You know where he is, go back to him," but I suspect they fear my exposure of their ways more than anything else.[4]
_16th May, 1869._--Thani bin Suellim sent me a note yesterday to say that he would be here in two days, or say three;