Zambesi Expedition | Page 7

by the little acts and
words of every-day life that character is truly and best known. And

doubtless many will prefer to draw their own conclusions from them
rather than to be schooled by us.


CHAPTER I.

Arrival at the Zambesi--Rebel Warfare--Wild Animals--Shupanga--
Hippopotamus Hunters--The Makololo--Crocodiles.
The Expedition left England on the 10th of March, 1858, in Her
Majesty's Colonial Steamer "Pearl," commanded by Captain Duncan;
and, after enjoying the generous hospitality of our friends at Cape
Town, with the obliging attentions of Sir George Grey, and receiving
on board Mr. Francis Skead, R.N., as surveyor, we reached the East
Coast in the following May.
Our first object was to explore the Zambesi, its mouths and tributaries,
with a view to their being used as highways for commerce and
Christianity to pass into the vast interior of Africa. When we came
within five or six miles of the land, the yellowish-green tinge of the sea
in soundings was suddenly succeeded by muddy water with wrack, as
of a river in flood. The two colours did not intermingle, but the line of
contact was as sharply defined as when the ocean meets the land. It was
observed that under the wrack--consisting of reeds, sticks, and
leaves.--and even under floating cuttlefish bones and Portuguese
"men-of-war" (Physalia), numbers of small fish screen themselves from
the eyes of birds of prey, and from the rays of the torrid sun.
We entered the river Luawe first, because its entrance is so smooth and
deep, that the "Pearl," drawing 9 feet 7 inches, went in without a boat
sounding ahead. A small steam launch having been brought out from
England in three sections on the deck of the "Pearl" was hoisted out and
screwed together at the anchorage, and with her aid the exploration was
commenced. She was called the "Ma Robert," after Mrs. Livingstone,

to whom the natives, according to their custom, gave the name Ma
(mother) of her eldest son. The harbour is deep, but shut in by
mangrove swamps; and though the water a few miles up is fresh, it is
only a tidal river; for, after ascending some seventy miles, it was found
to end in marshes blocked up with reeds and succulent aquatic plants.
As the Luawe had been called "West Luabo," it was supposed to be a
branch of the Zambesi, the main stream of which is called "Luabo," or
"East Luabo." The "Ma Robert" and "Pearl" then went to what proved
to be a real mouth of the river we sought.
The Zambesi pours its waters into the ocean by four mouths, namely,
the Milambe, which is the most westerly, the Kongone, the Luabo, and
the Timbwe (or Muselo). When the river is in flood, a natural canal
running parallel with the coast, and winding very much among the
swamps, forms a secret way for conveying slaves from Quillimane to
the bays Massangano and Nameara, or to the Zambesi itself. The
Kwakwa, or river of Quillimane, some sixty miles distant from the
mouth of the Zambesi, has long been represented as the principal
entrance to the Zambesi, in order, as the Portuguese now maintain, that
the English cruisers might be induced to watch the false mouth, while
slaves were quietly shipped from the true one; and, strange to say, this
error has lately been propagated by a map issued by the colonial
minister of Portugal.
After the examination of three branches by the able and energetic
surveyor, Francis Skead, R.N., the Kongone was found to be the best
entrance. The immense amount of sand brought down by the Zambesi
has in the course of ages formed a sort of promontory, against which
the long swell of the Indian Ocean, beating during the prevailing winds,
has formed bars, which, acting against the waters of the delta, may have
led to their exit sideways. The Kongone is one of those lateral branches,
and the safest; inasmuch as the bar has nearly two fathoms on it at low
water, and the rise at spring tides is from twelve to fourteen feet. The
bar is narrow, the passage nearly straight, and, were it buoyed and a
beacon placed on Pearl Island, would always be safe to a steamer.
When the wind is from the east or north, the bar is smooth; if from the
south and south-east, it has a heavy break on it, and is not to be

attempted in boats. A strong current setting to the east when the tide is
flowing, and to the west when ebbing, may drag a boat or ship into the
breakers. If one is doubtful of his longitude and runs east, he will soon
see the land at Timbwe disappear away to the north; and coming west
again, he can easily make out East Luabo