Fragment of Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa (Part III)
David Livingstone

Date of composition: January-October 1857
Repository: Brethurst Library, Johannesburg, South Africa
Shelfmark: MS. 023
Clendennen & Cunningham number(s): Books, 01
Digital edition and date: Livingstone Online, 2019
Publisher: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
Project id: liv_000102
TEI encoding: Justin D. Livingstone, Adrian S. Wisnicki, Kate Simpson, Stephen Hall, Johanna Green, Peter Slater

0001
1

1 pp. 366-367 of the 5th Cypriano supplied
2my men ⎰generously⎱ with
3pumpkins and maize
4and then invited me to
5breakfast - which consisted
6of earth nuts and roasted
7maize - Then boiled manioc
8roots and earth nuts - ^ Then with
9guavas and honey as a
10desert - I felt sincerely
11grateful for this glorious ^ [magnificent]
12breakfast

13

At dinner Cypriano was
14equally successful [bountiful] and
15several of his friends
16joined us at it in doing
17justice to his hospitality
18⎰one of them cut up a
19fowl with a knife & fork⎱
20 and the others Then [↪ Before eating] all
21had water poured on
22the hands [↪ by a female slave] to wash them
23 tr ↪ Neither forks nor spoons
24 [however] were used for in eating
25 but the repast was
26partaken of with decency
27and good manners
28 28 and concluded by washing
29the hands again - as at first

30

All of them could
31read and write with ease
32I examined all the books
33they possessed and found
34a small work on medicine

0002
0003
1

nor varied [↪ The Senegal long claw however maintains its place
2and is the largest bird seen - We saw a butcher bird
3in a trap as
4we passed] There are Remarkably few small animals
5they having been hunted almost to extinction few
6insects except ants wh abound in considerable number
7and variety [↪ There are
8scarcely any
9common flies
10to be seen nor
11are we ever ?
12troubled by
13mosquitoes ] // The air is still hot and oppressive [↪ The intensely
14bright sunlight
15glances peace
16fully on the
17evergreen
18forest leaves
19and all feel
20glad when
21the path
22comes into
23the shade]
24The want of life in ' scenery made me long to tread
25again ' banks ` ' Zambesi and see ' graceful antelopes
26feeding beside ' dark buffalo and sleek elands
27Here hippopotami are known to exist only by '
28footprints on ' banks No one is ever seen to blow
29 2 & 3 or put his head up at all They have learned to
30 pp. 454-456 breathe in silence and ^ keep out of sight We never
31heard one uttering ' snorting sound so common on the
32 Zambesi We crossed two small streams
33 [↪ Kangesi
34the Kanesi &
35 Fombeji] before reaching Cabango a village situated on '
36banks of ' river Chihombo The country
37was becoming more densely peopled as we pro-
38ceded but it bears no population compared to
39what it might easily sustain provisions
40were to be had in great abundance a fowl
41and basket ` meal weighing 20lbs were sold for
421 ½ yds of very inferior cotton cloth worth not
43more than 3 pence An idea ` ' cheapness of
44food may be formed from ' fact that Capt
45Neves purchased 380lbs ` tobacco from ' Bangalas
46for about 2 pounds Sterling This when carried into
47 Central Londa might purchase seven thousand
48five hundred fowls or feed with meal & fowls
49seven thousand persons for one day giving each a fowl
50and 5 lbs ` meal When food is purchased
51here with either salt or coarse calico 4 persons
52can be well fed with animal & vegetable
53food at ' rate ` one penny a day - The Chief
54vegetable food is ' manioc and lotsa meal

55

They These contain a very large proportion ` starch 0004 0005
1and when eaten alone for any length ` time pro-
2duce most distressing heartburn and as we ourselves
3experienced in coming north cause a weakness ` vision
4as occurs in 'case ` animals fed on pure gluten or
5 amyllaceous matter only - I now discovered that
6when these starchy substances are eaten along
7with a proportion of earthnuts pu wh ^ contain sweet-oil
8` essence is made [a considerable
9quantity of oil] no injurious effects follow

10

While on ' way to Cabango we saw fresh tracks
11` elands the first we had seen observed in this country
12a poor little slave girl belonging to being sick turned
13aside in ' path and though we waited all ' next day
14making search for her she was lost probably she
15she was tall and slender for her age as if of too quick
16growth and probably unable to bear ' fatigue ` the
17march lay down and slept in ' forest then
18waking in ' dark went farther and farther
19astray The treatment ` ' slaves when witnessed
20by my men certainly did not raise slaveholders
21in their estimation Their usual exclamation
22was "Ga ba na pelu" (They have no heart) and
23added in reference to ' slaves "Why do they let them?"
24as if they thought that ' slaves had ^ a' natural right to
25rid ' world ` such heartless creatures and ought
26to do it The uneasiness ` ' trader is {was} continually
27showing itself and upon ' whole he had reason to be
28on ' alert both day & night the carriers stole
29perpetually ' goods entrusted to their care and
30he could not openly accuse them lest they
31might plunder him of all and leave him quite
32in the lurch - he could only hope to manage
33them after getting all ' remaining good safely into
34a house in Cabango then he might deduct
35something from their pay for what they had purloined

0006
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Leaves from Manu
11script of Dr Living-
12stone's Travels in
13Africa given by the
14author to Dr Keith
15of Hamilton -