It must come to national colonization if we ever are to escape participation in the guilt of slave-holding America, or effectually relieve our own suffering poor-colonization, with all our Christian institutions, will spread our Christianity. It has too much been looked upon as transportation, and Christians have remained at home, content to growl over the bad treatment of aborigines by those who were bad at home. Why not go out themselves as Missionaries? It does not need connexion with a Society to be a Missionary. The permanency which Societies always fail to effect, would be secured by the families of the godly going forth with their ministers, their elders, their Christianity. No one is more alive to the good effected by Societies than I am; and I think that the indirect results-those which will become apparent in the future, and greatly accelerate the final consummation-are even of more value than the visible fruits of to-day. Yet I have always a sore longing for a permanency and continuance. I know what it is to stand alone among the heathen, and see the early blossoms go up as dust. But I have run off at a tangent, instead of giving you information.

I had left orders with Mr C. Livingstone and Mr Baines to examine Kebrabasa when the river had risen twelve feet. They could scarcely recognise it again; the cataracts were smooth, and, but for the hills which Baines had sketched, they would not have known where they were. But a steamer capable of stemming the current in the middle, and that will not be drawn aside by eddies, is necessary to enable us to ascend without luggage and with our Makololo. Since I have become skipper, we have gone about 1,600 miles, and cut upwards of 100 tons of lignum vitæ.

The cucumbers are coming on now; the oil made from their seeds (the Examiner sunbeams) is the purest and most wholesome of all oils, so say the Portuguese. I shall send you some. The indigo in the streets here grows about three feet high. I have met it in the fields higher than seven, and Dr Kirk has extracted the substance from it. Senna in abundance in the same locality. The cotton, now that my attention is attracted to these things, is without doubt a native of this country. It is burned down annually, but up it comes again as vigorous as ever. There are two kinds : the native, very strong and short in the staple; the foreign, and that of fine quality, and long in the staple. It is scarcely necessary for us to give seeds anywhere down here; all the people grow some for themselves from seeds brought into the country before we did; but the best cotton country is undoubtedly to the north of this. Here they sometimes, as now, suffer from a failure of the rains.

No. 7.

Addressed to Sir GEORGE GREY.

Tette, 19th Feb. 1859.

MY DEAR SIR GEORGE GREY,

In my last I told you of our visit to the Kebrabasa, and I am happy now to be able to inform you that it has been visited again since the water began to rise, and the reports of Mr C. Livingstone and Mr Baines fully confirm what I advanced as to the effect of a flood. Several of the cataracts which at low water seemed very serious obstacles, are rendered so smooth that, but for the adjacent mountains having been sketched, they would not have been recognised; but a steamer capable of stemming the main current is necessary for the ascent. The river is now fifteen feet above low water mark in November, and as it is expected to rise considerably more, I felt inclined to take advantage of it and haul the vessel through-but, besides the risk of doubling her up, she can carry so little cargo that we would soon be without supplies after we had succeeded. We shall therefore work for a while on this side the rapid; and, as a beginning I may mention, that we went up the Shire about the beginning of January, and found it a good navigable river for at least one hundred miles from its confluence. The mountain Marambala is 4,000 feet high, and has a wonderfully well cultivated large top. Lemon trees grow quite wild in the woods, and so do oranges and pine-apples. There are several fine little fountains with water slightly chalybeate. The people independent and very hospitable. The view from the top of the Shire winding across an extended plain inhabited by real Solophagi is magnificent, and, as you may judge from the height, we have quite a different climate from that of the plains. The vegetation is very like that of Londa and Angola. We have also a fine hot sulphureous fountain at the base (174 deg.). Yet no advantage has been taken of this splendid sanatorium by the Portuguese. The valley of the Shire at one part abounds in elephants; and, if you come to see us about January, I undertake toshow you five hundred of these noble animals grazing on one plain-we saw more than that-and as there are branches of the river which form islands, we sometimes chased them with this vessel. They had magnificent tusks. I think that they are attracted down from the hills by the sweet fruit of palmyras, of which there are fine forests there.

The people were very suspicious of us, never having been visited by Europeans before, but treated us civilly. Our wooding parties were never molested-yet a guard was set over us both night and day. They are well armed with bows and poisoned arrows. The women insert an ornament exactly the size and shape of the rings for table napkins in the upper lip; the effect is frightful. It is a most unaccountable ornament. They cultivate largely on the upper third of the Shire Valley, and we purchased abundance of provisions at a cheap rate, besides specimens of their cotton yarn. They have two kinds of cotton, and both very good in quality.

Our first object was to gain their confidence, and seeing them so suspicious, though we had pretty certain information of the Shire becoming smooth again beyond the cataract which stopped our progress, and that Arabs from Zanzibar were in the habit of coming down in canoes from Lake Nyanja, we thought it imprudent to leave the vessel in their power, and go overland. We leave them to allow our first visit to have its effect, and in the course of a month return to them again. The reason why the Portuguese have not gone further up than about Marambala is probably the steady rapidity of the current (24 knots). There are no still reaches, and, with the heavy Zambesi canoes, it is difficult to get on in a current. The people, too, have a bad name. They are said to have killed some native traders. In 1856, when I was coming down past the mouth of the Shire, I was told that an expedition had been sent up, but was unable to go far because the river was blocked up with duckweed. Quantities of that were then coming out of the river; but at twenty-five miles from the confluence the duckweed ceases, so that the expedition could not have gone far. Above that the river widens a little; but it is free from sand banks and deep. Indeed, it may be said to be superior to the Zambesi for steam navigation. We could go on at night even.

This is our most unhealthy season. Fever is fatal on the coast. Here we have some of it, but no one dies in consequence. Three of our party have had touches of it, but are better. This is the edge of the high healthy land, where I have still every reason to believe Europeans might live in safety.

We are longing somewhat for news, having received none except the papers you were kind enough to send us by the Lyra.

I have little hopes of doing any good with the people under or in contact with the Portuguese. A year or more must elapse ere they recover from the effects of their late war. But I think more highly of the capabilities of the country, for the produce England stands most in need of, than ever. I could collect a wagon load or two of indigo from the streets of Tette

to-morrow. Dr Kirk made some with it, and cotton, though burnt down annually, springs up as brisk as ever. The people here make sugar; of this I was not aware before. We have put up our little engine, to show what machinery can do. Her first work was to saw up planks with which Major Sicard, our best friend, was about to build. We try sugar cane as soon as it is ready to cut. I am, &c.

(Signed)

No. 8.

DAVID LIVINGSTONE.

Addressed to the Rev. WILLIAM MONK.

MY DEAR SIR, Tette, 3rd March, 1859. You may have supposed that I had forgotten the young men of the Missionary Union altogether, but I have been employed so differently from what I expected, that I am not greatly to blame for my silence. I am become sailing-master myself; in this capacity I have guided the steamer more than 1,600 miles. To a Cambridge man this would be nothingBishop Selwyn, I dare say, would feel it only a pastime; but I do it as a matter of duty, though as far as liking goes I would as soon drive a cab in London during cold November, as be fried alive on a paddle-box in an African sun. This new employment has interfered much with my cor

respondence.

You are of course aware of the great object in view in my coming here at all; my heart's desire has all along been to open Africa to the benign influences of our holy religion. She has the elements in herself of extinguishing the slave-trade, I am working towards that, and though forced to move more slowly than I like, I think we are proceeding surely. The first point we had to attend to was health; you may remember the sad fate of the Niger Expedition, and the outcry that followed thereupon; the recollection of it made me choose the best time of year for health, but not the best for showing off the great river to best advantage. As soon as we entered the Mangrove swamp, the hot-bed of fever, we began the daily use of quinine, and we maintained constant activity-the latter is of more importance than the former. Thanks to our Almighty Protector, no case of fever occurred either among us or the crews that accompanied us. The present is the most unhealthy season of the year; but we are now on the edge of the interior, healthy highlands, and though we have lately had three cases of mild fever, it is seldom or never fatal here as on that coast.

We have thus proved that Europeans can come up here at certain seasons in perfect safety.

We have proved also that the river is navigable during most of the year in flat-bottomed vessels. I came up from the sea to this in a vessel drawing two feet and a half water in November, when the river is at its lowest, and this year it was unusually low. Now the water stands from nine to twelve feet above what it was then, and it will continue so many months. We have found also that the Shire, a branch of the Zambesi, is navigable for a steamer at least one hundred miles from the confluence, and that it flows along a fertile valley of that length, and from twenty to thirty miles wide.

We went up lately, until stopped by a cataract, and we were informed by the people that the river comes out of Lake Nyanja. For five days beyond the cataract the river again becomes smooth, and Arabs come down in canoes from that lake. The people had never been visited before by Europeans, and were very suspicious, but we hope to overcome that by a second visit. At the lower part of the Shire there is a mountain 4,000 feet high; the top large, with hills and dales, and flowing fountains; it is well cultivated, the people growing cotton, sugar-cane, maize, and even pineapples, lemons and oranges. Being so high it possesses a different climate and vegetation from the plains below, but no attempt has been made by the Portuguese to reap the benefit of these advantages. Had it been English, we should have had a Sanatorium, and possibly a College, on Marambala. The people were hospitable, and are independent of the Portuguese. I despair of doing anything among the latter.

We have a rapid in front of this, and until we get a more powerful steamer we work on the river Zambesi. The Makololo are still here, though anxious to return to their own country-thirty-six are dead. Thirty from small pox, and the rest murdered by a neighbouring chief. I agreed to their going home with my brother, but most of them refused to leave; lest doing so should be construed into disobedience when they got home.

Kind Christian salutations to all the young men; to Drs Whewell and Sedgwick. I shall write to them both soon, if I have anything worth telling.

Yours, &c.

DAVID LIVINGSTONE.

[The Union here referred to is the Cambridge Church Missionary Union. This letter was received in September, 1859.-ED.]