April 1, 1867. MISSION LIFE. CENTRAL AFRICAN MISSION. MANY of our readers will remember that, some months ago, an appeal for additional contributions to this Mission was founded upon the fact that it had become necessary to sell out a portion of the small invested capital, in order to meet the current expenses. We are glad now to be able to state that the liberal response made to this appeal has enabled the Finance Committee to replace this amount, and that the greater part of the contributions having been given in the form of annual subscriptions, the same difficulty is not likely to recur. We have only, therefore, the pleasant task of cordially thanking those who have helped to effect so desirable an object. DR. LIVINGSTONE'S REPORTEed Death. THE interest attaching to letters recently received from Zanzibar naturally centres in the information which they contain about the reported death of Dr. Livingstone. The following extract contains one or two items of information additional to those already made public. We may remind our readers that the boy here mentioned -Wakotani-is the writer of the letter which was printed in an early number of this Magazine, and that he was originally released from slavery whilst being driven down the country from the district in which he has now so singularly fallen in with his own people : "You will have heard the sad news of Dr. Livingstone's death. For some time we have been hoping that we might hear news of him; but we are forced to give 16 VOL. II. up hope, and to accept the tale that the Johanna men brought us, that he was attacked by the Mazite somewhere in the neighbourhood of Nyassa (where, we cannot find out from the men, as they take no notice of time or place); that the Johanna men had not their guns loaded, and looked on at a distance; saw three men attack the Doctor, who was trying to reload. One cut him behind in the neck with an axe: he gave a loud cry and fell dead. Two of the Mazite were found dead near him, and all the boys who were with him. The men scratched a hole and buried him, they say. Wakotani left the party a few days before the attack: he said he met his sister, and he wished to remain with her. The men saw him again as they returned." It will here be interesting to quote Dr. Livingstone's account of his visit in 1861 to the part of the country in which he is said to have perished, and the description he gives of the tribe to which his supposed murderers belong : "Pursuing our exploration, we found that the northern part of the lake was the abode of lawlessness and bloodshed. The Mazite or Mazitu live on the highlands, and make sudden swoops on the villages of the plains. They are Zulus who came originally from the south, inland of Sofalla and Inhambane; and are of the same family as those who levy annual tribute from the Portuguese on the Zambesi. All the villages north of Mankambira's (lat. 11° 44′ south) had been recently destroyed by these terrible marauders, but they were foiled in their attacks upon that chief and Marenga. The thickets and stockades round their villages enabled the bowmen to pick off the Mazitu in security, while they were afraid to venture near any place where they could not use their shields. Beyond Mankambira's we saw burned villages, and the putrid bodies of many who had fallen by Mazitu spears only a few days before. Our land party were afraid to go further, and dreaded meeting the inflicters of the terrible vengeance, of which they saw the evidence at every turning, without a European in their company. This reluctance on the part of the native land party to proceed without the presence of a white man was very natural, because bands of the enemy who had ravaged the country were supposed to be still roaming about; and if these marauders saw none but men of their own colour, our party might forthwith be attacked. Compliance with their request led to an event which might have been attended by very serious consequences. Dr. Livingstone got separated from the party in the boat for four days. Having taken the first morning's journey along with them, and directing the boat to call for him in a bay in sight, both parties proceeded north. In an hour Dr. Livingstone and his party struck inland, on approaching the foot of the mountains which rise abruptly from the lake. Supposing that they had heard of a path behind the high range which there forms the shore, those in the boat held on their course; but it soon began to blow so fresh that they had to run ashore for safety. While delayed a couple of hours, two men were sent up the hills to look for the land party, but they could see nothing of them, and the boat party sailed as soon as it was safe to put to sea, with the conviction that the missing ones would regain the lake in front. Life 1, 1867 "In a short time a small island or mass of rocks was passed, on which were a number of armed Mazitu, with some young women, apparently their wives. The headman said that he had been wounded in the foot by Mankambira, and that they were staying there till he could walk to his chief, who lived over the hills. They had several large canoes, and it was evident that this was a nest of lake pirates, who sallied out by night to kill and plunder. They reported a path behind the hills, and, the crew being reassured, the boat sailed on. A few miles further, another and still larger band of pirates were fallen in with, and hundreds of crows and kites hovered over and around the rocks on which they lived. Dr. Kirk and Charles Livingstone, though ordered in a voice of authority to come ashore, kept on their course. A number of canoes then shot out from the rocks and chased them. One with nine strong paddlers persevered for some time after all the others gave up the chase. A good breeze, however, enabled the gig to get away from them with ease. After sailing twelve or fifteen miles, north of the point where Dr. Livingstone had left them, it was decided that he must be behind; but no sooner had the boat's head been turned south, than another gale compelled her to seek shelter in a bay. Here a number of wretched fugitives from the slave-trade on the opposite shore of the lake were found; the original inhabitants of the place had all been swept off the year before by the Mazitu. In the deserted gardens beautiful cotton was seen growing; much of it had the staple an inch and a half long, and of very fine quality. Some of the plants were uncommonly large, deserving to be ranked with trees. "On their trying to purchase food the natives had nothing to sell except a little dried cassava-root and a few fish; and they demanded two yards of calico for the head only of a large fish. When the gale admitted of their return, their former pursuers tried to draw them ashore by asserting that they had quantities of ivory for sale. Owing to a succession of gales, it was the fourth day from parting that the boat was found by Dr. Livingstone, who was coming on in search of it with only two of his companions. "After proceeding a short distance up the path in which they had been lost sight of, they learned that it would take several days to go round the mountains and rejoin the lake; and they therefore turned down the bay, expecting to find the boat, but only saw it disappearing away to the north. They pushed on as briskly as possible after it, but the mountain flank which forms the coast proved excessively tedious and fatiguing; travelling all day, the distance made, in a straight line, was under five miles. As soon as day dawned, the march was resumed; and, after hearing at the first inhabited rock that their companions had passed it the day before, a goat was slaughtered out of the four which they had with them, when suddenly, to the evident consternation of the men, seven Mazitu appeared, armed with spears and shields, with their heads dressed fantastically with feathers. To hold a parley, Dr. Livingstone and Moloka, a Makololo man who spoke Zulu, went unarmed to meet them. On Dr. Livingstone approaching them, they ordered him to stop, and sit down in the sun, while they sat in the shade. 'No, no!' was the reply: 'if you sit in the shade, so will we.' They then rattled their shields with their clubs, a proceeding which usually inspires terror; but Moloka remarked, 'It is not the first time we have heard shields rattled.' And |