Title Page, Contents and Preface
HEROES OF THE WORLD LIBRARY
Each volume fully illustrated. Extra Crown 8vo, 5 s. HEROES OF THE INDIAN MUTINY Stories of Heroic Deeds, Intrepidity and Determination in the Face of
Fearful Odds during the Great Mutiny
By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A.
SOMETIME MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL
HEROES OF MISSIONARY
ENTERPRISE
True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery and
Stirring Adventures of Missionaries with
Uncivilised Man, Wild Beasts, and
the Forces of Nature in all
Parts of the World
By CLAUD FIELD, M.A.
"The book has not a dull page
from first to last”
The Northern Whig
HEROES OF PIONEERING True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery and
Stirring Adventures of Pioneers with Uncivilised Man, Wild Beasts, and
the Forces of Nature in all
Parts of the World By EDGAR SANDERSON, M.A.
SCHOLAR OF CLARE COLLEGE
CAMBRIDGE " Will delight the heart of any boy.”—Dundee Advertiser
HEROES OF THE
SCIENTIFIC WORLD
An Account of the Lives, Sacrifices,
Successes, and Failures of some of
the Greatest Scientists in the
World’s History By CHARLES R. GIBSON, F.R.S.E.
" A book of surpassing interest ”
Expository Times
HEROES OF MODERN
CRUSADES True Stories of the Undaunted Chivalry
of Champions of the Down-trodden
in many Lands By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A. SOMETIME MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL.
"An inspiring book”
Dundee Advertiser
HEROES OF MODERN
INDIA Stirring Records of the Bravery, Tact,
and Resourcefulness of the Founders
of the Indian Empire
By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A.
SOMETIME MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL
"Avery excellent and attractive volume.”—
HEROES OF THE ELIZABETHAN AGE Stirring Records of the Intrepid Bravery
and Boundless Resource of the Men
of Queen Elizabeth’s Reign By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A. SOMETIME MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL
"Fascinating... lavishly illustrated.”—Dundee Advertiser HEROES OF MODERN
AFRICA True Stories of the Intrepid Braveryand
Stirring Adventures of the Pioneers,
Explorers, and Founders of
Modern Africa
By EDWARD GILLIAT, M.A.
SOMETIME MASTER AT HARROW SCHOOL
“ Amore stirring and instructive
book for lads than this would be
bard to find,”— Western Daily Press
HEROINES of MISSIONARY
ADVENTURE True Stories of the Intrepid Bravery and Patient Endurance of Missionaries in their Encounters with Uncivilised Man, Wild Beasts, and the Forces of Nature
in all Parts of the World By Canon DAWSON, M.A. “ Written in exactly tbe right vein, simply, straightforwardly, and with enthusiasm.”-- The Lady
SEELEY. SERVICE 6r CO. LTD., 38 Grilat Rossei.j. Street, W.C He needs no epitaph to guard a name
Which men shall prize while worthy work is known; He lived and died for good—be that his fame
Let marble crumble: this is Living-Stotie
Punch
,
25 th April 1874.
Livingstone Freeing Slaves.
The sight of the wretched captives with the cruel yokes upon their necks proved too much for Baba Daud, and in a short time eighty-four were set free and their yokes
piled upon a fire.
LIVINGSTONE
THE HERO OF AFRICA
BY
R. B. DAWSON, M.A.(Oxon.)
LATE SCHOLAR OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD
AUTHOR OF “THE DOCTOR-BISHOP”
“the pillar of fire,” fr’c.
WITH 17 ILLUSTRATIONS & A MAP
LONDON
SEELEY, SERVICE fcf CO. LIMITED 38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
MDCCCCXVIII
MISSIONARY BIOGRAPHIES
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS AND A FRONTISPIECE
IN COLOUR Extra crown 8vo, 2 s. 6d.
A HERO OF THE AFGHAN FRONTIER. Being the Life of Dr. T. L. Pennell, of Bannu, told for Boys dr5 Girls. By A. M. Pennell, M.B., B.S.(Lond.), B.Sc.
“This is* the glorious life-story of Dr. T. L. Pennell retold for hoys and girls.” Church Family Newspaper. “ The life-story of a fearless Englishman of the best kind. ”
—Daily Telegraph. “ Rightly named ... He is a splendid example of the influence a man may wield over savage tribes by strength of character and uprightness.”
—A thenccum. JUDSON, THE HERO OF BURMA. The Life of Judson Told for Boys 6° Girls. By JESSE PAGE, F.R.G.S., Author of “ The Black Bishop,” &*c. &=c.
“A Stirring life-story.”—Schoolmaster.
“ There is not a dull page in the whole book.”—Life ofFaith. " Mr. Jesse Page has a graphic pen, and he tells in a most interesting and fascinating manner the story of the life of the first missionary to the Burmese ."—Record. ON TRAIL RAPID BY DOGSLED fei* CANOE.
The Story of Bishop Bompas’s Life amongst the Red Indians and Esquimo told for Boys dr5 Girls. By the Rev. H. A. Cody, M.A.
“ A book of golden deeds, full of inspiration.”—Queen. “ An admirable picture of a great career.”—Spectator. “ The astonishing adventures of Bishop Bompas amongst Red Indians and Eskimos. "—The Challenge. MISSIONARY CRUSADERS. Stories of the Dauntless Courage and Remarkable Adventures which Missionaries have had in many parts of the World whilst carrying out their duties. By Claud Field, M.A. (Cantab.), sometime C.M.S. Missionary in the Punjab.
MISSIONARY KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS. Stories of the Indomitable Courage d>° Stirring Adventures of Missionaries with Uncivilized Man, Wild Beasts, Sr1 the Forces of Nature in many parts of the World. By John C. Lambert, M.A., D.D.
SEELEY, SERVICE 6- CO. LIMITED
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF
THAT MIGHTY HUNTER
Captain Frederick Courtney Selous, D.S.O.
(royal fusiliers) WHOSE WORK ADVENTURES
WERE EVER CARRIED OUT IN THE TRUE
LIVINGSTONE SPIRIT
AND WHO WAS KILLED IN ACTION AT THE AGE OF 65
FIGHTING FOR THE FREEDOM OF
Livingstone’s Africa
PREFACE
W HEN the author of this book was
quite a small boy Bishop Hannington, of Uganda, came to spend a few weeks at his home in Edinburgh. One day the Bishop, who loved children and was a great tease, induced him to put his hands and ankles into a set of African slave shackles, and then fastened them apparently irrevocably, while he told his prisoner about Livingstone and the slavehunters, and added some fairly hair-raising lion stories of his own! That was the boy’s first introduction to Africa.
Then, later, he remembers how his father took him to hear the famous French traveller, Du Chaillu, the man who discovered those horrible gorillas in the African forests, and (most unforgettable memory of all) how they both met Mr F. C. Selous himself, in a room in Queen Street, and were shown his African lion-skins, and heard from the lips of the great hunter some of his own marvellous adventures.
B
18 PREFACE
In the same way he heard Sir Henry Stanley tell his story, and not long afterwards his father introduced him to a real African king, King Khama, and he was allowed to shake hands with the successor of King Sechele, the friend of Livingstone.
Whether the boys who will read this book about Livingstone have similar memories and no doubt some of them have—or whether they have got their romance of Africa entirely out of books, one thing is very sure, and that is that Africa will be to them what it is to all boys, big and little, the Land of Adventure and Mystery. The very name will have a different “ feel ” about it to that of any other country.
And if any one man more than another is responsible for that, it is David Livingstone. He made Africa as we know it to-day. He was the great pioneer. The natives of Africa, who love giving people nicknames, often called Livingstone “ The Dew Dispeller,” or “ The Path Clearer ”—the native word expresses both ideas. In the early morning, when the traveller starts along a narrow African path through the tall, wet grasses, the man who brushes first through the grass that meets twelve feet or more over the track gets a pretty thorough wetting. The others behind him reap the benefit of his cold bath, for they can pass
PREFACE 19 through dry. All the dew is shaken off by “ The Path Clearer.” That is why the natives called Livingstone by that name. He went first and took all the risks and the rubs; the others followed in safety.
The reason why British Central Africa is a liveable place to-day, and why we count it one of the most valuable parts of our Empire, is because Livingstone went first and took all the dangers and disagreeables upon his own shoulders.
Not that Livingstone minded danger, or thought hardships disagreeable. He was a born explorer, and loved every step of the wild places where he went; it was life and breath to him. But all his travels were undertaken with one great object, and that object was grander to him than any personal pleasure or gain.
Livingstone, “ the Path Clearer,” added just about one million square miles to the known parts of the world. He discovered the great lakes and rivers which now form a highway into the very heart of Africa. About eight new kinds of animals were added to the natural history books by this great explorer, not to speak of all the discoveries he made in the way of plants and insects and birds. His words led to the abolition of slavery in its most horrible and degrading form. His energy 20 PREFACE made possible all the commerce and prosperity of modern Africa. A tremendous record for one man. But, greatest record of all, as Florence Nightingale (“ The Lady of the Lamp ”) said of him, he opened up dark places for the light to come in.
The history of how he did all this has often been told before. But the writer of this little book has tried to describe some of the scenes once more for boys and girls to read, and if they are moved at all by the picture of the hero of Africa, he wants to recommend them to read David Livingstone’s own wonderful books for themselves. There are no books of adventure like them.
Since the last biography of Livingstone was written, a most interesting exhibition has been held in Edinburgh, called the Livingstone Centenary Exhibition. From all over the world people sent photos and models and other exhibits to illustrate Livingstone’s work. Anyone who had any “ relic ” of the great explorer lent it to the Museum. Owing to the kindness of Sir Thomas Carlaw Martin, the writer has been able to reproduce some photographs of these. He is also able to add some graphic details of the home at Kuruman which have not been published before.
For permission to reproduce in facsimile the little letter of David Livingstone to his daughter
PREFACE 21 the writer is indebted to Mrs Livingstone-Wilson —the Anna Mary Livingstone to whom the letter was written. In 1915 Mrs Livingstone- Wilson, the last of Livingstone’s children, made a pilgrimage to Africa to visit the place where her father’s heart lies buried. The author received a deeply interesting letter from her, dated “ Chitambo, Sept. 7th 1915,” in which she described some of her adventures, and on 20th January 1916 he heard from her again, from Glasgow, on the eve of another departure abroad on war service. In this letter she describes her visit to Old Chitambo, where she met some natives who remembered Livingstone, and who gave her, through an interpreter, a graphic account of his death and of the action of his faithful followers. Some of these details have been reproduced in the present volume.
On the whole, Mrs Livingstone-Wilson says, the account she heard from the natives at Chitambo tallies in a very remarkable way with the description given by Livingstone’s servants to his friends in England who edited the Last Journal. The discrepancies between the two versions were wonderfully few considering it all happened forty-two years before. But she met an old native of a village, “ one or two hours from the monument,” who gave her some very interesting information. This chief was only a boy when Livingstone was borne in his litter 22 PREFACE through the village of Chitono; but he remembered well how Susi and Chumah and the others brought the dying man to the door of his mother’s hut. Livingstone was then unconscious, and the boy himself thought the white man must be already dead when the kitanda was borne on to Tshitambo’s. The description of how the litter was placed under the eaves of the hut, to shelter it from the rain, will be found in the last few pages of this book. Mrs Livingstone- Wilson in her letter describes Old Chitambo (which lies slightly more to the west than the site usually given on maps) and one or two other places which have changed since Livingstone knew them.
The author greatly values a letter sent him on 27th January 1916 by Sir John Kirk, G.C.M.G., the friend and fellow-traveller of Livingstone. Sir John most kindly verifies the date 1858 when he first met Livingstone and says that their travels together lasted five years.
This story owes much also to the kindness of Mrs Fraser of Reelick and Newstead, the authoress of that most delightful of books, Livingstone and Newstead. Mrs Fraser (formerly Miss Webb of Newstead Abbey) knew Livingstone well, and has many memories of him, especially during these eight months when he and his daughter Agnes were guests at the Abbey. For her generous permission to
PREFACE 23 include some of these memories in this story of Livingstone the writer offers his warmest thanks. He is also personally indebted to her for one very vivid picture of Livingstone’s friend, William Cotton Oswell. To any reader who has not made its acquaintance already he strongly recommends The Life of W. C. Oswell, written by the son of that greatest of African hunters and bravest and most chivalrous of friends.
When Sir Samuel Baker persuaded Oswell to write his book on Big Game for the Badminton Library he said that besides Oswell himself there was only one other man alive that could write with such authority on African sport and travel, and that man was Selous. The name of Captain F. C. Selous as an African hunter, explorer and pioneer is indeed one to conjure with, and the present writer takes this opportunity of paying his personal tribute to the man to whose memory this story of Livingstone has the great honour of being dedicated. In that most fascinating of sporting books, A Hunter’s Wanderings in Africa, Captain Selous describes many of the places first visited by Livingstone twenty years before, and tells how he met native chiefs and others who had themselves known the great explorer. Soon after the outbreak of the great European War Captain Selous joined our troops in that part of East Africa where the fighting with the Germans was fiercest, and 24 PREFACE at the age of sixty-four placed his unrivalled experience at the service of the Government. In September 1916 he was awarded the D.S.O. for conspicuous gallantry. Early in January, 1917, news was received that Captain Selous had been killed in action, pluckily leading the Fusiliers and Frontiersmen in the stubborn rear-guard action at Beho-Beho- Tohobowkli. He gave his life for Livingstone’s Africa.
The Lives of Bishop Mackenzie, Bishop Steere, Bishop Maples and The History of the Universities’ Mission to Central Africa will tell their own story to all who would know more of the work of missions in Livingstone’s Africa, and no book gives a more vivid picture of some of the Scottish missionaries in Livingstonia and on the west side of the great lake than Dr Norman MacLean’s Africa in Transformation (James Nisbet & Company, London, 1913), where the final struggle with the slave-trading Arabs is most graphically described.
Certainly there are plenty of books about David Livingstone. And yet there is one point about this new story of Baba Baud that can be claimed, and that is the fact that it has been written since the Great War. The war has thrown a new light upon every subject, and in the case of such a fighter as Livingstone it is simply bound to help us to see his life more clearly. Now we really understand what
PREFACE 25 Livingstone fought for: if we did not understand before, we do now.
When he went to Africa Livingstone saw the most horrible cruelties, and he spent most of his life among savage kings whose only right was Might. He opened up a path for civilisation into those dark places, but he never ceased telling us at home that commerce and education alone will never change men’s hearts: only the Christ-spirit will do that. Livingstone, in fact, was a Crusader.
And now we have seen the whole world at war, and the question fought for has been the same one. Britain and France and Russia and Belgium and Italy all sent their sons to fight, and we believe it was in the same great Cause as that for which David Livingstone gave his life.
For permission to reproduce some of the illustrations in this book the writer’s best thanks are given to his father, Canon E. C. Dawson (author of The Life of Bishop Hannington)
to Mr M‘Laughlan, Church of Scotland Offices; Mr Livingstone, U.F. Church Offices; Mr A. J. Swann, late Resident Magistrate in Nyasaland; and to the Secretary, Royal Scottish Geographical Society, for the portrait of Livingstone, which has not been published before in a Life of the great explorer. For his permission to make use of The Personal
26 PREFACE Life of Dr Livingstone (John Murray & Co.), by the late Professor Garden Blaikie, the writer’s thanks are due to his friend, Mr W. B. Blaikie, LL.D., Edinburgh. He most gratefully acknowledges Sir Harry Johnston’s kindness in allowing him to refer to his Livingstone and the Exploration of Central Africa (George Philip & Son), and takes this opportunity of thanking Lieut.-Colonel Wyllie, F.R.G.S., for his generous help, and especially for his translation of Captain Da Costa’s new book on the Portuguese colonies, with reference to the tsetse fly and “ sleeping-sickness.”
Sir Henry Morton Stanley’s book, to which reference is made, is How I found Livingstone (Messrs Sampson Low, Marston & Co.), and the editions of Livingstone’s own books consulted are Missionary Travels in South Africa (1857) and The Zambesi and its Tributaries (1865).
The writer cannot close without acknowledging his deep debt of gratitude and affection to his late chief, Bishop Hornby of Nassau, sometime Bishop of Nyasaland, with whom it was his privilege to live for three years at Chollerton.
After such a splendid list of “ authorities ” he is only too conscious how slight the present memoir must seem. It is simply meant to show a little picture of the great explorer, without attempting to give an exact record of his
PREFACE 27 travels, and he has not tried to do more than just keep the thread of the story, while recalling some of the scenes in which Livingstone took part. R. B. D.
Edinburgh, 1917.