arrested my notice: the subjects were seated on the ground,
sheltered by some bushes, and each resting the end of his
yoke upon the ground. One was in a frightful condition,
with open sores sweltering under the heat of the sun, being
chafed to the flesh through the roughness, of the bark
bindings of the yoke.
Being determined to find out something about the}
unfortunates, and ignoring Mara’s ill-concealed anxiety to
proceed, I made the latter inquire of the sufferer what was
the cause of his deplorable condition. His reply was that
he had run away and had been recaptured.
All the time I was here the black agent looked upon me
with an undeniably defiant expression.
Leaving the accursed scene Mara and myself hastened
after the Angoni, who had been pressing forward with the
intention of reaching the mountains that night. We had
been nearing the range for some time, and following the
path we passed through another village, in which no captive
slaves were seen. At length, after mounting a steep slope,
we sighted the advance party.
Further northwards—we ascended gradually, and were
then 4,500 feet above the sea—we passed a number of
native iron-smelting furnaces, some of which showed signs
of having been recently used, as small heaps of slag lay
piled beside them. This slag I found to be very vesicular;
the. metallic iron was in irregular buttons, and had evidently
been reduced from brown hematite or hydrated peroxide
of iron.
After we joined the Angoni party clouds began to gather,
and a disagreeable mist rolled along the plains, bringing a
damping influence upon everything, spirits included.
In the evening I had an opportunity of questioning Mara
more thoroughly regarding what had occurred at the village
where the grim realities of slavery had been seen. The
little I could gather from my guide’s replies amounted to
th is : that an endeavour to bribe his captives had been
made by the driver, as soon as he had heard of my approach;
for he was on the march and evidently knew nothing of
m y travelling with so small a party. I imagined that this
body of slaves had in some manner managed to effect their
escape, but had been caught and driven back. The yokes I
had seen were probably some that had been thrown aside
by the captives, who had found some means of casting
them off.
Black agents as well as Arabs are well aware what the
efforts of the white men have been in the direction of
suppressing their (i black ivory traffic on the east coast,
and it is very well known that the Arabs in Central Africa
are now more violently opposed to the approach of the white
man than ever they were.
As I looked out on the north-western expanse, stretching
far away to the poisonous swamps of Lake Bangweolo, my
mind was filled with thoughts of the greatest of African
explorers, who was struck down on the inhospitable shores
of the lake. More than once have I thought, while looking
upon some of the horrifying and heart-rending scenes which
arose before me, of the words of him who was so deeply
impressed with the fact that the devil held the 're ins of
power in the dark continent. “ All I can add in my loneliness,”
wrote Livingstone, “ is may Heaven’s rich blessing
come down on every one, American, English, or Turk, who
will help to heal the open sore of the world.”
We had a night of piercing cold. The wind swept past
in biting blasts, whistling shrilly over the great plateau.
I was very glad to hear Mara say the Angoni had told him
that in the morning we would cross the mountains. The