Religion & morality > David Livingstone

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Dr. Livingstone.
down : more waiting for repairs. At Shupanga they re¬
mained eight days for cotton cloth from Quillimane; they
can do nothing with the natives without this, any more
than the slave-traders, who give four yards for a man,
three for a woman, who fetches more if she is young
and handsome, and two for a child, if it is not thrown
in as a make-weight. As much as two hundred pieces
of this cotton cloth, besides beads and brass wire,
have been paid to different chiefs by a trader for leave
to pass through their territory, during a trip of six
months, and this territory is marked in the Portuguese
maps as belonging to them. Twenty four fowls are
sold in the market of Senna for two yards of calico;
if you want to engage a native to perform any kind of
work, the stipulated price will be so much calico; it is
a cumbersome kind of money, but the only kind in
general use at present. Learning that it would be
difficult for his party to obtain food beyond Kebrabasa,
before the new crop comes in, Livingstone determines
on delaying his departure for the interior until May,
and runs down again to Kongone, hoping to get letters
and despatches from the man-of-war that was to call
in March. At Senna he hears news of the lost mail,
which had been picked up on the beach and forwarded
to Tette, passing him somewhere on the river.
Having now a prospect of obtaining a steamer
proper for the navigation of the lakes, which could be
unscrewed and taken up the rapids in pieces, the en¬
gineer, Mr. Rice was sent home to superintend her
construction ; he took with him botanical specimens
collected by Dr. Kirk for Kew Gardens.