26 April, 1873On the 26th of April we started from Simbo for the dreaded Makata swamp, a large level plain between the Useghara mountains and those near Simbawéni, offering no particular difficulties of passage in the dry season, but becoming converted by the rains into a vast expanse of mud with two or tree troublesome morasses on the western side.

Two hours' marching through pleasant wooded country with red sandy soil gave us our first introduction to the Makata, which then appeared in its worst form.

The footprints of elephants, giraffes, and buffaloes had formed numerous holes in the clayed mud, some being at least knee-deep and full of water, and many of our donkeys were trapped in them. But they managed to bring their loads into camp in safety, although one had nearly been strangled by its driver, who made a running noose round its neck and attempted to drag it out of a hole by main force.

Five hours in heavy rain were occupied in getting over five miles of this road, and during that time we had often to lend a hand in loading and unloading the poor donkeys, besides preventing the men from straggling, since they all wished to halt in the middle of the mud.

This would have been a fatal mistake, there being no bushes with which to build huts or to provide fuel for the camp-fires, and a night's exposure to the rain and cold with no sleeping-place must have crippled most of them. So I continued on the march until 3 p.m., when we arrived at the site of an old camp, a comparatively dry spot where we found fuel and materials for hut-building.

It rained hard all the night but began to clear shortly after daybreak, and at eight o'clock we commenced our march over a level plain sparsely wooded and with a few fan-palms, and the mud not nearly as troublesome as on the previous day.

One hour's distance from camp we crossed a swift little stream, fed by small drains in the soil, which falls into the Makata river, and then came upon another too deep to ford.

To my vexation, on ordering the indiarubber boat to be made ready to ferry the loads across, I found that a part of the caravan had taken a different road in order to ford the stream where it was shallower, and unfortunately the man carrying the boat had gone with those who did not require his services.

We sent after him, but in the meantime decided to cross by swimming, Dillon and myself going backwards and forwards to tow over those who were unable to swim. And after most of the men were safely landed on the opposite bank the boat appeared upon the scene, and we used it to transport the bales.

Finding one of my boxes amongst the baggage I took the opportunity of changing my wet clothes, but could not persuade Dillon to follow my example, and he remained in the water until he became thoroughly chilled.

I observed wrack of grass and twigs in the branches of small trees on the banks of these streams, about ten feet above the water, showing how high the floods over the country must be at times.

Another half-hour brought us to the Makata river, a swift swirling stream about forty yards wide by eight or nine feet in depth. At this point was a rough bridge composed of trunks and branches of trees lashed together with creepers and supported by large branches, and in one or two places near the banks by a rough form of trestle.

According to African ideas this construction, which was then almost under water, answered very well for bipeds, but the unfortunate donkeys were obliged to be hauled across at a clear place further up the stream, in a manner they did not at all relish.

Each one was brought up in turn and bundled into the river from a high bank whilst a dozen men on the opposite side ran away with a rope made fast round the neck of the beast, which never appeared after the first plunge until his feet struck ground at the opposite bank.

We camped a few hundred yards from the river and, the afternoon being fine, occupied ourselves in drying such of our stores as had been damaged by the wet. But during the night the rain came down again in torrents, our camping-ground became a swamp, and the river rose until the bridge over which we had passed was quite under water.

We congratualted ourselves on our good-fortune in not being delayed another day before crossing, otherwise we might have been compelled to wait a week for the waters to subside, the current being far too swift to admit of our using of the boat.

A portion of the plain rather raised above the general level now afforded us dry and good marching, and a striking feature of the route was presented by the number of fan-palms (Borassus flabelliformis), the swelling in the middle of their tall trunks having a very peculiar appearance to eyes unaccustomed to such an apparent deformity.

The numerous runs of game with which the country was intersected were also noticeable. One was so worn that, having separated from the main body of the caravan, I followed it instead of the proper path for about half a mile without discovering my mistake.

We halted close to a village called Mkombenga, and Dillon became very ill with fever, his first attack, which was doubtless brought on by remaining so long in the water on our crossing the Makata river; and my right foot and ankle were so swollen and painful that I was perfectly unable to move.

Neither of us were better for a day's rest, but we thought it advisable to endeavour to reach Rehenneko, the descriptions we had heard of it leading us to believe that it was very healthy.

It was distant one long march, but we decided on proceeding by easy stages. I was suffering such pain that I could neither walk nor ride but was carried in a hammock, whilst Dillon managed to get along on his staid old donkey, named "Philosopher" on account of the equanimity with which he endured the vicissitudes of travel. We rested at a small hamlet belonging to a chief named Kombéhina; but the next morning Dillon was too ill to mount his donkey. Having only one hammock, we decided that Dillon should remain here and nurse himself while I pushed on to Rehenneko which was reported as being near at hand, sending the hammock back for Dillon as soon as I arrived there. Several large villages were passed on the way and the country was very thickly cultivated, excepting in places where it was too marshy or flooded, such as we met with on two occasions. Each of these flooded tracks was three-quarters of a mile across with water varying from one to three feet in depth.

May, 1873When I arrived at Rehenneko I located mysel comfortably under the verandah of the chief's hut and immediately sent the hammock for Dillon.

Rehenneko proved to be a large and populous village and I was soon surrounded by a wondering crowd, the people being all well dressed after the fashion of the slaves at Zanzibar. They wore also a very peculiar necklace, consisting of a disc of coiled brass wire projecting horizontally from the neck and sometimes as much as two feet in diameter, having an effect which forcibly reminded me of a painting of John the Baptist's head in a charger.

These curious and uncomfortable ornaments I only saw in Rehenneko, but I heard that they were worn throughout the surrounding district.

The village was situated at the entrance to a rocky gorge leading into the mountains of Ushegara, and I at once saw it would not prove a suitable place for a permanent camp on account of its low-lying position. I therfore selected the summit of a small hill for the site, and was carried there and had my tent pitched.

Only half-a-dozen men hutted themselves that night owing to their very great fear of wild beasts. Indeed, they were so timid that when I wanted water to drink after sunset I could not persuade any man to fetch some from a stream some four hundred yards off.

Dillon arrived the next day very ill, and I had the camp properly laid out for a long halt if necessary.

The men's huts formed a large outer circle and in the centre a plot was fenced in for our tents, the guard-room, and store-house; the space between the men's huts and our own compound was used for picketing the donkeys at night. During the day they were allowed to roam about and graze under the charge of a couple of men detailed for this duty. In addition to fever Dillon had an attack of dysentery and was confined to his bed until the 20th of May, having arrived on the 2nd; and I continued very lame, the swelling of my foot proving to have been caused by a large abscess which formed on my instep.

To add to our troubles a strike occurred amongst the men directly after our arrival, as they wanted extravagant amounts of cloth in lieu of rations. I was obliged to be firm even at the risk of losing many by desertion, for had I yielded to their request the whole stock of cloth of which we were possessed would very soon have been exhausted. I could purchase eighteen days' rations for one man for two yards; yet each man wanted two yards for every five days, and the smallest concession on my part would only have induced them to increase their demands.

My usual routine during Dillon's illness was to hobble round the camp after morning cocoa and visit the donkeys before seeing them turned out to graze, dressing with carbolised oil any that had sores. Then I mustered the men, inspected arms, and heard any complaints; after which the camp was cleared up, ratios served out, and parties sent to the surrounding villages to buy the following day's provisions. Breakfast came next, and then writing, saddle-making, and different small employments occupied the time until evening, when a meal -dinner and supper combined- was served. I then took sights and smoked a pipe by the camp-fire until it was time for bed.

Occasionally the day was diversified by the arrival of a visitor; Ferhan, chief of a large village and slave of Syud Suliman -who was minister both to Syud Said and Syud Majid and is now one of the counsellors of Syud Burghash- having thus come to pay his respects and make us a present of a goat and some fowls. And another day the son of an Oman Arab settled at Mbumi, Syde ibn Omar, brought a present from his father and excuses for his not appearing in person on account of illness.

These two visits were very pleasant; but a third proved rather the contrary when a bumptious, overbearing half-caste came swaggering into camp to demand that we should give up to him one of our pagazi on the plea of a debt contracted two or three years before.

I investigated the case, and the pagazi declaring that he owed nothing to the Arab I refused to let him be taken away; upon which our friend bounced out of the camp without deigning to respond to my "kwa-heri." or good-bye.

Whilst remaining here I succeded in getting all the donkeys' saddles into good working order, and designed a pad of a most useful pattern which would have enabled us to work with donkeys the whole journey across Africa had it been made of more lasting materials than those at our disposal. The saddles were fitted with two girths, breast straps, breechings and cruppers, and at the top there were toggels and loops so that the loads could be put on or taken off almost instantaneously when they had to be passed across any of the numerous obstructions on the road.

Seven donkeys carried paniers for ammunition and gun-gear, which would have answered admirably had they been stronger; but we put more weight into them that they were intended to bear, and that, together with constant banging against the trees, so shortened their natural span of life that none of them reached further than Ujiji.

Beginning to grow anxious respecting Murphy, I sent back several small parties to try and obtain news of him, and at length, on the 20th of May, I received a letter from him dated at Mohalé, on the 16th. He there stated that both he and Moffat had suffered from several attacks of fever and Moffat was very ill indeed.

Some days elapsing without hearing anything further I again endeavoured to communicate with him, and then received a report from an up caravan that he was about to cross the Makata.

On the 26th a caravan hove in sight, headed by a white man riding a donkey; but only that one white man could be seen amongst the crowd of dusky figures by which he was surrounded.

"Where is the other?" was the simultaneous ejaculation of Dillon and myself, and "Who is the missing one?"

As the party approached nearer we became still more anxious, and at last, unable longer to bear the suspense, I limped down the hill to meet him.

I then recognised Murphy, and to my question, "Where is Moffat !" the answer was "Dead."

"How ! When ! Where !" was quickly asked, and then the sad tale was told of his having fallen a victim to the climate at a camp about a couple of hours' march from Simbo.

His remains rest beneath a tall palm-tree at the commencement of the Makata plain. His name is added to that glorious roll of those who have sacrificed their lives in the cause of African discovery. Mackenzie, Tinné, Mungo Park, Van der Decken, Thornton, are a few of that noble company in which, too -though we did not know it at that time- the name of his uncle, Livingstone, hold a most distinguished place.

Poor boy ! He came to Bagamoyo so full of hope and aspirations for the future, and had told me that the day he received permission to join the expedition was the happiest of his life.

Murphy's entire party did not come up until the following day, when they arrived in charge of Issa. Immediately they were settled in camp I numbered and served out the loads, making a list of the contents of each so that it might be possible to find at once anything that was required.

One great difficulty was providing carriers for Murphy who was still ill from fever, owing in a great measure to his having neglected the use of quinine.

Being no light weight he required three relays of four men each, thus making a serious drag on our means of carriage, and the six donkeys he had brought up were so knocked about that they were unfit for work. It taxed all the ingenuity of myself and Isssa to put matters straight.

The total strength of the expedition at this time consisted of Dillon, Murphy, and myself, Issa -our storekeeper- thirty-five askari, including Bombay who was supposed to command them, one hundred and ninety-two pagazi, six servants, cooks and gunbearers, and three boys. We had also twenty-two donkeys and three dogs, and several of the men had with them women and slaves, so that numerically we were an imposing force.

Our total losses up to this time among our men had been one askari and one pagazi by death, and thirty-eight pagazi by desertion; one donkey had died at Shamba Gonèra, and another, having been lamed by a kick from one of his companions, was left by Murphy at Bagamoyo.

As regards our arms, Dillon and I each possessed, besides revolvers, a double-barrelled No. 12 rifle and a fowling-piece of the same bore, all by Lang, and right good weapons they proved; Murphy had a double-barrelled No. 10 fowling-piece and a No. 12 of Lang's, which poor Moffat bought at Zanzibar.

Our men were provided with six navy and thirty-two artillery sniders; and Issa, Bombay, and Bilâl carried revolvers. Many of our pagazi also had flint-lock, Tower, or French trade muskets, and every man not otherwise armed, a spear, or bow and arrows.

The donkeys had all been elaborately named at Bagamoyo, but the only two that retained them were Dillon's and my riding donkeys, the Philosopher and Jenny Lind.

The three dogs, which were a delight to us, were Leo, a large rough nondescript bought at Zanzibar, my special friend and a great wonder amongt all the natives on account of his size and appearance; Mabel or May, Dillon's dog, a bull terrier given him by Mr. Schultze, the German Consul at Zanzibar; and Rixie, a very pretty brindled fox terrier brought by Murphy from Aden.

On the 29th of May everything was ready and we hoped to make a fair start on the following morning, Murphy was only partially recovered from fever and I was still lame, but Dillon was erfectly well, and we were all full of hope for the future.