1864.] LECTURE BY DR. LIVINGSTONE. 381 



notliing but aggravate tlie evils of tlie slave-trade. Well, not finding 

 •what I wished by going to the west coast, I came down the Zambesi 

 to the east coast, and there I found the country scaled up. The 

 same efforts had been made by our cruisers here as on the west 

 coast, but, in consequence of foreigners being debarred fiom enter- 

 ing the country, neither traders nor missionaries had established 

 themselves. The trade was only in a little ivory, and gold-dust and 

 slaves ; just as it was on the west coast before Lord Palmerston's 

 policy came into operation. It seemed to me, therefore, that as the 

 Portuguese Government professed itself willing to aid in opening 

 the country, and we had a large river, Zambesi, which, being full 

 when I first descended, it seemed a famous inlet to the higher lands 

 and interior generally ; I knew the natives to be almost all fond of 

 trading, and,when away from the influence of the slave-trade,fricndly 

 and mild, the soil fertile, and cotton and other products widely 

 cultivated. It therefore appeared to me that if I could open this 

 region to lawful commerce I should supplement the eflbrts of our 

 cruisers, in the same way as has been done by traders and mission- 

 aries on the west coast, and perform a good service to Africa and 

 to England. To accomplish this was the main object of the Zam- 

 besi Expedition, and in speaking of what was done, it is to be un- 

 derstood that Dr. Kirk, Mr. Livingstone, and others composed it ; 

 and when I speak in the plural number I mean them, and wish to 

 bear testimony to the zeal and untiring energy with which my com- 

 panions worked. They were never daunted by difiiculties, nor 

 dangers, nor hard fare, and were their services required in any 

 other capacity might be relied on to perform their duty. The first 

 discovery we made was a navigable entrance to the Zambesi, about 

 a degree west of the QuilWiiane River, which had always been re- 

 presented as the mouth of the Zambesi, in order, as some main- 

 tained, that the men-of-war mis-ht be induced to watch the false 

 mouth while slaves were quietly shipped from the real mouth. This 

 mistake has lately been propagated in a map by the Colonial Minis, 

 ter of Portugal. On ascendinii- the Zambesi we found that the i'ortu- 

 guese authorities, to whom their Government had kindly com- 

 mended us, had nearly all fled down to the sea-coast, and the country 

 was in the hands of the natives, many of whom, by their brands, 

 we saw had been slaves. As they were all quite friendly with us, 

 we proceeded to our work, and ascended the river in a little steamer- 

 which, having been made of steel plates, a material never before 

 tried, and with an engine and boiler, the sweepings of some shop, 



