512 THE REAL DIFFICULTY. 



night of February 20th was overcast with black clouds, and 

 heavy thunder rolled about them and drenching rain beat 

 through the huts and flooded the roads. Here, as elsewhere in 

 Africa, there are customs which greatly hinder and annoy the 

 traveller. The people are suspicious and ignorant, and it is 

 necessary, particularly when one is almost entirely unprotected, 

 as Dr. Livingstone now was, to be exceedingly careful. The 

 delays attending the formal civilities which every petty chief 

 either demands shall be shown him or desires to show the 

 stranger are pleasant enough in their way, but are exceedingly 

 vexatious when a man is sick and weary and anxiously pressing 

 for a certain place. It was almost impossible to impress on the 

 chiefs that no selfish purposes were to be subserved by the journey 

 through their country. This was really the great difficulty : they 

 generally held to the conviction that a man who had been at 

 the trouble of penetrating their country must expect some great 

 gains, and, naturally enough, thought they ought to be benefited 

 also by his presence. It is indeed " almost too ridiculous to be- 

 lieve," but so it was. When Livingstone assured the " great 

 chief/' Chitapanga, that the public benefit only was sought by 

 his journey, that distinguished gentleman, with the most know- 

 ing laugh, pulled down the underlid of the right eye, after the 

 most approved gesture of our school-boys when they say, " Do 

 you see anything green ? " It was just so with his neighbors. 

 Moamba, whose village was on the left bank of the Merenge, 

 had the same difficulty. He was generous and good-humored ; 

 was, like Chitapanga, very much interested in the books and 

 instruments that were shown him, and quite curious about the 

 worship of the Englishman, but could hardly be reconciled to 

 his declining to buy ivory or slaves. " He was very anxious," 

 says Livingstone, " to know why we were going to Tanganyika ; 

 for what we came ; what we should buy there ; and if I had any 

 relations there. He then showed me some fine large tusks, eight 

 feet six in length. ' What do you wish to buy, if not slaves or 

 ivory ? ' I replied, that the only thing I had seen worth buying 

 was a fine fat chief like him, as a specimen, and a woman 

 feeding him, as he had, with beer. He was tickled at this ; and 

 said that when we reached our country I must put fine clothes 

 on him." 



