124 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



our rivers, &c, about 2° of longitude too far East. Our waggon-stand, instead 

 of being 26° East, is not more than 23° 50' or 24°. It is probable that an error 

 of my sextant, of which I was not aware, deranged the calculations of the 

 gentleman who kindly undertook to examine them. I send many lunar 

 observations too, and hope it may be convenient for Mr. Maclear to examine 

 them, and let you know whether I am right or wrong in my calculations. 



" Sportsmen have still some work before them in the way of discovering 

 all the fauna of Africa. This country abounds in game ; and, beyond 

 Barotse, the herds of large animals surpass anything I ever saw. Elands 

 and buffaloes, their tameness was shocking to me : 81 buffaloes defiled slowly 

 before our fire one evening, and lions were impudent enough to roar at us. 

 On the South of the Chobe, where Bushmen abound, they are very seldom 

 heard : these brave fellows teach them better manners. My boatman informed 

 me that he had seen an animal, with long wide spreading horns like an ox, 

 called liombikalela — perhaps the modern bison; also another animal, which 

 does not live in the water, but snorts like a hippopotamus, and is like that 

 animal in size — it has a horn, and may be the Asiatic rhinoceros. And we 

 passed some holes of a third animal, which burrows from the river inland, has 

 short horns, and feeds only by night. I did not notice the burrows at the 

 time of passing, but I give you the report as I got it. 



" The birds are in great numbers on the river, and the sand-martins 

 never leave it. We saw them in hundreds in mid- winter, and many beautiful 

 new trees were interesting objects of observation ; but I had perpetually to 

 regret the absence of our friend Mr. Oswell. I had no one to share the 

 pleasure which new objects impart, and, instead of pleasant conversation in 

 the evenings, I had to endure the everlasting ranting of Makololo." 



In 1849, the Royal Geographical Society awarded Livingstone a gold 

 chronometer watch for his discoveries, and in 1850 he was awarded a royal 

 premium of 25 guineas for the discovery of Lake Ngami. Several attempts 

 to reach the Lake from the east and from the west, one of which was specially 

 instituted by the Geographical Society, had failed, and many people had 

 begun to look upon the existence of the Lake as a myth, until they were 

 startled by its discovery by Livingstone and his fellow travellers — Messrs. 

 Murray and Oswell. From this time, as his intention of penetrating further 

 into the country was well known, great expectations were formed of the 

 additions he would make to our knowledge of these hitherto unvisited regions; 

 and, as we shall sec, these were not disappointed, but more than abundantly 

 gratified. 



