628 LIFE OF DA VID LIVINGSTONE, LL.D. 



laid lengthwise, were to be bamboo poles, laid transversely, upon which the 

 passengers and baggage might rest, without danger of foundering. The design 

 being fully matured the next thing to do was to find a manufacturer intelli- 

 gent enough to comprehend what was required, and as Mr. Cording, of Picca- 

 dilly, had a good reputation among travellers, I tried him, and after a few 

 moments' conversation with the foreman of the shop, I was delighted to find 

 that he perfectly understood what unusually strong material was requisite, 

 and every part and portion of the plan. I need only add that within a month 

 I had in my possession the several fittings and sections of this peculiar float- 

 ing craft, beautifully and strongly made, in as complete and efficient order as 

 would please the most fastidious traveller. All these several sections, when 

 put in the scales, weighed three hundred pounds, which, divided into portable 

 loads of sixty pounds each, require but five men to carry the entire construc- 

 tion. No material can possibly equal this caoutchouc. If the strong thick 

 indiarubber cloth is punctured or rent, Mr. Cording has supplied me with the 

 material to repair it, and if all turns out as well with it as I strongly antici- 

 pate and hope, it must of course prove invaluable to me. 



" But an explorer needs something else — some other form of floatable 

 structure, to be able to produce results worthy of a supreme effort at penetrat- 

 ing the unknown regions of Africa. He must have a boat with him in which 

 he may be enabled to circumnavigate lakes, and go long distances up and 

 down rivers with a small but efficient body of men, while the main corps is 

 encamped at some suitable and healthy site. And what kind of boat can be 

 invented for the traveller such as he can carry thousands of miles, through 

 bush and jungle, and heat, damp, and rain, without impairing its usefulness, 

 or causing him to regard it as an incumbrance ? After having considered 

 various plans and designs, I could think of nothing better than a light cedar 

 vessel, something after the manner and style of the Okonagan (Canada) cedar 

 boat, but larger and of greater capacity. These Canadian boats are generally 

 thirty feet in length, and from five to six feet in width. They are extremely 

 light and portable, and when near rapids are taken ashore, and, being easily 

 hoisted on the shordders of six men, are carried to smooth waters again. But 

 a craft of this kind, though available for short distances in Canada, would 

 have to be constructed differently to be carried along the crooked narrow 

 paths of the African jungle ; it would require to be built in water-tight sec- 

 tions, each section light enough to be borne by two men without distressing 

 the bearers. Mr. James Messenger, of Teddington, near London, has a well- 

 deserved reputation for building superb river boats, and while enjoying a 

 Sunday, near Hampton, I examined the various specimens of his skill and 

 workmanship, and came to the conclusion that he would be able to suit me. I 

 had an interview with this gentleman, and I laid my plans before him. I soon 

 discovered that I was in the presence of a master workman, by the intelligent 



