as to cause
us great anxiety. By waiting in this village, which was so old that it
was full of vermin, all became worse. Our European food was entirely
expended, and native meal, though finely ground, has so many sharp
angular particles in it, that it brought back dysentery, from which we
had suffered so much in May. We could scarcely obtain food for the men.
The headman of this village of Chinanga was off in a foray against some
people further north to supply slaves to the traders expected along the
slave route we had just left; and was said, after having expelled the
inhabitants, to be living in their stockade, and devouring their corn.
The conquered tribe had purchased what was called a peace by presenting
the conqueror with three women.

This state of matters afforded us but a poor prospect of finding more
provisions in that direction than we could with great difficulty and at
enormous prices obtain here. But neither want of food, dysentery, nor
slave wars would have prevented our working our way round the Lake in
some other direction, had we had time; but we had received orders from
the Foreign Office to take the "Pioneer" down to the sea in the previous
April. The salaries of all the men in her were positively "in any case
to cease by the 31st of December."

We were said to be only ten days' distant from Lake Bemba. We might
speculate on a late rise of the river. A month or six weeks would secure
a geographical feat, but the rains were near. We had been warned by
different people that the rains were close at hand, and that we should
then be bogged and unable to travel. The flood in the river might be an
early one, or so small in volume as to give but one chance of the
"Pioneer" descending to the ocean. The Makololo too were becoming
dispirited by sickness and want of food, and were naturally anxious to be
back to their fields in time for sowing. But in addition to all this and
more, it was felt that it would not be dealing honestly with the
Government, were we, for the sake of a little eclat, to risk the
detention of the "Pioneer" up the river during another year; so we
decided to return; and though we had afterwards the mortification to find
that we were detained two full months at the ship waiting for the flood
which we expected immediately after our arrival there, the chagrin was
lessened by a consciousness of having acted in a fair, honest,
above-board manner throughout.

On the night of the 29t