" To his friend
Mr. Young he makes humorous reference to his awkwardness in nautical
language: "My great difficulty is calling out 'starboard' when I mean
'port,' and feeling crusty when I see the helmsman putting the helm the
wrong way."
Another difficulty arose from the state of the country north of the
Zambesi, in consequence of the natives having rebelled against the
Portuguese and being in a state of war. Livingstone was cautioned that
he would be attacked if he ventured to penetrate into the country. He
resolved to keep out of the quarrel, but to push on in spite of it. At
one time his party, being mistaken for Portuguese, were on the point of
being fired on, but on Livingstone shouting out that they were English
the natives let them alone. On reaching Tette he found his old followers
in ecstasies at seeing him; the Portuguese Government had done nothing
for them, but Major Sicard, the excellent Governor of Tette, had helped
them to find employment and maintain themselves. Thirty had died of
small-pox; six had been killed by an unfriendly chief.
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