It would give me the
doldrums; but there are many tastes in the world."
Looking back on the work of the last six years, while deeply grieved
that the great object of the Expedition had not been achieved, Dr.
Livingstone was able to point to some important results:
1. The discovery of the Kongone harbor, and the ascertaining of the
condition of the Zambesi River, and its fitness for navigation.
2. The ascertaining of the capacity of the soil. It was found to be
admirably adapted for indigo and cotton, as well as tobacco, castor-oil,
and sugar. Its great fertility was shown by its gigantic grasses, and
abundant crops of corn and maize. The highlands were free from tsetse
and mosquitoes. The drawback to all this was the occurrence of
periodical droughts, once every few years.
But every fine feature of the country was bathed in gloom by the
slave-trade. The image left in Dr. Livingstone's mind was not that of
the rich, sunny, luxuriant country, but that of the woe and wretchedness
of the people. The real service of the Expedition was, that it had
exposed slavery at its fountain-head, and in all its phases.
Pages:
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659