Missionary Travels and Research in South Africa: Including a Sketch of Sixteen Years' Residence in the Interior of Africa, Vol. 1 FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dr. David Livingstone had lived in Africa for a number of years when he undertook the journey he writes about in this book. It is a remarkable story, told without self-aggrandizement. His mission was to stop the trade in human slaves. Dr. Livingstone walked over 4,000 miles, from Cape Town, South Africa through the Kalahari Desert and west to the coastal town of Loanda. He then turned east, followed the Zambesi River, and ended his travels in Mozambique. Only members of the Makololo tribe accompanied him.
Volume One includes a sketch of his early life and descriptions of his journey in the savannas of Africa. He also recounts the story of the lion that attacked him in Mabotsa. In Volume Two he describes how he came to the falls known by the natives as "Mosi oa tunya" ("smoke does sound there") and which he named after Queen Victoria.
Livingstone encountered a variety of peoples, from nomadic Bushmen to herders like the Bakalahari, and sensitive descriptions of indigenous religious practices and customs, as well as numerous descriptions of terrain and animal life abound. He also demonstrates his ability to assess people and situations without romanticizing them. Missionary Travels is an adventure classic that is both historically invaluable and eminently readable.
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