regarding Eastern and Central Africa, my mind had conceived the
difficulties which would present themselves during the prosecution
of my search after Dr. Livingstone.

To obviate all of these, as well as human wit could suggest, was
my constant thought and aim.

"Shall I permit myself, while looking from Ujiji over the waters of
the Tanganika Lake to the other side, to be balked on the threshold
of success by the insolence of a King Kannena or the caprice of a
Hamed bin Sulayyam?" was a question I asked myself. To guard
against such a contingency I determined to carry my own boats.
"Then," I thought, "if I hear of Livingstone being on the
Tanganika, I can launch my boat and proceed after him."

I procured one large boat, capable of carrying twenty persons,
with stores and goods sufficient for a cruise, from the American
Consul, for the sum of $80, and a smaller one from another American
gentleman for $40. The latter would hold comfortably six men,
with suitable stores.

I did not intend to carry the boats whole or bodily, but to strip
them of their boards, and carry the timbers and thwarts only. As
a substitute for the boards, I proposed to cover each boat with a
double canvas skin well tarred. The work of stripping them and
taking them to pieces fell to me. This little job occupied me
five days.

I also packed them up, for the pagazis. Each load was carefully
weighed, and none exceeded 68 lbs. in weight. John Shaw excelled