Paperwork enthusiast seeking new frontiers of paperwork. Former submariner, former Peace Corps Volunteer. Opinions, thoughts, and comments reflect no actual persons, living or in the Navy.
The big draw of Outamba-Kilimi National Park are the hippos, specifically the pygmy hippos (though can they be a big draw if they’re so small). In our outline for this safari the plan for the morning had been originally to hike Karangia Hill for the sunrise. But the previous night our intrepid boat captain had told us that the best time to see the hippos was in the morning, so the first part of our full day in the park was instead spent on the river.
It was not a particularly early start. We woke up (for the final time anyway) later than we had expected and then were served a massive breakfast each of us could only really nibble at. Our just-referenced intrepid boat captain Mohamed had said the best time to set out was at 8, and so at the appointed hour we got into the very sturdy fiberglass craft (courtesy of Tacugama) and set off. It reminded me of the boat trip to Aguateca, but much less speedy. It was very pleasant though. We just cruised along the river admiring the sights. Along the way we passed a camp where a local family had set up for a while to fish, and saw some birds and admired the trees.
Eventually we came to the spot where the hippos were and shut off the engine. They looked like hippos I suppose. There were at least five of them, occasionally putting their eyes and ears and nose above the water and giving us a hard look, in the way that hippos do. In return, we stared back. Our guide told us these were regular hippos instead of pygmy hippos. They looked pretty small to me but upon review of various photos online I suppose the pygmy hippos have more rounded and less angular faces.
This was a very peaceful time. Our boat captain shut the engine off so we just drifted in the very slow-moving river, repositioning only occasionally. We stayed for a long time. The most harrowing moment was when it seemed like one of the hippos was moving slightly toward us, but the game of chicken ended still quite some distance away. As we got comfortable with the pod eventually we spotted that there was a baby among them, who would pop up only briefly behind another hippo which I assume was its mother. As we admired the hippos other wildlife would make an appearance, with a pair of I think fish eagles swooping down and the trees along the river bank being shaken by monkeys.
Eventually we turned around and head back up river, puttering back past the fishing village and keeping an eye out for more birds. But like the monkeys the birds eventually came to us. As we were lounging during the afternoon back in camp some green turacos started flitting about the treetops in camp. These are gorgeous birds and were great to admire via binoculars.
Cattle egret in this photo (I guess confused about what they are supposed to sit on), not green turacos.
Our final scheduled event was another forest walk, with the same ranger that took us on the previous one. Although we hadn’t hiked Karangia Hill in the morning, we were rather wiped from all our relaxing, so at the time I was fine with not hiking it. Looking back, I would have maintained the schedule as outlined on the website, with the Hill hike in the morning and hippo boat ride in the afternoon. Though I have heard of other visitors not seeing any hippos in the afternoon, so perhaps if you stay only two nights hippos and the hill are an either/or thing.
The forest walk though was still pretty great. We didn’t actually do much forest hiking. Instead the ranger took us through the nearby gardens and fields. As we were driving into the park we had passed several rice paddies and other gardens and I had really wanted to get a closer look, and now here we were. After all I love integrated farming and they were integrating this farming in spades (or with spades I guess). Although the garden the ranger took us to was specifically the garden of one of the other rangers, the stretch of land around and outside the park is where the local village does their food production. My super amazing wife was particularly interested in all the goings-on. We saw oil palm seedlings in polypots and rice that was about ready to be transplanted, along with pineapple and sweet potato and cassava. The rice paddies were surrounded by fruit trees and it was entrancing to see the layout of the different food systems, from the rice nurseries down in the “swamp” (the broad and low stream), fruit trees next to that, tree nurseries and sweet potatoes along the banks, and finally highest up the cassava fields and “local beans.” Gorgeous, all of it.
Man I love integrated farming; cassava, sweet potato, rice, and bananas all in one photo!
And with that, our last scheduled event was over. Our VSL guide had spent the time while we were on the forest walk buying a fish to replace the one he had bought in Makeni; apparently he had not secured it the night before and a civet had made off with it (I had wondered what that sound was). But dinner was great and the evening spent reading once again by flashlight. The next morning we had breakfast and set off soon after, enjoying the air conditioning in the car as we reversed our journey from two days before, arriving home in the early afternoon.
Overall, it was a good time, despite all the bug bites. As far as safaris go, it was pretty hokey; the boat ride to see the hippos was the best part, though probably not worth the drive from Freetown. The VSL team was pretty great and made everything run smoothly, and all we had to do was try to eat the massive meals they had prepared for us. For OKNP, I think a serious safari-goer would be better served by trying to get a more adventurous tour company to put together some sort of trek into the park itself. The rangers, after all, do treks into the park, and they enthusiastically explained all the great wildlife inside the park which you couldn’t see from just skirting its edges, like we did. Sierra Leone is just a tough place to travel in many ways, and I am very glad to have gotten upcountry to see such a gorgeous place, but luxury it ain’t.
Turning away from the river you are looking at the main part of the castle itself, with the ruins still standing two stories tall. Looping around clockwise the guide pointed out the remains of what he said was the secretariat (record storehouse), a blacksmith shop, and the kitchen, before taking us through the gate into the main slave yard. Here the enslaved people would have been housed while their captors waited on another ship to come.
From within the slave yard.Path down to the upriver beach.Looking back up at the fort from the path to the beach.Looking upriver.
Outside the slave yard and on a path leading down to the beach there is a cotton tree with roots that have followed the square of the brickwork, making a convenient photo spot. Our guide encouraged people to cycle through to take pictures, if they liked. He explained that behind him was the powder store room, in which now lives a large number of bats. On the beach side there is a very small door into the cave-like room, which must have attracted the bats. He said that you could hear the bats, “singing hallelujah praises,” and you know what you could. It must be really cool when they all come out at dusk. Along the beach he also pointed out old piles of oyster shells that would have been used to produce lime. After walking back up the hill this concluded the tour of the fort itself. From there we walked down a short path to the other side of the island to see the graveyard. We didn’t linger and guide shuffled us back to the boats playing more praise songs on his speakers.
With the A Boat having been replaced in the interim, it was a short hop over to Tasso Island, which was an unexpected treat. Going to Tasso wasn’t unexpected, we were always going to have lunch there, but our short visit was really something. The tide was far out when we landed which meant we alighted onto a rock/concrete structure that looks like it is covered at high tide and got to walk along the beach, admiring some very cool rocks and having a lovely stroll. Up at the restaurant we had a great lunch of rice, fried fish, and plantains, but then the real surprise was being taken up to the Tasso Heritage Center.
The reason Tasso had lunch facilities is because of the Tasso Ecotourism Project, which as the name suggests is encouraging ecotourism on Tasso Island. It’s part of these overall efforts along with the tour companies that they developed the Heritage Center, which was brand new when we visited, having opened only two months prior. One of the people from the island showed us around the center. Right inside the door there is an impressive collection of Sierra Leonean masks, including Temne, Bundu, and Krio masks. The pride of their collection is an “original carving of the ‘camel’ or ‘horse traveler,’ still wearing its cowrie bead charm, which was carried in front of the Chief on long journeys. It comes from the time of the African Empire invasions, when camels were first seen in Northern Salone.”
Masks of Sierra Leone.
The largest room of the museum discusses the history of slavery in Sierra Leone, and especially the relationship of Tasso to Bunce Island. Since, as discussed, Bunce is very small and primarily chosen as a fortification, Tasso was used as a plantation to provide food and water to Bunce. There were also signs on the longer history of Sierra Leone and its relationship to the rest of west Africa, and a room displaying some of the normal wares of a household. We didn’t get too long to linger but frankly the heritage center rivals the national museum in Freetown, especially for the scholarship on display. But from there it was time to load up onto the boats for the final ride back to Freetown. This went smooth and quick. I ensured my super amazing wife and I sat on the port side for the ride back so I could see all the things I didn’t see on the way out to Bunce. It was so lovely seeing Freetown from the water, spotting downtown and the different hills over which the city spills. It was the cap to a fantastic trip full of history and a showcase for the enduring connections between Sierra Leone and the world.
The sign on the baobab tree says “Welcome to Bunce Island.”
Reading this week:
Between Meals by A.J. Liebling
At the very tail end of 2024, my super amazing wife and I managed to get to Bunce Island! It was really fantastic and is a must-see if you ever find yourself in Sierra Leone. Unlike a lot of things in Sierra Leone, Bunce Island is in fact pretty well documented online. That means there is no need to belabor the history here, but Bunce Island was home to a slave fort/factory that was a base for enslavers along the Sierra Leonean coast for centuries. The site has a particular connection to the United States because of the local rice-growing culture. People from the region were especially prized as slaves in the Carolinas for their knowledge of rice growing, and there is a direct connection between Sierra Leone and the Gullah/Geechee culture in the United States.
Since Bunce is an island we had to take a boat to get there. We were joining a trip put together by VSL Travel, and so joined up with our trip companions at the SeaCoach terminal. The VSL crew was great and I can highly recommend them. At the terminal we loaded onto two boats. We were on the B Boat, but as we went along it became clear that the A Boat was having trouble. There was a lot of plastic in the water outside Freetown harbor and apparently their engine had sucked some up. That didn’t bother me too much because I was having a grand ole’ time looking at all the different boats in the harbor from slightly closer up than usual. As we went further up the river I really enjoyed seeing all the different fishing villages and fishing boats out and about. At one point we had to veer sharply to the right to avoid running over a line of nets.
The most unexpected thing we saw was the port of Pepel, where a bulk carrier was being loaded up with ore. The current major export of Sierra Leone is iron ore, and from the Marampa and Tonkolili mines it is transported via rail to Pepel, where it is loaded onto ships for transport elsewhere to be refined. That explains all the bulk carrier ships I always see in Freetown harbor, which is a connection I should have made earlier. It also explains the rail yard I saw from the plane. Happy that things all tie together.
Bulk carrier being loaded with ore.View of Pepel from the air.
After passing Pepel, we were soon at Bunce. From the dock at Bunce you can look across and see the ships being loaded with ore. There’s a metaphor in there if you care to use it. Bunce Island had been neglected for a while as a historical site but that started getting rectified in 2007, so the infrastructure is pretty good. There is a caretaker on the island with a nice little house, keeping the brick paths fairly clear, and you land at a convenient dock. The fort itself is of course in ruins but as far as ruins go they are well preserved.
Once the A Boat had limped to the island and we were all gathered, the first thing the guide had us do was pray, “no matter your religion.” This prayer consisted of him drawing a circle in the sand and pouring water into it as he played “Amazing Grace” on his speaker. It was better than it sounds in that sentence, I promise. The significance of the circle was lost on me but the guide mentioned that the song was by John Newton, describing him as a former enslaver turned abolitionist. What he didn’t mention I don’t think but was clearly a part of the decision to play the song is that John Newton was in fact himself enslaved in Sierra Leone, when he annoyed the crewmembers of his ship so much they abandoned him here.
The main gate of the fort.
After the prayer the guide gave us a short history of the island and the slave trade in Sierra Leone, which was necessarily compressed but pretty alright. Then we hiked the 100 feet or so on up to the fort (it’s a very small island). The fort is on a gorgeous spot to be the site of so much pain. You can see why they picked it. It’s about as far up the river as you can go in a ship (as evidenced by the ore loaders a mile away), and the island has a small bluff on which the fort is built. With the trees cleared you could see any threats coming from a ways off. We entered the fort through the main gate which brought us past the ruins of the apartments and then onto the main bastion, with cannons on the ground still overlooking the main approach.
A mea culpa: just two posts ago I talked about how I didn’t really have an explanation for the above map (and an accompanying letter), which was illustrating land that the London Missionary Society was swapping with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) around their Niamkolo station. That post was part of this ongoing series where I put online things I found in the SOAS archives, and this post continues that because if I had scrolled a little bit farther down in my file I would have found the answer. I didn’t fail to do that just to stretch two posts out of it, I was just silly. I had speculated in the previous post that maybe the answer was trains; much more excitingly, it was boats!
The letter transcribed:
Tanganyika Concessions Co. Abercorn
Dec 4th 1900
Dear Sir,
Mr. Irwin, our Traffic Manager, who is about to put together our steamer “Cecil Rhodes” on the lake, has carefully examined the two sites that I had chosen, namely Niamkolo and Kasakalawe. Mr. Irwin has decided to build his steamer at Kasakalawe because he is in hopes of getting there erected houses and sheds of the Flotilla Company. Also there is a good road to the place and no uncertainty about freehold possession. However, there is no anchorage there and Niamkolo is the only possible place where we could with safety erect our patent slipway, being an ideal anchorage. In the future we shall have to find some good anchorage for the repairing & docking of our steamer & other companies’ steamers. The other Cos will probably gladly avail themselves of our slipway.
I therefore shall ask your Committee to consider whether you would let us have permanently one half square mile at the mouth of the straight opposite the island by the shore, about 2 ½ (or 2) miles from the Mission house, & out of sight of it. A road would be made to it from Abercorn, which would skirt the [?] village at some distance – we should be glad to pay for this land, to give you a site in the new Abercorn, which will be begun next year, and which is absolutely the property of our Company, and to grant you special rates in steamer passage & transport on Tanganyika – the B.S.A. Co. have the right to ground enough in our new town to build there their offices, but they will not encourage anybody to build outside our township, except at very large prices as they wish our Company to succeed. I have no doubt that Mr. Codrington will grant us the 2 square miles that I have applied for at Kasakalawe to make an official port, but we would far prefer to be at Niamkolo, as a better anchorage. If there is a possibility of a mile square being sold to us at Niamkolo, we would let Kasakalawe lapse & make the official port at the former place, but if only half or quarter mile is allowed us we shall only be able to put a few [?] and our slipway there – A half-mile would possibly be ample – a quarter mile is rather cramping.
Kindly let me know the Committee’s views on the subject. I hope that if you consult your Directors at home you will be good enough to forward them a copy of this letter. This would be more direct than if I sent a copy through my Directors to yours.
Believe me, yours faithfully,
M.J. Holland, Lake Tanganyika Concession Co Ltd
And photos of the letter itself:
“M.J. Holland” I assume must be Michael James Holland. He worked for Tanganyika Concessions Limited, which was nicknamed “Tanks,” an appropriate moniker for an inherently dispossessive colonialist enterprise. Though still different, it seems to have been closely related to the BSAC. But for our purposes, as you can see from the letter the important bit is that they were putting together the Cecil Rhodes. Loyal readers will recall that I visited the boat’s boiler, which still lies in the village of Kasakalawe right to the west of Mpulungu. I didn’t find it last time I looked, but this page and this page contains more information on the Cecil Rhodes, including pictures of the hulk as it rests on the Tanganyika lakebed.
According to the letter, Tanganyika Concessions was looking for a place to build and anchor the Cecil Rhodes. The LMS was sitting on the best anchorage around so they asked to do a land swap. If my assumption in the previous post that the letter dated July 12, 1900 had something to do with this land swap, then something must have been discussed prior to the above letter, dated five months later. But everything must have worked out between the LMS missionaries and Tanks because according to The Great Plateau of Northern Rhodesia the Cecil Rhodes was launched in October 1901. The above-linked Mr. Codrington described Lake Tanganyika’s merchant marine in a May 1902 article in The Geographical Journal:
The vessels now plying on Tanganyika are – the “Tanganyika Concessions” steamer Cecil Rhodes (twin screw), with a carrying capacity of from thirty to forty tons; the German Hedwig von Wissmann, with about an equal capacity; the African Lakes Corporation’s steamer Good News, with a carrying capacity of twenty tons; and the Congo Free State schooner, carrying about one hundred tons. Some five or six dhows, the property of Arab and Greek traders, compete in a small way with the European-built vessels. The lake, though said to be more stormy than Nyasa, is considered a safe waterway by the skippers of the vessels, no dangerous rocks being reported. The level of the lake in June, 1901, was 4 or 5 feet higher than in the corresponding month of 1900, the Lukuga outlet having again silted up.
A couple points of the above: by this time the LMS had sold the Good News to the African Lakes Corporation, explaining the ownership status. I did notice the conflicting dates with the fact Mr. Codrington’s journey started in June 1901, before The Great Plateau says the Cecil Rhodes was launched. And finally, before looking into this again I had never heard of the “African International Flotilla and Transportation Company” and so I will have to research more. Nor do I have any idea what the 100-ton Congo Free State schooner could be. So many more questions than answers out of one short paragraph.
But again back to land swaps. Not only did it all work out for the Cecil Rhodes and Tanks but that land is still where the Mpulungu Harbor Corporation is today. It is not immediately clear to me what the exact corporate lineage is between the Tanganyika Concessions Company and the MHC but I am sure it is interesting. Also very interesting is this cool video about the Mpulungu Harbor Corporation from four years back:
One of the most exciting parts of our day bopping around Kigoma was that we got to visit the MV Liemba!!! You all will know this of course, but she was originally constructed in Papenburg, Germany in 1913 before being deconstructed and shipped to Lake Tanganyika in pieces. Our tour guide Peter told us that when this happened the rail had only reached Tabora so between Tabora and Kigoma she was carried by porters, but I don’t think this is true. The internet consensus seems to be that the railway reached Kigoma in February 1914 though the exact source for that is unclear to me, it is potentially from here (the source for my boat-specific claims is The Lake Steamers of East Africa). Anyways that distracts from my point that it was then launched onto Lake Tanganyika as the Goetzen in February 1915 and was the major feature of the Battle of Lake Tanganyika. The Germans though pre-emptively scuttled her in July 1916. After the war the Belgians tried to raise her in 1918 and then the Brits first tried raising her in 1922 but weren’t successful until October 1924. By May 1927 she was back in service as the Liemba (the non-Swahili word for Lake Tanganyika) and for the past century has been plying a fortnightly route up and down Tanganyika except for shipyard periods.
I’m (about to be) on a boat!!!
Which we were in now! This is why it was so exciting to see the Liemba in Kigoma. Ever since learning about her I had wanted to see her but I was very confused as to why she never made, as far as I could tell, any of her famous visits to Mpulungu. My dream was (and remains) to take the train from Dar es Salaam to Kigoma and then ride the Liemba on her whole two-week voyage, or maybe just down to Mpulungu (I would also be very happy with the reverse of this trip), but I could never figure out her schedule. As was confirmed here, this is because her most recent voyage was in 2018 and she had been awaiting a refit. Which is underway! Before I discovered Elizabeth and Kigoma Eco-Cultural Tourism, my big plan was just to beg the shipyard to let me poke around. But since Elizabeth offered a tour of the Liemba I just signed up with her.
I suppose all gangways are over water but this one especially so given the rising lake levels.
And so we arrived at the shipyard and got ready to check out the Liemba. For the record I found the following all very charming, but it was an interesting experience. I had thought Elizabeth had some arrangement with the shipyard but upon arrival it seemed sliiiiightly more like the actual plan was just to show up and sweet-talk our way in. She did this very effectively. There was some hesitation at first. We never actually wound up being able to go inside the ship as they were in the midst of some major I think electrical work, but it was decided we could get close to the ship on the dock. Here you could see the impact of the rising lake level because a chunk of the dock was underwater and we had to skirt around the edge of a fence to keep our shoes from getting wet; between the ship and the limited above-water portions of the dock a walkway had been placed somewhat haphazardly. As we were standing there it was then decided that we could at least go up to the foredeck of the ship of the ship. Not the most exciting tour but I thought it was super fun just to be on the ship! So much history, so very boat, much cool.
MV Liemba bridge from the foredeck.Eponymous heads.
With the actual tour portion over we then spent some time talking to a former port employee that Elizabeth knew and had arranged to meet us to give us the lowdown on the Liemba refit. Since he had worked for the port he also knew a lot about the port operations and I tried to think of all the intelligent questions I could to ask him. Some things he told us:
The new engines they are putting in her will be rated to 1000 horsepower. The previous ones were 750 horsepower. They hope this will get her cruising speed up to 12 knots from 10.
The refit was scheduled to take another six months but our man here was predicting it would take another year (so mid-2026). Though the last journey was in 2018 the refit had started August 2024.
The ship is rated to carry 600 passengers, split among first, second, and third-class. There are three saloons where passengers can get meals at varying price levels. He told us how many first and second-class cabins but I forget how many it was exactly; I think there were ten first-class cabins sleeping two each but only two second-class cabins sleeping four each.
I had asked if refurbishing the Liemba was cheaper than building a new boat and apparently it is not. But since the Liemba is so famous and the ships are government-owned, it is “political.” No complaints from me on this use of Tanzanian taxpayer money.
The usual method of ship lading on Tanganyika.The container crane, and some containers.
For port operations, I had noticed a crane for shipping containers. Given my Mpulungu experience of seeing breakbulk shipping, I asked about container ships. Our guide reported that there are only two ships on Lake Tanganyika designed to carry shipping containers, one rated for something like 36 containers and the other 48. Sometimes though containers are put on ships anyway.
Kigoma is reportedly mostly an export port, again like Mpulungu, because Congo imports so much. From Kigoma he said it is a lot of building materials. From Congo he reports they import logs but the guide’s understanding is that they are mostly re-exported out of Tanzania without further processing. I won’t think too deeply about that.
And so yeah! That was our experience and at this point we said goodbye to our guide and loaded back up into the car. The only awkward part of the whole thing was that Peter had pointedly told us that we could “say goodbye” to our port guide there, so I said goodbye. Later we figured out that this was code for giving a tip; Elizabeth later passed him some cash on our behalf. But still I am over the moon that I got to see the Liemba in the flesh and learn about port operations and so now all I have to do is the same long overland and overlake journey I have wanted to do for years and I can’t wait until I get back to do it on a newly refurbished MV Liemba!
The Liemba as photographed on the Gordon-Gallien Expedition a century ago!A photo I later took of the Liemba from across the other side of the harbor.
Alright. In the last post my super amazing wife and I had travelled from one end of Tanzania to the other to arrive in the historic town of Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika. This and the next few posts will be a convoluted and involved effort of trying to unpack the experience and history of a single day trying to explore everything that Kigoma and Ujiji.
I must assure my dear readers that the confused and disjointed nature of the narrative is not a fault of the actual day we had, which was fantastic. Our guide on the experience was Kigoma Eco-Cultural Tourism, who were absolutely phenomenal. Consider this a ringing and unabashed endorsement. If you go to Kigoma you have to hit them up. On our journey we were led by the owner herself, Elizabeth, alongside our tour guide Peter. Elizabeth can put together just about any experience you want in just about any order, which is what she did for us. I wanted to go on three of the experiences (I actually wanted to go on many more but alas there is only so much time) and because I remained wishy-washy about what to do with the rest of our time in Kigoma I asked to do all three in one day and she was more than happy to accommodate.
Caulking close-up.
The first stop on our tour was the Katonga fish market. This was not actually a specific part of any of our itineraries but Elizabeth wanted us to experience the eco-culture which was fine by me because I am always more than happy to admire any of the local boats. We went first thing in the morning so we could catch the boats coming in from fishing. This was indeed pretty cool. I suppose nothing too crazy, men coming in from fishing boats with fish and women buying and selling fish. The main type of fish on sale at this moment was mikebuka (I had it in my notes as “mugabuka” which I only mention here because later in the day I saw a sign that said “Make Ujiji Great Again,” so that made me think of MUGAbuka, but the internet consensus seems to be to spell it as “mikebuka” or, less melodiously, “sleek lates”).
There is a rhythm of which fish get caught at which time of day and at what time of year which I didn’t manage to entirely gather during our visit. At night the men fish with lights to attract the fish, and so much of the bustle while we were there were the fishermen unfitting large LED lights mounted on poles. They are powered by racks of car batteries which in turn, Peter told us, are charged by solar panels during the day. Very ecological! Or maybe not so ecological. The lake is definitely being affected by human activity. Much like Lake Manyara, Tanganyika is rising. This was very noticeable throughout the day. This is not an entirely unusual phenomenon (and many explorers spent much time trying to figure out where all the lake’s water went) but it is bad right now and still getting worse. Fish stocks are also being depleted. Despite the efforts of the Lake Tanganyika Authority it is hard to equitably manage the lake when these fishermen need to put their kids through school. Nonetheless the fishing communities are aware of and feeling the strain of the lake’s ecology changing so rapidly.
But back to the fish market. Peter was proud to tell us that Tanganyika fish were very valuable, way better than those Lake Victoria fish. Tanganyika dagaa was reportedly going for 40,000 Tanzanian shillings (TSh) a kilo for export, whereas Victorian dagaa go for only 7,000 TSh. Fish wind up being exported even to the United States and Canada (again as reported by Peter) where there are Tanzanian ex-pats, and in fact when I was googling the spelling of “mikebuka” most of the results seem to be websites trying to ship you fish. But besides fish I tried to learn about people, and asked about people travelling around the lake. To which Peter reported that many people travel around the lake, and many of these fishermen will have wives on both sides, in Tanzania and Congo. Peter explained they are Muslim and polygamists, you see, but I suppose sailors are the same everywhere. For some more details I wrote down, Peter told us that small mikebuka were known as “nyam nyam” (no telling if I have the spelling right), and that sheep are called “kondoo” in Swahili; disappointingly for us apparently they are used only for meat, and not wool.
Absolutely enormous canoe under construction; you can see a goat for scale in the shadows underneath the prow.
And then also of course were the boats. The ones at Katonga fish market were of average size for fishing boats. Peter explained that the caulking was made with cotton and palm oil. We later got to see this process in action. One of the most stunning things I learned about on this trip to Tanganyika were these absolutely massive canoes. I regret never being able to get a better photo of them, they were almost always too far away. I first spotted them from a distance as we were driving in from the airport, and later in the day I dragged Elizabeth and Peter to a boatyard across from the Livingstone Memorial impromptu to see some being made. “Canoe” is very much not the right word, but what I found so amazing is that they had the exact same construction as the fishing boats, but just on a much more massive scale. The photo I have above is of one under construction, and in this photo it doesn’t even seem so massive but to the right you can see a goat for scale. They are flat-bottomed with a huge freeboard and as far as I can tell powered just by a small outboard. I only ever saw a small poop deck on any of them, which must be where you steer from. Elizabeth and Peter told us they are primarily used for transporting goods to small villages up and down the lake and also to Congo and Burundi, and we saw one near our hotel getting loaded up with bricks. It was in the boatyard we saw the palm oil & cotton caulking in action, with several men in the midst of constructing one. They told us they can finish one in a month if they have all the materials and tools. Amazing.
That was later in the day though. For now we wrapped up our visit to the fish market. We had spent most of the time just hanging out watching the world go by. We spent probably slightly longer watching the proceedings than really felt not rude but no one really batted an eye to us being there. Peter told us to make sure to greet people which we tried to do. Eventually though we wound our way out between the fish and lights and batteries and got back to the car for our next stop: another boat.
Ujiji: The History of a Lakeside Town by Beverly Bolser Brown
The Western Ocean by Alan Villiers (not his best work)
Stuff Every Coffee Lover Should Know by Candace Rose Rardon
With the conclusion of our safari we now turned to the second segment of our Tanzania vacation: the historic city of Ujiji. Well I mean Kigoma. Ujiji is more of a neighborhood now so when booking our flights we were going to Kigoma and the lodge we were staying at was the Kigoma Hilltop Hotel. So we were going to Kigoma but I was going there for Ujiji.
As you will have quickly understood by now the impetus of us travelling to the far side of Tanzania was to see the location of so much of the focus of the London Missionary Society and their Central Africa Mission. They spent so much time and money and lives getting to Ujiji and trying to establish a base there and after all this reading I had to see it for myself. And I also had to go for the sheer number of historical events! We have been to Livingstone’s birthplace, and I have been to Livingstone’s deathplace, and so how could I not go to the spot where the most famous event of his life occurred? And then the final reason for wanting to go, which was to show my super amazing wife the gigantic lake that shaped my Peace Corps experience and in many ways has shaped my subsequent career. I wanted to see it again for myself and show her its wonder.
As an early example of the historical resonances I was searching for, to get to Kigoma we had to go through Zanzibar. It was a stopover on our flight from Arusha (Kilimanjaro airport to be specific) which we woke up rather early for. The fact that we were going to Kigoma caused some consternation among the various tourism industry personnel we encountered; Obedi was surprised we had heard of the place. Even the airport check-in counter lady seemed surprised, exclaiming “what?!” when we said we were going to Kigoma, except we subsequently concluded she just didn’t understand our accents. Then it seemed like we had already somehow missed our flight, but the issue there was only that it wasn’t on the departures board. You would think Kigoma was not so well-travelled, though of course historically it was anything but.
Eland by our deck.
No matter our tribulations though they of course pale in comparison to what every single person doing it by caravan went through. I have read many of their stories; as it is tautologically the first part of getting to the Lakes region, it is the most vivid part of anyone’s narrative before they eventually settle into the new normal of interior Africa living. During our time in Tanzania I was reading a couple London Missionary Society books, including the Rev. Arthur Dodgshun’s journal. He spent the better part of two years getting from Zanzibar to Ujiji, a journey that only took us about two hours (not counting the layover in Dar). And he died at the end (in his journal Dodgshun mentions reading The Last Journals of David Livingstone only for this to be his last journal as well); this post is evidence that luckily didn’t happen to us.
Instead we landed perfectly safety at the Kigoma Airport. As we taxied down the runway I spotted a small decrepit-looking shack that I figured must have been like, the colonial-era terminal, but no it is in fact the current one. Our checked bags were just delivered through an open hatch. But as we stepped outside the ride we had arranged was ready to whisk us off to the Kigoma Hilltop Hotel was waiting there for us. The ride was gorgeous and a mini-preview of the very involved next day I had planned for us. I even saw the MV Liemba way off in the distance. And in a call back to the previous five days upon arrival to the hotel we were greeted by eland, wildebeest, and zebra. Turns out the grounds are a bit of a nature preserve. We checked in and were ferried past the zebra and to our room via golf cart.
And uh we didn’t do much else that night. It was just relaxing being in the midst of such beauty. It was very interesting to see the rhythm of marine traffic going back and forth. When we arrived we watched a fleet of dhow-rigged canoes coming in. Later, a number of larger canoes carrying smaller canoes went back the other way, so many that you could hear the droning from room’s patio. We ate dinner at the hotel restaurant where I tried to get my kapenta fix in with dagaa. Eventually the sun set over the lake, and it was exciting to be able to see the DRC backlit by the dazzling reds and oranges. And I mean, man. I was finally here. The place I had read so much about and that was positively palpable with history.
Loyal readers, we have finally come to our final full day in Shetland. Although we had not planned too intense of a day, we had a couple of Wool Week activities slated and were looking forward to those.
The first of these was a class on net mending. This was hosted by George, a former fisherman with the heaviest Shetland accent I had so far heard. During the net mending itself he also tended to talk with a knife held in his mouth, which added significantly to his charm if not clarity. The first half of this experience turns out was actually a tour through Shetland’s fishing history via the Shetland Museum’s collections. This was a particular and unexpected treat because we got to see the boats. What had been one of the museum’s most popular displays was its boat hall where various examples of historic Shetland boats were hung from the ceiling. But as George explained “health and safety” got to ‘em, and the boats had to be taken down and put in the shed, “where no one gets to see ‘em.”
Boats boats boats.Me examining build details.Man I love boats.
So that was a lot of fun to see the boats. Many of the designs are the descendants of traditional Viking designs and I had a blast poking around and looking at details. I tried to take photos of all the details so you know if I ever need to I can make a Viking-adjacent boat and homemade sails and ply the North Sea. After the boats themselves we went on through the museum exhibits, learning all about the Dutch and the Hanseatic League and all that. Then it was time for the net mending itself. George had a net set up with various holes in it and he showed us the proper technique for patching it back together before letting people give it a go. This was fun, but then towards the end people started to ask George more questions about fishing nets and man’s eyes really lit up. He got some paper and started diagramming different net configurations and constructions, and when people asked him about a whole net-making course he told us about trying to get it going but there were budget issues; apparently all the materials are quite expensive. It was very fun to learn from George and hear all about his long and storied fishing experience out of Shetland.
By da sletts (out of frame to the left).
Our next event wasn’t until the evening so we had the afternoon to spend in Lerwick. We first got lunch at the Fort Café & Takeaway, an absolutely lovely little chippy that was kind enough not to make us feel too out of sorts as the confused tourists trying to order some fish. It is the sort of place where if we didn’t speak the local language we would be bragging to our friends about the quaint cultural experience we had. Also we later saw it in Shetland and that was cool; we had sat at the same table as Jimmy Perez! Then there was some final shopping, including soaps from the utterly wonderful Shetland Soap Company and a Jamieson’s Fair Isle sweater jumper along with some yarn. For dinner we celebrated Wool Week by getting the lamb at No. 88. A walk along down to the da sletts rounded out our evening activities before the final talk.
Slide from Dr. Christiansen’s talk.
And what a talk it was! It was all about the folk symbolism of taatit rugs. It was given by Dr. Carol Christiansen and was fascinating. Taatit rugs are in fact heavy pile bedspreads, important for blustery Shetland nights. She had gotten interested in the rugs as a window into Shetland folklore. The rugs often feature particular symbols and no one quite was sure what they meant. So she sat down to figure it out and turns out it is pretty deep. Most of the talk was a dive into Shetland mythology, much of which is linked to Norse stories but which have developed on their own on the isles. Especially important were the trows which inhabit Shetland. With sleep being such vulnerable times, the symbols on the taatit rugs acted to ward off the witches and trows that could come and prey on you at night. The rugs also had other stories associated with them, and would sometimes be made by a betrothed couples’ families as a wedding present. Since these were some rare textiles made purely by and for Shetlanders for their own private homes they were such an interesting window into the local culture.
And with that we were turned out into the night, with no symbols to protect us, and our Wool Week was done. We drove on back to the inn and did our final packing, nervous about the weight of all our souvenirs. In the wee hours of the morning we drove on down to the airport, got confused about where to leave the car (turns out, anywhere), and checked into our flight (I’m not sure they even weighed the bags in the end). Shetland was such an interesting and friendly and beautiful place and we are so very excited for when we get to go back.
We were finally approaching our final Scottish destination: Shetland! As alluded to several times over the course of this series, the primary reason we had gone to the UK was to go to Shetland Wool Week. We had also had some friends who had gone to Shetland, so were excited to see the rest of the place too. But first we had to get there. I left you, dear reader, as my super amazing wife and I were jumping the car and departing Inverness. We had about a two-hour drive ahead of us to Aberdeen, where we would catch the ferry to Shetland. We could have taken a flight to get to Shetland, but I pushed us towards the boat. I was looking forward to spending an overnight at sea and we sprung for the cabin instead of confining ourselves to chairs.
We almost didn’t make it. I should have looked more closely at a map and the locally available transportation options. We had a rental car we had to drop off at the airport and turns out the airport is not at all near the ferry terminal. I was stressed from driving down all the tiny little two-lane roads on the route the GPS took us between Inverness and Aberdeen, and my super amazing wife was stressed because we were looking at the clock and realizing this was going to be close no matter what. But we arrived at the car rental place and jumped on out, forgetting my super amazing wife’s sunglasses in the process (the rental place later emailed us to say we could pick up the sunglasses at our leisure, but we were, you know, in Shetland). We were planning on getting an Uber, but turns out you can’t get a ride share from the Aberdeen airport.
Majestic!
Okay, no matter, we just got in the taxi line. The very long taxi line. And waited a few minutes. And no taxi came. Not great! And then the taxi lady came out and said no taxis were coming anytime soon. This had us very stressed and we had no real time to spare. So we shuffled on down with all of our baggage and the rest of the people in the taxi line to the bus stop, with no real indication of when the bus was going to come either. But then! Our savior! A taxi appeared! With everyone else distracted at the bus stop my super amazing wife and I ran on down with all our bags to claim the taxi and we were on our way! We arrived at the ferry with time to spare but seem to have been some of the last to board.
I left the photo crooked so you could experience what we did.
And so we were onboard our chariot, the MV Hjaltland. We unpacked in our spacious cabin (spacious after the Caledonian Sleeper anyway) and settled in. Despite our very anxious time getting there I was even anxious-er to explore the ship, so we went off to poke around. It is super cool. It’s got a gift shop and a bar and a movie theater. As soon as we were underway I insisted we go up and see the deck before it got too dark and we were too far at sea, dragging my super amazing wife away from her tea to do it. The views were gorgeous man, the open sea, the offshore wind farm, the wind in your face, fantastic.
Things were soon not so fantastic though. After we descended down from the weather deck we got in line for dinner. My super amazing wife was starting to feel not so great from the rocking the boat was already experiencing. I thought some food would help, but not really. It made her feel worse though it made me feel better for a bit. We returned to our cabin and although she avoided puking she was soon confined to her rack. I wasn’t far behind. Before long I, too, was seasick. This was a major blow to my ego. My time as a landlubber has made me weak. I spent a few hours listening to podcasts and feeling nauseous but did eventually recover enough to have a fairly comfortable night.
Shetland at dawn.
The next morning I got up early to have a rather nice shower actually in our ensuite and then explore the boat some more. Back up on the top of the ship I caught my first glimpse of Shetland. I always like the first glimpse of a distant land by sea. I remember my first sight of Australia from the submarine, easing up over the horizon its long and low shores. With my stomach feeling better I also got some very good breakfast. It included a banana though, and maybe that was the root cause of all my troubles. We docked before long and so it was back to the cabin to pack and then unload. I think we were some of the last ones off. No matter, because that meant the car hire lady was easy to find. She ran us through the info, with a stern warning that although we had the comprehensive insurance coverage, that still did not cover the car doors being ripped off by strong winds. Quite the introduction to Shetland! But we were glad to be there, safe, sound, dry, and with a new set of wheels.
Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley (abridged Folio Society edition)
In the last post, we discussed how I transcribed some documents from the SOAS LMS archives relating to the SS Good News, my favorite steamship. These included the original purchase contract and then a letter from Mr. Roxburgh celebrating the launch of the boat. But now we get to the good stuff: drama.
These are three letters, two from Edward C. Hore and one from A.J. Swann. I should have put the first letter in the last post, timeline-wise, but only in writing this post did I realize it was dated 1881; I had originally thought it was from 1887 which is silly. This is a good place to note that I found it hard to read Hore’s handwriting. When I couldn’t read a word I put down whatever letters I thought were close and annotated it with a [?]. How much of history will be lost when nobody learns cursive anymore?
Anyway in this first letter, Hore is advocating to I think the LMS board for his preferred sort of ship, a sailboat with auxiliary steam power. By this point Hore, on behalf of the LMS, had used several different sail-powered vessels on the lake and now was looking for something with more oomph.
Islington
9 Dec 81
Dear Sir,
In regard to the Marine Depart. of the Tanganyika Mission I understand that the question of sail versus steam is still to be considered – As I wrote long since from Ujiji, I should be very pleased to work a sailing boat on the Lake, in fact the vessel I have proposed (see former letters on this subject) would perhaps more frequently be sailed – it is my hope to do so, & reserve the steam for occasions when it would mean economy of time & safety. The recommendation of steam by the District Committee (see resolutions Cent. Af. Dist. Com. Oct 80) is of course simply the notion of the Missionaries, & subject anthief [?] (as I would be the first to admit) to the consideration & decision of the Directors & the bearing upon it of their experience in these Missions & perhaps some of those Missionaries in recommending steam, simply intend to recommend “the most efficient & speedy means of water communication.”
But for myself – as well as joining in the above recommendation as a Missionary the steam is included in my professional opinion given to the Directors, or the best means of conducting the ferries [?] they require to be carried out.
Perhaps some misapprehension has arisen from calling the vessel a steamer – the vessel I propose is in fact a fast & safe sailing vessel, which I hope to sail under favorable circumstances up to 10 or 11 knots – with auxiliary steam to give a speed of 8 knots.
As a sailor I am prejudiced against steam but I have proposed what I have not from my idea as a Missionary, which would be a mere suggestion to the Directors, but as my most carefully considered professional opinion of the vessel necessary to carry out what I suppose to the Directors intentions on Lake Tanganyika.
1) The prevailing winds on the Lake are S, S.E., & S.W. so that one can almost always sail N – to get South one must either be able to beat against a strong breeze or make use of the light land breeze close in shore at night or lose of thenna [?] – according to circumstances – but the nights are frequently quite salone [?], so that with steam or other mechanical means of progression a passage could be made or shortened.
Every bend & headland, as the sailor gets acquainted has its peculiarities of wind-currents or smooth water, which the auxiliary steam would enable me to utilize to best effect, both as regards speed & wear & tear of vessel.
To theorize on seamanship we need steady winds & straight & uplaw [?] coast liner – I append a diagram to illustrate the navigation on one small portion of the Lake.
2/ On the Lake generally there are frequent calms (or nearly so) of a week or more for which, undoubtedly, some means of mechanical propulsion should be provided, & to be reduced to oars, would, considering the size of the vessel be most expensive & unsatisfactory & would leave us often as badly off as before – a doctors visit or other urgent service ought never again to be delayed for want of wind – & I take it that the success of the whole mission is very much dependent on the efficiency of the Marine Deps. I hope never to have to say either there is no wind or the weather is too bad – the sails & the good sea boat always for rough weather, either fair or foul – & the auxiliary steam for the perhaps more difficult calms.
3/ The Lake is still (for purposes of navigation) comparatively unexplored, charts, sailing directions, pilot books, steam trap [?], are now so much reformed [?] on in ordinary navigation that we need constantly to remind ourselves, that we have no such assistance on our Lake & in threading narrow waters & going in & out of harbors etc. etc. the steam or other mechanical means of propulsion would be an immense saving of time & expense – With our new vessel we cannot “shove her thro’” or “push her over anyhow” as one would handle an old log canoe.
4/ Although steam would be desirable the Directors would not like to (& there is no reason why they should) have to employ both a nautical man & an Engineer on the Lake by an Engineer of course I mean a superior man, capable of taking sole care & responsibility of the Engine etc. etc. but a steamer properly so called would not be done pisther [?] to without both such men.
The vessel I propose is specially designed to meet this difficulty & to be managed without such an Engineer – I think I have already told the Directors that I am ready myself to undertake the care of the auxiliary machinery I propose – It is also designed specially to meet the requirements of the Locality & service.
In asking for steam power to guarantee 8 knots I would make that the maximum – it is for use chiefly in calms & very light head winds & I saw 8 knots in the hope that I could then be quite certain of 4 or 5 under those circumstances & should keep it for such use – neither wearing the machinery nor incurring the time labor & expense of providing fuel during available winds.
In case of my being disabled my mate could still sail the ship & at the worst could but let the Engine rust – but I hope we may procure a man who would be able to take the whole work when necessary – as to keeping the parts clean & clear of corrosion I will back our intelligent sailor against any engine driver or like assistant. A personal inspection of the steam machinery of any launch or yacht with the power I require would I think convince the Directors of the feasibility of my managing the same – they need no permission to have such machinery in any case of the simplest form & best material & workmanship.
I have referred more than once to “other mechanical power” – I have no Engineer’s prejudice & would be glad to hear of any other method of mechanical propulsion for calms.
5/ The vessel should be able to two rafts of timber & canoes loaded with building materials for which service calm weather must be chosen.
I think I have already laid before you the two plans either of which would I think meet the requirements of the case.
1st the sailing vessel with auxiliary steam machinery (of 8 knots guaranteed)
2nd the sailing vessel solely such which might be then of slightly different lines & smaller dimensions and a small steam launch in sections capable of being secured together in a day or two for immediate use.
Plan 1 has the advantage of compactness [?] & completeness & having both means always at command, but all our force risked on one bottom.
Plan 2 has the advantage of a more roomy sailing vessel – a means of much more rapid service for simple communication & light urgent work without moving a ponderous vessel for every light service & the distribution of our forces & of the risk in two vessels – a tow boat without always using the larger vessel & a means of at once starting work on the Lake without the possible delay in waiting for the transport & construction of the larger vessel at the South end of the Lake, by taking the small launch along the old route – but in using the larger vessel itself we still are dependent on sail & oar.
In such an important matter I should think it necessary for the Directors to be assisted by a professional nautical opinion quite as much as by that of an Engineer – & as to detail of construction & fittings I should much like to be assisted officially with a competent marine surveyor or architect.
I place the glad [?] to enter into detailed planning for caravans etc. as soon as it is known how much is to be undertaken by the trading Co.
I remain dear sir, Yours sincerely
Edw’d C. Hore
It gets more dramatic in the second letter. It starts off as an update on the Good News and then becomes a letter about who, exactly, is in charge of the boat. There seems to have been a lot of personnel drama in the Central Africa mission, and it started early. Here, Hore is complaining that Alexander Carson had come out with the notion that he (Carson) was in charge of the construction of the Good News. Hore, as head of the Marine Department, figured he would be in charge, and if that was to change no one had told him. It’s written from Kavala Island, where Hore had set up the base of the Marine Department. The Good News was built at the south end of Lake Tanganyika, but then after launching brought up to Kavala for fitting-out.
Kavala Island
Tanganyika 22 Oct 86
Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I have received your letter (written by Mr. Moore) of 14 Feb. I am glad to hear from you all again for Mr. Moore both as your representative and on his own account conveys to me your very inclusive regards & good wishes. Certainly pleasing recollections of you all are immediately connected with much that has to do with the Good News – I sincerely hope that some day I may see you again & this time to talk over what has been done instead of what has to be done.
Mr. Carson arrived here on 4th July last, reaching Kavala Island aerors [?] the deck of the Good News which was as you suppose pretty well complete except boiler & machinery – in fact so far as I could go awaiting chains plates & certain other fittings to complete which [?] parts of linings [?] must be left – At that late hour [?] masts were in & rigging aloft with awnings [?] opened fore & aft, wheel & bowsprit shipping etc. etc.
The machinery of course I had left as soon as assured that an Engineer was coming – except that in order to make sure my list of missing parts I connected the Engine & teething [?] gear together putting in carefully made models of wood of the sliding guide blocks & the awadement [?] block. The whole worked smoothly together along with the machinery connection to cockpit & was in face perfect & complete except a small displacement which the Engineer will surely [?] make in the Goodwin [?] chocks to bring the coupling of shafts fair. The funnel, casing etc. etc. got to me in a bad state, but the boiler plates were all right having been packed [?] by Roxburgh in hansil [?], the others were all scraped [?] clused [?] – painted [?] here & the leed [?] & workshop laid out all ready with tools & materials for Mr. Carson’s arrival. “Wonderful & perfect preparation” in my opinion but I daresay a “very rough & makeshift” in the eyes of any one just coming from home – nevertheless it was the result of years of hard work.
It is no doubt astounding [?] to some people how I could have taken such a long time over such a small job. It is perhaps impossible for some who have always lived at home to understand it. The actual amount the work of erection of the vessel has been but a small part of the whole & the largest part the formation of dwellings, working places & conditions on a jungle covered hillside in Central Africa in the intervals of many boat voyages of over 200 miles to fetch provisions & materials.
Mr. A.J. Swann my mate has done all the minelting [?] of cornfrip [?] etc. etc – having paid that attention to the business while Roxburgh was with us & acquired considerable proficiency – he also worked with Mr. Carson at the riveting of the boiler lids [?] was finished all but the last ring [?] before Swann left for home.
The dock tho’ causing much trouble & disappointment (Miro [?] want of density of soil panelling [?] water to percolate thro’ the bottom) was a perfect success for the work required – the dry season has now left it behind on the shore – but the Lake will rise again with the rains.
Here is a copy of the dockings from my official log.
Draft of water 2.9 aft & 1.6 forward – having on board Engine – full 2/3rd of linings & journey – bowsprit – 30 fathoms calle [?] & 140 lbs [?] stone ballast under wooden cabin bulkhead – no masts, stove, anchors, or other heavy weights.
June
7. Draft as stone [?] hauled into dry dock
9. shoud [?] up & baled [?] out – scrubbed bottom, but dock gate leaked at 3 p.m. & stopped work – repaired gate.
10. 1st coat of paint on
11. 2nd coat of paint
12. dock gate leaked & filled – repaired & baled out
14. 3rd coat paint
16. noon let water in & floated vessel
July
6. Good News hauled into dry dock to inspect & adjust propeller & shaft
7. Completed work of adjustment of propeller shaft & examination of sea cocks
8. Hauled out of dock.
On this last occasion masts & all rigging in place but Engine had been taken out [?] also the cable – all else the same – & draft was 2 ft 8 in aft x 1 ft 7 forward. In the dock the foremost block had 1 ft 6 in water over it & the after block under (stern post) 2 ft 4 in – she was hauled up into position by 35 men without purchase (that it took tackle to haul her off again).
I have laid a lot of shels [?] to form a grating on top of the floors – to be filled up to wider cabin sole [?] with clean quartz stones – but New [?] will only store about 1 ½ tons – she is very buoyant & I must determined [?] traiss [?] exclusively by cautious experiment.
The “passengers cabin” will probably for some time be devoted to ballast & fuel.
I am convinced more than ever if possible on the necessity of our being an auxiliary steamer – certain voyages will always be sailed with perhaps an hour or two’s steam to enter port quicker the time for steam and fueling – She wants an iron or steel mizenmast & chains halyards for mizzen. I do not think I shall ask for it I am afraid to be thought so greedy. – the wooden mast & ordinary rigging will soon be destroyed by the fire & smoke.
Both Mr. Carson & Rev. G.H. Lea who arrived 3 weeks ago keep good healthy, they came up quickly without having to escort large caravans & came at once to this place which is undoubtedly healthy – Mr. Carson has been at work all the time & as regards the actual day when steam will first be got up we shall soon be waiting again – of course actually we can always find plenty to do – the boiler is nearly ready & all going on nicely but I do not like to say anything about it – Mr. Carson has absolute charge of boiler & machinery & will doubtless give full report thereon – instead I feel conferred [?] in writing about any of the work that is going on now the position is so peculiar, & at home & away from Missionary surroundings would certainly resulted [?] in horrible [?] & would possible have [?] done to now not for the personal regard I have for Carson whom I like very much – the fact is he arrived here believing that he had charge of the whole work of Good News & that Swann & I would assist under his directions. While on the other hand I understand that my appointment as “superintendent of the construction of Good News” remained un-annulled & that the Engineer was sent out to relieve me of certain details of that work.
I met Carson on his arrival before I knew his ideas or saw his instructions (with the assurance that he should have it all his own way un-interfered [?] with, with the boilers & engine, but felt rather small when he showed me the same in writing & also indicated his ideas with regard to the other part of the work – My private opinion is that we are both deserving of great credit, that the Good News work is proceeding well without at present any pitch [?] or trouble.
As for myself personally I hardly hear [?] whether I am standing on my head or my heels – I have supposed myself (for years) to the holding [?] an appointment which now suddenly I see announced in print as having been held by Mr. Roxburgh – I have risked the health & life of myself & child over & over again in a way I would have considered quite uncalled for & unnecessary but supposing that I hold unique positions.
When I try to get the evidence of my friends as to whether I am palpable [?], one suggests a clerical error, another says it cannot be that I cower [?], had the appointment because I am “incompetent” another that a “sailor” cannot construct vessels etc. etc.
I begin to wonder whether I have built a vessel at all, but have been building a castle in the air all the time & make to find myself a sort of boatkeeper with the best years of my life gone.
Meantime the jungle fades from view & the settlement grows – boys & girls attend the daily schools & Sunday services – and the “savages” become more & more amenable [?] to friendly intercourse & work. Our chief by death of two of his seniors is offered [?], promotions [?] on the mainland but declined to leave his good island & us – so some of the people he was to have governed are coming here to live instead – the Good news meantime is slowly & surely approaching completion & missionaries having a healthy station & houses to come to at once are surviving instead of dying off. The fact nothing stops us but want of men and proper men – with the necessary power funds & men I would settle & colonize the whole Lake shore – A Missionary Society of course is confined to certain lines & methods & within these & the means (in shape of men & money) that have been available, I think I have had remarkable success & if I can only only [sic] see the Good News efficiently running before I leave I think I shall feel restful afterwards.
I shall be grateful [?] for any hints [?] you can give me about ballast & trim of Good News – At present I can only experiment to get 1st sufficient stability and 2nd sufficient immersion for propeller.
You know our boiler will get very irregular work – & sometimes cold water remaining in for along time. I do not think deposit will trouble us at all with proper attention to use of clean water. If you think under these circumstances that simple rust might be prevented by painting inside of boiler I wish you would advise it but do not let it be known that I have anything to do with the suggestion.
With Christian regards & best wishes to you & yours, I remain dear sir, Yours sincerely
Edw. C. Hore
I assume that all was eventually resolved.
The Good News did not have a particularly long service life, even though she was really kinda sorta the impetus of the mission. Mr. Arthington donated money to start a Central Africa mission as long as the London Missionary Society put a steamer on Lake Tanganyika. The theory was that they could do shipborne evangelization, cruising up and down the lake proselytizing to the lacustrine peoples. This never really worked out; the LMS found the best way to get converts was to settle in a particular spot and let a village grow up around them. The Good News was handy for a bit as a transport ship between LMS bases at Ujiji, Kavala, and Niamkolo, but eventually all the missions shifted to the south end of Lake Tanganyika which was most easily supplied via southern routes instead of overland between Zanzibar and Ujiji. The Good News was eventually sold to the African Lakes Company and by WWI was a hulk on Kituta bay. The below letter from A.J. Swann explains some of her faults.
Kavala Island
July 1889
Dear Mr. Goodwin,
I have been going to write you for some time past but the very troublesome times out here has made me postpone it from time to time & even now I see no chance of it clearing up too commence in hopes of this reaching you some day.
First let me say I have written you before I hope you received it & that [?] incient [?] doing so again.
Now a letter about the Good News. You will probably have met Capt Hore ere this & had a long yarn on this subject, since arriving here we have made several voyages. Carson & self & lately there [?] had her ale [?] long [?] reef [?] being Master Mate & Engine overlooker at the same time & now for my opinions of the wee craft.
I have repeatedly tested her speed over known distances & find with 60 lbs of steam & smooth water she goes 7 ½ miles an hour, this is I think good, she has maintained that rate for 12 hours & is her best, but in order to do it, we must have splendid wood & no cargo. Her average speed is about 6 miles an hour in fine weather with about 50 lbs steam. Under sail I think her best will be about 5 miles an hour & then the wind must be free.
Against ahead wind she is no good at all & will scarcely maintain steerage way, the short seas take it all out of her, as a smooth water vessel she is everything to be desired, otherwise a failure, her sail power is too much for her probably & yet insufficient for propulsion; in fact, Hore in trying to get both sail & steam, has in both obtained neither. In overreaching for cabin accommodation he entirely ignored ballast space & fuel storage & to speak honestly has bungled the whole affair, instead of her being so he so persistently termed her an “auxiliary steam vessel” she is to all intents & purposes just the opposite & if he had taken your advice to lower his canvas in the lockers & given her more power behind, we should have had a vessel fit to navigate Tanganyika in any weather whereas she is not able to steam against the South East monsoon or beat against it under sail. This is my report after a fair trail & I simply send it that you may know the fact & it only proves once more, that the fads [?] of amateurs are scarcely ever worth serious consideration in such matters.
You know it must cost me something to write in this strain about a vessel in which I have taken to much interest & in the construction of which I was privileged to take part, I admire her now unisonlon [?] & feel proud to have charge of such a treasure & I know with care she will do the work of this mission for years, yet she is what I have described a failure in many points & in the hands of an amateur sailor will be a source of much anxiety [?] & great risk. I know you won’t take any thing I have written as in the slightest manners reflecting unfavorably on yourself, for from it we shall ever be indebted to you for such a gift as the G. News, the only regret on my part is that you did not have your own way, but was hampered with the good intentions (but mistaken nevertheless) of other people.
Suffice it to say she is the admired of all admirers [?] & it moving under to the natives world [?], A source of pleasure comfort & service to the mission generally & A.I. [?] in my estimation when I look back at the mode of transport up here a few years back & if ever you take it into your head to travel this way, be sure of a Saloon passage & a hearty welcome. Now about ourselves, Mrs. Swann has had very good health indeed since finishing the journey & getting over the loss of our wee babe, which loss was felt very keenly as you may imagine.
At present we are all “tip top” Hellie [?] the worse for our somewhat isolated life. The road to Zanzibar has been shut for some months & supplies are stopped. The road S.E. via Nyassa is also shut & so we are young Emin Pascha on a smaller scale & may come very near competing with Robinson Crusoe for first honors if the game continues many years.
The Arabs have twice planned to assist us off this Planet “nolens volens” but an old friend of mine (an Arab) has nailed his colors to ours & said “come on” if you like, but if you do I could [?] guarantee your safe release to your villages & up to the present they have not “come on.” How long this Arab will be able to shield us is impossible [?] to say & I don’t know it serves any purpose to calculate.
Poor Brooks was foully murdered 2 days from the coast some months ago, but he has gone to his reward where all who are sincere & faithful will congregate someday. May God forgive his murderers is all I can say as I grieve over a lost companion in this great struggle for Africa & if they serve us the same, repeat the prayer. Over us they can have no power unless given them from above & thus we rest & work on believing the time is soon coming for the “day to dawn & the shadow to flee away.” We would live to see this if his Will, if not, it is our to obey.
Mrs. Swann joins me in kindest regards to Mrs & Miss[?] Goodwin & we are so sorry to say your Photographs together with my “Robert Burns” was lost on the voyage out & the case destroyed by someone so that we have not your faces. Please remember me very kindly to Mr. A. Hamilton who I trust has not given up the slave question. Also to Rev. Rogers & others who may remember me & now accept yourself our best wishes for your welfare & happiness & permit me to remain,
Pat in the World 
You must be logged in to post a comment.