How I Found Livingstone Book

How I found Livingstone:
By Henry M Stanley (1841-1904)

Who were Livingstone and Stanley?

David Livingstone (1813-1872) was a Scottsman, explorer, missionary, and anti-slavery campaigner.
He became a great hero of the Victorian era for his geographic discoveries in the heart of unexplored Africa.

Henry M Stanley was an English born journalist and explorer, well known for his adventurous and exotic reports from his Oriental and European travels.

Livingstone had been on his third expedition for many months when news reached the coast that he had died in the interior of Africa. But the man spreading the rumors was one of his former servants, and suspicion arose as for the truth of his reports.

The community of Livingstone's friends, the scientific community and admirers was abuzz and worried.
One such admirer, Mr. James Gordon Bennet, son of the owner of the 'New York Herald' of New York, had the will and the means to do something about it.
He knew Henry Stanley as a journalist and commissioned him to stage an expedition for the search of Dr. Livingstone, dead or alive.

Today we can hardly imagine how slow and challenging communication and traveling was at the time.

Stanley, after receiving his instructions in Paris took off from there on 16th October 1869;
Arrived at Zanzibar, East Coast of Africa, and the starting point of his (several expeditions)
On the 6th of January 1871!

In his book "How I found Livingstone", the author reports on his expedition endeavoring to find the lost explorer.

How to organize such an undertaking?
Stanley was a charming and convincing man and had considerable financial means;

Arab traders of ivory and slaves who had the experience came to his help.

The most surprising fact for the reader will be to find that money, even gold or silver was of no use as payment for food and tribute to pay to chiefs for allowing the caravan to pass his tribal territory.

The means of payment was textile, sheeting, and clothing in different colors as well as beads, coral or other and then also shining brass wire by the coil.

With long-distance travel in mind, instead of a slim money bag, the traveler had to provide
Horses, donkeys and the local population as carriers.

Fancy being in charge of a caravan composed as follows:

2 white men as overseers, Shaw, an English ex-sailor and Farquhar a Scottish adventurer
23 soldiers, plus four spare men
4 chiefs,
153 pagazies, head carriers
27 donkeys
1 cart loaded with cloth, beads, brass wire, boat fixings, tents, cooking utensils, medicine, powder, food,
all were adding up to 153 loads
48 excellent weapons of defense and for hunting, with powder and cartridges

Stanley presents his reports in the first person on a precise daily diary form.
At first, this can appear excessive and annoying for the reader, who cannot absorb so much new African names of locations and geographical details, but soon the traveling incidents and adventures take over and make up for it.

On the 18th of February 1871, the first caravan departed for the interior;
Another 4 expeditions returned without success;

Dr. Livingstone was not easy to find on such a vast continent.
He was a traveler himself, and therefore a moving target.

On the 20th of September Stanley launched a new expedition for Ujiji, a port on the lake of Tanganjika;
On the 4th of November, he hears of a white man in poor health being stranded there.

On the 10th of November, when Stanley met Dr. Livingstone at Ujiji, he greeted him with the famous:

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

This event happened at about two thirds through the book.
Stanley's style of writing thereafter becomes less diary-like and more freestyle and a much pleasanter read.
A real-life, non-fictional adventure story. Colorful, lively and very human, giving details of sufferings, pains and aches, fever delirium, rotten shoes, and blistered feet, both about him and Dr. Livigstone.
After a few weeks when Dr. Livingstone's health had improved, the two had decided to explore the northern end of the Lake Tanganyika, which they could do with success.

At this point, M Stanley's mission was completed; he had found Dr. Livingstone and had saved him.

So they needed to return and undertook this trip with low means and both with failing health conditions. Their adventures were all the more challenging to survive, and they barely made it.

The road from Ujiji to Zanzibar leads through Onjanjembe, a major town, and their inland base camp.
Stanley had rented a house and storerooms. Dr. Livingstone also had items in-store, and both were hoping to find mail from Europe.

On arrival, Stanley tried his best to convince Dr. Livingstone to return with him to Europe and to his family but with no success.

Dr. Livingstone wanted to organize one last expedition to complete the work of his life;
to find the source of the Nile.

He agreed with Stanley for him to go back to Zanzibar, organize and send back new supplies and men, to get this undertaking ready.

For Dr. Livingstone it was indeed to be his last expedition;
He died of malaria on the 1st of May 1873 in Chitambo, south of the lake Tanganjika.

M Stanley returned to Europe, where he was welcomed like a hero, covered with praise and finally knighted by the Queen.

This is a marvelous book for lovers of real-life adventure, as exotic and colorful as readers can wish.