Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone
Episode 3: Hunters Become The Hunted
As the explorers begin their trek across the hot, parched Mkata Plains, finding enough water becomes a critical issue. The dangers of this new environment quickly become apparent, even as the explorers marvel at the giraffes, elephants, zebra and other game grazing nearby. Everyone has been afflicted by some kind of illness, and in sea of 10-foot-high grass, where lions could be hiding anywhere, it’s important to stay alert. Another injury reminds them just how vulnerable they are. The pace of the group’s progress continues to be a source of frustration, and two explorers appear to be headed for a showdown.
The Journey Ahead
Between Zanzibar and Ujiji, there are 970 miles of high seas, steep hillsides, scorching plains, fast-moving rivers and mud-filled swamps. Danger lurks around every corner, and any step could be their last.
Extras
- The Elephant:
King of Beasts
- With an average weight of 8,800-15,500 pounds, the African elephant is truly a formidable creature. Henry Stanley wrote about his first encounter with the largest living land mammal in How I Found Livingstone (1872): “My first impressions of them I shall not readily forget. I am induced to think that the elephant deserves the title of king of beasts.” Although still threatened, elephant populations are making a comeback in Tanzania. As a result, cattle are often forced to compete for water with these larger animals and some Maasai famers have been killed trying to protect grazing area for their herds.
- “In the air we breathe...”:
Malaria Strikes Stanley’s Caravan
- In his book How I Found Livingstone (1872), Stanley writes about his expedition team’s struggles with malaria: “The tongue assumes a yellowish sickly hue, colored almost to blackness; even the teeth become yellow and are coated with an offensive matter….These are sure symptoms of the incipient fever which shortly will rage through the system laying the sufferer prostrate and quivering with agony.” During the expedition, all six of the European members of Stanley’s caravan were stricken with malaria as well as dysentery.
- The Maasai:
Wandering Warriors in Transition
- Originating in Northern Africa, the Maasai people made their way south along the Nile Valley, settling in Tanzania near the end of the 19th century. Traditionally nomadic, the Maasai are regarded as skilled warriors and successful herders, maintaining an almost-sacred relationship with their cattle. Today, there are approximately 500,000 to 1 million Maasai living in Tanzania and Kenya, although the exact number is the subject of some debate. In recent years, environmental problems and drought have caused some Maasai to abandon their agricultural lifestyle and move to small towns and villages.
