while still suffering, he deemed it a work of necessity, in order to get as soon as possible out of the fever-breeding region of mangrove swamps where they had anchored, that they should at remove the sections of the “Ma-Robert” from the “Pearl”; accordingly, with the exception of the time occupied in the usual prayers, that day was spent in labor.  His constant regard for the day of rest and great unwillingness to engage in labor then, is the best proof that on this occasion the necessity for working was to his mind absolutely irresistible.  He had found that active exercise every day was one of the best preventives of fever; certainly it is very remarkable how thoroughly the men of the Expedition escaped it at this time.  In his Journal he says:  “After the experience gained by Dr. M’William, and communicated to the world in his admirable Medical History of the Niger Expedition, I should have considered myself personally guilty had any of the crew of the ‘Pearl’ or of the Expedition been cut off through delay in the mangrove swamps.”  Afterward, when Mrs. Livingstone died during a long but unavoidable delay at Shupanga, a little farther up, he was more than ever convinced that he had acted rightly.  But some of his friends were troubled, and many reflections were thrown on him, especially by those who bore him no good-will.

The first important fact in the history of the Expedition was the discovery of the advantage of the Kongone entrance of the Zambesi, the best of all the mouths of the river for navigation.  Soon after a site was fixed on as a depot, and while the luggage and stores were being landed at it, there occurred an unfortunate collision with the naval officer, who tendered his resignation.  At first Livingstone declined to accept of it, but on its being tendered a second time he allowed the officer to go.  It vexed him to the last degree to have this difference so early, nor did he part with the officer without much forbearance and anxiety to ward off the breach.  In his despatches to Government the whole circumstances were fully detailed.  Letters to Mr. Maclear and other private friends give a still more detailed narrative.  In a few quarters blame was cast upon him, and in the Cape newspapers the affair was much commented on.  In due time there came a reply from Lord Malmesbury, then Foreign Secretary, dated 26th April, 1859, to the effect that after full inquiry by himself, and after consulting with the Admiralty, his opinion was that the officer had failed to clear himself, and that Dr. Livingstone’s proceedings were fully approved.  Livingstone had received authority to stop the pay of any member of the Expedition that should prove unsatisfactory; this, of course, subjected his conduct to the severer criticism.