02.05 - Lady Nyasa

5. Lady Nyasa.

Lady Nyassa

Even the one good thing that seemed to have been achieved - the discovery of Lake Nyasa - had a sting to its tail. Livingstone realised that this inland sea was one of the centres of the slave trade, and he set about overcoming this by having a boat specially constructed, at Partick on the Clyde, which he planned to put on the lake to promote ’honest trade’. The boat was built, using all the money Livingstone had - mostly the revenue from his book - but although the Lady Nyassa, as she was called, had been built in sections for easy transportation, the further discovery of the Murchison Cataracts proved an insurmountable obstacle which was then added to by the recall of the expedition by the British Government. There was nothing else for it but to return. The Lady Nyassa could not be disposed of in Africa for fear she would fall into the hands of the slave traders. Livingstone decided, therefore to sail this frail craft to Bombay; it had been built only for inland waters, but after careful and painstaking preparation Livingstone, acting as his own navigator, set sail for India. He timed the voyage to take advantage of the best conditions, and remained close inshore until only the shortest crossing of the ocean was necessary, but the weather turned against him. First he was becalmed and then storm-tossed on this remarkable voyage which lasted for four months before he reached Bombay, where the Lady Nyassa was sold. Even that was not the end of his troubles: the money realised was put into an Indian Bank which failed shortly afterwards.