Nigerian porters carrying gun parts across the Benue river in a British expedition to suppress slavery. Wood engraving after Morgan, 1894.

"British gunboats on the Shiré river. The following account, sent by a correspondent, of a journey recently taken from Chinde up to Lake Nyassa, is very interesting at the present time when full details have been coming to hand regarding the punitive expedition of a force of 100 Sikhs under Major Johnson and Captain Edwards to avenge an attack made by a chief, M'Kanda, who declined to pay his taxes, upon the chief English official in the Mlange district and also on the local mission station. This expedition, which has added greatly to British prestige in the district, has resulted in the death of a famous slave-raider--Kiwaura--the utter routing of his tribe, and the establishment of a friendly native--Jumbe--as paramount chief on the Western side of Lake Nyassa :-'The first part of the journey up the Zambesi is now easily accomplished in one of the steamers which ply on the Chinde mouth of the river. It is only when the larger stream is left that the difficulties of the journey begin. These were especially numerous in our case, as it was the autumn season when we were there, and we found the water in all the rivers very low. At about 150 miles from Chinde the Zambesi divides into two branches, and into the one called the Zin Zin the Shiré River falls ; but the entrance to the Shiré direct from the Zin Zin being impracticable, advantage must be taken of either the Ingessa or the Leak, which, like two canals, connect the Shiré and the Zin Zin again higher up. On this occasion we chose the Ingessa, as there was only eighteen inches of water in the Leak, though, as a matter of fact the Ingessa was not much better, having only a depth of about twenty-three inches in the shallow parts. On reaching the Ingessa we found, to our great great annoyance, that the James Stephenson, a steamer belonging to the African Lakes Company, had been aground in the entrance for five hours and, as she effectually blocked our way, we had first to tow her through the channel before we could venture into it ourselves. Having successfully accomplished this we made a start, but soon found that the river was so shallow, that unless we lightened our ship we should in all probability share the fate of the James Stephenson All hands were therefore employed in unloading the fuel we had taken on board at Inhamgwengwe, a wooding station a little lower down the river; but, as this did not lessen our draught sufficiently, every available movable had next to be taken out of the ship. We then proceeded to haul her over the shallows, a most tedious process, which eventually we managed successfully by dint of much noise and gesticulation, from the splashing row of natives pulling wildly at the hawsers. In spite of all our efforts we did not get through the entrance until eight o'clock in the evening ; it was then quite dark, so we were obliged to remain in the Ingessa all night. This channel intersects the Morambala marsh, and is only about twenty yards wide. On either side rose banks of tall reeds higher than our vessel which lay among them. Next morning we were yet two hours in getting over the shallows into the Shiré. Our further passage up the Shiré as far as Port Herald was accomplished without much difficulty. Our route from thence will be by Chiromo, Blantyre, and Zomba to Mpimbi, our eventual destination being Port Johnston on the Lake.'"—The graphic, loc. cit.