The Faithful Followers

Ten Africans gave their lives to get the body of Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone back to Britain after his death in 1873. When he died in the village of Chitambo in what is now Zambia, the 60 Africans of his party determined to take the body to the coast near Zanzibar so that it could be returned home for burial. They removed and buried the heart and all internal organs, embalmed the body with raw salt, and dried it in the sun. The gruelling journey which covered 1600 km took from May 1873 to February 1874 and ten men died during it. But the survivors’ only reward was their normal wages, paid by the British consul in Zanzibar and a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Geographical Society which probably very few of them received. Only the two Africans - Chuma and Susi - who led the journey, gained real benefit, because they were brought to Britain to fill the gaps in Livingstone’s journals. The game they gained in Europe made them sought after guides when they returned home to Africa.