The road was now declared to be practically open between Fatiko and
Zanzibar by means of M'tese's friendship.
This excellent man, who was now a Mohammedan, and kept an Arab secretary, had already sent to Ujiji in search of Livingstone, according to my request, and his messengers had returned with the news, "that he had been at Ujiji, and had crossed the lake to the west; since which, nothing had been heard of him."
M'tese's people were still in search of Livingstone. Ujiji was declared to be on the "M'wootan N'zige," i. e. the Albert N'yanza.
I give this information exactly as I received it.
I now wrote a letter to Dr. Livingstone, of which the following is a copy:—
"FORT FATIKO.
("N. lat. 3 degrees 1 minute; E. long. 32 degrees 36 minutes,)
"February 13th, 1875.
"MY DEAR LIVINGSTONE,
"M'tese, the king of Uganda, has been searching for you, according to my instructions sent to him in June 1872.
"He also forwarded my letters to be given to you when met with.
"His envoys have now visited me at Fatiko, with the report that M'tese's messengers heard of you as having formerly been at Ujiji; but that you had left that station and crossed the Tanganyika to the west.