HENRY M. STANLEY. 
 
STANLEY'S ADVENTURES 
 
 IN THE 
 
 WILDS OF AFRICA: 
 
 A GRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF THE SEVERAL 
 
 EXPEDITIONS OF HENRY M. STANLEY 
 
 INTO 
 
 THK HEART OF THE DARK CONTllNT. 
 
 covering 
 Stanley's Expedition to Find Livingstone^ his Crossing 
 THE Continent and Exploration of the Congo from 
 ITS Headwaters -^o the Ocean, his Establishment 
 OF THE Congo Free State, and his Last Great 
 Achievement — the Discovery and Deliv- 
 erance OP Emin asha. 
 
 By Hon. J. T. Headley, 
 
 Author of *^ Napoleon and his Marshals,'^ ^' Washington and his 
 
 GeneralSy^^ ^'Sherman and his Catnpaigns,^^ ''Far^ragut and 
 
 our Naval Commanders,^^ ^'Sacred Mountains y^* '''Life 
 
 of General Granty'^ etc. 
 
 AND 
 
 WiLivfs Fletcher Johnson, 
 
 Author of ^^ The Saga of the Mistletoe y^^ ^' Landmarks y'*^ ** Facts 
 
 and Fancies ^ Evoltitiony'^ ''The Age of Common- 
 
 place y^ ''The fohnstown Flcody^* etc. 
 
 Bltt0trate:o. 
 
 KDGEWOOD PUBUSHING CO. 
 
 1890. 
 
"Ha- 
 
 Entered According to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, 
 
 By WALTER J. BROOKS, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 
 
 i/.-^^ 
 
STANLEY'S 
 
 Wonderful Adventures 
 
 IN 
 
 'THE DARK CONTINENT." 
 
 442325 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 H'oR centuries Africa has been ^' the dark continent " of our 
 globe. The sea-washed edges of this immense tract have been 
 known time immemorial. Egypt, at its northeastern corner, 
 is the oldest of the governments of the earth ; while the nations 
 skirting the Red and the Mediterranean seas were actors in the 
 earliest recorded history. But Africa as a whole has been an 
 unknown land. 
 
 That i^ was a fertile land, was demonstrated by the treasures 
 brought from its depths by those mighty rivers, the Nile, the 
 Niger and the Congo. That it was populous, was proven by 
 the fact that its native tribes had furnished to the world with- 
 out, forty millions of slaves in the period of two centuries. 
 Both the slave-hunter and the slave told wondrous tales of 
 the inner depths of the land, but these were mere hints as to 
 the actual facts of the case. Africa remained a mystery and 
 a riddle, that seemingly were never to be penetrated. 
 
 For many years explorations in Africa were made simply to 
 gratify curiosity, or from a desire to penetrate beyond fines 
 reached by other men. All the results desired or expected 
 were amusement or fame. But in later years African explora- 
 tions have assumed an entirely different aspect. From Liv- 
 ingstone, who first began to open up ^' the dark continent," . 
 to Cameron and Stanley who pierced its yery heart, all explo- 
 rations have tended to one great end — rthe civilization and 
 Christianization of the vast population that inhabits it. Nq 
 
 (vii) 
 
Viil PREFACE. 
 
 matter what the ruling motive may have been in each case, 
 whether, as in Livingstone, to introduce Christianity ; or, in 
 Baker, to put a stop to the slave trade ; or, in Stanley, to un- 
 lock the mystery of ages, still the tendency has been the same : 
 to bring Africa into the family of continents instead of being 
 the earth's ** pariah;" to throw light on this black spot of 
 our planet, and make those who inhabit it practically and 
 morally, what they are really, a portion of the human race. 
 
 Mungo Park, Denham and Clapperton made explorations 
 of considerable value early in the present century, but Liv- 
 ingstone with thirty years of toil in Africa was the real 
 pioneer of successful work. In 1840, at the age of twenty- 
 five, he embarked as a missionary to South Africa, thus en- 
 tering the land where he lived and died, and which *he never 
 left save on two brief visits to his native land. 
 
 After Livingstone's last return to Africa, circumstantial re- 
 ports of his death were received. These were subsequently 
 contradicted and other reports of death came. He wrote 
 but few letters and some of these failed to reach their desti- 
 nation ; his fate, therefore, remained in painful uncertainty 
 until Bennett sent Stanley to discover him, dead or alive. 
 
 This commission led to the two expeditions of Stanley, the 
 thrilling events of which are narrated in this volume. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HENRY M. STANLEY. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Stanley's birth-place — Early roving — Extensive travels — Correspond- 
 ent in Abyssinia — The lost Dr. Livingstone — Bennett's confidence 
 in Stanley — Stanley's marching orders — His interview with Bennett 
 — Off to his work — En route for Africa — Stanley meets Livingstone 
 • — Stanley's extreme measures, 17 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. 
 
 Inaccessibility of Africa — Extent of Africa — Products of the land, , 42 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 STANLEY'S SEARCH FOR LIVINGSTONE. 
 
 Preparations for the march — The start inland — Wretched surround- 
 ings — Death of the horses — Jungle travel — The belles of Kisemo^^- 
 News of Livingstone — African fever, 49 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WILD EXPERIENCES. 
 
 Slow marching — Irreparable losses — The sultana's judgment — Deliver- 
 ance from difficulties — In a pitiable plight — New burdens— Incipient 
 mutiny — Forgiveness — Murderous attempt — A man left behind, , . 68 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 TRIALS BY THE WAY. 
 
 Down with fever — Strange tribes — A cowardly mob — The country 
 described — What Africa may be — Tribes of Africa — Marks and 
 weapons — African ornamentation — A nobler tribe — Warriors armed 
 
 — Filthy homes — Social customs — Agriculture, 93 
 
 (ix) 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ADVENTURES IN GREAT VARIETY^. 
 
 ^ >AGB 
 
 Chiefs of Tabna — Fighting with Mirambo — A Flying caravan — De- 
 spondency — Triumph — Shaw left — The hunter's paradise — On the 
 hunt — Crocodiles, 125 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE END APPROACHES. 
 
 Mutinous conduct — News of a white man — Hastening to Ujiji — A 
 screaming woman — A narrow escape, • 150 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 STANLEY MEETS LIVINGSTONE. 
 
 Ujiji in sight — The village entered — The doctor at hand — The lost 
 found — Opening his mail — Talking and eating — A long talk — Am- 
 bition satisfied, , 161 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 STANLEY'S HOMEWARD MARCH. 
 
 Sweet converse — Livingstone's surprise — Homeward bound — Parting 
 with Livingstone — Tribute to Livingstone — Passing the swamps — 
 Again at Zanzibar, 180 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 STANLEY'S SECOND EXPEDITION. 
 
 Journeying inland — Lost in the jungle — Lion soup — Plenty of food — 
 Edward Pocoke's death — Letter of condolence — Burial of Pocoke — 
 Magic doctor, 197 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 PRESSING TOWARD THE INTERIOR. 
 
 A hostile surprise — A battle — A massacre — Summary retribution — 
 Confident amid perils — Immense table-lands — Geological history, . 219 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 txetting to work — ^Journal of the explorations — Navigating the lake — 
 A narrow escape — Review of the route, .231 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 Source of the Nile — King Mtesa — Royally entertained — The needed 
 missionary — Wild justice, 343 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 A night surprise — Narrow escape — In a storm — A welcome sight — 
 A treacherous trick — A critical moment — Terrible recompense — A 
 night tempest — Again in the storm, 256 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AN INTERVAL OF REST. 
 
 JVoposals to abandon camp — Rest after toil — Stanley's day-dreams — 
 Seeking canoes — The king's strategy — Treachery thwarted, . . , 277 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 Organizing an attack — ^^Terrible punishment — Completely subdued — 
 New schemes — The Albert Nyanza — Military escort, 291 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE EXPEDITION TO ALBERT NYANZA. 
 
 Snow-capped mountains — A strange race — Toward the Albert Ny- 
 anza- — A miserable failure — The inglorious return — Mtesa's friend- 
 ship — Lakes of Karagwe — Sources of the Nile — Exploring the 
 Kagera — An African village — Bead currency, .,,,,,,.. 304 
 
Xii CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 EXPLORATIONS OF LAKE TANGANIKA. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Cameron's outlet — A wholesale massacre — Where is the outlet? — 
 Difficulties in the way — Curious customs, 331 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 NYANGWE AND ITS HISTORY. 
 
 A beautiful region — The slave trade — Slave pens — Hunting the slaves 
 — How to stop it, 345 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ORGANIZING A NEV^ EXPEDITION. 
 
 Stanley's new purposes — Napoleonic spirit — An escort secured — Afri- 
 can markets — Tipo-Tipo's army, 356 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 4 
 
 THROUGH THE FORESTS. 
 
 The start — Discouraging progress — Wonders of the forest — Soke 
 skulls, 36S 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FLOATING DOWN THE CONGO. 
 
 Terrible suspense — Drifting downward — A stratagem — Departure of 
 Tipo-Tipo — A mournful scene, 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 DESCENT OF THE CONGO. 
 
 Beset by cannibals — Beautiful scenery — Zaidi in peril — Stanley as a 
 strategist — Seeking man-meat — Battling onward — I^ortuguese mus- 
 kets — Chased again — Famine at hand — Hospitable entertainment — 
 " Stanley pool " — Brotherly proceedings, 390 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 AMONG THE CATARACTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Wild surroundings — Terrible rapids — Soudi's marvelous escape — 
 Narrow escape of Stanley — Cluster of cataracts — Canoes on moun- 
 tain tops, 419 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EXPERIENCES BY THE WAY. 
 
 Canoe building — A terrific pass — Trial for theft — Touching scene — 
 Unexpected dilemma — A merry evening, 435 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 DEATH OF FRANK POCOKE. 
 
 Pocoke's value to Stanley — Stanley in peril — Drowning of Pocoke — 
 Stanley in grief — Pocoke's character, 448 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE COMPLETED WORK. 
 
 Incipient miitiny — In despair — A perilous moment — Brightening pros- 
 pects — Captured for stealing — Word to the outside world — A starv- 
 ing company — Greeted by friends — Approaching Zanzibar — Home 
 again — Stanley's crowning honor, 460 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE FRUITS OF VICTORY. 
 
 Stanley called to Brussels — A conference concerning the Congo region 
 — A company organized — At the mouth of the Congo — Up the 
 river — Locating stations — Making treaties — Difficulties surmounted 
 — Stanley Pool reached, 4^4 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE CONGO FREE STATE. 
 
 Treaty concerning th6 new realm — Area of the Congo basin — Pecu- 
 liarities of the river — Its volume — Scenery on the Congo — Climate 
 — Commercial advantages — Stanley's fame, 494 
 
xiv CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 EMIN, THE LAST OF THE SOUDAN HEROES. 
 
 PA<SB 
 
 History of Emin Pasha — In Egyptian service — Efficient work — Lost 
 to the world — Betrayal of Gordon — Popular demand for Emin's 
 rescue — The " Emin Relief Committee," 500 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 STANLEY TO THE RESCUE. 
 Stanley in America — Recalled to Europe — Back to Africa — His escort 
 — Disposition of his forces — Into the wilderness — Distressing 
 reports — Forged dispatches — Disaster elsewhere — Good news 
 from Stanley, ^05 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 STANLEY AND EMIN. 
 
 Emin's forces — His hesitation — His delays — Discussions on the sub- 
 ject — Hopes of success, en 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 IN THE HEART OF AFRICA. 
 
 Stanley heard from — Hidden again — Further news — A barrier of 
 silence — Summary of incidents — Advance contested — Unholy 
 regions — Providence or luck — Seriously ill — Promises kept — Sur- 
 roundings changed — Sublime scenery — Officers in doubt — Further 
 news — Emin and his people arrive, 518 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 FORWARD MARCH. 
 
 The grand muster — Moving — In camp — Great expectations — Route 
 of the advance — Supplies forwarded— Arrival at Mpwapwa — Early 
 arrival of the expedition — Losses by the way — Much fighting — 
 Dangers everywhere, ^26 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 ON THE COAST AT LAST. 
 
 Met by journalists — Emin described — Royal entertainments — Emin's 
 accident — Congratulations — Return messages — Rejoicings every- 
 where, 534 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 FAGS 
 
 tlEJ^RY M. Stanley (Frontispiece). 
 
 /.anzibar, 5' 
 
 Ceremonies of the Queen's Court, 79 
 
 Shooting Hippopotami near Lake Ugenlo ,....'........ 83 
 
 Execution for Witchcraft, IH 
 
 A.frican Warriors and Warfare, 117 
 
 Waste of Human Life, 125 
 
 A Council of War, 131 
 
 Spring-bok Browsing, . 145 
 
 Stanley Meeting Livingstone, 169 
 
 Village on Tanganika Lake, 185 
 
 Burial of Edward Pocoke, 211 
 
 Reception of Mtesa's Body-guard, 247 
 
 \ Treacherous Assault, 265 
 
 Stanley's Dash Across Unyoro, 305 
 
 Hot Springs of Mtagata, 323 
 
 Setting out to Cross Lake Tanganika^ 339 
 
 Scene in Camp at Nyangwe, 359 
 
 Natives Hunting Sokos, . • 375 
 
 Fighting our Way Around, 395 
 
 Boat Fight with the Savages, 409 
 
 Death of Kalulu, 425 
 
 Drowning of Frank Pocoke, 455 
 
 Shooting the Rapids, 467 
 
 Emin Pasha, 515 
 
 (XV) 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 HENRY M. STANLEY. 
 
 STANLEY Is one of those characters which 
 forcibly illustrate the effect of republican 
 institutions in developing strong men. Des- 
 potism cannot fetter thought — that is free every- 
 where — but it can and does restrain its outworks 
 ing into practical action. Free institutions do not 
 make great men, but they allow those endowed by 
 nature with extraordinary gifts free scope for 
 action. This fact never had, perhaps, a more 
 striking illustration than in the French Revolution. 
 The iron frame-work of despotism had rested so 
 long over the heads of the people that it had be- 
 come rusted in its place, and no individual force 
 or strength could rend it asunder. But when the 
 people, in their fury, shattered it into fragments, 
 there was exhibited the marvelous effects of indi- 
 vidual character. A lieutenant of artillery vaulted 
 to the throne of France and made marshals and 
 dukes and kings of plebeians. A plebeian him- 
 self, he took to his plebeian bed the daughter of 
 the Caesars. He took base-born men and pitted 
 them against nobles of every degree, and the ple- 
 beians proved themselves the better men. In 
 other words, he put men. against titles, and th^ 
 2 (17) 
 
i^r. • ''lisr^tHk WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 ' tiles •^^ht^(3bvtTi*']bQfdre the men. Thus, no mat- 
 ter how despotic he became, he and his marshals 
 and new-made kings were the most terrible demo 
 cracy. The mighty changes that were then 
 wrought show what results may be expected 
 when the whole world shall be thus set free, and 
 every man be allowed to strike his best and 
 strongest blow. When the race is thus let loose 
 on the planet we inhabit, we shall see the fulfill- 
 ment of that prophecy, "a nation shall be born In 
 a day." 
 
 The same truth Is apparent In our own counuy, 
 though its exhibitions are not so sudden and start- 
 ling. Indeed they could not be, because this free- 
 dom of action has no restraints to break through, 
 and hence no violent effort is required. Every 
 man grows and expands by degrees without let or 
 hindrance. In a despotism, Webster would pro- 
 bably have taught school in a log school-house all 
 his days, and the " mill-boy of the slashes " never 
 would have made the forum of a nation rlnof with his 
 eloquence, nor the "rail-splitter" have become 
 the foremost man of his time, nor the "tanner-boy" 
 the president of the republic. Republican Institu- 
 tions never made any of those men — they simply 
 allowed them to make themselves. 
 
 Stanley Is among the latest and most extraordi- 
 nary examples of this. It Is folly to point to such 
 men as he, as a stimulus to youthful ambition. 
 No amount of study or effort can make such a boy 
 
STANLEY'S BIRTH-PLACE, j^ 
 
 or man as he was and is. The energy, daring, 
 self-confidence, promptness and indomitable will 
 were born in him, not acquired. The Latin pro- 
 verb, Poeta nascitur.non fitj "the poet is born, not 
 made," is not truer of the poet than of a character 
 such as his. His peculiarities may be pointed out 
 for the admiration of others, his good qualities 
 may teach youth how perseverance, and determi- 
 nation, and work will elevate a man, whatever be 
 his walk in life. One born with a combination of 
 qualities like Stanley's, must have room given him 
 or he will make room. He has such an abun- 
 dance of energy and will-power that they must 
 have scope for action. A despotism could not have 
 repressed him. He would either have become a 
 wanderer or adventurer in strange lands, or he 
 would have headed a revolution and vaulted to 
 power or to a scaffold, as others had done before 
 him. 
 
 But although Stanley developed his character 
 under free institutions, he was not born under 
 them, he being a native of Wales. He was born 
 near Denbigh, in 1840. His father's name w^as 
 Rowland. When three years old, he was sent to 
 the poor-house at St. Asaph, to get an education. 
 Here the poor, unpromising lad remained till he 
 had finished such an education as this institution 
 could furnish, and then he sought employment as 
 a teacher, and for a year was employed as such 
 at Mold, Flintshire. But the strong instincts of 
 
2Q IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 his nature then began to jhow themselves. He 
 felt that a school-teacher's life, however honora- 
 ble and useful, could not be his, and, therefore, 
 with his scant earnings, he shipped as cabin-boy 
 in a vessel bound for New Orleans. Having ar- 
 rived in safety, he began to look about for employ- 
 ment. By what lucky chance it happened we do 
 not know, but he fell into the hands of a merchant 
 named Stanley, who became so attached to the 
 frank, energetic, ambitious youth, that he finally 
 adopted him and gave him his name. Thus the 
 Welsh boy Rowland, became the American youth 
 Stanley. 
 
 Fortune had certainly smiled on him, and his 
 future seemed secure. As the partner, and even- 
 tually heir of his benefactor, as he doubtless would 
 become, fortune, ease and a luxurious life lay be- 
 fore him. But even here, so pleasantly situated 
 and cared for, the same restless spirit that has 
 since driven him over the world, exhibited itself, 
 and he wandered off into the wilds of Arkansas, 
 and in his log-cabin on the banks of the Wichita 
 River, with the pine-trees moaning above him, he 
 dwelt for a long time, among the strange, wild 
 dreams of his imaginative and daring youth. His 
 adopted father mourned him as dead, never ex- 
 pecting to behold him again. But the youth made 
 his way to the Mississippi, and going on board a 
 flat-boat, became the companion of the rough west- 
 ern characters to be found on these boats, and 
 
EARLY ROVING, 21 
 
 slowly floated down to New Orleans and was re- 
 ceived by his overjoyed father as one risen from 
 the dead. 
 
 But just here, fortune, which seemed to have 
 had him in her special care, took him another step 
 forward by apparently deserting him. His adopted 
 father suddenly died without making his will. His 
 place and prospective heirship both disappeared 
 together, and the curtain was let down between 
 him and a pleasant, successfuLfuture. Doubtless 
 that father intended to provide for his adopted 
 son, but now all the property went to the natural 
 legal heirs, and he was once more thrown upon 
 the world. In the delirium of an African fever, 
 tossing in his hammock, far from the haunts of 
 civilization, there came back to him remembrances 
 of his life at this point. We learn that impelled by 
 his roving disposition he wandered away among 
 the California miners, and at last among the In- 
 dians, and sat by their council fires. He seemed 
 destined to see every phase of human life, to be- 
 come acquainted with the roughest characters, to 
 prepare him for the wildest of all men, the Afri- 
 can savao^e. This kind of life also touorhened and 
 hardened the fibre of the youth, so that he settled 
 down into the man with a constitution of iron, 
 without which he could not have endured the 
 trials he has since undergone, and still retain his 
 health and physical powers unworn. 
 
 At this time a new field opened before him. 
 
^2 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 The civil war broke out, and being a Southern 
 man, he enlisted in the Confederate army. This 
 was a kind of service just adapted to his peculiar 
 character, one in which a man with the courage, 
 daring, energy, promptness and indomitable will 
 that he possessed, was sure to win fame and pro- 
 motion. But before he had time to exhibit these 
 qualities, fate, that seemed against him to human 
 eyes, again advanced him a step toward success 
 by causing him to be taken prisoner by the Union 
 troops. As a prisoner he was worthless, and the 
 Union cause really having his sympathies, he pro- 
 posed to enlist in the Northern army. 
 
 Whether the military authorities were afraid of 
 this sudden conversion or not daring to give too 
 much freedom of action to one who showed by his 
 whole bearing and language, that there was no 
 undertaking too daring for him to attempt, we 
 are not told, but they put him where he would 
 probably have little chance to show what stuff he 
 was made of, and he was placed on the iron-clad 
 ship Ticonderoga. It is said, he was released as 
 prisoner and volunteered to enlist in the navy. 
 Be that as it may, though totally unfit for service 
 of any kind on board of a man-of-war, he soon 
 became actinof ensio^n. 
 
 At the close of the war he looked about for 
 some field of active service, and what little war he 
 had seen seemed to fit his peculiar character, and 
 hearing that the Cretans were about to attempt to 
 
EXTENSIVE TRAVELS. 2? 
 
 throw off the Turkish yoke, he resolved to join 
 them. He proceeded thither with two other 
 Americans, after having first made an engagement 
 with the New York Herald, as its correspondent. 
 Disgusted, it is said, with the insurgent leaders, 
 he abandoned his purpose, and having a sort of 
 roving commission from Mr. Bennett, he deter- 
 mined to travel in th6 East. But he and his 
 fellow-travelers were attacked by Turkish brig- 
 ands, and robbed of all their money and clothing. 
 They laid their complaint before Mr. Morris, then 
 our minister at Constantinople, who in turn laid it 
 before the Turkish government, and at the same 
 time advanced them funds to supply their wants. 
 After various journeyings Stanley returned to 
 Enorland. Here a stronpf desire seized him to 
 visit the place of his nativity in Wales, the house 
 where he was born, and the humble dwelling 
 where he received the first rudiments of his edu- 
 cation at St. Asaph. One can imagine the feel- 
 ings with which this bronzed young man, who had 
 traveled so far and wide, entered the quiet valley 
 from which he had departed so long ago to seek 
 his fortune. It speaks well for his heart, that his 
 sympathies turned at once toward the poor-house 
 of which he had been an inmate in his childhood. 
 Rememberinqr that the (greatest boon that could 
 have been conferred at that time on him would 
 have been a good, generous dinner, he resolved 
 to give those poor children one. The daring 
 
24 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 young adventurer, in the presence of those simple, 
 wonderstruck children, would have made a noble 
 subject for a picture. We venture to say that 
 Mr. Stanley enjoyed that unobtrusive meal in that 
 quiet Welsh valley more than he has ever enjoyed 
 a banquet with nobles and princes ; and as the 
 shadows of life lengthen he will look back on it 
 with more real pleasure. He addressed the- little 
 .ones of the Institution, giving them a familiar talk, 
 telling them that he was once one of that house- 
 hold, accompanying his words with good advice, 
 saying for their encouragement, and to stimulate 
 them to noble endeavors, that all he had been in 
 the past and all he hoped to be in the future, he 
 attributed to the education which was begun in 
 that poor-house. 
 
 This was a real episode in his eventful life, and, 
 though it doubtless soon passed away in the more 
 stirring scenes on which he entered, yet the 
 remembrance of it still lingers around that quiet, 
 retired Welsh valley, and, to-day, the name of 
 Stanley is a household word there, and is the 
 pride and glory of its simple inhabitants. And as 
 time goes on and silvers those dark hairs, and the 
 " almond-tree flourishes'' and " desire fails because 
 man goeth to his long home," he, too, will remem- 
 ber it as a orreen oasis he once longed to see and 
 found in the arid desert. 
 
 In 1867, when he was twenty-seven years of 
 age, he returned to the United States and, in the 
 
IN ABYSSINIA. 2 £> 
 
 next year, accompanied the English army in its 
 campaign against Theodore, king of Abyssinia, 
 which was set on foot to reveno^e the wrongs this 
 tyrant had committed against the subjects and rep- 
 resentatives of the British government. Stanley 
 went as correspondent of the New York Herald, 
 and gave a vivid and clear account of the painful 
 march and skirmishes up to the last great battle 
 in the king's stronghold, where, with a gallant dash, 
 the fortress was taken, the king killed and the war 
 ended. With that promptness in acting, which is 
 one of his chief characteristics, he at once dis- 
 patched the news of the victory and the ending of 
 the campaign to London, outstripping the govern- 
 ment dispatches sent by the commander-in-chief, 
 so that one morning the readers of the London 
 newspapers knew that of which the government 
 was ignorant. This, of course, was a genuine sur- 
 prise. A young American newspaper correspond 
 dent, without a vessel at his command, had, never- 
 theless, by his enterprise, beaten the government 
 messenger, and steady old conservative England 
 was disgusted to find its time-honored custom re- 
 versed, which was that the government should 
 first give notice of successes to the public, leaving 
 to newspaper correspondents to fill up the minor 
 details. But an enterprising young American had 
 furnished the important news, leaving the British 
 government the secondary duty of supplying these 
 details. Notwithstanding the admiration of the 
 
,j^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 enterprise that had accomplished this great feat, 
 there was a ludicrous aspect to the affair, in the 
 position in which it placed official personages, that 
 raised a quiet laugh on both continents. Stanley's 
 letters contain the best history of that expedition 
 that has been written. This was still another on- 
 ward step in the great work before him, of which 
 he, as yet had no intimation. 
 
 The next year, 1868, he returned to the United 
 States, and in the following year was sent by the 
 Herald into Spain, to follow the fortunes of the 
 civil war there, as correspondent. Like every- 
 thing else that he undertook, he performed his 
 duties more than faithfully. Exposure, danger, 
 hardships, nothing interfered when there was a 
 prospect of acquiring valuable information. It 
 mattered not to him whether he was on the mar- 
 gin or in the vortex of battle — he never thought 
 of anything but the object before him and toward 
 which he bent all his energies. His letters from 
 the seat of war not only gave the best description 
 of the battles fought and of the military position 
 of affairs, but, also, of the political state of the 
 kingdom. But while he was here, considering 
 himself fixed down for an indefinite period, for 
 Spain is proverbial for the protracted duration of 
 its civil wars, Mr. Bennett, in Paris, was planning 
 an expedition to go in search of Dr. Livingstone, 
 buried, alive or dead, somewhere in the heart of 
 Africa. The sympathies of everybody were en- 
 
THE LOST DR, LIVINGSTONE. 2 7 
 
 listed in his fortunes, yet the British government, 
 thouorh he had done so much to enhance the fame 
 of his native country, refused to stir a step toward 
 ascertaining his fate, discovering his whereabouts, 
 or 'reheving him if in want. 
 
 The Royal Geographical Society, ashamed of 
 the apathy and indifference of the government, 
 had started a subscription to raise funds from pri- 
 vate sources to defray the expenses of an expe- 
 dition to go in search of him. In the meantime this 
 American editor, scorning alike state patronage or 
 private help, conceived the bold project of finding 
 him himself Looking around for a suitable leader 
 to command an expedition, his eye rested upon 
 Stanley in Spain. And here should be noted the 
 profound sagacity of Mr. Bennett in selecting such 
 a leader for this desperate expedition, that was to 
 go no one knew where, and end no one knew how. 
 
 Most people thought it was a mammoth adver- 
 tisement of the New York Herald, nothing more. 
 If he was in earnest why did he not select some 
 one of the many African explorers who were 
 familiar with the regions of Central Africa, and 
 had explored in the vicinity of where Livingstone 
 was, by the best judges, supposed to be, if alive ? 
 Men, for instance, like Speke, Baker, Burton, 
 Grant and others. This certainly would have 
 given great eclat to the expedition, and, if it 
 failed in Its chief object, would unquestionably 
 have furnished new facts for the geographer and 
 
28 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 the man of science. But to send one who made 
 no pretensions to science, no claims to be a me- 
 teorologist, botanist, geologist, or to be familiar 
 with astronomical calculations, all of which are 
 indispensable to a great explorer, seemed absurd. 
 But Mr. Bennett had no intention of making 
 new scientific or geographical discoveries. He 
 had but one object in view — to find Dr. Living 
 stone — and on the true Napoleonic system of se- 
 lecting the best man to accomplish a single object, 
 he, with Napoleonic sagacity, fixed on Stanley. 
 The celebrated men who would have given greater 
 distinction to the enterprise would, doubtless, 
 divide up their time and resources between scien- 
 tific research and the chief object of the expe- 
 dition, and thus cause delays that might defeat it ; 
 or, with more or less of the martinet about them, 
 push their researches only to a reasonable extent 
 and be content with reports instead of personal 
 investigation. But he wanted a man who had but 
 one thing to do, and not only that, but a man who 
 would accomplish the errand on which he was sent 
 or die in the attempt. This was to be no mere 
 well-regulated expedition, that was to turn back 
 when all reasonable efforts had been made. It 
 was one that, if desperate straits should come, 
 would resort to desperate means, and he knew 
 that with Stanley at its head this would be done. 
 He knew that Stanley would fetch out Livingstone, 
 dead or alive, or leave his own bones to bleach 
 
BENNETTS CONFIDENCE IN STANLEY, 
 
 2g 
 
 in the depths of Africa. Stanley was compara- 
 tively young, it was true, and had always accom- 
 panied, never led, expeditions. He knew nothing of 
 Africa, or how an expedition should be organized or 
 furnished — it mattered not. Bennett knew he had 
 resources within himself — nerves that never flinch, 
 courage that no amount of danger could daunt, a 
 will that neither an African fever nor a wasted form 
 could break down, and a resolution of purpose that 
 the presence of death itself could not shake, while, to 
 complete all, he had a quickness and accuracy of 
 judgment in a perilous crisis, followed by equally 
 quick and right action, which would extricate him 
 out of difficulties that would overwhelm men who 
 had all his courage, will and energy, but were 
 slower in coming to a ^decision. 
 
 This latter quality is one of the rarest ever 
 found even in the strongest men ; to think quick 
 and yet think right, to come to a right decision as 
 if by impulse, is a power few men possess. To 
 go swift and yet straight as the cannon ball or 
 lightning's flash, gives to any man's actions ten- 
 fold power. In this lay the great secret of Na. 
 poleon's success. His campaigns were started, 
 while those of others were under discussion, and 
 the thunder and tumult of battle cleared his pre- 
 ceptions and judgment so that no unexpected dis- 
 aster could occur that he was not ready to meet. 
 This quickness and accuracy of thought and ac- 
 tion is one of the prominent characteristics of 
 
nQ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Stanley, and more than once saved his life and his 
 expedition. 
 
 On the 1 6th day of October, 1869, as he was 
 sitting in his hotel at Madrid, having just returned 
 from the carnage of Valencia, a telegram was 
 handed him. The thunder of cannon and tumult 
 of battle had scarce ceased echoing in his ear 
 when this telegram startled him from his reverie : 
 " Come to Paris on important business/' In a 
 moment all was hurry and confusion, his books 
 and pictures were packed, his washed and un- 
 washed clothes were stowed away, and in two 
 hours his trunks were strapped and labeled 
 " Paris/' The train started at 3 o'clock, and he 
 still had some time to say good-bye to his friends, 
 and here by mere accident cpmes out one of the 
 most pleasing traits of his character. Of the 
 friends he is thus to leave, he merely refers to 
 those of the American legation, but dwells with 
 regret on the farewell he must give to two little 
 children, whom he calls his " fast friends." Like 
 a sudden burst of sunlight on a landscape, this 
 unconscious utterance reveals a heart as tender 
 as it is str6ng, and increases our interest in the 
 man quite as much as in the explorer. At 3 
 o'clock he was thundering on toward Paris, ready, 
 as he said, to go to the battle or the banquet, all 
 the same. His interview with Mr. Bennett reveals 
 the character of both these men so clearly that we 
 give it in Stanley's own words : 
 
m -i 
 
 STANLE TS MARCl UNG (^RDERS. ^ j 
 
 " At 3 P. M. I was on my way, c.nd being obliged 
 to stop at Bayonne a few hours, did not arrive at 
 Paris until the following night. I went straight to 
 the * Grand Hotel/ and knocl^ed at the door of 
 Mr. Bennett's room. ' 
 
 "'Come in/ I heard a voice say. Entering, I 
 found Mr. Bennett in bed. 
 
 " * Who are you ?' he ask<^d. 
 
 "*My name is Stanley/ I answered. 
 
 " 'Ah, yes, sit down ; I hrve important business 
 on hand for you.'' 
 
 "After throwing over his shoulders his robe d^ 
 chambre, Mr. Bennett asked; * Where do you 
 think Livingstone is ?' 
 
 " * I really do not know, sir.' 
 
 " *Do you think he is alive ?' 
 
 "*He may be, and he may not be,' I answered. 
 
 "*Well, I think he is alive, and that he can be 
 found, and I am going to send you to find him/ 
 
 "'What/ said I, *do you really think I can find 
 Dr. Livingstone ? Do yOu mean me to go to 
 Central Africa?' 
 
 " * Yes ; I mean that you shall go and find him, 
 wherever you hear that he is, and get what news 
 you can of him ; and, perhaps ' — delivering him- 
 self thoughtfully and deliberately — ' the old man 
 may be in want. Take enough with you to help 
 him, should he require it. Of course, you will act 
 according to your own plans, and you will do 
 what is best — but find Livingstone !' 
 
^2 I^ Tjkfi WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 **Said I, wonderi^ng at the cool order of sending 
 one to Central Africa to search for a man whom 
 I, in common with n^.ost other men, believed to be 
 dead : * Have you c(|insidered seriously the great 
 expense you are liabJ^r: to incur on account of this 
 little journey ?' 
 
 •'*What will it cost?' he asked abruptly. 
 
 " ' Burton and 3peke's journey to Central Africa 
 cost between ^3,000 and £^,ooOy and I fear it 
 cannot be done under ^2,500/ 
 
 " 'Well, I will tell you what you will do. Draw 
 a thousand pounds now, and when you have gone 
 through that, draw another thousand, and when 
 that is spent draw another thousand, and when 
 you have finished that draw another thousand^ 
 and so on — but find Livingstone !' 
 
 " Surprised, but not confused, at the order, for 
 I knew that Mr. Bennett, when he had once made 
 up his mind, was not easily drawn aside from 
 his purpose, I yet thought, seeing it was such a 
 gigantic scheme, that he had not quite considered 
 in his own mind the pros and the cons of the 
 case, I said: *I have heard that, should your 
 father die, you would sell the Herald y and retire 
 from business.' 
 
 " * Whoever told you so is wrong, for there is 
 not mxoney enough in the United States to buy the 
 New York Herald. My father has made it a 
 great paper, but I mean to make it a greater. I 
 mean, that it shall be a newspaper in the true sense 
 
INTER VIE AT WITH BM WETT, ^ ^ 
 
 of the word ; I mean that t shall publish whatever 
 news may be useful to the world, at no matter 
 what cost/ 
 
 *'*After that/ said I, 'I h^ve nothing more to 
 say. Do you mean me ttv; go straight on to 
 Africa to search for Dr. Livinge^pne ? ' 
 
 " * No ; I wish you to go to the inauguration of 
 the Suez Canal first, and then proceed up the 
 Nile. I hear Baker is about starting for Upper 
 Egypt. Find out what you can about his expe- 
 dition, and, as you go up, describe, as well as pos- 
 sible, whatever is interesting for tourists, and then 
 write up a guide — a practical one — for Lower 
 Egypt ; tell us about whatever is worth seeing^ 
 and how to see it. 
 
 " * Then you might as well go to Jerusalem ; 1 
 h^ar that Captain Warren is making some inter- 
 esting discoveries there. Then visit Constanti- 
 nople, and find out about the khedive and sultan. 
 
 ** * Then — let me see — you might as well visit 
 the Crimea and those old battle-grounds. Then 
 go across the Caucasus to the Caspian Sea. I 
 hear there is a Russian expedition bound for 
 Khiva. From thence you may get through Persia 
 to India; you could write an interesting letter 
 from Persepolis. 
 
 " * Bagdad will be close on your way to India ; 
 suppose you go there and v/rite up something 
 about the Euphrates Valley Railway. Then, when 
 you have come to India, you may go after Dr. 
 
 3 
 
24 ^^ ^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Livingstone. Probably you will hear by that time 
 that Livingstone is' on his way to Zanzibar ; but, 
 if not, go into the interior and find him, if alive. 
 Get what news you* can ; and if you find that he 
 is dead, bring all possible proofs you can of his 
 being dead. That is all. Good-night, and God 
 be with you.' 
 
 " ' Good-night, sir,' I said, * what is in the power 
 of human nature I will do ; and on such an errand 
 as I go upon, God will be with me.' 
 
 "I lodged with young Edward King, who is 
 making such a name in New England. He was 
 just the man who would have delighted to tell the 
 journal he was engaged upon what young Mr. 
 Bennett was doing, and what errand I was bound 
 upon. I should have liked to exchange opinions 
 with him upon the probable results of my journey, 
 but dared not do so. Though oppressed with the 
 great task before me, I had to appear as if only 
 going to be present at the Suez Canal. Young 
 King followed me to the express train bound for 
 Marseilles, and at the station we parted — he to 
 go and read the newspapers at Bowles's Reading- 
 room, I to Central Africa and — who knows? There 
 IS no need to recapitulate what I did before going 
 to Central Africa." 
 
 He started on his travels, and we hear of him 
 first in Constantinople, from our minister there, 
 Mr. Morris, who had relieved him and his com- 
 panions when plundered by Turkish brigands. 
 
OFF TO ms woA^c 
 
 35 
 
 One of Mr. Stanley's travelirig companions who 
 had been robbed with himself, accused him, in a 
 published letter, of dishonesty regarding the money 
 our minister had advanced.' It is not necessary 
 to go into this accusation or a^ refutation of it now. 
 It is sufficient to say that Mr. Mbrris declared the 
 whole charge false, and as the shortest and most 
 complete refutation of such a charge, we give Mr. 
 Morris's own views of Mr. Stanle^: 
 
 "The uncouth young man whom I first knew 
 had grown into a perfect man of th^ world, pos- 
 sessing the appearance, the manners and the 
 attributes of a perfect gentleman. The story of 
 the adventures which he had gone through and 
 the dangers he had passed during his absence, 
 were perfectly marvelous, and he became the lion 
 of our little circle. Scarcely a day passed but he 
 was a guest at my table, and no one was more 
 welcome, for . I insensibly grew to have a strong 
 attachment for him myself" In speaking further 
 on of his projected travels, he said he advised him 
 to go to Persia, which Stanley suddenly came to 
 the conclusion to follow out. " He therefore,'' he 
 says, ''busied himself in procuring letters of intro- 
 duction to the Russian authorities in the Caucasus, 
 in Georgia and in other countries through which 
 he would have to pass." 
 
 This is quite enough to put to rest the scandal, 
 which at one time produced quite a sensation, that 
 Stanley had cheated Mr. Morris and misappro- 
 
;7^6 ^^ ^-^^ PVILDS OF AFl^ICA. 
 
 priated the funds advanced by him. No explana* 
 tions are required after this indorsement. 
 
 Of this long and hazardous journey, the columns 
 of the Herald gdiW^ all the principal details. There 
 is nothing in them^that illustrates the peculiar 
 characteristics of Stanley more than, or even so 
 much as, his subsequent acts, hence his brief sum- 
 mary of this tour, that seems to have had no defi- 
 nite object whatever, except to give the corres- 
 pondent of the Herald something to do, until the 
 proper moment to start on the expedition for Liv- 
 ingstone, is, perhaps, the best account that could 
 be given, so far as the general reader is concerned. 
 All we can say is, it seems a very roundabout way 
 in which to commence such an expedition. 
 
 " I went up the Nile and saw Mr. Higginbotham, 
 chief engineer in Baker s expedition, at Philse, and 
 was the means of preventing a duel between him 
 and a mad young Frenchman, who wanted to fight 
 Mr. Higginbotham with pistols, because Mr. Hig 
 ginbotham resented the idea of being taken for an 
 Egyptian through wearing a fez cap. I had a talk 
 with Captain Warren at Jerusalem, and descended 
 one of the pits with a sergeant of engineers to see 
 the marks of Tyrian workmen on the foundation- 
 stones of the Temple of Solomon. I visited the 
 mosques of Stamboul with the minister resident 
 of the United States, and the American consul- 
 general. I traveled over the Crimean battle- 
 grounds with Kinglake's glorious books for refer- 
 
EN ROUTE FOR AFRICA. 
 
 37 
 
 ence. I dined with the widow of General Ln 
 prandi, at Odessa. I saw the Arabian traveler, 
 Palgrave, at Trebizond, and Baron Nicolay, the 
 civil governor of the Caucasus, at Tiflis. I lived 
 with the Russian embassador while at Teheran, 
 and wherever I went through Persia I received the 
 most hospitable welcome from the gentlemen of 
 the Indo-European Telegraph Company; and, fol- 
 lowing the example of many ilkstrious men, I 
 wrote my name upon one of the Persepolitan 
 monuments. In the month of August, 1870, I 
 arrived in India." 
 
 In completing this sketch of Mr. Stanley's life 
 and character, it is necessary only to add that his 
 after career fully justified the high estimate Mr, 
 Bennett had placed on his extraordinary qualities. 
 These were tested to their utmost extent in his 
 persistent, determined search after the man he was 
 sent to find. But we believe that Livingstone, 
 when found, with whom Stanley passed some 
 months^ exerted a powerful influence on the char- 
 acter which we have attempted to portray. Stan- 
 ley was comparatively young, full of life and am- 
 bition, with fame, greater probably than he had 
 ever anticipated, now within his reach. Yet, here 
 in the heart of Africa, he found a man well on in 
 years, of a world-wide fame, yet apparently indif- 
 ferent to it. 
 
 This man who had spent his life in a savage 
 country, away from home and all the pleasures of 
 
38 ^^ ^^ WILDS 01 AFRICA. 
 
 
 Civilized society, who expected to pass the remnant 
 of his days in the Scime isolated state, was looking 
 beyond this life. He was forgetting himself, in 
 the absorbing purpose to benefit others. Fame 
 to him was nothing', the welfare of a benighted 
 race everything. .This was a new revelation to 
 the ambitious young man. Hitherto he had thought 
 only of himself,; but here was a man, earnest, 
 thoughtful, sincere, who was living to carry out a 
 great idea — no less than the salvation of a conti- 
 nent — nay more than this, who was working not 
 for himself, but for a Master, and that Master, the 
 God of the universe. He remained with him in 
 close companionship for months, and intimate rela- 
 tions with a man borne up by such a lofty purpose, 
 inspired by such noble feelings, and looking so far 
 away beyond time for his reward, could not but 
 have an important influence on a man with Stan- 
 ley's noble and •heroic qualities. It was a new 
 revelation to him. He had met, not a successful, 
 bold explorer, but a Christian, impelled and sus- 
 tained by the great and noble idea of regenerating 
 a race and honorinof the God of man and the earth. 
 Such a lengthenecf companionship with a man 
 of this character couH but lift Stanley to a 
 higher plane, and inspire hin with a loftier pur- 
 pose than that of a mere explorer. 
 
 But while this expedition brought out all the pe- 
 culiar traits we have spoken of, yet his later expedi- 
 tion developed quahties which circumstances had 
 
LIVINGSTONE AND STANLEY, ^9 
 
 not previously shown. When from this he emerged 
 on the Atlantic coast with his company, he was 
 hailed with acclamations and a British vessel was 
 placed at his disposal in wliich to return home. But 
 the ease and comfort offered him, and the applause 
 awaiting him, were nothing compared with the 
 comfort and welfare of the savag e band that had 
 for so long a time been his companions and his 
 only reliance in the perils through which he had 
 passed. True, they had often been intractable, 
 disobedient and trustless, but still they had been 
 his companions in one of the most perilous marches 
 ever attempted by man, and with that large charity 
 that allowed for the conduct of these untutored, 
 selfish animals of the desert, he forgot it all and 
 would do nothing, think of nothing, till their wants 
 were supplied and their welfare secured. He 
 would see them safe back to the spot from which 
 he took them, and did, before he took care of him- 
 self. A noble nature there asserted itself, and we 
 doubt not that every one of those poor ignorant 
 savages would go to the death for that brave mam 
 to whom their own welfare was so dear. 
 
 In this sketch of Mr. Stanley, as it appears to 
 us from the record of his life, we have omitted to 
 notice those faults which are incident to poor hu- 
 man nature, in whatever person it is enshrined. 
 But perhaps this is as good a place as any to notice 
 the charge brought against him by some persons 
 in the English press, of having killed natives, not 
 
w 
 
 AQ IN TITE WIiLDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 in self-defense but\ to carry out his explorations ; 
 they asserting that^aeither for fame nor science, 
 nor for any other motive, had a man a right to take 
 the hfe of his fellow/ man. Without going into 
 an argument on tWs point, or bringing forward 
 the circumstances of this particular case, leaving 
 that to be explained in the narrative, as it will ap- 
 pear in subsequent pages, we wish simply to say 
 that the philanthropy and Christianity, in behalf 
 of which the charge is made, is pure Pharisaism. 
 Those writers asserted that life should be taken 
 only in self-defense. But in their eyes it is right, 
 from mere covetousness to seize territory in In- 
 dia, and thus provoke the rightful owners to rise 
 in defense of their own, which act converts them 
 into assailants that must be killed in self-defense. 
 But this man having passed through friendly 
 territory, suddenly finds himself stopped by hos- 
 tile savages, who declare that he must retrace his 
 three months' journey and turn back, not because 
 they are to be despoiled of their land, or wronged 
 in their persons, but from mere savage malicious- 
 ness and hate. Mr. Stanley quietly insists on con- 
 tinuing his journey, desiring no conflict, but find- 
 ing them determined to kill him and break up his 
 expedition, he anticipates their movements and 
 shoots down some of them, and lo, these writers 
 who defend the slaughter of tens of thousands of 
 men in India, so that England may enjoy her whole- 
 sale robbery, nay, who threaten Europe with bloody 
 
IR/TICISMS ON STXnLEY. 
 
 41 
 
 war at the mere hint that others may want to share 
 her unjust possessions — these writers call on the 
 English people to refuse to /give Stanley a public 
 reception, because he killed a half-dozen savages 
 who wanted to kill him. Hv-, should have waited, 
 they say, till they fired the first shot ; as he did not 
 his conduct should be investigated by the philan- 
 thropic subjects of Her Majesty the Queen. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF AFRICA. 
 
 ALL there % as of civilization in the world 
 was found at one time in Africa. Art and 
 science had their home there, while now 
 as a whole it is regarded as the most benighted 
 and barbarous portion of the earth and is, not 
 inaptly, called "the dark continent/' With a 
 breadth at the equator of four thousand five hun- 
 dred miles, with the exception of thin lines of sea- 
 coast on each side, this vast space has been as 
 much unknown as the surface of a distant planet. 
 The Barbary States and Egypt on the Mediter- 
 ranean and Red Seas, some Portuguese settle- 
 ments on the Indian Ocean, the English and Dutch 
 colonies of South Africa, a few trading ports and 
 the English and American colonies in Guinea, 
 constituted Africa, so far as the knowledge of the 
 civilized world went. And yet within these outer 
 rims lay real Africa, and thqre lived its immense 
 population. 
 
 The vast Desert of Sahara on the north, stretch- 
 ing down to the equator, presented an impenetra- 
 ble barrier to explorers entering from that direc- 
 tion, while along the eastern and western coasts 
 they were beaten back by savage tribes or fell 
 
 (42) 
 
INACCESSIBILITY OF AFRICA. a^ 
 
 victims to the diseases of the country. Matted 
 forests, wild beasts and venomous reptiles were 
 added to the other obstacles that beset their path, 
 so that only now and then an adventurous ex- 
 plorer penetrated the continent itself. 
 
 The Nile, piercing to the equator, seemed the 
 most natural avenue by which to enter this region,, 
 but the slave hunters by their cruelty, and the 
 petty wars they had engendered among the vari- 
 ous tribes, made the presence of a white man in 
 their midst the occasion of hostile demonstrations. 
 The lofty mountains and broad rivers that came 
 out of this vast unknown region added to the mys- 
 terious interest that enveloped it. Though certain 
 death awaited the daring traveler who endeavored 
 to penetrate far into the interior, fresh victims 
 were found ready to peril their lives in the effort 
 to solve the mystery of Central Africa. The paths 
 of these travelers, when traced on the map, ap- 
 pears like mere punctures of the great continent. 
 Missionary effort could only effect a lodgment 
 along the coast, while colonies remained station- 
 ary on the spot where they were first planted. 
 
 Although holding the entire southern portion 
 the English colony could make but little headway 
 against the tribes that confronted them on the 
 north. The most adventurous men urged not by 
 curiosity or desire of knowledge, but cupidity, 
 penetrated the farthest into the interior, but, in- 
 stead of throwing light o|i those dark places, they 
 
^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 made them seem more dark and terrible by tht 
 miserable naked and half-starved wretches they 
 brought out to civilization, to become more 
 wretched still by the life of slavery to which they 
 were doomed. 
 
 Hence it could not be otherwise than that the 
 name of white man should be associated with 
 everything revolting and cruel, and that his pres- 
 ence among these wild barbarians should awaken 
 feelings of vengeance. A white man, to those in- 
 land tribes, represented wrong and cruelty alone. 
 The very word meant separation of wives, and 
 husbands, and families, and carrying away to a 
 doom whose mystery only enhanced its actual 
 horrors. Hence the white man's rapacity and 
 cruelty put an effectual bar to his curiosity and 
 enterprise. The love of knowledge and physical 
 science was thwarted by the love of sin and wrong, 
 and tne civilized world, instead of wondering at 
 the ignorance and barbarity that kept back all 
 research and all benevolent effort, should wonder 
 that any one bearing the slightest relationship to 
 the so-called outside civilized world, should have 
 been allowed to exist for a day where these 
 wronged, outraged savages bore sway. 
 
 It is not a little singular that the first real en- 
 croachment of these forbidden regions was not 
 made by daring explorers either for adventure or 
 geographical knowledge, or to extend commerce, 
 but by a poor missionary, whose sole object was 
 
EXTENT OF AFRICA. ^ c 
 
 to get the Gospel introduced among these un- 
 counted millions of heathen. Livingstone really 
 broke the spell that hung over tropical Africa, and 
 set on foot movements that are to work a chancre 
 in the continent more important and momentous 
 than the imagination of man can at present con- 
 ceive. 
 
 It is the tropical region of Africa that gives 
 birth to its largest rivers, is covered by its most 
 magnificent forests, is crossed by its loftiest moun- 
 tains, and where dwell its teeming millions. And 
 this is the unknown part of the continent and the 
 central point toward which all explorers press. 
 
 This tropical Africa extends from about ten de- 
 grees above to ten degrees below the equator, and 
 from ten to thirty-five east longitude, or in round 
 numbers, nearly a thousand miles above and be- 
 low the equator, to two thousand or more east 
 and west between these parallels of latitudes. 
 With an ordinary map before him, and with Zan- 
 zibar on the east and Congo on the west as great 
 landmarks, the reader will get a very clear idea 
 of the ground aimed at and touched, or pierced 
 and crossed by the more recent explorers, and the 
 thorough final explorations of which will unlock 
 the hidden mystery of Africa, and open all there 
 is of interest to both the Christian and commercial 
 world. That to the former there is a field to be 
 occupied that will tax the self-sacrifice and be- 
 nevolence of the Christian world, there can be no 
 
46 
 
 iN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 doubt; while to the commercial world a field of 
 equal magnitude and importance will be laid open. 
 
 From the mere punctures into the borders of 
 this unknown land, and the two slight trails re- 
 cently made across it, there remains no doubt that 
 from sixty to one hundred millions of men are 
 here living in the lowest and most degraded con- 
 dition of heathenism, while the country is burdened 
 with those articles which the commercial world 
 needs and can make of vast benefit to man. 
 
 A glance at the map will reveal what a vast ten 
 ritory remains to be explored and what a mighty 
 population exists there, yet to come into contact 
 with the civilized world. It is probable that that 
 unexplored region between the equator and the 
 great Desert of Sahara will reveal even greater 
 wonders than have yet been discovered. 
 
 It is a little strange that the enterprise and the 
 curiosity of man should urge him to make re- 
 peated cosdy and vain attempts to reach the north 
 pole, where there are neither inhabitants nor 
 articles of commerce, while one of the largest 
 continents on our globe, crowded with people and 
 rich in the very products most needed by man, 
 should be allowed to remain so long a sealed book, 
 
 What litrie of Africa has been traversed reveals 
 untold wealth waiting the enterprising hand of 
 commerce to bring it forth to civilization. A par- 
 tial list of the products of this rich country will 
 show what a mine of wealth it is destined to be. 
 
PRODUCTS OF THE LAND. .- 
 
 Sugar-cane, cotton, coffee, oil palm, tobacco, spices, 
 timber, rice, wheat, Indian corn, India rubber, copal, 
 hemp, ivory, iron, copper, silver, gold and various 
 other articles of immense value are found here, 
 and some of them in the greatest profusion. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that this vast continent, which 
 from creation seemed destined only to be the abode 
 of wild beasts and reptiles, and of man as wild and 
 savage as the animals amid which he dwelt, and 
 who when brought into contact with civilization 
 becomes more debased, if possible, by the bondage 
 in which he is kept, contains almost everything that 
 civilization needs, and in a future which now seems 
 near, it will be traversed by railroads and steam- 
 boats, and the solitudes that have echoed for thou- 
 sands of years to the howl of wild beasts and the 
 yells of equally wild men, will resound with the 
 hum of peaceful industry and the rush and roar of 
 commerce. The miserable hut will give way to 
 commodious habitations, and the disgusting rites 
 of heathenism to the worship of the true God. 
 Reaching to the temperate zones, north and south, 
 it presents every variety of climate and yields 
 every variety of vegetation. What effect the 
 great revolution awaiting this continent will have 
 on the destiny of the world, none can tell. He 
 would have been considered a mad prophet who 
 would have predicted one-half of the changes that 
 the discovery of the American continent, less than 
 four hundred years ago, has wrought. None can 
 
48 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 doubt that the Creator of these continents had 
 some design in letting this one, which constitutes 
 nearly a fourth part of our planet, remain in dark- 
 ness and mystery and savage debasement so long, 
 and now, by the effort of one missionary, cause it 
 to be thrown open to the world. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 •TANLEY's search for LIVINGSTON!. 
 
 WE have seen how suddenly Mr. Stanley 
 was called from Spain, to take charge of 
 an expedition in search of Livingstone, 
 how he was sent to see Baker who was about to 
 enter Africa from the north, and how he was first 
 sent east. But the time came at last for him to 
 enter upon his work in earnest, and he sailed from 
 Bombay, on the 12th of October, for Zanzibar. 
 On board the barque was a Scotchman, named 
 Farquhar, acting as first mate. Taking a fancy to 
 him, Stanley engaged him to accompany the expe- , 
 dition to find Livingstone. 
 
 Nearly three months later, on the 6th of Janu- 
 ary, he landed at Zanzibar, one of the most fruitful 
 islands of the Indian Ocean, rejoicing in a sultan 
 of its own. It is the great mart to which come the 
 ivory, gum, copal, hides, etc., and the slaves of the 
 interior. Stanley immediately set about preparing 
 for his expedition. The first things to decide 
 were : How much money is required ? How many 
 pigeons as carriers? How many soldiers? How 
 much cloth? How many beads? How much 
 wire? What kinds of cloth is required for the 
 different tribes? 
 
 4 (49) 
 
CQ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 After trying to figure this out from the books 
 of other travelers, he decided to consult an Arab 
 merchant who had fitted out several caravans for 
 the interior. In a very short time he obtained 
 more information than he had acquired from books 
 in his long three months' voyage from India. 
 
 Money is of no use in the heart of Africa. 
 Goods of various kinds are the only coin that can 
 purchase what the traveler needs, or pay the tri- 
 bute that is exacted by the various tribes. He 
 found that forty yards of cloth per day would 
 keep one hundred men supplied with food. Thus, 
 three thousand six hundred and fifty yards of 
 cloth would support one hundred men twelve 
 months. Next to cloths, beads were the best cur- 
 rency of the interior. Of these he purchased 
 twenty sacks of eleven varieties in color and shape. 
 Next came the brass wire, of which he purchased 
 three hundred and fifty pounds, of about tne thick- 
 ness of telegraph wire. Next came the provisions 
 and outfit of implements that would be needed — 
 medicines, arms, donkeys, and last of all, men. 
 
 A man by the name of Shaw, a native of Eng- 
 land, who came to Zanzibar as third mate of an 
 American ship, from which he was discharged, 
 applied for work, and was engaged by Stanley in 
 getting what he needed together and to accom-« 
 pany him on the expedition. He agreed to give 
 him three hundred dollars per annum, and placed 
 him next in rank to Farquhar. He then cast about 
 
ZANZIBAR, 
 
 ZANZIBAR, 
 The capital of the island of Zanzibar, off the east coast of Africa. 
 
PREPARATIONS FOR THE MARCH. 
 
 53 
 
 for an escort of twenty men. Five who had ac- 
 companied Speke, and were called ''Speke's Faith- 
 fuls/' among- whom, as a leader, was a man named 
 Bombay, were first engaged. He soon got to- 
 gether eighteen more men as soldiers, who were 
 to receive three dollars a month. Each was to 
 have a flint-lock musket, and be provided with two 
 hundred rounds of ammunition. Bombay was to 
 receive eighty dollars a year, and the other "faith- 
 fuls'* forty dollars. 
 
 Knowinof that he was to enter a remon of vast 
 inland lakes, and that much delay and travel might 
 be avoided by the possession of a large boat, he 
 purchased one and stripped it of all its covering, 
 to make the transportation easier. He also had 
 a cart constructed to fit the goat-paths of the in- 
 terior and to aid in transportation. 
 
 When all his purchases were completed and 
 collected together, he found that the combined 
 weight would be about six tons. His cart and 
 twenty donkeys would not suffice for this, and so 
 the last thing of all, was to procure carriers, or 
 pagosi, as they were called. He himself was 
 presented with a blooded bay horse by an Ameri- 
 can merchant at Zanzibar, named Gordhue, for- 
 merly of Salem. 
 
 On the 4th of February, 1871, twenty-eight 
 days from his arrival at Zanzibar, Mr. Stanley's 
 equipment was completed and he set sail for Ba- 
 gomayo, twenty-five miles distant on the mainland, 
 
rA J^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 from which all caravans start for the interior, and 
 where he was to hire his one hundred and forty or 
 more pagosi or carriers. He was immediately 
 surrounded with men who attempted in everyway 
 to fleece him, and he was harassed, and betrayed 
 and hindered on every side. But, at length, all 
 difficulties were overcome — the goods packed in 
 bales weighing seventy-two pounds each — the 
 force divided into five caravans, and in six weeks 
 after he entered Bagomayo, Stanley himself was 
 ready to start. The first caravan had departed 
 February iSth; the second, February 21st; the 
 third, February 25th; the fourth, on March nth, 
 and the. last on March 21st. All told, the number 
 comprised in all the caravans of the "Herald Ex- 
 pedition," was one hundred and ninety. 
 
 It was just seventy-three days after Stanley 
 landed at Zanzibar, that he passed out of Bago- 
 mayo on his bay horse, with his last caravan, 
 accompanied by twenty-eight carriers and twelve 
 soldiers, under Bombay, while his Arab boy, Selim, 
 the interpreter, had charge of the cart and its load. 
 
 Out through a narrow lane shaded by trees, they 
 passed, the American flag flying in front, and all 
 in the highest spirits. Stanley had left behind him 
 the quarreling, cheating Arabs, and all his troubles 
 with them. The sun, speeding to the west, was 
 beckoning him on ; his heart beat high with hope 
 and ambition; he had taken a new departure in 
 life, and with success would come the renown he 
 
THE START INLAND, ec 
 
 SO ardently desired. He says, "loveliness glowed 
 around me; I saw fertile fields, rich vegetation, 
 strange trees; I heard the cry of cricket and pewit, 
 and jubilant sounds of many insects, all of which 
 seemed to tell me, *you are started.' What could 
 I do but lift up my face toward the pure, glowing 
 sky, and cry, 'God be thanked?'" 
 
 The first camp was three miles and a half distant. 
 The next three days were employed in completing 
 the preparations for the long land journey and for 
 meeting the rainy season, now very near, and on 
 April 4th, a start was made for Unyanyembe, the 
 great half-way house, which he resolved to reach in 
 three months. 
 
 The road was a mere foot-path, leading through 
 fields in which naked women were at work, who 
 looked up and laughed and giggled as they passed. 
 Passing on, they entered an open forest, abound- 
 ing in deer and antelope. Reaching the turbid 
 Kingemi, a bridge of felled trees was soon made ; 
 Stanley, in the meantime amusing himself with 
 shooting hippopotami, or rather shooting at them, 
 for his small bullets made no more impression on 
 their thick skulls than peas would have done. 
 Crossing to the opposite shore, he found the trav- 
 eling better. They arrived at Kikoka, a distance 
 of but ten miles, at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, 
 having been compelled to unload the animals 
 during the day, to cross the river and mud pools. 
 This was slow marching, and at this rate of speed 
 
56 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 it would take a long time to reach the heart of 
 Africa. The settlement was a collection of rude 
 huts. Though bound to the same point that Speke 
 and Burton had reached, Ujiji, Stanley took a differ- 
 ent route from them, and one never traveled by a 
 white man before. 
 
 On the 27th, he left this place and moved west- 
 ward over a rolling, monotonous country, until they 
 came to Rosako, the province of Ukwee. Just 
 before his departure the next morning, Magonga, 
 the leader of the fourth caravan, came up and told 
 him that three of his carriers were sick, and asked 
 for some medicine. He found the three men in 
 great terror, believing they were about to die, and 
 crying out like children, *' Mama, mama." Leaving 
 them, with orders to hurry on as soon as possible, 
 he departed. The country everywhere was in a 
 state of nature except in the neighborhood of vil- 
 lages. Sheltered by the dense forests, he toiled on 
 but was so anxious about the fourth caravan left 
 behind that, after marching nine miles he ordered 
 a halt and made a camp. It soon swarmed with 
 insects, and he set to work to examine them and 
 see if they were the tsetse, said to be fatal to horses 
 in Africa. Still waiting for the caravan, he went 
 hunting, but soon found himself in such an impene- 
 trable jungle and swamp, filled with alligators, that 
 he resolved never to make the attempt again. 
 The second and third days passing without the 
 arrival of the caravan, he 5^Qnt Shaw and Bombay 
 
WRETCHED SURROUNDINGS. 
 
 57 
 
 back after it, who brought it up on the fourth day. 
 Leaving it to rest in his own camp, he pushed on 
 five miles to the village of Kingaru, set in a deep, 
 damp, pestiferous-looking hollow, surrounded by 
 pools of water. To add to the gloominess of the 
 scene, a pouring rain set in, which soon filled their 
 camping- place with lakelets and rivulets of water. 
 Toward eveninor the rain ceased, and the villagers 
 began to pour in with their vendibles. Foremost 
 was the chief, brinorinof with him three measures 
 of matama and a half a measure of rice, which he 
 begged Stanley to accept. The latter saw through 
 the trickery of this meagre present, in offering 
 which the chief called him the ''rich sultan." Stan- 
 ley asked him why, if he was a rich sultan, the 
 chief of Kingaru did not bring him a rich present, 
 that he micrht ^rive him a rich one in return. "Ah," 
 replied the blear-eyed old fox, *' Kingaru is poor, 
 there is no matama in the village." ''Well," said 
 Stanley, "if there is no matama in the village, I 
 can give but a yard of cloth," which would be 
 equivalent to his present. Foiled in his sharp 
 practice the chief had to be content with this. 
 
 At this place he lost one of his horses. The 
 burial of the carcass not far from the encampment, 
 raised a terrible commotion in the village, and the 
 inhabitants assembled in consultation as to how 
 much they must charge him for burying a horse 
 in their village without permission, and soon the 
 wrinkled old chief was also at the camp, and the 
 
58 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 following dialogue took place, which is given as 
 an illustration of the character of the people with 
 whom he was to have a year's trading inter- 
 course : 
 
 White Man — "Are you the great chief of King- 
 aru?" 
 
 Kingaru — " Huh-uh — yes/' 
 
 W. M. — "The great, great chief?" 
 
 Kingaru — " Huh-uh — yes/' 
 
 W. M.— " How many soldiers have you ?'' 
 
 Kingaru—" Why ?" 
 
 W. M. — " How many fighting men have you ?" 
 
 Kingaru — " None/' 
 
 W. M. — " Oh ! I thought you might have a 
 thousand men with you, by your going to fine a 
 strong white man who has plenty of guns and 
 soldiers two doti for burying a dead horse/' 
 
 Kingaru (rather perplexed) — "No; I have no 
 soldiers. I have only a few young men/' 
 
 W. M. — " Why do you come and make trouble, 
 then ?" 
 
 Kingaru—" It was not I ; it was my brothers 
 who said to me, ' Come here, come here, Kingaru, 
 see what the white man has done ! Has he not 
 taken possession of your soil, in that he has put 
 his horse into your ground without your permis- 
 sion ? Come, go to him and see by what right!' 
 Therefore have I come to ask you who gave you 
 permission to use my soil for a burying-ground ?" 
 
 W. M.— "I want no man's permission to do 
 
DEATH OF THE HORSES, rg 
 
 what is right. My horse died; had I left him to 
 fester and stink in your valley, sickness would 
 visit your village, your water would become 
 unwholesome, and caravans would not stop here 
 for trade ; for they would say, 'This is an unlucky 
 spot let us go away/ But enough said ; I under- 
 stand you to say you do not want him buried in 
 your ground ; the error I have fallen into is easily 
 put right. This minute my soldiers shall dig him 
 out again and cover up the soil as it was before, 
 and the horse shall be left where he died." (Then 
 shouting to Bombay). "Ho, Bombay, take sol- 
 diers with jeinbes to dig my horse out of the 
 ground; drag him to where he died and make 
 everything ready for a march to-morrow morn- 
 
 ing.'; 
 
 Kingaru, his voice considerably higher and his 
 head moving to and fro widi emotion, cries out, 
 " Akuna, akuna, Bana " — no, no, master. ''Let not 
 the white man get angry. The horse is dead and 
 now lies buried ; let him remain so, since he is 
 already there, and let us be friends again." 
 
 The matter had hardly been settled, when Stan- 
 ley heard deep groans issuing from one of the 
 animals. On inquiry, he found that they came 
 from the bay horse. He took a lantern and 
 visited him, staying all night and working to save 
 his life. It was in vain — in the morning he died, 
 leaving him now without any horse, which reduced 
 him to donkey riding. Three days passed, and 
 
6o 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 the lagging caravan had not come up. In the 
 meantime, one of his carriers deserted, while sick- 
 ness attacked the camp, and out of his twenty-five 
 men, ten were soon on the sick list. On the 4th, 
 the caravan came up, and on the following morn- 
 ing was dispatched forward, the leader being 
 spurred on with the promise of a liberal reward 
 if he hurried to Unyanyembe. The next morning, 
 to rouse his people, he beat an alarm on a tin pan, 
 and before sunrise they were on the march, the 
 villai^ers rushincr like wolves into the deserted 
 camp to pick up any rags or refuse left behind. 
 The march of fifteen miles to Imbike showed a 
 great demoralization in his men, many of them 
 not coming up till nightfall. One of the carriers 
 had deserted on the way, taking with him a quan- 
 tity of cloth and beads. The next morning, before 
 starting, men were sent in pursuit of him. They 
 made that day, the 8th, but ten miles to Msuwa. 
 Though the journey was short, it was the most 
 fatiguing one of all. As it gives a vivid descrip- 
 tion of the difficulties experienced in traveling 
 through this country, we quote Stanley's own 
 lancruacre: 
 
 " It was one continuous jungle, except three in- 
 terjacent glades of narrow limits, which gave us 
 three breathing pauses in the dire task of jungle- 
 traveling. The odor emitted from its fell plants 
 was so rank, so pungently acrid, and the miasma 
 from its decayed vegetation so dense, that I ex- 
 
JUNGLE TRAVEL. gj 
 
 pected every moment to see myself and men fall 
 down in paroxysms of acute fever. Happily this 
 evil was not added to that of loading and unload- 
 ing the frequently falling packs. Seven soldiers 
 to attend seventeen laden donkeys, were entirely 
 too small a number while passing through a 
 jungle ; for while the path is but a foot wide, with 
 a wall of thorny plants and creepers bristling on 
 each side, and projecting branches darting across 
 it, with knots of spiky twigs, stiff as spike-nails, 
 ready to catch and hold anything above four feet 
 in height, it is but reasonable to suppose that 
 donkeys, standing four feet high, with loads 
 measuring across, from bale to bale, four feet, 
 would come to grief. 
 
 "This grief was of frequent recurrence here, 
 causing us to pause every few minutes for re-ar- 
 rangements. So often had this task to be per- 
 formed, that the men got perfectly discouraged, 
 and had to be spoken to sharply before they 
 would set to work. By the time I reached Msuwa, 
 there was nobody with me and the ten donkeys I 
 drove but Mabruk, who perseveringly, though gen- 
 erally stolid, stood to his work like a man. Bom- 
 bay and Uledi were far behind with the most jaded 
 donkeys. Shaw was in charge of the cart, and 
 his experiences were most bitter, as he informed 
 me he had expended the whole vocabulary of 
 stormy abuse known to sailors, and a new one 
 which he had invented ex tempore. He did not 
 
52 ^^ THE WILDS OF AI^RICA, 
 
 arrive until two o'clock next morning, and was com- 
 pletely worn out. Truly, I doubt if the most 
 pious divine, in traveling through that long jungle, 
 under those circumstances, with such oft-recur- 
 ring annoyances, Sisyphean labor, could have 
 avoided cursing his folly for coming hither." 
 
 A halt was made here, that men and animals 
 might recuperate. The chief of this village was 
 "a white man in everything but color," and brought 
 him the choicest mutton. He and his subjects 
 were intelligent enough to comprehend the utility 
 of his breech-loading guns, and by their gestures 
 illustrated their comprehension of the deadly ef- 
 fects of those weapons in battle. 
 
 On the loth, somewhat recuperated, the caravan 
 left this hospitable village and crossed a beautiful 
 little plain, with a few cultivated fields, from which 
 the tillers stared in wonder at the unwonted 
 spectacle it presented. But here Stanley met one 
 of those sights common in that part of the world, 
 but which, it is to be hoped, will soon be seen no 
 more. It was a chained slave-gang, bound east. 
 He says the slaves did not appear to be in the 
 least down-hearted, on the contrary, they were 
 jolly and gay. But for the chains, there was no 
 difference between master and slave. The chains 
 were heavy, but as men and women bad nothing 
 else to carry, being entirely naked, their weight, 
 he says, could not have been insupportable. 
 He camped at lo a. m., and fired two guns, to 
 
THE BELLES OF KISEMO. 
 
 63 
 
 show they were ready to trade with any of the 
 natives in the region. The halting-place was 
 Kisemo, only twelve miles from Msuwa which was 
 the centre of a populous district, there being no 
 less than five villages in the vicinity fortified by 
 stakes and thorny abattis, as formidable, in their 
 way, as the old fosse and draw-bridge of feudal 
 times. "The belles of Kisemo," he says, "are of 
 gigantic posterioral proportions,'' and are "noted 
 for their variety in brass wire, which is wound in 
 spiral rings round their wrists and ankles, and for 
 the varieties of style which their wisped heads 
 exhibit; while their poor lords, obliged to be con- 
 tented with dingy, torn clouts and split ears, show 
 what wide sway Asmodeus holds over this ter- 
 restrial sphere — for it must have been an unhappy 
 time when the hard besieged husbands gave way 
 before their hotly-pressing spouses. Besides these 
 brassy ornaments on their extremities, the women 
 of Kisemo frequently wear lengthy necklaces, 
 which run in rivers of colors down their black 
 bodies.'' But a more comical picture is seldom 
 presented than that of one of those highly-dressed 
 females, "with their huge posterior development, 
 while grinding out corn. This is done in a 
 machine very much like an old-fashioned churn, 
 except the dasher becomes a pestle and the churn 
 a mortar. Swaying with the pestle, as it rises and 
 falls, the breast and posteriors correspond to the 
 strokes of the dasher in a droll sort of sing-song, 
 
64 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 which gave to the whole exhibition the drollesi 
 effect Imaginable/' 
 
 A curious superstition of the natives was brought 
 to light here by Shaw removing a stone while put- 
 ting up his tent. As he did so, the chief rushed 
 forward, and putting it back in its place, solemnly 
 stood upon It. On being asked what was the 
 matter, he carefully lifted it, pointed to an insect 
 pinned by a stick to the ground, which he said had 
 been the cause o-f a miscarriage cf a female of the 
 village. 
 
 In the afternoon the messengers came back with 
 the deserter and all the stolen goods. Some of 
 the natives had captured him and were about to 
 kill him and take the goods, when the messengers 
 came up and claimed both. He was given up, his 
 captors being content with receiving a lltde cloth 
 and a few beads in return. Stanley, with great 
 sagacity, caused the thief to be tried by the other 
 carriers, who condemned him to be flogged. They 
 were ordered to carry out their own sentence, 
 which they did amid the yells of the culprit. 
 
 Before niorht a caravan arrived, brinq-ino-, amonor 
 Other things, a copy of the Herald, containing an 
 account of a Presidential levee in Washin^^ton, in 
 which the. toilette of the various ladles were given. 
 While engrossed in reading in his tent, Stanley 
 suddenly became aware that his tent-door was 
 darkened, and looking up, he saw the chief's 
 daughters gazing with wondering eyes on the 
 
NEWS OF LIVINGSTONE. 
 
 65 
 
 great sheets of paper he was scanninor so closely. 
 The sight of these naked beauties, glittering in 
 brass wire and beads, presented a ludicrous con- 
 trast to the elaborately-dressed belles of whom he 
 had been reading in the paper, and made him 
 feel, by contrast, in what a different world he was 
 living. 
 
 On the 1 2th, the caravan reached Munondi, on 
 the Ungerangeri River. The country was open 
 and beautiful, presenting a natural park, while the 
 roads were good, making the day's journey de- 
 lightful. Flowers decked the ground, and the 
 perfume of sweet-smelling shrubs filled the air. 
 As they approached the river, they came upon 
 fields of Indian corn and gardens filled with vege- 
 tables, while stately trees lined the bank. On the 
 14th, they crossed the river and entered the 
 Wakami territory. This day and the next the 
 road lay through a charming country. The day 
 following, they marched through a forest between 
 two mountains rising on either side of them, and 
 on the 1 6th reached the territory of Wosigahha. 
 As he approached the village of Muhalleh he was 
 greeted with the discharge of musketry. It came 
 from the fourth caravan, which had halted here. 
 Here also good news awaited him. An Arab 
 chief, with a caravan bound east, was in the place, 
 and told him that he had met Livingstone at Ujiji, 
 and had lived in the next hut to him for two weeks. 
 He described him as looking old, with long, gray 
 
 5 
 
65 m THE WiLDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 mustache and beard, just recovered from Illness, 
 and looking very wan. He said, moreover, that 
 he was fully recovered, and was going to visit a 
 country called Monyima. This was cheering news, 
 indeed, and filled Stanley's heart with joy and 
 hope. The valley here, with its rich crops of In- 
 dian corn, was more like some parts of the fertile 
 west than a desert country. But the character 
 of the natives began to change. They became 
 more insolent and brutal, and accompanied their 
 requests with threats. 
 
 Continuing their journey along the valley of the 
 river, they suddenly, to their astonishment, came 
 upon a walled town containing a thousand houses. 
 It rose before them like an apparition with its gates 
 and towers of stone and double row of loop-holes 
 for musketry. The fame of Stanley had preceded 
 him, being carried by the caravans he had dis- 
 patched ahead, and a thousand or more of the 
 inhabitants came out to see him. This fortified 
 town was established by an adventurer famous for 
 his kidnapping propensities. A barbaric orator, a 
 man of powerful strength and of cunning address, 
 he naturally acquired an ascendency over the rude 
 tribes of the region, and built him a capital, and 
 fortified it and became a self-appointed sultan. 
 Growing old, he changed his name, which had been 
 a terror to the surrounding tribes, and also the 
 name of his capital, and just before death, be- 
 queathed his power to his eldest daughter, and in 
 
AFRICAN FE VER. 
 
 m 
 
 her honor named the town Sultana, which name 
 it still bears. The women and children hung on 
 the rear of Stanley's caravan, filled with strange 
 curiosity at sight of this first white man they had 
 ever seen, but the scorching sun drove them back 
 one by one, and when Stanley pitched his camp, 
 four miles farther on, he was unattended. He. 
 determined to halt here for two days to overhaul 
 his baggage and give the donkeys, whose backs 
 had become sore, time to recuperate. On the 
 second day, he was attacked with the African fever, 
 similar to the chills and fever of the west and south- 
 west. He at once applied the remedies used in 
 the Western States, using powerful doses of qui- 
 nine, and in three days he pronounced himself 
 well again. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WILD EXPERIENCES. 
 
 STANLEY had now traveled one hundred 
 and nineteen miles in fourteen marches, 
 occupying one entire month lacking one 
 day, and making, on an average, four miles a day. 
 This was slow work. The rainy season now set 
 in, and day after day it was a regular down-pour. 
 Stanley was compelled to halt, while disgusting 
 insects, beetles, bugs, wasps, centipedes, worms 
 and almost every form of the lower animal life, 
 took possession of his tent, and gave him the first 
 real taste of African life. 
 
 On the morning of the 23d of April, he says the 
 rain held up for a short time and he prepared to 
 cross the river, now swollen and turbid. The 
 bridge over which he carried his baggage was of 
 the most primitive kind, while the donkeys had to 
 swim. The passage occupied five hours, yet it 
 was happily accomplished without any casualties. 
 Reloading his baggage and wringing out his 
 clothes, he set out again, leaving the river and fol- 
 lowing a path that led off in a northerly direction. 
 
 With his heart light and cheerful by being once 
 more on the march and out of the damp and hate- 
 ful valley, which was made still more hateful by 
 
 (68) 
 
SLOW MARCHING. 
 
 69 
 
 the disgusting insect life that filled his tent, he 
 ascended to higher ground, and passed with his 
 caravan through successive glades, which opened 
 one after another between forest clumps of trees 
 hemmed in distantly by isolated peaks and scat- 
 tered mountains. "Now and then," he says, "as 
 we crested low eminences, we caught sight of the 
 blue Usagara Mountains, bounding the horizon 
 westerly and northerly, and looked down on a 
 vast expanse of plain which lay between. At the 
 foot of the lengthy slope, well watered by bubbling 
 springs and mountain rills, we found a comfortable 
 Khembi with well-made huts, which the natives 
 call Simbo. It lies just two hours, or five miles, 
 northwest from the Unoreren^eri crossincr." 
 
 We here get incidentally the rapidity with 
 which he traveled, where the face of the country 
 and the roads gave him the greatest facilities for 
 quick marching, two "hours or five miles," he 
 says, which makes his best time two and a half 
 miles an hour. In this open, beautiful country no 
 -villages or settlements could be seen, though he 
 was told there were many in the mountain in- 
 closures, the inhabitants of which were false, dis- 
 honest and murderous. 
 
 On the morning of the 24th, as they were about 
 to leave, Simbo, his Arab cook, was caught for the 
 fifth time pilfering, and it being proved against 
 him, Stanley ordered a dozen lashes to be inflicted 
 on him as a punishment, and Shaw was ordered 
 
70 
 
 IN THE WILBS OF AFRICA, 
 
 to administer them. The blows being given 
 through his clothes, did not hurt him much, but 
 the stern decree that he, with his donkey and 
 baggage, should be expelled from camp and turned 
 adrift in the forests of Africa, drove him wild, and 
 leaving donkey and everything else, he rushed 
 out of camp and started for the mountains. Stan- 
 ley, wishing only to frighten him, and having no 
 idea of leaving the poor fellow to perish at the 
 hands of the natives, sent a couple of his men to 
 recall him. But it was of no use; the poor, 
 frightened wretch kept on for the mountains, and 
 was soon out of sight altogether. Believing he 
 would think better of it and return, his donkey 
 was tied to a tree near the camping-ground, and 
 the caravan started forward and having passed 
 through the Makata Valley, which afterward be- 
 came of sorrowful memory, it halted at Rehen- 
 neko at the base of the Usagara Mountains. 
 
 This valley is a wilderness covered with bam- 
 boo, and palm, and other trees, with but one vil- 
 lage on its broad expanse, through which the hart- 
 beest, the antelope and the zebra roam. In the 
 lower portions, the mud was so deep that it took 
 ten hours to go ten miles, and the company was 
 compelled to encamp in the woods when but half- 
 way across. Bombay with the cart did not get in 
 till near midnight, and he brought the dolorous 
 tale that he had lost the property-tent, an axe, be- 
 sides coats, shirts, beads, cloth, pistol and hatchet 
 
IRREPARABLE LOSSES. 
 
 TV 
 
 and powder. He said he had left them a nttle 
 while that he might help lift the cart out of a mud- 
 hole and during his absence they disappeared. 
 This told to Stanley at midnight roused all his 
 wrath, and he poured a perfect storm of abuse on 
 the cringing Arab, and he took occasion to over- 
 haul his conduct from the start. The cloth if ever 
 found, he said, would be spoiled, the axe, which 
 would be needed at Ujiji to construct a boat, was 
 an irreparable loss, to say nothing of the pistol, 
 powder and hatchet, and worse than all, he had 
 not brought back the cook, whom he knew there 
 was no intention to abandon, and Stanley then 
 and there told him he would degrade him from 
 office and put another man in his place, and then 
 dismissed him, with orders to return at daylight 
 and find the missing property. Four more were 
 now dispatched after the missing cook, and Stan- 
 ley halted three days to wait the return of his 
 men. In the meantime, provisions ran low, and 
 though there was plenty of game, it was so wild 
 that but little could be obtained, he being able to 
 secure but two potfuls in two days' shooting, but 
 these were quail, grouse and pigeons. On the 
 fourth day, becoming exceedingly anxious, he dis- 
 patched Shaw and two more soldiers after the 
 missing men. Toward night he returned, sick 
 with ague, bringing the soldiers with him, but not 
 the missing cook. The soldiers reported that 
 they had marched immediately back to Simbo 
 
72 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 and having searched in vain in the vicinity for the 
 missing man, they went to the bridge over the 
 river to inquire there. They were told, so they 
 said, that a white donkey had crossed the river in 
 another place driven by some Washensi. Believ- 
 ing the cook had been murdered by those men 
 who were making off with his property, th^y 
 hastened to the walled town and told the war- 
 riors of the western gate that two Washensi, who 
 had murdered a man belonging to the white man, 
 must have passed the place, with a white donkey. 
 They were immediately conducted to the sultana, 
 who had much of the spirit of her father, to whom 
 they told their story. Of the results, Stanley 
 says: 
 
 " The sultana demanded of the watchmen of the 
 towers if they had seen the two Washensi with the 
 white donkey The watchmen answered in the 
 affirmative, upon which she at once dispatched 
 twenty of her musketeers in pursuit to Muhalleh. 
 These returned before night, bringing with them 
 the two Washensi and the donkey, with the cook's 
 entire kit. The sultana, who is evidently pos- 
 sessed of her father's energy, with all his lust for 
 wealth, had my messengers, the two Washensi, 
 the cook's donkey and property at once brought 
 before her. The two Washensi were questioned 
 as to how they became possessed of the donkey 
 and such a store of Kisunga clothes, cloth and 
 beads; to which they answered that they had 
 
THE SULTANA'S JUDGMENT. 7^ 
 
 found the donkey tied to a tree with the property 
 on the ground close to it ; that seeing no owner 
 or claimant anywhere in the neighborhood, they 
 thought they had a right to it, and accordingly had 
 taken it with them. ]\Iy soldiers were then asked 
 if they recognized the donkey and property, to 
 which questions they unhesitatingly made answer 
 that they did. They further informed Her High- 
 ness that they were not only sent after the donkey, 
 but also after the owner, who had deserted their 
 master s service ; that they would like to know 
 from the Washensi what they had done with him. 
 Her Highness was also anxious to know what the 
 Washensi had done with the Hindi, and accord- 
 ingly, in order to elicit the fact, she charged them 
 with murdering him, and informed them she but 
 wished to know what they had done with the 
 body. 
 
 "The Washensi declared most earnestly that 
 they had spoken the truth, that they had never 
 seen any such man as described ; and if the sul- 
 tana desired, they would swear to such a state- 
 ment. Her Highness did not wish them to swear 
 to what in her heart she believed to be a lie, but 
 she would chain them and send them in charge of 
 a caravan to Zanzibar to Lyed Burghosh, who 
 would know what to do with them. Then turn- 
 ing to my soldiers, she demanded to know why 
 the Musungu had not paid the tribute for which ' 
 she had sent her chiefs. The soldiers could not 
 
^A IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 answer, knowing nothing of such concerns of theif 
 master's. The heiress of Kisabengo, true to the 
 character of her robber sire, then informed my 
 trembhng men that, as the Musungu had not paid 
 the tribute, she would now take it; their guns 
 should be taken from them, together with that of 
 the cook ; the cloth and beads found on the 
 donkey she would also take, the Hindi's personal 
 clothes her chiefs should retain, while they them- 
 selves should be chained until the Musungu him- 
 ^If should return and take them by force. 
 
 " And as she threatened, so was it done. For 
 sixteen hours my soldiers were in chains in the 
 market-place, exposed to the taunts of the servile 
 populace. It chanced the next day, however, that 
 Sheikh Thani, whom I met at Kingaru, and had 
 since passed by five days, had arrived at Limbam- 
 wanni, and proceeding to the town to purchase 
 provisions for the crossing of the Makata wilder- 
 ness, saw my men in chains and at once recog- 
 nized them as being in my employ. After hearing 
 their story, the good-hearted sheikh sought the 
 presence of the sultana, and informed her that she 
 was doing very wrong — a wrong that -could only 
 terminate in blood. 'The Musungu is strong,' he 
 said, * very strong. He has got ten guns which 
 shoot forty times without stopping, carrying bul- 
 lets half an hour's distance ; he has got several 
 guns which carry bullets that burst and tear a man 
 in pieces. He could go to the top of that moun- 
 
DELIVERANCE FR OM DIFFICUL TIES. y k 
 
 tain and kill every man, woman and child in the 
 town before one of your soldiers could reach the 
 top. The road will then be stopped, Lyed Bur- 
 ghosh will march against your country, the Wadoe 
 and Wakami will come and take revenge on what 
 is left; and the place that your father made so 
 strong will know the Waseguhha no more. Set 
 free the Musungu's soldiers ; give them their food 
 and grain for the Musungu ; return the guns to 
 the men and let them go, for the white man may 
 even now be on his way here.' 
 
 "The exaggerated report of my power, and the 
 dread picture sketched by the Arab sheikh, pro- 
 duced good effect, inasmuch as Kingaru and the 
 Mabrukis were at once released from durance, 
 furnished with food sufficient to last our caravan 
 four days, and one gun with its accoutrements and 
 stock of bullets and powder, was returned, as well 
 as the cook's donkey, with a pair of spectacles, a 
 book in Malabar print and an old hat which be- 
 longed to one whom we all now believed to be 
 dead. The sheikh took charge of the soldiers as 
 far as Simbo ; and it was in his camp, partaking 
 largely of rice and ghee, that Shaw found them, 
 and the same bountiful hospitality was extended 
 to him and his companions.'' 
 
 Stanley was now filled with keen regrets for the 
 manner in which he had punished the cook, and 
 mentally he resolved that no matter what a mem- 
 ber of his caravan should do in the future he 
 
76 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 would never drive him out of camp to perish by 
 assassins. Still he would not yet believe that the 
 man was murdered. But he was furious at the 
 treatment of his soldiers by the black Amazon of 
 Limbamwanni, and the tribute she exacted, espe- 
 cially at the seizure of the guns, and if he had been 
 near the place would have made reprisals. But 
 he had already lost four days, and so, next morn- 
 ing, although the rain was coming down in tor- 
 rents, he broke camp and set forth. Shaw was 
 still sick, and so the whole duty of driving the 
 floundering caravan devolved upon himself. As 
 fast as one was flogged out of the mire in which 
 he had stuck, another would fall in. It took two 
 hours to cross the miry plain, though it was but a 
 mile and a half wide. He was congratulating him- 
 self on having at last got over it, when he was 
 confronted by a ditch which the heavy rains had 
 converted into a stream breast deep. The don- 
 keys had all to be unloaded, and led through the 
 torrent, and loaded again on the farther side. 
 They had hardly got under way when they came 
 upon another stream, so deep that it could not be 
 forded, over which they had to swim, and float 
 across their baggage. They then floundered on 
 until they came to a bend of the river, where they 
 pitched their camp, having made but six miles the 
 whole day. This River Makata is only about 
 forty feet in width in the dry season, but at this 
 time it was a wide, turbid stream. Its shores, with 
 
IN A PITIABLE PLIGHT. jj 
 
 Its matted grass, decayed vegetable matter and 
 reeking mists, seemed the very home of the ague 
 and fever. It took five hours to cross it the next 
 morning. The rain then carne down in such tor- 
 rents that travehng became impossible, and the 
 camp was pitched. Luckily this proved the last 
 day of the rainy season. 
 
 It was now the i st of May, and the expedition 
 was in a pitiable plight. Shaw was still sick, and 
 one man was down with the small-pox. Bombay, 
 too, was sick, and others complaining. Doctoring 
 the sick as well as he knew how, and laying the 
 whip lustily on the backs of those who were sham- 
 ming, Stanley at length got his caravan in motion 
 and began to cross the Makata plain, now a swamp 
 thirty-five miles broad. It was plash, plash, through 
 the water in some places three or four feet deep, 
 for two days, until they came in sight of the Rudewa 
 River. Crossing a branch of this stream, a sheet 
 of water five miles broad stretched out before the 
 tired caravan. The men declared it could not be 
 crossed, but Stanley determined to try, and after 
 five hours of the most prostrating effort they 
 reached dry ground. The animals, however, be- 
 gan to sicken from this day on, while Stanley him- 
 self was seized with dysentery caused by hia ex- 
 posure, and was brought to the verge of the 
 grave. The expedition seemed about to end there 
 on the borders of the Makata swamp. 
 
 On the 4th, they came to the important village 
 
78 
 
 JN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of Rehenneko, the first near which they had en« 
 camped since entering the district of Usagara. 
 It was a square, compact village, of about one 
 thousand inhabitants, surrounded by a mud wall 
 and composed of cane-topped huts, which the 
 natives moved from place to place at pleasure 
 The peculiar ceremonies of the queen's court were 
 very interesting to witness. They rested here 
 four days to recruit. On the 8th, they started for- 
 ward and began to ascend the mountain. Having 
 reached the summit of the first range of hills, 
 Stanley paused to survey the enchanting prospect. 
 The broad valley of Makata stretched out before 
 him, laced with streams sparkling in the sun, while 
 over it waved countless palm-trees, and far away, 
 blue in the distance, stretched a mighty range of 
 mountains. "Turning our faces west,'' he says, 
 "we found ourselves in a mountain world, fold 
 rising above fold, peak behind peak, cone jostling 
 cone ; away to the north, to the west, to the south, 
 the mountain tops rolled away like so many vitri- 
 fied waves, not one adust or arid spot was visible 
 in all this scene." 
 
 The change from the pestilential swamps, 
 through which they had been so long floundering, 
 was.most grateful, but the animals suffered greatly, 
 and before they reached their first camping-ground, 
 two had given out. The gth, they descended into 
 the valley of Mukondokno, and there struck the 
 road traversed by Speke and Burton in 1817. 
 
TUM Qt/EEN'S ,C0Uk7: 
 
 n 
 
 CEREMONIES OF THE QUEEN'S COURT. 
 As witnessed in the village of Rehenneko, in the district of Usaganu 
 
NEW BURDENS. gj 
 
 Reaching the dirty village, Kiora, Stanley found 
 there his third caravan, led by Farquhar. By his 
 debaucheries on the way he had made himself sick 
 and brought his caravan into a sad condition. As 
 he heard Stanley's voice, he came staggering out 
 of his tent, a bloated mass of human flesh that 
 never would have been recognized as the trim 
 mate of the vessel that brought Stanley from India, 
 After he examined him as to the cause of his ill- 
 ness, he questioned him about the condition of the 
 property intrusted to his care. Not able to get 
 an intelligent answer out of him, he resolved to 
 overhaul the baggage. On examination, he found 
 that he had spent enough for provisions on which 
 to gormandize to have lasted eight months, and 
 yet he had been on the route but two and a half 
 months. If Stanley had not overtaken him, every- 
 thing would have been squandered, and of all the 
 bales of cloth he was to take to Unyanyembe not 
 one bale would have been left. Stanley was sorely 
 puzzled what to do with the miserable man. He 
 would die if left at Kiora ; he could not walk or 
 ride far, and to carry him seemed well-nigh im- 
 possible. 
 
 On the 1 1 th, however, the two caravans started 
 forward, leaving Shaw to follow with one of the 
 men. But he lagged behind, and had not reached 
 the camp when it was roused next morning. Stan- 
 ley at once dispatched two donkeys, one for the 
 load that was on the cart and the other for Shaw, 
 6 
 
g2 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 and with the messenger the following note: " You 
 will, upon the receipt of this order, pitch the cart 
 into the nearest ravine, gully or river, as well as all 
 the extra pack saddles ; and come at 07ice, for 
 Gods sake, for we must not starve here!' After 
 waiting four hours, he went back himself and met 
 them, the carrier with the cart on his head, and 
 Shaw on the donkey, apparently ready, at the 
 least jolt, to tumble off. They, however, pushed 
 on, and arrived at Madete at four o'clock. Cross- 
 ing the river about three, and keeping on, they, on 
 the 14th, from the top of a hill caught sight of 
 Lake Ugenlo. The outline of It, he says, resem- 
 bles England without Wales. It Is some three 
 miles long by two wide, and Is the abode of great 
 numbers of hippopotami, while the buffalo, zebra, 
 boar and antelope come here by night to quench 
 their thirst. Its bosom Is covered with wild fowl 
 of every description. Being obliged to halt here 
 two days on account of the desertion of the cooper, 
 with one of the carbines, Stanley explored the 
 lake, and tried several shots at the lumbering hip- 
 popotami without effect. 
 
 The deserter having returned of his own free 
 will, the caravan started forward, cursed by the 
 slow progress of the peevish, profane and violent 
 Shaw. The next day at breakfast, a scene oc- 
 curred that threatened serious consequences. 
 When Shaw and Farquhar took their places, Stan- 
 ley saw by their looks that something was wrong. 
 
HIPPOPOTAMT. 
 
 83 
 
INCIPIENT MUTINY, 
 
 85 
 
 The breakfast was a roast quarter of goat, stewed 
 liver, some sweet potatoes, pancakes and coffee. 
 "Shaw,'' said Stanley, "please carve and serve 
 Farquhar." Instead of doing so, he exclaimed, in 
 an insulting tone, '^What dog's meat is this?'' 
 "What do you mean ?" demanded Stanley. "I 
 mean," replied the fellow, "that it is a downright 
 shame the way you treat us," and then he com- 
 plained of being compelled to walk and help him- 
 self, instead of having servants to wait upon him 
 as he was promised. All this was said in a loud, 
 defiant tone, interlarded with frequent oaths and 
 curses of the "damned expedition," etc. When 
 he had got through, Stanley, fixing his black, reso- 
 lute eye on him, said: "Listen to me, Shaw, and 
 you, Farquhar, ever since you left the coast have 
 had donkeys to ride. You have had servants to 
 wait upon you; your tents have been set up for 
 you; your meals have been cooked for you; you 
 have eaten with me of the same food I have eaten ; 
 you have received the same treatment I have re- 
 ceived. But now all Farquhar's donkeys are 
 dead; seven of my own have died, and I have had 
 to throw away a few things, in order to procure 
 carriage for the most important goods. Farquhar 
 is too sick to walk, he must have a donkey to 
 ride; in a few days all our animals will be dead, 
 after which I must have over twenty more pagosi 
 to take up the goods or wait weeks and weeks 
 for carriage. Yet, in the face of these things, 
 
gg IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 you can grumble, and curse, and swear at me at 
 my own table. Have you considered well your 
 position? Do you realize where you are? Do 
 you know that you are my servant, sir, not my 
 companion ?" 
 
 "Servant, be " said he. 
 
 Just before Mr. Shaw could finish his sentence 
 he had measured his length on the ground. 
 
 "Is it necessary for me to proceed further to 
 teach you ?'' said Stanley. 
 
 "I tell you what it is, sir," he said, raising him- 
 self up, *'I think I had better go back. I have 
 had enough, and I do not mean to go any farther 
 with you. I ask my discharge from you." 
 
 "Oh, certainly. What — who is there? Bom- 
 bay, come here." 
 
 After Bombay's appearance at the tent-door, 
 Stanley said to him: "Strike this man's tent," 
 pointing to Shaw; "he wants to go back. Bring 
 his gun and pistol here to my tent, and take this 
 man and his baggage two hundred yards outside 
 of the camp, and there leave him." 
 
 In a few minutes his tent was down, his gun and 
 pistol in Stanley's tent, and Bombay returned to 
 make his report, with four men under arms. 
 
 ** Now go, sir. You are at perfect liberty to go. 
 These men will escort you outside of camp, and 
 there leave you and your baggage." 
 
 He walked out, the men escorting him and car- 
 rying his baggage for him. 
 
FORGIVENESS. 
 
 87 
 
 After breakfast, Stanley explained to Farquhar 
 how necessary it was to be able to proceed ; that 
 he had had plenty of trouble, without having to 
 think of men who were employed to think of him 
 and their duties; that, as he (Farquhar) was sick, 
 and would be probably unable to march for a time, 
 it would be better to leave him in some quiet place, 
 under the care of a good chief, who would, for a 
 consideration, look after him until he got well. To 
 all of which Farquhar agreed. 
 
 Stanley had barely finished speaking before 
 Bombay came to the tent-door, saying: "Shaw 
 would like to speak to you.'' 
 
 Stanley went out to the door of the camp, and 
 there met Shaw, looking extremely penitent and 
 ashamed. He commenced to ask pardon, and 
 began imploring to be taken back, and promising 
 that occasion to find fault with him again should 
 never arise. 
 
 Stanley held out his hand, saying : *' Don't 
 mention it, my dear fellow. Quarrels occur in the 
 best of families. Since you apologize, there is an 
 end of it." 
 
 That night, as Stanley was about falling asleep, 
 he heard a shot, and a bullet tore through the tent 
 a few inches above his body. He snatched his 
 revolver and rushed out from the tent, and asked 
 the men around the watch-fires, "Who shot?" 
 They had all jumped up, rather startled by the 
 sudden report. 
 
gg IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 "Who fired that gun ?" 
 
 One said the " Bana Mdogo " — little master. 
 
 Stanley lit a candle and walked with it to Shaw's 
 tent. 
 
 "Shaw, did you fire?'* 
 
 There was no answer. He seemed to be asleep, 
 he was breathing so hard. 
 
 " Shaw ! Shaw ! did you fire that shot ?" 
 
 "Eh — eh?" said he, suddenly awakening; "me? 
 • — me fire ? I have been asleep." 
 
 Stanley's eye caught sight of his gun lying near 
 him. He seized it — felt it — put his little finger 
 down the barrel. The gun was warm ; his finger 
 was black from the burnt gunpowder. 
 
 '' What is this ?" he asked, holding his finger 
 up ; " the gun is warm ; the men tell me you 
 fired." 
 
 "Ah— yes," he replied, " I remember it. I 
 dreamed I saw a thief pass my door, and I fired. 
 Ah — yes — I forgot, I did fire. Why, what's the 
 matter ?" 
 
 "Oh, nothing," said Stanley. "But I would 
 advise you, in future, in order to avoid all sus- 
 picion, not to fire into my tent ; or, at least, so 
 near me. I might get hurt, you know, in which 
 case ugly reports would get about, and that, per- 
 haps, would be disagreeable, as you are probably 
 aware. Good-night." 
 
 All had their thoughts about this matter, but 
 Stanley never uttered a word about it to any one 
 
MURDEROUS ATTEMPT. 
 
 89 
 
 until he met Livingstone. The doctor embodied 
 his suspicions in the words : " He intended mur- 
 der r 
 
 Mr. Livingstone .was evidently right in his con- 
 jecture, and Mr. Stanley wrong about the intent 
 of Shaw. In the first place, the coincidence in 
 time between the punishment inflicted on Shaw 
 and this extraordinary shot, in which the ball took 
 the still more extraordinary direction of going 
 through Stanley's tent, that is, to say the least, 
 very difficult to explain. In the second place, his 
 drowsy condition when questioned, and finally 
 remembering so much as that he dreamed a thief 
 was passing his door, is more than suspicious. 
 The fact that, as Mr. Stanley says, he could have had 
 much better opportunities of killing him than this, 
 we regard of very little weight. Opportunities 
 that are absolutely certain of success without sus- 
 picion or detection, are not so common as many 
 suppose. Besides, an opportunity so good that 
 the would-be murderer could desire nothing bet- 
 ter might occur, and yet the shot or stab not prove 
 fatal. In this case it doubtless never occurred to 
 this man that any one would run his finger down 
 his gun-barrel to see if it was hot from a recent 
 discharge, while no man could tell, in the middle 
 of the night, who fired the shot. It is true, that 
 the wretch knew that the chances were against 
 such a random fire proving fatal, but he knew it 
 was better to take them than the almost cer- 
 
QQ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 tain discovery if he adopted any other method. 
 If, for instance, he had in a lonely place fired at 
 Stanley and the shot had not proved mortal, or if 
 mortal, not immediately so, he well knew what 
 would have been his fate, in the heart of Africa, 
 where justice is administered without the form of 
 law. 
 
 On the 1 6th of May the little caravan started 
 off again, and after a march of fifteen miles, 
 camped at Matamombo, in a region where monk- 
 eys, rhinoceros, steinboks and antelopes abounded. 
 The next day's march extended fifteen miles, and 
 was through an almost impenetrable jungle. Here 
 he came upon the old Arab sheikh, Thani, who 
 gave him the following good advice : '' Stop here 
 two or three days, give your tired animals some 
 rest, and collect all the carriers you can ; fill your 
 insides with fresh milk, sweet potatoes, beef, mut- 
 ton, ghee, honey, beans, matama, madeira nuts, 
 and then, Inshalla! we shall go through Ugogo 
 without stopping anywhere." Stanley was sensi- 
 ble enough to take this advice. He at once com- 
 menced on this certainly very prodigal bill of fare 
 for Central Africa. How it agreed with him after 
 the short trial of a single day, may be inferred from 
 the following entry in his diary : 
 
 " Thank God ! after fifty-seven days of living 
 upon matama porridge and tough goat, I have 
 enjoyed with unctuous satisfaction a real breakfast 
 and a good dinner." 
 
A MAN LEFT BEHIND. gi 
 
 Here upon the Mpwapwa, he found a place to 
 leave the Scotchman, Farquhar, until he should be 
 strong enough to join him at Unyanyembe. But 
 when he proposed this to the friendly chief, he 
 would consent only on the condition that he would 
 leave one of his own men behind to take care of 
 him. This complicated matters, not only because 
 he could not well spare a man, but because it 
 would be difficult to find one who would consent 
 to undertake this difficult task. This man, whom 
 Stanley had thought would be a reliable friend 
 and a good companion in his long, desolate 
 marches, had turned out a burden and a nuisance. 
 His wants were almost endless, and instead of 
 using the few words in the language of the natives 
 to make them known, he would use nothing but 
 the strongest Anglo-Saxon, and when he found 
 he was not understood, would fall to cursing in 
 equally good round English oaths, and if the 
 astonished natives did not understand this, relapse 
 into regular John Bull sullenness. When, there- 
 fore, Stanley opened up the subject to Bombay, 
 the latter was horrified. He said the men had 
 made a contract to go through, not to stop by the 
 way; and when Stanley, in despair, turned to the 
 men, they one and all refused absolutely to remain 
 behind with the cursing, unreasonable white man, 
 one of them mimicking his absurd conduct so com- 
 pletely, that Stanley himself could not help laugh- 
 ing. But the man must be left behind, and some- 
 
02 -W" THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 body must take care of him ; and so Stanley had 
 to use his authority, and notwithstanding all his 
 protestations and entreaties, Sako, the only one 
 who could speak English, was ordered to stay. 
 
 Having engaged twelve new carriers, and from 
 the nearest mountain summit obtained an entranc- 
 ing view of the surrounding region for a hundred 
 miles, he prepared to start, but not before, not- 
 withstanding the good milk it furnished, giving 
 Mpwapwa a thorough malediction for its earwigs. 
 '*In my tent,'' he says, "they might be counted by 
 thousands; in my slung cot by hundreds; on my 
 clothes they were by fifties ; on my neck and head 
 they were by scores. The several plagues of 
 locusts, fleas and lice sink into utter insignificance 
 compared with this damnable one of earwigs.'' 
 Their presence drove him almost insane. Next 
 to these come the white ants, that threatened in a 
 short time to eat up every article of baggage. 
 
 He now pushed on toward the Ugogo district, 
 famous for the tribute it exacted from all caravans. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 TRIALS BY THE WAY. 
 
 ON the 2 2d of May the two other caravans 
 of Stanley joined him, only three hours' 
 march from Mpwapwa, so that the one 
 <:aravan numbered some four hundred souls, but it 
 was none too large to insure a safe transit through 
 dreaded Ugogo. A waterless desert thirty miles 
 across, and which it would take seventeen hours 
 to traverse, now lay before them. On the way, 
 Stanley was struck down with fever and, borne 
 along in a hammock, was indifferent to the herds 
 of giraffes, and zebras, and antelopes that scoured 
 the desert plain around him. The next morning 
 the fever had left him and mounting, he rode at 
 the head of his caravan, and at 8 a. m. had passed 
 the sterile wilderness and entered the Ugogo dis- 
 trict. He had now come into a land of plenty, but 
 one also of extortion. The tribute that all passing 
 caravans had to pay to the chiefs or sultans of 
 this district was enormous. At the first village 
 the appearance of this white man caused an inde- 
 scribable uproar. The people came pouring out, 
 men and women, naked, yelling, shouting, quarrel- 
 ing and fighting, making it a perfect babel around 
 Stanley, who became irritated at this unseemly 
 
 (93) 
 
94 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 demonstration. But it was of no use. One of 
 his men asked them to stop, but the only reply 
 was ^^shut up',' in good native language. Stanley, 
 however, was soon oblivious of their curiosity or 
 noise, as heavy doses of quinine to check a chill 
 sent him off into a half doze. 
 
 The next day, a march of eight miles brought 
 him to the sultan of the district. Report did not 
 exaggerate the abundance of provisions to be 
 found here. Now came the pay of tribute to the 
 exorbitant chief. After a great deal of parley, 
 which was irritating and often childish, Stanley 
 satisfied the sultan's greed, and on the 27th of 
 May he shook the dust of the place from his feet 
 and pushed westward. As he passed the thickly- 
 scattered villages and plenteous fields, filled with 
 tillers, he did not wonder at the haughty bearing 
 of the sultan, for he could command force enough 
 to rob and destroy every caravan that passed that 
 way. Twenty-seven villages lined the road to the 
 next sultan's district, Matomhiru. This sultan 
 was a modern Hercules, with head and shoulders 
 that belonged to a giant. He proved, however, 
 to be a much more reasonable man than the last 
 sultan, and, after a little speechifying, the tribute 
 was paid and the caravan moved off toward Biha- 
 wena. The day was hot, the land sterile, crossed 
 with many jungles, which made the march slow 
 and difficult. In the midst of this desolate plain 
 were the villages of the tribe, their huts no higher 
 
 I 
 
DOWN WITH FEVER. 
 
 95 
 
 than the dry, bleached grass that stood glimmer- 
 ing in the heat of the noonday sun. Here he 
 was visited by three natives, who endeavored to 
 play a sharp game on him, which so enraged Stan- 
 ley that he would have flogged them out of camp 
 with his whip, but one of his men told him to be- 
 ware, for every blow would cost three or four 
 yards of cloth. Not willing to pay so dearly to 
 gratify his temper he forbore. The sultan was 
 moderate in his demands, and from him he re- 
 ceived news from his fourth caravan, which was 
 in advance, and had had a fight with some rob- 
 bers, killing two of them. 
 
 The water here was so vile that two donkeys 
 died from drinking of it, while the men could 
 hardly swallow it. Stanley, nervous and weak 
 from fever, paid the extravagant tributes de- 
 manded of him, without altercation. From here 
 to the next sultan was a long stretch of forest, 
 filled with elephants, rhinoceros, zebras, deer, etc. 
 But they had no time to stop and hunt. At noon 
 they had left the last water they should find until 
 noon of the next day, even with sharp marching, 
 and hence, no delay could be permitted. The 
 men without tents bivouacked under the trees, 
 while Stanley tossed and groaned all night in a 
 paroxysm of fever, but his courage in no way 
 weakened. At dawn the caravan started off 
 throupfh the dark forest, in which one of the car- 
 riers fell sick and died. 
 
96 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 At 7 A. M. they drew near Nyambwa, where ex- 
 cellent water was found. The villagers here 
 crowded around them with shouts and yells, and 
 finally became so insolent that Stanley grabbed 
 one of them by the neck and gave him a sound 
 thrashing with his donkey-whip. This enraged 
 them, and they walked backward and forward like 
 angry tom-cats, shouting, "Are the Wagogo to be 
 beaten like slaves?'' and they seemed by their 
 ferocious manner determined to avenge their com- 
 rade, but the moment Stanley raised his whip and 
 advanced they scattered. Finding that the long 
 lash, which cracked like a pistol, had a wholesome 
 effect, whenever they crowded upon him so as to 
 impede his progress, he laid it about him without 
 mercy, which soon cleared a path. 
 
 The Sultan Kimberah was a small, queer and 
 dirty old man, a great drunkard, and yet the most 
 powerful of all the Ugogo chiefs. Here they had 
 considerable trouble in arranging the amount of 
 tribute, but at length everything was settled and 
 the caravan passed on and entered on a vast salt 
 plain containing a hundred or more square miles, 
 from the salt springs of which the Wagogo ob- 
 tained their salt. At Mizarza, the next camping- 
 place, Stanley was compelled to halt and doctor 
 himself for the fever which was wearing him to 
 skin and bones. Early in the morning he began 
 to take his quinine, and kept repeating the doses 
 at short intervals until a copious perspiration told 
 
STRANGE TRIBES, ny 
 
 him he had broken the fever which had been con- 
 suming him for fourteen days. During this time, 
 the sultan of the district, attracted by Stanley's 
 lofty tent, with the American flag floating above 
 It, visited him. He was so astonished at the lofti- 
 ness and furnishing of the tent, that in his sur- 
 prise he let fall the loose cloth that hung from his 
 shoulders and stood stark naked in front of Stan- 
 ley, gapmg in mute wonder. Admonished by his 
 son — a lad fifteen years old — he resumed his 
 garb and sat down to talk. Stanley showed him 
 his rifles and other fire-arms, which astonished 
 him beyond measure. 
 
 On the 4th of June, the caravan was started 
 forward again, and after three hours' march it 
 came upon another district, containing only two 
 villages occupied by pastoral Wahumba and Wa- 
 hehe. These live in cow-dung cone huts, shaped 
 like Tartar tents. Stanley says : 
 
 " The Wahumba, so far as I have seen them, are 
 a fine and well-formed race. The men are posi- 
 tively handsome, tall, with small heads, the pos- 
 terior parts of which project considerably. One 
 will look in vain for a thick lip or flat nose amongst 
 them ; on the contrary, the mouth is exceedingly 
 well cut, delicately small ; the nose is that of the 
 Greeks, and so universal was the peculiar feature, 
 that I at once named them the Greeks of Africa. 
 Their lower limbs have not the heaviness of the 
 Wagogo and other tribes, but are long and 
 7 
 
98 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 shapely, clean as those of an antelope. Theif 
 necks are long and slender, on which their small 
 heads are poised most gracefully. Athletes from 
 their youth, shepherd bred, and intermarrying 
 among themselves, thus keeping the race pure, 
 any of them would form a fit subject for a sculptor 
 who would wish to immortalize in marble an An- 
 trinus, a Hylas, a Daphnis, or an Apollo. The 
 women are as beautiful as the men are handsome. 
 They have clear ebon skins, not coal black, but 
 of an inky hue. Their ornaments consist of spiral 
 rings of brass pendent from the ears, brass ring 
 collars about the neck, and a spiral cincture of 
 brass wire about their loins, for the purpose of 
 retaining their calf and goat skins, which are 
 folded about their bodies, and depending from the 
 shoulder, shade* one-half of the bosom, and fall to 
 the knees. 
 
 " The Wahehe may be styled the Romans of 
 Africa. 
 
 "Resuminof our march, after a halt of an hour, 
 in four hours more we arrived at Mukondoku 
 proper. 
 
 "This extremity of Ugogo is most populous. 
 The villacres which surround the central tembe^ 
 where the Sultan Swaruru lives, amount to thirty- 
 six. The people who flocked from these to see 
 the wonderful men whose faces were white who 
 wore the most wonderful things on their persons, 
 and possessed the most wonderful weapons • guns 
 
A COWARDLY MOB, gg 
 
 which * bum-bummed' as fast as you could count 
 on your fingers, formed such a mob of howling 
 savages, that I, for an instant, thought there was 
 something besides mere curiosity which caused 
 such a commotion, and attracted such numbers to 
 the roadside. Halting, I asked what was the 
 matter, and what they wanted, and why they made 
 such a noise ? One burly rascal, taking my words 
 for a declaration of hostilities, promptly drew his 
 bow, but as prompt as he had fixed his arrow my 
 faithful Winchester with thirteen shots in the^ 
 magazine was ready and at my shoulder, and but 
 waited to see the arrow fly to pour the leaden 
 messengers of death into the crowd. But the 
 crowd vanished as quickly as they had come, 
 leaving the burly Thersites, and two or three 
 irresolute fellows of his tribe, standing within 
 pistol range of my leveled rifle. Such a sudden 
 dispersion of the mob which, but a moment be- 
 fore, was overwhelming, caused me to lower my 
 rifle and indulge in a hearty laugh at the disgrace- 
 ful flight of the men-destroyers. The Arabs, who 
 were as much alarmed at their boisterous obtru- 
 siveness, now came up to patch a truce, in which 
 they succeeded to everybody's satisfaction. 
 
 "A few words of explanation, and the mob came 
 back in greater numbers than before; and the 
 Thersites who had been the cause of the momen- 
 tary disturbance were obliged to retire abashed 
 before the pressure of public opinion. A chief 
 
lOO 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 now came up, whom I afterwards learned was the 
 second man to Swaruru, and lectured the people 
 upon their treatment of the 'white strangers/" 
 
 The tribute-money was easily settled here. On 
 the 7th of June, the route was resumed. There 
 were three roads leading to Uyanzi, and which of 
 the three to take caused long discussion and much 
 quarreling, and when Stanley settled the matter 
 and the caravan started off on the road to Kiti, 
 an attempt was made to direct it to another road, 
 which Stanley soon discovered and prevented only 
 by his prompt resort to physical arguments. 
 
 At last they reached the borders of Uyanzi, glad 
 to be clear of the land of Ugogo, said to be flowing 
 with milk and honey but which had proved to 
 Stanley a land of gall and bitterness. The forest 
 they entered was a welcome change from the vil- 
 lages of the Ugogo, and two hours after leaving 
 them they came, with the merry sound of horns, to 
 a river in a new district. Continuing on, they 
 made the forest ring with cheers, and shouts, and 
 native songs. The country was beautiful, and the 
 scenery more like cultivated England in former 
 times than barbaric Africa. 
 
 Passing thus merrily on, they had made twenty 
 miles by five o'clock. At one o'clock next morn- 
 ing the camp was roused, and by the light of the 
 moon the march was resumed, and at three o'clock 
 they arrived at a village to rest till dawn. They 
 had reached a land of plenty and fared well. Kiti 
 
THE CO UNTR Y DESCRIBE! '. j q j • 
 
 was entered on the loth of June. Kere "cattle 
 and grain could be procured in abundance. 
 
 A valley fifteen miles distant was the next camp, 
 and a march of three hours and a half brought 
 them to another village, wh^re provisions were 
 very cheap. They were now approaching Unyan- 
 yembe, their first great stopping-place, and where 
 the term of service of many of Stanley's men 
 expired. They marched rapidly now, — to-day 
 through grain-fields, to-morrow past burnt villages, 
 the wreck of bloody wars. 
 
 At last, with banners flying and trumpets and 
 horns blowing, and amid volleys of small arms, the 
 caravan entered Unyanyembe. 
 
 Of the three routes from the coast to this place, 
 Stanley discarded the two that had before been 
 traveled by Speke and Burton and Grant and 
 chose the third, with the originality of an Ameri- 
 can, and thus saved nearly two hundred miles' 
 travel. 
 
 Mr. Stanley, after reaching this first great 
 objective point, goes back and gives a general 
 description of the regions he has traversed. To 
 the geographer, it may be of interest, but not to 
 the general reader. But the following, taken 
 from his long account, will give the reader a clear 
 idea of the country traversed and of Its inhabitants. 
 Beginning with Wlami River, emptying into the 
 Indian Ocean near Zanzibar, he says: 
 
 "First it appears to me that the Wiami River is 
 
1-02 '^'^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 available for commerce and, by a little improve- 
 ment, could be navigated by light-draft steamers 
 near to the Usagara Mountains, the healthy region 
 of this part of Africa, and which could be reached 
 by steamers in four days from the coast, and then 
 It takes one into a country where ivory, sugar, 
 cotton, indigo and other productions can be ob- 
 tained/' 
 
 Besides, he says : 
 
 "Four days, by steamer bring the missionary to 
 the healthy ii^lands of Africa, where he can live 
 amongst the gentle Wasagara without fear or 
 alarm ; where he can enjoy the luxuries of civilized 
 life without fear of being deprived of them, amid 
 the most beautiful and picturesque scenes a poetic 
 fancy could imagine. Here is the greenest ver- 
 dure, purest water ; here are valleys teeming with 
 grain-stalks, forests of tamarind, mimosa, gum- 
 copal tree ; here is the gigantic moule, the stately 
 mparamnsi, the beautiful palm ; a scene such as 
 only a tropic sky covers. Health and abundance 
 of food are assured to the missionary ; gentle 
 people are at his feet, ready to welcome him. 
 Except civilized society, nothing that the soul of 
 man can desire is lacking here. 
 
 "From the village of Kadetamare a score of 
 admirable mission sites are available, with fine' 
 health-giving breezes blowing over them, water in 
 abundance at their feet, fertility unsurpassed 
 around them, with docile, good-tempered people 
 
WHAT AFRICA MAY BE. jq^ 
 
 dwelling everywhere at peace with each other, and 
 with all travelers and neighbors. 
 
 " As the passes of the Olympus unlocked the 
 gates of the Eastern empires to the hordes of 
 Othman ; as the passes of Kumayle and Sura 
 admitted the British into Abyssinia ; so the passes 
 of the Mukondokwa may admit the Gospel and 
 its beneficent influences into the heart of savage 
 Africa. 
 
 ''I can fancy old Kadetamare rubbing his hands 
 with glee at the sight of the white man coming to 
 teach his people the words of the *Mulungu' — 
 the Sky Spirit; how to sow, and reap, and build 
 houses ; how to cure their sick, how to make 
 themselves comfortable— in short, how to be civil- 
 ized. But the missionary, to be successful, must 
 know his duties as well as a thorough sailor must 
 know how to reef, hand and steer. He must be 
 no kid-glove, effeminate man, no journal writer, no 
 disputatious polemic, no silken stole and chasuble- 
 loving priest, but a thorough, earnest laborer in 
 the garden of the Lord, — a man of the David Liv- 
 ingstone, or of the Rooert Moffatt stamp. 
 
 ''The other river, the Rufiji, or Ruhwha, is a 
 still more important stream than Wiami. It is a 
 much longer river, and discharges twice as much 
 water Into the Indian Ocean. It rises near some 
 mountains about one hundred miles southwest 
 of Nbena. Kislgo River, the most northern and 
 most important affluent of the Ruhwha, is sup* 
 
I04 ^^ ^^^^ WILDS CF AFRICA. 
 
 posed to flow into It near east longitude thirty- 
 five degrees ; from the confluence to the sea, the 
 Ruhwha has a length of four degrees of direct 
 longitude. This fact, of itself, must prove its 
 importance and rank among the rivers of East 
 Africa. 
 
 *' After Zanzibar, our debut into Africa is made 
 via Bagomayo. At this place we may see Wan- 
 glndo, Wasawahili, Warori, Wagogo, Wanyam- 
 wezi, Waseguhha and Wasagara ; yet it would be 
 a difficult task for any person, at mere sight of 
 their dresses or features, to note the differences. 
 Only by certain customs or distinctive marks, 
 such as tattooing, puncturing of the lobes of the 
 ears, ornaments, wearing the hair, etc., which 
 would appear, at first, too trivial to note, could one 
 discriminate between the various tribal represen- 
 tatives. There are certainly dlflferences, but not 
 so varied or marked as they are reported. 
 
 "The Wasawahili, of course, through their in- 
 tercourse with semi-civilization, present us with a 
 race, or tribe, influenced by a state of semi-civil- 
 ized society, and are, consequently, better dressed 
 and appear to better advantage than their more 
 savaofe brethren farther west. As it is said that 
 underneath the Russian skin lies the Tartar, so it 
 may be said that underneath the snowy dish- 
 dasheh, or shirt of the Wasawahili, one will find 
 the true barbarian. In the street or bazaar he 
 appears semi-Arabized ; his suavity of manner, 
 
TRIBES OF AFRICA, jqc 
 
 his prostrations and genuflexions, the patois he 
 speaks, all prove his contact and affinity with the 
 dominant race, Avhose subject he is. Once out of 
 the coast towns, in the Washensi villages, he sheds 
 the shirt that had half civilized him, and appears 
 in all his deep blackness of skin, prognathous 
 jaws, thick lips — the pure negro and barbarian. 
 Not keenest eye could detect the difference be- 
 tween him and the Washensi, unless his attention 
 had been drawn to the fact that the two men were 
 of different tribes. 
 
 "The next tribe to which we are introduced are 
 the Wakwere, who occupy a limited extent of 
 country between the Wazaramo and the Wadoe. 
 They are the first representatives of the pure 
 barbarian the traveler meets, when but two days' 
 journey from the sea-coast. They are a timid 
 tribe and a very unlikely people to commence an 
 attack upon any body of men for mere plunder's 
 sake. They have not a very good reputation 
 among the Arab and Wasawahili traders. They 
 are said to be exceedingly dishonest, of which I 
 have not the least doubt. They furnished me 
 with good grounds for beliving these reports 
 while encamped at Kingaru^ Hera and Imbiki. 
 The chiefs of the more eastern" part of Ukwere 
 profess nominal allegiance to the Dwians of the 
 Mrima. They have selected the densest jungles 
 wherein to establish their villages. Every en- 
 trance into one of their valleys is jealously guarded 
 
I06 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 by strong wooden gates, seldom over four and a 
 half feet high, and so narrow, sometimes, that one 
 must enter sideways. 
 
 "These jungle islets which in particular dot the 
 extent of Ukwere, present formidable obstacles 
 to a naked enemy. The plants, bushes and young 
 trees which form their natural defense, are gen- 
 erally of the aloetic and thorny species, growing 
 so dense, interlaced one with the other, that the 
 hardest and most desperate robber would not 
 brave the formidable array of sharp thorns which 
 bristle everywhere. 
 
 "Some of these jungle islets are infested with 
 gangs of banditti, who seldom fail to take advan- 
 tage of the weakness of a single wayfarer, more 
 especially if he be a Mgwana — a freeman of Zan- 
 zibar, as every negro resident of the island of 
 Zanzibar is distinguished by the Washensi natives 
 of the interior. 
 
 'T should estimate the population of Ukwere, 
 allowing about one hundred villages to this terri- 
 tory (which is not more than thirty miles square, 
 its bounds on the south being the Rufu River, 
 and on the north the River Wiami),at not more 
 than five thousand souls. Were all these banded 
 together under the command of one chief, the 
 Wakwere might become a powerful tribe. 
 
 "After the Wakwere we come to the Wakami, 
 a remnant of the once grand nation which oc- 
 cupied the lands from the Ungerengeri to the 
 
TRIBES OF AFRICA. jqj 
 
 Great Makata River. Frequent wars with the 
 Wadoe and Waseguhha have reduced them to a 
 narrow belt of country, ten rectihnear miles across, 
 which may be said to be comprised between Kiva 
 Peak and the stony ridge bounding the valley of 
 the Ungerengeri on the east, within a couple of 
 miles from the east bank of the river. 
 
 ''They are as numerous as bees in the Unger- 
 engeri Valley. The unsurpassed fertility has been 
 a great inducement to retain for these people the 
 distinction of a tribe. By the means of a spy- 
 glass one may see, as he stands on the top of that 
 stony ridge looking down into the fair valley, clus- 
 ters of brown huts visible amid bosky clumps, 
 fullness and plenty all over the valley, and may 
 count easily over a hundred villages. 
 
 "From Ukami, we pass Southern Udoe, and find 
 a warlike, fine-looking people, jvith a far more 
 intelligent cast of features, and a shade lighter 
 than the Wakami and Wakwere — a people who 
 are full of traditions of race, a people who have 
 boldly rushed to war upon the slightest encroach- 
 ment upon their territories, and who have bravely 
 defended themselves against the Waseguhha and 
 Wakami, as well as against nomadic marauders 
 from Uhumba. 
 
 "U'doe, in appearance, is amongst the most pic- 
 turesque countries between the sea and Nyan- 
 yembe. Great cones shoot upward above the 
 everlasting forest, tipped by the light, fleecy clouds. 
 
jo8 ^^ ^^-^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 through Avhich the warm, glowing sun darts its 
 rays, bathing the whole in sunlight, which brings 
 out those globes of foliage, which rise in tier after 
 tier to the summits of the hills, colors which would 
 mock the most ambitious painter's efforts at imi- 
 tation. Udoe first evokes the traveler's love of 
 natural beauty after leaving the sea, her roads 
 lead him up along the sharp spines of hilly ridges, 
 whence he may look down upon the forest-clad 
 slopes, declining on either side of him into the 
 depths of deep valleys, to rise up beyond into 
 aspiring cones which kiss the sky, or into a high 
 ridge with deep, concentric folds, v/hich almost 
 tempt one to undergo much labor in exploring 
 them for the provoking air of mystery in which 
 they seem to be enwrapped. 
 
 "What a tale this tribe could relate of the slave- 
 trader's deeds. .Attacked by the joint forces of 
 the Waseguhha from the west and north, and the 
 slave-traders of Whinde and Sa'adani from the 
 east, the Wadoe have seen their wives and little 
 ones carried into slavery a hundred times, and 
 district after district taken from their country, and 
 attached to Useguhha. For the people of Use- 
 guhha were hired to attack their neighbors, the 
 Wadoe, by the Whinde slaye-traders, and were 
 also armed with muskets and supplied with ammu- 
 nition by them, to effect large and repeated cap- 
 tures of Wadoe slaves. The people of this tribe, 
 especially women and children, so superior in 
 
MARKS AND WEAPONS. 
 
 109 
 
 physique and intelligence to the servile races by 
 which they were surrounded, were eagerly sought 
 for as concubines and domestics by the lustful 
 Mohammedans. 
 
 "This tribe we first note to have distinctive 
 tribal marks — by a line of punctures extending 
 lengthwise on each side of the face, and a chipping 
 of the two inner sides of the two middle teeth of 
 the upper row. 
 
 *^The arms of this tribe are similar to the arms 
 of the Wakami and Wakwere, and consist of a 
 bow and arrows, a shield, a couple of light spears 
 or assegais, a long knife, a handy little battle-axe 
 and a club with a large knob at the end of it, which 
 latter is dexterously swung at the head of an 
 enemy, inflicting a stunning and sometimes a fatal 
 blow. 
 
 "Emerging from the forest of Mikeseh, we enter 
 the territory of the Waseguhha, or Wasegura, as 
 the Arabs wrongly call this country. Useguhha 
 extends over two degrees in length, and its great- 
 est breadth is ninety geographical miles. It has 
 two main divisions, that of Southern Useguhha, 
 from Uruguini to the Wiami River, and Northern 
 Useguhha, under the chieftain Moto, from the 
 Wiami River to Umagassi and Usumbara. 
 
 "Mostly all the Waseguhha warriors are armed 
 with muskets, and the Arabs supply them with 
 enough ammunition, in return for which they attack 
 Waruguru, Wadoe and Wakwenrii, to obtain slaves 
 
no ^^ ^^-^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 for the Arab market, and it is but five years since 
 the Waseguhha organized a successful raid into 
 the very heart of the Wasagara Mountains, during 
 which they desolated the populated part of the 
 Makata plain, capturing over five hundred valu- 
 able slaves. 
 
 Formerly wars in this country were caused by 
 blood feuds between different chiefs; they are now 
 encouraged by the 'slave buyers of the Mirma, for 
 the purpose of supplying these human chattels for 
 the market of Zanzibar. The Waseguhha are 
 about the most thorough believers in witchcraft, 
 yet the professors of this dark science fare badly 
 at their hands. It is a very common sight to see 
 cinereous piles on the roadside, and the waving 
 garments suspended, to the branches of trees 
 above them, which mark the fate of the unfortu- 
 nate 'Waganga' or medicine man. So long as 
 their predictions prove correct and have a happy 
 culmination, these professors of *uchawi' — magic 
 art — are regarded with favor by the people; but 
 if an unusual calamity overtakes a family, and 
 they can swear that it is the result of the magi- 
 cian's art, a quorum of relentless inquisition is soon 
 formed, and a like fate to that which overtook the 
 * witches' in the dark days of New England surely 
 awaits him. 
 
 " Enough dead wood is soon found in their Afri- 
 can forests, and the unhappy one perishes by fire, 
 and, as a warning to all false professors of the art, 
 
WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 Ill 
 
 EXECUTION FOR WITCHCRAFT. 
 
 Somefeimes performed by burning ; at other times by beheadal and casting 
 into the river. 
 
AFRICAN ORNAMENTA TION", | j ^ 
 
 his loin-cloth is hung up to a tree above the spot 
 where he met his doom. 
 
 "In Southern Usagara, the people are most 
 amiable ; but in the north, in those districts adja- 
 cent to the Wahumba, the people partake of the 
 ferocious character of their fierce neighbors. Re- 
 peated attacks from the Waseguhha kidnappers, 
 from the Wadirigo or Wahehe robbers on the 
 southwest, from Wagogo on the west and from 
 Wahumba on the north, have caused them to 
 regard strangers with suspicion ; but after a short 
 acquaintance they prove to be a frank, amiable 
 and brave people. Indeed, they have good cause 
 to be distrustful of the Arabs and the Wangwana 
 of Zanzibar. Mbumi, Eastern Usagara, has been 
 twice burned down, within a few years, by the 
 Arabian Waseguhha kidnappers ; Rehemeko has 
 met the same fate, and it was not many years ago 
 since Abdullah bin Nasib carried fire and sword 
 from Misonghi to Mpwapwa. Kanyaparu, lord 
 of the hills around Chunyo, Kunyo, once cultivated 
 one-fourth of the Marenga, Mkali; but is now 
 restricted to the hill-tops, from fear of the Wadi- 
 rigo marauders. 
 
 "The Wasagara, male and female, tattoo the 
 forehead, bosom and arms. Besides inserting the 
 neck of a eourd in each ear — which carries his lit- 
 tie store of * tumbac ' or tobacco, and lime, which 
 he has obtained by burning land shells — he car- 
 ries quite a number of primitive ornaments around 
 8 
 
I J j^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 his neck, such as two or three snowy cowrie-shells, 
 carved pieces of wood, or a small goafs horn, or 
 some medicine consecrated by the medicine man 
 of the tribe, a fund of red or white beads, or two 
 or three pieced Lungomazzi egg-beads, or a string 
 of copper coins, and sometimes small brass chains, 
 like a cheap Jack watch-chain. These things they 
 have either made themselves or purchased from 
 Arab traders for chickens or goats. The children 
 all go naked ; youths wear a goat or sheep-skin ; 
 grown men and women, blessed with progeny, 
 wear domestic or a loin-cloth of Kaniki, or a bar- 
 sati, which is a favorite colored cloth in Usagara ; 
 chiefs wear caps such as are worn by the Wam- 
 rima Diwans, or the Arab tarboosh. 
 
 " Next on our line of march, appears the Wa- 
 gogo, a powerful race, inhabiting the region west 
 of Usagara to Uyanzi, which is about eighty miles 
 in breadth and about one hundred in length. 
 
 " The traveler has to exercise great prudence, 
 discretion and judgment in his dealings with them. 
 Here he first heard the word *houga* after pass- 
 ing Limbomwenni, a word which signifies tribute, 
 though It formerly meant a present to a friend. 
 Since it is exacted from him with threats, that if it 
 IS not paid they will make war on him, its best 
 interpretation would be, 'forcibly extorted tribute 
 or toll' 
 
 ** Naturally, if the traveler desires to be mulcted 
 of a large sum, he will find the Wagogo ready to 
 
A NOBLER TRIBE. I , g 
 
 receive every shred of cloth he gives them. 
 Moumi will demand sixty cloths, and will wonder 
 at his own magnanimity in asking such a small 
 number of cloths from a great Musungu (white 
 man). The traveler, however, will be wise if he 
 permits his chief men to deal with them, after en- 
 joining them to be careful, and not commit them- 
 selves too hastily to any number or amount of 
 gifts. 
 
 " They are, physically and intellectually, the best 
 of the races between Unyamwezi and the sea. 
 Their color is a rich dark brown. There is some- 
 thing in their frontal aspect which is almost leo- 
 nine. Their faces are broad and intelligent. Their 
 eyes are large and round. Their noses are flat, 
 and their mouths are very large ; but their lips, 
 though thick, are not so monstrously thick as 
 those our exaggerated ideal of a negro has. For 
 all this, though the Wagogo is a ferocious man, 
 capable of proceeding to any length upon the 
 slighest temptation, he is an attractive figure to 
 the white traveler. He is proud of his chief, 
 proud of his country, sterile and unlovable though 
 it be; he is proud of himself, his prowess, his 
 weapons and his belongings ; he is vain, terribly 
 egotistic, a bully, and a tyrant, yet the Wagogo is 
 capable of forming friendships, and of exerting 
 himself for friendship's sake. One grand vice in 
 his character, which places him in a hostile light 
 to travelers, is his exceeding avarice and greed 
 
J 1 5 I^ THE fVILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 for riches ; and If the traveler suffers by this, he is 
 not likely to be amiably disposed toward him. 
 
 " This sturdy native, with his rich complexion, 
 his lion front, his menacing aspect, bullying nature, 
 haughty, proud and quarrelsome, is a mere child 
 with a man who will devote himself to the study 
 of his nature, and not offend his vanity. He 
 is easily angered, and his curiosity is easily 
 aroused. A traveler with an angular disposition 
 is sure to quarrel with him — but, in the presence 
 of this rude child of nature, especially when he is 
 so powerful, it is to his advantage and personal 
 safety to soften those angles of his own nature. 
 The Wagogo *Rob Roy' is on his native ground, 
 and has a decided advantagfe over the white 
 foreigner. He is not brave, but he is at least con- 
 scious of the traveler's weakness, and he is dis- 
 posed to take advantage of it, but is prevented 
 from committinor an act because it is to his ad- 
 
 o 
 
 vantage to keep the peace. Any violence to a 
 traveler would close the road ; caravans would 
 seek other ways, and the chiefs would be deprived 
 of much of their revenues. 
 
 " The Wagogo warrior carries as his weapons a 
 bow and a sheaf of murderous-looking arrows, 
 pointed, pronged and barbed ; a couple of light, 
 beautifully-made assegais ; a broad, sword-like 
 spear, with a blade over two feet long ; a battle- 
 axe, and a rungu or knob-club. He has also a 
 shield, painted with designs in black and white, 
 
WARRIORS AND WARFARE. 
 
 117 
 
 AFRICAN WARRIORS. 
 
 Tbe diields and assegais are flourished in the air while the demo«i-like 
 warriors dance and yell in preparation for battle. 
 
WARRIORS ARMED. j I g 
 
 oval-shaped, sometimes of rhinoceros, or ele- 
 phant, or bull-hide. From the time he was a tod- 
 dling urchin he has been familiar with his weap- 
 ons, and by the time he was fifteen years old he 
 was an adept with them. 
 
 " He is armed for battle in a very short time. 
 The messenger from the chief darts from village 
 to village, and blows his ox-horn, the signal for 
 war. The warrior hears it, throws his hoe over 
 his shoulder, enters his house, and in a few seconds 
 issues out again, arrayed in war-paint and full 
 fighting costume. Feathers of the ostrich, or the 
 eagle, or the vulture nod above his head ; his long 
 crimson robe streams behind him, his shield is on 
 his left arm, his darting assegai in his left hand, 
 and his ponderous man-cleaver — double-edged 
 and pointed, heading a strong staff — is in his right 
 hand; jingling bells are tied around his ankles 
 and knees ; ivory wristlets are on his arms, with 
 which he sounds his approach. With the plodding 
 peasant's hoe he has dropped the peasant's garb, 
 and is now the proud, vain, exultant warrior — 
 bounding aloft like a gymnast, eagerly sniffing the 
 battle-field. The strength and power of the Wa- 
 gogo are derived from their numbers. 
 
 "Though caravans of Wagogo are sometimes 
 found passing up and down the Unyamwezi road, 
 they are not so generally employed as the Wan- 
 yamwezi in trade. Their villages are thus always 
 full of warriors. Weak tribes, or remnants of 
 
I 20 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 tribes are very glad to be admitted under thei-^ 
 protection. Individuals of other tribes, also, whc 
 have been obliged to exile themselves from theii 
 own tribes, for some deed of violence, are often 
 found in the villages of the Wagogo. In the north, 
 the Wahumba are very numerous ; in the south 
 may be found the Wahehe and Wakimbu, and in 
 the east may be found many a family from Usa- 
 gara. Wanyamwi are also frequently found in 
 this country. Indeed, these latter people are like 
 Scotchmen, they may be found almost everywhere 
 throughout Central Africa, and have a knack of 
 pushing themselves into prominence. 
 
 "As in Western Usagara, the houses of the 
 Wagogo are square, arranged around the four 
 sides of an area — to which all the doors open. 
 The roofs are all flat, on which are spread the 
 grain, herbs, tobacco and pumpkins. The back 
 of each department is pierced with small holes for 
 observation and for defense. 
 
 "The tembe is a fragile affair as constructed in 
 Wagogo; it merely consists of a line of slender 
 sticks daubed over with mud, with three or four 
 strong poles planted at intervals to support the 
 beams and rafters, on which rests the flat clay roof. 
 A musket-ball pierces the wattled walls of a 
 Wagogo tembe through and through. In Uyanzi, 
 the tembe is a formidable aflair, because of the 
 abundance of fine trees, which are cut down and 
 split into rails three or four inches thick. 
 
FIL THY HOMES. I 2 1 
 
 "The tembe is divided into apartments, sepa- 
 rated from each other by a wattled wall. Each 
 apartment may contain a family of grown-up boys 
 and girls, who form their beds on the floor, out of 
 dressed hides. The father of the family, only, has 
 a kitanda, or fixed cot, made of ox-hide, stretched 
 over a frame, or of the bark of the myombotree. 
 The floor is of tamped mud, and is exceedingly 
 filthy, smelling strongly of every abomination. In 
 the corners, suspended to the rafters, are the fine, 
 airy dwellings of black spiders of very large size, 
 and other monstrous insects. 
 
 • "Rats, a peculiarly long-headed, dun-colored 
 species, infest every tembe. Cows, goats, sheep 
 and cats are the only domestic animals permitted 
 to dwell within the tembe. 
 
 "The Wagogo believe in the existence of a God, 
 or sky spirit, whom they call Mulungu. Their 
 prayers are generally directed to him when their 
 parents die. A Wagogo, after he has consigned 
 his father to the grave, collects his father s chattels 
 together, his cloth, his ivory, his knife, his jeinbe 
 (hoe), his bows and arrows, his spear and his cattle, 
 and kneels before them, repeating a wish that 
 Mulungu would increase his worldly wealth, that 
 he would bless his labors and make him successful 
 in trade. They venerate, and often perform a 
 dance in honor of the moon. 
 
 "The following conversation occurred between 
 ipyself and a Wagogo trader: 
 
J 22 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 " 'Who do you suppose made your parents ?* 
 
 ^''Why, Mulungu, white man.' 
 
 " * Well, who made you ?' 
 
 " *If God made my father, God made me, didn*t 
 
 Her 
 
 " 'That's very good. Where do you suppose 
 you/ father has gone to, now that he is dead ?' 
 
 "'The dead die,' said he, solemnly, * they are no 
 more. The sultan dies, he becomes nothing — he 
 is thei2 no better than a dead dog ; he is finished, 
 his words are finished — there are no words from 
 him. It is true,' he added, seeing a smile on my 
 face, *the sultan becomes nothing. He who says 
 other words is a liar. There.' 
 
 "*But then he is a very great man, is he not?' 
 
 "* While he lives only^ — after death he goes into 
 the pit, and there is no more to be said of him 
 than any other man.' 
 
 " ' How do you bury a Wagogo ?' 
 
 "'His legs are tied together, his right arm to 
 his body, and his left is put under his head. He 
 is then rolled on his left side in the grave. His 
 cloth he wore during his life is spread over him. 
 We put the earth over him, and put thorn-bushes 
 over it, to prevent the fize (hyena) from getting 
 at him. A woman is put on her right side in a 
 grave apart from the man.' 
 
 " 'What do you do with the sultan, when he is 
 dead?' 
 
 " 'We bury him, too, of course ; only he is buried 
 
SOCIAL CUSTOMS, 121 
 
 in the middle of the village, and we build a house 
 over it. Each time they kill an ox, they kill be- 
 fore his grave. When the old sultan dies, the new 
 one calls for an ox, and kills it before his grave, 
 callinof on Mulunoru to witness that he is the ricrht- 
 ful sultan. He then distributes the meat in his 
 father's name/ 
 
 " * Who succeeds the sultan ? Is he the eldest 
 son ?* 
 
 "*Yes, if he has a son ; if childless, the great 
 chief next to him in rank. The msao[-ira is the 
 next to the sultan, whose business it is to hear the 
 cause of complaint, and convey it to the sultan, 
 who, through the sultan, dispenses justice, he 
 receives the honga, carries it to the mtemi (sul- 
 tan), places it before him, and when the sultan has 
 taken what he wishes, the rest goes to the msagiri. 
 The chiefs are called manya-para ; the msagiri is 
 the chief manya-para.' 
 
 " 'How do the Wagogo marry?' 
 "*0h, they buy their women.' 
 "*What is a woman worth?' 
 "*A very poor man can buy his wife from her 
 father for a couple of goats.' 
 
 "*How much has the sultan got to pay?' 
 ***He has got to pay about one hundred goats, 
 or so many cows, so many sheep and goats, to his 
 bride's father. Of course, he is a chief. The sul- 
 tan would not buy a common woman. The father's 
 consent is to be obtained, and the cattle have to 
 
124 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 be given up. It takes many days to finish the talk 
 about it. All the family and friends of the bride 
 have to talk about it before she leaves her father's 
 house.' 
 
 "'In cases of murder, what do you do to the 
 man that kills another ?' 
 
 "*The murderer has to pay fifty cows. If he is 
 too poor to pay, the sultan gives permission to 
 the murdered man's friends or relatives to kill 
 him. If they catch him, they tie him to a tree, and 
 throw spears at him — one at a time first ; they 
 then spring on him, cut his head off, then his arms 
 and limbs, and scatter them about the country.' 
 
 "'How do you punish a thief?' 
 
 "'If he is found stealing, he is killed at once, 
 and nothing is said about it. Is he not a thief?' 
 
 "'But, suppose you do not know who the thief 
 is?' 
 
 "'If a man is brought before us accused of steal- 
 ing, we kill a chicken. If the entrails are white, 
 he is innocent; if yellow, he is guilty.' 
 
 '"Do you believe in witchcraft?' 
 
 '"Of course we do, and punish the man with 
 death who bewitches cattle or stops rain.' 
 
 "Sacrifices of human life as penalty for witch- 
 craft and kindred superstitions — indeed for many 
 trivial offenses — are painfully numerous among 
 nearly all the tribes. 
 
 "Next to Wagogo is Uyanzi, or the 'Magunda 
 Mkali'— the Hot Field, 
 
MODES OF PUNISHMEKT. 
 
 1-25 
 
 WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE. 
 
 Human life is sacrificed as a penalty for witchcraft, theft, murder and 
 many trivial offenses. 
 
A GRICUL TURE. j 2 7 
 
 " Uyanzi or Magunda Mkali is at present very 
 populous. Along the northern route — that lead- 
 ing via Munieka — -water is plentiful enough, vil- 
 lages are frequent and travelers begin to perceive 
 that the title is inappropriate. The people who 
 inhabit the country are Wakimbu from the south. 
 They are good agriculturists, and are a most in- 
 dustrious race. They are something like the 
 Wasagara in appearance, but do not obtain a very 
 high reputation for bravery. Their weapons con- 
 sist of light spears, bows and arrows, and battle- 
 axes. Their tembes are strongly made, showing 
 considerable skill in the art of defensive construc- 
 tion. Their bomas are so well made, that one 
 would require cannon to effect an entrance, if the 
 villages were at all defended. They are skillful, 
 also, in constructing traps for elephants and buffa- 
 loes. A stray lion or leopard is sometimes caught 
 by them." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ADVENTURES IN GREAT VARIETY. 
 
 STANLEY received a noiseless ovation in 
 Unyanyembe as he walked with the gover- 
 nor to his house. Soldiers and men by the 
 hundreds, hovered round their chief, staring at 
 him, while the naked children peered between the 
 legs of the parents. Tea was served in a silver 
 tea-pot and a sumptuous breakfast was furnished, 
 which Stanley devoured as only a hungry man can, 
 who has been shut up for so many months in the 
 wilds ol Africa. 
 
 Then pipes and tobacco were produced, and 
 amid the whiffs of smoke came out all the news 
 that Stanley had brought from Zanzibar, while the 
 gratified sheikh smoked and listened. When 
 Stanley took his leave to look after his men his 
 host accompanied him to show him the house he 
 was to occupy while he remained. It was com- 
 modious and quite luxurious after his long life in 
 a tent. 
 
 All the caravans had arrived, and he received 
 the reports of the chief of each, while the goods 
 were unpacked and examined. One had had a 
 fight with the natives and beaten them, another 
 had shot a thief, and the fourth had lost a bale of 
 
 (128) 
 
CHIEFS OF TABNA. 1 20 
 
 goods. On the whole, Stanley was satisfied and 
 thankful there had been no more serious misfor- 
 tunes. Food was furnished with lavish prodi- 
 gality, and while he was surfeiting himself, he 
 ordered a bullock to be slain for his men, now 
 reduced to twenty-five in number. • 
 
 On the second day of his arrival, the chief Arabs 
 of Tabna came to visit him. This is the chief 
 Arab settlement of Central Africa, and contains a 
 thousand huts and about five thousand inhabitants. 
 The Arabs are a fine, handsome set of men, and 
 living amid rich pastures, they raise large herds 
 of cattle and goats, and vegetables of all kinds, 
 while their slaves bring back in caravans from 
 Zanzibar the luxuries of the East, not only coffee, 
 spices, wines, salmon, etc., but Persian carpets, rich 
 bedding, and elegant table service. Some of 
 them sport gold watches and chains. Each one 
 keeps as many concubines as he can afford, the 
 size of his harem being limited only by his means. 
 
 These magnates from Tabna after finishinor their 
 visit, invited Stanley to visit their town and par- 
 take of a feast they had prepared for him. Three 
 days after, escorted by eighteen of his men, he 
 returned the visit. He arrived in time to attend 
 a council of war which was being held, as to the 
 best manner of asserting their rights against a 
 robber-chief named Mirambo. He had carried 
 war through several tribes and claimed the right 
 to waylay and rob Arab caravans. This must be 
 
I30 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 Stopped, and it was resolved to make war against 
 him in his stronghold. Stanley agreed to accom- 
 pany them, taking his caravan a part of the way 
 and leaving it until Mirambo was defeated, and 
 the way to Ujiji cleared. 
 
 Returning to Unyanyembe, he found the cara- 
 van which had been made up to carry supplies to 
 Livingstone in November i st, 1 870. Having gone 
 twenty-five miles from Zanzibar, to Bagomayo, it 
 had stayed there one hundred days, when, hearing 
 that the English consul was coming, it had started 
 off in affright just previous to Stanley's arrival. 
 Whether owing to his great change in diet or 
 some other cause, Stanley was now stricken down 
 with fever and for a week tossed in delirium. 
 Selim, his faithful servant, took care of him. 
 When he had recovered, the servant also was 
 seized with it. 
 
 But by the 29th of July all the sick had recov- 
 ered, and the caravan was loaded up for Ujiji. 
 But Bombay was absent and they had to wait 
 from eight o'clock till two in the afternoon, he 
 stubbornly refusing to leave his mistress. When 
 he arrived and was ordered to his place he made 
 a savage reply. The next moment Stanley's cane 
 was falling like lightning on his shoulders. The 
 poor fellow soon cried for mercy. The order 
 " March " was then given, and the guide, with 
 forty armed men behind him, led off with flags 
 streaming. At first, in dead silence, they moved 
 
COVNCILS OF WAM: 
 
 *3I 
 
 A COUNCIL OF WAR. 
 
 ^rhe chiefs of the tribes in a certain vicinity meet to omfer concerning their 
 wrongs and to plan for redress. 
 
FIGHTING WITH MIRAMBO. j^t 
 
 on, but soon struck up a monotonous sort of 
 chorus, which seemed to consist mostly of " Hoy, 
 hoy,'' and was kept up all day. The second day 
 he arrived at Masangi, where he was told the 
 Arabs were waiting for him at Mfuto, six hours' 
 march distant. The next morning, he arrived at 
 the place where the Arab army was gathered, 
 numbering in all two thousand two hundred and 
 twenty-five men, of whom fifteen hundred were 
 armed with guns. With banners flying and drums 
 beating, they, on the 3d of August, marched forth, 
 but in a few hours Stanley was again stricken 
 down with fever. 
 
 The next day the march was resumed, and at 
 eleven o'clock Zimbize, the stronghold of the 
 enemy, came in view. The forces quickly sur- 
 rounded it. A general assault followed and the 
 village was captured, the inhabitants fleeing toward 
 the mountains, pursued closely by the yelling 
 Arabs. Only twenty dead bodies were found 
 within. The next day, two more villages were 
 burned and the day after, a detachment fivej hun- 
 dred strong scoured the country around, carrying 
 devastation and ruin in their path. At this critical 
 period of the campaign, Stanley was still down 
 with fever, and while he lay in his hammock, news 
 came that the detachment of five hundred men 
 had been surprised and killed. Mirambo had 
 turned and ambushed them, and now the boasting 
 of the morning was turning into despondency. 
 
J 24 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 The women made the night hideous with shrieks 
 and lamentations over their slain husbands. The 
 next day there was a regular stampede of the 
 Arabs, and when Stanley was able to get out of 
 his tent only seven men were left to him ; all the 
 rest had returned to Mfuto, and soon after to 
 Tabna twenty-five miles distant. 
 
 It was plain that it was useless to open the direct 
 road to Ujiji, which lay through Mirambo's dis- 
 trict. In fact, it seemed impossible to get there at 
 all, and the only course left was to return to the 
 coast and abandon the project of reaching Living- 
 stone altogether. But what would Livingstone 
 do locked up at Ujiji? He might perhaps go 
 north and meet Baker, who was moving with a 
 strong force southward. But he was told by a 
 man that Livingstone was coming to Nyano Lake 
 toward the Tanganika, on which Ujiji is situated, 
 at the very time it was last reported he was mur- 
 dered. He was then walking, dressed in Ameri- 
 can sheeting, having lost all his cloth in Lake 
 Leemba. He had a breech-loading double-barreled 
 rifle with him and two revolvers. Stanley felt that 
 he could not give up trying to reach him now, 
 when it was so probable that he was within four 
 hundred miles of him. 
 
 On the 13th, a caravan came in from the east 
 and reported Farquhar dead at the place where 
 he had been left. Ten days after, Mirambo at- 
 tacked Tabna and set it on fire. Stanley, at this 
 
A FL YING CARA VAN. j ^^ 
 
 time, was encamped at Kwihara, in sight of the 
 burning town. The refugees came pouring in, and 
 Stanley, finding the men willing to stand by him, 
 began to prepare for defense, and counting up his 
 little force found he had one hundred and fifty 
 men. He was not attacked, however,* and five 
 days after, Mirambo retreated. The Arabs held 
 councils of war and urged Stanley to become their 
 ally, but he refused, and finally took the bold reso- 
 lution of organizing a flying caravan, and by a 
 southern route and quick marching, reach Ujiji. 
 This was August 27th, and the third month he had 
 been in Unyanyembe. Having got together some 
 forty men in all, he gave a great banquet to them 
 prior to 'their departure, which an attack of fever 
 caused him to postpone. On the 20th of Septem- 
 ber, though too weak to travel, he mustered his 
 entire force outside the town and found, that by 
 additional men which the Arabs had succeeded in 
 securing, it now numbered fifty-four men. When 
 all was ready Bombay was again missing, and 
 when found and brought up, excused himself, as 
 of old, by saying he was bidding his "misses'' 
 good-bye. As he seemed inclined to pick a quar- 
 rel with Stanley, the latter not being in the most 
 amiable mood and wishing to teach the others a 
 lesson, gave him a sound thrashing. 
 
 Soon, everything being ready, the word "march'* 
 passed down the line and Stanley started on his 
 last desperate attempt to push on to Ujiji, not 
 
1^6 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 much farther than from Albany to Buffalo as th^ 
 crow flies, but by the way he would be compelled 
 to go, no one knew how far, nor what time it 
 would take to reach it. But Stanley had good 
 reason to believe that Livingstone was alive, and 
 from the reports he could get of his movements 
 that he must be at or near Ujiji, and therefore to 
 Ujiji he was determined to go, unless death stopped 
 his progress. He had been set on a mission, and 
 although the conditions were not that he should 
 surmount impossibilities, still he would come as 
 near to that as human effort could. Though sick 
 with fever, and with that prostration and utter loss 
 of will accompanying it, he nevertheless with that 
 marvelous energy that is never exhibited except 
 in rare exceptional characters, kept his great ob- 
 ject in view. That never lost its hold on him 
 under the most disastrous circumstances, neither 
 in the delirium of fever nor in the utter prostra- 
 tion that followed it. This tenacity of purpose 
 and indomitable will ruling and governing him, 
 where in all other men it would have had no 
 power, exhibit the extraordinary qualities of this 
 extraordinary man. We do not believe that he 
 himself was fully aware of this inherent power, 
 this fixedness of purpose that makes him different 
 from all other men. No man possessing it is 
 conscious of it any more than an utterly fearless 
 man is conscious of his own courage. The fol- 
 lowing touching extract from his journal at this 
 
DESPONDENCY. j^T 
 
 time lets in a flood of light on the character and 
 the inner life of this remarkable man : 
 
 "About lo P. M. the fever had gone. All were 
 asleep in the tembe but myself, and an unutterable 
 loneliness came on me as I reflected on my posi- 
 tion, and my intentions, and felt the utter lack of 
 sympathy with me in all around. Even my own 
 white assistant, with whom I had striven hard, was 
 less sympathizing than my little black boy Kalulu. 
 It requires more nerve than I possess to dispel all 
 the dark presentiments that come upon the mind. 
 But, probably, what I call presentiments are simply 
 the impress on the mind of the warnings which 
 these false-hearted Arabs have repeated so often. 
 This melancholy and loneliness which I feel, may 
 probably have their origin from the same cause. 
 The single candle which barely lights up the dark 
 shade which fills the corners of my room, is but 
 a poor incentive to cheerfulness. I feel as though 
 I were imprisoned between stone walls. But why 
 should I feel as if baited by these stupid, slow- 
 witted Arabs, and their warnings and croakings? 
 I fancy a suspicion haunts my mind, as I write, 
 that there lies some motive behind all this. 
 
 "I wonder if these Arabs tell me all these things 
 to keep me here, in the hope that I may be induced 
 another time to assist them in their war against 
 Mirambo! If they think so, they are much mis- 
 taken, for I have taken a solemn, enduring oath 
 -—an oath to be kept while the least hope of Xiis 
 
1^8 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFMCA. 
 
 remains in me — not to be tempted to break the 
 resolution I have formed, never to give up the 
 search until I find Livingstone alive, or find his 
 dead body; and never to return home without the 
 strongest possible proofs that he is alive or that 
 he is dead. No living man or living men shall 
 stop me — only death can prevent me. But death 
 — not even this ; I shall not die — I will not die — I 
 cannot die ! 
 
 " And something tells me, I do not know what 
 it is — perhaps it is the everliving hopefulness of 
 my own nature ; perhaps it is the natural presump- 
 tion born out of an abundant and glowing vitality, 
 or the outcome of an overweening confidence in 
 one's self — anyhow and everyhow, something tells 
 me to-night I shall find him, and — write it larger 
 — Find him ! Find him ! Even the words are in- 
 spiring. I feel more happy. Have I uttered a 
 prayer ? I shall sleep calmly to-night/' 
 
 There is nothing in this whole terrible journey 
 so touching, and revealing so much, as this extract 
 from his journal does. It shows that he is human, 
 and yet far above common human weakness. 
 Beset with difificulties, his only white companion 
 dead or about to be left behind, the Arabs them- 
 selves and the natives telling him he cannot go on, 
 left all alone in a hostile country, his men desert- 
 ing him, he pauses and ponders. To make all 
 these outer conditions darker, he is smitten down 
 with fever that saps the energies, unnerves the 
 
TRIUMPH, J y. 
 
 heart and fills the imagination with gloomy fore- 
 bodings, and makes the soul sigh for rest. It if 
 the lowest pit of despondency into which a mar 
 may be cast. He feels it, and all alone, fever- worn 
 and sad, he surveys the prospect before him. 
 There is not a single soul on which to lean — not a 
 sympathizing heart to turn to while fever is burn- 
 ing up his brain, and night, moonless and starless, 
 is settling down around him. He would be less 
 than human not to feel the desolation of his posi- 
 tion, and for a moment to sink under this accumu- 
 lation of disastrous circumstances. He does feel 
 how utterly hopeless and sad is his condition ; and 
 all through the first part of this entry in his jour- 
 nal, there is something that sounds like a mourn- 
 ful refrain ; yet at its close, out of his gloomy 
 surroundings, up from his feverish bed speaks the 
 brave heart in trumpet tones, showing the indomi- 
 table will that nothing can break, crying out of the 
 all-enveloping gloom, " no living man or living men 
 shall stop me — only death can prevent me.'' There 
 spoke one of the few great natures God has made. 
 The closing words of that entry in his journal ring 
 like a bugle- note from his sick-bed, and foretell his 
 triumph. 
 
 But, at last, they were off. Shaw, the last white 
 man left to Stanley, had been sick and apparently 
 indifferent whether he lived or died ; but all after 
 a short march became enlivened, and things looked 
 more promising. But Stanley was soon again 
 
I40 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. ^ 
 
 taken sick with the fever and the men began to be 
 discouraged. Staggering from his sick-bed he 
 found that twenty of his men had deserted. 
 Aroused at this new danger he instantly dispatched 
 twenty men after them, while he sent his faithful 
 follower, Selim, to an Arab chief to borrow a long 
 slave-chain. At night, the messengers returned 
 with nine of the missing men. Stanley then told 
 them that he had never used the slave-chain, but 
 now he should on the first deserters. He had re- 
 solved to go to Ujiji, where he believed Dr. Liv- 
 ingstone was, and being so near the accomplish- 
 ment of the mission he was sent on, he was ready 
 to resort to any measures rather than fail. De- 
 ferring the use of the chain at present, he started 
 forward and encamped at Iresaka. In the morn- 
 ing, two more men were missing. Irritated but 
 determined, this resolute man halted, sent back for 
 the fugitives, caught them, and when brought back, 
 flogged them severely and chained them. Not- 
 withstanding this severe treatment, the next morn- 
 ing another man deserted, while to add to his 
 perplexities and enhance the difficulties that sur- 
 rounded him, a man who had accompanied him all 
 the way from the coast asked to be discharged. 
 Several others of the expedition were now taken 
 sick and became unable to proceed ; and it seemed, 
 notwithgtanding the resolute will of the leader, 
 that the expedition must break up. But fortu- 
 nately, that evening men who had been in caravans 
 
SHAW LEFT. j^j 
 
 to the coast entered the village where they were 
 encamped with wondrous stories of what they had 
 seen, which revived the spirits of all, and the next 
 morning they started off, and after three hours' 
 march through the forest came to KIgandu. Shaw, 
 the last white man now left to him, between real 
 and feigned sickness had become such a burden, 
 that he determined to leave him behind, as the 
 latter had often requested. 
 
 That night, the poor wretch played on an old 
 accordion ''Home, Sweet Home/' which, miserable 
 as It was, stirred the depths of Stanley's heart for 
 the man now about to be left alone amid Arabs and 
 natives In the most desperate crisis of the under- 
 taking. But It could not be helped. Speed was 
 everything on this new route, or MIrambo would 
 close It also. So on the morning of the 27th he 
 ordered the horn to sound "get ready,'' and Shaw 
 being sent back to Kwlhara, Stanley set off on 
 his southern unknown route to Ujljl and en- 
 tered the dark forests and pressed rapidly for- 
 ward. In seven hours he reached the village of 
 Ugunda which numbers two thousand souls. It was 
 well fortified against the robber, MIrambo. Around 
 their principal village, some three thousand square 
 acres were under cultivation, giving them not only 
 all the provisions tiiey wanted for their own use, 
 but also enough for passing caravans. They 
 could also furnish carriers for those In want of 
 them. On the 28th, they arrived at a small vil» 
 
142 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 lage well supplied with corn, and the next day 
 reached Kikura a place impregnated with the most 
 deadly of African fevers. Over desert plains, 
 now sheering on one side to avoid the corpse of a 
 man dead from small-pox, the scourge of Africa, 
 and again stumbling on a skeleton, the caravan 
 kept on till they came to the cultivated fields of 
 Manyara. 
 
 A wilderness one hundred and thirty-five miles 
 in extent stretched out before them from this 
 place, and Stanley was inclined to be very con- 
 ciliatory toward the chief of the village, in order 
 to get provisions for the long and desperate march 
 before him But the chief was very sullen and 
 wholly indifferent to the presents the white man 
 offered him. With adroit diplomacy, Stanley sent 
 to him some magnificent royal cloths, which so 
 mollified the chief that abundant provisions were 
 soon sent in, followed by the chief himself with 
 fifty warriors bearing gifts quite equal to those 
 which Stanley sent him, and they entered the tent 
 of the first white man they had ever seen. Look- 
 ing at him for some time in silent surprise, the 
 chiefs burst into an incontrollable fit of laughter, 
 accompanied with snapping their fingers. But 
 when they were shown the sixteen-shooters and 
 revolvers their astonishiESC: it knew no bounds, 
 while the double-barreled £ ms, heavily charged, 
 made them jump to their teet with alarm, fol- 
 lowed by convulsions of laughter. Stanley then 
 
THE HUNTER'S J^ARADISS. 
 
 143 
 
 showed them his chest of medicine, and finally 
 gave them a dose in the form of brandy. They 
 tasted It, making wry faces, when he produced a 
 bottle of concentrated ammonia, saying that it 
 was for snake bites. One of the chiefs asked for 
 some of it. It was suddenly presented to his nose, 
 when his features underwent such indescribable 
 contortions that the other chiefs burst into con- 
 vulsions of laughter, clapped their hands, pinched 
 each other and went through all sorts of ludicrous 
 gesticulations. When the chief recovered him- 
 self, the tears in the meanwhile rolling down his 
 cheeks, he laughed and simply said, "^/'r^;^^ medi- 
 cine.'' The others then took a sniff and went off 
 into paroxysms of laughter. 
 
 Wednesday, October 4th, found them traveling 
 toward the Gombe River. They had hardly left 
 the waving corn-fields, when they came in sight 
 of a large herd of zebras. Passing on, the open 
 forest resembled a magnificent park, filled with 
 buffalo, zebra, giraffe, antelope and other tropical 
 animals, while the scenery on every side was en- 
 trancing. These noble animals, coursing in their 
 wild freedom through those grand, primeval for- 
 ests, presented a magnificent sight. Stanley, 
 thoroughly aroused, crept back to his camp, which 
 had been pitched on the Gombe River, and pre- 
 pared for a right royal hunt. He says: 
 
 " Here, at last, was the hunter's paradise ! How 
 petty and insignificant appeared my hunts after 
 
1 4^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 small antelope and wild boar; what a foolish waste 
 of energies, those long walks through damp 
 grasses and thorny jungles. Did I not well re- 
 member my first bitter experience in African 
 jungles, when in the maritime region? But this 
 — where is the nobleman's park that can match 
 this scene? Here is a soft, velvety expanse of 
 young grass, grateful shade under close, spread- 
 ing clumps, herds of large and varied game 
 browsing within easy rifle-shot. Surely I must feel 
 amply compensated now for the long southern 
 detour I have made, when such a prospect as this 
 opens to the view! No thorny jungles and rank- 
 smelling swamps are to daunt the hunter, and to 
 sicken his aspirations after true sport. No hunter 
 could aspire after a nobler field to display his 
 prowess. 
 
 " Having settled the position of the camp, which 
 overlooked one of the pools found in the depres- 
 sion of the Gombe Creek, I took my double-bar- 
 reled smooth bore, and sauntered off to the park- 
 land. Emerging from behind a clump, three fine, 
 plump spring-bok were seen browsing on the 
 young grass just within one hundred yards. I 
 knelt down and fired ; one unfortunate antelope 
 bounded forward instinctively and fell dead. Its 
 companions sprang high into the air, taking 
 leaps about twelve feet in length, as if they were 
 quadrupeds practicing gymnastics, and away they 
 vanished, rising up like India-rubber balls, until a 
 
SPRING-BOK. 
 
 '45 
 
ON THE HUNT. I ^7 
 
 knoll hid them from view. My success was hailed 
 with loud shouts by the soldiers, who came run- 
 ning out from the camp as soon as they heard the 
 reverberation of the gun, and my gun-bearer had 
 his knife at the throat of the beast, uttering a fer- 
 vent 'Bismillah' as he almost severed the head 
 from the body. 
 
 " Hunters were now directed to proceed east 
 and north to procure meat, because in each cara- 
 van it generally happens that there are fundi 
 whose special trade it is to hunt for meat for the 
 camp. Some of these are experts in stalking, but 
 often find themselves in dangerous positions, 
 owing to the near approach necessary before they 
 can fire their most inaccurate weapons with any 
 certainty. 
 
 "After luncheon, consisting of spring-bok steak, 
 hot corn-cake and a cup of Mocha coffee, I strolled 
 toward the southwest, accompanied by Kalulu and 
 Majwara, two boy gun-bearers. The tiny per- 
 pusilla started up like rabbits from me as I stole 
 along through the underbrush; the honey-bird 
 hopped from tree to tree chirping its call, as if it 
 thought I was seeking the little sweet treasure, the 
 hiding-place of which it only knew ; but, no ! I 
 neither desired perpusilla nor the honey. I was 
 on the search for something great this day. Keen- 
 eyed fish-eagles and bustards poised on trees 
 above the sinuous Gombe thought, and probably 
 with good reason, that I was after them, judging by 
 
148 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 the ready flight with which both species disap- 
 peared as they sighted my approach. Ah, no ! 
 nothing but hartbeest, zebra, giraffe, eland and 
 buffalo this day. 
 
 "After following the Gombe's course for about 
 a mile, delighting my eyes with long looks at the 
 broad and lengthy reaches of water, to which I 
 was so long a stranger, I came upon a scene which 
 delighted the innermost recesses of my soul ; five, 
 six, seven, eight, ten zebras switching their beauti- 
 ful striped bodies, and biting one another, within 
 about one hundred and fifty yards. The scene was 
 so pretty, so romantic, never did I so thoroughly 
 realize that I was in Central Africa. I felt momen- 
 tarily proud that I owned such a vast dominion, 
 inhabited by such noble beasts. Here I possessed, 
 within reach of a leaden ball, any one I chose of 
 the beautiful animals, the pride' of the African 
 forests. It was at my option to shoot any one of 
 them. Mine they were, without money and with- 
 out price ; yet, knowing this, twice I dropped my 
 rifle, loath to wound the royal beasts, but — crack ! 
 and a royal one was on his back, battling the air 
 with his legs. Ah, it was such a pity! but hasten, 
 draw the keen, sharp-edged knife across the 
 beautiful stripes which fold around the throat, and 
 — what an ugly gash ! it is done, and I have a 
 superb animal at my feet. Hurrah ! I shall taste 
 of Ukononoro zebra to-niorht. 
 
 " I thought a spring-bok and zebra enough for 
 
CROCODILES, I^Q 
 
 one day's sport, especially after a long march. 
 The Gombe, a long stretch of deep water, winding 
 in and out of green groves, calm, placid, with lotus 
 leaves resting lightly on its surface, all pretty, pic- 
 turesque, peaceful as a summer's dream, looked 
 very inviting for a bath. I sought out the most 
 shady spot under a wide-spreading mimosa, from 
 which the ground sloped smooth as a lawn to the 
 still, clear water. I ventured to undress, and had 
 already stepped to my ankles in the water, and 
 had brought my hands together for a glorious 
 dive, when my attention was attracted by an enor- 
 mously long body which shot into view, occupying 
 the spot beneath the surface which I was about to 
 explore by a * header.' Great heavens, it was a 
 crocodile ! I sprang back instinctively, and this 
 proved my salvation, for the monster turned away 
 with the most disappointed look, and I was left to 
 congratulate myself upon my narrow escape from 
 his jaws, and to register a vow never to be tempted 
 again by the treacherous calm of an African river." 
 
CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 THE END APPROACHES. 
 
 THE following extract from Stanley's jour- 
 nal, written up that night after his hunting 
 tour, shows that this strong, determined, 
 fearless man was not merely a courageous lion, 
 but that he possessed also the eye of an artist and 
 the soul of a poet. With a few strokes of his pen, 
 he sketches a picture on the banks of the forest- 
 lined river, full of life and beauty : 
 
 "The adventures of the day were over; the 
 azure of the sky had changed to a deep gray ; the 
 moon was appearing just over the trees ; the water 
 of the Gombe was like a silver belt ; hoarse frogs 
 bellowed their notes loudly by the margin of the 
 creek ; the fish-eagles uttered their dirge-like cries 
 as they were perched high on the tallest trees ; 
 elands snorted their warning to the herd in the 
 forest; stealthy forms of the carnivora stole through 
 the dark woods outside of our camp. Within the 
 high inclosure of bush and thorn which we had 
 raised about our camp, all was jollity, laughter and 
 radiant, genial comfort. Around every camp-fire, 
 dark forms of men were seen squatted : one man 
 gnawed at a luscious bone ; another sucked the 
 rich marrow in a zebra's leg bone ; another turned 
 
 (150) 
 
MUTINOUS CONDUCT. 
 
 151 
 
 • the stick, garnished with huge cabobs, to the bright 
 blaze ; another held a large rib over a flame ; there 
 were others busy stirring, industriously, great black 
 potfuls of ugali, and watching anxiously the meat 
 simmering, and the soup bubbling, while the fire- 
 light flickered and danced bravely, and cast a 
 bright glow over the naked forms of the men, and 
 gave a crimson tinge to the tall tent that rose in 
 the centre of the camp, like a temple sacred to 
 some mysterious god ; the fires cast their reflections 
 upon the massive arms of the trees, as they 
 branched over our camp ; and, in the dark gloom 
 of their foliage, the most fantastic shadows were 
 visible. Altogether, it was a wild, romantic and 
 impressive scene/' 
 
 They halted here for two days, the men hunting 
 and gormandizing. Like all animals, after gorging 
 themselves they did not want to move, and when 
 on the 7th of October Stanley ordered the caravan 
 to be put in motion, the men refused to stir. Stan- 
 ley at once walked swiftly toward them with his 
 double-barreled gun, loaded with buck-shot, in his 
 hand. As he did so he saw the men seize their 
 guns. He, however, kept resolutely on till within 
 thirty yards of two men, whose heads were peer- 
 ing above an ant-hill, their guns pointed across the 
 road, — then suddenly halting, he took deliberate 
 aim at them, determined come what would to blow 
 out their brains. One of them, a giant, named 
 Azmani, instantly brought up his gun with his finger 
 
ir2 I^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 on the trigger. " Drop that gun or you are a dead 
 man," shouted Stanley. They obeyed and came 
 forward, but he saw that murder was in Azmani's 
 eyes. The other man, at the second order, laid 
 down his gun and, with a blow from Stanley that 
 sent him reeling away, sneaked off. But the 
 giant, Azmani, refused to obey, and Stanley aiming 
 his piece at his head and touching the trigger was 
 about to fire. The former quickly lifted his gun 
 up to his shoulder to shoot. In another second 
 he would have fallen dead at Stanley's feet. At 
 this moment an Arab, who had approached from 
 behind, struck up the wretch's gun and exclaimed, 
 "Man, how dare you point your gun at the master?" 
 This saved his life, and perhaps Stanley's also. 
 It required nerves of iron in a man thus to stand 
 up all alone in the heart of an African forest sur- 
 rounded by savages and defy them all, and cow 
 them all. But the trouble was over, peace was 
 concluded, and the men with one accord agreed to 
 go on. The two instigators of this mutiny were 
 Bombay and a savage, named Ambari. Snatching 
 up a spear Stanley immediately gave the former a 
 terrible pounding with the handle. Then turning 
 on the latter, who stood looking on with a mocking 
 face, he administered the same punishment to him, 
 after which he put them both in chains. 
 
 For the next fourteen days, nothing remark- 
 able occurred in the march, which had been in a 
 southwesterly direction. Near a place called Mrera, 
 
NEWS OF A WHITE MAN. 1 1-^ 
 
 Stanley, for the first time saw a herd of wild ele- 
 phants, and was deeply impressed with their 
 lordly appearance. Here Selim was taken sick 
 and the caravan halted for three days, Stanley 
 spending the interval in mending his shoes. 
 
 He now had four districts to traverse, which 
 would occupy him twenty-five days. Taking a 
 northwesterly route having, as he thought, got 
 around the country of Mirambo, he pushed for- 
 ward with all speed. Buffaloes, leopards and 
 lions were encountered; the country was diversi- 
 fied, and many of the petty chiefs grasping and 
 unfriendly, so that it was a constant, long, weari- 
 some fight with obstacles from the beginning to 
 the end of each week. But, on November 3d, 
 a caravan of eighty came into Stanley's camp 
 from the westward. The latter asked the news. 
 They replied that a white man had just arrived at 
 Ujiji. This was startling news indeed. 
 
 "A white man !'* exclaimed Stanley. 
 
 "Yes, a white man." 
 
 "How is he dressed?'' 
 
 "Like the master," pointing to him. 
 
 " Is he young or old?" 
 
 "He is old, with white hair on his face; and tie 
 is sick." 
 
 "Where has he come from?" was the next 
 anxious inquiry. 
 
 " From a very far country, away beyond Uguh- 
 ha.*' 
 
J CA ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 "And IS he now stopping at Ujiji?" 
 " Yes, we left him there eight days ago." 
 '^ How long is he going to stay there ?" 
 '* Don't know/' 
 
 ** Was he ever there before ?'' 
 " Yes ; he went away a long time ago/' 
 Stanley gave a shout of exultation, exclaiming: 
 " It is Livingstone !" 
 
 Then came the thought, it may be some other 
 man. Perhaps it is Baker, who has worked his 
 way in there before me. It was a crushing thought, 
 that after all his sufferings, and sickness, and toils, 
 he should have been anticipated, and that there 
 was now nothing left for him but to march back 
 again. " No !" he exclaimed to himself: " Baker 
 has no white hair on his face." But he could now 
 wait no longer, and turning to his men, he asked 
 them if they were willing to march to Ujiji with- 
 out a single halt. If they were, he would, on 
 their arrival, present each two doti of cloth. They 
 all shouted, " Yes !" Stanley jots down: "I was 
 madly rejoiced, intensely eager to resolve the 
 burning question, * Is it Dr. Livingstone ?' God 
 grant me patience ; but I do wish there was a 
 railroad, or at least, horses, in this country. With 
 a horse I could reach him in twelve hours." 
 
 But new dangers confronted him. The chiefs 
 became more exhorbitant in their demands and 
 more hostile in their demonstrations, and but for 
 Stanley's eagerness to get on, he would more than 
 
HASTENING TO UJIJI. jqc 
 
 once have fought his way through some of those 
 pertinacious tribes. But his patience, at last, 
 gave out, for he was told after he had settled the 
 last tribute that there were five more chiefs ahead 
 who would exact tribute. This would beggar him, 
 and he asked two natives if there was no way of 
 evading the next chief, named Wahha. 
 
 " This rather astonished them at first, and they 
 declared it to be impossible; but finally, after be- 
 ing pressed, they replied that one of their number 
 should guide us at midnight, or a little after, into 
 the jungle which grew on the frontiers of Uhha 
 and Uvinza. By ker:ping a direct west course 
 through this jungle until we came to Ukavanga, 
 we might be enabled — we were told— to travel 
 through Uhha without further trouble. If I were 
 willing to pay the guide twelve doti, and if I were 
 able to impose silence on my people while passing 
 through the sleeping village, the guide was posi- 
 tive I could reach Ujiji without paying another 
 doti. It is needless to add that I accepted the 
 proffered assistance at such a price with joy. 
 
 " But there was much to be done. Provisions 
 were to be purchased, sufficient to last four days, 
 for the tramp through the jungle and men were at 
 once sent with cloth to purchase grain at any price. 
 Fortune favored us, and before 8 p. m. we had 
 enough for six days. 
 
 " November 7th. — I did not go to sleep at all 
 last night, but a little after midnight, as the moon 
 
156 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 was beginning to show itself, by gangs of four the 
 men stole quietly out of the village ; and by 3 a. 
 M. the entire expedition was outside the bonna 
 and not the slightest alarm had been made. After 
 whistling to the new guide, the expedition began 
 to move in a southern direction along the right 
 bank of the Kanenzi River. After an hour's march 
 in this direction, we struck west across the grassy 
 plain, and m^aintained it, despite the obstacles we 
 encountered which were sore enough to naked 
 men. The bright moon lighted our path ; dark 
 clouds now and then cast immense long shadows 
 over the deserted and silent plain, and the moon- 
 beams were almost obscured, and at such times 
 our position seemed awful — 
 
 " < Till the moon, 
 Rising in clouded majesty, at length 
 Apparent queen, unveiled her peerless light, 
 And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.* 
 
 "Bravely toiled the men, without murmur, 
 though their legs were bleeding from the cruel 
 grass. * Ambrosial morn ' at last appeared, with 
 all its beautiful and lovely features. Heaven was 
 born anew to us, with comforting omens and 
 cheery promise. The men, though fatigued at 
 the unusual travel, sped forward with quicker pace 
 as daylight broke, until at 8 a. m. we sighted the 
 swift Rusugi River, where a halt was ordered in 
 a clump of jungle for breakfast and rest. Both 
 banks of the river were alive with buffalo, eland 
 
A SCREAMING WOMAN', jcy 
 
 and antelope, but though the sight was very tempt- 
 ing, we did not fire, because we dared not. The 
 report of a gun would have alarmed the whole 
 country. I preferred my coffee, and the content- 
 ment which my mind experienced at our success. 
 *' An hour after we had rested, some natives car- 
 rying salt from the Malagarazi were seen coming 
 up the right bank of the river. When abreast of 
 our hiding-place they detected us, and dropping 
 their salt-bags, they took to their heels at once, 
 shouting out as they ran, to alarm some villages 
 that appeared some four miles north of us. The 
 men were immediately ordered to take up their 
 loads, and in a few minutes we had crossed the 
 Rusugi, and were making direct for a bamboo 
 jungle that appeared in our front. Almost as 
 soon as we entered, a weak-brained woman raised 
 a series of piercing yells. The men were appalled 
 at this noisy demonstration, which would call down 
 upon our heads the vengeance of the Wahha for 
 evading the tribute, to which they thought them- 
 selves entitled. In half an hour we should have 
 hundreds of howling savages about us in the 
 jungle, and probably a general massacre would 
 ensue. The woman screamed fearfully again and 
 again, for no cause whatever. Some of the men, 
 with the instinct of self-preservation, at once 
 dropped their bales and loads and vanished into 
 the jungle. The guide came rushing back to me, 
 imploring me to stop her noise. The woman's 
 
158 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 husband, livid with rage and fear, drew his sword 
 and asked permission to cut her head off at once. 
 Had I given the least signal, the woman had paid 
 with her life for her folly. I attempted to hush 
 her cries by putting my hand over her mouth, but 
 she violently wrestled with me, and continued her 
 cries worse than ever. There remained nothing 
 else for me to do but to try the virtue of my whip 
 over her shoulders. I asked her to desist after 
 the first blow. *No!' She continued her insane 
 cries with increased force and volume. Again my 
 whip descended on her shoulders. ' No, no, no.' 
 Another blow. ' Will you hush ?' ' No, no, no,' 
 louder and louder she cried, and faster and faster 
 I showered the blows for the taming of this shrew. 
 However, seeing I was as determined to flog as 
 she was to cry, she desisted before the tenth blow 
 and became silent. A cloth was folded over her 
 mouth, and her arms were tied behind her ; and in 
 a few moments, the runaways having returned to 
 their duty, the expedition moved forward again 
 with redoubled pace.'' 
 
 That night they encamped at Lake Musunya, 
 which swarmed with hippopotami. No tent nor 
 hut was raised, nor fire kindled, and Stanley lay 
 down with his rifle slung over his shoulders, ready 
 to act on a moment's notice. Before daylight they 
 were off again, and at early dawn emerged from 
 the jungle and stretched rapidly across a naked 
 plain. Reaching the Rugufa River, they halted 
 
A NARRO W ESCAPE, 
 
 159 
 
 in a deep shade, when suddenly Stanley heard a 
 sound like distant thunder. Asking one of his 
 men if it were thunder, the latter replied no, that 
 it was the noise made by the waves of Tanganika 
 breaking into the caverns on its shore. Was he, 
 indeed, so near this great inland sea, of which Ujiji 
 was the chief harbor ? 
 
 Pressing on three hours longer they encamped 
 in the forest. Two hours before daylight they 
 again set out, the guide promising that by next 
 morning they should be clear of the hostile dis- 
 trict. On this Stanley exclaims, " Patience, my 
 soul! A few hours more and then the end of all 
 this will be known. I shall be face to face with 
 that white man with the white beard on his face, 
 whoever he may be." Before daylight they started 
 again, and emerging from the forest on to the 
 high road, the guides, thinking they had passed 
 the last village of the hostile tribe, set up a shout, 
 but soon, to their horror, came plump upon its 
 outskirts. Fate seemed about to desert him at 
 the last moment, for if the village was roused he 
 was a doomed man. Keeping concealed amid 
 the trees, Stanley ordered the goats to be killed 
 lest their bleating should lead to discovery, the 
 chickens to be killed also, and then they plunged 
 into the jungle, Stanley being the last man to fol- 
 low. It was a narrow escape. After an half- 
 hour's march, finding they were not pursued, they 
 again took to the road. One more night in the 
 
1 60 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 encampment and then the end would come. Next 
 morning they pushed on with redoubled speed, 
 and in two hours, from the top of a mountain 
 Stanley, with bounding heart, beheld Lake Tan- 
 ganika, a vast expanse of burnished silver, with 
 dark mountains around it and the blue sky above 
 it. " Hurrah," shouted Stanley, and the natives 
 took up the shout, till the hills and forest rang 
 with their exultant cries. The long struggle was 
 near over ; the goal toward which he had been so 
 long straining was almost won. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 STANLEY MEETS LIVINGSTONE. 
 
 STANLEY'S excitement at this supreme 
 moment of his life can never be described 
 or even imagined. When he started from 
 Zanzibar, he knew he had thrown the dice which 
 were to fix his fate. Successful, and his fame was 
 secure, while failure meant death; and all the 
 chances were against him. How much he had 
 taken upon himself no one but he knew; into what 
 gloomy gulfs he had looked before he started, he 
 alone was conscious. Of the risks he ran, of the 
 narrow escapes he had made, of the toils and 
 sufferings he had endured, he alone could form an 
 estimate. With the accumulation of difficulties 
 and the increasing darkness of his prospects, the 
 one great object of his mission had increased in 
 importance, till great though it was, it became 
 unnaturally magnified so that, at last, it filled all 
 his vision, and became the one, the great, the only 
 object in life worth pursuing. For it he had risked 
 so much, toiled so long and suffered so terribly, 
 that the whole world, with all its interests, was 
 secondary to it. Hope had given way to disap- 
 pointment and disappointment yielded to despair 
 so often, that his strong nature had got keyed up 
 II (i6i) 
 
I 62 ^^ '^^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 to a dangerous pitch. But now the reward was 
 near. Balboa, when alone he ascended the summit 
 that was to give him a sight of the great Pacific 
 Ocean, was not more intensely excited than was 
 Stanley when he labored up the steep mountain 
 that should give him a view of the Tanganika. 
 
 The joy, the exultation of that moment, out- 
 balanced a life of common happiness. It was a 
 feeling that lifts the soul into a region where our 
 common human nature never goes, and it becomes 
 a memory that influences and shapes the character 
 forever. Such a moment of ecstasy- — of perfect 
 satisfaction — of exultant, triumphant feeling that 
 asks nothing better — that brings perfect rest with 
 the highest exaltation, can happen to any man but 
 once in a life-time. To attempt to give any de- 
 scription of this culmination of all his effort, and 
 longing, and ambition, except in his own words, 
 would be not only an act of injustice to him, but 
 to the reader. 
 
 The descent to Ujiji and the interview with Liv- 
 ingstone is full of dramatic interest and the de- 
 scription of it should not be made by a third party, 
 for to attempt to improve on it would be presump- 
 tion and would end only in failure. We, therefore, 
 give it in Mr. Stanley's own words, that glow with 
 vivid life from beginning to end, and this shall be 
 his chapter: 
 
 "We are descending the western slope of the 
 mountain, with the valley of the Linche before us. 
 
uyiyi IN SIGHT. 1 6-^ 
 
 Something like an hour before noon we have 
 gained the thick matite brake, which grows on both 
 banks of the river; we wade through the clear 
 stream, arrive on the other side, emerge out of the 
 brake, and the gardens of the Wajiji are around 
 us — a perfect marvel of vegetable wealth. Details 
 escape my hasty and partial observation. I am 
 almost overpowered with my own emotion. I 
 notice the graceful palms, neat plats, green with 
 vegetable plants, and small villages, surrounded 
 with frail fences of the matite cane. 
 
 "We push on rapidly, lest the news of our 
 coming might reach the people of Bunder Ujiji 
 before we come in sight and are ready for them. 
 We halt at a little brook, then ascend the long 
 slope of a naked ridge, the very last of the my- 
 riads we have crossed. This alone prevents us 
 from seeing the lake in all its vastness. We ar- 
 rive at the summit, travel across and arrive at its 
 western rim, and — pause, reader — the port of 
 Ujiji is below us, embowered in the palms, only 
 five hundred yards from us. At this grand mo- 
 ment we do not think of the hundreds of miles 
 we have marched, of the hundreds of hills we 
 have ascended and descended, of the many forests 
 we have traversed, of the jungles and thickets 
 that annoyed us, of the fervid salt plains that 
 blistered our feet, of the hot suns that scorched 
 us, nor the dangers and difficulties now happily 
 surmounted. At last the sublime hour has ar- 
 
1 64 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 rived! our dreams, our hopes, our anticipations 
 are about to be realized. Our hearts and our 
 feehngs are with our eyes, as we peer into the 
 palms auxl try to make out in which hut or house 
 lives the 'white man, with the gray beard, we heard 
 about on the Malagarazi. 
 
 "* Unfurl the flags and load the guns/ 
 
 *''Ay, Wallah, ay, Wallah, bana!' responded 
 the men, eagerly. 
 
 "* One — two — threv — fire.' 
 
 "A volley from nearly fifty guns roars like a 
 salute from a battery of artillery; we shall note 
 its effect, presently, on the peaceful-looking village 
 below. 
 
 "*Now, Kirangozi, held the white man's flag up 
 high, and let the Zanzibar flag bring up the rear. 
 And you men keep cloae together, and keep firing 
 until we halt in the market-place, or before the 
 white man's house. You have said to me often 
 that you could smelt the fish of the Tanganika. 
 I can smell the fish of die Tanganika now. The re 
 are fish, and beer, and a long rest awaiting for 
 you. March !' 
 
 " Before we had gone one hundred yards our 
 repeated volleys had the desired effect. We had 
 awakened Ujiji to the fact that a caravan was 
 coming, and the people were witnessed running 
 up in hundreds to meet us. The mere sight of 
 the flags informed every one immediately that we 
 were a caravan, but the American flag, borne 
 
THE VILLAGE ENTERED. 
 
 165 
 
 aloft by the gigantic Asmani, whose face was one 
 broad smile on this day, rather staggered them 
 at first. However, many of the people who now 
 approached us remembered the flag. They had 
 seen it float above the American consulate, and 
 from the mast-heads of many a ship in the har- 
 bor of Zanzibar, and they were soon heard wel- 
 coming the beautiful flag with cries of ' Bindera 
 Kisungu !' — a white man's flag ! ' Bindera Meri- 
 cani !' — the American flag ! These cries resounded 
 on all sides. 
 
 "Then we were surrounded by them — by 
 Wajiji, Wanyamzi, Wangwana, Warundi, Waguh- 
 ha, Wamanyuema and Arabs, and were almost 
 deafended with the shout of 'Yambo, yambo, 
 bona ! Yambo bona, Yambo bona, Yambo bona !' 
 To all and each of my men the welcome was given. 
 
 "We were now about three hundred yards 
 from the village of Ujiji, and the crowds are dense 
 about me. Suddenly I hear a voice on my right 
 say : * Good morning, sir !' 
 
 " Startled at hearing this greeting in the midst 
 of such a crowd of black people, I turn sharply 
 around in search of the man, and see him at my 
 side with the blackest of faces, but animated and 
 joyous — a man dressed in a long white shirt, 
 with a turban of American sheeting around his 
 woolly head, and I ask : ' Who the mischief are 
 you ?' 
 
 "'I am Susi, the servant of Dr. Livingstone/ 
 
1 66 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 said he, smiling and showing a gleaming row of 
 teeth. 
 
 "'What! is Dr. Livingstone here?' 
 
 <^' Yes, sir/ 
 
 "'In this village?' 
 
 "'Yes, sir/ 
 
 *^' Are you sure?' : 
 
 "'Sure, sure, sir. Why I just left him.' 
 
 "'Good-morning, sir,' said another voice. 
 
 "'Hallo,' said I, 'is this another one?' 
 
 "'Yes, sir.' 
 
 "'Well, what is your name ?' 
 
 "' My name is Chumah, sir.' 
 
 "'What are you, Chumah, the friend of Weko-. 
 tani ?' 
 
 "'Yes, sir.' 
 
 " ' And is the doctor well ?' 
 
 '" Not very well, sir.' 
 
 "'Where has he been so long? 
 
 '"In Manyuema.' 
 
 " ' Now you, Susi, run and tell the doctor I am 
 coming.' 
 
 "'Yes, sir,' and off he darted like a madman. 
 
 " By this time we were within two hundred 
 yards of the village, and the multitude was getting 
 denser, and almost preventing our march. Flags 
 and streamers were out ; Arabs and Wangwana 
 were pushing their way through the natives in 
 order to greet us, for according to their account 
 we belonged to them. But the great wonder of 
 
THE DOCTOR AT HAND. 
 
 167 
 
 all was, ^ How did you come from Unyanyem- 
 be?' 
 
 *' Soon Susi came running back and asked me 
 my name ; he had told the doctor that I was com- 
 ing, but the doctor was too surprised to believe 
 him, and when the doctor asked him my name 
 Susi was rather staggered. 
 
 " But during Susi's absence the news had been 
 conveyed to the doctor that it was surely a white 
 man that was coming, whose guns were firing and 
 • whose flag could be seen ; and the great Arab 
 magnates of Ujiji — Mohammed bin Sali, Sayd bin 
 Majid, Abid bin Suliman, Mohammed bin Gharib 
 and others — had gathered together before the doc- 
 tor's house, and the doctor had come out on his ve- 
 randa to discuss the matter and await my arrival. 
 
 '' In the meantime, the head of the expedition 
 had halted and the Kirangozi were out of the 
 ranks, holding the flag aloft, and Selim said to me, 
 'I see the doctor, sir. Oh, what an old man! 
 He has got a white beard/ And I — what would 
 I not have given for a bit of friendly wilderness 
 where, unseen, I might vent my joy in some mad 
 freak, such as idiotically biting my hand, turning 
 a somersault, or slashing some trees, in order to 
 allay those exciting feelings that were well-nigh 
 uncontrollable. My heart beats fast, but I must 
 not let my face betray my emotions, lest it shall 
 detract from the dignity of a white man appear- 
 ing under such extraordinary circumstances. 
 
J 53 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 " So I did that which I thought was most digni. 
 fied, I pushed back the crowds, and, passing from 
 the rear, walked down a Hving avenue of people 
 until I came in front of the semi-circle of Arabs, 
 in front of which stood the white man with the 
 gray beard. As I advanced slowly toward him I 
 noticed he was pale, looked wearied, had a gray 
 beard, wore a bluish cap with a faded gold band 
 around it, had on a red-sleeved waistcoat and a 
 pair of gray tweed trousers. I would have run to 
 him, only I was a coward in such a mob — would 
 have embraced him, only, he being an English- 
 man, I did not know how he would receive me ; 
 so I did what cowardice and false pride suggested 
 was the best thing — walked deliberately to him, 
 took off my hat and said, * Dr. Livingstone, I pre- 
 sume?* 
 
 " * Yes,** said he, with a kind smile, lifting his 
 hat slightly. 
 
 " I replace my cap on my head, and he puts on 
 his cap, and we both grasp hands, and then I say 
 aloud : ' I thank God, doctor, I have been per- 
 mitted to see you.* 
 
 "He answered: *I feel thankful I am here to 
 welcome you.' 
 
 "I turned to the Arabs, took off my hat to them 
 in response to the saluting chorus of 'Yambos.* 
 I receive, and the doctor introduces them to me by 
 name. Then oblivious of the crowds, oblivious of 
 the men who shared with me my dangers, we-— 
 
THE LOST FOUND. 
 
 171 
 
 Livingstone and I — turn our faces toward his 
 tembe. He points to the veranda, or rather mud 
 platform, under the broad over-hanging eaves ; he 
 points to his own particular seat, which I see his 
 age and experience in Africa have suggested, 
 namely, a straw mat with a goat-skin over it, and 
 another skin nailed against the wall to protect his 
 back from contact with the cold mud. I protest 
 against taking this seat, which so much more befits 
 him than me, but the doctor will not yield: I must 
 take it. 
 
 "We are seated — the doctor and I — with our 
 backs to the wall. The Arabs take seats on our 
 left. More than a thousand natives are in our 
 front, filling the whole square densely, indulging 
 their curiosity and discussing the fact of two white 
 men meeting at Ujiji — one just come from Manyu- 
 ema, in the west, the other from Unyanyembe, in 
 the east 
 
 " Conversation began. What about? I declare 
 I have forgotten. Oh! we mutually asked ques- 
 tions of one another, such as : 'How did you come 
 here?' and 'Where have you been all this long 
 time? the world has believed you to be dead.' 
 Yes, that was the way it began; but whatever the 
 doctor informed me, and that which I communi- 
 cated to him, I cannot exactly report, for I found' 
 myself gazing at him, conning the wonderful man, 
 at whose side I now sat in Central Africa. Every 
 hair of bis head and beard, every wrinkle of his 
 
1^2 ^^ ^-^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 face, the wanness of his features, and the slightly 
 wearied look he wore, were all imparting intelli- 
 gence to me — the knowledge I craved for so much 
 ever since I heard the words, 'Take what you 
 want, but find Livingstone/ What I saw was 
 deeply interesting intelligence to me, and unvar- 
 nished truths I was listening and reading at the 
 same time. What did these dumb witnesses relate 
 to me? 
 
 "Oh, reader, had you been at my side that day 
 at Ujiji, how eloquently could be told the nature 
 of this man's work ! Had you been there but to 
 see and hear! His lips gave me the details ; lips 
 that never lie. I cannot repeat what he said; I 
 was too much engrossed to take my note-book 
 out and begin to stenograph his story. He had 
 so much to say that he began at the end, seemingly 
 oblivious of the fact that five or six years had to 
 be accounted for. But his account was oozing 
 out; it was growing fast into grand proportions — 
 into a most marvelous history of deeds. 
 
 " The Arabs rose up with a delicacy I approved, 
 as if they intuitively knew that we ought to be left 
 to ourselves. I sent Bombay with them to give 
 them the news they also wanted so much to know 
 about the affairs at Unyanyembe. Sayd bin Majid 
 was the father of the gallant young man whom I 
 saw at Masange, and who fought with me at Zim- 
 bizo, and who soon afterwards was killed by 
 Mirambo's Ruga — Ruga in the forest of Wilyan- 
 
OPENING HIS MAIL. I y^ 
 
 kuru; and knowing I had been there, he earnestly 
 desired to hear the tale of the fight; but they all 
 had friends at Unyanyembe, and it was but natural 
 that they should be anxious to hear of what con- 
 cerned them. 
 
 "After giving orders to Bombay and Asmani 
 for the provisioning of the m.en of the expedition, 
 I called 'Kaif-Halek/ or 'how do ye do/ and 
 introduced him to Dr. Livingstone as one of the 
 soldiers in charge of certain goods left at Unyan- 
 yembe, whom I had compelled to accompany me 
 to Ujiji that he might deliver in person to his 
 master, the letter-bag he had been intrusted with 
 by Dr. Kirk. 
 
 ''This was the famous letter-bag marked 'Nov. 
 1st, 1 8 70,' which was now delivered into the doctor's 
 hands, three hundred and sixty-five days after it 
 left Zanzibar! How long, I wonder, had it re- 
 mained at Unyanyembe, had I not been dispatched 
 into Central Africa in search of the great traveler? 
 
 "The doctor kept the letter- bag on his knee, 
 then, presently, opened it, looked at the letters 
 contained there and read one or two of his chil- 
 dren's letters, his face, in the meanwhile, lighting 
 up. 
 
 " He asked me to tell him the news. * No, doc- 
 tor,' said I, ' read your letters first, which, I am 
 sure, you must be impatient to read.' 
 
 "*Ah,' said he, 'I have waited years for letters, 
 and I have been taught patience. I can surely 
 
J 7 j^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 afiford to wait a few hours longer. No ; tell me 
 the general news ; how is the world getting 
 along ?' 
 
 "'You probably know much already. Do you 
 know that the Suez Canal is a fact — is opened 
 and a regular trade carried on between Europe 
 and India through it ?' 
 
 " * I did not hear about the opening of it. Well, 
 that is grand news ! What else ?' 
 
 " Shortly I found myself enacting the part of an 
 annual periodical to him. There was no need of 
 exaggeration — of any penny-a-line news, or of 
 any sensationalism. The world had witnessed 
 and experienced much the last few years. The 
 Pacific Railroad had been completed ; Grant had 
 been elected President of the United States ; 
 Egypt had been flooded with savans ; the Cretan 
 rebellion had terminated; a Spanish revolution 
 had driven Isabella from the throne of Spain, and 
 a regent had been appointed ; General Prim was 
 assassinated ; a Castelar had electrified Europe 
 with his advanced ideas upon the liberty of wor- 
 ship ; Prussia had humbled Denmark and annexed 
 Schleswig-Holstein, and her armies were now 
 around Paris ; the ' Man of Destiny ' was a pris- 
 oner at Wilhelmshohe ; the queen of fashion and 
 the empress of the French was a fugitive ; and the 
 child born in the purple had lost forever the im- 
 perial crown intended for its head ; the Napoleon 
 dynasty was extinguished by the Prussians, Bis- 
 
TALKING AND EA TING. I ^ t- 
 
 marck and Von Moltke, and France, the proud 
 empire, was humbled to the dust* 
 
 " What could a man have exaggerated of these 
 facts ? What a budget of news it was to one who 
 had emerged from the depths of the primeval 
 forests of Manyuema ! The reflection of the daz- 
 zling light of civilization was cast on him while 
 Livingstone was thus listening in wonder to one 
 of the most exciting passages of history ever re- 
 peated. How the puny deeds of barbarism paled 
 before these ! Who could tell under what new 
 phases of uneasy life Europe was laboring even 
 then, while we two of her lonely children rehearsed 
 the tale of her late woes and glories? More 
 worthily, perhaps, had the tongue of a lyric De- 
 •modocus recounted them; but in the absence of 
 the poet, the newspaper correspondent performed 
 his part as well and truthfully as he could. 
 
 " Not long after the Arabs had departed, a 
 dishful of hot hashed-meat cakes was sent to us 
 by Sayd bin Majid, and a curried chicken was 
 received from Mohammed bin Sali, and Moeni 
 Kheri sent a dishful of stewed goat meat and rice ; 
 and thus presents of food came in succession, and 
 as fast as they were brought we set to. I had a 
 healthy, stubborn digestion, the exercise I had 
 taken had put it in prime order, but Livingstone 
 — he had been complaining that he had no appe- 
 tite, that his stomach refused everything but a cup 
 of tea now and then — he ate also— ate like a vigor- 
 
176 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ous, hungry man ; and as he vied with me in de 
 molishing the pancakes, he kept repeating, ' You 
 have brought me new Hfe/ 
 
 " * Oh, by George,' I said, ' I have forgotten 
 something. Hasten, SeHm, and bring that bottle ; 
 you know which; and bring me the silver goblets. 
 I brought this bottle on purpose for this event, 
 which I hoped would come to pass, though often 
 it seemed useless to expect it/ 
 
 **Selim knew where the bottle was, and he soon 
 returned with it — a bottle of Sillery champagne; 
 and, handing the doctor a silver goblet brimful of 
 the exhilarating wine, and pouring a small quantity 
 into my own, I said: *Dr. Livingstone, to your 
 very good health, sir/ 
 
 "* And to yours,' he responded. 
 
 "And the champagne I had treasured for this 
 happy meeting was drank with hearty good wishes 
 to each other. 
 
 " But we kept on talking and talking, and pre- 
 pared food was brought to us all that afternoon, 
 and we kept on eating every time it was brought 
 until I had eaten even to repletion, and the 
 doctor was obliged to confess that he had eaten 
 enough. Still, Halimah, the female cook of the 
 doctor's establishment, was in a state of the 
 greatest excitement. She had been protruding 
 her head out of the cook-house, to make sure that 
 there were really two white men sitting down in 
 the veranda, when there used to be only one, who 
 
A LONG TALK, I 77 
 
 would not, because he could not, eat anything; 
 and she had been considerably exercised in her 
 mind over this fact. She was afraid the doctor 
 did not properly appreciate her culinary abilities ; 
 but now she was amazed at the extraordinary 
 quantity of food eaten, and she was in a state of 
 delightful excitement. We could hear her tongue 
 rolling off a tremendous volume of clatter to the 
 wondering crowds who halted before the kitchen 
 to hear the current of news with which she edified 
 them. Poor, faithful soul While we hsten to the 
 noise of her furious gossip, the doctor related her 
 faithful services and the terrible anxiety she evinced 
 when the guns first announced the arrival of 
 another white man in Ujiji ; how she had been fly- 
 ing about in a state of the utmost excitement, from 
 the kitchen into his presence, and out again into 
 the square, asking all sorts of questions ; how she 
 was in despair at the scantiness of the general 
 larder and treasury of the strange household ; how 
 she was anxious to make up for their poverty by 
 a grand appearance — to make up a sort of Bar- 
 mecide feast to welcome the white man. 
 
 ♦' * Why,* said she, ' is he not one of us ? Does 
 he not bring plenty of cloth and beads ? Talk 
 about the Arabs ! Who are they, that they should 
 be compared to white men ? Arabs, indeed !' 
 
 " The doctor and I conversed upon many things, 
 especially upon his own immediate troubles, and 
 his disappointment upon his arrival at Ujiji when 
 12 
 
178 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 told that all his goods had been sold, and he was 
 reduced to poverty. He had but twenty cloths or 
 so left of the stock he had deposited with the man 
 called sheriff, the half-caste, drunken tailor, who 
 was sent by the British consul in charge of the 
 goods. Besides which he had been suffering from 
 an attack of the dysentery, and his condition was 
 most deplorable. He was but little improved on 
 this day, though he had eaten well, and already 
 began to feel stronger and better. 
 
 "This day, like all others, though big with happi- 
 ness to me, at last, was fading away. We, sitting 
 with our faces looking to the east, as Livingstone 
 had been sitting for days preceding my arrival, 
 noted the dark shadow which crept up above the 
 grove of palms beyond the village, and above the 
 rampart of mountains which we had crossed that 
 day, now looming through the fast-approaching 
 darkness ; and we listened, with our hearts full of 
 ofratitude to the o^reat Giver of Good and Dis- 
 penser of all Happiness to the sonorous thunder 
 of the surf of the Tanganika, and to the chorus 
 which the night insects sang. Hours passed, and 
 we were still sitting there with our minds busy 
 upon the day's remarkable events, when I remem- 
 bered that the venerable traveler had not yet read 
 his letters. 
 
 *' ' Doctor,' I said, ' you had better read your 
 letters. I will not keep you up any longer.' 
 
 "*Yes/ he answered, 'it is getting late., and I 
 
AMBITION SA TISFIED. I 7 g 
 
 will go and read my friends* letters. Good-night, 
 and God bless you/ 
 
 " ' Good-night, my dear doctor, and let me hope 
 your news will be such as you desire/ '' 
 
 Since the creation of the world there never has 
 occurred such another interview. The feelings 
 of Stanley that night, in the heart of Africa, can 
 only be imagined. The strain had ended, the 
 doubt and suspense were over — he had found 
 Livingstone ! he had succeeded ; his most extrava- 
 gant dreams had been realized ; his wildest am- 
 bition was satisfied, and from that hour the 
 adventurer, the newspaper correspondent, took 
 his place among the great explorers of the world. 
 But it was no stroke of luck, — it was the fitting 
 reward of great risks and great endeavor. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Stanley's homeward march. 
 
 REST and repose were now enjoyed to the 
 full by Stanley. His long struggles, his 
 doubts and fears, his painful anxiety were 
 over, and the end toward which he had strained 
 with such unflagging resolution, the most dis- 
 heartening circumstances, and which at times 
 seemed to recede the more as he pressed forward, 
 was at last reached. The sweet repose, the calm 
 satisfaction and enjoyment which always come 
 with the consciousness of complete success, now 
 filled his heart, and he felt as none can feel but 
 he who has at last won a long and doubtful battle. 
 It was complete rest, the entire fruition of his 
 hopes ; and as he sat down there in the heart of 
 Africa, beside Livingstone, he was doubtless for 
 at least the first few days, the happiest man on 
 the globe, and well he deserved to be. The goal 
 was won, the prize secured, and for the time being 
 his utmost desires were satisfied. Why should 
 he not be happy? 
 
 His intercourse with Livingstone for the next 
 four months will be marked by him as the bright- 
 est portion of his eventful life. Independent of 
 all he had undergone to find this remarkable man, 
 
 (i8o) 
 
SWEET CONVERSE. jgj 
 
 the man himself enlisted all his sympathies and 
 awakened his most extravagant admiration and 
 purest love, and a more charming picture can 
 hardly be conceived than these two men, walking 
 at sunset along the beach of the wild and lonely 
 lake of Tanganika, talking over the strange scenes 
 and objects of their strange, new world, or recall- 
 ing home and friends far away amid all the com- 
 forts and luxuries of civilization. The man whom 
 Stanley had at last found was almost as new and 
 startling a revelation to him as the country in 
 which he had found him. Simple, earnest, un- 
 selfish — nay, unambitious, so far as personal fame 
 was concerned, borne up in all his sufferings and 
 trials by one great and noble purpose, and con- 
 quering even savage hate by the power of good- 
 ness alone, he was an object of the prcfoundest 
 interest. And no greater eulogium on the innate 
 goodness and nobleness of Stanley's nature could 
 be given than he unconsciously bestowed on him- 
 self by the deep attachment, nay, almost adoration, 
 he expresses for this lonely, quiet, good man. He 
 fastens to him at once, and casting off old preju- 
 dices and rejecting all former criticisms of his 
 character, he impulsively becomes his champion, 
 and crowns him the prince of men. 
 
 The talk between them at their first meeting in 
 this far-off land, was long and pleasant, and when 
 the good-night was given, it was with strange 
 feelings that Stanley turned into his allotted sleep- 
 
1 82 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ing place in a regular bed. After all the toils and 
 almost unnatural excitement of the day, he soon 
 sank into profound slumber. The next morning 
 he awoke with a start, and looked about him for 
 a moment in a dazed way. He was not on the 
 ground, but in a bed; a roof, not a tent, was 
 above him, while not a sound broke the stillness 
 save the steady, monotonous roar of the surf beat- 
 ing on the shore. As he lay and listened, strange 
 thoughts and varied emotions chased each other 
 in rapid succession through his heart. At length 
 he arose and dressed himself, intending before 
 breakfast to take a stroll along the shore of the 
 lake. But the doctor was up before him and met 
 him with a cordial " Good-morning,'' and the hope 
 that he had rested well. 
 
 Livingstone had sat up late reading the news 
 that Stanley had brought him from the outside 
 world, from which he had heard nothing for years. 
 
 "Sit down," said the venerable man, "you have 
 brought me good and bad news,'' and then he 
 repeated, first of all, the tidings he had received 
 from his children. 
 
 In the excitement of the day before, the doctor 
 had forgotten to inquire of Stanley the object of 
 his coming, or where he was going, and the latter 
 now said : " Doctor, you are probably wondering 
 why I came here." 
 
 " It is true," was the reply, " I have been won- 
 dering." 
 
LIVINGSTONE'S SURPRISE. 
 
 183 
 
 That wonder was increased when Stanley said : 
 " I came after you, nothing else." 
 
 ''After me!" exclaimed the now utterly bewil- 
 dered man. 
 
 " Yes," said Stanley, " after you. I suppose 
 you have heard of the New York Herald f 
 
 " Yes," said the doctor. 
 
 "Well, Mr. Bennett, son of the proprietor, sent 
 me, at his own expense, to find you." 
 
 Poor Livingstone could hardly comprehend the 
 fact that an American, and a stranger, should ex- 
 pend $25,000 to find him, a solitary Englishman. 
 
 Stanley lived now some four months in the 
 closest intimacy with Livingstone. Removed from 
 all the formalities of civilized life — the only two 
 in that far-off land who could converse in the Eng- 
 lish language, and who were of the same lineage 
 and faith — their relations of necessity became 
 very intimate. All restraint was thrown off, and 
 this noble man pourfed into the astonished ears 
 of Stanley all he had thought, prayed for, endured 
 and suffered for the last long five years. It was a 
 new revelation to his hearer. It opened up a new 
 world ; gave him a new and loftier conception of 
 what human nature is capable of attaining, and he 
 says : " I had gone over battle-fields, witnessed 
 revolutions, civil wars, rebellions, emeutes and 
 massacres; stood close to the condemned mur- 
 derer to record his last struggles and last sighs ; 
 but never had I been called to record anything 
 
1 84 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 that moved me so much as this man's woes and 
 sufferings, his privations and disappointments, 
 which were now poured into my ear. Verily did 
 I begin to beHeve that ' the gods above us do with 
 just e3^es survey the affairs of men/ I began to 
 recoofnize the hand of an overruHnor Providence." 
 
 After resting for a week, during which time 
 Stanley became thoroughly acquainted with Liv- 
 ingstone and learned to respect and love him 
 more and more, the former asked the doctor if he 
 would not like to explore the north end of the 
 Tanganika Lake and among other things, settle 
 the question whether the Rusizi River flowed into 
 or out of the lake. The doctor gladly consented, 
 and they set off in a canoe manned by sixteen 
 rowers. The weather was fine, the scenery charm- 
 ing, and it seemed like floating through a fairy- 
 land. Day after day they kept on — landing at 
 night on the picturesque shores, undisturbed, 
 except in one or two instances, by the natives. 
 The luxuriant banks v/ere lined with villages, filled 
 with an indolent, contented people. With no 
 wants except food to eat, and the lake full of fish, 
 they had nothing to stimulate them to activity or 
 effort of any kind. 
 
 Islands came and went, mountains rose and 
 faded on the horizon, and it was one long holiday 
 to our two explorers. As the rowers bent steadily 
 to their oars and the canoe glided sofdy through 
 the rippling waters, they spent the time in ad- 
 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 187 
 
 miring the beautiful scenery that kept changing 
 like a kaleidoscope, or talking of home and friends 
 and the hopes and prospects of the future. A 
 hippopotamus would now and then startle them 
 by his loud snort, as he suddenly lifted his head 
 near the boat to breathe, wild fowl skittered away 
 as they approached, a sweet fragrance came down 
 from the hill-sides, and the tropical sky bent soft 
 and blue above them. The conventionalities of 
 life were far away and all was calm and peaceful, 
 and seemed to Stanley more like a dream than a 
 reality. They were thus voyaging along the coast 
 twenty-eight days, during which time they had 
 traversed over three hundred miles of water. 
 
 But at last the time came for Stanley to turn 
 his footsteps homeward.^ He tried in vain to pre- 
 vail on Livingstone to go home with him, but the 
 latter, though anxious to see his children, reso- 
 lutely refused, saying that he must finish his work. 
 He, however, concluded to accompany Stanley as 
 far as Unyanyembe, to meet the stores which had 
 been forwarded to that place for him from Zanzi- 
 bar. On the 27th of December, therefore, they 
 set out by a new route. Nothing occurred in the 
 long journey of special interest, except the shoot- 
 ing of a zebra or a buffalo, the meeting of a herd 
 of elephants or giraffes, or a lion. It was a tedi- 
 ous and toilsome journey, during which Stanley 
 suffered from attacks of fever, and Livingstone 
 from lacerated feet. They were fifty-three days 
 
J 33 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 on the march, but at lastUnyanyembe was reached. 
 Stanley once more took possession of his old 
 quarters. Here both found letters and papers 
 from home, brought by a recent caravan, and once 
 more they seemed put in communication with the 
 outside world. Being well-housed and provided 
 with everything they needed, they felt thoroughly 
 comfortable. 
 
 The doctor's boxes were first broken open, and 
 between the number of poor articles they con- 
 tained and the absence of good ones which had 
 been abstracted on the way, they proved some- 
 thing of a disappointment. Stanley then over- 
 hauled his own stores, of which there were seven- 
 ty-four loads, the most valuable of which he 
 intended to turn over to Livini^fstone. These also 
 had been tampered with; still many luxuries re- 
 mained, and they determined to have their Christ- 
 mas dinner over again. Stanley arranged the 
 bill of fare, and it turned out grandly. But now 
 he saw that he must begin to prepare for his re- 
 turn to the coast, and so he left Livingstone to 
 write up his journal and to finish the letters he 
 was to send home. In overhauling the stores and 
 making up the packages he should need on his 
 return route, he was able to select and turn over 
 to the doctor two thousand seven hundred and 
 eighty-eight yards of cloth, nine hundred and 
 ninety-two pounds of assorted beads, three hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds of brass wire, besides bed, 
 
PARTING WITH LIVINGSTONE, 
 
 189 
 
 canvas boat, carpenters' tools, rifles, revolvers, 
 ammunition, cooking utensils and various other 
 articles of use, making in all about forty loads. 
 These, with the doctor's personal stores, made 
 Livingstone quite a rich man for Central Africa — 
 in fact, he had a four years' supply. 
 
 At length the letters were all written, the loads 
 strapped, and the next day fixed for Stanley to 
 turn his face homeward and Livingstone his to 
 the heart of Africa. At night the natives gave a 
 great dance as a farewell compliment, and a wild, 
 weird dance it was. Bombay wore a water-bucket 
 on his head, while each carried or wore something 
 grotesque or dangerous. The first was a war 
 dance, and when it ended, a second and different 
 one was started, accompanied by a chorus or song 
 chanted in a slow, mournful tone, of which the 
 burden was '* Oh-oh-oh, the white man is going 
 home." 
 
 That night as Stanley lay and pondered on the 
 morrow, when he should see the " good man " for 
 the last time, he was filled with the keenest sor- 
 row. He had grown to love him like a father ; and 
 to see him turn back alone to the savage life he 
 must encounter in his great work, seemed like 
 giving him over to death. 
 
 It was a sad breakfast to which the two sat 
 down next morninor. But it was over at last and 
 
 o 
 
 the parting hour came. 
 
 " Doctor," said Stanley, " I will leave two men 
 
I GO ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 with you for a couple of days, lest you may have 
 forgotten something, and will wait for them at 
 Tura ; and now we must part — there is no help 
 for it — good-bye/' 
 
 " Oh," replied Livingstone, " I am coming with 
 you a little way; I must see you off on the road;" 
 and the two walked on side by side, their hearts 
 burdened with grief. 
 
 At last Stanley said: "Now, my dear doctor, 
 the best friends must part, you have come far 
 enough, let me beg of you to turn back." 
 
 Livingstone stopped and, seizing Stanley's 
 hand, said: "I am grateful to you for what you 
 have done for me. God guide you safe home 
 and bless you, my friend." 
 
 "And may God bring you safe back to us all, 
 my friend," replied Stanley, with a voice choked 
 with emotion. ''Farewell^ 
 
 They wrung each other's hands in silence for a 
 minute, and then Stanley turned away to hide his 
 tears, murmuring: "Good-bye, doctor; dear friend, 
 good-bye." 
 
 He would not have been the man he is, not to 
 have been overcome at this parting; alas, to be, 
 as it proved, a final parting, so far as concerns 
 meeting again in this life. But this was not all — 
 the doctor's faithful servants would not be forgot- 
 ten, and rushing forward, they seized Stanley's 
 hands and kissed them for their good master's 
 sake. The stern and almost tyrannical man, that 
 
TRIBUTE TO LIVINGSTONE, iqj 
 
 neither danger nor suffering could move, com- 
 pletely broke down under this last demonstration 
 and could recover himself only by giving the sharp 
 order, March ! and he almost drove his men 
 before him, and soon a turn in the path shut out 
 Livingstone's form forever. Yes, forever, so far 
 as the living, speaking man is concerned, but shut 
 owtnever from Stanley's life. That one man fixed 
 his destiny for this world, and who knows but for 
 the eternal ages? No wonder that he said, long 
 after, "My eyes grow dim at the remembrance 
 of that parting. For four months and four days 
 I lived with him in the same house, or in the same 
 boat, or in the same tent, and I never found a 
 fault in him. I am a man of a quick temper, and 
 often without sufficient cause, I dare say, have 
 broken ties of friendship; but with Livingstone I 
 never had cause of resentment, but each day's 
 life with him added to my admiration of him." 
 
 The caravan marched wearily back, meeting 
 with nothing eventful till it entered the Ugogo 
 territory, where, owing to a misunderstanding on 
 the part of the natives, who got it into their heads 
 that Stanley meant to pass them without paying 
 the accustomed tribute, a fight seemed inevitable. 
 Had it occurred, it is doubtful whether he or Liv- 
 ingstone's papers would ever have been heard of 
 again. But Stanley had seemed from his infancy 
 a child of destiny, and escaped here, as every- 
 where, by the skin of his teeth. It was a constant 
 
jn2 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 succession of toilsome, painful marches, even when 
 the natives were friendly, while there was often a 
 scarcity of provisions. To secure these he, at 
 last, when on the borders of the wilderness of 
 Marenga Mkali, dispatched three men to Zanzibar, 
 with a request to the consul there to send them 
 back with provisions. These messengers were 
 told not to halt for anything — rain, rivers or inun- 
 dations — but push right on. ''Then," says Stan- 
 ley, ''with a loud, vigorous hurrah, we plunged 
 into the depths of the wilderness which, with its 
 eternal silence and solitude, was far preferable to 
 the jarring, inharmonious discord of the villages 
 of the Waorooro. For nine hours we held on our 
 way, starting with noisy shouts the fierce rhinoce- 
 ros, the timid quagga and the herds of antelopes, 
 which crowd the jungles of this broad Salina. On . 
 the 7th, amid a pelting rain, Ave entered Mpwapwa, 
 where my Scotch assistant, Farquhar, had died." 
 
 In twenty- nine days they had marched three 
 hundred and thirty-eight miles. Twelve miles a 
 day, including stoppages and delays, was in such 
 a country rapid marching — nay, almost unparal- 
 leled ; but Stanley had turned his face homeward 
 and could stand no African dilly-dallying on the 
 way. We cannot go into the details of this home- 
 ward march, — to-day startled by a thousand war- 
 riors, streaming along the var-path, — to-morrow 
 on the brink of a collision with the natives, the end 
 of which no one could foresee, but the caravan 
 
. PASSING THE SWAMPS. jg-^ 
 
 pressed on until they came to the neighborhood 
 of the terrible Makata swamps, that Stanley had 
 occasion so well to remember. Heavy rains had 
 set in, swelHng all the streams and inundating the 
 plains, so that the marching was floundering 
 through interminable stretches of water. Now 
 swimming turbulent rivers — now camping in the 
 midst of pestiferous swamps, and all the time 
 drenched by the rain, that fell in torrents — they 
 struggled on until, at last, they came to the dreaded 
 Makata swamp itself. The sight that met them 
 here was appalling, but there was no retreat, and 
 for long hours they toiled slowly through, some- 
 times up to their necks in water, sometimes swim- 
 ming, and where it was shallow sinking in deep 
 mire. They thus fought their way on, and at last, 
 weary, worn and half-starved, came to the Makata 
 River. But no sooner were they over this, than 
 a lake six miles wide stretched before them. The 
 natives warned him against attempting to cross it; 
 but nothing could stop him now, and they all 
 plunged in. 
 
 He says: "We were soon up to our armpits, 
 then the water shallowed to the knee, then we 
 stepped up to the neck and waded on tiptoe, until 
 we were halted on the edge of the Little Makata, 
 which raced along at the rate of eight knots an 
 hour.'' Fierce and rapid as it was, there was no 
 course left but to swim it, and swim it they did. 
 For a whole week they had been wading and swim- 
 13 
 
igj^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 rning and floundering through water, till it seemed 
 impossible that any one could survive such ex- 
 posure, but, at last they came to dry ground and 
 to the famous walled city of the Sultana Limbam- 
 wanni, which we described in his upward journey. 
 But the heavy rains that had inundated the whole 
 country, had so swollen the river, near the banks 
 on which it was situated, that the water had carried 
 away the entire front wall of the town, and some 
 fifty houses with it. The sultana had fled and her 
 stronghold had disappeared. All along the route 
 was seen the devastating power of the flood as it 
 swept over the country, carrying away a hundred 
 villages in its course. The fields were covered 
 with debris of sand and mud, and what was a para- 
 dise when he went in was now a desert. With the 
 subsidence of the water the atmosphere became 
 impregnated with miasma, and the whole land 
 seemed filled with snakes, scorpions, iguanas and 
 ants, while clouds of mosquitoes darkened the air 
 till life became almost intolerable. At last, on May 
 2d, after forty-seven days of incessant marching, 
 and almost continual suffering, they reached Ro- 
 sako, where, a few minutes after, the three men he 
 had sent forward arrived, brinorlnor with them a few 
 boxes of jam, two of Boston crackers, and some 
 bottles of champagne; and most welcome they 
 were after the terrible journey through the Makata 
 Valley. The last great obstacle (a ferry of four 
 miles across a watery plain) being surmount^ 
 
AGAIN AT ZANZIBAR, .j^^ 
 
 the caravan approached Bagomayo, and in their 
 jubilant excitement announced its arrival by the 
 firing of guns and blowing of horns, and with 
 shouting hurrahs till they were hoarse. The sun 
 was just sinking behind the distant forests, from 
 which they had emerged and which were filled with 
 such terrible associations, when they entered the 
 town, and sniffed with delight the fresh sea-breeze 
 that came softly stealing inland. The putrid air of 
 the swamps, the poisonous miasma that enveloped 
 the entire country, were left far behind with want 
 and famine, and no wonder the heart was elated 
 and their bounding joy found expression in exult- 
 ant shouts. 
 
 Happy in having once more reached civilization; 
 happy in the thought of his triumphant success; 
 and still more happy in the joy that he believed 
 the good news he brought would give to others, 
 Stanley^s heart was overflowing with kindness to 
 all, and the world seemed bright to him. But, in 
 a moment it was all dashed on opening the papers 
 at Zanzibar. Scarcely one had a kind word for 
 him; on the contrary, he found nothing but sus- 
 picion, jealousy and detraction, and even charges 
 of fabricating the whole story of having found Liv- 
 ingstone. He was stunned at this undeserved 
 cruel reception of his declaration, and the faith in 
 the goodness of human nature, with which Living- 
 stone had inspired him, seemed about to give way 
 before this evidence of its meanness and littleness. 
 
196 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 He could not comprehend how his simple, truth- 
 ful, unostentatious story could awaken such unkind 
 feelings, such baseless slanders. It was a cruel 
 blow to receive, after all that he had endured and 
 suffered. No wonder he wrote bitter words of 
 the kid-glove geographers, who criticized him, and 
 the press that jeered at him. But he has had his 
 revenge, for he has triumphed over them all. 
 
 He immediately set to work to organize a cara- 
 van to send off to Livingstone the things he had 
 promised, and then started for home. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 STANLEY'S MAIN EXPEDITION. 
 
 STANLEY, after he had found Livingstone, 
 naturally thought much of the latter's ex- 
 plorations. Africa had become to him an 
 absorbing subject, and he began to imbibe the 
 spirit of Livingstone. This was natural, for 
 Stanley had already won fame there, and why 
 should he not win still greater laurels in the same 
 field ? This feeling was much increased after the 
 death of the great explorer, leaving his work un- 
 finished, which Stanley longed to complete. True, 
 Cameron was on the ground to accomplish this very 
 object, but Stanley knew the difficulties one would 
 have to contend with without a boat of his own. 
 The matter was talked over a good deal, and 
 finally the proprietors of the New York Herald 
 and London T^/^^r^^/^ determined to send Stanley 
 once more into Africa. 
 
 The vast lake region, embracing some six de- 
 grees of longitude, and extending from the equator 
 to fifteen degrees south latitude, had become a 
 region of the greatest interest to explorers. On 
 this vast water-shed lived a mighty population, 
 and these lakes, with the rivers running into and 
 out of them, mustJrfurnish the roads to commerce 
 
 197 
 
198 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 and be the means by which Africa should be 
 lifted out of Its barbarism into the light of civili- 
 zation. 
 
 The large lakes Nyassa and Tanganika had 
 been more or less explored, but the one possess- 
 ing the greatest interest, the Victoria Nyanza — on 
 account of the general impression that it was the 
 head of the Nile — was almost wholly unknown. 
 The persistence with which the Nile had mocked all 
 previous attempts to find its source, had imparted a 
 mystery to it and caused efforts to be made to 
 unlock the secret, which were wholly dispropor- 
 tioned to its seeming value or real importance. 
 Thi: lake, therefore, was to be Stanley's first ob- 
 jective point. Livingstone, Speke and Burton, 
 and others had seen it — he would sail around it in 
 a boat which he would take with him. This he had 
 made in sections, so that it could be carried the 
 nearly one thousand miles through the jungles of 
 Africa to its destination. 
 
 Everything being completed he started on his 
 route, and in the latter part of 1874 found himself 
 once more at Zanzibar, after an absence of four 
 years. Here, in organizing his expedition, he 
 discovered that the builder had made his boat, 
 which he had christened the Lady Alice, a great 
 deal heavier than he had ordered ; but he luckily 
 found a man in Zanzibar who was able to reduce 
 its weight so that it could be transported by the 
 carriers.. His force consisted in all, of a little over 
 
AGAIN JOURNEYING INLAND, 
 
 199 
 
 three hundred men, and he took with him several 
 powerful dogs. 
 
 The interest of this great expedition begins 
 where he struck off from the reorular route of the 
 caravans going west, and entered an entirely new 
 country and encountered a new race of people. 
 Instead of moving directly westward, he turned 
 off to the north, and at length reached the western 
 frontier of Ugogo, on the last day of the year 
 1874. The country at this point stretched before 
 him in one vast plain, which some of the natives 
 said extended clear to Nyanza. He found that his 
 course led him along the extremity of Whumba, 
 which he was glad to know, as he thought his 
 march would now be unmolested. Two days' 
 march brought them to the borders of Usandawa, 
 a country abounding in elephants. Here he turned 
 to the north-west and entered Ukimbu or Uyonzi 
 on its eastern extremity. The guides he had hired 
 in Ugogo to take him as far as Iramba here de- 
 serted him. Hiring fresh ones, he continued two 
 days in the same direction, when these deserted 
 him also, and Stanley found himself one morning 
 on the edge of a vast wilderness without a guide. 
 
 The day before, the guides had told him that 
 three days' march would bring him" to Urimi. Re« 
 lying on the truth of this statement, he had 
 purchased only two days' provisions. Thinking, 
 therefore, that they would be there by the even- 
 ing of the next day, he thought little of the de- 
 
200 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 sertion and moved off with confidence. But the 
 next morning, the track, which was narrow and 
 indistinct at the best, became so inextricably mixed 
 up with the paths made by elephants and rhino- 
 ceros, that they were wholly at a loss what course 
 to take. Halting, Stanley sent out men to seek 
 the lost trail, but they returned unable to find it. 
 They then, of course, could do nothing but march 
 by compass, which they did. 
 
 As might be expected, it brought them, after a 
 few hours' march, into a dense jungle of acacias 
 and euphorbias, through which they could make 
 their way only by crawling, scrambling and cutting 
 the entangling vines. Now pushing aside an ob- 
 structing branch — now cutting a narrow lane 
 through the matted mass, and now taking advan- 
 tage of a slight opening, this little band of three 
 hundred struggled painfully forward toward what 
 they thought was open country, and an African 
 village with plenty of provisions. 
 
 In this protracted struggle the third night over- 
 took them in the wilderness, and there they pitched 
 their lonely, starving camp. To make it more 
 gloomy, one of the men died and was buried; his 
 shallow grave seeming to be a sad foreboding of 
 what awaited them in the future. The want of 
 provisions now began to tell terribly on the men, 
 but there was nothing to do but go forward, trust- 
 ing to some break in this apparently interminable 
 wilderness. But human endurance has its limit. 
 
LOST m TITE yUN'GLE, 201 
 
 and although Stanley kept his little force marching 
 all day, they made but fourteen miles. It was a 
 continual jungle, with not a drop of water on the 
 route. The poor carriers, hungry and thirsty, 
 sank under their loads and lagged behind the 
 main force for many miles, until it became a strag- 
 gling, weary, despondent crowd, moving without 
 order and without care through the wilderness. 
 The strong endeavored to help the weak, and did 
 relieve them of their burdens and encourage them 
 to hold on, so that most of them were able to 
 reach the camp at night. But in despite of all 
 effort five sick, despairing men, strayed from the 
 path, which was only a blind trail made by those 
 in advance. 
 
 After the camp for the night was pitched, Stan- 
 ley sent back scouts to find the wanderers. They 
 explored the woods for a mile each side of the 
 track, but only one man was found, and he fully a 
 mile from the trail and dead. The other four had 
 wandered off beyond reach and were never heard 
 of more. This was getting to be fearful marching 
 — five men in one day was a death-roll that could 
 not be kept up long, and Stanley began to cast 
 about anxiously to determine what step he should 
 next take. There was but one course left open 
 to him, to attempt to retrace his steps was certain 
 death by famine, to advance could not be worse, 
 while it might bring relief, so "push on," was the 
 order, and they did push on, weary, thirsty, starv- 
 
$02 I^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ing, and on the fifth day they came to a littie viU 
 lage recenriy established, and which consisted of 
 only four huts, occupied by four men with their 
 wives and children. These had scarcely provisions 
 enough to keep themselves, and hence could 
 give nothing to Stanley's starving men. It was 
 useless to attempt further marching without food, 
 for the men staggered into camp exhausted, 
 and would rather die there than attempt to move 
 again. 
 
 Stanley's experience had taught him how far he 
 could urge on these African carriers and soldiers, 
 and he saw they had now become desperate and 
 would not budge another inch until they had some- 
 thing to eat. He, therefore, ordered a halt, and 
 selecting twenty of his strongest men, sent them 
 oflF in search of food. They were to press on to 
 a village called Suna, about thirty miles distant, 
 of which the natives told him, and where they said 
 food was in abundance. As soon as they had dis- 
 appeared in the forest, Stanley took his gun and 
 strolled out in search of game. But, filled as the 
 country seemed with it, he could find nothing to 
 shoot. One of his men, however, came across a 
 lion's den, in which were two cubs, which he 
 brought to Stanley. The latter skinned them and 
 took them back to camp. As he entered it, the 
 pinched and worn faces of his faithful men, as they 
 sat hungry and despairing, moved him so deeply 
 that he would have wept, but for fear of adding to 
 
LION SOUP, 203 
 
 their despondency. The two cubs would go but 
 a little way toward feeding some two hundred and 
 twenty men, if cooked as ordinary meat, so he 
 resolved to make a soup of them, which would go 
 much farther. But the question was where to get 
 a kettle large enough to make a soup for such a 
 large body of men. 
 
 Luckily, he bethought himself of a sheet-iron 
 trunk which he had among his baggage, and which 
 was water-tight. He quickly dumped out of it its 
 contents, and filling it with water, set it over a fire 
 •which he had ordered to be made. He then broke 
 Dpen his medical stores, and taking out five pounds 
 of Scotch oatmeal and three one-pound tins of 
 Revalenia Arabica, he made with it and the two 
 young lions a huge trunk full of gruel, that would 
 give even two hundred and twenty men a good 
 bowl apiece. He said it was a rare sight to see 
 those hungry, famished men gather around that 
 Torquay dress-trunk and pile on the fuel, and in 
 every way assist to make the contents boil, while 
 with greedy eyes, with gourds in their hands full 
 of water, they stood ready to pour it in the mo- 
 ment it threatened to boil over and waste the 
 precious contents. " But,'' he adds, "it was a rarer 
 sight still to watch the famished wretches, as, with 
 these same gourds full of the precious broth, they 
 drank it down as only starving men swallow food. 
 The weak and sick got a larger portion, and 
 another tin of oatmeal being opened for their sup- 
 
a04 JNJTHElWTLDS OF 'AFRICA. 
 
 per ami firealcfast, they awaited patiently the return 
 of those who had gone in quest of food." 
 
 Stanley's position now became painfully trying. 
 He was five days' march from where he could 
 obtain food, if he attempted to go back. This 
 march, in the present condition of his men, they 
 could never make, and if any did survive, it would 
 be on the terrible condition of the living eating 
 the dead. 
 
 The only hope lay in reaching supplies in ad- 
 vance. But what if those twenty strong men he 
 had sent on to find them never returned, having 
 been ambushed and killed on the way, or what if 
 they, at the end of several days, returned and 
 reported nothing but an unbroken wilderness and 
 impassable jungle or swamps in front, and them- 
 selves famished, ready to die ? These were ques- 
 tions that Stanley anxiously put to himself and 
 dared not contemplate the answer. The hours of 
 painful anxiety and suspense, the maddening 
 thoughts and wild possibilities that fire the brain 
 and oppress the heart in such crises as these can- 
 not be imagined, they can be known only by him 
 who suffers the pangs they inflict. This is a por- 
 tion of the history of the expedition that Stanley 
 can never write, though it is written on his heart 
 in lines th^t will never be effaced. 
 
 The empty trunk lay on one side, and the night 
 came down and the stars burned bright and tran- 
 quilly above, and all was silent in the wide solitude 
 
GOOD NEWS. 203 
 
 as Stanley sat and listened for the return of his 
 men. But they came not, and the morning broke 
 and the sun rode the tropical heavens once more 
 in his splendor, but no musket-shot from the forest 
 told of the returning scouts. The weary hours 
 wore on and the emaciated men lay around in 
 silent suffering. To Stanley those hours seemed 
 days. Night again darkened the forest and still 
 no sign of the returning party. Would they ever 
 return ? was the terrible question Stanley was per- 
 petually putting to himself, and if not, what des- 
 perate movement should he attempt? 
 
 The third morning broke as calm and peaceful 
 as the rest ; he was beginning to despair, when, 
 suddenly, a musket-shot broke over the forest, 
 and then another and another, sending sudden life 
 and activity throughout the despairing camp. The 
 men, as they emerged into view laden with food, 
 were greeted with a loud shout, and the hungry 
 wretches fell on the provisions they brought like 
 ravening wolves. The report of abundance ahead 
 so excited the men that they forgot their feeble- 
 ness and clamored to be led on that very after- 
 noon. Stanley was quite willing to get away from 
 the jungle, filled with such painful associations, 
 and cheerfully ordered the march, but before they 
 could get away two men breathed their last in the 
 camp and were left to sleep alone in the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 That night they encamped at the base of a 
 
206 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 rocky hill, from which stretched away a broad 
 plain. The hill, lifting itself into the clear air, 
 and the open plain, seemed like civilization com- 
 pared with the gloomy jungle in which they had 
 been starving for the last two days, and where 
 they had left two of their number. They awoke 
 next morning cheerful and refreshed. Starting 
 off with the prospect of abundant provisions ahead, 
 they made a steady march of twenty miles and 
 reached the district of Suna in Urimi. 
 
 Stanley was surprised, on entering the rude 
 village, to see a new type of African life. Men 
 and women of great beauty and fine physical pro- 
 portions met his astonished sight. They stood be- 
 fore him in all their naked beauty, unabashed: the 
 women bearing children alone wearing a covering 
 of goat skins, designed evidently as a protection 
 against external injury, and not caused by any 
 notions of modesty. Their fine appearance seemed 
 to indicate a greater mental development than any 
 other tribes which they had met. Whether this 
 were so or not, it would be difficult to tell, for they 
 were the most suspicious, reserved people Stanley 
 had ever met, being greatly disinclined to barter 
 provisions, of which they had more than they 
 wanted, for cloth and beads, of which they ap- 
 parently had none. 
 
 They had no chief, but seemed to be governed 
 in their actions by the old men. With these 
 Stanley therefore treated for permission to pass 
 
DEATH IN THE CAMP. 
 
 207 
 
 through their land. • It required great tact to se- 
 cure this, and still more to obtain the required 
 food, Stanley bore this silent hostility patiently, 
 for though he could have taken all he wanted by 
 force, he wished to avoid all violence. While 
 lingering here, two more of his exhausted comp- 
 any gave out and died, while his sick list swelled 
 up to thirty. Among the latter was Edward 
 Pocoke, whom, with his brother, Stanley had en- 
 gaged in England to accompany him as attend- 
 ants. This compelled him to halt for four days, 
 but finding that the hostile feeling of the natives 
 increased the longer he stayed, he determined, 
 dangerous as it was to the sick, especially to 
 Pocoke, to leave. Dysentery and diarrhoea were 
 prevailing to an alarming extent, and rest was 
 especially necessary for these, if they hoped to re- 
 cover ; but he was afraid matters would become 
 dangerously complicated if he remained, and he 
 turned his soldiers into carriers and slung the sick 
 into hammocks. Encouraging them with the pros- 
 pect of plenty and comfort ahead, he gave the order 
 to march, and they passed out and entered upon 
 a clear, open and well cultivated country. Reach- 
 ing a village at 10 o'clock they halted, and here, 
 to the great grief of all, young Pocoke breathed 
 his last. In speaking of this sad event, which cast 
 a gloom over the camp, Stanley says : " We had 
 finished the four hundredth mile of our march 
 from the sea and had reached the base of the 
 
208 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 water-shed, where the trickling streams and m- 
 fant waters began to flow Nile-ward, when this 
 noble young man died." They buried him at 
 night under a tree, with the stars shining down 
 on the shallow-made grave ; Stanley reading the 
 burial service of the Church of England over the 
 body. Far from home and friends in that distant* 
 lonely land he sleeps to-day, a simple wooden 
 cross marking his burial place. Stanley sent the 
 following letter home to the young man's father, 
 describing his sickness and death : 
 
 " Kagehyi, on the Victoria Nyanza, 
 "March 4th, 1875. 
 
 " Dear Sir : A most unpleasant, because sad, 
 task devolves upon me, for I have the misfortune 
 to have to report to you the death of your son 
 Edward, of typhoid fever. His service with me 
 was brief, but it was long enough for me to know 
 the greatness of your loss, for I doubt that few 
 fathers can boast of such sons as yours. Both 
 Frank and Ted proved themselves sterling men, 
 noble and brave hearts and faithful servants. Ted 
 had endeared himself to the members of the ex- 
 pedition by his amiable nature, his cheerfulness, 
 and by various qualifications which brought him 
 into high favor with the native soldiers of this 
 force. 
 
 " Before daybreak we were accustomed to hear 
 the cheery notes of his bugle, which woke us to a 
 
LETTER OF CONDOLENCE, 
 
 209 
 
 fresh day's labor ; at night, around the camp-fires, 
 we were charmed with his sweet, simple songs, of 
 which he had an inexhaustible repertoire. When 
 tired also with marching, it was his task to announce 
 to the tired people the arrival of the vanguard at 
 camp, so that he had become quite a treasure to 
 us all ; and I must say, I have never known men 
 who could bear what your sons have borne on 
 this expedition so patiently and uncomplainingly. 
 I never heard one grumble either from Frank or 
 Ted; have never heard them utter an illiberal 
 remark, or express any wish that the expedition 
 had never set foot in Africa, as many men would 
 have done in their situation, so that you may well 
 imagine, that if the loss of one of your sons 
 causes grief to your paternal heart, it has been no 
 less a grief to us, as we were all, as it were, one 
 family, surrounded as we are by so much that is 
 dark and forbidding. 
 
 "On arriving at Suna, in Urimi, Ted came to me, 
 after a very long march, complaining of pain in 
 his limbs and loins. I did not think it was serious 
 at all, nor anything uncommon after walking 
 twenty miles, but told him to go and lie down, 
 that he would be better on the morrow, as it was 
 very likely fatigue. The next morning I visited 
 him, and he again complained of pains in the 
 knees and back, which I ascribed to rheumatism, 
 and treated him accordingly. The third day he 
 complained of pain in the chest, difficulty of 
 14 
 
2 1 o ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA^ 
 
 breathing and sleeplessness, from which I per^ 
 ceived he was suffering from some other malady 
 than rheumatism, but what it could be I could not 
 divine. He was a little feverish, so I applied a 
 mustard-plaster and gave him some aperient medi- 
 cine. Toward night he began to wander in his 
 head, and on examining his tongue I found it was 
 almost black and coated with dark gray fur. At 
 these symptoms I thought he had a severe attack 
 of remittent fever, from which I suffered in Ujiji, 
 in 1871, and therefore I watched for an oppor- 
 tunity to administer quinine — that is, when the 
 fever should abate a little. 
 
 " On the fourth day, the patient still wandering 
 in his mind, I suggested to Frank that he should 
 sponge him with cold water and change his cloth- 
 ing, during which operation I noticed that the 
 chest of the patient was covered with spots like 
 pimples or small-pox pustules, which perplexed 
 me greatly. He could not have caught the small* 
 pox, and what the disease was I could not imagine ; 
 but, turning to my medical books, I saw that your 
 son was suffering from typhoid, the description of 
 which was too clear to be longer mistaken, and 
 both Frank and I devoted our attention to him. 
 He was nourished with arrow-root and brandy, 
 and everything that was in our power to do was 
 done ; but it was very evident that the case wafv 
 serious, though I hoped that his constitution would 
 brave it out. 
 
BURIAL OF POCOKE, 
 
 213 
 
 ** On the fifth day we were compelled to resume 
 our journey, after a rest of four days. Ted was 
 put in a hammock and carried on the shoulders 
 of four men. At 10 o'clock on the 17th of Janu- 
 ary, we halted at Chiwyn, and the minute he was 
 laid down in the camp he breathed his last. Our 
 companion was dead. 
 
 *'We buried him that night under a tree, on 
 which his brother Frank had cut a deep cross, and 
 we read the beautiful service of the Church of 
 England over him as we laid the poor worn-out 
 body in its final resting-place so far from his own 
 home and friends. 
 
 " Peace be to his ashes. Poor Ted deserved a 
 better fate than dying in Africa, but it was im- 
 possible that he could have died easier. I wish 
 that my end may be as peaceful and painless as 
 his. He was spared the stormy scenes we went 
 through afterwards in our war with the Waturn : 
 and who knows how much he has been saved 
 from ? But I know that he would have rejoiced 
 to be with us at this hour of our triumph, gazing 
 on the laughing waters of the vast fountain of the 
 old Nile. None of us would have been more 
 elated at the prospect before us than he, for he 
 was a true sailor, and loved the sight of water. 
 Yet again I say peace be to his ashes ; be consoled, 
 for Frank still lives, and, from present appear- 
 ances, is likely to come home to you with honor 
 and glory, such as he and you may well be proud 
 
21 A I^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 of. Believe me, dear sir, with true sincerity, your 
 well-wisher, Henry M. Stanley.'* 
 
 Stanley still traveled in a northwest direction, 
 and the farther he advanced the more he was con- 
 vinced that the rivulets he encountered flowed into 
 the Nile, and he became elated with the hope that 
 he should soon stand on the shores of the great 
 lake that served as the head reservoir of the 
 mighty river. 
 
 Two days' march now brought them to Mon- 
 gafa, where one of his men who had accompanied 
 him on his former expedition was murdered. He 
 was suffering from the asthma, and Stanley per- 
 mitted him to follow the party slowly. Straggling 
 thus behind alone, he was waylaid by the natives 
 and murdered. It was impossible to ascertain 
 who committed the deed, and so Stanley could 
 not avenge the crime. 
 
 Keeping on they at length entered Itwru, a dis- 
 trict of Northern Urimi. The village where they 
 camped was called Vinyata, containing some two 
 thousand to three thousand souls, and was situ- 
 ated in a broad and populous valley, through which 
 flowed a stream twenty feet wide. The people 
 here received him in a surly manner, but Stanley 
 was very anxious to avoid trouble and used every 
 exertion to conciliate them. He seemed at last 
 to succeed, for at evening they brought him milk, 
 eggs and chickens, taking cloth in exchange. This 
 
MAGIC DOCTOR, 2 1 5 
 
 reached the ears of the great man of the valley, & 
 magic doctor, who, there being no king over the 
 people, is treated with the highest respect and 
 honor by them. The next day he brought Stan- 
 ley a fat ox, for which the latter paid him twice 
 what it was worth in cloth and beads, besides 
 making a rich present to his brother and son. To 
 all this man's requests Stanley cheerfully consent- 
 ed in his anxiety to conciliate him and the natives. 
 That day, taking advantage of the bright sun to 
 dry the bales and goods, he exposed his' rich stores, 
 an imprudence which he very quickly deeply 
 regretted, for he saw that the display awok^ all 
 the gre^i^/ feelings of the natives, as was evinced 
 by thei^ eager looks. But the day passed quietly, 
 and en ^he third morning the great man made his 
 appearance again and begged for more beads, 
 which were given him and he departed apparently 
 very much pleased, and Stanley congratulated 
 himself that he would be allowed to depart in 
 peace. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PRESSING TOWARDS THE INTERIOR. 
 
 FOR a half an hour after the magic doctor 
 left, Stanley sat quietly in his camp, his 
 anxieties now thoroughly dissipated, think- 
 ing over his speedy departure for the Nyanza. 
 The camp was situated on the' margin of a vast 
 wilderness, which stretched he knew not how far 
 westward, while away to the north, south and east 
 extended a wide, open plain, dotted over, as far as 
 the eye could see, with villages. There were 
 nearly two hundred of them, looking is the dis- 
 tance like clusters of beehives. Everything was 
 peaceful, and rrot a sound disturbed the Sabbath- 
 like stillness of the scene, when there suddenly 
 broke on his ears the shrill war-cry, which was 
 taken up by village after village till the whole val- 
 ley resounded with it. It was one loud "he-hu, 
 he-hu,'' the last syllable prolonged and uttered in 
 a high, piercing note that made the blood shiver. 
 Still Stanley felt no alarm, supposing that some 
 war expedition was about to be set on foot, or 
 some enemy was reported to be near, and listened 
 to the barbaric cry simply with curiosity. The 
 men in the camp kept about their usual avoca- 
 tions — some fetching water from a neighboring 
 
 216 
 
A HOSTILE SURPRISE. 
 
 217 
 
 pool, while others were starting off after wood — 
 when suddenly a hundred warriors appeared close 
 to camp in full war costume. Feathers of the 
 eagle and other birds waved above their heads, 
 "the mane of the zebra and giraffe encircled their 
 foreheads, their left hand held the bow and arrows, 
 while the right grasped the spear/' Stanley 
 arose, and telling the men not to leave camp nor 
 do anything to provoke a hostile act, waited to see 
 what this sudden warlike attitude meant. 
 
 In the meantime the throng increased till the 
 entire camp was surrounded. A slight bush fence 
 had been built around it, which, though it con- 
 cealed those within, was too slight to be of use in 
 case of an attack. Seeing that this hostile demon- 
 stration was against him, Stanley sent out a young 
 man wbo spoke their language, to inquire what 
 they wanted. Six or seven warriors advanced to 
 meet him, when a lively conversation followed. 
 The messenger soon returned and reported that 
 they accused one of the party of having stolen 
 some milk and butter from a small village, and 
 they must be paid for it in cloth. He at once sent 
 the messenger back, directing him to tell the war- 
 riors that he did not come into their country to 
 rob or steal, ^nd if anything had been taken from 
 them they had but to name the price they asked 
 for it and it should be paid at once. The messen- 
 ger brought back word that they demanded four 
 yards of sheeting; although this was worth four 
 
2 1 8 ^^ T^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 times as much as the articles were which they 
 alleged had been stolen, he was very glad to settle 
 the matter so easily, and it was measured and sent 
 to them. The elders declared that they were per- 
 fectly satisfied, and they all withdrew. But Stan- 
 ley could not at once shake off the suspicion this 
 unexpected show of hostile feeling had excited, 
 and he watched narrowly the villages in the dis- 
 tance. He soon saw that the warriors were not 
 pacified if the elders were, for he could see them 
 hurrying together from all parts of the plain and 
 gesticulating wildly. 
 
 Still he hoped the elders would keep them from 
 any overt act of hostility. While he was watching 
 them, he saw about two hundred men separate 
 themselves from the main body, and taking a sweep, 
 make for the woods west of the camp. They had 
 hardly entered when one of Stanley's men rushed 
 forth from the same vicinity into camp bleeding 
 profusely from his face and arms. He said that 
 Suleiman (a youth) and he were gathering wood 
 when the savages came suddenly upon them. He 
 was struck with a stick that broke his nose, and 
 his arm was pierced with a spear, while Suleiman 
 fell pierced with a dozen spears. His story and 
 bloody appearance so excited the soldiers that 
 Stanley could with difficulty restrain them from 
 rushing out at once and attacking the murderers. 
 He did not yet despair of preventing an outbreak, 
 but took ^are to open the ammunition and be pre- 
 
A BATTLE. 210 
 
 pared for the worst. He saw at once that an im- 
 mensely large force could be brought against him, 
 and he must fortify himself or he would be over- 
 whelmed by numbers, and so ordered the men 
 immediately to commence strengthening the fence. 
 They had not been long employed at it when the 
 savages made a dash at the camp, and sent a 
 shower of arrows into it. Stanley immediately 
 ordered sixty soldiers to deploy fifty yards in front. 
 At the word of command they rushed out, and the 
 battle commenced. 
 
 The enemy soon turned in flight and the soldiers 
 pursued them. Every man was now ordered to 
 work on the defenses ; some cut down thorn-trees 
 and threw together rapidly a high fence all around 
 the camp, while others were ordered to build plat- 
 forms within for the sharp-shooters. All this time 
 Stanley could hear the fire of the soldiers grow- 
 ing more and more indistinct in the distance. 
 When the fence was completed he directed the 
 sections of the Lady Alice to be placed so as to 
 form a sort of central camp, to which they could 
 retire in the last extremity. As soon as every- 
 thing was finished he ordered the bugle to sound 
 the retreat, and soon the skirmishers came in sight. 
 They reported fifteen of the enemy killed. All 
 had fought bravely, even a bull-dog had seized a 
 savage and was tearing him to pieces, when a 
 bullet put the poor wretch out of his misery. 
 
 They were not molested again that day, which 
 
220 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 gave them time to make their position still 
 stronger. The night passed quietly, and they 
 were allowed to breakfast in peace. But about 
 9 o'clock the savages in great numbers advanced 
 upon the camp. All hopes of peace were now at 
 an end, and since he was forced to fight, Stanley 
 determined to inflict no half-way punishment, but 
 sweep that fair valley with the besom of destruc- 
 tion. He therefore selected four reliable men, 
 placed them at the head of four detachments, as- 
 signing to each a fleet runner, whose duty it was, 
 not to fight, but to report any disaster that threat- 
 ened or befell the detachment to which the man be- 
 longed. He then ordered them to move out and 
 attack the savages. As the route of the enemy 
 was certain, he directed them to pursue them sep- 
 arately, yet keep before them as the place of final 
 rendezvous, some high rocks five miles distant 
 down the valley. The detachments poured forth 
 from the camp, and the deadly fire-arms so ap- 
 palled those savage warriors, armed only with the 
 bow and spear, that they at once turned and fled. 
 The detachments followed in hot pursuit, and what 
 promised to be a fight, became a regular stampede. 
 But one detachment having pursued a large force 
 of the enemy into the open plain, the latter turned 
 at bay. 
 
 The leader of the detchment, excited by the 
 pursuit, and believing, in his contempt for the sav- 
 ages, that the mere sight of his little band would 
 
A MASSACRE, 22 1 
 
 send them scurrying away in deadly fear, charged 
 boldly on them. Quick as thought they closed 
 around him in overwhelming numbers. The run- 
 ner alone escaped and bore the sad tidings to 
 Stanley. The appointment of these runners shows 
 his wonderful prevision — that foresight which on 
 many occasions alone saved him. He at once 
 sent assistance to the detachment that the courier 
 had reported surrounded. Alas, before it arrived 
 every man had been massacred. The aid, though 
 it came too late to save the brave detachment, ar- 
 rived just in time to save the second, which was just 
 falling into the same snare, for the large force that 
 had annihilated the first had now turned on this, 
 and its fate seemed sealed. The reinforcements 
 hurried off by Stanley found it completely hemmed 
 in by the savages. Two soldiers had already been 
 killed, the captain was wounded, and in a few 
 minutes more they would have shared the fate of 
 the first detachment. 
 
 It was at this critical moment they arrived, and 
 suddenly pouring a deadly volley into the rear of 
 the assailants, sent them to the right about with 
 astonishing quickness. The two detachments 
 now wheeled and poured a concentrated volley 
 into the savages, which sent them flying wildly 
 over the plain. A swift pursuit was commenced, 
 but the fleet enemy could not be overtaken, and 
 the march up the valley was scarcely resisted. 
 Stanley, in camp, carefully watched the progress 
 
222 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of the fight, which could be distinguished at first 
 by the volleys of his soldiers, and when, receding 
 in the distance, these could be no longer heard, 
 by the puffs of smoke which showed where the 
 pursuit led. 
 
 But at length clouds of smoke of a different 
 character began to ascend from the quiet valley. 
 To the right and left the dark columns obscured 
 the noonday sun, and far as the eye could reach, 
 the plain, with its hundreds of villages of thatched 
 huts, presented one wide conflagration, till the 
 murky mass of cloudy vapor, as it rolled heaven- 
 ward, made it appear like a second Sodom, suffer- 
 ing the vengeance of heaven. To the distance of 
 eight miles, Stanley could see jets of smoke that 
 told of burning villages. He had delayed to the 
 last moment hostile action, but having once com- 
 menced it he meant to leave behind him no power 
 of retaliation. 
 
 It was a victorious but sad day, and the return 
 of the detachments was anything but a triumphal 
 march, for they bore back twenty-one dead men, 
 besides the wounded, while they could report but 
 thirty-five of the enemy killed. So little difference 
 in the number of the slain, when one was the pur- 
 sued and the other the pursuing party, and when 
 the former was armed only with spears and bows, 
 and the latter with the deadly rifle, seems at first 
 sight unaccountable, but it must be remembered 
 that the unfortunate detachment that was sur- 
 
A SUMMARY RETRIBUTION. 223 
 
 rounded and massacred to a man, furnished almost 
 the entire list of the killed. 
 
 The camp was at peace that night, but it was a 
 sad peace. A few more such victories as this 
 and Stanley would be left without an expedition. ; 
 
 This unfortunate experience with these people 
 showed the danger of his undertaking a new 
 route. His object was not to travel among new 
 people, but to reach the lake region with his boat 
 and settle great geographical problems and esta- 
 blish certain facts having an intimate bearing on 
 the future of Africa. Yet by his chosen course 
 he really obtained no new and valuable informa- 
 tion but imperiled and well-nigh ruined the expe- 
 dition fitted out with so much expense and care. 
 
 His was the nearest course to the lake, yet the 
 long one by which Speke reached it was the safest. 
 He had been in a perilous position, and it was 
 clearly his own foresight that saved him. The 
 appointment of a courier or swift runner to each 
 detachment to act as a telegraph, would probably 
 have occurred to few, yet this certainly saved one 
 detachment from destruction and how much more 
 no one can tell. 
 
 But he was not satisfied with the vengeance he^ 
 had taken and the devastation he had wrought 
 He had resolved to teach those savage negroes a 
 lesson on the danger of treachery to strangers, 
 and he meant, now he had commenced it, to make 
 it thorough and complete, and so next morning he 
 
224 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA^ 
 
 sent off sixty men to proceed to the farthest end 
 of the valley, some eight miles away, and destroy 
 what yet remained ; passing on through the ruins 
 of the villages, they came to a large village in the 
 extreme northeast. A very slight resistance was 
 made here, and they entered it and applied the 
 torch, and soon it shared the fate of all the rest. 
 Before they destroyed it, however, they loaded 
 themselves with grain. Provisions were now 
 plenty, for the frightened negroes had left every- 
 thing behind them in their flight. There was no 
 longer any need of purchasing food, the valley 
 was depopulated, and all the accumulated pro- 
 visions of the inhabitants was at the mercy of 
 the victors. Finding he had enough to last the 
 expedition six days, Stanley next morning started 
 westward before daybreak, and was soon far 
 away from this valley of destruction, leaving the 
 thoroughly humbled natives to crawl back to the 
 ashes of their ruined homes. Without further 
 trouble, in three days, he reached Iramba. Here 
 he halted and took a calm survey of his condition 
 and prospects. He found that out of the more 
 than three hundred men with which he had left 
 the coast, but one hundred and ninety-four re- 
 mained. 
 
 Sickness, desertion and battle had reduced his 
 number over a third before he had reached 
 the point where his actual labors were to com- 
 mence. It was not a pleasant look-out; for^ 
 
CONFIDENCE AMID PERILS, 
 
 225 
 
 although two hundred men, well armed with rifles, 
 made a formidable force in a country where only 
 arrows and spears were used, still this heavy ratio 
 of loss must stop, or the expedition itself must 
 fail. He was not in a country where he could 
 recruit soldiers, and each one lost was a dead loss, 
 and thousands of miles of exploration lay before 
 him, in prosecuting which, he knew not how many 
 battles would be fought, nor how much sickness 
 would have to be encountered. It would not 
 seem a difficult piece of arithmetical calculation 
 to determine how long three hundred men would 
 last if one-third disappeared in three months, or 
 how many men it would require to prosecute his 
 labors three years. But Stanley never seemed 
 to act as though he thought defeat possible. 
 Whether his faith was in God, himself, or his star, 
 it was nevertheless a strong and controlling faith,. 
 Still, now and then It is very evident that he was 
 perfectly conscious of the desperate nature of his 
 condition, and felt disease, which carried off his 
 friends and retainers, or the spear, might end, at 
 any moment, his explorations and his life. 
 
 Though out of Urimi at last, yet Stanley found 
 the natives of Iramba a very Httle improvement on 
 those of the former district. Mirambo was their 
 terror, and hence they were suspicious of all 
 strangers. Again and again he was mistaken for 
 this terrible chieftain, and narrowly escaped being 
 attacked. In fact, this formidable warrior wa» 
 IS 
 
226 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 fighting at one time within a day's march of 
 him. 
 
 Urukuma was the next district he entered after 
 Iramba, and he found it thickly peopled and rich 
 in cattle. It consisted for the most part of rolling 
 plains, with scattered chains of jagged hills. He 
 was on the slope that led to the Nyanza, and the 
 descent was so gradual, that he expected to find 
 the lake, whose exploration he designed to make 
 thorough and complete, comparatively shallow, 
 although it covered a vast area. At last he 
 reached a little village, not a hundred yards from 
 the shore, and encamped. At this point he des- 
 cribes the topography of the new country he had 
 passed over. He says: 
 
 "As far as Western Ugogo I may pass over 
 without attempting to describe the country, as 
 readers may obtain a detailed account of it from 
 'How I Found Livingstone.'' Thence north is a 
 new country to all, and a brief description of it 
 may be interesting to students of African geo* 
 graphy. 
 
 "North of Mizanza a level plain extends as far 
 as the frontier of Urandawi, a distance of thirty- 
 five miles (English). At Mukondoku the altitude, 
 as indicated by two first-rate aneroids, was two 
 thousand, eight hundred feet. At Mtiwi, twenty 
 miles north, the altitude was two thousand eight 
 hundred and twenty-five feet. Diverging west 
 and north-west, we ascend the slope of a lengthy 
 
IMMENSE TABLE^LANDS, 
 
 227 
 
 mountain-wall, apparently, but which, upon arriv- 
 ing at the summit, we ascertain to be a wide pla- 
 teau covered with forests. This plateau has an 
 altitude of three thousand eight hundred feet at its 
 eastern extremity; but, as it extends westward it 
 rises to a height of four thousand five hundred 
 feet. It embraces all Uyanzi, Unyanyembe, Usu- 
 kuma, Urimi and Iramba — in short, all that part of 
 Central Africa lying between the valley of the 
 Rufiji south and the Victoria Nyanza north, and 
 the mean altitude of this broad upland cannot 
 exceed four thousand five hundred feet. From 
 Mizanza to the Nyanza is a distance of nearly three 
 hundred geographical miles ; yet, at no part of this 
 long journey did the aneroids indicate a higher 
 altitude than five thousand one hundred feet above 
 the sea. 
 
 "As far as Urimi, from the eastern edge of the 
 plateau, the land is covered with a dense jungle 
 of acacias, which, by its density, strangles all other 
 species of vegetation. Here and there, only in 
 the cleft of a rock, a giant euphorbia may be seen, 
 sole lord of its sterile domain. The soil is shal- 
 low, and consists of vegetable mould, mixed largely 
 with sand and detritus of the bare rocks, which 
 crown each knoll and ridge, and which testify too 
 plainly to the violence of the periodical rains. 
 
 "In the basin of Matongo, in Southern Urimi» 
 we were instructed by the ruins and ridges, relics 
 of a loftier upland, of what has been effected by 
 
228 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 nature in the course of long ages. No learned 
 geological savant need ever expound to the 
 traveler who views these rocky ruins, the geolo- 
 gical history of this country. From a distance we 
 viewed the glistening naked and riven rocks as a 
 singular scene ; but when we stood among them, 
 and noted the appearance of the rocky fragments 
 of granite, gneiss and porphyry peeled as it were 
 rind after rind, or leaf after leaf, like an artichoke, 
 until the rock was wasted away, it seemed as if 
 Dame Nature has left these relics, these hilly 
 skeletons, to demonstrate her laws and career. 
 It seemed to me as if she said, 'Lo, and behold 
 this broad basin of Matongo, with its teeming vil- 
 lages and herds of cattle and fields of corn, sur- 
 rounded by these bare rocks — in primaeval time 
 this land was covered with water, it was the bed 
 of a vast sea. The waters were dried, leaving a 
 wide expanse of level land, upon which I caused 
 heavy rains to fall five months out of each year 
 during all the ages that have elapsed since first 
 the hot sunshine fell upon the soil. The rains 
 washed away the loose sand and made deep fur- 
 rows in course of time, until in certain places the 
 rocky kernel under the soil began to appear. 
 The furrows became enlarged, the waters frittered 
 away their banks and conveyed the earth away to 
 lower levels, through which it wore away a chan- 
 nel, first through the soil and lastly through the 
 rock itself, which you may see if you but walk to 
 
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY, 
 
 229 
 
 the bottom of that basin. You will there behold 
 a channel worn through the solid rock some fifty 
 feet in depth; and as you look on that you will 
 have some idea of the power and force of the 
 tropical rains. It is through that channel that the 
 soil robbed from these rocks has been carried 
 away toward the Nyanza to fill its depths and in 
 time make dry land of it. Now you may ask how 
 came these once solid rocks, which are now but 
 skeletons of hills and stony heaps, to be thus split 
 into so many fragments? Have you never seen 
 the effect of water thrown upon lime? The solid 
 rocks have been broken or peeled in an almost 
 similar manner. The tropic sun heated the face 
 of these rocks to an intense heat, and the cold 
 rain falling upon the heated surface caused them 
 to split and peel as you see them.' 
 
 " This is really the geological history of this 
 region simply told. Ridge after ridge, basin after 
 basin, from Western Ugogo to the Nyanza, tells 
 the same tale ; but it is not until we enter Central 
 Urimi, that we begin to marvel at the violence of 
 the process by which nature has transformed the 
 face of the land. For here the perennial springs 
 and rivulets begin to unite and form rivers, after 
 collecting and absorbing the moisture from the 
 water-shed ; and these rivers, though but gentle 
 streams during the dry season, become formidable 
 during the rains. It is in Central Urimi that the 
 Nile first begins to levy tribute upon Equatorial 
 
230 i^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Africa, and if you look upon the map and draw 
 a lii>e east from the latitude of Ujiji to longitude 
 thirty-five degrees you will strike upon the sources 
 of the Leewumbu, which is the extreme southern 
 feeder of the Victoria Nyanza. 
 
 " In Iramba, between Mgongo Tembo and Mom- 
 biti, we came upon what must have been in former 
 times an arm of the Victoria Nyanza. It is called 
 the Lumamberri Plain, after a river of that name, 
 and is about forty miles in width. Its altitude is 
 three thousand seven hundred and seventy-five 
 feet above the sea and but a few feet above Vic- 
 toria Nyanza. We were fortunate in crossing the 
 broad, shallow stream in the dry season, for dur- 
 ing the masika or rainy season the plain is con- 
 verted into a wide lake. 
 
 "The Leewumbu River, after a course of a 
 hundred and seventy-five miles, becomes known 
 as the Monaugh River, in Usukuma. After an- 
 other run of a hundred miles, it is converted into 
 Shimeeyu, under which name it enters the Vic- 
 toria east of this port of Kagehyi. Roughly the 
 Shimeeyu may be said to have a length of three 
 hundred and fifty miles." 
 
CHAPTER xn. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 STANLEY felt, as he stood and looked off on 
 the broad expanse of water, like one who 
 had achieved a great victory, and he said 
 that the wealth of the universe could not then 
 bribe him to turn back from his work. The boat 
 of a white man had never been launched on its 
 surface, and he longed to see the Lady Alice afloat, 
 that he might change the guesses of Livingstone, 
 Speke and others, into certainty. He had started 
 to complete Livingstone's unfinished work, and 
 now he was in a fair way to do it. How much 
 Cameron, who was somewhere in the interior on 
 the same mission, had accomplished, he did not 
 know, he only knew that with no boat at his com- 
 mand, like the Lady Alice, that he had transported 
 through so many hundreds of rryles of jungle, his 
 movements would be very much crippled. 
 
 He now mustered his entire force, to see what 
 he had to rely on before setting out, and found it 
 to consist of three white men and one hundred 
 and six Wanguana soldiers, twenty-eight having 
 died since leaving Itwru thirty days before, or at 
 an average of nearly one a day. This was a 
 gloomy prospect. Before beginning his real work 
 
 231 
 
232 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 one-half of his entire expedition had disappeared. 
 Dysentery had been the great scourge that had 
 thinned their ranks so fearfully. Stanley in the 
 first place was not a physician, while even those 
 remedies which ordinarily might have proved ef- 
 ficacious were rendered well-nigh useless by the 
 necessity of constant marching. Rest alone would 
 have cured a great many, but he felt compelled to 
 march. Whether the necessity for marching with 
 the rapidity he did, was sufficiently urgent to justify 
 him in sacrificing so many lives, he doubtless is 
 the best judge. These poor men were not ac- 
 customed to travel at the rate he kept them mov- 
 ing. Had they marched as leisurely as an Arab 
 caravan, they would have been nine months or a 
 year In making the distance which Stanley had ac- 
 complished in the short space of one hundred and 
 three days. 
 
 He was at last on the lake that Baker hoped to 
 reach with his steam vessels, and here he expected 
 to meet Gordon, his successor, but he evidently 
 had not yet arri\*ed, for the natives told him that 
 no boats had been seen on the water. They re- 
 lated strange tales, however, of the people inhab- 
 iting the shores. One told him of a race of 
 dwarfs, another of a tribe of giants, another still 
 of a people who kept a breed of dogs so large 
 that even Stanley's mastiffs were small In com- 
 parison. How much or little of this was true, he, 
 of course, could not tell, still it excited his curi- 
 
EXPLORATIONS, 233 
 
 osity, and increased his desire to explore the 
 country. 
 
 He reached the lake on the 28th of February, 
 and in eight days had everything ready, and 
 launched his boat. He selected ten good oars- 
 men, who, with the steersman and himself, com- 
 posed the boat's crew, and the whole force with 
 which he was to overcome all the difficulties that 
 he might encounter. 
 
 The camp was left in charge of Frank Pocoke 
 and young Barker. Naming the large body of 
 water, into which the Shimeeyu and Ruano Rivers 
 flowed,- Speke Bay, in honor of the distinguished 
 explorer, he sailed east along the irregular coast. 
 To-day passing a district thinly populated, to- 
 morrow a rugged hill country, through which the 
 elephants wandered in immense droves, and of 
 course, thronged with elephant hunters, he passed 
 various tribes, until he came to the mouth of the 
 Ruano River, discharging a large volume of water 
 into Speke Bay, but nothing in comparison with 
 the Shimeeyu and the Kagera, the two great river 
 supplies of the lake. The former is the largest 
 of all, and at its mouth a mile wide. Its length is 
 three hundred and seventy miles and is, he says, 
 the extreme southern source of the Nile. 
 
 The water he named Speke Bay is on the north- 
 eastern side, and where he crossed it about twelve 
 miles wide. Sterile plains succeeded barren 
 mountains, thin lines of vegetation along the 
 
224 ^^ "^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 borders of the lake alone giving space for cultiva- 
 tion, came and went until they reached the great 
 island of Ukerewe, divided from the mainland 
 only by a narrow channel. This was a true oasis, 
 for it was covered with herds of cattle, and ver- 
 due, and fruits, and rich in ivory. He found the 
 king an amiable man, and his subjects a peaceful, 
 commercial people. Although this was a large 
 island, more than forty miles long, the king owned 
 several of the neighboring islands. Nothing of 
 importance occurred on this voyage, as day after 
 day they wound in and out along the deeply cor- 
 rugated coast or sailed by islands, the people on 
 shore all being friendly. They at length came in 
 sight of the high table-land of Majita, which Speke 
 thought to be an island, but which Stanley demon- 
 strated, by actual survey, to be only a promontory. 
 It rises some three thousand feet above the level 
 of the lake, and is surrounded by low brown plains, 
 which, to the distant observer, resemble water. 
 
 Stanley continued his course along the eastern 
 shore of the lake, proceeding northerly, and at 
 last reached the coast of the Uriri country, a dis- 
 trict of pastoral land dotted over with fine cattle. 
 Bordering on this is Ugegeya, a land of fables and 
 wonders, the "El Dorado'' of slave hunters and 
 traders in ivory. It is the natural home of the 
 elephant, which is found here in great numbers. 
 In crossing a broad bay he first got sight of it, 
 rising in a series of tall mountains before him. 
 
JOURNAL OF THE EXPLORATIONS, 235 
 
 From their base the country rolls away to the east 
 in one vast plain twenty-five miles wide, over which 
 roam great herds of cattle, getting their own liv- 
 ing and furnishing plenty of meat to the indolent 
 inhabitants. Stanley constantly inquired of the 
 natives concerning the country inland, its character 
 and people, and was told many wonderful stories, 
 in which it was impossible to say how much fable 
 was mixed. Among other things, they reported 
 that about fifteen days' march from this place, 
 were mountains that spouted forth fire at times 
 and smoke. 
 
 Keeping north, he says: "We pass between 
 the Island Ugingo and the gigantic mountains of 
 Ugegeya, at whose base the Lady Alice seems to 
 crawl like a mite in a huge cheese, while we on 
 board admire the stupendous height, and wonder 
 at the deathly silence which prevails in this soli- 
 tude, where the boisterous winds are hushed and 
 the turbulent waves are as tranquil as a summer 
 dream. The natives, as they pass, regard this 
 spot with superstition, as well they might, for the 
 silent majesty of these dumb, tall mounts awes the 
 very storms to peace. Let the tempests bluster 
 as they may on the spacious main beyond the 
 cape, in this nook, sheltered by tall Ugingo isle 
 and lofty Goshi in the mainland, they inspire no 
 fear. It is. this refuge which Goshi promises the 
 distressed canoemen that .causes them to sing 
 praises of Goshi, and to cheer one another when 
 
'236 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 wearied and benighted, that GoshI is near to pro- 
 tect them/' 
 
 Sailing in and out among the clustering islands, 
 they see two low isolated islands in the distance, 
 and make toward them to camp there for the 
 night. " There/' says Stanley, " under the over- 
 spreading branches of a mangrove tree we dream 
 of unquiet waters, and angry surfs, and threaten- 
 ing rocks, to find ourselves next morning tied to 
 an island, which, from its peculiarity, I called 
 Bridge Island. While seeking a road to ascend 
 the island, to take bearings, I discovered a natural 
 bridge of basalt, about twenty feet in length and 
 twelve in breadth, under which one might repose 
 comfortably, and from one side see the waves 
 lashed to fury and spend their strength on the 
 stubborn rocks, which form the foundation of the 
 arch, while from the other we could see the boat, 
 secure under the lee of the island, resting on a 
 serene and placid surface, and shaded by man- 
 grove branches from the hot sun of the equator. 
 Its neighborhood is remarkable only for a small 
 cave, the haunt of fishermen.'' After taking a 
 survey of the neighboring mainland, he hoisted 
 sail and scudded along the coast before a freshen- 
 ing breeze. At noon he found himself, by obser- 
 vation, to be under the equator. Seeing an open* 
 ing in the lake that looked like the mouth of a 
 river, he sailed into it to find it was only a deep 
 bay. Coming in sight of a village, he anchored 
 
NA VIC A TING THE LAKE. 2 " 7 
 
 near it and tried ta make friends with some wild- 
 looking fishermen on the shore, but the naked 
 savages only "stared at them from under pent- 
 houses of hair, and hastily stole away to tell their 
 families of the strange apparition they had seen/' 
 This sail of one hundred miles along the coast 
 of this vast lake, though somewhat monotonous 
 and tame in its details to the reader, furnished 
 one of the most interesting episodes in Stanley's 
 life — not because the scenery was new and beauti- 
 ful, but because he, with his white sail, and fire- 
 arms, and strange dress, was as strange and won- 
 derful to these natives as was Columbus, with his 
 ship, and cannon, and cavaliers to the inhabitants 
 of the New World. Though often differing in ap- 
 pearance, and language, and manner, they were 
 almost uniformly friendly, and in the few cases 
 where they proved hostile, they were drunk, 
 which makes civilized men, as well as savages, 
 quarrelsome. It was frequently very difficult to 
 win their confidence, and often Stanley would 
 spend hours in endeavoring to remove their sus- 
 picions. In this wild, remote home, their lives 
 pass on without change, each generation treading 
 in the footsteps of the preceding one — no pro- 
 gress, no looking forward to increased knowledge 
 or new developments. There were no new dis- 
 coveries to arouse their mental faculties, no aspira- 
 tions for a better condition, and they were as 
 changeless as their tropical climate. Hence, to 
 
238 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 them the sudden appearance of this strange phe- 
 nomenon on their beautiful lake could not be 
 accounted for. It had seemingly dropped from 
 the clouds, and at the first discharge of a pistol 
 they were startled and filled with amazement. 
 
 Stanley, whether rowing or sailing, kept close 
 to the shore, that nothing worthy of note should 
 escape him, frequently landing to ascertain the 
 name of the district he was in, the bays he crossed, 
 the mountains he saw, and the rivers that emptied 
 into the lake. In short, he omitted nothing which 
 was necessary to a complete survey and know- 
 ledge of this hitherto unknown body of water. 
 
 After leaving this bay, they came in a short 
 time to a river which was full of hippopotami. 
 Two huge fellows swam so near the boat that 
 Stanley was afraid they would attack it, and 
 ordered the men to pull away from them. 
 Although hunting these huge beasts might be 
 very exciting sport, and a tolerably safe one in 
 boats properly built, to expose the Lady Alice, 
 with her slender cedar sides, to their tusks would 
 have been a piece of folly close akin to madness. 
 Her safety was of more consequence than all the 
 hippopotami in Africa. He was an explorer, not 
 a hunter ; and to risk all the future of the former 
 to gratify the pleasure of the latter would have 
 shown him unfit to command so important an 
 expedidon as this. Like the boat that carried 
 Cscsar and his fortunes, the Lady Alice bore in 
 
A NARR O W ESCAPE. 
 
 239 
 
 her frail sides destines greater than the imagi- 
 nation can conceive. So hoisting sail they caught 
 the freshening breeze and flew along the ever-^ 
 changing shore lined with villages, out of which 
 swarmed a vast crowd of people, showing a much 
 more densely populated district than they had yet 
 seen. He found the name of it to be Mahita; 
 and wishing to learn the names of some of the 
 villages he saw, the boat was turned toward shore 
 and anchored within fifty yards of it, but with a 
 cable long enough to let them drift to within a few 
 feet of it. Some half a dozen men wearing small 
 shells above their elbows and a circle round their 
 heads came down to the beach, opening a conver- 
 sation with them. Stanley learned the name of 
 the country, but they refused to tell him anything 
 more till he landed. While getting ready to do 
 so, he noticed the numbers on the shore increased 
 with astonishing rapidity, and seemed to be greatly 
 excited. This aroused his suspicions, and he 
 ordered the rowers to pull off again. It was 
 lucky he did, for he had scarcely put three lengths 
 between him and the shore, when suddenly out of 
 the bushes on each side of the spot where he was 
 to land arose a forest of spears. 
 
 Stanley did not intend to go away entirely, but 
 lie off till they became less excited, but this evi- 
 dence of treachery caused him to change his mind, 
 and he ordered the sail to be hoisted, and moved 
 away toward a point at the mouth of the cove, 
 
2AO ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 which, with the wind as It was blowing, they could 
 but little more than clear. The negroes seeing 
 this, sent up a loud shout, and hurried off to reach 
 It before the boat did. Stanley penetrating their 
 design, ordered the sail to be lowered and the 
 rowers to pull dead to windward. The discom- 
 fited savages looked on in amazement to see the 
 prize slip through their fingers so easily. It was 
 a narrow escape, for had Stanley landed, he would 
 doubtless have been overpowered and killed be^ 
 fore he could use his weapons. 
 
 It was now late in the afternoon, and the sav^ 
 ages made no attempt to follow them, and at dusk, 
 coming to a small island, they tied up and camped 
 for the night, lulled to sleep by the murmur of the 
 waves on the beach. 
 
 The next day continuing their course, they at 
 last sailed into the bay, which forms the north- 
 eastern extremity of the Victoria Nyanza. The 
 eastern side of this bay is lined with bold hills 
 and ridges, but at the extreme end wTiere the 
 Tagama River comes in, the country is flat. The 
 expedition now began to move westward in its 
 slow circumnavigation of the lake, and came at 
 length to Muiwanda. Here they found the sav- 
 ages friendly, and they landed and obtained from 
 them, at fair prices, such provisions and vege- 
 tables as they desired. They also gave Stanley 
 all the information they could of the neighboring 
 country. They told him that the name of the bay 
 
REVIEWING THE ROUTE, 241 
 
 in which they rode, and which was the extreme 
 northern limit of the lake, was Baringo^ They 
 had evidently not been great travelers or much 
 visited by any tribes living away from their own 
 coast, for they said that they had never heard of 
 any other lake, great or small, except that one — 
 the Nyanza. Considering that this whole central 
 region of Africa is dotted with lakes, and that the 
 Tanganika, an inland sea, is not three hundred 
 miles distant, it is evident they must live very 
 much isolated from any but their own people. 
 Stanley had now surveyed the southern, eastern 
 and northeastern shores of the lake, and had taken 
 thirty-seven observations and entered almost 
 every nook and cove of this vast body of water. 
 He had corrected the map of Speke, made on the 
 report of the natives — proved that he was wrong 
 in his latitude of the lake, and taken such ample 
 notes that he could make out an accurate chart 
 of i;hat portion he had thus traversed. He makes 
 the extreme eastern point of the lake end in 34° 
 35' east longitude, and 33' 43'' north latitude. 
 
 After he had finished his exploration thus far, 
 Stanley went over his route, to gain a general 
 knowledge of the country, the location and ap- 
 proximate size of the various districts, and general 
 character of the inhabitants. The north shore he 
 found indented with deep bays, and so completely 
 land-locked, that they might easily be mistaken 
 for separate lakes, while the islands clustered 
 Id 
 
2^2 2N THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 SO thickly and closely to the shore that unless 
 thoroughly examined, would be taken for portions 
 of the mainland. But Stanley has traced it out 
 so plainly, that the outline of the shore is as dis- 
 tinct as that of Lake Ontario. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 THE voyage continued along the northern 
 and then along the western shore of the 
 lake, revealing at almost every turn new 
 features of scenery and some new formation of 
 land or new characteristic of the people, till the 
 journey was like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope. 
 A tribe friendly and trusting would be succeeded 
 by one suspicious or treacherous, so that it was 
 impossible to be governed by any general rule, 
 and Stanley was compelled to be constantly on 
 the alert, watching the motions of each tribe with- 
 out reference to the actions of the last, and laying 
 his plans accordingly. He continued his course 
 down the western shore toward his camp from 
 which he started, finding this side more densely 
 populated than the others, and the tribes that oc- 
 cupied it of a more independent, fearless char* 
 acter, and more inclined to hostilities. 
 
 At Uvuma, an independent country and the 
 largest on the Victoria Nyanza, the hostility took 
 a more determined form.. The natives made signs 
 of friendship to induce Stanley's party to come 
 near the shore. They did so, sailing up to within 
 a few yards of it. At that point a large number 
 
 243 
 
244 ' ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of natives were hid behind the trees, who sud* 
 denly emerged and hurled a shower of huge 
 stones at the boat in order to sink it. Stanley 
 instantly ordered the helm to be put hard up, and 
 the boat was quickly steered away from the dan- 
 gerous spot, but not before Stanley, enraged at this 
 act of treachery, leveled his revolver at the 
 wretches and dropped one of them. 
 
 Going on some miles farther, they entered a 
 channel between some islands and the shore, 
 where they discovered a fleet of canoes, thirteen 
 in number, with over one hundred warriors in them, 
 armed with shells, and spears, and slings. The 
 foremost one had some sweet potatoes aboard, 
 which one of the natives held up as though he 
 wished to trade. Stanley ordered the crew to 
 cease rowing, but as the breeze was light the sail 
 Was kept up, and the progress was so slow that 
 this canoe soon came up. While he was bargain- 
 ing for the potatoes, the other boats approached 
 and completely surrounded the Lady Alice and 
 began to reach over and seize everything they 
 could lay hands on. Stanley warned them away 
 with his gun, when they jeered at him and im- 
 mediately seized their spears, while one man held 
 up a string of beads he had stolen and dared 
 Stanley to catch him. With that promptness which 
 has many a time saved his life, the latter drew his 
 revolver and shot the villain dead. Spears in- 
 stantly flashed in the air, but Stanley seizing his 
 
SOURCE OF THE NILE. 24. C 
 
 repeating rifle poured shot after shot into them, 
 knocking over three of them in as many seconds, 
 when the amazed warriors turned in flight. He 
 then seized his elephant rifle and began to pour its 
 heavy shot into their canoes, throwing them into 
 the wildest confusion. As they now continued on 
 their way, an occasional shot from the big gun 
 waked the echoes of the shore to announce be- 
 forehand what treatment treachery would receive. 
 
 As they kept on to the northward, they felt the 
 current drawing them on, and soon they came to 
 the Ripon Falls, their foam and thunder contrast- 
 ing strangely with the quietness of the lake a short 
 time before, and the silence and tranquility of the 
 scene. It was the Nile starting on its long journey 
 to the Mediterranean, fertilizing Egypt in its course. 
 Coasting westerly, they came to the island of 
 Krina, where they obtained guides to conduct 
 them to King Mtesa, the most renowned king of 
 the whole region. Sending messengers to an- 
 nounce to the king his arrival, Stanley continued 
 to coast along Uganda, everywhere treated with 
 kindness, so far as words went, but very niggardly 
 in fact. 
 
 He here observed a curious phenomenon. He 
 discovered an inlet in which there was a percepti- 
 ble tide, the water flowing north for two hours 
 and then south for the same length of time. On 
 asking the guides if this was usual, they said yes, 
 and it was common to all the inlets on the coast 
 
246 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of Uganda. At Beya they were welcomed by 
 a fleet of canoes sent to conduct them to the 
 kin<^. 
 
 On the 4th of April, Stanley landed, amid the 
 wavhig of flags, volleys of musketry and shouts 
 of two thousand people, assembled to receive him. 
 The chief officer then conducted him to comfort- 
 able quarters, where, soon aftex-, sixteen goats, ten 
 oxen, widi bananas, sweet potatoes, plantains, 
 chickens, rice, milk, butter, etc., etc., in profuse 
 quantities were sent him. 
 
 In the afternoon, the king sent word to his guest, 
 that he was ready to receive him. Issuing from 
 his quarters, Stanley found himself in a street 
 eighty feet broad and half a mile long, lined with 
 the personal guards, officers, attendants and re- 
 tinue of the king, to the number of three thousand. 
 At the farther end of this avenue was the king's 
 residence, and as Stanley advanced he could dimly 
 see the form of the king in the entrance, sitting in 
 a chair. At every step volleys of musketry were 
 fired and flags waved, while sixteen drums beaten 
 together kept up a horrible din. As he ap- 
 proached the house, the king, a tall, slender 
 figure, dressed in Arab costume, arose and ad- 
 vancing held out his hand in silence, while the 
 drums kept up their loud tattoo. They looked 
 on each other in silence. Stanley was greatly 
 embarrassed by the novelty of the situation, but 
 soon the king, taking a seat, asked him to be 
 
KING MTESA. 
 
 249 
 
 seated also, while a hundred of his captains fol- 
 lowed their example. 
 
 Lifting his eyes to the king, Stanley saw a tall 
 and slender man, but with broad, powerful shoul- 
 ders. His eyes were large, his face intelligent and 
 amiable, while his mouth and nose were a great 
 improvement on those of the ordinary negro, 
 being more like those of a Persian Arab. As 
 soon as he began to speak, Stanley was captivated 
 by his courteous, affable manner. He says that 
 he was infinitely superior to the sultan of Zanzi- 
 bar, and impressed you as a colored gentleman 
 who had learned his manners by contact with 
 civilized, cultivated men, instead of being, as he 
 was, a native of Central Africa, who had seen 
 but three white men before in his life. Stan- 
 ley was astonished at his innate polish and he felt 
 he had found a friend in this great king of this 
 part of the country, where the tribal territories are 
 usually so small. His kingdom extends through 
 three degrees of longitude and almost as many of 
 latitude. He professes Islamism now, and no 
 cruelties are practised in his kingdom. He has a 
 guard of two hundred men, renegades from 
 Baker's expedition, defalcators from Zanzibar, and 
 the elite of his own kingdom. 
 
 Behind his throne or arm-chair, stood his gun- 
 bearers, shield-bearers and lance-bearers, and on 
 either side were arranged his chief courtiers, gov- 
 ernors of provinces, etc., while outside streamed 
 
550 ' /AT THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 away the long line of his warriors, beginning with 
 the drummers and goma-beaters. Mtesa asked 
 many intelligent questions, and Stanley found that 
 this was not his home, but that he had come there 
 with that immense throng of warriors to shoot 
 birds. In two or three days, he proposed to 
 return to his capital at Ulagala or Uragara (it is 
 difficult to tell which is right). The first day, for 
 Stanley's entertainment, the king gave a grand 
 naval review with eighty canoes, which made quite 
 an imposing display, which the king with his three 
 hundred wives and Stanley viewed from shore. 
 The. crews consisted of two thousand five hundred 
 men or more. The second day, the king led his 
 fleet in person to show his prowess in shooting 
 birds. The third day, the troops were exercised 
 in general military movements and at target prac- 
 tice, and on the fourth, the march was taken up 
 for the capital. 
 
 In Mtesa Stanley sees the hope of Central 
 Africa. He is a natural born kinof and tries to 
 imitate the manners, as he understands them, of 
 European monarchs. He has constructed broad 
 roads which will be ready for vehicles whenever 
 they are introduced. The road they traveled ^in- 
 creased from twenty to one hundred and fifty feet 
 as they approached the capital, which crowned a 
 commandinor eminence overlookinor a beautiful 
 country covered widi tropical fruit and trees. 
 JIuts are not very imposing, but a tall flagstaff and 
 
ROYALLY ENTERTAINED, r25i 
 
 an immense flag gave some dignity to the sur- 
 roundings. 
 
 The capital is composed of a vast collection of 
 huts on an eminence crowned by the royal quar- 
 ters, around which run five several palisades and 
 circular courts, between which and the city runs a 
 circular road from one hundred to two hundred 
 feet in width, from whence radiate six or seven 
 magnificent avenues lined with gardens and 
 huts. 
 
 The next day, Stanley was introduced into the 
 palace in state. The guards were clothed in white 
 cotton dresses, while the chiefs were attired in 
 rich Arab costumes. This palace was a large, 
 lofty structure built of grass and cane, while tall 
 trunks of trees upheld the roof — covered, inside 
 with cloth sheeting. On the fourth day, the ex- 
 citing news was received that another white man 
 was approaching the capital. It proved to be 
 Colonel Lerant de Bellfonds of the Egyptian ser- 
 vice, who had been dispatched by Colonel Gordon 
 to make a treaty of commerce with the king and 
 the khedive of Egypt. 
 
 This Mtesa, we said, was a Mohammedan, hav- 
 ing been converted by Khamis Ben Abdullah some 
 four or five years before. This Arab, from Mus- 
 cat, was a man of magnificent presence^ of noble 
 descent, and very rich, and dressed in splendid 
 Oriental costume. Mtesa became fascinated with 
 him, and the latter stayed with the king over a 
 
252 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 year, giving him royal presents and dressing him 
 in gorgeous attire. 
 
 No wonder this brilliant stranger became to 
 such a heathen a true missionary. But Stanley, 
 in a conversation with the king, soon upset his 
 new faith, and he agreed at once to observe the 
 Christian as well as the Moslem Sabbath, to which 
 his captains also agreed. He, moreover, caused 
 the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, 
 and the Golden Rule, "Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
 bor as thyself,'' to be written on a board for his 
 daily perusal. In stating this remarkable fact, 
 Stanley says ; " Though I am no missionary, I shall 
 begin to think I may become one if such success 
 is so feasible;" and exclaims, "Oh, that some 
 pious, practical missionary would come here. 
 What a field and harvest, ripe for the sickle of 
 the Gospel. Mtesa would give him everything 
 he desired — houses, cattle, lands, ivory, etc. He 
 might call a province his own in one day." But he 
 says he must not be a theological one, nor a mis- 
 sionary of creeds, but a practical Christian, tied to 
 no church or sect, but simply profess God and His 
 Son, and Hve a blameless life and be able to in- 
 struct the people in building houses, cultivating 
 land, and in all those things that make up human 
 civilization. Such a man, Stanley says, would be- 
 come the temporal saviour of Africa. Mtesa 
 begged Stanley to tell such men to come, and he 
 would give them all they wanted. 
 
THE NEEDED MISSIONAR Y. 253 
 
 The subjects of this heathen king number not 
 far from two millions, and Stanley affirms that one 
 good missionary among them would accomplish 
 more toward the regeneration of Africa in one 
 year than all other missionaries on the continent 
 put together. He suggests that the mission 
 should bring to Mtesa several suits of military 
 clothes, heavily embroidered, pistols, swords, din- 
 ner-service, etc., etc. This sounds rather strange 
 to the modern missionary, and seems like trusting 
 too much to " carnal weapons," but it is eminently 
 practical. Anything to give the missionary a firm 
 footing on which to begin his labors is desirable, 
 if not wrong in itself or leading to wrong. For 
 its own use the mission should, he says, bring also 
 hammers, saws, augers, drills for blasting, and 
 blacksmith and carpenter-tools, etc., etc. In short, 
 the missionary should not attempt to convert the 
 black man to his religious views simply by preach- 
 ing Christ, but that civilization, the hand-maiden 
 of religion, should move side by side with it in 
 equal step. The practical effect of the mission- 
 ary work, in order to influence the natives, must 
 not be merely a moral change, which causes the 
 convert to abjure the rites and follies of Pagan- 
 ism, but to lift the entire people, whether converted 
 or not to Christianity, to a higher plane of civili- 
 zation. We know there are different theories on 
 this subject, but we think that Stanley's mode 
 might safely be tried. It was tried, after a fashion. 
 
254 
 
 IN 7 HE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 almost immediately, but the station has been 
 broken up and the missionaries murdered. 
 
 Perhaps it is as good a place here as anywhere 
 to correct a wrong- statement that has been going 
 the rounds of the papers, which puts Stanley in a 
 false Hght. It was not pretended that King Mtesa 
 had anything to do with this outrage, but that a 
 tribe With which Stanley had l:ad a fight, killing 
 some of its number, committed it in revenge for 
 what he did. The truth is, the mission was esta- 
 blished by enthusiasts, and some three or four 
 started with false views and hopes entirely. Only 
 two of them reached the ground, one of them not 
 being a minister. They were, however, well re- 
 ceived, and allowed to go to work. The king, or 
 chief of a neighboring tribe, had a daughter with 
 whom a native fell in love. This man was repug- 
 nant to the father, and he refused to let him have 
 his daughter for a wife. The consequence was 
 they eloped and fled to the island on which the 
 missionaries were stationed, and placed themselves 
 under their protection and remained with them. 
 The enraged savage beard of this, and doubtless 
 believing that the missionaries had connived at 
 the elopement — certainly harbored the fugitives 
 against his wish — attacked the station and mur- 
 dered the missionaries. How much or how little 
 they were to blame, or, if not guilty of any wrong, 
 how unwisely they acted, they unfortunately do 
 not live to tell us. But Stanley's conduct in that 
 
WILD JUSTICE. 
 
 255 
 
 region had nothing to do with the tragedy. It 
 was an act of wild justice by an enraged and 
 savage chieftain, and militates in no way against 
 carrying out the project of Stanley. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 EXPLORATION OF THE VICTORIA NYANZA. 
 
 THOUGH this royal hospitality was very 
 grateful after his long toils, and though 
 intercourse with a white man in that re- 
 mote land was refreshing, and though he longed 
 to rest, yet Stanley felt he must be about his work. 
 To finish this would require much time, and he 
 had now been long absent from his men, who 
 might prove intractable while he was away, and he 
 was anxious to get back, for the exploration of 
 this lake was only the beginning of what he pro- 
 posed to do: 
 
 With two canoes belonging to his friend, King 
 Mtesa, accompanying him as an escort until the 
 grand admiral of his sable majesty, Magassa, who, 
 with thirty canoes, had been detached for his 
 service, should overtake him, he set sail from the 
 river, and camped that night on a smooth, sandy 
 beach, at a point called Kagya. The natives who 
 lived there received them in a friendly, and for 
 African negroes, hospitable manner. Stanley 
 took this as a good augury of the reception he 
 should meet with along the coast of Usongora, 
 which he designed to explore. 
 
 In the morning he again set sail, and sweeping 
 
 (256) 
 
A NIGHT SURPRISE, 
 
 ^S7 
 
 leisurely along, came in the afternoon to the vil- 
 lage of Makongo. As the Lady Alice approached 
 the shore, he saw a crowd of naked savages 
 squatted on the ground, sucking the everlasting 
 pombe, or beer, through a straw, just as white 
 men suck punch or a sherry cobbler. As the boat 
 reached the shore, the chief, with the vacant stare 
 of a drunkard, arose and reeled toward him and 
 welcomed him in a friendly, though maudlin man- 
 ner. The natives also appeared good-natured 
 and quite content with their arrival. After they 
 had satisfied their curiosity by examining him and 
 his boat, they went away, leaving him to arrange 
 his camp for the night and prepare his supper. 
 
 The sun went down in glory beyond the purple 
 mountains — a slight ripple dimpled the surface of 
 the lake, while slender columns of smoke ascended 
 here and there along the shore from the huts of 
 the natives ; and all was calm and peaceful, though 
 wild and lonely. As night came down, and the 
 stars, one by one, came out in the tropical sky, 
 Stanley and his companions stretched themselves 
 on their mats, and, unsuspicious of danger, fell 
 asleep. About lo o'clock he was suddenly 
 awakened by a loud and hurried beating of drums, 
 with ever and anon a chorus of shrieks and yells 
 that rung through the clear, still air with a distinct- 
 ness and sharpness that made the blood shiver, 
 Stanley immediately aroused his men, and they 
 listened, wondering what it foreboded. The lake 
 17 
 
258 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 was still below, and the heavens calm and serene 
 above, but all around it seemed as if demons of 
 the infernal regions were out on their orgies. 
 Stanley thought it was the forerunner of an attack 
 on the camp, but Mtesa's men, the Waganda, told 
 him that the drumming and yelling were the wild 
 welcome of the natives to a stranger. He doubted 
 it, for he had seen too many savage tribes, and 
 knew their customs too well to believe this blood- 
 curdling, discordant din was a welcome to him. 
 
 It is strange that he did not at once quietly 
 launch his boat and lie off the rest of the night a 
 little way from the shore till morning, and see 
 what it all meant. It would seem that ordinary 
 prudence would have prompted this. His neglect 
 to do so, very nearly cost him his life, and ended 
 there his explorations. For some reason or other, 
 which he does not give, he determined to remain 
 where he was, contenting himself with the pre- 
 caution of placing his weapons close beside him, 
 and directing his eleven men to load their guns and 
 put them under their mats. He lay down again, 
 but not to sleep, for all night long the furious beat 
 of drums and unearthly yells rang out over the 
 lake keeping him not only awake, but anxious. 
 
 At daybreak he arose, and as he stepped out of 
 his tent, he started as if he had seen an apparition, 
 for in the gray light of morning, he saw five hun- 
 dred naked, motionless forms, with bows, shields 
 and spears, standing in a semicircle around him, 
 
A NARROW ESCAPE, 
 
 259 
 
 and completely cutting him off from his boat and 
 the lake. It was a fearful moment, and to his 
 inquiry what it meant, no answer was givea 
 There was no shouting or yelling, none of the 
 frantric gesticulations so common to the African 
 savage. On the contrary, they wore a calm and 
 composed, though stern and determined aspect. 
 Shoulder to shoulder like a regiment of soldiers 
 they stood, the forest of spears above them glitter- 
 ing in the early light. There was nothing to be 
 done — Stanley was entrapped, and with the first 
 attempt to escape or seize his rifle would be trans- 
 fixed by a hundred spears. It was too late to re- 
 pent the folly of not heeding the warning of the 
 night before, and so he calmly stood and faced 
 the crowd of stern, malignant faces, For some 
 minutes this solitary white man met glance for 
 glance, when the drunken chief of the day before 
 stalked into the semicircle, and with a*stick which 
 he held in his hand forced back the savages by 
 flourishing it in their faces. He then advanced, 
 and striking the boat a furious blow, shouted "be 
 off,'' and to facilitate matters, took hold and 
 helped launch it. Stanley was only too glad to 
 obey him, and his heart bounded within him as he 
 felt the keel gliding into deep water, and soon a 
 hundred rods were between him and the savages 
 that lined the shore. The Waganda were still on 
 the beach, and Stanley prepared to sweep it with 
 a murderous fire the moment they were attacked. 
 
26o ^^ ^-^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 So dense was the crowd of natives, that had he 
 fired at that close range, he would have mowed 
 them down with fearful slaughter. But although 
 there was much loud wrangling and altercation, 
 they were, at length, allowed to embark, and fol- 
 lowed him as he sailed away toward the isle of 
 Musua. He had learned a lesson that he did not 
 soon forget. 
 
 The whole had been a strange proceeding, and 
 why he was not killed, when so completely in their 
 power, can be accounted for only on the ground 
 that they were in Mtesa's dominions, and feared 
 he would take terrible revenge for the murder. 
 Later in the day this drunken chief came to visit 
 him on the island, and demanded why he had 
 come and what he wanted. Being told, he went 
 away, and sent three branches of bananas, and left 
 him and his party to their fate. They rested here 
 quietly till •afternoon, when they saw Magassa's 
 fleet coming slowly down the lake, steering for a 
 neighboring island. The canoes were beached 
 and the men disembarked and began to prepare 
 their camp for the night. Stanley was getting 
 impatient at these delays, and thinking he would 
 quicken Magassa's movements by hastening for- 
 ward, he set sail for Alice Island, thirty-five miles 
 distant. The two chiefs, with the escorting canoes* 
 accompanied him for about a mile and a half, but, 
 getting alarmed at the aspect of the weather, 
 turned back, shouting, as they did so, that as soon 
 
IN A STORM. 261 
 
 as It moderated they would follow. Bowling along 
 before a spanking breeze, the little craft danced 
 gayly over the cresting waves, and when night 
 came down and darkness fell on the lone4y lake, 
 kept steadily on and, finally, at midnight reached 
 the island, where they luckily struck upon a 
 sheltered cove and came to anchor. When morn- 
 ing dawned they found they were almost against 
 the base of a beetling cliff, with overhanging rocks 
 all around them, dotted with the fires of the na- 
 tives. These came down to the shore holding 
 green wisps of grass in their hands as tokens of 
 friendliness. Stanley and his men were hungry, 
 and now rejoiced in the pro5?pect of a good break- 
 fast. But these friendly nadves, seeing their need, 
 became so extortionate in their demands that they 
 would not trade with them, and Stanley determined 
 to steer for Bumbirch Island, twenty-five miles dis- 
 tant, and there obtain food. 
 
 The breeze was light and they made slow head- 
 way, and it was evidently going to be a long sail 
 to the island. As the sun went down, huge black 
 clouds began to roll up the sky, traversed by 
 lightning, while the low growl of thunder foretold 
 a coming storm. As the clouds rose higher and 
 higher the lightning became more vivid, and the 
 thunder broke with startling peals along the water, 
 and soon the rain came down in torrents, drench- 
 ing them to the skin. The waves began to rise 
 while darkness, black as midnight, settled down 
 
262 I^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 on the lake. The little craft tossed wildly on the 
 water, and the prospect before them looked gloomy 
 enough. Fortunately, about midnight, they came 
 upon Pocoke Island, and anchored under its lee 
 amid thunder and lightning, and rain, and the angry 
 roar of the surf on every side. All night long the 
 flashes lit up the angry scene, while the heavy, 
 tropical thunder shook the bosom of the lake. 
 The haven they had reached was so poor a pro- 
 tection that all hands were kept bailing, to pre- 
 vent the overstrained boat from foundering at her 
 anchor. 
 
 We have a very faint idea in our northern lati- 
 tudes of what a thunder-storm is in the tropics, 
 and the slight affair tlat Stanley made of it is one 
 of those apparantly insignificant, and yet most 
 striking illustrations of his character. Storms on 
 the water — starvation on land — deadly perils of 
 all kinds are spoken of by him as one would 
 speak of the ordinary incidents of travel. He has 
 no time, and apparently no taste, for sensational 
 writing ; or perhaps it would be nearer the truth 
 to say — in his cool courage, calm self-reliance and 
 apparent contempt of death he does not see the 
 dramatic side of the scenes in which he performs 
 so important a part. The most tragic events — 
 the most perilous crises are treated by him as 
 ordinary events. An escape so narrow that one's 
 heart stops beating as he contemplates it, he nar- 
 rates with as much coolness and apparent indif- 
 
A WELCOME SIGHT. 
 
 2^Z 
 
 ferance as he would his deliverance from a dis- 
 agreeable companion. 
 
 In the morning, Stanley, as he looked around 
 him and saw the surf breaking on every side, 
 ordered the anchor up and the sail hoisted, for this 
 was too dangerous a place for the Lady Alice. The 
 thunder-storm had passed, and a stiff northeast 
 breeze had sprung up, before which he bowled 
 swiftly along, and in three hou^rs reached the mouth 
 of a quiet cove near the village of Kajuri, at the 
 southeastern extremity of Bumbirch Island. After 
 the storm and peril of the last forty-eight hours, 
 it was a welcome sight thc^t greeted them. The 
 green slopes of this gerri set in the sparkling 
 waters were laden with fruits and covered with 
 cattle. Groves of banana^, herds of cattle lazily 
 feeding, and flocks of goats promised an abun- 
 dance of food ; and Stanley and his men, as they 
 drew near the lovely, inviting shore, reveled in an- 
 ticipation of the rest and good cheer awaiting 
 them. Filled with the most peaceful intentions 
 themselves — their hearts made glad at the sight 
 Df the bountiful provisions before them — they did 
 not dream of any hostility, when suddenly they 
 heard a wild, shrill war-cry from the plateau above 
 the huts of the village -near the shore, on which 
 were gathered a crowd of excited men. Stanley 
 was surprised at this unexpected hostile demon- 
 stration, and halted just as the boat was about to 
 ground, to ascertain what it meant The savages 
 
264 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 i> the meantime were rushing wildly toward the 
 shor^ in front of where the boat lay rocking on 
 the Wc ter. As they approached, they suddenly 
 changea their warlike attitude, and, ceasing their 
 loud yells, assumed a friendly manner, and invited 
 them to lanC^ in tones and gestures so kind and 
 affable that Sta^^^ley's first suspicions were at once 
 disarmed, and he ordered the rowers to send the 
 boat ashore. But th^e moment the keel grated on 
 the pebbly beach, aliNthis friendliness of manner 
 changed, and the nak^-^d savages rushed into the 
 water, and, seizing the boat, lifted it up bodily and, 
 with all on board, cari?ied it high and dry on the 
 bank. 
 
 Stanley was terribh^-^ aroused at this sudden 
 treachery, and reckles-^ of consequences, deter- 
 mined to avenge it, and twice he raised his re- 
 volver to shoot down the audacious wretches, but 
 his crew begged him to desist, declaring earnestly 
 that these people were friends, and that if he 
 wouid wait a few minutes, he would see that all 
 was right. He accordingly sat down in the stern 
 sheets and waited to see the end. In the mean« 
 time, the savages came leaping from the hill-sides, 
 tossing their naked limbs in the air, and uttering 
 loud yells, till a wild, frantic multitude completely 
 surrounded the boat in which Stanley still sat un- 
 moved and calm. The wretches seemed crazed 
 with passion, and poised their spears as if about 
 to strike him, and drew their arrows to the head, 
 
A TREACHEROUS TRICK. 
 
 267 
 
 one discharge of which would have riddled Stan- 
 ley, struck the boat by his side with their spear 
 handles, gnashed their teeth, foamed at the mouth, 
 and yelled till their eyes seemed bursting from 
 their sockets. Stanley, however, never moved 
 nor uttered a word. His life did not seem worth 
 a thought in that frenzied, demoniacal crowd. But 
 resistance and expostulation were alike useless, 
 and he could do nothing but wait tbe final assault, 
 and then sell his life dearly as possible. 
 
 For some strange, unaccountable reason, their 
 chief, Thekha, kept them from the last act of vio- 
 lence, and at last so quieted them that Stanley 
 calmly asked him how much he demanded to let him 
 go. The most curious part of this whole affair is, 
 that the chief condescended to enter into negotia- 
 tions with Stanley. Everything the latter had was 
 in the boat, and he had only to give the word, and 
 in five minutes all was his. But instead of doing 
 this, he struck up a bargain with Stanley, and 
 agreed to let him off for four cloths and ten neck- 
 laces of large beads. Stanley at once took them 
 from his packages and gave them to him. But 
 no sooner had he received them, than he gave a 
 quick order to his men to seize the oars of the 
 boat. In a twinkling, before Stanley had time to 
 think what they were about, the oars were caught 
 up and carried away. The natives seeing through 
 the treacherous trick, enjoyed it thoroughly, and 
 their loud laughing jeers roused all the devil in 
 
268 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Stanley's nature, but he still said nothing. Hav- 
 ing got possession of the oars, they thought he 
 was helpless as a tortoise on his back, and became 
 quiet, seemingly enjoying the white man's helpless- 
 ness. Having no fear of his escape, they at noon 
 leisurely walked to their huts to get their noonday 
 meal, and to discuss what the next move should be. 
 Stanley says he was not idle, he wished to impose 
 on the savages by his indifferent manner, but he 
 was all the while planning how to escape and the 
 best mode of meeting the attack when it came. 
 
 While the savages were at their dinner, a ne- 
 gress came near them and told them to eat honey 
 with Thekha, as it was the only way to save their 
 lives, for he had determined to kill them and take 
 everything they had. Stanley permitted his cox- 
 swain to go to Thekha and make the proposition 
 to eat honey. The wily chief told him to be at 
 ease, no harm was intended them and next day 
 he would eat honey with them. The coxswain 
 returned delighted, and reported the good news. 
 But Stanley checked the confidence of the men, 
 and told them that nothing but their own wit and 
 courage could save their lives. This, he said, was 
 all a trick, the next move would be to seize their 
 guns as they had the oars, when they would be 
 helpless, and by no means to leave the boat, but 
 be prepared to act at any moment when he should 
 give the word. The men saw at once the force 
 of Stanley's suspicions, and kept close by him. 
 
A CRITICAL MOMENT. 
 
 26^ 
 
 Thus nearly three long hours passed away, 
 neither he nor his crew doing or attempting to do 
 anything. But about three o'clock, the war-drums 
 began again their horrid din, and soon the loping, 
 naked savages were seen running from every 
 quarter, and in half an hour five hundred war- 
 riors had gathered around the chief within thirty 
 paces of the boat. He was sitting down, and 
 when the warriors were all assembled, he made 
 them an address. As soon as he had finished, 
 about fifty of them dashed up to Stanley's men, 
 and seizing his drum, bore it back in triumph. 
 From some cause or other, this last and apparently 
 most harmless act of all aroused Stanley's sus- 
 picions, to a point that made him act promptly and 
 decisively. 
 
 Perhaps it was their scornful, insulting language 
 as they walked off, bidding him get his guns ready, 
 as they were coming back soon to cut his throat. 
 At all events, the moment he saw them approach 
 the chief with the drum, he shouted to his men to 
 push the boat into the water. The eleven men 
 sprang to its sides, and lifting it as if it had been 
 a toy, carried it, with Stanley in it, to the water's 
 edge and shot it, with one desperate effort, far 
 out into the lake and beyond their depth, and 
 where they had to swim for it. Quickly as it was 
 done, the savages instantly detected the move- 
 ment, and before the boat had lost its headway, 
 were crowding the very edge of the water, to 
 
270 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 which they had rushed Hke a whirlwind, shouting 
 and yelling like madmen. Seizing his elephant 
 rifle, Stanley sent two large conical balls into the 
 dense mass with frightful effect. Then pulling 
 one of the men in the boat, and bidding him help 
 the others in, he seized his double-barreled gun, 
 loaded with buck-shot, and fired right and left into 
 the close-packed, naked crowd. It was like firing 
 with small shot into a flock of pigeons, and a clean 
 swath was cut through the naked mass, which 
 was so stunned at the horrible effect, that they ran 
 back up the slope without hurling a spear or shoot- 
 inof an arrow. 
 
 With the oars gone, the great struggle would 
 be to get out into the open lake, where they could 
 hoist sail ; for, this once accomplished, they could 
 bid defiance to their enemies. Stanley knew the 
 first move of the savages would be to man their 
 canoes, which lined the shore, and surround his 
 helpless vessel and overwhelm him. He therefore 
 watched the first movement to launch a canoe, and 
 as soon as a desperate-looking savage made 
 the attempt, he dropped him with a bullet through 
 his body. A second, following his example, fell 
 on the beach, when they paused at the certain 
 death that seemed to await the man who dared to 
 touch a boat. Just then Stanley caught sight of 
 the sub-chief, who commanded the party that took 
 the drum, and taking a cool, deliberate aim at him 
 with his elephant rifle, he sent one of its great 
 
TERRIBLE RECOMPEiSrSE. ^y ^ 
 
 conical balls tearing through his body, killing at 
 the same time his wife and infant, behind him. 
 This terrified them, for there seemed something 
 supernatural about this deadly work, and they 
 ceased their efforts to launch the boats, and 
 hastened to get out of the reach of such fatal 
 firing. In the meantime, the men were slowly 
 working the boat toward the mouth of the cove. 
 But, just as they were feeling safe, Stanley saw 
 two canoes, loaded heavily with warriors, push out 
 of a little bay and pull toward him. Putting two 
 explosive shells into his elephant rifle, he waited 
 till they came within the distance where they would 
 be most destructive, and then commenced firing. 
 He fired rapidly, but being a dead-shot, with great 
 accuracy, and the shells, as they struck inside the 
 canoes, burst with terrible effect. Four shots 
 killed five men and sunk both the canoes, leaving 
 the warriors to swim ashore. This ended the 
 fight, and the enraged and baffled crowd vented 
 their fury by shouting out, "Go and die in the 
 Nyanza. " 
 
 Stanley's rapid deadly firing killed fourteen, and 
 wounded with buck-shot eight, which, he coolly re- 
 marks, 'T consider to be very dear payment for 
 the robbery of eight ash oars and a drum, though 
 barely equivalent, in our estimation, to the intended 
 massacre of ourselves." This cool-blooded treach- 
 ery and narrow escape roused Stanley's whole 
 nature, and terrible as had been the punishment 
 
27^ 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 he had inflicted, he resolved that he would make 
 it more terrible still before he had done with them. 
 
 During the perils of the next night that fol- 
 lowed, he had plenty of time to nurse his wrath. 
 Having got clear of the land, he hoisted sail, and 
 favored by a light breeze, by night was eight miles 
 from the treacherous Bumbireh. A little after 
 dark the breeze died away, and he set the men to 
 paddling. But, their oars being gone, they made 
 slow headway. At sunrise they were only twenty 
 miles from the island, but near noon, a strong 
 breeze springing up from the northwest, they 
 bowled along at the rate of five miles an hour, and 
 soon saw it sink in the distant horizon. At sun- 
 set they saw an island named Sousa, toward which 
 they steered, hoping to reach it by midnight and 
 find a safe haven. But about eight o'clock the 
 breeze began to increase till it rose to a fierce 
 gale, and the sail had to be taken in. 
 
 Being without oars, they could not keep the 
 light boat before the wind, and she was whirled 
 away by it like a feather, and wallowed amid the 
 waves that kept increasing, till it seemed impossi- 
 ble to keep much longer afloat. The men strove 
 desperately with their boards for paddles to reach 
 the island, and get to the leeward of it, till the 
 storm should break, but it was of no avail. They 
 were swept by it like a piece of drift-wood, and 
 the lightning, as it lit up its green sides, seemed 
 to mock their despair. The terrific crash of the 
 
A NIGHT TEMPEST, . ^Jt 
 
 thunder, the roar of the tempest, and the wild 
 waste of the wrathful water as it was incessantly 
 lit up by the blinding flashes, made it the most 
 terrific night Stanley had ever passed in all his 
 wide wanderings. Between the dashing of the 
 waves over the gunwale and the downfalling del- 
 uge of rain, the helpless boat rapidly filled, and it 
 required constant and rapid bailing to keep it from 
 going to the bottom. 
 
 The imagination cannot conceive the terrors 
 that surrounded that little boat with its helpless 
 crew on that storm-swept lake during that long, 
 wild night Above them, rushed the angry clouds, 
 pierced incessantly by the lightning; the he^vy 
 thunder shook the very heavens, while all around 
 them were islands and rocks, and a few miles 
 ahead, the main-land peopled by hostile savages. 
 Yet, amid all their terror, the men worn out with 
 their long fasting and exhausting labors, would, 
 drop asleep, till awakened by the stern order to 
 bail. The men of Bumbireh had shouted after 
 them, "go and die in the Nyanza,'' and they now 
 seemed to be prophetic words. Stanley remem- 
 bered them, and he lived to make the murderous 
 savages remember them, too. At daybreak the 
 tempest broke, and the waves not having the heavy 
 roll of the ocean, quickly subsided, and they saw 
 they had drifted eight miles off the isle of Susa^ 
 which they had made such desperate efforts to reach 
 the night before, while other islands rose in the dis- 
 18 
 
^^i IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 tance. There was not a morsel of food in the 
 boat, and it was now forty-eight hours since they 
 had tasted any^ yet the men took to their paddles 
 cheerfully. Soon a gentle breeze set in from the 
 westward, and hoisting sail, they steered for an 
 unknown island, which Stanley named Refuge 
 Island. It was small and uninhabited, but on ex- 
 ploring it, they discovered that the natives had 
 once occupied and cultivated it. To their great 
 joy, they found green bananas, and a small fruit 
 resembling cherries, but tasting like dates. Stan- 
 ley succeeded, also, in shooting two fat ducks. 
 The men soon stripped these of their feathers and 
 had them in the pot, with which, and the fruit, they 
 made what seemed to them in their famished con- 
 dition, a right royal repast. The camp was pitched 
 close by the sandy beach, and when night closed 
 sweetly in on the wanderer-s, "there were few 
 people in the world," says Stanley,' "blessed God 
 more devoutly than we did.'' And well they 
 might, for their double deliverance from the sav- 
 ages on shore and the tempest on the water, was 
 almost miraculous. 
 
 They rested here all the next day recruiting, 
 and then set sail, and coming to friendly natives, 
 laid in a supply of provisions. While at anchor, 
 some of the men plucked the poultry they had 
 bought, and they feasted till they were thoroughly 
 satisfied. 
 
 At midnight, a favorable wind rising, they set 
 
A GAIN IN- THE STORM. 275 
 
 sail for Usukuma. About three in the morning 
 they were in the middle of the Speke Gulf, from 
 which they had started nearly two months before, 
 and bound for their camp. The wind had died 
 away, and the water lay calm and unruffled be- 
 neath the tropical sky. But this calm was only 
 the prelude to a fearful storm. Clouds, black as 
 ink, began to roll up the heavens, their edges cor- 
 rugated and torn by the contending forces that 
 urged them on, while out from their foldings the 
 lightning leaped in blinding flashes, and the 
 thunder, instead of rolling in angry peals, came 
 down in great crashes as if the very frame-woi k 
 of nature was rending, and then the hail, in stoxijes 
 big as filberts, beat down on their uncovered heads. 
 The waves rose to an astonishing height, and tore 
 like wild horses over the lake. The boat became 
 unmanageable, and was whirled along at the 
 mercy of the wind and waves. But the staunch 
 little craft outrode the fury of the gale, with ^ 
 buoyancy that surprised Stanley. 
 
 Next morning, although almost under the 
 equator, they saw the day dawn gray, and cheer- 
 less, and raw. On taken his observations, Stanley 
 found that he was only about twenty miles north- 
 west of his camp. The news sent new life into 
 the crew. They hoisted sail, and, though at first 
 the wind was unfavorable, yet, as if good luck had 
 come at last, it shifted astern, and, with a full sail, 
 
276 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF APRICA, 
 
 they steered straight for camp — every heart bound* 
 ing with joy. 
 
 The men in camp discovered the boat when 
 miles away, and hurrying to the shore sent up 
 shout after shout, and tossed their arms joyfully 
 in the air. As the boat drove swiftly on, the shouts 
 were changed to volleys of musketry and waving 
 of flags, while "the land seemed alive with leap- 
 ing forms of glad-hearted men.'' Rumors of their 
 destruction had reached camp, and his long ab- 
 sence seemed to confirm them, and they had made 
 up their minds, that, with their leader lost, they 
 must turn back. As the boat grated on the 
 pebbly shore, fifty men leaped into the water and 
 seizing Stanley lifted him bodily out, and, running 
 up the bank, placed him on their shoulders, and 
 danced around the camp like madmen. They 
 seemed unable to contain their joy. It showed 
 how strong was the hold Stanley had on their 
 affections. Stern in enforcing discipline and re- 
 lentless in punishing crime, he was always careful 
 of their welfare, attentive to their wants, just in all 
 his dealings, and generous in his reward for good 
 behavior and faithful service, and by this course he 
 had bound these simple children of nature to him 
 with cords of iron. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 AN INTERVAL OF REST. 
 
 THE next morning, as Stanley looked out 
 of his tent-door upon the broad and beau- 
 tiful lake, it was with that intense feeling: 
 of satisfaction with which one contemplates a great 
 and perilous undertaking, which, after being well- 
 nigh abandoned, is at last successfully accom- 
 plished. The waters, glittering in the morning 
 sun, had but a short time before seemed to him 
 an angry foe, but now they wore a friendly aspect. 
 They seemed to belong to him. Livingstone, and 
 Speke, and Burton, and others had looked on that 
 lake, and sighed in vain to solve the mystery that 
 enveloped it, while he had not only followed its 
 winding shores their entire length, but had sounded 
 its depths and fixed its geographical position for- 
 ever. His toils were over, and the victory won in 
 this his first great enterprise, and he could well 
 look forward with hope to the great work still 
 before him. His escapes had been wonderful^ 
 and he might take them as good omens for the 
 future. 
 
 It seemed as if fate delighted to place him in 
 positions of danger, from which there appeared 
 to be no escape, in order to show her power to 
 
278 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 save him under any and all circumstances. Even 
 now, when contemplating so satisfactorily his sue- 
 cess, he was startled by the narrowness of his 
 escape from a danger of which he had never 
 before dreamed. That . trouble, disorder and de- 
 sertion might befall his camp during his absence 
 he had often /eared, but now he was told by the 
 men he had left in charge of it, that in a few hours 
 more the expr iition would have broken up and 
 disappeared fc rever. 
 
 This was F; ank Pocoke's report. He said that 
 a rumor had /eached camp that Stanley and his 
 crew had been taken prisoners soon after leaving, 
 and he at once sent off fifty soldiers to effect his 
 releasee, who found the report false. They had 
 also heard of his fight with the Wamma, and that 
 he was killed. In the meantime a conspiracy had 
 been formed by three neighboring tribes to cap- 
 ture the camp and seize all the goods. It was 
 discovered, and everything put in the best state 
 possible to defeat it, when the whole fell through 
 on account of the sudden death of one of the con- 
 spirators and the disaffection of another. 
 
 With the report of Stanley's death uncontra- 
 dicted — nay, corroborated by his long absence — 
 and in view of the dangers surrounding them, the 
 soldiers and men held a meeting to determine 
 what course they should take. He had then been 
 gone nearly a month and a half, and it should not 
 have taken more th^^n half that time to have cir- 
 
PROPOSALS TO ABANDON CAMP, 
 
 279 
 
 cumnavigated the lake with a boat that, in a fair 
 breeze, could go five or six miles an hour. 
 
 Something must have happened to him ; that 
 was certain ; and it mattered little whether it was 
 death or captivity. It was finally decided to wait 
 fifteen days longer, or till the new moon, when, if 
 he did not appear, they would strike camp and 
 march back to Unyanyembe. The fifteen days 
 would have expired the next day after Stanley's 
 arrival. If, therefore, he had been delayed forty- 
 eio^ht hours lonorer, instead of beincr received with 
 the waving of flags, shouts and volleys of mus- 
 ketry, and wild demonstrations of delight, there 
 would have been no welcome, but a silent, de- 
 serted camp. This would have been a terrible 
 blow, and would have dashed with the bitterest dis- 
 appointment all the joy at his task successfully 
 accomplished. But he had been saved all this; 
 still one calamity had befallen him for which there 
 was no remedy ; young Barker had died only a 
 few days before his arrival, and six of his strong 
 men had fallen victims to dysentery and fever. 
 Thus while in all the danger through which he 
 had passed on the lake he had not lost a man, 
 seven had died while lying idly in a healthy camp. 
 The death of Barker he felt keenly, for of the three 
 white men who had started with him, two had 
 already fallen, and now only one was left. 
 
 In writing to his mother, announcing his death, 
 and expressing his sympathy with her in her afflic- 
 
280 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 tion, he thus speaks of the manner In which it oc- 
 curred: "I was absent on an exploring expe- 
 dition on Lake Victoria, having left Francis Pocoke 
 and Frederick Barker in charge of my camp. Al- 
 together I was absent fifty-eight days. When I 
 returned, hoping that I would find that all had 
 gone well, I was struck with the grievous news 
 that your son had died twelve days before, of an 
 intermittent fever. What little I have been able 
 to learn of your son's death, amounts to this : On 
 April 2 2d, he went out on the lake with Pocoke to 
 shoot hippopotami, and all day enjoyed himself. 
 On the morning of the 23d he went out for a little 
 walk, had his tea and some pancakes, washed him- 
 self, and then suddenly said he felt ill, and lay 
 down in bed. He called for a hot stone to be put 
 to his feet; brandy was given him, blankets were 
 heaped on him, but he felt such cold in his ex- 
 tremities that nothing availed to restore heat in his 
 body. His blood seems to have become con- 
 gealed. At eight o' clock, an hour after he lay 
 down, he was dead. Such is what I have been 
 able to glean from Pocoke of the manner of his 
 death. But by our next letter-carrier, Pocoke 
 shall send you a complete account.'' . He then 
 goes on to speak of his excellent qualities and 
 promising future, and his own great loss. 
 
 One of the curious things that struck Stanley 
 as he looked on his party, was the strange con- 
 trast between Pocoke's face and his own. Th^ 
 
REST AFTER TOIL, > 281 
 
 former being most of the time in camp, had 
 bleached to his old English whiteness, while, un- 
 der the reflection of the fierce rays of an equato- 
 rial sun, he had been burned till his face was the 
 color of a lobster — in fact, the natives had come 
 to call him, not the pale, but the r^^- faced man, to 
 which his blood-shot eyes gave a still more san- 
 guinary appearance. 
 
 Now followed a season of rest and of sweet 
 repose; and how deep and sweet it was, may be 
 gathered from his own language. He says: 
 "Sweet is the Sabbath day to the toil-worn laborer, 
 happy is the long sea-tossed mariner on his ar- 
 rival in port, and sweet were the days of calm 
 rest we enjoyed after our troublous exploration 
 of the Nyanza. The brusque storms, the con- 
 tinued rains, the cheerless gray clouds, the wild 
 waves, the loneliness of the islands, the inhospi- 
 tality of the natives that were like mere phases of 
 a dream, were now but the reminiscenes of the 
 memory, so little did we heed what was past while 
 enjoying the luxury of a rest from our toils. Still 
 it added to our pleasure to be able to conjure up 
 in the mind the varied incidents of the long lake 
 journey; they served to enliven and employ the 
 mind while the body enjoyed repose, like condi- 
 ments quickening digestion. It was a pleasure 
 to be able to map at will, in the mind, so many 
 countries newly discovered, such a noble extent of 
 fresh water explored for the first time. As the 
 
282 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 memory flew over the lengthy track of explora- 
 tion, how fondly it dwelt on the many picturesque 
 bays, margined by water-lilies and lotus plants, 
 or by the green walls of the slender reed-like 
 papyrus. Inclosing an area of water, whose face 
 was as calm as a mirror, because lofty mountain 
 ridges almost surround it. With what kindly re- 
 cognition it roved over th«e little green island in 
 whose snug haven our boat had lain securely at 
 anchor, when the rude tempest without churned 
 the face of the Nyanza into a foaming sheet.'* 
 The lofty rocks once more rose before him in imagi- 
 nation, while the distant hills were outlined against 
 the fervid horizon, and the rich grain fields of some 
 of the districts smiled in the sun. But his memory 
 dwelt with fondest recollection on Uganda and its 
 hospitable King Mtesa, for there, it not only re- 
 called the present, but pictured a glorious future, 
 in which smiling villages took the places of rude 
 huts, from the midst of which church spires rose, 
 and the clear tones of the bell called the dusky 
 inhabitants to the place of worship. As he thus 
 lay dreaming, close by the equatorial circle, he 
 saw the land smiling in affluence and plenty ; its 
 bays crowded with the dark hulls of trading ves- 
 sels, heard the sound of craftsmen at their work, 
 the roar of manufactories and foundries, and the 
 ever-buzzing noise of industry. 
 
 With these bright anticipations of the future, the 
 happy result of his endeavors, would mingle his 
 
STANLEY'S DA Y-DREAMS. 
 
 283 
 
 desperate encounters with the savages, his 
 narrow escapes, his nights of danger on the tem- 
 pestuous lake, his wonderful success so near a 
 failure at last — of all these marvelous experiences 
 and events crowded on him as he lay and rested, 
 and dreamed on the shores of the lake that he felt 
 to be his own. If half that he anticipated, as he 
 lay and rested and dreamed, turns out true, his 
 name will be linked with changes that will sink all 
 his great discoveries into nothingness — moral 
 changes and achievements as much above mere 
 material success as mind is above matter — civiliza- 
 tion above barbarism — Christianity above Pagan- 
 ism. 
 
 This successful voyage and safe return inspired 
 the members of the expedition with renewed con- 
 fidence in their leader, and Stanley soon set about 
 prosecuting the great work to which he had devoted 
 himself, and which, with all its toils and dangers 
 and great sacrifice of life, had only just begun. 
 
 The Grand Admiral Magassa had not yet joined 
 him. There was no reason he had not done so, 
 except that the fight at Bumbireh and subsequent 
 storm on the lake had sent them wide apart. But 
 he had two of Stanley's best men with him, who 
 would direct him to the camp in Speke Bay, toward 
 which he knew Stanley was working, and where 
 he should, have been before this time. The latter 
 waited nine days in camp for him, and then con- 
 cluding that he did not intend to come at all, 
 
284 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 resolved to march back overland with his party 
 (as he had no canoes to carry them by water) to 
 Uganda. Just as they were ready to start, there 
 came into camp a negro embassy from Ruoma, 
 which lay between him and Ugondo on the land 
 route, with the following message : "Ruoma sends 
 salaams to the white man. He does not want the 
 white man's cloth, beads or wire, but the white 
 man must not pass through his country. Ruoma 
 does not want to see him or any other man with 
 long red hair down to his shoulders, white face 
 and big red eyes. Ruoma is not afraid of him, 
 but if the white man will come near his country, 
 Ruoma and Mirambo will fight him. " 
 
 "Here, indeed," as Stanley says, "was a di- 
 lemma. " Mtesa's admiral had proved false to the 
 instructions given him by the king, and no boats 
 had arrived to convey his party to Uganda by 
 water, and now the ruler of the district through 
 which he must pass to reach it by land forbade 
 him to cross it. To force a passage was impossi- 
 ble ; for Ruoma, besides having a hundred and 
 fifty muskets and several thousand spearmen and 
 bowmen, had the dreaded Mirambo, with his fierce 
 warriors, within a day's march of him and ready 
 to aid him. Even if he could fight his way across 
 the country, it would be at a sacrifice of life that 
 he could not afford, and which the results he hoped 
 to secure would not justify. Still, he could not 
 give up Uganda, with its half-civilized king, for it 
 
• 
 
 SEEKING CANOES, 285 
 
 was not only the most interesting country that 
 bordered on the lake, but it comprised the unknown 
 region lying between it and Tanganika. If he 
 could only get canoes from some other quarter, 
 he could take his party to Uganda by water ; and 
 once there, his friend Mtesa would give him all 
 the aid he wanted. He therefore set on foot in- 
 quiries respecting the various tribes bordering on 
 the gulf on which he was encamped, to ascertain 
 the number of canoes each possessed. He found 
 that the king of Ukerewe, the large island lying 
 at the mouth of the gulf, was the most likely per- 
 son to have the canoes he wanted, and he applied 
 to him. But he was unable to negotiate for them 
 in person, as he was taken suddenly and seriously 
 ill — the result of his long exposure on the lake 
 under an equatorial sun — so he sent Pocoke, with 
 Prince Kaduma, to make proposals for them. 
 These, taking a handsome present for the king, 
 departed. In twelve days they returned with fifty 
 canoes and some three hundred natives under the 
 command of the king's brother ; but to convey him 
 and his party to the king, not to Uganda. 
 
 Stanley's joy at the sight of the canoes was 
 dampened by this request, and he told the king's 
 brother that even if the king would give all his 
 land and cattle, he would not let the expedition go 
 to Ukerewe, but that he himself would go, and the 
 messenger himself might return as soon as he 
 pleased. As soon as he was well enough he set 
 
2g6 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 out, and on the second day he reached the island 
 Knowing how much was at stake, he put on his 
 court costume, which meant the best clothes in his 
 wardrobe, and equipped himself with his best 
 arms, while his attendants bore valuable presents. 
 The next day after his arrival was fixed for the 
 great audience. When the hour arrived Stanley 
 mustered the crew of the Lady Alice, who had 
 been dressed for the occasion, and the bugle 
 sounded the order to march. In ten minutes they 
 came to a level stretch of ground, in the centre 
 of which was a kndll, where the king was seated 
 in state, surrounded by hundreds of bowmen and 
 spearmen. He was a young man, with a color 
 tending more to the mulatto than the negro — pos- 
 sessing an amiable countenance, and altogether 
 he made a favorable impression on Stanley. He 
 was quite a conspicuous object sitting on that 
 knoll in the midst of warriors, for he was wrapped 
 in a robe of red and yellow silk damask cloth. 
 His reception of Stanley consisted in a long, 
 steady stare, but being informed that the latter 
 wished to state the object of his visit to him and 
 a few of his chiefs alone, he stepped aside a short 
 distance to a pile of stones, and invited them to 
 join him. Stanley then stated what he wanted, 
 how far he wished the caftoes to go, what he would 
 pay for them, etc., etc. The king listened atten- 
 tively, and replied in a kind and affable manner - 
 but he said his canoes were many of them rottert 
 
THE KINGS STRATEGY, 
 
 287 
 
 and unfit for a long voyage, and he was afraid 
 they would give out, and then he would be blamed 
 and accused of being the cause of the loss of his 
 property. Stanley replied that he might blame 
 the canoes, but not him. At the close of the con- 
 ference, the king said he should have as many 
 canoes as he wanted, but he must remain a few 
 days and partake of his hospitality. This was 
 given in no stinted measure, for beeves, and goats» 
 and chickens, and milk, and eggs, and bananas^ 
 and plantains were furnished in prodigal quanti- 
 ties, together with native beer for the crew. They 
 luxuriated in abundance, and on the fifteenth day 
 the king came to Stanley's tent with his chief 
 counselor, and gave him his secret instructions and 
 advice. He said he had ordered fifty canoes to 
 carry him as far as Usuk^ma, Stanley's camp, but 
 his people would not be willing to go to Uganda. 
 He, therefore, had resorted to stratagem, and 
 caused it to be reported that Stanley was going 
 to come and live among them. He said that the lat- 
 ter must encourage this report, and when he got to 
 Usukuma, and the canoes were drawn up on shore 
 he must seize them and secure the paddles. Hav- 
 ing thus rendered it impossible for them to return, 
 he was to inform them what he intended to do, 
 
 Stanley having promised to obey his instructions 
 implicitly, the king sent with him his prime minis- 
 ter and two favorites, and he departed, after leav- 
 ing behind him a handsome present as an earnest 
 
288 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 of what he would do in the future. The natives 
 bent to their paddles cheerfully, and at length 
 reached Stanley's camp ; but instead of fifty, he 
 found there but twenty-three canoes. Though 
 disappointed, he was compelled to be content with 
 these. 
 
 He accordingly whispered his orders to the cap- 
 tains of his expedition to muster their men and 
 seize the canoes and paddles. This was done, and 
 the canoes were drawn up far on land. The as- 
 tonished natives inquired the meaning of this, and 
 when told, flew into a furious passion, and being 
 about equal in number to Stanley's party, showed 
 fight. The latter saw at a glance that any attempt 
 to mollify them by talk would be fruitless, and that 
 energetic, prompt measures alone would answer, 
 and he immediately ordered the bugle to sound 
 the rally. The soldiers stepped quickly into line, 
 when he ordered a charge with the muzzles of 
 their guns, and the astonished, duped creatures 
 were driven out of camp and away from the shore. 
 Stanley then held a parley with them and proposed 
 to send them back, and did, or at least a portion 
 of them, in four canoes, which could return and take 
 off the rest. The other canoes he kept, and on the 
 third day started for Uganda with a portion of the 
 expedition, and at the end of five days arrived at 
 Refuge Island. Remembering when he was there 
 before, that the inhabitants of the mainland, which 
 was not more than six miles off, were not kindly 
 
TREACHERY THWARTED. 289 
 
 disposed toward him, he built a strong camp among 
 the rocks, locating it so that each high rock could 
 furnish a position for sharp-shooters, and in every 
 way he could, rendered it impregnable, in case it 
 should be attacked during his absence. 
 
 As he had not been able to embark all his ex- 
 pedition and baggage, he now returned for them, 
 re^:ching his old camp again after an absence of 
 fiff een days. He learned on his arrival that two 
 neighboring chiefs were planning to seize him and 
 make him pay a heavy ransom. He, however, 
 said nothing; spoke pleasantly every day to one 
 of them — Prince Kaduma, and made presents to 
 his pretty wife, and went on loading his canoes. 
 When the day of embarkation arrived, the two 
 chiefs, with a strong force came to the water's 
 edge and looked on moodily. Stanley appeared 
 not to notice it, but laughed and talked pleasantly, 
 and proceeding leisurely to the Lady Alice, ordered 
 the boats crew to shove her off. When a short 
 distance was reached, he halted, and swinging 
 broadside on shore, showed a row of deadly guns 
 in point-blank range of the shore. Taken com- 
 pletely aback by this sudden movement, and not 
 daring to make a hostile demonstration with those 
 guns covering them, the treacherous chiefs let the 
 process of embarkation go on without moles- 
 tation, and soon the last canoe was afloat and a 
 final good-bye given to the camp, a scornful fare- 
 well waved to the disappointed natives on shore, 
 19 
 
^QQ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 and the little fleet steered for Refuge Island. 
 Rough weather followed, and the rotten canoes 
 gave out one after another, so that he had only 
 fifteen when he reached the island. He found 
 the camp had not been disturbed in his absence, 
 On the contrary, the neighboring kings and chiefs, 
 seeing that his camp was impregnable, had prof- 
 fered their friendship and supplied the soldiers 
 with provisions. They also provided him with a 
 guide and sold him three canoes. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 STANLEY now rested a few days on this 
 island before beginning his explorations. 
 It was associated in his mind with bitter 
 memories, and, as he wandered over it, he remem- 
 bered the insults he had received, and his almost 
 miraculous escape from death near it. The treach- 
 erous Bumbireh was almost in sight, and it 
 awakened in him a strong desire for revenge, and 
 he determined to visit the island again, and demand 
 reparation for the wrongs he had received, and if 
 it was not given, to make war on them and teach 
 them a lesson on good behavior. So at the end 
 of three days he set sail and camped on Mahyiga 
 Island, five miles distant, and sent a message to 
 the natives saying, that if they would deliver their 
 king and two principal chiefs into his hands, he 
 would make peace with them, otherwise he would 
 make war. This was a cool request, and Stanley 
 himself, suspecting it would be refused, sent a 
 party to invite the king of Iroba, an island only a 
 mile from Bumbireh, to visit him, who, dreading 
 the vengeance of the white man, came, bringing 
 with him three chiefs. On what principle of morals 
 Stanley will justify his course we cannot say, but 
 
 (291) 
 
^9^ 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 the moment the king arrived, he had him and hia 
 chiefs put in chains ; the conditions of their release 
 being that his people should deliver the king of 
 Bumbireh, and two of his principal chiefs into his 
 hands. 
 
 Although the people of Bumbireh had treated 
 his message with contempt, the subjects of Iroba 
 seized their king and delivered him into the hands 
 of Stanley. The peril of their own king had stimu- 
 lated them to effort, and Stanley at once released 
 him, while he loaded his new royal captive heavily 
 with chains. He also sent a message to king 
 Antari, on the mainland, to whom Bumbireh was 
 tributary, requesting him to redeem his land from 
 war. In reply, the latter sent his son and two 
 chiefs to him to make peace, who brought a quan- 
 tity of bananas as a promise of what the king 
 would do in the future. Stanley, in conversing 
 with them, detected them in so many falsehoods, 
 and thinking he saw treachery in their faces, or 
 perhaps it would be more in accordance with truth 
 to say, that having got them in his power, he 
 thought it better to keep them as hostages for the 
 appearance of the two chiefs of Bumbireh, who had 
 not been brought with the king, and he, therefore, 
 did so. In the meantime, seven large canoes of 
 Mtesa came up, which were out on an expedition 
 of the king's. The chief commanding them told 
 Stanley that Magassa had recovered the oars cap- 
 tured at Bumbireh, and that on his returning and 
 
ORGANIZING AN ATTACK. 
 
 293 
 
 reporting Stanley dead, he had been put in chains 
 by Mtesa, but subsequently he had been released 
 and dispatched in search of him. Stanley per- 
 suaded this chief, with his canoes, to remain and 
 assist in the attack on Bumbireh, if his followers 
 refused the terms of peace. 
 
 Two days after, this chief sent some of his men 
 to Bumbireh for food, but they were not allowed 
 to land. On the contrary, they were attacked, and 
 one man was killed and eight were wounded. This 
 gave Stanley another strong reason for making 
 war at once without further negotiations, to which 
 Mtesa's chief gladly consented. Accordingly, 
 next morning, he mustered two hundred and eighty 
 men with fifty muskets, and two hundred spear- 
 men, and placed them in eighteen canoes and set 
 out for Bumbireh, eight miles distant, and reached 
 the island at two o'clock in. the afternoon. 
 
 The natives of Bumbireh were evidently ex- 
 pecting trouble, for they felt sure the attack on 
 the friends of Stanley the day before would be 
 quickly avenged. As the latter, therefore, drew 
 near the shore, he saw lookouts on every emi- 
 nence. Looking through his field-glass, he soon 
 discovered messengers running to a plantain grove 
 which stood on a low hill that commanded a clear, 
 open view of a little port on the southern point of 
 the island, from which he concluded that the main 
 force of the enemy was assembled there. He then 
 called the canoes together, and told them to follow 
 
294 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 him and steer just as he steered, and by no means 
 to attempt to land, as he did not mean that one of 
 Mtesa's men should be killed, or, indeed, any of 
 his own soldiers — he intended to punish Bumbireh 
 without any damage to himself. He then ordered 
 his crew to row straight for the port — the other 
 canoes following in close order behind. He man- 
 aged to keep out of sight of the lookouts; and 
 skirting close to the land, at the end of a little 
 more than a mile, rounded a cape and shot into a 
 fine bay, right in the rear and in full view of the 
 enemy. They were gathered in such large num- 
 bers that Stanley saw it would not do to attack 
 them in such a cover, and so steered for the op- 
 posite side of the bay, as though he intended to 
 land there, where the sloping hill-sides were bare 
 of everything but low grass. The savages, per- 
 ceiving this, broke cover and ran yelling toward 
 the threatened point. This was exactly what 
 Stanley wanted, and he ordered the rowers to 
 pull slowly, so as to give them time to reach the 
 spot toward which he was moving. Very soon 
 they were all assembled on the naked hill-side, 
 brandishing their weapons fiercely in the air. 
 Stanley kept slowly on till within a hundred 
 yards of the beach, when he anchored broadside 
 on the shore — the English and American flags 
 waving above him. The other seventeen canoes 
 followed his example. Seeing a group of about 
 fifty standing close together, he ordered a volley 
 
TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT. 
 
 295 
 
 to be fired into it. Fifty muskets and his own 
 trusty rifle spoke at once, and with such terrible 
 effect that nearly the whole number was killed or 
 wounded. The natives, astounded at this mur- 
 derous work, now separated and came down to 
 the water's edge singly, and began to yell and 
 sling stones and shoot arrows. Stanley then 
 ordered the anchors up, and gave directions to 
 move the canoes to within fifty yards of the shore, 
 and each soldier to select his man and fire as 
 though he was shooting birds. The savages 
 dropped right and left before this target practice, 
 but the survivors stood their ground firmly, for 
 they knew if Stanley effected a landing he would 
 burn everything on the island. 
 
 For an hour they endured the deadly fire, and 
 then, unable longer to stand it, moved up the hill, 
 but still not out of range, especially of Stanley's 
 unerring rifle. Though every now and then a 
 man would drop, they refused to move farther 
 away, for they knew that if they were not near 
 enough to make a dash the moment the boats 
 touched the shore, all would be lost. Another 
 hour was therefore passed in this long-range firing, 
 when Stanley ordered the canoes to advance all 
 together, as if about to make a sudden landing. 
 The savages, seeing this, rushed down the hill- 
 side like a torrent, and massed themselves by the 
 hundreds at the point toward which the canoes 
 were moving, some even entering the water with 
 
296 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 their spears poised ready to strike. When they 
 were packed densely together, Stanley ordered 
 the bugle to sound a halt, and, as the crews rested 
 on their oars, directed a volley to be fired into 
 them, which mowed them down so terribly that 
 they turned and fled like deer over the hill. 
 Stanley's men had now got their blood up and 
 urged him to let them land and make a complete 
 end of this treacherous people, but he refused, 
 saying that he came to punish, not destroy. 
 
 They had fired in all about seven hundred cart- 
 ridges, and as the savages were completely ex- 
 posed, and in the afternoon, with the sun directly 
 behind the boats, and shining full in their faces, 
 the mortality was great. Over forty were left 
 dead on the field, while the number of the wounded 
 could not be counted, though more than a hun- 
 dred were seen to limp or to be led away. It was 
 a great victory, and Stanley's dusky allies were in 
 a state of high excitement, and made the air ring 
 with their shouts and laughter, as they bent to 
 their paddles. It was dark when they got back 
 to the island, where they were received with wild 
 songs of triumph. Stanley was a great hero to 
 these untutored children of nature. 
 
 The next morning more canoes arrived from 
 Uganda, and Stanley prepared to depart. He 
 had now thirty-two canoes, all well loaded with 
 men, which made quite an imposing little fleet as 
 they moved into order on the lake, and constituted 
 
COMPLETEL Y SUBDUED. 
 
 297 
 
 a strong force. They sailed close to Bumbireh, 
 and Stanley looked to see what had been the effect 
 of the severe thrashing- he had given them the day 
 before. He found their audacity gone, and their 
 proud, insulting spirit completely quelled. There 
 were no shouts of defiance, no hostile demonstra- 
 tions. Seeing a hundred or more gathered in a 
 group, he fired a bullet over their heads, which 
 scattered them in every direction. The day be- 
 fore they had breasted bravely volley after volley, 
 but now the war spirit was thoroughly cowed. In 
 another place some natives came down to the 
 shore and begged them to go away and not hurt 
 them any more. This gave Stanley an opportu- 
 nity to preach them a sermon on treachery, and 
 exhort them hereafter to treat strangers who came 
 to them peaceably with kindness. The dead in 
 almost every hut was, however, the most effectual 
 sermon of the two. 
 
 They camped that evening on the mainland, in 
 the territory of King Kattawa, who treated them 
 in a magnificent style for a savage, to show his 
 gratitude for the punishment they had inflicted on 
 Bumbireh, who had a short time before killed one 
 of his chiefs. They stayed here a day, and then 
 steered for the island of Muzina, where he had 
 last seen Magassa and his fleet. The people were 
 not friendly to him, but they had heard of the ter- 
 rible punishment he had inflicted on the Bumbireh. 
 and hastened to supply him with provisions. 
 
298 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 They brought him five cattle, four goats, and a 
 hundred bunches of bananas, besides honey, milk 
 and eggs. 
 
 The king of Ugoro, near by, also sent him word 
 that he had given his people orders to supply him 
 with whatever food he wanted. Stanley replied 
 that he wanted no food, but if he would lend him 
 ten canoes to carry his people to Uganda, he 
 would consider him as his friend. They were 
 promptly furnished. Mtesa's chief urged him to at- 
 tack the king, as he had murdered many of Mtesa's 
 people, but Stanley refused, saying he did not 
 come to make war on black people, he only wished 
 to defend his rights and avenge acts of treach- 
 ery. Five days after he landed at Duomo Uganda, 
 half-way betweet the Kagera and Katonga rivers, 
 and pitched his camp. He selected this spot as 
 the best place from which to start for the Albert 
 Nyanza, which he designed next to explore. He 
 wanted to see Mtesa, and get his advice as to 
 which was the best route to take, because between 
 these two lakes were several powerful tribes, who 
 were continually at war with the king of Uganda. 
 
 In summing up his losses during this journey 
 of two hundred and twenty miles by water, he 
 found he had lost six men drowned, five guns and 
 one case of ammu nition, besides ten canoes wrecked 
 and three riding asses dead, leaving him but one. 
 He had been gone fifty-six days, and though the 
 distance was but two hundred and twenty miles, a 
 
NEW SCHEMES, 2QQ 
 
 large portion of it had been traversed three times, 
 so that he had really travelled by water over seven 
 hundred and twenty miles. He had bought 
 scarcely any provisions, the expedition subsisting 
 on the corn he bought at the start with one bale 
 of cloth, but considerable quantities of food had 
 been given them. 
 
 He now resolved, after he had settled his camp, 
 to visit Mtesa again, and consult with him about 
 the aid he could give him to reach Albert Nyanza. 
 This lake was the source of the White Nile, up 
 which Baker was forcing his way, the very year 
 Stanley started on his expedition. Baker hoped 
 to launch steamers upon it, but he failed even to 
 reach it, though he saw its waters, twenty miles 
 distant. Between it and the Victoria Nyanza is an 
 unknown region. The distance Jrom one to the 
 other in a straight line is probably not two hundred 
 miles, though by any travelled route it is, of course 
 muchfarther. Nothing is definitely known of its size 
 or shape. Colonel Mason made a partial explora- 
 tion of it last year, but it still remains a new field 
 for some future explorer, for Stanley failed to reach 
 it if Mason's map is correct. The Victoria Nyanza 
 he computed to contain twenty-one thousand five 
 hundred square miles, and to be nine thousand 
 one hundred and sixty-eight feet above the sea 
 level. 
 
 There is a large lake almost directly west of the 
 Nyanza called Muta Nzienge, which Stanley con- 
 
„Q IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 jectures may be connected with the Albert Nyanza. 
 The region around the latter is wholly unknown, 
 except that fierce cannibals occupy its western 
 shore. We say that Stanley did not reach the 
 Albert Nyanza at all, though if it and the Muta 
 Nzienge are one, he did. He inserts in his 
 journal that he reached the shore of the lake, 
 yet by his map he did not. This discrepancy 
 is owing probably to the fact that he thought, 
 when he wrote, that the lake he saw was the Albert 
 Nyanza, and though Colonel Mason explored 
 it partially last year, and makes it an entirely 
 distinct lake, yet Stanley's opinion may still be 
 unchanged. At all events, his map and journal 
 should agree, but they do not, which confuses 
 things badly. His route, as he has marked it 
 down, does not go near this lake. On the other 
 hand, if the Albert and the Muta Nzienge are one, 
 it rivals in length the great Tanganika, which no 
 one, however, thinks it to do. 
 
 Stanley found Mtesa at war with the Wavuma, 
 who refused to pay their annual tribute. Accord- 
 ing to his account this monarch had an army with 
 him which, with its camp followers, amounted to 
 a quarter of a million of souls. He remained with 
 Mtesa several weeks, as the war dragged slowly 
 along, and, in the meantime, translated, with the 
 help of a young, educated Arab, a part of the Bible 
 for him, and apparently sent him forward a great 
 wa,y toward Christianity. He at length, after he 
 
THE ALBERT NYANZA. 
 
 301 
 
 had witnessed various naval battles that did not 
 seem to bring the war any nearer to a termination, 
 built for the king a huge naval structure, wholly 
 inclosed, which, when it moved against the brave 
 islanders, filled them with consternation, and they 
 made peace. 
 
 At this point, Stanley makes a break in his 
 journal and devotes nearly a hundred pages to a 
 narrative of Uganda and its king, Mtesa. He 
 gives its traditions, mingled with much fable ; a 
 description of its land, fruits, customs of the people 
 — in short, a thorough history, as far as the natives 
 know anything about it. This possesses more or 
 less interest, though the information it conveys is 
 of very little consequence, while it is destitute of 
 any incident connected with his journey. 
 
 It was now October, and he turned his atten- 
 tion directly to the next scene of his labors — the 
 exploration of the Albert Nyanza. The great 
 difficulty here was to get through the warlike 
 tribes that lay between the lakes and around the 
 latter, of which Abba Rega was one of the most 
 hostile chiefs. This king, it will be remembered^ 
 was the great foe of Baker, whom the latter drove 
 out of the country, after burning his capital, and 
 put Rionga in his place. He said then, that this 
 treacherous king had gone to the shores of the 
 Albert Nyanza. By the way. Baker's statement 
 and Stanley's journal, placed together, seem to 
 make it certain that the Muta Nzienge, which the 
 
^Q2 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 latter reached, and the Albert Nyanza are the 
 same ; for, in the first place, it will be remembered, 
 Baker's last journey was to Unyoro, where he saw 
 the Albert Nyanza. Now Stanley, it will be seen 
 hereafter, traverses this same district to reach the 
 lake he called Muta Nzienge. Again, Baker says 
 that Abba Rega fled to the Albert Nyanza, and 
 yet Stanley found him on Lake Muta Nzienge. 
 If Stanley's attention had been called to this, we 
 hardly think he would have made two lakes on his 
 map, when, from these corroborating statements, 
 there could have been but one. The fact that these 
 separate statements, made two years apart, are 
 purely incidental, makes the fact they go to prove 
 the more certain to be true. It seems impossible 
 that Baker and Stanley should reach through the 
 same tribe two large and entirely separate lakes. 
 Knowing not only of the hostility, but also the 
 power of some of the tribes between Uganda and 
 Lake Albert, Stanley asked Mtesa for fifty or 
 sixty thousand men — a mighty army. With such 
 a force he thought he could not only overcome all 
 opposition on the way, but hold the camp he 
 wished to establish, while he spent two months in 
 exploring the lake. But Mtesa told him two 
 thousand would be ample, which he would cheer- 
 fully furnish. He said that he need not fear Abba 
 Rega, for he would not dare to lift a spear against 
 his troops, for he had seated him on the throne of 
 Kameazi. Though Stanley was not convinced of 
 
MILITAR V ESCOR T. 303 
 
 the truth of Mtesa's statements, he would not 
 urge him further and accepted, with many ex- 
 pressions of thanks, the two thousand soldiers, 
 commanded by General Lamboozi^ as an escort 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE EXPEDITION TO ALBERT NYANZA. 
 
 STANLEY'S expedition consisted of one 
 hundred and eighty men, which, with the 
 troops Mtesa gave him, made a total of 
 two thousand two hundred and ninety men. To 
 this Httle army were attached some five hundred 
 women and children, making a sum total of two 
 thousand eight hundred. With this force, all or- 
 dinary opposition could be overcome, and as it 
 moved off with the sound of drums and horns, and 
 the waving of the English and American flags, con- 
 spicuous amid those of the negro army, it pre- 
 sented a very animated appearance. But Stanley 
 was destined to find out what others have learned 
 before him, that a small force under one's own 
 immediate command is better than a large, un- 
 disciplined one, that is subject to the orders of 
 another. 
 
 General Lamboozi had no heart in this expe- 
 dition, and soon showed it. But they moved off 
 gayly over the swelling pasture-lands of Uganda, 
 striking northwest toward the lake, which Stanley 
 hoped to explore, as he had the Victoria Nyanza. 
 The march through Uganda was a pleasant one 
 
 304 
 
 \ 
 
SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS. ^^^ 
 
 and they at length reached the frontier of Unyoro 
 and prepared for war. 
 
 On the 5th of January they entered Abba 
 Rega's territory, whom, two years before, Baker 
 had driven from his throne, and who naturally felt 
 peculiarly hostile to all white men. But no re- 
 sistance was offered— the people, as if remember- 
 ing the past, fleeing before them, leaving their 
 provisions and everything behind them, of which 
 the army made free use. Three days after they 
 came to the base of a mighty mountain, called 
 Kabrogo, rising five thousand five hundred feet 
 into the air, presenting, in its naked, rugged out- 
 line, a sublime appearance. They encamped that 
 night on a low ridge, in sight of the Katonga 
 River, flowing east in its course to the Victoria 
 Nyanza, bringing up many associations to Stan- 
 ley's mind — while to the west the Ruanga filled 
 the night air with its thunderous sound, as it 
 tumbled over cataracts toward the Albert Nyanza. 
 From an eminence near by could be seen in the 
 distance the colossal form of Gambaragara Moun- 
 tain looming up from the wilderness — a second 
 Mont Blanc, rising some three miles into the 
 cloudless heavens. Though under the equator, 
 snow is often seen on its summit. But what gives 
 it peculiar interest is, that on its cold and lonely 
 top dwell a people of an entirely distinct race, 
 being white, like Europeans. The king of Uzigo 
 once spoke to Stanley and Livingstone of this 
 
o 
 
 Qg IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 singular people, and now the latter saw half a 
 dozen of them. Their hair, he says, is "kinky,'* 
 and inclined to brown in color; their features 
 regular; lips thin, and noses well shaped. Alto- 
 gether, they are a handsome race — the women, 
 many of them possessing great beauty. Some of 
 their descendants are scattered through the tribes 
 living near the base of the mountain, but the main 
 body occupy its lofty summit. The queen of one 
 of the islands in the Victoria Nyanza is a descend- 
 ent of them. The history of this singular people 
 is wrapped in mystery. 
 
 There is a tradition that the first king of Unyoro 
 gave them the land at its base, and the approach 
 of a powerful enemy first drove them to the top 
 for safety. They have become so acclimated that 
 they can stand the cold, while the dwellers of the 
 plain are compelled to flee before it. Mtesa once 
 dispatched his greatest general with an army of a 
 hundred thousand men to capture them. They 
 succeeded in making their way to a great height, 
 but finally had to withdraw — the cold became so 
 intense. 
 
 The retreat of this pale-faced tribe is said to be 
 inaccessible. The top is supposed to be the crater 
 of an extinct volcano ; for on it there is a lake 
 nearly a third of a mile long, from the centre of 
 which rises a huge rock to a great height. Around 
 the top of this runs a rim of rock, making a natural 
 wall, in which are several villages, where the prin- 
 
A STRANGE RACE. 
 
 309 
 
 cipal "medicine-man" and his mysterious people 
 reside in their pecuHar separateness. 
 
 This account, if true, does not touch the origin 
 of this pecuHar race of people, nor in any way 
 explain the fact of their existenee here in tropical 
 Africa. Two men belonging to this tribe joined 
 Stanley's expedition in this march to the Albert 
 Lake, yet he seems to have obtained no information 
 from them of the history of their tribe. Whether 
 they had any traditions or not we are not informed 
 — we only know that Stanley found them extremely 
 uncommunicative. It is possible they had nothing 
 to tell, for a vast majority of the negro tribes of 
 Africa have no past; they care neither for the 
 past or future, so far as external life is concerned, 
 Hving only in the present. These two men occu- 
 pied a high position, for some cause, in the army 
 under Lamboozi, and were the only ones who were 
 allowed more than two milch cows on the route. 
 Various stories about these people were told 
 Stanley, and it is difficult to come at the truth, 
 About the only thing that seems established is 
 that this white race exists, of whose origin nothing 
 definite has as yet been obtained. Stanley says 
 that he heard they were of Arab origin, but there 
 are plenty of Arabs in Africa — in fact, all the sol- 
 diers attached to the expedition were Arabs, and 
 colonies of them had long existed in Central Africa; 
 but they are not white men. 
 
 It seems impossible that Livingstone, years be- 
 
310 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 fore, should have heard of this singular people, 
 and Stanley seen specimens of them, if no such 
 tribe really existed. It seems almost equally 
 strange that they should be able for centuries to 
 keep so isolated that their very home is a myth. 
 The truth is, that Africa is a land of fables and 
 traditions, that partake of the wonderful and often 
 of the miraculous. Mr. Stanley was told of other 
 tribes of white people living in a remote unknown 
 region, possessing great ferocious dogs, and also 
 of dwarfs of singular habits and customs. These 
 traditions or reports, that are invariably vague in 
 their character, usually have more or less founda- 
 tion in truth. Mixed with the wonderful, that 
 always holds an important place in savage litera- 
 ture, there will generally be found at least a grain 
 of truth ; and the traditions of white races among 
 a people who had never seen white men, could 
 hardly arise if no such tribes existed. 
 
 The diet of this strange race consists of milk and 
 bananas. Stanley says the first specimen he saw 
 of the tribe was a young man, whom he first took 
 for a young Arab from Cairo, who for some reason 
 had wandered off to Uganda, and taken up his 
 residence with King Mtesa. The two attached to 
 his expedition would easily have been mistaken 
 for Greeks in white shirts. Stanley, after seeing 
 these white Africans, the stories concernine whose 
 existence he had regarded as one of the fables of 
 the ignorant, superstitious natives, says that he is 
 
TO WARD THE ALBER T NYANZA, ^ 1 1 
 
 ready to believe there is a modicum of truth in all 
 the strange stories that he has been accustomed 
 to listen to as he would to a fairy tale. Four years 
 previous, while exploring the Tanganika with Liv- 
 ingstone, they both smiled at the story told them 
 of a white people living north of Uzigo, but now 
 he had seen them, and if it were not that their hair 
 resembles somewhat that of the negro, he should 
 take them for Europeans. He heard afterwards that 
 the first king of Kisbakka, a country to the south- 
 west, was an Arab, whose scimiter is still preserved 
 by the natives, and infers that these people may 
 be his descendants. He also heard of a tribe that 
 wore armor and used a breed of fierce and power- 
 ful dogs in battle. 
 
 From this point the expedition moved on toward 
 the Albert Nyanza, along the southern bank of the 
 Rusango River, a rapid, turbulent stream, winding 
 in and out among the mountains, and rushing on- 
 ward in fierce, rapid and headlong cataracts to the 
 peaceful bosom of the lake. For ten hours they 
 marched swiftly through an uninhabited country, 
 and then emerged into a thickly populated district 
 Their sudden appearance, with drums beating and 
 colors flying, filled the people, who had no intima- 
 tion of their coming, with such consternation, that 
 they took to the woods, leaving everything behind 
 them, even the porridge on the fire and the great 
 pots of milk standing ready for the evening meal. 
 Fields and houses were alike deserted in a twink- 
 
312 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Hng, and the army marched in and took posses- 
 sion. Thus far they had met with no opposition 
 whatever, and the warlike tribe Stanley had feared 
 so much, and had taken such a large force to over- 
 come, seemed to have no existence. In fact, the 
 days had passed by monotonously ; for the most 
 part the scenery was tame, and the march of the 
 troops from day to day was without incident or 
 interest, and now at this village they were widiin 
 a few miles of the lake, to reach which was the 
 sole object of all this display of force. Instead 
 of fighting their way, they found themselves in 
 undisputed possession of a large and populous 
 district, with not a soul to give them any informa- 
 tion. 
 
 We confess there is something about this jour- 
 ney from the Victoria Nyanza to the Albert that 
 we do not understand. By the route on the map 
 it must have been nearly two hundred miles, and 
 yet the expedition started on January 5th, and on 
 the evening of the 9th was within three miles of 
 the latter, which would make the marching about 
 fifty miles a day — an impossibility. 
 
 Now, fifty miles a day for four days would be 
 terrible marching for veteran troops. Hence, we 
 say, the map or journal is wrong. If he took the 
 route he has marked down and completed it in 
 the time he says he did, one instead of two paral- 
 lels of lonoritude should indicate the distance be- 
 tween the two lakes. In fact, this whole expedition 
 
A MISERABLE FAILURE. ^ r ^ 
 
 was such a miserable failure, that anywhere but in 
 Africa it would be looked upon as a farce. It 
 shows how utterly futile it is to rely on the native 
 Africans in any great enterprise. The Arabs are 
 bad enough, but they are fidelity itself compared 
 to these black savages. 
 
 Here was an expedition numbering nearly three 
 thousand souls, organized to secure a safe march 
 to a lake not five days distant. It met with no 
 obstacles of any moment, reached the lake, and 
 there, on the mere rumor that hostilities were in* 
 tended, practically broke up and returned. Stan^ 
 ley had, with about three hundred men, traversed 
 an unknown country for months, fought battles, 
 and at the end of a thousand miles reached the 
 lake he was seeking, pitched his camp, and with a 
 crew of eleven men explored the lake in its entire 
 circuit, and returned in safety. Here, with a small 
 army, after a four days* march, he reaches the 
 Albert Nyanza, yet does nothing but turn round 
 and march back again. It would seem, at first 
 sight, strange that if he could march a thousand 
 miles from the sea to the Victoria Nyanza and 
 then explore it, he could not now with the same 
 men explore this lake without the aid of Lamboozi 
 and his two thousand or more soldiers. Doubt- 
 less he could but for this very army. Its disaffec- 
 tion and declaration that they were not strong 
 enough to resist the force about to be brought 
 against them, created a panic among Stanley's 
 
314 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 men. If two thousand fled, it would be madness 
 for one hundred and eighty to stay. The simple 
 truth is, the more such men one has with him, un- 
 less he is the supreme head and his will is law, 
 even to life and death, the worse he is off. Stan- 
 ley, planning, controlling and directing every move- 
 ment, is a power ; Stanley under the direction of a 
 swaggering, braggart African negro general, is 
 nobody. 
 
 Lamboozi did, next morning after their approach 
 to the lake, send out two hundred scouts to capture 
 some natives, by whom they could get a message 
 to the king of the district, saying that they had no 
 hostile intentions, and if permitted to encamp on 
 the shores of the lake for two months, would pay 
 in beads, cloth and wire for whatever provisions 
 they consumed. Five were captured and sent to 
 the king with this proposition, but he did not. deign 
 an answer. On the nth, they moved the camp 
 to within a mile of the lake, on a plateau that rose 
 a thousand feet above its surface. A place was 
 selected for a camp and men and sent out to cap- 
 ture all the canoes they could find. In three hours 
 they returned with only five, and those too small 
 for their purpose. But they brought back word 
 that the whole country was aroused, and that a 
 large body of strange warriors had arrived on the 
 coast to aid the king in making war on the new- 
 comers. 
 
 Gen-eral Lamboozi now became thoroughly 
 
THE TNCLOklOUS RETURN; 
 
 315 
 
 alarmed, and stubbornly refused to grant Stanley's 
 request to move to the edge of the lake and in- 
 trench. It seemed probable that the natives meant 
 to give battle, but with what numbers or prospect 
 of success, Lamboozi took no measure to ascertain. 
 iSlext day he resolved to march back. Entreaties 
 and threats were alike in vain, and there was 
 nothing left for Stanley to do but march back with 
 him. He was greatly disappointed and thoroughly 
 disgusted, but there was no help for it. That 
 Unyoro and Abba Rega would be hostile, Stanley 
 knew before he started, and on that account took 
 so large a force with him. Yet he says, after this 
 miserable failure, that it was a foolhardy attempt 
 at the outset. Looking at it calmly, he pronounces 
 it a great folly, redeemed from absurdity only by 
 "the success of having penetrated through Unyoro 
 and reached the Albert." It is difficult to see 
 wherein lies the greatness of this success; for, 
 according to his own account, it was one of the 
 most peaceful marches he ever performed, with 
 hardly enough incident in it to make it interesting. 
 It matters little, however; all that can be said is, 
 they marched up to the lake and then marched 
 back again. 
 
 On the morning of the 13th, they began their 
 return in order of battle — five hundred spearmen 
 in front, five hundred as a rear guard, and the 
 expedition in the centre — but no enemy attacked 
 them or attempted to do anything but pick up 
 
3 1 6 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 some stragglers. The next day the expeditior 
 formed the rear guard, and once some natives 
 rushed out of the woods to attack them, but were 
 quickly dispersed by a few shots. 
 
 This is all that happened to this army in terrible 
 Unyoro, and presents a striking contrast to Baker's 
 gallant march through it with his little band, fight- 
 ing every day for nearly a week. Four days 
 after, without any further molestation, they re- 
 entered Uganda, where Lamboozi turned off to 
 his home. Stanley had heard no news of Gordon 
 or of the steamers he was to place on the lake 
 according to the plan of Baker; and though at first 
 he thought that he would seek some other way to 
 reach it and make his explorations, he finally re- 
 solved to start for Tanganika, which he would 
 reach in about four months, and explore it. Hence, 
 while Lamboozi turned eastward toward Lake 
 Victoria, he with his little band, turned southward. 
 He sent a letter, however, to Mtesa, informing 
 him of Lamboozi's cowardice and refusal to build 
 a camp at Lake Albert, and telling him also that 
 this redoubtable general had robbed him. He 
 had intrusted to his care three porter's loads of 
 goods to relieve his own carriers, and these he 
 had appropriated as his own. 
 
 When the letter reached the emperor he was 
 thrown into a towering passion, and immediately 
 dispatched a body of troops to seize the general, 
 with orders to strip him of his wives, slaves, cattle 
 
MTESA'S FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 317 
 
 and everything he possessed, and bring him bound 
 to his presence. He also sent letter after letter 
 to Stanley, begging him to return, and he would 
 give him ninety thousand men, with brave gene- 
 rals to command them, who would take him to 
 Lake Albert, and protect him there till he had 
 finished his explorations. Stanley was very much 
 moved by this generous offer and the anxiety of 
 the king to make amends for Lamboozi's poltroon- 
 ery and thieving conduct. The noble savage felt 
 It keenly that he, who valued so highly the esteem 
 of Stanley, should be disgraced in his sight, and 
 it was hard for the latter to refuse his urgent re- 
 quest to be allowed to redeem his character and his 
 pledge. But Stanley had had enough of Waganda 
 troops, and felt that whatever was accomplished 
 hereafter must be by his own well-trained, compact, 
 brave little band. He kept on his way, and never 
 saw Mtesa again. 
 
 He had been able to add considerably to the 
 geography of the country bordering on Lake 
 Albert. Usongora, a promontory running thirty 
 miles into the lake southward, he ascertained to 
 be the great salt field, from whence all the sur- 
 rounding countries obtain their salt. From all he 
 could hear, it was truly a land of wonders, but he 
 says the man who should attempt to explore it 
 would need a thousand muskets, for the natives 
 cannot be enticed into peace by cloth and beads. 
 They care for nothing but milk and goat skins. 
 
3i8 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ''Among the wonders credited to it/' he says, "are 
 a mountain emitting fire and stones, a salt lake of 
 considerable extent, several hills of rock-salt, a 
 large plain encrusted thickly with salt and alkali, 
 a breed of very large dogs of extraordinary feroc- 
 ity, and a race of such long-legged natives, that 
 ordinary mortals regard them with surprise and 
 awe." They do not allow members of their tribe 
 to intermarry with strangers, and their food, like 
 that of the dwellers in the Himalaya Mountains, 
 consists chiefly of milk. Mtesa once invaded their 
 territory with one hundred thousand men, to cap- 
 ture cows, of which the natives have an immense 
 number, and in watching which consists their sole 
 occupation. The army returned with twenty thou- 
 sand, but they were obtained at such a fearful 
 sacrifice of life, that the raid will not be repeated. 
 
 Stanley rested a few days after Lamboozi left 
 him, before proceeding northward. He then con- 
 tinued his march leisurely through the country, 
 inquiring on the way the character of the tribes 
 westward toward that part of Lake Albert which 
 extended south from where he struck it, but one 
 and all were reported hostile to the passage of 
 any strangers through their territory. 
 
 Arriving on the Kagera River, in Karagwe, he 
 found the King Rumanika, a mild, pleasant-spoken 
 man and very friendly, but he told him that none of 
 the neighboring tribes would let him enter their 
 lands. Stanley being a little suspicious of the mo- 
 
LAKES OF KARAGWE. 
 
 319 
 
 tives that prompted this bad report of the sur- 
 rounding tribes, to test him, asked him if he had 
 any objections to his exploring his country. He 
 said no, and cheerfully promised to furnish him 
 guides and an escort, and his party should be 
 supplied with food free of charge. Stanley, sur- 
 prised at this generosity, at once got ready to 
 start. He first went south to Lake Windermere, 
 a small body of water so named by Captain Speke, 
 because of its fancied resemblance to the lake of 
 that name in England. The Lady Alice was taken 
 there, screwed together, and launched on the 
 peaceful waters. Accompanied by six native ca- 
 noes, he sailed round it and then entered Kagera 
 River, called by Speke the Kitangule. Suddenly 
 it flashed on Stanley's mind that he had discov- 
 ered the true parent of the Victoria Nile. It fed 
 and drained this little lake some nine miles long. 
 Moreover, he found that there was a depth of 
 fifty-two feet of water and a breadth of one hun- 
 dred and fifty feet. He therefore pushed up it 
 some three days, and came to another lake nine 
 miles long and six miles wide; Working up 
 through the papyrus that covered the stream, he 
 came to another lake or pond a mile and a half 
 long. Ascending an eminence, he discovered that 
 this whole portion of the river was a lake, large 
 tracts of which were covered with papyrus, or that 
 vegetation which we have seen Baker had to con- 
 tend with in ascending the Nile. It seemed solid 
 
^20 ^^ ^-S"^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 ground, while in fact it was a large body of watei 
 covered over, with here and there an opening, 
 making a separate lake, of which Windemere was 
 the largest. This apparently underground lake 
 was some eighty miles in length and fourteen in 
 width. 
 
 Following the river as it flowed eastward into 
 the Victoria Nyanza, he found he entered another 
 lake, thirteen miles long and some eight miles 
 broad. This was, of course, the continuation of 
 the lake, covered at intervals with this tropical 
 vegetation, which gave to it the appearance of 
 land. There were in all, seventeen of these lakes. 
 This river now broadening as the formation of 
 the land causes it to expand, now narroA^ing till 
 its channel is forty feet deep, it at last tumbles 
 over cataracts and rushes through rapids into the 
 Victoria Nyafiza. All this seems of little account, 
 except, as Stanley says, he has found in it the true 
 source of the Victoria Nile. 
 
 The great and persistent efforts to find out the 
 source of the Nile have led explorers to push 
 their theories to an absurd extent. Becausie 
 Herodotus made the Nile to rise in some large 
 springs, they seem to think they must find some- 
 thing back and beyond a great lake as its source. 
 Now, when a river flows right on through one lake 
 after another, making lakes as the formation of 
 the ground allows, it of course maintains its in 
 tegrity and oneness. 
 
SOURCES OF THE NILE, 
 
 Z^\ 
 
 In this case there is but one main stream and 
 as long as the lakes are the mere spreading out 
 of that stream on low, flat lands, it must remain 
 the same. But when you come to great reservoirs 
 like the Albert and Victoria Nyanza and the 
 Taneanika — into which a hundred streams, and 
 perhaps twice that number of springs, flow- — to 
 go beyond such reservoirs to find the head of the 
 stream is bringing geography down to a fine point. 
 The outlet is plain — you have traced the river up 
 till you see it roaring from Its great feeder. This 
 is very satisfactory, and should end all research 
 after the source of the stream. But to insist on 
 taking measurements of a dozen different rivers 
 that flow into a lake a thousand miles in circum- 
 ference, to find which is a mile longest or ten feet 
 deepest, and thus determine the source of the out- 
 let, is preposterous. A lake covering twenty-two 
 thousand square miles, fed by a hundred rivers, 
 is a reservoir of itself, and not an expansion of 
 any one riven One might as well try to prove 
 which is the greatest source or feeder of the At- 
 lantic Ocean — the Amazon, Mississippi or Congo. 
 
 Thus we find Stanley, when he struck the Shime- 
 eyu in Speke Gulf, declaring he had found the ex- 
 reme southern source of the Nile ; and now, when 
 exploring another river of a larger volume on an- 
 other side of the lake, he changes his mind and thinks 
 he has made a great discovery in ascertaining at last 
 the true source of the river. He found it over 
 
222 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 fifty feet deep, which showed what a volume of 
 water it poured into the Victoria Nyanza. De- 
 scending it again, he entered another lake some 
 thirteen miles long by eight wide. Exploring this, 
 he was driven back by the natives when he at- 
 tempted to land, who hailed him with shrill shouts 
 and wild war-cries. The Kagera, through its en- 
 tire length, maintains almost the same depth and 
 volume. 
 
 Returning to his generous host, he asked for 
 guides to take him to the hot springs of Mtagata, 
 the healing properties of which he had heard of 
 far and wide from the natives. These were cheer- 
 fully given, and after a march of two days he 
 reached them. Here he was met by an astonish- 
 ing growth of vegetation. Plants of an almost 
 infinite variety, covered the ground, growing so 
 thick and crowding each other so closely, that 
 they became a matted mass — -the smaller ones 
 stifled by the larger — and out of which trees shot 
 up an arrow's-flight into the air, with ''globes of 
 radiant green foliage upon their stem-like crowns.'' 
 He found a crowd of diseased persons here, try- 
 ing the effect of the water. Naked men and 
 wonrien were lying promiscuously around in the 
 steaming water, half-asleep and half-cooked, for 
 the water showed a temperature of one hundred 
 and twenty-nine degrees. The springs were, 
 however, of different temperature. The hottest 
 one issued from the base of a rocky hill, while 
 
EXPLORING THE KAGERA. 
 
 325 
 
 four others, twenty degrees cooler, came bubbling 
 up out of black mud, and were the favorites of 
 the invalids. Stanley camped here three days, 
 and bathed in the water and drank it, but could 
 perceive no effect whatever on his system Re- 
 turning to his friend Rumaniki, he prepared to 
 start on his journey south to Lake Tanganika, 
 and finish its explorations. 
 
 Having discovered that the Kagera River 
 formed a lake eighty miles long, and was a power- 
 ful stream a long distance from its mouth, he re- 
 solved, as it flowed from the south, to follow it up 
 and try to find its source. A broad wilderness 
 lay before him, the extent of which he did not ac- 
 curately know, and he packed ten days' provisions 
 on the shoulders of each man of the expedition, 
 and bidding the soft-voiced pagan king, by whom 
 he had been treated so kindly, a warm good-bye^ 
 he entered the forest and kept along the right 
 bank of the stream. This was the 27th of March, 
 and for six days he marched through an unin- 
 habited wilderness, with nothing to break the 
 monotony of the journey. At the end of that 
 time he came to the borders of Karagwe and to 
 tjie point where the Akanyaru River entered the 
 Kagera. He dared not explore this river, for the 
 natives that inhabit both banks are wild and fierce, 
 having a deadly hatred of all strangers. They are 
 like the long-legged race of Bumbireh, and he did 
 not care to come in collision with them. They 
 
226 ^^ ^^-^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 possess many cattle, and if one sickens or dies, 
 they do not attribute it to accident, but believe it 
 has been bewitched, and search the country 
 through to find the stranger who has done it, and 
 if he is found, he dies. 
 
 All the natives of the region are passionately 
 fond of their cows, and will part with anything 
 sooner than with milk. Stanley says that his friend 
 Rumaniki, with all his generosity, never offered 
 him a teaspoonful of milk, and if he had given 
 him a can of it, he believes his people would have 
 torn him limb from limb. He thinks that half of 
 their hostility arises from the fear of the evil effect 
 that the presence of strangers will have on their 
 cattle. Hence they keep a strict quarantine on 
 their frontiers. It is not strange that they should 
 cherish this stock carefully, for it is their sole 
 means of subsistence. 
 
 This long journey through various tribes is 
 singularly barren of incident. On the route he lost 
 his last dog. Bull, who had bravely held out in all 
 their long wanderings, but at last he gave up and 
 laid down and died, with his eyes fixed on the re- 
 tiring expedition. He also met the redoubtable 
 Mirambo, and found him not the blood-thirsty 
 monster he had been represented to be, but a 
 polite, pleasant-mannered gentleman, and gen- 
 erous to a fault. They made blood brotherhood 
 together, and became fast friends. At length, in 
 the latter part of May, he reached Ujiji, where he 
 
AN AFRICAN VILLAGE, 
 
 Z^7 
 
 formly found Livingstone. The following extract 
 from a private letter of Stanley's, written to a 
 friend while at Lake Victoria, gives a domestic 
 picture that Is quite charming, he says that 
 "Kagehyl Is a straggling village of cane huts, 
 twenty or thirty in number, which are built some- 
 what In the form of a circle, hedged around by 
 a fence of thorns twisted between upright stakes. 
 Sketch such a village In your Imagination, and let 
 the centre of It be dotted here and there with the 
 forms of kidllngs who prank It with the vivacity 
 of kidllngs under a hot, glowing sun. Let a 
 couple of warriors and a few round-bellied children 
 be seen among them and near a tall hut which Is 
 a chiefs, plant a taller tree, under whose shade 
 sit a few elders In council with their chief; so 
 much for the village. 
 
 " Now outside the village, yet, touching the fence, 
 begin to draw the form of a square camp, about 
 fifty yards square, each side flanked with low, 
 square huts, under the eaves of which, plant as 
 many figures of men as you please, for we have 
 many, and you have the camp of the exploring 
 expedition, commanded by your friend and humble 
 servant. From the centre of the camp you may 
 see Lake Victoria, or that portion of It I have 
 called Speke Gulf, and twenty-five miles distant 
 you may see table-topped Maglta, the large island 
 of Ukerewe, and toward the northwest a clear 
 horizon, with nothing between water and sky to 
 
328 ^^ ^^^ IVILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 mar its level. The surface of the lake which ap. 
 preaches to within a few yards of the camp is much 
 rufifled just at present with a northwest breeze, 
 and though the sun is growing hot, under the 
 shade it is agreeable enough, so that nobody per- 
 spires or is troubled with the heat. You must 
 understand there is a vast difference between New 
 York and Central African heat. Yours is a swelt- 
 ering heat, begetting languor and thirst — ours is 
 a dry heat, permitting activity and action without 
 thirst or perspiration. If we exposed ourselves 
 to the sun, we should feel quite as though we were 
 being baked. Come with me to my lodgings, now. 
 I lodge in a hut little inferior in size to the chief's. 
 In it is stored the luggage of the expedition, which 
 fills one-half. It is about six tons in weight, and 
 consists of cloth, beads, wire, shells, ammunition, 
 powder, barrels, portmanteaus, iron trunks, photo- 
 graphic apparatus, scientific instruments, pontoons, 
 sections of boat, etc., etc. The other half of the 
 hut is my sleeping, dining and hall-room. It is 
 dark as pitch within, for light cannot penetrate 
 the mud with which the wood-work is liberally 
 daubed. The floor is of dried mud, thickly covered 
 with dust, which breeds fleas and other vermin to 
 be a plague to me and my poor dogs. 
 
 "I have four youthful Mercuries, of ebon color, 
 attending me, who, on the march, carry my per- 
 sonal weapons of defense. I do not need so many 
 persons to wait on me, but such is their pleasure. 
 
BEAD CURRENCY. 2 20 
 
 They find their reward in the liberal leavings of 
 the table. If I have a goat killed for European 
 men, half of it suffices for two days for us. When 
 it becomes slightly tainted, my Mercuries will beg 
 for it, and devour it at a single sitting. Just out- 
 side of the door of my hut are about two dozen 
 of my men sitting, squatted in a circle and string- 
 ing beads. A necklace of beads is each man's 
 daily sum wherewith to buy food. I have now a 
 little over one hundred and sixty men. Imagine 
 one hundred and sixty necklaces given each day 
 for the last three months — in the aggregate the 
 sum amounts to fourteen thousand necklaces — in 
 a year to fifty-eight thousand four hundred. A 
 necklace of ordinary beads is cheap enough in the 
 States, but the expense of carriage makes a neck' 
 lace here equal to about twenty-five cents in value, 
 For a necklace I can buy a chicken, or a peck of 
 sweet potatoes, or half a peck of grain. 
 
 "I left the coast with about forty thousand yards 
 of cloth, which, in the States, would be worth 
 about twelve and a half cents a yard, or altogether 
 about five thousand dollars — the expense of port, 
 age, as far as this lake, makes each yard worth 
 about fifty cents. Two yards of cloth will purchase 
 a goat or sheep; thirty will purchase an ox; fifteen 
 yards are enough to purchase rations for the entire 
 caravan." 
 
 Why these naked savages put such a high value 
 on cloth, none of these African explorers informs 
 
330 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 US. We can understand why they should like beads, 
 brass wire, shells and trinkets of all sorts. They 
 certainly use very little cloth on their persons. 
 
 He adds: "These are a few of the particulars 
 of our domestic affairs. The expedition is divided 
 into eight squads of twenty men each, with an ex- 
 perienced man over each squad. They are all 
 armed with Snider's percussion-lock muskets. A 
 dozen or so of the most faithful have a brace of 
 revolvers in addition to other arms. " 
 
 He then goes on to speak of the battles he has 
 fought, and it is but just to him to give his feel- 
 ings as he describes them in confidential private 
 correspondence, on being compelled to kill the 
 savages. He says: "As God is my judge, I would 
 prefer paying tribute, and making these savages 
 friends rather than enemies. But some of these 
 people are cursed with such delirious ferocity that 
 we are compelled to defend ourselves. They at- 
 tack in such numbers and so sudden, that our re- 
 peating rifles and Sniders have to be handled with 
 such nervous rapidity as will force them back 
 before we are forced to death ; for if we allow 
 them to come within forty yards, their spears are 
 as fatal as bullets ; their spears make fearful 
 wounds, while their contemptible-looking arrows 
 are as deadly weapons. * ♦ ♦ Since I left 
 Zanzibar, I have traveled seven hundred and 
 twenty miles by land and a thousand miles by 
 water. This is a good six months' work." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 EXPLORATIONS OF LAKE TANGANIKA. 
 
 IT was with strange feelings that Stanley caught 
 from the last ridge the sparkling waters of 
 Tanganika. Sweet associations were awak- 
 ened at the sight, as he remembered with what a 
 thrilling heart he first saw it gleam in the land- 
 scape. Then it was the end of a long, wasting 
 and perilous journey — the goal of his ambition, 
 the realization of his fondest hopes ; for on its 
 shores , he believed the object for which he had 
 toiled so long was resting. No more welcome 
 sight ever dawned on mortal eye than its waters 
 as they spread away on the horizon ; and though 
 he should see it a hundred times, it will never 
 appear to him like any other sheet of water. He 
 has formed for it an attachment that will last for- 
 ever ; and whenever in imagination it rises before 
 him, it will appear like the face of a friend. 
 
 As he now descended to Ujiji, it was with sen- 
 sations as though he were once more entering civil- 
 ized life, for there was something almost homelike 
 about this Arab colony. People dressed in civil- 
 ized garments were moving about the streets, 
 cattle were coming down to the lake to drink, 
 and domestic animals scattered here and there 
 made quite a homelike scene. 
 
332 * JN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 At first Sight, it seems strange that Stanley 
 should have selected this lake as the next scene 
 of his explorations. He had previously, with Liv- 
 ingstone, explored thoroughly the upper half of it, 
 and passed part way down the western side ; Liv- 
 ingstone had been at the foot of it, and to crown 
 all, Stanley had heard, before leaving Zanzibar, 
 that Cameron had explored the entire southern 
 portion, so that really there was nothing for him 
 to do but follow a path which had been already 
 trodden. To employ an expedition fitted out at 
 so great a cost, and spend so much valuable time 
 in going over old ground, seems an utter waste 
 of both time and labor, especially when such vast 
 unexplored fields spread all around him. But 
 there was a mystery about Tanganika, which Stan* 
 ley probably suspected Cameron had not solved^ 
 and which he meant to clear up. Here was a 
 lake over three hundred miles long, with perhaps 
 a hundred streams, great and small, running into 
 it, and yet with no outlet, unless Cameron had 
 found it, which he thinks he did. To find this was 
 the chief object of the expedition Stanley and Liv- 
 ingstone made together to the north end of the 
 lake. They had heard that the Rusizi River at 
 that extremity was the outlet, but they found it 
 instead a tributary. In fact, they proved conclu- 
 sively that there was no outlet at the northern end. 
 It therefore must be at the southern, and if so, it 
 was the commencement of a river that would be- 
 
CAMERON'S OUTLET 33^ 
 
 come a mighty stream before it reached the ocean. 
 But no such stream was known to exist. The 
 Caspian Sea has large rivers flowing into it, but 
 no outlet, yet it never fills up. Evaporation, it is 
 supposed, accounts for this. But the Caspian is 
 salt, while the Tanganika is fresh water, and such 
 a large body of fresh water as this was never 
 known to exist without an outlet, and if it could 
 be that evaporation was so great as to equal all 
 the water that runs into it, it would not remain so 
 fresh as it is. 
 
 We will let Cameron state his own case concern- 
 ing the solution of this mystery. He started with 
 two canoes and thirty-seven men, and sailed down 
 the eastern shore of the lake, now ravished with 
 the surpassing beauty of the scene composed of 
 water and sky, and smiling shores, and again awed 
 by beetling cliffs ; one evening camping on the 
 green banks and watching the sun go down behind 
 the purple peaks, and another drenched with rain, 
 and startled by the vivid lightning and awful 
 thunder crashes of a tropical storm, yet meeting 
 with no incident of any peculiar interest to the 
 reader. The natives were friendly, and he de- 
 scribes the different villages and customs of the 
 people and their superstitions, which do not vary 
 materially from other native tribes. At last, on 
 the 3d of May, he entered the Lukuga Creek, 
 which a chief told him was the outlet of the lake. 
 He says that the entrance was more than a mile 
 
334 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 wide, "but closed up by a grass sand-bank, with 
 the exception of a channel three or four hundred 
 yards wide. Across this there is a rill where thei 
 surf breaks heavily, although there was more than 
 a fathom of water at its most shallow part. " The 
 next day he went down it four or five miles, until 
 navigation was rendered impossible, owing to the 
 masses of floating vegetation. Here the depth 
 was eighteen feet, and breadth six hundred yards, 
 and the current a knot and a half an hour. The 
 chief who accompanied him said that it emptied 
 into the Lualaba. He tried in vain to hire men to 
 cut a passage through the vegetation that he might 
 explore the river. This was all the knowledge he 
 obtained by actual observation, the rest of his in- 
 formation being obtained from the natives. 
 
 Now, we must say, that this is a sorry exhibit for 
 the outlet to a lake almost twice as long as Lake 
 Ontario. That such an immense body of water 
 should trickle away at this rate seems very extra- 
 ordinary. Stanley at Ujiji started inquiries respect- 
 ing this stream, and found Cameron's guide, who 
 stoutly denied that the river flowed south from 
 the lake. Another veteran guide corroborated 
 this statement, while many others declared that 
 before Cameron came, they had never heard of an 
 outflowing river. 
 
 These contradictory statements, together with 
 the universal testimony that the lake was continu- 
 ally rising (the truth of which he could not doubt, 
 
A WHOLESALE MASSACRE. 335. 
 
 as he saw palm-trees which stood in the market- 
 place when he was there In 1871, now one hundred 
 feet out in the lake), made him resolve to explore 
 this stream himself. He started on the 1 1 th of 
 June, and three days after landed to take a hunt, 
 and soon came upon a herd of zebras, two of which 
 he bagged, and thus secured a supply of meat. 
 
 On the 19th, on approaching a large village, 
 they were astonished to see no people on the 
 shore. Landing, they were still more astonished 
 at the death-silence that reigned around, and ad- 
 vancing cautiously came upon corpses of men and 
 women transfixed with spears or with their heads 
 cut off. Entering into the village they found that 
 there had been a wholesale massacre. A descent 
 had been made upon the place, but by whom no 
 one was left to tell. Its entire population had 
 been put to death. 
 
 As Stanley proceeded, he found many evidences 
 of the steady rise of the lake. He continued on 
 his course, finding the same varied scenery that 
 Cameron did, with nothing of peculiar interest 
 occurring, except to the travelers themselves, and 
 at length came to the Lukuga Creek. He found 
 various traditions and accounts here — one native 
 said the water flowed both ways. The spot on 
 which Cameron encamped, some two years before, 
 was now covered with water, another evidence 
 that the lake was rising. Stanley very sensibly 
 says, that the "rill, "which Cameron states runs^ 
 
336 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 directly across the channel, is conclusive evidence 
 that the Lukuga runs into the lake, not out of it ; 
 for it must be formed by the meeting of the inflow- 
 ing current and the waves. An outpouring stream 
 driven onward by waves would make a deep 
 channel, not a dam of sand. He tried several 
 experiments, by which he proved, to his entire 
 satisfaction, that the stream flowed into the lake 
 instead of being its outlet. Having settled this 
 question he set about finding the other river, which 
 the natives declared flowed out or westward. After 
 traveling some distance inland he did find a place 
 where the water flowed west ; it was, however, a 
 mere trickling stream. His account of his explo- 
 rations here, and of the traditions of the natives, and 
 his description of the formation of the country'' 
 and of its prob' ble geological changes, is quite 
 lengthy, and posseses but little interest to the 
 general reader. 
 
 The result of it all, however, is that he believes 
 the Lukuga was formerly a tributary of the lake, 
 the bed of which at some former time was lifted 
 up to a higher level ; that the whole stretch of 
 land here has been sunk lower by some convul- 
 sion of nature, taking the Lukuga with it, and thus 
 making a sort of dam of the land at the foot, which 
 accounts for the steady rise of the river year by 
 year ; and that in three years the lake will rise 
 above this dam, and, gathering force, will tear like 
 a resistless torrent through all this mud and vege* 
 
WHERE IS THE OUTLET? ^^^ 
 
 tation, and roaring on, as the Nile does where it 
 leaves the Victoria Nyanza, will sweep through 
 the country till it pours its accumulated waters 
 into the Lualaba, and thus swell the Congo into a 
 still larger Amazon of Africa. This seems to be 
 the only plausible solution of the mystery attached 
 to Tanganika. The only objection to it is, no such 
 convulsion or change of the bed of the Tanganika 
 seems to have occurred during this generation, 
 and what has become, then, for at least seventy 
 years, of all the waters these hundred rivers have 
 been pouring into the lake ? We should like the 
 estimate of some engineer of how many feet that 
 lake would rise in fifty years, with all it? tributaries 
 pouring incessantly such a flood into it. We are 
 afraid the figures would hardly harmonize with this 
 slow rise of the lake. It may be that there is a 
 gradual filtering of the water through the ooze at 
 the foot, which will account for the slow filling up 
 of the great basin — a leakage that retards the pro- 
 cess of accumulation. But if Stanley's explora- 
 tions and statements can be relied upon, the mys' 
 tery will soon solve itself, and men will not liave 
 to hunt for an outlet long. He makes the length 
 of Tanganika three hundred and twenty-nine geo- 
 graphical miles, and its average breadth twenty- 
 eight miles. 
 
 The wonderful influence of Livingstone over all 
 African explorers is nowhere more visible than at 
 Ujiji, on both Cameron and Stanley. Both of these 
 
 22 
 
338 ^.^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 set out with one object — to try to complete the 
 work that the great and good man's death had left 
 unfinished. His feet had pressed the shores of 
 almost every lake they had seen, as well as of 
 others which they had not seen. The man had 
 seemed to be drawn on westward until he reached 
 Nyangwe, where dimly arose before him the At- 
 lantic Ocean, into which the waters flowing past 
 his camp might enter, and did enter, if they were 
 not the Nile. Discouraged, deserted and driven 
 back, he could not embark on the Lualaba and 
 float downward with its current till he should un- 
 veil the mystery that wrapped it. Cameron be- 
 came filled with the same desire, but disappointed^ 
 though not driven back, he had pressed on to the 
 ocean, into which he had no doubt the river emp- 
 tied, though by another route. And now, last of 
 three, comes Stanley, and instead of finishing Liv- 
 ingstone's work around the lakes, he, too, is drawn 
 forward to the same point. It seemed to be the 
 stopping-place of explorations in Africa ; and al- 
 though he knew that Cameron had not returned 
 like Livingstone, and hence might have discovered 
 all that was to be discovered, so making further 
 explorations in that direction useless, still he felt 
 that he must go on and find out for himself. 
 True, there was an interesting district between 
 Ujiji and the Lualaba. Th-ere was the beautiful 
 Manyema region, about which Livingstone had 
 talked to him enthusiastically, with its new style 
 
DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY, ^ . j 
 
 of architecture, and beautiful women and simple- 
 minded people. But those did not form the at- 
 traction. He must stand on the spot where Liv- 
 ingstone stood, and look off with his yearning 
 desire, and see if he could not do what this good 
 man was willing to risk all to accomplish. 
 
 At all events, he must move somewhere at once, 
 and westward seemed the most natural direction 
 to take, for if he stayed in Ujiji much longer the 
 expedition would break up. He found on his re- 
 turn that the small-pox had broken out in camp, 
 filling the Arabs with dismay. He had taken pre- 
 caution on starting to vaccinate every member of 
 his party, as he supposed, and hence he felt safe 
 from this scourge of Africa. He did not lose a 
 single man with it on his long journey from the 
 sea to the Victoria Nyanza. But it had broken 
 out in Ujiji with such fury that a pall was spread 
 over the place, and it so invaded his camp that in 
 a few days eight of his men died. 
 
 This created a panic, and they began to desert 
 in such numbers that he would soon be left alone. 
 Thirty-eight were missing, which made quite a 
 perceptible loss in a force of only one hundred 
 and seventy men. The chiefs of the expedition 
 were thoroughly frightened, but they told him that 
 the desertions would increase if he moved west- 
 ward, for the men were as much afraid of the can- 
 nibals there, as of the small-pox in their midst 
 They were told horrible stories of these cannibals 
 
34^ 
 
 IN 7 HE WILDS OP AFRICA. 
 
 till their teeth chattered with fear. Besides there 
 were hobgoblins — monsters of every kind in the 
 land beyond the Tanganika. Stanley saw, there- 
 fore, that prompt measures must be taken, and 
 he at once clapped thirty-two of the discontented in 
 irons, drove them into canoes, and sent them off 
 to Ukurenga. He with the rest followed after by 
 land to Msehazy Creek, where the crossing of the 
 lake was to be effected. Reaching the other side 
 he proceeded to Uguha, where, on mustering his 
 force, he found but one hundred and twenty-seven 
 out of one hundred and seventy, showing that 
 one-third had disappeared. Among the last to 
 go, and the last Stanley expected would leave him, 
 was young Kalulu, whom he had taken home to 
 the United States with him on his return from his 
 first expedition. He had him placed in school in 
 England for eighteen months, and he seemed de- 
 voted to Stanley. A gloom hung over the camp, 
 and desertion was becoming too contagious. If 
 such men as Kalulu could not be trusted, Stanley 
 knew of no one who could be, and with his usual 
 promptness he determined to stop it. He there- 
 fore sent back Pocoke and a faithful chief with a 
 squad of men to capture them. 
 
 Paddling back to Ujiji, they one night came 
 upon six, who, after a stout fight, were secured 
 and brought over to camp. Afterward young 
 Kalulu was found on an island and brought in. 
 This desertion, is a chronic disease among the 
 
. CURIOUS CUSTOMS. ^.^ 
 
 Arabs. Their superstitious fears are quickly 
 aroused, and they are easily tempted to break 
 their contract and leave in the lurch the man to 
 whom they have hired themselves. 
 
 Stanley's march to Manyeme was noticeable 
 only for the curious customs or habits of the peo- 
 ple, and on the 5th of October he reached the 
 frontier of this wonderful country. Livingstone 
 had halted here several months, and this was an 
 inducement for Stanley to stop a few days. The 
 weapons of the natives were excellent, and there 
 was one custom that attracted his particular at- 
 tention — the men wore lumps in various forms of 
 mud and patches of mud on their beard, hair and 
 head, while the women wove their front hair into 
 head-dresses, resembling bonnets, leaving the 
 back hair to wave in ringlets over their shoulders. 
 He, as well as Cameron, was amazed at their vil- 
 lages, which, usually had one or more broad 
 streets running through them, each being from 
 one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet wide, 
 and along which are ranged the square huts, with 
 well-beaten, cleanly-kept clay floors, to which 
 they cheerfully invite strangers. 
 
 On the 1 2th he reached the village on the Luma 
 which he had been following, where both Living- 
 stone and Cameron left it and turned directly 
 west to Nyangwe. He, however, determined to 
 follow it till it reached the Lualaba, and then pro- 
 ceed by this stream to the same place. He found 
 
344 
 
 /.V THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 the natives kind but timid, with many curious tra- 
 ditions and customs. The expedition at last 
 reached the Lualaba, and moving majestically 
 through the forest and making rapid marches, it 
 arrived on the next day at Tubunda. • 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 NYANGWE AND ITS HISTORY 
 
 NYANGWE is the farthest point west in 
 Africa ever reached by a white man who 
 came in from the east. It is about three 
 hundred and fifty miles from Ujiji, or a little over 
 the distance across New York State, but the 
 journey is not made in one day — Stanley was 
 forty days in accomplishing it. Here he found 
 that Livingstone, the first white man ever seen 
 there, must have remained from six to twelve 
 months. Livingstone had made a profound im- 
 pression on the natives of this region. " Did you 
 know him?" asked an old chief, eagerly. Stanley 
 replying in the affirmative, he turned to his sons 
 and brothers, and said: "He knew the good white 
 man. Ah, we shall hear all about him.'* Then 
 turning to Stanley, he said: "Was he not a very 
 good man?'' "Yes,'' replied the latter, "he was 
 good, my friend ; far better than any white man or 
 Arab you will ever see again." "Ah," said the 
 old negro, "you speak true; he was so gentle and 
 patient, and told us such pleasant stories of the 
 wonderful land of the white people — the aged 
 white was a good man indeed." , 
 
 Livingstone made a strong impression on Stan- 
 
 (345) 
 
246 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ley also, who, speaking of him says: "What has 
 struck me while tracing Livingstone to his utmost 
 researches — this Arab depot of Nyangwe, — re- 
 vived all my grief and pity for him, even more so 
 than his own relation of sorrowful and heavy 
 things, is, that he does not seem to be aware that 
 he was sacrificing himself unnecessarily, nor to 
 be warned of the havoc of age and that his old 
 power had left him. With the weight of years 
 pressing upon him, the shortest march wearying 
 him, compelling him to halt many days to recover 
 his strength, and frequent attacks of illness pros- 
 trating him, with neither men nor means to escort 
 him and enable him to make practical progress, 
 Livingstone was at last like a blind and infirm 
 man moving aimlessly about. He was his own 
 worst taskmaker/' 
 
 Whether Stanley's views of the mental con- 
 dition of Livingstone — growing out of his sick- 
 ness and want of money while in Nyangwe — are 
 correct or not, one thing is true: that after the 
 great explorer had seemingly reached the very 
 point when the problem was to be solved as to 
 where the mysterious Lualaba flowed, he waited 
 there till he found a caravan going east, and then 
 returned to Ujiji "a sorely tried and disappointed 
 man/' Standing on the last point which this in- 
 trepid explorer reached, Stanley is reminded of 
 his own earnest efforts to induce that worn hero 
 to return home and recruit, to which the invaria- 
 
A BEAUTIFUL REGIOlSr, 
 
 347 
 
 ble answer was : " No, no, no ; to be knighted, as 
 you say, by the Queen, welcomed by thousands of 
 admirers, yes — but impossible, must not, can not, 
 will not be/' 
 
 Stanley, on this outmost verge of exploration, 
 remembered the words of Livingstone when 
 speaking of the beauties of the region lying west 
 of the Goma Mountains, and says, "It is a most 
 remarkable region; more remarkable than any- 
 thing I have seen in Africa. Its woods, or forest, 
 or jungles, or brush — I do not know by what par- 
 ticular term to designate the crowded, tall, straight 
 trees, rising from an impenetrable mass of brush, 
 creepers, thorns, gums, palm, ferns of all sorts, 
 canes and grass — are sublime, even terrible. In- 
 deed, nature here is remarkably or savagely beau- 
 tiful. From every point the view is enchanting — 
 the outlines eternally varying, yet always beauti- 
 ful, till the whole panorama seems like a chang- 
 ing vision. Over all, nature has flung a robe of 
 varying green, the hills and ridges are blooming, 
 the valleys and basins exhale perfume, the rocks 
 wear garlands of creepers, the stems of the trees 
 are clothed with moss, a thousand streamlets of 
 cold, pure water stray, now languid, now quick, 
 toward the north and south and west. The whole 
 makes a pleasing, charming illustration of the 
 bounteousness and wild beauty of tropical nature. 
 But, alas ! all this is seen at a distance ; when you 
 come to travel through this world of beauty, the 
 
348 
 
 JN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 illusion vanishes — the green grass becomes as dif- 
 ficult to penetrate as an undergrowth, and that 
 lovely sweep of shrubbery a mass of thorns, the 
 gently rolling ridge an inaccessible crag, and the 
 green mosses and vegetation in the low grounds 
 that look so enchanting, impenetrable forest 
 belts." 
 
 Stanley once penetrated into one of these great 
 forests and was so overwhelmed by the majesty 
 and solemn stillness of the scene, that he forgot 
 where he was, and his imagination went back to 
 the primeval days when that great, still forest was 
 sown, till the silent trees seemed monuments of 
 past histor}^ But still, this district of Manyema 
 (pronounced in various ways), he does not think 
 so interesting as that of Uregga. In speaking of 
 the Lualaba, after describing the various ways in 
 which it is spelled and pronounced, he says if he 
 could have it his own way he would call it "Liv- 
 ingstone River, or Livingstone's Lualaba,'' to com- 
 memorate his discovery of it and his heroic 
 struggles against adversity to explore it. The 
 letter in which he thus speaks of this region is 
 dated November ist, 1876. In three days he 
 says he is going to explore this mysterious river 
 to the utmost of his power. Two days previous 
 to this letter, he wrote a long one on the horrors 
 of the slave-trade that casts a pall as black as 
 midnight over all this tropical beauty. He says, 
 that from Unyanyembe to Ujiji one sees horrors 
 
THE SLA VE TRADE, 
 
 349 
 
 enough, but in this region they are multiplied ten- 
 fold. The traffic in slaves is so profitable and 
 keeps up such a brisk trade with Zanzibar and the 
 interior of Africa, that the native chiefs enter into 
 it on the grandest scale, or rather it is more ac- 
 curate to say, banditti under the leadership of so- 
 called chiefs enter into it thus, and carry it on 
 with remorseless zeal. 
 
 Raids are made on small independent villages, 
 the aged are slain and hung up to terrify other vil- 
 lages into a meek acquiescence in their demands, 
 and young men, young women, and children are 
 marched off to Ujiji, from whence they are taken 
 to Zanzibar, becoming, by their cruel treatment on 
 the route, living skeletons before they reach their 
 destination. Gangs, from one hundred to eight 
 hundred, of naked, half-starved creatures Stanley 
 met In his travels, and he wonders that the civil- 
 ized world will let insignificant Zanzibar become 
 the mart of such an accursed, cruel traffic. 
 
 There are regular hunting-grounds for slaves. 
 When the business is dull, the inhabitants are left 
 to grow and thrive, just like game out of sea- 
 son in a gentleman's park ; but when the business 
 begins to look up, the hunt begins, and the smiling 
 villages become arid wastes. The country, long 
 before he reached Nyangwe, was a wilderness, 
 where a few years before dwelt a happy popula- 
 tion. Stanley gives extracts from his diary, show- 
 ing up the horrors of this system, which make the 
 
350 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 heart sicken as it thinks of what is daily transpir- 
 ing in this unknown land. 
 
 Livingstone saw enough when he was at this 
 place to awaken his deepest indignation, but since 
 that time the Arabs have pushed further inland, 
 and swept, with the besom of destruction, districts 
 that in his time had been but slightly touched. 
 
 The trade in ivory is but another name for trade 
 in human beings, and the only real commerce this 
 vast, fruitful region has with Zanzibar is through 
 its captured inhabitants, while the slain equal the 
 number sent into captivity. But, while Mr. Stan- 
 ley feels keenly the disgrace to humanity of this 
 accursed traffic, he evidently does not see so clearly 
 the way to put a stop to it. He is opposed to fili- 
 bustering of all kinds, and to the interference of 
 strong powers to coerce weak ones on the ground 
 of humanity or Christianity, because it opens the 
 door too wide to every kind of aggression. In 
 fact, this makes it only necessary to use some 
 philanthropic catch-word, in order to justify the 
 annexation of any feeble territory. 
 
 Stanley evidently thinks there is some limit to 
 the Monroe doctrine of non-interference in the 
 affairs of other nations, as the following extract 
 from one of his letters shows, in which, after discuss- 
 ing the whole matter carefully, he says he writes, 
 " hoping he may cause many to reflect upon the 
 fact that there exists one little State on this globe, 
 which is about equal in extent to one English 
 
SLA VE PENS. 
 
 351 
 
 county, with the sole privilege of enriching itself 
 by wholesale murder, and piracy and commerce in 
 human beings, and that a traffic forbidden in all 
 other nations should be permitted, furtively mo- 
 nopolized by the little island of Zanzibar, and by 
 such insignificant people as the subjects of Prince 
 Burghosh/' Mr. Stanley is entirely opposed to 
 filibustering and encroachments of strong powers 
 on feeble ones, under the thousand and one false 
 pretences advanced in support of unrighteous 
 conquests, yet he evidently thinks little Zanzibar 
 should be wiped out, or cease to be the source and 
 centre of this cruel traffic in human beings. One 
 has to travel, he says, in the heart of Africa to see 
 all the horrors of this traffic. 
 
 The buying and selling of a few slaves on th^ 
 coast gives no idea of its horrors. At Unyambembe, 
 sometimes a sad sight is seen. At Uganda the 
 trade begins to assume a. wholesale character, yet 
 it wears here a rather business aspect ; the slaves 
 by this time become hardened to suffering, " they 
 have no more tears to shed/* the chords of sympa- 
 thy have been severed and they seem stolid and 
 indifferent. At Ujiji, one sees a regular slave- 
 market established. There are " slave-folds and 
 pens, " like the stock-yards of railroads for cattle 
 into which the naked wretches are driven by hun- 
 dreds, to wallow on the ground and be half-starved 
 on food not fit for hogs. By the time they reach 
 here they are mere " ebony skeletons, " attenuated. 
 
352 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 haggard, gaunt human frames. Their very voices 
 have sunk to a mere hoarse whisper, which comes 
 with an unearthly sound from out their parched, 
 withered Hps. Low moans, Hke those that escape 
 from the dying, fill the air, and they reel and 
 stagger when they attempt to stand upright, so 
 wasted are they by the havoc of hunger. They 
 look like a vast herd of black skeletons, and as one 
 looks at them in their horrible sufferings he cannot 
 but exclaim, "how can an all-merciful Father 
 permit such things ?" No matter whether on the 
 slow and famishing march or crowded like strayed 
 pigs in the overloaded canoes, it is the same un- 
 varying scene of hunger and horror, on which the 
 cruel slave-trader looks without remorse or pity. 
 
 It may be asked how are these slaves obtained. 
 The answer is, by a systematic war waged in the 
 populous country of Marungu by banditti, sup- 
 ported by Arabs. These exchange guns and 
 powder for the slaves the former capture, which 
 enables them to keep up the war. These Arabs, 
 who sell the slaves on the coast, furnish the only 
 market for the native banditti of the interior. 
 These latter are mostly natives of Unyamwege 
 who band together to capture all the inhabitants 
 of villages too weak to resist them. Marungu is 
 the great productive field of their Satanic labors. 
 Here almost every small village is independent, 
 recognizing no ruler but its own petty chief. 
 These are often at variance with each other, and 
 
HUNTING THE SLA VES. 
 
 353 
 
 instead of banding together to resist a common 
 foe, they look on quietly while one after another 
 is swept by the raiders. In crossing a river, Stan- 
 ley met two hundred of these wretches chained 
 together, and, on inquiry, found they belonged to 
 the governor of Unyambembe, a former patron of 
 Speke and Burton, and had been captured by an 
 officer of the prince of Zanzibar. This prince had 
 made a treaty with England to put a stop to this 
 horrible traffic, and yet here was one of his officers 
 engaged in it, taking his captives to Zanzibar, and 
 this was his third batch during the year. 
 
 There are two or three entries in Stanley's 
 journal which throw much light on the way this 
 hunt for slaves is carried on. 
 
 "October 17th. Arabs organized to-day from 
 three districts, to avenge the murder and eating 
 of one man and ten women by a tribe half-way 
 between Kassessa and Nyangwe. After six days' 
 slaughter, the Arabs returned with three hundred 
 slaves, fifteen hundred goats, besides spears, etc.'' 
 
 " October 24th. The natives of Kabonga, near 
 Nyangwe, were sorely troubled two or three days 
 ago by a visit paid them by Uanaamwee in the 
 employ of Mohommed el Said. Their insolence 
 was so intolerable that the natives at last said, 
 *we will stand this no longer. They will force 
 our wives and daughters before our eyes if we 
 hesitate any longer to kill them, and before the 
 Arabs come we will be off/ Unfortunately, only 
 23 
 
354 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 one was killed, the others took fright and disap. 
 peared to arouse the Arabs with a new grievance. 
 To-day, an Arab chief set out for the scene of 
 action with murderous celerity, and besides cap- 
 turing ten slaves, killed thirty natives and set fire 
 to eight villages — 'a small prize,' the Arabs said." 
 
 " October 1 7th. The same man made an attack 
 on some fishermen on the left bank of the Lua- 
 laba. He left at night and returned at noon with 
 fifty or sixty captives, besides some children/' 
 
 " Are raids of this kind frequent ?" asked Stan- 
 ley. 
 
 "Frequent!'' was the reply, "sometimes six or 
 ten times a month." 
 
 One of these captives said to Stanley, on the 
 march from Mana to Manibo, " Master, all the 
 plain lying between Mana, Manibo and Nyangwe, 
 when I first came here eight years ago, was popu- 
 lated so thickly that we traveled through gardens, 
 villages and fields every quarter of an hour. 
 There were flocks of goats and black pigs around 
 every village. You can see what it now is." He 
 saw that it was an uninhabited wilderness. At 
 that time, Livingstone saw how the country was 
 becoming depopulated before the slave-traders, 
 but says Stanley, "Were it possible for him to 
 rise from the dead and take a glance at the dis- 
 tricts now depopulated, it is probable that he 
 would be more than ever filled with sorrow at the 
 misdoings of these traders." 
 
now TO STOP It. 255 
 
 He thinks there is but one way of putting a per- 
 petual end to this infernal traffic, and that is by 
 stopping It in the interior. English and American 
 cruisers on the coast can have but partial success. 
 The suggestion of the Khedive of Egypt is the right 
 one. Annex the interior of Africa to some strong 
 power and establish stations on the great high- 
 ways over which these traders are compelled to 
 transport their human chattels, where they will be 
 pounced upon and made to give up their captives, 
 and the trade will soon cease from its being too 
 hazardous and unprofitable. 
 
 Portugal has no right to the west coast, which 
 it claims. Let England, or England and America 
 together, claim and exercise sovereignty over it, and 
 it will need no cruisers on the coast to stop the 
 trade in slaves. At any rate, it is high time the 
 Christian nations of the world put a stop to this 
 disgrace and blot upon humanity. 
 
A 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ORGANIZING A NEW EXPEDITION. 
 
 RRIVING near Nyangwe, one of the first 
 to meet Stanley was the Arab, Tipo- 
 tipo, or Tipo-tib, or Tippu-tib (which 
 IS the proper spelling neither Cameron nor Stanley 
 seems to know), who had once conducted Came- 
 ron as far as Utotera or the Kasongo country. 
 He was a splendid specimen of a man physically, 
 and just the one to give Stanley all the informa- 
 tion he wanted respecting Cameron's movements. 
 He told him that the latter wanted to follow the 
 river to the sea, but that his men were unwilling 
 to go; besides, no canoes could be obtained for 
 the purpose. He also told him that after staying 
 a long time at Kasongo, he had joined a company 
 of Portuguese traders and proceeded south. 
 
 One thing was clear : Cameron had not settled 
 the great problem that Livingstone wished of all 
 things to solve — this great unfinished work had 
 been left for Stanley to complete, or to leave for 
 some future, more daring or more successful ex- 
 plorer. Could he get canoes — could he surmount 
 difficulties that neither Livingstone nor Cameron 
 were able to overcome ? were the grave questions 
 he asked himself. He had long dialogues with 
 
 356 
 
NEW PURPOSES, ^CM 
 
 Tipo-tipo and other Arab chiefs, all of whom dis- 
 suaded him from attempting to follow the Lualaba 
 by land, or trying to get canoes. They told him 
 frightful stories of the cannibals below — of dwarfs 
 striped like Zebras and ferocious as demons, with 
 poisoned arrows, living on the backs of elephants, 
 of anacondas, of impenetrable forests — in short, 
 they conjured up a country and a people that no 
 stranger who placed any value on his life would 
 dare to encounter. 
 
 The fact that the Lualaba flowed north to a 
 distance beyond the knowledge of the natives was 
 doubtless one, and perhaps the chief, reason why 
 Livingstone suspected it emptied into the Nile. 
 Stanley now knew better. How far north it might 
 flow before it turned he could not say, yet he felt 
 certain that turn west it would, sooner or later, 
 and empty into the Atlantic Ocean, and the pos- 
 sibility of his tracing it had a powerful fascination 
 for him. Its course he knew lay through the 
 largest half of Africa, which was a total blank. 
 Here, by the way, it is rather singular that Stan- 
 ley, following Livingstone who alone had explored 
 Lake Bembe and made it the source of the Lua- 
 laba, adopts his statement, while Cameron, on 
 mere hearsay, should assert that its source was in 
 marshes. The river, after leaving the lake, flows 
 two hundred miles and empties into Lake Mweru, 
 a body of water containing about one thousand 
 eight hundred square miles. Issuing from this, it 
 
358 
 
 . IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 takes the name of Lualaba, which it holds and loses 
 by turns as it moves on its mighty course for one 
 thousand one hundred miles, till it rolls, ten miles 
 wide at its mouth, into the broad Atlantic as the 
 Congo. 
 
 Stanley, from first to last, seemed to have a 
 wonderful power, not only over the Arabs that 
 composed his expedition as we have before men- 
 tioned, but over all those with whom he came in 
 contact in his explorations. Notwithstanding all 
 the horrors depicted as awaiting any attempt to 
 advance beyond Nyangwe, this Tipo-tipo agreed, 
 for $5,000, to accompany him with a strong escort 
 a distance of sixty camps, on certain conditions. 
 That he would do it on any conditions was extra- 
 ordinary, considering the fact, if it was a fact, that 
 the last attempt to penetrate this hostile territory 
 resulted in the loss of five hundred men. The 
 conditions were, that the march should commence 
 from Nyangwe — not occupy more than three 
 months — and that if Stanley should conclude, at the 
 end of the sixty marches, that he could not get 
 through, he would return to Nyangwe ; or if he 
 met Portuguese traders and chose to go to the 
 coast in the direction they were moving, he should 
 detail two-thirds of his force to accompany said 
 Tipo back to Nyangwe for his protection. 
 
 To all these Stanley agreed, except the one 
 promising, if he concluded to go on at the end of the 
 sixty marches, to give him two-thirds of the men of 
 
NAPOLEONIC SPIRIT. 
 
 361 
 
 the expedition to see him safely back. On this article 
 of agreement there was a hitch, and Stanley showed 
 his Yankee education, if not Yankee birth, by put- 
 ting in a last article, by which, if Tipo-tipo through 
 cowardice should fail to complete his sixty marches, 
 he should forfeit his $5,000, and have no escort for 
 his return. Stanley then gave him time to think of 
 it, while he went to see young Pocoke and confer 
 with him. They went over the whole ground to- 
 gether, and Stanley told him it was a matter of 
 life and death with both of them ; failure would be 
 certain and perhaps horrible death ; success would 
 be honor and glory. It was a fearful picture he 
 drew of the possible future, but Frank's ready re- 
 sponse was, "go on.'' 
 
 At this point Stanley reveals one of his strong- 
 est characteristics, which we mentioned in the 
 sketch of him at the bep^innino- of the book — the 
 Napoleonic quality of relying on himself. Ordi- 
 nary well-established principles and rules often 
 condemned the action of Bonaparte — results ap- 
 proved them. So ordinary prudence would have 
 turned Stanley back as it did Cameron — the stories 
 told him of the character of the tribes in advance 
 — the obstacles he would have to encounter, all the 
 mystery, perils and uncertainty of the future — the 
 universal warning and fearful prognostications of 
 those who were supposed to know best — his iso- 
 lated condition in the heart of Africa — all things 
 that could surround a man to deter him in his 
 
362 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 actions, were gathered there around that lonely 
 man at that outpost of civilized enterprise ; yet, 
 falling back on himself, rising superior to all out- 
 ward influences, gauging all the probabilities and 
 possibilities by his own clear perceptions and in- 
 domitable will, he determined to push forward. 
 If he could not get canoes, which he feared he 
 could not any more than Cameron, then he would 
 try to follow the river by land; if that failed, he would 
 make canoes in the African forest; if he could not 
 go peaceably, he would fight his way, and not turn 
 back till deserted by his own men and left alone 
 in the midst of a savage, hostile people. This 
 determination, under the circumstances, shows 
 him to be no ordinary character, and marks him 
 as one who in a revolution would control the 
 stormy elements around him and mount to power 
 or to the scaffold. 
 
 There were also minor obstacles attending this 
 desperate effort to trace J:he Lualaba to the sea. 
 He had thirteen women In his expedition, wives 
 of his chief Arabs, some of them with young chil- 
 dren, others in various stages of pregnancy, who 
 would b^ delivered of children before they reached 
 the Atlantic coast, and under what circumstances 
 the hour of travail might come no one knew. It 
 might be in the hour of battle, or in the desperate 
 race for life, when one hour's delay would be total 
 ruin to the expedition and death to all. It might 
 be in the struggle and fight around a cataract, or 
 
AN ESCORT SECURED. 
 
 36j 
 
 in the day of extreme famine. A thousand things 
 had to be taken into consideration before resolving 
 on this desperate movement. But no matter, the 
 obstacles might even be more formidable than 
 represented, the risk tenfold greater, his mind 
 was made up — the secrets of that mysterious river 
 he would unlock, or his last struggles and myste- 
 rious fate would add one more to the secrets it 
 held. 
 
 At length the contract with Tipo-tipo to escort 
 him sixty marches was made and signed, and then 
 Stanley informed his own men of it, and told them 
 that if at the end of that time they came across a 
 caravan bound for the west coast, part would join 
 it, and the rest might, if they wished, return to 
 Nyangwe. They agreed to stand by the con- 
 tract and Stanley moved forward into Nyangwe. 
 Here Stanley was received by one of the two 
 Arab chiefs that bear sway in the place, with be- 
 coming courtesy. He seemed surprised at the 
 orderly, quiet march of this force, and still more 
 when told that the distance from Tanganika, some 
 three hundred and forty miles, had been made in 
 about forty days. 
 
 Stanley describes minutely the place and its 
 political management, but seems, like Livingstone 
 and Cameron, to be particularly struck with its 
 market. This is held every fourth day, and from 
 one to three thousand people assemble to trade ; 
 most of the vendors are women, and the animated 
 
364 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 manner in which trade is carried on amused Liv- 
 ingstone exceedingly. Though he could not un- 
 derstand their language he could interpret their 
 gestures, which were very expressive. This pleas- 
 ant scene, however, was marred one day by a 
 messenger stalking into the market with ten jaw- 
 bones of men tied to a string and hanging over 
 his shoulder, he boasting of having killed and 
 eaten these men and describing with his knife how 
 he cut them up. 
 
 Early in the morning of the market-day the 
 river, as far as its course can be seen, presents a 
 lively appearance. It is covered with canoes 
 loaded to their gunwales with natives and articles 
 for the market piled on each other, and they all 
 press toward one point. Amid the laughter and 
 jargon of the natives, may be heard the crowing 
 of cocks, and squealing of pigs and the bleating 
 of goats. Having reached the landing-place, the 
 men quietly shoulder their paddles and walk up 
 the bank, leaving the women to carry the articles 
 up to the market-place. These are placed in 
 large baskets and slung on their backs by a strap 
 across their foreheads. When this great crowd of 
 two or three thousand are assembled the babel 
 begins. But the talking and chaffering are done 
 by the women; the men move about paying but 
 little attention to the bartering, unless something 
 important, as the sale of a slave, is going on. 
 The women do not walk about, but having selected 
 
AFRICAir MARKETS. 
 
 365 
 
 a spot where they propose to do business, they 
 let down the basket, and spreading the articles on 
 the ground so as to appear to the best advantage, 
 they squat themselves in the basket, where they 
 look like some huge shell-fish. 
 
 The vendors being thus stationary, the buyers 
 also become so, and hence it is always a close, 
 jammed mass of human beings, screaming, sweat- 
 ing and sending forth no pleasant odor, for three 
 or four hours. They do not break up gradually, 
 but oft the movement of some important person a 
 general scramble will commence, and in twenty 
 minutes the whole two thousand or more will be 
 scattered in every direction. The markets of this 
 region are held on neutral ground by the various 
 tribes, and their feuds are laid aside for that day. 
 Except at Nyangwe, uninhabited spots are se- 
 lected. The neighboring chiefs are always pres- 
 ent, and can be seen lounging lazily about. Stan- 
 ley counted fifty-seven different articles for sale, 
 ranging from sweet potatoes to beautiful girls, 
 while the currency was shells, beads, copper and 
 brass wire and palm cloth. 
 
 There are two foreign chiefs at the place, who 
 are very jealous of each other, as each wished to 
 be regarded by the natives as the most powerful. 
 Sheikh Abed, a tall, thin old man with a white 
 beard, occupies the southern section of the town, 
 and Muini Dugumbi the other. It has not long 
 been an Arab trading post, for Dugumbi is the 
 
366 
 
 JN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 first Arab that came here, and that was no later 
 that 1868, and pitched his quarters, and now the 
 huts of his friends, with their famihes and slaves, 
 number some three hundred. He is an Arab 
 trader from the east coast, and soon after his ar- 
 rival he established a harem, composed of more 
 than three hundred slave women. Though a rol- 
 licking, joking man himself, his followers are a 
 reckless, freebooting set. The original inhabitants 
 of Nyangwe were driven out by Muini Dugumbi, 
 and now occupy portions of both sides of the 
 river, and live by fishing, and are said to be a 
 singular tribe. Stanley estimated there must 
 have been forty-two thousand of them in the region 
 previous to the coming of this Arab chief, who 
 spread desolation on every side. There remain 
 to-day only twenty thousand of this people. 
 
 Stanley remained here only about a week, for 
 Tipo-tipo arriving on the 2d of November, he 
 prepared to start on his unknown journey. The 
 expedition, when he mustered it on the morning 
 of the 4th, numbered one hundred and seventy- 
 six, armed with sixty-three muskets and rifles, two 
 double-barreled guns and ten revolvers. Besides 
 these, there were sixty-eight axes, that Stanley, 
 with great forethought, purchased, thinking the 
 time might come when he would need them as 
 much as his guns. Tipo-tipo brought with him 
 seven hundred followers, though only four hundred 
 were to accompany the expedition the sixty 
 
TJPO-TIPaS ARMY. 
 
 Z^l 
 
 marches. Together, they made quite a little army, 
 but many of them were women and children, who 
 always accompany the Arabs in their marches or 
 forays; still, the force, all drawn up, presented an 
 imposing display. A hundred of these were 
 armed with flint-lock muskets, the rest with spears 
 and shields. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THROUGH THE FORESTS. 
 
 ON the 5th of November, Stanley, at the 
 head of his motley array, turned his back 
 on Nyangwe and his face to the wilder- 
 ness. It was an eventful morning for him. Eight- 
 een hundred miles of an unknown country stretched 
 before him, wrapped in profound myster}^, peopled 
 with races of which the outside world had never 
 heard, and filled with dangers that would appall 
 the bravest heart. He felt, as he turned and gave 
 a last look at Nyangwe, that the die was cast — his 
 fate for good or ill was sealed. What sad misgiv- 
 ings must at times have made a feeling of faint- 
 ness creep over his heart — what terrible responsi- 
 bilities must have crowded upon him ; aye, what 
 gloomy forebodings, in spite of his courage, would 
 weigh down his spirit. If he had used canoes, the 
 starting would have been more cheerful, but the 
 dense and tangled forest, whose dark line could 
 be traced against the sky, wore a forbidding aspect. 
 They marched but nine miles the first day, and 
 though the country was open, the manner in which 
 the men bore it did not promise well for their en- 
 durance when they should enter the jungle. Every 
 pound was carried on men's shoulders, besides 
 
 (368) 
 
THE START. 
 
 369 
 
 their weapons, all the provisions, stores of cloth, 
 and beads, and wire, the arms and ammunition, of 
 which there had to be a large quantity, for they 
 might be two years fighting their way across the 
 continent, and in addition to these burdens, the 
 boat in sections. The next morning, Tipo-tipo's 
 heterogeneous crowd started first, which impeded 
 the march by frequent halts, for the women 
 and children had to be cared for. They soon en- 
 tered the gloomy forest of Mitamba, where the 
 marching became more difficult, and the halts more 
 frequent, while the dew fell from the trees in great 
 rain-drops, wetting the narrow path they were fol- 
 lowing, till the soil became a thick mud. The 
 heavy foliage shut out the sky, and the disordered 
 caravan marched on in gloomy twilight, and at 
 last, drenched to the skin, reached a village four 
 miles from camp and waited for the carriers of 
 the boat to arrive. These found the boat a heavy 
 burden, for the foliage grew so thick and low over 
 the path, that the sections had to be pushed by 
 sheer force through it. To make the camp even 
 more gloomy, one of the Arab chiefs who had been 
 in the forest before, said, with great complacency, 
 that what they had endured was nothing to that 
 which was before them. The next day the path 
 was so overgrown and obstructed by fallen trees, 
 that axemen had to go before the carriers of the 
 boat to clear the way for them. On the loth, hav- 
 ing reached Uregga, a village in the very heart 
 
 2Ar 
 
^^Q IN THE WILDS OF- AFRICA. 
 
 of the forest, they halted for a rest. Its isolated 
 inhabitants seemed to be in advance of those whom 
 Stanley had seen elsewhere. The houses were 
 built in blocks, which were square like those of 
 Manyema,and they contained various fancy articles, 
 some of them displaying great taste. Here Stan- 
 ley saw curiously carved bits of wood, and hand- 
 some spoons, and for the first time in Africa, he 
 beheld a cane settee. 
 
 The men carrying the boat did not come up for 
 two days, and then quite broken and disheartened. 
 Indeed, here almost at the very outset, everything 
 seemed to point to an early dissolution of the ex- 
 pedition. Not only were his men discontented, 
 but Tipo-tipo, with all his elegance of manner and 
 pompous pretence, began to glower and grumble, 
 not merely at the hardships his people were com- 
 pelled to encounter, but because sickness had 
 broken out in his cdmp. 
 
 On the 13th, three hundred out of the seven 
 hundred of his men branched off from the expe- 
 dition. The marching now became not only 
 monotonous but extremely painful, and so slow 
 that it took a whole day's march to make a dis- 
 tance of nine miles — a rate of progress that Stan- 
 ley saw very clearly would never bring him to the 
 Atlantic Ocean. They had now been seven days 
 on the march and had made but about forty miles, 
 and scarcely one mile west. Thus far their course 
 had been almost due north toward the ^reat desert 
 
DISCO URA GING PROGRESS. ^ j j 
 
 of Sahara, and not toward the Atlantic Ocean. 
 These five days had been utterly thrown away, so 
 far as progress in the right direction was concerned ; 
 not an inch had been gained, and the whole expe- 
 dition was discouraged. The carriers of the boat 
 begged Stanley to throw it away or go back to 
 Nyangwe, while the Arab chiefs made no attempt 
 to conceal their discontent, but openly expressed 
 their disinclination to proceed any farther. Even 
 the splendid barbarian dandy, Tipo-tipo, who prided 
 himself on his superiority to all other Arabs, began 
 to look moody, while increasing sfckness in the 
 camp cast additional gloom over it. Huge ser- 
 pents crossed their path, while all sorts of wild 
 beasts and vermin peopled the dense forest and 
 swarmed around them. 
 
 On the 15th, they made but six miles and a half 
 and yet, short as was the distance, it took the men 
 carrying the boat twenty-four hours to make it, 
 and all were so weary that a halt of an entire day 
 was ordered to let them rest. In addition to this, 
 the forest became ten times more matted than be- 
 fore. Both the heavier timber and the under- 
 growth grew thicker and thicker, shutting out not 
 only the light of the sun, but every particle of 
 moving air, so that the atmosphere became suffo- 
 cating and stifling. Panting for breath, the little 
 army crawled and wormed itself through the inter- 
 lacing branches, and when night came down were 
 utterly disheartened. Even the elegant Tipo-tipo 
 
^72 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 now gave out, and came to Stanley to be released 
 from his engagement. It was in vain that the 
 latter appealed to his honor, his pride and fear of 
 ridicule should he now turn back to Nyangwe. 
 But to everything he could urge, the very sensible 
 answer was returned : " If there is nothing worse 
 than this before us, it will yet take us, at the rate 
 we are going, a year to make the sixty marches 
 and as long a time to return. You are only killing 
 everybody by your obstinacy ; such a country was 
 never made for decent men to travel in, it was 
 made for pagans and monkeys. '' 
 
 It is in circumstances like these that those quali- 
 ties which have made Stanley the most successful 
 explorer of modern times, exhibit themselves. Na- 
 poleon said, when speaking of troops, " Even 
 brave soldiers have their 'moment de peur,''' the 
 time when they shrink. But this man seems an 
 exception to this rule. To him the moment of 
 fear never seems to come, for he never feels the 
 contagion of example. He adheres to his reso- 
 lution to go on, if but a handful stand by him. He 
 seems impervious to the contagion that seizes 
 others, and a panic in battle would sweep by him 
 unmoved. After talking to Tipo-tipo for two 
 hours, he finally got him to agree to accompany 
 him twenty marches farther. 
 
 There were two things in this village, shut up in 
 the heart of the forest, that impressed Stanley very 
 much. He found here a primitive forge, in which 
 
WONDERS OF THE FOREST, 
 
 Z7i 
 
 the natives smelted iron-ore, found in the neigh- 
 borhood, and a smithy, in which the iron was 
 worked up into instruments of all kinds, from a 
 small knife to a cleaver ; hatchets, hammers, even 
 wire and ornaments for the arms and legs were 
 made. How this rude people, to whom even an 
 Arab trader had never come, should have dis- 
 covered the properties of iron-ore, how to disen- 
 gage the iron and then work it into every variety 
 of instruments, is inexplicable. The whole must 
 have been the product of the brain of some native 
 genius. 
 
 The other remarkable thing was a double row 
 of skulls, running the entire length of the village, 
 set in the ground, leaving the naked, round top 
 glistening in the sun. There were nearly two 
 hundred of them. Amazed, he asked his Arabs 
 what they were, they replied "soko skulls.'' The 
 soko, Cameron calls a gorilla, and we have no 
 doubt many of the remarkable stories about go- 
 rillas refer to this monkey. But Livingstone 
 says it is an animal resembling the gorilla, and 
 his account of their habits shows they are not the 
 fierce, fearless gorilla that is afraid of neither man 
 nor beast. The soko is about four feet ten inches 
 in height, and often walks erect, with his hands 
 resting on his head as if to steady himself. With 
 a yellow face adorned with ugly whiskers, a low 
 forehead and high ears, he looks as if he might 
 be a hideous cross between a man and a beast. 
 
oy^ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 His teeth, though dog-like in their size, still slightly 
 resemble those found in the human head. The 
 fingers are almost exactly like the natives. He 
 is cunning and crafty, and will often stalk a man 
 or woman as stealthily as a hunter will a deer. 
 He seldom does much damage, unless driven to 
 bay, when he fights fiercely. He takes great 
 pleasure in nabbing children and carrying them 
 up into a tree and holding them in his arms, but 
 if a bunch of bananas is thrown on the ground he 
 will descend, and leaving the child, will seize it. 
 He seldom uses his teeth, but in conflict with a 
 man he has been known to bite off his opponent's 
 fingers and then let him go. They are hunted 
 and trapped by the natives for their flesh, which 
 is regarded as very good eating. 
 
 Stanley, not satisfied with the answer of his 
 men concerning the skulls, sent for the chief and 
 asked him whose they were. He said of the 
 sokos, which they hunt because of the destruc- 
 tion they make of the bananas, and that their 
 meat was good. Stanley offered him a hundred 
 cowries if he would bring one to him alive or 
 dead. The chief went into the woods to hunt 
 them, but at evening returned without success. 
 He, however, gave him a portion of what he af- 
 firmed to be the skin of one. Stanley had the 
 curiosity to take two of these skulls home with 
 him, and gave them to Professor Huxley to ex- 
 amine, who reported they were the skulls of a 
 
BOKO SKULLS, 
 
 %n 
 
 man and a woman. Stanley, therefore, came 
 to the conclusion that they were the skulls of 
 men and women who had been eaten by these 
 cannibals. But we do not believe this conclusion 
 fairly justifiable, from Professor Huxley's report 
 on two skulls. In the first place, the Arabs would 
 scarcely have made such a mistake as this implies — 
 they had seen too many soko skulls. In the second 
 place, the chief corroborated their statement, and 
 he had no reason for telling a falsehood. If those 
 skulls were placed thus prominently in the streets, 
 it was to boast of them, not to lie about them. It 
 is far more likely that there were a few human 
 skulls mixed in with the sokos, and that when 
 Stanley asked for a couple, the largest and best- 
 shaped were selected for him which proved to be- 
 long to human beings. His hunting for one was 
 certainly not to prove he had told Stanley a false- 
 hood. The same peculiarity was noticed here 
 that Baker mentions of the natives of Fatiko — 
 the women go naked, while the men are partly 
 covered with skins. The whole apparel of the 
 women is an apron four inches square. 
 
 On the 19th of March, they reached the Lualaba, 
 sweeping majestically through the silent forest, 
 Stanley immediately determined there should be 
 no more tangled forests for him, but that the broad 
 current of the river should bear him to the At- 
 lantic Ocean or to death. The camp was pre- 
 pared and the breakfast eaten, while Pocoke was 
 
37^ 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 getting the Lady Alice screwed together. Soon 
 she was launched on the stream, amid the huzzas 
 of the party. Although the river here was 
 nearly three-quarters of a mile wide, and the op- 
 posite shore appeared like an uninhabited forest, 
 yet sharp eyes detected the wonderful apparition 
 that had appeared on the farther shore, and the 
 news spread so rapidly, that when Stanley in the 
 Lady Alice approached it, he saw the woods alive 
 with human beings, and several canoes tied to the 
 shore. He hailed them, and tried to make a bar- 
 gain with them to transport his party across. 
 They refused point-blank, but afterwards seemed 
 to relent and offered to exchange blood-brother- 
 hood with them, and appointed a place on a neigh- 
 boring island where the ceremony should be 
 performed. It was, however, discovered that it 
 was a treacherous plot to murder them, and but 
 for precautions taken in view of its possibility, 
 there would have been a fight. 
 
 Stanley now determined to cross his men by 
 detachments in his own boat. He took over thirty 
 above the village and told the natives that they 
 had better assist him in carrying over the rest, for 
 which he promised they should be well paid. They 
 finally consented, and the whole expedition was 
 soon landed safely on the left bank of the riven 
 
H 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FLOATING DOWN THE CONGO. 
 
 AVING been ferried across the river by 
 the natives, Stanley felt quite secure of 
 the friendship of this first tribe he had 
 met on the banks of the Lualaba. But here he 
 resolved to change its name to Livingstone, which 
 ever after he continues to call it. Villages lined 
 the banks, all, he says, adorned with skulls of hu- 
 man beings. But instead of finding the inhabit- 
 ants of them friendly, there were none to be seen ; 
 all had mysteriously disappeared, whether from 
 fright or to arouse the tribes below, it was impos- 
 sible to determine; it seemed from the former, 
 for notwithstanding they had overcome their first 
 fear so much as to ferry the expedition across the 
 river, they had not taken away their canoes, nor 
 carried with them their provisions. Leaving these 
 untouched, as a sort of promise to the tribes below 
 that their property should be held sacred, the ex- 
 pedition took up its march down the river. Stan- 
 ley, with thirty-three men, went by water, in the 
 Lady Alice, while Tipo-tipo and young Pocoke 
 with the rest of the party marched along the bank. 
 Village after village was passed; the natives ut- 
 tering their wild war-cry, and then disappearing 
 
 (379) 
 
3So 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 in the forest, leaving everything behind them. 
 Whether it was a peaceful village, or a crowded 
 market-place they passed, they inspired the same 
 terror, and huts and market-places were alike de- 
 serted. This did not promise well for the future. 
 
 In the middle of the afternoon, Stanley, in the 
 Lady Alice, came to a river one hundred yards 
 wide. Knowing that the land party could not 
 cross this without a boat, he halted to wait for its 
 approach in order to ferry it over, and built a 
 strong camp. This was on November 23d, 1876. 
 At sunset it had not arrived, and he became anx- 
 ious. Next morning it did not make its appear- 
 ance, and still more anxious, he ascended this 
 river, named the Ruigi, several miles, to see if 
 they had struck it farther up. 
 
 Returning, in the afternoon without hearing any- 
 thing of the expedition, he was startled as he ap- 
 proached the camp, by the rapid firing of guns. 
 Alarmed, he told the rowers to bend to their oars, 
 and sweeping rapidly downward, he soon came to 
 the mouth of the stream and found it blocked 
 with canoes filled with natives. Dashing down 
 upon them with loud shouts, they fled in every di- 
 rection. One dead man floating in the stream 
 was the only result of the first fight on the Liv- 
 ingstone. 
 
 The day wore away and night came down, and 
 silence and solitude rested on the forest stretch* 
 ing along the banks of the Ruigi, where he anx- 
 
TERRIBLE SUSPENSE. 
 
 38 1 
 
 iously waited to hear musket-shots announcing 
 the arrival of the land party. It was a long and 
 painful night, for one of two things was certain; 
 Tipo-tipo and Pocoke had lost their way or had 
 been attacked and overpowered. The bright 
 tropical sun rose over the forest east of the river 
 Ruigi, but its banks were silent and still. Stanley 
 could not endure the suspense any longer, and 
 dispatched Uledi, with five of the boat's crew, to 
 seek the wanderers. This Uledi, hereafter to the 
 close of the march, becomes a prominent figure. 
 Stanley had made him coxswain of the boat Lady 
 Alice, and he had proved to be one of the most 
 trustworthy men of the expedition, and was to 
 show himself in its future desperate fortunes, one 
 of the most cool and daring, worthy, only half- 
 civilized as he was, to stand beside Stanley. The 
 latter gave him strict directions as to his conduct 
 in hunting up the fugitives — especially respecting 
 the villages he might come across. Uledi told 
 Stanley not to be anxious — he would soon find 
 the lost party. 
 
 Stanley, of course, could do nothing but wait, 
 though filled with the most anxious thoughts. 
 The Tiver swept by calmly as ever, unconscious 
 of the troubled hearts on its banks ; the great forest 
 stood silent and still in the tropical sun, and the 
 day wore away as it ever does, thoughtless of the 
 destinies its hours are settling, and indifferent to 
 the human suffering that crowds them. But at 
 
382 ^^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 four o'clock a musket-shot rang out of the woods, 
 and soon Uledi appeared leading the lost party. 
 They had gone astray and been attacked by the 
 natives, who killed three of their number. Luckily 
 they captured a prisoner, whom they forced to act 
 as a guide to conduct them back to the river, and, 
 after marching all day, met Uledi in search of them. 
 They were ferried across and allowed to scatter 
 abroad in search of food, which they took where- 
 ever found, without any regard to the rights of the 
 natives. Necessity had compelled Stanley to re- 
 lax his strict rules in this respect. 
 
 The next day the march was continued as before, 
 communication being kept up by those on the land 
 and on the water by drum-taps. The villages they 
 passed were deserted — every soul fleeing at their 
 approach. Proceeding down the river, they came 
 across six abandoned canoes more or less injured. 
 Repairing these, they lashed them together as a 
 floating hospital for the sick of the land party, the 
 number of which had greatly increased from the 
 exposures and hardships they were compelled to 
 undergo. In the afternoon they came upon the 
 first rapids they had met. Some boats, attempting 
 their descent, were upset and attacked by the 
 na«tives, who were, however, soon beaten off. Four 
 Snider rifles were lost, which brought down on 
 Pocoke, who had permitted the Arabs to run this 
 risk, a severe rebuke, and a still severer one on 
 the Arab chief, who had asked the former to let 
 
DRIFTING DOWNWARD. 
 
 l^l 
 
 him make the attempt. The chief, enraged at the 
 reproaches heaped upon him, went to Tipo-tipo, 
 and declared that he would not serve Stanley any 
 longer. This, together with the increased hostility 
 of the natives, the alarming sickness, and the dan- 
 gerous rapids, brought the head chief to Stanley 
 with a solemn appeal to turn back before it was 
 too late. But the latter had reached a point where 
 nothing but absolute fate could turn him back. 
 
 The rapids were passed in safety by the canoe 
 < — the Lady Alice being carried around them on 
 men's shoulders. Natives were occasionally met, 
 but no open hostility was shown for several days. 
 The river would now be contracted by the bold 
 shores, and rush foaming along and now spread 
 into lake-like beauty, dotted with green islands, 
 the quiet abodes of tropical birds and monkeys, 
 which filled the air with a jargon of sounds. 
 
 On the 4th of December they came to a long, 
 straggling town, composed of huts only seven feet 
 long by five wide, standing apart, yet connected 
 by roofs, the intervening spaces covered and com- 
 mon to the inhabitants of both the adjacent huts. 
 It was, however, deserted, like the rest. This per- 
 sistent desertion was almost as dispiriting as open 
 diostility, and an evil fate seemed to hang over the 
 expedition. The sickness kept increasing, and 
 day after day all that broke the monotony of the 
 weary hours was the tossing over now and then 
 of dead bodies into the river. The land party pre- 
 
384 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 sented a heart-broken appearance as they crawleOj^ 
 at night, laden with the sick and dying, into camp. 
 At this place Stanley found an old, battered, aban- 
 doned canoe, capable of carrying sixty people. 
 This he repaired, and added it to his floating hos- 
 pital. 
 
 On the 8th of December he came to another 
 large town, the inhabitants of which, in spite of all 
 attempts to make peace, were determined to fight 
 With fourteen canoes they approached the bank 
 on which the land party were encamped, and com- 
 menced shooting their arrows. This lasted for 
 some time, when Stanley took the Lady Alice and 
 dashed among them, pouring in at the same time 
 such a close and deadly fire that they turned and 
 fled. 
 
 The story of the slow drifting and marching of 
 the expedition down the Livingstone is a very 
 monotonous one to read, but was full of the deep- 
 est interest to the travelers, for the forest on either 
 side of the great river seemed filled with horns and 
 war-drums, while out from a creek or from behind 
 an island canoes would dart and threaten an attack. 
 Floating peacefully through those primeval forests 
 on this stately river, bearing them ever on to the un- 
 known, would make the heart heave with emotion, 
 but when danger and death were ever present, the 
 intensest feelings were aroused. 
 
 At length they came to a series of villages lining 
 the bank and surrounded with plenty. There was 
 
A STRATAGEM. 
 
 385 
 
 a large population, and the natives, at the approach 
 of Stanley, blew their ivory horns and beat their ^ 
 drums, and soon a whole fleet of canoes, heavily 
 manned, attacked the little party in the boat. By 
 a bold dash Stanley was able to seize and occupy 
 the lower village, where he quickly intrenched him- 
 self. The savages came down in immense num^ 
 bers, filling the air with hideous shouts and rushed 
 on the slender defenses with desperate fury. It 
 was astonishing to see these men, to whom fire- 
 arms were new, show so little fear of them. They 
 were the boldest fighters Stanley had as yet en- 
 countered in Africa, and though he punished them 
 severely they kept up the attack, with short inter- 
 vals between, for nearly two days. At last the ap- 
 pearance of Tipo-tipo alongthe bank with the land 
 forces made them beat a retreat, which they did 
 with a tremendous noise of horns and loud threats 
 of vengeance. Out of the few with Stanley, four 
 were killed and thirteen wounded, or seventeen 
 out of forty — nearly half of the whole force. This 
 showed desperate fighting, and as the enemy ad- 
 vanced by hundreds their loss must have been 
 fearful. 
 
 Stanley, who was equal in stratagem to an 
 American Indian, played them a trick that night 
 which took all their bravado out of them. Wait- 
 ing till he thought they were asleep, he took the 
 Lady Alice, and Frank Pocoke a canoe, and both 
 with muffled oars, rowed up the river to find their 
 
 25 
 
386 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 camp. It was a rainy, dark and windy night, and, 
 * hence, favorable to the enterprise he had in hand, 
 and his movements were undiscovered. By the 
 light of a fire on the bank he ascertained the loca- 
 tion of the camp, and advancing cautiously saw 
 some forty canoes drawn up on shore. Bidding 
 Frank go down stream and lie to, to catch them 
 as they floated down, he quietly cut them all adrift. 
 They were caught by the former, and by midnight 
 were at Stanley's camp. He knew that he now 
 had them in his power, and so in the morning pro- 
 ceeded to their camp and made offers of peace, 
 which they were glad to accept on the condition 
 that their canoes were returned to them. This 
 was agreed to and blood-brotherhood made. Stan- 
 ley, however, whose great need had been canoes, 
 determined not to let all these slip through his 
 hands, and retained twenty-three, giving back only 
 fifteen. 
 
 Tipo-tipo now told Stanley that he would pro- 
 ceed no further, his people were dying rapidly, the 
 difficulties of .marching were increasing and he 
 must return. The latter saw he was determined to 
 go, although eight marches remained to be made, 
 and released him. In truth, now he had boats 
 enough to carry his entire expedition, Tipo-tipo, 
 cumbered with the sick, would be a burden rather 
 than a help, and at the rate they were moving, 
 eight marches, more or less, would not amount to 
 much. Besides, marching by land, Stanley saw 
 
DEPARTURE OF TIP O- TIP O, 
 
 387 
 
 must be given up or they would never get to the 
 sea. Thus far they had scarcely made any west- 
 ing at all, having gone almost due north, and 
 were nearly as far from the Atlantic Ocean as 
 when they left Nyangwe. The only thing he 
 feared was the effect the departure of the escort 
 would have on his men. In announcing to them 
 that on the sixth day they should start down the 
 river, he made them quite a speech, in which he 
 asked them if he had not always taken good care 
 of them and fulfilled all his promises, and said 
 that if they would trust him implicitly he would 
 surely bring them out to the ocean and see them 
 safe back to Zanzibar. "As a father looks after 
 his children," he said, **so will I look after you." 
 A shout greeted him at the close. One of his 
 chiefs followed in an address to the Arabs, while 
 Uledi, the coxswain, spoke for the boatmen in a 
 very satisfactory strain. 
 
 Preparations for. starting were now set on foot, 
 canoes were mended, provisions gathered and 
 everything that could be thought of provided 
 against future contingencies. Christmas day came, 
 and the poor fugitives had quite a frolic there in 
 the wilderness. The twenty-three boats they had 
 captured were christened by the men, amid much 
 merriment, and then canoe races followed, rowed 
 by both men and women ; all wound up with a 
 wild war-dance on the banks of the river. 
 
 The next day Tipo-tipo gave a grand dinner. 
 
388 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 The day after, the camps separated, and all inter, 
 course between them ceased. 
 
 On the morning of the 28th, Stanley embarked 
 his men to the sound of drum and trumpet, and 
 Tipo-tipo hearing it in his camp, knew that the 
 parting hour had come, and paraded his men on 
 the bank. As the expedition slowly floated down 
 the stream toward it, there was heard a deep, 
 plaintive chant from the Arabs on the bank, as a 
 hundred melodious voices arose in a farewell song; 
 out from the dim forest, and over the rippling 
 water it floated, in sweet melancholy strains, that 
 touched every heart in that slowly-moving fleet of 
 canoes. Louder and louder swelled the chant, 
 increasing in volume and pathos, as the wanderers 
 drew nearer. As they approached the Arab camp 
 they saw the singers ranged in a row along the 
 bank. Passing slowly by them, they waved a silent 
 adieu, for their hearts were too full to speak. On 
 they floated, and still the chant went on, until, 
 at last, it died away in the distance, and sadness 
 and silence rested on the stream. No one spoke 
 a word, and Stanley cast his own eyes, not wholly 
 dry, over the crowded boats, and was moved with 
 the deepest pity. Nearly all were sitting with 
 their faces hidden in their hands and sobbing. 
 Those they were leaving behind were about to re- 
 turn to their homes — they to enter new dangers, 
 out of which they might never emerge. No 
 wonder they were sad, and it is singular that not 
 
A MOURNFUL SCENE. 
 
 389 
 
 a man, even of those who had before deserted, 
 asked permission to go back. It was a mournful 
 scene there in the wilds of Africa, and on that 
 mysterious river, and Stanley said it was the sad- 
 dest day in his whole life. 
 
 The casting of their fortunes in this desperate 
 venture of his, shows what wonderful influence he 
 had acquired over them, and with what devotion 
 he had inspired them. No wonder his heart clung 
 to them to the last, and he would never leave 
 them, until he saw them safe again in their homes. 
 In order to rouse the men, he shouted, ''Sons of 
 Zanzibar, lift up your heads and be men. What 
 is there to fear? Here we are all together, like 
 one family, with hearts united, all strong with the 
 purpose to reach our home. See this river, it is 
 the road to Zanzibar. When saw you a road so 
 wide? Strike your paddles deep, and cry out 
 * Bismillah,' and let us forward.'* No shout greeted 
 this appeal, as with sickly smiles they paddled 
 downward. Uledi tried to sing^ but it was such a 
 miserable failure that his sad companions could 
 not restrain a smile. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 DESCENT OF THE CONGO. 
 
 STANLEY was now like Cortez when he 
 burned his ships behind him — there was no 
 returning — one and all must move on to- 
 gether to a common fate. All danger of deser- 
 tion, for the present, was over, and he felt that the 
 consciousness of there being no possible escape, 
 and that one destiny awaited them all, not only 
 bound them closer together, but would make them 
 better fighters. 
 
 At first, on their downward march, they met a 
 peaceful tribe, and then a hostile one which would 
 listen to no terms, and whose reply to every re- 
 quest for peace was, *' We don't want you ; we will 
 eat you." They, however, passed by unmolested, 
 and swept down the river, astonished to see its banks 
 so thickly populated. That night they encamped 
 in a dense jungle, which was found to be the 
 home of the hippopotamus in the dry season. 
 Tipo-tipo had left with Stanley two cannibals that 
 he had captured, to be used by him in conciliat- 
 ing the savages, as they knew their language. 
 These tried their arts this night on the natives on 
 the farther bank, who, no sooner espied the 
 strangers, than they beat their drums and ad- 
 
 (390) 
 
BESE T BY CANNIBALS, ^g j 
 
 vanced to attack them. The cannibals talked so 
 eloquently and plausibly to them, that the savages 
 withdrew and left them in peace. The next 
 morning they came to the mouth of a large river 
 named Lowwa, one thousand yards wide, and 
 seemingly quite deep. 
 
 On the last day of the year, they were moving 
 quietly down stream — the heavens bright above 
 them and the banks green beside them — when 
 they suddenly heard the hated war-drum sound; 
 and soon the canoes of the natives shot out from 
 both shores, and for a moment a collision sermed 
 inevitable; but the two cannibals shouted Sennen- 
 nek/ "peace/' so plaintively, that they de'^isted 
 and the little fleet passed on unmolested. But 
 the next day they met other boats which advanced^ 
 their crews shouting "we will eat you," but they 
 were easily driven off. It produced a novel sen- 
 sation in Stanley to be hailed every day and 
 ordered to give himself up for a good roast. At 
 length they came to a peaceful tribe, from a\ h®m 
 they obtained provisions. 
 
 Gathering such information as they could from 
 the natives, they now continued on very quietly, 
 when they were suddenly attacked by savages in 
 canoes of immense size. One, eighty-five feet 
 long, singled out the Lady Alice and made for it. 
 The crew of the latter waited till it came within 
 fifty feet, and then, pouring in a deadly volley, 
 made a dash to run it down. The frightened 
 
392 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 crew, just before the collision, jumped overboard, 
 leaving the big boat in the hands of Stanley. 
 
 Keeping on, after this little fight, they passed 
 small tributaries, and at length heard the roar of 
 a cataract below. But while they were listening 
 to the unwelcome sound, there suddenly rose over 
 it the wild, shrill war-cries of the savages from 
 both sides of the river. There was no escape for 
 the expedition now — they must turn and fight. 
 Dropping their stone anchors near the bank, they 
 poured in their volleys, but, not being able to dis- 
 lodge this new foe, they pulled up their anchors 
 and rowed up stream where Stanley divided his 
 forces, and while one attracted the attention of the 
 enemy in front, the other landed, and marching 
 across the land, took them in the rear. As soon 
 as Stanley heard the first shot announcing its ar- 
 rival, he landed and attacked the enemy in front 
 and routed them, and camped for the night un- 
 disturbed. 
 
 Next morning, however, the natives appeared 
 again in strong numbers and attacked the camp. 
 The fight was kept up for two hours, when a sally 
 was ordered, and they charged on the enemy, 
 who, though giving way, kept up the fight for four 
 or five hours more. Two of Stanley's men were 
 killed and ten wounded. The former were thrown 
 into the river, for Stanley had determined to bury 
 no more men till out of the cannibal country. 
 This defeat of the natives gave the expedition a 
 
BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. ^g^ 
 
 few days' rest, so that this first of the series of 
 •' Stanley falls, '' as they were named, could be 
 thoroughly explored, not only for geographical 
 purposes, but to ascertain the best way of getting 
 around them. He found that the falls could not 
 be run, and that a carry around them some two 
 miles long must be made. A path was cleared 
 with axes, and boat and canoes were taken from 
 the water and carried with great labor, yet safely, 
 overland, and launched once more on the stream 
 without accident, and anchored in a creek near 
 Its entrance into the main river. Not wishing to 
 remain here, the order to advance was given, and 
 soon they were again afloat on the great river. 
 Sweeping downward they heard the roar of another 
 cataract, and, although the war-horns were resound- 
 ing on every side, they encamped on an island in 
 the middle of the river. The hostile natives on 
 the island, filled with terror, escaped to the main- 
 land. In the morning Stanley explored the island, 
 and found it contained five villages, all now de- 
 serted, and in them was such a variety of imple- 
 ments as showed that the inhabitants were adepts 
 in the rrianufacture of all kinds of iron tools. 
 
 The river was full of islands, winding among 
 which, day after day, Stanley often found to bethe 
 only means of escape from the pertinacious canni- 
 bals. These islands presented a beautiful appear- 
 ance with their luxuriant foliage, but while the eye 
 was resting on loveliness, the ear would be saluted 
 
394 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 with the sound of war-drums and hideous shouts. 
 Whenever Stanley landed and visited a village 
 from which the inhabitants had fled, he would see 
 human bones scattered around, flung aside like 
 oyster-shells, after the meat was removed, and at 
 times the whole expedition felt as if they were des- 
 tined to make a grand luncheon for these ferocious 
 man-eaters. 
 
 The next day Stanley began to make prepara- 
 tions to get around the falls. The first thing was 
 to clear himself of the savages that crowded the 
 left bank and were ready to pounce on him any 
 moment. So taking thirty-six men he led them 
 through the bushes and drove the natives back to 
 their villages, a mile distant, and after a desperate 
 struggle he drove them out of these. He next 
 cut a narrow path, three miles long, around the 
 cataract. This was slow work, and as haste was 
 imperative the men were kept at work all night, 
 flaming torches lighting up the way and making 
 the gloomy shadows of the strange forest deeper 
 still. Camps were distributed at short intervals 
 along the route, and to the first of these the canoes 
 were carried before daylight. The savages made 
 a rush on them but were driven back. At night 
 another stretch of path was made, to which the 
 canoes and baggage were hurried before the can- 
 r^ibals were astir in the morning. There was less 
 hostility and the work went steadily on, and at last, 
 ;^fter seventy-eight hours of unceasing labor and 
 
ZAIDI IN PERIL. 
 
 397 
 
 almost constant fighting the river was again reached 
 and the boats launched. 
 
 This was accompHshed on January 14th, but 
 though the river had been reached, new perils 
 awaited them. There was a stretch of two miles 
 of rapids that must be passed. After six canoes 
 had been passed safely, one was upset, and one 
 of those in it, Zaidi, instead of swimming ashore, 
 as the others did, clung to it and was borne help- 
 lessly down to the cataract below. But on the 
 very verge was a solitary rock on which the boat 
 drifted and split — one part jamming fast. To 
 this the poor wretch clung with the strength of 
 despair, while all around leaped and whirled and 
 roared the boiling water. Those on shore shrieked 
 in agony, and Stanley was hastily sent for. He 
 immediately set to work making a rattan rope, in 
 order to let down a boat to him by which he could 
 be pulled ashore. But the rope was not strong 
 enough, and snapped asunder as soon as the boat 
 reached the heavy suck of water just above the 
 falls, and it was whirled into the vortex below. 
 Other and stronger ropes were then made and 
 another canoe brought up and three ropes lashed 
 to it. A couple of men would be needed to pad- 
 dle and steer the boat so that it could reach the 
 unfortunate wretch on his perilous perch, and 
 volunteers were called for. But one glance at 
 the wild and angry waves was enough, and no one 
 responded. Stanley then appealed to their feel- 
 
598 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 ings, when the brave Uledi stepped forward and 
 said ''I will go." Others of the crew, followed, 
 but only one was needed. The two stepped calmly 
 into the boat and pushed off — watched with intense 
 anxiety by those on shore. Reaching a certain 
 distance above the falls, it drifted rapidly down 
 toward them, guided by those holding two of the 
 cables on shore. The third floated from the stern 
 of the boat for the poor wretch on the rock to 
 seize. Attempt after attempt was made to get 
 this within Zaidi's reach, but the whirling waters 
 flung it about like a whip-lash. At length the 
 boat was lowered so close to the brink of the falls 
 that he was able to reach it, but no sooner had he 
 seized it and flung himself loose, than he was 
 borne over the edge and disappeared below. 
 But he held on to the rope and soon his head 
 appeared above the boiling waves, when the word 
 was given to haul away. The strain, however, 
 was too great, and the cables parted and away 
 dashed the canoe toward certain destruction, and 
 a cry of horror arose from those on shore, for all 
 three now seemed inevitably lost. But Zaidi 
 below, by hanging on to the rope, pulled the boat 
 against the rock where it lay wedged. He was 
 then pulled up, and the three crouched together 
 on the rock. A stone was now tied to about 
 three hundred feet of whip-cord and flung to 
 them, but they failed to catch it. Again and 
 again was it thrown only to be pulled in and 
 
STANLEY AS A STRATEGIST. 
 
 -JCo 
 
 recast, but at last it whirled so close to them that 
 they caught it. A heavy rope of rattan was then 
 tied to it and drawn across and fastened, and a 
 bridge thus secured. 
 
 But this had taken so much time that night 
 came on before the work could be finished; the 
 three wretched men were left therefore, to crouch 
 on the rock, and wait for the morning. All night 
 long they held on to their wild perch, while the 
 water rushed, and boiled, and roared around them, 
 and the deep thunder of the cataract rose in one 
 deep monotone over all, so that they could not 
 hear each other speak. 
 
 The next morning, early, the Arabs were set to 
 work making more ropes, which were finally 
 hauled across, and fastened round the waist of 
 each man, and then, one by one, they leaped into 
 the water and were drawn safely ashore, amid 
 the joyous shouts of the people. 
 
 They now set to work cutting a road three miles 
 long through the woods. Over this the canoes 
 were hauled with great labor before the savages 
 on the farther side knew what was going on. But 
 the moment the canoes were afloat, the foe dis- 
 covered them, and rushing forward with their 
 canoes the battle commenced. Stanley dashed 
 through them, and sweeping down stream for a 
 mile, landed on the island where the tribe lived, 
 and quietly detaching twenty men, sent them to 
 the villages, while he kept the savages at bay. 
 
400 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 In a short time, the detachment returned, .bring 
 ing with them a crowd of women and children as 
 prisoners, and a large herd of sheep. The sav- 
 ages, when they saw these marching down to the 
 landing-place, were taken so completely aback, 
 that they stopped fighting at once, and withdrew 
 to consult what was best to do in this extraordi- 
 nary turn of affairs. They sat in their canoes, 
 waiting to see their friends massacred. Negotia- 
 tions for peace were soon opened and concluded, 
 and the ceremony of blood-brotherhood was gone 
 through with, the captives and herds were then 
 surrendered up and friendly terms were estab- 
 lished. 
 
 The fifth cataract was at the foot of this island and 
 was safely passed, and the expedition encamped on 
 the bank of the river, on a green plat of ground, and 
 slept undisturbed. In the morning, to their un- 
 bounded surprise, they found themselves inclosed 
 in a net of cord, reaching from the shore above the 
 camp, to the shore below it, passing through the 
 bushes. Stanley knew what this meant — that 
 they were to be speared, when they approached it, 
 like so many wild beasts. He at once ordered 
 one of the chiefs, Manwa Sera, to take thirty men 
 and row up the river a short distance and land, 
 thence to march inland, and come up behind those 
 lying in wait outside of the net. At the end of 
 an hour he ordered men forward to cut the nets, 
 when the firing commenced. The savages soon 
 
SEEKING MAN-MEAT. 
 
 401 
 
 turned and fled, but to their astonishment, met the 
 enemy advancing on them by the road leading 
 from their villages, at which discovery they fled in 
 every direction. Eight prisoners were, however, 
 cajptured and brought into camp. On being 
 questioned, they confessed that they were after 
 man-meat and said that their tribe, which lived 
 about a day's journey inland, ate old men and 
 women and every stranger that fell into their 
 hands. 
 
 They now kept down the river for several miles 
 unmolested, until they heard the sullen roar of 
 the sixth cataract rising over the woods, when 
 they camped on the right bank, near an island 
 covered with villages. Stanley knew what was 
 before him here, and ordered a stockade to be 
 commenced immediately. But, before this was 
 finished, the everlasting drum and horn pealed 
 through the woods and soon the savages were 
 upon them. After a short fight, they retreated, 
 followed by Stanley's soldiers to a large village, 
 but there were only three or four old women it it, 
 who were brought into camp. In a short time a 
 heavier force approached and made a furious at- 
 tack, but it was quickly driven back and two 
 wounded men were taken prisoners. A part of 
 Stanley's force was all this time cutting a path 
 around the cataract. The next morning they set to 
 work with a will and by noon passed it safely. Stan- 
 ley having wormed out of his captives all the in- 
 26 
 
.Q2 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 formation he could of the surrounding country 
 and the various tribes that inhabited it, set them 
 free. Passing some rapids, they came to a village 
 in which there was but a single old man, solitary 
 and alone, who had been there for several days. 
 The next day they halted to repair the boats. 
 The persistent course of the river, till within the 
 last few days to the north, and sometimes north- 
 east, had troubled Stanley, and but for the im- 
 mense volume of water that he knew had no 
 eastern outlet, would have shaken his faith in its 
 being the Congo. But, since he passed the last 
 cataract he had noticed that it gradually deflected 
 to the northwest, and now swept by almost due 
 west, having evidently at last started on its journey 
 for the sea. Long islands still divided the river, 
 making, most of the time, two streams and shut- 
 ting out the opposite banks. Keeping down the 
 right channel, they passed through enchanting 
 scenery, undisturbed by war-drums and savage 
 shouts. Though the water was smooth on their 
 side, over the island, on the other, they could hear 
 the roar of rapids, and a few miles farther down 
 the loud roar of the seventh and last cataract of 
 the "Stanley Falls" burst on their ears, filling the 
 solitude with its loud thunder. The river here 
 was over a mile wide, and the fall of such an im- 
 mense body of water over a high ledge made the 
 earth tremble. 
 
 It was one incessant fight, either with the sav- 
 
BATTLING ONWARD. 403 
 
 ages or with nature, and it seemed as if fate de- 
 termined to wear out these indomitable men. 
 Soon the loud war-drums, and horns, and battle- 
 shouts were mingled with the roar of the cataract, 
 showing that here, too, they must fight before they 
 could get below it. Dropping down as near as it 
 was safe to the commencement of the rapids, they 
 pulled ashore and pitched their camp in a dense 
 forest. Fearful of being attacked before they 
 could intrench, they immediately set to work with 
 their axes to throw together a brushwood fence, 
 while thirty soldiers were stationed in front toward 
 the river, to repel assault. They had hardly com- 
 pleted it before the naked cannibals were upon 
 them with a fury that threatened to break through 
 their defenses. All this time out from the woods, 
 adown the gorge through which the river plunged, 
 war-drums and horns were heard summoning the 
 thickly-scattered villages to the scene of combat. 
 Before the steady fire of the musketeers the sav- 
 ages suffered so severely that at sunset they 
 abandoned the attack and withdrew. Stanley now 
 secured his boats and strengthened the brushwood 
 fence, and laid his plans for the morning. 
 
 The camp was roused at five o'clock, and they 
 pushed on to a point nearer the falls, so that the 
 work of carrying around them was completed be- 
 fore the Wangas opened battle. Everything be- 
 ing made secure, they waited for the expected 
 attack to begin, but, no enemy appearing, Stanley 
 
404 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 sent out scouts to ascertain what they were about 
 They brought back word that no savages were to 
 be seen. On advancing to the villages, Stanley 
 found to his astonishment that they were all de- 
 serted. Why, or whither they had fled was a 
 profound mystery. Here was a town or cluster 
 of villages, each with four or five streets running 
 through it, and capable of containing two thous- 
 and inhabitants, deserted in a single night. The 
 silence of death reigned over it. 
 
 Left thus at peace, he began to turn his atten- 
 tion to the falls. He found the river here in this 
 terrific gorge was contracted to less than one- 
 third of its breadth a short distance above, and 
 hence flowed with a power and strength that can 
 hardly be conceived. Crowded together, the 
 waters struggled and leaped, and tore onward - 
 with a wildness and fury like the Niagara River 
 below the falls. He here found baskets tied to 
 long poles set to catch fish. They emptied some 
 of these and found about thirty fish, of a different 
 species from any known in our waters. These 
 fish-baskets showed that they were now among 
 savages that did not depend wholly on human 
 flesh for subsistence. The villages, houses, and 
 various implements and articles of household 
 furniture were far in advance of those among the 
 cannibals above them. At the same time the 
 people here seemed more alert, fearless and de- 
 termined. 
 
PORTUGUESE MUSKETS. .q. 
 
 The carry around these falls was not interrupted, 
 and the Immense labor of transporting so many 
 boats and so much baggage along a rough-cut 
 path was cheerfully performed. The next day, 
 however, while congratulating themselves on the 
 changed condition of things, they saw a large 
 number of canoes approaching, and soon a musket- 
 shot rang over the water, and one of Stanley's 
 men fell. A new peril now threatened them — 
 they found the natives armed with Portuguese 
 muskets. Though it was a sure sign that they 
 were approaching the coast, it showed also that 
 hereafter it was to be fire-arms against fire-arms, 
 not rifles against spears and arrows ; and if the 
 natives continued hostile, the destruction of the 
 expedition seemed certain with such odds against 
 it. Heretofore, in every combat the men picked 
 up a number of native shields, almost as big as 
 doors, which they preserved. In battle, the women 
 and children would hold these before the soldiers, 
 which was the chief reason why there had been so 
 few casualties when fighting from the boats ; but 
 if bullets hereafter were to be fired, these would 
 be of no use. Still there was nothing left but to 
 fight to the last. 
 
 This changed condition of things caused Stan- 
 ley the greatest anxiety. He, however, formed 
 his boats in line of battle and the firing com- 
 menced — the natives after every discharge retiring 
 to reload. Stanley's soldiers fired so rapidly, and 
 
4o6 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 with such deadly effect, that after an hour had 
 past the natives withdrew, and the expedition 
 moved off and was soon lost to sight amid the in- 
 numerable islands that studded the river, and each 
 of which was loaded with the most luxuriant veg- 
 etation. 
 
 The next day they floated down the river un- 
 disturbed, the islands growing more numerous as 
 it expanded, until now it had become several miles 
 wide. On one island they saw an immense ele- 
 phant standing amid the trees, but no one pro- 
 posed to stop and kill him, though his huge tusks 
 were a tempting sight ; there was too much at 
 stake to think of hunting the great crocodiles and 
 hippopotami and other amphibious monsters, who 
 made the channels around these islands their 
 home. 
 
 The next day, the 13th of February, they sud- 
 denly came upon a large number of villages. 
 They were hidden from view, till the boats were so 
 close upon them that it was too late to retreat. 
 The next minute the forest resounded with the 
 loud war-drums and ivory horns, while the fierce 
 war-cries had changed their character and sounded 
 like nothing human Stanley had ever heard. 
 Bright gun-barrels gleamed above the light, grace- 
 ful boats as they came swiftly on. But as they 
 drew near the natives seemed to be filled with 
 such strange wonder at the novel spectacle of two 
 white men, that they did not fire, but sat and st9.red 
 
CHASED AGAIN, .^k 
 
 at them as if they had been ghosts. They fol- 
 lowed for five miles in dead silence, when one of 
 them fired and killed an Arab. In an instant, the 
 boats wheeled and opened such a rapid fusillade 
 that the savages retreated. But, when Stanley 
 again resumed his downward course they turned 
 and followed again, hovering like hawks around 
 him for five miles, but making no attack. . 
 
 They were now just above the equator, and 
 were moving south-west. The next morning the 
 islands were so thick that they shut out both banks, 
 but keeping on down stream they at length came 
 upon a village, and attempted to pass it unob- 
 served, but the tap of a drum showed that they 
 were observed, and their hearts sank within them 
 at the prospect of another fight. In a few minutes 
 drum was answering drum in every direction, and 
 soon the savages were seen manning their canoes. 
 Stanley, seeing his men were worn down by this 
 incessant fighting, made them a short speech, tell- 
 ing them if they must die it should be with their 
 guns in their hands. He had come to have great 
 contempt for the natives on the water so long as 
 they were without fire-arms. He could soon scat- 
 ter them and keep them at a respectful distance 
 with his rifles, but when it should be five hundred 
 muskets against his forty guns, the whole charac- 
 ter of the struggle would be changed. 
 
 As they quietly floated down, canoe after canoe 
 filled with gayly-decorated savages shot out into 
 
4o8 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 the river, till an immense fleet of them was in 
 pursuit. Stanley ordered his men to cease pad- 
 dling and wait their approach, determined, if 
 possible, to make peace. But, while he was 
 standing up holding out cloth and wire and making 
 peaceful gestures, the crew of one canoe fired 
 into his boat, wounding three men. 
 
 There was nothing left now but to fight, and 
 soon the crash of fire-arms awoke the echoes of 
 the forest-covered shores. The men had raised 
 their shields, and to their joy found them a perfect 
 protection, as the enemy fired bits of iron and 
 copper, that could not penetrate them any more 
 than the native arrows. As the fight went on 
 other canoes arrived, until Stanley counted sixty- 
 three canoes which he estimated carried five guns 
 apiece, which would make three hundred and 
 fifteen to his forty-four — a desperate odds truly, 
 and if the Africans' guns had been loaded with 
 bullets, they would have doubtless then and there 
 ended the expedition. It is a little curious that 
 whenever Stanley gets into a desperate strait that 
 even his boldness and pluck cannot help him out 
 of, some unforseen thing comes to his aid, and he 
 escapes. 
 
 In this case his rifles had much longer range 
 and greater penetrating force than the old-fash- 
 ioned muskets, so most of the enemy kept at a 
 distance of a hundred yards. One brave fellow, 
 however, kept dashing up to within fifty yards and 
 
FAMINE A T HAND. 
 
 411 
 
 firing, till he was wounded. It was a lucky thing 
 for Stanley that their guns were poor, their car- 
 tridges feeble and their aim bad. At length the 
 fire began to slacken, and dwindling down to now 
 and then a random shot, before six o'clock it ceased 
 altogether. 
 
 The fight being over, the men laid down their 
 guns and once more took up their paddles and 
 were soon out of sight of their enemies, and at 
 sunset they camped on an island that lay amid a 
 nest of islets. 
 
 The next day, the 15th, they continued their 
 journey and for three days were unmolested and 
 allowed to enjoy the magnificent scenery amid 
 which they floated ; but they had little inclination 
 to admire scenery, for they were half-starved, not 
 having been able to purchase a particle of food 
 for a week. On the 19th they came to a great 
 river, the largest tributary they had yet seen, 
 pouring an enormous volume of black water into 
 the Livingstone. 
 
 It now began to look as if, having escaped death 
 by battle and the cataracts, they were about to 
 yield to famine. They met fishermen, but these 
 would have nothing to do with them. On the 
 19th, nine days since they had been able to pur- 
 chase any provisions, they came to Ikengo, where 
 to their great joy they found friendly natives. The 
 next day Stanley held a market on the island 
 where he had encamped, to which the neighborinp; 
 
412 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 chiefs came, as well as the villagers. Trade was 
 brisk and before night he had a bountiful supply 
 of sheep, goats, bananas, flour, sweet potatoes and 
 various tropical fruits, for which he exchanged 
 cloth, beads and wire. The men revelled in the 
 unexpected abundance, and hope and joy took the 
 place of gloom and discontent. The next day 
 they resumed their apparently endless journey, 
 and floated peacefully amid green islands, scat- 
 tered like gems over the broad bosom of the now 
 friendly stream. 
 
 On the 23d, while floating quietly down, word 
 was brought Stanley that the wife of one of the 
 Arab chiefs, who had been sick for some time, was 
 dying, and he pulled his boat alongside of the one 
 in which she lay. She knew she was going, and 
 bade him an affectionate good-bye. Soon after 
 she expired. At sunset a weight was tied to hei 
 body, and she was dropped into the waters of the 
 river, and left to sleep in this lonely bed, far away 
 from the cocoa-nuts and mangoes of her native 
 land. 
 
 Their course now led them among beautiful 
 islets, made gay by the rich plumage of tropical 
 birds. Occasionally they met a few canoes, but 
 no hostility was exhibited. On the 27th, they came 
 upon natives fishing, who at once showed them- 
 selves to be friendly, and exhibited no distrust at 
 all. It was a new revelation to the wanderers. 
 Hitherto, it was only after the most patient waiting 
 
HOSPITABLE ENTERTAINMENT. 
 
 413 
 
 and persevering efforts that they could gain the 
 confidence of the savages, if, indeed, they secured 
 it at all. Here it was freely given, and they di- 
 rected them to a good camping place, on an island 
 from whence they looked across to the fields and 
 villages of Chumbiri, where these fishermen be- 
 longed. The fishermen then departed, to report 
 to their king, who sent them back with presents 
 of food, and a promise that he would visit the camp. 
 True to his word, he appeared next day, escorted by 
 five canoes filled with soldiers, carrying muskets. 
 He wore a curious hat, was very cool and self- 
 possessed in his manner, and inclined to be socia- 
 ble. He took snuff incessantly, and in enormous 
 quantities. After a long conversation, he invited 
 them to make his village their home, and Stanley, 
 wishing to learn all he could of the river below, 
 accepted the invitation, and the expedition crossed 
 the river and was received in savage pomp. A 
 grand market was held, and exchanges freely 
 made. The women did not seem to be of the pure 
 African blood, being brown instead of black, with 
 large eyes, beautifully shaped shoulders, and alto- 
 gether very pretty. They were fond of ornaments, 
 some of them wearing thirty pounds of brass wire 
 around their necks. Stanley estimated that the 
 forty wives, six daughters and the female slaves 
 of the king carried on their necks about one thou- 
 sand four hundred pounds of brass wire. 
 
 He stayed here a week, enjoying the hospitality 
 
414 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of the king, who, in addition to all his other kind- 
 nesses, gave him three canoes, as an escort, and 
 on the 7th of March he turned the prows of his 
 boats again down stream. That night they en- 
 camped in a jungle, into which two immense ser- 
 pents crawled, one of which was killed just as he 
 began to twine his folds about a woman. It meas- 
 ured thirteen feet and a half in length, and fifteen 
 inches round the body. Having passed tributary 
 after tributary, they went ashore on the morning 
 of the 9th to cook breakfast. The women were 
 busily engaged in preparing it, when they were 
 startled by loud musket shots and six of the men 
 fell. They had been taken completely by surprise, 
 but springing to their guns, they dashed into the 
 woods and a fierce fight followed, which lasted an 
 hour. It was one incessant crack of musketry, 
 each one sheltering himself as best he could. The 
 savages were finally driven off, but not until they 
 had wounded fourteen of Stanley's men. This 
 was the sharpest fight he had yet had, and if it 
 were a fair prelude to what was to follow, the ex- 
 pedition would soon consistof nothing but wounded 
 men. It is astonishing, that in all these fights, of 
 which this was the thirty-second and last, neither 
 Stanley nor Pocoke should receive a wound. 
 
 After the wounded men had been attended to, 
 they again set out and floated peacefully down, not 
 suspecting any danger, until they approached a 
 settlement which suddenly swarmed with excited 
 
"STANLEY fool:' a^^ 
 
 armed men. Rowing away as fast as possible, 
 they soon got clear of the village, and encamped 
 three miles below. The next day the voyage was 
 charming, taking them through beautiful and ever- 
 changing scenery. Nothing occurred to mar their 
 pleasure the following day except a fierce south 
 wind, which now began to set in regularly every 
 day, making the river exceedingly rough for the 
 canoes, especially at this point, where the river 
 expanded to nearly two miles in width. This great 
 breadth extended as far as the eye could reach, 
 and, hemmed in by cliffs, it resembled a pool, 
 which young Pocoke christened "Stanley Pool." 
 
 Paddling slowly down this pool, they passed 
 several villages. Makoneh, the chief of one, 
 proved very kind and hospitable, and offered to 
 conduct Stanley to the next cataract. As they 
 swept down, they halted at a friendly village, the 
 chief of which inquired how they expected to get 
 over the mighty falls below. He was a bluff, ge- 
 nial, good-souled negro, who seemed glad to assist 
 them in any way in his power, and finally offered 
 to guide them to the cataract. Moving down, 
 soon its low roar was heard swelling over the for- 
 est, gradually increasing as they advanced till it 
 rose like a continuous thunder-peal from the soli- 
 tude below. 
 
 Makoneh led the way, and just skirting the first 
 line of breakers he landed on a pebbly beach. 
 The village of Itsi was in sight, he being the petty 
 
4i6 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 king of a neighboring tribe. Some canoes soon 
 crossed from it, and were received so kindly that 
 the natives went back with such wonderful stories 
 to their king that next day he paid Stanley a visit. 
 He came in a large canoe carrying eighty-six per- 
 sons. It was over eighty-five feet long, and pro- 
 pelled by sixty paddlers. These, standing up and 
 keeping time with their strokes to the steady beat 
 of a drum, sent the boat like an arrow through the 
 water and made a stirring picture as they dashed 
 up to Stanley's camp. There were several gray- 
 headed men present, one of whom was introduced 
 to Stanley as the king. The latter noticed that 
 the rest laughed heartily at this, which afterwards 
 turned out to be a practical joke. However, 
 Stanley sat down with the venerable person in am- 
 icable conversation, while a young native and 
 Frank seemed to strike up a warm friendship for 
 each other, or at least the native for Pocoke, judg- 
 ing by the way he pressed presents on him. 
 
 It seemed strange to Stanley that the young 
 savage should give twice as much to Frank as the 
 king gave to him, but it now came out that this 
 young man was the king, and the aged man Stanley 
 had been conversing with was merely one of his 
 counselors. Stanley at once changed his atten- 
 tion, and asked him what present would please 
 him. The royal young savage had been looking 
 about at the various things in camp, and seeing a 
 .^ery large goat, told Stanley that he wished " big 
 
BROTHERLY PROCEEDINGS. 
 
 417 
 
 goat/' Now this happened to be the last thing 
 the latter wished to part with. A lady in England 
 had requested him to bring back a goat of this 
 very breed, and he had purchased several, of which 
 this alone had survived the long and dangerous 
 journey. He therefore endeavored to bribe the 
 young king by doubling the other presents he had 
 prepared. No, he would have the " big goat." 
 Stanley then offered to give him an ass instead. 
 At this the savage seemed to hesitate. The don- 
 key was very desirable, but at this critical moment 
 the animal sent up a huge bray, which so fright- 
 ened the women that he would not take him. 
 Other tempting offers were made but nothing 
 would do but the " big goat,'' and as Stanley was 
 short of provisions (the men having squandered 
 those the king of Chambiri had given them), and as 
 he must have these, he reluctantly turned over the 
 big goat and the young king departed highly de- 
 lighted. The next day he returned bringing three 
 ordinary goats in exchange and some provisions. 
 Soon the kings or chiefs of other neighboring 
 tribes came in bringing fruit, and everything was 
 harmonious, and treaties of amity were made with 
 all. The one with Itsi was quite ceremonious. 
 Among other things, he gave Stanley a white 
 powder as a charm against evil, in return for which, 
 the latter, with all due gravity, presented him with 
 a half-ounce vial full of magnesia as the white 
 man's charm. This and blood-brotherhood closed 
 27 
 
41 8 /^ THE WILDS OF AFRICA 
 
 the formal proceedings of the treaty-making pow- 
 ers — quite as important, in their way, as similar 
 councils in civilized countries. 
 
 Stanley found by observation that though he 
 had traveled from Nyangwe over one thousand 
 two hundred miles, he had descended not quite a 
 thousand feet. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 AMONG THE CATARACTS. 
 
 IT is a little singular, that in this age of inquiry 
 and persistent effort to get at the cause of 
 things, no one has yet attempted to explain 
 the reason of tribal differences. Aborigines oc- 
 cupying the same parallels of latitude and longi- 
 tude, subject to the same influences of climate, 
 living on the same diet, are different in color, fea- 
 tures, and more than all, in disposition. The real, 
 or supposed influences, that lie at the bottom of 
 the different races, do not apply here. Difference 
 of origin, of climate, of food, all these must have 
 great effect in changing color, features and char- 
 acter, and hence, to a certain extent, explain how 
 such distinct nationalities exist, but they do not in 
 the least account for tribal differences where all 
 these are the same, and where there are not even 
 barriers of mountains and rivers separating them. 
 Why should our western Indian tribes, roaming 
 over the same prairies, living on the same food, 
 and similar in all their modes of life, be yet so dif- 
 ferent in form, feature and disposition ? Is there 
 really no way of getting a satisfactory, true ex- 
 planation of all this ? 
 
 So in Africa, Stanley crossed the continent in 
 
 (419) 
 
j^2o ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 the same general range of latitude. The savages 
 he met were all dwellers of the equatorial region, 
 and hence lived in the same climate, used the same 
 food, dressed in the same way, and lived the same 
 life, and yet they were as dissimilar as different 
 nationalities. If any educational influences had 
 been brought to bear upon them one could under- 
 stand this, but none have been exerted. These 
 same tribal differences Stanley found on the Congo. 
 Fierce cannibals and gentle agricultural people 
 were living side by side. Suspicious, faithless 
 men, differing very little from the better class of 
 monkeys, lived neighbors to tribes unsuspicious 
 and trustful, and wonderfully advanced in the arts 
 of mechanism. At the falls, which were named 
 " Stanley Falls," the natives were suspicious, faith- 
 less, cruel, but when he reached the Livingstone 
 Falls, he found the people hospitable, kind and 
 trustful. When this difference burst on Stanley 
 practically, he felt it sensibly, but he philosophi- 
 cally dismissed it with the simple remark, such " is 
 the effect of trade." We cannot accept this ex- 
 planation at all, for they had no trade with the 
 outside world, and they showed the same kindly 
 natures before he commenced trading with them. 
 The only evidence of their connection with civil- 
 ized life was that they had muskets, and yet the 
 very first tribe which possessed them was the most 
 fierce, implacable and relentless he met with. This 
 ethnological question has never yet been settled. 
 
IVILD SURROUNDINGS. .^X 
 
 Still it is not singular that Stanley did not just 
 then trouble himself with it. As long as the dif- 
 ference existed and was now in his favor he was 
 content, as well he might be. The friendly na- 
 tives at the head of these falls assured him that 
 he had passed the cannibal country, but they dif- 
 fered materially as to the number of falls below — 
 one making them three, another a half dozen or 
 more. No matter whether they were few or 
 many, they must be passed, though he dragged 
 his canoes over lofty mountains to do it. 
 
 But if the differences in the character of the 
 natives was great, that in the character of the 
 scenery and aspect of the river was no less so. 
 The wild, fierce savages had become tame, while 
 the gently flowing river, studded with green islands^ 
 had become wild and fierce and angry. The 
 gradually descending plain was transformed into 
 the terrific gorge over which hung beetling cliffs, 
 and the placid current into a roaring torrent dash- 
 ing amid rocks, plunging over precipices, and fill- 
 ing the solitudes with an ever-angry voice. Hos- 
 tile savages were behind, but hostile nature was 
 before the adventurers, to whom there would be 
 no rest till they found the restless sea. 
 
 Immediately before them were two stretches of 
 rapids and then a cataract. The first was a mere 
 piece of broken water that was easily passed. 
 Having no fear of hostile natives, Stanley leisurely 
 explored both river and shore to ascertain the best 
 
^2 2 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 way of getting around the second rapids. The 
 goods, asses, women and children were taken 
 overland, while the boats were led with hawsers 
 from rock to rock along the shore. Fortunately 
 not a rope broke, and by five o'clock the rapids 
 were passed and all were in camp together. 
 
 The last of the rapids Stanley declared to be 
 the wildest stretch of water he had ever seen. 
 For four miles the river looked as if thrown up- 
 ward by volcanic action beneath and at the same 
 time swept by a fierce hurricane above, and all 
 the while it was dashing madly on at the rate of 
 thirty miles an hour. Huge troughs would be 
 formed, as if the stream was yawning asunder, 
 and then the divided water would come together 
 with a crash, sending up columns twenty feet high 
 to dissolve in foam and spray. The crash of col- 
 liding waves and the steady roar of the rapids 
 were awful. It was literally a ''hell of waters.'' 
 The land carriage around this wild stretch was a 
 rough piece of work. Paths of brushwood were 
 made, and the canoes slowly hauled up rocky 
 heights and slid down into deep gullies — the. 
 women and children toiling after. They were 
 nearly four days getting around this four miles of 
 impassable rapids. The men were fainting for 
 want of food when smooth water was at last 
 reached. This, however, continued but a short 
 distance, when they had to take to land again and 
 haul their boats over a rocky point for three-quar- 
 
TERRIBLE RAPIDS. ^2^ 
 
 ters of a mile. This task took three days to ac- 
 complish. When it is remembered that one of 
 the canoes was eighty-five feet long, and another 
 seventy-five and dug out of a solid tree, we can 
 get some conception of the tremendous effort it 
 required to transport them over rocks and hills. 
 When smooth water was again reached, it gave 
 them only a short respite. Stanley, however, 
 found it necessary to halt and give the people 
 rest, for the tremendous strain of the last week 
 was telling fearfully on them. %k^ 
 
 On the 25th, they found themselves once more" 
 confronted by ugly rapids. In endeavoring to 
 lead the boats around them, the best canoe was 
 dragged by the mere force of the current from the 
 hands of fifty men and whirled down the mad 
 stream and dashed to pieces. Toiling amid the 
 rocks several men were injured, one having his 
 shoulder dislocated, while Stanley fell into a chasm 
 thirty feet deep, but fortunately struck on his feet, 
 and thus escaped with some slight bruises, though 
 he was very much stunned. On the 27th, they 
 succeeded in getting past this "cauldron/' as it was 
 called, although they narrowly escaped losing their 
 largest canoe. The next day they had smooth 
 water for a short distance and then they came to 
 "Rocky Falls.'' These, however, were passed with 
 comparative ease and two men were sent forward 
 to explore. They reported, on their return, that 
 about a mile below was another cataract, and that 
 
-24 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 at its head was an excellent camping place in a 
 sheltered bay. Stanley determined to reach this 
 spot before dark, and so, manning his seventeen re^ 
 maining canoes, he led the way, hugging the shore, 
 so as not to get into the suction of the water above 
 the falls. All were told to follow him and by no 
 means to venture out into the middle of the stream. 
 Keeping close to the right bank, he felt his way 
 carefully onward and at last floated into the tran- 
 quil bay, at the head of the fall. Three canoes 
 followed him, and as he was waiting for the others 
 to come in he saw, to his horror, the largest canoe 
 in midstream and coming down like a race-horse. 
 Kalulu had charge of this, and deceived by the 
 smooth, glassy surface of the stream, he had pulled 
 out into midcurrent. The moment he was caught 
 by it his doom and that of the four men with him 
 was sealed. There was nothing to be done by 
 those on shore but to watch the swiftly-gliding 
 boat till it shot over the edge of the falls to dis- 
 appear in the tumult below. Three of the men 
 were Stanley's especial favorites, and he felt their 
 loss keenly. While his eyes was yet resting on 
 the spot where they had gone down, another canoe 
 shot in sight, driving straight for the falls. Fortu- 
 nately, it struck them at the least dangerous point 
 and went over safely, then, skillfully working the 
 canoe toward the shore, its two inmates sprang 
 overboard and swam to land. Stanley immediately 
 dispatched his boat's crew up-stream to tell the 
 
Q) 
 
SOUDVS MAR VELOUS ESCAPE. a 2 1 
 
 rest to hug the shore, and in no case to venture 
 out into the stream. Before they reached the ca- 
 noes, another one, with only the lad Soudi, shot 
 by, he crying, as he was borne swiftly onward, 
 '' There is but one God — I am lost, master," and 
 the next moment he too dropped out of sight. 
 Strange to say, though the canoe was whirled about 
 at the bottom like a spinning-top, it did not sink, 
 and was finally swept out of sight behind an 
 island. The rest of the canoes arrived safely. 
 
 The next day Stanley sent Frank to bring over 
 the goods to where he was encamped, while he 
 himself traded with the natives, whom he found 
 very friendly, and from whom he obtained abun- 
 dant provisions. After resting one day, they got 
 everything round the falls and encamped on the 
 1st of April. In the afternoon, to the surprise and 
 joy of all, young Soudi walked into camp. He 
 had a strange story to tell. He was borne help- 
 lessly down the rapids, confused and dizzy, till at 
 last the boat drifted against a rock, when he jumped 
 out and got on shore. Before he had time to 
 think where he was, he was seized from behind and 
 pinioned, and dragged to the top of the mountain by 
 two men, who stripped and examined him with great 
 curiosity. The next day several of the tribe came 
 to see him, one of whom had been in Stanley's 
 camp when King Itsi visited it, and he told such 
 terrible stories about Stanley and of his gun that 
 could shoot all day, that they became frightened 
 
428 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 and took Soudi back to the place where they had 
 found him, and told him to speak well of them. 
 The other two men who had gone safely over the 
 fall, and also joined the camp. 
 
 Proceeding on down-stream they came to more 
 rapids, in passing which they met many narrow 
 escapes. It was, indeed, a succession of rapids, 
 and while Stanley conducted the boats through 
 them, Frank took the rest of the party and goods 
 overland. The former examined every inch of the 
 way carefully before starting. Thus day after day 
 passed, they continually fighting the relentless 
 river. Sometimes the water was too rough to 
 admit the passage of the boats, and then they had 
 to be carried overland. It was slow and tedious 
 work, and but little progress was made. The 
 question each one kept asking himself was, how 
 long will this last and when shall we see smooth 
 water again ? 
 
 Each day was but the repetition of its predeces- 
 sor, and if the natives had been as hostile as those 
 farther up the river, they could not have got on 
 at all. The only variation was when the river 
 took some new whim or the formation of the coun- 
 try required more effort and new modes of getting 
 on. Thus one day they undertook to lead the ca- 
 noes by hawsers around a rocky point where the 
 eddies set up-stream with the strength and veloc- 
 ity of a torrent, so that it seemed impossible to 
 get them down-stream. To add to the difficulty, 
 
NARROW ESCAPE OF STANLEY. 
 
 429 
 
 the cliffs on the top of which the men with the 
 hawsers stood, were fifty feet high and their jagged 
 edges sawed the ropes till they parted one after 
 another. 
 
 So creeping along the shore to-day, and daring 
 the midstream, which, though boisterous, was 
 clear of rocks, to-morrow, they kept on, hoping 
 after the next stretch to reach a quiet flowing river. 
 The Lady Alice fared hard in this perilous navi- 
 gation, and once came near being lost. All this 
 time the resources of the expedition were being 
 exhausted, for though the natives were friendly 
 everything had to be paid for, and it was not diffi- 
 cult to answer the question, "How long will our 
 remaining currency last?'' 
 
 The next rapids they came to Stanley named 
 the "Lady AHce Rapids," because, as we suppose, 
 both he and the boat escaped almost by a miracle 
 from sharing one sad fate in the wild and mad 
 waters of the Livingstone. The cables lashed to 
 bow and stern, to let the boat down, parted, or 
 were snatched from the hands on shore, and away 
 she dashed down the foaming current. Above, 
 the naked cliffs rose three hundred feet high — 
 around boiled and tossed the tumultuous waters, 
 and certain destruction seemed to await the man 
 who had triumphed over so many obstacles and 
 who at last was nearing the goal of his ambition. 
 The Arabs, whose life depended on his life, were 
 in despair — their master was gone — there was no 
 
430 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 one left to lead them out jf this strange wilder- 
 ness. Nothing but the coolness of Stanley saved 
 him and his crew. Watching every change in the 
 flow of the current — resigning himself to the wild 
 will of the mad waters when struoro-linor was use- 
 less — taking advantage of every favorable change 
 of the current and bidding his men row for life at 
 the right time, he at length reached shore, and at 
 once sent messengers to his despairing camp to 
 tell them he was safe. He knew, and they knew, 
 that all their lives hung on his.- He had a narrow 
 escape, and the natives on shore, as they watched 
 his boat flung about like a cockle-shell in the boil- 
 ing surge, looked upon him as lost. 
 
 If Stanley wanted any new proof of the affection 
 of his Arabs for him, he had it now. He had been 
 able, after his fierce struggle with the rapids and 
 being carried, in the meantime, over one fall, to 
 reach land at least two miles below his camp, in 
 which he was looked upon as lost. When, there- 
 fore, the message was received that he was alive 
 and safe, his followers streamed forth in one con- 
 fused mass, and hastening down the river^ came in 
 a long, straggling line in sight of Stanley, waving 
 their arms on high, shouting words of welcome and 
 overwhelming him with expressions of exuberant 
 joy. This involuntary outburst of feeling and 
 gratitude that their "master" was safe, repaid 
 him tenfold for all the suffering and peril he had 
 endured. It is strange, when such momentous 
 
A CLUSTER OF CATARACTS. a^^ 
 
 results hang on a single life, how we go on as 
 though nothing depended upon it till the moment 
 comes when we are about losing it. 
 
 The men, women and children had joined in this 
 grand exodus to congratulate Stanley on his de- 
 liverance from what appeared certain death, and 
 the men now returned to bring the goods to this 
 point where the new camp was pitched. Not twenty 
 rods from it the Nikenke River came foaming and 
 tumbling into the Livingstone from a precipice one 
 thousand feet high, with a terrific roar and rumble. 
 Almost as near, another tributary dashed over a 
 ledge four hundred feet high, while just above was 
 the wild rapids he had just passed, and just below 
 another stretch of swift and tumbling water. The 
 din of these surrounding cataracts made a fearful, 
 terrific music in these mysterious solitudes, and 
 awakened strange feelings in Stanley, as he lay 
 and listened and wondered what would come next. 
 The sharp crash of the near cataract tumbling 
 from its height of a thousand feet, the low rumble 
 of the lower fall and the deep boom of the mighty 
 river made up a grand diapason there in the wilds 
 of Central Africa. West from the great lakes the 
 continent seemed to stretch in one vast plateau, 
 across which the river moved in placid strength, 
 its gently sweeping current parted with beautiful 
 islands, that filled the air with perfume exhaled 
 from countless flowers and tropical plants, and 
 making a scene of loveliness that intoxicated the 
 
432 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 senses. But all this was marred by the presence 
 of blood-thirsty cannibals, whose war-drums and 
 savage cries filled this world of beauty with terrific 
 sounds and nameless fears. But the moment the 
 stream reached the edge of this plateau, where man 
 seemed to become more human, it rolled into cata- 
 racts and rapids, down a steep incline, till it came 
 to the sea. Canoes were upset and lost, and men 
 were barely saved from death by expert swimming 
 during these fearful days, and yet Stanley could 
 get no reliable information from the natives how far 
 down this remorseless stretch of water extended. 
 This terrible struggle, which the party underwent, 
 and the exhausting nature of their work may be 
 faintly imagined when it is stated that for thirty- 
 seven consecutive days they made less than a mile 
 a day. It was a constant succession of rapids from 
 the middle of March to the latter part of April. 
 
 At length, on the 2 2d, they came to the "big 
 cataract,'' called by the natives Inkisi, which 
 Stanley fondly believed would be the last. The 
 table-land here is one thousand feet high, and the 
 natives occupying it flocked into Stanley's camp, 
 curious to know how he was to get his canoes past 
 the falls. When he told them he was going to 
 drag them over that table-land one thousand feet 
 high, they looked at him in speechless astonish- 
 ment. His own men were thunderstruck when 
 he announced to them his determination. But 
 they had become so accustomed to believe he could 
 
CANOES ON MOUNTAIN-TOFS. 
 
 433 
 
 do anything he resolved upon, that they silently 
 acquiesced. The natives, as they looked at the 
 heavy canoes and then on the lofty height, with its 
 steep, craggy ascent, took their departure and 
 began to climb back to their homes to secure their 
 property, for they said, if the white man intended 
 to fly his boats over the mountains, they did not 
 know what terrible things might next happen. 
 
 Having settled on the undertaking, Stanley im- 
 mediately set to work to carry it out, and the first 
 day built a road nearly a mile long. The next day 
 the Lady Alice and a small canoe were resting on 
 the high summit. The work was done so quietly 
 and without any disastrous results to life and 
 property, that the native chiefs were dumb with 
 admiration and offered to bring six hundred men 
 next day to help haul up the heavy canoes. They 
 kept their word, and soon boats and baggage were 
 in camp on the top of the mountain. Sending off 
 a party ten miles ahead to prepare the natives for 
 his coming, Stanley took the women and children, 
 with the goods and boat's crew, on to the next 
 tribe to make a camp near the river, for the pur- 
 pose of exploring the defile through which he was 
 finally to work his way. 
 
 He had found many articles of English make 
 among the natives, showing that he was approach- 
 ing the coast from which these must have been 
 obtained. They had not, however, been brought 
 there by traders, but had worked their way up 
 28 
 
A^A IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 from market to market along the river. The sight 
 of them was encouraging to the members of the 
 expedition who were getting worn out, while dis- 
 ease also prevailed to a large extent and threat- 
 ened to increase. Still they might be a great way 
 off from the coast yet, in time if not in distance, 
 if they continued to make but one mile a day. 
 Hence Stanley had to be very economical in 
 everything, especially in the use of meat, though 
 the constant and terrible mental and physical 
 strain on him made it necessary that he should 
 have the most nourishing food. For lack of this 
 in a simple form, he concocted a dish out of 
 vegetables, fruit and oil, which proved to him a 
 great benefit. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 EXPERIENCES BY THE WAY, 
 
 IT was the 29th of April when Stanley gave 
 his last instructions to his Arab chiefs about 
 getting the canoes down the mountain to 
 Nzabi, the home of the next tribe west. On his 
 way he entered a magnificent forest — the tall and 
 shapely trees of which reminded him of his early 
 wanderings in the wilds of Arkansas and on our 
 western frontiers. It was not strange, while look- 
 ing at them, that he should be reminded of the 
 "dug-outs'' of the Indians which he had so often 
 seen, and that the thought should occur to him to 
 make some canoes, to take the place of those 
 which he had lost in the passage of the rapids and 
 falls above. It seems as if his early life had pre- 
 pared him especially for all the contingencies that 
 were to occur in his long and varied explorations 
 in Africa. After thinking the matter over a short 
 time, he resolved that the boats should be built, 
 and having obtained permission of the chief of 
 the district, he at once commenced operations. 
 The first tree selected was more than three feet 
 in diameter and ran up sixty feet straight before it 
 reached a limb. As soon as it was prone on the 
 ground the men were set to work in sections upon 
 
 (435) 
 
436 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 it, and in a week it was finished. In a week more 
 another was completed, measuring forty-five feet 
 in length and eighteen inches deep. All this time 
 the canoes were advancing over the land at the 
 rate of a little more than a third of a mile a day, 
 and finally they reached camp the day before the 
 second boat was finished. 
 
 Things, however, had gone badly in the camp 
 on the mountain-top after Stanley left, for the 
 Arabs, following their apparently natural propen- 
 sity, began to steal. One man, who had been 
 caught in the act, was seized and made a prisoner 
 by the natives who resolved to keep him as a slave. 
 Stanley spent an entire day negotiating for his re- 
 demption, and finally had to give one hundred 
 and fifty dollars' worth of cloth to get him released. 
 It was plain that he could not afford to redeem 
 many men at this price, and he distinctly told them 
 that if after this any of them were caught steal- 
 ing, they would be left in the hands of the natives, 
 to be held as slaves for life. A terrible punish- 
 ment, yet as it proved not great enough to deter 
 them from committing the same crime afterwards, 
 as opportunity offered. 
 
 The labor of the men engaged in hauling the 
 canoes over the high mountain had been so great, 
 that Stanley felt that some days of rest were de- 
 manded to recuperate them. But as idleness was 
 always the fruitful source of all kinds of evil with 
 the Arabs, he determined to keep the men who 
 
CANOE BUILDING. 
 
 437 
 
 had hewed out the two boats still at work, and 
 set them to making a third canoe. 
 
 The chief of this district now informed Stanley, 
 greatly to his surprise and disappointment, that 
 there were five falls immediately below him, while 
 how many lay between these and the sea no one 
 could tell. No matter; he must still move on, 
 and, for the present, cling to the river on account 
 of the sick, if for no other reason. 
 
 On the 1 8th, he sent off a man to get some axes 
 repaired by a native blacksmith. While the latter 
 was engaged in the work, a spark flew from the 
 anvil against the body of one of his children play- 
 ing near by, burning him slightly. The enraged 
 man asserted that the accident was owing to a 
 wicked charm of the stranger, and, running out, 
 he beat the war-drum, at which the excited natives 
 assembled in great fury, and the poor Arab was 
 in danger of immediate immolation, when the chief 
 happened to arrive and saved him. 
 
 On May 2 2d, the great teak canoe, the third 
 which had been built, and which Stanley named 
 Livingstone, was launched in the creek just above 
 its entrance into the river amid the shouts of the 
 natives. It could carry forty-six people. So' far 
 as means of transportation was concerned, Stanley 
 was now at ease — but would there ever be a 
 peaceful river on which these twelve canoes could 
 float? 
 
 It was now the 2 2d of May, and since the 24th 
 
438 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of February there had been forty rainy days, and 
 hence for the month they had been working their 
 slow, tedious way over the ridges and mountains, 
 the river had been continually rising and now, 
 more than eleven feet above its usual height, it 
 was rolling in a grand, resistless flood through the 
 gorges. Thunder and lightning had accompanied 
 the storms, lighting up the wild river, drowning its 
 fierce roar and drenching the wanderers, till it 
 seemed as if heaven itself was leagued with the 
 natives and the cataracts to drive them to despair 
 and to destruction. The river was still rising, and 
 the rush and roar of the waters were only less 
 terrific than the deafening thunder-peels that shook 
 the chasm in which they were confined. Still they 
 must move on, even though it should be to greater 
 horrors and more desperate conditions and a 
 darker fate. So on the 23d of May they set out, 
 and carrying around a short fall in the creek on 
 the banks of which they had been encamping, and 
 ascending a mountain, they pushed slowly on for 
 three miles over a plateau — the sick and suffering 
 complaining bitterly, while the well were almost 
 ready to give out and die then and there on the 
 shores of the river. Every fall was expected to be 
 the last, and yet each proved the forerunner only 
 of a worse one to come. 
 
 From this creek Stanley led those of the expe- 
 dition who could walk to the head of the Mowwa 
 Falls. Frank, whose lame foot did not permit him 
 
A TERRIFIC PASS, ^^Q 
 
 to walk, took the Lady Alice, followed by the 
 canoes, out of the mouth of the creek, to coast 
 carefully along down the river to the same camp- 
 ing-place. In the meantime, Stanley, who had 
 arrived first, took a long and anxious survey of 
 the terrific scene before him. At the head of the 
 falls, where he stood on a grassy plot, a ledge of 
 rock twelve feet high ran straight across the river 
 like a wall for a mile and a quarter and then 
 stopped. From the end to the opposite shore it 
 was a clear space of a little more than a quarter 
 of a mile, through which the compressed river 
 rushed with a strength and shout and fury that 
 were appalling. This wall of rock, however, was 
 not solid — here and there it was cut through as if 
 by some mighty blow, making separate channels 
 that had a fall of twelve feet. Below, as far as the 
 eye could reach, treeless mountains arose nearly a 
 mile into the heavens, while halfway up from the 
 mad river, that tore with the sound of thunder 
 along their bases, perpendicular cliffs stood walling 
 in this awful embodiment of power. 
 
 A scene of more utter desolation cannot be 
 imagined than was here presented to his view in 
 this solitary spot. The camp seemed a mere speck 
 amid these gigantic outlines of mountain and river. 
 As he thus looked and Kstened, awe-struck and 
 subdued, he saw Frank in the Lady Alice coming 
 through the rapids at a terrific pace. This was 
 the first time Frank had attempted such a feat, and 
 
AAO ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 he got confused, and was finally thrown into the 
 worst part of the rapids, and in his frantic struggles 
 to release himself, he struck a rock and stove a 
 hole six inches square into the boat. However, 
 all were landed in safety, though Stanley mourned 
 greatly over the severe injury to his boat, which 
 thus far had escaped all harm. It took him a 
 whole day to repair it. Two days after, the goods 
 were transferred below and the boats dropped 
 carefully through the ledge near the shore, where 
 the water was less rough, and reached the camp 
 below the great falls in safety. 
 
 While resting here there occurred one of the 
 most interesting scenes of this whole remarkable 
 journey. In the transportation of goods over the 
 mountains robberies of beads, etc., had been com- 
 mitted, and now the last man in the whole party 
 Stanley would wish to have accused of theft 
 was found guilty — the noble, brave, reliable and 
 kind Uledi. True as steel in the hour of danger, 
 quiet, obedient, thinking nothing of his life if 
 Stanley asked him to risk it, he had yet stolen^ 
 not things of ordinary value, but that on which 
 their very existence might depend. Cloth was 
 getting so plenty among the natives that its value 
 was very much decreased, but beads were worth 
 ten times their weight in gold, and these Uledi 
 had stolen and hidden in his mat. Of course this 
 must be stooped at all hazards and at whatever 
 sacrifice, still Stanley would almost as soon have 
 
A TRIAL FOR THEFT. .^^j 
 
 lost his hand as to leave Uledi, as he had threatened 
 he would the next man he cauorht stealino-, in the 
 liands of the savao^es as a slave forever. He 
 therefore called the chiefs together and made them 
 a speech, in v^hich he clearly showed them that 
 their lives depended on putting a stop to theft, for 
 if they were left without anything to buy provisions 
 with they all would inevitably perish of famine 
 before they reached the sea. He also asked them 
 what should be done with Uledi, on whom stolen 
 goods had been found. 
 
 The principal chief would not answer for some 
 time, but being urged to give his opinion said at 
 last : It was very hard, seeing it was Uledi. Had 
 it been anybody else he declared he would vote to 
 pitch him into the river, but now he gave his vote 
 for flogging. The rest of the chiefs concurred 
 with him. Stanley then turned to the boat's crew^ 
 of which Uledi was coxswain and by whom he was 
 dearly loved. The principal one and the most 
 relied on, the watchman of the boat, replied, ''Ah> 
 it is a hard question, master. He is like our elder 
 brother ; but, as the fathers of the people have 
 spoken, be it so ; yet, for our sakes, master, beat 
 him just a little^ He next accosted Zaidi, by 
 whose side Uledi had clung all night in the midst 
 of the cataract, and had saved his life by risking 
 his own. He replied, ''Remember it is Uledi, 
 master.'' Next he addressed Uledi's brother, who 
 cried ** Spare Uledi, but, if he must be flogged. 
 
. ^2 ^^ ^^^ WlJLDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 give me half of it, I shall not feel it if it is for Ule 
 di/' Last of all he asked the poor culprit's cousin, 
 when he replied in a speech that the London Athe- 
 naeum, in quoting it, said would stand beside that 
 of Jeanie Dean's when pleading for her sister. 
 It occurred thus : 
 
 The poor fellow asked, "Will the master give his 
 slave liberty to speak ?" " Yes/' replied Stanley. 
 He then came forward, and kneeling before him 
 and clasping his feet with his hands, said : " The 
 master is wise. All things that happen he writes 
 in a book. Each day there is something written. 
 We black men know nothing, neither have we any 
 memory. What we saw yesterday is to-day for- 
 gotten. Yet the master forgets nothing. Perhaps, 
 if the master will look into his book, he may see 
 something in it about Uledi. How Uledi behaved 
 on Lake Tanganika ; how he rescued Zaidi from 
 the cataract ; how he has saved many men, whose 
 names I cannot remember, from the river — Bill 
 Ali, Mabruki, Kom-kusi and others. How he 
 worked harder on the canoe than any three men ; 
 how he has been the first to listen to your voice 
 always ; how he has been the father of the boat- 
 boys. With Uledi, master, the boat-boys are 
 good and ready, without him they are nothing. 
 Uledi is Shumari's brother. If Uledi is bad, Shu- 
 mari is good. Uledi is my cousin. If, as the 
 chiefs say, Uledi should be punished, Shumari 
 says he will take half of the punishment; then 
 
A TOUCHING SCENE, ..^ 
 
 give Saywa the other half, and set Uledi free. 
 Saywa has spoken/' 
 
 All this was uttered in a low, humble tone, with 
 his head bowed to Stanley's feet. Stanley could 
 not resist such an appeal, and said : " Very well, 
 Uledi, by the voice of the people, is condemned ; 
 but as Shumari and Saywa have promised to take 
 the punishment on themselves, Uledi is set free 
 and Shumari and Saywa are pardoned/' The 
 moment the poor fellow was set free, he stepped 
 forward and said : " Master, it was not Uledi who 
 stole — it was the devil which entered into his heart." 
 
 This touching scene is given, not merely for its 
 pathos, but because these untutored natives, here 
 in the wilds of Africa, illustrated the principles that 
 lie at the very foundation of the Christian religion. 
 First, they recognized the great fundamental doc- 
 trine of atonement — of expiation — the suffering of 
 the innocent in the place of the guilty, by which the 
 offender can be pardoned. In the second place, 
 Uledi uttered over again the sentiments of Paul — 
 when a man's whole nature revolts at the wrong 
 he has done, and hates himself for it, it is not he 
 that commits it, but " sin that dwelleth in him," 
 when he would do good, evil was present with him. 
 It was a happy termination of the affair, for it 
 would have been a cruel act to have had the noble, 
 true, unselfish and brave Uledi suffer the indignity 
 of a whip. 
 
 Another scene occurred, while in camp, that 
 
444 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 shows on what an insignificant, nay, ridiculous, 
 thing the fate of a great expedition may turn. 
 One day, Stanley being at leisure took out his 
 note-book and began to write, as was his custom 
 when he had a few hours to himself. The natives 
 who flocked into camp in great numbers daily^ 
 noticed him and began to whisper among them- 
 selves. The crowd around him gradually increased 
 and began to be strangely agitated, as the word 
 " tara tara" passed from lip to lip, and presently, 
 as if seized by a single impulse, they all ran away. 
 Stanley merely observed the fact without stopping 
 to think what the cause of this sudden abandon- 
 ment of the camp might be. He therefore went 
 on writing, when suddenly he was startled by loud 
 war-cries ringing far and near over the mountain 
 top, and, two hours after, he saw between five and 
 six hundred natives fully armed rushing down the 
 table-land toward the camp. He quickly mustered 
 his men to be prepared for what seemed an unpro- 
 voked attack, but determined, if possible, to avoid 
 a collision. He therefore advanced toward them 
 as they drew near, and, sitting down on the ground, 
 in a friendly tone asked what it all meant and why 
 they had come in such a warlike manner to their 
 friends. A large savage, acting as spokesman, 
 replied that they had seen him make marks on 
 some " tara tara.'' Those black lines he had drawn 
 on paper, he said, would bring sickness and death 
 and utter ruin on the land, and the people, and 
 
AN UNEXPECTED DILEMMA, 
 
 445 
 
 animals, unless the book containing" them was 
 burnt up. 
 
 Here was an unexpected dilemma. He must 
 burn up that note-book or fight these five or six 
 hundred armed, desperate savages. But that note- 
 book, the gathered results of nearly three years of 
 exploration, was the most precious thing on earth 
 to him. He was astounded and sorely perplexed 
 at the strange demand — burn up that note-book! 
 He might as well burn up himself. Even if he 
 could remember his main adventures, he could not 
 recall all the observations, plans of maps and 
 routes, and statistics of every kind it contained, 
 and without which the whole expedition was a fail- 
 ure. No, he could not give it up, but what then 
 — fight one against four, all armed with muskets, 
 to retain it? Suppose he could put them to rout, 
 it could not be done without a serious loss of life 
 to himself as well as to them. But this was not 
 the worst of it — with the natives friendly and aiding 
 him as they had done, and supplying him with pro- 
 visions, it would be almost a miracle if he ever 
 reached the sea-shore ; but with them hostile, even 
 if he could fight his way through them, he would 
 certainly perish from famine, for he could obtain 
 no provisions, without which, he and the book 
 would perish together. But, still, he could not 
 give up that book, and he turned over in his mind 
 every conceivable plan of averting the catastrophe. 
 Finally, he told them to wait a moment, while, in 
 
AaS in the wilds of AFRICA, 
 
 the meantime, he stepped back to his tent as if to 
 fetch it. 
 
 All at once it occurred to him that he might sub- 
 stitute another book for it, if, among his scant 
 collection, he could find one at all resembling it. 
 Turning them over, he came across a volume of 
 Shakespeare of just about the same size. True 
 the binding was different, but those savages knew 
 as little of the peculiar binding of a book as 
 they did of its contents. Besides it lay open on 
 Stanley's knee when they saw it, and they observed 
 only the black lines. However, the attempt to 
 pass it off on these wild savages for the real book 
 was worth making. So taking it in his hand, he 
 walked back to where they stood with ferocious 
 looks waiting for his decision, and handing it to 
 them, told them to take it. No, they would not 
 touch it, he must burn it. Well, Stanley said, he 
 would do anything to please such good friends as 
 they were. So together they went to a camp-fire 
 near by, and solemnly consigned poor Shake- 
 speare to the flames. 
 
 The natives were delighted at this evidence of 
 Stanley's good- will, and became faster friends than 
 ever. What he would have done had it come to 
 the issue — burn that note-book or fight — he does 
 not tell us. 
 
 The river had been thoroughly explored for two 
 miles below where they were encamped to the 
 head of Zinga Falls. It was a rough, wild stretch 
 
A MERJ^Y EVENING. 
 
 447 
 
 of water, but it was thought it might be passed 
 safely by using great caution and keeping out of 
 the midstream rapids. At all events, Stanley had 
 determined to try it first himself in his own boat — 
 a resolution that nearly cost him his life. The 
 next day, the 3d of June, the attempt was to be 
 made, and Frank passed the evening in Stanley's 
 tent in great spirits, talking and singing songs of 
 merry old England. He was always singing, and 
 most of the time religious songs which he had 
 learned at home. The wilds of Africa had equal- 
 ized these men, and they held sweet communion 
 together this last night on the banks of the wild 
 river. Frank seemed unusually exhilarated, little 
 dreaming, alas, that the next night his lifeless body 
 would be tossing amid the rocks that lined the bed 
 of the fierce torrent below — his merry songs all 
 hushed — nevermore to while away the weary hours 
 in this dreary solitude of Africa or brighten the 
 life of his England home. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 DEATH OF FRANK POCOKE. 
 
 FRANK POCOKE, as stated previously, 
 joined the expedition under Stanley as a 
 servant, and his brother had fallen at what 
 proved to be the mere outset. of the real main ex- 
 pedition, subsequently Frank, by his intelligence, 
 geniality, ability and courage, and perhaps quite 
 as much by the necessity of companionship that 
 Stanley felt the need of in that wild region, and 
 which only a white, civilized man could furnish, 
 had risen above the position he had taken til] 
 Stanley looked upon him more as a friend than as 
 a servant. This was natural; he was the only 
 man he could talk with in English ; the only man 
 who had the taste and manners of civilized life; 
 the only one who in the long halt could in any 
 way be his companion; and, more than all, the 
 only man who could certainly be depended on to 
 stand by him in the hour of danger to the last, 
 and fall, if fall they must, side by side. Whoever 
 else might prove false in these vast untrodden 
 solitudes, Frank Pocoke, he well knew, would not 
 be one of them. Under such circumstances and 
 conditions, Stanley would not have been the true 
 man he is if he had not lifted the servant up to 
 
 (448) 
 
POCOKE'S VALUE TO STANLEY, ^^g 
 
 the place of a friend. It was therefore but natural 
 that in the long mental discussion at Ziangwe as 
 to whether he should return or choose some other 
 route than through the hostile tribes whose terri- 
 tory the waters of the Lualaba washed, or push 
 on at all hazards by following its current to the 
 sea, that he should take his quondam servant into 
 his confidence and they should together talk over 
 all the probabilities of the different routes to be 
 adopted. In another place we have shown what 
 those difficulties were, and what the real or im- 
 aginable obstacles were that confronted Stanley if 
 he determined to follow the Lualaba at all hazards 
 to the sea. 
 
 In speaking of the death of young Pocoke, we 
 wish to show what influence he had at last in fix- 
 ing the determination that led to his own death 
 and to Stanley's fame as an explorer. One day, 
 while Stanley was discussing with Pocoke the 
 wisest course to pursue, the latter said: "Mr. 
 Stanley, suppose we toss up, to determine whether 
 we shall follow the Lualaba as far as the Lowra, 
 and then strike off for Monbruto, or follow it to 
 the sea?'' 
 
 Stanley, who had become almost indifferent as 
 to whether one course or the other would end his 
 life, agreed, and a toss-up was made, the result 
 being on the side of following the river to the sea. 
 The drawing of straws was then resorted to. 
 Three trials of chances were made, and the de- 
 29 
 
450 
 
 JN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 cision of fate, as proposed by Pocoke, was to fol 
 low the river to the sea. He Httle thought that 
 accidental toss was a toss-up for his own life, and 
 that so trivial an affair settled his fate forever. 
 We know what was Stanley's final decision, and 
 though he does not acknowledge that this trial by 
 chances had any effect on his final determination, 
 the experience of human nature, since the world 
 began, proves that it must have had. Even Na- 
 poleon, who believed that Providence was on the 
 side of the strong battalions, had an equally 
 strong belief in his "star.'' While it, doubtless, 
 did have more or less influence on Stanley, it did 
 not weaken his faith in the "strong battalions," 
 which was, in his case, a wise provision, so far as 
 he could make it, against all possible and proba- 
 ble contingencies. 
 
 We have said thus much to show the real rela- 
 tions that Frank Pocoke at last sustained to the 
 expedition. In the long and terrible march 
 through the gloomy forest after leaving Zywague, 
 and before finally launching on the Lualaba, to 
 quit it no more till they reached the sea or lay at 
 rest forever on its solitary banks, Pocoke's shoes 
 had become completely worn out. In traversing^ 
 half-barefoot, the tangled undergrowth, they had at 
 last given out entirely, and the result was his feet 
 became chafed, and at last, through constant irrita- 
 tion, caused by the necessity of hastening forward 
 at all hazards, the abrasions that would have 
 
STANLE Y IN FSJtIL. 
 
 451 
 
 healed, could they have made a short halt, became 
 ulcers, so that when they again struck the Lualaba 
 he was unable to walk any farther, and Stanley 
 said that if at any time they would have to leave 
 the river and carry around rapids, Frank would 
 have to be carried also. Stanley always led the 
 way over the rapids and selected the paths for 
 hauling around the canoes, while Pocoke superin- 
 tended the soldiers, distributed the rations, etc. 
 But now he was placed on the sick-list. 
 
 On the morning of the 3d of June, they came 
 to the Mowwa Falls, around which they must carry 
 and the men shouldered the goods and baggage 
 and started overland for Zinga, three miles distant, 
 while Stanley attempted to run two small falls, 
 named Massesse and Massassa, with the boat's 
 crew. Hugging the shore for about three-quarters 
 of a mile, they came at last to a lofty cliff, against 
 which the tide threw the down-rushing stream back 
 in such fury that great whirlpools were formed and 
 they steered for the centre of the river and en- 
 deavored to stem the tide, but failed. After fight- 
 ing fiercely against the raging of whirlpools, they 
 tried again to advance in another direction, when 
 Stanley discovered that his boat was fast filling 
 with water, while the surface became still more 
 terribly agitated at a point toward which he had 
 been unconsciously drifting. The danger now 
 became imminent Shouting to the men to leave 
 off bailing and pull for life for the shore, he threw 
 
452 
 
 JN TME WILDS Or AFRICA. 
 
 ofif his coat, belt and shoes, to be in readiness to 
 swim when the boat should capsize, as he expected 
 it would. A wild whirlpool was near the boat and 
 for a moment it seemed certain that it would drift 
 into the vortex. But by a strong effort it was 
 forced away and they pulled for shore. By the 
 time they had reached it, the leaky boat was half- 
 full of water. Finding it impossible to proceed in 
 it he returned to Mowwa Falls, and after a short 
 rest took a canoe and tried to proceed. But while 
 he was talking with Pocoke, the crew had scattered, 
 and as those who had gone to Zinga had not re- 
 turned, he determined to go overland and look 
 after the goods, and leave to his chief captain, 
 Manwa Sera, the supervision of the passage of the 
 falls. He told him to first send forward a reserve 
 canoe with short ropes fastened to the sides. "The 
 crew,'' he said, "will pick their way carefully down 
 the river until near the falls, then let the men judge 
 for themselves whether they are able to take the 
 canoe farther. Above all things stick to the shore 
 and do not play with the river." He then bade 
 Pocoke good-bye, saying he would send him his 
 breakfast immediately with hammock bearers, 
 shook hands and turned to climb the mountain 
 toward the camp. 
 
 Sending back the breakfast as he had promised, 
 he paid a visit to the kings of Zinga. Becoming 
 anxious about the boats, as this was the first time 
 he had ever permitted any one but himself to lead 
 
DROWNING OF POCOKE. 
 
 453 
 
 the way in any dangerous part of the river, he 
 about three o'clock took his glass and gojng to 
 the shore began to look up the river that came 
 tearing out of the mountain like a wild animal and 
 shakinof the shores with its loud thunder. Sud- 
 denly he saw something black tossing amid the 
 turbulent water. Scanning it closely, he saw it 
 was an upturned canoe and to its sides several 
 men were clinging. He instantly dispatched two 
 chiefs and ten men to a bend toward which the 
 wreck was drifting. The crew, however, knowing 
 there was another cataract just below, attempted 
 to right the boat and save themselves ; but, unable 
 to do so, got on the keel and began to paddle for 
 dear life with their hands toward the shore. As 
 they got near the far bank, he saw them jump off 
 the boat and swim for shore. They had hardly 
 reached it when the overturned boat shot by Stan- 
 ley like an arrow and with one fierce leap dashed 
 over the brink of the cataract and disappeared in 
 the foam and tumult below. In a few minutes a 
 messenger arrived out of breath, saying that 
 eleven men w^re in that canoe, only eight of whom 
 were saved — the other three being drowned, one 
 of whom was Pocoke. Stanley turned fiercely on 
 Uledi, his coxswain, and demanded how he came 
 to let Pocoke, a lame man, go in the rescue canoe. 
 "Ah, master,'' he replied, ''we could not help it, he 
 would not wait He said, ' since the canoe is go- 
 ing to camp I will go too. I am hungry and cannot * 
 
Jit' A IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 wait any longer. I cannot walk and I do not want 
 you to carry me, that the natives may all laugh at 
 me. No, I will go with you ;' and refusing to listen 
 to Captain Manwa Sera, who remonstrated with 
 him, he got in and told us to cast off. We found 
 no trouble in forcing our way against the back 
 current. We struck the down current, and when 
 we were near the fall I steered* her into the cove 
 to take a good look at it first. When I had climbed 
 over the rocks and stood over it, I saw that it was 
 a bad place — that it was useless to expect any 
 canoe to go over it without capsizing, and I went 
 to the little master and told him so. He would 
 not believe me, but sent other men to report on it. 
 They told the same story : that the fall could not be 
 passed by shooting over it in a canoe. Then he said 
 we were always afraid of a little water and that we 
 were no men. 'All right,' I said, 'if you say cast off I 
 am ready. I am not afraid of any water, but if any- 
 thing happens my master will be angry with me.' 
 *Cast off,' the little master said, ' nothing will hap- 
 pen ; am I not here ?' You could not have counted 
 ten, master, before we were all sorry. The cruel 
 water caught us and tossed and whirled us about 
 and shot us here and shot us there, and the noise 
 was fearful. Suddenly the little master shouted 
 *Look out! take hold of the ropes! and he was 
 tearing his shirt off when the canoe, which was 
 whirling round and round with its bow in the air, 
 Was dragged down, down, down, until I thought 
 
STANLE Y IN GRIEF, ^ ^ « 
 
 my chest would burst ; then we were shot out into 
 daylight again and took some breath. The little 
 master and two of the men were not to be seen, 
 but soon I saw the little master with his face up- 
 ward but insensible. I instantly struck out for 
 him to save him, but we were both taken down 
 again and the water seemed to be tearing my legs 
 away ; but I would not give in ; I held my breath 
 hard then and I came to the surface, but the little 
 master was gone forever. This is my story, mas- 
 ter." Stanley then examined the men separately, 
 to ascertain if it were true and found it was. This 
 man was brave but not foolhardy, and the best and 
 most reliable in the whole party. 
 
 Stanley very briefly expressed the sadness and 
 loneliness of his feelings that night as he sat and 
 looked on the empty tent of young Pocoke, but no 
 language can express the utter desolation of his 
 situation. His position, surroundings, prospects, 
 all combined to spread a pall black as midnight 
 over his spirit and fill his heart with the gloomiest 
 forebodings. Sitting alone in the heart of a 
 country never before trod by the foot of a white 
 man, on the banks of a mysterious river, on whose 
 bosom he was to be borne he knew not where, 
 the gloomy forest stretching away beyond him, 
 the huts of strange natives behind him. the water 
 in deep shadows rushing by, on whose foam and 
 whirlpools his friend had gone dpwn, and whose 
 body then lay tossing amid the broken rocka, the 
 
458 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Strangely silent tropical sky, brilliant with stars, 
 bending over him, the thoughts of home and friends 
 far away caused a sad and solemn gathering of 
 emotions and feelings around his heart till they 
 rushed over it like that rushing water, and made 
 him inconceivably sad there in the depths of the 
 forest. With no one to talk to in his native tongue, 
 no one to counsel with, without one friend on 
 whom he could rely, left all alone to meet the un- 
 known future, was to be left desolate indeed. Be- 
 fore, he knew there was one arm on which he 
 always could lean, one stout, brave heart that 
 would stand unflinchingly by his side in the dead- 
 liest peril, share all his dangers, and go cheerfully 
 to the very gates of death with him. But now he 
 was alone, with none but natives around him, with 
 whom he must meet all the unknown dangers of 
 the untrodden wilderness before him — perhaps be 
 buried by them in the gloomy forest or left to be 
 devoured by cannibals. It was enough to daunt 
 the bravest spirit, appall the stoutest heart, and 
 that lonely night on the banks of the Lualaba will 
 live in Stanley's memory forever. 
 
 Stanley pronounced a high eulogium on his 
 young friend, saying that he was a true African 
 explorer — he seemed to like the dangers and even 
 the sufferings of the expedition, so well did they 
 harmonize with his adventurous spirit. Quick and 
 resolute, he was always docile and in the heat and 
 excitement of battle would obey Stanley's slightest 
 
FOCOKE'^ CHARACTER. ^rg 
 
 Wish with alacrity. He seemed fitted for an ex- 
 plorer; no danger daunted him, no obstacle dis- 
 couraged him, while his frame, though slight, was 
 tough and sinewy, and he was capable of under- 
 going any amount of labor and could endure the 
 heaviest strain. He had so endeared him^f to 
 Stanley that the latter said, in a letter to young 
 Pocoke's parents, that his death took away all the 
 joy and exultation he should otherwise have felt 
 in accomplishing the great task the two had under- 
 taken together. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE COMPLETED WORK. 
 
 THE next morning Stanley arose with a sad 
 and heavy heart; the cruel, relentless river 
 seemed more remorseless than ever, and 
 its waves flowed on with an angrier voice that 
 seemed full of hate and defiance. 
 
 Eighty men were still behind, at Mowwa, and 
 the next day word reached Stanley that they liad 
 mutinied, declaring they would follow the river no 
 longer, for death was in it. He, borne down with 
 his great loss, paid no attention to the report, and 
 stayed and mourned for his friend for three days 
 before he set out for Mowwa. He found the men 
 sullen, sad and reckless. It would be strange, 
 however, if he could not regain his old influence, 
 which, after much effort, he did. But he did not 
 get all down to Zinga till after four days. Mean- 
 time Frank's body had been found floating, face 
 upward, some distance below the falls. All the 
 canoes did not reach Zinga till the 19th, more than 
 a fortnight after Frank's death. 
 
 On June 20th Stanley began to make prepara- 
 tions to continue on down the river. There had 
 been terribly hard work in passing and getting 
 round the falls where Frank lost his life, but the 
 
 460 
 
INCIPIENT MUTINY. 
 
 461 
 
 worst of it was, when they had succeeded, they 
 seemed to have just begun their labors, for it had 
 all to be repeated again. The men had lost all 
 spirit and did not seem to care what became of 
 them; and so, when on the 20th Stanley ordered 
 the men to their work to lay brushwood along the 
 tracks marked out for hauling the canoes from the 
 Pocoke basin around Zinga point into the basin 
 beyond, the men seemed disinclined to move. 
 Stanley, in surprise, asked what was the matter, 
 "We are tired of this/* growled a burly fellow, 
 " and that's what's the matter.*' 
 
 Stanley soon discovered that he was not alone 
 in his opinion, and though once he would have 
 quelled this spirit of rebellion with prompt, deter- 
 mined action, he did not feel like using harsh 
 measures now, or even harsh language. He knew 
 he had tasked them to the uttermost — that they 
 had followed his bidding unquestioned so far as he 
 ought to ask them, and so he called them together 
 to talk with them and give them an opportunity 
 frankly to tell their grievances. But they had 
 nothing to say, except that they had gone far 
 enough and did not mean to make another effort. 
 Death and famine awaited them, and they might 
 as well give up first as last. Stanley did not at- 
 tempt even to appeal to them, except indirectly. 
 He simply told them that he too was hungry, and 
 could have had meat, but saved it for them. He 
 too was weary and sad. They might leave him if 
 
462 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 they chose — he had his boat still, and if he was 
 left alone he had but to step into it — the falls were 
 near, and he would soon be at rest with his friend. 
 It is most pitiful and sad to see how the indomit- 
 able will of this strong man had given way. The 
 bold and confident manner with which he set out 
 from Nyangwe — the healthy, cheery tone in which 
 he addressed them when bowed down with grief 
 at the farewell song of Tipo-tipo's Arabs are gone, 
 and in their place had come a great weariness and 
 despair. To see such a strong man forced at last 
 to yield, awakens the deepest sympathy. No 
 wonder he was weary of life, and longed to die. 
 Under his terrible mental and physical strain of 
 the last six months the toughest nature must give 
 way, while to this was added the feebleness that 
 comes from want of food and the utterly dreary, 
 hopeless prospect before him. As he stood amid 
 his dusky followers, his once sinewy frame looked 
 lean and languid, and his voice had a weary, 
 despairing tone. The star of fame that had led 
 him on was gone down, and life itself had lost all 
 its brightness, and when he had done speaking he 
 turned away indifferent as to the future. The 
 men listened, but their hungry, despairing hearts 
 felt no sympathy. They too had reached the point 
 of indifference as to the future, except they would 
 no longer cling to that cruel river, and thirty-one 
 packed their baggage and filed away up the ascent 
 and were soon lost to view. When it was told to 
 
IN DESPAIR, 
 
 463 
 
 Stanley, he inquired how many had gone. Learn- 
 ing that only thirty-one had left, and that the rest 
 would stand by him to the last, he roused himself, 
 and unwilling that the faithful should perish 
 through the disaffection of a few men he sent 
 messengers after the deserters to plead with them 
 to come back. They overtook them five miles 
 away and urged them to return, but in vain. Set- 
 ting the faithful to work, he dispatched two men 
 to cut off the fugitives and to tell the chiefs not 
 to let them pass through their territory. They 
 obeyed and beat the war-drum, which so terrified 
 the wanderers that they were glad to return. It 
 would seem strange that men who have been ac- 
 customed to obey him implicitly for nearly three 
 years, and had stood by him so staunchly in many 
 a fight and through countless perils, could so easily 
 desert him now. But despair will make even a 
 wise man mad, and these poor creatures had got 
 into that hopeless condition which makes all men 
 reckless. Starting off with no definite aim in 
 view, no point to travel toward, shows how despe- 
 rate they had become. No wonder they saw no 
 hope in clinging to the river, for they had now 
 been over a month going three miles, and it 
 seemed worse than useless to attempt to push 
 further in that direction. 
 
 On the 23d of June, the work of hauling out 
 the canoes to take them over a hill two hundred 
 feet high was commenced, and by noon three were 
 
464 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFHrCA. 
 
 safely on the summit. Nexi came the Livingstones 
 which had been recently made. It weighed some 
 three tons, yet, with the aid of a hundred and fifty 
 natives, they had succeeded in getting it twenty 
 feet up the bank, when the cables parted and it 
 shot swiftly back into the river. The chief carpen- 
 ter clung to it, and being carried beyond his depth, 
 climbed into it. He was only a short distance 
 above the falls when the brave Uledi, seeing his 
 peril, plunged into the river and swimming to the 
 boat, called out to him to leap overboard instantly. 
 The poor wretch replied that he could not swim. 
 "Jump,'' shouted Uledi, " you are drifting toward 
 the cataract.'' The terrified creature, as he cow- 
 ered in the canoe, faltered out, " I am afraid to." 
 "Well, then," said Uledi, " you are lost — brother, 
 good-bye," and struck out with all his might for 
 the shore. A minute's longer delay, and he, too, 
 would have been lost, for, though a strong swim- 
 mer, he was able, only by the most desperate effort, 
 to reach shore less than sixty feet from the brink 
 of the falls. The next minute the canoe was 
 shooting over them into the boiling cauldron be- 
 low. Tossed up and down and whirled about, it 
 finally went down and was seen no more. 
 
 The next day the other boats were hauled up 
 and then the process of letting them down com- 
 menced. This was done in safety, when the goods 
 were sent overland to the Mbelo Falls beyond, 
 while the boats should attempt to run the rapids 
 
A PERILOUS MOMENT, 
 
 46: 
 
 There was no abrupt descent, but a wild waste of 
 tumbling, roaring water dashing against the cliffs 
 and rocks in reckless fury. Stanley resolved to 
 try them before risking his men, and embarking 
 in the Lady Alice, with men on shore holding ca- 
 bles attached to bow and stern, he drifted slowly 
 downward amid the rocks. The little boat seemed 
 a mere toy amid the awful surroundings in which 
 it floated, and Stanley realized as it rocked beneath 
 him what a helpless thing it would be in the wild 
 and turbulent midstream. Just as he reached the 
 most dangerous point, one of the cables parted. 
 The boat swung to, when the other snapped asun- 
 der and the frightened thing was borne like a 
 bubble into the boiling surge and carried down- 
 ward like an arrow. Down, down, between the 
 frowning precipices, now barely escaping a huge 
 rock and now lifted like a feather on the top of a 
 wave it swept on, apparently to certain destruc- 
 tion. But death had lost all its terrors to these 
 hard-hunted men, and the six in the boat sat rev 
 signed to their fate. The brave Uledi, however, 
 kept his hand on the helm and his steady eye on 
 the hell of waters around and before them. 
 Sometimes caught in a whirlpool that tossed them 
 around and around, and then springing like a pan- 
 ther down a steep incline, the boat continued to 
 plunge on its mad course with death on every side, 
 until at last it shot into the Niguru basin, when 
 they rowed to the sandy beach of Kilanga. Here, 
 30 
 
466 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRIOA. 
 
 amid the rocks, they found the broken boat in 
 which Pocoke went down, and the body of one of 
 the men who was drowned with him jammed 
 among the fragments. 
 
 Stanley looked back on this perilous ride with 
 strange feelings. It seemed as if fate, while try- 
 ing him to the utmost, was determined he should 
 not perish, but that he should fulfill the great mis- 
 sion he had undertaken. H's people seemed to 
 think so too, for when they saw his boat break 
 adrift and launch into the boiling rapids they gave 
 him up for lost ; but when they caught sight of 
 him coming toward them alive and well, they gave 
 way to extravagant joy and exclaimed, *' it is the 
 hand of God — we shall reach the sea." The escape 
 was so wonderful, almost miraculous, that they 
 could not but believe that God had spared him to 
 save them all. 
 
 They now pushed on with little trouble to 
 Mpakambendi, the terminus of the chasm ninety- 
 three miles long, in which they had been struggling 
 a hundred and seventeen days. This simple state- 
 ment conveys very little to the ear, yet what fear- 
 ful shapes does it conjure up to the imagination ! 
 Ninety-three miles of rapids and cataracts, with only 
 here and there a stretch of smooth water! A mile 
 and a quarter a day was all the progress they had 
 made now for nearly four months. No wonder 
 the poor Arabs gave up in despair and refused any 
 longer to follow the river. 
 
BRIGHTENING PROSPECTS. 
 
 469 
 
 Although below the chasm the stream did not 
 flow with that placidity it did through the cannibal 
 region, still it did not present any dangerous 
 rapids, as they glided on toward the sea with new 
 hopes. The natives along the banks were friendly, 
 though difficulties were constantly arising ifrom the 
 thieving propensities of the Arabs. Two were 
 seized by the natives, and Stanley had nearly to 
 bankrupt himself to redeem them, on which he 
 gave the men a talk and told them plainly that 
 this was positively the last time he would redeem 
 a single prisoner seized for theft, nor would he 
 resort to force to rescue him. 
 
 It was now the 7th day of July, and although 
 hope had revived in the hearts of the people, some 
 of the sick felt that they should never see their 
 native island again. Two died this day and were 
 buried on the banks of the river whose course they 
 had followed so long. They now had clear, though 
 not smooth sailing for some nine or ten miles, 
 when they came to another fall. This was passed 
 in safety, with the assistance of the natives, who 
 assembled in great numbers and volunteered their 
 services, for which they were liberally rewarded. 
 More or less broken water was experienced, but 
 not bad enough to arrest the progress of the boats. 
 Provisions were getting scarce, and consequently 
 the thieving propensity of the Arabs to obtain them 
 more actively exhibited itself, and one man, caught 
 while digging up roots in a garden, was held as a 
 
. ^Q IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 prisoner. The men asked his release, but Stanley, 
 finding that the price which the natives asked for 
 his redemption was far greater than his means to 
 pay, would not interfere and the man was left to 
 live and die in perpetual slavery. But this did 
 not stop thieving, and soon another man was 
 caught in the act and made prisoner. This case 
 was submitted to the chiefs, and their decision was 
 to let him remain in slavery. But the men were 
 starving, and even this terrible exhibition of the 
 doom that awaited them was not sufficient to deter 
 the men from stealing food. The demands of the 
 stomach overrode all fears of punishment, and three 
 or four days after another man was detected and 
 made a prisoner. He, too, was left a slave in the 
 hands of the natives. Dangerous rapids were now 
 and then encountered, but they were passed without 
 accident, and Stanley at last found that he was 
 close to the sea. He announced the fact to his 
 people, who were intensely excited at the news. 
 One man, a boatman, went crazy over it, and, 
 shouting "we have reached the sea, we are at 
 home/' rushed into the woods and was never seen 
 again. The poor wretch, probably, lay down at 
 last in the forest, with the groves of Zanzibar, in 
 imagination, just ahead of him. Sweeping down- 
 ward, frequent rapids occurred, but the expedition 
 kept on until it reached the district of Kilolo. 
 
 Stanley here lay down weary and hungry, but 
 was aroused by musket-shots. His people, starv- 
 
CAFTURED FOR STEALING, 
 
 47 i 
 
 ing and desperate, had scattered about, entering 
 every garden they saw to get something to eat, 
 and the natives had attacked them. Soon wounded 
 men were brought in, whom the natives had shot. 
 Several had been captured whom Stanley refused 
 to redeem, and they were left to pine in endless 
 captivity, never again to see the hills of Zanzibar, 
 as he over and over again had promised they 
 should. 
 
 Changing from bank to bank, as the character 
 of the river changed, the expedition, on the 30th 
 of July, heard in advance the roar of the cataract 
 of Isingila. Here Stanley ascertained that they 
 were but five days' journey from Embomma, a dis- 
 tance always traveled by land by the natives, on 
 account of the obstructions in the river. 
 
 As the whole object of the expedition had been 
 accomplished, and the short distance beyond these 
 falls to the sea was known to Europeans, he re- 
 solved to leave the river and march by land to 
 Embomma. At sunset the Lady Alice was drawn 
 out of the water to the top of some rocks and 
 abandoned forever. To Stanley it was like leav- 
 ing a friend behind. The boat had been his com- 
 panion for nearly three years. It had carried him 
 over the waters of the lakes, dashed at his bidding 
 among hostile canoes, rocked him to sleep amid 
 the storms, borne him all safely over foaming 
 cataracts, and now it must be left ignobly to rot in 
 the wilds of Africa. As he turned to cast a last 
 
472 
 
 AV THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 farewell glance on it resting mournfully on the 
 rocks, the poor boat had almost a human look, as 
 if it knew it was to be left behind and abandoned 
 forever. 
 
 On the 1st of August, the famished, weary 
 column took up its line of march towards the sea 
 — the mothers carrying infants that had been born 
 amid the cataracts, and the larger children trudg- 
 ing slowly after. Nearly forty of the one hundred 
 and fifteen were sick, and though it was painful to 
 travel, they were cheered by the proipise that in 
 four or five days they should once more look on 
 the sea, towards which their longing hearts had 
 been turned for so many weary months. Coming 
 to a village, the king stopped them and told them 
 they could not pass without they gave him a bottle 
 of rum. Uledi, hastening up, asked Stanley what 
 the old man wanted. "Rum," he replied. Hitting 
 him a severe slap in the face, '' there is rum for 
 him," growled Uledi, as the drunken negro tumbled 
 over. The latter picked himself up and hurried 
 away, and Stanley and his worn and wasted band 
 passed on without further molestation. It was 
 hard to get food, for one party would demand rum 
 and refuse to furnish it without, while another 
 wanted them to wait till the next market-day. 
 
 On the third day they reached Nsanda, the king 
 of which told Stanley it was but three days' march 
 to the sea. The latter asked him if he would 
 carry a letter to Embomma for him. He replied 
 
IVORD TO THE OUTSIDE WOULD, 
 
 473 
 
 no, but after four hours of hard urging he agreed 
 to furnish guides for three of Stanley's men. 
 
 The next day they set out, carrying the follow- 
 ing letter : — ^' 
 
 Village Nsanda, August 4th, 1877. 
 Fo any gentleman who speaks English at Embomma : 
 
 Dear Sir: I have arrived at this place from 
 Zanzibar with one hundred and fifteen souls, men, 
 women and children. We are now in a state of 
 imminent starvation. We can buy nothing from 
 the natives, for they laugh at our kinds of cloth, 
 beads and wire. There are no provisions in the 
 country that may be purchased except on market- 
 days, and starving people cannot afford to wait for 
 these markets. I therefore have made bold to 
 dispatch three of my young men, natives of Zan- 
 zibar, with a boy named Robert Ferugi of the 
 English mission at Zanzibar, with this letter, crav- 
 ing rehef from you. I do not know you, but I am 
 told there is an Englishman at Embomma, and as 
 you are a Christian and a gentleman, I beg of you 
 not to disregard my request. The boy Robert 
 will be better able to describe our condition than I 
 can tell you in a letter. We are in a state of the 
 greatest distress, but, if your supplies arrive in 
 time, I may be able to reach Embomma in four 
 days. I want three hundred cloths, each four 
 yards long, of such quality as you trade with, which 
 is very different from that we have; but better than 
 tU would be ten or fifteen man-loads of rice or 
 
474 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 grain to fill their pinched bellies immediately, as 
 even with the cloths it would require time to pur- 
 chase food, and starving men cannot wait. The 
 supplies must arrive within two days, or I may 
 have a fearful time of it among the dying. Of 
 course I hold myself responsible for any expense 
 you may incur in this business. What is wanted 
 is immediate relief, and I pray you to use your 
 utmost energies to forward it at once. For 
 myself if you have such little luxuries as tea, 
 coffee, sugar and biscuits by you, such as one man 
 can easily carry, I beg you, on my own behalf, that 
 you will send a small supply, and add to the great 
 debt of gratitude due to you upon the timely 
 arrival of supplies for my people. Until that 
 time, I beg you to believe me, 
 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 H. M. Stanley, 
 Commanding Anglo-American Expedition, 
 
 for Exploration of Africa, 
 
 P. S. — You may not know my name ; I therefore 
 add, I am the person that discovered Livingstone. 
 
 H. M. S. 
 
 After writing this letter, Stanley called his chiefs 
 and boat's crew to his tent and told them of his 
 purpose to send a letter to Embomma for relief, 
 and wanted to know which were the most reliable 
 men — would travel fastest and least likely to be 
 arrested or turned back by obstacles. The ever- 
 
A STARVING COMPANY. 
 
 475 
 
 ready Uledi sprang to his feet and exclaimed, as 
 he tightened his belt, "O master, I am ready now!'' 
 The other volunteers responded as quickly, and 
 the next day, the guides appearing, they started 
 off. In the meantime, the expedition resumed its 
 slow march, having eaten nothing but a few nuts 
 to stay their stomachs. Coming to a village, the 
 chief demanded payment for passing through his 
 country, and armed his followers; but on Stanley 
 threatening to destroy every man in the place, his 
 rage subsided, he shook hands, and peace was 
 made and sealed by a drink of palm wine and the 
 promise of a bottle of rum. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Uledi and his companions 
 pressed swifdy on, but when about halfway the 
 guides, becoming frightened, deserted them. Un- 
 able to obtain others, they resolved to follow the 
 Congo. All day long they pressed steadily for- 
 ward, and, just after sunset, reached Boma, to 
 which the name Embomma had been changed, 
 and delivered the letter. The poor fellows had 
 not tasted food for thirty hours, and were well- 
 nigh famished. They soon had abundance, and 
 the next morning (August 6th), while Stanley was 
 leading on his bloated, haggard, half-starved, stag- 
 gering men, women and children, Uledi started 
 back with carriers loaded down with provisions. 
 
 At nine o'clock, the expedition had to stop and 
 rest While they lay scattered about on the green 
 fiward, suddenly an Arab boy shouted, "I see 
 
476 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Uledi coming down the hill!*' and sure enough 
 there were Uledi and Kacheche leaping (k)wn the 
 slope and waving their arms in the air. "La il 
 Allah, il Allah!'* went up in one wild shout — "we 
 are saved, thank God!*' Uledi had brought a 
 letter to Stanley, who had scarcely finished read- 
 ing it when the carriers appeared in sight laden 
 with provisions. The sick and lame struggled to 
 their feet and, with the others, pressed around 
 them. While Stanley was distributing them, one 
 of the boat-boys struck up a triumphant song, 
 that echoed far over the plain. They then set to 
 and ate as only starving men can eat. 
 
 When all were supplied, Stanley turned to his 
 tent, to open the private packages sent to him. 
 Heavens! what a vision met his astonished sight! 
 A few hours before, he had made his breakfast 
 on a few green bananas and peanuts, washed with 
 a cup of muddy water, and now before him were 
 piled champagne, port and sherry wines, and ale, 
 and bread and butter, and tea, and sugar, and 
 plum-pudding, and various kinds of jam — in short, 
 enough luxuries to supply half a regiment. How 
 Stanley felt that night as he looked on his happy, 
 contented followers, may be gathered from the 
 following extract from a letter he sent back next 
 day to his kind-hearted deliverers. Afte/ ac- 
 knowledging the reception of the bountiful sup- 
 plies, he says: 
 
 •'Dear Sirs — ^Though strangers I feel we ihall 
 
eR££ TED B Y FRIENDS, 
 
 477 
 
 be great friends, and it will be the study of my 
 lifetime to remember my feelings of gratefulness 
 when I first caught sight of your supplies, and my 
 poor faithful and brave people cried out, * Master, 
 we are saved — food is coming ! ' The old and the 
 young men, the women and the children lifted 
 their wearied and worn-out frames and began 
 lustily to chant an extemporaneous song in honor 
 of the white people by the great salt sea (the 
 Atlantic), who had listened to their prayers. I 
 had to rush to my tent to hide the tears that would 
 come, despite all my attempts at composure. 
 
 " Gentlemen, that the blessing of God may attend 
 your footsteps, whithersoever you go, is the very 
 earnest prayer of 
 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 
 "Henry M. Stanley." 
 
 That day was given up to feasting and rejoicing, 
 and the next morning — a very different set of men 
 ■ — they started forward. All this and the next day 
 they marched cheerfully over the rolling country, 
 and on the third, while slowly descending a hill, 
 they saw a string of hammocks approaching, and 
 soon Stanley stood face to face with four white 
 men, and so long had he been shut up in a country 
 of blacks that they impressed him strangely. 
 After some time spent in conversation they in- 
 sisted on his getting into a hammock, and borne 
 by eight staut bearers he was carried into Boma, 
 
478 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 where rest and abundance awaited him. He stayed 
 in this village of a hundred huts only one day and 
 then embarked on a steamer for the mouth of the* 
 river, a hundred or more miles away. Turning 
 northward he reached Kabinda, where one of the 
 expedition died. The reaction on these poor crea- 
 tures after their long and desperate struggle was 
 great, and they fell back into a sort of stupor. 
 Stanley himself felt its influence and would fall 
 asleep while eating. The sense of responsibility, 
 however, aroused him and he attempted in turn to 
 arouse his men. But, notwithstanding all his 
 efforts, four died of this malady without a name 
 after he reached Loanda, and three more after- 
 wards " on board the vessel that carried them to 
 Cape Town. 
 
 Stanley gave his poor followers eight days' rest 
 at Kabinda and then in a Portuguese vessel pro- 
 ceeded to Loanda. Here the governor-general 
 offered to send him in a gun-boat to Lisbon. This 
 generous offer was very tempting, and many would 
 have accepted it, but Stanley would not leave his 
 Arab friends who had shared his toils and hardships, 
 and shown an unbounded trust in his promise to see 
 them back to Zanzibar. A passage being offered 
 them in the British ship Industry, to Cape Town, 
 Stanley accepted it, and, instead of going home 
 where comfort and fame awaited him, turned south- 
 ward with his Arab followers. At Cape Town he 
 was received with every mark of distinction, and 
 
APPROACHING ZANZIBAR. a*^^ 
 
 delivered a lecture there giving a brief account of 
 the expedition, especially that part of it relating to 
 the Congo. A British vessel here was placed at 
 his disposal, and while she was refitting Stanley 
 gave his astonished Arabs a ride on a railroad, on 
 which they where whirled along at the rate of 
 thirty miles an hour. Of all the wonders they had 
 seen since they left Zanzibar, nearly three years 
 before, this was the greatest. Entertainments 
 were prepared for them, suitable garments for that 
 cold latitude provided, till these poor, simple 
 children of nature were made dizzy by the atten- 
 tions they received. Among other things a special 
 evening was set apart for them In the theatre, and 
 they were thrown Into raptures at the performance 
 of the acrobats and made the building ring with 
 their wild Arab shouts of approval. 
 
 At length, on the 6th of November, nearly two 
 months from the time they reached the Atlantic 
 coast, they set sail for Zanzibar. Stopping for two 
 days at Natal to coal, where every possible atten- 
 tion was lavished on them, they again put to sea 
 and stretched northward through the Indian 
 Ocean. 
 
 Day after day these now contented people lay 
 around on deck, drinking in health from the salt 
 sea air. All but one was shaking off every form 
 of disease contracted In their long wanderings. 
 This one was a woman who was slowly dying, and 
 who was kept alive alone by the thought of seeing 
 
48o 
 
 m THE WILDS OF AFJilCA. 
 
 her home once more. At last the hills of ZanzL 
 bar arose over the sea, and as these untutored 
 Arabs traced their well-known outline, their joy 
 was unbounded, and Stanley felt repaid for the 
 self-denial that had refused a passage home from 
 Loanda to stay by his faithful followers to the very 
 last. Their excitement increased as the caves and 
 inlets grew more distinct, and at last the cocoanut 
 and mangrove-trees became visible. As the vessel 
 entered port their impatience could not be re- 
 strained, and the captain of the vessel, sympa- 
 thizing with their feelings, had no sooner dropped 
 anchor than he manned the boats, while the eager 
 creatures crowded the gangway and ladder, each 
 struggling to be the first to set foot on their native 
 island. As boat-load after boat-load reached the 
 shore, with a common feeling they knelt on the 
 beach and cried "Allah!'' and offered up their 
 humble thanksgiving to God, who had brought 
 them safely back to their homes. 
 
 The news of their arrival spread like wild-fire 
 on every side, and soon their relatives and friends 
 came flocking in from all directions, and glad shouts, 
 and wild embracings, and floods of glad tears 
 made a scene that stirred Stanley's heart to its 
 profoundest depths. Still, there was a dark side 
 to the picture. Scores of those that came rushing 
 forward to greet them, fell back shedding tears, 
 not of gladness, but of sorrow, for they found not 
 those whom they fondly hoped to meet. Of the 
 
HOME AGAIN! 
 
 481 
 
 three hundred that had set out, nearly thee years 
 before, only one hundred and twelve were left — 
 and one of these, the poor sick woman, lived 
 only long enough to be clasped in her father's 
 arms, when she died. 
 
 The great journey was ended, and Stanley, after 
 paying off the living and the relatives of the dead, 
 at last started for home. As he was about to 
 enter the boat that was to bear him to the ship, 
 the brave Uledi and the chiefs shoved it from shore, 
 and seizing Stanley, bore him through the surf on 
 their shoulders. And when the latter stood on the 
 deck, as the vessel slowly steamed away, the last 
 object he saw on shore through his eyes filled 
 with tears, was his Arab friends watching him till 
 he should disappear from sight. 
 
 An enthusiastic reception awaited him in Eng- 
 land, while from every part of the continent dis- 
 tinguished honors were bestowed upon him. 
 
 He had performed one of the most daring 
 marches on record — traced out, foot by foot, one of 
 the largest lakes of Central Africa, followed its 
 mightiest river, which, from the creation, had been 
 wrapped in mystery, from its source to its mouth, 
 and made a new map of the " dark continent, " 
 
 Among the testimonials of the estimation in 
 which the great work he had accomplished was 
 held, may be mentioned the gift of the portrait of 
 King Humbert of Italy, by himself, with the su* 
 perscription : 
 31 
 
,^2 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 "ALL* INTREPEDO VIAGGATORE, 
 ENRICO STANLEY. 
 
 UMBERTO RE. 
 TO THE INTREPID TRAVELER, 
 HENRY STANLEY. 
 
 KING HUMBERT." 
 
 The Prince of Wales also complimented him 
 warmly on his achievements, while the Khedive of 
 Egypt conferred on him the high distinction of the 
 Grand Commandership of the Order of Medji- 
 die, with the star and collar. The Royal Geo- 
 graphical Society, ot London, gave him a public 
 reception, and made him Honorary Correspond- 
 ing Member, and the Geographical Societies and 
 Chambers of Commerce of Paris, Italy and Mar- 
 seilles sent him medals. He was also made 
 Honorary Member of the Geographical Societies 
 of Antwerp, Berlin, Bordeaux, Bremen, Hamburg, 
 Lyons, Marseilles, Montpelier, Vienna, etc., etc. 
 Honorary membership of almost every distin- 
 guished, society in England and on the continent 
 were conferred on him, and all seemed to vie 
 with each other in heaping honors on the most 
 intrepid traveler of modern times. 
 
 As Americans, however, it gives us great plea- 
 sure to record the following sentiment, showing 
 that Stanley takes especial pride in being an 
 American. He says : " For another honor I have 
 to express my thanks — one which I may be par- 
 
STANLEY'S CROWNING HONOR. 
 
 483 
 
 doned for regarding as more precious than all the 
 rest. The Government of the United States has 
 crowned my success with its official approval, and 
 the unanimous vote of thanks passed in both 
 houses of legislature, has made me proud for life 
 of the expedition and its success/' 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE FRUITS OF VICTORY. 
 
 AFTER Victory, the fruits of victory ; and 
 to secure the latter is often more diffi- 
 cult than to win the former. The sol- 
 dier may conquer a realm ; it requires the states- 
 man to organize and establish sovereignty. We 
 may be entranced with enthusiasm at the daring 
 of the explorer ; we must bow with respect to the 
 man who transformed a wilderness into a peace- 
 ful field of industry and commerce. Doubtless, 
 at the end of his great Congo campaign, in 1878, 
 Mr. Stanley longed for rest and home. Up to 
 that time all his life had been a wandering, chiefly 
 amid dangers and discomforts. He had written 
 his name among those of the world's foremost 
 explorers. Well might he have considered his 
 task accomplished, and have turned his way 
 toward scenes of rest and pleasure. Instead of 
 that, all these great deeds were but the prelude 
 to his real life-work. 
 
 Early in November, 1878, Mr. Stanley was in- 
 vited by Leopold, King of the Belgians, to visit 
 the royal palace at Brussels, on a certain day and 
 at a certain hour. He went. He found assem- 
 bled to meet him a large number of persons of 
 (484) 
 
THE CONGO REGION, 
 
 485 
 
 note from all parts of the world, mostly men in- 
 terested in commerce and finance. The object 
 of the meeting was to promote the enterprise of 
 studying what might best be done with the 
 Congo River and its vast basin. Mr. Stanley 
 was to tell them of the country, and they were to 
 consider how to open it up to trade and civiliza- 
 tion. " I have," said the explorer, " passed 
 through a land watered by the largest river of 
 the African continent, and that land knows no 
 owner. A word to the wise is sufficient. You 
 have cloths and hardware, and glassware and 
 gunpowder, and those millions of natives have 
 ivory and gums and rubber and dyestuffs, and in 
 barter there is good profit ! " 
 
 This was a tempting prospect, and a course of 
 action was soon fixed upon. A company was 
 formed, one hundred thousand dollars capital 
 was subscribed on the spot, and Mr. Stanley was 
 commissioned to organize, equip and lead an ex- 
 pedition. He was to open up a road through 
 the Congo country to the heart of Africa. He 
 was to erect stations, according to the means fur- 
 nished, along the overland route for the conve- 
 nience of the transport and the European staff in 
 charge, and to establish steam communication 
 wherever available and safe. The stations were 
 to be commodious, and sufficient for all demands 
 that were likely to be made on them. Ground 
 was to be leased or purchased adjoining the sta- 
 
486 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 tions, so as to make them in time self-supporting. 
 Land along each side of the route was also to be 
 secured, to prevent persons ill-disposed toward 
 the company from interfering with its plans. The 
 whole scheme was founded on the ideas of peace 
 and equity. The expedition was to make its 
 way by paying, not by fighting. 
 
 Mr. Stanley went to work promptly and ener- 
 getically. This meeting was held on November 
 25th. The directors of the enterprise met again 
 on December 9th. On January 2d, 1879, Mr. 
 Stanley laid before them plans and estimates for 
 the first six months' work, and on January 23d he 
 was on his way to Zanzibar. It was, of course, 
 desirable to have experienced men associated 
 with him, so he sought out as many of his old 
 comrades as possible. In that work some time 
 was spent, but in the latter part of May he left 
 Zanzibar in the steamer "Albion,'* which had 
 been chartered for the use of the expedition. He 
 had w^th him sixty-eight men, recruited at Zanzi- 
 bar, of whom forty-five had accompanied him on 
 his former journey down the Congo. At nine 
 o'clock in the morning of August 14th he sighted 
 land at the mouth of the Congo, and soon after 
 was at anchor near the Dutch settlement at 
 Banana Point. Here he met, for the first time, 
 the other officers chosen to go with him on the 
 expedition. There were one American, two 
 Englishmen, two Danes, five Belgians, and one 
 
UP THE CONGO, 
 
 487 
 
 Frenchman. In the harbor was a small fleet of 
 steamers intended for the expedition, and on 
 shore was a considerable store of goods for bar- 
 tering with the natives. 
 
 On August 2 1 St, seven days after Mr. Stanley's 
 arrival at Banana, the vessels of the expedition, 
 consisting of the "Albion '' and eight other craft 
 of various sizes (the largest being the steel twin 
 screw steamer " La Belgique,'' sixty-five feet long 
 and eleven feet beam ; and the smallest the 
 ''Jeune Africaine," a screw launch, twenty-five 
 feet long and five feet ten inches beam) steamed 
 out of Banana Haven, and began the ascent of 
 the noble river. Boma, once the horrible empo- 
 rium of the slave-trade, was reached after a sail 
 of eight days ; a depot was formed at Mussuko, 
 four hours higher up the stream on the south 
 bank; and the "Albion," after making one or two 
 trips between Mussuko and Banana Point, in 
 order to bring up the goods which had been left 
 behind, was released from river duty, taken down 
 to Banana Point, coaled, and sent home, on 
 September 17th. 
 
 So far, all had gone well In thirty-four days 
 it had reached its first base of operations, ninety 
 miles from the sea. All its supplies had been 
 brought hither in safety, and the outlook for the 
 future was promising. Soon after the departure 
 of the "Albion '' steps were taken to advance still 
 further up-stream, and the next station was made 
 
4^6 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 at Vivi. This was six hours' sail in a nine-knot 
 steamer above Boma. The site was carefully 
 chosen, and Vivi has since become the most im- 
 portant station on the river. But before Mr. 
 Stanley could commence operations in Septem- 
 ber, 1879, a palaver had to be held, and terms 
 required to be arranged with the neighboring 
 chiefs, of whom there were five. At the palaver 
 the five chiefs formed a somewhat motley group. 
 The introductions being over, the object of the 
 expedition was explained through the medium of 
 a lingster or interpreter ; proposals were made 
 on the part of the association ; and the chiefs, after 
 begging a bottle of gin apiece, returned to their 
 houses to consider what the Mundele, or trader, 
 as Mr. Stanley was now called, had said to them. 
 
 On the following day they returned, and as the 
 conference which followed was, in its general 
 features, similar to many others that were held, 
 we may as well use Mr. Stanley's description of 
 it: — 
 
 " The conference began by the lingster, Mas- 
 sala, describing how the chiefs had gone home 
 and consulted together for a long time ; they had 
 agreed that if the Mundele would stay with them, 
 that of all the land unoccupied by villages, or 
 fields and gardens, I should make my choice, and 
 build as many houses, and make as many roads, 
 and do any kind of work I liked ; that I should 
 be considered as the * Mundele ' of Vivi, and no 
 
CONTRACT WITH NATIVES, 
 
 489 
 
 Other white man should put foot on Vivi soil, 
 which stretched from the LufQ up to the Banza 
 Kulu district, and inland down to the Loa river, 
 without permission from me ; no native chief of 
 inland or riverside should molest any man in my 
 employ within the district of Vivi ; help should 
 be given for work, and the people of Vivi, such 
 as liked, should engage themselves as workmen ; 
 anybody, white or black, native or foreign, passing 
 to and fro through the land, should do so freely, 
 night and day, without let or hindrance ; if any 
 disagreement should arise between any of my 
 people, white or black, and the people of Vivi, 
 they, the chiefs, would promise not to try and re- 
 venge themselves, but bring their complaint before 
 the Mundele of Vivi, that he might decide upon 
 the right and the wrong of it ; and if any of 
 their people were caught in the act of doing wrong, 
 then the white man shall promise that his chief 
 shall be called to hear the case against him, and 
 if the crime is proved the chief shall pay the fine 
 according to custom. 
 
 " *A11 this,' continued Massala, ' shall be set 
 down in writing, and you shall read it, and the 
 English lingster shall tell it straight to us. But 
 first we must settle what the chiefs shall receive 
 in return for these concessions.* '* 
 
 This was not so easily settled. Four hours 
 were spent before the bargain was concluded, and 
 Mr. Stanley found himself obliged to pay one 
 
4QO ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 hundred and sixty dollars down in cloth and a 
 rental of ten dollars per month. The papers 
 confirming the agreement were then drawn up 
 in due form, and signed by the various parties 
 concerned in the matter. 
 
 Mr. Stanley, as " Mundel6 of Vivi,'' had no 
 good reason to congratulate himself upon his 
 bargain. He had, of course, secured a site for 
 his station, but he had been compelled to pay a 
 big price for it, and his land was a mere wilder- 
 ness of rocky and barren hillsides. All the really 
 good land at Vivi was already occupied, ani the 
 natives would not part with it. On the evening 
 of the day on which his contract was signed he 
 wrote in his diary : ** I am not altogether pleased 
 with my purchase. It has been most expensive, 
 in the first place, and the rent is high. Hov^ever, 
 necessity has compelled me to do it. It is the 
 highest point of navigation of the Congo, oppo- 
 site which a landing could be effected. The 
 landing-place is scarcely three hundred yards 
 long, but if the shores were improved by level- 
 ing, available room for ships could be found for 
 fifteen hundred yards.*' On the plateau near the 
 river was room for a town of twenty thousand 
 people, and the situation seemed salubrious. So 
 a road was made up to the plateau, buildings 
 erected, and a large quantity of goods brought 
 up from Mussuko, and safely housed. 
 
 So far the expedition had had plain sailing. 
 
AT LIVINGSTONE FALLS. a^^ 
 
 The Congo afifords a magnificent waterway from 
 the ocean, at Banana, up to Vivi. But a little 
 distance above Vivi are the Livingstone Falls, 
 rendering further navigation impossible. It was 
 therefore necessary to build a road and make 
 further progress overland. So work was begun 
 on a new road, from Vivi to Isangila, fifty-two 
 miles above, which had been chosen as the site 
 of the next station. The country was wild and 
 rugged, and ruled by thirty or forty different 
 chiefs. Each of these chiefs had to be negotiated 
 with and won over, and each in his own way. 
 Moreover, the individual owners of farms and 
 gardens had to be dealt with, and often paid ex- 
 orbitant prices for their land. Surveying the 
 route was a long and toilsome job. The work 
 of clearing and grading would have been stu- 
 pendous had it been designed merely to make it 
 a wagon-road. But it was to be more than that. 
 It was to be a road over which several of the 
 steamboats could be transported, to be relaunched 
 on the river above the falls. Mr. Stanley never 
 faltered, however, and at noon of March i8th, 
 1880, the work of making the road was begun. 
 On January 2d, 1881, within ten months from the 
 actual beginning of the work, the road, fifty-two 
 miles in length, was completed, the boats were on 
 the shore at Isangila waiting to be repaired, 
 scraped, and painted, and the " Royal,'' a small 
 screw steamer presented to the expedition by 
 
IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 the King of the Belgians, was steaming on the 
 river. 
 
 From Isangila there was smooth navigation up- 
 stream for eighty-eight miles, to the Falls of 
 Ntombo Mataka. Adjoining the latter is the 
 district of Manyanga, where Mr. Stanley decided 
 to erect the next station, and on May ist, 1881, 
 the whole expedition was safely encamped there. 
 Of his achievements thus far Mr. Stanley speaks 
 thus : " We were now one hundred and forty 
 miles above Vivi, to accomplish which distance we 
 have been employed four hundred and thirty-six 
 days in road-making and in conveying fifty tons 
 of goods, with a force of sixty-eight Zanzibaris 
 and an equal number of West Coast and inland 
 natives. During this period we had travelled 
 four thousand eight hundred and sixteen English 
 miles, which, divided by the number of days occu- 
 pied in this heavy transport work, gives a quotient 
 of over eleven miles per day ! '' 
 
 This expedition was intended to reach, as its 
 farthest point, Stanley Pool, which was still ninety 
 five miles away, and every mile was full of diffi- 
 culties. The river was not navigable, so an over- 
 land road had to be surveyed, "palavered*' for, 
 purchased and built, and the boats dragged over 
 it. Worse still, Mr. Stanley was stricken down 
 with fever, and for a long time lay on the brink 
 of the grave. But even from his sick-bed he 
 continued to direct affairs and to inspire his fol- 
 
SAFE AT STANLEY POOL, aq^ 
 
 lowers with his own unshaken faith in the success 
 of the enterprise. So, by December 3d, 1881, the 
 expedition was safe at Stanley Pool with the 
 steamer "En Avant" launched in the Bay of 
 Kintamo, beyond which were thousands of miles 
 of navigable water. The new station was founded 
 on Leopold Hill, a fine site overlooking the river, 
 and was named Leopoldville, in honor of the 
 royal patron of the enterprise. Doubtless this 
 place will become the chief centre of Central 
 African commerce. Its situation is magnificent. 
 The climate is salubrious. The surrounding na- 
 tives are friendly. Other stations have since 
 been founded, further up the river, all tributary 
 to Leopoldville. The most distant of them is on 
 the island of Wane Rusari, at the foot of Stanley 
 Falls, one thousand and sixty-eight miles from 
 Leopoldville. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE CONGO FREE STATE. 
 
 MR. STANLEY'S discoveries, and th(. 
 enterprise of the " Committee for the 
 Study of the Upper Congo" — which 
 was the real name of the company under which 
 he was sent out — soon attracted universal atten- 
 tion, and that, too, of a most practical kind. It 
 became evident that the Congo Valley must have 
 a fixed and potent government. King Leopold 
 did not desire to assume the sole responsibility^ 
 nor, indeed, would the other European powers 
 have agreed to his transform so large a slice 
 of the African continent into a Belgian colony. 
 Accordingly, an international conference was 
 summoned to meet at Berlin, and the result of its 
 deliberations was the erection of the entire valley 
 into a potentially independent commonwealth, 
 called the Congo Free State. On February 25th, 
 1885, the treaty was signed by the representatives 
 of the United States and the chief European 
 powers. A Constitution and Government were 
 provided for the new state, with King Leopold at 
 its head, under the protection of the treaty-signing 
 powers. Thenceforward civilization made rapid 
 progress. The state was admitted to the Inter- 
 (494) 
 
CONGO FREE STATE OPENED, 
 
 495 
 
 national Postal Union, and post-offices were 
 opened at Banana, Boma, Vivl, and elsewhere. 
 Courts, schools, etc., were also established. A 
 railroad has been constructed over the route of 
 Mr. Stanley's roads around the cataracts, con- 
 necting with the steamer routes, and making an 
 unbroken line of steam transportation from Stan- 
 ley Falls to the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
 The entire area of the Congo basin is estimated 
 by Mr. Stanley at one million five hundred and 
 eight thousand square miles. Some of it is 
 claimed by France, some by Portugal, and some 
 is yet unapportioned. But the overwhelming 
 bulk, one million sixty-five thousand and two 
 hundred square miles, belongs to the Congo Free 
 State. It has not all yet been surveyed, of course, 
 but its character is pretty well known. It has 
 vast forests, extensive and fertile plains, and un- 
 surpassed systems of lakes and rivers. Its lakes 
 cover thirty-one thousand seven hundred square 
 miles ; among them being Lakes Leopold II., 
 Muta Nzige, Tanganyika, Bangweola, and Mweru. 
 The Congo, of course, is the principal river. It is 
 one of the five or six longest streams in the world, 
 and in point of volume surpasses all but the 
 Amazon. 
 
 Unlike the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, Ganges, 
 Volga, and, indeed, almost all other great rivers, 
 the Congo has no delta. It discharges itself by a 
 single unbroken estuary seven miles and a half 
 
496 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 broad, in many places over two hundred fathoms 
 deep, and with a current of from five to seven 
 knots an hour. The volume of water brought 
 down has been variously estimated; the lowest 
 estimate being two million cubic feet per second. 
 The Mississippi, when at the height of its March 
 flood, has an outflow of one million one hundred 
 and fifty thousand cubic feet per second ; so that 
 its volume must be very greatly exceeded by 
 that of the Congo. 
 
 The scenery along the banks of the Congo is 
 affirmed by all who have seen it to be magnificent. 
 Mr. Stanley has seen none to equal it. In his 
 opinion neither the Indus nor the Ganges, the 
 Nile nor the Niger, nor any of the rivers of North 
 or South America has any glories of mountain or 
 foliage or sunlight which are not greatly excelled 
 by those of his favorite river, and many of the 
 finest passages in his volumes are devoted to de- 
 scriptions of the beauty and magnificence seen 
 along its banks. 
 
 The population of the Free State of the Congo 
 Mr. Stanley estimates at about forty-five millions. 
 According to the latest trustworthy calculations, 
 the population of the whole of Africa is repre- 
 sented by two hundred millions. Some place it 
 at one hundred and seventy millions. The data 
 on which these calculations are based are, of 
 course, imperfect, and Mr. Stanley*s seem to have 
 been based chiefly upon the density of population 
 
WEALTH OF THE FREE STATE. ^gy 
 
 he found on the banks of the upper Congo. But 
 in other parts, and especially away from the 
 rivers, there must be large tracts of country where 
 the population is much less dense than it is along 
 the banks of the Congo, and any generalization 
 for the whole of the country, based upon the 
 latter, must manifestly give too high a figure. 
 
 Of the climate of the country, Mr. Stanley is 
 entitled to speak with authority, and justly, as no 
 European has had so large an experience of it. 
 With care as to food, clothing, and exposure, 
 Europeans, it would seem, may live as long, and 
 enjoy as good health on the banks of the Congo 
 as they may in most other places. But care is 
 absolutely requisite ; without it the climate proves 
 as hurtful as the climate of the west coast of 
 Africa is generally said to be. 
 
 As a field for commerce, Mr. Stanley speaks 
 of the country in the most glowing terms, and be- 
 lieves that it excels all other known lands for the 
 number and rare variety of precious gifts with 
 which nature has endowed it. He says: "The 
 forests on the banks of the Congo are filled with 
 precious redwood, lignum vitse, mahogany, and 
 fragrant gum-trees. At their base may be found 
 inexhaustible quantities of fossil gum, with which 
 the carriages and furniture of civilized countries 
 are varnished ; their boles exude myrrh and 
 frankincense ; their foliage is draped with or- 
 chilla-weed, useful for dye. The redwood, when 
 32 
 
498 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 cut down, chipped and rasped, produces a deep 
 crimson powder, giving a valuable coloring ; the 
 creepers, which hang in festoons from tree to 
 tree, are generally those from which india-rubber 
 is produced (the best of which is worth fifty cents 
 per lb.) ; the nuts of the oil palm give forth a 
 butter, a staple article of commerce ; while the 
 fibres of others will make the best cordage. 
 Among the wild shrubs is frequently found the 
 coffee-plant. In its plains, jungle, and swamp 
 luxuriate the elephants, whose tusk furnishes 
 ivory worth from $2.00 to $2.75 per lb. ; its 
 waters teem with numberless herds of hippopot- 
 ami, whose tusks are also valuable ; furs of the 
 lion, leopard, monkey, otter; hides of antelope, buf- 
 alo, goat, cattle, etc., may also be obtained. But, 
 what is of far more value, it possesses over forty 
 millions of moderately industrious and work- 
 able people. The copper of Lake Superior is 
 rivaled by that of the Kwilu-Niadi Valley, and of 
 Bembe. Rice, cotton, tobacco, maize, coffee, 
 sugar, and wheat would thrive equally well in 
 the broad plains of the Congo. I have heard of 
 gold and silver, but this statement requires cor- 
 roboration, and I am not disposed to touch upon 
 what I do not personally know. A large portion 
 of the Congo basin, at present inaccessible to the 
 immigrant, is blessed with a temperature under 
 which Europeans may thrive and multiply. There 
 is no portion of it where the European trader 
 
STANLEY'S GENIUS, ^gg 
 
 may not fix his residence for years, and develop 
 commerce to his own profit with as Httle risk as 
 is incurred in India/' 
 
 Such is the country which the skill, tact, cour- 
 age, and, in brief, the genius of Mr. Stanley have 
 rescued from the degradation and barbarism of 
 ages, and given a place among the great nations 
 of the world. It is his fame to have been not 
 merely an intrepid explorer, not merely a peace- 
 ful and almost bloodless conqueror, but in fully 
 equal measure a civilizer, a trade-bearer, a states- 
 man ; the finder, the founder, and the builder of 
 a great and mighty state. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 EMIN, THE LAST OF THE SOUDAN HEROES. 
 
 MR. STANLEY returned to civilization, 
 and in 1886 revisited America for the 
 first time in thirteen years. He was 
 received with the highest honors, and the lec- 
 tures which he delivered were attended by 
 crowded and delio^hted audiences. It seemed at 
 last as though he were to enjoy a considerable 
 period of rest. He had opened up the Dark 
 Continent, and founded the Congo Free State on 
 a secure basis. He might now direct its opera- 
 tions from London or Brussels, and spend his 
 years in well-won ease. But this was not to be. 
 He was abruptly summoned to undertake one of 
 the most arduous of all his tasks, which was to 
 lead an expedition to the relief of Emin Pasha at 
 Wadelai, on the Nile. 
 
 The history of Emin Pasha is a most romantic 
 and noble one. His real name is Edward 
 Schnitzer, and he was born in 1840 at Oppeln, 
 in Silesia. His father, a merchant, died in 1845, 
 and three years before that date the family re- 
 moved to Neisse. When Edward Schnitzer had 
 passed through the gymnasium at Neisse he de- 
 voted himself to the study of medicine at the 
 (500) 
 
EMIN'S BIOGRAPHY. cq\ 
 
 University of Breslau. During the years 1863 
 and 1864 he pursued his studies at the BerHn 
 Academy. The desire for adventure and an ex- 
 ceptional taste for natural sciences induced the 
 young medical student to seek a field for his call- 
 ing abroad. He, therefore, at the end of 1864, 
 left Berlin with the intention of obtaining a post 
 of physician in Turkey. Chance carried him to 
 Antivari and then to Scutari. Here he soon 
 managed to attract the attention of Valis Ismael 
 Pasha Haggi, and was received into the following 
 of that dignitary, who, in his official position, had 
 to travel through the various provinces of the 
 empire. When, in this way, Dr. Schnitzer had 
 learned to know Armenians, Syrians, and Arabi- 
 ans, he finally reached Constantinople, where the 
 Pasha died in 1873. In the summer of 1875 Dr. 
 Schnitzer returned to Neisse ; but after a few 
 months the old passion for travel again came 
 over him, and he betook himself to Egypt, where 
 favorable prospects were opened out to him. 
 With the beginning of the year 1876 he appears 
 as *' Dr. Emin Effendi,'* enters the Egyptian ser- 
 vice, and places himself at the disposal of the 
 Governor-General of the Soudan. In the post 
 there given him Dr. Emin met with Gordon, who 
 two years before (1874) had been intrusted with 
 the administration of the newly-created Equato- 
 rial province. Gordon sent him on tours of in- 
 spection through the territory and on repeated 
 
ro2 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 missions to King M'tesa at Uganda. When 
 Gordon Pasha, two years later, became adminis- 
 trator of all territory lying outside the narrower 
 limits of Egypt, Dr. Emin Efifendi received the 
 post of commander at Lado, together with the 
 government of the Equatorial province. With 
 how much fidelity and self-denial he devoted 
 himself to his task is well known. 
 
 During the first three years of his term he 
 drove out the slave-traders from a populous 
 region with six million inhabitants. He converted 
 a deficiency of revenues into a surplus. He con- 
 ducted the government on the lines marked out 
 by General Gordon, and was equally modest, 
 disinterested, and conscientious. When the 
 Mahdi's rebellion broke out, a governor-general 
 of another stamp was at Khartoum. Emin's 
 warning from the remote South passed unheeded. 
 Hicks' army, recruited from Arabics demoralized 
 regiments, was massacred ; the Egyptian garri- 
 sons throughout the Soudan were abandoned to 
 their fate; atrocious campaigns of unnecessary 
 bloodshed were fought on the seaboard, and 
 General Gordon was sent to Khartoum to perish 
 miserably while waiting for a relief expedition 
 that crawled by slow stages up the Nile, and was 
 too late to be of practical service. During all 
 these years of stupid misgovernment and wasted 
 blood Emin remained at his post. When the 
 death of General Gordon and the retreat of Lord 
 
LOST TO THE WORLij ctqi 
 
 • 
 
 Wolseley's army wiped out the last vestige of 
 Egyptian rule in the regions of the Upper Nile, 
 the Equatorial Provinces were cut off, neglected, 
 and forgotten. 
 
 It then became impossible for Emin to commu- 
 nicate with the Egyptian Government, and he was 
 practically lost to the world. He was dependent 
 upon his own resources in a region encompassed 
 by hostile tribes. He might easily have cut his 
 way out to safety, by the way of the Congo or 
 Zanzibar, with the best of his troops, leaving the 
 women and children behind to their fate. But 
 this he scorned to do. He stood at his post, and 
 bravely upheld the standard of civilization in 
 Africa. He had with him about four thousand 
 troops at the outset. He organized auxiliary 
 forces of native soldiers ; he was constantly 
 engaged in warfare with surrounding tribes ; he 
 garrisoned a dozen river stations lying long dis- 
 tances apart ; his ammunition ran low, and he 
 lacked the money needed for paying his small 
 army. But, in the face of manifold difficulties 
 and dangers, he maintained his position, governed 
 the country well, and taught the natives how to 
 raise cotton, rice, indigo, and coffee, and also how 
 to weave cloth, and make shoes, candles, soap, 
 and many articles of commerce. He vaccinated 
 the natives by the thousand, in order to' stamp 
 out small-pox ; he opened the first hospital known 
 in that quarter; he established a regular post- 
 
504 ^^ '^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 • 
 
 route with, forty offices; he made important 
 geographical discoveries in the basin of the 
 Albert Lake ; and in many ways demonstrated 
 his capacity for governing barbarous races. 
 
 The last European who visited him was Dr. 
 Junker, the German traveller, who parted from 
 him at Wadelai on January ist, 1886. His posi- 
 tion was then more favorable, but he had been 
 reduced at one time to extremities, his soldiers 
 having escaped by a desperate sortie, cutting their 
 way through the enemy after they had been many 
 days without food, and " when the last torn leather 
 of the last boot had been eaten/' Letters written 
 by him in October, 1886, at Wadelai, describing 
 his geographical discoveries, were received in 
 England in 1887, with a contributed article for a 
 Scotch scientific journal. The provisions and 
 ammunition sent to him by Dr. Junker had had a 
 very encouraging effect upon his troops. He 
 wrote : " I am still holding out here, and will not 
 forsake my people.** 
 
 The betrayal of Gordon at Khartoum by the 
 British Government had so disgusted and exas- 
 perated decent public opinion in England that a 
 popular demand was made for the rescue of Emin. 
 The Government took no step other than to allow 
 a small grant of money to be made from the 
 Egyptian treasury. But private subscriptions 
 furnished an ample sum, and an " Emin Relief 
 Committee" was formed to press the work. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 STANLEY TO THE RESCUE. 
 
 MR. STANLEY arrived in New York, 
 after his thirteen years' absence, on 
 November 27th, 1886. On December 
 1 2th of the same year he was requested by the 
 King of the Belgians to return immediately to 
 Europe. He did so, and was commissioned to 
 head the expedition then being formed for the 
 relief of Emin Pasha. There was much discussion 
 as to the route to be taken, most authorities 
 favoring that overland from Zanzibar. But 
 Mr. Stanley determined upon the Congo, and 
 he described the character of the expedition as 
 follows : 
 
 '' The expedition is non-military — that is to say, 
 its purpose is not to fight, destroy, or waste ; its 
 purpose is to save, to relieve distress, to carry 
 comfort. Emin Pasha may be a good man, a 
 brave officer, a gallant fellow deserving of a strong 
 effort of relief, but I decline to believe, and I have 
 not been able to gather from any one in England 
 an impression, that his life, or the lives of the few 
 hundreds under him, would overbalance the lives 
 of thousands of natives, and the devastation of 
 immense tracts of country which an expedition 
 
 (50s) 
 
5o6 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 Strictly military would naturally cause. The ex- 
 pedition is a mere powerful caravan, armed with 
 rifles for the purpose of insuring the safe conduct 
 of the ammunition to Emin Pasha, and for the 
 more certain protection of his people during the 
 retreat home. But it also has means of purchas- 
 ing the friendship of tribes and chiefs, of buying 
 food and paying its way liberally/' 
 
 Mr. Stanley went from England to Egypt, 
 where he stopped for a time at Cairo, completing 
 his arrangements with the Egyptian government. 
 On reaching Zanzibar he found that his agents 
 had already recruited a force of six hundred men 
 for the expedition, and that Tippu-Tib, who had 
 escorted his caravan in 1877, when the first 
 descent of the Congo was made, was waiting for 
 him. Tippu-Tib was the Zobehr of the Upper 
 Congo, commanding two of the best roads from 
 the river to Wadelai. He agreed to supply six 
 hundred carriers at thirty dollars a man ; and as 
 Emin was reported by Dr. Junker to have seventy- 
 five tons of ivory, the expenses of the expedition 
 might be largely defrayed by the return of the 
 Zanzibaris to the Congo with their precious loads. 
 Tippu-Tib was also offered the position of 
 governor at Stanley Falls at a regular salary. 
 He consented to accompany Mr. Stanley on these 
 terms. The steamer set out on February 25th 
 for the mouth of the Concro with about seven 
 hundred men of the expedition, reaching its desti- 
 
DEFECTIVE TRANSPORTATION. 
 
 507 
 
 nation in four weeks. He was then twelve hun- 
 dred and sixty-six miles from Aruwimi, whence 
 he was to march four hundred miles through an 
 unknown country to Emin's capital. It was as 
 late as April 26th before he could leave Leopold- 
 ville, on Stanley Pool, and it was not until the 
 second week in June that the explorer himself 
 was at Aruwimi, much delay having been caused 
 by defective transportation. 
 
 He left men at Stanley Falls, with instructions 
 to rebuild the storehouses, to open negotiations 
 with the tribes, and to provide convoys of pro- 
 visions for the relief expedition. A rear-guard 
 was left at Yambouya, and the advance column 
 passed on to the limits of navigation, whence the 
 overland march was taken up. Few difficulties 
 were encountered apart from the natural obstacles 
 presented by a country very difficult to traverse. 
 About July 25th the expedition had ascended the 
 River Aruwimi as far as an elevated tract of 
 country forming a portion of the Mabodi district. 
 
 Thus, Mr. Stanley and his comrades plunged 
 into the wilderness, and were lost to the sight of 
 the world. From time to timq thereafter count- 
 less rumors came from Africa regarding them, 
 rumors varied in tone as in number. At one 
 time they had reached Emin in safety. Again 
 they were all massacred long before they got to 
 Wadelai. Now, Mr. Stanley had put himself at 
 the head of Emin's army and was marching on 
 
5o8 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 Khartoum to avenge Gordon and overthrow the 
 Mahdi ; and then he and Emin were captured by 
 the Mahdist forces at Lado. Stories came of a 
 mysterious " White Pasha " who was leading a 
 conquering army through the Bahr Gazelle 
 country, and it was very generally believed that 
 it was Mr. Stanley, who had reached Wadelai and 
 was returning to the coast by the way of the 
 Niger. But on December 15th, 1888, startling 
 news came from Suakim, on the Red Sea coast 
 of Egypt. Osman Digna, the Frenchman who 
 had turned Arab and was leader of the Mahdist 
 army there, under a flag of truce informed the 
 British commander that Emin's province had fallen 
 into Arab hands, and that Emin and Stanley were 
 prisoners. In proof of this he sent a copy of a 
 letter just received from a Mahdist officer in the 
 Soudan, as follows : 
 
 " In the name of the Great God, etc. This is 
 from the least among God's servants to his Master 
 and chief Khalifa, etc. We proceeded with the 
 steamers and army. Reached the town Lado, 
 where Emin, Mudir of Equator, is staying. We 
 reached this place 5th Safar, 1306. We must 
 thank officers and men who made this conquest 
 easy to us before our arrival. They caught Emin 
 and a traveller staying with him, and put both in 
 chains. The officers and men refused to go to 
 Egypt with the Turks. Tewfik sent Emin one of 
 the travellers, whose name is Mr. Stanley. This 
 
A SPURIOUS LETTER, cqq 
 
 Mr. Stanley brought with him a letter from 
 Tevvfik to Emin, dated 8th Jemal Aowal, 1304, 
 No. 81, telling Emin to come with Mr. Stanley, 
 and gave the rest of the force the option to go to 
 Cairo or remain. The force refused the Turkish 
 orders, and gladly received us. I found a great 
 deal of feathers and ivory. I am sending with 
 this, on board the * Bordain,* the officers and chief 
 clerk. I am also sending the letter which came 
 to Emin from Tewfik, with the banners we took 
 from the Turks. I heard that there is another 
 traveller who came to Emin, but I heard that he 
 returned. I am looking out for him. If he comes 
 back again, I am sure to catch him. All the 
 chiefs of the province with the inhabitants were 
 delighted to receive us. I have taken all the 
 arms and ammunition. Please return the officers 
 and chief clerk when you have seen them and 
 given the necessary instructions, because they 
 will be of great use to me." 
 
 This was accompanied by what appeared to be 
 a letter written by the Khedive at Cairo to Emin, 
 which had been intrusted to Mr. Stanley to 
 deliver, and this convinced many of the truth of 
 Osman Digna's story. But, as a matter of fact, 
 as will be seen later, it was all an ingenious lie, 
 concocted for the purpose of frightening the 
 British into abandoning Suakim to the slave- 
 traders. Meantime there was true news of actual 
 disasters on the Congo. Major Barttelot, com- 
 
ciQ IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 manding the rear guard of the expedition, was 
 murdered ; and Mr. Jamieson, who succeeded to 
 the command, died of fever. Under these circum- 
 stances, the gloomiest and most anxious views 
 prevailed regarding Mr. Stanley's fate. 
 
 It was in December, 1888, that the dark views 
 concerning Stanley's fate most prevailed, but ten 
 days later positive and authentic news of Mr. 
 Stanley's safe arrival at Emin Pasha's capital was 
 received, and on April 3d, 1889, full details of 
 the campaign, written by Mr. Stanley himself, 
 were published. His letter to the chairman of 
 the Emin Pasha Relief Committee was dated at 
 Bungangeta Island, Ituri or Aruwimi River, 
 August 28th, 1888, and gave full accounts of the 
 varying fortunes of the expedition, with its dis- 
 asters and successes. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 STANLEY AND EMIN. 
 
 IN his letter to the Emin Pasha Relief Com- 
 mittee Mr. Stanley closes by saying: ''Let 
 me touch more at large on the subject 
 which brought me to this land — viz., Emin Pasha. 
 
 "The Pasha has two battalions of regulars 
 under him — the first, consisting of about seven 
 hundred and fifty rifles, occupies Duffle, Honyu, 
 Lahore, Muggi, Kirri, Bedden, Rejaf ; the second 
 battalion, consisting of six hundred and forty 
 men, guard the stations of Wadelai, Fatiko, 
 Mahagi and Mswa, a line of communication 
 along the Nyanza and Nile about one hundred 
 and eighty miles in length. In the interior west 
 of the Nile he retains three or four small stations 
 — fourteen in all. Besides these two battalions 
 he has quite a respectable force of irregulars, 
 sailors, artisans, clerks, servants. 'Altogether,' 
 he said, ' if I consent to go away from here we 
 shall have about eight thousand people with us.' 
 
 " ' Were I in your place I would not hesitate 
 one moment or be a second in doubt what to 
 do.' 
 
 "'What you say is quite true, but we have 
 such a large number of women and children, 
 
 (5") 
 
CI 2 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 probably ten thousand people altogether. How 
 can they all be brought out of here ? We shall 
 want a great number of carriers/ 
 
 " * Carriers ! carriers for what?' I asked. 
 
 "*For the women and children. You surely 
 would not leave them, and they cannot travel ? ' 
 
 " * The women must walk. It will do them 
 more good than harm. As for the little children, 
 load them on the donkeys. I hear you have about 
 two hundred of them. Your people will not 
 travel very far the first month, but little by little 
 they will get accustomed to it. Our Zanzibar 
 women crossed Africa on my second expedition. 
 Why cannot your black women do the same ? 
 Have no fear of them ; they will do better than 
 the men.' 
 
 " *They would require a vast amount of pro- 
 vision for the road.' 
 
 " * True, but you have some thousands of cattle, 
 I believe. Those will furnish beef. The countries 
 through which we pass must furnish grain and 
 vegetable food.' 
 
 " * Well, well, we will defer further talk till to- 
 morrow.' 
 
 " May 1st, 1888. — Halt in camp at Nsabe. The 
 Pasha came ashore from the steamer * Khedive ' 
 about one p. m., and in a short time we com- 
 menced our conversation again. Many of the 
 arguments used above were repeated, and he 
 said: 
 
EMIN PASHA'S FEARS. rj^ 
 
 "* What you told me yesterday has led me to 
 think that it is best we should retire from here. 
 The Egyptians are very willing to leave. There 
 are of these about one hundred men, besides 
 their women and children. Of these there is no 
 doubt, and even if I stayed here I should be glad 
 to be rid of them, because they undermine my 
 authority and nullify all my endeavors for retreat. 
 When I informed them that Khartoum had fallen 
 and Gordon Pasha was slain, they always told the 
 Nubians that it was a concocted story, that some 
 day we should see the steamer's ascend the river 
 for their relief. But of the regulars who com- 
 pose the first and second battalions I am ex- 
 tremely doubtful ; they have led such a free and 
 happy life here that they would demur at leaving 
 a country where they have enjoyed luxuries they 
 cannot command in Egypt. The soldiers are 
 married, and several of them have harems. 
 Many of the irregulars would also retire and 
 follow me. Now, supposing the regulars refuse 
 to leave, you can imagine that my position would 
 be a difficult one. Would I be right in leaving 
 them to their fate ? Would it not be consigning 
 them all to ruin ? I should have to leave them 
 their arms and ammunition, and on returning all 
 discipline would be at an end. Disputes would 
 arise, and factions would be formed. The more 
 ambitious would aspire to be chiefs by force, and 
 from these rivalries would spring hate and 
 
 S3 
 
5H 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 mutual slaughter until there would be none of 
 them left/ 
 
 " * Supposing you resolve to stay, what of the 
 Egyptians ? ' I asked. 
 
 " * Oh ! these I shall have to ask you to be 
 good enough to take with you/ 
 
 "Now, will you. Pasha, do me the favor to ask 
 Captain Casati if we are to have the pleasure of 
 his company to the sea, for we have been in- 
 structed to assist him also should we meet ? ' 
 
 " Captain Casati answered through Emin Pasha: 
 
 " * What the Governor Emin decides upon shall 
 be the rule of conduct for me also. If the Gov- 
 ernor stays, I stay. If the Governor goes, I go.' 
 
 " ' Well, I see, Pasha, that in the event of your 
 staying your responsibilities will be great* 
 
 "A laugh. The sentence was translated to 
 Casati, and the gallant Captain replied : 
 
 " * Oh ! I beg pardon, but I absolve the Pasha 
 from all responsibility connected with me, because 
 I am governed by my own choice entirely.' 
 
 " Thus day after day I recorded faithfully the 
 interviews I had with Emin Pasha; but these 
 extracts reveal as much as is necessary for you 
 to understand the position. I left Mr. Jephson 
 thirteen of my Soudanese, and sent a message to 
 be read to the troops, as the Pasha requested. 
 Everything else is left until I return with the 
 united expedition to the Nyanza. 
 
 '* Within two months the Pasha proposed to 
 
I Harp«r't Weekly. 
 
 £HIN FJLSHA. 
 
 Copyright, 1887, by Harper k Brotkva. 
 
STANLEY'S PLANS. C17 
 
 visit Fort Bodo, taking Mr. Jephson with him. 
 At Fort Bodo I have left instructions to the 
 officers to destroy the fort and accompany the 
 Pasha to the Nyanza. I hope to meet them all 
 again on the Nyanza, as I intend making a short 
 cut to the Nyanza along a new road/' 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 IN THE HEART OF AFRICA. 
 
 IT was in April, 1889, that the thrilling narra- 
 tive of Mr. Stanley's march from the Congo 
 to the Lakes was made known. Then he dis- 
 appeared again from view, but not for long. Early 
 in November following he was heard from again, 
 authoritatively, and in the same month the story 
 of his work in the Equatorial Province was re- 
 hearsed to the listening world. It was on No- 
 vember 24th that Mr. Marston, of London, the 
 well-known publisher, received this letter from 
 the explorer, dated at a mission station at the 
 southern end of Victoria Nyanza, September 3d, 
 1889: 
 
 "It just now,'' wrote Mr. Stanley, "appears 
 such an age to me since I left England. Ages 
 have gone by since I saw you, surely. Do you 
 know why? Because a daily thickening barrier 
 of silence has crept between us during that time, 
 and this silence is so dense that in vain we yearn 
 to pierce it. On my side I may ask, what have 
 you been doing? On yours you may ask, and 
 what have you been doing? I can assure myself, 
 now that I know you live, that few days have 
 passed without the special task of an enterprising 
 (518} 
 
AFRICA'S DARKEST REGION. 
 
 519 
 
 publisher being performed as wisely and as well 
 as possible. 
 
 "And, for the time being, you can believe me 
 that one day has followed another in striving 
 strifefully against all manner of obstacles, natural 
 and otherwise. From the day I left Yambuya to 
 August 28th, 1889, the day I arrived here, the 
 bare catalogue of incidents would fill several 
 quires of foolscap ; the catalogue of skirmishes 
 would be of respectable length ; the catalogue of 
 adventures, accidents, mortalities, sufferings from 
 fever, morbid musings over mischances that meet 
 us daily, would make a formidable list. 
 
 "You know that all the stretch of country 
 between Yambuya and this place was an abso- 
 lutely new country except what may be measured 
 by five ordinary marches. 
 
 " First there is that dead white of the map now 
 changed to a dead black — I mean that darkest 
 region of earth confined between east longitude 
 25 deg. and east longitude 29 deg. 45 min. — one 
 great, compact, remorselessly sullen forest, the 
 growth of an untold number of ages, swarming at 
 stated intervals with immense numbers of vicious, 
 man-eating savages and crafty, undersized men, 
 who were unceasing in their annoyance. 
 
 " Then there is that belt of grass land lying 
 between it and Albert Nyanza, whose people 
 contested every mile of our advance with spirit, 
 and made us think that they were the guardians 
 
520 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 of some priceless treasure hidden on the Nyanza 
 shores, or at war with Emin Pasha and his thou- 
 sands. Sir Percival, in search of the Holy Grail, 
 could not have met with a hotter opposition. 
 
 "Three separate times necessity compelled us 
 to traverse these unholy regions, with varying 
 fortunes. Incidents then crowded fast. Emin 
 Pasha was a prisoner, an officer of ours was his 
 forced companion, and it really appeared as 
 though we were to be added to the list. But 
 there is a virtue, you know, even in striving 
 unyieldingly, in hardening nerves and facing these 
 everclinging mischances, without paying too much 
 heed to reputed danger. One is assisted much 
 by knowing that there is no other coup and 
 danger. 
 
 "Somehow, nine times out of ten the dimin- 
 ished rebels of Emin Pasha's government relied 
 on their craft and on the wiles of a * heathen 
 Chinee,' and it is rather amusing now to look 
 back and note how punishment has fallen upon 
 them. 
 
 "Was it Providence or luck? Let those who 
 love to analyze such matters reflect on it. Trai- 
 tors without the camp and traitors within were 
 watched, and the most active conspirator was 
 discovered, tried and hanged. Traitors without 
 fell foul of one another and ruined themselves. 
 If not luck, then surely it is Providence, in an- 
 swer to good men's prayers far away. 
 
PERILS OF THE JOURNEY, 52 1 
 
 "Our people, tempted by extreme wretched- 
 ness and misery, sold our rifles and ammunition 
 to our natural enemies, the Manyema slave- 
 holders. True friends, without the least grace 
 in either their bodies or souls ! What happy 
 influence was it that restrained me from destroy- 
 ing all those concerned in it ? 
 
 "Each time I read the story of Captain Nel- 
 son's and Surgeon Parkes' sufferings I feel vexed 
 at my forbearance, and yet again I feel thankful, 
 for a higher power than man's severely afflicted 
 the cold-blooded murderers by causing them to 
 feed upon one another a few weeks after the 
 rescue and relief of Nelson and Parkes. The 
 memory of those days alternately hardens and 
 unmans me. 
 
 "With the rescue of Emin Pasha, poor old 
 Casati, and those who preferred Egypt's flesh 
 pots to the coarse plenty of the province near 
 Nyanza, we returned, and while we were patiently 
 waiting the doom of the rebels was consum- 
 mated. 
 
 "Since that time of anxiety and unhappy out- 
 look I have been at the point of death from a 
 dreadful illness. The strain had been too much, 
 and for twenty-eight days I lay helpless, tended 
 by the kindly and skilful hand of Surgeon Parkes. 
 Then little by litde I gathered strength and or- 
 dered the march for home. 
 
 "Discovery after discovery in this wonderful 
 
C22 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 region was made. The snowy ranges of Rueven- 
 zoni, the ^ Cloud King' or *Rain Creator/ the 
 Semliki River. Albert Edward Nyanza, the plains 
 of Noongora, the salt lakes of Kative, new peo- 
 ples, Wakonju of the Great Mountains, dwellers 
 of the rich forest region, the Awamba, the fine- 
 featured Wasonyora, the Wanyoro bandits, and 
 then Lake Albert Edward, the tribes and shep- 
 herd races of the Eastern uplands, then Wan- 
 yankori, besides Wanyaruwamba and Wazinja, 
 until at last we came to a church, whose cross 
 dominated a Christian settlement, and we knew 
 that we had reached the outskirts of blessed 
 civilization. 
 
 "We have every reason to be grateful, and may 
 that feeling be ever kept within me. Our prom- 
 ises as volunteers have been performed as well 
 as though we had been specially commissioned 
 by the government. We have been all volun- 
 teers, each devoting his several gifts, abilities 
 and energies to win a successful issue for the 
 enterprise. If there has been anything that clouds 
 sometimes our thoughts, it has been that we were 
 compelled by the state of Emin Pasha and his 
 own people to cause anxieties to our friends by 
 serious delays. 
 
 "At every opportunity I have endeavored to 
 lessen these by despatching full accounts of our 
 progress to the committee, that through them 
 
UNAVOIDABLE DELAYS. 
 
 523 
 
 all interested might be acquainted with what we 
 are doing. 
 
 '*Some of my officers also have been troubled 
 in the thought that their government might not 
 overlook their having overstayed their leave, 
 but the truth is that the wealth of the British 
 treasury could not have hastened our march,* 
 without making ourselves liable to an impeach- 
 ment for breach of faith, and my officers were 
 as much involved as myself in doing the thing 
 honorably and well.'* 
 
 The same mail brought to Sir William Mac- 
 kinnon a letter from Stanley, dated Kafurro, 
 Arab Settlement, Karagwa, August 5th, 1889, 
 from which the following is taken : 
 
 " On the 13th of February a native courier ap- 
 peared in camp with a letter from Emin Pasha 
 with news which electrified us. He was actually 
 at anchor just below our plateau camp; but here 
 .is his formal letter : 
 
 "In Camp, February 13th, 1889. 
 "*To Henry M. Stanley, Commanding the Re- 
 lief Expedition : 
 
 "*SiR — In answer to your letter of the 7th 
 inst, for v/hich I beg to tender my best thanks, I 
 have the honor to inform you that yesterday, at 
 three, I arrived here with my two steamers, car- 
 rying the first lot of people desirous to leave this 
 
524 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 country under your escort. As soon as I have 
 arranged for the cover of my people the steam- 
 ships have to start for Mswa station, to bring on 
 another lot of people awaiting transport. With 
 me there are some twelve officers anxious to see 
 you, and only forty soldiers. They have come 
 •under my orders to request you to give them 
 some time to bring their brothers, at least such 
 as are willing to leave from Wadelai, and I prom- 
 ised them to do my best to assist them. 
 
 " ' Things having to some extent now changed, 
 you will be able to make them undergo whatever 
 conditions you see fit to impose upon them. To 
 arrange these I shall start from here with my 
 officers for your camp, after having provided for 
 the camp, and if you send carriers I could avail 
 myself of some of them. I hope, sincerely, that 
 the great difficulties you have had to undergo, 
 and the great sacrifices made by your expedition 
 on its way to assist us, may be rewarded by full 
 success in bringing out my people. The wave- 
 of insanity which overran the country has sub- 
 sided, and of such people as are now coming 
 with me we may be sure. 
 
 " ' Signor Casati requests me to give his best 
 thanks for your kind remembrance of him. Per- 
 mit me to express to you, once more, my cordial 
 thanks for whatever you have done for us until 
 now, and believe me to be yours, very faithfully, 
 
 "'Dr. Emin.'" 
 
READY TO START. 
 
 525 
 
 On the 1 7th of February Emin Pasha and a 
 following of about sixty people, including several 
 high officials, arrived at Stanley's camp. They 
 seemed unanimously in favor of departure from 
 their position ; but they pleaded for time, and 
 finally the loth of April was decided upon as the 
 final day of the delay, which now had aggregated 
 nearly a year. Emin Pasha throughout this in- 
 terview insisted that it all remained with his peo- 
 ple, but still April loth was agreed to as a day 
 when all could be ready for the start. This de- 
 cision was emphasized by a council of Stanley's 
 officers, all of whom agreed that no delay beyond 
 the appointed day should be thought of. After 
 much hesitation and questioning on Emin's part, 
 lest he should do a wrong in abandoning any of 
 his people, his final muster was made and the 
 march was begun on the day set by Mr. Stanley. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 FORWARD MARCH ! 
 
 AT muster this curious result was returned : 
 There were with us one hundred and 
 thirty-four men, eightj^-four married 
 women, one hundred and eighty-seven female 
 domestics, seventy-four children above two years, 
 thirty-five infants in arms — making a total of five 
 hundred and fourteen. I have reason to believe 
 that the number was nearer six hundred, as many 
 were not reported from fear probably that some 
 would be taken prisoners. 
 
 " On the loth of April we set out from Kavallis, 
 in number about one thousand five hundred, for 
 three hundred and fifty native carriers had been 
 enrolled from the district, to assist in carrying the 
 baggage of the Pasha's people, whose ideas as 
 to what was essential for the march were very 
 crude. 
 
 "On the nth we camped at Masambonis, but 
 in the night I was struck down with a severe ill- 
 ness, which well nigh proved mortal. It detained 
 us at the camp twenty-eight days, which, if Selim 
 Bey and his party were really serious in their in- 
 tentions to withdraw from Africa, was most fortu- 
 nate for them, since it increased their time allow^ 
 (5*6) 
 
" FORCED DELAY. 527 
 
 ance to seventy-two days. But in all this interval 
 only Shukri Aga, the chief of Mswa Station, ap- 
 peared. He had started with twelve soldiers, but 
 they, one by one, disappeared, until he had only 
 one trumpeter and one servant. A few days after 
 the trumpeter absconded. Thus only one servant 
 was left out of a garrison of sixty men who were 
 reported to be the faithfullest of the faithful. 
 
 " On the 8th of May our march was resumed. 
 The route skirted the Mega Mountains at their 
 southern end, and encountered the King of 
 Uyoro. The first day*s encounter was in our 
 favor, and it cleared the territory as far as the 
 Semliki River, of the Wanyoro. Meantime we 
 had become aware that we were on the threshold 
 of a region which promised to be very interesting, 
 for daily, as we advanced to the southward, the 
 great snowy range which had so suddenly 
 arrested our attention and excited our intense 
 interest on May i, 1888, grew larger and bolder 
 into view. It extended a long distance to the 
 southwest, which would inevitably take us some 
 distance off our course, unless a pass could be 
 discovered to shorten the distance to the countries 
 south. 
 
 " Much, however, as we had flattered ourselves 
 that we should see some marvellous scenery, the 
 * Snow Mountain * was very coy and hard to see. 
 On most days it looked impending over us like a 
 tropical storm cloud, ready to dissolve in rain and 
 
528 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 ruin. On its snowy cap shot into view jagged 
 clouds, whirling and eddying round. Often at 
 sunrise Ruwenzori would appear like a crag 
 deeply marked and clearly visible, but presently 
 all would be buried under mass upon mass of mist 
 until the immense mountain was no more visible 
 than if we were thousands of miles away ; and 
 then, also, the * Snow Mountain * being set deeply 
 in the range, the nearer we approached the base 
 of the range the less we saw of it. 
 
 "It took us nineteen marches to reach the 
 southwest angle of the range, the Semliki Valley 
 being below us on our right, and which, if the 
 tedious mist had permitted, would have been 
 exposed in every detail. That part of the valley 
 traversed by us is generally known under the 
 name of Awamba, while the habitable portion of 
 the range is principally denominated Ukonju. 
 The huts of the natives, the Bakonju, are seen as 
 high as 8,000 feet above the sea. 
 
 "A few days later we entered Unyampaka, 
 which I had visited in January, 1876. Ringi, the 
 king, allowed us to feast on his bananas unques- 
 tioned. After following the lake shore until it 
 turned too far to the southwest, we struck for the 
 lofty uplands of Aukori, by the natives of which 
 we were well received, preceded as we had been 
 by the reports of our great deeds in relieving salt 
 lake of the presence of the universally obnoxious 
 Warosura. 
 
OUR COUk^ii OF TRAVEL. ^jQ 
 
 " If you draw a straight line from Nyanza to 
 the Uzinja shores of Victoria Lake it would repre- 
 sent pretty fairly our course through Aukori, 
 Karagwe and Uhaiya to Uzinja. 
 
 "Aukori was open to us because we had driven 
 Wanyaro from the salt lake. The story was an 
 open sesame. Here also existed a wholesome 
 fear of an expedition which had done that which 
 all the power of Aukori could not have done. 
 Karagwe was open to us, because free trade is 
 the policy of Wanyamba and because the Wate- 
 anda were too much engrossed with their civil 
 war to interfere with our passage. Uhaiya ad- 
 mitted our entrance without cavil, out of respect 
 to our numbers, and Wakwiya guided us in a like 
 manner, to be welcomed by Wazinja. 
 
 " Nothing happened during our long journey 
 from Albert Lake to cause us any regret that we 
 had taken this straight course, but we have suf- 
 fered from an unprecedented number of fevers. 
 We have had as many as one hundred and fifty 
 cases in one day. In the month of July we lost 
 one hundred and forty-one Egyptians. 
 
 " Out of respect to the first British Prince who 
 has shown an interest in African geography we 
 have named the southern Nyanza, to distinguish 
 it from the other two Nyanzas, Albert Edward 
 Nyanza. It is not a very large lake compared to 
 Victoria, Tanganika and Nyassa. It is small, but 
 its importance and interest lie in the sole fact that 
 
 34 
 
t-^Q IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 it IS the receiver of all the streams at the ex* 
 tremity of the southwestern or Left Nile basin, 
 and discharges these waters by one river, the 
 Semliki, into Albert Nyanza. In a like manner 
 Lake Victoria receives all streams from the ex- 
 tremity of the southeastern or Right Nile basin 
 and pours these waters by the Victoria Nile into 
 Albert Nyanza. These two Niles amalgamate in 
 Lake Albert, under the well-known name of White 
 Nile. 
 
 ," By the route taken I traversed the Semliki 
 Valley, the Awamba, the Usongora, the Toro, the 
 Utraiyana, the Unyampaka, the Antrosi, the 
 Karagive, the Uhaiya, the Uzimza, the South 
 Victoria and the Nyanza. No hostile natives 
 were met. Since we left Kabbarega we travelled 
 along the base of the snowy range Rujenzori„ 
 Three sides of the Southern Nyanza or Nyanza 
 of Usongora, which is called now Albert Edward 
 Nyanza, are about nine hundred feet higher than 
 Albert Nyanza, having an exit at Semliki which 
 receives over fifty streams from the Ruwenzori 
 and finally enters the Albert Nyanza, making the 
 Albert Edward the source of the southwest 
 branch of the White Nile, the Victoria Nyanza 
 being the source of the southeast branch." 
 
 The relief committee at once made arrange- 
 ments for the forwarding of supplies to meet 
 Stanley at Mpwapwa. It was thought that he 
 could not reach the coast before the beginning 
 
NEARING THE COAST. rx\ 
 
 ol' next year. Mpwapwa is a station about one 
 hundred and fifty miles from the coast, on the 
 road from Zanzibar and Bagamoyo to Lake 
 Tanganika. But the expedition made rapid 
 progress. On November 20th Captain Wiss- 
 mann telegraphed from Zanzibar that Stanley 
 had reached Mpwapwa on November loth, and 
 simultaneously there came a despatch which 
 Captain Wissmann had written at Mpwapwa on 
 October 13th, as follows: 
 
 "Four of Stanley's men and one of Emin's 
 soldiers have arrived here. They left Stanley at 
 Neukmma on August loth, and came by way of 
 Noembo and Mwerieweri north to Mgogo in 
 thirty-three days, including nine days on which 
 they rested. Emin and Casati had three hundred 
 Soudanese soldiers and many other followers with 
 them. They had in their possession a large 
 quantity of ivory. Stanley had a force of two 
 hundred and forty Zanzibaris and was accom- 
 panied by SIX lieutenants — Nelson, Jephson, 
 Stairs, Parke, Bonny and William. The expe- 
 dition struck camp as soon as the messengers 
 started. Therefore the party should reach 
 Mpwapwa by November 20th. Emin and Stan- 
 ley repeatedly fought and repulsed the Mahdists, 
 capturing the Mahdi's grand banner. A majority 
 of Emin's soldiers refused to follow him south- 
 wards, asserting that their way home did not lie 
 
^32 ^^ ^^^ WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 in that direction. Emin left two Egyptian officers 
 in charge of stations." 
 
 This prediction that the expedition would reach 
 Mpwapwa by November 20th was more than 
 verified. He got there on November loth. On 
 November nth Sir William Mackinnon received 
 a despatch from Stanley announcing his arrival 
 there, and stating that he expected to reach 
 Zanzibar in a few days. 
 
 To the British Consul at Zanzibar Mr. Stanley 
 wrote, under the same date : 
 
 " We arrived here yesterday on the fifty-fifth 
 day from Victoria Nyanza and the one hundred 
 and eighty-eighth day from the Albert Nyanza. 
 We number altogether about seven hundred and 
 fifty souls. At the last muster, three days ago, 
 Emin Pasha's people numbered two hundred and 
 ninety-four, of whom fifty-nine are children, 
 mostly orphans of Egyptian officers. The whites 
 with me are Lieutenant Stairs, Captain Nelson, 
 Mounteney, Jephson, Surgeon Parke, William 
 Bonny, Mr. Hoffman, Emin Pasha and his 
 daughter. Captain Casati, Signor Marco and a 
 Tunisian, Vitu Hassan, and an apothecary. We 
 have also Peres Girault and Schinze, of the 
 Algerian mission. Among the principal officers 
 of the Pasha are the Vakeers, of the Equatorial 
 province, and Major Awash Effendi, of the 
 Second battalion. 
 
 " Since leaving Victoria Nyanza we have lost 
 
DBA THS B V THE WA K. 
 
 533 
 
 eighteen of the Pasha's people, and one native 
 of Zanzibar, who was killed while we were parley- 
 ing with hostile people. Every other expedition 
 I have led has seen the lightening of our labors 
 as we drew near the sea, but I cannot say the 
 same of this one. Our long string of hammock 
 bearers tells a different tale, and until we place 
 these poor things on shipboard there will no rest 
 for us. The worst of it is we have not the privi- 
 lege of showing at Zanzibar the full extent of 
 our labors. After carrying some of them one 
 thousand miles, fighting to the right and left of 
 the sick, driving Warasura from their prey, over 
 range and range of mountains, with every energy 
 on the full strain, they slip through our hands 
 and die in their hammocks. One lady, seventy- 
 five years of age, the old mother of the Valkiel, 
 died in this manner in North Msukuma, south of 
 Victoria Nyanza. 
 
 " We had as stirring a time for four days as 
 we had anywhere. For those four days we had 
 continuous fighting during the greater part of 
 daylight hours. The foolish natives took an un- 
 accountable prejudice to the Pasha's people. 
 They insisted that they were cannibals and had 
 come to their country for no good. Talking to 
 them was of no use. Any attempt at disproof 
 drove them into white hot rage, and in their mad 
 flinging of themselves on us they suffered/* 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 AT THE COAST AT LAST. 
 
 A SPECIAL correspondent of the New 
 York Herald reached Msiiwah at 5 p. m., 
 on November 29th, and immediately 
 sent to that paper the following despatch : 
 
 " I have just met Henry M. Stanley, Emin 
 Pasha, Casati, Lieutenant Stairs, Mr. Jephson, 
 Dr. Parke, Nelson and Bonny and five hundred 
 and sixty men, v^omen and children. 
 
 *' I have found Stanley looking exceedingly 
 hearty. He wears a Prussian cap, linen breeches 
 and canvas shoes. 
 
 "I presented him with the American flag 
 with which I was intrusted, and it is now flying 
 from Mr. Stanley's tent. 
 
 " The great explorer s hair is quite white and 
 his moustache is iron gray. 
 
 '' Emin Pasha is a slight, dark man. He wears 
 spectacles. In a short conversation which I had 
 with him he told me he did not wish for any 
 honors for what he had done. He simply desired 
 to be employed again in the Khedive's service. 
 
 " I have given Captain Casati his letters. He 
 looks well, but the hardships which he has under- 
 
 (534) 
 
JOYOUS WELCOMES. 
 
 535 
 
 gone seem to 'have quite undermined his con- 
 stitution. 
 
 "All the other Europeans are well. We shall 
 proceed toward the coast the day after to-mor- 
 row. 
 
 "Stanley, Emin and Casati were entertained at 
 dinner last night in this camp by Baron Graven- 
 reath. Speeches were made by the Baron and by 
 Stanley. The Baron complimented Stanley, Emin 
 and their companions on their march from Cen- 
 tral Africa. Stanley responded and praised Ger- 
 man enterprise and civilizing abilities.** 
 
 Mr. Stanley and his comrades moved steadily 
 forward, and on December 3d were met by Major 
 Wissmann at Atoni on the Kinghani River. 
 The occasion was duly celebrated by the drinking 
 of healths and loyal toasts in bumpers of cham- 
 pagne. Major Wissmann provided horses, and 
 Mr. Stanley and Emin Pasha made a triumphal 
 entry into Bagamoyo at 1 1 o'clock on Wednesday 
 morning, December 4th. The town was profusely 
 decorated with bunting and verdant arches, and 
 palms were waving from every window. Major 
 Wissmann's force and the German man-of-war 
 "Sperber'* fired salutes. All the vessels in the 
 roadstead were handsomely decked with flags. 
 
 Major Wissmann entertained the party at 
 luncheon, when the captain of the "Sperber" 
 formally welcomed Mr. Stanley, and then con- 
 gratulated Emin on behalf of Emperor William. 
 
536 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA. 
 
 During the afternoon many Europeans came to 
 greet the explorers. 
 
 In the evening there was a champagne banquet. 
 The German Consul offered a toast in honor of 
 Queen Victoria. Major Wissmann toasted Stan- 
 ley, calling him his master in African exploration. 
 Mr. Stanley made an eloquent reply. He thanked 
 God that he had done his duty, and referred with 
 emotion to the soldiers whose bones were bleach- 
 ing in the forest. He said his motto had always 
 been "Onward.'' He testified to the divine in- 
 fluence that had guided him in his work. Emin 
 Pasha toasted Emperor William. Lieutenant 
 Stairs responded to a toast to Stanley's officers. 
 Major Brackenbury proposed the health of Major 
 Wissmann, which was drunk with all honors, the 
 company heartily singing "He's a jolly good fel- 
 low." 
 
 The festivities of the evening had, however, a 
 sad ending. A great crowd gathered outside, 
 lustily cheering the illustrious guests. Emin 
 Pasha went to a window and stepped out upon 
 the balcony to acknowledge the compliment. 
 Being nearly blind, he stumbled and fell. over the 
 low parapet to the street, a distance of twenty 
 feet. He was picked up terribly bruised, the 
 blood streaming from his ears, and it was feared 
 that his skull was fractured. All the physicians 
 present declared his injuries fatal, excepting 
 Stanley's comrade, Dr. Parke. He took a more 
 
EMIN'S ACCIDENT, 
 
 537 
 
 hopeful view of the case. Next day it was found 
 that the skull was not broken, although Emin 
 had sustained various severe internal injuries. 
 Mr. Stanley telegraphed to England that the 
 Pasha's condition was most critical, and that the 
 German naval surgeons there declared that only 
 twenty in a hundred of such cases ever recover, 
 this percentage including all the cases of men 
 in the vigor of life. Emin's age was not great, 
 but his physical condition was not good. In 
 addition to other bad symptoms, the hemorrhage 
 from the ears continued, and this, though it pre- 
 vented the immediate formation of a large clot 
 in the brain, menaced life by loss of strength. 
 He was lying in the German hospital at Baga- 
 moyo. Dr. Parke still had some hope. Day by 
 day news of the patient grew better, and soon 
 he was regarded as on the sure though slow 
 road to recovery. 
 
 Mr. Stanley was conveyed from Bagamoyo to 
 Zanzibar by the German warship "Sperber,'* which 
 had been placed at his disposal by the Emperor. 
 This was a compliment without precedent. 
 
 On December 5th the German Emperor tel- 
 egraphed to Emin : 
 
 "Now you have at last returned from your 
 post, where you have remained over eleven 
 years, with truly German loyalty and devotion 
 to duty, I am glad to greet you, sending my con- 
 gratulations and imperial appreciation. I have 
 
538 
 
 IN THE WILDS OF AFRICA, 
 
 felt special satisfaction from the fact that it was 
 through territory under our protection that Ger- 
 man forces were able to smooth the way to the 
 coast for your return/' 
 
 At the same time the Emperor cabled to Stan- 
 ley as follows : 
 
 "Thanks to your perseverance and inflexible 
 courage, you have now, after repeatedly crossing 
 the Dark Continent, overcome a new and long 
 succession of exceeding perils and almost un- 
 endurable hardships. That, after surmounting 
 those, your return journey should lead you 
 through lands covered by my flag, affords me 
 great satisfaction, and I welcome you heartily to 
 civilization and security/* 
 
 Stanley cabled the following answer : 
 
 ''Imperator et Rex: My expectation has now 
 reached its end. I have had the honor to be 
 hospitably entertained by Major Wissmann and 
 other of your Majesty's officers under him. 
 Since arriving from Mpwapwa our travels have 
 come to a successful conclusion. We have been 
 taken across from Bagamoyo to Zanzibar by 
 your Majesty's ships *Sperber' and ^Schwalbe' 
 and all honors, coupled with great affability, have 
 been accorded us. 
 
 "I gratefully remember the hospitality and 
 princely affability extended to me at Potsdam, 
 and am profoundly impressed with your Majesty's 
 condescension, kindness and gracious welcome. 
 
STANLEY THE HERO, c^g 
 
 With a full and sincere heart I exclaim, Long 
 live the noble Emperor William ! " 
 
 The Emperor was immensely pleased with 
 Stanley^s reply. He read it aloud, encircled by 
 a brilliant party, at a supper given by the Grand 
 Duke of Hesse. Then he again cabled to Stan- 
 ley, urging him to make an early visit to Berlin, 
 and giving him hearty assurance of a warm Ger- 
 man greeting. 
 
 In England Mr. Stanley was the hero of the 
 day. Tributes to his worth abounded on every 
 hand. The Royal Geographical Society took in 
 charge the arrangements for a formal welcome 
 on his return. 
 
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